Search results for: agile product development

Authors: Maryam Goodarzi, Mahdieh Sheikhi, Mehdi Goodarzi

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This study intends to offer an appropriate strategy development framework for a telecommunication firm (as a case study) which works on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects, development of telecommunication networks, and maintenance of local networks, according to its dominant condition. In this approach, first, the objectives were set and the mission was defined. Then, the capability was assessed by SWOT matrix. Using SPACE matrix, the strategy of the company was determined. The strategic direction is set and an appropriate and superior strategy was developed and offered employing QSPM matrix. The theoretical framework or conceptual model of the present study first involves 4 stages of framework development and then from stage 3 (assessing capability) onward, a strategic management model by Fred R. David. In this respect, the tools and methods offered in the framework are appropriate for all kinds of organizations, particularly small firms, and help strategists identify, evaluate, and select strategies.

Keywords: strategy formulation, firm mission, strategic direction, space diagram, quantitative strategic planning matrix, SWOT matrix

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Authors: Mohammad Parvaresh, Mahdi Babaee, Bahareh Arghand, Roushanak Fahimi Hanzaee, Davood Nourmohammadi

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Today, the intelligent network of water and wastewater as one of the key steps in realizing the smart city in the world. Use of pressure relief valves in urban water networks in order to reduce the pressure is necessary in Tehran city. But use these pressure relief valves lead to waste water, more power consumption, and environmental pollution because Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Co. use a quarter of industry 's electricity. In this regard, Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Co. identified solutions to reduce direct and indirect costs in energy use in the process of production, transmission and distribution of water because this company has extensive facilities and high capacity to realize green economy and industry. The aim of this study is to analyze the new project in water and wastewater industry to reach sustainable development.

Keywords: Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company, water network efficiency, sustainable development, International Environmental Law

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Authors: Zh. Saffari, A. Naeimi, M. S. Ekrami-Kakhki, F. Hamidi

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Fe3O4 is one of the important magnetic oxides with spinel structure; it has exhibited unique electric and magnetic properties based on the electron transfer between Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the octahedral sites. Fe3O4 has received considerable attention in various areas such as cancer therapy, drug targeting, enzyme immobilization catalysis, magnetic cell separation, magnetic refrigeration systems and super-paramagnetic materials Fe3O4–TiO2 nanostructures were synthesized by simple, effective and new co-precipitation method assisted by ultrasonic reaction at room temperatures with organic surfactant. The effect of various parameters such as temperature, time, and power on the size and morphology of the product was investigated. Alternating gradient force magnetometer shows that Fe3O4 nanoparticles exhibit super-paramagnetic behaviour at room temperature. For preparation of nanocomposite, 1 g of TiO2 nanostructures were dispersed in 100 mL of ethanol. 0.25 g of Fe(NO3)2 and 2 mL of octanoic acid was added to the solution as a surfactant. Then, NaOH solution (1.5 M) was slowly added into the solution until the pH of the mixture was 7–8. After complete precipitation, the solution placed under the ultrasonic irradiation for 30 min. The product was centrifuged, washed with distilled water and dried in an oven at 100 °C for 3 h. The resulting red powder was calcinated at 800 °C for 3 h to remove any organic residue. The photocatalytic behaviour of Fe3O4–TiO2 nanoparticles was evaluated using the degradation of a Methyl Violet (MV) aqueous solution under ultraviolet light irradiation. As time increased, more and more MV was adsorbed on the nanoparticles catalyst, until the absorption peak vanish. The MV concentration decreased rapidly with increasing UV-irradiation time

Keywords: magnetic, methyl violet, nanocomposite, photocatalytic

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Authors: Anahita Suri

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Myriad cultures form the warp and weft of the fabric of this world. The last century saw mass migration of people across geographical boundaries, owing to industrialization and globalization. These people took with them their cultures, costumes, traditions, and folklore, which mingled with the local cultures to create something new and place it in a different context to make it contemporary. With the surge in population and growth of the fashion industry, there has been an increasing demand for innovative and individual fashion, from street markets to luxury brands. Exhausted by local influences, designers take inspiration from the so called ‘low’ culture and create artistic products, place it in a different context, and the end-product is categorized as ‘high’ culture. It is challenging as to why a design/culture is ‘high’ or ‘low’. Who decides which works, practices, activities, etc., are ‘high’ and which are ‘low’? The justification for this distinction is often found not in the design itself but the context attached to it. Also, the concept of high/ low is relative to time- what is ‘high’ today can be ‘low’ tomorrow and ‘high’ again the day after. This raises certain concerns. Firstly, it is sad that a culture which offers inspiration is looked down upon as ‘low’ culture. Secondly, it is ironic because the so designated ‘high’ culture is a manipulation of the truth from the authentic ‘low’ culture, which is capable of true expression. When you borrow from a different culture, you pretend to be authentic because you actually are not. Finally, it is important to be aware of crossing cultural boundaries and the context attached to a design/product so as to use it a responsible way that communicates the design without offending anyone. Is it ok for a person’s cultural identity to become another person’s fashion accessory? This essay explores the complex, multi-layered subject of fashion appropriation and aims to provoke debate over cultural ‘borrowing’ and create awareness that commodification of cultural symbols and iconography in fashion is inappropriate and offensive and not the same as ‘celebrating cultural differences’.

Keywords: context, culture, fashion appropriation, inoffensive, responsible

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Authors: Paulina Solórzano Salgado, Luis Rodrigo Valencia Pérez, Alberto de Jesús Pastrana Palma

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In this research, it is presented a digital maturity framework, which contributes to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the commercial sector. This proposal is based on three important concepts: Marketing activities in the enterprise, information and communication technologies ICT, as well as Innovation. Prior to the development of this framework, was formulated a quantitative assessment tool through a literature review, and was validated with a method used by experts, and which determines the relationship of digital marketing and innovation activities in companies. The instrument was applied to 64 Mexican companies from the Made in Mexico database, which allowed both descriptive results and correlation results. These contributed to the development of the methodology, and confirming that the management of digital marketing has a positive relation with innovation activities of companies. Also, that analytics in digital marketing is a source for its development. In this paper, the management stages and activities are presented to be developed by companies in order to generate knowledge, which will allow them to reach its digital maturity.

Keywords: digital marketing, digital maturity, innovation, SMEs

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Authors: Sema Kayapinar, Ismail Karaoglan, Turan Paksoy, Hadi Gokcen

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Green Supply Chain Management is gaining growing interest among researchers and supply chain management. The concept of Green Supply Chain Management is to integrate environmental thinking into the Supply Chain Management. It is the systematic concept emphasis on environmental problems such as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, recycling end of life products, generation of solid and hazardous waste. This study is to present a green supply chain network model integrated Internet of Things applications. Internet of Things provides to get precise and accurate information of end-of-life product with sensors and systems devices. The forward direction consists of suppliers, plants, distributions centres and sales and collect centres while, the reverse flow includes the sales and collects centres, disassembled centre, recycling and disposal centre. The sales and collection centre sells the new products are transhipped from factory via distribution centre and also receive the end-of life product according their value level. We describe green logistics activities by presenting specific examples including “recycling of the returned products and “reduction of CO2 gas emissions”. The different transportation choices are illustrated between echelons according to their CO2 gas emissions. This problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming model to solve the green supply chain problems which are emerged from the environmental awareness and responsibilities. This model is solved by using Gams package program. Numerical examples are suggested to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed model.

Keywords: green supply chain optimization, internet of things, greenhouse gas emission, recycling

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Authors: Lyndsee Baumann-Birkbeck, Sohil A. Khan, Shailendra Anoopkumar-Dukie, Gary D. Grant

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Technology-enhanced education tools are being rapidly integrated into health programs globally. These tools provide an interactive platform for students and can be used to deliver topics in various modes including games and simulations. Simulations are of particular interest to healthcare education, where they are employed to enhance clinical knowledge and help to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Simulations will often assess competencies for practical tasks, yet limited research examines the effects of simulation on student perceptions of their learning. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of an interactive virtual patient simulation for pharmacology education and clinical practice on student knowledge, skills and confidence. Ethics approval for the study was obtained from Griffith University Research Ethics Committee (PHM/11/14/HREC). The simulation was intended to replicate the pharmacy environment and patient interaction. The content was designed to enhance knowledge of proton-pump inhibitor pharmacology, role in therapeutics and safe supply to patients. The tool was deployed into a third-year clinical pharmacology and therapeutics course. A number of core practice areas were examined including the competency domains of questioning, counselling, referral and product provision. Baseline measures of student self-reported knowledge, skills and confidence were taken prior to the simulation using a specifically designed questionnaire. A more extensive questionnaire was deployed following the virtual patient simulation, which also included measures of student engagement with the activity. A quiz assessing student factual and conceptual knowledge of proton-pump inhibitor pharmacology and related counselling information was also included in both questionnaires. Sixty-one students (response rate >95%) from two cohorts (2014 and 2015) participated in the study. Chi-square analyses were performed and data analysed using Fishers exact test. Results demonstrate that student knowledge, skills and confidence within the competency domains of questioning, counselling, referral and product provision, show improvement following the implementation of the virtual patient simulation. Statistically significant (p<0.05) improvement occurred in ten of the possible twelve self-reported measurement areas. Greatest magnitude of improvement occurred in the area of counselling (student confidence p<0.0001). Student confidence in all domains (questioning, counselling, referral and product provision) showed a marked increase. Student performance in the quiz also improved, demonstrating a 10% improvement overall for pharmacology knowledge and clinical practice following the simulation. Overall, 85% of students reported the simulation to be engaging and 93% of students felt the virtual patient simulation enhanced learning. The data suggests that the interactive virtual patient simulation developed for clinical pharmacology and therapeutics education enhanced students knowledge, skill and confidence, with respect to the competency domains of questioning, counselling, referral and product provision. These self-reported measures appear to translate to learning outcomes, as demonstrated by the improved student performance in the quiz assessment item. Future research of education using virtual simulation should seek to incorporate modern quantitative measures of student learning and engagement, such as eye tracking.

Keywords: clinical simulation, education, pharmacology, simulation, virtual learning

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Authors: Dan Han, Yukun Zhang, Jie Zheng, Rui Zhang

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Making full use of space along transportation infrastructure to develop renewable energy sources, especially solar energy resources, has become a research focus in relevant fields. In recent years, relevant international researches can be classified into three stages of theoretical and technical exploration, exploratory practice as well as planning implementation. Compared with traditional solar energy development mode, the development of solar energy resources in places along the transportation infrastructure has special advantages, which can also bring forth new opportunities for the development of green transportation. 'Road Integrated Photovoltaic', a development model of combining transport and new energy, has been actively studied and applied in developed countries, but it was still in its infancy in China. 'New Silk Road Economic Belt' has great advantage to carry out the 'Road Integrated Photovoltaic' because of the rich solar energy resources in its path, the shortages of renewable energy, the constraints of agricultural land and other reasons. Especially the massive amount of construction of transportation infrastructure brought by Silk Road Economic Belt, large area of developable land along the transportation line will be generated. Abundant solar energy recourses along the Silk Road will provide extremely superb practical opportunities to the land development along transportation infrastructure. We take PVsyst, GIS and Google map software for simulation of its potential by taking Lan-Xin Railway as an example, so potential electrical energy generation can be quantified and further analyzed. Research of 'New Silk Road Economic Belt' combined with 'Road Integrated Photovoltaic' is a creative development for the along transport and energy infrastructure. It not only can make full use of solar radiation and land in its path, but also bring more long-term advantages and benefits.

Keywords: land use, silk road economic belt, solar energy, transportation infrastructure

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Authors: Kefale W. Yizengaw, Delele Worku Ayele, Jyh-Chiang Jiang

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The catalytic co-conversion of CO₂ and CH₄ to value-added compounds has become one of the promising approaches to addressing global climate change by having valuable fossil fuels. Thedirect co-conversion of CO₂ and CH₄ to value-added compounds is attractive but tremendously challenging because of both molecules' thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness. In the present study, a single iridium atom doped and a single oxygen atom defect hematite (110)surface model catalyst, which can comprehend direct C–O coupling based on simultaneous activation of CO2 and CH4 was studied using density functional theory plus U (DFT + U)calculations. The presence of dual active sites on the Ir/Fe₂O₃(110)-OV surface catalyst enablesCO₂ activation on the Ir site and CH₄ activation at the defect site. The electron analysis for the theco-adsorption of CO₂ and CH₄ deals with the electron redistribution on the surface and clearly shows the synergistic effect for simultaneous CO₂ and CH₄ activation on Ir/α- Fe₂O₃(110)-OVsurface. The microkinetic analysis shows that the dissociation of CH4 to CH3 * and H* plays an excellent role in the C–O coupling. The coverage analysis for the intermediate products of the microkinetic simulation results indicates that C–O coupling is the reaction limiting step. Finally, after the CH₃O* intermediate product species is produced, the radical hydrogen species spontaneously diffuse to the CH3O* intermediate product to form methanol at around 490 [K]. The present work provides mechanistic and kinetic insights into the direct C–O coupling of CO₂and CH₄, which could help design more-efficient catalysts.

Keywords: co-conversion, C–O coupling, doping, oxygen vacancy, microkinetic

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Authors: Jimin Yun, Yebeen Ji, Kwonhoo Kim

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Magnesium and Mg-Ag system alloys are known to be promising biomaterials due to their high specific strengths and biocompatibility. Because the limited numbers of slip systems were activated in the HCP structure at room temperature, their formability was low. To solve these problems, much research about the improvement of room-temperature formability has been studied, but the microstructure development behaviors of Mg-Ag alloys were still limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the texture development behaviors of Mg-Ag alloy during high-temperature plane strain deformation. The Ag content of the Mg-Ag alloy used in this study was 3.0, 5.0, and 9.0 wt%. Hot rolling was performed at a temperature of 673K with a reduction ratio of 25%, and these specimens were annealed for 1H at 773K, followed by water quenching at room temperature. High-temperature plane strain deformation was performed under temperatures of 623K and 723K, with strain rates from 0.1/s to 0.05/s and strain from -0.4 to –1.0. As a result, it showed a microstructure and texture similar to the AZ61 alloy, which had been studied previously. It was confirmed that the basal texture became stronger with increasing strains at high-temperature plane strain deformation.

Keywords: Mg-Ag, texture, microstructure development behavior, AZ61

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Authors: Veruska C. Dutra, Mary L. G. S. Senna

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The development of tourism is on the use of landscapes, natural or constructed, which involves a number of factors that contribute to the deterioration of nature. Tourist activity coupled with sustainable development has led to the emergence of many questions about these terms, since they are not well defined in this sense through literature searches. The present study was to analyze the main concepts and discussions involving sustainable tourism, providing reflections that can cause answers about one of the main questions in today's activity sector on whether its sustainability is a myth or reality. The methodology of this study is discussions, theoretical studies and bibliographic research. The results showed that the scholars who address the issue, often leave uncertainty about some discussions that demonstrate that there are still many studies to be conducted in order to prove that the claims so as to form the basis of what will be Tourism sustainable.

Keywords: tourism, sustainability, development, discussions

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Authors: Rupali Satsangi

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14 years ago, leaders from every country agreed on a vision for the future – a world with less poverty, hunger and disease, greater survival prospects for mothers and their infants, better educated children, equal opportunities for women, and a healthier environment; a world in which developed and developing countries work in partnership for the betterment of all. This vision took the shape of eight Millennium Development Goals, which provide countries around the world a framework for development and time-bound targets by which progress can be measured. However, India has found 35 of the indicators as relevant to India. India’s MDG-framework has been contextualized through a concordance with the existing official indicators of corresponding dimensions in the national statistical system. The present study based on secondary data analyzed the status of India towards achieving the MDGs after reviewing the data study find out that India can miss the MDGs Bus in women health, sanitation and global partnership. These goals were less addressed by India in his policies and takeoffs.

Keywords: millennium development goals, national statistical system, global partnership, healthier environment

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Authors: Deniss Rozkov, Hendrik Idema

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This paper researches the gender-based differences among US-American institutional investors regarding their preferences for sustainable development goals (SDGs) when investing. After employing a structured questionnaire as well as applying a choice-based conjoint analysis, it is found that female investors place significantly more emphasis on SDGs, especially in the social and ecological domain, exhibiting significantly stronger “other-regarding” characteristics compared to their male counterparts. Further, the results of the survey show that females show significantly higher risk aversion than males by selecting moderately conservative and moderate risk approaches.

Keywords: sustainable development goals, investing, socially responsible investor, gender, conjoint analysis

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Authors: Wenting Pan, Fang Chen

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The aim is to increase understanding of the potential effects of religion and economy development in East and Southeast Asia. Religion developed in the east, and southeast Asia is connected with community intensively, especially the activities by women. It could facilitate spiritual awakening in the community and economic empowerment. The theories were assessed by using survey information for Wenzhou which is the legendary city of Chinese economic development, measuring attendance at formal religious services, religious beliefs, and self-identification as religious. Wenzhou’s chamber of commerce is all over the world. Apart from large and small processing factories, Wenzhou is dotted with temples and Taoist temples. In the survey four of the control variables (size of temples, profitability, multiple densities, type of industry and so on) were significant issues to find a relationship between local people and the culture of local religion. What’s more, women should be taken into account seriously. This study has social economy implications for Wenzhou as well as a number of other countries in the East and Southeast Asia.

Keywords: East and Southeast Asia, economy development, Religion, Wenzhou

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Authors: Fatima Sohail, Faizan Iftikhar

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This paper studies the relationship between digital finance, renewable energy, and the economic development of Pakistan and least developed countries from 2000 to 2022. The paper used panel analysis and generalized method of moments Arellano-Bond approaches. The findings show that under the growth model, renewable energy (RE) has a strong and favorable link with fixed broadband and mobile subscribers. However, FB and MD have a strong but negative association with the uptake of renewable energy (RE) in the average and simple model. This paper provides valuable insights for policymakers, investors of the digital economy.

Keywords: digital finance, renewable energy, economic development, mobile subscription, fixed broadband

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Authors: Amedeo D'Angiulli, Kylie Schibli

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Traditionally, children’s brain development research has emphasized the limitative aspects of disability and impairment, electing as an explanatory model the classical clinical notions of brain lesion or functional deficit. In contrast, Positive Educational Neuroscience (PEN) is a new approach that emphasizes strengths and human flourishing related to the brain by exploring how learning practices have the potential to enhance neurocognitive flexibility through neuroplastic overcompensation. This mini-review provides an overview of PEN and shows how it links to the concept of neurocognitive flexibility. We provide examples of how the present concept of neurocognitive flexibility can be applied to special education by exploring examples of neuroplasticity in the learning domain, including: (1) learning to draw in congenitally totally blind children, and (2) music training in children from disadvantaged neighborhoods. PEN encourages educators to focus on children’s strengths by recognizing the brain’s capacity for positive change and to incorporate activities that support children’s individual development.

Keywords: neurocognitive development, positive educational neuroscience, sociocultural approach, special education

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Authors: Eyup Bayram Guzel, Osman Tunc

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People have been fairly interested in what technology offers to them around a scope of human necessities and it has become a part of human life. In this study, experimental studies were reviewed for the purpose of how technology helps language learners improve their phonemic awareness, reading comprehension and vocabulary development skills. As a conclusion, experimental studies demonstrated that students showed significant improvements up to 70% in phonological awareness, while they demonstrated up to 76% of improvements in reading comprehension and up to 77% in vocabulary development. The use of computer-assisted technologies and its positive outcomes were encouraged to be used more widely in order to meet the diverse needs of students.

Keywords: technology, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, vocabulary development

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Authors: Hassnen M. Jafer, W. Atherton, F. Ruddock, E. Loffil

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Waste materials or sometimes called by-product materials have been increasingly used as construction material to reduce the usage of cement in different construction projects. In the field of soil stabilisation, waste materials such as pulverised fuel ash (PFA), biomass fly ash (BFA), sewage sludge ash (SSA), etc., have been used since 1960s in last century. In this study, a particular type of a waste material (WM) was used in soft soil stabilisation as a cement replacement, as well as, the effect of mechanical activation, using grinding, on the performance of this WM was also investigated. The WM used in this study is a by-product resulted from the incineration processes between 1000 and 1200oc in domestic power generation plant using a fluidized bed combustion system. The stabilised soil in this study was an intermediate plasticity silty clayey soil with medium organic matter content. The experimental works were conducted first to find the optimum content of WM by carrying out Atterberg limits and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests on soil samples contained (0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15%) of WM by the dry weight of soil. The UCS test was carried out on specimens provided to different curing periods (zero, 7, 14, and 28 days). Moreover, the optimum percentage of the WM was subject to different periods of grinding (10, 20, 30, 40mins) using mortar and pestle grinder to find the effect of grinding and its optimum time by conducting UCS test. The results indicated that the WM used in this study improved the physical properties of the soft soil where the index of plasticity (IP) was decreased significantly from 21 to 13.10 with 15% of WM. Meanwhile, the results of UCS test indicated that 12% of WM was the optimum and this percentage developed the UCS value from 202kPa to 700kPa for 28 days cured samples. Along with the time of grinding, the results revealed that 10 minutes of grinding was the best for mechanical activation for the WM used in this study.

Keywords: soft soil stabilisation, waste materials, grinding, and unconfined compressive strength

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Authors: Jianghua Chen

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Sustainable urban development requires the coordination of economic growth and resource environment, and industrial transformation and upgrading is the key link. Based on the decoupling theory and the improved decoupling decomposition model, the quantitative evaluation and comprehensive analysis of the degree of decoupling between resource consumption and economic development in Jiangsu Province are carried out by utilizing the data related to resource consumption and economic growth of the secondary and tertiary industries in Jiangsu Province from 2013 to 2018, so as to explore the sustainable development path of industrial transformation in Jiangsu Province. The results show that from the decoupling status, the degree of decoupling of economic development of the secondary industry to the required coke resources, water resources and human resources is gradually deepening, and the decoupling index of economic development of the tertiary industry to the required water resources is fluctuating; from the perspective of the driving factors, the technological effect is the main driving factor for decoupling the economic growth of Jiangsu Province to the resources, and the structural effect has a significant impact on the driving index of the decoupling of economic growth of the secondary and tertiary industries to the consumption of resources in Jiangsu Province. In terms of driving factors, the technology effect is the main driving factor for economic growth in Jiangsu Province to realize decoupling of resources, while the structural effect is the main driving factor for economic growth in Jiangsu Province's second and third industries to realize decoupling of resources. Finally, we discuss the difficulties of industrial transformation and layout faced by Jiangsu Province at present.

Keywords: resource consumption, economic growth, industrial transformation, decoupling theory

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Authors: Salah Eddine Ben Fadhel

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Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) was one of the most significant psychologists of the twentieth century despite his short life. His cultural-historical theory is still inspiring many researchers today. At the same time, we observe in many studies a lack of understanding of his thoughts. Vygotsky poses in this theory the contribution of society to individual development and learning. Thus, it suggests that human learning is largely a social and cultural process, further mentioning the influence of interactions between people and the culture in which they live. In this presentation, we highlight, on the one hand, the strong points of the theory by highlighting the major questions it raises and its contribution to developmental psychology in general. On the other hand, we will demonstrate what Vygotsky's theory brings today to the understanding of the cognitive development of children and adolescents. The major objective is to better understand the cognitive mechanisms involved in the learning process in children and adolescents and, therefore, demonstrate the complex nature of psychological development. The main contribution is to provide conceptual insight, which allows us to better understand the importance of the theory and its major pedagogical implications.

Keywords: vygotsky, society, culture, history

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Authors: Xuran Zhang, Huiru Chen

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In recent years, China has made great efforts to cultivate and develop the housing rental market, especially the rental-type public housing, which has been paid attention to by all sectors of the society. This paper takes Hangzhou rental-type public housing as the research object, and divides it into three development stages according to the different supply modes of rental-type public housing. Through data collection and field research, the paper summarizes the spatial characteristics of rental-type public housing from the five perspectives of spatial planning, spatial layout, spatial integration, spatial organization and spatial configuration. On this basis, the paper proposes the optimization of the spatial layout. The study concludes that the spatial layout of rental-type public housing should be coordinated with the development of urban planning. When planning and constructing, it is necessary to select more mixed construction modes, to be properly centralized, and to improve the surrounding transportation service facilities.  It is hoped that the recommendations in this paper will provide a reference for the further development of rental-type public housing in Hangzhou.

Keywords: Hangzhou, rental-type public housing, spatial distribution, spatial optimization

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Authors: Jirarat Teeravaraprug, Tarathorn Podcharathitikull

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Nowadays, Ministry of Industry has given an attention to develop Eco-industrial towns in Thailand. Eco-industrial towns are a way of demonstrating the application of industrial ecology and are subjects of increased interest as government, business and society. This concept of Eco-industrial town is quite new in Thailand. It is used as a way of achieving more sustainable industrial development. However, many firms or organizations have misunderstood the concept and treated with suspicion. The planning and development of Eco-industrial towns is a significant challenge for the developers and public agencies. This research then gives an attempt to determine current problems of being Eco-Industrial towns and determine success factors for developing Eco-Industrial towns in Thailand. The research starts with giving knowledge about Eco-industrial towns to stakeholders and conducting public hearing in order to acquire the problems of being Eco-industrial towns. Then, factors effecting the development of Eco-Industrial town are collected. The obtained factors are analyzed by using the concept of IOC. Then, the remained factors are categorized and structured based on the concept of AHP. A questionnaire is constructed and distributed to the experts who are involved in the Eco-industrial town project. The result shows that the most significant success criterion is management teams of industrial parks or groups and the second most significant goes to governmental policies.

Keywords: AHP, Eco-Industrial town, success factors, Thailand

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Authors: Aidan N. Smallwood, Celestine R. Weegenaar, Jack N. Evans

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The intensive care unit (ICU) is a particularly resource heavy environment, in terms of staff, drugs and equipment required. Whilst many areas of the hospital are attempting to cut down on plastic use and minimise their impact on the environment, this has proven challenging within the confines of intensive care. Concurrently, as globalization has progressed over recent decades, there has been a tendency towards centralised manufacturing with international distribution networks for products, often covering large distances. In this study, we have modelled the standard consumption of plastic single-use items over the course of the first 24-hours of an average individual patient’s stay in a 12 bed ICU in the United Kingdom (UK). We have identified the country of manufacture and calculated the minimum possible distance travelled by each item from factory to patient. We have assumed direct transport via the shortest possible straight line from country of origin to the UK and have not accounted for transport within either country. Assuming an intubated patient with invasive haemodynamic monitoring and central venous access, there are a total of 52 distincts, largely plastic, disposable products which would reasonably be required in the first 24-hours after admission. Each product type has only been counted once to account for multiple items being shipped as one package. Travel distances from origin were summed to give the total distance combined for all 52 products. The minimum possible total distance travelled from country of origin to the UK for all types of product was 273,353 km, equivalent to 6.82 circumnavigations of the globe, or 71% of the way to the moon. The mean distance travelled was 5,256 km, approximately the distance from London to Mecca. With individual packaging for each item, the total weight of consumed products was 4.121 kg. The CO2 produced shipping these items by air freight would equate to 30.1 kg, however doing the same by sea would produce 0.2 kg CO2. Extrapolating these results to the 211,932 UK annual ICU admissions (2018-2019), even with the underestimates of distance and weight of our assumptions, air freight would account for 6586 tons CO2 emitted annually, approximately 130 times that of sea freight. Given the drive towards cost saving within the UK health service, and the decline of the local manufacturing industry, buying from intercontinental manufacturers is inevitable However, transporting all consumables by sea where feasible would be environmentally beneficial, as well as being less costly than air freight. At present, the NHS supply chain purchases from medical device companies, and there is no freely available information as to the transport mode used to deliver the product to the UK. This must be made available to purchasers in order to give a fuller picture of life cycle impact and allow for informed decision making in this regard.

Keywords: CO2, intensive care, plastic, transport

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Authors: Nompumelelo P. Mathebula, Roger A. Sheldon, Daniel P. Pienaar, Moira L. Bode

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The preparation of enantiopure Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) adducts remains a challenge in organic chemistry. MBH adducts are highly functionalised compounds which act as key intermediates in the preparation of compounds of medicinal importance. MBH adducts are prepared in racemic form by reacting various aldehydes and activated alkenes in the presence of DABCO. Enantiopure MBH adducts can be obtained by employing Enzymatic kinetic resolution (EKR). This technique has been successfully demonstrated in our group, amongst others, using lipases in either hydrolysis or transesterification reactions. As these methods only allow 50% of each enantiomer to be obtained, our interest grew in exploring other enzymatic methods for the synthesis of enantiopure MBH adducts where, theoretically, 100% of the desired enantiomer could be obtained.Dehydrogenase enzymes can be employed on prochiral substrates to obtain optically pure compounds by reducing carbon-carbon double bonds or carbonyl groups of ketones. Ketoreductases have been used historically to obtain enantiopure secondary alcohols on an industrial scale. Ketoreductases are NAD(P)H-dependent enzymes and thus require nicotinamide as a cofactor. This project focuses on employing ketoreductase enzymes to selectively reduce ketones derived from Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) adducts in order to obtain these adducts in enantiopure form.Results obtained from this study will be reported. Good enantioselectivity was observed using a range of different ketoreductases, however, reactions were complicated by the formation of an unexpected by-product, which was characterised employing single crystal x-ray crystallography techniques. Methods to minimise by-product formation are currently being investigated.

Keywords: ketoreductase, morita-baylis-hillman, selective reduction, x-ray crystallography

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Authors: A. B. Robert, Adam Pramadia, Calvin Andika

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The main purpose of this study is to explore consumer loyalty characteristic of mobile phone category in Indonesia. Second, this research attempts to identify consumer segment and to explore their profile in each segment as the basis of marketing strategy formulation. This study used some tools of multivariate analysis such as discriminant analysis and cluster analysis. Discriminate analysis used to discriminate consumer loyal and not loyal by using particular variables. Cluster analysis used to reveal various segment in mobile phone category. In addition to having better customer understanding in each segment, this study used descriptive analysis and cross tab analysis in each segment defined by cluster analysis. This study expected several findings. First, consumer can be divided into two large group of loyal versus not loyal by set of variables. Second, this study identifies customer segment in mobile phone category. Third, exploring customer profile in each segment that has been identified. This study answer a call for additional empirical research into different product categories. Therefore, a replication research is advisable. By knowing the customer loyalty characteristic, and deep analysis of their consumption behavior and profile for each segment, this study is very advisable for high impact marketing strategy development. This study contributes body of knowledge by adding empirical study of consumer loyalty, segmentation analysis in mobile phone category by multiple brand analysis.

Keywords: customer loyalty, segmentation, marketing strategy, discriminant analysis, cluster analysis, mobile phone

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Authors: Mazifah Simis, Azahan Awang, Kadir Arifin

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The brownfield regeneration is being implemented in developped countries. However, as a group 1 developing country in the South East Asia, the rapid development and increasing number of urban population in Malaysia have urged the needs to incorporate the brownfield regeneration into its physical planning development. The increasing number of urban ex-landfills is seen as a new resource that could overcome the issues of inadequate urban green space provisions. With regards to the new development approach in urban planning, this perception study aims to identify the sustainable planning approach based on what the stakeholders have in mind. Respondents consist of 375 local communities within four urban ex-landfill areas and 61 landscape architect and town planner officers in the Malaysian Local Authorities. Three main objectives are set to be achieved, which are (i) to identify ex-landfill issues that need to be overcome prior to the ex-landfill redevelopment (ii) to identify the most suitable types of ex-landfill redevelopment, and (iii) to identify the priority function for ex-landfill redevelopment as the public parks. From the data gathered through the survey method, the order of priorities based on stakeholders' perception was produced. The results show different perception among the stakeholders, but they agreed to the development of the public park as the main development. Hence, this study attempts to produce an integrated approach as a model for sustainable ex-landfill redevelopment that could be accepted by the stakeholders as a beneficial future development that could change the image of 296 ex-landfills in Malaysia into the urban public parks by the year 2020.

Keywords: brownfield regeneration, ex-landfill redevelopment, integrated approach, stakeholders' perception

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Authors: Aishwarya Rai

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This study explores the transformative influence of generative AI on startups, businesses, and industries. We will explore how large businesses can benefit in the area of customer operations, where AI-powered chatbots can improve self-service and agent effectiveness, greatly increasing efficiency. In marketing and sales, generative AI could transform businesses by automating content development, data utilization, and personalization, resulting in a substantial increase in marketing and sales productivity. In software engineering-focused startups, generative AI can streamline activities, significantly impacting coding processes and work experiences. It can be extremely useful in product R&D for market analysis, virtual design, simulations, and test preparation, altering old workflows and increasing efficiency. Zooming into the retail and CPG industry, industry findings suggest a 1-2% increase in annual revenues, equating to $400 billion to $660 billion. By automating customer service, marketing, sales, and supply chain management, generative AI can streamline operations, optimizing personalized offerings and presenting itself as a disruptive force. While celebrating economic potential, we acknowledge challenges like external inference and adversarial attacks. Human involvement remains crucial for quality control and security in the era of generative AI-driven transformative innovation. This talk provides a comprehensive exploration of generative AI's pivotal role in reshaping businesses, recognizing its strategic impact on customer interactions, productivity, and operational efficiency.

Keywords: generative AI, digital transformation, LLM, artificial intelligence, startups, businesses

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Authors: Jiri Nepereny, Vladimir Vrzal

Abstract:

Staphylococcus intermedius/pseudintermedius bacteria are commonly found on the skin of healthy dogs and can cause pruritic skin diseases under certain circumstances (trauma, allergy, immunodeficiency, ectoparasitosis, endocrinological diseases, glucocorticoid therapy, etc.). These can develop into complicated superficial or deep pyoderma, which represent a large group of problematic skin diseases in dogs. These are predominantly inflammations of a secondary nature, associated with the occurrence of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus spp. A major problem is increased itching, which greatly complicates the healing process. The aim of this work is to verify the efficacy of the developed preparation Bacteriophage SI (Staphylococcus intermedius). The tested preparation contains a lysate of bacterial cells of S. intermedius host culture including culture medium and live virions of specific phage. Sodium Merthiolate is added as a preservative in a safe concentration. Validation of the efficacy of the product was demonstrated by monitoring the therapeutic effect after application to indicated cases from clinical practice. The indication for inclusion of the patient into the trial was an adequate history and clinical examination accompanied by sample collection for bacteriological examination and isolation of the specific causative agent. Isolate identification was performed by API BioMérieux identification system (API ID 32 STAPH) and rep-PCR typing. The suitability of therapy for a specific case was confirmed by in vitro testing of the lytic ability of the bacteriophage to lyse the specific isolate = formation of specific plaques on the culture isolate on the surface of the solid culture medium. So far, a total of 32 dogs of different sexes, ages and breed affiliations with different symptoms of staphylococcal dermatitis have been included in the testing. Their previous therapy consisted of more or less successful systemic or local application of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The presence of S. intermedius/pseudintermedius has been demonstrated in 26 cases. The isolates were identified as a S. pseudintermedius, in all cases. Contaminant bacterial microflora was always present in the examined samples. The test product was applied subcutaneously in gradually increasing doses over a period of 1 month. After improvement in health status, maintenance therapy was followed by application of the product once a week for 3 months. Adverse effects associated with the administration of the product (swelling at the site of application) occurred in only 2 cases. In all cases, there was a significant reduction in clinical signs (healing of skin lesions and reduction of inflammation) after therapy and an improvement in the well-being of the treated animals. A major problem in the treatment of pyoderma is the frequent resistance of the causative agents to antibiotics, especially the increasing frequency of multidrug-resistant and methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) strains. Specific phagolysate using for the therapy of these diseases could solve this problem and to some extent replace or reduce the use of antibiotics, whose frequent and widespread application often leads to the emergence of resistance. The advantage of the therapeutic use of bacteriophages is their bactericidal effect, high specificity and safety. This work was supported by Project FV40213 from Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czech Republic.

Keywords: bacteriophage, pyoderma, staphylococcus spp, therapy

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Authors: Babatunde Joel Todowede

Abstract:

The challenges of nation building and sustainable development have continued to feature prominently in the general reckoning of problems of underdevelopment in the developing countries of the world. Thus, since the attainment of political independence from the British colonial administration in 1960, one of the critical thrusts of central governance in Nigeria has been the particular policy attention of the educational sector. Of course, education is perceived as the logical bridge between the two contrasting worlds of underdevelopment and development, hence, its fundamental importance. The various public policies and practices associated with the Nigerian educational sector are specifically elaborated and critically assessed in this paper. In the final analysis, it is concluded that the educational sector should be better configured and managed in ways that the wider challenges of nation-building and sustainable development are effectively tractable.

Keywords: Nigeria education, educational need, educational plans and policies, educational challenges, corrective measures, emerging economy

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Authors: Enojo Kennie Enojo

Abstract:

The paper focuses on the contradictions of economic growth and development in Nigeria with specific reference to the plethora issues and challenges associated with the sordid situation. The broad objective is to investigate the major causes of agitation for restructuring the entire political spectrum that promote and guarantee economic growth and development with empirical intellectual standpoint. The specific aim is to surgically examine the organic linkage between weaker institutions, lack of vibrant civil society, poor governance and the agitation for restructuring. The paper adopts the secondary source of data collection as its methodological strategy. Our findings reveals that most urban and rural dwellers where goods and services are either extracted, produced, or manufactured lack infrastructural facilities, preventing economic growth and development, which has been the consequence of poverty, inequality and unemployment. There is equally the issue of disconnection of the political class from the electorate, this is evident in lack of political power base not located in the society but rather with either the elites or godfathers this and many factors are responsible for flawed electoral system from 1999 to 2023 general elections. These egregious factors and others have resulted in the subscription of religion and ethnicity thereby the devaluation of national norms, identities and values. We adopt the combination of structural-functional approach, relative deprivation; rising expectation, frustration and aggression model to enable us critically interrogate these contradictions as subterfuge with both the centrifugal and centripetal forces constantly in fatality. We recommend among others that, there should be development across the federating units without prejudice.

Keywords: restructuring, infrastructure, economic development, governance

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