Search results for: infrastructure management

Authors: G. Ramya

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Value engineering is a systematic approach, widely used to optimize the design or process or product in the designing stage. It used to achieve the client's obligation by increasing the functionality and attain the targeted cost in the cost planning. Value engineering effectiveness and benefits decrease along with the progress of the project since the change in the scope of the work and design will account for more cost all along the lifecycle of the project. Integrating the value engineering with other project management activities will promote cost minimization, client satisfaction, and ensure early completion of the project in time. Previous research studies suggested that value engineering can integrate with other project delivery activities, but research studies unable to frame a model that collaborates the project management activities with the job plan of value engineering approach. I analyzed various project management activities and their synergy between each other. The project management activities and processes like a)risk analysis b)lifecycle cost analysis c)lean construction d)facility management e)Building information modelling f)Contract administration, collaborated, and project delivery model planned along with the RIBA plan of work. The key outcome of the research is a value-driven project delivery model, which will succeed in dealing with the economic impact, constraints and conflicts arise due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian construction sector. Benefits associated with the structured framework is construction project delivery that ensures early contractor involvement, mutual risk sharing, and reviving the project with a cost overrun and delay back on track ,are discussed. Keywords: Value-driven project delivery model, Integration, RIBA plan of work Themes: Design Economics

Keywords: value-driven project delivery model, Integration, RIBA

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Authors: Emma Pope, Demos Parapanos

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Rural tourism has become more obvious and prevalent, with tourists’ increasingly seeking authentic experiences. This movement accelerated post-Covid, putting destinations in danger of reaching levels of saturation called ‘overtourism’. Whereas the phenomenon of overtourism has been frequently discussed in the urban context by academics and practitioners over recent years, it has hardly been referred to in the context of rural tourism, where perhaps it is even more difficult to manage. Rural tourism was historically considered small-scale, marked by its traditional character and by having little impact on nature and rural society. The increasing number of rural areas experiencing overtourism, however, demonstrates the need for new approaches, especially as the impacts and enablers of overtourism are context specific. Cumbria, with approximately 47 million visitors each year, and 23,000 operational enterprises, is one of these rural areas experiencing overtourism in the UK. Using the county of Cumbria as an example, this paper aims to explore better planning and management in rural destinations by clustering the area into rural and ‘urban-rural’ tourism zones. To achieve the aim, this study uses secondary data from a variety of sources to identify variables relating to visitor economy development and demand. These data include census data relating to population and employment, tourism industry-specific data including tourism revenue, visitor activities, and accommodation stock, and big data sources such as Trip Advisor and All Trails. The combination of these data sources provides a breadth of tourism-related variables. The subsequent analysis of this data draws upon various validated models. For example, tourism and hospitality employment density, territorial tourism pressure, and accommodation density. In addition to these statistical calculations, other data are utilized to further understand the context of these zones, for example, tourist services, attractions, and activities. The data was imported into ARCGIS where the density of the different variables is visualized on maps. This study aims to provide an understanding of the geographical context of visitor economy development and tourist behavior in rural areas. The findings contribute to an understanding of the spatial dynamics of tourism within the region of Cumbria through the creation of thematized maps. Different zones of tourism industry clusters are identified, which include elements relating to attractions, enterprises, infrastructure, tourism employment and economic impact. These maps visualize hot and cold spots relating to a variety of tourism contexts. It is believed that the strategy used to provide a visual overview of tourism development and demand in Cumbria could provide a strategic tool for rural areas to better plan marketing opportunities and avoid overtourism. These findings can inform future sustainability policy and destination management strategies within the areas through an understanding of the processes behind the emergence of both hot and cold spots. It may mean that attract and disperse needs to be reviewed in terms of a strategic option. In other words, to use sector or zonal policies for the individual hot or cold areas with transitional zones dependent upon local economic, social and environmental factors.

Keywords: overtourism, rural tourism, sustainable tourism, tourism planning, tourism zones

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Authors: F. Gökgöz, M. E. Atmaca

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Electricity has an indispensable role in human daily life, technological development and economy. It is a special product or service that should be instantaneously generated and consumed. Sources of the world are limited so that effective and efficient use of them is very important not only for human life and environment but also for technological and economic development. Competitive electricity market is one of the important way that provides suitable platform for effective and efficient use of electricity. Besides benefits, it brings along some risks that should be carefully managed by a market player like Electricity Generation Company. Risk management is an essential part in market players’ decision making. In this paper, risk management through diversification is applied with the help of Value at Risk methods for case studies. Performance of optimal electricity sale solutions are measured and the portfolio performance has been evaluated via Sharpe-Ratio, and compared with conventional approach. Biennial historical electricity price data of Turkish Day Ahead Market are used to demonstrate the approach.

Keywords: electricity market, portfolio optimization, risk management, value at risk

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Authors: R. Naveen, E. Vanitha, S. Gayathri

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The use of Sandwich composite materials in aerospace and civil infrastructure application has been increasing especially due to their enormously low weight that leads to a reduction in the total weight and fuel consumption, high flexural and transverse shear stiffness, and corrosion resistance. The essential properties of sandwich materials vary according to the application area of the structure. The objectives of this study are to identify the mechanical behaviour and failure mechanisms of sandwich structures made of bamboo, V- board and metal (Aluminium as face sheet and Foam as Core material). The three-point bending test and UTM (Universal testing machine) experimental tests are done for three specimens for each type of sandwich composites. From the experiment results of three sandwich composites, bamboo shows high Young’s modulus of elasticity and low density.

Keywords: bamboo sandwich composite, metal sandwich composite, sandwich composite, v-board sandwich composite

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Authors: Rigved Chandrashekhar Nimkhedkar, Rajat Agrawal, Vinay Sharma

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Architects need help with a demand for an expanded skill set to effectively navigate a landscape of evolving opportunities and challenges in the dynamic realm of the architectural profession. This literature and survey-based study investigates the reasons behind architects’ choices of careers, as well as the effects of the evolving architectural scenario. The traditional role of architects in construction projects evolves as they explore diverse career motivations, face financial constraints due to an oversupply of professionals, and experience specialisation and upskilling trends. Architects inherently derive numerous value chains as more and more disciplines have been introduced into the design-construction-operation supply chain. This insight emphasizes the importance of integrating management and entrepreneurial education into architectural education rather than keeping them separate entities. The study reveals the complex nature of the entrepreneurially challenging architectural profession, including cash flow management, market competition, environmental sustainability, and innovation opportunities. Loyal to their professional identity, architects express dissatisfaction while envisioning a future in which they play a more significant role in shaping reputable brands and contributing to education. The study emphasizes the importance of dovetailing management and entrepreneurial education in architecture education in preparing graduates for the industry’s changing nature, emphasising the need for real-world skills. This research contributes insights into the architectural profession’s transformative trajectory, emphasising adaptability, upskilling, and educational enhancements as critical success factors.

Keywords: architects, career path, education, management, specialisation

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Authors: Da-Hye Jang, Woo-Jeong Cho

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Marine leisure tourism contributes greatly to the national economy in which the sea is located nearby and many countries are using marine tourism to create value added. The interest and investment of government and local governments on marine leisure tourism growing as a major trend of marine tourism is steadily increasing. But indiscriminate investment in marine leisure tourism such as duplicated business wastes limited resources. In other words, government and local governments need to select and concentrate on the goal they pursue by drawing priority on maritime leisure tourism policies. The purpose of this study is to analyze development strategies on supplier for marine leisure tourism and thus provide a comprehensive and rational framework for developing marine leisure tourism. In order to achieve the purpose, this study is to analyze priorities for each evaluation criterion of marine leisure tourism development policies using Analytic Hierarchy Process. In this study, a questionnaire was used as the survey tool and was developed based on the previous studies, government report, regional report, related thesis and literature for marine leisure tourism. The questionnaire was constructed by verifying the validity of contents from the expert group related to marine leisure tourism after conducting the first and second preliminary surveys. The AHP survey was conducted to experts (university professors, researchers, field specialists and related public officials) from April 6, 2018 to April 30, 2018 by visiting in person or e-mail. This study distributed 123 questionnaires and 68 valid questionnaires were used for data analysis. As a result, 4 factors with 12 detail strategies were analyzed using Excel. Extracted factors of development strategies of marine leisure tourism are consist of 4 factors such as infrastructure, popularization, law & system improvement and advancement. In conclusion, the results of the pairwise comparison of the four major factor on the first class were infrastructure, popularization, law & system improvement and advancement in order. Second, marine water front space maintenance had higher priority than marina facilities expansion and the establishment of marine leisure education center. Third, marine leisure safety·culture improvement had higher priority than strengthening experience·education program and the upkeep and open promotion event. Fourth, specialization·cluster of marine leisure tourism had higher priority than business support system of marine leisure tourism. Fifth, the revision of water-related leisure activities safety act had higher priority than an enactment of marine tourism promotion act and the foster of marina service industry. Finally, marine water front space maintenance was the most important development plan to boost marine leisure tourism.

Keywords: marine leisure tourism, marine leisure, marine tourism, analytic hierarchy process

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Authors: Ratri Werdiningtyas, Yongping Wei, Andrew Western

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The status quo of social-ecological systems is the results of not only natural processes but also the accumulated consequence of policies applied in the past. Often water management objectives are challenging and are only achieved to a limited degree on the ground. In choosing water management approaches, it is important to account for current conditions and important differences due to varied histories. Since the mid-nineteenth century, Victorian water management has evolved through a series of policy regime shifts. The main goal of this research to explore and identify the stages of the evolution of the water policy instruments as practiced in Victoria from 1890-2016. This comparative historical analysis has identified four stages in Victorian policy instrument development. In the first stage, the creation of policy instruments aimed to match the demand and supply of the resource (reserve condition). The second stage begins after natural system alone failed to balance supply and demand. The focus of the policy instrument shifted to an authority perspective in this stage. Later, the increasing number of actors interested in water led to another change in policy instrument. The third stage focused on the significant role of information from different relevant actors. The fourth and current stage is the most advanced, in that it involved the creation of a policy instrument for synergizing the previous three focal factors: reserve, authority, and information. When considering policy in other jurisdiction, these findings suggest that a key priority should be to reflect on the jurisdictions current position among these four evolutionary stages and try to make improve progressively rather than directly adopting approaches from elsewhere without understanding the current position.

Keywords: policy instrument, policy transformation, socio-ecolgical system, water management

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Authors: Temiloluwa J. Akinyemi, Denis W. Aheto, Wisdom Akpalu

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Capture fisheries in developing countries provide significant animal protein and directly supports the livelihoods of several communities. However, the misperception of biophysical dynamics owing to a lack of adequate scientific data has contributed to the suboptimal management in marine capture fisheries. This is because yield and catch potentials are sensitive to the quality of catch and effort data. Yet, studies on fisheries data collection practices in developing countries are hard to find. This study investigates the data collection methods utilized by fisheries technical officers within the four fishing regions of Ghana. We found that the officers employed data collection and sampling procedures which were not consistent with the technical guidelines curated by FAO. For example, 50 instead of 166 landing sites were sampled, while 290 instead of 372 canoes were sampled. We argue that such sampling errors could result in the over-capitalization of capture fish stocks and significant losses in resource rents.

Keywords: Fisheries data quality, fisheries management, Ghana, Sustainable Fisheries

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Authors: Nomcebo N. Mpili, Cynthia Z. Madlabana

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The South African Primary Health Care (PHC) system has undergone a number of transformations such as the introduction of National Health Insurance (NHI) to bring about easily accessible universal health coverage and to meet the health needs for all its citizens. This provides ongoing challenges to ensure that health workers are equipped with appropriate knowledge, support, and skills to meet these changes. Therefore it is crucial to understand the experiences and challenges of nurses as the backbone of PHC in providing quality healthcare services. In addition there has been a need to understand nurses’ experiences with management support, role ambiguity and role conflict amongst other challenges in light of the current reforms in healthcare. Indeed these constructs are notorious for having a detrimental impact on the outcomes of change initiatives within any organisation, this is no different in healthcare. This draws a discussion on professional nurses within the South African health care system especially since they have been labelled as the backbone of PHC, meaning any healthcare backlog falls on them. The study made use of semi-structured interviews and adopted the interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) as the researcher aimed to explore the lived experiences of (n= 18) participants. The study discovered that professional nurses experienced a lack of management support within PHC facilities and that management mainly played an administrative and disciplinary role. Although participants mainly held positive perceptions with regards to changes happening in health care however they also expressed negative experiences in terms of how change initiatives were introduced resulting in role conflict and role ambiguity. Participants mentioned a shortage of staff, inadequate training as well as a lack of management support as some of the key challenges faced in facilities. This study offers unique findings as participants have not only experienced the various reforms within the PHC system however they have also been part of NHI pilot. The authors are not aware of any other studies published that examine management support, role conflict and role ambiguity together especially in South African PHC facilities. In conclusion understanding these challenges may provide insight and opportunities available to improve the current landscape of PHC not only in South Africa but internationally.

Keywords: management support, professional nurse, role ambiguity, role conflict

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Authors: Joshua Chew, Vesa Cheng, David Thomson

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Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) or C1 esterase deficiency is a relatively rare entity that has a potential for significant anesthetic complications. Methods: A literature review was performed of published cases of surgery in patients with HAE. Results were limited to English language only and cases were examined for management strategies and successful prevention of acute attacks. Results: The literature revealed the successful use of C1 esterase inhibitors as the most common agent in surgical prophylaxis therapy. Other therapeutic targets described included kallikrein inhibitors and bradykinin B2 receptor antagonists. Conclusions: Therapeutic targets that exist for the management of acute attacks in HAE have been successfully employed in the setting of surgery. The data is currently limited and could not be used as a firm evidence base, but the limited outcomes seen are positive and reassuring for the prospective anesthetic management of this potentially fatal condition.

Keywords: anesthesia, C1 esterase deficiency, hereditary angioedema, surgical prophylaxis

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Authors: Ismatilla Mardanov

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There are three types of countries, the first of which is willing to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in enormous amounts and do whatever it takes to make this happen. Therefore, FDI pours into such countries. In the second cluster of countries, even if the country is suffering tremendously from the shortage of investments, the governments are hesitant to attract investments because they are at the hands of local oligarchs/cartels. Therefore, FDI inflows are moderate to low in such countries. The third type is countries whose companies prefer investing in the most efficient locations globally and are hesitant to invest in the homeland. Sorting countries into such clusters, the present study examines the essential institutions and economic factors that make these countries different. Past literature has discussed various determinants of FDI in all kinds of countries. However, it did not classify countries based on government motivation, institutional setup, and economic factors. A specific approach to each target country is vital for corporate foreign direct investment risk analysis and decisions. The research questions are 1. What specific institutional and economic factors paint the pictures of the three clusters; 2. What specific institutional and economic factors are determinants of FDI; 3. Which of the determinants are endogenous and exogenous variables? 4. How can institutions and economic and political variables impact corporate investment decisions Hypothesis 1: In the first type, country institutions and economic factors will be favorable for FDI. Hypothesis 2: In the second type, even if country economic factors favor FDI, institutions will not. Hypothesis 3: In the third type, even if country institutions favorFDI, economic factors will not favor domestic investments. Therefore, FDI outflows occur in large amounts. Methods: Data come from open sources of the World Bank, the Fraser Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and other reliable sources. The dependent variable is FDI inflows. The independent variables are institutions (economic and political freedom indices) and economic factors (natural, material, and labor resources, government consumption, infrastructure, minimum wage, education, unemployment, tax rates, consumer price index, inflation, and others), the endogeneity or exogeneity of which are tested in the instrumental variable estimation. Political rights and civil liberties are used as instrumental variables. Results indicate that in the first type, both country institutions and economic factors, specifically labor and logistics/infrastructure/energy intensity, are favorable for potential investors. In the second category of countries, the risk of loss of assets is very high due to governmentshijacked by local oligarchs/cartels/special interest groups. In the third category of countries, the local economic factors are unfavorable for domestic investment even if the institutions are well acceptable. Cluster analysis and instrumental variable estimation were used to reveal cause-effect patterns in each of the clusters.

Keywords: foreign direct investment, economy, institutions, instrumental variable estimation

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Authors: Raed Fawzi Mohammed Ameen, Haider I. Alyasari, Maryam Altaweel

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Due to rapid urbanization, developing countries faced significant urban challenges that accompanied the population growth such as the inability to provide adequate housing; sustain human and community's health and wellbeing; ensure the safety in urban areas; the prevalence corruption; lack of jobs; and a shortage of investment. The destruction, degradation, and lack of planning are acute in countries such as Iraq that have suffered for more than four decades because of war and international sanctions, resulting in severe damages to the ecology sector, social utilities, housing, infrastructure, as well as the disruption of the economic sector. Many of significant urban development, housing, and regeneration projects are currently underway in different regions in Iraq, labelled as a means to reform the environmental, social, and economic sectors. However, most often with absence of public participation. Hence, there is an urgent need for understanding public perception, especially of urban socio-economic challenges, which represents a crucial concern for many planners, designers, and policy-makers in order to develop effective policies in addition to increasing their participation. The aim of this study is to investigate stakeholder perceptions of the socio-economic challenges of urban development and their priorities in the all Iraqi provinces. A nationwide questionnaire has been conducted (N = 643) across Iraq, using 19- item structured questionnaire where the stakeholder’s perspectives were collected on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The indicators were identified through deep investigation in previous studies. Principal component analysis (PCA) and statistical tests were utilized to the collected responses in order to investigate the linkage between the perceptions of socio- economic challenges and demographic factors. A high value of internal consistency and reliability of the instrument has been achieved (Cronbach’s alpha= 0.867). Five principal components have been identified, namely: economic, cultural aspects, design context, employment, security and housing demands. The item ‘safety of public places' was ranked as the most important, followed by the items 'minimize unplanned housing', and ‘provision of affordable housing’, respectively. Promote high-rise housing from the housing demands group, was ranked the lowest component between all indicators. 'Using sustainable local materials in construction' item had the second lowest mean score. The results also illustrate a link between deficiencies in the social and economic infrastructure because of the destruction and degradation caused by political instability in Iraq in the last few decades.

Keywords: public participation in development, socio-economic challenges, urban development, urban sustainability

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Authors: Dhruba Khatri

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Despite the short history of community based forest management, the community forestry program of Nepal has produced substantial positive effects to organize the local people at a local level institution called Community Forest User Group and manage the local forest resources in the line of poverty reduction since its inception in 1970s. Moreover, each CFUG has collected a community fund from the sale of forest products and non-forestry sources as well and the fund has played a vital role to improve the livelihood of user households living in and around the forests. The specific study sites were selected based on the criteria of i) community forests having dominancy of Sal forests, and ii) forests having 3-5 years experience of community forest management. The price rates of forest products fixed by the CFUGs and the distribution records were collected from the respective community forests. Nonetheless, the relation between pricing strategy and community fund collection revealed that the small change in price of forest products could greatly affect in community fund collection and carry out of forest management, community development, and income generation activities in the line of poverty reduction at local level.

Keywords: benefit sharing, community forest, equitable, Nepal

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Authors: Dieudonne Uwizeye

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Introduction: Diarrhoea is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among communities living in urban informal settlements of developing countries. It is assumed that mountainous environment introduces variations of the burden among residents of the same settlements. Design and Objective: A cross-sectional study was done in Kigali to explore the effect of mountainous informal settlements on diarrhoea risk variations. Data were collected among 1,152 households through household survey and transect walk to observe the status of sanitation. The outcome variable was the incidence of diarrhoea among household members of any age. The study used the most knowledgeable person in the household as the main respondent. Mostly this was the woman of the house as she was more likely to know the health status of every household member as she plays various roles: mother, wife, and head of the household among others. The analysis used cross tabulation and logistic regression analysis. Results: Results suggest that risks for diarrhoea vary depending on home location in the settlements. Diarrhoea risk increased as the distance from the road increased. The results of the logistic regression analysis indicate the adjusted odds ratio of 2.97 with 95% confidence interval being 1.35-6.55 and 3.50 adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval being 1.61-7.60 in level two and three respectively compared with level one. The status of sanitation within and around homes was also significantly associated with the increase of diarrhoea. Equally, it is indicated that stable households were less likely to have diarrhoea. The logistic regression analysis indicated the adjusted odds ratio of 0.45 with 95% confidence interval being 0.25-0.81. However, the study did not find evidence for a significant association between diarrhoea risks and household socioeconomic status in the multivariable model. It is assumed that environmental factors in mountainous settings prevailed. Households using the available public water sources were more likely to have diarrhoea in their households. Recommendation: The study recommends the provision and extension of infrastructure for improved water, drainage, sanitation and wastes management facilities. Equally, studies should be done to identify the level of contamination and potential origin of contaminants for water sources in the valleys to adequately control the risks for diarrhoea in mountainous urban settings.

Keywords: urbanisation, diarrhoea risk, mountainous environment, urban informal settlements in Rwanda

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Authors: Rajiv Ratan Singh, Sachin Kumar Tripathi, Pradeep Kumar Yadav

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The timely evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of people who have been exposed to toxic chemicals is a crucial component of emergency poison management in the medical field. The various substances that can poison include chemicals, medications, and naturally occurring poisons. The toxicology of the particular drug involved, as well as the symptoms and indicators of poisoning, must be thoroughly understood to handle poisoning emergencies effectively. One of the most important aspects of emergency poison management in medicine is the prompt examination, diagnosis, and treatment of persons who have been exposed to dangerous substances. To properly manage poisoning crises, one must have a good understanding of the toxicology of the particular medication concerned, as well as the signs and indicators of poisoning. Emergency management of poisoning includes not only prompt medical attention but also patient education, follow-up care, and monitoring for any long-term consequences. To achieve the greatest results for patients, the management of poisoning is a complicated and dynamic process that calls for collaboration between medical professionals, first responders, and toxicologists. All poisoned patients who present to the emergency room are assessed and diagnosed based on a collection of symptoms and a biochemical diagnosis, and they are then provided targeted, specialized treatment for the toxin identified. This article focuses on the loxodromic strategy as the primary method of treatment for poisoned patients. The authors of this article conclude that mortality and morbidity can be reduced if patients visit the emergency room promptly and receive targeted treatment.

Keywords: antidotes, blood poisoning, emergency medicine, gastric lavage, medico-legal aspects, patient care

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Authors: Nnadi Ezekiel Ejiofor

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The construction industry plays a decisive role in the healthy development of any nation. Not only large but even small construction projects contribute to a country’s economic growth. There is a need for good management to ensure successful delivery and sustainability because of the plethora of risks that have resulted in low-profit margins for contractors, cost and schedule overruns, poor quality delivery, and abandoned projects. This research reviewed Capitalization on Sustainable Risk Management. Questionnaires and oral interviews conducted were utilized as means of data collection. One hundred and ninety-eight (198) large construction firms in Nigeria form the population of this study. 15 (fifteen) companies that emanated from merger and acquisition were used for the study. The instruments used for data collection were a researcher-developed structured questionnaire based on a five-point rating scale, interviews, focus group discussion, and secondary sources (bill of quantities and stock and exchange commission). The instrument was validated by two experts in the field. The reliability of the instrument was established by applying the split-half method. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to test the data, and a degree of agreement was obtained. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics and analyzed using analysis of variance, t-test, and SPSS. The identified impacts of capitalization were an increase in turnover (24.5%), improvement in the image (24.5%), risk reduction (20%), business expansion (17.3%), and geographical spread (13.6%). The study strongly advocates the inclusion of risk management evaluation as part of the construction procurement process.

Keywords: capitalization, project delivery, risks, risk management, sustainability

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Authors: Mimi My Tse

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The prevalence of chronic non-cancer pain is high among community-dwelling older adults. Pain affects physical and psychosocial abilities. Older adults tend to be less mobile and have a high tendency to fall risk. In addition, older adults with pain are depressed, anxious, and not too willing to join social activities. This will make them feel very lonely and social isolation. Instead of giving pain management education and programs to older adults/clients, both older adults and their caregivers, it is sad to find that the majority of existing services are given to older adults only. Given the importance of family members in increasing compliance with health-promoting programs, we proposed to offer pain management programs to both older adults with his/her caregiver as a “dyad.” We used the Health Promotion Model and implemented a dyadic pain management program (DPM). The DPM is an 8-week group-based program. The DPM comprises 4 weeks of center-based, face-to-face activities and 4 weeks of digital-based activities delivered via a WhatsApp group. There were 30 dyads (15 in the experimental group with DPM and 15 in the control group with pain education pamphlets). Upon the completion of DPM, pain intensity and pain interference were significantly lower in the intervention group as compared to the control group. At the same time, physical function showed significant improvement and lower depression scores in the intervention group. In conclusion, the study highlights the potential benefits of involving caregivers in the management of chronic pain for older adults. This approach should be widely promoted in managing chronic pain situations for community-dwelling older adults and their caregivers.

Keywords: pain, older adults, dyadic approach, education

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Authors: Hualter Oliveira Barbosa, Raquel Feitosa do Vale Cunha, Erika Muniz dos Santos, Fernanda Belmira Souza, Fabio Sousa, Luis Henrique Pascareli, Franciney de Oliveira Lima, Ana Cláudia Reis da Silva, Christiane Moreira de Almeida

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Software development is intrinsic human-based knowledge-intensive. Due to globalization, software development has become a complex challenge and we usually face barriers related to knowledge management, team building, costly testing processes, especially in distributed settings. For this reason, several approaches have been proposed to minimize barriers caused by geographic distance. In this paper, we present as we use experimental studies to improve our knowledge management process using the Wiki system. According to the results, it was possible to identify learning preferences from our software projects leader team, organize and improve the learning experience of our Wiki and; facilitate collaboration by newcomers to improve Wiki with new contents available in the Wiki.

Keywords: mobile product, knowledge transfer, knowledge management process, wiki, GSD

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Authors: Marianys Fernandez

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Gastronomic experiences generate a positive impact on the dynamization of the economy when they are managed in a sustainable manner, given that they value the identity of the destination, strengthen cooperation between stakeholders in the sector, contribute to the preservation of gastronomic heritage, and encourage the implementation of competitive and sustainable public policies. Having as its main aim the analysis of sustainable management of gastronomic experiences, this study analyses different elements associated with the promotion of the local economy. For this purpose, a systematic literature review was carried out to identify, select, synthesise, and evaluate the studies that respond to the research objectives in order to select more reliable articles for research and reduce the potential for bias within the review of literature. To obtain reliable, updated and relevant sources for scientific research, the Web of Science and Scopus databases were used, taking into account the following key words: (1) experiential tourism, (2) gastronomy experience, (3) sustainable destination management, (4) sustainable gastronomy, (5) sustainable economy, in which we obtained a final list of 76 articles. The analysis of the literature allowed us to identify the most pertinent elements referring to the objective of the study: (a) need for competitive policies in the gastronomic sector to promote sustainable local economic development, (b) incentive for cooperation between stakeholders in the gastronomic sector, to guarantee the competitiveness of the destination, (c) propose sustainable standards in the gastronomic tourism sector that link the local economy. Gastronomic experiences constitute a dynamic element of the local economy and promote sustainable tourism. We can highlight that sustainability is a mechanism for the preservation of regional identity in the gastronomic sector through the valuation of the attributes of gastronomy, promotion of the local economy, strengthening of strategic alliances between the stakeholders of the gastronomic sector and its relevant contribution to the competitiveness of the destination. The theoretical implications of the study are focused on suggesting planning, management, and policy criteria to promote the sustainable management of gastronomic experiences in order to promote the local economy. In the practical context, research integrates different approaches, tools, and methods to encourage the active participation of local actors in the promotion of the local economy through the sustainable management of gastronomic tourism.

Keywords: experiential tourism, gastronomy experience, sustainable destination management, sustainable economy, sustainable gastronomy

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Authors: Preetinder Kaur Randhawa

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The rural areas can be differentiated from urban areas in terms of their economic activities as rural areas are primarily involved in agricultural sector and provide natural resources whereas, urban areas are primarily involved in infrastructure sector and provide manufacturing services. Census of India defines a Census Town as an area which satisfies the following three criteria i.e. population exceeds 5000, at least 75 percent of male population engaged in non-agricultural sector and minimum population density of 400 persons per square kilometers. Urban areas can be attributed to the improvement of transport facilities, the massive decline in agricultural, especially male workers and workers shift to non-agricultural activities. This study examines the pattern, process of rural areas transformed into urban areas/ census town. The study has analyzed the various factors which are responsible for land transformation as well as the socio-economic transformation of the village population. Nilpur (CT) which belongs to Rajpura Tehsil in Patiala district, Punjab has been selected for the present study. The methodology adopted includes qualitative and quantitative research design, methods based on secondary data. Secondary data has been collected from unpublished revenue record office of Rajpura Tehsil and Primary Census Abstract of Patiala district, Census of India 2011. The results have showed that rate of transformation of a village to census town in Rajpura Tehsil has been one of highest among other villages. The census town has evolved through the evolutionary process of human settlement which grows in size, population and physical development. There must be a complete economic transformation and attainment of high level of technological development. Urban design and construction of buildings and infrastructure can be carried out better and faster and can be used to aid human habitation with the enhancement of quality of life. The study has concluded that in the selected area i.e Nilpur (CT) literacy rate has increased to 72.1 percent in year 2011 from 67.6 percent in year 2001. Similarly non-agricultural work force has increased to 95.2 percent in year 2011 from 81.1 percent in year 2001. It is very much clear that the increased literacy rate has put a positive impact on the involvement of non-agricultural workers have enhanced. The study has concluded that rural-urban linkages are important tools for understanding complexities of people livelihood and their strategies which involve mobility migration and the diversification of income sources and occupations.

Keywords: Census Town, India, Nilpur, Punjab

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Authors: Hilary Joseph Watsilla

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Research work is a vital part of the university system; in Nigeria public universities, research is used in measuring the development of individuals and departments within the academic system. Information technology has impacted the way research is carried out by providing easy access to information and improved collaboration between research and other instruments necessary for research activities. However, access to some of these IT facilities is not readily available in most of the public institutions in Nigeria. Research activities are usually tedious and rigorous and any inadequacy in research resources might affect the quality of research outcome. This study aims to identify the IT capability and knowledge management capabilities necessary for academic researchers in public universities in Nigeria, as it will provide more incite to the knowledge creation processes of research. The research will be conducted using an interpretive lens, which will provide a more qualitative understanding of the subject matter. The outcome of the research will provide an empirical understanding of the IT capabilities, which help in the optimization of the knowledge management capabilities of the university.

Keywords: IT capabilities, KM capabilities, universities, academic research

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Authors: Berlian Eka Kurnia, Mohamad Very Setiawan, Rahmat Fadhli

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Archives play an important role in organization’s continuity, especially related to the learning activities in the past. Archive management is considered accessible when the archive can be used when needed. University archive can support research activities for institutions, besides, archive management services also have to pay attention to the accessibility that became a barometer of how easy users get the data or information from an archive, use and understand it. This study identifies about the accessibility of archive services at the Universitas Gadjah Mada, with case study method. Universitas Gadjah Mada archives not only provide a service to the academicians, but also for public. Universitas Gadjah Mada archive can be traced online and offline. Online searching archives can be acceessed through an application “SIKS” and offline searching can be accessed by "finding aids" printed. Although Universitas Gadjah Mada Archives has its own procedures to access the archive directly, but they also remain guided by National Archive of Indonesia.

Keywords: archival institution, university archive, archive’s accessibility, archive management

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Mohammed Buhaya

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the decision, implementation process and the outcomes of the introduction of the balanced scorecard in a developing country having particular regard to the impacts of agency and institutional, endogenous and exogenous. Design/methodology/approach: This study builds on a longitudinal explanatory case study, an institutional framework, especially Ter-Bogt and Scapens (2014) framework. Findings: Empirical findings drawn from a telecom company indicate that the dynamics of change of the company are influenced by the interconnection of external institutions and the company's situation and internal institutions encompassing issues of power, politics, and culture. Organizational practice introduced to secure external legitimacy is not always the case. The adoption of the balanced scorecard was the instrumental manner and had revolutionary change. Originality/value: In contrast to much previous research on management accounting practice, the paper analyses the process of change in one of developing country. The study also sheds new light on the power of religion as one of institutional logics and how this logic rises to potential to influence management accounting change among actors and achieving the company’s targets. This paper highlights how the culture and values can play a vital role in making the process of change smoother.

Keywords: balanced scorecard, institutional, management accounting practice, rules, and routines

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Rishabh Garg

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Traditionally, business parties build trust with a centralized operating mechanism, such as payment by letter of credit. However, the increase in cyber-attacks and malicious hacking has jeopardized business operations and finance practices. Emerging markets, owing to their higher banking risks and bigger presence of digital financing, are looking forward to technology-driven solutions, financial inclusion and innovative working paradigms. Blockchain has the potential to enhance transaction transparency and supply chain traceability. It has captured a vast landscape with 200 million crypto users worldwide. Fintech and blockchain products are popping up across brokerage, digital wallets, exchanges, post-trade clearance, settlement, middleware, infrastructure, and base protocols.

Keywords: blockchain, distributed ledger technology, decentralized applications, ethereum, smart contracts, trade finance

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Amber Hatch, Eric Wright, Feihong Wang

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Research suggests that attachment in close relationships affects one’s emotional processes, mindfulness, conflict-management behaviors, and interpersonal interactions. Attachment insecurity is often associated with maladaptive social interactions and suboptimal relationship qualities. Past studies have considered how the nature of emotion regulation and mindfulness in teachers may be related to student or classroom outcomes. Still, no research has examined how the relationship between such internal experiences and classroom management outcomes may also be related to teachers’ attachment insecurity. This study examined the interrelationships between teachers’ attachment insecurity, mindfulness tendencies, emotion regulation abilities, and classroom management efficacy as indexed by students’ classroom behavior and teachers’ response effectiveness. Teachers’ attachment insecurity was evaluated using the global ECRS-SF, which measures both attachment anxiety and avoidance. The present study includes a convenient sample of 357 American elementary school teachers who responded to a survey regarding their classroom management efficacy, attachment in/security, dispositional mindfulness, emotion regulation strategies, and difficulties in emotion regulation, primarily assessed via pre-existing instruments. Good construct validity was demonstrated for all scales used in the survey. Sample demographics, including gender (94% female), race (92% White), age (M = 41.9 yrs.), years of teaching experience (M = 15.2 yrs.), and education level were similar to the population from which it was drawn, (i.e., American elementary school teachers). However, white women were slightly overrepresented in our sample. Correlational results suggest that teacher attachment insecurity is associated with poorer classroom management efficacy as indexed by students’ disruptive behavior and teachers’ response effectiveness. Attachment anxiety was a much stronger predictor of adverse student behaviors and ineffective teacher responses to adverse behaviors than attachment avoidance. Mindfulness, emotion regulation abilities, and years of teaching experience predicted positive classroom management outcomes. Attachment insecurity and mindfulness were more strongly related to frequent adverse student behaviors, while emotion regulation abilities were more strongly related to teachers’ response effectiveness. The teaching experience was negatively related to attachment insecurity and positively related to mindfulness and emotion regulation abilities. Although the data were cross-sectional, path analyses revealed that attachment insecurity is directly related to classroom management efficacy. Through two routes, this relationship is further mediated by emotion regulation and mindfulness in teachers. The first route of indirect effect suggests double mediation by teacher’s emotion regulation and then teacher mindfulness in the relationship between teacher attachment insecurity and classroom management efficacy. The second indirect effect suggests mindfulness directly mediated the relationship between attachment insecurity and classroom management efficacy, resulting in improved model fit statistics. However, this indirect effect is much smaller than the double mediation route through emotion regulation and mindfulness in teachers. Given the significant predication of teacher attachment insecurity, mindfulness, and emotion regulation on teachers’ classroom management efficacy both directly and indirectly, the authors recommend improving teachers’ classroom management efficacy via a three-pronged approach aiming at enhancing teachers’ secure attachment and supporting their learning adaptive emotion regulation strategies and mindfulness techniques.

Keywords: Classroom management efficacy, student behavior, teacher attachment, teacher emotion regulation, teacher mindfulness

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: Thapelo Jacob Moloi

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This paper purports to present the findings in relation to the competencies of commercial grain farmers using a classic grounded theory method. A total of about eighteen semi-structured interviews with farmers, former farmers, farm workers, and agriculture experts were conducted. Findings explored competencies in the form of skills, knowledge and personal attributes that commercial grain farmers possess. Skills range from production skills, financial management skill, time management skill, human resource management skill, planning skill to mechanical skill. Knowledge ranges from soil preparation, locality, and technology to weather knowledge. The personal attributes that contribute to shaping a commercial grain farmer are so many, but for this study, seven stood out as a passion, work dedication, self-efficacy, humbleness, intelligence, emotional stability, and patience.

Keywords: grain farming, farming competencies, classic grounded theory, competency model

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Eddy K. Mukadi

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The aim of this study was to provide contributing elements to improve the management of the asthma crisis in the intensive care unit of the General Reference Hospital of Kinshasa. This was a descriptive study of all patients in the intensive care unit presenting with the asthma attack during the period from February 5, 2013 to February 5, 2014. The main data were obtained from consultation registry and medical records. A total of 35 patients, 21 of whom were male (majority) compared to 14 female. Average age of patients was 46.48 plus or minus 16.98 with extremes ranging from 21-75 years. The clinic was dominated by dyspnea in 100% of cases, followed by rales with 91.4% of cases. In spite of the control of the crisis obtained after the treatment with B2 mimetic by inhalation was introduced A 91.5%; 88% corticosteroids; 80% oxygen, the therapeutic principle recommended for the management of asthma attacks was not respected in the majority of cases. This is why we suggest that improving the quality of care to be administered to patients will yield more adequate results.

Keywords: asthma crisis, intensive care, general hospital, Kinshasa

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Y. Gholipour, E. Rezazadeh

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Delay is one of the most serious and common problems of construction project that can affect project delivery unfavorably. This research presents the most important causes of delay in large dam projects based on a survey on some executed dam construction in Iran. In this survey a randomly selected samples of owners, consultants and contractors have been involved. The outcome of this survey revealed that scheduled payments, site management, shop drawing review process, unforeseen ground conditions and contractor experience as the most important factors affecting on delay in dam construction projects.

Keywords: delay, dam construction, project management, Iran

Procedia PDF Downloads 445

Authors: Zarabizan Zakaria, Syuhaida Ismail, Aminah Md. Yusof

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Project management process starts from the planning stage up to the stage of completion (handover of buildings, preparation of the final accounts and the closing balance). This process is not easy to implement efficiently and effectively. The issue of delays in construction is a major problem for construction projects. These delays have been blamed mainly on inefficient traditional construction practices that continue to dominate the current industry. This is due to several factors, such as environments of construction technology, sophisticated design and customer demands that are constantly changing and influencing, either directly or indirectly, the practice of management. Among the identified influences are physical environment, social environment, information environment, political and moral atmosphere. Therefore, this paper is emerged to determine the problem and issues in the final account closing in construction projects, and it establishes the need to embrace Supply Chain Management (SCM) and then elucidates the need and strategies for the development of a delay reduction framework. At the same time, this paper provides effective measures to avoid or at least reduce the delay to the optimum level. Allowing problems in the closure declaration to occur without proper monitoring and control can leave negative impact on the cost and time of delivery to the end user. Besides, it can also affect the reputation or image of the agency/department that manages the implementation of a contract and consequently may reduce customer's trust towards the agencies/departments. It is anticipated that the findings reported in this paper could address root delay contributors and apply SCM tools for their mitigation for the better development of construction project.

Keywords: final account closing, construction project, construction delay, supply chain management

Procedia PDF Downloads 367

Authors: Azar Alizadeh, Mohammad Reza Naserkhaki

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The application of the IT systems for collecting and analyzing the data can have a significant effect on the performance of any company. In recent decade, different advancements and achievements in the field of information technology have changed the industry compared to the previous decade. The adoption and application of the information technology are one of the ways to achieve a distinctive competitive personality to the companies and their supply chain. The acceptance of the IT and its proper implementation cam reinforce and improve the cooperation between different parts of the supply chain by rapid transfer and distribution of the precise information and the application of the informational systems, leading to the increase in the supply chain efficiency. The main objective of this research is to study the effects and applications of the information technology on and in the supply chain management and to introduce the effective factors on the acceptance of information technology in the companies. Moreover, in order to understand the subject, we will investigate the role and importance of the information and electronic commerce in the supply chain and the characteristics of the supply chain based on the information flow approach.

Keywords: electronic commerce, industry, information technology, management, supply chain, system

Procedia PDF Downloads 485