Search results for: fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA)

Authors: Mihriban Hacisalihoğlu Karadeniz, Figen Bozkuş, Tuğba Baran, Ümit Akar

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Creating the correct symmetry of conceptual knowledge about students, conceptual information about the symmetry of the instructors is important. However, teachers’, the students should be aware of the existing misconceptions and be able to develop strategies to correct these misconceptions. In this study, the purpose, the prospective teachers’, the students’ explanations for corrections of misconceptions and misconceptions were asked to be introduced. The working group during the 2012-2013 academic year, Kocaeli University Faculty of Education Mathematics Education consists of studying at the twenty-six prospective teachers. The study adopted a qualitative approach. The data prepared by the researchers were obtained with an open-ended test. As a result of analysis of the data, prospective with teaching the concept of symmetry observed in more developed practical solutions. These solutions are focused on the method, students utilization mirrors, paper folding, such as using a square piece of registration of events. Prospective teachers’ who think this way, students observed that overlooked the creation of conceptual knowledge.

Keywords: symmetry concepts, misconceptions, elementary mathematics, prospective teachers-students

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Authors: Chastiti Mediafira Wulolo, Tri Legionosuko, Suhirwan, Yusuf

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Terrorism and radicalization have become a common threat to every nation in this world. As a part of the asymmetric warfare threat, terrorism and radicalization need a complex strategy as the problem solver. One such way is by collaborating with the international community. The Our Eyes Initiative (OEI), for example, is a cooperation pact in the field of intelligence information exchanges related to terrorism and radicalization initiated by the Indonesian Ministry of Defence. The pact has been signed by Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, and Singapore. This cooperation mostly engages military acts as a central role, but it still requires the involvement of various parties such as the police, intelligence agencies and other government institutions. This paper will use a qualitative content analysis method to address the opportunity and enhance the optimization of OEI. As the result, it will explain how OEI takes the opportunities as the strategy for counter-terrorism by building it up as the regional cooperation, building the legitimacy of government and creating the legal framework of the information sharing system.

Keywords: our eyes initiative, terrorism, counter-terrorism, ASEAN, cooperation, strategy

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Authors: Amna Tariq Shah

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Amid the pandemic, the contemporary landscape has experienced accelerated growth in small business activities and an expanding digital marketplace, further exacerbating the issue of non-compliance among self-employed individuals through aggressive tax planning and evasion. This research seeks to address these challenges by developing strategic tax policies that promote voluntary compliance and improve taxpayer facilitation. The study employs the innovative MINDSPACE framework to examine three psychosocial factors—tax communication, tax literacy, and shaming—to optimize policy responses, address administrative shortcomings, and ensure adequate revenue collection for public goods and services. Preliminary findings suggest that incomprehensible communication from tax authorities drives individuals to seek alternative, potentially biased sources of tax information, thereby exacerbating non-compliance. Furthermore, the study reveals low tax literacy among Australian and Pakistani respondents, with many struggling to navigate complex tax processes and comprehend tax laws. Consequently, policy recommendations include simplifying tax return filing and enhancing pre-populated tax returns. In terms of shaming, the research indicates that Australians, being an individualistic society, may not respond well to shaming techniques due to privacy concerns. In contrast, Pakistanis, as a collectivistic society, may be more receptive to naming and shaming approaches. The study employs a mixed-method approach, utilizing interviews and surveys to analyze the issue in both jurisdictions. The use of mixed methods allows for a more comprehensive understanding of tax compliance behavior, combining the depth of qualitative insights with the generalizability of quantitative data, ultimately leading to more robust and well-informed policy recommendations. By examining evidence from opposite jurisdictions, namely a developed country (Australia) and a developing country (Pakistan), the study's applicability is enhanced, providing perspectives from two disparate contexts that offer insights from opposite ends of the economic, cultural, and social spectra. The non-comparative case study methodology offers valuable insights into human behavior, which can be applied to other jurisdictions as well. The application of the MINDSPACE framework in this research is particularly significant, as it introduces a novel approach to tax compliance behavior analysis. By integrating insights from behavioral economics, the framework enables a comprehensive understanding of the psychological and social factors influencing taxpayer decision-making, facilitating the development of targeted and effective policy interventions. This research carries substantial importance as it addresses critical challenges in tax compliance and administration, with far-reaching implications for revenue collection and the provision of public goods and services. By investigating the psychosocial factors that influence taxpayer behavior and utilizing the MINDSPACE framework, the study contributes invaluable insights to the field of tax policy. These insights can inform policymakers and tax administrators in developing more effective tax policies that enhance taxpayer facilitation, address administrative obstacles, promote a more equitable and efficient tax system, and foster voluntary compliance, ultimately strengthening the financial foundation of governments and communities.

Keywords: individual tax compliance behavior, psychosocial factors, tax non-compliance, tax policy

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Authors: Traci A. Hefner

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Limited research exists on the readiness of emergency departments to respond to human trafficking (HT). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to improve the readiness of a Department of Emergency Medicine (ED), located in the southeast region of the United States, in identifying, assessing, and responding to trafficked individuals. The research objectives were to 1) provide an organizing framework to understand the ED’s readiness to respond to HT, using the Transtheoretical Model’s stages of change construct, 2) explain the readiness of the ED through a three-pronged contextual approach that included policies and procedures, patient data collection processes, and clinical practice methods, and 3) develop recommendations to respond to HT. Content analysis was used for document reviews and on-site observations, while thematic analysis identified themes of staff perceptions of the ED’s readiness in interviews of over 30 clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals. Results demonstrated low levels of readiness to identify HT through the ED’s policies and procedures, data collection processes, and clinical practice methods. Clinical practice-related factors consisted of limited awareness of HT warning signs and low-levels of knowledge about community resources for possible HT referrals. Policy and practice recommendations to increase the ED’s readiness to respond to HT included: developing staff trainings across the ED system to enhance awareness of HT warning signs, incorporating HT into current policies and procedures for vulnerable patient populations as well as creating a HT protocol that addresses policies and procedures, screening tools, and community referrals.

Keywords: emergency medicine, human trafficking, organizational assessment, stages of change

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Authors: Louis Okon Akpan

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National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is an open and distance learning institution whose aim is to provide education for all and also promote lifelong learning in Nigeria. Before now, student-centred learning was adopted. In recent times, online facilitation has been introduced. Therefore, the study explores ways in which students are satisfied with online facilitation provided by NOUN lecturers. A qualitative approach was adopted. The interpretive paradigm was employed as a lens to interpret narratives from the participants. In order to gather information for the study, a semi-structured interview was developed for sixteen participants who were purposively selected from eight facilities of the university. After data gathering from the field, it was subjected to transcription and coding. The emergence of themes from the coded data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that students found online learning, recently introduced by the university management, extremely fulfilling and rewarding.

Keywords: online facilitation, lecturer, students’ satisfaction, National Open University of Nigeria

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Authors: Smiso Buthelezi, Petros Dlamini, Dennis Ocholla

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The study assesses the University of Zululand's practices for documenting, sharing, and accessing indigenous knowledge. Two research objectives guided it: to determine how indigenous knowledge (IK) is developed at the University of Zululand and how indigenous knowledge (IK) is documented at the University of Zululand. The study adopted both interpretive and positivist research paradigms. Ultimately, qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. The qualitative research approach collected data from academic and non-academic staff members. Interviews were conducted with 18 academic staff members and 5 with support staff members. The quantitative research approach was used to collect data from indigenous knowledge (IK) theses and dissertations from the University of Zululand Institutional Repository between 2009-2019. The study results revealed that many departments across the University of Zululand were involved in creating indigenous knowledge (IK)-related content. The department of African Languages was noted to be more involved in creating IK-related content. Moreover, the documentation of the content related to indigenous knowledge (IK) at the University of Zululand is done frequently but is not readily known. It was found that the creation and documentation of indigenous knowledge by different departments faced several challenges. The common challenges are a lack of interest among indigenous knowledge (IK) owners in sharing their knowledge, the local language as a barrier, and a shortage of proper tools for recording and capturing indigenous knowledge (IK). One of the study recommendations is the need for an indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) policy to be in place at the University of Zululand.

Keywords: knowledge creation, SECI model, information and communication technology., indigenous knowledge

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Authors: Arushi Singh, Anjana Jain, Prakash Vyavahare

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Recently, Li-Fi(light-fiedelity) has been launched based on VLC(visible light communication) technique, 100 times faster than WiFi. Now 5G mobile communication system is proposed to use VLC-OFDM as the transmission technique. The VLC system focused on visible rays, is considered for efficient spectrum use and easy intensity modulation through LEDs. The reason of high speed in VLC is LED, as they flicker incredibly fast(order of MHz). Another advantage of employing LED is-it acts as low pass filter results no out-of-band emission. The VLC system falls under the category of ‘green technology’ for utilizing LEDs. In present scenario, OFDM is used for high data-rates, interference immunity and high spectral efficiency. Inspite of the advantages OFDM suffers from large PAPR, ICI among carriers and frequency offset errors. Since, the data transmission technique used in VLC system is OFDM, the system suffers the drawbacks of OFDM as well as VLC, the non-linearity dues to non-linear characteristics of LED and PAPR of OFDM due to which the high power amplifier enters in non-linear region. The proposed paper focuses on reduction of PAPR in VLC-OFDM systems. Many techniques are applied to reduce PAPR such as-clipping-introduces distortion in the carrier; selective mapping technique-suffers wastage of bandwidth; partial transmit sequence-very complex due to exponentially increased number of sub-blocks. The paper discusses three companding techniques namely- µ-law, A-law and advance A-law companding technique. The analysis shows that the advance A-law companding techniques reduces the PAPR of the signal by adjusting the companding parameter within the range. VLC-OFDM systems are the future of the wireless communication but non-linearity in VLC-OFDM is a severe issue. The proposed paper discusses the techniques to reduce PAPR, one of the non-linearities of the system. The companding techniques mentioned in this paper provides better results without increasing the complexity of the system.

Keywords: non-linear companding techniques, peak to average power ratio (PAPR), visible light communication (VLC), VLC-OFDM

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Authors: A. N. Ukwuani, M. G. Abubakar, S. W. Hassan

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Grewia crenata is used locally in the treatment of fractured bones, wound healing and inflammatory conditions. The anti-inflammatory activity of hydromethanolic extract of G. crenata leaves was investigated using egg albumin induced-hind paw oedema model in albino rat. The extract produced a time-dependent inhibition of egg albumin induced-hind paw oedema at 30th minutes up to 150th minutes in all the groups compared to the control. Significant reduction (p<0.05) of hind paw oedema was observed 150 minutes after egg albumin injection. The percentage inhibition produced by the extract at 200 mg/kg (22.1%) was comparable to that produced by 10 mg/kg indomethacin (24.9%) at the 150th minutes of post-egg albumin injection. Preliminary qualitative phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of saponins, steroids, flavonoids, anthraquinones and glycosides. The results obtained in this study suggest that Grewia crenata can be a potential source of anti-inflammatory agent and validates its use in the treatment of inflammatory conditions.

Keywords: Grewia crenata, anti-inflammatory, hind paw, oedema

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Authors: Nelson Kimeli Kemboi Yego, Juma Kasozi, Joseph Nkruzinza, Francis Kipkogei

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The study investigated the low uptake of health insurance in Kenya despite efforts to achieve universal health coverage through various health insurance schemes. Unsupervised machine learning techniques were employed to identify patterns in health insurance uptake based on sociodemographic factors among Kenyan households. The aim was to identify key demographic groups that are underinsured and to provide insights for the development of effective policies and outreach programs. Using the 2021 FinAccess Survey, the study clustered Kenyan households based on their health insurance uptake and sociodemographic features to reveal patterns in health insurance uptake across the country. The effectiveness of k-prototypes clustering, hierarchical clustering, and agglomerative hierarchical clustering in clustering based on sociodemographic factors was compared. The k-prototypes approach was found to be the most effective at uncovering distinct and well-separated clusters in the Kenyan sociodemographic data related to health insurance uptake based on silhouette, Calinski-Harabasz, Davies-Bouldin, and Rand indices. Hence, it was utilized in uncovering the patterns in uptake. The results of the analysis indicate that inclusivity in health insurance is greatly related to affordability. The findings suggest that targeted policy interventions and outreach programs are necessary to increase health insurance uptake in Kenya, with the ultimate goal of achieving universal health coverage. The study provides important insights for policymakers and stakeholders in the health insurance sector to address the low uptake of health insurance and to ensure that healthcare services are accessible and affordable to all Kenyans, regardless of their socio-demographic status. The study highlights the potential of unsupervised machine learning techniques to provide insights into complex health policy issues and improve decision-making in the health sector.

Keywords: health insurance, unsupervised learning, clustering algorithms, machine learning

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Authors: Brahim Ouzaka, Said Ouhadi

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Family businesses (FB) represent the oldest and most resilient form of organization. However, they are weakened by problems of entrepreneurial discontinuity. The objective of this paper is to analyze the problem of the succession of FBs created by senior entrepreneurs. This study analyzes and explores the constructs of senior entrepreneurship and the strategy and takeover policies of the Moroccan Family owned Small and Medium-Sized Businesses. Our main research question is formulated as follows: how does senior entrepreneurship promote the takeover of Moroccan family SMEs? So we aim through this study to analyze the challenge of the takeover of the FB created by senior entrepreneurs in order to explore and understand the specificities, choices and strategies as well as the reality of the takeover process among this category of senior entrepreneurs. After a review of the literature on the relationship between the constructs of senior entrepreneurship and the takeover of FBs, the empirical study will consist of an exploratory qualitative approach of 3 family SMEs created by senior entrepreneurs and subsequently transmitted to their descendants. This qualitative research serves to explore the choices, the strategies as well as the specificities of the entrepreneurial acts and processes of this category of entrepreneurs. The interviews were conducted with senior entrepreneurs and successors of three Moroccan family SMEs, focusing on the specificity of entrepreneurial actions and strategies in the case of SMEs launched by senior entrepreneurs and on the reality of the conduct and preparation of the takeover process, the methods of socialization and training of buyers in the context of these companies.

Keywords: senior entrepreneurship, family SME, family business, takeover

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Authors: Saima Hirani, Emmanuela Ojukwu, Nilanga Aki Bandara

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Background: Mental health challenges that begin during the youth age period may continue across the entire life course. One way to support youth mental health is to encourage youth engagement in prosocial activities. This study aimed to explore youth’s perceptions about helping others and mental well-being, barriers, and enablers for youth to initiate and continue prosocial activities, and strategies for developing the attribute of helping others in youth. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured, virtual interviews with 18 young individuals (aged 16-24 years) living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Results: Youth perceived helping others as a source of feeling peace and calm, finding meaning in life, experiencing social connection and promoting self-care, and relieving stress. Participants reported opportunities to learn new skills, the role of religion, social connections, previous positive experiences, and role modeling as enablers for their prosocial behaviour. Heavy time commitment, negative behaviour from others, self-doubt, and late exposure to such activities were considered barriers by youth when participating in prosocial activities. Youth also brought forward key recommendations for engaging youth in helping others. Conclusions: The findings of this study support the notion that youth have positive experiences when engaging in helping others and that involving young people in prosocial activities could be used as a protective intervention for promoting youth mental health and overall well-being.

Keywords: helping others, prosocial behaviour, youth, mental well-being

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Authors: Paramjit Mahey, Monica Sharma, Jasbinder Singh

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Fiber based access networks can deliver performance that can support the increasing demands for high speed connections. One of the new technologies that have emerged in recent years is Passive Optical Networks. This paper is targeted to show the simultaneous delivery of triple play service (data, voice and video). The comparative investigation and suitability of various data rates is presented. It is demonstrated that as we increase the data rate, number of users to be accommodated decreases due to increase in bit error rate.

Keywords: BER, PON, TDMPON, GPON, CWDM, OLT, ONT

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Authors: Mukhammad Fatkhullah, Ayla Karina Budita, Cut Rizka Al Usrah, Kanita Khoirun Nisa, Muhammad Alhada Fuadilah Habib, Siti Muslihatul Mukaromah

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Batik industry has become one of the leading industries in the economy of Indonesia. Since the recognition of batik as one of cultural wealth and national identity of Indonesia by UNESCO, batik production keeps increasing as a result of increasing demands for batik, whether from domestically or abroad. One of the rapid development batik industries in Indonesia is batik industry in Lawean Village, Solo, Central Java, Indonesia. This batik industry generally uses putting-out system where batik workers work in their own houses. With the implementation of this system, therefore employers don’t have to prepare Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA), social security for workers, overtime payment, space for working, and equipment for working. The implementation of putting-out system causes many problems, starting from environmental pollution, the loss of social rights of workers, and even exploitation of workers by batik entrepreneurs. The data used to describe this reality is the primary data from qualitative research with in-depth interview data collection technique. Informants were determined purposively. The theory used to perform data interpretation is the phenomenology of Alfred Schutz. Both qualitative and phenomenology are used in this study to describe batik workers exploitation in terms of the implementation of putting-out system on home batik industry in Lawean. The research result showed that workers in batik industry sector in Lawean were exploited with the implementation of putting-out system. The workers were strictly employed by the entrepreneurs, so that their job cannot be called 'part-time' job anymore. In terms of labor and time, the workers often work more than 12 hours per day and they often work overtime without receiving any overtime payment. In terms of work safety, the workers often have contact with chemical substances contained in batik making materials without using any protection, such as clothes work, which is worsened by the lack of standard or procedure in work that can cause physical damage, such as burnt and peeled off skin. Moreover, exposure and contamination of chemical materials make the workers and their families vulnerable to various diseases. Meanwhile, batik entrepreneurs did not give any social security (including health cost aid). Besides that, the researchers found that batik industry in home industry sector is not environmentally friendly, even damaging ecosystem because industrial waste disposed without EIA.

Keywords: exploitation, home batik industry, occupational health and safety, putting-out system

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Authors: Kamilia Mebarki

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The promotion of intercultural competence plays an important role in foreign language education. The outcome of intercultural educationalists‟ studies was the adoption of intercultural language learning and a modified version of the Communicative Competence that encompasses an intercultural component enabling language learners to communicate successfully interculturally. Intercultural Competencehas an even more central role in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) since efforts are critical to preparing learners for intercultural communisation in our global world. In these efforts, EFL learning materials are a crucial stimulus for developing learners’ intercultural competence. There has been a continuous interest in the analysis of EFL textbooks by researcher all over the world. One specific area that has received prominent attention in recent years is a focus on how the cultural content of EFL materials promote intercultural competence. In the Algerian context, research on the locally produced EFL textbooks tend to focus on investigating the linguistic and communicative competence. The cultural content of the materials has not yet been systematically researched. Therefore, this study contributes to filling this gap by evaluating the locally published EFL textbook ‘New Prospects’ used at the high school level as well as investigating teachers’ views and attitudes on the cultural content of ‘New Prospects’ alongside two others locally produced EFL textbooks ‘Getting Through’ and ‘At the Crossroad’ used at high school level. To estimate the textbook’s potential of developing intercultural competence, mixed methods, a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection, was used in the material evaluation analysed via content analysis and in the survey questionnaire and interview with teachers.Data collection and analysis were supported by the frameworks developed by the researcher for analysing the textbook, questionnaire, and interview. Indeed, based on the literature, three frameworks/ models are developed in this study to analyse, on one hand, the cultural contexts and themes discussed in the material that play an important role in fostering learners’ intercultural awareness. On the other hand, to evaluate the promotion of developing intercultural competence.

Keywords: intercultural communication, intercultural communicative competence, intercultural competence, EFL materials

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Authors: Chinedu Bevis Dibia, Hom Nath Dhakal

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Effective waste management in sub-Saharan Africa has been identified as a means of resolving the wicked problems posed by climate change. Municipal solid waste management in Nigeria could be argued to be ineffective and unsustainable, despite the tag of sustainable ascribed to most municipalities’ waste management. Relatively, few studies have enquired on the evolution of Sustainable Municipal Waste Management (SMWM) in Nigeria. The main objective of this research is to examine the evolution of SMWM in Nigeria using Lagos state as a case study. A qualitative method was used as methodology, soft systems analysis is the main tool of evaluation. Results indicated that effective policy implementation and management is the main challenge to the proper evolution of SMWM. These findings highlight the relevance of effective stakeholder’s engagement and management, policy consistency as major determinants in SMWM.

Keywords: high income localities, low middle income localities, SMWM, upper middle income localities, waste collection, waste disposal

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Authors: Haftu Hailu Berhe, Hailekiros Sibhato Gebremichael, Kinfe Tsegay Beyene, Haileselassie Mehari

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The purpose of the study is to develop and validate integrated literature-based JIT, TQM, TPM, SCM and LSS framework through a combination of the PDCA cycle and DMAIC methodology. The study adopted a mixed research approach. Accordingly, the qualitative study employed to develop the framework is based on identifying the uniqueness and common practices of JIT, TQM, TPM, SCM and LSS initiatives, the existing practice of the integration, identifying the existing gaps in the framework and practices, developing new integrated JIT, TQM, TPM, SCM and LSS practice framework. Previous very few studies of the uniqueness and common practices of the five initiatives are preserved. Whereas the quantitative study working to validate the framework is based on empirical analysis of the self-administered questionnaire using a statistical package for social science. A combination of the PDCA cycle and DMAIC methodology stand integrated CI framework is developed. The proposed framework is constructed as a project-based framework with five detailed implementation phases. Besides, the empirical analysis demonstrated that the proposed framework is valuable if adopted and implemented correctly. So far, there is no study proposed & validated the integrated CI framework within the scope of the study. Therefore, this is the earliest study that proposed and validated the framework for manufacturing industries. The proposed framework is applicable to manufacturing industries and can assist in achieving competitive advantages when the manufacturing industries, institutions and government offer unconditional efforts in implementing the full contents of the framework.

Keywords: integrated continuous improvement framework, just in time, total quality management, total productive maintenance, supply chain management, lean six sigma

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Authors: Y. Vásquez, F. Reyes, P. Oyola, M. Rubio, J. Muñoz, E. Lissi

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In several cities in Chile, there is significant urban pollution, particularly in Santiago and in cities in the south where biomass is used as fuel in heating and cooking in a large proportion of homes. This has generated interest in knowing what factors can be modulated to control the level of pollution. In this project was conditioned and set up a photochemical chamber (14m3) equipped with gas monitors e.g. CO, NOX, O3, others and PM monitors e.g. dustrack, DMPS, Harvard impactors, etc. This volume could be exposed to UVA lamps, producing a spectrum similar to that generated by the sun. In this chamber, PM and gas emissions associated with biomass burning were studied in the presence and absence of radiation. From the comparative analysis of wood stove (eucalyptus globulus) and pellet (radiata pine), it can be concluded that, in the first approximation, 9-nitroanthracene, 4-nitropyrene, levoglucosan, water soluble potassium and CO present characteristics of the tracers. However, some of them show properties that interfere with this possibility. For example, levoglucosan is decomposed by radiation. The 9-nitroanthracene, 4-nitropyrene are emitted and formed under radiation. The 9-nitroanthracene has a vapor pressure that involves a partition involving the gas phase and particulate matter. From this analysis, it can be concluded that K+ is compound that meets the properties known to be tracer. The PM2.5 emission measured in the automatic pellet stove that was used in this thesis project was two orders of magnitude smaller than that registered by the manual wood stove. This has led to encouraging the use of pellet stoves in indoor heating, particularly in south-central Chile. However, it should be considered, while the use of pellet is not without problems, due to pellet stove generate high concentrations of Nitro-HAP's (secondary organic contaminants). In particular, 4-nitropyrene, compound of high toxicity, also primary and secondary particulate matter, associated with pellet burning produce a decrease in the size distribution of the PM, which leads to a depth penetration of the particles and their toxic components in the respiratory system.

Keywords: biomass burning, photochemical chamber, particulate matter, tracers

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Authors: Moiz S. Vohra, Nagalingam Arun Prasanth, Wei L. Tan, S. H. Yeo

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The understanding of generation and collapse of acoustic cavitation bubbles are prerequisites for application of cavitation erosion. Microbubbles generated due to rapid fluctuation of pressure induced by propagation of ultrasonic wave lead to formation of high velocity microjets and or shock waves upon collapse. Due to vast application of ultrasonic, it is important to characterize and understand cavitation collapse pressure under the radiating surface at different conditions. A comparative investigation is carried out to determine impact load and dynamic pressure distribution exerted upon bubble collapse using thin film pressure sensors. Measurements were recorded at different input conditions such as amplitude, stand-off distance, insertion depth of the horn inside the liquid and pulse on-off time of acoustic vibrations. Impact force of 2.97 N is recorded at amplitude of 108 μm and stand-off distance of 1 mm from the sensor film, whereas impulsive force as low as 0.4 N is recorded at amplitude of 12 μm and stand-off distance of 5 mm from the sensor film. The results drawn from the investigation indicated that variety of impact loads can be achieved by controlling generation and collapse of bubbles, making it suitable to use for numerous application.

Keywords: ultrasonic cavitation, bubble collapse, pressure mapping sensor, impact load

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Authors: Johnson C. Y. Pang, Amy S. N. Fu, Ryan K. L. Lee, Allan C. L. Fu

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Dry needling (DN) is one of the puncturing methods that involves the insertion of needles into the tender spots of the human body without the injection of any substance. DN has long been used to treat the patient with knee pain caused by knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), but the effectiveness is still inconsistent. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the intervention methods and effects of DN with and without ultrasound guidance for treating pain and dysfunctions in people with KOA and PFPS. Design: This systematic review adhered to the PRISMA reporting guidelines. The registration number of the study protocol published in the PROSPERO database was CRD42021221419. Six electronic databases were searched manually through CINAHL Complete (1976-2020), Cochrane Library (1996-2020), EMBASE (1947-2020), Medline (1946-2020), PubMed (1966-2020), and Psychinfo (1806-2020) in November 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials were included to examine the effects of DN on knee pain, including KOA and PFPS. The key concepts included were: DN, acupuncture, ultrasound guidance, KOA, and PFPS. Risk of bias assessment and qualitative analysis were conducted by two independent reviewers using the PEDro score. Results: Fourteen articles met the inclusion criteria, and eight of them were high-quality papers in accordance with the PEDro score. There were variations in the techniques of DN. These included the direction, depth of insertion, number of needles, duration of stay, needle manipulation, and the number of treatment sessions. Meta-analysis was conducted on eight articles. DN group showed positive short-term effects (from immediate after DN to less than 3 months) on pain reduction for both KOA and PFPS with the overall standardized mean difference (SMD) of -1.549 (95% CI=-0.588 to -2.511); with great heterogeneity (P=0.002, I²=96.3%). In subgroup analysis, DN demonstrated significant effects in pain reduction on PFPS (p < 0.001) that could not be found in subjects with KOA (P=0.302). At 3-month post-intervention, DN also induced significant pain reduction in both subjects with KOA and PFPS with an overall SMD of -0.916 (95% CI=-0.133 to -1.699, and great heterogeneity (P=0.022, I²=95.63%). Besides, DN induced significant short-term improvement in function with the overall SMD=6.069; 95% CI=8.595 to 3.544; with great heterogeneity (P<0.001, I²=98.56%) when analyzed was conducted on both KOA and PFPS groups. In subgroup analysis, only PFPS showed a positive result with SMD=6.089, P<0.001; while KOA showed statistically insignificant with P=0.198 in short-term effect. Similarly, at 3-month post-intervention, significant improvement in function after DN was found when the analysis was conducted in both groups with the overall SMD=5.840; 95% CI=9.252 to 2.428; with great heterogeneity (P<0.001, I²=99.1%), but only PFPS showed significant improvement in sub-group analysis (P=0.002, I²=99.1%). Conclusions: The application of DN in KOA and PFPS patients varies among practitioners. DN is effective in reducing pain and dysfunction at short-term and 3-month post-intervention in individuals with PFPS. To our best knowledge, no study has reported the effects of DN with ultrasound guidance on KOA and PFPS. The longer-term effects of DN on KOA and PFPS are waiting for further study.

Keywords: dry needling, knee osteoarthritis, patellofemoral pain syndrome, ultrasound guidance

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Authors: Paulina Ramirez Leal

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Current debates have examined the effects of market-oriented development on gentrification, as well as the role of urban renewal, interventions, and planning policy in exacerbating this phenomenon. Despite the growing body of research recognizing the social impacts of gentrification, to date, there has been very little research directly investigating how resisting gentrification increases social cohesion, a crucial dimension of urban resilience. This contribution set out to explore these social impacts while identifying the different forms of protest and expressions of resistance to gentrification in Monterrey’s city center. The methods employed include documentary analysis and qualitative methods such as surveys and photographic documentation. Monterrey’s city center's ongoing process of gentrification illustrates the impacts of planning policies, specifically TOD. Some of the unintended consequences of the policy have resulted in inhabitants facing forced inner migration and displacement caused by vandalism of their homes and neighborhoods, as well as losing part of their urban identity.

Keywords: gentrification, social impacts, neighborhood identity, urban resilience, Monterrey’s City Center

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Authors: Stephanie Wall, Guido Wimmers

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The construction and operation of buildings greatly contribute to environmental degradation through resource and energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The design of the envelope system affects the environmental impact of a building in two major ways; 1) high thermal performance and air tightness can significantly reduce the operational energy of the building and 2) the material selection for the envelope largely impacts the embodied energy of the building. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a scientific methodology that is used to systematically analyze the environmental load of processes or products, such as buildings, over their life. The paper will discuss the results of a comparative LCA of different envelope designs and the long-term monitoring of the Wood Innovation Research Lab (WIRL); a Passive House (PH), industrial building under construction in Prince George, Canada. The WIRL has a footprint of 30m x 30m on a concrete raft slab foundation and consists of shop space as well as a portion of the building that includes a two-story office/classroom space. The lab building goes beyond what was previously thought possible in regards to energy efficiency of industrial buildings in cold climates due to their large volume to surface ratio, small floor area, and high air change rate, and will be the first PH certified industrial building in Canada. These challenges were mitigated through the envelope design which utilizes solar gains while minimizing overheating, reduces thermal bridges with thick (570mm) prefabricated truss walls filled with blown in mineral wool insulation and a concrete slab and roof insulated with EPS rigid insulation. The envelope design results in lower operational and embodied energy when compared to buildings built to local codes or with steel. The LCA conducted using Athena Impact Estimator for Buildings identifies project specific hot spots as well illustrates that for high-efficiency buildings where the operational energy is relatively low; the embodied energy of the material selection becomes a significant design decision as it greatly impacts the overall environmental footprint of the building. The results of the LCA will be reinforced by long-term monitoring of the buildings envelope performance through the installation of temperature and humidity sensors throughout the floor slab, wall and roof panels and through detailed metering of the energy consumption. The data collected from the sensors will also be used to reinforce the results of hygrothermal analysis using WUFI®, a program used to verify the durability of the wall and roof panels. The WIRL provides an opportunity to showcase the use of wood in a high performance envelope of an industrial building and to emphasize the importance of considering the embodied energy of a material in the early stages of design. The results of the LCA will be of interest to leading researchers and scientists committed to finding sustainable solutions for new construction and high-performance buildings.

Keywords: high performance envelope, life cycle assessment, long term monitoring, passive house, prefabricated panels

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Authors: Mihai-Alexandru Florea, Veronica Drumea, Roxana Nita, Cerasela Gird, Laura Olariu

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The aim of this study was to investigate the residues of pesticide found in tea water infusions. A multi-residues method to determine 147 pesticides has been developed using the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) procedure and dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE) for the cleanup the pesticides from complex matrices such as plants and tea. Sample preparation was carefully optimized for the efficient removal of coextracted matrix components by testing more solvent systems. Determination of pesticides was performed using GC-MS/MS (100 of pesticides) and LC-MS/MS (47 of pesticides). The selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode was chosen to achieve low detection limits and high compounds selectivity and sensitivity. Overall performance was evaluated and validated according to DG-SANTE Guidelines. To assess the pesticide residue transfer rate (qualitative) from dried tea in infusions the samples (tea) were spiked with a mixture of pesticides at the maximum residues level accepted for teas and herbal infusions. In order to investigate the release of the pesticides in tea preparations, the medicinal plants were prepared in four ways by variation of water temperature and the infusion time. The pesticides from infusions were extracted using two methods: QuEChERS versus solid-phase extraction (SPE). More that 90 % of the pesticides studied was identified in infusion.

Keywords: tea, solid-phase extraction (SPE), selected reaction monitoring (SRM), QuEChERS

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Authors: Redha Elhuni, M. Munir Ahmad

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The main purpose of this research is to construct a generic model for successful implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in oil sector, and to find out the effects of this model on the organizational sustainability development (OSD) performance of Libyan oil and gas companies using the structured equation modeling (SEM) approach. The research approach covers both quantitative and qualitative methods. A questionnaire was developed in order to identify the quality factors that are seen by Libyan oil and gas companies to be critical to the success of TQM implementation. Hypotheses were developed to evaluate the impact of TQM implementation on O SD. Data analysis reveals that there is a significant positive effect of the TQM implementation on OSD. 24 quality factors are found to be critical and absolutely essential for successful TQM implementation. The results generated a structure of the TQMSD implementation framework based on the four major road map constructs (Top management commitment, employee involvement and participation, customer-driven processes, and continuous improvement culture).

Keywords: total quality management, critical success factors, oil and gas, organizational sustainability development (SD), Libya

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Etaf Khlaed Haroun Alkhlaifat

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When doctors and patients do not share the same first language, language barriers may exist, which may have negative effects on the quality of communication and care provided. Doctors’ use of medical jargon and patients’ inability to fully express their illness, to a potential loss of relevant information can often create misunderstanding. This study sought to examine the extent to which a lack of “common” language represents one of the linguistic obstacles that may adversely influence the quality of healthcare services in Jordan. Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) was used to interpret the phenomena under study. Doctors (n=9) and patients (n=18) were observed and interviewed in natural Jordanian medical settings. A thematic qualitative approach was employed to analyse the data. The preliminary findings of the study revealed that most doctors appeared to have a good sense of appropriate ways to break through communication barriers by changing medical terminologies or jargons into lay terms. However, for some, there were two main challenges: 1) the use of medical jargon in explaining medication and side effects and 2) the lack of patients’ knowledge in providing a full explanation about their illnesses. The study revealed that language barriers adversely affect health outcomes for patients with limited fluency in the English language. It argues that it is doctors’ responsibility to guarantee mutual understanding, educate patients on their condition and improve their health outcomes.

Keywords: communication accommodation theory, doctor-patient interaction, language barrier, medical jargon, misunderstanding

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Authors: Thilini Kananke

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Culinary herbs have long been considered as significant dietary sources of many potential health-promoting compounds. The present research focused on analysis of antimicrobial, antioxidant and physicochemical properties in selected four culinary herbs namely Murraya koenigii (Curry leaves), Pandanus amaryllifolius (Pandan leaves), Cymbopogon citrates (Lemon grass leaves), and Mentha Piperita (Minchi leaves) obtained from several market sites in Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka. The antimicrobial activity of ethanolic, chloroform and distilled water extracts of culinary herbs were evaluated against the strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Shigella spp. Total phenolic content and the radical scavenging activity (using DPPH assay) of culinary herbs were determined. Four heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb and Fe) were analyzed in the selected culinary herbs using the atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Proximate compositions of the selected herbs were analyzed using AOAC official methods. Antimicrobial activity of all selected culinary herbs showed relativity high inhibition zones against S. aureus. Pandan leaves showed the least antimicrobial activity against selected bacterial strains compared with other culinary herbs. Both the highest radical scavenging activity (lower IC50 value) and the total phenolic content (25.57 ±3.54µg GAE/100g) were reported in Mentha piperita extract. The highest concentrations of Cu, Fe and Cd were reported in Curry leaves (29.15 mg/kg), Lemon grass leaves (257.98 mg/kg) and Pandan leaves (6.05 mg/kg) respectively. The heavy metal contents detected in all culinary herbs were below the permitted limits set by WHO/FAO, except Cd. The highest moisture (85.00±0.00%) and fiber (10.66± 2.00%) contents were found in Pandan leaves, while the highest protein (8.94±0.29%), fat (12.3± 2.52%) and ash (3.50± 0.17%) contents were reported in curry leaves. The information obtained from this study highlights the importance of further investigation of other antioxidant, antimicrobial and health promoting compounds of culinary herbs available in Sri Lanka for a detailed comparison.

Keywords: antimicrobial, antioxidant, culinary herbs, proximate analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Heny Hartono, Cecilia Titiek Murniati

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The pandemic has given teachers and students no other choice but having full online learning. In such an emergency situation as the time of the covid-19 pandemic, the application of LMS (Learner Management System) in higher education is the most reasonable solution for students and teachers. In fact, the online learning requires all elements of a higher education systems, including the human resources, infrastructure, and supporting systems such as the application, server, and stable internet connection. The readiness of the higher education institution in preparing the online system may secure those who are involved in the online learning process. It may also result in students’ self-efficacy in online learning. This research aimed to investigate how students perceive their self-efficacy in online English learning, especially in speaking classes which is considered as a productive language skill. This research collects qualitative data with narrative inquiry involving 25 students of speaking classes as the respondents. The results of this study show that students perceive their self-efficacy in speaking online classes as not very high.

Keywords: self-efficacy, online learning, speaking class, college students, e-learning

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Authors: S. Kawther, C. Marshall

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Educational neuroscience has the intention of transforming research findings of the underpinning neural processes of learning to educational practices. A main criticism of the field, hitherto, is that less focus has been put on studying the in-progress practical application of these findings. Therefore, this study aims to gain a better understanding of teachers’ perceptions of the practical application and utilization of brain knowledge. This was approached by investigating the answer to 'What are the facilitators and barriers for bringing research from neuroscience to bear on education?'. Following a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 teachers who had a proficient course in educational neuroscience. Thematic analysis was performed on the transcribed data applying Braun & Clark’s steps. Findings emerged with four main themes: time, knowledge, teacher’s involvement, and system. These themes revealed that some effective brain-based practices are being engaged in by the teachers. However, the lack of guidance and challenges regarding this implementation were also found. This study discusses findings in light of the development of educational neuroscience implementation.

Keywords: brain-based, educational neuroscience, neuroeducation, neuroscience-informed

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Authors: A. Rezazadeh, B Damari, S. Riazi-Esfahani, M. Hajian

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The consumption of junk food in Iran is alarmingly increasing. This study aimed to investigate the influencing factors of junk food consumption and amendable interventions that are criticized and approved by stakeholders, in order to presented to health policy makers. The articles and documents related to the content of study were collected by using the appropriate key words such as junk food, carbonated beverage, chocolate, candy, sweets, industrial fruit juices, potato chips, French fries, puffed corn, cakes, biscuits, sandwiches, prepared foods and popsicles, ice cream, bar, chewing gum, pastilles and snack, in scholar.google.com, pubmed.com, eric.ed.gov, cochrane.org, magiran.com, medlib.ir, irandoc.ac.ir, who.int, iranmedex.com, sid.ir, pubmed.org and sciencedirect.com databases. The main key points were extracted and included in a checklist and qualitatively analyzed. Then a summarized abstract was prepared in a format of a questionnaire to be presented to stakeholders. The design of this was qualitative (Delphi). According to this method, a questionnaire was prepared based on reviewing the articles and documents and it was emailed to stakeholders, who were asked to prioritize and choose the main problems and effective interventions. After three rounds, consensus was obtained.            Studies revealed high consumption of junk foods in the Iranian population, especially in children and adolescents. The most important affecting factors include availability, low price, media advertisements, preference of fast foods taste, the variety of the packages and their attractiveness, low awareness and changing in lifestyle. Main interventions recommended by stakeholders include developing a protective environment, educational interventions, increasing healthy food access and controlling media advertisements and putting pressure from the Industry and Mining Ministry on producers to produce healthy snacks. According to the findings, the results of this study may be proposed to public health policymakers as an advocacy paper and to be integrated in the interventional programs of Health and Education ministries and the media. Also, implementation of supportive meetings with the producers of alternative healthy products is suggested.

Keywords: junk foods, situation, qualitative study, Iran

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Orhun Aydin, Mark V. Janikas, Rodrigo Alves, Renato Assuncao

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In this paper, a tree-based perturbation methodology for regionalization inference is presented. Regionalization is a constrained optimization problem that aims to create groups with similar attributes while satisfying spatial contiguity constraints. Similar to any constrained optimization problem, the spatial constraint may hinder convergence to some global minima, resulting in spatially contiguous members of a group with dissimilar attributes. This paper presents a general methodology for rigorously perturbing spatial constraints through the use of random spanning trees. The general framework presented can be used to quantify the effect of the spatial constraints in the overall regionalization result. We compare several types of stochastic spanning trees used in inference problems such as fuzzy regionalization and determining the number of regions. Performance of stochastic spanning trees is juxtaposed against the traditional permutation-based hypothesis testing frequently used in spatial statistics. Inference results for fuzzy regionalization and determining the number of regions is presented on the Local Area Personal Incomes for Texas Counties provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Keywords: regionalization, constrained clustering, probabilistic inference, fuzzy clustering

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Authors: Shengdan Yang

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The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 has made public health issues to be re-examined. The value of green space configuration is an important measure of community health quality. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the structure and function of community green space can be better evaluated. This study selects Wuhan Kunhou Community as the site and proposes to analyze the daily health service function of the community's green infrastructure. Through GIS-based spatial analysis, case study, and field investigation, this study evaluates the accessibility of green infrastructure and discusses the ideal green space form based on health indicators. The findings show that Kunhou Community lacks access to green infrastructure and public space for daily activities. The research findings provide a bridge between public health indicators and community space planning and propose design suggestions for green infrastructure planning.

Keywords: accessibility, community health, GIS, green infrastructure

Procedia PDF Downloads 91