Search results for: Ukraine crisis Russia-Ukraine conflict balanced strategy Sino-US competition

Authors: Clementine Colpaert, Boris L. Nikitenko

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The Upper Jurassic foraminiferal assemblages of the East European Platform have been strongly investigated through the 20th century with biostratigraphical and in smaller degree palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical purposes. Over the Late Jurassic, the platform was a shallow epicontinental sea that extended from Tethys to the Artic through the Pechora Sea and further toward the northeast in the West Siberian Sea. Foraminiferal assemblages of the Russian Sea were strongly affected by sea-level changes and were controlled by alternated Boreal to Peritethyan influences. The central part of the East European Platform displays very rich and diverse foraminiferal assemblages. Two sections have been analyzed; the Makar'yev Section in the Moscow Depression and the Gorodishi Section in the Yl'yanovsk Depression. Based on the evolution of foraminiferal assemblages, palaeoenvironment has been reconstructed, and sea-level changes have been refined. The aim of this study is to understand palaeoceanographical changes throughout the Oxfordian – Kimmeridgian of the central part of the Russian Sea. The Oxfordian was characterized by a general transgressive event with intermittency of small regressive phases. The platform was connected toward the south with Tethys and Peritethys. During the Middle Oxfordian, opening of a pathway of warmer water from the North-Tethys region to the Boreal Realm favoured the migration of planktonic foraminifera and the appearance of new benthic taxa. It is associated with increased temperature and primary production. During the Late Oxfordian, colder water inputs associated with the microbenthic community crisis may be a response to the closure of this warm-water corridor and the disappearance of planktonic foraminifera. The microbenthic community crisis is probably due to the increased sedimentation rate in the transition from the maximum flooding surface to a second-order regressive event, increasing productivity and inputs of organic matter along with sharp decrease of oxygen into the sediment. It is following during the Early Kimmeridgian by a replacement of foraminiferal assemblages. The almost all Kimmeridgian is characterized by the abundance of many common with Boreal and Subboreal Realm. Connections toward the South began again dominant after a small regressive event recorded during the Late Kimmeridgian and associated with the abundance of many common taxa with Subboreal Realm and Peritethys such as Crimea and Caucasus taxa. Foraminiferal assemblages of the East European Platform are strongly affected by palaeoecological changes and may display a very good model for biofacies typification under Boreal and Subboreal environments. The East European Platform appears to be a key area for the understanding of Upper Jurassic big scale palaeoceanographical changes, being connected with Boreal to Peritethyan basins.

Keywords: foraminifera, palaeoceanography, palaeoecology, upper jurassic

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Authors: Cathy T. Mpanga Kowet, Aghaegbuna Obinna U. Ozumba

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This study examined and identified the inconsistencies, relationships, gaps and recurring themes in literature regarding the relationship between procurement strategies employed in the construction projects for sustainable buildings and realization of sustainability goals. A systematic literature review of studies on the relationship between various procurement strategies and attainment of sustainability outcomes was conducted. Using specific terms, papers published between 2002 and 2018 were identified and screened according to an inclusion and exclusion criteria. Current findings reveal that, although the attainment of sustainability goals is achievable with both traditional and contemporary procurement strategies, only projects delivered using modern procurement strategies are capable of meeting and exceeding targeted sustainability objectives. However, traditional procurement strategy remains the preferred method for most green building construction projects. The results suggest implications for decision makers in considering the impact of selected procurement strategies on targeted sustainability goals, in the early stages of sustainable building construction projects. The study shows that there is a gap between the reported appropriate procurement strategies and what is being practiced currently. Theoretically, the study expands on the literature on adoption and diffusion of contemporary procurement strategies, by consolidating existing studies to highlight the current gaps. While the study is at the literature review stage, deductions will serve as basis for field work involving empirical data.

Keywords: green buildings construction, procurement method, procurement strategy, sustainability objectives, sustainability outcomes

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Authors: Vesna Bosilj Vukšić, Lucija Ivančić, Dalia Suša Vugec

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While struggling to succeed in today’s complex market environment and provide better customer experience and services, enterprises encompass digital transformation as a means for reaching competitiveness and foster value creation. A digital transformation process consists of information technology implementation projects, as well as organizational factors such as top management support, digital transformation strategy, and organizational changes. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is little evidence about digital transformation endeavors in organizations and how they perceive it – is it only about digital technologies adoption or a true organizational shift is needed? In order to address this issue and as the first step in our research project, a literature review is conducted. The analysis included case study papers from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The following attributes are considered for classification and analysis of papers: time component; country of case origin; case industry and; digital transformation concept comprehension, i.e. focus. Research showed that organizations – public, as well as private ones, are aware of change necessity and employ digital transformation projects. Also, the changes concerning digital transformation affect both manufacturing and service-based industries. Furthermore, we discovered that organizations understand that besides technologies implementation, organizational changes must also be adopted. However, with only 29 relevant papers identified, research positioned digital transformation as an unexplored and emerging phenomenon in information systems research. The scarcity of evidence-based papers calls for further examination of this topic on cases from practice.

Keywords: digital strategy, digital technologies, digital transformation, literature review

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Authors: Liming Chen, Baoxin Xu, Zhaoyun Ding, Bin Liu, Xianqiang Zhu

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In the era of big data, public investors are faced with more complicated information related to investment decisions than ever before. To survive in the fierce competition, it has become increasingly urgent for investors to combine multi-source knowledge and evaluate the companies’ true value efficiently. For this, a rule-based ontology reasoning method is proposed to support steel companies’ value assessment. Considering the delay in financial disclosure and based on cost-benefit analysis, this paper introduces the supply chain enterprises financial analysis and constructs the ontology model used to value the value of steel company. In addition, domain knowledge is formally expressed with the help of Web Ontology Language (OWL) language and SWRL (Semantic Web Rule Language) rules. Finally, a case study on a steel company in China proved the effectiveness of the method we proposed.

Keywords: financial ontology, steel company, supply chain, ontology reasoning

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Authors: Widya Anggraini Pamungkas, Rosana Budi Setyawati, Awaludin Fitroh Rifai, Candra Pangesti Setiawan, Anatta Wahyu Budiiman, Inayati, Joko Waluyo, Sunu Herwi Pranolo

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The increase in LPG consumption in Indonesia is not balanced with the amount of supply. The high demand for LPG due to the success of the government's kerosene-to-LPG conversion program and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 led to an increase in LPG consumption in the household sector and caused Indonesia's trade balance to experience a deficit. The high consumption of LPG encourages the need for alternative fuels as a substitute or which aims to substitute LPG; one of the materials that can be used is Dimethyl Ether (DME). Dimethyl ether (DME) is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH 3. OCH 3 has a high cetane number and has characteristics similar to LPG. DME can be produced from various sources, such as coal, biomass and natural gas. Based on the economic analysis conducted at 10% IRR, coal has the largest NPV of Rp. 20,034,837,497,241 with a payback period of 3.86 years, then biomass with an NPV of Rp. 10,401,526,072,850 and a payback period of 5.16. the latter is natural gas with an NPV of IDR 7,401,272,559,191 and a payback period of 6.17 years. Of the three sources of raw materials used, if the sensitivity is calculated using the selling price of DME equal to the selling price of LPG, it will get an NPV value that is greater than the NPV value when using the current DME price. The advantages of coal as a raw material for DME are not only because it is profitable, namely: low price and abundant resources, but has high greenhouse gas emissions.

Keywords: LPG, DME, coal, biomass, natural gas

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Authors: Krzysztof Kontek, Kevin Kenner

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This paper, written by an economist and pianist, aims to compare and analyze different methods of reducing manipulation in classical music competitions by focusing on outlier scores and outlier jurors. We first examine existing methods in competition practice and statistical literature for discarding or correcting jurors' scores that deviate significantly from the mean or median of all scores. We then introduce a method that involves eliminating all scores of outlier jurors, i.e., those jurors whose ratings significantly differ from those of other jurors. The properties of these standard and proposed methods are discussed in hypothetical voting scenarios, where one or more jurors assign scores that deviate considerably from the scores awarded by other jurors. Finally, we present examples of applying various methods to real-world data from piano competitions, demonstrating the potential effectiveness and implications of each approach in reducing manipulation within these events.

Keywords: voting systems, manipulation, outlier scores, outlier jurors

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Authors: Cheng-Chi Yu, Chi-Shiun Chiou

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This study developed a plug-in hybrid powertrain system which consisted of two continuous variable transmissions. By matching between the engine, motor, generator, and dual continuous variable transmissions, this integrated power system can take advantages of the components. The hybrid vehicle can be driven by the internal combustion engine, or electric motor alone, or by these two power sources together when the vehicle is driven in hard acceleration or high load. The energy management of this integrated hybrid system controls the power systems based on rule-based control strategy to achieve better fuel economy. When the vehicle driving power demand is low, the internal combustion engine is operating in the low efficiency region, so the internal combustion engine is shut down, and the vehicle is driven by motor only. When the vehicle driving power demand is high, internal combustion engine would operate in the high efficiency region; then the vehicle could be driven by internal combustion engine. This strategy would operate internal combustion engine only in optimal efficiency region to improve the fuel economy. In this research, the vehicle simulation model was built in MATLAB/ Simulink environment. The analysis results showed that the power coupled efficiency of the hybrid powertrain system with dual continuous variable transmissions was better than that of the Honda hybrid system on the market.

Keywords: plug-in hybrid power system, fuel economy, performance, continuously variable transmission

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Authors: Alexis Piedrahita, Ludi Valencia, Aura Gutierrez

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The migration crisis that is currently being experienced in the world is a continuous phenomenon that has had solutions in form but not in substance, violating the international humanitarian law of people who are in transit through countries foreign to their roots, especially women of age reproductive, this has caused different governments and organizations worldwide to meet around this problem to define concise actions to protect the rights of migrant women in the world. This research compiles the stories of migrant women who arrive in Colombia seeking better opportunities, such as accessibility to comprehensive and quality health services, including primary health care. This is the gateway to the offer of health promotion and disease prevention services.

Keywords: accessibility, primary health care, sexual and reproductive health, sustainable development goals, women migrant

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Authors: Jihye Jeon

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This paper analyzes the political and economic issues that people with disabilities face related to globalization; how people with disabilities have been adapting globalization and surviving under worldwide competition system. It explains that economic globalization exacerbates inequality and deprivation of people with disabilities. The rising tide of neo-liberal welfare policies emphasized efficiency, downsized social expenditure for people with disabilities, excluded people with disabilities against labor market, and shifted them from welfare system to nothing. However, there have been people with disabilities' political responses to globalization, which are characterized by a global network of people with disabilities as well as participation to global governance. Their resistance can be seen as an attempt to tackle the problems that economic globalization has produced. It is necessary paradigm shift of disability policy from dependency represented by disability benefits to independency represented by labor market policies for people with disabilities.

Keywords: economic globalization, people with disability, deprivation, welfare cut, disability right movement, resistance

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Authors: Heungwook Son, Sungjoo Lee

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Recently, due to intensifying competition in several industries, the importance of meeting customer requirements has increased. The role that service plays in satisfying customer‘s requirements is key area of focus. Thus, the concept of using product development-research in the service system has been actively practiced. As strategic decision making tool, various types of the technology roadmap were suggested in the product-service system (PSS). However, the technology roadmap was configured a top-down form around the technologies of the elements. The limitation is that it hard for it to indicate a variety of interrelations. In response, this paper suggests using the planning support tool of PSS for a DSM for the technology roadmap; it consists of the relationship of product-service-technology as a bottom-up form. Therefore, nine types of the technology roadmap of PSS exist. The first defines the relationship of product-service-technology. The second phase identifies output when of the technology roadmaps are adapted to the DSM process. Finally, the DSM-based forms of each type of technology roadmap are presented through case studies.

Keywords: DSM, technology roadmap, PSS, product-service system, bottom-up

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Authors: Zainab Olabisi Tairu

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The human species is facing some of the most challenging issues encountered as civilization and development occurs. The most salient factors threatening all species globally are habitats loss and degradation, overexploitation, competition with unwanted invasive species, pollution, global climate and various individual lifestyles of indigenous species. In order to avoid or minimize the effect of our actions on the environment and to balance employee work life with their private life, Green Human Resource is important and must be practiced in every organization including Higher Learning Institutions. This study addressed Green HRM from an institutional perspective, University systems are involved in numerous and complex social, educational and extra-curricular activities. The University community must be challenged to rethink and re-construct their environmental policies and practices in order to contribute to sustainable development. Many institutions only look at sustainability from the technology improvement aspect and waste management. People are the principal actors for sustainability development at the institutional level. The aim of the study is to explore the concept of Green Human Resource Management at a case site. Divine Word University (DWU) an Institution of Higher Education that embraced the ‘Printing & Paper use Policy’, also commonly referred to as the ‘paperless policy’, the use of solar as an alternative source of energy, water conservation and improvement in internet technology (IT) with the aim of becoming a green institution in effort to help save the environment. This study used Participatory Action Research as the Overarching methodological framework and Egg of sustainability and Wellbeing as the theoretical perspective in analyzing the data, engaging Case study strategy and a mixed method design at DWU. Focus group interview were conducted with three departments at the University, semi-structure interviews with the senior managers, survey questionnaire administered to students and staff with a sample size of 176 participants, in addition, policy documents were also exploited as extra source of data. Waste management including e-waste appeared to be one of the main concerns at DWU. A vast majority of DWU staff and students expressed the need for their institution to do more on sustainability education. The findings revealed that members of the community are not fully integrated like the Egg of sustainability and wellbeing in order to achieve sustainable development goal. The concept of Green Human Resource Management in Universities lies with the idea that Universities must bear profound responsibilities to manage its stakeholders in an environmental friendly way. Human resource management can help local institutions to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production, consumption as well as the end product in order to combat or at least reduce human Induced which produce or aggravate it.

Keywords: sustainability, environmental management, higher education institutions, green human resource management

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Authors: Aklima Jesmin, Ubaidur Rob, M. Ashrafur Rahman

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Rohingya population of Arakan state in Myanmar are one the most persecuted ethnic minorities in this 21st century. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), all human beings are born free, equal in dignity and rights. However, these populations are systematically excluded from this universal proclamation of human rights as they are Rohingya, which signify ‘other’. Based on the accessible and available literatures about Rohingya issue, this study firstly found there are chronological pattern of human rights violations against the ethnic Rohingya which follows the pathology of the Holocaust in this 21st century of human civilization. These violations have been possible due to modern technology, bureaucracy which has been performed through authorization, routinization and dehumanization; not only in formal institutions but in the society as a whole. This kind of apparently never-ending situation poses any author with the problem of available many scientific articles. The most important sources are, therefore the international daily newspapers, social media and official webpage of the non-state actors for nitty-gritty day to day update. Although it challenges the validity and objectivity of the information, but to address the critical ongoing human rights violations against Rohingya population can become a base for further work on this issue. One of the aspects of this paper is to accommodate all the social movements since August 2017 to date. The findings of this paper is that even though it seemed only human rights violations occurred against Rohingya historically but, simultaneously the process of social movements had also started, can be traced more after the military campaign in 2017. Therefore, the Rohingya crisis can be conceptualized within one ‘campaign’ movement for justice, not as episodic events, especially within the Political Process Model than any other social movement theories. This model identifies that the role of international political movements as well as the role of non-state actors are more powerful than any other episodes of violence conducted against Rohinyga in reframing issue, blaming and shaming to Myanmar government and creating the strategic opportunities for social changes. The lack of empowerment of the affected Rohingya population has been found as the loop to utilize this strategic opportunity. Their lack of empowerment can also affect their capacity to reframe their rights and to manage the campaign for their justice. Therefore, this should be placed at the heart of the international policy agenda within the broader socio-political movement for the justice of Rohingya population. Without ensuring human rights of Rohingya population, achieving the promise of the united nation’s sustainable development goals - no one would be excluded – will be impossible.

Keywords: civilization, holocaust, human rights violation, military campaign, political process model, Rohingya population, sustainable development goal, social justice, social movement, strategic opportunity

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Authors: Sana Abusin

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Food security in Qatar is a research priority of Qatar University (2021-2025) and all national strategies, including the Qatar National Vision 2030 and food security strategy (2018-2023). Achieving food security requires three actions: 1) transforming surplus food to those who are insecure; 2) reducing food loss and waste by recycling food into valuable resources such as compost (“green fertilizer”) that can be used in growing food; and, finally, 3) establishing strong enforcement agencies to protect consumers from outdated food and promote healthy food. Currently, these objectives are approached separately and not in a sustainable fashion. Food security in Qatar is a research priority of Qatar University (2021-2025) and all national strategies, including the Qatar National Vision 2030 and food security strategy (2018-2023). The study aims to develop an innovative mobile application that supports a sustainable solution to food insecurity and food waste in Qatar. The application will provide a common solution for many different users. For producers, it will facilitate easy disposal of excess food. For charities, it will notify them about surplus food ready for redistribution. The application will also benefit the second layer of end-users in the form of food recycling companies, who will receive information about available food waste that is unable to be consumed. We will use self-exoplanetary diagrams and digital pictures to show all the steps to the final stage. The aim is to motivate the young generation toward innovation and creation, and to encourage public-private collaboration in this sector.

Keywords: food security, innovative technology, sustainability, food waste, Qatar

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Authors: H. Zedira, M. T. Hannachi, H. Djebaili, B. Daheche

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The rapid pace of technology development and strong competition in the market, prompted us to consider the field of manufacturing of steel pipes by a process complies fully with the requirements of industrial induction welding is high frequency (HF), this technique is better known today in Algeria, more precisely for the manufacture of tubes diameters Single Annabib TG Tebessa. The aim of our study is based on the characterization of processes controlling the mechanical behavior of steel pipes (type E24-2), welded by high frequency induction, considering the different tests and among the most destructive known test internal pressure. The internal pressure test is performed according to the application area of welded pipes, or as leak test, either as a test of strength (bursting). All tubes are subjected to a hydraulic test pressure of 50 bar kept at room temperature for a period of 6 seconds. This study provides information that helps optimize the design and implementation to predict the behavior of the tubes during operation.

Keywords: castem, pressure, stress, tubes, thickness

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Authors: Odeh Linus

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The pace of globalization is increasing continuously in terms of markets for goods and services, investment opportunities across borders amongst others. Enterprises face competition from all fronts. Human resource management is not left out in this transformation crusade as it has obligation to move along with the changing demands of the globalization process. One of the objectives of this paper is to show that effective managers should constantly be aware of the changes taking place in domestic (home country) environment, as well as around the globe (international and foreign environments) on HR issues and developments. By so doing, they can scan their environment on an ongoing basis, and when they detect opportunities and/or threats, they can transform their organization to seize the opportunities and/or combat or neutralize the threats as the case may be. In this presentation, problems, issues and trends in HRM practice in Nigeria in the current period were reviewed. The factors affecting HRM and its practice in a global context and what should be the direction of the profession and its practice in Nigeria constitute the main focus of this paper.

Keywords: human resource, globalization, management, developing countries

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Authors: Chen Jun

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This study investigates the impact of family involvement, a pivotal factor shaping the management structure of family firms, on the firm’s innovation outputs. The independent variable focuses on the percentage number of family members serving as directors, supervisors and senior management. Our hypothesis suggests that family involvement tends to make management more conservative, thereby increasing the likelihood of impeding innovation investments and resulting in adverse effects on innovation output. Our findings reveal that Chinese family firms with high family involvement exhibit poorer innovation outputs compared to those with lower family involvement. Subsample analyses indicate that this negative influence of family involvement on innovation output is strengthened as the firm faces higher industry competition and a low marketization context. The findings of our paper contribute to the literature on family involvement by empirically illustrating how family involvement hinders innovation efforts and performance in Chinese family firms.

Keywords: family firm, family involvement, firm innovation, Chinese family firm

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Authors: Joao Vicente Pereira Fernandez

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In the context of a democratic crisis, a new wave of authoritarianism prompts domineering male figures to leadership posts worldwide. Although the gendered aspect of this phenomenon has been reasonably documented, recent studies have focused on high-level commanding posts, such as those of president and prime-minister, leaving other positions of political power with limited attention. This natural focus of investigation, however powerful, seems to have restricted our understanding of the phenomenon by precluding a more thorough inquiry of its gendered aspects and its consequences for political representation as a whole. Trying to fill this gap, in recent research, we examined the election results of Jair Bolsonaro’s party for the Legislative Branch in 2018. We found that the party's proportion of non-male representatives was on average, showing it provided reasonable access of women to the legislature in a comparative perspective. However, and perhaps more intuitively, we also found that the elected members of Bolsonaro’s party performed very gendered roles, which allowed us to draw the first lines of the representative profiles gathered around the new-right in Brazil. These results unveiled new horizons for further research, addressing topics that range from the role of women for the new-right on Brazilian institutional politics to the relations between these profiles of representatives, their agendas, and political and electoral strategies. This article aims to deepen the understanding of some of these profiles in order to lay the groundwork for the development of the second research agenda mentioned above. More specifically, it focuses on two out of the three profiles that were grasped predominantly, if not entirely, from masculine subjects during our last research, with the objective of portraying the masculinity standards mobilized and promoted by them. These profiles –the entrepreneur and the army man – were chosen to be developed due to their proximity to both liberal and authoritarian views, and, moreover, because they can possibly represent two facets of the new-right that were integrated in a certain way around Bolsonaro in 2018, but that can be reworked in the future. After a brief introduction of the literature on masculinity and politics in times of democratic crisis, we succinctly present the relevant results of our previous research and then describe these two profiles and their masculinities in detail. We adopt a combination of ethnography and discourse analysis, methods that allow us to make sense of the data we collected on our previous research as well as of the data gathered for this article: social media posts and interactions between the elected members that inspired these profiles and their supporters. Finally, we discuss our results, presenting our main argument on how these descriptions provide a further understanding of the gendered aspect of liberal authoritarianism, from where to better apprehend its political implications in Brazil.

Keywords: Brazilian politics, gendered politics, masculinities, new-right

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Authors: Furkan Ozkan, M. Selcuk Arslan, Hatice Mercan

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Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular asa sustainable alternative to traditional combustion engine vehicles. However, to fully realize the potential of EVs in reducing environmental impact and energy consumption, efficient control strategies are essential. This study explores the application of green wave control using model predictive control for electric vehicles, coupled with energy consumption modeling using neural networks. The use of MPC allows for real-time optimization of the vehicles’ energy consumption while considering dynamic traffic conditions. By leveraging neural networks for energy consumption modeling, the EV's performance can be further enhanced through accurate predictions and adaptive control. The integration of these advanced control and modeling techniques aims to maximize energy efficiency and range while navigating urban traffic scenarios. The findings of this research offer valuable insights into the potential of green wave control for electric vehicles and demonstrate the significance of integrating MPC and neural network modeling for optimizing energy consumption. This work contributes to the advancement of sustainable transportation systems and the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. To evaluate the effectiveness of the green wave control strategy in real-world urban environments, extensive simulations were conducted using a high-fidelity vehicle model and realistic traffic scenarios. The results indicate that the integration of model predictive control and energy consumption modeling with neural networks had a significant impact on the energy efficiency and range of electric vehicles. Through the use of MPC, the electric vehicle was able to adapt its speed and acceleration profile in realtime to optimize energy consumption while maintaining travel time objectives. The neural network-based energy consumption modeling provided accurate predictions, enabling the vehicle to anticipate and respond to variations in traffic flow, further enhancing energy efficiency and range. Furthermore, the study revealed that the green wave control strategy not only reduced energy consumption but also improved the overall driving experience by minimizing abrupt acceleration and deceleration, leading to a smoother and more comfortable ride for passengers. These results demonstrate the potential for green wave control to revolutionize urban transportation by enhancing the performance of electric vehicles and contributing to a more sustainable and efficient mobility ecosystem.

Keywords: electric vehicles, energy efficiency, green wave control, model predictive control, neural networks

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Authors: Rui Du

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This paper attempts to assess the impact of a major sporting event —the Super Bowl on the local economies. The identification strategy is to compare the winning and losing cities at the National Football League (NFL) conference finals under the assumption of similar pre-treatment trends. The stock market performances of companies headquartered in these cities are used to capture the sudden changes in local economic activities during a short time span. The exogenous variations in the football game outcome allow a straightforward difference-in-differences approach to identify the effect. This study finds that the post-event trends in winning and losing cities diverge despite the fact that both cities have economically and statistically similar pre-event trends. Empirical analysis provides suggestive evidence of a positive, significant local economic impact of conference final wins, possibly through city image enhancement. Further empirical evidence shows the presence of heterogeneous effects across industrial sectors, suggesting that city image enhancing the effect of the Super Bowl participation is empirically relevant for the changes in the composition of local industries. Also, this study also adopts a similar strategy to examine the local economic impact of Super Bowl successes, however, finds no statistically significant effect.

Keywords: Super Bowl Participation, local economies, city image enhancement, difference-in-differences, industrial sectors

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Authors: Hari Om Kashyap, Rohit Gurudas Maulingkar

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The aim of the study was to compare sports competition anxiety levels between male and female college athletes of Ponda City. A total number of 50 athletes were selected as a subject for this research, where 25 male athletes and 25 female athletes of age between 18 to 22 years were selected. The purposive method was used for the selection of samples from Ponda city. Sports Competitive Anxiety Test (SCAT) by R. Martin, 1990, was used for data collection. For comparing Sports Competitive Anxiety between male and female college athletes independent “t” test was applied at a 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study indicates that the p-value is .013178, and the result is significant at p<.05, which means there was a significant difference found in sports competitive anxiety between male athletes and female athletes who are taking part in various intercollegiate sports competitions.

Keywords: competitive anxiety, athlete, male, female

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Authors: Rukminingsih Rukmi

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This paper addresses the issue of L2 teaching speaking to ESL students by fostering their active learning through project-based learning. Project-based learning was employed in classrooms where teachers support students by giving sufficient guidance and feedback. The students drive the inquiry, engage in research and discovery, and collaborate effectively with teammates to deliver the final work product. The teacher provides the initial direction and acts as a facilitator along the way. This learning approach is considered helpful for fostering students’ active learning. that the steps in implementing of project-based learning that fosters students’ critical thinking in TEFL class are in the following: (1) Discussing the materials about Speaking Class, (2) Working with the group to construct scenario of ways on speaking practice, (3) Practicing the scenario, (4) Recording the speaking practice into video, and (5) Evaluating the video product. This research is aimed to develop a strategy of teaching speaking by implementing project-based learning to improve speaking skill in the second Semester of English Department of STKIP PGRI Jombang. To achieve the purpose, the researcher conducted action research. The data of the study were gathered through the following instruments: test, observation checklists, and questionnaires. The result was indicated by the increase of students’ average speaking scores from 65 in the preliminary study, 73 in the first cycle, and 82 in the second cycle. Besides, the results of the study showed that project-based learning considered to be appropriate strategy to give students the same amount of chance in practicing their speaking skill and to pay attention in creating a learning situation.

Keywords: active learning, project-based learning, speaking ability, L2 teaching speaking

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Authors: Cheng Fang Hsu

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Call center is the core of building customer relationship management system. Under the strong competitive stress, it becomes a new profiting challenge for a successful enterprise. Call center is a department not only to provide customer service but also to bring business profit. This is the qualitative case study in Taiwan bank service industry which goes on deeper exploration, and analysis by business interviews and industrial analysis. This study starts from the establishment, development, and management after the reforming of the case call center. Through SWOT analysis, and industrial analysis, this study adopted 7S model to explain how the call center reforms from service oriented to profit oriented and from cost management to profit management. The results indicated how service innovation management promotes call center to be operated as a market profit competition center. The recommendations are indicated to support the call center on marketing profit by service innovation management.

Keywords: call center, 7S model, service innovation management, bioinformatics

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Authors: Stuart Noel

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

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

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Authors: Carolina Beltran, Carlos De Los Reyes

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Acquired brain injury (ABI) is any physical and functional injury secondary to events that affect the brain tissue. It is one of the biggest causes of disability in the world and it has a high annual incidence in the pediatric population. There are several causes of ABI such as traumatic brain injury, central nervous system infection, stroke, hypoxia, tumors and others. The consequences can be cognitive, behavioral, emotional and functional. The cognitive rehabilitation is necessary to achieve the best outcomes for pediatric people with ABI. Cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance (CO-OP) is an individualized client-centered, performance-based, problem-solving approach that focuses on the strategy used to support the acquisition of three client-chosen goals. It has demonstrated improvements in the pediatric population with other neurological disorder but not in Spanish speakers with ABI. Aim: The main objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of cognitive orientation to daily occupational performances (CO-OP) adapted to Spanish speakers, in the level of independence and behavior in a pediatric population with ABI. Methods: Case studies with measure pre/post-treatment were used in three children with ABI, sustained at least before 6 months assessment, in school, aged 8 to 16 years, age ABI after 6 years old and above average intellectual ability. Twelve sessions of CO-OP adapted to Spanish speakers were used and videotaped. The outcomes were based on cognitive, behavior and functional independence measurements such as Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VINELAND, Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS) and others neuropsychological measures. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Universidad del Norte in Colombia. Informed parental written consent was obtained for all participants. Results: children were able to identify three goals and use the global strategy ‘goal-plan-do-check’ during each session. Verbal self-instruction was used by all children. CO-OP showed a clinically significant improvement in goals regarding with independence level and behavior according to parents and teachers. Conclusion: The results indicated that CO-OP and the use of a global strategy such as ‘goal-plan-do-check’ can be used in children with ABI in order to improve their specific goals. This is a preliminary version of a big study carrying in Colombia as part of the experimental design.

Keywords: cognitive rehabilitation, acquired brain injury, pediatric population, cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance

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Authors: Nirali Sanghavi, Julia Ash, Amy Wasserman

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Introduction: To the best of our knowledge, there is only one case report that found an association between leuprolide and scleroderma renal crisis (SRC). Leuprolide has been noted to cause acute renal failure in some patients. Given the close timing of the leuprolide injection and the worsening renal function in our patient, leuprolide likely caused exacerbation of lupus nephritis and SRC. Interestingly, our patient on long-term hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) with normal baseline cardiac function was found to have HCQ cardiomyopathy highlighting the need for close monitoring of HCQ toxicity. We know that some of the risk factors that are involved in HCQ induced cardiomyopathy are older age, females, increased dose and >10 years of HCQ use, and pre-existing cardiac and renal insufficiency. Case presentation: A 34-year-old African American woman with a history of overlap of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and scleroderma features and class III lupus nephritis presented with severe headaches, elevated blood pressure (180/120 mmHg) and worsening creatinine levels (2.07 mg/dL). The headaches started 1 month ago after she started leuprolide injections for fibroids. She was being treated with mycophenolate mofetil 1 gm twice a day, belimumab weekly, HCQ 200mg, and prednisone 5 mg daily. She has been on HCQ since her teenage years. The examination was unremarkable except for proximal interphalangeal joint contractures in the right hand and sclerodactyly of bilateral hands, unchanged from baseline. Laboratory findings include urinalysis, which showed 3+ protein, 1+ blood, 6 red blood cells, and 14 white blood cells ruling out thrombotic microangiopathy. C3 was 32 mg/dL, C4 <5 mg/dL, and +dsDNA increased >1000. She was started on captopril and discharged once creatinine and blood pressure was controlled. She was readmitted with hypertension, hyperkalemia, worsening creatinine, nephrotic range proteinuria, complaints of chest pressure, and shortness of breath with pleuritic chest pain. Physical examination and lab findings were unchanged. She was treated with pulse dose methyl prednisone followed by taper and multiple anti-hypertensive agents, including captopril, for presumed lupus nephritis flare versus SRC. Renal biopsy was consistent with SRC and class IV lupus nephritis and was started on cyclophosphamide. While cardiac biopsy showed borderline myocarditis without necrosis and cytoplasmic vacuolization consistent with HCQ cardiomyopathy, hence HCQ was discontinued. Summary: It highlights a rare association of leuprolide causing exacerbation of lupus nephritis or SRC. Although rare, the current case reinforces the importance of close monitoring for HCQ toxicity in patients with renal insufficiency.

Keywords: leuprolide, lupus nephritis, scleroderma, SLE

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Authors: Busiswa Madikazi

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This systematic mapping study explores the underrepresentation of women's contributions to farming in the Global South within the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-based extension methods. Despite women farmers constituting 70% of the agricultural labour force, their productivity is hindered by various constraints, including illiteracy, household commitments, and limited access to credit and markets. A systematic mapping approach was employed with the aim of identifying evidence gaps in existing ICT extension for women farmers. The data collection protocol follows a structured approach, incorporating key criteria for inclusion, exclusion, search strategy, and coding and the PICO strategy (Population, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcome). The results yielded 119 articles that qualified for inclusion. The findings highlight that mobile phone apps (WhatsApp) and radio/television programming are the primary extension methods employed while integrating ICT with training, field visits, and demonstrations are underutilized. Notably, the study emphasizes the inadequate attention to critical issues such as food security, gender equality, and attracting youth to farming within ICT extension efforts. These findings indicate a significant policy and practice gap, neglecting community-driven approaches that cater to women's specific needs and enhance their agricultural production. Map highlights the importance of refocusing ICT extension efforts to address women farmers’ unique challenges, thereby contributing to their empowerment and improving agricultural practices.

Keywords: agricultural extension, ICT, women farmers, smallholders

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Authors: Silvio Araújo, Sérgio Maravilhas, Tamires Coutinho

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The aim of this paper is to present the experience of a project involving cooperation between the academic world and civil society to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector in the Chapada Diamantina region, in Bahia state, Brazil. It collaborates with studies on organizational strategies and the monitoring of economic indicators in times of crisis, using data analysis to investigate associations between the variables studied. As a result, the economic, structural, and systemic factors that determine the resumption of activities after the pandemic are presented, as well as the results obtained and the general expectations for tourism activities in the region. The conclusion is that, even with government support, from the Brazilian authorities, the undesirable effects of the externalities of the pandemic threaten not only competitiveness but also business continuity itself.

Keywords: Chapada Diamantina, competitiveness, COVID-19, tourism

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Authors: Carlos Joel Tchawouo Mbiada

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At the back of the apartheid era, South Africa embarked on a democratic drive of all its institution underpinned by a social justice perspective to eradicate past injustices. These democratic values based on fundamental human rights and equality informed all rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. This means that all rights are therefore infused by social justice perspective and labour rights are no exception. Labour law is therefore regulated to the extent that it is viewed as too rigid. Hence a call for more flexibility to enhance investment and boost job creation. This view articulated by the Free Market Foundation fell on deaf ears as the opponents believe in what is termed regulated flexibility which affords greater protection to vulnerable workers while promoting business opportunities and investment. The question that this paper seeks to examine is to what extent the regulation of labour law will go to protect employees. This question is prompted by the recent Constitutional Court’s judgment of National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa v Trenstar which barred the employer from employing labour replacement in response to the strike action by its employees. The question whether employers may use replacement labour and have recourse to lock-outs in response to strike action is considered in the context of the dichotomy between the Free market foundation and social justice perspectives which are at loggerheads in the South African collective bargaining process. With the current unemployment rate soaring constantly, the aftermath of the Covid 19 pandemic, the effects of the war in Ukraine and lately the financial burden of load shedding on companies to run their businesses, this paper argues for a policy shift toward deregulation or a lesser state and judiciary intervention. This initiative will relieve the burden on companies to run a viable business while at the same time protecting existing jobs.

Keywords: labour law, replacement labour, right to strike, free market foundation perspective, social justice perspective

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Authors: Khairy M. A. Zoheir

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One of the most severe complications of Rheumatoid arthritis is delayed recovery. lipoic acid possesses antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and anti-inflammatory activity. In the present study, the effects of lipoic acid was investigated on the key mediators of Rheumatoid arthritis, namely, CD4+CD25+ T cell subsets, GITR expressing cells, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells, T-helper-17 (Th17) cells, and pro-inflammatory cytokines Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Tumor Necrosis Factor- α (TNF-α)] through flow-cytometry and qPCR analyses. Lipoic acid treated mice showed a significant decrease in the Rheumatoid arthritis, the frequency of GITR-expressing cells, and Th1 cytokines (IL-17A, TNF-αand Interferon- γ (IFN-γ) compared with positive and negative controlled mice. Lipoic acid treatment also down regulated the mRNA expression of the inflammatory mediators compared with the Rheumatoid arthritis mouse model and untreated mice. The number of Tregs also found to be significantly upregulated in lipoic acid treated mice. Our results were confirmed by the histopathological examination. This study showed the beneficial role of lipoic acid in promoting a well-balanced tool for therapy Rheumatoid arthritis.

Keywords: lipoic acid, chemokines, inflammatory, rheumatoid arthritis

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Authors: Delia Enyedi

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Throughout film history, the regular return of 3D cinema has been discussed in connection to crises caused by the advent of television or the competition of the Internet. In addition, the three waves of stereoscopic 3D (from 1952 up to 1983) and its current digital version have been blamed for adding a challenging technical distraction to the viewing experience. By discussing the films Dial M for Murder (1954) and Goodbye to Language (2014), the paper aims to analyze the response of recognized auteurs to the use of 3D techniques in filmmaking. For Alfred Hitchcock, the solution to attaining perceptual immersion paradoxically resided in restraining the signature effect of 3D, namely protrusion. In Jean-Luc Godard’s vision, 3D techniques allowed him to explore perceptual absorption by means of depth of field, for which he had long advocated as being central to cinema. Thus, both directors contribute to the foundation of an auteur aesthetic in 3D filmmaking.

Keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, authorship, 3D filmmaking, Jean-Luc Godard, perceptual absorption, perceptual immersion

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