Search results for: national council for educational research and training

Authors: Hui Long, Chun Yin Tang, Ping Kwong Cheng, Xin Yu Wang, Wayesh Qarony, Yuen Hong Tsang

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Two dimensional (2D) materials have recently attained substantial research interest since the discovery of graphene. However, the zero-bandgap feature of the graphene limits its nonlinear optical applications, e.g., saturable absorption for these applications require strong light-matter interaction. Nevertheless, the excellent optoelectronic properties, such as broad tunable bandgap energy and high carrier mobility of Group 10 transition metal dichalcogenides 2D materials, e.g., PtS2 introduce new degree of freedoms in the optoelectronic applications. This work reports our recent research findings regarding the saturable absorption property of PtS2 layered 2D material and its possibility to be used as saturable absorber (SA) for ultrafast mode locking fiber laser. The demonstration of mode locking operation by using the fabricated PtS2 as SA will be discussed. The PtS2/PVA SA used in this experiment is made up of some few layered PtS2 nanosheets fabricated via a simple ultrasonic liquid exfoliation. The operational wavelength located at ~1 micron is demonstrated from Yb-doped mode locking fiber laser ring cavity by using the PtS2 SA. The fabricated PtS2 saturable absorber offers strong nonlinear properties, and it is capable of producing regular mode locking laser pulses with pulse to pulse duration matched with the round-trip cavity time. The results confirm successful mode locking operation achieved by the fabricated PtS2 material. This work opens some new opportunities for these PtS2 materials for the ultrafast laser generation. Acknowledgments: This work is financially supported by Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (JCYJ20170303160136888) and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, China (GRF 152109/16E, PolyU code: B-Q52T).

Keywords: platinum disulfide, PtS2, saturable absorption, saturable absorber, mode locking laser

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Authors: Ombir Singh

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In spite of the religious and cultural pre-dominance of the river Ganga in the Indian ethos, fragmentation and degradation of the river continued down the ages. Recognizing the national concern on environmental degradation of the river and its basin, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,RD&GR), Government of India has initiated a number of pilot schemes for the rejuvenation of river Ganga under the ‘Namami Gange’ Programme. Considering the diversity, complexity, and intricacies of forest ecosystems and pivotal multiple functions performed by them and their inter-connectedness with highly dynamic river ecosystems, forestry interventions all along the river Ganga from its origin at Gaumukh, Uttarakhand to its mouth at Ganga Sagar, West Bengal has been planned by the ministry. For that Forest Research Institute (FRI) in collaboration with National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on Forestry Interventions for Ganga. The Institute has adopted an extensive consultative process at the national and state levels involving various stakeholders relevant in the context of river Ganga and employed a science-based methodology including use of remote sensing and GIS technologies for geo-spatial analysis, modeling and prioritization of sites for proposed forestation and conservation interventions. Four sets of field data formats were designed to obtain the field based information for forestry interventions, mainly plantations and conservation measures along the river course. In response, five stakeholder State Forest Departments had submitted more than 8,000 data sheets to the Institute. In order to analyze a voluminous field data received from five participating states, the Institute also developed a software to collate, analyze and generation of reports on proposed sites in Ganga basin. FRI has developed potential plantation and treatment models for the proposed forestry and other conservation measures in major three types of landscape components visualized in the Ganga riverscape. These are: (i) Natural, (ii) Agriculture, and (iii) Urban Landscapes. Suggested plantation models broadly varied for the Uttarakhand Himalayas and the Ganga Plains in five participating states. Besides extensive plantations in three type of landscapes within the riverscape, various conservation measures such as soil and water conservation, riparian wildlife management, wetland management, bioremediation and bio-filtration and supporting activities such as policy and law intervention, concurrent research, monitoring and evaluation, and mass awareness campaigns have been envisioned in the DPR. The DPR also incorporates the details of the implementation mechanism, budget provisioned for different components of the project besides allocation of budget state-wise to five implementing agencies, national partner organizations and the Nodal Ministry.

Keywords: conservation, Ganga, river, water, forestry interventions

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Authors: Mohammad Aljuhani, Yasamina Aljuhani

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The Mining Engineering Department at College of Engineering in NBU is under establishment. It is essential to establish such department in NBU. This is because, it is the only university in the region. Moreover, the mining industry is very active in the northern borders region. However, there is no mining engineering department in KSA except one in King Abdulziz University, which is 1400 km from the mining industry in the northern borders. As a result, department graduates from KAU find difficulties to get suitable jobs in their specialization in spite of their few numbers graduated per year and the presence of many jobs vacancies at the local mining sector. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to identify, measure and analyze the above mentioned problem from educational point of view. One more objective is to add a contribution towards solving such vital, society affecting problem. For achieving the first task of the research, that is problem size identification and analyses, a questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was directed towards experienced engineers, in the mining and related industries, including the ministry of petroleum and minerals, Saudi Geological Survey, and Ma’aden Company as being prospective employers for the mining sector. The questionnaire target was to evaluate the Saudi mining engineers from an industrial point of view and to detect the main reasons behind their failure to find jobs. In addition, the study focuses in the demand of mining engineers in the northern borders region. Moreover, the study plan of the suggested department is designed based on the requirements of the mining industry. The feedback received from the industry reflected major educational shortcomings. In order to overcome the revealed defects, the second objective of the research was achieved where a suggested study plan “curriculum” has been prepared to take into consideration all the points of weakness so as to improve the graduates’ quality to fit the local mining work market.

Keywords: mining engineering, labor market, qualifications, curriculum, mining industry, mining engineers

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Authors: A. Lashkari, H. Khalafi, H. Khazeminejad, S. Khakshourniya

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In this paper, a numerical model is presented. The model is used to analyze a steady state thermo-hydraulic and reactivity insertion transient in TRR reference cores respectively. The model predictions are compared with the experiments and PARET code results. The model uses the piecewise constant and lumped parameter methods for the coupled point kinetics and thermal-hydraulics modules respectively. The advantages of the piecewise constant method are simplicity, efficiency and accuracy. A main criterion on the applicability range of this model is that the exit coolant temperature remains below the saturation temperature, i.e. no bulk boiling occurs in the core. The calculation values of power and coolant temperature, in steady state and positive reactivity insertion scenario, are in good agreement with the experiment values. However, the model is a useful tool for the transient analysis of most research reactor encountered in practice. The main objective of this work is using simple calculation methods and benchmarking them with experimental data. This model can be used for training proposes.

Keywords: thermal-hydraulic, research reactor, reactivity insertion, numerical modeling

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Authors: G. Yanay-Ventura, H. Desivilya Syna, K. Michael

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Social businesses are based on the idea that an enterprise can be established for the sake of profit and, at the same time, with the aim of fulfilling social goals. Yet, the question of how these goals can be integrated in practice to derive parallel benefit in both realms still needs to be examined. Particularly notable in this context is the ‘governance challenge’ of social businesses, meaning the danger of the mission drifts from the social goal in the pursuit of good business. This study is based on an evaluation study of a social business that operates as a restaurant providing professional training to at-risk youth. The evaluation was based on the collection of a variety of data through interviews with stakeholders in the enterprise (directors and managers, business partners, social partners, and position holders in the restaurant and the social enterprise), a focus group consisting of the youth receiving the professional training, observations of the restaurant’s operation, and analysis of the social enterprise’s primary documents. The evaluation highlighted significant strengths of the social enterprise, including reaching relatively fast business sustainability, effective management of the restaurant, stable employment of the restaurant staff, and effective management of the social project. The social enterprise and business management have both enjoyed positive evaluations from a variety of stakeholders. Clearly, the restaurant was deemed by all a promising young business. However, the social project suffered from a 90% dropout rate among the youth entering its ranks, extreme monthly fluctuation in the number of youths participating, and a distinct minority of the youth who have succeeded in completing their training period. Possible explanations of the high dropout rate included the small number of cooks, which impeded the effectiveness of the training process and the provision of advanced cooking skills; lack of clarity regarding the essence and the elements of training; and lack of a meaningful peer group for the youth engaged in the program. Paradoxically, despite the stakeholders’ great appreciation for the social enterprise, the challenge of governability was also formidable, revealing a tangible risk of mission drift in the reduction of the social enterprise’s target population and a breach of the commitment made to the youth with regard to practical training. The risk of mission drifts emerged as a hidden and evasive issue for the stakeholders, who revealed a deep appreciation for the management and the outcomes of the social enterprise. The challenge of integration, therefore, requires an in-depth examination of how to maintain a successful business without hindering the achievement of the social goal. The study concludes that clear conceptualization of the training process and its aims, increased cooks’ participation in the social project, and novel conceptions with regard to the evaluation of success could serve to benefit the youth and impede mission drift.

Keywords: evaluation study, management, mission drift, social business

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Authors: Wullapa Wongsinlatam

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Back propagation algorithm (BP) is a widely used technique in artificial neural network and has been used as a tool for solving the time series problems, such as decreasing training time, maximizing the ability to fall into local minima, and optimizing sensitivity of the initial weights and bias. This paper proposes an improvement of a BP technique which is called IM-COH algorithm (IM-COH). By combining IM-COH algorithm with cuckoo search algorithm (CS), the result is cuckoo search improved control output hidden layer algorithm (CS-IM-COH). This new algorithm has a better ability in optimizing sensitivity of the initial weights and bias than the original BP algorithm. In this research, the algorithm of CS-IM-COH is compared with the original BP, the IM-COH, and the original BP with CS (CS-BP). Furthermore, the selected benchmarks, four time series samples, are shown in this research for illustration. The research shows that the CS-IM-COH algorithm give the best forecasting results compared with the selected samples.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, back propagation algorithm, time series, local minima problem, metaheuristic optimization

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Authors: Kazi Md. Shifun Newaz, S. Miaji, Shahnewaz Hazanat-E-Rabbi

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In this study, the kernel density estimation tool has been used to identify most crash prone locations in a national highway of Bangladesh. Like other developing countries, in Bangladesh road traffic crashes (RTC) have now become a great social alarm and the situation is deteriorating day by day. Today’s black spot identification process is not based on modern technical tools and most of the cases provide wrong output. In this situation, characteristic analysis and black spot identification by spatial analysis would be an effective and low cost approach in ensuring road safety. The methodology of this study incorporates a framework on the basis of spatial-temporal study to identify most RTC occurrence locations. In this study, a very important and economic corridor like Dhaka to Sylhet highway has been chosen to apply the method. This research proposes that KDE method for identification of Hazardous Road Location (HRL) could be used for all other National highways in Bangladesh and also for other developing countries. Some recommendations have been suggested for policy maker to reduce RTC in Dhaka-Sylhet especially in black spots.

Keywords: hazardous road location (HRL), crash, GIS, kernel density

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Authors: Gebrekiros Welegebriel Asfaw

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The conservation of cultural heritage during times of war is a topic of significant importance and concern in the field of heritage studies. The destruction, looting, and illicit acts against cultural heritages have devastating consequences. International and national legislations have been put in place to address these issues and provide a legal framework for protecting cultural heritage during armed conflicts. Thus, the aim of this review is to examine the existing heritage legislations and evaluate their effectiveness in protecting cultural heritage during times of war with a special insight of the Tigray war. The review is based on a comprehensive empirical analysis of existing heritage legislations related to the protection of cultural heritage during war, with a special focus on the Tigray war. The review reveals that there are several international and national legislations in place to protect cultural heritage during times of war. However, the implementation of these legislations has been insufficient and ineffective in the case of the Tigray war. The priceless cultural heritages in Tigray, which were once the centers of investment and world pride were, have been subjected to destruction, looting, and other illicit acts, in violation of both international conventions such as the UNESCO Convention and national legislations. Therefore, there is a need for consistent intervention and enforcement of different legislations from the international community and organizations to rehabilitate, repatriate, and reinstitute the irreplaceable heritages of Tigray.

Keywords: cultural heritage, heritage legislations, tigray, war

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Authors: Elzo Alves Aranha, Marcio M. Araki

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Business model (BM) is a term that has been receiving the attention of scholars and practitioners and has been consolidating itself as a field of study and research. Although there is no agreement in the academic literature on the definition of BM, at least there is an explicit agreement: BM defines a logical structure of how an organization creates value, capture value and delivers value for the customers and stakeholders. The lack of understanding about connections and elements among BM and higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education opens a gap in the academic literature. Thus, it is interesting to analyze how BM has been approached by the literature and applied in higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education aimed to know the main streams of research. This is because higher education institutions are characterized by innovation, leading to a greater acceptance of new and modern concepts such as BM. Our research has the main motivation to fill the gap in the academic literature, making it possible to increase the power of understanding about connections and aspects among BM and higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education. The objective of the research is to analyze the main aspects among BM and higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education in academic literature. The research followed the systematic literature review (SLR). The SLR is based on three main factors: clarity, validity, and auditability. 82 academic papers were found in the past 10 years, from 2009-2019. The search was carried out in Science Direct and Periodicos Capes databases. The main findings indicate that there are links between BM and higher education, BM and university, BM, and entrepreneurship education. The main findings are inserted within seven aspects. The findings are innovative and contribute to increase the power of understanding about the connection among BM and higher education, university, and entrepreneurship education in academic literature. The research findings addressed to the gap exposed in academic literature. The research findings have several practical implications, and we highlight only two main ones. First, researchers will be able to use the research findings to mitigate a BM research agenda involving connections between BM and higher education, BM and university, and BM and entrepreneurship education. Second, directors, deans, and university leaders will be able to carry out BM awareness programs, BM professors training programs, and makers planning for the inclusion of BM, as one of the components of the curricula of the undergraduate and graduate courses.

Keywords: business model, entrepreneurship education, higher education, university

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Authors: Kaveh Azadeh, Saeid Fazelifar

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The main purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of 12 weeks (3 days/week) concurrent training followed by 4 weeks detraining on insulin resistance in obese boys without dietary intervention. Methods: 24 obese children boys (body mass index> 28, age= 11- 13year old) voluntarily participated in the study. Biochemical factors, body composition, and functional physical fitness were assessed in three stages [baseline, after 12 week’s combined endurance and resistance training and 4 week’s detraining in the experimental group (n=12); baseline and after 12 weeks in control group (n=12)]. Results: Indepented - Sample T test revealed that in experimental group after 12weeks trainings the insulin resistance, and body fat mass were significantly declined, whereas endurance and strength of abdominal muscles significantly increased compared to control group (p<0/05). One-way ANOVA for three different periods showed that insulin resistance, body fat mass, strength of abdominal muscles after 12week training was significantly improved in the experimental group compared with the baseline. Following 4weeks detraining insulin resistance again significantly increased (p<0/05). After detraining disturbances of physiological adaptation in obese children have more rapid course in comparison with those anthropological and functional indices. Conclusion: Results showed that participation in the regular concurrent trainings provides a decrease of insulin resistance in obese children. It may serve as a strategy in treatment of obesity and management on insulin resistance, as well as to increase endurance and strength muscles in obese children. Adaptations resulting from regular exercises following detraining are reversible.

Keywords: endurance and resistance trainings, detraining, insulin resistance, obese children

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Authors: Karol Konaszewski

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Background: The article is an analysis of the results of the studies conducted among juveniles (boys and girls) in the case of whom the family court applied the educational means of placing them in the youth educational centers. The aim of the study was to find out the correlations between antisocial behaviors, personality traits and the environmental determinants (support factors and risk factors) among juveniles (boys and girls). Methods: The total of 481 juveniles staying in youth educational centers participated in the study. Applied research tools: The Antisocial Behaviors Scale by L. Pytka, NEO-FFI by P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae was used to diagnose personality traits included in a popular five-factor model (it has been adapted into Polish by B. Zawadzki, J. Strelau, P. Szczepaniak, and M. Śliwińska) and a questionnaire concerning support factors and risk factors was constructed to measure environmental determinants. The data was analysed in a regression model. Findings: The analysis model showed that the significant predictors of antisocial behaviors were neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness and negative relations at school. In girls group, the significant predictors of antisocial behaviors were neuroticism, conscientiousness, family support and negative relations at school, while in boys group the significant predictors of antisocial behaviors were neuroticism, extraversion and negative relations at family. Discussion: The results of this study have important implications. They allow for a better understanding of the factors that contribute to antisocial behaviors among juveniles. Future interventions could be based on the creation of personality traits, strengthening of support factors and correction of risk factors.

Keywords: antisocial behaviours, juveniles, personality, youth

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Authors: Edith Kamakune

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As much as Indigenous rights are presumed to be part of the broad human rights regime, members of the indigenous communities have continually suffered violations, exclusions, and threat. There are a number of steps taken from the international community in trying to bridge the gap, and this has been through the inclusion of provisions as well as the passing of conventions and declarations with specific reference to the rights of indigenous peoples. Some examples of indigenous people include theSiberian Yupik of St Lawrence Island; the Ute of Utah; the Cree of Alberta, and the Xosa andKhoiKhoi of Southern Africa. Uganda’s wide cultural heritage has played a key role in the failure to pay special attention to the needs of the rights of indigenous peoples. The 1995 Constitution and the Land Act of 1998 provide for abstract land rights without necessarily paying attention to indigenous communities’ special needs. Basongora are a pastoralist community in Western Uganda whose ancestral land is the present Queen Elizabeth National Park of Western Uganda, Virunga National Park of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the small percentage of the low lands under the Rwenzori Mountains. Their values and livelihood are embedded in their strong attachment to the land, and this has been at stake for the last about 90 Years. This research was aimed atinvestigating the relationship between land rights and the right to cultural identity among indigenous communities, looking at the policy available on land and culture, and whether the policies are sensitive of the specific issues of vulnerable ethnic groups; and largely the effect of land on the right to cultural identity. The research was guided by three objectives: to examine and contextualize the concept of land rights among the Basongora community; to assess the policy frame work available for the protection of the Basongora community; to investigate the forms of vulnerability of the Basongora community. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. a case of Kaseseand Kampala Districts were purposefully selected .138 people were recruited through random and nonrandom techniques to participate in the study, and these were 70 questionnaire respondents; 20 face to face interviews respondents; 5 key informants, and 43 participants in focus group discussions; The study established that Land is communally held and used and thatit continues to be a central source of livelihood for the Basongora; land rights are important in multiplication of herds; preservation, development, and promotion of culture and language. Research found gaps in the policy framework since the policies are concerned with tenure issues and the general provisions areambiguous. Oftenly, the Basongora are not called upon to participate in decision making processes, even on issues that affect them. The research findings call forauthorities to allow Basongora to access Queen Elizabeth National Park land for pasture during particular seasons of the year, especially during the dry seasons; land use policy; need for a clear alignment of the description of indigenous communitiesunder the constitution (Uganda, 1995) to the international definition.

Keywords: cultural identity, land rights, protection, uganda

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Authors: Marzena Tomaszewska, Beata Bilska, Danuta Kolozyn-Krajewska

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Food loss and food waste are a global problem of the modern economy. The research undertaken aimed to analyze how food is handled in catering establishments when it comes to food waste and to demonstrate main ways of management with foods/dishes not served to consumers. A survey study was conducted from January to June 2019. The selection of catering establishments participating in the study was deliberate. The study included establishments located only in Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Poland). 42 completed questionnaires were collected. In some questions, answers were based on a 5-point scale of 1 to 5 (from 'always'/'every day' to 'never'). The survey also included closed questions with a suggested cafeteria of answers. The respondents stated that in their workplaces, dishes served cold and hot ready meals are discarded every day or almost every day (23.7% and 20.5% of answers respectively). A procedure most frequently used for dealing with dishes not served to consumers on a given day is their storage at a cool temperature until the following day. In the research, 1/5 of respondents admitted that consumers 'always' or 'usually' leave uneaten meals on their plates, and over 41% 'sometimes' do so. It was found additionally that food not used in food service sector is most often thrown into a public container for rubbish. Most often thrown into the public container (with communal trash) were: expired products (80.0%), plate waste (80.0%), and inedible products (fruit and vegetable peels, egg shells) (77.5%). Most frequently into the container dedicated only for food waste were thrown out used deep-frying oil (62.5%). 10% of respondents indicated that inedible products in their workplaces is allocate for animal feeds. Food waste in the food service sector still remains an insufficiently studied issue, as owners of these objects are often unwilling to disclose data pertaining to the subject. Incorrect ways of management with foods not served to consumers were observed. There is the need to develop the educational activities for employees and management in the context of food waste management in the food service sector. This publication has been developed under the contract with the National Center for Research and Development No Gospostrateg1/385753/1/NCBR/2018 for carrying out and funding of a project implemented as part of the 'The social and economic development of Poland in the conditions of globalizing markets - GOSPOSTRATEG' program entitled 'Developing a system for monitoring wasted food and an effective program to rationalize losses and reduce food wastage' (acronym PROM).

Keywords: food waste, inedible products, plate waste, used deep-frying oil

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Authors: E. Maoz

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Background: As a teaching method, project-based learning is strongly linked to developing students’ critical thinking skills. It combines creative independent thinking, team work, and disciplinary subject-field integration. In the 'Introduction to Nursing Research Methods' course (year 3, Generic Track), project based learning is used to teach the topic of 'Evidence-Based Nursing'. This topic examines a clinical care issue encountered by students in the field. At the end of their project, students present proposals for managing the said issue. Proposals are the product of independent integrative thinking integrating a wide range of factors influencing the issue’s management. Method: Papers by 27 groups of students (165 students) were content analyzed to identify which themes emerged from the students' recommendations for managing the clinical issue. Findings: Five main themes emerged—current management approach; adapting procedures in line with current recent research recommendations; training for change (veteran nursing staff, beginner students, patients, significant others); analysis of 'economic benefit vs. patient benefit'; multidisciplinary team engagement in implementing change in practice. Two surprising themes also emerged: advertising and marketing using new technologies, which reflects how the new generation thinks. Summary and Recommendations: Among the main challenges in nursing education is training nursing graduates to think independently, integratively, and critically. Combining PBL with classical teaching methods stimulates students cognitively while opening new vistas with implications on all levels of the profession: management, research, education, and practice. Advanced students can successfully grasp and interpret the current state of clinical practice. They are competent and open to leading change and able to consider the diverse factors and interconnections that characterize the nurse's work.

Keywords: evidence based nursing, critical thinking skills, project based learning, students education

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Authors: Maria Corazon Tapang-Lopez, Alyn Joy Dela Cruz Baltazar, Bobby Jones Villanueva Domdom

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The requisite for an organization implementing quality management system to sustain its compliance to the requirements and commitment for continuous improvement is even higher. It is expected that the offices and units has high and consistent compliance to the established processes and procedures. The Development Academy of the Philippines has been operating under project management to which is has a quality management certification. To further realize its mandate as a think-tank and capacity builder of the government, DAP expanded its operation and started to grant graduate degree through its Graduate School of Public and Development Management (GSPDM). As the academic arm of the Academy, GSPDM offers graduate degree programs on public management and productivity & quality aligned to the institutional trusts. For a time, the documented procedures and processes of a project management seem to fit the Graduate School. However, there has been a significant growth in the operations of the GSPDM in terms of the graduate programs offered that directly increase the number of students. There is an apparent necessity to align the project management system into a more educational system otherwise it will no longer be responsive to the development that are taking place. The strongly advocate and encourage its students to pursue internal and external improvement to cope up with the challenges of providing quality service to their own clients and to our country. If innovation will not take roots in the grounds of GSPDM, then how will it serve the purpose of “walking the talk”? This research was conducted to assess the diverse flow of the existing internal operations and processes of the DAP’s project management and GSPDM’s school management that will serve as basis to develop a system that will harmonize into one, the Learning Management System. The study documented the existing process of GSPDM following the project management phases of conceptualization & development, negotiation & contracting, mobilization, implementation, and closure into different flow charts of the key activities. The primary source of information as respondents were the different groups involved into the delivery of graduate programs - the executive, learning management team and administrative support offices. The Learning Management System (LMS) shall capture the unique and critical processes of the GSPDM as a degree-granting unit of the Academy. The LMS is the harmonized project management and school management system that shall serve as the standard system and procedure for all the programs within the GSPDM. The unique processes cover the three important areas of school management – student, curriculum, and faculty. The required processes of these main areas such as enrolment, course syllabus development, and faculty evaluation were appropriately placed within the phases of the project management system. Further, the research shall identify critical reports and generate manageable documents and records to ensure accuracy, consistency and reliable information. The researchers had an in-depth review of the DAP-GSDPM’s mandate, analyze the various documents, and conducted series of focused group discussions. A comprehensive review on flow chart system prior and various models of school management systems were made. Subsequently, the final output of the research is a work instructions manual that will be presented to the Academy’s Quality Management Council and eventually an additional scope for ISO certification. The manual shall include documented forms, iterative flow charts and program Gantt chart that will have a parallel development of automated systems.

Keywords: productivity, quality, learning management system, agency-based graduate school

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Authors: Jhemson C. Elis, Alvin S. Magadia

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Our world is full of numbers, shapes, and figures that illustrate the wholeness of a thing. Indeed, this statement signifies that mathematics is everywhere. Mathematics in its broadest sense helps people in their everyday life that is why in education it is a must to be taken by the students as a subject. The study aims to determine the profile of the respondents in terms of gender and age, performance of the control and experimental groups in the pretest and posttest, impact of the instructional game used as instructional intervention in teaching algebra for high school students, significant difference between the level of performance of the two groups of respondents in their pre–test and post–test results, and the instructional intervention can be proposed. The descriptive method was also utilized in this study. The use of the certain approach was to that it corresponds to the main objective of this research that is to determine the effectiveness of the instructional game used as an instructional intervention in teaching algebra for high school students. There were 30 students served as respondents, having an equal size of the sample of 15 each while a greater number of female teacher respondents which totaled 7 or 70 percent and male were 3 or 30 percent. The study recommended that mathematics teacher should conceptualize instructional games for the students to learn mathematics with fun and enjoyment while learning. Mathematics education program supervisor should give training for teachers on how to conceptualize mathematics intervention for the students learning. Meaningful activities must be provided to sustain the student’s interest in learning. Students must be given time to have fun at the classroom through playing while learning since mathematics for them was considered as difficult. Future researcher must continue conceptualizing some mathematics intervention to suffice the needs of the students, and teachers should inculcate more educational games so that the discussion will be successful and joyful.

Keywords: instructional game in algebra, mathematical intervention, joyful, successful

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Authors: Minavand Mohammad, Maghsoudi Masoud, Mousavi Mahdis, Vahed Zahra, Hamidi Shabnam

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While workaholism in organizations has received considerable popular attention, our understanding of it on the basis of research proof is limited. This comes from the deficiency of both appropriate definitions and measures of the concept. The purpose of this paper is to investigate gender, career and educational diversity in three workaholism components among Iranian journalists. Data were collected from 243 journalists (110 men and 133 women) using nameless completed questionnaires, with a 48 percent response rate. No gender differences found between male and female respondents, so there seems no consistency with previous findings. Furthermore, the results showed that different levels of jobs and education score correspondingly on the measures of work involvement, feeling driven to work and work enjoyment. All data are gathered using self report questionnaires. It is not evident the extent to which these findings would generalize to men and women in other vocations. This investigation has a contribution to the small but growing literature on flow and optimal experience in media organizations in Iran.

Keywords: gender, career, education, workaholism, Iranian journalists, work involvement, work enjoyment, feeling driven to work

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Authors: Kelechi E. Ezeji

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The inclusion of relevant content in curricula of architecture schools is vital for attainment of Computer Aided Design (CAD) proficiency by graduates. Implementing this content involves, among other variables, the presence of competent tutors. Consequently, this study sought to investigate the importance of personnel recruitment for inclusion of content vital to the implementation of CAD in the curriculum for architecture education. This was with a view to developing a framework for appropriate implementation of CAD curriculum. It was focused on departments of architecture in universities in south-east Nigeria which have been accredited by National Universities Commission. Survey research design was employed. Data were obtained from sources within the study area using questionnaires, personal interviews, physical observation/enumeration and examination of institutional documents. A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was adopted. The first stage of stratification involved random sampling by balloting of the departments. The second stage involved obtaining respondents’ population from the number of staff and students of sample population. Chi Square analysis tool for nominal variables and Pearson’s product moment correlation test for interval variables were used for data analysis. With ρ < 0.5, the study found significant correlation between the number of CAD literate academic staff and use of CAD in design studio/assignments; that increase in the overall number of teaching staff significantly affected total CAD credit units in the curriculum of the department. The implications of these findings were that for successful implementation leading to attainment of CAD proficiency to occur, CAD-literacy should be a factor in the recruitment of staff and a policy of in-house training should be pursued.

Keywords: computer-aided design, education, personnel recruitment, curriculum

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Authors: Kilari Nikhil, Ankur Tibrewal, Srinivas Kruthiventi S. S.

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Conventional speaker identification systems often fall short of capturing the diverse variations present in speech data due to fixed-scale architectures. In this research, we propose a CNN-based architecture, USENet, designed to overcome these limitations. Leveraging two key techniques, our approach achieves superior performance on the VoxCeleb 1 Dataset without any pre-training. Firstly, we adopt a U-net-inspired design to extract features at multiple scales, empowering our model to capture speech characteristics effectively. Secondly, we introduce the squeeze and excitation block to enhance spatial feature learning. The proposed architecture showcases significant advancements in speaker identification, outperforming existing methods, and holds promise for future research in this domain.

Keywords: multi-scale feature extraction, squeeze and excitation, VoxCeleb1 speaker identification, mel-spectrograms, USENet

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Authors: Rosemary Saunders, Courtney Glass, Karla Seaman, Karen Gullick, Julie Andrew, Anne Wilkinson, Ashwini Davray

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Current literature demonstrates that most Australians receive end-of-life care in a hospital setting, despite most hoping to die within their own home. The necessity for high quality end-of-life care has been emphasised by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and the National Safety and Quality in Health Services Standards depict the requirement for comprehensive care at the end of life (Action 5.20), reinforcing the obligation for continual organisational assessment to determine if these standards are suitably achieved. Limited research exploring clinical staff perspectives of end-of-life care delivery has been conducted within an Australian private health context. This study aimed to investigate clinical staff member perceptions of end-of-life care delivery at a private hospital in Western Australia. The study comprised of a multi-faceted mixed-methods methodology, part of a larger study. Data was obtained from clinical staff utilising surveys and focus groups. A total of 133 questionnaires were completed by clinical staff, including registered nurses (61.4%), enrolled nurses (22.7%), allied health professionals (9.9%), non-palliative care consultants (3.8%) and junior doctors (2.2%). A total of 14.7% of respondents were palliative care ward staff members. Additionally, seven staff focus groups were conducted with physicians (n=3), nurses (n=26) and allied health professionals including social workers (n=1), dietitians (n=2), physiotherapists (n=5) and speech pathologists (n=3). Key findings from the surveys highlighted that the majority of staff agreed it was part of their role to talk to doctors about the care of patients who they thought may be dying, and recognised the importance of communication, appropriate training and support for clinical staff to provide quality end-of-life care. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data generated three key themes: creating the setting which highlighted the importance of adequate resourcing and conducive physical environments for end-of-life care and to support staff and families; planning and care delivery which emphasised the necessity for collaboration between staff, families and patients to develop care plans and treatment directives; and collaborating in end-of-life care, with effective communication and teamwork leading to achievable care delivery expectations. These findings contribute to health professionals better understanding of end-of-life care provision and the importance of collaborating with patients and families in care delivery. It is crucial that health care providers implement strategies to overcome gaps in care, so quality end-of-life care is provided. Findings from this study have been translated into practice, with the development and implementation of resources, training opportunities, support networks and guidelines for the delivery of quality end-of-life care.

Keywords: clinical staff, end-of-life care, mixed-methods, private hospital.

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Authors: G. T. Aigarinova

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This article considers the legal issues of food security as a major component of national security of the republic. The problem of food security is the top priority of the economic policy strategy of any state, the effectiveness of this solution influences social, political, and ethnic stability in society. Food security and nutrition is everyone’s business. Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. By analyzing the existing legislation in the area of food security, the author identifies weaknesses and gaps, suggesting ways to improve it.

Keywords: food security, national security, agriculture, public resources, economic security

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Authors: Kien-Trinh Thi Bui, Cuong Manh Nguyen

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In order to simulate and reproduce the operational characteristics of a dam visually, it is necessary to capture the displacement at different measurement points and analyze the observed movement data promptly to forecast the dam safety. The accuracy of forecasts is further improved by applying machine learning methods to data analysis progress. In this study, the horizontal displacement monitoring data of the Ialy hydroelectric dam was applied to machine learning algorithms: Gaussian processes, multi-layer perceptron neural networks, and the M5-rules algorithm for modelling and forecasting of horizontal displacement of the Ialy hydropower dam (Vietnam), respectively, for analysing. The database which used in this research was built by collecting time series of data from 2006 to 2021 and divided into two parts: training dataset and validating dataset. The final results show all three algorithms have high performance for both training and model validation, but the MLPs is the best model. The usability of them are further investigated by comparison with a benchmark models created by multi-linear regression. The result show the performance which obtained from all the GP model, the MLPs model and the M5-Rules model are much better, therefore these three models should be used to analyze and predict the horizontal displacement of the dam.

Keywords: Gaussian processes, horizontal displacement, hydropower dam, Ialy dam, M5-Rules, multi-layer perception neural networks

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Authors: Morolake Josephine Adeagbo

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South Africa is one of those countries that openly rejected racism, and this is entrenched in its Bill of Rights. Despite the acceptance and incorporation of racial integration into the South Africa Constitution, the implementation within some sectors, most especially the educational sector, seems difficult. Recent occurrences of racism in some higher institutions of learning in South Africa are indications that racial integration / racial transformation is still farfetched in the country’s higher educational sector. It is against this background that this study was conducted to understand how gender and residential background influence racial integration in a South African university which was predominantly a white Afrikaner institution. Using a quantitative method to test the attitude of different categories of undergraduate students at the university, this study found that the factors- residential background and gender- used in measuring student’s attitude do not necessarily have a significant relationship towards racial integration. However, this study concludes with a call for more research with a range of other factors in order to better understand how racial integration can be promoted in South African institutions of higher learning.

Keywords: racial integration, gender, residential background, transformation

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Authors: Karlygash Adamova

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This article is focused on the KazTest as one of the most important high-stakes tests and the key tool in Kazakh language assessment. The research will also include the brief introduction to the language policy in Kazakhstan. Particularly, it is going to be changed significantly and turn from bilingualism (Kazakh, Russian) to multilingual policy (three languages - Kazakh, Russian, English). Therefore, the current status of the abovementioned languages will be described. Due to the various educational reforms in the country, the language evaluation system should also be improved and moderated. The research will present the most significant test of Kazakhstan – the KazTest, which is aimed to evaluate the Kazakh language proficiency. Assessment is an ongoing process that encompasses a wide area of knowledge upon the productive performance of the learners. Test is widely defined as a standardized or standard method of research, testing, diagnostics, verification, etc. The two most important characteristics of any test, as the main element of the assessment - validity and reliability - will also be described in this paper. Therefore, the preparation and design of the test, which is assumed to be an indicator of knowledge, and it is highly important to take into account all these properties.

Keywords: multilingualism, language assessment, testing, language policy

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Authors: Rabia Munsaf Khan, Eshrat Fatima

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The analysis of the spatial extent and temporal change of vegetation cover using remotely sensed data is of critical importance to agricultural sciences. Pakistan, being an agricultural country depends on this resource as it makes 70% of the GDP. The case study is of Lal Suhanra National Park, which is not only the biggest forest reserve of Pakistan but also of Asia. The study is performed using different temporal images of Landsat. Also, the results of Landsat are cross-checked by using Sentinel-2 imagery as it has both higher spectral and spatial resolution. Vegetation can easily be detected using NDVI which is a common and widely used index. It is an important vegetation index, widely applied in research on global environmental and climatic change. The images are then classified to observe the change occurred over 15 years. Vegetation cover maps of 2000 and 2016 are used to generate the map of vegetation change detection for the respective years and to find out the changing pattern of vegetation cover. Also, the NDVI values aided in the detection of percentage decrease in vegetation cover. The study reveals that vegetation cover of the area has decreased significantly during the year 2000 and 2016.

Keywords: Landsat, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), sentinel 2, Greenland monitoring

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Authors: S. Fazelifar, M. Ghasemi

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Aim: Recent studies on cardiovascular risk factors have been focused on the new markers of inflammatory diseases such as C-reactive protein (CRP). Research evidence shows that physical activity along with other factors such as reduced smoking, controlling blood pressure, control blood lipids TC, LDL-c, HDL-c and having a healthy weight can reduce the risk of chronic heart disease (CHD) .Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of twelve weeks aerobic exercise and consumption of apple vinegar on cardiovascular risk factor in older women. Methodology: 28 inactive women (mean body weight 72.13 ± 8.6 kg, height 157 ± 7.4cm, age 48.06 ± 5.18 years and BMI 28.2 ± 3.2 kg/m2) by recall and notice of investigation, among of the eligible voters recruited and randomly divided in 4 groups: control, apple vinegar, exercise, exercise + apple vinegar. The training program includes a 20-minute warm-up and stretching, running for 15 minutes in the first session with an intensity of 80% of maximum heart rate and an increase in one-minute run time in next training session. Also, subjects in experimental groups received daily specified amount of 50 ml apple vinegar. Blood samples were collected from the brachial vein in before and after training to measure CRP and blood lipids (cholesterol, HDL, VLDL, LDL). The levels of CRP were measured by ELISA way. K-S test to determine the normality of the data and analysis of variance for repeated measures was used to analyze the data. A significant difference in the p < 0/05 accepted. Results: The results indicated that individual characteristics including height, weight, age, and body mass index were not significantly different among the four groups. The results showed that levels of CRP and LDL cholesterol were significantly reduced in all groups at post-test compared to the pre-test. The HDL levels increased significantly in all groups in post-test compared to the pre-test. Analysis of the data indicates that levels of CRP, TC, and LDL were significantly reduced in all groups compared to the control group, while the changes in the other groups were not significant relative to each other. Conclusion: Results of this study showed that twelve weeks of aerobic exercise with apple vinegar cause a significant decrease in CRP, cholesterol, LDL, and significantly increased HDL levels. According to the results of this study, it is possible that aerobic exercise with apple vinegar can inhibit CRP and undesirable fats. Considering the strong association between the inflammatory indices and the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, every factor that decreases these indices can reduce the cardiovascular complications.

Keywords: aerobic exercise, apple vinegar, CRP, older women

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Authors: Michael Kho Lim

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This paper examines the status of the film industry as an industry in the Philippines—where or how it is classified in the Philippine industrial classification system and how this positioning gives the film industry an identity (or not) and affects (film) policy development and impacts the larger national economy. It is important to look at how the national government recognises Philippine cinema officially, as this will have a direct and indirect impact on the industry in terms of its representation, conduct of business, international relations, and most especially its implications on policy development and implementation. Therefore, it is imperative that the ‘identity’ of Philippine cinema be clearly established and defined in the overall industrial landscape. Having a clear understanding of Philippine cinema’s industry status provides a better view of the bigger picture and helps us determine cinema’s position in the national agenda in terms of priority setting, future direction and how the state perceives and thereby values the film industry as an industry. This will then serve as a frame of reference that will anchor the succeeding discussion. Once the Philippine film industry status is identified, the paper will then clarify how cultural policy is defined, understood, and applied in the Philippines in relation to Philippine cinema by reviewing and analyzing existing policy documents and pending bills in the Philippine Congress and Senate. Lastly, the paper delves into the roles that (national) cultural institutions and industry organisations play as primary drivers or support mechanisms and how they become platforms (or not) for the upliftment of the independent film sector and towards the sustainability of the film industry. The paper concludes by arguing that the role of the government and how government officials perceive and treats culture is far more important than cultural policy itself, as these policies emanate from them.

Keywords: cultural and creative industries, cultural policy, film industry, Philippine cinema

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Authors: Jagannath P. Tegar

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The new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of Govt. of India has envisaged a major overhaul of the education system of India, in particular, the revamping of the Curriculum of Higher Education. In this process, the faculty members of the Indian universities and institutions have a challenging role in developing the curriculum, which is a shift from the traditional (content-based) curriculum to a student-centric- outcome-based Curriculum (SC-OBC) to be implemented in all of the Universities and institutions. The efforts and initiatives on the design and implementation of SC-OBC are remarkable in the engineering and technical education landscape of the country, but it is still in its early stages and many more steps are needed for the successful adaptation in every level of Higher Education. The premier institute of Govt. of India (NITTTR, Bhopal) has trained and developed the capacity and capability among the teachers of Polytechnics on the design and development of Student Centric - Outcome Based Curriculum and also providing academic consultancy for reforming curriculum in line of NEP- 2020 envisions for the states such as Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Maharashtra to make them responsibly ready for such a new shift in Higher Education. This research-based paper is on three main aspects: 1) the level of acceptance and preparedness of teachers /faculty towards NEP-2020 and student-centred outcome-based learning. 2) the extent of implementing NEP-2020 and student-centered outcome-based learning at Indian institutions/ universities and 3) the challenges of implementing NEP-2020 and student-centered outcome-based learning outcome-based education in the Indian context. The paper content will inspire curriculum designers and developers to prepare SC-OBC that meets the specific needs of industry and society at large, which is intended in the NEP-2020 of Govt. of India

Keywords: outcome based curriculum, student centric learning, national education policy -2020, implementation of nep-2020. outcome based learning, higher education curriculum

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Authors: Fatemeh Nejati, Farah Habib, Sayeh Goudarzi

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Architecture and structure have always been closely interrelated so that they should be integrated into a unified, coherent and beautiful universe, while in the contemporary era, both structures and architecture proceed separately. The purpose of architecture is the art of creating form and space and order for human service, and the goal of the structural engineer is the transfer of loads to the structure, too. This research seeks to achieve the goal by looking at the relationship between the form of architecture and structure from its inception to the present day to the Global Identification and Management Plan. Finally, by identifying the main components of the design of the structure in interaction with the architectural form, an effective step is conducted in the Professional training direction and solutions to professionals. Therefore, after reviewing the evolution of structural and architectural coordination in various historical periods as well as how to reach the form of the structure in different times and places, components are required to test the components and present the final theory that one hundred to be tested in this regard. Finally, this research indicates the fact that the form of architecture and structure has an aesthetic link, which is influenced by a number of components that could be edited and has a regular order throughout history that could be regular. The research methodology is analytic, and it is comparative using analytical and matrix diagrams and diagrams and tools for conducting library research and interviewing.

Keywords: architecture, structural form, structural and architectural coordination, effective components, aesthetics

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Authors: Linda Jane Wells

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In 1914 Topsy Smith, a woman of the First Nations Arabana tribe arrived in Alice Springs with her seven children and a herd of goats. They had come in from the goldfields at Arltunga where they had been living, and Topsy’s husband, Welsh-born Bill Smith, had recently died. Sergeant Stott, the local policeman and sub-protector of Aborigines for the region, erected a tin shed for Topsy and the children to live in, which became known as the Bungalow for half-castes. Over the years that followed many more children of mixed descent were removed from their families and brought to live at the Bungalow until, a decade later, sixty children were growing up there, cared for predominantly by Topsy Smith; Ida Standley who was the first, white schoolteacher for the town; and Sergeant Stott. The story of the Bungalow is pivotal to the foundations of social relations in the town of Alice Springs and beyond. At the same time, it is little known, recognised or understood locally, let alone more broadly. This is typical of the dominant historic narratives that have emerged out of the Australian colonial project and led to ‘the Great Australian Silence.’ The term was coined by Australian anthropologist WEH Stanner in his 1968 Boyer Lectures, in reference to the omission of the Aboriginal experience from the dominant narratives of the nation’s history. In his lecture, he attributed this silence to something that may have begun as a simple forgetting of other possible views which turned, under habit and over time, into something like a cult of forgetfulness practised on a national scale. This doctoral project, underpinned by a methodology of practice-led research, engages a bricolage of methods including archival research, ethnography, and oral histories to research the bungalow and the context in which it operated. Techniques of fictocriticism, speculative biography, autoethnography, and archival poetics are then engaged to write the research outcomes into a post-colonial, multi-genre work of creative non-fiction that speaks into the silences in the archives. The overall intent of this doctoral work is to explore and demonstrate how techniques of creative non-fiction can be used to rewrite narratives of Australian colonial history that resonate beyond the academy, thus contributing to the bank of post-colonial stories and working towards a more just, honest and inclusive national ‘memory’ and identity.

Keywords: Australian history, collective memory, creative non-fiction, postcolonialism

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