Search results for: Media literacy

Authors: Bashaiar Alsana

Abstract:

Never has a revolution influenced all aspects of humanity as the communication revolution during the past two decades. This revolution, with all its advances and utilities, swept the world thus becoming an integral part of our lives, hence giving way to emerging applications at the social, economic, political, and educational levels. More specifically, such applications have changed the delivery system through which learning is acquired by students. Interaction with educators, accessibility to content, and creative delivery options are but a few facets of the new learning experience now being offered through the use of technology in the educational field. With different success rates, third world countries have tried to pace themselves with use of educational technology in advanced parts of the world. One such country is the small rich-oil state of Kuwait which has tried to adopt the e-educational model, however, an evaluation of such trial is yet to be done. This study aims to fill the void of research conducted around that topic. The study explores teachers’ acceptance of incorporating communication technologies in higher education in Kuwait. Teachers’ responses to survey questions present an overview of the e-learning experience in this country, and draw a framework through which implications and suggestions for future research can be discussed to better serve the advancement of e-education in developing countries.

Keywords: communication technologies, e-learning, Kuwait, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Sara Bashir, Arthur Pagiwa, Merlyn Chapfunga, Ali Ahmad Khan, Gugulethu Moyo, Osman Hassan

Abstract:

Micronutrient malnutrition (MNM) is a persistent health issue in Sudan, where food fortification (FF) has the potential to improve nutritional intake. However, community acceptance and understanding are critical to the success of fortification programs. This study aimed to explore community perspectives on food fortification in Sudan, assessing knowledge, acceptability, and misconceptions. Using a mixed-methods design, an online survey was conducted through social media, gathering responses from 1,118 participants from various demographic backgrounds. Approximately half of the respondents were not aware of what FF entails and there were prevalent misconceptions about FF, perceived health benefits, and acceptance influenced by individual beliefs and circumstances. The results highlight a considerable gap in understanding the purpose and benefits of FF, despite general awareness. This study underscores the need for targeted educational campaigns to address misconceptions and promote acceptance, with attention to gender and age-specific perspectives. Furthermore, the findings provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to implement effective, culturally-sensitive FF initiatives and awareness campaigns in Sudan.

Keywords: food fortification, malnutrition, micronutrients, Sudan

Procedia PDF Downloads 14

Authors: Victoria Brennan, Andrea Mallaburn, Linda Seton

Abstract:

Science outreach programmes connect school pupils with external agencies to provide activities and experiences that enhance their exposure to science. It can be argued that these programmes not only aim to support teachers with curriculum engagement and promote scientific literacy but also provide pivotal opportunities to spark scientific interest in students. In turn, a further objective of these programmes is to increase awareness of career opportunities within this field. Although outreach work is also often described as a fun and satisfying venture, a plethora of researchers express caution to how successful the processes are to increases engagement post-16 in science. When researching the impact of outreach programmes, it is often student feedback regarding the activities or enrolment numbers to particular science courses post-16, which are generated and analysed. Although this is informative, the longevity of the programme’s impact could be better informed by the teacher’s perceptions; the evidence of which is far more limited in the literature. In addition, there are strong suggestions that teachers can have an indirect impact on a student’s own self-concept. These themes shape the focus and importance of this ongoing research project as it presents the rationale that teachers are under-used resources when it comes to considering the design of science outreach programmes. Therefore, the end result of the research will consist of a presentation of an ‘optimum’ model of outreach. The result of which should be of interest to the wider stakeholders such as universities or private or government organisations who design science outreach programmes in the hope to recruit future scientists. During phase one, questionnaires (n=52) and interviews (n=8) have generated both quantitative and qualitative data. These have been analysed using the Wilcoxon non-parametric test to compare teachers’ perceptions of science outreach interventions and thematic analysis for open-ended questions. Both of these research activities provide an opportunity for a cross-section of teacher opinions of science outreach to be obtained across all educational levels. Therefore, an early draft of the ‘optimum’ model of science outreach delivery was generated using both the wealth of literature and primary data. This final (ongoing) phase aims to refine this model using teacher focus groups to provide constructive feedback about the proposed model. The analysis uses principles of modified Grounded Theory to ensure that focus group data is used to further strengthen the model. Therefore, this research uses a pragmatist approach as it aims to focus on the strengths of the different paradigms encountered to ensure the data collected will provide the most suitable information to create an improved model of sustainable outreach. The results discussed will focus on this ‘optimum’ model and teachers’ perceptions of benefits and drawbacks when it comes to engaging with science outreach work. Although the model is still a ‘work in progress’, it provides both insight into how teachers feel outreach delivery can be a sustainable intervention tool within the classroom and what providers of such programmes should consider when designing science outreach activities.

Keywords: educational partnerships, science education, science outreach, teachers

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Doufoungognon C. Kone

Abstract:

Global change, in particular pollution and global warming, threatens ecosystems and the biodiversity they harbor. Due to pollutants exposure, organisms might modify their thermal niches in order to track the thermal conditions limiting the negative impacts of chemical stressors depending on their mode of action. This study tests the influence of different pollutants, copper, salt, and chloramphenicol, on the thermal preferences of the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila. Six genotypes were exposed to a gradient of concentrations ranging from 0 to 500mg/L for copper, 0 to 300 mg/l for chloramphenicol, and 0 to 12g/l for salt in synthetic media at eight temperatures ranging from 11 to 39° C. The measured fitness proxies are the maximum growth rate and the 50% growth inhibitory concentration (IC50). The results show that the majority of genotypes are more resistant to chloramphenicol in temperatures below their thermal optimum without pollutants, while they better tolerate other salt and copper in temperatures above their thermal optimum. In addition, generalists reduce their niche width while specialists widen it in chloramphenicol. Overall, results suggest that global warming would have a particularly deleterious effect in the case of chemical pollution. This pollution would induce the full disruption of the thermal habitats.

Keywords: ciliate, thermal niche, growth rate, toxicity, multiple stressors

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Abubakar Aisami, Ahmad Deedat

Abstract:

Soil contamination by crude oil and other hydrocarbons poses significant environmental challenges due to its adverse effects on soil fertility and ecosystem health. Bioremediation, employing indigenous microorganisms, offers a promising and eco-friendly approach to mitigate such contamination. In this study, a bacteria from oil engine oil contaminated soil was isolated and characterized for crude oil degrading. Molecular identification of the isolated bacterial strains was conducted by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogeny. Cultural conditions such as pH, temperature, crude oil concentration and salinity were tested in a mineral salt media containing crude oil sa the only carbon source. The isolate was identify as Enterobacter sp. Strain Deedat01 and was deposited at NCBI gene bank with accession number 0R026987.The optimal conditions for crude oil degradation were determined to be pH 8, temperature of 40°C, crude oil concentration of 9%, and salinity of 8%. Under these conditions, the isolated bacteria exhibited enhanced crude oil degradation efficiency. This study provides valuable insights into optimizing environmental conditions for the molecular identification and characterization of indigenous crude oil degrading bacteria isolated from engine oil contaminated soil.

Keywords: crude oil degradation, 16S rRNA, contamination, enterobacter sp, engine oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 14

Authors: Wen-Chen Hwang, Yu-Hsi Yuan

Abstract:

According to the estimation made by researchers of safety and hygiene, 80% to 90% of workplace accidents in enterprises could be attributed to human factors. Nevertheless, human factors are not the only cause for accidents; instead, happening of accidents is also closely associated with the safety culture of the organization. Therefore, the most effective way of reducing accident rate would be to improve the social and the organizational factors that influence organization’s safety performance. Overview the present study is to understand the current level of safety culture in manufacturing enterprises. A tool for evaluating safety culture matching the needs and characteristics of manufacturing enterprises was developed by reviewing literature of safety culture, and taking the special backgrounds of the case enterprises into consideration. Expert validity was also implied for developing the questionnaire. Moreover, safety culture assessment was conducted through the practical investigation of the case enterprises. Total 505 samples were involved, 53 were executives and 452 were operators. The result of this study in comparison of the safety culture level between the executives and the operators was reached the significant level in 8 dimensions: Safety Commitment, Safety System, Safety Training, Safety Involvement, Reward and Motivation, Communication and Reporting, Leadership and Supervision, Learning and Changing. In general, the overall safety culture were executive level higher than operators level (M: 74.98 > 69.08; t=2.87; p < 0.01).

Keywords: questionnaire survey, safety culture, t-test, media studies

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: E. Osazee, L. U. Bashir

Abstract:

This study was conducted at the Department of Biological Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria, to determine the effects of different weights of cow dung on indigenous bacterial isolates in remediation of crude oil contaminated soils. The soil (1kg) was contaminated with 20g of crude oil and this was treated with three (40g, 80g and 120g) weights of cow dung. The soils were amended after two weeks of crude oil contamination. Soil samples were collected from the plastic bags for microbiological analyses. The isolates were cultured to test their ability to grow on crude oil. The ability of the isolates to utilize the crude oil was determined using media dilution technique. Bacteria such as Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus lacterosporus, Morganella morganii, Serratia marcescens and Bacillus alvei were isolated. The variables measured were heterotrophic bacterial populations, hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial populations and the percentage of crude oil degraded in the soils. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results obtained indicated that all the different weights of cow dung showed appreciable effect in crude oil decontamination. Based on the findings of the experiments, it could be deduced that 120g of cow dung promoted higher degradation of hydrocarbons. Thus, it should be recommended for remediation of crude oil contaminated soil in the study area.

Keywords: crude oil, cow dung, amendment, bioremediation, decontamination

Procedia PDF Downloads 64

Authors: H. M. Takematsu, B. R. De Camargo, E. F. Noronha

Abstract:

The use of hydrolyzing enzymes for degradation of lignocellulosic biomass is of great concern for the production of second generation ethanol. Although many hollocelulases have already been described in the literature, much more has to be discovered. Therefore, the aim of this study to evaluate hollocelulase production of P. polonicum grown in liquid media containing sugarcane bagasse as the carbon source. From a collection of twenty fungi isolated from Cerrado biome soil, P. polonicum was molecular identified by sequencing of ITS4, βtubulin and Calmodulin genes, and has been chosen to be further investigated regarding its potential production of hydrolyzing enzymes. Spore suspension (1x10-6 ml-1) solution was inoculated in sterilized minimal liquid medium containing 0,5%(w/v) of non-pretreated sugarcane bagasse as the carbon source, and incubated in shaker incubator at 28°C and 120 rpm. The supernatant obtained, was subjected to enzymatic assays to analyze xylanase, mannanase, pectinase and endoglucanase activities. Xylanase activity showed better results (67,36 UI/mg). Xylanases bands were indicated by zymogram and SDS-PAGE, and one of them was partially purified and characterized. It showed maximum activity at 50 °C, was thermostable for 72h at 40°C, and pH5.0 was the optimum observed. This study presents P. polonicum as an interesting source of hollocelulases, especially xylanase, for lignocellulose bio-conversion processes with commercial use.

Keywords: sugarcane bagasse, Cerrado biome , hollocelulase, lignocellulosic biomass

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: Sushil K. Sharma, Jeff Zhang, Saeed Tabar

Abstract:

Worldwide, several governments are utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) to create smart city infrastructures to improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare. Over 700 cities from around the world have already started implementing their smart city projects. Smart City utilizes the network of connected things, or the Internet of Things (IoT), that interconnects devices and various components across city infrastructure, making them work together seamlessly to enhance the quality, performance, and interactivity of urban services, optimize resources, and reduce costs. Without developing smart cities, the accelerating growth of cities, and their disproportionate consumption of physical and social resources are unsustainable. In 2016, the Indian Government released a list of 100 cities with the intention of kick-starting the process of developing them into 'smart cities’ as part of the Smart Cities Mission. This study reports the progress and challenges of Smart City projects in India. The data were collected through the city/state government websites, media reports, and focus group discussions/interviews. The preliminary results indicate that smart city projects are not only behind in their implementation and scope but also lacks the sincerity for its implementation.

Keywords: smart city, smart government, Internet of Things, digital government

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: F. J. Puertas, M. Castro, A. Tebar, P. J. Fito, R. Gadea, J. M. Monzó, R. J. Colom

Abstract:

There is a great diversity of diseases that affect the integrity of the walls of the esophagus, generally of a digestive nature. Among them, gastroesophageal reflux is a common disease in the general population, affecting the patient's quality of life; however, there are still unmet diagnostic and therapeutic issues. The consequences of untreated or asymptomatic acid reflux on the esophageal mucosa are not only pain, heartburn, and acid regurgitation but also an increased risk of esophageal cancer. Currently, the diagnostic methods to detect problems in the esophageal tract are invasive and annoying, as 24-hour impedance-pH monitoring forces the patient to be uncomfortable for hours to be able to make a correct diagnosis. In this work, the development of a sensor able to measure in depth is proposed, allowing the detection of liquids circulating in the esophageal tract. The multisensor detection system is based on radiofrequency photospectrometry. At an experimental level, consumers representative of the population in terms of sex and age have been used, placing the sensors between the trachea and the diaphragm analyzing the measurements in vacuum, water, orange juice and saline medium. The results obtained have allowed us to detect the appearance of different liquid media in the esophagus, segregating them based on their ionic content.

Keywords: bioimpedance, dielectric spectroscopy, gastroesophageal reflux, GERD

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Mishu Gupta, Rama Gupta

Abstract:

It has been elucidated here that non- autonomous discrete non-linear Schrödinger equation is associated with saturable non-linearity through photo-refractive media. We have investigated the localized solution of non-autonomous saturable discrete non-linear Schrödinger equations. The similarity transformation has been involved in converting non-autonomous saturable discrete non-linear Schrödinger equation to constant-coefficient saturable discrete non-linear Schrödinger equation (SDNLSE), whose exact solution is already known. By back substitution, the solution of the non-autonomous version has been obtained. We have analysed our solution for the hyperbolic and periodic form of gain/loss term, and interesting results have been obtained. The most important characteristic role is that it helps us to analyse the propagation of electromagnetic waves in glass fibres and other optical wave mediums. Also, the usage of SDNLSE has been seen in tight binding for Bose-Einstein condensates in optical mediums. Even the solutions are interrelated, and its properties are prominently used in various physical aspects like optical waveguides, Bose-Einstein (B-E) condensates in optical mediums, Non-linear optics in photonic crystals, and non-linear kerr–type non-linearity effect and photo refracting medium.

Keywords: B-E-Bose-Einstein, DNLSE-Discrete non linear schrodinger equation, NLSE-non linear schrodinger equation, SDNLSE - saturable discrete non linear Schrodinger equation

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: TranThi Ly, Ligang Yang, Hechun Liu, Dengfeng Xu, Haiteng Zhou, Shaokang Wang, Shiqing Chen, Guiju Sun

Abstract:

This study aims to evaluate the oxidative stability of Chinese vegetable oils during repeated deep-frying. For frying media, palm oil (PO), sunflower oil (SFO), soybean oil (SBO), and canola oil (CO) were used. French fries were fried in oils heated to 180 ± 50℃. The temperature was kept constant during the eight h of the frying process. The oil quality was measured according to the fatty acid (FA) content, trans fatty acid (TFA) compounds, and chemical properties such as peroxide value (PV), acid value (AV), anisidine value (AnV), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Additionally, the sensory characteristics such as color, flavor, greasiness, crispiness, and overall acceptability of the French fries were assessed. Results showed that the PV, AV, AnV, MDA, and TFA content of SFO, CO, and SBO significantly increased in conjunction with prolonged frying time. During the deep-frying process, the SBO showed the lowest oxidative stability at all indices, while PO retained oxidative stability and generated the lowest level of TFA. The French fries fried in PO also offered better sensory properties than the other oils. Therefore, results regarding oxidative stability and sensory attributes suggested that among the examined vegetable oils, PO appeared to be the best oil for frying food products.

Keywords: vegetable oils, French fries, oxidative stability, sensory properties, frying oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Ang Ling Weay, Mona Masood

Abstract:

This paper discusses the potential benefits of an interactive multimedia information representation in enhancing students’ critical thinking aligned with history reasoning in learning history between Secondary School students in Malaysia. Two modes of multimedia information representation implemented which are chronological and thematic information representation. A qualitative study of an unstructured interview was conducted among two history teachers, one history education lecturer, two i-think expert and program trainers and five form 4 secondary school students. The interview was to elicit their opinions on the implementation of thinking maps and interactive multimedia information representation in history learning. The key elements of interactive multimedia (e.g. multiple media, user control, interactivity, and use of timelines and concept maps) were then considered to improve the learning process. Findings of the preliminary investigation reveal that the interactive multimedia information representations have the potential benefits to be implemented as instructional resource in enhancing students’ higher order thinking skills (HOTs). This paper concludes by giving suggestions for future work.

Keywords: multimedia information representation, critical thinking, history reasoning, chronological and thematic information representation

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Matthew McArthur, Margaret Friend

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the stability of the home environment for families across the world. Potential disruptions include parent work modality (in-person vs. remote), levels of health anxiety, family routines, and caregiving. These disruptions may have interfered with the processes of early vocabulary acquisition, carrying lasting effects over the life course. Our justification for this research is as follows: First, early, stable, caregiver-child reciprocal interactions, which may have been disrupted during the pandemic, contribute to the development of the brain architecture that supports language, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Second, early vocabulary predicts several cognitive outcomes, such as numeracy, literacy, and executive function. Further, disruption in the home is associated with adverse cognitive, academic, socio-emotional, behavioral, and communication outcomes in young children. We are interested in how disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with vocabulary acquisition in children born during the first two waves of the pandemic. We are conducting a moderated online experiment to assess this question. Participants are 16 children (10F) ranging in age from 19 to 39 months (M=25.27) and their caregivers. All child participants were screened for language background, health history, and history of language disorders, and were typically developing. Parents completed a modified version of the COVID-19 Family Stressor Scale (CoFaSS), a published measure of COVID-19-related family stressors. Thirteen items from the original scale were replaced to better capture change in family organization and stability specifically related to disruptions in income, anxiety, family relations, and childcare. Following completion of the modified CoFaSS, children completed a Web-Based version of the Computerized Comprehension Task and the Receptive One Word Picture Vocabulary if 24 months or older or the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory if younger than 24 months. We report our preliminary data as a partial correlation analysis controlling for age. Raw vocabulary scores on the CCT, ROWPVT-4, and MCDI were all negatively associated with pandemic-related disruptions related to anxiety (r12=-.321; r1=-.332; r9=-.509), family relations (r12=-.590*; r1=-.155; r9=-.468), and childcare (r12=-.294; r1=-.468; r9=-.177). Although the small sample size for these preliminary data limits our power to detect significance, this trend is in the predicted direction, suggesting that increased pandemic-related disruption across multiple domains is associated with lower vocabulary scores. We anticipate presenting data on a full sample of 50 monolingual English participants. A sample of 50 participants would provide sufficient statistical power to detect a moderate effect size, adhering to a nominal alpha of 0.05 and ensuring a power level of 0.80.

Keywords: COVID-19, early vocabulary, home environment, language acquisition, multiple measures

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Mohammed Ibahrine

Abstract:

One of the prominent trends in the Saudi digital space in recent years is the boom in the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. As of 2016, Twitter has over six million users in Saudi Arabia. In the wake of the recent political instability in the Arab region, digital platforms have gained importance for both, personal and professional purposes. A conspicuously observable tide of social activism has risen, with Twitter playing an increasingly important role. One of their primary goals is to enforce the logic of public visibility, social mobility and civic participation in the Saudi society. Saudi women use Twitter to disseminate specific and relevant information and promote their social agenda that remained unrecognized and invisible in the mainstream media and thus in the public sphere. The question is to what extent does Twitter empower Saudi women or reinforces their social immobility and invisibility? This paper focuses on three kinds of empowerment through Twitter in the religiously conservative and socially patriarchal Saudi society. It traces and analyses how Saudi female hashtactivism is increasingly becoming a site of struggle over visibility, mobility, control, and civic participation. The underlying thesis is that Twitter makes a contribution to the development of participatory culture, especially in the lives of women.

Keywords: civic, hashtactivism, Saudi Arabia, Twiterverse

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Talip Turkmen

Abstract:

From the moment the first beats, the first step into the world mankind finds him in a struggle to survive. Most important case to win this fight is power. Power is one of the most common concepts which we encounter in our life. Mainly power is ability to reach desired results on someone else or ability to penetrate into the behavior of others. Throughout history merging technology and changing political trade-offs caused the change of concept of power. Receiving a state of multipolar new world order in the 21st century and increasing impacts of media have narrowed the limits of military power. With increasing globalization and peaceful diplomacy this gap, left by military power, has filled by soft power which has ability to persuade and attract. As concepts of power soft power also has not compromised yet. For that reason it is important to specify, sources of soft power, soft power strategies and limits of soft power. The purpose of this study was to analyze concept of soft power and importance of soft power in foreign relations. This project focuses on power, hard power and soft power relations, sources of soft power and strategies to gain soft power. Datas in this project was acquired from other studies on soft power and foreign relations. This paper was prepared in terms of concept and research techniques. As a result of data gained in this study the one of important topics in international relations is balance between soft power.

Keywords: soft power, foreign policy, national power, hard power

Procedia PDF Downloads 463

Authors: Nureni Asafe Yekini, Olawale Nasiru Lawal, Bola Dada, Gabriel Adeyemi Okunlola

Abstract:

This study is focused on the strengths and challenges associated with using the online social network as a rapidly evolving medium in marketing tourism services and businesses among the youths in Nigeria. The paper examines the Nigerian tourists’ attitude, mainly towards three aspects: application of Internet for travel and tourism; usage of online social networks in sharing travel and tourism experiences; and trust in electronic-media for marketing tourism businesses and services. The aim of this research is to determine the level of application of internet tools in marketing tourism businesses and services in Nigeria. This study reports an empirical analysis based on data obtained from a survey among 1004 Nigerian tourists. The outcome confirms the research hypothesis and points to crucial importance of introducing online social network site for marketing tourism businesses and services in Nigeria, and increasing the awareness for Nigeria as a tourist destination. Moreover, the paper strongly recommends the use of online social network as a tool for marketing tourism businesses and services, and the need for identifying effective framework for application of ICT tools in marketing tourism businesses and services in Nigeria at large.

Keywords: tourism business, internet, online social networks, tourism services, ICT

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Rosdyana Mangir Irawan Kusuma, Wei-Chun Kao, Ho-Thi Trang, Yu-Yen Ou, Kai-Lung Hua

Abstract:

Stock market prediction is still a challenging problem because there are many factors that affect the stock market price such as company news and performance, industry performance, investor sentiment, social media sentiment, and economic factors. This work explores the predictability in the stock market using deep convolutional network and candlestick charts. The outcome is utilized to design a decision support framework that can be used by traders to provide suggested indications of future stock price direction. We perform this work using various types of neural networks like convolutional neural network, residual network and visual geometry group network. From stock market historical data, we converted it to candlestick charts. Finally, these candlestick charts will be feed as input for training a convolutional neural network model. This convolutional neural network model will help us to analyze the patterns inside the candlestick chart and predict the future movements of the stock market. The effectiveness of our method is evaluated in stock market prediction with promising results; 92.2% and 92.1 % accuracy for Taiwan and Indonesian stock market dataset respectively.

Keywords: candlestick chart, deep learning, neural network, stock market prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: Dequn Teng, Tianshuo Yang, Mingrui Wang, Qiuyu Chen, Xiao Wang, Katie Atkinson

Abstract:

Currently, many students are kind of at a loss in the university due to the complex environment within the campus, where every information within the campus is isolated with fewer interactions with each other. However, if the on-campus resources are gathered and combined with the artificial intelligence modelling techniques, there will be a bridge for not only students in understanding themselves, and the teachers will understand students in providing a much efficient approach in education. The objective of this paper is to provide a competency level analysis method, apparatus, electronic equipment, and storage medium. It uses a user’s target competency level analysis model from a plurality of predefined candidate competency level analysis models by obtaining a user’s promotion target parameters, promotion target parameters including at least one of the following parameters: target profession, target industry, and the target company, according to the promotion target parameters. According to the parameters, the model analyzes the user’s ability level, determines the user’s ability level, realizes the quantitative and personalized analysis of the user’s ability level, and helps the user to objectively position his ability level.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, model, university, education, recommendation system, evaluation, job hunting

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Chamindi Dilkushi Senaratne

Abstract:

Sri Lanka has lived with the English language for more than 200 years. Although officially considered a link language, the phenomenal usage of English by the Sinhala-English bilingual has given rise to a mixed code with identifiable structural characteristics. The extensive use of the mixed language by the average Sri Lankan bilingual has resulted in it being used as a medium of communication by creative writers of bilingual advertisements in Sri Lanka. This study analyses the way in which English is used in bilingual advertisements in both print and electronic media in Sri Lanka. The theoretical framework for the study is based on Kachru’s analysis of the use of English by the bilingual, Muysken’s typology on code mixing theories in colonial settings and Myers-Scotton’s theory on the Matrix Language Framework Model. The study will look at a selection of Sinhala-English advertisements published in newspapers from 2015 to 2016. Only advertisements using both Sinhala and English are used for the analysis. To substantiate data collected from the newspapers, the study will select bilingual advertisements from television advertisements. The objective of the study is to analyze the mixed patterns used for creative purposes by advertisers. The results of the study will reveal the creativity used by the Sinhala –English bilingual and the morphological processes used by the creators of Sinhala-English bilingual advertisements to attract the masses.

Keywords: bilingual, code mixing, morphological processes, mixed code

Procedia PDF Downloads 293

Authors: Xinrong Li, Jiawei Dai

Abstract:

Food production, food safety, and the food supply chain are causing a great challenge to human health and the environment. Different kinds of food have different environmental costs. Therefore, a healthy diet can alleviate this problem to a certain extent. In this project, an online questionnaire was conducted to understand the purchase behaviour of consumers and their attitudes towards basic food information. However, the data shows that the public's current consumption habits and ideology do not meet the long-term development of sustainable social needs. In order to solve the environmental problems caused by the unbalanced diet of the public and the social problems of unequal food distribution, the purpose of this paper is to explore how to use the emerging media of VR to visualize food supply chain information so as to attract users' attention to the environmental cost of food. In this project, the food supply chain of imported and local cheese was compared side-by-side in the virtual reality environment, including the origin, transportation, sales, and other processes, which can effectively help users understand the difference between the two processes and environmental costs. Besides, the experimental data demonstrated that the participant would like to choose low environmental cost food after experiencing the whole process.

Keywords: virtual reality, information design, food supply chain, environmental cost

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Yuan-Hsiang Chang, Zhong-Xian Peng, Li-Der Jeng

Abstract:

Music has always been an integral part of human’s daily lives. But, for the most people, reading musical score and turning it into melody is not easy. This study aims to develop an Automatic music score recognition system using digital image processing, which can be used to read and analyze musical score images automatically. The technical approaches included: (1) staff region segmentation; (2) image preprocessing; (3) note recognition; and (4) accidental and rest recognition. Digital image processing techniques (e.g., horizontal /vertical projections, connected component labeling, morphological processing, template matching, etc.) were applied according to musical notes, accidents, and rests in staff notations. Preliminary results showed that our system could achieve detection and recognition rates of 96.3% and 91.7%, respectively. In conclusion, we presented an effective automated musical score recognition system that could be integrated in a system with a media player to play music/songs given input images of musical score. Ultimately, this system could also be incorporated in applications for mobile devices as a learning tool, such that a music player could learn to play music/songs.

Keywords: connected component labeling, image processing, morphological processing, optical musical recognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 424

Authors: Ana Luisa Mouro, Ana Maria Ramalheira

Abstract:

The Reunification of Germany, in 1990, was not received with great enthusiasm by other European countries. On the contrary, the union of the two German states was accompanied by great concern towards its possible political and economic consequences. The Europeans had not forgotten Germany’s responsibility in the outbreak of the Second World War, and many feared that this new nation would again long for a hegemonic role. During the following years, however, the notion of a threatening Germany faded away, giving place to a description of Germany as an economic giant but a political dwarf. Twenty years after the Reunification, with the outbreak of the financial crisis, Germany conquered a key and powerful position at the heart of Europe and Germanophobia started to gain ground again. The present study has been based on the survey, selection and critical analysis of news reporting, opinion articles, interviews and editorials, published in the weekly Expresso and the daily Público, during two historical moments: the Reunification of Germany in 1990 and the European Crisis, between 2008 and 2015. The findings of this study will show that Germany’s growing influence over the current European economic and political scene woke up old 'demons' that had been 'sleeping' since 1990.

Keywords: media and cultural studies, Euro crisis, German Unification, Germanophobia, Portuguese quality press

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Aliyu Bello Mohammed

Abstract:

Vital registration or registration of vital events is one of the three major sources of demographic data in Nigeria. The other two are the population census and sample survey. The former is judged to be an indispensable source of demographic data because, it provide information on vital statistics and population trends between two census periods. Various literacy works however depict the vital registration in Nigeria as incapable of providing accurate data for the country. The study has both theoretical and practical significances. The trends and pattern of vital registration has not received adequate research interest in Sub-Saharan Africa in general and Nigeria in particular. This has created a gap in understanding the extent and consequence of the scourge in Africa sub-region. Practically, the study also captures the policy interventions of government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that would help enlighten the public on the importance of vital registration in Nigeria. Furthermore, feasible policy strategies that will enhance trends and pattern vital registration in the society would emanate from the study. The study adopted a cross sectional survey design and applied multi stage sampling techniques to sample 230 respondents from the general public in the study area. The first stage involved the splitting of the local government into wards. The second stage involves selecting streets, while the third stage was the households. In all, 6 wards were sampled for the study. The study utilized both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary sources of data used were the questionnaire, focus group discussion (FGD) and in-depth interview (IDI) guides while the secondary sources of data were journals and books, newspapers and magazines. Twelve FGD sessions with 96 study participants and five IDI sessions with the heads of vital registration facilities were conducted. The quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics like tables, frequencies and percentages were employed in presenting and interpreting the data. Information from the qualitative data was transcribed and ordered in themes to ensure that outstanding points of the responses are noted. The following conclusions were drawn from the study: the available vital registration facilities are not adequate and were not evenly distributed in the study area; lack of awareness and knowledge of the existence and the importance of vital registration by majority of the people in the local government; distance to vital registration centres from their residents; most births in the area were not registered, and even among the few births that were registered, majority of them were registered after the limited period for registration. And the study reveals that socio-economic index, educational level and distance of facilities to residents are determinants of access to vital registration facility. The study concludes by discussing the need for a reliable and accurate vital registration system if Nigeria’s vision of becoming one of the top 20 economies in the world in 2020 would be realized.

Keywords: trends, patterns, vital, registration and assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 257

Authors: Kunle Oparinde, Ernestina Maleshoane Rapeane-Mathonsi, Gift Mheta

Abstract:

Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA), the research seeks to deconstruct politically-motivated discourse as observed from Nigerian politics. This is intended to be achieved by analysing linguistic (mis)representation and manipulation in Nigerian political settings, drawing from instances of language use as observed from different political campaigns. Since language in itself is generally meaningless without context, it is therefore paramount to analyse the (mis)representation and manipulation in Nigerian political sceneries within their contextual basis. The study focuses on political language used by Nigerian politicians emanating from printed and social media forms such as posters, pamphlets, speeches, billboards, and internet sources purposely selected across Nigeria. The research further aims at investigating the discursive strategies used by politicians to gain more audience, and, as a result, shape opinions that result in votes. The study employs a qualitative approach. Two parties are intentionally selected because they have been essentially strong at the national level namely: All Progressive Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The study finds out that politicians in Nigeria, as in many parts of the world, use language to manipulate the electorate. Comprehensive discussion of these instances of political manipulation remains the thrust of this paper.

Keywords: communication, discourse, manipulation, misrepresentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: Majdah Alnefaie

Abstract:

The ‘netnographic study’ and data mining have been used to monitor the public interaction on Social Media Sites (SMSs) to understand what the motivational factors influence the Saudi intentions regarding allowing women driving in Saudi Arabia in 2018. The netnographic study monitored the publics’ textual and visual communications in Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube. SMSs users’ communications method is also known as electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Netnography methodology is still in its initial stages as it depends on manual extraction, reading and classification of SMSs users text. On the other hand, data mining is come from the computer and physical sciences background, therefore it is much harder to extract meaning from unstructured qualitative data. In addition, the new development in data mining software does not support the Arabic text, especially local slang in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, collaborations between social and computer scientists such as ‘netnographic study’ and data mining will enhance the efficiency of this study methodology leading to comprehensive research outcome. The eWOM communications between individuals on SMSs can promote a sense that sharing their preferences and experiences regarding politics and social government regulations is a part of their daily life, highlighting the importance of using SMSs as assistance in promoting participation in political and social. Therefore, public interactions on SMSs are important tools to comprehend people’s intentions regarding the new government regulations in the country. This study aims to answer this question, "What factors influence the Saudi Arabians' intentions of Saudi female's car-driving in 2018". The study utilized qualitative method known as netnographic study. The study used R studio to collect and analyses 27000 Saudi users’ comments from 25th May until 25th June 2018. The study has developed data collection model that support importing and analysing the Arabic text in the local slang. The data collection model in this study has been clustered based on different type of social networks, gender and the study main factors. The social network analysis was employed to collect comments from SMSs owned by governments’ originations, celebrities, vloggers, social activist and news SMSs accounts. The comments were collected from both males and females SMSs users. The sentiment analysis shows that the total number of positive comments Saudi females car driving was higher than negative comments. The data have provided the most important factors influenced the Saudi Arabians’ intention of Saudi females car driving including, culture and environment, freedom of choice, equal opportunities, security and safety. The most interesting finding indicted that women driving would play a role in increasing the individual freedom of choice. Saudi female will be able to drive cars to fulfill her daily life and family needs without being stressed due to the lack of transportation. The study outcome will help Saudi government to improve woman quality of life by increasing the ability to find more jobs and studies, increasing income through decreasing the spending on transport means such as taxi and having more freedom of choice in woman daily life needs. The study enhances the importance of using use marketing research to measure the public opinions on the new government regulations in the country. The study has explained the limitations and suggestions for future research.

Keywords: netnographic study, data mining, social media, Saudi Arabia, female driving

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: K. Uteulin, S. Mukhambetzhanov, I. Rakhimbaiev

Abstract:

This experiment was performed to optimize the medium for tissue culture of Taraxacum kok-saghyz Rodin. Different tissue culture approaches such as shoot regeneration from seed, callus formation from leaf explants and plant regeneration from callus were investigated in this study. All the explants were cultured on MS basal medium supplemented with 20 g/l sucrose, 7 g/l agar and different plant growth regulators. Seeds of Taraxacum kok-saghyz were cultured on media containing different levels of BA and 2,4-D (0,5 and 1,0 and 3,0 mg/L) to direct shoot regeneration study. Leaf explants were cultured in different combination of BA (at three levels: 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/L) and zeatin (at two levels: 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L) to examine callus formation. After the callus formation the formed calli were cultured on different combinations of BA and NAA for shoot regeneration. BA at three levels (0.5 and 1.0 and 3.0 mg/L) and NAA at two levels (0.5 and 1.0 mg/L) in all possible combinations were used for shoot regeneration from callus. The results showed that the treatment containing 1.0 mg/L 2,4-D in combination with 1.0 mg/L BA was found to be the best one for shoot regeneration from seeds. The treatment with 1.0 mg/L BA in combination with 1.0 mg/L zeatin were found to be suitable treatments for callus production from leaf explants, as well. Moreover, 0.5 mg/L BA alone or in combination with 1.0 mg/L NAA were found to be the best treatments for shoot regeneration from callus.

Keywords: Taraxacum kok-saghyz Rodin, shoot regeneration, callus, plant

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: Ya Ting Tang

Abstract:

Social learning theory has told us that the cognitions of gender roles come from learning. Thus, the images of gender roles which media describes will shape our cognitions. Taiwan and Japan are both in the East Asian cultural Sphere, and more or less influenced by the traditional Chinese culture. But our social structure and changes must be different. Others, the study also concerns that, with the rise of female consciousness in society, whether the female stereotype in drama of Taiwan and Japan are improved. This research first uses content analysis to analyze drama of Taiwan and Japan in 2003 and 2013 on how to shape female roles. Then use text analysis to conduct a qualitative analysis. Result of this study showed that drama on how to depict women indeed have changed, women are no longer just talk about love, but can serve as president or doctor, and show its mettle in the workplace. In Japanese drama, the female roles have diverse occupation than Taiwanese drama, and not just a background character set. But in most Taiwanese drama, female roles are given a career, but it always put emphasis on women emotionally. To include, although the stereotype in the drama of Taiwan and Japan are improved, female will still be derided due to their ages, love or marriage situations. Taiwanese drama must depict the occupation of female more diverse and let the female roles have more space to play, rather than focusing on romance which women of any occupation can have.

Keywords: female images, stereotype, TV drama, gender roles

Procedia PDF Downloads 284

Authors: Abolaji Mayowa Akinyele

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate student’s awareness, Knowledge and understanding of environmental issues for sustainable development. Findings revealed that; despite the positive attitude shown by students towards environmental education, a relatively low level of understanding of environmental concept was recorded in school settings regardless of efforts by government and other environmental agencies at creating awareness about environmental related issues. This brought about the investigation of students environmental education knowledge in high school settings. About 205 Students were randomly selected for data collection using validated instruments titled student’s knowledge and attitude questionnaire as well as student’s response to questions (interview) concerning global warming. T-test statistics, chi-square and simple percentage were the major statistical tools employed in data analysis. This study revealed that environment based-education (school curriculum) as well as efforts by government/environmental agencies (mass media) plays a major role in promoting students understanding, of environmental concepts, awareness of major environmental issues and positive attitude towards natural environment.

Keywords: environmental issues, sustainable development, students attitude, students knowledge

Procedia PDF Downloads 460

Authors: Rachel-Kate Bowdler

Abstract:

Wartime efforts, news, and heroic stories are important to the public in understanding the political climate, yet hard to digest. However, graphic novels are able to portray intense sociopolitical themes and reinvent the account for the public. Modern comics centered around war introduces the historical context to new audiences, thus keeping history relevant and remembered. This is a trend in graphic novels that is popular for expressing wartime and political stories. Graphic novels make historical accounts and stories easier to understand and more enjoyable to read through creative expression and stylistic choices like color, design, and personified depictions of characters. This results in the need to analyze intense wartime themes in terms of artistic style and elements contributing to the portrayal of the story. Whether directly or indirectly, comics became an outlet for discussing and portraying wars, especially following World War II. It may also be relevant that comics are influential in attitudes towards war efforts. in conducting in analysis on comic books relating to war time stories and a literature review, this paper will seek to analyze the role that comics play in the dissemination of information and feelings surrounding war efforts and attitudes.

Keywords: artistic style, comics, historical, war, art and culture, journalism and media

Procedia PDF Downloads 116