Search results for: industry implementation

Authors: Ishmael Obaeko Iwara

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The Point of Sale (POS) cash and cashless semi-formal business has emerged as a significant driver of employment in countries like Nigeria and Kenya, similar to other micro and small-scale enterprises. This business model enables individuals to establish cash in/out outlets, offering entrepreneurs and small business owners a lucrative opportunity to generate additional income. However, the benefits extend beyond employment, as the POS model has become an integral part of the payment system in these countries. It facilitates convenient fund transfers, cash deposits, and withdrawals for individuals residing in both urban and rural areas. Given South Africa's high youth unemployment rate and limited banking services in rural households, coupled with a vibrant informal business economy akin to Nigeria and Kenya, the POS model potentially presents a business opportunity for the unemployed and serves as a banking solution for remote communities. Nonetheless, its implementation within South Africa's entrepreneurial landscape remains a subject of contention. Through qualitative research employing a participatory community-led action research approach, this study analyzes feedback, critiques, and potential interventions from various stakeholders, including business actors, grassroots communities, financial institutions, and policymakers. The findings offer crucial insights into the challenges associated with the adoption of the POS model and suggest mitigating factors to facilitate its successful implementation.

Keywords: grassroots entrepreneurs, rural households, POS banking, youth employment

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Authors: K. C. Bloom, Cynde McInnis

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The Covid-19 pandemic has caused immense changes in the way that we live, work and travel. The impact of these changes is readily apparent in tourism to Massachusetts and the region of New England. Whereas, in general, Massachusetts and New England are a hotspot for travelers from around the world, this form of travel has largely been shut down due to the pandemic. One such area where the impact has been felt is in marine-based wildlife tourism. Massachusetts is home to not only whales but also seals and great white sharks. Prior to the pandemic, whale watching had long been a popular activity while seal and shark tourism has been a developing one. Given that seeing a great white shark was rare in New England for many years, shark tourism has not played a role in the economies of the region until recently. While whales have steadily been found within the marine environments of Massachusetts and whale watching has been a popular attraction since the mid-1970s, the lack of great white sharks in New England was, in part, a response to a change in their environment in that a favorite food source, the gray seals, were culled by regional fishermen as the fishermen believed that seals were taking their catch. This retaliatory behavior ended when the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) was passed. The MMPA prohibited the killing of seals and since then the seal population has increased to traditional numbers (Tech Times, 2014). Given the increase in the seal population in New England, and especially Cape Cod, Massachusetts, there has been a similar increase in the numbers of great white sharks. In fact, over the time between 2004 and 2014, the number of sightings increased from an average of two per year to more than 20 (NY Post, 7/21/14). This has increased even more over the last six years. As a result, residents and businesses in Massachusetts have begun to embrace the great whites as a potential tourism draw. Local business owners are considering opening up cage diving and shark viewing businesses while there has also been an increase in shark-related merchandise throughout the Cape Cod region. Combined with a large whale watching industry, marine-based wildlife tourism is big business to Massachusetts. With the Covid-19 pandemic shuttering international travel, this study aims to look at the impacts of the pandemic on this industry. Through interviews with marine-based wildlife tourism businesses as well as survey data collection from visitors, this study looks at the holistic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on an important part of the marine tourism industry in the state.

Keywords: marine tourism, ecotourism, Covid, wildlife

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Aline Valverde Arroteia, Tatiana Gondim do Amaral, Silvio Burrattino Melhado

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During the last twenty years, the construction field in Brazil has evolved significantly in response to its market growing and competitiveness. However, this evolving path has faced many obstacles such as cultural barriers and the lack of efforts to achieve quality at the construction site. At the same time, the greatest amount of information generated on the designing or construction phases is lost due to the lack of an effective coordination of these activities. Face this problem, the aim of this research was to implement a French method named PEO which means preparation for building construction (in Portuguese) seeking to understand the design management process and its interface with the building construction phase. The research method applied was qualitative, and it was carried out through two case studies in the city of Goiania, in Goias, Brazil. The research was divided into two stages called pilot study at Company A and implementation of PEO at Company B. After the implementation; the results demonstrated the PEO method's effectiveness and feasibility while a booster on the quality improvement of design management. The analysis showed that the method has a purpose to improve the design and allow the reduction of failures, errors and rework commonly found in the production of buildings. Therefore, it can be concluded that the PEO is feasible to be applied to real estate and building companies. But, companies need to believe in the contribution they can make to the discovery of design failures in conjunction with other stakeholders forming a construction team. The result of PEO can be maximized when adopting the principles of simultaneous engineering and insertion of new computer technologies, which use a three-dimensional model of the building with BIM process.

Keywords: communication, design and construction interface management, preparation for building construction (PEO), proactive coordination (CPA)

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Authors: Paul Essel, Eric T. Glover, Gustav Gbeddy, Yaw Adjei-Kyereme, Abdallah M. A. Dawood, Evans M. Ameho, Emmanuel A. Aberikae

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Radioactive materials mainly in the form of Sealed Radioactive Sources are being used in various sectors (medicine, agriculture, industry, research, and teaching) for the socio-economic development of Ghana. The use of these beneficial radioactive materials has resulted in an inventory of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRS) in storage. Most of the DSRS are legacy/historic sources which cannot be returned to their manufacturer or country of origin. Though small in volume, DSRS can be intensively radioactive and create a significant safety and security liability. They need to be managed in a safe and secure manner in accordance with the fundamental safety objective. The Radioactive Waste Management Center (RWMC) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) is currently storing a significant volume of DSRS. The initial activities of the DSRS range from 7.4E+5 Bq to 6.85E+14 Bq. If not managed properly, such DSRS can represent a potential hazard to human health and the environment. Storage is an important interim step, especially for DSRS containing very short-lived radionuclides, which can decay to exemption levels within a few years. Long-term storage, however, is considered an unsustainable option for DSRS with long half-lives hence the need for a disposal facility. The GAEC intends to use the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) Borehole Disposal System (BDS) to provide a safe, secure, and cost-effective disposal option to dispose of its DSRS in storage. The proposed site for implementation of the BDS is on the GAEC premises at Kwabenya. The site has been characterized to gain a general understanding in terms of its regional setting, its past evolution and likely future natural evolution over the assessment time frame. Due to the long half-lives of some of the radionuclides to be disposed of (Ra-226 with half-life of 1600 years), the engineered barriers of the system must be robust to contain these radionuclides for this long period before they decay to harmless levels. There is the need to assess the safety related functions of the engineered barriers of this disposal system.

Keywords: radionuclides, disposal, radioactive waste, engineered barrier

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Authors: Amina Merghad, Cherif Abdennour

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Solvents are widely used in paint industry, where humans are highly exposed, especially from inhalation. A case report describes how paint affects reproductive markers and the health of workers. Sixty four subjects were chosen and divided into two groups; a control and an exposed group. A questionnaire was given to male workers from similar socio-economic status in order to know their ages, working conditions, clinical symptoms, working period, smoking history, shift, medical history and nutrition. Blood was withdrawn in the morning from volunteers. The measurement of blood testosterone and prolactin concentrations was then carried out. Results showed that the ages of the two groups were almost similar and were up to 47 and 43 years. The period of employment was 17 years and 14 years for the control and the exposed workers, respectively. Concerning clinical symptoms, the frequency of neuropsychological symptoms of the two groups are presented. It is clear that the symptom of memory loss, headaches are the highest among exposed workers followed by poor coordination, poor concentration and insomnia. On the other hand, the symptoms’ frequency in the control was less than that of the exposed group. Testosterone concentration has significantly decreased in group 2 (4.61±2,005 ng/ml) and group 3 (4.25±1.67 ng/ml) of exposed workers. On the other hand, prolactin concentration was higher in group 3 compared to other groups. To conclude, paint industry has disturbed reproductive markers and created high frequency of neuropsychological symptoms.

Keywords: blood, paint, prolactin, occupational exposure, organic solvent, reproductive toxicity, testosterone

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Authors: Xiujing Chen, Thammananya Sakcharoen, Wilailuk Niyommaneerat

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China's tourism industry is in a state of shock and recovery, although COVID-19 has brought great impact and challenges to the tourism industry. The theory of sustainable development originates from the contradiction of increasing awareness of environmental protection and the pursuit of economic interests. The sustainable development of tourism should consider social, economic, and environmental factors and develop tourism in a planned and targeted way from the overall situation. Guilin is one of the popular tourist cities in China. However, there exist several problems in Guilin tourism, such as low quality of scenic spot construction and low efficiency of tourism resource development. Due to its unwell-managed, Guilin's tourism industry is facing problems such as supply and demand crowding pressure for tourists. According to the data from 2009 to 2019, there is a change in the degree of sustainable development of Guilin tourism. This research aimed to evaluate the sustainable development state of Guilin tourism using the DPSIR (driving force/pressure/state/impact/response) framework and to provide suggestions and recommendations for sustainable development in Guilin. An improved TOPSIS (technology for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution) model based on the entropy weights relationship is applied to the quantitative analysis and to analyze the mechanisms of sustainable development of tourism in Guilin. The DPSIR framework organizes indicators into sub-five categories: of which twenty-eight indicators related to sustainable aspects of Guilin tourism are classified. The study analyzed and summarized the economic, social, and ecological effects generated by tourism development in Guilin from 2009-2019. The results show that the conversion rate of tourism development in Guilin into regional economic benefits is more efficient than that into social benefits. Thus, tourism development is an important driving force of Guilin's economic growth. In addition, the study also analyzed the static weights of 28 relevant indicators of sustainable development of tourism in Guilin and ranked them from largest to smallest. Then it was found that the economic and social factors related to tourism revenue occupy the highest weight, which means that the economic and social development of Guilin can influence the sustainable development of Guilin tourism to a greater extent. Therefore, there is a two-way causal relationship between tourism development and economic growth in Guilin. At the same time, ecological development-related indicators also have relatively large weights, so ecological and environmental resources also have a great influence on the sustainable development of Guilin tourism.

Keywords: DPSIR framework, entropy weights analysis, sustainable development of tourism, TOPSIS analysis

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Authors: Gorazd Karer

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When performing a diagnostic procedure or surgery in general anesthesia (GA), a proper introduction and dosing of anesthetic agents are one of the main tasks of the anesthesiologist. However, depth of anesthesia (DoA) also seems to be a suitable process for closed-loop control implementation. To implement such a system, one must be able to acquire the relevant signals online and in real-time, as well as stream the calculated control signal to the infusion pump. However, during a procedure, patient monitors and infusion pumps are purposely unable to connect to an external (possibly medically unapproved) device for safety reasons, thus preventing closed-loop control. The paper proposes a conceptual solution to the aforementioned problem. First, it presents some important aspects of contemporary clinical practice. Next, it introduces the closed-loop-control-system structure and the relevant information flow. Focusing on transferring the data from the patient to the computer, it presents a non-invasive image-based system for signal acquisition from a patient monitor for online depth-of-anesthesia assessment. Furthermore, it introduces a UDP-based communication method that can be used for transmitting the calculated anesthetic inflow to the infusion pump. The proposed system is independent of a medical device manufacturer and is implemented in Matlab-Simulink, which can be conveniently used for DoA control implementation. The proposed scheme has been tested in a simulated GA setting and is ready to be evaluated in an operating theatre. However, the proposed system is only a step towards a proper closed-loop control system for DoA, which could routinely be used in clinical practice.

Keywords: closed-loop control, depth of anesthesia (DoA), modeling, optical signal acquisition, patient state index (PSi), UDP communication protocol

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Authors: Zong-Xian Qiu, Ta-Wui Cheng, Wei-Hao Lee, Yung-Chin Ding

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The greenhouse effect is an important issue since it has been responsible for global warming. Carbon dioxide plays an important part of role in the greenhouse effect. Therefore, human has the responsibility for reducing CO₂ emissions in their daily operations. Except iron making and power plants, another major CO₂ production industry is cement industry. According to the statistics by EPA of Taiwan, production 1 ton of Portland cement will produce 520.29 kg of CO₂. There are over 7.8 million tons of CO₂ produced annually. Thus, trying to development low CO₂ emission green concrete is an important issue, and it can reduce CO₂ emission problems in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is trying to use marble wastes and slag as the raw materials to fabricate geopolymer green concrete. The result shows the marble based geopolymer green concrete have good workability and the compressive strength after curing for 28 days and 365 days can be reached 44MPa and 53MPa in indoor environment, 28MPa and 40.43MPa in outdoor environment. The acid resistance test shows the geopolymer green concrete have good resistance for chemical attack. The coefficient of permeability of geopolymer green concrete is better than Portland concrete. By comparing with Portland cement products, the marble based geopolymer not only reduce CO₂ emission problems but also provides great performance in practices. According to the experiment results shown that geopolymer concrete has great potential for further engineering development in the future, the new material could be expected to replace the Portland cement products in the future days.

Keywords: marble, slag, geopolymer, green concrete, CO₂ emission

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Authors: Rahman Ali, Muhammad Sajjad, Farkhund Iqbal, Muhammad Sadiq Hassan Zada, Mohammed Hussain

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Emission of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) has adversely affected the environment. One of the major sources of CO₂ emission is transportation. In the last few decades, the increase in mobility of people using vehicles has enormously increased the emission of CO₂ in the environment. To reduce CO₂ emission, sustainable transportation system is required in which smart parking is one of the important measures that need to be established. To contribute to the issue of reducing the amount of CO₂ emission, this research proposes a smart parking system. A cloud-based solution is provided to the drivers which automatically searches and recommends the most preferred parking slots. To determine preferences of the parking areas, this methodology exploits a number of unique parking features which ultimately results in the selection of a parking that leads to minimum level of CO₂ emission from the current position of the vehicle. To realize the methodology, a scenario-based implementation is considered. During the implementation, a mobile application with GPS signals, vehicles with a number of vehicle features and a list of parking areas with parking features are used by sorting, multi-level filtering, exploratory data analysis (EDA, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)) and weighted sum model (WSM) to rank the parking areas and recommend the drivers with top-k most preferred parking areas. In the EDA process, “2020testcar-2020-03-03”, a freely available dataset is used to estimate CO₂ emission of a particular vehicle. To evaluate the system, results of the proposed system are compared with the conventional approach, which reveal that the proposed methodology supersedes the conventional one in reducing the emission of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

Keywords: car parking, Co2, Co2 reduction, IoT, merge sort, number plate recognition, smart car parking

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Authors: Ewa M. Laskowska, Jorn Vatn

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Industry 4.0 focuses on digital optimization of industrial processes. The idea is to use extracted data in order to build a decision support model enabling use of those data for real time decision making. In terms of predictive maintenance, the desired decision support tool would be a model enabling prognostics of system's health based on the current condition of considered equipment. Within area of system prognostics and health management, a commonly used health indicator is Remaining Useful Lifetime (RUL) of a system. Because the RUL is a random variable, it has to be estimated based on available health indicators. Health indicators can be of different types and come from different sources. They can be process variables, equipment performance variables, data related to number of experienced failures, etc. The aim of this study is the analysis of performance variables of emergency shutdown valves (ESV) used in oil and gas industry. ESV is inspected periodically, and at each inspection torque and time of valve operation are registered. The data will be analyzed by means of machine learning or statistical analysis. The purpose is to investigate whether the available data could be used as a health indicator for a prognostic purpose. The second objective is to examine what is the most efficient way to incorporate the data into predictive model. The idea is to check whether the data can be applied in form of explanatory variables in Markov process or whether other stochastic processes would be a more convenient to build an RUL model based on the information coming from registered data.

Keywords: emergency shutdown valves, health indicator, prognostics, remaining useful lifetime, RUL

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Authors: Muhammad Tahir, Mushtaq Muhammad

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Capital structure is one of the key decisions taken by the financial managers. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing capital structure decision in Oil and Gas industry of Pakistan using secondary data from published annual reports of listed Oil and Gas Companies of Pakistan. This study covers the time-period from 2008-2014. Capital structure can be affected by profitability, firm size, growth opportunities, dividend payout, liquidity, business risk, and ownership structure. Panel data technique with Ordinary least square (OLS) regression model has been used to find the impact of set of explanatory variables on the capital structure using the Stata. OLS regression results suggest that dividend payout, firm size and government ownership have the most significant impact on financial leverage. Dividend payout and government ownership are found to have significant negative association with financial leverage however firm size indicated positive relationship with financial leverage. Other variables having significant link with financial leverage includes growth opportunities, liquidity and business risk. Results reveal significant positive association between growth opportunities and financial leverage whereas liquidity and business risk are negatively correlated with financial leverage. Profitability and managerial ownership exhibited insignificant relationship with financial leverage. This study contributes to existing Managerial Finance literature with certain managerial implications. Academically, this research study describes the factors affecting capital structure decision of Oil and Gas Companies in Pakistan and adds latest empirical evidence to existing financial literature in Pakistan. Researchers have studies capital structure in Pakistan in general and industry at specific, nevertheless still there is limited literature on this issue. This study will be an attempt to fill this gap in the academic literature. This study has practical implication on both firm level and individual investor/ lenders level. Results of this study can be useful for investors/ lenders in making investment and lending decisions. Further, results of this study can be useful for financial managers to frame optimal capital structure keeping in consideration the factors that can affect capital structure decision as revealed by this study. These results will help financial managers to decide whether to issue stock or issue debt for future investment projects.

Keywords: capital structure, multicollinearity, ordinary least square (OLS), panel data

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Authors: Dolores Hidalgo, Jesús M. Martín-Marroquín, Francisco Corona

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Municipal waste consist of a variety of items that are everyday discarded by the population. They are usually collected by municipalities and include waste generated by households, commercial activities (local shops) and public buildings. The composition of municipal waste varies greatly from place to place, being mostly related to levels and patterns of consumption, rates of urbanization, lifestyles, and local or national waste management practices. Each year, a huge amount of resources is consumed in the EU, and according to that, also a huge amount of waste is produced. The environmental problems derived from the management and processing of these waste streams are well known, and include impacts on land, water and air. The situation in remote areas is even worst. Difficult access when climatic conditions are adverse, remoteness of centralized municipal treatment systems or dispersion of the population, are all factors that make remote areas a real municipal waste treatment challenge. Furthermore, the scope of the problem increases significantly because the total lack of awareness of the existing risks in this area together with the poor implementation of advanced culture on waste minimization and recycling responsibly. The aim of this work is to analyze the existing situation in remote areas in reference to the production of municipal waste and evaluate the efficiency of different management alternatives. Ideas for improving waste management in remote areas include, for example: the implementation of self-management systems for the organic fraction; establish door-to-door collection models; promote small-scale treatment facilities or adjust the rates of waste generation thereof.

Keywords: door to door collection, islands, isolated areas, municipal waste, remote areas, rural communities

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Mareen Brosterhaus, Antje Hammer, Steffen Kalina, Stefan Grau, Anjali A. Roeth, Hany Ashmawy, Thomas Gross, Marcel Binnebosel, Wolfram T. Knoefel, Tanja Manser

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Background: The identification of critical incidents in hospitals is an essential component of improving patient safety. To date, various methods have been used to measure and characterize such critical incidents. These methods are often viewed by physicians and nurses as external quality assurance, and this creates obstacles to the reporting events and the implementation of recommendations in practice. One way to overcome this problem is to use tools that directly involve staff in measuring indicators of quality and safety of care in the department. One such instrument is the global trigger tool (GTT), which helps physicians and nurses identify adverse events by systematically reviewing randomly selected patient records. Based on so-called ‘triggers’ (warning signals), indications of adverse events can be given. While the tool is already used internationally, its implementation in German hospitals has been very limited. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and potential of the global trigger tool for identifying adverse events in German hospitals. Methods: A total of 120 patient records were randomly selected from two surgical, and one neurosurgery, departments of three university hospitals in Germany over a period of two months per department between January and July, 2017. The records were reviewed using an adaptation of the German version of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Global Trigger Tool to identify triggers and adverse event rates per 1000 patient days and per 100 admissions. The severity of adverse events was classified using the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention. Results: A total of 53 adverse events were detected in the three departments. This corresponded to adverse event rates of 25.5-72.1 per 1000 patient-days and from 25.0 to 60.0 per 100 admissions across the three departments. 98.1% of identified adverse events were associated with non-permanent harm without (Category E–71.7%) or with (Category F–26.4%) the need for prolonged hospitalization. One adverse event (1.9%) was associated with potentially permanent harm to the patient. We also identified practical challenges in the implementation of the tool, such as the need for adaptation of the global trigger tool to the respective department. Conclusions: The global trigger tool is feasible and an effective instrument for quality measurement when adapted to the departmental specifics. Based on our experience, we recommend a continuous use of the tool thereby directly involving clinicians in quality improvement.

Keywords: adverse events, global trigger tool, patient safety, record review

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Authors: Xukai Fu

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The concept of circular economy is interdisciplinary, intersecting environmental engineering, information technology, business, and social science domains. Over the course of its 15-year tenure in the sanitation industry, Jinkai has concentrated its efforts in the past five years on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology with street sanitation apparatus and systems. This endeavor has led to the development of various innovations, including the Intelligent Identification Sweeper Truck (Intelligent Waste Recognition and Energy-saving Control System), the Intelligent Identification Water Truck (Intelligent Flushing Control System), the intelligent food waste treatment machine, and the Intelligent City Road Sanitation Surveillance Platform. This study will commence with an examination of prevalent global challenges, elucidating how Jinkai effectively addresses each within the framework of circular economy principles. Utilizing a review and analysis of pertinent environmental management data, we will elucidate Jinkai's strategic approach. Following this, we will investigate how Jinkai utilizes the advantages of circular economy principles to guide the design of street sanitation machinery, with a focus on digitalization integration. Moreover, we will scrutinize Jinkai's sustainable practices throughout the invention and operation phases of street sanitation machinery, aligning with the triple bottom line theory. Finally, we will delve into the significance and enduring impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. Special emphasis will be placed on Jinkai's contributions to community stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on human rights. Despite the widespread adoption of circular economy principles across various industries, achieving a harmonious equilibrium between environmental justice and social justice remains a formidable task. Jinkai acknowledges that the mere development of energy-saving technologies is insufficient for authentic circular economy implementation; rather, they serve as instrumental tools. To earnestly promote and embody circular economy principles, companies must consistently prioritize the UN Sustainable Development Goals and adapt their technologies to address the evolving exigencies of our world.

Keywords: circular economy, core principles, benefits, the tripple bottom line, CSR, ESG, social justice, human rights, Jinkai

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Authors: Hajer Najjar, Riad Bourguiba, Jaouhar Mouine

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Reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processors are widely used because of their multiple advantages. In fact, they are based on a simple instruction set so that they increase the speed of the processor and reduce its energy consumption. In this paper, we will present a basic RISC architecture processor that will be developed later to converge to a new architecture with runtime reconfiguration.

Keywords: processor, RISC, DLX, pipeline, runtime reconfiguration

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Authors: Wi Sung Yoo, Seung Woo Lee, Youn Kyoung Hur, Sung Hwan Kim

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Large-scale construction projects are continuously increasing, and the need for tools to monitor and evaluate the project success is emphasized. At the construction industry level, there are limitations in deriving performance evaluation factors that reflect the diversity of construction sites and systems that can objectively evaluate and manage performance. Additionally, there are difficulties in integrating structured and unstructured data generated at construction sites and deriving improvements. In this study, we propose the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to enable performance evaluation that reflects the increased diversity of construction sites and the unstructured data generated, and present a model for measuring performance by the derived indicators. The comprehensive performance of a unit construction site is assessed based on 6 areas (Time, Cost, Quality, Safety, Environment, Productivity) and 26 indicators. We collect performance indicator information from 30 construction sites that meet legal standards and have been successfully performed. And We apply data augmentation and optimization techniques into establishing measurement standards for each indicator. In other words, the KPI for construction site performance evaluation presented in this study provides standards for evaluating performance in six areas using institutional requirement data and document data. This can be expanded to establish a performance evaluation system considering the scale and type of construction project. Also, they are expected to be used as a comprehensive indicator of the construction industry and used as basic data for tracking competitiveness at the national level and establishing policies.

Keywords: key performance indicator, performance measurement, structured and unstructured data, data augmentation

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Authors: Selinda England, Ben Bodnaryk

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With an unprecedented increase in provincial immigration and government support for greater international and culturally diverse learners, a trade/applied learning-focused polytechnic with four campuses within one Canadian province saw the need for intercultural awareness and an intercultural teaching competence strategy for faculty training. An institution-wide pre-assessment needs survey was conducted in 2018, in which 87% of faculty professed to have some/no training when working with international and/or culturally diverse learners. After researching fellow Polytechnics in Canada and seeing very little in the way of faculty support for intercultural competence, an institutional project team comprised of members from all facets of the Polytechnic was created and included: Indigenous experts, Academic Chairs, Directors, Human Resource Managers, and international/settlement subject matter experts. The project team was organized to develop and implement a new academic model focused on enriching intercultural competence among faculty. Utilizing a competency based model, the project team incorporated inclusive terminology into competency indicators and devised a four-phase proposal for implementing intercultural teacher training: a series of workshops focused on the needs of international and culturally diverse learners, including teaching strategies based on current TESOL methodologies, literature and online resources for quick access when planning lessons, faculty assessment examples and models of interculturally proficient instructors, and future job descriptions - all which promote and encourage development of specific intercultural skills. Results from a post-assessment survey (to be conducted in Spring 2020) and caveats regarding improvements and next steps will be shared. The project team believes its intercultural and inclusive teaching competency-based model is one of the first, institution-wide faculty supported initiatives within the Canadian college and Polytechnic post-secondary educational environment; it aims to become a leader in both the province and nation regarding intercultural competency training for trades, industry, and business minded community colleges and applied learning institutions.

Keywords: cultural diversity and education, diversity training teacher training, teaching and learning, teacher training

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Authors: Yiping Meng, Yiming Sun

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The traditional construction industry is unable to meet the requirements for novel fabrication and construction. Automated construction and digital design have emerged as industry development trends that compensate for this shortcoming under the backdrop of Industrial Revolution 4.0. Benefitting from more flexible working space and more various end-effector tools compared to CNC methods, robot fabrication and construction techniques have been used in irregular architectural design. However, there is a lack of a systematic and comprehensive design and optimisation workflow considering geometric form, material, and fabrication methods. This paper aims to propose a design optimisation workflow for improving the rationality of a free-form timber structure fabricated by the robotic arm. Firstly, the free-form surface is described by NURBS, while its structure is calculated using the finite element analysis method. Then, by considering the characteristics and limiting factors of robotic timber fabrication, strain energy and robustness are set as optimisation objectives to optimise structural morphology by gradient descent method. As a result, an optimised structure with axial force as the main force and uniform stress distribution is generated after the structure morphology optimisation process. With the decreased strain energy and the improved robustness, the generated structure's bearing capacity and mechanical properties have been enhanced. The results prove the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed optimisation workflow for free-form timber structure morphology design.

Keywords: robotic fabrication, free-form timber structure, Multi-objective optimisation, Structural morphology, rational design

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Authors: Muhammad Khairi bin Sulaiman

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The utilization of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the construction industry has provided an opportunity for designers in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry to proceed from the conventional method of using manual drafting to a way that creates alternative designs quickly, produces more accurate, reliable and consistent outputs. By using BIM Software, designers can create digital content that manipulates the use of data using the parametric model of BIM. With BIM software, more alternative designs can be created quickly and design problems can be explored further to produce a better design faster than conventional design methods. Generally, BIM is used as a documentation mechanism and has not been fully explored and utilised its capabilities as a design tool. Relative to the current issue, Modular Coordination (MC) design as a sustainable design practice is encouraged since MC design will reduce material wastage through standard dimensioning, pre-fabrication, repetitive, modular construction and components. However, MC design involves a complex process of rules and dimensions. Therefore, a tool is needed to make this process easier. Since the parameters in BIM can easily be manipulated to follow MC rules and dimensioning, thus, the integration of BIM software with MC design is proposed for architects during the design stage. With this tool, there will be an improvement in acceptance and practice in the application of MC design effectively. Consequently, this study will analyse and explore the function and customization of BIM objects and the capability of BIM software to expedite the application of MC design during the design stage for architects. With this application, architects will be able to create building models and locate objects within reference modular grids that adhere to MC rules and dimensions. The parametric modeling capabilities of BIM will also act as a visual tool that will further enhance the automation of the 3-Dimensional space planning modeling process. (Method) The study will first analyze and explore the parametric modeling capabilities of rule-based BIM objects, which eventually customize a reference grid within the rules and dimensioning of MC. Eventually, the approach will further enhance the architect's overall design process and enable architects to automate complex modeling, which was nearly impossible before. A prototype using a residential quarter will be modeled. A set of reference grids guided by specific MC rules and dimensions will be used to develop a variety of space planning and configuration. With the use of the design, the tool will expedite the design process and encourage the use of MC Design in the construction industry.

Keywords: building information modeling, modular coordination, space planning, customization, BIM application, MC space planning

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Authors: Panwad Wongthong, Thanan Apivantanaporn, Sutthiwan Amattayakul

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Nature-based tourism is one of the fastest growing industries that can bring in economic benefits, improve quality of life and promote conservation of biodiversity and habitats. As tourism develops, substantial socio-economic and environmental costs become more explicit. Particularly in island destinations, the dynamic system and geographical limitations makes the intensity of tourism development and severity of the negative environmental impacts greater. The current contribution of the tourism sector to global climate change is established at approximately 5% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In all scenarios, tourism is anticipated to grow substantially and to account for an increasingly large share of global greenhouse gas emissions. This has prompted an urgent call for more sustainable alternatives. This study selected a small island of Koh Mak in Thailand as a case study because of its reputation of being laid back, family oriented and rich in biodiversity. Importantly, it is a test platform for low carbon tourism development project supported by the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) in collaboration with the Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ISMED). The study explores strategies for low carbon tourism management and assesses challenges and opportunities for Koh Mak to become a low carbon tourism destination. The goal is to identify suitable management approaches applicable for Koh Mak which may then be adapted to other small islands in Thailand and the region. Interventions/initiatives to increase energy efficiency in hotels and resorts; cut carbon emissions; reduce impacts on the environment; and promote conservation will be analyzed. Ways toward long-term sustainability of climate-friendly tourism will be recommended. Recognizing the importance of multi-stakeholder involvement in the tourism sector, findings from this study can reward Koh Mak tourism industry with a triple-win: cost savings and compliance with higher standards/markets; less waste, air emissions and effluents; and better capabilities of change, motivation of business owners, staff, tourists as well as residents. The consideration of climate change issues in the planning and implementation of tourism development is of great significance to protect the tourism sector from negative impacts.

Keywords: climate change, CO2 emissions, low carbon tourism, sustainable tourism management

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Authors: Christopher Benedikt Jakob

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Human beings are intrigued by luxury watches for decades. It is fascinating that customers pay an enormous amount of money for specific wristwatch models. It is fascinating that customers of the luxury watch industry accept a yearly price increase. This behavior increases their desirability even more. Luxury watches are perceived as status symbols, but they are additionally accepted as a currency without the disadvantage of currency fluctuations. It is obvious that the symbolic value is more important as the functional value with reference to the buying-reasons as regards luxury watches. Nowadays human beings do not need a wristwatch to read the time. Tablets, notebooks, smartphones, the watch in the car and watches on public places are used to inform people about the current time. This is one of the reasons why there is a trend that people do not wear wristwatches anymore. Due to these facts, this study has the intention to give answers to the question why people invest an enormous amount of money on the consumption of luxury watches and why those watches are seen as a status symbol. The study examines why the luxury watch industry records significant growth rates. The self-expression model is used as an appropriate methodology to find reasons why human beings purchase specific luxury watches. This evaluative approach further discusses if human beings are aware of their current self and their ideal self and how they express them. Furthermore, the research critically evaluates the people’s social self and their ideal social self. One of the goals is to identify if customers know why they like specific luxury watches and dislike others although they have the same quality and cost comparable prices.

Keywords: luxury watch, brand awareness, buying-behaviour, consumer, self-expression

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Authors: Simran Ballani

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The purpose of this paper is to call education professionals to implement etiquette and public speaking skills for preschoolers, primary, middle and higher school students. In this paper the author aims to present importance of etiquette learning and public speaking curriculum for preschoolers, reflect on experiences from implementation of the curriculum and discuss the effect of the said implementation on higher education/global job market. Author’s aim to introduce this curriculum was to provide children with innovative learning and all around development. This training of soft skills at kindergarten level can have a long term effect on their social behaviors which in turn can contribute to professional success once they are ready for campus recruitment/global job markets. Additionally, if preschoolers learn polite, appropriate behavior at early age, it will enable them to become more socially attentive and display good manners as an adult. It is easier to nurture these skills in a child rather than changing bad manners at adulthood. Preschool/Kindergarten education can provide the platform for children to learn these crucial soft skills irrespective of the ethnicity, economic or social background they come from. These skills developed at such early years can go a long way to shape them into better and confident individuals. Unfortunately, accessibility of the etiquette learning and public speaking skill education is not standardized in pre-primary or primary level and most of the time embedding into the kindergarten curriculum is next to nil. All young children should be provided with equal opportunity to learn these soft skills which are essential for finding their place in job market.

Keywords: Early Childhood Learning, , public speaking, , confidence building, , innovative learning

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Authors: Khairul Zahreen Mohd Arof, Rahimah Muhamad

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Oil palm fiber (OPF) is a fibrous material produced from the waste of palm oil industry which is suitable to be used in construction industry. The applications of OPF in concrete can reduce the material costs and enhance concrete behavior. Dog-bone test provides significant results for investigating the behavior of fiber reinforced concrete under tensile loading. It is able to provide stress-strain profile, modulus of elasticity, stress at cracking point and total crack width. In this research, dog-bone tests have been conducted to analyze total crack width, stress-strain profile, and modulus of elasticity of OPFC. Specimens are in a dog-bone shape with a long notch in the middle as compared to the end, to ensure cracks occur only within the notch. Tests were instrumented using a universal testing machine Shimadzu 300kN, a linear variable differential transformer and two strain gauges. A total of nine specimens with different fibers at fiber volume fractions of 0.75%, 1.00%, and 1.25% have been tested to analyze the behavior under tensile loading. Also, three specimens of plain concrete fiber have been tested as control specimens. The tensile test of all specimens have been carried out for concrete age exceed 28 days. It shows that OPFC able to reduce total crack width. In addition, OPFC has higher cracking stress than plain concrete. The study shows plain concrete can be improved with the addition of OPF.

Keywords: cracks, crack width, dog-bone test, oil palm fiber concrete

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Authors: Antoine Vikkey Hinson, Menonli Adjobimey, Gemayel Ahmed Biokou, Rose Mikponhoue

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Introduction: Construction industry is a critical concern with regard to Health and Safety Service worldwide. World health Organization revealed that work-related disease and trauma were held responsible for the death of one million nine hundred thousand people in 2016. The aim of this study it was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with the occurrence of work accidents in a construction industry in Benin. Method: It was a descriptive cross-sectional and analytical study. Data analysis was performed with R software 4.1.1. In multivariate analysis, we performed a binary logistic regression. OR adjusted (ORa) association measures and their 95% confidence interval [CI95%] were presented for the explanatory variables used in the final model. The significance threshold for all tests selected was 5% (p < 0.05) Result: In this study, 472 workers were included, and, of these, 452 (95.7%) were men corresponding to a sex ratio of 22.6. The average age of the workers was 33 years ± 8.8 years. Workers were mostly laborers (84.7%), and had declared having inadequate personal protective equipment (50.6%, n=239). The prevalence of work accidents is 50.8%. Collision with a rolling stock (25.8%), cut (16.2%), and stumbling (16.2%) were the main types of work accidents on the construction site. Four factors were associated with contributing to work accidents. Fatigue or exhaustion (ORa : 1.53[1.03 ; 2.28]); The use of dangerous tools (ORa : 1.81 [1.22 ; 2.71]); The various laborers’ jobs (ORa : 4.78 [2.62 ; 9.21]); and seniority in the company ≥ 4 years (ORa : 2.00 [1.35 ; 2.96]). Conclusion: This study allowed us to identify the associated factors. It is imperative to implement a rigorous policy of occupational health and security mostly the continuing training for workers safe, the supply of appropriate work tools and protective

Keywords: prevalence, work accident, associated factors, construction, benin

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Authors: Jingyi Li, Laurence Stamford, Alejandro Gallego-Schmid

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Renewable electricity has become an indispensable contributor to achieving net-zero by the mid-century to tackle climate change. Unlike solar, wind, or hydro, geothermal was stagnant in its electricity production development for decades. However, with the significant breakthrough made in recent years, especially the implementation of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) in various regions globally, geothermal electricity could play a pivotal role in alleviating greenhouse gas emissions. Life cycle assessment has been applied to analyze specific geothermal power generation technologies, which proposed suggestions to optimize its environmental performance. For instance, selecting a high heat gradient region enables a higher flow rate from the production well and extends the technical lifespan. Although such process-level improvements have been made, the significance of geothermal power generation technologies so far has not explicitly displayed its competitiveness on a broader horizon. Therefore, this review-based study integrates a circular economy framework into life cycle assessment, clarifying the underlying added values for geothermal power plants to complete the sustainability profile. The derived results have provided an enlarged platform to discuss geothermal power generation technologies: (i) recover the heat and electricity from the process to reduce the fossil fuel requirements; (ii) recycle the construction materials, such as copper, steel, and aluminum for future projects; (iii) extract the lithium ions from geothermal brine and make geothermal reservoir become a potential supplier of the lithium battery industry; (iv) repurpose the abandoned oil and gas wells to build geothermal power plants; (v) integrate geothermal energy with other available renewable energies (e.g., solar and wind) to provide heat and electricity as a hybrid system at different weather; (vi) rethink the fluids used in stimulation process (EGS only), replace water with CO2 to achieve negative emissions from the system. These results provided a new perspective to the researchers, investors, and policymakers to rethink the role of geothermal in the energy supply network.

Keywords: climate, renewable energy, R strategies, sustainability

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Authors: Linung Kresno Adikusumo, Ivan Ramos Sampe Immanuel, Liston Sitanggang

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An excellent, well work program in the oil and gas industry can have numerous positive business impacts, contributing to operational efficiency, increased production, enhanced safety, and improved financial performance. In summary, an excellent, well work program not only ensures the immediate success of specific projects but also has a broader positive impact on the overall business performance and reputation of the oil and gas company. It positions the company for long-term success in a competitive and dynamic industry. Nevertheless, a number of challenges were encountered when developing a good work program, such as the poor quality and lack of integration of well documentation, the incompleteness of the well history, and the low accessibility of well documentation. As a result, the well work program was delivered less accurately, plus well damage was managed slowly. Our solution implementing digital technology by developing a web-based database and application not only solves those issues but also provides an easy-to-access report and user-friendly display for management as well as engineers to analyze the report’s content. This application aims to revolutionize the documentation of well history in the field of oil and gas exploration and production. The current lack of a streamlined and comprehensive system for capturing, organizing, and accessing well-related data presents challenges in maintaining accurate and up-to-date records. Our innovative solution introduces a user-friendly and efficient platform designed to capture well history documentation seamlessly.

Keywords: digital, drilling, well work, application

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Authors: Nisar Ahmad, Xuyi, Ali Akbar

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As healthcare systems worldwide strive for improvement, the integration of advanced health information systems (HIS) has emerged as a pivotal strategy. This study aims to investigate the critical role of leadership in the implementation and enhancement of HIS in Chinese hospitals and how such leadership can drive improvements in patient outcomes and overall healthcare satisfaction. We propose a comprehensive study to be conducted across various hospitals in China, targeting healthcare professionals as the primary population. The research will leverage established theories of transformational leadership and technology acceptance to underpin the analysis. In our approach, data will be meticulously gathered through surveys and interviews, focusing on the experiences and perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding HIS implementation and its impact on patient care. The study will utilize SPSS and SmartPLS software for robust data analysis, ensuring precise and comprehensive insights into the correlation between leadership effectiveness and HIS success. We hypothesize that strong, visionary leadership is essential for the successful adoption and optimization of HIS, leading to enhanced patient outcomes and increased satisfaction with healthcare services. By applying advanced statistical methods, we aim to identify key leadership traits and practices that significantly contribute to these improvements. Our research will provide actionable insights for policymakers and healthcare administrators in China, offering evidence-based recommendations to foster leadership that champions HIS and drives continuous improvement in healthcare delivery. This study will contribute to the global discourse on health information systems, emphasizing the future role of leadership in transforming healthcare environments and outcomes.

Keywords: health information systems, leadership, patient outcomes, healthcare satisfaction

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Authors: Oluremi I. Bamgbade, Oluwayomi Babatunde

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Governments and nonprofits have been in the support of sustainability as the goal of businesses especially in the construction industry because of its considerable impacts on the environment, economy, and society. However, to measure the degree to which an organisation is being sustainable or pursuing sustainable growth can be difficult as a result of the clear sustainability strategy required to assume their commitment to the goal and competitive advantage. This research investigated the influence of organisational culture and organisational structure in achieving sustainable construction among South African construction firms. A total of 132 consultants from the nine provinces in South Africa participated in the survey. The data collected were initially screened using SPSS (version 21) while Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) algorithm and bootstrap techniques were employed to test the hypothesised paths. The empirical evidence also supported the hypothesised direct effects of organisational culture and organisational structure on sustainable construction. Similarly, the result regarding the relationship between organisational culture and organisational structure was supported. Therefore, construction industry can record a considerable level of construction sustainability and establish suitable cultures and structures within the construction organisations. Drawing upon organisational control theory, these findings supported the view that these organisational internal factors have a strong contingent effect on sustainability adoption in construction project execution. The paper makes theoretical, practical and methodological contributions within the domain of sustainable construction especially in the context of South Africa. Some limitations of the study are indicated, suggesting opportunities for future research.

Keywords: organisational culture, organisational structure, South African construction firms, sustainable construction

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Authors: Iqraq Kamal, Akmal Razif, Sivadas Chandra Sekaran, Ahmad Syazwan Hisaburi

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Painting plays a crucial role in the aerospace manufacturing industry, serving both protective and cosmetic purposes for components. However, the traditional manual painting method is time-consuming and labor-intensive, posing challenges for the sector in achieving higher efficiency. Additionally, the current automated robot path planning has been a bottleneck for spray painting processes, as typical manual teaching methods are time-consuming, error-prone, and skill-dependent. Therefore, it is essential to develop automated tool path planning methods to replace manual ones, reducing costs and improving product quality. Focusing on flat panel painting in aerospace manufacturing, this study aims to address issues related to unreliable part identification techniques caused by the high-mixture, low-volume nature of the industry. The proposed solution involves using a spray gun and a UR10 robotic arm with a vision system that utilizes one-shot object detection (OS2D) to identify parts accurately. Additionally, the research optimizes path planning by concentrating on the region of interest—specifically, the identified part, rather than uniformly covering the entire painting tray.

Keywords: aerospace manufacturing, one-shot object detection, automated spray painting, vision-based path optimization, deep learning, automation, robotic arm

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Authors: B. Karthik Vasan, Rachil Maliwal, Somnath Basu

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Generation of solid waste is a major problem confronting the iron and steel industry around the world. Disposal of untreated wastes is no longer a viable solution in view of the environmental regulations becoming more and more stringent, as well as an increase in community awareness about the long-term hazards of indiscriminate waste disposal. The current work explores the possibility of converting some of the ‘problematic’ solid wastes generated during steel manufacturing operations, viz. dust from primary steelmaking, iron ore handling, and flux calcination processes, into value-added products instead of environmentally hazardous disposal practices. It was possible to develop a synthetic calcium ferrite, which helped to enhance the dissolution of calcined basic fluxes (e.g. CaO) and reduce the overall energy consumption during steel making. This, in turn, increased process efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The preliminary results from laboratory-scale experiments clearly demonstrate the potential of utilizing these ‘waste materials’ that are generated in-house in iron and steel manufacturing plants. The energy required for synthesis of the ferrite may be reduced further by partially utilizing the waste heat from the exhaust gases. In the longer run, it would result in significant financial benefits due to reduced dependence on purchased fluxes. The synthesized ferrite is non-hygroscopic and this provides an additional benefit during its storage and transportation, relative to calcined lime (CaO) that is widely used as a basic flux across the steel making industry.

Keywords: calcium ferrite, flux, slag formation, solid waste

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