Search results for: information seeking behaviors

Authors: Razi Khalafi

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Brain is the information processing center of the human body. Stimuli in form of information are transferred to the brain and then brain makes the decision on how to respond to them. In this research we propose a new partial differential equation which analyses the EEG signals and make a relationship between the incoming stimuli and the brain response to them. In order to test the proposed model, a set of external stimuli applied to the model and the model’s outputs were checked versus the real EEG data. The results show that this model can model the EEG signal well. The proposed model is useful not only for modeling of the EEG signal in case external stimuli but it can be used for the modeling of brain response in case of internal stimuli.

Keywords: Brain, stimuli, partial differential equation, response, eeg signal

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Authors: Fatemeh Nikpay, Rodina Binti Ahmad, Babak Darvish Rouhani

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Enterprise Architecture (EA) is employed by enterprises for providing integrated Information Systems (ISs) in order to support alignment of their business and Information Technology (IT). Evaluation of EA implementation can support enterprise to reach intended goals. There are some problems in current evaluation methods of EA implementation that lead to ineffectiveness implementation of EA. This paper represents current issues on evaluation of EA implementation. In this regard, we set the framework in order to represent evaluation’s issues based on their functionality and structure. The results of this research not only increase the knowledge of evaluation, but also could be useful for both academics and practitioners in order to realize the current situation of evaluations.

Keywords: current issues on EA implementation evaluation, evaluation, enterprise architecture, evaluation of enterprise architecture implementation

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Authors: Yongxin Chen, Min Zhang

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As industrial enterprises are the primary source of national pollution, environmental information disclosure is a crucial way to demonstrate to stakeholders the work they have done in fulfilling their environmental responsibilities and accepting social supervision. In the era of the digital economy, many companies, actively embracing the opportunities that come with digital transformation, have begun to apply digital technology to information collection and disclosure within the enterprise. However, less is known about the relationship between digital transformation and environmental disclosure. This study investigates how enterprise digital transformation affects environmental disclosure in 643 Chinese industrial companies, according to information processing theory. What is intriguing is that the depth (size) and breadth (diversity) of environmental disclosure linearly increase with the rise in the collection, processing, and analytical capabilities in the digital transformation process. However, the volume of data will grow exponentially, leading to a marginal increase in the economic and environmental costs of utilizing, storing, and managing data. In our empirical findings, linearly increasing benefits and marginal costs create a unique inverted U-shaped relationship between the degree of digital transformation and environmental disclosure in the Chinese industrial sector. Besides, based on the upper echelons theory, we also propose that the top management team with high stability and managerial capabilities will invest more effort and expense into improving environmental disclosure quality, lowering the carbon footprint caused by digital technology, maintaining data security etc. In both these contexts, the increasing marginal cost curves would become steeper, weakening the inverted U-shaped slope between DT and ED.

Keywords: digital transformation, environmental disclosure, the top management team, information processing theory, upper echelon theory

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Authors: Adebola Adedugbe

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Agriculture is the mainstay of most countries in Africa. It employs up to 90 percent of the rural workforce, who are mostly youth and women. Engaging youths in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in agriculture is critical to economic and agricultural development of the African continent. The objective of this paper is to identify and mobilize the potentials of young Africans in agriculture through ICT and recognize their role as the dominant driver for sustainable agricultural development in Africa. This paper identifies the role of ICT as a tool for attracting youths to agriculture. The development of ICT is important in stimulating youths in SME’s to compete favorably and effectively as a way to fight poverty through job and wealth creation. It is one of the strategies for promoting entrepreneurship by increasing the availability and diversity of online information.

Keywords: Africa, agriculture, ICT, tool, youth

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Authors: Kulveer Sandhu

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Background: In 1999, the Government of Canada legalized the use of cannabis for the therapeutic purpose (CTP); however, its users remain highly vulnerable to stigma and are judged by care providers and nonusers of cannabis. Findings from a literature review suggest health care providers (HCPs), including nurses in palliative care settings, lack knowledge about medical cannabis. For this reason, it is important to enhance HCPs’awarenessand knowledge of medical cannabis. Significance of the Project: Nurses are the first point of contact and spend more time with patients than other care providers; it is, therefore, important for them to be informed about CTPto provide quality and equitable care for medical cannabis users. Although nurses and other HCPs want information on CTP, the topic is rarely included in their educational curriculum. The purpose of this project is to create an evidence informed Package designed to increase knowledge among palliative care nurses about CTP. The information package will empower palliative nurses to help palliative patients make informed decisions about their treatment plan. Method: The information package will include a basic overview of the endocannabinoid system, common cannabis plants and products, and methods of consumption, as well as information to help nurses better understand consumption and harm reduction. The package will also include a set of cannabis fact sheets for nurses. Each fact sheet will comprise a high-level overview with graphics followed by a description of medical cannabis with links and references. At the end of the learning package, there are five self-reflection questions that allow nurses to examine their personal values, attitudes, and practices regarding medical cannabis. These questions will help each nurse understand their personal approach towards CTP and its users.

Keywords: medical cannabis, improve knowledge, cannabis for therapeutic purpose (CTP), patient experience, palliative care

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Authors: P. Senthilraja, C. Rukumani Khandhan, M. Palaniappan, S. L. Rama, P. Sai Sushimitha, R. Madhan, J. Vinumathi, N. Vijayarangan

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Nowadays, the logistics achieve a vast improvement in efficient delivery of goods. The technology improvement also helps to improve its development, but still the owners of transport vehicles face problems, i.e., fuel theft in vehicles by the drivers or by an unknown person. There is no proper solution to overcome the problems. This scheme is to determine the amount of fuel that has been stolen and also to determine the position of the vehicle at a particular time using the technologies like GPS, GSM, ultrasonic fuel level sensor and numeric lock system. The ultrasonic sensor uses the ultrasonic waves to calculate the height of the tank up to which the fuel is available. Based on height it is possible to calculate the amount of fuel. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system. The scientific community uses GPS for its precision timing capability and position information. The GSM provides the periodic information about the fuel level. A numeric lock system has been provided for fuel tank opening lever. A password is provided to access the fuel tank lever and this is authenticated only by the driver and the owner. Once the fuel tank is opened an alert is sent to owner through a SMS including the timing details. Third party monitoring software is a user interface that updates the information automatically into the database which helps to retrieve the data as and when required. Third party monitoring software provides vehicle’s information to the owner and also shows the status of the vehicle. The techniques that are to be proposed will provide an efficient output. This project helps to overcome the theft and hence to put forth fuel economy.

Keywords: fuel theft, third party monitoring software, bioinformatics, biomedicine

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Authors: Lisbeth Amhag

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The aim of the study is to describe and analyze the design of mobile teaching for students collaborative learning in distance higher education with a focus on mobile technologies as online webinars (web-based seminars or conferencing) by using laptops, smart phones, or tablets. These multimedia tools can provide face-to-face interactions, recorded flipped classroom videos and parallel chat communications. The data collection consists of interviews with 22 students and observations of online face-to-face webinars, as well two surveys. Theoretically, the study joins the research tradition of Computer Supported Collaborative learning, CSCL, as well as Computer Self-Efficacy, CSE concerned with individuals’ media and information literacy. Important conclusions from the study demonstrated mobile interactions increased student centered learning. As the students were appreciating the working methods, they became more engaged and motivated. The mobile technology using among student also contributes to increased flexibility between space and place, as well as media and information literacy.

Keywords: computer self-efficacy, computer supported collaborative learning, distance and open learning, educational design and technologies, media and information literacy, mobile learning

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Authors: Hanae Ait Hattani, Nohaila Ait Hattani

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Globalization, with the rapid technological progress, is affecting every life aspect. The 21st century higher education faces a major challenge in preparing well-rounded and competent graduates to compete in the global marketplace. Worldwide, educational policies work to develop the quality of instruction at all educational levels by focusing on promoting students’ qualifications and skills, considering both academic activities and non-academic attributes. In fact, extracurricular activities (ECAs) complement the academic curriculum and enhance the student experience by improving their interpersonal skills and attitudes. This study comes to examine the potential of extracurricular activities as a vital tool for soft skills’ development. Using empirical research, the study aims to measure and evaluate the extent to which university students’ engagement in extracurricular activities contribute in positively changing their learning experience, fostering their soft skills and fostering their behaviors and attitudes. Findings emanating from a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews add a number of contributions to the literature. They support the assumption suggesting that ECAs can be considered a valuable way to acquire, develop, and demonstrate softs skills that students today need to evidence in a variety of contexts, such as communication skills, team work, leadership, problem-solving, to name but a few.

Keywords: extracurricular activities (ECAs), soft skills, education, university, attitude

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Authors: Amirmozafar Benshams, Khatere Kashmari, Farzad Hatami, Mesbah Saybani

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As a part of the transportation network, bridges are one of the most vulnerable structures. In order to investigate the vulnerability and seismic evaluation of bridges performance, identifying of bridge associated with various state of damage is important. Fragility curves provide important data about damage states and performance of bridges against earthquakes. The development of vulnerability information in the form of fragility curves is a widely practiced approach when the information is to be developed accounting for a multitude of uncertain source involved. This paper presents the fragility curve methodologies for bridges and investigates the practice and applications relating to the seismic fragility assessment of bridges.

Keywords: fragility curve, bridge, uncertainty, NLTHA, IDA

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Authors: Lize Tibiriçá, Ronnie Lee, Samantha Behbahani

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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a musculoskeletal disorder affecting men and women of different ages and cultures. The cause of this disorder is unknown; however, studies suggest an etiology that involves biological and psychosocial factors. Few studies have shown that a personality type such as neuroticism is associated with chronic pain conditions. Past research has explored whether patients with FM present with a specific personality trait. However, studies have used different methods (i.e. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Sociotropy and Autonomy Scale (SAS) and Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire or Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Karolinska scale of personality, Big Five Inventory or NEO Personality Inventory) to explore the connection between FM and a personality type. They have identified personality types that present similar characteristics but vary in the name (i.e. high harm avoidance and low novelty seeking, psychasthenia/muscular tension/somatic anxiety, neuroticism). Although Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire and the Big Five Inventory differ in terms of content and structure, both of them identify neuroticism as the personality type of FM patients, and the former also identifies these patients as having a low sociability personality trait. Previous research also shows a trend of sociotropic personality style with FM patients that also suffer from Major Depressive Disorder. Participants in these studies were, for the most part, adult female and researchers have recognized that as a limitation and whether their findings can be generalized to men and younger patients with FM. Furthermore, most studies reviewed were conducted in Europe (i.e. Spain) and had a cross-sectional design. Future research should replicate past studies in different countries and consider conducting a longitudinal study. Although it is suspected that FM course is modulated by FM patients’ personality, it is not known whether individuals with similar personalities will develop FM. This review sought to explain the differences and similarities between the personality types identified. Limitations in the studies reviewed were addressed, and considerations for future research and treatment were discussed.

Keywords: chronic pain, fibromyalgia, neuroticism, personality type

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Authors: Victoria Legkikh

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To create a new Orthodox service of Jerusalem rite and to make it possible for a performance, one had to use several types of books. These are menaions and triodion, cleargy service book, stichirarion and typikon. These books keep a part of the information about the service, which a medieval copyist had to put together like a puzzle. But an abundance of necessary books and their variety created a lot of problems in copying services. The main problem was the difference of text in notated and not notated manuscripts (they were corrected at a different time) and lack of information in typikon, which provided only a type of hymns and their mode. After all, a copyist could have both corrected and not corrected manuscripts which also provided a different type of service. It brings us to the situation when we hardly have a couple of manuscripts containing the same service, and it is difficult to understand which changes were made voluntarily and which ones were provided by different types of available manuscripts. A recent paper proposes an analysis of every type of liturgical book and a way of using them in copying and correcting a service so we can divide voluntary changes and changes due to various types of books. The paper also proposes an index showing the “material” life of hymns in different types of manuscripts and the changes of its version and place in the same type of manuscript. This type of index can help in reconstructing the way of creation/copying service and can be useful for publication of the services providing necessary information of every hymn in every used manuscript.

Keywords: orthodox church music, creation, manuscripts, liturgical books

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Authors: Judith Mwakalonge, Geophrey Mbatta, Cuthbert Ruseruka, Gurcan Comert, Saidi Siuhi

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Recent advancements in technology have fostered the development of Electric Vehicles (EVs) that provides relief from transportation dependence on natural fossil fuels as sources of energy. It is estimated that more than 50% of petroleum is used for transportation, which accounts for 28% of annual energy use. Vehicles make up about 82% of all transportation energy use. It is also estimated that about 22% of global Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are produced by the transportation sector, therefore, it raises environmental concerns. Governments worldwide, including the United States, are investing in developing EVs to resolve the issues related to the use of natural fossil fuels, such as air pollution due to emissions. For instance, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) that was signed by President Biden on November 15th, 2021, sets aside about $5 billion to be apportioned to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for the development of EV chargers. These chargers should be placed in a way that maximizes their utility. This study aims at studying the charging behaviors of Electric Vehicle (EV) users to establish factors to be considered in the selection of charging locations. The study will focus on social-economic and land use data by studying the relationship between charging time and charging locations. Local factors affecting the charging time and the chargers’ utility will be investigated.

Keywords: electric vehicles, EV charging stations, social economic factors, charging networks

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Authors: Nuran Öze

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People always want to be aware of what is happening around them. The nature of man constantly triggers the need for gathering information because of curiosity. The media has emerged to save people the need for information. It is known that the media has changed with the technological developments over time, diversified and, people's information needs are provided in different ways. Today, the Internet has become an integral part of everyday life. The invasion of the Internet into everyday life practices at this level affects every aspect of life. These effects cause people to change their life practices. Technological developments have always influenced of people, the way they reach information. Looking at the history of the media, the breaking point about the dissemination of information is seen as the invention of the machine of the printing press. This adventure that started with written media has now become a multi-dimensional structure. Written, audio, visual media has now changed shape with new technologies. Especially emerging of the internet to everyday life, of course, has effects on media field. 'New media' has appeared which contains most of traditional media features in its'. While in the one hand this transformation enables captures a harmony between traditional and new media, on the other hand, new media and traditional media are rivaling each other. The purpose of this study is to examine the problematic relationship between traditional media and new media through the news reading practices of individuals. This study can be evaluated as a kind of media sociology. To reach this aim, two different field researches will be done besides literature review. The research will be conducted in Northern Cyprus. Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus is located in the Mediterranean Sea. North Cyprus is a country which is not recognized by any country except Turkey. Despite this, takes its share from all technological developments take place in the world. One of the field researches will consist of the questionnaires to be applied on media readers' news reading practices. This survey will be conducted in a social media environment. The second field survey will be conducted in the form of interviews with general editorials or news directors in traditional media. In the second field survey, in-depth interview method will be applied. As a result of these investigations, supporting sides between the new media and the traditional media and directions which contrast with each other will be revealed. In addition to that, it will try to understand the attitudes and perceptions of readers about the traditional media and the new media in this study.

Keywords: new media, news, North Cyprus, traditional media

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Authors: Neha Narayanan

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The paper tries to explore the role of language in determining spaces occupied by women in everyday lives. It is inspired from an ongoing action research work which employs ‘immersion’- arriving at a research problematic through community research, as a methodology in a Kondh adivasi village, Kirkalpadu located in Rayagada district of the Indian state of Odisha. In the dominant development discourse, language is associated with either preservation or conservation of endangered language or empowerment through language. Beyond these, is the discourse of language as a structure, with the hegemonic quality to organise lifeworld in a specific manner. This rigid structure leads to an experience of constriction of space for women. In Kirkalpadu, the action research work is with young and unmarried women of the age 15-25. During daytime, these women are either in the agricultural field or in the bari -the backyard of the house whose rooms are linearly arranged one after the other ending with the kitchen followed by an open space called bari (in Odia) which is an intimate and gendered space- where they are not easily visible. They justify the experience of restriction in mobility and fear of moving out of the village alone by the argument that the place and the men are nihi-aaeh (not good). These women, who have dropped out of school early to contribute to the (surplus) labour requirement in the household, want to learn English to be able to read signboards when they are on the road, to be able to fill forms at a bank and use mobile phones to communicate with their romantic partner(s). But the incapacity to have within one’s grasp the province of language and the incapacity to take the mobile phone to the kind of requirements marked by the above mentioned impossible transactions with space restricts them to the bari of the house. The paper concludes by seeking to explore the possibilities of learning and rethinking languages which takes into cognizance the gendered experience of women and the desire of women to cross the borders and occupy spaces restricted to them.

Keywords: action research, gendered experience, language, space

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Authors: Najim Akorede Babalola

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Adult Education is a multi and interdisciplinary in nature that cut across different fields of study which includes education, social sciences, engineering even information technologies that dominate the contemporary world among others. In the past, Adult Education has been used as an instrument of civilization by teaching people how to read and write as well as earning a better living. The present world has witnessed a transition from industrial age to information age which is also known as knowledge society needs Adult Education for knowledge acquisition and update of existing knowledge. An individual needs Adult Education in either of its various forms (on-the-job-training, in-service training, extramural classes, vocational education, continuing education among others) in order to develop towards the information society trends; this is because Adult Education is a process of transforming an individual through acquisition of relevant skills and knowledge for personal as well as societal development. Evidence abounds in the literature that Adult Education has not only assisted people in the medieval period but still assisting people in this modern society in changing and transforming their lives for a better living. This study, therefore, raised a salient question that with different ideas and innovations brought by the contemporary world, is Adult Education relevant? It is on this basis that this study intends to examine the relevance of Adult Education in the past and present in order to determine its future relevance.

Keywords: adult education, multi and inter-disciplinary, knowledge society, skill acquisition

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Authors: A. Porshnev, A. Zaporozhtchuk

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Motivation regarded as a key factor of labor turnover, is especially important for volunteers working on an altruistic basis in NGO. Despite the motivational letter, candidate selection depends on the impression of the selection committee, which can be subject to human bias. We expect that structured and unstructured information provided in motivation letters could be used to improve candidate selection procedures. In our paper, we perform qualitative and quantitative analysis of 2280 motivation letters, create logistic regression, and build a decision tree to improve selection procedures. Our analysis showed that motivation factors are significant and enable human resources department to forecast labor turnover and provide extra information to demographic, professional and timing questions. In spite of the average level of accuracy the model demonstrates the selection procedures of company of under consideration can be improved. We also discuss interrelation between answers to open and closed motivation questions, recommend changes in motivational letter templates to ensure more relevant information about applicants and further steps to create more accurate model.

Keywords: decision trees, logistic regression, model, motivational letter, non-governmental organization, retention, turnover

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Authors: Ariq Bani Hardi

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Empowerment of smartphone technology is growing very rapidly in various fields of science. One of the mobile operating systems that dominate the smartphone market today is Android by Google. Unfortunately, the expansion of mobile technology is misused by criminals to hide the information that they store or exchange with each other. It makes law enforcement more difficult to prove crimes committed in the judicial process (anti-forensic). One of technique that used to hide the information is encryption, such as the usages of SMS encryption applications. A Mobile Forensic Examiner or an investigator should prepare a countermeasure technique if he finds such things during the investigation process. This paper will discuss an extension procedure if the investigator found unreadable SMS in android evidence because of encryption. To define the extended procedure, we create and analyzing a dataset of android SMS encryption application. The dataset was grouped by application characteristics related to communication permissions, as well as the availability of source code and the documentation of encryption scheme. Permissions indicate the possibility of how applications exchange the data and keys. Availability of the source code and the encryption scheme documentation can show what the cryptographic algorithm specification is used, how long the key length, how the process of key generation, key exchanges, encryption/decryption is done, and other related information. The output of this paper is an extended or alternative procedure for examination and analysis process of android digital forensic. It can be used to help the investigators while they got a confused cause of SMS encryption during examining and analyzing. What steps should the investigator take, so they still have a chance to discover the encrypted SMS in android evidence?

Keywords: anti-forensic countermeasure, SMS encryption android, examination and analysis, digital forensic

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Authors: Joel C. Navarez

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The current study investigated the Filipino school counselor’s knowledge, attitudes, and competencies in suicide intervention as well as their experiences and practices in suicide intervention. The study also aimed to develop and standardize suicide intervention guidelines. The study has two (2) phases. Phase 1 utilized the descriptive and generic qualitative inquiry methods of research. Purposive and convenience sampling was applied, and participants were college counselors from the National Capital Region (NCR), Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Results revealed that counselors do not have high level of knowledge on suicidal behaviors, have some negative attitudes toward suicidal behavior, and need to acquire better intervention skills. The findings also showed that the trainings received by counselors are not enough to advance their suicide intervention skills, which would help enhance positive attitudes towards suicide risk assessment and management. Some common experiences of the counselors in suicide intervention were focused on the areas of accountability, stigmatizing attitudes of parents, and confidentiality issues. Phase 2 of the study was the development of suicide intervention practice guidelines using the Delphi process. The tentative guideline was based on the content analysis of interventions taken from literature and from the actual intervention practices of counselors, as seen from the findings of the qualitative study of Phase 1. After three (3) Delphi rounds and the consensus from sixteen (16) mental health experts, 145 recommended actions can be implemented by school counselors in suicide.

Keywords: counselor competencies, counselor development, suicide, suicide intervention

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Authors: Songul Kurucay, Mustafa Acarer, Harun Sepet

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Static strain aging occurs when metallic materials are subjected to deformation and then heat treated at low temperatures such as 150-200oC. Static strain aging occurs in BCC metals and results and increasing in yield and tensile strength and decreasing ductility due to carbon and/or nitrogen atoms locking dislocations. The locked dislocations increase yield and tensile strength. In this study, static strain aging behaviors of ferritic and austenitic stainless steel were investigated. Ferritic stainless steel was prestained at %5, %10 and %15 and then aged at 150oC and 200oC for 30 minutes. Austenitic stainless steel was also prestained at %20 and %30 and then heat treated at 200, 400 and 600oC for 30 minutes. After the heat treatment, the tensile test was performed to determine the effect of prestain and heat treatment on the steels. Hardness measurements and detailed microstructure characterization were also done. While AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel sample which was prestained at 15% and aged at 200oC, showed the highest increasing in the yield strength, AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel which was prestained at 30% and aged at 600oC, has the highest yield strength. Microstructure photographs also support the mechanical test results.

Keywords: austenitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel, static strain aging, tensile strength

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Authors: Sanjeev Prasher, T. Sai Vijay, Chandan Parsad, Abhishek Banerjee, Sahakari Nikhil Krishna, Subham Chatterjee

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With rapid rise in internet retailing, the industry is set for a major implosion. Due to the little difference among competitors, companies find it difficult to segment and target the right shoppers. The objective of the study is to segment Indian online shoppers on the basis of the factors – website characteristics and shopping values. Together, these cover extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect shoppers as they visit web retailers. Data were collected using questionnaire from 319 Indian online shoppers, and factor analysis was used to confirm the factors influencing the shoppers in their selection of web portals. Thereafter, cluster analysis was applied, and different segments of shoppers were identified. The relationship between income groups and online shoppers’ segments was tracked using correspondence analysis. Significant findings from the study include that web entertainment and informativeness together contribute more than fifty percent of the total influence on the web shoppers. Contrary to general perception that shoppers seek utilitarian leverages, the present study highlights the preference for fun, excitement, and entertainment during browsing of the website. Four segments namely Information Seekers, Utility Seekers, Value Seekers and Core Shoppers were identified and profiled. Value seekers emerged to be the most dominant segment with two-fifth of the respondents falling for hedonic as well as utilitarian shopping values. With overlap among the segments, utilitarian shopping value garnered prominence with more than fifty-eight percent of the total respondents. Moreover, a strong relation has been established between the income levels and the segments of Indian online shoppers. Web shoppers show different motives from being utility seekers to information seekers, core shoppers and finally value seekers as income levels increase. Companies can strategically use this information for target marketing and align their web portals accordingly. This study can further be used to develop models revolving around satisfaction, trust and customer loyalty.

Keywords: online shopping, shopping values, effectiveness of information content, web informativeness, web entertainment, information seekers, utility seekers, value seekers, core shoppers

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Authors: Laura Fernanda Pedreros Araque, Sebastian Rivera Pardo

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The massive removal phenomena have been one of the most frequent natural disasters in the world, causing thousands of deaths, victims, damage to homes and diseases. In Pitalito, and Campoalegre department of Huila municipalities - Colombia, disasters have occurred due to various events such as high rainfall, earthquakes; it has caused landslides, floods, among others, affected the economy, the community, and transportation. For this reason, a study was carried out on the area’s most prone to suffer these phenomena to take preventive measures in favor of the protection of the population, the resources of management, and the planning of civil works. For the proposed object, the Mora-Varshon method was used, which allows classifying the degree of susceptibility to landslides in which the areas are found. Also, various factors or parameters were evaluated such as the soil moisture, lithology, slope, seismicity, and rain, each of these indicators were obtained using information from IDEAM, Servicio Geologico Colombiano (SGC) and using geographic information for geoprocessing in the Arcgis software to realize a mapping to indicate the susceptibility to landslides, classifying the areas of the municipalities such as very low, low, medium, moderate, high or very high.

Keywords: geographic information system, landslide, mass removal phenomena, Mora-Varshon method

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Authors: Wahhaj Ahmed Farooqi, Bilal Ahmad, Sandra Maritza Zambrano Bernal

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In view of structural engineering, monitoring of structural responses over time is of great importance with respect to recent developments of construction technologies. Recently, developments of advanced computing tools have enabled researcher’s better execution of structural health monitoring (SHM) and control systems. In the last decade, building information modeling (BIM) has substantially enhanced the workflow of planning and operating engineering structures. Typically, building information can be stored and exchanged via model files that are based on the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) standard. In this study a modeling approach for semantic modeling of SHM and control systems is integrated into the BIM methodology using the IFC standard. For validation of the modeling approach, a laboratory test structure, a four-story shear frame structure, is modeled using a conventional BIM software tool. An IFC schema extension is applied to describe information related to monitoring and control of a prototype SHM and control system installed on the laboratory test structure. The SHM and control system is described by a semantic model applying Unified Modeling Language (UML). Subsequently, the semantic model is mapped into the IFC schema. The test structure is composed of four aluminum slabs and plate-to-column connections are fully fixed. In the center of the top story, semi-active tuned liquid column damper (TLCD) is installed. The TLCD is used to reduce effects of structural responses in context of dynamic vibration and displacement. The wireless prototype SHM and control system is composed of wireless sensor nodes. For testing the SHM and control system, acceleration response is automatically recorded by the sensor nodes equipped with accelerometers and analyzed using embedded computing. As a result, SHM and control systems can be described within open BIM, dynamic responses and information of damages can be stored, documented, and exchanged on the formal basis of the IFC standard.

Keywords: structural health monitoring, open building information modeling, industry foundation classes, unified modeling language, semi-active tuned liquid column damper, nondestructive testing

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Zamani Kouhpanji

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Characterizing the fatigue and fracture properties of nanostructures is one of the most challenging tasks in nanoscience and nanotechnology due to lack of a MEMS/NEMS device for generating uniform cyclic loadings at high frequencies. Here, the dynamic response of a recently proposed MEMS/NEMS device under different inputs signals is completely investigated. This MEMS/NEMS device is designed and modeled based on the electromagnetic force induced between paired parallel wires carrying electrical currents, known as Ampere’s Force Law (AFL). Since this MEMS/NEMS device only uses two paired wires for actuation part and sensing part, it represents highly sensitive and linear response for nanostructures with any stiffness and shapes (single or arrays of nanowires, nanotubes, nanosheets or nanowalls). In addition to studying the maximum gains at different resonance frequencies of the MEMS/NEMS device, its dynamical responses are investigated for different inputs and nanostructure properties to demonstrate the capability, usability, and reliability of the device for wide range of nanostructures. This MEMS/NEMS device can be readily integrated into SEM/TEM instruments to provide real time study of the fatigue and fracture properties of nanostructures as well as their softening or hardening behaviors, and initiation and/or propagation of nanocracks in them.

Keywords: MEMS/NEMS devices, paired wire actuators and sensors, dynamical response, fatigue and fracture characterization, Ampere’s force law

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Authors: Zeren Li, Wenkai Song

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Shanghai experienced a 3-month lockdown in 2022. This unprecedented lockdown made local residents afraid, anxious and worried about the unpredictability of the future. During the lockdown, many unethical behaviors related to lockdown are noticed by the public. Our studies documented unethical behavior during this lockdown by moral hypocrisy and moral justification examined whether or not the lockdown makes people behave more unethically, and analyzed the relationship between negative emotions and unethical behavior. In Study 1, we recruited 240 participants from Shanghai (n = 120) and other cities (n = 120) to compare people in lockdown and non-lockdown areas. Surprisingly, we found that people in lockdown areas tend to behave more ethically, exhibiting less moral hypocrisy. In addition, residents of the lockdown area have significantly higher negative emotions (afraid, nervousness, upset, and feelings of uncertainty). In Study 2, we recruited 70 respondents from Shanghai and found that people behave relatively ethically in lockdown-related scenarios (negatively correlated with anxiety about the lockdown) with relatively less moral justification than in lockdown-unrelated scenarios. We propose that negative emotions may reduce unethical behavior that may exacerbate the causes (in our study, the lockdown) of these negative emotions. Experiments may help to establish the causal relationship and verify the model in future research.

Keywords: COVID-19, unethical behavior, emotion, anxiety, moral justification, moral hypocrisy, China

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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: Magigi Wakuru, Gaudensi Kapinga

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This study examines land use changes and its implications on livelihood activities of peri-urban settlements in Msaranga, Moshi Municipality. Specifically; it analyses the historical development of the settlement, socioeconomic characteristics and land use changes over time. Likely, find out existing livelihood activities and how have been changing over time in the context of urbanization, and lastly highlights land use change implications on livelihood activities to residents. Interviews, observations, documentary reviews and mapping were data collection tools employed. The study shows that housing, urban agriculture, roads infrastructure, recreational, open spaces and institutions are some land use types existing in the settlement. On-farm and off-farm livelihood activities have been identified livelihood activities in the settlement. These include crop cultivation, livestock keeping, trading and formal employment and have been changing over time. However, urbanisation observed to be a catalyst of change and affect livelihood activities over time. Resorting to off-farm livelihoods activities including engaging in retail business and seeking employment in formal and informal sector are some copying strategies documented. The study wind up by pointing roles of different actors and issues of particular attention to different stakeholders towards reducing impact of land use changes on livelihood strategies in the settlement. Likely, unresolved issues for future research and policy development agenda are highlighted in this study. The study concludes that the impact of land use changes on livelihood activities need collaborative effort of different stakeholders, policy enforcement as well as public private partnership in issues based implementation in cities like Moshi where land use is rapidly changing over time within urban planning cycles due to increasing population demand in cities of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: land use, land use changes, livelihood activities, peri-urban settlement, Moshi, Tanzania

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Authors: Mukadder Baran, Mustafa Sözbilir

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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicabillity of the Context- and Problem-Based Learning (CPBL) in general chemistry course to the subject of “Thermodynamics” but also the influence of CPBL on students’ achievement, retention of knowledge, their interest, attitudes, motivation and problem-solving skills. The study group included 13 freshman students who were selected with the sampling method appropriate to the purpose among those taking the course of General Chemistry within the Program of Medical Laboratory Techniques at Hakkari University. The application was carried out in the Spring Term of the academic year of 2012-2013. As the data collection tool, Lesson Observation form were used. In the light of the observations held, it was revealed that CPBL increased the students’ intragroup and intergroup communication skills as well as their self-confidence and developed their skills in time management, presentation, reporting, and technology use; and that they were able to relate chemistry to daily life. Depending on these findings, it could be suggested that the area of use of CPBL be widened; that seminars related to constructive methods be organized for teachers. In this way, it is believed that students will not be passive in the group any longer. In addition, it was concluded that in order to avoid the negative effects of the socio-cultural structure on the education system, research should be conducted in places where there is socio-cultural obstacles, and appropriate solutions should be suggested and put into practice.

Keywords: chemistry, education, science, context-based learning

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Authors: Min Chen, Hui Lin

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VGEs are a kind of typical web- and computer-based geographic environment, with aims of merging geographic knowledge, computer technology, virtual reality technology, network technology, and geographic information technology, to provide a digital mirror of physical geographic environments to allow users to ‘feel it in person’ by a means for augmenting the senses and to ‘know it beyond reality’ through geographic phenomena simulation and collaborative geographic experiments. Many achievements have appeared in this field, but further evolution should be explored. With the exploration of the conception of VGEs, and some examples, this article illustrated the role of VGEs and their contribution to currently GIScience. Based on the above analysis, questions are proposed for discussing about the future way of VGEs.

Keywords: virtual geographic environments (VGEs), GIScience, virtual reality, geographic information systems

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Authors: Asli Yagmur Akbulut

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Despite a robust and growing job market and lucrative salaries, there is a global shortage of Information Technology (IT) professionals. To make matters worse, women continue to be underrepresented in the IT workforce and among IT degree holders. In today’s knowledge based economy and society, it is extremely important to increase the presence of women in the IT field. In order to do so, it is necessary to reduce entry barriers and attract more women to pursue degrees in various IT fields including the field of Management Information Systems (MIS). Even though MIS is considered to have a more feminine nature, women still tend to avoid majoring in this field. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research that investigates the specific factors that may deter women from pursuing a degree in MIS. To address this research gap, this study examined a set of key environmental barriers that might prevent women from pursuing an MIS degree and explored whether there were any gender differences between female and male students in terms of these key barriers. Based on a survey of 280 students enrolled in an introductory level MIS course, the study empirically confirmed that there were significant differences between male and female students in terms of the key contextual barriers perceived. Female students demonstrated major concerns about gender discrimination related barriers, whereas male students were more concerned about negative social influences. Both male and female students were equally concerned about not being able to fit in well with other MIS majors. The findings have important implications for MIS programs, as the information gained can be used to design and implement specific intervention strategies to overcome the barriers and attract larger pools of women to the MIS discipline. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings, implications, and future research directions.

Keywords: gender differences, MIS major, underrepresentation, women in IT

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Authors: Dekie Rawung, Abdul L. Abadi, Toto Himawan, Siegfried Berhimpon

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A case study on consumer' knowledge, attitude, and behavior on food safety issue related to pesticide residues in cabbage was conducted in the area of Manado and Tomohon city, North Sulawesi. A sample of 150 consumers were selected randomly on location (open market and supermarket) while they were purchasing vegetables. The data on consumers’ perception, knowledge, attitude and behavior on food safety issue regarding pesticide residues were collected using a 5-point, two-section Likert-Scale questionnaire, and the relationship of knowledge, attitude, and behavior on food safety issues were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). It was found that, among many food safety issues, the illegal, non-food chemical preservatives were considered the most important one (by more than 35% respondents), followed by high cholesterol content and textile coloring chemical (> 27% respondents). The pesticide residues issue was only in the 4th place. The same results were seen on the issue of quality factors that determine the product selection during purchasing. The pesticide-free and organic products labels were considered much less important quality factors as compared with freshness and nutrition value which were considered the most and the second most important quality factors (almost 65% of respondents). SEM analysis showed that only knowledge and attitude on food safety that had the significant relation (coefficient value of 0.38), whereas those with behaviors were not significant.

Keywords: cabbage, consumer, food safety, pesticide residues

Procedia PDF Downloads 406