Search results for: partial order theory

Authors: Tanja Salary

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This paper discusses a study conducted in a juvenile justice facility regarding medication errors. It includes an introduction to data collected about medication errors in a juvenile justice facility from 2011 - 2019 and explores contributing factors that relate to those errors. The data was obtained from electronic incident records of medication errors that were documented from the years 2011 through 2019. In addition, the presentation reviews both current and historical research of empirical data about patient safety standards and quality care comparing traditional health care facilities to juvenile justice residential facilities and acknowledges a gap in research. The theoretical/conceptual framework for the research study was Bandura and Adams’s self-efficacy theory of behavioral change and Mark Friedman’s results-based accountability theory. Despite the lack of evidence in previous studies addressing medication errors in juvenile justice facilities, this presenter will share information that adds to the body of knowledge, including the potential relationship of medication errors and contributing factors of race and age. Implications for future research include the effect that education and training will have on the communication among juvenile justice staff, including nurses, who administer medications to juveniles to ensure adherence to patient safety standards. There are several opportunities for future research concerning other characteristics about factors that may affect medication administration errors within the residential juvenile justice facility.

Keywords: Juvenile justice, medication errors, juveniles, error reduction strategies

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Authors: Lene Granzau Juel-Jacobsen

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The problem of beautification is an obvious concern of photography, claiming reference to reality, but it also lies at the very heart of social theory. As we become accustomed to sophisticated visualizations of statistical data in pace with the development of software programs, we should not only be inclined to ask new types of research questions, but we also need to confront social theories based on such visualization techniques with new types of questions. Correspondence Analysis, GIS analysis, Social Network Analysis, and Perceptual Maps are current examples of visualization techniques popular within the social sciences and neighboring disciplines. This article discusses correspondence analysis, arguing that the graphic plot of correspondence analysis is to be interpreted much similarly to a photograph. It refers no more evidently or univocally to reality than a photograph, representing social life no more truthfully than a photograph documents. Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical corpus, especially his theory of fields, relies heavily on correspondence analysis. While much attention has been directed towards critiquing the somewhat vague conceptualization of habitus, limited focus has been placed on the equally problematic concepts of social space and field. Based on a re-reading of the Distinction, the article argues that the concepts rely on ‘a small graphic lie’ very similar to a photograph. Like any other piece of art, as Bourdieu himself recognized, the graphic display is a politically and morally loaded representation technique. However, the correspondence analysis does not necessarily serve the purpose he intended. In fact, it tends towards the pitfalls he strove to overcome.

Keywords: datavisualization, correspondance analysis, bourdieu, Field, visual representation

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Authors: Bendiabdellah Azzeddine, Cherif Bilal Djamal Eddine

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The three-phase power converter voltage structure is widely used in many power applications but its failure can lead to partial or total loss of control of the phase currents and can cause serious system malfunctions or even a complete system shutdown. To ensure continuity of service in all circumstances, effective and rapid techniques of detection and location of inverter fault is to be implemented. The present paper is dedicated to open-circuit fault detection in a three-phase two-level inverter fed induction motor. For detection purpose, the proposed contribution addresses the Park’s current vectors associated to a polar coordinates calculation tool to compute the exact value of the fault angle corresponding directly to the faulty IGBT switch. The merit of the proposed contribution is illustrated by experimental results.

Keywords: diagnosis, detection, Park’s vectors, polar coordinates, open-circuit fault, inverter, IGBT switch

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Authors: Elena Listo, Miguel Marchamalo

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This research studies the soil properties located in the watershed of Jabillo River in the Guanacaste province, Costa Rica. The soils are classified as Alfisols (T. Haplustalfs), in the flatter parts with grazing as Fluventic Haplustalfs or as a consequence of bad drainage as F. Epiaqualfs. The objective of this project is to define the status of the soil, to use remote sensing as a tool for analyzing the evolution of land use and determining the water balance of the watershed in order to improve the efficiency of the water collecting systems. Soil samples were analyzed from trial pits taken from secondary forests, degraded pastures, mature teak plantation, and regrowth -Tectona grandis L. F.- species developed favorably in the area. Furthermore, to complete the study, infiltration measurements were taken with an artificial rainfall simulator, as well as studies of soil compaction with a penetrometer, in points strategically selected from the different land uses. Regarding remote sensing, nearly 40 data samples were collected per plot of land. The source of radiation is reflected sunlight from the beam and the underside of leaves, bare soil, streams, roads and logs, and soil samples. Infiltration reached high levels. The majority of data came from the secondary forest and mature planting due to a high proportion of organic matter, relatively low bulk density, and high hydraulic conductivity. Teak regrowth had a low rate of infiltration because the studies made regarding the soil compaction showed a partial compaction over 50 cm. The secondary forest presented a compaction layer from 15 cm to 30 cm deep, and the degraded pasture, as a result of grazing, in the first 15 cm. In this area, the alfisols soils have high content of iron oxides, a fact that causes a higher reflectivity close to the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum (around 700mm), as a result of clay texture. Specifically in the teak plantation where the reflectivity reaches values of 90 %, this is due to the high content of clay in relation to others. In conclusion, the protective function of secondary forests is reaffirmed with regards to erosion and high rate of infiltration. In humid climates and permeable soils, the decrease of runoff is less, however, the percolation increases. The remote sensing indicates that being clay soils, they retain moisture in a better way and it means a low reflectivity despite being fine texture.

Keywords: alfisols, Costa Rica, infiltration, remote sensing

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Authors: Moyahabo Molefe

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The persistence of HIV/AIDS infection rates in SA has not only been a subject of academic debate but a mediated narrative that has dominated SA’s post-apartheid film space over the last two decades. SA’s colonial geo-spatial architecture still influences migrant labour patterns, which the Oscar-nominated (2003) SA film ‘Yesterday’ has erstwhile reflected upon, yet continues to account for the spread of HIV/AIDS in SA society. Accordingly, men who had left their homes in the rural areas to work in the mines in the cities become infected with HIV/AIDS, only to return home to infect their wives or partners in the rural areas. This paper analyses, through Social Semiotic theory, how SA geo-spatial arrangement had raptured family structures with both men and women taking new residences in the urban areas where they work away from their homes. By using Social semiotic theory, this paper seeks to understand how images and discourses have been deployed in the film ‘Yesterday’ to demonstrate how HIV/AIDS is embedded in the socio-cultural, economic and political architect of SA society. The study uses qualitative approach and content/text/visual semiotic analysis to decipher meanings from array of imagery and discourses/dialogues that are used to mythologise the relationship between the spread of HIV/AIDS and SA migrant labour patterns. The findings of the study are significant to propose a conceptual framework that can be used to mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS among SA populace, against the backdrop of changing migrant labour patterns and other related factors

Keywords: colonialism, decoloniality, HIV/AIDS, labour migration patterns, social semiotics

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Authors: Mukhtiar Singh, Sumeet Nagar

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Vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a combinatorial optimization and nonlinear programming problem aiming to optimize decisions regarding given set of routes for a fleet of vehicles in order to provide cost-effective and efficient delivery of both services and goods to the intended customers. This paper proposes the application of integrated particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic optimization algorithm (GA) to address the Vehicle routing problem in sugarcane industry in India. Suger industry is very prominent agro-based industry in India due to its impacts on rural livelihood and estimated to be employing around 5 lakhs workers directly in sugar mills. Due to various inadequacies, inefficiencies and inappropriateness associated with the current vehicle routing model it costs huge money loss to the industry which needs to be addressed in proper context. The proposed algorithm utilizes the crossover operation that originally appears in genetic algorithm (GA) to improve its flexibility and manipulation more readily and avoid being trapped in local optimum, and simultaneously for improving the convergence speed of the algorithm, level set theory is also added to it. We employ the hybrid approach to an example of VRP and compare its result with those generated by PSO, GA, and parallel PSO algorithms. The experimental comparison results indicate that the performance of hybrid algorithm is superior to others, and it will become an effective approach for solving discrete combinatory problems.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, vehicle routing problem

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Authors: Mamta M. Barapatre, V. N. Sahare

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Since from long time two wheeled vehicle self-balancing has always been a back-breaking task for both human and robots. Leaning a bicycle driving is long time process and goes through building knowledge base for parameter decision making while balancing robots. In order to create this machine learning phase with embedded system the proposed system is designed. The system proposed aims to construct a bicycle automaton, power-driven by an electric motor, which could balance by itself and move along a specific path. This path could be wavy with bumps and varying widths. The key aim was to construct a cycle which self-balances itself by controlling its handle. In order to take a turn, the mass was transferred to the center. In order to maintain the stability, the bicycle bot automatically turned the handle and a turn. Some problems were faced by the team which were Speed, Steering mechanism through mass- distribution (leaning), Center of mass location and gyroscopic effect of its wheel. The idea proposed have potential applications in automation of transportation system and is most efficient.

Keywords: gyroscope-flywheel, accelerometer, servomotor-controller, self stability concept

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Authors: Etaf Khlaed Haroun Alkhlaifat

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When doctors and patients do not share the same first language, language barriers may exist, which may have negative effects on the quality of communication and care provided. Doctors’ use of medical jargon and patients’ inability to fully express their illness, to a potential loss of relevant information can often create misunderstanding. This study sought to examine the extent to which a lack of “common” language represents one of the linguistic obstacles that may adversely influence the quality of healthcare services in Jordan. Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) was used to interpret the phenomena under study. Doctors (n=9) and patients (n=18) were observed and interviewed in natural Jordanian medical settings. A thematic qualitative approach was employed to analyse the data. The preliminary findings of the study revealed that most doctors appeared to have a good sense of appropriate ways to break through communication barriers by changing medical terminologies or jargons into lay terms. However, for some, there were two main challenges: 1) the use of medical jargon in explaining medication and side effects and 2) the lack of patients’ knowledge in providing a full explanation about their illnesses. The study revealed that language barriers adversely affect health outcomes for patients with limited fluency in the English language. It argues that it is doctors’ responsibility to guarantee mutual understanding, educate patients on their condition and improve their health outcomes.

Keywords: communication accommodation theory, doctor-patient interaction, language barrier, medical jargon, misunderstanding

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Authors: Mai Yen Nhi Doan, Viet Le, Chamindika Weerakoon

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Social enterprises have emerged as sustainable organisations that deliver social achievement along with long-term financial advancement. However, recorded financial barriers have urged social enterprises to divert to other financing methods due to the misaligned ideology with traditional financing capitalists, in which crowdfunding can be a promising alternative. Previous studies in crowdfunding have inadequately addressed crowdfunding for social enterprises, with conflicting results due to the unsuitable analysis of signals in isolation rather than in combinations, using the data from platforms that do not support social enterprises. Extending the signalling theory, this study suggests that crowdfunding success results from the collaboration between costly and costless signals. The proposed conceptual framework enlightens the interaction between costly signals as “organisational information”, “social entrepreneur’s credibility,” and “third-party endorsement” and costless signals as various sub-signals under the “campaign preparedness” signal to achieve crowdfunding success. Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis, this study examined 45 crowdfunding campaigns run by Australian social enterprises on StartSomeGood and Chuffed. The analysis found that different combinations of costly and costless signals can lead to crowdfunding success, allowing social enterprises to adopt suitable combinations of signals to their context. Costless signal – campaign preparedness is fundamental for success, though different costless sub-signals under campaign preparedness can interact with different costly signals for the desired outcome. Third-party endorsement signal was found to be the necessary signal for crowdfunding success for Australian social enterprises.

Keywords: crowdfunding, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), signalling theory, social enterprises

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Authors: Madhusmita Dehingia, Supriyo Sen, Bhuwan Bhaskar, Tulsi Joishy, Mojibur R. Khan

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Human gut microbes and their metabolites are important for maintaining homeostasis in the gut and are responsible for many metabolic and immune mediated diseases. In the present study, we determined the profiles of the gut metabolites of five different ethnic groups (Bodo, Tai-Phake, Karbi, Tea tribe and Tai-Aiton) of Assam. Fecal metabolite profiling of the 39 individuals belonging to the ethnic groups was carried out using Gas chromatography – Mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and comparison was performed among the tribes for common and unique metabolites produced within their gut. Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) of the metabolites suggested that the individuals grouped according to their ethnicity. Among the 66 abundant metabolites, 12 metabolites were found to be common among the five ethnic groups. Additionally, ethnicity wise some unique metabolites were also detected. For example, the tea tribe of Assam contained the tea components, Aniline and Benzoate more in their gut in comparison to others. Metabolites of microbial origin were also correlated with the already published metagenomic data of the same ethnic group and functional analysis were carried out based on human metabolome database.

Keywords: ethnicity, gut microbiota, GC-MS, metabolites

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Authors: Armel Asongu Nkembi, Ahmad Fawad

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The aim of this paper is to determine in a concise way the transfer function that characterizes a DC electrical motor with a helix. In practice it can be obtained by applying a particular input to the system and then, based on the observation of its output, determine an approximation to the transfer function of the system. In our case, we use a step input and find the transfer function parameters that give the simulated first-order time response. The simulation of the system is done using MATLAB/Simulink. In order to determine the parameters, we assume a first order system and use the Broida approximation to determine the parameters and then its Mean Square Error (MSE). Furthermore, we design a PID controller for the control process first in the continuous time domain and tune it using the Ziegler-Nichols open loop process. We then digitize the controller to obtain a digital controller since most systems are implemented using computers, which are digital in nature.

Keywords: transfer function, step input, MATLAB, Simulink, DC electrical motor, PID controller, open-loop process, mean square process, digital controller, Ziegler-Nichols

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Authors: Junaid Kameran Ahmed

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A laminated plate composite of graphite/epoxy has been analyzed dynamically in the present work by using a quadratic element (8-node diso-parametric), and by depending on 1^st order shear deformation theory, every node in this element has 6-degrees of freedom (displacement in x, y, and z axis and twist about x, y, and z axis). The dynamic analysis in the present work covered parametric studies on a composite laminated plate (square plate) to determine its effect on the natural frequency of the plate. The parametric study is represented by set of changes (plate thickness, number of layers, support conditions, layer orientation), and the plates have been simulated by using ANSYS package 12. The boundary conditions considered in this study, at all four edges of the plate, are simply supported and fixed boundary condition. The results obtained from ANSYS program show that the natural frequency for both fixed and simply supported increases with increasing the number of layers, but this increase in the natural frequency for the first five modes will be neglected after 10 layers. And it is observed that the natural frequency of a composite laminated plate will change with the change of ply orientation, the natural frequency increases and it will be at maximum with angle 45 of ply for simply supported laminated plate, and maximum natural frequency will be with cross-ply (0/90) for fixed laminated composite plate. It is also observed that the natural frequency increase is approximately doubled when the thickness is doubled.

Keywords: laminated plate, orthotropic plate, square plate, natural frequency (free vibration), composite (graphite / epoxy)

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Authors: Ömer Tamer, Davut Avcı, Yusuf Atalay

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Novel picolinate complex of manganese(II) ion, [Mn(pic)2] [pic: picolinate or 2-pyridinecarboxylate], was prepared and fully characterized by single crystal X-ray structure determination. The manganese(II) complex was characterized by FT-IR, FT-Raman and UV–Vis spectroscopic techniques. The C=O, C=N and C=C stretching vibrations were found to be strong and simultaneously active in IR and spectra. In order to support these experimental techniques, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed at Gaussian 09W. Although the supramolecular interactions have some influences on the molecular geometry in solid state phase, the calculated data show that the predicted geometries can reproduce the structural parameters. The molecular modeling and calculations of IR, Raman and UV-vis spectra were performed by using DFT levels. Nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of synthesized complex were evaluated by the determining of dipole moment (µ), polarizability (α) and hyperpolarizability (β). Obtained results demonstrated that the manganese(II) complex is a good candidate for NLO material. Stability of the molecule arising from hyperconjugative interactions and charge delocalization was analyzed using natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. The highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO) which is also known the frontier molecular orbitals were simulated, and obtained energy gap confirmed that charge transfer occurs within manganese(II) complex. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) for synthesized manganese(II) complex displays the electrophilic and nucleophilic regions. From MEP, the the most negative region is located over carboxyl O atoms while positive region is located over H atoms.

Keywords: DFT, picolinate, IR, Raman, nonlinear optic

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Authors: Luis N. Pereira, Marco P. Carrasco

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Dynamic pricing is a revenue management strategy in which hotel suppliers define, over time, flexible and different prices for their services for different potential customers, considering the profile of e-consumers and the demand and market supply. This means that the fundamentals of dynamic pricing are based on economic theory (price elasticity of demand) and market segmentation. This study aims to define a dynamic pricing strategy and a contextualized offer to the e-consumers profile in order to improve the number of reservations of an online distribution channel. Segmentation methods (hierarchical and non-hierarchical) were used to identify and validate an optimal number of market segments. A profile of the market segments was studied, considering the characteristics of the e-consumers and the probability of reservation a room. In addition, the price elasticity of demand was estimated for each segment using econometric models. Finally, predictive models were used to define rules for classifying new e-consumers into pre-defined segments. The empirical study illustrates how it is possible to improve the intelligence of an online distribution channel system through an optimal dynamic pricing strategy and a contextualized offer to the profile of each new e-consumer. A database of 11 million e-consumers of an online distribution channel was used in this study. The results suggest that an appropriate policy of market segmentation in using of online reservation systems is benefit for the service suppliers because it brings high probability of reservation and generates more profit than fixed pricing.

Keywords: dynamic pricing, e-consumers segmentation, online reservation systems, predictive analytics

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Authors: Dmitriy Yu. Korulkin, Raissa A. Muzychkina

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The last decade the growth of severe and disseminated forms of inflammatory diseases is observed in Kazakhstan, in particular, septic shock, which progresses on 3-15% of patients with infectious complications of postnatal period. In terms of the rate of occurrence septic shock takes third place after hemorrhagic and cardiovascular shock, in terms of lethality it takes first place. The structure of obstetric sepsis has significantly changed. Currently the first place is taken by postabortive sepsis (40%) that is connected with usage of imperfect methods of artificial termination of pregnancy in late periods (intraamnial injection of sodium chloride, glucose). The second place is taken by postnatal sepsis (32%); the last place is taken by septic complications of caesarean section (28%). In this connection, search for and assessment of effectiveness of new medicines for treatment of postoperative infectious complications, having biostimulating effect and speeding up regeneration processes, is very promising and topical. Essential oil was obtained by the method hydrodistillation air-dry aerial part of Sedum L. plants using Clevenger apparatus. Pilot batch of plant medicinal product based on Sedum essential oils was produced by Chimpharm JSC, Santo Member of Polpharma Group (Kazakhstan). During clinical test of the plant medicinal product based on Sedum L. essential oils 37 female patients at the age from 35 to 57 with clinical signs of complicated postoperative processes and 12 new mothers with clinical signs of inflammatory process on sutures on anterior abdominal wall after caesarean section and partial disruption of surgical suture line on perineum were examined. Medicine usage methods - surgical wound treatment 2 times a day, treatment with other medicines of local action was not performed. Before and after treatment general clinical test, determination of immune status, bacterioscopic test of wound fluid was performed to all women, medical history data was taken into account, wound cleansing and healing time, full granulations, side effects and complications, satisfaction with the used medicine was assessed. On female patients with inflammatory infiltration and partial disruption of surgical suture line anesthetic wound healing effect of plant medicinal product based on Sedum L. essential oils was observed as early as on the second day after beginning of using it, wound cleansing took place, as a rule, within the first row days. Hyperemia in the area of suture line also was not observed for 2-3-d day of usage of medicine, good constant course was observed. The absence of clinical effect on this group of patients was not registered. The represented data give evidence of that clinical effect was accompanied with normalization of changed laboratory findings. No allergic responses or side effects were observed during usage of the plant medicinal products based on Sedum L. essential oils.

Keywords: antiinflammatory, bioactive substances, essential oils, isolation, sedum L., wound healing

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Authors: Rashmi Dyondi, Shishir K. Jha

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The purpose of the paper is to address the strategic risk issues surrounding Hindi film distribution in Mumbai for a film distributor, who acts as an entrepreneur when launching a product (movie) in the market (film territory).The paper undertakes a fundamental review of films and risk in the Hindi film industry and applies Grounded Theory technique to understand the complex phenomena of risk taking behavior of the film distributors (both independent and studios) in Mumbai. Rich in-depth interviews with distributors are coded to develop core categories through constant comparison leading to conceptualization of the phenomena of interest. This paper is a first-of-its-kind-attempt to understand risk behavior of a distributor, which is akin to entrepreneurial risk behavior under conditions of uncertainty. Unlike extensive scholarly work on dynamics of Hollywood motion picture industry, Hindi film industry is an under-researched area till now. Especially how do film distributors perceive risk is an unexplored study for the Hindi film industry. Films are unique experience products and the film distributor acts as an entrepreneur assuming high risks given the uncertainty in the motion picture business. With the entry of mighty corporate studios and astronomical film budgets posing serious business threats to the independent distributors, there is a need for an in-depth qualitative enquiry (applying grounded theory technique) for unraveling the definition of risk for the independent distributors in Mumbai vis-à-vis the corporate studios. Need for good content was a common challenge to both the groups in the present state of the industry, however corporate studios with their distinct ideologies, focus on own productions and financial power faced different set of challenges than the independents (like achieving sustainability in business). Softer issues like market goodwill and relations with producers, honesty in business dealings and transparency came out to be clear markers for success of independents in long run. The findings from the qualitative analysis stress on different elements of risk and challenges as perceived by the two groups of distributors in the Hindi film industry and provide a future research agenda for empirical investigation of determinants of box-office success of Hindi films distributed in Mumbai.

Keywords: entrepreneurial risk behavior, film distribution strategy, Hindi film industry, risk

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Authors: Fally Titikpina, Abderafi Charki, Antoine Caucheteux, David Bigaud

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The building sector is one of the largest energy consumer with about 40% of the final energy consumption in the European Union. Ensuring building energy performance is of scientific, technological and sociological matter. To assess a building energy performance, the consumption being predicted or estimated during the design stage is compared with the measured consumption when the building is operational. When valuing this performance, many buildings show significant differences between the calculated and measured consumption. In order to assess the performance accurately and ensure the thermal efficiency of the building, it is necessary to evaluate the uncertainties involved not only in measurement but also those induced by the propagation of dynamic and static input data in the model being used. The evaluation of measurement uncertainty is based on both the knowledge about the measurement process and the input quantities which influence the result of measurement. Measurement uncertainty can be evaluated within the framework of conventional statistics presented in the \textit{Guide to the Expression of Measurement Uncertainty (GUM)} as well as by Bayesian Statistical Theory (BST). Another choice is the use of numerical methods like Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS). In this paper, we proposed to evaluate the uncertainty associated to the use of a simplified model for the estimation of the energy consumption of a given building. A detailed review and discussion of these three approaches (GUM, MCS and BST) is given. Therefore, an office building has been monitored and multiple sensors have been mounted on candidate locations to get required data. The monitored zone is composed of six offices and has an overall surface of 102 $m^2$. Temperature data, electrical and heating consumption, windows opening and occupancy rate are the features for our research work.

Keywords: building energy performance, uncertainty evaluation, GUM, bayesian approach, monte carlo method

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Authors: Djehich Mohamed Yousri

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The national sovereignty of states is now facing a dangerous situation that has witnessed a clear exacerbation of the restrictions that this sovereignty has known for quite some time, if not since the establishment of the sovereign national state in the first place, and things have reached this way to the extent that a group of analysts and commentators are talking about the demise or disappearance of the phenomenon of sovereignty Patriotism, a judgment that some consider exaggerated, although there is agreement on the seriousness of what has afflicted the national sovereignty of medium and small states in particular. In fact, the phenomenon of national sovereignty has not completely ended, as there is still a category of countries that are able to disagree with the American will without disappearing from the world map, as happened with the Soviet Union. China, some European countries, and some countries with leading regional roles are still able to deal with This administration, with rational and complex calculations, makes the restrictions on its sovereignty minimal, or at least draws a red line in front of the vital interests of those countries that the restrictions on sovereignty cannot cross, and it is certain that strengthening internal democratic development in countries will increase their ability to challenge external restrictions. On its sovereignty to the extent that this development creates a cohesive society in the face of external hegemony attempts, as well as to the extent that it eliminates some pretexts for interference in the internal affairs of states, including the claim of a lack of democracy or lack of respect for human rights in it. What led to transformations in the international arena in the wake of globalization and its effects on international aspects, including national sovereignty and the principle of state independence. Which was marred by several currents, which led to affecting it in a negative way, and this is what poor countries suffer from at the expense of rich countries, which led us to research the extent of the presence of national sovereignty on the international arena, and the extent to which the principle of non-interference in affairs is applied or existed. The internal affairs of states, which are stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations in the modern era, the theory of sovereignty has been subjected to substantial criticism and abandonment by many on the grounds that it is inconsistent with the current conditions of the international community. In fact, the theory of sovereignty has been misused to justify internal tyranny and international chaos. This theory has hindered the development of international law, the work of international organizations and the dominance of strong states over weak ones. At the present time, the concept of sovereignty has moved towards direction, as the transformations of the international system in the economic, political and military fields have led to the decline and erosion of the idea of the sovereignty of the national state.

Keywords: sovereignty, intervention, non-interference, globalization, humanitarian intervention

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Authors: Amir Alani, Mojtaba Mahmoodian, Anna Romanova, Asaad Faramarzi

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Pipelines are extensively used engineering structures which convey fluid from one place to another. Most of the time, pipelines are placed underground and are encumbered by soil weight and traffic loads. Corrosion of pipe material is the most common form of pipeline deterioration and should be considered in both the strength and serviceability analysis of pipes. The study in this research focuses on concrete pipes in sewage systems (concrete sewers). This research firstly investigates how to involve the effect of corrosion as a time dependent process of deterioration in the structural and failure analysis of this type of pipe. Then three probabilistic time dependent reliability analysis methods including the first passage probability theory, the gamma distributed degradation model and the Monte Carlo simulation technique are discussed and developed. Sensitivity analysis indexes which can be used to identify the most important parameters that affect pipe failure are also discussed. The reliability analysis methods developed in this paper contribute as rational tools for decision makers with regard to the strengthening and rehabilitation of existing pipelines. The results can be used to obtain a cost-effective strategy for the management of the sewer system.

Keywords: reliability analysis, service life prediction, Monte Carlo simulation method, first passage probability theory, gamma distributed degradation model

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Authors: Shahed, Tala, Ahlam, Marah, Sara, Shaden

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Research on fear of crime has shown that there are many influences on it, including gender, age, and geographic location. For example, women are more afraid of crime than men. The campus has a high crime rate and fear of crime due to many hiding places and blind spots; women are more likely than men to be victims of certain types of crime, such as rape and verbal and sexual harassment. And it became clear that older female students have a different perception of the place over time and other knowledge and fear of it, another study at Hashemite University. This study aims to understand better how the environment affects the negative experiences of female students and how their age and familiarity environment affects their sense of safety. This study also examines whether CPTED can be used to help prevent crime. The Broken Windows Theory also states that crime occurs in areas with overt indications of criminal activity, antisocial behavior, and civil unrest. This is related to the principle of CPTED maintenance and monitoring, activity support, regional development, and access control. Given their increased vulnerability to harassment, “sexual harassment” can refer to different behaviors. On campuses, harassment was happening everywhere, but it was most prevalent in "blind spots" that were out of sight and deserted. This study uses a methodology based on quantitative data that depends on putting a number on the amount of a particular phenomenon that exists in the world. The main finding shows how CPTED works in an academic context and what adjustments need to be made.

Keywords: Hashmite University, CPTED, crime prevention, university campus, fear of crime, female faer, broken window theory

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Authors: R. Schurig, T. Désesquelles, A. Dumont, E. Lefranc, A. Lux

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A cost-efficient alternative is proposed to the use of a single drone carrying multiple cameras in order to take stereoscopic images and videos during its flight. Such drone has to be particularly large enough to take off with its equipment, and stable enough in order to make valid measurements. Corresponding performance for a single aircraft usually comes with a large cost. Proposed solution consists in using multiple smaller and cheaper aircrafts carrying one camera each instead of a single expensive one. To give a proof of concept, AR drones, quad-rotor UAVs from Parrot Inc., are experimentally used.

Keywords: drone squadron, flight control, rotorcraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), AR drone, stereoscopic vision

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Authors: James Jr. Mashiyane, Risuna Nkolele, Stephanie J. Müller, Gciniwe S. Dlamini, Rebone L. Meraba, Darlington S. Mapiye

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When performing language tasks in natural language processing (NLP), the dimensionality of word embeddings is chosen either ad-hoc or is calculated by optimizing the Pairwise Inner Product (PIP) loss. The PIP loss is a metric that measures the dissimilarity between word embeddings, and it is obtained through matrix perturbation theory by utilizing the unitary invariance of word embeddings. Unlike in natural language, in genomics, especially in genome sequence processing, unlike in natural language processing, there is no notion of a “word,” but rather, there are sequence substrings of length k called k-mers. K-mers sizes matter, and they vary depending on the goal of the task at hand. The dimensionality of word embeddings in NLP has been studied using the matrix perturbation theory and the PIP loss. In this paper, the sufficiency and reliability of applying word-embedding algorithms to various genomic sequence datasets are investigated to understand the relationship between the k-mer size and their embedding dimension. This is completed by studying the scaling capability of three embedding algorithms, namely Latent Semantic analysis (LSA), Word2Vec, and Global Vectors (GloVe), with respect to the k-mer size. Utilising the PIP loss as a metric to train embeddings on different datasets, we also show that Word2Vec outperforms LSA and GloVe in accurate computing embeddings as both the k-mer size and vocabulary increase. Finally, the shortcomings of natural language processing embedding algorithms in performing genomic tasks are discussed.

Keywords: word embeddings, k-mer embedding, dimensionality reduction

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Authors: Victorita Radulescu

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Introduction: The optimum exploitation of agricultural land in the presence of an aquifer polluted by the surface sources requires close monitoring of groundwater level in both periods of intense irrigation and in absence of the irrigations, in times of drought. Currently in Romania, in the south part of the country, the Baragan area, many agricultural lands are confronted with the risk of groundwater pollution in the absence of systematic irrigation, correlated with the climate changes. Basic Methods: The non-steady flow of the groundwater from an aquifer can be described by the Bousinesq’s partial differential equation. The finite element method was used, applied to the porous media needed for the water mass balance equation. By the proper structure of the initial and boundary conditions may be modeled the flow in drainage or injection systems of wells, according to the period of irrigation or prolonged drought. The boundary conditions consist of the groundwater levels required at margins of the analyzed area, in conformity to the reality of the pollutant emissaries, following the method of the double steps. Major Findings/Results: The drainage condition is equivalent to operating regimes on the two or three rows of wells, negative, as to assure the pollutant transport, modeled with the variable flow in groups of two adjacent nodes. In order to obtain the level of the water table, in accordance with the real constraints, are needed, for example, to be restricted its top level below of an imposed value, required in each node. The objective function consists of a sum of the absolute values of differences of the infiltration flow rates, increased by a large penalty factor when there are positive values of pollutant. In these conditions, a balanced structure of the pollutant concentration is maintained in the groundwater. The spatial coordinates represent the modified parameters during the process of optimization and the drainage flows through wells. Conclusions: The presented calculation scheme was applied to an area having a cross-section of 50 km between two emissaries with various levels of altitude and different values of pollution. The input data were correlated with the measurements made in-situ, such as the level of the bedrock, the grain size of the field, the slope, etc. This method of calculation can also be extended to determine the variation of the groundwater in the aquifer following the flood wave propagation in envoys.

Keywords: environmental protection, infiltrations, numerical modeling, pollutant transport through soils

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Authors: Elham Kiyani

Abstract:

In this paper, we first introduce the concept of Q-efficient solutions in a real linear space not necessarily endowed with a topology, where Q is some nonempty (not necessarily convex) set. We also used the scalarization technique including the Gerstewitz function generated by a nonconvex set to characterize these Q-efficient solutions. The algebraic concepts of interior and closure are useful to study optimization problems without topology. Studying nonconvex vector optimization is valuable since topological interior is equal to algebraic interior for a convex cone. So, we use the algebraic concepts of interior and closure to define Q-weak efficient solutions and Q-Henig proper efficient solutions of set-valued optimization problems, where Q is not a convex cone. Optimization problems with set-valued maps have a wide range of applications, so it is expected that there will be a useful analytical tool in optimization theory for set-valued maps. These kind of optimization problems are closely related to stochastic programming, control theory, and economic theory. The paper focus on nonconvex problems, the results are obtained by assuming generalized non-convexity assumptions on the data of the problem. In convex problems, main mathematical tools are convex separation theorems, alternative theorems, and algebraic counterparts of some usual topological concepts, while in nonconvex problems, we need a nonconvex separation function. Thus, we consider the Gerstewitz function generated by a general set in a real linear space and re-examine its properties in the more general setting. A useful approach for solving a vector problem is to reduce it to a scalar problem. In general, scalarization means the replacement of a vector optimization problem by a suitable scalar problem which tends to be an optimization problem with a real valued objective function. The Gerstewitz function is well known and widely used in optimization as the basis of the scalarization. The essential properties of the Gerstewitz function, which are well known in the topological framework, are studied by using algebraic counterparts rather than the topological concepts of interior and closure. Therefore, properties of the Gerstewitz function, when it takes values just in a real linear space are studied, and we use it to characterize Q-efficient solutions of vector problems whose image space is not endowed with any particular topology. Therefore, we deal with a constrained vector optimization problem in a real linear space without assuming any topology, and also Q-weak efficient and Q-proper efficient solutions in the senses of Henig are defined. Moreover, by means of the Gerstewitz function, we provide some necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for set-valued vector optimization problems.

Keywords: algebraic interior, Gerstewitz function, vector closure, vector optimization

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Authors: Rufus Olufemi Adebayo, Sylvia Phiwani Zulu

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Interpreting in the setting of diverse language and multicultural congregants, is often understood as integrating the content of the message. Preaching, similar to any communication, takes seriously people’s multiple contexts. The one who provides the best insight into understanding “the other”, traditionally speaking could be an interpreter in a multilingual context. Nonetheless, there are reflections in the loss of spiritual communication, translation and interpretive dialogue. No matter how eloquent the preacher is, an interpreter can make or mere the sermon (speech). The sermon that the preacher preaches is not always the one the congregation hears from the interpreter. In other occurrences, however, interpreting can lead not only to distort messages but also to dissatisfied audiences and preacher being overshadowed by the pranks of the interpreter. Using qualitative methodology, this paper explores the challenges and the conventional assumptions about preachers’ interpreter as influenced by spirituality, culture, and language in empirical and theoretical perspectives. An emphasis on the bias translation and the basis of reality that suppresses or devalues the spiritual communication is examined. The result indicates that interpretation of the declaration of guilt, history of congregation, spirituality, attitudes, morals, customs, specific practices of a preacher, education, and the environment form an entangled and misinterpretation. The article concludes by re-examining these qualities and rearticulating them into a preliminary theory for practice, as distinguished from theory, which could possibly enhance the development of more sustainable multilingual interpretation in the South African Pentecostal churches.

Keywords: congregants, divergences, interpreting/translation, language & communication, sermon/preaching

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Authors: Oluwole Durodolu

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The rationale for this study is to explore the adaptive strategy that librarians adopt in performing night shifts in a mega-city like Lagos state. Maslach Burnout Theory would be used to measure the three proportions of burnout in understanding emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and individual accomplishment to scrutinise job-related burnout syndrome allied with longstanding, unsolved stress. The qualitative methodology guided by a phenomenological research paradigm, which is an approach that focuses on the commonality of real-life experience in a particular group, would be used, focus group discussion adopted as a method of data collection from library staff who are involved in night-shift. The participant for the focus group discussion would be selected using a convenience sampling technique in which staff at the cataloguing unit would be included in the sample because of the representative characteristics of the unit. This would be done to enable readers to understand phenomena as it is reasonable than from a remote perspective. The exploratory interviews which will be in focus group method to shed light on issues relating to security, housing, transportation, budgeting, energy supply, employee duties, time management, information access, and sustaining professional levels of service and how all these variables affect the productivity of all the 149 library staff and their work-life balance.

Keywords: nightshift, work-life balance, mega-city, academic library, Maslach Burnout Theory, Lagos State, University of Lagos

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Authors: Aymen Bouzid, Jihen Ben Smida

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In this paper, we propose to prove the importance of the application of blind source separation methods on remote sensing data in order to index multispectral images. The proposed method starts with Gabor Filtering and the application of a Blind Source Separation to get a more effective representation of the information contained on the observation images. After that, a feature vector is extracted from each image in order to index them. Experimental results show the superior performance of this approach.

Keywords: blind source separation, content based image retrieval, feature extraction multispectral, satellite images

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Authors: Davoud Maleki

Abstract:

Today, education and investment in human capital is a long-term investment without which the economy will be stagnant Stayed. Higher education represents a type of investment in human resources by providing and improving knowledge, skills and Attitudes help economic development. Providing efficient human resources by increasing the efficiency and productivity of people and on the other hand with Expanding the boundaries of knowledge and technology and promoting technology such as the responsibility of training human resources and increasing productivity and efficiency in High specialized levels are the responsibility of universities. Therefore, the university plays an infrastructural role in economic development and growth because education by creating skills and expertise in people and improving their ability.In recent decades, Iran's higher education system has been faced with many problems, therefore, scholars have looked for it is to identify and validate the causal factors affecting the responsiveness and productivity of non-governmental universities. The data in the qualitative part is the result of semi-structured interviews with 25 senior and middle managers working in the units It was Islamic Azad University of Tehran province, which was selected by theoretical sampling method. In data analysis, stepwise method and Analytical techniques of Strauss and Corbin (1992) were used. After determining the central category (answering for the sake of the beneficiaries) and using it in order to bring the categories, expressions and ideas that express the relationships between the main categories and In the end, six main categories were identified as causal factors affecting the university's responsiveness and productivity.They are: 1- Scientism 2- Human resources 3- Creating motivation in the university 4- Development based on needs assessment 5- Teaching process and Learning 6- University quality evaluation. In order to validate the response model obtained from the qualitative stage, a questionnaire The questionnaire was prepared and the answers of 146 students of Master's degree and Doctorate of Islamic Azad University located in Tehran province were received. Quantitative data in the form of descriptive data analysis, first and second stage factor analysis using SPSS and Amos23 software were analyzed. The findings of the research indicated the relationship between the central category and the causal factors affecting the response The results of the model test in the quantitative stage confirmed the generality of the conceptual model.

Keywords: accountability, productivity, non-governmental, universities, foundation data theory

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Authors: Badar Khalid Hakim Alshabibi

Abstract:

This study aims to examine the determinants of corporate board diligence in the listed firm in Sultanate of Oman, using four corporate board characteristics, the board size, board independence, board gender diversity, and nationality diversity. Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample comprised of all companies listed in the Muscat Securities Exchange over a ten-year period (2009–2019), the study applies Pooled OLS regression to examine the determinants of corporate board diligence. Findings: Drawing from the agency theory and institutional theory, the results reveal that the number of independent board members had statistical significance, suggesting that board independence can improve corporate board diligence, though board size and nationality diversity were found to have a negative association with corporate board diligence. There is no evidence, however, that board gender diversity improves corporate board diligence. Practical implications: The study provides insights for both the investors and regulatory authorities in developing economies. For the investors to be aware about the corporate board characteristics which enhance board monitoring, and for the regulatory authorities to consider revising the corporate governance codes which enhance the quality of governance practices. Originality/value: The study provides new evidence documenting the determinants of corporate board diligence in a developing country such as the Sultanate of Oman, which has a high potential for growth and attracting foreign investment, as stated in Oman vision 2040. In addition, this paper is the first to examine the association between corporate board diligence and corporate board diversity aspects.

Keywords: board diligence, board monitoring, board composition, board diversity, oman

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Authors: Amit Sharma, J. N. Sharma

Abstract:

This paper deals with the study of reflection and transmission characteristics of acoustic waves at the interface of a semiconductor halfspace and elastic solid. The amplitude ratios (reflection and transmission coefficients) of reflected and transmitted waves to that of incident wave varying with the incident angles have been examined for the case of quasi-longitudinal wave. The special cases of normal and grazing incidence have also been derived with the help of Gauss elimination method. The mathematical model consisting of governing partial differential equations of motion and charge carriers diffusion of n-type semiconductors and elastic solid has been solved both analytically and numerically in the study. The numerical computations of reflection and transmission coefficients has been carried out by using MATLAB programming software for silicon (Si) semiconductor and copper elastic solid. The computer simulated results have been plotted graphically for Si semiconductors. The study may be useful in semiconductors, geology, and seismology in addition to surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices.

Keywords: quasilongitudinal, reflection and transmission, semiconductors, acoustics

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