Search results for: formal communication media

Authors: A.D. Fredline, Beverly Stiles

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This is a qualitative investigation that examines the social media site, Tumblr, for the goal of analyzing the controversy regarding the inclusion of asexuality in the LGBTQ+ community. As platforms such as Tumblr permit the development of communities for marginalized groups, social media serves as a core component to exclusionary practices and boundary negotiations for community membership. This research is important because there is a paucity of research on the topic and a significant gap in the literature with regards to intracommunity gatekeeping. However, discourse on the topic is blatantly apparent on social media platforms. The objectives are to begin to bridge the gap in the literature by examining attitudes towards the inclusion of asexuality within the LGBTQ+ community. In order to analyze the attitudes developed towards the inclusion of asexuality in the LGBTQ+ community, eight publicly available blogs on Tumblr.com were selected from both the “inclusionist” and “exclusionist” perspectives. Blogs selected were found through a basic search for “inclusionist” and “exclusionist” on the Tumblr website. Out of the first twenty blogs listed for each set of results, those centrally focused on asexuality discourse were selected. For each blog, the fifty most recent postings were collected. Analysis of the collected postings exposed three central themes from the exclusionist perspective as well as for the inclusionist perspective. Findings indicate that from the inclusionist perspective, asexuality belongs to the LGBTQ+ community. One primary argument from this perspective is that asexual individuals face opposition for their identity just as do other identities included in the community. This opposition is said to take a variety of forms, such as verbal shaming, assumption of illness and corrective rape. Another argument is that the LGBTQ+ community and asexuals face a common opponent in cisheterosexism as asexuals struggle with the assumed and expected sexualization. A final central theme is that denying asexual inclusion leads to the assumption of heteronormativity. Findings also indicate that from the exclusionist perspective, asexuality does not belong to the LGBTQ+ community. One central theme from this perspective is the equivalization of cisgender heteroromantic asexuals with cisgender heterosexuals. As straight individuals are not allowed in the community, exclusionists argue that asexuals engaged in opposite gender partnerships should not be included. Another debate is that including asexuality in the community sexualizes all other identities by assuming sexual orientation is inherently sexual rather than romantic. Finally, exclusionists also argue that asexuality encourages childhood labeling and forces sexual identities on children, something not promoted by the LGBTQ+ community. Conclusions drawn from analyzing both perspectives is that integration may be a possibility, but complexities add another layer of discourse. For example, both inclusionists and exclusionists agree that privileged identities do not belong to the LGBTQ+ community. The focus of discourse is whether or not asexuals are privileged. Clearly, both sides of the debate have the same vision of what binds the community together. The question that remains is who belongs to that community.

Keywords: asexuality, exclusionists, inclusionists, Tumblr

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Frederic Schenker, Jonathan J. Hendriks, Gianluca Nicchiotti

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In a product industrialization perspective, the end-product shall always be at the peak of technological advancement and developed in the shortest time possible. Thus, the constant growth of complexity and a shorter time-to-market calls for important changes on both the technical and business level. Undeniably, the common understanding of the system is beclouded by its complexity which leads to the communication gap between the engineers and the sale department. This communication link is therefore important to maintain and increase the information exchange between departments to ensure a punctual and flawless delivery to the end customer. This evolution brings engineers to reason with more hindsight and plan ahead. In this sense, they use new viewpoints to represent the data and to express the model deliverables in an understandable way that the different stakeholder may identify their needs and ideas. This article focuses on the usage of Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) in a perspective of system industrialization and reconnect the engineering with the sales team. The modeling method used and presented in this paper concentrates on displaying as closely as possible the needs of the customer. Firstly, by providing a technical solution to the sales team to help them elaborate commercial offers without omitting technicalities. Secondly, the model simulates between a vast number of possibilities across a wide range of components. It becomes a dynamic tool for powerful analysis and optimizations. Thus, the model is no longer a technical tool for the engineers, but a way to maintain and solidify the communication between departments using different views of the model. The MBSE contribution to cost optimization during New Product Introduction (NPI) activities is made explicit through the illustration of a case study describing the support provided by system models to architectural choices during the industrialization of a novel optical sensor.

Keywords: analytical model, architecture comparison, MBSE, product industrialization, SysML, system thinking

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Authors: Jay P. Sipani, Riki H. Patel, Trushit Upadhyaya

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Today there is a demand to monitor environmental factors almost in all research institutes and industries and even for domestic uses. The analog data measurement requires manual effort to note readings, and there may be a possibility of human error. Such type of systems fails to provide and store precise values of parameters with high accuracy. Analog systems are having drawback of storage/memory. Therefore, there is a requirement of a smart system which is fully automated, accurate and capable enough to monitor all the environmental parameters with utmost possible accuracy. Besides, it should be cost-effective as well as portable too. This paper represents the Wireless Sensor (WS) data communication using DHT11, Arduino, SIM900A GSM module, a mobile device and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). Experimental setup includes the heating arrangement of DHT11 and transmission of its data using Arduino and SIM900A GSM shield. The mobile device receives the data using Arduino, GSM shield and displays it on LCD too. Heating arrangement is used to heat and cool the temperature sensor to study its characteristics.

Keywords: wireless communication, Arduino, DHT11, LCD, SIM900A GSM module, mobile phone SMS

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Authors: Benjamin L. Freidman, Sally L. Gras, Ian Snape, Geoff W. Stevens, Kathryn A. Mumford

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Increasing transportation and storage of petroleum hydrocarbons in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions have resulted in frequent accidental spills. Migrating petroleum hydrocarbon spills can have a significant impact on terrestrial and marine ecosystems in cold regions, as harsh environmental conditions result in heightened sensitivity to pollution. This migration of contaminants has led to the development of Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRB) for application in cold regions. PRB’s are one of the most practical technologies for on-site or in-situ groundwater remediation in cold regions due to their minimal energy, monitoring and maintenance requirements. The Main Power House site has been used as a fuel storage and power generation area for the Macquarie Island research station since at least 1960. Soil analysis at the site has revealed Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) (C9-C28) concentrations as high as 19,000 mg/kg soil. Groundwater TPH concentrations at this site can exceed 350 mg/L TPH. Ongoing migration of petroleum hydrocarbons into the neighbouring marine ecosystem resulted in the installation of a ‘funnel and gate’ PRB in November 2014. The ‘funnel and gate’ design successfully intercepted contaminated groundwater and analysis of TPH retention and biodegradation on PRB media are currently underway. Installation of the PRB facilitates research aimed at better understanding the contribution of particle attached biofilms to the remediation of groundwater systems. Bench-scale PRB system analysis at The University of Melbourne is currently examining the role biofilms play in petroleum hydrocarbon degradation, and how controlled release nutrient media can heighten the metabolic activity of biofilms in cold regions in the presence of low temperatures and low nutrient groundwater.

Keywords: groundwater, petroleum, Macquarie island, funnel and gate

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Authors: Saeko Toyoshima

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This research will discuss if performance tasks with technology would enhance students' willingness to communicate. The present study investigated how Japanese learners of English would change their attitude to communication in their target language by experiencing a performance task, called 'digital portfolio', in the classroom, applying the concepts of action research. The study adapted questionnaires including four-Likert and open-end questions as mixed-methods research. There were 28 students in the class. Many of Japanese university students with low proficiency (A1 in Common European Framework of References in Language Learning and Teaching) have difficulty in communicating in English due to the low proficiency and the lack of practice in and outside of the classroom at secondary education. They should need to mediate between themselves in the world of L1 and L2 with completing a performance task for communication. This paper will introduce the practice of CALL class where A1 level students have made their 'digital portfolio' related to the topics of TED® (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talk materials. The students had 'Portfolio Session' twice in one term, once in the middle, and once at the end of the course, where they introduced their portfolio to their classmates and international students in English. The present study asked the students to answer a questionnaire about willingness to communicate twice, once at the end of the first term and once at the end of the second term. The four-Likert questions were statistically analyzed with a t-test, and the answers to open-end questions were analyzed to clarify the difference between them. They showed that the students had a more positive attitude to communication in English and enhanced their willingness to communicate through the experiences of the task. It will be the implication of this paper that making and presenting portfolio as a performance task would lead them to construct themselves in English and enable them to communicate with the others enjoyably and autonomously.

Keywords: action research, digital portfoliio, computer-assisted language learning, ELT with CALL system, mixed methods research, Japanese English learners, willingness to communicate

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Authors: Ming-Jen Huang, Chun-Fang Huang, Chiching Wei

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With the recent advance of the deep neural network, we observe new applications of NLP (natural language processing) and CV (computer vision) powered by deep neural networks for processing business documents. However, creating a real-world document processing system needs to integrate several NLP and CV tasks, rather than treating them separately. There is a need to have a unified approach for processing documents containing textual and graphical elements with rich formats, diverse layout arrangement, and distinct semantics. In this paper, a framework that fulfills this unified approach is presented. The framework includes a representation model definition for holding the information generated by various tasks and specifications defining the coordination between these tasks. The framework is a blueprint for building a system that can process documents with rich formats, styles, and multiple types of elements. The flexible and lightweight design of the framework can help build a system for diverse business scenarios, such as contract monitoring and reviewing.

Keywords: document processing, framework, formal definition, machine learning

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Authors: Dedjo Yao Simon, Takahiro Saito, Norikazu Inuzuka, Ikuo Sugiyama

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Abidjan city (Republic of Ivory Coast) is an emerging megacity and an urban coastal area where the number of floods reported is on a rapid increase due to climate change and unplanned urbanization. However, comprehensive disaster mitigation plans, policies, and financial resources are still lacking as the population ignores the extent and location of the flood zones; making them unprepared to mitigate the damages. Considering the existing condition, this paper aims to discuss an approach for flood risk reduction in Cocody Commune through value capture strategy and flood risk communication. Using geospatial techniques and hydrological simulation, we start our study by delineating flood zones and depths under several return periods in the study area. Then, through a questionnaire a field survey is conducted in order to validate the flood maps, to estimate the flood risk and to collect some sample of the opinion of residents on how the flood risk information disclosure could affect the values of property located inside and outside the flood zones. The results indicate that the study area is highly vulnerable to 5-year floods and more, which can cause serious harm to human lives and to properties as demonstrated by the extent of the 5-year flood of 2014. Also, it is revealed there is a high probability that the values of property located within flood zones could decline, and the values of surrounding property in the safe area could increase when risk information disclosure commences. However in order to raise public awareness of flood disaster and to prevent future housing promotion in high-risk prospective areas, flood risk information should be disseminated through the establishment of an early warning system. In order to reduce the effect of risk information disclosure and to protect the values of property within the high-risk zone, we propose that property tax increments in flood free zones should be captured and be utilized for infrastructure development and to maintain the early warning system that will benefit people living in flood prone areas. Through this case study, it is shown that combination of value capture strategy and risk communication could be an effective tool to educate citizen and to invest in flood risk reduction in emerging countries.

Keywords: Cocody-Abidjan, flood, geospatial techniques, risk communication, value capture

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Authors: Sean McCarthy, Patrice M. Ludwig, Will Watson

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This exploratory case study explores the deployment of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in mapping community assets in an interdisciplinary, undergraduate, team-taught course focused on income insecure populations in a rural area in the US. Specifically, it analyzes how students were taught to collect data on community assets and to visualize the connections between those assets using Kumu, an SNA data visualization tool. Further, the case study shows how social network data was also collected about student teams via their written communications in Slack, an enterprise messaging tool, which enabled instructors to manage and guide student research activity throughout the semester. The discussion presents how SNA methods can simultaneously inform both community-based research and social innovation pedagogy through the use of data visualization and collaboration-focused communication technologies.

Keywords: social innovation, social network analysis, pedagogy, problem-based learning, data visualization, information communication technologies

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Authors: Yahya Al-Wahaibi, Saif Al-Bahry, Abdulkadir Elshafie, Ali Al-Bemani, Sanket Joshi

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Microbial enhanced oil recovery is one of the most economical and efficient methods for extending the life of production wells in a declining reservoir. There are a variety of metabolites produced by microorganisms that can be useful for oil recovery, like biopolymers-polysaccharides secreted by microbes, biodegradable thus environmentally friendly. Some fungi like Schizophyllum commune (a type of mushroom), and Aureobasidium pullulans are reported to produce biopolymers-schizophyllan and pullulan. Hence, we have procured a microbial strain (Schizophyllum commune) from American Type Culture Collection, which is reported for producing a biopolymer and also isolated several Omani strains of Aureobasidium pullulans from different samples. Studies were carried out for maintenance of the strains and primary screening of production media and environmental conditions for growth of S. commune and Omani A. pullulans isolates, for 30 days. The observed optimum growth and production temperature was ≤35 °C for S. commune and Omani A. pullulans isolates. Better growth was observed for both types of fungi under shaking conditions. The initial yield of lyophilized schizophyllan was ≥3.0 g/L, and the yield of pullulan was ≥0.5g/L. Both schizophyllan and pullulan were extracted in crude form and were partially identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), which showed partial similarity in chemical structure with published biopolymers. The produced pullulan and schizophyllan increased the viscosity from 9-20 cp of the control media (without biopolymer) to 20 - 121.4 cp of the cell free broth at 0.1 s-1 shear rate at range of temperatures from 25–45 °C. Enhanced biopolymer production and its physicochemical and rheological properties under different environmental conditions (different temperatures, salt concentrations and wide range of pH), complete characterization and effects on oil recovery enhancement were also investigated in this study.

Keywords: Aureobasidium pullulans, biopolymer, oil recovery enhancement, Schizophyllum commune

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Authors: Max Neu

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A large variety of studies on the utilization of games in classroom settings promote positive effects on students motivation for learning. Still, most of those studies rarely can give any specifics about the factors that might lead to changes in students motivation. The undertaken study has been conducted in tandem with the development of a highly classroom-optimized serious game, with the intent of providing a subjectively positive initial contact with the subject of political participation and to enable the development of personal motivation towards further engagement with the topic. The goal of this explorative study was to Identify the factors that influence students motivation towards the subject when serious games are being used in classroom education. Therefor, students that have been exposed to a set of classes in which a classroom optimized serious game has been used. Afterwards, a selection of those have been questioned in guided interviews that have been evaluated through Qualitative Content Analysis. The study indicates that at least 23 factors in the categories, mechanics, content and context potentially influence students motivation to engage with the classes subject. The conclusions are of great value for the further production of classroom games as well as curricula involving digital games in general.

Keywords: formal education, games in classroom, motivation, political education

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Authors: Aslina Asnawi, A. Amidah Amrawaty, Nirwana

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This article examines the relationship of local culture on the ability to access finance on beef cattle farmer. The local culture in this study associated with the values held by the farmer community so far and affect the character of farmers both in his personal life and his relationship with the surrounding environment. The data was collected by using interview and questionnaire instrument. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and correlation analysis. The result show that local culture identified in this study include: honesty, cleverness, decency, firmness, hard work, and shame. It’s important result that local culture has been associated with the ability to access financing for beef cattle farmers. The higher values are adopted and maintained by farmers will increase their ability to obtain loans from both informal and formal institutions. Strengthening the local culture is important because it affects the character of farmers who became one of the considerations for lenders other than collateral, capacity and capital is precisely the financing constraints for them.

Keywords: access funding, beef cattle farmers, character, local culture

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Authors: Okewu E. Jonathan

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There are several techniques of production in the field of ceramics. These different techniques overtime have been categorised under three methods of production which includes; casting, throwing and hand building. Hand building method of production is further broken down into other techniques and they include coiling, slabbing and pinching. Ceramic artists find the different hand building techniques to be very interesting, practicable and rewarding. This has encouraged ceramic artist in their various studios at different levels to experiment for further hand building techniques that could be unique and unusual. The art of “Clay Palm Press” is a development from studio experiment in a quest for uniqueness in conceptual ceramic practise. Clay palm press is a technique that requires no formal tutelage but at the same time, it is not easily comprehensible when viewed. It is a practice of putting semi-solid clay in the palm and inserting a closed fist pressure so as to take the imprint of the human palm. This clay production from the palm when dried, fired and explored into an art, work reveals an absolute awesomeness of what the palm imprint could result in.

Keywords: ceramics, clay palm press, conceptual forms, hand building, technique

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Authors: Nicole Merkle, Stefan Zander

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Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) describes a technological and methodological stack of (e.g. formal model-theoretic semantics, rule-based reasoning and machine learning), different aspects regarding the behavior, activities and characteristics of humans. Hence, a semantic representation of the user environment and its relevant elements are required in order to allow assistive agents to recognize situations and deduce appropriate actions. Furthermore, the user and his/her characteristics (e.g. physical, cognitive, preferences) need to be represented with a high degree of expressiveness in order to allow software agents a precise evaluation of the users’ context models. The correct interpretation of these context models highly depends on temporal, spatial circumstances as well as individual user preferences. In most AAL approaches, model representations of real world situations represent the current state of a universe of discourse at a given point in time by neglecting transitions between a set of states. However, the AAL domain currently lacks sufficient approaches that contemplate on the dynamic adaptions of context-related representations. Semantic representations of relevant real-world excerpts (e.g. user activities) help cognitive, rule-based agents to reason and make decisions in order to help users in appropriate tasks and situations. Furthermore, rules and reasoning on semantic models are not sufficient for handling uncertainty and fuzzy situations. A certain situation can require different (re-)actions in order to achieve the best results with respect to the user and his/her needs. But what is the best result? To answer this question, we need to consider that every smart agent requires to achieve an objective, but this objective is mostly defined by domain experts who can also fail in their estimation of what is desired by the user and what not. Hence, a smart agent has to be able to learn from context history data and estimate or predict what is most likely in certain contexts. Furthermore, different agents with contrary objectives can cause collisions as their actions influence the user’s context and constituting conditions in unintended or uncontrolled ways. We present an approach for dynamically updating a semantic model with respect to the current user context that allows flexibility of the software agents and enhances their conformance in order to improve the user experience. The presented approach adapts rules by learning sensor evidence and user actions using probabilistic reasoning approaches, based on given expert knowledge. The semantic domain model consists basically of device-, service- and user profile representations. In this paper, we present how this semantic domain model can be used in order to compute the probability of matching rules and actions. We apply this probability estimation to compare the current domain model representation with the computed one in order to adapt the formal semantic representation. Our approach aims at minimizing the likelihood of unintended interferences in order to eliminate conflicts and unpredictable side-effects by updating pre-defined expert knowledge according to the most probable context representation. This enables agents to adapt to dynamic changes in the environment which enhances the provision of adequate assistance and affects positively the user satisfaction.

Keywords: ambient intelligence, machine learning, semantic web, software agents

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Authors: Rohit Dey, Sailendra Karra

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This paper aims at solving the problem of multi-target searching in a Global Positioning System (GPS) denied environment using swarm robots with limited sensing and communication abilities. Typically, existing swarm-based search algorithms rely on the presence of a global coordinate system (vis-à-vis, GPS) that is shared by the entire swarm which, in turn, limits its application in a real-world scenario. This can be attributed to the fact that robots in a swarm need to share information among themselves regarding their location and signal from targets to decide their future course of action but this information is only meaningful when they all share the same coordinate frame. The paper addresses this very issue by eliminating any dependency of a search algorithm on the need of a predetermined global coordinate frame by the unification of the relative coordinate of individual robots when within the communication range, therefore, making the system more robust in real scenarios. Our algorithm assumes that all the robots in the swarm are equipped with range and bearing sensors and have limited sensing range and communication abilities. Initially, every robot maintains their relative coordinate frame and follow Levy walk random exploration until they come in range with other robots. When two or more robots are within communication range, they share sensor information and their location w.r.t. their coordinate frames based on which we unify their coordinate frames. Now they can share information about the areas that were already explored, information about the surroundings, and target signal from their location to make decisions about their future movement based on the search algorithm. During the process of exploration, there can be several small groups of robots having their own coordinate systems but eventually, it is expected for all the robots to be under one global coordinate frame where they can communicate information on the exploration area following swarm search techniques. Using the proposed method, swarm-based search algorithms can work in a real-world scenario without GPS and any initial information about the size and shape of the environment. Initial simulation results show that running our modified-Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) without global information we can still achieve the desired results that are comparable to basic PSO working with GPS. In the full paper, we plan on doing the comparison study between different strategies to unify the coordinate system and to implement them on other bio-inspired algorithms, to work in GPS denied environment.

Keywords: bio-inspired search algorithms, decentralized control, GPS denied environment, swarm robotics, target searching, unifying coordinate systems

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Authors: Nicolas Cuevas-Alvear

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The subject of this paper is the concept of interpretation. Its purpose is to expose the need for a new concept of interpretation and to trace the construction route of interpretation as determination and negotiation. The thesis it defends is that interpretation is the determination of events and the negotiation of those determinations in communication. To meet its objective, this manuscript is divided into five sections. The first section introduces the subject and the need for a new concept of interpretation. The second section explicitly formulates the research questions and the objectives of the project for the construction of a new concept of interpretation. The third section presents the state of the art, specifically, the theory of Radical interpretation proposed by Donald Davidson and the theory of the Hermeneutic Circle proposed by Hans Georg Gadamer. In addition, in this section, there is a reconstruction of Ernst Cassirer's explanation of language as a symbolic form. The fourth section is an explanation of the proposal based on the theories presented. Specifically: language as a symbolic form explains interpretation as a determination of events using objective, subjective and intersubjective elements, and these three elements are negotiated in interpretation as communication. The last section is the bibliography proposed to carry out the project.

Keywords: interpretation, metaphysics, semantics, Donald Davidson, ERNST Cassirer

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Authors: Mohaned G. Abed

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is considered one of the most frequently diagnosed psychiatric childhood disorders. It has an effect on 3–5% of school-aged children, and brings about difficulties in academic and social interaction. This study explored the knowledge and beliefs of parents in Saudi Arabia about children with ADHD. The Knowledge about Attention Deficit Disorder Questionnaire (KADD-Q) was administered to a sample of parents, followed by interviews with a subset of the total respondents. The results indicated that the parents knew more about the characteristics of ADHD than they knew about its related causes and treatment. Overall, the findings indicated that these parents had some knowledge about general characteristics of ADHD, but they had little understanding of causes and possible interventions. These results suggest an important need for more formal parents training regarding all aspects of ADHD in school age children.

Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, childhood disorders, school-aged children, difficulties in academic, social interaction

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Authors: Dena A. Hussain

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The objective of this project is to design an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tool based on a standardized platform to assist the work-integrated learning process of caretakers of disabled children. The tool should assist the intercommunication between caretakers and improve the learning process through knowledge bridging between all involved caretakers. Some children are born with disabilities while others have special needs after an illness or accident. Special needs children often need help in their learning process and require tools and services in a different way. In some cases the child has multiple disabilities that affect several capabilities in different ways. These needs are to be transformed into different learning techniques that the staff or personal (called caretakers in this project) caring for the child needs to learn and adapt. The caretakers involved are also required to learn new learning or training techniques and utilities specialized for the child’s needs. In many cases the number of people caring for the child’s development is rather large; the parents, specialist pedagogues, teachers, therapists, psychologists, personal assistants, etc. Each group of specialists has different objectives and in some cases the merge between theses specifications is very unique. This makes the synchronization between different caretakers difficult, resulting often in low level cooperation. By better intercommunication between professions both the child’s development could be improved but also the caretakers’ methods and knowledge of each other’s work processes and their own profession. This introduces a unique work integrated learning environment for all personnel involve, merging learning and knowledge in the work environment and at the same time assist the children’s development process. Creating an iterative process generates a unique learning experience for all involved. Using a work integrated platform will help encourage and support the process of all the teams involved in the process.We believe that working with children who have special needs is a continues learning/working process that is always integrated to achieve one main goal, which is to make a better future for all children.

Keywords: information and communication technologies (ICT), work integrated learning (WIL), sustainable learning, special needs children

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Authors: Paul D. Facey, Claire Morgan

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Speech anxiety is thought to be deep-seated within the human evolutionary lineage.As a result, almost all people display high levels of anxiety when asked to communicate in front of an audience.However, proficiency in oral communication is considered as an essential skill for a graduate career and significant emphasis is placed on developing these skills in many degree programs.Because of this, many degree schemes incorporate some form of assessed dialogic presentation. Yet, a student’s anxiety over public speaking, especially if severe, can be so great that at worst it can cause the student to withdraw from their study. This study investigated how students perceive their own levels of anxiety when faced with public speaking using the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) questionnaire developed by McCroskey. Additionally, students were asked to provide examples of adjustments that could be implemented that they felt would alleviate some/all of their anxiety. The results of the study indicated that the majority of the students experienced a moderate level of anxiety. However, further analysis showed that of those who were in the moderate anxiety’ group, 43% fell into the higher range suggesting that overall more students experience higher levels of anxiety when faced with public speaking than maybe first envisaged. Thus, it is essential that steps are taken to address student anxiety in order that students engage with presentations, are motivated and encouraged and do not avoid such assignments. The feedback from our students indicated a need to implement systematic desensitization programs where students learn to overcome their anxiety through a series of sessions that gradually increase their anxiety levels. Furthermore, these sessions should be run in parallel with skills sessions in order for students to be better prepared and allow self-reflection and self-analysis.This study highlights the paucity of these sessions on many degree schemes and suggests that they should form an integral part of a students’ early academic learning.

Keywords: student anxiety, communication anxiety, public speaking, higher education, desensitisation

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Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari; Ayman Al Yaari; Adham Al Yaari; Montaha Al Yaari; Aayah Al Yaari; Sajedah Al Yaari

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Background: Validation of communication activities of daily living-second edition (CADL-2) and assessment of language-related functional activities (ALFA) tests is a critical investment decision, and activities related to language impairments often are underestimated. Literature indicates that age factors, and gender differences may affect the performance of the aphasics. Thus, understanding these influential factors is highly important to neuropsycholinguists and speech language pathologists (SLPs). Purpose: The goal of this study is twofold: (1) to in/validate CADL-2 and ALFA tests, and (2) to investigate whether or not the two assessment tests are reliable. Design: A comparative study is made between the results obtained from the analyses of the Arabic versions of CADL-2 and ALFA tests. Participants: The communication activities of daily-living and language-related functional activities were assessed from the obtained results of 100 adult aphasics (50 males, 50 females; ages 16 to 65). Procedures: Firstly, the two translated and standardized Arabic versions of CADL-2 and ALFA tests were introduced to the Arab aphasics under investigation. Armed with the new two versions of the tests, one of the researchers assessed the language-related functional communication and activities. Outcomes drawn from the obtained analysis of the comparative studies were then qualitatively and statistically analyzed. Main outcomes and Results: Regarding the validity of CADL-2 and ALFA, it is found that …. Is more valid in both pre-and posttests. Concerning the reliability of the two tests, it is found that ….is more reliable in both pre-and-posttests which undoubtedly means that …..is more trustable. Nor must we forget to indicate here that the relationship between age and gender was very weak due to that no remarkable gender differences between the two in both CADL-2 and ALFA pre-and-posttests. Conclusions & Implications: CADL-2 and ALFA tests were found to be valid and reliable tests. In contrast to previous studies, age and gender were not significantly associated with the results of validity and reliability of the two assessment tests. In clearer terms, age and gender patterns do not affect the validation of these two tests. Future studies might focus on complex questions including the use of CADL-2 and ALFA functionally; how gender and puberty influence the results in case the sample is large; the effects of each type of aphasia on the final outcomes, and measurements’ results of imaging techniques.

Keywords: CADL-2, ALFA, comparison, language test, arab aphasics, validity, reliability, neuropsycholinguistics, comparison

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Authors: Xiaoqing Wang, Jianjian Zong, Li Li, Yanxing Zheng, Jinrong Tong, Mao Zhan

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With the rapid development of network and communication technology, a great deal of data has been generated in different domains of a network. These data show a trend of increasing scale and more complex structure. Therefore, an effective and flexible cross-domain data-sharing system is needed. The Cross-domain Data Sharing System(CDSS) in a net-centric environment is composed of three sub-systems. The data distribution sub-system provides data exchange service through publish-subscribe technology that supports asynchronism and multi-to-multi communication, which adapts to the needs of the dynamic and large-scale distributed computing environment. The access control sub-system adopts Attribute-Based Access Control(ABAC) technology to uniformly model various data attributes such as subject, object, permission and environment, which effectively monitors the activities of users accessing resources and ensures that legitimate users get effective access control rights within a legal time. The cross-domain access security negotiation subsystem automatically determines the access rights between different security domains in the process of interactive disclosure of digital certificates and access control policies through trust policy management and negotiation algorithms, which provides an effective means for cross-domain trust relationship establishment and access control in a distributed environment. The CDSS’s asynchronous,multi-to-multi and loosely-coupled communication features can adapt well to data exchange and sharing in dynamic, distributed and large-scale network environments. Next, we will give CDSS new features to support the mobile computing environment.

Keywords: data sharing, cross-domain, data exchange, publish-subscribe

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Authors: Alalddin Al-Tarawneh

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In its literal translation, the Qur’an is frequently subject to misinterpretation as a result of failures to deliver its meaning into any language. This paper relies on the genuine aspect that the Qur’an is an oral performance in its nature; and the objective of any Qur’an translation is to deliver its meaning in English. Therefore, it approaches the translation of the Qur’an beyond the usual formal linguistic approach in order to include an extra-textual factor. This factor is the recitation or oral performance of the Qur’an, that is, tajweed as it is termed in Arabic. The translations used in this paper to apply the suggested approach were carefully chosen to be representative of the problems that exist in many Qur’an translations. These translations are The Meaning of the Holy Quran: Translation and Commentary by Ali (1989), The Meaning of the Glorious Koran by Pickthall (1997/1930), and The Quran: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings by Sahih (2010). Through the examples cited in this paper, it is suggested that the agents involved in producing a ‘translation’ of the Holy Qur’an have to take into account its oral aspect which yields additional senses and meanings that are not being captured by adhering to the words of the ‘written’ discourse. This paper attempts in its translation into English.

Keywords: oral performance, tajweed, Qur'an translation, recitation

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Authors: Mokhlisur Rahman

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Consumers' understanding of the products depends on what levels of information the advertisement contains. Consumers' attitudes vary widely depending on factors such as their level of environmental awareness, their perception of the company's motives, and the perceived effectiveness of the advertising campaign. Considering the growing eco-consciousness among consumers and their concern for the environment, strategies for green advertising have become equally significant for companies to attract new consumers. It is important to understand consumers' habits of purchasing, knowledge, and attitudes regarding eco-friendly products depending on promotion because of the limitless options of the products in the market. Additionally, encouraging consumers to buy sustainable products requires a platform that can message the world that being a stakeholder in sustainability is possible if consumers show eco-friendly behavior on a larger scale. Social media platforms provide an excellent atmosphere to promote companies' sustainable efforts to be connected engagingly with their potential consumers. The unique strategies of green advertising use techniques to carry information and rewards for the consumers. This study aims to understand the consumer behavior and effectiveness of green advertising by experimenting in collaboration with three companies in promoting their eco-friendly products using green designs on the products. The experiment uses three sustainable personalized offerings, Nike shoes, H&M t-shirts, and Patagonia school bags. The experiment uses a pretest and posttest design. 300 randomly selected participants take part in this experiment and survey through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Nike, H&M, and Patagonia share the post of the experiment on their social media homepages with a video advertisement for the three products. The consumers participate in a pre-experiment online survey before making a purchase decision to assess their attitudes and behavior toward eco-friendly products. The audio-only feature explains the product's information, like their use of recycled materials, their manufacturing methods, sustainable packaging, and their impact on the environment during the purchase while the consumer watches the product video. After making a purchase, consumers take a post-experiment survey to know their perception and behavior toward eco-friendly products. For the data analysis, descriptive statistical tools mean, standard deviation, and frequencies measure the pre- and post-experiment survey data. The inferential statistical tool paired sample t-test measures the difference in consumers' behavior and attitudes between pre-purchase and post-experiment survey results. This experiment provides consumers ample time to consider many aspects rather than impulses. This research provides valuable insights into how companies can adopt sustainable and eco-friendly products. The result set a target for the companies to achieve a sustainable production goal that ultimately supports companies' profit-making and promotes consumers' well-being. This empowers consumers to make informed choices about the products they purchase and support their companies of interest.

Keywords: green-advertising, sustainability, consumer-behavior, social media

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Authors: Manssour Habbash, Srinivasa Rao Idapalapati

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Although writing is a multifaceted task, teaching writing is a demanding task basically for two reasons: Grammar and Syntax. This article provides a method of teaching writing that was found to be effective in improving students’ academic writing composition skill. The article explains the concepts of ‘guided-discovery’ and ‘guided-construction’ upon which a method of teaching writing is grounded and developed. Providing a brief commentary on what the core could mean primarily, the article presents an exposition of understanding and identifying the core and building upon the core that can demonstrate the way a teacher can make use of the concepts in teaching for improving the writing skills of their students. The method is an adaptation of grammar translation method that has been improvised to suit to a student-centered classroom environment. An intervention of teaching writing through this method was tried out with positive outcomes in formal classroom research setup, and in view of the content’s quality that relates more to the classroom practices and also in consideration of its usefulness to the practicing teachers the process and the findings are presented in a narrative form along with the results in tabular form.

Keywords: core of a text, guided construction, guided discovery, theme of a text

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Authors: Sujata Gupta Kedar, Fasiha Fayaz

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This paper presents various studies being carried out by various researchers globally on the attitude of lecturers towards the advent of information technology and e-learning. An effort has been made in this paper to study the various trends being presented by researchers and draw some general conclusions. These show the effect of the lecturer’s gender, age and educational background on their attitude towards the e-learning. Also the favorable attitude of teachers' towards using new technology in teaching will certainly make teachers use them in appropriate situations in teaching and thus measuring of teachers attitude towards using new technology in teaching is very much needed. The sample of 50 males and 50 females were studied from different colleges of Bangalore “Attitudes towards using new technology scale” by Dr. Rajasekar was used. It was seen that male and female had no significant difference in hardware and software use, whereas both had favorable attitude. And there was a significant difference at 1% level among female lecturers belonging to arts faculty. There is no significant difference between the gender and age, because higher the age lower the score is. Irrespective of teaching experience males had no significant difference, whereas females are significant at 1% level, which says that higher the teaching experience of lecturers less knowledge they have towards the use of ICT, as the younger generation is more expose to technology.

Keywords: e-learning, ICT, attitudes, lecturers, communication technology

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Authors: Ann Dashwood

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Using Standard Australian English with confidence is a cultural expectation of parents of primary school aged children who want to engage effectively with their children’s teachers and school administration. That confidence in support of their children’s learning at school is seldom experienced by parents whose first language is not English. Sharing language with competence in an intercultural environment is the common denominator for meaningful communication and engagement to occur in a school community. Experience in relevant, interactive sessions is known to enhance engagement and participation. The purpose of this paper is to identify a pedagogy for parents otherwise isolated from daily use of functional Australian cultural language learned to engage effectively in their children’s learning at school. The outcomes measure parents’ intercultural engagement with classroom teachers and attention to the school’s administrative procedures using quantitative and qualitative methods. A principled communicative task-based language learning approach, combined with intercultural communication strategies provide the theoretical base for intensive English inquiry-based learning and engagement. The quantitative analysis examines data samples collected by classroom teachers and administrators and parents’ writing samples. Interviews and observations qualitatively inform the study. Currently, significant numbers of projects are active in community centers and schools to enhance English language knowledge of parents from Language Backgrounds Other Than English (LBOTE). The study is significant to explore the effects of an intensive English pedagogy with parents of varied English language backgrounds, by targeting inquiry-based language use for social interactions in the school and wider community, specific engagement and cultural interaction with teachers and school activities and procedures.

Keywords: engagement, intercultural communication, language teaching pedagogy, LBOTE, school community

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Authors: Sasiwan Tassana-iem, Sumattana Glangkarn

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Diabetic nephropathy is a major complication in diabetic patients whom as the glomerular filtration rate falls. The affects their quality of life and results in loss of money for kidney replacement therapy costs. There is an existing intervention, but the prevalence remains high, thus this research aims to study lessons learned in implementing programs to delay diabetic nephropathy management in primary health care. Method: The target settings are, 24 sub-district health promoting hospital in Sakon Nakhon province. Participants included the health care professionals, head of the sub-district health promoting hospital and the person responsible for managing diabetic nephropathy in each hospital (n= 50). There are 400 patients with diabetes mellitus in an area. Data were collected using questionnaires, patient records data, interviews and focus groups and analyzed by statistics and content analysis. Result: Reflection of participants that the interventions to delay diabetic nephropathy management in each area, the Ministry of Public Health has a policy to screen and manage this disease. The implementing programs aimed to provide health education, innovative teaching media used in communication to educate. Patients and caregivers had misunderstanding about the actual causes and prevention of this disease and how to apply knowledge suitable for daily life. Conclusion: The obstacles to the success of the implementing programs to delay diabetic nephropathy management in primary health care were most importantly, the patient needs self-care and should be evaluated for health literacy. This is crucial to promote health literacy; to access and understand health information as well to decide their health-related choices based on health information which will promote and maintain a good health. This preliminary research confirms that situation of diabetic nephropathy still exists. The results of this study will lead to the development of delay in diabetic nephropathy implementation among patients in the province studied.

Keywords: diabetic nephropathy, chronic kidney disease, primary health care, implementation

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Authors: Oluyemi Christianah Ojo

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This study seeks to investigate the quality of ICT provided in the new Caring Heart schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. The population for the study was all caring Heart Mega Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. Research questions were generated; two instruments CCCMS and TQCUC were used to elicit information from the schools and the teachers. The study adopts descriptive survey approach. The studies revealed and concluded that ICT components were available and adequate in these schools, Charts showing ICT components and other forms of computer devices used as instructional materials were available but were not adequate; teachers teaching computer studies are competent in the delivery of instructions and in handling computer gadgets in the laboratory. The study recommended the provision of steady electricity, uninterrupted internet facilities and provision of adequate ICT components and charts for effective teaching delivery and learning.

Keywords: facilities, information communication technology, mega primary school, primary education

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Authors: C. Caudwell, R. Syed, C. Lacey

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While the development and advancement of information communication technologies (ICTs) offers powerful opportunities for meaningful connections and relationships, shame is a significant barrier to social and cultural acceptance. In particular, artificial intelligence and socially oriented robots are increasingly becoming partners in romantic relationships with people, offering bonding, support, comfort, growth, and reciprocity. However, these relationships suffer hierarchical, anthropocentric shame that is a significant barrier to their success and longevity. This paper will present case studies of human and artificially intelligent agent relationships, in the context of internal and external shame, as cultivated, propagated, and communicated through ICT. Using an interdisciplinary methodology we aim to present a framework for technological shame, building on the experimental and emergent psychoanalytical theories of emotions. Our study finds principally that socialization is a powerful factor in the vectors of shame as experienced by humans. On a wider scale, we contribute understanding of social emotion and the phenomenon of shame proliferated through ICTs, which is at present under-explored, but vital, as society and culture is increasingly mediated through this medium.

Keywords: shame, artificial intelligence, romance, society

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Authors: Meng Miao, Jeongwoo Han, Cam Nguyen

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Ultra-wideband (UWB) time-domain impulse communication and radar systems use ultra-short duration pulses in the sub-nanosecond regime, instead of continuous sinusoidal waves, to transmit information. The pulse directly generates a very wide-band instantaneous signal with various duty cycles depending on specific usages. In UWB systems, the total transmitted power is spread over an extremely wide range of frequencies; the power spectral density is extremely low. This effectively results in extremely small interference to other radio signals while maintains excellent immunity to interference from these signals. UWB devices can therefore work within frequencies already allocated for other radio services, thus helping to maximize this dwindling resource. Therefore, impulse UWB technique is attractive for realizing high-data-rate, short-range communications, ground penetrating radar (GPR), and military radar with relatively low emission power levels. UWB antennas are the key element dictating the transmitted and received pulse shape and amplitude in both time and frequency domain. They should have good impulse response with minimal distortion. To facilitate integration with transmitters and receivers employing microwave integrated circuits, UWB antennas enabling direct integration are preferred. We present the development of two UWB antennas operating from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz and 0.3-6 GHz for UWB systems that provide direct integration with microwave integrated circuits. The operation of these antennas is based on the principle of wave propagation on a non-uniform transmission line. Time-domain EM simulation is conducted to optimize the antenna structures to minimize reflections occurring at the open-end transition. Calculated and measured results of these UWB antennas are presented in both frequency and time domains. The antennas have good time-domain responses. They can transmit and receive pulses effectively with minimum distortion, little ringing, and small reflection, clearly demonstrating the signal fidelity of the antennas in reproducing the waveform of UWB signals which is critical for UWB sensors and communication systems. Good performance together with seamless microwave integrated-circuit integration makes these antennas good candidates not only for UWB applications but also for integration with printed-circuit UWB transmitters and receivers.

Keywords: antennas, ultra-wideband, UWB, UWB communication systems, UWB radar systems

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Authors: Buket Celik Ünal, Onur Ünal

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Communication is the most challenging part of maintenance operations. Communication between expert and fieldworker is crucial for effective maintenance and this also affects the safety of the fieldworkers. To support a machine user in a remote collaborative physical task, both, a mobile and a stationary device are needed. Such a system is called a shared vision system and the system supports two people to solve a problem from different places. This system reduces the errors and provides a reliable support for qualified and less qualified users. Through this research, it was aimed to validate the effectiveness of using a shared vision system to facilitate communication between on-site workers and those issuing instructions regarding maintenance or inspection works over long distances. The system is designed with head-worn display which is called a shared vision system. As a part of this study, a substitute system is used and implemented by using a shared vision system for maintenance operation. The benefits of the use of a shared vision system are analyzed and results are adapted to the wind turbines to improve the occupational safety and health for maintenance technicians. The motivation for the research effort in this study can be summarized in the following research questions: -How can expert support technician over long distances during maintenance operation? -What are the advantages of using a shared vision system? Experience from the experiment shows that using a shared vision system is an advantage for both electrical and mechanical system failures. Results support that the shared vision system can be used for wind turbine maintenance and repair tasks. Because wind turbine generator/gearbox and the substitute system have similar failures. Electrical failures, such as voltage irregularities, wiring failures and mechanical failures, such as alignment, vibration, over-speed conditions are the common and similar failures for both. Furthermore, it was analyzed the effectiveness of the shared vision system by using a smart glasses in connection with the maintenance task performed by a substitute system under four different circumstances, namely by using a shared vision system, an audio communication, a smartphone and by yourself condition. A suitable method for determining dependencies between factors measured in Chi Square Test, and Chi Square Test for Independence measured for determining a relationship between two qualitative variables and finally Mann Whitney U Test is used to compare any two data sets. While based on this experiment, no relation was found between the results and the gender. Participants` responses confirmed that the shared vision system is efficient and helpful for maintenance operations. From the results of the research, there was a statistically significant difference in the average time taken by subjects on works using a shared vision system under the other conditions. Additionally, this study confirmed that a shared vision system provides reduction in time to diagnose and resolve maintenance issues, reduction in diagnosis errors, reduced travel costs for experts, and increased reliability in service.

Keywords: communication support, maintenance and inspection tasks, occupational health and safety, shared vision system

Procedia PDF Downloads 252