Search results for: nature of the war

Authors: Julie M. Novak, Simone K. Brennan, Lacey Brim

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Undergraduate medical education (UME) curriculum notably addresses micro-level communications (e.g., patient-provider, intercultural, inter-professional), yet frequently under-examines the role and impact of organizational communication, a more macro-level. Organizational communication, however, functions as foundation and through systemic structures of an organization and thereby serves as hidden curriculum and influences learning experiences and outcomes. Yet, little available research exists fully examining how students experience organizational communication while in medical school. Extant literature and best practices provide insufficient guidance for UME programs, in particular. The purpose of this study was to map and examine current organizational communication systems and processes in a UME program. Employing a phenomenology-grounded and participatory approach, this study sought to understand the organizational communication system from medical students' perspective. The research team consisted of a core team and 13 medical student co-investigators. This research employed multiple methods, including focus groups, individual interviews, and two surveys (one reflective of focus group questions, the other requesting students to submit ‘examples’ of communications). To provide context for student responses, nonstudent participants (faculty, administrators, and staff) were sampled, as they too express concerns about communication. Over 400 students across all cohorts and 17 nonstudents participated. Data were iteratively analyzed and checked for triangulation. Findings reveal the complex nature of organizational communication and student-oriented communications. They reveal program-impactful strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and tensions and speak to the role of organizational communication practices influencing both climate and culture. With regard to communications, students receive multiple, simultaneous communications from multiple sources/channels, both formal (e.g., official email) and informal (e.g., social media). Students identified organizational strengths including the desire to improve student voice, and message frequency. They also identified weaknesses related to over-reliance on emails, numerous platforms with inconsistent utilization, incorrect information, insufficient transparency, assessment/input fatigue, tacit expectations, scheduling/deadlines, responsiveness, and mental health confidentiality concerns. Moreover, they noted gaps related to lack of coordination/organization, ambiguous point-persons, student ‘voice-only’, open communication loops, lack of core centralization and consistency, and mental health bridges. Findings also revealed organizational identity and cultural characteristics as impactful on the medical school experience. Cultural characteristics included program size, diversity, urban setting, student organizations, community-engagement, crisis framing, learning for exams, inefficient bureaucracy, and professionalism. Moreover, they identified system structures that do not always leverage cultural strengths or reduce cultural problematics. Based on the results, opportunities for productive change are identified. These include leadership visibly supporting and enacting overall organizational narratives, making greater efforts in consistently ‘closing the loop’, regularly sharing how student input effects change, employing strategies of crisis communication more often, strengthening communication infrastructure, ensuring structures facilitate effective operations and change efforts, and highlighting change efforts in informational communication. Organizational communication and communications are not soft-skills, or of secondary concern within organizations, rather they are foundational in nature and serve to educate/inform all stakeholders. As primary stakeholders, students and their success directly affect the accomplishment of organizational goals. This study demonstrates how inquiries about how students navigate their educational experience extends research-based knowledge and provides actionable knowledge for the improvement of organizational operations in UME.

Keywords: medical education programs, organizational communication, participatory research, qualitative mixed methods

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Authors: Muhammet Baldan, Emel Timuçin

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Molecular solubility prediction plays a crucial role in various fields, such as drug discovery, environmental science, and material science. In this study, we compare the performance of five machine learning algorithms—linear regression, support vector machines (SVM), random forests, gradient boosting machines (GBM), and neural networks—for predicting molecular solubility using the AqSolDB dataset. The dataset consists of 9981 data points with their corresponding solubility values. MACCS keys (166 bits), RDKit properties (20 properties), and structural properties(3) features are extracted for every smile representation in the dataset. A total of 189 features were used for training and testing for every molecule. Each algorithm is trained on a subset of the dataset and evaluated using metrics accuracy scores. Additionally, computational time for training and testing is recorded to assess the efficiency of each algorithm. Our results demonstrate that random forest model outperformed other algorithms in terms of predictive accuracy, achieving an 0.93 accuracy score. Gradient boosting machines and neural networks also exhibit strong performance, closely followed by support vector machines. Linear regression, while simpler in nature, demonstrates competitive performance but with slightly higher errors compared to ensemble methods. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the performance of machine learning algorithms for molecular solubility prediction, highlighting the importance of algorithm selection in achieving accurate and efficient predictions in practical applications.

Keywords: random forest, machine learning, comparison, feature extraction

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Authors: Kadiri Kayode Ibrahim, Kadiri Omowunmi

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The research study was concerned with an evaluation of the effect of marketing strategy on the performance of SMEs in Abuja. This was achieved, specifically, through the examination of the effect of disaggregated components of Marketing Strategy (Product, Price, Promotion, Placement and Process) on Sales Volume (as a proxy for performance). The study design was causal in nature, with the use of quantitative methods involving a cross-sectional survey carried out with the administration of a structured questionnaire. A multistage sample of 398 respondents was utilized to provide the primary data used in the study. Subsequently, path analysis was employed in processing the obtained data and testing formulated hypotheses. Findings from the study indicated that all modeled components of marketing strategy were positive and statistically significant determinants of performance among businesses in the zone. It was, therefore, recommended that SMEs invest in continuous product innovation and development that are in line with the needs and preferences of the target market, as well as adopt a dynamic pricing strategy that considers both cost factors and market conditions. It is, therefore, crucial that businesses in the zone adopt marker communication measures that would stimulate brand awareness and increase engagement, including the use of social media platforms and content marketing. Additionally, owner-managers should ensure that their products are readily available to their target customers through an emphasis on availability and accessibility measures. Furthermore, a commitment to consistent optimization of internal operations is crucial for improved productivity, reduced costs, and enhanced customer satisfaction, which in turn will positively impact their overall performance.

Keywords: product, price, promotion, placement

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Authors: Shabnam Monadizadeh, Charles Kibert, Jiaxuan Li, Janghoon Woo, Ashish Asutosh, Samira Roostaei, Maryam Kouhirostami

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A significant share of the technology that has emerged over the past several decades produces electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation. Communications devices, household appliances, industrial equipment, and medical devices all produce EMF radiation with a variety of frequencies, strengths, and ranges. Some EMF radiation, such as Extremely Low Frequency (ELF), Radio Frequency (RF), and the ionizing range have been shown to have harmful effects on human health. Depending on the frequency and strength of the radiation, EMF radiation can have health effects at the cellular level as well as at brain, nervous, and cardiovascular levels. Health authorities have enacted regulations locally and globally to set critical values to limit the adverse effects of EMF radiation. By introducing a more comprehensive field of EMF radiation study and practice, architects and designers can design for a safer electromagnetic (EM) indoor environment, and, as building and construction specialists, will be able to monitor and reduce EM radiation. This paper identifies the nature of EMF radiation in the built environment, the various EMF radiation sources, and its human health effects. It addresses European and US regulations for EMF radiation in buildings and provides a preliminary action plan. The challenges of developing measurement protocols for the various EMF radiation frequency ranges and determining the effects of EMF radiation on building occupants are discussed. This paper argues that a mature method for measuring EMF radiation in building environments and linking these measurements to human health impacts occupant health should be developed to provide adequate safeguards for human occupants of buildings for future research.

Keywords: biological affection, electromagnetic field, building regulation, human health, healthy building, clean construction

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Authors: Zita Fomukong Andam

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With a general objective of evaluating the importance and Performance attributes of Volunteer Tourism in Ethiopia and also specifically intending to rank out the importance to evaluate the competitive performance of Ethiopia to host volunteer tourists, laying them in a four quadrant grid and conduct the IPA Iso-Priority Line comparison of Volunteer Tourism in Ethiopia. From hosts and guests point of view, a deeper research discourse was conducted with a randomly selected 384 guests and 165 hosts in Ethiopia. Findings of the discourse through an exploratory research design on both the hosts and the guests confirm that attributes of volunteer tourism generally and marginally fall in the South East quadrant of the matrix where their importance is relatively higher than their performance counterpart, also referred as ‘Concentrate Here’ quadrant. The fact that there are more items in this particular place in both the host and guest study, where they are highly important, but their relative performance is low, strikes a message that the country has more to do. Another focus point of this study is mapping the scores of attributes regarding the guest and host importance and performance against the Iso-Priority Line. Results of Iso-Priority Line Analysis of the IPA of Volunteer Tourism in Ethiopia from the Host’s Perspective showed that there are no attributes where their importance is exactly the same as their performance. With this being found, the fact that this research design inhabits many characters of exploratory nature, it is not confirmed research output. This paper reserves from prescribing anything to the applied world before further confirmatory research is conducted on the issue and rather calls the scientific community to augment this study through comprehensive, exhaustive, extensive and extended works of inquiry in order to get a refined set of recommended items to the applied world.

Keywords: volunteer tourism, competitive performance importance-performance analysis, Ethiopian tourism

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Authors: Faraidoon Rahmanzai, Mizuki Takigawa, Yu Bomura, Shigeyuki Date

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To obtain the high quality and essential workability of mortar, different types of superplasticizers are used. The superplasticizers are the chemical admixture used in the mix to improve the fluidity of mortar. Many factors influenced the superplasticizer to disperse the cement particle in the mortar. Nature and amount of replaced cement by slag, mixing procedure, delayed addition time, and heat stimulation technique of superplasticizer cause the varied effect on the fluidity of the cementitious material. In this experiment, the superplasticizers were heated for 1 hour under 60 °C in a thermostatic chamber. Furthermore, the effect of delayed addition time of heat stimulated superplasticizers (SP) was also analyzed. This method was applied to two types of polycarboxylic acid based ether SP (precast type superplasticizer (SP2) and ready-mix type superplasticizer (SP1)) in combination with a partial replacement of normal Portland cement with blast furnace slag (BFS) with 30% w/c ratio. On the other hands, the fluidity, air content, fresh density, and compressive strength for 7 and 28 days were studied. The results indicate that the addition time and heat stimulation technique improved the flow and air content, decreased the density, and slightly decreased the compressive strength of mortar. Moreover, the slag improved the flow of mortar by increasing the amount of slag, and the effect of external temperature of SP on the flow of mortar was decreased. In comparison, the flow of mortar was improved on 5-minute delay for both kinds of SP, but SP1 has improved the flow in all conditions. Most importantly, the transition points in both types of SP appear to be the same, at about 5±1 min.  In addition, the optimum addition time of SP to mortar should be in this period.

Keywords: combined effect, delay addition, heat stimulation, flow of mortar

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Authors: Mercy Chepkirui, Paul Orina, Priscilla Boera, Judith Achoki

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Oreochromis jipe is a tropical freshwater bentho-pelagic fish belonging to the Cichlid family that is endemic to the Pangani River basin and Lake Jipe in Kenya and northern Tanzania, while Oreochromis niloticus inhabits the Lake Victoria basin with reported cases in Lake jipe too. Unlike O. jipe, Oreochromis niloticus is spreading across the globe due to its cultural potential. This, however, could cause genetic purity concerns in the event of cross-breeding among the tilapiines, which is already taking place in the wild. The study envisaged establishing the possibility of hybridization among the two species under aquaculture conditions and phenotypically informing the difference between pure and cross lines. Two hundred sixteen mature brooders weighing 100-120g were selected randomly, 108 of Oreochromis Jipe and 108 of Oreochromis niloticus; for each trial, 72 males and 144 females were distributed into 3 crosses, each grouped in triplicates (Oreochromis niloticus (♀) X Oreochromis niloticus(♂);Oreochromis niloticus (♂) X Oreochromis jipe ( ♀); Oreochromis jipe (♂) X Oreochromis niloticus (♀); Oreochromis jipe (♂) X Oreochromis jipe (♀). All trials had the F1 generation, which is currently undergoing growth trials and assessing its viability for the 2nd generation. The results indicated that Oreochromis niloticus has better growth, followed by crosses (Oreochromis niloticus X Oreochromis jipe) and, finally, pure line Oreochromis jipe. Further, pure Oreochromis jipe F1 demonstrated potential for aquaculture adoption despite its recent introduction into aquaculture; thus, this will help towards the conservation of indigenous fish species of Lake Jipe fishery, which is currently under the Internationa Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of endangered fish species. However, there is a need to inform the purity of existing Oreochromis jipe wild stocks to inform genetic material conservation.

Keywords: biodiversity, climate change, fisheries, oreochromis jipe, conservation

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Authors: Majda El Moufarej

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Higher education plays a central role in socio-economic development. However, with the wave of change mainly due to the extensive use of technology in the workplace, the rate of unemployment among graduates rises because they lack the appropriate competencies and skills currently required in professional life. This situation has led higher education institutions worldwide to reconsider their missions, strategic planning, and curricula, among other elements to redress the image of the university as expected. When it comes to practice, there are many obstacles that hinder the achievement of the expected objectives, especially in public universities with free access, as in the case of Morocco. Nevertheless, huge efforts have been made by educational managers to improve the quality of education by focusing on the issue of pedagogical approaches, where university teachers assume more responsibility to save the situation. In this paper, the focus will be placed on the issue of pedagogical approaches to be adopted, depending on the nature of the subject, the size of the class, the available equipment, the students’ level and degree of motivation. Before elaborating on this idea, it may be more insightful to begin by addressing another variable, which concerns the new role of university teachers and their qualification in pedagogical competence. Then, the discussion will revolve around five pedagogical approaches currently adopted in western universities and the focus will be exclusively placed on the one which is called “the Systematic Approach to course Design”, due to its crucial relevance in the teaching of subjects in the schools of humanities, as it can guide the teacher in the development of an explicit program for purposeful teaching and learning. The study is based on a qualitative method, and the findings will be analyzed and followed by some recommendations about how to overcome difficulties in teaching large groups, while transmitting the relevant knowledge and skills on demand in the workplace.

Keywords: higher education, public universities, pedagogical approaches, pedagogical competence

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Authors: H. Aksas, H. Babaci, K. Louhab

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In this paper, a comparative study of the adsorption of Chromium and dyes, onto mixture biosorbents, olive stones and date pits at different percentage was investigated in aqueous solution. The study of various parameters: Effect of contact time, pH, temperature and initial concentration shows that these materials possess a high affinity for the adsorption of chromium for the adsorption of dye bezaktiv yellow HE-4G. To deepen the comparative study of the adsorption of chromium and dye with the use of different blends of olive stones and date pits, the following models are studied: Langmuir, Freundlich isotherms and Dubinin- Radushkvich (D-R) were used as the adsorption equilibrium data model. Langmuir isotherm model was the most suitable for the adsorption of the dye bezaktiv HE-4G and the D-R model is most suitable for adsorption Chrome. The pseudo-first-order model, pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion were used to describe the adsorption kinetics. The apparent activation energy was found to be less than 8KJ/mol, which is characteristic of a controlled chemical reaction for the adsorption of two materials. t was noticed that adsorption of chromium and dye BEZAKTIV HE-YELLOW 4G follows the kinetics of the pseudo second order. The study of the effect of temperature was quantified by calculating various thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy changes. The resulting thermodynamic parameters indicate the endothermic nature of the adsorption of Cr (VI) ions and the dye Bezaktiv HE-4G. But these materials are very good adsorbents, as they represent a low cost. in addition, it has been noticed that the greater the quantity of olive stone in the mixture increases, the adsorption ability of the dye or chromium increases.

Keywords: chromium ions, anions dye, sorption, mixed adsorbents, olive stone, date pits

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Authors: Azola Agrienette Mayeza, Madifedile Thasi

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Due to the contractual nature of jobs and employment opportunities in the construction industry and the seeming surplus of potential employees in South Africa, there is a little interest on the part of employers to put in place policies to retain experienced workers. Ironically these are the workers that the companies have expended significant resources on, in terms of training and capabilities development. The construction industry has been experiencing high materials wastages and health and safety issues to score very low on the sustainability agenda as regards resources management and safety. This study carried out an assessment of the poor retention of experienced workers in the construction industry on the capacity to deliver sustainable housing in South Africa. It highlights the economic, safety and resources conservation and other benefits accruable from a high retention of key employees to the South African construction industry towards the delivery of sustainable housing. It presents data that strongly support the hypothesis that high turnover of skilled employees as a result of the industry belief of zero incentive to retain employees beyond the contractual period, is responsible for the high wastages of resources in the industry and the safety issues. A high turnover of experienced employees in the construction industry was found to impact on the industry performance in terms of timely, cost effective and quality delivery of construction projects, particularly when measured against the government sustainable housing agenda. It also results in unplanned expenses required to train replacing employees during project executions as well as company goodwill which ultimately has a huge impact on sustainable housing delivery in South Africa.

Keywords: labour turnover, construction industry, sustainable housing, materials wastage, housing delivery, South Africa

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Authors: Derradji Chebli, Abdallah Bouguettoucha, Abdelbaki Reffas Khalil Guediri, Abdeltif Amrane

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The removal of Methyl Green dye (MG) from aqueous solutions using modified P-brutia cones (PBH and PBN), has been investigated work. The physical parameters such as pH, temperature, initial MG concentration, ionic strength are examined in batch experiments on the sorption of the dye. Adsorption removal of MG was conducted at natural pH 4.5 because the dye is only stable in the range of pH 3.8 to 5. It was observed in experiments that the P-brutia cones treated with NaOH (PBN) exhibited high affinity and adsorption capacity compared to the MG P-brutia cones treated with HCl (PBH) and biosorption capacity of modified P-brutia cones (PBN and PBH) was enhanced by increasing the temperature. This is confirmed by the thermodynamic parameters (ΔG° and ΔH°) which show that the adsorption of MG was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The positive values of ΔS° suggested an irregular increase in the randomness for both adsorbent (PBN and PBH) during the adsorption process. The kinetic model pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and intraparticle diffusion coefficient were examined to analyze the sorption process; they showed that the pseudo-second-order model is the one that best describes the adsorption process (MG) on PBN and PBH with a correlation coefficient R²> 0.999. The ionic strength has shown that it has a negative impact on the adsorption of MG on two supports. A reduction of 68.5% of the adsorption capacity for a value Ce=30 mg/L was found for the PBH, while the PBN did not show a significant influence of the ionic strength on adsorption especially in the presence of NaCl. Among the tested isotherm models, the Langmuir isotherm was found to be the most relevant to describe MG sorption onto modified P-brutia cones with a correlation factor R²>0.999. The capacity adsorption of P-brutia cones, was confirmed for the removal of a dye, MG, from aqueous solution. We note also that P-brutia cones is a material very available in the forest and low-cost biomaterial

Keywords: adsorption, p-brutia cones, forest wastes, dyes, isotherm

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Authors: Babalola Sunday Oyetayo, Igbinomwanhia Uyi Osamwonyi, Idowu T. O., Herbert Tata

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This paper explores the potential benefits of adopting blockchain technology in Nigeria's land administration systems while also addressing the challenges and implications of its implementation in the country's unique context. Through a comprehensive literature review and analysis of existing research, the paper delves into the key attributes of blockchain that can revolutionize land administration practices, with a particular focus on simplifying land registration procedures, expediting land title issuance, and enhancing data transparency and security. The decentralized and immutable nature of blockchain offers unique advantages, instilling trust and confidence in land transactions, which are especially crucial in Nigeria's land governance landscape. However, integrating blockchain in Nigeria's land administration ecosystem presents specific challenges, necessitating a critical evaluation of technical, socio-economic, and infrastructural barriers. These challenges encompass data privacy concerns, scalability, interoperability with outdated systems, and gaining acceptance from various stakeholders. By synthesizing these insights, the paper proposes strategies tailored to Nigeria's context to optimize the benefits of blockchain adoption while addressing the identified challenges. The research findings contribute significantly to the ongoing discourse on blockchain technology in Nigeria's land governance, offering evidence-based recommendations to policymakers, land administrators, and stakeholders. Ultimately, the paper aims to promote the effective utilization of blockchain, fostering efficiency, transparency, and trust in Nigeria's land administration systems to drive sustainable development and societal progress.

Keywords: block-chain, technology, stakeholders, land registration

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Authors: José Eduardo García-Mendiola

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In this work, a phenomenological approach to computational modeling of analogy processing is carried out. The paper goes through the consideration of the structure of the analogy, based on the possibility of sustaining the genesis of its elements regarding Husserl's genetic theory of association. Among particular processes which take place in order to get analogical inferences, there is one which arises crucial for enabling efficient base cases retrieval through long-term memory, namely analogical transference grounded on familiarity. In general, it has been argued that analogical reasoning is a way by which a conscious agent tries to determine or define a certain scope of objects and relationships between them using previous knowledge of other familiar domain of objects and relations. However, looking for a complete description of analogy process, a deeper consideration of phenomenological nature is required in so far, its simulation by computational programs is aimed. Also, one would get an idea of how complex it would be to have a fully computational account of the analogy elements. In fact, familiarity is not a result of a mere chain of repetitions of objects or events but generated insofar as the object/attribute or event in question is integrable inside a certain context that is taking shape as functionalities and functional approaches or perspectives of the object are being defined. Its familiarity is generated not by the identification of its parts or objective determinations as if they were isolated from those functionalities and approaches. Rather, at the core of such a familiarity between entities of different kinds lays the way they are functionally encoded. So, and hoping to make deeper inroads towards these topics, this essay allows us to consider that cognitive-computational perspectives can visualize, from the phenomenological projection of the analogy process reviewing achievements already obtained as well as exploration of new theoretical-experimental configurations towards implementation of analogy models in specific as well as in general purpose machines.

Keywords: analogy, association, encoding, retrieval

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Authors: Gianni Jacucci

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We present a retrospective on the development of a research group over the past 30+ years. We reflect on a change in observing the experience (1990-2024) of a university sociotechnical research group dedicated to instill change for innovation in client organisations and enterprises. Its cognitive and action trajectory is influenced by subjective factors: intention and interpretation. Continuity and change are both present: the trajectory of the group exhibits the dynamic interplay of two components of subjectivity, a change of focus in persistence of scheme, and a tension between stability and change. The paper illustrates the meanings the group gave to their practice while laying down mission-critical theoretical considerations – autopoiesis-. The aim of the work is to experience a fragment of phenomenological understanding (PU) of the cognitive dynamics of an STS-aware ICT uptake Laboratory during the digital revolution. PU is an intuitive going along the meaning, while staying close and present to the total situation of the phenomenon. Reading the codes that we observers invent in order to codify what nature is about, thus unveiling subconscious, autopoietic, reflexive feedback mechanisms of second order governance from work published over three decades by the ICT Lab, as if it were the narration of its cognitive autobiography. The paper brings points of discussion and insights of relevance for the STS community. It could be helpful in understanding the history of the community and in providing a platform for discussions on future developments. It can also serve as an inspiration and a historical capture for those entering the field.

Keywords: phenomenology, subjectivity, autopoiesis, interpretation schemes, change for innovation, socio technical research, social study of information systems

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Authors: Ilirjan Malollari, Redi Buzo, Lorina Lici

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This study was done for the characterization of polyphenols changes of anthocyanins, flavonoids, the color intensity and total polyphenols index, maturity and oxidation index during the process of micro-oxygenation of wine that comes from a specific geographic area in the southeastern region of the country. Also, through mathematical modeling of the oxygen distribution within solution of wort for wine fermentation, was shown the strong impact of carbon dioxide present in the liquor. Analytical results show periodic increases of color intensity and tonality, reduction level of free anthocyanins and flavonoids free because of polycondensation reactions between tannins and anthocyanins, increased total polyphenols index and decrease the ratio between the flavonoids and anthocyanins offering a red stabilize wine proved by sensory degustation tasting for color intensity, tonality, body, tannic perception, taste and remained back taste which comes by specific area associated with environmental indications. Micro-oxygenation of wine is a wine-making technique, which consists in the addition of small and controlled amounts of oxygen in the different stages of wine production but more efficiently after end of alcoholic fermentation. The objectives of the process include improved mouth feel (body and texture), color enhanced stability, increased oxidative stability, and decreased vegetative aroma during polyphenols changes process. A very important factor is polyphenolics organic grape composition strongly associated with the environment geographical specifics area in which it is grown the grape.

Keywords: micro oxygenation, polyphenols, environment, wine stability, diffusion modeling

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Authors: Elhem Zaatir, Taher Hamza

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Several governments seek to implement gender parity on boards, but the results of doing so are not clear and could harm corporations and economies. The present paper aims to investigate the relationship between women’s presence on boards and firms’ performance in the context of the French listed firms during the quota period. A dynamic panel generalized method of moment estimation is applied to control the endogenous effect of board structure and reverse the causality impact of the financial performance. Our results show that the impact of gender diversity manifests in conflicting directions, positively affecting accounting performance and negatively influencing market performance. These results suggest that female directors create economic value, but the market discounts their impact. Apparently, they are subject to a biased evaluation by the market, which undervalues their presence on boards. Added to that, our results confirm a twofold nature of female representation in the French market. The effect of female directorship on firm performance varies with the affiliation of the directors. In other words, the positive impact of gender diversity on return on assets primarily originates from the positive effect of non-family-affiliated women directors on market performance rather than on the effect of family-affiliated women directors on ROA. Finally, according to our results, women’s demographic attributes namely the level of education and multiple directorships strongly and positively impact firm performance as measured by return on assets (ROA). Obviously, women directors seem to be appointed to the business case rather than as token directors.

Keywords: corporate governance, board of directors, women, gender diversity, demographic attributes, firm performance

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Authors: Navneet Kaur, S. D. Tiwari

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Magnetic nanoparticles possess fascinating properties which make their behavior unique in comparison to corresponding bulk materials. Superparamagnetism is one such interesting phenomenon exhibited only by small particles of magnetic materials. In this state, the thermal energy of particles become more than their magnetic anisotropy energy, and so particle magnetic moment vectors fluctuate between states of minimum energy. This situation is similar to paramagnetism of non-interacting ions and termed as superparamagnetism. The magnetization of such systems has been described by Langevin function. But, the estimated fit parameters, in this case, are found to be unphysical. It is due to non-consideration of particle size distribution. In this work, analysis of magnetization data on NiO nanoparticles is presented considering the effect of particle size distribution. Nanoparticles of NiO of two different sizes are prepared by heating freshly synthesized Ni(OH)₂ at different temperatures. Room temperature X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the formation of single phase of NiO. The diffraction lines are seen to be quite broad indicating the nanocrystalline nature of the samples. The average crystallite size are estimated to be about 6 and 8 nm. The samples are also characterized by transmission electron microscope. Magnetization of both sample is measured as function of temperature and applied magnetic field. Zero field cooled and field cooled magnetization are measured as a function of temperature to determine the bifurcation temperature. The magnetization is also measured at several temperatures in superparamagnetic region. The data are fitted to an appropriate expression considering a distribution in particle size following a least square fit procedure. The computer codes are written in PYTHON. The presented analysis is found to be very useful for estimating the particle size distribution present in the samples. The estimated distributions are compared with those determined from transmission electron micrographs.

Keywords: anisotropy, magnetization, nanoparticles, superparamagnetism

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Authors: Hana Aljumayi, Mohammed Issa

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the training program for professional athletes at the Saudi Archery Federation on the electrical activity of the muscles involved in pulling the bowstring, maximum muscle strength (MVC) and to identify the relationship between the electrical activity of these muscles and accuracy in shooting among female archers. The researcher used a descriptive approach that was suitable for the nature of the study, and a sample of nine female archers was selected using purposive sampling. An EMG device was used to measure signal amplitude, signal frequency, spectral energy signal, and MVC. The results showed statistically significant differences in signal amplitude among muscles, with F(8,1)=5.91 and a significance level of 0.02. There were also statistically significant differences between muscles in terms of signal frequency, with F(8,1)=8.23 and a significance level of 0.02. Bonferroni test results indicated statistically significant differences between measurements at a significance level of 0.05, with anterior measurements showing an average difference of 16.4 compared to other measurements. Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between signal amplitude in the calf muscle and accuracy in shooting (r=-0.78) at a significance level of 0.02. There was also a significant positive correlation between signal frequency in the calf muscle and accuracy in shooting (r=0.72) at a significance level of 0.04. In conclusion, it appears that the training program for archery athletes focused more on skill development than physical aspects such as muscle activity and strength development. However, it did have a statistically significant effect on signal amplitude but not on signal frequency or MVC development in muscles involved in pulling the bowstring.

Keywords: electrical activity of muscles, archery sport, shooting accuracy, muscles

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Authors: M. Ashaque Meah, Md. Fazlul Karim, M. Shah Noor, Nazmun Nahar Papri, M. Khalid Hossen, M. Ismoen

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Tsunami and inundation modelling due to far field tsunami propagation in a limited area is a very challenging numerical task because it involves many aspects such as the formation of various types of waves and the irregularities of coastal boundaries. To compute the effect of far field tsunami and extent of inland inundation due to far field tsunami along the coastal belts of west coast of Malaysia and Southern Thailand, a formulated boundary condition and a moving boundary condition are simultaneously used. In this study, a boundary fitted curvilinear grid system is used in order to incorporate the coastal and island boundaries accurately as the boundaries of the model domain are curvilinear in nature and the bending is high. The tsunami response of the event 26 December 2004 along the west open boundary of the model domain is computed to simulate the effect of far field tsunami. Based on the data of the tsunami source at the west open boundary of the model domain, a boundary condition is formulated and applied to simulate the tsunami response along the coastal and island boundaries. During the simulation process, a moving boundary condition is initiated instead of fixed vertical seaside wall. The extent of inland inundation and tsunami propagation pattern are computed. Some comparisons are carried out to test the validation of the simultaneous use of the two boundary conditions. All simulations show excellent agreement with the data of observation.

Keywords: open boundary condition, moving boundary condition, boundary-fitted curvilinear grids, far-field tsunami, shallow water equations, tsunami source, Indonesian tsunami of 2004

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Authors: E. T. El Shenawy, O. N. A. Esmail, Adel A. Elbaset, Hesham F. A. Hamed

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Generation of the electrical energy based on photovoltaic (PV) technology has been increased over the world due to either the continuous reduction in the traditional energy sources in addition to the pollution problems related to their usage, or the clean nature and safe usage of the PV technology. Also, PV systems can generate clean electricity in the site of use without any transmission, which can be considered cost effective than other generation systems. The performance of the PV system is highly affected by the amount of solar radiation incident on it. Completely or partially shaded PV systems can affect its output. The PV system can be shaded by trees, buildings, dust, incorrect system configuration, or other obstacles. The present paper studies the effect of the partial shading on the performance of a thin film PV module under climatic conditions of Cairo, Egypt. This effect was measured and evaluated according to practical measurement of the characteristic curves such as current-voltage and power-voltage for two identical PV modules (with and without shading) placed at the same time on one mechanical structure for comparison. The measurements have been carried out for the following shading patterns; half cell (bottom, middle, and top of the PV module); complete cell; and two adjacent cells. The results showed that partially shading the PV module changes the shapes of the I-V and P-V curves and produces more than one maximum power point, that can disturb the traditional maximum power point trackers. Also, the output power from the module decreased according to the incomplete solar radiation reaching the PV module due to shadow patterns. The power loss due shading was 7%, 22%, and 41% for shading of half-cell, one cell, and two adjacent cells of the PV module, respectively.

Keywords: I-V measurements, PV module characteristics, PV module power loss, PV module shading

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Authors: Toshikee Yadav, Deepti Tikariha, Jyotsna Lakra, Kallol K. Ghosh

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are potent atmospheric pollutants that consist of two or more benzene rings. PAHs have low solubility in water. Their slow dissolution can contaminate large amounts of ground water for long period. They are hydrophobic, non-polar and neutral in nature and are known to have potential mutagenic or carcinogenic activity. In current scenario their removal from the environment, water and soil is still a great challenge and scientists worldwide are engaged to invent and design novel separation technology and decontaminating systems. Various physical, chemical, biological and their combined technologies have been applied to remediate organic-contaminated soils and groundwater. Surfactants play a vital role in the solubilization of these hydrophobic organic compounds. In the present investigation Solubilization capabilities of structurally different gemini surfactants i.e. butanediyl-1,4-bis(dimethyldodecylammonium bromide) (C12-4-C12,2Br−), 2-butanol-1,4-bis (dimethyldodecylammonium bromide) (C12-4(OH)-C12,2Br−), 2,3-butanediol-1,4-bis (dimethyldodecylammonium bromide) (C12-4(OH)2-C12,2Br−) for three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); phenanthrene (Phe),fluorene (Fluo) and acenaphthene (Ace) have been studied spectrophotometrically at 300 K. The result showed that the solubility of PAHs increases linearly with increasing surfactant concentration, as an implication of association between the PAHs and micelles. Molar solubilization ratio (MSR), micelle–water partition coefficient (Km) and Gibb's free energy of solubilization (ΔG°s) for PAHs have been determined in aqueous medium. (C12-4(OH)2-C12,2Br−) shows the higher solubilization for all PAHs. Findings of the present investigation may be useful to understand the role of appropriate surfactant system for the solubilization of toxic hydrophobic organic compounds.

Keywords: gemini surfactant, molar solubilization ratio, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, solubilization

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Authors: Teo Yen Nee, Tham Siew Yean, Andrew Kam Jia Yi

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There are growing concerns about the effect of increasing outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from Malaysia. These concerns emerged when OFDI surpassed inward FDI for the first time in 2007 and in the subsequent years as well. From a theoretical point of view, the effect of OFDI on exports remains inconclusive depending on the types and/or motivations of investment. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of Malaysia’s OFDI on manufacturing exports, using a reduced form exports model. The manufacturing data used in this study covered 24 manufacturing industries for the period 2003-2010. The manufacturing sector is the fourth largest sector invested by Malaysia’s OFDI abroad. However, this sector is chosen for this study because total manufacturing trade contributed significantly to Malaysia’s economy growth as reflected by its significant share in the country’s gross domestic product (138.7%) in 2013. Furthermore, Malaysia’s exports are dominated by manufacturing goods. Consequently, the drastic increase in OFDI added concerns about its impact on the country’s exports. Since OFDI activities are still relatively new in Malaysia, this study is exploratory in nature due to a lack of firm level data. Using industry level panel data, the value added of this paper is to meet the research gap by examining the effect of Malaysia’s outward FDI on manufacturing exports. Overall, the findings show that lagged inward FDI, technology development, and industry size are found to positive and significantly influence manufacturing exports as compared to other factors. The insignificant impact of OFDI on manufacturing exports suggests market seeking investment is the main form of OFDI from Malaysia and the destination markets are not served by exports before so that there are no new exports created or displacement of exports. While the results show that there is no need to worry about OFDI’s negative impact on exports, policies should be undertaken to encourage OFDI from Malaysia to create new exports for the country.

Keywords: OFDI, manufacturing industries, exports, Malaysia

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Authors: G. Karunakaran, M. Jagathambal, N. Van Minh, E. Kolesnikov, A. Gusev, O. V. Zakharova, E. V. Scripnikova, E. D. Vishnyakova, D. Kuznetsov

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Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₂O₃NPs) are widely used in different applications due to its ecofriendly nature and biocompatibility. Hence, in this investigation, biosynthesized Fe₂O₃NPs influence on flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) plant was examined. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were found to be cubic phase which is confirmed by XRD analysis. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of functional groups corresponding to the iron oxide nanoparticle. The elemental analysis also confirmed that the obtained nanoparticle is iron oxide nanoparticle. The scanning electron microscopy and the transmission electron microscopy confirm that the average particle size was around 56 nm. The effect of Fe₂O₃NPs on seed germination followed by biochemical analysis was carried out using standard methods. The results obtained after four days and 11 days of seed vigor studies showed that the seedling length (cm), average number of seedling with leaves, increase in root length (cm) was found to be enhanced on treatment with iron oxide nanoparticles when compared to control. A positive correlation was noticed with the dose of the nanoparticle and plant growth, which may be due to changes in metabolic activity. Hence, to evaluate the change in metabolic activity, peroxidase and catalase activities were estimated. It was clear from the observation that higher concentration of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₂O₃NPs 1000 mg/L) has enhanced peroxidase and catalase activities and in turn plant growth. Thus, this study clearly showed that biosynthesized iron oxide nanoparticles will be an effective nano-nutrient for agriculture applications.

Keywords: catalase, fertilizer, iron oxide nanoparticles, Linum usitatissimum L., nano-nutrient, peroxidase

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Authors: Collins Nkapnwo Formella

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The democratic wave of the 1980s and 1990s brought a lot of hopes to the politics of African states as many nation-states adopted ‘democracy.’ The end of the Cold War ushered in, with a lot of rush, pro-democracy movements, which led to multi-party politics, following constitutional reviews. For the very first time since independence, Africans revolted against personalized dictatorship and adopted the idea of limited office terms for the presidents. This paper dives deep into the history of Africa post-independence with the aim of allowing the readers to understand the nature of the differences in the political setups that currently govern the continent and the central region in particular. Time has proven the euphoria that characterized post-Cold War African politics at least for many countries short-lived, as their leaders were unable to re-design the institutions of governance from the compromise and interest-oriented structures handed down after independence. The result has been that politics in many of the countries have been tailored down along the lines of winner takes all approach, with the accumulation of state power being the sole objective of the leaders. The paper contends that 21ˢᵗ Century African politics is exactly the politics of inclusion/exclusion based on ethnic and interest groups, leading to the flourishing of patrimonial authoritarian regimes. It also puts to the test, whether authoritarian responses to delivering growth (economic, political, social) and peace as has been the model adopted by many leaders is superior compared to democracy. This paper then concludes by adding that the practice of democracy in the Central African region in its current form is inherently flawed from its foundations, thus incapable of rooting out the crises faced in the region.

Keywords: authoritarianism, democracy, development, power, institutions

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Eray Ozbek, Ilker Kalkan, S. Oguzhan Akbas, Sabahattin Aykac

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The contribution of the infill walls to the overall earthquake response of a structure is limited and this contribution is generally ignored in the analyses. Strengthening of the infill walls through different techniques has been and is being studied extensively in the literature to increase this limited contribution and the ductilities and energy absorption capacities of the infill walls to create non-structural components where the earthquake-induced energy can be absorbed without damaging the bearing components of the structural frame. The present paper summarizes an extensive research project dedicated to investigate the effects of strengthening the brick infill walls of a reinforced concrete (RC) frame on its lateral earthquake response. Perforated steel plates were used in strengthening due to several reasons, including the ductility and high deformation capacity of these plates, the fire resistant, recyclable and non-cancerogenic nature of mild steel, and the ease of installation and removal of the plates to the wall with the help of anchor bolts only. Furthermore, epoxy, which increases the cost and amount of labor of the strengthening process, is not needed in this technique. The individual behavior of the strengthened walls under monotonic diagonal and lateral reversed cyclic loading was investigated within the scope of the study. Upon achieving brilliant results, RC frames with strengthened infill walls were tested and are being tested to examine the influence of this strengthening technique on the overall behavior of the RC frames. Tests on the wall and frame specimens indicated that the perforated steel plates contribute to the lateral strength, rigidity, ductility and energy absorption capacity of the wall and the infilled frame to a major extent.

Keywords: infill wall, strengthening, external plate, earthquake behavior

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Authors: Pratibha Biswal, Suyash Morchhale, Anshuman Singh Yadav, Shubham Sanjay Chobe

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Energy demands are increasing whereas energy sources, especially non-renewable sources are limited. Due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources, it has become the need of the hour to find new ways to store energy. Out of various energy storage methods, latent heat thermal storage devices are becoming popular due to their high energy density per unit mass and volume at nearly constant temperature. This work presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model using ANSYS FLUENT 19.0 for energy storage characteristics of a phase change material (PCM) filled in a vertical triplex tube thermal energy storage system. A vertical triplex tube heat exchanger, just like its name consists of three concentric tubes (pipe sections) for parting the device into three fluid domains. The PCM is filled in the middle domain with heat transfer fluids flowing in the outer and innermost domains. To enhance the heat transfer inside the PCM, eight fins have been incorporated between the internal and external tubes. These fins run radially outwards from the outer-wall of innermost tube to the inner-wall of the middle tube dividing the middle domain (between innermost and middle tube) into eight sections. These eight sections are then filled with a PCM. The validation is carried with earlier work and a grid independence test is also presented. Further studies on freezing and melting process were carried out. The results are presented in terms of pictorial representation of isotherms and liquid fraction

Keywords: heat exchanger, thermal energy storage, phase change material, CFD, latent heat

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Authors: Andrew Couch, Nicholas Loyd, Nathan Tenhundfeld

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The rapid emergence of technology observably induces disruptive effects that carry implications for internal organizational dynamics as well as external market opportunities, strategic pressures, and threats. An examination of the historical tendencies of technology innovation shows that the body of managerial knowledge for addressing such disruption is underdeveloped. Fundamentally speaking, the impacts of innovation are unique and situationally oriented. Hence, the appropriate managerial response becomes a complex function that depends on the nature of the emerging technology, the posturing of internal organizational dynamics, the rate of technological growth, and much more. This research considers a particular case of mismanagement, the BP Texas City Refinery explosion of 2005, that carries notable discrepancies on the basis of human factors principles. Moreover, this research considers the modern technological climate (shaped by Industry 4.0 technologies) and seeks to arrive at an appropriate conceptual lens by which human factors principles and Industry 4.0 may be favorably integrated. In this manner, the careful examination of these phenomena helps to better support the sustainment of human factors principles despite the disruptive impacts that are imparted by technological innovation. In essence, human factors considerations are assessed through the application of principles that stem from usability engineering, the Swiss Cheese Model of accident causation, human-automation interaction, signal detection theory, alarm design, and other factors. Notably, this stream of research supports a broader framework in seeking to guide organizations amid the uncertainties of Industry 4.0 to capture higher levels of adoption, implementation, and transparency.

Keywords: Industry 4.0, human factors engineering, management, case study

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Authors: Mohammad Saif

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In the post-Westphalianworld order, the concept of sovereignty has been a fundamental area of inquiry in Political Science, International Relations, and International Law. Modern Islamic political thought has also dedicated a fair share of debate on the subject. The debate fundamentally revolves around the ‘ontological differentiation’ between western and Islamic political thought. While the centrality of the individual in western political thought regards the individual as the center of universe, Islamic Political thought provides that space to God. The modern liberal democratic principles suggest sovereignty as one of the major attributes of modern nation state; Islamists regard sovereignty as an attribute of God. However, the position regarding God’ssovereignty in Islamic political thought is not coherent in conception. Some scholars regard such a position as ‘the political interpretation of Islam’. This paper is an attempt to first analyze the fundamental discord between two rival political ideologies (western and Islamic), and then forward a debate on the subject of sovereignty in South Asian Islamic Political thought, particularly between Syed Abul Ala Maududi (ideological father of modern islamist movements) andHifzurrahmanSeoharvi (lesser known in Academia but highly influential in shaping Deobandi position of principles related to political nature of Islamic theology). Maududi regardssovereignty as an attribute of God and the rulers as subservient to Gods will, Seoharvi suggests that God's sovereignty does not entail that the caliph or amir cannot be a ruler or hakim, nor can his command or hukum be an order. Certain references have also been made to contemporary scholars like Sayidd Qutub, Rashid al Ghanouchi, who in one way or the other have contributed to the debate on ‘sovereignty in Islamic thought’.

Keywords: nation state, sovereigty, sovereignty of God (Hakimmiyah), deoband

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Authors: Zandi Ahmad, Sokhanguei Yahya, Saboonchi Reza

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Objective: The new and modern lifestyle, especially in the twenty-first century and lack of movement in spinal structure have made patients and the physicians in the field of health and also other insurance companies in the developed and developing countries worry more than before about the abnormalities of spinal column- this great healthcare problem. The high prevalence of spinal column in all age groups -from children to adults- and in all professions have led the researchers to the idea of giving an opportunity to all those who worry about the dangers threatening the spinal column. Therefore, one of the corrective methods for these patients is using SEAS exercises. Materials and Methods: This study aims at investigating the effect of one-period of SEAS exercises on some spinal biomechanical and postural parameters in the students with idiopathic scoliosis. According to the nature of the study and research objectives as well as the data collection methods, the current research is a semi-empirical survey. The research population is comprised of students with idiopathic scoliosis. A total number of 30 students were selected using available sampling and divided into two groups of control and SEAS exercises. Scoliometer was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to categorize the findings. Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical models were used to confirm that the distribution of the data is normal and T-test was used for effectiveness. Hypothesis testing was done using SPSS21. Conclusion: Results show that SEAS exercises have a significant effect in Adam’s Test. Therefore, according to the obtained results, SEAS exercises can be used to recover idiopathic scoliosis among the students. Further studies in larger samples and treatment, periods as well as more follow-up investigations appear to be essential to prove these effects.

Keywords: SEAS exercises, idiopathic scoliosis, Adam’s test, exercise

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Authors: Nour Mohammad

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The concept of International Criminal Court is not a new idea.It goes back to the late 19th century and was first mooted in 1872 by Gustave Moynier of the International Commitee of the Red Cross(ICRC). This paper attempts to focus on jurisdictional problem of the international criminal court (ICC) over national of states of non parties to the Rome statute. Mor than 120 countries are state parties to the Rome Statute representing all regions, Afria, the Asia-pacofoc Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribben as well as Western Europe and North America.The Statute is the core document of internationa criminal law todaycontaining 128 Articles and divided in 13 parts.The Rome Statute provides that the court may sit elsewhere the judge consider it desirable.The International Criminal Court is not in a position to adjudicate all international crimes but its jurisdiction is limited to the four categories of crime viz. genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crime of aggression as stipulated in Article 5 of the ICC Statute. It also mention here that the Court will be able to exercise its jurisdiction over the crime of aggression only when this crime is defined. Due to the highly political nature of this crime, it is unlikely that a consensus in this regard would be arrived at in the near future.The main point of this article is to discuss the mandate of international criminal court to prosecute and punish persons responsible for the henious crimes of concern to the international community.The author highlighted the principles which support the delegation of criminal jurisdiction by state to international tribunals and discuss the precedents of such delegation.It also argued that the exercise of ICC jurisdiction over acts done pursuant to the officially policy of non-party state would not be contrary to the principles requiring consent for the exercise of jurisdiction by international tribunals. The article explore the limit to jurisdiction of ICC over non-party nationals.

Keywords: jurisdiction, international, criminal, court, non-parties

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