Search results for: science attitudes

Authors: Aşina Gülerarslan, M. Faik Özdengül

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The new economic, social and political world order has led to the emergence of a wide range of persuasion strategies and practices based on an ever expanding marketing axis that involves organizations, ideas and persons as well as products and services. It is seen that since the 1990's, a wide variety of competitive marketing ideas have been offered systematically to target audiences in the field of politics as in other fields. When the components of marketing are taken into consideration, all kinds of communication efforts involving “political leaders”, who are conceptualized as products in terms of political marketing, serve a process of social persuasion, which cannot be restricted to election periods only, and a manageable “image”. In this context, image, which is concerned with how the political product is perceived, involves not only the political discourses shared with the public but also all kinds of biographical information about the leader, the leader’s specific way of living and routines and his/her attitudes and behaviors in their private lives, and all these are regarded as components of the “product image”. While on the one hand the leader’s verbal or supra-verbal references serve the way the “spirit of the product” is perceived –just as in brand positioning- they also show their self-esteem levels, in other words how they perceive themselves on the other hand. Indeed, their self-esteem levels are evaluated in three fundamental categories in the “Functional Analysis”, namely parent, child and adult, and it is revealed that the words, tone of voice and body language a person uses makes it easy to understand at what self-esteem level that person is. In this context, words, tone of voice and body language, which provide important clues as to the “self” of the person, are also an indication of how political leaders evaluate both “themselves” and “the mass/audience” in the communication they establish with their audiences. When the matter is taken from the perspective of Turkey, the levels of self-esteem in the relationships that the political leaders establish with the masses are also important in revealing how our society is seen from the perspective of a specific leader. Since the leader is a part of the marketing strategy of a political party as a product, this evaluation is significant in terms of the forms of relationships between political institutions in our country with the society. In this study, the self-esteem level in the documentary entitled “Master’s Story”, where Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s life history is told, is analyzed in the context of words, tone of voice and body language. Within the scope of the study, at what level of self-esteem Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in the “Master’s Story”, a documentary broadcast on Beyaz TV, was investigated using the content analysis method. First, based on the Functional Analysis Literature, a transactional approach scale was created regarding parent, adult and child self-esteem levels. On the basis of this scale, the prime minister’s self-esteem level was determined in three basic groups, namely “tone of voice”, “the words he used” and “body language”. Descriptive analyses were made to the data within the framework of these criteria and at what self-esteem level the prime minister spoke throughout the documentary was revealed.

Keywords: political marketing, leader image, level of self-esteem, transactional approach

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Authors: A. Rana, M. Badri, D. Lopez Behar, O. Yee, H. Al Bqaei

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The building sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. However, as operation energy demands of this sector decrease with more effective energy policies and strategies, there is an urgent need to parallel focus on the growing proportion of embodied carbons. In this regard, benchmarks on embodied carbon of buildings can provide a point of reference to compare and improve the environmental performance of buildings for the stakeholders. Therefore, embodied carbon benchmarks can serve as a useful tool to address climate change challenges. This research utilizes the method to provide a knowledge roadmap of embodied carbon benchmarks development and implementation trends. Two main databases, Web of Science and Engineering Village, are considered for the study. The mapping was conducted with the help of VosViewer tool to provide information regarding: the critical research areas; most cited authors and publications; and countries with the highest publications. It is revealed that the role of benchmarks in energy policies is an emerging trend. In addition, the research highlighted that in policies, embodied carbon benchmarks are gaining importance at the material, whole building, and building portfolio levels. This research reveals direction for improvement and future research and of relevance to building industry professionals, policymakers, and researchers.

Keywords: buildings embodied carbon benchmark, methods, policy

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Authors: Toby Gibbs, Suwaree Yordchim

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This research analyzes factors affecting the success of Litecoin Value within Thailand and develops a guideline for self-reliance for effective business implementation. Samples in this study included 119 people through surveys. The results revealed four main factors affecting the success as follows: 1) Future Career training should be pursued in applied Litecoin development. 2) Didn't grasp the concept of a digital currency or see the benefit of a digital currency. 3) There is a great need to educate the next generation of learners on the benefits of Litecoin within the community. 4) A great majority didn't know what Litecoin was. The guideline for self-reliance planning consisted of 4 aspects: 1) Development planning: by arranging meet up groups to conduct further education on Litecoin and share solutions on adoption into every day usage. Local communities need to develop awareness of the usefulness of Litecoin and share the value of Litecoin among friends and family. 2) Computer Science and Business Management staff should develop skills to expand on the benefits of Litecoin within their departments. 3) Further research should be pursued on how Litecoin Value can improve business and tourism within Thailand. 4) Local communities should focus on developing Litecoin awareness by encouraging street vendors to accept Litecoin as another form of payment for services rendered.

Keywords: litecoin, mining, confirmations, payment method

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Authors: Lian Liu

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By analyzing the content of the New York Times' China-related energy reports, this study aims to explore the construction of China's national image by the mainstream media in the United States. The study analyzes three aspects of the coverage: topics, reporting tendencies, and countries involved. The results of the study show that economic issues are the main focus of the New York Times’ China-related energy coverage, followed by political issues and environmental issues. Overall, the coverage tendency was mainly negative, but positive coverage was dominated by science and technology issues. In addition, the study found that U.S.-China relations and Sino-Russian relations were important contexts for the construction of China's national image in the NYT's China-related energy coverage. These stories highlight China's interstate interactions with the United States, Japan, and Russia, which serve as important links in the coverage. The findings of this study reveal some characteristics and trends of the U.S. mainstream media's country image of China, which are important for a deeper understanding of the U.S.-China relationship and the media's influence on the construction of the country's image.

Keywords: media coverage, China, content analysis, visualization technology

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Authors: Somtop Keawchuer

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This research aims to study (1) the relationship between competency-based learning and learning efficiency of new media communication students at Suan Sunandha University (2) the demographic factor effect on learning efficiency of students at Suan Sunandha University. This research method will use quantitative research; data was collected by questionnaires distributed to students from new media communication in management science faculty of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University for 1340 sample by purposive sampling method. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistic including percentage, mean, standard deviation and inferential statistic including T-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation for hypothesis testing. The results showed that the competency-based learning in term of ability to communicate, ability to think and solve the problem, life skills and ability to use technology has a significant relationship with learning efficiency in term of the cognitive domain, psychomotor domain and affective domain at the 0.05 level and which is in harmony with the research hypotheses.

Keywords: competency-based learning, learning efficiency, new media communication students, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University

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Authors: Espinoza S. Clara, Gamarra Q. Flor, Marianela F. Ramos Quispe S. Miguel, Flores R. Omar

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Tropaeolum majus L. is a native plant to South and Central America, used since ancient times by our ancestors to combat different diseases. Glucotropaeolonin is one of its main components, which when hydrolyzed, forms benzyl isothiocyanate (BIT) that promotes cellular apoptosis (programmed cell death in cancer cells). Therefore, the present research aims to evaluate the effect of the pressure and temperature of BIT extraction by supercritical CO₂ from Tropaeolum majus L. The extraction was carried out in a supercritical fluid extractor equipment Speed SFE BASIC Brand: Poly science, the leaves of Tropaeolum majus L. were ground for one hour and lyophilized until obtaining a humidity of 6%. The extraction with supercritical CO₂ was carried out with pressures of 200 bar and 300 bar, temperatures of 50°C, 60°C and 70°C, obtained by the conjugation of these six treatments. BIT was identified by thin layer chromatography using 98% BIT as the standard, and as the mobile phase hexane: dichloromethane (4:2). Subsequently, BIT quantification was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The highest yield of oleoresin by supercritical CO₂ extraction was obtained pressure 300 bar and temperature at 60°C; and the higher content of BIT at pressure 200 bar and 70°C for 30 minutes to obtain 113.615 ± 0.03 mg BIT/100 g dry matter was obtained.

Keywords: solvent extraction, Tropaeolum majus L., supercritical fluids, benzyl isothiocyanate

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Authors: Kevin W. Zobrist, Patricia A. Townsend, Nora M. Haider

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Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest (AHB) is a consortium funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to research the potential for a system to produce advanced biofuels (jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline) from hybrid poplar in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. An Extension team was established as part of the project to examine community readiness and willingness to adopt hybrid as a purpose-grown bioenergy crop. The Extension team surveyed key stakeholder groups, including growers, Extension professionals, policy makers, and environmental groups, to examine attitudes and concerns about growing hybrid poplar for biofuels. The surveys found broad skepticism about the viability of such a system. The top concern for most stakeholder groups was economic viability and the availability of predictable markets. Growers had additional concerns stemming from negative past experience with hybrid poplar as an unprofitable endeavor for pulp and paper production. Additional barriers identified included overall land availability and the availability of water and water rights for irrigation in dry areas of the region. Since the beginning of the project, oil and natural gas prices have plummeted due to rapid increases in domestic production. This has exacerbated the problem with economic viability by making biofuels even less competitive than fossil fuels. However, the AHB project has identified intermediate market opportunities to use poplar as a renewable source for other biochemicals produced by petroleum refineries, such as acetic acid, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and ethylene. These chemicals can be produced at a lower cost with higher yields and higher, more-stable prices. Despite these promising market opportunities, the survey results suggest that it will still be challenging to induce growers to adopt hybrid poplar. Early adopters will be needed to establish an initial feedstock supply for a budding industry. Through demonstration sites and outreach events to various stakeholder groups, the project attracted interest from wastewater treatment facilities, since these facilities are already growing hybrid poplar plantations for applying biosolids and treated wastewater for further purification, clarification, and nutrient control through hybrid poplar’s phytoremediation capabilities. Since these facilities are already using hybrid poplar, selling the wood as feedstock for a biorefinery would be an added bonus rather than something requiring a high rate of return to compete with other crops and land uses. By holding regional workshops and conferences with wastewater professionals, AHB Extension has found strong interest from wastewater treatment operators. In conclusion, there are several significant barriers to developing a successful system for producing biofuels from hybrid poplar, with the largest barrier being economic viability. However, there is potential for wastewater treatment facilities to serve as early adopters for hybrid poplar production for intermediate biochemicals and eventually biofuels.

Keywords: hybrid poplar, biofuels, biochemicals, wastewater treatment

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Authors: A. Kourou, A. Ioakeimidou, S. Hadjiefthymiades, V. Abramea

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During the last decades, the task of engaging governments, communities and citizens to reduce risk and vulnerability of the populations has made variable progress. Experience has demonstrated that lack of awareness, education and preparedness may result in significant material and other losses both on the onset of the disaster. Schools play a vital role in the community and are important elements of values and culture of the society. A proper school education not only teaches children, but also is a key factor in the promotion of a safety culture into the wider community. In Greece School Earthquake Safety Initiative has been undertaken by Earthquake Planning and Protection Ogranization with specific actions (seminars, lectures, guidelines, educational material, campaigns, national or EU projects, drills etc.). The objective of this initiative is to develop disaster-resilient school communities through awareness, self-help, cooperation and education. School preparedness requires the participation of Principals, teachers, students, parents, and competent authorities. Preparation and earthquake readiness involves: a) learning what should be done before, during, and after earthquake; b) doing or preparing to do these things now, before the next earthquake; and c) developing teachers’ and students’ skills to cope efficiently in case of an earthquake. In the above given framework this paper presents the results of a survey aimed to identify the level of education and preparedness of school community in Greece. More specifically, the survey questionnaire investigates issues regarding earthquake protection actions, appropriate attitudes and behaviors during an earthquake and existence of contingency plans at elementary and secondary schools. The questionnaires were administered to Principals and teachers from different regions of the country that attend the EPPO national training project 'Earthquake Safety at Schools'. A closed-form questionnaire was developed for the survey, which contained questions regarding the following: a) knowledge of self protective actions b) existence of emergency planning at home and c) existence of emergency planning at school (hazard mitigation actions, evacuation plan, and performance of drills). Survey results revealed that a high percentage of teachers have taken the appropriate preparedness measures concerning non-structural hazards at schools, emergency school plan and simulation drills every year. In order to improve the action-planning for ongoing school disaster risk reduction, the implementation of earthquake drills, the involvement of students with disabilities and the evaluation of school emergency plans, EPPO participates in E-PreS project. The main objective of this project is to create smart tools which define, simulate and evaluate all hazards emergency steps customized to the unique district and school. The project comes up with a holistic methodology using real-time evaluation involving different categories of actors, districts, steps and metrics. The project is supported by EU Civil Protection Financial Instrument with a duration of two years. Coordinator is the Kapodistrian University of Athens and partners are from four countries; Greece, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria.

Keywords: drills, earthquake, emergency plans, E-PreS project

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Authors: Vanessa R. Ralph, Leah J. Scharlott, Megan Y. Deshaye, Ryan L. Stowe

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Given the traditions of chemistry teaching, one may not question whether chemical phenomena play a prominent role. Yet, the role of chemical phenomena in an introductory chemistry course may define the extent to which the course is introductory, chemistry, and equitable. Picture, for example, the classic Ideal Gas Law problem. If one envisions a prompt wherein students are tasked with calculating a missing variable, then one envisions a prompt that relies on chemical phenomena as a context rather than as a model to understand the natural world. Consider a prompt wherein students are tasked with applying molecular models of gases to explain why the vapor pressure of a gaseous solution of water differs from that of carbon dioxide. Here, the chemical phenomenon is not only the context but also the subject of the prompt. Deliveries of general and organic chemistry were identified as ranging wildly in the integration of chemical phenomena. The more incorporated the phenomena, the more equitable the assessment task was for students of varying access to pre-college math and science preparation. How chemical phenomena are integrated may very well define whether courses are chemistry, are introductory, and are equitable. Educators of chemistry are invited colleagues to discuss the role of chemical phenomena in their courses and consider the long-lasting impacts of replicating tradition for tradition’s sake.

Keywords: equitable educational practices, chemistry curriculum, content organization, assessment design

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Authors: Emiko Suzuki

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Although fitness is defined as the body’s ability to respond to the demand of physical activity without undue fatigue in health science, in media oftentimes physical activity is presented as means to an attractive body rather than a fit and healthy one. Of all types of media, Instagram is becoming an increasingly persuasive source of information and advice on health and fitness, where individuals conceptualize what health and fitness mean for them. However, this user-generated and unregulated platform can be problematic, as it can communicate misleading information about health and fitness and possibly leading individuals to psychological problems such as eating disorders. In fact, previous research has shown that some messages that were posted with a tag that related to inspire others to do fitness, in fact, encouraged distancing the self from the internal needs of the body. For this reason, this present study aims to explore how health and fitness are communicated on Instagram by analyzing images and texts. A content analysis of images that were labeled with particular hashtags was performed, followed by a thematic analysis of texts from the same set of images. The result shows an interesting insight about messages about how health and fitness are communicated from companies through media, then digested and further shared among communities on Instagram. The study explores how the use of visual focused way of communicating health and fitness can lead to the dehumanization of human bodies.

Keywords: Instagram, fitness, dehumanization, body image, embodiment

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Authors: Andrzej Kesiak

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Contemporary theology is often accused of answering questions that nobody is asking, and of employing hermetic language that has lost its communication capacity. There is also a question that theology is asking itself: how theological discourse can still be influential on other disciplines and, how to overcome the separation of theology and belief. Undoubtedly, in the wider spectrum, the theological discourse has been and will be needed. The difficulty is how to find the right model of it, the model that would help theology to enter in dialogue with culture, art, science, and politics. Presumably, there is no only one such model, theology constantly needs to seek such models, and this is probably a never-ending journey; in other words, theology should adopt a profile of ‘a restless being’ if it wants to remain influential. Music, on the other hand, has always been very close to theology; in fact, a huge part of classical music is either sacred or religious. Many composers sought inspiration in religion, liturgy, religious painting and sacred texts. This paper will argue that despite all that it seems that a proper and factual dialogue is still in a starting phase. Such a thing as a reciprocal relationship between theology and music definitely exists, but it has not yet been theoretically developed enough. Correlation between musical and theological disciplines constitutes a very broad and complex discourse. Therefore this study would rather narrow the subject and put it in a specific context: Theology and Music in the XXI. Century. This paper is a text-based study; therefore it will be based on textual-analysis with elements of the text hermeneutics.

Keywords: music, theology, reciprocal relationship between theology and music, XXI Century

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Authors: Sumiti Saharan, Pallav Patankar, Lily W. Lee

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Understanding the health-seeking behaviors and attitudes of women towards maternal health in the context of gender roles and family dynamics is tremendously crucial for designing effective and impactful interventions aimed at improving maternal and child health outcomes. Further, as the digital world becomes more accessible and affordable, it is imperative to scope the potential of digital technology in enabling access to maternal health information in different socio-economic groups (SEGs). In the summer of 2017, we conducted a study with 500 women across different SEGs in urban India who were pregnant or had had a delivery in the last year. The study was undertaken to assess their maternal health information seeking behavior with a particular focus on probing their use of digital technology for health-related information. The study also measured women's decision-making autonomy in the context of maternal health, awareness of their rights to quality and respectful maternal healthcare, and agency to voice their rights. We probed the impact of key variables including education, age, and socioeconomic status on all outcome variables. In terms of health-seeking behaviors, we found that women heavily relied on medical professionals and/or their mothers and mothers-in-law for all maternal health advice. Digital adoption was found to be high across all SEGs, with around 70% of women from all populations using the internet several times a week. On the other hand, use of the internet for both accessing maternal health information and choosing maternity hospitals were both significantly dependent on SEG. The key reasons reported for not using the internet for health purposes were lack of awareness and lack of trust on content accuracy. Decisions around health practices and type of delivery were found to be jointly made by women and other family members. Almost all women reported their husbands to play a key role in all maternal health decisions and for decisions with a clear financial implication like choice of hospital for delivery, husbands were reported to be the sole decision maker by a majority of women. The agency of women was also found to be low in interactions with maternal healthcare providers with a third of respondents not comfortable with voicing their opinions and preferences to their doctors. Interestingly, we find that this relatively low agency was prominent in both lower middle class and middle-class SEGs. Recognition of the sociocultural determinants of behavior is the first step in developing actionable strategies for improving maternal health outcomes. Our study quantifies the agency and autonomy of women in urban India and the variables that impact them. Our findings emphasize the value of gender normative approaches that factor in the key role husbands play in guiding maternal health decisions. They also highlight the power of digital approaches for catalyzing access to maternal health information. These insights into the attitude and behaviors of mothers in context of their sociocultural environments—and their relationship with digital technology—can help pave the way towards designing effective, scalable maternal and child health programs in developing nations like India.

Keywords: access to healthcare information, behavior, digital health, maternal health

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Authors: Galila Aisyah Latif Amini, Husnul Khatimah, Citra Amelia

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Smoking among women is of particular concern for the maternal and child health community due to the strong association between prenatal smoking and adverse birth outcomes. Pregnancy is perceived to be a unique reason for smoking cessation, as motivation to care for the unborn fetus. This study aimed to find out the determinants of smoking cessation among pregnant women. Method that we use in this study is systematic review. We identified relevant studies by searching on science database online through SAGE journals, Proquest, Scopus, Emerald, JSTOR, and Springerlink. Journals were screened by title and abstract according to the research topic then filtered using the criteria exclusion and inclusion. And then we did critical appraisal. The results of the four studies reviewed were found that the determinant of smoking cessation are parity, the level of education, socioeconomic status, household SHS exposure, smoking habits of both parents, partner smoking status, psychological factors, antenatal care, intervention for health care provider, age smoking duration. The factor most strongly associated with smoking cessation is parity (OR 2,55; Cl 2,34-2,77). The results of this study are expected to give advice for developing future smoking cessation and relapse prevention programs.

Keywords: pregnancy, smoking cessation, tobacco use cessation, smoking

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Authors: H. H. Goh, K. C. Goh, T. W. Seow, N. S. Said, S. E. P. Ang

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Malaysia is rich with historic buildings, particularly in Penang and Malacca states. Restoration activities are increasingly important as these states are recognized under UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Restoration activities help to maintain the uniqueness and value of a heritage building. However, increasing in restoration activities has resulted in large quantities of waste. To cope with this problem, the 3R concept (reduce, reuse and recycle) is introduced. The 3R concept is one of the waste management hierarchies. This concept is still yet to apply in the building restoration industry compared to the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to promote the 3R concept in the heritage building restoration industry. This study aims to examine the importance of 3R concept and to identify challenges in applying the 3R concept in the heritage building restoration industry. This study focused on contractors and consultants who are involved in heritage restoration projects in Penang. Literature review and interviews helps to reach the research objective. Data that obtained is analyzed by using content analysis. For the research, application of 3R concept is important to conserve natural resources and reduce pollution problems. However, limited space to organise waste is the obstruction during the implementation of this concept. In conclusion, the 3R concept plays an important role in promoting environmental conservation and helping in reducing the construction waste

Keywords: 3R Concept, heritage building, restoration activities, building science

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Authors: Yula Milshteyn

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The present study focuses on the science of the “Soul” in Islamic Medieval Psychology.The main objective of the current essay is to analyze the concept of the “soul” in relation to “mental” disorders, in the philosophical psychology and medicinal treatise of Ibn Sina, a Muslim Persian physician-philosopher (known as Avicenna in the Western world) (981-1037 CE). The examination will concentrate on the nature of the soul, and the relationship of the soul to the body, as well as the manifestation of health and sickness in soul and body, The analysis draws on Avicenna’s Psychology (Kitab al-Najat or The Book of Salvation), Remarks and Admonitions (Al-isharat wa al-tanbihat), and the medical treatise – The Canon of Medicine (al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb). Avicenna’s psychology of the soul is primarily based on Aristotelian and Neo-platonic paradigms. For Avicenna, soul is a metaphysical, independent substance, which in modern terms implies independence of human consciousness from the material body. The soul however, is linked to the body and controls all its’ faculties or functions. It is suggested that in the specific case study of schizophrenia, it is a disorder pertained to both, soul and body and can be characterized as a multi-faceted neurobiological, physiological, psychological and metaphysical spiritual phenomenon.

Keywords: Avicenna, canon of the medicine, mental disorders, psychology, schizophrenia, soul-body

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Authors: Alvaro Marin

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This paper explores the challenges in Cognitive Translation Studies (CTS) conceptual development to accommodate professionals’ perceptions in the language industry into CTS established theoretical apparatus, empirical research projects, and university pedagogical proposals. A comparative conceptual assessment framework is developed from a pluralist epistemological stance that promotes interdisciplinary explorations of the translation process. The framework is used to review key notions such as expertise or feedback, as understood by language industry stakeholders. This review is followed by an analysis of how these notions can enrich research constructs to be applied in empirical investigations of translators’ cognitive processes from an embedded, situated cognition perspective. Thus, it will be proposed to apply the conceptual assessment framework as an effort towards strengthening the interpretative research tools and bridging the gap between industry and academia. The conclusions of this analysis will serve as a basis to further discuss how professional practices, combined with our current knowledge about expertise development in cognitive science and Expertise Studies, can enhance the learning experience of university translation students and help them better understand the processes and requirements of professional cross-linguistic mediation.

Keywords: language industry, cognitive translation studies, translation cognitive theory, translation teaching

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Authors: Sanja Podunavac-Kuzmanović, Strahinja Kovačević, Lidija Jevrić, Evgenija Djurendić, Jovana Ajduković

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In the present study, the molecular modeling of a series of 24 17-picolyl and 17-picolinylidene androstane derivatives whit significant anticancer activity was carried out. Modelling of studied compounds was performed by CS ChemBioDraw Ultra v12.0 program for drawing 2D molecular structures and CS ChemBio3D Ultra v12.0 for 3D molecular modelling. The obtained 3D structures were subjected to energy minimization using molecular mechanics force field method (MM2). The cutoff for structure optimization was set at a gradient of 0.1 kcal/Åmol. Full geometry optimization was done by the Austin Model 1 (AM1) until the root mean square (RMS) gradient reached a value smaller than 0.0001 kcal/Åmol using Molecular Orbital Package (MOPAC) program. The obtained physicochemical, lipophilicity and topological descriptors were used for analysis of molecular similarities and dissimilarities applying suitable chemometric methods (principal component analysis and cluster analysis). These results are the part of the project No. 114-451-347/2015-02, financially supported by the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development of Vojvodina and CMST COST Action CM1306.

Keywords: androstane derivatives, anticancer activity, chemometrics, molecular descriptors

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Authors: Cristina Sanchez-Sanchez

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Although there seems to be a growing interest in the study of the citizen’s happiness as an alternative measure of a country’s progress to GDP, happiness as a public concern is still an ambiguous concept, hard to define. Moreover, different notions are used indiscriminately to talk about the same thing. This investigation aims to determine the conceptions of happiness, well-being and quality of life that originate from the indexes that different governments and public institutions around the world have created to study them. Through the Scoping Review method, this study identifies the recent academic research in this field (a total of 267 documents between 2006 and 2016) from some of the most popular social sciences databases around the world, Web of Science, Scopus, JSTOR, Sage, EBSCO, IBSS and Google Scholar, and in Spain, ISOC and Dialnet. These 267 documents referenced 53 different indexes and researches. The Grounded Theory method has been applied to a sample of 13 indexes in order to identify the main categories they use to determine these three concepts. The results show that these are multi-dimensional concepts and similar indicators are used indistinctly to measure happiness, well-being and quality of life.

Keywords: common good, grounded theory, happiness economics, happiness index, quality of life, scoping review, well-being

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Authors: Trilochana Dash, Chandan Kumar Sahoo

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In today's environment of intensive industrialization, the role of business in societal modernization is critical. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) arose due to rising societal awareness of company conduct. Corporations that practice CSR devote a portion of their profits to society’s sustainable development (SD). The concept of CSR and SD has increased the impact of industries on society. In this study, bibliometric analysis was conducted using the “R” programming language to determine the comprehensiveness of CSR and SD. From 2003 to 2022, bibliometric data was collected from two databases: Scopus and Web of Science (WOS). According to the findings, CSR and SD research has risen exponentially in the past two decades, and “Corporate Social Responsibility and Environment Management” emerged as the most influential journal in this field. The findings also show that relatively very few researchers collaborate in CSR and SD research in the last twenty years. It is widely acknowledged that most CSR and SD research is conducted in developed countries and developing countries undergoing fast industrialization. Thematic evolution and cluster analysis clearly show that the notion of CSR and SD among scholars has been quite popular over the last two decades. Finally, limitations and future directions are discussed.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, bibliometric analysis, “R” programming language, visualization, holistic picture

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Authors: M. Kastek, M. Kowalski, M. Szustakowski, H. Polakowski, T. Sosnowski

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Development of highly efficient security systems is one of the most urgent topics for science and engineering. There are many kinds of threats and many methods of prevention. It is very important to detect a threat as early as possible in order to neutralize it. One of the very challenging problems is detection of dangerous objects hidden under human’s clothing. This problem is particularly important for safety of airport passengers. In order to develop methods and algorithms to detect hidden objects it is necessary to determine the thermal signatures of such objects of interest. The laboratory measurements were conducted to determine the thermal signatures of dangerous tools hidden under various clothes in different ambient conditions. Cameras used for measurements were working in spectral range 0.6-12.5 μm An infrared imaging Fourier transform spectroradiometer was also used, working in spectral range 7.7-11.7 μm. Analysis of registered thermograms and hyperspectral datacubes has yielded the thermal signatures for two types of guns, two types of knives and home-made explosive bombs. The determined thermal signatures will be used in the development of method and algorithms of image analysis implemented in proposed monitoring systems.

Keywords: hyperspectral detection, nultispectral detection, image processing, monitoring systems

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Authors: Tsai-Pei Liu, Zhi-Rou Zheng, Tzu-Tzu Wen

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Innovative logistics system simulation teaching is to extract the characteristics of the system through simulation methodology. The system has randomness and interaction problems in the execution time. Therefore, the simulation model can usually deal with more complex logistics process problems, giving students different learning modes. Students have more autonomy in learning time and learning progress. System simulation has become a new educational tool, but it still needs to accept many tests to use it in the teaching field. Although many business management departments in Taiwan have started to promote, this kind of simulation system teaching is still not popular, and the prerequisite for popularization is to be supported by students. This research uses an extension of Integration Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) to explore the acceptance of students in universities of science and technology to use system simulation as a learning tool. At the same time, it is hoped that this innovation can explore the effectiveness of the logistics system simulation after the introduction of teaching. The results indicated the significant influence of performance expectancy, social influence and learning value on students’ intention towards confirmed the influence of facilitating conditions and behavioral intention. The extended UTAUT2 framework helps in understanding students’ perceived value in the innovative logistics system teaching context.

Keywords: UTAUT2, logistics system simulation, learning value, Taiwan

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Authors: Ian McCulloh, Andrew Placona, Darren Stewart, Daniel Gause, Kevin Kiernan, Morgan Stuart, Christopher Zinner, Laura Cartwright

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An estimated 22-25% of viable deceased donor kidneys are discarded every year in the US, while waitlisted candidates are dying every day. As many as 85% of transplanted organs are refused at least once for a patient that scored higher on the match list. There are hundreds of clinical variables involved in making a clinical transplant decision and there is rarely an ideal match. Decision makers exhibit an optimism bias where they may refuse an organ offer assuming a better match is imminent. We propose a semi-parametric Cox proportional hazard model, augmented by an accelerated failure time model based on patient specific suitable organ supply and demand to estimate a time-to-next-offer. Performance is assessed with Cox-Snell residuals and decision curve analysis, demonstrating improved decision support for up to a 5-year outlook. Providing clinical decision makers with quantitative evidence of likely patient outcomes (e.g., time to next offer and the mortality associated with waiting) may improve decisions and reduce optimism bias, thus reducing discarded organs and matching more patients on the waitlist.

Keywords: decision science, KDPI, optimism bias, organ transplant

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Authors: Muhammad Tariq, Hammad Tahir, Fawwad Mahmood Butt

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Purpose: This study attempts to examine the best forecasting methodologies in the time series. The time series forecasting models such as VAR, ARCH and the ARMA are considered for the analysis. Methodology: The Bench Marks or the parameters such as Adjusted R square, F-stats, Durban Watson, and Direction of the roots have been critically and empirically analyzed. The empirical analysis consists of time series data of Consumer Price Index and Closing Stock Price. Findings: The results show that the VAR model performed better in comparison to other models. Both the reliability and significance of VAR model is highly appreciable. In contrary to it, the ARCH model showed very poor results for forecasting. However, the results of ARMA model appeared double standards i.e. the AR roots showed that model is stationary and that of MA roots showed that the model is invertible. Therefore, the forecasting would remain doubtful if it made on the bases of ARMA model. It has been concluded that VAR model provides best forecasting results. Practical Implications: This paper provides empirical evidences for the application of time series forecasting model. This paper therefore provides the base for the application of best time series forecasting model.

Keywords: forecasting, time series, auto regression, ARCH, ARMA

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Authors: Laura Otto

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Sargasso algae currently threatens both livelihoods and marine eco systems along the Riviera Maya in Mexico. While the area was previously known for its white beaches, pristine waters, and intact, colorful reefs, the algae has turned the beaches into ‘stinky stretches of sand,’ made the water brown, and has led to reef degradation causing coral colonies to die off in vast amounts. Drawing on ethnographic research in the area, this paper shows how the reef was exploited for tourism before the Sargasso algae landed, and reef protection played a minor role among hoteliers, tourists, and tour operators. However, since Sargasso began arriving in large quantities, the reef has taken on new significance. Both natural science research and the everyday handling of Sargasso along the coast show that an intact reef provides a natural barrier for the algae and keeps them from reaching the beaches. Clean beaches are important to various local actors–among them, hotel operators, tourists, environmentalists – and against the backdrop of beach commodification, reefs are now taking on new meaning. The paper consequently discusses the commodification of beaches as more-than-human entanglements and illuminates which new human-environment relationships are currently emerging in the Anthropocene.

Keywords: anthropocene, human-environment-relations, fieldwork, mexico

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Authors: Sadra Abbasi

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The complex connection between psychological stress and the onset of different diseases has been an ongoing issue in the mental health field for a long time. Multiple studies have demonstrated that long-term stress can greatly heighten the likelihood of developing health issues like heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and severe depression. Recent research in cognitive science has provided insight into the intricate processes involved in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suggesting that distinct memory systems are accountable for both vivid reliving and normal autobiographical memories of traumatic incidents, as proposed by dual representation theory. This theory has important consequences for our comprehension of the neural mechanisms involved in fear and behavior related to threats, highlighting the amygdala-hippocampus-medial prefrontal cortex circuit as a crucial component in this process. This particular circuit, extensively researched in behavioral neuroscience, is essential for regulating the body's reactions to stress and trauma. This review will examine how incorporating a modern neuroscience viewpoint into an integrative case formulation offers a current way to comprehend the intricate connections among psychological stress, trauma, and disease.

Keywords: social, cognitive, stress, neuroscience, behavior, PTSD

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Authors: Daphne Alroy-Thiberge

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Trauma-impacted individuals present unique treatment challenges that include high reactivity, hyper-and hypo-arousal, poor adherence to therapy, as well as powerful transference and counter-transference experiences in therapy. This work provides an overview of the clinical tenets most often encountered in trauma-impacted individuals. Further, it provides readily applicable clinical techniques to optimize therapeutic rapport and facilitate accelerated positive mental health outcomes. Finally, integrated neuroscience and clinical evidence-based data are discussed to shed new light on crisis states in trauma-impacted individuals. This knowledge is utilized to provide effective and concrete interventions towards rapid and successful de-escalation of the impacted individual. A highly interactive, adult-learning-principles-based modality is utilized to provide an organic learning experience for participants. The information and techniques learned aim to increase clinical effectiveness, reduce staff injuries and burnout, and significantly enhance positive mental health outcomes and self-determination for the trauma-impacted individuals treated.

Keywords: clinical competencies, crisis interventions, psychotherapy techniques, trauma informed care

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Authors: Maryam Kiani

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Geopolymer has gained significant prominence worldwide and is now widely regarded as a potential alternative to conventional Portland cement. Nevertheless, for it to be widely accepted and incorporated into national and international standards, it is crucial to establish precise definitions and dependable mix design methodologies for geopolymer materials. The lack of a common definition and methodology has led to inconsistencies and perplexity across various areas of research. Addressing this concern is imperative for several reasons. To overcome the existing inconsistencies and confusion, concerted efforts should be made to establish clear definitions and robust mix design methodologies for geopolymer materials. This can be achieved through collaborative research, knowledge sharing, and engagement with industry experts. By doing so, we can pave the way for the widespread acceptance and utilization of geopolymer materials, revolutionizing the construction and infrastructure industry in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. The primary goal of this article is to offer clear explanations regarding the different meanings of geopolymer and the various methodologies used in geopolymer processes. Its main aim is to improve comprehension of both unary and binary geopolymer systems. By thoroughly exploring existing research, this article strives to illuminate the diverse methods and techniques utilized in the exciting field of geopolymer science.

Keywords: geopolymer, nanomaterials, structural materials, mechanical properties

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Authors: Angela Vacaro de Souza, Fernando Ferrari Putti

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One of the main plants cultivated in protected environment is tomato crop, which presents significant growth in its demand, because it is a tasty fruit, rich in nutrients and of high added value, however, poor management of fertilizers induces the process of soil salinization, causing several consequences, from reduced productivity to even soil infertility. These facts are derived from the increased concentration of salts, which hampers the process of water absorption by the plant, resulting in a biochemical and nutritional imbalance in the plant. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of untreated and electromagnetically treated water in salinized soils on physical, physicochemical, and biochemical parameters in tomato fruits. The experiment was conducted at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Tupã Campus (FCE/UNESP). A randomized complete block design with two types of treated water was adopted, with five different levels of initial salinity (0; 1.5; 2.5; 4; 5.5; 7 dS m⁻¹) by fertigation. Although the effects of salinity on fruit quality parameters are evident, no beneficial effects on increasing or maintaining postharvest quality of fruits whose plants were treated with electromagnetized water were evidenced.

Keywords: Solanum lycopersicum, soil salinization, protected environment, fertigation

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Authors: Milica Z. Karadzic, Lidija R. Jevric, Sanja Podunavac-Kuzmanovic, Strahinja Z. Kovacevic, Anamarija I. Mandic, Katarina Penov-Gasi, Andrea R. Nikolic, Aleksandar M. Okljesa

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In this study, a set of 29 newly synthesized steroid derivatives were investigated using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) as a first step in preselection of drug candidates. This analysis presents an experimental determination of chromatographic lipophilicity, and it was conducted to obtain physicochemical characterization of these molecules. As the most widely used bonded phases in RP-HPLC, octadecyl (C18) and octyl (C8) were used. Binary mixtures of water and acetonitrile or methanol were used as mobile phases. Obtained results were expressed as retention factor values logk and they were correlated with logP values. The results showed that both columns provide good estimations of the chromatographic lipophilicity of the molecules included in this study. This analysis was conducted in order to characterize newly synthesized steroid derivatives for further investigation regarding their antiproliferative and antimicrobial activity. This article is based upon work from COST Action (CM1306), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).

Keywords: antiproliferative activity, chromatographic lipophilicity, liquid chromatography, steroids

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Authors: Eda Ozkara San

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Nurse educators have been charged by several nursing organizations and accrediting bodies to provide innovative and evidence-based educational experiences, both didactic and clinical, to help students to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to provide culturally competent nursing care to patients. Clinical simulation, which offers the opportunity for students to practice nursing skills in a risk-free, controlled environment and helps develop self-efficacy (confidence) within the nursing role. As one simulation method, the standardized patients (SPs) simulation helps educators to teach nursing students variety of skills in nursing, medicine, and other health professions. It can be a helpful tool for nurse educators to enhance cultural competence of nursing students. An alarming gap exists within the literature concerning the effectiveness of SP strategy to enhance cultural competence development of diverse student groups, who must work with patients from various backgrounds. This grant-supported, longitudinal, one-group, pretest and post-test educational intervention study aimed to examine the effect of the Diverse Standardized Patient Simulation (DSPS) cultural competence education strategy on students’ (n = 53) transcultural self-efficacy (TSE). The researcher-developed multidimensional DSPS strategy involved careful integration of transcultural nursing skills guided by the Cultural Competence and Confidence (CCC) model. As a carefully orchestrated teaching and learning strategy by specifically utilizing the SP pedagogy, the DSPS also followed international guidelines and standards for the design, implementation, evaluation, and SP training; and had content validity review. The DSPS strategy involved two simulation scenarios targeting underrepresented patient populations (Muslim immigrant woman with limited English proficiency and Irish-Italian American gay man with his partner (Puerto Rican) to be utilized in a second-semester, nine-credit, 15-week medical-surgical nursing course at an urban public US university. Five doctorally prepared content experts reviewed the DSPS strategy for content validity. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) score was calculated between .80-1.0 on the evaluation forms. Jeffreys’ Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool (TSET) was administered as a pretest and post-test to assess students’ changes in cognitive, practical, and affective dimensions of TSE. Results gained from this study support that the DSPS cultural competence education strategy assisted students to develop cultural competence and caused statistically significant changes (increase) in students’ TSE perceptions. Results also supported that all students, regardless of their background, benefit (and require) well designed cultural competence education strategies. The multidimensional DSPS strategy is found to be an effective way to foster nursing students’ cultural competence development. Step-by-step description of the DSPS provides an easy adaptation of this strategy with different student populations and settings.

Keywords: cultural competence development, the cultural competence and confidence model, CCC model, educational intervention, transcultural self-efficacy, TSE, transcultural self-efficacy tool, TSET

Procedia PDF Downloads 137