Search results for: Comparison Analysis of Science & Technology Council (NSTC)

Authors: Michela Del Vicario, Walter Quattrociocchi, Antonio Scala, Ana Lucía Schmidt, Fabiana Zollo

Abstract:

Information, rumors, and debates may shape and impact public opinion heavily. In the latest years, several concerns have been expressed about social influence on the Internet and the outcome that online debates might have on real-world processes. Indeed, on online social networks users tend to select information that is coherent to their system of beliefs and to form groups of like-minded people –i.e., echo chambers– where they reinforce and polarize their opinions. In this way, the potential benefits coming from the exposure to different points of view may be reduced dramatically, and individuals' views may become more and more extreme. Such a context fosters misinformation spreading, which has always represented a socio-political and economic risk. The persistence of unsubstantiated rumors –e.g., the hypothetical and hazardous link between vaccines and autism– suggests that social media do have the power to misinform, manipulate, or control public opinion. As an example, current approaches such as debunking efforts or algorithmic-driven solutions based on the reputation of the source seem to prove ineffective against collective superstition. Indeed, experimental evidence shows that confirmatory information gets accepted even when containing deliberately false claims while dissenting information is mainly ignored, influences users’ emotions negatively and may even increase group polarization. Moreover, confirmation bias has been shown to play a pivotal role in information cascades, posing serious warnings about the efficacy of current debunking efforts. Nevertheless, mitigation strategies have to be adopted. To generalize the problem and to better understand social dynamics behind information spreading, in this work we rely on a tight quantitative analysis to investigate the behavior of more than 300M users w.r.t. news consumption on Facebook over a time span of six years (2010-2015). Through a massive analysis on 920 news outlets pages, we are able to characterize the anatomy of news consumption on a global and international scale. We show that users tend to focus on a limited set of pages (selective exposure) eliciting a sharp and polarized community structure among news outlets. Moreover, we find similar patterns around the Brexit –the British referendum to leave the European Union– debate, where we observe the spontaneous emergence of two well segregated and polarized groups of users around news outlets. Our findings provide interesting insights into the determinants of polarization and the evolution of core narratives on online debating. Our main aim is to understand and map the information space on online social media by identifying non-trivial proxies for the early detection of massive informational cascades. Furthermore, by combining users traces, we are finally able to draft the main concepts and beliefs of the core narrative of an echo chamber and its related perceptions.

Keywords: information spreading, misinformation, narratives, online social networks, polarization

Procedia PDF Downloads 291

Authors: Seungsik Yu, Minho Kang

Abstract:

As the threat of terrorism to nuclear facilities is increasing globally after the attacks of September 11, we are striving to recognize the physical protection system and strengthen the emergency response system. Since 2015, Korea has implemented physical protection security exercise for nuclear facilities. The exercise should be carried out with full cooperation between the operator and response forces. Performance testing of the physical protection system should include appropriate exercises, for example, force-on-force exercises, to determine if the response forces can provide an effective and timely response to prevent sabotage. Significant deficiencies and actions taken should be reported as stipulated by the competent authority. The IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency) is also preparing force-on-force exercise program documents to support exercise of member states. Currently, ROK(Republic of Korea) is implementing exercise on the force-on-force exercise evaluation system which is developed by itself for the nuclear power plant, and it is necessary to establish the exercise procedure considering the use of the force-on-force exercise evaluation system. The purpose of this study is to establish the work procedures of the three major organizations related to the force-on-force exercise of nuclear power plants in ROK, which conduct exercise using force-on-force exercise evaluation system. The three major organizations are composed of licensee, KINAC (Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control), and the NSSC(Nuclear Safety and Security Commission). Major activities are as follows. First, the licensee establishes and conducts an exercise plan, and when recommendations are derived from the result of the exercise, it prepares and carries out a force-on-force result report including a plan for implementation of the recommendations. Other detailed tasks include consultation with surrounding units for adversary, interviews with exercise participants, support for document evaluation, and self-training to improve the familiarity of the MILES (Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System). Second, KINAC establishes a force-on-force exercise plan review report and reviews the force-on-force exercise plan report established by licensee. KINAC evaluate force-on-force exercise using exercise evaluation system and prepare training evaluation report. Other detailed tasks include MILES training, adversary consultation, management of exercise evaluation systems, and analysis of exercise evaluation results. Finally, the NSSC decides whether or not to approve the force-on-force exercise and makes a correction request to the nuclear facility based on the exercise results. The most important part of ROK's force-on-force exercise system is the analysis through the exercise evaluation system implemented by KINAC after the exercise. The analytical method proceeds in the order of collecting data from the exercise evaluation system and analyzing the collected data. The exercise application process of the exercise evaluation system introduced in ROK in 2016 will be concretely set up, and a system will be established to provide objective and consistent conclusions between exercise sessions. Based on the conclusions drawn up, the ultimate goal is to complement the physical protection system of licensee so that the system makes licensee respond effectively and timely against sabotage or unauthorized removal of nuclear materials.

Keywords: Force-on-Force exercise, nuclear power plant, physical protection, sabotage, unauthorized removal

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Maha Mourad

Abstract:

Higher education in any competitive European economy should serve the new information society by increasing the supply of good quality education services and by creating good international brands in the international higher education market. Hence, continuous risk management techniques through higher educational reforms programs became one of the top priorities within the European Union to control the quality of higher education. Risk is higher education is studies by several researchers who agreed that the risk in higher education has a direct influence on continuity of quality education and research contribution. The focus of this research is to highlights the Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) activities in the Polish higher education system as a risk management tool used to control the quality of education. This paper presents a qualitative empirical analysis in 5 different universities in Poland. In addition, it aims to help in finding global practical and create benchmark for policy makers concerning the risk management techniques based on the Polish experience.

Keywords: education development, quality assurance, sustainability, european higher education

Procedia PDF Downloads 468

Authors: N. F. F. Ebecken, G. C. Pereira

Abstract:

Although networks provide a powerful approach to the study of a wide variety of ecological systems, their formulation usually does not include various types of interactions, interactions that vary in space and time, and interconnected systems such as networks. The emerging field of 'multilayer networks' provides a natural framework for extending ecological systems analysis to include these multiple layers of complexity as it specifically allows for differentiation and modeling of intralayer and interlayer connectivity. The structure provides a set of concepts and tools that can be adapted and applied to the ecology, facilitating research in high dimensionality, heterogeneous systems in nature. Here, ecological multilayer networks are formally defined based on a review of prior and related approaches, illustrates their application and potential with existing data analyzes, and discusses limitations, challenges, and future applications. The integration of multilayer network theory into ecology offers a largely untapped potential to further address ecological complexity, to finally provide new theoretical and empirical insights into the architecture and dynamics of ecological systems.

Keywords: ecological networks, multilayered networks, sea ecology, Brazilian Coastal Area

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Indu Saini, Ashu Khanna, S. K. Peddoju

Abstract:

Cloud computing is the new buzz word today attracting high interest among various domains like business enterprises, Particularly in Small and Medium Enterprises. As it is a pay-per-use model, SMEs have high expectations that adapting this model will not only make them flexible, hassle-free but also economic. In view of such expectations, this paper analyses the possibility of adapting cloud computing technologies in SMEs in light of economic concerns. In this paper, two hypotheses are developed to compare the average annual per-user costs of using Enterprise Resource Planning systems in two ways, The traditional approach and the cloud approach. A web based survey is conducted apart from the Interviews with the peers to collect the data across the selected SMEs and t-test is performed to compare both the technologies on the proposed hypothesis. Results achieved are produced and discussed.

Keywords: cloud computing, small and medium enterprises, enterprise resource solutions, interviews

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Abdulwahab Alalyani, Mahbub Rashid

Abstract:

Public green space promotes community health including daily activities, but these resources may not be available enough or may not equitably be distributed. This paper measures and compares the availability of public green spaces (PGS) among low, middle, and high-income neighborhoods in the Riyadh city. Additionally, it compares the total availability of PGS to WHO standard and Dubai availability of PGS per person. All PGS were mapped using geographical information systems, and total area availability of PGS compared to WHO and Dubai standards. To evaluate the significant differences in PGS availability across low, medium, and high-income Riyadh neighborhoods, we used a One-way ANOVA analysis of covariance to test the differences. As a result, by comparing PGS of Riyadh neighborhoods to WHO and Dubai-availability, it was found that Riyadh PGS were lower than the minimum standard of WHO and as well as Dubai. Riyadh has only 1.13 m² per capita of PGS. The second finding, the availability of PGS, was significantly different among Riyadh neighborhoods based on socioeconomic status. The future development of PGS should be focused on increasing PGS availability and should be given priority to those low-income and unhealthy communities.

Keywords: spatial equity, green space, quality of life, built environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: T. Wejrzanowski, M. Grybczuk, E. Tymicki, K. J. Kurzydlowski

Abstract:

In the present study, numerical simulations of heat and mass transfer in Physical Vapor Transport reactor during silicon carbide single crystal growth are addressed. Silicon carbide is a wide bandgap material with unique properties making it highly applicable for high power electronics applications. Because of high manufacturing costs improvements of SiC production process are required. In this study, numerical simulations were used as a tool of process optimization. Computer modeling allows for cost and time effective analysis of processes occurring during SiC single crystal growth and provides essential information needed for improvement of the process. Quantitative relationship between process conditions, such as temperature or pressure, and crystal growth rate and shape of crystallization front have been studied and verified using experimental data. Basing on modeling results, several process improvements were proposed and implemented.

Keywords: Finite Volume Method, semiconductors, Physica Vapor Transport, silicon carbide

Procedia PDF Downloads 498

Authors: B. Prashantha, S. Anish

Abstract:

The aim of the present study is to computationally evaluate the hemodynamic factors which affect the formation of atherosclerosis and plaque rupture in the human artery. An increase of atherosclerosis disease in the artery causes geometry changes, which results in hemodynamic changes such as flow separation, reattachment, and adhesion of new cells (chemotactic) in the artery. Hence, geometry plays an important role in the determining the nature of hemodynamic patterns. Influence of stenosis in the non-bifurcating artery, under pulsatile flow condition, has been studied on an idealized geometry. Analysis of flow through symmetric and asymmetric stenosis in the artery revealed the significance of oscillating shear index (OSI), flow separation, low WSS zones and secondary flow patterns on plaque formation. The observed characteristic of flow in the post-stenotic region highlight the importance of plaque eccentricity on the formation of secondary stenosis on the arterial wall.

Keywords: atherosclerotic plaque, oscillatory shear index, stenosis nature, wall shear stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 350

Authors: Fang Ye, Han Yu, Yibing Li

Abstract:

Radio interference is one of the major concerns in using the global positioning system (GPS) for civilian and military applications. Interference signals are produced not only through all electronic systems but also illegal jammers. Among different types of interferences, continuous wave (CW) interference has strong adverse impacts on the quality of the received signal. In this paper, we make more detailed analysis for CW interference effects on GPS signal quality. Based on the C/A code spectrum lines, the influence of CW interference on the acquisition performance of GPS receivers is further analysed. This influence is supported by simulation results using GPS software receiver. As the most important user parameter of GPS receivers, the mathematical expression of bit error probability is also derived in the presence of CW interference, and the expression is consistent with the Monte Carlo simulation results. The research on CW interference provides some theoretical gist and new thoughts on monitoring the radio noise environment and improving the anti-jamming ability of GPS receivers.

Keywords: GPS, CW interference, acquisition performance, bit error probability, Monte Carlo

Procedia PDF Downloads 260

Authors: Muhammad Shahzad Shifa, Amna Shifa, Muhammad Omar, Aamir Shahzad, Rahmat Ali Khan

Abstract:

Many applications of remote sensing to vegetation and crop response depend on spectral properties of individual leaves and plants. Vegetation indices are usually determined to estimate crop biophysical parameters like crop canopies and crop leaf area indices with the help of remote sensing. Cotton crops assessment is performed with the help of vegetative indices. Remotely sensed images from an optical multispectral radiometer MSR5 are used in this study. The interpretation is based on the fact that different materials reflect and absorb light differently at different wavelengths. Non-normalized and normalized forms of these datasets are analyzed using two complementary data mining algorithms; K-means and K-nearest neighbor (KNN). Our analysis shows that the use of normalized reflectance data and vegetative indices are suitable for an automated assessment and decision making.

Keywords: cotton, condition assessment, KNN algorithm, clustering, MSR5, vegetation indices

Procedia PDF Downloads 333

Authors: S. Mamoucha, N. Tsafantakis, Α. Ioannidis, S. Chatzipanagiotou, C. Nikolaou, L. Skaltsounis, N. Fokialakis, N. Christodoulakis

Abstract:

Introduction: Plant secondary metabolites (SM) can be grouped into three chemically distinct groups: terpenes, phenolics, and nitrogen-containing compounds. For many years the adaptive significance of SM was unknown. They were thought to be functionless end-products. Currently it is accepted that many secondary metabolites (also known as natural products) have important ecological roles in plants. For instance, they serve as attractants (odor, color, taste) for pollinators and seed-dispersing animals. Moreover, they protect plants from herbivores, microbial pathogens and from environmental stress (high and low temperatures, drought, alkalinity, salinity, radiation etc). It is well known that both biotic and abiotic stress often increase the accumulation of SM. The local climatic conditions, seasonal changes, external factors such as light, temperature, humidity affect the biosynthesis and composition of secondary metabolites. A well known dioecious evergreen plant, Pistacia lentiscus L. (mastic tree), was selected in order to study the metabolic variations occur in response to the different climate conditions, due to the seasonal variation and its effect on the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds. Materials-methods: Young and mature leaves were collected in January and July 2014, dried and extracted by accelerated solvent extraction (Dionex ASE™ 350) using solvents of increased polarity (DCM, MeOH, and H2O). GC-MS and UHPLC-HRMS analysis were carried out in order to define the nature and the relative abundance of SM. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by using the Agar Disc Diffusion Assay against ATCC and clinical isolates strains: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans and Klebsiella pneumoniae. All tests were carried out in duplicate and the average radii of the inhibition zones were calculated for each extract. Results: According to the phytochemical profile obtained from each extract, the biosynthesis of SM varied both qualitatively and quantitatively under the two different types of seasonal stress. With exception of the biologically inactive nonpolar DCM extract of July, all extracts inhibited the growth of most of the investigated microorganisms. A clear positive correlation has been observed between the relative abundance of SM and the bioactivity of the DCM extracts of January and July. Observed changes during phytochemical analysis were mainly focused on the triterpenoid content. On the other hand, the bioactivity of the polar extracts (MeOH and H2O) of January and July resulted practically invariable against most of the microorganisms, besides the significant variation of the SM content due to the seasonal variation. Conclusion: Our results clearly confirmed the hypothesis of abiotic stress as an important regulating factor that significantly affects the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and thus the presence of bioactive compounds. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by IKY - State Scholarship Foundation, Athens, Greece.

Keywords: antibacterial screening, phytochemical profile, Pistacia lentiscus, abiotic stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Deng Tingting

Abstract:

There is a very close interaction between the rapid development of the real estate industry and regional urbanization. The real estate problem can be boiled down to the problem of urbanization, in essence. The growth of hundreds of millions of people in the future will determine the development of low-level demand in the real estate market. At the same time, the practical problems of urbanization also seriously restrict the healthy development of real estate itself. The latter two interact with each other by adjusting the industrial structure, economic aggregate, regional population flow, and many other linkage factors. Through the case analysis of Chongqing, this paper finds that the urbanization of Chongqing and the overall development level of the real estate industry are still in the stage of development and upgrading, and its development potential and future development and application space are still very large. Therefore, from the perspective of the regional economy, studying the interaction between the two is of great significance to accelerate the process of urbanization in Chongqing, promote the healthy development of the real estate industry, and promote the rapid growth of the regional economy.

Keywords: urbanization, demographics, real estate, interrelationships

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Sibel Kurt

Abstract:

In this study, with the use of Goffee and Jones’s corporate culture classification and the scale of this classification, there aimed to analyze a company’s corporate culture which does not have a public relations or communication department. First of all, the type of corporate culture in the company had been determined. Then it questioned if there are subcultures which formed according to demographics or the department of work. In the survey questionnaire, there are 53 questions total. 6 of these questions are about demographics, and 47 of them are about corporate culture. 152 personnel of the company had answered the survey, and the data have been evaluated according to frequency, descriptive, and compare means tests. The type of corporate culture of the company was determined as the 'communal' from the typology of Goffee and Jones in the positive form. There are no subcultures in the company which bases on the demographics, but only one subculture has determined according to the department of work. As a result, the absence of public relations department, personnel’s low level of awareness about corporate culture, and the lack of information between management and employees has been revealed.

Keywords: corporate culture, subculture, public relations, organizational communication

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Marwa Ben Abdessalem, Amin Zribi, Ammar Bouallègue

Abstract:

In this paper, a Joint Source Channel coding scheme based on LDPC codes is investigated. We consider two concatenated LDPC codes, one allows to compress a correlated source and the second to protect it against channel degradations. The original information can be reconstructed at the receiver by a joint decoder, where the source decoder and the channel decoder run in parallel by transferring extrinsic information. We investigate the performance of the JSC LDPC code in terms of Bit-Error Rate (BER) in the case of transmission over an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel, and for different source and channel rate parameters. We emphasize how JSC LDPC presents a performance tradeoff depending on the channel state and on the source correlation. We show that, the JSC LDPC is an efficient solution for a relatively low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) channel, especially with highly correlated sources. Finally, a source-channel rate optimization has to be applied to guarantee the best JSC LDPC system performance for a given channel.

Keywords: AWGN channel, belief propagation, joint source channel coding, LDPC codes

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: I. Szer, J. Szer, M. Pieńko, A. Robak, P. Jamińska-Gadomska

Abstract:

Work at height, such as construction works on scaffoldings, is associated with a considerable risk. Scaffolding workers are usually exposed to changing weather conditions what can additionally increase the risk of dangerous situations. Therefore, it is very important to foresee the risk of adverse conditions to which the worker may be exposed. The data from meteorological stations may be used to asses this risk. However, the dependency between weather conditions on a scaffolding and in the vicinity of meteorological station, should be determined. The paper presents an analysis of two selected environmental parameters which have influence on the behavior of workers – air temperature and wind speed. Measurements of these parameters were made between April and November of 2016 on ten scaffoldings located in different parts of Poland. They were compared with the results taken from the meteorological stations located closest to the studied scaffolding. The results gathered from the construction sites and meteorological stations were not the same, but statistical analyses have shown that they were correlated.

Keywords: scaffolding, health and safety at work, temperature, wind velocity

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Frederick Gooding

Abstract:

This paper explores how many Hip Hop artists have intentionally and strategically invoked sustainability principles of people, planet and profits as a means to create community, compensate for and cope with structural inequalities in society. These themes not only create community within one's country, but the powerful display and demonstration of these narratives create community on a global plane. Listeners of Hip Hop are therefore able to learn about the political events occurring in another country free of censure, and establish solidarity worldwide. Hip Hop therefore can be an ingenious tool to create self-worth, recycle positive imagery, and serve as a defense mechanism from institutional and structural forces that conspire to make an upward economic and social trajectory difficult, if not impossible for many people of color, all across the world. Although the birthplace of Hip Hop, the United States of America, is still predominately White, it has undoubtedly grown more diverse at a breath-­taking pace in recent decades. Yet, whether American mainstream media will fully reflect America’s newfound diversity remains to be seen. As it stands, American mainstream media is seen and enjoyed by diverse audiences not just in America, but all over the world. Thus, it is imperative that further inquiry is conducted about one of the fastest growing genres within one of the world’s largest and most influential media industries generating upwards of $10 billion annually. More importantly, hip hop, its music and associated culture collectively represent a shared social experience of significant value. They are important tools used both to inform and influence economic, social and political identity. Conversely, principles of American exceptionalism often prioritize American political issues over those of others, thereby rendering a myopic political view within the mainstream. This paper will therefore engage in an international contextualization of the global phenomena entitled Hip Hop by exploring the creative genius and marketing appeal of Hip Hop within the global context of information technology, political expression and social change in addition to taking a critical look at historically racialized imagery within mainstream media. Many artists the world over have been able to freely express themselves and connect with broader communities outside of their own borders, all through the sound practice of the craft of Hip Hop. An empirical understanding of political, social and economic forces within the United States will serve as a bridge for identifying and analyzing transnational themes of commonality for typically marginalized or disaffected communities facing similar struggles for survival and respect. The sharing of commonalities of marginalized cultures not only serves as a source of education outside of typically myopic, mainstream sources, but it also creates transnational bonds globally to the extent that practicing artists resonate with many of the original themes of (now mostly underground) Hip Hop as with many of the African American artists responsible for creating and fostering Hip Hop's powerful outlet of expression. Hip Hop's power of connectivity and culture-sharing transnationally across borders provides a key source of education to be taken seriously by academics.

Keywords: culture, education, global, hip hop, mainstream music, transnational

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Agria Rhamdhan

Abstract:

WhatsApp as the most popular mobile messaging app has been used as evidence in many criminal cases. As the use of mobile messages generates large amounts of data, forensic investigation faces the challenge of large data problems. The hardest part of finding this important evidence is because current practice utilizes tools and technique that require manual analysis to check all messages. That way, analyze large sets of mobile messaging data will take a lot of time and effort. Our work offers methodologies based on forensic triage to reduce large data to manageable sets resulting easier to do detailed reviews, then show the results through interactive visualization to show important term, entities and relationship through intelligent ranking using Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) Model. By implementing this methodology, investigators can improve investigation processing time and result's accuracy.

Keywords: forensics, triage, visualization, WhatsApp

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Thusitha B. Abeysekara, M. A. Nihal Chandrathilake

Abstract:

The aim of this research is to examine the legal mechanism of resolving maritime disputes by arbitration, and it would be a reference point on the analysis of USA approaches. In doing so, the research aims to analyse the relevant legal principles in the context of current maritime arbitration practices in selected jurisdictions. The research also aims to analyse the advantages and applicability of arbitration in maritime dispute settlements over the litigation and further approaches the role of specialist maritime arbitration institutes in the USA and the position of international merchant organizations in maritime arbitration. Further, research values the legislative aspects of maritime arbitration. The study would evaluate the contemporary issues in maritime arbitration practices in the USA and further analyses the statistical information on maritime arbitration. Finally, the research made remarks to often parallel consequence in USA legal systems in maritime arbitration and despite the fundamental divergences of the applicable principles and practices of maritime arbitration. The research finally suggests the doctrine should reshape with equitable remedies and international maritime arbitration practices with its institutional impact rather than using as statutory rules related maritime arbitration.

Keywords: arbitration, international shipping, maritime dispute, New York convention

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Renata Roma, Christine Tardif-Williams

Abstract:

Engaging in daily walks with a dog (f.e. Canis lupus familiaris) during the COVID-19 pandemic may be linked to feelings of greater social-connectedness and global self-worth, and lower stress after controlling for mental health issues, lack of physical contact with others, and other stressors associated with the current pandemic. Therefore, maintaining a routine of dog walking might mitigate the effects of stressors experienced during the pandemic and promote well-being. However, many dog owners do not walk their dogs for many reasons, which are related to the owner’s and the dog’s personalities. Note that the consistency of certain personality characteristics among dogs demonstrates that it is possible to accurately measure different dimensions of personality in both dogs and their human counterparts. In addition, behavioural ratings (e.g., the dog personality questionnaire - DPQ) are reliable tools to assess the dog’s personality. Clarifying the relevance of personality factors in the context of young adult-dog relationships can shed light on interactional aspects that can potentially foster protective behaviours and promote well-being among young adults during the pandemic. This study examines if and how nine combinations of dog- and young adult-related personality characteristics (e.g., neuroticism-fearfulness) can amplify the influence of personality factors in the context of dog walking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses to an online large-scale survey among 440 (389 females; 47 males; 4 nonbinaries, Mage=20.7, SD= 2.13 range=17-25) young adults living with a dog in Canada were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). As extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, measured through the five-factor model (FFM) inventory, are related to maintaining a routine of physical activities, these dimensions were selected for this analysis. Following an approach successfully adopted in the field of dog-human interactions, the FFM was used as the organizing framework to measure and compare the human’s and the dog’s personality in the context of dog walking. The dog-related personality dimensions activity/excitability, responsiveness to training, and fearful were correlated dimensions captured through DPQ and were added to the analysis. Two questions were used to assess dog walking. The actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was used to check if the young adult’s responses about the dog were biased; no significant bias was observed. Activity/excitability and responsiveness to training in dogs were greatly associated with dog walking. For young adults, high scores in conscientiousness and extraversion predicted more walks with the dog. Conversely, higher scores in neuroticism predicted less engagement in dog walking. For participants high in conscientiousness, the dog’s responsiveness to training (standardized=0.14, p=0.02) and the dog’s activity/excitability (standardized=0.15, p=0.00) levels moderated dog walking behaviours by promoting more daily walks. These results suggest that some combinations in young adult and dog personality characteristics are associated with greater synergy in the young adult-dog dyad that might amplify the impact of personality factors on young adults’ dog-walking routines. These results can inform programs designed to promote the mental and physical health of young adults during the Covid-19 pandemic by highlighting the impact of synergy and reciprocity in personality characteristics between young adults and dogs.

Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, dog walking, personality, structural equation modeling, well-being

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Daniela Tapusi, Adrian Andronic, Naomi Tufan, Ruxandra Erbașu, Ioana Teodorescu

Abstract:

The proposed theme of this article falls within the policy of reducing carbon emissions imposed by the ‘Green New Deal’ by replacing structural elements made of energy-intensive materials with ecological materials. In this sense, wood has many qualities (high strength/mass and stiffness/mass ratio, low specific gravity, recovery/recycling) that make it competitive with classic building materials. The topological optimization of the linear glulam elements, resulting from different types of analysis (Finite Element Method, simple regression on metamodels), tests on models or by Monte-Carlo simulation, leads to a material reduction of more than 10%. This article proposes a method of obtaining topologically optimized shapes for different types of glued laminated timber beams. The results obtained will constitute the database for AI training.

Keywords: timber, glued laminated timber, artificial-intelligence, environment, carbon emissions

Procedia PDF Downloads 39

Authors: Marcelo Müller Beuren, José Luis Duarte Ribeiro

Abstract:

Studies point that Brazilian large airports are not managing their assets efficiently. Therefore, organizations seek improvements to raise their asset’s productivity. Hence, identification of assets useful life in airports becomes an important subject, since its accuracy leads to better maintenance plans and technological substitution, contribution to airport services management. However, current useful life prediction models do not converge in terms of determinant elements used, as they are particular to the studied situation. For that reason, the main objective of this paper is to identify the determinant elements for a useful life of major assets in airports. With that purpose, a case study was held in the key airport of the south of Brazil trough historical data analysis and specialist interview. This paper concluded that most of the assets useful life are determined by technical elements, maintenance cost, and operational costs, while few presented influence of technological obsolescence. As a highlight, it was possible to identify the determinant elements to be considered by a model which objective is to identify the useful life of airport’s major assets.

Keywords: airports, asset management, asset useful life

Procedia PDF Downloads 522

Authors: M. G. Dirodi, G. Gugliotta, C. Leonardi

Abstract:

The member states shall establish zones and agglomerations throughout their territory to assess and manage air quality in order to comply with European directives. In Italy decree 155/2010, transposing Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe, merged into a single act the previous provisions on ambient air quality assessment and management, including those resulting from the implementation of Directive 2004/107/EC relating to arsenic, cadmium, nickel, mercury, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air. Decree 155/2010 introduced stricter rules for identifying zones on the basis of the characteristics of the territory in spite of considering pollution levels, as it was in the past. The implementation of such new criteria has reduced the great variability of the previous zoning, leading to a significant reduction of the total number of zones and to a complete and uniform ambient air quality assessment and management throughout the Country. The present document is related to the new zones definition in Italy according to Decree 155/2010. In particular, the paper contains the description and the analysis of the outcome of zoning and classification.

Keywords: zones, agglomerations, air quality assessment, classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 330

Authors: E. Grochowska-Niedworok, K. Brukalo, B. Całyniuk, J. Piekorz, M. Kardas

Abstract:

The aim of the study was to assess diets of residents of nursing homes. Provided by social welfare home, 10 day menus were introduced into the computer program Diet 5 and analyzed in respect of protein, fats, carbohydrates, energy, vitamin D and calcium. The resulting mean values of 10-day menus were compared with the existing Nutrition Standards for Polish population. The analysis menus showed that the average amount of energy supplied from food is not sufficient. Carbohydrates in food supply are too high and represent 257% of normal. The average value of fats and proteins supplied with food is adequate 85.2 g/day and 75.2 g/day. The calcium content of the diet is 513.9 mg/day. The amount of vitamin D supplied in the age group 51-65 years is 2.3 µg/day. Dietary errors that have been shown are due to the lack of detailed nutritional guidelines for nursing homes, as well as state-owned care facilities in general.

Keywords: assessment of diet, essential nutrients, social welfare home, nutrition

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: Preeti Makkar, R. C. Agarwala, Vijaya Agarwala

Abstract:

The present study focuses on the preparation of Al2O3 nanoparticles by top down approach i.e. mechanical milling using high energy planetary ball mill at 250 rpm for 40h. The milled Al2O3 nanoparticles are then used as the second phase to develop electroless (EL) Ni-P- Al2O3 nanocomposite coatings on mild steel substrate. An alkaline bath was used with a suspension of Al2O3 particles (4 g/L) for the synthesis of Ni-P-Al2O3 nanocomposite coating. The surface morphology, size range and phase analysis of as-prepared Al2O3 particles and the coatings were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The coatings were heat treated at 400°C for 1h in argon atmosphere and the hardness of the nanocomposite coatings was investigated with respect to Ni-P before and after heat treatment. The results showed that as milled Al2O3 nanoparticles exhibit irregular shaped and size ranges around 40-45 nm. The Al2O3 particles are uniformly distributed in Ni-P matrix. The microhardness of the coatings is found to be significantly improved after heat treatment (1126 VHN).

Keywords: Electroless (EL), Ni-P-Al2O3, nanocomposite, mechanical milling, microhardness

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Abdulkadir Abu Lawal

Abstract:

For the dearth of reliable cardinal numerical data, the linked phenomena in productivity indices such as operational costs and company turnovers, etc. could not be investigated. This would not give us insight to the root of productivity problems at unique sites. So, ordinal ranking by professionals who were most directly involved with construction sites was applied for Kendall’s concordance. Responses gathered from independent architects, builders/engineers, and quantity surveyors were herein analyzed. They were responses based on factors that affect sites productivity, and these factors were categorized as head office factors, resource management effectiveness factors, motivational factors, and training/skill development factors. It was found that productivity is low and has to be improved in order to facilitate Nigerian efforts in bridging its infrastructure deficit. The significance of this work is underlined with the Kendall’s coefficient of concordance of 0.78, while remedial measures must be emphasized to stimulate better productivity. Further detailed study can be undertaken by using Fuzzy logic analysis on wider Delphi survey.

Keywords: factors, Kendall's coefficient of concordance, magnitude of agreement, percentage magnitude of dichotomy, ranking variables

Procedia PDF Downloads 627

Authors: M. Akhlaque Ahmed, Maliha Afshan

Abstract:

Solar energy potential of Capital city Islamabad and five major cities Peshawar, Lahore, Multan, Quetta and Karachi have been analyzed by using sun shine hour data of the area. Global and diffused solar radiation on horizontal surfaces has been assessed to see the feasibility of solar energy utilization. The result obtained shows 70% direct and 30% diffuse solar radiation for five cities throughout the year except Karachi which shows large variation in direct and diffuse component of solar radiation 57% direct and 43% diffuse in the month of July and August. The cloudiness index were also calculated which lies between 60 to 70% for all the cities except for Karachi which shows 37% clear sky in monsoon month July and August. All the cities show high solar potential throughout the year except Karachi which shows low solar potential during July and August months.

Keywords: global and diffuse solar radiations, Pakistan, power generation, solar potential, sunshine hour

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Sascha Kraus, Wolfgang Hora, Philipp Stieg, Thomas Niemand, Ferdinand Thies, Matthias Filser

Abstract:

In most countries, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are the backbone of the economy due to their impact on job creation, innovation and wealth creation. Moreover, the ongoing globalization makes it inevitable – even for SME that traditionally focused on their domestic markets – to internationalize their business activities to realize further growth and survive in international markets. Thus, internationalization has become one of the most common growth strategies for SME and has received increasing scholarly attention over the last two decades. One the downside internationalization can be also regarded as the most complex strategy that a firm can undertake. Particularly for family firms, that are often characterized by limited financial capital, a risk-averse nature and limited growth aspirations, it could be argued that family firms are more likely to face greater challenges when taking the pathway to internationalization. Especially the triangulation of family, ownership, and management (so-called ‘familiness’) manifests in a unique behavior and decision-making process which is often characterized by the importance given to noneconomic goals and distinguishes a family firm from other businesses. Taking this into account, the concept of socio-emotional wealth (SEW) has been evolved to describe the behavior of family firms. In order to investigate how different internal and external firm characteristics shape internationalization success of family firms, we drew on a sample consisting of 297 small and medium-sized family firms from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Thus, we include SEW as essential family firm characteristic and added the two major intra-organizational characteristics, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), absorptive capacity (AC) as well as collaboration intensity (CI) and relational knowledge (RK) as two major external network characteristics. Based on previous research we assume that these characteristics are important to explain internationalization success of family firm SME. Regarding the data analysis, we applied a Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), an approach that allows identifying configurations of firm characteristics, specifically used to study complex causal relationships where traditional regression techniques reach their limits. Results indicate that several combinations of these family firm characteristics can lead to international success, with no permanently required key characteristic. Instead, there are many roads to walk down for family firms to achieve internationalization success. Consequently, our data states that family owned SME are heterogeneous and internationalization is a complex and dynamic process. Results further show that network related characteristics occur in all sets, thus represent an essential element in the internationalization process of family owned SME. The contribution of our study is twofold, as we investigate different forms of international expansion for family firms and how to improve them. First, we are able to broaden the understanding of the intersection between family firm and SME internationalization with respect to major intra-organizational and network-related variables. Second, from a practical perspective, we offer family firm owners a basis for setting up internal capabilities to achieve international success.

Keywords: entrepreneurial orientation, family firm, fsQCA, internationalization, socio-emotional wealth

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Mohamed S. Osman, Mohamed R. Nosair

Abstract:

The study aims to determine the effects of mindfulness on self-efficacy and professional success among educators of general and special education at Qatar Independent. The study sample will consist of 100 educators from the males and females divided to (50) educators of general education and (50) educators of Special Education in primary, and high schools. They will response to mindfulness scale and the scale of self-efficacy. In addition, use reports of the assessment by the Department of Education for their performance and assessments of their supervisors. The study will examine the effect of some variables such as differences between educators from general and special education, as well as the differences between males and females and years of experience. The study will use a statistic descriptive approach and Correlative analysis such as; means and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The study may predicts differences between educators in all variables study.

Keywords: mindfulness, educators, general education, special education, academic performance, self-efficacy

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Babak Nematshahrbabaki, Fallahi Arezoo

Abstract:

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe teenagers’ decisions to undergo orthodontic treatment through a qualitative study. Materials and methods: Twenty-three patients (12 girls), aged 12–18 years, at a dental clinic in Sanandaj the western part of Iran participated. Face-to-face and semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions were held to gather data. Data analyzed by the grounded theory method. Results: ‘Decision-making’ was the core category. During the data analysis four main themes were developed: ‘being like everyone else’, ‘being diagnosed’, ‘maintaining the mouth’ and ‘cultural-social and environmental factors’. Conclusions: cultural- social and environmental factors have crucial role in decision-making to undergo orthodontic treatment. The teenagers were not fully conscious of these external influences. They thought their decision to undergo orthodontic treatment is independent while it is related to cultural- social and environmental factors.

Keywords: decision-making, qualitative study, teenager, orthodontic treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 452

Authors: Petr Květon, Martin Jelínek

Abstract:

We try to identify the role of various aspects of parenting style in the phenomenon of videogame playing addiction. Relevant self-report questionnaires were part of a wider set of methods focused on the constructs related to videogame playing. The battery of methods was administered in school settings in paper and pencil form. The research sample consisted of 333 (166 males, 167 females) elementary and high school students at the age between 10 and 19 years (m=14.98, sd=1.77). Using stepwise regression analysis, we assessed the influence of demographic variables (gender and age) and parenting styles. Age and gender together explained 26.3% of game addiction variance (F(2,330)=58.81, p<.01). By adding four aspect of parenting styles (inconsistency, involvement, control, and warmth) another 10.2% of variance was explained (∆F(4,326)=13.09, p<.01). The significant predictor was gender of the respondent, where males scored higher on game addiction scale (B=0.70, p<.01), age (β=-0.18, p<.01), where younger children showed higher level of addiction, and parental inconsistency (β=0.30, p<.01), where the higher the inconsistency in upbringing, the more developed game playing addiction.

Keywords: gender, parenting styles, video games, addiction

Procedia PDF Downloads 351