Search results for: relationship market orientation

Authors: Wu Xiaojun, Liu Ruiping, Yu Xingzhan, Wu Qian

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In precision grinding, utilizing the elastic matrix ball has higher processing efficiency and better superficial quality than traditional grinding. The diversity of characteristics which elastic abrasive tool contact with bend surface results in irregular wear abrasion，and abrasive tool machining status get complicated. There is no theoretical interpretation that parameters affect the grinding accuracy.Aiming at corrosion resistance, wear resistance and other characteristics of M 300 material, it is often used as a material on aerospace precision components. The paper carried out grinding and polishing experiments by using material of M 300,to theoretically show the relationship between stress magnitude and grinding efficiency，and predict the optimal combination of grinding parameter for effective grinding, just for the high abrasion resistance features of M 300, analyzing the micro-contact of elastic ball abrasive tool (Whetstone), using mathematical methods deduce the functional relationship between residual peak removal rate and the main parameters which impact the grinding accuracy on the plane case.Thus laying the foundation for the study of elastic abrasive prediction and compensation.

Keywords: flexible abrasive tool, polishing parameters, Hertz theory, removal rate

Procedia PDF Downloads 528

Authors: M. Helen

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Chemical graph serves as a convenient model for any real or abstract chemical system. Dendrimers are novel three dimensional hyper branched globular nanopolymeric architectures. Drug delivery scientists are especially enthusiastic about possible utility of dendrimers as drug delivery tool. Dendrimers like poly L lysine (PLL), poly-propylene imine (PPI) and poly-amidoamine (PAMAM), etc., are used as gene carrier in drug delivery system because of their chemical characteristics. These characteristics of chemical compounds are analysed using topological indices (invariants under graph isomorphism) such as Wiener index, Zagreb index, etc., Prof. V. R. Kulli motivated by the application of Zagreb indices in finding the total π energy and derived Gourava indices which is an improved version over Zagreb indices. In this paper, we study the structure of PLL-Dendrimer that has the following applications: reduction in toxicity, colon delivery, and topical delivery. Also, we determine first and second Gourava indices, first and second hyper Gourava indices, product and sum connectivity Gourava indices for PLL-Dendrimer. Gourava Indices have found applications in Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship (QSPR)/ Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) studies.

Keywords: connectivity Gourava indices, dendrimer, Gourava indices, hyper GouravaG indices

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Authors: Zubaidan Yushan, Hudayar Cıhan

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Turkiye and China are countries that have collective cultures, but they have different cultural backgrounds. They have different cultures, different religions, and different levels of economic development. The aim of this study is to test the moderation effect of caregiver bonding on the relationship between dating violence and coping strategies among unmarried emerging adults in China and Turkiye. Participants ages were 19 and 26 years (X=23.66, SD=3.66), unmarried emerging adults Turkish 171 participants (72.5% women, 24% men, 3.5% prefer not to say), Chinese 170 participants (71.8% women, 21.8% men, 6.5% prefer not to say). All participants had been in a relationship for more than six months. Participants completed The Conflict Tactics Scales—(CTS2), The Cope Inventory, and The Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Examining the dating violence and coping strategies of the participant's relationship through caregiver bonding moderation analysis was performed using the Jamovi. Significance was tested using the bootstrapping method with bias-corrected confidence estimates. The outcome variable for analysis was dating violence, and the predictor variable for the analysis was coping strategies. The moderator variable evaluated for the analysis was parent attachment. Before the analysis, the mean-centered scores of each variable and moderator were calculated. Furthermore, the moderation analysis was conducted separately for each outcome. The Moderation analysis results show that the sub-dimension of over-protection moderates psychological aggression perpetration and avoidance coping in China. The sub-dimension of care moderates injury victimization and avoidance management in Turkiye; also, over-protection moderates injury victimization and social support coping. Moreover, the sub-dimension of care moderates sexual coercion perpetration and avoidance coping. In the results, caregiver bonding moderates the relationship between coping strategies and dating violence, which may be explained by the fact that our ways of coping with problems are learned, and people are influenced by their parents when they face problems. Therefore, problem-solving is permanently fixed, and each person has his or her fixed solution, which leads to a habit of using solutions to problems. However, sometimes, these solutions become the justification for the injured or abusive person. The quality of the attachment between parents can regulate this state. The results are somewhat similar to and slightly different from those in the previous literature. These mixed results indicate the need for further exploration. Many other factors, such as alcohol, drug violence, and pathological problems, maybe the reasons for these differences. In addition, diverse factors such as the study environment and the applied measurement scales may also affect the results.

Keywords: caregiver bonding, coping strategies, dating violence, emerging adulthood, cross-cultural, comparison

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Authors: M. J. Uddin, M. M. Rahman

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Transient natural convective flow dynamics of nanofluids in a horizontal homocentric annulus using nonhomogeneous dynamic model has been experimented numerically. The simulation is carried out for four different shapes of the inner wall, which is either cylindrical, elliptical, square or triangular. The outer surface of the annulus is maintained at constant low temperature while the inner wall is maintained at a uniform temperature; higher than the outer one. The enclosure is permeated by a uniform magnetic field having variable orientation. The Brownian motion and thermophoretic deposition phenomena of the nanoparticles are taken into account in model construction. The governing nonlinear momentum, energy, and concentration equations are solved numerically using Galerkin weighted residual finite element method. To find the best performer, the local Nusselt number is demonstrated for different shapes of the inner wall. The heat transfer enhancement for different nanofluids for four different shapes of the inner wall is exhibited.

Keywords: nanofluids, annulus, nonhomogeneous dynamic model, heat transfer

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Authors: Zakaria Aketouane, Mustapha Malha, Abdellah Bah, Omar Ansari, Mohamed Asbik

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The present paper deals with the thermal performance of a hollow-brick filled with Phase Change Material (PCM). The main objective is to study the effect of percentage and melting temperature of the PCM on the thermal inertia and internal surface temperature of the hollow-brick. A numerical model based on the heat transfer equation and the apparent heat capacity method has been validated using experimental study from the literature. The results show that increasing the percentage of the PCM has a significant effect on time lag and decrement factor that define the thermal inertia; the internal temperature is reduced by 1.36°C to 5.39°C for a percentage from 11% to 71% in comparison to a brick without PCM. In addition, an appropriate melting temperature of 37°C has been deduced for the horizontal wall orientation in Rabat in comparison to 27°C and 47°C.

Keywords: appropriate melting temperature, decrement factor, phase change material, thermal inertia, time lag

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Authors: Richa Mishra, Sonia Munjal

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In this increasingly hectic and competitive climate, employees are expected to manage the resources available to them to perform their work. However, many are wasting the most precious and scarce resource at their disposal, time, by procrastinating on tasks and thereby costing themselves and their organizations. As timely performance is a requirement of most jobs, procrastination is particularly problematic in the workplace. Evidence suggests that procrastination and poor performance go hand-in-hand, as procrastinators miss more deadlines than non-procrastinators and make more errors and work at a slower speed than non-procrastinators when performing timed tasks. This research is hence an effort to add a little in the sparse knowledge base. It is an effort to throw light on the relationship of Levenson’s multi dimensions of locus of control and also an effort to identify if it is one of the causes and of employees procrastination which have not been explored earlier. The study also explores the effect and relationship of multidimensional locus of control and various levels of stress on procrastination. The results of the research have ascertained that there is significant impact of LOC dimensions on the procrastinating behavior of the employees. One of the major findings to emerge from the current research that managers with powerful others as their LOC dimensions were least procrastinating, contradicts the previous research results that external procrastinate more than internals.

Keywords: Multidimensional Locus of Control, workplace procrastination, employee behaviour, manufacturing industry

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Authors: Eugene Y. C. Wong

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The increased market competition, customer expectation, and warehouse operating cost in third-party logistics have motivated the continuous exploration in improving operation efficiency in warehouse logistics. Cargo tracing in ordering picking process consumes excessive time for warehouse operators when handling enormous quantities of goods flowing through the warehouse each day. Internet of Things (IoT) with mobile cargo tracing apps and database management systems are developed this research to facilitate and reduce the cargo tracing time in order picking process of a third-party logistics firm. An operation review is carried out in the firm with opportunities for improvement being identified, including inaccurate inventory record in warehouse management system, excessive tracing time on stored products, and product misdelivery. The facility layout has been improved by modifying the designated locations of various types of products. The relationship among the pick and pack processing time, cargo tracing time, delivery accuracy, inventory turnover, and inventory count operation time in the warehouse are evaluated. The correlation of the factors affecting the overall cycle time is analysed. A mobile app is developed with the use of MIT App Inventor and the Access management database to facilitate cargo tracking anytime anywhere. The information flow framework from warehouse database system to cloud computing document-sharing, and further to the mobile app device is developed. The improved performance on cargo tracing in the order processing cycle time of warehouse operators have been collected and evaluated. The developed mobile voice picking and tracking systems brings significant benefit to the third-party logistics firm, including eliminating unnecessary cargo tracing time in order picking process and reducing warehouse operators overtime cost. The mobile tracking device is further planned to enhance the picking time and cycle count of warehouse operators with voice picking system in the developed mobile apps as future development.

Keywords: warehouse, order picking process, cargo tracing, mobile app, third-party logistics

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Authors: Rana Bazaid, Debajyoti Pati

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Purpose: The aim of this research is to explore and discuss innovative workspaces, and how the design of the space has the potential to facilitate the work process and employees’ satisfaction which can lead to innovative results. Background: The relationship between the workforce and the work environment has a strong potential to enhance human capabilities associated with innovation outcomes. The need for innovation in workplaces can benefit employees’ satisfaction, health, and performance. To understand this complicated relationship, this research explores and comprehends innovative work environments. Methods: A review of 26 peer-reviewed articles, seven books, and 23 companies’ websites was conducted, along with analysis for five case studies on successful types of research and development fields to detect appropriate examples for the study. Results: The analysis of the five case studies showed the similarity-characteristics of innovation work environments among those five fields and observed what is unique about each field that makes them stand out in their industries. Conclusion: Understanding the psychological, cultural, physiological, and social needs of workers, physical workplaces, and issues found in the work environment may help enhance multifaceted innovation and productivity.

Keywords: innovation, productivity , work environment, workers satisfaction

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Authors: G. Karakaya, C. Türker, M. Anaklı

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It is necessary to test to see if optical devices such as camera, night vision devices are working properly. Therefore, a precision biaxial rotary system (gimbal) is required for mounting Unit Under Test, UUT. The Gimbal systems can be utilized for precise positioning of the UUT; hence, optical test can be performed with high accuracy. The weight of UUT, which is placed outside the axis of rotation, causes an off-axis moment to the mounting armature. The off-axis moment can act against the direction of movement for some orientation, thus the electrical motor, which rotates the gimbal axis, has to apply higher level of torque to guide and stabilize the system. Moreover, UUT and its mounting fixture to the gimbal can be changed, which causes change in applied resistance moment to the gimbals electrical motor. In this study, a preloaded spring is added to the gimbal system for minimizing applied off axis moment with the help of four bar mechanism. Two different possible methods for preloading spring are introduced and system optimization is performed to eliminate all moment which is created by off axis weight.

Keywords: adaptive, balancing, gimbal, mechanics, spring

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Authors: Meha Singla, Shankhadeep Chaudhuri, Yadunandan Batchu

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Rental Housing is a more cost effective and flexible housing solution for the low income families than home-ownership. While India is undergoing a new industrial metamorphosis with multiple government initiatives that emphasise on the growth of manufacturing sector through policy frameworks and corridor development proposals, there is going to be a huge influx of low-income working population to the upcoming urban centres. As per stats, about 70 per cent of the housing demand at these centres fall into the affordable segment. And in the midst of this rapid urbanisation and huge immigration of young population, there is a lack of proper rental housing framework in the country. A large number of immigrants will be unable to support home-ownership thereby leading to proliferation of slums in urban centres. As a result, there is a dire need for immediate articulation of a comprehensive rental housing policy and affordable housing initiatives. In this paper, CommonFloor attempts to analyse successful rental housing case studies of the world followed by establishing a correlation between the gap in urban rental housing stock and the per capita income statistics to devise rental housing affordability specific to major Indian cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai). Further, with the corroboration of market price trends, it will try to locate feasible micro-markets for immediate rental housing action. Final research findings will provide key data points thereby helping to design the approach for efficient utilisation of unsold residential inventory in the country in order to compensate the rental housing deficiency. This data set is believed to express viable model(s) of the rental housing approach for the government and private participants.

Keywords: housing prices, migration of population, real estate, rental housing, rental markets, residential property market, urbanisation

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Authors: Evagelos Korobilis-Magas, Adekunle Oke

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The constantly increasing tendency towards a global economy and the subsequent increase in exporting, as a result, has inevitably led to a growing interest in the topic of export success as well. Numerous studies, particularly in the past three decades, have examined a plethora of determinants to export performance. However, to the authors' best knowledge, no study up to date has ever considered decision quality as a potential antecedent to export success by attempting to test the relationship between decision quality and export performance. This is a surprising deficiency given that the export marketing literature has long ago suggested that quality decisions are regarded as the crucial intervening variable between sound decision–making and export performance. This study integrates the different definitions of decision quality proposed in the literature and the key themes incorporated therein and adapts it to an export context. Apart from laying the conceptual foundations for the delineation of this elusive but very important construct, this study is the first ever to test the relationship between decision quality and export performance. Based on survey data from a sample of 189 British export decision-makers and within a contingency theory framework, the results reveal that there is a direct, positive link between decision quality and export performance. This finding opens significant future research avenues and has very important implications for both theory and practice.

Keywords: export performance, decision quality, mixed methods, contingency theory

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Authors: Deborah Asibu Abu

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Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It is one of the most important ingredients in teaching and learning yet it does not come by chance; it involves necessary strategies appropriate to achieve a common goal. In learning, the psychological attention of the student is very important. This helps them to imagine whatever is being taught for a simple understanding, nonetheless, many students will be able to imagine how the environment is in social studies or how the bones or plant is, in integrated Science but will find it difficult to imagine what subject-verb agreement or phrases and clauses actually looks like until they are motivated or with the use of TLM’s to stir their interest to learn and forever remember. For students to be able to receive the motivation they need, there must be an effective relationship between the teacher and the student as well as the use of strategies for effectual execution of achievable goals. Every teacher must understand the importance of motivation by applying various kinds of teaching methodology, especially in the English Language as a subject. Hence this paper suggests some important factors necessary for student’s motivation in teaching and learning English Language, it handles what teaching method is, types of motivation, educational curriculum structure of many, what suitable teaching methods can achieve, appropriate teachers’ disposition, learning environment as tool for motivation and some other domestic factors that can also influence student motivation.

Keywords: english language, teacher-student relationship, curriculum structure, learning environment

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Authors: M. J. Alcedo, K. Ito, K. Maeda

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A stockperson has a significant influence on the productivity and welfare of their animals. This influence may be good or bad depending on their stockmanship competence. In this study, stockmanship competence (SC) is defined as the capacity of the stockperson to ensure the welfare of their animals by providing their animal’s needs. The study was conducted to evaluate the stockmanship competence of backyard goat raisers and to examine its relationship to productivity and economic profitability. This was made possible by interviewing 101 backyard goat raisers who have undergone farmer livestock school on integrated goat management (FLS IGM) in Region I, Philippines on September 3-30, 2012 and March 4-17, 2013. Secondary data needed were gathered from the local government agencies involved. Data on stockmanship, goat productivity and farmer’s income before and after attending FLS-IGM were gathered through a semi-structured interview. Questions for stockamnship were based on the Philippine recommends on goat production, tips on goat raising and other scientific literature. Stockmanship competence index score (SCIS) was computed by summing the raw scores derived from each components of SC divided by the total number of components. Pearson correlation through SPSS was used to see the relationship between SC, productivity and income. Result showed that majority raised native and upgraded goats. The computed mean SCIS before and after undergoing FLS-IGM was 38.53% and 75.81%, respectively, an improvement of 49.17%. Both index scores resulted in significant differences in productivity and income. The median mature weight and mortality rate of goats before FLS-IGM, where SC was low, was 14 kg and 50% respectively. On the other hand, after stockmanship had improved, the median mature weight increased to 19 kgs and mortality rate decreased to 11.11%. Likewise, fewer goat diseases were observed by farmers as compared before. With regards to income, there was 127.34% difference on the median net income derived by farmers. Result implies that improved stockmanship competence can lead not only to increased productivity and income of backyard goat raisers but also welfare of the animal.

Keywords: stockmanship, backyard goat production, animal welfare, Philippines

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Authors: Yadchol Tawetanawanich

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Depression of elderly is a mental health problem that impacts tremendously on the elderly themselves, their family, and society. the purposes of this descriptive research were to examine prevalence rate of elderly depression and to study factors related to depression in elderly including 1) individual factors: sex, education, marital status, 2) economic factors: occupation, adequate income 3) health factors: chronic illnesses , disability, 4) social factors: family relationship, community relationship, 5) knowledge of depression, and 6) self-care behavior. The subject in this study included 273 elderly in Ladboakao sub-district, Banpong district, Ratchaburi province, Thailand. Data were collected through questionnaires and were analyzed using percentage, mean, standard deviation, chi-square, and one-way ANOVA. The results of the study revealed that: The prevalence rate of elderly depression were 21.61%, factors included economic factors, health factors, knowledge about depression, and self-care behavior were statistically significant positively related to depression of elderly (p<0.05), but individual factors and social factors were not significantly related to depression. It is also important for nurses to assess factors related to depression of the elderly in order to develop the model of care and use self-care strategies to contribute the positive outcomes.

Keywords: associated factors, depression, elderly, self-care

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Authors: Vitor S. Mendonca, Maria Luisa S. Schmidt

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The Brazilian medical profession is viewed as being error-free, so healthcare professionals who commit an error are condemned there. Medical errors occur frequently in the Brazilian healthcare system, so identifying better options for handling this issue has become of interest primarily for physicians. The purpose of this study is to better understand the tensions involved in the fear of making an error due to the harm and risk this would represent for those involved. A qualitative study was performed by means of the narratives of the lived experiences of ten acting physicians in the State of Sao Paulo. The concept and characterization of errors were discussed, together with the fear of making an error, the near misses or error in itself, how to deal with errors and what to do to avoid them. The analysis indicates an excessive pressure in the medical profession for error-free practices, with a well-established physician-patient relationship to facilitate the management of medical errors. The error occurs, but a lack of information and discussion often leads to its concealment due to fear or possible judgment by society or peers. The establishment of programs that encourage appropriate medical conduct in the event of an error requires coherent answers for humanization in Brazilian medical science. It is necessary to improve the discussion about medical errors and disseminate models of communication and notification of errors in Brazil.

Keywords: medical error, narrative, physician-patient relationship, qualitative research

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Authors: Nesrine Frifita, Mohamed Gharbi, Kevin Mickus

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Physical methods based on gravity, seismic and seismological data were adopted to clarify the relationship between the distribution of seismicity and the crustal deformations under the chott belts and surrounding regions, in southern atlas of Tunisia. Gafsa and its surrounding were described as a moderate seismic zone, and the fault of Gafsa is one of most seismically active faults in Tunisia in general, and in the southern Atlas in particularly. The present work aims to prove a logical relationship between the distribution of seismicity and deformations which strongly related to thickness and density variations within the basement and sedimentary cover along the study area, through several physical methods; gravity, seismic and seismological data were interpreted to calculate physical propriety of the subsurface rocks, the depth and geometry of active faults and causatives bodies. Findings show that depths variation and mixed thin and thick skinned structural style characterizing the chott belts explain the moderate seismicity in the study area.

Keywords: potential fields, seismicity, Southern Atlas, Tunisia

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Authors: Karolina Ziembowicz, Andrzej Nowak

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In the current study, we examined the consequences of adding prosodic cues to text communication by allowing users to observe the process of message creation while engaged in dyadic conversations. In the first condition, users interacted through a traditional chat that requires pressing ‘enter’ to make a message visible to an interlocutor. In another, text appeared on the screen simultaneously as the sender was writing it, letter after letter (Synchat condition), so that users could observe the varying rhythm of message production, precise timing of message appearance, typos and their corrections. The results show that the ability to observe the dynamics of message production had a twofold effect on the social interaction process. First, it enhanced the relational aspect of communication – interlocutors synchronized their emotional states during the interaction, their communication included more statements on relationship building, and they evaluated the Synchat medium as more personal and emotionally engaging. Second, it increased the coherence of communication, reflected in greater continuity of the topics raised in Synchat conversations. The results are discussed from the interaction design (IxD) perspective.

Keywords: chat communication, online conversation, prosody, social synchronization, interaction incoherence, relationship building

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Authors: A. Qayed Al-Emadi, C. Schwabenland, Q. Wei, B. Czarnecka

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In 2009, the new HRM policy was implemented in Qatar for public sector organisations. The purpose of this research is to examine how Qatar’s 2009 HRM policy was significant in influencing employee retention in public organisations. The conducted study utilised quantitative methodology to analyse the data on employees’ perceptions of such HRM practices as performance çanagement, rewards and promotion, training and development associated with the HRM policy in public organisations in comparison to semi-private organisations. Employees of seven public and semi-private organisations filled in the questionnaire based on the 5-point likert scale to present quantitative results. The data was analysed with the correlation and multiple regression statistical analyses. It was found that Performance Management had the relationship with Employee Retention, and Rewards and Promotion influenced Job Satisfaction in public organisations. The relationship between Job Satisfaction and Employee Retention was also observed. However, no significant differences were observed in the role of HRM practices in public and semi-private organisations.

Keywords: performance management, rewards and promotion, training and development, job satisfaction, employee retention, SHRM, configurational perspective

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Authors: B. Umaru Mohammed, Faris A. Al-Maziad, Mohammad Y. Numan

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One of the most important factors affecting the energy performance within a building is a carefully and efficiently designed facade. The primary aim of this research was to identify and present the potentiality of utilising Double-Skin Facade (DSF) construction and critically examine its effect on the energy consumption of an office building located within a maritime desert climate as to the conventional single-skin curtain wall system. A comparative analysis of the effect on the overall energy consumption within an office building was investigated in which a combination of various Double-Skin Facade configurations, systems, and cavity depths, glazing types and orientations were utilised. A computer dynamic modelling was utilised in order to ensure accurate calculations and efficient simulations of the various DSF systems due to the complex nature of the various functions within the Facade cavity. Through the use of the dynamic thermal modelling simulations, the best cavity size glazed type and orientation were determined to lead to a detailed analysis of the efficiency of each respective combination of Double-Skin Facade construction. As such the optimal facade combination for use within an office building located in a maritime desert climate was identified. Results demonstrated that a multi-story Facade, depending on its configuration, save up to 5% on annual cooling loads respect to a Corridor Facade and while vented can save unto 12% when compared to the single skin façade, on annual cooling load in the maritime desert climate. The selected configuration of the DSF from SSF saves an overall annual cooling load of 32%.A comparative analysis of the effect on the overall energy consumption within an office building was investigated in which a combination of various Double-Skin Facade configurations, systems, and cavity depths, glazing types and orientations were utilized. A computer dynamic modelling was utilized in order to ensure accurate calculations and efficient simulations of the various DSF systems due to the complex nature of the various functions within the Facade cavity. Through the use of the dynamic thermal modelling simulations, the best cavity size glazed type and orientation were determined to lead to a detailed analysis of the efficiency of each respective combination of Double-Skin Facade construction. As such the optimal facade combination for use within an office building located in a maritime desert climate was identified. Results demonstrated that a multi-story Facade, depending on its configuration, save up to 5% on annual cooling loads respect to a Corridor Facade and while vented can save unto 12% when compared to the single skin facade, on annual cooling load in the maritime desert climate. The selected configuration of the DSF from SSF saves an overall annual cooling load of 32%.

Keywords: computer dynamics modelling, comparative analysis, energy computation, double skin facade, single skin curtain wall, maritime desert climate

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Authors: Abenezer Nigussie

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Strategic control practice is a critical exercise, as it provides a sturdy influence towards firms or production partners to achieve the full implementation of effective predetermined plans. The importance of strategic control in a company is often measured by observing the relationship between strategic management and organizational performance. The conventional philosophy of strategic control in academia and the industry places significant emphasis on the ability to plan and execute initiatives. In contrast, the same emphasis on strategic management has received less attention in the housing industry. Although the pressures of project performance can often obscure the wider social, economic, and professional context in which strategic management is undertaken, it is these broad contextual areas that make strategic control a vital issue for construction businesses. Rapidly changing social and technological issues are creating an informed environment that will appear very different in the coming decades from what is experienced in today’s companies. Construction project activity is not adequately led by strategic management tools; projects are mostly executed through simple plans and schedules. The issues that this thesis addresses and solves involve the successful accompaniment of the construction project process through these strategic management tools. The second important aspect is an evaluation of project activity, which is mostly done through simple economic and technical valuation. However, during this research, effective strategic management tools are evaluated and suggested for the assessment of project activities. The research introduces a study of the current strategic management practices of construction companies and also presents the concept of strategic management and the areas that companies need to address to compete in the global market. A summary of an industry survey is documented along with the historical research that prompted the investigation of these topics with a focus on the implementation of tools. Strategic management is a concept that concerns making decisions and taking corrective actions to achieve the future goals and objectives of a company. The objective of this paper is to review the practice of strategic management in construction companies. Questionnaires were distributed to major construction companies listed under categories of each project capable of specifying the complete expression of strategic management tools. Findings of the research showed that the majority of development companies practice strategic management tools in the process and implementation of each tool.

Keywords: strategic management, management, analysis, project management

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Authors: Lam Hong Lan, Gabor Sarlos

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It is hard to search for best practices in promotion for local fashion brands in Vietnam as the industry is still very young. Local fashion start-ups have grown quickly in the last five years, thanks in part to the internet and social media. However, local designer/owners can face a huge challenge when competing with international brands in the Vietnamese market – and few local case studies are available for guidance. In response, this paper studied how local small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) promote to their target customers in order to compete with international brands. Knowledge of both successful and unsuccessful approaches generated by this study is intended to both contribute to the academic literature on local fashion in Vietnam as well as to help local designers to learn from and improve their brand-building strategy. The primary study featured qualitative data collection via semi-structured depth interviews. Transcription and data analysis were conducted manually in order to identify success factors that local brands should consider as part of their promotion strategy. Purposive sampling of SMEs identified five designers in Ho Chi Minh City (the biggest city in Vietnam) and three designers in Hanoi (the second biggest) as interviewees. Participant attributes included: born in the 1980s or 1990s; familiar with internet and social media; designer/owner of a successful local fashion brand in the key middle market and/or mass market segments (which are crucial to the growth of local brands). A secondary study was conducted using social listening software to gather further qualitative data on what were considered to be successful or unsuccessful approaches to local fashion brand promotion on social media. Both the primary and secondary studies indicated that local designers had maximized their promotion budget by using owned media and earned media instead of paid media. Findings from the qualitative interviews indicate that internet and social media have been used as effective promotion platforms by local fashion start-ups. Facebook and Instagram were the most popular social networks used by the SMEs interviewed, and these social platforms were believed to offer a more affordable promotional strategy than traditional media such as TV and/or print advertising. Online stores were considered an important factor in helping the SMEs to reach customers beyond the physical store. Furthermore, a successful online store allowed some SMEs to reduce their business rental costs by maintaining their physical store in a cheaper, less central city area as opposed to a more traditional city center store location. In addition, the small comparative size of the SMEs allowed them to be more attentive to their customers, leading to higher customer satisfaction and rate of return. In conclusion, this study found that these kinds of cost savings helped the SMEs interviewed to focus their scarce resources on producing unique, high-quality collections in order to differentiate themselves from international brands. Facebook and Instagram were the main platforms used for promotion and brand-building. The main challenge to this promotion strategy identified by the SMEs interviewed was to continue to find innovative ways to maximize the impact of a limited marketing budget.

Keywords: Vietnam, SMEs, fashion brands, promotion, marketing, social listening

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Authors: Tzong-Shing Cheng, Chen Pei Chen, Shu-Wei Chen

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The purpose of this research is to apply Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to investigate the factors that influence elementary school teacher’s behavior of using e-books. Based on the literature review, a questionnaire was modified and used to test the elementary school teachers in Changhua. A total of 420 questionnaires were administered and 364 of them were returned, including 328 valid and 36 invalid questionnaires. The effective response rate is 78%. The methods of data analysis include descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and simple regression analysis. The results show that: 1. There were significant difference in the Elementary school teachers’ “Performance Expectancy”, “Effort Expectancy”, “Social Influence”, and “Facilitating Conditions” depending on their different “Demographic Variables”. 2. “Performance Expectancy” and “Behavioral Intention to Use” are positively correlated. 3. “Effort Expectancy” and “Behavioral Intention to Use” are positively correlated. 4. There was no significant relationship between “Social Influence” and “Behavioral Intention to Use”. 5. There was significant relationship between “Facilitating Conditions” and “Use Behavior”.

Keywords: e-books, UTAUT, elementary school teacher, behavioral intention to use

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Authors: Ganesh Prasad Mishra, Kusum Lata Mishra

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Structural, organizational ambidexterity influences along with transformational leadership (TL) in the firms to endure viability in conditions of environmental volatility, high level of uncertainty, and possible turbulence. Combining shreds of evidence from the study of N=693 employees of a large private multi-conglomerate organization in the Middle East, we tested whether social astuteness interceded the effects of (TL) on structural, organizational ambidexterity (SOA). Other tested areas were whether status incongruence moderated transformational leadership and structural, organizational ambidexterity relationships. After analyzing through Hierarchically Linear Modelling, we found that social astuteness interceded the effects of TL on SOA, and similarly, status incongruence moderated relationships between TL and SOA. The association between TL and SOA was found to be less encouraging with a high level of status incongruence, and their relationship was strengthened by a lower level of status incongruence. We tested the hypothesized theoretical framework that articulates the conditions under which the social astuteness ideology infused in transformational leadership for achieving higher structural and organizational ambidexterity will likely occur. Findings, suggestions, and future directions for research have been deliberated in detail.

Keywords: transformational leadership, social astuteness, status incongruence, relationship, structural organizational ambidexterity.

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Authors: Thomas Compton

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As Decolonialism becomes an important topic in Political Theory, the rupture between the colonized and the colonist relation has lost attention. Focusing on the anti-colonial activist Madhi Amel, we shall consider his attention to the permanence of the colonial relation and how it preempts Frank Wilderson’s formulation of (white) culturally necessary Anti-Black violence. Both projects draw attention away from empirical accounts of oppression, instead focusing on the structural relation which precipitates them. As Amel says that we should stop thinking of the ‘underdeveloped’ as beyond the colonial relation, Wilderson says we should stop think of the Black rights that have surpassed the role of the slave. However, Amel moves beyond his idol Althusser’s Structuralism toward a formulation of the colonial relation as source of domination. Our analysis will take a Lacanian turn in considering how this non-relation was formulated as a relation how this space of negativity became a ideological opportunity for Colonial domination. Wilderson’s work shall problematise this as we conclude with his criticisms of Structural accounts for the failure to consider how Black social death exists as more than necessity but a cite of white desire. Amel, a Lebanese activist and scholar (re)discovered by Hicham Safieddine, argues colonialism is more than the theft of land, but instead a privatization of collective property and form of investment which (re)produces the status of the capitalist in spaces ‘outside’ the market. Although Amel was a true Marxist-Leninsist, who exposited the economic determinacy of the Colonial Mode of Production, we are reading this account through Alenka Zupančič’s reformulation of the ‘invisible hand job of the market’. Amel points to the signifier ‘underdeveloped’ as buttressed on a pre-colonial epistemic break, as the Western investor (debt collector) sees the (post?) colony narcissistic image. However, the colony can never become site of class conflict, as the workers are not unified but existing between two countries. In industry, they are paid in Colonial subjectivisation, the promise of market (self)pleasure, at home, they are refugees. They are not, as Wilderson states, in the permanent social death of the slave, but they are less than the white worker. This is formulated as citizen (white), non-citizen (colonized), anti-citizen (Black/slave). Here we may also think of how indentured Indians were used as instruments of colonial violence. Wilderson’s aphorism “there is no analogy to anti-Black violence” lays bare his fundamental opposition between colonial and specifically anti-Black violence. It is not only that the debt collector, landowner, or other owners of production pleasures themselves as if their hand is invisible. The absolute negativity between colony and colonized provides a new frontier for desire, the development of a colonial mode of production. An invention inside the colonial structure that is generative of class substitution. We shall explore how Amel ignores the role of the slave but how Wilderson forecloses the history African anti-colonial.

Keywords: afropessimism, fanon, marxism, postcolonialism

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Authors: Nicholas Pearce, Eun-jin Kim

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Pathologies of the cardiovascular (CV) system remain a serious and deadly health problem for human society. Computational modelling provides a relatively accessible tool for diagnosis, treatment, and research into CV disorders. However, numerical models of the CV system have largely focused on the function of the ventricles, frequently overlooking the behaviour of the atria. Furthermore, in the study of the pressure-volume relationship of the heart, which is a key diagnosis of cardiac vascular pathologies, previous works often evoke popular yet questionable time-varying elastance (TVE) method that imposes the pressure-volume relationship instead of calculating it consistently. Despite the convenience of the TVE method, there have been various indications of its limitations and the need for checking its validity in different scenarios. A model of the combined left ventricle (LV) and left atrium (LA) is presented, which consistently considers various feedback mechanisms in the heart without having to use the TVE method. Specifically, a synergistic model of the left ventricle is extended and modified to include the function of the LA. The synergy of the original model is preserved by modelling the electro-mechanical and chemical functions of the micro-scale myofiber for the LA and integrating it with the microscale and macro-organ-scale heart dynamics of the left ventricle and CV circulation. The atrioventricular node function is included and forms the conduction pathway for electrical signals between the atria and ventricle. The model reproduces the essential features of LA behaviour, such as the two-phase pressure-volume relationship and the classic figure of eight pressure-volume loops. Using this model, disorders in the internal cardiac electrical signalling are investigated by recreating the mechano-electric feedback (MEF), which is impossible where the time-varying elastance method is used. The effects of AV node block and slow conduction are then investigated in the presence of an atrial arrhythmia. It is found that electrical disorders and arrhythmia in the LA degrade the CV system by reducing the cardiac output, power, and heart rate.

Keywords: cardiovascular system, left atrium, numerical model, MEF

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Authors: A. P. Puvanasvaran, Suresh A. L. Vasu, N. Norazlin

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The Lean Environmental Management Integration System (LEMIS) framework development is integration between lean core element and ISO 14001. The curiosity on the relationship between continuous improvement and sustainability of lean implementation has influenced this study toward LEMIS. Characteristic of ISO 14001 standard clauses and core elements of lean principles are explored from past studies and literature reviews. Survey was carried out on ISO 14001 certified companies to examine continual improvement by implementing the ISO 14001 standard. The study found that there is a significant and positive relationship between Lean Principles: value, value stream, flow, pull and perfection with the ISO 14001 requirements. LEMIS is significant to support the continuous improvement and sustainability. The integration system can be implemented to any manufacturing company. It gives awareness on the importance on why organizations need to sustain its Environmental management system. At the meanwhile, the lean principle can be adapted in order to streamline daily activities of the company. Throughout the study, it had proven that there is no sacrifice or trade-off between lean principles with ISO 14001 requirements. The framework developed in the study can be further simplified in the future, especially the method of crossing each sub requirements of ISO 14001 standard with the core elements of Lean principles in this study.

Keywords: LEMIS, ISO 14001, integration, framework

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Authors: Yulia Kasperskaya, Ramon Xifré

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Budgetary procedures are considered to be important for countries’ fiscal performance. The objective of this paper is to analyze this relationship for the OECD countries in the wake of global economic crisis taking into consideration countries’ fiscal conditions and institutional arrangements. We test whether groups of countries that are fiscally different after the crisis differ in their use of budgetary procedures including performance budgeting, transparency mechanisms and medium-term expenditure framework. For this purpose, we classify OECD countries in two groups according to the variations, in debt to GDP ratio between 2008 and 2014. We then analyze the intensity of use of budget procedures taking into account countries’ economic conditions during the crisis. Our first finding is that there is no monotonic relationship between the intensity of use of these three budgetary procedures and enhanced fiscal performance. Countries showing similar fiscal performance scored differently in terms of on budgetary procedures. We, therefore, review the budgetary frameworks and trajectories of several countries that are fiscally sound. From this qualitative analysis, we derive a set of factors that may enhance the efficiency of budgetary procedures. This suggests that a given budgetary procedure may have different effects in different countries depending on their economic and administrative settings. Our results are thus in line with those studies that reject one-size-fits-all approaches.

Keywords: budget procedures, fiscal performance, OECD, performance budgeting

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Authors: Subas Chandra Biswas, Kazi Sameen Naser, Farzana Misha

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Little is known about the sexual behavior of male youth, particularly unmarried young men in Bangladesh as most of the sexual and reproductive health and rights-related research and intervention are mainly focused on females and married couples. To understand the unmarried youth’s sexual behavior, data from a nationwide survey conducted in all 64 districts of Bangladesh were analyzed. Using multistage systematic random sampling, a survey was conducted among 11,113 male youth aged 15-24 years from May-August, 2019. This article analyzed and presented findings of the sexual behavior of unmarried respondents based on the data collected from 10,026 unmarried male youth. Findings showed that 18% had ever experience of sexual relationship, and the reported mean age of first sexual intercourse was 16.5years. For unmarried male youth, those who had a sexual experience, their first sexual partners were female friends/classmate (57%), female neighbors (16%), and female sex workers (12%), relatives (6%) and girlfriends with whom they had love relationship (4%). However, about 36% reported that they had a love relationship with girlfriends, and among them, 23% reported that they had sexual intercourse with their girlfriend. Those who had sexual relations with their girlfriend, 47% reported that they did not use the condom in their last sex with their girlfriend. Furthermore, 29% reported that they had sexual relationships with others besides their girlfriends. Other reported partners were female sex workers (32%), neighbors (29%), female friends (19%), relatives (12%), and cousins (5%). Also, 46% reported that they did not even use the condom during sex with other partners. About 9% used some sort of sexual stimulant to increase their libido. Among the respondents, 376 reported that they bought sex in the last six months, and the mean expenditure of buying sex for the respondent was 1,140 Taka (13.46 US Dollar). Though premarital sexual relations are not socially accepted, findings showed a large portion of male youth are engaged in these relationships and risky sexual behavior. Lack of awareness of sexual and reproductive health, unprotected sexual intercourse, use of the drug during sexual intercourse also increase the threats to health. Thus these findings are important to understand the sexual behavior of male youth in policy and programmatic implications. Therefore, to ensure a healthy sexual life and wellbeing, an immediate and culturally sensitive sexual health promotion intervention is needed for male youth in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Bangladesh, male youth, sexual and reproductive health, sexual behavior

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Authors: Divyanshi Singh

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Women’s right to have choices, sense of self-worth and their right to have access to opportunities have been a subject of serious concern. The health of women and their children in Indian society is adversely affected by the woman’s inferior status within households. The level of human development in society is a reflection of the better status of a woman, which has a clear impact on the usage of contraceptive methods and maternal health. The study is an attempt to assess the performance of Indian states on the parameters of levels of development and to see how the developmental trajectory is influencing the choice for contraception and maternal health. The objective of the paper is to study the relationship between usage of contraception, maternal health and levels of human development in Indian states. Data from NFHS-4th round, AHS (2012-13) and census 2011 is used. Three indicators of human development (effective literacy, infant mortality and gross district domestic product) have been taken. Maternal health for the study has been measured in MMR, IMR and pregnancy resulted in abortions, stillbirths and miscarriage. The multiple regression analysis has been done to analyze the relationship between them. The Developmental factor is found to be greatly influencing the choice of family planning and thus they both show strong relation with maternal health.

Keywords: human development, contraceptive usage, maternal health, effective literacy

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Authors: Mary Titilayo Olowe

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The controversies that trailed the political campaign and eventual choice of Donald Trump as the American president is so great that expectations are high as to what the content of his inaugural speech will portray. Given the fact that language is a dynamic vehicle of expressing intentions, the speech needs to be objectively assessed so as to access its content in the manner intended through the three strands of meaning postulated by the Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG): the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual. The focus of this paper, however, is on the interpersonal meaning which deals with how language exhibits social roles and relationship. This paper, therefore, attempts to analyse President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech to elicit interpersonal meaning in it. The analysis is done from the perspective of mood and modality which are housed in SFG. Results of the mood choice which is basically declarative, reveal an information-centered speech while the high option for the modal verb operator ‘will’ shows president Donald Trump’s ability to establish an equal and reliant relationship with his audience, i.e., the Americans. In conclusion, the appeal of the speech to different levels of Interpersonal meaning is largely responsible for its overall effectiveness. One can, therefore, understand the reason for the massive reaction it generates at the center of global discourse.

Keywords: interpersonal, modality, mood, systemic functional grammar

Procedia PDF Downloads 207