Search results for: impact on female workers

Authors: Minakshi Jain, Sachin Yadav

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Gram Panchayat is the smallest unit of Democracy in India. Grassroots Democracy has been further strengthened by implementation of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment act (CAA) in 1992. To analyse the impact of grassroots democracy the three villages are selected, which have the representation of each section of the society. The selected villages belongs to the same block and district of Haryana state. Villages are selected to access the marginalized group such as women and other backward class. These groups are isolated and do not participate in the grassroots level development process. The caste continue to be a relevant factor in determining the rural leadership. The earlier models of Panchayati Raj failed to benefit the marginalized groups of the society. The 73rd CAA, advocates a uniform three tier system of Panchayat at District level (Zilla Panchayat), Taluka/Block level (Block Panchayat), and village level (Gram Panchayat). The socio-economic profile of representatives in each village is important factor in rural development. The study will highlight the socio-economic profile of elected members at gram Panchayat level, Block Level and District level. The analysis reveals that there is a need to educate and develop the capacity and capability of the elected representative. Training must be imparted to all of them to enable them to function as per provision in the act. The paper will analyse the impact of act on rural development than propose some measures to further strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI’s) at grassroots level.

Keywords: democracy, rural development, marginalized people, function

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Authors: Hatem Radwan Ibrahim Radwan

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Leadership is crucial for hotel survival and success. It enables hotels to develop and compete effectively. This research intends to explore the implementation of six leadership styles by frontline hotel managers in four star hotels in Cairo and assess its impact on employees’ creativity and organizational commitment. The leadership patterns considered in this study includes: democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire, transformational, transactional, and ethical leaderships. Questionnaire was used as a research method to gather data. A structured survey was established and distributed on employees in Cairo’s four star hotels. A total of 284 questionnaire forms were returned and usable for statistical analysis. The results of this study identified that transactional and autocratic leadership were the prevalent styles used in four star hotels in Cairo. Two leadership styles proved to have significant high correlation and impact on employees’ creativity and organizational commitment including: transformational and democratic leadership. Besides, laissez-faire leadership was found had a smaller effect on employees’ creativity and ethical leadership had a lesser influence on employees’ commitment. The autocratic leadership had strong negative correlation and significant impact on both dependent variables. This research concludes that frontline hotel managers should adopt transformational and/or democratic leadership style in managing their subordinates.

Keywords: creativity, hotels, leadership styles, organizational commitment

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Authors: Gustavo Menezes De Souza Melo, Arnaud Heitz, Johannes Henrich Schleifenbaum

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Additive manufacturing is a growing market that is taking over in many industries as it offers numerous advantages like new design possibilities, weight-saving solutions, ease of manufacture, and simplification of assemblies. These are all unquestionable technical or financial assets. As to the environmental aspect, additive manufacturing is often discussed whether it is the best solution to decarbonize our industries or if conventional manufacturing remains cleaner. This work presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) comparison based on the technological case of a motorbike swing-arm. We compare the original equipment manufacturer part made with conventional manufacturing (CM) methods to an additive manufacturing (AM) version printed using the laser powder bed fusion process. The AM version has been modified and optimized to achieve better dynamic performance without any regard to weight saving. Lightweight not being a priority in the creation of the 3D printed part brings us a unique perspective in this study. To achieve the LCA, we are using the open-source life cycle, and sustainability software OpenLCA combined with the ReCiPe 2016 at midpoint and endpoint level method. This allows the calculation and the presentation of the results through indicators such as global warming, water use, resource scarcity, etc. The results are then showing the relative impact of the AM version compared to the CM one and give us a key to understand and answer questions about the environmental sustainability of additive manufacturing.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, environmental impact, life cycle assessment, laser powder bed fusion

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Authors: D. Karibasavaraja, Ramesh M.R., Sufiyan Ahmed, Noyonika M.R., Sameeksha A. V., Mamatha J., Samiksha S. Urs

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This research paper gives an overview of the experimental analysis of natural fibers with polymer composite. The whole world is concerned about conserving the environment. Henceforth, the demand for natural and decomposable materials is increasing. The application of natural fibers is widely used in aerospace for manufacturing aircraft bodies, and ship construction in navy fields. Based on the literature review, researchers and scientists are replacing synthetic fibers with natural fibers. The selection of these fibers mainly depends on lightweight, easily available, and economical and has its own physical and chemical properties and many other properties that make them a fine quality fiber. The pineapple fiber has desirable properties of good mechanical strength, high cellulose content, and fiber length. Hybrid composite was prepared using different proportions of pineapple fiber and banana fiber, and their ratios were varied in 90% polypropylene mixed with 5% banana fiber and 5% pineapple fiber, 85% polypropylene mixed with 7.5% banana fiber and 7.5% pineapple fiber and 80% polypropylene mixed with 10% banana fiber and 10% pineapple fiber. By impact experimental analysis, we concluded that the combination of 90% polypropylene and 5% banana fiber and 5% pineapple fiber exhibits a higher toughness value with mechanical strength. We also conducted scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis which showed better fiber orientation bonding between the banana and pineapple fibers with polypropylene composites. The main aim of the present research is to evaluate the properties of pineapple fiber and banana fiber reinforced with hybrid polypropylene composites.

Keywords: toughness, fracture, impact strength, banana fibers, pineapple fibers, tensile strength, SEM analysis

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Authors: Alpa Mehta

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Talent acquisition, development, and retention are major issues encountered in the health care industries in any country. Recent authentic data showed that employee turnover in the field of health care is increasing day by day compare to other industrial sectors. There are many reasons behind retention issues. One of such can be the lack of involvement and engagement of health workers in day to day HRM. Health care is a noble profession and employee has to deal with the patient with the optimum level of satisfaction and productivity. So employee morale and motivation should be high. This area of concern is mostly ignored by management, and ultimately it turns into dissatisfaction and abandonment in search of other jobs. The paper analyses the HRM tools to retain healthcare employee with high moral through employee involvement. The paper includes the case study of One of the Prominent Health care institute of India has found out a way to retain talented employees in the organization with the tool of employee engagement.

Keywords: employee involvement, health care industry, human resources management, talent retention

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Authors: Babatunde Akeem Lawal

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In any organization, the primary aim is to maximize profit, but the major challenges facing them is the increase in cost of operation because of this there is increase in cost of production that could lead to inevitable cost control and cost reduction scheme which make it difficult for most organizations to operate at the cost efficient frontier. The study aims to critically examine and evaluate the application of cost control and cost reduction in organization performance and also to review budget as an effective tool of cost control and cost reduction. A descriptive survey research was adopted. A total number of 40 respondent retrieved were used for the study. The analysis of data collected was undertaken by applying appropriate statistical tools. Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis with the use of SPSS. Based on the findings; it was evident that cost control has a positive impact on organizational performance and also the style of management has a positive impact on organizational performance.

Keywords: organization, cost reduction, cost control, performance, budget, profit

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Authors: Majed Alshaibani

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Social media has emerged as a serious contender to TV news networks in Saudi Arabia. The growing usage of social media as a source of news and information has led to significant impact on the content presented by the news networks in Saudi Arabia. This study explored the various ways in which social media has influenced content aired on Saudi news networks. Data were collected by using semi structured interviews with 13 journalists and content editors working for four Saudi TV news networks and six senior academic experts on TV and media teaching in Saudi universities. The findings of the study revealed that social media has affected four aspects of the content on Saudi TV news networks. As a result the content aired on Saudi news networks is more neutral, real time, diverse in terms of sources and includes content on broader subjects and from different parts of the world. This research concludes that social media has contributed positively and significantly to improving the content on Saudi TV news networks.

Keywords: TV news networks, Saudi Arabia, social media, media content

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Authors: Suyeon Bae, Abimbola Asojo, Denise Guerin, Caren Martin

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Post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) have been recognized for documenting occupant well-being and responses to indoor environmental quality (IEQ) factors such as thermal, lighting, and acoustic conditions. Sustainable Post-Occupancy evaluation survey (SPOES) developed by an interdisciplinary team at a Midwest University provides an evidence-based quantitative analysis of occupants’ satisfaction in office, classroom, and residential spaces to help direct attention to successful areas and areas that need improvement in buildings. SPOES is a self-administered and Internet-based questionnaire completed by building occupants. In this study, employees in three different office buildings rated their satisfaction on a Likert-type scale about 12 IEQ criteria including thermal condition, indoor air quality, acoustic quality, daylighting, electric lighting, privacy, view conditions, furnishings, appearance, cleaning and maintenance, vibration and movement, and technology. Employees rated their level of satisfaction on a Likert-type scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 7 (very satisfied). They also rate the influence of their physical environment on their perception of their work performance and the impact of their primary workspaces on their health on a scale from 1 (hinders) to 7 (enhances). Building A is a three-story building that includes private and group offices, classrooms, and conference rooms and amounted to 55,000 square-feet for primary workplace (N=75). Building B, a six-story building, consisted of private offices, shared enclosed office, workstations, and open desk areas for employees and amounted to 14,193 square-feet (N=75). Building C is a three-story 56,000 square-feet building that included classrooms, therapy rooms, an outdoor playground, gym, restrooms, and training rooms for clinicians (N=76). The results indicated that 10 IEQs for Building A except acoustic quality and privacy showed statistically significant correlations on the impact of the primary workspace on health. In Building B, 11 IEQs except technology showed statistically significant correlations on the impact of the primary workspace on health. Building C had statistically significant correlations between all 12 IEQ and the employees’ perception of the impact of their primary workspace on their health in two-tailed correlations (P ≤ 0.05). Out of 33 statistically significant correlations, 25 correlations (76%) showed at least moderate relationship (r ≥ 0.35). For the three buildings, daylighting, furnishings, and indoor air quality IEQs ranked highest on the impact on health. IEQs about vibration and movement, view condition, and electric lighting ranked second, followed by IEQs about cleaning and maintenance and appearance. These results imply that 12 IEQs developed in SPOES are highly related to employees’ perception of how their primary workplaces impact their health. The IEQs in this study offer an opportunity for improving occupants’ well-being and the built environment.

Keywords: post-occupancy evaluation, built environment, sustainability, well-being, indoor air quality

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Authors: Jacqueline Kunzelman, Val Anderson, Robert Johnson, Nicholas Anderson, Rebecca Bates

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In an effort to protect honeybees from colony collapse disorder, beekeepers are filing for government permits to use natural lands as summer pasture for honeybees under the multiple-use management regime in the United States. Utilizing natural landscapes in high mountain ranges may help strengthen honeybee colonies, as this natural setting is generally void of chemical pollutants and pesticides that are found in agricultural and urban settings. However, the introduction of a competitive species could greatly impact the native species occupying these natural landscapes. While honeybees and butterflies have different life histories, behavior, and foraging strategies, they compete for the same nectar resources. Few, if any, studies have focused on the potential population effects of commercial honeybees on native butterfly abundance and diversity. This study attempts to observe this impact using a paired before-after control-impact (BACI) design. Over the course of two years, malaise trap samples were collected every week during the months of the flowering season in two similar areas separated by 11 kilometers. Each area contained nine malaise trap sites for replication. In the first year, samples were taken to analyze and establish trends within the pollinating communities. In the second year, honeybees were introduced to only one of the two areas, and a change in trends between the two areas was assessed. Contrary to the original hypothesis, the resulting observation was an overall significant increase in the mean butterfly abundance in the impact areas after honeybees were introduced, while control areas remained relatively stable. This overall increase in abundance over the season can be attributed to an increase in butterflies during the first and second periods of the data collection when populations were near their peak. Several potential theories are 1) Honeybees are deterring a natural predator/competitor of butterflies that previously limited population growth. 2) Honeybees are consuming resources regularly used by butterflies, which may extend the foraging time and consequent capture rates of butterflies. 3) Environmental factors such as number of rainy days were inconsistent between control and impact areas, biasing capture rates. This ongoing research will help determine the suitability of high mountain ranges for the summer pasturing of honeybees and the population impacts on many different pollinators.

Keywords: butterfly, competition, honeybee, pollinator

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Authors: Mohammed Asiri, Saleh Alsuwayt, Mohammed Bin Mugren, Abdulmalik Almufarrih, Tariq Alotaibi, Saad Almodameg

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Background: End-stage renal disease is a major public health concern with high incidence and mortality rate. Most of ESRD patients are on hemodialysis therapy which is a long-term treatment that disturbs patients’ lifestyle. As a result, he will be susceptible to develop psychiatric disorders like anxiety that may direct him to non-compliance on physician instructions and hemodialysis therapy. Although there are studies conducted on psychiatric issues in hemodialysis patients, but few studies focused on the effect of anxiety disorder and the patient’s compliance. Hence, we are interested in determining the prevalence of anxiety disorder among hemodialysis patients in Saudi Arabia, as well as in defining the correlation between anxiety disorder and compliance on physician instructions and hemodialysis therapy. We hypothesize that our study will show a higher prevalence of anxiety in hemodialysis patients than in general population. Also, we expect the anxiety to have a negative impact on their compliance. Methodology: We used a cross-sectional study design carried out at dialysis unit of four major hospitals in Riyadh, KSA. We interviewed 235 End Stage Renal Disease male and female patients who are on hemodialysis. We divided the patients into two categories according to their compliance. we used modified general questionnaire to get their demographic data, then we used a psychometric response scale called visual analog scale (VAS) to assess patient’s compliance to hemodialysis and physician’s instructions. Also, we used the Arabic validated version of the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HAD scale) used mainly for anxiety assessment. Results: The overall response rate was 54%. Respondents included 147 (62.6%) males and 88 (37.4%) females. The prevalence of anxiety among hemodialysis patients is 13.3%. According to visual analog scale, we found that 189 compliant patients and 45 non-compliant patients. For HAD scale, the mean ± standard deviation of the total score for females was (4.44 ± 4.7) and it’s higher than males which was 2.65 ± 3.08 (P-value= 0.002). The mean ± standard deviation of HAD score in the non-compliant group was (5.88  4.88) and it was higher than the compliant group (2.7  3.32) (P-value= 0.004). Among non-complaint group, 33.3% of anxious patients were males and 66.6% were females. There was a negative correlation between HAD score of anxiety and visual analog scale (R= - 0.285). Conclusion: We conclude that there is a high prevalence of anxiety among patients with End Stage Renal Disease that was higher in females with association of non-compliance to physician’s instructions and hemodialysis therapy.

Keywords: anxiety, end-stage renal disease, renal failure, anxiety disorder

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Authors: Firas A. N. Al-Dalabih

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This study aims at identifying the level of disclosure of intellectual capital at the Jordanian development banks. The study sample composed of (100) individuals working at the National Bank to Finance Small Projects around the different governorates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A questionnaire has been prepared and distributed over the study sample. (95) Questionnaires have been retrieved; valid for the statistical analysis purposes with a percentage of (95%). The study results showed that the level of disclosure of intellectual capital with all its dimensions (human capital, customer capital and structural capital) at the Jordanian development banks was of a high level. The results also showed that there is a high level of awareness performed by the Jordanian development banks’ employees in regard to the necessity and importance of the intellectual capital’s disclosure. The study was concluded with a number of recommendations among which were that the Jordanian development banks shall take notice toward increasing their workers’ awareness regarding the importance of intellectual capital’s disclosure, as well as applying this study over commercial and Islamic banks for the purposes of carrying out a comparison between them and the development banks.

Keywords: intellectual capital, Jordanian development banks, the level of disclosure

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Authors: Timo Avikainen, Tuukka Verho

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The use of natural fibers as reinforcements is growing increasingly in polymers which are involved in e.g. structural, vibration, and acoustic applications. The use of bio composites is being investigated as lightweight materials with specific properties like the ability to dissipate vibration energy and positive environmental profile and are thus considered as potential replacements for synthetic composites. The macro-level mechanical properties of the biocomposite material depend on several parameters in the detailed architecture and morphology of the reinforcing fiber structure. The polymer matrix phase is often applied to remain the fiber structure in touch. A big role in the packaging details of the fibers is related to the used manufacturing processes like extrusion, injection molding and treatments. There are typically big variances in the detailed parameters of the microstructure fibers. The study addressed the question of how the multiscale simulation methodology works in bio composites with short pulp fibers. The target is to see how the vibro – acoustic performance of thin–walled panels can be controlled by the detailed characteristics of the fiber material. Panels can be used in sound-producing speakers or sound insulation applications. The multiscale analysis chain is tested starting from the microstructural level and continuing via macrostructural material parameters to the product component part/assembly levels. Another application is the dynamic impact type of loading, exposing the material to the crack type damages that is in this study modeled as the Charpy impact tests.

Keywords: bio composite, pulp fiber, vibration, acoustics, impact, FEM

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Authors: S. Pullteap, M. Pathomsuriyaporn

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In this article, a study of employee’s opinion to the factors that affect to the flood preventive and the corrective action plan in an electronic industry at the Sharp Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. has been investigated. The surveys data of 175 workers and supervisors have, however, been selected for data analysis. The results is shown that the employees emphasize about the needs in a subsidy at the time of disaster at high levels of 77.8%, as the plan focusing on flood prevention of the rehabilitation equipment is valued at the intermediate level, which is 79.8%. Demonstration of the hypothesis has found that the different education levels has thus been affected to the needs factor at the flood disaster time. Moreover, most respondents give priority to flood disaster risk management factor. Consequently, we found that the flood prevention plan is valued at high level, especially on information monitoring, which is 93.4% for the supervisor item. The respondents largely assume that the flood will have impacts on the industry, up to 80%, thus to focus on flood management plans is enormous.

Keywords: flood prevention plan, flood event, electronic industrial plant, disaster, risk management

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Authors: Lavina N. Bhaskar, Ashima Tiwari

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In the endeavour of connecting culture to stories, textile to narratives and people to material, authors analyse the impact of narratives in two popular Indian textiles namely - Mata Ni Pachedi and Pabuji Ki Phad. These textiles narrate people’s tale or Folk tale. Each textile has a style or format in which the story is told (and it is visual). Mata Ni Pachedi, when translated into the English language literally means behind the mother goddess. Mata Ni Pachedi is an Indian textile from the province of Gujarat which constitutes an entire temple of the goddess, with the idol herself in it. On the other hand, Pabuji ki Phad is scroll painting of folk deities of Rajasthan, narrated by Bhopas (the Priest singers of Rajasthan). These textiles narrate stories of ordinary people with extraordinary courage, of social reform, and people’s belief in the divine. Authors take to task their years of craft-cluster study conducted in the past and use existing literature to map their journey in the preliminary phase of research. And then carried out an ethnographic study by visiting the origins of these textiles in Rajasthan and Gujrat (in India), met artisans and their families who are still practicing these dying art form, in order to understand the format and impact of textile story-telling. This research paper talks about the narrative in Indian textiles; the stories in them, artisans and their life as metaphorical representations of the People in Mata Ni Pachedi and Pabuji Ki Phad.

Keywords: cultural derivatives, folk-tale, Indo-Narratives, Indology

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Authors: Mojdeh Mardani, Robert Stupnisky

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Microaggressions are discriminatory and degrading slights manifested from negative and often unconscious beliefs about marginalised groups, including women and people of colour. This quantitative research analyses survey data collected from 10 USA Universities. This research presents the impacts of microaggressions on productivity and motivation of Underrepresented Minority (URM) faculty, especially women and those with intersecting marginalized identities, such as women who identify with a race other than white. Results of this study revealed that on average, URM women were 50% more susceptible to gender microaggressions, which correlated negatively with autonomy and competence, and positively with a motivation.

Keywords: gender microaggressions, gender discrimination, underrepresented minority, female faculty, URM faculty, motivation, productivity, STEM

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Authors: Janusz Kwaśniewski, Ireneusz Dominik, Krzysztof Lalik

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The knowledge about rock layers thickness, especially above drilled mining pavements are crucial for workers safety. The measuring systems used nowadays are generally imperfect and there is a strong demand for improvement. The application of a new type of a measurement system called Self-Excited Acoustical System is presented in the paper. The system was applied until now to monitor stress changes in metal and concrete constructions. The change in measurement methodology resulted in possibility of measuring the thickness of the rocks above the tunnels as well as thickness of a singular rock layer. The idea is to find two resonance frequencies of the self-exited system, which consists of a vibration exciter and vibration receiver placed at a distance, which are coupled with a proper power amplifier, and which operate in a closed loop with a positive feedback. The resonance with the higher amplitude determines thickness of the whole rock, whereas the lower amplitude resonance indicates thickness of a singular layer. The results of the laboratory tests conducted on a group of different rock materials are also presented.

Keywords: auto-oscillator, non-destructive testing, rock thickness measurement, geotechnic

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Authors: Aron Miranda Burgos, Ergon Cugler de Moraes Silva

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In the present article, it is observed that the constant advancement of issues related to misinformation impacts the guarantee of the public policy cycle. Thus, it is found that the dissemination of false information has a direct influence on each of the component stages of this cycle. Therefore, in order to maintain scientific and theoretical credibility in the qualitative analysis process, it was necessary to logically interpose the concepts of firehosing of falsehood, fake news, public policy cycle, as well as using the epistemological and pragmatic mechanism at the intersection of such academic concepts, such as the scientific method. It was found, through the analysis of official documents and public notes, how the multiple theoretical perspectives evidence the commitment of the provision and elaboration of public policies, verifying the way in which the fake news impact each part of the process in this atmosphere.

Keywords: firehosing of falsehood, governance, misinformation, post-truth

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Authors: Rooma Rani

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The education is really important for the improvement of physical and mental well-being of the school students. It is used to express inner potential, acquire knowledge, develop skills, shape habits, attitudes, values, belief, etc. along with providing strengths and resilience to people to changing situations and allowing them to develop all those capacities which will enable individual to control surrounding environment. Education has a significant effect on the behavior of individuals which helps us in the new situations of everyday life. Educating the child is directing the child’s capacities, attitudes interest, urges, and needs into the most desirable channels. We are the part of 21st century and now a day emotional intelligence is considered more important than intelligence in the success of a person. Success depends on several intelligences and on the control of emotions too. Emotional Intelligence, like general intelligence is the product of one’s heredity and its interaction with his environmental forces. There are certain methods evolved in modern researches. Keeping in view the nature and purpose of the study, the descriptive survey method is preferred. This method is one of the important methods in education research because it describes the current position of the phenomenon under study. The term descriptive survey is generally used for the type of research which proposes to condition of practices of the present time. In the present study, a systematically random sampling method was used to select a representative sample. 50 students were selected from 2 schools. Out of 50 students, 25 were boys and 25 were girls. In the study, a) it has been found a significant difference in the level of adjustment between male and female students; b) it has been found a non-significant difference in the level of emotional intelligence between male and female students; c) it has been found a non-significant relationship between adjustment and emotional intelligence among male students; d) it has been found a significant relationship between adjustment and emotional intelligence among male students. The results of the study indicated that amongst the students those who possess high scores on emotional intelligence tests are high in level of adjustment. Measures should be adopted to improve and sustain the emotional intelligence level of students throughout their studies. Adolescent students are prone to many problems like physical, social and psychological. They need a congenial home atmosphere so that they grow into full-fledged citizens of our country. After understanding these, it helps in the development of personality which leads to a better learning situation and better thinking capacities, in turn, enhances adjustment and achievement along with a better perception of self.

Keywords: adjustment, education, emotional intelligence, students

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Authors: John Dimopoulos

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This proposal attempts a refabrication of Heidegger’s classic thing-being and object-being analysis in order to provide better ontological tools for understanding contemporary culture, technology, and society. In his work, Heidegger sought to understand and comment on the problem of technology in an era of rampant innovation and increased perils for society and the planet. Today we seem to be at another crossroads in this course, coming after postmodernity, during which dreams and dangers of modernity augmented with critical speculations of the post-war era take shape. The new era which we are now living in, referred to as hypermodernity by researchers in various fields such as architecture and cultural theory, is defined by the horizontal implementation of digital technologies, cybernetic networks, and mixed reality. Technology today is rapidly approaching a turning point, namely the point of no return for humanity’s supervision over its creations. The techno-scientific civilization of the 21st century creates a series of problems, progressively more difficult and complex to solve and impossible to ignore, climate change, data safety, cyber depression, and digital stress being some of the most prevalent. Humans often have no other option than to address technology-induced problems with even more technology, as in the case of neuron networks, machine learning, and AI, thus widening the gap between creating technological artifacts and understanding their broad impact and possible future development. As all technical disciplines and particularly design, become enmeshed in a matrix of digital hyper-objects, a conceptual toolbox that allows us to handle the new reality becomes more and more necessary. Weaponized design, prevalent in many fields, such as social and traditional media, urban planning, industrial design, advertising, and the internet in general, hints towards an increase in conflicts. These conflicts between tech companies, stakeholders, and users with implications in politics, work, education, and production as apparent in the cases of Amazon workers’ strikes, Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, Facebook and Microsoft data scandals, and more are often non-transparent to the wide public’s eye, thus consolidating new elites and technocratic classes and making the public scene less and less democratic. The new category proposed, weapon-being, is outlined in respect to the basic function of reducing complexity, subtracting materials, actants, and parameters, not strictly in favor of a humanistic re-orientation but in a more inclusive ontology of objects and subjects. Utilizing insights of Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) and its schematization of technological objects, an outline for a radical ontology of technology is approached.

Keywords: design, hypermodernity, object-oriented ontology, weapon-being

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Authors: Lindsey Giunta

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This review examines the current literature regarding the impact of COVID-19 on academic functioning and anxiety in children and adolescents. The objective was to determine the ways in which the pandemic affected youth mental health and academics, in addition to the extent that these factors were transformed as a result of the worldwide state of affairs. Twenty papers were selected and reviewed, and data showed long term consequences in youth mental health resulting from the current pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns led to disrupted childhood education, and data showed that the growth of cognitive executive functions was impacted to varying degrees dependent upon geographic location. The literature recommends supplemental education on the national level, as well as mental health promotion within communities and schools.

Keywords: pandemic, children, adolescents, anxiety, academic functioning

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Authors: Liudmila Garzanova, Lidia Ananyeva, Olga Koneva, Olga Ovsyannikova, Oxana Desinova, Mayya Starovoytova, Rushana Shayahmetova, Anna Khelkovskaya-Sergeeva

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Abstract Objectives. Rituximab (RTX) shown a positive effect in the treatment of systemic sclerosis (SSc). But there is still not enough data on comparing the effectiveness of RTX with immunosuppressants (IS). The aim of our study was to compare changes of lung function and skin score in SSc between two groups of patients (pts) - on RXT therapy (prescribed after ineffectiveness of previous therapy with IS) and on therapy with IS only. Methods. This study included 103 pts received RTX as an addition to previous therapy (group 1) and 65 pts received therapy with IS and prednisolone (group 2). The mean follow-up period was 12.6±10.7months. In group 1 the mean age was 47±12.9 years, female – 88 pts (84%), the diffuse cutaneous subset of the disease had 55 pts (53%). The mean disease duration was 6.2±5.5 years. 82% pts had interstitial lung disease (ILD) and 92% were positive for ANA, 67% of them were positive for antitopoisomerase-1. All pts received prednisolone at a dose of 11.3±4.5 mg/day, IS at inclusion received 47% of them. The cumulative mean dose of RTX was 1.7±0.6 g. In group 2 the mean age was 50.8±13.8 years, female-53 pts (82%), the diffuse cutaneous subset of the disease had 44 pts (68%). The mean disease duration was 8.8±7.7 years. 81% pts had ILD and 88% were positive for ANA, 58% of them were positive for antitopoisomerase-1. All pts received prednisolone at a dose of 8.69±4.28 mg/day, IS received 57% of them. Cyclophosphamide (CP) received 45% of pts. The cumulative mean dose of CP was 10.2±15.1g. D-penicillamine received 30% of pts. Other pts was on mycophenolate mofetil or methotrexate therapy in single cases. The pts of the compared groups did not differ in the main demographic and clinical parameters. The results are presented as delta (Δ) - difference between the baseline parameter and follow up point. Results. In group 1 there was an improvement of all outcome parameters: increased of forced vital capacity, % predicted - ΔFVC=4% (p=0.0004); Diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, % predicted remained stable (ΔDLCO=0.1%); improvement of the Rodnan skin score-ΔmRss=3.4 (p=0.001); decrease of Activity index (EScSG-AI) - ΔActivity index=1.7 (p=0.001). In group 2 the changes was insignificant: ΔFVC=-2.3%, ΔmRss=0.87, ΔActivity index=0.3. But there was a significant decrease of DLCO: ΔDLCO=-5.1% (p=0.001). Conclusion. The results of our study confirm the data on the positive effect of RTX in complex therapy in pts with SSc (decrease of skin induration, increase of FVC, stabilization of DLCO). Meantime, pts on IS and prednisolone therapy shown the worsening of lung function and insignificant changes of other clinical parameters. RTX could be considered as a more effective option in complex treatment of SSc in comparison with IS therapy

Keywords: immunosuppressants, interstitial lung disease, systemic sclerosis, rituximab

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Authors: Saima Akbar

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The global financial crisis severely and adversely impacted the Pakistanis’ financial setups with far-reaching consequences for its victims. This study aimed to analyze the various determinants of the banks’ financial performance in Pakistan. The stepwise multiple regression analysis and pre-post analysis were carried out in this regard by using SPSS ver 22. The study found that the assets quality is the most influential determinant of return over assets followed by bank size and solvency. Advances, liquidity, investments, and size have positive while poor assets quality and deposits have a negative impact on the return over assets. The comparison of the pre-crisis and post-crisis coefficient values of the independent variables revealed that the global financial crisis had exerted a significant impact on the relative ability of the financial performance determinants to explain variations in return over assets.

Keywords: pre-crisis, post-crisis, coefficient values, determinants

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Authors: Yasmine Ahmed Shemeis

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Determining the impact of productivity increases on wage levels is often difficult due to the unavailability of individual-level productivity data. Accordingly, we proxy for productivity using a self-perceived measure of health based on the postulated positive relationship between better health and productivity improvements. Using Egypt’s labour market data for the years 2012 and 2018 and utilizing a Maximum Likelihood Estimation method, we address two issues: the endogeneity of health in the estimation of wages and a sample selection bias. Our findings indicate the great value that better health has in enhancing wage levels in Egypt’s private sector. Also, we find that overlooking the endogeneity of health underestimates its effect on wages. Thus, the improvement of health states is likely to be beneficial in improving labour market outcomes in terms of wages as well as labour productivity in Egypt.

Keywords: labour, Productivity, Wages, Endogeneity, Sample Selection

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Authors: Suresh Reddi, Mathew Leslie, Vishnu S. Das

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Sustainable design is a prominent concept across all sectors of engineering and its importance is widely recognized within the Arabian Gulf region. Despite that sustainable or soft engineering options are not widely deployed in coastal engineering projects and a preference for utilizing ‘hard engineering’ solutions remain. The concept of soft engineering lies in “working together” with the nature to manage the coastline. This approach allows hard engineering options, such as breakwaters or sea walls, to be minimized or even eliminated altogether. Hard structures provide a firm barrier to wave energy or flooding, but in doing so they often have a significant impact on the natural processes of the coastline. This may affect the area locally or impact on neighboring zones. In addition, they often have a negative environmental impact and may create a sense of disconnect between the marine environment and local users. Soft engineering options, seek to protect the coastline by working in harmony with the natural process of sediment transport/budget. They often consider new habitat creation and creating usable spaces that will increase the sense of connection with nature. Often soft engineering options, where appropriately deployed can provide a low-maintenance, aesthetically valued, natural line of coastal protection. This paper deals with an overview of the following: The widely accepted soft engineering practices across the world; How this approach has been considered by Ramboll in some recent projects in Middle East and Asia; Challenges and barriers to use in using soft engineering options in the region; Way forward towards more widespread adoption.

Keywords: coastline, hard engineering, low maintenance, soft engineering options

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Authors: Areerut Jaipadub

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The purpose of this research is to analyze the pattern of television commercials and how they encourage non-governmental organizations to build their image in Thailand. It realizes how public relations can impact an organization's image. It is a truth that bad public relations management can cause hurt a reputation. On the other hand, a very small amount of work in public relations helps your organization to be recognized broadly and eventually accepted even wider. The main idea in this paper is to study and analyze patterns of television commercials that could impact non-governmental organization's images in a greater way. This research uses questionnaires and content analysis to summarize results. The findings show the aspects of how patterns of television commercials that are suited to non-governmental organization work in Thailand. It will be useful for any non-governmental organization that wishes to build their image through television commercials and also for further work based on this research.

Keywords: television commercial (TVC), organization image, non-governmental organization (NGO), public relation

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Authors: Rosemary R. Carlton, Roxane Caron

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Almost three decades ago, bell hooks (1994) identified the classroom as “the most radical space of possibility in the academy”. A feminist scholar, educator, and activist, hooks urged educators to transgress the boundaries of what might be customary or considered acceptable in teaching, thus encouraging the pursuit of new ways of knowing and different strategies for sharing knowledge. This paper reflects upon a particular response to hooks’ still relevant call for transgression in teaching. Specifically, this paper reports on the design, implementation, and preliminary analysis of a social work course integrating active pedagogy and transnational exchange to encourage students’ critical thinking and autonomous learning in their development as social workers in a global context. The bachelor’s level course, Pratiques spécifiques: Projet international, was developed collaboratively across three francophone institutions of higher learning in Belgium, Canada, and France: the Haute École de Namur-Liège-Luxembourg (Hénallux); the Université de Montréal; and, the Institut d’enseignement supérieur et professionnel, l’IRTS Paris Île-de-France. The driving aims of the course are to promote autonomous learning and critical thinking through a lens of transnational understandings of social problems -competencies indispensable to students’ development as social workers. The course is offered to two paired cohorts, one addressing the subject of “migrations” (Canada/France) and the other the subject of “sexual exploitation” (Canada/Belgium). Through the adaptation of a critical pedagogy of problem-based learning, students are called upon to actively engage in acquiring and applying knowledge to respond to “real life” social issues relating to migration or sexual exploitation. At the conclusion of the course, each cohort of students is brought together for a week-long intensive period of transnational exchange either at the Université de Montréal in Canada or at Hénallux in Belgium. Extending the bounds of the classroom across international borders allows students novel opportunities to deepen and expand their understandings of issues relating to predefined social issues and to critically examine associated social work practices. The paper opens with a presentation of the social work course. Specifically, the authors will outline their adaptation of a pedagogy of problem-based learning integrating transnational exchange in the design and implementation of the course. Returning to hooks’ notion of transgression in teaching, the paper offers a preliminary analysis of how and with what effect the course provides opportunities to transgress hierarchical student-teacher relationships; transgress conventional modes of learning to explore diverse sources of knowledge and transgress the walls of the university to engage with and learn from local and global partners. The paper concludes with a consideration of the potential influence of such transgressions in teaching for students’ development of critical thinking in their practice of social work in global context.

Keywords: active learning, critical pedagogy, social work intervention, transnational learning

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Authors: Imen Asma Mbarek, Alexis Rusinek, Etienne Petit, Guy Sutter, Gautier List

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Over the past two decades, the automotive, aerospace and army industries have been paying an increasing attention to Finite Elements (FE) numerical simulations of the fracture process of their structures. Thanks to the numerical simulations, it is nowadays possible to analyze several problems involving costly and dangerous extreme loadings safely and at a reduced cost such as blast or ballistic impact problems. The present paper is concerned with ballistic impact and perforation problems involving ductile fracture of thin armor steel targets. The target fracture process depends usually on various parameters: the projectile nose shape, the target thickness and its mechanical properties as well as the impact conditions (friction, oblique/normal impact...). In this work, the investigations are concerned with the normal impact of a conical head-shaped projectile on thin armor steel targets. The main aim is to establish a comparative study of four fracture criteria that are commonly used in the fracture process simulations of structures subjected to extreme loadings such as ballistic impact and perforation. Usually, the damage initiation results from a complex physical process that occurs at the micromechanical scale. On a macro scale and according to the following fracture models, the variables on which the fracture depends are mainly the stress triaxiality ƞ, the strain rate, temperature T, and eventually the Lode angle parameter Ɵ. The four failure criteria are: the critical strain to failure model, the Johnson-Cook model, the Wierzbicki model and the Modified Hosford-Coulomb model MHC. Using the SEM, the observations of the fracture facies of tension specimen and of armor steel targets impacted at low and high incident velocities show that the fracture of the specimens is a ductile fracture. The failure mode of the targets is petalling with crack propagation and the fracture facies are covered with micro-cavities. The parameters of each ductile fracture model have been identified for three armor steels and the applicability of each criterion was evaluated using experimental investigations coupled to numerical simulations. Two loading paths were investigated in this study, under a wide range of strain rates. Namely, quasi-static and intermediate uniaxial tension and quasi-static and dynamic double shear testing allow covering various values of stress triaxiality ƞ and of the Lode angle parameter Ɵ. All experiments were conducted on three different armor steel specimen under quasi-static strain rates ranging from 10-4 to 10-1 1/s and at three different temperatures ranging from 297K to 500K, allowing drawing the influence of temperature on the fracture process. Intermediate tension testing was coupled to dynamic double shear experiments conducted on the Hopkinson tube device, allowing to spot the effect of high strain rate on the damage evolution and the crack propagation. The aforementioned fracture criteria are implemented into the FE code ABAQUS via VUMAT subroutine and they were coupled to suitable constitutive relations allow having reliable results of ballistic impact problems simulation. The calibration of the four damage criteria as well as a concise evaluation of the applicability of each criterion are detailed in this work.

Keywords: armor steels, ballistic impact, damage criteria, ductile fracture, SEM

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Authors: Nseabasi Nsikakabasi Etim

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In recent times, there has been a significant shortfall in between the production and supply of animal protein to meet the ever increasing population. To meet the increasing demand for animal protein, there is a need to focus attention on the production of livestock whose nutritional requirement does not put much strain on the limited sources of feed ingredients to which men subscribe. An example of such livestock is the rabbit. Rabbit is a pseudo-ruminant herbivore which utilizes much undigested and unabsorbed feed materials as sources of nutrient for maintenance and production. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding Aspilia africana as forage on the growth rates of female pseudo-ruminant herbivores (rabbits) at different physiological states. Thirty (30) Dutch breed rabbit does of 5–6 months of age were used for the experiment which was conducted in a completely randomized design for four months. The rabbits were divided into three treatment groups, ten does per treatment group; which consisted of mixed forages (Centrosema pubescent (200g), Panicum maximum (200g) and Ipomea batatas leaves (100g) without Aspilia africana (T1; control), fresh Aspilia africana (500g/dose/day) (T2) and wilted Aspilia africana (500g/dose/day) (T3). Rabbits in all treatment groups received the same concentrate (300g/animal/day) throughout the period of the study and mixed forages from the commencement of the experiment till the does kindled. After parturition, fresh and wilted Aspilia africana were introduced in treatments 2 and three respectively, whereas the control group continued on mixed forages throughout the study. The result of the study revealed that the initial average body weight of the rabbit does was 1.74kg. At mating and gestation periods, the body weights of the does in T2 was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the rest. There were no significant differences (P<0.05) in the body weights of does at kindling between the various treatment groups. During the physiological states of lactation, weaning and re-mating, the control group (T1) had significantly lower body weight than those of the treated groups (T2 and T3). Furthermore, T2 had significantly higher body weight than T3. The study revealed that Aspilia africana; mainly the fresh leaves have greater growth stimulating effects when fed to pseudo-ruminants (rabbits), thereby enhancing body weights of does during lactation and weaning.

Keywords: Aspilia africana, herbivores, pseudo-ruminants, physiological states

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Authors: Kevin William Taylor

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This work used industry-standard practices and technologies as a foundation to explore current and future advancements in modularity for 3D environmental production. Covering environmental generation, and AI-assisted generation, this study investigated how these areas will shape the industries goal to achieve full immersion within augmented reality environments. This study will explore modular environmental construction techniques utilized in large scale 3D productions. This will include the reasoning behind this approach to production, the principles in the successful development, potential pitfalls, and different methodologies for successful implementation of practice in commercial and proprietary interactive engines. A focus will be on the role of the 3D artists in the future of environmental development, requiring adaptability to new approaches, as the field evolves in response to tandem technological advancements. Industry findings and projections theorize how these factors will impact the widespread utilization of augmented reality in daily life. This will continue to inform the direction of technology towards expansive interactive environments. It will change the tools and techniques utilized in the development of environments for game, film, and VFX. This study concludes that this technology will be the cornerstone for the creation of AI-driven AR that is able to fully theme our world, change how we see and engage with one another. This will impact the concept of a virtual self-identity that will be as prevalent as real-world identity. While this progression scares or even threaten some, it is safe to say that we are seeing the beginnings of a technological revolution that will surpass the impact that the smartphone had on modern society.

Keywords: virtual reality, augmented reality, training, 3D environments

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Authors: Domingos Vita, Patrick Brady

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Background: There is a tuberculosis (TB) epidemic in Angola that has been getting worse for more than a decade despite the active implementation of the DOTS strategy. The aim of this study was to directly interrogate healthcare workers involved in TB control on what they consider to be the drivers of the TB epidemic in Angola. Methods: Twenty four in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with medical staff working in this field in the provinces of Luanda and Benguela. Results: The healthcare professionals see the migrant working poor as a particular problem for the control of TB. These migrants are constructed as ‘Rural People’ and are seen as non-compliant and late-presenting. This is a stigmatized and marginal group contending with the additional stigma associated with TB infection. The healthcare professionals interviewed also see the interruption of treatment and self medication generally as a better explanation for the TB epidemic than urbanization or lack of medication. Conclusions: The local narrative is in contrast to previous explanations used elsewhere in the developing world. To be effective policy must recognize the local issues of the migrant workforce, interruption of treatment and the stigma associated with TB in Angola.

Keywords: Africa, Angola, migrants, qualitative, research, tuberculosis

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