Search results for: knowledge management history

Authors: Felix Schumann, Giorgia Carratta, Tobias Dauth, Liv Jaeckel

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In the last few decades, the rapid growth of the use and disposal of plastic items has led to their overaccumulation in the environment. As a result, plastic pollution has become a subject of global concern. Today plastics are used as raw materials in almost every industry. While the recognition of the ecological, social, and economic impact of plastics in academic research is on the rise, the potential role of the ‘plastic industry’ in dealing with such issues is still largely underestimated. Therefore, the literature on sustainable plastic management is still nascent and fragmented. Working towards sustainability requires a fundamental shift in the way companies employ plastics in their day-to-day business. For that reason, the applicability of the business model concept has recently gained momentum in environmental research. Business model innovation is increasingly recognized as an important driver to re-conceptualize the purpose of the firm and to readily integrate sustainability in their business. It can serve as a starting point to investigate whether and how sustainability can be realized under industry- and firm-specific circumstances. Yet, there is no comprehensive view in the plastic industry on how firms start refining their business models to embed sustainability in their operations. Our study addresses this gap, looking primarily at the industrial sectors responsible for the production of the largest amount of plastic waste today: plastic packaging, consumer goods, construction, textile, and transport. Relying on the archetypes of sustainable business models and applying them to the aforementioned sectors, we try to identify companies’ current strategies to make their business models more sustainable. Based on the thematic clustering, we can develop an integrative framework for the plastic industry. The findings are underpinned and illustrated by a variety of relevant plastic management solutions that the authors have identified through a systematic literature review and analysis of existing, empirically grounded research in this field. Using the archetypes, we can promote options for business model innovations for the most important sectors in which plastics are used. Moreover, by linking the proposed business model archetypes to the plastic industry, our research approach guides firms in exploring sustainable business opportunities. Likewise, researchers and policymakers can utilize our classification to identify best practices. The authors believe that the study advances the current knowledge on sustainable plastic management through its broad empirical industry analyses. Hence, the application of business model archetypes in the plastic industry will be useful for shaping companies’ transformation to create and deliver more sustainability and provides avenues for future research endeavors.

Keywords: business models, environmental economics, plastic management, plastic pollution, sustainability

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Authors: Y. Y. Babanyara, D. B. Ibrahim, T. Garba

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Proper management of medical waste is a crucial issue for maintaining human health and the environment. The waste generated in the hospitals has the potential for spreading infections and causing diseases. The study is aimed at assessing the medical waste management practices in Nigeria. Three instruments, questionnaire administration, in-depth interview and observation method for data collection were adopted in the study. The results revealed that the hospital does not quantify medical waste. Segregation of medical wastes is not conducted according to definite rules and standards. Wheeled trolleys are used for on-site transportation of waste from the points of production to the temporary storage area. Offsite transportation of the hospital waste is undertaken by a private waste management company. Small pickups are mainly used to transport waste daily to an off-site area for treatment and disposal. The main treatment method used in the final disposal of infectious waste is incineration. Non-infectious waste is disposed off using land disposal method. The study showed that the hospital does not have a policy and plan in place for managing medical waste. The study revealed number of problems the hospital faces in terms of medical waste management, including; lack of necessary rules, regulations and instructions on the different aspects of collections and disposal of waste, failure to quantify the waste generated in reliable records, lack of use of coloured bags by limiting the bags to only one colour for all waste, the absence of a dedicated waste manager, and no committee responsible for monitoring the management of medical waste. Recommendations are given with the aim of improving medical waste management in the hospital.

Keywords: medical waste, treatment, disposal, public health

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Authors: Rafael Felipe Guatura da Silva, José Luis Gomes da Silva, Luiz Antonio, Ferreira Perrone de Brito

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Noise can cause serious damage to human health, such as hearing loss, stress, irritability, fatigue, and others. Aviation is a place where your entire process should be work out with the utmost attention and commitment of human resources, thus the need to study the effects of noise in this sector, as aeronautical noise levels are high. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of noise pollution on the performance of professionals regarding the fatigue generated by aeronautical noise and time to noise exposure. The methodology used consists of measurements of sound pressure levels at 42 points of the aerodrome. The selected points are located inside the hangars and outside the airfield hangars. All points chosen are close to the professionals' work areas, seeking to identify the sound pressure levels to which they submitted. The other part of the research used the principle on the application of a self-report questionnaire to a sample of 207 people working inside the aerodrome. The 207 professionals surveyed consist of aircraft mechanics, pilots, maintenance managers, and administrative professionals. The questionnaire was intended to evaluate the knowledge that professionals have about health risks caused by sound exposure as well as to identify diseases that professionals have, and that may be associated with exposure to high levels of sound pressure. Preliminary results identify points with sound pressure levels of up to 91.7 dB, thus highlighting the need for the use of personal protective equipment that reduces noise exposure. It was also identified a large number of professionals who are bothered by the sound exposure and approximately 25% of professionals interviewed reported having a hearing disorder.

Keywords: aeronautical noise, fatigue, noise and health, noise management

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Authors: Alexandra Lipitakis, Evangelia A. E. C. Lipitakis

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In this article, a class of e-business strategy planning parameters are introduced and their effect on financial and non-financial performance of e-businesses and organizations is investigated. The relationships between these strategic planning parameters, i.e. Formality, Participation, Sophistication, Thoroughness, Synergy and Cooperation, Entropic Factor, Adaptivity, Uncertainty and Financial and Non-Financial Performance are examined and the directions of these relationships are given. A conceptual model has been constructed and quantitative research methods can be used to test the considered eight hypotheses. In the framework of e-business strategy planning this research study clearly demonstrates how strategic planning components have positive relationships with e-business strategy management and performance.

Keywords: e-business management, e-business model, e-business performance assessments, strategy management methodologies, strategy planning, quantitative methods

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Authors: Jiaying Gao, Thammananya Sakcharoen, Wilailuk Niyommaneerat

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Haikou is the capital of Hainan, a major tourism province in China with rich ecotourism resources. There is a need to strengthen tourism destination management in Haikou toward sustainable development as a tourism city. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between tourism destination management and sustainable tourism in Haikou. Exploratory factor analysis was used to extract six dimensions of this study. Three dimensions (10 factors) of tourism destination management were analyzed in terms of economic development, social and cultural development, and conservation of ecosystem. Sustainability awareness, tourism development experience, and tourism public infrastructure in three dimensions (12 factors) of sustainable tourism. There were 426 questionnaire respondents, including 225 tourists, 172 residents, 12 tourism agency persons, 10 government persons, 3 self-employed, and 4 others. The Structural equation modeling (SEM) model was finally conducted to test the hypotheses empirically and explore the impact relationship. The study found a significant relationship between tourism destination management and sustainable tourism: social and cultural development had the greatest significant positive impact on the tourism development experience (0.788***). Social and cultural development also showed a significant positive impact and great impetus on tourism public infrastructure (0.561***). A negative effect relationship (-0.096***) emerged between ecosystem conversion and tourism development experience. It showed a positive relationship between economic development and social and cultural development of tourism destination management in promoting sustainable tourism. There are still some gaps for improvement, such as the need for sustainable ecological management to promote local sustainable tourism trends and enhance tourism experience development, which may require a long-term process of mitigation.

Keywords: Haikou (Hainan, China), influence relationship, sustainable tourism, tourism destination management

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Authors: Janusz Bobulski, Kamila Pasternak

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Despite many years of effort and research, the problem of waste management is still current. So far, no fully effective waste management system has been developed. Many programs and projects improve statistics on the percentage of waste recycled every year. In these efforts, it is worth using modern Computer Vision techniques supported by artificial intelligence. In the article, we present a method of identifying plastic waste based on the asymmetry analysis of the histogram of the image containing the waste. The method is simple but effective (94%), which allows it to be implemented on devices with low computing power, in particular on microcomputers. Such de-vices will be used both at home and in waste sorting plants.

Keywords: waste management, environmental protection, image processing, computer vision

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Authors: Hazel S. Cometa-Lamberte

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This paper presents the residential care workers reflections in working with children who were under protective custody and placed in a residential care facility for children. Key informant interviews and focus group discussion were employed in this study to analyze the views of residential care workers on the programs and services and case management system in residential care for children. Results suggest that working in a residential care facility for children needs the interplay of both the worker’s personal and professional values, knowledge and skills in working with children. Analyzing the residential care workers experiences in handling children in residential care facilities is vital for the improvement of the policies, programs and services, the repertoire of techniques and facilitate the creation of a new social work practice framework/model in child protection specifically in residential care facilities.

Keywords: child protection, residential care, residential care workers, social workers

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Authors: Gokul Gaudel, Zhang Wen Hui, Dang Quang Hung, Le Thi Hien, Liang Xiao

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The community forests of Nepal serve as a major source of medicinal plants for majority of local people who are dependent on traditional health care system. This study aims to explore the ethnobotanical information of the medicinal plants used by five different community forest user groups of Parbat district of Nepal. The research was conducted during different periods of the year 2015, using semi-structured, open-ended questionnaires, formal and informal interviews, and group discussions. In total 145 different plant species within 77 families were documented, the majority of them being herb were found to be used to treat 84 different ailments. In terms of plant parts use: whole plants, barks, fruits, leaves were found to be in top priorities. Oral administration was the dominant route (57%), followed by both oral and dermal route (29%) and dermal only (14%). Females were found to have 24% more ethnobotanical knowledge than male. The knowledge of ethnobotanical medicinal plants was found excellent on age group 65-75. This study showed that community forests of Parbat district are rich in medicinal plants but the new generation was found less interested in using them. Easy access to modern medicines, lack of documentation and knowledge transfer to young generations are the major causes of diminishing utility of traditional medicinal practices.

Keywords: ailments, community forest, ethnobotany, medicinal plants, Parbat

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Authors: Ajmal Khan Kassi, Humayun Javed, Syed Abdul Qadeem

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The study was conducted to find out the best management practices against American bollworm on Okra variety Arka Anamika during 2016. The three different management practices viz. Release of Trichogramma chilonis, hoeing and weeding, clipping and lufenuron insect growth regulator (IGR) which were tested individually and with all possible combinations for the controlling of American bollworm at 3 diverse areas viz. University Research Farm Koont, NARC and Farmer Field Taxila. All the treatment combinations regarding damage of fruit showed significant results. The minimum fruit infestation i.e. 3.20% and 3.58% was recorded with combined treatment (i.e. T. chilonis + hoeing + weeding + lufenuron) in two different localities. This combined treatment also resulted in maximum yield at NARC and Taxila i.e. 57.67 and 62.66 q/ha respectively. This treatment gave the best results to manage H. armigera. On the basis of different integrated pest management techniques, Arka Anamika variety proved to be comparatively resistant against H. armigera in different localities. So this variety is recommended for the cultivation in Pothwar region to get maximum yield.

Keywords: management, american bollworm, arka anamika, okra

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Authors: Denis Spirjakin, Alexander Baranov, Saba Akbari, Natalia Kalenova, Vladimir Sleptsov

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In this paper we propose the approach to power management in wireless combustible gas sensors. This approach makes possible drastically prolong sensor nodes autonomous lifetime. That is necessary to tie battery replacement to every year technical service procedures which are claimed by safety standards. Using this approach the current consumption of the wireless combustible gas sensor node was decreased from 80 mA to less than 2 mA and the power consumption from more than 220 mW to 4.6 mW. These values provide autonomous lifetime of the node more than one year.

Keywords: Gas sensors, power management, wireless sensor network

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Authors: Sergey Podluzhnyy

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One of the most important tasks of investment and pension fund management is building decision support system which helps to make right decision on corporate bond portfolio formation. Today there are several basic methods of bond portfolio management. They are duration management, immunization and convexity management. Identified methods have serious disadvantage: they do not take into account credit risk or insolvency risk of issuer. So, identified methods can be applied only for management and evaluation of high-quality sovereign bonds. Applying article proposes mathematical model for building an optimal in case of risk and yield corporate bond portfolio. Proposed model takes into account the default probability in formula of assessment of bonds which results to more correct evaluation of bonds prices. Moreover, applied model provides tools for visualization of the efficient frontier of corporate bonds portfolio taking into account the exposure to credit risk, which will increase the quality of the investment decisions of portfolio managers.

Keywords: corporate bond portfolio, default probability, effective boundary, portfolio optimization task

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Authors: Jonathan Munyoro, Takawira Machimbidza, Stephen Mutula

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The study investigates the current status of Intellectual Property (IP) information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries. Specifically, the study assesses the current IP information services offered in Zimbabwe’s university libraries, identifies challenges to the development of comprehensive IP information services in Zimbabwe’s university libraries, and suggests solutions for the development of IP information services in Zimbabwe’s university libraries. The study is born out of a realisation that research on IP information services in university libraries has received little attention, especially in developing country contexts, despite the fact that there are calls for heightened participation of university libraries in IP information services. In Zimbabwe, the launch of the National Intellectual Property Policy and Implementation Strategy 2018-2022 and the introduction of the Education 5.0 concept are set to significantly change the IP landscape in the country. Education 5.0 places more emphasis on innovation and industrialisation (in addition to teaching, community service, and research), and has the potential to shift the focus and level of IP output produced in higher and tertiary education institutions beyond copyrights and more towards commercially exploited patents, utility models, and industrial designs. The growing importance of IP commercialisation in universities creates a need for appropriate IP information services to assist students, academics, researchers, administrators, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and inventors. The critical challenge for university libraries is to reposition themselves and remain relevant in the new trajectory. Designing specialised information services to support increased IP generation and commercialisation appears to be an opportunity for university libraries to stay relevant in the knowledge economy. However, IP information services in Zimbabwe’s universities appear to be incomplete and focused mostly on assisting with research publications and copyright-related activities. Research on the existing status of IP services in university libraries in Zimbabwe is therefore necessary to help identify gaps and provide solutions in order to stimulate the growth of new forms of such services. The study employed a quantitative approach. An online questionnaire was administered to 57 academic librarians from 15 university libraries. Findings show that the current focus of the surveyed institutions is on providing scientific research support services (15); disseminating/sharing university research output (14); and copyright activities (12). More specialised IP information services such as IP education and training, patent information services, IP consulting services, IP online service platforms, and web-based IP information services are largely unavailable in Zimbabwean university libraries. Results reveal that the underlying challenge in the development of IP information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries is insufficient IP knowledge among academic librarians, which is exacerbated by inadequate IP management frameworks in university institutions. The study proposes a framework for the entrenchment of IP information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries.

Keywords: academic libraries, information services, intellectual property, IP knowledge, university libraries, Zimbabwe

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Authors: Bárbara Durão, Pedro Almeida, David Ramilo, André Meneses, Rute Canejo-Teixeira

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The importance of quality of life (QoL) assessment in veterinary medicine is an integral part of patient care. This is especially true in cases of chronic diseases, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), where the ever more advanced treatment options prolong the patient’s life. Whether this prolongment of life comes with an acceptable quality of life remains has been called into question. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between CKD disease biomarkers and QoL in cats. Thirty-seven cats diagnosed with CKD and with no known concurrent illness were enrolled in an observational study. Through the course of several evaluations, renal biomarkers were assessed in blood and urine samples, and owners retrospectively described their cat’s quality of life using a validated instrument for this disease. Correlations between QoL scores (AWIS) and the biomarkers were assessed using Spearman’s rank test. Statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05, and every serial sample was considered independent. Thirty-seven cats met the inclusion criteria, and all owners completed the questionnaire every time their pet was evaluated, giving a total of eighty-four questionnaires, and the average-weighted-impact-score was –0.5. Results showed there was a statistically significant correlation between the quality of life and most of 17 the studied biomarkers and confirmed that CKD has a negative impact on QoL in cats especially due to the management of the disease and secondary appetite disorders. To our knowledge, this is the attempt to assess the correlation between renal biomarkers and QoL in cats. Our results reveal a strong potential of this type of approach in clinical management, mainly in situations where it is not possible to measure biomarkers. Whilst health-related QoL is a reliable predictor of mortality and morbidity in humans; our findings can help improve the clinical practice in cats with CKD.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease, biomarkers, quality of life, feline

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Authors: Mekonen Hailu, Gashaw Tesfaye, Adamneh Dagne, Hiwot Teshome

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Lake Hawassa is one of the most important lakes for Ethiopian fishery. It serves as a source of food and nutrition, income and livelihood for many inhabitants. However, the fishery in Lake Hawassa shows a declining trend, especially for the most valuable species, such as the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.), indicating that the existing management systems are either not fully enforced or inadequate. The aim of this study was therefore to develop management policy options for the sustainable utilization and management of fishery resources in Lake Hawassa. A blend of primary and secondary data was used for the study. Primary data were collected using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques such as focus group discussions with members of fishing co-operatives, co-operative leaders and key informant discussion to understand the current state of the fisheries resources. Then literatures were reviewed to obtain secondary data and develop alternative management policy options. It has been realized that Lake Hawassa is not very species-rich in terms of fish diversity. It contains only six species belonging to four families, of which only three are commercially important, including the Nile tilapia (90 % of catches), the African catfish Clarias gariepinus B. (7 % of catches) and the African large barb Labeobarbus intermedius R. (only 3 % of catches). The production has been declining since 2007. The top six challenges that could be responsible for this decline, identified by about two-thirds of respondents and supported by the literature review, are directly linked to fisheries and fisheries management, with overfishing, irregular monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) system and the lack of a fishing licensing system ranking first, second and third respectively. It is, therefore, important to address these and other problems identified in the study. Of the management options analyzed, we suggest adapting the management approach to sustain the fishery in Lake Hawaasa and its socio-economic benefits. We also present important conditions for successfully implementing co-management in this and other lakes in Ethiopia.

Keywords: comanagement, community-based management, fishery, overfishing, participatory approach, top-down management

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Authors: Roop Kiran, Muhammad Shoaib Zafar, Nazish Idrees Chaudhary

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Depression is known to be the second most frequently occurring comorbid mental illness among patients suffering from chronic physical conditions. Around the world, depression is associated with chronic liver diseases as one of the dominant symptoms. This evidence brings attention to the research about various predictors for short life expectancy and poor quality of life in patients suffering from comorbid depression and CLD. Following are the objectives of this study i) measure the occurrence rate of comorbid depression among patients with CLD and ii) find the frequency of risk factors between patients with and without depression comorbid with CLD. This is a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design. The research data was collected through a measure called Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) with a demographic Performa from 100 patients who visited the Department of Psychiatry for consultation at Mayo Hospital Lahore with a diagnosed CLD from the last four years. There were (42%) patients with CLD who had comorbid depression. Among depressed and non-depressed patients, significant differences were found (p<0.05) for unemployment in 25 (59.5%) males and 20 (34.5%) female patients, for co-morbidity in 25 (59.5%) males and 18 (31.0%) female patients, for illiteracy in 18 (42.9%) males and 13 (22.4%) female patients, for the history of CLD for more than the last 2years in 41 (97.6%) males and 47 (81.0%) female patients, for severity of CLD in 26 (61.9%) males and 20 (34.5%) female patients. This concludes that depression frequently occurs among patients with CLD. This study recommends considerable attention to plan preventative measures in the future and develop such intervention protocols that consider the management of risk factors that significantly influence comorbid depression with CLD.

Keywords: psychiatry, comorbid, health, quality of life

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Authors: Jayeon Kim, Eunjung Yu, Taeki Yoon

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Most spontaneous miscarriage is believed to be a consequence of embryo aneuploidies. Transferring eukaryotic embryos selected by PGS is expected to decrease the miscarriage rate. Current PGS indications include advanced maternal age, recurrent pregnancy loss, repeated implantation failure. Recently, use of PGS for healthy women without above indications for the purpose of improving in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes is on the rise. However, it is still controversy about the beneficial effect of PGS in this population, especially, in women with a history of no more than 2 miscarriages or miscarriage of eukaryotic abortus. This study aimed to investigate if karyotyping result of abortus is a good indicator of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) in subsequent IVF cycle in women with a history of spontaneous abortion. A single-center retrospective cohort study was performed. Women who had spontaneous abortion(s) (less than 3) and dilatation and evacuation, and subsequent IVF from January 2016 to November 2016 were included. Their medical information was extracted from the charts. Clinical pregnancy was defined as presence of a gestational sac with fetal heart beat detected on ultrasound in week 7. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Total 234 women were included. 121 out of 234 (51.7%) underwent karyotyping of the abortus, and 113 did not have the abortus karyotyped. Embryo biopsy was performed on 3 or 5 days after oocyte retrieval, followed by embryo transfer (ET) on a fresh or frozen cycle. The biopsied materials were subjected to microarray comparative genomic hybridization. Clinical pregnancy rate per ET was compared between PGS and non-PGS group in each study group. Patients were grouped by two criteria: karyotype of the abortus from previous miscarriage (unknown fetal karyotype (n=89, Group 1), eukaryotic abortus (n=36, Group 2) or aneuploidy abortus (n=67, Group 3)), and pursuing PGS in subsequent IVF cycle (pursuing PGS (PGS group, n=105) or not pursuing PGS (non-PGS group, n=87)). The PGS group was significantly older and had higher number of retrieved oocytes and prior miscarriages compared to non-PGS group. There were no differences in BMI and AMH level between those two groups. In PGS group, the mean number of transferable embryos (eukaryotic embryo) was 1.3 ± 0.7, 1.5 ± 0.5 and 1.4 ± 0.5, respectively (p = 0.049). In 42 cases, ET was cancelled because all embryos biopsied turned out to be abnormal. In all three groups (group 1, 2, and 3), clinical pregnancy rates were not statistically different between PGS and non-PGS group (Group 1: 48.8% vs. 52.2% (p=0.858), Group 2: 70% vs. 73.1% (p=0.730), Group 3: 42.3% vs. 46.7% (p=0.640), in PGS and non-PGS group, respectively). In both groups who had miscarriage with eukaryotic and aneuploidy abortus, the clinical pregnancy rate between IVF cycles with and without PGS was not different. When we compare miscarriage and ongoing pregnancy rate, there were no significant differences between PGS and non-PGS group in all three groups. Our results show that the routine application of PGS in women who had less than 3 miscarriages would not be beneficial, even in cases that previous miscarriage had been caused by fetal aneuploidy.

Keywords: preimplantation genetic diagnosis, miscarriage, kpryotyping, in vitro fertilization

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Authors: Nigina Toktasynova, Sholpan Sagyndykova, Zhanat Kenzhebayeva, Maksat Kalimoldayev, Mariya Ishimova, Irbulat Utepbergenov

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Any business needs a stable operation and continuous improvement, therefore it is necessary to constantly interact with the environment, to analyze the work of the enterprise in terms of employees, executives and consumers, as well as to correct any inconsistencies of certain types of processes and their aggregate. In the case of heat supply organizations, in addition to suppliers, local legislation must be considered which often is the main regulator of pricing of services. In this case, the process approach used to build a functional organizational structure in these types of businesses in Kazakhstan is a challenge not only in the implementation, but also in ways of analyzing the employee's salary. To solve these problems, we investigated the management system of heating enterprise, including strategic planning based on the balanced scorecard (BSC), quality management in accordance with the standards of the Quality Management System (QMS) ISO 9001 and analysis of the system based on expert judgment using fuzzy inference. To carry out our work we used the theory of fuzzy sets, the QMS in accordance with ISO 9001, BSC according to the method of Kaplan and Norton, method of construction of business processes according to the notation IDEF0, theory of modeling using Matlab software simulation tools and graphical programming LabVIEW. The results of the work are as follows: We determined possibilities of improving the management of heat-supply plant-based on QMS; after the justification and adaptation of software tool it has been used to automate a series of functions for the management and reduction of resources and for the maintenance of the system up to date; an application for the analysis of the QMS based on fuzzy inference has been created with novel organization of communication software with the application enabling the analysis of relevant data of enterprise management system.

Keywords: balanced scorecard, heat supply, quality management system, the theory of fuzzy sets

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Authors: Pimploi Tirastittam, Suppara Charoenpoom

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Nowadays the asynchronous learning has granted the permission to the anywhere and anything learning via the technology and E-media which give the learner more convenient. This research is about the design of the blended and online learning for the asynchronous learning of the process management subject in order to create the prototype of this subject asynchronous learning which will create the easiness and increase capability in the learning. The pattern of learning is the integration between the in-class learning and online learning via the internet. This research is mainly focused on the online learning and the online learning can be divided into 5 parts which are virtual classroom, online content, collaboration, assessment and reference material. After the system design was finished, it was evaluated and tested by 5 experts in blended learning design and 10 students which the user’s satisfaction level is good. The result is as good as the assumption so the system can be used in the process management subject for a real usage.

Keywords: blended learning, asynchronous learning, design, process management

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Authors: Maria Magdy Danial Riad

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Background: In the United Kingdom (UK), pharmacists' roles have expanded considerably in recent decades to encompass clinical practice through more direct patient care. However, dispensing and compounding remain core activities for pharmacists. A lack of marketed preparations for species-specific animal use results in veterinary pharmacy practice compounding, retaining its prominence. Current participation by pharmacists to support this sphere of practice would appear to be minimal. Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine the opinions and views toward the practice of veterinary pharmacy by a cross-sectional group of pharmacists. Methods: Research data were collected via a self-administered survey questionnaire distributed at the 2012 annual conference of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Sampling was purposive, with a random distribution of the questionnaire to pharmacists during the conference sessions. Key findings: Interaction by pharmacists with veterinary pharmacies is currently minimal, primarily due to a lack of knowledge of veterinary medicines. Respondents revealed a lack of veterinary pharmacy courses during their undergraduate studies. This has led to situations where some veterinary prescriptions are dispensed without adequate checks being performed by the pharmacist. Pharmacists, on occasion, do not dispense veterinary prescriptions presented to them due to insufficient knowledge of veterinary medicines and/or a lack of consultable reference sources. The effect on practice is that pharmacists do not always participate as fully as would seem logical. Conclusions: Pharmacists' participation in veterinary pharmacy is limited by a lack of knowledge of veterinary medicines, mostly resulting from inadequate tuition on veterinary pharmacy during their initial education.

Keywords: veterinary pharmacy, veterinary medicines, pharmacy education, pharmacists continuing professional development

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Authors: Zubair Ahmad, Paolo Esposito

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The management of solid waste from its collection to disposal is a widespread issue all around the world. This is a stinging issue in the rural and urban areas of the developing and developed states of the world. The mismanagement in Pakistan in the context of solid waste is required to be recognized because it is not only affecting the health of the public but also affecting the health of the environment. Therefore, this study conducts qualitative research methodology and conducted interviews in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad’s solid waste management’s officials and waste pickers, for analyzing uses Grounded theory for the lens of thematic analysis to highlight how public value is being destroyed by the mismanagement of solid waste in Pakistan. This study critically examines the effects of corruption, mismanagement, lawlessness, lack of accountability, budgetary issues, and improper methods for the disposal of solid waste as the major factors that are destroying public value. Recognizing and addressing these factors is essential to improving the system of solid waste management in developing countries

Keywords: solid waste management, public value destruction, health, environment, accountability, grounded theory

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Authors: Mahbuba Kaneez Hasna

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Introductory Statement outlining the background: Little has been written about political ecology of urban gardening, such as a network of knowledge generation, technologies of food production and distribution, food consumption practices, and the regulation of ‘agricultural activities. For urban food gardens to sustain as a long-term food security enterprise, we will need to better understand the anthropological, ecological, political, and institutional factors influencing their development, management, and ongoing viability. Significance of the study: Dhaka as one of the fastest growing city. There are currently no studies regards to Bangladesh on how urban slum dwellerscope with the changing urban environment in the city, where they overcome challenges, and how they cope with the urban ecological cycle of food and vegetable production. It is also essential to understand the importance of their access to confined spaces in the slums they apply their indigenous knowledge. These relationships in nature are important factors in community and conservation ecology. Until now, there has been no significant published academic work on relationships between urban and environmental anthropology, urban planning, geography, ecology, and social anthropology with a focus on urban agriculture and how this contributes to the moral economies, indigenous knowledge, and government policies in order to improve the lives and livelihoods of slum dwellers surrounding parks and open spaces in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methodology: it have applied participant observation, semi-structured questionnaire-based interviews, and focus group discussions to collect social data. Interviews were conducted with the urban agriculture practitioners who are slum dwellers who carry out their urban agriculture activities. Some of the interviews were conducted with non-government organisations (NGOs) and local and state government officials, using semi-structured interviews. Using these methods developed a clearer understanding of how green space cultivation, local economic self-reliance, and urban gardening are producing distinctive urban ecologies in Dhaka and their policy-implications on urban sustainability. Major findings of the study: The research provided an in-depth knowledge on the challenges that slum dwellers encounter in establishing and maintaining urban gardens, such as the economic development of the city, conflicting political agendas, and environmental constraints in areas within which gardening activities take place. The research investigated (i) How do slum dwellers perform gardening practices from rural areas to open spaces in the city? (ii) How do men and women’s ethno-botanical knowledge contribute to urban biodiversity; (iii) And how do slum dwellers navigate complex constellations of land use policy, competing political agendas, and conflicting land and water tenures to meet livelihood functions provided by their gardens. Concluding statement: Lack of infrastructure facilities such as water supply and sanitation, micro-drains and waste disposal areas, and poor access to basic health care services increase the misery of people in the slum areas. Lack of environmental health awareness information for farmers, such as the risks from the use of chemical pesticides in gardens and from grazing animals in contaminated fields or cropping and planting trees or vegetable in contaminated dumping grounds, can all cause high health risk to humans and their environment.

Keywords: gender, urban agriculture, ecosystem health, urban slum systems

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Authors: C. B. Abhilash, Kavi Mahesh

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Human beings are the most advanced species on earth; it's all because of the ability to communicate and share information via human language. In today's world, a huge amount of data is available on the web in text format. This has also resulted in the generation of big data in structured and unstructured formats. In general, the data is in the textual form, which is highly unstructured. To get insights and actionable content from this data, we need to incorporate the concepts of text mining and natural language processing. In our study, we mainly focus on Interesting data through which interesting facts are generated for the knowledge base. The approach is to derive the analytics from the text via the application of natural language processing. Using semantic web Resource framework descriptors (RDF), we generate the triple from the given data and derive the interesting patterns. The methodology also illustrates data integration using the RDF for reliable, interesting patterns.

Keywords: RDF, interestingness, knowledge base, semantic data

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Authors: I. Gupta, B. Karmakar

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Bengal has a long history (8^th century A.D. onwards) of decorating the wall of brick-built temples with curved terracotta plaques on a diverse range of subjects. These could be considered as one of the most significant visual archives to understand the various facets of the then contemporary societies. The temples under focus include Char-bangla temple complex (circa 1755 A.D.), Bhavanishvara temple (circa 1755 A.D.) and the Gangeshvara Shiva Jor-bangla temple (circa 1753 A.D.), located within a part of the river Bhagirathi basin in Baranagar, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Though, a diverse range of subjects have been intricately carved mainly on the front façades of the Baranagar temple cluster, the study specifically concentrates on depictions related to religious and non-religious acts performed by practitioners of various religious sects of late medieval Bengal with the intention to acquire knowledge about the various facets of their life. Apart from this, the paper also mapped the spatial location of these religious performers on the temples’ façades to examine if any systematic plan or arrangement had been employed for connoting a particular idea. Further, an attempt is made to provide a commentary on the attire worn by followers of various religious sects of late medieval Bengal. The primary materials for the study comprise the depictions which denote religious activities carved on the terracotta plaques. The secondary material has been collected from published and unpublished theses, journals and books. These data have been further supplemented with photographic documentation, some useful line-drawings and descriptions in table format to get a clear understanding of the concerned issues.

Keywords: attire, scheme of allocation, terracotta temple, various religious sect

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Authors: Aklilu Alemu, Tak Cheung Chan

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Following the intensification of secondary education in the developing world, the attention of Ethiopia has currently shifted to its quality education and its management. This study is aimed to explore experts’ perceptions of quality management challenges in secondary education in Ethiopia. The researchers employed a case study design recruiting participating supervisors from the Ministry of Education, region, zone, wereda, and cluster by using a purposeful sampling technique. Twenty-six interviewees took part in this study. The researchers employed NVivo 8 versions together with a thematic analysis process to analyze the data. This study revealed that major problems that affected quality management practices in Ethiopia were: lack of qualified experts at all levels; lack of accountability in every echelon; the changing nature of teacher education; the ineffectiveness of teacher-licensing programs; and lack of educational budget and the problem of utilizing this limited budget. The study concluded that the experts at different levels were not genuinely fulfilling their roles and responsibilities. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, together with the concerned parties, needs to reconsider budget allocation for secondary education.

Keywords: education quality, Ethiopia, quality challenge, quality management, secondary education

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Authors: Van Truong Pham

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Background: Self-management was described as a potential strategy for blood pressure control in patients with hypertension. However, the effects of self-management interventions on blood pressure, self-efficacy, medication adherence, and body mass index (BMI) in older adults with hypertension have not been systematically evaluated. We evaluated the effects of self-management interventions on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), self-efficacy, medication adherence, and BMI in hypertensive older adults. Methods: We followed the recommended guidelines of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Searches in electronic databases including CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Ovid-Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and other sources were performed to include all relevant studies up to April 2019. Studies selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were performed by two reviewers independently. We summarized intervention effects as Hedges' g values and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a random-effects model. Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software 2.0. Results: Twelve randomized controlled trials met our inclusion criteria. The results revealed that self-management interventions significantly improved blood pressure control, self-efficacy, medication adherence, whereas the effect of self-management on BMI was not significant in older adult patients with hypertension. The following Hedges' g (effect size) values were obtained: SBP, -0.34 (95% CI, -0.51 to -0.17, p < 0.001); DBP, -0.18 (95% CI, -0.30 to -0.05, p < 0.001); self-efficacy, 0.93 (95%CI, 0.50 to 1.36, p < 0.001); medication adherence, 1.72 (95%CI, 0.44 to 3.00, p=0.008); and BMI, -0.57 (95%CI, -1.62 to 0.48, p = 0.286). Conclusions: Self-management interventions significantly improved blood pressure control, self-efficacy, and medication adherence. However, the effects of self-management on obesity control were not supported by the evidence. Healthcare providers should implement self-management interventions to strengthen patients' role in managing their health care.

Keywords: self-management, meta-analysis, blood pressure control, self-efficacy, medication adherence, body mass index

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Authors: Sergio Zabala-Vargas, Miguel Jiménez-Barrera, Luz VArgas-Sánchez

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In recent years, information related to project management in organizations has been increasing exponentially. Performance data, management statistics, indicator results have forced the collection, analysis, traceability, and dissemination of project managers to be essential. In this sense, there are current trends to facilitate efficient decision-making in emerging technology projects, such as: Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Data Mining, and Big Data. The latter is the most interesting in this project. This research is part of the thematic line Construction methods and project management. Many authors present the relevance that the use of emerging technologies, such as Big Data, has taken in recent years in project management in the construction sector. The main focus is the optimization of time, scope, budget, and in general mitigating risks. This research was developed in the northeastern region of Colombia-South America. The first phase was aimed at diagnosing the use of emerging technologies (Big-Data) in the construction sector. In Colombia, the construction sector represents more than 50% of the productive system, and more than 2 million people participate in this economic segment. The quantitative approach was used. A survey was applied to a sample of 91 companies in the construction sector. Preliminary results indicate that the use of Big Data and other emerging technologies is very low and also that there is interest in modernizing project management. There is evidence of a correlation between the interest in using new data management technologies and the incorporation of Building Information Modeling BIM. The next phase of the research will allow the generation of guidelines and strategies for the incorporation of technological tools in the construction sector in Colombia.

Keywords: big data, building information modeling, tecnology, project manamegent

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Authors: Anna Papadopoulou

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Women’s relationship to the post-industrial city has been defined by a reciprocal relationship between women’s identity and urban form. Women’s place within the social structure has been influenced by often limiting conditions set by the built environment, and, concurrently, women’s active role in social processes has definitively impacted urban development. Cities in Cyprus present unique locations for urban investigations pertaining to gender because of the country’s particular urban history: unlike most prominent European cities that have experienced approximately five hundred years of urban growth spurred by industrial development, Cypriot cities did not begin to form until the end of the Ottoman occupation that occurred in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Consequently, Cyprus’ urban history is distinctive in that it coincides with international awakenings towards gender equality. This paper is drawn from a study of a contemporary urban narrative of Limassolian women and aims to elucidate spatial and perceptual boundaries that are inherent, constructed and implied. Within the context of this study, gender - in its socially constructed form - becomes a tool for reading and understanding the urban landscape, as well as a vehicle to impact the production and consumption of space. The investigation evaluates urban changes through the lens of women’s entry into the workforce which is a profound event in the social process and consequently explores issues of space and time, connectivity, and access, perceptions and awareness. A narrative of gendered urbanism has been derived from semi-structured interviews where the findings are studied, organised, analysed and synthesised through a grounded theory approach. These qualitative findings have been complemented and specialised by a series of informal observations and mappings.

Keywords: boundaries, gender, Limassol, urbanism

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Authors: Caroline S. Dutra, Tatiana C. Squeff

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It is well known that the history between South Korea and Japan influences their international relations; thus, also encompassing their economic relations. In this sense, it is impossible to analyze the latter without understanding the development of the former, which is known for episodes of hostility, like on Japanese colonization, but also had moments of cultural and trade interexchange. Indeed, since 1965, with the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries, their trade relations have improved, especially after both nations have signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Thereafter, with the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, another chapter of their diplomatic and economic relations have been inaugurated. Hence, bearing in mind this history between both nations, this research intends to examine their relations through the analysis of the WTO panels they have engaged in between each other, which are, in chronological order, “DS323: Japan – Import Quotas on Dried Laver and Seasoned Laver”, “DS336: Japan - Countervailing Duties on Dynamic Random Access Memories from Korea”, “DS495: Korea - Import Band, and Testing and Certification Requirements for Radionuclides”, “DS553: Korea - Sunset Review of Anti-Dumping Duties on Stainless Steel Bars” and “DS571: Korea - Measures Affecting Trade in Commercial Vessels”. The objective of this case analysis is to point out what are the areas that are more conflictual between Japan and South Korea in regard to their economic relations so that it is possible to assert on their future (economic) relations and other possible outcomes. And in order to do so, bibliographic and documental research will be made, particularly those involving the WTO and the nations under consideration. Regarding the methods used, it is important to highlight that this is applied research in the field of international economic relations and international law, which follows a hypothetic-deductive model.

Keywords: international economic relations, Japan, South Korea, World Trade Organization

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Authors: Thammanoon Charmjuree, Yuosre F. Badir, Umar Safdar

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There is a consensus among innovation scholars that knowledge is a vital antecedent for firm’s innovation; e.g., process innovation. Recently, there has been an increasing amount of attention to more open approaches to innovation. This open model emphasizes the use of purposive flows of knowledge across the organization boundaries. Firms adopt open innovation strategy to improve their innovation performance by bringing knowledge into the organization (inbound open innovation) to accelerate internal innovation or transferring knowledge outside (outbound open innovation) to expand the markets for external use of innovation. Reviewing open innovation research reveals the following. First, the majority of existing studies have focused on inbound open innovation and less on outbound open innovation. Second, limited research has considered the possible interaction between both and how this interaction may impact the firm’s innovation performance. Third, scholars have focused mainly on the impact of open innovation strategy on product innovation and less on process innovation. Therefore, our knowledge of the relationship between firms’ inbound and outbound open innovation and how these two impact process innovation is still limited. This study focuses on the firm’s external technology acquisition (ETA) and external technology exploitation (ETE) and the firm’s process innovation performance. The ETA represents inbound openness in which firms rely on the acquisition and absorption of external technologies to complement their technology portfolios. The ETE, on the other hand, refers to commercializing technology assets exclusively or in addition to their internal application. This study hypothesized that both ETA and ETE have a positive relationship with process innovation performance and that ETE fully mediates the relationship between ETA and process innovation performance, i.e., ETA has a positive impact on ETE, and turn, ETE has a positive impact on process innovation performance. This study empirically explored these hypotheses in software development firms in Thailand. These firms were randomly selected from a list of Software firms registered with the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce of Thailand. The questionnaires were sent to 1689 firms. After follow-ups and periodic reminders, we obtained 329 (19.48%) completed usable questionnaires. The structure question modeling (SEM) has been used to analyze the data. An analysis of the outcome of 329 firms provides support for our three hypotheses: First, the firm’s ETA has a positive impact on its process innovation performance. Second, the firm’s ETA has a positive impact its ETE. Third, the firm’s ETE fully mediates the relationship between the firm’s ETA and its process innovation performance. This study fills up the gap in open innovation literature by examining the relationship between inbound (ETA) and outbound (ETE) open innovation and suggest that in order to benefits from the promises of openness, firms must engage in both. The study went one step further by explaining the mechanism through which ETA influence process innovation performance.

Keywords: process innovation performance, external technology acquisition, external technology exploitation, open innovation

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Authors: Belaynesh Tsegay Beyene, Teklay Gebrecherkos, Atsebaha Gebrekidan Kahsay, Mahmud Abdulkader

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Background: Hepatitis B and C viruses are of important health and socioeconomic problem of the globe with remarkable diseases and deaths in Sub-Saharan African countries. The burden of hepatitis is unknown in the prison settings of Tigrai. Therefore, we aimed to describe the seroprevalence and associated factors of hepatitis B and C viruses among prisoners of Tigrai, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from February 2020 to May 2020 at the prison facilities of Tigrai. Demographics and associated factors were collected from 315 prisoners prospectively. Five milliliter of blood was collected and tested using rapid tests kits of HBsAg (Zhejiang orient Gene Biotech Co., Ltd., China) and HCV antibodies (Volkan Kozmetik Sanayi Ve Ticaret Ltd. STI, Turkey). Positive samples were confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co. Ltd). Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The overall seroprevalence of HBV and HCV were 25 (7.9%) and 1(0.3%), respectively. The majority of hepatitis B viral infections were identified from the age groups of 18-25 years (10.7%) and unmarried prisoners (11.8%). Prisoners greater than 100 per cell [AOR =3.95, 95% CI= (1.15, 13.6, p =0.029)] and having history of alcohol consumption [AOR =3.01, 95% CI= (1.17, 7.74, p =0.022)] were significantly associated with HBV infections. Conclusions: The seroprevalence of HBV among prisoners was nearly high or borderline (7.9%) with a very low HCV prevalence (0.3%). HBV was most prevalent among young adults, large number of prisoners per cell and those who had history of alcohol consumption. This study recommends that there should be prison-focused intervention including regular health education by emphasis on the mode of transmission and introducing HBV screening policy for prisoners especially when they enter to the prison.

Keywords: seroprevalence, HBV, HCV, prisoners, Tigrai

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