Search results for: positive psychology

Authors: N. G. Klivleyeva, T. I. Glebova, G. V. Lukmanova, S. B. Bayseit, S. Z. Taubaeva, M. K. Kalkozhaeva

Abstract:

The role of viral diseases in the general infectious disease incidence increases every year and requires special attention to the problem of interpreting the etiology of infectious agents. Influenza and acute respiratory viral infections are one of the most pressing public health issues. In the period 2012-2014, collection of 419 nasal swabs and 150 blood sera has been carried out in the patient care institutions of the various Kazakhstan regions from patients with symptoms of ARVI and pneumonia. Primary identification of biosamples for the presence of influenza viral antigens in enzyme immunoassay on nitrocellulose membrane gave positive results in 125 swabs (29.8%). Biosample screening in immunofluorescence test revealed the presence of influenza viral antigens against A/H1 in 63 samples (15.0%), A/H3 – in 70 samples (16.7%) and type B – in 9 samples (2.1%). As a result of primary infection, and successive passages in chick embryos and MDCK cell cultures, 38 HAAg were isolated from 419 samples with a clear cytopathic effect and hemagglutination titre in MDCK cell culture within 1:2-1:4, in CE - 1:8-1:256. The infectivity of isolates in chicken embryos were 3.5-6.5 lg EID50/0.2, in MDCK cell culture – 2.5-6.5 lg PFU/ml. Identification of 28 isolates was carried out in inhibition reactions of hemagglutinating activity and neuraminidase activity, showed their belonging to the influenza virus: 26 strains to A/H1N1, one - to A/H3N2, and one - to type B. Serological examination of blood sera for the presence of specific antibodies being an indirect evidence of the performed isolation and contributing to the timely interpretation of the disease etiology in the epidemics takes an important place in the comprehensive study of influenza viruses circulating among people. Serological analyzes were carried out in HAI assay using a kit consisting of 12 reference strains obtained from the WHO centre for reference and research on Influenza (CDC, Atlanta, USA) and three Kazakhstan (A/Almaty/347/09 (H1N1v), A/Almaty/462/11 (H3N2) and B/Almaty/414/10) human influenza viruses that are stored in the laboratory collection. The results of serological analysis of 150 blood sera showed that antihaemagglutinins against the A/H3N2 virus serosubtype were found in 46 samples (49.4%) out of 93 sera collected in 2012-2013. The antibody titres were within 1:160-1:320. 19 sera (20.4%) were seropositive against influenza A/H1N1 virus, the antibodies were observed in titres of 1:20-1:40. Six sera (6.4%) were positive against the influenza A/H1N1+A/H3N2 virus (mixed infection); the antibodies were recorded in titres of 1:20-1:40. Antihaemagglutinins against influenza type B virus were detected only in five sera (5.4%). The results of analysis of 57 sera collected in 2014 showed that antihaemagglutinins against A/H3N2 virus subtype were detected in 32 blood sera (56.1%) in titres of 1:160-1:640. Ten sera (17.5%) were seropositive against A/H1N1 virus; antihaemagglutinins against influenza type B virus were not detected. Therefore, virological and serological studies have shown that in Kazakhstan, as well as in the world, the influenza viruses A/H1N1, A/H3N2 and influenza B viruses were actively circulating during the epidemic seasons in 2012-2014.

Keywords: influenza, MDCK cell, serological analysis, virus

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: F. Saptouw, L. Reddy

Abstract:

Tertiary institutions are often faced with a challenge when incorporating social awareness into course content. The information campaigns in the media often alienate the viewers and the knowledge is not readily assimilated into the students’ consciousness. This paper will present a discussion of the results of collaborative teaching projects run by the Michaelis School of fine art and the HIV/AIDS, Inclusivity and Change Unit (HAICU) at the University of Cape Town. In these projects the artistic process is employed to generate ‘praxical knowledge’ in the student body about socially relevant issues like HIV-AIDS, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and sexual identity, specifically LGBTQI. The combination of lectures, group discussions and the creative process has been a very successful way to disseminate information amongst the student population. Evidence of the project’s success will be provided by referencing interviews, focus groups as well as surveys done with the participants. This paper will conclude by arguing for the positive role of practice-led research in developing a socially conscious public.

Keywords: art, education, HIV-AIDS, practice-led research

Procedia PDF Downloads 305

Authors: Pei-Gi Shu, Yin-Hua Yeh, Chao-Ting Chen

Abstract:

Using a dataset consisting of 7,120 firm-year observations from the Taiwan stock market over the 2007-2011 sample period, we find a significantly negative relationship between board external connectedness and firm diversification. We propose a learningeffect hypothesis indicating that an externally connected board member’s experiences in other companies directly affect his recommendations regarding the underlying firm’s diversification. The partial correlation between diversification and the performance of firms with externally connected board members is used as a proxy for the learning effect. The empirical results show that the learning effect is asymmetrically embedded in firm diversification, with negative experiences having a greater effect on firm diversification than positive experiences. Externally connected board members are associated with reduced diversification in one firm after they learn that diversification is detrimental to value in other companies. Moreover, the diversification of a firm due to board external connectedness is moderated by the controlling owner’s interest alignment and entrenchment.

Keywords: board, external, connectedness, diversification

Procedia PDF Downloads 450

Authors: Minh Dong Le, Viet Dung Nguyen, Do Huu Viet, Nguyen Huu Tu

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a new method for circumscribed masses detection in mammograms. Our method is evaluated on 23 mammographic images of circumscribed masses and 20 normal mammograms from public Mini-MIAS database. The method is quite sanguine with sensitivity (SE) of 95% with only about 1 false positive per image (FPpI). To achieve above results we carry out a progression following: Firstly, the input images are preprocessed with the aim to enhance key information of circumscribed masses; Next, we calculate and evaluate statistically basic features of abnormal regions on training database; Then, mammograms on testing database are divided into equal blocks which calculated corresponding features. Finally, using priority order of basic features to classify blocks as an abnormal or normal regions.

Keywords: mammograms, circumscribed masses, evaluated statistically, priority order of basic features

Procedia PDF Downloads 318

Authors: Du Zhiqin

Abstract:

WeChat is an instant messaging service similar to WhatsApp developed by Tencent, one of China's largest and most used Internet service portals. This paper investigates the penetration of WeChat among university students through a questionnaire, analyzes the effect of brand influence, information quality, interactivity, opinions of opinion-leaders, promotion, personal interests on the attitudes of university students towards WeChat marketing. This paper concludes that the penetration rate of WeChat marketing among university students is generally high enough, WeChat has generally been accepted by students as a way for businesses to market their products, and that all the above-mentioned five factors play a positive role in the process of WeChat marketing. It also proposes that businesses could maximize the effect of WeChat marketing by focusing more resources on the increase of brand influence, and the interactivity of WeChat contents and the use of opinions of opinion-leaders.

Keywords: WeChat, university students, marketing, AISAS

Procedia PDF Downloads 576

Authors: Dafni Kalatzi Pantera

Abstract:

How globalisation affects environmental activism? Existing research on this relationship focuses on the influence of the world polity on individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental movements. However, globalisation is a multidimensional process which promotes pro-environmental ideas through the world polity, but it also fosters economic growth which is considered antagonistic to the environment. This article models the way that globalisation as a whole affects individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental activism, and the main argument is that globalisation’s impact is conditional on political ideology. To test the above hypothesis, individual and country level data are used for European countries between 1981-2020. The results support the expectation of the article that although globalisation has a positive impact on individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental activism when it interacts with political ideology, its influence differs between ideological spectrums.

Keywords: environmental activism, globalisation, political ideology, world polity

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Daningsih Sulaeman, Achmad Sjarmidi, Djoko T. Iskandar

Abstract:

Komodo National Park can be associated with the implementation of ecotourism program. The result of Principal Components Analysis is synthesized, tested, and compared to the basic concept of ecotourism with some field adjustments. Principal aspects of professional management should involve ecotourism and wildlife welfare. The awareness should be focused on the future of the Natural Park as 7^th Wonder Natural Heritage and its wildlife components, free from human wastes and beneficial to wildlife and local people. According to perceptions and expectations of visitors from various results of tourism programs, the visitor’s perceptions showed that the tourism management in Komodo National Park should pay more attention to visitor's satisfaction and expectation and gives positive impact directly to the ecosystem sustainability, local community and transparency to the conservation program.

Keywords: 7th wonders of nature, ecotourism, Komodo dragon, visitor’s perceptions, wildlife management

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: M. V. Shivaani, P. K. Jain, Surendra S. Yadav

Abstract:

Risk management has been gaining extensive focus from international organizations like Committee of Sponsoring Organizations and Financial Stability Board, and, the foundation of such an effective and efficient risk management system lies in a strong risk governance structure. In view of this, an attempt (perhaps a first of its kind) has been made to develop a risk governance index, which could be used as proxy for quality of risk governance structures. The index (normative framework) is based on eleven variables, namely, size of board, board diversity in terms of gender, proportion of executive directors, executive/non-executive status of chairperson, proportion of independent directors, CEO duality, chief risk officer (CRO), risk management committee, mandatory committees, voluntary committees and existence/non-existence of whistle blower policy. These variables are scored on a scale of 1 to 5 with the exception of the variables, namely, status of chairperson and CEO duality (which have been scored on a dichotomous scale with the score of 3 or 5). In case there is a legal/statutory requirement in respect of above-mentioned variables and there is a non-compliance with such requirement a score of one has been envisaged. Though there is no legal requirement, for the larger part of study, in context of CRO, risk management committee and whistle blower policy, still a score of 1 has been assigned in the event of their non-existence. Recognizing the importance of these variables in context of risk governance structure and the fact that the study basically focuses on risk governance, the absence of these variables has been equated to non-compliance with a legal/statutory requirement. Therefore, based on this the minimum score is 15 and the maximum possible is 55. In addition, an attempt has been made to explore the determinants of this index. For this purpose, the sample consists of non-financial companies (429) that constitute S&P CNX500 index. The study covers a 10 years period from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2015. Given the panel nature of data, Hausman test was applied, and it suggested that fixed effects regression would be appropriate. The results indicate that age and size of firms have significant positive impact on its risk governance structures. Further, post-recession period (2009-2015) has witnessed significant improvement in quality of governance structures. In contrast, profitability (positive relationship), leverage (negative relationship) and growth (negative relationship) do not have significant impact on quality of risk governance structures. The value of rho indicates that about 77.74% variation in risk governance structures is due to firm specific factors. Given the fact that each firm is unique in terms of its risk exposure, risk culture, risk appetite, and risk tolerance levels, it appears reasonable to assume that the specific conditions and circumstances that a company is beset with, could be the biggest determinants of its risk governance structures. Given the recommendations put forth in the paper (particularly for regulators and companies), the study is expected to be of immense utility in an important yet neglected aspect of risk management.

Keywords: corporate governance, ERM, risk governance, risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Thirayu Jumsai na Ayudhya

Abstract:

Initial attempts to understand about what architecture means to people as they go about their everyday life through my previous research revealed that knowledge such as environmental psychology, environmental perception, environmental aesthetics, did not adequately address a perceived need for the contextualized and holistic theoretical framework. In my previous research, it is found that people’s making senses of their everyday architecture can be described in terms of four super‐ordinate themes; (1) building in urban (text), (2) building in (text), (3) building in human (text), (4) and building in time (text). For more comprehensively understanding of how people make sense of their everyday architectural experience, in this ongoing research Phuket Old town was selected as the focal urban context where the distinguish character of Chino-Portuguese is remarkable. It is expected that in a unique urban context like Phuket old town unprecedented super-ordinate themes will be unveiled through the reflection of people’s everyday experiences. The ongoing research of people’s architectural experience conducted in Phuket Island, Thailand, will be presented succinctly. The research will address the question of how do people make sense of their everyday architecture/buildings especially in a unique urban context, Phuket Old town, and identify ways in which people make sense of their everyday architecture. Participant-Produced-Photograph (PPP) and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) are adopted as main methodologies. PPP allows people to express experiences of their everyday urban context freely without any interference or forced-data generating by researchers. With IPA methodology a small pool of participants is considered desirable given the detailed level of analysis required and its potential to produce a meaningful outcome.

Keywords: architectural experience, the everyday architecture, Phuket, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Takwa Jahan

Abstract:

Music can be used in ESL classroom to create a learning environment. As literature abounds with positive statements, music can be used as a vehicle for second language acquisition. Music can be applied as an instrument to help second language learners to acquire vocabulary, grammar, spelling and other four skills and to expand cultural knowledge. Vocabulary learning is perceived boring by learners. As listening to music and singing songs are enjoyable to students, it can be used effectively to acquire vocabulary in second language. This paper reports a study to find out how music exhilarates vocabulary acquisition as the learners stay relaxed and thus learning becomes more enjoyable. For conducting my research two groups of fifty students- music and non-music group were formed. Data were collected through class observation, test, questionnaires, and interview. The finding shows that music group acquired much amount of vocabulary than the non-music group. They enjoyed vocabulary learning activities based on listening songs.

Keywords: effective instrument, ESL classroom, music, relax environment, vocabulary learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Kawpong Polyorat

Abstract:

Since the outbreak of mad cow disease and bird flu, consumers have become more concerned with meat quality and safety. As a result, meat traceability is adopted as one approach to handle consumers’ concern in this issue. Nevertheless, in Thailand, meat traceability is rarely used as a marketing tool to persuade consumers. As a consequence, the present study attempts to understand consumer trust in the meat traceability system by conducting a study in this country to examine the impact of three types of consumer knowledge on this trust. The study results reveal that out of three types of consumer knowledge, marketplace knowledge was the sole predictor of consumer trust in meat traceability and it has a positive influence. General product class knowledge and knowledge in meat products with traceability, however, did not significantly influence consumer trust. The research results provide several implications and directions for future study.

Keywords: consumer knowledge, marketing, product knowledge, traceability

Procedia PDF Downloads 312

Authors: Mariko Hara, Mari Aoki, Takako Ito, Masao Sugita

Abstract:

Social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 crisis had a severe impact on music and art practices based in community settings. They had to re-think how to connect with their dispersed community using online tools. As the social distancing continues, there is an urgent need to investigate the possibilities of online community music and art practices. Are they sustainable actions that can have positive impacts on the community and the quality of lives of people over time? The Online Lindgren Café (hereafter ‘OLC’) is a monthly online literature event which started in June 2020. In the OLC, up to 14 members meet online to discuss the works of Astrid Lindgren and similar authors. Members come from various places in Japan and Norway, with a variety of expertise from music therapy, music education, psychotherapy, music sociology, storytelling, and theatre, and their family members join them. In these meetings, music and arts activities emerged in response to interests among the members. The resources and experiences of the members helped to develop these activities further. This paper first introduces one of the music and art activities in one specific event, a collaborative picture book-making with music, which was initiated and led by the second author. The third author chose the music, and the activity itself was recorded. This is followed by the description of a reflecting event, where the recording of the collaborative picture book-making activity was shared to facilitate further creations (drawings, haiku, and fabric weaving) as well as group reflections on the trajectories of the Online Lindgren Café. Finally, we will discuss the preliminary findings using the data collected at the reflecting event. Key findings suggest that the resource-driven approach of the OLC leveled the relationships among the intergenerational, multi-cultural, and interdisciplinary members. This enabled the members to set aside their professional and/or predominant identities, which allowed them to discover their own and others’ resources. The relaxed, unstructured, and liminal phenomenon at OLC can be regarded as a form of communitas, where members gain a sense of liberation and belonging in a different way from in-person communications. Participation from one’s home, as well as a video conferencing function that allowed the members to position themselves among the other participants in equal-sized windows, seems to have enabled members to feel safe to express themselves openly at the same time feel a sense of belonging. Furthermore, in the OLC, music and arts activities acted to inclusively connect and re-connect dispersed, intergenerational members with each other. For instance, in a music and drawing activity, music acted as a means for each member to engage in their own ‘drawing space’ while still feeling connected with the others. The positive experiences from these activities inspired the members to use similar approaches outside of the OLC. The finding suggests that, because of its resource-driven approach supported by the music and arts activities, the OLC could be developed further as a permeable and sustainable action even after any current social distancing measures are lifted.

Keywords: communitas, COVID-19, musical affordances, online community of practices, resource-driven approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Swaleh Aboud, Mishal Gudka, David Obura

Abstract:

Background: Coral reefs are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to several threats ranging from climate change to overfishing. This has resulted in increased management and conservation efforts to protect reefs from degradation and facilitate recovery. Recruitmentof new individuals are isimportant in the recovery process and critical for the persistence of coral reef ecosystems. Local coral community structure can be influenced by successful recruit settlement, survival, and growth Understanding coral recruitment patterns can help quantify reef resilience and connectivity, establish baselines and track changes and evaluate the effectiveness of reef restoration and conservation efforts. This study will examine the abundance and spatial pattern of coral recruits and how this relates to adult community structure, including the distribution of thermal resistance and sensitive genera and their distribution in different management regimes. Methods: Coral recruit and demography surveys were conducted from 2020 to 2022, covering 35 sites in 19coral reef locations along the Kenyan coast. These included marine parks, reserves, community conservation areas (CMAs), and open access areas from the north (Marereni) to the south (Kisite) coast of Kenya and across different reef habitats. The data was collected through the underwater visual census (UVC) technique. We counted adult corals (>10 cm diameter)of23 selected genera using belt transects (25 by 1 m) and sampling of 1 m2 quadrat (at an interval of 5m) for all coloniesless than 10 cm diameter. The benthic cover was collected using photo quadrats. The surveys were only done during the northeast monsoon season. The data wereanalyzed using the R program to see the distribution patterns and the Kruskal Wallis test to see whether there was a significant difference. Spearman correlation was also applied to assess the relationship between the distribution of coral genera in recruits and adults. Results: A total of 44 different coral genera were recorded for recruits, ranging from 3at Marereni to 30at Watamu Marine Reserve. Recruit densities ranged from 1.2±1.5recruit m-2 (mean±SD) at Likoni to 10.3± 8.4 recruit m-2 at Kisite Marine Park. The overall densityof recruitssignificantly differed between reef locations, with Kisite Marine Park and Reserve and Likonihaving significantly large differences from all the other locations, while Vuma, Watamu, Malindi, and Kilifi had significantly lower differences from all the other locations. The recruit generadensity along the Kenya coastwas divided into two clusters, one of which only included sites inKisite Marine Park. Adult colonies were dominated by Porites massive, Acropora, Platygyra, and Favites, whereas recruits were dominated by Porites branching, Porites massive, Galaxea, and Acropora. However, correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant positive correlation (r=0.81, p<0.05) between recruit and adult coral densities across the 23 coral genera. Marereni, which had the lowest densityof recruits, has only thermallyresistant coral genera, while Kisite Marine Park, with the highest recruit densities, has over 90% thermal sensitive coral genera. A weak positive correlation was found between recruit density and coralline algae, dead standing corals, and turf algae, whereas a weak negative correlation was found between recruit density and bare substrate and macroalgae. Between management regimes, marine reserves were found to have more recruits than no-take zones (marine parks and CMAs) and open access areas, although the difference was not significant. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant difference in the density of recruits between different reef locations along the Kenyan coast. Although the dominating genera of adults and recruits were different, there was a strong positive correlation between their coral communities, which could indicate self-recruitment processes or consistent distance seedings (of the same recruit genera). Sites such as Kisite Marine Park, with high recruit densities but dominated by thermally sensitive genera, will, on the other hand, be adversely affected by future thermal stress. This could imply that reducing the threats to coral reefs such as overfishingcould allow for their natural regeneration and recovery.

Keywords: coral recruits, coral adult size-class, cora demography, resilience

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Farideh Gheitasi, Zahra Mirzaei Pour

Abstract:

Considering mutual interactions of industry and residence in an environmental point of view is essential in effective urban management and all the policies must be made based on the results of these interactions. So, District No 21 of Tehran Municipality (Iran) which is almost industrial combined with some residential area was selected to study the consequences of industrial and residential area neighborhood. In this paper the results of two observations conducted in two timescales in 2010 and 2015, according to completed questionnaires by residents of an industrial region in the study area, were analyzed. The questionnaires contain 19 different environmental parameters considering positive and negative effects of industry on human life. The results of this study show that 96% of the target group in 2010 believed if the companies regard the law, mutual coexistence of industry and residency is possible. While this number decreased to 21% in 2015, which indicates that the problem got worse and people became more unsatisfied with the situation.

Keywords: environment, industry, residence, pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: Sneha Sadana

Abstract:

Human beings are unique and so are their reactions towards varied stimuli. This study focuses on the impact personality has on how one deals with stressful situations. It can be intriguing to know how big of an impact our personality has on the way we react and how it is wired in us to respond to things in a particular manner all because of our personality and the traits which make us who we are. The study was done on 150 college going students, 75 males and 75 females mainly from Ahmedabad, India pursuing a variety of different streams and subjects. The questionnaire consists of two standardized questionnaires which measure stress and personality. The Student Stress Scale by Manju Agarwal evaluates stress of subjects and the big five personality locator by Norman.
The findings showed that there exists a positive relationship between stress and neuroticism and an inverse relationship between stress and sociability, stress and openness, stress and agreeableness and stress and conscientiousness.
And on doing a further comparative analysis on personality types of the same sample it was found out that females were more agreeable, followed by conscientiousness, sociability, openness, and neuroticism. In males, however, it was observed that males were more agreeable, followed by conscientiousness, neuroticism, sociability, and openness

Keywords: college students, personality, stress, theories of personality

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Lucille Lok-Sun Ngan

Abstract:

There are significant gaps in both the migration and family literatures regarding the gendered parenting of Chinese migrants. Evidence from the literature informs us that the child-focused parenting style of the West has altered, with positive consequences, parent–child relationships in migrant families. In particular, second-generation migrants have developed hybrid identities distinct from those of their overseas-born parents and the locals. On returning to their place of origin, they may undergo yet another process of change in values, and in behaviour, in order to adapt to the local culture. As migration changes values, personality and practice at personal, interpersonal and familial levels, the cross-cultural experiences of returnees inevitably affect their own fatherhood journeys in their country of origin. This paper reviews current literature on fatherhood and migration and identifies the gaps and limitations that pertain to understanding the paternal experiences of Chinese return migrants.

Keywords: Chinese returnees, cross-cultural experiences, fatherhood, hybridity, migration

Procedia PDF Downloads 362

Authors: Aline F. Marcon, Eduardo F. da Silva, Marina Bouzon

Abstract:

The impact of lean management on environmental sustainability is the research line that receives the most attention from academicians. Therefore, the social dimension of sustainable development has so far received less attention. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of intra-plant lean manufacturing practices on social sustainability indicators extracted from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) parameters. The method is two-phased, including MCDM approach to uncover the most relevant practices regarding social performance and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method to reveal the structural relationship among lean practices. Professionals from the academic and industrial fields answered the questionnaires. From the results of this paper, it is possible to verify that practices such as “Safety Improvement Programs”, “Total Quality Management” and “Cross-functional Workforce” are the ones which have the most positive influence on the set of GRI social indicators.

Keywords: indicators, ISM, lean, social, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Mohamed E. Khalifa, Adil A. Gobouri

Abstract:

Potential synthesis of a series of 3-amino-4-arylazothiophene derivatives from reaction of 2-cyano-2-phenylthiocarbamoyl acetamide and the appropriate α-halogenated reagents, followed by coupling with different aryl diazonium salts (Japp-Klingemann reaction), and another series of 5-arylazo-thiazol-2-ylcarbamoyl-thiophene derivatives from base-catalyzed intramolecular condensation of 5-arylazo-2-(N-chloroacetyl)amino-thiazole with selected B-keto compounds (Thorpe-Ziegler reaction) was performed. The biological activity of the two series was studied in vitro. Their versatility for pharmaceutical purposes was reported, where they displayed remarkable activities against selected pathogenic microorganisms; Bacillus subtilize, Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive bacteria), Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram negative bacteria) and Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans (fungi) with various degrees related to their chemical structures.

Keywords: thiophene, 2-aminothiazole, compounds, antioxidant, antitumor, antimicrobial

Procedia PDF Downloads 334

Authors: Ashkan Ebadi, Andrea Schiffauerova

Abstract:

Every year, a considerable amount of money is being invested on research, mainly in the form of funding allocated to universities and research institutes. To better distribute the available funds and to set the most proper R&D investment strategies for the future, evaluation of the productivity of the funded researchers and the impact of such funding is crucial. In this paper, using the data on 15 years of journal publications of the NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering research Council of Canada) funded researchers and by means of bibliometric analysis, the scientific development of the funded researchers and their scientific collaboration patterns will be investigated in the period of 1996-2010. According to the results it seems that there is a positive relation between the average level of funding and quantity and quality of the scientific output. In addition, whenever funding allocated to the researchers has increased, the number of co-authors per paper has also augmented. Hence, the increase in the level of funding may enable researchers to get involved in larger projects and/or scientific teams and increase their scientific output respectively.

Keywords: bibliometrics, collaboration, funding, productivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Zakaria S. G. Hegazy, Walid M. A. Ahmed

Abstract:

This paper examines the dependence structure of Islamic stock markets on Bitcoin’s realized volatility components in bear, normal, and bull market periods. A quantile regression approach is employed, after adjusting raw returns with respect to a broad set of relevant global factors and accounting for structural breaks in the data. The results reveal that upside volatility tends to exert negative influences on Islamic developed-market returns more in bear than in bull market conditions, while downside volatility positively affects returns during bear and bull conditions. For emerging markets, we find that the upside (downside) component exerts lagged negative (positive) effects on returns in bear (all) market regimes. By and large, the dependence structures turn out to be asymmetric. Our evidence provides essential implications for investors.

Keywords: cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin, realized volatility measures, asymmetry, quantile regression

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Alfi Y. Zakiyyah, Hanni Garminia, M. Salman, A. N. Irawati

Abstract:

In the terminology of the hypergraph, there is a relation with the terminology graph. In the theory of graph, the edges connected two vertices. In otherwise, in hypergraph, the edges can connect more than two vertices. There is representation matrix of a graph such as adjacency matrix, Laplacian matrix, and incidence matrix. The adjacency matrix is symmetry matrix so that all eigenvalues is real. This matrix is a nonnegative matrix. The all diagonal entry from adjacency matrix is zero so that the trace is zero. Another representation matrix of the graph is the Laplacian matrix. Laplacian matrix is symmetry matrix and semidefinite positive so that all eigenvalues are real and non-negative. According to the spectral study in the graph, some that result is generalized to hypergraph. A hypergraph can be represented by a matrix such as adjacency, incidence, and Laplacian matrix. Throughout for this term, we use Laplacian matrix to represent a complete tripartite hypergraph. The aim from this research is to determine second smallest eigenvalues from this matrix and find a relation this eigenvalue with the connectivity of that hypergraph.

Keywords: connectivity, graph, hypergraph, Laplacian matrix

Procedia PDF Downloads 470

Authors: Hossein Panahi, Firouz Fallahi, Sima Nasibparast

Abstract:

Background & Aim: Unnecessary growth in health expenditures of developing countries in recent decades, and also the importance of physicians’ behavior in health market, have made the theory of physician-induced demand (PID) as one of the most important issues in health economics. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the hypothesis of induced demand among mental patients who receive services from either psychologists or psychiatrists in East Azerbaijan province. Methods: Using data from questionnaires in 2020 and employing the theoretical model of Jaegher and Jegers (2000) and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), this study examines the PID hypothesis of selected psychologists and psychiatrists. The sample size of the study, after removing the questionnaires with missing data, is 45 psychologists and 203 people of their patients, as well as 30 psychiatrists and 160 people of their patients. Results: The results show that, although psychiatrists are ‘profit-oriented physicians’, there is no evidence of inducing unnecessary demand by them (PID), and the difference between the behavior of employers and employee doctors is due to differences in practice style. However, with regard to psychologists, the results indicate that they are ‘profit-oriented’, and there is a PID effect in this sector. Conclusion: According to the results, it is suggested that in order to reduce competition and eliminate the PID effect, the admission of students in the field of psychology should be reduced, patient information on mental illness should be increased, and government monitoring and control over the national health system must be increased.

Keywords: physician-induced demand, national health system, hierarchical linear modeling methods, multilevel modela

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Hala Hilaly, Nermin Morsy, Jala Morsy Ibrahim

Abstract:

Brand authenticity has a significant impact on brand trust and can help grow within the markets. Consumers have become more concerned with the 'authenticity' due to the doubt of credibility of the value of mass production. This is why people prefer authentic products, which making authenticity a cornerstone of contemporary marketing and a major factor for brand success. Therefore, it is important to embrace a culture that encourages and promotes authentic values. Hence, the purpose of the research is to investigate the impact of using local products as an authentic brand on promoting Egyptian tourist destination and explore the effect of Globalized authenticity on the local product in Egypt. Results confirmed that local products provide an excellent opportunity to worldwide advertising with positive impact on promoting Egypt as tourist destination. However, number of problems are facing local products in Egypt such as imported 'Made in China' products as well as other obstacles.

Keywords: authentic brand, contemporary marketing, destination marketing, local products

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Mohammad Anwar, Hamid Ullah Khan, Shah Waliullah

Abstract:

Recently, environmental education is an essential element in avoiding environmental degradation around the globe that needs new articles and policymakers’ emphasis. Hence, the present article examines the impact of environmental education on environmental knowledge, environmental behavior, and environmental attitudes in Indonesia. The present research also investigated the moderating role of government support in environmental education, environmental knowledge, environmental behavior, and environmental attitude in Indonesia. A questionnaire was used as the primary data collection method. The smart PLS was utilized to test the association among variables and the hypotheses of the study. The results revealed that environmental education had a significant and positive linkage with environmental knowledge, environmental behavior, and environmental attitude in Indonesia. The findings also exposed that government support significantly moderated environmental education, environmental knowledge, and environmental behavior in Indonesia. The findings of this research would provide help to the policymakers in establishing the policies related to environmental education and reducing environmental degradation.

Keywords: environmental education, environmental knowledge, environmental behavior, environmental attitude, government support

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Mikko Salminen, Niklas Ravaja

Abstract:

Previous studies have shown that emotional intelligence (EI) has an important role in leadership and social interaction. On the other hand, physiological synchronization between two interacting participants has been related to, for example, intensity of the interaction, and interestingly also to empathy. It is suggested that the amount of covariation in physiological signals between the two interacting persons would also be related to how the discussion is perceived subjectively. To study the interrelations between physiological synchronization, emotional intelligence, and subjective perception of the interaction, performance review discussions between real manager – subordinate dyads were studied using psychophysiological measurements and self-reports. The participants consisted of 40 managers, of which 24 were female, and 78 of their subordinates, of which 45 were female. The participants worked in various fields, for example banking, education, and engineering. The managers had a normal performance review discussion with two subordinates, except two managers who, due to scheduling issues, had discussion with only one subordinate. The managers were on average 44.5 years old, and the subordinates on average 45.5 years old. Written consent, in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, was obtained from all the participants. After the discussion, the participants filled a questionnaire assessing their emotions during the discussion. This included a self-assessment manikin (SAM) scale for the emotional valence during the discussion, with a 9-point graphical scale representing a manikin whose facial expressions ranged from smiling and happy to frowning and unhappy. In addition, the managers filled EI360, a 37-item self-report trait emotional intelligence questionnaire. The psychophysiological activity of the participants was recorded using two Varioport-B portable recording devices. Cardiac activity (ECG, electrocardiogram) was measured with two electrodes placed on the torso. Inter-beat interval (IBI, time between two successive heart beats) was calculated from the ECG signals. The facial muscle activation (EMG, electromyography) was recorded on three sites of the left side of the face: zygomaticus major (cheek muscle), orbicularis oculi (periocular muscle), and corrugator supercilii (frowning muscle). The facial-EMG signals were rectified and smoothed, and cross-coherences were calculated between members of each dyad, for all the three EMG signals, for the baseline and discussion periods. The values were natural-log transformed to normalize the distributions. Higher cross-coherence during the discussion between the manager’s and the subordinate’s zygomatic muscles was related to more positive valence self-reported emotions, F(1; 66,137) = 7,051; p=0,01. Thus, synchronized cheek muscle activation, either due to synchronous smiling or talking, was related to more positive perception of the discussion. In addition, higher IBI synchronization between the manager and the subordinate during the discussion was related to the manager’s higher self-reported emotional intelligence, F(1; 27,981)=4,58; p=0,041. That is, the EI was related to synchronous cardiac activity and possibly to similar physiological arousal levels. The results imply that the psychophysiological synchronization could be a potentially useful index in the study of social interaction and a valuable tool in the coaching of leadership skills in organizational contexts.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, leadership, psychophysiology, social interaction, synchronization

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Hale Kirer Silva Lecuna, Beyza Aydin

Abstract:

Health is one of the main components of human capital and sustainable development, and it is very important for economic growth. Health economics, which is an indisputable part of the science of economics, has five stages in general. These are health and development, financing of health services, economic regulation in the health, allocation of resources and efficiency of health services. A well-developed and efficient health sector plays a major role by increasing the level of development of countries. The most crucial pillars of the health sector are the hospitals that are divided into public and private. The main purpose of the hospitals is to provide more efficient services. Therefore the aim is to meet patients’ satisfaction by increasing the service quality. Health-related studies in Turkey date back to the Ottoman and Seljuk Empires. In the near past, Turkey applied 'Health Sector Transformation Programs' under different titles between 2003 and 2010. Our aim in this paper is to measure how effective these transformation programs are for the health sector, to see how much they can increase the efficiency of hospitals over the years, to see the return of investments, to make comments and suggestions on the results, and to provide a new reference for the literature. Within this framework, the public and private hospitals in Balıkesir, Bilecik, Bursa, Çanakkale, Edirne, Istanbul, Kirklareli, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Tekirdağ, Yalova will be examined by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for the years between 2000 and 2019. DEA is a linear programming-based technique, which gives relatively good results in multivariate studies. DEA basically estimates an efficiency frontier and make a comparison. Constant returns to scale and variable returns to scale are two most commonly used DEA methods. Both models are divided into two as input and output-oriented. To analyze the data, the number of personnel, number of specialist physicians, number of practitioners, number of beds, number of examinations will be used as input variables; and the number of surgeries, in-patient ratio, and crude mortality rate as output variables. 11 hospitals belonging to the Marmara region were included in the study. It is seen that these hospitals worked effectively only in 7 provinces (Balıkesir, Bilecik, Bursa, Edirne, İstanbul, Kırklareli, Yalova) for the year 2001 when no transformation program was implemented. After the transformation program was implemented, for example, in 2014 and 2016, 10 hospitals (Balıkesir, Bilecik, Bursa, Çanakkale, Edirne, İstanbul, Kocaeli, Kırklareli, Tekirdağ, Yalova) were found to be effective. In 2015, ineffective results were observed for Sakarya, Tekirdağ and Yalova. However, since these values are closer to 1 after the transformation program, we can say that the transformation program has positive effects. For Sakarya alone, no effective results have been achieved in any year. When we look at the results in general, it shows that the transformation program has a positive effect on the effectiveness of hospitals.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, efficiency, health sector, Marmara region

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Tony Mann

Abstract:

This paper sets out the case for involving and engaging employees/workers/stakeholders/staff in any significant change that is being considered by the senior executives of the organization. It establishes the rationale, the approach, the methodology of engagement and the benefits of a participative approach. It challenges the new norm of imposing change for fear of resistance and instead suggests that involving people has better outcomes and a longer-lasting impact. Various strategic models are introduced and illustrated to explain how the process can be most effective. The paper highlights one model in particular (the Process Iceberg® Organizational Change model) that has proven to be instrumental in developing effective change. Its use is demonstrated in its various forms and explains why so much change fails to address the key elements and how we can be more productive in managing change. ‘Participation’ in change is too often seen as negative, expensive and unwieldy. The paper aims to show that another model: UIA=O+E, can offset the difficulties and, in fact, produce much more positive and effective change.

Keywords: facilitation, stakeholders, buy-in, digital workshops

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: Muhammad Khaliqi, Amzul Rifin, Andriyono Kilat Adhi

Abstract:

The non-tariff policy could make Indonesian shrimp exports decrease in the international market. This research was aimed to analyze factors affecting Indonesia's exports of shrimp and the impact of SPS and TBT policy on Indonesian shrimp. Factors affecting the exports of Indonesian shrimp were estimated using gravity model. The results showed the GDP of exporters and exchange rate, have a negative influence against the export of Indonesia’s shrimp exports. The GDP of the importers and trade cost have a positive influence against the export of shrimp Indonesia while the SPS policy and TBT don’t affect Indonesia's exports of shrimp in the international market.

Keywords: gravity model, international trade, non-tariff measure, sanitary and phytosanitary, shrimp, technical barriers to trade

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Raj Chandran, Saul Datwyler, Jaime Marino, Daniel West, Karla Grasso, Adam Buss, Hina Syed, Zina Al Sahouri, Jennifer Yen, Krista Caudle, Beth McQuiston

Abstract:

The Alinity i TBI test is Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) registered and is a panel of in vitro diagnostic chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassays for the measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) in plasma and serum. The Alinity i TBI performance was evaluated in a multi-center pivotal study to demonstrate the capability to assist in determining the need for a CT scan of the head in adult subjects (age 18+) presenting with suspected mild TBI (traumatic brain injury) with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13 to 15. TBI has been recognized as an important cause of death and disability and is a growing public health problem. An estimated 69 million people globally experience a TBI annually1. Blood-based biomarkers such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) have shown utility to predict acute traumatic intracranial injury on head CT scans after TBI. A pivotal study using prospectively collected archived (frozen) plasma specimens was conducted to establish the clinical performance of the TBI test on the Alinity i system. The specimens were originally collected in a prospective, multi-center clinical study. Testing of the specimens was performed at three clinical sites in the United States. Performance characteristics such as detection limits, imprecision, linearity, measuring interval, expected values, and interferences were established following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidance. Of the 1899 mild TBI subjects, 120 had positive head CT scan results; 116 of the 120 specimens had a positive TBI interpretation (Sensitivity 96.7%; 95% CI: 91.7%, 98.7%). Of the 1779 subjects with negative CT scan results, 713 had a negative TBI interpretation (Specificity 40.1%; 95% CI: 37.8, 42.4). The negative predictive value (NPV) of the test was 99.4% (713/717, 95% CI: 98.6%, 99.8%). The analytical measuring interval (AMI) extends from the limit of quantitation (LoQ) to the upper LoQ and is determined by the range that demonstrates acceptable performance for linearity, imprecision, and bias. The AMI is 6.1 to 42,000 pg/mL for GFAP and 26.3 to 25,000 pg/mL for UCH-L1. Overall, within-laboratory imprecision (20 day) ranged from 3.7 to 5.9% CV for GFAP and 3.0 to 6.0% CV for UCH-L1, when including lot and instrument variances. The Alinity i TBI clinical performance results demonstrated high sensitivity and high NPV, supporting the utility to assist in determining the need for a head CT scan in subjects presenting to the emergency department with suspected mild TBI. The GFAP and UCH-L1 assays show robust analytical performance across a broad concentration range of GFAP and UCH-L1 and may serve as a valuable tool to help evaluate TBI patients across the spectrum of mild to severe injury.

Keywords: biomarker, diagnostic, neurology, TBI

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Semiu Bello

Abstract:

Since the discovery of HIV/AIDS in 1981, it has been a major global challenge and its ravaging consequences have had negative imprints on both the affected and infected people. The challenge of HIV/AIDS does not only affect the developing countries of the world, the developed nations have had their share of the experiences. The disease has, therefore, attracted the attentions of national governments and international donor agencies with huge financial investments toward the eradication of the virus and its global menace. Socially, however, people living with HIV/AIDS have had to battle with an array of social challenges in regards to the infection; the social stigmas, which seem to be more prevalent in underdeveloped and developing societies. The social stigmas with which people living with HIV/AIDS have suffered from include, but not limited, to social isolation, group avoidance, loss of jobs, public ridicule and non-appointment to official and government positions. Given this background, this study examines the roles of therapeutic communication otherwise called patient-provider communication within a clinical environment, focusing on Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) Sagamu, Nigeria as a case study. In other words, this study will investigate the level of interpersonal communication, interactions, and relationships that often take place between people living with HIV/AIDS and health care providers including doctors, nurses and social workers. This study will methodologically adopt the in-depth interview to interview six members of people living with HIV/AIDS at OOUTH. The dimensions of the data will determine the policy prescriptions of this study, which as envisage, may contribute to the improved use of therapeutic communication by health care providers and may thereof improve the psychology of people living with HIV/AIDS in the face of any social stigma.

Keywords: health care providers, people living with HIV/AIDS, social stigma, therapeutic communication

Procedia PDF Downloads 210