Search results for: powerful geographical knowledge

Authors: Ergün Şakalar, Şeyma Özçirak Ergün

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Pistachio nuts, the fruits of the pistachio tree (Pistacia vera), are edible tree nuts highly valued for their organoleptic properties. Pistachio nuts used in snack foods, chocolates, baklava, meat products, ice-cream industries and other gourmet products as ingredients. Undeclared pistachios may be present in food products as a consequence of fraudulent substitution. Control of food samples is very important for safety and fraud. Mix of pistachio, peanut (Arachis hypogaea), pea (Pisum sativum L.) used instead of pistachio in food products, because pistachio is a considerably expensive nut. To solve this problem, a sensitive polymerase chain reaction PCR has been developed. A real-time PCR assay for the detection of pea, peanut and pistachio in baklava was designed by using EvaGreen fluorescence dye. Primers were selected from powerful regions for identification of pea, peanut and pistachio. DNA from reference samples and industrial products were successfully extracted with the GIDAGEN® Multi-Fast DNA Isolation Kit. Genomes were identified based on their specific melting peaks (Mp) which are 77°C, 85.5°C and 82.5°C for pea, peanut and pistachio, respectively. Homogenized mixtures of raw pistachio, pea and peanut were prepared with the ratio of 0.01%, 0.1%, 1%, 10%, 40% and 70% of pistachio. Quantitative detection limit of assay was 0.1% for pistachio. Also, real-time PCR technique used in this study allowed the qualitative detection of as little as 0.001% level of peanut DNA, 0,000001% level of pistachio DNA and 0.000001% level of pea DNA in the experimental admixtures. This assay represents a potentially valuable diagnostic method for detection of nut species adulterated with pistachio as well as for highly specific and relatively rapid detection of small amounts of pistachio in food samples.

Keywords: pea, peanut, pistachio, real-time PCR

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Authors: Suvarna Kumar Gogula, Sandhya Devi Gogula, P. Chanakya

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Augmented reality is defined as the collection of the digital (or) computer generated information like images, audio, video, 3d models, etc. and overlay them over the real time environment. Augmented reality can be thought as a blend between completely synthetic and completely real. Augmented reality provides scope in a wide range of industries like manufacturing, retail, gaming, advertisement, tourism, etc. and brings out new dimensions in the modern digital world. As it overlays the content, it makes the users enhance the knowledge by providing the content blended with real world. In this application, we integrated augmented reality with data analytics and integrated with cloud so the virtual content will be generated on the basis of the data present in the database and we used marker based augmented reality where every marker will be stored in the database with corresponding unique ID. This application can be used in wide range of industries for different business processes, but in this paper, we mainly focus on the marketing industry which helps the customer in gaining the knowledge about the products in the market which mainly focus on their prices, customer feedback, quality, and other benefits. This application also focuses on providing better market strategy information for marketing managers who obtain the data about the stocks, sales, customer response about the product, etc. In this paper, we also included the reports from the feedback got from different people after the demonstration, and finally, we presented the future scope of Augmented Reality in different business processes by integrating with new technologies like cloud, big data, artificial intelligence, etc.

Keywords: augmented reality, data analytics, catch room, marketing and sales

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Authors: Jerzy Banski

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Small towns represent a key element of settlement structure and serve a number of important functions associated with the servicing of rural areas that surround them. It is in light of this that scientific studies have paid considerable attention to the functional structure of centers of this kind, as well as the relationships with both surrounding rural areas and other urban centers. But a preliminary to such research has typically involved attempts at classifying the urban centers themselves, with this also assisting with the planning and shaping of development policy on different spatial scales. The purpose of the work is to test out the methods underpinning three different classifications of small urban centers, as well as to offer a preliminary interpretation of the outcomes obtained. Research took in 722 settlement units in Poland, granted town rights and populated by fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. A morphologically-based classification making reference to the database of topographic objects as regards land cover within the administrative boundaries of towns and cities was carried out, and it proved possible to distinguish the categories of “housing-estate”, industrial and R&R towns, as well as towns characterized by dichotomy. Equally, a functional/morphological approach taken with the same database allowed for the identification – via an alternative method – of three main categories of small towns (i.e., the monofunctional, multifunctional or oligo functional), which could then be described in far greater detail. A third, multi-criterion classification made simultaneous reference to the conditioning of a structural, a location-related, and an administrative hierarchy-related nature, allowing for distinctions to be drawn between small towns in 9 different categories. The results obtained allow for multifaceted analysis and interpretation of the geographical differentiation characterizing the distribution of Poland’s urban centers across space in the country.

Keywords: small towns, classification, local planning, Poland

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Authors: Dina Tareq Ismail, Alexandria A. Proff

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a nation seeking to advance in all fields, particularly education. One area of focus for UAE 2021 agenda is to restructure UAE schools and universities by equipping them with highly developed technology. The agenda also advises educational institutions to prepare students with applicable and transferrable Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills. Despite the emphasis on ICT and computer literacy skills, there exists limited empirical data on the use of M-Learning in the literature. This qualitative study explores the motivation of higher primary Arabic teachers in private schools toward implementing and integrating M-Learning apps in their classrooms. This research employs a phenomenological approach through the use of semistructured interviews with nine purposefully selected Arabic teachers. The data were analyzed using a content analysis via multiple stages of coding: open, axial, and thematic. Findings reveal three primary themes: (1) Arabic teachers with high levels of procedural knowledge in ICT are more motivated to implement M-Learning; (2) Arabic teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy influence their motivation toward implementation of M-Learning; (3) Arabic teachers implement M-Learning when they possess high utility and/or intrinsic value in these applications. These findings indicate a strong need for further training, equipping, and creating buy-in among Arabic teachers to enhance their ICT skills in implementing M-Learning. Further, given the limited availability of M-Learning apps designed for use in the Arabic language on the market, it is imperative that developers consider designing M-Learning tools that Arabic teachers, and Arabic-speaking students, can use and access more readily. This study contributes to closing the knowledge gap on teacher-motivation for implementing M-Learning in their classrooms in the UAE.

Keywords: ICT skills, m-learning, self-efficacy, teacher-motivation

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Authors: Carolina Alcântara, Ileno Costa

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This study had the objective to systemize the main psycho-social and socioeducational aspects that related with the psychic suffering of adolescents in conflict of law and freedom privation. This research wanted to verify the signals and symptoms identified trough themselves perceptions related to their condition of health/insanity. In a similar way, it was objectified to know the opinions of the ambient conditions of the institution the use of the currently available resources for Health Service and Educational Service. The methodological proposal is based on the quant-qualitative analysis of interviews half-structuralized carried through with 36 teenagers was using psychiatric medication continuously. The data had pointed the experiences of sleeplessness and nightmares, associates or not with experiences of loss of reality (hallucinations) had constituted the illness most frequent. The self-punishment behavior appeared at second place. With regard to the ambient factors, it was verified that institution had, in general way, guaranteed the physical integrity and the maintenance of the health. Amongst the current available resources of Health Service, the administration of anticonvulsivants, in association with other psychotropic drugs has been widely used. The school was viewed as important device of available in the institution. By means of the adolescent’s understanding who do not like to go to the school, they don’t disqualify the knowledge, in contrast, they wanted for knowledge, however, they were frustrated for not having their educational supplies adequately, affirming that the school is weak or they do not learn. Finally, among the possible conclusions guided for the Winnicott’s thought, it was observed that institution in analysis is a representative of the paternal function. However, to begin the self-cure process is necessary that formation of therapeutical bonds. The group of teachers is identified as the main tool of change.

Keywords: serious psychic suffering, adolescent in conflict with the law, delinquency, privation of freedom

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Authors: I. Nyoman Mahayasa Adiputra

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Data in the field of health can be useful for the purposes of data analysis, one example of health data is disease data. Disease data is usually in a geographical plot in accordance with the area. Where the data was collected, in the city of Denpasar, Bali. Disease data report is still published in tabular form, disease information has not been mapped in GIS form. In this research, disease information in Denpasar city will be digitized in the form of a geographic information system with the smallest administrative area in the form of district. Denpasar City consists of 4 districts of North Denpasar, East Denpasar, West Denpasar and South Denpasar. In this research, we use Google fusion table technology for map digitization process, where this technology can facilitate from the administrator and from the recipient information. From the administrator side of the input disease, data can be done easily and quickly. From the receiving end of the information, the resulting GIS application can be published in a website-based application so that it can be accessed anywhere and anytime. In general, the results obtained in this study, divided into two, namely: (1) Geolocation of Denpasar and all of Denpasar districts, the process of digitizing the map of Denpasar city produces a polygon geolocation of each - district of Denpasar city. These results can be utilized in subsequent GIS studies if you want to use the same administrative area. (2) Dengue fever mapping in 2014 and 2015. Disease data used in this study is dengue fever case data taken in 2014 and 2015. Data taken from the profile report Denpasar Health Department 2015 and 2016. This mapping can be useful for the analysis of the spread of dengue hemorrhagic fever in the city of Denpasar.

Keywords: geographic information system, Google fusion table technology, delivery of disease data information, Denpasar city

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Authors: Wesam Darawsheh

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Purpose: There is an absence of studies directed to evaluate the effectiveness of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programs in Jordan. This research study is aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the services of CBR programmes in Jordan. Method: A questionnaire anonymized survey was carried out with forty-seven participants (stakeholders and volunteers) from four CBR centres in Jordan. It comprised eighteen questions that collected both qualitative and quantitative data with both closed- and open-ended questions. The survey assessed participants’ knowledge of CBR and perception of the effectiveness of services provided. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS Version 22.0 (2016, IBM Corporation New York). Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic content and analysis and open coding to identify emergent themes. Results: The ROC curve revealed that the AUC for questions of the survey to be (AUC=0.846) which indicated a good specificity and sensitivity of the questions of the survey. The MANOVA revealed insignificant results in the effect of the CBR site (p= 0.157), and the level of education of participants (p=0.549), on the perception of the effectiveness of CBR services. There were insignificant differences between the scores of PWDs and volunteers (p=0.781). 40.4% evaluated the effectiveness of CBR services to be low. This mainly stemmed out from the lack of efforts of the CBR programmes to raise the knowledge of the local community about CBR, disability and the role toward PWDs. Conclusions: A speculation for priorities of CBR programmes in Jordan was offered where efforts need to be directed at promoting livelihood and the empowerment components, in order to actualize the main three principles of CBR mainly by promoting multispectral collaboration as a way of operation.

Keywords: community based rehabilitation (CBR), people with disabilities (PWDS), CBR centres, rehabilitation services, Jordan, mixed-methods, evaluative study

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Authors: Sarah Smail

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Algeria has been subject to countless conquests and invasions that resulted in having a diverse linguistic repertoire. The sociolinguistic situation of the country made linguistic landscape analysis pertinent. This in fact, has led to the growth of diverse linguistic landscape studies that mainly focused on identifying the sociolinguistic situation of the country through shop names analysis. The present research adds to the existing literature by offering another perspective to the analysis of signs by combining the physical and digital semiotic landscape. The powerful oil, gas and agri-food industries in Algeria make it interesting to focus on the commodification of natural resources for the sake of identifying the language and semiotic resources deployed in the Algerian public scene in addition to the identification of the visibility of linguistic inequalities and minorities in the business domain. The study discusses the semiotic landscape of three trade cities: Bejaia, Setif and Hassi-Messaoud. In addition to interviews conducted with business owners and graphic designers and questionnaires with business employees. Withal, the study relies on Gorter’s multilingual inequalities in public space (MIPS) model (2021) and Irvine and Gal’s language ideology and linguistic differentiation (2000). The preliminary results demonstrate the sociolinguistic injustice existing in the business domain, e.g., the exclusion of the official languages, the dominance of foreign languages, and the excessive use of the roman script.

Keywords: semiotic landscaping, digital scapes, language commodification, linguistic inequalities, business signage

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Authors: Juliana Altavista Sagretti Gallo, Susy Frey Sabato

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Despite the poverty in the world, a third of all food produced in the world is wasted. FAO, the United Nations Organization of Agriculture and Food, points out the need to combine actions and new technologies to combat hunger and waste in contrast to the high production of food in the world. The energy of ionizing radiation in food brought many positive results, such as increased validity and insect infestation control. The food banks are organizations that act at various points of the food chain to collect and distribute food to the needy. So, the aim of this study was to initiate a partnership between irradiation and the food bank through the development of a questionnaire to evaluate and disseminate the knowledge and acceptance of individuals in the food bank in Brazil. Also, this study aimed to standardize a basis questionnaire for future research assessment of irradiated foods. For the construction of the questionnaire as a measuring instrument, a comprehensive and rigorous literature review was made. It's covered qualitative research, questionnaires, sensory evaluation, and food irradiated. Three stages of pre - tests were necessary, and related fields of experts were consulted. As a result, the questionnaire has three parts, personal issues, assertive issues and questions of multiple choices and finally an informative question. The questionnaire was applied in Ceagesp food bank in the biggest center of food in Brazil. Conclusions. 30 % of participants of Ceagesp bank had already heard of the Food irradiation but did not know about the mechanism, so they rejected the idea to associate with radioactivity and danger. The video showed in the last question and application of the questionnaire disseminated the idea of security. All individuals declare understand the goal of treatment and accept buy and consume irradiated food after them.

Keywords: bank of food, questionary, irradiated food, acceptance of irradiated food

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Authors: Constantin Haita

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The chalcolithic tell settlements from south-eastern Romania, attributed to Gumelnița culture, are characterised by a well-defined surface, marked often by delimitation structures, a succession of many layers of construction, destruction, and rebuilding, and a well-structured area of occupation: built spaces, passage areas, waste zones. Settlements of tell type are located in the river valleys –on erosion remnants, alluvial bars or small islands, at the border of the valleys– on edges or prominences of Pleistocene terraces, lower Holocene terraces, and banks of lakes. This study integrates data on the geographical position, the morphological background, and the general stratigraphy of these important settlements. The correlation of the spatial distribution with the geomorphological units of each area of evolution creates an image of the natural landscape in which they occurred. The sedimentological researches achieved in the floodplain area of Balta Ialomiței showed important changes in the alluvial activity of Danube, after the Chalcolithic period (ca. 6500 - 6000 BP), to Iron Age and Middle Ages. The micromorphological analysis, consisting in thin section interpretation, at the microscopic scale, of sediments and soils in an undisturbed state, allowed the interpretation of the identified sedimentary facies, in terms of mode of formation and anthropic activities. Our studied cases reflect some distinct situations, correlating either with the geomorphological background or with the vertical development, the presence of delimiting structures and the internal organization. The characteristics of tells from this area bring significant information about the human habitation of Lower Danube in Prehistory.

Keywords: chalcolithic, micromorphology, Romania, sedimentology, tell settlements

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Authors: Yasin I. Tayem, Jamil Ahmed, Mahmood Bahzad, Abdullah Alnama, Fahad Al Asfoor, Mahmood A. Jalil, Mohammed Radhi, Ahmed Alenezi, Khalid A. J. Al-Khaja

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Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) represent a significant cause of patient’s morbidity and mortality. The rate of DDIs is rapidly increasing worldwide with the increasing proportion of ageing population and frequent requirement of polypharmacy-prescription of multiple drugs to treat comorbidities. Prescribing physicians are responsible for checking their prescriptions for the presence and severity of DDIs. However, since a large number of new drugs are approved and marketed every year, new interactions between medications are increasingly reported. Consequently, it is no longer practical for physicians to rely only upon their previous knowledge of medicine to avoid potential DDIs. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of physicians working at primary healthcare centers in Bahrain towards DDIs and how they manage them during their practice. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, physicians working at all governmental primary healthcare centers in Bahrain were invited to voluntarily, privately and anonymously respond to a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire aims to assess their self-reported knowledge of DDIs and how they check for them in their practice. The participants were requested to provide socio demographic data and information related to their attitudes towards DDIs including strategies they employ for detecting and managing them, and their awareness of drugs which commonly cause DDIs. At the end of the questionnaire, an open-ended item was added to allow participants to further add any comment. Findings and Conclusions: The study is going on currently, and the results and conclusions will be presented at the conference.

Keywords: awareness, drug interactions, health centres, physicians

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Authors: Eugenia P. Ramirez, Kevin Matthe Caramancion, Mia Eleazar

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Getting the attention of students is a constant challenge to the instructors/lecturers. Although in the computer laboratories some networking and entertainment websites are blocked, yet, these websites have unlimited ways of attracting students to get into it. Thus, when an instructor gives a specific set of instructions, some students may not be able to follow sequentially the steps that are given. The instructor has to physically go to the specific remote terminal and show the student the details. Sometimes, during an examination in laboratory set-up, a proctor may prefer to give detailed and text-written instructions rather than verbal instructions. Even the mere calling of a specific student at any time will distract the whole class especially when activities are being performed. What is needed is : An application software that is able to lock the student's monitor and at the same time display the instructor’s screen; a software that is powerful enough to process in its side alone and manipulate a specific user’s terminal in terms of free configuration that is, without restrictions at the server level is a required functionality for a modern and optimal server structure; a software that is able to send text messages to students, per terminal or in group will be a solution. These features are found in LabSupport. This paper outlines the LabSupport application software framework to efficiently manage computer laboratory sessions and will include different modules: screen viewer, demonstration mode, monitor locking system, text messaging, and class management. This paper's ultimate aim is to provide a system that increases instructor productivity.

Keywords: application software, broadcast messaging, class management, locking system

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Authors: Takalani Tshitangano

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Background: In Limpopo province the rate of new tuberculosis (TB) cases increase daily. The Infection Control (IC) plan is one of the essential actions for TB IC. This study aimed to establish the availability of these plans at health care facilities. Objectives: The objectives were to explore and describe the awareness and knowledge of health care workers (HCWs) of the availability and content of TB IC plan; and to identity the role of infection control committees from the perspective of HCWs. Method: A qualitative approach using a cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted. The target population was all HCWs from the seven hospitals of Vhembe district. A purposive sampling approach was used to select 57 participants. The approval to conduct this study was obtained from the relevant authorities and participants. Data were collected through seven focus group discussions comprising five to 10 members. An unstructured discussion guide was used to collect data, and an open-coding method was used to analyse the data. Lincoln and Guba’s criteria ensured trustworthiness of the study findings. Results: Findings revealed that HCWs were not aware of the availability and the information contained in the TB IC plans. No person was designated as TB IC officer at hospital level. There was lack of a TB IC Committee and teams as well as ineffective utilisation of those that did exist. Conclusions: It was concluded that if the TB IC plans are not available at health care facilities, then the TB IC practices implemented by HCWs vary, resulting in TB nosocomial infection transmission. It was recommended that the World Health Organisation’s TB IC plans be adopted and implemented in Vhembe district.

Keywords: health care workers' awareness, health care workers' knowledge, availability of TB infection control plans, rural hospitals

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Authors: Tzu-Hao Li, Yen-Ying Kung, Chang-Youh Tsai

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Oral dryness is a common chief complaint among patients with Sjőgren syndrome (SS), which is a disorder currently known as autoantibodies production; however, to author’s best knowledge, there has been no satisfying pharmacy to relieve the associated symptoms. Hence the effectiveness of other non-pharmacological interventions such as acupuncture should be accessed. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) which evaluated the effectiveness of xerostomia in SS. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chongqing Weipu Database (CQVIP), China Academic Journals Full-text Database, AiritiLibrary, Chinese Electronic Periodicals Service (CEPS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) Database were searches through May 12, 2018 to select studies. Data for evaluation of subjective and objective xerostomia was extracted and was assessed with random-effects meta-analysis. After searching, a total of 541 references were yielded and five RCTs were included, covering 340 patients dry mouth resulted from SS, among whom 169 patients received acupuncture and 171 patients were control group. Acupuncture group was associated with higher subjective response rate (odds ratio 3.036, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.828 – 5.042, P < 0.001) and increased salivary flow rate (weighted mean difference [WMD] 3.066, 95% CI 2.969 – 3.164, P < 0.001), as an objective marker. In addition, two studies examined IgG levels, which were lower in the acupuncture group (WMD -166.857, 95% CI -233.138 - -100.576, P < 0.001). Therefore, in the present meta-analysis, acupuncture improves both subjective and objective markers of dry mouth with autoantibodies reduction in patients with SS and is considered as an option of non-pharmacological treatment for SS.

Keywords: acupuncture, meta-analysis, Sjogren syndrome, xerostomia

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Authors: Tsui-Tsai Lin

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Cooperative orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission, which possesses the advantages of better connectivity, expanded coverage, and resistance to frequency selective fading, has been a more powerful solution for the physical layer in wireless communications. However, such a hybrid scheme suffers from the carrier frequency offset (CFO) effects inherited from the OFDM-based systems, which lead to a significant degradation in performance. In addition, insertion of a cyclic prefix (CP) at each symbol block head for combating inter-symbol interference will lead to a reduction in spectral efficiency. The design on the CFO estimation for the cooperative OFDM system without CP is a suspended problem. This motivates us to develop a low complexity CFO estimator for the cooperative OFDM decode-and-forward (DF) communication system without CP over the multipath fading channel. Especially, using a block-type pilot, the CFO estimation is first derived in accordance with the least square criterion. A reliable performance can be obtained through an exhaustive two-dimensional (2D) search with a penalty of heavy computational complexity. As a remedy, an alternative solution realized with an iteration approach is proposed for the CFO estimation. In contrast to the 2D-search estimator, the iterative method enjoys the advantage of the substantially reduced implementation complexity without sacrificing the estimate performance. Computer simulations have been presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed CFO estimation.

Keywords: cooperative transmission, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), carrier frequency offset, iteration

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Authors: Ashna Sinha, Surendra Varma

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The Asian elephant is predominantly found in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. They are intrinsically associated with the religions, religious and cultural practices and festivals of these regions. Amazingly, these magnificent animals are also mentioned in the texts and are found sculpted on the walls of places of religious significance even in the Middle Eastern countries, and evidently, they have been mentioned in all the major religions. The elephants are intrigued and associated with the cultural and religious practices of Asians for thousands of years. While some of the practices and festivals in certain geographical regions are going on for years; some regions and religions have gone through a cultural shift and cultural adaptation, and have incorporated the participation of these divine beings. The symbolism of elephants is used for preaching and giving philosophical lessons through stories and painted art, across different religions through varying literary and visual artworks. The animals carved on the ancient and present day temples can easily be found in South and South East Asian countries, signifying the importance of the animal in a given religion which the temples are associated with. Though not sculpted but captive elephants are easily found on the premises of the places of worship to give a blessing to the people or to give a tour to show their own connotation with the religion. They are also used for carrying out processions in varying religious and cultural activities, and are considered to be of immense value as they add an extra glamour and publicize the wealth and weightiness of that distinct religion or culture. Our critical review of elephant’s association with religions and their practices show, although they give a higher degree of value and respects to this animal, the practices do not match with their biological design, but profoundly compromise their welfare and conservation. It is time to follow the values the animal enjoy and use the same for their conservation and welfare.

Keywords: conservation, elephant, religion, welfare

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Authors: Hanh Thi My Nguyen

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The purpose of this research is to examine the experiences of parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing in supporting their children to access education in Vietnam. Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children to gain full access to education. It was widely reported that parents of those children confronted a range of problems to support their children to access education. To author’s best knowledge, there has been a lack of research exploring the experiences of those parents in literature. This research examines factors affecting those parents in supporting their children to access education. To conduct the study, qualitative approach using a phenomenological research design was chosen to explore the central phenomena. Ten parents of children who were diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing and aged 6-9 years were recruited through the support of the Association of Parents of Children with Hearing Impairment. Participants were interviewed via telephone with a mix of open and closed questions; interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. The research results show that there are nine main factors that affected the parents in this study in making decisions relating to education for their children including: lack of information resources, perspectives of those parents on communication approaches, the families’ financial capacity, the psychological impact on the participants after their children’ diagnosis, the attitude of family members, attitude of school administrators, lack of local schools and qualified teachers, and current education system for the deaf in Vietnam. Apart from those factors, the lack of knowledge of the participants’ partners about deaf education and the partners’ employment are barriers to educational access and successful communication with their child.

Keywords: access to education, deaf, hard of hearing, parents experience

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Authors: Mehdi Moghimi

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Doctrines associated with situational prevention considers 'place of committing crime' as one of the fundamental elements of a crime. Meanwhile, with regard to causing or having effect on a crime situation, 'place' can be one of the pivotal indices in situational prevention analyses. This study aims at examining the role of place in construction of a crime situation and explaining the relationship between 'place' and situational preventive measures and procedures. Also, how to identify high-crime places, types of high-crime places and the factors influencing their creation are among the most important secondary objectives of this article. Concerning the purpose, it is a practical study whose material has been written through a documentary method using original sources (English), books and written and translated articles etc. This article is written in two main parts. In the first section, cognitive-conceptual issues about 'place' as one of the main causes of crime situation, and its effective interaction with situational preventive measures will be reviewed. The second part of this paper will focus on criminological examination of places and critical locations of crime and provide situational preventive measures to deal with the situation. 'Crime displacement' and 'geographical distribution of benefits'are also considered as the possible consequences of implementing preventive strategies. The results of the study suggest that the inventory of offenses is distributed according to the spatial characteristics. Moreover, according to the criminological characteristics governing region or location, offenders choose the place of crime based on a logical calculation. Therefore, some locations, regions or neighborhoods are permanent places of occurring lots of crimes. As a result, considering "place", preventive measures and procedures can be systematically directed, and using the most effective ways, limited preventive resources are utilized in the most critical places. Finally, some suggestions for further research and application are provided in line with more favorable promotion of situational preventive measures.

Keywords: crime prevention, place, police crime, situational crime prevention

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Authors: Constance Kirker

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This paper examines examples of the shared use of mango references as a culinary metaphor powerful in maintaining immigrant identity in the works of diaspora authors from a variety of regions of the world, including South Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa, and across a variety of genres, including novels, culinary memoirs, and children’s books. There has been past criticism of so-called sari-mango literature, suggesting that use of the image of mango is a cliché, even “lazy,” attempt to “exoticize” and sentimentalize South Asia in particular. A broader review across national boundaries reveals that diaspora authors, including those beyond South Asia, write nostalgically about mango as much about the messy “full body” tactile experience of eating a mango as about the “exotic” quality of mango representing the “otherness” of their home country. Many of the narratives detail universal childhood food experiences that are more shared than exotic, such as a desire to subvert the adult societal rules of neatness and get very messy, or memories of small but memorable childhood transgressions such as stealing mangoes from a neighbor’s tree. In recent years, food technology has evolved, and mangoes have become more familiar and readily available in Europe and America, from smoothies and baby food to dried fruit snacks. The meaning associated with the imagery of mangoes for both writers and readers in diaspora literature evolves as well, and authors do not have to heed Salman Rushdie’s command, “There must be no tropical fruits in the title. No mangoes.”

Keywords: identity, immigrant diaspora, culinary metaphor, food studies

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Authors: Stephanie Khater, Ali Chehade, Lamis Chalak

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The progressive replacement of the Lebanese autochthonous grapevine cultivars during the last decade by the imported foreign varieties almost resulted in the genetic erosion of the local germplasm and the confusion with cultivars' names. Hence there is a need to characterize these local cultivars and to assess the possible existing variability at the cultivar level. This work was conducted in an attempt to evaluate the intra-varietal diversity within Lebanese traditional cultivars 'Aswad', 'Maghdoushe', 'Maryame', 'Merweh', 'Meksese' and 'Obeide'. A total of 50 accessions distributed over five main geographical areas in Lebanon were collected and submitted to both ampelographic description and ISSR DNA analysis. A set of 35 ampelographic descriptors previously established by the International Office of Vine and Wine and related to leaf, bunch, berry, and phenological stages, were examined. Variability was observed between accessions within cultivars for blade shape, density of prostrate and erect hairs, teeth shape, berry shape, size and color, cluster shape and size, and flesh juiciness. At the molecular level, nine ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeat) primers, previously developed for grapevine, were used in this study. These primers generated a total of 35 bands, of which 30 (85.7%) were polymorphic. Totally, 29 genetic profiles were differentiated, of which 9 revealed within 'Obeide', 6 for 'Maghdoushe', 5 for 'Merweh', 4 within 'Maryame', 3 for 'Aswad' and 2 within 'Meksese'. Findings of this study indicate the existence of several genotypes that form the basis of the main indigenous cultivars grown in Lebanon and which should be further considered in the establishment of new vineyards and selection programs.

Keywords: ampelography, autochthonous cultivars, ISSR markers, Lebanon, Vitis vinifera L.

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Authors: Mohammad Ghiasvand, Babak Khorsandi, Morteza Kolahdoozan

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Under the influence of waves, oil in the sea is subject to vertical scattering in the water column. Scientists' knowledge of how oil is dispersed in the water column is one of the lowest levels of knowledge among other processes affecting oil in the marine environment, which highlights the need for research and study in this field. Therefore, this study investigates the distribution of oil in the water column in a turbulent environment with zero velocity characteristics. Lack of laboratory results to analyze the distribution of petroleum pollutants in deep water for information Phenomenon physics on the one hand and using them to calibrate numerical models on the other hand led to the development of laboratory models in research. According to the aim of the present study, which is to investigate the distribution of oil in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence caused by the oscillating Grid, after reaching the ideal conditions, the crude oil flow was poured onto the water surface and oil was distributed in deep water due to turbulence was investigated. In this study, all experimental processes have been implemented and used for the first time in Iran, and the study of oil diffusion in the water column was considered one of the key aspects of pollutant diffusion in the oscillating Grid environment. Finally, the required oscillation velocities were taken at depths of 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm from the water surface and used in the analysis of oil diffusion due to turbulence parameters. The results showed that with the characteristics of the present system in two static modes and network motion with a frequency of 0.8 Hz, the results of oil diffusion in the four mentioned depths at a frequency of 0.8 Hz compared to the static mode from top to bottom at 26.18, 57 31.5, 37.5 and 50% more. Also, after 2.5 minutes of the oil spill at a frequency of 0.8 Hz, oil distribution at the mentioned depths increased by 49, 61.5, 85, and 146.1%, respectively, compared to the base (static) state.

Keywords: homogeneous and isotropic turbulence, oil distribution, oscillating grid, oil spill

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Authors: Arsalan Makinian

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Our future cities will constantly evolve the necessary technologies for tomorrow’s needs. Technologies which enable a better kind of prosperity and security. This paper reports on the precedent of a smart city from its beginning to prevalence among urbanism academic literature and reports of tech companies. The article aims to direct urban foresight studies and to build a pathway for the future of smart city concept by gathering theoretical and empirical experiences related to smart cities with both top-down and bottom-up approaches. It hopes to deliver results of different studies, pilot projects, and development strategies of some of the smart cities in order to allow a shareable knowledge to take shape and develop in terms of qualitative aspects of a smart city. Now the definition of the smart city goes beyond removing physical boundaries, changing the concept of mobility and providing electronic service for citizens, it now constitutes fields such as energy efficiency, economic competitiveness, protecting the environment and finally, it takes advantage of technology and data science to improve the quality of life. In the smart city, the role of citizens is considered as both final purpose and contributor. Emerging issues which are almost implications of advanced technologies -as the most important trends of the future- and their reflection on the society need to be foresighted. Educating and fostering knowledge of smartness is one of the targets of the smart city concept. In this regard, some of these smart cites have established research and development units to share their projects and smart city initiatives. Due to this fact, gaining experience and sharing the results of this subject is necessary for technology management and moving toward a smart urban future.

Keywords: age of urban tech, bottom-up approach, role of citizens, smart city

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Authors: Anthony Idowu Ajayi, Ezebunwa Ethelbert Nwokocha, Wilson Akpan, Oladele Vincent Adeniyi

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Studies on emergency contraception (EC) mostly utilise quantitative methods and focus on medically approved drugs for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. This methodological bias necessarily obscures insider perspectives on sexual behaviour, particularly on why specific methods are utilized by women who seek to prevent unplanned pregnancies. In order to privilege this perspective, with a view to further enriching the discourse and policy on the prevention and management of unplanned pregnancies, this paper brings together the findings from several focus groups and in-depth interviews conducted amongst unmarried female undergraduate students in two Nigerian universities. The study found that while the research participants had good knowledge of the consequences of unprotected sexual intercourses - with abstinence and condom widely used - participants’ willingness to rely only on medically sound measures to prevent unwanted pregnancies was not always mediated by such knowledge. Some of the methods favored by participants appeared to be those commonly associated with people of low socio-economic status in the society where the study was conducted. Medically unsafe concoctions, some outright dangerous, were widely believed to be efficacious in preventing unwanted pregnancy. Furthermore, respondents’ narratives about their sexual behaviour revealed that inadequate sex education, socio-economic pressures, and misconceptions about the efficacy of “crude” emergency contraception methods were all interrelated. The paper therefore suggests that these different facets of the unplanned pregnancy problem should be the focus of intervention.

Keywords: unplanned pregnancy, unsafe abortion, emergency contraception, concoctions

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Authors: Thohaku Abdul Hadi, Hadyan Perdana Putra, Nugroho Wicaksono, Adhika Prajna Nandiwardhana, Onang Surya Nugroho, Heri Suryoatmojo, Soedibjo

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Access to electricity is now a basic requirement of mankind. Unfortunately, there are still many places around the world which have no access to electricity, such as small islands, where there could potentially be a factory, a plantation, a residential area, or resorts. Many of these places might have substantial potential for energy generation such us Photovoltaic (PV) and Wind turbine (WT), which can be used to generate electricity independently for themselves. Solar energy and wind power are renewable energy sources which are mostly found in nature and also kinds of alternative energy that are still developing in a rapid speed to help and meet the demand of electricity. PV and Wind has a characteristic of power depend on solar irradiation and wind speed based on geographical these areas. This paper presented a control methodology of hybrid small scale PV/Wind energy system that use a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to extract the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in different solar irradiation and wind speed. This paper discusses simulation and analysis of the generation process of hybrid resources in MPP and power conditioning unit (PCU) of Photovoltaic (PV) and Wind Turbine (WT) that is connected to the three-phase low voltage electricity grid system (380V) without battery storage. The capacity of the sources used is 2.2 kWp PV and 2.5 kW PMSG (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator) -WT power rating. The Modeling of hybrid PV/Wind, as well as integrated power electronics components in grid connected system, are simulated using MATLAB/Simulink.

Keywords: fuzzy MPPT, grid connected inverter, photovoltaic (PV), PMSG wind turbine

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Authors: K. H. Teng, A. Shaw, M. Ateeq, A. Al-Shamma'a, S. Wylie, S. N. Kazi, B. T. Chew

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Numerical and experimental of using novel electromagnetic wave technique to detect water hardness concentration has been presented in this paper. Simulation is powerful and efficient engineering methods which allow for a quick and accurate prediction of various engineering problems. The RF module is used in this research to predict and design electromagnetic wave propagation and resonance effect of a guided wave to detect water hardness concentration in term of frequency domain, eigenfrequency, and mode analysis. A cylindrical cavity resonator is simulated and designed in the electric field of fundamental mode (TM010). With the finite volume method, the three-dimensional governing equations were discretized. Boundary conditions for the simulation were the cavity materials like aluminum, two ports which include transmitting and receiving port, and assumption of vacuum inside the cavity. The design model was success to simulate a fundamental mode and extract S21 transmission signal within 2.1 – 2.8 GHz regions. The signal spectrum under effect of port selection technique and dielectric properties of different water concentration were studied. It is observed that the linear increment of magnitude in frequency domain when concentration increase. The numerical results were validated closely by the experimentally available data. Hence, conclusion for the available COMSOL simulation package is capable of providing acceptable data for microwave research.

Keywords: electromagnetic wave technique, frequency domain, signal spectrum, water hardness concentration

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Authors: Roman Graf, Sergiu Gordea, Heather M. Ryan

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This paper presents an approach for the easy creation of an institutional risk profile for endangerment analysis of file formats. The main contribution of this work is the employment of data mining techniques to support risk factors set up with just the most important values that are important for a particular organisation. Subsequently, the risk profile employs fuzzy models and associated configurations for the file format metadata aggregator to support digital preservation experts with a semi-automatic estimation of endangerment level for file formats. Our goal is to make use of a domain expert knowledge base aggregated from a digital preservation survey in order to detect preservation risks for a particular institution. Another contribution is support for visualisation and analysis of risk factors for a requried dimension. The proposed methods improve the visibility of risk factor information and the quality of a digital preservation process. The presented approach is meant to facilitate decision making for the preservation of digital content in libraries and archives using domain expert knowledge and automatically aggregated file format metadata from linked open data sources. To facilitate decision-making, the aggregated information about the risk factors is presented as a multidimensional vector. The goal is to visualise particular dimensions of this vector for analysis by an expert. The sample risk profile calculation and the visualisation of some risk factor dimensions is presented in the evaluation section.

Keywords: digital information management, file format, endangerment analysis, fuzzy models

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Authors: Qiming Wang

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Dynamic polymer networks (DPNs) crosslinked by dynamic bonds have received intensive attention because of their special crack-healing capability. Diverse DPNs have been synthesized using a number of dynamic bonds, including dynamic covalent bond, hydrogen bond, ionic bond, metal-ligand coordination, hydrophobic interaction, and others. Despite the promising success in the polymer synthesis, the fundamental understanding of their self-healing mechanics is still at the very beginning. Especially, a general analytical model to understand the interfacial self-healing behaviors of DPNs has not been established. Here, we develop polymer-network based analytical theories that can mechanistically model the constitutive behaviors and interfacial self-healing behaviors of DPNs. We consider that the DPN is composed of interpenetrating networks crosslinked by dynamic bonds. bonds obey a force-dependent chemical kinetics. During the self-healing process, we consider the The network chains follow inhomogeneous chain-length distributions and the dynamic polymer chains diffuse across the interface to reform the dynamic bonds, being modeled by a diffusion-reaction theory. The theories can predict the stress-stretch behaviors of original and self-healed DPNs, as well as the healing strength in a function of healing time. We show that the theoretically predicted healing behaviors can consistently match the documented experimental results of DPNs with various dynamic bonds, including dynamic covalent bonds (diarylbibenzofuranone and olefin metathesis), hydrogen bonds, and ionic bonds. We expect our model to be a powerful tool for the self-healing community to invent, design, understand, and optimize self-healing DPNs with various dynamic bonds.

Keywords: self-healing polymers, dynamic covalent bonds, hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds

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Authors: Rodrigo Pacheco-Ruiz, Jonathan Adams, Felix Pedrotti

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This paper introduces the applicability of underwater photogrammetric survey within challenging conditions as the main tool to enhance and enrich the process of documenting archaeological excavation through the creation of 4D models. Photogrammetry was being attempted on underwater archaeological sites at least as early as the 1970s’ and today the production of traditional 3D models is becoming a common practice within the discipline. Photogrammetry underwater is more often implemented to record exposed underwater archaeological remains and less so as a dynamic interpretative tool.  Therefore, it tends to be applied in bright environments and when underwater visibility is > 1m, reducing its implementation on most submerged archaeological sites in more turbid conditions. Recent years have seen significant development of better digital photographic sensors and the improvement of optical technology, ideal for darker environments. Such developments, in tandem with powerful processing computing systems, have allowed underwater photogrammetry to be used by this research as a standard recording and interpretative tool. Using multi-source photogrammetry (5, GoPro5 Hero Black cameras) this paper presents the accumulation of daily (4D) underwater surveys carried out in the Early Bronze Age (3,300 BC) to Late Ottoman (17th Century AD) archaeological site of Ropotamo in the Bulgarian Black Sea under challenging conditions (< 0.5m visibility). It proves that underwater photogrammetry can and should be used as one of the main recording methods even in low light and poor underwater conditions as a way to better understand the complexity of the underwater archaeological record.

Keywords: 4D modelling, Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project, multi-source photogrammetry, low visibility underwater survey

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Authors: Konstantinos Pikos, Dimitrios Kaimaris

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Although designing building blocks is a procedure used by many planners around the world, there isn’t an automated tool that will help planners and designers achieve their goals with lesser effort. The difficulty of the subject lies in the repeating process of manually drawing lines, while not only it is mandatory to maintain the desirable offset but to also achieve a lesser impact to the existing building stock. In this paper, using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the Python programming language, an automated tool integrated into ArcGIS PRO, is being presented. Despite its simplistic enviroment and the lack of specialized building legislation due to the complex state of the field, a planner who is aware of such technical information can use the tool to draw an initial approach of the final building blocks in an area with pre-existing buildings in an attempt to organize the usually sprawling suburbs of a city or any continuously developing area. The tool uses ESRI’s ArcPy library to handle the spatial data, while interactions with the user is made throught Tkinter. The main process consists of a modification of building edgescoordinates, using NumPy library, in an effort to draw the line of best fit, so the user can get the optimal results per block’s side. Finally, after the tool runs successfully, a table of primary planning information is shown, such as the area of the building block and its coverage rate. Regardless of the primary stage of the tool’s development, it is a solid base where potential planners with programming skills could invest, so they can make the tool adapt to their individual needs. An example of the entire procedure in a test area is provided, highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of the final results.

Keywords: arcPy, GIS, python, building blocks

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Authors: Caterina Calicchio, Talia Sbardella

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The ability to move through geographical and symbolic spaces is key for building new nodes and social relationships. Especially in the framework of language learning, accepting and valuing diversity can help to create a constructive atmosphere of cooperation, innovation, and creativity. Thus, it is important to outline the stages of forming a learning community, focusing on the characteristics that can favor its development. It is known that elements like curiosity and motivation are significant for individual language learning; hence, the study attempts to investigate how factors like openness to diversity and cultural immersion could improve Italian learning and teaching. This paper aims to indicate the factors that could be significant for the development of a Learning Community by presenting a case study on a course on Italian as a second language for beginners: first, the theoretical matrices underlying social learning will be outlined. Secondly, a quantitative study will be described based on an adaptation of the openness to diversity and some insights psychometric scale questionnaire developed at the Umbra Institute. The questionnaire was delivered to 52 American college students with open-ended and closed-ended questions. Students were asked to specify their level of agreement to a set of statements on a six-point Likert scale ranging from (1) Strongly disagree to (6) Strongly agree. The data has been analyzed with a quantitative and qualitative method and has been represented in a pie chart and in a histogram. Moreover, mean and frequency have been calculated. The research findings demonstrate that openness to diversity and challenge enhances cross-cutting skills such as intercultural and communicative competence: through cultural immersion and the facility of speaking with locals, the participants have been able to develop their own Italian L2 language community. The goal is to share with the scientific community some insights to trace possible future lines of research.

Keywords: Italian as second language, language learning, learning community, openness to diversity

Procedia PDF Downloads 66