Search results for: innovative entrepreneurial activities

Authors: Mohd Naqiuddin Bin Husri, Siti Rahmah Abd Rahman, Dalilah Abu Bakar, Dayang Izawati Abang Masli, Meilina Ong Abdullah

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A serious shortage of prime agricultural land coupled with environmental concerns inland expansion has daunted efforts to increase the national yield average. To address this issue, maximising yield per unit hectare through quality planting material is of great importance. Breeding for improved planting materials has been a continuous effort since the early days of this industry, it is time-consuming, and the likelihood of segregation within the progenies further impedes progress in this area. Incorporation of the cloning technology in oil palm breeding programmes is therefore advantageous to expedite the development of commercial elite and high-yielding planting materials. After more than 22 years of research and development through this project, reliable protocols for liquid/suspension culture systems coupled with various innovative technologies which are effective at promoting proliferation and growth of oil palm culture have been established. Subsequently, clonal palms derived from the suspension culture system were extensively studied in the field, and the results have been encouraging. Clones such as CPS1, CPS2 and a few others recorded superior performance in comparison with D x P standard crosses.

Keywords: tissue culture, suspension culture, oil palm, Elaeis guineensis

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Authors: Anna Crivellari, Valerio Cozzani

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Even though most of the electricity produced in the entire world still comes from fossil fuels, new policies are being implemented in order to promote a more sustainable use of energy sources. Offshore renewable resources have become increasingly attractive thanks to the huge entity of power potentially obtained. However, the intermittent nature of renewables often limits the capacity of the systems and creates mismatches between supply and demand. Hydrogen is foreseen to be a promising vector to store and transport large amounts of excess renewable power by using existing oil and gas infrastructure. In this work, an offshore hybrid energy system integrating wind energy conversion with hydrogen production was conceptually defined and applied to offshore gas platforms. A techno-economic analysis was performed by considering two different locations for the installation of the innovative power system, i.e., the North Sea and the Adriatic Sea. The water depth, the distance of the platform from the onshore gas grid, the hydrogen selling price and the green financial incentive were some of the main factors taken into account in the comparison. The results indicated that the use of well-defined indicators allows to capture specifically different cost and revenue features of the analyzed systems, as well as to evaluate their competitiveness in the actual and future energy market.

Keywords: cost analysis, energy efficiency assessment, hydrogen production, offshore wind energy

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Authors: Cheng-Kuang Hsu, Chih-Hsiang Chang, Chi-Chih Wang

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Black soybeans contain high amount of antioxidants including polyphenols, anthocyanins and flavones. The protective function of black soybean against CCl4 (a strong oxidant) induced acute and chronic liver damage was investigated in vivo using SD rats or ICR mouse. The evaluation of CCl4 induced oxidative stress in the liver tissues included the measurements of the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase GPx), as well as the level of histological lesion in the liver tissues. For chronic experiment, a decoction at the concentration of 100 or 1000 mg/kg of body weight, produced by baking black soybean at 130°C for 5 min and followed by immerging in 100°C hot water for 20 min, showed the inhibitory effect against CCl4 induced liver damage in SD rats. Hot-water extract (80 °C for 30 min) from un-preheated black soybean at the concentration of 200 mg/kg of body weight could not reduce ALT and AST levels in CCl4 treated SD rats, but the hot-water extract from preheated black soybean did enhance antioxidant enzymes activities, decline ALT and AST levels. Specially, the hot-water extract from the seed cost of black soybean had the highest liver protective function since it can reduce vacuolization and necrosis in the liver tissues. For acute experiment, the hot-water extracts from black soybean and the seed coat, as well as pure cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) could reduce ALT and AST levels of CCl4 induced ICR mouse. The decoction and hot-water extract from the seed coat of black soybean had higher total polyphenols, anthocyanins and flavones contents than those extracts from whole black soybean. Such results agreed with high liver protective function in the decoction and hot-water from the seed coat of black soybean. Black soybean showed protective function only after preheating process (baking at 130°C for 5 to 10 min) because preheating treatment damaged the cell wall and made the extraction of the antioxidants more effectively.

Keywords: black soybean, liver protective function, antioxidant, antioxidative stress

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Authors: Amit Kumar Jain, Surbhi Jain

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The urban freight in a city constitutes 10 to 18 per cent of all city road traffic, and 40 per cent of air pollution and noise emissions, are directly related to commercial transport. The policy measures implemented by urban planners have sought to restrict rather than assist goods-vehicle operations. This approach has temporarily controlled the urban transport demand during peak hours of traffic but has not effectively solved transport congestion. The solution discussed in the paper envisages the development of a comprehensive network of Urban Freight Stations (UFS) connected through underground conveyor belts in the city in line with baggage segregation and distribution in any of the major airports. The transportation of freight shall be done in standard size containers/cars through rail borne carts. The freight can be despatched or received from any of the UFS. Once freight is booked for a destination from any of the UFS, it would be stuffed in the container and digitally tagged for the destination. The container would reach the destination UFS through a network of rail borne carts. The container would be de-stuffed at the destination UFS and sent for further delivery, or the consignee may be asked to collect the consignment from urban freight station. The obvious benefits would be decongestion of roads, reduction in air and noise pollution, saving in manpower used for freight transportation.

Keywords: congestion, urban freight, intelligent transport system, pollution

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Authors: Afolakemi Helen Olaleye, Ogunjobi A. O

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Since coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in Nigeria, the virus has spread to virtually all sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. In Nigeria, government agencies came together to create a goal-driven taskforce in improving our response against the virus. As COVID-19 international spread has been curtailed, community spread became rampant locally, leading to many health authorities raising concerns over the scarcity of medical consumables and supplies. Here at Lagos university teaching Hospital (LUTH), we present data analysis of COVID-19 infections offered at our Hospital (LUTH) and the surrounding communities. In addition, the adopted innovative solution to control the spread of infection, methods used in filling shortages of consumables, personal protective equipment (PPE), and use of mobile video technology in patient’s consultation. The management style and strategy adopted has led to a decline in infection rates in our community and among our front line staff. The current COVID -19 crisis has created an opportunity to test and demonstrate our pandemic response and control of infectious disease along with the revealed unknown potential in our community.

Keywords: COVID-19, preparedness, response, Lagos university teaching hospital

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Authors: Norfishah Mat Rabi, Rosma Osman, Norziana Mat Rabi

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It is difficult for autistic children to mix with and be around with other people. Language difficulties are a problem that affects their social life. A lack of knowledge and ability in language are factors that greatly influence their behavior, and their ability to communicate and interact. Autistic children need to be assisted to improve their language abilities through the use of suitable learning resources. This study is conducted to identify weather graphic animation resources can help autistic children learn and use transitive verbs more effectively. The study was conducted in a rural secondary school in Penang, Malaysia. The research subject comprised of three autistic students ranging in age from 14 years to 16 years. The 14-year-old student is placed in A Class and two 16-year-old students placed in B Class. The class placement of the subjects is based on the diagnostic test results conducted by the teacher and not based on age. Data collection is done through observation and interviews for the duration of five weeks; with the researcher allocating 30 minutes for every learning activity carried out. The research finding shows that the subjects learn transitive verbs better using graphic animation compared to static pictures. It is hoped that this study will give a new perspective towards the learning processes of autistic children.

Keywords: graphic animation, autistic children, language learning, teaching

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Authors: Eyal Boers

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This paper shall demonstrate how films can offer a valuable and innovative approach to the study of images, stereotypes, and national identity. "Black Book" ("Zwartboek", 2006), a World War Two film directed by Paul Verhoeven, tells the story of Rachel Stein, a young Jewish woman who becomes a member of a resistance group in the Netherlands. The main hypothesis in this paper maintains that Rachel's character possesses both features of the Dutch prototype (a white, secular, sexual, freedom-loving individualist who seems "Dutch" enough to be accepted into a Dutch resistance group and even infiltrate the local Nazi headquarters) and features which can be defined as specifically Jewish (a black-haired victim persecuted by the Nazis, transforming herself into a gentile, while remaining loyal to her fellow Jews and ultimately immigrating to Israel and becoming a Hebrew teacher in a Kibbutz). Finally, this paper claims that Rachel's "Dutchness" is symptomatic of Dutch nostalgia in the 21st century for the Jews as "others" who blend into dominant Dutch culture, while Rachel's "Jewish Otherness" reflects a transnational identity – one that is always shifting and traverses cultural and national boundaries. In this sense, a film about Dutch Jews in the Second World War reflects on issues of identity in the 21st Century.

Keywords: Dutch, film, stereotypes, identity

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Authors: A. Buruzs, M. F. Hatwágner, L. T. Kóczy

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The aim of the present paper is to develop an integrated method that may provide assistance to decision makers during system planning, design, operation and evaluation. In order to support the realization of Circular Economy (CE), it is essential to evaluate local needs and conditions which help to select the most appropriate system components and resource needs. Each of these activities requires careful planning, however, the model of CE offers a comprehensive interdisciplinary framework. The aim of this research was to develop and to introduce a practical methodology for evaluation of local and regional opportunities to promote CE.

Keywords: circular economy, factors, fuzzy cognitive map, model reduction, sustainability

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Authors: Mohaammad Ahmadpanah, Amineh Akhondi, Mohammad Haghighi, Ali Ghaleiha, Leila Jahangard, Elham Salari

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Background: Working memory includes the capability to keep and manipulate information in a short period of time. This capability is the basis of complicated judgments and has been attended to as the specific and constant character of individuals. Children with attention deficit and hyperactivity are among the people suffering from deficiency in the active memory, and this deficiency has been attributed to the problem of frontal lobe. This study utilizes a new approach with suitable tasks and methods for training active memory and assessment of the effects of the trainings. Participants: The children participating in this study were of 7-15 year age, who were diagnosed by the psychiatrist and psychologist as hyperactive and attention deficit based on DSM-IV criteria. The intervention group was consisted of 8 boys and 6 girls with the average age of 11 years and standard deviation of 2, and the control group was consisted of 2 girls and 5 boys with an average age of 11.4 and standard deviation of 3. Three children in the test group and two in the control group were under medicinal therapy. Results: Working memory training meaningfully improved the performance in not-trained areas as visual-spatial working memory as well as the performance in Raven progressive tests which are a perfect example of non-verbal, complicated reasoning tasks. In addition, motional activities – measured based on the number of head movements during computerized measuring program – was meaningfully reduced in the medication group. The results of the second test showed that training similar exercise to teenagers and adults results in the improvement of cognition functions, as in hyperactive people. Discussion: The results of this study showed that the performance of working memory is improved through training, and these trainings are extended and generalized in other areas of cognition functions not receiving any training. Trainings resulted in the improvement of performance in the tasks related to prefrontal. They had also a positive and meaningful impact on the moving activities of hyperactive children.

Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, working memory, non-medical treatment, children

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Authors: Mansour N. Jadid

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This paper describes the implementation of a GIS to provide decision support for successfully monitoring the movements and storage of materials, hence ensuring that finished products travel from the point of origin to the destination construction site through the supply-chain management (SCM) system. This system ensures the efficient operation of suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors by determining the shortest path from the point of origin to the final destination to reduce construction costs, minimize time, and enhance productivity. These systems are essential to the construction industry because they reduce costs and save time, thereby improve productivity and effectiveness. This study describes a typical supply-chain model and a geographical information system (GIS)-based SCM that focuses on implementing an electronic document management system, which maps the application framework to integrate geodetic support with the supply-chain system. This process provides guidance for locating the nearest suppliers to fill the information needs of project members in different locations. Moreover, this study illustrates the use of a GIS-based SCM as a collaborative tool in innovative methods for implementing Web mapping services, as well as aspects of their integration by generating an interactive GIS for the construction industry platform.

Keywords: construction, coordinate, engineering, GIS, management, map

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Authors: Kam Wen Hang, Tan Kee Teng, Huang Poh Ching, Chia Kai Xiang, H. V. Annegowda, H. S. Naveen Kumar

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Gynura procumbens (G. procumbens) leaves, commonly known as ‘sambung nyawa’ in Malaysia is a well-known medicinal plant commonly used as folk medicines in controlling blood glucose, cholesterol level as well as treating cancer. These medicinal properties were believed to be related to the polyphenolic content present in G. procumbens extract, therefore optimization of its extraction process is vital to obtain highest possible antioxidant activities. The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of different concentrations of extracting solvent (ethanol) on the amount of polyphenolic content and antioxidant activities of G. procumbens leaf extract. The concentrations of ethanol used were 30-70%, with the temperature and time kept constant at 50°C and 30 minutes, respectively using ultrasound-assisted extraction. The polyphenolic content of these extracts were quantified by Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method and results were expressed as milligram gallic acid equivalent (mg GAE)/g. Phosphomolybdenum method and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays were used to investigate the antioxidant properties of the extract and the results were expressed as milligram ascorbic acid equivalent (mg AAE)/g and effective concentration (EC50) respectively. Among the three different (30%, 50% and 70%) concentrations of ethanol studied, the 50% ethanolic extract showed total phenolic content of 31.565 ± 0.344 mg GAE/g and total antioxidant activity of 78.839 ± 0.199 mg AAE/g while 30% ethanolic extract showed 29.214 ± 0.645 mg GAE/g and 70.701 ± 1.394 mg AAE/g, respectively. With respect to DPPH radical scavenging assay, 50% ethanolic extract had exhibited slightly lower EC50 (314.3 ± 4.0 μg/ml) values compared to 30% ethanol extract (340.4 ± 5.3 μg/ml). Out of all the tested extracts, 70% ethanolic extract exhibited significantly (p< 0.05) highest total phenolic content (38.000 ± 1.009 mg GAE/g), total antioxidant capacity (95.874 ± 2.422 mg AAE/g) and demonstrated the lowest EC50 in DPPH assay (244.2 ± 5.9 μg/ml). An excellent correlations were drawn between total phenolic content, total antioxidant capacity and DPPH radical scavenging activity (R2 = 0.949 and R2 = 0.978, respectively). It was concluded from this study that, 70% ethanol should be used as the optimal polarity solvent to obtain G. procumbens leaf extract with maximum polyphenolic content with antioxidant properties.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, DPPH assay, Gynura procumbens, phenolic compounds

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Authors: Jaime Carpio-García, Elena Blanco-Fernández, Jorge Rodríguez-Hernández, Daniel Castro-Fresno

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Geosynthetic mechanical behavior vs temperature or vs aging has been widely studied independently during the last years, both in laboratory and in outdoor conditions. This paper studies this behavior deeper, considering that geosynthetics have to perform adequately at different outdoor temperatures once they have been subjected to a certain degree of aging, and also considering the different geosynthetic structures made of the same material. This combining effect has been not considered so far, and it is important to ensure the performance of geosynthetics, especially where high temperatures are expected. In order to fill this gap, six commercial geosynthetics with different internal structures made of polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), bitumen and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or even a combination of some of them have been mechanically tested at mild temperature (20ºC or 23ºC) and at warm temperature (45ºC) before and after specific exposition to air at standardized high temperature in order to simulate 25 years of aging due to oxidation. Besides, for 45ºC tests, an innovative heating system during test for high deformable specimens is proposed. The influence of the combining effect of aging, structure and temperature in the product behavior have been analyzed and discussed, concluding that internal structure is more influential than aging in the mechanical behavior of a geosynthetic versus temperature.

Keywords: geosynthetics, mechanical behavior, temperature, aging, internal structure

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Authors: Angie M. Wolf, DeVone Boggan

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This paper highlights an innovative and nontraditional violence prevention program that is making a noticeable impact in what was once one of the country’s most violent communities. With unique and tailored strategies, the Operation Peacemaker Fellowship, established in Richmond, California, combines components of evidence-based practices with a community-oriented focus on relationships and mentoring to fill a gap in services and increase community safety. In an effort to highlight these unique strategies and provide a blueprint for other communities with violent crime problems, the authors of this paper hope to clearly delineate how one community is moving forward with vanguard approaches to invest in the lives of young men who once were labeled the communities’ most violent, even the most deadly, youth. The impact of this program is evidenced through the fellows’ own voices as they illuminate the experience of being in the Fellowship. In interviews, fellows’ describe how participating in this program has transformed their lives, and the lives of those they love. The authors of this article spent more than two years researching this Fellowship program in order to conduct an evaluation of it and, ultimately, to demonstrate how this program is a testament to the power of relationship and love combined with evidence-based practices, consequently enriching the lives of youth and the community that embraces them.

Keywords: gun violence prevention, high risk youth, law, policing justice

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Authors: Mohsin Ali Shaikh, Weiguo Song, Rehmat Karim, Muhammad Kashan Surahio, Muhammad Usman Shahid

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Fire investigations face challenges due to the complexity of fire development, and real-world accidents lack repeatability, making it difficult to apply standardized approaches. The unpredictable nature of fires and the unique conditions of each incident contribute to the complexity, requiring innovative methods and tools for effective analysis and reconstruction. This study proposes to provide the modern accident analysis model through numerical reconstruction for fire investigation in textile buildings. This method employs computer simulation to enhance the overall effectiveness of textile-building investigations. The materials and evidence collected from past incidents reconstruct fire occurrences, progressions, and catastrophic processes. The approach is demonstrated through a case study involving a tragic textile factory fire in Karachi, Pakistan, which claimed 257 lives. The reconstruction method proves invaluable for determining fire origins, assessing losses, establishing accountability, and, significantly, providing preventive insights for complex fire incidents.

Keywords: fire investigation, numerical simulation, fire safety, fire incident, textile building

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Authors: Wang Shuen-Tai, Lin Yu-Ching, Chang Hsi-Ya

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Cloud computing is the innovative and leading information technology model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort. In this paper, we aim at the development of workflow management system for cloud computing platforms based on our previous research on the dynamic allocation of the cloud computing resources and its workflow process. We took advantage of the HTML 5 technology and developed web-based workflow interface. In order to enable the combination of many tasks running on the cloud platform in sequence, we designed a mechanism and developed an execution engine for workflow management on clouds. We also established a prediction model which was integrated with job queuing system to estimate the waiting time and cost of the individual tasks on different computing nodes, therefore helping users achieve maximum performance at lowest payment. This proposed effort has the potential to positively provide an efficient, resilience and elastic environment for cloud computing platform. This development also helps boost user productivity by promoting a flexible workflow interface that lets users design and control their tasks' flow from anywhere.

Keywords: web-based, workflow, HTML5, Cloud Computing, Queuing System

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Authors: Narumon Jiwattanasuk, Phrakrupalad Pannavoravat, Pataraporn Sirikanchana

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Mindfulness has become a perspective addressing positive wellbeing these days. The aims of this paper are to analyze the problems of executive meditation practitioners at the Buddhamahametta Foundation in Thailand and to provide recommendations on the process to develop peaceful wellbeing in executive meditation practitioners by applying the principles of the four foundations of mindfulness. This study is particularly focused on executives because there is not much research focusing on the well-being development of executives, and the researcher recognizes that executives can be an example within their organizations. This would be a significant influence on their employees and their families to be interested in practicing mindfulness. This improvement will then grow from an individual to the surrounding community such as family, workplace, society, and the nation. This would lead to happiness at the national level, which is the expectation of this research. The paper highlights mindfulness practices that can be performed on a daily basis. This study is qualitative research, and there are 10 key participants who are executives from various sectors such as hospitality, healthcare, retail, power energy, and so on. Three mindfulness-based courses were conducted over a period of 8 months, and in-depth interviews were done before the first course as well as at the end of every course. In total, four in-depth interviews were conducted. The information collected from the interviews was analyzed in order to create the process to develop peaceful well-being. Focus group discussions with the mindfulness specialists were conducted to help develop the mindfulness program as well. As a result of this research, it is found that the executives faced the following problems: stress, negative thinking loops, losing temper, seeking acceptance, worry about uncontrollable external factors, unable to control their words, and weight gain. The cultivation of the four foundations of mindfulness can develop peaceful wellbeing. The results showed that after the key informant executives attended the mindfulness courses and practiced mindfulness regularly, they have developed peaceful well-being in all aspects such as physical, psychological, behavioral, and intellectual by applying 12 mindfulness-based activities. The development of wellbeing, in the conclusion of this study, also includes various tools to support the continuing practice, including the handout of guided mindfulness practice, VDO clips about mindfulness practice, the online dhamma channel, and mobile applications to support regular mindfulness-based practices.

Keywords: executive, mindfulness activities, stress, wellbeing

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Authors: Clifford Irikefe Gbeyonron

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Applied linguists concur that there is low-level achievement in English language use among Nigerian secondary school students. One of the factors that exacerbate this is classroom feature of which large class size is obvious. This study investigated the impact of large classes on learning English as a second language (ESL) at junior secondary school (JSS) in Yobe State. To achieve this, Solomon four-group experimental design was used. 382 subjects were divided into four groups and taught ESL for thirteen weeks. 356 subjects wrote the post-test. Data from the systematic observation and post-test were analyzed via chi square and ANOVA. Results indicated that learners in large classes (LLC) attain lower linguistic progress than learners in small classes (LSC). Furthermore, LSC have more chances to access teacher evaluation and participate actively in classroom discourse than LLC. In consequence, large classes have adverse effects on learning ESL in Yobe State. This is inimical to English language education given that each learner of ESL has their individual peculiarity within each class. It is recommended that strategies that prioritize individualization, grouping, use of language teaching aides, and theorization of innovative models in respect of large classes be considered.

Keywords: large classes, achievement, classroom discourse

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Authors: Keith Schofield, Leigh Morland

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Storytelling is an established means of leadership and management development and is also considered a form of leadership of self and others in its own right. This study focuses on the utility of storytelling in the development of management narratives in an MBA programme; sources include programme participants as well as international recruiters, whose voices are often only heard in terms of economic contribution and globalisation. For many MBA candidates, the return to study requires the development of a new identity which complements their professional identity; each candidate has their own journey and expectations, the use of story can enable candidates to explore their aspirations and assumptions and give voice to previously unspoken ideas. For international recruitment, the story of market development and change must be captured if MBAs are to remain fit for purpose. If used effectively, story acts as a form of critical reflection that can inform the learning journeys of individuals, emerging identities as well as the ongoing design and development of programmes. The landscape of management education is shifting; the MBA begins to attract a different kind of candidate, some are younger than before, others are seeking validation for their existing work practices, yet more are entrepreneurial and wish to capitalise on an institutional experience to further their career. There is a shift in context, creating uncertainty and ambiguity for programme managers and recruiters, thus requiring institutions to create a new MBA narrative. This study utilises Lego SeriousPlay as the means to engaging programme participants and international agents in telling the story of their MBA. We asked MBA participants to tell the story of their leadership and management aspirations and compare these to stories of their development journeys, allowing for critical reflection of their respective development gaps. We asked international recruiters, who act as university agents and promote courses in the student’s country of origin, to explore their mental models of MBA candidates and their learning agenda. The purpose of this process was to explore the agent’s perception of the MBA programme and to articulate the student journey from a recruitment perspective. The paper’s unique contribution is in combining these stories in order to explore the assumptions that determine programme design. Data drawn from reflective statements together with images of Lego ‘builds’ created the opportunity for reflection between the mental models of these groups. Findings will inform the design of the MBA journey and experience; we review the extent to which the changing identities of learners are congruent with programme design. Data from international recruiters also determines the extent to which marketing and recruitment strategies identify with would be candidates.

Keywords: critical reflection, programme management, recruitment, storytelling

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Authors: Yuvraj S. Malghe, Atul B. Lavand

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In recent years, semiconductor photocatalytic degradation processes have attracted a lot of attention and are used widely for the destruction of organic pollutants present in waste water. Among various semiconductors, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the most popular photocatalyst due to its excellent chemical stability, non-toxicity, relatively low cost and high photo-oxidation power. It has been known that zinc oxide (ZnO) with band gap energy 3.2 eV is a suitable alternative to TiO2 due to its high quantum efficiency, however it corrodes in acidic medium. Unfortunately TiO2 and ZnO both are active only in UV light due to their wide band gaps. Sunlight consist about 5-7% UV light, 46% visible light and 47% infrared radiation. In order to utilize major portion of sunlight (visible spectrum), it is necessary to modify the band gap of TiO2 as well as ZnO. This can be done by several ways such as semiconductor coupling, doping the material with metals/non metals. Doping of TiO2 using transition metals like Fe, Co and non-metals such as N, C or S extends its absorption wavelengths from UV to visible region. In the present work, we have synthesized ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposite using reverse microemulsion method. Visible light photocatalytic activity of synthesized nanocomposite was investigated for degradation of aqueous solution of malachite green (MG). To increase the photocatalytic activity of ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposite, it is decorated with C and Fe. Pure, carbon (C) doped and carbon, iron(C, Fe) co-doped nanosized ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposites were synthesized using reverse microemulsion method. These composites were characterized using, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV visible spectrophotometery and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Visible light photocatalytic activities of synthesized nanocomposites were investigated for degradation of aqueous malachite green (MG) solution. C, Fe co-doped ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposite exhibit better photocatalytic activity and showed threefold increase in photocatalytic activity. Effect of amount of catalyst, pH and concentration of MG solution on the photodegradation rate is studied. Stability and reusability of photocatalyst is also studied. C, Fe decorated ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposite shows threefold increase in photocatalytic activity.

Keywords: malachite green, nanocomposite, photocatalysis, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide

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Authors: Mark Deschaine, David Whale

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Utilization of online instruction continues to increase at universities, placing more emphasis on the exploration of issues related to adult graduate student engagement. This reflective case study reviews non-traditional student engagement in online courses. The goals of the study are to enhance student focus, attention and interaction. Findings suggest that interactivity seemed to be a key in keeping students involved and achieving, with specific activities routinely favored by students. It is recommended that time spent engaging students is worthwhile and results in greater course satisfaction and academic effort.

Keywords: online learning, student achievement, student engagement, technology

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Authors: Nabilah Zainal Abidin, Fawazul Khair Ibrahim, Raja Nafida Raja Shahminan

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This paper discusses on how componential analysis is used in architecture, mainly in determining the absence and presence of furniture in Traditional Malay Houses. The house samples were retrieved from the reports archived by the Centre of Built Environment in the Malay World (KALAM) of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Findings from the analysis indicate that furniture available in the spaces of the houses is determined by the culture of the people and the availability of certain furniture is influenced by the activities that are carried out within the space.

Keywords: componential analysis, sustainable furniture, traditional malay house

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Authors: Rossella Marzullo

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Family plays a central role in the Calabrian criminal organization, which draws its strength from blood ties and gender stereotypes that still impose a strong verticalization of intra-family relationships for the benefit of men. However, female figures are of great importance in the organizational structure of the 'Ndrangheta families, despite the fact that they appear to be formally suffocated by the culture of gender subordination still strongly present in the archaic world of criminal organizations. And this is so much true that over time, the women of the 'Ndrangheta have added to the function of ‘internal containment’, the increasingly explicit function of intermediaries in the ‘external’ activities of the clan. But what happens in the 'Ndrangheta if women break the bond and decide to speak? The results are shocking. When a woman starts talking to ask the institutions for help, the system ‘goes crazy’, because the woman is considered the means of consolidating and transmitting family codes: she educates, forges, holds the structure together. If a woman from the 'Ndrangheta decides to speak out and get out of the family bottlenecks of the clan, she does not exclusively destroy the family; she destroys the system. This happens because, while not playing the same roles as men within organizations, women carry out support activities as intermediaries for the circulation of communications, thus ensuring the operability of the gang in practice and on a daily basis. Crossing the border means breaking the bonds of belonging, thus questioning one's own identity and reconstructing it according to other points of reference. How much these disruptive choices are feared by the men of the 'Ndrangheta has been seen in the dramatic stories of Lea Garofalo and Maria Concetta Cacciola: the fear of the breaking of the family pact, of the earthquake that arises from within, has marked their fate of death, useful both to stop the judicial action and to recompose the organization's estate under the aegis of terror. With physical, psychological violence, underhanded torture, and moral blackmail, the men of the mafia family tried to heal the shock caused by the voices of women, relying on violence and yet another attempt to subordinate them. This proves that the 'Ndrangheta is really afraid of them. The female voices of the 'Ndrangheta, who have shaken a consolidated and considered intangible system, represent the anti-'ndrangheta par excellence; in their choices, there is an even stronger desire to break with the mafia world.

Keywords: families, gender, ‘Ndrangheta, stereotypes

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Authors: Rudainah Alkhazam, Özlem Yaşar Uğurlu

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Immigrant entrepreneurship arises from the start of entrepreneurial activity by immigrants in the country they relocate to. The future prosperity and stability of the refugee-hosting countries depends on the mutual social and economic benefits between the residents and the refugees. Syrian refugees and workers in host countries necessitate efforts to assist their residents and refugees in meeting their daily needs, contributing lawfully to local and possibly regional economies through trade, and instilling hope in their future. This study investigates the effects of Syrian refugee entrepreneurs on host communities' business sectors, focusing on Turkey. Specifically, we examine entrepreneurship in general and its role in the country's economy. Because Turkey is the most popular resettlement destination for Syrian refugees, this study will shed light on the challenges of successful migrant entrepreneurship in Turkey and their role in the business sector. The research relies on a mixed-method approach which helps identify recurring themes, favorable results, and conflicting results across methods, allowing us to draw accurate conclusions. The study will adopt a quantitative method in collecting numerical data from Syrian refugees in Turkey. The self-administered survey would be translated into Arabic to ensure that the respondents understood the questions and possible replies. The research will use survey questionnaires to gather the majority of the data. These surveys would have closed-ended questions with nominal ratio and Likert scales. The data will be analyzed using linear regression and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to ascertain the role of Syrian entrepreneurs in the business sectors of Turkey. The research will use the findings to make future recommendations. Syrian entrepreneurs, among the migrant entrepreneurs, contribute to the labor market, the majority of whom are young people. This research noted the significant participation of Syrian immigrant women in the entrepreneurship sector. The previous experience of Syrians in the field of trade and running their own business plays a vital role in the success of their business in the host countries. The study shows that Syrian entrepreneurs could integrate effectively into the various Turkish business sectors and could rely on themselves, open and manage their projects, and market them in the Turkish market. Syrian entrepreneurs consider that the investment and labor laws, commercial arrangements, and facilities for obtaining financial resources in Turkey need to be more flexible and available to immigrant entrepreneurs.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, immigration, Syrian, Turkey, refugees, investors, socio-economic benefits, unemployment

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Authors: Rodrigo Buaiz Boabaid

Abstract:

Tokenization of Blue Bonds is an emerging Green Finance tool that has the potential to scale Blue Carbon Projects to fight climate change. This innovative solution has a huge potential to democratize the green finance market and catalyze innovations in the climate change finance sector. Switzerland has emerged as a leader in the Green Finance space and is well-positioned to drive the adoption of Tokenization of Blue & Green Bonds. This unique approach has the potential to unlock new sources of capital and enable global investors to participate in the financing of sustainable blue carbon projects. By leveraging the power of blockchain technology, Tokenization of Blue Bonds can provide greater transparency, efficiency, and security in the investment process, while also reducing transaction costs. Investments are in line with the highest regulations and designed according to the stringent legal framework and compliance standards set by Switzerland. The potential benefits of Tokenization of Blue Bonds are significant and could transform the way that sustainable projects are financed. By unlocking new sources of capital, this approach has the potential to accelerate the deployment of Blue Carbon projects and create new opportunities for investors to participate in the fight against climate change.

Keywords: blue carbon, blue bonds, green finance, Tokenization, blockchain solutions

Procedia PDF Downloads 59

Authors: Mihai Liviu Despa

Abstract:

The paper tackles the topic of determining the cost of innovation in software development projects. Innovation can be achieved either in a planned or unplanned manner. The paper approaches the scenarios were innovation is planned for. As a starting point an innovative software development project is analyzed. The project is depicted step by step as it was implemented, from inception to delivery. Costs that are proprietary to innovation in software development are isolated based on the author’s personal experience in managing the above mentioned project. Innovation costs components identified by the author are then validated using open discussions with software development professionals and projects managers on LinkedIn groups. In order to receive relevant feedback only groups that focus on software development and innovation management are targeted. Additional innovation cost components suggested by software development professionals and projects managers are also considered. Based on the identified cost components an indicator is built. The indicator is meant to formalize the process of determining the cost of innovation in a software development project. The indicator aggregates all the innovation cost components that are identified in the research process. The process of calculating each cost component is also described. Conclusions are formulated and new related research topics are submitted for debate.

Keywords: innovation cost, IT project management, software development, innovation management

Procedia PDF Downloads 439

Authors: Yi-Ju Lee

Abstract:

This study identified the hypothesized relationships among tourist emotion, creative experience, and behavioral intention of handmade ancient candy in Tainan, Taiwan. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was administered in Anping, Tainan. The result also revealed significant positive relationships between emotion, creative experience and behavioral intention in handmade activities. This paper provides additional suggestions for enhancing behavioral intention and guidance regarding creative tourism.

Keywords: creative tourism, sense of achievement, unique learning, interaction with instructors

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Siamak Eskandari, Neda Ebadi

Abstract:

After discovering and using Freon as refrigerant in refrigerators and air conditioners, researchers have been working hard to minimize massive environmental damage caused by this type of systems, including ozone depletion, heat production, and urban warming. However, there is a growing concern for global warming and climate change and its impacts on climates. Although gas air conditioners can provide comfort in short term, there are long-term consequences and effects, including global warming, polar ice melting, sea level rising, rising sea surface temperatures, reduction in seasonal precipitation, tropical storms, and drought. In this theoretical and practical study, Peltier electronic chip was used with no gas in the structure and operation. In fact, cooling and heating are based on bipolar electronics. With an innovative method, Peltier air conditioners provide cooling in warm seasons and heating in cold seasons in buildings. Such a system prevents ambient warming. The problem of air circulation between high buildings in large cities and draught will be considerably resolved through the use of the silent fan in the system. In addition, the system is designed and developed in accordance with international standards such as LEED and Energy Star.

Keywords: energy, Building cooling and heating, peltier, leed, energy star

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Anupam Purwar

Abstract:

In conventional consumer product industry, stockouts are taken care by carrying buffer stock to check underserving caused by changes in customer demand, incorrect forecast or variability in lead times. But, for food outlets, the alternate of carrying buffer stock is unviable because of indispensable need to serve freshly cooked meals. Besides, the food outlet being the sole provider has no incentives to reduce stockouts, as they have no fear of losing revenue, gross profit, customers and market share. Hence, innovative, easy to implement and practical ways of addressing the twin problem of long queues and poor customer experience needs to be investigated. Current work analyses the demand pattern of 11 different food items across a routine day. Based on this optimum resource allocation for all food items has been carried out by solving a linear programming problem with cost minimization as the objective. Concurrently, recommendations have been devised to address this demand and supply side problem keeping in mind their practicability. Currently, the recommendations are being discussed and implemented at ISB (Indian School of Business) Hyderabad campus.

Keywords: F&B industry, resource allocation, demand management, linear programming, LP, queuing analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Marina Stramarkou, Sofia Papadaki, Maria Kaloupi, Ioannis Batzakas

Abstract:

Biofouling is a complex problem of the aquaculture industry, as it reduces the efficiency of the equipment and causes significant losses of cultured organisms. Nowadays, the current antifouling methods are proved to be labor intensive, have limited lifetime and use toxic substances that result in fish mortality. Several species of marine algae produce a wide variety of biogenic compounds with antibacterial and antifouling properties, which are effective in the prevention and control of biofouling and can be incorporated in antifouling coatings. In the present work, Fucus spiralis, a species of macro algae, and Chlorella vulgaris, a well-known species of microalgae, were used for the isolation and recovery of bioactive compounds, belonging to groups of fatty acids, lipopeptides and amides. The recovery of the compounds was achieved through the application of the ultrasound- assisted extraction, an environmentally friendly method, using green, non-toxic solvents. Moreover, the coating of the antifouling agents was done by innovative encapsulation and coating methods, such as electro-hydrodynamic process. For the encapsulation of the bioactive compounds natural matrices were used, such as polysaccharides and proteins. Water extracts that were incorporated in protein matrices were considered the most efficient antifouling coating.

Keywords: algae, electrospinning, fatty acids, ultrasound-assisted extraction

Procedia PDF Downloads 328

Authors: Roghieh Eskandari, Ali Motamedi

Abstract:

There is a significant demand for renovation as-built assets are aging. To plan for a desirable and comfortable indoor environment, stakeholders use simulation technics to assess potential renovation scenarios with the innovative designs. Diminished Reality (DR), which is a technique of visually removing unwanted objects from the real-world scene in real-time, can contribute to the renovation design visualization for stakeholders by removing existing structures and assets from the scene. Using DR, the objects to be demolished or changed will be visually removed from the scene for a better understanding of the intended design scenarios for stakeholders. This research proposes an integrated system for renovation plan visualization using Building Information Modelling (BIM) data and mixed reality (MR) technologies. It presents a BIM-based DR method that utilizes a textured BIM model of the environment to accurately register the virtual model of the occluded background to the physical world in real-time. This system can facilitate the simulation of the renovation plan by visually diminishing building elements in an indoor environment.

Keywords: diminished reality, building information modelling, mixed reality, stock renovation

Procedia PDF Downloads 101