Search results for: buried pipeline integrity management

Authors: Jana Gebhartova, Tomas Duda, Ivan Benes

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World is characterized by constantly emerging new links, increasing complexity and speed of processes in the society. The globalized world needs (except political and financial mechanisms and institutions) functional supply chains. Transport and supply chains can be interrupted in case of natural disasters, conflicts and civil disorders, sudden demand shocks, export/import restrictions, terrorism. Long-term interruption of crucial services for human existence can results in breakdown of the whole society. If global supply chains can be interrupted, the ability to survive a crisis situation depends on local self-sufficiency, it means ensuring water, food and energy. In the world of 21st century, new way of thinking (based on the concept of resilience) is needed. Planning for self-sufficiency and resilience must be part of the agenda of local governments. The paper presents first results of research project VF20112015518 “Security of population – crisis management” that deals with issue of critical infrastructure, ensuring regional self-sufficiency in crisis situations and issues related to population protection and water, energy and food security. The project is being solved within Security Research of Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic in 2011-2015.

Keywords: crisis management, resilience, indicators of self-sufficiency, continuity of supplies

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Authors: Dilini Bodhinayaka, Aunsha Sajeewanie Rubasinghe

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The library of the University of Kelaniya plays a significant role in supporting the academic work of the university. As at July, 2016 the library of the University of Kelaniya comprised of 250301 printed books, 2157 CD-ROMs, 1203 theses and 800 non-book materials. Furthermore, the library is subscribed to about 60 local journals, access to over 12,500 full text academic journals and around 100,000 e-books. The library provides the services and resources that support in teaching, doing research and learning. On the other hand, undergraduate students have adopted and continued to use the online information retrieval for their academic and research work. This study aims to compare the usage of internet and the usage of library among undergraduates in the faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Commerce & Management in the University of Kelaniya. Also, the research attempts to determine the factors of enthusiasm or the disinterest in the students in using library and Internet. All the undergraduate students in the University (8440 students at the time of the study) were taken as the population of the study and the sample of 15% was selected out of the population using stratified sampling method. A total of 1266 questionnaires were distributed among undergraduates of the above mentioned faculties. The qualitative data were analyzed using Descriptive Statistical Method. Findings, of the study indicated that undergraduate students of the faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Commerce & Management use both the library and the internet to fulfill their information needs. But, the students in the faculty of Science and Commerce & Management use the internet sources more than the library. The undergraduates in the faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences frequently use the university library than the internet. Although, majority agreed that the internet is the most preferred source of information they have no an adequate awareness about the available internet resources in the E-library of the University of Kelaniya.

Keywords: university libraries, University of Kelaniya, online resources, undergraduates in Sri Lanka

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Authors: Shola Haruna Adeosun, Ajoke F. Adebiyi

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Business organizations in Nigeria have failed to realize the role of a good corporate image policy in business dealings. This is probably because they do not understand the concept of corporate image and the necessary tools for promoting it. Corporate image goes beyond attractive products or rendering quality services, advertising and paying good salary. It pervades every aspect of business concern, from the least worker’s personality to the dealings within the organization and with the large society. In the face of the societal dynamics, especially in the business world, brought by technology, companies are faced with stiff competition that maintaining a competitive edge requires aggressive strategies. One of such strategies in effective corporate image management is promotion. This study investigates the strategies that could be deployed in order to build and promote the effective corporate image, as well as enhance profit margins of an organization, using Phinomar Nigeria Limited, Ngwo as case study. The study reveals that Phinomar Nigeria Limited has a laid down corporate image policy but not effectively managed; and that, strategies deployed to promote corporate image are limited; while responses to Phinomar products are fairly high. It, therefore, suggests profitable products but requires periodical improvement in the employee's welfare and work environment; as well as, the need to increase the scope of Phinomar’s social responsibility.

Keywords: corporate image, effective, enhancing, management, profitability, strategy

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Authors: N. Ali, S. Nakayama, H. Yamaguchi, M. Nadeem

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Traffic congestion is a matter of prime concern in developing countries. This can be primarily attributed due to poor design practices and biased allocation of resources based on political will neglecting the technical feasibilities in infrastructure design. During the last decade, Lahore has expanded at an unprecedented rate as compared to surrounding cities due to more funding and resource allocation by the previous governments. As a result of this, people from surrounding cities and areas moved to the Lahore city for better opportunities and quality of life. This migration inflow inherited the city with an increased population yielding the inefficiency of the existing infrastructure to accommodate enhanced traffic demand. This leads to traffic congestion on major arterial roads of the city. In this simulation study, a major arterial road was selected to evaluate the performance of the five intersections by changing the geometry of the intersections or signal control type. Simulations were done in two software; Highway Capacity Software (HCS) and Synchro Studio and Sim Traffic Software. Some of the traffic management strategies that were employed include actuated-signal control, semi-actuated signal control, fixed-time signal control, and roundabout. The most feasible solution for each intersection in the above-mentioned traffic management techniques was selected with the least delay time (seconds) and improved Level of Service (LOS). The results showed that Jinnah Hospital Intersection and Akbar Chowk Intersection improved 92.97% and 92.67% in delay time reduction, respectively. These results can be used by traffic planners and policy makers for decision making for the expansion of these intersections keeping in mind the traffic demand in future years.

Keywords: traffic congestion, traffic simulation, traffic management, congestion problems

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Authors: Roger-Claude Liwanga

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This article reflects on the normative aspects of the jurisprudence on the protection of human rights in times of war that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) developed in 2005 in the Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Uganda). The article focuses on theories raised in connection with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s claim of the violation of human rights of its populations by Uganda as opposed to the violation of its territorial integrity claims. The article begins with a re-visitation of the doctrine of state extraterritorial responsibility for violations of human rights by suggesting that a state's accountability for the breach of its international obligations is not territorially confined but rather transcends the State's national borders. The article highlights the criteria of assessing the State's extraterritorial responsibility, including the circumstances: (1) where the concerned State has effective control over the territory of another State in the context of belligerent occupation, and (2) when the unlawful actions committed by the State's organs on the occupied territory can be attributable to that State. The article also analyzes the ICJ's opinions articulated in DRC v. Uganda with reference to the relationship between human rights law and humanitarian law, and it contends that the ICJ had revised the traditional interaction between these two bodies of law to the extent that human rights law can no longer be excluded from applying in times of war as both branches are complementary rather than exclusive. The article correspondingly looks at the issue of reparations for victims of human rights violations. It posits that reparations for victims of human rights violations should be integral (including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition). Yet, the article concludes by emphasizing that reparations for victims were not integral in DRC v. Uganda because: (1) the ICJ failed to set a reasonable timeframe for the negotiations between the DRC and Uganda on the amount of compensation, resulting in Uganda paying no financial reparation to the DRC since 2005; and (2) the ICJ did not request Uganda to domestically prosecute the perpetrators of human rights abuses.

Keywords: human rights law, humanitarian law, civilian protection, extraterritorial responsibility

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Authors: Johannes Atug, Andreas Radke, Mitchell Tseng, Gunther Reinhart

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In modern supply chains, large numbers of SKU (Stock-Keeping-Unit) need to be timely managed, and any delays in noticing disruptions of items often limit the ability to defer the impact on customer order fulfillment. However, in supply chains of IoT-connected enterprises, the ERP (Enterprise-Resource-Planning), the MES (Manufacturing-Execution-System) and the SCADA (Supervisory-Control-and-Data-Acquisition) systems generate large amounts of data, which generally glean much earlier notice of deviations in the business process steps. That is, analyzing these streams of data with process mining techniques allows the monitoring of the supply chain business processes and thus identification of items that deviate from the standard order fulfillment process. In this paper, a framework to enable event-based SCM (Supply-Chain-Management) processes including an overview of core enabling technologies are presented, which is based on the RAMI (Reference-Architecture-Model for Industrie 4.0) architecture. The application of this framework in the industry is presented, and implications for SCM in industry 4.0 and further research are outlined.

Keywords: cyber-physical production systems, event-based monitoring, supply chain management, RAMI (Reference-Architecture-Model for Industrie 4.0)

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Authors: Jeremy Jenrette, Z. Y. C. Liu, Pranav Chimote, Edward Fox, Trevor Hastie, Francesco Ferretti

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Suitable shark conservation depends on well-informed population assessments. Direct methods such as scientific surveys and fisheries monitoring are adequate for defining population statuses, but species-specific indices of abundance and distribution coming from these sources are rare for most shark species. We can rapidly fill these information gaps by boosting media-based remote monitoring efforts with machine learning and automation. We created a database of shark images by sourcing 24,546 images covering 219 species of sharks from the web application spark pulse and the social network Instagram. We used object detection to extract shark features and inflate this database to 53,345 images. We packaged object-detection and image classification models into a Shark Detector bundle. We developed the Shark Detector to recognize and classify sharks from videos and images using transfer learning and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). We applied these models to common data-generation approaches of sharks: boosting training datasets, processing baited remote camera footage and online videos, and data-mining Instagram. We examined the accuracy of each model and tested genus and species prediction correctness as a result of training data quantity. The Shark Detector located sharks in baited remote footage and YouTube videos with an average accuracy of 89\%, and classified located subjects to the species level with 69\% accuracy (n =\ eight species). The Shark Detector sorted heterogeneous datasets of images sourced from Instagram with 91\% accuracy and classified species with 70\% accuracy (n =\ 17 species). Data-mining Instagram can inflate training datasets and increase the Shark Detector’s accuracy as well as facilitate archiving of historical and novel shark observations. Base accuracy of genus prediction was 68\% across 25 genera. The average base accuracy of species prediction within each genus class was 85\%. The Shark Detector can classify 45 species. All data-generation methods were processed without manual interaction. As media-based remote monitoring strives to dominate methods for observing sharks in nature, we developed an open-source Shark Detector to facilitate common identification applications. Prediction accuracy of the software pipeline increases as more images are added to the training dataset. We provide public access to the software on our GitHub page.

Keywords: classification, data mining, Instagram, remote monitoring, sharks

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Authors: Kirstin Griffin

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During a period of increased anxiety and stress, communication became the essential tool to help the public stay informed and feel prepared during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, certain groups of patients were not feeling as reassured. The news and media blasted the message that patients with diabetes were “high-risk" in regards to contracting the Covid-19 infection. Routine clinics were being cancelled, GP practices were closing their doors, and patients with type 1 diabetes were understandably scared. The influx of calls to diabetes specialists nurses from concerned patients highlighted the need for better and more specialised information. An Application specifically for patients with type 1 diabetes was created to deliver this information, and it proved to be the essential communication tool that was desperately needed. The Application for patients with type 1 diabetes aimed to deliver specialist information to patients in regards to their diagnosis, management, and ongoing follow-up commitments. The Application gives practical advice on multiple areas of diabetes management, including sick-day rules and diabetic emergencies, as well as up-to-date information on technology, including setting up Libre devices and downloading glucose meters to facilitate attending virtual clinics. Delivery of this information in an easy-to-understand and comprehensive way is intended to improve patient engagement with diabetes services and ultimately empower patients in the control of their own disease. The application also offers a messaging service to allow the diabetes team to send out alerts to patient groups on specific issues, such as changes to clinics, or respond to recent news updates regarding Covid-19. The App was launched in NHS Fife in June 2020 and has amassed 800 active users so far. There is growing engagement with the App since its launch, with over 1000 user interactions in the last month alone. Feedback shows that 100% of users like the App and have found it useful in the management of their diabetes. The App has proven to be an essential tool in communication with one of the most vulnerable groups during the Covid-19 pandemic, and its ongoing development will continue to increase patient engagement and improve glycaemic control for patients with type 1 diabetes. The future of chronic disease management should involve digital solutions such as apps to further empower patients in their healthcare.

Keywords: diabetes, endocrinology, digital healthcare, medical apps

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Authors: Wei-Kuang Liu, Ya-Hsu Chiang

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In the coming of an aging society, the issues of living quality, health care, and social security for the elderly have been gradually taken seriously. In order to maintain favorable living condition, urban societies are also facing the challenge of disasters caused by extreme climate change. However, in the practice of disaster prevention, elderly people are always weak due to their physiological conditions. That is to say, in the planning of resilient urbanism, the aging society is relatively in need of more care. Thus, this research aims to map areas where have high-density elderly population and fragile environmental condition in Taiwan, and to understand the actual situation of disaster prevention management in these areas, so as to provide suggestions for the development of intellectual resilient urban management. The research takes the cities of Taoyuan and Taichung as examples for explorations. According to GIS mapping of areas with high aging index, high-density population and high flooding potential, the communities of Sihai and Fuyuan in Taoyuan and the communities of Taichang and Nanshih in Taichung are highlighted. In these communities, it can be found that there are more elderly population and less labor population with high-density living condition. In addition, they are located in the areas where they have experienced severe flooding in the recent past. Based on a series of interviews with community organizations, there is only one community out of the four using flood information mobile app and Line messages for the management of disaster prevention, and the others still rely on the traditional approaches that manage the works of disaster prevention by their community security patrol teams and community volunteers. The interview outcome shows that most elderly people are not interested in learning the use of intellectual devices. Therefore, this research suggests to keep doing the GIS mapping of areas with high aging index, high-density population and high flooding potential for grasping the high-risk communities and to help develop smart monitor and forecast systems for disaster prevention practice in these areas. Based on case-study explorations, the research also advises that it is important to develop easy-to-use bottom-up and two-way immediate communication mechanism for the management of aging society’s disaster prevention.

Keywords: aging society, disaster prevention, GIS, resilient, Taiwan

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Authors: Keneilwe Maremi, Marlien Herselman, Adele Botha

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The main purpose and focus of this paper are to determine the Interoperability Maturity Models to consider when using School Management Systems (SMS). The importance of this is to inform and help schools with knowing which Interoperability Maturity Model is best suited for their SMS. To address the purpose, this paper will apply a scoping review to ensure that all aspects are provided. The scoping review will include papers written from 2012-2019 and a comparison of the different types of Interoperability Maturity Models will be discussed in detail, which includes the background information, the levels of interoperability, and area for consideration in each Maturity Model. The literature was obtained from the following databases: IEEE Xplore and Scopus, the following search engines were used: Harzings, and Google Scholar. The topic of the paper was used as a search term for the literature and the term ‘Interoperability Maturity Models’ was used as a keyword. The data were analyzed in terms of the definition of Interoperability, Interoperability Maturity Models, and levels of interoperability. The results provide a table that shows the focus area of concern for each Maturity Model (based on the scoping review where only 24 papers were found to be best suited for the paper out of 740 publications initially identified in the field). This resulted in the most discussed Interoperability Maturity Model for consideration (Information Systems Interoperability Maturity Model (ISIMM) and Organizational Interoperability Maturity Model for C2 (OIM)).

Keywords: interoperability, interoperability maturity model, school management system, scoping review

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Authors: Reyhaneh Saeedi

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Iran is one of the regions which are most prone for earthquakes annually having a large number of financial and mortality and financial losses. Every year around the world, a large number of people lose their home and life due to natural disasters such as earthquakes. It is necessary to provide and specify some suitable places for settling the homeless people before the occurrence of the earthquake, one of the most important factors in crisis planning and management. Some of the natural disasters can be Modeling and shown by Geospatial Information System (GIS). By using GIS, it would be possible to manage the spatial data and reach several goals by making use of the analyses existing in it. GIS has a determining role in disaster management because it can determine the best places for temporary resettling after such a disaster. In this research QuantumGIS software is used that It is an OpenSource software so that easy to access codes and It is also free. In this system, AHP method is used as decision model and to locate the best places for temporary resettling, is done based on the related organizations criteria with their weights and buffers. Also in this research are made the buffer layers of criteria and change them to the raster layers. Later on, the raster layers are multiplied on desired weights then, the results are added together. Eventually, there are suitable places for resettling of victims by desired criteria by different colors with their optimum rate in QuantumGIS platform.

Keywords: disaster management, temporary resettlement, earthquake, QuantumGIS

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Authors: Chukwuka Justus Iwegbu

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Background: A major concern facing the world is providing senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups with high-quality care. This issue is more serious in Nigeria's North Eastern area, where the burden of disease and disability is heavy, and access to care is constrained. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the roles, challenges and support needs of caregivers, care home management, funding and administration in challenged communities in North Eastern Nigeria. The study will also provide a comprehensive understanding of the current situation and identify opportunities for improving the quality of care and support for caregivers and care recipients in these communities. Methods: A mixed-methods design, including both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, will be used, and it will be guided by the stress process model of caregiving. The qualitative stage approach will comprise a survey, In-depth interviews, observations, and focus group discussion and the quantitative analysis will be used in order to comprehend the variations between caregiver's roles and care home management. A review of relevant documents, such as care home policies and funding reports, would be used to gather quantitative data on the administrative and financial aspects of care. The data collected will be analyzed using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. A sample size of around 200-300 participants, including caregivers, care recipients, care home managers and administrators, policymakers and health care providers, would be recruited. Findings: The study revealed that caregivers in challenged communities in North Eastern Nigeria face significant challenges, including lack of training and support, limited access to funding and resources, and high levels of burnout. Care home management and administration were also found to be inadequate, with a lack of clear policies and procedures and limited oversight and accountability. Conclusion: There is a need for increased investment in training and support for caregivers, as well as a need for improved care home management and administration in challenged communities in North Eastern Nigeria. It also highlights the importance of involving community members in decision-making and planning processes related to care homes and services. The study would contribute to the existing body of knowledge by providing a detailed understanding of the challenges faced by caregivers, care home managers and administrators.

Keywords: caregivers, care home management, funding, administration, challenge communities, North Eastern Nigeria

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Authors: Sachin Sharma

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Sexual consent is integral to every sexual relationship. It is a process to facilitate sexual autonomy and bodily integrity. It assures complete sexual personhood and allows an individual to explore her sexual expressions independently. But the said proposition is not true for people with psychosocial disabilities. Generally, they are considered seraphic or mephistophelic and denied access to sexual autonomy. This result in institutionalizing the sexuality of disabled persons, where the eugenics-ableist narrative defines assessment and access to consent. This way, sexuality and disability are distanced apart. It is primarily due to the stigmatized socio-cultural constructs of sexuality that define sex within a “standard” and “charmed” circle. Such stigmatized expression influences the law, as it considers people with psychosocial disabilities incapable of sexual consent. The approach of legal institutions is very narrow towards interpreting their sexual rights. It echoes the modernist-ableism and strangulates the sexual choices. This way, it reflects the repressive model of sex and denies space to people with psychosocial disabilities. Moreover, judicial courts follow old and conservative methods while dealing with sexual issues. For instance, courts still practice the “standardized” norm of intelligence quotient (IQ) for determining the credibility of persons with psychosocial disabilities. Further, there is still doubt about assistive communicative techniques. This paper will try to question the normative structure of sexual consent and related laws while specifically addressing the issues of sex as desire and abuse. Considering the commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (herein referred to as UNCRPD) and common law experience, the paper will draw a comparative study on the legal position of sexual rights in India. The paper will also analyze the role of UNCRPD in addressing sexual rights. The author will examine the position of sexual rights of people with psychosocial disabilities after the drafting of UNCRPD and specific state laws. The paper primarily follows the doctrinal method.

Keywords: sexual autonomy, institutionalized choices, overregulated laws, violation of individuality

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Authors: Ahmed Al-Adaileh

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Renewable energy sources, domestic storage systems, controllable loads and machine learning technologies will be key components of future smart homes management systems. An energy management scheme that uses a Deep Learning (DL) approach to support the smart home management systems, which consist of a standalone photovoltaic system, storage unit, heating ventilation air-conditioning system and a set of conventional and smart appliances, is presented. The objective of the proposed scheme is to apply DL-based machine learning to predict various running parameters within a smart home's environment to achieve maximum comfort levels for occupants, reduced electricity bills, and less dependency on the public grid. The problem is using Reinforcement learning, where decisions are taken based on applying the Continuous-time Markov Decision Process. The main contribution of this research is the proposed framework that applies DL to enhance the system's supervised dataset to offer unlimited chances to effectively support smart home systems. A case study involving a set of conventional and smart appliances with dedicated processing units in an inhabited building can demonstrate the validity of the proposed framework. A visualization graph can show "before" and "after" results.

Keywords: smart homes systems, machine learning, deep learning, Markov Decision Process

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Authors: Ebtissem Sassi, Abdellatif Benabdelhafid, Sami Hammami

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Congestion, pollution and space misuse are the major risks in the hinterland. Management of these risks is a major issue for all the actors intervening in territory management. A good mastery of these risks is based on the consideration of environmental and physical constraints since the implementation of a policy integrates simultaneously an efficient use, territorial resources, and financial resources which become increasingly rare. Yet, this balance can be difficult to establish simultaneously by all the actors. Indeed, every actor has often the tendency to favor these objectives in detriment to others. In this framework, we have fixed the objective of designing and achieving a model which will centralize multidisciplinary data and serve the analysis tool as well as a decision support tool. In this article, we will elaborate some methodological axes allowing the good management of the territory system through (i) determination of the structural factors of the decision support system, (ii) integration of methods tools favoring the territorial decisional process. Logistics territory geographic information system is a model dealing with this issue. The objective of this model is to facilitate the exchanges between the actors around a common question which was the research subject of human sciences researchers (geography, economy), nature sciences (ecology) as well as finding an optimal solution for simultaneous responses to all these objectives.

Keywords: complexity, territory, logistics, territory planning, conceptual model, GIS, MCA

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Authors: Sirus Mohammadi, Rohala Moghimi

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The main advantages of microgrids are high energy efficiency through the application of Combined Heat and Power (CHP), high quality and reliability of the delivered electric energy and environmental and economic advantages. This study presents an energy management system (EMS) to optimize the operation of the microgrid (MG). In this paper an Adaptive Modified Firefly Algorithm (AMFA) is presented for optimal operation of a typical MG with renewable energy sources (RESs) accompanied by a back-up Micro-Turbine/Fuel Cell/Battery hybrid power source to level the power mismatch or to store the energy surplus when it’s needed. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear constraint problem to minimize the total operating cost. The management of Energy storage system (ESS), economic load dispatch and operation optimization of distributed generation (DG) are simplified into a single-object optimization problem in the EMS. The proposed algorithm is tested on a typical grid-connected MG including WT/PV/Micro Turbine/Fuel Cell and Energy Storage Devices (ESDs) then its superior performance is compared with those from other evolutionary algorithms such as Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Fuzzy Self Adaptive PSO (FSAPSO), Chaotic Particle PSO (CPSO), Adaptive Modified PSO (AMPSO), and Firefly Algorithm (FA).

Keywords: microgrid, operation management, optimization, firefly algorithm (AMFA)

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Authors: A. Duncan, A. Blake, A. O'Gara, J. Fitzgerald

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Introduction: Acute traumatic rib fractures have significant morbidity and mortality and are a commonly seen injury in trauma patients. Rib fracture pain can often be acute and can prove challenging to manage. We performed an audit on patients with acute traumatic rib fractures with the aim of composing a referral and treatment pathway for such patients. Methods: From January 2021 to January 2022, the pain medicine service encouraged early referral of all traumatic rib fractures to the pain service for a multi-modal management approach. A retrospective audit of analgesic management was performed on a select cohort of 24 patients, with a mean age of 67, of which 19 had unilateral rib fractures. Results: 17 of 24 patients (71%) underwent local, regional block as part of a multi-modal analgesia regime. Only one regional complication was observed, seen with hypotension occurring in one patient with a thoracic epidural. The group who did not undergo regional block had a length of stay (LOS) 17 days longer than those who did (27 vs. 10) and higher rates of pneumonia (29% vs. 18%). Conclusion: Early referral to pain specialists is an important component of the effective management of acute traumatic rib fractures. From our audit, it is evident that regional blocks can be effectively used in these cases as part of a multi-modal analgesia regime and may confer benefits in terms of respiratory complications and length of stay.

Keywords: rib fractures, regional blocks, thoracic epidural, erector spina block

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Authors: Mamatha M. N.

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Traffic problems, congested traffic, and flow management were recognized as major problems mostly in all the areas, which have caused a problem for the ambulance which carries the emergency patient. The proposed paper aims in the development of ambulance which reaches the nearby hospital faster even in heavy traffic scenario. This process is activated by implementing hardware in an ambulance as well as in traffic post thus allowing a smooth flow to the ambulance to reach the hospital in time. 1) The design of the vehicle to have a communication between ambulance and traffic post. 2)Electronic Health Record with Data-acquisition system 3)Telemetry of acquired biological parameters to the nearest hospital. Thus interfacing all these three different modules and integrating them on the ambulance could reach the hospital earlier than the present ambulance. The system is accurate and efficient of 99.8%.

Keywords: bio-telemetry, data acquisition, patient database, automatic traffic control

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Authors: Junqi Zou

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As one of the world’s most tech-ready countries, Singapore has initiated the Smart Nation plan to harness the full power and potential of digital technologies to transform the way people live and work, through the more efficient government and business processes, to make the economy more productive. The key evolutions of digital technology transformation in healthcare and the increasing deployment of Internet of Things (IoTs), Big Data, AI/cognitive, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Electronic Health Record Systems (EHR), Electronic Medical Record Systems (EMR), Warehouse Management System (WMS in the most recent decade have significantly stepped up the move towards an information-driven healthcare ecosystem. The advances in information technology not only bring benefits to patients but also act as a key force in changing management accounting in healthcare sector. The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of digital technology transformation on Singapore’s healthcare sector from a management accounting perspective. Adopting a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) analysis approach, this paper conducted an exploratory case study of a newly launched Singapore public hospital, which has been recognized as amongst the most digitally advanced healthcare facilities in Asia-Pacific region. Specifically, this study gains insights on how the new technology is changing healthcare organizations’ management accounting from four perspectives under the Balanced Scorecard approach, 1) Financial Perspective, 2) Customer (Patient) Perspective, 3) Internal Processes Perspective, and 4) Learning and Growth Perspective. Based on a thorough review of archival records from the government and public, and the interview reports with the hospital’s CIO, this study finds the improvements from all the four perspectives under the Balanced Scorecard framework as follows: 1) Learning and Growth Perspective: The Government (Ministry of Health) works with the hospital to open up multiple training pathways to health professionals that upgrade and develops new IT skills among the healthcare workforce to support the transformation of healthcare services. 2) Internal Process Perspective: The hospital achieved digital transformation through Project OneCare to integrate clinical, operational, and administrative information systems (e.g., EHR, EMR, WMS, EPIB, RTLS) that enable the seamless flow of data and the implementation of JIT system to help the hospital operate more effectively and efficiently. 3) Customer Perspective: The fully integrated EMR suite enhances the patient’s experiences by achieving the 5 Rights (Right Patient, Right Data, Right Device, Right Entry and Right Time). 4) Financial Perspective: Cost savings are achieved from improved inventory management and effective supply chain management. The use of process automation also results in a reduction of manpower costs and logistics cost. To summarize, these improvements identified under the Balanced Scorecard framework confirm the success of utilizing the integration of advanced ICT to enhance healthcare organization’s customer service, productivity efficiency, and cost savings. Moreover, the Big Data generated from this integrated EMR system can be particularly useful in aiding management control system to optimize decision making and strategic planning. To conclude, the new digital technology transformation has moved the usefulness of management accounting to both financial and non-financial dimensions with new heights in the area of healthcare management.

Keywords: balanced scorecard, digital technology transformation, healthcare ecosystem, integrated information system

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Authors: Zenaida M. De Guzman, Davison T. Baldos, Gilberto T. Diano, Jeff Darren G. Valdez, Levelyn Mitos Tolentino, Gina B. Abrera, Ma. Lucia Cobar, Cristina Gragasin

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One of the factors affecting the quality of brown rice is the free fatty acid produced from surface lipids. It is the purpose of the study to determine the effect of gamma radiation, packaging materials and age and variety of paddy on the surface free fatty acid content using two different brown rice variety, namely, RC-160 and SL-7, packed in two different packaging materials, namely, regular polyethylene bag and Super bag irradiated at 0.5 and 1.0 kGy. Brown rice was produced from 2-week old (Lot 1) and two months old paddy (Lot 2) and irradiated at the Co-60 Multipurpose Irradiation Facility, PNRI. The surface Free Fatty Acid (FFA) content was obtained following the AOCS Official Method (1982) with some modifications. The experiment was laid out using Split-Plot Randomized Control Block Design. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the effects of variety, age of paddy and interactions of both were both significant. The surface FFA of SL-7 variety was found to be significantly higher than the RC-160 variety for all radiation doses. Likewise, Lot 2 was observed to have higher surface FFA than Lot 1 regardless of packaging material and radiation dose. It was observed that the surface FFA of both varieties packed in both packaging materials increased significantly up to the 2nd or 3rd month of storage and remains the same until the 5th month. On the other hand, radiation dose did not significantly affect the surface free fatty acid content for all storage/sampling time while the packaging material significantly interacts with the type of variety and radiation dose. Gamma radiation was proven to have no significant effect on the surface free fatty acid at 0.5 and 1.0 kGy and further analyses are needed to determine the action of gamma radiation to the activity of enzyme (lipase-induced and microbial) responsible for the production of other lipolytic products and the effect of gamma radiation on the integrity of the packaging materials.

Keywords: brown rice, free fatty acid, gamma radiation, polyethylene bag

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Authors: Boutheina Ben Abdelmoumen Mardassi, Salim Chibani, Safa Boujemaa, Amaury Vaysse, Julien Guglielmini, Elhem Yacoub

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Background and aim: Mycoplasma hominis (MH) is a pathogenic bacterium belonging to the Mollicutes class. It causes a wide range of gynecological infections and infertility among adults. Recently, we have explored for the first time the phylodistribution of Tunisian M. hominis clinical strains using an expanded MLST. We have demonstrated their distinction into two pure lineages, which each corresponding to a specific pathotype: genital infections and infertility. The aim of this project is to gain further insight into the evolutionary dynamics and the specific genetic factors that distinguish MH pathotypes Methods: Whole genome sequencing of Mycoplasma hominis clinical strains was performed using illumina Miseq. Denovo assembly was performed using a publicly available in-house pipeline. We used prokka to annotate the genomes, panaroo to generate the gene presence matrix and Jolytree to establish the phylogenetic tree. We used treeWAS to identify genetic loci associated with the pathothype of interest from the presence matrix and phylogenetic tree. Results: Our results revealed a clear categorization of the 62 MH clinical strains into two distinct genetic lineages, with each corresponding to a specific pathotype.; gynecological infections and infertility[AV1] . Genome annotation showed that GC content is ranging between 26 and 27%, which is a known characteristic of Mycoplasma genome. Housekeeping genes belonging to the core genome are highly conserved among our strains. TreeWas identified 4 virulence genes associated with the pathotype gynecological infection. encoding for asparagine--tRNA ligase, restriction endonuclease subunit S, Eco47II restriction endonuclease, and transcription regulator XRE (involved in tolerance to oxidative stress). Five genes have been identified that have a statistical association with infertility, tow lipoprotein, one hypothetical protein, a glycosyl transferase involved in capsule synthesis, and pyruvate kinase involved in biofilm formation. All strains harbored an efflux pomp that belongs to the family of multidrug resistance ABC transporter, which confers resistance to a wide range of antibiotics. Indeed many adhesion factors and lipoproteins (p120, p120', p60, p80, Vaa) have been checked and confirmed in our strains with a relatively 99 % to 96 % conserved domain and hypervariable domain that represent 1 to 4 % of the reference sequence extracted from gene bank. Conclusion: In summary, this study led to the identification of specific genetic loci associated with distinct pathotypes in M hominis.

Keywords: mycoplasma hominis, infertility, gynecological infections, virulence genes, antibiotic resistance

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Authors: Nora Alomar, Bianca Alexandra Stefa, Saleh Bazi

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This research uncovers the determinants that drive millennial consumers to adhere to product return of fast-fashion products purchases via e-commerce and what effects it has on consumer experience and satisfaction. Online consumption has skyrocketed, with e-commerce being the only, most reliable, and safe method of shopping during and post Covid-19. It has been noted customers are demanding a wide variety of product characteristics and a generous optimal return policy. The authors have selected to examine millennial consumers as they are digital natives and have an affinity for researching, reading product reviews, and shopping online, with a great spending power due to a higher disposable income in comparison to other generations. A multi-study approach is adopted, where study one (interviews, sample of 20 respondents) investigates the factors that drive product return, and study two (PLS-SEM, sample of 250 respondents) looks into the relationships of product return management against behavioral outcomes by having the generated factors (from study one) as moderators. Five themes are generated from study one (return policies, product characteristics, delivery lead time, seasonality, product trial & overspending). The authors identify that two out of the five factors (seasonality, product trial & overspending) have not been highlighted by the literature. The paper examines 11 hypotheses, where 10 are supported. Findings highlight the quality of the product return management influences the overall millennial customer experience and satisfaction. Findings also indicate that product return management was identified to have a significant negative effect on customer experience. Additionally, seasonality has a significant but negative moderation, which means increasing seasonality decreases the relationship between product return management and customer experience and satisfaction. Results highlight that return policies have a significant negative influence on the relationship between returning a product and customer experience and satisfaction. Moreover, product characteristics are also identified to have a significant negative influence on the relationship between returning a product and customer experience and satisfaction. This study further examines the influence of the factors on direct e-commerce websites and third-party e-commerce websites. Findings showcase a strong statistical significance for the increased rate of return of fast-fashion products on third-party websites. This paper aids practitioners in taking strategic decisions related to return management, to improve the quality of logistical services and, in turn, increase profitability.

Keywords: customer experience, customer satisfaction, e-commerce, fast-fashion, product returns

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Authors: Robin C. Ladwig

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The future of work becomes less predictable, which requires increasing the adaptability of organizations to social and work changes. Society is transforming regarding gender identity in the sense that more people come forward to identify as trans and gender diverse (TGD). Organizations are ill-equipped to provide a safe and encouraging work environment by lacking inclusive organizational structures. The qualitative multi-method research about TGD inclusivity in the workplace explores the enablers and barriers for TGD individuals to satisfactory engage in the work environment and organizational culture. Furthermore, these TGD insights are analyzed about their organizational implications and awareness from a leadership and management perspective. The semi-structured online interviews with TGD individuals and the photo-elicit open-ended questionnaire addressed to leadership and management in diversity, career development, and human resources have been analyzed with a critical grounded theory approach. Findings demonstrated the significance of TGD voices, the support of leadership and management, as well as the synergy between voices and leadership. Hence, it indicates practical implications such as the revision of exclusive language used in policies, data collection, or communication and reconsideration of organizational decision-making by leaders to include TGD voices.

Keywords: future of work, occupational identity, organisational decision-making, trans and gender diverse identity

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Authors: Perttu Heino

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Universities of applied sciences (UASs) were introduced as part of the Finnish higher education system in the early 1990’s. Research, development and innovation (RDI) were mentioned in the legislation on UASs from the very beginning, but very little attention was paid to it in the early years of UASs due to reasons that are easy to understand. Required changes in the organization of the UAS and its educational offering were a big challenge, and it took several years to get things in order. There were RDI projects already then, but their number was low and there was no systematical coordination or management of those activities. In this paper, the institutional transformation of UASs is discussed based on how Tampere University of Applied Sciences has transformed during the years from a traditional tertiary level school to a modern higher education institution with a strong RDI activity, characterized by lively university-industry interaction and tight integration to education.

Keywords: research, development, management, practices

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Authors: Stephen Acheampong Amoafoh

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In today's dynamic economic landscape, businesses face multifaceted challenges that demand strategic foresight and informed decision-making. This abstract explores the pivotal role of financial analytics in driving business performance amidst evolving market conditions. By integrating accounting principles with economic insights, organizations can harness the power of data-driven strategies to optimize resource allocation, mitigate risks, and capitalize on emerging opportunities. This presentation will delve into the practical applications of financial analytics across various sectors, highlighting case studies and empirical evidence to underscore its efficacy in enhancing operational efficiency and fostering sustainable growth. From predictive modeling to performance benchmarking, attendees will gain invaluable insights into leveraging advanced analytics tools to drive profitability, streamline processes, and adapt to changing market dynamics. Moreover, this abstract will address the ethical considerations inherent in financial analytics, emphasizing the importance of transparency, integrity, and accountability in data-driven decision-making. By fostering a culture of ethical conduct and responsible stewardship, organizations can build trust with stakeholders and safeguard their long-term viability in an increasingly interconnected global economy. Ultimately, this abstract aims to stimulate dialogue and collaboration among scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation in the realms of accounting, business, and economics. Through interdisciplinary insights and actionable recommendations, participants will be equipped to navigate the complexities of today's business environment and seize opportunities for sustainable success.

Keywords: financial analytics, business performance, data-driven strategies, sustainable growth

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Authors: Robert Grzeszczak

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The article deals with one of the most significant issues concerning the functioning of the public sector in the European Union. The objectives of good governance were formulated by the EU itself and also the Scholars in reaction to the discussion that started a decade ago and concerned the role of the government in 21st century, the future of integration processes and globalization challenges in Europe. Currently, the concept of good governance is mainly associated with the improvement of management of public policies in the European Union, concerning both domestic and EU policies. However, it goes beyond the issues of state capacity and effectiveness of management. Good governance relates also to societal participation in the public administration and verification of decisions made in public authorities’ (including public administration). Indirectly, the concept and practice of good governance are connected to societal legitimisation of public bodies in the European Union.

Keywords: good governance, government, European law, European Union

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Authors: Smoki Musaraj

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Classic studies of the Mediterranean as a cultural and geographic unit of analysis have emphasized the theme of cosmopolitan urbanism as a key feature of the Mediterranean city. This paper explores the Mediterranean city today, considering continuities and ruptures from images of the Mediterranean of the past. The paper seeks to address the following questions: What are some defining characteristics of Mediterranean cities today? What are some of the shared challenges? The paper focuses on two interrelated themes: public space and tourism management. Several examples of protest and contestation in Mediterranean cities will be analyzed. These examples include cities where tourism presents opportunities and challenges to city planning and management; and where new private and public developments threaten the management of public space. The paper draws on ethnographic research in the city of Saranda, Albania, a small attractive tourist destination on the border with Greece, and Barcelona, Spain, a leading example of urban transformation and tourism massification. While different in size and popularity, both cities share some similar developments and contestations. In both cities, authorities have taken up different strategies to manage tourism and restore public space. The comparison will focus on social movements in the respective cities that target tourism and urban development in the name of preserving theirMediterraneaness. These examples are used to reflect more broadly on what are some features of the Mediterranean city today and how they can be preserved in the current climate of tourism expansion of urban development boom.

Keywords: mediterranean, urbanism, tourism, public space, anthropology, human geography, sustainability

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Authors: Alfredo Soeiro

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Rehabilitation in construction or built environment is a particular type of operations when concerning prevention of accidents. In fact, it is also a different type of task in construction itself. Therefore, due to the complex characteristics of construction rehabilitation tasks and due to the intrinsic difficulty of preventing accidents in construction, a major challenge faces the responsibility for implementing adequate safety levels in this type of safety management. This paper addresses a set of proposed generic measures to face the unknown characteristics of built environment in terms of stability, materials and actual performance of buildings or other constructions. It is also addressed the necessary adaptation of preventive guidelines to this type of delicate refurbishing and renovating of existing facilities. Training, observation and reflective approaches are necessary to perform this safety management in the rehabilitation of built environment.

Keywords: built environment, rehabilitation, construction safety, accident prevention, safety plan

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Authors: Ozoemelam Ikechukwu Lazarus, Nizamuddin B. Zainuddin, Abdul Kafi

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Numerous studies have been carried out on Green Logistics Management Practices (GLMPs) across the globe. The study on the practices and performance of green chain practices in Africa in particular has not gained enough scholarly attention. Again, the majority of supply chain sustainability research being conducted focus on environmental sustainability. Logistics has been a major cause of supply chain resource waste and environmental damage. Many sectors of the economy that engage in logistical operations significantly rely on vehicles, which emit pollutants into the environment. Due to urbanization and industrialization, the logistical operations of manufacturing companies represent a serious hazard to the society and human life, making the sector one of the fastest expanding in the world today. Logistics companies are faced with numerous difficulties when attempting to implement logistics practices along their supply chains. In Nigeria, manufacturing companies aspire to implement reverse logistics in response to stakeholders’ requirements to reduce negative environmental consequences. However, implementing this is impeded by a criteria framework, and necessitates the careful analysis of how such criteria interact with each other in the presence of uncertainty. This study integrates most of the green logistics management practices (GLMPs) into the Nigerian firms to improve generalizability, and credibility. It examines the effect of Green Logistics Management Practices on environmental performance, social performance, market performance, and financial performance in the logistics industries. It seeks to identify the critical success factors in order to develop a model that incorporates different factors from the perspectives of the technology, organization, human and environment to inform the adoption and use of technologies for logistics supply chain social sustainability in Nigeria. It uses exploratory research approach to collect and analyse the data.

Keywords: logistics, managemernt, suatainability, environment, operations

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Authors: Pronab Ganguly, Ahmed A. Moustafa

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Holistic management of schizophrenia involves mainstream pharmacological intervention, complimentary medicine intervention, therapeutic intervention and other psychosocial factors such as accommodation, education, job training, employment, relationship, friendship, exercise, overall well-being, smoking, substance abuse, suicide prevention, stigmatisation, recreation, entertainment, violent behaviour, arrangement of public trusteeship and guardianship, day-day-living skill, integration with community, and management of overweight due to medications and other health complications related to medications amongst others. Our review shows that there is no integrated survey by combining all these factors. An international web-based survey was conducted to evaluate the significance of all these factors and present them in a unified manner. It is believed this investigation will contribute positively towards holistic management of schizophrenia. There will be two surveys. In the pharmacological intervention survey, five popular drugs for schizophrenia will be chosen and their efficacy as well as harmful side effects will be evaluated on a scale of 0 -10. This survey will be done by psychiatrists. In the second survey, each element of therapeutic intervention and psychosocial factors will be evaluated according to their significance on a scale of 0 - 10. This survey will be done by care givers, psychologists, case managers and case workers. For the first survey, professional bodies of psychiatrists in English speaking countries will be contacted to request them to ask their members to participate in the survey. For the second survey, professional bodies of clinical psychologist and care givers in English speaking countries will be contacted to request them to ask their members to participate in the survey. Additionally, for both the surveys, relevant professionals will be contacted through personal contact networks. For both the surveys, mean, mode, median, standard deviation and net promoter score will be calculated for each factor and then presented in a statistically significant manner. Subsequently each factor will be ranked according to their statistical significance. Additionally, country specific variation will be highlighted to identify the variation pattern. The results of these surveys will identify the relative significance of each type of pharmacological intervention, each type of therapeutic intervention and each type of psychosocial factor. The determination of this relative importance will definitely contribute to the improvement in quality of life for individuals with schizophrenia.

Keywords: schizophrenia, holistic management, antipsychotics, quality of life

Procedia PDF Downloads 150