Search results for: quality of life of elderly

Authors: Qianjia Cheng, Hongquan Jiang

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Crowdsourcing solves the problems that computers can't handle by integrating computers and the Internet. Its extensive knowledge sources, high efficiency, and high quality have made crowdsourcing attract wide attention in industry and academia in recent years. The development of online crowdsourcing platforms such as Clickworker, Amazon Mechanical Turk(Mturk) tends to mature gradually. This paper sorts out the concept of crowdsourcing, sorts out the workflow of competitive crowdsourcing, summarizes the related technologies of crowdsourcing based on workflow, quality control, cost control, and delay control, and introduces the typical crowdsourcing platform. Finally, we highlight some open problems of the current crowdsourcing and present some future research directions in this area.

Keywords: application, crowdsourcing, crowdsourcing platform, system architecture

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Authors: Teng Teng, Christos Tsinopoulos

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The purpose of this research is to explore the link between IS capabilities, customer connection, and quality performance in the service context, with investigation of the impact of firm’s stable and dynamic environments. The application of Information Systems (IS) has become a significant effect on contemporary service operations. Firms invest in IS with the presumption that they will facilitate operations processes so that their performance will improve. Yet, IS resources by themselves are not sufficiently 'unique' and thus, it would be more useful and theoretically relevant to focus on the processes they affect. One such organisational process, which has attracted a lot of research attention by supply chain management scholars, is the integration of customer connection, where IS-enabled customer connection enhances communication and contact processes, and with such customer resources integration comes greater success for the firm in its abilities to develop a good understanding of customer needs and set accurate customer. Nevertheless, prior studies on IS capabilities have focused on either one specific type of technology or operationalised it as a highly aggregated concept. Moreover, although conceptual frameworks have been identified to show customer integration is valuable in service provision, there is much to learn about the practices of integrating customer resources. In this research, IS capabilities have been broken down into three dimensions based on the framework of Wade and Hulland: IT for supply chain activities (ITSCA), flexible IT infrastructure (ITINF), and IT operations shared knowledge (ITOSK); and focus on their impact on operational performance of firms in services. With this background, this paper addresses the following questions: -How do IS capabilities affect the integration of customer connection and service quality? -What is the relationship between environmental dynamism and the relationship of customer connection and service quality? A survey of 156 service establishments was conducted, and the data analysed to determine the role of customer connection in mediating the effects of IS capabilities on firms’ service quality. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to check convergent validity. There is a good model fit for the structural model. Moderating effect of environmental dynamism on the relationship of customer connection and service quality is analysed. Results show that ITSCA, ITINF, and ITOSK have a positive influence on the degree of the integration of customer connection. In addition, customer connection positively related to service quality; this relationship is further emphasised when firms work in a dynamic environment. This research takes a step towards quelling concerns about the business value of IS, contributing to the development and validation of the measurement of IS capabilities in the service operations context. Additionally, it adds to the emerging body of literature linking customer connection to the operational performance of service firms. Managers of service firms should consider the strength of the mediating role of customer connection when investing in IT-related technologies and policies. Particularly, service firms developing IS capabilities should simultaneously implement processes that encourage supply chain integration.

Keywords: customer connection, environmental dynamism, information systems capabilities, service quality, service supply chain

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Authors: Ahmed ElAzab, Amira M. Idrees, Mahmoud A. Mahmoud, Hesham Hefny

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Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook attracts over 500 million users across the world, for those users, their social life, even their practical life, has become interrelated. Their interaction with social networking has affected their life forever. Accordingly, social networking sites have become among the main channels that are responsible for vast dissemination of different kinds of information during real time events. This popularity in Social networking has led to different problems including the possibility of exposing incorrect information to their users through fake accounts which results to the spread of malicious content during life events. This situation can result to a huge damage in the real world to the society in general including citizens, business entities, and others. In this paper, we present a classification method for detecting fake accounts on Twitter. The study determines the minimized set of the main factors that influence the detection of the fake accounts on Twitter, then the determined factors have been applied using different classification techniques, a comparison of the results for these techniques has been performed and the most accurate algorithm is selected according to the accuracy of the results. The study has been compared with different recent research in the same area, this comparison has proved the accuracy of the proposed study. We claim that this study can be continuously applied on Twitter social network to automatically detect the fake accounts, moreover, the study can be applied on different Social network sites such as Facebook with minor changes according to the nature of the social network which are discussed in this paper.

Keywords: fake accounts detection, classification algorithms, twitter accounts analysis, features based techniques

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Authors: Layal Karam, Rayan Roustom, Mohamad G. Abiad, Tahra El-Obeid, Ioannis N. Savvaidis

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The demand for marinated chicken worldwide, is continuously growing. To date, limited data on addition of active components of Essential Oils (EOs) to marinades for chicken preservation are available. The antimicrobial effect of carvacrol and thymol, added at 0.4 and 0.8% v/w to marinated fresh chicken, stored in air and under vacuum packaging (VP), for 21 days at 4°C, was examined. The samples were monitored for microbiological (total viable count (TVC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Brochothrix thermosphacta, Pseudomonas spp., total coliforms, Escherichia coli, yeasts and molds) and sensory attributes (odor characteristics). Our data supports that among the tested microorganisms, Pseudomonas spp., LAB and B. thermosphacta were the most dominant microbiota in the marinated chicken samples. Additionally, the use of active EOs components, especially the higher concentration (0.8% v/w) in combination with VP, retarded the growth of spoilage microbiota and resulted in a significant reduction of about 2.9-3.1 log cfu/g and a microbiological shelf-life extension of marinated chicken by > 6 days, as judged by TVC data. Interestingly, the combination of active components of EOs at the lower concentration (0.4% v/w) and packaging (air or vacuum) resulted in a significant sensorial shelf-life extension of 15 and >21 days, as compared to the controls’ shelf-life of 9 days. The results of our study demonstrated the potential of the active components, carvacrol and thymol, as natural effective antimicrobial hurdles to control the growth of spoilage microorganisms in marinated chicken meat.

Keywords: chicken, essential oils compounds, marination, meat spoilage, preservation

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Authors: Amos King'ori Githu

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Water safety is crucial for all ages, but particularly for children. In the past decade, preschool institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa have seen the inclusion of swimming as one of the co-curricular activities. However, these countries face challenges in adopting frameworks, staffing, and resources to heighten water safety, quality, and drowning prevention, hence the focus of this research. It is worth noting that drowning is a leading cause of injury-related deaths among children. Universally, the highest drowning rates occur among children aged 1-4 years and 5-9 years. Preschool children even stand a higher risk of drowning as they are active, eager, and curious to explore their environment. If not supervised closely around or in water, these children can drown quickly in just a few inches of water. Thus, this empirical review focuses on the identification, assessment, and analysis of water safety efforts to curb drowning among children and assess the quality of water to mitigate contamination that may eventually pose infection risks to the children. In addition, it outlines the use of behavioral theories and evaluation frameworks to guide the above. Notably, a search on ten databases was adopted for crucial peer-reviewed articles, and five were selected in the eventual review. This research relied extensively on secondary data to curb water infections and drowning-inflicted deaths among children. It suffices to say that interventions must be supported that adopt an array of strategies, are guided by planning and theory as well as evaluation frameworks, and are vast in intervention design, evaluation, and delivery methodology. Finally, this approach will offer solid evidence that can be shared to guide future practices and policies in preschools on child safety and drowning prevention.

Keywords: water quality and safety, drowning prevention, preschool children, sub-saharan Africa, supervision

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Authors: Gaoyuan Wang, Tian Chen, Junnan Liu

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Facing a period of major change that’s rarely seen in a century, China formulates the 14th Five-Year Plan and places emphasis on promoting high-quality development. In this context, the overall urban design has become a crucial and systematic tool for high-quality urban development. However, there are bottlenecks in the nature definition, content scope and transmission mechanisms of the current overall urban design in China. The paper interprets the emerging demands of the 14th Five-Year Plan on urban design in terms of new value-quality priority, new dynamic-space performance, new target-region coordination and new path-refined governance. Based on the new trend and appeal, the multi-dimensional thinking integrated with the major tasks of urban design are proposed accordingly, which is the biomass thinking in ecological, production and living element, the strategic thinking in spatial structure, the systematic thinking in the cityscape, the low-carbon thinking in urban form, the governance thinking in public space, the user thinking in design implementation. The paper explores the possibility of transforming the value thinking and technical system of urban design in China and provides a breakthrough path for the urban planning and design industry to better respond to the propositions of the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan.

Keywords: China’s 14th five-year plan, overall urban design, urban design thinking, transformation of urban design

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Authors: Szu-Yi Chang, Jiin-Ru Rong

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This paper discussed a case involving a young female patient with schizophrenia. The patient's condition was deteriorating, and she was becoming increasingly reliant on her family to take care of her, and as her father did not understand the illness well and was afraid that others will learn about the presence of a mentally ill individual in their family, he and the patient's mother were thus unable to cope with the patient's deteriorating condition, which in turn caused her to suffer from a lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem. The patient received nursing care from July 26th to October 25th, 2017, during which counseling, family visits, and phone interviews were carried out, and her condition was monitored. By referring to the practical ability indicators for community psychiatric mental health nursing that were developed by the psychiatric mental health nurses' association of the Republic of China, defining categories such as 'self-construction,' 'self-management,' 'disease management,' and 'family nursing,' and incorporating indicators for empowerment and various skills into the steps and strategies used for nursing care, we will able to help the patient to construct her own identity, raise her self-esteem, improve her ability to independently perform activities of daily living, strengthen her disease management ability, and gradually build up her life management skills. The patient's family was also encouraged to communicate more among themselves, so as to align them with the nursing care objectives of improving the patient's ability to adapt to community life and her disease. The results indicated that the patient was able to maintain her mental stability within her community. By implementing effective self-management and maintaining a routine life, the patient was able to continue her active participation in community work and rehabilitation activities. Improvements were also achieved with respect to family role issues by establishing mutual understanding among the patient's family members and gaining their support. It is recommended that mental health nurses can leverage their community mental health nursing skills and the related strategies to promote adaptation to community life among mental life patients.

Keywords: community psychiatric mental health nursing, family nursing, schizophrenia, self-management

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Authors: Amir Shouri, Fereshteh Tabe

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Thoughtful and sequential design strategies will shape the future of human being’s lifestyle. Design, as a product, either being for small furniture on sidewalk or a multi-story structure in urban scale, will be important in creating the sense of quality for citizens of a city. Technology besides economy has played a major role in improving design process and increasing awareness of clients about the character of their required design product. Architects along with other design professionals benefited from improvements in aesthetics and technology in building industry. Accordingly, the expectation platforms of people about the quality of habitable space have risen. However, the question is if the quality of architectural design product has increased with the same speed as technology and client’s expectations. Is it behind or a head of technological and economical improvements? This study will work on developing a model of planning for New York City, from the past to present to future. The role of thoughtful thinking at design stage regardless of where or when it is for; may result in a positive or negative aspect. However, considering design objectives based on the need of human being may help in developing a successful design plan. Technology, economy, culture and people’s support may be other parameters in designing a good product. ‘Design Forms Urban Space’ is going to be done in an analytical, qualitative and quantitative work frame, where it will study cases from all over the world and their achievements compared to New York City’s development. Technology, Organic Design, Materiality, Urban forms, city politics and sustainability will be discussed in different cases in international scale. From design professional’s interest in doing a high quality work for a particular answer to importance of being a follower, the ‘Zero-Carbon City’ in Persian Gulf to ‘Polluted City’ in China, from ‘Urban Scale Furniture’ in cities to ‘Seasonal installations’ of a Megacity, will all be studied with references and detailed look to analysis of each case in order to propose the most resourceful, practical and realistic solutions to questions on ‘A Good Design in a City’, ‘New City Planning and social activities’ and ‘New Strategic Architecture for better Cities’.

Keywords: design quality, urban scale, active city, city installations, architecture for better cities

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Authors: Xiaogang Li, Jieqiong Miao

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As for the problem of the grey forecasting model prediction accuracy is low, an improved grey prediction model is put forward. Firstly, use trigonometric function transform the original data sequence in order to improve the smoothness of data , this model called SGM( smoothness of grey prediction model), then combine the improved grey model with support vector machine , and put forward the grey support vector machine model (SGM - SVM).Before the establishment of the model, we use trigonometric functions and accumulation generation operation preprocessing data in order to enhance the smoothness of the data and weaken the randomness of the data, then use support vector machine (SVM) to establish a prediction model for pre-processed data and select model parameters using genetic algorithms to obtain the optimum value of the global search. Finally, restore data through the "regressive generate" operation to get forecasting data. In order to prove that the SGM-SVM model is superior to other models, we select the battery life data from calce. The presented model is used to predict life of battery and the predicted result was compared with that of grey model and support vector machines．For a more intuitive comparison of the three models, this paper presents root mean square error of this three different models .The results show that the effect of grey support vector machine (SGM-SVM) to predict life is optimal, and the root mean square error is only 3.18%. Keywords: grey forecasting model, trigonometric function, support vector machine, genetic algorithms, root mean square error

Keywords: Grey prediction model, trigonometric functions, support vector machines, genetic algorithms, root mean square error

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Authors: Bader Al-Mannai, Saad Sulieman, Yaser Al-Alawi

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Research studies worldwide undoubtedly demonstrated that the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) program can improve organizations competitive abilities and provide strategic quality advances. However, limited empirical studies and research are directed to measure the effectiveness of TQM implementation on the industrial and manufacturing organizations performance. Accordingly, this paper is aimed at discussing “the degree of TQM implementation in Bahrain industries and its effect on their performance”. The paper will present the measurement indicators and success factors that were used to assess the degree of TQM implementation in Bahrain industry, and the main performance indicators that were affected by TQM implementation. The adopted research methodology in this study was a survey that was based on self-completion questionnaire. The sample population represented the industrial and manufacturing organizations in Bahrain. The study led to the identification of the operational and strategic measurement indicators and success factors that assist organizations in realizing successful TQM implementation and performance improvement. Furthermore, the research analysis confirmed a positive and significant relationship between the examined performance indicators in Bahrain industry and TQM implementation. In conclusion the investigation of the relationship revealed that the implementation of TQM program has resulted into remarkable improvements on workforce, sales performance, and quality performance indicators in Bahrain industry.

Keywords: performance indicators, success factors, TQM implementation, Bahrain

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Authors: Julia Reinold, Inge Hooijen, Christoph Meng, Melissa Siegel

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This paper investigates whether or not students intend to stay in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) after graduation taking into account the role of hard and soft locational factors, social factors as well as demographic aspects in shaping their mobility preferences. Since graduates are considered a convenient source of human capital in today’s knowledge based economy, it is crucial to understand what drives their mobility intentions in order to retain larger numbers of graduates. This is particularly true for peripheral regions, which need to compete with assumed more attractive economic centres. This paper adds a euregional perspective to the existing literature on graduate migration. Using survey data from 2015 from five higher education institutions in the EMR, this paper finds that mobility intentions are determined by students’ perceptions of the quality of life, openness and career opportunities in the euroregion. In addition, distance to the partner and other social ties such as family and friends influence migration intentions.

Keywords: Euroregion, graduate migration, highly skilled migration, human capital

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Authors: Felyppe Blum Goncalves, Juliana Sebastiany

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In line with Brazilian legislation on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the world of work, known as the 'quota law' (Law 8213/91) and in accordance with the prerogatives of the United Nations Convention on Human Rights of people with disabilities, which was ratified by Brazil through Federal Decree No. 6.949 of August 25, 2009, the SESI National Department, through Working Groups, structured the product Affordable Industry. This methodology aims to prepare the industries for the adequate process of inclusion of people with disabilities, as well as the development of an organizational culture that values and respects human diversity. All industries in Brazil with 100 or more employees must comply with current legislation, but due to the lack of information and guidance on the subject, they end up having difficulties in this process. The methodology brings solutions for companies through the professional qualification of the disabled person, preparation of managers, training of human resources teams and employees. It also advocates the survey of the architectural accessibility of the factory and the identification of the possibilities of inclusion of people with disabilities, through the compatibility between work and job requirements, preserving safety, health, and quality of life.

Keywords: inclusion, app, disability, management

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Authors: Majid Javanmard

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Edible mushrooms are those agricultural products which contain high quantity of protein and can have special role in human diet. So search for methods to increase their shelf life is important. One of these strategies can be use of active packaging for absorb the ethylene which has been studied in present study. In this study, initially, production of impregnating zeolite with potassium permanganate has been studied with zeolite clinoptiolite available in iran. After that, these ethylene scavengers were placed in the package of edible mushrooms and then transferred to the refrigerator with temperature 4c for a period of 20 days. Each 5 days, several experiments accomplished on edible mushrooms such as weight loss, moisture content, color, texture, bacterial experiments and sensory evaluation. After production of impregnating zeolite with potassium permanganate (with a concentration of %2.5, %5, %7.5, %10 and %12.5) by zeolite type clinoptiolite (with mesh 35 and 60), samples have been analyzed with gas chromatography and titration with sodium oxalate. The results showed that zeolite by concentration of %5, %7.5 and %10 potassium permanganate and mesh 60 have a higher efficiency. Results from the experiments on edible mushrooms proved that impregnated zeolite with potassium permanganate have a meaningful influence in prevent the weight loss, decrease of moisture content and L-value, increase of a-value and overall color change (ΔE) and decrease of firmness texture of mushrooms. In addition, these absorbents can influence on decrease microbial load (mesophilic bacteria) rather than control. Generally, concluded that the impregnated zeolite with 10% permanganate potassium has a high efficiency on increase the shelf life of fresh edible mushrooms.

Keywords: active packaging, ethylene scavenger, zeolite clinoptiolite, permanganate potassium, shelf life

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Authors: Urrutia Fernando, López Jessica, Sánchez Carlos, San Antonio Thalía

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Ecuador, as a signatory country of the convention of the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD) has, in the recent years, strengthened the structures and legal framework required to protect this minority comprised of 13.2% of its total population. However, the reality is that this group has disproportionately low earnings and low educational attainment in comparison with the general population. The main struggles, to promote job placement of wheelchairs users, are environmental discrimination caused by accessibility in structures and transportation, this mainly due to the cost, for private and public entities, of performing the reasonable accommodation they require. It is widely known that product development and production is needed to support effective implementation of the CRPD and that walking and standing are the major life activities, in this context the objective of this investigation is to promote job placement of wheelchair user in the province of Tungurahua by means of the design, production and marketing of a customized stand up wheelchair. Exploratory interviews and measurements were performed in a representative sample of working age wheelchairs users that develop their disability after achieving their physical maturity and that are capable of performing professional activities with their upper limbs, this in order to detect the user’s preference and determine the local economic and anthropometric parameters to be included in the wheelchair design. The findings reveal factors that uniquely impact quality of life and development for people with a mobility disability within the context of the province, first that transportation is a big issue since public buses does not have accessibility for wheelchair users and the absence of curb cuts and the presence of trash bins over the sidewalks among other hinders an economic independent mobility, second that the proposal based in the idea of modifying the wheelchairs to make it able to overcome certain obstacles helps people in wheelchair to improve their independent living and by reducing the costs of modification for the employer could improve their chances of finding work.

Keywords: anthropometrics, job placement, stand up wheelchair, user centered design

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Authors: Noor Hasmini Abdghani, Nik Kamariah Nikmat, Nor Hayati Ahmad

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Rapid growth of the internet technology led to changes in the consumer lifestyles. This involved customer buying behaviour-based internet that create new kind of buying strategy. Hence, it has summoned many of world firms including Malaysia to generate new quality strategy in preparation to face new customer buying lifestyles. Particularly, this study focused on identifying online customer segment of automobile passenger car customers. Secondly, the objective is to understand online customer’s receptiveness towards internet technologies. This study distributed 700 questionnaires whereby 582 were returned representing 83% response rate. The data were analysed using factor and regression analyses. The result from the factor analysis precipitates four online passenger car segmentations in Malaysia, which are: Segment (1)- Automobile Online shopping Preferences, Segment (2)- Automobile Online Brand Comparison, Segment (3)- Automobile Online Information Seeking and Segment (4)- Automobile Offline Shopping Preferences. In understanding the online customer’s receptiveness towards internet, the regression result shows that there is significant relationship between each of four segments of online passenger car customer with attitude towards automobile online shopping. This implies that, for online customers to have receptiveness toward internet technologies, he or she must have preferences toward online shopping or at least prefer to browse any related information online even if the actual purchase is made at the traditional store. With this proposed segmentation strategy, the firms especially the automobile firms will be able to understand their online customer behavior. At least, the proposed segmentation strategy will help the firms to strategize quality management approach for their online customers’ buying decision making.

Keywords: Automobile, Market Segmentation, Online Shopping Attitude, Quality Management Strategy

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Authors: Aita Bishowkarma

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Ensuring quality education in primary level in multi-ethnic, multi- religious, multi-cultural and multilingual country Nepal which accommodates 123 ethnic languages (CBS 2011) has come across a big challenge. The discourse on the policies and practices to take advantage of the rich heritage of cultural and linguistic diversity in the pursuit of quality primary education to ethnic/linguistic minority children in Nepal gives in a critical observation of Nepalese perspective in the global academia. Situating the linguistic diversity of Nepal, primary education to children is better through mother tongue. Nepali as official or national language is another important language to be taught to the children. Similarly, craze for English has been inevitable for international communication and job opportunity in the global markets. This paper critically examines the current use of trilingual policy in mother tongue based multilingual education (MT-MLE) in Nepal from the perspective of exploiting linguistic diversity in classroom pedagogy. The researcher adopted mixed method research design applying descriptive measure and explanatory research methods. 24 teachers and 48 students from 6 multilingual schools were selected purposively to dig out their language use, language attitude and language preferences to reveal their preference and attitude towards mother tongue, Nepali and English through questionnaire, interview and focus group discussion. The study shows, in a true multilingual system, all languages (mother tongue, languages of region, nation and wider communication) can have their legitimate place; bridging from the mother tongue to the regional language and national to international language; further leading to meaningful participation in the wider democratic global context. Trilingual policy of mother tongue, national language and international language seemed pertinent however, not sufficient. The finding of the study shows that for quality education in primary education mother tongue based critical multilingual pedagogy through language coexistence approach with contextual variation seems enviable.

Keywords: critical pedagogy, language co-existence, linguistic diversity, quality education

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Authors: Rahimullah Habibzai

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To achieve a sustainable concrete industry, reduce exploitation of the natural aggregate resources, and mitigate waste concrete environmental burden, one way is to use recycled concrete aggregate. The utilization of low-quality fine aggregate inclusively recycled concrete sand that is produced from crushing waste concrete recently has become a popular and challenging topic among researchers nowadays. This study provides a scientific base for promoting the application of concrete waste as fine aggregate in producing concrete by conducting a comprehensive laboratory program. The mechanical properties of mortar made from recycled concrete fine aggregate (RCFA), that is produced by pulse power crushing concrete waste are satisfactory and capable of being utilized in the construction industry. A better treatment of RCFA particles and enhancing its quality will make it possible to be utilized in producing structural concrete. Pulse power discharge technology is proposed in this research to produce RCFA, which is a more effective and promising technique compared to other recycling methods to generate medium to high-quality recycled concrete fine aggregate with a reduced amount of powder, mitigate the environmental burden, and save more space.

Keywords: construction and demolition waste, concrete waste recycle fine aggregate, pulse power discharge

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Authors: Andres Gonzalez, Adam Boies, Jacob Swanson, David Kittelson

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The concern of the indoor air quality (IAQ) has been increasing due to its risk to human health. The smoking, sweeping, and stove and stovetop use are the activities that have a major contribution to the indoor air pollution. Outdoor air pollution also affects IAQ. The most important factors over IAQ from cooking activities are the materials, fuels, foods, and ventilation. The low-cost, mobile air quality monitoring (LCMAQM) sensors, is reachable technology to assess the IAQ. This is because of the lower cost of LCMAQM compared to conventional instruments. The IAQ was assessed, using LCMAQM, during cooking activities in a University of Minnesota graduate-housing evaluating different ventilation systems. The gases measured are carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The particles measured are particle matter (PM) _2.5 micrometer (µm) and lung deposited surface area (LDSA). The measurements are being conducted during April 2019 in Como Student Community Cooperative (CSCC) that is a graduate housing at the University of Minnesota. The measurements are conducted using an electric stove for cooking. The amount and type of food and oil using for cooking are the same for each measurement. There are six measurements: two experiments measure air quality without any ventilation, two using an extractor as mechanical ventilation, and two using the extractor and windows open as mechanical and natural ventilation. 3The results of experiments show that natural ventilation is most efficient system to control particles and CO₂. The natural ventilation reduces the concentration in 79% for LDSA and 55% for PM_2.5, compared to the no ventilation. In the same way, CO₂ reduces its concentration in 35%. A well-mixed vessel model was implemented to assess particle the formation and decay rates. Removal rates by the extractor were significantly higher for LDSA, which is dominated by smaller particles, than for PM_2.5, but in both cases much lower compared to the natural ventilation. There was significant day to day variation in particle concentrations under nominally identical conditions. This may be related to the fat content of the food. Further research is needed to assess the impact of the fat in food on particle generations.

Keywords: cooking, indoor air quality, low-cost sensor, ventilation

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Authors: Matt S. Van Deren, Michael Papenfus

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Seattle is one of the hundreds of cities in the United States that relies on a combined sewer system to collect and convey municipal wastewater. By design, these systems convey all wastewater, including industrial and commercial wastewater, human sewage, and stormwater runoff, through a single network of pipes. Serious problems arise for combined sewer systems during heavy precipitation events when treatment plants and storage facilities are unable to accommodate the influx of wastewater needing treatment, causing the sewer system to overflow into local waterways through sewer outfalls. CSOs (Combined Sewer Overflows) pose a serious threat to human and environmental health. Principal pollutants found in CSO discharge include microbial pathogens, comprising of bacteria, viruses, parasites, oxygen-depleting substances, suspended solids, chemicals or chemical mixtures, and excess nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus. While concentrations of these pollutants can vary between overflow events, CSOs have the potential to spread disease and waterborne illnesses, contaminate drinking water supplies, disrupt aquatic life, and effect a waterbody’s designated use. This paper estimates the economic impact of CSOs on residential property values. Using residential property sales data from Seattle, Washington, this paper employs a hedonic valuation model that controls for housing and neighborhood characteristics, as well as spatial and temporal effects, to predict a consumer’s willingness to pay for improved water quality near their homes. Initial results indicate that a 100,000-gallon decrease in the average annual overflow discharged from a sewer outfall within 300 meters of a home is associated with a 0.053% increase in the property’s sale price. For the average home in the sample, the price increase is estimated to be $18,860.23. These findings reveal some of the important economic benefits of improving water quality by reducing the frequency and severity of combined sewer overflows.

Keywords: benefits, hedonic, Seattle, sewer

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Authors: Teris Cheung, Joyce Yuen Ting Lam, Kwan Hin Fong, Calvin Pak-Wing Cheng, Julie Sittlington, Yu-Tao Xiang, Tim Man Ho Li

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Insomnia is one of the most common health problems in the general population. Insomnia can be acute, intermittent, and become chronic, often due to comorbidity with other physical and mental health conditions. Although there are conventional pharmaceutical and psychotherapeutic treatments to treat symptoms of insomnia, however; there is no robust and novel randomized controlled trial (RCT) using transdermal neurostimulation on individuals with insomnia symptoms. This gives us the impetus to execute the first nationwide RCT. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of Electrical Vestibular Stimulation (VeNS) on individuals with insomnia in Hong Kong. Design: This study was a two-armed, double blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial. Sampling: 60 community-dwelling adults aged 18 and 60 years with moderate insomnia symptoms or above (Insomnia Severity Index > 14) were recruited. All subjects were computerized randomized into either the active VeNS group or the sham VeNS group on a 1:1 ratio. Intervention: All participants received a home-use VeNS device and used 30-min VeNS sessions during five consecutive days across a 4-week period (total treatment hours: 10). Baseline measurements and post-VeNS evaluation of the psychological outcomes, including 1) insomnia severity, 2) sleep quality, and 3) quality of life were investigated. The short-and long-term sustainability of the VeNS intervention was assessed immediately after poststim and at a 1-month and 3-month follow-up period. Data analysis: A mixed GEE model was used to analyze the repeated measures data. Missing data were managed by multiple imputations. The level of significance was set to p < 0.05. Significance of the study: This is the first trial to examine the efficacy and safety of VeNS among adults with insomnia symptoms in Hong Kong. Findings that emerged were used to determine whether this VeNS device can be considered a self-help technological device to reduce the severity of insomnia in the community setting and to reduce the global disease burden. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04452981.

Keywords: adults, insomnia, neuromodulation, rct, vestibular stimulation

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Authors: Muhammad Sajid Arshad, Sadaf Bashir

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In this study, the effects of pomegranate peel based edible coating were determined on safety and quality of chicken nuggets. Four treatment groups were prepared as control (without coating), coating with sodium alginate (SA) (1.5%), pomegranate peel powder (PPP) (1.5%), and combination of SA and PPP. There was a significant variation observed with respect to coating treatments and storage intervals. The chicken nuggets were subjected to refrigerated storage (40C) and were analyzed at regular intervals of 0, 7, 14 1 and 21 days. The microbiological quality was determined by total aerobic and coliform counts. Total aerobic (5.09±0.05 log CFU/g) and coliforms (3.91±0.06 log CFU/g) counts were higher in uncoated chicken nuggets whereas lower was observed in coated chicken nuggets having combination of SA and PPP. Likewise, antioxidants potential of chicken nuggets was observed by assessing total phenolic contents (TPC) and DPPH activity. Higher TPC (135.66 GAE/100g) and DPPH (64.65%) were found in combination with SA and PPP, whereas minimum TPC (91.38) and DPPH (41.48) was observed in uncoated chicken nuggets. Regarding the stability analysis of chicken nuggets, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and peroxide value (POV) were determined. Higher TBARS (1.62±0.03 MDA/Kg) and POV (0.92±0.03 meq peroxide/kg) were found in uncoated chicken nuggets. Hunter color values were also observed in both uncoated and coated chicken nuggets. Sensorial attributes were also observed by the trained panelists. The higher sensory score for appearance, color, taste, texture and overall acceptability were observed in control (uncoated) while in coated treatments, it was found within acceptable limits. In nutshell, the combination of SA and PPP enhanced the overall quality, antioxidant potential, and stability of chicken nuggets.

Keywords: chicken nuggets, edible coatings, pomegranate peel powder, sodium alginate

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Authors: Metee Pigultong

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The research aims at 1) composition of meditation music, 2) study of the meditation time reliability. The population is the older adults who meditated practitioners in the Thepnimitra Temple, Don Mueang District, Bangkok. The sample group was the older persons who meditated practitioners from the age of 60 with five volunteers. The research methodology was time-series to conduct the research progression. The research instruments included: 1) meditation music, 2) brain wave recording form. The research results found that 1) the music combines the binaural beats suitable for the meditation of the older persons, consisting of the following features: a) The tempo rate of the meditation music is no more than 60 beats per minute. b) The musical instruments for the meditation music arrangement include only 4-5 pieces. c) The meditation music arrangement needs to consider the nature of the right instrument. d) Digital music instruments are suitable for composition. e) The pure-tone sound combined in music must generate a brain frequency at the level of 10 Hz. 2) After the researcher conducted a 3-weeks brain training procedure, the researcher performed three tests for the reliability level using Cronbach's Alpha method. The result showed that the meditation reliability had the level = .475 as a moderate concentration.

Keywords: binaural beats, music therapy, meditation, older person, the Buddhist meditated practitioners

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Authors: Ghulam Haider Haidaree, Nsenda Lukumwena

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Most developing nations face energy production and supply problems. This is also the case of Afghanistan whose generating capacity does not meet its energy demand. This is due in part to high security and risk caused by war which deters foreign investments and insufficient internal revenue. To address the issue above, this paper would like to suggest an alternative and affordable way to deal with the energy problem. That is by converting Solid Waste to energy. As a result, this approach tackles the municipal solid waste issue (potential cause of several diseases), contributes to the improvement of the quality of life, local economy, and so on. While addressing the solid waste problem in general, this paper samples specifically one municipality which is District-12, one of the 22 districts of Kabul city. Using geographic information system (GIS) technology, District-12 is divided into nine different zones whose municipal solid waste is respectively collected, processed, and converted into electricity and distributed to the closest area. It is important to mention that GIS has been used to estimate the amount of electricity to be distributed and to optimally position the production plant.

Keywords: energy problem, estimation of electricity, GIS zones, solid waste management system

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Authors: Abdallah Abusam, Andrzej Mydlarczyk, Fadila Al-Salameen, Moh Elmuntasir Ahmed

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Treated municipal wastewater produced in Kuwait is used mainly in agricultural and greenery landscape irrigations. However, there are strong doubts that severe sludge bulking and foaming problems, particularly during winter seasons, may render the treated wastewater to be unsuitable for irrigation purposes. To assess the impact of sludge bulking and foaming problems on the quality of treated effluents, samples were collected weekly for nine months (January to September 2014) from the secondary effluents, tertiary effluents and sludge-mixed liquor streams of the two plants that severely suffer from sludge bulking and foaming problems. Dominant filamentous bacteria were identified and quantified using a molecular method called VIT (Vermicon Identification Technology). Quality of the treated effluents was determined according to water and wastewater standard methods. Obtained results were then statistically analyzed and compared to irrigation water standards. Statistical results indicated that secondary effluents were greatly impacted by sludge bulking and foaming problems, while tertiary effluents were slightly affected. This finding highlights the importance of having tertiary treatment units in plants that encountering sludge bulking and foaming problems.

Keywords: agriculture, filamentous bacteria, reclamation, reuse, wastewater

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Authors: A. Shakoor, M. Arshad

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The utilization of groundwater resources in irrigation has significantly increased during the last two decades due to constrained canal water supplies. More than 70% of the farmers in the Punjab, Pakistan, depend directly or indirectly on groundwater to meet their crop water demands and hence, an unchecked paradigm shift has resulted in aquifer depletion and deterioration. Therefore, a comprehensive research was carried at central Punjab-Pakistan, regarding spatiotemporal variation in groundwater level and quality. Processing MODFLOW for window (PMWIN) and MT3D (solute transport model) models were used for existing and future prediction of groundwater level and quality till 2030. The comprehensive data set of aquifer lithology, canal network, groundwater level, groundwater salinity, evapotranspiration, groundwater abstraction, recharge etc. were used in PMWIN model development. The model was thus, successfully calibrated and validated with respect to groundwater level for the periods of 2003 to 2007 and 2008 to 2012, respectively. The coefficient of determination (R2) and model efficiency (MEF) for calibration and validation period were calculated as 0.89 and 0.98, respectively, which argued a high level of correlation between the calculated and measured data. For solute transport model (MT3D), the values of advection and dispersion parameters were used. The model used for future scenario up to 2030, by assuming that there would be no uncertain change in climate and groundwater abstraction rate would increase gradually. The model predicted results revealed that the groundwater would decline from 0.0131 to 1.68m/year during 2013 to 2030 and the maximum decline would be on the lower side of the study area, where infrastructure of canal system is very less. This lowering of groundwater level might cause an increase in the tubewell installation and pumping cost. Similarly, the predicted total dissolved solids (TDS) of the groundwater would increase from 6.88 to 69.88mg/L/year during 2013 to 2030 and the maximum increase would be on lower side. It was found that in 2030, the good quality would reduce by 21.4%, while marginal and hazardous quality water increased by 19.28 and 2%, respectively. It was found from the simulated results that the salinity of the study area had increased due to the intrusion of salts. The deterioration of groundwater quality would cause soil salinity and ultimately the reduction in crop productivity. It was concluded from the predicted results of groundwater model that the groundwater deteriorated with the depth of water table i.e. TDS increased with declining groundwater level. It is recommended that agronomic and engineering practices i.e. land leveling, rainwater harvesting, skimming well, ASR (Aquifer Storage and Recovery Wells) etc. should be integrated to meliorate management of groundwater for higher crop production in salt affected soils.

Keywords: groundwater quality, groundwater management, PMWIN, MT3D model

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: Timothy J. Grebec

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This study investigated whether using a voice dictation software program (i.e., Google Voice Typing) has an impact on student writing quality. The research took place in a third-grade general education classroom in a suburban school setting. Because the study involved minors, all data was encrypted and deidentified before analysis. The students completed a series of writings prior to the beginning of the intervention to determine their thoughts and skill level with writing. During the intervention phase, the students were introduced to the voice dictation software, given an opportunity to practice using it, and then assigned writing prompts to be completed using the software. The prompts written by nineteen student participants and surveys of student opinions on writing established a baseline for the study. The data showed that using the dictation software resulted in a 34% increase in the response quality (compared to the Pennsylvania State Standardized Assessment [PSSA] writing guidelines). Of particular interest was the increase in students' proficiency in demonstrating mastery of the English language and conventions and elaborating on the content. Although this type of research is relatively no, it has the potential to reshape the strategies educators have at their disposal when instructing students on written language.

Keywords: educational technology, accommodations, students with disabilities, writing instruction, 21st century education

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: K. Pandey

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The present study is a functional analysis of the relationship between castes which indicates the dynamics of the caste structure in the rural setting. The researcher has tried to show both the cooperation and competition on important ceremonial and social occasions. The real India exists in the villages, so we need to know about their solidarity and also what the village life is and has been shaping into. We need to emphasize a microcosmic study of Indian rural life. Furthermore, caste integration is an acute problem country faces today. To resolve this we are required to know the dynamics of behavior of the people of different castes and for the study of the caste dynamics a study of caste relations are needed. The present study is an attempt in this direction.

Keywords: hierarchial groups, jajmani system, functional dependence, commensalities

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Laxman Budhathoki, Lal Bahadur Shrestha, K. C. Laxman

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Hundreds of people are being lost their life by flood disaster in Nepal every year. Community-based disaster management committee has formed to formulate the disaster management plan including the component of EWS like EWS tower, rain gauge station, flood gauge station, culverts, boats, ropes, life jackets, a communication mechanism, emergency shelter, Spur, dykes, dam, evacuation route, emergency dry food management etc. Now EWS become a successful tool to decrease the human casualty from 13 to 0 every year in Rapti River of Chitwan District.

Keywords: disaster risk reduction, early warning system, flood, participatory approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Nikhil Deshpande, Rahul Mahajan

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Laser Beam Machining (LBM) is a non-traditional machining process that has inherent problems like dross, striation, and Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) which reduce the quality of machining. In the present day scenario, these problems are controlled only by iteratively adjusting a large number of process parameters. This paper applies Axiomatic Design principles to design LBM process so as to eliminate the problem of dross and striation and minimize the effect of HAZ. Process parameters and their ranges are proposed to set-up the LBM process, execute the cut and finish the workpiece so as to obtain the best quality cut.

Keywords: laser beam machining, dross, striation, heat affected zone, axiomatic design

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Demosthenes Panagiotakos

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The aim of the present work was to evaluate dietary habits’ inflammatory potential with various components of arterial blood pressure (hypertension, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP)) in a sample of older Mediterranean people without known cardiovascular disease. During 2005-2011, 2,813 older (aged 65-100 years) individuals from 21 Mediterranean islands and the rural Mani region (Peloponnesus) were voluntarily enrolled. Standard procedures were used to determine arterial blood pressure, as well as PP and MAP, and for the evaluation of dietary habits, lifestyle, anthropometric and clinical characteristics of the participants. A dietary inflammatory index (DII) was assessed based on the participants specific dietary habits, and its calculation was based on a standard procedure. It was reported that the higher the DII level of a diet (adherence to a more pro-inflammatory diet) the greater was the likelihood of having an older adult hypertension [OR=3.82 (95% CI): 1.24 to 11.71]. Moreover, the higher the level of DII (more pro-inflammatory dietary habits) the greater were the levels of MAP [b-coefficient (95% CI): 7.23 (+1.86 to +12.59)] and PP, [b-coefficient (95% CI): 10.86 (+2.70 to +19.01)]. Diet’s inflammatory potential is related with various components of arterial pressure. Adherence to a more pro-inflammatory diet seems to be associated with increased arterial peripheral resistance and arterial stiffness.

Keywords: dietary inflammatory index, hypertension, mean arterial pressure, elderly

Procedia PDF Downloads 278