Search results for: integrated assessment instrument

Authors: Nuwan Kuruwitaarachchi, M. K. M. Peiris, C. N. Madawala, K. M. A. R. Perera, V. U. N Perera

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Dealing with businesses with the foreign market always took a special place in a country’s economy. Political and social factors came into play making currency rate changes fluctuate rapidly. Currency rate prediction has become an important factor for larger international businesses since large amounts of money exchanged between countries. This research focuses on comparing the accuracy of mainly three models; Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Artificial Neural Networks(ANN) and Support Vector Machines(SVM). series of data import, export, USD currency exchange rate respect to LKR has been selected for training using above mentioned algorithms. After training the data set and comparing each algorithm, it was able to see that prediction in SVM performed better than other models. It was improved more by combining SVM and SVR models together.

Keywords: ARIMA, ANN, FFNN, RMSE, SVM, SVR

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Authors: Babawale Akin Adeyemi, Esan Temitayo, Adeyemi Olabisi Omowumi

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The paper analyzed waste disposal system in Akure, Ondo State using GIS techniques. Specifically, the study identified the spatial distribution of collection points and existing dumpsite; evaluated the accessibility of waste collection points and their proximity to each other with the view of enhancing better performance of the waste disposal system. Data for the study were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained through the administration of questionnaire. From field survey, 35 collection points were identified in the study area. 10 questionnaires were administered around each collection point making a total of 350 questionnaires for the study. Also, co-ordinates of each collection point were captured using a hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver which was used to analyze the spatial distribution of collection points. Secondary data used include administrative map collected from Akure South Local Government Secretariat. Data collected was analyzed using the GIS analytical tools which is neighborhood function. The result revealed that collection points were found in all parts of Akure with the highest concentration around the central business district. The study also showed that 80% of the collection points enjoyed efficient waste service while the remaining 20% does not. The study further revealed that most collection points in the core of the city were in close proximity to each other. In conclusion, the paper revealed the capability of Geographic Information System (GIS) as a technique in management of waste collection and disposal technique. The application of Geographic Information System (GIS) in the evaluation of the solid waste management in Akure is highly invaluable for the state waste management board which could also be beneficial to other states in developing a modern day solid waste management system. Further study on solid waste management is also recommended especially for updating of information on both spatial and non-spatial data.

Keywords: assessment, geospatial, system, waste disposal

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Authors: Funmilayo Abiola Opadoja, Samuel Olukayode Awotona

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Nursing services costing has been a major interest to nurses for a long period of time. Determination of nursing costing is germane in order to show the effectiveness of nursing practice in an improved and affordable health care delivery system. This has been a major concern of managers that have the mind of quality and affordable health services. The treatment or intervention should be considered as ‘product’ of nursing care and should provide an explainable term for billing. The study was non-experimental, descriptive and went about eliciting the views of nurses on costing nursing care at two public hospitals namely: University College Hospital and Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital. The questionnaire was the instrument used in eliciting nurse’s response. It was administered randomly on 300 selected respondents across various wards within the hospitals. The data was collected and analysed using SPSS20.0 to generate frequency, and cross-tabulations to explore the statistical relationship between variables. The result shows that 89.2% of the respondents viewed costing of nursing care as an important issued to be looked into. The study concluded that nursing care costing is germane to enhancing the status and imagery of the nurses, it is essential because it would enhance the performance of nurses in discharging their duties. There is need to have a procedural manual agreed on by nursing practitioner on costing of each care given.

Keywords: costing, health care delivery system, intervention, nursing care, practitioner

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Authors: Bola M. Tunde-Awe

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The study investigated the influence of teacher’s non-verbal communication on secondary school students’ learning outcomes in English language. The study was a survey research. Participants were three hundred Senior Secondary School II students randomly selected from ten schools in Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire containing twenty items on a four-point Likert scale which measured teacher’s use of three types of non-verbal communication modes: body movement, eye contact and spatial distance. The data collected was analysed using simple percentage. Findings revealed that teacher’s use of these non-verbal communication modes enhanced learners’ learning outcomes in English language: a total of 271 (90.33%) participants affirmed that teacher’s body language influenced their learning of English; 224 (74.66%) maintained the same stand for eye contact; while 202 (67.33%) affirmed that teacher’s spatial distance had positive influence. Consequent upon these findings, it was recommended that teachers of English language should constantly utilize non-verbal communication in their instructional delivery. Also, non-verbal communication modes should be included in teacher education programme to equip prospective pre-service teachers with the art of non-verbal communication.

Keywords: non-verbal communication, body language, eye contact, spatial distance, learning outcomes

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Authors: Yiqiang Ni, Xuanlong Chen, Enliang Li, Linting Zheng, Shizheng Yang

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Bipolar ICs are playing an important role in military applications, mainly used in logic gates, such as inverter and NAND gate. The defect of metal break located on the step is one of the main failure mechanisms of bipolar ICs, resulting in open-circuit or functional failure. In this situation, general failure localization methods like optical beam-induced resistance change (OBIRCH) and photon emission microscopy (PEM) might not be fully effective. However, active voltage contrast (AVC) can be used as a voltage probe, which may pinpoint the incorrect potential and thus locate the failure position. Two case studies will be present in this paper on how to implement AVC for failure localization, and the detailed failure mechanism will be discussed.

Keywords: bipolar IC, failure localization, metal break, open failure, voltage contrast

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Authors: Milena Gojny-Zbierowska

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In the last decades psychological tests have been gaining in popularity as a method used for evaluating personnel, and they bring consulting companies solid profits rising by up to 10% each year. The market is offering a growing range of tools for the assessment of personality. Tests are used in organizations mainly in the recruitment and selection of staff. This paper is an attempt to initially diagnose the state of the use of psychological tests in Polish companies on the basis of empirical research.

Keywords: psychological tests, personality, content analysis, NEO FFI, big five personality model

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Authors: Sue S. Feldman, Bradley Tipper, Benjamin Schooley

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Nearly every community in the US has been impacted by opioid related addictions/deaths; it is a national problem that is threatening our social and economic welfare. Most believe that tackling this problem from a prevention perspective advances can be made toward breaking the chain of addiction. One mechanism, community based participatory research, involves the community in the prevention approach. This project combines that approach with a design science approach to develop an integrated solution. Findings suggested accountable care communities, transpersonal psychology, and social exchange theory as product kernel theories. Evaluation was conducted on a prototype.

Keywords: substance use and abuse recovery, community resource centers, accountable care communities, community based participatory research

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Authors: Haifeng Zhou, Tsungyang Liow, Xiaoguang Tu, Eujin Lim, Chao Li, Junfeng Song, Xianshu Luo, Ying Huang, Lianxi Jia, Lianwee Luo, Kim Dowon, Qing Fang, Mingbin Yu, Guoqiang Lo

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Several Germanium photodetectors (PD) built on silicon micro-disks are fabricated on the standard Si photonics multiple project wafers (MPW) and demonstrated to exhibit very low dark current, satisfactory operation bandwidth and moderate responsivity. Among them, a vertical p-i-n Ge PD based on a 2.0 µm-radius micro-disk has a dark current of as low as 35 nA, compared to a conventional PD current of 1 µA with an area of 100 µm2. The operation bandwidth is around 15 GHz at a reverse bias of 1V. The responsivity is about 0.6 A/W. Microdisk is a striking planar structure in integrated optics to enhance light-matter interaction and construct various photonics devices. The disk geometries feature in strongly and circularly confining light into an ultra-small volume in the form of whispering gallery modes. A laser may benefit from a microdisk in which a single mode overlaps the gain materials both spatially and spectrally. Compared to microrings, micro-disk removes the inner boundaries to enable even better compactness, which also makes it very suitable for some scenarios that electrical connections are needed. For example, an ultra-low power (≈ fJ) athermal Si modulator has been demonstrated with a bit rate of 25Gbit/s by confining both photons and electrically-driven carriers into a microscale volume.In this work, we study Si-based PDs with Ge selectively grown on a microdisk with the radius of a few microns. The unique feature of using microdisk for Ge photodetector is that mode selection is not important. In the applications of laser or other passive optical components, microdisk must be designed very carefully to excite the fundamental mode in a microdisk in that essentially the microdisk usually supports many higher order modes in the radial directions. However, for detector applications, this is not an issue because the local light absorption is mode insensitive. Light power carried by all modes are expected to be converted into photo-current. Another benefit of using microdisk is that the power circulation inside avoids any introduction of the reflector. A complete simulation model with all involved materials taken into account is established to study the promise of microdisk structures for photodetector by using finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. By viewing from the current preliminary data, the directions to further improve the device performance are also discussed.

Keywords: integrated optical devices, silicon photonics, micro-resonator, photodetectors

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Authors: Pamela Ventola, Laurel Bales, Sara Florczyk

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Background: Fully remote or hybrid administration of clinical outcome measures in rare neurodevelopmental disorders trials is increasing due to the ongoing pandemic and recognition that remote assessments reduce the burden on families. Many assessments in rare neurodevelopmental disorders trials are complex; however, remote/hybrid trials readily allow for the use of centralized raters to administer and score the scales. The use of centralized raters has many benefits, including reducing site burden; however, a specific impact on data quality has not yet been determined. Purpose: The current study has two aims: a) evaluate differences in data quality between administration of a standardized clinical interview completed by centralized raters compared to those completed by site raters and b) evaluate improvement in accuracy of scoring standardized developmental assessments when scored centrally compared to when scored by site raters. Methods: For aim 1, the Vineland-3, a widely used measure of adaptive functioning, was administered by site raters (n= 52) participating in one of four rare disease trials. The measure was also administered as part of two additional trials that utilized central raters (n=7). Each rater completed a comprehensive training program on the assessment. Following completion of the training, each clinician completed a Vineland-3 with a mock caregiver. Administrations were recorded and reviewed by a neuropsychologist for administration and scoring accuracy. Raters were able to certify for the trials after demonstrating an accurate administration of the scale. For site raters, 25% of each rater’s in-study administrations were reviewed by a neuropsychologist for accuracy of administration and scoring. For central raters, the first two administrations and every 10th administration were reviewed. Aim 2 evaluated the added benefit of centralized scoring on the accuracy of scoring of the Bayley-3, a comprehensive developmental assessment widely used in rare neurodevelopmental disorders trials. Bayley-3 administrations across four rare disease trials were centrally scored. For all administrations, the site rater who administered the Bayley-3 scored the scale, and a centralized rater reviewed the video recordings of the administrations and also scored the scales to confirm accuracy. Results: For aim 1, site raters completed 138 Vineland-3 administrations. Of the138 administrations, 53 administrations were reviewed by a neuropsychologist. Four of the administrations had errors that compromised the validity of the assessment. The central raters completed 180 Vineland-3 administrations, 38 administrations were reviewed, and none had significant errors. For aim 2, 68 administrations of the Bayley-3 were reviewed and scored by both a site rater and a centralized rater. Of these administrations, 25 had errors in scoring that were corrected by the central rater. Conclusion: In rare neurodevelopmental disorders trials, sample sizes are often small, so data quality is critical. The use of central raters inherently decreases site burden, but it also decreases rater variance, as illustrated by the small team of central raters (n=7) needed to conduct all of the assessments (n=180) in these trials compared to the number of site raters (n=53) required for even fewer assessments (n=138). In addition, the use of central raters dramatically improves the quality of scoring the assessments.

Keywords: neurodevelopmental disorders, clinical trials, rare disease, central raters, remote trials, decentralized trials

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Authors: Deepak Singh

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AI technology is rapidly being integrated into the healthcare system, bringing many ethical and social implications. This literature review examines the various aspects of this phenomenon, focusing on the ethical considerations of using AI in healthcare, such as how it might affect patient autonomy, privacy, and doctor-patient relationships. Furthermore, the review considers the potential social implications of AI in Healthcare, such as the potential for automation to reduce the availability of healthcare jobs and the potential to widen existing health inequalities. The literature suggests potential benefits and drawbacks to using AI in healthcare, and it is essential to consider the ethical and social implications before implementation. It is concluded that more research is needed to understand the full implications of using AI in healthcare and that ethical regulations must be in place to ensure patient safety and the technology's responsible use.

Keywords: AI, healthcare, telemedicine, telehealth, ethics, security, privacy, patient, rights, safety

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Authors: Meenalochana Inguva

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The context: The Center for Preparatory study is one of the strongest and most vibrant academic teaching units of the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). The Foundation Programme English Language (FPEL) is part of a larger foundation programme which was implemented at SQU in fall 2010. The programme has been designed to prepare the students who have been accepted to study in the university in order to achieve the required educational goals (the learning outcomes) that have been designed according to Oman Academic Standards and published by the Omani Authority for Academic Accreditation (OAAA) for the English language component. The curriculum: At the CPS, the English language curriculum is based on the learning outcomes drafted for each level. These learning outcomes guide the students in meeting what is expected of them by the end of each level. These six levels are progressive in nature and are seen as a continuum. The study: A periodic evaluation of language programmes is necessary to improve the quality of the programmes and to meet the set goals of the programmes. An evaluation may be carried out internally or externally depending on the purpose and context. A self-study programme was initiated at the beginning of spring semester 2015 with a team comprising a total of 11 members who worked with-in the assigned course areas (level and programme specific). Only areas specific to FPEL have been included in the study. The study was divided into smaller tasks and members focused on their assigned courses. The self-study primarily focused on analyzing the programme LOs, curriculum planning, materials used and their relevance against the GFP exit standards. The review team also reflected on the assessment methods and procedures followed to reflect on student learning. The team has paid attention to having standard criteria for assessment and transparency in procedures. A special attention was paid to the staging of LOs across levels to determine students’ language and study skills ability to cope with higher level courses. Findings: The findings showed that most of the LOs are met through the materials used for teaching. Students score low on objective tests and high on subjective tests. Motivated students take advantage of academic support activities others do not utilize the student support activities to their advantage. Reading should get more hours. In listening, the format of the listening materials in CT 2 does not match the test format. Some of the course materials need revision. For e.g. APA citation, referencing etc. No specific time is allotted for teaching grammar Conclusion: The findings resulted in taking actions in bridging gaps. It will also help the center to be better prepared for the external review of its FPEL curriculum. It will also provide a useful base to prepare for the self-study portfolio for GFP standards assessment and future audit.

Keywords: curriculum planning, learning outcomes, reflections, self-evaluation

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Authors: Abebe Tibebu

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This study investigates the quality of training factors in Ethiopian Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and their impact on declining enrollment rates. Employing a descriptive survey design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from diverse stakeholders, including Grade 12 graduates, current TVET trainees, trainers, college deans, community members, high school directors, teachers, and officials from TVET government agencies. The sample included 20 TVET centers from various Ethiopian regions. Secondary data were obtained from college and government documents, while primary data were gathered through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and observations. Analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics with SPSS, capturing response frequencies and percentages. The study's findings highlight several key factors affecting TVET enrollment: limited infrastructure capacity, insufficient trainer competency, misaligned curriculum, low-quality training delivery particularly in cooperative training implementation and industry partnership and low success rates on Certification of Competency (CoC) exams. Many TVET institutions lack qualified trainers, adequate machinery, and timely provision of materials for practical skills training. Based on these findings, the study recommends enhanced infrastructure investment, professional development for trainers, curriculum adjustments to better align with industry needs, and standardized assessment practices. Addressing these areas through collaborative efforts with government bodies and industry stakeholders is essential to improving the quality and appeal of Ethiopian TVET programs, ultimately strengthening enrollment and outcomes.

Keywords: TVET, quality factors, enrollment, potentially enrolled

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Authors: Izzati Nabiyla Risfa

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The role of civil society has become an important issue in national and international level nowadays. Government all over the world started to realize that the involvement of civil society can boost up public services and better policy making. Global Policy Forum stated that there are five good reasons for civil society to be engaged in global governance; (1) to conferring legitimacy on policy decisions; (2) to increasing the pool of policy ideas; (3) to support less powerful governments; (4) countering a lack of political will; and (5) helping states to put nationalism aside. Indonesia also keeps up with this good trend. In November 2011, Indonesian Government set up LAPOR! (means “to report” in Indonesian), an online portal for complaints about public services, which is accessible through its website lapor.ukp.go.id. LAPOR! also accessible through social media (Twitter, Facebook) and text message. This program is an initiative from the government to provide an integrated and accessible portal for the Indonesian public to submit complaints and inquiries as a means of enhancing public participation in national development programs. LAPOR! aims to catalyze public participation as well as to have a more coordinated national complaint handling mechanism. The goal of this program is to increase the role of civil society in order to develop better public services. Thus, LAPOR! works in a simplest way possible. Public can submit any complaints or report their problem concerning development programs and public services simply through the website, short message services to 1708 and mobile applications for BlackBerry and Android. LAPOR! will then transfer every validated input to relevant institutions to be featured and responded on the website. LAPOR! is now integrated with 81 Ministries, 5 local government, and 44 State Owned Enterprise. Public can also give comments, likes or share them through Facebook and Twitter to have a discussion and to ensure the completeness of the reports. LAPOR! has unexpectedly contributed to various successful cases concerning public services. So far the portal has over 280,704 registered users, receiving an average of 1,000 reports every day. Government's response rate increase time to time, with 81% of complaints and inquiries have been solved or are being investigated. This paper will examine the effectiveness of LAPOR! as a tools to increase the role of civil society in order to develop better public services in Indonesia. Beside their promising story, there still are various difficulties that need to be solved. With qualitative approach as methodology for this research, writers will also explore potential improvement of LAPOR! so it can perform effectively as a leading national complaint handling system in Indonesia.

Keywords: civil society, government, Indonesia, public services

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Authors: Susan Marie R. De La Cruz, Bernadette F. De La Cruz, Georgia D. Demavibas

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This study determined the top 10 perceived students’ academic needs, personal needs, personal obstacles in achieving their academic goals, are as they need assistance, and their perceived feelings in math, reading and writing. The North Carolina State College, Student Support Services needs assessment survey was used. The respondents were the randomly chosen122Graduate school students. The top 10 academic needs are as follows: need to improve memory, communication skills, study habits, time management skills, career decisions, vocabulary, math skills, test taking skills, reading comprehension, and the need to reduce math anxiety. Top 10 personal needs are as follows: difficulty meeting deadline, difficulty managing money, inadequate computer skills, afraid of failing graduate school, difficulty participating in class/group discussions, absence from school, anxiety during exams, little or no experience with internet, personal counseling needs, and unsure of university academic procedures. Students’ top 10 perceived personal obstacles were as follows: issues surrounding sickness in family, lack of time management, lack of money, feeling tired, fears to speak in class, poor study habits, problems at home, late in class, too shy, and always feeling sick and easily distracted. Students felt need assistance in areas surrounding personal budget, stress management, motivation, anxiety, depressions, leadership development and goals/decision making. It is recommended that enrichment activities be provided to respond to students’ academic and personal needs. Also, Graduate School Guidance Counselor collaborates with other licensed Guidance Counselors in other colleges to have a well-coordinated and effective delivery of services responsive to students’ needs.

Keywords: academic needs, guidance counsellors, guidance service, needs assessment survey, personal needs, student services

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Authors: Sukhvinder Kaur, Ashok Agarwal

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Background: For the first time in 2009, India was able to generate estimates of HIV incidence (the number of new HIV infections per year). Analysis of epidemic projections helped in revealing that the number of new annual HIV infections in India had declined by more than 50% during the last decade (GOI Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2010). Then, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) planned to scale up its efforts in generating projections through epidemiological analysis and modelling by taking recent available sources of evidence such as HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS), India Census data and other critical data sets. Recently, NACO generated current round of HIV estimates-2012 through globally recommended tool “Spectrum Software” and came out with the estimates for adult HIV prevalence, annual new infections, number of people living with HIV, AIDS-related deaths and treatment needs. State level prevalence and incidence projections produced were used to project consequences of the epidemic in spectrum. In presence of HIV estimates generated at state level in India by NACO, USIAD funded PIPPSE project under the leadership of NACO undertook the estimations and projections to district level using same Spectrum software. In 2011, adult HIV prevalence in one of the high prevalent States, Maharashtra was 0.42% ahead of the national average of 0.27%. Considering the heterogeneity of HIV epidemic between districts, two districts of Maharashtra – Thane and Mumbai were selected to estimate and project the number of People-Living-with-HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), HIV-prevalence among adults and annual new HIV infections till 2017. Methodology: Inputs in spectrum included demographic data from Census of India since 1980 and sample registration system, programmatic data on ‘Alive and on ART (adult and children)’,‘Mother-Baby pairs under PPTCT’ and ‘High Risk Group (HRG)-size mapping estimates’, surveillance data from various rounds of HSS, National Family Health Survey–III, Integrated Biological and Behavioural Assessment and Behavioural Sentinel Surveillance. Major Findings: Assuming current programmatic interventions in these districts, an estimated decrease of 12% points in Thane and 31% points in Mumbai among new infections in HRGs and migrants is observed from 2011 by 2017. Conclusions: Project also validated decrease in HIV new infection among one of the high risk groups-FSWs using program cohort data since 2012 to 2016. Though there is a decrease in HIV prevalence and new infections in Thane and Mumbai, further decrease is possible if appropriate programme response, strategies and interventions are envisaged for specific target groups based on this evidence. Moreover, evidence need to be validated by other estimation/modelling techniques; and evidence can be generated for other districts of the state, where HIV prevalence is high and reliable data sources are available, to understand the epidemic within the local context.

Keywords: HIV sentinel surveillance, high risk groups, projections, new infections

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Authors: Mohammad Emran, Colton Wayne, Shannon M Koehler, P. Stephen Almond, Haroon Patel

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Purpose: Assessment of anastomotic perfusion in Hirschsprung disease using Indocyanine Green (ICG)-near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence angiography. Introduction: Anastomotic stricture and leak are well-known complications of Hirschsprung pull-through procedures. Complications are due to tension, infection, and/or poor perfusion. While a surgeon can visually determine and control the amount of tension and contamination, assessment of perfusion is subject to surgeon determination. Intraoperative use of ICG-NIR enhances this decision-making process by illustrating perfusion intensity and adequacy in the pulled-through bowel segment. This technique, proven to reduce anastomotic stricture and leak in adults, has not been studied in children to our knowledge. ICG, an FDA approved, nontoxic, non-immunogenic, intravascular (IV) dye, has been used in adults and children for over 60 years, with few side effects. ICG-NIR was used in this report to demonstrate the adequacy of perfusion during transanal pullthrough for Hirschsprung’s disease. Method: 8 patients with Hirschsprung disease were evaluated with ICG-NIR technology. Levels of affected area ranged from sigmoid to total colonic Hirschsprung disease. After leveling, but prior to anastomosis, ICG was administered at 1.25 mg (< 2 mg/kg) and perfusion visualized using an NIR camera, before and during anastomosis. Video and photo imaging was performed and perfusion of the bowel was compared to surrounding tissues. This showed the degree of perfusion and demarcation of perfused and non-perfused bowel. The anastomosis was completed uneventfully and the patients all did well. Results: There were no complications of stricture or leak. 5 of 8 patients (62.5%) had modification of the plan based on ICG-NIR imaging. Conclusion: Technologies that enhance surgeons’ ability to visualize bowel perfusion prior to anastomosis in Hirschsprung’s patients may help reduce post-operative complications. Further studies are needed to assess the potential benefits.

Keywords: colonic anastomosis, fluorescence angiography, Hirschsprung disease, pediatric surgery, SPY

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Authors: B. G. Sampath, K. C. R. Perera, W. A. S. I. Wijesuriya, V. P. C. Dassanayake

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In this paper the design, development and testing of a stabilizer control system for a Quad-rotor is presented which is focused on the maneuverability. The mechanical design is performed along with the design of the controlling algorithm which is devised using fuzzy logic controller. The inputs for the system are the angular positions and angular rates of the Quad-Rotor relative to three axes. Then the output data is filtered from an accelerometer and a gyroscope through a Kalman filter. In the development of the stability controlling system Mandani Fuzzy Model is incorporated. The results prove that the fuzzy based stabilizer control system is superior in high dynamic disturbances compared to the traditional systems which use PID integrated stabilizer control systems.

Keywords: fuzzy stabilizer, maneuverability, PID, quad-rotor

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Authors: Atara Shriki, Ilana Lavy

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In a rapidly changing technological society, creativity is considered as an engine of economic and social progress. No doubt the education system has a central role in nurturing all students’ creativity, however, it is normally not encouraged at school. The causes of this reality are related to a variety of circumstances, among them: external pressures to cover the curriculum and succeed in standardized tests that mostly require algorithmic thinking and implementation of rules; teachers’ tendency to teach similarly to the way they themselves were taught as school students; relating creativity to giftedness, and therefore avoid nurturing all students' creativity; lack of adequate learning materials and accessible tools for following and evaluating the development of students’ creativity; and more. Since success in academic studies requires, among other things, creativity, lecturers in higher education institutions should consider appropriate ways to nurture students’ creative thinking and assess its development. Obviously, creativity has a multifaceted nature, numerous definitions, various perspectives for studying its essence (e.g., process, personality, environment, and product), and several approaches aimed at evaluating and assessing creative expressions (e.g., cognitive, social-personal, and psychometric). In this framework, we suggest nurturing students’ creativity through engaging them in problem posing activities that are part of inquiry assignments. In order to assess the development of their creativity, we propose to employ a model that was designed for this purpose, based on the psychometric approach, viewing the posed problems as the “creative product”. The model considers four measurable aspects- fluency, flexibility, originality, and organization, as well as a total score of creativity that reflects the relative weights of each aspect. The scores given to learners are of two types: (1) Total scores- the absolute number of posed problems with respect to each of the four aspects, and a final score of creativity; (2) Relative scores- each absolute number is transformed into a number that relates to the relative infrequency of the posed problems in student’s reference group. Through converting the scores received over time into a graphical display, students can assess their progress both with respect to themselves and relative to their reference group. Course lecturers can get a picture of the strengths and weaknesses of each student as well as the class as a whole, and to track changes that occur over time in response to the learning environment they had generated. Such tracking may assist lecturers in making pedagogical decisions about emphases that should be put on one or more aspects of creativity, and about the students that should be given a special attention. Our experience indicates that schoolteachers and lecturers in higher education institutes find the combination of engaging learners in problem posing along with self-assessment of their progress through utilizing the graphical display of accumulating total and relative scores has the potential to realize most learners’ creative potential.

Keywords: creativity, problem posing, psychometric model, self-assessment

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Authors: Mohammad Safaeipour, Yousef Amer

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This study directs its focus on developing a conceptual model to offer a systematic and integrated method to weigh the related measures and evaluate a competence of hospitals and rank of the selected hospitals that involve and consider the stakeholders’ key performance indicators (KPI’s). The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach will use to weigh the dimensions and related sub- components. The weights and performance scores will combine by using the Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and rank the selected hospitals. The results of this study provide interesting insight into the necessity of process improvement implementation in which hospital that received the lowest ranking score.

Keywords: performance measurement system, PMS, hospitals, AHP, TOPSIS

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Authors: Nonso Ochinanwata, Patrick Oseloka Ezepue

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This paper explores the process of creating and capturing born-global firm opportunities. It reviews the key constructs that underpin the establishment of born-global firms in sub-Saharan Africa. These include entrepreneurial orientation, resources and capabilities, collaboration, and contextual influences. The paper discusses how individuals and entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa can establish home-based born-global firms that seek early international markets from inception. The paper suggests that sub-Saharan African governments should make a favourable microeconomics policy that will enable entrepreneurs and firms to acquire some certain minimal resources and capabilities, in order to develop global products and services.

Keywords: born global-firms, collaboration, internationalisation, dynamic capabilities, entrepreneurship, sub-Saharan Africa

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Authors: WonSun Chen, James Boylan, Erwin Muharemovic, Denny Meyer

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In Australia, drivers aged between 18 and 24 remained at high risk of road fatality over the last decade. Despite the successful implementation of the Graduated Licensing System (GLS) that supports young drivers in their early phases of driving, the road fatality statistics for these drivers remains high. In response to these statistics, studies conducted in Australia prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic have demonstrated the benefits of using telematics devices for improving driving behaviour, However, the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on young drivers’ driving behaviour has emerged as a global concern. Therefore, this naturalistic study aimed to evaluate and compare the driving behaviour(such as acceleration, braking, speeding, etc.) of young drivers with the adoption of in-vehicle telematics devices. Forty-two drivers aged between 18 and 30 and residing in the Australian state of Victoria participated in this study during the period of May to October 2022. All participants drove with the telematics devices during the first 30-day. At the start of the second 30-day, twenty-one participants were randomised to an intervention group where they were provided with an additional telematics ray device that provided visual feedback to the drivers, especially when they committed to aggressive driving behaviour. The remaining twenty-one participants remined their driving journeys without the extra telematics ray device (control group). Such trustworthy data enabled the assessment of changes in the driving behaviour of these young drivers using a machine learning approach in Python. Results are expected to show participants from the intervention group will show improvements in their driving behaviour compared to those from the control group.Furthermore, the telematics data enable the assessment and quantification of such improvements in driving behaviour. The findings from this study are anticipated to shed some light in guiding the development of customised campaigns and interventions to further address the high road fatality among young drivers in Australia.

Keywords: driving behaviour, naturalistic study, telematics data, young drivers

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Authors: Moira Cordiner

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As a result of an Australian university approving a policy to improve the quality of assessment practices, as an academic developer (AD) with expertise in criterion-referenced assessment commenced in 2008. The four-year appointment was to support 40 'champions' in their Schools. This presentation is based on the experiences of a group of Chemistry academics who worked with the AD to develop and implement an honours dissertation rubric. Honours is a research year following a three-year undergraduate year. If the standard of the student's work is high enough (mainly the dissertation) then the student can commence a PhD. What became clear during the process was that much more was at stake than just the successful development and trial of the rubric, including academics' reputations, university rankings and research outputs. Working with the champion-Head of School(HOS) and the honours coordinator, the AD helped them adapt an honours rubric that she had helped create and trial successfully for another Science discipline. A year of many meetings and complex power plays between the two academics finally resulted in a version that was critiqued by the Chemistry teaching and learning committee. Accompanying the rubric was an explanation of grading rules plus a list of supervisor expectations to explain to students how the rubric was used for grading. Further refinements were made until all staff were satisfied. It was trialled successfully in 2011, then small changes made. It was adapted and implemented for Medicine honours with her help in 2012. Despite coming to consensus about statements of quality in the rubric, a few academics found it challenging matching these to the dissertations and allocating a grade. They had had no time to undertake training to do this, or make overt their implicit criteria and standards, which some admitted they were using - 'I know what a first class is'. Other factors affecting grading included: the small School where all supervisors knew each other and the students, meant that friendships and collegiality were at stake if low grades were given; no external examiners were appointed-all were internal with the potential for bias; supervisors’ reputations were at stake if their students did not receive a good grade; the School's reputation was also at risk if insufficient honours students qualified for PhD entry; and research output was jeopardised without enough honours students to work on supervisors’ projects. A further complication during the study was a restructure of the university and retrenchments, with pressure to increase research output as world rankings assumed greater importance to senior management. In conclusion, much more was at stake than developing a usable rubric. The HOS had to be seen to champion the 'new' assessment practice while balancing institutional demands for increased research output and ensuring as many honours dissertations as possible met high standards, so that eventually the percentage of PhD completions and research output rose. It is therefore in the institution's best interest for this cycle to be maintained as it affects rankings and reputations. In this context, are rubrics redundant?

Keywords: explicit and implicit standards, judging quality, university rankings, research reputations

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Authors: Lesley Karen Penera

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Despite the countless that has been drawn to investigate Philippine English for a myriad of reasons, none was known to have ventured on a probe of its grammatical features as used in a technology-driven linguistic landscape by two generations in the digital age. Propelled by the assumption of an emerging Philippine English variety, this paper determined the grammatical features that characterize the digital native-immigrants’ Philippine English. It also ascertained whether mistake or deviation instigated the use of the features, and established this variety’s level of comprehensibility. This exploratory mixed-methods inquiry employed some qualitative and quantitative data drawn from a social networking site, the digital native-immigrant group, and the comprehensibility-raters who were selected through non-random purposive sampling. The study yields 8 grammatical features, mostly deemed results of deviation, yet the texts characterized by such features were mostly rated with excellent comprehensibility. This substantiates some of the grammatical features identified in earlier studies, provides evidentiary proof that the digital groups’ Philippine English is not bound by the standard of syntactic accuracy and corroborates the assertion on language’s manipulability as an instrument fashioned to satisfy the users’ need for successful communication in actual instances for use of English past the walls of any university where the variety is cultivated. The same could also be rationalized by some respondents’ position on grammar and accuracy to be less vital than one’s facility to communicate effectively.

Keywords: comprehensibility, deviation, digital immigrants, digital natives, mistake, Philippine English variety

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Authors: Jocelyn Jones

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The objective of this literature review is to provide an assessment of the current literature concerning gender-based violence (GBV) within indigenous communities in Argentina and Costa Rica, and various public intervention strategies that have been implemented to counter the increasing rates of violence within these populations. The review will address some of the unique challenges and contextual factors influencing the prevalence and response to such violence, including the enduring impact of colonialism on familial structures, community dynamics, and the perpetuation of violence. Drawing on indigenous feminist perspectives, the paper critically assesses the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status in shaping the experiences of indigenous women, men, and gender-diverse individuals. In comparing the two nations, the literature review identifies commonalities and divergences in policy frameworks, legal responses, and grassroots initiatives aimed at addressing GBV. Regarding the assessment of the efficacy of existing interventions, the paper will consider the role of cultural revitalization, community engagement, and collaborative efforts between indigenous communities and external agencies in the development of future policies. Moreover, the review will highlight the importance of decolonizing methodologies in research and intervention strategies, and the need to emphasise culturally sensitive approaches that respect and integrate indigenous worldviews and traditional knowledge systems. Additionally, the paper will explore the potential impact of colonial legacies, resource extraction, and land dispossession on exacerbating vulnerabilities to GBV within indigenous communities. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a more in-depth understanding of GBV in indigenous contexts in order to promote cross-cultural learning and inform future research. Ultimately, this review will demonstrate the necessity of adopting a holistic and context-specific approach to address gender-based violence in indigenous communities.

Keywords: gender based violence, indigenous, colonialism, literature review

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Authors: Ayoola Adekunle Dada, Tolulope Omolola Fateropa

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There is no gain saying the fact that the Nigerian correctional services lack rehabilitation reformation. Owing to this, some so many inmates, including the female, become more emotionally bruised and hardened instead of coming out of the prison reformed. Although female inmates constitute only a small percentage worldwide, the challenges resulting from women falling under the provision of the penal system have prompted ficial and humanitarian bodies to consider female inmateas as vulnerable persons who need particular social work measures that meet their specific needs. Female inmates’condition may become worseinprisondue to the absence of the standard living condition. A survey of 100 female inmates will be used to determine the assessment of the living condition of the female inmates within the contexts in which they occur. Employing field methods from Medical Sociology and Law, the study seeks to make use of the collaboration of both disciplines for a comprehensive understanding of the scenario. Its specific objectives encompassed: (1) To examine access and use of health facilities among the female inmates;(2) To examine the effect of officers/warders attitude towards female inmates;(3)To investigate the perception of the female inmates towards the housing facilities in the centre and; (4) To investigate the feeding habit of the female inmates. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, the researchers will make use of mixed-method, such qualitative methods as interviews will be undertaken to complement survey research (quantitative). By adopting the above-explained inter-method triangulation, the study will not only ensure that the advantages of both methods are exploited but will also fulfil the basic purposes of research. The sampling for this study will be purposive. The study aims at sampling two correctional centres (Ado Ekiti and Akure) in order to generate representative data for the female inmates in South West Nigeria. In all, the total number of respondents will be 100. A cross-section of female inmates will be selected as respondents using a multi-stage sampling technique. 100 questionnaires will be administered. A semi structured (in-depth) interviews will be conducted among workers in the two selected correctional centres, respectively, to gain further insight on the living conditions of female inmates, which the survey may not readily elicit. These participants will be selected purposively in respect to their status in the organisation. Ethical issues in research on human subjects will be given due consideration. Such issues rest on principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy/justice and confidentiality. In the final analysis, qualitative data will be analyzed using manual content analysis. Both the descriptive and inferential statistics will be used for analytical purposes. Frequency, simple percentage, pie chart, bar chart, curve and cross-tabulations will form part of the descriptive analysis.

Keywords: assessment, health facilities, inmates, perception, living conditions

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Authors: Ampe Mohottige Sachinthi Sandaruwani Amarasiri, Anoja Priyadarshani Attanayake, Kamani Ayoma Perera Wijewardana Jayatilaka, Lakmini Kumari Boralugoda Mudduwa

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The search for alternative pharmacological therapies based on natural extracts for renal failure has become an urgent need, due to paucity of effective pharmacotherapy. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the acute nephroprotective effect of aqueous leaf extract of Plectranthus amboinicus (Roxb.) (Family: Lamiaceae), a medicinal plant used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for the management of renal diseases in Sri Lanka. The study was performed in adriamycin (ADR) induced nephrotoxic in Wistar rats. Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups each with six rats. A single dose of ADR (20 mg/kg body wt., ip) was used for the induction of nephrotoxicity in all groups of rats except group one. The treatments were started 24 hours after induction of nephrotoxicity and continued for three days. Group one and two served as healthy and nephrotoxic control rats and were administered equivalent volumes of normal saline (0.9% NaCl) orally. Group three and four nephrotoxic rats were administered the lyophilized powder of the aqueous extract of P. amboinicus (400 mg/ kg body wt.; equivalent human therapeutic dose) and the standard drug, fosinopril sodium (0.09 mg/ kg body wt.) respectively. Urine and blood samples were collected from rats in each group at the end of the period of intervention for the estimation of selected renal parameters. H and E stained sections of the kidney tissues were examined for histopathological changes. Rats treated with the plant extract showed significant improvement in biochemical parameters and histopathological changes compared to ADR induced nephrotoxic group. The elevation of serum concentrations of creatinine and β2-microglobulin were decreased by 38%, and 66% in plant extract treated nephrotoxic rats respectively (p < 0.05). In addition, serum concentrations of total protein and albumin were significantly increased by 25% and 14% in rats treated with P. amboinicus respectively (p < 0.05). The results of β2 –microglobulin and serum total protein demonstrated a significant reduction in the elevated values in rats administered with the plant extract (400 mg/kg) compared to that of fosinopril (0.09 mg/kg). Urinary protein loss in 24hr urine samples was significantly decreased in rats treated with both fosinopril (86%) and P. ambonicus (56%) at the end of the intervention (p < 0.01). Accordingly, an attenuation of morphological destruction was observed in the H and E stained sections of the kidney with the treatments of plant extract and fosinopril. The results of the present study revealed that the aqueous leaf extract of P. amboinicus possesses significant nephroprotective activity at the equivalent therapeutic dose of 400 mg/ kg against adriamycin induced acute nephrotoxicity.

Keywords: biochemical assessment, histopathological assessment, nephroprotective activity, Plectranthus amboinicus

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Authors: B. Salehi, D. Andrews, I. Chaer, A. Gillich, A. Chalk, D. Bush

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With the rapid increase of energy consumption in buildings in recent years, especially with the rise in population and growing economies, the importance of energy savings in buildings becomes more critical. One of the key factors in ensuring energy consumption is controlled and kept at a minimum is to utilise building energy modelling at the very early stages of the design. So, building modelling and simulation is a growing discipline. During the design phase of construction, modelling software can be used to estimate a building’s projected energy consumption, as well as building performance. The growth in the use of building modelling software packages opens the door for improvements in the design and also in the modelling itself by introducing novel methods such as building information modelling-based software packages which promote conventional building energy modelling into the digital building design process. To understand the most effective implementation tools, research projects undertaken should include elements of real-world experiments and not just rely on theoretical and simulated approaches. Upon review of the related studies undertaken, it’s evident that they are mostly based on modelling and simulation, which can be due to various reasons such as the more expensive and time-consuming nature of real-time data-based studies. Taking in to account the recent rise of building energy software modelling packages and the increasing number of studies utilising these methods in their projects and research, the accuracy and reliability of these modelling software packages has become even more crucial and critical. This Energy Performance Gap refers to the discrepancy between the predicted energy savings and the realised actual savings, especially after buildings implement energy-efficient technologies. There are many different software packages available which are either free or have commercial versions. In this study, IES VE (Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment) is used as it is a common Building Energy Modeling and Simulation software in the UK. This paper describes a study that compares real time results with those in a virtual model to illustrate this gap. The subject of the study is a north west facing north-west (345°) facing, naturally ventilated, conservatory within a domestic building in London is monitored during summer to capture real-time data. Then these results are compared to the virtual results of IES VE, which is a commonly used building energy modelling and simulation software in the UK. In this project, the effect of the wrong position of blinds on overheating is studied as well as providing new evidence of Performance Gap. Furthermore, the challenges of drawing the input of solar shading products in IES VE will be considered.

Keywords: building energy modelling and simulation, integrated environmental solutions virtual environment, IES VE, performance gap, real time data, solar shading products

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Authors: Ahmed Elsayed, Andrew Shea, Nicolas Kelly, John Allison

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In northern European climates, domestic space heating and hot water represents a significant proportion of total primary total primary energy use and meeting these demands from a national electricity grid network supplied by renewable energy sources provides an opportunity for a significant reduction in EU CO₂ emissions. However, in order to adapt to the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation and to avoid co-incident peak electricity usage from consumers that may exceed current capacity, the demand for heat must be decoupled from its generation. Storage of heat within the fabric of dwellings for use some hours, or days, later provides a route to complete decoupling of demand from supply and facilitates the greatly increased use of renewable energy generation into a local or national electricity network. The integration of thermal energy storage into the building fabric for retrieval at a later time requires much evaluation of the many competing thermal, physical, and practical considerations such as the profile and magnitude of heat demand, the duration of storage, charging and discharging rate, storage media, space allocation, etc. In this paper, the authors report investigations of thermal storage in building fabric using concrete material and present an evaluation of several factors that impact upon performance including heating pipe layout, heating fluid flow velocity, storage geometry, thermo-physical material properties, and also present an investigation of alternative storage materials and alternative heat transfer fluids. Reducing the heating pipe spacing from 200 mm to 100 mm enhances the stored energy by 25% and high-performance Vacuum Insulation results in heat loss flux of less than 3 W/m², compared to 22 W/m² for the more conventional EPS insulation. Dense concrete achieved the greatest storage capacity, relative to medium and light-weight alternatives, although a material thickness of 100 mm required more than 5 hours to charge fully. Layers of 25 mm and 50 mm thickness can be charged in 2 hours, or less, facilitating a fast response that could, aggregated across multiple dwellings, provide significant and valuable reduction in demand from grid-generated electricity in expected periods of high demand and potentially eliminate the need for additional new generating capacity from conventional sources such as gas, coal, or nuclear.

Keywords: fabric integrated thermal storage, FITS, demand side management, energy storage, load shifting, renewable energy integration

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Authors: M. Vieira, V. Infante, P. Serrão, A. Ribeiro

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The Portuguese guitar is a pear-shaped plucked chordophone particularly known for its role in Fado, the most distinctive traditional Portuguese musical style. The acknowledgment of the dynamic behavior of the Portuguese guitar, specifically of its modal and mode shape response, has been the focus of different authors. In this research, the experimental results of the dynamic behavior of the guitar, which were previously obtained, are correlated with a vibro-acoustic finite element model of the guitar. The modelling of the guitar offered several challenges which are presented in this work. The results of the correlation between experimental and numerical data are presented and indicate good correspondence for the studied mode shapes. The influence of the air inside the chamber, for the finite element analysis, is shown to be crucial to understand the low-frequency modes of the Portuguese guitar, while, for higher frequency modes, the geometry of the guitar assumes greater relevance. Comparison is made with the classical guitar, providing relevant information about the intrinsic differences between the two, such as between its tones and other acoustical properties. These results represent a sustained base for future work, which will allow the study of the influence of different location and geometry of diverse components of the Portuguese guitar, being as well an asset to the comprehension of its musical properties and qualities and may, furthermore, represent an advantage for its players and luthiers.

Keywords: dynamic behavior of guitars, instrument acoustics, modal analysis, Portuguese guitar

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Authors: Henriette Jarild-Koblanck, Monica Moro

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The research has been implemented at the Kalmar University now LNU Linnaeus University inside the Design Program (Designprogrammet) for several years. The Work Book tool was created using the framework of the Bologna declaration. The project concerns primarily pedagogy and design methodology, focusing on how we evaluate artistic work processes and projects and on how we can develop the preconditions for cross-disciplinary work. The original idea of the Work Book springs from the steady habit of the Swedish researcher and now retired full professor and dean Henriette Koblanck to put images, things and colours in a notebook, right from her childhood, writing down impressions and reflections. On this preliminary thought of making use of a work book, in a form freely chosen by the user, she began to develop the Design Program (Designprogrammet) that was applied at the Kalmar University now LNU Linnaeus University, where she called a number of professionals to collaborate, among them Monica Moro an Italian designer, researcher, and teacher in the field of colour and shape. The educational intention is that the Work Book should become a tool that is both inspirational for the process of thinking and intuitional creating, and personal support for both rational and technical thinking. The students were to use the Work Book not only to visually and graphically document their results from investigations, experiments and thoughts but also as a tool to present their works to others, -students, tutors and teachers, or to other stakeholders they discussed the proceedings with. To help the students a number of matrixes were developed oriented to evaluate the projects in elaboration, based on the Bologna Declaration. In conclusion, the feedback from the students is excellent; many are still using the Work Book as a professional tool as in their words they consider it a rather accurate representation of their working process, and furthermore of themselves, so much that many of them have used it as a portfolio when applying for jobs.

Keywords: academic program, art, assessment of student’s progress, Bologna Declaration, design, learning, self-assessment

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