Search results for: distributed architecture

Authors: Jill Steel

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The interlinked issues of emotional wellbeing and attainment continue to dominate international educational discourse. Reading skills are particularly important to attainment in all areas of the curriculum, and illiteracy is associated with reduced wellbeing and life prospects, with serious ramifications for the wider economy and society. Research shows that reading attainment is influenced by reading motivation and frequency. Reading to Dogs (RTD) is increasingly applied to promote reading motivation and frequency in schools despite a paucity of empirical evidence, specifically examining the influence of RTD on emotional wellbeing and engagement with reading. This research aims to examine whether RTD is effective in promoting these positive outcomes among children aged eight to nine years. This study also aims to inform much needed regulation of the field and standards of practice, including both child and dog welfare. Therefore, ethical matters such as children’s inclusion and safety, as well as the rights and wellbeing of dogs infuse the study throughout. The methodological design is a mixed method longitudinal study. A UK wide questionnaire will be distributed to teachers between January and June 2020 to understand their perceptions of RTD. Following this, a randomised controlled trial (N = 100) will begin in August 2020 in two schools of a comparable demographic, with N= 50 in the intervention school, and N= 50 in a waiting list control school. Reading and wellbeing assessments will be conducted prior to and immediately post RTD, and four weeks after RTD to measure sustained changes. The reading assessments include New Group Reading Test, Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell et al., 1995), as well as reading frequency and reading anxiety assessments specifically designed for the study. Wellbeing assessments include Goodman’s SDQ, (1997) and pupil self-reporting questionnaires specifically designed for the study. Child, class teacher, and parent questionnaires and interviews prior to, during and post RTD will be conducted to measure perceptions of the impact of RTD on mood and motivation towards reading. This study will make a substantial contribution to our understanding of the effectiveness of RTD and thus have consequences for the fields of education and anthrozoology.

Keywords: animal assisted intervention, reading to dogs, welfare, wellbeing

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Authors: Angelo Lerro, Manuela Battipede, Piero Gili, Alberto Brandl

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Redundancy requirements for UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are hardly faced due to the generally restricted amount of available space and allowable weight for the aircraft systems, limiting their exploitation. Essential equipment as the Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (ADAHRS) require several external probes to measure significant data as the Angle of Attack or the Sideslip Angle. Previous research focused on the analysis of a patented technology named Smart-ADAHRS (Smart Air Data, Attitude and Heading Reference System) as an alternative method to obtain reliable and accurate estimates of the aerodynamic angles. This solution is based on an innovative sensor fusion algorithm implementing soft computing techniques and it allows to obtain a simplified inertial and air data system reducing external devices. In fact, only one external source of dynamic and static pressures is needed. This paper focuses on the benefits which would be gained by the implementation of this system in UAV applications. A simplification of the entire ADAHRS architecture will bring to reduce the overall cost together with improved safety performance. Smart-ADAHRS has currently reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6. Real flight tests took place on ultralight aircraft equipped with a suitable Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI). The output of the algorithm using the flight test measurements demonstrates the capability for this fusion algorithm to embed in a single device multiple physical and virtual sensors. Any source of dynamic and static pressure can be integrated with this system gaining a significant improvement in terms of versatility.

Keywords: aerodynamic angles, air data system, flight test, neural network, unmanned aerial vehicle, virtual sensor

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Authors: Janmejoy Gupta, Arnab Paul, Manjari Chakraborty

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Jharkhand is a state located in the eastern part of India. The Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degree North latitude line) passes through Ranchi district in Jharkhand. Mud huts with burnt clay tiled roofs in Jharkhand are an integral component of the state’s vernacular architecture. They come in various shapes, with a number of them having a courtyard type of plan. In general, it has been stated that designing dwellings with courtyards in them is a climate-responsive strategy in composite climate. The truth behind this hypothesis is investigated in this paper. In this paper, three types of mud huts with courtyards situated in Ranchi district in Jharkhand are taken as a study and through temperature measurements in the south-side rooms and courtyards, in addition to Autodesk Ecotect (Version 2011) software simulations, their thermal performance throughout the year are observed. Temperature measurements are specifically taken during the peak of summer and winter and the average temperatures in the rooms and courtyards during seven day-periods in peak of summer and peak of winter are plotted graphically. Thereafter, on the basis of the study and software simulations, the hypothesis is verified and the thermally better performing dwelling types in summer and winter identified among the three sub-types studied. Certain recommendations with respect to increasing thermal comfort in courtyard type mud huts in general are also made. It is found that all courtyard type dwellings do not necessarily show better thermal performance in summer and winter in composite climate. The U shaped dwelling with open courtyard on southern side offers maximum amount of thermal-comfort inside the rooms in the hotter part of the year and the square hut with a central courtyard, with the courtyard being closed from all sides, shows superior thermal performance in winter. The courtyards in all the three case-studies are found to get excessively heated up during summer.

Keywords: courtyard, mud huts, simulations, temperature measurements, thermal performance

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Authors: Christian N. Chibo

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Imo River Basin is located in South Eastern Nigeria comprising of 11 states of Imo, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Edo, Rivers, Cross river, AkwaIbom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Bayelsa states. The basin has a fluvial erosional system dominated by powerful rivers coming down from steep slopes in the area. This research investigated various hazards associated with flood, the vulnerable areas, elements at risk of flood and various adaptation strategies adopted by local inhabitants to cope with the hazards. The research aim is to identify, examine and assess flood hazards, vulnerability and adaptations in the Upper Imo River Basin. The study identified the role of elevation in cause of flood, elements at risk of flood as well as examine the effectiveness or otherwise of the adaptation strategies for coping with the hazards. Data for this research is grouped as primary and secondary. Their various methods of generation are field measurement, questionnaire, library websites etc. Other types of data were generated from topographical, geological, and Digital Elevation model (DEM) maps, while the hydro meteorological data was sourced from Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Meteorological stations of Geography and Environmental Management Departments of Imo State University and Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education. 800 copies of questionnaire were distributed using systematic sampling to 8 locations used for the pilot survey. About 96% of the questionnaire were retrieved and used for the study. 13 flood events were identified in the study area. Their causes, years and dates of events were documented in the text, and the damages they caused were evaluated. The study established that for each flood event, there is over 200mm of rain observed on the day of the flood and the day before the flood. The study also observed that the areas that situate at higher elevation (See DEM) are less prone to flood hazards while areas at low elevations are more prone to flood hazards. Elements identified to be at risk of flood are agricultural land, residential dwellings, retail trading and related services, public buildings and community services. The study thereby recommends non settlement at flood plains and flood prone areas and rearrangement of land use activities in the upper Imo River Basin among others

Keywords: flood hazard, flood plain, geomorphology, Imo River Basin

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Authors: Bsma Adel Bany Mohammad

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The University campuses are a small city containing basic city functions such as educational spaces, accommodations, services and transportation. They are spaces of functional and social life with different activities, different occupants. The campus designed and transformed like cities so both experienced and memorized in same way. Campus memory is the ability of individuals to maintain and reveal the spatial components of designed physical spaces, which form the understandings, experiences, sensations of the environment in all. ‘Cognitive mapping’ is used to decode the physical interaction and emotional relationship between individuals and the city; Cognitive maps are created graphically using geometric and verbal elements on paper by remembering the images of the Urban Environment. In this study, to determine the emotional urban identity belonging to Jordan University of science and technology Campus, architecture students Asked to identify the areas they interact with in the campus by drawing a cognitive map. ‘Campus memory items’ are identified by analyzing the cognitive maps of the campus, then the spatial identity result of such data. The analysis based on the five basic elements of Lynch: paths, districts, edges, nodes, and landmarks. As a result of this analysis, it found that Spatial Identity constructed by the shared elements of the maps. The memory of most students listed the gates structure- which is a large desirable structure, located at the main entrances within the campus defined as major landmarks, then the square spaces defined as nodes, in addition to both stairs and corridors defined as paths. Finally, the districts, edges of educational buildings and service spaces are listed correspondingly in cognitive maps. Findings suggest that the spatial identity of the campus design is related mainly to the gates structures, squares and stairs.

Keywords: cognitive maps, university campus, urban memory, identity

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Authors: Tomokazu Nagata, Jawid Ahmad Baktash

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The goal of this paper is to explore the use of formal methods for Electronic Identity Card System. Nowadays, one of the core research directions in a constantly growing distributed environment is the improvement of the communication process. The responsibility for proper verification becomes crucial. Formal methods can play an essential role in the development and testing of systems. The thesis presents two different methodologies for assessing correctness. Our first approach employs abstract interpretation techniques for creating a trace based model for Electronic Identity Card System. The model was used for building a semi decidable procedure for verifying the system model. We also developed the code for the eID System and can cover three parts login to system sending of Acknowledgment from user side, receiving of all information from server side and log out from system. The new concepts of impasse and spawned sessions that we introduced led our research to original statements about the intruder’s knowledge and eID system coding with respect to secrecy. Furthermore, we demonstrated that there is a bound on the number of sessions needed for the analysis of System.Electronic identity (eID) cards promise to supply a universal, nation-wide mechanism for user authentication. Most European countries have started to deploy eID for government and private sector applications. Are government-issued electronic ID cards the proper way to authenticate users of online services? We use the eID project as a showcase to discuss eID from an application perspective. The new eID card has interesting design features, it is contact-less, it aims to protect people’s privacy to the extent possible, and it supports cryptographically strong mutual authentication between users and services. Privacy features include support for pseudonymous authentication and per service controlled access to individual data items. The article discusses key concepts, the eID infrastructure, observed and expected problems, and open questions. The core technology seems ready for prime time and government projects deploy it to the masses. But application issues may hamper eID adoption for online applications.

Keywords: eID, event-B, Pro-B, formal method, message passing

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Authors: Muhammed Gündoğan

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Permaculture is an important source of science and experience that can ensure the integration of sustainable architecture with nature. Since the past, many applications have been applied in rural areas for generations with the principle of benefiting from the self-renewal potential of nature. This culture, which has been transferred from generation to generation with architectural disciplines, has the potential to significantly improve the sustainability of the rural area and is an important guide with its nature-based solution proposals. Şanlıurfa has arid and semi-arid climate characteristics. Although it has substantial agricultural potential, water is limited, especially in rural areas. In the region, rainwater harvesting practices such as artificial water canals and cisterns have been used for a long time. However, these solutions remained mostly at the urban scale, and their reflections at the building scale were restricted and inadequate solutions. Impermeable surfaces are required for water harvesting, but water harvesting is not possible as rural buildings are mostly surrounded by cultivated land. Therefore, existing structures are important in terms of applicability. In this context, considering the typology of Traditional Şanlıurfa Houses, the aim of the project was to create a proposal for limited potable and utility water, which is a serious problem, especially for rural buildings in Şanlıurfa. In the project proposal, roof systems that can work integrated with the structural shape of Traditional Şanlıurfa Houses, rainwater collection systems in the inner courtyard, and greywater recycling were provided. While the average precipitation amount was 453.7 kg/m3 between 1929 and 2012, this value was measured as 622.7 kg/m3 in 2012. Greywater was used to produce natural fertilizers and compost for small-scale fruit and vegetable gardens, and it was combined with the principles of Permaculture to make it a lifestyle. As a result, it has been estimated that a total of 976.4 m3 kg of water can be saved, with an annual average of 158.8 m3 of rainwater recycling and 817.6 m3 of greywater recycling within the scope of the project.

Keywords: rural, traditional residential building, permaculture, rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling

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Authors: Teguh R. Hakim, Frenny F. F. Kairupan, Alberta M. Mantiri

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The face of the coastal city is generally the same as other cities face showing the dualistic, traditional and modern, rural and urbanity, planned and unplanned, slum and high quality. Manado city is located on the northern coastal areas of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Manado city is located on the northern coastal areas of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Urban environmental problems ever occurred in this city, which is the impact of dualistic urban. Overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and limited human resources become the main cause of untidiness the coastal settlements in Malalayang. This has an impact on the activities of social, economic, public health level in the environment of coastal City of Manado, Malalayang. This is becoming a serious problem which must be tackled jointly by the government, private parties, and the community. Community-based settlement environment setup, into one solution to realize the city's coastal settlements livable. As for this research aims to analyze the involvement of local communities in arrangements of the settlement. The participatory approach of the model used in this study. Its application is mainly at macro and meso-scale (region, city, and environment) or community architecture. Model participatory approach leads more operational research approach to find a solution/answer to the problems of settlement. The participatory approach is a model for research that involves researchers and society as an object at the same time the subject of research, which in the process in addition to researching also developed other forms of participation in the design and build together. The expected results of this study were able to provide education to the community about environmental and set up a livable settlement for the sake of improving the quality of life. The study also becomes inputs to the government in applying the pattern of development that will be implemented in the future.

Keywords: arrangements the coastal environment, community participation, urban environmental problems, livable settlement

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Authors: Anshika Kankane, Dongshik Kang

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Marine debris has a significant influence on coastal environments, damaging biodiversity, and causing loss and damage to marine and ocean sector. A functional cost-effective and automatic approach has been used to look up at this problem. Computer vision combined with a deep learning-based model is being proposed to identify and categorize marine debris of seven kinds on different beach locations of Japan. This research compares state-of-the-art deep learning models with a suggested model architecture that is utilized as a feature extractor for debris categorization. The model is being proposed to detect seven categories of litter using a manually constructed debris dataset, with the help of Mask R-CNN for instance segmentation and a shape matching network called HOGShape, which can then be cleaned on time by clean-up organizations using warning notifications of the system. The manually constructed dataset for this system is created by annotating the images taken by fixed KaKaXi camera using CVAT annotation tool with seven kinds of category labels. A pre-trained HOG feature extractor on LIBSVM is being used along with multiple templates matching on HOG maps of images and HOG maps of templates to improve the predicted masked images obtained via Mask R-CNN training. This system intends to timely alert the cleanup organizations with the warning notifications using live recorded beach debris data. The suggested network results in the improvement of misclassified debris masks of debris objects with different illuminations, shapes, viewpoints and litter with occlusions which have vague visibility.

Keywords: computer vision, debris, deep learning, fixed live camera images, histogram of gradients feature extractor, instance segmentation, manually annotated dataset, multiple template matching

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Authors: P. Joshna, Souvik Kundu

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Detection of ultraviolet (UV) radiation is very important as it has exhibited a profound influence on humankind and other existences, including military equipment. In this work, a self-powered UV photodetector was reported based on oxides heterojunctions. The thin films of p-type nickel oxide (NiO) and n-type reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were used for the formation of p-n heterojunction. Low-Cost and low-temperature chemical synthesis was utilized to prepare the oxides, and the spin coating technique was employed to deposit those onto indium doped tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates. The top electrode platinum was deposited utilizing physical vapor evaporation technique. NiO offers strong UV absorption with high hole mobility, and rGO prevents the recombination rate by separating electrons out from the photogenerated carriers. Several structural characterizations such as x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope were used to study the materials crystallinity, microstructures, and surface roughness. On one side, the oxides were found to be polycrystalline in nature, and no secondary phases were present. On the other side, surface roughness was found to be low with no pit holes, which depicts the formation of high-quality oxides thin films. Whereas, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was employed to study the chemical compositions and oxidation structures. The electrical characterizations such as current-voltage and current response were also performed on the device to determine the responsivity, detectivity, and external quantum efficiency under dark and UV illumination. This p-n heterojunction device offered faster photoresponse and high on-off ratio under 365 nm UV light illumination of zero bias. The device based on the proposed architecture shows the efficacy of the oxides heterojunction for efficient UV photodetection under zero bias, which opens up a new path towards the development of self-powered photodetector for environment and health monitoring sector.

Keywords: chemical synthesis, oxides, photodetectors, spin coating

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Authors: Muhammad Nouman, Fahad Tiwana, Muhammad Irfan, Mohsin Tiwana

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Traffic congestion has been increasing significantly in major metropolitan areas as a result of increased motorization, urbanization, population growth and changes in the urban density. Traffic congestion compromises efficiency of transport infrastructure and causes multiple traffic concerns; including but not limited to increase of travel time, safety hazards, air pollution, and fuel consumption. Traffic management has become a serious challenge for federal and provincial governments, as well as exasperated commuters. Effective, flexible, efficient and user-friendly traffic information/database management systems characterize traffic conditions by making use of traffic counts for storage, processing, and visualization. While, the emerging data collection technologies continue to proliferate, its accuracy can be guaranteed through the comparison of observed data with the manual handheld counters. This paper presents the design of tablet based manual traffic counting application and framework for development of traffic database management system for Pakistan. The database management system comprises of three components including traffic counting android application; establishing online database and its visualization using Google maps. Oracle relational database was chosen to develop the data structure whereas structured query language (SQL) was adopted to program the system architecture. The GIS application links the data from the database and projects it onto a dynamic map for traffic conditions visualization. The traffic counting device and example of a database application in the real-world problem provided a creative outlet to visualize the uses and advantages of a database management system in real time. Also, traffic data counts by means of handheld tablet/ mobile application can be used for transportation planning and forecasting.

Keywords: manual count, emerging data sources, traffic information quality, traffic surveillance, traffic counting device, android; data visualization, traffic management

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Authors: Suzan Sayegh, Izzeldin Ibrahim, Mercia Van Der Walt, Mohamed Al-Kuwari

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Background: Walking is the most common form of physical activity which can promote a healthy well-being among people of different age groups. In this regard, pedometers are becoming more popular within research and are considered useful tools in monitoring physical activity levels based on individuals’ daily steps. A value of ˂5,000 steps/day is identified as a sedentary lifestyle index where individuals are physically inactive. Those achieving 5,000-7,499 steps/day have a low active lifestyle as they do not meet the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendations. Moreover, individuals achieving ≥7,500 steps/day are classified as physically active. The objective of this study is to assess the physical activity levels of adult population in Qatar through a pedometer-based program over a one-year period. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis, as part of a longitudinal study, was carried out over one year to assess the daily step count. “Step into Health” is a community-based program launched by Aspire as an approach for the purpose of improving physical activity across the population of Qatar. The program involves distribution of pedometers to registered members which is supported by a self-monitoring online account and linked to a web database. Daily habitual physical activity (daily total step count) was assessed through Omron HJ-324U pedometer. Analyses were done on data extracted from the web database. Results: A total of 1,988 members were included in this study (males: n=1,143, 57%; females: n=845, 43%). Average age was 37.8±10.9 years distributed as 60% of age between age 25-54 (n=1,186), 27% of age 45-64 (n=546), and 13% of age 18-24 years (n=256). Majority were non-Qataris, 81% (n=1,609) compared with 19% of the Qatari nationality (n=379). Average body mass index (BMI) was 27.8±6.1 (kg/m2) where most of them (41%, n=809) were found to be overweight, between 25-30 kg/m2. Total average step count was 5,469±3,884. Majority were found to be sedentary (n=1110, 55.8%). Middle aged individuals were more active than the other two age groups. Males were seen as more active than females. Those who were less active had a higher BMI. Older individuals were more active. There was a variation in the physical activity level throughout the year period. Conclusion: It is essential to further develop the available intervention programs and increase their physical activity behavior. Planning such physical activity interventions for female population should involve aspects such as time, environmental variables and aerobic steps.

Keywords: adults, pedometer, physical activity, step-count

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Authors: Rabindra K. Panda, Gurjeet Singh

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The major objective of this study was to analyze the trend and variability of rainfall in the middle Mahandi river basin located in eastern India. The trend of variation of extreme rainfall events has predominant effect on agricultural water management and extreme hydrological events such as floods and droughts. Mahanadi river basin is one of the major river basins of India having an area of 1,41,589 km² and divided into three regions: Upper, middle and delta region. The middle region of Mahanadi river basin has an area of 48,700 km² and it is mostly dominated by agricultural land, where agriculture is mostly rainfed. The study region has five Agro-climatic zones namely: East and South Eastern Coastal Plain, North Eastern Ghat, Western Undulating Zone, Western Central Table Land and Mid Central Table Land, which were numbered as zones 1 to 5 respectively for convenience in reporting. In the present study, analysis of variability and trends of annual, seasonal, and monthly rainfall was carried out, using the daily rainfall data collected from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for 35 years (1979-2013) for the 5 agro-climatic zones. The long term variability of rainfall was investigated by evaluating the mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation. The long term trend of rainfall was analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test on monthly, seasonal and annual time scales. It was found that there is a decreasing trend in the rainfall during the winter and pre monsoon seasons for zones 2, 3 and 4; whereas in the monsoon (rainy) season there is an increasing trend for zones 1, 4 and 5 with a level of significance ranging between 90-95%. On the other hand, the mean annual rainfall has an increasing trend at 99% significance level. The estimated seasonality index showed that the rainfall distribution is asymmetric and distributed over 3-4 months period. The study will help to understand the spatio-temporal variation of rainfall and to determine the correlation between the current rainfall trend and climate change scenario of the study region for multifarious use.

Keywords: Eastern India, long-term variability and trends, Mann-Kendall test, seasonality index, spatio-temporal variation

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Authors: Beloulou Mohamed Lamine, Fedili Benamar, Meliani Walid, Chaid Dalila, Lamara Abdelhak

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Introduction: Post-surgical chronic pain (PSCP) is a pathological condition with a rather complex etiopathogenesis that extensively involves sensitization processes and neuronal damage. The neuropathic component of these pains is almost always present, with variable expression depending on the type of surgery. Objective: To assess the presumed beneficial effect of Regional Anesthesia-Analgesia Techniques (RAAT) on the development of post-surgical chronic neuropathic pain (PSCNP) in various surgical procedures. Patients and Methods: A comparative study involving 510 patients distributed across five surgical models (mastectomy, thoracotomy, hernioplasty, cholecystectomy, and major abdominal-pelvic surgery) and randomized into two groups: Group A (240) receiving conventional postoperative analgesia and Group B (270) receiving balanced analgesia, including the implementation of a Regional Anesthesia-Analgesia Technique (RAAT). These patients were longitudinally followed over a 6-month period, with postsurgical chronic neuropathic pain (PSCNP) defined by a Neuropathic Pain Score DN2≥ 3. Comparative measurements through univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to identify associations between the development of PSCNP and certain predictive factors, including the presumed preventive impact (protective effect) of RAAT. Results: At the 6th month post-surgery, 419 patients were analyzed (Group A= 196 and Group B= 223). The incidence of PSCNP was 32.2% (n=135). Among these patients with chronic pain, the prevalence of neuropathic pain was 37.8% (95% CI: [29.6; 46.5]), with n=51/135. It was significantly lower in Group B compared to Group A, with respective percentages of 31.4% vs. 48.8% (p-value = 0.035). The most significant differences were observed in breast and thoracopulmonary surgeries. In a multiple regression analysis, two predictors of PSCNP were identified: the presence of preoperative pain at the surgical site as a risk factor (OR: 3.198; 95% CI [1.326; 7.714]) and RAAT as a protective factor (OR: 0.408; 95% CI [0.173; 0.961]). Conclusion: The neuropathic component of PSCNP can be observed in different types of surgeries. Regional analgesia included in a multimodal approach to postoperative pain management has proven to be effective for acute pain and seems to have a preventive impact on the development of PSCNP and its neuropathic nature, particularly in surgeries that are more prone to chronicization.

Keywords: post-surgical chronic pain, post-surgical chronic neuropathic pain, regional anesthesia-analgesia techniques, neuropathic pain score DN2, preventive impact

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Authors: Saeed Musaid H. Alzahrani

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The role of middle leaders, especially in primary schools, is a multi-faced role that has been subject to changes in nature over recent decades, with claims for more distributed leadership practices. This research examines the way 18 middle leaders in Saudi and English primary schools conceptualise their roles and responsibilities, and different factors influencing those roles and responsibilities. It begins from the premise that both the power of the role and the values of middle leaders are grounded in cultural and political bases, a belief held by the researcher as an 'insider' within the Saudi educational leadership context. The study consisted of a comparative analysis of the role and the responsibilities of middle leaders in Saudi primary schools and their equivalents in English primary schools. A purely qualitative methodological stance was adopted, using in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Middle leaders were asked to reflect deeply on their perceptions and understanding of their roles and explain what they thought influenced their daily practices and responsibilities. The findings suggest that the concept of middle leadership has been influenced by power imposed from above by political authority, via internal and external hierarchical structures, which shapes the nature of the role of the middle leaders and forces them to comply. Middle leaders seem to believe they have the power to make decisions and promote change, but these findings suggest that this is illusory. The power that keeps middle leaders performing is the power of their cultural and religious values. Those values are the resource to which they turn in their search for more energy when they lack support and are short of time taken. Middle leaders in Saudi, just like their equivalents in English schools must comply with the requirements of their role. However, Saudi middle leaders are given no leeway to make decisions or implement change, neither do they have the culture of collegiality that seems to give middle leaders in England more power over their resources and decisions. However, in neither educational setting have middle leaders been given the power to lead, so they remain managers rather than leaders. The findings of this research suggest that there are more similarities between the educational settings of Saudi and England than differences; and in the light of different factors identified in the study, suggest the establishment of a framework for middle leadership, in the hope of enhancing the way the role is practiced.

Keywords: middle leader, primary school, power, educational leadership, value, culture, model, Saudi Arabia, England

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Authors: Rehan Ullah

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The primary purpose of the study is to observe the relationship that exists between the organizational information technology (IT) capabilities and the organizational performance in China and Pakistan. Nations like China and Pakistan utilize modern techno-how to enhance their production endeavors. Therefore, making a wide-ranging comparison of the manufacturing services between China and Pakistan was chosen due to numerous reasons. One reason for carrying out this comparison is to determine how IT of the two countries enhances organizational competency on small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs). The study hypothesized that organizational IT capabilities (IT infrastructure, IT competence) have a positive influence on organizational performance and the strategic benefits of IT have a mediating effect on the relationship between IT capability and organizational performance. To investigate the relationship between IT capabilities and organizational performance, surveys were sent to managers of small, medium-sized manufacturing organizations located in the southwestern region, Sichuan province of China, and Pakistani companies, which are located in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. These cities were selected as typical representatives of each country. Organizational performance has been measured in terms of profitability, organizational success, growth, market share, and innovativeness. Out of 400 surveys distributed to different manufacturing organizations, 303 usable and valid responses were received that are analyzed in this research. The data were examined using SPSS and Smart PLS computer software. The results of the study, including the descriptive statistics of each variable, are used. The outer model has been measured with considerations to content validity, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. The path coefficients among the constructs were also computed when analyzing the structural model using the bootstrapping technique. The analysis of data from both China and Pakistan yields an identical but unique result. The results show that IT infrastructure, IT competence, strategic benefits of IT are all correlated to the performance of the organizations. Moreover, strategic benefits of IT have been proved to mediate the relationship between IT capabilities and organization performance. The author, concerning the role of IT on the performance of an organization, highlights the different aspects as well as its benefits in an organization. The overall study concludes several implications for both managers and academicians. It also provides the limitations of the study and offers recommendations for future studies and practice.

Keywords: organizational performance, IT capabilities, IT infrastructure, IT competence, strategic benefits of IT, China, Pakistan

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Authors: Desplanches Maxime

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Accurate estimation of the remaining useful life of lithium-ion batteries for electronic devices is crucial. Data-driven methodologies encounter challenges related to data volume and acquisition protocols, particularly in capturing a comprehensive range of aging indicators. To address these limitations, we propose a hybrid approach that integrates an electrochemical model with state-of-the-art data analysis techniques, yielding a comprehensive database. Our methodology involves infusing an aging phenomenon into a Newman model, leading to the creation of an extensive database capturing various aging states based on non-destructive parameters. This database serves as a robust foundation for subsequent analysis. Leveraging advanced data analysis techniques, notably principal component analysis and t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding, we extract pivotal information from the data. This information is harnessed to construct a regression function using either random forest or support vector machine algorithms. The resulting predictor demonstrates a 5% error margin in estimating remaining battery life, providing actionable insights for optimizing usage. Furthermore, the database was built from the Newman model calibrated for aging and performance using data from a European project called Teesmat. The model was then initialized numerous times with different aging values, for instance, with varying thicknesses of SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interphase). This comprehensive approach ensures a thorough exploration of battery aging dynamics, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of our predictive model. Of particular importance is our reliance on the database generated through the integration of the electrochemical model. This database serves as a crucial asset in advancing our understanding of aging states. Beyond its capability for precise remaining life predictions, this database-driven approach offers valuable insights for optimizing battery usage and adapting the predictor to various scenarios. This underscores the practical significance of our method in facilitating better decision-making regarding lithium-ion battery management.

Keywords: Li-ion battery, aging, diagnostics, data analysis, prediction, machine learning, electrochemical model, regression

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Authors: Andrea Corsale

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The historical and geographical regions of Banat and Crişana in Western Romania have long been characterized by a high degree of ethnic diversity. However, this traditionally complex cultural, linguistic, and religious mosaic has undergone a progressive simplification during the past century due to deportations, emigration, and assimilation, and both regions now have a large Romanian-speaking majority population. This contribution focuses on Jewish heritage in the two largest cities of these two regions, Timişoara (Banat) and Oradea (Crişana). The two cities shared some historical events but also went through different experiences, despite their relative geographic proximity. The Jewish community of Timişoara survived the Holocaust basically intact, an almost unique case in Central-Eastern Europe, but largely left the city after the war. Instead, the Jewish community of Oradea was almost completely deported and killed in Auschwitz, and a renewed post-war community gradually emigrated abroad in the following decades. The two Jewish communities are now very small in size but inherited a vast tangible and intangible heritage (synagogues, cemeteries, community buildings, characteristic architecture, memories, local traditions, and histories), partially restored and recovered in recent years. The author’s fieldwork shows that local Jewish stakeholders are aware of the potential of this heritage in terms of cultural and economic benefits, but significant weaknesses and concerns exist, as the small dimension of these communities, and their financial constraints, challenge their future role in the eventual promotion and management of this heritage, which is now basically in the hands of the non-Jewish public and private stakeholders. Projects, experiences, and views related to Jewish heritage conservation and promotion in these two contexts will be portrayed and analysed in order to contribute to a broader discussion on representations and narratives of minority heritage within cultural tourism development dynamics.

Keywords: Jewish heritage, ethnic minorities, heritage tourism, Romania

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Authors: Souzan Al Sayegh, Izzeldin Ibrahim, Mercia Van Der Walt, Mohamed Al-Kuwari

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Background: Walking is the most common form of physical activity which can promote a healthy well-being among people of different age groups. In this regard, pedometers are becoming more popular within research and are considered useful tools in monitoring physical activity levels based on individuals’ daily steps. A value of ˂5,000 steps/day is identified as a sedentary lifestyle index where individuals are physically inactive. Those achieving 5,000-7,499 steps/day have a low active lifestyle as they do not meet the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendations. Moreover, individuals achieving ≥7,500 steps/day are classified as physically active. The objective of this study is to assess the physical activity levels of adult population in Qatar through a pedometer-based program over a one-year period. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis, as part of a longitudinal study, was carried out over one year to assess the daily step count. 'Step into Health' is a community-based program launched by Aspire as an approach for the purpose of improving physical activity across the population of Qatar. The program involves the distribution of pedometers to registered members which is supported by a self-monitoring online account and linked to a web database. Daily habitual physical activity (daily total step count) was assessed through Omron HJ-324U pedometer. Analyses were done on data extracted from the web database. Results: A total of 1,988 members were included in this study (males: n=1,143, 57%; females: n=845, 43%). Average age was 37.8±10.9 years distributed as 60% of age between age 25-54 (n=1,186), 27% of age 45-64 (n=546), and 13% of age 18-24 years (n=256). Majority were non-Qataris, 81% (n=1,609) compared with 19% of the Qatari nationality (n=379). Average body mass index (BMI) was 27.8±6.1 (kg/m2) where most of them (41%, n=809) were found to be overweight, between 25-30 kg/m2. Total average step count was 5,469±3,884. Majority were found to be sedentary (n=1110, 55.8%). Middle aged individuals were more active than the other two age groups. Males were seen as more active than females. Those who were less active had a higher BMI. Older individuals were more active. There was a variation in the physical activity level throughout the year period. Conclusion: It is essential to further develop the available intervention programs and increase their physical activity behavior. Planning such physical activity interventions for female population should involve aspects such as time, environmental variables and aerobic steps.

Keywords: adults, pedometer, physical activity, step-count

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Authors: Abdulkarim Yusuf

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Motivation: A crucial but difficult goal for governments and policymakers in Nigeria in recent years has been the sustainability of economic growth. This goal must be accomplished by regulating or lowering greenhouse gas emissions, which calls for switching to a low- or zero-carbon production system. The lack of in-depth empirical studies on the environmental impact of socioeconomic variables on Nigeria and a number of unresolved issues from earlier research is what led to the current study. Objective: This study fills an important empirical gap by investigating the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and the long and short-run dynamic impact of socioeconomic variables on ecological sustainability in Nigeria. Data and method: Annual time series data covering the period 1980 to 2020 and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag technique in the presence of structural breaks were adopted for this study. Results: The empirical findings support the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for Nigeria in the long and short run. Energy consumption and total import exacerbate environmental deterioration in the long and short run, whereas total export improves environmental quality in the long and short run. Financial development, which contributed to a conspicuous decrease in the level of environmental destruction in the long run, escalated it in the short run. In contrast, urbanization caused a significant increase in environmental damage in the long run but motivated a decrease in biodiversity loss in the short run. Implications: The government, policymakers, and all energy stakeholders should take additional measures to ensure the implementation and diversification of energy sources to accommodate more renewable energy sources that emit less carbon in order to promote efficiency in Nigeria's production processes and lower carbon emissions. In order to promote the production and trade of environmentally friendly goods, they should also revise and strengthen environmental policies. With affordable, dependable, and sustainable energy use for higher productivity and inclusive growth, Nigeria will be able to achieve its long-term development goals of good health and wellbeing.

Keywords: economic growth, energy consumption, environmental degradation, environmental Kuznets curve, urbanization, Nigeria

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Authors: Nuttapimon Bhirommuang, Kulapong Jayanama

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Background: Prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized patient is higher than general population. As a result of the unawareness of consequence and the more concerning in the other aspects of care, many patients with high risk of malnutrition are unrecognized. Even if malnutrition has been identified as affecting in many patient outcomes, the impact may differ in each population and group of patients. Objectives: The aims of this study were to examine the association between the nutritional status and the length of stay and hospital costs in hospitalized patients, to investigate the factors related these outcomes and to determine the frequency of malnutrition in hospitals. Method: This retrospective cohort study enrolled all patients aged 15 years old or older and admitted in SDMC, Ramathibodi Hospital between 1st January 2016 and 30th September 2016. The nutritional status assessment by Nutrition Alert Form (NAF) was performed by well-trained nurses in all patients at admission. Baseline characteristics were recorded. Length of stay and hospital costs were collected during their hospitalization. Univariate analysis, nonparametric rank test, Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare means in the case of nonnormally and noncontinuously distributed data. Chi-square used to analyze categorical variables, the nutritional status and the length of stay and hospital costs and identify possible confounding factors (data were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0). Result: Of the 2,906 patients, 3.9% were severe malnutrition (NAF-C score > 10) and 11.4% were moderate malnutrition (NAF-B score 6 - 10). Both length of stay and hospital costs were found significantly higher in more severe malnutrition group (p < 0.001), NAF = A: 3.21 days, 95% CI 3.06-3.35 and 111,544.25 THB, 95% CI 106,994.41 – 116,094.1; NAF = B: 7.54 days, 95% CI 6.32 – 8.76 and 162,302.4 THB, 95% CI 129,557.88 – 195,046.92; NAF =C: 14.77 days, 95% CI 11.34 – 18.2 and 323,572.11 THB, 95% CI 226,958.1 – 420,096.13 (1 THB = 0.03019 USD). Age of each nutritional status group had also significant increase from NAF A to NAF C (p < 0.001): 55.07, 67.03 and 73.88 years old, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of malnutrition in Ramathibodi hospital is voluminous. Severe malnutrition screening by NAF is significantly correlated with worse clinical outcome, especially higher length of stay and hospital costs. Elderly is also a significant factor which correlates with malnutrition. The results of this study could change the awareness of health personnel and the practice protocol. Moreover, the further study concerning nutritional support in high-risk group of malnutrition is ongoing to confirm this hypothesis.

Keywords: malnutrition, NAF, length of stay, hospital costs

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Authors: Tareq Aljaber

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The number of mobile health apps is growing at a fast frequency as it's nearly doubled in a year between 2015 and 2016. Though, there is a lack of an effective evaluation framework to verify the usability and reliability of mobile phone health education applications which would help saving time and effort for the numerous user groups. This abstract describing a framework for evaluating mobile applications in specifically mobile health education applications, along with a guidance select tool to assist different users to select the most suitable mobile health education apps. The effective framework outcome is intended to meet the requirements and needs of the different stakeholder groups additionally to enhancing the development of mobile health education applications with software engineering approaches, by producing new and more effective techniques to evaluate such software. This abstract highlights the significance and consequences of mobile health education apps, before focusing the light on the required to create an effective evaluation framework for these apps. An explanation of the effective evaluation framework is going to be delivered in the abstract, beside with some specific evaluation metrics: an efficient hybrid of selected heuristic evaluation (HE) and usability evaluation (UE) metrics to enable the determination of the usefulness and usability of health education mobile apps. Moreover, an explanation of the qualitative and quantitative outcomes for the effective evaluation framework was accomplished using Epocrates mobile phone app in addition to some other mobile phone apps. This proposed framework-An Evaluation Framework for Mobile Health Education Apps-consists of a hybrid of 5 metrics designated from a larger set in usability evaluation and heuristic evaluation, illuminated grounded on 15 unstructured interviews from software developers (SD), health professionals (HP) and patients (P). These five metrics corresponding to explicit facets of usability recognised through a requirements analysis of typical stakeholders of mobile health apps. These five hybrid selected metrics were scattered across 24 specific questionnaire questions, which are available on request from first author. This questionnaire has been sent to 81 participants distributed in three sets of stakeholders from software developers (SD), health professionals (HP) and patients/general users (P/GU) on the purpose of ranking three sets of mobile health education applications. Finally, the outcomes from the questionnaire data helped us to approach our aims which are finding the profile for different stakeholders, finding the profile for different mobile health educations application packages, ranking different mobile health education application and guide us to build the select guidance too which is apart from the Evaluation Framework for Mobile Health Education Apps.

Keywords: evaluation framework, heuristic evaluation, usability evaluation, metrics

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Authors: J. Wozniak-Holecka, T. Holecki, P. Romaniuk

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Spa facilities are being perceived as the ways of healing treatment in Poland and are guaranteed within the public financing. The universal health insurance (National Health Fund, NFZ), and the disability prevention programme held by Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) are the main sources of financing spa facilities. The dominant public payer of spa services is the NFZ. The Social Insurance Institution covers the cost of health treatment realized in spa facilities as medical rehabilitation, in the field of disability prevention. Health services delivered in the spa resorts are characterized by complexity, and the combination of various methods, typical for health prevention, education, balneotherapy, and physiotherapy. Healing with natural methods, believed to enhance the therapeutic effect, is also involved in health spa treatment. Regardless of the type of facility, each form of spa treatment includes health promotion, health education, prevention at all levels, including rehabilitation. The aim of the study was to determine the optimal organization of health education process. Its efficiency strongly depends on the type of service provider and the funding institution (NFZ vs ZUS). It results from the use of different measures of the effectiveness, the quality and the evaluation of the process being assessed by funding institutions. The methods of the study include a comparative and descriptive quantitative and qualitative analysis. In the empirical part, a questionnaire had been developed. It was then distributed among spa personnel, responsible directly for the health promotion, and among patients who are beneficiaries of health services in spa centers. The quantitative part of the study was based on interviews carried with the use of the online survey (CAWI: Computer-Assisted Web Interview), telephone survey (CATI: Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) and a conventional questionnaire (PAPI: Paper over Pencil Interview). As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the effectiveness of health education activities in spa resort facilities in Poland is higher when the services are organized using structured tools for managerial control. This applies to formalized procedures implemented by one of the dominant payers covering costs of services (ZUS) and involves the application of health education as one of the mandatory elements of treatment, subjected to the process of control during the course of spa therapy and evaluation after it is completed.

Keywords: effectiveness, health education, public health system, spa treatment

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Authors: Feyzan Tuzkaya, Nihan S. Soylu, Caglar Solak, Mehmet Peker, Hilal Peker, Kemal Ozeralp, Ceren Mete, Ezgi Mehmetoglu, Mehmet Karasu, Cihan Elci, Ece Akca, Melek Goregenli

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Perception, evaluation and representation of the environment have been the subject of many disciplines including psychology, geography and architecture. In environmental and social psychology literature there are several evidences which suggest that cognitive representations about a place consisted of not only geographic items but also social and cultural. Mental representations of residence area or a country is influenced and determined by social-demographics, the physical and social context. Thus, all mental representations of a given place are also social representations. Cognitive maps are the main and common instruments that are used to identify spatial images and the difference between physical and subjective environments. The aim of the current study is investigating the mental and social representations of Turkey in university students’ minds. Data was collected from 249 university students from different departments (i.e. psychology, geography, history, tourism departments) of Ege University. Participants were requested to reflect Turkey in their mind onto the paper drawing sketch maps. According to the results, cognitive maps showed geographic aspects of Turkey as well as the context of symbolic, cultural and political reality of Turkey. That is to say, these maps had many symbolic and verbal items related to critics on social and cultural problems, ongoing ethnic and political conflicts, and actual political agenda of Turkey. Additionally, one of main differentiations in these representations appeared in terms of the East and West side of the Turkey, and the representations of the East and West was varied correspondingly participants’ cultural background, their ethnic values, and where they have born. The results of the study were discussed in environmental and social psychological perspective considering cultural and social values of Turkey and current political circumstances of the country.

Keywords: cognitive maps, East, West, politics, social representations, Turkey

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Authors: Massimo Miccoli, Luca Marangoni, Alberto Aniello Scaringi, Alessandro Marceddu, Alessandro Amicone

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The susceptibility of deep neural networks (DNNs) to adversarial manipulations is a recognized challenge within the computer vision domain. Adversarial examples, crafted by adding subtle yet malicious alterations to benign images, exploit this vulnerability. Various defense strategies have been proposed to safeguard DNNs against such attacks, stemming from diverse research hypotheses. Building upon prior work, our approach involves the utilization of autoencoder models. Autoencoders, a type of neural network, are trained to learn representations of training data and reconstruct inputs from these representations, typically minimizing reconstruction errors like mean squared error (MSE). Our autoencoder was trained on a dataset of benign examples; learning features specific to them. Consequently, when presented with significantly perturbed adversarial examples, the autoencoder exhibited high reconstruction errors. The architecture of the autoencoder was tailored to the dimensions of the images under evaluation. We considered various image sizes, constructing models differently for 256x256 and 512x512 images. Moreover, the choice of the computer vision model is crucial, as most adversarial attacks are designed with specific AI structures in mind. To mitigate this, we proposed a method to replace image-specific dimensions with a structure independent of both dimensions and neural network models, thereby enhancing robustness. Our multi-modal autoencoder reconstructs the spectral representation of images across the red-green-blue (RGB) color channels. To validate our approach, we conducted experiments using diverse datasets and subjected them to adversarial attacks using models such as ResNet50 and ViT_L_16 from the torch vision library. The autoencoder extracted features used in a classification model, resulting in an MSE (RGB) of 0.014, a classification accuracy of 97.33%, and a precision of 99%.

Keywords: adversarial attacks, malicious images detector, binary classifier, multimodal transformer autoencoder

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Authors: N. L. Letsoalo, H. T. Pule, J. T. Tjelele, N. R. Mkhize, K. R. Mbatha

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Rangelands are major feed resource for livestock farming in South Africa, despite being subjected to different forms of degradation. These forms of degradation are as a result of inappropriate veld and livestock management practices such as excessive stocking rates. While information on judicious veld management is available, adoption of appropriate practices is still unsatisfactory and seems to depend partly on the type of land ownership of farmers. The objectives of this study were to; (I) compare rangeland condition (species richness, basal cover, veld condition score, and herbaceous biomass) among three land ownership types (leased land, communal land and private land), and (II) determine the relationships between veld condition score (%) and herbaceous biomass (kg DM/ha) production. Vegetation was assessed at fifty farms under different land use types using nearest plant technique. Grass species composition and forage value were estimated using PROC FREQ procedure of SAS 9.3. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine significant differences (P < 0.05) in species richness, basal cover, veld condition (%) large stock units, grazing capacity and herbaceous biomass production among the three grazing systems. A total of 28 grass species were identified, of which 95% and 5% were perennials and annuals, respectively. The most commonly distributed and highly palatable grass species, Digitaria eriantha had significantly higher frequency under private owned lands (32.3 %) compared to communal owned lands (12.3%). There were no significant difference on grass species richness and basal cover among land ownership types (P > 0.05). There were significant differences on veld condition score and biomass production (P < 0.05). Private lands had significantly higher (69.63%) veld condition score than leased (56.07%) and communal lands (52.55%). Biomass production was significantly higher (± S.E.) 2990.30 ± 214 kg DM/ha on private owned lands, compared to leased lands 2069.85 ± 196 kg DM/ha and communal lands 1331.04 ± 102 kg DM/ha. Biomass production was positively correlated with rangeland condition (r = 0.895; P < 0.005). These results suggest that rangeland conditions on communal and leased lands are in poor condition than those on private lands. More research efforts are needed to improve management of rangelands in communal and leased land in Gauteng province.

Keywords: grazing, herbaceous biomass, management practices, species richness

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Authors: Kittitara Chunlakittiphan, Patompong Satapornpong

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Introduction: The variation of genetics affects how our body responds to pharmaceuticals elucidates the correlation between long-term use of medical cannabis and adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Medical cannabis is regarded as the treatment for chronic pain, cancer pain, acute pain, psychological disorders, multiple sclerosis and migraine management. However, previous studies have shown that delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an ingredient found in cannabis, was the cause of ADRs in CB1 receptors found in humans. Previous research suggests that distributions of the cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor gene and pharmacogenetic markers, which vary amongst different populations, might affect incidences of ADRs. Although there is an evident need to investigate the level of the CB1 receptor gene (rs806365), studies on the distribution of CB1-pharmacogenetics markers in Thai patients are limited. Objective: Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of the rs806365 polymorphism in Thai patients who have been treated with medical cannabis. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 31 Thai patients with THC-induced ADRs and 34 THC-tolerant controls to take part in this study. All patients with THC-induced ADRs were accessed through a review of medical records by physicians. EDTA blood of 3ml was collected to obtain the CNR1 gene (rs806365) and genotyping of this gene was conducted using the real-time PCR ViiA7 (ABI, Foster City, CA, USA) following the manufacturer’s instruction. Results: The sample consisted of 65 patients (40/61.54%) were females and (25/38.46%) were males, with an age range of 19-87 years, who have been treated with medical cannabis. In this study, the most common THC-induced ADRs were dry mouth and/or dry throat, tachycardia, nausea, and arrhythmia. Across the whole sample, we found that 52.31% of Thai patients carried a heterozygous variant (rs806365, CT allele). Moreover, the number of rs806365 (CC, homozygous variant) carriers totaled seventeen people (26.15%) amongst the subjects of Thai patients treated with medical cannabis. Furthermore, 17 out of 22 patients (77.27%) who experienced severe ADRs: Tachycardia and/or arrhythmia, carried an abnormal rs806365 gene (CT and CC alleles). Conclusions: The results propose that the rs806365 gene is widely distributed amongst the Thai population and there is a link between this gene and vulnerability to developing THC-induced ADRs after being treated with medical cannabis. Therefore, it is necessary to screen for the rs806365 gene before using medical cannabis to treat a patient.

Keywords: rs806365, THC-induced adverse drug reactions, CB1 receptor, Thai population

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Authors: P. Caimmi, E. Bele, A. Abolfathi

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Lattice materials are cellular structures composed of a periodic network of beams. They offer high weight-specific mechanical properties and lend themselves to numerous weight-sensitive applications. The periodic internal structure responds to external vibrations through characteristic frequency bandgaps, making these materials suitable for the reduction of noise and vibration. However, the deviation from architectural homogeneity, due to, e.g., manufacturing imperfections, has a strong influence on the mechanical properties and vibration response of these materials. In this work, we present results on the influence of geometric imperfections on the vibration response of hexagonal lattices. Three classes of geometrical variables are used: the characteristics of the architecture (relative density, ligament length/cell size ratio), imperfection type (degree of non-periodicity, cracks, hard inclusions) and defect morphology (size, distribution). Test specimens with controlled size and distribution of imperfections are manufactured through selective laser sintering. The Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) in the form of accelerance are measured, and the modal shapes are captured through a high-speed camera. The finite element method is used to provide insights on the extension of these results to semi-infinite lattices. An updating procedure is conducted to increase the reliability of numerical simulation results compared to experimental measurements. This is achieved by updating the boundary conditions and material stiffness. Variations in FRFs of periodic structures due to changes in the relative density of the constituent unit cell are analysed. The effects of geometric imperfections on the dynamic response of periodic structures are investigated. The findings can be used to open up the opportunity for tailoring these lattice materials to achieve optimal amplitude attenuations at specific frequency ranges.

Keywords: lattice architectures, geometric imperfections, vibration attenuation, experimental modal analysis

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Authors: Dalma Varga, Nora Hubayne H.

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Nowadays, among the measures taken to offset the consequences of climate change, water resources management is one of the key tools, which can include excess water management. As a result of climate change’s effects and as a result of the frequent inappropriate landuse, more and more areas are affected by the excess water inundation. Hungary is located in the deepest part of the Pannonian Basin, which is exposed to water damage – especially lowland areas that are endangered by floods or excess waters. The periodical presence of excess water creates specific habitats in a given area, which have ecological, functional, and aesthetic values. Excess water inundation affects approximately 74% of Hungary’s lowland areas, of which about 46% is also under nature protection (such as national parks, protected landscape areas, nature conservation areas, Natura 2000 sites, etc.). These data prove that areas exposed to excess water inundation – which are predominantly characterized by agricultural land uses – have an important ecological role. Other research works have confirmed the presence of numerous rare and endangered plant species in drainage canals, on grasslands exposed to excess water, and on special agricultural fields with mud vegetation. The goal of this research is to define and analyze ecosystem services of areas exposed to excess water inundation. In addition to this, it is also important to determine the quantified indicators of these areas’ natural and landscape values besides the presence of protected species and the naturalness of habitats, so all in all, to analyze the various nature protections related to excess water. As a result, a practice-orientated assessment method has been developed that provides the ecological water demand, assimilates to ecological and habitat aspects, contributes to adaptive excess water management, and last but not least, increases or maintains the share of the green infrastructure network. In this way, it also contributes to reduce and mitigate the negative effects of climate change.

Keywords: ecosystem services, landscape architecture, excess water management, green infrastructure planning

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Authors: Aleksandra Tomic

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According to reliable sources, 4% of all websites is devoted to pornographic material, yet these estimates are often reported to be much higher. The largest internet pornography streaming website reports 21.2 billion visits in 2015 only. Considering the ubiquity of online pornography and the frequency of use, it is necessary to examine its potential influence on the construal of the sexual act and the roles of participants. Apart from the verbal and physical interactions in the pornographic movies themselves, the language in the titles of movies has the power to frame the sexual intercourse. In this study, Critical Discourse Analysis and corpus linguistics approaches will be used to examine the way the sexual intercourse and the roles of the participants are ideologically construed and perpetuated in the Internet pornography discourse. To this end, the study will explore the association between the specific morphosyntactic aspects of the references to performers of both genders, the person and the thematic role, and the gender of referred performer in the corpus of online pornographic movie titles. Distinctive collexeme analysis will be conducted to uncover possible associations between for gender of the performer denoted by the linguistic expression, and the person and thematic role assigned to it in the titles of online pornography movies. Initial results of the chi-square procedure performed on a sample of 295 online pornography movie titles on the largest pornography streaming website ‘Pornhub’ yielded significant results. The use of the three person categories was not equally distributed between genders, X2 (2, N = 106) = 32.52, p < 0.001, with female performers being referred to in the third person in 71.7% of the instances, and speaking in the first person 20.8% of the time, whereas male performers spoke in the first person 68% of the time, and were referred to in the third person in 17% of the instances. Moreover, there was a gender disparity in the assignment of thematic roles, with linguistic expressions for women being assigned the Patient role and men the Agent role in 58.8% of the cases, whereas the roles were reversed in 41.2% of the instances, X2 (1, N = 262) = 8.07633, p < 0.005. The results are discussed in terms of the ideologies surrounding female and male sexuality in the pornography discourse. Potential patterns of power imbalance, objectification, and discrimination are highlighted. Finally, the evidence from psycholinguistic studies on the influence of the language structure on event construal is related to the results of the study.

Keywords: corpus linguistics, gender studies, pornography, thematic roles

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