Search results for: goal clarity

Authors: Miguel Costa

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Despite the "time" element being an intrinsic characteristic of the work with the landscape, its execution and completion are also often dependent on external factors, i.e., the slow bureaucratic procedures required for the implementation of a project. In the urban areas of the city, these conditions are even more present — some landscape projects are articulated with the architectural/urban design, transporting itself long, expensive and inflexible processes related with the constant transformations of contemporary urban culture, where the needs and expectations could change before the project is finished. However, despite the renewed interest and growing concern for issues related to the landscapes (particularly since the European Landscape Convention, its scope and fields of action, extended to all the landscapes and not just the selected ones), still lacks the need for a greater inclusion of citizens in its protection and construction processes as well as a greater transparency and clarity of the consequences and results of their active participation. This article aims to reflect on the production processes of urban landscapes, on its completion runtime and its relationship with the citizens by introducing temporary projects as a fieldwork methodology, as well as using the contribution of different professional practices and knowledge for its monitoring, execution, and implementation. These strategies address a more interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and performative approach, not only from the ephemeral experience of objects and actions but also from the processes and the dynamic events that are organized from these objects and actions over the landscape. The goal is to discuss the results of these approaches on its different dimensions: critical dimension; experimental and strategic dimension; pedagogical dimension; political dimension; cultural.

Keywords: landscape fieldwork, interdisciplinarity, public inclusion, public participation, temporary projects, transdisciplinarity

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Authors: Turki Mohammed Al Mohaid

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High arousal may lead to inhibited athletic performance, or high positive arousal may enhance performance is controversial. To evaluate and review this issue, 31 athletes (all male) were induced into high pre-determined goal arousal and high arousal without pre-determined goal motivational states and tested on a standard grip strength task. Paced breathing was used to change psychological and physiological arousal. It was noted that significant increases in grip strength performance occurred when arousal was high and experienced as delighted, happy, and pleasant excitement in those with no pre-determined goal motivational states. Blood pressure, heart rate, and other indicators of physiological activity were not found to mediate between psychological arousal and performance. In a situation where athletic performance necessitates maximal motor strength over a short period, performance benefits of high arousal may be enhanced by designing a specific motivational state.

Keywords: high arousal, athletic, performance, physiological

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Authors: Thomas E. Portegys

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An animal behavior problem is presented in the form of a nest-building task that involves two cooperating virtual birds, a male and female. The female builds a nest into which she lays an egg. The male's job is to forage in a forest for food for both himself and the female. In addition, the male must fetch stones from a nearby desert for the female to use as nesting material. The task is completed when the nest is built, and an egg is laid in it. A goal-seeking neural network and a recurrent neural network were trained and tested with little success. The goal-seeking network was then enhanced with “place cells”, allowing the birds to spatially navigate the world, building the nest while keeping themselves fed. Place cells are neurons in the hippocampus that map space.

Keywords: artificial animal intelligence, artificial life, goal-seeking neural network, nest-building, place cells, spatial navigation

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Authors: K. Kiniwa, S. Kitagawa, M. Kawamoto, H. Uchiyama

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This study aims to identify phenomenologically the embodiment of soccer in order to analyze soccer games. In this paper the authors focused on the embodiment of sports and the embodiment of the goal type ball games of team sports. The authors revealed that the embodiment of sports is represented by inverse proportional body. It is possible for this structure (body scheme) of intercorporeality of sports to be compared to the symbolic figure of Uroboros which is a monster connected the tails of two snakes. The embodiment of the goal type ball games of team sports has dependency on situation and complexity. In doing this, it revealed that soccer is sensitive and emotional sports.

Keywords: intercorporeality, structure, body scheme, Uroboros, inverse proportional body, dependency on situation, complexity

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Authors: Jiraporn Weenuttranon

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The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) shall be the goal of regional economic integration among ASEAN countries. The goal of establishing AEC is to transform the region into a single market and production base with a highly competitive advantage to make it a stable and prosperous region. However, with the wild range of economic conditions in each country, the implementation of its objectives under the limited resources available in the past showed the weakness of the region. For this reason, the group of countries in the region should allocate its rich potential of the region by collaborating effectively.

Keywords: impact, AEC, influence, direction, politics, Thailand

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Authors: Mami Miyasaka, Kaichi Yanaoka

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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity; symptoms often manifest during childhood. In children with ADHD, the development of inhibitory processes is impaired. Inhibitory control allows people to avoid processing unnecessary stimuli and to behave appropriately in various situations; thus, people with ADHD require interventions to improve inhibitory control. Positive or negative reinforcements (i.e., reward or punishment) help improve the performance of children with such difficulties. However, in order to optimize impact, reward and punishment must be presented immediately following the relevant behavior. In regular elementary school classrooms, such supports are uncommon; hence, an alternative practical intervention method is required. One potential intervention involves setting goals to keep children motivated to perform tasks. This study examined whether goal setting improved inhibitory performances, especially for children with severe ADHD-related symptoms. We also focused on giving feedback on children's task performances. We expected that giving children feedback would help them set reasonable goals and monitor their performance. Feedback can be especially effective for children with severe ADHD-related symptoms because they have difficulty monitoring their own performance, perceiving their errors, and correcting their behavior. Our prediction was that goal setting by itself would be effective for children with mild ADHD-related symptoms, and goal setting based on feedback would be effective for children with severe ADHD-related symptoms. Japanese elementary school children and their parents were the sample for this study. Children performed two kinds of go/no-go tasks, and parents completed a checklist about their children's ADHD symptoms, the ADHD Rating Scale-IV, and the Conners 3rd edition. The go/no-go task is a cognitive task to measure inhibitory performance. Children were asked to press a key on the keyboard when a particular symbol appeared on the screen (go stimulus) and to refrain from doing so when another symbol was displayed (no-go stimulus). Errors obtained in response to a no-go stimulus indicated inhibitory impairment. To examine the effect of goal-setting on inhibitory control, 37 children (Mage = 9.49 ± 0.51) were required to set a performance goal, and 34 children (Mage = 9.44 ± 0.50) were not. Further, to manipulate the presence of feedback, in one go/no-go task, no information about children’s scores was provided; however, scores were revealed for the other type of go/no-go tasks. The results revealed a significant interaction between goal setting and feedback. However, three-way interaction between ADHD-related inattention, feedback, and goal setting was not significant. These results indicated that goal setting was effective for improving the performance of the go/no-go task only with feedback, regardless of ADHD severity. Furthermore, we found an interaction between ADHD-related inattention and feedback, indicating that informing inattentive children of their scores made them unexpectedly more impulsive. Taken together, giving feedback was, unexpectedly, too demanding for children with severe ADHD-related symptoms, but the combination of goal setting with feedback was effective for improving their inhibitory control. We discuss effective interventions for children with ADHD from the perspective of goal setting and feedback. This work was supported by the 14th Hakuho Research Grant for Child Education of the Hakuho Foundation.

Keywords: attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, feedback, goal-setting, go/no-go task, inhibitory control

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Authors: Devasheesh Mathur

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The presentation reviews the literature on the phenomenon of policy innovation. Policy innovation refers to a shift in the way policy is made or executed. The paper covers comprehensively on the definition and also the various types of policy innovations. The emphasis is on the antecedents or the determinants of innovation in policies. The author has then made an effort to discover the knowledge gap in the field of policy innovation so as to identify the future scope of research. The objective is to lend more clarity in the area of policy innovation and help in creating a framework for policy-makers as well as academics.

Keywords: literature review, policy innovation, determinants, antecedents

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Authors: G. Yanay-Ventura, H. Desivilya Syna, K. Michael

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Social businesses are based on the idea that an enterprise can be established for the sake of profit and, at the same time, with the aim of fulfilling social goals. Yet, the question of how these goals can be integrated in practice to derive parallel benefit in both realms still needs to be examined. Particularly notable in this context is the ‘governance challenge’ of social businesses, meaning the danger of the mission drifts from the social goal in the pursuit of good business. This study is based on an evaluation study of a social business that operates as a restaurant providing professional training to at-risk youth. The evaluation was based on the collection of a variety of data through interviews with stakeholders in the enterprise (directors and managers, business partners, social partners, and position holders in the restaurant and the social enterprise), a focus group consisting of the youth receiving the professional training, observations of the restaurant’s operation, and analysis of the social enterprise’s primary documents. The evaluation highlighted significant strengths of the social enterprise, including reaching relatively fast business sustainability, effective management of the restaurant, stable employment of the restaurant staff, and effective management of the social project. The social enterprise and business management have both enjoyed positive evaluations from a variety of stakeholders. Clearly, the restaurant was deemed by all a promising young business. However, the social project suffered from a 90% dropout rate among the youth entering its ranks, extreme monthly fluctuation in the number of youths participating, and a distinct minority of the youth who have succeeded in completing their training period. Possible explanations of the high dropout rate included the small number of cooks, which impeded the effectiveness of the training process and the provision of advanced cooking skills; lack of clarity regarding the essence and the elements of training; and lack of a meaningful peer group for the youth engaged in the program. Paradoxically, despite the stakeholders’ great appreciation for the social enterprise, the challenge of governability was also formidable, revealing a tangible risk of mission drift in the reduction of the social enterprise’s target population and a breach of the commitment made to the youth with regard to practical training. The risk of mission drifts emerged as a hidden and evasive issue for the stakeholders, who revealed a deep appreciation for the management and the outcomes of the social enterprise. The challenge of integration, therefore, requires an in-depth examination of how to maintain a successful business without hindering the achievement of the social goal. The study concludes that clear conceptualization of the training process and its aims, increased cooks’ participation in the social project, and novel conceptions with regard to the evaluation of success could serve to benefit the youth and impede mission drift.

Keywords: evaluation study, management, mission drift, social business

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Authors: Alexandra O. Savinkina

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We proposed to assess the cohesion of a football team by its subject-goal and subject-value unity according to the A.V. Petrovsky theory. Goal unity was measured by the degree of compliance of the priority targets for various players in the team. Values were estimated by the coincidence of the ideas about a perfect football player. On the basis of the provisional diagnosis of the six teams, we had made the lists of goals and values. The tests were piloted on 35 football teams. The results allowed not only to compare quantitatively the cohesion of the different teams, but also to identify subgroups within the team.

Keywords: cohesion, football, psychodiagnostic, soccer, sports team, value-orientation unity

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Authors: Bruno de Almeida Vilela, Heinz Ahn, Ana Lúcia Miranda Lopes, Marcelo Azevedo Costa

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Benchmarking public utilities such as transmission system operators (TSOs) is one of the main strategies employed by regulators in order to fix monopolistic companies’ revenues. Since 2007 the Brazilian regulator has been utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to benchmark TSOs. Despite the application of DEA to improve the transmission sector’s efficiency, some problems can be pointed out, such as the high price of electricity in Brazil; the limitation of the benchmarking only to operational expenses (OPEX); the absence of variables that represent the outcomes of the transmission service; and the presence of extremely low and high efficiencies. As an alternative to the current concept of benchmarking the Brazilian regulator uses, we propose a goal-oriented approach. Our proposal supports input/output selection by taking traditional organizational goals and measures as a basis for the selection of factors for benchmarking purposes. As the main advantage, it resolves the classical DEA problems of input/output selection, undesirable and dual-role factors. We also provide a demonstration of our goal-oriented concept regarding service quality. As a result, most TSOs’ efficiencies in Brazil might improve when considering quality as important in their efficiency estimation.

Keywords: decision making, goal-oriented benchmarking, input/output factor determination, TSO regulation

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Authors: Mehrnoosh Askarizadeh

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The increasing variations of the business world correspond with a high diversity of theoretical perspectives used in project management research. This diversity is reflected by a variety of influencing factors, which have been the subject of empirical studies. This article aims to systemize the different streams of research on the basis of a literature review and at developing a research framework influencing factors. We will identify fundamental elements of a project management theory. The framework consists of three dimensions: design, context, and goal. Its purpose is to support the combination of different perspectives and the development of strategies for further research.

Keywords: project, goal, project management, influencing factors

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Authors: Hadi Gholizadeh, Ali Tajdin

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To have effective production planning, it is necessary to control the quality of processes. This paper aims at improving the performance of the disposable essentials process using statistical quality control and goal programming in a vague environment. That is expressed uncertainty because there is always a measurement error in the real world. Therefore, in this study, the conditions are examined in a vague environment that is a distance-based environment. The disposable essentials process in Kach Company was studied. Statistical control tools were used to characterize the existing process for four factor responses including the average of disposable glasses’ weights, heights, crater diameters, and volumes. Goal programming was then utilized to find the combination of optimal factors setting in a vague environment which is measured to apply uncertainty of the initial information when some of the parameters of the models are vague; also, the fuzzy regression model is used to predict the responses of the four described factors. Optimization results show that the process capability index values for disposable glasses’ average of weights, heights, crater diameters and volumes were improved. Such increasing the quality of the products and reducing the waste, which will reduce the cost of the finished product, and ultimately will bring customer satisfaction, and this satisfaction, will mean increased sales.

Keywords: goal programming, quality control, vague environment, disposable glasses’ optimization, fuzzy regression

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Authors: Lindsay Foreman

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Introduction: Goals have become synonymous with the quest for the good life and the pursuit of happiness, with coaching and positive psychology gaining popularity as an approach in recent decades. And yet mental health is on the rise and the leading cause of disability, wellbeing is on the decline, stress is leading to 50-60% of workday absences and the need for action is indisputable and urgent. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to better understand two things we cannot see, but that play the most significant role in these outcomes - what we think and how we feel. With many working on the assumption that positive thinking and an optimistic outlook are necessary or valuable components of goal pursuit, this study uncovers the reality of the ‘inner-game’ from the coachee's perspective. Method: With a mixed methods design using a Q Method study of subjectivity to ‘make the unseen seen’. First, a wide-ranging universe of subjective thoughts and feelings experienced during goal pursuit are explored. These are generated from literature and a Qualtrics survey to create a Q-Set of 40 statements. Then 19 participants in professional and organisational settings offer their perspectives on these 40 Q-Set statements. Each rank them in a semi-forced distribution from ‘most like me’ to ‘least like me’ using Q-Sort software. From these individual perspectives, clusters of perspectives are identified using factor analysis and four distinct viewpoints have emerged. Findings: These Goal Pursuit Viewpoints offer insight into the states and self-talk experienced by coachees and may not reflect the assumption of positive thinking associated with achieving goals. The four Viewpoints are 1) the Optimistic View, 2) the Realistic View 3) The Dreamer View and 4) The Conflicted View. With only a quarter of the Dreamer View, and a third of the Optimistic view going on to achieve their goals, these assumptions need review. And with all the Realistic Views going on to achieve their goals, the role of self-doubt, overwhelm and anxiousness in goal achievement cannot be overlooked. Contribution: This study offers greater insight and understanding of people's inner experiences as they pursue goals and highlights the necessary and normal negative states associated with goal achievement. It also offers a practical tool of the Q-set statements to help coaches and coachees explore the current state and help navigate the journey towards goal achievement. It calls into question whether goals should always be part of coaching and if values, identity, and purpose may play a greater role than goals.

Keywords: coaching, goals, positive psychology, mindset, leadership, mental health, beliefs, cognition, emotional intelligence

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Authors: Pouya Vakili

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Since computers were first introduced into educational facilities, foreign language educators have been faced with the problem of integrating high-tech multimedia techniques into a traditional text-based curriculum. As studies of language teaching have pointed out, ‘Language teaching tends in practice to be eclectic…. There are not only exceptionally many paths and educational means for arriving at a given educational goal, but there are also many types of educational materials which can be used to achieve that goal’. For language educators who are trying to incorporate technology into their curricula, the choices seem endless. Yet the quantity, as well as the limitations, of available computer programs does not guarantee that these programs can be successfully integrated into a curriculum.

Keywords: curriculum, language teaching, learning, multimedia, technology

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Authors: Lavanya Ratnabala, Robinroy Peter, E. Y. A. Charles

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This research paper addresses the challenges of exploration and navigation in unknown environments from an evolutionary swarm robotics perspective. Path formation plays a crucial role in enabling cooperative swarm robots to accomplish these tasks. The paper presents a method called the sub-goal-based path formation, which establishes a path between two different locations by exploiting visually connected sub-goals. Simulation experiments conducted in the Argos simulator demonstrate the successful formation of paths in the majority of trials. Furthermore, the paper tackles the problem of inter-collision (traffic) among a large number of robots engaged in path formation, which negatively impacts the performance of the sub-goal-based method. To mitigate this issue, a task allocation strategy is proposed, leveraging local communication protocols and light signal-based communication. The strategy evaluates the distance between points and determines the required number of robots for the path formation task, reducing unwanted exploration and traffic congestion. The performance of the sub-goal-based path formation and task allocation strategy is evaluated by comparing path length, time, and resource reduction against the A* algorithm. The simulation experiments demonstrate promising results, showcasing the scalability, robustness, and fault tolerance characteristics of the proposed approach.

Keywords: swarm, path formation, task allocation, Argos, exploration, navigation, sub-goal

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Authors: Hedia Mhiri Sellami

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This case study used the principles of the flipped classroom (FC) in courses dealing with the use of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in three business curricula. The FC was used because our first goal is to devote more time to practice the theoretical concepts, so, before the class session, students had to watch videos introducing the concept they will learn. The videos weren't designed for our course, they are on Youtube and correspond to real cases of the ICT use in companies. This choice was also made in order to meet our second goal; it was to motivate students by showing them that the aspects covered by the course are very useful in the business. This case study reinforced the positive reputation of the FC as it was globally appreciated by our students. Beside, we managed to achieve our objectives relating to the motivation and application of concepts studied.

Keywords: flipped classroom, business, ICT, video, learning

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Authors: Didem Can

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Scheduling problems are one of the most fundamental issues of production systems. Many different approaches and models have been developed according to the production processes of the parts and the main purpose of the problem. In this study, one of the bottleneck stations of a company serving in the aerospace industry is analyzed and considered as a single machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times. The objective of the problem is assigning a large number of similar parts to the same shift -to reduce chemical waste- while minimizing the number of tardy jobs. The goal programming method will be used to achieve two different objectives simultaneously. The assignment of parts to the shift will be expressed using the integer programming method. Finally, the constraint programming method will be used as it provides a way to find a result in a short time by avoiding worse resulting feasible solutions with the defined variables set. The model to be established will be tested and evaluated with real data in the application part.

Keywords: constraint programming, goal programming, integer programming, sequence-dependent setup, single machine scheduling

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Authors: M. C. A. Leite, B. Chen-Charpentier, F. Agusto

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A long-term goal of sustainable forest management is a relatively stable source of wood and a stable forest age-class structure has become the goal of many forest management practices. In the absence of disturbances, this forest management goal could easily be achieved. However, in the face of recurring insect outbreaks and other disruptive processes forest planning becomes more difficult, requiring knowledge of the effects on the forest of a wide variety of environmental factors (e.g., habitat heterogeneity, fire size and frequency, harvesting, insect outbreaks, and age distributions). The association between distinct forest disturbances and the potential effect on forest dynamics is a complex matter, particularly when evaluated over time and at large scale, and is not well understood. However, gaining knowledge in this area is crucial for a sustainable forest management. Mathematical modeling is a tool that can be used to broader the understanding in this area. In this talk we will introduce mathematical models formulation incorporating the effect of insect outbreaks either as a single disturbance in the forest population dynamics or coupled with other disturbances: either wildfire or harvesting. The results and ecological insights will be discussed.

Keywords: age-structured forest population, disturbances interaction, harvesting insects outbreak dynamics, mathematical modeling

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Authors: Snehal G. Teli, R. J. Shelke

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CNN and MultiUNet models are the framework for the proposed method for enhancing and reconstructing underwater images. Multiscale merging of features and regeneration are both performed by the MultiUNet. CNN collects relevant features. Extensive tests on benchmark datasets show that the proposed strategy performs better than the latest methods. As a result of this work, underwater images can be represented and interpreted in a number of underwater applications with greater clarity. This strategy will advance underwater exploration and marine research by enhancing real-time underwater image processing systems, underwater robotic vision, and underwater surveillance.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, image enhancement, machine learning, multiunet, underwater images

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Authors: Tim J. Walsh, Lindsay E. Young, John A. Schneider

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Background: The disproportionate rate of HIV infection among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) in the United States suggest the importance of Preexposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) interventions for this population. As such, there is an urgent need for innovative outreach strategies that extend beyond the traditional patient-provider relationship to reach at-risk populations. Training members of the BMSM community as peer change agents (PCAs) is one such strategy. An important piece of this training is goal-setting. Goal-setting not only encourages PCAs to define the parameters of the intervention according to their lived experience, it also helps them plan courses of action. Therefore, the aims of this mixed methods study are: (1) Characterize the goals that BMSM set at the end of their PrEP training and (2) Assess the relationship between goal types and PCA engagement. Methods: Between March 2016 and July 2016, preliminary data were collected from 68 BMSM, ages 18-33, in Chicago as part of an ongoing PrEP intervention. Once enrolled, PCAs participate in a half-day training in which they learn about PrEP, practice initiating conversations about PrEP, and identify strategies for supporting at-risk peers through the PrEP adoption process. Training culminates with a goal-setting exercise, whereby participants establish a goal related to their role as a PCA. Goals were coded for features that either emerged from the data itself or existed in extant goal-setting literature. The main outcomes were (1) number of PrEP conversations PCAs self-report during booster conversations two weeks following the intervention and (2) number of peers PCAs recruit into the study that completed the PrEP workshop. Results: PCA goals (N=68) were characterized in terms of four features: Specificity, target population, personalization, and purpose defined. To date, PCAs report a collective 52 PrEP conversations. 56, 25, and 6% of PrEP conversations occurred with friends, family, and sexual partners, respectively. PCAs with specific goals had more PrEP conversations with at-risk peers compared to those with vague goals (58% vs. 42%); PCAs with personalized goals had more PrEP conversations compared to those with de-personalized goals (60% vs. 53%); and PCAs with goals that defined a purpose had more PrEP conversations compared to those who did not define a purpose (75% vs. 52%). 100% of PCAs with goals that defined a purpose recruited peers into the study compared to 45 percent of PCAs with goals that did not define a purpose. Conclusion: Our preliminary analysis demonstrates that BMSM are motivated to set and work toward a diverse set of goals to support peers in PrEP adoption. PCAs with goals involving a clearly defined purpose had more PrEP conversations and greater peer recruitment than those with goals lacking a defined purpose. This may indicate that PCAs who define their purpose at the outset of their participation will be more engaged in the study than those who do not. Goal-setting may be considered as a component of future HIV prevention interventions to advance intervention goals and as an indicator of PCAs understanding of the intervention.

Keywords: HIV prevention, MSM, peer change agent, preexposure prophylaxis

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Authors: Begüm Terzi, Özlem Ateş Sönmezoğlu, Kerime Özkay, Ahmet Yıldırım

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In plant biotechnology, electrophoresis is used to detect nucleic acids. Ethidium bromide (EtBr) is used as an intercalator dye to stain DNA in agarose gel electrophoresis, but this dye is mutagenic and carcinogenic. In this study, a visible, reliable and organic Ruthenium-based dye (N-719) for staining plant DNA in comparison to EtBr. When prestaining and post-staining for gel electrophoresis, N-719 stained both DNA and PCR product bands with the same clarity as EtBr. The organic dye N-719 stained DNA bands as sensitively and as clearly as EtBr. The organic dye was found to have staining activity suitable for the identification of DNA.Consequently, N-719 organic dye can be used to stain and visualize DNA during gel electrophoresis as alternatives to EtBr in plant biotechnology studies.

Keywords: agarose gel, DNA staining, organic dye, N-719

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Authors: Fatma Khadra

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The objective of this research is to identify the acceptance of new technology in a sample of 150 Participants from Qatar University. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we used the Davis’s scale (1989) which contains two item scales for Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use. The TAM represents an important theoretical contribution toward understanding how users come to accept and use technology. This model suggests that when people are presented with a new technology, a number of variables influence their decision about how and when they will use it. The results showed that participants accept more technology because flexibility, clarity, enhancing the experience, enjoying, facility, and useful. Also, results showed that younger participants accept more technology than others.

Keywords: new technology, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, technology acceptance model

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Authors: Caleb B. Sagwa, Tobias O. Okeno, Alexander K. Kahi

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Dairy cattle production plays an important role in the Kenyan economy. However, high incidences of mastitis is a major setback to the productivity in this industry. The current dairy cattle breeding objective in Kenya does not include mastitis resistance, mainly because the economic value of mastitis resistance has not been determined. Therefore this study aimed at estimating the economic value of mastitis resistance in dairy cattle in Kenya. Initial input parameters were obtained from literature on dairy cattle production systems in the tropics. Selection index methodology was used to derive the economic value of mastitis resistance. Somatic cell count (SCC) was used an indicator trait for mastitis resistance. The economic value was estimated relative to milk yield (MY). Economic values were assigned to SCC in a selection index such that the overall gain in the breeding goal trait was maximized. The option of estimating the economic value for SCC by equating the response in the trait of interest to its index response was considered. The economic value of mastitis resistance was US $23.64 while maximum response to selection for MY was US $66.01. The findings of this study provide vital information that is a pre-requisite for the inclusion of mastitis resistance in the current dairy cattle breeding goal in Kenya.

Keywords: somatic cell count, milk quality, payment system, breeding goal

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Authors: Akbar Salimi, Mehdi Moghimi

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Goal: The human resource empowerment is a new strategy in achieving a competitive advantage. The aim of the research is to understand crime management by the police by using this strategy. Method: The research is applied in terms of goal and it is a survey type research. The sample intended include all the police officers of a police station for as many as 52 people. The data were collected by a researcher made four choice questionnaire after the validity and reliability were confirmed. Findings: By regarding the Melhem pattern as the framework, four dimensions of empowerment were identified and the triangle of crime was explained and then four hypotheses proportionate to it were formulated. Results: Given the fact that the sample was all counted, all the four hypotheses were supported by using the average data received and by regarding the %50 as the criterion.

Keywords: management, empowerment, employees, police

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Authors: Berri A. Wells

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The purpose of this study is to explore the different variables that influence women, specifically Black American or African American women to target and bully other Black American women in the workplace. The Pink Elephant Study seeks to answer the research question, what are some of the factors that prompt Black women to target and harass other Black women in the workplace or other professional settings and organizations? The goal of the study is to enhance the workplace bullying body of knowledge in two specific ways beginning with the inclusion of Black women in the conversation of workplace bullying. A second goal is to hear from and learn from perpetrators of workplace bullying.

Keywords: workplace bullying, incivility at work, women at work, overcoming conflict

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Authors: Virginia Andrea Garrido Meirelles

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Noah Webster was a lexicographer and a language reformer and is considered the ‘Father of American Scholarship and Education’ because of the exceptional contributions he made as a teacher and grammarian. The goal of this study is to show that the success of his plan can be explained by the fact that it matched the language-in-education policies of his time. To accomplish that goal the present study analyzes the Massachusetts School Laws of 1642, 1647 and 1648 and compares them to the preface of the first edition of The Grammatical Institute of the English Language. The referred laws were three legislative acts enacted in the Massachusetts Colony and replicated almost identically in the other New England colonies. The purpose of those laws was to eradicate pauperism and poverty, on the one side, and to disseminate the idea of right citizenship, on the other. However, until the Declaration of Independence in 1776, all the primers used in the colony were printed in Britain. In 1783, Noah Webster published the first part of his Grammatical Institute of the English Language. In this book, the author states that his goal is to promote the republican principles that guide the civil rights of that time. The material included many texts taken from the Bible to inspire aversion to inadequate behavior and preference for service and good manners. In addition, its goal was to present ‘a new plan of reducing the pronunciation of our language to an easy standard,’ and in that way, create a unified language to abolish ignorance and language corruption. The comparison between the laws and Webster’s Spelling Book shows that the book is the result of the historical and political situation when it was conceived and it satisfied the requirements of the language-in-education policies of the time.

Keywords: American English, language policy, the Massachusetts school laws, webster's spelling book

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Authors: Samuel Attias, Elad Schiff, Zahi Arnon, Eran Ben-Arye, Yael Keshet, Ibrahim Matter, Boker Lital Keinan

Abstract:

Background: Despite the extensive use of manual therapies, reflexology in particular, no validated tools have been developed to evaluate patients' beliefs, attitudes and expectations regarding reflexology. Such tools however are essential to improve the results of the reflexology treatment, by better adjusting it to the patients' attitudes and expectations. The tool also enables assessing correlations with clinical results of interventional studies using reflexology. Methods: The IBEAR (Inpatient Beliefs, Expectations and Attitudes toward Reflexology) tool contains 25 questions (8 demographic and 17 specifically addressing reflexology), and was constructed in several stages: brainstorming by a multidisciplinary team of experts; evaluation of each of the proposed questions by the experts' team; and assessment of the experts' degree of agreement per each question, based on a Likert 1-7 scale (1 – don't agree at all; 7 – agree completely). Cronbach's Alpha was computed to evaluate the questionnaire's reliability while the Factor analysis test was used for further validation (228 patients). The questionnaire was tested and re-tested (48h) on a group of 199 patients to assure clarity and reliability, using the Pearson coefficient and the Kappa test. It was modified based on these results into its final form. Results: After its construction, the IBEAR questionnaire passed the expert group's preliminary consensus, evaluation of the questions' clarity (from 5.1 to 7.0), inner validation (from 5.5 to 7) and structural validation (from 5.5 to 6.75). Factor analysis pointed to two content worlds in a division into 4 questions discussing attitudes and expectations versus 5 questions on belief and attitudes. Of the 221 questionnaires collected, a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated on nine questions relating to beliefs, expectations, and attitudes regarding reflexology. This measure stood at 0.716 (satisfactory reliability). At the Test-Retest stage, 199 research participants filled in the questionnaire a second time. The Pearson coefficient for all questions ranged between 0.73 and 0.94 (good to excellent reliability). As for dichotomic answers, Kappa scores ranged between 0.66 and 1.0 (mediocre to high). One of the questions was removed from the IBEAR following questionnaire validation. Conclusions: The present study provides evidence that the proposed IBEAR-16 questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for the characterization of potential reflexology patients and may be effectively used in settings which include the evaluation of inpatients' beliefs, expectations, and attitudes toward reflexology.

Keywords: reflexology, attitude, expectation, belief, CAM, inpatient

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Authors: J. Zavodny Pospisil, L. S. Zavodna, K. Cerna

Abstract:

The goal of this paper is to identify the main differences in the way men and women perceive TV ads. This paper is based on a research project conducted partly as a review of relevant papers, which deals with gender influence on the cognitive process and postmodern perception of advertising. In addition to that, qualitative research was conducted by means of interviews and structured questionnaires. Furthermore, data acquired from the research were used to evaluate our objectives and hypotheses. The goal of this paper is to compare women's and men's perception of advertisement. Although women are able to perceive more details than men, men are more susceptible to sexual appeals in advertising. Significant differences were also found in the perception of sexual appeals in the context of gender.

Keywords: advertising, consumer, emotion, gender, psychology of advertising

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Authors: Amy Gooden, Meshandren Naidoo

Abstract:

Genetic research and transfers of big data are not confined to a particular jurisdiction, but there is a lack of clarity regarding the legal requirements for importing and exporting such data. Using direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) as an example, this research assesses the status of data sharing into and out of South Africa (SA). While SA laws cover the sending of genetic data out of SA, prohibiting such transfer unless a legal ground exists, the position where genetic data comes into the country depends on the laws of the country from where it is sent – making the legal position less clear.

Keywords: cross-border, data, genetic testing, law, regulation, research, sharing, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 104

Authors: Ahmad Sarfaraz, Raiyad Herwies

Abstract:

In this paper, a multi-criteria decision making analysis is used to help any organization selects the best KM tool that fits and serves its needs. The AHP model is used based on a previous study to highlight and identify the main criteria and sub-criteria that are incorporated in the selection process. Different KM tools alternatives with different criteria are compared and weighted accurately to be incorporated in the GP model. The main goal is to combine the GP model with the AHP model to ensure that selecting the KM tool considers the resource constraints. Two important issues are discussed in this paper: how different factors could be taken into consideration in forming the AHP model, and how to incorporate the AHP results into the GP model for better results.

Keywords: knowledge management, analytical hierarchy process, goal programming, multi-criteria decision making

Procedia PDF Downloads 344