Search results for: Social Problems

Authors: Chak Kwong Lau

Abstract:

Many buildings in Hong Kong are graced with enchanting works of Chinese calligraphy. An excellent example is Tao Fong Shan Christian Center founded by a Norwegian missionary, Karl Ludvig Reichelt (1877-1952) in 1930. Adorned with many inspiring works of Chinese calligraphy, the center functions as a place for the study of Christianity where people of different religions can meet to have religious discussions and intellectual exchanges. This paper examines the pivotal role played by Chinese calligraphy in creating a significant context for the center to fulfill her visions and missions. The methodology of this research involves stylistic and textual analyses of works of calligraphy, in particular through an examination and interpretation of their extended meanings in terms of architectural symbology and social and cultural contexts. Findings showed that Chinese calligraphy was effectively used as a powerful vehicle for a purposeful development of contextual Christian spirituality in Hong Kong.

Keywords: Chinese calligraphy, Hong Kong architecture, Hong Kong calligraphy, Johannes Prip-Møller, Karl Ludvig Reichelt, Norwegian missionary, Tao Fong Shan Christian Center, traditional Chinese architecture, contextual Christian spirituality, Chinese arts and culture.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 878

Authors: Ali Eryılmaz

Abstract:

Children and adolescents developing in the worlds of today are facing a getting array of new and old challenges. School counselling is improving rapidly in contemporary education systems around the world. It can be said that counselling system in Turkey was newly borning. In this study, “Family of the Blood" activity is improved with respect to compherensive guidance school program. The sample included 22 adolescents who were high school students. The activity was carried out in 4 sessions, each of which lasted 45 minutes. In the first session, students- personal-social needs were determined. In the second session, in order to warm up, the students were asked three questions consisting of the constructional aspect. In the third session, the counselor and the teacher shared the results of students- responses obtained in the previous session. In the fourth session, the tables formed by students were presented in the classroom. In order to evaluate the activity, three questions were asked of the teacher and counselor. According to the results, the lesson aims of curriculum and counselling aims of curriculum were attained. In the light of literature, the results were discussed and some suggestions were made. It is taken into consideration that the activitiy was beneficial in many respects, similar studies should be carried out in the near future.

Keywords: Comprehensive guidance program, education, family

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1314

Authors: Robert Grzeszczak, Magdalena Gniadzik

Abstract:

The article deals with one of the most significant issues concerning the functioning of the internal market of the European Union – the free movement of workers and free movement of persons. The purpose is to identify the political and legal effects of the “renationalisation process” on the EU and its Member States. The concept of renationalisation is expressed through Member States’ aim to verify the relationship with the EU. The tendency is more visible in the public opinion of several MS’s of the ‘EU core’ and may be confirmed by the changes applied by the regulatory body. The thesis for the article is the return of renationalisation tendencies in the area of the Single Market, which is supported by, among others, an open criticism of the foundations of EU integration or considerations on withdrawal from the EU by some MS. This analysis will focus primarily on the effects that renationalisation may have on the free movement of persons. The free movement of persons is one of the key issues for the development of the European integration. It is still subject to theoretical reflections, new doubts and practical issues. The latest developments in politics, law and jurisprudence demonstrate the need to reflect on the attempts to redefine certain principles regarding migrant EU workers and their protection against nationality-based discrimination.

Keywords: European law, European Union, common market, free movement of workers, posting of workers, case law.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1039

Authors: Kanakasabha Ramana

Abstract:

The Post colonial society in India has witnessed the turmoil to come out from the widespread control and influence of colonialism. The socio-cultural life of a society with all its dynamics is reflected in realistic forms of literature. The social events and human experience are drawn into a new creative form and are given to the reader as a new understanding and perspective of life. It enables the reader to understand the essence of life and motivates him to prepare for a positive change. After India becoming free from the colonial rule in 1947, systematic efforts were made by central and state governments and institutions to limit the role of English and simultaneously enlarge the function of Indian languages by planning in a strategic manner. The eighteen languages recognized as national languages are having very rich literatures. Telugu language is one among the Dravidian language family and is widely spoken by a majority of people. The post colonial socio-cultural factors were very well reflected in Telugu literature. The anti-colonial, reform oriented, progressive, post modernistic trends in Telugu literature are nothing but creative reflections of the post colonial society. This paper examines the major socio-cultural reflections in Telugu literature of the post colonial period.

Keywords: postcolonialism, culture, progressive movement, Telugu Literature.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2672

Authors: Jamaa Salih, Francis Edum-Fotwe, Andrew Price

Abstract:

One of the most critical aspects of the management of road infrastructure is the type and scale of maintenance systems adopted and the consequences of their inadequacy. The performance of road maintenance systems can be assessed by a number of important indicators such as: cost, safety, environmental impact, and level of complaints by users. A review of practice reveals that insufficient level of expenditure or poor management of the road network often has serious consequences for the economic and social life of a country in terms of vehicle operating costs (VOC), travel time costs, accident costs and environmental impact. Despite an increase in the attention paid by global road agencies to the environmental and the road users’ satisfaction, the overwhelming evidence from the available literature agree on the lack of similar levels of attention for the two factors in many developing countries. While many sources agree that the road maintenance backlog is caused by either the shortage of expenditures or lack of proper management or both, it appears that managing the available assets particularly in the developing countries is the main issue. To address this subject, this paper will concentrate on exposing the various issues related to this field.  

Keywords: Environmental impact, performance indicators, road maintenance, users’ satisfaction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3339

Authors: Jamie Otelsberg, Nagarajan Akshay, Rao R. Bhavani

Abstract:

This paper discusses our preliminary experiences in the design of a user interface of a computerized content-rich vocational training courseware meant for users with little or no computer experience. In targeting a growing population with limited access to skills training of any sort, we faced numerous challenges, including language and cultural differences, resource limits, gender boundaries and, in many cases, the simple lack of trainee motivation. With the size of the unskilled population increasing much more rapidly than the numbers of sufficiently skilled teachers, there is little choice but to develop teaching techniques that will take advantage of emerging computer-based training technologies. However, in striving to serve populations with minimal computer literacy, one must carefully design the user interface to accommodate their cultural, social, educational, motivational and other differences. Our work, which uses computer based and haptic simulation technologies to deliver training to these populations, has provided some useful insights on potential user interface design approaches.

Keywords: User interface design, digitally illiterate, vocational training, navigation issues, computer human interaction, human factors.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2337

Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah, Jianing Mi, Feng Cheng

Abstract:

This research paper seeks to investigate the factors determining the continuance usage of online mobile payment applications among WECHAT users in China. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory would both be applied as the theoretical foundation for this study. A developed instrument would be administered to the targeted sample of 1000 WECHAT Users in the City of Harbin, China, through an online questionnaire administration platform. Factors such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived service quality, social influence, trust in the internet, internet self-efficacy, relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity would be explored to determine its significant impact on the continuance intention to use mobile payment apps. This study is at the development and implementation stage. The successful completion of this research article would not only provide an insightful understanding of the factors influencing the decision of WECHAT users in China to use mobile payment applications but also enrich the e-commerce adoption literature.

Keywords: Diffusion of innovation (DOI), e-commerce, mobile payment, technology acceptance model (TAM), WECHAT.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1579

Authors: Layla Mujahed

Abstract:

COVID-19 is an exam for all the city’s systems. It shows many gaps in the systems such as healthcare, economic, social, and environment. This pandemic is paving for a new era, an era of technology and it has changed people’s lives, such as physical, and emotional changes, and converting communication into digitalized. The effect of COVID-19 has covered all urban city parts. COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic our cities will face. For that, more researches focus on enhancing the quality of the urban environment. This pandemic encourages a rethinking of the environment’s role, especially in cities. Cities are trying to provide the best suitable strategies and regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and an example of that is Amman city. Amman has a high increment in the number of COVID-19 infected people, while it has controlled the situation for months. For that, this paper studies the relation between COVID-19 and urban environmental studies cases about cities around the world, and learns from their models to face COVID-19. In Amman, people’s behavior has changed towards public transportation and public green spaces. N­ew governmental regulations focus on increasing people’s mental awareness, supporting local businesses, and enhancing neighborhood planning that can help Amman to face any future pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19, urban environment, urban planning, urban resilience.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1159

Authors: Farideh Sharififar, Zahra Jamalian, Reza Nikbakhsh, Zahra Nobakht Ramezani

Abstract:

In sport, human resources management gives special attention to method of applying volunteers, their maintenance, and participation of volunteers with each other and management approaches for better operation of events celebrants. The recognition of volunteers- characteristics and motives is important to notice, because it makes the basis of their participation and commitment at sport environment. The motivation and commitment of 281 volunteers were assessed using the organizational commitment scale, motivation scale and personal characteristics questionnaire.The descriptive results showed that; 64% of volunteers were women with age average 21/24 years old. They were physical education student, single (71/9%), without occupation (53%) and with average of 5 years sport experience. Their most important motivation was career factor and the most important commitment factor was normative factor. The results of examining the hypothesized showed that; age, sport experience and education are effective in the amount of volunteers- commitment. And the motive factors such as career, material, purposive and protective factors also have the power to predict the amount of sports volunteers- commitment value. Therefore it is recommended to provide possible opportunities for volunteers and carrying out appropriate instructional courses by events executive managers.

Keywords: Sport Volunteers, Motivation, Organizational Commitment, Sport Event

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2781

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

Obesity is a clinical state associated with low-grade inflammation. It is also a major risk factor for insulin resistance (IR). In its advanced stages, metabolic syndrome (MetS), a much more complicated disease which may lead to life-threatening problems, may develop. Obesity-mediated IR seems to correlate with the inflammation. Human studies performed particularly on pediatric population are scarce. The aim of this study is to detect possible associations between inflammation and IR in terms of some related ratios. 549 children were grouped according to their age- and sex-based body mass index (BMI) percentile tables of WHO. MetS components were determined. Informed consent and approval from the Ethics Committee for Clinical Investigations were obtained. The principles of the Declaration of Helsinki were followed. The exclusion criteria were infection, inflammation, chronic diseases and those under drug treatment. Anthropometric measurements were obtained. Complete blood cell, fasting blood glucose, insulin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) analyses were performed. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), systemic immune inflammation (SII) index, tense index, alanine aminotransferase to aspartate aminotransferase ratio (ALT/AST), neutrophils to lymphocyte (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte, and lymphocyte to monocyte ratios were calculated. Data were evaluated by statistical analyses. The degree for statistical significance was 0.05. Statistically significant differences were found among the BMI values of the groups (p < 0.001). Strong correlations were detected between the BMI and waist circumference (WC) values in all groups. Tense index values were also correlated with both BMI and WC values in all groups except overweight (OW) children. SII index values of children with normal BMI were significantly different from the values obtained in OW, obese, morbid obese and MetS groups. Among all the other lymphocyte ratios, NLR exhibited a similar profile. Both HOMA-IR and ALT/AST values displayed an increasing profile from N towards MetS3 group. BMI and WC values were correlated with HOMA-IR and ALT/AST. Both in morbid obese and MetS groups, significant correlations between CRP versus SII index as well as HOMA-IR versus ALT/AST were found. ALT/AST and HOMA-IR values were correlated with NLR in morbid obese group and with SII index in MetS group, (p < 0.05), respectively. In conclusion, these findings showed that some parameters may exhibit informative differences between the early and late stages of obesity. Important associations among HOMA-IR, ALT/AST, NLR and SII index have come to light in the morbid obese and MetS groups. This study introduced the SII index and NLR as important inflammatory markers for the discrimination of normal and obese children. Interesting links were observed between inflammation and IR in morbid obese children and those with MetS, both being late stages of obesity.

Keywords: Children, inflammation, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, obesity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 839

Authors: Osifeko Olalekan Remigious, Osifeko Christiana Osikorede, Folarin Bolanle Eunice, Olugbenga Adebola Shodiya

Abstract:

During these difficult economic times, nations are looking for ways to improve their finances, preserve the environment as well as the socio-political climate and educational institutions, which are needed to increase their economy and preserve their sustainable development. Sport is one of the ways through which sustainable development can be achieved. The purpose of this study was to examine and understanding barriers to participation in sport. A total of 1,025 students were purposively selected from five schools (School of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Languages, School of Education, School of Sciences and School of Vocational and Technical Education) in Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED). A questionnaire, with a tested reliability coefficient of 0.71, was used for data collection. The collected data were subjected to the descriptive survey research design. The findings showed that sports facilities, funding and lecture schedules were significant barriers to sports participation. It was recommended that sports facilities be provided by the Lagos State government.

Keywords: MOCPED sports, sustainable development, sports participation, state government.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 781

Authors: Tingke Wu, Yaping Huang

Abstract:

Many cities in China have been experiencing serious urban sprawl since the 1980s, which pose great challenges to a country with scare cultivated land and huge population. Because of different social and economic context and development stage, driving forces of urban sprawl in China are quite different from developed countries. Therefore, it is of great importance to probe into urban sprawl driving mechanism in Chinese context. By a comparison study of the background and features of urban sprawl between China and developed countries, this research establishes an analytical framework for sprawl dynamic mechanism in China. By literature review and analyzing data from national statistical yearbook, it then probes into the driving mechanism and the primary cause of urban sprawl. The results suggest that population increase, economic growth, traffic and information technology development lead to rapid expansion of urban space; defects of land institution and lack of effective guidance give rise to low efficiency of urban land use. Moreover, urban sprawl is ultimately attributed to imperfections of policy and institution. On this basis, this research puts forward several sprawl control strategies in Chinese context.

Keywords: China, driving forces, driving mechanism, land institution, urban expansion, urban sprawl.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 726

Authors: Riham A. Ragheb

Abstract:

Water is a fundamental attraction in all cultures and among all classes of people,tourists and citizens. It is a favorite location for major tourism initiatives, celebrations and ceremonies. The vitality of any city depends on citizen action to take part in creating the neighborhoods they desire. Waterfront can provide extensive new areas of high quality public open space in parts of the city that are popular venues for social activities and also have the highest land values. Each city must have a character that can be used as a key attraction for the development. The morphology of a waterfront can be identified by both its physical characteristics and the socio-cultural activities that take place in the area. Alexandria has been selected as an area of study because it has a unique character due to its possession of a variety of waterfronts.

This paper aims to set some criteria of successful waterfront development and then through these criteria analyzing the development of the Qaitbay waterfront in the eastern harbor in Alexandria, Egypt. Hence, a comprehensive improvement of the waterfront areas is certainly needed to ensure a successful waterfront development radiated the sense of uniformity and coherence.

Alexandria can benefit from these criteria to develop its urban waterfront in order to preserve and revitalize its unique waterfront character and achieve mixed uses and tourism development.

Keywords: Place making, Qaitbay, responsive environment, sustainable urban design, waterfront development.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3154

Authors: Usha N. Murthy, Rekha H. B., Mahaveer Devoor

Abstract:

The introduction of more stringent pollution regulations, in relation to financial and social pressures for sustainable development, has pressed toward limiting the volumes of industrial and domestic effluents discharged into the environment - as well as to increase the efforts within research and development of new or more efficient wastewater treatment technologies. Considering both discharge volume and effluent composition, wastewater generated by the textile industry is rated as the most polluting among all industrial sectors. The pollution load is mainly due to spent dye baths, which are composed of unreacted dyes, dispersing agents, surfactants, salts and organics. In the present investigation, the textile dye wastewater was characterized by high color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS) and pH. Electrochemical oxidation process for four plate electrodes was carried out at five different current intensities, out of which 0.14A has achieved maximum percentage removal of COD with 75% and 83% of color. The COD removal rate in kg COD/h/m² decreases with increase in the current intensity. The energy consumption increases with increase in the current intensity. Hence, textile dye wastewater can be effectively pretreated by electrochemical oxidation method where the process limits objectionable color while leaving the COD associated with organics left for natural degradation thus causing a sustainable reduction in pollution load.

Keywords: Electrochemical treatment, COD, color.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2362

Authors: Tomasz L. Nawrocki, Danuta Szwajca

Abstract:

The growing importance of reputation in building enterprise value and achieving long-term competitive advantage creates the need for its measurement and evaluation for the management purposes (effective reputation and its risk management). The paper presents practical application of self-developed corporate reputation assessment model from the viewpoint of stock market investors. The model has a pioneer character and example analysis performed for selected industry is a form of specific test for this tool. In the proposed solution, three aspects - informational, financial and development, as well as social ones - were considered. It was also assumed that the individual sub-criteria will be based on public sources of information, and as the calculation apparatus, capable of obtaining synthetic final assessment, fuzzy logic will be used. The main reason for developing this model was to fulfill the gap in the scope of synthetic measure of corporate reputation that would provide higher degree of objectivity by relying on "hard" (not from surveys) and publicly available data. It should be also noted that results obtained on the basis of proposed corporate reputation assessment method give possibilities of various internal as well as inter-branch comparisons and analysis of corporate reputation impact.

Keywords: Corporate reputation, fuzzy logic, fuzzy model, stock market investors.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1339

Authors: Rosa Nurtazina, Yerkebulan Zhumashov, Maral Tomanova

Abstract:

Humanity is entering an era when "virtual reality" as the image of the world created by the media with the help of the Internet does not match the reality in many respects, when new communication technologies create a fundamentally different and previously unknown "global space". According to these technologies, the state begins to change the basic technology of political communication of the state and society, the state and the state. Nowadays image of the state becomes the most important tool and technology.

Image is a purposefully created image granting political object (person, organization, country, etc.) certain social and political values and promoting more emotional perception.

Political image of the state plays an important role in international relations. The success of the country's foreign policy, development of trade and economic relations with other countries depends on whether it is positive or negative. Foreign policy image has an impact on political processes taking place in the state: the negative image of the country's can be used by opposition forces as one of the arguments to criticize the government and its policies.

Keywords: Image of the country, country's image classification, function of the country image, country's image components.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3692

Authors: Subramaniam Chandran

Abstract:

This paper explains how mobile learning assures sustainable e-education for multicultural group of students. This paper reports the impact of mobile learning on distance education in multicultural environment. The emergence of learning technologies through CD, internet, and mobile is increasingly adopted by distance institutes for quick delivery and cost-effective purposes. Their sustainability is conditioned by the structure of learners as well as the teaching community. The experimental study was conducted among the distant learners of Vinayaka Missions University located at Salem in India. Students were drawn from multicultural environment based on different languages, religions, class and communities. During the mobile learning sessions, the students, who are divided on language, religion, class and community, were dominated by play impulse rather than study anxiety or cultural inhibitions. This study confirmed that mobile learning improved the performance of the students despite their division based on region, language or culture. In other words, technology was able to transcend the relative deprivation in the multicultural groups. It also confirms sustainable e-education through mobile learning and cost-effective system of instruction. Mobile learning appropriates the self-motivation and play impulse of the young learners in providing sustainable e-education to multicultural social groups of students.

Keywords: E-Education, mobile learning, multiculturalism.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2016

Authors: Frank C. Pan, Chih-Hao Chen

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to discuss the effect of the intervention of exercise behavior change plan for high school students on study subjects- social and psychological factors and exercise stages. This research uses the transtheoretical model as the research framework. One experiment group and one control group were used in a quasi-experimental design research. The experimental group accepted health-related physical fitness course and the traditional course; the control group accepted traditional physical education course. There is a significant difference before and after the intervention in the experimental group. Karl-s test shows the experimental group gained a better improvement than that in the control group. The Analysis of Covariance had shown the exercise stages (F=7.62, p<0.05), and the perceived exercise benefit (F=16.91, p<0.05) of the experimental group were obviously larger than those of the control group. There was no major effect on the perceived exercise barrier (F=0.61, p>0.05) after the intervention of exercise behavior change plan. However, the rate of high school students the practical implementation of the exercise is not high, obviously influenced by the exercise barrier. The academic and examination pressure may be the major causes of the exercise barrier in the high school.

Keywords: Transtheoretical model (TTM), High school students, exercise behavior

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3935

Authors: Yolanda Ramírez, Ángel Tejada, Agustín Baidez

Abstract:

In the higher education setting, there is a current trend in society toward greater openness and transparency. The economic, social and political changes that have occurred in recent years in public sector universities (particularly the New Public Management, the Bologna Process and the emergence of the “third mission”) call for a wider disclosure of value created by universities to support fundraising activities, to ensure accountability in the use of public funds and the outcomes of research and teaching, as well as close relationships with industries and territories. The paper has two purposes: 1) to explore the intellectual capital (IC) disclosure in Spanish universities through their websites, and 2) to identify university profiles. This study applies a content analysis to analyze the institutional websites of Spanish public universities and a cluster analysis. The analysis reveals that Spanish universities’ website content usually relates to human capital, while structural and relational capitals are less widely disclosed. Our research identifies three behavioral profiles of Spanish universities with regard to the online disclosure of IC (universities more proactive, universities less proactive and universities adopt a middle position in this regard. The results can serve as encouragement to university managers to enhance online IC disclosure to meet the information needs of university stakeholders.

Keywords: Universities, intellectual capital, disclosure, Internet.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 575

Authors: Sanjeev Kumar Appicharla

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of the modelling and analysis of the European Railway Traffic Management (ERTMS) safety critical incident to raise awareness of biases in systems engineering process on the Cambrian Railway in the UK using the RAIB 17/2019 as a primary input. The RAIB, the UK independent accident investigator, published the Report- RAIB 17/2019 giving the details of their investigation of the focal event in the form of immediate cause, causal factors and underlying factors and recommendations to prevent a repeat of the safety-critical incident on the Cambrian Line. The Systems for Investigation of Railway Interfaces (SIRI) is the Methodology used to model and analyse the safety-critical incident. The SIRI Methodology uses the Swiss Cheese Model to model the incident and identify latent failure conditions (potentially less than adequate conditions) by means of the Management Oversight and Risk Tree technique. The benefits of the SIRI Methodology are threefold: first is that it incorporates “Heuristics and Biases” approach, in the Management Oversight and Risk Tree technique to identify systematic errors. Civil engineering and programme management railway professionals are aware of role “optimism bias” plays in programme cost overruns and are aware of bow tie (fault and event tree) model-based safety risk modelling technique. However, the role of systematic errors due to “Heuristics and Biases” is not appreciated as yet. This overcomes the problems of omission of human and organisational factors from accident analysis. Second, the scope of the investigation includes all levels of the socio-technical system, including government, regulatory, railway safety bodies, duty holders, signalling firms and transport planners, and front-line staff such that lessons learned at the decision making and implementation level as well. Third, the author’s past accident case studies are supplemented with research pieces of evidence drawn from the practitioner’s and academic researchers’ publications as well. This is to discuss the role of system thinking to improve the decision making and risk management processes and practices in the IEC 15288 Systems Engineering standard, and in the industrial context such as the GB railways and Artificial Intelligence (AI) contexts as well.

Keywords: Accident analysis, AI algorithm internal audit, bounded rationality, Byzantine failures, heuristics and biases approach.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Alexandra Aslanidou

Abstract:

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), concerning the protection of natural persons within the European Union with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, became applicable in the European Union (EU) on 25 May 2018 and transformed the way personal data were being treated under the Data Protection Directive (DPD) regime, generating sweeping organizational changes to both public sector and business. A social practice that is considerably influenced in the way of its day-to-day operations is Human Resource (HR) management, for which the importance of GDPR cannot be underestimated. That is because HR processes personal data coming in all shapes and sizes from many different systems and sources. The significance of the proper functioning of an HR department, specifically in human-centered, service-oriented environments such as the education field, is decisive due to the fact that HR operations in schools, conducted effectively, determine the quality of the provided services and consequently have a considerable impact on the success of the educational system. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the decisive role that GDPR plays in HR departments that operate in schools and in order to practically evaluate the aftermath of the Regulation during the first months of its applicability; a comparative use cases analysis in five highly dynamic schools, across three EU Member States, was attempted.

Keywords: General data protection regulation, human resource management, educational system.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 685

Authors: Simisola I. Akintoye, Sunday K. Iyaniwura

Abstract:

Recent global corporate failures have called for increase in the need to regulate corporate governance across the world. In Nigeria, the impact of corporate governance regulation in the banking sector has reached epidemic levels contributing to the country’s economic depression. This study critically evaluates Nigeria’s corporate governance regime and explores how weak regulation has impacted on the banking sector. By adopting a socio legal methodology, the study analyses both theoretical and empirical works from a socio-scientific point of view to examine the role of Nigeria’s legal, cultural and social arrangements in corporate governance regulation. The study reveals that Nigeria’s institutional arrangement has contributed to its weak system of corporate governance regulation with adverse effects on the banking sector. The research mainly impacts on current global corporate governance literature in sub-Saharan Africa by contributing to knowledge of the peculiarities of corporate governance regulation in different institutional jurisdictions. The particular focus on emerging economies such as Nigeria expands on the need for countries to develop a bespoke system of corporate governance regulation that takes into consideration the peculiarities of individual countries devoid of external influence.

Keywords: Banks, corporate governance, emerging economies, Nigeria.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1602

Authors: Futoshi Kakuta, Takashi Ishida

Abstract:

Sewage sludge is a biomass resource that can create a solid fuel and electricity. Utilizing sewage sludge as a renewable energy can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases. In Japan, the "National Plan for the Promotion of Biomass Utilization" and the “Priority Plan for Social Infrastructure Development" were approved at cabinet meetings in December 2010 and August 2012, respectively, to promote the energy utilization of sewage sludge. This study investigated costs and greenhouse gas emission in different sewage sludge treatments with technologies for energy from sewage sludge. Expenses were estimated based on capital costs and O&M costs including energy consumption of solid fuel plants and biogas power generation plants for sewage sludge. Results showed that the cost of sludge digestion treatment with solid fuel technologies was 8% lower than landfill disposal. The greenhouse gas emission of sludge digestion treatment with solid fuel technologies was also 6,390t as CO2 smaller than landfill disposal. Biogas power generation reduced the electricity of a wastewater treatment plant by 30% and the cost by 5%.

Keywords: Global warming counter measure, energy technology, solid fuel production, biogas.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1689

Authors: Josephine Mutwale-Ziko, Nonde Lushinga, Inonge Akakandelwa

Abstract:

The study discusses the effectiveness of health and safety induction practices on construction sites against the background of the Zambian construction industry experience. The research design included the literature review of relevant literature. Questionnaires and interviews were administered to regulatory bodies, health, and safety personnel. Observation was also employed on construction sites to assess the health and safety practices being used. Health and safety in the construction industry are not something to be ignored or overlooked. The construction industry needs to take heed of the serious consequences of inadequate health and safety induction practices. The implications of inadequate health and safety induction procedures included among others threats to profitability, corporate social responsibility and increased turnover of the workforce leading to poor productivity. Adequate health and safety practices can improve the health and wellbeing of employees, reduce financial implications on firms and encourage productivity on construction sites. Despite this, accidents are still prevalent on construction sites in Zambia. The overall result of this research denotes that the implementation of health and safety induction practices is inadequate, as indicated by the negligent and non-adherent attitude to health and safety induction aspects on the sites by most stakeholders on construction sites. Therefore, health and safety induction practices are ineffective as preventive measures for reduction of accidents on construction sites in Zambia.

Keywords: Accidents, employees, health and safety, inadequate induction.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1799

Authors: Charalambos C. Cleanthous, Ryan Sain, Tabitha Black, Stephen Vera, Suzanne Milton

Abstract:

A concern when administering questionnaires is whether the participant is providing information that is accurate. The results may be invalid because the person is trying to present oneself in an unrealistic positive manner referred to as ‘faking good’, or in an unrealistic negative manner known as ‘faking bad’. The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) was used to assess commercial pilots’ responses on the two subscales of the BIDR: impression management (IM) and self-deceptive enhancement (SDE) that result in high or low scores. Thus, the BIDR produces four valid profiles: IM low and SDE low, IM high and SDE low, IM low and SDE high, and IM high and SDE high. The various profiles were used to compare the respondents’ answers to crew resource management (CRM) items developed from the USA Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) guidelines for CRM composition and training. Of particular interest were the results on the IM subscale. The comparisons between those scoring high (lying or faking) versus those low on the IM suggest that there were significant differences regarding their views of the various dimensions of CRM. One of the more disconcerting conclusions is that the high IM scores suggest that the pilots were trying to impress rather than honestly answer the questions regarding their CRM training and practice.

Keywords: USA commercial pilots, crew resource management, faking, social desirability.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 906

Authors: Karim Hamidi Machekposhti, Hossein Sedghi

Abstract:

This study was designed to find the best stochastic model (using of time series analysis) for annual extreme streamflow (peak and maximum streamflow) of Karkheh River at Iran. The Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model used to simulate these series and forecast those in future. For the analysis, annual extreme streamflow data of Jelogir Majin station (above of Karkheh dam reservoir) for the years 1958–2005 were used. A visual inspection of the time plot gives a little increasing trend; therefore, series is not stationary. The stationarity observed in Auto-Correlation Function (ACF) and Partial Auto-Correlation Function (PACF) plots of annual extreme streamflow was removed using first order differencing (d=1) in order to the development of the ARIMA model. Interestingly, the ARIMA(4,1,1) model developed was found to be most suitable for simulating annual extreme streamflow for Karkheh River. The model was found to be appropriate to forecast ten years of annual extreme streamflow and assist decision makers to establish priorities for water demand. The Statistical Analysis System (SAS) and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) codes were used to determinate of the best model for this series.

Keywords: Stochastic models, ARIMA, extreme streamflow, Karkheh River.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 673

Authors: Masami Usui

Abstract:

The 21th century has already witnessed the rapid globalization of catastrophes caused by layered political, social, religious, cultural, and environmental conflicts. The post 9/11 literature that reflects these characteristics retells the experiences of those who are, whether directly or indirectly, involved in the globalized catastrophes of enlarging and endangering their boundaries and consequences. With an Irish-Turkish origin, a Dutch and British educational background, and as an American green-card holder, Joseph O’Neill challenges this changing circumstances of the expanding crisis. In his controversial novel, Netherland (2008), O’Neill embodies the deeply-rooted compromises, the transplanted conflicts, and human internalized crisis in post 9/11 New York City. O’Neill presents to us the transition between Netherland to New York with a post-colonial perspective. This internalized conflicts are revised in The Dog (2014) in which a newly-constructing and expanding global city of gold, Dubai, represents the transitional location from New York City. Through these two novels, words and voices are migrating beyond cultural and political boundaries and discussing what a collective mind embodies in this globalized society.  

Keywords: American literature, global literature, cultural studies, political science.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1586

Authors: Debabrata Das, Pankaj Dutta

Abstract:

Along with forward supply chain organization needs to consider the impact of reverse logistics due to its economic advantage, social awareness and strict legislations. In this paper, we develop a system dynamics framework for a closed-loop supply chain with fuzzy demand and fuzzy collection rate by incorporating product exchange policy in forward channel and various recovery options in reverse channel. The uncertainty issues associated with acquisition and collection of used product have been quantified using possibility measures. In the simulation study, we analyze order variation at both retailer and distributor level and compare bullwhip effects of different logistics participants over time between the traditional forward supply chain and the closed-loop supply chain. Our results suggest that the integration of reverse logistics can reduce order variation and bullwhip effect of a closed-loop system. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed to examine the impact of various parameters on recovery process and bullwhip effect.

Keywords: Bullwhip Effect, Fuzzy Possibility Measures, Reverse Supply Chain, System Dynamics.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2653

Authors: Prapoj Na Bangchang

Abstract:

The research aimed to study the satisfaction of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students towards the university radio station which broadcasts in both analog on FM 97.25 MHz and online via the university website. The sample used in this study consists of undergraduate students year 1 to year 4 from 6 faculties i.e. Faculty of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Management Science and Faculty of Industrial Technology, and Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts totaling 200 students. The tools used for data collection is survey. Data analysis applied statistics that are percentage, mean and standard deviation. The results showed that Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students were satisfied to the place of listening service, followed by channels of broadcasting that cover both analog signals on 97.25 MHz FM and online via the Internet. However, the satisfaction level of the content offered was very low. Most of the students want the station to improve the content. Entertainment content was requested the most, followed by sports content. The lowest satisfaction level is with the broadcasting quality through analog signal. Most students asked the station to improve on the issue. However, overall, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students were satisfied with the university radio station broadcasted online via the university website.

Keywords: Satisfaction, students, radio station, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1224

Authors: Motlhale Judicial Sebatana, Washington Takawira Dudu

Abstract:

This study investigated how one beginner Physical Sciences teacher implemented Problem-Based Learning (PBL) strategy in the teaching and learning of Particulate Nature of Matter (PNM) in the Grade 10 classroom. PBL was implemented to explore how it can promote a 21st-century skill of creativity and enhance understanding of PNM. This study was guided by theoretical framework of Social Interdependence Theory (SIT). This exploratory qualitative case study was conveniently conducted in the North West province, South Africa, where one Physical Sciences teacher was purposefully sampled. A self-developed open-ended questionnaire, portfolio and individual semi-structured interview were used as the methods of generating data for this study. The results show that the participant of this study had no prior knowledge of utilising PBL in the teaching and learning of PNM before the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programme, no knowledge of creativity as a 21st-century skill, and a successful PBL implementation post TPD to promote creativity.

Keywords: Beginner teachers, physical sciences teachers, problem-based learning, 21st-century skills, creativity skill, particulate nature of matter.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 370