Search results for: social capital

Authors: Candice Moy, Damien Guirco, Thomas Boyle

Abstract:

Intelligent technologies are increasingly facilitating sustainable water management strategies in Australia. While this innovation can present clear cost benefits to utilities through immediate leak detection and deference of capital costs, the impact of this technology on households is less distinct. By offering real-time engagement and detailed end-use consumption breakdowns, there is significant potential for demand reduction as a behavioural response to increased information. Despite this potential, passive implementation without well-planned residential engagement strategies is likely to result in a lost opportunity. This paper begins this research process by exploring the effect of smart water meters through the lens of three behaviour change theories. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), Belief Revision theory (BR) and Practice Theory emphasise different variables that can potentially influence and predict household water engagements. In acknowledging the strengths of each theory, the nuances and complexity of household water engagement can be recognised which can contribute to effective planning for residential smart meter engagement strategies.

Keywords: Behaviour, information, household, smart meters, water.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1840

Authors: Ammal M. Metwally, Dalia M. Elmosalami, Walaa A. Fouad, Abla G. Khalifa, Lobna A. El Etreby, Mohamed AbdelRahman

Abstract:

People with hepatitis C are likely to experience psychological distress related to adjustment issues following diagnosis. Objective: The study was conducted to determine the psycho-social stressors accompanying Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infection. The study focused on immediate and later on reactions to being diagnosed as infected HCV patients. Effect of HCV on disruption of patients’ relationships in term of family relationship and friendship, employment and financial status was assessed. The magnitude and causes of the social stigma and its relation to awareness about illness, level of education were also assessed. Methods: During this study the subjective experiences of people having HCV was explored through a designed questionnaire targeted 540 cases; 359 males and 181 females from ten out of 21 National Treatment Reference Centers of National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institutes of Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals. The study was conducted along a period of six months from September 2011 to March 2012. Results: The study revealed that the financial problems are the commonest problems faced by 75.5% of the cases. More than 70% of the cases suffered from immediate sadness versus 67.4% suffered from worry. Social stigma was reported by 13 % of HCV +patients, the majority of which were females. Conclusions: Exploring the psychosocial consequences of HCV infection can act as pressing motivators for behavior change needed for limiting HCV endemicity in Egypt.

Keywords: Egypt, HCV infection, psychosocial adjustment, stigma.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2053

Authors: Naeleh Motamedi, Masoud Mahmoudkhan Shirazi, Nima Nouraei

Abstract:

Natural disasters, including earthquake, kill many people around the world every year. Society rescue actions, which start after the earthquake and are called LAST in abbreviation, include locating, access, stabilization and transportation. In the present article, we have studied the process of local accessibility to the injured and transporting them to health care centers. With regard the heavy traffic load due to earthquake, the destruction of connecting roads and bridges and the heavy debris in alleys and street, which put the lives of the injured and the people buried under the debris in danger, accelerating the rescue actions and facilitating the accessibilities are of great importance, obviously. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is among the crowded cities in the world and is the center of extensive economic, political, cultural and social activities. Tehran has a population of about 9.5 millions and because of the immigration of people from the surrounding cities. Furthermore, considering the fact that Tehran is located on two important and large faults, a 6 Richter magnitude earthquake in this city could lead to the greatest catastrophe during the entire human history. The present study is a kind of review and a major part of the required information for it, has been obtained from libraries all of the rescue vehicles around the world, including rescue helicopters, ambulances, fire fighting vehicles and rescue boats, and their applied technology, and also the robots specifically designed for the rescue system and the advantages and disadvantages of them, have been investigated. The studies show that there is a significant relationship between the rescue team-s arrival time at the incident zone and the number of saved people; so that, if the duration of burial under debris 30 minutes, the probability of survival is %99.3, after a day is %81, after 2days is %19 and after 5days is %7.4. The exiting transport systems all have some defects. If these defects are removed, more people could be saved each hour and the preparedness against natural disasters is increased. In this study, transport system has been designed for the rescue team and the injured; which could carry the rescue team to the incident zone and the injured to the health care centers. In addition, this system is able to fly in the air and move on the earth as well; so that the destruction of roads and the heavy traffic load could not prevent the rescue team from arriving early at the incident zone. The system also has the equipment required firebird for debris removing, optimum transport of the injured and first aid.

Keywords: earthquake, accelerating, accessibilities transportation, rescue system

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1548

Authors: Zarita Zainuddin, Mohammed Mahmod Shuaib, Ibtesam M. Abu-Sulyman

Abstract:

The social force model which belongs to the microscopic pedestrian studies has been considered as the supremacy by many researchers and due to the main feature of reproducing the self-organized phenomena resulted from pedestrian dynamic. The Preferred Force which is a measurement of pedestrian-s motivation to adapt his actual velocity to his desired velocity is an essential term on which the model was set up. This Force has gone through stages of development: first of all, Helbing and Molnar (1995) have modeled the original force for the normal situation. Second, Helbing and his co-workers (2000) have incorporated the panic situation into this force by incorporating the panic parameter to account for the panic situations. Third, Lakoba and Kaup (2005) have provided the pedestrians some kind of intelligence by incorporating aspects of the decision-making capability. In this paper, the authors analyze the most important incorporations into the model regarding the preferred force. They make comparisons between the different factors of these incorporations. Furthermore, to enhance the decision-making ability of the pedestrians, they introduce additional features such as the familiarity factor to the preferred force to let it appear more representative of what actually happens in reality.

Keywords: Pedestrian movement, social force model, preferredforce, familiarity.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1221

Authors: I. Alberdi, H. Iribas, A. Martin, N. Aginako

Abstract:

This paper describes a platform that faces the main research areas for e-learning educational contents. Reusability tackles the possibility to use contents in different courses reducing costs and exploiting available data from repositories. In our approach the production of educational material is based on templates to reuse learning objects. In terms of interoperability the main challenge lays on reaching the audience through different platforms. E-learning solution must track social consumption evolution where nowadays lots of multimedia contents are accessed through the social networks. Our work faces it by implementing a platform for generation of multimedia presentations focused on the new paradigm related to social media. The system produces videos-courses on top of web standard SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) ready to be published and shared. Regarding interfaces it is mandatory to satisfy user needs and ease communication. To overcome it the platform deploys virtual teachers that provide natural interfaces while multimodal features remove barriers to pupils with disabilities.

Keywords: Collaborative, multimedia e-learning, reusability, SMIL, virtual teacher

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1481

Authors: Ashwaq Alsulami, Jianhua Shao

Abstract:

Various organisations often need to understand discussions on social media, such as what trending topics are and characteristics of the people engaged in the discussion. A number of approaches have been proposed to extract attributes that would characterise a discussion group. However, these approaches are largely based on supervised learning, and as such they require a large amount of labelled data. We propose an approach in this paper that does not require labelled data, but rely on lexical sources to detect meaningful attributes for online discussion groups. Our findings show an acceptable level of accuracy in detecting attributes for Twitter discussion groups.

Keywords: Attributed community, attribute detection, community, social network.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 466

Authors: S. P. Singh

Abstract:

This paper measures technical and scale efficiencies of 40 Indian sugar companies for the period from 2004-05 to 2013-14. The efficiencies are estimated through input-oriented DEA models using one output variable—value of output (VOP) and five input variables—capital cost (CA), employee cost (EMP), raw material (RW), energy & fuel (E&F) and other manufacturing expenses (OME). The sugar companies are classified into integrated and non-integrated categories to know which one achieves higher level of efficiency. Sources of inefficiency in the industry are identified through decomposing the overall technical efficiency (TE) into pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE). The paper also estimates input-reduction targets for relatively inefficient companies and suggests measures to improve their efficiency level. The findings reveal that the TE does not evince any trend rather it shows fluctuations across years, largely due to erratic and cyclical pattern of sugar production. Further, technical inefficiency in the industry seems to be driven more by the managerial inefficiency than the scale inefficiency, which implies that TE can be improved through better conversion of inputs into output.

Keywords: Sugar industry, companies, technical efficiency, data envelopment analysis, targets.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1323

Authors: Shaza Melies, Abeer Refky, Nihad Mansoor

Abstract:

Multimodality involves the communication between verbal and visual components in various discourses. A painting represents a form of communication between the artist and the viewer in terms of colors, shades, objects, and the title. This paper aims to present how multimodality can be used to decode the verbal and visual dimensions a painting holds. For that purpose, this study uses Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar for the analysis of the multimodal semiotic resources of selected paintings of Salvador Dali. This study investigates the visual decoding of the selected paintings of Salvador Dali and analyzing their social and political meanings using Kress and van Leeuwen’s framework of visual grammar. The paper attempts to answer the following questions: 1. How far can multimodality decode the verbal and non-verbal meanings of surrealistic art? 2. How can Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar be applied to analyze Dali’s paintings? 3. To what extent is Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar apt to deliver political and social messages of Dali? The paper reached the following findings: the framework’s descriptive tools (representational, interactive, and compositional meanings) can be used to analyze the paintings’ title and their visual elements. Social and political messages were delivered by appropriate usage of color, gesture, vectors, modality, and the way social actors were represented.

Keywords: Multimodality, multimodal analysis, paintings analysis, Salvador Dali, visual grammar.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 713

Authors: Yaser Rezapour, Armin Jabbarieh, Fatemeh Behfar, Ahadollah Azami, Aidin Shamsalghorayi

Abstract:

Social ideology, cultural values and principles shaping environment are inferred by environment and structural characteristics of construction site. In other words, this inference manifestation also indicates ideology and culture of its foundation and also applies its principles and values and somehow plays an important role in Cultural Revolution. All human behaviors and artifacts are affected and being influenced by culture. Culture is not abstract concept, it is a spiritual domain that an individual and society grow and develop in it. Social behaviors are affected by environmental comprehension, so the architecture work influences on its audience and it is the environment that fosters social behaviors. Indeed, sustainable architecture should be considered as background of culture for establishing optimal sustainable culture. Since unidentified architecture roots in cultural non identity and abnormalities, so the society possesses identity characteristics and life and as a consequence, the society and architecture are changed by transformation of life style. This article aims to investigate the interaction of architecture, society, environment and sustainable architecture formation in its cultural basis and analyzes the results approaching behavior and sustainable culture in recent era.

Keywords: Culture, Sustainable Architecture, Environment, Development

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3285

Authors: Touba Amirazodi

Abstract:

Rapid process of urbanism development has increased the demand for some infrastructures such as supplying potable water, electricity network and transportation facilities and etc. Nonefficiency of the existing system with parallel managements of urban traffic management has increased the gap between supply and demand of traffic facilities. A sustainable transport system requires some activities more important than air pollution control, traffic or fuel consumption reduction and the studies show that there is no unique solution for solving complicated transportation problems and solving such a problem needs a comprehensive, dynamic and reliable mechanism. Sustainable transport management considers the effects of transportation development on economic efficiency, environmental issues, resources consumption, land use and social justice and helps reduction of environmental effects, increase of transportation system efficiency as well as improvement of social life and aims to enhance efficiency, goods transportation, provide services with minimum access problems that cannot be realized without reorganization of strategies, policies and plans.

Keywords: Sustainable Urban Transport, Environment, Social Justice, Air Pollution

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2494

Authors: Yasser M. Saad, Amr A. El Hanafy, Saleh A. Alkarim, Hussein A. Almehdar, Elrashdy M. Redwan

Abstract:

Camels are substantial providers of transport, milk, sport, meat, shelter, security and capital in many countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Inter simple sequence repeat technique was used to detect the genetic variations among some camel breeds (Majaheim, Safra, Wadah, and Hamara). Actual number of alleles, effective number of alleles, gene diversity, Shannon’s information index and polymorphic bands were calculated for each evaluated camel breed. Neighbor-joining tree that re-constructed for evaluated these camel breeds showed that, Hamara breed is distantly related from the other evaluated camels. In addition, the polymorphic sites, haplotypes and nucleotide diversity were identified for some camelidae cox1 gene sequences (obtained from NCBI). The distance value between C. bactrianus and C. dromedarius (0.072) was relatively low. Analysis of genetic diversity is an important way for conserving Camelus dromedarius genetic resources.

Keywords: Camel, genetics, ISSR, cox1, neighbor-joining.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1270

Authors: Bruno Henrique Rocha Fernandes, Amir Rezaee, Jucelia Appio

Abstract:

The relation between Human Resource Management (HRM) practices and organizational performance remains the subject of substantial literature. Though many studies demonstrated positive relationship, still major influencing variables are not yet clear. This study considers the Person-Environment Fit (PE Fit) and its components, Person-Supervisor (PS), Person-Group (PG), Person-Organization (PO) and Person-Job (PJ) Fit, as possible explanatory variables. We analyzed PE Fit as a moderator between HRM practices and financial performance in the “best companies to work” in Brazil. Data from HRM practices were classified through the High Performance Working Systems (HPWS) construct and data on PE-Fit were obtained through surveys among employees. Financial data, consisting of return on invested capital (ROIC) and price earnings ratio (PER) were collected for publicly traded best companies to work. Findings show that PO Fit and PJ Fit play a significant moderator role for PER but not for ROIC.

Keywords: Financial performance, human resource management, high performance working systems, person-environment fit.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1323

Authors: S. Ahmed Sinthia

Abstract:

Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is one of the densely populated cities in the world. Due to rapid urbanization 60% of its population lives in slum and squatter settlements. The reason behind this poverty is low economic growth, inequitable distribution of income, unequal distribution of productive assets, unemployment and underemployment, high rate of population growth, low level of human resource development, natural disasters, and limited access to public services. Along with poverty, creating pressure on urban land, shelter, plots, open spaces this creates environmental and ecological degradation. These constraints are mostly resulted from the failures of the government policies and measures and only Government can solve this problem. This is now prime time to establish planning and environmental management policy and sustainable urban development for the city and for the urban slum dwellers which are free from eviction, criminals, rent seekers and other miscreants.

Keywords: Economic and resource constraints, environmental degradation and management, government policy, land management and policy, sustainable development.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5726

Authors: Nisha Singhal, Usha Chouhan

Abstract:

At present, application of the extension of soft set theory in decision making problems in day to day life is progressing rapidly. The concepts of fuzzy soft set and its properties have been evolved as an area of interest for the researchers. The generalization of the concepts recently got importance and a rapid growth in the research in this area witnessed its vital-ness. In this paper, an application of the concept of generalized fuzzy soft set to make decision in a social problem is presented. Further, this paper also highlights some of the key issues of the related areas.

Keywords: Soft set, Fuzzy Soft set, Generalized Fuzzy Soft set, Membership and Non-Membership Score.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 929

Authors: Ubaidillah Zuhdi, Shunsuke Mori, Kazuhisa Kamegai

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to forecast the influences of information and communication technology (ICT) on the structural changes of Japanese economies. In this study, input-output (IO) and statistical approaches are used as analysis instruments. More specifically, this study employs Leontief IO coefficients and constrained multivariate regression (CMR) model in order to achieve the purpose. The periods of initial and forecast in this study are 2005 and 2015, respectively. In this study, ICT is represented by ICT capital stocks. This study conducts two levels of analysis, namely macro and micro. The results of macro level analysis show that the dynamics of Japanese economies on the forecast period, relative to the initial period, are not so high. We focus on (1) commerce, (2) business services and office supplies, and (3) personal services sectors when conducting the analysis of the micro level. Further, we analyze its specific IO coefficients when doing this analysis. The results of the analysis explain that ICT gives a strong influence on the changes of these coefficients from initial to forecast periods.

Keywords: Forecast, ICT, Structural changes, Japanese economies.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1660

Authors: M. H. M. Zin, N. L. N. Ibrahim, M. F. M. Zain, M. Jamil

Abstract:

Located within the tropical belt region, there are certain rules which should implemented in creating a passive sustainable housing design in Malaysia. Traditional Malay house possess a strong character with certain special spaces to create a sustainable house which suit to the tropical climate in Malaysia. One of the special space known as verandah or serambi gantung, create various advantages in solving various issues. However, this special space is not extremely being applied currently which produce major issues in term of social and environmental aspects. Hence, this phenomena create a negative impact to the occupant while Malaysia already has a best housing design previously. Therefore, this paper aims to explore both of the main issues mentioned above and reveal the advantages of implementing verandah into passive sustainable housing design in Malaysia. A systematic literature review is the main methodology in this research to identify the various advantages about verandah.. The study reveals that verandah is the best solution in term of social and environmental issues and should be implemented in current housing design in Malaysia.

Keywords: Tropical climate, traditional Malay house, verandah, passive sustainable housing design

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4609

Authors: Michael Grigutsch, Peter Nyhuis

Abstract:

Due to the volatile global economy, enterprises are increasingly focusing on logistics. By investing in suitable measures a company can increase their logistic performance and assert themselves over the competition. However, enterprises are also faced with the challenge of investing available capital for maximum profits. In order to be able to create an informed and quantifiably comprehensible basis for a decision, enterprises need a suitable model for logistically and monetarily evaluating measures in production. Previously, within the frame of Collaborate Research Centre 489 (SFB 489) at the Institute for Production Systems and Logistics, (IFA) a Logistic Information System was developed specifically for providing enterprises in the forging industry with support when making decisions. Based on this research, a new initiative referred to as ‘Transfer Project T7’, aims to develop a universal approach for logistically and monetarily evaluating production measures. This paper focuses on the structural measure echelon storage and their impact on the entire production system.

Keywords: Logistic Operating Curves, Transfer Functions, Production Logistics, Storages Echelon.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1311

Authors: Nives Mikelic Preradovic, Damir Boras, Tomislava Lauc

Abstract:

The paper presents the service learning project titled DicDucFac (idea-leadership-product), that was planned and conducted by the team of information sciences students. It was planned as a workshop dealing with the application of modern social media (Facebook, YouTube, Gmail) for the purposes of selfpromotion, free advertising via social networks and marketing own ideas and/or products in the virtual world. The workshop was organized for highly-skilled computer literate unemployed youth. These youth, as final beneficiaries, will be able to apply what they learned in this workshop to “the real world“, increasing their chances for employment and self-employment. The results of the project reveal that the basic, active-learning principles embodied in our teaching approach allow students to learn more effectively and gain essential life skills (from computer applications to teamwork) that can only be learned by doing. It also shows that our students received the essentials of professional ethics and citizenship through direct, personal engagement in professional activities and the life of the community.

Keywords: Service Learning, Innovation, Engaged Citizenship, Leadership, Social Networks, Marketing.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1980

Authors: Merve Sezer, Ismail Sahin, Ahmet Oguz Akturk

Abstract:

With the use of developing technology, mostly in communication and entertainment, students spend considerable time on the Internet. In addition to the advantages provided by the Internet, social isolation brings problems such as addiction. This is one of the problems of the virtual violence. Cyber bullying is the common name of the intensities which students are exposed on the Internet. The purpose of this study designed as a qualitative research is to find out the cyber bullying varieties and its effects on elementary school students. The participants of this research are 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade students of a primary school and 24 students agreed to participate in the study. The students were asked to fill an interview with semi-structured open-ended questions. According to the results obtained in the research, the most important statements determined by the participants are breaking passwords on social networking sites, slang insult to blasphemy and taking friendship offers from unfamiliar people. According to participants from the research, the most used techniques to prevent themselves from cyber bullying are to complain to the site administrator, closing accounts on social networking sites and countercharging. Also, suggestions were presented according to the findings.

Keywords: Bullying, cyber-bullying, elementary, peer-relationship, virtual victimization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1550

Authors: Lorena Munoz

Abstract:

Since the 1990s, cities in the Global South have implemented revanchist neoliberal urban regeneration policies that cater to urban elites based on “recovering” public space for capital accumulation purposes. These policies often work to reify street vending as survival strategies of ‘last resort’ for marginalized people and as an unorganized, unsystematic economic activities that needs to be disciplined, incorporated and institutionalized into the formal economy. This paper suggests that, by moving away from frameworks that reify formal/informal spheres of the economy, we are able to disrupt and rethink normative understandings of economic practices categorized as ‘informal’. Through queering economies, informal workers center their own understandings of self-value and legitimacy informing their economic lives and contributions to urban life. As such, queering the economy opens up possibilities of rethinking urban redevelopment policies that incorporate rather than remove street vendors, as their economic practices are incorporated into the everyday fabric and aesthetic of urban life.

Keywords: Informal economy, street vending, diverse economies, immigrant informal workers.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Ahasanul Haque, Abdullah Sarwar, Khaliq Ahmad

Abstract:

Networking is important among students to achieve better understanding. Social networking plays an important role in the education. Realizing its huge potential, various organizations, including institutions of higher learning have moved to the area of social networks to interact with their students especially through Facebook. Therefore, measuring the effectiveness of Facebook as a learning tool has become an area of interest to academicians and researchers. Therefore, this study tried to integrate and propose new theoretical and empirical evidences by linking the western idea of adopting Facebook as an alternative learning platform from a Malaysian perspective. This study, thus, aimed to fill a gap by being among the pioneering research that tries to study the effectiveness of adopting Facebook as a learning platform across other cultural settings, namely Malaysia. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis and hypothesis testing. This study finding has provided some insights that would likely affect students’ awareness towards using Facebook as an alternative learning platform in the Malaysian higher learning institutions. At the end, future direction is proposed.

Keywords: Learning Management Tool, Social Networking, Education, Malaysia.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2404

Authors: Juha Kettunen

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for the assessment of research and development projects. The assessment map is developed in this study based on the strategy map of the balanced scorecard approach. The assessment map is applied in a project that aims to reduce the inequality and risk of exclusion of young people from disadvantaged social groups. The assessment map denotes that not only funding but also necessary skills and qualifications should be carefully assessed in the implementation of the project plans so as to achieve the objectives of projects and the desired impact. The results of this study are useful for those who want to develop the implementation of the Erasmus+ Programme and the project teams of research and development projects.

Keywords: Non-formal learning, youth work, social inclusion, innovation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 805

Authors: Hanafizan Hussain

Abstract:

This study shows that several projects will be conducted at the workshop in which using the conceptual model for knowledge sharing approach to create an idea for mobile application. The sharing idea has been done through the collaborative activity in which a group of different field sought to define the mobile application which will lead to new media approach of using social media platform. The collaborative activity will be provided and implemented in the form of one day workshop to determine the approach towards the theme given. The activity later will be continued for four weeks for the participant to prepare for the pitch day workshop. This paper shows the pitch of idea including the interface and prototype for the said products. The collaboration between the members with different field of study shows that social media influenced the knowledge sharing model and its creation or innovations. One of the projects supported a collaborative activity in which a group of young designers sought to define the knowledge sharing model of their ability in creating idea for mobile applications.

Keywords: Mobile application, collaborative activity, conceptual knowledge sharing model, social media platform.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 693

Authors: Ebere U. Okolo, Eunice C. Okpalaojiego, Chimaobi V. Okolo

Abstract:

Some investors prefer to keep their money in the bank rather than invest in Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) due to the high cost of running small and medium scale enterprise in Enugu State. This cost primarily concerns multiple-taxation, enormous tax burdens, levies and charges. This study examines the effect of multiple-taxation on the investments in SMEs. The study used survey design with SME population of 80. Questionnaire was used to collect data. Simple percentages/frequencies were used to analyze the data and the research hypotheses were tested with ANOVA. It was found that multiple taxation has negative effect on SMEs investment. Furthermore, the relationship between SMEs investment and its ability to pay tax is significant. The researcher recommends that government should develop a tax policy that considers the enhancement of SMEs’ capital allowance when imposing taxes. Government should also consider a tax policy that encourages investment in SMEs by consolidating all taxes in one slot and latter disseminate to various government purses rather than having many closely related but different taxes at the same time.

Keywords: Investments, multiple taxation, small and medium enterprises.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6163

Authors: W. Sutopo, M. Hisjam, Yuniaristanto

Abstract:

In general, small-scale vegetables farmers experience problems in improving the safety and quality of vegetables supplied to high-class consumers in modern retailers. They also lack of information to access market. The farmers group and/or cooperative (FGC) should be able to assist its members by providing training in handling and packing vegetables and enhancing marketing capabilities to sell commodities to the modern retailers. This study proposes an agri-food supply chain (ASC) model that involves the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to cultivate the capabilities of farmers to access market. Multi period ASC model is formulated as Weighted Goal Programming (WGP) to analyze the impacts of CSR programs to empower the FGCs in managing the small-scale vegetables farmers. The results show that the proposed model can be used to determine the priority of programs in order to maximize the four goals to be achieved in the CSR programs.

Keywords: agri-food supply chain, corporate social responsibility, small-scale vegetables farmers, weighted goal programming.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1651

Authors: Subramaniam Chandran

Abstract:

This paper analyses the structural changes in education sector since the introduction of liberalization policy in India. This paper explains how the so-called non-profit trusts and societies appropriated the liberalization policy and enhanced themselves as new capitalist class in higher education sector. Over the decades, the policy witnessed the role of private sector in terms of maintaining market equilibrium. The state also witnessed the incompatibility of the private sector in inculcating the values of social justice. The most important consequence of the policy is to witness the rise of new capitalist class and academic capitalism. When the state came to realize that it no longer cope up with market demands, it opens the entry of private sector in higher education. Concessions and tax exemptions were provided to the trusts and societies to establish higher education institutions. There is a basic difference between western countries and India in providing higher education by the trusts and societies. In western countries the big business houses contributed their surplus revenues to promote higher education and research as a complementary service to society and nation. In India, several entrepreneurs came up with business motive using education sector. Over the period, they accumulated wealth at the cost of students and concessions from the government. Four major results can now be identified: production of manpower in view of market demands; reduction of standards in higher education; bypassing the values of social justice; and the rise of new capitalist class from the business of education. This paper tries to substantiate these issues with the inputs from case studies.

Keywords: New capitalism, market, social justice, higher education

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1449

Authors: Maria Inês Pinho

Abstract:

Recent literature on issues of Cultural Management (also called Strategic Management for cultural organizations) systematically seeks for models that allow such equipment to adapt to the constant change that occurs in contemporary societies. In the last decade, the world, and in particular Europe has experienced a serious financial problem that has triggered defensive mechanisms, both in the direction of promoting the balance of public accounts and in the sense of the anonymous loss of the democratic and cultural values of each nation. If in the first case emerged the Troika that led to strong cuts in funding for Culture, deeply affecting those organizations; in the second case, the commonplace citizen is seen fighting for the non-closure of cultural equipment. Despite this, the cultural manager argues that there is no single formula capable of solving the need to adapt to change. In another way, it is up to this agent to know the existing scientific models and to adapt them in the best way to the reality of the institution he coordinates. These actions, as a rule, are concerned with the best performance vis-à-vis external audiences or with the financial sustainability of cultural organizations. They forget, therefore, that all this mechanics cannot function without its internal public, without its Human Resources. The employees of the cultural organization must then have an entrepreneurial posture - must be intrapreneurial. This paper intends to break this form of action and lead the cultural manager to understand that his role should be in the sense of creating value for society, through a good organizational performance. This is only possible with a posture of strategic entrepreneurship. In other words, with a link between: Cultural Management, Cultural Entrepreneurship and Cultural Intrapreneurship. In order to prove this assumption, the case study methodology was used with the symbol of the European Capital of Culture (Casa da Música) as well as qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative techniques included the procedure of in-depth interviews to managers, founders and patrons and focus groups to public with and without experience in managing cultural facilities. The quantitative techniques involved the application of a questionnaire to middle management and employees of Casa da Música. After the triangulation of the data, it was proved that contemporary management of cultural organizations must implement among its practices, the concept of Strategic Entrepreneurship and its variables. Also, the topics which characterize the Cultural Intrapreneurship notion (job satisfaction, the quality in organizational performance, the leadership and the employee engagement and autonomy) emerged. The findings show then that to be sustainable, a cultural organization should meet the concerns of both external and internal forum. In other words, it should have an attitude of citizenship to the communities, visible on a social responsibility and a participatory management, only possible with the implementation of the concept of Strategic Entrepreneurship and its variable of Cultural Intrapreneurship.

Keywords: Cultural entrepreneurship, cultural intrapreneurship, cultural organizations, strategic management.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1172

Authors: Zhang Bian, Zhao Jijun

Abstract:

The urban layout of Xi’an city (the capital Chang’an in the Tang dynasty) was shaped by feudal etiquette, but this dominant factor was replaced by modern city planning during the period of the Republic of China. This makes Xi’an a representative case to explore the transformation process of Chinese cities in the early 20^th century. By analyzing the contrast and connection between the historical texts of city planning and the realistic construction activities recorded by the maps and images, this paper reviews the transformation process of the urban space of Xi’an in the early 20^th century and divides it into four phases according to important events that significantly impacted planning and construction activities. Based on this, the entire transformation of Xi’an’s city planning and practices can be characterized by three aspects: 1) the dominant force of the city plan and construction changed with the establishment of modern city administrations; 2) the layout of the city was continuously broadened to meet the demand of modern economy and city life; and, 3) the ritual space was transformed into practical space for commercial and recreational activities.

Keywords: City space, early 20th century, transformation, Xi’an city.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 528

Authors: Dalal Benboutrif

Abstract:

Religion and Development relation is one of the most arguable phrases amongst politicians, philosophers, clerics, scientists, sociologists and even the public. The main objective of this research is to clarify the relations, contrasts and interactions between religion and the major types of development including social, political, economic and scientific developments, by focusing on Islam religion. A review of the literature was performed concerning religion and development relations and conflicts, by focusing on Islam religion and then the unprocessed tips of the review were characterized. Regarding clarification of the key points of the literature, three main sectors were considered in the research. The first sector of the research mainly focused on the philosophical views on religion, which were analyzed by main evaluation of three famous philosophers’ ideas: ‘Kant’, ‘Hegel’ and ‘Weber’, and then a critical discussion on Weber’s idea about Islam and development was applied. The second sector was specified to ‘Religion and Development’ and mainly discussed the role of religion in development through poverty reduction, the interconnection of religion, spirituality and social development, religious education effects on social development, and the relation of religion with political development. The third sector was specified to ‘Islam and Development’ and mainly discussed the Islamic golden age of science, major reasons of today’s backwardness (non-development) of most Islamic countries, and Quranic instructions regarding adaptability of Islam with development. The findings of the current research approved the research hypothesis as: ‘Religious instructions (included Islam) are not in conflict with development’, rather, it could have positive effects mainly on social development and it can pave the way for society to develop. Turkey was considered as a study model, as a successful developed Islamic country demonstrating the non-conflicting relation of Islam and development.

Keywords: Development, Islam, philosophy, religion.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1627

Authors: Muhammad Naveed, Yang Caixia

Abstract:

The need for national space legislation is pivotal, particularly in light of the fact that in recent years space activities have grown immensely both in volume and diversity. Countries are progressively developing capabilities in space exploration and scientific discoveries, market their capabilities to manufacture satellites, provide launch services from their facilities and are looking to privatize and commercialize their space resources. Today, nations are also seeking to comprehend the technological and financial potential of the private sector and are considering to share their financial burdens with them and to limit their exposures to risks, but they are lagging behind in legal framework in this regard. In the perspective of these emerging developments, it is therefore, felt that national space legislation should be enacted with the goal of building and implementing a vibrant and transparent legal framework at the national level to hasten investments and to ensure growth in this capital intensive - highly yield strategic sector. This study looks at (I) the international legal framework that governs space activities; (II) motivation behind making national space laws; and (III) the need for national space legislation. The paper concludes with some recommendations with regards to the conceivable future direction for national space legislation, in particular space empowered sub-areas for countries.

Keywords: International conventions, national legislation, space faring nation, space law.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1174