Search results for: public organization
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1659

Search results for: public organization

549 Role of Environmental Focus in Legal Protection and Efficient Management of Wetlands in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Authors: K. R. Balabiyev, A. O. Kaipbayeva

Abstract:

The article discusses the legal framework of the government’s environmental function and analyzes the role of the national policy in protection of wetlands. The problem is of interest for it deals with the most important branch of economy – utilization of Kazakhstan’s natural resources, protection of health and environmental wellbeing of the population. Development of a longterm environmental program addressing the protection of wetlands represents the final stage of the government’s environmental policy, and is a relatively new function for the public administration system. It appeared due to the environmental measures that require immediate decisions to be taken. It is an integral part of the effort in the field of management of state-owned natural resource, as well as of the measures aimed at efficient management of natural resources to avoid their early depletion or contamination.

Keywords: Environmental focus, government’s environmental function, protection of wetlands.

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548 A Multi-Phase Methodology for Investigating Localisation Policies within the GCC: The Hotel Industry in the KSA and the UAE

Authors: Areej Azhar, Peter Duncan, David Edgar

Abstract:

Due to a high unemployment rate among local people and a high reliance on expatriate workers, the governments in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries have been implementing programmes of localisation (replacing foreign workers with GCC nationals). These programmes have been successful in the public sector but much less so in the private sector. However, there are now insufficient jobs for locals in the public sector and the onus to provide employment has fallen on the private sector. This paper is concerned with a study, which is a work in progress (certain elements are complete but not the whole study), investigating the effective implementation of localisation policies in four- and five-star hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The purpose of the paper is to identify the research gap, and to present the need for the research. Further, it will explain how this research was conducted. Studies of localisation in the GCC countries are under-represented in scholarly literature. Currently, the hotel sectors in KSA and UAE play an important part in the countries’ economies. However, the total proportion of Saudis working in the hotel sector in KSA is slightly under 8%, and in the UAE, the hotel sector remains highly reliant on expatriates. There is therefore a need for research on strategies to enhance the implementation of the localisation policies in general and in the hotel sector in particular. Further, despite the importance of the hotel sector to their economies, there remains a dearth of research into the implementation of localisation policies in this sector. Indeed, as far as the researchers are aware, there is no study examining localisation in the hotel sector in KSA, and few in the UAE. This represents a considerable research gap. Regarding how the research was carried out, a multiple case study strategy was used. The four- and five-star hotel sector in KSA is one of the cases, while the four- and five-star hotel sector in the UAE is the other case. Four- and five-star hotels in KSA and the UAE were chosen as these countries have the longest established localisation policies of all the GCC states and there are more hotels of these classifications in these countries than in any of the other Gulf countries. A literature review was carried out to underpin the research. The empirical data were gathered in three phases. In order to gain a pre-understanding of the issues pertaining to the research context, Phase I involved eight unstructured interviews with officials from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (three interviewees); the Saudi Human Resources Development Fund (one); the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (three); and the Abu Dhabi Development Fund (one).

In Phase II, a questionnaire was administered to 24 managers and 24 employees in four- and five-star hotels in each country to obtain their beliefs, attitudes, opinions, preferences and practices concerning localisation. Unstructured interviews were carried out in Phase III with six managers in each country in order to allow them to express opinions that may not have been explored in sufficient depth in the questionnaire. The interviews in Phases I and III were analysed using thematic analysis and SPSS will be used to analyse the questionnaire data. It is recommended that future research be undertaken on a larger scale, with a larger sample taken from all over KSA and the UAE rather than from only four cities (i.e., Riyadh and Jeddah in KSA and Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE), as was the case in this research.

Keywords: KSA, UAE, localisation, hotels, Human Resource Management.

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547 Computer Generated Hologram for SemiFragile Watermarking with Encrypted Images

Authors: G. Schirripa Spagnolo, M. De Santis

Abstract:

The protection of the contents of digital products is referred to as content authentication. In some applications, to be able to authenticate a digital product could be extremely essential. For example, if a digital product is used as a piece of evidence in the court, its integrity could mean life or death of the accused. Generally, the problem of content authentication can be solved using semifragile digital watermarking techniques. Recently many authors have proposed Computer Generated Hologram Watermarking (CGHWatermarking) techniques. Starting from these studies, in this paper a semi-fragile Computer Generated Hologram coding technique is proposed, which is able to detect malicious tampering while tolerating some incidental distortions. The proposed technique uses as watermark an encrypted image, and it is well suitable for digital image authentication.

Keywords: Asymmetric cryptography, Semi-Fragile watermarking, Image authentication, Hologram watermark, Public- Key Cryptography, RSA.

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546 Machine Learning Methods for Environmental Monitoring and Flood Protection

Authors: Alexander L. Pyayt, Ilya I. Mokhov, Bernhard Lang, Valeria V. Krzhizhanovskaya, Robert J. Meijer

Abstract:

More and more natural disasters are happening every year: floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc. In order to reduce the risk of possible damages, governments all around the world are investing into development of Early Warning Systems (EWS) for environmental applications. The most important task of the EWS is identification of the onset of critical situations affecting environment and population, early enough to inform the authorities and general public. This paper describes an approach for monitoring of flood protections systems based on machine learning methods. An Artificial Intelligence (AI) component has been developed for detection of abnormal dike behaviour. The AI module has been integrated into an EWS platform of the UrbanFlood project (EU Seventh Framework Programme) and validated on real-time measurements from the sensors installed in a dike.

Keywords: Early Warning System, intelligent environmentalmonitoring, machine learning, flood protection.

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545 Sovereign Credit Risk Measures

Authors: Kristýna Pokorná, Petr Teplý

Abstract:

This paper focuses on sovereign credit risk meaning a hot topic related to the current Eurozone crisis. In the light of the recent financial crisis, market perception of the creditworthiness of individual sovereigns has changed significantly. Before the outbreak of the financial crisis, market participants did not differentiate between credit risk born by individual states despite different levels of public indebtedness. In the proceeding of the financial crisis, the market participants became aware of the worsening fiscal situation in the European countries and started to discriminate among government issuers. Concerns about the increasing sovereign risk were reflected in surging sovereign risk premium. The main of this paper is to shed light on the characteristics of the sovereign risk with the special attention paid to the mutual relation between credit spread and the CDS premium as the main measures of the sovereign risk premium.

Keywords: cointegration, credit default swap, credit risk, credit spread, sovereign risk

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544 Electronic Government Services Adoption from Multi-Nationalities Perspectives

Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah, Jianing Mi, Cheng Feng

Abstract:

Electronic government is the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by the government to improve public service delivery to citizens and businesses. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors influencing the adoption and use of e-government services from different nationalities perspectives. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) will be used as the theoretical framework for the study. A questionnaire would be developed and administered to 500 potential respondents who are students from different nationalities in China. Predictors such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, computer self-efficacy, trust in both the internet and government, social influence and perceived service quality would be examined with regard to their impact on the intention to use e-government services. This research is currently at the design and implementation stage. The completion of this study will provide useful insights into understanding factors impacting the decision to use e-government services from a cross and multi nationalities perspectives.

Keywords: Different nationalities, e-government, e-government services, technology acceptance model.

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543 A Survey on the Requirements of University Course Timetabling

Authors: Nurul Liyana Abdul Aziz, Nur Aidya Hanum Aizam

Abstract:

Course timetabling problems occur every semester in a university which includes the allocation of resources (subjects, lecturers and students) to a number of fixed rooms and timeslots. The assignment is carried out in a way such that there are no conflicts within rooms, students and lecturers, as well as fulfilling a range of constraints. The constraints consist of rules and policies set up by the universities as well as lecturers’ and students’ preferences of courses to be allocated in specific timeslots. This paper specifically focuses on the preferences of the course timetabling problem in one of the public universities in Malaysia. The demands will be considered into our existing mathematical model to make it more generalized and can be used widely. We have distributed questionnaires to a number of lecturers and students of the university to investigate their demands and preferences for their desired course timetable. We classify the preferences thus converting them to construct one mathematical model that can produce such timetable.

Keywords: University course timetabling problem, integer programming, preferences, constraints.

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542 The Female Beauty Myth Fostered by the Mass Media

Authors: Yoojin Chung

Abstract:

This paper starts with a critical view of beautiful female images in the mass media being frequently generated by a stereotypical Korean concept of beauty. Several female beauty myths have evolved in Korea during the present decade. Nearly all of them have formed due to a deeply-ingrained androcentric ideology which objectifies women. Mass media causes the public to hold a distorted concept about female beauty. There is a huge gap between women in reality and representative women in the mass media. It is essential to have an unbiased perception of female images presented in the mass media. Due to cosmetic advertisements projecting contemporary images of female beauty to promote products, cosmetics images will be examined in regard to female beauty myths portrayed by the mass media. This paper will analyze features of female beauty myths in Korea and their intrinsic characteristics.

Keywords: Cosmetics Advertisements, Female Beauty Myth, Korean ideologies, Roland Barthes' Mythology Theory

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541 A Practical Model for Managing Beach Safety Focusing on Tourist Drownings in Koh Samui, Thailand

Authors: Siyathorn Khunon, Thanawit Buafai

Abstract:

This paper aims to investigate management of beach safety with a focus on tourist drownings in Samui. The data collected in this investigation will then lead to the proposal of a practical management model suitable for use in Samui. Qualitative research was conducted in the following manner: nine stakeholders from local government organizations and tourism businesses were interviewed in-depth. Additionally, a best practice case study from Phuket was applied to analyze beach safety. Twelve foreign tourists were also interviewed. Then, a focus group comprised of 32 people was used to determine practical solutions for enhancing tourists’ safety on the beach in Samui. A steering committee to coordinate between public and private organizations was proposed to manage and enhance tourists’ safety. A practical model is proposed to increase the safety level of tourists in Samui

Keywords: Beach safety, drowning, tourists, Samui.

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540 Cryptography Over Elliptic Curve Of The Ring Fq[e], e4 = 0

Authors: Chillali Abdelhakim

Abstract:

Groups where the discrete logarithm problem (DLP) is believed to be intractable have proved to be inestimable building blocks for cryptographic applications. They are at the heart of numerous protocols such as key agreements, public-key cryptosystems, digital signatures, identification schemes, publicly verifiable secret sharings, hash functions and bit commitments. The search for new groups with intractable DLP is therefore of great importance.The goal of this article is to study elliptic curves over the ring Fq[], with Fq a finite field of order q and with the relation n = 0, n ≥ 3. The motivation for this work came from the observation that several practical discrete logarithm-based cryptosystems, such as ElGamal, the Elliptic Curve Cryptosystems . In a first time, we describe these curves defined over a ring. Then, we study the algorithmic properties by proposing effective implementations for representing the elements and the group law. In anther article we study their cryptographic properties, an attack of the elliptic discrete logarithm problem, a new cryptosystem over these curves.

Keywords: Elliptic Curve Over Ring, Discrete Logarithm Problem.

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539 The Study of Internship Performances: Comparison of Information Technology Interns towards Students’ Types and Background Profiles

Authors: Shutchapol Chopvitayakun

Abstract:

Internship program is a compulsory course of many undergraduate programs in Thailand. It gives opportunities to a lot of senior students as interns to practice their working skills in the real organizations and also gives chances for interns to face real-world working problems. Interns also learn how to solve those problems by direct and indirect experiences. This program in many schools is a well-structured course with a contract or agreement made with real business organizations. Moreover, this program also offers opportunities for interns to get jobs after completing it from where the internship program takes place. Interns also learn how to work as a team and how to associate with other colleagues, trainers, and superiors of each organization in term of social hierarchy, self-responsibility, and self-disciplinary. This research focuses on senior students of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Thailand whose studying major is information technology program. They practiced their working skills or took internship programs in the real business sector or real operating organizations in 2015-2016. Interns are categorized in to two types: normal program and special program. For special program, students study in weekday evening from Monday to Friday or Weekend and most of them work full-time or part-time job. For normal program, students study in weekday working hours and most of them do not work. The differences of these characters and the outcomes of internship performance were studied and analyzed in this research. This work applied some statistical analytics to find out whether the internship performance of each intern type has different performances statistically or not.

Keywords: Internship, intern, senior student, information technology program.

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538 Challenges of e-Government Services Adoption in Saudi Arabia from an e-Ready Citizen Perspective

Authors: Mohammed Alshehri, Steve Drew

Abstract:

More and more governments around the world are introducing e-government as a means of reducing costs, improving services, saving time and increasing effectiveness and efficiency in the public sector Therefore e-government has been identified as one of the top priorities for Saudi government and all its agencies. However, the adoption of e-government is facing many challenges and barriers such as technological, cultural, organizational, and social issues which must be considered and treated carefully by any government contemplating its adoption. This paper reports on a pilot study amongst online (e-ready) citizens to identify the challenges and barriers that affect the adoption of e-government services especially from their perspective in Saudi society. Based on the analysis of data collected from an online survey the researcher was able to identify some of the important barriers and challenges from the e-ready citizen perspective. As a result, this study has generated a list of possible strategies to move towards successful adoption of egovernment services in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Challenges, E-government services, adoption, SaudiArabia

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537 The Environmental Conservation Behavior of the Applied Health Science Students of Green and Clean University

Authors: Nareelux Suwannobol, Plernpit Promrak, Kiattisak Batsungnoen

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the environmental conservation behavior of the Applied Health Science students of Suranaree University of Technology, a green and clean university. The sample group was 184 Applied Health Science students (medical, nursing, and public health). A questionnaire was used to collect information. The result of the study found that the students had more negative than positive behaviors towards energy, water, and forest conservation. This result can be used as basic information for designing long-term behavior modification activities or research projects on environmental conservation. Thus Applied Health Science students will be encouraged to be conscious and also be a good example of environmental conservation behavior.

Keywords: Energy conservation behavior, Water conservationbehavior, Forest conservation behavior, Green and clean University.

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536 A Statistical Study on Young UAE Driver’s Behavior towards Road Safety

Authors: Sadia Afroza, Rakiba Rouf

Abstract:

Road safety and associated behaviors have received significant attention in recent years, reflecting general public concern. This paper portrays a statistical scenario of the young drivers in UAE with emphasis on various concern points of young driver’s behavior and license issuance. Although there are many factors contributing to road accidents, statistically it is evident that age plays a major role in road accidents. Despite ensuring strict road safety laws enforced by the UAE government, there is a staggering correlation among road accidents and young driver’s at UAE. However, private organizations like BMW and RoadSafetyUAE have extended its support on conducting surveys on driver’s behavior with an aim to ensure road safety. Various strategies such as road safety law enforcement, license issuance, adapting new technologies like safety cameras and raising awareness can be implemented to improve the road safety concerns among young drivers.

Keywords: Driving behavior, GLDS, road safety, UAE drivers, young drivers.

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535 Heterogeneity-Aware Load Balancing for Multimedia Access over Wireless LAN Hotspots

Authors: Yen-Cheng Chen, Gong-Da Fang

Abstract:

Wireless LAN (WLAN) access in public hotspot areas becomes popular in the recent years. Since more and more multimedia information is available in the Internet, there is an increasing demand for accessing multimedia information through WLAN hotspots. Currently, the bandwidth offered by an IEEE 802.11 WLAN cannot afford many simultaneous real-time video accesses. A possible way to increase the offered bandwidth in a hotspot is the use of multiple access points (APs). However, a mobile station is usually connected to the WLAN AP with the strongest received signal strength indicator (RSSI). The total consumed bandwidth cannot be fairly allocated among those APs. In this paper, we will propose an effective load-balancing scheme via the support of the IAPP and SNMP in APs. The proposed scheme is an open solution and doesn-t need any changes in both wireless stations and APs. This makes load balancing possible in WLAN hotspots, where a variety of heterogeneous mobile devices are employed.

Keywords: Wireless LAN, Load balancing, IAPP, SNMP.

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534 Entrepreneur Universal Education System: Future Evolution

Authors: Khaled Elbehiery, Hussam Elbehiery

Abstract:

The success of education is dependent on evolution and adaptation, while the traditional system has worked before, one type of education evolved with the digital age is virtual education that has influenced efficiency in today’s learning environments. Virtual learning has indeed proved its efficiency to overcome the drawbacks of the physical environment such as time, facilities, location, etc., but despite what it had accomplished, the educational system over all is not adequate for being a productive system yet. Earning a degree is not anymore enough to obtain a career job; it is simply missing the skills and creativity. There are always two sides of a coin; a college degree or a specialized certificate, each has its own merits, but having both can put you on a successful IT career path. For many of job-seeking individuals across world to have a clear meaningful goal for work and education and positively contribute the community, a productive correlation and cooperation among employers, universities alongside with the individual technical skills is a must for generations to come. Fortunately, the proposed research “Entrepreneur Universal Education System” is an evolution to meet the needs of both employers and students, in addition to gaining vital and real-world experience in the chosen fields is easier than ever. The new vision is to empower the education to improve organizations’ needs which means improving the world as its primary goal, adopting universal skills of effective thinking, effective action, effective relationships, preparing the students through real-world accomplishment and encouraging them to better serve their organization and their communities faster and more efficiently.

Keywords: Virtual education, academic degree, certificates, internship, amazon web services, Microsoft Azure, Google cloud platform, hybrid models.

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533 Novelty as a Measure of Interestingness in Knowledge Discovery

Authors: Vasudha Bhatnagar, Ahmed Sultan Al-Hegami, Naveen Kumar

Abstract:

Rule Discovery is an important technique for mining knowledge from large databases. Use of objective measures for discovering interesting rules leads to another data mining problem, although of reduced complexity. Data mining researchers have studied subjective measures of interestingness to reduce the volume of discovered rules to ultimately improve the overall efficiency of KDD process. In this paper we study novelty of the discovered rules as a subjective measure of interestingness. We propose a hybrid approach based on both objective and subjective measures to quantify novelty of the discovered rules in terms of their deviations from the known rules (knowledge). We analyze the types of deviation that can arise between two rules and categorize the discovered rules according to the user specified threshold. We implement the proposed framework and experiment with some public datasets. The experimental results are promising.

Keywords: Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD), Interestingness, Subjective Measures, Novelty Index.

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532 Demythologization of Female Smokers in Korean Films

Authors: Yoojin Chung

Abstract:

Compare to western cultures, women who smoke in Korea are not tolerated. Korean people are prejudiced against women smoking. In spite of the relative prevalence of sexual equality in South Korea, women too often feel obliged to confine their smoking to only a few public spaces, such as designated smoking rooms, coffee shops or pubs. Korean Confucianism classifies people according to gender and social status. According to Confucian culture, cigarettes convey clear social meanings as well as reinforcing status, age and gender, beyond personal preferences. For these reasons, the significant of people smoking in Korea varies according to their gender. This study will determine reasons for the ongoing sexual discrimination against female Korean smokers thorough analyzing Korean films. Since film is a medium reflects social phenomenon. Roland Barthes- Mythology Theory will be used to analyze films.

Keywords: Korean films, Mythology, Sexual discrimination, Women Smoking

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531 Kazakhstani Koreans- Conflict of Linguistic Identity: In–between the Sovietized and Kazakhstani Citizens

Authors: Soon-ok Myong, Byong-soon Chun

Abstract:

This paper intends to identify the ethnic Kazakhstani Koreans- political process of identity formation by exploring their narrative and practice about the state language represented in the course of their becoming the new citizens of a new independent state. The Russophone Kazakhstani Koreans- inability to speak the official language of their affiliated state is considered there as dissatisfying the basic requirement of citizens of the independent state, so that they are becoming marginalized from the public sphere. Their contradictory attitude that at once demonstrates nominal reception and practical rejection of the obligatory state language unveils a high barrier inside between their self-language and other-language. In this paper, the ethnic Korean group-s conflicting linguistic identity is not seen as a free and simple choice, but as a dynamic struggle and political process in which the subject-s past experiences and memories intersect with the external elements of pressure.

Keywords: Ethnic Kazakhstani Koreans, Soviet Korean's Russification, Linguistic Identity, Russian-Kazakh Dichotomy.

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530 Awakeness, Awareness and Learning Mathematics for Arab Students: A Pilot Study

Authors: S. Rawashdi, D. Bshouty

Abstract:

This paper aimed at discussing how to urge middle and high school Arab students in Israel to be aware of the importance of and investing in learning mathematics. In the first phase of the study, three questionnaires were passed to two nine-grade classes, one on Awareness, one on Awakeness and one on Learning. One of the two classes was an outstanding class from a public school (PUBS) of 31 students, and the other a heterogeneous class from a private school (PRIS) with 31 students. The Learning questionnaire which was administrated to the Awareness and Awareness topics was passed to PRIS and the Awareness and Awareness Questionnaires were passed to the PUBS class After two months we passed the post-questionnaire to both classes to validate the long-term impact of the study. The findings of the study show that awakeness and awareness processes have an effect on the math learning process, on its context in students' daily lives and their growing interest in learning math.

Keywords: Awakeness, awareness, learning mathematics, pupils.

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529 Towards a Model of Support in the Areas of Services of Educational Assistance and Tutoring in Middle Education in Mexico

Authors: Margarita Zavala, Julio Rolón, Gabriel Chavira, José González, Jorge Orozco, Roberto Pichardo

Abstract:

Adolescence is a neuralgic stage in the formation of every human being, generally at this stage is when the middle school level is studied. In 2006 in Mexico incorporated “mentoring" space to assist students in their integration and participation in life. In public middle schools, is sometimes difficult to be aware of situations that affect students because of the number of them and traditional records management. Whit this they lose the opportunity to provide timely support as a preventive way. In order to provide this support, it is required to know the students by detecting the relevant information that has greater impact on their learning process. This research is looking to check if it is possible to identify student’s relevant information to detect when it is at risk, and then to propose a model to manage in a proper way such information.

Keywords: Adolescence, mentoring, middle school students, mentoring system support.

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528 Knowledge Transfer among Cross-Functional Teams as a Continual Improvement Process

Authors: Sergio Mauricio Pérez López, Luis Rodrigo Valencia Pérez, Juan Manuel Peña Aguilar, Adelina Morita Alexander

Abstract:

The culture of continuous improvement in organizations is very important as it represents a source of competitive advantage. This article discusses the transfer of knowledge between companies which formed cross-functional teams and used a dynamic model for knowledge creation as a framework. In addition, the article discusses the structure of cognitive assets in companies and the concept of "stickiness" (which is defined as an obstacle to the transfer of knowledge). The purpose of this analysis is to show that an improvement in the attitude of individual members of an organization creates opportunities, and that an exchange of information and knowledge leads to generating continuous improvements in the company as a whole. This article also discusses the importance of creating the proper conditions for sharing tacit knowledge. By narrowing gaps between people, mutual trust can be created and thus contribute to an increase in sharing. The concept of adapting knowledge to new environments will be highlighted, as it is essential for companies to translate and modify information so that such information can fit the context of receiving organizations. Adaptation will ensure that the transfer process is carried out smoothly by preventing "stickiness". When developing the transfer process on cross-functional teams (as opposed to working groups), the team acquires the flexibility and responsiveness necessary to meet objectives. These types of cross-functional teams also generate synergy due to the array of different work backgrounds of their individuals. When synergy is established, a culture of continuous improvement is created.

Keywords: Knowledge transfer, continuous improvement, teamwork, cognitive assets.

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527 Examining the Potential of Linear Parks as Sustainable Development Components

Authors: Andreas Savvides, Chloe Kadi

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to investigate how the planning and design of open parks within neighborhoods and communities can promote physical activity in order to enhance the health of the local population. A review of relevant literature was conducted for studies regarding the relationship between health and physical activity and the park characteristics that can promote physical activity among people. The findings of the literature review were then compared and analyzed, in order to identify the main characteristics of urban parks that can promote physical activity and enhance public health. In order to find out how the characteristics identified in the literature were applied in real life, an analysis of three existing parks in three different countries was conducted. The parks, apart from their geographical location, also vary in size and layout. The parks were chosen because they are urban open parks and they include facilities for physical activity.

Keywords: Urban planning, active living behavior, open parks, sustainable mobility.

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526 The Fuel Consumption and Non Linear Model Metropolitan and Large City Transportation System

Authors: Mudjiastuti Handajani

Abstract:

The national economy development affects the vehicle ownership which ultimately increases fuel consumption. The rise of the vehicle ownership is dominated by the increasing number of motorcycles. This research aims to analyze and identify the characteristics of fuel consumption, the city transportation system, and to analyze the relationship and the effect of the city transportation system on the fuel consumption. A multivariable analysis is used in this study. The data analysis techniques include: a Multivariate Multivariable Analysis by using the R software. More than 84% of fuel on Java is consumed in metropolitan and large cities. The city transportation system variables that strongly effect the fuel consumption are population, public vehicles, private vehicles and private bus. This method can be developed to control the fuel consumption by considering the urban transport system and city tipology. The effect can reducing subsidy on the fuel consumption, increasing state economic.

Keywords: city, consumption, fuel, transportation

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525 Biological Soil Conservation Planning by Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation Techniques (Case Study: Bonkuh Watershed in Iran)

Authors: Ali Akbar Jamali

Abstract:

This paper discusses site selection process for biological soil conservation planning. It was supported by a valuefocused approach and spatial multi-criteria evaluation techniques. A first set of spatial criteria was used to design a number of potential sites. Next, a new set of spatial and non-spatial criteria was employed, including the natural factors and the financial costs, together with the degree of suitability for the Bonkuh watershed to biological soil conservation planning and to recommend the most acceptable program. The whole process was facilitated by a new software tool that supports spatial multiple criteria evaluation, or SMCE in GIS software (ILWIS). The application of this tool, combined with a continual feedback by the public attentions, has provided an effective methodology to solve complex decisional problem in biological soil conservation planning.

Keywords: GIS, Biological soil conservation planning, Spatial multi-criteria evaluation, Iran

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524 Identification of Factors Influencing Company's Competitiveness

Authors: D. Ščeulovs, E. Gaile-Sarkane

Abstract:

Fast development of technologies, economic globalization and many other external circumstances stimulate company’s competitiveness. One of the major trends in today’s business is the shift to the exploitation of the Internet and electronic environment for entrepreneurial needs. Latest researches confirm that e-environment provides a range of possibilities and opportunities for companies, especially for micro-, small- and medium-sized companies, which have limited resources. The usage of e-tools raises the effectiveness and the profitability of an organization, as well as its competitiveness. In the electronic market, as in the classic one, there are factors, such as globalization, development of new technology, price sensitive consumers, Internet, new distribution and communication channels that influence entrepreneurship. As a result of eenvironment development, e-commerce and e-marketing grow as well.

Objective of the paper: To describe and identify factors influencing company’s competitiveness in e-environment.

Research methodology: The authors employ well-established quantitative and qualitative methods of research: grouping, analysis, statistics method, factor analysis in SPSS 20 environment, etc. The theoretical and methodological background of the research is formed by using scientific researches and publications, such as that from mass media and professional literature; statistical information from legal institutions as well as information collected by the authors during the surveying process. Research result: The authors detected and classified factors influencing competitiveness in e-environment. 

In this paper, the authors presented their findings based on theoretical, scientific, and field research. Authors have conducted a research on e-environment utilization among Latvian enterprises. 

Keywords: Competitiveness, e-environment, factors, factor analysis.

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523 Characterization of Complex Electromagnetic Environment Created by Multiple Sources of Electromagnetic Radiation

Authors: C. Temaneh-Nyah, J. Makiche, J. Nujoma

Abstract:

This paper considers the characterization of a complex electromagnetic environment due to multiple sources of electromagnetic radiation as a five-dimensional surface which can be described by a set of several surface sections including: instant EM field intensity distribution maps at a given frequency and altitude, instantaneous spectrum at a given location in space and the time evolution of the electromagnetic field spectrum at a given point in space. This characterization if done over time can enable the exposure levels of Radio Frequency Radiation at every point in the analysis area to be determined and results interpreted based on comparison of the determined RFR exposure level with the safe guidelines for general public exposure given by recognized body such as the International commission on non-ionizing radiation protection (ICNIRP), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the National Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA).

Keywords: Electromagnetic Environment, Electric Field Strength, Mathematical Models.

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522 Speech Acts and Politeness Strategies in an EFL Classroom in Georgia

Authors: Tinatin Kurdghelashvili

Abstract:

The paper deals with the usage of speech acts and politeness strategies in an EFL classroom in Georgia (Rep of). It explores the students’ and the teachers’ practice of the politeness strategies and the speech acts of apology, thanking, request, compliment / encouragement, command, agreeing / disagreeing, addressing and code switching. The research method includes observation as well as a questionnaire. The target group involves the students from Georgian public schools and two certified, experienced local English teachers. The analysis is based on Searle’s Speech Act Theory and Brown and Levinson’s politeness strategies. The findings show that the students have certain knowledge regarding politeness yet they fail to apply them in English communication. In addition, most of the speech acts from the classroom interaction are used by the teachers and not the students. Thereby, it is suggested that teachers should cultivate the students’ communicative competence and attempt to give them opportunities to practise more English speech acts than they do today.

Keywords: English as a foreign language, Georgia, politeness principles, speech acts.

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521 Legal Knowledge of Legislated Employment Rights: An Empirical Study

Authors: Hapriza Ashari, Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod

Abstract:

This article aims to assess the level of basic knowledge of statutory employment rights at the workplace as prescribed by the Malaysian Employment Act 1955. The statutory employment rights comprises of a variety of individual employment rights such as protections of wages, statutory right to the general standard of working time, statutory right to rest day, public holidays, annual leave and sick leave as well as female employee’s statutory right to paid maternity leave. A field survey was carried out to collect data by using self-administered questionnaires from Human Resource (HR) practitioners in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The results reveal that the level of basic knowledge of legislated employment rights varies between different types of statutory rights from high level to low level.

Keywords: Employment legislation, Human Resource (HR) practitioner, legal knowledge, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

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520 Employees’ Perception Analysis towards Leadership Effectiveness Competencies in Indian Manufacturing Industries

Authors: Sandhya, Rajbir Singh, Ramesh Kumar

Abstract:

The purpose of this research paper on the subject of Leadership Effectiveness attempts to conduct a focused amount of research to examine the employees’ perceptions pertaining to specific competencies of leadership effectiveness in Indian manufacturing industries and to correlate their perceptions between private sectors and public sector undertakings. It specifically looks at the current definitions of leadership and looks at some historical background information relating to the more common theories that relate to leadership and effectiveness. This research was conducted by using a variety of current books and periodical articles on the topic of leadership effectiveness and employees’ perceptions. A number of leadership effectiveness competencies have been identified. The demographic details and perception of the employees on importance of leadership effectiveness competencies have been obtained through a well designed online questionnaire. For this purpose, a likert scale of seven-point has been used. Descriptive and inferential statistics is used to analyze the gathered data.

Keywords: Employees Perception, Leadership Effectiveness, Leadership Competencies, Manufacturing.

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