Search results for: working as a group

Authors: Clara Inés Pardo Martínez, William H. Alfonso Piña

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In emerging economies, recycling is an opportunity for the cities to increase the lifespan of sanitary landfills, reduce the costs of the solid waste management, decrease the environmental problems of the waste treatment through reincorporate waste in the productive cycle and protect and develop people’s livelihoods of informal waste pickers. However, few studies have analysed the possibilities and strategies to integrate formal and informal sectors in the solid waste management for the benefit of both. This study seek to make a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis in three recycling associations of Bogotá with the aim to understand and determine the situation of recycling from perspective of informal sector in its transition to enter as authorized waste providers. Data used in the analysis are derived from multiple strategies such as literature review, the Bogota’s recycling database, focus group meetings, governmental reports, national laws and regulations and specific interviews with key stakeholders. Results of this study show as the main stakeholders of formal and informal sector of waste management can identify the internal and internal conditions of recycling in Bogotá. Several strategies were designed based on the SWOTs determined, could be useful for Bogotá to advance and promote recycling as a key strategy for integrated sustainable waste management in the city.

Keywords: Bogotá, recycling, solid waste management, SWOT analysis.

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Authors: Priyadharshini Ahrumugam

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Cooperative groups through much research have been recognized to churn remarkable achievements instead of solitary or individualistic efforts. Based on Johnson and Johnson’s model of cooperative learning, the five key components of cooperation are positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual accountability, social skills, and group processing. In 2011, the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) introduced the Holistic Student Development policy with the aim to develop morally sound individuals equipped with lifelong learning skills. The Community Service project was included in the improvement initiative. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship of team-based learning in facilitating particularly students’ positive interdependence and face-to-face promotive interaction. The research methods involve in-depth interviews with the team leaders and selected team members, and a content analysis of the undergraduate students’ reflective journals. A significant positive relationship was found between students’ progressive outlook towards teamwork and the highlighted two components. The key findings show that students have gained in their individual learning and work results through teamwork and interaction with other students. The inclusion of Community Service as a MOHE subject resonates with cooperative learning methods that enhances supportive relationships and develops students’ social skills together with their professional skills.

Keywords: Community service, cooperative learning, positive interdependence, teamwork.

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Authors: Chia-Feng Lu, Yuh-Jen Wang, Shin Teng, Yu-Te Wu, Sui-Hing Yan

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Brain functional networks based on resting-state EEG data were compared between patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease (mAD) and matched patients with amnestic subtype of mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). We integrated the time–frequency cross mutual information (TFCMI) method to estimate the EEG functional connectivity between cortical regions and the network analysis based on graph theory to further investigate the alterations of functional networks in mAD compared with aMCI group. We aimed at investigating the changes of network integrity, local clustering, information processing efficiency, and fault tolerance in mAD brain networks for different frequency bands based on several topological properties, including degree, strength, clustering coefficient, shortest path length, and efficiency. Results showed that the disruptions of network integrity and reductions of network efficiency in mAD characterized by lower degree, decreased clustering coefficient, higher shortest path length, and reduced global and local efficiencies in the delta, theta, beta2, and gamma bands were evident. The significant changes in network organization can be used in assisting discrimination of mAD from aMCI in clinical.

Keywords: EEG, functional connectivity, graph theory, TFCMI.

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Authors: Y. Duvarci, S. Mizokami

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Today, the preferences and participation of the TD groups such as the elderly and disabled is still lacking in decision-making of transportation planning, and their reactions to certain type of policies are not well known. Thus, a clear methodology is needed. This study aimed to develop a method to extract the preferences of the disabled to be used in the policy-making stage that can also guide to future estimations. The method utilizes the combination of cluster analysis and data filtering using the data of the Arao city (Japan). The method is a process that follows: defining the TD group by the cluster analysis tool, their travel preferences in tabular form from the household surveys by policy variableimpact pairs, zones, and by trip purposes, and the final outcome is the preference probabilities of the disabled. The preferences vary by trip purpose; for the work trips, accessibility and transit system quality policies with the accompanying impacts of modal shifts towards public mode use as well as the decreasing travel costs, and the trip rate increase; for the social trips, the same accessibility and transit system policies leading to the same mode shift impact, together with the travel quality policy area leading to trip rate increase. These results explain the policies to focus and can be used in scenario generation in models, or any other planning purpose as decision support tool.

Keywords: Transportation Disadvantaged, Disabled, Mixed Preference, Stated Preference Data.

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Authors: Lara A. Alshawawreh, R. Sean Smith, John B. Wood

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This study focuses on the sheltering response in the Middle East, specifically through reviewing two Syrian refugee camps in Jordan, involving Zaatari and Azraq. Zaatari camp involved the rapid deployment of tents and shelters over a very short period of time and Azraq was purpose built and pre-planned over a longer period. At present, both camps collectively host more than 133,000 occupants. Field visits were taken to both camps and the main issues and problems in the sheltering response were highlighted through focus group discussions with camp occupants and inspection of shelter habitats. This provided both subjective and objective research data sources. While every case has its own significance and deployment to meet humanitarian needs, there are some common requirements irrespective of geographical region. The results suggest that there is a gap in the suitability of the required habitat needs and what has been provided. It is recommended that the global international response and support could be improved in relation to the habitat form, construction type, layout, function and critically the cultural aspects. Services, health and hygiene are key elements to the shelter habitat provision. The study also identified the amendments to shelters undertaken by the beneficiaries providing insight into their key main requirements. The outcomes from this study could provide an important learning opportunity to develop improved habitat response for future shelters.

Keywords: Culture, post-disaster, refugees, shelters.

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Authors: Hooriya Sadr Dadras, Shiva Seyed Erfani

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Speaking skills merit meticulous attention both on the side of the learners and the teachers. In particular, accuracy is a critical component to guarantee the messages to be conveyed through conversation because a wrongful change may adversely alter the content and purpose of the talk. Different types of tasks have served teachers to meet numerous educational objectives. Besides, negotiation of meaning and the use of different strategies have been areas of concern in socio-cultural theories of SLA. Negotiation of meaning is among the conversational processes which have a crucial role in facilitating the understanding and expression of meaning in a given second language. Conversational strategies are used during interaction when there is a breakdown in communication that leads to the interlocutor attempting to remedy the gap through talk. Therefore, this study was an attempt to investigate if there was any significant difference between the effect of reasoning gap tasks and information gap tasks on the frequency of conversational strategies used in negotiation of meaning in classrooms on one hand, and on the accuracy in speaking of Iranian intermediate EFL learners on the other. After a pilot study to check the practicality of the treatments, at the outset of the main study, the Preliminary English Test was administered to ensure the homogeneity of 87 out of 107 participants who attended the intact classes of a 15 session term in one control and two experimental groups. Also, speaking sections of PET were used as pretest and posttest to examine their speaking accuracy. The tests were recorded and transcribed to estimate the percentage of the number of the clauses with no grammatical errors in the total produced clauses to measure the speaking accuracy. In all groups, the grammatical points of accuracy were instructed and the use of conversational strategies was practiced. Then, different kinds of reasoning gap tasks (matchmaking, deciding on the course of action, and working out a time table) and information gap tasks (restoring an incomplete chart, spot the differences, arranging sentences into stories, and guessing game) were manipulated in experimental groups during treatment sessions, and the students were required to practice conversational strategies when doing speaking tasks. The conversations throughout the terms were recorded and transcribed to count the frequency of the conversational strategies used in all groups. The results of statistical analysis demonstrated that applying both the reasoning gap tasks and information gap tasks significantly affected the frequency of conversational strategies through negotiation. In the face of the improvements, the reasoning gap tasks had a more significant impact on encouraging the negotiation of meaning and increasing the number of conversational frequencies every session. The findings also indicated both task types could help learners significantly improve their speaking accuracy. Here, applying the reasoning gap tasks was more effective than the information gap tasks in improving the level of learners’ speaking accuracy.

Keywords: Accuracy in speaking, conversational strategies, information gap tasks, reasoning gap tasks.

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Authors: Lianxue Shi

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Riverfront streets have the dual characteristics of street space and waterfront space, which is not only a vital place for residents to travel and communicate, but also a high-frequency space for people's leisure and entertainment. However, under the development of cities and towns pursuing efficiency, riverfront streets appear to have a variety of problems, such as a lack of multifunctionality, insufficient facilities, and loss of characteristics, which fail to meet the needs of various groups of people, and their inclusiveness is facing a great challenge. It is, therefore, evident that the optimization of riverfront street space from an inclusivity perspective is important to the establishment of a human-centered, high-quality urban space. Therefore, this article starts by exploring the interactive relationship between inclusive design and street space. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of the riverfront street space and people's needs, it proposes the four inclusive design orientations of natural inclusion, group inclusion, spatial inclusion, and social inclusion. It then constructs a design framework for the inclusive optimization of riverfront street space, aiming to create streets that are “safe and accessible, diverse and shared, distinctive and friendly, green and sustainable”. Riverfront streets in Wansheng District, Chongqing, are selected as a practice case, and specific strategies are put forward in four aspects: the creation of an accessible slow-traffic system, the provision of diversified functional services, the reshaping of emotional bonds, and the integration of ecological spaces.

Keywords: Inclusive design, riverfront street, spatial optimization, street spaces.

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Authors: Edison Muzenda

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The aim of this study was to compare the solubility of selected volatile organic compounds in water and silicon oil using the simple static headspace method. The experimental design allowed equilibrium achievement within 30 – 60 minutes. Infinite dilution activity coefficients and Henry-s law constants for various organics representing esters, ketones, alkanes, aromatics, cycloalkanes and amines were measured at 303K. The measurements were reproducible with a relative standard deviation and coefficient of variation of 1.3x10-3 and 1.3 respectively. The static determined activity coefficients using shaker flasks were reasonably comparable to those obtained using the gas liquid - chromatographic technique and those predicted using the group contribution methods mainly the UNIFAC. Silicon oil chemically known as polydimethysiloxane was found to be better absorbent for VOCs than water which quickly becomes saturated. For example the infinite dilution mole fraction based activity coefficients of hexane is 0.503 and 277 000 in silicon oil and water respectively. Thus silicon oil gives a superior factor of 550 696. Henry-s law constants and activity coefficients at infinite dilution play a significant role in the design of scrubbers for abatement of volatile organic compounds from contaminated air streams. This paper presents the phase equilibrium of volatile organic compounds in very dilute aqueous and polymeric solutions indicating the movement and fate of chemical in air and solvent. The successful comparison of the results obtained here and those obtained using other methods by the same authors and in literature, means that the results obtained here are reliable.

Keywords: Abatement, absorbent, activity coefficients, equilibrium, Henry's law constant.

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Authors: Sharan Badiger, Prema T. Akkasaligar, Deepak Kadeli, M. Vishok

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Neurological disorders are the most debilitating of manifestations seen in patients infected with HIV. The clinical profile of neurological manifestations in HIV patients has undergone a shift in recent years with opportunistic infections being controlled with combination anti-retroviral therapy and the advent of drugs which have higher central nervous system penetrability. The aim of this paper is to study the clinical, investigation profile and various neurological disorders in HIV patients on anti‐retroviral therapy. Fifty HIV patients with neurological manifestations were studied. A complete neurological examination including neurocognitive functioning using Montreal Cognitive Assessment and HIV Dementia scale were assessed. Apart from relevant investigations, CD4 count, cerebrovascular fluid analysis, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain were done whenever required. Neurocognitive disorders formed the largest group with 42% suffering from HIV associated Neurocognitive Disorders. Among them, asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment was seen in 28%; mild neurocognitive disorder in 12%, and 2% had HIV‐associated dementia. Opportunistic infections of the nervous system accounted for 32%, with meningitis being the most common. Four patients had space occupying lesions of central nervous system; four tuberculomas, and one toxoplasmosis. With the advent of highly active retroviral therapy, HIV patients have longer life spans with suppression of viral load leading to decrease in opportunistic infections of the nervous system. Neurocognitive disorders are now the most common neurological dysfunction seen and thus neurocognitive assessment must be done in all patients with HIV.

Keywords: Anti retroviral therapy, cognitive dysfunction, dementia, neurological manifestations, opportunistic infections.

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Authors: N. Talisa, K. Rungsarid, P. Chakrit

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The objectives of the research are to study the existing agricultural patterns, and to evaluate the sustainability of agricultural on economic, social and environmental aspects. The samplings were the representatives of the agriculturist group from Ban Paew district, Samut Sakorn province by purposive sampling method of 30 households. The tools being used were interview forms together with the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and the Participation Rural Appraisal (PRA). The information collected was analyzed with the principle of Content Analysis andusing Descriptive Statistics. After that all the information gotten was analyze the sustainability on the household level and village level. The research result can be concluded as follows: The agricultural Patterns: For most of the cultivation main crop was fruit trees planted and the supplement crop was around the patch or added other plants in the trenches. There were trenches for the cultivating water. The product distribution was by selling (97.5%) and the selling to middle man was the highest number (62.5%). Evaluating the sustainability of the agricultural by the indicators which were appropriate to the area: For the agricultural sustainability on the household level it was found that only one household had sustainable, others household had conditioned sustainable. For on the village level it was found that the sustainability on the issue of agricultural knowledge training had the lowest level (Sustainability index = 31.67%). Secondary was the acknowledging about soil information (Sustainability index = 35.0), and the household labors on agriculture, net return over cash cost (Sustainability index = 55.0%) respectively. Performance percentage is 48.81 %. It was brought to the conclusion that this area did not have the agricultural sustainability.

Keywords: Sustainability of agricultural, sustainability indicators, sustainability index.

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Authors: Warunpun Kongsom, Chaiwat Kongsom

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The objective of this study was to investigate the awareness, knowledge and consumer behavior towards organic products in Thailand. For this study, a purposive sampling technique was used to identify a sample group of 2,575 consumers over the age of 20 years who intended or made purchases from 1) green shops; 2) supermarkets with branches; and, 3) green markets. A questionnaire was used for data collection across the country. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The results showed that more than 92% of consumers were aware of organic agriculture, but had less knowledge about it. More than 60% of consumers knew that organic agriculture production and processing did not allow the use of chemicals. And about 40% of consumers were confused between the food safety logo and the certified organic logo, and whether GMO was allowed in organic agriculture practice or not. In addition, most consumers perceived that organic agricultural products, good agricultural practice (GAP) products, agricultural chemicals free products, and hydroponic vegetable products had the same standard. In the view of organic consumers, the organic Thailand label was the most seen and reliable among various organic labels. Less than 3% of consumers thought that the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Global Organic Mark (GOM) was the most seen and reliable. For the behaviors of organic consumers, they purchased organic products mainly at the supermarket and green shop (55.4%), one to two times per month, and with a total expenditure of about 200 to 400 baht each time. The main reason for buying organic products was safety and free from agricultural chemicals. The considered factors in organic product selection were price (29.5%), convenience (22.4%), and a reliable certification system (21.3%). The demands for organic products were mainly rice, vegetables and fruits. Processed organic products were relatively small in quantity.

Keywords: Consumer behavior, consumer knowledge, organic products, Thailand.

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Authors: Brandon Foggo, Nanpeng Yu

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Power distribution circuits undergo frequent network topology changes that are often left undocumented. As a result, the documentation of a circuit’s connectivity becomes inaccurate with time. The lack of reliable circuit connectivity information is one of the biggest obstacles to model, monitor, and control modern distribution systems. To enhance the reliability and efficiency of electric power distribution systems, the circuit’s connectivity information must be updated periodically. This paper focuses on one critical component of a distribution circuit’s topology - the secondary transformer to phase association. This topology component describes the set of phase lines that feed power to a given secondary transformer (and therefore a given group of power consumers). Finding the documentation of this component is call Phase Identification, and is typically performed with physical measurements. These measurements can take time lengths on the order of several months, but with supervised learning, the time length can be reduced significantly. This paper compares several such methods applied to Phase Identification for a large range of real distribution circuits, describes a method of training data selection, describes preprocessing steps unique to the Phase Identification problem, and ultimately describes a method which obtains high accuracy (> 96% in most cases, > 92% in the worst case) using only 5% of the measurements typically used for Phase Identification.

Keywords: Distribution network, machine learning, network topology, phase identification, smart grid.

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Authors: Eva Tvrdá, Barbora Babečková, Michal Ďuračka, Róbert Kirchner, Július Árvay

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This study was designed to assess the in vitro effects of Origanum vulgare L. (oregano) extract on the testicular steroidogenesis. We focused on identifying major biomolecules present in the oregano extract, as well as to investigate its in vitro impact on the secretion of cholesterol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone and androstenedione by murine testicular fragments. The extract was subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which identified cyranosid, daidzein, thymol, rosmarinic and trans-caffeic acid among the predominant biochemical components of oregano. For the in vitro experiments, testicular fragments from 20 sexually mature Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were incubated in the absence (control group) or presence of the oregano extract at selected concentrations (10, 100 and 1000 μg/mL) for 24 h. Cholesterol levels were quantified using photometry and the hormones were assessed by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). Our data revealed that the release of cholesterol and androstenedione (but not dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone) by the testicular fragments was significantly impacted by the oregano extract in a dose-dependent fashion. Supplementation of the extract resulted in a significant decline of cholesterol (P < 0.05 in case of 100 μg/mL; P < 0.01 with respect 100 μg/mL extract), as well as androstenedione (P < 0.01 with respect to 100 and 1000 μg/mL extract). Our results suggest that the biomolecules present in Origanum vulgare L. could exhibit a dose-dependent impact on the secretion of male steroids, playing a role in the regulation of testicular steroidogenesis.

Keywords: Mice, Origanum vulgare L., steroidogenesis, testes.

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Authors: Philip Semaha, Zhongfang Lei, Ziwen Zhao, Sen Liu, Zhenya Zhang, Kazuya Shimizu

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The increasing generation of saline wastewater through various industrial activities is becoming a global concern for activated sludge (AS) based biological treatment which is widely applied in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). As for the AS process, an increase in wastewater salinity has negative impact on its overall performance. The advent of conventional aerobic granular sludge (AGS) or bacterial AGS biotechnology has gained much attention because of its superior performance. The development of algal-bacterial AGS could enhance better nutrients removal, potentially reduce aeration cost through symbiotic algae-bacterial activity, and thus, can also reduce overall treatment cost. Nonetheless, the potential of salt stress to decrease biomass growth, microbial activity and nutrient removal exist. Up to the present, little information is available on saline wastewater treatment by algal-bacterial AGS. To the authors’ best knowledge, a comparison of the two AGS systems has not been done to evaluate nutrients removal capacity in the context of salinity increase. This study sought to figure out the impact of salinity on the algal-bacterial AGS system in comparison to bacterial AGS one, contributing to the application of AGS technology in the real world of saline wastewater treatment. In this study, the salt concentrations tested were 0 g/L, 1 g/L, 5 g/L, 10 g/L and 15 g/L of NaCl with 24-hr artificial illuminance of approximately 97.2 µmol m¯²s¯¹, and mature bacterial and algal-bacterial AGS were used for the operation of two identical sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) with a working volume of 0.9 L each, respectively. The results showed that salinity increase caused no apparent change in the color of bacterial AGS; while for algal-bacterial AGS, its color was progressively changed from green to dark green. A consequent increase in granule diameter and fluffiness was observed in the bacterial AGS reactor with the increase of salinity in comparison to a decrease in algal-bacterial AGS diameter. However, nitrite accumulation peaked from 1.0 mg/L and 0.4 mg/L at 1 g/L NaCl in the bacterial and algal-bacterial AGS systems, respectively to 9.8 mg/L in both systems when NaCl concentration varied from 5 g/L to 15 g/L. Almost no ammonia nitrogen was detected in the effluent except at 10 g/L NaCl concentration, where it averaged 4.2 mg/L and 2.4 mg/L, respectively, in the bacterial and algal-bacterial AGS systems. Nutrients removal in the algal-bacterial system was relatively higher than the bacterial AGS in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus removals. Nonetheless, the nutrient removal rate was almost 50% or lower. Results show that algal-bacterial AGS is more adaptable to salinity increase and could be more suitable for saline wastewater treatment. Optimization of operation conditions for algal-bacterial AGS system would be important to ensure its stably high efficiency in practice.

Keywords: Algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge, bacterial aerobic granular sludge, nutrients removal, saline wastewater, sequencing batch reactor.

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Authors: S. Jungsuttiwong, R. Tarsang, S. Pansay, T. Yakhantip, V. Promarak, T. Sudyoadsuk, T. Kaewin, S. Saengsuwan, S. Namuangrak

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In this paper, four carbazole-based D-D-π-A organic dyes code as CCT2A, CCT3A, CCT1PA and CCT2PA were reported. A series of these organic dyes containing identical donor and acceptor group but different π-system. The effect of replacing of thiophene by phenyl thiophene as π-system on the physical properties has been focused. The structural, energetic properties and absorption spectra were theoretically investigated by means of Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT). The results show that nonplanar conformation due to steric hindrance in donor part (cabazolecarbazole unit) of dye molecule can prevent unfavorable dye aggregation. By means of the TD-DFT method, the absorption spectra were calculated by B3LYP and BHandHLYP to study the affect of hybrid functional on the excitation energy (Eg). The results revealed the increasing of thiophene units not only resulted in decreasing of Eg, but also found the shifting of absorption spectra to higher wavelength. TD-DFT/BHandHLYP calculated results are more strongly agreed with the experimental data than B3LYP functions. Furthermore, the adsorptions of CCT2A and CCT3A on the TiO2 anatase (101) surface were carried out by mean of the chemical periodic calculation. The result exhibit the strong adsorption energy. The calculated results provide our new organic dyes can be effectively used as dye for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSC).

Keywords: Dye-Sensitized Solar cell, Carbarzole, TD-DFT, D-D-π-A organic dye

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Authors: S. Kulsri, M. Jaroensutasinee, K. Jaroensutasinee

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We developed a new method based on quasimolecular modeling to simulate the cavity flow in three cavity shapes: rectangular, half-circular and bucket beer in cgs units. Each quasi-molecule was a group of particles that interacted in a fashion entirely analogous to classical Newtonian molecular interactions. When a cavity flow was simulated, the instantaneous velocity vector fields were obtained by using an inverse distance weighted interpolation method. In all three cavity shapes, fluid motion was rotated counter-clockwise. The velocity vector fields of the three cavity shapes showed a primary vortex located near the upstream corners at time t ~ 0.500 s, t ~ 0.450 s and t ~ 0.350 s, respectively. The configurational kinetic energy of the cavities increased as time increased until the kinetic energy reached a maximum at time t ~ 0.02 s and, then, the kinetic energy decreased as time increased. The rectangular cavity system showed the lowest kinetic energy, while the half-circular cavity system showed the highest kinetic energy. The kinetic energy of rectangular, beer bucket and half-circular cavities fluctuated about stable average values 35.62 x 103, 38.04 x 103 and 40.80 x 103 ergs/particle, respectively. This indicated that the half-circular shapes were the most suitable shape for a shrimp pond because the water in shrimp pond flows best when we compared with rectangular and beer bucket shape.

Keywords: Quasi-molecular modelling, particle modelling, lid driven cavity flow.

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Authors: F. M. Abu-Salem, M. H. Mahmoud, M. H. El-Kalyoubi, A. Y. Gibriel, A. A. Abou-Arab Arab

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Dried soy protein hydrolysate powder was added to the burger in order to enhance the oxidative stability as well as decreases the microbial spoilage. The soybean bioactive compounds (soy protein hydrolysate) as antioxidant and antimicrobial were added at level of 1, 2 and 3 %.Chemical analysis and physical properties were affected by protein hydrolysate addition. The TBA values were significantly affected (P < 0.05) by the storage period and the level of soy protein hydrolysate. All the tested soybean protein hydrolysate additives showed strong antioxidant properties. Samples of soybean protein hydrolysate showed the lowest (P < 0.05) TBA values at each time of storage. The counts of all determined microbiological indicators were significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the addition of the soybean protein hydrolysate. Decreasing trends of different extent were also observed in samples of the treatments for total viable counts, Coliform, Staphylococcus aureus, yeast and molds. Storage period was being significantly (P < 0.05) affected on microbial counts in all samples Staphylococcus aureus were the most sensitive microbe followed by Coliform group of the sample containing protein hydrolysate, while molds and yeast count showed a decreasing trend but not significant (P < 0.05) until the end of the storage period compared with control sample. Sensory attributes were also performed, added protein hydrolysate exhibits beany flavor which was clear about samples of 3% protein hydrolysate.

Keywords: Antioxidant, antimicrobial, isoflavones, bioactive peptide, antioxidant peptides, soybean protein hydrolysate.

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Authors: Amon Lasomboon

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Since the world printing industry has to confront globalization with a constant change, the Thai printing industry, as a small but increasingly significant part of the world printing industry, cannot inevitably escape but has to encounter with the similar change and also the need to revamp its production processes, designs and technology to make them more appealing to both international and domestic market. The essential question is what is the Thai competitive edge in the printing industry in changing environment? This research is aimed to study the Thai level of competitive edge in terms of marketing, technology, environment friendly, and the level of satisfaction of the process of using printing machines. To access the extent to which is the trends in competitiveness of Thai printing industry, both quantitative and qualitative study were conducted. The quantitative analysis was restricted to 100 respondents. The qualitative analysis was restricted to a focus group of 10 individuals from various backgrounds in the Thai printing industry. The findings from the quantitative analysis revealed that the overall mean scores are 4.53, 4.10, and 3.50 for the competitiveness of marketing, the competitiveness of technology, and the competitiveness of being environment friendly respectively. However, the level of satisfaction for the process of using machines has a mean score only 3.20. The findings from the qualitative analysis have revealed that target customers have increasingly reordered due to their contentment in both low prices and the acceptable quality of the products. Moreover, the Thai printing industry has a tendency to convert to ambient green technology which is friendly to the environment. The Thai printing industry is choosing to produce or substitute with products that are less damaging to the environment. It is also found that the Thai printing industry has been transformed into a very competitive industry which bargaining power rests on consumers who have a variety of choices.

Keywords: Competitiveness, Printing Industry

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Authors: Hefin Gwilym

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This paper will explore the political biographies of social workers in a neoliberal era. The findings are based on a research project for a successfully completed professional doctorate in social work. The methodology deployed for the research is a combination of constructivist grounded theory and biographical inquiry. The paper will present findings from 14 biographical interviews and will focus on one case study of a participant whose life story is richly informed by political social work. The 14 participants reflect different genders, ethnic identities, cultural and linguistic identities, age and length of social work careers. The participants also reflect different forms of political engagement, such as, as political activists and members of political parties, including parliamentarians. The findings demonstrate how deeply ingrained the social work identity is amongst the participants and how their political identity has remained strongly social democratic in nature despite the many changes in the social work profession since the rise of neoliberalism as a thought collective and policy package. The individual case study will explore the early roots of political identity in the childhood and nurturing years and the interface with subsequent social work and political careers. It will also explore the evolution of the participant’s political identity in the social work career. The case study will also present findings on how the participant has contributed to the political field with policy involvement and initiatives. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on how this particular group of social workers can best contribute to the future direction of the social work profession.

Keywords: Political social work, political biographies, neoliberal, grounded theory.

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Authors: Ada Yurman

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Social reactions to deviant groups with political goals follow two central patterns; one that associates personal characteristics with deviant behavior, and the other that claims that society is to be blamed for deviant behavior. The establishment usually tends towards the former notion and thus disclaims any responsibility for the distress of the underprivileged, while it is usually those who oppose government policies who believe that the fault lies with society. The purpose of the present research was to examine social reactions to the Wadi Salib riots that occurred in Haifa in 1959. These riots represented the first ethnic protest within Israeli society with its ideology of the ingathering of the exiles. The central question was whether this ideology contributed to the development of a different reaction when compared to reactions to similar events abroad. This question was examined by means of analyzing articles in the Israeli press of that period. The Israeli press representing the views of the establishment was at pains to point out that the rioters were criminals, their object being to obstruct the development of society. Opposition party leaders claimed that the rioters lived in poor circumstances, which constituted a direct result of government policies. An analysis of press reports on the Wadi Salib riots indicates a correspondence between the reaction to these events and similar events abroad. Nevertheless, the reaction to the Wadi Salib riots did not only express a conflict between different political camps, but also different symbolic universes. Each group exploited the events at Wadi Salib to prove that their ideology was the legitimate one.

Keywords: Riots, media, political deviance, symbolic universe.

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Authors: Chia-Jou Hsieh, Feng-Chuan Pan

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Oral health is particular important to the hospitalized patients with chronic schizophrenia for an extreme high potential of the respiratory infections. Due to the degeneration of physical capability, patients of this kind typically fall dependent in the activity of daily living (ADL). A very high percentage of patients had dental problems of which mostly could be easily avoid by easy regular tooth brushing. Purpose of the project is to develop a mechanism in helping the schizophrenia patients in rebuilding a tooth-cleaning habit. The project observed and evaluated the tooth-cleaning behavior of 100 male patients in a psychiatric hospital, and found the majority of them ignored such an activity in a three-month period of time. In the meantime, the primary care-givers were not aware or not convinced the importance of such a need of dental hygiene, and thus few if any tooth cleaning training or knowledge on dental hygiene were given to the patients. The project then developed a program based on the numerous observations and discussions. The improvement program included patients- group education, care-givers- training, and a tool-kit for tooth-brush holding was erected. The project launched with some incentive package. The outcomes were encouraging with 87% of the patients had rebuilt their tooth-brushing habits against previous 22%, and the tooth cleaning kits were 100% kept against 22% in the past. This project had significantly improved the oral health of the patients. The project, included the procedure and the tool-kit holder specific for this purpose, was a good examples for psychiatric hospitals.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, dental hygiene, tool-kit holder, health education

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Authors: M. A. Kassim, R. Potumarthi, A. Tanksale, S. C. Srivatsa, S. Bhattacharya

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Enzymatic saccharification of biomass for reducing sugar production is one of the crucial processes in biofuel production through biochemical conversion. In this study, enzymatic saccharification of dilute potassium hydroxide (KOH) pre-treated Tetraselmis suecica biomass was carried out by using cellulase enzyme obtained from Trichoderma longibrachiatum. Initially, the pre-treatment conditions were optimised by changing alkali reagent concentration, retention time for reaction, and temperature. The T. suecica biomass after pre-treatment was also characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra and Scanning Electron Microscope. These analyses revealed that the functional group such as acetyl and hydroxyl groups, structure and surface of T. suecica biomass were changed through pre-treatment, which is favourable for enzymatic saccharification process. Comparison of enzymatic saccharification of untreated and pre-treated microalgal biomass indicated that higher level of reducing sugar can be obtained from pre-treated T. suecica. Enzymatic saccharification of pre-treated T. suecica biomass was optimised by changing temperature, pH, and enzyme concentration to solid ratio ([E]/[S]). Highest conversion of carbohydrate into reducing sugar of 95% amounted to reducing sugar yield of 20 (wt%) from pre-treated T. suecica was obtained from saccharification, at temperature: 40°C, pH: 4.5 and [E]/[S] of 0.1 after 72 h of incubation. Hydrolysate obtained from enzymatic saccharification of pretreated T. suecica biomass was further fermented into biobutanol using Clostridium saccharoperbutyliticum as biocatalyst. The results from this study demonstrate a positive prospect of application of dilute alkaline pre-treatment to enhance enzymatic saccharification and biobutanol production from microalgal biomass.

Keywords: Microalgal biomass, enzymatic saccharification, biobutanol, fermentation.

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Authors: A. Dionísio, L. Roseiro, J. Fonseca, P. Nicolau

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Thermography is a non-radiating and contact-free technology which can be used to monitor skin temperature. The efficiency and safety of thermography technology make it a useful tool for detecting and locating thermal changes in skin surface, characterized by increases or decreases in temperature. This work intends to be a contribution for the use of thermography as a methodology for evaluation of skin temperature in the context of orofacial biomechanics. The study aims to identify the oscillations of skin temperature in the left and right hemiface regions of the masseter muscle, during and after thermal stimulus, and estimate the time required to restore the initial temperature after the application of the stimulus. Using a FLIR T430sc camera, a data acquisition protocol was followed with a group of eight volunteers, aged between 22 and 27 years. The tests were performed in a controlled environment with the volunteers in a comfortably static position. The thermal stimulus involves the use of an ice volume with controlled size and contact surface. The skin surface temperature was recorded in two distinct situations, namely without further stimulus and with the additions of a stimulus obtained by a chewing gum. The data obtained were treated using FLIR Research IR Max software. The time required to recover the initial temperature ranged from 20 to 52 minutes when no stimulus was added and varied between 8 and 26 minutes with the chewing gum stimulus. These results show that recovery is faster with the addition of the stimulus and may guide clinicians regarding the pre and post-operative times with ice therapy, in the presence or absence of mechanical stimulus that increases muscle functions (e.g. phonetics or mastication).

Keywords: Thermography, orofacial biomechanics, skin temperature, ice therapy.

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Authors: Abd Aziz Bin Abd Shukor, Eftah Binti Moh Hj Abdullah

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This case study aims to identify teachers’ perception as regards integrity in School-Ba sed Assessment (PBS) practice. This descriptive study involved 9 teachers from 4 secondary schools in 3 districts in the state of Perak. The respondents had undergone an integrity in PBS Practice interview using a focused group discussion method. The overall findings showed that the teachers believed that integrity in PBS practice could be achieved by adjusting the teaching methods align with learning objectives and the students’ characteristics. Many teachers, parents and student did not understand the best practice of PBS. This would affect the integrity in PBS practice. Teachers did not emphasis the principles and ethics. Their integrity as an innovative public servant may also be affected with the frequently changing assessment system, lack of training and no prior action research. The analysis of findings showed that the teachers viewed that organizational integrity involving the integrity of PBS was difficult to be implemented based on the expectations determined by Malaysia Ministry of Education (KPM). A few elements which assisted in the achievement of PBS integrity were the training, students’ understanding, the parents’ understanding of PBS, environment (involving human resources such as support and appreciation and non-human resources such as technology infrastructure readiness and media). The implications of this study show that teachers, as the PBS implementers, have a strong influence on the integrity of PBS. However, the transformation of behavior involving PBS integrity among teachers requires the stabilisation of support and infrastructure in order to enable the teachers to implement PBS in an ethical manner.

Keywords: Assessment integrity, integrity, perception, school-based assessment.

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Authors: Yananda Siraphatthada

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The current study was the succession of a previous study on value added of recycling business management. Its aims are to 1) explore conditions on how to increasing value add of Thai recycling business, and 2) exam the implementation of the 3-staged plan (short, medium, and long term), suggested by the former study, to increase value added of the recycling business as immediate mechanisms to accelerate government operation. Quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized in this research. A qualitative research consisted of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Responses were obtained from owners of the waste separation plants, and recycle shops, as well as officers in relevant governmental agencies. They were randomly selected via Quota Sampling. Data was analyzed via content analysis. The sample used for quantitative method consisted of 1,274 licensed recycling operators in eight provinces. The operators were randomly stratified via sampling method. Data were analyzed via descriptive statistics frequency, percentage, average (Mean) and standard deviation.The study recommended three-staged plan: short, medium, and long terms. The plan included the development of logistics, the provision of quality market/plants, the amendment of recycling rules/regulation, the restructuring recycling business, the establishment of green-purchasing recycling center, support for the campaigns run by the International Green Purchasing Network (IGPN), conferences/workshops as a public forum to share insights among experts/concern people.

Keywords: Strategies, Value Added, Recycle Business.

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Authors: Mohd Azman Abdul Latif, Erwan Basiron

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A flaw or drift from expected operational performance in one component (NAND, PMIC, controller, DRAM, etc.) may affect the reliability of the entire Solid State Drive (SSD) system. Therefore, it is important to ensure the required quality of each individual component through qualification testing specified using standards or user requirements. Qualification testing is time-consuming and comes at a substantial cost for product manufacturers. A highly technical team, from all the eminent stakeholders is embarking on reliability prediction from beginning of new product development, identify critical to reliability parameters, perform full-blown characterization to embed margin into product reliability and establish control to ensure the product reliability is sustainable in the mass production. The paper will discuss a comprehensive development framework, comprehending SSD end to end from design to assembly, in-line inspection, in-line testing and will be able to predict and to validate the product reliability at the early stage of new product development. During the design stage, the SSD will go through intense reliability margin investigation with focus on assembly process attributes, process equipment control, in-process metrology and also comprehending forward looking product roadmap. Once these pillars are completed, the next step is to perform process characterization and build up reliability prediction modeling. Next, for the design validation process, the reliability prediction specifically solder joint simulator will be established. The SSD will be stratified into Non-Operating and Operating tests with focus on solder joint reliability and connectivity/component latent failures by prevention through design intervention and containment through Temperature Cycle Test (TCT). Some of the SSDs will be subjected to the physical solder joint analysis called Dye and Pry (DP) and Cross Section analysis. The result will be feedbacked to the simulation team for any corrective actions required to further improve the design. Once the SSD is validated and is proven working, it will be subjected to implementation of the monitor phase whereby Design for Assembly (DFA) rules will be updated. At this stage, the design change, process and equipment parameters are in control. Predictable product reliability at early product development will enable on-time sample qualification delivery to customer and will optimize product development validation, effective development resource and will avoid forced late investment to bandage the end-of-life product failures. Understanding the critical to reliability parameters earlier will allow focus on increasing the product margin that will increase customer confidence to product reliability.

Keywords: e2e reliability prediction, SSD, TCT, Solder Joint Reliability, NUDD, connectivity issues, qualifications, characterization and control.

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Authors: Ofelia A. Damag

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The study was focused on the development and assessment of the illustrated language activities of the 1996 Edition of the Portage Guide to Early Education. It determined the extent of appropriateness, applicability, time efficiency and aesthetics of the illustrated language activities to be used as instructional material not only by teachers, but parents and caregivers as well. The eclectic research design was applied in this study using qualitative and quantitative methods. To determine the applicability and time efficiency of the study, a try out was done. Since the eclectic research design was used, it made use of a researcher-made survey questionnaire and focus group discussion. Analysis of the data was done through weighted mean and ANOVA. The respondents of the study were representatives of Special Education (SPED) teachers, caregivers and parents of a special-needs child, particularly with difficulties in learning basic language skills. The results of the study show that a large number of respondents are SPED teachers and caregivers and are mostly college graduates. Many of them have earned units towards Master’s studies. Moreover, a majority of the respondents have not attended seminars or in-service training in early intervention for them to be more competent in the area of specialization. It is concluded that the illustrated language activities under review in this study are appropriate, applicable, time efficient and aesthetic for use as a tool in teaching. The recommendations are focused on the advocacy for SPED teachers, caregivers and parents of special-needs children to be more consistent in the implementation of the new instructional materials as an aid in an intervention program.

Keywords: Illustrated language activities, inclusion, portage guide to early education, special educational needs.

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Authors: Kaushik Chaudhuri

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High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) generally give rise to positive impacts on employees by increasing their commitments in workplaces. While some argued this actually have considerable negative impacts on employees with increasing possibilities of imposing strains caused by stress and intensity of such work places. Do stressful workplaces hamper employee commitment? The author has tried to find the answer by exploring linkages between HPWS practices and its impact on employees in Japanese organizations. How negative outcomes like job intensity and workplaces and job stressors can influence different forms of employees- commitments which can be a hindrance to their performance. Design: A close ended questionnaire survey was conducted amongst 16 large, medium and small sized Japanese companies from diverse industries around Chiba, Saitama, and Ibaraki Prefectures and in Tokyo from the month of October 2008 to February 2009. Questionnaires were aimed to the non managerial employees- perceptions of HPWS practices, their behavior, working life experiences in their work places. A total of 227 samples are used for analysis in the study. Methods: Correlations, MANCOVA, SEM Path analysis using AMOS software are used for data analysis in this study. Findings: Average non-managerial perception of HPWS adoption is significantly but negatively correlated to both work place Stressors and Continuous commitment, but positively correlated to job Intensity, Affective, Occupational and Normative commitments in different workplaces at Japan. The path analysis by SEM shows significant indirect relationship between Stressors and employee Affective organizational commitment and Normative organizational commitments. Intensity also has a significant indirect effect on Occupational commitments. HPWS has an additive effect on all the outcomes variables. Limitations: The sample size in this study cannot be a representative to the entire population of non-managerial employees in Japan. There were no respondents from automobile, pharmaceuticals, finance industries. The duration of the survey coincided in a period when Japan as most of the other countries is under going recession. Biases could not be ruled out completely. We must take cautions in interpreting the results of studies as they cannot be generalized. And the path analysis cannot provide the complete causality of the inter linkages between the variables used in the study. Originality: There have been limited studies on linkages in HPWS adoptions and their impacts on employees- behaviors and commitments in Japanese workplaces. This study may provide some ingredients for further research in the fields of HRM policies and practices and their linkages on different forms of employees- commitments.

Keywords: HPWS, Job Intensity, Job and workplace Stressors, Continuous commitment, Affective commitment, Occupational commitment, Japan.

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Authors: N. Mongkontanawat

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This research aimed to demonstrate probiotic germinated native black rice juice fermentation by lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus casei TISTR 390). Germinated native black rice juice was inoculated with a 24-h old lactic culture and incubated at 30 °C for 72 hours. Changes in pH, acidity, total soluble solid, and viable cell counts during fermentation under controlled conditions at 0-h, 24-h, 48-h, and 72-h fermentations were evaluated. The study found out that the change in pH and total soluble solid of probiotic germinated black rice juice significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased at 72-h fermentation (5.67±0.12 to 2.86±0.04 and 7.00±0.00 to 6.40±0.00 ºbrix at 0-h and 72-h fermentations, respectively). On the other hand, the amount of titratable acidity expressed as lactic acid and the viable cell count significantly (p≤0.05) increased at 72-h fermentation (0.11±0.06 to 0.43±0.06 (% lactic acid) and 3.60 x 10⁶ to 2.75 x 10⁸ CFU/ml at 0-h and 72-h fermentations, respectively). Interestingly, the amount of γ-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) had a significant difference (p≤0.05) twice as high as that of the control group (0.25±0.01 and 0.13±0.01 mg/100g, respectively). In addition, the free radical scavenging capacity assayed by DPPH method also showed that the IC₅₀ values were significantly (p≤0.05) higher than the control (147.71±0.96 and 202.55±1.24 mg/ml, respectively). After 4 weeks of cold storage at 4 °C, the viable cell counts of lactic acid bacteria reduced to 1.37 x 10⁶ CFU/ml. In conclusion, fermented germinated native black rice juice could be served as a healthy beverage for vegans and people who are allergic to cow milk products.

Keywords: Germinated native black rice, probiotic, lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus casei.

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Authors: Alexander Wachtel, Michael T. Franzen, Walter F. Tichy

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Programming requires years of training. With natural language and end user development methods, programming could become available to everyone. It enables end users to program their own devices and extend the functionality of the existing system without any knowledge of programming languages. In this paper, we describe an Interactive Spreadsheet Processing Module (ISPM), a natural language interface to spreadsheets that allows users to address ranges within the spreadsheet based on inferred table schema. Using the ISPM, end users are able to search for values in the schema of the table and to address the data in spreadsheets implicitly. Furthermore, it enables them to select and sort the spreadsheet data by using natural language. ISPM uses a machine learning technique to automatically infer areas within a spreadsheet, including different kinds of headers and data ranges. Since ranges can be identified from natural language queries, the end users can query the data using natural language. During the evaluation 12 undergraduate students were asked to perform operations (sum, sort, group and select) using the system and also Excel without ISPM interface, and the time taken for task completion was compared across the two systems. Only for the selection task did users take less time in Excel (since they directly selected the cells using the mouse) than in ISPM, by using natural language for end user software engineering, to overcome the present bottleneck of professional developers.

Keywords: Natural language processing, end user development; natural language interfaces, human computer interaction, data recognition, dialog systems, spreadsheet.

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