Search results for: Civil Society
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 733

Search results for: Civil Society

523 The Role of Work Ethic in the Development of Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan and European Countries

Authors: Aidos Altynbekov, Gulmira Abdiraiymova, Gulnar Kenzhakimova, Mansya Sadyrova, Gulnapis Abdikerova

Abstract:

Work ethic and labour productivity issues are extremely important for any society. It has been long proven by the global practice and various scholars that the country promoting the labour has always been way forward from the other countries. This paper studies the thoughts suggested by M.Weber, Confucius, Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohammad and other prominent thinkers concerning the issues of work ethics and labour productivity. The article analyzes why developed nations are way more advanced in their development compared to other nations.

Keywords: Work ethic, labour productivity, religion, philosophy.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3633
522 Automatic Checkpoint System Using Face and Card Information

Authors: Kriddikorn Kaewwongsri, Nikom Suvonvorn

Abstract:

In the deep south of Thailand, checkpoints for people verification are necessary for the security management of risk zones, such as official buildings in the conflict area. In this paper, we propose an automatic checkpoint system that verifies persons using information from ID cards and facial features. The methods for a person’s information abstraction and verification are introduced based on useful information such as ID number and name, extracted from official cards, and facial images from videos. The proposed system shows promising results and has a real impact on the local society.

Keywords: Face comparison, card recognition, OCR, checkpoint system, authentication.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1736
521 Social Media Research and Its Effect on Our Society

Authors: A. T. M Shahjahan, Kutub Uddin Chisty

Abstract:

Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create share, exchange and comment contents among themselves in virtual communities and networks. Social media or "social networking" has almost become part of our daily lives and being tossed around over the past few years. It is like any other media such as newspaper, radio and television but it is far more than just about sharing information and ideas. Social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Blogs have facilitated creation and exchange of ideas so quickly and widely than the conventional media. This paper shows the choices, communication, feeling comfort, time saving and effects of social media among the people.

Keywords: Media, Choice, Effect.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18231
520 Social Structure, Involuntary Relations, and Urban Poverty

Authors: Mahmood Niroobakhsh

Abstract:

This article deals with special structuralism approaches to explain a certain kind of social problem. Widespread presence of poverty is a reminder of deep-rooted unresolved problems of social relations. The expected role from an individual for the social system recognizes poverty derived from an interrelated social structure. By the time, enabled to act on his role in the course of social interaction, reintegration of the poor in society may take place. Poverty and housing type are reflections of the underlying social structure, primarily structure’s elements, systemic interrelations, and the overall strength or weakness of that structure. Poverty varies based on social structure in that the stronger structures are less likely to produce poverty.

Keywords: Absolute poverty, relative poverty, social structure, urban poverty.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1616
519 Development Prospects of Education System in Modernization

Authors: Akbar Seraly, Kazbek Primbetov, Gulmira Abdiraiymova, Gulnapis Abdikerova

Abstract:

the article analyzes the development prospects of education system in Kazakhstan. Education is among key sources of culture and social mobility. Modern education must become civic which means availability of high quality education to all people irrespective of their racial, ethnic, religious, social, gender and any other differences. Socially focused nature of modernization of Kazakhstan-s society is predicated upon formation of a civic education model in the future. Kazakhstan-s education system undergoes intensive reforms first of all intended to achieve international education standards and integration into the global educational and information space.

Keywords: Education system, Kazakhstan , Modernization

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1748
518 Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Nigerian Universities: The Management Imperative

Authors: F. O Anugom

Abstract:

The general functions of the university amongst other things include teaching, research and community service. Universities are recognized as the apex of learning, accumulating and imparting knowledge and skills of all kinds to students to enable them to be productive, earn their living and to make optimum contributions to national development. This is equivalent to the production of human capital in the form of high level manpower needed to administer the educational society, be useful to the society and manage the economy. Quality has become a matter of major importance for university education in Nigeria. Accreditation is the systematic review of educational programs to ensure that acceptable standards of education, scholarship and infrastructure are being maintained. Accreditation ensures that institution maintain quality. The process is designed to determine whether or not an institution has met or exceeded the published standards for accreditation, and whether it is achieving its mission and stated purposes. Ensuring quality assurance in accreditation process falls in the hands of university management which justified the need for this study. This study examined accreditation and quality assurance: the management imperative. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The design was a correlation survey with a population of 2,893 university administrators out of which 578 Heads of department and Dean of faculties were sampled. The instrument for data collection was titled Programme Accreditation Exercise scale with high levels of reliability. The research questions were answered with Pearson ‘r’ statistics. T-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses. It was found among others that the quality of accredited programme depends on the level of funding of universities in Nigeria. It was also indicated that quality of programme accreditation and physical facilities of universities in Nigeria have high relationship. But it was also revealed that programme accreditation is positively related to staffing in Nigerian universities. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommend that academic administrators should be included in the team of those who ensure quality programs in the universities. Private sector partnership should be encouraged to fund programs to ensure quality of programme in the universities. Independent agencies should be engaged to monitor the activities of accreditation teams to avoid bias.

Keywords: Accreditation, quality assurance, NUC, physical facilities, staffing.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1875
517 A Comparative Analysis of Financial Performance of Funded and Non-Funded Charity Organizations

Authors: Saunah Zainon, Ruhaya Atan, Yap Bee Wah, Zarina Abu Bakar

Abstract:

The primary objective of this study is to test whether there is any difference in performance between funded and nonfunded registered charity organizations. In this study, performance as the dependent variable is measured using total donations. Using a sample of 101 charity organizations registered with the Registry of Society, analysis of variance (ANOVA) results indicate that there is a difference in financial performance between funded and non-funded charity organizations. The study provides empirical evidence to resource providers and the policy makers in scrutinizing the decision to disburse their funds and resources to these charity organizations.

Keywords: charity organizations, donations, funded, non-funded

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2205
516 Value Co-Creation in Used-Car Auctions: A Service Scientific Perspective

Authors: Safdar Muhammad Usman, Youji Kohda, Katsuhiro Umemoto

Abstract:

Electronic market place plays an important intermediary role for connecting dealers and retail customers. The main aim of this paper is to design a value co-creation model in used-car auctions. More specifically, the study has been designed in order to describe the process of value co-creation in used-car auctions, to explore the co-created values in used-car auctions, and finally conclude the paper indicating the future research directions. Our analysis shows that economic values as well as non-economic values are co-created in used-car auctions. In addition, this paper contributes to the academic society broadening the view of value co-creation in service science.

Keywords: Value co-creation, Used-car auctions, Non-economic values, Service science.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2438
515 Mix Design Curves for High Volume Fly Ash Concrete

Authors: S. S. Awanti, Aravindakumar B. Harwalkar

Abstract:

Concrete construction in future has to be environmental friendly apart from being safe so that society at large is benefited by the huge investments made in the infrastructure projects. To achieve this, component materials of the concrete system have to be optimized with reference to sustainability. This paper presents a study on development of mix proportions of high volume fly ash concrete (HFC). A series of HFC mixtures with cement replacement levels varying between 50% and 65% were prepared with water/binder ratios of 0.3 and 0.35. Compressive strength values were obtained at different ages. From the experimental results, pozzolanic efficiency ratios and mix design curves for HFC were established.

Keywords: Age factor, compressive strength, high volume fly ash concrete, pozzolanic efficiency ratio.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1588
514 Green Sustainability Using Radio Frequency Identification: Technology-Organization-Environment Perspective Using Two Case Studies

Authors: Rebecca Angeles

Abstract:

This qualitative case study seeks to understand and explain the deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems in two countries (i.e., in Taiwan for the adoption of electric scooters and in Finland for supporting glass bottle recycling) using the “Technology-Organization-Environment” theoretical framework. This study also seeks to highlight the relevance and importance of pursuing environmental sustainability in firms and in society in general due to the social urgency of the issues involved.

Keywords: Environmental sustainability, radio frequency identification, technology-organization-environment framework

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2060
513 Education and Assessment of Civil Employees in e-Government: The Case of a Moodle Based Platform

Authors: Stamatios A. Theocharis, George A. Tsihrintzis

Abstract:

One of the most important factors for the success of e-government is training and preparing the workforce of the public sector. As changes and innovation in the public sector progress at a very slow pace and more slowly than in the private sector, issues related to human resources require special care. This is because the workforce will eventually seize the opportunities of the technological solutions used in e-Government. Thus, the central administration should provide employees with continuous and focused training not only on new technologies but also on a wide range of subjects and also improve interdepartmental interaction.

To achieve all this, new methods and training tools need to be implemented in addition to assessment of the employees. In this spirit, we propose the development of an educational platform with user personalization features. We propose the development of this platform using Moodle as the basic tool. Incorporating a personalization mechanism is very important since different employees have different backgrounds, education levels, computer skills, or different capability to develop further. Key features of the proposed platform include, besides typical e-learning tools, communities organized in order to exchange experiences and knowledge, groups of users based on certain criteria, automatic evaluation of users and potential self-education and self-assessment. In its fully developed form, this platform can be part of a more comprehensive knowledge management system for the public sector.

Keywords: e-Government, civil employees education, education technologies.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1884
512 Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: Evaluation of the Program “Sharing Mouth to Mouth: My Body, Nobody Can Touch It”

Authors: Faride Peña, Teresita Castillo, Concepción Campo

Abstract:

Sexual violence, and particularly child sexual abuse, is a serious problem all over the world, México included. Given its importance, there are several preventive and care programs done by the government and the civil society all over the country but most of them are developed in urban areas even though these problems are especially serious in rural areas. Yucatán, a state in southern México, occupies one of the first places in child sexual abuse. Considering the above, the University Unit of Clinical Research and Victimological Attention (UNIVICT) of the Autonomous University of Yucatan, designed, implemented and is currently evaluating the program named “Sharing Mouth to Mouth: My Body, Nobody Can Touch It”, a program to prevent child sexual abuse in rural communities of Yucatán, México. Its aim was to develop skills for the detection of risk situations, providing protection strategies and mechanisms for prevention through culturally relevant psycho-educative strategies to increase personal resources in children, in collaboration with parents, teachers, police and municipal authorities. The diagnosis identified that a particularly vulnerable population were children between 4 and 10 years. The program run during 2015 in primary schools in the municipality whose inhabitants are mostly Mayan. The aim of this paper is to present its evaluation in terms of its effectiveness and efficiency. This evaluation included documental analysis of the work done in the field, psycho-educational and recreational activities with children, evaluation of knowledge by participating children and interviews with parents and teachers. The results show high efficiency in fulfilling the tasks and achieving primary objectives. The efficiency shows satisfactory results but also opportunity areas that can be resolved with minor adjustments to the program. The results also show the importance of including culturally relevant strategies and activities otherwise it minimizes possible achievements. Another highlight is the importance of participatory action research in preventive approaches to child sexual abuse since by becoming aware of the importance of the subject people participate more actively; in addition to design culturally appropriate strategies and measures so that the proposal may not be distant to the people. Discussion emphasizes the methodological implications of prevention programs (convenience of using participatory action research (PAR), importance of monitoring and mediation during implementation, developing detection skills tools in creative ways using psycho-educational interactive techniques and working assessment issued by the participants themselves). As well, it is important to consider the holistic character this type of program should have, in terms of incorporating social and culturally relevant characteristics, according to the community individuality and uniqueness, consider type of communication to be used and children’ language skills considering that there should be variations strongly linked to a specific cultural context.

Keywords: Child sexual abuse, evaluation, PAR, prevention.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1208
511 Chemical Amelioration of Expansive Soils

Authors: B. R. Phanikumar, Sana Suri

Abstract:

Expansive soils swell when they absorb water and shrink when water evaporates from them. Hence, lightly loaded civil engineering structures founded in these soils are subjected to severe distress. Therefore, there is a need to ameliorate or improve these swelling soils through some innovative methods. This paper discusses chemical stabilisation of expansive soils, a technique in which chemical reagents such as lime and calcium chloride are added to expansive soils to reduce the volumetric changes occurring in expansive soils and to improve their engineering behaviour.

Keywords: Expansive soils, swelling, shrinkage, amelioration, lime, calcium chloride.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2961
510 Understanding Socioscientific Issues in a Low Literate Society for the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

Authors: Jamil Mikhail Yahaya, Ahmad Nurulazam Md Zain, Mageswary Karpudewan

Abstract:

This paper highlights the controversial socioscientific issues and their misconceptions in Nigeria as well as in some other low literate societies around the world. It states the relevance of the issues or problems in Nigeria, which might be neutral or absent in other countries. The need to understand the issues and how such an understanding can contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is also being discussed. The paper concludes by suggesting the responsibilities of science teachers to remove the misconceptions surrounding the socioscientific issues.

Keywords: Sosioscientific issues, Millennium development goals, Science teachers.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1713
509 Shaping of World-Class Delhi: Politics of Marginalization and Inclusion

Authors: Aparajita Santra

Abstract:

In the context of the government's vision of turning Delhi into a green, privatized and slum free city, giving it a world-class image at par with the global cities of the world, this paper investigates into the various processes and politics of things that went behind defining spaces in the city and attributing an aesthetic image to it. The paper will explore two cases that were forged primarily through the forces of one particular type of power relation. One would be to look at the modernist movement adopted by the Nehruvian government post-independence and the next case will look at special periods like Emergency and Commonwealth games. The study of these cases will help understand the ambivalence embedded in the different rationales of the Government and different powerful agencies adopted in order to build world-classness. Through the study, it will be easier to discern how city spaces were reconfigured in the name of 'good governance'. In this process, it also became important to analyze the double nature of law, both as a protector of people’s rights and as a threat to people. What was interesting to note through the study was that in the process of nation building and creating an image for the city, the government’s policies and programs were mostly aimed at the richer sections of the society and the poorer sections and people from lower income groups kept getting marginalized, subdued, and pushed further away (These marginalized people were pushed away even geographically!). The reconfiguration of city space and attributing an aesthetic character to it, led to an alteration not only in the way in which citizens perceived and engaged with these spaces, but also brought about changes in the way they envisioned their place in the city. Ironically, it was found that every attempt to build any kind of facility for the city’s elite in turn led to an inevitable removal of the marginalized sections of the society as a necessary step to achieve a clean, green and world-class city. The paper questions the claim made by the government for creating a just, equitable city and granting rights to all. An argument is put forth that in the politics of redistribution of space, the city that has been designed is meant for the aspirational middle-class and elite only, who are ideally primed to live in world-class cities. Thus, the aim is to study city spaces, urban form, the associated politics and power plays involved within and understand whether segmented cities are being built in the name of creating sensible, inclusive cities.

Keywords: Aesthetics, ambivalence, governmentality, power, world-class.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 874
508 Effect of Environmental Conditions on Energy Efficiency of AAC-based Building Envelopes

Authors: V. Koci, J. Madera, R. Cerny

Abstract:

Calculations of energy efficiency of several AACbased building envelopes under different climatic conditions are presented. As thermal insulating materials, expanded polystyrene and hydrophobic and hydrophilic mineral wools are assumed. The computations are accomplished using computer code HEMOT developed at Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. The climatic data of Athens, Kazan, Oslo, Prague and Reykjavík are obtained using METEONORM software.

Keywords: climatic conditions, computational simulation, energy efficiency, thermal insulation

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1428
507 Learning Difficulties of Children with Disabilities

Authors: Chalise Kiran

Abstract:

The learning difficulties of children with disabilities are always a matter of concern when we talk about educational needs and quality education of children with disabilities. This paper is the outcome of the review of the literature focused on the educational needs and learning difficulties of children with disabilities. For the paper, different studies written on children with disabilities and their education were collected through search engines. The literature put together were analyzed from the angle of learning difficulties faced by children with disabilities and the same were used as a precursor to arrive at the findings on the learning of the children. The analysis showed that children with disabilities face learning difficulties. The reasons for these difficulties could be attributed to factors in terms of authority, structure, school environment and behaviors of teachers and parents and the society as a whole.

Keywords: Children with disabilities, learning difficulties, education of children with disabilities, disabled children.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 346
506 Human Capital Development for ASEAN Community

Authors: Chutikarn Sriwiboon

Abstract:

The main purpose of this research paper was to study the requirements for human capital development in order to be ready for ASEAN Community. Thai education institutions are encountering a challenging course of change to be effective members of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. It was vital that everyone and every organization participate in the process of becoming part of the ASEAN community, a pluralistic society. Thai universities will be required to partake in the human capital development in a variety of fields. In order to assist the whole nation to enhance potential development, there was a need to collaborate with other ASEAN leading universities to do researches to ameliorate the qualifications and capabilities of university management, administers, professors, and staffs.

Keywords: ASEAN, Education, Human capital development.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2697
505 A Critical Study of Media Profiling on Society-s Social Problems from a British Perspective

Authors: Cj Gletus Matthews Cn Jacobs, Kogilah Narayanasamy

Abstract:

This article explores the sociological perspectives on social problems and the role of the media which has a delicate role to tread in balancing its duty to the public and the victim Whilst social problems have objective conditions, it is the subjective definition of such problems that ensure which social problem comes to the fore and which doesn-t. Further it explores the roles and functions of policymakers when addressing social problems and the impact of the inception of media profiling as well as the advantages and disadvantages of media profiling towards social problems. It focuses on the inception of media profiling due to its length and a follow up article will explore how current media profiling towards social problems have evolved since its inception.

Keywords: Media Profiling, Policy Response, Social Problems

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1269
504 A Review on Application of Waste Tire in Concrete

Authors: M. A. Yazdi, J. Yang, L. Yihui, H. Su

Abstract:

The application of recycle waste tires into civil engineering practices, namely asphalt paving mixtures and cementbased materials has been gaining ground across the world. This review summarizes and compares the recent achievements in the area of plain rubberized concrete (PRC), in details. Different treatment methods have been discussed to improve the performance of rubberized Portland cement concrete. The review also includes the effects of size and amount of tire rubbers on mechanical and durability properties of PRC. The microstructure behaviour of the rubberized concrete was detailed.

Keywords: Waste rubber aggregates, Microstructure, Treatment methods, Size and content effects.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4606
503 Israeli Households Caring for Children and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: An Explorative Study

Authors: Ayelet Gur

Abstract:

Background: In recent years we are witnessing a welcome trend in which more children/persons with disabilities are living at home with their families and within their communities. This trend is related to various policy innovations as the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities that reflect a shift from the medical-institutional model to a human rights approach. We also witness the emergence of family centered approaches that perceive the family and not just the individual with the disability as a worthy target of policy planning, implementation and evaluation efforts. The current investigation aims to explore economic, psychological and social factors among households of families of children or adults with intellectual disabilities in Israel and to present policy recommendation. Methods: A national sample of 301 households was recruited through the education and employment settings of persons with intellectual disability. The main caregiver of the person with the disability (a parent) was interviewed. Measurements included the income and expense surveys; assets and debts questionnaire; the questionnaire on resources and stress; the social involvement questionnaire and Personal Wellbeing Index. Results: Findings indicate significant gaps in financial circumstances between households of families of children with intellectual disabilities and households of the general Israeli society. Households of families of children with intellectual disabilities report lower income and higher expenditures and loans than the general society. They experience difficulties in saving and coping with unexpected expenses. Caregivers (the parents) experience high stress, low social participation, low financial support from family, friend and non-governmental organizations and decreased well-being. They are highly dependent on social security allowances which constituted 40% of the household's income. Conclusions: Households' dependency on social security allowances may seem contradictory to the encouragement of persons with intellectual disabilities to favor independent living in light of the human rights approach to disability. New policy should aim at reducing caregivers' stress and enhance their social participation and support, with special emphasis on families of lower socio-economic status. Finally, there is a need to continue monitoring the economic and psycho-social needs of households of families of children with intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities.

Keywords: Disability policy, family policy, intellectual and developmental disabilities, Israel, households study, parents of children with disabilities.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 690
502 A Framework for the Analysis of the Stereotypes in Accounting

Authors: Nadia Albu, Cătălin Nicolae Albu, Mădălina Maria Gîrbină, Maria Iuliana Sandu

Abstract:

Professions are concerned about the public image they have, and this public image is represented by stereotypes. Research is needed to understand how accountants are perceived by different actors in the society in different contexts, which would allow universities, professional bodies and employers to adjust their strategies to attract the right people to the profession and their organizations. We aim to develop in this paper a framework to be used in empirical testing in different environments to determine and analyze the accountant-s stereotype. This framework will be useful in analyzing the nuances associated to the accountant-s image and in understanding the factors that may lead to uniformity in the profession and of those leading to diversity from one context (country, type of countries, region) to another.

Keywords: accounting profession, accounting stereotype, framework, public image

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3086
501 A Proposed Trust Model for the Semantic Web

Authors: Hoda Waguih

Abstract:

A serious problem on the WWW is finding reliable information. Not everything found on the Web is true and the Semantic Web does not change that in any way. The problem will be even more crucial for the Semantic Web, where agents will be integrating and using information from multiple sources. Thus, if an incorrect premise is used due to a single faulty source, then any conclusions drawn may be in error. Thus, statements published on the Semantic Web have to be seen as claims rather than as facts, and there should be a way to decide which among many possibly inconsistent sources is most reliable. In this work, we propose a trust model for the Semantic Web. The proposed model is inspired by the use trust in human society. Trust is a type of social knowledge and encodes evaluations about which agents can be taken as reliable sources of information or services. Our proposed model allows agents to decide which among different sources of information to trust and thus act rationally on the semantic web.

Keywords: Semantic Web, Trust, Web of Trust, WWW.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1492
500 Swedish: Being or Becoming? Immigration, National Identity and the Democratic State

Authors: Hans Lödén

Abstract:

This article discusses superordinate national identity as a means for immigrants integration into democratic polities. It is suggested that a superordinate national identity perceived as inclusive, by immigrants and by the native population, would be conducive to such integration. Command of the dominant language of society is seen as most important of the inclusive criteria. Other such criteria are respect of the country's political institutions and feelings of belonging to the country where you live. The argument is supported by data, showing a majority in favour of inclusive criteria for 'Swedishness', from a recent study among 1000 secondary school students of 'Swedish' and non-'Swedish' backgrounds.

Keywords: Democratic state, exclusion, immigration, inclusion, superordinate national identity, Sweden.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1568
499 Corporate Sustainable Development Assessment Base on the Corporate Social Responsibility

Authors: Sun Mei, Nagata Katsuya, Onoda Hiroshi

Abstract:

With the resource exhaustion, bad affections of human activities and the awakening of the human rights, the corporate social responsibility became popular corporate strategy achieving sustainable development of both corporation and society. The issue of Guideline of Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility Report promotes greatly corporation to take social responsibility. This paper built the index system according to this guideline and takes the textile industry as an example, uses the analytical hierarchy process to identify the weightings of different responsibilities of corporation to guide the corporate social responsibility performance assessment.

Keywords: Sustainable development, analytical hierarchyprocess, index system, corporate social responsibility

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1812
498 Developing Islamic Tourism in Kazakhstan: A Result of a Religious Revival or a New Trend of Tourism

Authors: A. A. Mustafayeva, G. E. Nadirova, Sh. S. Kaliyeva, B. Zh. Aktaulova

Abstract:

all of religions free towards society in Kazakhstan. Considering that Islam is more widespread religion in the region, Islamic industry is developing sector of Economy. There are some new sectors of Halal (Islamic) industry, which have importance for state developing on the whole. One of the youngest sectors of Halal industry is Islamic tourism, which became an object of disputes and led to dilemma, such as Islamic tourism is a result of a Religious revival and Islamic tourism is a new trend of Tourism. The paper was written under the research project “Islam in modern Kazakhstan: the nature and outcome of the religious revival".

Keywords: Halal industry, Islamic tourism, pillars, pilgrims.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2859
497 There is Nothing “BASIC” about Numeracy in Higher Education - A Case Study from an Accounting Programme

Authors: S. Rathilal

Abstract:

Numeracy, like Literacy is considered to be a core value of modern societies. Most higher education institutions in South Africa include being numerate as an important graduate attribute. It is argued that a suitability numerate society contributes to social justice, empowerment, financial and environmental sustainability and a lack of numeracy practices can contribute to disempowerment. Numeracy is commonly misconstrued as a basic and simple practice, similar in nature to basic arithmetic. This study highlights the complexities of higher education numeracy practices by analyzing a programme in a higher education institution in South Africa using the New Literacies Studies perspective.

Keywords: Higher Education, New Literacy Studies, Numeracy Practices.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1876
496 Numerical Evaluation of Lateral Bearing Capacity of Piles in Cement-Treated Soils

Authors: Reza Ziaie Moayed, Saeideh Mohammadi

Abstract:

Soft soil is used in many of civil engineering projects like coastal, marine and road projects. Because of low shear strength and stiffness of soft soils, large settlement and low bearing capacity will occur under superstructure loads. This will make the civil engineering activities more difficult and costlier. In the case of soft soils, improvement is a suitable method to increase the shear strength and stiffness for engineering purposes. In recent years, the artificial cementation of soil by cement and lime has been extensively used for soft soil improvement. Cement stabilization is a well-established technique for improving soft soils. Artificial cementation increases the shear strength and hardness of the natural soils. On the other hand, in soft soils, the use of piles to transfer loads to the depths of ground is usual. By using cement treated soil around the piles, high bearing capacity and low settlement in piles can be achieved. In the present study, lateral bearing capacity of short piles in cemented soils is investigated by numerical approach. For this purpose, three dimensional (3D) finite difference software, FLAC 3D is used. Cement treated soil has a strain hardening-softening behavior, because of breaking of bonds between cement agent and soil particle. To simulate such behavior, strain hardening-softening soil constitutive model is used for cement treated soft soil. Additionally, conventional elastic-plastic Mohr Coulomb constitutive model and linear elastic model are used for stress-strain behavior of natural soils and pile. To determine the parameters of constitutive models and also for verification of numerical model, the results of available triaxial laboratory tests on and insitu loading of piles in cement treated soft soil are used. Different parameters are considered in parametric study to determine the effective parameters on the bearing of the piles on cemented treated soils. In the present paper, the effect of various length and height of the artificial cemented area, different diameter and length of the pile and the properties of the materials are studied. Also, the effect of choosing a constitutive model for cemented treated soils in the bearing capacity of the pile is investigated.

Keywords: Cement-treated soils, pile, lateral capacity, FLAC 3D.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 737
495 Small and Silly? or Private Pitfall of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Authors: A. Bencsik, V. Lőre, I. Marosi

Abstract:

Knowledge and these notions have become more and more important and we speak about a knowledge based society today. A lot of small and big companies have reacted upon these new challenges. But there is a deep abyss about knowledge conception and practice between the professional researchers and company - life. The question of this research was: How can small and mediumsized companies be equal to the demands of new economy? Questionnaires were used in this research and a special segment of the native knowledge based on economy was focused on. Researchers would have liked to know what the sources of success are and how they can be in connection with questions of knowledge acquisition, knowledge transfer, knowledge utilization in small and medium-sized companies. These companies know that they have to change their behaviour and thinking, but they are not on the suitable level that they can compete with bigger or multinational companies.

Keywords: Knowledge, management, small and medium-sized companies, study.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1312
494 Investigation of Main Operating Parameters Affecting Gas Turbine Efficiency and Gas Releases

Authors: Farhat Hajer, Khir Tahar, Ammar Ben Brahim

Abstract:

This work presents a study on the influence of the main operating variables on the gas turbine cycle. A numerical simulation of a gas turbine cycle is performed for a real net power of 100 MW. A calculation code is developed using EES software. The operating variables are taken in conformity with the local environmental conditions adopted by the Tunisian Society of Electricity and Gas. Results show that the increase of ambient temperature leads to an increase of Tpz and NOx emissions rate and a decrease of cycle efficiency and UHC emissions. The CO emissions decrease with the raise of residence time, while NOx emissions rate increases and UHC emissions rate decreases. Furthermore, both of cycle efficiency and NOx emissions increase with the increase of the pressure ratio.

Keywords: CO, efficiency, gas turbine, NOx, UHC.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1179