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sales</title> <meta name="description" content="Search results for: return on sales"> <meta name="keywords" content="return on sales"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, minimum-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" rel="shortcut icon"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/bootstrap-4.2.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/fontawesome/css/all.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/css/site.css?v=150220211555" rel="stylesheet"> </head> <body> <header> <div class="container"> <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light"> <a class="navbar-brand" href="https://waset.org"> <img src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/images/wasetc.png" alt="Open Science Research Excellence" title="Open Science Research Excellence" /> </a> <button class="d-block d-lg-none navbar-toggler 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id="custom-search-input"> <div class="input-group"> <i class="fas fa-search"></i> <input type="text" class="search-query" name="q" placeholder="Author, Title, Abstract, Keywords" value="return on sales"> <input type="submit" class="btn_search" value="Search"> </div> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="row mt-3"> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Commenced</strong> in January 2007</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Frequency:</strong> Monthly</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Edition:</strong> International</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Paper Count:</strong> 1324</div> </div> </div> </div> <h1 class="mt-3 mb-3 text-center" style="font-size:1.6rem;">Search results for: return on sales</h1> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">184</span> The Adolescent Vaping Crisis in Urban India</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Arushi%20S.%20Goyal">Arushi S. Goyal</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jo%20Aggarwal"> Jo Aggarwal</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ravi%20Jasuja"> Ravi Jasuja</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Statement of the Problem: Vapes have always been marketed as safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes; however, research suggests that perceived safety of e-cigarettes use may be overstated. While the addictive properties of nicotine have garnered significant scientific interest, the adverse effects of ‘inert’ ingredients in vapes are being investigated only recently. Seemingly harmless components in vapes such as propylene glycol have been shown to damage astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, and certain flavorings are causatively associated with neuroinflammation. With ease of concealment and varied aromas, vape usage amongst high school students continues unabated in countries like India, which have instituted comprehensive bans on e-cigarettes. With overt government ban, there is paucity of public data on determinants of teenage vaping patterns and parental engagement in curbing this debilitating dependency. Additionally, the large body of peer reviewed studies on vaping have been primarily conducted in Western countries. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the factors affecting the causes and attitudes towards vaping among adolescents in urban India, as well as the gaps in parental awareness. We posit that this study would lay out a reusable framework for extending the studies across conservative societies where adolescents support vaping behavior even with strong governmental policies. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Two surveys were used to collect data. Participants from eight private schools in Bangalore completed an online survey. The first survey sampled adolescents aged 14-18, while the second surveyed the parents of children in the same age group from the same schools. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and all data collected was anonymous. Results: We find substantial discordance in self-reported vape use by the adolescents and the parents’ knowledge of their child’s exposure to vaping. Over one fifth of respondents (22.4%) reported using e-cigarettes, while only 5% of parents reported that their children used e-cigarettes. Even though over 70% of adolescents believe that vaping is addictive, only 22.8% of respondents were aware of the components, or the extent of its impact. While peer pressure is often perceived to be the enabling factor, curiosity was reported as the primary reason for the initiation. Adolescents who vape saw regulations on sales and marketing as the most effective deterrent. In contrast, parents and other students leaned on school infrastructure to intervene. There has been a significant increase in vaping and a substantial discordance between parental perceptions and adolescent vaping. Conclusion & Significance: Despite a complete ban, vapes continue to be easily accessible. The data suggests that an open discussion about the adverse health consequences of untested, “seemingly inert” ingredients in these unregulated vape liquids would galvanize the student community by demystifying vaping. While increased regulation against the sale of vapes deters open use, increased parental involvement could enable open dialog with children and assist in reducing the prevalence of vaping. A reduction in vaping could have a considerable impact on the health and educational outcomes for the youth of India. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=adolescent" title="adolescent">adolescent</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=e-cigarettes" title=" e-cigarettes"> e-cigarettes</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=health%20consequences" title=" health consequences"> health consequences</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=India" title=" India"> India</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=parental%20awareness" title=" parental awareness"> parental awareness</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=vapes" title=" vapes"> vapes</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/192643/the-adolescent-vaping-crisis-in-urban-india" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/192643.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">25</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">183</span> Modelling Agricultural Commodity Price Volatility with Markov-Switching Regression, Single Regime GARCH and Markov-Switching GARCH Models: Empirical Evidence from South Africa</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yegnanew%20A.%20Shiferaw">Yegnanew A. Shiferaw</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background: commodity price volatility originating from excessive commodity price fluctuation has been a global problem especially after the recent financial crises. Volatility is a measure of risk or uncertainty in financial analysis. It plays a vital role in risk management, portfolio management, and pricing equity. Objectives: the core objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between the prices of agricultural commodities with oil price, gas price, coal price and exchange rate (USD/Rand). In addition, the paper tries to fit an appropriate model that best describes the log return price volatility and estimate Value-at-Risk and expected shortfall. Data and methods: the data used in this study are the daily returns of agricultural commodity prices from 02 January 2007 to 31st October 2016. The data sets consists of the daily returns of agricultural commodity prices namely: white maize, yellow maize, wheat, sunflower, soya, corn, and sorghum. The paper applies the three-state Markov-switching (MS) regression, the standard single-regime GARCH and the two regime Markov-switching GARCH (MS-GARCH) models. Results: to choose the best fit model, the log-likelihood function, Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and deviance information criterion (DIC) are employed under three distributions for innovations. The results indicate that: (i) the price of agricultural commodities was found to be significantly associated with the price of coal, price of natural gas, price of oil and exchange rate, (ii) for all agricultural commodities except sunflower, k=3 had higher log-likelihood values and lower AIC and BIC values. Thus, the three-state MS regression model outperformed the two-state MS regression model (iii) MS-GARCH(1,1) with generalized error distribution (ged) innovation performs best for white maize and yellow maize; MS-GARCH(1,1) with student-t distribution (std) innovation performs better for sorghum; MS-gjrGARCH(1,1) with ged innovation performs better for wheat, sunflower and soya and MS-GARCH(1,1) with std innovation performs better for corn. In conclusion, this paper provided a practical guide for modelling agricultural commodity prices by MS regression and MS-GARCH processes. This paper can be good as a reference when facing modelling agricultural commodity price problems. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=commodity%20prices" title="commodity prices">commodity prices</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=MS-GARCH%20model" title=" MS-GARCH model"> MS-GARCH model</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=MS%20regression%20model" title=" MS regression model"> MS regression model</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=South%20Africa" title=" South Africa"> South Africa</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=volatility" title=" volatility"> volatility</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/80554/modelling-agricultural-commodity-price-volatility-with-markov-switching-regression-single-regime-garch-and-markov-switching-garch-models-empirical-evidence-from-south-africa" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/80554.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">202</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">182</span> The Effect of Seated Distance on Muscle Activation and Joint Kinematics during Seated Strengthening in Patients with Stroke with Extensor Synergy Pattern in the Lower Limbs</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Y.%20H.%20Chen">Y. H. Chen</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=P.%20Y.%20Chiang"> P. Y. Chiang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=T.%20Sugiarto"> T. Sugiarto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=I.%20Karsuna"> I. Karsuna</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Y.%20J.%20Lin"> Y. J. Lin</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=C.%20C.%20Chang"> C. C. Chang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=W.%20C.%20Hsu"> W. C. Hsu</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Task-specific training with intense practice of functional tasks has been emphasized for the approaches in motor rehabilitation in patients with hemiplegic strokes. Although reciprocal actions which may increase demands on motor control during seated stepping exercise, motor control is not explicitly trained with emphasis and instruction focused on traditional strengthening. Apart from cycling and treadmill, various forms of seated exerciser are becoming available for the lower extremity exercise. The benefit of seated exerciser has been focused on the effect on the cardiopulmonary system. Thus, the aim of current study is to investigate the effect of seated distance on muscle activation during seated strengthening in patients with stroke with extensor synergy pattern in the lower extremities. Electrodes were placed on the surface of lower limbs muscles, including rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris (BF) and gastrocnemius (GT) of both sides. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the muscles were obtained to normalize the EMG amplitude obtained during dynamic trials with analog raw data digitized with a sampling frequency of 2000 Hz, fully rectified and the linear enveloped. Movement cycle was separated into two phases by pushing (PP) and Return (RP). Integral EMG (iEMG) is then used to quantify level of activation during each of the phases. Subjects performed strengthening with moderate resistance with speed of 60 rpm in two different distances (D1, short) and (D2, long). The results showed greater iEMG in RF and smaller iEMG in VL and BF with obvious increase range of motion of hip flexion in D1 condition. On the contrary, no significant involvement of RF while greater level of muscular activation in VL and BF during RP was found during PP in D2 condition. In addition, greater hip internal rotation was observed in D2 condition. In patients with stroke with abnormal tone revealed by extensor synergy in the lower extremities, shorter seated distance is suggested to facilitate hip flexor muscle activation while avoid inducing hyper extensor tone which may prevent a smooth repetitive motion. Repetitive muscular contraction exercise of hip flexor may be helpful for further gait training as it may assist hip flexion during swing phase of the walking. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=seated%20strengthening" title="seated strengthening">seated strengthening</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=patients%20with%20stroke" title=" patients with stroke"> patients with stroke</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=electromyography" title=" electromyography"> electromyography</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=synergy%20pattern" title=" synergy pattern"> synergy pattern</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/75561/the-effect-of-seated-distance-on-muscle-activation-and-joint-kinematics-during-seated-strengthening-in-patients-with-stroke-with-extensor-synergy-pattern-in-the-lower-limbs" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/75561.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">215</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">181</span> Hydrodynamics in Wetlands of Brazilian Savanna: Electrical Tomography and Geoprocessing</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Lucas%20M.%20Furlan">Lucas M. Furlan</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Cesar%20A.%20Moreira"> Cesar A. Moreira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jepherson%20F.%20Sales"> Jepherson F. Sales</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Guilherme%20T.%20Bueno"> Guilherme T. Bueno</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Manuel%20E.%20Ferreira"> Manuel E. Ferreira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Carla%20V.%20S.%20Coelho"> Carla V. S. Coelho</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Vania%20Rosolen"> Vania Rosolen</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Located in the western part of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the study area consists of a savanna environment, represented by sedimentary plateau and a soil cover composed by lateritic and hydromorphic soils - in the latter, occurring the deferruginization and concentration of high-alumina clays, exploited as refractory material. In the hydromorphic topographic depressions (wetlands) the hydropedogical relationships are little known, but it is observed that in times of rainfall, the depressed region behaves like a natural seasonal reservoir - which suggests that the wetlands on the surface of the plateau are places of recharge of the aquifer. The aquifer recharge areas are extremely important for the sustainable social, economic and environmental development of societies. The understanding of hydrodynamics in relation to the functioning of the ferruginous and hydromorphic lateritic soils system in the savanna environment is a subject rarely explored in the literature, especially its understanding through the joint application of geoprocessing by UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and electrical tomography. The objective of this work is to understand the hydrogeological dynamics in a wetland (with an area of 426.064 m²), in the Brazilian savanna,as well as the understanding of the subsurface architecture of hydromorphic depressions in relation to the recharge of aquifers. The wetland was compartmentalized in three different regions, according to the geoprocessing. Hydraulic conductivity studies were performed in each of these three portions. Electrical tomography was performed on 9 lines of 80 meters in length and spaced 10 meters apart (direction N45), and a line with 80 meters perpendicular to all others. With the data, it was possible to generate a 3D cube. The integrated analysis showed that the area behaves like a natural seasonal reservoir in the months of greater precipitation (December – 289mm; January – 277,9mm; February – 213,2mm), because the hydraulic conductivity is very low in all areas. In the aerial images, geotag correction of the images was performed, that is, the correction of the coordinates of the images by means of the corrected coordinates of the Positioning by Precision Point of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE-PPP). Later, the orthomosaic and the digital surface model (DSM) were generated, which with specific geoprocessing generated the volume of water that the wetland can contain - 780,922m³ in total, 265,205m³ in the region with intermediate flooding and 49,140m³ in the central region, where a greater accumulation of water was observed. Through the electrical tomography it was possible to identify that up to the depth of 6 meters the water infiltrates vertically in the central region. From the 8 meters depth, the water encounters a more resistive layer and the infiltration begins to occur horizontally - tending to concentrate the recharge of the aquifer to the northeast and southwest of the wetland. The hydrodynamics of the area is complex and has many challenges in its understanding. The next step is to relate hydrodynamics to the evolution of the landscape, with the enrichment of high-alumina clays, and to propose a management model for the seasonal reservoir. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=electrical%20tomography" title="electrical tomography">electrical tomography</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=hydropedology" title=" hydropedology"> hydropedology</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=unmanned%20aerial%20vehicle" title=" unmanned aerial vehicle"> unmanned aerial vehicle</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=water%20resources%20management" title=" water resources management"> water resources management</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/102941/hydrodynamics-in-wetlands-of-brazilian-savanna-electrical-tomography-and-geoprocessing" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/102941.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">146</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">180</span> The Analysis of Movement Pattern during Reach and Grasp in Stroke Patients: A Kinematic Approach</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hyo%20Seon%20Choi">Hyo Seon Choi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ju%20Sun%20Kim"> Ju Sun Kim</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=DY%20Kim"> DY Kim</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Introduction: This study was aimed to evaluate temporo-spatial patterns during the reach and grasp task in hemiplegic stroke patients and to identify movement pattern according to severity of motor impairment. Method: 29 subacute post-stroke patients were enrolled in this study. The temporo-spatial and kinematic data were obtained during reach and grasp task through 3D motion analysis (VICON). The reach and grasp task was composed of four sub-tasks: reach (T1), transport to mouth (T2), transport back to table (T3) and return (T4). The movement time, joint angle and sum of deviation angles from normative data were compared between affected side and unaffected side. They were also compared between two groups (mild to moderate group: 28~66, severe group: 0~27) divided by upper-Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scale. Result: In affected side, total time and durations of all four tasks were significantly longer than those in unaffected side (p < 0.001). The affected side demonstrated significant larger shoulder abduction, shoulder internal rotation, wrist flexion, wrist pronation, thoracic external rotation and smaller shoulder flexion during reach and grasp task (p < 0.05). The significant differences between mild to moderate group and severe group were observed in total duration, durations of T1, T2, and T3 in reach and grasp task (p < 0.01). The severe group showed significant larger shoulder internal rotation during T2 (p < 0.05) and wrist flexion during T2, T3 (p < 0.05) than mild to moderate group. In range of motion during each task, shoulder abduction-adduction during T2 and T3, shoulder internal-external rotation during T2, elbow flexion-extension during T1 showed significant difference between two groups (p < 0.05). The severe group had significant larger total deviation angles in shoulder internal-external rotation and wrist extension-flexion during reach and grasp task (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study suggests that post-stroke hemiplegic patients have an unique temporo-spatial and kinematic patterns during reach and grasp task, and the movement pattern may be related to affected upper limb severity. These results may be useful to interpret the motion of upper extremity in stroke patients. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Fugl-Meyer%20Assessment%20%28FMA%29" title="Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA)">Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA)</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=motion%20analysis" title=" motion analysis"> motion analysis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=reach%20and%20grasp" title=" reach and grasp"> reach and grasp</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=stroke" title=" stroke"> stroke</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/70274/the-analysis-of-movement-pattern-during-reach-and-grasp-in-stroke-patients-a-kinematic-approach" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/70274.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">238</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">179</span> Audit Outcome Cardiac Arrest Cases (2019-2020) in Emergency Department RIPAS Hospital, Brunei Darussalam</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Victor%20Au">Victor Au</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Khin%20Maung%20Than"> Khin Maung Than</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Zaw%20Win%20Aung"> Zaw Win Aung</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Linawati%20Jumat"> Linawati Jumat</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background & Objectives: Cardiac arrests can occur anywhere or anytime, and most of the cases will be brought to the emergency department except the cases that happened in at in-patient setting. Raja IsteriPangiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital is the only tertiary government hospital which located in Brunei Muara district and received all referral from other Brunei districts. Data of cardiac arrests in Brunei Darussalam scattered between Emergency Medical Ambulance Services (EMAS), Emergency Department (ED), general inpatient wards, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In this audit, we only focused on cardiac arrest cases which had happened or presented to the emergency department RIPAS Hospital. Theobjectives of this audit were to look at demographic of cardiac arrest cases and the survival to discharge rate of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (IHCA) and Out-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA). Methodology: This audit retrospective study was conducted on all cardiac arrest cases that underwent Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in ED RIPAS Hospital, Brunei Muara, in the year 2019-2020. All cardiac arrest cases that happened or were brought in to emergency department were included. All the relevant data were retrieved from ED visit registry book and electronic medical record “Bru-HIMS” with keyword diagnosis of “cardiac arrest”. Data were analyzed and tabulated using Excel software. Result: 313 cardiac arrests were recorded in the emergency department in year 2019-2020. 92% cases were categorized as OHCA, and the remaining 8% as IHCA. Majority of the cases were male with age between 50-60 years old. In OHCA subgroup, only 12.4% received bystander CPR, and 0.4% received Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) before emergency medical personnel arrived. Initial shockable rhythm in IHCA group accounted for 12% compare to 4.9% in OHCA group. Outcome of ED resuscitation, 32% of IHCA group achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) with a survival to discharge rate was 16%. For OHCA group, 12.35% achieved ROSC, but unfortunately, none of them survive till discharge. Conclusion: Standardized registry for cardiac arrest in the emergency department is required to provide valid baseline data to measure the quality and outcome of cardiac arrest. Zero survival rate for out hospital cardiac arrest is very concerning, and it might represent the significant breach in cardiac arrest chains of survival. Systematic prospective data collection is needed to identify contributing factors and to improve resuscitation outcome. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cardiac%20arrest" title="cardiac arrest">cardiac arrest</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=OHCA" title=" OHCA"> OHCA</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=IHCA" title=" IHCA"> IHCA</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=resuscitation" title=" resuscitation"> resuscitation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=emergency%20department" title=" emergency department"> emergency department</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/150962/audit-outcome-cardiac-arrest-cases-2019-2020-in-emergency-department-ripas-hospital-brunei-darussalam" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/150962.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">99</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">178</span> The Impact of Improved Grain Storage Technology on Marketing Behaviour and Livelihoods of Maize Farmers: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Ethiopia</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Betelhem%20M.%20Negede">Betelhem M. Negede</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Maarten%20Voors"> Maarten Voors</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hugo%20%20De%20Groote"> Hugo De Groote</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Bart%20Minten"> Bart Minten</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Farmers in Ethiopia produce most of their own food during one agricultural season per year. Therefore, they need to use on-farm storage technologies to bridge the lean season and benefit from price arbitrage. Maize stored using traditional storage bags offer no protection from insects and molds, leading to high storage losses. In Ethiopia access to and use of modern storage technologies are still limited, restraining farmers to benefit from local maize price fluctuations. We used a randomized controlled trial among 871 maize farmers to evaluate the impacts of Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags, also known as hermetic bags, on storage losses, and especially on behavioral changes with respect to consumption, marketing, and income among maize farmers in Ethiopia. This study builds upon the limited previous experimental research that has tried to understand farmers’ grain storage and post-harvest losses and identify mechanisms behind the persistence of these challenges. Our main hypothesis is that access to PICS bags allows farmers to increase production, storage and maize income. Also delay the length of maize storage, reduce maize post-harvest losses and improve their food security. Our results show that even though farmers received only three PICS bags that represent 10percent of their total maize stored, they delay their length of maize storage for sales by two weeks. However, we find no treatment effect on maize income, suggesting that the arbitrage of two weeks is too small. Also, we do not find any reduction in storage losses due to farmers’ reaction by selling early and by using cheap and readily available but potentially harmful storage chemicals. Looking at the heterogeneity treatment effects between the treatment variable and highland and lowland villages, we find a decrease in the percentage of maize stored by 4 percent in the highland villages. This confirms that location specific factors, such as agro-ecology and proximity to markets are important factors that influence whether and how much of the harvest a farmer stores. These findings highlight the benefits of hermetic storage bags, by allowing farmers to make inter-temporal arbitrage and by reducing potential health risks from storage chemicals. The main policy recommendation that emanates from our study is that postharvest losses reduction throughout the whole value chain is an important pathway to food and income security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, future storage loss interventions with hermetic storage technologies should take into account the agro-ecology of the study area and quantify storage losses beyond farmers self-reported losses, such as the count and weigh method. Finally, studies on hermetic storage technologies indicate positive impacts on post-harvest losses and in improving food security, but the adoption and use of these technologies is currently still low in SSA. Therefore, future works on the scaling up of hermetic bags, should consider reasons why farmers only use PICS bags to store grains for consumption, which is usually related to a safety-first approach or due to lack of incentives (higher price from maize not treated with chemicals), and no grain quality check. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=arbitrage" title="arbitrage">arbitrage</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=PICS%20hermetic%20bags" title=" PICS hermetic bags"> PICS hermetic bags</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=post-harvest%20storage%20loss" title=" post-harvest storage loss"> post-harvest storage loss</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=RCT" title=" RCT"> RCT</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/129250/the-impact-of-improved-grain-storage-technology-on-marketing-behaviour-and-livelihoods-of-maize-farmers-a-randomized-controlled-trial-in-ethiopia" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/129250.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">136</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">177</span> Modelling Flood Events in Botswana (Palapye) for Protecting Roads Structure against Floods</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Thabo%20M.%20Bafitlhile">Thabo M. Bafitlhile</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Adewole%20Oladele"> Adewole Oladele</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Botswana has been affected by floods since long ago and is still experiencing this tragic event. Flooding occurs mostly in the North-West, North-East, and parts of Central district due to heavy rainfalls experienced in these areas. The torrential rains destroyed homes, roads, flooded dams, fields and destroyed livestock and livelihoods. Palapye is one area in the central district that has been experiencing floods ever since 1995 when its greatest flood on record occurred. Heavy storms result in floods and inundation; this has been exacerbated by poor and absence of drainage structures. Since floods are a part of nature, they have existed and will to continue to exist, hence more destruction. Furthermore floods and highway plays major role in erosion and destruction of roads structures. Already today, many culverts, trenches, and other drainage facilities lack the capacity to deal with current frequency for extreme flows. Future changes in the pattern of hydro climatic events will have implications for the design and maintenance costs of roads. Increase in rainfall and severe weather events can affect the demand for emergent responses. Therefore flood forecasting and warning is a prerequisite for successful mitigation of flood damage. In flood prone areas like Palapye, preventive measures should be taken to reduce possible adverse effects of floods on the environment including road structures. Therefore this paper attempts to estimate return periods associated with huge storms of different magnitude from recorded historical rainfall depth using statistical method. The method of annual maxima was used to select data sets for the rainfall analysis. In the statistical method, the Type 1 extreme value (Gumbel), Log Normal, Log Pearson 3 distributions were all applied to the annual maximum series for Palapye area to produce IDF curves. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Chi Squared were used to confirm the appropriateness of fitted distributions for the location and the data do fit the distributions used to predict expected frequencies. This will be a beneficial tool for urgent flood forecasting and water resource administration as proper drainage design will be design based on the estimated flood events and will help to reclaim and protect the road structures from adverse impacts of flood. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=drainage" title="drainage">drainage</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=estimate" title=" estimate"> estimate</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=evaluation" title=" evaluation"> evaluation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=floods" title=" floods"> floods</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=flood%20forecasting" title=" flood forecasting"> flood forecasting</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/35635/modelling-flood-events-in-botswana-palapye-for-protecting-roads-structure-against-floods" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/35635.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">371</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">176</span> Complaint Management Mechanism: A Workplace Solution in Development Sector of Bangladesh</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Nusrat%20Zabeen%20Islam">Nusrat Zabeen Islam</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Partnership between local Non-Government organizations (NGO) and International development organizations has become an important feature in the development sector of Bangladesh. It is an important challenge for International development organizations to work with local NGOs with proper HR practice. Local NGOs have a lack of quality working environment and this affects the employee’s work experiences and overall performance at individual, partnership with International development organizations and organizational level. Many local development organizations due to the size of the organization and scope do not have a human resource (HR) unit. Inadequate Human Resource Policies, skills, leadership and lack of effective strategy is now a common scenario in Non-Government organization sector of Bangladesh. So corruption, nepotism, and fraud, risk of Political Contribution in office /work space, Sexual/ gender based abuse, insecurity take place in work place of development sector. The Complaint Management Mechanism (CMM) in human resource management could be one way to improve human resource competence in these organizations. The responsibility of Complaint Management Unit (CMU) of an International development organization is to make workplace maltreating, discriminating communities free. The information of impact of CMM was collected through case study of an International organization and some of its partner national organizations in Bangladesh who are engaged in different projects/programs. In this mechanism International development organizations collect complaints from beneficiaries/ staffs by complaint management unit and investigate by segregating the type and mood of the complaint and find out solution to improve the situation within a very short period. A complaint management committee is formed jointly with HR and management personnel. Concerned focal point collect complaints and share with CM unit. By conducting investigation, review of findings, reply back to CM unit and implementation of resolution through this mechanism, a successful bridge of communication and feedback can be established within beneficiaries, staffs and upper management. The overall result of Complaint management mechanism application indicates that by applying CMM accountability and transparency of workplace and workforce in development organization can be increased significantly. Evaluations based on outcomes, and measuring indicators such as productivity, satisfaction, retention, gender equity, proper judgment will guide organizations in building a healthy workforce, and will also clearly articulate the return on investment and justify any need for further funding. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=human%20resource%20management%20in%20NGOs" title="human resource management in NGOs">human resource management in NGOs</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=challenges%20in%20human%20resource" title=" challenges in human resource"> challenges in human resource</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=workplace%20environment" title=" workplace environment"> workplace environment</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=complaint%20management%20mechanism" title=" complaint management mechanism"> complaint management mechanism</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/64515/complaint-management-mechanism-a-workplace-solution-in-development-sector-of-bangladesh" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/64515.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">322</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">175</span> Best Practice for Post-Operative Surgical Site Infection Prevention</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Scott%20Cavinder">Scott Cavinder</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Surgical site infections (SSI) are a known complication to any surgical procedure and are one of the most common nosocomial infections. Globally it is estimated 300 million surgical procedures take place annually, with an incidence of SSI’s estimated to be 11 of 100 surgical patients developing an infection within 30 days after surgery. The specific purpose of the project is to address the PICOT (Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time) question: In patients who have undergone cardiothoracic or vascular surgery (P), does implementation of a post-operative care bundle based on current EBP (I) as compared to current clinical agency practice standards (C) result in a decrease of SSI (O) over a 12-week period (T)? Synthesis of Supporting Evidence: A literature search of five databases, including citation chasing, was performed, which yielded fourteen pieces of evidence ranging from high to good quality. Four common themes were identified for the prevention of SSI’s including use and removal of surgical dressings; use of topical antibiotics and antiseptics; implementation of evidence-based care bundles, and implementation of surveillance through auditing and feedback. The Iowa Model was selected as the framework to help guide this project as it is a multiphase change process which encourages clinicians to recognize opportunities for improvement in healthcare practice. Practice/Implementation: The process for this project will include recruiting postsurgical participants who have undergone cardiovascular or thoracic surgery prior to discharge at a Northwest Indiana Hospital. The patients will receive education, verbal instruction, and return demonstration. The patients will be followed for 12 weeks, and wounds assessed utilizing the National Healthcare Safety Network//Centers for Disease Control (NHSN/CDC) assessment tool and compared to the SSI rate of 2021. Key stakeholders will include two cardiovascular surgeons, four physician assistants, two advance practice nurses, medical assistant and patients. Method of Evaluation: Chi Square analysis will be utilized to establish statistical significance and similarities between the two groups. Main Results/Outcomes: The proposed outcome is the prevention of SSIs in the post-op cardiothoracic and vascular patient. Implication/Recommendation(s): Implementation of standardized post operative care bundles in the prevention of SSI in cardiovascular and thoracic surgical patients. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cardiovascular" title="cardiovascular">cardiovascular</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=evidence%20based%20practice" title=" evidence based practice"> evidence based practice</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=infection" title=" infection"> infection</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=post-operative" title=" post-operative"> post-operative</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=prevention" title=" prevention"> prevention</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=thoracic" title=" thoracic"> thoracic</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=surgery" title=" surgery"> surgery</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/157708/best-practice-for-post-operative-surgical-site-infection-prevention" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/157708.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">83</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">174</span> Changing Employment Relations Practices in Hong Kong: Cases of Two Multinational Retail Banks since 1997</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Teresa%20Shuk-Ching%20Poon">Teresa Shuk-Ching Poon</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> This paper sets out to examine the changing employment relations practices in Hong Kong’s retail banking sector over a period of more than 10 years. The major objective of the research is to examine whether and to what extent local institutional influences have overshadowed global market forces in shaping strategic management decisions and employment relations practices in Hong Kong, with a view to drawing implications to comparative employment relations studies. Examining the changing pattern of employment relations, this paper finds the industrial relations strategic choice model (Kochan, McKersie and Cappelli, 1984) appropriate to use as a framework for the study. Four broad aspects of employment relations are examined, including work organisation and job design; staffing and labour adjustment; performance appraisal, compensation and employee development; and labour unions and employment relations. Changes in the employment relations practices in two multinational retail banks operated in Hong Kong are examined in detail. The retail banking sector in Hong Kong is chosen as a case to examine as it is a highly competitive segment in the financial service industry very much susceptible to global market influences. This is well illustrated by the fact that Hong Kong was hit hard by both the Asian and the Global Financial Crises. This sector is also subject to increasing institutional influences, especially after the return of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1997. The case study method is used as it is a suitable research design able to capture the complex institutional and environmental context which is the subject-matter to be examined in the paper. The paper concludes that operation of the retail banks in Hong Kong has been subject to both institutional and global market changes at different points in time. Information obtained from the two cases examined tends to support the conclusion that the relative significance of institutional as against global market factors in influencing retail banks’ operation and their employment relations practices is depended very much on the time in which these influences emerged and the scale and intensity of these influences. This case study highlights the importance of placing comparative employment relations studies within a context where employment relations practices in different countries or different regions/cities within the same country could be examined and compared over a longer period of time to make the comparison more meaningful. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=employment%20relations" title="employment relations">employment relations</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=institutional%20influences" title=" institutional influences"> institutional influences</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=global%20market%20forces" title=" global market forces"> global market forces</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=strategic%20management%20decisions" title=" strategic management decisions"> strategic management decisions</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=retail%20banks" title=" retail banks"> retail banks</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hong%20Kong" title=" Hong Kong "> Hong Kong </a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/25229/changing-employment-relations-practices-in-hong-kong-cases-of-two-multinational-retail-banks-since-1997" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/25229.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">402</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">173</span> Exploring the Potential of Bio-Inspired Lattice Structures for Dynamic Applications in Design</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Axel%20Thallemer">Axel Thallemer</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Aleksandar%20Kostadinov"> Aleksandar Kostadinov</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Abel%20Fam"> Abel Fam</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Alex%20Teo"> Alex Teo</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> For centuries, the forming processes in nature served as a source of inspiration for both architects and designers. It seems as most human artifacts are based on ideas which stem from the observation of the biological world and its principles of growth. As a fact, in the cultural history of Homo faber, materials have been mostly used in their solid state: From hand axe to computer mouse, the principle of employing matter has not changed ever since the first creation. In the scope of history only recently and by the help of additive-generative fabrication processes through Computer Aided Design (CAD), designers were enabled to deconstruct solid artifacts into an outer skin and an internal lattice structure. The intention behind this approach is to create a new topology which reduces resources and integrates functions into an additively manufactured component. However, looking at the currently employed lattice structures, it is very clear that those lattice structure geometries have not been thoroughly designed, but rather taken out of basic-geometry libraries which are usually provided by the CAD. In the here presented study, a group of 20 industrial design students created new and unique lattice structures using natural paragons as their models. The selected natural models comprise both the animate and inanimate world, with examples ranging from the spiraling of narwhal tusks, off-shooting of mangrove roots, minimal surfaces of soap bubbles, up to the rhythmical arrangement of molecular geometry, like in the case of SiOC (Carbon-Rich Silicon Oxicarbide). This ideation process leads to a design of a geometric cell, which served as a basic module for the lattice structure, whereby the cell was created in visual analogy to its respective natural model. The spatial lattices were fabricated additively in mostly [X]3 by [Y]3 by [Z]3 units’ volumes using selective powder bed melting in polyamide with (z-axis) 50 mm and 100 µm resolution and subdued to mechanical testing of their elastic zone in a biomedical laboratory. The results demonstrate that additively manufactured lattice structures can acquire different properties when they are designed in analogy to natural models. Several of the lattices displayed the ability to store and return kinetic energy, while others revealed a structural failure which can be exploited for purposes where a controlled collapse of a structure is required. This discovery allows for various new applications of functional lattice structures within industrially created objects. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=bio-inspired" title="bio-inspired">bio-inspired</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=biomimetic" title=" biomimetic"> biomimetic</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=lattice%20structures" title=" lattice structures"> lattice structures</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=additive%20manufacturing" title=" additive manufacturing"> additive manufacturing</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/85006/exploring-the-potential-of-bio-inspired-lattice-structures-for-dynamic-applications-in-design" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/85006.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">148</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">172</span> Cosmetic Recommendation Approach Using Machine Learning</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shakila%20N.%20Senarath">Shakila N. Senarath</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Dinesh%20Asanka"> Dinesh Asanka</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Janaka%20Wijayanayake"> Janaka Wijayanayake</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The necessity of cosmetic products is arising to fulfill consumer needs of personality appearance and hygiene. A cosmetic product consists of various chemical ingredients which may help to keep the skin healthy or may lead to damages. Every chemical ingredient in a cosmetic product does not perform on every human. The most appropriate way to select a healthy cosmetic product is to identify the texture of the body first and select the most suitable product with safe ingredients. Therefore, the selection process of cosmetic products is complicated. Consumer surveys have shown most of the time, the selection process of cosmetic products is done in an improper way by consumers. From this study, a content-based system is suggested that recommends cosmetic products for the human factors. To such an extent, the skin type, gender and price range will be considered as human factors. The proposed system will be implemented by using Machine Learning. Consumer skin type, gender and price range will be taken as inputs to the system. The skin type of consumer will be derived by using the Baumann Skin Type Questionnaire, which is a value-based approach that includes several numbers of questions to derive the user’s skin type to one of the 16 skin types according to the Bauman Skin Type indicator (BSTI). Two datasets are collected for further research proceedings. The user data set was collected using a questionnaire given to the public. Those are the user dataset and the cosmetic dataset. Product details are included in the cosmetic dataset, which belongs to 5 different kinds of product categories (Moisturizer, Cleanser, Sun protector, Face Mask, Eye Cream). An alternate approach of TF-IDF (Term Frequency – Inverse Document Frequency) is applied to vectorize cosmetic ingredients in the generic cosmetic products dataset and user-preferred dataset. Using the IF-IPF vectors, each user-preferred products dataset and generic cosmetic products dataset can be represented as sparse vectors. The similarity between each user-preferred product and generic cosmetic product will be calculated using the cosine similarity method. For the recommendation process, a similarity matrix can be used. Higher the similarity, higher the match for consumer. Sorting a user column from similarity matrix in a descending order, the recommended products can be retrieved in ascending order. Even though results return a list of similar products, and since the user information has been gathered, such as gender and the price ranges for product purchasing, further optimization can be done by considering and giving weights for those parameters once after a set of recommended products for a user has been retrieved. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=content-based%20filtering" title="content-based filtering">content-based filtering</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cosmetics" title=" cosmetics"> cosmetics</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=machine%20learning" title=" machine learning"> machine learning</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=recommendation%20system" title=" recommendation system"> recommendation system</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/146120/cosmetic-recommendation-approach-using-machine-learning" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/146120.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">134</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">171</span> Delivering User Context-Sensitive Service in M-Commerce: An Empirical Assessment of the Impact of Urgency on Mobile Service Design for Transactional Apps</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Daniela%20Stephanie%20Kuenstle">Daniela Stephanie Kuenstle</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Complex industries such as banking or insurance experience slow growth in mobile sales. While today’s mobile applications are sophisticated and enable location based and personalized services, consumers prefer online or even face-to-face services to complete complex transactions. A possible reason for this reluctance is that the provided service within transactional mobile applications (apps) does not adequately correspond to users’ needs. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of the user context on mobile service (m-service) in m-commerce. Motivated by the potential which context-sensitive m-services hold for the future, the impact of temporal variations as a dimension of user context, on m-service design is examined. In particular, the research question asks: Does consumer urgency function as a determinant of m-service composition in transactional apps by moderating the relation between m-service type and m-service success? Thus, the aim is to explore the moderating influence of urgency on m-service types, which includes Technology Mediated Service and Technology Generated Service. While mobile applications generally comprise features of both service types, this thesis discusses whether unexpected urgency changes customer preferences for m-service types and how this consequently impacts the overall m-service success, represented by purchase intention, loyalty intention and service quality. An online experiment with a random sample of N=1311 participants was conducted. Participants were divided into four treatment groups varying in m-service types and urgency level. They were exposed to two different urgency scenarios (high/ low) and two different app versions conveying either technology mediated or technology generated service. Subsequently, participants completed a questionnaire to measure the effectiveness of the manipulation as well as the dependent variables. The research model was tested for direct and moderating effects of m-service type and urgency on m-service success. Three two-way analyses of variance confirmed the significance of main effects, but demonstrated no significant moderation of urgency on m-service types. The analysis of the gathered data did not confirm a moderating effect of urgency between m-service type and service success. Yet, the findings propose an additive effects model with the highest purchase and loyalty intention for Technology Generated Service and high urgency, while Technology Mediated Service and low urgency demonstrate the strongest effect for service quality. The results also indicate an antagonistic relation between service quality and purchase intention depending on the level of urgency. Although a confirmation of the significance of this finding is required, it suggests that only service convenience, as one dimension of mobile service quality, delivers conditional value under high urgency. This suggests a curvilinear pattern of service quality in e-commerce. Overall, the paper illustrates the complex interplay of technology, user variables, and service design. With this, it contributes to a finer-grained understanding of the relation between m-service design and situation dependency. Moreover, the importance of delivering situational value with apps depending on user context is emphasized. Finally, the present study raises the demand to continue researching the impact of situational variables on m-service design in order to develop more sophisticated m-services. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mobile%20consumer%20behavior" title="mobile consumer behavior">mobile consumer behavior</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mobile%20service%20design" title=" mobile service design"> mobile service design</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mobile%20service%20success" title=" mobile service success"> mobile service success</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=self-service%20technology" title=" self-service technology"> self-service technology</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=situation%20dependency" title=" situation dependency"> situation dependency</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=user-context%20sensitivity" title=" user-context sensitivity"> user-context sensitivity</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/52867/delivering-user-context-sensitive-service-in-m-commerce-an-empirical-assessment-of-the-impact-of-urgency-on-mobile-service-design-for-transactional-apps" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/52867.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">268</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">170</span> Decision-Making Process Based on Game Theory in the Process of Urban Transformation</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Cemil%20Akcay">Cemil Akcay</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Goksun%20Yerlikaya"> Goksun Yerlikaya</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Buildings are the living spaces of people with an active role in every aspect of life in today's world. While some structures have survived from the early ages, most of the buildings that completed their lifetime have not transported to the present day. Nowadays, buildings that do not meet the social, economic, and safety requirements of the age return to life with a transformation process. This transformation is called urban transformation. Urban transformation is the renewal of the areas with a risk of disaster and the technological infrastructure required by the structure. The transformation aims to prevent damage to earthquakes and other disasters by rebuilding buildings that have completed their non-earthquake-resistant economic life. It is essential to decide on other issues related to conversion and transformation in places where most of the building stock should transform into the first-degree earthquake belt, such as Istanbul. In urban transformation, property owners, local authority, and contractor must deal at a common point. Considering that hundreds of thousands of property owners are sometimes in the areas of transformation, it is evident how difficult it is to make the deal and decide. For the optimization of these decisions, the use of game theory is foreseeing. The main problem in this study is that the urban transformation is carried out in place, or the building or buildings are transport to a different location. There are many stakeholders in the Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty Campus, which is planned to be carried out in the process of urban transformation, was tried to solve the game theory applications. An analysis of the decisions given on a real urban transformation project and the logical suitability of decisions taken without the use of game theory were also supervised using game theory. In each step of this study, many decision-makers are classifying according to a specific logical sequence, and in the game trees that emerged as a result of this classification, Nash balances were tried to observe, and optimum decisions were determined. All decisions taken for this project have been subjected to two significant differentiated comparisons using game theory, and as decisions are taken without the use of game theory, and according to the results, solutions for the decision phase of the urban transformation process introduced. The game theory model developed from beginning to the end of the urban transformation process, particularly as a solution to the difficulty of making rational decisions in large-scale projects with many participants in the decision-making process. The use of a decision-making mechanism can provide an optimum answer to the demands of the stakeholders. In today's world for the construction sector, it is also seeing that the game theory is a non-surprising consequence of the fact that it is the most critical issues of planning and making the right decision in future years. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=urban%20transformation" title="urban transformation">urban transformation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=the%20game%20theory" title=" the game theory"> the game theory</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=decision%20making" title=" decision making"> decision making</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=multi-actor%20project" title=" multi-actor project"> multi-actor project</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/109798/decision-making-process-based-on-game-theory-in-the-process-of-urban-transformation" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/109798.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">140</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">169</span> Wind Resource Classification and Feasibility of Distributed Generation for Rural Community Utilization in North Central Nigeria</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=O.%20D.%20Ohijeagbon">O. D. Ohijeagbon</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Oluseyi%20O.%20Ajayi"> Oluseyi O. Ajayi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=M.%20Ogbonnaya"> M. Ogbonnaya</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ahmeh%20Attabo"> Ahmeh Attabo</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> This study analyzed the electricity generation potential from wind at seven sites spread across seven states of the North-Central region of Nigeria. Twenty-one years (1987 to 2007) wind speed data at a height of 10m were assessed from the Nigeria Meteorological Department, Oshodi. The data were subjected to different statistical tests and also compared with the two-parameter Weibull probability density function. The outcome shows that the monthly average wind speeds ranged between 2.2 m/s in November for Bida and 10.1 m/s in December for Jos. The yearly average ranged between 2.1m/s in 1987 for Bida and 11.8 m/s in 2002 for Jos. Also, the power density for each site was determined to range between 29.66 W/m2 for Bida and 864.96 W/m2 for Jos, Two parameters (k and c) of the Weibull distribution were found to range between 2.3 in Lokoja and 6.5 in Jos for k, while c ranged between 2.9 in Bida and 9.9m/s in Jos. These outcomes points to the fact that wind speeds at Jos, Minna, Ilorin, Makurdi and Abuja are compatible with the cut-in speeds of modern wind turbines and hence, may be economically feasible for wind-to-electricity at and above the height of 10 m. The study further assessed the potential and economic viability of standalone wind generation systems for off-grid rural communities located in each of the studied sites. A specific electric load profile was developed to suite hypothetic communities, each consisting of 200 homes, a school and a community health center. Assessment of the design that will optimally meet the daily load demand with a loss of load probability (LOLP) of 0.01 was performed, considering 2 stand-alone applications of wind and diesel. The diesel standalone system (DSS) was taken as the basis of comparison since the experimental locations have no connection to a distribution network. The HOMER® software optimizing tool was utilized to determine the optimal combination of system components that will yield the lowest life cycle cost. Sequel to the analysis for rural community utilization, a Distributed Generation (DG) analysis that considered the possibility of generating wind power in the MW range in order to take advantage of Nigeria’s tariff regime for embedded generation was carried out for each site. The DG design incorporated each community of 200 homes, freely catered for and offset from the excess electrical energy generated above the minimum requirement for sales to a nearby distribution grid. Wind DG systems were found suitable and viable in producing environmentally friendly energy in terms of life cycle cost and levelised value of producing energy at Jos ($0.14/kWh), Minna ($0.12/kWh), Ilorin ($0.09/kWh), Makurdi ($0.09/kWh), and Abuja ($0.04/kWh) at a particluar turbine hub height. These outputs reveal the value retrievable from the project after breakeven point as a function of energy consumed Based on the results, the study demonstrated that including renewable energy in the rural development plan will enhance fast upgrade of the rural communities. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=wind%20speed" title="wind speed">wind speed</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=wind%20power" title=" wind power"> wind power</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=distributed%20generation" title=" distributed generation"> distributed generation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cost%20per%20kilowatt-hour" title=" cost per kilowatt-hour"> cost per kilowatt-hour</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=clean%20energy" title=" clean energy"> clean energy</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=North-Central%20Nigeria" title=" North-Central Nigeria"> North-Central Nigeria</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/34622/wind-resource-classification-and-feasibility-of-distributed-generation-for-rural-community-utilization-in-north-central-nigeria" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/34622.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">513</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">168</span> A Critical Analysis of the Creation of Geoparks in Brazil: Challenges and Possibilities</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Isabella%20Maria%20Beil">Isabella Maria Beil</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The International Geosciences and Geoparks Programme (IGGP) were officially created in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to enhance the protection of the geological heritage and fill the gaps on the World Heritage Convention. According to UNESCO, a Global Geopark is an unified area where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed based on a concept of sustainable development. Tourism is seen as a main activity to develop new sources of revenue. Currently (November 2022), UNESCO recognized 177 Global Geoparks, of which more than 50% are in Europe, 40% in Asia, 6% in Latin America, and the remaining 4% are distributed between Africa and Anglo-Saxon America. This picture shows the existence of a much uneven geographical distribution of these areas across the planet. Currently, there are three Geoparks in Brazil; however, the first of them was accepted by the Global Geoparks Network in 2006 and, just fifteen years later, two other Brazilian Geoparks also obtained the UNESCO title. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an overview of the current geopark situation in Brazil and to identify the main challenges faced by the implementation of these areas in the country. To this end, the Brazilian history and its main characteristics regarding the development of geoparks over the years will be briefly presented. Then, the results obtained from interviews with those responsible for each of the current 29 aspiring geoparks in Brazil will be presented. Finally, the main challenges related to the implementation of Geoparks in the country will be listed. Among these challenges, the answers obtained through the interviews revealed conflicts and problems that pose hindrances both to the start of the development of a Geopark project and to its continuity and implementation. It is clear that the task of getting multiple social actors, or stakeholders, to engage with the Geopark, one of UNESCO’s guidelines, is one of its most complex aspects. Therefore, among the main challenges, stand out the difficulty of establishing solid partnerships, what directly reflects divergences between the different social actors and their goals. This difficulty in establishing partnerships happens for a number of reasons. One of them is that the investment in a Geopark project can be high and investors often expect a short-term financial return. In addition, political support from the public sector is often costly as well, since the possible results and positive influences of a Geopark in a given area will only be experienced during future mandates. These results demonstrate that the research on Geoparks goes far beyond the geological perspective linked to its origins, and is deeply embedded in political and economic issues. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Brazil" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=geoparks" title=" geoparks"> geoparks</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=tourism" title=" tourism"> tourism</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=UNESCO" title=" UNESCO"> UNESCO</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/160100/a-critical-analysis-of-the-creation-of-geoparks-in-brazil-challenges-and-possibilities" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/160100.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">90</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">167</span> Ultra-deformable Drug-free Sequessome™ Vesicles (TDT 064) for the Treatment of Joint Pain Following Exercise: A Case Report and Clinical Data</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Joe%20Collins">Joe Collins</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Matthias%20Rother"> Matthias Rother</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background: Oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used for the relief of joint pain during and post-exercise. However, oral NSAIDs increase the risk of systemic side effects, even in healthy individuals, and retard recovery from muscle soreness. TDT 064 (Flexiseq®), a topical formulation containing ultra-deformable drug-free Sequessome™ vesicles, has demonstrated equivalent efficacy to oral celecoxib in reducing osteoarthritis-associated joint pain and stiffness. TDT 064 does not cause NSAID-related adverse effects. We describe clinical study data and a case report on the effectiveness of TDT 064 in reducing joint pain after exercise. Methods: Participants with a pain score ≥3 (10-point scale) 12–16 hours post-exercise were randomized to receive TDT 064 plus oral placebo, TDT 064 plus oral ketoprofen, or ketoprofen in ultra-deformable phospholipid vesicles plus oral placebo. Results: In the 168 study participants, pain scores were significantly higher with oral ketoprofen plus TDT 064 than with TDT 064 plus placebo in the 7 days post-exercise (P = 0.0240) and recovery from muscle soreness was significantly longer (P = 0.0262). There was a low incidence of adverse events. These data are supported by clinical experience. A 24-year-old male professional rugby player suffered a traumatic lisfranc fracture in March 2014 and underwent operative reconstruction. He had no relevant medical history and was not receiving concomitant medications. He had undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in 2008. The patient reported restricted training due to pain (score 7/10), stiffness (score 9/10) and poor function, as well as pain when changing direction and running on consecutive days. In July 2014 he started using TDT 064 twice daily at the recommended dose. In November 2014 he noted reduced pain on running (score 2-3/10), decreased morning stiffness (score 4/10) and improved joint mobility and was able to return to competitive rugby without restrictions. No side effects of TDT 064 were reported. Conclusions: TDT 064 shows efficacy against exercise- and injury-induced joint pain, as well as that associated with osteoarthritis. It does not retard muscle soreness recovery after exercise compared with an oral NSAID, making it an alternative approach for the treatment of joint pain during and post-exercise. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=exercise" title="exercise">exercise</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=joint%20pain" title=" joint pain"> joint pain</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=TDT%20064" title=" TDT 064"> TDT 064</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=phospholipid%20vesicles" title=" phospholipid vesicles"> phospholipid vesicles</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/22738/ultra-deformable-drug-free-sequessome-vesicles-tdt-064-for-the-treatment-of-joint-pain-following-exercise-a-case-report-and-clinical-data" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/22738.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">480</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">166</span> Totally Implantable Venous Access Device for Long Term Parenteral Nutrition in a Patient with High Output Enterocutaneous Fistula Due to Advanced Malignancy</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Puneet%20Goyal">Puneet Goyal</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Aarti%20Agarwal"> Aarti Agarwal</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background and Objective: Nutritional support is an integral part of palliative care of advanced non-resectable abdominal malignancy patients, though is frequently neglected aspect. Non-Healing high output Entero-cutaneous fistulas sometimes require long term parenteral nutrition, to take care of catabolism and replacement of nutrients. We present a case of inoperable pancreatic malignancy with high output entero-cutaneous fistula, which was provided parenteral nutritional support with the use of Totally Implantable Venous Access Device (TIVAD). Method and Results: 55 year old man diagnosed with carcinoma pancreas had developed high entero-cutaneous fistula. His tumor was found to be inoperable and was on total parenteral nutrition through routine central line. This line was difficult to maintain as he required it for a long term TPN. He was planned to undergo Totally Implantable Venous Access Device (TIVAD) implantation. 8Fr single lumen catheter with Groshong non-return Valve (Bard Access Systems, Inc. USA) was inserted through right internal jugular vein, under fluoroscopic guidance. The catheter was tunneled subcutaneously and brought towards infraclavicular pocket, cut at appropriate length and connected to port and locked. Port was sutured in floor of pocket. Free flow of blood aspirated, flushed with heparinized saline. There was no kink observed in entire length of catheter under fluoroscopy. Skin over infraclavicular pocket was sutured. Long term catheter care and associated risks were explained to patient and relatives. Patient continued to receive total parenteral nutrition as well as other supportive therapy though TIVAD for next 6 weeks, till his demise. Conclusion: TIVADs are standard of care for long term venous access solutions in cancer patients requiring chemotherapy. In this case, we extended its use for providing parenteral nutrition and other supportive therapy. TIVADs can be implanted in advanced cancer patients for providing venous access solution required for various palliative treatments and medications. This will help in improving quality of life and satisfaction amongst terminally ill cancer patients. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=parenteral%20nutrition" title="parenteral nutrition">parenteral nutrition</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=totally%20implantable%20venous%20access%20device" title=" totally implantable venous access device"> totally implantable venous access device</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=long%20term%20venous%20access" title=" long term venous access"> long term venous access</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=interventions%20in%20anesthesiology" title=" interventions in anesthesiology"> interventions in anesthesiology</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/79111/totally-implantable-venous-access-device-for-long-term-parenteral-nutrition-in-a-patient-with-high-output-enterocutaneous-fistula-due-to-advanced-malignancy" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/79111.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">247</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">165</span> Colorful Ethnoreligious Map of Iraq and the Current Situation of Minorities in the Country</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Mesz%C3%A1r%20T%C3%A1rik">Meszár Tárik</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The aim of the study is to introduce the minority groups living in Iraq and to shed light on their current situation. The Middle East is a rather heterogeneous region in ethnic terms. It includes many ethnic, national, religious, linguistic, or ethnoreligious groups. The relationship between the majority and minority is the main cause of various conflicts in the region. It seems that most of the post-Ottoman states have not yet developed a unified national identity capable of integrating their multi-ethnic societies. The issue of minorities living in the Middle East is highly politicized and controversial, as the various Arab states consider the treatment of minorities as their internal affair, do not recognize discrimination or even deny the existence of any kind of minorities on their territory. This attitude of the Middle Eastern states may also be due to the fact that the minority issue can be abused and can serve as a reference point for the intervention policies of Western countries at any time. Methodologically, the challenges of these groups are perceived through the manifestos of prominent individuals and organizations belonging to minorities. The basic aim is to present the minorities’ own history in dealing with the issue. It also introduces the different ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq and analyzes their situation during the operation of the terrorist organization „Islamic State” and in the aftermath. It is clear that the situation of these communities deteriorated significantly with the advance of ISIS, but it is also clear that even after the expulsion of the militant group, we cannot necessarily report an improvement in this area, especially in terms of the ability of minorities to assert their interests and physical security. The emergence of armed militias involved in the expulsion of ISIS sometimes has extremely negative effects on them. Until the interests of non-Muslims are adequately represented at the local level and in the legislature, most experts and advocates believe that little will change in their situation. When conflicts flare, many Iraqi citizens usually leave Iraq, but because of the poor public security situation (threats from terrorist organizations, interventions by other countries), emigration causes serious problems not only outside the country’s borders but also within the country. Another ominous implication for minorities is that their communities are very slow if ever, to return to their homes after fleeing their own settlements. An important finding of the study is that this phenomenon is changing the face of traditional Iraqi settlements and threatens to plunge groups that have lived there for thousands of years into the abyss of history. Therefore, we not only present the current situation of minorities living in Iraq but also discuss their future possibilities. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Middle%20East" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Iraq" title=" Iraq"> Iraq</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Islamic%20State" title=" Islamic State"> Islamic State</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=minorities" title=" minorities"> minorities</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/160748/colorful-ethnoreligious-map-of-iraq-and-the-current-situation-of-minorities-in-the-country" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/160748.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">88</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">164</span> Parental Education on Early Childhood Development Using Mobile App and Website in China</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Margo%20O%27Sullivan">Margo O'Sullivan</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Xuefeng%20Chen"> Xuefeng Chen</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Qi%20Zhao"> Qi Zhao</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=J.%20Jiang"> J. Jiang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ning%20Fu"> Ning Fu</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Early childhood development, or ECD, is about the 'whole child' – the physical, social and emotional, cognitive thinking and language progression of each young individual. Overwhelming evidence is now available to support investment in Early Childhood Development internationally, attendance at ECD leads to: improved learning outcomes; improved completion and reduced less dropout rates; and most notably, Professor Heckman, Nobel Laureate’s, findings that for every dollar invested, there is an economic return of up to 17%. Notably, ECD has been included in the 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The Government of China (GOC) has embraced this research and in 2010, State Council, announced focus on ECD setting a target to provide access to ECD for 85% of 3-6 year olds by 2020; to date, the target has surpassed expectations and reached 70.4%. GoC is also increasingly focusing on the even more critical 0-3 age group, when the plasticity of the brain is at its peak and neurons form connections as fast as 1,000 per second. Key to ECD are parents and caregivers of young children, with parental education critical to fully exploiting the significant potential of the early years of children. In China, with such vast numbers, one in seven pre-school age children in the world live in China, the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the National Centre for Education Technology, explored how to best provide parental education and provide key child developmental related knowledge to parents and caregivers. In response, MoE and UNICEF created a resource for parenting information that began with a computer website in 2012, followed by piloting a kiosk service in 2013 for parents in remote areas without access to the internet, and then a mobile phone application in 2014. The resource includes 269 ECD messages and 200 micro-videos covering critical issues of early childhood development from birth to age 6 years: daily care, nutrition and feeding, disease prevention, immunization, development and education, and safety and protection. To date, there have been 397,599 unique views on the website, and data for the mobile app currently being analysed (Links: http://yuer.cbern.gov.cn/; App: https://appsto.re/cn/OiKPZ.i). This paper will explore the development of this resource, its use by parents and the public, efforts to assess the effectiveness in improving parenting and child development, and future plans to roll an updated version in 2016 to all parents. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=early%20childhood%20development" title="early childhood development">early childhood development</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mobile%20apps%20for%20education" title=" mobile apps for education"> mobile apps for education</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=parental%20education" title=" parental education"> parental education</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=China" title=" China"> China</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/53445/parental-education-on-early-childhood-development-using-mobile-app-and-website-in-china" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/53445.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">226</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">163</span> Discrete PID and Discrete State Feedback Control of a Brushed DC Motor</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=I.%20Valdez">I. Valdez</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=J.%20Perdomo"> J. Perdomo</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=M.%20Colindres"> M. Colindres</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=N.%20Castro"> N. Castro</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Today, digital servo systems are extensively used in industrial manufacturing processes, robotic applications, vehicles and other areas. In such control systems, control action is provided by digital controllers with different compensation algorithms, which are designed to meet specific requirements for a given application. Due to the constant search for optimization in industrial processes, it is of interest to design digital controllers that offer ease of realization, improved computational efficiency, affordable return rates, and ease of tuning that ultimately improve the performance of the controlled actuators. There is a vast range of options of compensation algorithms that could be used, although in the industry, most controllers used are based on a PID structure. This research article compares different types of digital compensators implemented in a servo system for DC motor position control. PID compensation is evaluated on its two most common architectures: PID position form (1 DOF), and PID speed form (2 DOF). State feedback algorithms are also evaluated, testing two modern control theory techniques: discrete state observer for non-measurable variables tracking, and a linear quadratic method which allows a compromise between the theoretical optimal control and the realization that most closely matches it. The compared control systems’ performance is evaluated through simulations in the Simulink platform, in which it is attempted to model accurately each of the system’s hardware components. The criteria by which the control systems are compared are reference tracking and disturbance rejection. In this investigation, it is considered that the accurate tracking of the reference signal for a position control system is particularly important because of the frequency and the suddenness in which the control signal could change in position control applications, while disturbance rejection is considered essential because the torque applied to the motor shaft due to sudden load changes can be modeled as a disturbance that must be rejected, ensuring reference tracking. Results show that 2 DOF PID controllers exhibit high performance in terms of the benchmarks mentioned, as long as they are properly tuned. As for controllers based on state feedback, due to the nature and the advantage which state space provides for modelling MIMO, it is expected that such controllers evince ease of tuning for disturbance rejection, assuming that the designer of such controllers is experienced. An in-depth multi-dimensional analysis of preliminary research results indicate that state feedback control method is more satisfactory, but PID control method exhibits easier implementation in most control applications. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=control" title="control">control</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=DC%20motor" title=" DC motor"> DC motor</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=discrete%20PID" title=" discrete PID"> discrete PID</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=discrete%20state%20feedback" title=" discrete state feedback"> discrete state feedback</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/42513/discrete-pid-and-discrete-state-feedback-control-of-a-brushed-dc-motor" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/42513.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">267</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">162</span> Executive Order as an Effective Tool in Combating Insecurities and Human Rights Violations: The Case of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and Youths in Nigeria</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Cita%20Ayeni">Cita Ayeni</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Following countless violations of Human Rights in Nigeria by the various arms and agencies of government; from the Military to the Federal Police and other law enforcement agencies, Nigeria has been riddled with several reports of acts by these agencies against the citizens, ranging from illegal arrest and imprisonment, torture, disappearing, and extrajudicial killings, just to mention a few. This paper, focuses on SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad), a division of the Nigeria Police Force, and its reported threats to the people’s security, particularly the Nigerian youths, with continuous violence, extortion, illegal arrest and imprisonment, terror, and extrajudicial activities resulting in maiming and in most cases death, thus infringing on the human rights of the people it’s sworn to protect. This research further analyses how the activities of SARS has over the years instigated fear on the average Nigerian youth, preventing the free participation in daily life, education, job, and individual development, in turn impeding the realization of their full potentials for growth and participation in collective national development. This research analyzes the executive order by the then Acting President (Vice-President) of Nigeria, directing the overhauling of SARS, and its implementation by the Federal Police Force in determining if it’s enough to prevent or put a stop to the continuous Human Rights abuse and threat to the security of the individual citizen. Concluding that although the order by the Acting President was given with an intent to halt the various violations by SARS, and the Inspector General of Police’s (IGP) subsequent action by releasing a statement following the order, the bureaucracy in Nigeria, with a history of incompetency and a return to 'business as usual' after a reduced public outcry, it’s most likely that there will not be adequate follow up put in place and these violations would be slowly 'swept under the rug' with SARS officials not held accountable. It is recommended therefore that the Federal Government through the NPF, following the reforms made, in collaboration with the mentioned Independent Human Rights and civil societies organizations should periodically produce unbiased and publicly accessible reports on the implementation of these reforms and progress made. This will go a long way in assuring the public of actual fulfillment of the restructuring, reduce fear by the youths and restore some public faith in the government. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=special%20anti-robbery%20squad" title="special anti-robbery squad">special anti-robbery squad</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=youths%20in%20Nigeria" title=" youths in Nigeria"> youths in Nigeria</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=overhaul" title=" overhaul"> overhaul</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=insecurities" title=" insecurities"> insecurities</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=human%20rights%20violations" title=" human rights violations"> human rights violations</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/102987/executive-order-as-an-effective-tool-in-combating-insecurities-and-human-rights-violations-the-case-of-the-special-anti-robbery-squad-and-youths-in-nigeria" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/102987.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">302</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">161</span> Analog Railway Signal Object Controller Development</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ercan%20K%C4%B1z%C4%B1lay">Ercan Kızılay</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Mustafa%20Demi%CC%87rel"> Mustafa Demi̇rel</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Sel%C3%A7uk%20Co%C5%9Fkun"> Selçuk Coşkun</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Railway signaling systems consist of vital products that regulate railway traffic and provide safe route arrangements and maneuvers of trains. SIL 4 signal lamps are produced by many manufacturers today. There is a need for systems that enable these signal lamps to be controlled by commands from the interlocking. These systems should act as fail-safe and give error indications to the interlocking system when an unexpected situation occurs for the safe operation of railway systems from the RAMS perspective. In the past, driving and proving the lamp in relay-based systems was typically done via signaling relays. Today, the proving of lamps is done by comparing the current values read over the return circuit, the lower and upper threshold values. The purpose is an analog electronic object controller with the possibility of easy integration with vital systems and the signal lamp itself. During the study, the EN50126 standard approach was considered, and the concept, definition, risk analysis, requirements, architecture, design, and prototyping were performed throughout this study. FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) and FTA (Fault Tree) Analysis) have been used for safety analysis in accordance with EN 50129. Concerning these analyzes, the 1oo2D reactive fail-safe hardware design of a controller has been researched. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) effects on the functional safety of equipment, insulation coordination, and over-voltage protection were discussed during hardware design according to EN 50124 and EN 50122 standards. As vital equipment for railway signaling, railway signal object controllers should be developed according to EN 50126 and EN 50129 standards which identify the steps and requirements of the development in accordance with the SIL 4(Safety Integrity Level) target. In conclusion of this study, an analog railway signal object controller, which takes command from the interlocking system, is processed in driver cards. Driver cards arrange the voltage level according to desired visibility by means of semiconductors. Additionally, prover cards evaluate the current upper and lower thresholds. Evaluated values are processed via logic gates which are composed as 1oo2D by means of analog electronic technologies. This logic evaluates the voltage level of the lamp and mitigates the risks of undue dimming. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=object%20controller" title="object controller">object controller</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=railway%20electronic" title=" railway electronic"> railway electronic</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=analog%20electronic" title=" analog electronic"> analog electronic</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=safety" title=" safety"> safety</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=railway%20signal" title=" railway signal"> railway signal</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/159408/analog-railway-signal-object-controller-development" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/159408.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">101</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">160</span> Gait Analysis in Total Knee Arthroplasty</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Neeraj%20Vij">Neeraj Vij</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Christian%20Leber"> Christian Leber</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Kenneth%20Schmidt"> Kenneth Schmidt</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Introduction: Total knee arthroplasty is a common procedure. It is well known that the biomechanics of the knee do not fully return to their normal state. Motion analysis has been used to study the biomechanics of the knee after total knee arthroplasty. The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize the current use of gait analysis in total knee arthroplasty and to identify the preoperative motion analysis parameters for which a systematic review aimed at determining the reliability and validity may be warranted. Materials and Methods: This IRB-exempt scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist strictly. Five search engines were searched for a total of 279 articles. Articles underwent a title and abstract screening process followed by full-text screening. Included articles were placed in the following sections: the role of gait analysis as a research tool for operative decisions, other research applications for motion analysis in total knee arthroplasty, gait analysis as a tool in predicting radiologic outcomes, gait analysis as a tool in predicting clinical outcomes. Results: Eleven articles studied gait analysis as a research tool in studying operative decisions. Motion analysis is currently used to study surgical approaches, surgical techniques, and implant choice. Five articles studied other research applications for motion analysis in total knee arthroplasty. Other research applications for motion analysis currently include studying the role of the unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and novel physical therapy protocols aimed at optimizing post-operative care. Two articles studied motion analysis as a tool for predicting radiographic outcomes. Preoperative gait analysis has identified parameters than can predict postoperative tibial component migration. 15 articles studied motion analysis in conjunction with clinical scores. Conclusions: There is a broad range of applications within the research domain of total knee arthroplasty. The potential application is likely larger. However, the current literature is limited by vague definitions of ‘gait analysis’ or ‘motion analysis’ and a limited number of articles with preoperative and postoperative functional and clinical measures. Knee adduction moment, knee adduction impulse, total knee range of motion, varus angle, cadence, stride length, and velocity have the potential for integration into composite clinical scores. A systematic review aimed at determining the validity, reliability, sensitivities, and specificities of these variables is warranted. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=motion%20analysis" title="motion analysis">motion analysis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=joint%20replacement" title=" joint replacement"> joint replacement</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=patient-reported%20outcomes" title=" patient-reported outcomes"> patient-reported outcomes</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=knee%20surgery" title=" knee surgery"> knee surgery</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/149376/gait-analysis-in-total-knee-arthroplasty" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/149376.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">94</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">159</span> Optimization and Coordination of Organic Product Supply Chains under Competition: An Analytical Modeling Perspective</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Mohammadreza%20Nematollahi">Mohammadreza Nematollahi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Bahareh%20Mosadegh%20Sedghy"> Bahareh Mosadegh Sedghy</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Alireza%20%20Tajbakhsh"> Alireza Tajbakhsh</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The last two decades have witnessed substantial attention to organic and sustainable agricultural supply chains. Motivated by real-world practices, this paper aims to address two main challenges observed in organic product supply chains: decentralized decision-making process between farmers and their retailers, and competition between organic products and their conventional counterparts. To this aim, an agricultural supply chain consisting of two farmers, a conventional farmer and an organic farmer who offers an organic version of the same product, is considered. Both farmers distribute their products through a single retailer, where there exists competition between the organic and the conventional product. The retailer, as the market leader, sets the wholesale price, and afterward, the farmers set their production quantity decisions. This paper first models the demand functions of the conventional and organic products by incorporating the effect of asymmetric brand equity, which captures the fact that consumers usually pay a premium for organic due to positive perceptions regarding their health and environmental benefits. Then, profit functions with consideration of some characteristics of organic farming, including crop yield gap and organic cost factor, are modeled. Our research also considers both economies and diseconomies of scale in farming production as well as the effects of organic subsidy paid by the government to support organic farming. This paper explores the investigated supply chain in three scenarios: decentralized, centralized, and coordinated decision-making structures. In the decentralized scenario, the conventional and organic farmers and the retailer maximize their own profits individually. In this case, the interaction between the farmers is modeled under the Bertrand competition, while analyzing the interaction between the retailer and farmers under the Stackelberg game structure. In the centralized model, the optimal production strategies are obtained from the entire supply chain perspective. Analytical models are developed to derive closed-form optimal solutions. Moreover, analytical sensitivity analyses are conducted to explore the effects of main parameters like the crop yield gap, organic cost factor, organic subsidy, and percent price premium of the organic product on the farmers’ and retailer’s optimal strategies. Afterward, a coordination scenario is proposed to convince the three supply chain members to shift from the decentralized to centralized decision-making structure. The results indicate that the proposed coordination scenario provides a win-win-win situation for all three members compared to the decentralized model. Moreover, our paper demonstrates that the coordinated model respectively increases and decreases the production and price of organic produce, which in turn motivates the consumption of organic products in the market. Moreover, the proposed coordination model helps the organic farmer better handle the challenges of organic farming, including the additional cost and crop yield gap. Last but not least, our results highlight the active role of the organic subsidy paid by the government as a means of promoting sustainable organic product supply chains. Our paper shows that although the amount of organic subsidy plays a significant role in the production and sales price of organic products, the allocation method of subsidy between the organic farmer and retailer is not of that importance. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=analytical%20game-theoretic%20model" title="analytical game-theoretic model">analytical game-theoretic model</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=product%20competition" title=" product competition"> product competition</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=supply%20chain%20coordination" title=" supply chain coordination"> supply chain coordination</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sustainable%20organic%20supply%20chain" title=" sustainable organic supply chain"> sustainable organic supply chain</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/118568/optimization-and-coordination-of-organic-product-supply-chains-under-competition-an-analytical-modeling-perspective" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/118568.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">111</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">158</span> Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Pressmud with Bagasse and Animal Waste for Biogas Production Potential</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Samita%20Sondhi">Samita Sondhi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Sachin%20Kumar"> Sachin Kumar</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chirag%20Chopra"> Chirag Chopra</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The increase in population has resulted in an excessive feedstock production, which has in return lead to the accumulation of a large amount of waste from different resources as crop residues, industrial waste and solid municipal waste. This situation has raised the problem of waste disposal in present days. A parallel problem of depletion of natural fossil fuel resources has led to the formation of alternative sources of energy from the waste of different industries to concurrently resolve the two issues. The biogas is a carbon neutral fuel which has applications in transportation, heating and power generation. India is a nation that has an agriculture-based economy and agro-residues are a significant source of organic waste. Taking into account, the second largest agro-based industry that is sugarcane industry producing a high quantity of sugar and sugarcane waste byproducts such as Bagasse, Press Mud, Vinasse and Wastewater. Currently, there are not such efficient disposal methods adopted at large scales. According to manageability objectives, anaerobic digestion can be considered as a method to treat organic wastes. Press mud is lignocellulosic biomass and cannot be accumulated for Mono digestion because of its complexity. Prior investigations indicated that it has a potential for production of biogas. But because of its biological and elemental complexity, Mono-digestion was not successful. Due to the imbalance in the C/N ratio and presence of wax in it can be utilized with any other fibrous material hence will be digested properly under suitable conditions. In the first batch of Mono-digestion of Pressmud biogas production was low. Now, co-digestion of Pressmud with Bagasse which has desired C/N ratio will be performed to optimize the ratio for maximum biogas from Press mud. In addition, with respect to supportability, the main considerations are the monetary estimation of item result and ecological concerns. The work is designed in such a way that the waste from the sugar industry will be digested for maximum biogas generation and digestive after digestion will be characterized for its use as a bio-fertilizer for soil conditioning. Due to effectiveness demonstrated by studied setups of Mono-digestion and Co-digestion, this approach can be considered as a viable alternative for lignocellulosic waste disposal and in agricultural applications. Biogas produced from the Pressmud either can be used for Powerhouses or transportation. In addition, the work initiated towards the development of waste disposal for energy production will demonstrate balanced economy sustainability of the process development. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=anaerobic%20digestion" title="anaerobic digestion">anaerobic digestion</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=carbon%20neutral%20fuel" title=" carbon neutral fuel"> carbon neutral fuel</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=press%20mud" title=" press mud"> press mud</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=lignocellulosic%20biomass" title=" lignocellulosic biomass"> lignocellulosic biomass</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/107797/anaerobic-co-digestion-of-pressmud-with-bagasse-and-animal-waste-for-biogas-production-potential" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/107797.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">170</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">157</span> Participation of Women in the Brazilian Paralympic Sports</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ana%20Carolina%20Felizardo%20Da%20Silva">Ana Carolina Felizardo Da Silva</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> People with disabilities are those who have limitations of a physical, mental, intellectual or sensory nature and who, therefore, should not be excluded or marginalized. In Brazil, the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities defines that people with disabilities have the right to culture, sport, tourism and leisure on an equal basis with other people. Sport for people with disabilities, in its genesis, had a character aimed at rehabilitating men and soldiers, that is, the male figure who returned wounded from war and needed care. By gaining practitioners, the marketing issue emerges and, successively, high performance, what we call Paralympic sport. We found that sport for people with disabilities was designed for men, corroborating the social idea that sport is a masculine and masculinizing environment. In this way, the inclusion of women with disabilities in sports becomes a double challenge because they are women and have a disability. From data collected from official documents of the International Paralympic Committee, it is found that the first report on the participation of women in the Paralympic Games was in 1948, in England, in Stoke Mandeville, a championship considered the firstborn of the games, later, became called the “Paralympic Games”. However, due to the lack of information, the return of the appearance of women participating in the Paralympics took place after long 40 years, in 1984, which demonstrates a large gap of records on the official website referring to women in the games. Despite the great challenge, the number of women has been growing substantially. When collecting data from participants of all 16 editions of the Paralympic Games, in its last edition, held in Tokyo, out of 4,400 competing athletes, 1,853 were women, which represents 42% of the total number of athletes. In this same edition, we had the largest delegation of Brazilian women, represented by 96 athletes out of a total of 260 Brazilian athletes. It is estimated that in the next edition, to be taken place in Paris in 2024, the participation of women will equal or surpass that of men. The certain invisibility of women participating in the Paralympic Games is noticed when we access the database of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee website. It is possible to identify all women medalists of a given edition. On the other side, participating female athletes who did not medal are not registered on the site. Regarding the participation of Brazilian women in the Paralympics, there was a considerable growth in the last two editions, in 2012 there were only 69 women participating, going to 102 in 2016 and 96 in 2021. The same happened in relation to the medalists, going from 8 Brazilians in 2012 to 33 in 2016 and 27 in 2021. In this sense, the present study, aims to analyze how Brazilian women participate in the Paralympics, giving visibility and voice to female athletes. Structured interviews are being carried out with the participants of the games, identifying the difficulties and potentialities of participating with athletes in the competition. The analysis will be carried out through Bardin’s content analysis. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=paralympics" title="paralympics">paralympics</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sport%20for%20people%20with%20disabilities" title=" sport for people with disabilities"> sport for people with disabilities</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=woman" title=" woman"> woman</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=woman%20in%20sport" title=" woman in sport"> woman in sport</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/168854/participation-of-women-in-the-brazilian-paralympic-sports" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/168854.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">74</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">156</span> Rohingya Problem and the Impending Crisis: Outcome of Deliberate Denial of Citizenship Status and Prejudiced Refugee Laws in South East Asia</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Priyal%20Sepaha">Priyal Sepaha</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> A refugee crisis is manifested by challenges, both for the refugees and the asylum giving state. The situation turns into a mega-crisis when the situation is prejudicially handled by the home state, inappropriate refugee laws, exploding refugee population, and above all, no hope of any foreseeable solution or remedy. This paper studies the impact on the capability of stateless Rohingyas to migrate and seek refuge due to the enforcement of rigid criteria of movement imposed both by Myanmar as well as the adjoining countries in the name of national security. This theoretical study identifies the issues and the key factors and players which have precipitated the crisis. It further discusses the possible ramifications in the home, asylum giving, and the adjoining countries for not discharging their roles aptly. Additionally, an attempt has been made to understand the scarce response given to the impending crisis by the regional organizations like SAARC, ASEAN and CHOGAM as well as international organizations like United Nations Human Rights Council, Security Council, Office of High Commissioner for Refugees and so on, in the name of inadequacy of monetary funds and physical resources. Based on the refugee laws and practices pertaining to the case of Rohingyas, this paper analyses that the Rohingya Crisis is in dire need of an effective action plan to curb and resolve the biggest humanitarian crisis situation of the century. This mounting human tragedy can be mitigated permanently, by strengthening existing and creating new interdependencies among all stakeholders, as further ignorance can drive the countries of the Indian Sub-continent, in particular, and South East Asia, by and large into a violent civil war for seizing long-awaited civil rights by the marginalized Rohingyas. To curb this mass crisis, it will require the application of coercive pressure and diplomatic pursuance on the home country to acknowledge the rights of its fleeing citizens. This further necessitates mustering adequate monetary funds and physical resources for the asylum providing state. Additional challenges such as devising mechanisms for the refugee’s safe return, comprehensive planning for their holistic economic development and rehabilitation plan are needed. These, however, can only come into effect with a conscious strive by the regional and international community to fulfil their assigned role. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=asylum" title="asylum">asylum</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=citizenship" title=" citizenship"> citizenship</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=crisis" title=" crisis"> crisis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=humanitarian" title=" humanitarian"> humanitarian</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=human%20rights" title=" human rights"> human rights</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=refugee" title=" refugee"> refugee</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=rohingya" title=" rohingya"> rohingya</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/109474/rohingya-problem-and-the-impending-crisis-outcome-of-deliberate-denial-of-citizenship-status-and-prejudiced-refugee-laws-in-south-east-asia" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/109474.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">133</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">155</span> Regulation of Cultural Relationship between Russia and Ukraine after Crimea’s Annexation: A Comparative Socio-Legal Study</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Elena%20Sherstoboeva">Elena Sherstoboeva</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Elena%20Karzanova"> Elena Karzanova</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> This paper explores the impact of the annexation of Crimea on the regulation of live performances and tour management of Russian pop music performers in Ukraine and of Ukrainian performers in Russia. Without a doubt, the cultural relationship between Russia and Ukraine is not limited to this issue. Yet concert markets tend to respond particularly rapidly to political, economic, and social changes, especially in Russia and Ukraine, where the high level of digital piracy means that the music businesses mainly depend upon income from performances rather than from digital rights sales. This paper argues that the rules formed in both countries after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 have contributed to the separation of a single cultural space that had existed in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine before the annexation. These rules have also facilitated performers’ self-censorship and increased the politicisation of the music businesses in the two neighbouring countries. This study applies a comparative socio-legal approach to study Russian and Ukrainian live events and tour regulation. A qualitative analysis of Russian and Ukrainian national and intergovernmental legal frameworks is applied to examine formal regulations. Soviet and early post-Soviet laws and policies are also studied, but only to the extent that they help to track the changes in the Russian–Ukrainian cultural relationship. To identify and analyse the current informal rules, the study design includes in-depth semi-structured interviews with 30 live event or tour managers working in Russia and Ukraine. A case study is used to examine how the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual international competition, has played out within the Russian–Ukrainian conflict. The study suggests that modern Russian and Ukrainian frameworks for live events and tours have developed Soviet regulatory traditions when cultural policies served as a means of ideological control. At the same time, contemporary regulations mark a considerable perspective shift, as the previous rules have been aimed at maintaining close cultural connections between the Russian and Ukrainian nations. Instead of collaboration, their current frameworks mostly serve as forms of repression, implying that performers must choose only one national market in which to work. The regulatory instruments vary and often impose limitations that typically exist in non-democratic regimes to restrict foreign journalism, such as visa barriers or bans on entry. The more unexpected finding is that, in comparison with Russian law, Ukrainian regulations have created more obstacles to the organisation of live tours and performances by Russian artists in Ukraine. Yet this stems from commercial rather than political factors. This study predicts that the more economic challenges the Russian or Ukrainian music businesses face, the harsher the regulations will be regarding the organisation of live events or tours in the other country. This study recommends that international human rights organisations and non-governmental organisations develop and promote specific standards for artistic rights and freedoms, given the negative effects of the increasing politicisation of the entertainment business and cultural spheres to freedom of expression and cultural rights and pluralism. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=annexation%20of%20Crimea" title="annexation of Crimea">annexation of Crimea</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=artistic%20freedom" title=" artistic freedom"> artistic freedom</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=censorship" title=" censorship"> censorship</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cultural%20policy" title=" cultural policy"> cultural policy</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/116385/regulation-of-cultural-relationship-between-russia-and-ukraine-after-crimeas-annexation-a-comparative-socio-legal-study" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/116385.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">118</span> </span> </div> </div> <ul class="pagination"> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=return%20on%20sales&page=38" rel="prev">&lsaquo;</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=return%20on%20sales&page=1">1</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=return%20on%20sales&page=2">2</a></li> <li class="page-item disabled"><span 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