Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Festivals and tourism development: Examples from Tanzania and Zimbabwe

This study examines the impact of festivals in developing tourism in Zimbabwe and Tanzania borrowing experience from the two countries and other countries. The significance of festivals in development of tourism is relentless. The study identified major festivals and their importance. Festivals are gradually turning out to be arenas of discussions aiding people to prompt their understandings on broader social, political and cultural issues. Festivals are part of the most significant products of tourism, nonetheless also crucial component of humanity. This study is descriptive by design and it synthesizes published journal articles, books, magazines and newspapers. Correspondingly, the research employed Google scholar to search for the keywords to gain access to different information on the subject. The study also applied content analysis to evaluate the idea of festivals in relation to tourism. The study reveals that festivals have enormous contribution in the growth and development of tourism sector. Festivals draw tourists, where in turn tourists spend money, which enhances the local economy equally on and off the festival place. On-place spending comprises parking fees for those with vehicles, food (game meat), beverage, soft drinks, shopping and souvenir sales. Festivals in the tourism sector have ability to build relationship especially in the festival planning stage, during and after. The study further found that festivals form an opportunity to a group to induce their preference and belief. Crucial investigation of the impact of festivals in tourism development presented that festivals are one of the great vital tourism products, but also essential ingredient of society. This research shows that festivals have important contribution in growth of tourism. This study highlights the potentials of festivals in diversifying tourism products. The paper is based only on literature review to arrive at conclusion and the literature is relatively old. Survey method can be used for broader appreciation of festivals in the countries.
Tailoring of Selenium-Plated Novasomes for Fine-Tuning Pharmacokinetic and Tumor Uptake of Quercetin: In Vitro Optimization and In Vivo Radiobiodistribution Assessment in Ehrlich Tumor-Bearing Mice

Quercetin (QRC) is a bioflavonoid with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities, yet QRC poor bioavailability has hampered its clinical implementation. The aim of the current work was to harness novasomes (NOVs), free fatty acid enriched vesicles, as a novel nano-cargo for felicitous QRC delivery with subsequent functionalization with selenium (SeNOVs), to extend the systemic bio-fate of NOVs and potentiate QRC anticancer efficacy through the synergy with selenium. QRC-NOVs were primed embedding oleic acid, Brij 35, and cholesterol adopting thin-film hydration technique according to Box–Behnken design. Employing Design-Expert® software, the impact of formulation variables on NOVs physicochemical characteristics besides the optimum formulation election were explored. Based on the optimal NOVs formulation, QRC-SeNOVs were assembled via electrostatic complexation/in situ reduction method. The MTT cytotoxicity assay of the uncoated, and coated nanovectors versus crude QRC was investigated in human rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cells. The in vivo pharmacokinetic and biodistribution studies after intravenous administrations of technetium-99m (99mTc)-labeled QRC-NOVs, QRC-SeNOVs, and QRC-solution were scrutinized in Ehrlich tumor-bearing mice. QRC-NOVs and QRC-SeNOVs disclosed entrapment efficiency of 67.21 and 70.85%, vesicle size of 107.29 and 129.16 nm, ζ potential of −34.71 and −43.25 mV, and accumulatively released 43.26 and 31.30% QRC within 24 h, respectively. Additionally, QRC-SeNOVs manifested a far lower IC50 of 5.56 μg/mL on RD cells than that of QRC-NOVs (17.63 μg/mL) and crude QRC (38.71 μg/mL). Moreover, the biodistribution study elicited higher preferential uptake of 99mTc-QRC-SeNOVs within the tumorous tissues by 1.73- and 5.67-fold as compared to 99mTc-QRC-NOVs and 99mTc-QRC-solution, respectively. Furthermore, the relative uptake efficiency of 99mTc-QRC-SeNOVs was 5.78, the concentration efficiency was 4.74 and the drug-targeting efficiency was 3.21. Hence, the engineered QRC-SeNOVs could confer an auspicious hybrid nanoparadigm for QRC delivery with fine-tuned pharmacokinetics, and synergized antitumor traits.
STEM Education Practical Work in Remote Classrooms: Prospects and Future Directions in the Post-Pandemic Era

Practical work is pivotal for the development of important skills inherent to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Through practical work, learners engage in skills that include critical thinking, problem-solving, and inquiry-based learning, which are important outcomes of STEM education. Given the rise in significance of remote learning as reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to reimagine the facilitation of practical work for learners. This paper uses the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) qualitative research design, an interpretive paradigm, and a mix of connectivism and community of inquiry (CoI) frameworks to explore the facilitation of STEM education practical work in remote classrooms. A systematic meta‑analysis of purposively selected papers using the preferred items, techniques of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion, and published between 2017 and 2021, was conducted. The following key words were used to conduct a search using Google Scholar: STEM practical work + STEM education in remote classrooms + Practical work in remote classrooms + STEM education in online classrooms + STEM education in virtual classrooms + Virtual practical work + Teaching STEM and COVID-19 + Practical work and COVID-19. Fifty papers were identified, of which fifteen were included in the study. Thematic content analysis techniques were used to analyze the papers. Five strategies to facilitate STEM practical work in remote classrooms were identified and the findings point to the prospects and future directions of practices in facilitating practical work for learners remotely.
Workplace health promotion in the Austrian hospitality industry

Abstract With the increasing pressure to perform and physical and mental strain on employees, health-promoting initiatives are becoming more popular. This study examines factors that influence managers regarding the introduction of workplace health promotion in the Austrian hospitality industry. For the investigation, eleven interviews with hotel managers were conducted. Results show that managers attitude, employer attractiveness, and company needs are reasons for implementing workplace health promotion. High costs, time, and the employee’s unwillingness to participate are reasons against it. But in order to keep employees in hospitality industry happy, healthy, and productive, it will be even more important in the future.
Thermal Degradation of Photoluminescence Poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) Solvent-Tuned Aggregate Films

The progression of the green emission spectrum during the decomposition of polyfluorenes (PFs) has impeded the development and commercialization of the materials. Herein, we constructed a solvent-tuned aggregated PFO film with the aim of retarding the material’s thermal degradation behavior which causes a significant decline in optical properties as a result of phase transformation. The tuning of the aggregate amount and distribution was executed by applying a poor alcohol-based solvent in chloroform. It emerges that at a lower boiling point methanol evaporates quickly, limiting the aggregate propagation in the film which gives rise to a more transparent film. Furthermore, because of the modulated β-phase conformation, the absorption spectra of PFO films were red-shifted and broadened. The increase in methanol percentage also led to a rise in β-phase percentage. As for the thermal degradation reactions, both pristine and aggregated PFO films exhibited apparent changes in the UV-Vis spectra and PL spectra. In addition, a 97:3 (chloroform:methanol) aggregated PFO film showed a more defined emission spectrum, which demonstrates that the existence of β-phase is able to suppress the unwanted green emission.
Cryo-Technologies for Ex Situ Conservation of Rosa Germplasm

In this study, we compare two rapid cryopreservation (−196 °C) procedures, droplet-vitrification and encapsulation-dehydration for rose (Rosa × hybrida L., cultivars ‘Ioana’, ‘Mariana’, ‘Vulcan’). Significant factors for cryopreservation, such as sucrose concentration during osmoprotection, treatment duration with plant vitrification solution 2 (PVS2) in droplet-vitrification, duration of air desiccation and moisture content of alginate beads in encapsulation-dehydration, were investigated. In addition, the morphogenetic response to in vitro culture and to liquid nitrogen storage and the content in photosynthetic pigments have been assessed. The in vitro cultures were initiated from plant material originating from field collection. The highest regeneration frequencies were obtained for cv. ‘Vulcan’ in both of the cryopreservation procedures tested, 72% in droplet-vitrification and 65% following encapsulation-dehydration. The morphogenetic response (multiplication index and height of shoots) to liquid nitrogen storage was direct multiple shoot formation per initial shoot tip for all genotypes. The content in chlorophyll a and b was statistically comparable in plant material resulting from cryopreserved and non-cryopreserved shoot tips in all cultivars. The findings expand the information on Rosa‘s response to in vitro culture conditions and cryopreservation, providing protocols with a high regeneration capacity for the storage of genotypes with high ornamental value.
STRES KERJA DAN MOTIVASI KARYAWAN LINI DEPAN SERTA PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP KEPUASAN KERJA: KAJIAN EMPIRIS PADA BEBERAPA PERUSAHAAN JASA SUB SEKTOR INDUSTRI KREATIF

The aims of the study is to examine the notion that work stress and motivation have a significant impact on employee job satisfaction. In this study, 148 front office employees from some service companies of creative industries participate to the study. Data collection is done by direct observation and interviews. Analyses were performed using factor analysis, reliability, descriptive, classical-assumption test prior to the multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the job stress and motivation has a significant impact on employee job satisfaction. Another interesting finding of the study is the emergence of stress that is caused by many factors, including the burden of the task given by the management that can not be resolved in time, the workload is too heavy given by the company for employees and must be resolved as soon as possible.
Dipolar Noise in Fluorinated Molecular Wires

We demonstrate a strategy to directly map and quantify the effects of dipole formation on electrical transports and noises in the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of molecular wires. In this method, the SAM patterns of fluorinated molecules with dipole moments were prepared on conducting substrates, and a conducting probe in contact-mode atomic force microscopy was utilized to map currents and noises through the probe on the molecular patterns. The maps were analyzed to extract the characteristic parameters of dipolar noises in SAMs, and the results were compared with those of hydrogenated molecular patterns without dipole moments. At rather low bias conditions, the fluorinated molecular junctions exhibited a tunneling conduction and a resistance value comparable to that of the hydrogenated molecules with a six-times-longer length, which was attributed to stronger dipoles formation in fluorinated molecules. Interestingly, conductance (G) in different regions of fluorinated molecular patterns exhibited a strong correlation with a noise power spectral density of SI/I2 like SI/I2 ∝ G−2, which can be explained by enhanced barrier fluctuations produced by the dipoles of fluorinated molecules. Furthermore, we observed that the noise power spectral density of fluorinated molecules showed an anomalous frequency (f) dependence like SI/I2 ∝ 1/f1.7, possibly due to the slowing down of the tunneling of carriers from increased barrier fluctuations. In rather high bias conditions, conductions in both hydrogenated and fluorinated molecules showed a transition from tunneling to thermionic charge transports. Our results provide important insights into the effects of dipoles on mesoscopic transport and resistance-fluctuation in molecules and could have a significant impact on the fundamental understanding and applications in this area.
Unconditionally stable finite-difference time-domain methods for electromagnetic compatibility and antenna modeling

This thesis presents advances in unconditionally stable finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) methods for electromagnetic compatibility and antenna modeling. The leapfrog alternating-direction-implicit (ADI) FDTD method is an unconditionally stable FDTDmethod that is more efficient than the conventional ADI-FDTDmethod. In this thesis, the stability and dispersion relation of the leapfrog ADI-FDTD method are discussed analytically. To enable modeling of general structures, the leapfrog ADI-FDTDmethod is extended to incorporate the Mur absorbing boundary condition, perfect electric conductor and lossy media. Applications of the leapfrog ADI-FDTD method for electromagnetic compatibility are demonstrated. The first application investigates the mutual coupling between two monopole antennas of different length mounted on a finite ground plane. For the next application, the field leakage of the leapfrog ADI-FDTD method for a shielded enclosure is determined. Detailed analysis reveals that the leapfrog ADI-FDTD method has substantial nonphysical field leakage. A novel method for the analysis of the divergence properties of the leapfrog ADIFDTD method is introduced in this thesis. The analysis of divergence properties is based on the Fourier domain plane wave method for dispersion analysis but extended with additional procedure to determine the homogeneous solutions. The singular value decomposition is used to obtain the solutions of the homogeneous system in a School of E. E. E Nanyang Technological University iii reliable manner. The analysis reveals that the leapfrog ADI-FDTD method is not divergence-free in the source-free region, as is the case for the conventional ADIFDTD method. To circumvent this issue, an unconditionally stable locally one-dimensional FDTD method with second-order temporal accuracy and complying divergence (LOD2-CDFDTD) is proposed in this thesis. By extending the previous concept of achieving second-order temporal accuracy for the LOD2-FDTD method via implicit output processing, a novel explicit output processing that not only retains second-order temporal accuracy, but also complying divergence for the LOD2-CD-FDTD method is presented. To further enhance efficiency, the LOD2-CD-FDTDmethod is formulated into the fundamental LOD2-CD-FDTD method with efficient matrix-operator-free right-hand sides. This results in substantial reduction of floating point operations count and memory indexing. To solve open radiation and scattering problems, the LOD2-CD-FDTD method is extended to incorporate the convolutional perfectly matched layer. The LOD2-CD-FDTD method is divergence-complying in both the source region as well as the source-free region in a manner analogous to the conventional explicit FDTD method. Applications of the fundamental LOD2-CD-FDTD method for antenna modeling are demonstrated. Numerical results for the line-fed rectangular microstrip patch antenna and the strip-fed rectangular dielectric resonator antenna are provided. School of E. E. E Nanyang Technological University
Direct and Indirect Costs Related to Physical Activity Levels in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global public health concern. DM is importantly linked to the modern lifestyle. Lifestyle-based interventions currently represent a critical preventive and therapeutic approach for patients with DM. Increasing physical activity has proven multiple benefits to prevent this condition; however, there is still room for further progress in this field, especially in terms of the effect of exercise in patients with already established DM. This study intends to examine the economic relationship between physical activity and direct/indirect costs in patients with DM. We analyze a national representative sample (n = 1496) of the general population of Spain, using available data from the National Health Survey of 2017 (NHS 2017). Our results show that 63.7% of the sample engaged in some degree of physical activity, being more frequent in men (67.5%), younger individuals (80.0%), and those with higher educational levels (69.7%). Conversely, lower levels of physical activity were associated with female sex, older subjects, and various comorbidities. Our study estimates that 2151 € per (51% in direct costs) patient may be saved if a minimum level of physical activity is implemented, primarily, due to a decrease in indirect costs (absenteeism and presenteeism). This study shows that physical activity will bring notable savings in terms of direct and indirect costs in patients with DM, particularly in some vulnerable groups.
Public Support for Feed-in-Tariff and Net Energy Metering Policies in Malaysia: The Role of Policy Information

Renewable energy (RE) policies have proven to be an effective tool for implementing RE. Despite various policies introduced, the RE deployment in Malaysia has been weak, especially individual RE uptake. Lack of policy support has been linked with inadequate policy awareness and information based on the knowledge deficit theory. This study investigates the support for the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) and Net Energy Metering (NEM) policy of individual solar photovoltaic (PV) technology among landed residents in Malaysia and the effect of information provision on policy support. A Solomon-four-group design was employed to measure policy support and test the relationship between information provision and policy support using a set of Likert scale questionnaires and a poster of FiT and NEM policy prepared in layman's terms as an intervention. Results show that majority of the residents agree with the environmental mission of the policy, except for the reduction of fossil fuel usage. For the economic aspect, the residents prefer a fixed rate for RE produced and generally agreed that high electricity consumers should pay for the RE fund. However, residents were less enthusiastic about the percentage deducted from electricity bills and the 'high electricity consumer' baseline. There was a significant difference between items scores at pre and post-test when given the intervention, in line with the deficit theory. Therefore, policy information should be communicated strategically, focusing on thepolicy's social and economic components that have the greatest influence on Malaysians.
Adoption of halal cosmetics: extending the theory of planned behavior with moderating role of halal literacy (evidence from Pakistan)

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model by adding religious commitment (RC) and self-efficacy as internal variables and investigating the effect of these variables on attitudes toward halal cosmetics. In addition, this study also examined the moderating role of halal literacy in the relationships between attitudes (ATT), subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC) and intentions to purchase halal cosmetics. Design/methodology/approach The method of data collection used was self-administered surveys with customers in two stores in Karachi, Pakistan, yielding 267 valid questionnaires. To guarantee validity and reliability, convergent and discriminant validity analyses were conducted, and structural equation modeling was advanced to assess the relationships between variables using smart partial least squares 3.0 software. The interaction moderation technique has been used to examine the moderating effect of halal literacy on the purchase intention (PI) of halal cosmetics. Findings The results show that RC and self-efficacy both significantly impact the attitudes of Gen Y. Normative beliefs also had a significant relationship with SN. Further, ATT and SN had a significant relationship with PI of halal cosmetics, while PBC was nonsignificant. Furthermore, halal literacy is found to have a positive moderating influence on ATT and PI, and SN and PI. Finally, the moderating effect of halal literacy does not exist in the relationship between PBC and PI. Research limitations/implications Participants’ characteristics should vary for future studies, and larger sample sizes may yield different results. It is critical for managers working in the cosmetic industry to monitor Muslim consumption patterns to develop strategies to reach Muslim consumers. This study reveals the effect of RC, self-efficacy and the moderating role of halal literacy on the behavioral attitudes of a booming market sector, which can guide marketing managers in developing more effective advertising campaigns. Originality/value This paper contributes to the halal consumption literature by exploring RC and self-efficacy as constructs for the very first time in the TPB model. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the influence of halal literacy on Gen Y Pakistani Muslim consumer behavioral intention toward halal cosmetic products using the TPB model. The paper offers an extended TPB model framework that may be of interest to scholars, marketers and policymakers.
Problem-solving methodology in chemical technician education

In this article, we present the analysis of a problem-solving activity performed during a chemical technician course. We examine the contributions of the teaching sequence when implemented in the development of conceptual, procedural, and attitudinal learning, focusing on environmental issues related to pesticides. In our investigation, we also report the perception of students regarding the teaching and learning processes. The research was carried out in a public school in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, involving 29 students of the chemical technician course. The students solved problems created to address different approaches concerning pesticides. Data were obtained by the analysis of the researchers’ field diaries and questionnaires of the class in which the students participated in the problem-solving activity. The results showed that the teaching sequence favoured conceptual, procedural, and attitudinal learning related to problem-solving and the environmental hazards that pesticides can cause. It was observed that the problem-solving methodology favoured the students’ autonomy, which is the ability to self-govern, to make one’s own decisions, and to be critical and reflective. his paper provides an analysis of the problem-solving methodology implemented in chemistry technical education at the high school level, introducing the topic of pesticides, with specific problems and discussion appropriate to this educational level. The work focused on development of the main typologies of learning (Zabala, 1998), in relation to the environmental impacts caused by pesticides, making the students aware of the different stages and modalities of fundamental education concerning this environmental problem.