bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Students are Using Social Networks?
Authors: Abu-Shanab Sobuh , Abu-Shanab Emad Ahmed
Published: April 2019

Social networks are now being used by the majority of Internet users and are becoming an important part of social life. This exploratory study utilized a sample of 254 high school students to explore their social networks' use and its relationship to emotional intelligence dimensions. The study used a newly developed survey to explore the area, understand student's use level/pattern, and answer the research question. Results indicated that only the motivational dimension and social emotional management were significant in predicting the use of social networks. Further conclusions and analysis are described in this paper.
Macroeconomic Sensitivity, Risk-Return Trade-Off and Volatility Dynamics Evidence From Developed and Developing Markets
Authors: Khan Faisal , Khan Hashim , Khan Saif Ur-Rehman , Jumaa Muhammad , Jan Sharif Ullah
Published: April 2019

This study aims to examine the impact of macroeconomic factors on the stock return volatility along with the pricing of risk, and asymmetry and leverage effect on a comparative basis for the USA and UAE markets. Further, these three dimensions are also investigated with regard to various firm's features (such as firm's size and age). The daily data for the period 4th January 2010 to 29th December 2017 of firm stock returns from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADSE), and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) is considered and three time-series models were applied. The results from GARCH (1. 1) indicated that all the economic factors have significant impact on the stock return volatility in both the markets. Similarly, the study also found evidence of asymmetry & leverage effect using EGARCH in the NYSE (for all firms) and the UAE (partially). Finally, for a majority of the firms, a positive risk-return relationship is found in the UAE and a negative risk-return relationship is found in the NYSE using GARCH-in the mean. Interestingly, these results in context of both markets were different with respect to various firm features such as firm size and age. In light of these results, it is concluded that both the markets have different dynamics with regard to all three dimensions. Hence, the investors have a clear opportunity to diversify their risk and investments across developed and emerging markets.
Employing Islamic Microfinance in Addressing Poverty Challenges in Brunei
Authors: Kakembo Ssemambo Hussein , Ahmad Abu Umar Faruq
Published: April 2019

Countries within the Asian region are continuously struggling to improve the living standards of their citizens. Some of them are still facing a plethora of challenges due to the ever-increasing levels of both relative and absolute poverty. This is especially among the poorest of the poor who have no access to the mainstream financial services. The conventional microfinance institutions have been greatly criticised for their dubious acts of charging exorbitant interests. Islamic microfinance has therefore, been seen as one of the viable alternatives to meeting the challenges of poverty and as an opportunity in the livelihoods of the people in the Asian region. This article analyses the magnitude at which Islamic microfinance can play a fundamental role in alleviating insignificant poverty levels in Brunei Darussalam through using a proposed Mudarabah financing model.
The Significance of the Hermeneutics of Play for Gamification
Authors: Joensuu Kosti , Ryynänen Sanna
Published: April 2019

Games and play are increasingly significant in everyday life. Thus, a philosophical and theoretical consideration of these concepts is needed. This article uses phenomenological hermeneutics to discuss games, play, and gamification; it also addresses the development of gamifying planes within gamification studies. It hypothesizes that the academic discussion of gamification becomes more valid, ontologically, by focusing on the phenomenon and lived experience of play and playing from a phenomenological perspective. It presents an upcoming practical intervention, an empirical research design of case study of playing a virtual game, to demonstrate how the essence of play and the integrated spheres of virtual and real worlds could be approached. Thus, it could provide valuable information that is needed in the fast-developing domain of interventions in gamification and the game-business. On the basis of this study's theoretical findings, a broader ontological notion is suggested to overcome the subjectifying notion of player and the objectifying notion of games and play.
Using the Reflective Strategy and the Game Theory Perspective During the Patient Complaint Process
Authors: Ryynänen Sanna , Vasari Pekka
Published: April 2019

This study aims to investigate health care professionals' reflections on patient complaints in a specialized medical care organization. Studies on health care and medical education have shown that more research on triggering situations is needed to examine these reflections. In this study, the professionals' responses are evaluated using reflection theory and its strategies from a game theory perspective. The data from the cross-sectional study were analyzed using qualitative data analysis and quantitative statistical methods (N=245). Four types of patient complaints were analyzed: malpractice, communication, information, and procedures. They were evaluated as reflective targets and strategies that could be used to solve patient complaints. Information plays a central role in the choice of strategies. The results of this study may benefit the development and implementation of gamification strategies for the patient complaint process. Further research on patient complaints is needed to investigate the factors that impact the health care professionals' responses.
Fuzzy Holoentropy-Based Adaptive Inter-Prediction Mode Selection for H.264 Video Coding
Authors: Bachu Srinivas , Teja N. Ramya
Published: April 2019

Due to the advancement of multimedia and its requirement of communication over the network, video compression has received much attention among the researchers. One of the popular video codings is scalable video coding, referred to as H.264/AVC standard. The major drawback in the H.264 is that it performs the exhaustive search over the interlayer prediction to gain the best rate-distortion performance. To reduce the computation overhead due to exhaustive search on mode prediction process, this paper presents a new technique for inter prediction mode selection based on the fuzzy holoentropy. This proposed scheme utilizes the pixel values and probabilistic distribution of pixel symbols to decide the mode. The adaptive mode selection is introduced here by analyzing the pixel values of the current block to be coded with those of a motion compensated reference block using fuzzy holoentropy. The adaptively selected mode decision can reduce the computation time without affecting the visual quality of frames. Experimentation of the proposed scheme is evaluated by utilizing five videos, and from the analysis, it is evident that proposed scheme has overall high performance with values of 41.367 dB and 0.992 for PSNR and SSIM respectively.
Talking Avatar
Authors: Ye Feng , Huang Qian , Wu Shengyan , Chen Yong
Published: April 2019

With the booming of the mobile computing and web technology, virtual and intelligent mobile applications become increasingly popular, e.g. web computing and web-based information retrieval. However, under contemporary network conditions and web application environment, it remains a challenging problem to achieve a trade-off between algorithm complexity and hardware performance. In this article, a Talking Avatar architecture is presented based on third-party cloud services. First, the authors propose a cloud service based multi-level layered software framework, which consists of user interface layer, business logic layer and data layer. Second, human face synthesis, speech conversion and social sharing schemes are introduced to integrate third-party cloud services. Third, experimental results on Android platforms indicate that the proposed Talking Avatar can be served efficiently in terms of memory consumption as well as average response time. In addition, stronger functions are provided compared with existing methods.
A Web Service Composition Approach Based on Planning Graph and Propositional Logic
Authors: Deng ShiYang , Du YuYue , Qi Liang
Published: April 2019

To improve the computational efficiency of web service automatic composition, this article proposes a novel approach based on a planning graph and propositional logic. This approach has a forward searching stage and a backward combination stage: the former stage searches services in a service storage and performs the composition in a hierarchical architecture based on a planning graph, while the latter stage combines them via propositional logic operations. This method can obtain all composite services that contain no redundant services, and the computational complexity can be significantly reduced. Experiments are done to illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.
Surface Properties of Magnesium-Aluminium Hydrotalcite-Like Compound Characterized by Inverse Gas Chromatography
Authors: Zhou Liang Qin , Yuan Dong , Zheng Xing Wen , Fan Jin Long , Qian Cheng
Published: April 2019

In this paper, the Mg-Al hydrotalcite-like compound (Mg-Al-HTLC) was synthesized by hydrothermal method at 373K. Structure and morphology of Mg-Al-HTLC was obtained with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy(FTIR). A series of polar and non-polar molecules were used for probes, surface properties of Mg-Al-HTLC was studied by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at 353K, 363K, 373K, 383K respectively. The retention volume was utilized for evaluating the free energy of adsorption (-ΔGSP), the dispersive component of the surface energy(γsD), as well as the enthalpy and entropic component(ΔHSP, -ΔSSP). XRD results reveal that the Mg-Al-HTLC has high crystallinity and perfect layered structure. The results of IGC show that Mg-Al-HTLC would adsorb straight-chain alkanes spontaneously, and the values of γsDwere similar at all temperature. It reveals Mg-Al-HTLC is a material with particular characteristics of both acid and base. This study illustrates that, as a method to evaluate the surface properties of material , IGC method is dependable and significant.
Synthesis of Biodegradable Mixing-Polymer as Coating Material for Controlled-Release Urea Fertilizer
Authors: Nguyen Huu Trung , Doan Van Dat , Trinh Van Dung
Published: April 2019

The biodegradable mixing-polymer as low cost, environmentally friendly coating material for controlled-release urea fertilizer was synthesized by borax crosslinked phosphated distarch phosphate (PDSP)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) via pan coating method. The physico-chemical characteristics of biodegradable mixing-polymer were confirmed by FTIR, TGA and SEM techniques. The kinetics of urea release were also carefully investigated in water and soil. It’s been found that a uniform layer with better bonding structure was created on surface of the mixing-polymer PDSP/PVA-PAA and the time released 70% urea reached 6 hours in water and more than 27 days in soil.
The Effects of Sintering Atmosphere on the Fabrication of Transparent Polycrystalline YAG Ceramics
Authors: Mohammadi Fatemeh , Mirzaee Omid , Tajally Mohammad
Published: April 2019

In this paper, a mixture of commercial Al2O3 and Y2O3 nanopowders was prepared according to the stoichiometric ratios of YAG (Y3Al5O12) with 0.5 wt% tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as a sintering aid. The effects of air and vacuum sintering atmosphere were examined on the phase transformation, densification, in-line transmission, microstructure evolution, grain size distribution, sintering trajectories, and grain growth map of the YAG ceramics. The results showed that all samples were pure YAG phase. Nearly pore-free microstructure (99.8%) and narrow grain size distribution (4-10 μm) with an average grain size of 7 μm was obtained for the sample sintered in the vacuum atmosphere, while both inner and inter pores with abnormal grain growth, wider grain size distribution (9-27 μm) with the average grain size of 12 μm were detected in air atmosphere. Also, the results showed that the specimens sintered in vacuum atmosphere had higher relative densities and smaller grain sizes at all sintering temperatures for 6 h. The maximum transmittance at 1064 nm of the YAG ceramics sintered at air and vacuum atmosphere was 26% and 68%, respectively.
Hydrogen Permeation of Multi-Layered-Coatings
Authors: Tamura Motonori
Published: April 2019

Using a substrate of AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel, which is used for components in high-pressure hydrogen systems, the hydrogen barrier properties of samples with single-layer coatings of TiC, TiN, and TiAlN as well as a multi-layered coating of TiAlN and TiMoN were evaluated. The ion plating method was used, and coating thicknesses of 2.0–2.6 μm were obtained. Hydrogen permeation tests were carried out under a differential hydrogen pressure of 400 kPa and at a temperature between 573 and 773 K, and the quantities of hydrogen that permeated the samples were measured. This study aimed at elucidating the relationship between the microstructures of the coatings and the hydrogen permeation properties. Coatings of TiC, TiN, TiAlN, and TiAlN/TiMoN facilitated reductions of the hydrogen permeabilities to 1/100 or less of that of the uncoated substrate. The samples coated with TiN and TiC that developed columnar crystals vertical to the substrate exhibited higher hydrogen permeabilities. The experiment confirmed that the coatings composed of fine crystal grains were highly effective as hydrogen barriers, and that this barrier property became even more efficient if multiple layers of the coatings were applied. The crystal grain boundaries of the coating and interfaces of each film in a multi-layered coating may serve as hydrogen trapping sites. We speculate that fine crystal structures with multiple crystal grain boundaries and multi-layered coating interfaces will contribute to the development of hydrogen barriers.
Epoxy Resin Systems for Rapid Repair of Steel Members with Carbon Fibre
Authors: Bambach Mike
Published: April 2019

The repair of steel members with carbon fibre has applications in a broad variety of disciplines. Experimental work in the literature has typically identified high strength epoxy resins to bond the carbon fibre to the steel surface, with requirements of up to two weeks curing at ambient temperature, as recommended by the epoxy manufacturer. However, there may be applications in which repair in the field would require more rapid curing, so as to minimize disruptions to the service of the member or structure. This study presents an experimental program assessing four different epoxy resins for their strength and cure time. Double strap tension tests were undertaken, and the results indicated that certain epoxy resins reached full strength much more rapidly than others, while their strengths varied notably. Recommendations are made with respect to rapid strength repair of steel members with carbon fibre.
Mechanical Properties of Unidirectional Flax Fabric-Reinforced Furan Composites: Effect of Alkaline Treatment and Silane Coupling Treatment
Authors: Aphichartsuphapkhajorn Ketkanok , Arao Yoshihiko , Kubouchi Masatoshi
Published: April 2019

Composite materials based on bio-derived furan resin and natural fiber as reinforcing elements were studied. The purpose of this research is to improve the mechanical properties of this composite material by focusing on the natural fiber treatment methods. Unidirectional flax fabric was pretreated by alkaline treatment, silane coupling treatment, and the combination between alkaline and silane treatment before impregnating with furan resin. Three-point bending test, SEM observation, and ATR-IR analysis were carried out to evaluate the effects of treatment methods on the composite samples. Results reveal that the flexural strength of the composite was increased to 215MPa, 232MPa, 247MPa for alkaline, silane, and alkaline-silane treated composites respectively while the flexural strength of the untreated composite sample is 200MPa. SEM images show the effects of alkaline treatment on a single flax fiber at different treatment durations. The coupling of silane on the surface of flax fiber was confirmed by ATR-IR.
Secondary Bonding Strength Evaluation of FRP Laminated Plates
Authors: Luo Guang Min , Li Jia Cheng , Lin Tse Yu , Cheng Yih Lin
Published: April 2019

We focused on common secondary bonding method that usually applied on manufacturing of FRP yacht, and discussed the secondary bonding strength according to experimental results. The hulls of FRP yacht is made using VARTM, and then the secondary bonding procedures are used to reinforce the hull structures using hand lay-up. The different kinds of resin and different surface treatment methods were considered in this study. Generally, the resin manufacturers always suggested that the secondary bonding procedure can be performed directly after the separation media is released. Therefore, we discussed the bonding strength of different kind of surface treatments, likes grinding, surface sizing, surface-active etc. Finally, the experimental results shown that: 1. The effect of surface sizing is obviously poor than the other surface treatments; 2. The surface-active agent plays a good joint strength on unsaturated polyester resin; 3. Whether the secondary bonding surface is grinded or not, the bonding strengths are not much different.
Frictional Characteristic of Polyoxymethylene/Steel-40Cr under Different Lubrication Condition
Authors: Chai Hao , Pan Xiao Yong , Zhou Wei , Bao Yu Mei
Published: April 2019

The friction characteristics of POM-40Cr are studied. The influence of each factor including the roughness, lubricant, pressure, contact area and speed on the friction force are determined by rotating motion pin-on-disc experiments in CETR-UTM friction testing machine. At the same time, the Stribeck curve of POM-40Cr is observed according to the change of velocity. Finally, the friction hysteresis phenomenon is studied by reciprocating pin-on-block experiments.
Efficacy and Pharmacodynamic Modeling of the BTK Inhibitor Evobrutinib in Autoimmune Disease Models
Authors: Haselmayer Philipp , Camps Montserrat , Liu-Bujalski Lesley , Nguyen Ngan , Morandi Federica , Head Jared , O’Mahony Alison , Zimmerli Simone C. , Bruns Lisa , Bender Andrew T. , Schroeder Patricia , Grenningloh Roland
Published: April 2019

Because of its role in mediating both B cell and Fc receptor signaling, Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a promising target for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Evobrutinib is a novel, highly selective, irreversible BTK inhibitor that potently inhibits BCR- and Fc receptor–mediated signaling and, thus, subsequent activation and function of human B cells and innate immune cells such as monocytes and basophils. We evaluated evobrutinib in preclinical models of RA and SLE and characterized the relationship between BTK occupancy and inhibition of disease activity. In mouse models of RA and SLE, orally administered evobrutinib displayed robust efficacy, as demonstrated by reduction of disease severity and histological damage. In the SLE model, evobrutinib inhibited B cell activation, reduced autoantibody production and plasma cell numbers, and normalized B and T cell subsets. In the RA model, efficacy was achieved despite failure to reduce autoantibodies. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling showed that mean BTK occupancy in blood cells of 80% was linked to near-complete disease inhibition in both RA and SLE mouse models. In addition, evobrutinib inhibited mast cell activation in a passive cutaneous anaphylaxis model. Thus, evobrutinib achieves efficacy by acting both on B cells and innate immune cells. Taken together, our data show that evobrutinib is a promising molecule for the chronic treatment of B cell–driven autoimmune disorders.
Immune Pharmacodynamic Responses of the Novel Cancer Immunotherapeutic Imprime PGG in Healthy Volunteers
Authors: Bose Nandita , Ottoson Nadine R. , Qiu Xiaohong , Harrison Ben , Lowe Jamie R. , Uhlik Mark T. , Rathmann Blaine T. , Kangas Takashi O. , Jordan Lindsay R. , Ertelt Kathleen E. , Jonas Adria Bykowski , Walsh Richard M. , Chan Anissa S. H. , Fulton Ross B. , Leonardo Steven M. , Fraser Kathryn A. , Gorden Keith B. , Matson Mark A. , Graff Jeremy R. , Huhn Richard D.
Published: April 2019

Imprime PGG (Imprime) is an i.v. administered, yeast β-1,3/1,6 glucan in clinical development with checkpoint inhibitors. Imprime-mediated innate immune activation requires immune complex formation with naturally occurring IgG anti-β glucan Abs (ABA). We administered Imprime to healthy human volunteers to assess the necessity of ABA for Imprime-mediated immunopharmacodynamic (IPD) changes. Imprime (4 mg/kg) was administered i.v. in single and multiple infusions. Subsets of subjects were premedicated with antihistamine and corticosteroid. Peripheral blood was measured before, during and after Imprime administration for IPD changes (e.g., ABA, circulating immune complexes, complement activation, complete blood counts, cytokine/chemokine, and gene expression changes). IPD changes were analyzed based on pretreatment serum ABA levels: low-ABA (<20 μg/ml), mid-ABA (≥20–50 μg/ml), and high-ABA (≥50 μg/ml). At the end of infusion, free serum ABA levels decreased, circulating immune complex levels increased, and complement activation was observed. At ∼1–4 h after end of infusion, increased expression of cytokines/chemokines, a 1.5-4-fold increase in neutrophil and monocyte counts and a broad activation of innate immune genes were observed. Low-ABA subjects typically showed minimal IPD changes except when ABA levels rose above 20 μg/ml after repeated Imprime dosing. Mild-to-moderate infusion-related reactions occurred in subjects with ABA ≥20 μg/ml. Premedications alleviated some of the infusion-related reactions, but also inhibited cytokine responses. In conclusion, ABA levels, being critical for Imprime-mediated immune activation may provide a plausible, mechanism-based biomarker to identify patients most likely to respond to Imprime-based anticancer immunotherapy.
Osmium-Labeled Microspheres for Bead-Based Assays in Mass Cytometry
Authors: Budzinski Lisa , Schulz Axel R. , Baumgart Sabine , Burns Tyler , Rose Thomas , Hirseland Heike , Mei Henrik E.
Published: April 2019

Polystyrene beads are broadly applied in flow cytometry. Implementing bead-based assays in mass cytometry is desired but hampered by the lack of an elemental label required for their detection. In this study, we introduce stable osmium tetroxide labeling as a universal approach for generating functionalized beads readily detectable by mass cytometry. We demonstrate the utility of osmium-labeled beads for signal spillover compensation in mass cytometry, and, strikingly, their application in quantitative Ab-binding capacity assays combined with high-dimensional profiling of human PBMC enabled the systematic assessment of receptor expression profiles across large numbers of cellular phenotypes. This analysis confirmed increased monocytic Siglec-1 expression in active systemic lupus erythematosus patients and, additionally, revealed interrelated reductions of CD4 expression by regulatory and memory CD4 T cells and HLA-DR expression by myeloid dendritic cells, pointing toward defective cross-talk at the immunological synapse that may limit immune responses in systemic lupus erythematosus. By converting conventional flow cytometry beads into beads suitable for mass cytometry, our approach paves the way toward the broad implementation of bead-based assays in high-dimensional cell profiling studies by mass cytometry in biomedical research.
Where Else Would I Look for It? A Five-Country Qualitative Study on Purposes, Strategies, and Consequences of Online Health Information Seeking
Authors: Diviani Nicola , Fredriksen Eva Haukeland , Meppelink Corine S. , Mullan Judy , Rich Warren , Sudmann Tobba Therkildsen
Published: April 2019

Background

Online health information (OHI) is widely available and consulted by many people in Western countries to gain health advice. The main goal of the present study is to provide a detailed account of the experiences among people from various demographic backgrounds living in high-income countries, who have used OHI.

Design and methods

Thematic analysis of 165 qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted among OHI users residing in Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland was performed.

Results

The lived experience of people using OHI seem not to differ across countries. The interviews show that searches for OHI are motivated from curiosity, sharing of experiences, or affirmation for actions already taken. Most people find it difficult to appraise the information, leading them to cross-check sources or discuss OHI with others. OHI seems to impact mostly some specific types of health behaviors, such as changes in diet or physical activity, while it only plays a complementary role for more serious health concerns. Participants often check OHI before seeing their GP, but are reluctant to discuss online content with health care personnel due to expected negative reception.

Conclusions

This study adds to the body of knowledge on eHealth literacy by demonstrating how OHI affects overall health behavior, strengthens patients’ ability to understand, live with, and prepare themselves for diverse health challenges. The increasing digitalization of health communication and health care calls for further research on digital divides and patient-professional relations. Health care professionals should acknowledge OHI seeking and engage in discussions with patients to enable them to appreciate OHI, and to support shared decision making in health care. The professionals can utilize patient's desire to learn as a resource for health prevention, promotion or treatment, and empowerment.
Social Media Activism. Water as a Common Good
Authors: Cernison Matteo
Published: April 2019

What happens when hundreds of social movement organizations give life to a diffused online campaign? Focusing on the referendums against water privatization in Italy, this book explores how the activists colonized social media thanks to a very wide set of communication practices that convinced 27 million citizens to vote.

This book focuses on the referendums against water privatisation in Italy and explores how activists took to social media, ultimately convincing twenty-seven million citizens to vote. Investigating the relationship between social movements and internet-related activism during complex campaigns, this book examines how a technological evolution-the increased relevance of social media platforms-affected in very different ways organisations with divergent characteristics, promoting at the same time decentralised communication practices, and new ways of coordinating dispersed communities of people.

Matteo Cernison combines and adapts a wide set of methods, from social network analysis to digital ethnography, in order to explore in detail how digital activism and face-to-face initiatives interact and overlap. He argues that the geographical scale of actions, the role played by external media professionals, and the activists' perceptions of digital technologies are key elements that contribute in a significant way to shape the very different communication practices often described as online activism.
Responding to a new generation of proprietary study resources in medical education
Authors: O’Hanlon Robin , Laynor Gregory
Published: April 2019

Traditionally, health sciences libraries have supported patrons who are preparing for medical licensure examinations by collecting and making accessible board exam preparation resources, such as questions banks and study guides. However, when online board exam preparation resources are not available for licensing, providing equitable access to all library users can be a challenge. In recent years, a new generation of online study resources has emerged. Sites such as SketchyMedical and Picmonic use visual learning mnemonics, while resources such as Quizlet leverage crowd-sourcing to generate study content. While some of the content from these resources is made freely available, these resources are often limited to paid individual subscribers. This new generation of study resources, thus, presents a conundrum for health sciences librarians. On the one hand, these innovative resources offer new insights into how students learn and study, reflecting pedagogical trends in self-directed learning. On the other hand, the proprietary individual subscription-based model of these resources can widen the achievement gap between students who can afford to pay subscription costs and those who cannot. This commentary provides an overview of some of the most popular medical board examination preparation resources that have emerged in recent years. The authors suggest that health sciences librarians collaborate with medical students and educators to better understand and evaluate these resources.
ResearchGate
Authors: O’Brien Kevin
Published: April 2019

One example of a platform that has emerged in recent years in response to the demand for new venues for scholars and scientists to collaborate on, publicize, share, and quantify the impact of their published works is ResearchGate, a for-profit, social media–like scientific networking and collaboration website.
Combat–Débat: Parataxis and the Unavowable Community; or, The Joke
Authors: Murray Stuart J. , Lemieux Tad
Published: April 2019

Invoking the work of Maurice Blanchot, this text is situated in the (im)possibility of contemporary debate and the impossible, but necessary, question of (un)avowable community. Arguing that identity politics today forecloses debate in the syntactical closures of the named name, we follow Blanchot to open onto a paratactical politics of community. The parataxis (polysyndeton) is here the key trope of community and communication: the side-by-side arrangement of fragments that puts into play the seeming self-evidence of contemporary conjunctions, relations of subordination, and temporal sequence. The parataxis configures relations of alterity, radicalized in death, where the (non)being-in-common of self-other and self-self are exposed. Taking as instance the disaster of Donald Trump's presidency and the digital conveyances of identity, we explore this joke, its common currents, and the possibility for a paratactical politics of community when the joke is on us.
Bilateral Preiser’s disease in a patient with hypercoagulability
Authors: McMurtry John , Frankenhoff Jessica
Published: April 2019

Reports of bilateral Preiser’s disease-avascular necrosis of the scaphoid -- are rare with only 4 cases reported in the English literature. We present the fifth reported case of bilateral Preiser’s disease in the setting of a previously undiagnosed hypercoagulability disorder.
Survival and factors affecting the outcome of synovial sarcoma in children and adolescents single institute experience
Authors: Nadi Enas El , Hafez Hanafy , Younes Alaa , Ahmed Gehad , Zaghloul Mohamed S. , Taha Hala , ELkinaai Naglaa , ELwakeel Maeha , ELmenawi Salma , Khalid Elham , Fadel Sayed
Published: April 2019

Introduction: To check the impact of the clinical and pathologic features at diagnosis and treatment given, on the outcome of synovial sarcoma in children and adolescents.Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients below 18 years old diagnosed by synovial sarcoma and treated at Children CancerHospital Egypt 57,357 (CCHE) between July 2007 and December 2016. We reviewed Clinical characteristics, pathological information, treatment modalities and survival data.Results: We included thirty one patients with median age at diagnosis was 14.8 years. Initial surgical excision was possible in 10 patients (58.8%) while 5 (29.4%) patients underwent surgical excision after response to preoperative chemotherapy. Two patients had unresectable tumor, showed no response to chemotherapy and received radiotherapy as the only local control therapy. Adjuvant radiotherapy only was given in 2 patients and 5 patients received chemotherapy without local radiotherapy and 10 patients received both modalities. The estimated 5-year overall survival and failure free survival rates for the entire group were 84.4% ± 7.2% and 63.8% ± 9.7% respectively, the 5-year OS and FFS were studied in correlation to age of patient, tumor size, different pathological types, site of the lesion and methods of local control. In patients with tumor size below 5 cm when compared to size more than 5 cm with OS was (100%) in comparison to (79.3 ± 9.3) who underwent complete surgical excision either initial or post chemotherapy as it was 66.7% versus 55.6% for those with gross or microscopic residual (p-value = .38). Also, the 3-year failure free survival was 75% versus 56.3% for those smaller than or equal 5 cm and those larger than 5 cmrespectively (p-value = .3).Conclusion: Increasing number of patients to increase sample size to assess tumor size and complete surgical excision as important prognostic factors as in our study, we found them statistically insignificant. Preoperative chemotherapy can help for delayed excision in patients presented initially with unresectable tumors
The Effectiveness of Using Flipped Classroom Model on Iranian EFL Learners’ English Achievements and Their Willingness to Communicate
Authors: Mohammadi Jahangir , Barati Hossein , Youhanaee Manijeh
Published: April 2019

This study aims at investigating the influence of using flipped classroom model on Iranian EFL eleven graders’ English achievements and their willingness to communicate. A pre-experimental design was used in this study. The participants were students in four classes of two high schools in Sanadaj, Iran. Two classes functioned as experimental and two others as control. The students in the experimental group (N=48) received instructional videos based on their English textbook. The videos were uploaded on a social network channel made by the researcher so the students could download them and watch them at their convenience time. Each individual participant in the experimental group then had the opportunity to interact with his classmates and teacher via the social network made by the students. This could help the students in the experimental group for the in-class discussion formed on the content of the videos and textbook exercises, Meanwhile, the students in the control group (N=47) received in class traditional teaching focusing on lectures and explanations by the teacher. Despite these two different ways of presenting the contents of the English textbook, students in both experimental and control groups had the opportunity to take part in various learning activities in each classroom session including collaborative activities, completing the textbook exercises, giving comments and presenting new ideas, giving each other support and feedback and taking in-class quizzes. Statistical analysis of the post- test results revealed that the participants in the experimental group could outperform the participants in the control group. Furthermore, the findings of this study indicated that there was a significant difference in learners’ willingness to communicate between experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental group.
Measuring the Cost of Noise Pollution and Its Impact in Reducing Corporate Profits, Income Tax Collections, the Treasury, the National Economy and the Welfare of Society
Authors: Magablih Ali Mustafa
Published: April 2019

The aim of this study to define the concept of noise pollution and the cost of pollution from noise, it also aims to explain the cost of noise pollution on the profits of industrial enterprises, in addition to the recognition of the role of the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company to reducing the impact of noise pollution on workers, as well as the role played by the reduction of the costs of pollution and its impact on the profits of noise pollution to reducing treasury revenues.  

And therefore could not measure the impact of the company incurring the costs caused by noise pollution on company profits in the absence of a clear classification of the causes of the cost and thus the difficulty of measuring the impact on the profits of the company, the results of the study also indicated that there are costs of noise pollution and a clear impact on the profits of the company.

This study focuses on the economic and social aspects which are of crucial importance in noise pollution that strongly affect the performance of the workers, the profits of industrial enterprises, and concludes that the noise pollution impact on staff performance and production as well as tax collections, the treasury and the national economy.
Satellite and Local Measurements Based Services for Air Quality Improvement
Authors: de Vries Johan , Loenen Edo , Mijling Bas , van der Meulen Wencke , van der Meer Arthur
Published: April 2019

AIRBUS presents a global monitoring service on atmospheric composition and emission allocation. Air composition and meteorological data from satellites and local sensors are combined into a chemical transport model to build up or validate trace gas and particulate matter emission sources and their impact on air quality. The service is using the AIRBUS’ developed OMI and TROPOMI satellite sensors to be able to quickly disclose new regions around the globe at low cost, as has been done for eastern Asia and the Indian continent. This yields a database of up-to-date emission sources at a spatial resolution of about 3.5 km (and in the future 1 km) and provides daily observation data on regional and transboundary transport of pollutants. Target constituents are NO2, particulate matter, CH4, (tropospheric) ozone and SO2. The full blown service adds data from several measurement systems (on ground, aircraft, high-altitude solar powered drones or pseudo satelites (HAPS) and nanosatellites) and various data like land-use and traffic information to achieve street level spatial resolution while maintaining accuracy and validation status. The resulting database of emission sources has the same street level spatial resolution and is intended to serve local issues. It has presently been built for several EU cities. This advanced and cost-competitive Air Quality Monitoring service is used for awareness building, policy development and policy evaluation and enforcement. The intent is to realize a commercial global service, based on local cooperation. The paper will describe the service and status.
SOCIAL INNOVATIONS IN THE PROCESS OF MANAGING ORGANIZATIONS
Authors: Huczek Marian , Smolarek Małgorzata
Published: April 2019

In the recent period, social innovations are increasingly entering the theory and practice of innovation management. The article presents the process of defining social innovations and how they function in practice. The types of social innovations were defined and the reasons for generating these innovations in the activities of the organizations were explained. In addition, comments were given in the field of social innovation management in organizations.
INNOVATION AND BARRIERS OF INNOVATION IN PERSONNEL PROCESSES OF THE ORGANIZATION
Authors: Myjak Teresa
Published: April 2019

The aim of the publication is to present the issues of innovation and its barriers and to show barriers to innovation and directions of activities undertaken by the organization, so that personnel processes are innovative. The theoretical aspects of the personnel processes of the organization are presented, as well as the nature and barriers to innovation in the organization. The results of my own research are presented below. In the study I have used literature analysis of the subject and the survey technique, as well as the one- dimensional analysis statistical method
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AS MACRO-ENVIRONMENT ELEMENTS FOR THE FUNCTIONING OF CAR COMMUNICATION ENTERPRISES
Authors: Budzik Tomasz
Published: April 2019

When company wants to improve its operations through a strategy it must appropriately use opportunities and avoid threats. The source of these situations is not only the nearest environment of the company, e.g. in the form of competitive enterprises but also macro- environment. It is the source of many factors determining the functioning of an enterprise, which can be classified according to individual segments. Among these segments, the ecological and social environment can be distinguished. In order to succeed, an enterprise should identify trends that occur in individual segments of the environment and react. The purpose of the article is to analyze the impact on the functioning of the analyzed enterprises of environmental and social factors regarding, in particular, bus transport. Elements of the PEST tool and quality methods, including intelligence and desk research were used. The solution to this problem is the use of strategic analysis methods to identify environmental and social factors that are of key importance for Car Communication Enterprises.
MODELS OF TEAM MANAGEMENT IN IT PROJECTS
Authors: Chubenko Mykolay , Bedrii Dmytro
Published: April 2019

Currently, the project approach has become a major element of the management system in most IT companies. The efficiency of its application is confirmed by the fact that it provides effective tools for solving complex management tasks, and allows forming informal norms of the team management in the IT project for creating a unique corporate culture of the whole organization as the foundation of the entire management system as well. The paper analyzes the management of three key aspects of the team management in the IT project, including: creative potential management, project value management and strategic management of the team. According to the results of the research, it is revealed that IT project managers need to predict the results of economic interaction of their team members from the standpoint of sufficiency, significance and attractiveness in the strategic perspective and constantly develop and improve directions for increasing the effectiveness
and efficiency of the motivational mechanism for strategic management of the development of the IT project team.
URBAN LOGISTICS TASKS IN MANAGING PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR THE DISABLED – CZESTOCHOWA EXAMPLE
Authors: Budzik Anna
Published: April 2019

The article presents the concept of disability and logistics of the city. The author describes the existing barriers for disabled people in the city and in public transport. The article describes the results of questionnaire surveys, which were addressed to disabled students of the Częstochowa University of Technology. The aim of the survey was to identify the needs of people with disabilities in the field of communication barriers in the city of Częstochowa.
THE LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GDPR RECORDS AS A FACTOR IN THE GROWTH OF COMPANIES’ COMPETITIVENESS
Authors: Gołąb-Kobylińska Iwona
Published: April 2019

The research problem considered in the article was the relationship between the involvement level of entrepreneurs in the implementation of the GDPR and their perception on the market. The existence of the problem was based on numerous signals of Customer dissatisfaction with the level of protection of their personal data and the data they are processing. The research covered a group of businessmen who distinguished activities related to accounting services, human resources, legal services, health and safety from the structure of their enterprises. The conclusions were formulated based on direct interviews, critical analysis of secondary sources and the scrutiny of case studies presented. The results showed high correspondence, mainly about the selection of a company that outsources personal data processing. The tenderer’s selection procedures are increasingly being extended by demands for the accuracy of the level of privacy protection and are important in decision making process. The purpose of the article was to show that the level of implementation of the processes ensuring customers’ privacy protection, consistent
with the provisions of the GDPR, has an impact on companies’ competitiveness. The hypothesis put forward was clearly confirmed by the analysis of the results of the conducted research.
INFLUENCE OF MANAGERS COMPETENCIES ON THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF POLISH IT COMPANIES
Authors: Pluciński Mateusz , Czajkowski Przemysław , Golik Krystian , Kwiatkowska Monika
Published: April 2019

Undertaking the issues presented in the article indicates the importance of knowledge and leadership in management. The review of managerial competencies, including the comparison of the level of knowledge, skills and experience of managers, is the basis for competition mainly in the aspect of human resources through the management of their intellectual potential. The aim of this article is to draw attention to the importance of the competence of managers responsible for market building and development of IT enterprises. The authors presented the definition of competences, motivation of managers and the role of the sought competences in the international development of the organization. The research presented in the article shows which competences are most valued among managers responsible for the development of IT companies. They also show the plans and willingness of small and medium-sized Polish technology companies to further expand their activities on foreign markets. In this context, the concept of managers‘ competence and their motivation becomes crucial to international develop the polish companies.
ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE PUBLIC MEDIA PROGRAM OFFER – THE QUALITY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PUBLIC MISSION
Authors: Stachowiak Barbara
Published: April 2019

This article discusses the analysis, made by the analytical and comparative method, of the programming offer of public broadcasters in the implementation of missions in the era of cross-platform broadcasting of radio and television programs. The article contains an analysis of the genre structure of the programs of Telewizja Polska SA, Polish Radio SA and the regional radio stations of the public radio. Identifies the principles of construction of public media programs available on the Polish media market. Describes the components for evaluating the quality of public media through their programming offers. It points to the need to develop a high level of technical and technological content of public media offerings in new content distribution platforms - the Internet, mobile devices.
Tre förskollärares undervisning i teknik – en utvecklingspedagogisk analys av det avsedda och det manifesta lärandeobjektet
 Three preschool teachers’ teaching in technology - an analysis of the intended and the enacted object of learning
Authors: Sundqvist Pernilla
Published: April 2019

The analysis of three activities from two different preschool units is presented. The aim is to show how the actions of the preschool teachers affect children’s learning possibilities in each activity with regard to the technology in children’s surrounding world. The aim is chosen because previous research have shown the intentions of preschool teachers are not always realized, and that teaching about the technology in the surrounding world is rare. The analysis uses a developmental pedagogy perspective and shows the relation between the intended and the enacted object of learning in each activity. The study shows that the participating preschool teachers are active in children’s learning, have a pedagogical plan where children’s perspectives are observed and regarded, and perform teaching where the technology in the surrounding world is treated and made visible. To what degree the intended object of learning is enacted varies, and possible causes for this are discussed.