bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fostering Sustainable Quality Assurance Practices in Outcome-Based Education: Lessons Learned from ABET Accreditation Process of Computing Programs
Authors: Almuhaideb Abdullah M. , Saeed Saqib
Published: October 2020

Education is an important enabler for economic uplift of a society and academic institutions need to deliver quality education to equip students with required skills to excel in their professional careers. Due to international initiatives such as Washington and Seoul accords, outcome-based education has gained significant interest from industry, academia, governments, accreditation bodies and students. Outcome-based education is a paradigm shift form conventional education approach and its successful adoption requires sustainable quality practices by higher education institutions. Fostering quality assurance processes for outcome-based education requires careful planning and active collaboration among stakeholders. However, due to the sparse body of knowledge about quality processes in outcome-based education, many academic institutions rely on ad hoc practices, resulting in a trial and error approach. In this paper, we present set of guidelines which can help academic institutions to deploy sustainable practices in their academic programs. We document important guidelines to deliver outcome-based education based on our longitudinal work of ABET accreditation process of three different computing programs (Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, and Cyber Security and Digital Forensics). The successful application of proposed guidelines helps to foster sustainable quality practices in academic programs.
A Diverse and Sustainable Biodiesel Supply Chain Optimisation Model Based on Properties Integration
Authors: Lim Chun Hsion , Chua Wei Xin , Pang Yi Wen , How Bing Shen , Ng Wendy Pei Qin , Teng Sin Yong , Leong Wei Dong , Ngan Sue Lin , Lam Hon Loong
Published: October 2020

Producing sustainable biodiesel from oil crops has been a great challenge, especially for oil crops plantations that involve various small and medium stakeholders. Differences in plantation activities and environments create a unique sustainability profile for each oil crop that may impose more sustainability issues such as deforestation problems in oil palm plantations. This paper embraced the unique sustainability index profile of each oil crop, and an investigation was performed to evaluate the feasibility of integrating multiple oil crops into the existing biodiesel refinery to improve its economic and sustainability performances. The selection of the process feed is proposed to be based on oil crop properties such as iodine value, peroxide value and saturated and unsaturated fatty acid contents. The sustainability profiles considered in the study include deforestation, oil yield, fertiliser impact, water impact and carbon footprint. Case studies demonstrated that a more balanced sustainability index profile could be achieved at a higher production cost—from USD 6.43 billion·y−1 in a cost-saving-centric solution to USD 39.90 billion·y−1 in a sustainability-improvement-centric solution. The study provided excellent insight into the impact on production cost to achieve sustainability which can help stakeholders to evaluate the feasibility of integrating multiple oil crops in the system.
Analysis of Socially Responsible Consumption: A Segmentation of Spanish Consumers
Authors: Palacios-González María Manuela , Chamorro-Mera Antonio
Published: October 2020

The fight against the environmental and social problems faced by humanity requires a change in the consumption system. A new consumer is required, who takes into consideration that their acts are part of the cause of these problems, but also part of the solution to them. In order to design effective campaigns to promote socially responsible consumption, it is valuable to understand the profile of consumers who are most likely to act in this way. The objective of this work is to identify and describe segments of consumers according to their degree and type of socially responsible behavior. To do this, a survey of 415 Spanish consumers was conducted, using a multidimensional scale to measure socially responsible consumption. Four segments were identified: highly responsible, sensitive to origin, moderately responsible, and indifferent. Moreover, the individuals from these segments do not differ from each other due to their sociodemographic characteristics, but rather due to their attitudes towards these problems. Emotional engagement and the perception of personal effectiveness are the variables that differentiate the individuals in each segment, whereas the perception of personal gain is insignificant.
Restructuring China’s Water Environment Management System: A Social Network Perspective
Authors: Cheng Lei , Shi Lei , Xie Yuxi , Zeng Weihua
Published: October 2020

Despite restructuring in institutions related to environmental protection, the multi-sectorial decentralized water management system of China continued to be widely criticized. To identify the problems in China’s water management system and the direction of future reform, this article implemented social network analysis. From multiple perspectives (covering efficiency analysis, condensation analysis, and network centrality analysis), we quantitatively analyzed the structural change of the super-ministry reform of water environment management in China. We found that the 2018 super ministry reform of the system made the aggregation and central enhancement of China’s water management network, hence the power of water environmental management is more concentrated in the core department. However, the function overlap still exists after the reform. Some key issues of water resources management are absent from the responsibility of the core management department. Therefore, the cohesion and management effectiveness of the overall management network need to be further improved. Finally, we summarized several practical implications for future water management system reform, and the kernel is to achieve integrated management of water resource and water environment.
Assessing the Biostimulant Effects of a Novel Plant-Based Formulation on Tomato Crop
Authors: Chrysargyris Antonios , Charalambous Savvas , Xylia Panayiota , Litskas Vassilis , Stavrinides Menelaos , Tzortzakis Nikos
Published: October 2020

The aim of this research was to evaluate the biostimulant effects of an eco-product (EP) containing essential oils of rosemary and eucalyptus on tomato crop. Experiments were conducted to evaluate EP effects on plant growth and physiological parameters (e.g., chlorophyll content), total phenols and antioxidant activity, enzyme activities (e.g., catalase), plant macronutrient content and fresh tomato fruit quality. The application of an EP once (EP-1x) increased tomato plant height by 19%, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll content compared to the control (sprayed with water). EP triplicate (EP-3x) application significantly increased yield (0.79 kg plant−1) compared to the control (0.58 kg plant−1). However, application of EP-3x was associated with a higher percentage of fruit cracking in comparison to the control. Total phenols and antioxidant activity were affected from both the use of EP and application frequency. EP application decreased by 27.3% the leaf damage index in comparison to the control. Nutrient content in leaves (N, Mg) was significantly decreased in the case of EP-3x treatment. Fruit firmness was decreased by 19.9% in the case of EP-1x application. Fruit marketability and tomato-like aroma, fresh weight and soluble solids did not differ among the treatments. Further research is required to examine the potential use of essential oils as biostimulants.
Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life of Higher Education Students: A Global Perspective
Authors: Aristovnik Aleksander , Keržič Damijana , Ravšelj Dejan , Tomaževič Nina , Umek Lan
Published: October 2020

The paper presents the most comprehensive and large-scale study to date on how students perceive the impacts of the first wave of COVID-19 crisis in early 2020 on various aspects of their lives on a global level. With a sample of 30,383 students from 62 countries, the study reveals that amid the worldwide lockdown and transition to online learning students were most satisfied with the support provided by teaching staff and their universities’ public relations. Still, deficient computer skills and the perception of a higher workload prevented them from perceiving their own improved performance in the new teaching environment. Students were mainly concerned about issues to do with their future professional career and studies, and experienced boredom, anxiety, and frustration. The pandemic has led to the adoption of particular hygienic behaviours (e.g., wearing masks, washing hands) and discouraged certain daily practices (e.g., leaving home, shaking hands). Students were also more satisfied with the role played by hospitals and universities during the epidemic compared to the governments and banks. The findings also show that students with certain socio-demographic characteristics (male, part-time, first-level, applied sciences, a lower living standard, from Africa or Asia) were significantly less satisfied with their academic work/life during the crisis, whereas female, full-time, first-level students and students faced with financial problems were generally affected more by the pandemic in terms of their emotional life and personal circumstances. Key factors influencing students’ satisfaction with the role of their university are also identified. Policymakers and higher education institutions around the world may benefit from these findings while formulating policy recommendations and strategies to support students during this and any future pandemics.
A Natural Language Processing Approach to Social License Management
Authors: Boutilier Robert G. , Bahr Kyle
Published: October 2020

Dealing with the social and political impacts of large complex projects requires monitoring and responding to concerns from an ever-evolving network of stakeholders. This paper describes the use of text analysis algorithms to identify stakeholders’ concerns across the project life cycle. The social license (SL) concept has been used to monitor the level of social acceptance of a project. That acceptance can be assessed from the texts produced by stakeholders on sources ranging from social media to personal interviews. The same texts also contain information on the substance of stakeholders’ concerns. Until recently, extracting that information necessitated manual coding by humans, which is a method that takes too long to be useful in time-sensitive projects. Using natural language processing algorithms, we designed a program that assesses the SL level and identifies stakeholders’ concerns in a few hours. To validate the program, we compared it to human coding of interview texts from a Bolivian mining project from 2009 to 2018. The program’s estimation of the annual average SL was significantly correlated with rating scale measures. The topics of concern identified by the program matched the most mentioned categories defined by human coders and identified the same temporal trends.
Sustainable Solutions for Wearable Technologies: Mapping the Product Development Life Cycle
Authors: Gurova Olga , Merritt Timothy Robert , Papachristos Eleftherios , Vaajakari Jenna
Published: October 2020

Wearable technologies involve the integration of technology into clothing or accessories to bring new functionalities for people on the move. Many examples of wearables are emerging, from simple fitness tracking watches to electronics deeply embedded into garments for multi-touch sensing and control for personal music players. Without careful development, wearables can have a negative impact on the environment due to increased production of electronic components, increased e-waste from abandoned devices, and increased energy usage. We examine environmental sustainability issues through a review of recent research and cases across three broad areas including the fashion industry, information and communications technology (ICT), and wearable technologies. In the analysis, we examine stages in the product life cycle and identify the unique issues for each sector, including the extraction of materials, production process, distribution of products, use, and disposal of products that have reached the end of their life. The findings are gathered as implications for design so that researchers, educators, designers, developers, and product managers will gain an overview of the issues related to environmental sustainability. Related examples of products and prototypes are provided to enable informed choices during the design and development of wearables that are more environmentally sustainable.
Spatiotemporal Analysis of Water Resources in the Haridwar Region of Uttarakhand, India
Authors: Pathak Shray , Ojha Chandra Shekhar Prasad , Garg Rahul Dev , Liu Min , Jato-Espino Daniel , Singh Rajendra Prasad
Published: October 2020

Watershed management plays a dynamic role in water resource engineering. Estimating surface runoff is an essential process of hydrology, since understanding the fundamental relationship between rainfall and runoff is useful for sustainable water resource management. To facilitate the assessment of this process, the Natural Resource Conservation Service-Curve Number (NRCS-CN) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were integrated. Furthermore, land use and soil maps were incorporated to estimate the temporal variability in surface runoff potential. The present study was performed on the Haridwar city, Uttarakhand, India for the years 1995, 2010 and 2018. In a context of climate change, the spatiotemporal analysis of hydro meteorological parameters is essential for estimating water availability. The study suggested that runoff increased approximately 48% from 1995 to 2010 and decreased nearly 71% from 2010 to 2018. In turn, the weighted curve number was found to be 69.24, 70.96 and 71.24 for 1995, 2010 and 2018, respectively. Additionally, a validation process with an annual water yield model was carried out to understand spatiotemporal variations and similarities. The study recommends adopting water harvesting techniques and strategies to fulfill regional water demands, since effective and sustainable approaches like these may assist in the simultaneous mitigation of disasters such as floods and droughts.
Provincial Carbon Emission Quota Allocation Study in China from the Perspective of Abatement Cost and Regional Cooperation
Authors: Tan Qinliang , Zheng Jin , Ding Yihong , Zhang Yimei
Published: October 2020

To achieve the carbon reduction target, the Chinese government not only requires a quota allocation scheme in line with the current development situation, but also needs to minimize the economic expenditure in the emission reduction work. Therefore, this study integrates the multi-index method and zero-sum gains–data envelopment analysis model to obtain a fair and efficient multi-criteria quota allocation scheme. To ensure the effectiveness of the scheme, the fairness and cost effect of the scheme are quantitatively tested. In addition, regional cooperation factors are introduced into the research framework to providing feasible practical measures. The results show that: (1) After optimization, the eastern region has the largest quota increment, accounting for 45% of the country’s quota. (2) The multi-criteria quota allocation scheme after secondary allocation is a more ideal scheme. The quota scheme not only meets the requirements of fairness and efficiency, but also has lower abatement costs. (3) Regional cooperation should be encouraged by China, especially the eastern region, which can alleviate the reducing emission pressure through cooperation. Although the western region needs to undertake additional emission reduction tasks, it can improve the utilization rate of local renewable resources and be conducive to long-term economic development. These results will provide a reference for China to achieve its carbon reduction targets.
Mining Waste Challenges: Environmental Risks of Gigatons of Mud, Dust and Sediment in Megadiverse Regions in Brazil
Authors: Carmo Flávio F. , Lanchotti Andressa O. , Kamino Luciana H.Y.
Published: October 2020

The management of long-lived mining wastes is a complex environmental challenge, but the subject is little discussed among the public, scientific community, and policymakers. The negative environmental impacts caused by mining wastes are severe and cause damage to human health and the loss and degradation of natural ecosystems. With the objective of stimulating discussion to advance the development of measures to contain threats to biodiversity and to mitigate negative impacts, we present an overview of total volumes of mining waste disposal in tailings dams and dump piles, discriminating them by ore type and biome. We highlight the major environmental risks and challenges associated with tropical forests, savannas, and freshwater ecosystems and possible limitations and advances in public policies and governance. The scale of this challenge is global, as some data show, for example, Brazil generated 3.6 billion tons of solid mining waste in dump piles in the period between 2008 and 2019. The volume is equivalent to 62% of the global mass of nonfuel minerals removed from the planet’s crust in 2006. Numerous socio-environmental disasters are caused by catastrophic mining dam failures, and over the last 34 years, an average of one failure has occurred every three years in Brazil.
A Rule-Based Fuzzy Logic Methodology for Multi-Criteria Selection of Wind Turbines
Authors: Rehman Shafiqur , Khan Salman A. , Alhems Luai M.
Published: October 2020

The domain of renewable energy has seen tremendous growth in the past many years. This growth has shown optimism for a sustainable future and promises to lead the human race towards a cleaner and healthier environment. Wind energy, which is a vital part of this clean energy revolution, has received significant attention globally. To get benefit from wind energy, wind farms need to be developed with the highest efficiency so that the maximum energy can be harnessed. A key decision in this development process is selection of a turbine type that shows highest compatibility with the geographical and topographical features of the site where the turbines are to be installed. In practical terms, the turbine selection mechanism should consider several decision criteria. In many cases, these criteria are conflicting with each other. Furthermore, the choice and aspirations of the decision-maker who selects these turbines should be considered in the selection process and should be flexible. This paper presents a preliminary study on a rule-based turbine selection methodology which is based on the concepts of fuzzy logic. The proposed methodology analyzes several scenarios in conjunction with the turbine selection model. The applicability of the methodology is demonstrated via two test scenarios. Data from a real potential site in Saudi Arabia were used, and 17 turbines from different manufacturers and with rated capacities in range of 1.5–3 MW were evaluated. The results indicate that the proposed scheme is able to incorporate decision-maker’s aspirations and effectively reflects these aspirations in the turbine selection process.
Resilience as a City Brand: The Cases of the Comuna 13 and Moravia in Medellin, Colombia
Authors: Naef Patrick
Published: October 2020

In Medellin, during this last decade, the municipality and the private sector have been very active in the reconstruction of the city’s war-torn image. With the acknowledged objective of attracting foreign investments and tourists, the second city of Colombia has been consecutively branded as “innovative”, “smart”, “sustainable” and lately as a “resilient city”. Since 2016 and the integration of the city as one of the first members of the “100 Resilient Cities” network pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, Medellin’s authorities have emphasised “urban resilience” as a core value of the city and its residents. Until now, few studies have put into perspective the notion of “branding” with that of “resilience”. By looking closely at discourses on the promotion of the city, as well as its burgeoning tourism sector, this article aims to fill this gap by providing a thorough analysis of the way urban resilience is used as a city-brand in a city still struggling to overcome high levels of violence. This study aims to show that antagonists’ visions of resilience are at stake when comparing the branding discourses of public authorities and the representations of self-settled communities who are at the centre of these narratives. While branding discourses praise the resilience of Medellin communities, many in these same communities tend to reject this vision of resilience as self-reliance (adaptation) and instead call for structural changes (transformation).
Successful Implementation of Climate-Friendly, Nutritious, and Acceptable School Meals in Practice: The OPTIMAT™ Intervention Study
Authors: Elinder Liselotte Schäfer , Eustachio Colombo Patricia , Patterson Emma , Parlesak Alexandr , Lindroos Anna Karin
Published: October 2020

Introducing children to sustainable and healthy school meals can promote a long-term dietary shift to lower climate impact and improve population health. The aim of the OPTIMAT study was to optimize meals for minimum deviation from the current food supply while reducing greenhouse gases and ensuring nutritional adequacy without increasing cost. Optimized menus were tested in four primary schools in Sweden and effects on daily food consumption and waste evaluated. Pupils received their usual menu plan for three weeks and then the isocaloric optimized menu plan for another three weeks. Nutritional recommendations for a school lunch and a maximum of 500 g of carbon dioxide equivalents per meal (CO2 eq/meal) were applied as constraints during linear programming. Pulses, cereals, meat, and eggs increased, while fats and oils, dairy, sauces, and seasonings decreased. The amount of ruminant meat was reduced in favor of other meat products. The new menu was 28% lower in greenhouse gas emissions and slightly less costly than the original. No significant changes in mean food consumption or plate waste were found in interrupted time series analysis between the two periods. This pragmatic approach for combining linear optimization with meal planning could accelerate sustainable development of the meal sector in Sweden and abroad.
Moose Management Strategies under Changing Legal and Institutional Frameworks
Authors: Balčiauskas Linas , Kawata Yukichika , Balčiauskienė Laima
Published: October 2020

Moose (Alces alces) management strategies in Lithuania, East Europe, were analyzed. The study was intended to show the (un)sustainability of the current management approach in relation to changes in hunting rules, hunting organization and development of the responsible administrative bodies. Moose population and bag dynamics were analyzed using I index in connected scatterplots and compound annual growth rates (CAGR). In 1962–2020, the CAGR of the moose population was 3.84%, resulting in a population size increase of nearly 10 times. The seesaw principle in moose management was confirmed, showing three periods of population decrease (1973–1977, 1989–1995, 2000–2005), and two periods of hunting bag decrease (1976–1978 and 1990–1993). All decline phases were related to legal and administrative issues in the country. Since 2006, population growth has not been controlled. Lithuania has no long-term strategy of the moose population management at any administrative level. The current management approach is not sustainable, as it has not ensured long-term stability of the moose population. The current continuous growth of population, followed by only a moderate increase in the hunting bag, is related to the possibility for owners to adopt long-term planning of the hunting plot units.
Examining Household Food Waste Behaviors and the Determinants in Korea Using New Questions in a National Household Survey
Authors: Kim Sanghyo , Lee Sang Hyeon
Published: October 2020

Despite active international efforts to reduce food waste, there are only a few academic researches and policy movements in Korea. One of the many causes of this is the lack of relevant statistics on household food waste behaviors. This study is the first comprehensive study on the food waste behaviors of Korean households and determinants, providing, based on the analysis of the first representative national-level household survey, useful insights and policy implications for countries with a similar environment and situation to Korea. This study found that approximately 63% of households discharge food waste of less than 500 g a day, and the amount varies by region significantly, implying a potential possibility of food waste reduction by regionally differentiated strategies. It is also found that the amount of food waste is on the rise in Korea, and the most widely used volume-rate disposal system in Korea is public food waste collection boxes (29.44%). Regression analyses indicate that policy efforts should focus on raising awareness of the importance of reducing food waste; for example, by promoting campaigns to encourage desirable food purchases, implementing dietary education, and discovering an optimal volume-rate disposal system that is regionally specific. This study suggest that the Korean government should actively participate in international efforts, establish an integrated system in which stakeholders and policy makers can cooperate, develop indicators and set targets for food waste reduction, and encourage diverse implementation to develop policies tailored to domestic and regional environments.
Enterprise Architecture: A Business Value Realization Model
Authors: Alwadain Ayed
Published: October 2020

Today, as organizations face constant change, they must rapidly adapt their strategies and operations. This involves continuous business transformation. However, guiding and managing such transformation can be an intimidating task because of organizational complexity. Hence, organizations resort to Enterprise Architecture (EA) to address this complexity and achieve their transformation goals. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research on EA benefits realization and a dearth of conclusive evidence on how EA enables business transformation and delivers value to organizations. Therefore, this research uses a case study method to explore how EA investment is converted into organizational value. This research makes two contributions. The first of these is the development of an EA value realization model, which comprises three iterative and interrelated processes: the EA conversion process, the EA use process, and the EA competitive process. The second contribution is the identification of factors that may influence the value realization process.
Sustainable Care in a Familialist Regime: Coping with Elderly Care in Slovenia
Authors: Hrast Maša Filipovič , Hlebec Valentina , Rakar Tatjana
Published: October 2020

In countries with prevalent family care and less developed care services, it is important to understand the ways families cope with the care needs of their frail family members as part of policy learning to make care systems more sustainable. Filial care is a vital element of family care, yet is significantly restrained by the involvement of carers in the labour market; unequal gender distribution of the care burden; and insufficient recognition of, and policy support, for family care. This article considered the issue of the sustainability of elderly care in a familialist country, Slovenia, by identifying the coping strategies families adopt for the provision of care. To this end, in-depth qualitative data based on a purposeful sample of 55 community-resident users of social home care services and their 55 family carers were used. We identified five external coping strategies: use of formal care services, use of extended family network, use of wider community network, cohabitation, and home adjustments. Among internal strategies, we detected work-related adjustments; abandoning leisure activities; abandoning vacations; establishing new routines; accepting and finding satisfaction in care; increased psychological distress, such as worries and overburdening; and some unmet care recipient needs. Very few strategies may be described as supported by policy actions, despite such support being essential for increasing the sustainability of the family-based care model.
Factors Influencing the Sale of Local Products through Short Supply Chains: A Case of Family Dairy Farms in Slovakia
Authors: Horská Elena , Petriľák Marek , Šedík Peter , Nagyová Ľudmila
Published: October 2020

Increasing consumption of local products is a key factor for sustainable agriculture. This study deals with the factors that influence the sales of local products with a focus on value-added dairy products. The research involved 30 family businesses operating in the agro-sector. Primary data were obtained by a detailed online questionnaire survey. For deeper examination, five hypotheses were determined and statistically tested using the Friedman test and Nemenyi method. Using the acquired theoretical background and empirical research in a set of family farms, we can state that the goal of farmers is to sell their products through the shortest possible route directly to the consumer. The most commonly used tools of a short supply chain are on-farm sales and telephone order sales, on the other hand, farms rarely sell products in farmers’ markets, celebrations and anniversaries or e-shops, even though these tools all have great potential. The results show that farmers consider the product itself (quality, freshness, locality) to be the most important factor when selling local products, as well as customer recommendations and loyalty. Based on the results of the research, we propose to streamline sales support through new forms of marketing approaches to premium products, such as locally fresh products produced on family farms.
Data Augmentation vs. Domain Adaptation—A Case Study in Human Activity Recognition
Authors: Spyrou Evaggelos , Mathe Eirini , Pikramenos Georgios , Kechagias Konstantinos , Mylonas Phivos
Published: October 2020

Recent advances in big data systems and databases have made it possible to gather raw unlabeled data at unprecedented rates. However, labeling such data constitutes a costly and timely process. This is especially true for video data, and in particular for human activity recognition (HAR) tasks. For this reason, methods for reducing the need of labeled data for HAR applications have drawn significant attention from the research community. In particular, two popular approaches developed to address the above issue are data augmentation and domain adaptation. The former attempts to leverage problem-specific, hand-crafted data synthesizers to augment the training dataset with artificial labeled data instances. The latter attempts to extract knowledge from distinct but related supervised learning tasks for which labeled data is more abundant than the problem at hand. Both methods have been extensively studied and used successfully on various tasks, but a comprehensive comparison of the two has not been carried out in the context of video data HAR. In this work, we fill this gap by providing ample experimental results comparing data augmentation and domain adaptation techniques on a cross-viewpoint, human activity recognition task from pose information.
Spatiotemporal Distribution and Genetic Characterization of Measles Strains Circulating in Greece during the 2017–2018 Outbreak
Authors: Pogka Vasiliki , Horefti Elina , Evangelidou Maria , Kostaki Evangelia Georgia , Paraskevis Dimitrios , Flountzi Anastasia , Georgakopoulou Theano , Magaziotou Ioanna , Mentis Andreas , Karamitros Timokratis
Published: October 2020

Between May 2017 and November 2018, Greece has experienced a severe measles outbreak with a total of 3258 cases reported, after reaching its goal of eliminating measles since 2014–2015. In this study, we aimed to investigate the origin and the dispersal patterns of the measles strains that circulated in Greece during this outbreak and to identify possible transmission patterns of measles virus (MeV) in the country. Of the 832 measles suspect cases referred to the National Measles and Rubella Reference Laboratory for MeV RNA detection, 131 randomly selected positive samples, representative of the temporal and spatial distribution of the laboratory-confirmed measles cases in Greece, were processed for genotypic identification by an RT-PCR amplification of a 598 bp fragment containing the 450 bp hypervariable region of the measles virus N gene. Phylogenetic analysis was carried out by the approximate maximum likelihood method (ML) under the generalized time-reversible (GTR + cat) model. All samples analyzed were found to belong to genotype B3. Comparative analysis with other European and reference measles strains revealed three separate major clusters and other multiple viruses circulating simultaneously in Greece. They were all isolated from three main community groups, Greek-Roma children, non-minority Greek nationals and immigrants/refugees, a finding that is in accordance with what was also observed in the last two measles outbreaks in 2005–2006 and 2010–2011. Notably, for one of the three clusters, no similarity was detected with previously reported prototype strains. Our results indicate the need for a more intensive vaccination program against measles amongst minority populations and in refugee hot-spots as well as the importance of molecular surveillance as a tool for monitoring measles outbreaks.
Recent Progress of Biomarker Detection Sensors
Authors: Liu Ruitao , Ye Xiongying , Cui Tianhong
Published: October 2020

Early cancer diagnosis and treatment are crucial research fields of human health. One method that has proven efficient is biomarker detection which can provide real-time and accurate biological information for early diagnosis. This review presents several biomarker sensors based on electrochemistry, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), nanowires, other nanostructures, and, most recently, metamaterials which have also shown their mechanisms and prospects in application in recent years. Compared with previous reviews, electrochemistry-based biomarker sensors have been classified into three strategies according to their optimizing methods in this review. This makes it more convenient for researchers to find a specific fabrication method to improve the performance of their sensors. Besides that, as microfabrication technologies have improved and novel materials are explored, some novel biomarker sensors—such as nanowire-based and metamaterial-based biomarker sensors—have also been investigated and summarized in this review, which can exhibit ultrahigh resolution, sensitivity, and limit of detection (LoD) in a more complex detection environment. The purpose of this review is to understand the present by reviewing the past. Researchers can break through bottlenecks of existing biomarker sensors by reviewing previous works and finally meet the various complex detection needs for the early diagnosis of human cancer.
SAĞLIK SEKTÖRÜNDE KAMU-ÖZEL İŞBİRLİĞİ ANLAŞMALARINDAN DOĞAN UYUŞMAZLIKLARIN ÇÖZÜMÜNE DAİR TAHKİM DÜZENLEMESİ
Authors: AYGÜL Musa , ERDOĞAN Ersin
Published: October 2020

Bu çalışmada Sağlık Bakanlığınca Kamu Özel İş Birliği Modeli İle Tesis Yaptırılması, Yenilenmesi ve Hizmet Alınması İle Bazı Kanun ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun m. 4/11 ile KÖİ’ye dayalı olarak yapılacak sözleşmelerden kaynaklanan uyuşmazlıkların çözüm yolları başlığı ile düzenlenen tahkim kaydı incelenmektedir. Söz konusu düzenleme bağlamında, KÖİ Kanunu’na tâbi uyuşmazlıklarda hakem kararının milliyeti ve bu Kanuna dayalı olarak verilen hakem kararlarına karşı başvuru yolları ile kanuna aykırılığın sonuçları tartışılmıştır. Bu kapsamda, tahkim yerinin Türkiye olarak belirlendiği uyuşmazlıklarda, hakem kararının millî olduğu konusunda bir tereddüt bulunmamaktadır. Tahkim yerinin yabancı bir ülke olarak belirlendiği uyuşmazlıklar açısından ise, yabancı hakem kararı gündeme gelecektir. KÖİ Kanununa aykırı olarak verilmiş hakem kararlarına karşı başvuru yolları açısından ise üç hususta inceleme yapılmıştır. Buna göre tahkim sözleşmesinin geçerliliği tahkim yerinin Türkiye olması hâlinde, Türk hukukuna tâbi olacaktır. Tahkim yerinin yurt dışında olması hâlinde, tahkim sözleşmesinin geçerliliği tahkim yeri hukukuna tâbi olmalıdır. Tahkim yerinin Türkiye dışında olduğu davalarda tahkimin MTK’ya tâbi tutulması, tahkim usulünün (MTK m. 8) taraflarca kararlaştırılması olarak yorumlanmalıdır. MTK’nın uygulanmaması, söz konusu hakem kararının tenfizinin reddine sebebiyet verebilir. KÖİ Kanunu m. 4/11’in emredici bir kural olduğunda tereddüt edilmemelidir. Ancak bu hükme uyulmaması, kamu düzenine aykırılık olarak yorumlanmamalıdır.
Passion and Love (P/L) with Knowledge and Understanding (K/U): Coherence, Concurrence, Congruence and Coexistence of Passions and Knowledge in Human Mind
Authors: Ahamed Syed V
Published: October 2020

This paper deals with the development of personality in two parallel tracks as an infant evolves to be a unique individual in society. The primary track is based on the acquired knowledge that is appended to the genetic code or information that the infant inherits from both parents. This track is essential for survival and is the primary instinct to just live on from one moment to the next. It shapes a baby from an infant in the world, a child in a family, a person in a society. If this progression can be conceived as an evolutionary trail for the progress in an orderly fashion to enhance and grow in a knowledge domain, then a secondary, simultaneous and a parallel track also evolves to shape the emotions of the baby, the feeling of the child and the passion of the person. The feeling, emotions, and passions exist during every stage, however unperceived they might be. The baby smiles and cries, and is happy just as much as a child is joyful or sad, or is excited. As much as this parallelism exists, we extend the parallel evolution of the two tracks deep and prolonged into adulthood, maturity, and old age of the human being in the society. Whereas the knowledge trail enhances the child, adult, and mature human to become educated, knowledgeable, wise, and ethical, the passion trail deeply resident in the mind, makes the person (during all stages of life) realistic, honest, loving, and passionate.
PERAN PENGETAHUAN KONSUMEN, KETERLIBATAN KONSUMEN, DAN FAKTOR PSIKOLOGIS KONSUMEN PADA INTENSI BERALIH PELANGGAN DEPARTMENT STORE PURWAKARTA KE BELANJA DARING
Authors: Maulana Indra
Published: October 2020

In 2017, retail business has decreased. Moreover, these days, conventional retail businesses such as department store isn’t only competing with similar businesses. Yet, also compete with businesses that use online shopping methods. The rapid of technological advancement and idea of easy access, encourage consumers to have the intention of switching from conventional shopping to online shopping which is considered effective and efficient. This research was conducted to determine the factors that influence the Customer Switching Intention. In this research, three variables that are expected to influence customer switching intention are Consumer Knowledge (X1), Consumer Involvement (X2) and costumer psychological factor (X3). The Data was collected using accidental sampling technique by spreading questionnaires to 100 respondents who are consumers of department store Purwakarta and also had experience of shopping online. Research data is then analyzed through software SPSS 23. From the results of the research, partially, Consumer Knowledge, Consumer Involvement and costumer psychological factor have positive and significant impact on Customer Switching Intention. And all dependent variables simultaneously affect Customer Switching Intention with the value of F count 45,860 and significance level 0,000 < 0,05. And the value of R Square shows the results of 0.589 which means that the whole of the dependent variables simultaneously as much as 58.9%.
ANALISIS PENGGUNAAN PEMBIAYAAN MUDHARABAH DAN PEMBIAYAAN MUSYARAKAH TERHADAP PROFITABILITAS DI BANK UMUM SYARIAH PERIODE 2015-2018
Authors: Zakaria Heikal Muhammad , Manda Gusganda Suria , Rakhman Arif
Published: October 2020

This study is aiming to determine the effect of mudharabah financing on the profitability (ROA) in Sharia Commercial Banks (BUS) for the 2015-2018 period, the effect of musyarakah financing on the profitability (ROA) on Sharia Commercial Banks (BUS) for the 2015-2018 period, and the effect of mudharabah and musyarakah financing on the profitability (ROA) in Sharia Commercial Banks (BUS) for the 2015-2018 period. This research is a type of associative research with a quantitative approach. This study  uses secondary data with the period of 2015-2018 observation. The data used is sourced from the Sharia Banking (SPS) and the Sharia Bank's annual financial statements from 2015 to 2018. The analysis used is multiple linear regression analysis. Data is processed using SPSS version 16. The results of the study show that mudharabah financing has a significant positive effect on the profitability (ROA) of Sharia Commercial Banks (BUS) for the 2015-2018 period. Musyarakah financing has a significant negative effect on profitability (ROA) of Sharia Commercial Banks (BUS) for the 2015-2018 period. Mudharabah financing and musyarakah financing have a positive significant effect on the profitability (ROA) of Sharia Commercial Banks (BUS) for the 2015-2018 period.
Carsharing in Deutschland
Authors: Schmöller Stefan , Niels Tanja , Hardt Cornelius , Lippoldt Katrin , Dandl Florian , Bogenberger Klaus
Published: October 2020

In den letzten Jahrzehnten entwickelten sich verschiedene Carsharing-Modelle ausgehend vom stationsbasierten System, das nur Rundfahrten zuließ, bis hin zu free-floating Systemen mit flexibler Fahrzeugrückgabe innerhalb eines Geschäftsgebiets. Für Betreiber ist eine raumzeitliche Analyse der Nachfrage unabdinglich, um die Fahrzeugverfügbarkeit durch Reallokationen bestmöglich der Nachfrage anzugleichen. In diesem Artikel werden Carsharing-Systeme, aktuelle Entwicklungen, Nutzer- und Nachfrageanalysen sowie Reallokationsansätze vorgestellt.
Ridepooling, Mobility-on-demand, fahrerlose Busshuttles – Zur Psychologie des Teilens von Fahrten in bedarfsgesteuerten Mobilitätskonzepten
Authors: König Alexandra , Grippenkoven Jan
Published: October 2020

Geteilte, bedarfsgesteuerte Mobilitätskonzepte besitzen ein großes Potential, unsere Mobilität im urbanen als auch im ländlichen Raum grundlegend zu verändern. Bestehende Kriterien zur Messung der Servicequalität in öffentlichen Verkehrssystemen müssen in Bezug auf diese Mobilitätskonzepte reflektiert und angepasst werden, da sie deren räumliche und zeitliche Flexibilität nicht abzubilden vermögen. Der Beitrag stellt erste Forschungsergebnisse vor und leitet Thesen und weiteren Forschungsbedarf ab, die sich aus psychologischer Sicht ergeben.
Automatisierte Kleinbusse im Öffentlichen Personennahverkehr – Akzeptanz und Nutzungsintentionen in Deutschland
Authors: Kostorz Nadine , Hilgert Tim , Kagerbauer Martin
Published: October 2020

Der Einsatz automatisierter Kleinbusse im öffentlichen Personennahverkehr gewinnt für die Zukunft zunehmend an Relevanz. Nutzerakzeptanz und ihre Einflussfaktoren sind jedoch bisher weitestgehend unerforscht. Zur Analyse der Wahrnehmung der Kleinbusse wurde eine explorative Studie in Form einer deutschlandweiten Onlinebefragung durchgeführt. Die deskriptive Auswertung der Ergebnisse zeigt eine Offenheit gegenüber der neuen Technologie. Als wichtigste Einstellung wurde mit der Hauptkomponentenanalyse die „Positive Einstellung zu automatisierten Kleinbussen“ identifiziert.
Verkehrliche und ökologische Wirkungen des automatisierten und vernetzten Fahrens
Authors: Krail Michael
Published: October 2020

Wird die Entwicklung des automatisierten und vernetzten Fahrens auf der Straße zu steigenden Treibhausgasemissionen führen oder kann sie dazu beitragen, das gesamte Verkehrssystem bis zum Jahr 2050 klimaschonender zu gestalten? Um diese Frage zu beantworten bedarf es einer Potenzialabschätzung, die sowohl die technische Entwicklung, die Akzeptanz als auch die verkehrlichen Wirkungen der Technikfolgen berücksichtigt.
Internetbasierte Mobilitätsdienste – Ein Lösungsansatz zur effizienten individuellen Mobilität?
Authors: Schuster Thomas , Waidelich Lukas
Published: October 2020

Mobilität ist durch Individualverkehr geprägt. Dies prägt nach wie vor die Infrastrukturentwicklung unserer Städte. Das Modell der autofreundlichen Stadt hat sich stark weiterentwickelt, offenbart jedoch Effizienzschwächen. In aufstrebenden Metropolen mit hohen Wachstumsraten verschärft sich dies. Neben Überlastung ist Umweltverschmutzung ein Hauptproblem. In diesem Artikel geben wir einen Überblick über neue, digitale Mobilitätsdienste, die auch intermodale Angebote beinhalten und diskutieren mögliche Auswirkungen.
Ethnic diversity and informal work in Ghana
Authors: Awaworyi Churchill Sefa , Danquah Michael
Published: October 2020

We present the first study that examines the effects of ethnic diversity on informal work. Using two waves of data from the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey, we find that ethnic diversity is associated with a higher probability of engaging in informal work. Specifically, our instrumental variable estimates suggest that a unit increase in ethnic diversity is associated with up to a 26.3 percentage point increase in the probability of engaging in informal work. This result is robust to alternative estimation approaches and alternative ways of measuring ethnic diversity. Our results also show that trust, which is lower in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods, is an important channel through which ethnic diversity operates to increase the probability of engaging in informal work. Our results point to the need for policies that promote trust between diverse ethnic groups in heterogeneous societies.
WEKA Veri Madenciliği Yazılımının Sürümleri Arasındaki Kalite Değişimlerinin QMOOD ile İncelenmesi
Authors: GÜNDÜZ Hakan
Published: October 2020

QMOOD (Quality Model for Object Oriented Design), dört katmandan oluşan ve bu katmanlar arasındaki ilişkileri değerlendiren hiyerarşik yapılı bir tasarım kalite modelidir. Bu model nesneye dayalı yazılım metriklerini kullanarak yazılım kalite niteliklerinin değerlerini hesaplar. Bu çalışmada, QMOOD kullanılarak, açık kaynak kodlu WEKA veri madenciliği yazılımı sürümlerinin kalite değişimleri gözlenmiştir. Yazılıma yeni sürümlerde farklı özelliklerin eklenmesi ve yazılım tasarım yapısının değişmesi QMOOD'un işlevsellik, esneklik ve yeniden kullanılabilirlik gibi niteliklerini doğrudan etkilerken, sürümlerin kalıtım hiyerarşisi değişikliği ise genişletilebilirlik ve etkinlik niteliklerinin puanlarında oynaklığa sebep olmuştur. Anlaşılırlık niteliğinin değerini ise yeni sürümlerde artan metot ve sınıf sayısı olumsuz yönde etkilemiştir. Çalışmanın sonucunda QMOOD ile elde edilen kalite puanlarıyla WEKA sürümlerindeki yapısal değişimlerin paralel olduğu gözlenmiştir.