bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Communication as a Marketing Strategy: Cross-cultural Analysis of Young People from Mexico and Colombia Based on Demographic Segmentation
Authors: Gómez María Cristina Otero , Pérez Wilson Giraldo
Published: May 2018

The purpose of this article is to rank and analyze the acceptance of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) from the perspective of young people. This comparative study was done with university students from the cities of Villavicencio, Colombia and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. A quantitative research was conducted through the use of 1591 surveys done by subjects between 17 and 25 years of age. The results showed that there are no significant differences regarding the ranking of these IMC tools. All the participants coincided in deeming direct marketing as the most important tool and sales promotion as the least important one. However, the demographic analysis by nationalities showed that there are differences in those assessments. The conclusion is that young consumers prioritize personal selling because the seller seeks to understand and satisfy their needs in the consumption of goods and services.
A Semi Autonomous Model to Strengthen the Lowest Bureaucracy: A Case Study in Wonosobo Regency, Central Java, Indonesia
Authors: Simin Simin , Harsanto Bambang Tri , Rosyadi Slamet , Wahyuningrat Wahyuningrat
Published: May 2018

Local government law changes in Indonesia have brought a significant change in terms of authority management in particular kelurahan government as the lowest bureaucracy. Previously, some Kelurahans have the authority to manage and develop funds to improve the community welfare. However, they just recently conduct the administrative functions to implement some duties from the upper government level. This change negatively influences the performance level of Kelurahans. Using some kelurahans in Wonosobo Regency Central Java with a qualitative method, this research tries to explore what consequences may occur as the result of local governance law changes. The results suggest that there should be various efforts to strengthen the institutional capacity of Kelurahans instead of letting them have poor performance. This research provides the theoretical and practical knowledge on the semi autonomous model of lowest bureaucracy for strengthening institutional capacity. Implication of findings from this research is the lowest governmental institution needs to be empowered with more authorities and development budgets in order to improve their actions for the community welfare.
Architects’ View on Design Consideration that Can Reduce Maintenance Cost
Authors: Izobo-Martins Oladunni Oluwatoyin , Eghosa Ekhaese , Emmanuel Ayo-Vaughan Kunle
Published: May 2018

Buildings are designed with the intent of lasting for a certain period of time. Building maintenance in different building typology is described as multi-faceted activities which involve planning, directing, controlling and organizing resources for the sustenance of the building’s physical, functional and operational performance. The research focused on ways cost of maintaining a building was done, effectively or efficiently with the influence of the design approach used. Literatures of works pertaining to building maintenance were reviewed to identify the various impacts, influences that a building design would have on the cost of maintaining any building type. Maintenance departments of educational institutions were surveyed and data analyzed. The study revealed that maintenance culture of buildings could either be positive or negative, based on the quality of design approach used. The study recommends a proper review of building codes and regulations by organizations intending to erect building structures with a view of designers to specified standards and prevent excess maintenance cost in the future.
Service Innovation in Local Government: Analysis of Business Information Services in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia
Authors: Ahmad Badu
Published: May 2018

This article aimed to determine and analyze the implementation of innovation forms as well as the factors supporting and inhibiting the implementation of innovation in local government level. The research was conducted in three regions in South Sulawesi province: Bantaeng, East Luwu, and Makassar. The results of the research showed that the service innovation implemented in South Sulawesi was quite varied but has the same objective, i.e giving satisfactory service of business licenses for society. Bantaeng Regency Government implemented click innovation, changes employees’ behavior without illegal charges and license delivery to applicant's home. Similarly, the East Luwu Regency government intensively innovated the management and one-day issuance of business license. While the Makassar Municipal Government focused more on weekend service innovation, delivering and picking up license documents. Supporting factors for service innovation in the three regions were regulation and commitment of the local governments while the inhibiting factors of innovation implementation were the limited fund and incompetent personnel in service duties.
Relationship between Selected School Determinants and Examination Cheating tendencies among Kenyan Secondary School Students
Authors: Owenga John Timon Odhiambo , Raburu Pamela A. , Aloka Peter J. O.
Published: May 2018

The present study investigated the relationship between selected school determinants and examination cheating among Kenyan secondary school students. This study used a Sequential Explanatory design in Mixed Methods approach. The target population was 51,900 students in Kisumu County within 153 public secondary schools categorized as 2 National secondary schools, 21 extra county schools, and 130 county and sub-county schools with a total student population of 51,900 in Kisumu County. A simple random sampling technique was used to determine sample size which comprised of 380 respondents since the study was confined within specific ecological boundary which was public secondary schools. Data collection instruments included questionnaires, for general data collection from the respondents and in-depth interview schedules for one to one interview of respondents. The finding of the study shows that there was statistically significant, though weak, positive correlation (r=.211, n=360, p<.05) between school determinants and overall perceived level of exams cheating. The model shows that school determinants accounted for 4.5% (Coefficient R2= .045) of the variation in exams cheating among the students in secondary schools. The Ministry of Education should create ethical academy that would enhance a systems approach to understand misconduct and to empower change in higher education through ethical examinations. This is because the study reported that examination cheating is mainly determined by teachers with low ethical standards.
A new synonym of Weissia jamaicensis (Pottiaceae, Bryophyta), and extension of its range from the Neotropics to the Palaeotropics
Authors: Müller Frank , Sollman Philip , Lautenschläger Thea
Published: May 2018

Tortella opaca, an African moss species described from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, is taxonomically assessed and stated to be conspecific with Neotropical Weissia jamaicensis. A lectotype of Tortella opaca is selected. The discovery of Weissia jamaicensis in Uíge Province, northern Angola, and in Lusaka Province, Zambia, is reported. Diagnostic features of W. jamaicensis are given in relation to similar species and are illustrated, and the phytogeographic importance of its records in the Palaeotropics is highlighted.
Evaluating the performance of some Primitive Wheat Triticum dicoccum Genotypes
Authors: Saleh Maysoun M. , Moussa Dyab S. , Alkaraki Nader I. , Abdurahman Abbas Lateef
Published: May 2018

Seven wheat genotypes (Triticum dicoccum) and the local check sham5 variety were planted during  growing season 2010/2011under rainfed conditions using RCBD with three replications. Yield components (number of total and fertile tillers, number and weight of grains per spike, weight of thousand grain and individual plant grain yield) were studied in two sites in order to define the differences between the studied genotypes in both sites and to provide the superior genotypes for breeding programs. Results showed that the genotype PW70 was significantly superior in (grain yield, number and weight of grain per spike) comparing to check. While, the genotypes (PW96, PW119, PW123) were significantly superior in thousand grain weight comparing to check, as well as the genotype (PW81, PW127) were significantly superior in total and fertile tillers number comparing to check. Most traits were significantly superior in Al-Ghab site.
UTILIZATION OF FOUR SUDANESE WILD FRUITS TO PRODUCE NECTARS
Authors: RAHMAN NAWAL A. ABDEL- , ELRAKHA B. BABIKER INNAM I. AWAD,
Published: May 2018

Doum (Hyphaene thebaica L), kirkir (Randia geipaeflora), karmadoda (Naucleae latifolia) and godeim (Grewia tenax) are some of the indigenous fruits in Sudan. The aim of this investigation is to process nectars from the edible part of these fruits. Doum and kirkir fruits were soaked in water in variable ratios for different durations of time to obtain the highest total soluble solids, total solids and total extractable matter. The pulps of karmadoda and godeim fruits were obtained mechanically by adding water, blanching and pulping with pulper machine. Results showed that soaking of doum and kirkir fruits at ratios 1: 4/2 h and 1: 4/8 h, respectively, were the most appropriate methods for extraction. The total solids (TS) obtained were 10.61 and 10.32 %, total soluble solids (TSS) 10.50 and 9.50%, and the total extractable matters (TEM) were 26.06 and 23.69%, respectively. However, blanching karmadoda fruit in water at a ratio of 1: 2/10 min gave total solids of 5.63% and total soluble solids of 5.00%. The nectars made were subjected to organoleptic evaluation. The results suggested that processing of nectars from forest fruits by direct extraction gave excellent sensory characteristics for human consumption.
COATING OF GUAVA (PSIDIUM GUAJAVA L.) FRUITS WITH BOTANICAL EDIBLE OILS FOR SHELF LIFE AND FRUIT FLIES
Authors: NAWAL A. ABDELRAHMAN ESAMELDIN B. M. KABBASHI, , MODATHIR MOHAMED , SIYAM AWAD S. A.
Published: May 2018

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruit is a popular nutritious dessert in Sudan. It is famous for its medicinal values as a prompt cure for digestive disorders and respiratory ailness this besides being a rich source of C vitamin. This fruit is highly amenable to fruit fly attack and it is a harbor of eggs of five different species [Ceratitis capitata Wied.; Ceratitis quinaria Bez.; Ceratitis cosyra Wlk.; Bactrocera invadens De Trusta and White and Bactrocera zonata (Saunders)] in Sudan. This is stimulating to a chain of endless research to combat these notorious pests which account for huge losses in this crop that reach up to 80% or even more. This research aimed at evaluating the effect of oil coating on fruit fly infestation and the quality indexes in guava fruit using five different botanical edible oils. The results showed that groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) (GNO), sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) (SO), baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) (BO), olive (Olea europaea L.) (OO) and neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) (NO) oils effected a corrected disinfestation of 80, 72, 56, 52 and 28% in test fruits brought from Kadaro orchards North Khartoum, respectively. The corresponding average readings of maggots in infested fruits were 4, 17, 11, 5, 7 and [10 (for the first 4) and 26 for NO] in the control. Two essential quality indexes were checked in test fruits which included fruit color (FC) and firmness (FF). The corrected test readings reflected 64, 80, 44, 52,-4 and [8 (for the first 4) and 20 for NO] in the control sustained FC for GNO, SO, BO, OO, NO and the control, respectively. However, the corresponding readings for FF were 3 (medium) for all oils and 4 (soft) for the controls. These results reflect a potent and the best efficacy of peanut and sesame oils, of the five test oils, in controlling fruit flies in guava and extending its shelf life.
Phytobalneotherapy: When traditional herbal medicine meets spa therapy
Authors: Antonelli Michele , Donelli Davide
Published: May 2018

Phytobalneotherapy (or hay baths) is a balneological treatment which combines the effects of thermal baths and the properties of fermenting herbs. Alpine hay, made of many different herbs harvested in mountain fields, is traditionally used for this treatment. Some studies have investigated the effects of hay baths on health, underscoring potential their benefits for rheumatic conditions. In conclusion, phytobalneotherapy seems an interesting way to harness therapeutic properties of medicinal herbs in a way which appears to be tolerable and sustainable. Further investigation is needed.
Thyl Ulenspiegel du folklore au mythe [Thyl Ulenspiegel from folklore to myth]
Authors: Matel-Boatca Maria
Published: May 2018

The figure of Thyl Ulenspiegel has been subject to numerous interpretations starting with the German folklore of the 15th century and ending with the comic strip representations of the 21st century. From a chronological perspective, the etymological evolution of the name Ulenspiegel corresponds to the transfer of the hero from the German-speaking culture to the Flemish and French-speaking culture. At the same time, this phenomenon is parallel to the appropriation of orally transmitted folk tales by the written literature. The aim of the present article is to determine whether the appropriation of the hero in Belgian literature justifies his description as a mythical or as a legendary character.
Transient Hydrocolpos due to Vesicovaginal Reflux
Authors: Ramanathan Subramaniyan , Palaniappan Yegu , Al Heidous Mahmoud
Published: May 2018

Hydrocolpos is commonly due to obstructive causes such as imperforate hymen and vaginal septum. Transient hydrocolpos or non-obstructive hydrocolpos is an under-recognized entity due to a phenomenon called “vesicovaginal reflux” (VVR). It is commonly seen during voiding cystourethrography although it is not a familiar entity for radiologists. Failure to recognize VVR often leads to unnecessary higher imaging modalities. We report a case of young married woman who presented with daytime urinary continence and found to have transient hydrocolpos due to VVR.
Pragmatic competence of Indonesian EFL learners
Authors: Retnowaty Retnowaty
Published: May 2018

Pragmatic competence is the skill to communicate in foreign language intended meaning. The objective of the study is to describe pragmatic competence of Indonesian EFL learners. This study was using descriptive qualitative approach. The participants were EFL learners, especially students in the first semester which take English course in Balikpapan University majoring mathematics and Health and Safety Environment. Furthermore, pragmatic test in the form of multiple choice DCT was used to assess learners’ pragmatic competence. It was applying and/or adapting some of the items devised by Rover (2005: 122-129 and Hudson, Detmer and Brown (1995: 107-130) in Viljamaa (2012). Based on the analysis of the test, most learners have quite low pragmatic competence in implicature and speech act part. Although cultural background is usually a quite problem for us, it can be handled by a good cooperation and good awareness of pragmatic aspects between the speaker and the hearer. Therefore, we should increase our pragmatic competence in everyday life with many kinds of English activities because English is still a foreign language in Indonesia.
A study on the morphological awareness of intermediate level adult Turkish EFL learners
Authors: Aydin Fatma , Yildirim Ozgur
Published: May 2018

The purpose of the current study was to investigate morphological awareness of a group of intermediate level adult Turkish EFL learners. The participants of this study were 168 Turkish first year university students who were taking intermediate level English courses at a state university in Turkey. Morphological Awareness Test (MAT) was the data collection instrument of the study. MAT consists of two sections: Sentence Completion and Word Relation. The Sentence Completion section consists of 27 multiple-choice test items with the purpose of understanding whether the participants are aware of the grammatical and lexical functions of some common derivational suffixes in English. In the Word Relation section, the participants were provided with a list of 20 word pairs (real words), and asked whether the second word in each pair comes from the first word or not. For analyzing the data, first the descriptive statistics (mean scores and standard deviations) were calculated for the sections of MAT and for individual suffixes, then the comparisons between the sections and among the participants were made by using paired-samples t-tests and one-way repeated measures ANOVAs. Results of the study indicated that intermediate-level adult Turkish EFL learners participating in the present study had moderate to high morphological awareness; they performed better in the Word Relation task than in the Sentence Completion task; and they showed the best performance in the verb making suffixes.
Deconstruction of the character lydia bennet in jane austen’s pride and prejudice
Authors: Hayati Rita
Published: May 2018

Pride and Prejudice is one of the greatest literary work. It is a story about the Bennets daughters’ love life. One of whom is Lydia Bennet, assumed as the antagonist, whose character is going to be deconstructed using Derrida theory of Deconstruction. The purpose of this research is to find out how the readers’ interpretation over a character in a story may be different from what has been expected by the author. The readers, however, may attack what has been structured hierarchically once they doubt about what it is written in the text. Since family is the first to shape a child’s behaviour, thus Lydia’s parents as well as her four older sisters are responsible for her misbehaviour.
Exploring the use of english in instagram and its influence on the user’s identity
Authors: Nurhantoro Tri Septa , Wulandari Novi
Published: May 2018

English has been used widely in almost all international forums. In line with the rapid use of social media, in this case Instagram, English is also widely used as the language of self-expression by most of its users, both native and non-native speakers. At least, this is what happened in Indonesia. Most of Indonesian Instagram users, especially youth, use English to write their caption. This phenomenon is important to explore since there is a belief that by actively using a foreign language, it will reduce the sense of nationality within oneself, and even it will lead to the loss of one’s identity. Identity today becomes a very important issue since it shows the sense of belonging of oneself in his/her social interaction. The thing is that the social interaction model in social media is much more complex than the interaction model in the real life. In social media, most of the users do not merely want to show who they really are. They tend to have certain motive on how they can be accepted and appreciated by other users. In other words, they want to be the subject of attention instead of being themselves. Therefore, the concept of identity becomes blurred. Based on the previous description, through the direct observation method, this research aims to seek whether the use of English influences the identity of Indonesian users.
Multiple membrane extrusion sites drive megakaryocyte migration into bone marrow blood vessels
Authors: Brown Edward , Carlin Leo M , Nerlov Claus , Lo Celso Cristina , Poole Alastair W
Published: May 2018

Platelets, cells central to hemostasis and thrombosis, are formed from parent cell megakaryocytes. Although the process is highly efficient in vivo, our ability to generate them in vitro is still remarkably inefficient. We proposed that greater understanding of the process in vivo is needed and used an imaging approach, intravital correlative light electron microscopy, to visualize platelet generation in bone marrow in the living mouse. In contrast to current understanding, we found that most megakaryocytes enter the sinusoidal space as large protrusions rather than extruding fine proplatelet extensions. The mechanism for large protrusion migration also differed from that of proplatelet extension. In vitro, proplatelets extend by sliding of dense bundles of microtubules, whereas in vivo our data showed the absence of microtubule bundles in the large protrusion, but the presence of multiple fusion points between the internal membrane and the plasma membrane, at the leading edge of the protruding cell. Mass membrane fusion, therefore, drives megakaryocyte large protrusions into the sinusoid, significantly revising our understanding of the fundamental biology of platelet formation in vivo.
ВЛИЯНИЕ ФАКТОРОВ ФУНКЦИОНИРОВАНИЯ МОРСКОГО ТРАНСПОРТА НА РАЗВИТИЕ РЫНКОВ, РАЗМЕЩЕНИЕ ПРОИЗВОДИТЕЛЬНЫХ СИЛ, ПОВЫШЕНИЕ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ОБЩЕСТВЕННОГО ПРОИЗВОДСТВА И ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКУЮ БЕЗОПАСНОСТЬ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ В ПРЕДСТОЯЩИЕ ГОДЫ
Authors: Деленьян Борис Александрович
Published: May 2018

Цель работы — модернизация организационно-экономического обеспечения отраслевой системы управления морским транспортом РФ с учетом перспективных требований к его потенциалу и вкладу в решение народнохозяйственных задач национального и глобального масштаба. Методология работы: экономико-статистический анализ операционных результатов работы морского транспорта, система общенаучных методов научного познания (дедукция, индукция, анализ, синтез), народнохозяйственное планирование и прогнозирование. Результаты работы: комплексная оценка динамики операционных результатов работы морского транспорта РФ в 2015–2017 годах, авторский концептуальный подход в части понимания и прогнозирования роли и перспективного народнохозяйственного значения морского транспорта как ключевого компонента национального транспортного комплекса. Область применения результатов: государственная и корпоративные стратегии развития морского транспорта на среднесрочную и долгосрочную перспективу, отраслевые целевые комплексные программы, программы комплексного освоения территорий. Выводы: сделан вывод о наличии широких возможностей и резервов факторов функционирования морского транспорта, что влияет на развитие рынков, размещение производительных сил, повышение эффективности общественного производства и экономическую безопасность Российской Федерации в предстоящие годы. Все это станет доступно при условии коренной модернизации принципов и систем управления как в отраслевом, так и в региональном разрезах.
25-Й САММИТ АТЭС ВО ВЬЕТНАМЕ
Authors: Леженина Татьяна Владимировна , Куок Хунг Нгуен
Published: May 2018

Организованный в 1989 г. АТЭС превратился в одну из самых крупных интеграционных площадок мира, где обсуждаются и принимаются методом консенсуса решения, соответствующие ответам на вызовы и угрозы XXI в. и определяются цели и направления развития на перспективу. В АТЭС проходят открытые диалоги между развитыми и развивающимися странами в формате четырёх блоков и крупных групп стран. В АТЭС входит англо-саксонский блок (США–Канада–Австралия–Новая Зеландия), блок стран Северо-Восточной Азии (Китай, Япония, Республика Корея, к которому примыкает Россия), 10 стран-членов АСЕАН, новые индустриальные страны (Гонконг, Тайвань, Сингапур), блок стран Южной Америки (Мексика–Перу–Чили) и Папуа-Новая Гвинея (Океания). Она относится к отдалённым территориям. В 2018 г. этой стране будет передано председательство в АТЭС. В 2017 г. председателем в АТЭС был Вьетнам. Цель. Определить эффективность деятельности АТЭС в 2017 г., круг основных проблем и пути их решения. Задачи. Выявить резервы для устойчивого развития АТЭС и эффективной работы интеграционных союзов. Методология. В исследовании использованы общие методы научного познания, сравнительные методы по уровню развития стран-членов АТЭС. Результаты. Определены четыре приоритетные направления деятельности АТЭС: конкурентоспособность и потенциал инноваций малых и средних предприятий, сохранение продовольственной безопасности, распространение в АТЭС цифровой и интернет-экономики. Оценён вклад Транстихоокеанского партнёрства и новой интеграционной структуры ВРЭП, показаны преимущества свободной и открытой торговли и либерализации инвестиционного режима в АТР.
Analisis Kemampuan Bernalar Siswa SMA Kota Jambi
Authors: Utama Zaka Putra , Maison Maison , Syarkowi Ahmad
Published: May 2018

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk Mengetahui profil kemampuan bernalar ilmiah siswa SMA Negeri Kota Jambi. Jenis penelitian ini adalah deskriptif kuantitatif, adapun desain penelitiannya menggunakan survei type cross sectional design. Populasi pada penelitian ini adalah siswa SMA di Kota Jambi dengan jumlah keseluruhan adalah 12.107 siswa. Teknik sampling yang digunakan adalah convenience sampling. Adapun Sampel yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah 778 siswa yang berasal dari 9 sekolah Teknik Pengumpulan data penelitian ini menggunakan soal tes kemampuan penalaran dari lawson’s classroom test of scientific reasoning (CTSR) tahun 2000. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa 97% sampel berprofil konkrit. Dengan kemampuan Conservation of matter and volume sebagai kemampuan yang paling banyak dimiliki oleh siswa dengan persentase sebesar 32% dan kemampuan yang paling rendah yaitu kemampuan Proportional reasoning dengan persentase sebesar 8%. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa siswa belum bisa menggunakan nalar mereka untuk hal-hal yang abstrak. Secara umum tidak ada kemampuan bernalar yang memiliki persentase di atas 50% ini menandakan bahwa kemampuan bernalar siswa SMA masih sangat rendah dan mendasar. Kata Kunci : Profil, bernalar Ilmiah, SMA, Kota Jambi
Deskripsi Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis Siswa SMA melalui Model Pembelajaran CLIS (Children Learning In Science) Berbantuan LKS pada Materi Elastisitas dan Hukum Hooke
Authors: Renjani Metta Kisti Dewi , Susilawati Susilawati , Khoiri Nur
Published: May 2018

The aims of this study is to determine the improvement of students' critical thinking skills based on the application of CLIS method (Children Learning In Science) LKS assisted on elasticity and Hooke Law in SMA Negeri 1 Jakenan Pati. This research was conducted at SMA N 1 Jakenan Pati dated October 13 until October 24, 2017. This research used Quasi Experimental design in the form of pretest-posttest control group design. Population in this research is all class XI IPA in SMA Negeri 1 Jakenan Pati, while sample of research used consist of two classes taken by cluster random sampling technique so that obtained class XI IPA 8 which amounted to 40 students as experiment class using  CLIS method (Children Learning In Science) assisted by LKS, and XI IPA 7, amounting to 40 students as control class using Direct Instruction learning model. Based on the result of the research obtained the mean of pretest experimental class is 55,2 and control class 49,45, while value of experimental class postest 79,1 and control class 68,7. The hypothesis testing shows that with t test s2 polled variance magnitude thitung = 19.5 and ttabel = 1.66. This indicates thitung > ttabel, so Ho is rejected which means there is increasing in the effectiveness of CLIS learning method (Children Learning In Science) assisted by LKS on students' critical thinking ability.
Decision Support Information System for Urban Lighting
Authors: Giat Yahel , Dreyfuss Michael
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: This paper describes and information system for the maintenance and management of municipal lighting systems that also serves as a decision support tool for reducing power consumption on urban lighting.

Background: Many municipalities are financially constrained and unable to invest in improving their lighting infrastructure. We propose a very efficient and inexpensive way to set up the database and provide city leaders with tools to improve their system efficiently.

Methodology: An information database for the data management and an Integer Programming model for deriving the optimal investment plan.

Contribution: This paper contributes to the fields of urban economics and sustainability.

Findings: Informing management and workers about the status of the system and how to optimize it will reward the city with considerable savings and improve the service quality.

Recommendations for Practitioners: The application of this model, even in a small scale such as a neighborhood can improve citizen’s quality of life without a heavy burden on the city budget.

Recommendation for Researchers: There is a growing need for cost-effective means to improve urban management. Innovative ideas that meet these goals should be researched and developed.

Impact on Society: First, it allows reduction in carbon emissions and light pollution by reducing power consumption and over-luminous lighting levels. Second, financially constrained municipalities can manage their systems at a very low cost.

Future Research: A full scale application is needed in order to evaluate the city-wide benefits of the system.
An Analytical Investigation of the Characteristics of the Dropout Students in Higher Education
Authors: Mortagy Yehia , Boghikian-Whitby Seta , Helou Ibrahim
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: Student dropout in higher education institutions is a universal problem. This study identifies the characteristics of dropout. In addition, it develops a mathematical model to predict students who may dropout.

Methodology: The paper develops a mathematical model to predict students who may dropout. The sample includes 555 freshmen in a non-profit private university. The study uses both descriptive statistics, such as cross tabulation, and a binary regression model to predict student dropout.

Contribution: There are two major contributions for the paper. First, it identifies the dropout rates of each group, a finding that may be used to better allocate resources at higher education institutions. Second, it develops a predictive model that may be used in order to predict the probability of a student dropping out and take preventive actions.

Findings: This study compared dropout rates of one and a half year of enrollment among Traditional Undergraduate Students. Two major findings are the following: (1) Some of the resources designed to assist student are misallocated, and (2) Predictive models can be used to calculate the probability of a student dropping out.

Recommendations for Practitioners: The study recommends that institutions must create initiatives to assist freshmen students and have annual assessment to measure the success of the initiatives.

Recommendation for Researchers: Two, mathematical models may be used to predict dropout rates, the paper includes a model that predicted with 66.6% accuracy students who will dropout.
Medical Image Security Using Quantum Cryptography
Authors: Dayo Alowolodu Olufunso , K Adelaja Gabriel , K Alese Boniface , Catherine Olayemi Olufunke
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: Medical images are very sensitive data that can be transferred to medical laboratories, professionals, and specialist for referral cases or consultation. Strict security measures must be utilized to keep these data secured in computer networks when transferred to another party. On a daily basis, unauthorized users derive ways to gain access to sensitive patient medical information.

Background: One of the best ways to which medical image could be kept secured is through the use of quantum cryptography

Methodology : Applying the principles of quantum mechanics to cryptography has led to a remarkable new dimension in secured network communication infrastructure. This enables two legitimate users to produce a shared secret random bit string, which can be used as a key in cryptographic applications, such as message encryption and authentication.

Contribution: This paper can make it possible for the healthcare and medical professions to construct cryptographic communication systems to keep patients’ transferred data safe and secured.

Findings: This work has been able to provide a way for two authorized users who are in different locations to securely establish a secret network key and to detect if eavesdropping (a fraudulent or disruption in the network) has occurred

Recommendations for Practitioners: This security mechanism is recommended for healthcare providers and practitioners to ensure the privacy of patients’ medical information.

Recommendation for Researchers: This paper opens a new chapter in secured medical records
Impact on Society Quantum key distribution promises network security based on the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics by solving the problems of secret-key cryptography
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Future Research: The use of post-quantum cryptography can be further researched.
The Role of Informing Systems in Securing Sanity and Wisdom of the Globalizing Society in the Context of Civilization Sustainability in the 21st Century: The Case of Poland
Authors: S Targowski Andrew , Krawczyk Henryk
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: To monitor Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) established by the United Nations through the hierarchical architecture of informing systems

Background: The paper discusses the case of Poland and its Gdansk region

Contribution: The solution combines the big-picture of civilization with small-picture of a nation, regions, cities, and firms

Findings: The presented solution can be implemented if the political will can be secured.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Take the main idea of this paper and adapt to your local case.

Recommendation for Researchers: Develop some prototypes of presented informing systems and test in your local environment

Impact on Society: The success of the sustainability of globalizing society can be secured if the coherent informing systems can be applied to the planning, monitoring, and implementation of the UN's universal SDG.

Future Research: Work on the modeling of costs and benefits of the presented solution.
From Ignorance Map to Informing PKM4E Framework: Personal Knowledge Management for Empowerment
Authors: Schmitt Ulrich
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: The proposed Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) for Empowerment (PKM4E) Framework expands on the notions of the Ignorance Map and Matrix to support the educational and informing concept of a PKM system-in-progress.

Background: The accelerating information abundance is depleting the very attention our cognitive capabilities are able to master, contributing to widening individual and collective opportunity divides. Support is urgently needed to benefit Knowledge Workers irrespective of space (developed/developing countries), time (study or career phase), discipline (natural or social science), or role (student, professional, leader).

Methodology: The Design Science Research (DSR) project conceptualizing the PKM System (PKMS) aims to support a scenario of a ‘Decentralizing KM Revolution’ giving more power and autonomy to individuals and self-organized groups.

Contribution: The informing-science-related approach synthesizes and visualizes concepts related to ignorance and entropy, learning and innovation, chance discovery and abduction to inform diverse audiences and potential beneficiaries.

Findings: see Recommendation for Researchers

Recommendations for Practitioners: The PKM4E learning cycles and workflows apply ‘cumulative synthesis’, a concept which convincingly couples the activities of researchers and entrepreneurs and assists users to advance their capability endowments via applied learning.

Recommendation for Researchers: In substituting document-centric with meme-based knowledge bases, the PKMS approach merges distinctive voluntarily shared knowledge objects/assets of diverse disciplines into a single unified digital knowledge repository and provides the means for advancing current metrics and reputation systems.

Impact on Society: The PKMS features provide the means to tackle the widening opportunity divides by affording knowledge workers with continuous life-long support from trainee, student, novice, or mentee towards professional, expert, mentor, or leader.

Future Research: After completing the test phase of the PKMS prototype, its transformation into a viable PKM system and cloud-based server based on a rapid development platform and a noSQL-database is estimated to take 12 months.
Predicting Suitable Areas for Growing Cassava Using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning Techniques: A Study in Nakhon-Phanom Thailand
Authors: K Mbugua Joseph , Suksa-ngiam WATANYOO
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: Although cassava is one of the crops that can be grown during the dry season in Northeastern Thailand, most farmers in the region do not know whether the crop can grow in their specific areas because the available agriculture planning guideline provides only a generic list of dry-season crops that can be grown in the whole region. The purpose of this research is to develop a predictive model that can be used to predict suitable areas for growing cassava in Northeastern Thailand during the dry season.

Background: This paper develops a decision support system that can be used by farmers to assist them determine if cassava can be successfully grown in their specific areas.

Methodology: This study uses satellite imagery and data on land characteristics to develop a machine learning model for predicting suitable areas for growing cassava in Thailand’s Nakhon-Phanom province.

Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge by developing a novel model for predicting suitable areas for growing cassava.

Findings: This study identified elevation and Ferric Acrisols (Af) soil as the two most important features for predicting the best-suited areas for growing cassava in Nakhon-Phanom province, Thailand. The two-class boosted decision tree algorithm performs best when compared with other algorithms. The model achieved an accuracy of .886, and .746 F1-score.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Farmers and agricultural extension agents will use the decision support system developed in this study to identify specific areas that are suitable for growing cassava in Nakhon-Phanom province, Thailand

Recommendation for Researchers: To improve the predictive accuracy of the model developed in this study, more land and crop characteristics data should be incorporated during model development. The ground truth data for areas growing cassava should also be collected for a longer period to provide a more accurate sample of the areas that are suitable for cassava growing.

Impact on Society: The use of machine learning for the development of new farming systems will enable farmers to produce more food throughout the year to feed the world’s growing population.

Future Research: Further studies should be carried out to map other suitable areas for growing dry-season crops and to develop decision support systems for those crops.
A Data Science Enhanced Framework for Applied and Computational Math
Authors: McMaster Kirby , Sambasivam Samuel , Rague Brian , L Wolthuis Stuart
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: The primary objective of this research is to build an enhanced framework for Applied and Computational Math. This framework allows a variety of applied math concepts to be organized into a meaningful whole.

Background: The framework can help students grasp new mathematical applications by comparing them to a common reference model.

Methodology: In this research, we measure the most frequent words used in a sample of Math and Computer Science books. We combine these words with those obtained in an earlier study, from which we constructed our original Computational Math scale.

Contribution: The enhanced framework improves the Computational Math scale by integrating selected concepts from the field of Data Science.

Findings: The resulting enhanced framework better explains how abstract mathematical models and algorithms are tied to real world applications and computer implementations.

Future Research: We want to empirically test our enhanced Applied and Computational Math framework in a classroom setting. Our goal is to measure how effective the use of this framework is in improving students’ understanding of newly introduced Math concepts.
Changing Paradigms of Technical Skills for Data Engineers
Authors: Thomas Mason Robert
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: This paper investigates the changing paradigms for technical skills that are needed by Data Engineers in 2018.

Background: A decade ago, data engineers needed technical skills for Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS), such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. With the advent of Hadoop and NoSQL Databases in recent years, Data Engineers require new skills to support the large distributed datastores (Big Data) that currently exist. Job demand for Data Scientists and Data Engineers has increased over the last five years.

Methodology: This research methodology leveraged the Pig programming language that used MapReduce software located on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud. Data was collected from 100 Indeed.com job advertisements during July of 2017 and then was uploaded to the AWS Cloud. Using MapReduce, phrases/words were counted and then sorted. The sorted phrase / word counts were then leveraged to create the list of the 20 top skills needed by a Data Engineer based on the job advertisements. This list was compared to the 20 top skills for a Data Engineer presented by Stitch that surveyed 6,500 Data Engineers in 2016.

Contribution: This paper presents a list of the 20 top technical skills required by a Data Engineer.
Changes in Public Institutions as a Function of Technology and Its Impact on Society
Authors: A Meza Josueth
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this article is to establish the different impacts of technological changes in institutions generating irrevocable changes in today’s society.

Background: Technological changes have had a positive impact on many aspects of everyday life today, and it is natural that both public and private institutions benefit from this reality.

Methodology: The research method used is based on the explanatory approach, through the documentary review of secondary sources and research works.

Contribution: The implementation of electronic government in Ecuador is presented as a direct consequence of these technological developments with ways to direct and govern a country, which leads to competitive advantages in a world that is increasingly globalized.

Findings: In the institutions the only permanent thing is change, for which the changing and evolving fact that the public and private institutions of today must have is highlighted.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Results can inform to users the importance of the “new government” in a practical level.

Recommendation for Researchers: The influence of technology on how to govern and if this in some way improves the functioning of the State.

Impact on Society: Technological developments, which leads competitive advantages in a world that is increasingly globalized.

Future Research: Create discussion and have a starting point to compare the influence of technological government in different parts of the world.
Authentic Assessment Design in Accounting Courses: A Literature Review
Authors: A. Nkhoma Clara , Nkhoma Mathews , Ky Long Tu kilongtu@gmail.com
Published: May 2018

Aim/Purpose: Authentic assessments offer students the opportunity to develop skills that implement the formal learning they receive in the classroom. Although there is a need for accounting graduates to possess a plethora of skills to equip them for success, there is a shortage of literature that focuses on authentic assessment design for accounting courses. This paper aims to address this gap by compiling a toolkit for accounting educators aspiring to design and implement authentic assessments.

Background: This paper reviews examples of authentic assessments that are available and have been used by accounting educators and educators in general. It highlights the skills that might be developed with each assessment

Methodology: A review of 182 articles on authentic assessment design and examples of authentic assessments like portfolios, reflective journals, presentations, reports, peer and self-assessment was conducted.

Contribution: A toolkit with examples of authentic assessment to ease the task of authentic assessment design for those new to authentic assessment and seasoned authentic assessment practitioners alike.

Findings: Authentic assessments are a form of learning. They help graduates develop skills and attributes that will make them work-ready and capable of handling a lot of real life practical work situations. Rubrics are an important part of authentic assessment implementation and their use is mandated by business school accrediting bodies like AACSB.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Accounting educators may find guidelines in this paper which will help them understand authentic assessments and enlighten them on the challenges they may encounter when implementing the assessments.

Recommendation for Researchers: There is a need for future researchers to contribute more to this topic so as to increase the variety and amount of literature available for those wishing to engage with authentic curriculum design in accounting. Future researchers could also focus on the perceptions of authentic assessments of accounting educators, students and employers.

Impact on Society: This paper may also be of use to prospective employers wishing to gain a clear understanding of the skills inherent in prospective graduates who may have been exposed to authentic assessments. Accounting students and graduates may find this paper useful as it will help them comprehend the importance of some the assessments with the backing and assurance from the literature.

Future Research: Future research may focus on the challenges in implementing authentic assessments. It would also be great to see more research addressing the perceptions of educators towards authentic assessments.