bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Disturbance affects the contribution of coastal dune vegetation to carbon storage and carbon sequestration rate
Authors: Del Vecchio Silvia , Rova Silvia , Fantinato Edy , Pranovi Fabio , Buffa Gabriella
Published: June 2022

Coastal dune vegetation has been proved to contribute to several crucial ecosystem services, as coastal protection, water purification, recreation; conversely, its capacity to regulate the concentration of greenhouse gases received less attention. To fill this gap, the present work focalized on the assessment of the contribution of coastal dune herbaceous vegetation to carbon storage and carbon sequestration rate, also in relation to possible effects of disturbance. To this aim, we measured the dry biomass and carbon sequestration rate in three different vegetation types (foredune, dry grasslands, humid grasslands), and habitat patch attributes as proxies of the disturbance regime. Relationships between disturbance, and carbon storage and sequestration rate have been analysed by GLMMs. The target vegetation types did not equally contribute to the medium-long term sequestration of carbon with a gradient that increased from the seashore inlands and related to both the growth form and the strategy of resource acquisition of dominant species, and plant community attributes. Disturbance in the form of trampling negatively affected carbon sequestration rate. Results suggest that, when different plant communities are spatially interconnected, the landscape scale results in a better understanding of ecosystem dynamics, functioning and resistance to perturbations and allows to plan coherent management strategies.
Three more novel species of South Asian Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India
Authors: Khandekar Akshay , Thackeray Tejas , Agarwal Ishan
Published: June 2022

We describe three distinct, small-bodied, scansorial species of south Asian Cnemaspis from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India—Cnemaspis azhagusp. nov. from Thirukurungudi forest range, Cnemaspis mundanthuraiensissp. nov. from Mundanthurai forest range and Cnemaspis kalakadensissp. nov. from Kalakad forest range. Phylogenetic analyses using a partial sequence of the mitochondrial ND2 gene and general morphology places each of the three new species in the beddomei, gracilis and littoralis clades, respectively. The three new species are diagnosed from all other described members of their respective clades by a suite of differing morphological characters including snout vent length, number of dorsal tubercle rows at mid-body, number of paravertebral tubercles, presence or absence of spine-like scales on flanks, number of ventral scales across belly at mid-body, number of ventral scales from mental to anterior border of cloaca, number of lamellae under digit IV of pes, number of femoral and/or precloacal pores and poreless scales separating these series, as well as subtle colouration differences. We also provide some novel characters of tail tuberculation of the three new species described herein. With the discovery of these three new species, eight species of geckos including five Cnemaspis are now known to be endemic to KMTR.
Phylogenetic review of the millipede genus Cherokia Chamberlin, 1949 (Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae)
Authors: Vasquez-Valverde Luisa Fernanda , Marek Paul E.
Published: June 2022

The millipede genus Cherokia Chamberlin, 1949 is a monospecific taxon, with the type species Cherokia georgiana (Bollman, 1889). The last revision of the genus was made by Hoffman (1960) where he established three subspecies. Here we used molecular phylogenetics to assess the genus and evaluate whether it is a monophyletic group, and if the subspecies are each monophyletic. We included material from literature records and three natural history collections. Newly collected samples were obtained through a citizen science project. Morphological characters underlying subspecies groups—the shape of the paranota, body size, and coloration—were evaluated. A molecular phylogeny of the genus was estimated based on DNA sequences for seven gene loci, and a species delimitation analysis was used to evaluate the status of the subspecies. The documented geographical range of Cherokia in the United States was expanded to include a newly reported state record (Virginia) and about 160 new localities compared to the previously known range. Morphological characters, which included the shape of the paranota and body size that had been historically used to establish subspecies, showed clinal variation with a direct relationship with geographical distribution and elevation, but not with phylogeny. Coloration was highly variable and did not accord with geography or phylogeny. The phylogeny recovered Cherokia as a monophyletic lineage, and the species delimitation test supported the existence of a single species. The subspecies Cherokia georgiana ducilla (Chamberlin, 1939) and Cherokia georgiana latassa Hoffman, 1960 have been synonymized with Cherokia georgiana. The molecular and morphological evidence showed that Cherokia is a monospecific genus with the sole species, Cherokia georgiana, being geographically widespread and highly variable in its morphology.
Retinal Folds as a Clinical Feature of X-Linked Retinoschisis: A Series of Three Cases
Authors: Laura Diana M. , Ashkenazy Noy , Anzaldo Estephania Feria , Negron Catherin I. , Berrocal Audina M.
Published: June 2022

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:

The most common clinical features of X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) include macular schisis in a spoke wheel pattern and peripheral schisis, though other findings such as vitreous veils, vascular attenuation, and subretinal fibrosis have been described. This is the first report to describe retinal folds as a characteristic feature in patients with XLRS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

This was a case series of patients presenting to the retina service at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute with genetically confirmed XLRS. Patients included in this report underwent examination under anesthesia with multimodality imaging.

RESULTS:

Three patients with XLRS were found to have retinal folds, including a newly characterized “retinal scroll” seen on examination and multimodality imaging.

CONCLUSIONS:

The presence of a retinal fold should yield a differential diagnosis that includes XLRS in the correct clinical context. Panel-based genetic testing and multimodal imaging are useful in guiding clinical management.

[
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging
2022;53(6):326–331.]
Statistical properties of type D dispersing billiards
Authors: Brown Margaret , Nándori Péter
Published: June 2022

We consider dispersing billiard tables whose boundary is piecewise smooth and the free flight function is unbounded. We also assume there are no cusps. Such billiard tables are called type D in the monograph of Chernov and Markarian [9]. For a class of non-degenerate type D dispersing billiards, we prove exponential decay of correlation and several other statistical properties.
Regularity criteria for 3D MHD flows in terms of spectral components
Authors: Bravo-Olivares J. , Fernández-Cara E. , Notte-Cuello E. , Rojas-Medar M.A.
Published: June 2022

We extend the spectral regularity criteria of the Prodi-Serrin kind for the Navier-Stokes equations in a torus to the MHD equations. More precisely, the following is established: for any $ N > 0 $, let $ {{\boldsymbol x}}_{N} $ and $ {{\boldsymbol y}}_{N} $ be the sum of all spectral components of the velocity and magnetic field whose wave numbers possess absolute value greater that $ N $; then, it is possible to show that for any $ N $ the finiteness of the Prodi-Serrin norm of $ {{\boldsymbol x}}_{N} $ implies the regularity of the weak solution $ ({{\boldsymbol u}}, {{\boldsymbol h}}) $; thus, no restriction on the magnetic field is needed.
Numerical study of non-linear waves for one-dimensional planar, cylindrical and spherical flow using B-spline finite element method
Authors: Iqbal Azhar , Alsharif Abdullah M. , Albosaily Sahar
Published: June 2022

In a recent study, an evolution equation is found for waves' behavior at far-field with relaxation mode of molecules. An analytical technique was used to solve this evolution problem, which is a generalized Burger equation. The analytical approach has limitations and requires a very accurate initial guess by a trial method. In this paper, the evolution equation for one-dimensional planar, cylindrical, and spherical flow in the presence of relaxation mode is solved using a collocation approach with a cubic B-spline function. The numerical results are graphed and compared with the exact solution for planar flow. The obtained numerical results match the exact solution quite well and show that the technique is quite reliable and can deal with the nonlinearity involved in the present problem. Results have also been obtained for cylindrical and spherical flow at the far-field. The obtained numerical results show that the present approach with the cubic B-spline function works well and accurately. Fourier stability analysis is used to investigate the stability of the cubic B-spline collocation method.
$ A_{\alpha} $ matrix of commuting graphs of non-abelian groups
Authors: Rather Bilal A. , Ali Fawad , Ullah Nasim , Mohammad Al-Sharef , Din Anwarud , Sehra
Published: June 2022

For a finite group $ \mathcal{G} $ and a subset $ X\neq \emptyset $ of $ \mathcal{G} $, the commuting graph, indicated by $ G = \mathcal{C}(\mathcal{G}, X) $, is the simple connected graph with vertex set $ X $ and two distinct vertices $ x $ and $ y $ are edge connected in $ G $ if and only if they commute in $ X $. The $ A_{\alpha} $ matrix of $ G $ is specified as $ A_{\alpha}(G) = \alpha D(G)+(1-\alpha) A(G), \; \alpha\in[0, 1] $, where $ D(G) $ is the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees while $ A(G) $ is the adjacency matrix of $ G. $ In this article, we investigate the $ A_{\alpha} $ matrix for commuting graphs of finite groups and we also find the $ A_{\alpha} $ eigenvalues of the dihedral, the semidihedral and the dicyclic groups. We determine the upper bounds for the largest $ A_{\alpha} $ eigenvalue for these graphs. Consequently, we get the adjacency eigenvalues, the Laplacian eigenvalues, and the signless Laplacian eigenvalues of these graphs for particular values of $ \alpha $. Further, we show that these graphs are Laplacian integral.
Fourier transform based LSTM stock prediction model under oil shocks
Authors: Ren Xiaohang , Xu Weixi , Duan Kun
Published: June 2022

This paper analyses the impact of various oil shocks on the stock volatility prediction by using a Fourier transform-based Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model. Oil shocks are decomposed into five components following individual oil price change indicators. By employing a daily dataset involving S & P 500 stock index and WTI oil futures contract, our results show that different oil shocks exert varied impacts on the dynamics of stock price volatility by using gradient descent. Having exploited the role of oil shocks, we further find that the Fourier transform-based LSTM technique improves forecasting accuracy of the stock volatility dynamics from both statistical and economic perspectives. Additional analyses reassure the robustness of our findings. Clear comprehension of the future stock market dynamics possesses important implications for sensible financial risk management.
Botones de cachalote con perforación en V de Galeria da Cisterna (Sistema Kárstico de Almonda, Torres Novas, Portugal)
Authors: Zilhão João , Monge Soares António M. , Pereira Gonçalves António
Published: June 2022

La excavación de la necrópolis prehistórica de Galeria da Cisterna (1988-1989) recuperó los restos de varios individuos. La datación de cuatro de ellos demuestra que la cavidad fue usada con fines funerarios en época campaniforme. No se ha encontrado ningún fragmento de la característica cerámica del periodo, pero un pequeño fragmento de espiral en oro y un conjunto de botones con perforación en V justifican la asignación cultural del contexto. Su asociación con los restos humanos fechados puede considerarse segura. La observación macroscópica de los botones concluyó que la materia prima usada había sido el marfil de cachalote, lo que confirmó el análisis de densidad. Este indicador se eligió debido a que el análisis es no destructivo y discrimina bien los diferentes tipos de marfil conocidos en el Calcolítico de la península ibérica. La densidad media obtenida para los 13 botones de Galeria da Cisterna es de 2,32 ± 0,12, claramente por encima del rango de variación de los marfiles de elefante y de hipopótamo y acorde con el valor medio (2,2) publicado por Schuhmacher et al. (2013) para marfil de cachalote. El oro usado para la espiral es probablemente de origen local. Estos datos revelan la amplitud de las redes intrarregionales del Calcolítico de la península de Lisboa y sugieren que los intercambios extrarregionales serían bastante más limitados, puesto que los oros de los yacimientos coevos del Alentejo suelen tener una composición distinta y el cachalote no se ha podido identificar nunca entre sus marfiles (los cuales son de elefante norteafricano, raro en la península de Lisboa).
Role of Algae in Cancer
Authors: Md Akhir Fazrena Nadia , Mohd Nazaruddin Farhah Hanani , Othman Nor'azizi , Hara Hirofumi , Ahmad Imran
Published: June 2022

Cancer is ranked as the second most common cause of death worldwide and searching new therapeutic agents for cancer treatment remains a major challenge. Despite the remarkable developments in cancer therapy in past decades, there is still an insistent necessity for innovative drugs in cancer biology, particularly in the under-explored area of marine anticancer compounds. Algae are photosynthetic organisms consisting of a total of 30,000 species that thrive in a watery environment. The identification of novel natural products and metabolites extracted from algae with anticancer potential is a major step forward in cancer therapeutic studies. Considering the huge potential for developing innovative drugs from natural compounds derived from marine algae, only a few substances have been used in cancer therapy. In this review, the authors discussed the potential antitumor effect of various species of algae for future applications in pharmaceutical industries.
Contemplative Practice and Reflexivity for Emotion Regulation
Authors: Sappio Erin M. , Frable Jason
Published: June 2022

The historic roots of contemplative practice can be traced back to traditions in Buddhism, Confucianism, Aristotelian thought, and Christianity, with the most common contemplative practices including breathing meditation, quiet sitting, prayer, tai-chi, qigong, and yoga. Contemplative practices in contemporary times include more activities than traditionally conceptualized, including meditative artistic pursuits (such as painting, sewing, or knitting), physical pursuits (such as running, weightlifting, or dancing), or quiet independent pursuits (such as listening to music). This chapter reviews the research supporting the ways that engaging in contemplative practices is effective in regulating one's emotional states. Additionally, this chapter proposes that engaging in contemplative practice can help a person become more reflexive in their interactions with others in order to socially regulate an emotional conversation.
Self-Esteem in Adults With Trust and Assertiveness Improves Well-Being
Authors: Vaz de Almeida Cristina , Reis Bruno
Published: June 2022

Self-esteem is associated with trust and the need for respect, and therefore, it implies an assertive behavior, and all are healthcare communication strategies. Respect for oneself and others is also linked to assertiveness. Assertiveness implies trust, which reduces uncertainty. The assertive behavior is linked to self-esteem and self-confidence because individuals who feel competent and sure of themselves interact more sincerely and naturally in the development of relationships. A quantitative and qualitative method was followed. A questionnaire on self-esteem was applied, adapted from Rosenberg's self-esteem measurement scale (1965), resulting in a sample of 216 individuals, of which 58.6% are female and 44% are over 39 years old. A qualitative content assessment of the responses to the two open questions was carried out (N = 199), resulting in eight categories for each of the open questions. The definition of respect and trust given by the inquired positions self-esteem as the visible result promoting well-being through a set of skills where assertiveness stands out.
Knowledge Organisation in Academic Libraries
Authors: Monyela Madireng
Published: June 2022

Linked Data (LD) emerged as an innovation in libraries over a decade ago. It refers to a set of best practices for publishing and linking structured data using existing Semantic Web technologies. Knowledge organisation in academic libraries can use the advantages of LD technologies to increase availability of library resources on the world wide web. Existing methods of descriptive cataloguing are based on describing metadata and constructing unique authorized access points as text strings. However, this strings-based approach works well in the closed environment of a traditional library catalogue and not in an open environment where data are shared and linked. This chapter investigates the introduction of LD in the organization of knowledge in academic libraries, as literature shows that students prefer to search the internet for their information needs. Secondary literature was reviewed and analysed. Findings indicated that libraries that adopted LD increased the visibility of their products on the internet.
Blockchain Technology and Future Banking
Authors: Üçoğlu Derya
Published: June 2022

In recent years, the blockchain emerged as a trending technology, and the innovations introduced by blockchain technology have influenced financial services as well as other sectors. The banks are currently using several blockchain applications, but they are not mature and still not widely adopted. Despite the numerous benefits, blockchain has many challenges to be solved, such as lack of regulation and governance; energy and other costs of development and implementation; interoperability, technical, security, and privacy problems; and user-related challenges. Therefore, this chapter aims to overview blockchain technology and discuss the opportunities and challenges for the future banking sector concerning the extant literature.
Analysis of Key Barriers in Blockchain in Banking
Authors: Shukla Gargi Pant , Balwani Nitin
Published: June 2022

In this chapter, the authors holistically study different barriers in the path of implementation of blockchain technology in the growth of the banking sector. Over the last decade, blockchain technology has received a lot of attention. This disruptive force of digital technology is becoming an imperative factor around the world by changing the business models. This chapter includes three different research phases. In the first stage, barriers were identified from the literature followed by interviews with experts of the industry. Finally, the authors design an ISM impact matrix cross-reference multiplication model. For the mass application of blockchain technology, policymakers tend to remove the barriers that have been shown in this chapter. On the basis of their importance, the blockchain technology application tends to ease by eliminating the highlighted barriers. This study is one of the preliminary attempts at the implementation of blockchain by identifying barriers and ranking them according to their importance.
Blockchain in the Banking Sector
Authors: Kajla Tanveer , Sarin Vishal , Raj Sahil
Published: June 2022

Financial institutions opting for blockchain technology raise controversy about how this new technology can disrupt the traditional banking sector. Many issues like a decentralized system with no middlemen and untrusted parties pose serious threats to the banking system. Hence, there is a serious need to do research on the impact of blockchain on financial institutions, especially in the banking sector, to understand the influence of blockchain as a disruptor and a technology that is revolutionizing the banking sector. The chapter will explain the concepts and role of blockchain in the banking domain. Secondly, the ongoing criticism of the blockchain as a disruptor in the banking domain is answered in this chapter. Third, the role of blockchain in the transformation of the banking sector is discussed by explaining the blockchain process in the key banking services.
Integration of Blockchain Tokenisation in Real Estate
Authors: Bhat Basit Ali , Gupta Nitin
Published: June 2022

Real estate is among the top reliable investments because it provides a reliable source of income through rent and leases. While there are many benefits, one of the main negatives of real estate investment is the lack of liquidity and transparency. Blockchain technology holds real potential to address this issue, making the market accessible for investors. Due to the utility and flexibility of constructing security tokens secured by real assets, real property can be liquidated through the use of special purpose vehicles. Blockchain tokenisation technology will revolutionize the real estate market across all aspects: ownership selling, managing, and investment. Tokenisation shifts physical real estate into the digital world and could lead to significant savings in the cost of the pre- and post-tokenisation phases. Policymakers and developers in India have started talking about shifting from the traditional investment towards new blockchain tokenisation. Tokenisation may prove to be a viable funding source for those relatively poorly capitalized financial markets.
Blockchain Application in Retirement Planning Investment
Authors: Sharma Anup , Gupta Nitin
Published: June 2022

Retirement planning is a crucial step in any individual's life, yet many complain of dissatisfaction with the plan they made before retirement. Many variables, the uncertainty of life, and socio-economic shocks make this planning difficult. At times, an action plan needs some adjustments, which can be made through financial institutions. Any loan or scheme offered to an individual involves risk calculation. Transparency in records and the complete history of an individual's financial transactions can help institutions access risk correctly. Linking transactions and other details with blockchain technology can improve transparency and can make retirement saving plans viable for individuals. This chapter explains the relevance of blockchain technology in context to retirement planning investment. This chapter also suggests a blockchain model that can be implemented by financial institutions to make their products favorable.
Systematic Literature Review Applied to a Research Project
Authors: García María García
Published: June 2022

Despite the growing importance of the literature review in the field of research, it presents some challenges in the area of communication. While it is common to find academic papers in the health field that use this method, its use is still limited in the social sciences. The present work aims to contribute to defining the method applied to a research project in the area of communication. To this end, it explains the importance of the replicability of the phases carried out, such as the location of the sources, the information search strategy, and the analysis and synthesis of scientific evidence. The steps of the said method are exemplified so that they can serve as a guide for other academic papers.
Design and Procedure of a Method for Audience Research in the Digital Context
Authors: Ruano-López Soledad , Fernández-Falero M. Rosario
Published: June 2022

Social networks host numerous comments on television programs. Two-screen viewing, where the viewer follows their favorite programs from the television screen, the screen of their computer, tablet, or mobile phone, allows the use of social networks to know the responses of viewers in real time, creating a communication channel (backchannel). Regarding the methodology, the analysis carried out in this work is based on the use of indicators. The main objective of this work is to show the methodology of evaluation by indicators in social networks of Spanish fiction series broadcast by general channels. In addition, a case study is included: series, programmed in prime time, on generalist television. In conclusion, the authors see that it is becoming more common for viewers to change their habits when consuming television programs. Once again it has been revealed in the analyzed series where the exclusive profiles of the series generate a greater linear audience.
Linking Corporate Social Responsibility, Brand Activism, and Corporate Reputation
Authors: Miranda Sandra , Miguel Alexandra
Published: June 2022

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and, more recently, brand activism have become important topics in business strategies, with companies playing an increasingly prominent role in socio-political life and addressing a wide range of social issues. However, the legitimacy of spending capital for investments in CSR and activism actions is not yet fully accepted by the business and academic world, with several companies and authors considering these expenses unnecessary. As such, this chapter aims to highlight Portuguese empirical research that demonstrates how companies' social and environmental responsibility actions can impact their corporate reputation, based on a quantitative investigation carried out to 613 consumers of a company in the Portuguese energy sector. The results showed that CSR is one of the factors that has the greatest positive impact on corporate reputation, thus contributing to a better understanding of how companies' social investments can be a source of competitive advantage and benefit corporate performance.
Planning for a Trip
Authors: Santos-Reyes Jaime , Badillo-Portillo Abel
Published: June 2022

The chapter presents the results of selecting the mode air travel by considering other modes of transportation to highlight public's preferences of mode transport. The approach was a cross-sectional study by employing a questionnaire to a sample size of N=500; the data were collected from January to June 2019. The main conclusion of the analysis was that the preferred mode of transport was by bus (59.6%) followed by air travel (23.6%). Some of the cons and pros of air travel are the following: 1) air travel is considered too expensive (90%); it is believed that 70% of Mexicans do not participate in air travel; 2) it may be perceived as unreliable due to the unexpected such as extreme weather, earthquakes (e.g., the 19 September earthquake in 2017) and volcanic activity (“Popocatepetl” volcano eruptions); 3) it is perceived as the fastest and most comfortable compared to bus and car transportation; 4) the benefits of the air transport industry in Mexico pre-COVID-19 pandemic were that it contributed to 3.05% of the country's GDP.
Competitive Strategies in the Airline Industry
Authors: Sengur Ferhan K. , Aldemir Huseyin Onder , Akınet Mert
Published: June 2022

The airline industry is a dynamic industry with intense competition. Deregulation, the international competition structure, and economic and COVID-19-like crises make the sector even more fierce. In this chapter, airline industry competitive strategies are discussed. For this purpose, following the introduction part, the concepts of strategy, business strategy, and competitive structure of the airline industry are discussed, and the place of competitive strategies in business strategies is explained. The airline industry structure is analyzed using Porter's five forces model. Two fundamental competitive strategy approaches, Porter's generic strategies and Miles and Snow's competitive strategies, are examined in detail for the airline industry. Following the presentation of the two well-known strategy frameworks, the chapter will end with a conclusion part.
Customer Experiences of Omni-Partner Services
Authors: Janawade Vikrant
Published: June 2022

The concept of facilitating sound service experiences has been widely discussed in the marketing landscape in recent years. Whilst the concept is highly acknowledged in service industries, it introduces some challenges when services are dovetailed and delivered to customers by multiple service providers. These aspects offer new realms to understand how customers form their experiences whilst interacting and encountering dovetailed services of networked service providers. To explore these spheres, a qualitative study employing thematic analysis was conducted to understand how networked and dovetailed services of an airline alliance influence the experiences of international airline travellers. The results of the study suggest that the alliance carriers' ability to offer extensive, synchronised, harmonised, interactive, and reciprocated services can be instrumental and pivotal for delivering sound experiences to their customers. In addition, these attributes offer new avenues to suggest that alliance carriers' services could be considered an omni-partner engagement activity.
Expect the Unexpected
Authors: Iordache Andreea-Iulia , Martins Helena , Proença Teresa , Piedade Lúcia
Published: June 2022

Airports are arguably the most well-prepared structures for crises and contingencies, and their staff undergo abundant training for these types of events; however, the COVID-19 pandemic events were largely unpredictable, thus creating a somewhat rare happening in the industry: a novel type of crisis. This study aims to realize the types of strategies and elements that made a difference in positive and negative critical incidents using semi-structured interviews and the critical incident technique to managers from Portuguese and Romanian airports focusing on the type of skills that the management required and developed in a crisis. In accordance with the competency-based education framework, leadership, communication, subject matter excellence, teamwork, ethics and integrity, and resilience and innovation were crucial soft skills in critical situations. The present study contributes with new insights on airport managers and leaders facing crisis situations, key issues, and strategies during the first wave of COVID-19.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in the Aviation Sector
Authors: Tailor R K , Khan Sofia
Published: June 2022

Robotic process automation (RPA) is an automation technology that airline sectors can benefit from because the airline business is the most global of all, and externalities are likely to have a significant influence and transform it. A generally robust global economic background, particularly earlier in the year, encouraged air passenger demand, which in turn supported employment, earnings, and company activity, as well as strong industry competition, which helped keep airfares low for passengers. Relevant to the increase in passenger numbers, operational costs were rising (i.e., the companies with huge volumes but poor margins are continuously looking for new methods to cut costs and boost efficiency). Robotic process automation (RPA) is a vital technology to meet both of these requirements. Robotic process automation (RPA) is known for its high operational accuracy, reliability, and for enabling organizations to conform rapidly and effectively. As a result, including RPA software bots into the flying experience can eliminate all the user concerns about flying.
Brain as a Social Organ
Authors: Djurdjevic Sanja , Boskovic Milica , Djurdjevic Ana , Misev Gordana
Published: June 2022

To start with identifying an emerging issue, the first part of the chapter will outline problems of abuse survivors related to trauma or those that appear to be unrelated in the first place but make effects of the traumatic experience harder to handle. Secondly, the chapter will explore barriers to mental health practitioners responding to domestic violence and abuse cases adequately. Thirdly, the focus will be on elaborating practices and principles that can apply in the mental health institutions to recognize the actual realities and needs of abuse survivors and prevent re-traumatization by using trauma-informed care. Finally, in the final part, the authors argue about whether it is reasonable to call for the shift from the medical view in reducing stigma around mental health problems to promote environmental and interpersonal explanations rather than biomedical. In line with the overall statistics on the dominant pattern of violence against women, this chapter will mainly focus on gender-specific mental health and abuse aspects.
Global Warming and the Duties of Mankind
Authors: Gupta Sandhya
Published: June 2022

The biosphere's survival is dependent on the satisfaction of the living circumstances of species on the planet. Any damage to the ecosystem causes a catastrophe for all living things. Global warming is on the rise as a result of regular people's absence of foresight, and contamination in the globe's waters, wind, and atmosphere has grown widespread. As a result, initiatives are being undertaken to safeguard the ecosystem by raising consciousness of ecological deterioration through techniques like laws, advertising, and conferences. But it has been observed that these are not that effective. This chapter attempts to highlight the role and significance of faith, cultural, and moral precepts that may be more helpful and effective in policymaking as they shape the human behaviour much more smoothly than any law. Therefore, a connection has been highlighted between Bhagvad Gita and global warming in terms of understanding one's own self and nature, people's personalities, ethics, and duties toward environment.
Decentralization of Policy in Health Services Through the Public and Private Partnership
Authors: Nadarsyah Nana Noviana , Priyanto Hary Priyanto
Published: June 2022

Public service is a government management system to maintain and improve the health status of the community. The role of health service organizations is very necessary for the implementation of the health service process to the community as a whole and with quality. Health service organizations exist to achieve a common goal, namely to provide health services aimed at achieving community welfare. However, health service organizations in their activities must be limited by government policies. In the administration of the government system, it must have a clear basis for the validity of the system and administrative processes of an institution. Therefore, the government's role is necessary for policymakers to monitor and control the health financing system.
Microfinance Regulation and Consumer Socio-Economic Security
Authors: Bedaiwy Shymaa , Peter Dimity
Published: June 2022

In 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammad Yunus, who introduced microloans to poor rural women in Bangladesh to promote their economic growth and empowerment. This economic development model for the poor has expanded throughout the developing world and extended to a wide range of populations with different financial needs, known as microfinance. Microfinance clients typically do not have access to regular banking services because of a lack of collateral or physical proximity to service. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) can serve clients in remote rural areas with little transportation or infrastructure. This chapter examines the case for the regulation of microfinance providers, also known as microfinance institutions (MFIs). Such regulation ensures both economic growth and socio-economic security of vulnerable microfinance borrowers using Egypt as a case study.
Examining the Relationship Between Knowledge and Well-Being as Values of a Society
Authors: Can Betül , Can Muhlis
Published: June 2022

Knowledge and well-being have gained importance as values in the 21st-century information society, both individually and collectively. This study aimed to examine the relationship between these two values for Turkey over the period 1990 and 2017. The authors use the Johansen cointegration test, dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), and fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) in the empirical section. As a result of the cointegration test, it is concluded that a society's knowledge and skills and its human well-being level move in the long run. DOLS and FMOLS results demonstrate that level of the knowledge-skills of the society has a positive and statistically significant impact on human well-being in Turkey. As a result of the findings, policy recommendations were discussed in the last part of the study.
China's Soft Power and World Challenges
Authors: Kenchoshvili Marika
Published: June 2022

The 'Century of Embarrassment' is finished. With extraordinary financial development and military modernization behind the scenes, China is attempting to perceive its job and position on the planet. It is endeavoring to gain an extraordinary power status through its depiction as a non-coercive power. In equal, it has surrendered the progressive and hostile viewpoint of the Maoist period and has gone from 'staying under the radar' to 'serene turn of events' and 'advancement together'. China's soft power settles upon its rising monetary potential, which has turned into a significant instrument of China's international strategy in the new millennium.
How Lean Six Sigma Risk Management Was Used at a Clean Energy Plant
Authors: Strang Kenneth David
Published: June 2022

The global pursuit of higher quality and corporate social responsibility are motivating corporations to set climate preservation goals and to employ quality theory processes, notably lean six sigma methods. One of the significant contemporary social responsibility initiatives is climate preservation. Climate conservation has been dramatically achieved through the increases efficient production of clean energy, such as hydroelectricity and nuclear power plants. However, advanced quality management processes are needed to effectively and safely operate electricity generation plants of any type due to their potential to cause significant man-made accidental disasters if certain critical processes become out of control. This chapter explores how lean six sigma quality theories were applied for risk management at a renewable energy hydroelectricity facility. Quality inspections were collected from a plant in New York, USA. A statistical process control model was developed based on the attribute and continuous inspection data.
Minimizing Risk of Disputes Among Telecommunication Carriers With Blockchain Technologies
Authors: Trandafili Evis , Biba Marenglen , Cela Enes
Published: June 2022

In recent years, blockchain technologies are constantly transforming many business processes. A shared, distributed ledger has revolutionized transaction recording, handling trust, and robustness in business network participants. In the telecommunication sector, the primary concern of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) providers when exchanging calls is the transparent storage of call detail records (CDRs) to avoid billing discrepancies, disputes, and interruption of services. In this chapter, the authors aim to investigate the utilization of permissioned blockchain in carriers' business models in telecommunication. They propose a business model architecture based on hyperledger fabric for developing smart contracts, which are invoked to store information about each CDR generated and business cases. The necessary steps and configurations for integrating the different technologies and building a development network are presented. Finally, the performance testing results regarding the latency for a transaction submission are shown.
Cybersecurity Risk
Authors: Edeh Natasha Cecilia , Idu Ibiene
Published: June 2022

This chapter gives an all-inclusive view of cybersecurity risk. The main aim of this chapter is to explain what cybersecurity risk entails. This chapter starts by describing why cybersecurity risk is vital to organizations. The authors explain cybersecurity, vulnerabilities, and common cyber threats/attacks. This chapter also highlights some literature on cybersecurity risks in different sectors and gives an idea about the numerous cyber-attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The other sections of this chapter explain risk, risk assessment methods/approaches used in determining the level and type of risk, and risk management frameworks alongside examples from literature and how they were employed to manage risks. Finally, this chapter concludes with the role of organizations in handling and managing cybersecurity risks and the steps governments, organizations, stakeholders, and individuals should take when trying to mitigate or manage cybersecurity risks now and in the future.
Healthcare Informatics During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Eappen Philip
Published: June 2022

This chapter explores how healthcare organizations utilized innovative healthcare informatics during the pandemic and how technology helped reduce healthcare delivery challenges. The unprecedented healthcare challenges created by the pandemic certainly warrant new and innovative tools to deal with healthcare requirements. Healthcare informatics undoubtedly played a significant role in smoothening healthcare operations during the pandemic, and it is expected to play a critical role in future healthcare operations. Health informatics tools such as telemedicine helped healthcare professionals to avoid unnecessary exposure to COVID patients, thus preventing many infections in healthcare organizations. This chapter presents healthcare informatics applications developed and used globally, including telemedicine, drug delivery portals, drones, robots, big data, AI, and many other sophisticated applications for remote healthcare access to patients.
Supply Chain Performance in the Industry 4.0 Context
Authors: Leon Ramona-Diana , Rodríguez-Rodríguez Raul , Alfaro-Saiz Juan-José
Published: June 2022

The research aims to explore the topic of supply chain performance in the Industry 4.0 context, based on knowledge mapping. Thus, qualitative and quantitative approaches are combined in a documentary study that uses 354 articles published on Web of Science as a cornerstone. Methods like co-authorship analysis, co-citation analysis, clusters density analysis, and content analysis are employed, and the results bring forward the fact that (1) almost a quarter of the scientific publications regarding supply chain performance in the Industry 4.0 context are concentrated in five high-ranked journals; (2) the most cited articles provide a systematic and content-centric review of the literature, and set the framework for the empirical analysis; (3) the theoretical background of the analyzed articles have their roots in the resource-based theory; and (4) the future research requires establishing a link between supply chain management, Industry 4.0, and sustainable development at the micro, meso, and macro levels.
SCM 4.0
Authors: Faludi Tamás
Published: June 2022

The most important purpose of supply chain management is ensuring the maximum level of material and information flow within and outside the companies. However, supply chain management has gone through many changes in the 21st century. The developing IT sector, the digitalization, the appearance of smart tools are the results of Industry 4.0. Companies need to recognize the importance to adapt technical innovations and digitalize their processes. The influences of Industry 4.0 are digitalized supply chain management (SCM 4.0) and digitalized logistics (Logistics 4.0). The chapter defines the most frequently used tools of both areas. On the other hand, the chapter deals with the problems of supply chain coordination as well. The determined factors can be handled by the technical innovations, which are used by SCM 4.0 and Logistics 4.0. The chapter analyses the connection between the determined problems and smart tools as the solutions.
Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0/5.0
Authors: Fernandes Thomaz Joao P. C. , Bispo Helena I. N.
Published: June 2022

Over the years, organizations have had to adapt to constant changes in their surroundings. To this end, they began to adopt methodologies such as lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0. Their implementation has increased the competitiveness of organizations. Sustainability is getting much attention, leading to the advent of Industry 5.0, which, unlike Industry 4.0, takes sustainable production into account. Forestry sectors are significant for the Portuguese economy, especially cork. This study examines a company in the cork sector to determine how automation and monetization of new resources could increase efficiency, quality, and safety. A qualitative approach was applied in the study through literature review and participant observation actions to analyze and propose improvements. The study fulfilled the purposes defined, identifying options to improve the production process and increase customer satisfaction and worker safety.
SMEs in the Face of Crisis
Authors: Durst Susanne , Davies Lidia , Gerstlberger Wolfgang Dieter
Published: June 2022

COVID-19 has shown how fragile our societies and economies are. Supply chains have particularly been affected. We all had to learn again that the basic supply of some goods is not as crisis-proof as we thought. Moreover, the strong division of labour and the concentration on a few companies in certain areas present considerable weaknesses in the case of a new external crisis such as the pandemic. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been affected by the current pandemic, particularly as they are highly sensitive to external threats. Using data collected between December 2020 and January 2021 through semi-structured interviews conducted with owners and/or managers of SMEs located in six different European countries (i.e., Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Portugal), the chapter aims to provide fresh perspectives on how SMEs address supply chain risk management in times of an external and dynamic crisis.
Digital Relations and Innovative Ecosystem for Sustainable Engineering Education
Authors: Tarasova Anna , Strielkowski Wadim , Larionova Nina
Published: June 2022

Countries are striving to opt for digital economy by adopting miscellaneous state programs and translating them into national projects. The chapter describes digital relations and the digital economy. It examines the effectiveness of the government strategies on digitalization and indulges the programs' context in terms of their priorities, objectives, and tools for implementation, based on the rigorous critique of the programs in the literature. Furthermore, it audits the chronicle of events in programs development, actors involved, and the decision-making process. Moreover, it focuses on the legal regulation of the digital economy with a specific focus on the situation in the Russian Federation. In addition, it examines governance and economics in the context of a digitally hybridized civilization. Moreover, it assesses Russia's potential and innovative performance in the context of the Global Innovation Index to better implement robust innovation policy conditions.