bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on Enhanced Detection of Benzoic Acid Additives in Liquid Food Based on Terahertz Metamaterial Devices
Authors: Hu Jun , Chen Rui , Xu Zhen , Li Maopeng , Ma Yungui , He Yong , Liu Yande
Published: May 2021

It is very important for human health to supervise the use of food additives, because excessive use of food additives will cause harm to the human body, especially lead to organ failures and even cancers. Therefore, it is important to realize high-sensibility detection of benzoic acid, a widely used food additive. Based on the theory of electromagnetism, this research attempts to design a terahertz-enhanced metamaterial resonator, using a metamaterial resonator to achieve enhanced detection of benzoic acid additives by using terahertz technology. The absorption peak of the metamaterial resonator is designed to be 1.95 THz, and the effectiveness of the metamaterial resonator is verified. Firstly, the original THz spectra of benzoic acid aqueous solution samples based on metamaterial are collected. Secondly, smoothing, multivariate scattering correction (MSC), and smoothing combined with first derivative (SG + 1 D) methods are used to preprocess the spectra to study the better spectral pretreatment methods. Then, Uninformative Variable Elimination (UVE) and Competitive Adaptive Reweighted Sampling (CARS) are used to explore the optimal terahertz band selection method. Finally, Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Least square support vector machine (LS-SVM) models are established, respectively, to realize the enhanced detection of benzoic acid additives. The LS-SVM model combined with CARS has the best effect, with the correlation coefficient of prediction set (Rp) is 0.9953, the root mean square error of prediction set (RMSEP) is 7.3 × 10−6, and the limit of detection (LOD) is 2.3610 × 10−5 g/mL. The research results lay a foundation for THz spectral analysis of benzoic acid additives, so that THz technology-based detection of benzoic acid additives in food can reach requirements stipulated in the national standard. This research is of great significance for promoting the detection and analysis of trace additives in food, whose results can also serve as a reference to the detection of antibiotic residues, banned additives, and other trace substances.
Proposal of an Economy of Things Architecture and an Approach Comparing Cryptocurrencies
Authors: Agostinho Bruno Machado , Dantas Mario Antônio Ribeiro , Pinto Alex Sandro Roschildt
Published: May 2021

In the present computational scenario, one can perceive the emergence of cryptocurrencies and the increased utilization of IoT devices, which are pushing to new challenges, opportunities, and behavior changes. It is still not known how these technologies will impact the current business and economic models. In this regard, this study proposes an economy of things architecture and an approach comparing several cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the proposed architecture aims to use these new opportunities to enable device-to-device (D2D) interaction based on this novel paradigm, called the Economy of Things (EoT). An experimental environment was conducted to compare characteristics of the cryptocurrencies Ripple, Iota, and Ethereum. The initial results show several interesting differences related to transaction costs, errors, speeds, and threads.
Exploring Optimized Spiking Neural Network Architectures for Classification Tasks on Embedded Platforms
Authors: Syed Tehreem , Kakani Vijay , Cui Xuenan , Kim Hakil
Published: May 2021

In recent times, the usage of modern neuromorphic hardware for brain-inspired SNNs has grown exponentially. In the context of sparse input data, they are undertaking low power consumption for event-based neuromorphic hardware, specifically in the deeper layers. However, using deep ANNs for training spiking models is still considered as a tedious task. Until recently, various ANN to SNN conversion methods in the literature have been proposed to train deep SNN models. Nevertheless, these methods require hundreds to thousands of time-steps for training and still cannot attain good SNN performance. This work proposes a customized model (VGG, ResNet) architecture to train deep convolutional spiking neural networks. In this current study, the training is carried out using deep convolutional spiking neural networks with surrogate gradient descent backpropagation in a customized layer architecture similar to deep artificial neural networks. Moreover, this work also proposes fewer time-steps for training SNNs with surrogate gradient descent. During the training with surrogate gradient descent backpropagation, overfitting problems have been encountered. To overcome these problems, this work refines the SNN based dropout technique with surrogate gradient descent. The proposed customized SNN models achieve good classification results on both private and public datasets. In this work, several experiments have been carried out on an embedded platform (NVIDIA JETSON TX2 board), where the deployment of customized SNN models has been extensively conducted. Performance validations have been carried out in terms of processing time and inference accuracy between PC and embedded platforms, showing that the proposed customized models and training techniques are feasible for achieving a better performance on various datasets such as CIFAR-10, MNIST, SVHN, and private KITTI and Korean License plate dataset.
Evaluation of Physical Interaction during Walker-Assisted Gait with the AGoRA Walker: Strategies Based on Virtual Mechanical Stiffness
Authors: Sierra M Sergio D. , Múnera Marcela , Provot Thomas , Bourgain Maxime , Cifuentes Carlos A.
Published: May 2021

Smart walkers are commonly used as potential gait assistance devices, to provide physical and cognitive assistance within rehabilitation and clinical scenarios. To understand such rehabilitation processes, several biomechanical studies have been conducted to assess human gait with passive and active walkers. Several sessions were conducted with 11 healthy volunteers to assess three interaction strategies based on passive, low and high mechanical stiffness values on the AGoRA Smart Walker. The trials were carried out in a motion analysis laboratory. Kinematic data were also collected from the smart walker sensory interface. The interaction force between users and the device was recorded. The force required under passive and low stiffness modes was 56.66% and 67.48% smaller than the high stiffness mode, respectively. An increase of 17.03% for the hip range of motion, as well as the highest trunk’s inclination, were obtained under the resistive mode, suggesting a compensating motion to exert a higher impulse force on the device. Kinematic and physical interaction data suggested that the high stiffness mode significantly affected the users’ gait pattern. Results suggested that users compensated their kinematics, tilting their trunk and lower limbs to exert higher impulse forces on the device.
Smartphone-Based Activity Recognition in a Pedestrian Navigation Context
Authors: Jackermeier Robert , Ludwig Bernd
Published: May 2021

In smartphone-based pedestrian navigation systems, detailed knowledge about user activity and device placement is a key information. Landmarks such as staircases or elevators can help the system in determining the user position when located inside buildings, and navigation instructions can be adapted to the current context in order to provide more meaningful assistance. Typically, most human activity recognition (HAR) approaches distinguish between general activities such as walking, standing or sitting. In this work, we investigate more specific activities that are tailored towards the use-case of pedestrian navigation, including different kinds of stationary and locomotion behavior. We first collect a dataset of 28 combinations of device placements and activities, in total consisting of over 6 h of data from three sensors. We then use LSTM-based machine learning (ML) methods to successfully train hierarchical classifiers that can distinguish between these placements and activities. Test results show that the accuracy of device placement classification (97.2%) is on par with a state-of-the-art benchmark in this dataset while being less resource-intensive on mobile devices. Activity recognition performance highly depends on the classification task and ranges from 62.6% to 98.7%, once again performing close to the benchmark. Finally, we demonstrate in a case study how to apply the hierarchical classifiers to experimental and naturalistic datasets in order to analyze activity patterns during the course of a typical navigation session and to investigate the correlation between user activity and device placement, thereby gaining insights into real-world navigation behavior.
3-D Multi-Component Reverse Time Migration Method for Tunnel Seismic Data
Authors: Guan Peng , Shao Cuifa , Jiao Yuyong , Zhang Guohua , Li Bin , Zhou Jie , Huang Pei
Published: May 2021

Migration imaging is a key step in tunnel seismic data processing. Due to the limitation of tunnel space, tunnel seismic data are small-quantity, multi-component, and have a small offset. Kirchhoff migration based on the ray theory is limited to the migration aperture and has low migration imaging accuracy. Kirchhoff migration can no longer meet the requirements of high-precision migration imaging. The reverse time migration (RTM) method is used to realize cross-correlation imaging by reverse-time recursion principle of the wave equation. The 3-D RTM method cannot only overcome the effect of small offset, but also realize multi-component data imaging, which is the most accurate migration method for tunnel seismic data. In this paper, we will study the 3-D RTM method for multi-component tunnel seismic data. Combined with the modeled data and the measured data, the imaging accuracy of the 3-D Kirchhoff migration and 3-D RTM is analyzed in detail. By comparing single-component and multi-component Kirchhoff migration and RTM profile, the advantages of the multi-component RTM method are summarized. Compared with the Kirchhoff migration method, the 3-D RTM method has the following advantages: (1) it can overcome the effect of small offset and expand the range of migration imaging; (2) multi-component data can be realized to improve the energy of anomalous interface; (3) it can make full use of multiple waves to realize migration imaging and improve the resolution of the anomalous interface. The modeled data and the measured data prove the advantages of the 3-D multi-component RTM method.
Monitoring of Particulate Matter Emissions from 3D Printing Activity in the Home Setting
Authors: Khaki Shirin , Duffy Emer , Smeaton Alan F. , Morrin Aoife
Published: May 2021

Consumer-level 3D printers are becoming increasingly prevalent in home settings. However, research shows that printing with these desktop 3D printers can impact indoor air quality (IAQ). This study examined particulate matter (PM) emissions generated by 3D printers in an indoor domestic setting. Print filament type, brand, and color were investigated and shown to all have significant impacts on the PM emission profiles over time. For example, emission rates were observed to vary by up to 150-fold, depending on the brand of a specific filament being used. Various printer settings (e.g., fan speed, infill density, extruder temperature) were also investigated. This study identifies that high levels of PM are triggered by the filament heating process and that accessible, user-controlled print settings can be used to modulate the PM emission from the 3D printing process. Considering these findings, a low-cost home IAQ sensor was evaluated as a potential means to enable a home user to monitor PM emissions from their 3D printing activities. This sensing approach was demonstrated to detect the timepoint where the onset of PM emission from a 3D print occurs. Therefore, these low-cost sensors could serve to inform the user when PM levels in the home become elevated significantly on account of this activity and furthermore, can indicate the time at which PM levels return to baseline after the printing process and/or after adding ventilation. By deploying such sensors at home, domestic users of 3D printers can assess the impact of filament type, color, and brand that they utilize on PM emissions, as well as be informed of how their selected print settings can impact their PM exposure levels.
Exploiting Global Structure Information to Improve Medical Image Segmentation
Authors: Hwang Jaemoon , Hwang Sangheum
Published: May 2021

In this paper, we propose a method to enhance the performance of segmentation models for medical images. The method is based on convolutional neural networks that learn the global structure information, which corresponds to anatomical structures in medical images. Specifically, the proposed method is designed to learn the global boundary structures via an autoencoder and constrain a segmentation network through a loss function. In this manner, the segmentation model performs the prediction in the learned anatomical feature space. Unlike previous studies that considered anatomical priors by using a pre-trained autoencoder to train segmentation networks, we propose a single-stage approach in which the segmentation network and autoencoder are jointly learned. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, the segmentation performance is evaluated in terms of both the overlap and distance metrics on the lung area and spinal cord segmentation tasks. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can enhance not only the segmentation performance but also the robustness against domain shifts.
The Consensus on Citizenship Education Purposes in Teacher Education
Authors: Estellés Marta , Amo Francisco José , Romero Jesús
Published: May 2021

Although education for democratic citizenship has long been a powerful rationale for social studies education, researchers still report a significant gap between this purpose and what is really taught in classrooms. Explanations of this phenomenon vary, but literature on citizenship education (CE) research has largely interpreted this gap as a result of (preservice) teachers’ political worldviews or lack of civic experiences. Other evidence, however, suggests that teacher socialization processes generate conventions about what is necessary, possible, and reasonable in CE that go beyond teachers’ political views and behaviors. This mixed-method study, developed at a Spanish university, aims to explore the understandings of CE shared by preservice teachers with different political ideologies and levels of civic engagement. The findings of this study have deep implications for teacher education courses aimed at fostering CE and the curricular inclusion of current social issues.
Sustainable Use of Waste Polypropylene Fibres to Enhance the Abrasion and Skid Resistance of Two-Stage Concrete
Authors: Alyousef Rayed
Published: May 2021

Two-stage concrete (TSC), also known as prepacked aggregate concrete (PAC), differs from traditional concrete in terms of site application and manufacturing process. Although this type of concrete is not a replacement for conventional concrete applications, it is an ideal option for unusual and difficult placing conditions, especially for repairing existing concrete structures. In other words, this type of concrete is a newly developed concrete and made by placing and packing coarse aggregates and fibres in a designed formwork, then injecting a cement grout mixture into the free spaces between the aggregate particles using gravity or a pump device. For the mentioned system and others, concrete components used as floors or pavements must have an adequate degree of roughness during service life when exposed to skid and abrasion. Thus, this research work introduced a new concrete method (prepacked aggregates fibre-reinforced concrete—PAFRC) with high abrasion and skid resistance reinforced with waste polypropylene (PP) fibres from the carpet industry. The effects of PP fibres at 0–1% dosages on the mechanical properties, abrasion resistance, and skid resistance of PAFRC mixes were studied. The results revealed that the addition of PP fibres reduces the compressive strength of concrete mixtures. Nonetheless, the presence of PP fibres results in PAFRC mixes having higher tensile strength, abrasion resistance, and skid resistance than plain concrete. It was detected that in both grouting methods (gravity and pump), with the addition of PP fibre up to a specific dosage, the resistance against abrasion and skid was increased by about 26% compared to plain PAC mix. Additionally, the outcomes indicated that PAFRC is a promising material for applications such as pavements with high abrasion and skid resistance.
Modeling Energy Efficiency Performance and Cost-Benefit Analysis Achieving Net-Zero Energy Building Design: Case Studies of Three Representative Offices in Thailand
Authors: Lohwanitchai Kittisak , Jareemit Daranee
Published: May 2021

The concept of a zero energy building is a significant sustainable strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The challenges of zero energy building (ZEB) achievement in Thailand are that the design approach to reach ZEB in office buildings is unclear and inconsistent. In addition, its implementation requires a relatively high investment cost. This study proposes a guideline for cost-optimal design to achieve the ZEB for three representative six-story office buildings in hot and humid Thailand. The energy simulations of envelope designs incorporating high-efficiency systems are carried out using eQuest and daylighting simulation using DIALux evo. The final energy consumptions meet the national ZEB target but are higher than the rooftop PV generation. To reduce such an energy gap, the ratios of building height to width are proposed. The cost-benefit of investment in ZEB projects provides IRRs ranging from 10.73 to 13.85%, with payback periods of 7.2 to 8.5 years. The energy savings from the proposed designs account for 79.2 to 81.6% of the on-site energy use. The investment of high-performance glazed-windows in the small office buildings is unprofitable (NPVs = −14.77–−46.01). These research results could help architects and engineers identify the influential parameters and significant considerations for the ZEB design. Strategies and technical support to improve energy performance in large and mid-rise buildings towards ZEB goals associated with the high investment cost need future investigations.
Are There Differences and Complementarities between Senior and Young Entrepreneurs? An Intergenerational Perspective
Authors: Perez-Encinas Adriana , Bueno Yolanda , Santos Begoña , Nieto-Mejia Camila
Published: May 2021

Social exclusion related to the unemployment of vulnerable population groups constitutes a crucial limitation to achieving a sustainable world. In particular, young and senior populations have specific characteristics that put them at risk of exclusion from the labor market. This circumstance has motivated an attempt to foster cooperation between these age groups to enable them to develop entrepreneurial initiatives that will contribute to close this social vulnerability gap. We approach this topic by focusing on intergenerational entrepreneurship, understood as entrepreneuring projects jointly undertaken by seniors and young adults. The objective of this study was to identify the differences and complementarities between senior and young entrepreneurs with a view to enabling them to develop viable intergenerational entrepreneurial projects, with special emphasis in the motivational push, pull, and blocking factors that affect them. This kind of entrepreneurial initiative fosters knowledge transfer and experience between age groups, promotes job creation and social inclusion, improves a sense of belonging, and, thus, contributes to the construction of a stronger society serving as an engine for sustainable development. Therefore, intergenerational entrepreneurship can be considered a form of social innovation. A mixed-methods approach was utilized in this study, using quantitative data from a questionnaire as a starting point for the characterization and identification of senior and young entrepreneurial profiles, and qualitative data from focus groups, which enabled us to identify complementarities among generations. The results show that there are significant differences between youths and seniors in terms of the motivations and factors that push, pull, or block the decision to form an intergenerational entrepreneurial partnership. These differences can be interpreted as complementarities that can boost intergenerational cooperation to promote social inclusion.
Examining the Relationship between Income Inequality and Growth from the Perspective of EU Member States’ Stage of Development
Authors: Jianu Ionuț , Dinu Marin , Huru Dragoș , Bodislav Alexandru
Published: May 2021

In this paper, we examined the relationship between income inequality and economic growth from the perspective of each country’s level of development in the European Union, this linkage being reviewed using the median of GDP per capita expressed in the purchasing power standard to split the European Union Member States into two clusters of 14 countries each. Furthermore, we estimated the impact of income inequality on economic growth during the 2010–2018 period at the level of both clusters using the Estimated Generalized Least Squares with a fixed effects method, reinforced by the cross-section weights option. Our results show that income inequality is positively linked to economic growth in the case of developed EU Member States, while for developing EU countries, income inequality is detrimental to growth. This also demonstrates that income gaps may have positive and negative effects on growth depending on the stage of development, this providing important evidence for the need to promote an optimum level of income inequality.
Contrasting Influences of Seasonal and Intra-Seasonal Hydroclimatic Variabilities on the Irrigated Rice Paddies of Northern Peninsular Malaysia for Weather Index Insurance Design
Authors: Zulkafli Zed , Muharam Farrah Melissa , Raffar Nurfarhana , Jajarmizadeh Amirparsa , Abdi Mukhtar Jibril , Rehan Balqis Mohamed , Nurulhuda Khairudin
Published: May 2021

Good index selection is key to minimising basis risk in weather index insurance design. However, interannual, seasonal, and intra-seasonal hydroclimatic variabilities pose challenges in identifying robust proxies for crop losses. In this study, we systematically investigated 574 hydroclimatic indices for their relationships with yield in Malaysia’s irrigated double planting system, using the Muda rice granary as a case study. The responses of seasonal rice yields to seasonal and monthly averages and to extreme rainfall, temperature, and streamflow statistics from 16 years’ observations were examined by using correlation analysis and linear regression. We found that the minimum temperature during the crop flowering to the maturity phase governed yield in the drier off-season (season 1, March to July, Pearson correlation, r = +0.87; coefficient of determination, R2 = 74%). In contrast, the average streamflow during the crop maturity phase regulated yield in the main planting season (season 2, September to January, r = +0.82, R2 = 67%). During the respective periods, these indices were at their lowest in the seasons. Based on these findings, we recommend temperature- and water-supply-based indices as the foundations for developing insurance contracts for the rice system in northern Peninsular Malaysia.
Perceptions of Glacier Grafting: An Indigenous Technique of Water Conservation for Food Security in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
Authors: Munir Ramsha , Bano Tehzeeb , Adil Iftikhar , Khayyam Umer
Published: May 2021

Climate change and disruption in the water cycle patterns are leading to water scarcity. This unsustained water provision is drastically affecting the areas of limited water resources. This research has studied the impacts of climate change on water availability and the localized indigenous technique of glacier grafting for sustained water provision. This adaptation strategy helps the water-stressed locality to conserve water for food security. For this reason, 160 self-administered questionnaires were deployed at the household level, and the primary data were analyzed through STATA Software for ordinal logit regression to estimate the results for both restricted and unrestricted models, against the three dependent variables of glacier grafting, glacier melt water and food security. It is found that glacier grafting ensures sustained water provision for irrigation. It increases fertile land and agricultural production to achieve food security. The income of the households from non-/agricultural products leads to afford a better standard of living. The extension of the glacier grafting strategy to curb climatic effects can help global societies to address the food insecurity issue for sustained living.
Tourists’ Motivation, Place Attachment, Satisfaction and Support Behavior for Festivals in the Migrant Region of China
Authors: Zhang Yunyao , Park Keun-Soo , Song HakJun
Published: May 2021

This study aimed to explore the relationships among tourist motivation, place attachment, satisfaction and support behavior for hosting festivals in the migrant region of China. A self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct an on-site survey and a second-order structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed. The results of the current study showed that visitors’ general festival motivations had a positive influence on their place attachment and satisfaction. Visitors’ theme-related motivations had a positive influence on their place identity and satisfaction. Place dependence and place identity also positively affected their low-effort support behavior. In addition, visitors’ place identity was a positive antecedent of their high-effort support behavior. Visitors’ place attachment had a positive influence on their satisfaction and visitors’ satisfaction positively affected their support behavior. This study encouraged festival organizers to become aware that place attachment performs an important role in attracting tourists, and nostalgia is one of the most important motivations for hosting festivals in the migrant region of China. As a result, this study provides crucial insights that organizers should pay attention to place attachment and place identity in order to satisfy visitors and support festival activities.
The Importance of Safety and Security Measures at Sharm El Sheikh Airport and Their Impact on Travel Decisions after Restarting Aviation during the COVID-19 Outbreak
Authors: Hassan Thowayeb H. , Salem Amany E.
Published: May 2021

Travel decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic might be substantially influenced by destination-based attributes, in particular, health safety measures at airports. In the current study, we aimed to assess the effects of the perceived importance of safety measures at the Sharm El Sheikh airport on the intention of international passengers to revisit the destination, which might reflect their behavioral control for traveling to other tourism destinations. A total of 954 international travelers were asked to fill out a survey to reveal their travel risk perceptions, the importance of airport safety measures, and their future intentions to revisit the destination, and the data were integrated in an SEM model. The results showed that passengers with low-risk perceptions and highly perceived importance of logistic and sanitization procedures, as well as traveler- and staff-related safety measures, were more likely to exhibit greater intentions to revisit the city and lower intentions to cancel or change future travel plans to other touristic regions. Health safety at airports should be stressed in future strategic plans by governmental authorities and stakeholder activities to mitigate the psychological barriers of tourists.
Integrated Multidimensional Sustainability Assessment of Energy System Transformation Pathways
Authors: Naegler Tobias , Becker Lisa , Buchgeister Jens , Hauser Wolfgang , Hottenroth Heidi , Junne Tobias , Lehr Ulrike , Scheel Oliver , Schmidt-Scheele Ricarda , Simon Sonja , Sutardhio Claudia , Tietze Ingela , Ulrich Philip , Viere Tobias , Weidlich Anke
Published: May 2021

Sustainable development embraces a broad spectrum of social, economic and ecological aspects. Thus, a sustainable transformation process of energy systems is inevitably multidimensional and needs to go beyond climate impact and cost considerations. An approach for an integrated and interdisciplinary sustainability assessment of energy system transformation pathways is presented here. It first integrates energy system modeling with a multidimensional impact assessment that focuses on life cycle-based environmental and macroeconomic impacts. Then, stakeholders’ preferences with respect to defined sustainability indicators are inquired, which are finally integrated into a comparative scenario evaluation through a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), all in one consistent assessment framework. As an illustrative example, this holistic approach is applied to the sustainability assessment of ten different transformation strategies for Germany. Applying multi-criteria decision analysis reveals that both ambitious (80%) and highly ambitious (95%) carbon reduction scenarios can achieve top sustainability ranks, depending on the underlying energy transformation pathways and respective scores in other sustainability dimensions. Furthermore, this research highlights an increasingly dominant contribution of energy systems’ upstream chains on total environmental impacts, reveals rather small differences in macroeconomic effects between different scenarios and identifies the transition among societal segments and climate impact minimization as the most important stakeholder preferences.
Research into Individual Factors Affecting Safety within Airport Subsidiaries
Authors: Bae Jin-Hwan , Park Jin-Woo
Published: May 2021

This study’s purpose is to demonstrate that, from the point of view of employees in subsidiary companies, individual factors, notably attitude towards risk, cognitive bias, knowledge and experience, and risk perception, have generated unsafe behavior and unsafe conditions and have undermined safety performance through risk tolerance. The data underpinning this research were derived from a survey of employees working in subsidiary companies within the vicinity of Incheon International Airport. In total, 409 questionnaires were analyzed using network structural equation modeling (SEM), a methodology representing, estimating, and testing relationships. This analysis has demonstrated within the bounds of statistical significance (a) that the attitudes towards risk, knowledge and experience, and cognitive bias affect risk tolerance and (b) that risk tolerance influences unsafe behavior, unsafe conditions, and safety performance. This research is the first to apply the accident causal model to the airport industry, and its conclusions can be used for accident prevention within Incheon International Airport’s subsidiaries.
Values Building in Social Work Education in Visegrad Countries: Integrated Approach
Authors: Glumbíková Kateřina , Petrucijová Jelena , Kantowicz Ewa , Kamińska-Jatczak Izabela , Slaná Miriam , Molnárová Letovancová Katarína , Féher Boróka , Vályi Réka , Ciczkowska-Giedziun Małgorzata , Zmysłowska Magdalena
Published: May 2021

Many key aspects of social work education are not sufficiently researched, and our knowledge of how students build values in social work education, despite its importance for creating concepts about values and their application in practice, is underexplored. The research aims to evaluate the perspective of social work students in the process of values building in social work education in Visegrad countries (V4 countries: Czech Republic (CZ), Hungary (HU), Poland (PL), and Slovakia (SK)) and to determine the implementation for achieving and strengthening an integrated approach in this process. The research was carried out using a qualitative research strategy interviewing 86 students from 10 universities in V4 countries. The research results show that the V4 countries share some common threats to values building in social work education: contextual threats such as an increasing impact of neoliberalism and internal threats, such as a non-existent systemic concept of values building education.
Visual Characteristics of Drivers at Different Sections of an Urban Underpass Tunnel Entrance: An Experimental Study
Authors: Jiao Fangtong , Du Zhigang , Zheng Haoran , Wang Shoushuo , Han Lei , Chen Can
Published: May 2021

The increase in the number of traffic accidents due to the increasing number of urban underpass tunnels necessitate a better investigation of drivers’ visual characteristics when entering the tunnels. A total of 20 drivers were gathered to perform a real vehicle experiment in an urban underpass tunnel. The saccade angle, saccade frequency, and fixation time were selected as the research indexes. The urban underpass tunnel entrance was divided into five sections, namely the external straight line section, the upper half of the ramp, the lower half of the ramp, the shading shed section, and the entrance inner section. The results showed that the saccade angle and frequency of the ramp were significantly smaller than that of the external straight line and the tunnel interior, and the saccade range in front of the entrance was more concentrated. The changes in fixation time and the difference range of 15th-85th fixation time threshold in each section were analyzed. The fixation time of all sections was distributed within the range of 149.476 to 475.414 ms. The driver’s fixation was more and more concentrated when the sidewalls were higher and closer to the portal.
Changing the Perception of Business Values in the Perspective of Environmental Sustainability
Authors: Demjanovičová Mária , Varmus Michal
Published: May 2021

This study provides an overview of practical approaches to sustainability and its communication to the public in the business sector. The research presented in this article is focused on perceived sustainability in micro and small enterprises in Slovakia through research of business models used by these enterprises using a qualitative approach. The aim is to provide a general view on this topic and to prepare the basis for a sustainable business model composed of the values of society in micro and small businesses in Slovakia. The research consists of two phases—research in the field of business environment through personal interviews with entrepreneurs (examination of parameters: locality, waste management, ecological components, minimization of waste) and research of consumers’ perceived values within the perception of environmental problems. Businesses perceive the seriousness and necessity of solving the problem. Entrepreneurs from the micro and small segments perceive the high importance of solving elements of sustainability. They mentioned the minimization of waste as the most important element, the highest value on the scale (5) was marked by up to 85% of respondents. From a customer survey, it is possible to assess that almost 86% of respondents in this case feel that global problems are affecting them personally and at the same time more than 62% of them believe that they can influence the offerings of companies through their purchases and support sustainability in the business environment.
Priming on Sustainable Design Idea Creation and Evaluation
Authors: Liao Ting , MacDonald Erin F.
Published: May 2021

Although three pillars of sustainable design—social desirability, economic competitiveness, and environmental friendliness—are all important, they are not necessarily equally accessible or salient during the design process. This paper applies a collage priming method to activate designers’ mindsets regarding sustainability pillars prior to conceptual design exercises, and to facilitate early-stage sustainable design. The study tests if collage priming (1) improves ideation outcome in terms of the sustainability pillars, interpreted as user desirability, cost, and environmental impact, and (2) encourages designers to further explore others’ ideas during idea evaluation. For (1), collage priming related to environmental aspect is shown to assist designers with generating more relevant ideas regarding environmental impact and more feasible ideas as compared to the control. The priming is not effective in helping designers generate ideas related to user desirability or cost, potentially because designers lack readily accessible information to be activated by priming. For (2), the collage priming related to user desirability is shown to encourage further exploration when exposed to (simulated) others’ ideas. The study shows the effectiveness of collage priming in improving environmental impact in conceptual design; it also demonstrates the existing challenges of addressing user desirability and cost.
Reactive UAV Fleet’s Mission Planning in Highly Dynamic and Unpredictable Environments
Authors: Radzki Grzegorz , Nielsen Izabela , Golińska-Dawson Paulina , Bocewicz Grzegorz , Banaszak Zbigniew
Published: May 2021

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) create an interesting alternative for establishing more sustainable urban freight deliveries. The substitution of traditional trucks in the last-mile distribution by a UAV fleet can contribute to urban sustainability by reducing air pollution and increasing urban freight efficiency. This paper presents a novel approach to the joint proactive and reactive planning of deliveries by a UAV fleet. We develop a receding horizon-based approach to reactive, online planning for the UAV fleet’s mission. We considered the delivery of goods to spatially dispersed customers over an assumed time horizon. Forecasted weather changes affect the energy consumption of UAVs and limit their range. Therefore, consideration should be given to plans for follow-up tasks, previously unmet needs, and predictions of disturbances over a moving time horizon. We propose a set of reaction rules that can be encountered during delivery in a highly dynamic and unpredictable environment. We implement a constraint programming paradigm, which is well suited to cope with the nonlinearity of the system’s characteristics. The proposed approach to online reactive UAV routing is evaluated in several instances. The computational experiments have shown that the developed model is capable of providing feasible plans for a UAV fleet’s mission that are robust to changes in weather and customer’s orders.
An Exploratory Study of Factors That Affect Psychological Well-Being of 4-Year College Freshmen in South Korea
Authors: Yoon Jiyoung , Hur Eunjung
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this study is to classify college freshmen based on the level of psychological states related to psychological well-being they experience, and to explore the factors influencing these psychological states. Group 1 had low levels of negative psychological states and high levels of positive psychological states (constituting 35% of the total sample); Group 2 had relatively high level of negative psychological states and very low level of life satisfaction (constituting 13% of the total sample), and Group 3 had moderate level of psychological states (constituting 52% of the total sample). First, it was identified that a group with high level of negative psychological states does not necessarily have a low level of positive psychological states in factors such as their self-esteem, resilience, or life goals. Second, female students were more likely to belong to the group with high manifestations of psychological problems. Students who get higher self-satisfaction from their income than their actual annual income, students with more allowance, students with lower burden relating to their tuition, and students who worked less part-time jobs (falls under the financial factor) were less likely to belong to the group with high manifestations of psychological problems. Students who had numerous communications with their peers and had a sense of trust in their school, and students who felt less alienated were also less likely to belong to the group with high manifestations of psychological problems (falls under the social relationship factor). In addition, students who selected their college major in accordance to their aptitudes and interests, or through the influence of their school teachers, were less likely to belong to the mild risk group or the risk group than the students who decided their college major based on employment prospects or recommendations (falls under the enrollment motivation factor). Meanwhile, students with a higher dependency to their mobile phones had higher probability of belonging to the risk group, and students who had higher computer use frequency, such as using a computer to chat or play games, had a lower probability of belonging to the mild risk group or the risk group (falls under the media utilization factor). The results of the study indicate the need for the following: (1) a three-dimensional diagnosis of the psychological state of college freshmen; (2) measures that can improve social relationships, such as support in the curriculum and linkage to counseling institutions; and (3) the selection of a major in accordance to one’s aptitude, calling for the need for a linkage with career guidance at the high school stage.
Effect of Dietary Inclusion of Alpha-Monolaurin on the Growth Performance, Lipid Peroxidation, and Immunity Response in Broilers
Authors: Saleh Ahmed Ali , El-Gharabawy Bahaa , Hassan Aziza , Badawi Nemat , Eid Yahya , Selim Shaimaa , Shukry Mustafa , Dawood Mahmoud
Published: May 2021

As the world population increases, there will be an increase in demand for poultry meat. To satisfy this requirement, sustainably will be a significant challenge as different countries in the world face different health problems. Additionally, for decades, poultry nutritionists have worked on sustainability in broiler manufacturing plants. The usage of short- and medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which have positive effects as growth promoters and immunostimulants, is a pioneering way to decrease the cost of diets and improve environmentally friendly and sustainable production in this critical era. This study aimed at evaluating the influences of alpha-monoglyceride (alpha-monolaurin) on the growth performance, biochemical parameters, lipid profiles, liver oxidative stress, and immune response in broilers. Alpha-monolaurin was included at the levels of 0 (control), 0.25, 0.5, and 1 g/kg in broiler diets. After 33 days, dietary supplementation of alpha-monolaurin showed no impact on the feed intake; however, broilers fed 0.5 g/kg feed displayed a significantly reduced food conversion ratio, as compared to the control (p ≤ 0.05). However, body weight and body weight gain tended to increase after 0.25 g/kg alpha-monolaurin supplementation, as compared to other groups. The highest European production efficiency factor (EPEF) was obtained with 0.25 g/kg alpha-monolaurin supplementation. The ether extract utilization and spleen weight were improved substantially (p ≤ 0.05) by alpha-monolaurin supplementation, but muscle and other organ weights were not affected. Plasma alanine transaminase (ALT) was decreased significantly by alpha-monolaurin supplementation, while plasma total protein and albumin were enhanced (p ≤ 0.05). Interestingly, broilers fed alpha-monolaurin displayed an increased antibody titer of the Newcastle disease (ND) virus and muscle unsaturated fatty acid content, and a decreased liver content of malondialdehyde (MDA). It could be assumed that dietary supplementation of alpha-monolaurin positively impacts birds’ feed efficiency and immune response and can be applied as a natural immune enhancer in the broiler industry.
Unveiling Women’s Needs and Expectations as Users of Bike Sharing Services: The H2020 DIAMOND Project
Authors: Gorrini Andrea , Choubassi Rawad , Messa Federico , Saleh Wafaa , Ababio-Donkor Augustus , Leva Maria Chiara , D’Arcy Lorraine , Fabbri Francesco , Laniado David , Aragón Pablo
Published: May 2021

Within the objectives of the H2020 DIAMOND project, the paper investigates women’s needs and expectations as users of the bike-sharing service managed by Syndicat Mixte Autolib et Velib Métropole in the territory of Paris Region-Petite Couronne (France). The paper presents a thematic literature review focused on gender inclusion in bike-sharing schemes. The proposed methodological approach is based on (i) Geographic Information Systems for the analysis of geolocated open datasets related to land, sociodemographic and mobility characteristics of the areas surrounding each docking stations. This was aimed at identifying a short list of suitable bike-sharing docking stations, which were further characterized through: (ii) structured proprietary data focused on travel demand; (iii) onsite observations focused on universal design indicators; (iv) survey questionnaires focused on women’s concerns, needs and expectations; and (v) social media data from Twitter focused on the opinion of the end-users. Results showed that women use the VELIB’s bike-sharing service much less than men (about 30% of the total number of users), since they are more concerned about the following issues: accessibility (e.g., availability of bikes at the docking stations, distance to the nearest station, type and quality of the cycle paths); safety and security (e.g., perception of danger and insecurity while cycling and using the current bicycle infrastructures); social constraints (e.g., perceptions and cultural stigmatization associated with cycling and bike-sharing); weather and topography (e.g., impact of weather and the urban terrain on cycling and bike-sharing). The final aim of the H2020 DIAMOND project is to support the definition of guidelines and policies for the inclusion of women’s needs in the design of future bike-sharing services.
Speed Optimization for Container Ship Fleet Deployment Considering Fuel Consumption
Authors: Gao Chao-Feng , Hu Zhi-Hua
Published: May 2021

In recent years, low energy consumption has become the common choice of economic development in the world. In order to control energy consumption, shipping line speed optimization has become strategically important. to reduce fuel consumption, this study optimizes the container ship fleet deployment problem by adopting the strategy of adjusting each leg of each route’s sailing speed. To calculate fuel consumption more accurately, both sailing speed and the ship’s payload are considered. A multi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming model is established to optimize the allocation of liner routes with multiple ship types on multiple routes. A linear outer-approximation algorithm and an improved piecewise linear approximation algorithm are used for linearization. If segments of an interval increase, the results will be more accurate but will take more time to compute. As fuel prices increase, to make trade-offs among economic and environmental considerations, the shipping company is adopting the “adding ship and slow down its speed” strategy, which verifies the validity and applicability of the established model.