Consolidated Manner Research Articles

Analysis of structured and unstructured stakeholders’ motivational support of Ghanaian slum communities

PurposeThis study aims to examine the motivations and supports of stakeholders in the slum communities, Ghana.Design/methodology/approachTwo-stage methodologies were used for data collection. Published Google News articles about the phenomenon as well as exploratory qualitative in-depth interviews with 15 participants.FindingsThe evidence shows that structured and unstructured are the two main categories of stakeholders operating in the space of slums in Ghana. It shows that stakeholders are motivated by their objectives and ethical or moral obligations to provide support in the form of consumables, housing and finance to the slums.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the data collection regime used in this project, findings are specific to the Ghanaian context and not generalisable. However, the results could be beneficial in other contexts with similar slum phenomena.Practical implicationsThe conclusions drawn serve as a springboard for urban managers responsible for slum administration and management to develop policy packages to incentivise and enlist more non-slum stakeholders in the existing stakeholders.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the few that expands the frontiers of the stakeholder model within context to discover specific slum stakeholders, their motivations and support for the slums in a consolidated manner.

FUZZY MULTIPLE CRITERIA GROUP DECISION-MAKING IN PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF MANUFACTURING COMPANIES

Today's market competition requires constant improvement of manufacturing companies. The primary key to sustainable improvement is evaluating the efficiency of manufacturing processes, which inevitably demands access to thorough and comprehensive information. However, due to the multiple numbers of effective factors that are varied in nature and value, it is impossible to identify certain factors that ensure the efficiency of a manufacturing procedure. As a solution, this paper proposes a novel approach that applies fuzzy TOPSIS. This approach provides the flexibility of evaluating multiple and varied factors of different weights in scrutinizing the efficiency of a manufacturer. The proposed approach has been applied to three different manufacturers (i.e., alternatives) in three steps. In the first step, with reference to the related literature and comments of manufacturing experts, the valuable factors (i.e., the criteria) have been selected to which experts specified linguistic terms. Linguistic terms were then converted to fuzzy numbers. Fuzzy TOPSIS was applied to analyze the efficiency performance of manufacturers. In the last step, to determine the impact of criteria weights on the decision-making process, sensitivity analysis was carried out. The findings confirm the implacability of the proposed approach to manufacturing performances in a consolidated manner. The approach can be employed by marketing managers, senior administrators, and other authorities in the manufacturing and business sectors.

Online Reviews System using Aspect Based Sentimental Analysis & Opinion Mining

Aspect extraction is the most critical and thoroughly researched process in SA (Sentiment Analysis) for conducting an accurate classification of feelings. Over the last decade, massive amounts of research have focused on identifying and removing elements. Products have centralized distribution channels, and certain apps may occasionally operate close to the most recent product to be created. Any e-commerce business enterprise must analyses user / customer feedback in order to provide better products and services to them. Because broad reviews frequently include remarks in a consolidated manner when a customer gives his thoughts on various product attributes within the same summary, it is difficult to determine the exact feeling. The key components of this software are included in their release, making it a valuable tool for management to improve the consistency of their own system's specifications. The goal was to categories the aspects of the target entities provided, as well as the feelings conveyed for each aspect. First, we are implementing a supervised classification framework that is tightly restricted and relies solely on training sets for knowledge. As a result, the key terms comes from associated at various elements of a thing within its entirety perform customer sentiment using certain elements. In contrast to current sentiment analysis approaches, synthetic and actual data set experiments yield positive results.

СТРАТЕГІЧНІ ПРИНЦИПИ ПОВОЄННОГО ВІДНОВЛЕННЯ УКРАЇНИ

Визначено й проаналізовано основні стратегічні принципи повоєнної відбудови України: управління ресурсами відновлення, ціннісний підхід до процесів реформування і відновлення, освіта з наголосом на підготовці фахівців з високими етичними цінностями. Післявоєнне відновлення лише розпочинає тривалий рух України на шляху високотехнологічного розвитку. Обґрунтовано необхідність створення конкретної, узгодженої з країнами-донорами програми відновлення, яка дозволить Україні не лише перебудуватися на європейських засадах, а й отримати членство в євроатлантичних структурах. Визначено контури такої програми і шляхи її реалізації. На нинішньому етапі потрібна нова архітектура міжнародного розвитку, якою може стати коаліція на основі взаємодії багатьох сторін, що паралельно з відновленням України стимулюватиме її інтеграцію до ЄС. Детально проаналізовано процес налагодження координації діяльності донорів з реципієнтом як один з найважливіших і найскладніших елементів реалізації «плану Маршалла» в повоєнній відбудові України. Розглянуто основні варіанти координаційних можливостей і запропоновано конкретний варіант координаційного механізму для сучасної України. Для подолання наявної системної кризи доцільно консолідовано використовувати тактичні й стратегічні реформаторські заходи. Невідкладними тактичними заходами є реформування системи управління і боротьба з корупцією, а стратегічними – відновлення верховенства права і етичних норм у економіці, тобто християнських цінностей. Обґрунтовано, що сьогодні людський капітал відіграє дедалі важливішу роль у глобальному середовищі, а освіта і наука стали ключовими елементами у визначенні якісних аспектів робочої сили. Показано, що успіхи «плану Маршалла» і реконструкції Південної Кореї на основі розвитку високих технологій завдячують не лише високоякісній структурі управління проектами, а й вихованню і залученню талановитих людей для їх реалізації.

Insights on Rigidity and Flexibility at the Global and Local Levels of Protein Structures and Their Roles in Homologous Psychrophilic, Mesophilic, and Thermophilic Proteins: A Computational Study.

The rigidity and flexibility of homologous psychrophilic (P), mesophilic (M), and thermophilic (T) proteins have been investigated at the global and local levels in terms of "packing factors" and "atomic fluctuations" obtained from B-factors. For comparison of atomic fluctuations, correction of errors by considering errors in B-factors from all sources in a consolidated manner and conversion of the fluctuations to the same temperature have been suggested and validated. The results indicate no differences in the global values like the average packing factor among the three classes of protein homologues, but at local levels there are differences. A comparison of homologous protein triplets show that the average atomic fluctuations at a given temperature mainly obey the order P > M > T. Packing factors and the atomic fluctuations are anti-correlated, suggesting that altering the rigidity of the active site might be a potential strategy to make tailor-made psychrophilic or thermophilic proteins from their mesophilic homologues. The computer codes developed and used in this work are available at the link https://github.com/Munna-Sarkar/proteins-rigidity-flexibility.git.

Poverty Profile and Health Dynamics of Indigenous People

This paper examines the critical aspect of health dynamics in the context of poverty and development of Indigenous people (Agta Isarog & Agta Tabangnon) in Mt. Isarog, Southern Luzon, the Philippines. The datasets were gathered from the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) of Goa Municipality, complemented by IP Censuses of 2018-2019. The core poverty indicators were analyzed in aggregated and disaggregated approaches. The poverty of each locality differs yet a large portion of the entire households and population of indigenous people are living below the poverty and food thresholds. In addition, the poverty incidence, gap, and severity using headcount ratios, gap metrics, squared gap statistics, and Watts indices were evaluated. It has been revealed that the poverty of Indigenous people is moderate to intense and manageable through intervention programs and policy initiatives. It then subsequently characterized the variables of health dynamics which vary per locality, and have been impacting poverty across all barangays. To confirm whether health dynamics predict poverty occurrences, Logistic regression models were estimated in an individual and consolidated manner. Results confirm that health dynamics significantly predict poverty outcomes.

National Referenda in Ukraine: Main Results and Consequences

The article contains scientific interpretation of the outcomes and identification of the defining characteristics of translation into practice of the main results of the referenda, which were held in Ukraine over the period from 1991 to 2000. During the period at hand, the total of three national referenda took place in Ukraine: on 17 March, 1 December, 1991, and 16 April, 2000. The author considers the key points regarding organizing and holding of such referenda as aforesaid based on the official data and those obtained by the author. The author specifically focuses on the fact that out of the seven questions put up for the referenda only one was carried into effect - the confirmation of the Declaration of Independence Act of Ukraine (12.01.1991). The rest of the results were ignored by the authorities. Based on the example of Ukraine, the nature of the influence of both external and internal factors on general poll organization is identified for the first time in a consolidated manner. The author also presents scientific data in order to prove the idea that in the contemporary environment it is essential to adhere to democratic principles in the course of public life management and especially when addressing fundamental issues of the government administration system. In this regard, the referendum (general poll), as a most important institution of democracy, is extremely important. The article also accentuates the imperative that human rights must be respected, including, inter alia, both the right to participate in referenda (general polls) and the right to demand translation of their outcomes into practice. Furthermore, the author for the first time systemically examines organization and procedure of referenda (general polls) in Ukraine and translation of their results into practice, using forms and methods of research object scientific analysis which are traditional for political sociology. In the present paper, the author primarily uses and refers to official documents and fundamental assessments by political leaders who were involved in the process of organizing and holding referenda in Ukraine.

A Review of Extremely Fast Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

The expansion of electric vehicles made the expansion of charging infrastructure rudimentary to keep up with this developing technology that helps people in a myriad of ways. The main drawback in electric vehicle charging, however, is the time consumed to charge a vehicle. The fast charging of electric vehicles solves this problem thus making it a lucrative technology for consumers. However, the fast charging technology is not without its limitations. In this paper we have identified the technology gaps in EV fast charging stations mostly focused on the extremely fast charging topology. It will help pave a path for researchers to direct their effort in a consolidated manner to contribute to the fast charging infrastructure. A thorough review of all aspects and limitations of existing extremely fast charging (XFC) stations have been identified and supporting data are provided. The importance of DC power network based on free fuel energy sources and silicon carbide-based power electronics are proposed to provide ultra-low cost and ultra-high speed XFC stations.

Співпраця подільських соціал-демократів із газетою «Правда» (1908-1912 рр.)

The work throws light on the cooperation of the Podolsk Social-Democrats with the editorial board of the nonaffiliated newspaper of the RSDLP «The Pravda», whose leading member of the editorial board was L. Trotsky, in the period 1908-1912. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity and systematics. Methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, historical-genetic, historical-comparative, historical-typological, and problem-chronological were used. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time, the authors investigated the issue of cooperation of the Social-Democrats of a separate region with the editorial board of the nonaffiliated newspaper «The Pravda». The reports of local organizations about their activities to the editorial board with the intelligence data of the secret field police about the situation of the RSDLP organizations in 1908-1912 were compared in detail. Conclusions. The activities of the Social-Democrats on the territory of Podillya contributed to the active growth of industrial enterprises in the region and the increase in the number of workers who formed the social basis of the revolutionary movement in the Russian Empire. The nationwide political processes that occurred within the Romanov Empire reflected the position of the political movement in the Podolsk province. It was found that the nonaffiliated newspaper «The Pravda» (1908-1912) established close ties with the social-democratic organizations in the region and helped to resume their work. It was reflected on its pages. In the conditions of inter-factional struggle of the RSDLP, the articles published in the newspaper testified to the support of the Podolsk Social-Democrats for the idea of the unity of the party, the joint action for workers’ rights in the empire. With the cancellation of the publication of the newspaper «The Pravda» in 1912, the Podolsk unity lost the opportunity to act in a consolidated manner and remain a powerful force that would influence the social life of the region.

User Behavioral Data Enhancement and Vectorization in E-Learning Models

The data acquiring mechanism on the criteria of users-interaction to the users-interface has been developed in the initial stage of this applied science research. The input system gets multiple inhomogeneous texts about the interface actions of a specific user, whereas the vector has been demonstrated by the results that describe the user in a consolidated manner. Moreover, the vector collection for various users has been employed as an input of clustering algorithm (i.e. K-means), the outcomes of behaviors of users are among the one of these (k-clusters) that differentiates the users by their behavioral types. Almost, 67.8% of the Interactional data of the interface of the user is accessible to GlobalLab platform users. However, for the electronic diary (i.e.Diary.ru) there is no corresponding data. Although not every user of the GlobalLab system takes the initiative to create the projects, ideas, questionnaire task, and educational resources, the proportion of learners have been 9.7 thousand whose value with all 4 variables varied according to a neutral one.

«КРЫМСКИЙ СИНДРОМ» В РОССИЙСКОЙ ЭКОНОМИКЕ

This article touches upon the development of the Russian economy under the conditions of the blockade of Crimea by foreign and Russian banks, companies and organizations. The author calls for a consolidated and one-time start of work on the peninsula of the largest economic actors. One of the main tasks is to prevent the rejection of Crimea at the level of large Russian business. It is important for the Crimean government to ensure openness to innovation and digital technologies. The main task is to eliminate the “Crimean syndrome” that has developed in the Russian business community in a systematic and consolidated manner.

Стратегии устойчивого развития vs традиционные подходы: предпочтения общества

The article describes the methodological approach to the development of strategies of socio-economic development created by the authors on the basis of the analysis of the best practices of sustainable development strategies in the world. The methodology involves the use of ecological and economic (the solid core of the ecological economics, projects with integrated efficiency) and humanistic (indicators of “true well-being”, human experience at the center of change) principles, as well as the use of direct democracy tools (residents are co-authors of strategies, in-depth interviews, online polls with alternative scenarios). The use of this methodology while producing strategies for socio-economic development, including conducting surveys of the population in Kerch, Simferopol and Tolyatti, showed that residents choose the solutions that are laid down in the sustainable development strategies of the leading cities of the world. Surveys regarding the image of the desired future, sustainable city, sustainable mobility and sustainable urban environment showed that residents respond not only progressively and professionally, but also in a consolidated manner choosing the sustainable development path as the only desired vector for long-term development. The main party uninterested in the implementation of the sustainability agenda is a conservative bureaucracy focused on familiar and simple measures and decisions.

Institutional COVID-19 Protocols: Focused on Preparation, Safety, and Care Consolidation.

As the confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continue to grow with over 1 million documented infections in the United States alone, researchers and health care workers race to find effective treatment options for this potentially fatal disease. Mortality remains high in patients whose disease course requires mechanical ventilation and admission to intensive care units. While focusing on therapies to decrease mortality is essential, we must also consider the logistical hurdles faced with regard to safely and effectively delivering treatment while limiting the risk of harm to hospital staff and other noninfected patients. In this article, we discuss aspects of surge planning, considerations in limiting health care worker exposure, the logistics of medication delivery in a uniform and consolidated manner, protocols for delivering emergent care in a rapidly deteriorating coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patient, and safe practices for transporting infected patients.

Participation of the Population of a Region in the Implementation of the National Projects: Retrospect and Prospect

Introduction. Russia’s National Projects focus on integrated interagency interactions between state and public participants. They accumulate various areas of social and political development of the territory. Mainstreaming the participation of the population in achieving the goals set consolidates and adjusts the vectors of change set by the National Projects. The purpose of the paper is to present a comprehensive analysis of the participation of the population in the implementation of the National Projects in a region on the basis of the study conducted, taking into account the characteristic features of the territory and the relevant forms of participation of local communities in accomplishing the stated tasks. Materials and Methods. The results of the “Kuzbass-Politics” monitoring initiative studies conducted in 2006 and 2018 were used as the materials for the analysis of this topic as well as the data of sociological surveys and reports on the implementation of the National Projects in Russia in 2019. To substantiate the implementation of the National Projects in the region, the method of systemic, structural and functional analysis was used. Results. The participation of the population in the implementation of the National Projects in a region has been analyzed using the example of the Kemerovo Region. The authors have studied the existing experience of implementation of the National Projects in 2005–2007 and compared it with that of the current stage (2019–2024). The materials of the secondary analysis have shown that the content of the new National Projects is in line with the needs of the population in matters of improving their living arrangements; however, many people are distanced from the National Projects, which is expressed in the lack of awareness and limited participation. The authors point out that the implementation of the National Projects in a region can be carried out in a consolidated manner or have multidirectional vectors of application of the activity and resource potentials of the population. Discussion and Conclusion. The interaction between the authorities and the population is a dialogue in which the interests of the parties are reconciled in order to achieve a common goal. The lack of taking into account the active role of the population in the implementation of socially significant results affects the quality of the development and the conditions for the implementation of the National Projects. The results of the study can contribute to the development of regional programs and activities aimed at increasing people’s participation in the implementation of the National Projects.

Exploring the Impediments to Digitization and Digital Preservation of Cultural Heritage Resources: A Selective Review

AbstractThis paper presents a careful review of studies underlining the impediments in digitization and digital preservation of cultural heritage resources faced by library professionals, archivists and project managers in digitization projects. A systematic and structured literature review based on the conceptual and empirical published studies on digitization and digital preservation is done to sieve out the barriers and challenges of digitization projects. The findings of the study revealed that most digitization projects suffer with impediments such as, inadequate funding, lack of national-level digital preservation policy and absence of technical infrastructure while digitizing and preserving the cultural and heritage resources. The originality of the paper lies in presenting the prominent constraints in digitization and preservation of cultural and heritage resources in consolidated manner otherwise scattered in several case studies. The findings will be of high significance for librarians and digitization project managers at the planning stage of their digitation projects.

Harmonizing cross-departmental Perspectives on Modular Product Families

Abstract In order to maintain their competitiveness and to respond effectively to different customer needs, manufacturing companies offer a wide range of product variants. This increasing product variety leads to an increase in variety-induced complexity and thus to rising costs in all departments. The development of modular product families is a proven strategy to handle the large external variety with a relatively small internal variety. Modularization requires not only technical-functional, but also organizational, process-related and strategic aspects from all involved departments in order to create an optimal product architecture. The method of the Life Phases Modularization offers this possibility as it integrates all perspectives of the different departments and tries to harmonize the partially contradictory aspects using the Module Process Chart (MPC). The resulting harmonized module process forms the global optimum for exploiting potentials of modular product families within the entire company. The method was developed almost a decade ago and has been applied and refined over time in several industrial cases. This paper presents the method on the basis of two industrial examples and shows deficits and improvements in a consolidated manner.

Do mall events affect mall traffic and image? A qualitative study of Indian mall retailers

PurposeIncreased competition among different retail formats has led mall managers to focus on mall promotional activities to attract shoppers to malls. The purpose of this paper is to understand Indian mall retailers views on mall events and its role in improving traffic, sales and mall image.Design/methodology/approachThe current study used a qualitative to decipher mall retailers’ views regarding mall events. In total, 36 in-depth interviews of mall retailers across 13 metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities (Tier-I and Tier-II) were conducted to develop a comprehensive understanding of mall events organized by Indian mall managers.FindingsThe findings revealed that mall events were categorized under six different types: product launch events, events organized to promote the social cause, commemorate festivals, celebrity nights, events organized by retailers in malls and theme events. There were differences in the nature of events used by malls in bigger and smaller cities across India. The nature of mall events varied according to regional, cultural and lifestyle factors across the country.Research limitations/implicationsMall managers can use the insights from the study on mall events for segmenting and targeting strategies. The different types of mall events can be used for improving footfall, sales and mall image. The study findings employ a grounded theory approach to understand mall retailers’ views on mall events. Future research can be directed toward understanding mall managers’ and consumers’ opinions about the relevance of mall events in improving footfall and profitability of malls.Originality/valueExtant research has looked at mall events, their role and efficacy in a consolidated manner. The current study attempts to segregate the events organized by mall management into distinct categories and provide linkages of these categories concerning mall image and traffic.

Phenotypes of Pregnant Women Who Subsequently Develop Hypertension in Pregnancy.

BackgroundHypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy are a major cause of maternal death. Our objective was to evaluate maternal clinical, hemodynamic, and placental prognostic indicators in a consolidated manner to identify women who develop hypertension in pregnancy.Methods and ResultsTwenty‐six normotensive pregnant women from a specialized Placenta Clinic at increased risk of developing de novo hypertension and 20 normotensive healthy pregnant controls were recruited at 22 to 26 weeks' gestation. Fourteen maternal clinical, hemodynamic, and placental characteristics were assessed in the second trimester and aggregated. Principal component analysis of this combined data set determined that 3 dimensions accounted for 56% of the cohort variability. The first dimension accounted for 31% of the cohort variability, with significant contributions from total peripheral resistance, endoglin, and cardiac output. The second dimension was predominantly influenced by body mass index and mean arterial pressure, while uric acid and myeloperoxidase mainly contributed to the third dimension. Unsupervised clustering identified 3 groups within this combined data set. Total peripheral resistance was the most significant distinguishing parameter between these groups (P<0.0001), followed by placental growth factor, endoglin, and cardiac output (P<0.0001). Using these 4 parameters, a receiver operating curve was constructed with an area under the curve of 0.975 (95% confidence interval 0.93–1) for the prediction of developing hypertension in pregnancy.ConclusionsConsolidated assessment of prognostic indicators in the second trimester of pregnancy may be useful to characterize and distinguish pathways by which women may develop hypertension in pregnancy. This approach could contribute to the development of pathway‐specific preventative and antihypertensive treatment strategies.

L'analyse des risques éthiques : une recherche exploratoire dans le domaine de la gouvernance municipale

RésuméCe texte présente les résultats d'une analyse thématique faite à partir des matériaux obtenus lors d'une recherche empirique exploratoire portant sur les risques éthiques dans le domaine municipal. Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé un diagnostic des risques éthiques dans une municipalité canadienne ayant connu une crise importante au niveau de l'intégrité. La recherche empirique s'est faite de novembre 2015 à mars 2016, à partir d'entrevues semi-dirigées avec des acteurs dits stratégiques et des groupes de discussion avec des acteurs dits opérationnels.Notre recherche s'inscrit dans l'esprit d'un « retour d'expérience » (Wybo et Wassenhove, 2009). Ainsi, l'objectif de ce type recherche est de produire, via un travail de réflexivité collective, un bassin de connaissances pratiques pouvant permettre de mieux comprendre les risques éthiques présents dans un environnement particulier et de cibler les stratégies d'atténuation de ces risques.Pour faire notre analyse, nous avons croisé les résultats de notre enquête sur deux axes d'analyse : l'analyse des risques sous l'angle des trois indicateurs de notre cadre (conduites à risque, facteurs de risque et stratégies d'atténuation) et l'analyse transactionnelle par les parties prenantes. Nous présenterons les résultats de façon synthétique afin de faire ressortir la transversalité des données et leur rattachement à des situations transactionnelles particulières. Dans la section discussion, nous mettrons l'accent sur les stratégies d'atténuation des risques éthiques proposées par nos répondants afin de faire ressortir la grande différence de ces résultats par opposition aux propositions traditionnelles des experts institutionnels qui se sont penchés sur l’éthique du service public.

Seeing the Immaterial: A New Instrument for Evaluating Integrated Management Systems’ Maturity

Integrated management systems (IMSs) can already be considered a proven tool to help companies cope with the challenges associated with staying competitive in the face of dynamic stakeholder requirements. The present paper proposes a new instrument designed to evaluate and communicate the maturity achieved by an integrated management system (IMS) for responding properly to the requirements of its reference standards in a consolidated manner. The approach mainly aims to highlight the level of integration achieved on common requirements of the component standards and to determine the extent to which they work together as a whole. At the same time, it is useful to identify the needs for improvement in the system as a whole or in its sub-systems. The proposed methodology uses the transmutation in the RGB color space (red–green–blue) of the process audits’ results achieved under each standard, followed by the analysis of the IMS characteristics, with tools specific to the color space, based on the affinities between the two domains. To sustain the thoroughness of this approach, a case study of an integrated system for an industrial company is presented, analyzing the situation from two different evolution stages of the IMS. The approach is presented as a proof-of-concept, without large scale validation.