High Level Of Impact Research Articles

Improving South African Masonry Construction Industry

Given the current state of the masonry construction industry (MCI) in South Africa (SA), this study is long overdue. The issues that require immediate attention are: (1) noncompliance; (2) unethical behaviour and (3) lack of knowledge. Evidence to be presented later demonstrates that not all designers and contractors adhere to building policies, regulations and standards. As the demand for buildings constructed of masonry increases significantly over the next few decades, an intolerably high level of adverse overall impact will result. The study’s aim is to propose a first step toward a remedy strategy to improve the SA MCI’s current state. The objectives are to: (1) present through already published case studies and reports how lack of compliance, ethics and knowledge affects the MCI and (2) suggest recommendations to improve the situation. The study concludes that compliance (predominantly), ethics and knowledge need to be improved in MCI. The study identifies how SA government can improve MCI by systematically implementing ISO 9001: 2015 to improve (1) compliance, (2) ethical behaviour and (3) knowledge in MCI.

Adipose tissue estimation of foraging and nesting green turtles Chelonia mydas using bioelectrical impedance analysis

Adipose tissue is the main energy store in sea turtles and fluctuates in response to dietary conditions and external stressors. Monitoring programmes commonly use body condition indices (BCIs) to infer the nutritional and health status of sea turtle populations. However, BCIs have poor predictive power for estimating adipose tissue. We introduce the use of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) as a portable technique to estimate adipose tissue in green turtles Chelonia mydas. The aims of this study were to estimate adipose tissue of green turtles on the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), and to examine whether adipose tissue is a more sensitive indicator than BCI. Turtles (n = 250) were sampled at 3 foraging sites and at a nesting beach with differing levels of anthropogenic impact. Differences in adipose tissue, Fulton’s BCI, and body mass across study sites and life stages were assessed by conducting linear mixed effects models. BIA estimates of mean adipose tissue revealed significant differences across life stages and sampling sites, that were not found using BCI data. Mean adipose tissue was estimated to be 4.6 ± 0.6% (% body mass ± SD) and was not correlated with mean BCI (1.2 ± 0.1). Adipose tissue was not reduced in turtles foraging at sites with a high level of anthropogenic impact. Adult turtles had significantly higher adipose tissue values than juveniles and subadults. Adult females measured during and shortly before nesting season had the highest adipose tissue values (%). BIA is a practical method for estimating adipose tissue, and we recommend this technique for consideration in sea turtle monitoring programmes.

Real Estate Investment Performance Measurement in Nigeria: Problems and Constraints Facing Professionals in a Highly Active but Opaque Market

Real estate investment plays a vital role in the economic system and the measurement of its performance provides a basis for the analysis of the state of the market and investment decision making at any point in time either at the property level, portfolio level or the property sector level. As a key indicator in the ranking of property markets across the world, real estate investment performance measurement has become an important index in the market maturity framework. However, the Nigerian real estate investment market has continued to be constrained by the absence of recognized performance measurement framework due to several factors. This study, which is part of an extended research, examines the problems and constraints that have militated against the construction of a performance measurement indices for the Nigerian market. The study carries out a questionnaire survey on a sample of 276 Estate Surveying and Valuation firms spread across the Nigerian real estate market. The data collected was analysed using the mean score to rank 21 identified factors that have limited the measurability of the market performance comparative to other globally recognized indices in other real estate markets. Out of the 21 limiting factors, 14 factors were specifically identified as having high impact levels on investment performance measurement of real estate in Nigeria. Among the 14 factors include absence of data unit that tracks market performance by the firms, inadequate information about the real estate market, lack of uniform performance measurement benchmark in the industry, limited knowledge of the performance measures by practitioners and the other factors. The study recommends urgent intervention by the Nigerian real estate professional body and its regulator in partnership with investors by creating an online based real estate specific information and data centre to address the identified problems in order to increase the measurability and transparency of the market.

Improving the effectiveness of Field Epidemiology Training Programs: characteristics that facilitated effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda

BackgroundThe global need for well-trained field epidemiologists has been underscored in the last decade in multiple pandemics, the most recent being COVID-19. Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) are in-service training programs that improve country capacities to respond to public health emergencies across different levels of the health system. Best practices for FETP implementation have been described previously. The Uganda Public Health Fellowship Program (PHFP), or Advanced-FETP in Uganda, is a two-year fellowship in field epidemiology funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and situated in the Uganda National Institute of Public Health (UNIPH). We describe how specific attributes of the Uganda PHFP that are aligned with best practices enabled substantial contributions to the COVID-19 response in Uganda.MethodsWe describe the PHFP in Uganda and review examples of how specific program characteristics facilitate integration with Ministry of Health needs and foster a strong response, using COVID-19 pandemic response activities as examples. We describe PHFP activities and outputs before and during the COVID-19 response and offer expert opinions about the impact of the program set-up on these outputs.ResultsUnlike nearly all other Advanced FETPs in Africa, PHFP is delinked from an academic degree-granting program and enrolls only post-Master’s-degree fellows. This enables full-time, uninterrupted commitment of academically-trained fellows to public health response. Uganda’s PHFP has strong partner support in country, sufficient technical support from program staff, Ministry of Health (MoH), CDC, and partners, and full-time dedicated directorship from a well-respected MoH staff member. The PHFP is physically co-located inside the UNIPH with the emergency operations center (EOC), which provides a direct path for health alerts to be investigated by fellows. It has recognized value within the MoH, which integrates graduates into key MoH and partner positions. During February 2020-September 2021, PHFP fellows and graduates completed 67 major COVID-related projects. PHFP activities during the COVID-19 response were specifically requested by the MoH or by partners, or generated de novo by the program, and were supervised by all partners.ConclusionSpecific attributes of the PHFP enable effective service to the Ministry of Health in Uganda. Among the most important is the enrollment of post-graduate fellows, which leads to a high level of utilization of the program fellows by the Ministry of Health to fulfill real-time needs. Strong leadership and sufficient technical support permitted meaningful program outputs during COVID-19 pandemic response. Ensuring the inclusion of similar characteristics when implementing FETPs elsewhere may allow them to achieve a high level of impact.

Simulated Handling to Investigate the Effect of Mechanical Damage on Stored Pomegranate Fruit

Mechanical damage is a threat to both food security and sustainability. Bruising is the most common type of mechanical damage, and it causes a huge economic loss due to rejection of fresh produce and downgrading of the appearance quality by consumers. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of bruising during postharvest handling using a pendulum test technique. Pomegranate fruit were bruised once at two impact levels (1.189 ± 0.109 and 2.298 ± 0.239 J) and then stored (at 5 °C ± 1 °C and 22 °C ± 1 °C) for 28 days. The study evaluated the effect of impact bruising, storage temperature, and duration on the bruise magnitude and quality attributes of the bruised and non-bruised pomegranates. The results showed that the investigated factors affect the bruise size of bruised pomegranates. Increasing storage temperature from 5 to 22 °C and impact level from 1.189 to 2.298 J increased the bruise area, bruise volume, and bruise susceptibility over time. Alterations in total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA%) were statistically (p < 0.05) induced by bruising, particularly at a high impact. The total soluble solids (TSS) content was reduced in all tested pomegranate fruit (bruised and non-bruised) and recorded the highest percentage decline in those impacted at a high level and stored at 22 °C, at 16.81%. The combination of both studied factors did not affect the water activity (Aw) of aril or the mesocarp of bruised or non-bruised fruit. Bruising parameters and quality attributes were strongly correlated in this study, excluding water activity (Aw). The regression models showed a good determination coefficient (R2) between the predicted and measured values of bruise susceptibility (BS), total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA%), and sugar: acid ratio (TSS:TA). The study demonstrates that bruising at a high impact level and long-term storage both affected the susceptibility of pomegranates to bruise, and altered fruit quality. Thus, these factors need to be considered during the postharvest supply chain.

The impact of objective and subjective valuations on behaviours: A case study of a rare earth processing plant

Despite the importance of rare earth elements in modern technologies, the establishment of rare earth plants often faces strong opposition from the community due to a fear of environmental impacts. This study examines information about actual and perceived pollution produced by a rare earth plant in Malaysia, Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP), and the community's response to it. A survey of 570 respondents reveals that LAMP is perceived to have a high environmental impact in the long run, although its pollution levels are mostly below the limit set by the authorities. About 18% of respondents have undertaken averting behaviours (AB) such as protest, reduction in outdoor activities, and increased health expenditure. The estimated averting expenditure, excluding migration cost, is about 0.06% of household monthly income. Logit estimations show that perception is a significant determinant of AB, while Tobit estimations indicate that young, male, non-Malays and those exposed to poor surrounding air quality, low levels of trust and perceived high levels of environmental impact will incur additional cost. Rare earth companies and the authorities should therefore find ways to communicate with and gain trust from the locals to reduce their fear and to avoid unnecessary protective actions.

An evaluation of Monitoring and Supervision in the Junior High Schools Curriculum Delivery in Ghana

Monitoring and supervision in schools is a very important aspect in the educational process. The purpose of the study was to examine monitoring and supervision of curriculum delivery in the Junior High Schools in Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of Ghana. Mixed method research approach was adopted for the study. The population f or this study was made up of teachers, head-teachers and the deputy director in charge of supervision in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality. Purp osive and convenient sampling techniques were employed to select the one-hundred and eighty-four respondents for the study. The main instruments for data collection were questionnaire and observation. The study revealed that monitoring and supervision was more or less just conformance to stipulated regulations and that teachers and head-teachers must comply without necessarily ensuring staff development to reduce limitations. The study also indicated that there is high level of impact of monitoring and supervision on Junior High Schools’ curriculum implementation in Ejisu-Juaben Municipality over the past years. It is recommended that, f or good performance, appraisal should be done at least by the end of every school term to ascertain staff performance on their j ob. It is also recommended that, for improvement of curriculum implementation, school heads should improve on; frequency coordination of all departments of the organization of visiting less on sessions, checking teachers’ less on notes, inviting teachers to observe him/her teach and checking students’ assignments, class exercises and pupils project work to ensure regular marking of exercise takes place.

Stability in the Unstable: How Social Enterprises Survive and Adapt in the VUCA World

Social enterprises are rightfully considered a quintessential example of organizations with a high level of social impact. The founders of these projects are striving to create sustainable financial models and strike a balance between social mission and commercial performance. How do social entrepreneurs manage to live and work in a world where fast-paced change has become the norm? What innovations and strategies help them get through the tough times?

Determinants of Training Competitive Business Professionals in the Hospitality Industry

Against the background of increasing level of competition in the hospitality industry, the growth of tourism on a global scale, the importance of training competitive professionals in the hospitality industry is growing. The purpose of the academic paper lies in defining the determinants of training competitive business professionals in the hospitality industry. The methodology of the research is based on a survey of 314 students of higher educational institutions (HEIs) of Ukraine among the four educational programs “Management of tourism and hotel and restaurant business”. The results indicate to the fact that five groups of determinants of influence on educational programs for training professionals of the hospitality industry have been revealed, among which the highest level of impact is provided by student support (this group of determinants ensures 43,99 % of the effectiveness of programs). The second place in terms of influence level is occupied by the network of connections in the hospitality industry (variation 7,36 %), the innovation of educational programs (variation 5,93) is in third place. It should also be mentioned that the important factors in the quality of educational programs are the educational environment (4,84 %) and the availability of certificates confirming the quality of faculties and programs. As a result of statistical analysis based on the t-test, no significant difference was revealed between the students’ genders in the perception of the determinants of the quality of training programs (curricula). Significant differences were found between assessments of the perception of the quality of training programs by first-year students / second-year students, junior and senior specialists.

Evaluating the Design and Benefits of Internship Programs

Scholarship on the role of professional development opportunities for undergraduate students has highlighted the growing importance of internship programs. Different designs of internship programs have emerged as their numbers proliferate. Internship programs vary on key dimensions including integration of academic content, development of internship offerings (publicly available vs. specially designed internships), and placement (self-select vs. guided). This paper compares three models of internship programs in a research university: a “traditional” model involving an array of political science–related internships; a research-focused internship program in political science; and an environmental internship program focused on environmental science, policy, and education internships. The paper evaluates and compares these programs by examining organizational and process variables, the impact of internships on participants, and participant satisfaction. We use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including a specially designed opinion survey of participants in the three programs. The results demonstrate that different models of internship programs with varying resources can all provide high impact and high satisfaction levels when certain elements are integrated into the programs. Students who were given more challenging tasks and opportunities to take initiatives were especially likely to gain a variety of personal, professional, and civic benefits. Overall, the highest levels of satisfaction were expressed by participants who felt their internship gave them new knowledge and skills, improved their employment prospects, enriched the college experience, and contributed to an important cause.

Virtual Skills Training Format for Teaching Intrauterine Contraception Insertion During Coronavirus Disease 2019

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic resulted in the curtailment of face-to-face clinical skills training in 2020. To meet Title X workforce needs, the National Clinical Training Center for Family Planning transitioned onsite intrauterine contraception training to a virtual format using online didactic material and livestreamed training and telementoring. Videos demonstrated the placement and removal of intrauterine contraceptives, and all necessary supplies were shipped directly to participants. Attendees reported a high level of skill uptake and impact on their practice. This pilot study suggests that virtual skills training is suitable for providers unable to travel to in-person events.

Empirically Derived Psychological Profiles of College Students: Differential Associations With COVID-19 Impact and Social Adjustment.

Using latent profile analysis, we derived psychological profiles of undergraduates during the pandemic and investigated profiles’ differential associations with COVID-19 impact and social adjustment. Participants (N = 517) completed measures of depression, loneliness, and anxiety, and two indices of social adjustment: friendship support and social connectedness. We identified Severe, Moderate, and Mild symptom profiles. Higher COVID-19 impact was associated with increased odds of belonging to the Severe versus Moderate and Mild profiles, and the Moderate versus Mild profile. On social adjustment, the Mild profile outscored the Moderate profile, which outscored the Severe profile. Overall, findings imply that individuals who perceive high levels of COVID-19 impact are especially likely to belong to a profile characterized by severe psychological symptoms and that membership in this profile is associated with social maladjustment.

Exploration of photocatalytic chlorination combined simplified distillation to produce electronic grade high-purity trichlorosilane via microchannel reactor experiments, multiphase-flow simulation, ReaxFF MD, and DFT

High-purity trichlorosilane (SiHCl3) is a key raw material for producing electronic-grade polysilicon and semiconductor chips. Here, a novel approach via photocatalytic chlorination combined with simplified distillation was applied to produce electronic-grade high-purity (>99.998%) SiHCl3 in a microchannel reactor. The distillation stages can be significantly simplified by using the heart-shaped microchannel reactor during photocatalytic process. The optimal conditions of photocatalytic chlorination combined the distillation were determined: 365 nm of ultraviolet wavelength, 322.7 K of the reaction temperature, 19.8 W of the light intensity, 19.1 s of the reaction time, mol ratio of Cl2: CH3SiHCl2 is 5, 101.9 kPa of distillation pressure, and 75.3 m3/h of return flow. Multiphase-flow microreactor simulation indicated that each chamber in the reactor has a high-level impact and turbulence phenomenon, and results in the excellent mixing performance. Reactive force field molecular dynamic simulation and density-functional theory calculation determined that compared with SiHCl3, Cl· reacts extremely inclined to methyl dichlorosilane (CH3SiHCl2), especially at low temperatures. And the reaction mechanism is mainly by Cl· replacing H attached to Si in CH3SiHCl2. This feasible approach has the advantages of a purer product, simpler process, energy-saving, and economy, and is worthy of promotion.

The Natural Capital approach: A framework for the successful recovery of nature in estuaries

Abstract Estuaries are unique and complex systems that are important for ecological, cultural and economic reasons. They provide valuable habitat for biodiversity and provide a wide range of regulating, cultural and provisioning ecosystem services. Estuaries have a disproportionate importance to people in comparison to other habitats, which has resulted in high levels of utilization and environmental impact. Poor management, ineffective conservation approaches and global economic changes have resulted in many temperate estuaries becoming both economically and environmentally degraded. We present an argument for the use of the Natural Capital approach as part of the wider green economic agenda in temperate estuaries to support both the environmental and economic recovery of these areas. We make the case that in a habitat always likely to be subject to intense human pressure it provides a holistic decision‐making approach which considers ecological aspects alongside the ecosystem's anthropogenic importance and pressures. This allows for damage to be identified quickly and accelerates the process of designing and implementing solutions. It provides a framework for multiple partners with a material interest in maintaining a healthy estuarine environment providing multiple benefits to drive investment in natural capital and delivery of nature recovery. We highlight some of the obstacles in implementing the Natural Capital approach in estuaries at scale, including collaboration and communication between stakeholders in various sectors, the existence of quality natural capital and environmental baselines and the need for partnership to create investment opportunities. We explore how these are being addressed and identify progress in the Natural Capital approach and how this can inform and advance the widespread implementation of the approach.

Report: Evaluating the ability of the TMA Clinical Decision Support platform to identify interventions in a clinical setting

The TMA Precision Health Clinical Decision Support system is a commercially available software platform focused on the confirmation of a precision diagnosis and generation of a personalized care plan to rapidly deliver therapeutic optionality and improve quality of life for rare and complex disease patients. For this study, we worked with our partners in Medellin, Colombia to evaluate the efficacy of the platform in identifying previously unexplored modes of care within a small sample population of adult patients suffering from a diverse set of rare diseases. Although challenges were encountered during the curation of data from multiple sources, personalized care plans and medication options were identified successfully for 94% of cases, suggesting a high level of impact for deployment at scale.

Assessment of Riverbank Erosion Hotspots along the Mekong River in Cambodia Using Remote Sensing and Hazard Exposure Mapping

The large-scale monitoring of riverbank erosion is challenging because of human, equipment, and financial limitations, particularly in developing countries. This study aims to detect riverbank erosion and identify riverbank erosion hotspots along the Mekong River in Cambodia. A riverbank erosion rate map was developed using satellite images from Landsat 5, 7, and 8 (1990–2020) using the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) at a resolution of 30 m and Sentinel-2 (2016–2021) using the normalized difference water index (NDWI) at a resolution of 10 m. Detecting riverbanks in satellite images using a water index depends greatly on image resolution and water threshold. The riverbank lines were validated using Google Earth images. In the data used in December 2017, the root mean square error (RMSE) of Sentinel-2 was 6.00 m, while the RMSE of Landsat was 6.04 m. In the data used in January 2019, the RMSE of Sentinel-2 was 4.12 m, while the RMSE of Landsat was 5.90 m. The hotspots were identified by overlaying the riverbank erosion rate map and the exposure map of population density and land cover. Field surveys and interviews were conducted to verify riverbank erosion hotspots in the Ruessei Srok and Kaoh Soutin communes. The results showed that within the last 30 years (1990–2020), the riverbank eroded more than 1 km in a direction perpendicular to the river in some segments of the Mekong River in Cambodia. The highest average annual erosion rate was in the Ruessei Srok Commune in Kampong Cham Province, at approximately 43 m/yr. Most eroded areas were farmland and rural residential areas. The riverbank hotspots are situated mainly in the lower part of the Mekong River, where the population is dense, and the erosion rate is high. Riverbank erosion hotspots with a very high impact level and ongoing active erosion include the Peam Kaoh Sna, Kampong Reab, Kaoh Soutin, and Ruessei Srok communes in Kampong Cham Province. This study provides an efficient tool for using satellite images to identify riverbank erosion hotpots in a large river basin. The riverbank erosion hotspot map is essential for decision-makers to prioritize interventions to reduce the risk of riverbank erosion and to improve the livelihood of the people residing along the Mekong River.

Mathematical Modelling of Teachers’ Intention to Participate in Online Training During Covid-19 Lockdown: Evidence from Emerging Economy

Because of lockdown for Covid-19 pandemic online teacher’s training has taken on paramount importance in the academia. Consequently, a key focus of training and education related research has been discovering ways to motivate individuals to engage in more active behavior. This research identifies the factors influencing teachers’ intention to participate in online training. Specifically, we investigated the impact of theory of planned behavior (TPB), ability, opportunity and motivation. Data were collected from 142 respondents using a structured questionnaire from four different universities of Bangladesh. The result suggests high level of impact on teacher’s intention by perceived behavior control, motivation and ability. Our developed research model empirically advances the TPB model with ability, opportunity and motivation.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Performance of the Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka: A Balanced Scorecard Approach

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the performance of the tourism sector in Sri Lanka. There is a dearth of studies that have used a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry. The impact of COVID-19 on the performance is measured by developing a BSC including; financial, customer, learning and growth, and internal business indicators. This study collects primary data using a questionnaire from 110 tourist accommodation providers. Initially, the reliability and validity of the questionnaires are ensured and conducted the descriptive analysis to measure the impact on the performance. In addition, due to the lack of normality in the data set of this study, the Kruskal Wallis test was performed to analyze the difference in performance between the number of employees, star ratings, and the number of years in existence. The findings revealed that there is a high-level impact on all performance indicators. In addition, the impact of COVID-19 does not change according to the number of employees and the star rating but there is a difference in financial performance with the number of years in existence. The findings of this study create the BSC to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry which adds new knowledge to stakeholder theory. The methodology, findings, and recommendations of the study are academically and professionally significant for a variety of hotel sector firms, the tourist board, and policymakers.

Spatial distribution of micromollusks under the impact of recreation

Anthropogenic impacts lead to a decrease in the abundance and diversity of communities of living organisms. The rate of recovery of populations is inversely proportional to size: the smaller the size, the greater the potential for population recovery after negative impact. Therefore, under conditions of extremely high levels of anthropogenic impact, small-sized animals are a reliable source of ecosystem state. The aim of the work is to: 1) to evaluate rates of the micromollusc Vallonia pulchella (Müller, 1774) abundance in ecosystems that are subject to extremely high levels of recreational pressure; 2) to identify factors that influence the spatial patterns of soil micromollusks; and 3) to investigate the possibility of using micromollusks for the purposes of bioindication of recreational pressure. The soil sampling was performed on a regular grid with recording of local coordinates. The micromollusks were extracted from the soil samples by hand sorting. Physical properties of soil sensitive to recreational load were also measured. Micromolluscs were found to exhibit a non-linear response to recreational impact. The maximum abundance of animals is observed at a certain distance from recreational trails. This distance is specific for different species of micromollusks. Micromollusks have high population abundance even under conditions of high recreational load. The regular spatial patterns of these animals are caused by changes in the soil habitat, which are induced by recreational load. This circumstance allows to consider micromollusks as a reliable indicator of the level of recreational load.

Suicide Classification for News Media Using Convolutional Neural Networks

ABSTRACT Currently, the process of evaluating suicide is highly subjective, which limits the efficacy and accuracy of prevention efforts. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a mean of investigating large datasets to identify patterns within ‘big data’ that can determine the factors on suicide outcomes. Here, we used AI tools to extract the topic from (press and social) media texts. However, news media articles lack of suicide tags. Using tweets with hashtags related to suicide, we trained a neuronal model that identifies if a given text has a suicide-related topic. Our results suggest a high level of impact of suicide cases in the media, and an intrinsic thematic relationship of suicide news. These results pave the way to build more interpretable suicide data from the media, which may help to better track, understand its origin, and improve prevention strategies.