Individual Demand Research Articles

Foreign experiences on liability to compensate for emotional distress damage caused by a breach of contract and lessons learnt for Vietnam

Due to the socio-economic development, the spiritual demands of individuals are increasing, such as improving physical appearance, health care... Therefore, numerous transactions in relation to such respects are signed. In the course of transaction performance, it is common for the obligor to fail to perform the contractual obligations or to perform incompletely or improperly the contractual obligations. Obviously, when any breach of contract occurs, the parties to such contract want their rights and interests to be protected. Consequently, when the breach of contract gives rise to emotional distress damage, the liability to compensate for emotional distress damage is issued pursuant to Article 419 of the Civil Code 2015. However, the contract laws of Vietnam still have some shortcomings in relation to the liability to compensate for emotional distress damage caused by a breach of contract, particularly drawbacks relevant to i) The cases of compensation for emotional distress damage caused by a breach of contract; ii) The level of compensation for emotional distress damage caused by a breach of contract; iii) The form of compensation for emotional distress damage caused by a breach of contract. Thus, this article analyses and comments on foreign experiences on liability to compensate for emotional distress damage caused by a breach of contract while comparing it with regulations and practical application in Vietnam in order to draw some lessons for Vietnam to enhance laws and advance the effectiveness of applying the above-mentioned regulations in practice.

Peripheral perfusion index stratifies risk in patients with intraoperative anemia: A multicentre cohort study

Study objectiveEvidence for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion thresholds in the intraoperative setting is limited, and current perioperative recommendations may not correspond with individual intraoperative physiological demands. Hemodynamics relevant for the decision to transfuse may include peripheral perfusion index (PPI). The objective of this prospective study was to assess the associations of PPI and hemoglobin levels with the risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality. DesignMulticenter cohort study. SettingBispebjerg and Hvidovre University Hospitals, Copenhagen, Denmark. PatientsWe included 741 patients who underwent acute high risk abdominal surgery or hip fracture surgery. InterventionsNo interventions were carried out. MeasurementsPrincipal values collected included measurements of peripheral perfusion index and hemoglobin values. MethodsThe study was conducted using prospectively obtained data on adults who underwent emergency high-risk surgery. Subjects were categorized into high vs. low subgroups stratified by pre-defined PPI levels (PPI: > 1.5 vs. < 1.5) and Hb levels (Hb: > 9.7 g/dL vs. < 9.7 g/dL). The study assessed mortality and severe postoperative complications within 90 days. Main resultsWe included 741 patients. 90-day mortality was 21% (n = 154), frequency of severe postoperative complications was 31% (n = 231).Patients with both low PPI and low Hb had the highest adjusted odds ratio for both 90-day severe postoperative complications (2.95, [1.62–5.45]) and 90-day mortality (3.13, [1.45–7.11]).A comparison of patients with low PPI and low Hb to those with high PPI and low Hb detected significantly higher 90-day mortality risk in the low PPI and low Hb group (OR 8.6, [1.57–162.10]). ConclusionHigh PPI in acute surgical patients who also presents with anemia was associated with a significantly better outcome when compared with patients with both low PPI and anemia. PPI should therefore be further investigated as a potential parameter to guide intraoperative RBC transfusion therapy.

A Comprehensive guide to Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and application to individual electricity demand

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have become a popular research topic in many research fields in the last decade. The fragmented body of knowledge on GANs drives researchers to a trial-and-error procedure while choosing the right GAN for a given task. This study provides a comprehensive guide on GANs, where we start with considering problems such as nonconvergence, mode collapse, vanishing gradient, and unstable training. We then compare various GANs concerning the application perspective, their outputs, and evaluation metrics. In addition, we suggest using a new evaluation metric to identify the best candidate of GANs for time series tasks, the so-called average coverage error (ACE). Finally, we discuss the application of the ACE using the electricity consumption of an individual industry customer and display significant selection criteria. The ACE is beneficial in identifying the best GANs by comparing outcomes and reduces the computational cost of searching related to the evaluation metrics.

Các nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến quyết định đầu tư của nhà đầu tư cá nhân trên thị trường chứng khoán Việt Nam: Nghiên cứu trường hợp sinh viên trường Đại học Kinh tế- Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội

Financial investment, typically investment in stock markets, has been of great interest to business students. The aim of this study is to identify and measure the impact of different factors that can affect the investment decisions of individual investors in the Vietnamese stock market. The data was collected in June 2023 using a convenience sampling technique on 201 students of the University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (UEB) regarding their investment decisions. The results from multivariate regression show that Neutral information exerts the strongest impact on the surveyed students’ investment decisions, followed by Market psychology, Stock information, Company image, and Financial knowledge. However, Individual financial demand is not statistically significant in the regression model. The results of this study suggest that young people should have sufficient financial knowledge and other preparations to maximize return and minimize risk when participating in the Vietnamese stock market.

Impact of a pandemic shock on unmet medical needs of middle-aged and older adults in 10 countries

ObjectiveThe objective is to explore the impact of the pandemic shock on the unmet medical needs of middle-aged and older adults worldwide.MethodsThe COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 was used as...

근로시간 제도의 유연화를 위한 과제

The ”work hours” are the key terms and conditions of employment in the labor contract (Labor Standards Act Article 17-1(2)), and they are closely related to the “wages” paid to the worker as remuneration for work. The main task of the Labor Act is to regulate the work hours to protect the health rights of workers and guarantee the work-life balance of the workers. The history of Labor Act is also called the history of shortening the work hours. This is because the work hours are the key regulatory matters in the Labor Act. It is also a crucial task to regulate the work hours to guarantee the health rights and living rights of the workers.&#x0D; The Korean work hour system is mainly based on the Labor Standards Act. Since the enactment of the Labor Standards Act in 1953, the discussions and changes regarding the work hour system have been focusing on reduction of the legal work hours and standard work hours to secure the recess rights or health rights of the workers. For example, the initial work hours of Korea reduced from eight hours a day and 48 hours a week (Labor Standards Act enacted on May 10, 1953) to eight hours a day and 44 hours a week in 1989 (Labor Standards Act amended on March 29, 1989). Since 2003, the work hours have been reduced to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week (Labor Standards Act amended on September 15, 2003) until now. Provided, the work hour system under the current Labor Standards Act mainly regulates the actual work hours and fails to consider the living time of the workers.&#x0D; The work-life balance has been recently spotlighted, and there is a growing demand for flexible work hours. In fact, flexible work hour is a key issue in many workers for work-life balance, and flexible work hour is considered as a main mean to improve the work-life balance.&#x0D; The guarantee of time needed for family life and social life may vary depending on the individual circumstances of each work. In order to improve the work hour system, it is necessary to secure the right to decide the allocation and placement of the work hours in consideration of the individual worker demands based on the labor-management agreements.&#x0D; In reformation of the work hours, the total amount of work hour should be continuously reduced and regulated while guaranteeing flexibility in operation of the work hour within the total amount. The current laws and systems also need to be reviewed again based on these perspectives. Furthermore, individual and fragmentary improvement of the work hour system cause inefficiency and lack of practicality in system operation. Thus, it is necessary to redesign the realistic and future-oriented work hour regulation framework.

Navigating the Moral Compass: Ethical Dimensions in Coach Education

Abstract: This paper critically examines the ethical dimensions and challenges in assessment within coach education, emphasizing the heutagogical approach and the critical role of learner-centred assessment. We explored the complex interplay between different assessment methods - norm-referenced, criteria-referenced, and ipsative - and their ethical implications in the context of varying institutional, programmatic, and individual learner demands. Central to this exploration is the ethical dilemma faced by educators in balancing these competing needs and determining what constitutes 'right' in the domain of assessment. The over-emphasis on the assessment of learning is scrutinized, particularly its focus on meeting predefined standards and competencies through “objective” evaluation. In contrast, assessment for learning is presented as a formative approach that provides continuous insights into the learners' development, enabling educators to tailor their teaching strategies. When educators assess their students' learning, they have a window into the effectiveness of their teaching. The authors endorse the stance that considers assessment as learning, an approach that actively engages learners through self-reflection, goal setting, and direct observation, emphasizing the learning process as part of the outcome.

Demand response model: A cooperative-competitive multi-agent reinforcement learning approach

This study introduces a novel Demand Response (DR) Model based on Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL-DR), comprised of a pricing and incentives scheme aimed at improving the accuracy of existing demand response strategies. Furthermore, this new approach represents a flexibility solution to prevent sharp price variations caused by the high penetration of unconventional renewable energy, which are directly passed on to end-users. The model employs a cooperative-competitive MARL-DR technique based on Q-learning, with the goal of determining optimal prices and incentives that maximize benefits for both customers and electric Service Provider (SP). In this regard, the model has the capability to offer customers pricing options in both real-time and time-of-use, to actively adjust each user's consumption. Additionally, through demand characterization factors, such as the coincidence factor (CF), the of typical user behavior is improved, and the influence of individual user demand on system peak demand is more accurately detected. It is also demonstrated that the cooperative-competitive approach offers better performance compared to other approaches. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is presented at various stages of the model to verify its accuracy and efficiency in pricing and incentives formulation.

Food Demand and Nutritional Habits of Consumers During the Covid-19 Outbreak: A Case Study in Türkiye

The Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the entire world, has caused changes in many areas of life worldwide. These changes have also influenced and continue to influence consumer behaviors. During the restrictions, people staying at home and only going out for essential needs such as grocery shopping has caused changes in their shopping and consumption habits. The changing consumer behaviors related to the process have brought about many studies. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, it has caused significant changes in the attitudes and behaviors of individuals in the world and in Türkiye. Numerous studies have been conducted to understand these changes. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the pandemic on the food demand and nutritional habits of individuals residing in Tekirdağ province. To achieve this, a survey was conducted with consumers living in Tekirdağ. According to the research's predicted 10% margin of error and 99% significance level, the sample size was calculated to be 166 people. Factor analysis was applied during the statistical analysis of the findings. Based on the results of the factor analysis, it was found that the desire of individuals to consume organic products and their awareness of healthy nutrition were high. The negative conditions that occurred during the pandemic increased the desire of individuals to eat. It has shown that consumers are more sensitive about healthy eating during the Covid-19 pandemic process. An increase in the consumption of food products that form the basis of a healthy diet, such as fruits, vegetables and eggs, and a corresponding decrease in the consumption of carbonated drinks and prepackaged food also support this finding. However, the high increase in the consumption of pastries and nuts can be given as examples of the negative effects of the need to stay at home and the restriction of physical activities due to the Covid-19 outbreak. In addition, their buying behavior changed, and the number of people who procure food products through online shopping increased. The aim of this study is to inform consumers and researchers working on this subject about how food consumption of consumers has changed after Covid-19.

DiffTransfer: A Person Portrait Style Transfer Method Based on Stable Diffusion

With the widespread adoption of high-performance GPUs, NPUs, and other devices in recent years, the threshold for deploying large models on the edge has gradually lowered. Meanwhile, as social networks continue to thrive and virtual reality technology advances rapidly, there is an urgent demand for individuals to possess a realistic virtual identity to meet the ever-evolving social needs. In this context, portrait style transfer has attracted growing research interest. Different from the previous works that mainly follow the pipeline of generative adversarial network or variational autoencoder, this research proposes a method for person portrait style transfer based on the stable diffusion model. By pre-training underlying models, users only need to upload a small number of photos to generate corresponding LORA models for individuals. The approach involves style fusion using textual prompts and other models to modify portrait styles and generate images of individuals in different poses. Extensive visualization results validate the effectiveness of this work, which is able to generate realistic portrait images of people with different styles.

Impact of Acute Dopamine Replacement on Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease.

PD causes striatal dopaminergic denervation in a posterior/dorsal to anterior/ventral gradient, leaving motor and associative cortico-striato-pallido-thalamic loops differentially susceptible to hyperdopaminergic effects with treatment. As the choice and titration of symptomatic PD medications are guided primarily by motor symptoms, it is important to understand their cognitive implications. To investigate the effects of acute dopaminergic medication administration on executive function in Parkinson's disease (PD). Participants with idiopathic PD were administered the oral Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT; n = 181) and the Stroop test (n = 172) in the off-medication and "best on" medication states. ANCOVA was used to test for differences between off-medication and on-medication scores corrected for age and years of education. After administration of symptomatic medications, scores worsened on the SDMT (F = 11.70, P < 0.001, d = -0.13), improved on the Stroop color (F = 26.89, P < 0.001, d = 0.184), word (F = 6.25, P = 0.013, d = 0.09), and color-word (F = 13.22, P < 0.001, d = 0.16) test components, and the Stroop difference and ratio-based interference scores did not significantly change. Longer disease duration correlated with lower scores on the SDMT, Stroop color, word, and color-word scores; however, longer disease duration and higher levodopa-equivalents correlated with higher Stroop difference-based interference scores. Symptomatic medication differentially affects performance on two cognitive tests in PD. After acute treatment, core Stroop measures improved, Stroop interference was unchanged, and SDMT performance worsened, likely reflecting complex changes in processing speed and executive function related to acute treatment. When considering motor symptom therapies in PD, an individual's cognitive demands and expectations, especially regarding executive function, should be considered.

An Evaluation of Projection Methods for Detailed Small Area Projections: An Application and Validation to King County, Washington.

Population projections are used by a number of local agencies to better prepare for the future resource needs of counties, ensuring that educational, health, housing, and economic demands of individuals are met. Meeting the specific needs of a county's population, such as what resources to provide, where to target resources, and ensure an equitable distribution of those resources, requires population projections which are both demographically detailed, such as by age, race, and ethnicity, and geographically precise, such as at the census tract level. Despite this need, an evaluation of which methods are best suited to produce population projections at this level are lacking. In this study, we evaluate the accuracy of several cohort-based methods for small area population projections by race and ethnicity. We apply these methods to population projections of King County, Washington and assess the validity of projections using past population estimates. We find a clear pattern that demonstrates while simplified methods perform well in near term forecasts, methods which employ smoothing strategies perform better in long-term forecasting scenarios. Furthermore, we demonstrate that model's incorporating multiple stages of smoothing can provide detailed insights into the projected population size of King county and the places and groups which will most contribute to this growth. Detailed projections, such as those provided by multi-stage smoothing methods, enable city planners and policy makers a detailed view of the future structure of their county's population and provide for them a resource to better meet the needs of future populations.

Chimpanzees demonstrate a behavioural signature of human joint action

The strength of human society can largely be attributed to the tendency to work together to achieve outcomes that are not possible alone. Effective social coordination benefits from mentally representing a partner's actions. Specifically, humans optimize social coordination by forming internal action models adapted to joint rather than individual task demands. To what extent do humans share the cognitive mechanisms that support optimal human coordination and collaboration with other species? An ecologically inspired joint handover-to-retrieve task was systematically manipulated across several experiments to assess whether joint action planning in chimpanzees reflects similar patterns to humans. Chimpanzees' chosen handover locations shifted towards the location of the experimenter's free or unobstructed hand, suggesting they represent the constraints of the joint task even though their individual half of the task was unobstructed. These findings indicate that chimpanzees and humans may share common cognitive mechanisms or predispositions that support joint action.

Reliability analysis of multi-state series systems with k-out-of-n: G subsystems considering performance sharing

Motivated by real-world engineering systems, this paper presents an in-depth exploration of a novel reliability model for a complex multi-state series system (MSSS) that incorporates a performance sharing mechanism. Specifically, the MSSS is composed of m distinct subsystems featuring a k-out-of-n: G structure. The ith subsystem consists of ni elements, such that a minimum of ki functioning elements is required for normal operation. Transmission devices (TDs) are present between adjacent subsystems to share surplus performance. Both element performance and subsystem demand are treated as random variables, and the performance of all elements in each subsystem is cumulated to meet its individual random demand. Subsystem failure can result from either an inability to meet performance demands or an insufficient number of functioning elements. The surplus performance of a subsystem can only be transferred to its adjacent subsystem via the TD. The entire MSSS will fail if at least one subsystem does not work properly by using performance sharing mechanism. To analyze the reliability indexes of the MSSS, a new algorithm based on the generalized universal generating function (GUGF) has been developed. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed model and method.

Digital rights and responsibility in education: A scoping review

Studies on digital rights in education have both gained attention and provided a framework for research, policy and practice in educational research within the field of educational technology. The potential benefits we appreciate in Internet use are inseparable from the maximum risks involved. Faced with this responsibility, individuals demand that their rights and freedoms be guaranteed in the digital environment according to their various roles as students, teachers, families or staff. This scoping review selects and analyses 54 theoretical and empirical studies from the last decade (2013-2023), identifying the main topics investigated as privacy protection in online environments, right to digital security or cybersecurity, and right to digital education. The review underscores the need to guide efforts towards digital education for citizens because the legal regulation of rights and responsibilities is necessary but insufficient. The paper also makes arguments about acceptance, limitations and implications for teacher training.

Protective Factors of Burnout: Resilience and Mindfulness

The aim of present research is to study the combined effects of two variables, namely, mindfulness and resilience on one outcome measure, namely, Burnout as well as investigating the relative contribution of mindfulness and resilience to reduce Burnout among college students. Individuals face persistent stress and demands in their personal and professional lives and remain at a constant risk of Burnout due to academic work, pressure and high competition. Burnout affects the mental health and performance of young adults. Mindfulness and Resilience have been recognized as protective factors against Burnout and helps to cope with the stress associated with it. The study composed a sample of 74 individuals (Male=34, Female=40) using The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-15), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI-S). Quantitative research design has been used and Regression analysis found significant predictors (Mindfulness and Resilience) of Burnout. The obtained results for regression analysis, the F= 11.081, p&lt;0.001 values indicates that the concerned factors have significant impact on Burnout and the R2 value found 0.238 which depicts 23.8% of the total variance for Burnout. It concluded that increased Mindfulness and Resilience among college students leads to lower feelings of Burnout. Interventions, trainings, workshops and counseling become necessary in educational perspectives to provide the coping strategies with the negative outcomes of Burnout through practices of Mindfulness and Resilience.

Early Autocalibrated Arterial Waveform Analysis for the Management of Burn Shock-A Cohort Study.

Adequate fluid therapy is crucial for resuscitation after major burns. To adapt this to individual patient demands, standard is adjustment of volume to laboratory parameters and values of enhanced hemodynamic monitoring. To implement calibrated parameters, patients must have reached the intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of this study was, to evaluate the use of an auto-calibrated enhanced hemodynamic monitoring device to improve fluid management before admission to ICU. We used PulsioflexProAqt® (Getinge) during initial treatment and burn shock resuscitation. Analysis was performed regarding time of measurement, volume management, organ dysfunction, and mortality. We conducted a monocentre, prospective cohort study of 20 severely burned patients, >20% total body surface area (TBSA), receiving monitoring immediately after admission. We compared to 57 patients, matched in terms of TBSA, age, sex, and existence of inhalation injury out of a retrospective control group, who received standard care. Hemodynamic measurement with autocalibrated monitoring started significantly earlier: 3.75(2.67-6.0) hours (h) after trauma in the study group versus 13.6(8.1-17.5) h in the control group (P < .001). Study group received less fluid after 6 h: 1.7(1.2-2.2) versus 2.3(1.6-2.8) ml/TBSA%/kg, P = .043 and 12 h: 3.0(2.5-4.0) versus 4.2(3.1-5.0) ml/TBSA%/kg, P = .047. Dosage of norepinephrine was higher after 18 h in the study group: 0.20(0.12-0.3) versus 0.08(0.02-0.18) µg/kg/min, P = .014. The study group showed no adult respiratory distress syndrome versus 21% in the control group, P = .031. There was no difference in other organ failures, organ replacement therapy, and mortality. The use of auto-calibrated enhanced hemodynamic monitoring is a fast and feasible way to guide early fluid therapy after burn trauma. It reduces the time to reach information about patient's volume capacity. Management of fluid application changed to a more restrictive fluid use in the early period of burn shock and led to a reduction of pulmonary complications.

Determinants of Individuals’ Demand for Service Products. Sample of Algerian Insurance Companies Clients

This study aims to highlight the most important factors determining the demand of Algerian individuals for insurance services, and to achieve this goal, the study relied mainly on a field survey distributed to a sample estimated at 141 individuals, directly related to the insurance sector, including employees, citizens, and executives in public and mutual insurance institutions. The results showed after analyzing the data that the insurance culture among the Algerian consumer is an imperative necessity for developing the insurance sector and everyone needs it, whether insurance institutions or people dealing with insurance companies.

Perils and Merits of Cross-Channel Returns

In this article, we study the impact of cross-channel returns on a bricks-and-clicks dual-channel retailer's overall profit, individual channel prices, and individual channel demand under two scenarios: 1) exogenous returns and 2) refund-dependent returns. Our study reveals a number of interesting results. For example, when channel substitutability is high, accepting online purchased returns in the bricks-and-mortar store is likely to drive the in-store price up, despite a drop in the offline demand due to the cannibalization effect. In general, firms should allow cross-channel returns when channel substitutability is high, return handling cost is low, and self-channel returns are not hefty. Unlike the extant literature, we also see that bricks-and-mortar returns impact a multiple-channel retailer's optimal return policy. We are also able to verify that our main findings are fairly consistent under both exogenous and refund-dependent returns scenarios.

Comparison of external load during pre-match warm-up among different age categories from the same football professional club

The aim of the present study was to compare the external load (EL) of the football pre-match warm-up (WU) in absolute terms and as a percentage (%) of the individual match demands. A total of 96 football players from different age categories participated in the study: professional (PRO, n=26), reserve (RES, n=22), under-21 (U21, n=28) and U18 (n=20) teams. Eleven EL variables were obtained through global positioning system devices. The results show that there are differences among teams in total duration, total distance, number of accelerations and decelerations, acceleration load, distance covered at different speed ranges and the maximum velocity, both expressed absolutely and relative to the match demands. The EL of the WU represents a variable percentage depending on a particular variable with respect to the match, ranging from ≈5% for high-speed running or very high-speed running to ≈20% for acceleration-load. The conclusions were: 1) the WU load represents an important part of the EL on players in soccer matches, and 2) the PRO team presented a lower EL in most of the variables, being consistent in both absolute and relative terms to the match demand. The strength and conditioning coaches must be cautious not to cause fatigue in the players while guaranteeing an adequate set-up to dispute the match.