Subject Matter Research Articles

Propositional logic, paradox, and Indian dialectics – towards a deeper ontological approach in paradox theory

AbstractThe article responds to the call of organizational paradox theorists to explore the added value of eastern principles of thought as a basis for a better understanding of the treatment of contradictory opposites in organisations. Drawing on prior work in systems theory, it presents a logical analysis of paradox based on the Catuṣkoṭi or Tetralemma discussed in Madhyamika Buddhism. Unlike its predecessors, the article reads the Tetralemma as an expression of a gradual process of detachment from the subject matter in question, resulting from a change of perspective. On this basis, the article is able to distinguish two different accounts of paradox in organisations, one resulting from excess determinacy and the other resulting from a lack of determinacy. For organisational practice, this means that the perception of and attitude towards values, routines, strategy or identity needs more attention in the study of paradox, which Indian dialectics might facilitate.

How Factually Accurate is GPT-3? A Focused Case Study on Helping Malaysia’s B40s Through e-Commerce

GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3) is an advanced natural language processing model utilizing unsupervised learning to generate sophisticated human-like text. GPT-3 has been lauded for its potential to revolutionize the field of natural language processing, with its capacity to generate a variety of text with a high degree of fluency and accuracy. We examine the ability of GPT-3’s to produce text related to a focused subject matter: alleviating poverty in Malaysia through e-Commerce. We especially examine GPT-3’s ability to produce factual responses within this narrow context. It was discovered that GPT-3 could produce plausible statements, albeit some of them being factually debatable or incorrect due to how its training data was sourced. We also discuss how GPT-3 could be used unscrupulously to either produce academic-sounding responses that appear to be a product of research, but possibly untrue or inaccurate and discuss its potential ramifications (such as propaganda and disinformation). We end the paper with some suggestions to the brilliant team at OpenAI to further improve GPT-3 for the advancement of humankind.

Teachers’ Variables and Academic Achievement of Community Health Students in Basic Science in Cross River State

Many factors are attributable to the academic achievements of students among which Teachers’ variable is a major attribute. The limitations of the teacher as a supporting agent in the area of Basic Science hinder academic achievement of students in learning of Basic Sciences. The quality of instructions from the teacher at all levels of education determines the acquisition of competencies necessary for self-reliance and effective service delivery. The teacher’s attitude to work, knowledge of subject matter and instructional competence have a relationship with students’ academic achievements. The poor quality of students’ academic quality among community health students’ in Basic Sciences in CrossRiver State may be as a result of these variables. This study therefore examined Teachers’ variable and academic achievement of community health students’ in Basic Sciences in Cross River State. To achieve the purpose of this study, four (4) specific objectives were raised to guide the study, which were then converted to four (4) research questions and transformed to research hypotheses. Related literatures we reviewed in line with the variables of the study. The study adopted correlational research design, which is a non-experimental approach between a set of variables and naturally cannot be manipulated. The research area is Cross River State, Nigeria. The target population of study was year 1 Community Health students. Sample of study was415 students randomly selected from ten schools for the 2023/2024 academic session. The instrument employed was questionnaire designed by the researcher. Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to determine the reliability estimate of the instrument which range from 0.73 to 0.81. Data was analysed using Multiple Linear regression. The findings of the study revealed that all teachers’ variables had significant positive relationship with students’ academic performance in Basic Sciences in Cross River State. It was recommended among others that teachers should adopt positive attitude towards their teaching profession especially in secondary schools.

A statement of claim as a statement on the merits of the case in a civil and economic process

The article examines the general characteristics of a claim as a statement on the merits of a case in civil and economic proceedings. It is noted that the separation of statements on the merits of the case is typical only for legal proceedings, while for other types of civil and commercial court proceedings, similar types of procedural documents are not allocated. The Code of Criminal Procedure and Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine gives an exclusive and identical list of statements on the merits of the case, among which the statement of claim is included. A statement of claim as a statement on the merits of the case formulates a material and legal claim regarding the subject of the dispute, to which the court of first instance must give an answer, having considered the civil or economic case on the merits. A statement of claim acts as a form of existence of a claim in a civil and economic process. A lawsuit cannot exist outside of the statement of claim, although its individual elements may appear outside of this procedural document. For example, the subject matter or cause of action may be recorded in the application for change of subject matter or cause of action. A statement of claim as a statement on the merits of the case is a procedural document issued by the parties to the case (their representatives), but not by the court. In this case, it cannot be considered a law- enforcement document, even if the plaintiff will refer to the legal norms that qualify his claim or its grounds in the content of the claim statement. A statement of claim in a civil and economic process can be filed by a large number of participants in the case (their representatives): the plaintiff, the defendant, a third party with independent claims, a court representative, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, a prosecutor, a body of state power or local self-government, a legal and a natural person in the cases provided for by law. The peculiarity of the statement of claim as a statement on the substance of the dispute is that its nature is related to material and procedural law, the appearance of this document affects the course of material and procedural relations. In addition, the statement of claim acts as a stage document, since it is not possible to submit it at every stage of the civil or economic process.

Exploring the impact of SEO-based ranking factors for voice queries through machine learning

The use of voice search is proliferating and expected to grow into the foreseeable future; this is why websites increasingly optimize their content associated with voice-based search to improve their ranking. In this era of rapid growth in voice search technology, it is a topical matter that needs research. Moreover, many predictions about its future excite the subject and require systematic investigation. This research aims to analyze important features that contribute to the SEO of webpages. Therefore, there is a need to examine various ranking factors that improve the ranking of the webpages for voice search queries on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). This study consists of two phases. The first phase comprises systematic data acquisition and identifying important SEO-based ranking factors. The second phase includes a longitudinal case study to evaluate the impact and significance of identified factors. To achieve this goal, we conduct experiments on methodical combinations of features through machine learning algorithms such as Support Vector Machine, Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes Classifier, K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Trees and Random Forest. Comparing results for multiple feature designs evaluates the contributing nature of specific features in SEO-based optimization for ranking. Results suggest the importance of the newly identified feature set (FF) outperforms baselines (EF and EFN) by a significant margin. A longitudinal case study on a blog over four months confirms that optimizing these features improves page ranking; therefore, webmasters must optimize these features while preparing the webpage.

Influence of Financial Resources Management on Project Performance in Public Institutions: A Case of Kigali City (2018-2022)

In this study, we examine the impact of financial resource management on project performance. Projects in Kigali City were poorly implemented due to misappropriation of public funds and insufficient measurement of project performance, especially in subdivisions and surrounding villages, leading to project failure. In directing this research project, two purposes were set: to assess the impact of financial resource management planning on project performance in Kigali City and to examine the impact of financial resource control on project performance in Kigali City. Both financial literacy and resource dependency theories were used, furthermore in order to achieve these objectives, literature was reviewed on the subject matter including definitions of key concepts, conceptual review, theoretical framework, conceptual framework and research gap analysis, additionally the target population of the study was 312 employees of Kigali City and out of them a sample size of 175 employees were selected by using stratified sampling technique. Questionnaires, interview guides and documents were used as data collection tools. Data was processed through editing, coding and tabulation and the data also was analyzed by using descriptive statistics. Findings indicated that there is a significance relationship between financial resources management and City of Kigali’s project performance; and it was found that holding all the financial resources management to a constant zero, project performance of Kigali City will be 30.6 percent, a unit increase in the use of financial resource planning will lead to a 0.731% improvement in project performance in Kigali City, the use of financial resource management will lead to a 1% improvement in project performance in Kigali City. The regression analysis revealed significant coefficients indicating the impact of financial resource management on project performance in Kigali City. With a constant of 0.346, when financial resource management is absent, the project performance is estimated to be 30.6%. For every unit increase in financial resource planning, there is a corresponding 0.731% rise in project performance (Beta = 0.731, t = 6.008, p < 0.001), and similarly, a 1% increase in financial resource control leads to enhanced project performance (Beta = 0.500, t = 2.550, p = 0.025). Notably, financial resource planning exerts the strongest influence on project performance, followed by financial resource control. Both variables demonstrated statistical significance, with p-values of 0.000 and 0.025 respectively, at a 95% confidence level. Thus, all factors examined are deemed significant (p < 0.05). Therefore, based on the findings, the researchers recommend that the public entity Kigali City should continuously ensure that it has financial control expertise to ensure organizational performance.

The concept of rationalising damage and the scope of insurer’s liability

The concept of indirect violation of rights and interestsholds an important place in the system of liability for damages.Therefore, the analysis of that subject matter should focus not on whether the damage is compensable but on the basis and extent of compensation.The diversity of events that may give rise to an “indirect damage” does not make it easy to identify its prerequisites. On top of that, the actions taken do not go in pair with harmonisation of terminology and do not lead to the introduction of one consistent liability model. An answer to the doubts arising in context of compensating for “indirect damage” is the concept of rationalising damage. It covers a set of directives that serve to determine if a given detriment qualifies as “indirect damage” and if a given person is an indirect victim. Not all violations are compensable, but only violations to legally protected interests. As a result, compensation does not cover all inconveniences, or inconveniences forming a part of risk associated with everyday life. Determination of the scope of compensating for indirect damage has a significant impact on the scope of liability of the insurer.This is the case as the model of compensation for indirect violations should be “economically efficient. Keywords

Use of Realism as Social Commentary on Specific Subject Matter in Painting: An Analysis of the Realist Paintings of Zephania Lukamba, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

The creation of any work of art often has a purpose or an intent. In this regard, artists endeavour to create pieces of artwork that bear or propagate certain meanings or points of view and also express some social phenomena that are unique to a particular environment or what has often been referred to as a catchment area. This is usually an important artistic undertaking because artists have the innate responsibility to observe certain social peculiarities and visually record them for all their worth. Some of these peculiarities are a reflection of society and its circumstantial behavioural tendencies often brought about by various factors; such as social-economic malaise and bad governance that precipitates social decay. When an artist embarks on such an artistic depiction of his or her own social environment, then there is a need to give it due artistic attention. This study featured 22 paintings based on the subject matter of the overloading of vehicles. Although the paintings appeared generally alike in terms of layout and execution, it is the depiction of the paradox of the repeated occurrence of the same phenomenon which in reality reflects a tendency that is both widespread and bizarre. In this regard, each painting depicts a scene that in reality is in itself a specific curious occurrence. This, in retrospect, can be seen as a type of popular culture of defiance and of the absurd. Since the overloading of any vehicle is ordinarily not only unwarranted and dangerous, but also blatantly illegal, the artist, in his observations which constituted this study, depicts a societal problem that has degenerated into impunity. This study, therefore, sought to find out how effective such focused paintings were as an avenue for social commentary. The artist over a period of time observed incidents of overloading as they manifested themselves in real-life occurrences and made the necessary sketches that were later developed into paintings in the studio. The paintings were examined using formal analysis to delve into their composition and use of elements and principles as well as descriptive analysis to explore their meaning or what the artist intended to convey. The study posits that the essence of such focused paintings in this study is that they become a visual pointer to the wider debate about the debilitating effect of such social malaise upon the psyche of society. The ordinary citizenry subsequently becomes spectators in their own space that degenerates into such recklessness and disregard for individual and collective safety as well as the rule of law

Effect of Contract Management Practices on Organizational Performance of Rwanda Development Board (2017-2022)

The general objective of this research project was to assess the effect of contract management on organizational performance. The following were specific objectives of the study: to analyze the effect of contract planning on performance of Rwanda Development Board, find out the effect of contract negotiation on performance of Rwanda Development Board, assess the effect of contract implementation on performance of Rwanda Development Board and assess the effect of contract monitoring on performance of Rwanda Development Board. To achieve these objectives, literature was reviewed on the subject matter, and then data was collected from 156 employees of RDB and they were chosen by using census sampling technique. Questionnaire, observation, interview guide and documentation were used as tools of data collection. Data was analyzed by using both quantitative data and qualitative data by presenting the findings of respondents through the mean and standard deviation. Findings indicated that there is positive link between contract management and organizational performance whereas it was found that the effect of all contract management on organizational performance will be 1.462 percent; a unit increase in the use of contract planning would lead to an increase in RDB's performance by 19.2%; a one percent increase in the use of contract implementation would lead to an increase in RDB's performance by 3.8%; a one percent increase in the use of contract monitoring would lead to an increase in RDB's performance by 11.5%; and lastly, a one percent increase in the use of contract monitoring would lead to a 35% increase in RDB’s performance. Overall, contract monitoring had the greatest effect on RDB’s performance, followed by contract implementation, while contract planning took third place, and lastly, contract negotiation. At a 5% level of significance and a 95% level of confidence, contract planning varies at a 0.010 level of significance; contract negotiation had a 0.048 level of significance; contract implementation had a 0.031 level of significance; and contract monitoring had a 0.029 level of significance. All the variables were significant (p<0.05). The study also concludes that the main objective of contract management is to ensure that the borrower's contractors, suppliers, or consultants meet agreed project specifications and completion dates.

Igniting the Fire Within: Culturally Relevant Expository Writing

This article presents the findings of an action research study that explored the impact of culturally relevant writing instruction in an English classroom. Research practitioners have used terms such as real-life (Moore-Hart, 2005), innovative (Kinloch, 2009), and culturally relevant writing pedagogy (Winn & Johnson, 2011) to denote the type of experiential and relevant writing instruction that should be occurring in classrooms. These terms are synonymous because they require students to leverage their culture, perspectives, interests, and personal experiences as inspiration for writing. The discussion begins by presenting the literature on culturally relevant literacy instruction. Then, the author discusses the steps for implementing this pedagogical approach and provides key insights on the subject matter.

The Indiscriminate Use of Pesticides could Increase the Prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease? A Systematic Review

Aims: This review aims to perform an extensive literature search about the pesticides problems and to associate with AD in qualitative analysis, mainly. Place and Duration of Study: Biomathematics Laboratory, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Alfenas, Alfenas, Brazil. Entre outubro de 2023 a abril de 2024. Methodology: For the purpose of this systematic review, articles from 2014 onwards with the descriptors Alzheimer's disease and pesticides; neurodegenerative diseases and pesticides, were sought. Among these, articles considered most pertinent to the objective of the present review were utilized, i.e., those whose subject matter was associated with the effects of pesticides, especially glyphosate, on dementias, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Results: After analyzed 35,590 articles, and applying exclusion criteria to journals with an impact factor equal to or lower than 4 and including topics most relevant to the objectives of this work, 35,526 articles were excluded, resulting in 64 remaining articles, of which 40 were qualitative in scope and 24 were quantitative. The articles considered most suitable for the objective of the present review were utilized, i.e., those whose topic was associated with the effects of pesticides, especially glyphosate, on dementia. The criteria for scrutinizing articles included a journal impact factor equal to or greater than 4 and the removal of duplicate articles using the freely accessible EndNote program from Web of Science. Articles and books on history and those outside the scope of the pesticide/AD relationship did not follow the criterion of having an impact factor equal to or greater than 4. Conclusion: There appears to be a relationship between the increase in pesticide use, particularly Glyphosate, and the rise in Alzheimer's disease prevalence.

Media Dan Sumber Belajar Dalam Pembelajaran PAI

To achieve the goals of Islamic education, in the learning process teachers should use learning media. By using learning media, teachers will more easily teach subject matter and students will more easily understand the lesson. The characteristics of Islamic learning media can be grouped into graphic media, audio media and silent projection media. Based on how it is obtained, media is divided into finished media and designed media. When choosing media, you need to pay attention to the media selection criteria. By using media in the learning process, it is hoped that the quality of Islamic religious education will be even better. This article also discusses learning resources in learning Islamic Religious Education. The importance of learning resources in learning cannot be denied, learning resources are anything, whether objects, data, places, facts, ideas or people that can trigger the learning process. Learning resources can be classified into several types such as people, materials, environment, activities, tools and equipment. From here learning resources are classified into printed, non-printed learning resources, facilities, activities and environment. Of course, with the current development of information technology, it can help students to get various learning resources from all directions, so that students will be more active and creative in learning.

Students-as-partner experience

This article offers a case study of a student-faculty partnership. Focusing on the perspectives of two student research assistants and a faculty member, the authors utilize current literature on student-faculty partnerships to support their perspectives. This case study adds to the body of research suggesting student-faculty partnerships enrich and mutually benefit those involved. This article explores the working partnership of the consultation team and their work as part of a large collaborative project amongst post-secondary institutions and community-based organizations. Over the course of 3 years, success was evidenced by the outcomes of this project. The team has led workshops on the subject matter, and, additionally, contributed to the co-creation of a workbook/e-course on mitigating vicarious trauma for English language learning teachers. The research team published two subject-related articles. This article explores the facets that impacted the quality of the partnership.

Digital K–12 STEM Education through Human–Robot Interaction: Investigation on Prerequisites

This article aims to explore, investigate, and determine the prerequisites that learners (students) should possess for participating in and being adequately benefitted from digital (robotics-enabled) K–12 STEM education offered through intuitive human–robot interaction. We selected 23 middle school mathematics and science teachers who received training on how to design, develop, and implement robotics-enabled lessons. The teachers then implemented robotics-enabled lessons in actual classroom settings, and separately responded to a survey based on their training, classroom experiences and observations, and self-brainstorming. We derived a set of prerequisite knowledge, skills, and abilities, including their relative importance for the students by analyzing the survey responses. The results showed that the students should not only possess prerequisite knowledge in the subject matter, but also possess behavioral, social, scientific, cognitive, and intellectual skills and abilities to participate in and receive benefits from robotics-enabled human–robot interactive digital STEM education. Out of the many prerequisites, the computational thinking ability of students was identified as one of the most required prerequisites to participate in robotics-enabled digital STEM education. To validate the derived prerequisites, teachers separately assessed the fulfillment of prerequisites by 38 participating students, and the results showed user acceptance, effectiveness, and suitability of the derived prerequisites set. We also identified a set of limitations of the studies and proposed action plans to enable students to meet the prerequisites. The results presented herein can help determine required instructional efforts and scaffolds before implementing robotics-enabled digital STEM lessons, and thus foster incorporating technology-enhanced (robotics-enabled) digital STEM education into K–12 curricula.

Measuring the Critical Success Factor of Safety Program in Drilling and Well Intervention Operation at PT. MHK, Ltd.

The drilling and well intervention division implements various safety initiatives to prevent incidents. Despite its multiple activities, an assessment has yet to be conducted to determine the program’s efficacy. This paper aims to determine the elements that impact the effectiveness of safety program execution in drilling and well intervention operations in MHK, Ltd. The Author conducted measurements utilizing variables related to the critical success factor of the safety program, as outlined in the cross-reference research article. Subsequently, the author introduces a system of incentives in variables quantified as a novelty of this research based on input from subject matter experts. By understanding the variables that influence the efficacy of the safety campaign, the safety campaign initiatives will be more focused on mitigating accidents within the drilling and well intervention divisions. The research was conducted utilizing a quantitative approach, where data was gathered through a questionnaire that employed a Likert scale. The population comprises individuals employed in the Drilling and Well Intervention roles at many locations, including the site, field, barge, rig, and town. The data is further analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique, employing the smartPLS4 software. The study findings indicated that three out of five variables examined had a favorable and significant impact on the efficacy of the safety program at DWI MHK, Ltd.: management commitment, reward and punishment, and safety arrangement. We propose strengthening identified elements and addressing weaknesses, including utilizing digitalization and artificial intelligence for safety monitoring.

Development and Validation of a General Aviation Risk Perception Scale

Abstract: The aim of this study was to develop a psychometric tool for measuring pilot perceptions of risk, with a focus on risk in general aviation (GA) flying. Unlike other objective protocols that pilots adhere to (e.g., checklists), assessing and responding to risk is a subjective task, making it challenging to evaluate. Previous research has developed scales that are either too generalized or have poor psychometric properties (i.e., reliability and validity). Therefore, this effort intended to develop a validated scale utilizing psychometrically sound methods, including literature review, item generation, subject matter expert review, item pool truncation, data collection, and analysis. Results confirmed a statistically valid and reliable 15-item scale – the General Aviation Risk Perception Scale – explicitly for pilots and GA-related risk.

The Observer Concept in Science as a Basis for Its Further Curricular Application Within the Discipline-Culture Paradigm

AbstractThis study considers the concept of observer-the fundamental concept axial for fundamental physical theories. The history of the observer concept in physics is reviewed and summarized. In the following, the observer concept is considered with regard to science education where scientific concepts should reflect their status in science. This parallelism between science and education is epistemological and dynamic. The examination of the school curriculum reveals invalid correspondence in the case of the observer. The curriculum often presents the observer when addressing the Galileo principle of relativity, while frequently missing relativity of motion in presenting natural phenomena. Multiple observers are avoided in dynamics where the modern epistemology—drawing on a “local observer”—introduces non-inertial observers (inertial forces) currently banned in school physics. The article refines the possible curricular changes with respect to dynamics and kinematics which emphasize multiple observers. The suggested curricular changes could provide science learners with a new perspective on physics knowledge within the paradigm of multiple observers—cultural content knowledge of the subject matter.

REVOLUTIONIZING BIOLOGY LEARNING THROUGH AR: THE CASE OF LEAFCAPTURE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

REVOLUTIONIZING BIOLOGY LEARNING THROUGH AR: THE CASE OF LEAFCAPTURE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

How do we understand the value of drug checking as a component of harm reduction services? A qualitative exploration of client and provider perspectives

BackgroundMortality related to opioid overdose in the U.S. has risen sharply in the past decade. In California, opioid overdose death rates more than tripled from 2018 to 2021, and deaths from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl increased more than seven times in those three years alone. Heightened attention to this crisis has attracted funding and programming opportunities for prevention and harm reduction interventions. Drug checking services offer people who use drugs the opportunity to test the chemical content of their own supply, but are not widely used in North America. We report on qualitative data from providers and clients of harm reduction and drug checking services, to explore how these services are used, experienced, and considered.MethodsWe conducted in-depth semi-structured key informant interviews across two samples of drug checking stakeholders: “clients” (individuals who use drugs and receive harm reduction services) and “providers” (subject matter experts and those providing clinical and harm reduction services to people who use drugs). Provider interviews were conducted via Zoom from June-November, 2022. Client interviews were conducted in person in San Francisco over a one-week period in November 2022. Data were analyzed following the tenets of thematic analysis.ResultsWe found that the value of drug checking includes but extends well beyond overdose prevention. Participants discussed ways that drug checking can fill a regulatory vacuum, serve as a tool of informal market regulation at the community level, and empower public health surveillance systems and clinical response. We present our findings within three key themes: (1) the role of drug checking in overdose prevention; (2) benefits to the overall agency, health, and wellbeing of people who use drugs; and (3) impacts of drug checking services at the community and systems levels.ConclusionThis study contributes to growing evidence of the effectiveness of drug checking services in mitigating risks associated with substance use, including overdose, through enabling people who use and sell drugs to test their own supply. It further contributes to discussions around the utility of drug checking and harm reduction, in order to inform legislation and funding allocation.

Challenging the monolingual mindset: language teachers’ pushback and enactment of critical multilingual language awareness in Australian schools

ABSTRACT This study critically interrogates dominant discourses and practices in school settings, which reveal the legitimisation and perpetuation of a monolingual mindset. Through the lens of ‘Critical Multilingual Language Awareness’ (CMLA), this research unpacked the experiences and practices of language teachers who implement the New South Wales (NSW) mandated language curriculum and, where possible, create opportunities for adjustments to language syllabi for greater awareness of diversity and plurilingualism. Data was gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews with four high-school language teachers at independent schools in NSW, Australia. The interview addressed teachers’ proficiency and knowledge of subject matter, their views of the (im)possibilities of the NSW language curriculum for developing plurilingual learners, and perceived challenges that appear to prevent multi/plurilingualism from being at the forefront of Australian language education. Findings revealed that despite teachers’ strong commitment to languages education, they feel discouraged about the limited focus at national and State government levels on consistent and systematic multilingual education. This not only diminishes every effort made by teachers to transform pedagogies for pedagogies for multilingualism but also legitimises a dominant underlying rhetoric of monolingualism that does not adhere to the principles of educating for democratic citizenship.