Comfort Zone Research Articles

Understanding the mechanism of permanganate ion rejection in TpPa-1/Ti3C2T2 composite membranes via molecular dynamic simulation

The purification and separation of small molecules can be improved by fabricating different composite membranes, in this work, the TpPa-1/Ti3C2T2 composite membranes with different structural parameters and terminating functional groups were designed for better permanganate (PP) ions separation with non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. The rejection mechanism was explored from molecular level. It is found that water flux is mainly influenced by the offset and interlayer spacing of Ti3C2T2, while the rejection rate of PP ion is affected more by the slit width of MXene. The combination of TpPa-1 and Ti3C2(OH)2 membrane provides a comfortable zone in for PP ion rejection from the viewpoint of thermodynamic. While the other two composite membranes constructed with terminating functional groups (-F, –O) in Ti3C2T2 show different rejection mechanism from that in TpPa-1/Ti3C2(OH)2 composite membrane. The rejection of PP ions mainly caused by the dynamic hindrance caused by water wall formed in the entrance of Ti3C2T2 (T = –F, –O) slits.

Being in a meaningful context. Nature and animal-assisted activities as perceived by adults with autism.

Animal-assisted and nature-based interventions in psychosocial treatment for various groups of clients have been studied internationally. However, there is little knowledge about how young adults with autism experience participation in such types of interventions. This clinical study aimed to describe the feasibility of animal-assisted and nature-based activities on a farm as a complementary intervention for young adults with autism and social withdrawal. The participants were aged 18-30 years, diagnosed with autism and social withdrawal, with no organised occupation during the previous year. Eleven of 13 participants completed a 12-week intervention in small groups. They took part in interviews before and after, which focused on their current life situation and expectations about, and experiences of the intervention. The feasibility was described in terms of participants' characteristics, attendance, and their experiences of participating in the activity. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis. The intervention was formed in collaboration with participating supervisors, ordinary clinical staff, and a young woman with a user perspective. The level of feasibility was found to be high. The mean participation rate during the activity days was 75% and varied from 50 to 100%. The analysis of the participants' experiences from the activity generated three categories, "Being in a meaningful context", "Creating a comfort zone" and "Developing structure in everyday life", and each of these included sub-categories. The main categories revealed a dynamic process based in meaningfulness, comfort and structure in everyday life. The positive experiences of undemanding activities, emotional relationships and non-verbal communication with the horses were prominent and might facilitate the development of social interaction. However, the intervention's timeframe of 12 weeks was experienced as too short for long-lasting change.

Comparative analysis of indoor thermal environment characteristics and occupants’ adaptability: Insights from ASHRAE RP-884 and the Chinese thermal comfort database

Understanding indoor thermal environment characteristics, Occupants’ adaptability, and making a reasonable assessment based on thermal comfort standards are crucial for achieving energy-efficient and high-quality building environments. Sufficient data from the thermal comfort database serves as an important foundation for analyzing indoor thermal environments. The ASHRAE RP-884 database, a foremost comprehensive global thermal comfort database, has been pivotal in establishing and revising current standards like ISO 7730 and ASHRAE 55. Drawing from the ASHRAE RP-884 and the Chinese Thermal Comfort Database, this study strictly selected 20,074 and 33,775 valid data across varying building operation modes, and the analysis reveals significant differences between the indoor thermal environment characteristics in China and the RP-884 global database. The Chinese population demonstrates heightened adaptability, with 80% acceptable temperature ranges of 19.38 ℃ to 29.22 ℃ in cooled buildings, 15.99 ℃ to 27.26 ℃ in heated buildings, and 15.69 ℃ to 30.78 ℃ in naturally ventilated buildings, presenting a broader range than those in the RP-884 associated countries. Specifically, we found the thermal comfort zones defined in ISO 7730 and ASHRAE 55 standards may not fully accommodate the Chinese context. Besides, a thermal adaptation model tailored for China's naturally ventilated buildings was proposed based on the Chinese Thermal Comfort Database, with a slope of 0.45, surpassing the 0.31 of ASHRAE 55–2020 and 0.33 of EN 15251–2007. Lastly, potential reasons for the observed differences were analyzed and discussed.

Embracing a Perspective with the Dark Side: Using Second Wave Positive Psychology to Navigate Emotions Throughout Transformative Learning

While transformative learning often leads to positive experiences, it can also be a complex, emotionally turbulent process. The process for some can represent a messy and emotionally chaotic journey, where learners may find themselves in conflict with their emotional comfort zones as they question belief systems, who they are, how they see the world, interpret what happens to them, and consider multiple points of view to verify one’s truth and reality. This autoethnographic study focuses on a doctoral student’s interactions with varied cognitive, sociocultural, and emotional challenges throughout their educational and personal experiences. This study integrates Transformative Learning Theory with Ivtzan et al.’s (2016) second wave dark side positive psychology, introducing a dark side perspective to transformative learning. This approach aims to deepen the understanding of the entire emotional experience and offers guidance for navigating the transformative learning process.

Structural, acoustical, and thermal evaluation of an experimental house built with reinforced/hollow interlocking compressed stabilized earth brick-masonry

With the increasing demand on affordable construction that addresses the global challenges of the modern world, earthen construction is being reintroduced and investigated as a potential sustainable and affordable building method. Compressed stabilized earth blocks (CSEBs) are a common form of enhanced earthen building materials. Previous studies focused on the structural performance of CSEB walls and prisms consisting of one type of bricks with the same mixture, analyzed their thermal and acoustic properties as units only, or evaluated the thermal performance of solid unreinforced CSEB masonry.The present research is the first complete structural, acoustical, and thermal investigation of an experimental house built with a novel reinforced/hollow interlocking compressed stabilized earth brick-masonry (ICSEB) using varying stabilizer contents, compliant with the Egyptian code for building with stabilized soil—Part One: Building with compressed stabilized soil units (EG-SE2016). Methods depend on experimental testing, codified theoretical calculations, finite element analysis, and live measurements. According to the structural experimental testing program, reinforcement was found to triple the load bearing capacity of ICSEB columns and, although minimal rebars were used in the ICSEB walls, it has improved their load bearing capacity by 23% for single walls (125 mm) and 58% for double walls (250 mm). In addition, doubling the thickness of the unreinforced ICSEB walls increased the load bearing capability by 164%, while raising the thickness of the reinforced wall from 125 mm to 250 mm increased the load bearing capacity by more than threefold (3.38). Based on the codified theoretical calculations and findings of the finite element analysis, it is safe to recommend reinforced double ICSEB walls as a reliable construction for a two-story residential building. Acoustically, double ICSEB walls attained the noise reduction index value of 40 dB, which is required by the Egyptian code for acoustic insulation and noise control in residential buildings, to protect against the average outdoor noise levels of 65–70dBA. Thermally, reinforced double ICSEB walls kept the indoor air temperature and relative humidity values within the thermal comfort zone, 23.9–25.7 °C and 28–36%, respectively, despite the fluctuating outdoor temperatures and relative humidities (16–37 °C and 7–88%, respectively). Indoor air temperatures were 1.5–2 °C lower than those of concrete masonry walls. Additional research is required to evaluate resistance to environmental aspects, such as exposure to water, wind, and corrosion, and to further investigate their thermal and acoustical properties.

CHALLENGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING WITHIN THE INTEGRATED RECYCLING COMPLEX OF THE FEDERAL DISTRICT/DF

The Federal District Integrated Recycling Complex (CIR-DF) contributes significantly to reducing the environmental impact of the waste produced by the metropolis of Brasilia, as it provides for the recycling of materials that would otherwise be taken to landfills and also employs around 450 collectors. That said, this work sought to monitor the air quality of the CIR/DF shed spaces, checking the concentration of CO2, temperature and humidity, in the period of intense heat and drought, relating the data with measures of adaptive comfort in order to contribute with space management. The results showed that the CO2 concentration is below 3,900 ppm in 48 hours per week indicated by NR 15. The temperatures verified between the six monitored days are, for the most part, below 50 % of the comfort zone and the humidity data are also below the 40 % limit indicated by NR 17. Thus, the Complex faces challenges related to the internal environmental comfort of the sheds, which can be improved by applying strategies for air renewal that are more appropriate to the location.

Developing creative accountants

By addressing innovation, creativity, and problem-solving in corporate contexts, Design Thinking has attracted the interest of both scholars and professionals. Despite this, this methodology has still been little disseminated among accounting professionals. Therefore, this study aimed to identify how the Design Thinking methodology can be used to promote the appreciation of the accounting professional. The study involved 521 students who attended the Accounting Planning discipline, offered in the seventh stage of the Accounting Sciences course at a federal university in southern Brazil. Using the survey as a technical procedure, the content analysis of the records of perceptions and ideas generated in Design Thinking workshops was conducted using Nvivo and Microsoft Excel. The students' perceptions regarding the application of the methodology showed that its use is conducive to creating innovative ideas and making them leave their comfort zone. Students reported being aware that they use creativity very little. Still, they are concerned about their development, as they understand that it adds professional and personal value and benefits the profession as a whole. The practical implication is the illustration of how this methodology can contribute to establishing a new professional image, and federal and state accounting councils can use it.

Three Provocations concerning the Uses of Populism

Abstract This article outlines three provocations to shake up the comfort zone of populism studies. These are: that populism may have become an anachronism and we should think about moving on; that populism may work better as a term of derision, as democracy was for the ancient Greeks; that we should describe it as a historical phenomenon, something that happened in the mid-twentieth century but is no longer current. So, my suggestion to populism scholars is to drop the term, use it to disqualify opponents, or refer to it as something that happened some time ago.

Stability/Flexibility: the tightly coupled homeostasis generator is at the same time the driver of change.

There is "no Flexibility without Stability and no Stability without Flexibility": this is a crucial feature common to any system interacting with its environment. This tight link between two apparently opposite features is at the basis of the time-honoured concept of homeostasis (the tendency of any adaptive system to go back to its "comfort zone" contrasting the incoming perturbations) and is widely recognized since long time. On the contrary, the fact that the escape from a stable attractor state is a consequence of the same homeostasis mechanisms is often overlooked. In this brief note, we will try to give a proof-of-concept of the relation existing between stability/flexibility based homeostasis and the state changes at all the levels of biological organization. The ubiquity of the same principles across very different systems is a signature of a new attitude to look at scientific enterprise from a network-based viewpoint.

Staying in the comfort zone.

Staying in the comfort zone.

Out of Your Comfort Zone.

Out of Your Comfort Zone.

Community education as a lifelong learning to support sustainable tourism

A community-based tourism (CBT) approach has become an integral part of rural and sustainable tourism development strategies. However, CBT has some constraints on being sustainable due to some internal weaknesses and external concerns, including poor marketing competencies. As a top-down government initiative, Malaysian CBT homestay is blessed with numerous assistance to ensure its survival which in the other hand, creates over-reliance toward other parties. This lack of marketing expertise challenges homestay sustainability. This study examines the importance of community education in marketing activities as a lifelong learning towards sustainable tourism in Malaysia. Qualitative case study is employed to gain an extensive and in-depth explanation on homestay’s marketing implementation and its issues. A semi-structured interview was taken to 9 homestay operators. This study employs a thematic data analysis to investigate the interview results. Research findings show that in majority, the community enjoys the comfort zone provided by government and travel agents, hence encourage the resistance for change. However, a few homestay demonstrates positive respond to involve lifelong learning through community education to support sustainable tourism. More importantly, partnership between various key stakeholders are the utmost important to ensure policy planning and to improve community education quality.

Adaptation of Comfort Zone Orientation Scale (CZOS) into Turkish: A Validity and Reliability Study

Bu araştırmada Kiknadze ve Leary (2021) tarafından geliştirilen Konfor Alanı Yönelim Ölçeğinin Türkçeye uyarlanması amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemini …….. İlinde farklı kademelerdeki okullarda görevli okul yöneticileri ve öğretmenlerden oluşan 366 kişilik bir katılımcı grubu oluşturmuştur. Ölçeğin çeviri, geri-çeviri süreçlerinde alan uzmanı akademisyenlerden ve İngilizce öğretmenlerinden yararlanılmıştır. Yine alan uzmanları tarafından kapsam, anlaşılabilirlik ve gramer açısından değerlendirilen ölçek, sorun oluşturabilecek noktaların belirlenebilmesi için de 20 kişilik bir öğretmen grubuna uygulanmıştır. Bu aşamadan sonra İngilizce Öğretmenliği Bölümü akademisyenleri ve İngilizce öğretmenlerinden oluşan 30 kişilik bir gruba ölçeğin orijinal hali ile uyarlanmış Türkçe formu ayrı ayrı uygulanarak dilsel eşdeğerlik çalışması yapılmış ve iki uygulama arasında yüksek düzeyli bir ilişki olduğu belirlenmiştir. Yapı geçerliğini tespit etmek için yapılan Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizi sonucunda ölçeğin orijinal formu ile tutarlılık gösteren 10 maddeli ve tek boyutlu bir yapı elde edilmiştir. Ölçekten elde edilen iç tutarlılık katsayısı .82 olarak hesaplanırken yapısal modellerin geçerlik ve güvenirliklerini gösteren AVE ve CR değerleri ideal düzeylerde bulunmuştur. Araştırma sonucunda; Türkçe uyarlaması yapılan Konfor Alanı Yönelim Ölçeğinin, bireylerin konfor alanı yönelimlerini ölçmede kullanılabilecek geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı olduğu belirlenmiş ve ölçek maddeleri herhangi bir mesleki ifade içermediğinden farklı disiplinlerde/farklı meslek grupları üzerinde yapılacak araştırmalarda da kullanılabileceği önerisi getirilmiştir.

The Difference of Influencing Factors of Entrepreneurs' Entrepreneurial Choice

Entrepreneurship is a crucial catalyst for enhancing economic vitality and sustaining a country's healthy economic growth. Therefore, what leads entrepreneurs to relinquish their comfort zone and abandon traditional employment to pursue entrepreneurship remains a pertinent inquiry. Entrepreneurs represent the core of entrepreneurial activity. Based on empirical evidence, entrepreneurs' reasons for starting a business vary considerably. For instance, some are motivated by the desire to innovate, while others aim to maximize their earnings. This study specifically examines the singular influence of individual factors, summarizes the primary factors that impact entrepreneurial decision-making, provides explanations and analyses, and elucidates the specific role of each factor and its impact on entrepreneurs' choices. Furthermore, this study introduces the impact of economic cycles and unemployment on individual entrepreneurial behavior, which has received insufficient attention until now. People commonly believe that starting a business is more feasible during periods of economic growth rather than during recessions, but certain entrepreneurial behaviors suggest that this belief may be misguided. Through analysis and research, recommendations are provided for both individual entrepreneurial decisions and government entrepreneurial incentive policies.

The (Exit) Price of a Horse: Finding the Fair Value of an Unusual Nonfinancial Asset

ABSTRACT Students are placed in the role of a new employee in the mergers and acquisitions division of a regional accounting firm performing due diligence on a potential acquisition target for their client. Their task is to determine the fair value of a group of unusual nonfinancial assets, the horses owned by the target company, an equine training business. Students evaluate the horse’s highest and best use, identify market participant assumptions, create valuation models, determine the exit price, and perform a sensitivity analysis. Appendix A describes the equine industry and provides a source for many of the necessary valuation assumptions. This case study is complementary to cases where students calculate fair values in more traditional settings and is designed to push them outside their comfort zone while emphasizing that the same familiar concepts apply. The case is recommended for use in advanced financial accounting courses at the undergraduate or master’s levels. JEL Classifications: M41.

A systematic approach for assessing buildings with natural materials in the Mediterranean climate

Natural building materials, including bioaggregates and biocomposites, have been making a comeback in recent years, in an attempt to minimize the Embodied and Operational Energy and Carbon (EE, OE, EC, OC) related to construction. This paper presents monitoring results of three buildings (two residential and one educational) built with such materials in the Mediterranean climate of western Crete. Temperature and relative humidity monitoring results show a very stable indoor environment behavior even when the buildings were unoccupied, thus not appropriately operated. Additional measurements undertaken and presented here include CO2 concentration in the occupied residential building with a combustion heater; and blow-door tests to better understand infiltration issues related with such construction. Results analysis shows that such materials are appropriate alternatives, definitely in bioclimatic building design for the specific climate. Indoor conditions analyzed vis-à-vis the adaptive thermal comfort model are shown to be within the thermal comfort zone, almost for all climatic conditions.

Integrating excluded children through experiential games

The study focuses on children who have been verbally, physically and/or socially bullying by their peers. In the last three decades, the investigation of the phenomenon of school bullying has become an increasingly researched field, one of the main causes of which is the significant increase in the number of child suicides. As a result, the development and application of numerous prevention and intervention programs became a priority, the aim of which is to reduce this deviant phenomenon in educational institutions. The existence of these programs and initiatives helps to create communities in which hurtful behavior occurs in low numbers. In the course of this research, I chose experiential pedagogic games. In the center of the reform pedagogy method I have chosen, the promotion of the creation of social relations and the strengthening of the existing ones becomes the priority. During experiential pedagogic games, children can experience flow, the positive benefits of interdependence, and the new knowledge they get when leaving their comfort zone. The obtained results will be presented and interpreted in the experimental part of the study. As a research tool, I chose sociometry, which demonstrates the relationship network of the given class. During the pre-survey, two children (a girl and a boy) did not have a mutual relationship, and then, through the consciously guided experiential pedagogic game, the result of the post-survey was that these children managed to establish a mutual relationship.

Perceived barriers of family-centred care in neonatal intensive care units: A qualitative study.

Family-centered care (FCC) approach in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) has been shown to improve family satisfaction and quality of care. However, several contextual barriers influence its use in NICUs, and these barriers are understudied in Ghana. To describe FCC practice in Ghanaian NICUs in order to understand the contextual barriers. The study employed a descriptive qualitative design. The researchers used a structured interview guide to collect the data in 24 interviews and 12 focus group discussions. We engaged families (n = 42), nurses and midwives (n = 33), and doctors (n = 9) to describe their perspectives on the barriers to FCC in two public tertiary hospital NICUs. The data were mapped, triangulated, and aggregated to inform the findings. Thematic analysis and MAXQDA qualitative software version 2020 were employed to analyse the data. This qualitative study followed the COREQ guidelines and checklist. Perceived family barriers and perceived facility barriers to FCC were the two main themes. The perceived family barriers include family stress and anxiety, inadequate information sharing and education, culture and religion. The perceived facility barriers are inadequate space and logistics, workload and inadequate staff, restricted entry, and negative staff attitudes. The findings of this study shed light on the barriers to FCC practice in neonatal care in Ghanaian NICUs. Family stress and anxiety, a lack of information sharing, cultures and religious beliefs, NICU workload and staffing shortages, restrictions on family entry into NICUs, and staff attitudes towards families are all contextual barriers to FCC practice. Health facility managers and NICU staff may consider addressing these barriers to implement FCC in the NICU in order to enhance family satisfaction and quality neonatal care. The design of future NICUs should consider family comfort zones and subunits to accommodate families and their sick infants for optimal health care outcomes. The development of communication models and guidelines for respectful NICU care may aid in integrating families into ICUs and promoting quality health care outcomes.

Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning in the Upper East Region

Online learning has become the most dominant mode of instruction adopted by facilitators due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. Instructors adopted this mode of instruction in order to engage students in academic activities while they stay in their comfort zones. This study therefore investigated students’ perceptions towards online learning. Two research questions were formulated to guide the study. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in sampling participants for the study. Data was analysed using inferential statistics (ANOVA) and descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation and percentage). The interview data was also analysed using thematic analysis. The finding from the study proved that online learning has several benefits and challenges. The findings from the study proved that online learning helps students to learn at their own pace and also share information among each other and facilitators easily. It was also found that online learning saves money and students time since they do not need to travel to the study centers. The study also proved that poor internet connectivity is a serious challenge of online learning. Lack of computer skills and ICT logistics also affect student’s participation in online learning. There was statistically significant difference between the mean perceptions of students on benefits and challenges of online learning. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that Ghana Education Service should provide students with laptops, android phones and tablets to enhance their effective participation in online learning. It was also recommended that tertiary institutions offering online courses should organize seminars for students on online learning and also provide students with internet bundles to help them participate effectively in online learning.

Research on Energy Consumption Model of Heat Pump Air Conditioning System for New Energy Vehicles Based on Digital Technology

Energy shortages and environmental degradation are issues that are getting more and more significant globally. New energy vehicles are being promoted by the state due to the advantages of low pollution and low fuel consumption. However, due to battery technology, the range of new energy vehicles cannot meet the needs of users. As the most energy-efficient auxiliary device, the energy consumption of air conditioning will significantly reduce the range of new energy vehicles. In low temperature environments, heating energy consumption will reduce the range of vehicles by more than 50%. Therefore, the research aims to reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning systems in new energy vehicles by reducing load demand and improving operating efficiency. The study designs a low-temperature heat pump air conditioning system based on digital technology and then uses a computational algorithm to construct an energy consumption model for the heat pump air conditioning system of a new energy vehicle. According to the test results, the system’s average increase in heat production after activating the enthalpy charge is 35% and its average COP is 0.14% lower than when switched off. At -5oC, the air outlet temperature of the system reaches up to 50.0oC. Summer cooling energy consumption increases exponentially with temperature, while winter heating energy consumption decreases linearly with temperature. In addition, the range decreases significantly as the ambient temperature deviates from the human comfort zone. The decline in the winter range is more severe than that in summer, moreover, the range of modern energy vehicles is reduced by 30% at an average winter temperature of -10oC. In summary, the low-temperature heat pump system offers greater performance. It is more useful in real-world applications and can offer a rational alternative to air conditioning’s energy-saving tactics.