Cross-Cultural Effects in Adoption Patterns of a Mobile Coaching Service for studies

This study applied an adoption model, inspired by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Multipurpose Information Appliances Adoption Model (MIAAM), to compare key variables explaining adoption patterns of a mobile coaching app that guides and encourages students via a technology-based platform. This article constitutes a pioneer effort to compare adoption behaviors across a developed country and an emerging country (France and Mexico) with differences in level of use of mobile apps. A multi-group structural equation modelling approach was used to test the causal structure of the conceptual model. Results confirmed significant differences and similarities across samples and identified critical factors. Perceived usefulness was found to be the most important driver with mediating effects. Organizations implementing coaching services with an improved perceived usefulness could boost their adoption rates.

Cross-Cultural Effects in Adoption Patterns of a Mobile Coaching Service for Studies

This study applied an adoption model, inspired by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Multipurpose Information Appliances Adoption Model (MIAAM), to compare key variables explaining adoption patterns of a mobile coaching app that guides and encourages students via a technology-based platform. This article constitutes a pioneer effort to compare adoption behaviors across a developed country and an emerging country (France and Mexico) with differences in level of use of mobile apps. A multi-group structural equation modelling approach was used to test the causal structure of the conceptual model. Results confirmed significant differences and similarities across samples and identified critical factors. Perceived usefulness was found to be the most important driver with mediating effects. Organizations implementing coaching services with an improved perceived usefulness could boost their adoption rates.

Isopeptidase Kinetics Determination by a Real Time and Sensitive qFRET Approach

Isopeptidase activity of proteases plays critical roles in physiological and pathological processes in living organisms, such as protein stability in cancers and protein activity in infectious diseases. However, the kinetics of protease isopeptidase activity has not been explored before due to a lack of methodology. Here, we report the development of novel qFRET-based protease assay for characterizing the isopeptidase kinetics of SENP1. The reversible process of SUMOylation in vivo requires an enzymatic cascade that includes E1, E2, and E3 enzymes and Sentrin/SUMO-specific proteases (SENPs), which can act either as endopeptidases that process the pre-SUMO before its conjugation, or as isopeptidases to deconjugate SUMO from its target substrate. We first produced the isopeptidase substrate of CyPet-SUMO1/YPet-RanGAP1c by SUMOylation reaction in the presence of SUMO E1 and E2 enzymes. Then a qFRET analyses of real-time FRET signal reduction of the conjugated substrate of CyPet-SUMO1/YPet-RanGAP1c to free CyPet-SUMO1 and YPet-RanGAP1c by the SENP1 were able to obtain the kinetic parameters, Kcat, KM, and catalytic efficiency (Kcat/KM) of SENP1. This represents a pioneer effort in isopeptidase kinetics determination. Importantly, the general methodology of qFRET-based protease isopeptidase kinetic determination can also be applied to other proteases.

Direct Economic Impact Assessment of Winter Honeybee Colony Losses in Three European Countries

Honeybees are of great importance because of their role in pollination as well as for hive products. The population of managed colonies fluctuates over time, and recent monitoring reports show different levels of colony losses in many regions and countries. The cause of this kind of loss is a combination of various factors, such as the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, viruses, pesticides, management practices, climate change, and other stress factors. Having in mind that the economic aspect of honeybee colony losses has not been estimated, a pioneer effort was made for developing a methodology that estimates the economic impact of honeybee colony losses. Winter loss data was based on 2993 answers of the COLOSS standard questionnaire survey of honeybee winter colony losses for 2016/2017. In addition, market and financial data were used for each country. In a comparative analysis, an assessment on the economic impact of colony losses in Austria, Czechia, and Macedonia was made. The estimation considered the value of the colonies and the potential production losses of the lost colonies and of surviving but weak colonies. The direct economic impact of winter honeybee colony losses in 2016/2017 in Austria was estimated to be about 32 Mio €; in Czechia, 21 Mio €; and in Macedonia, 3 Mio €. Economic impact reflects the different value levels in the three countries, national colony populations, and the magnitude of colony losses. This study also suggests that economic losses are much higher than the subsidies, which underlines the economic importance of honeybees for the agricultural sector.

Constitutional Review in the Middle East and North Africa

Ten years after the Arab Spring, many parts of the Middle East and North Africa are struggling with the consequences of armed conflict, a balance of power tilted in favour of the executive and challenges to the rule of law. However, institutions charged with conducting constitutional review have been reformed substantially in most of the countries in those regions. A pioneer effort, this book offers first-hand insights by renowned practitioners and scholars into constitutional review in the Middle East and North Africa, discerning commonalities and differences from a comparative perspective. Structured along selected topics of interdisciplinary relevance—judicial independence, protection of fundamental rights, control of electoral law, and religious law in the constitutional order—the publication highlights the current state of constitutional review in the region: reference models, major develop-ments, challenges and trends. Anja Schoeller-Schletter is a lawyer and historian focusing on comparative constitutional law in North Africa and the Middle East. She designed the project behind this publication in her capacity as the Head of the Rule of Law Programme Middle East/North Africa in Beirut, Lebanon, a programme funded by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

Impact of task priority on software supply chain: a simulation approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the role of the bottlenecks in the dynamic software development supply chains. The paper examines the effects of the task priorities in the software development and investigates the possible strategies to manage them effectively.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, a software development supply chain has been simulated. This includes modeling of the various sizes of software requirement, different priorities, variations in development times, quality defects, etc. The model assumes a fixed set of resources of various skills. The model is studied for the bottlenecks, throughput, work in progress (WIP), etc. under various work preemption scenarios.FindingsThe results indicate that job priorities impact the bottleneck formulation, throughput and WIP of the software development. The work interruption policies to accommodate priority jobs adversely impact the throughput. Selective introduction of interruptions by leaving the bottlenecks from interruptions helps balancing the throughput and priorities.Research limitations/implicationsThe impact of the learning curve and knowledge acquisition time needed by the resources to restart the interrupted work has not been considered in this paper, which can be a future area of research.Practical implicationsThe paper helps the practicing managers evaluate the dynamics of the bottlenecks with various task management approaches and comprehend the possible tradeoffs between priority and throughout.Originality/valueThe paper looks at software development from a perspective of workflow dynamics. This is a pioneer effort, as it utilizes simulation and modeling approach in understanding the software supply chains better.

GPR Survey on an Iron Mining Area after the Collapse of the Tailings Dam I at the Córrego do Feijão Mine in Brumadinho-MG, Brazil

This article shows the interesting results of a pioneer effort by IAG/USP researchers to use ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for humanitarian purposes, guiding the rescue of victims in the tragedy of Brumadinho. The tailings Dam I at the Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine, located in the Brumadinho complex, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, collapsed on 25 January 2019. About 11.7 million m3 of mining mud was spilled from the dam, burying bodies, equipment, structural buildings, buses, and cars along a length of 8.5 km up to the Paraopeba River. Additionally, the contaminated mud traveled more than 300 km along the bed of the Paraopeba River toward the São Francisco River. This work shows the results of a geophysical investigation using the GPR method 17 days after the event. To carry out the geophysical survey, an excavator was used for soil compaction. The data acquisition was performed on the tracks left by the excavator chain using SIR-4000 equipment and antennas of 200 and 270 MHz (GSSI). The GPR studies aimed to map bodies, structural buildings, and equipment buried in the mud. The location of the profiles followed preferably the edge of the slope due to the higher probability of finding buried bodies and objects. The GPR results allowed the detection of subsoil structures, such as concentrations of iron ore and accumulations of sand from the dam filter. The GPR was effective because the iron ore sludge in the mixing process became porous and the pores were filled with air, which provided penetration and reflection of the GPR electromagnetic waves up to a depth of 3.5 m. The results were surprising. Although no bodies or underground equipment were found, the results of this research served to eliminate the studied areas from future excavations, thus redirecting the rescue teams and optimizing the search process. These important results can serve as an additional motivation for the use of GPR in future humanitarian work in areas of tragedies.

URGENSI FIQIH TARBAWI DALAM PERSPEKTIF MAQASHID SYARI’AH

This paper examines a small part of substance of the problems. Therefore it is still embryotic and pioneer. However, this embryonic and pioneer effort is the key gatekeeper for the scientists in this aspect of this quite prospective fiqh tarbawi issue. For further study and freedom in order to increase the scientific treasures in this study then opened access to the gate study of fiqh tarbawi or education in a comprehensive. This paper answers the negative assumptions addressed to Islam with its educational system which seems strong, even considered primitive, can not be assumed as a form of disparaging or demeaning.

Hygroscopic property of Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.): an experimental determination of the Shrinkage characteristics

A pioneer effort is made in this study to carry out an experimental determination of shrinkage characteristics of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) wood on its linear, volumetric, and coefficient values with the hope of ascertaining its utilization potential as timber. Three study locations were randomly selected from defined vegetation zones of north eastern Nigeria for the study. These are Maiduguri (Sahel savanna) Yola (Sudan savanna), and Bauchi (Guinea savanna). Forty five (45) tree samples of neem trees were randomly selected and felled, from which 135 wood specimens were extracted and prepared using Romanian Standard for the research. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the obtained data. Results showed that the tree species has an average tangential linear shrinkage of 12.74%, radial linear shrinkage of 6.26%, longitudinal linear shrinkage of 1.15%, and volumetric shrinkage of 19.12%. The coefficients of tangential, radial, and longitudinal shrinkage were 0.00674, 0.00339, and 0.00061 respectively. The analysis of variance revealed insignificant differences of shrinkage between the three vegetation zones, the sampled trees, as well as between the tree trunk sections. Since the shrinkage value of neem wood compares favorably with some local wood species used for timber, neem wood could be considered suitable for timber production.