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Diversifying Understandings of AI Literacy: A Global South Perspective from Vietnam Education
No full textThe rapid rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly influencing the education sector globally. Understanding and supporting AI literacy among educators is therefore a growing priority to ensure confidence and competence in responsible use. This study presents the initial findings from a survey of high school teachers’ current AI literacy in Vietnam. We conducted and analysed a survey (n = 543, rural and urban) to cover AI awareness, attitudes, ethics, and methods of use.
Many teachers expressed enthusiasm and perceived value in the use of AI in education, but there are still gaps in ethics, infrastructure, and training. We argue that AI literacy initiatives must go beyond technical competence and include ethics, transparency, and sociocultural relevance, supporting a meaningful integration of AI in Vietnamese schools and contributing to broader discussions in the Global South
Investigation of the Wear Progression of Nozzle in Abrasive Waterjet Machining with Different Abrasive Material
No full textDetermining the productivity and quality of precision AWJ machining requires routine and careful inspection of nozzle condition. The degradation of the inner bore of the nozzle adversely impacts the mixing efficiency and uniformity of the water jet, thereby affecting its cutting performance. In this study, new nozzle was designed and manufactured using additive manufacturing and were made of 316 L stainless steel. The new nozzle consists of two combined parts with the peculiarity of being easy to install using a screw thread. The wear behavior of the new nozzle was examined using an accelerat-ed wear test. An accelerated wear test was conducted on the hard abrasive silicon carbide (SiC) and compared to garnet, the abrasive commonly used in the AWJ industry. The aim of the test was to de-termine the wear pattern of the nozzle. The cumulative mass loss and nozzle diameter increase for different abrasives were measured. The geometric change in the nozzle is made visible through de-structive examination. The findings indicated that the type of abrasives significantly affects nozzle wear. As the hardness of the abrasive increases, the diameter of the nozzle enlarges, resulting in accel-erated nozzle wear. The mass loss factor of SiC abrasives is three times higher than that of garnet abrasives. This research allows practitioners to monitor the nozzle wear behaviour during the AWJ process. The results obtained were used to estimate the nozzle life based on the observed wear history
Trade-off analysis of machinability of steel alloy AISI 304L using Taguchi-grey integrated approach
No full textEnergy analysis during machine tool operations in manufacturing sector is becoming one of the prominent research avenues due to rising energy costs and environmental impact brought on by high energy consumption. Nevertheless, surface quality and production rates also hold significant value for overall optimization of any manufacturing setup. In fact, machinability of a material can only be assessed by collectively optimizing all machining responses. To address this shortcoming, multi-objective optimization of specific cutting energy, surface roughness, and material removal rate during turning of AISI 304L stainless steel was conducted at diverse machining parameters. Influential variables to include depth of cut, feed rate and cutting speed were taken as the input parameters. Efficient Taguchi design of experimentation was employed for formulation of L16 orthogonal array. Effect of each cutting parameter on the response variables was investigated using main effects plot and analysis of variance was done to ascertain influence of each input through its contribution ratio. Feed rate was found to be the most influential input with 88.94% contribution ratio for surface roughness and 57.29% contribution ratio for specific cutting energy. Cutting speed had contribution ratio of 31.56% for specific cutting energy. Subsequently, regression analysis was used to develop second-order mathematical models (95% confidence level) to correlate input parameters with output responses. Contour plots were developed for visual comprehension of the relationship between input parameters and output responses. Grey relational analysis was used for multi objective optimization to identify optimum cutting combination which came to be at 1.4 mm depth of cut, 160 m/min cutting speed and 0.25 mm/rev feed rate
Exploring the Weathering and Accelerated Environmental Aging of Wave-Transparent Reinforced Composites
No full textApproaches to retain or improve wave-transparent composite properties received ongoing attention. Silica glass fiber composites are being utilized in wave transparency applications owing to their excellent dielectric properties. During operational service life, they are exposed to ambient and harsh environments, which degrade their performance and properties. The objective is to evaluate the progressive degradation of silica fiber wave-transparent composite material’s properties and overall performance. Silica fiber/epoxy wave-transparent composites (SFWCs) were fabricated by stacking high-silica glass cloth (HSG) plies via multi-layer compression and curing at 150 °C (14 hrs) and were investigated upon one-year real-time weathering and 20-year accelerated aging (Hallberg peck model). The morphology of one-year-aged SFWC composite was found to be better than that of 20-year-aged SFWC, where relatively weakened interfacial bonding and composite structure were observed. One year weathering the dielectric constant (εr) was increased to 4.34%, and dielectric loss (δ) was found to be 5.6%, whereas upon accelerated conditions (equivalent to 20 yrs of ambient conditions), εr was significantly raised 30.63% from its original value (3.2), and δ was increased 22.8% (0.035). In the 20-year aged SFWC composite, the maximum absorbed moisture was 3.1%. Tensile strength dropped from 147.8 MPa to 136.48 MPa, and compressive strength from 388.54 MPa to 374.41 MPa. Upon aging (from 1 year of weathering to 20 years of accelerated aging), SFWC composite properties and functional performance were lowered but remained reasonable. SFWC properties, as revealed by microscale characterization, can contribute to the determination of the impact of deterioration and useful service life in respective microelectronics wave transparency applications
The bad belle model: introducing a new model for understanding disability in Nigerian cinema and culture
No full textThis paper is part of a five-year research into disability representation in Nollywood and Nigerian culture. While analysing data for the research, a recurrent way for representing and understanding disability was discovered called the bad belle model. The term bad belle model is used to describe views that disabled people are innocent victims of other people’s malice. Thus, this paper analyses Nollywood films and focus group data with disabled people in Nigeria to identify how the bad belle model manifests and its cultural underpinning as a way of extending understanding about the various ableist positions within society as well as contribute to the theorisation of disability shame. Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, is the second largest cinema in the world according to number of productions. The industry is also nestled against Nigerian cultures which contribute to its ideological positions as much as Nollywood contributes to audience perception of disabilities
Horizontal Movement of Kindergarten Children During a Primary School Fire Evacuation Drill
No full textOccupant evacuation is a critical aspect of fire safety in buildings. Most evacuation strategies and design principles are based on data from adults, leaving gaps in understanding the unique evacuation behaviours of children. This study examines the movement characteristics of kindergarten children (ages 4–7) during evacuation drills in a primary school. Speed and flow were analysed in corridors and through exit doors of varying widths using video recordings. The findings reveal distinct behaviours, such as the absence of personal space and group-based movement, which differ significantly from adults. Correlations were observed between exit door width, density, and flow rates, highlighting that density alone does not fully explain evacuation dynamics. These insights emphasize the need for evacuation models tailored to children, addressing their unique behaviours and the effects of escape route design
Women’s experiences of post-abortion care services at health facilities in Somaliland – A qualitative study among women with incomplete abortion
No full textObjective
Somaliland faces one of the highest maternal mortality and morbidity rates globally. Access to high-quality post-abortion care is essential for managing complications arising from incomplete abortions, including those following miscarriages. This study aimed to explore women’s experiences of incomplete abortion and their encounters with Post abortion care (PAC) services in public healthcare facilities.
Methodology
An inductive qualitative design was employed. In-depth interviews were conducted with women who had experienced incomplete abortions and received PAC. Data were analysed using thematic analysis guided by an inductive approach.
Results
Two key themes emerged from the analysis:(i) Women’s understanding of incomplete abortion and barriers to accessing PAC – This theme explores women’s care seeking and perceptions of causes of miscarriage, the challenges faced in accessing PAC, and the enabling factors that supported their care-seeking behaviour. (ii) Perceptions of care quality and suggestions for improvement – This theme captures women’s experiences with the quality and accessibility of PAC services and their recommendations for improving service delivery.
Conclusions
The study highlights the vital role of family and friend in encouraging women to seek care. However, it reveals significant gaps, particularly in counselling, community awareness, and emergency care. Many women reported continued pain and bleeding after discharge, indicating the need for service improvement. Further quantitative research is needed to assess the capacity of health facilities to deliver comprehensive PAC. The Health authority and policy maker should support further research and increase investment in midwifery training and continuous professional development to improve access to and quality of PAC
Working Class-ical Music: Exploring the Creative Potential of Embodying Working-Classness in a Folio of New Interdisciplinary Compositions
No full textSocial class has not received as much of a consideration within the current artistic landscape of contemporary classical music. While matters such as racial (Andre, 2018) and gender disparity (Kouvaras, Williams, and Grenfell, 2023) and their impact on creative practice have been researched, class has received less scrutiny. Other artistic fields have made some progress in considering class within their artistic cultures, such as in film (Adler-Bell, 2023; Thorpe, 2022), television (see Benedictus, Allen and Jensen, 2017; Harrison, Rainsborough, and Taylor, 2020), and pop music (Hall, 2021; Bloom, 2021). Such research has examined the limited and often stereotypical representations of working-class identity within these fields. Examples include the documentary series Benefits Street (Benedictus, Allen and Jensen, 2017; Harrison, Rainsborough, and Taylor, 2020) and the use of working-class aesthetics in Models: Street to Catwalk (Brown, 2019; Jeffries, 2020). General analysis of working-class presence within the arts has also seen a recent boon in outputs, both in contemporary analysis of working-class persons in artistic fields and examining intergenerational trends (Carey, O’Brien, and Gable, 2021; Brook, Miles, O’Brien, and Taylor, 2023). Working-classness within classical music has had a limited representation within contemporary research, focussing primarily on the performance of classical music and questions of access (see Bull, 2019; Born, 2010). In considering the creation of new musical compositions, working-classness has received an over-simplified representation of working-classness that I believe perpetuate working-class stereotypes (e.g. Rough Voices by Higgins (Higgins, 2020) and Greek by Turnage (Turnage, 1988)).
In my practice-based research I have developed a portfolio of new interdisciplinary compositions that explore working-classness in a greater level of depth. The compositions within my portfolio explore working-class identity within classical music by considering class as the ways of being that are developed due to the relationships between yourself and larger society because of the quality and quantity of capitals you possess (see Bourdieu, 1984: p. 95, Skeggs, 2004a). Working-classness can be understood as the struggle for value due to having both a quantitative and qualitative lack of capitals. Capitals can refer to either one or a mixture of economic capital, cultural capital, symbolic capital, and social capital. Economic capital refers to your income and property, cultural capital as hobbies and interests perceived to be of a high cultural status (such as opera or fine dining), symbolic capital as the representation of abstract knowledge (such as a degree or a corporate brand) and social capital as the network of personnel and/or organisations you can access. In approaching class 6 through both the cause and effect of its establishment and emphasising the socio-economic relationships that are created within society, I can effectively provide a more nuanced consideration towards class through my research outputs and better address my own positionality through considerations of geographical difference, intergenerational difference, and intersectionality with other cultural identities.
My methodology is informed by Bourdieu’s theory of Habitus (Bourdieu, 1984: p. 95), Skeggs’ concept of ‘person value’ (Skeggs, 2011), the work of other working-class artists (e.g. Grayson Perry and Tony Harrison), and auto-ethnographical research methods. This methodology enables working-classness to be imbedded in both the sonic/non-sonic elements used and their construction to create original interdisciplinary compositions.
The impact of my research is the production of a portfolio of compositions that effectively provide new considerations to various aspects of classical music’s culture, including:
• Performance Environment (Holding, The Damned, and The Weight of History and Background Etudes)
• Instrumentation (It’s Hard to Make an Oboe Sound Working-Class)
• Musical forms (Budget Cuts to Faure’s Piano Trio in D Minor and Theme With Variations Forced by Expectations)
• The experience of those working in/engaging with classical music’s culture (Budget Cuts to Faure’s Piano Trio in D Minor and The Weight of History and Background Etudes)
• Musical language (Seven Working-Class Time Pieces, Baguette Baton and Escapism).
The portfolio and the following critical commentary also provide a resource to address the stereotyping of working-classness in contemporary creative outputs, a methodology for how working-classness can be embodied in artistic practice, a display of how interdisciplinary methods can be used to express the working-class experience, and a resource in aiding other working-class artists to express their class through classical music