AFTDC 2024 Welcome and opening remarks

Our primary focus is to discuss the effective establishment, nurturing, and expansion of chapters within the American Association for Trans-Disciplinary Communication (AFTDC)

The role of users’ emotions and associated quality goals on appropriation of systems: two case studies

In this paper, we examine the role of emotions and associated system qualities in encouraging adoption and effective use of systems. In two different contexts, we examine the use of a learning management system in an educational setting and a personal emergency alarm system in an aged care setting. This study reveals that technology appropriation is driven by different emotions depending on whether users are in the adoption decision-making stage or during actual use as a part of their everyday routine. Findings from this study suggest that social factors influence peoples’ emotions in the decision to adopt a system. However, as people use a system, it is the non-functional system qualities, based on personal experiences with the look, feel, functionality and features that trigger positive and negative emotional responses. Our findings therefore propose that these emotional responses should be considered during system design and implementation to encourage appropriation and avoid rejection of systems

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Study on Household Solid Waste Management among Urban and Rural Homemakers in Kerala

This study examines the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of urban and rural homemakers in Kerala regarding household solid waste management (SWM). With rapid urbanization and increasing environmental concerns, effective waste management has emerged as a critical issue in the state. The research aims to assess the understanding, attitudes, and behaviors related to solid waste management among households. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study collected data from 526 homemakers through a survey. The findings revealed that 51.7% of participants exhibited moderate knowledge, while 83.8% demonstrated positive attitudes towards solid waste management. Significant differences were observed between urban and rural homemakers in terms of knowledge, waste segregation practices, and disposal methods. Rural homemakers predominantly relied on traditional methods such as composting and burning waste, with lower participation in formal segregation programs. Despite favorable attitudes toward SWM, challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited recycling facilities, and space constraints remain, particularly in rural areas. The study highlights the need for targeted awareness campaigns, enhanced infrastructure, and community-driven solutions to foster sustainable waste management practices across both urban and rural regions of Kerala

Heads Above the Parapet: Personal Motivation and Professional Practice Among Northern Ireland\u27s Community of Grassroots Peace Practitioners

Members of the Northern Ireland’s grassroots peace practitioner community have sustained their careers-long dedication to constructive local engagement across the deep historical divide throughout the decades of The Troubles, the post-agreement era, and up to the present. An exploration of their development as individual practitioners and as a community of practice will contribute to our understanding of grassroots level peace-building. Based on 29 in-depth interviews with Northern Ireland community practitioners we examine why they, with widely differing personalities, capabilities, and backgrounds, came to care deeply about their society, and how their dedication to changing its historical trajectory produced constructive cross-community interactions. Our study applies Parks Daloz et al.’s (1996) developmental dimensions to explain the practitioners’ individual commitments to a common good. It also employs community of practice (CoPs) literature, and Stanton’s (2021) concept of practical wisdom in analyzing the professional practices employed by Northern Ireland’s grassroots peace practitioners

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Sonification and Music as Support to the Communication of Alcohol-Related Health Risks to Young People : Study design and results

Excessive consumption of alcohol has been recognised as a significant risk factor impacting the health of young people. Effective communication of such risk is considered to be one key step to improve behaviour. We evaluated an innovative multimedia intervention that utilised audio (sonification—using sound to display data—and music) and interactivity to support the visual communication of alcohol health risk data. A 3-arm pilot experiment was undertaken. The trial measures included health knowledge, alcohol risk perception and user experience of the intervention. Ninety-six subjects participated in the experiment. At 1 month follow-up, alcohol knowledge and alcohol risk perception improved significantly in the whole sample. However, there was no difference between the intervention groups that experienced (1) visual presentation with interactivity (VI-Exp group) and, (2) visual presentation with audio (sonification and music) and interactivity (VAI-Exp group), when compared to the control group which experienced a (3) visual only presentation (V-Cont group). Participants reported enjoying the presentations and found them educational. The majority of participants indicated that the audio, music and sonification helped to convey the information well, and, although a larger sample size is needed to fully establish the effectiveness of the different interventions, this study provides a useful model for future similar studies

Freeze-Thaw Resistance of Concrete: Insight from Microstructural Properties

Composite cements offer low carbon alternatives to conventional CEM I. These binders also generally tend to perform better than CEM I in aggressive chemical environments. However, their freeze-thaw resistance, evident through surface scaling and internal damage is usually impaired. Postulated theories on freeze-thaw induced damage do not fully explain the origin of this weakness in composite cement concretes. This paper systematically presents the phase assemblage changes associated with the freeze-thaw of concrete specimen made from composite cements with and without limestone. The freeze-thaw test was performed on concrete according to CIF method based on CEN/TR 15177 and the corresponding cement pastes characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). In all investigated composite cements, portlandite was already depleted after the 7d capillary suction. The implications of this and other modified assemblages during the conditioning and the freeze-thaw test are consequently discussed

Reduced phosphorylation of brain insulin receptor substrate and Akt proteins in apolipoprotein-E4 targeted replacement mice

10.1038/srep03754Scientific Reports4