This study investigates pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) among teachers teaching mathematics at the preschool level in Colombia, highlighting the importance of integrating mathematical knowledge with innovative and effective pedagogical strategies. Using a mixed exploratory and transactional methodology, the perceptions and practices of 82 teachers were examined, focusing on their understanding of mathematical content, pedagogical skills, and knowledge of children's cognitive development. The findings reveal a significant gap in teachers' understanding of these concepts, indicating a critical need to strengthen PCK among teachers. To this end, training should be provided to enable teachers to foster meaningful and contextualized mathematical learning in preschool students. The study suggests reviewing teacher training curricula and fostering the development of pedagogical strategies that prioritize conceptual understanding and mathematical reasoning. Additionally, it identifies critical areas for improvement and offers concrete recommendations for transforming mathematics teaching in preschool education. To enhance the quality of mathematics education, several measures are proposed: ensuring continued availability of training programs for teachers, encouraging collaboration between educators, adopting constructivist approaches, and helping teachers understand the value of mathematics learning outside the school.

The goal of this work was to create and assess machine-learning models for estimating the risk of budget overruns in developed projects. Finding the best model for risk forecasting required evaluating the performance of several models. Using a dataset of 177 projects took into account variables like environmental risks employee skill level safety incidents and project complexity. In our experiments, we analyzed the application of different machine learning models to analyze the risk for the management decision policies of developed organizations. The performance of the chosen model Neural Network (MLP) was improved after applying the tuning process which increased the Test R² from −0.37686 before tuning to 0.195637 after tuning. The Support Vector Machine (SVM), Ridge Regression, Lasso Regression, and Random Forest (Tuned) models did not improve, as seen when Test R² is compared to the experiments. No changes in Test R²’s were observed on GBM and XGBoost, which retained same Test R² across different tuning attempts. Stacking Regressor was used only during the hyperparameter tuning phase and brought a Test R² of 0. 022219.Decision Tree was again the worst model among all throughout the experiments, with no signs of improvement in its Test R²; it was −1.4669 for Decision Tree in all experiments arranged on the basis of Gender. These results indicate that although, models such as the Neural Network (MLP) sees improvements due to hyperparameter tuning, there are minimal improvements for most models. This works does highlight some of the weaknesses in specific types of models, as well as identifies areas where additional work can be expected to deliver incremental benefits to the structured applied process of risk assessment in organizational policies.

 Beach protection is vital to reduce the damage to shorelines and coastal areas; one of the artificial protections that can be utilized is the tetrapod. However, much damage occurred when using a traditional tetrapod due to the lack of stability coefficient (K_D). Therefore, this research aims to increase the stability coefficient by providing minor modifications to the cape of the tetrapod, such as round-caped or cube-caped. The modification seeks to hold the drag force from the wave and offer a good interlocking in between the tetrapod. This research applied physical model test research using a breakwater model made from the proposed innovative tetrapod with numerous variations in dimensions and layers simulated with several scenarios. The analysis was carried out by graphing the relationship between the parameters of the measurement results and the relationship between dimensionless parameters, such as wave steepness H/gT2, and other essential parameters, such as the K_D stability number and the level of damage in %. The result shows that the modified and innovative tetrapod has a more excellent K_D value than the conventional tetrapod. In addition, the innovative tetrapod with the cube-shaped has a recommended K_D value greater than the round shape. This means that for the modified tetrapod structure and the same level of security, the required weight of the tetrapod with the cube cap will be lighter than the tetrapod with the round cap. These findings have significant practical implications for coastal protection and engineering, potentially leading to more efficient and cost-effective solutions.

This research aimed to 1) evaluate the demographic characteristics, economic, social, and environmental conditions, and characteristics of the senior people in Ranong province, 2) discover the most relevant work characteristic factors for the older persons, and 3) propose appropriate work characteristics model for older people to improve quality of life. This mixed-methods research, for the quantitative part, utilizes the techniques of MRA & CFA with a sample size of 378 individuals, and for the qualitative part, utilizes a documentary study, in-depth interviews with 19 key informants, and a focus group of 17 individuals. The quantitative data were analyzed using a statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS), and content and categorization analysis with a triangulation verification were used for qualitative data. The results showed that: 1) Ranong province is blessed with rich resources, having minerals that can generate income for the province, life-long learning is given priority in senior school to enhance knowledge and necessary life skills, 2) from the regression analysis, the six predicted work characteristic factors; physical, emotional, autonomous, resistant, low-technology and safety were found relevant with statistically significant at 0.05, and the CFA consistency indices also withstood with the six dimensions above, 3) the appropriate work characteristics is articulated in the form of PEARLS model where physical, emotional, autonomous, resistant, low-technology and safety dimensions are the key.

Color visually communicates the product’s flavors to consumers and further influences their taste perception. This study explores the perceived taste of tea beverages caused by the logo’s principal colors, using hand-shaken tea beverages in Taiwan as an example. To identify the linkage between the logo color and tea tastes, this study divides the taste of tea beverages into four categories: sweetness, freshness, bitterness, and astringency. Then, the 69 tea beverage logos are allocated into the 14 color sections in the CIELAB color space according to their primary colors. The Correspondence Analysis method is employed to visualize the relationships between the logos and the perceived tastes. The tea tastes are then mapped into the color sections in the CIELAB color space. The analysis results reveal that the sweetness links to logos in the Warm Scheme colors (hue angle from 0 to 59 degrees). The fresh taste is bound with the logo with the Cool White Scheme colors (hue angle from 90 to 149 degrees and brightness >80). Finally, the bitter and astringent tastes link to the logo colors in the Cold Black Scheme colors (hue angle from 60 to 89 degrees, 150 to 329 degrees, and brightness <25). This study expands the color and taste association literature from general food to tea beverages. Our obtained empirical results can be applied to hand-shaken beverage companies to select principal colors for designing logos and packages that align with tea beverages’ perceived tastes to convey brand recognition accurately.

Creative cities as a study discipline have garnered extensive attention and research in theory and practice as a practical approach to urban revitalization and sustainable development. This study conducted a systematic review of academic research on creative cities. Utilizing the visual analysis tools Citespace and VOSviewer, a comprehensive analysis was performed on 570 relevant articles from the Web of Science database. This study analyzed the most influential publications, authors, journals, institutions, and countries within the sample. The investigation spans various disciplinary domains, including geography, environment, culture, and others. Additionally, an exploration of the structure and characteristics of co-cited references was undertaken to enhance our understanding of the theoretical foundations of creative cities research further. Among these, the focal points of the study encompass urban development, urban policies, and the challenges faced. Finally, through co-occurrence analysis of keywords and examining the evolutionary process, the study forecasted that future trends will focus on the practical application of cities to enhance the urban image and improve urban governance from multi-dimensional perspectives such as creativity-related cultural places, public art, and so forth, exploring novel models of creative cities from case to universal. The results of this study can support scholars in grasping the development trends and exploring focal points.