World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology

Authors: Awal Liman Sale

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The world is fast becoming a global village; and a necessary tool for this process is communication, of which telecommunication is a key player. The quantum development is very rapid as one innovation replaces another in a matter of weeks. Interconnected phone calls across the different Nigerian Telecom service providers are mostly difficult to connect and often diverted, incurring unnecessary charges on the customers. This compels the consumers to register and use multiple subscriber information modules (SIM) so that they can switch to another if one fails. This study aims to identify and prioritize the key factors in selecting telecom service providers by subscribers in Nigeria using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in order to match the factors with the GSM network providers and create a hierarchical structure. Opinions of 400 random subscribers of different service providers will be sought using the questionnaire. In general, four components and ten sub-components will be examined in this study. After determining the weight of these components, the importance of each in choosing the service will be prioritized in Nigeria.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, global village, Nigerian telecommunication, subscriber information modules

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Authors: Farida Ibrahim

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Right to information is the public's right to know through having access to public information held by state bodies. Recognized as a cornerstone in transparent, participatory and open democracies, the right to information is increasingly perceived today as an emerging human right on the international level. While this right is conceptualized in a range of different contexts, the paper focuses on its conceptualization as a force for socio-economic change for disadvantaged groups. The paper's goal is study the instrumental capacity of this right in empowering the public to access state-held information pertinent to their socio-economic rights. In this regard, the paper views the right to information as an inclusionary tool that is capable of spurring inclusion for individuals excluded from the ambits of both: public participation and social justice. For exploring this, the paper examines the advocacy role played by civil society groups in furthering this instrumental capacity. In particular, the paper presents a focused account on the Egyptian case. While Egypt has recently adopted its constitutional provision on access to information, doubts arise on Egyptian citizens' genuine ability to access information held by state bodies. The politico-economic environment, long term culture of bureaucratic secrecy, and legal framework do not provide promising outcomes on access to public information. Within the particular context of the Egyptian case, this paper questions the extent to which civil society in Egypt is capable of instrumentally employing the political opportunity offered by the constitutional entitlement to information access for pressuring public authorities to disclose information. Through four lawsuits brought by civil society groups in Egypt, the paper argues that the right to information has instrumentally provided civil society actors with new domains of mobilization for furthering the realization of social and economic rights, and ultimately, for renegotiating a new social order lining the relationship between the Egyptian state and its citizens marginalized by socio-economic imbalances.

Keywords: civil society, Egypt, right to information, socio-economic rights

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Authors: Güllü Yakar, Adnan Tepecik

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A university campus resembles an independent city that is spread over a wide area. Campuses that incorporate thousands of new domestic and international users at the beginning of every academic period also host scientific, cultural and sportive events, in addition to embodying regular users such as students and staff. Wayfinding and signage systems are necessary for the regulation of vehicular traffic, and they enable users’ to navigate without losing time or feeling anxiety. While designing the system or testing the functionality of it, opinions of existing users or likely behaviors of typical user profiles (personas) provide designers with insight. The purpose of this study is to identify the wayfinding attitudes and expectations of Kastamonu University Kuzeykent Campus users. This study applies a mixed method in which a questionnaire, developed by the researcher, constitute the quantitative phase of the study. The survey was carried out with 850 participants who filled a questionnaire form which was tested in terms of construct validity by using Exploratory Factor Analysis. While interpreting the data obtained, Chi-Square, T- Test and ANOVA analyses were applied as well as descriptive analyses such as frequency (f) and percentage (%) values. The results of this survey, which was conducted during the absence of systematic wayfinding signs in the campus, reveals the participants expectations for insertion of floor plans and wayfinding signs to indoors, maps to outdoors, symbols and color codes to the existing signs and for the adequate arrangement of those for the use of visually impaired people. The fact that there is a direct proportional relation between the length of institution membership and wayfinding competency within campus, leads to the conclusion that especially the new comers are in need of wayfinding signs. In order to determine the effectiveness of campus-wide wayfinding system implemented after the survey and in order to identify the further expectations of users in this respect, a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher and assessments of 20 participants are compiled. Subjected to content analysis, this data constitute the qualitative dimension of the study. Research results indicate that despite the presence of the signs, the participants experienced either inability or stress while finding their way, showed tendency to receive help from others and needed outdoor maps and signs, in addition to bigger-sized texts.

Keywords: environmental graphic design, environmental perception, wayfinding and signage design, wayfinding system

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Authors: Luciana Steffen

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People with disabilities are often neglected in the exercise of their sexuality, facing several prejudices and discrimination in this area. For women with disabilities, the negligence is even major. Studies that relate sexual and reproductive rights with the experience of women with disabilities are rare, and in the field of Theology, practically nonexistent in Brazil. The aim of this work is to reflect on the relationship between women with disabilities, sexual and reproductive rights and Theology, according to a feminist perspective. The work is a literature review and involves the areas of Gender Studies, Disability Studies, Feminist Studies and Theology. In the article it will be addressed the relations between disability, sexual and reproductive rights, feminism, as well as the relations with the area of Theology, reflecting on these themes toward a fairer and more inclusive understanding of feminism, sexuality and women with disabilities. To reflect on sexual and reproductive rights of women with disabilities, it is important to reflect on religious concepts about the body, sexuality, reproduction and gender roles, because they are all connected. So, a critical analysis of traditional theological values taking into consideration the dimensions of sexuality and women with disability is important for a more liberating and inclusive understand about sexual and reproductive rights of women with disabilities. Theology should help the other areas in the understanding that all people have the right to live their lives with completeness, dignity and respect, so women with disabilities must have the opportunity of making their own choices on the fields of sexuality and reproduction.

Keywords: gender, disability, sexual and reproductive rights, theology

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Authors: Carlo Schick

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Legitimacy can be regarded the very fabric of political orders. Up to this point, IR scholarship was particularly interested in the legitimacy of nation-states, international regimes and of non-governmental actors. The legitimacy of collaborative governance comprising public, private and civic actors, however, has not received much attention from an IR perspective. This is partly due to the fact that the concept of legitimacy is difficult to operationalise and measure in settings where there is no clear boundary between political authorities and those who are subject to collaborative governance. In this case, legitimacy cannot be empirically approached in its own terms, but can only be analysed in terms of dialectic legitimation processes. The author develops a three-fold analytical framework based on a dialogical understanding of legitimation. Legitimation first has to relate to public legitimacy demands and contestations of collaborative governance and second to legitimacy claims issued by collaborative governance networks themselves. Lastly, collaborative governance is dependent on constant self-legitimisation. The paper closes with suggesting a discourse analytic approach to further empirical research on the legitimacy of collaborative governance.

Keywords: legitimacy, collaborative governance, discourse analysis, dialectic legitimation

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Authors: Ingrid Van Der Heijden, Naeemah Abrahams, Jane Harries

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Background: Women with disabilities are largely missing from global research on violence prevention, yet research shows that women with disabilities are a particularly marginalised group who experience heightened levels and unique forms of violence than men with disabilities, and women without disabilities. They face heightened stigma, discrimination, and violence due to their gender and their disability. Including women with disabilities in violence, research helps inform policy and prevention interventions that are relevant and inclusive. To ensure their inclusion in violence research, we need ethical guidelines that are sensitive to their heightened risk and vulnerability, that recognize the diversity in the disabled population, but that also promote disabled people’s agency in defining their own violence prevention needs and agendas. Objective: To highlight pertinent ethical issues around women with disabilities’ inclusion and participation in violence research. Methodology: Considering the lack of formalized guidelines for research of people with disabilities, we draw from the literature on international ethics guidelines for researching violence against women, and the Emancipatory Disability Research paradigm, as well as drawing from our own experiences from the field in applying the guidelines when doing research with disabled women. Findings: Following the guiding ethical principles of respect, benefit, justice, and do no harm, we argue that reasonable accommodation, capacity, and equal participation need to be considered in conceptualizing and conducting ethical violence research with women with disabilities. We conclude that disability research in the area of violence is highly politicized and must be carefully scrutinized to ensure justice and the contribution of women with disabilities to their own welfare. Implications: We suggest that these issues are practically applied in the field and tested and critiqued to enhance best practice for undertaking ethical research with this particular group. It is important that not only researchers and ethics committees, but also disabled women and disabled organizations, are involved in enhancing and formalizing ethical research guidelines for marginalized populations.

Keywords: capacity, emancipatory disability research paradigm equal participation, reasonable accommodation, research ethics, violence against women with disabilities

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Authors: Ingrid Van Der Heijden, Naeemah Abrahams, Jane Harries

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Background: Commonly, womanhood is defined as the qualities considered to be natural to or characteristic of a woman. However, womanhood is not a static concept; it is contextual and negotiable. For women with disabilities, gender roles or ‘qualities’ of womanhood are often overstated or contradicted because of assumptions of weakness, passivity, asexuality and infertility. Currently, little is known about how disability stigma intersects with notions of womanhood to make women with disabilities vulnerable to violence, or how women navigate this intersection to prevent or protect themselves from violence. Objective: To describe how the stigmatized constructions of womanhood and disability promote women with physical disabilities’ exposure to or protection from violence. Methods: Qualitative data for this paper comes from a doctoral study involving women with disabilities living in Cape Town, South Africa. It presents data from repeat in-depth interviews with 30 women with a range of physical impairments. Women attending protective workshops, rehabilitative centers and residential care facilities for people living with disabilities were invited to participate. Consent procedures and interviews were conducted by the first author (who is herself a woman living with a physical disability), and a female research assistant/translator who is a qualified occupational therapist. Reasonable accommodation is central to the methodology and the study as a whole. Findings: Descriptive and thematic analyses reveal how stigma and local constructions around womanhood, as well as women’s self-image and physical limitations, promotes women’s exposure to psychological, physical and sexual violence. It reveals how disabled women feel they are presumed incapable of living up to expectations of a ‘proper’ woman. This plays out as psychological violence, with women reporting that they feel ‘devalued,' ‘rejected’ and deprived of lasting intimate relationships. Furthermore, forms of psychological violence perpetuate physical and sexual violence. Women also discuss using strategies to prevent violence; by refusing to date, avoiding certain places or avoiding isolation, creating awareness, hiding their physical impairments, and exaggerating their ‘femininity.' Implications: Service providers need to be made aware of women’s violence experiences, and provide a range of accessible psychological and mental health services to women living with disabilities, as well as raising awareness around disability, and violence prevention, among caregivers, men, and women. Violence awareness and prevention interventions need to involve disability experts, researchers and people with disabilities.

Keywords: disability, gender, stigma, violence awareness and prevention interventions

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Authors: Ingrid van der Heijden, Kristen Dunkle, Rachel Jewkes

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Background: Emerging literature on prevalence shows that men with disabilities are four more times likely than men without disabilities to experience sexual violence during their lifetime. However, compared to women with disabilities, men with disabilities still have lesser experiences of violence. While empirical evidence on the prevalence of victimization of men with disabilities is emerging, there is scarcer evidence highlighting disabled men’s perpetration of different forms of violence, particularly intimate partner violence. We can assume that men are likely to be both perpetrators and victims of violence, making more complex the causes and risks of violence. Gender norms and disability stigma play important roles in men’s experiences of violence. Men may be stigmatized because of their inability to attain hegemonic masculine ideals of strength, control over women and sexual conquest, which makes them more susceptible to emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Little to no evidence exists of men with disabilities’ experiences of perpetration of intimate partner violence, family violence or community violence. So far studies on male victimization do not succeed to offer contextual evidence that would highlight why and how men with disabilities perpetrate and/or are victims of sexual or other forms of violence. Objective: The overall aim to highlight men with disabilities’ experiences of both victimization and perpetration, and how living up to normative and hegemonic ideals of masculinity and ‘ability’ shape their experiences. It will include: identifying how gender and impairments intersect and shape their experiences of violence; identifying the contexts of and risks for violence; identifying the impacts and consequences of violence on their lives (including mental health impacts), and identifying obstacles and enablers to support and interventions to prevent violence. Methodology: In-depth qualitative interviews with 20 men with disabilities participating in interventions conducted by the What Works Global Programme for violence prevention (DIFD) in Africa and Asia. Men with a range of disabilities will be invited to share their lifetime experiences of violence. Implications for Practice: The data from this study will be used to start thinking about strategies to include men with disabilities in violence prevention strategies for both men and women. Limitations: Because men will be participating in interventions, it is assumed that they will not have severe impairments that hamper their cognitive or physical ability to participate in the intervention activities - and therefore will be able to participate in the in-depth interviews. Of course, this is a limitation of the study as it does not include those men with severe disabilities – measured by the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning - who may be more vulnerable and at higher risk of experiencing violence, and who are less likely to be able to access services and interventions.

Keywords: gender, men with disabilities, perpetration of violence, victimization

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Authors: Dejan Metodijeski, Elizabeta Mitreva, Nako Taskov, Oliver Filiposki

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Tourism development strategies are an important link in the tourism policy that is used to make its management better and easier. A public-public partnership (PUP) is a partnership between two or more public authorities or between a public authority and any non-profit organization with the goal of providing services and facilities or transferring technical skills. The paper presents this kind of partnership between two public authorities in Macedonia, the Municipality of Gazi Baba on one hand, and the University of Goce Delcev on the other. The main idea of this partnership is the development of a tourism strategy for the Municipality of Gazi Baba by the University on one side, and on the other, the construction of a mini park in the court of the University by the Municipality. This paper presents the causes and analyzes the procedures relating to this partnership and the methodology of the tourism development strategy. It contains a relevant literature review related to PUPs and tourism development strategy. The results and benefits of this partnership are presented with figures.

Keywords: public-public partnership, tourism development strategy, municipality of Gazi Baba, Macedonia

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Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah

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The manual system of voting has been the most widely used system of electing representatives around the globe, particularly in Africa. Due to the known numerous problems and challenges associated with the manual system of voting, many countries are migrating to the electronic voting system as a suitable and credible means of electing representatives over the manual paper-based system. This research paper therefore investigated the factors influencing adoption and use of an electronic voting system in Ghana. A total of 400 Questionnaire Instruments (QI) were administered to potential respondents in Ghana, of which 387 responded representing a response rate of 96.75%. The Technology Acceptance Model was used as the theoretical framework for the study. The research model was tested using a simple linear regression analysis with SPSS. A little of over 71.1% of the respondents recommended the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana to adopt an electronic voting system in the conduct of public elections in Ghana. The results indicated that all the six predictors such as perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived free and fair elections (PFFF), perceived credible elections (PCE), perceived system integrity (PSI) and citizens trust in the election management body (CTEM) were all positively significant in predicting the readiness of citizens to adopt and use an electronic voting system in Ghana. However, jointly, the hypotheses tested revealed that apart from Perceived Free and Fair Elections and Perceived Credible and Transparent Elections, all the other factors such as PU, Perceived System Integrity and Security and Citizen Trust in the Election Management Body were found to be significant predictors of the Willingness of Ghanaians to use an electronic voting system. All the six factors considered in this study jointly account for about 53.1% of the reasons determining the readiness to adopt and use an electronic voting system in Ghana. The implications of this research finding on elections in Ghana are discussed.

Keywords: credible elections, Election Management Body (EMB), electronic voting, Ghana, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

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Authors: Heather Fulford, Melanie Liddell

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The recruitment and retention of high quality employees can prove to be challenging for social enterprises, particularly in some of the core business support functions such as marketing, communications, IT and finance. This holds true for social enterprises in urban contexts, where roles with more attractive remuneration in these business functions can often be found quite readily in the private sector. For social enterprises situated in rural locations, the challenges of staff recruitment and retention are even more acute. Such challenges can lead to a skills deficit in rural social enterprises, which can, at best, hinder their growth potential, and worse, jeopardise their chances of survival. This in turn, can have a negative impact on the sustainability and resilience of the surrounding rural community in which the social enterprise is located. The purpose of this paper is to report on aspects of a collaborative initiative established to stimulate innovation and business growth in remote rural businesses in Scotland. Launched in 2010, this initiative was designed to attract young students and graduates from the region to stay in the region upon completion of their studies, and to attract others from outside the region to re-locate there post-university. To facilitate this, SMEs in the region were offered wage subsidies to encourage them to recruit a student or graduate on a work placement for up to one year to participate in an innovation or business growth-oriented project. A number of the employers offering work placements were social enterprises. Through analysis of the placement project and role specifications devised by the participating social enterprises, an overview is provided of their business development needs and the skills they require to stimulate innovation and growth. Scrutiny of the reflective accounts compiled by the students and graduates at the close of their work placements highlights the benefits they derived from being able to put their academic knowledge and skills into action within a social enterprise. Examination of interviews conducted with a sample of placement employers reveals the contribution the students and graduates made during the business development projects with the social enterprises. The challenges of hosting such placements are also discussed. The paper concludes with indications of the lessons learned and an outline of the wider implications for other remote rural locations in which social enterprises play an important role in the local economy and life of the community.

Keywords: resilience, rural development, regeneration, regional development, recruitment, resource management, retention, remuneration

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Authors: Tina Abrefa-Gyan

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Background: In Ghana and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS is a public health threat and also causes medical crises for many who are infected with the virus. Objective: This study tested a social care intervention developed to help improve the quality of life of those living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana. Method: Adult respondents (N = 248) were assigned to receive the intervention or usual care for six weeks. Results: Results of the study revealed significant differences between the treatment and control groups in their reports of quality of life. Respondents reported better quality of life upon receiving the intervention. Implication: This study sheds light on the positive relationship between the intervention and quality of life among those living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana. Conclusion: The intervention is innovative and novel in the setting. It will, therefore, help to reduce the risks such as depression, low cognitive functioning, and low physical functioning associated with low quality of life among people living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana in specific, and in sub-Saharan Africa in general.

Keywords: social care intervention, HIV/AIDS, Ghana, quality of life

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Authors: Elzyata Kuberlinova

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This study explores how the Kalmyk Buddhist sangha responded to the Russian empire’s administrative integration and how the Buddhist clerical institutions were shaped in the process of interaction with representatives of the predominantly Orthodox state. The eighteenth-nineteenth century Russian imperial regime adhered to a religion-centred framework to govern its diverse subjects. Within this framework, any form of religious authority was considered a useful tool in the imperial quest for legibility. As such, rather than imposing religious homogeneity, the Russian administration engineered a framework of religious toleration and integrated the non-Orthodox clerical institutions in the empire’s administration. In its attempt to govern the large body of Kalmyk Buddhist sangha, the Russian government had to incorporate the sangha into the imperial institutional establishment. To this end, the Russian government founded the Lamaist Spiritual Governing Board in 1834, which became a part of the civil administration, where the Kalmyk Buddhist affairs were managed under the supervision of the Russian secular authorities. In 1847 the Lamaist Spiritual Board was abolished and Buddhist religious authority was transferred to the Lama of the Kalmyk people. From 1847 until the end of the empire in 1917 the Lama was the manager and intermediary figure between the Russian authorities and the Kalmyks where religious affairs were concerned. Substantial evidence collected in archives in Elista, Astrakhan, Stavropol and St.Petersburg show that despite being on the government’s payroll, first the Lamaist Spiritual Governing Board and later on the Lama did not always serve the interests of the state, and did not always comply with the Russian authorities’ orders. Although being incorporated into the state administrative system the Lama often found ways to manoeuvre the web of the Russian imperial bureaucracy in order to achieve his own goals. The Lama often used ‘every-day forms of resistance’ such as feigned misinterpretation, evasion, false compliance, feigned ignorance, and sabotage in order to resist without directly confronting or challenging the state orders.

Keywords: Buddhist Sangha, intermediary, Kalmyks, Lama, legibility, resistance, reform, Russian empire

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Authors: Irma Wani Othman

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The internationalization of higher education in Malaysia mainly focuses to place the implementation of the strategic, comprehensive and integrated range of stakeholders in order to highlight the visibility of Malaysia as a hub of academic excellence. While the concept of 'global citizenship' is used as a two-pronged strategy of aggressive marketing by universities which includes; (i) the involvement of the academic expatriates in stimulating international activities of higher education and (ii) an increase in international student enrollment capacity for the enculturation of science and the development of first class mentality. In this aspect, aspirations for a transnational social movement through global citizenship status to establish the identity of the university community without borders (borderless universities) - regardless of skin colour, thus rationalize and liberalize the universal principles of life and cultural traditions of a nation. The education system earlier referred by the spirit of nationalism is now progressing due to globalization, hence forming a system of higher education that is relevant and generated by the need of all time. However, debates arose when the involvement of global citizenship is said to threaten the ultimate university autonomy in determining the direction of academic affairs and governance of their human resources. Stemming from this debate, this study aims to explore the experience of 'global citizenship' that the academic expatriates and international students in shaping the university's strategic needs and interests which are in line with the transition of contemporary higher education. The objective of this study is to examine the acculturation experience of the global citizen in the form of transnational higher education system and suggest policy and policing IHE which refers directly to the experience of the global citizen. This study offers a detailed understanding of how the university communities assess their expatriation experience, thus becoming useful information for learning and transforming education. The findings also open an advanced perspective on the international mobility of human resources and the implications on the implementation of the policy of internationalization of higher education. The contribution of this study is expected to give new input, thus shift the focus of contextual literature for the internationalization of the education system. Instead of focusing on the purpose of generating income of a university, to a greater understanding of subjective experience in utilizing international human resources hence contributing to the prominent transnational character of higher education.

Keywords: internationalization, global citizens, Malaysia higher education, academic expatriate, international students

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Authors: Juhi Pandya, Elekes Zsuzsanna

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Health is related to every aspect of human being. Even a quintal change leads to ill-health of an individual. Gender plays an eminent role in determining an individual health exposure. Political implications on health have implicit effects on the individual, societal and economical. The inclusion of gender perspective into policies have plunged enormous attention globally, nationally and locally to detract inequalities and achieve economic growth. Simultaneously, there is an initiation of policies with gender perspective which are named differently but hold similar meaning or objective. They are named gender mainstreaming policies or gender sensitization policies. Gender budgeting acts as a tool for the application of gender mainstreaming policies. It incorporates gender perspective into the budgetary process by restricting the revenues and expenditures at all level of the budget. The current study takes into account the analysis of Gender Budgeting reports in terms of healthcare from the 2014-16 year of Gujarat State, India. The expenditures and literature under the heading of gender budgeting reports named “Health and Family Welfare Department” are discussed in the paper. The data analytics is done with the help of reports published by the Gujarat government on Gender Budgeting. The results discuss upon the expenditure and initiation of new policies as a roadmap for the promotion of gender equality from the path of gender budgeting. It states with the escalation of the budgetary numbers for the health expenditure. Additionally, the paper raises the questions on the hypothetical loopholes pertaining to the gender budgeting in Gujarat. The budget reports do not show a specify explanation to the expenditure use of budget for the schemes mentioned in healthcare. It also does not clarify that how many beneficiaries are benefited through gender budget. The explanation just provides an overlook of theory for healthcare Schemes/Yojana or Abhiyan.

Keywords: gender, gender budgeting, gender equality, healthcare

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Authors: Emilia-Gheorghina Negru

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As an EU goal, gender diversity in early year’s education aims and promotes equality of chances and respect for gender peculiarities of the pupils which are involved in formal educational activities. Early year’s education, as the first step to the Curriculum, prints to teachers the need to identify the role of the gender dimension on this stage, depending on the age level of preschool children through effective, complex, innovative and analytical awareness of gender diversity teaching and management strategies. Through gender educational work we, as teachers, will examine the effectiveness of the PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum the gender development of school-aged children. PATHS and a school-based preventive intervention model are necessary to be designed to improve children's ability to discuss and understand equality and gender concepts. Our teachers must create an intervention model and provide PATHS lessons during the school year. Results of the intervention will be effective for both low- and high-risk children in improving their range of math’s skills for girls and vocabulary, fluency and emotional part for boys in discussing gender experiences, their efficacy beliefs regarding the management of equality in gender area, and their developmental understanding of some aspects of gender.

Keywords: gender, gender differences, gender equality, gender role, gender stereotypes

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Authors: Nathan Moran, Robert Hanser, Attapol Kuanliang

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The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between personal and social resources and burnout for police officers. Current conceptualizations of the condition of burnout are challenged as being too phenomenological and ambiguous, and consequently, not given to direct empirical testing. The conservation of resources model is based on the supposition that people strive to retain, protect, and build resources as a means to protect them from the impacts of burnout. The model proposes that the effects of stress (i.e. burnout) can be manifested in personal and professional attitudes and attributes, which can measure burnout using self-reports to provide strong support for the conservation of resources model, in that, personal and professional demands are related to the exhaustion component of burnout, whereas personal and professional resources can be compiled to counteract the negative impact of the burnout condition. Highly similar patterns of burnout resistance factors were witnessed in police officers in two department precincts (N:81). In addition, results confirmed the positive influence of key demographic variables in burnout resistance using the conservation of resources model. Participants in this study are all sheriff’s deputies with a populous county in a Pacific Northwestern state (N = 274). Four instruments will be used in this quantitative study for data collection (a) a series of demographic questions, (b) the Organizational Citizenship Behavior, (c) the PANAS-X Scale (OCB: Watson& Clark, 1994), and (d) The Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Keywords: behavioral, burnout, law enforcement, quantitative

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Authors: Ramona Georgeta Biholar

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Gender-based violence against women plagues societies around the world. The work to eliminate it is an ongoing battle. At the international level, Article 5 (a) CEDAW establishes an agenda for social and cultural transformation: it imposes on States parties to CEDAW an obligation to modify sex roles and stereotypical social and cultural patterns of conduct. Also, it provides for the protection of women from violence stemming from such gender norms. Yet, the lived realities of women are frequently disconnected from this agenda. Nonetheless, it is the reality of the local that is crucial for the articulation, implementation and realization of women’s rights in general, and for the elimination of gender-based violence against women in particular. In this paper we discuss the transformation of sex roles and gender stereotyping with a view to realize women’s right to be free from gender-based violence. This paper is anchored in qualitative data collection undertaken in Jamaica and socio-legal research. Based on this research, 1) We explain the process of vernacularisation as a strategy that enables women’s human rights to hit the ground and benefit rights holders, and 2) We present a synergistic model for the implementation of Article 5 (a) CEDAW so that women’s right to be free from gender-based violence can be realized in a concrete national jurisdiction. This model is grounded in context-based demands and recommendations for social and cultural transformation as a remedy for the incidence of gender-based violence against women. Moreover, the synergistic model offers directions that have a general application for the implementation of CEDAW and Article 5 (a) CEDAW in particular, with a view to realize women’s right to be free from gender-based violence. The model is thus not only a conceptual tool of analysis, but also a prescriptive tool for action. It contributes to the work of both academics and practitioners, such as Governmental officials, and national and local civil society representatives. Overall, this paper contributes to understanding the process necessary to bridge that gap between women’s human rights norms and women’s life realities of discrimination and violence.

Keywords: CEDAW, gender-based violence against women, international human rights law, women’s rights implementation, the Caribbean

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Authors: Nadia Theuma

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Climate change is a reality that has started to leave an impact on the physical environment as well as on the built environment, in particular built heritage. This paper explores the argument that climate change is also a trigger which can lead to identifying a number of creative solutions that can transform built heritage into sustainable buildings. Using the Maltese Islands, and in particular the city of Valletta which is also a World Heritage Site, this paper illustrates some of the innovative solutions that are being developed to make heritage buildings more sustainable and in doing so, mitigating the negative impacts of climate change. The paper looks in detail at the most notable initiatives being developed, their implementation and application, which at times is not easy considering the restrictions within protected built heritage areas and the positive impacts that they will have on visitor experience and overall sustainability of the Maltese tourism product. The paper will conclude by outlining how these solutions can be adapted to buildings with similar climatic conditions.

Keywords: built heritage, creative solutions, climate change, Maltese Islands

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Authors: Lars Andersen

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The development of design and engineering in large construction projects are characterized by an increased degree of flattening out of formal structures, extended use of parallel and integrated processes (‘Integrated Concurrent Engineering’) and an increased number of expert disciplines. The integration process is based on ongoing collaborations, dialogues, intercommunication and comments on each other’s work (iterations). This process based on reciprocal communication between actors and disciplines triggers value creation. However, communication between equals is not in itself sufficient to create effective decision making. The complexity of the process and time pressure contribute to an increased risk of a deficit of decisions and loss of process control. The paper refers to a study that aims at developing a resilient decision-making system that does not come in conflict with communication processes based on equality between the disciplines in the process. The study includes the construction of a hospital, following the phases design, engineering and physical building. The Research method is a combination of formative process research, process tracking and phenomenological analyses. The study tracked challenges and problems in the building process to the projection substrates (drawing and models) and further to the organization of the engineering and design phase. A comparative analysis of traditional and new ways of organizing the projecting made it possible to uncover an implicit material order or structure in the process. This uncovering implied a development of a material process perspective. According to this perspective the complexity of the process is rooted in material-functional differentiation. This differentiation presupposes a structuring material (the skeleton of the building) that coordinates the other types of material. Each expert discipline´s competence is related to one or a set of materials. The architect, consulting engineer construction etc. have their competencies related to structuring material, and inherent in this; coordination competence. When dialogues between the disciplines concerning the coordination between them do not result in agreement, the disciplines with responsibility for the structuring material decide the interface issues. Based on these premises, this paper develops a self-organized expert-driven interdisciplinary decision-making system.

Keywords: collaboration, complexity, design, engineering, materiality

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Authors: Michael Barker

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Men’s rights activists are largely antifeminism. Evaluation of men’s rights discourses, however, shows that men’s rights’ goals would be better achieved by working with feminism. Discussion of men’s rights discourses, though, is prone to confusion because there is no commonly used men’s rights language. In the presentation ‘male sexism’, ‘matriarchy’ and ‘masculism’ will be unpacked as part of a suggested men’s rights language. Once equipped with a men’s rights vocabulary, sustained philosophical assessment of the extent to which several categories of male disadvantages are wrongful will be offered. Following this, conditions that cause each category of male sexism will be discussed. It shall be argued that male sexism is caused more so by matriarchy than by patriarchy or by feminism. In closing, the success at which various methods address the categories of male sexism will be contrasted. Ultimately, it will be shown that male disadvantages are addressed more successfully by methods that work with, than against, feminism.

Keywords: gender studies, feminism, patriarchy, men’s rights, male sexism, matriarchy, masculism

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Authors: Ani Kojoyan

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The Syrian refugee crisis has been a matter of worldwide concern during the recent years. And though refugees’ problems are contextualized in terms of time and space, the refugee crisis still remains a global issue to discuss. Since the start of the conflict, Armenia has welcomed thousands of Syrian refugees too. Taking into consideration Armenia’s current socio-economic and geopolitical situation, the flow of refugees is a challenge both for the country and for refugees themselves. However, these people are not simply refugees from Syria, they are Syrian-Armenian refugees; people whose ancestors were survivals of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks in 1915, people whose ancestors became refugees a century ago in Syria and now, ironically, a century later they follow their ancestors’ paths, turning into refugees themselves in their historical homeland, facing various difficulties, among them socio-economic, socio-ideological, and identity and gender issues, the latter being the main topic of discussion in the present paper. The situation presented above makes us discuss certain questions within this study: how do Syrian-Armenian refugees define themselves and their status? Which are their gender roles in the socio-economic context? How do social and economic challenges re-shape Syrian-Armenian women refugees’ identities? The study applies qualitative research methods of analysis, which includes semi-structured and in-depth interviews with 15 participants (18-25, 26-40 age groups), and two focus group works, involving 8 participants (18-35 age group) for each focus group activity. The activities were carried out in October 2016, Yerevan, Armenia. The study also includes Secondary Data Analysis. In addition, in order to centralize refugee women’s experiences and identity issues, the study adopts a qualitative lens from a feminist standpoint position. It is based on the assumption that human activity structures and limits understanding, and that the distorted comprehension of events or activities has emerged from the male-oriented dominant judgement which can be discovered through uncovering the understanding of the situation from women’s activity perspectives. The findings suggest that identity is dynamic, complex, over-changing and sensitive to time and space, gender and class. The process of re-shaping identity is even more complicated and multi-layered and is based on internal and external factors, conditioned by individual and collective needs and interests. Refugees are mostly considered as people who lost their identity in the past since they have no longer connection anywhere and try to find it in the present. In turn, female refugees, being a more vulnerable class, go through more complicated identity re-formulating discourse negotiations. They stand between the borders of the old and new, borders of lost and re-found selves, borders of creating and self-fashioning, between illusions and the challenging reality. Particularly, refugee women become more sensitive within the discourses of the private and the public domains: some of them try to create a ‘new-self’, creating their space in a new society, whereas others try to negotiate their affective/emotional labour within their own family domains.

Keywords: feminist standpoint position, gender, identity, refugee studies, Syrian-Armenian women refugees

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Authors: Taekyun Hur, Yoonyoung Kim, Junkyu Lim

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Previous works on leisure activities had been categorizing activities arbitrarily and subjectively while focusing on a single dimension (e.g. active-passive, individual-group). To overcome these problems, this study proposed a Korean leisure activities’ matrix model that considered multidimensional features of leisure activities, which was comprised of 3 main factors and 6 sub factors: (a) Active (physical, mental), (b) Relational (quantity, quality), (c) Expert (entry barrier, possibility of improving). We developed items for measuring the degree of each dimension for every leisure activity. Using the developed Leisure Activities Dimensions (LAD) questionnaire, we investigated the presented dimensions of a total of 78 leisure activities which had been enjoyed by most Koreans recently (e.g. watching movie, taking a walk, watching media). The study sample consisted of 1348 people (726 men, 658 women) ranging in age from teenagers to elderlies in their seventies. This study gathered 60 data for each leisure activity, a total of 4860 data, which were used for statistical analysis. First, this study compared 3-factor model (Activity, Relation, Expertise) fit with 6-factor model (physical activity, mental activity, relational quantity, relational quality, entry barrier, possibility of improving) fit by using confirmatory factor analysis. Based on several goodness-of-fit indicators, the 6-factor model for leisure activities was a better fit for the data. This result indicates that it is adequate to take account of enough dimensions of leisure activities (6-dimensions in our study) to specifically apprehend each leisure attributes. In addition, the 78 leisure activities were cluster-analyzed with the scores calculated based on the 6-factor model, which resulted in 8 leisure activity groups. Cluster 1 (e.g. group sports, group musical activity) and Cluster 5 (e.g. individual sports) had generally higher scores on all dimensions than others, but Cluster 5 had lower relational quantity than Cluster 1. In contrast, Cluster 3 (e.g. SNS, shopping) and Cluster 6 (e.g. playing a lottery, taking a nap) had low scores on a whole, though Cluster 3 showed medium levels of relational quantity and quality. Cluster 2 (e.g. machine operating, handwork/invention) required high expertise and mental activity, but low physical activity. Cluster 4 indicated high mental activity and relational quantity despite low expertise. Cluster 7 (e.g. tour, joining festival) required not only moderate degrees of physical activity and relation, but low expertise. Lastly, Cluster 8 (e.g. meditation, information searching) had the appearance of high mental activity. Even though clusters of our study had a few similarities with preexisting taxonomy of leisure activities, there was clear distinctiveness between them. Unlike the preexisting taxonomy that had been created subjectively, we assorted 78 leisure activities based on objective figures of 6-dimensions. We also could identify that some leisure activities, which used to belong to the same leisure group, were included in different clusters (e.g. filed ball sports, net sports) because of different features. In other words, the results can provide a different perspective on leisure activities research and be helpful for figuring out what various characteristics leisure participants have.

Keywords: leisure, dimensional model, activity, relationship, expertise

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Authors: Jiaqi Yan, Yani Shi

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The blockchain technology is regarded as the most promising technology that has the potential to trigger a technological revolution. However, besides the bitcoin industry, we have not yet seen a large-scale application of blockchain in those domains that are supposed to be impacted, such as supply chain, financial network, and intelligent manufacturing. The reasons not only lie in the difficulties of blockchain implementation, but are also root in the challenges of blockchain-oriented information systems design. As the blockchain members are self-interest actors that belong to organizations with different existing information systems. As they expect different information inputs and outputs of the blockchain application, a common language protocol is needed to facilitate communications between blockchain members. Second, considering the decentralization of blockchain organization, there is not any central authority to organize and coordinate the business processes. Thus, the information systems built on blockchain should support more adaptive business process. This paper aims to address these difficulties by providing a modeling approach for blockchain-oriented information systems design. We will investigate the information structure of distributed-ledger data with conceptual modeling techniques and ontology theories, and build an effective ontology mapping method for the inter-organization information flow and blockchain information records. Further, we will study the distributed-ledger-ontology based business process modeling to support adaptive enterprise on blockchain.

Keywords: blockchain, ontology, information systems modeling, business process

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Authors: Anna Keuchenius

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Broadly speaking, scientific development is studied in either a qualitative manner with a focus on the behavior and interpretations of academics, such as the sociology of science and science studies or in a quantitative manner with a focus on the analysis of publications, such as scientometrics and bibliometrics. Both come with a different set of methodologies and few cross-references. This paper contributes to the bridging of this divide, by on the on hand approaching the process of scientific progress from a qualitative sociological angle and using on the other hand quantitative and computational techniques. As a case study, we analyze the diffusion of Granovetter's hypothesis from his 1973 paper 'On The Strength of Weak Ties.' A network is constructed of all scientists that have referenced this particular paper, with directed edges to all other researchers that are concurrently referenced with Granovetter's 1973 paper. Studying the structure and growth of this network over time, it is found that Granovetter's hypothesis is used by distinct communities of scientists, each with their own key-narrative into which the hypothesis is fit. The diffusion within the communities shares similarities with the diffusion of an innovation in which innovators, early adopters, and an early-late majority can clearly be distinguished. Furthermore, the network structure shows that each community is clustered around one or few hub scientists that are disproportionately often referenced and seem largely responsible for carrying the hypothesis into their scientific subfield. The larger implication of this case study is that the diffusion of scientific hypotheses and ideas are not the spreading of well-defined objects over a network. Rather, the diffusion is a process in which the object itself dynamically changes in concurrence with its spread. Therefore it is argued that the methodology presented in this paper has potential beyond the scientific domain, in the study of diffusion of other not well-defined objects, such as opinions, behavior, and ideas.

Keywords: diffusion of innovations, network analysis, scientific development, sociology of science

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Authors: Saki Makume

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Misogyny is a serious problem in the world that is predominantly patriarchal. South Africa is a very unequal society, so are the companies in this country. After 1994, laws were promulgated to outlaw unfair discrimination, amongst them discrimination based on gender. The presentation aims to share the experiences and learnings of Rand Water through its transformation journey. The environment was so hostile to women in the workplace that policies and practices excluded or unfairly discriminated against women. The paper will be in the form of a case study, predominantly qualitative and to a lesser extent quantitative. The results will show that the number of women at Board, Executive and Management levels have increased; and policies amended to be gender sensitive. Policies were developed that specifically protected women’s rights e.g. sexual harassment. A program like TechnoGirl was introduced to lure girl learners to Rand Water.

Keywords: gender mainstreaming, policies, transformation, unfair discrimination

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Authors: Arun Perumbilavil Anand

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In the recent years, Kerala is witnessing a large inflow of migrants from different parts of the country. Though initially, the migrants were largely from the districts of Tamil Nadu and mostly of seasonal nature, but at a later period, the state started getting migrants from the far-off states like UP, Assam, Bengal, etc. Higher wages for unskilled labour, large opportunities for employment, the reluctance on the part of Kerala workers to do menial and hard physical work, and the shortage of local labour, paradoxically despite the high unemployment rate in the state, led to the massive influx of migrant labourers. This study takes a multi-dimensional overview of migrant labour in Kerala by encompassing factors such as channels of migration, nature of employment contracts entered into and the corresponding wages and benefits obtained by them. The study also analysed the circumstances that led to the large influx of migrants from different states of India. It further makes an attempt to examine the varying dimensions of living and working environment, and also the health conditions of migrants. The study is based on the empirical findings obtained as a result of the primary interviews conducted with migrants in the districts of Palakkad, Malappuram, and Ernakulam. The study concludes by noting that Kerala will inevitably have to depend on migrant labour and is likely to experience heavy in-migration of labour in future, provided that if the existing socioeconomic and demographic situations persist. Since, this is inevitable, the best way before the state is to prepare well in advance to receive and accommodate such migrant labour to lead a comfortable life in a hassle free environment, so that it would definitely play a vital role in further strengthening and sustaining the growth trajectory of not only Kerala’s economy but also the states of origin.

Keywords: Kerala, labour, migration, migrant workers

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Authors: Fitri CaturLestari

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According to National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), demographic bonus will occur in 2025-2035, when the number of people within the productive age bracket is higher than the number of elderly people and children. This time will be a gold moment for Indonesia to achieve maximum productivity and prosperity. But it will be a demographic bomb if it isn’t balanced by economic and social aspect considerations. Therefore it is important to make a prediction mapping of all provinces in Indonesia whether in demographic bomb or bonus condition after 100 years Indonesian independence. The purpose of this research were to make the demographic mapping based on the economic and social aspects of the provinces in Indonesia and categorizing them into demographic bomb and bonus condition. The research data are gained from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) as the secondary data. The multiregional component method, regression and quadrant analysis were used to predict the number of people, economic growth, Human Development Index (HDI), and gender equality in education and employment. There were different characteristic of provinces in Indonesia from economic aspect and social aspect. The west Indonesia was already better developed than the east one. The prediction result, many provinces in Indonesia will get demographic bonus but the others will get demographic bomb. It is important to prepare particular strategy to particular provinces with all of their characteristic based on the prediction result so the demographic bomb can be minimalized.

Keywords: demography, economic growth, gender, HDI

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Authors: Joane Adeclas, Yoonyoung Kim, Taekyun Hur

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This study investigates individual’s intrinsic motivation to practice their leisure activities, as well as, how the cultural environment may influence their motivation to practice their activities. Focused on the positive psychology, the present study proposed redefinition of leisure activities considering two factors. First, leisure activities could be as any activities that provide pleasure or meaning to individuals. Second, they can be practiced alone or in groups. In fact, based on this definition, a four-dimensional model of leisure activities was developed, to measure individual’s perception of their leisure experience, based on four factors that are: personal pleasure, social pleasure, personal meaning and social meaning. Furthermore, recent studies have argued that leisure activities can be interpreted and understood differently across cultures. Therefore, the present study proposed to examine the possible role of the cultural context of individual’s leisure practices. To do so, two cultural groups (Koreans vs. French) were compared in terms of the four-dimensional model of leisure activities. Three hundred Koreans and three hundred French participants were asked to answer an online survey about their leisure activities. Participants had to respond to questions related to several aspects of leisure practices as followed: the reason why their practice their leisure activities, the reason why they fail to practice their leisure, and their obsession relate to their leisure activities. Factor analyses based on participant’s responses proposed a moderate fit of the four-dimensional model of leisure activities. Furthermore, significant cultural differences were also found. As a result, the cultural context seems to influence the reason why individuals practice their leisure activities based on our model. In fact, Koreans explained more than French, the practice of their leisure activities with social-pleasurable reasons. At a contrary, French explained more than Koreans, the practice of their leisure activities with social-meaningful reasons. The two cultural groups also significantly differ on their perception of failure. The results showed that French participants used more meaningful social factors to explain why they failed to practice their leisure activities than did Koreans participants. Finally, Koreans and French significantly differed regarding their obsession on their leisure activities. In general, French tend to have more obsession than Koreans about their leisure activities. Those results validated the four-dimensional model of leisure, as well as, the cultural differences in leisure practices. However, further studies are needed to validate this model at an individual and cultural level.

Keywords: culture, leisure, meaning, pleasure

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Authors: Akachi Odoemene

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Climate change and land grabbing are tightly interconnected in ways that are both diverse and complex. They have impacted each other in significant ways too. Both phenomena are not only a political reality, but have diverse dire implications, especially for food and livelihood security of vulnerable populations in developing economies. The critical nexus and interactions of climate change and land grabbing remain one of the challenges of sustainable development in modern times. The nuanced understanding of the nexus, importance and implications of climate change and land grabbing are the primary focus of this chapter. It begins with conceptual clarifications, particularly arguing that the absence of some important principles of engagement underline and define a land grab. It also analyses and notes a good number of contemporary land deals as 'one-sided', in which wealthy entities connive with local elites to exploit and disposes rural poor populations. The paper not only examines both global and local factors that drive land grabbing and, in some cases, their connections with the incidence of climate change, but also explores their crucial links with such sector as agriculture. It is argued and exhibited in the paper why certain societies are susceptible to the incidence of climate change and land grabbing, while the overall consequences of these phenomena on the affected societies are further interrogated. The paper concludes that the lack of political will by global political leaders to effectively combat and resolve critical issues associated with both climate change and land grabbing remains a daunting challenge. It notes that these phenomena – climate change and land grabbing – if not abated, will certainly become another set of global tragic episodes to be regretted in the future.

Keywords: climate change, land grabbing, global governance, developing economies

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