Search results for: primary prevention

Authors: Orathai Srithongtham, Ploypailin Mekathepakorn, Tossaphong Buraman, Pontida Moonpradap, Rungrueng Kitpati, Chulapon Kratet, Worayuth Nak-ai, Suwaree Charoenmukkayanan, Peeranuch Keawkanya

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The COVID-19 pandemic was effect to the health security of the Thai people. The PHEM principle was essential to the surveillance, prevention, and control of COVID-19. This study aimed to present the process of prevention and control of COVID-19 from February 29, 2021- April 30, 2022, and the factors and conditions influent the successful outcome. The study areas were three provinces. The target group was 37 people, composed of public health personnel. The data was collected in-depth, and group interviews followed the non-structure interview guide and were analyzed by content analysis. The components of COVID-19 prevention and control were found in the process of PHEM as follows; 1) Emergency Operation Center (EOC) with an incidence command system (ICS) from the district to provincial level and to propose the provincial measure, 2) Provincial Communicable Disease Committee (PCDC) to decide the provincial measure 3) The measure for surveillance, prevention, control, and treatment of COVID-19, and 4) outcomes and best practices for surveillance and control of COVID-19. The success factors of 4S and EC were as follows; Space: prepare the quarantine (HQ, LQ), Cohort Ward (CW), field hospital, and community isolation and home isolation to face with the patient and risky group, Staff network from various organization and group cover the community leader and Health Volunteer (HV), Stuff the management and sharing of the medical and non-medical equipment, System of Covid-19 respond were EOC, ICS, Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and Communicable Disease Control Unit (CDCU) for monitoring the real-time of surveillance and control of COVID-19 output, Environment management in hospital and the community with Infections Control (IC) principle, and Culture in term of social capital on “the relationship of Isan people” supported the patient provide the good care and support. The structure of PHEM, Isan’s Culture, and good preparation was a significant factor in the three provinces.

Keywords: public health, emergency management, covid-19, pandemic

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Authors: Julia V. F. Cortes, Maria E. V. Amarante, Carolina L. Cerdeira, Roberta B. V. Silva

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Nonmelanoma skin cancer is more commonly diagnosed than all other malignancies combined. In that group, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma stands out for having the highest probability of metastasis and recurrence after treatment, in addition to being the second most prevalent form of skin cancer. Its main risk factors include exposure to carcinogens, such as ultraviolet radiation related to sunlight exposure, smoking, alcohol consumption, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Considering the increased risk of skin cancer in the Brazilian population, caused by the high incidence of solar radiation, and the importance of identifying risk phenotypes for the accomplishment of public health actions, an epidemiological study was conducted in a city with a tropical climate located in southeastern Brazil, aiming to identify the target population and assist in primary and secondary prevention. This study describes the profile of patients with cutaneous squamous cell cancer, correlating the variables, sex, age, and differentiation. The study used as primary data source the results of anatomopathological exams delivered from January 2015 to December 2019 for patients registered at one pathology service, which analyzes the results of biopsies, Thus, 66 patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma were analyzed. The most affected age group was 60 years or older (78.79%), emphasizing that moderately differentiated (79.49%) and well-differentiated forms (66.67%) are prevalent in this age group, resulting in a difference of 12.82 percentage points between them. In addition, the predominant sex was male (58%), and it was found that half of the women and 65.79% of men had a moderately differentiated type, whereas the well-differentiated type was slightly more frequent in women. It is worth noting that the moderately differentiated subtype has a 59.20% prevalence among all cases. Thus, it was concluded that the most affected age group was 60 years or older and that men were more affected. As for the subtype, the moderately differentiated one, which is recognized for presenting the second-highest risk for metastasis, was prevalent in this study, affecting 6.6% more men and predominating in the elderly.

Keywords: cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, epidemiology, skin cancer, spinal cell cancer

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Authors: Rabia Khalil

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The aim of the study is to find out the perception of early childhood education teacher‘s about the role and implementation of information communication technology in early childhood education. The main purpose of the study is to investigate the role of information and communication technology in early childhood education as perceived by early childhood education teachers. The objectives of the study were to identify the roles of ICT in today’s early years and the impacts of Information communication technology in early childhood education. This study is to find out the role of ICT at ECE level & how it will be useful for teachers to implement this technique for the development of student skills. This is a quantitative research in which a survey study was conducted. The Population of the study was the primary teachers of the public and private primary schools of Lahore. By using random sampling technique the sample consists of 300 teachers but only 260 respond from 52 primary schools of Lahore. In this research, questionnaire was developed for primary school teachers. The questionnaires were based on liker type scale which comprises of section of strongly agree to strongly disagree. Data were analyzed by using descriptive analysis. The data was arranged and then entered in computer, having the software package for social sciences (SPSS) version 15. The importance of this study is to find out the role of ICT at ECE level & how it will be useful for teachers to implement this technique for the development of student skills.

Keywords: ECE, ICT, PC, C AI

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Authors: Ragy Raafat Gaber Attaalla

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PIP: This review, based on 2 large-scale studies, discusses the pharmacology and physiology of oral steroid contraceptives (OCs). The pharmacological distinction between synthetic and naturally occurring steroids centers on changes in biological activity dependent on compound formulation and an individual's metabolism. OC mechanism of action is explained as the main prevention of ovulation by interference with gonadotropin-releasing hormone. Since some 52 metabolic alterations have been reported in OC users, these phenomena are dealt with in 3 categories: 1) effects on the primary target organs of the female reproductive tract (ovary, myometrium, endometrium, cervix, vagina, breasts, and hypothalamus), 2) general metabolic effects (serum proteins, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, water and electrolyte metabolism, body weight, tryptophan metabolism, and vitamins and minerals), and 3) effects on other organ systems (liver, central nervous system, skin, genitourinary, gastrointestinal tract, eye, immune phenomena, and effect on subsequent fertility). The choice of the proper OC formulation and use of OCs by adolescents are discussed. Assessment of OC safety, contraindications, and patient monitoring are provided.

Keywords: steroid oral contraceptives, ovulation, female reproductive tract, metabolic effects

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Authors: Fatih Suleyman Taskincan, Ahmet Karaarslan

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In this article, the study and analysis of Single Ended Primary Inductance Converter (SEPIC) are presented for battery charging applications that will be used in military applications. The usage of this kind of converters come from its advantage of non-reverse polarity at outputs. As capacitors charge and discharge through inductance, peak current does not occur on capacitors. Therefore, the efficiency will be high compared to buck-boost converters. In this study, the converter (SEPIC) is designed to be operated with Internal Model Controller (IMC). The traditional controllers like Proportional Integral Controller are not preferred as its linearity behavior. Hence IMC is designed for this converter. This controller is a model-based control and provides more robustness and better set point monitoring. Moreover, it can be used for an unstable process where the conventional controller cannot handle the dynamic operation. Matlab/Simulink environment is used to simulate the converter and its controller, then, the results are shown and discussed.

Keywords: DC/DC converter, single ended primary inductance converter, SEPIC, internal model controller, IMC, switched mode power supply

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Authors: Padma Chutoo, Elena Kulinskaya, Ilyas Bakbergenuly, Nicholas Steel, Dmitri Pchejetski

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Stroke is associated with a significant risk of morbidity and mortality. There is scarcity of research on the long-term survival after first-ever ischaemic stroke (IS) events in England with regards to effects of different medical therapies and comorbidities. The objective of this study was to model the all-cause mortality after an IS diagnosis in the adult population of England. Using a retrospective case-control design, we extracted the electronic medical records of patients born prior to or in year 1960 in England with a first-ever ischaemic stroke diagnosis from January 1986 to January 2017 within the Health and Improvement Network (THIN) database. Participants with a history of ischaemic stroke were matched to 3 controls by sex and age at diagnosis and general practice. The primary outcome was the all-cause mortality. The hazards of the all-cause mortality were estimated using a Weibull-Cox survival model which included both scale and shape effects and a shared random effect of general practice. The model included sex, birth cohort, socio-economic status, comorbidities and medical therapies. 20,250 patients with a history of IS (cases) and 55,519 controls were followed up to 30 years. From 2008 to 2015, the one-year all-cause mortality for the IS patients declined with an absolute change of -0.5%. Preventive treatments to cases increased considerably over time. These included prescriptions of statins and antihypertensives. However, prescriptions for antiplatelet drugs decreased in the routine general practice since 2010. The survival model revealed a survival benefit of antiplatelet treatment to stroke survivors with hazard ratio (HR) of 0.92 (0.90 – 0.94). IS diagnosis had significant interactions with gender and age at entry and hypertension diagnosis. IS diagnosis was associated with high risk of all-cause mortality with HR= 3.39 (3.05-3.72) for cases compared to controls. Hypertension was associated with poor survival with HR = 4.79 (4.49 - 5.09) for hypertensive cases relative to non-hypertensive controls, though the detrimental effect of hypertension has not reached significance for hypertensive controls, HR = 1.19(0.82-1.56). This study of English primary care data showed that between 2008 and 2015, the rates of prescriptions of stroke preventive treatments increased, and a short-term all-cause mortality after IS stroke declined. However, stroke resulted in poor long-term survival. Hypertension, a modifiable risk factor, was found to be associated with poor survival outcomes in IS patients. Antiplatelet drugs were found to be protective to survival. Better efforts are required to reduce the burden of stroke through health service development and primary prevention.

Keywords: general practice, hazard ratio, health improvement network (THIN), ischaemic stroke, multiple imputation, Weibull-Cox model.

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Authors: Todd Jackson

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In this randomized control trial, we tested the effectiveness of a peer-facilitated version of the Body Project (BP) intervention among body-dissatisfied young women in China. Participants were randomly assigned to a peer-facilitator BP condition (N = 94) versus an educational video minimal intervention control condition (N = 89). Questionnaire measures of two primary outcomes (i.e., disordered eating and body dissatisfaction) and six secondary outcomes (thin-ideal internalization, pressure to be thin, negative affect, body surveillance, body shame, body appreciation and interest in cosmetic surgery) were administered at a pre-treatment baseline, a post-treatment assessment, and at a 12-month follow-up. A series of 2 (Group) x 2 (Time) analyses of variance indicated women in the peer-facilitated BP condition reported significant improvements in primary outcome measures of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction compared to women in the educational video control condition following treatment and at the 12-month follow-up. Furthermore, women in the peer-facilitated BP condition reported significant improvements in measures of body surveillance, body shame and body appreciation) compared to educational video controls that extended to the 12-month follow-up. Finally, although women in the peer-facilitated BP condition showed significant post-treatment improvements in thin-ideal internalization, negative affect, perceived pressure to be thin, and interest in cosmetic surgery compared to video controls, these differences were no longer statistically significant at the 12-month follow-up. In conclusion, findings supported the overall effectiveness of a peer-facilitated group version of the BP as an intervention for reducing disordered eating and several associated risk factors among at-risk young women in China.

Keywords: body project, disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, risk factors, prevention, China

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Authors: Rishi Sharma, S. N. Maiti

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The non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of PP/SEBS-g-MA blends up to 0-50% concentration of copolymer was studied by differential scanning calorimetry at four different cooling rates. Crystallization parameters were analyzed by Avrami and Jeziorny models. Primary and secondary crystallization processes were described by Avrami equation. Avrami model showed that all types of shapes grow from small dimensions during primary crystallization. However, three-dimensional crystal growth was observed during the secondary crystallization process. The crystallization peak and onset temperature decrease, however

Keywords: crystallization kinetics, non-isothermal, polypropylene, SEBS-g-MA

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Authors: Marija Zulić, Vanda Hájková, Nina Brkić-Jovanović, Linda Rathousová, Sanja Tomić

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Cerebral palsy is primarily reflected in the disorder of the development of movement and posture, which may be accompanied by sensory disturbances, disturbances of perception, cognition and communication, behavioural disorders and epilepsy. According to current inclusive attitudes towards people with disabilities implies that full social participation of children with cerebral palsy means inclusion in all activities in family, peer, school and leisure environments in the same scope and to the same extent as is the case with the children of proper development and without physical difficulties. Due to the fact that it has been established that the quality of children's participation in primary school is directly related to their social inclusion in future life, the aim of the paper is to identify predictors of social participation, respectively, and in particular, factors that could to improve the quality of social participation of children with cerebral palsy, in the primary school environment in Czech Republic. The study includes children with cerebral palsy (n = 75) in the Czech Republic, aged between six and 12 years who attend mainstream or special primary schools to the sixth grade. The main instrument used was the first and third part of the School function assessment questionnaire. It will also take into account the type of damage assessed according to a scale the Gross motor function classification system, five–level classification system for cerebral palsy. The research results will provide detailed insight into the degree of social participation of children with cerebral palsy and the factors that would be a potential cause of their levels of participation, in regular and special primary schools, in different socioeconomic environments in Czech Republic.

Keywords: cerebral palsy, Czech republic, social participation, the school function assessment

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Authors: Maslin Masrom, Nik Hasnaa Nik Mahmood, Wan Normeza Wan Zakaria, Azizul Azizan, Norshaliza Kamaruddin

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Traditionally, in science education, the teacher provides facts and the students learn them. It is outmoded for today’s students to equip them with real-life situations, mainly because knowledge and life skills are acquired passively from the instructors. Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) is an approach that allows students to experiment, ask questions, and develop responses based on reasoning. It has provided students and teachers with opportunities to actively engage in collaborative learning via inquiry. This approach inspires the students to become active thinkers, research for solutions, and gain life-long experience and self-confidence. Therefore, the research aims to investigate how the primary-school teacher supports students or pupils through an inquiry-based science education approach for computer science, specifically coding skills. The results are presented and described.

Keywords: inquiry-based science education, student-centered learning, computer science, primary school

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Authors: Avinash Kharel

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Recreational soccer (RS) as a medium of small-sided soccer game (SSG) has an immense positive effect on physical health, mental health and wellbeing. The RS has reflected both acute responses and long-term effects of training on sedentary, trained and clinical population on any age, gender or health status. The enjoyable mode of training elicits greater adherence by optimising intrinsic motivation while offering health benefits that match those achieved by treadmill and cycle ergometer programmes both as continuous and interval forms of training. Additionally, recreational soccer is effective and efficient regimens with highlighted social, motivational and competitive components overcoming the barriers such as cost-efficiency, time-efficiency, assess to facilities and intrinsic motivation. Further, it can be applied as an effective broad-spectrum non-pharmacological treatment of lifestyle diseases producing a positive physiological response in healthy subjects, patients and elderly people regardless of age, gender or training experience.

Keywords: recreational soccer, health benefits, diseases prevention, physiology

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Authors: Jakob Renko, Deja Praprotnik, Kristina Martinovič, Igor Karnjuš

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Introduction: Catheter-related bloodstream infections are a major burden for healthcare and patients. Although infections of this type cannot be completely avoided, they can be reduced by taking preventive measures. The aim of this study is to review and analyze the existing literature on preventive interventions to prevent central venous catheters (CVC) infections. Methods: A systematic literature review was carried out. The international databases CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched using the search strategy: "catheter-related infections" AND "intensive care units" AND "prevention" AND "central venous catheter." Articles that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. The literature search flow is illustrated by the PRISMA diagram. The descriptive research method was used to analyze the data. Results: Out of 554 search results, 22 surveys were included in the final analysis. We identified seven relevant preventive measures to prevent CVC infections: washing the whole body with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) solution, disinfecting the CVC entry site with CHG solution, use of CHG or silver dressings, alcohol protective caps, CVC care education, selecting appropriate catheter and multicomponent care bundles. Discussion and conclusions: Both single interventions and multicomponent care bundles have been shown to be currently effective measures to prevent CVC infections in adult patients in the ICU. None of the measures identified stood out in terms of their effectiveness. Prevention work to reduce CVC infections in the ICU is a complex process that requires the simultaneous consideration of several factors.

Keywords: central venous access, critically ill patients, hospital-acquired complications, prevention

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Authors: Ibrahim Khalil Ibrahim, Enas Mohamed Shahine, Abeer Shawky El Hadedy, Emmanuel Kamal Aziz Saba, Ghada Salah Attia Hussein

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Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease characterized by a progressive degradation of articular cartilage and is the leading cause of disability in elderly persons. IL-18 contributes to the destruction of cartilage and bone in the disease process of arthritis. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of IL-18 in primary knee OA patients. Serum level of IL-18 was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 30 primary knee OA patients and compared to 20 age and gender-matched healthy volunteers as a control group. Radiographic severity of OA was assessed by Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) global scale. Pain, stiffness and functional assessment were done using Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). OA patients had significantly higher serum IL-18 level than in control group (420.93 ± 345.4 versus 151.03 ± 144.16 pg/ml, P=0.001). Serum level of IL-18 was positively correlated with KL global scale (P=0.001). There were no statistically significant correlations between serum level of IL-18 and pain, stiffness, function subscales and total WOMAC index scores among the studied patients. In conclusions, IL-18 has a role in the pathogenesis of OA and it is positively correlated with the radiographic damage of OA.

Keywords: Interlukin-18, knee osteoarthritis, primary osteoarthritis, WOMAC scale

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Authors: Saeed Musaid Alzahrani

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Shared values, beliefs, norms and assumptions within the organisation can affect personal and team effectiveness. Organisational culture can also affect the performance of organisational members. The nature of middle leadership in a primary school is largely influenced by organizational culture. The effectiveness of middle leadership in primary schools and their performance is strongly determined by the circumstances in which they work and can be political or institutional. This study aims to examine the influence of organisational culture and government policy on the performance and effectiveness of middle managers, using the English and Saudi education systems as case studies. To examine how education policy conditions educational discourse, and answer the research questions, there is a need to collect qualitative data on middle manager’s perceptions and experiences in the English and Saudi Arabian contexts. The study involved a qualitative and interpretative approach. In-depth interviews with 6 middle managers and school supervisors in 3 English primary schools and 6 middle managers in 3 Saudi Arabian primary schools were conducted to answer the research questions. The study also included ethnographic tools such as observations of a sample of three primary schools in both England and Saudi Arabia where the researcher observed middle managers’ interactions with their peers. The sample of three enabled the study to identify trends and make comparisons between leadership approaches in both systems based on observations without the bias of prescriptions. The use of ethnographic tools not only makes the study empirical but also increases the reliability and validity of the findings by reducing prescriptive bias. The observations will be triangulated with the results of the interviews to draw comparisons and conclusions on whether middle managers act as leaders or as followers in their respective political contexts.

Keywords: education management, government education policies, middle managers, organisational culture

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Authors: Luiz Ernani Meira Jr., Antônio Prates Caldeira, Gilson Gabriel Viana Veloso, Jackson Andrade

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Background: In Brazil, primary health care (PHC) system has developed with multidisciplinary teams in facilities located in peripheral areas, as the entrance doors for all patients. So, professionals must be prepared to deal with patients with simple and complex problems. Objective: To evaluate the knowledge and the skills of physicians and nurses of PHC on cardiorespiratory arrest (CRA) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before and after training in Basic Life Support. Methods: This is a before-and-after study developed in a Simulation Laboratory in Montes Claros, Brazil. We included physicians and nurses randomly chosen from PHC services. Written tests on CRA and CPR were carried out and performances in a CPR simulation were evaluated, based on the American Heart Association recommendations. Training practices were performed using special manikins. Statistical analysis included Wilcoxon’s test to compare before and after scores. Results: Thirty-two professionals were included. Only 38% had previous courses and updates on emergency care. Most of professionals showed poor skills to attend to CRA in a simulated situation. Subjects showed an increased in knowledge and skills about CPR after training (p-value=0.003). Conclusion: Primary health care professionals must be continuously trained to assist urgencies and emergencies, like CRA.

Keywords: primary health care, professional training, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cardiorespiratory, emergency

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Authors: Naim Izet Kajtazi

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Context: Frequently, the cause of raised intracranial pressure remains unresolved and rarely is related to spinal tumors, moreover less to spinal medulloblastoma without primary brain focus. Process: An 18-year-old woman had a 3-month history of headaches and impaired vision. Neurological examination revealed bilateral sixth cranial nerve palsies with bilateral papilloedema of grade III. No focal brain or spine lesion was found on imaging. Consecutive lumbar punctures showed high opening pressure and subsequent increasing protein level. The meningeal biopsy was negative. At one point, she developed an increasing headache, vomiting and back pain. Spine MRI showed diffuse nodular leptomeningeal enhancement with the largest nodule at T6–T7. Malignant cells were detected in cerebrospinal fluid. She underwent laminectomy with excisional biopsy, and pathology showed medulloblastoma WHO grade IV. Outcome: She was treated with chemotherapy and craniospinal irradiation and made a good recovery. Relevance: Primary spinal leptomeningeal medulloblastoma is extremely rare, especially without primary brain focus, but may cause increased intracranial pressure, even in the early microscopic phases, and it should be considered in the differential diagnosis if conventional and aggressive treatment of idiopathic intracranial hypertension fails. We assume that arachnoiditis from tumor seeding caused increased intracranial pressure. Appropriate neurosurgical intervention and surgical biopsy are mandated if a suspicious lesion is detected. Consider proper rescreening of the whole neuroaxis in refractory cases of intracranial hypertension.

Keywords: CNS infection, IIH, headache, primary spinal leptomeningeal medulloblastoma

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Authors: J. Wozniak-Holecka, T. Holecki, P. Romaniuk

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Spa facilities are being perceived as the ways of healing treatment in Poland and are guaranteed within the public financing. The universal health insurance (National Health Fund, NFZ), and the disability prevention programme held by Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) are the main sources of financing spa facilities. The dominant public payer of spa services is the NFZ. The Social Insurance Institution covers the cost of health treatment realized in spa facilities as medical rehabilitation, in the field of disability prevention. Health services delivered in the spa resorts are characterized by complexity, and the combination of various methods, typical for health prevention, education, balneotherapy, and physiotherapy. Healing with natural methods, believed to enhance the therapeutic effect, is also involved in health spa treatment. Regardless of the type of facility, each form of spa treatment includes health promotion, health education, prevention at all levels, including rehabilitation. The aim of the study was to determine the optimal organization of health education process. Its efficiency strongly depends on the type of service provider and the funding institution (NFZ vs ZUS). It results from the use of different measures of the effectiveness, the quality and the evaluation of the process being assessed by funding institutions. The methods of the study include a comparative and descriptive quantitative and qualitative analysis. In the empirical part, a questionnaire had been developed. It was then distributed among spa personnel, responsible directly for the health promotion, and among patients who are beneficiaries of health services in spa centers. The quantitative part of the study was based on interviews carried with the use of the online survey (CAWI: Computer-Assisted Web Interview), telephone survey (CATI: Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) and a conventional questionnaire (PAPI: Paper over Pencil Interview). As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the effectiveness of health education activities in spa resort facilities in Poland is higher when the services are organized using structured tools for managerial control. This applies to formalized procedures implemented by one of the dominant payers covering costs of services (ZUS) and involves the application of health education as one of the mandatory elements of treatment, subjected to the process of control during the course of spa therapy and evaluation after it is completed.

Keywords: effectiveness, health education, public health system, spa treatment

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Authors: Mirriam M. Moleko, Sekanse A. Ntsala

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Language in mathematics instruction enables the teacher to communicate mathematical knowledge to the learners with precision. It also enables the learner to deal with mathematical activities effectively. This scholarly piece was motivated by the fact that mathematics performance in the South African primary classrooms has not been satisfactory, and English, which is a Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) for the majority of the learners, has been singled out as one of the major impediments. This is not only on the part of the learners, but also on the part of the teachers as well. The study thus focused on the lack of competency in English among the primary school teachers as one of the possible causes of poor performance in mathematics in primary classrooms. The qualitative processes, which were premised on the social interaction theory as a lens, sourced the narratives of 10 newly qualified primary school mathematics teachers from the disadvantaged schools on the matter. This was achieved through the use of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The data, which were analyzed thematically, highlighted the actuality that the challenges cut across the pre-service stage to the in-service stage. The findings revealed that the undergraduate mathematics courses in the number of the institutions neglect the importance of language. The study further revealed that the in-service mathematics teachers lack adequate linguistic command, thereby finding it difficult to successfully teach some mathematical concepts, or even to outline instructions clearly. The study thus suggests the need for training institutions to focus on improving the teachers’ English language competency. The need for intensive in-service training targeting the problem areas was also highlighted. The study thus contributes to the body of knowledge by providing suggestions on how the mathematics teachers’ language incompetency can be mitigated.

Keywords: Competency, English language proficiency, language of learning and teaching, primary mathematics teachers

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Authors: Kristýna Weissová

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This study is focused on two selected model taxa of invertebrates - Hymenoptera: Aculeata and Lepidopterawithnocturnalactivity, recordedatthesitesof lignite dumps and their surroundings in the North Bohemian Lignite Basin, Czech Republic. There search was conducted on 10 landfills, 3 study areas were determined on each landfill - primary and secondary succession and recultivation. A total of 3,202 individuals belonging to 232 species and 17 families of sagebrushinsects were collected. died, 74%of the species occurred on the primary succes sionare as, that is 2x more species than on the reclaimed areas. Of the total number of species and on all areas, 60 rare species were recorded - 29 vulnerable, 21 endangered, 8 critically endangered, and 2 extinct The areas of primary succession were again confirmed to be the richest in terms of rare species, hosting 39 rare species of Hymenoptera: Aculeata. In addition, bothextinct species were represented only on plots of primary succession. The family Crabronidae had the largestre presentation of species on theareasofleft primary succession, the family Halictidae was the most represented on the reclaimed areas and areas of secondary succession. A total of 3,634 moths were collected, assigned to 262 species and 10 families. A similar number of species occurred on the primary succession and reclaimed areas, but the reclaimed area had a greater abundance. Secondary successionsiteshostedha lf as many species and alsocontainedlow abundance compared to other management types. The results show that there claimed areas host a numerically larger group and more species of moths than the successionalareas. Rare species did not occur at any site. A higher number of days in locations without water bodies, wetland vegetation, and locations with a highre presentation of woody species. It is advisable to combine individual types of landscape management in such a way as to create a colorfulmosaic that supports biodiversity. In particular, we recommend incorporating natural successionintoreclamation plans, which is a refuge for many rare species of invertebrates, which has not yetbeenroutinely and purposefully practiced.

Keywords: hymenoptera: aculeata, lepidoptera, reclamation, succession, post-mining ara

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Authors: Behnaz Sohani, Ifeoluwa Joshua Adigun, Amir Rahmani, Khaled Goher

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This paper provides initial results on the efficacy of the designed ergonomic-oriented neck support to mitigate and alleviate tension neck syndrome musculoskeletal disorder. This is done using both simulations and measurements. Tension Neck Syndrome Musculoskeletal Disorder (TNS MSD) causes discomfort in the muscles around the neck and shoulder. TNS MSD is one of the leading causes of early retirement. This research focuses on the design of an adaptive neck supporter by integrating a soft actuator massager to help deliver a soothing massage. The massager and adaptive neck supporter prototype were validated by finite element analysis prior to fabrication to envisage the feasibility of the design concept. Then a prototype for the massager was fabricated and tested for concept validation. Future work will be focused on fabricating the full-scale prototype and upgrading and optimizing the design concept for the adaptive neck supporter.

Keywords: adaptive neck supporter, tension neck syndrome, musculoskeletal disorder, soft actuator massager, soft robotics

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Authors: K. Matušínská, H. Starzyczná, M. Stoklasa

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The paper deals with behaviour of the segment 50+ in the financial market in the Czech Republic. This segment could be said as the strong market power and it can be a crucial business potential for financial business units. The main defined objective of this paper is analysis of the customers´ behaviour of the segment 50-60 years in the financial market in the Czech Republic and proposal making of the suitable marketing approach to satisfy their demands in the area of product, price, distribution and marketing communication policy. This paper is based on data from one part of primary marketing research. Paper determinates the basic problem areas as well as definition of financial services marketing, defining the primary research problem, hypothesis and primary research methodology. Finally suitable marketing approach to selected sub-segment at age of 50-60 years is proposed according to marketing research findings.

Keywords: population aging in the Czech Republic, segment 50-60 years, financial services marketing, marketing research, marketing approach

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Authors: Tholaine Matadi

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South Africa is a democratic country with a historical record of racially-motivated marginalisation and exclusion of the majority. During the apartheid era the country was run along pieces of legislation and policies based on racial segregation. The system held a tight clamp on interracial mixing which forced people to remain in segregated areas. For example, a citizen from the Indian community could not own property in an area allocated to white people. In this way, a great majority of people were denied basic human rights. Now, there is a supreme constitution with an entrenched justiciable Bill of Rights founded on democratic values of social justice, human dignity, equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. The Constitution also enshrines the values of non-racialism and non-sexism. The Constitutional Court has the power to declare unconstitutional any law or conduct considered to be inconsistent with it. Now, more than two decades down the line, despite the abolition of apartheid, there is evidence that South Africa still experiences hate crimes which violate the entrenched right of vulnerable groups not to be discriminated against on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender, national origin, occupation, or disability. To remedy this mischief parliament has responded by drafting the Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. The Bill has been disseminated for public comment and suggestions. It is intended to combat hate crimes and hate speech based on sheer prejudice. The other purpose of the Bill is to bring South Africa in line with international human rights instruments against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related expressions of intolerance identified in several international instruments. It is against this backdrop that this paper intends to analyse the impact of the Bill on the rights to human dignity, equality, and freedom. This study is significant because the Bill was highly contested and creates a huge debate. This study relies on a qualitative evaluative approach based on desktop and library research. The article recurs to primary and secondary sources. For comparative purpose, the paper compares South Africa with countries such as Australia, Canada, Kenya, Cuba, and United Kingdom which have criminalised hate crimes and hate speech. The finding from this study is that despite the Bill’s expressed positive intentions, this draft legislation is problematic for several reasons. The main reason is that it generates considerable controversy mostly because it is considered to infringe the right to freedom of expression. Though the author suggests that the Bill should not be rejected in its entirety, she notes the brutal psychological effect of hate crimes on their direct victims and the writer emphasises that a legislature can succeed to combat hate-crimes only if it provides for them as a separate stand-alone category of offences. In view of these findings, the study recommended that since hate speech clauses have a negative impact on freedom of expression it can be promulgated, subject to the legislature enacting the Prevention and Combatting of Hate-Crimes Bill as a stand-alone law which criminalises hate crimes.

Keywords: freedom of expression, hate crimes, hate speech, human dignity

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Authors: Neslihan Sahin Celik, Ali Eraslan

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As a result of PISA (Program for International Student Assessments) survey that tests how well students can apply the knowledge and skills they have learned at school to real-life challenges, the new and redesigned mathematics education programs in many countries emphasize the necessity for the students to face complex and multifaceted problem situations and gain experience in this sense allowing them to develop new skills and mathematical thinking to prepare them for their future life after school. At this point, mathematical models and modeling approaches can be utilized in the analysis of complex problems which represent real-life situations in which students can actively participate. In particular, model eliciting activities that bring about situations which allow the students to create solutions to problems and which involve mathematical modeling must be used right from primary school years, allowing them to face such complex, real-life situations from early childhood period. A qualitative study was conducted in a university foundation primary school in the city center of a big province in 2013-2014 academic years. The participants were 4th grade students in a primary school. After a four-week preliminary study applied to a fourth-grade classroom, three students included in the focus group were selected using criterion sampling technique. A focus group of three students was videotaped as they worked on the Crime Problem. The conversation of the group was transcribed, examined with students’ written work and then analyzed through the lens of Blum and Ferri’s modeling processing cycle. The results showed that primary fourth-grade students can successfully work with model eliciting problem while they encounter some difficulties in the modeling processes. In particular, they developed new ideas based on different assumptions, identified the patterns among variables and established a variety of models. On the other hand, they had trouble focusing on problems and occasionally had breaks in the process.

Keywords: primary school, modeling, mathematical modeling, crime problem

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Authors: Jiwon Lee, Chanho Jung, Si-Hwan Jang, Kyung-Ill Kim, Sanghyun Joo, Wook-Ho Son

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Since the advances in digital imaging technologies have led to development of high quality digital devices, there are a lot of illegal copies of copyrighted video content on the internet. Thus, we propose a high-quality (HQ) video watermarking scheme that can prevent these illegal copies from spreading out. The proposed scheme is applied spatial and temporal gradient methods to improve the fidelity and detection performance. Also, the scheme duplicates the watermark signal temporally to alleviate the signal reduction caused by geometric and signal-processing distortions. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme achieves better performance than previously proposed schemes and it has high fidelity. The proposed scheme can be used in broadcast monitoring or traitor tracking applications which need fast detection process to prevent illegally recorded video content from spreading out.

Keywords: editing prevention technique, gradient method, luminance change, video watermarking

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Authors: Nur Amalina Dayana Abd Aziz

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Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning in any syllabus in the world. Recently, a new assessment system, School-Based Assessment (SBA) was introduced and implemented in the Malaysian education system to promote a more holistic, integrated and balanced assessment system. This effort is part of the reformation made in the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) to produce a world-class human capital as we are reaching and achieving the Vision 2020 in the near future. However, this new change has raised awareness and concerns from teachers, students, parents and non-profit organizations on how the new assessment is to be implemented and how it is affecting the students and teachers particularly. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the issues that teachers face in implementing SBA in primary schools, the measures taken to address the issues and to propose ways of managing school-based assessment. Five national primary schools focusing in the urban areas in the Selangor state are chosen for this study to carry out. Data for the study will be gathered from interviews with teachers from each school, surveys and classrooms observation will be conducted in each school, and relevant documents are collected from the selected schools. The findings of this study will present the current issues that teachers from various types of national primary schools are facing and what actions they took to overcome the problems in carrying out SBA. Suggestions on how to better manage school-based assessment for teachers are also provided in this paper.

Keywords: community of practice, curriculum, managing change, school-based assessment

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Authors: Vinti Davar

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India is one among the many countries where child malnutrition is severe and also a major underlying cause of child mortality. The Mid Day Meal (MDM) program was launched to improve the nutritional status of children, attendance, and retention in schools. It was based on one meal provided to the children, who are attending elementary school (primary school). The objective of present study was to evaluate the impact of mid-day meal on the nutritional status of primary school children in Haryana, India. The present work was carried out on 1200 children between 6-11years of age, studying in primary schools in Haryana, India. Out of these 960 students as, the experimental group was selected from schools where mid-day meal is supplied by the government, and 240 students as control group where mid-day meal is not supplied. The mean height, weight, and BMI of children of both the groups were found to be significantly low as compared to NCHS standards. Stunting was found in 56.40% MDMB (Mid-day meal beneficiaries) and 62.50 % NMDMC (non- mid-day meal children).The weight of almost all subjects were low according to age indicating thinness. Anemia was more prevalent in MDMB as compared to NMDMC may be because school meals did not include vegetables. The consumption of energy, proteins, fat, calcium, iron, vitamins was significantly low (P ≤ .01) in both groups especially in girls of NMDM. The consumption of various food groups except vegetables was better in MDMB compared to NMDMC. It is concluded that with certain improvements, mid-meal can be beneficial in meeting everyday requirements of school going children.

Keywords: foods, meals, nutritional status, school going children

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Authors: Chantarat Manvichien

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The purpose of this research paper was aimed to examine the bird strike prevention in the vicinity of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand. A bird strike event occurs when a bird or a flock of birds collide with an operating airplane and results in flight interruption. This is the reason why International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a part of the United Nations, has an assumption that birds, including other wildlife, are a serious hazard to aircraft and attempts should be accomplished to overcome this hazard. ICAO requires all airports worldwide to set up proactive countermeasures in order to reduce the risk from bird strike and wildlife hazard. In Thailand, the Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited which manages Suvarnabhumi Airport, also known as Bangkok International Airport, responds to the requirements and spends a lot of effort to ensure this hazard is manageable. An intensive study on the countermeasures to prevent aircraft accident from bird strike and other wildlife have been continuously executed since the early construction of the Airport until nowadays.

Keywords: bird strike, flight safety, wildlife hazard, Suvarnabhumi airport

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Authors: Avigail Moor

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Sexual violence against women occurs at alarmingly high rates, which have remained steady irrespective of the increased societal awareness of this problem, affecting an upward of 20% of women. It appears that all the public discourse on this topic, including research, prevention programs, and public campaigns have not made a noticeable dent in this prevalence. This calls for new course of action. Raising awareness regarding the preventive role of bystanders might be it. To that end, the present study sought to establish what promotes bystander intervention and what hinders it. Three hundred and twenty-four men and women, ranging in age from 20-40, participated in this study, completing self-report questionnaires on the topics under investigation. Results indicated that the proclivity to intervene as a bystander is impacted by various factors. The most consequential among them is gender, with twice as many women as men, 70% vs 38% respectively, being positively inclined to take action in such cases. Other significant factors included belief in rape myths and having empathy towards perpetrators, which reduced the likelihood of bystander intervention. Holding the attitude that it is possible to freely consent to sex while intoxicated had a similar impact. The discussion addresses various preventive implications.

Keywords: bystander intervention, sexual assault, rape prevention, rape myths

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Authors: Tracey Lion-Cachet

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Eating disorders typically manifest in adolescence and are notoriously difficult to treat. There are two notable reasons for this. Firstly, research consistently demonstrates that early intervention is a critical mediator of prognosis, with early intervention leading to a better prognosis. However, because eating disorders do not originate as full-syndrome diagnoses but rather as prodromal cases, they often go undetected; by the time symptoms meet diagnostic criteria, they have become recalcitrant. Another interrelated issue is motivation to change. Research demonstrates that in the early stages of an eating disorder, adolescents are highly resistant to change, and motivation increases only once symptoms have shifted from egosyntonic to egodystonic in nature. The purpose of this project was to design a prevention model based on the social psychology paradigm of Entertainment-Education, which embeds messages within the genre of film as a means of affecting change. The resulting project was a narrative screenplay targeting teenagers/young adults from diverse backgrounds. The goals of the project were to create a film script that, if ultimately made into a film, could serve to: 1) interrupt symptom progression and improve prognosis through early intervention; 2) incorporate techniques from third-wave cognitive behavioral treatment models, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and rational recovery (RR), with a focus on the effects of mindfulness as a means of informing recovery; 3) target issues to do with motivation to change by shifting the perception of eating disorders from culturally specific psychiatric illnesses to habit-based brain wiring issues. Nine licensed clinicians were asked to evaluate two excerpts taken from the final script. They subsequently provided feedback on a Likert-scale, which assessed whether the script had achieved its goals. Overall, evaluators agreed that the project’s etiological and intervention models have the potential to inspire change and serve as an effective means of prevention and treatment of eating disorders. However, one-third of the evaluators did not find the content developmentally appropriate. This is a notable limitation to the study and will need to be addressed in the larger script before the final project can potentially be targeted to a teenage and young adult audience.

Keywords: adolescents, eating disorders, pediatrics, entertainment-education, mindfulness-based intervention, prevention

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Authors: Getachew Tilahun, Oluwole Makinde, David Malonza

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We propose and analyze a non-linear mathematical model for the transmission dynamics of pneumonia disease in a population of varying size. The deterministic compartmental model is studied using stability theory of differential equations. The effective reproduction number is obtained and also the local and global asymptotically stability conditions for the disease free and as well as for the endemic equilibria are established. The model exhibit a backward bifurcation and the sensitivity indices of the basic reproduction number to the key parameters are determined. Using Pontryagin’s maximum principle, the optimal control problem is formulated with three control strategies; namely disease prevention through education, treatment and screening. The cost effectiveness analysis of the adopted control strategies revealed that the combination of prevention and treatment is the most cost effective intervention strategies to combat the pneumonia pandemic. Numerical simulation is performed and pertinent results are displayed graphically.

Keywords: cost effectiveness analysis, optimal control, pneumonia dynamics, stability analysis, numerical simulation

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