Search results for: community based development

Authors: Yi-De Liu

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For many European cities, a key motivation in developing event strategies is to use event as a catalyst for urban regeneration. One type of event that is particularly used as a means of urban development is the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) initiative. Based on a case study of the 2008 ECOC Liverpool, this paper aims at conceptualising the significance of major event for a city’s economic, cultural and social regenerations. In terms of economic regeneration, the role of the ECOC is central in creating Liverpool’s visitor economy and reshaping city image. Liverpool planned different themes for eight consecutive years as a way to ensure economic sustainability. As far as cultural regeneration is concerned, the ECOC contributed to the cultural regeneration of Liverpool by stimulating cultural participation and interest from the demand side, as well as improving cultural provision and collaboration within the cultural sector from the supply side. So as to social regeneration, Liverpool treated access development as a policy guideline and considered the ECOC as an opportunity to enhance the sense of place. The most significant lesson learned from Liverpool is its long-term planning and efforts made to integrate the ECOC into the overall urban development strategy. As a result, a more balanced and long-term effect on urban regeneration could be achieved.

Keywords: cultural event, urban regeneration, european capital of culture, Liverpool

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Authors: N. Damenia, E. Kharaishvili, N. Sagareishvili, M. Saghareishvili

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Women's Employment is one of the most important issues in the global economy. The article discusses the stated topic in Georgia, through historical content, Soviet experience, and modern perspectives. The paper discusses segmentation insa terms of employment and related problems. Based on statistical analysis, women's unemployment rate and its factors are analyzed. The level of employment of women in Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) is discussed and is compared with Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). The study analyzes women’s level of development, according to the average age of marriage and migration level. The focus is on Georgia's Association Agreement with the EU in 2014, which includes economic, social, trade and political issues. One part of it is gender equality at workplaces. According to the research, the average monthly remuneration of women managers in the financial and insurance sector equaled to 1044.6 Georgian Lari, while in overall business sector average monthly remuneration equaled to 961.1 GEL. Average salaries are increasing; however, the employment rate remains problematic. For example, in 2017, 74.6% of men and 50.8% of women were employed from a total workforce. It is also interesting that the proportion of men and women at managerial positions is 29% (women) to 71% (men). Based on the results, the main recommendation for government and civil society is to consider women as a part of the country’s economic development. In this aspect, the experience of developed countries should be considered. It is important to create additional jobs in urban or rural areas and help migrant women return and use their working resources properly.

Keywords: employment of women, segregation in terms of employment, women's employment level in Transcaucasia, migration level

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Authors: Mohammed Bakhit Kashoob, Mohammed Salim Al-Maashani, Ahmed Abdullah Al-Marhoon

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The use of Geographic Information System (GIS) tools in the analysis of traffic crash data can help to identify locations or hotspots with high instances or risk of traffic crashes. The identification of traffic crash hotspots can effectively improve road safety measures. Mapping of road traffic crash hotspots can help the concerned authorities to give priority and take targeted measures and improvements to the road structure at these locations to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities. In Oman, there are countless rural roads that have more risks for traveling vehicles compared to urban roads. The likelihood of traffic crashes as well as fatality rate may increase with the presence of risks that are associated with the rural type of community. In this paper, the traffic crash hotspots on rural roads in Oman are specified using spatial analysis methods in GIS and traffic crash data. These hotspots are ranked based on the frequency of traffic crash occurrence (i.e., number of traffic crashes) and the rate of fatalities. The result of this study presents a map visualization of locations on rural roads with high traffic crashes and high fatalities rates.

Keywords: road safety, rural roads, traffic crash, GIS tools

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Authors: Maryam Tijjani Kolo

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Lack of refuse dumping points has made the residents of Shagari low-cost well armed with some health and environmental related hazards. These studies investigate the effect of household refuse on the resident of Shagari low-cost. A well structured questionnaire was administered to elicit views of the respondent in the study area through adopting cluster sampling method. A total of 100 questionnaires were selected and divided into 50, each to both sections of the study area. Interview was conducted to each household head. Data obtained were analyzed using simple parentages to determine the major hazard in the area. Result showed that majority of the household are civil servant and traders, earning reasonable monthly income. 68% of the respondent has experienced the effect of living close to waste dumping areas, which include unpleasant smell and polluted smoke when refuse is burnt, which causes eye and respiratory induction, human injury from broken bottles or sharp objects as well as water, insect and air borne diseases. Hence, the need to urgently address these menace before it overwhelms the capacities of the community becomes paramount. Thus, the community should be given more enlightenment and refuse dumping sites should be created by the local government area.

Keywords: household, refuse, refuse dumping points, Shagari low-cost

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Authors: Deepak Chaudhary

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The main objective of the study is to explore the genesis and achievements of the Madhesh movement. Madhesh Movement is a social movement that brought massive political changes and contributed a lot to the nation-building process in the modern history of Nepal. This movement erupted in January 2007 in the Tarai/Madhesh region following the promulgation of the Interim Constitution that left the incorporation of federalism and proportional representation in the Constitution. The most excluded community in Nepal- Madheshi community, seemed to have angered against state-sponsored discrimination and exclusion that have been occurred for centuries. Since Madheshis were treated as non-Nepali, though the history of Nepal’s Tarai/Madhesh has been ancient. In the beginning, this movement was against Maoist, but later, it went against the state's prejudices and discriminations. It extended across the Tarai/Madhesh region of Nepal for a month. The movement was spontaneous to a large extent. A researcher himself is a witness to the movement. Key Informant Interviews with participants, including politicians, journalists, and activists, have mainly carried out for the study. This movement ensured Madheshi identity first. Secondly, the number of electoral constituencies was increased as it reached 120 in Tarai/Madhesh while it was 80 only. As a result, Madheshi representation in the Constitution Assembly reached 35 %, while it was 20% only. The main thing that this movement played a major role in ensuring the federalism as a political system in Nepal.

Keywords: dignity, exclusion, federalism, inclusion, Madhesh movement, nation-building

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Authors: Samuel Omachi

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Since the creation of man, conflicts have remained a part and parcel of the society in spite of all measures adopted to keep them away. Conflicts are globally recognized as impediments of sustainable development and therefore regarded as undesirable, yet they are inevitable. However, some political leaders are better managers of conflicts than others. Those that manage conflicts poorly are backward and far from achieving economic development while efficient managers excel. The states in Africa fall into the category of poor managers of conflicts. Consequently, African continent has gained the notoriety of being the most crisis-ridden and poverty-stricken continent in the world in spite of her enormous resource endowment status. This problematic provided the compelling need for the discourse in the present study. Using the documentary analytical method, the paper x-rays the sources of conflicts, their effects and resolutions through peace education to allow room for economic development. The study concluded that African leaders needed to imbibe the culture of good governance with a key plank of peace building as a sine-qua-non for breaking the jinx that has tied the continent down to enable her catch up with her contemporaries in other parts of the competitive world.

Keywords: conflicts, resolutions, peace-building, development

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Authors: B. Orser, A. Riding, Y. Li

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To inform government about how gender gaps in SME ( small and medium-sized enterprise) contracting might be redressed, the research question was: What are the key obstacles to, and response strategies for, increasing the engagement of women business owners among SME suppliers to the government of Canada? Thirty-five interviews with senior policymakers, supplier diversity organization executives, and expert witnesses to the Canadian House of Commons, Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. Qualitative data were conducted and analysed using N’Vivo 11 software. High order response categories included: (a) SME risk mitigation strategies, (b) SME procurement program design, and (c) performance measures. Primary obstacles cited were government red tape and long and complicated requests for proposals (RFPs). The majority of 'common' complaints occur when SMEs have questions about the federal procurement process. Witness responses included use of outcome-based rather than prescriptive procurement practices, more agile procurement, simplified RFPs, making payment within 30 days a procurement priority. Risk mitigation strategies included provision of procurement officers to assess risks and opportunities for businesses and development of more agile procurement procedures and processes. Recommendations to enhance program design included: improved definitional consistency of qualifiers and selection criteria, better co-ordination across agencies; clarification about how SME suppliers benefit from federal contracting; goal setting; specification of categories that are most suitable for women-owned businesses; and, increasing primary contractor awareness about the importance of subcontract relationships. Recommendations also included third-party certification of eligible firms and the need to enhance SMEs’ financial literacy to reduce financial errors. Finally, there remains the need for clear and consistent pre-program statistics to establish baselines (by sector, issuing department) performance measures, targets based on percentage of contracts granted, value of contract, percentage of target employee (women, indigenous), and community benefits including hiring local employees. The study advances strategies to enhance federal procurement programs to facilitate socio-economic policy objectives.

Keywords: procurement, small business, policy, women

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Authors: L. Calcagni, A. Battisti, M. Hensel, D. S. Hensel

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Since the beginning of the 21st century, we have seen a dynamic growth of water-based (WB) architecture, mainly due to the increasing threat of floods caused by sea level rise and heavy rains, all correlated with climate change. At the same time, the shortage of land available for urban development also led architects, engineers, and policymakers to reclaim the seabed or to build floating structures. Furthermore, the drive to produce energy from renewable resources has expanded the sector of offshore research, mining, and energy industry which seeks new types of WB structures. In light of these considerations, the time is ripe to consider floating architecture as a full-fledged building typology. Currently, there is no universally recognized academic definition of a floating building. Research on floating architecture lacks a proper, commonly shared vocabulary and typology distinction. Moreover, there is no global international legal framework for urban development on water, and there is no structured performance based building design (PBBD) approach for floating architecture in most countries, let alone national regulatory systems. Thus, first of all, the research intends to overcome the semantic and typological issues through the conceptualization of floating architecture, laying the proto-ontological conditions for floating development, and secondly to identify the parameters to be considered in the definition of a specific PBBD framework, setting the scene for national planning strategies. The theoretical overview and re-semanticization process involve the attribution of a new meaning to the term floating architecture. This terminological work of semantic redetermination is carried out through a systematic literature review and involves quantitative and historical research as well as logical argumentation methods. As it is expected that floating urban development is most likely to take place as an extension of coastal areas, the needs and design criteria are definitely more similar to those of the urban environment than to those of the offshore industry. Therefore, the identification and categorization of parameters –looking towards the potential formation of a PBBD framework for floating development– takes the urban and architectural guidelines and regulations as the starting point, taking the missing aspects, such as hydrodynamics (i.e. stability and buoyancy) from the offshore and shipping regulatory frameworks. This study is carried out through an evidence-based assessment of regulatory systems that are effective in different countries around the world, addressing on-land and on-water architecture as well as offshore and shipping industries. It involves evidence-based research and logical argumentation methods. Overall, inhabiting water is proposed not only as a viable response to the problem of rising sea levels, thus as a resilient frontier for urban development, but also as a response to energy insecurity, clean water, and food shortages, environmental concerns, and urbanization, in line with Blue Economy principles and the Agenda 2030. This review shows how floating architecture is to all intents and purposes, an urban adaptation measure and a solution towards self-sufficiency and energy-saving objectives. Moreover, the adopted methodology is, to all extents, open to further improvements and integrations, thus not rigid and already completely determined. Along with new designs and functions that will come into play in the practice field, eventually, life on water will seem no more unusual than life on land, especially by virtue of the multiple advantages it provides not only to users but also to the environment.

Keywords: adaptation measures, building typology, floating architecture, performance based building design, rising sea levels

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Authors: Mousa Keshavarz, Abdul-Reza Dabbagh, Maryam Soyuf Jahromi

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The diversity of mangrove macrobenthos assemblages at mudflat and mangrove ecosystems of Port Khamir, Iran were investigated for one year. During this period, we measured physicochemical properties of water temperature, salinity, pH, DO and the density and distribution of the macrobenthos. We sampled a total of 9 transects, at three different topographic levels along the intertidal zone at three stations. Assemblages at class level were compared. The five most diverse and abundant classes were Foraminifers (54%), Gastropods (23%), Polychaetes (10%), Bivalves (8%) & Crustaceans (5%), respectively. Overall densities were 1869 ± 424 ind/m2 (26%) in spring, 2544 ± 383 ind/m2(36%) in summer, 1482 ± 323 ind/m2 (21%) in autumn and 1207 ± 80 ind/m2 (17%) in winter. Along the intertidal zone, the overall relative density of individuals at high, intermediate, and low topographic levels was 40, 30, and 30% respectively. Biodiversity indices were used to compare different classes: Gastropoda (Shannon index: 0.33) and Foraminifera (Simpson index: 0.28) calculated the highest scores. It was also calculated other bio-indices. With the exception of bivalves, filter feeders were associated with coarser sediments at higher intertidal levels, while deposit feeders were associated with finer sediments at lower levels. Salinity was the most important factor acting on community structure, while DO and pH had little influence.

Keywords: macrobenthos, biodiversity, mangrove forest, Khamir Port

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Authors: Taha Anjamrooz, Sareh Rajabi, Salwa Bheiry

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Procurement is a key process in construction project management. The present construction procurement practices have been extensively analyzed for disregarding sustainability in the project life cycle. Currently, there is a gap of information on status-quo of sustainable procurement in construction field. Thus, the aim of this study is to review sustainable procurement practices in the construction field. Disregard of three sustainability pillars is one of the major drawbacks of present construction procurement practices. Sustainable procurement is a developing idea that can enhance procurement practices and improve the sustainability performance of the construction projects. At present, sustainable procurement is still not entirely used in the construction projects. A comprehensive literature review indicated that the construction industry is still not entirely informed about the benefits and challenges of using sustainable procurement, and about important indicators that play major impacts on those benefits and challenges. This study assesses the major indicator, benefits and challenges encountered in applying sustainable procurement in the construction industry. In addition, this study investigates understanding of construction professionals on the benefits and challenges of utilizing sustainable procurement for construction projects through selected indicators that are categorized according to society and community needs.

Keywords: sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable procurement, procurement, construction industry

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Authors: Nino Damenia

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The agricultural sector plays an important role in the development of Georgia's economy, it contributes to employment and food security. It faces various types of risks that may lead to heavy financial losses. Agricultural insurance is one of the means of combating agricultural risks. The paper discusses the agricultural insurance experience of those countries (European countries and the USA) that have successfully implemented the agricultural insurance program. Analysis of international cases shows that a well-designed and implemented agri-insurance system can bring significant benefits to farmers, insurance companies and the economy as a whole. In the background of all this, the Government of Georgia recognized the importance of agro-insurance and took important steps for its development. In 2014, in cooperation with insurance companies, an agro-insurance program was introduced, the purpose of which is to increase the availability of insurance for farmers and stimulate the agro-insurance market. Despite such a step forward, challenges remain such as awareness of farmers, insufficient infrastructure for data collection and risk assessment, involvement of insurance companies and other important factors. With the support of the government and stakeholders, it is possible to overcome the existing challenges and establish a strong and effective agro-insurance system. Objectives. The purpose of the research is to analyze the development trends of the agricultural insurance market, to identify the main factors affecting its growth, and to further develop recommendations for development prospects for Georgia. Methodologies. The research uses mixed methods, which combine qualitative and quantitative research techniques. The qualitative method includes the study of the literature of Georgian and foreign economists, which allows us to get acquainted with the challenges, opportunities, legislative and regulatory frameworks of agricultural insurance. Quantitative analysis involves collecting data from stakeholders and then analyzing it. The paper also uses the methods of synthesis, comparison and statistical analysis of the agricultural insurance market in Georgia, Europe and the USA. Conclusions. As the main results of the research, we can consider that the analysis of the insurance market has been made and its main functions have been identified; The essence, features and functions of agricultural insurance are analyzed; European and US agricultural insurance market is researched; The stages of formation and development of the agricultural insurance market of Georgia are studied, its importance for the agricultural sector of Georgia is determined; The role of the state for the development of agro-insurance is analyzed and development prospects are established based on the study of the current trends of the agro-insurance market of Georgia.

Keywords: agricultural insurance, agriculture, agricultural insurance program, risk

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Authors: Divyanshi Singh

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Women’s right to have choices, sense of self-worth and their right to have access to opportunities have been a subject of serious concern. The health of women and their children in Indian society is adversely affected by the woman’s inferior status within households. The level of human development in society is a reflection of the better status of a woman, which has a clear impact on the usage of contraceptive methods and maternal health. The study is an attempt to assess the performance of Indian states on the parameters of levels of development and to see how the developmental trajectory is influencing the choice for contraception and maternal health. The objective of the paper is to study the relationship between usage of contraception, maternal health and levels of human development in Indian states. Data from NFHS-4th round, AHS (2012-13) and census 2011 is used. Three indicators of human development (effective literacy, infant mortality and gross district domestic product) have been taken. Maternal health for the study has been measured in MMR, IMR and pregnancy resulted in abortions, stillbirths and miscarriage. The multiple regression analysis has been done to analyze the relationship between them. The Developmental factor is found to be greatly influencing the choice of family planning and thus they both show strong relation with maternal health.

Keywords: human development, contraceptive usage, maternal health, effective literacy

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Authors: Nazima Ellahi, Danish Ramzan

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There is a growing trend among development economists regarding the importance of financial sector for economic development and growth activities. The development thus introduced, helps to promote welfare effects and poverty alleviation. This study is an attempt to find the nature of link between Islamic banking financing and development of output growth for Pakistan. Time series data set has been utilized for a time period ranging from 1990 to 2010. Following the Phillip Perron (PP) and Augmented Dicky Fuller (ADF) test of unit root this study applied Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method of estimation and found encouraging results in favor of promoting the Islamic banking practices in Pakistan.

Keywords: Islamic finance, poverty alleviation, economic growth, finance, commerce

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Authors: Ehsan Samimi, Mohammaa Ali Shahosseeni, Ali Abasltian, Shahriar Shafaghi

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Background/Objectives: Voluntary turnover and early retirement request by specialists and experienced people in project-based organizations (PBO) has caused many problems in finding suitable experts to execute the projects. Methods/Statistical analysis: The present study is a descriptive and applied research. Research population consists of KWs in oil and gas PBO. The engineers in these organizations were considered as research sample. Interviews and questionnaire were used to gather information. Interviews with experts were used to identify factors and questionnaires were utilized to identify the importance and prioritization. 72 factors were identified and categorized into 9 groups within organizational and HR initiative levels. Results: Results of the research indicate the priority of each group of factors according to the proposed model in the view of KWs in oil, gas and petrochemical industries. On this basis, the following factors have the highest effect ratio based on the respondents’ point of view: 1. knowledge management 2. Performance appraisal system 3. Communication 4.Training and development 5.Job design and analysis 6. Employment policies 7. Career planning 8. Project/organizational factors 9. Salary and rewards. Additionally, in each group the priority of effective sub-factors has been identified as the result of the research .The results support the definitions of KWs and influence of factors examined and specified by similar studies in retention and development of KWs. The high importance of knowledge management and low rank for salary and rewards can be mentioned as example in this regard. Despite the priority of each group of factors the uniqueness of the result is due to identification of effective factors in the specific industry (oil and gas) and type of organization (PBO). Conclusion/Application: The findings of present study can be used to devise plans for retaining and developing KWs in PBO especially in oil and gas industry.

Keywords: project–based organizations, knowledge workers, HR management, turnover, retaining and developing employees

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Authors: Teboho Moja, Frans Swanepoel, Okunade Samuel Kehinde

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Knowledge production is key to development worldwide. However, some countries are producers of knowledge used globally, whilst others are mainly consumers of that knowledge. There is a correlation between knowledge production and funding levels for research. Countries in Africa recognize the need to provide research funding at levels that would enhance knowledge production but struggle in balancing many competing needs. African countries have committed to funding research at the level of 1% of their GDP on research and development (R&D), which is the recommended percentage to be earmarked for education; however, many countries have not been able to fulfill this. In 2015-2016 Science Granting Councils in 15 out of 54 African states came together to form a Science Granting Council Initiative to strengthen the research capacity in their countries and to support research and evidence-based policies that will contribute to the continent’s economic and social development. The members of the SGCI work collaboratively; however, there is a challenge in addressing research problems that cut across national boundaries as many governments are more interested in prioritizing national issues given their limited resources. This article focuses on the governance structures of those science granting councils to understand and explore reasons for the continuing underfunding of research, the impact of research, and the perceived direct benefit of research outcomes in informing policy and in benefitting the broader society.

Keywords: research, Science Granting Council, funding, European Research Council, African Research Council

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Authors: Farhad Shafiepour Motlagh, Narges Salehi

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Purpose: The aim of the present study was a paradigm model of educational policy review strategies for the development of Professional schools in Iran. Research Methodology: The research method was based on Grounded theory. The statistical population included all articles of the ten years 2022-2010 and the method of sampling in a purposeful manner to the extent of theoretical saturation to 31 articles. For data analysis, open coding, axial coding and selective coding were used. Results: The results showed that causal conditions include social requirements (social expectations, educational justice, social justice); technology requirements (use of information and communication technology, use of new learning methods), educational requirements (development of educational territory, Development of educational tools and development of learning methods), contextual conditions including dual dimensions (motivational-psychological context, context of participation and cooperation), strategic conditions including (decentralization, delegation, organizational restructuring), intervention conditions (poor knowledge) Human resources, centralized system governance) and outcomes (school productivity, school professionalism, graduate entry into the labor market) were obtained. Conclusion: A review of educational policy is necessary to develop Iran's Professional schools, and this depends on decentralization, delegation, and, of course, empowerment of school principals.

Keywords: school productivity, professional schools, educational policy, paradigm

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Authors: David Chapola Nggada

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This is a survey designed to find out the impact of the ongoing insurgency in north eastern Nigeria on educational attainment. It is a mixture of both qualitative and quantitative research work on a sample size of 71 secondary school students currently displaced from Baga Biu and Monguno areas of Borno State, now residing as internally displaced persons(IDPs) in Gombe and Yola IDP camps. This was done through both semi structured interview and questionnaire administration. Statistical methods used include percentage and cross tables to gain specific insight into different dimensions of what this implies. Two major aspects of the impact covered were impact on individual student and impact on societal development. These two dimensions were measured against national development variables and analyzed against reviewed literature and findings across the globe. A combination of theories from different fields led to a deeper and better insight. The results confirm a significant relationship between educational attainment and the development of the north east region and Nigeria as a whole. Recommendations were made on ways of reintegrating this group back to the educational system.

Keywords: education, insurgency, national development, threat

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Authors: L. Freeborn

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This paper discusses the application of complex dynamic system theory (DST) to the study of individual differences in second language development. This transdisciplinary framework allows researchers to view the trajectory of language development as a dynamic, non-linear process. A DST approach views language as multi-componential, consisting of multiple complex systems and nested layers. These multiple components and systems continuously interact and influence each other at both the macro- and micro-level. Dynamic systems theory aims to explain and describe the development of the language system, rather than make predictions about its trajectory. Such a holistic and ecological approach to second language development allows researchers to include various research methods from neurological, cognitive, and social perspectives. A DST perspective would involve in-depth analyses as well as mixed methods research. To illustrate, a neurobiological approach to second language development could include non-invasive neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate areas of brain activation during language-related tasks. A cognitive framework would further include behavioural research methods to assess the influence of intelligence and personality traits, as well as individual differences in foreign language aptitude, such as phonetic coding ability and working memory capacity. Exploring second language development from a DST approach would also benefit from including perspectives from the field of applied linguistics, regarding the teaching context, second language input, and the role of affective factors such as motivation. In this way, applying mixed research methods from neurobiological, cognitive, and social approaches would enable researchers to have a more holistic view of the dynamic and complex processes of second language development.

Keywords: dynamic systems theory, mixed methods, research design, second language development

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Authors: Xiao Hu

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Children’s social and emotional development is critical for developing their future relationships and behaviors, and poor social skills may result in serious emotional externalizations such as anxiety, distress and aggression. Recent research has emphasized the role of family socio-economic status on children’s emotional development, and this study contributes to this academic discussion by reviewing how socio-economic status affects children at three critical development stages: infancy (0-3months), pre-school (4 months-5 years) and school aged (6-10 years). Results show a consensus in the research literature on a positive relationship between family socio-economic status and children’s emotional development. Socialization, a crucial development milestone, is highly affected by a family’s socio-economic status, as families with higher incomes have access to improved social environments, healthier parenting styles and greater access to social capital and peer support. In contrast, families with lower income and SES (socio-economic status) have lower access to these benefits and are frequently ignored within social environments. This review concludes with a critical discussion on how family income affects children’s social environment, highlighting the important role that “permanent” income plays in children’s development. Consequently, the review suggests that future governments should provide temporary economic support for lower-income families, allowing children to be raised in a healthy social environment with limited economic fluctuation.

Keywords: family socio-economic status, parenting style, children’s emotional development, family permanent income

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Authors: Youssef Chahir, Messaoud Mostefai, Salah Khodja

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This paper presents the development of a 2D visual marker, derived from a recent patented work in the field of numbering systems. The proposed fiducial uses a group of projective invariant straight-line patterns, easily detectable and remotely recognizable. Based on an efficient data coding scheme, the developed marker enables producing a large panel of unique real time identifiers with highly distinguishable patterns. The proposed marker Incorporates simultaneously decimal and binary information, making it readable by both humans and machines. This important feature opens up new opportunities for the development of efficient visual human-machine communication and monitoring protocols. Extensive experiment tests validate the robustness of the marker against acquisition and geometric distortions.

Keywords: visual markers, projective invariants, distance map, level sets

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Authors: Hannah Gutmann, Rick Richardson, Richard Bryant

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Intrusive memories following a traumatic event are not uncommon. However, in some individuals, these memories become maladaptive and lead to prolonged stress reactions. A seminal model of PTSD explains that aberrant processing during trauma may lead to prolonged stress reactions and intrusive memories. This model explains that elevated arousal at the time of the trauma promotes data driven processing, leading to fragmented and intrusive memories. This study investigated the role of elevated arousal on the development of intrusive memories. We measured salivary markers of arousal and investigated what impact this had on data driven processing, memory fragmentation, and subsequently, the development of intrusive memories. We assessed 100 healthy participants to understand their processing style, arousal, and experience of intrusive memories. Participants were randomised to a control or experimental condition, the latter of which was designed to increase their arousal. Based on current theory, participants in the experimental condition were expected to engage in more data driven processing and experience more intrusive memories than participants in the control condition. This research aims to shed light on the mechanisms underlying the development of intrusive memories to illustrate ways in which therapeutic approaches for PTSD may be augmented for greater efficacy.

Keywords: stress, cortisol, SAA, PTSD, intrusive memories

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Authors: Dalia Ambrazaitienė, Monika Vilkienė, Danute Karcauskienė, Gintaras Siaudinis

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The soil is a complex ecosystem that is part of our biosphere. The ability of soil to provide ecosystem services is dependent on microbial diversity. T Tillage is one of the major factors that affect soil properties. The no-till systems or shallow ploughless tillage are opposite of traditional deep ploughing, no-tillage systems, for instance, increase soil organic matter by reducing mineralization rates and stimulating litter concentrations of the top soil layer, whereas deep ploughing increases the biological activity of arable soil layer and reduces the incidence of weeds. The role of soil organisms is central to soil processes. Although the number of microbial species in soil is still being debated, the metagenomic approach to estimate microbial diversity predicted about 2000 – 18 000 bacterial genomes in 1 g of soil. Despite the key role of bacteria in soil processes, there is still lack of information about the bacterial diversity of soils as affected by tillage practices. This study focused on metagenomic analysis of bacterial diversity in long-term experimental plots of Dystric Epihypogleyic Albeluvisols in western part of Lithuania. The experiment was set up in 2013 and had a split-plot design where the whole-plot treatments were laid out in a randomized design with three replicates. The whole-plot treatments consisted of two tillage methods - deep ploughing (22-25 cm) (DP), ploughless tillage (7-10 cm) (PT). Three subsamples (0-20 cm) were collected on October 22, 2015 for each of the three replicates. Subsamples from the DP and PT systems were pooled together wise to make two composition samples, one representing deep ploughing (DP) and the other ploughless tillage (PT). Genomic DNA from soil sample was extracted from approximately 200 mg field-moist soil by using the D6005 Fungal/Bacterial Miniprep set (Zymo Research®) following the manufacturer’s instructions. To determine bacterial diversity and community composition, we employed a culture – independent approach of high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Metagenomic sequencing was made with Illumina MiSeq platform in Base Clear Company. The microbial component of soil plays a crucial role in cycling of nutrients in biosphere. Our study was a preliminary attempt at observing bacterial diversity in soil under two common but contrasting tillage practices. The number of sequenced reads obtained for PT (161 917) was higher than DP (131 194). The 10 most abundant genus in soil sample were the same (Arthrobacter, Candidatus Saccharibacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacterium, Mycobacterium, Bacillus, Alphaproteobacteria, Longilinea, Gemmatimonas, Solirubrobacter), just the percent of community part was different. In DP the Arthrobacter and Acidobacterium consist respectively 8.4 % and 2.5%, meanwhile in PT just 5.8% and 2.1% of all community. The Nocardioides and Terrabacter were observed just in PT. This work was supported by the project VP1-3.1-ŠMM-01-V-03-001 NKPDOKT and National Science Program: The effect of long-term, different-intensity management of resources on the soils of different genesis and on other components of the agro-ecosystems [grant number SIT-9/2015] funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.

Keywords: deep ploughing, metagenomics, ploughless tillage, soil community analysis

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Authors: Liang Wang, Wei Zhang

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Nowadays, sustainable development has increasingly become an important research topic of engineering education. Existing research on Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD) has highlighted the importance of perceptions for ethical responsibility to address sustainable development in practice. However, whether and how the professional engineering experience affects those perceptions has not been proved, especially in a Chinese context. Our study fills this gap by investigating the perceptions bias of EESD between experienced engineers and engineering students. We specifically examined what EESD means for experienced engineers and engineering students using a triple-dimensional model to understand if there are obvious differences between the two groups. Our goal is to make the benefits of these experiences more accessible in school context. The data (n=438) came from a questionnaire created and adapted from previously published studies containing 288 students from mechanical or civil engineering and 150 civil engineers with rich working experience, and the questionnaire was distributed during Fall 2020. T-test was used to find the difference in different dimensions between the two groups. The statistical results show that there is a significant difference in the perceptions of EESD between experienced engineers and inexperienced engineering students in China. Experienced engineers tend to consider sustainable development from ecological, economic, and social perspectives, while engineering students' answers focus more on ecology and ignore economic and social dimensions to some extend. The findings provide empirical evidence that professional experience is helpful to cultivate the cognition and ability of sustainable development in engineering education. The results of this work indicate that more practical content should be added to engineering education to promote sustainable development. In addition, for the design of engineering courses and professional practice systems for sustainable development, we should not only pay attention to the ecological aspects but also emphasize the coordination of ecological, economic, and socially sustainable development (e.g., engineer's ethical responsibility).

Keywords: engineering education, sustainable development, experienced engineers, engineering students

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Authors: Ángel O. Aldape, José M. Bustos, José G. Guízar

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Building companies providing public housing in Mexico, such as INFONAVIT, Casas GEO, Casas ARA, among others, provide low-interest home loans for thousands of Mexican families and individuals to buy a home. However, once this goal is achieved, these companies are not responsible for the care and maintenance of green areas and waste collection services because, technically, it is the local municipalities’ responsibility to provide these services to the community. However, this does not always occur with local municipalities. To study this problem, the San Buenaventura public housing complex was selected. This housing complex is located in the municipality of Ixtapaluca, State of Mexico (Estado de Mexico), Mexico. To our best knowledge, there are currently no formal studies about San Buenaventura that can offer effective options and/or better ways of sorting and disposing households’ wastes, as well as improving local green areas (community gardens and parks). Only a few web-blogs and periodical reports have addressed these serious problems that directly affect the social and psychological well-being of residents. The main goal of this research project aims to improve our understanding towards the existing ontological elements that emerge from residents’ discourses (in the form of informal talks and gossip) and discover the socio-physical elements that they use to assign moral positions onto others or onto themselves. The theoretical framework used in this study is based on two constructionist theories: positioning theory and site ontology. The first theory offered the opportunity to explore the rights, duties, and obligations assigned to a social role (or moral position) of the participants. The second theory provided a constructionist philosophical base that includes various socio-physical elements that are considered to assign personal or community meanings to particular contexts. Both theories contributed to defining personal dispositions and/or attitudes to carry out concrete social action or practice. The theoretical framework was guided by a relativistic ontology that allowed the researcher to better interpret the reality of the participants of this study. A descriptive-interpretative methodology was used, and two qualitative methods were arranged based on the theoretical framework proposed as follows: a semi-structured focus group interview, and direct observations. The semi-structured focus group was carried out with four residents of San Buenaventura and covert observations of public spaces and houses were carried out. These were analysed and interpreted by the researcher and assisted by NVivo software. The results suggest that the participants assigned moral traits of responsibility to other residents regarding the problem of the neglect of the green areas and waste pollution. The results suggest that all participants agreed to assign moral traits to other residents making them liable for the environmental degradation and the decay of green areas. They neither assigned any moral duty nor responsible moral traits onto themselves towards environmental protection or destruction. Overall, the participants in this study pointed out that external ontological elements such as the local government, infrastructure or cleaning services were not main cause of these environmental problems but rather the general lack of moral duty and disposition of other residents.

Keywords: conversation, environment, housing, moral, ontology, position, public, site, talks

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Authors: Irfan Arikan, George Christian Steckenbauer

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Turkey and Austria are examples for highly developed tourism destinations, where tourism providers use cultural heritage and regional natural resources to develop modern tourism products in order to be successful on increasingly competitive international tourism markets. The use and exploitation of these resources follow on the one hand international standards of tourism marketing (as ‘sustainability’). Therefore, we find highly comparable internationalized products in these destinations (like hotel products, museums, spas etc.). On the other hand, development standards and processes strongly depend on local, regional and national cultures, which influence the way how people work, cooperate, think and create. Thus, cultural factors also influence the attitude towards cultural heritage and natural resources and the way, how these resources are used for the creation of tourism products. This leads to differences in the development of tourism products on several levels: 1. In the selection of cultural heritage and natural resources for the product development process 2. In the processes, how tourism products are created 3. In the way, how providers and marketing organisations work with tourism products based on cultural heritage or natural resources. Aim of this paper is to discover differences in these dimensions by analysing and comparing examples of tourism products in Turkey and Austria, both countries with a highly developed, high professional tourism industry and rich experience of stakeholders in tourism industry in the field of product development and marketing. The cases are selected from the following fields: + Cultural tourism / heritage tourism + City tourism + Industrial heritage tourism + Nature and outdoor tourism + Health tourism The cases are analysed based on available secondary data (as several cases are scientifically described) and expert interviews with local and regional stakeholders of tourism industry and tourism experts. The available primary and secondary data will be analysed and displayed in a comparative structure that allows to derive answers to the above stated research question. The result of the project therefore will be a more precise picture about the influence of cultural differences on the use and exploitation of resources in the field of tourism that allows developing recommendations for tourism industry, which must be taken into consideration to assure cultural and natural resources are treated in a sustainable and responsible way. The authors will edit these culture-cross recommendations in form of a ‘check-list’ that can be used as a ‘guideline’ for tourism professionals in the field of product development and marketing and therefore connects theoretical research to the field of practical application and closes the gap between academic research and the field of tourism practice.

Keywords: cultural heritage, natural resources, Austria, Turkey

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Authors: Abolaji Mayowa Akinyele

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The purpose of this study was to investigate student’s awareness, Knowledge and understanding of environmental issues for sustainable development. Findings revealed that; despite the positive attitude shown by students towards environmental education, a relatively low level of understanding of environmental concept was recorded in school settings regardless of efforts by government and other environmental agencies at creating awareness about environmental related issues. This brought about the investigation of students environmental education knowledge in high school settings. About 205 Students were randomly selected for data collection using validated instruments titled student’s knowledge and attitude questionnaire as well as student’s response to questions (interview) concerning global warming. T-test statistics, chi-square and simple percentage were the major statistical tools employed in data analysis. This study revealed that environment based-education (school curriculum) as well as efforts by government/environmental agencies (mass media) plays a major role in promoting students understanding, of environmental concepts, awareness of major environmental issues and positive attitude towards natural environment.

Keywords: environmental issues, sustainable development, students attitude, students knowledge

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Authors: A. Kavya Sri, K. Sai Vineela, R. Vanitha, S. Rohith

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Large pieces of ice that break from the glaciers are known as icebergs. The threat that icebergs pose to navigation, production of offshore oil and gas services, and underwater pipelines makes their detection crucial. In this project, an automated iceberg tracking method using deep learning techniques and satellite images of icebergs is to be developed. With a temporal resolution of 12 days and a spatial resolution of 20 m, Sentinel-1 (SAR) images can be used to track iceberg drift over the Southern Ocean. In contrast to multispectral images, SAR images are used for analysis in meteorological conditions. This project develops a web-based graphical user interface to detect and track icebergs using sentinel-1 images. To track the movement of the icebergs by using temporal images based on their latitude and longitude values and by comparing the center and area of all detected icebergs. Testing the accuracy is done by precision and recall measures.

Keywords: synthetic aperture radar (SAR), icebergs, deep learning, spatial resolution, temporal resolution

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Authors: Toslim Uddin Khan, Jesmin Akter, Mohiuddin Ahmed

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Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and personal health-care practice is a critical issue to prevent morbidity and other reproductive health complications among adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities lead to unhealthy MHM practices that resulted in poor reproductive health outcomes. It is evident from different studies that superstitions and misconception are more common in rural communities that limit young girls’ access to and understanding of the menstrual hygiene and self care practices. The state-of-the-art approach of Social Marketing Company (SMC) is proved to be instrumental in delivering reinforcing health messages, making public health and hygiene products available at the door steps of the community through community mobilization programs in rural Bangladesh. School health program is one of the flagship interventions of SMC to equip adolescent girls and boys with correct knowledge of health and hygiene practices among themselves, their families and peers. In Bangladeshi culture, adolescent girls often feel shy to ask fathers or male family members about buying sanitary napkin from local pharmacy and they seem to be reluctant to seek help regarding their menstrual problems. A recent study reveals that 48% adolescent girls are using sanitary napkins while majority of them are unaware of menstrual hygiene practices in Bangladesh. Under school adolescent program, SMC organizes health education sessions for adolescent girls from grade seven to ten using enter-educate approach with special focus on sexual and reproductive health and menstrual hygiene issues including delaying marriage and first pregnancy. In addition, 2500 rural women entrepreneurs branded as community sales agents are also involved in disseminating health messages and selling priority health products including sanitary napkin at the household level. These women entrepreneurs are serving as a source of sustainable supply of the sanitary napkins for the rural adolescent girls and thereby they are earning profit margins on the sales they make. A recent study on the impact of adolescent program activities reveals that majority (71%) of the school adolescent girls are currently using sanitary napkins. Health education equips and empowers adolescent girls with accurate knowledge about menstrual hygiene practices and self-care as well. Therefore, engagement of female entrepreneurs in school adolescent health program at the community level is one of the promising ways to improve menstrual hygiene practices leading to increased use of sanitary napkin in rural and semi-rural communities in Bangladesh.

Keywords: school adolescent program, social marketing, women entrepreneurs, menstrual hygiene management

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Authors: Athanasia Chatzifotiou, Karen Tait

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Eco-school is an international initiative that offers schools the opportunity to develop practices on education for sustainable development (EfSD). Such practices need to focus on nine areas, namely: energy, water, biodiversity, school grounds, healthy living, transport, litter, waste and global citizenship. Acquiring the green flag status is the ultimate stage (silver and bronze are the other two) that is awarded by a committee external to the school and it lasts for two years. Our project focused on two such primary schools that had acquired the green flag status. The aim of our project is to describe the schools’ approach of becoming an eco-school, the practitioners’ role in promoting the values and principles of such endeavors, thus identifying the impact of EfSD. We chose the eco-schools initiative as it gives a clear and straightforward way to identify a school with an interest in EfSD. The project is important because even though EfSD attracts high attention in rhetoric, there is evidence indicating that EfSD may be neglected in practice. This paper presents part of a bigger project that aims to compare how primary schools and early years settings have approached EfSD via the eco-school initiative in the North East of England. This is a qualitative project that used a case study design to focus on the practices of two particular primary schools to gain a green flag status. A semi-structured interview was used with the lead teachers/practitioners of the schools; an audit was also conducted as part of a tour of the schools’ premises highlighting the initiatives, curriculum work, projects undertaken as well as resources available to school. A content analysis of the interview transcripts was conducted with the creation of response categories and response narratives by the two researchers first working individually and then collaboratively; the findings of the project reflected issues that concerned: a) pupils’ cognitive, physical and socio-emotional development, b) the wider community and c) the lead practitioners’ role and status in school. In relation to EfSD, our findings indicated that its impact upon these two eco-schools was rather minimal; a mismatch was identified between the eco-school practices and a holistic understanding of issues that EfSD aims to achieve. This mismatch between eco-school practices and EfSD is discussed with regard to: a) pupils’ understanding of the sustainability dimension in the topics they addressed; and b) teachers’ knowledge of sustainability and willingness to keep on such work in schools.

Keywords: eco-schools, environment, primary schools, sustainability education

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Authors: Eulalia Torras, Andreu Bellot

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To know whether students’ achievements are the result of online interaction and not just a consequence of individual differences themselves, it seems essential to link the teaching presence and social presence to the types of knowledge built. The research aim is to analyze the social presence in relation to two types of knowledge, declarative and procedural. Qualitative methodology has been used. The analysis of the contents was based on an observation protocol that included community of enquiry indicators and procedural and declarative knowledge indicators. The research has been conducted in three phases that focused on an observational protocol and indicators, results and conclusions. Results show that the teaching-learning processes have been characterized by the patterns of presence and types of knowledge. Results also show the importance of social presence support provided by the teacher and the students, not only in regard to the nature of the instructional support but also concerning how it is presented to the student and the importance that is attributed to it in the teaching-learning process, that is, what it is that assistance is offered on. In this study, we find that the presence based on procedural guidelines and declarative reflection, the management of shared meaning on the basis of the skills and the evidence of these skills entail patterns of learning. Nevertheless, the importance that the teacher attributes to each support aspect has a bearing on the extent to which the students reflect more on the given task.

Keywords: education, online, teaching and learning processes, knowledge

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