Search results for: dialectics from African perspective

Authors: Yanhua Zhao, Yu Gou, Shu Feng, Dongdong Li, Chuanmin Tao

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The natural history of HBV infection could experience immune tolerant (IT), immune clearance (IC), HBeAg-negative inactive/quienscent carrier (ENQ), and HBeAg-negative hepatitis (ENH). As current biomarkers for discriminating these four phases have some weaknesses, additional serological indicators are needed. Hepatits B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) encoded with precore/core gene contains denatured HBeAg, HBV core antigen (HBcAg) and a 22KDa precore protein (p22cr), which was demonstrated to have a close association with natural history of hepatitis B infection, but no specific cutoff values and diagnostic parameters to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy. This study aimed to clarify the distribution of HBcrAg levels and evaluate its diagnostic performance during the natural history of infection from a Western Chinese perspective. 294 samples collected from treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in different phases (IT=64; IC=72; ENQ=100, and ENH=58). We detected the HBcrAg values and analyzed the relationship between HBcrAg and HBV DNA. HBsAg and other clinical parameters were quantitatively tested. HBcrAg levels of four phases were 9.30 log U/mL, 8.80 log U/mL, 3.00 log U/mL, and 5.10 logU/mL, respectively (p < 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the area under curves (AUCs) of HBcrAg and quantitative HBsAg at cutoff values of 9.25 log U/mL and 4.355 log IU/mL for distinguishing IT from IC phases were 0.704 and 0.694, with sensitivity 76.39% and 59.72%, specificity 53.13% and 79.69%, respectively. AUCs of HBcrAg and quantitative HBsAg at cutoff values of 4.15 log U/mlmL and 2.395 log IU/mlmL for discriminating between ENQ and ENH phases were 0.931 and 0.653, with sensitivity 87.93% and 84%, specificity 91.38% and 39%, respectively. Therefore, HBcrAg levels varied significantly among four natural phases of HBV infection. It had higher predictive performance than quantitative HBsAg for distinguishing between ENQ-patients and ENH-patients and similar performance with HBsAg for the discrimination between IT and IC phases, which indicated that HBcrAg could be a potential serological marker for CHB.

Keywords: chronic hepatitis B, hepatitis B core-related antigen, hepatitis B surface antigens, hepatitis B virus

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Authors: Yuet Wah Echo Yeung

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Practice learning is an important component of social work education. Practice educators are charged with the responsibility to support and enable learning while students are on placement. They also play a key role in teaching students to integrate theory and practice, as well as assessing their performance. Current literature highlights the structural factors that make it difficult for practice educators to create a positive learning environment for students. Practice educators find it difficult to give sufficient attention to their students because of the lack of workload relief, the increasing emphasis on managerialism and bureaucratisation, and a range of competing organisational and professional demands. This paper reports the challenges practice educators face and how they manage these challenges in this context. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with thirteen practice educators who support students in statutory and voluntary social care settings in the Northwest of England. Interviews were conducted between April and July 2017 and each interview lasted about 40 minutes. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. All practice educators are experienced social work practitioners with practice experience ranging from 6 to 42 years. On average they have acted as practice educators for 13 years and all together have supported 386 students. Our findings reveal that apart from the structural factors that impact how practice educators perform their roles, they also faced other challenges when supporting students on placement. They include difficulty in engaging resistant students, complexity in managing power dynamics in the context of practice learning, and managing the dilemmas of fostering a positive relationship with students whilst giving critical feedback. Suggestions to enhance the practice educators’ role include support from organisations and social work teams; effective communication with university tutors, and a forum for practice educators to share good practice and discuss placement issues.

Keywords: social work education, placement challenges, practice educator, practice learning

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Authors: Getahun Lemma

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Introduction Guinea Worm Disease (GWD), also known as dracunculiasisis, is one of the oldest diseases in the history of mankind. Dracunculiasis is caused by a parasitic nematode, Dracunculus medinensis. Infection is acquired by drinking contaminated water with copepods containing infective Guinea Worm (GW) larvae). Almost one year after the infection, the worm usually emerges out through the skin on a lower, causing severe pain and disabilities. Although there is no effective drug or vaccine against the disease, the chain of transmission can be effectively prevented with simple and cost effective public health measures. Death due to dracunculiasis is very rare. However, it results in a wide range of physical, social and economic sequels. The disease is usually common in the rural, remote places of Sub-Saharan African countries among the marginalized societies. Currently, GWD is one of the neglected tropical diseases, which is on the verge of eradication. The global Guinea Worm Eradication Program (GWEP) was started in 1980. Since then, the program has achieved a tremendous success in reducing the global burden and number of GW case from 3.5 million to only 28 human cases at the end of 2018. However, it has recently been shown that not only humans can become infected, with a total of 1,105 animal infections have been reported at the end of 2018. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the existing challenges in the last mile of the GWEP in order To inform Policy makers and stakeholders on potential measures to finally achieve eradication. Method Systematic literature review on articles published from January 1, 2000 until May 30, 2019. Papers listed in Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, ProQuest PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched and reviewed. Results Twenty-five articles met inclusion criteria of the study and were selected for analysis. Hence, relevant data were extracted, grouped and descriptively analyzed. Results showed the main challenges complicating the last mile of global GWEP: 1. Unusual mode of transmission; 2. Rising animal Guinea Worm infection; 3. Suboptimal surveillance; 4. Insecurity; 5. Inaccessibility; 6. Inadequate safe water points; 7. Migration; 8. Poor case containment measures, 9. Ecological changes; and 10. New geographic foci of the disease. Conclusion This systematic review identified that most of the current challenges in the GWEP have been present since the start of the campaign. However, the recent change in epidemiological patterns and nature of GWD in the last remaining endemic countries illustrates a new twist in the global GWEP. Considering the complex nature of the current challenges, there seems to be a need for a more coordinated and multidisciplinary approach of GWD prevention and control measures in the last mile of the campaign. These new strategies would help to make history by eradicating dracunculiasis as the first ever parasitic disease.

Keywords: dracunculiasis, eradication program, guinea worm, last mile

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Authors: Marlene Yu Lilin Wätzold, Wisnu Harto Adiwijoyo, Meike Wollni

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Land-use conversion from tropical forests to cash crop production in the form of monocultures has drastic consequences for biodiversity. Meanwhile, high dependence on cash crop production is often associated with a decrease in other food crop production, thereby affecting household dietary diversity. Additionally, deforestation rates have been found to reduce households’ dietary diversity, as forests often offer various food sources. Agroforestry systems are seen as a potential solution to improve local biodiversity as well as provide a range of provisioning ecosystem services, such as timber and other food crops. While a number of studies have analyzed the effects of agroforestry on biodiversity, as well as household livelihood indicators, little is understood between potential trade-offs or synergies between the two. This interdisciplinary study aims to fill this gap by assessing cacao agroforestry’s role in enhancing local bird diversity, as well as farm household dietary diversity. Additionally, we will take a landscape perspective and investigate in what ways the landscape composition, such as the proximity to forests and forest patches, are able to contribute to the local bird diversity, as well as households’ dietary diversity. Our study will take place in two agro-ecological zones in Ghana, based on household surveys of 500 cacao farm households. Using a subsample of 120 cacao plots, we will assess the degree of shade tree diversity and density using drone flights and a computer vision tree detection algorithm. Bird density and diversity will be assessed using sound recordings that will be kept in the cacao plots for 24 hours. Landscape compositions will be assessed via remote sensing images. The results of our study are of high importance as they will allow us to understand the effects of agroforestry and landscape composition in improving simultaneous ecosystem services.

Keywords: agroforestry, biodiversity, landscape composition, nutrition

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Authors: Nihar Kanta Patra, Akhtar Hussain

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This comprehensive study, through the perspective of librarians, explores the library as a metaphor and its profound significance in representing knowledge and learning. It delves into how librarians perceive the library as a metaphor and the ways in which it symbolizes the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge. The research investigates the most common metaphors used to describe libraries, as witnessed by librarians, and analyzes how these metaphors reflect the evolving role of libraries in society. Furthermore, the study examines how the library metaphor influences the perception of librarians regarding academic libraries as physical places and academic library websites as virtual spaces, exploring their potential for learning and exploration. It investigates the evolving nature of the library as a metaphor over time, as seen by librarians, considering the changing landscape of information and technology. The research explores the ways in which the library metaphor has expanded beyond its traditional representation, encompassing digital resources, online connectivity, and virtual realms, and provides insights into its potential evolution in the future. Drawing on the experiences of librarians in their interactions with library users, the study uncovers any specific cultural or generational differences in how people interpret or relate to the library as a metaphor. It sheds light on the diverse perspectives and interpretations of the metaphor based on cultural backgrounds, educational experiences, and technological familiarity. Lastly, the study investigates the evolving roles of libraries as observed by librarians and explores how these changing roles can influence the metaphors we use to represent them. It examines the dynamic nature of libraries as they adapt to societal needs, technological advancements, and new modes of information dissemination. By analyzing these various dimensions, this research provides a comprehensive understanding of the library as a metaphor through the lens of librarians, illuminating its significance, evolution, and its transformative impact on knowledge, learning, and the changing role of libraries in society.

Keywords: library, librarians, metaphor, perception

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Authors: Yi-Hsiu Lai

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The present study aimed to elucidate the nature of semantic processing in Chinese. Language and cognition related to the issue of aging are examined from the perspective of picture naming and category fluency tasks. Twenty Chinese-speaking adults (ranging from 25 to 45 years old) and twenty Chinese-speaking seniors (ranging from 65 to 75 years old) in Taiwan participated in this study. Each of them individually completed two tasks: a picture naming task and a category fluency task. Instruments for the naming task were sixty black-and-white pictures: thirty-five object and twenty-five action pictures. Category fluency task also consisted of two semantic categories – objects (or nouns) and actions (or verbs). Participants were asked to report as many items within a category as possible in one minute. Scores of action fluency and of object fluency were a summation of correct responses in these two categories. Category effects (actions vs. objects) and age effects were examined in these tasks. Objects were further divided into two major types: living objects and non-living objects. Actions were also categorized into two major types: action verbs and process verbs. Reaction time to each picture/question was additionally calculated and analyzed. Results of the category fluency task indicated that the content of information in Chinese seniors was comparatively deteriorated, thus producing smaller number of semantic-lexical items. Significant group difference was also found in the results of reaction time. Category Effect was significant for both Chinese adults and seniors in the semantic fluency task. Findings in the present study helped characterize the nature of semantic processing in Chinese-speaking adults and seniors and contributed to the issue of language and aging.

Keywords: semantic processing, aging, Chinese, category effects

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Authors: Fernando C. Labouriau, Ricardo M. Naveiro

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This paper presents a model for mapping the evolutive pattern of products in order to generate new ideas, to perceive emerging technologies and to manage product’s portfolios in new product development (NPD). According to the proposed model, the information extracted from the patent system is filtered and analyzed with TRIZ tools to produce the input information to the NPD process. The authors acknowledge that the NPD process is well integrated within the enterprises business strategic planning and that new products are vital in the competitive market nowadays. In the other hand, it has been observed the proactive use of patent information in some methodologies for selecting projects, mapping technological change and generating product concepts. And one of these methodologies is TRIZ, a theory created to favor innovation and to improve product design that provided the analytical framework for the model. Initially, it is presented an introduction to TRIZ mainly focused on the patterns of evolution of technical systems and its strategic uses, a brief and absolutely non-comprehensive description as the theory has several others tools being widely employed in technical and business applications. Then, it is introduced the model for mapping the products evolutive pattern with its three basic pillars, namely patent information, TRIZ and NPD, and the methodology for implementation. Following, a case study of a Brazilian bike manufacturing is presented to proceed the mapping of a product evolutive pattern by decomposing and analyzing one of its assemblies along ten evolution lines in order to envision opportunities for further product development. Some of these lines are illustrated in more details to evaluate the features of the product in relation to the TRIZ concepts using a comparison perspective with patents in the state of the art to validate the product’s evolutionary potential. As a result, the case study provided several opportunities for a product improvement development program in different project categories, identifying technical and business impacts as well as indicating the lines of evolution that can mostly benefit from each opportunity.

Keywords: product development, patents, product strategy, systems evolution

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Authors: Erika Mattio

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The aim of this project is to study the Chinese presence in Ethiopia, in the area between the Saba River and the Coptic areas of the Tigray, with detailed documentation of the Danakil region, from which the salt pickers caravans departed; the study was created to understand the relationships and consequences of the Chinese advance in these areas, inhabited by tribes linked to ancient, still practiced religious rituals, and home to unique landscapes and archaeological sites. Official estimates of the number of Chinese in Africa vary widely; on the continent, there are increasingly diverse groups of Chinese migrants in terms of language, dialect, class, education, and employment. Based on this and on a very general state of the art, it was decided to increase the studies on this phenomenon, focusing the attention on one of the most interesting countries for its diversity, cultural wealth, and for strong Chinese presence: Ethiopia. The study will be integrated with interdisciplinary investigation methods, such as landscape archeology, historiographic research, participatory anthropology, geopolitics, and cultural anthropology and ethnology. There are two main objectives of the research. The first is to predict what will happen to these populations and how the territory will be modified, trying to monitor the growth of infrastructure in the country and the effects it will have on the population. Risk analyzes will be carried out to understand what the foreign presence may entail, such as the absence of sustenance for local populations, the ghettoization of foreigners, unemployment of natives and the exodus of the population to the capital; the relationships between families and the local population will be analyzed, trying to understand the dynamics of socialization and interaction. Thanks to the use of GIS, the areas affected by the Chinese presence will be geo-referenced and mapped, delimiting the areas most affected and creating a risk analysis, both in desert areas and in archaeologically and historically relevant areas. The second point is to document the life and rituals of Ethiopian populations in order not to lose the aspects of uniqueness that risk being lost. Local interviews will collect impressions and criticisms from the local population to understand if the Chinese presence is perceived as a threat or as a solution. Furthermore, Afar leaders in the Logya area will be interviewed, in truly exclusive research, to understand their links with the foreign presence. From the north, along the Saba river, we will move to the northwest, in the Tigray region, to know the impressions in the Coptic area, currently less threatened by the Chinese presence but still affected by urbanization proposals. There will also be documented the Coptic rituals of Gennà and Timkat, unique expressions of a millennial tradition. This will allow the understanding of whether the Maoist presence could influence the religious rites and forms of belief present in the country, or the country will maintain its cultural independence.

Keywords: Ethiopia, GIS, risk perceptions, salt caravans

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Authors: Hanna Salminen

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Due to the large societal changes in working life, such as retirement reforms, globalization and technological changes, careers are becoming longer, more varied and unpredictable than before. Similar to other new career concepts, such as protean and boundaryless career, a sustainable career concept emphasizes an individual’s active role and agency in managing his/her own career in changing working life. However, the sustainable career concept also underlines the importance of safeguarding and developing human capital over time and thereby fostering continuity. Especially, the theoretical discussion around sustainable careers stresses flexible career choices that meet an individual’s own personal needs, allow work-family balance and promotes continuous learning. Although sustainable careers concern employees at all ages, this study focuses on older employees (aged 50+). So far, the changing nature of careers has been mainly investigated among younger generations, and the changing and prolonging late career phase has received less attention among career scholars. In other words, there is lack of knowledge regarding what constitutes a sustainable career in the late career phase and how the individual, organizational, and societal levels of sustainable career ecosystem are interconnected. The theoretical discussion around sustainable careers is closely linked to the sustainable management of human resources in organizations. In the field of human resource management (HRM), sustainable HRM has received more attention in recent years and it has been seen as a step forward from strategic HRM approach. As a concept, sustainable HRM stresses the long-term focus on organizations’ social, economic, and ecological resources, and the benefits of HRM practices for employees, organizations, and the society at large. However, some HRM scholars argue that the ecological and financial matters have overshadowed the social aspect of sustainability. In this study, the sustainable career and sustainable HRM literature are combined. As a result of an integrative literature review, this study provides new insight, how sustainable late career phase has been understood and conceptualized in sustainable career and sustainable HRM literature.

Keywords: sustainability, career, human resource management, ageing

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Authors: Ditsapelo M. McFarland

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Background: Despite the availability of the Pap smear services in urban areas in Botswana, most women in such areas do not seem to screen regular for prevention of the cervical cancer disease. Reasons for non-use of the available Pap smear services are not well understood. Beliefs about cancer may influence participation in cancer screening in these women. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure beliefs about cervical cancer and Pap smear screening among Black women in Botswana, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument. Significance: Instruments that are designed to measure beliefs about cervical cancer and screening among black women in Botswana, as well as in the surrounding region, are presently not available. Valid and reliable instruments are needed for exploration of the women’s beliefs about cervical cancer. Conceptual Framework: The Health Belief Model (HBM) provided a conceptual framework for the study. Methodology: The study was done in four phases: Phase 1: item generation: 15 items were generated from literature review and qualitative data for each of four conceptually defined HBM constructs: Perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers (Version 1). Phase 2: content validity: Four experts who were advanced practice nurses of African descent and were familiar with the content and the HBM evaluated the content. Experts rated the items on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from: 1=not relevant, 2=somewhat relevant, 3=relevant and 4=very relevant. Fifty-five items were retained for instrument development: perceived susceptibility - 11, severity - 14, benefits - 15 and barriers - 15, all measuring on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4). (Version 2). Phase 3: pilot testing: The instrument was pilot tested on a convenient sample of 30 women in Botswana and revised as needed. Phase 4: reliability: the revised instrument (Version 3) was submitted to a larger sample of women in Botswana (n=300) for reliability testing. The sample included women who were Batswana by birth and decent, were aged 30 years and above and could complete an English questionnaire. Data were collected with the assistance of trained research assistants. Major findings: confirmatory factor analysis of the 55 items found that a number of items did not adequately load in a four-factor solution. Items that exhibited reasonable reliability and had low frequency of missing values (n=36) were retained: perceived barriers (14 items), perceived benefits (8 items), perceived severity (4 items), and perceived susceptibility (10 items). confirmatory factor analysis (principle components) for a four factor solution using varimax rotation demonstrated that these four factors explained 43% of the variation in these 36 items. Conclusion: reliability analysis using Cronbach’s Alpha gave generally satisfactory results with values from 0.53 to 0.89.

Keywords: cervical cancer, factor analysis, psychometric evaluation, varimax rotation

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Authors: M. Lu

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The paper presents part of the results of EU-funded projects: SoCool@EU (Sustainable Organisation between Clusters Of Optimized Logistics @ Europe), DG-RTD (Research and Innovation), Regions of Knowledge Programme (FP7-REGIONS-2011-1). It will provide an in-depth review of emerging technologies for further improving urban mobility and freight transport systems, such as (information and physical) infrastructure, ICT-based Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), vehicles, advanced logistics, and services. Furthermore, the paper will provide an analysis of the barriers and will review business models for the market uptake of innovations. From a perspective of science and technology, the challenges of urbanization could be mainly handled through adequate (human-oriented) solutions for urban planning, sustainable energy, the water system, building design and construction, the urban transport system (both physical and information aspects), and advanced logistics and services. Implementation of solutions for these domains should be follow a highly integrated and balanced approach, a silo approach should be avoided. To develop a sustainable urban transport system (for people and goods), including inter-hubs and intra-hubs, a holistic view is needed. To achieve a sustainable transport system for people and goods (in terms of cost-effectiveness, efficiency, environment-friendliness and fulfillment of the mobility, transport and logistics needs of the society), a proper network and information infrastructure, advanced transport systems and operations, as well as ad hoc and seamless services are required. In addition, a road map for an enhanced urban transport system until 2050 will be presented. This road map aims to address the challenges of urban transport, and to provide best practices in inter-city and intra-city environments from various perspectives, including policy, traveler behaviour, economy, liability, business models, and technology.

Keywords: synchromodality, multimodal transport, logistics, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)

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Authors: Mohammad S. Razai, Jan Williams, Rachel Nestel, Dermot Dalton

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Purpose: This descriptive qualitative study aimed to obtain parents recommendations for improving the notification process and communication of positive newborn screening result for cystic fibrosis (CF). Methods: Thematic analysis of semi-structured open-ended interviews with 11 parents of 7 children with confirmed diagnosis of CF between 2 months — 2 years of age. Results: Parents preferred face to face disclosure of positive NBS results by a pediatrician with CF professional qualification. They trusted a pediatrician more than any other professional in providing accurate, credible and comprehensive information about the diagnosis and its implications. Parents recommended that health professionals be knowledgeable and provide clear, succinct and understandable information. Providers should also explore parents concerns and acknowledge feelings and emotions. Most parents reported that they preferred to be notified immediately as soon as the results were available. Several parents preferred to be told once the diagnosis was certain. Most parents regarded open access to CF team as the most significant part of care coordination. In addition to health professionals, most parents used internet as an important source of information, interaction and exchange of experiences. Most parents also used social networking sites such as Facebook groups and smart phone apps. Conclusion: This study provides significant new evidence from parental perspective in emphasizing the pivotal role of good communication skills deployed by a knowledgeable CF specialist in person. Parents use of social media and internet has replaced some traditional methods of information exchange and may reduce the need for professional input for newly diagnosed CF patients.

Keywords: care coordination, cystic fibrosis, newborn screening, notification process, parental preferences, professional-paren communication

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Authors: Chang Li Yu

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Resistances commonly happened during sexual offenders treatment program (SOTP), and removing resistances was one of the treatment goals on it. Studies concerning treatment effectiveness relied on pre- and post-treatment evaluations, however, no significant difference on resistance revealed after treatment, and the above consequences generally contributed to the low motivation for change instead. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the resistance across each stage of change among sexual offenders (SO). The present study recruited prisoned SO in Taiwan, excluding those with literacy difficulties; finally, 272 participants were included. Of all participants completed revised version of URICA (University of Rhode Island Change Assessment) and resistance scale specifically for SO. The former included four stages of change: pre-contemplation (PC), contemplation (C), action (A), and maintain (M); the later composed eight types of resistance: system blaming, victims blaming, problems with treatment alliance, social justification, hopelessness, isolation, psychological reactance, and passive reactance. Both of the instruments were with well reliability and validity. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were performed. All of 272 participants, age under 25 were 18(6.6%), 25-39 were 133(48.9%), 40-54 were 102(37.5%), and age over 55 were 19(7.0%); college level and above were 53(19.5%), high school level were 110(40.4%), and under high school level were 109(40.1%); first offended were 117(43.0%), and recidivist were 23(8.5%). Further deleting data with missing values and invalid questionnaires, SO with stage of change on PC were 43(18.9%), C were 109(47.8%), A were 70(30.7%), and on M were 6(2.6%). One-way ANOVA showed significant differences on every kind of resistances, excepting isolation and passive reactance. Post-hoc analysis showed that SO with different stages had their main resistance. There are two contributions to the present study. First, this study provided a clinical and theoretical measurement of evaluation that was never used in the past. Second, this study used an evidence-based methodology to prove a clinical perspective differed from the past, suggesting that resistances to treatment on SO appear the whole therapeutic process, when SO progress into the next stage of change, clinicians have to deal with their main resistance for working through the therapy.

Keywords: resistance, sexual offenders treatment program (SOTP), motivation for change, prisoned sexual offender

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Authors: H. Ju, M. Jones, G. D. Mishra

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Introduction: Limited longitudinal studies have examined the relationship between BMI and dysmenorrhea, resulting in mixed results. This study aims to investigate the long-term association between BMI and dysmenorrhea. Methods: 9,688 women from Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), a prospective population-based cohort study, were followed for 13 years. Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires repeatedly on all variables, including dysmenorrhea, weight and height. The longitudinal association between dysmenorrhea and BMI or BMI transition (change of BMI categories between two successive surveys) was investigated by generalized estimating equations. Results: When the women were aged 22 to 27 years, approximately 11% were obese, 7% underweight, and 25% reported dysmenorrhea. Over the study period, the prevalence of obesity doubled whereas that of underweight declined substantially. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea remained relatively stable. Compared to women with a normal weight, significantly higher odds of reporting dysmenorrhea were detected for both women who were underweight (odds ratio (OR) 1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09, 1.43) and obese (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.10, 1.31). Being overweight was not associated with increased risk of dysmenorrhea. Compared to women who remained at normal weight or overweight over time, significant risk was detected for women who: remained underweight or obese (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.23, 1.49), were underweight but became normal or overweight (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.11, 1.50), became underweight (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01, 1.52). However, the higher risk among obese women disappeared when they lost weight and became normal weight or overweight (OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.87, 1.30). Conclusions: A U-shaped association was revealed between dysmenorrhea and BMI, revealing higher risk of dysmenorrhea for both underweight and obese women. Further, the risk disappeared when obese women lost weight and acquired a healthier BMI. However obesity certainly poses a greater burden of disease from the public health perspective, thus requires greater effort to tackle the increasing problem at the population level. It is important to maintain a healthy weight over time for women to enjoy a better reproductive health.

Keywords: body mass index, dysmenorrhea, obesity, painful period, underweight

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Authors: Fiona Curran-Cournane

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Soil quality monitoring is a science-based soil management tool that assesses soil ecosystem health. A soil monitoring program in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, extends from 1995 to the present. The objective of this study was to firstly determine changes in soil parameters (basic soil properties and heavy metals) that were assessed from rural land in 1995-2000 and repeated in 2008-2012. The second objective was to determine differences in soil parameters across various land uses including native bush, rural (horticulture, pasture and plantation forestry) and urban land uses using soil data collected in more recent years (2009-2013). Across rural land, mean concentrations of Olsen P had significantly increased in the second sampling period and was identified as the indicator of most concern, followed by soil macroporosity, particularly for horticultural and pastoral land. Mean concentrations of Cd were also greatest for pastoral and horticultural land and a positive correlation existed between these two parameters, which highlights the importance of analysing basic soil parameters in conjunction with heavy metals. In contrast, mean concentrations of As, Cr, Pb, Ni and Zn were greatest for urban sites. Native bush sites had the lowest concentrations of heavy metals and were used to calculate a ‘pollution index’ (PI). The mean PI was classified as high (PI > 3) for Cd and Ni and moderate for Pb, Zn, Cr, Cu, As, and Hg, indicating high levels of heavy metal pollution across both rural and urban soils. From a land use perspective, the mean ‘integrated pollution index’ was highest for urban sites at 2.9 followed by pasture, horticulture and plantation forests at 2.7, 2.6, and 0.9, respectively. It is recommended that soil sampling continues over time because a longer spanning record will allow further identification of where soil problems exist and where resources need to be targeted in the future. Findings from this study will also inform policy and science direction in regional councils.

Keywords: heavy metals, pollution index, rural and urban land use, soil quality

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Authors: L. Atif, C. Rosenthal-Sabroux, M. Grundstein

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The requirements engineering process is a crucial phase in the design of complex systems. The purpose of our research is to present a collaborative problem-driven requirements engineering approach that aims at improving the design of a Decision Support System as an Analytics application. This approach has been adopted to design a Human Resource management DSS. The Requirements Engineering process is presented as a series of guidelines for activities that must be implemented to assure that the final product satisfies end-users requirements and takes into account the limitations identified. For this, we know that a well-posed statement of the problem is “a problem whose crucial character arises from collectively produced estimation and a formulation found to be acceptable by all the parties”. Moreover, we know that DSSs were developed to help decision-makers solve their unstructured problems. So, we thus base our research off of the assumption that developing DSS, particularly for helping poorly structured or unstructured decisions, cannot be done without considering end-user decision problems, how to represent them collectively, decisions content, their meaning, and the decision-making process; thus, arise the field issues in a multidisciplinary perspective. Our approach addresses a problem-driven and collaborative approach to designing DSS technologies: It will reflect common end-user problems in the upstream design phase and in the downstream phase these problems will determine the design choices and potential technical solution. We will thus rely on a categorization of HR’s problems for a development mirroring the Analytics solution. This brings out a new data-driven DSS typology: Descriptive Analytics, Explicative or Diagnostic Analytics, Predictive Analytics, Prescriptive Analytics. In our research, identifying the problem takes place with design of the solution, so, we would have to resort a significant transformations of representations associated with the HR Analytics application to build an increasingly detailed representation of the goal to be achieved. Here, the collective cognition is reflected in the establishment of transfer functions of representations during the whole of the design process.

Keywords: DSS, collaborative design, problem-driven requirements, analytics application, HR decision making

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Authors: Muhammad Saqib Manzoor, Camille Dickson-Deane, Prashan Karunaratne

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Cobb-Douglas production (utility) function is a fundamental function widely used in economics teaching and research. The key reason is the function's characteristics to describe the actual production using inputs like labour and capital. The characteristics of the function like returns to scale, marginal, and diminishing marginal productivities are covered in the introductory units in both microeconomics and macroeconomics with a 2-dimensional static visualisation of the function. However, less insight is provided regarding three-dimensional surface, changes in the curvature properties due to returns to scale, the linkage of the short-run production function with its long-run counterpart and marginal productivities, the level curves, and the constraint optimisation. Since (freshman) learners have diverse prior knowledge and cognitive skills, the existing “one size fits all” approach is not very helpful. The aim of this study is to bridge this gap by introducing technological intervention with interactive animations of the three-dimensional surface and sequential unveiling of the characteristics mentioned above using Python software. A small classroom intervention has helped students enhance their analytical and visualisation skills towards active and authentic learning of this topic. However, to authenticate the strength of our approach, a quasi-Delphi study will be conducted to ask domain-specific experts, “What value to the learning process in economics is there using a 2-dimensional static visualisation compared to using a 3-dimensional dynamic visualisation?’ Here three perspectives of the intervention were reviewed by a panel comprising of novice students, experienced students, novice instructors, and experienced instructors in an effort to determine the learnings from each type of visualisations within a specific domain of knowledge. The value of this approach is key to suggesting different pedagogical methods which can enhance learning outcomes.

Keywords: cobb-douglas production function, quasi-Delphi method, effective teaching and learning, 3D-visualisations

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Authors: Maryam Umar Ladan, Arshad Munir

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Poverty has always been a constant feature of society throughout history. It has existed in the lives of people and it is a fact that although the majority of people lives in poverty, the remaining minority lives in luxury. While some countries called the first World countries lives in luxury, the third World countries lives in poverty. It remains an undesirable phenomenon affecting a vast number of people across the globe despite governmental, institutional and private organizations’ interventions with measures aimed at cushioning its adverse effects. Unequal distribution of societal resources, accumulated wealth in the hands of few, lack of access to education and employment, individual responsibility among others, were highlighted as factors associated with poverty. Poverty predisposes the poor individual to malnutrition and starvation, exposure to disease, thereby resulting to violence, crimes, and experiencing lifelong problems. Evidence show that about 50 percent of the world population lives on less than 2.50 dollar a day, 90 percent of whom are from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia including countries where Islam is the major if not one adherent religion. As a solution to poverty, Islam prescribes a system of annual Zakat (charity). The Islamic law prescribes that every person who has a saving that reaches a certain limit should give out 2.5 percent of the total annual earning (as in income, money, farm produce) to deserving and prescribed citizens. This is to, among others; reduce the level of inequality through distribution of wealth among the Muslim Ummah (community). Furthermore, Islam encourages the rich in several places in the Qur’an to spend their wealth on poor people other than the compulsory 2.5%. Therefore, it is inarguable that the Islamic system of distribution of resources (as zakat) is the best strategy to poverty eradication. Thus, strongly recommended for desired results in poverty eradication efforts. If every rich person gives Zakat sincerely, poverty will be eradicated in the world, and not a single person will die of want of food or material things.

Keywords: Islam, charity, poverty, zakat

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Authors: Ani Hambardzumyan

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The influence of Greek culture and Greek mythology on the fashion industry is enormous. The first reason behind this is that Greek culture is one of the core elements to form the clothing tradition in Europe. French fashion houses have always been considered one of the leading cloth representatives in the world. As we could perceive in the first chapter, they are among the first ones to get inspired from Greek cultural heritage and apply it while creating their garments. The French fashion industry has kept traditional classical elements in clothes for decades. However, from the second half of the 20th century, this idea started to alter step by step. Society was transforming its vision with the influence of avant-garde movements. Hence, the fashion industry needed to transform its conception as well. However, it should be mentioned that fashion brands never stopped looking at the past when creating a new perspective or vision. Paradoxically, Greek mythology and clothing tradition continued to be applied even in the search of new ideas or new interpretations. In 1997 Alexander McQueen presents his first Haute Couture collection for French fashion house Givenchy, inspired by Greek mythology and titled ‘‘Search for The Golden Fleece.’’ Perhaps, this was one of the most controversial Haute Couture shows that French audience could expect to see and French media could capture and write about. The paper discuss Spring/Summer 1997 collection ‘‘The Search of Golden Fleece’’ by Alexander McQueen. It should be mentioned that there has not been yet conducted researches to analyze the mythological and archetypal nature of the collection, as well as general observations that go beyond traditional historical reviews are few in number. Here we will observe designer’s transformative new approach regarding Greek heritage and the media’s perception of it while collection was presented. On top of that, we will observe Alexander McQueen life in the parallel line with the fashion show since the collection is nothing else but the sublimation of his personal journey and drama.

Keywords: mythology, mcqueen, the argonaut, french fashion, golden fleece, givenchy

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Authors: Sara Dalma Galgoczi, Judith Gabriella Kengyel

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Sex scandals are quite an engaging topic to work with, especially with their judgment in society. Most people are interested in other people's lives, specifically in public figures' such as celebrities or politicians, because ordinary people feel like they have the right to know more things about the famous and notorious ones than they would probably willing to share. Intimacy and sexual acts aren't exceptions; moreover, sexuality is one of the central interests of humans ever since. Besides, knowing and having an opinion about any kind of scandal can change even whole social groups or classes estimation of anyone. This study aims to research the social judgment of some Hungarian politicians' sex scandals and asks important questions like diverse public opinions in the light of gender or delegates’ abuse of power. Considering that this study is about collecting and evaluating opinions from the public, and no one before researched and published this exact topic and cases, an online survey was created. In the survey were different sections. We collected data about party-preference, conservativism-liberalism scale; then we used the following questionnaires: from Zero-sum perspective with regard to gender equality (Ruthig, Kehn, Gamblin, Vanderzanden & Jones, 2017), Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI; Glick & Fiske, 1996), Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (AMI; Glick & Fiske, 1999). Finally, 5 short summaries were presented about five Hungarian politicians' sex scandal cases (3 males, 2 females) from the recent past. These stories were followed by questions about their opinion of the party and attitudes towards the parties' reactions to the cases. We came to the conclusion that people are more permissive with the scandals of men, and benevolent sexism and ambivalence towards men mediate this relation. Men tend to see these cases as part of politicians' private lives more than women. Party preference had a significant effect - people tend to pass a sentence the delegates of the opposing parties, and they rather release the delegates of their preferred party.

Keywords: sex scandal, sexism, social judgement, politician

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Authors: Gayatri Mahajan

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Modern Construction Technology (CT) includes a broad range of advanced techniques and practices that bound the recent developments in material technology, design methods, quantity surveying, facility management, services, structural analysis and design, and other management education. Adoption of recent digital transformation technology is the need of today to speed up the business and is also the basis of construction improvement. Incorporating and practicing the technologies such as cloud-based communication and collaboration solution, Mobile Apps and 5G,3D printing, BIM and Digital Twins, CAD / CAM, AR/ VR, Big Data, IoT, Wearables, Blockchain, Modular Construction, Offsite Manifesting, Prefabrication, Robotic, Drones and GPS controlled equipment expedite the progress in the Construction industry (CI). Resources used are journaled research articles, web/net surfing, books, thesis, reports/surveys, magazines, etc. The outline of the research organization for this study is framed at four distinct levels in context to conceptualization, resources, innovative and emerging trends in CI, and better methods for completion of the construction projects. The present study conducted during 2020-2022 reveals that implementing these technologies improves the level of standards, planning, security, well-being, sustainability, and economics too. Application uses, benefits, impact, advantages/disadvantages, limitations and challenges, and policies are dealt with to provide information to architects and builders for smooth completion of the project. Results explain that construction technology trends vary from 4 to 15 for CI, and eventually, it reaches 27 for Civil Engineering (CE). The perspective of the most recent innovations, trends, tools, challenges, and solutions is highly embraced in the field of construction. The incorporation of the above said technologies in the pandemic Covid -19 and post-pandemic might lead to a focus on finding out effective ways to adopt new-age technologies for CI.

Keywords: BIM, drones, GPS, mobile apps, 5G, modular construction, robotics, 3D printing

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Authors: Novee Lor C. Leyso, Maylin C. Palatino

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Under-five malnutrition continues to persist in the Philippines, particularly in the island Province of Marinduque, with prevalence of some forms of malnutrition even worsening in recent years. Local spatial cluster detection provides a spatial perspective in understanding this phenomenon as key in analyzing patterns of geographic variation, identification of community-appropriate programs and interventions, and focused targeting on high-risk areas. Using data from a province-wide household-based census conducted in 2014–2016, this study aimed to determine and evaluate spatial clusters of under-five malnutrition, across the province and within each municipality at the individual level using household location. Malnutrition was defined as weight-for-age z-score that fall outside the 2 standard deviations from the median of the WHO reference population. The Kulldorff’s elliptical spatial scan statistic in binomial model was used to locate clusters with high-risk of malnutrition, while adjusting for age and membership to government conditional cash transfer program as proxy for socio-economic status. One large significant cluster of under-five malnutrition was found southwest of the province, in which living in these areas at least doubles the risk of malnutrition. Additionally, at least one significant cluster were identified within each municipality—mostly located along the coastal areas. All these indicate apparent geographical variations across and within municipalities in the province. There were also similarities and disparities in the patterns of risk of malnutrition in each cluster across municipalities, and even within municipality, suggesting underlying causes at work that warrants further investigation. Therefore, community-appropriate programs and interventions should be identified and should be focused on high-risk areas to maximize limited government resources. Further studies are also recommended to determine factors affecting variations in childhood malnutrition considering the evidence of spatial clustering found in this study.

Keywords: Binomial model, Kulldorff’s elliptical spatial scan statistic, Philippines, under-five malnutrition

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Authors: Emilia A. Campayo-Munoz, Alberto Cabedo-Mas

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Music students have to face the challenges of musical practice -such as discipline in study, competitiveness, or performance anxiety- that require good emotional management to enable successful performance. However, few rigorous implementations focused on studying the influence of emotional skills in student's musical performance. Responding to this gap in the literature, this study aims to explore the relationship between emotional skills and musical performance in the context of elementary music education in conservatoires. Given the individual nature of the instrumental studies and the difficult availability of teachers to be trained in emotional education, it was decided to conduct a multiple case study in a Spanish music conservatoire. Author 1 carried out the implementation of the research with three 10-year-old students who were selected from her piano class. All of them attended the third year of their piano studies. The research processes consisted of the implementation of a set of specific and cross-sectional activities designed 'ad hoc' to be articulated in the subjects of individual instrument -piano- and ensemble in parallel to the contents of musical nature. The CE-360º questionnaire was used to measure different aspects of the students' emotional skills from a multi-angle perspective, each of the questionnaires being responded by oneself, three teachers and three peers, before and after the implementation. The data from the questionnaire were compared with the grades that the students obtained during the first and last quarter of the school year in the attended subjects. Acknowledging the complexity of emotional development, the results indicate possible relations between emotional skills and musical performance in music education in conservatoires. The results show that for the cases explored; there exists a relationship between emotional skills and musical performance. Although generalizations cannot be made, this study reinforces the need to further explore emotional development in instrumental teaching and suggest the importance of inviting teachers to reflect on the pedagogical practices extended in the conservatoires and to develop and implement those that promote the work of the students' emotions.

Keywords: conservatoires, emotional skills, music education, musical performance

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Authors: Giles Balbinotti, Lucas Balbinotti, Paula Hembecker

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The management of the productive process project activities, for the conception of future work and for the financial health of the companies, is an important condition in an organizational model that corroborates the management of the human aspects and their variabilities existing in the work. It is important to seek, at all levels of the organization, understanding and consequent cultural change, and so that factors associated with human aspects are considered and prioritized in the projects. In this scenario, the central question of research for this study is placed from the context of the work, in which the managers and project coordinators are inserted, as follows: How is the top management convinced, in the design stages, to take The ‘Ergonomics’ as strategy for the performance and sustainability of the business? In this perspective, this research has as general objective to analyze how the application of the management of the human aspects in a real project of productive process in the automotive industry, including the activity of the manager and coordinator of the project beyond the strategies of convincing to act in the ergonomics of design. For this, the socio-technical and ergonomic approach is adopted, given its anthropocentric premise in the sense of acting on the social system simultaneously to the technical system, besides the support of the Modapts system that measures the non-value-added times and the correlation with the Critical positions. The methodological approach adopted in this study is based on a review of the literature and the analysis of the activity of the project coordinators of an industry, including the management of human aspects in the context of work variability and the strategies applied in project activities. It was observed in the study that the loss of performance of the serial production lines reaches the important number of the order of 30%, which can make the operation with not value-added, and this loss has as one of the causes, the ergonomic problems present in the professional activity.

Keywords: human aspects in production process project, ergonomics in design, sociotechnical project management, sociotechnical, ergonomic principles, sustainability

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Authors: Omotoyosi Bilikies Ilori, Adekunle Saheed Ajisebiyawo

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After the Second World War, there was an emergence of a new stage of capitalist globalization with its Neo-liberal ideology. There were global economic and political restructurings that affected third-world countries like Nigeria. Neo-liberalism is the driving force of globalization, which is the latest manifestation of imperialism that engenders endemic poverty in Nigeria. Poverty is severe and widespread in Nigeria. Poverty entails a situation where a person lives on less than one dollar per day and has no access to basic necessities of life. Poverty is inhuman and a breach of human rights. The Nigerian government initiated some strategies in the past to help in poverty reduction. Neo-liberalism manifested in the Third World, such as Nigeria, through the privatization of public enterprises, trade liberalization, and the rollback of the state investments in providing important social services. These main ideas of Neo-liberalism produced poverty in Nigeria and also encouraged the abandonment of the social contract between the government and the people. There is thus a gap in the provision of social services and subsidies for the masses, all of which Neo-liberal ideological positions contradict. This paper is a qualitative study which draws data from secondary sources. The theoretical framework is anchored on the market theory of capitalist globalization and public choice theory. The objectives of this study are to (i) examine the impacts of Neo-liberalism on poverty in Nigeria as a typical example of a Third World country and (ii) find out the effects of Neo-liberalism on the provision of social services and subsidies and employment. The findings from this study revealed that (i) the adoption of the Neo-liberal ideology by the Nigerian government has led to increased poverty and poor provision of social services and employment in Nigeria; and (ii) there is an increase in foreign debts which compounds poverty situation in Nigeria. This study makes the following recommendations: (i) Government should adopt strategies that are pro-poor to eradicate poverty; (ii) The Trade Unions and the masses should develop strategies to challenge Neo-liberalism and reject Neo-liberal ideology.

Keywords: neo-liberalism, poverty, employment, poverty reduction, structural adjustment programme

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Authors: Fabiha Tanzeem

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BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease that is associated with a reduction in bone mass and microstructures of the bone and deterioration of bone tissue. Fragility fracture due to osteoporosis is the most significant complication of osteoporosis. The increasing prevalence of fragility fractures presents a growing burden on the global economy. There is a rapidly evolving need to improve awareness of the costs associated with these types of fractures and to review current policies and practices for the prevention and management of the disease. This systematic review will identify and describe the direct and indirect costs associated with osteoporotic fragility fractures from a global perspective from the included studies. The review will also find out whether the costs required for the treatment of fragility fractures due to osteoporosis impose an economic burden on the global healthcare system. METHODS: Four major databases were systematically searched for direct and indirect costs of osteoporotic fragility fracture studies in the English Language. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Google Scholar were searched for suitable articles published between 1990 and July 2020. RESULTS: The original search yielded 1166 papers; from these, 27 articles were selected for this review according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In the 27 studies, the highest direct costs were associated with the treatment of pelvic fractures, with the majority of the expenditure due to hospitalization and surgical treatments. It is also observed that most of the articles are from developed countries. CONCLUSION: This review indicates the significance of the economic burden of osteoporosis globally, although more research needs to be done in developing countries. In the treatment of fragility fractures, direct costs were the main reported expenditure in this review. The healthcare costs incurred globally can be significantly reduced by implementing measures to effectively prevent the disease. Raising awareness in children and adults by improving the quality of the information available and standardising policies and planning of services requires further research.

Keywords: systematic review, osteoporosis, cost of illness

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Authors: Ikram Mohamed Eltayeb Elsiddig, Yacouba Amina Djamila, Amna El Hassan Hamad

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Hyperglycemia and diabetes have been treated with several medicinal plants for a long time, meanwhile reduce associated side effects than the synthetic ones. Therefore, the search for more effective and safer anti-diabetic agents derived from plants has become an interest area of active research. A. sativum, belonging to the Liliaceae family is well known for its medicinal uses in African traditional medicine, it used for treating of many human diseases mainly diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. The present study was carried out to investigate the anti-hyperglycemic effect of the extracts of A. sativum bulb growing in Sudan on glucose-loaded Wistar albino rats. A. sativum bulbs were collected from local vegetable market at Khourtoum/ Sudan in a fresh form, identified and authenticated by taxonomist, then dried, and extracted with solvents of increasing polarity: petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol by using Soxhlet apparatus. The effect of the extracts on glucose uptake was evaluated by using the isolated rats hemidiaphgrams after loading the fasting rats with glucose, and the anti-hyperglycemic effect was investigated on glucose-loaded Wistar albino rats. Their effects were compared to control rats administered with the vehicle and to a standard group administered with Metformin standard drug. The most active extract was analyzed chemically using GC-MS analysis compared to NIST library. The results showed significant anti-diabetic effect of extracts of A. sativum bulb growing in Sudan. Addition to the hypoglycemic activity of A. sativum extracts was found to be decreased with increase in the polarity of the extraction solvent; this may explain the less polarity of substance responsible for the activity and their concentration decreased with polarity increase. The petroleum ether extract possess anti-hyperglycemic activity more significant than the other extracts and the Metformin standard drug with p-value 0.000** of 400mg/kg at 1 hour, 2 hour and four hour; and p-value 0.019*, 0.015* and 0.010* of 200mg/kg at 1 hour, 2 hour and four hour respectively. The GC-MS analysis of petroleum ether extract, with highest anti -diabetes activity showed the presence of Methyl linolate (42.75%), Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (10.54%), Methyl α-linolenate (8.36%), Dotriacontane (6.83), Tetrapentacontane (6.33), Methyl 18-methylnonadecanoate (4.8), Phenol,2,2’-methylenebis[6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methyl] (3.25), Methyl 20-methyl-heneicosanoate (2.70), Pentatriacontane (2.13) and many other minor compounds. The most of these compounds are well known for their anti-diabetic activity. The study concluded that A. sativum bulbs extracts were found to enhanced the reuptake of glucose in the isolated rat hemidiaphragm and have antihyperglycemic effect when evaluated on glucose-loaded albino rats with petroleum ether extract activity more significant than the Metformin standard drug.

Keywords: Allium, anti-hyperglycemic, bulbs, sativum

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Authors: Mohammadbagher Asghariaghamashhadi

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Internet users normally are automatically linked to an advertisement sponsored by a bidder when Internet users enter any trademarked keyword on a search engine. This advertisement appears beside the search results. Through the process of keyword advertising, advertisers can connect with many Internet users and let them know about their goods and services. This concept has generated heated disagreements among legal scholars, trademark proprietors, advertisers, search engine owners, and consumers. Therefore, use of trademarks in keyword advertising has been one of the most debatable issues in trademark law for several years. This entirely new way of using trademarks over the Internet has provoked a discussion concerning the core concepts of trademark law. In respect to legal issues, European Union (EU) trademark law is mostly governed by the Trademark Directive and the Community Trademark Regulation. Article 5 of the directive and Article 9 of the trademark regulation determine the circumstances in which a trademark owner holds the right to prohibit a third party’s use of his/her registered sign. Harmonized EU trademark law proved to be ambiguous on whether using of a trademark is amounted to trademark infringement or not. The case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), with reference to this legislation, is mostly unfavorable to trademark owners. This ambivalence was also exhibited by the case law of EU Member States. European keyword advertisers simply could not tell which use of a competitor‘s trademark was lawful. In recent years, ECJ has continuously expanded the scope and reach of trademark protection in the EU. It is notable that Inconsistencies in the Court’s system of infringement criteria clearly come to the fore and this approach has been criticized by analysts who believe that the Court should have adopted a more traditional approach to the analysis of trademark infringement, which was suggested by its Advocate General, in order to arrive at the same conclusion. Regarding case law of keyword advertising within Europe, one of the most disputable cases is Interflora vs. Marks and Spencer, which is still on-going. This study examines and critically analyzes the decisions of the ECJ, the high court of England, and the Court of Appeals of England and address critically keyword advertising issue within European trademark legislation.

Keywords: ECJ, Google, Interflora, keyword advertising, Marks and Spencer, trademark infringement

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Authors: D. Berg, N. Hartley, L. Nasr

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This paper presents a conceptual model of human-robot interaction within service encounters and the effect on the well-being of both consumers and service providers. In this paper, service providers are those employees who work alongside frontline service robots. The significance of this paper lies in the knowledge created which outlines how frontline service robots can be effectively utilized in service encounters for the benefit of organizations and society as a whole. As this paper is conceptual in nature, the main methodologies employed are theoretical, namely problematization and theory building. The significance of this paper is underpinned by the shift of service robots from manufacturing plants and factory floors to consumer-facing service environments. This service environment places robots in direct contact with frontline employees and consumers creating a hybrid workplace where humans work alongside service robots. This change from back-end to front-end roles may have implications not only on the physical environment, servicescape, design, and strategy of service offerings and encounters but also on the human parties of the service encounter itself. Questions such as ‘how are frontline service robots impacting and changing the service encounter?’ and ‘what effect are such changes having on the well-being of the human actors in a service encounter?’ spring to mind. These questions form the research question of this paper. To truly understand social service robots, an interdisciplinary perspective is required. Besides understanding the function, system, design or mechanics of a service robot, it is also necessary to understand human-robot interaction. However not simply human-robot interaction, but particularly what happens when such robots are placed in commercial settings and when human-robot interaction becomes consumer-robot interaction and employee-robot interaction? A service robot in this paper is characterized by two main factors; its social characteristics and the consumer-facing environment within which it operates. The conceptual framework presented in this paper contributes to interdisciplinary discussions surrounding social robotics, service, and technology’s impact on consumer and service provider well-being, and hopes that such knowledge will help improve services, as well as the prosperity and well-being of society.

Keywords: frontline service robots, human-robot interaction, service encounters, well-being

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Authors: Sara Cumming, Julianne DiSanto, Leah Burton

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Homelessness in Canada is a persistent problem. It has been widely argued that the best tactic for eradicating homelessness is to approach social issues from a Housing First perspective—an approach that centers on quickly moving people into permanent and independent housing and then providing them additional support and services as needed. It is recognized that life skills training is both necessary and an effective way to reduce cyclical homelessness; however, there is a scarcity of research on effective ways to teach life skills; this problem was exacerbated in a pandemic context, where in-person delivery was severely restricted or no longer possible. Very little attention has been paid to the diverse cultural needs of clients in a multicultural context and the need to foster cultural knowledge/awareness in individuals to successfully contribute to the cultural safety of communities. This research attempts to fill these gaps in the literature and in practice by employing a community-engaged research (CER) approach. Academic, government, funders, front-line staff, and clients at 15 not-for-profits from across the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, collaborated to co-create a virtual, client-centric, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) informed life skill learning management system. We employed a triangulation methodology for this research. An environmental scan was conducted for best practices. Two separate Creative Problem Solving Sessions were held with over 100 front-line workers, managers, and executive directors who work with homeless populations. Quantitative and open-ended surveys were completed by over 200 individuals with experience with homelessness. All sections of this research aimed to discover the areas of skills that individuals need to maintain housing and to ascertain what a more client-driven EDI approach to life skills training should include. This research will showcase which life skills are deemed essential for homeless and precariously housed individuals.

Keywords: homelessness, Housing First, life skills, community engaged research

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