Search results for: academic administration

Authors: Carol Howells, Edwin Parks

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This paper explores the existing and evolving constitutional arrangements within the United Kingdom and within the wider international context of the EU. It considers the nature of an ‘English’ constitution and internal colonialism that underpins it. The debates over the UK’s exit from the EU have been many however the constitutional position of the devolved nations (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) is little understood or explored. Their constitutional position has been touched upon in academic debate (but not widely) and is only now beginning to receive attention. The paper considers the constitutional role of the legislatures within the UK; the UK Parliament Bill for exiting the European Union and provides a commentary on the Brexit process in relation to constitutional arrangements within the UK and EU. Questions arise over the constitutional framework and, whether, having delegated competencies, the UK Parliament can now legislate in relation to delegated competencies without the consent. The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are a permanent and a fixed feature of the UK’s constitution, but their position is set within the traditional concept of the ‘English’ constitution. The current situation is opaque and complex and raises significant constitutional questions. In relation to exit from the EU two of the nations did not vote in favour of Brexit and the third is in receipt of an inequitable funding settlement. Questions arise as to whether the work of modernising the UK’s constitution over the past twenty years in recognising the Nations and governments within those nations is now being unpicked and whether the piecemeal and unequal process of devolution and new constitutional arrangements hold weight. Questions of democratic legitimacy arise throughout. An advisory referendum (where no definition of the EU was provided) in which two of the four nations voted to leave the EU and two voted to remain has led the UK Government negotiating a wholesale exit from the EU based on ‘English’ constitutional law principles. Previous constitutional referendums in relation to devolution within the UK have been treated differently. Within the EU questions are being raised in relation to the focus on member states. The goals of the EU mention member countries and its purpose is seen as being to promote greater social, political and economic harmony among the nations of Europe. The emphasis on member states is proving challenging and has led flawed processes. Scrutiny of legislative proposals, historical developments, and social commentary reveal distinct national identities within the UK. Analysis of the debate, legislation and case law surrounding the exiting process from the EU reveal a muddled picture of a constitution in crisis and significant challenges to principles underpinning the rule of law. Suggestions are made for future reforms and a move towards new constitutional arrangements beyond the current ‘English’ constitution.

Keywords: English, constitution, parliament, devolved

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Authors: Pauline Calleja, Brooke Alexander

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In 2010 the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia (CENA) undertook sole administration of the Trauma Nursing Program (TNP) across Australia. The original TNP was developed from recommendations by the Review of Trauma and Emergency Services-Victoria. While participant and faculty feedback about the program was positive, issues were identified that were common for industry training programs in Australia. These issues included didactic approaches, with many lectures and little interaction/activity for participants. Participants were not necessarily encouraged to undertake deep learning due to the teaching and learning principles underpinning the course, and thus participants described having to learn by rote, and only gain a surface understanding of principles that were not always applied to their working context. In Australia, a trauma or emergency nurse may work in variable contexts that impact on practice, especially where resources influence scope and capacity of hospitals to provide trauma care. In 2011, a program review was undertaken resulting in major changes to the curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment approaches. The aim was to improve learning including a greater emphasis on pre-program preparation for participants, the learning environment and clinically applicable contextualized outcomes participants experienced. Previously if participants wished to undertake assessment, they were given a take home examination. The assessment had poor uptake and return, and provided no rigor since assessment was not invigilated. A new assessment structure was enacted with an invigilated examination during course hours. These changes were implemented in early 2012 with great improvement in both faculty and participant satisfaction. This presentation reports on a comparison of participant evaluations collected from courses post implementation in 2012 and in 2015 to evaluate if positive changes were sustained. Methods: Descriptive statistics were applied in analyzing evaluations. Since all questions had more than 20% of cells with a count of <5, Fisher’s Exact Test was used to identify significance (p = <0.05) between groups. Results: A total of fourteen group evaluations were included in this analysis, seven CENA TNP groups from 2012 and seven from 2015 (randomly chosen). A total of 173 participant evaluations were collated (n = 81 from 2012 and 92 from 2015). All course evaluations were anonymous, and nine of the original 14 questions were applicable for this evaluation. All questions were rated by participants on a five-point Likert scale. While all items showed improvement from 2012 to 2015, significant improvement was noted in two items. These were in regard to the content being delivered in a way that met participant learning needs and satisfaction with the length and pace of the program. Evaluation of written comments supports these results. Discussion: The aim of redeveloping the CENA TNP was to improve learning and satisfaction for participants. These results demonstrate that initial improvements in 2012 were able to be maintained and in two essential areas significantly improved. Changes that increased participant engagement, support and contextualization of course materials were essential for CENA TNP evolution.

Keywords: emergency nursing education, industry training programs, teaching and learning, trauma education

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Authors: Maria L. G. Lourenço, Keylla H. N. P. Pereira, Viviane Y. Hibaru, Fabiana F. Souza, João C. P. Ferreira, Simone B. Chiacchio, Luiz H. A. Machado

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The neonatal care of cats and dogs represents a challenge to veterinarians due to the small size of the newborns and their physiological particularities. In addition, many Veterinary Medicine colleges around the world do not include neonatology in the curriculum, which makes it less likely for the veterinarian to have basic knowledge regarding neonatal care and worsens the clinical care these patients receive. Therefore, lack of assistance and negligence have become frequent in the field, which contributes towards the high mortality rates. This study aims at describing cases and the main conditions pertaining to the neonatology clinical routine in cats and dogs, highlighting the importance of specialized care in this field of Veterinary Medicine. The study included 808 neonates admitted to the São Paulo State University (UNESP) Veterinary Hospital, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, between January 2018 and November 2019. Of these, 87.3% (705/808) were dogs and 12.7% (103/808) were cats. Among the neonates admitted, 57.3% (463/808) came from emergency c-sections due to dystocia, 8.7% (71/808) cane from vaginal deliveries with obstetric maneuvers due to dystocia, and 34% (274/808) were admitted for clinical care due to neonatal conditions. Among the neonates that came from emergency c-sections and vaginal deliveries, 47.3% (253/534) was born in respiratory distress due to severe hypoxia or persistent apnea and required resuscitation procedure, such as the Jen Chung acupuncture point (VG26), oxygen therapy with mask, pulmonary expansion with resuscitator, heart massages and administration of emergency medication, such as epinephrine. On the other hand, in the neonatal clinical care, the main conditions and alterations observed in the newborns were omphalophlebitis, toxic milk syndrome, neonatal conjunctivitis, swimmer puppy syndrome, neonatal hemorrhagic syndrome, pneumonia, trauma, low weight at birth, prematurity, congenital malformations (cleft palate, cleft lip, hydrocephaly, anasarca, vascular anomalies in the heart, anal atresia, gastroschisis, omphalocele, among others), neonatal sepsis and other local and systemic bacterial infections, viral infections (feline respiratory complex, parvovirus, canine distemper, canine infectious traqueobronchitis), parasitical infections (Toxocara spp., Ancylostoma spp., Strongyloides spp., Cystoisospora spp., Babesia spp. and Giardia spp.) and fungal infections (dermatophytosis by Microsporum canis). The most common clinical presentation observed was the neonatal triad (hypothermia, hypoglycemia and dehydration), affecting 74.6% (603/808) of the patients. The mortality rate among the neonates was 10.5% (85/808). Being knowledgeable about neonatology is essential for veterinarians to provide adequate care for these patients in the clinical routine. Adding neonatology to college curriculums, improving the dissemination of information on the subject, and providing annual training in neonatology for veterinarians and employees are important to improve immediate care and reduce the mortality rates.

Keywords: neonatal care, puppies, neonatal, conditions

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Authors: Kamal Tolani, Sandeep Kumar, Rohit Luthra, Ankit Dadhania, Krishnaprasad K., Ram Gupta, Deepa Joshi

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Background: Post-operative analgesia remains a clinical challenge, with central and peripheral sensitization playing a pivotal role in treatment-related complications and impaired quality of life. Centrally acting opioids offer poor risk benefit profile with increased intensity of gastrointestinal or central side effects and slow onset of clinical analgesia. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical feasibility of induction and maintenance therapy with Tapentadol Nasal Spray (NS) in moderate to severe acute post-operative pain. Methods: Phase III, randomized, active-controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial involving 294 cases who had undergone surgical procedures under general anesthesia or regional anesthesia. Post-surgery patients were randomized to receive either Tapentadol NS 45 mg or Tramadol 100mg IV as a bolus and subsequent 50 mg or 100 mg dose over 2-3 minutes. The frequency of administration of NS was at every 4-6 hours. At the end of 24 hrs, patients in the tramadol group who had a pain intensity score of ≥4 were switched to oral tramadol immediate release 100mg capsule until the pain intensity score reduced to <4. All patients who had achieved pain intensity ≤ 4 were shifted to a lower dose of either Tapentadol NS 22.5 mg or oral Tramadol immediate release 50mg capsule. The statistical analysis plan was envisaged as a non-inferiority trial involving comparison with Tramadol for Pain intensity difference at 60 minutes (PID60min), Sum of Pain intensity difference at 60 minutes (SPID60min), and Physician Global Assessment at 24 hrs (PGA24 hrs). Results: The per-protocol analyses involved 255 hospitalized cases undergoing surgical procedures. The median age of patients was 38.0 years. For the primary efficacy variables, Tapentadol NS was non-inferior to Inj/Oral Tramadol in relief of moderate to severe post-operative pain. On the basis of SPID60min, no clinically significant difference was observed between Tapentadol NS and Tramadol IV (1.73±2.24 vs. 1.64± 1.92, -0.09 [95% CI, -0.43, 0.60]). In the co-primary endpoint PGA24hrs, Tapentadol NS was non–inferior to Tramadol IV (2.12 ± 0.707 vs. 2.02 ±0.704, - 0.11[95% CI, -0.07, 0.28). However, on further assessment at 48hr, 72 hrs, and 120hrs, clinically superior pain relief was observed with the Tapentadol NS formulation that was statistically significant (p <0.05) at each of the time intervals. Secondary efficacy measures, including the onset of clinical analgesia and TOTPAR, showed non-inferiority to Tramadol. The safety profile and need for rescue medication were also similar in both the groups during the treatment period. The most common concomitant medications were anti-bacterial (98.3%). Conclusion: Tapentadol NS is a clinically feasible option for improved compliance as induction and maintenance therapy while offering a sustained and persistent patient response that is clinically meaningful in post-surgical settings.

Keywords: tapentadol nasal spray, acute pain, tramadol, post-operative pain

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Authors: Maria Cristina Tommaso, Maria Das Graças L. Silva, Carlos Jose Pacheco

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Have the advances of the Brazilian legislation reflected or have been consonant with the inclusion of PwD in higher education? In 1990 the World Declaration on Education for All, a document organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), stated that the basic learning needs of people with disabilities, as they were called, required special attention. Since then, legislation in signatory countries such as Brazil has made considerable progress in guaranteeing, in a gradual and increasing manner, the rights of persons with disabilities to education. Principles, policies, and practices of special educational needs were created and guided action at the regional, national and international levels on the structure of action in Special Education such as administration, recruitment of educators and community involvement. Brazilian Education Law No. 3.284 of 2003 ensures inclusion of people with disabilities in Brazilian higher education institutions and also in 2015 the Law 13,146/2015 - Brazilian Law on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (Statute of the Person with Disabilities) regulates the inclusion of PwD by the guarantee of their rights. This study analyses data related to people with disability inclusion in High Education in the south region of Rio de Janeiro State - Brazil during the period between 2008 and 2018, based in its correlation with the changes in the Brazilian legislation in the last ten years that were subjected by PwD inclusion processes in the Brazilian High Education Systems. The region studied is composed by sixteen cities and this research refers to the largest one, Volta Redonda that represents 25 percent of the total regional population. The PwD reception process had the dicing data at the Volta Redonda University Center with 35 percent of high education students in this territorial area. The research methodology analyzed the changes occurring in the legislation about the inclusion of people with disability in High Education in the last ten years and its impacts on the samples of this study during the period between 2008 and 2018. It was verified an expressive increasing of the number of PwD students, from two in 2008 to 190 PwD students in 2018. The data conclusions are presented in quantitative terms and the aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness of the PwD inclusion in High Education, allowing visibility of this social group. This study verified that the fundamental human rights guarantees have a strong relation to the advances of legislation and the State as a guarantor instance of the rights of the people with disability and must be considered a mean of consolidation of their education opportunities isonomy. The recognition of full rights and the inclusion of people with disabilities requires the efforts of those who have decision-making power. This study aimed to demonstrate that legislative evolution is an effective instrument in the social integration of people with disabilities. The study confirms the fundamental role of the state in guaranteeing human rights and demonstrates that legislation not only protects the interests of vulnerable social groups, but can also, and this is perhaps its main mission, to change behavior patterns and provoke the social transformation necessary to the reduction of inequality of opportunity.

Keywords: high education, inclusion, legislation, people with disability

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Authors: Bhupendra G. Prajapati, Alpesh R. Patel

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The aim of this research work is to develop sustained release multi-particulates dosage form of Dexketoprofen trometamol, which is the pharmacologically active isomer of ketoprofen. The objective is to utilization of active enantiomer with minimal dose and administration frequency, extended release multi-particulates dosage form development for better patience compliance was explored. Drug loaded and sustained release coated pellets were prepared by fluidized bed coating principle by wurster coater. Microcrystalline cellulose as core pellets, povidone as binder and talc as anti-tacking agents were selected during drug loading while Kollicoat SR 30D as sustained release polymer, triethyl citrate as plasticizer and micronized talc as an anti-adherent were used in sustained release coating. Binder optimization trial in drug loading showed that there was increase in process efficiency with increase in the binder concentration. 5 and 7.5%w/w concentration of Povidone K30 with respect to drug amount gave more than 90% process efficiency while higher amount of rejects (agglomerates) were observed for drug layering trial batch taken with 7.5% binder. So for drug loading, optimum Povidone concentration was selected as 5% of drug substance quantity since this trial had good process feasibility and good adhesion of the drug onto the MCC pellets. 2% w/w concentration of talc with respect to total drug layering solid mass shows better anti-tacking property to remove unnecessary static charge as well as agglomeration generation during spraying process. Optimized drug loaded pellets were coated for sustained release coating from 16 to 28% w/w coating to get desired drug release profile and results suggested that 22% w/w coating weight gain is necessary to get the required drug release profile. Three critical process parameters of Wurster coating for sustained release were further statistically optimized for desired quality target product profile attributes like agglomerates formation, process efficiency, and drug release profile using central composite design (CCD) by Minitab software. Results show that derived design space consisting 1.0 to 1.2 bar atomization air pressure, 7.8 to 10.0 gm/min spray rate and 29-34°C product bed temperature gave pre-defined drug product quality attributes. Scanning Image microscopy study results were also dictate that optimized batch pellets had very narrow particle size distribution and smooth surface which were ideal properties for reproducible drug release profile. The study also focused on optimized dexketoprofen trometamol pellets formulation retain its quality attributes while administering with common vehicle, a liquid (water) or semisolid food (apple sauce). Conclusion: Sustained release multi-particulates were successfully developed for dexketoprofen trometamol which may be useful to improve acceptability and palatability of a dosage form for better patient compliance.

Keywords: dexketoprofen trometamol, pellets, fluid bed technology, central composite design

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Authors: Azza A. Ali, Asmaa Abdelaty, Mona G. Khalil, Mona M. Kamal, Karema Abu-Elfotuh

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Background: Aluminium (Al) is known as a neurotoxin environmental pollutant that can cause certain diseases as Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinsonism. It is widely used in antacid drugs as well as in food additives and toothpaste. Stresses have been linked to cognitive impairment; Social isolation (SI) may exacerbate memory deficits while protein malnutrition (PM) increases oxidative damage in cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum. The risk of cognitive decline may be lower by maintaining social connections. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the most abundant catechin in green tea and has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic effects as well as health-promoting effects in CNS. Objective: To study the influence of different stressful conditions as social isolation, electric shock (EC) and inadequate Nutritional condition as PM on neurotoxicity induced by Al in rats as well as to investigate the possible protective effect of EGCG in these stressful and PM conditions. Methods: Rats were divided into two major groups; protected group which was daily treated during three weeks of the experiment by EGCG (10 mg/kg, IP) or non-treated. Protected and non-protected groups included five subgroups as following: One normal control received saline and four Al toxicity groups injected daily for three weeks by ALCl3 (70 mg/kg, IP). One of them served as Al toxicity model, two groups subjected to different stresses either by isolation as mild stressful condition (SI-associated Al toxicity model) or by electric shock as high stressful condition (EC- associated Al toxicity model). The last was maintained on 10% casein diet (PM -associated Al toxicity model). Isolated rats were housed individually in cages covered with black plastic. Biochemical changes in the brain as acetyl cholinesterase (ACHE), Aβ, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1β), oxidative parameters (MDA, SOD, TAC) were estimated for all groups. Histopathological changes in different brain regions were also evaluated. Results: Rats exposed to Al for three weeks showed brain neurotoxicity and neuronal degenerations. Both mild (SI) and high (EC) stressful conditions as well as inadequate nutrition (PM) enhanced Al-induced neurotoxicity and brain neuronal degenerations; the enhancement induced by stresses especially in its higher conditions (ES) was more pronounced than that of inadequate nutritional conditions (PM) as indicated by the significant increase in Aβ, ACHE, MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β together with the significant decrease in SOD, TAC, BDNF. On the other hand, EGCG showed more pronounced protection against hazards of Al in both stressful conditions (SI and EC) rather than in PM .The protective effects of EGCG were indicated by the significant decrease in Aβ, ACHE, MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β together with the increase in SOD, TAC, BDNF and confirmed by brain histopathological examinations. Conclusion: Neurotoxicity and brain neuronal degenerations induced by Al were more severe with stresses than with PM. EGCG can protect against Al-induced brain neuronal degenerations in all conditions. Consequently, administration of EGCG together with socialization as well as adequate protein nutrition is advised especially on excessive Al-exposure to avoid the severity of its neuronal toxicity.

Keywords: environmental pollution, aluminum, social isolation, protein malnutrition, neuronal degeneration, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, rats

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Authors: Binay Pattanayak

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Multilingual state, Jharkhand is home to more than 19 tribal and regional languages. These are used by more than 33 communities in the state. The state has declared 12 of these languages as official languages of the state. However, schools in the state do not recognize any of these community languages even in early grades! Children, who speak in their mother tongues at home, local market and playground, find it very difficult to understand their teacher and textbooks in school. They fail to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills in early grades. Out of frustration due to lack of comprehension, the majority of children leave school. Jharkhand sees the highest dropout in early grades in India. To address this, the state under the guidance of the author designed a mother tongue based pre-school education programme named Bhasha Puliya and bilingual picture dictionaries in 9 tribal and regional mother tongues of children. This contributed significantly to children’s school readiness in the school. Followed by this, the state designed a mother-tongue based multilingual education programme (MTB-MLE) for multilingual context. The author guided textbook development in 5 tribal (Santhali, Mundari, Ho, Kurukh and Kharia) and two regional (Odia and Bangla) languages. Teachers and community members were trained for MTB-MLE in around 1,000 schools of the concerned language pockets. Community resource groups were constituted along with their academic calendars in each school to promote story-telling, singing, painting, dancing, riddles, etc. with community support. This, on the one hand, created rich learning environments for children. On the other hand, the communities have discovered a great potential in the process of developing a wide variety of learning materials for children in own mother-tongue using their local stories, songs, riddles, paintings, idioms, skits, etc. as a process of their literary, cultural and technical enrichment. The majority of children are acquiring strong early grade reading skills (basic literacy and numeracy) in grades I-II thereby getting well prepared for higher studies. In a phased manner they are learning Hindi and English after 4-5 years of MTB-MLE using the foundational language learning skills. Community members have started designing new books, audio-visual learning materials in their mother-tongues seeing a great potential for their cultural and technological rejuvenation.

Keywords: community resource groups, MTB-MLE, multilingual, socio-linguistic survey, learning

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Authors: David A. Scott, Michelle G. Scott

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The problem of juvenile crime, school suspensions and oppositional behaviors indicates a need for a wide range of intervention programs for at-risk youth. Juvenile court systems and mental health agencies are examining alternative ways to deal with at-risk youth that will allow the adolescent to live within their home community. The previous trend that treatment away from home is more effective than treatment near one's community has shifted. Research now suggests that treatment be close to home for several reasons, such as increased treatment success, parental involvement, and reduced costs. Treatment options consist of a wide range of interventions, including outpatient, inpatient, and community-based services (therapeutic group homes, foster care and in-home preservation services). The juvenile justice system, families and other mental health agencies continue to seek the most effective treatment for at-risk youth in their communities. This research examines two possible treatment modalities, a multi-systemic outpatient program and a residential program. Research examining effective, evidence- based counseling will be discussed during this presentation. The presenter recently completed a three-year research grant examining effective treatment modalities for at-risk youth participating in a multi-systemic program. The presenter has also been involved in several research activities gathering data on effective techniques used in residential programs. The data and discussion will be broken down into two parts, each discussing one of the treatment modalities mentioned above. Data on the residential programs was collected on both a sample of 740 at- risk youth over a five-year period and also a sample of 63 participants during a one-year period residing in a residential programs. The effectiveness of these residential services was measured in three ways: services are evaluated by primary referral sources; follow-up data is obtained at various intervals after program participation to measure recidivism (what percentage got back into trouble with the Department of Juvenile Justice); and a more sensitive, "Offense Seriousness Score", has been computed and analyzed prior to, during and after treatment in the residential program. Data on the multi-systemic program was gathered over the past three years on 190 participants. Research will discuss pre and post test results, recidivism rates, academic performance, parental involvement, and effective counseling treatment modalities.

Keywords: at-risk youth, group homes, therapeutic group homes, recidivism rates

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Authors: Ala’a F. Jaber, Bara’ah A. Bsharat, Noor T. Ismael

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Background: Sensory processing is a fundamental skill needed for the successful performance of daily living activities. These skills are impaired as parts of the neurodevelopmental process issues among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence on the differences in sensory processing and motor characteristic between children with ASD and children with TD. Method: This systematic review followed the guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis. The search terms included sensory, motor, condition, and child-related terms or phrases. The electronic search utilized Academic Search Ultimate, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, ERIC, MEDLINE, MEDLINE Complete, Psychology, and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and SocINDEX with full-text databases. The hand search included looking for potential studies in the references of related studies. The inclusion criteria included studies published in English between years 2009-2020 that included children aged 3-18 years with a confirmed ASD diagnosis, according to the DSM-V criteria, included a control group of typical children, included outcome measures related to the sensory processing and/or motor functions, and studies available in full-text. The review of included studies followed the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine guidelines, and the Guidelines for Critical Review Form of Quantitative Studies, and the guidelines for conducting systematic reviews by the American Occupational Therapy Association. Results: Eighty-eight full-text studies related to the differences between children with ASD and children with TD in terms of sensory processing and motor characteristics were reviewed, of which eighteen articles were included in the quantitative synthesis. The results reveal that children with ASD had more extreme sensory processing patterns than children with TD, like hyper-responsiveness and hypo-responsiveness to sensory stimuli. Also, children with ASD had limited gross and fine motor abilities and lower strength, endurance, balance, eye-hand coordination, movement velocity, cadence, dexterity with a higher rate of gait abnormalities than children with TD. Conclusion: This systematic review provided preliminary evidence suggesting that motor functioning should be addressed in the evaluation and intervention for children with ASD, and sensory processing should be supported among children with TD. More future research should investigate whether how the performance and engagement in daily life activities are affected by sensory processing and motor skills.

Keywords: sensory processing, occupational therapy, children, motor skills

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Authors: Liliana Villavicencio, Yohn Garcia, Pallavi Singh, Luis Fernando Cruz, Wilfrido Moreno

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Psychophysiological adaptive automation is a concept that combines human physiological data and computer algorithms to create personalized interfaces and experiences for users. This approach aims to enhance human learning by adapting to individual needs and preferences and optimizing the interaction between humans and machines. According to neurosciences, the working memory demand during the student learning process is modified when the student is learning a new subject or topic, managing and/or fulfilling a specific task goal. A sudden increase in working memory demand modifies the level of students’ attention, engagement, and cognitive load. The proposed psychophysiological adaptive automation system will adapt the task requirements to optimize cognitive load, the process output variable, by monitoring the student's brain activity. Cognitive load changes according to the student’s previous knowledge, the type of task, the difficulty level of the task, and the overall psychophysiological state of the student. Scaling the measured cognitive load as low, medium, or high; the system will assign a task difficulty level to the next task according to the ratio between the previous-task difficulty level and student stress. For instance, if a student becomes stressed or overwhelmed during a particular task, the system detects this through signal measurements such as brain waves, heart rate variability, or any other psychophysiological variables analyzed to adjust the task difficulty level. The control of engagement and stress are considered internal variables for the hypermedia system which selects between three different types of instructional material. This work assesses the feasibility of a fuzzy controller to track a student's physiological responses and adjust the learning content and pace accordingly. Using an industrial automation approach, the proposed fuzzy logic controller is based on linguistic rules that complement the instrumentation of the system to monitor and control the delivery of instructional material to the students. From the test results, it can be proved that the implemented fuzzy controller can satisfactorily regulate the delivery of academic content based on the working memory demand without compromising students’ health. This work has a potential application in the instructional design of virtual reality environments for training and education.

Keywords: fuzzy logic controller, hypermedia control system, personalized education, psychophysiological adaptive automation

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Authors: Joao Ferreira Do Rosario, Nuno Gustavo, Ana Machado, Lurdes Calisto, Luisa Carvalho, Georgette Andraz

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Currently, tourism small and medium enterprises (TSMEs) face serious economic and financial problems, making recovery efforts difficult. How the pandemic will affect tourists' behavior is still to be known. Will tourists be even more cautious regarding their choices or, on the contrary, will they be more adventurers with an enormous desire to travel in search of the lost freedom? Tourists may become even more demanding when traveling, more austere, or less concerned and eager to socialize. Adjusting to this "new tourist" is an added challenge for tourism service providers. Generation Z made up of individuals born in 1995 and following years, currently tends to assume a particular role and meaning in the present and future economic and social context, considering that we are facing the youngest workforce as well as tomorrow's consumers. This generation is distinguished from others as it is the first generation to combine a high level of education and technological knowledge and to fully experience the digital world. These young people are framed by a new value system that can explain new behaviours and consumption, namely, in the context of tourism. All these considerations point to the importance of investigating this target group as it is essential to understand how these individuals perceive, understand, act, and can be involved in a new environment built around a society regulated by new priorities and challenges of a sustainable nature. This leads not only to a focus on short-term market choices but mainly to predict future choices from a longer-term perspective. Together with the social background of a person, values are considered a stable antecedent of behavior and might therefore predict not just immediate, but also future choices. Furthermore, the meaning attributed to travel has a general connotation and goes beyond a specific travel choice or experience. In other words, values and travel's meaning form a chain of influences on the present and future travel behavior. This study explores the social background and values of Generation Z travelers vs the meaning these tourists give to travel. The aim is to discover in their present behavior cues to predict travel choices so that the future of tourism can be secured. This study also provides data for predicting the tourism choices of youngsters in the more immediate future. Methodologically, a quantitative approach was adopted based on the collection of data through a survey. Since academic research on Generation Z of tourists is still scarce, it is expected to contribute to deepening scientific knowledge in this area. Furthermore, it is expected that this research will support tourism professionals in defining differentiated marketing strategies and adapted to the requirements of this target, in a new time.

Keywords: Generation Z, travel behavior, travel meaning, Generation Z Values

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Authors: Shenghong Huang, Weirong Wang, Xisheng Luo, Xinzhu Li, Xinwen Zhao

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Understanding of material mixing induced by Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) at extreme shock compressing conditions (high energy density environment: P >> 100GPa, T >> 10000k) is of great significance in engineering and science, such as inertial confinement fusion(ICF), supersonic combustion, etc. Turbulent mixing induced by RMI is a kind of complex fluid dynamics, which is closely related with hydrodynamic conditions, thermodynamic states, material physical properties such as compressibility, strength, surface tension and viscosity, etc. as well as initial perturbation on interface. For phenomena in ordinary thermodynamic conditions (low energy density environment), many investigations have been conducted and many progresses have been reported, while for mixing in extreme thermodynamic conditions, the evolution may be very different due to ionization as well as large difference of material physical properties, which is full of scientific problems and academic interests. In this investigation, the first principle based molecular dynamic method is applied to study metal Lithium and gas Hydrogen (Li-H2) interface mixing in micro/meso scale regime at different shock compressing loading speed ranging from 3 km/s to 30 km/s. It's found that, 1) Different from low-speed shock compressing cases, in high-speed shock compresing (>9km/s) cases, a strong acceleration of metal/gas interface after strong shock compression is observed numerically, leading to a strong phase inverse and spike growing with a relative larger linear rate. And more specially, the spike growing rate is observed to be increased with shock loading speed, presenting large discrepancy with available empirical RMI models; 2) Ionization is happened in shock font zone at high-speed loading cases(>9km/s). An additional local electric field induced by the inhomogeneous diffusion of electrons and nuclei after shock font is observed to occur near the metal/gas interface, leading to a large acceleration of nuclei in this zone; 3) In conclusion, the work of additional electric field contributes to a mechanism of RMI in micro/meso scale regime at extreme shock compressing conditions, i.e., a Rayleigh-Taylor instability(RTI) is induced by additional electric field during RMI mixing process and thus a larger linear growing rate of interface spike.

Keywords: ionization, micro/meso scale, material mixing, shock

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Authors: Binay Pattanayak

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More than 9 out of every 10 children in Jharkhand struggle to understand the texts and teachers in public schools. The medium of learning in the schools is Hindi, which is very different in structure and vocabulary than those in children’s home languages. Hence around 3 out of 10 children enrolled in early grades drop out in these schools. The state realized the cause of children’s high dropout in 2013-14 when the M-TALL, the language research shared the findings of a state-wide socio-linguistic study. The study findings suggested that there was a great need for initiating a mother-tongue based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) programme for the state in early grades starting from pre-school level. Accordingly, M-TALL in partnership with department of education designed two learning packages: Bhasha Puliya pre-school education programme for 3-6-year-old children for their school readiness with bilingual picture dictionaries in 9 tribal and regional languages. This was followed by a plan for MTB-MLE programme for early primary grades. For this textbooks in five tribal and two regional languages were developed under the guidance of the author. These books were printed and circulated in the 1000 schools of the state for each child. Teachers and community members were trained for facilitating culturally sensitive mother-tongue based learning activities in and around the schools. The mother-tongue based approach of learning has worked very effectively in enabling them to acquire the basic literacy and numeracy skills in own mother-tongues. Using this basic early grade reading skills, these children are able to learn Hindi and English systematically. Community resource groups were constituted in each school for promoting storytelling, singing, painting, dancing, acting, riddles, humor, sanitation, health, nutrition, protection, etc. and were trained. School academic calendar was designed in each school to enable the community resource persons to visit the school as per the learning plan to assist children and teacher in facilitating rich cultural activities in mother-tongue. This enables children to take part in plethora of learning activities and acquire desired knowledge, skills and interest in mother-tongues. Also in this process, it is attempted to promote 21st Century learning skills by enabling children to apply their new knowledge and skills to look at their local issues and address those in a collective manner through team work, innovations and leadership.

Keywords: community resource groups, learning, MTB-MLE, multilingual, socio-linguistic survey

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Authors: Wisdom Robert Duruji, Moses Kanayochukwu Ifoh, Efeoghene Edward Esiemunobo

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This study examines the impact of natural and artificial disasters, lackadaisical and semantic approach in risk management, and mitigation implication for sustainable development goals in Nigeria, from 2009 to 2022. The study utilizes a range of research methods to achieve its objectives. These include literature review, website knowledge, Google search, news media information, academic journals, field-work and on-site observations. These diverse methods allow for a comprehensive analysis on the impact and the implications being study. The study finds that paradigm shift from remediating seismic, flooding, environmental pollution and degradation natural disasters by Nigeria Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to political and charity organization; has plunged risk reduction strategies to embezzling opportunities. However, this lackadaisical and semantic approach in natural disaster mitigation, invariably replicates artificial disasters in Nigeria through: Boko Haram terrorist organization, Fulani herdsmen and farmers conflicts, political violence, kidnapping for ransom, ethnic conflicts, Religious dichotomy, insurgency, secession protagonists, unknown-gun-men, and banditry. This study also, finds that some Africans still engage in self-imposed slavery through human trafficking, by nefariously stow-away to Europe; through Libya, Sahara desert and Mediterranean sea; in search for job opportunities, due to ineptitude in governance by their leaders; a perilous journey that enhanced artificial disasters in Nigeria. That artificial disaster fatality in Nigeria increased from about 5,655 in 2009 to 114,318 in 2018; and to 157,643 in 2022. However, financial and material loss of about $9.29 billion was incurred in Nigeria due to natural disaster, while about $70.59 billion was accrued due to artificial disaster; from 2009 to 2018. Although disaster risk mitigation and politics can synergistically support sustainable development goals; however, they are different entities, and need for distinct separations in Nigeria, as in reality and perception. This study concluded that referendum should be conducted in Nigeria, to ascertain its current status as a nation. Therefore it is recommended that Nigerian governments should refine its naturally endowed crude oil locally; to end fuel subsidy scam, corruption and poverty in Nigeria!

Keywords: corruption, crude oil, environmental risk analysis, Nigeria, referendum, terrorism

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Authors: Nanadcha Sinjindawong

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This article discusses the design process of a community mall called Castle of The Mall-dern. The concept behind this mall is to combine elements of a medieval castle with modern architecture. The author aims to create a building that fits into the surroundings while also providing users with the vibes of the ancient era. The total area used for the mall is 4,000 square meters, with three floors. The first floor is 1,500 square meters, the second floor is 1,750 square meters, and the third floor is 750 square meters. Research Aim: The aim of this research is to design a community mall that sells ancient clothes and accessories, and to combine sustainable architectural design with the ideas of ancient architecture in an urban area with convenient transportation. Methodology: The research utilizes qualitative research methods in architectural design. The process begins with calculating the given area and dividing it into different zones. The author then sketches and draws the plan of each floor, adding the necessary rooms based on the floor areas mentioned earlier. The program "SketchUp" is used to create an online 3D model of the community mall, and a physical model is built for presentation purposes on A1 paper, explaining all the details. Findings: The result of this research is a community mall with various amenities. The first floor includes retail shops, clothing stores, a food center, and a service zone. Additionally, there is an indoor garden with a fountain and a tree for relaxation. The second and third floors feature a void in the middle, with a few stores, cafes, restaurants, and studios on the second floor. The third floor is home to the administration and security control room, as well as a community gathering area designed as a public library with a café inside. Theoretical Importance: This research contributes to the field of sustainable architectural design by combining ancient architectural ideas with modern elements. It showcases the potential for creating buildings that blend historical aesthetics with contemporary functionality. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The data for this research is collected through a combination of area calculation, sketching, and building a 3D model. The analysis involves evaluating the design based on the allocated area, zoning, and functional requirements for a community mall. Question Addressed: The research addresses the question of how to design a community mall with a theme of ancient Medieval and Victorian eras. It explores how to combine sustainable architectural design principles with historical aesthetics to create a functional and visually appealing space. Conclusion: In conclusion, this research successfully designs a community mall called “Castle of The Mall-dern” that incorporates elements of Medieval and Victorian architecture. The building encompasses various zones, including retail shops, restaurants, community gathering areas, and service zones. It also features an interior garden and a public library within the mall. The research contributes to the field of sustainable architectural design by showcasing the potential for combining ancient architectural ideas with modern elements in an urban setting.

Keywords: 3D model, community mall, modern architecture, medieval architecture

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Authors: Maximiliano Guerra, Lexi Frankel, Amalia D. Ardeljan, Sarah Ghali, Diya Kohli, Omar M. Rashid.

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Introduction/Background: Haemophilus influenzae is present as a commensal organism in the nasopharynx of most healthy adults from where it can spread to cause both systemic and respiratory tract infection. Pathogenic properties of this bacterium as well as defects in host defense may result in the spread of these bacteria throughout the body. This can result in a proinflammatory state and colonization particularly in the lungs. Recent studies have failed to determine a link between H. Influenzae colonization and prostate cancer, despite previous research demonstrating the presence of proinflammatory states in preneoplastic and neoplastic prostate lesions. Given these contradictory findings, the primary goal of this study was to evaluate the correlation between H. Influenzae infection and the incidence of prostate cancer. Methods: To evaluate the incidence of Haemophilus influenzae infection and the development of prostate cancer in the future we used data provided by a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant national database. We were afforded access to this database by Holy Cross Health, Fort Lauderdale for the express purpose of academic research. Standard statistical methods were employed in this study including Pearson’s chi-square tests. Results: Between January 2010 and December 2019, the query was analyzed and resulted in 13, 691 patients in both the control and C. difficile infected groups, respectively. The two groups were matched by age range and CCI score. In the Haemophilus influenzae infected group, the incidence of prostate cancer was 1.46%, while the incidence of the prostate cancer control group was 4.56%. The observed difference in cancer incidence was determined to be a statistically significant p-value (< 2.2x10^-16). This suggests that patients with a history of C. difficile have less risk of developing prostate cancer (OR 0.425, 95% CI: 0.382 - 0.472). Treatment bias was considered, the data was analyzed and resulted in two groups matched groups of 3,208 patients in both the infected with H. Influenzae treated group and the control who used the same medications for a different cause. Patients infected with H. Influenzae and treated had an incidence of prostate cancer of 2.49% whereas the control group incidence of prostate cancer was 4.92% with a p-value (< 2.2x10^-16) OR 0.455 CI 95% (0.526 -0.754), proving that the initial results were not due to the use of medications. Conclusion: The findings of our study reveal a statistically significant correlation between H. Influenzae infection and a decreased incidence of prostate cancer. Our findings suggest that prior infection with H. Influenzae may confer some degree of protection to patients and reduce their risk for developing prostate cancer. Future research is recommended to further characterize the potential role of Haemophilus influenzae in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer.

Keywords: Haemophilus Influenzae, incidence, prostate cancer, risk.

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Authors: Ruth Goldschmidt, Vyacheslav Kalchenko, Lilah Agemy, Rachel Elmoalem, Avigdor Scherz

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Vascular Targeted Photodynamic therapy (VTP) is a new modality for selective cancer treatment that leads to the complete tumor ablation. A photosensitizer, a bacteriochlorophyll derivative in our case, is first administered to the patient and followed by the illumination of the tumor area, by a near-IR laser for its photoactivation. The photoactivated drug releases reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the circulation, which reacts with blood cells and the endothelium leading to the occlusion of the blood vasculature. If the blood vessels are only partially closed, the tumor may recover, and cancer cells could survive. On the other hand, excessive treatment may lead to toxicity of healthy tissues nearby. Simultaneous VTP monitoring and image processing independent of the photoexcitation laser has not yet been reported, to our knowledge. Here we present a method for blood flow monitoring, using a real-time laser speckle imaging (RTLSI) in the tumor during VTP. We have synthesized over the years a library of bacteriochlorophyll derivatives, among them WST11 and STL-6014. Both are water soluble derivatives that are retained in the blood vasculature through their partial binding to HSA. WST11 has been approved in Mexico for VTP treatment of prostate cancer at a certain drug dose, and time/intensity of illumination. Application to other bacteriochlorophyll derivatives or other cancers may require different treatment parameters (such as light/drug administration). VTP parameters for STL-6014 are still under study. This new derivative mainly differs from WST11 by its lack of the central Palladium, and its conjugation to an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence. RGD is a tumor-specific ligand that is used for targeting the necrotic tumor domains through its affinity to αVβ3 integrin receptors. This enables the study of cell-targeted VTP. We developed a special RTLSI module, based on Labview software environment for data processing. The new module enables to acquire raw laser speckle images and calculate the values of the laser temporal statistics of time-integrated speckles in real time, without additional off-line processing. Using RTLSI, we could monitor the tumor’s blood flow following VTP in a CT26 colon carcinoma ear model. VTP with WST11 induced an immediate slow down of the blood flow within the tumor and a complete final flow arrest, after some sporadic reperfusions. If the irradiation continued further, the blood flow stopped also in the blood vessels of the surrounding healthy tissue. This emphasizes the significance of light dose control. Using our RTLSI system, we could prevent any additional healthy tissue damage by controlling the illumination time and restrict blood flow arrest within the tumor only. In addition, we found that VTP with STL-6014 was the most effective when the photoactivation was conducted 4h post-injection, in terms of tumor ablation success in-vivo and blood vessel flow arrest. In conclusion, RTSLI application should allow to optimize VTP efficacy vs. toxicity in both the preclinical and clinical arenas.

Keywords: blood vessel occlusion, cancer treatment, photodynamic therapy, real time imaging

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Authors: Satoshi Kusaka

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The term ‘competency’ is attracting considerable scholarly attention worldwide with the advance of globalization in the 21st century and with the arrival of a knowledge-based society. In the current world environment, familiarity with varied disciplines is regarded to be vital for personal success. The idea of a competency-based educational system was mooted by the ‘Definition and Selection of Competencies (DeSeCo)’ project that was conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Further, attention to this topic is not limited to developed countries; it can also be observed in developing countries. For instance, the importance of a competency-based curriculum was mentioned in the ‘2013 Harmonized Curriculum Framework for the East African Community’, which recommends key competencies that should be developed in primary schools. The introduction of such curricula and the reviews of programs are actively being executed, primarily in the East African Community but also in neighboring nations. Taking Mozambique as a case in point, the present paper examines the conception of ‘competency’ as a target of frontline education in developing countries. It also aims to discover the manner in which the syllabus, textbooks and lessons, among other things, in primary-level math education are developed and to determine the challenges faced in the process. This study employs the perspective of competency-based education design to analyze how the term ‘competency’ is defined in the primary-level math syllabus, how it is reflected in the textbooks, and how the lessons are actually developed. ‘Practical competency’ is mentioned in the syllabus, and the description of the term lays emphasis on learners' ability to interactively apply socio-cultural and technical tools, which is one of the key competencies that are advocated in OECD's ‘Definition and Selection of Competencies’ project. However, most of the content of the textbooks pertains to ‘basic academic ability’, and in actual classroom practice, teachers often impart lessons straight from the textbooks. It is clear that the aptitude of teachers and their classroom routines are greatly dependent on the cultivation of their own ‘practical competency’ as it is defined in the syllabus. In other words, there is great divergence between the ‘syllabus’, which is the intended curriculum, and the content of the ‘textbooks’. In fact, the material in the textbooks should serve as the bridge between the syllabus, which forms the guideline, and the lessons, which represent the ‘implemented curriculum’. Moreover, the results obtained from this investigation reveal that the problem can only be resolved through the cultivation of ‘practical competency’ in teachers, which is currently not sufficient.

Keywords: competency, curriculum, mathematics education, Mozambique

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Felix Schumann, Giorgia Carratta, Tobias Dauth, Liv Jaeckel

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In the last few decades, the rapid growth of the use and disposal of plastic items has led to their overaccumulation in the environment. As a result, plastic pollution has become a subject of global concern. Today plastics are used as raw materials in almost every industry. While the recognition of the ecological, social, and economic impact of plastics in academic research is on the rise, the potential role of the ‘plastic industry’ in dealing with such issues is still largely underestimated. Therefore, the literature on sustainable plastic management is still nascent and fragmented. Working towards sustainability requires a fundamental shift in the way companies employ plastics in their day-to-day business. For that reason, the applicability of the business model concept has recently gained momentum in environmental research. Business model innovation is increasingly recognized as an important driver to re-conceptualize the purpose of the firm and to readily integrate sustainability in their business. It can serve as a starting point to investigate whether and how sustainability can be realized under industry- and firm-specific circumstances. Yet, there is no comprehensive view in the plastic industry on how firms start refining their business models to embed sustainability in their operations. Our study addresses this gap, looking primarily at the industrial sectors responsible for the production of the largest amount of plastic waste today: plastic packaging, consumer goods, construction, textile, and transport. Relying on the archetypes of sustainable business models and applying them to the aforementioned sectors, we try to identify companies’ current strategies to make their business models more sustainable. Based on the thematic clustering, we can develop an integrative framework for the plastic industry. The findings are underpinned and illustrated by a variety of relevant plastic management solutions that the authors have identified through a systematic literature review and analysis of existing, empirically grounded research in this field. Using the archetypes, we can promote options for business model innovations for the most important sectors in which plastics are used. Moreover, by linking the proposed business model archetypes to the plastic industry, our research approach guides firms in exploring sustainable business opportunities. Likewise, researchers and policymakers can utilize our classification to identify best practices. The authors believe that the study advances the current knowledge on sustainable plastic management through its broad empirical industry analyses. Hence, the application of business model archetypes in the plastic industry will be useful for shaping companies’ transformation to create and deliver more sustainability and provides avenues for future research endeavors.

Keywords: business models, environmental economics, plastic management, plastic pollution, sustainability

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Authors: Zhaozhang Sun

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Health communication is essential in promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing unhealthy behaviours, managing disease conditions, and eventually reducing health disparities. Nowadays, social media provides unprecedented opportunities for enhancing health communication for both healthcare providers and people with health conditions, including self-management of chronic conditions such as diabetes. Meanwhile, a special group of active social media users have started playing a pivotal role in providing health ‘solutions’. Such individuals are often referred to as ‘influencers’ because of their ‘central’ position in the online communication system and the persuasive effect their actions and advice may have on audiences' health-related knowledge, attitudes, confidence and behaviours. Work on social media influencers (SMIs) has gained much attention in a specific research field of “influencer marketing”, which mainly focuses on emphasising the use of SMIs to promote or endorse brands’ products and services in the business. Yet to date, a lack of well-studied and empirical evidence has been conducted to guide the exploration of health-related social media influencers. The failure to investigate health-related SMIs can significantly limit the effectiveness of communicating health on social media. Therefore, this article presents a study to identify key diabetes-related SMIs in the UK and the potential implications of information provided by identified social media influencers on their audiences’ diabetes-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours to bridge the research gap that exists in linking work on influencers in marketing to health communication. The multidisciplinary theories and methods in social media, communication, marketing and diabetes have been adopted, seeking to provide a more practical and promising approach to investigate the potential of social media influencers in health communication. Twitter was chosen as the social media platform to initially identify health influencers and the Twitter API academic was used to extract all the qualitative data. Health-related Influencer Identification Model was developed based on social network analysis, analytic hierarchy process and other screening criteria. Meanwhile, a two-section English-version online questionnaire has been developed to explore the potential implications of social media influencers’ (SMI’s) diabetes-related narratives on the health-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours (KAB) of their audience. The paper is organised as follows: first, the theoretical and research background of health communication and social media influencers was discussed. Second, the methodology was described by illustrating the model for the identification of health-related SMIs and the development process of the SMIKAB instrument, followed by the results and discussions. The limitations and contributions of this study were highlighted in the summary.

Keywords: health communication, Interdisciplinary research, social media influencers, diabetes management

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Authors: Ludmila Vucolova

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The thought is a process that underlies consciousness and cognition and understanding its origin and processes is a longstanding goal of many academic disciplines. By integrating over twenty novel ideas and hypotheses of this theoretical proposal, we can speculate that thought is an emergent property of coded neural events, translating the electro-chemical interactions of the body with its environment—the objects of sensory stimulation, X, and Y. The latter is a self- generated feedback entity, resulting from the arbitrary pattern of the motion of a body’s motor repertory (M). A culmination of these neural events gives rise to a thought: a state of identity between an observed object X and a symbol Y. It manifests as a “state of awareness” or “state of knowing” and forms our perception of the physical world. The values of the variables of a construct—X (object), S1 (sense for the perception of X), Y (object), S2 (sense for perception of Y), and M (motor repertory that produces Y)—will specify the particular conscious percept at any given time. The proposed principle of interaction between the elements of a construct (X, Y, S1, S2, M) is universal and applies for all modes of communication (normal, deaf, blind, deaf and blind people) and for various language systems (Chinese, Italian, English, etc.). The particular arrangement of modalities of each of the three modules S1 (5 of 5), S2 (1 of 3), and M (3 of 3) defines a specific mode of communication. This multifaceted paradigm demonstrates a predetermined pattern of relationships between X, Y, and M that passes from generation to generation. The presented analysis of a cognitive experience encompasses the key elements of embodied cognition theories and unequivocally accords with the scientific interpretation of cognition as the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses, and cognition means thinking and awareness. By assembling the novel ideas presented in twelve sections, we can reveal that in the invisible “chaos”, there is an order, a structure with landmarks and principles of operations and mental processes (thoughts) are physical and have a biological basis. This innovative proposal explains the phenomenon of mental imagery; give the first insight into the relationship between mental states and brain states, and support the notion that mind and body are inseparably connected. The findings of this theoretical proposal are supported by the current scientific data and are substantiated by the records of the evolution of language and human intelligence.

Keywords: agent, awareness, cognitive, element, experience, feedback, first person, imagery, language, mental, motor, object, sensory, symbol, thought

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Authors: Omair Anas

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The Persian Gulf has been in turmoil for a long time since the colonial administration has handed over the role to the small and weak kings and emirs who were assured of protection in return of many economic and security promises to them. The regional order, Saudi Arabia evolved was a rentier regional order secured by an expansion of rentier economy and taking responsibility for much of the expenses of the regional order on behalf of relatively poor countries. The two oil booms helped the Saudi state to expand the 'rentier order' driven stability and bring the countries like Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Palestine under its tutelage. The disruptive misadventure, however, came with Iran's proclamation of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 which it wanted to be exported to its 'un-Islamic and American puppet' Arab neighbours. For Saudi Arabia, even the challenge presented by the socialist-nationalist Arab dictators like Gamal Abdul Nasser and Hafez Al-Assad was not that much threatening to the Saudi Arabia’s then-defensive realism. In the Arab uprisings, the Gulf monarchies saw a wave of insecurity and Iran found it an opportune time to complete the revolutionary process it could not complete after 1979. An alliance of convenience and ideology between Iran and Islamist groups had the real potential to challenge both Saudi Arabia’s own security and its leadership in the region. The disruptive threat appeared at a time when the Saudi state had already sensed an impending crisis originating from the shifts in the energy markets. Low energy prices, declining global demands, and huge investments in alternative energy resources required Saudi Arabia to rationalize its economy according to changing the global political economy. The domestic Saudi reforms remained gradual until the death of King Abdullah in 2015. What is happening now in the region, the Qatar crisis, the Lebanon crisis and the Saudi-Iranian proxy war in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen has combined three immediate objectives, rationalising Saudi economy and most importantly, the resetting the Saudi royal power for Saudi Arabia’s longest-serving future King Mohammad bin Salman. The Saudi King perhaps has no time to wait and watch the power vacuum appearing because of Iran’s expansionist foreign policy. The Saudis appear to be employing an offensive realism by advancing a pro-active regional policy to counter Iran’s threatening influence amid disappearing Western security from the region. As the Syrian civil war is coming to a compromised end with ceding much ground to Iran-controlled militias, Hezbollah and Al-Hashad, the Saudi state has lost much ground in these years and the threat from Iranian proxies is more than a reality, more clearly in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This paper attempts to analyse the changing Saudi behaviour in the region, which, the author understands, is shaped by an offensive-realist approach towards finding a favourable security environment for the Saudi-led regional order, a post-rentier order perhaps.

Keywords: terrorism, Saudi Arabia, Rentier State, gulf crisis

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Authors: Oluwaseun Adeleke, Samuel Ikan, Anthony Nwala, Mopelola Raji, Fidelis Edet

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Background: The risks associated with each pregnancy is carried almost entirely by a woman; however, the decision about whether and when to get pregnant is a subject that several others contend with her to make. The self-care concept offers women of reproductive age the opportunity to take control of their health and its determinants with or without the influence of a healthcare provider, family, and friends. DMPA-SC Self-injection (SI) is becoming the cornerstone of contraceptive self-care and has the potential to expand access and create opportunities for women to take control of their reproductive health. Methodology: To obtain insight into the influences that interfere with a woman’s capacity to make contraceptive choices independently, the Delivering Innovations in Selfcare (DISC) project conducted two intensive rounds of qualitative data collection and triangulation that included provider, client, and community mobilizer interviews, facility observations, and routine program data collection. Respondents were sampled according to a convenience sampling approach and data collected analyzed using a codebook and Atlas-TI. The research team members came together for participatory analysis workshop to explore and interpret emergent themes. Findings: Insights indicate that women are increasingly finding their voice and independently seek services to prevent a deterioration of their economic situation and achieve personal ambitions. Women who hold independent decision-making power still prefer to share decision making power with their male partners. Male partners’ influence on women’s use of family planning and self-inject was most dominant. There were examples of men’s support for women’s use of contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy, as well as men withholding support. Other men outrightly deny their partners from obtaining contraceptive services and their partners cede this sexual and reproductive health right without objection. A woman’s decision to initiate family planning is affected by myths and misconceptions, many of which have cultural and religious origins. Some tribes are known for their reluctance to use contraception and often associate stigma with the pursuit of family planning (FP) services. Information given by the provider is accepted, and, in many cases, clients cede power to providers to shape their SI user journey. A provider’s influence on a client’s decision to self-inject is reinforced by their biases and concerns. Clients are inhibited by the presence of peers during group education at the health facility. Others are motivated to seek FP services by the interest expressed by peers. There is also a growing trend in the influence of social media on FP uptake, particularly Facebook fora. Conclusion: The convenience of self-administration at home is a benefit for those that contend with various forms of social influences as well as covert users. Beyond increasing choice and reducing barriers to accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services, it can initiate the process of self-discovery and agency in the contraceptive user journey.

Keywords: selfcare, self-empowerment, agency, DMPA-SC, contraception, family planning, influences

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Authors: Lucile Rapin, Cynthia El Hage, Rihab Gamaoun, Maria-Fernanda Arboleda, Erin Prosk

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Introduction: Sante Cannabis (SC), a Canadian group of clinics dedicated to medical cannabis, based in Montreal and in the province of Quebec, has served more than 8000 patients seeking cannabis-based treatment over the past five years. As randomized clinical trials with natural medical cannabis are scarce, real-world evidence offers the opportunity to fill research gaps between scientific evidence and clinical practice. Data on the use of medical cannabis products from SC patients were prospectively collected, leading to a large real-world database on the use of medical cannabis. The aim of this study was to report information on the profiles of both patients and prescribed medical cannabis products at SC clinics, and to assess the safety of medical cannabis among Canadian patients. Methods: This is an observational retrospective study of 1342 adult patients who were authorized with medical cannabis products between October 2017 and September 2019. Information regarding demographic characteristics, therapeutic indications for medical cannabis use, patterns in dosing and dosage form of medical cannabis and adverse effects over one-year follow-up (initial and 4 follow-up (FUP) visits) were collected. Results: 59% of SC patients were female, with a mean age of 56.7 (SD= 15.6, range= (19-97)). Cannabis products were authorized mainly for patients with a diagnosis of chronic pain (68.8% of patients), cancer (6.7%), neurological disorders (5.6%), and mood disorders (5.4 %). At initial visit, a large majority (70%) of patients were authorized exclusively medical cannabis products, 27% were authorized a combination of pharmaceutical cannabinoids and medical cannabis and 3% were prescribed only pharmaceutical cannabinoids. This pattern was recurrent over the one-year follow-up. Overall, oil was the preferred formulation (average over visits 72.5%) followed by a combination of oil and dry (average 19%), other routes of administration accounted for less than 4%. Patients were predominantly prescribed products with a balanced THC:CBD ratio (59%-75% across visits). 28% of patients reported at least one adverse effect (AE) at the 3-month follow-up visit and 12% at the six-month FUP visit. 84.8% of total AEs were mild and transient. No serious AE was reported. Overall, the most common side effects reported were dizziness (11.95% of total AEs), drowsiness (11.4%), dry mouth (5.5%), nausea (4.8%), headaches (4.6%), cough (4.4%), anxiety (4.1%) and euphoria (3.5%). Other adverse effects accounted for less than 3% of total AE. Conclusion: Our results confirm that the primary area of clinical use for medical cannabis is in pain management. Patients in this cohort are largely utilizing plant-based cannabis oil products with a balanced ratio of THC:CBD. Reported adverse effects were mild and included dizziness and drowsiness. This real-world data confirms the tolerable safety profile of medical cannabis and suggests medical indications not yet validated in controlled clinical trials. Such data offers an important opportunity for the investigation of the long-term effects of cannabinoid exposure in real-life conditions. Real-world evidence can be used to direct clinical trial research efforts on specific indications and dosing patterns for product development.

Keywords: medical cannabis, safety, real-world data, Canada

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Authors: Jay Raval

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Sports and physical fitness have been a vital component of our civilization. It is such a power which, motivates and inspires every individual, communities and even countries to be aware of the physical and mental health. All though, sports play vital role in the overall development of the nation, but in the developing countries such as India, this culture of sports is yet to be motivated. However, in India lack of sporting culture has held back the growth of a similar industry in the past, despite the growing awareness and interest in various different sports besides cricket. Hence, due to a lack of sporting culture, corporate investments in India’s sports have traditionally been limited to only non-profit corporate social responsibility activities and initiatives. From past couple of years, India has come up with new initiatives such as Indian Premier League (Cricket), Hockey India League, Indian Badminton League, Pro Kabaddi League, and Indian Super League (Football) which help to boost Indian sports culture and thereby increase economy of the country. Out of 29 states of India, among all of those competitive states, Gujarat is showing very rapid increase in sports participation. Khel Mahakumbh, the competition conducted for the last six years has been a giant step in this direction and covers rural and urban areas of Gujarat. The objective of the research is to address the overall development of the sports system. Sports system includes infrastructure, coaches, resources, and participants. The current existing system is not disabled friendly. This research paper highlights adequate steps in order to improve and sort out pressing issues in the sports system. Education system is highly academic-centric with a definite trend towards reducing school sports and extra-curricular sports in the Gujarat state. Constituents of this research work make an attempt to evaluate the framework of the Olympic Charter, the Sports Authority of India, the Indian Olympics Association and the National Sports Federations. It explores the areas that need to be revamped, rejuvenated and reoriented to function in an open, democratic, equitable, transparent and accountable manner. Research is based on mixed method approach. It is used for the data collection which includes the personal interviews, document analysis and the use of news article. Quality assurance is also tested by conducting the trustworthiness of the paper. Mixed method helps to strengthen the analysis part and give strong base for the discussion during the analysis.

Keywords: physical development, sports authority of India, sports policy, women empowerment

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Authors: Marta Kaprzyk

Abstract:

The cinema of Alejandro González Iñárritu hasn’t been subjected to a lot of detailed analysis yet, what makes it an exceptionally interesting research material. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the significance of urban space in three films of this Mexican director, that forms Death Trilogy: ‘Amores Perros’ (2000), ‘21 Grams’ (2003) and ‘Babel’ (2006). The fact that in the aforementioned movies the urban space itself becomes an additional protagonist with its own identity, psychology and the ability to transform and affect other characters, in itself warrants for independent research and analysis. Independently, such mode of presenting urban space has another function; it enables the director to complement the rest of characters. The basis for methodology of this description of cinematographic space is to treat its visual layer as a point of departure for a detailed analysis. At the same time, the analysis itself will be supported by recognised academic theories concerning special issues, which are transformed here into essential tools necessary to describe the world (mise-en-scène) created by González Iñárritu. In ‘Amores perros’ the Mexico City serves as a scenery – a place full of contradictions- in the movie depicted as a modern conglomerate and an urban jungle, as well as a labyrinth of poverty and violence. In this work stylistic tropes can be found in an intertextual dialogue of the director with photographies of Nan Goldin and Mary Ellen Mark. The story recounted in ‘21 Grams’, the most tragic piece in the trilogy, is characterised by almost hyperrealistic sadism. It takes place in Memphis, which on the screen turns into an impersonal formation full of heterotopias described by Michel Foucault and non-places, as defined by Marc Augé in his essay. By contrast, the main urban space in ‘Babel’ is Tokio, which seems to perfectly correspond with the image of places discussed by Juhani Pallasmaa in his works concerning the reception of the architecture by ‘pathological senses’ in the modern (or, even more adequately, postmodern) world. It’s portrayed as a city full of buildings that look so surreal, that they seem to be completely unsuitable for the humans to move between them. Ultimately, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate the coherence of the manner in which González Iñárritu designs urban spaces in his Death Trilogy. In particular, the author attempts to examine the imperative role of the cities that form three specific microcosms in which the protagonists of the Mexican director live their overwhelming tragedies.

Keywords: cinematographic space, Death Trilogy, film Studies, González Iñárritu Alejandro, urban space

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Authors: Godian Asami Mabindah

Abstract:

The convergence of knowledge management (KM) and competitive intelligence (CI) has gained significant attention in recent years as organizations seek to enhance their competitive advantage in an increasingly complex and dynamic business environment. This research study aims to explore and understand the synergistic relationship between KM and CI and its impact on organizational performance. By investigating how the integration of KM and CI practices can contribute to decision-making, innovation, and competitive advantage, this study seeks to unlock the potential benefits and challenges associated with this integration. The research employs a mixed-methods approach to gather comprehensive data. A quantitative analysis is conducted using survey data collected from a diverse sample of organizations across different industries. The survey measures the extent of integration between KM and CI practices and examines the perceived benefits and challenges associated with this integration. Additionally, qualitative interviews are conducted with key organizational stakeholders to gain deeper insights into their experiences, perspectives, and best practices regarding the synergistic relationship. The findings of this study are expected to reveal several significant outcomes. Firstly, it is anticipated that organizations that effectively integrate KM and CI practices will outperform those that treat them as independent functions. The study aims to highlight the positive impact of this integration on decision-making, innovation, organizational learning, and competitive advantage. Furthermore, the research aims to identify critical success factors and enablers for achieving constructive interaction between KM and CI, such as leadership support, culture, technology infrastructure, and knowledge-sharing mechanisms. The implications of this research are far-reaching. Organizations can leverage the findings to develop strategies and practices that facilitate the integration of KM and CI, leading to enhanced competitive intelligence capabilities and improved knowledge management processes. Additionally, the research contributes to the academic literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of the synergistic relationship between KM and CI and proposing a conceptual framework that can guide future research in this area. By exploring the synergies between KM and CI, this study seeks to help organizations harness their collective power to gain a competitive edge in today's dynamic business landscape. The research provides practical insights and guidelines for organizations to effectively integrate KM and CI practices, leading to improved decision-making, innovation, and overall organizational performance.

Keywords: Competitive Intelligence, Knowledge Management, Organizational Performance, Incusivity, Optimum Performance

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Authors: Brian Bacia, Esther Githaiga, Teresia Kabucho, Paul Moses Ndegwa, Lucy Gichohi

Abstract:

Purpose: The aim of the study is to ensure an appropriate mix of evidence-based prevention strategies geared towards the reduction of new HIV infections and the incidence of Sexually transmitted Illnesses Background: In Nakuru County, more than 90% of all HIV-infected patients are adults and on a single-dose medication-one pill that contains a combination of several different HIV drugs. Nakuru town has been identified as the hardest hit by HIV/Aids in the County according to the latest statistics from the County Aids and STI group, with a prevalence rate of 5.7 percent attributed to the high population and an active urban center. Method: 2 key studies were carried out to provide evidence for the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) when used optimally on preventing sexual transmission of HIV. Discussions based on an examination, assessments of successes in planning, program implementation, and ultimate impact of prevention and treatment were undertaken involving health managers, health workers, community health workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS between February -August 2021. Questionnaires were carried out by a trained duo on ethical procedures at 15 HIV treatment clinics targeting patients on ARVs and caregivers on ARV prevention and treatment of pediatric HIV infection. Findings: Levels of AIDS awareness are extremely high. Advances in HIV treatment have led to an enhanced understanding of the virus, improved care of patients, and control of the spread of drug-resistant HIV. There has been a tremendous increase in the number of people living with HIV having access to life-long antiretroviral drugs (ARV), mostly on generic medicines. Healthcare facilities providing treatment are stressed challenging the administration of the drugs, which require a clinical setting. Women find it difficult to take a daily pill which reduces the effectiveness of the medicine. ART adherence can be strengthened largely through the use of innovative digital technology. The case management approach is useful in resource-limited settings. The county has made tremendous progress in mother-to-child transmission reduction through enhanced early antenatal care (ANC) attendance and mapping of pregnant women Recommendations: Treatment reduces the risk of transmission to the child during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Promote research of medicines through patients and community engagement. Reduce the risk of transmission through breastfeeding. Enhance testing strategies and strengthen health systems for sustainable HIV service delivery. Need exists for improved antenatal care and delivery by skilled birth attendants. Develop a comprehensive maternal reproductive health policy covering equitability, efficient and effective delivery of services. Put in place referral systems.

Keywords: evidence-based prevention strategies, service delivery, human management, integrated approach

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Authors: Cesar Vazquez-Gonzalez, Sophie Avila-Foucat, Leonardo Ortiz-Lozano, Patricia Moreno-Casasola, Alejandro Granados-Barba

Abstract:

In the last twenty years, academic and scientific literature has been focused on understanding the processes and factors of coastal social-ecological systems vulnerability and resilience. Some scholars argue that resilience and vulnerability are isolated concepts due to their epistemological origin, while others note the existence of a strong resilience-vulnerability relationship. Here we present an ordinal logistic regression model based on the analytical framework about dynamic resilience-vulnerability interaction along adaptive cycle of complex systems and disasters process phases (during, recovery and learning). In this way, we demonstrate that 1) during the disturbance, absorptive capacity (resilience as a core of attributes) and external response capacity explain the probability of households capitals to diminish the damage, and exposure sets the thresholds about the amount of disturbance that households can absorb, 2) at recovery, absorptive capacity and external response capacity explain the probability of households capitals to recovery faster (resilience as an outcome) from damage, and 3) at learning, adaptive capacity (resilience as a core of attributes) explains the probability of households adaptation measures based on the enhancement of physical capital. As a result, during the disturbance phase, exposure has the greatest weight in the probability of capital’s damage, and households with absorptive and external response capacity elements absorbed the impact of floods in comparison with households without these elements. At the recovery phase, households with absorptive and external response capacity showed a faster recovery on their capital; however, the damage sets the thresholds of recovery time. More importantly, diversity in financial capital increases the probability of recovering other capital, but it becomes a liability so that the probability of recovering the household finances in a longer time increases. At learning-reorganizing phase, adaptation (modifications to the house) increases the probability of having less damage on physical capital; however, it is not very relevant. As conclusion, resilience is an outcome but also core of attributes that interacts with vulnerability along the adaptive cycle and disaster process phases. Absorptive capacity can diminish the damage experienced by floods; however, when exposure overcomes thresholds, both absorptive and external response capacity are not enough. In the same way, absorptive and external response capacity diminish the recovery time of capital, but the damage sets the thresholds in where households are not capable of recovering their capital.

Keywords: absorptive capacity, adaptive capacity, capital, floods, recovery-learning, social-ecological systems

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