Search results for: Central and Eastern Europe

Authors: Salma Akter, Md. Kamal Uddin

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This study aims to demonstrate how top-down shelter policy and its resultant dwelling environment leads to ‘everyday compromise’ by the grassroots according to subjective (satisfaction) and objective (physical design elements and physical environmental elements) indicators, which are measured across three levels of the settlement; macro (Community), meso (Neighborhood or shelter/built environment) and micro (family). Ashrayan Prakalpa is a resettlement /housing project of Government of Bangladesh for providing shelters and human resources development activities like education, microcredit, and training programme to landless, homeless and rootless people. Despite the integrated nature of the shelter policies (comprises poverty alleviation, employment opportunity, secured tenure, and livelihood training), the ‘quality of life’ issue at the different levels of settlements becomes questionable. As dwellers of shelter units (although formally termed as ‘barracks’ rather shelter or housing) remain on the receiving end of government’s resettlement policies, they often involve with spatial-physical and socio-economic negotiation and assume curious forms of spatial practice, which often upholds contradiction with policy planning. Thus, policy based shelter force dwellers to persistently compromise with their provided built environments both in overtly and covertly. Compromising with prescribed designed space and facilities across living places articulated their negotiation with the quality of allocated space, built form and infrastructures, which in turn exert as less quality of life. The top-down shelter project, Dakshin Chandani Mahal Ashrayan Prakalpa at Dighalia Upazila, the study area located at the Eastern fringe area of Khulna, Bangladesh, is still in progress to resettle internally displaced and homeless people. In terms of methodology, this research is primarily exploratory and adopts a case study method, and an analytical framework is developed through the deductive approach for evaluating the quality of life. Secondary data have been obtained from housing policy analysis and relevant literature review, while key informant interview, focus group discussion, necessary drawings and photographs and participant observation across dwelling, neighborhood, and community level have also been administered as primary data collection methodology. Findings have revealed that various shortages, inadequacies, and negligence of policymakers force to compromise with allocated designed space, physical infrastructure and economic opportunities across dwelling, neighborhood and mostly community level. Thus, the outcome of this study can be beneficial for a global-level understating of the compromising the ‘quality of life’ under top-down shelter policy. Locally, for instance, in the context of Bangladesh, it can help policymakers and concerned authorities to formulate the shelter policies and take initiatives to improve the well-being of marginalized.

Keywords: Ashrayan Prakalpa, compromise, displaced people, quality of life

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Authors: Abdoullah Nyassi, Golam Sarwar, Sarra Baldeh, Mamadou S. K. Jallow, Bai Lamin Dondeh, Isaac Osei, Grant A. Mackenzie

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A randomized controlled trial is the "gold standard" for evaluating the efficacy of an intervention. Large-scale, cluster-randomized trials are expensive and difficult to conduct, though. To guarantee the validity and generalizability of findings, high-quality, dependable, and accurate data management systems are necessary. Robust data management systems are crucial for optimizing and validating the quality, accuracy, and dependability of trial data. Regarding the difficulties of data gathering in clinical trials in low-resource areas, there is a scarcity of literature on this subject, which may raise concerns. Effective data management systems and implementation goals should be part of trial procedures. Publicizing the creative clinical data management techniques used in clinical trials should boost public confidence in the study's conclusions and encourage further replication. In the ongoing pneumococcal vaccine schedule study in rural Gambia, this report details the development and deployment of multi-data management systems and methodologies. We implemented six different data management, synchronization, and reporting systems using Microsoft Access, RedCap, SQL, Visual Basic, Ruby, and ASP.NET. Additionally, data synchronization tools were developed to integrate data from these systems into the central server for reporting systems. Clinician, lab, and field data validation systems and methodologies are the main topics of this report. Our process development efforts across all domains were driven by the complexity of research project data collected in real-time data, online reporting, data synchronization, and ways for cleaning and verifying data. Consequently, we effectively used multi-data management systems, demonstrating the value of creative approaches in enhancing the consistency, accuracy, and reporting of trial data in a poor resource setting.

Keywords: data management, data collection, data cleaning, cluster-randomized trial

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Authors: Suganiya Rama Rao, Yoon-Yen Yow, Thor-Seng Liew, Shyamala Ratnayeke

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Invasive snails in the genus Pomacea have spread across Southeast Asia including Peninsular Malaysia. Apart from significant economic costs to wetland crops, very little is known about the snails’ effects on native species, and wetland function through their alteration of macrophyte communities. This study was conducted to establish diagnostic characteristics of Pomacea species in the Malaysian environment using genetic and morphological criteria. Snails were collected from eight localities in northern and central regions of Peninsular Malaysia. The mitochondrial COI gene of 52 adult snails was amplified and sequenced. Maximum likelihood analysis was used to analyse species identity and assess phylogenetic relationships among snails from different geographic locations. Shells of the two species were compared using geometric morphometric analysis and covariance analyses. Shell height accounted for most of the observed variation between P. canaliculata and P. maculata, with the latter possessing a smaller mean ratio of shell height: aperture height (p < 0.0001) and shell height to shell width (give p < 0.0001). Genomic and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the presence of two monophyletic taxa, P. canaliculata and P. maculata, in Peninsular Malaysia samples. P. maculata co-occurred with P. canaliculata in 5 localities, but samples from 3 localities contained only P. canaliculata. This study is the first to confirm the presence of two of the most invasive species of Pomacea in Peninsular Malaysia using a genomic approach. P. canaliculata appears to be the more widespread species. Despite statistical differences, both quantitative and qualitative morphological characteristics demonstrate much interspecific overlap and intraspecific variability; thus morphology alone cannot reliably verify species identity. Molecular techniques for distinguishing between these two highly invasive Pomacea species are needed to understand their specific ecological niches and develop effective protocols for their management.

Keywords: Pomacea canaliculata, Pomacea maculata, invasive species, phylog enetic analysis, geometric morphometric analysis

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Authors: Getachew Belay Kassahun

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Background: Locally established clinical laboratory reference intervals (RIs) are required to interpret laboratory test results for screening, diagnosis, and prognosis. The objective of this study was to establish a reference interval of clinical chemistry parameters among apparently healthy adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years in Mekelle, Tigrai, in the northern part of Ethiopia. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was employed from December 2018 to March 2019 in Mekelle City among 172 males and 172 females based on a Multi-stage sampling technique. Blood samples were tested for Fasting blood sugar (FBS), alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Creatinine, urea, total protein, albumin (ALB), direct and indirect bilirubin (BIL.D and BIL.T) using 25 Bio system clinical chemistry analyzer. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 23 software and based on the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI)/ International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) C 28-A3 Guideline which defines the reference interval as the 95% central range of 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles. Mann Whitney U test, descriptive statistics and box and whisker were statistical tools used for analysis. Results: This study observed statistically significant differences between males and females in ALP, ALT, AST, Urea and Creatinine Reference intervals. The established reference intervals for males and females, respectively, were: ALP (U/L) 79.48-492.12 versus 63.56-253.34, ALT (U/L) 4.54-23.69 versus 5.1-20.03, AST 15.7- 39.1 versus 13.3- 28.5, Urea (mg/dL) 9.33-24.99 versus 7.43-23.11, and Creatinine (mg/dL) 0.393-0.957 versus 0.301-0.846. The combined RIs for Total Protein (g/dL) were 6.08-7.85, ALB (g/dL) 4.42-5.46, FBS(mg/dL) 65-110, BIL.D (mg/dL) 0.033-0.532, and BIL.T (mg/dL) 0.106-0.812. Conclusions: The result showed a marked difference between sex and company-derived values for selected clinical chemistry parameters. Thus, the use of age and sex-specific locally established reference intervals for clinical chemistry parameters is recommended.

Keywords: reference interval, adolescent, clinical chemistry, Ethiopia

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Authors: Arturo Daag

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The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is enhancing its liquefaction hazard map towards a detailed probabilistic approach using SDS and geophysical data. Target sites for liquefaction assessment are public schools in Metro Manila. Since target sites are in highly urbanized-setting, the objective of the project is to conduct both non-destructive geotechnical studies using Screw Driving Testing (SDFS) combined with geophysical data such as refraction microtremor array (ReMi), 3 component microtremor Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR), and ground penetrating RADAR (GPR). Initial test data was conducted in liquefaction impacted areas from the Mw 6.1 earthquake in Central Luzon last April 22, 2019 Province of Pampanga. Numerous accounts of liquefaction events were documented areas underlain by quaternary alluvium and mostly covered by recent lahar deposits. SDS estimated values showed a good correlation to actual SPT values obtained from available borehole data. Thus, confirming that SDS can be an alternative tool for liquefaction assessment and more efficient in terms of cost and time compared to SPT and CPT. Conducting borehole may limit its access in highly urbanized areas. In order to extend or extrapolate the SPT borehole data, non-destructive geophysical equipment was used. A 3-component microtremor obtains a subsurface velocity model in 1-D seismic shear wave velocity of the upper 30 meters of the profile (Vs30). For the ReMi, 12 geophone array with 6 to 8-meter spacing surveys were conducted. Microtremor data were computed through the Factor of Safety, which is the quotient of Cyclic Resistance Ratio (CRR) and Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR). Complementary GPR was used to study the subsurface structure and used to inferred subsurface structures and groundwater conditions.

Keywords: screw drive testing, microtremor, ground penetrating RADAR, liquefaction

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Authors: G. Olamiti; TK. Takalani; D. Beswa, AIO Jideani

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The study investigated the effects of malting and fermentation times on some chemical, functional properties and microstructural behaviour of Agrigreen, Babala pearl millet cultivars and sorghum flours using response surface methodology (RSM). Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) was performed on two independent variables: malting and fermentation times (h), at intervals of 24, 48, and 72, respectively. The results of dependent parameters such as pH, titratable acidity (TTA), Water absorption capacity (WAC), Oil absorption capacity (OAC), bulk density (BD), dispersibility and microstructural behaviour of the flours studied showed a significant difference in p < 0.05 upon malting and fermentation time. Babala flour exhibited a higher pH value at 4.78 at 48 h malted and 81.9 fermentation times. Agrigreen flour showed a higher TTA value at 0.159% at 81.94 h malted and 48 h fermentation times. WAC content was also higher in malted and fermented Babala flour at 2.37 ml g-1 for 81.94 h malted and 48 h fermentation time. Sorghum flour exhibited the least OAC content at 1.67 ml g-1 at 14 h malted and 48 h fermentation times. Agrigreen flour recorded the least bulk density, at 0.53 g ml-1 for 72 h malted and 24 h fermentation time. Sorghum flour exhibited a higher content of dispersibility, at 56.34%, after 24 h malted and 72 h fermented time. The response surface plots showed that increased malting and fermentation time influenced the dependent parameters. The microstructure behaviour of malting and fermentation times of pearl millet varieties and sorghum flours showed isolated, oval, spherical, or polygonal to smooth surfaces. The optimal processing conditions, such as malting and fermentation time for Agrigreen, were 32.24 h and 63.32 h; 35.18 h and 34.58 h for Babala; and 36.75 h and 47.88 h for sorghum with high desirability of 1.00. The validation of the optimum processing malting and fermentation times (h) on the dependent improved the experimented values. Food processing companies can use the study's findings to improve food processing and quality.

Keywords: Pearl millet, malting, fermentation, microstructural behaviour

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Authors: Bikram Jung Kunwar

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Forests have central roles in climate change. The conservation of forests sequestrates the carbon from the atmosphere and also regulates the carbon cycle. However, knowingly and unknowingly the world’s forests were deforested and degraded annually at the rate of 0.18% and emitted the carbon to the atmosphere. The IPCC reports claimed that the deforestation and forest degradation accounts 1/5th of total carbon emission, which is second position after fossil fuels. Since 1.6 billion people depend on varying degree on forests for their daily livelihood, not all deforestation are undesirable. Therefore, to conserve the forests and find the livelihood opportunities for forest surrounding people is prerequisites to address the climate change problems especially in developing countries, and also a growing concern to the forestry sector researchers, planners and policy makers. The study examines the role of community based forest management in carbon mitigation and adaptation taking the examples of Nepal’s community forestry program. In the program, the government hands over a part of national forests to the local communities with sole forest management authorities. However, the government itself retained the ownership rights of forestland. Local communities organized through a local institution called Community Forest User Group (CFUG) managed the forests. They also formed an operational plan with technical prescriptions and a constitution with forest management rules and regulations. The implementation results showed that the CFUGs are not only found effective to organize the local people and construct a local institution to forest conservation and management activities, but also they are able to collect a community fund from the sale of forest products and carried out various community development activities. These development activities have decisive roles to improve the livelihood of forest surrounding people and eventually to address the climate change problems.

Keywords: climate change, community forestry, local institution, Nepal

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Authors: Hyeon Sop Baek

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This paper will briefly investigate Jeong Do-jeon’s political philosophy. Jeong Do-jeon was a Korean Confucian philosopher and politician during the turbulent 14th Century who revolted against the old order, founded Joseon Dynasty, and significantly impacted the development of Korean culture. Jeong’s vision of an ideal state involved a polity that has its roots in the people -that is, an ideal government prioritizes caring for the welfare of the people, respecting and attending to the diverse opinions and concerns of the people, and relies on the genuine, voluntary support of the people. With the neo-Confucian worldview in mind -that every human being has the equal potential to become a moral person- Jeong sought to create a world suitable for everybody to contribute to the decision-making procedure and be able to realize their potential fully. This paper will first examine his works and present a quick overview of his vision of the ideal government. Then, it will examine the Confucian virtues of ren (仁) and yi (義) and how they formulate the basis of his philosophy, and then discuss the central features of his vision of government: popular mandate, equity of wealth, promoting freedom of expression and political participation, and elevating caring disposition as the paramount quality of the political leaders. Furthermore, this paper aims to analyze the element of care inherent within his political philosophy, namely his view on the dynamics of power, nurturing the people, and noncoercive justice. Finally, a discussion on why his philosophy is still relevant in the contemporary context will be provided. Jeong’s view aimed at building a sustainable model of government, by proposing that the people should be the foundation of a state and that they need to be carefully nurtured so they can realize their inborn potential and continue to contribute to the sustenance of the world, is the focal point of Jeong’s philosophy. Just as he sought to rebuild his world following the turmoils of the 14th Century, his philosophy still has a substantial implication on how we should strive to rebuild our society today.

Keywords: Korea, Confucianism, Jeong Do-jeon, Joseon, Korean philosophy, political philosophy

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Authors: Ghazi Abdul Rehman Qasmi

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Islam is the preacher and torch-bearer of unity and solidarity. All the followers of Islam are advised to be united. Islam strongly condemns those elements which disunite the unity of Muslim Ummah. Like pearls in a rosary, Islam has united the Muslims from all over the world in the wreath of unity and forbade the Muslims to avoid separation and to be disintegrated. The aspect of unity is prominent in all divine injunctions and about worship. By offering five times obligatory congregational prayers, passion of mutual love and affection is increased and on the auspicious days like Friday, Eid-ul-fiter and Eid-ul-azha, majority of the Muslims come together at central places to offer these congregational prayers. Thus unity and harmony among the Muslims can be seen. Similarly the Muslim pilgrims from all over the world eliminate all kind of worldly discrimination to perform many rituals of pilgrimage while wearing white color cloth as a dress. Pilgrimage is a demonstration of Islamic strength. When the Muslims from all over the world perform the same activities together and they offer their prayers under the leadership of one leader (IMAM). Muslims come together on the occasion of pilgrimage to perform Tawaf (seven circuits,first three circuits at a hurried pace(Rammal) and followed by four times, more closely, at a leisurely pace, round the Holy Kaabah to perform circumambulation known as Tawaf in religious terminology,Saee(running or walking briskly seven times between two small hills Safa&Marwa), Ramy-al-jamarat (throwing pebbles at the stone pillars, symbolizing the devil). In this way dignity and sublimity of Islam is increased and unity and integrity of Muslim Ummah is promoted also. By studying the life history of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) we come to know that our Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) has put emphasis on unity and integrity. We have to follow the Islamic teachings to create awareness among the members of Muslim Ummah. In the light of the Holy Quran and Sunnah, we have to utilize all the sources and potential for this noble cause.

Keywords: unity, Ummah, sources, Islamic teaching

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Authors: Christine Hough, Eddie Abbott-Halpin, Tariq Mahmood, Jessica Giles

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This paper draws together the findings from two research studies, each undertaken with cohorts of South Asian Muslim respondents located in the North of England between 2017 and 2019. The first study, entitled Faith Family and Crime (FFC), investigated the extent to which a Muslim family’s social and health well-being is affected by a family member’s involvement in the Criminal Justice System (CJS). This study captured a range of data through a detailed questionnaire and structured interviews. The data from the interview transcripts were analysed using open coding and an application of aspects of the grounded theory approach. The findings provide clear evidence that the respondents were neither well-informed nor supported throughout the processes of the CJS, from arrest to post-sentencing. These experiences gave rise to mental and physical stress, potentially unfair sentencing, and a significant breakdown in communication within the respondents’ families. They serve to highlight a particular aspect of complexity in the current needs of those South Asian Muslim families who find themselves involved in the CJS and is closely connected to family structure, culture, and faith. The second study, referred to throughout this paper as #ImamsBritain (that provides the majority of content for this paper), explores how Imams, in their role as community faith leaders, can best address the complex – and changing - needs of South Asian Muslims families, such as those that emerged in the findings from FFC. The changing socio-economic and political climates of the last thirty or so years have brought about significant changes to the lives of Muslim families, and these have created more complex levels of social, cultural, and faith-based needs for families and individuals. As a consequence, Imams now have much greater demands made of them, and so their role has undergone far-reaching changes in response to this. The #ImamsBritain respondents identified a pressing need to develop a wider range of pastoral and counseling skills, which they saw as extending far beyond the traditional role of the Imam as a religious teacher and spiritual guide. The #ImamsBritain project was conducted with a cohort of British Imams in the North of England. Data was collected firstly through a questionnaire that related to the respondents’ training and development needs and then analysed in depth using the Delphi approach. Through Delphi, the data were scrutinized in depth using interpretative content analysis. The findings from this project reflect the respondents’ individual perceptions of the kind of training and development they need to fulfill their role in 21st Century Britain. They also provide a unique framework for constructing a professional guide for Imams in Great Britain. The discussions and critical analyses in this paper draw on the discourses of professionalization and pastoral care and relevant reports and reviews on Imam training in Europe and Canada.

Keywords: criminal justice system, faith and culture, Imams, Muslim community leadership, professionalization, South Asian family structure

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Authors: Olga Kokoulina

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Today, algorithms are assuming a leading role in various areas of decision-making. Prompted by a promise to provide increased economic efficiency and fuel solutions for pressing societal challenges, algorithmic decision-making is often celebrated as an impartial and constructive substitute for human adjudication. But in the face of this implied objectivity and efficiency, the application of algorithms is also marred with mounting concerns about embedded biases, discrimination, and exclusion. In Europe, vigorous debates on risks and adverse implications of algorithmic decision-making largely revolve around the potential of data protection laws to tackle some of the related issues. For example, one of the often-cited venues to mitigate the impact of potentially unfair decision-making practice is a so-called 'right to explanation'. In essence, the overall right is derived from the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) ensuring the right of data subjects to access and mandating the obligation of data controllers to provide the relevant information about the existence of automated decision-making and meaningful information about the logic involved. Taking corresponding rights and obligations in the context of the specific provision on automated decision-making in the GDPR, the debates mainly focus on efficacy and the exact scope of the 'right to explanation'. In essence, the underlying logic of the argued remedy lies in a transparency imperative. Allowing data subjects to acquire as much knowledge as possible about the decision-making process means empowering individuals to take control of their data and take action. In other words, forewarned is forearmed. The related discussions and debates are ongoing, comprehensive, and, often, heated. However, they are also frequently misguided and isolated: embracing the data protection law as ultimate and sole lenses are often not sufficient. Mandating the disclosure of technical specifications of employed algorithms in the name of transparency for and empowerment of data subjects potentially encroach on the interests and rights of IPR holders, i.e., business entities behind the algorithms. The study aims at pushing the boundaries of the transparency debate beyond the data protection regime. By systematically analysing legal requirements and current judicial practice, it assesses the limits of the transparency requirement and right to access posed by intellectual property law, namely by copyrights and trade secrets. It is asserted that trade secrets, in particular, present an often-insurmountable obstacle for realising the potential of the transparency requirement. In reaching that conclusion, the study explores the limits of protection afforded by the European Trade Secrets Directive and contrasts them with the scope of respective rights and obligations related to data access and portability enshrined in the GDPR. As shown, the far-reaching scope of the protection under trade secrecy is evidenced both through the assessment of its subject matter as well as through the exceptions from such protection. As a way forward, the study scrutinises several possible legislative solutions, such as flexible interpretation of the public interest exception in trade secrets as well as the introduction of the strict liability regime in case of non-transparent decision-making.

Keywords: algorithms, public interest, trade secrets, transparency

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Authors: S. B. Rathna Kumar, Sandya K. Varudhini, Aparna Ravichandran

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Telugu is a south central Dravidian language spoken in Andhra Pradesh, a southern state of India. The available speech identification tests in Telugu have been developed to determine the communication problems of individuals having a flat frequency hearing loss. These conventional speech audiometric tests would provide redundant information when used on individuals with high-frequency sloping hearing loss because of better hearing sensitivity in the low- and mid-frequency regions. Hence, conventional speech identification tests do not indicate the true nature of the communication problem of individuals with high-frequency sloping hearing loss. It is highly possible that a person with a high-frequency sloping hearing loss may get maximum scores if conventional speech identification tests are used. Hence, there is a need to develop speech identification test materials that are specifically designed to assess the speech identification performance of individuals with high-frequency sloping hearing loss. The present study aimed to develop speech identification test for individuals with high-frequency sloping hearing loss in Telugu. Individuals with high-frequency sloping hearing loss have difficulty in perception of voiceless consonants whose spectral energy is above 1000 Hz. Hence, the word lists constructed with phonemes having mid- and high-frequency spectral energy will estimate speech identification performance better for such individuals. The phonemes /k/, /g/, /c/, /ṭ/ /t/, /p/, /s/, /ś/, /ṣ/ and /h/are preferred for the construction of words as these phonemes have spectral energy distributed in the frequencies above 1000 KHz predominantly. The present study developed two word lists in Telugu (each word list contained 25 words) for evaluating speech identification performance of individuals with high-frequency sloping hearing loss. The performance of individuals with high-frequency sloping hearing loss was evaluated using both conventional and high-frequency word lists under recorded voice condition. The results revealed that the developed word lists were found to be more sensitive in identifying the true nature of the communication problem of individuals with high-frequency sloping hearing loss.

Keywords: speech identification test, high-frequency sloping hearing loss, recorded voice condition, Telugu

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Authors: I. Elrouby

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The continued growth of tourism in the future relies on maintaining a clean environment by achieving sustainable development. The erosion and degradation of beaches, the deterioration of coastal water quality, visual pollution of coastlines by massive developments, all this has contributed heavily to the loss of the natural attractiveness for tourism. In light of this, promoting the concept of sustainable coastal development is becoming a central goal for governments and private sector. An ecolodge is a small hotel or guesthouse that incorporates local architectural, cultural and natural characteristics, promotes environmental conservation through minimizing the use of waste and energy and produces social and economic benefits for local communities. Egypt has some scattered attempts in some areas like Sinai in the field of ecolodging. This research tends to investigate the potentials of the North West Coast (NWC) in Alexandria as a new candidate for ecolodging investments. The area is full of primitive natural and man-made resources. These, if used in an environmental-friendly way could achieve cost reductions as a result of successful resource management for investors on the one hand, and coastal preservation on the other hand. In-depth interviews will be conducted with stakeholders in the tourism sector to examine their opinion about the potentials of the research area for ecolodging developments. The candidates will be also asked to rate the importance of the availability of certain environmental aspects in such establishments such as the uses of resources that originate from local communities, uses of natural power sources, uses of an environmental-friendly sewage disposal, forbidding the use of materials of endangered species and enhancing cultural heritage conservation. The results show that the area is full of potentials that could be effectively used for ecolodging investments. This if efficiently used could attract ecotourism as a supplementary type of tourism that could be promoted in Alexandria aside cultural, recreational and religious tourism.

Keywords: Alexandria, ecolodging, ecotourism, sustainability

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Authors: Sarai Alvarado Pineda, Ricardo Maldonado Soto

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The acquisition of Verb Particle Constructions is a challenge for Spanish speakers learning English. The acquisition is particularly difficult for speakers of languages with no verb particle constructions. The purpose of the current study is to define the procedural steps in the acquisition of constructions with the particle on. There are three outstanding meanings for the particle on; Surface: The movie is based on a true story, Activation: John turn on the light, Continuity: The band played on all night. The central aim of this study is to measure how Mexican Spanish participants respond to both the three meanings mentioned above and the degree of meaning transparency/opacity of on verb particle constructions. Forty Mexican Spanish learners of English (20 basic and 20 advanced) are compared against a control group of 20 American native English speakers through a reaction time test (PsychoPy2 2015). The participants were asked to discriminate 90 items based on their knowledge of these constructions. There are 30 items per meaning divided into two groups of transparent and opaque meaning. Results revealed three major findings: Advanced students have a reaction time similar to that of native speakers (advanced 4.5s versus native 3.7s), while students with a lower level of English proficiency, show a high reaction time (7s). Likewise, there is a shorter reaction time in constructions with lower opacity in the three groups of participants, with differences between each level (basic 6.7s, advanced 4.3s, and native 3.4s). Finally, a difference in reaction time can be identified according to the meaning provided by the construction. The reaction time for the activation category (5.27s) is greater than continuity (5.04s), and this category is also slower than the surface (4.94s). The study shows that the level of sensitivity of English learners increases significantly aiming towards native speaker patterns as determined by the level of transparency of meaning of each construction as well as the degree of entrenchment of each constructional meaning.

Keywords: meaning of the particle, opacity, reaction time, verb particle constructions

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Authors: Iacopo Testi, Diego Pajarito, Nicoletta Roberto, Carmen Greco

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Today, a consistent segment of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this proportion will vastly increase in the next decades. Therefore, understanding the key trends in urbanization, likely to unfold over the coming years, is crucial to the implementation of sustainable urban strategies. In parallel, the daily amount of digital data produced will be expanding at an exponential rate during the following years. The analysis of various types of data sets and its derived applications have incredible potential across different crucial sectors such as healthcare, housing, transportation, energy, and education. Nevertheless, in city development, architects and urban planners appear to rely mostly on traditional and analogical techniques of data collection. This paper investigates the prospective of the data science field, appearing to be a formidable resource to assist city managers in identifying strategies to enhance the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of our urban areas. The collection of different new layers of information would definitely enhance planners' capabilities to comprehend more in-depth urban phenomena such as gentrification, land use definition, mobility, or critical infrastructural issues. Specifically, the research results correlate economic, commercial, demographic, and housing data with the purpose of defining the youth economic discomfort index. The statistical composite index provides insights regarding the economic disadvantage of citizens aged between 18 years and 29 years, and results clearly display that central urban zones and more disadvantaged than peripheral ones. The experimental set up selected the city of Rome as the testing ground of the whole investigation. The methodology aims at applying statistical and spatial analysis to construct a composite index supporting informed data-driven decisions for urban planning.

Keywords: data science, spatial analysis, composite index, Rome, urban planning, youth economic discomfort index

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Authors: Yichin Chen

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Taiwan is an island characterized by an active tectonics and high erosion rates. Monitoring the dynamic landscape of Taiwan is an important issue for disaster mitigation, geomorphological research, and watershed management. Long-term and high spatiotemporal landform data is essential for quantifying and simulating the geomorphological processes and developing warning systems. Recently, the advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and computational photogrammetry technology have provided an effective way to rebuild and monitor the topography changes in high spatio-temporal resolutions. This study rebuilds the 30-years landform change in the Aiyuzi watershed in 1986-2017 by using the aerial photogrammetry-based techniques. The Aiyuzi watershed, located in central Taiwan and has an area of 3.99 Km², is famous for its frequent landslide and debris flow disasters. This study took the aerial photos by using UAV and collected multi-temporal historical, stereo photographs, taken by the Aerial Survey Office of Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau. To rebuild the orthoimages and digital surface models (DSMs), Pix4DMapper, a photogrammetry software, was used. Furthermore, to control model accuracy, a set of ground control points was surveyed by using eGPS. The results show that the generated DSMs have the ground sampling distance (GSD) of ~10 cm and ~0.3 cm from the UAV’s and historical photographs, respectively, and vertical error of ~1 m. By comparing the DSMs, there are many deep-seated landslides (with depth over 20 m) occurred on the upstream in the Aiyuzi watershed. Even though a large amount of sediment is delivered from the landslides, the steep main channel has sufficient capacity to transport sediment from the channel and to erode the river bed to ~20 m in depth. Most sediments are transported to the outlet of watershed and deposits on the downstream channel. This case study shows that UAV and photogrammetry technology are useful for topography change monitoring effectively.

Keywords: aerial photogrammetry, landslide, landform change, Taiwan

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Authors: Oluwabukola Oluwaseyi Oduntan

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The English Language plays a central and strategic role in the school system because almost all the school subjects are taught using the English language. However, students’ achievement in this subject at senior secondary school is not encouraging. Therefore, this study examined the effects of oral-written mode of assessment on senior secondary school students’ achievement in a descriptive essay. It also examined the moderating effects of students’ gender and class on students’ achievement in a descriptive essay. The study adopted a pretest-posttest, control group, quasi-experimental design with a 2x2x3 factorial matrix. The participant consisted of 140 Senior Secondary II students drawn from four intact classes from four schools randomly selected from four Local Government Areas randomly selected from Oyo town in Oyo State. Two schools were assigned each to the treatment group and the control group. The following instruments were used for the study: Descriptive Essay Achievement Test (r = 0.78); Descriptive Achievement Test Marking Scheme; Check List of Oral-Written Assessment and Teachers’ Instructional Guide on Descriptive Essay (r = 0.81). Seven null hypotheses guided the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance, Estimated Marginal Means and Scheffe post-hoc test. The result revealed that treatment had a significant main effect on students’ achievement in descriptive essay (F(1,127) = 25.407, P < .05, η2 = .167). Students exposed to oral-written assessment had a higher achievement scores ((x ) ̅= 36.15) than those exposed to written assessment ((x ) ̅= 28.55). There was no significant main effect of gender on students’ achievement in descriptive essay (F₍₁, ₁₂₇₎ = .349, P > .05, η2 = .003). The result also revealed that the effects of class was not significant on students’ students’ achievement in descriptive essay (F₍₁, ₁₂₇₎ = .679, P > .05, η2 = .006). Oral-written mode of assessment enhanced students’ achievement in a descriptive essay. It is, therefore, recommended that teachers and curriculum developers should adopt the use of oral-written assessment for better improvement of students’ achievement in a descriptive essay.

Keywords: class, gender, oral-written assessment, written assessment

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Authors: Amenah Dhannoon, Ciaran Martin Hurley, Laura Wrafter, Podraic J. Regan

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Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present unprecedented challenges for healthcare systems. This has resulted in the pragmatic shift in the practice of plastic surgery units worldwide. During this period, many units reported a significant fall in urgent melanoma referrals, leading to patients presenting with advanced disease requiring more extensive surgery and inferior outcomes. Our objective was to evaluate our unit's experience with both non-invasive and invasive melanoma during the COVID-19 pandemic and characterize our experience and contrast it to that experienced by our neighbors in the UK, mainland Europe and North America. Methods: a retrospective chart review was performed on all patients diagnosed with invasive and non-invasive cutaneous melanoma between March to December of 2019 (control) compared to 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic) in a single plastic surgery unit in Ireland. Patient demographics, referral source, surgical procedures, tumour characteristics, radiological findings, oncological therapies and follow-up were recorded. All data were anonymized and stored in Microsoft Excel. Results: A total of 589 patients were included in the study. Of these, 314 (53%) with invasive melanoma, compared to 275 (47%) with the non-invasive disease. Overall, more patients were diagnosed with both invasive and non-invasive melanoma in 2020 than in 2019 (p<0.05). However, significantly longer waiting times in 2020 (64 days) compared to 2019 (28 days) (p<0.05), with the majority of the referral being from GP in 2019 (83%) compared to 61% in 2020. Positive sentinel lymph node were higher in 2019 at 56% (n=28) compared to 24% (n=22) in 2020. There was no statistically significant difference in the tutor characteristics or metastasis status. Discussion: While other countries have noticed a fall in the melanoma diagnosis. Our units experienced a higher number of disease diagnoses. This can be due to multiple reasons. In Ireland, the government reached an early agreement with the private sector to continue elective surgery on an urgent basis in private hospitals. This allowed access to local anesthetic procedures and local skin cancer cases were triaged to non-COVID-19 provider centers. Our unit also adapted a fast, effective and minimal patient contact strategy for triaging skin cancer based on telemedicine. Thirdly, a skin cancer nurse specialist maintained patient follow-ups and triaging a dedicated email service. Finally, our plastic surgery service continued to maintain a virtual complex skin cancer multidisciplinary team meeting during the pandemic, ensuring local clinical governance has adhered to each clinical case. Conclusion: Our study highlights that with the prompt efficient restructuring of services, we could reserve successful management of skin cancer even in the most devastating times. It is important to reflect on the success during the pandemic and emphasize the importance of preparation for a potentially difficult future

Keywords: malignant melanoma, skin cancer, COVID-19, triage

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Authors: Oyatayo Kehinde Taofik, Ndabula Christopher

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Drainage basins are a central theme in the green economy. The rising challenges in flooding, erosion or sediment transport and sedimentation threaten the green economy. This has led to increasing emphasis on quantitative analysis of drainage basin parameters for better understanding, estimation and prediction of fluvial responses and, thus associated hazards or disasters. This can be achieved through direct measurement, characterization, parameterization, or modeling. This study applied the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System approach of parameterization and characterization of the morphometric variables of Katsina – Ala basin using a 30 m resolution Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM). This was complemented with topographic and hydrological maps of Katsina-Ala on a scale of 1:50,000. Linear, areal and relief parameters were characterized. The result of the study shows that Ala and Udene sub-watersheds are 4th and 5th order basins, respectively. The stream network shows a dendritic pattern, indicating homogeneity in texture and a lack of structural control in the study area. Ala and Udene sub-watersheds have the following values for elongation ratio, circularity ratio, form factor and relief ratio: 0.48 / 0.39 / 0.35/ 9.97 and 0.40 / 0.35 / 0.32 / 6.0. They also have the following values for drainage texture and ruggedness index of 0.86 / 0.011 and 1.57 / 0.016. The study concludes that the two sub-watersheds are elongated, suggesting that they are susceptible to erosion and, thus higher sediment load in the river channels, which will dispose the watersheds to higher flood peaks. The study also concludes that the sub-watersheds have a very coarse texture, with good permeability of subsurface materials and infiltration capacity, which significantly recharge the groundwater. The study recommends that efforts should be put in place by the Local and State Governments to reduce the size of paved surfaces in these sub-watersheds by implementing a robust agroforestry program at the grass root level.

Keywords: erosion, flood, mitigation, morphometry, watershed

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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The study focuses on the tectonics of out-of-sequence thrusting (OOST) in the NW region of the Himalaya, particularly in Himachal Pradesh. The research aims to identify the features and nature of OOST in the field and the associated rock types and lithological boundaries in the field of NW Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, India. The research employs fieldwork and micro-structure observations, correlations, and analyses to identify and analyze the OOST features and associated rock types. The study reveals the presence of three OOSTs, namely Jhakri Thrust (JT), Sarahan Thrust (ST), and Chaura Thrust (CT), which consist of several branches, some of which are still active. The thrust system exhibits varying internal geometry, including box folds, boudins, scar folds, crenulation cleavages, kink folds, and tension gashes. The CT, which is concealed beneath Jutogh Thrust sheet, represents a steepened downward thrust, while the JT has a western dip and is south-westward verging. The research provides crucial information on the tectonics of OOST in the NW region of the Himalaya, particularly in Himachal Pradesh, which is crucial in understanding the regional geological evolution and associated hazards. The data were collected through fieldwork and micro-structure observations, correlations, and analyses of rock samples. The data were analyzed using tectonic and geochronological techniques to identify the nature and characteristics of OOST. The research addressed the question of identifying Higher Himalayan OOST in the field of NW Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, India, and the associated rock types and lithological boundaries. The study concludes that there is minimal documentation and a lack of suitable exposure of rocks to generalize the features of OOST in the field in NW Higher Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh. The study recommends more extensive mapping and fieldwork to improve understanding of OOST in the region.

Keywords: out-of-sequence thrust (OOST), main central thrust (MCT), jhakri thrust (JT), sarahan thrust (ST), chaura thrust (CT), higher himalaya (HH)

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Authors: Alfathony Krisnabudhi, Syahli Reza Ananda, M. Edo Marshal, M. Maaruf Mukti

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This study investigates the kinematics and basin development of pull-apart basin Sunda Strait based on palinspastic reconstructions of new acquired seismic reflection data to unravel hydrocarbon exploration opportunity in frontier area, fore-arc basin western Indonesia. We use more than 780 km seismic reflection data that cover whole basin. Structural patterns in Sunda Strait are dominated by northwest-southeast trending planar and listric-normal faults which appear to be graben and half-graben system. The main depocentre of this basin is East Semangko graben and West Semangko graben that are formed by overstepping of Sumatra Fault Zone and Ujungkulon Fault Zone. In father east, another depocentre is recognized as the Krakatau graben. The kinematic evolution started in Middle Miocene, characterized by the initiation of basement faulting with 0% to 7.00% extension. Deposition stratigraphic unit 1 and unit 2 started at 7.00% to 10.00% extension in Late Miocene and recognized as pre-transtensional deposit. The Plio-Pleistocene unit 3 and 4 were deposited as syn-transtensional deposit with 10.00% to 17.00% extension contemporaneously with the initiation of uplift NW-SE trending ridges due to the evolution of cross-basin fault in central basin and the development of en-echelon basin margin in a transtensional system. The control of sedimentation rate and basin subsidence cause the Neogene sediment to be very thick. We suggest that both controls allow thermal and pressure to generate hydrocarbon habitats in the pre-transtensional deposits. It is reinforced by stable kinematic evolution and interpretation of the deposition environment of pre-transtensional deposits that are deposited in the marine environment.

Keywords: kinematics, palinspastic, Sunda Strait, hydrocarbon exploration, fore-arc basin

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Authors: Joanna Cabaj, Sylwia Baluta, Karol Malecha, Kamila Drzozga

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Catecholamines are the principal neurotransmitters that mediate a variety of the central nervous system functions, such as motor control, cognition, emotion, memory processing, and endocrine modulation. Dysfunctions in catecholamine neurotransmission are induced in some neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases. Changeable neurotransmitters level in biological fluids can be a marker of several neurological disorders. Because of its significance in analytical techniques and diagnostics, sensitive and selective detection of neurotransmitters is increasingly attracting a lot of attention in different areas of bio-analysis or biomedical research. Recently, fluorescent techniques for detection of catecholamines have attracted interests due to their reasonable cost, convenient control, as well as maneuverability in biological environments. Nevertheless, with the observed need for a sensitive and selective catecholamines sensor, the development of a convenient method for this neurotransmitter is still at its basic level. The manipulation of nanostructured materials in conjunction with biological molecules has led to the development of a new class of hybrid modified biosensors in which both enhancement of charge transport and biological activity preservation may be obtained. Immobilization of biomaterials on electrode surfaces is the crucial step in fabricating electrochemical as well as optical biosensors and bioelectronic devices. Continuing systematic investigation in the manufacturing of enzyme–conducting sensitive systems, here is presented a convenient fluorescence sensing strategy for catecholamines detection based on FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) phenomena observed for, i.e., complexes of Fe²⁺ and epinephrine. The biosensor was constructed using low temperature co-fired ceramics technology (LTCC). This sensing system used the catalytical oxidation of catecholamines and quench of the strong luminescence of obtained complexes due to FRET. The detection process was based on the oxidation of substrate in the presence of the enzyme–laccase/tyrosinase.

Keywords: biosensor, conducting polymer, enzyme, FRET, LTCC

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Authors: Y. Vásquez, F. Reyes, P. Oyola, M. Rubio, J. Muñoz, E. Lissi

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In several cities in Chile, there is significant urban pollution, particularly in Santiago and in cities in the south where biomass is used as fuel in heating and cooking in a large proportion of homes. This has generated interest in knowing what factors can be modulated to control the level of pollution. In this project was conditioned and set up a photochemical chamber (14m3) equipped with gas monitors e.g. CO, NOX, O3, others and PM monitors e.g. dustrack, DMPS, Harvard impactors, etc. This volume could be exposed to UVA lamps, producing a spectrum similar to that generated by the sun. In this chamber, PM and gas emissions associated with biomass burning were studied in the presence and absence of radiation. From the comparative analysis of wood stove (eucalyptus globulus) and pellet (radiata pine), it can be concluded that, in the first approximation, 9-nitroanthracene, 4-nitropyrene, levoglucosan, water soluble potassium and CO present characteristics of the tracers. However, some of them show properties that interfere with this possibility. For example, levoglucosan is decomposed by radiation. The 9-nitroanthracene, 4-nitropyrene are emitted and formed under radiation. The 9-nitroanthracene has a vapor pressure that involves a partition involving the gas phase and particulate matter. From this analysis, it can be concluded that K+ is compound that meets the properties known to be tracer. The PM2.5 emission measured in the automatic pellet stove that was used in this thesis project was two orders of magnitude smaller than that registered by the manual wood stove. This has led to encouraging the use of pellet stoves in indoor heating, particularly in south-central Chile. However, it should be considered, while the use of pellet is not without problems, due to pellet stove generate high concentrations of Nitro-HAP's (secondary organic contaminants). In particular, 4-nitropyrene, compound of high toxicity, also primary and secondary particulate matter, associated with pellet burning produce a decrease in the size distribution of the PM, which leads to a depth penetration of the particles and their toxic components in the respiratory system.

Keywords: biomass burning, photochemical chamber, particulate matter, tracers

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Authors: Vaicekauskiene, G., Nabazaite, E.

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This study analyses the rise of global populism in Western democracies, focusing primarily on the populist rhetoric. Populist rhetoric is based on anti-pluralist ideas, opposing a “homogeneous nation” against “dangerous others” who are pushed out of the nation by populists, and can be citizens from both in-groups and out-groups. This study will examine the case of the elections of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania of 2024. Fifteen candidate lists of parties and coalitions participated in the elections to the Lithuanian Parliament in 2024. Focus group methodology will be used to analyse the narratives of party supporters actively engaged in politics, trying to identify public support/opposition to populism. Liberal democracy is experiencing a crisis in both the US and Western democracies in Europe. The election results of recent years are increasingly announcing populist victories or the creation of new populist parties. Far-right parties lead the governments in three countries – Hungary, Slovakia, and Italy, and they are part of the ruling coalition in Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands. It will become clear in the USA whether Donald Trump will be re-elected as president in November of this year. Trump’s victory in 2016 was named by political scientists as the apotheosis of populism. Influential politicians consolidate all bad manners and social categorization in the digital era of demagoguery. The research shows that a significant proportion of democratic societies also support this divisive discourse. Citizens, as consumers of information, often approve of populist communication themselves. New parliament elections were held in Lithuania in October 2024. Ideas that polarize society were amplified in the public space, negativism increased, and with it distrust towards the state, its institutions, and democratically elected politicians, “enemies” were sought and conspiracy theories were created. Problem of the Study. This study analyses the global rise of populism from the perspective of Lithuania with various groups of society, trying to understand the relationship of citizens with democracy through believing in populists, approval/disapproval of the expression of populism. Opinions are an important challenge when trying to find the truth in the age of populism, because democratic societies are based on the culture of discussion and the idea of consensus. Methodology. This study will deconstruct the narratives of Lithuanian citizens from the point of view of populism. Fifteen focus group discussions will be held with supporters of the party lists that participated in the Parliament elections of the Republic of Lithuania during November-December 2024. The main unifying criterion for focus group participants is their political activity, while the distinguishing criteria are age, gender and place of residence. Fifteen focus groups were chosen due to the fact that fifteen candidate lists of parties and coalitions participated in the elections and seeking to ensure the variety of participants. This study aims to emphasize populism as a communication phenomenon in Lithuania. Public testimonies and experiences will reveal new meanings about the understanding of populism and support/opposition towards it.

Keywords: democracy, narratives in populist rhetoric, populist rhetoric, populism

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Authors: Misbah Nizamani, Saira Malik

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Introduction: Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for patients suffering from morbid obesity. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) accounts for over 50% of total bariatric procedures. The aim of our meta-analysis is to investigate the effectiveness and safety of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols for patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Method: To gather data, we searched PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Central. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials and cohort studies involving adult patients (≥18 years) undergoing bariatric surgeries, i.e., Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Outcome measures included LOS, postoperative narcotic usage, postoperative pain score, postoperative nausea and vomiting, postoperative complications and mortality, emergency department visits and readmission rates. RevMan version 5.4 was used to analyze outcomes. Results: Three RCTs and three cohorts with 1522 patients were included in this study. ERAS group and control group were compared for eight outcomes. LOS was reduced significantly in the intervention group (p=0.00001), readmission rates had borderline differences (p=0.35) and higher postoperative complications in the control group, but the result was non-significant (p=0.68), whereas postoperative pain score was significantly reduced (p=0.005). Total MME requirements became significant after performing sensitivity analysis (p= 0.0004). Postoperative mortality could not be analyzed on account of invalid data showing 0% mortality in two cohort studies. Conclusion: This systemic review indicated the effectiveness of the application of ERAS protocols in LSG in reducing the length of stay, post-operative pain and total MME requirements postoperatively, indicating the feasibility and assurance of its application.

Keywords: eras protocol, sleeve gastrectomy, bariatric surgery, enhanced recovery after surgery

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Authors: Faith Eweluegim Enahoro-Ofagbe

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Water is essential for sustaining life. As a limited resource, effective water management is vital. Water scarcity has become more common due to the effects of climate change, land degradation, deforestation, and population growth, especially in rural communities, which are more susceptible to water-related issues such as water shortage, water-borne disease, et c., due to the unsuccessful implementation of water policies and projects in Nigeria. Since rural communities generate the majority of agricultural products, they significantly impact on water management for sustainability. The development of methods to advance this goal for residential and agricultural usage in the present and the future is a challenge for rural residents. This study evaluated rural water supply systems and irrigation management techniques to conserve water in Kwara State, North-Central Nigeria. Suggesting some measures to conserve water resources for sustainability, off-season farming, and socioeconomic security that will remedy water degradation, unemployment which is one of the causes of insecurity in the country, by considering the use of fabricated or locally made irrigation equipment, which are affordable by rural farmers, among other recommendations. Questionnaires were distributed to respondents in the study area for quantitative evaluation of irrigation methods practices. For physicochemical investigation, samples were also gathered from their available water sources. According to the study's findings, 30 percent of farmers adopted intelligent irrigation management techniques to conserve water resources, saving 45% of the water previously used for irrigation. 70 % of farmers practice seasonal farming. Irrigation water is drawn from river channels, streams, and unlined and unprotected wells. 60% of these rural residents rely on private boreholes for their water needs, while 40% rely on government-supplied rural water. Therefore, the government must develop additional water projects, raise awareness, and offer irrigation techniques that are simple to adapt for water management, increasing socio-economic productivity, security, and water sustainability.

Keywords: water resource management, sustainability, irrigation, rural water management, irrigation management technique

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Authors: Fengqing Li, Petra Schneider

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Failure of tailings management facilities (TMF) of radioactive residues is an enormous challenge worldwide and can result in major catastrophes. Particularly in transboundary regions, such failure is most likely to lead to international conflict. This risk occurs in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where the current major challenge is the quantification of impacts due to pollution from uranium legacy sites and especially the impact on river basins after natural hazards (i.e., landslides). By means of GoldSim, a probabilistic simulation model, the amount of tailing material that flows into the river networks of Mailuu Suu in Kyrgyzstan after pond failure was simulated for three scenarios, namely 10%, 20%, and 30% of material inputs. Based on Muskingum-Cunge flood routing procedure, the peak value of uranium flood wave along the river network was simulated. Among the 23 TMF, 19 ponds are close to the river networks. The spatiotemporal distributions of uranium along the river networks were then simulated for all the 19 ponds under three scenarios. Taking the TP7 which is 30 km far from the Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border as one example, the uranium concentration decreased continuously along the longitudinal gradient of the river network, the concentration of uranium was observed at the border after 45 min of the pond failure and the highest value was detected after 69 min. The highest concentration of uranium at the border were 16.5, 33, and 47.5 mg/L under scenarios of 10%, 20%, and 30% of material inputs, respectively. In comparison to the guideline value of uranium in drinking water (i.e., 30 µg/L) provided by the World Health Organization, the observed concentrations of uranium at the border were 550‒1583 times higher. In order to mitigate the transboundary impact of a radioactive pollutant release, an integrated framework consisting of three major strategies were proposed. Among, the short-term strategy can be used in case of emergency event, the medium-term strategy allows both countries handling the TMF efficiently based on the benefit-sharing concept, and the long-term strategy intends to rehabilitate the site through the relocation of all TMF.

Keywords: Central Asia, contaminant transport modelling, radioactive residue, transboundary conflict

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Authors: Shang-Hsin Ou, Yang-Chun Lin, Ke-Hao Cheng

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The year 2021 marked a historic drought in Taiwan, posing unprecedented challenges due to record-low rainfall and inadequate reservoir storage. The central region experienced water scarcity, leading to the implementation of "Groundwater Utilization at Construction Sites" for drought-resilient livelihood water supply. This study focuses on the establishment process of temporary groundwater treatment plants at construction sites in Taichung City, serving as a reference for future emergency response and the utilization of construction site groundwater. To identify suitable sites for groundwater reuse projects, site selection operations were carried out based on relevant water quality regulations and assessment principles. Subsequently, the planning and design of temporary water treatment plants were conducted, considering the water quality, quantity, and on-site conditions of groundwater wells associated with construction projects. The study consolidates the major water treatment facilities at each site and addresses encountered challenges during the establishment process. Practical insights gained from operating temporary groundwater treatment plants are presented, including improvements related to stable water quality, water quantity, equipment operation, and hydraulic control. In light of possible future droughts, this study provides an outlook and recommendations to expedite and improve the setup of groundwater treatment plants at construction sites. This includes considering on-site water abstraction, treatment, and distribution conditions. The study's results aim to offer practical guidelines for effectively establishing and managing such treatment plants, while offering experiences and recommendations for other regions facing similar emergencies, water shortages, and drought situations. These endeavors contribute to ensuring sustainable water supply for drought-resilient livelihoods and maintaining societal stability.

Keywords: drought resilience, groundwater treatment, construction site, water supply

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Authors: Jakub Gren

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The recent transfer of banking supervision to the ECB has expanded its influence as of a non-majoritarian and technocratic policy-shaper in EU supervisory policies. To fulfil the main policy objectives of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the ECB has been tasked with building a single supervisory approach to supervised banks across the euro area and is now exclusively responsible for direct supervision of the largest ‘significant’ euro area banks and the oversight of the remaining ‘less significant’ banks. This enhanced supranational position of the ECB significantly alters the EU institutional order and creates powerful incentives to actively pursue integrationist agenda by the ECB. However, this drastic shift has a little impact upon adapting the ECB’s new supervisory mandate to the requirements of democratic legitimacy. Whereas the ECB’s strong pre-crisis independence and limited accountability could be reconciled with democratic principles through a clearly articulated price stability mandate, independence and limited accountability in the context of a more complex supervisory mandate is problematic. Hence, in order to ensure the democratic legitimacy of the ECB/SSM’s supervisory policies, the ECB’s supervisory mandate requires both a lower scope of independence and higher accountability requirements. To address this situation, organizational separation (“Chinese Wall”) between the ECB monetary and supervisory arms was introduced. This separation includes different reporting lines and the relocation of the ECB’s monetary function to a new building complex while leaving its supervisory function at the Euro-tower (“Two Towers”). This paper argues that these measures are not sufficient to establish proper checks and balances on the ECB’s powers to pursue euro zone’s wide supervisory policies. As a remedy, this contribution suggests that the ECB’s Treaties-embedded independence, as set out by art. 130 TFEU, designed to carry out its monetary function shall not be fully applicable to its supervisory function. Indeed functional and conditional reading of this provision to ECB supervisory function could enhance the legitimacy of future ECB’s supervisory action.

Keywords: accountability and transparency, democratic governance, financial management, rule of law

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Authors: Hitalo Silva

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The most famous corruption scandals in the past four years were taken in Latin America, especially in Brazil, but besides the stain that these countries suffered in an international field, there was a huge effort to create or modernize its national anti-corruption laws. Also, the countries are implementing new standards for investigations and corporate compliance programs, in order to combat corruption and prevent the money laundering. But here is the following question: is here an invisible uniformization/transnationalization of the anti-corruption systems in Latin America? This new scenario reflects the impacts of the corruption investigations conducted in Latin America countries, such as Car Wash Operation in Brazil, Pretelt Case in Colombia, Gasoducto Sur Peruano case and the Mr. Alex Kouri’s case both in Peru. Legal and institutional pro-transparency reforms were made recently, the companies are trying to implement new standards of conduct and investing in their compliance department. In this sense, there is a huge homogeneity in Latin America concerning the structuring of corporate compliance programs, a truly transnationalization not only of laws but also corporate standards among these countries. Although legislative initiatives vary among the countries, there is a tendency to impose rigid liability standards for the companies being investigated for corruption, not only the personal punishments of their executives, which demonstrate the power of authorities to strength the investigative tools. Also, instruments such as leniency agreements and plea bargain are essential to put a central role in enforcement activities in Latin America. In other words, in a region where six former Presidents were convicted for acts of corruption, and, companies such as Odebrecht that is accused of offering bribes to politicians from Argentina to México, passing through Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Panama, this demonstrates the necessity to increase strength of their legal framework in a sense that unify transnational goals. All things considered, this paper will show how anti-corruption regulators are cooperating in Latin America jurisdictions in order to unify their laws and how the private sector is dealing with this new scenario of corporate culture change.

Keywords: compliance, corruption, investigations, Latin America, transnational

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