Search results for: rules of civil procedure

Authors: A. T. Perez Fontenla, S. Sgobba, A. Bartkowska, Y. Askar, M. Dalemir Celuch, A. Newborough, M. Karppinen, H. Haalien, S. Deleval, S. Larcher, C. Charvet, L. Bruno, R. Trant

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The present study investigates the corrosion behavior of copper (Cu) based conducts predominantly brazed with Sil-Fos (self-fluxing copper-based filler with silver and phosphorus) within various cooling circuits of demineralized water across different particle accelerator components at CERN. The study covers a range of sample service time, from a few months to fifty years, and includes various accelerator components such as quadrupoles, dipoles, and bending magnets. The investigation comprises the established sample extraction procedure, examination methodology including non-destructive testing, evaluation of the corrosion phenomena, and identification of commonalities across the studied components as well as analysis of the environmental influence. The systematic analysis included computed microtomography (CT) of the joints that revealed distributed defects across all brazing interfaces. Some defects appeared to result from areas not wetted by the filler during the brazing operation, displaying round shapes, while others exhibited irregular contours and radial alignment, indicative of a network or interconnection. The subsequent dry cutting performed facilitated access to the conduct's inner surface and the brazed joints for further inspection through light and electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical analysis via Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Brazing analysis away from affected areas identified the expected phases for a Sil-Fos alloy. In contrast, the affected locations displayed micrometric cavities propagating into the material, along with selective corrosion of the bulk Cu initiated at the conductor-braze interface. Corrosion product analysis highlighted the consistent presence of sulfur (up to 6 % in weight), whose origin and role in the corrosion initiation and extension is being further investigated. The importance of this study is paramount as it plays a crucial role in comprehending the underlying factors contributing to recently identified water leaks and evaluating the extent of the issue. Its primary objective is to provide essential insights for the repair of impacted brazed joints when accessibility permits. Moreover, the study seeks to contribute to the improvement of design and manufacturing practices for future components, ultimately enhancing the overall reliability and performance of magnet systems within CERN accelerator facilities.

Keywords: accelerator facilities, brazed copper conducts, demineralized water, magnets

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Authors: Nynke de Jong, Inge G. P. Duimel-Peeters

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The flipped classroom as an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, off- and online, in- and outside the classroom, has been implemented in a 4-weeks module focusing on ageing in Europe at the Maastricht University. The main aim regarding the organization of this module was implementing flipped classroom-principles in order to create meaningful learning opportunities, while educational technologies are used to deliver content outside of the classroom. Technologies used in this module were an online interactive real time lecture from England, two interactive face-to-face lectures with visual supports, one group session including role plays and team-based learning meetings. The cohort of 2015-2016, using educational technologies, was compared with the cohort of 2014-2015 on module evaluation such as organization and instructiveness of the module, who studied the same content, although conforming the problem-based educational strategy, i.e. educational base of the Maastricht University. The cohort of 2015-2016 with its specific organization, was also more profound evaluated on outcomes as (1) experienced duration of the lecture by students, (2) experienced content of the lecture, (3) experienced the extent of the interaction and (4) format of lecturing. It was important to know how students reflected on duration and content taken into account their background knowledge so far, in order to distinguish between sufficient enough regarding prior knowledge and therefore challenging or not fitting into the course. For the evaluation, a structured online questionnaire was used, whereby above mentioned topics were asked for to evaluate by scoring them on a 4-point Likert scale. At the end, there was room for narrative feedback so that interviewees could express more in detail, if they wanted, what they experienced as good or not regarding the content of the module and its organization parts. Eventually, the response rate of the evaluation was lower than expected (54%), however, due to written feedback and exam scores, we dare to state that it gives a good and reliable overview that encourages to work further on it. Probably, the response rate may be explained by the fact that resit students were included as well, and that there maybe is too much evaluation as some time points in the program. However, overall students were excited about the organization and content of the module, but the level of self-directed behavior, necessary for this kind of educational strategy, was too low. They need to be more trained in self-directness, therefore the module will be simplified in 2016-2017 with more clear and fewer topics and extra guidance (step by step procedure). More specific information regarding the used technologies will be explained at the congress, as well as the outcomes (min and max rankings, mean and standard deviation).

Keywords: blended learning, flipped classroom, public health, self-directness

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Authors: Shosh Kazaz, Shmuel Banai, Vered Zilberberg

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Optimizing high business performance and employee's well-being simultaneously often challenges organizations. 'TIP' intervention enables achieving them both as the given project demonstrates. Increasing outcomes and improving performance were the initial motivators for this explorative project, followed by a request of the head of the Cardiology department: 'I know we are the best at our clinical practice, but we need to take it further and break our own glass ceiling.' Two guided interventions were conducted in two different units within the department, designed to implement advanced managerial and business-oriented tools, along with 'soft tools' based on coaching psychology and particularly wellness coaching. The organ department multi-disciplinary teams were assembled, aiming to manage and lead the process: mapping the patients' flow, creating solutions, implementing, assessing, improving and assimilating them. Approximately four months later, without additional external resources, meaningful results emerged by the teams in terms of business and performance: shortening the hospitalization length at a given procedure (from 7 to 2.1 days); increasing the availability of Catheterization laboratory by 16% daily – resulting profitability raise; improving patients' journey and experience. A year later, those results are maintained. Furthermore, interviews with the participants revealed positive perceptions regarding the department; a higher sense of joyfulness, connectedness, belonging and a better department climate were reported. Additionally, participants reported a higher sense of fulfillment as opposed to their earliest skepticism and cynicism about their ability to enhance outcomes without more resources (budget and/or manpower), experiencing a mindset change toward the possibility of leading personal and professional growth processes. These reports were supported by analyzing a set of questionnaires that the participants completed, parallel to a control group of non-participating colleagues. Although the assessment was taken a year after the completion of the project and during 'covid-19th-3rd national quarantine, the results indicated a significant impact on several personal parameters associated with wellness, compared to the control group. The participants were higher in self-efficacy and organizational commitment; men were higher in resilience and optimism and women were higher in well-being. In conclusion, the 'TIP' relatively short intervention integrates advanced managerial and wellness coaching tools, empowers organizational resources: Team, Individual and Process and by that generates multi-impact measurable results in terms of employee's wellness parameters along with business performance and patient care.

Keywords: coaching, health and wellness, health management, leadership and well-being

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Authors: Brandon Takahashi, Marielle Hanley, Gerry Hanley

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The large-scale quick-service restaurant industry is a complex business to manage optimally. With over 40 suppliers providing different ingredients for food preparation and thousands of restaurants serving over 50 unique food offerings across a wide range of regions, the company must implement a quality assurance process. Businesses want to deliver quality food efficiently, reliably, and successfully at a low cost that the public wants to buy. They also want to make sure that their food offerings are never unsafe to eat or of poor quality. A good reputation (and profitable business) developed over the years can be gone in an instant if customers fall ill eating your food. Poor quality also results in food waste, and the cost of corrective actions is compounded by the reduction in revenue. Product compliance evaluation assesses if the supplier’s ingredients are within compliance with the specifications of several attributes (physical, chemical, organoleptic) that a company will test to ensure that a quality, safe to eat food is given to the consumer and will deliver the same eating experience in all parts of the country. The technical component of the evaluation includes the chemical and physical tests that produce numerical results that relate to shelf-life, food safety, and organoleptic qualities. The psychological component of the evaluation includes organoleptic, which is acting on or involving the use of the sense organs. The rubric for product compliance evaluation has four levels: (1) Ideal: Meeting or exceeding all technical (physical and chemical), organoleptic, & psychological specifications. (2) Deviation from ideal but no impact on quality: Not meeting or exceeding some technical and organoleptic/psychological specifications without impact on consumer quality and meeting all food safety requirements (3) Acceptable: Not meeting or exceeding some technical and organoleptic/psychological specifications resulting in reduction of consumer quality but not enough to lessen demand and meeting all food safety requirements (4) Unacceptable: Not meeting food safety requirements, independent of meeting technical and organoleptic specifications or meeting all food safety requirements but product quality results in consumer rejection of food offering. Sampling of products and consumer tastings within the distribution network is a second critical element of the quality assurance process and are the data sources for the statistical analyses. Each finding is not independently assessed with the rubric. For example, the chemical data will be used to back up/support any inferences on the sensory profiles of the ingredients. Certain flavor profiles may not be as apparent when mixed with other ingredients, which leads to weighing specifications differentially in the acceptability decision. Quality assurance processes are essential to achieve that balance of quality and profitability by making sure the food is safe and tastes good but identifying and remediating product quality issues before they hit the stores. Comprehensive quality assurance procedures implement human factors methodologies, and this report provides recommendations for systemic application of quality assurance processes for quick service restaurant services. This case study will review the complex decision rubric and evaluate processes to ensure the right balance of cost, quality, and safety is achieved.

Keywords: decision making, food safety, organoleptics, product compliance, quality assurance

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Authors: Merve Yünlü, Nihat Kandemir, Aylin Ersoy

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Temperature sensors are used in home appliances not only to monitor the basic functions of the machine but also to minimize energy consumption and ensure safe operation. In parallel with the development of smart home applications and IoT algorithms, these sensors produce important data such as the frequency of use of the machine, user preferences, and the compilation of critical data in terms of diagnostic processes for fault detection throughout an appliance's operational lifespan. Commercially available thin-film resistive temperature sensors have a well-established manufacturing procedure that allows them to operate over a wide temperature range. However, these sensors are over-designed for white goods applications. The operating temperature range of these sensors is between -70°C and 850°C, while the temperature range requirement in home appliance applications is between 23°C and 500°C. To ensure the operation of commercial sensors in this wide temperature range, usually, a platinum coating of approximately 1-micron thickness is applied to the wafer. However, the use of platinum in coating and the high coating thickness extends the sensor production process time and therefore increases sensor costs. In this study, an attempt was made to develop a low-cost temperature sensor design and production method that meets the technical requirements of white goods applications. For this purpose, a custom design was made, and design parameters (length, width, trim points, and thin film deposition thickness) were optimized by using statistical methods to achieve the desired resistivity value. To develop thin film resistive temperature sensors, one side polished sapphire wafer was used. To enhance adhesion and insulation 100 nm silicon dioxide was coated by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition technique. The lithography process was performed by a direct laser writer. The lift-off process was performed after the e-beam evaporation of 10 nm titanium and 280 nm platinum layers. Standard four-point probe sheet resistance measurements were done at room temperature. The annealing process was performed. Resistivity measurements were done with a probe station before and after annealing at 600°C by using a rapid thermal processing machine. Temperature dependence between 25-300 °C was also tested. As a result of this study, a temperature sensor has been developed that has a lower coating thickness than commercial sensors but can produce reliable data in the white goods application temperature range. A relatively simplified but optimized production method has also been developed to produce this sensor.

Keywords: thin film resistive sensor, temperature sensor, household appliance, sustainability, energy efficiency

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Authors: Amirul Adlan, Robert A McCulloch, Neil Jenkins, MIchael Parry, Jonathan Stevenson, Lee Jeys

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Background and Objectives: The current antibiotic prophylaxis for oncological patients is based upon evidence from primary arthroplasty despite significant differences in both patient group and procedure. The aim of this study was to compare the microbiology organisms responsible for PJI in patients who underwent two-stage revision for infected primary knee replacement with those of infected oncological endoprostheses of the lower limb in a single institution. This will subsequently guide decision making regarding antibiotic prophylaxis at primary implantation for oncological procedures and empirical antibiotics for infected revision procedures (where the infecting organism(s) are unknown). Patient and Methods: 118 patients were treated with two-stage revision surgery for infected knee arthroplasty and lower limb endoprostheses between 1999 and 2019. 74 patients had two-stage revision for PJI of knee arthroplasty, and 44 had two-stage revision of lower limb endoprostheses. There were 68 males and 50 females. The mean age for the knee arthroplasty cohort and lower limb endoprostheses cohort were 70.2 years (50-89) and 36.1 years (12-78), respectively (p<0.01). Patient host and extremity criteria were categorised according to the MSIS Host and Extremity Staging System. Patient microbiological culture, the incidence of polymicrobial infection and multi-drug resistance (MDR) were analysed and recorded. Results: Polymicrobial infection was reported in 16% (12 patients) from knee arthroplasty PJI and 14.5% (8 patients) in endoprostheses PJI (p=0.783). There was a significantly higher incidence of MDR in endoprostheses PJI, isolated in 36.4% of cultures, compared to knee arthroplasty PJI (17.2%) (p=0.01). Gram-positive organisms were isolated in more than 80% of cultures from both cohorts. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) was the commonest gram-positive organism, and Escherichia coli was the commonest Gram-negative organism in both groups. According to the MSIS staging system, the host and extremity grade of knee arthroplasty PJI cohort were significantly better than endoprostheses PJI(p<0.05). Conclusion: Empirical antibiotic management of PJI in orthopaedic oncology is based upon PJI in arthroplasty despite differences in both host and microbiology. Our results show a significant increase in MDR pathogens within the oncological group despite CoNS being the most common infective organism in both groups. Endoprosthetic patients presented with poorer host and extremity criteria. These factors should be considered when managing this complex patient group, emphasising the importance of broad-spectrum antibiotic prophylaxis and preoperative sampling to ensure appropriate perioperative antibiotic cover.

Keywords: microbiology, periprosthetic Joint infection, knee arthroplasty, endoprostheses

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Authors: Philna Coetzee, Clara Msiza

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In modern society, audit committees are seen as the custodians of accountability and the conscience of management and the board. But who holds the audit committee accountable for their actions or non-actions and how do we know what they are supposed to be doing and what they are doing? The purpose of this article is to provide greater insight into the latter part of this problem, namely, determine what best practises for audit committees and the disclosure of what is the realities are. In countries where governance is well established, the roles and responsibilities of the audit committee are mostly clearly guided by legislation and/or guidance documents, with countries increasingly providing guidance on this topic. With high cost involved to adhere to governance guidelines, the public (for public organisations) and shareholders (for private organisations) expect to see the value of their ‘investment’. For audit committees, the dividends on the investment should reflect in less fraudulent activities, less corruption, higher efficiency and effectiveness, improved social and environmental impact, and increased profits, to name a few. If this is not the case (which is reflected in the number of fraudulent activities in both the private and the public sector), stakeholders have the right to ask: where was the audit committee? Therefore, the objective of this article is to contribute to the body of knowledge by comparing the adherence of audit committee to best practices guidelines as stipulated in the King Report across public listed companies, national and provincial government departments, state-owned enterprises and local municipalities. After constructs were formed, based on the literature, factor analyses were conducted to reduce the number of variables in each construct. Thereafter, cluster analyses, which is an explorative analysis technique that classifies a set of objects in such a way that objects that are more similar are grouped into the same group, were conducted. The SPSS TwoStep Clustering Component was used, being capable of handling both continuous and categorical variables. In the first step, a pre-clustering procedure clusters the objects into small sub-clusters, after which it clusters these sub-clusters into the desired number of clusters. The cluster analyses were conducted for each construct and the measure, namely the audit opinion as listed in the external audit report, were included. Analysing 228 organisations' information, the results indicate that there is a clear distinction between the four spheres of business that has been included in the analyses, indicating certain strengths and certain weaknesses within each sphere. The results may provide the overseers of audit committees’ insight into where a specific sector’s strengths and weaknesses lie. Audit committee chairs will be able to improve the areas where their audit committee is lacking behind. The strengthening of audit committees should result in an improvement of the accountability of boards, leading to less fraud and corruption.

Keywords: audit committee disclosure, cluster analyses, governance best practices, strengths and weaknesses

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Authors: C. Fernandez-Plaza, I. Abad, E. Diaz, I. Diaz

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Births occurring before the 37th week of gestation are considered preterm births. A threat of preterm is defined as the beginning of regular uterine contractions, dilation and cervical effacement between 23 and 36 gestation weeks. To author's best knowledge, the factors that determine the beginning of the birth are not completely defined yet. In particular, the incidence of sleep habits on preterm births is weekly studied. The aim of this study is to develop a model to predict the factors affecting premature delivery on pregnancy, based on the above potential risk factors, including those derived from sleep habits and light exposure at night (introduced as 12 variables obtained by a telephone survey using two questionnaires previously used by other authors). Thus, three groups of variables were included in the study (maternal, fetal and sleep habits). The study was approved by Research Ethics Committee of the Principado of Asturias (Spain). An observational, retrospective and descriptive study was performed with 481 births between January 1, 2015 and May 10, 2016 in the University Central Hospital of Asturias (Spain). A statistical analysis using SPSS was carried out to compare qualitative and quantitative variables between preterm and term delivery. Chi-square test qualitative variable and t-test for quantitative variables were applied. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between preterm vs. term births were found for primiparity, multi-parity, kind of conception, place of residence or premature rupture of membranes and interruption during nights. In addition to the statistical analysis, machine learning methods to look for a prediction model were tested. In particular, tree based models were applied as the trade-off between performance and interpretability is especially suitable for this study. C5.0, recursive partitioning, random forest and tree bag models were analysed using caret R-package. Cross validation with 10-folds and parameter tuning to optimize the methods were applied. In addition, different noise reduction methods were applied to the initial data using NoiseFiltersR package. The best performance was obtained by C5.0 method with Accuracy 0.91, Sensitivity 0.93, Specificity 0.89 and Precision 0.91. Some well known preterm birth factors were identified: Cervix Dilation, maternal BMI, Premature rupture of membranes or nuchal translucency analysis in the first trimester. The model also identifies other new factors related to sleep habits such as light through window, bedtime on working days, usage of electronic devices before sleeping from Mondays to Fridays or change of sleeping habits reflected in the number of hours, in the depth of sleep or in the lighting of the room. IF dilation < = 2.95 AND usage of electronic devices before sleeping from Mondays to Friday = YES and change of sleeping habits = YES, then preterm is one of the predicting rules obtained by C5.0. In this work a model for predicting preterm births is developed. It is based on machine learning together with noise reduction techniques. The method maximizing the performance is the one selected. This model shows the influence of variables related to sleep habits in preterm prediction.

Keywords: machine learning, noise reduction, preterm birth, sleep habit

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Narayani Sepaha

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In earlier days, the sufferer was burdened to prove the offence as well as to put the offender to punishment. The adversary system of legal procedure was characterized simply by two parties: the prosecution and the defence. With the onset of this system, firstly the judge started acting as a neutral arbitrator, and secondly, the state inadvertently started assuming the lead role and thereby relegated the victims to the position of oblivion. In this process, with the increasing role of police forces and the government, the victims got systematically excluded from the key stages of the case proceedings and were reduced to the stature of a prosecution witness. This paper tries to emphasise the increasing control over the various stages of the trial, by other stakeholders, leading to the marginalization of victims in the trial process. This monopolization has signalled the onset of an era of gross neglect of victims in the whole criminal justice system. This consciousness led some reformists to raise their concerns over the issue, during the early part of the 20th century. They started supporting the efforts which advocated giving prominence to the participation of victims in the trial process. This paved the way for the evolution of the science of victimology. Markedly the innovativeness to work out facts, seek opinions and statements of the victims and reassure that their voice is also heard has ensured the revival of their rightful roles in the justice delivery system. Many countries, like the US, have set an example by acknowledging the advantages of participation of victims in trials like in the proceedings of the Ariel Castro Kidnappings of Cleveland, Ohio and enacting laws for protecting their rights within the framework of the legal system to ensure speedy and righteous delivery of justice in some of the most complicated cases. An attempt has been made to flag that the accused have several rights in contrast to the near absence of separate laws for victims of crime, in India. It is sad to note that, even in the initial process of registering a crime the victims are subjected to the mercy of the officers in charge and thus begins the silent suffering of these victims, which continues throughout the process of their trial. The paper further contends, that the degree of victim participation in trials and its impact on the outcomes, can be debated and evaluated, but its potential to alter their position and make them regain their lost status cannot be ignored. Victim participation in trial proceedings will help the court in perceiving the facts of the case in a better manner and in arriving at a balanced view of the case. This will not only serve to protect the overall interest of the victims but will act to reinforce the faith in the criminal justice delivery system. It is pertinent to mention that there is an urgent need to review the accused centric prosecution system and introduce appropriate amendments so that the marginalization of victims comes to an end.

Keywords: victim participation, criminal justice, India, trial, marginalised

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Gözde Arzu Sarıcan

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Contemporary urbanization processes and spatial transformations are intensely debated across various fields of social sciences. One prominent concept in these discussions is "common spaces." Common spaces offer a critical theoretical framework, particularly for addressing the social and economic inequalities brought about by urbanization. This study examines the processes of commoning and their impacts through the lens of squatter neighborhoods in Turkey, emphasizing the importance of affordable housing. It focuses on the role and significance of these neighborhoods in the formation of common spaces, analyzing the collective actions and resistance strategies of residents. This process, which began with the construction of shelters to meet the shelter needs of low-income households migrating from rural to urban areas, has turned into low-quality squatter settlements over time. For low-income households lacking the economic power to rent or buy homes in the city, these areas provided an affordable housing solution. Squatter neighborhoods reflect the efforts of local communities to protect and develop their communal living spaces through collective actions and resistance strategies. This collective creation process involves the appropriation of occupied land as a common resource through the rules established by the commons. Organized occupations subdivide these lands, shaped through collective creation processes. For the squatter communities striving for economic and social adaptation, these areas serve as buffer zones for urban integration. In squatter neighborhoods, bonds of friendship, kinship, and compatriotism are strong, playing a significant role in the creation and dissemination of collective knowledge. Squatter areas can be described as common spaces that emerge out of necessity for low-income and marginalized groups. The design and construction of housing in squatter neighborhoods are shaped by the collective participation and skills of the residents. Streets are formed through collective decision-making and labor. Over time, the demands for housing are communicated to local authorities, enhancing the potential for commoning. Common spaces are shaped by collective needs and demands, appropriated, and transformed into potential new spaces. Common spaces are continually redefined and recreated. In this context, affordable housing becomes an essential aspect of these common spaces, providing a foundation for social and economic stability. This study evaluates the processes of commoning and their effects through the lens of squatter neighborhoods in Turkey. Communities living in squatter neighborhoods have managed to create and protect communal living spaces, especially in situations where official authorities have been inadequate. Common spaces are built on values such as solidarity, cooperation, and collective resistance. In urban planning and policy development processes, it is crucial to consider the concept of common spaces. Policies that support the collective efforts and resistance strategies of communities can contribute to more just and sustainable living conditions in urban areas. In this context, the concept of common spaces is considered an important tool in the fight against urban inequalities and in the expression and defense mechanisms of communities. By emphasizing the importance of affordable housing within these spaces, this study highlights the critical role of common spaces in addressing urban social and economic challenges.

Keywords: affordable housing, common space, squating process, turkey

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Authors: Qian Li, Zhaoping Zhong

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Sewage sludge, a typical solid waste, has inevitably been produced in enormous quantities in China. Still worse, the amount of sewage sludge produced has been increasing due to rapid economic development and urbanization. Compared to the conventional method to treat sewage sludge, pyrolysis has been considered an economic and ecological technology because it can significantly reduce the sludge volume, completely kill pathogens, and produce valuable solid, gas, and liquid products. However, the large-scale utilization of sludge biochar has been limited due to the considerable risk posed by heavy metals in the sludge. Heavy metals enriched in pyrolytic biochar could be divided into exchangeable, reducible, oxidizable, and residual forms. The residual form of heavy metals is the most stable and cannot be used by organisms. Kaolin and zeolite are environmentally friendly inorganic minerals with a high surface area and heat resistance characteristics. So, they exhibit the enormous potential to immobilize heavy metals. In order to reduce the risk of leaching heavy metals in the pyrolysis biochar, this study pyrolyzed sewage sludge mixed with kaolin/zeolite in a small rotary kiln. The influences of additives and pyrolysis temperature on the leaching concentration and morphological transformation of heavy metals in pyrolysis biochar were investigated. The potential mechanism of stabilizing heavy metals in the co-pyrolysis of sludge blended with kaolin/zeolite was explained by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and specific surface area and porosity analysis. The European Community Bureau of Reference sequential extraction procedure has been applied to analyze the forms of heavy metals in sludge and pyrolysis biochar. All the concentrations of heavy metals were examined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Compared with the proportions of heavy metals associated with the F4 fraction in pyrolytic carbon prepared without additional agents, those in carbon obtained by co-pyrolysis of sludge and kaolin/zeolite increased. Increasing the additive dosage could improve the proportions of the stable fraction of various heavy metals in biochar. Kaolin exhibited a better effect on stabilizing heavy metals than zeolite. Aluminosilicate additives with excellent adsorption performance could capture more released heavy metals during sludge pyrolysis. Then heavy metal ions would react with the oxygen ions of additives to form silicate and aluminate, causing the conversion of heavy metals from unstable fractions (sulfate, chloride, etc.) to stable fractions (silicate, aluminate, etc.). This study reveals that the efficiency of stabilizing heavy metals depends on the formation of stable mineral compounds containing heavy metals in pyrolysis biochar.

Keywords: co-pyrolysis, heavy metals, immobilization mechanism, sewage sludge

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Authors: Dewan Ahsan

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Denmark is well ahead in generating electricity from renewable sources. The offshore wind sector is playing the pivotal role to achieve this target. Though there is a rapid growth of offshore wind sector in Denmark, still there is a dearth of synchronization in OHS (occupational health and safety) regulation and standards. Therefore, this paper attempts to ascertain: i) what are the major challenges of the company specific OHS standards? ii) why does the offshore wind industry need a standardized OHS management system? and iii) who can play the key role in this process? To achieve these objectives, this research applies the interview and survey techniques. This study has identified several key challenges in OHS management system which are; gaps in coordination and communication among the stakeholders, gaps in incident reporting systems, absence of a harmonized OHS standard and blame culture. Furthermore, this research has identified eleven key stakeholders who are actively involve with the offshore wind business in Denmark. As noticed, the relationships among these stakeholders are very complex specially between operators and sub-contractors. The respondent technicians are concerned with the compliance of various third-party OHS standards (e.g. ISO 31000, ISO 29400, Good practice guidelines by G+) which are applying by various offshore companies. On top of these standards, operators also impose their own OHS standards. From the technicians point of angle, many of these standards are not even specific for the offshore wind sector. So, it is a big challenge for the technicians and sub-contractors to comply with different company specific standards which also elevate the price of their services offer to the operators. For instance, when a sub-contractor is competing for a bidding, it must fulfill a number of OHS requirements (which demands many extra documantions) set by the individual operator and/the turbine supplier. According to sub-contractors’ point of view these extra works consume too much time to prepare the bidding documents and they also need to train their employees to pass the specific OHS certification courses to accomplish the demand for individual clients and individual project. The sub-contractors argued that in many cases these extra documentations and OHS certificates are inessential to ensure the quality service. So, a standardized OHS management procedure (which could be applicable for all the clients) can easily solve this problem. In conclusion, this study highlights that i) development of a harmonized OHS standard applicable for all the operators and turbine suppliers, ii) encouragement of technicians’ active participation in the OHS management, iii) development of a good safety leadership, and, iv) sharing of experiences among the stakeholders (specially operators-operators-sub contractors) are the most vital strategies to overcome the existing challenges and to achieve the goal of 'zero accident/harm' in the offshore wind industry.

Keywords: green energy, offshore, safety, Denmark

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Authors: Aisling Parkes, Fiona Donson

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There is no doubt that parental imprisonment directly alters the social experiences of childhood for many children worldwide today. Indeed, the extent to which meaningful contact with a parent in prison can positively impact on the life of a child is well documented as are the benefits for the prisoner, particularly in the long term and post-release. However, despite the growing acceptance of children’s rights in Ireland over the past decade in particular, it appears that children’s rights have not yet succeeded in breaking through the walls of Irish prisons when children are visiting an incarcerated parent. In a prison system that continues to prioritise security over all other considerations, little attention has been given to the importance of recognising and protecting the rights of children affected by parental imprisonment in Ireland for children, families and society in the long term. This paper will present the findings which have emerged from a national qualitative research project (the first of its kind to be conducted in Ireland) which examines the current visiting conditions for children and families, and the related culture of visitation within the Irish Prison system. This study investigated, through semi-structured interviews and focus groups, the unique and specialist perspectives of senior prison management, prison governors, prison officers, support organisations, prison child care workers, as well as those with a family member in prison who have direct experience of prison visits in Ireland which involve children and young people. The reality of the current system of visitation that operates in Irish prisons and its impact on children’s rights is presented from a variety of perspectives. The idea of what meaningful contact means from a children’s rights based perspective is interrogated as are the benefits long term for both the child and the offender. The current system is benchmarked against well-accepted international children’s rights norms as reflected under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. The dissonance that continues to exist between the theory of children’s rights which includes the right to maintain meaningful contact with a parent in prison and current practice and procedure in Irish Prisons will be explored. In adopting a children’s rights based perspective combined with socio-legal research, this paper will explore the added value that this approach to prison visiting might offer in responding to this particularly marginalised group of children in terms of their social experience of childhood. Finally, the question will be raised as to whether or not there is a responsibility on prisons to view children as independent rights holders when they come to visit the prison or is the prison entitled to focus solely on the prisoner with their children being viewed as a circumstance of the offender? Do the interests of the child and the prisoner have to be exclusive or is there any way of marrying the two?

Keywords: children’s rights, prisoners, sociology, visitation

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Authors: Muhammad Jum’at Dasuki

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This study investigates the ethical implications of post-fuel subsidy removal support initiatives in Kwara State, Nigeria, with a focus on the application of Islamic principles. The contentious issue of subsidy removal carries significant social and economic consequences, emphasizing the crucial role of ethical considerations in policy implementation. The research provides a comprehensive background on fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria and its implications. Examining post-fuel subsidy removal palliative measures in Kwara State, the study focuses on design and implementation challenges, ethical considerations, transparency, equity, and public trust. Utilizing a case study approach offers insights and best practices. The methodology includes primary sources through in-depth oral interviews and secondary sources like textbooks and journals, aiming for a holistic understanding of the ethical dimensions of support initiatives within the context of Islamic principles in Kwara State. The objective is to contribute to policy decisions and community development. The study recommends an ethically sound implementation of post-fuel subsidy removal support initiatives, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and inclusivity. It advocates for the inclusiveness of governmental palliatives, reaching both civil servants and common individuals in the state. Continuous distribution during fuel subsidy removal challenges is deemed vital. Additionally, extending free or subsidized transportation beyond higher institutions to the general populace is suggested. Consideration should also be given to reducing governmental hospital bills or providing free health services. The study underscores the importance of Islamic ethics in Nigerian governance and employs a case study approach to assess palliative measures in Kwara State, offering practical insights for policymakers and stakeholders.

Keywords: considerations, ethical, palliative, post-fuel subsidy removal

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Authors: Elzyata Kuberlinova

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This study explores how the Kalmyk Buddhist sangha responded to the Russian empire’s administrative integration and how the Buddhist clerical institutions were shaped in the process of interaction with representatives of the predominantly Orthodox state. The eighteenth-nineteenth century Russian imperial regime adhered to a religion-centred framework to govern its diverse subjects. Within this framework, any form of religious authority was considered a useful tool in the imperial quest for legibility. As such, rather than imposing religious homogeneity, the Russian administration engineered a framework of religious toleration and integrated the non-Orthodox clerical institutions in the empire’s administration. In its attempt to govern the large body of Kalmyk Buddhist sangha, the Russian government had to incorporate the sangha into the imperial institutional establishment. To this end, the Russian government founded the Lamaist Spiritual Governing Board in 1834, which became a part of the civil administration, where the Kalmyk Buddhist affairs were managed under the supervision of the Russian secular authorities. In 1847 the Lamaist Spiritual Board was abolished and Buddhist religious authority was transferred to the Lama of the Kalmyk people. From 1847 until the end of the empire in 1917 the Lama was the manager and intermediary figure between the Russian authorities and the Kalmyks where religious affairs were concerned. Substantial evidence collected in archives in Elista, Astrakhan, Stavropol and St.Petersburg show that despite being on the government’s payroll, first the Lamaist Spiritual Governing Board and later on the Lama did not always serve the interests of the state, and did not always comply with the Russian authorities’ orders. Although being incorporated into the state administrative system the Lama often found ways to manoeuvre the web of the Russian imperial bureaucracy in order to achieve his own goals. The Lama often used ‘every-day forms of resistance’ such as feigned misinterpretation, evasion, false compliance, feigned ignorance, and sabotage in order to resist without directly confronting or challenging the state orders.

Keywords: Buddhist Sangha, intermediary, Kalmyks, Lama, legibility, resistance, reform, Russian empire

Procedia PDF Downloads 205

Authors: Umberto Di Staso, Marco Soave, Alessio Giori, Federico Prandi, Raffaele De Amicis

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The increasing availability of information about earth surface elevation (Digital Elevation Models DEM) generated from different sources (remote sensing, Aerial Images, Lidar) poses the question about how to integrate and make available to the most than possible audience this huge amount of data. In order to exploit the potential of 3D elevation representation the quality of data management plays a fundamental role. Due to the high acquisition costs and the huge amount of generated data, highresolution terrain surveys tend to be small or medium sized and available on limited portion of earth. Here comes the need to merge large-scale height maps that typically are made available for free at worldwide level, with very specific high resolute datasets. One the other hand, the third dimension increases the user experience and the data representation quality, unlocking new possibilities in data analysis for civil protection, real estate, urban planning, environment monitoring, etc. The open-source 3D virtual globes, which are trending topics in Geovisual Analytics, aim at improving the visualization of geographical data provided by standard web services or with proprietary formats. Typically, 3D Virtual globes like do not offer an open-source tool that allows the generation of a terrain elevation data structure starting from heterogeneous-resolution terrain datasets. This paper describes a technological solution aimed to set up a so-called “Terrain Builder”. This tool is able to merge heterogeneous-resolution datasets, and to provide a multi-resolution worldwide terrain services fully compatible with CesiumJS and therefore accessible via web using traditional browser without any additional plug-in.

Keywords: Terrain Builder, WebGL, Virtual Globe, CesiumJS, Tiled Map Service, TMS, Height-Map, Regular Grid, Geovisual Analytics, DTM

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Authors: Ramona Georgeta Biholar

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Gender-based violence against women plagues societies around the world. The work to eliminate it is an ongoing battle. At the international level, Article 5 (a) CEDAW establishes an agenda for social and cultural transformation: it imposes on States parties to CEDAW an obligation to modify sex roles and stereotypical social and cultural patterns of conduct. Also, it provides for the protection of women from violence stemming from such gender norms. Yet, the lived realities of women are frequently disconnected from this agenda. Nonetheless, it is the reality of the local that is crucial for the articulation, implementation and realization of women’s rights in general, and for the elimination of gender-based violence against women in particular. In this paper we discuss the transformation of sex roles and gender stereotyping with a view to realize women’s right to be free from gender-based violence. This paper is anchored in qualitative data collection undertaken in Jamaica and socio-legal research. Based on this research, 1) We explain the process of vernacularisation as a strategy that enables women’s human rights to hit the ground and benefit rights holders, and 2) We present a synergistic model for the implementation of Article 5 (a) CEDAW so that women’s right to be free from gender-based violence can be realized in a concrete national jurisdiction. This model is grounded in context-based demands and recommendations for social and cultural transformation as a remedy for the incidence of gender-based violence against women. Moreover, the synergistic model offers directions that have a general application for the implementation of CEDAW and Article 5 (a) CEDAW in particular, with a view to realize women’s right to be free from gender-based violence. The model is thus not only a conceptual tool of analysis, but also a prescriptive tool for action. It contributes to the work of both academics and practitioners, such as Governmental officials, and national and local civil society representatives. Overall, this paper contributes to understanding the process necessary to bridge that gap between women’s human rights norms and women’s life realities of discrimination and violence.

Keywords: CEDAW, gender-based violence against women, international human rights law, women’s rights implementation, the Caribbean

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Authors: Kathaleeya Chanda

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The schools under the Project Initiated by H.R.H Princess in Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in Nakhonnayok Educational Service Area Office are the small schools, situated in a remote and undeveloped area.Thus, the school-age youth didn’t have or have fewer opportunities to study at the higher education level which can lead to many social and economic problems. This study aims to solve these educational issues of the schools, under The Project Initiated by H.R.H Princess in Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Nakhonnayok Educational Service Area Office, by the development of teachers, so that teachers could develop teaching and learning system with the ultimate goal to increase students’ academic achievement, increase the educational opportunities for the youth in the area, and help them learn happily. 154 in-service teachers from 22 schools and 4 different districts in Nakhonnayok participated in this teacher training. Most teachers were satisfied with the training content and the trainer. Thereafter, the teachers were given the test to assess the skills and knowledge after training. Most of the teachers earned a score higher than 75%. Accordingly, it can be concluded that after attending the training, teachers have a clear understanding of the contents. After the training session, the teachers have to write a lesson plan that is integrated or adapted to the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy. The teachers can either adopt intradisciplinary or interdisciplinary integration according to their actual teaching conditions in the school. Two weeks after training session, the researchers went to the schools to discuss with the teachers and follow up the assigned integrated lesson plan. It was revealed that the progress of integrated lesson plan could be divided into 3 groups: 1) the teachers who have completed the integrated lesson plan, but are concerned about the accuracy and consistency, 2) teachers who almost complete the lesson plan or made a great progress but are still concerned, confused in some aspects and not fill in the details of the plan, and 3), the teachers who made few progress, are uncertain and confused in many aspects, and may had overloaded tasks from their school. However, a follow-up procedure led to the commitment of teachers to complete the lesson plan. Regarding student learning assessment, from an experiment teaching, most of the students earned a score higher than 50 %. The rate is higher than the one from actual teaching. In addition, the teacher have assessed that the student is happy, enjoys learning, and providing a good cooperates in teaching activities. The students’ interview about the new lesson plan shows that they are happy with it, willing to learn, and able to apply such knowledge in daily life. Integrated lesson plan can increases the educational opportunities for youth in the area.

Keywords: sufficiency, economy, philosophy, integrated education syllabus

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Szymon Rutkowski, Tomasz Korbak

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We present a reinforcement-learning-based method of training neural machine translation models without parallel corpora. The standard encoder-decoder approach to machine translation suffers from two problems we aim to address. First, it needs parallel corpora, which are scarce, especially for low-resource languages. Second, it lacks psychological plausibility of learning procedure: learning a foreign language is about learning to communicate useful information, not merely learning to transduce from one language’s 'encoding' to another. We instead pose the problem of learning to translate as learning a policy in a communication game between two agents: the translator and the classifier. The classifier is trained beforehand on a natural language inference task (determining the entailment relation between a premise and a hypothesis) in the target language. The translator produces a sequence of actions that correspond to generating translations of both the hypothesis and premise, which are then passed to the classifier. The translator is rewarded for classifier’s performance on determining entailment between sentences translated by the translator to disciple’s native language. Translator’s performance thus reflects its ability to communicate useful information to the classifier. In effect, we train a machine translation model without the need for parallel corpora altogether. While similar reinforcement learning formulations for zero-shot translation were proposed before, there is a number of improvements we introduce. While prior research aimed at grounding the translation task in the physical world by evaluating agents on an image captioning task, we found that using a linguistic task is more sample-efficient. Natural language inference (also known as recognizing textual entailment) captures semantic properties of sentence pairs that are poorly correlated with semantic similarity, thus enforcing basic understanding of the role played by compositionality. It has been shown that models trained recognizing textual entailment produce high-quality general-purpose sentence embeddings transferrable to other tasks. We use stanford natural language inference (SNLI) dataset as well as its analogous datasets for French (XNLI) and Polish (CDSCorpus). Textual entailment corpora can be obtained relatively easily for any language, which makes our approach more extensible to low-resource languages than traditional approaches based on parallel corpora. We evaluated a number of reinforcement learning algorithms (including policy gradients and actor-critic) to solve the problem of translator’s policy optimization and found that our attempts yield some promising improvements over previous approaches to reinforcement-learning based zero-shot machine translation.

Keywords: agent-based language learning, low-resource translation, natural language inference, neural machine translation, reinforcement learning

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Authors: Valeria Dilcheva, Svetlozara Petkova, Ivelin Vladov

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Nemathodes of the genus Trichinella are zoonotic parasites with a cosmopolitan distribution. More than 100 species of mammals, birds and reptiles are involved in the natural cycle of this nematode. At present, T. spiralis, T. pseudospiralis, and T. britovi have been found in Bulgaria. The existence of natural wildlife and domestic reservoirs of Trichinella spp. can be a serious threat to human health. Three trichinella isolates caused human trichinella infection outbreaks from three regions of Sofia City Province were used for the research: sample No. 1 - Ratus norvegicus, sample No. 2 – domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica), sample No. 3 - domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica). Trichinella larvae of the studied species were isolated via digestive method (pepsin, hydrochloric acid, water) at 37ºC by standard procedure and were determined by gender (male and female) based on their morphological characteristics. As a reference trichinella species were used: T. spiralis, T. pseudospiralis, T. nativa and T. britovi. Single male and female larvae of the three isolates were crossed with single male and female larvae of the reference trichinella species as well as reciprocally. As a result of cross-breeding, offspring of muscular larvae with T. spiralis and T. britovi were obtained, while in experiments with T. pseudospiralis and T. nativa, trichinella larvae were not found in the laboratory mice. The results obtained in the control groups indicate that the trichinella larvae used from the isolates and the four trichinella species are infective. Also, the infective ability of the F1 offspring from the successful cross-breeding between isolates and reference species was investigated. Through the data obtained in the experiment was found that isolates No. 1 and No. 2 belong to the species T. spiralis, and isolate No. 3 belongs to the species T. britovi. The results were confirmed by PCR and real-time PCR analysis. Thus the presence and circulation of the species T. spiralis and T. britovi in Bulgaria was confirmed. Probably the rodents (rats) are involved in the distribution of T. spiralis in urban environment. The species T. britovi found in a domestic pig speaks of some contact with wild animals for which T. britovi is characteristic. The probable reason is that a large number of farmers in Bulgaria practice the free-range breeding of domestic pigs. Part of the farmers also used as food for domestic pigs waste products from the game (foxes, jackals, bears, wolves) and probably thus the infection was obtained. The distribution range of trichinella species in Bulgaria is not strictly outlined. It is believed that T. spiralis is most common in domestic animals and T. britovi and T. pseudospiralis are characteristic of wildlife. To answer the question whether wild and synanthropic animals are infected with the same or different trichinella species, which species predominate in nature and what their distribution among different hosts is, further research is required.

Keywords: cross-breeding, Sofia, trichinellosis, Trichinella britovi, Trichinella spiralis

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Authors: Joanna Kufel-Orlowska

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Domestic violence is a social threat to public safety and order. It poses a threat not only to the family members of the perpetrator but also disturbs the functioning of society and even the state. In a situation of danger, an individual either defends himself or/and calls for help by contacting an appropriate institution whose aim is to ensure civil security. Most often, such contact takes place through a telephone conversation, which is aimed at diagnosing the problem and prompt intervention. People in different situations and in different ways, despite the general reporting standards, try to inform about the need for help. The article aims to present the results of research on non-standard forms of reporting domestic violence in the opinion of the Polish society and operators of the Polish emergency number 112 (911). The research was conducted in the form of a survey technique on a sample of 160 operators (purposeful selection) and 300 people living in Poland (random selection). The research was conducted in the form of online surveys. The study found that in Poland: 1. emergency number operators often receive reports of domestic violence although they are not always able to diagnose whether the case is strictly about violence; 2. non-standard reports of domestic violence are received by about 30% of emergency number operators. Non-standard should be understood as reports of violence that deviate from the norm, are unusual, or are reported by a non-victim. 3. The most common forms of reporting violence not directly are: pretending to talk to a friend, calling a cab, making an appointment with a dentist/doctor, calling a store and helping with the selection of goods, asking about the bank's hotline, not speaking (in order for the emergency number operator to hear what is going on). 4. Emergency number operators in Poland are properly trained and are able to recognize the threatening situation of the reporting party and conduct the conversation in a safe manner for the reporting party. On the other hand, Polish people support the ability to report violence in a non-standard way and would do so themselves in the event of a threat to their own life, health, or property, thus expecting the emergency number operator to recognize a report and help us.

Keywords: domestic violence, operator of the emergency number 112 (911), emergency call center, reporting domestic violence

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Marta Fernandez Cabrera

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The period of economic boom generated by the housing bubble created a climate of social indifference to the problem of corruption. This resulted in the persecution and conviction for these criminal offenses being low. After the economic recession, social awareness about the problem of corruption has increased. This has led to the Spanish citizenship requiring the public authorities to try to end the problem in the most effective way possible. In order to respond to the continuous social demands that require an exemplary punishment, the legislator has made changes in crimes against the public administration in the Spanish Criminal Code. However, from the point of view of criminal law, the social change has not served to modify only the law, but also the jurisprudence. After the recession, judges are punishing more severely these conducts than in the past. Before the crisis, it was usual for criminal judges to divert relevant behavior to other areas of the legal system such as administrative law and acquit in the criminal field. Criminal judges have considered that administrative law already has mechanisms that can effectively deal with this type of behavior in order to respect the principle of subsidiarity or ultima ratio. It has also been usual for criminal judges to acquit civil servants due to the absence of requirements unrelated to the applicable offense. For example, they have required an economic damage to the public administration when the offense in the criminal code does not require it. Nevertheless, for some years, these arguments have either partially disappeared or considerably transformed. Since 2010, a jurisprudential stream has been consolidated that aims to provide a more severe response to corruption than it had received until now. This change of opinion, together with greater prosecution of these behaviors by judges and prosecutors, has led to a significant increase in the number of individuals convicted of corruption crimes. This paper has two objectives. The first one is to show that even though judges apply the law impartially, they are flexible to social changes. The second one is to identify the erroneous arguments the courts have used up until now. To carry out the present paper, it has been done a detailed analysis of the judgments of the supreme court before and after the year 2010. Therefore, the jurisprudential analysis is complemented with the statistical data on corruption available.

Keywords: corruption, public administration, social perception, ultima ratio principle

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Wenjun Hou, Marek Perkowski

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The Traveling Salesman problem is famous in computing and graph theory. In short, it asks for the Hamiltonian cycle of the least total weight in a given graph with N nodes. All variations on this problem, such as those with K-bounded-degree nodes, are classified as NP-complete in classical computing. Although several papers propose theoretical high-level designs of quantum algorithms for the Traveling Salesman Problem, no quantum circuit implementation of these algorithms has been created up to our best knowledge. In contrast to previous papers, the goal of this paper is not to optimize some abstract complexity measures based on the number of oracle iterations, but to be able to evaluate the real circuit and time costs of the quantum computer. Using the emerging quantum programming language Q# developed by Microsoft, which runs quantum circuits in a quantum computer simulation, an implementation of the bounded-degree problem and its respective quantum circuit were created. To apply Grover’s algorithm to this problem, a quantum oracle was designed, evaluating the cost of a particular set of edges in the graph as well as its validity as a Hamiltonian cycle. Repeating the Grover algorithm with an oracle that finds successively lower cost each time allows to transform the decision problem to an optimization problem, finding the minimum cost of Hamiltonian cycles. N log₂ K qubits are put into an equiprobablistic superposition by applying the Hadamard gate on each qubit. Within these N log₂ K qubits, the method uses an encoding in which every node is mapped to a set of its encoded edges. The oracle consists of several blocks of circuits: a custom-written edge weight adder, node index calculator, uniqueness checker, and comparator, which were all created using only quantum Toffoli gates, including its special forms, which are Feynman and Pauli X. The oracle begins by using the edge encodings specified by the qubits to calculate each node that this path visits and adding up the edge weights along the way. Next, the oracle uses the calculated nodes from the previous step and check that all the nodes are unique. Finally, the oracle checks that the calculated cost is less than the previously-calculated cost. By performing the oracle an optimal number of times, a correct answer can be generated with very high probability. The oracle of the Grover Algorithm is modified using the recalculated minimum cost value, and this procedure is repeated until the cost cannot be further reduced. This algorithm and circuit design have been verified, using several datasets, to generate correct outputs.

Keywords: quantum computing, quantum circuit optimization, quantum algorithms, hybrid quantum algorithms, quantum programming, Grover’s algorithm, traveling salesman problem, bounded-degree TSP, minimal cost, Q# language

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Gali Pesin, Yuliya Lipshits-Braziler, Sima Amram-Vaknin, Moshe Tatar

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The present study introduces four different patterns of seeking and providing help online among adolescents: (I) ‘Transceivers’ - adolescents who both seek as well as provide help online; (II) ‘Receivers’ - adolescents who seek help online, yet don’t provide it; (III) ‘Transmitters’ - adolescents who provide help online, yet don’t seek it; and (IV) ‘Idles’ - adolescents who refrain from seeking and providing help online. The study examined differences in seeking and providing help online between possible combinations of the four patterns, as well as gender differences within each pattern. Data was collected from 528 adolescents in Israel (59% were girls). Findings revealed that Transceivers are the largest group (45%) in this study, with higher representation of girls (65%). These adolescents seek help mainly around social difficulties, and they turn to peers who are both known and unknown to them. In addition, their preferred way to seek and provide help is through social network sites. Moreover, they often accept and give others emotional support. Receivers are the smallest group (5%) in this study. They turn to both known and unknown professionals more often than to friends and family. In addition, they seek help mostly around health and nutrition issues, and they usually receive instrumental support. For Receivers, the most important factor for seeking help online is anonymity, and the least important factor is familiarity with the help giver. Transmitters represent 16% of the adolescents in this study, with a greater representation of boys (52%). Their main reason to refrain from seeking help online is self-reliance. Nevertheless, these adolescents provide help to others online, mainly to those known to them through posting or responding to posts on social network sites. Idles represent 34% of the adolescents in this study. They refrain from seeking help online mainly due to their preference to seek help face to face, and due to their lack of trust in the internet or those using it. Idles and Transmitters are willing to seek help online mostly from friends and family. In addition, they are willing seek help online mainly regarding questions concerning military or civil service. They consider the most important facilitators for seeking help online as confidentiality and reliability. The present study’s main contribution is exploring the role of providing online help in understanding the adolescent behavior of seeking help online. In addition, the results of the present study have practical implications for the work of mental health providers, such as counseling psychologists and online mental health support.

Keywords: adolescents, counseling, online help-seeking, online help-providing

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Ousmane Sarr

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The Senegalese coasts have high productivity of fishery resources due to the frequency of intense up-welling system that occurs along its coast, caused by the maritime trade winds making its waters nutrients rich. Fishing plays a primordial role in Senegal's socioeconomic plans and food security. However, a global diagnosis of the Senegalese maritime fishing sector has highlighted the challenges this sector encounters. Among these concerns, some significant stocks, a priority target for artisanal fishing, need further assessment. If no efforts are made in this direction, most stock will be overexploited or even in decline. It is in this context that this research was initiated. This investigation aimed to apply a multi-modal approach (LBB, Catch-only-based CMSY model and its most recent version (CMSY++); JABBA, and JABBA-Select) to assess the stock of Atlantic bonito, Sarda sarda (Bloch, 1793) in the Senegalese Exclusive Economic Zone (SEEZ). Available catch, effort, and size data from Atlantic bonito over 15 years (2004-2018) were used to calculate the nominal and standardized CPUE, size-frequency distribution, and length at retentions (50 % and 95 % selectivity) of the species. These relevant results were employed as input parameters for stock assessment models mentioned above to define the stock status of this species in this region of the Atlantic Ocean. The LBB model indicated an Atlantic bonito healthy stock status with B/BMSY values ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 and B/B0 values varying from 0.47 to 0.61 of the main scenarios performed (BON_AFG_CL, BON_GN_Length, and BON_PS_Length). The results estimated by LBB are consistent with those obtained by CMSY. The CMSY model results demonstrate that the SEEZ Atlantic bonito stock is in a sound condition in the final year of the main scenarios analyzed (BON, BON-bt, BON-GN-bt, and BON-PS-bt) with sustainable relative stock biomass (B2018/BMSY = 1.13 to 1.3) and fishing pressure levels (F2018/FMSY= 0.52 to 1.43). The B/BMSY and F/FMSY results for the JABBA model ranged between 2.01 to 2.14 and 0.47 to 0.33, respectively. In contrast, The estimated B/BMSY and F/FMSY for JABBA-Select ranged from 1.91 to 1.92 and 0.52 to 0.54. The Kobe plots results of the base case scenarios ranged from 75% to 89% probability in the green area, indicating sustainable fishing pressure and an Atlantic bonito healthy stock size capable of producing high yields close to the MSY. Based on the stock assessment results, this study highlighted scientific advice for temporary management measures. This study suggests an improvement of the selectivity parameters of longlines and purse seines and a temporary prohibition of the use of sleeping nets in the fishery for the Atlantic bonito stock in the SEEZ based on the results of the length-base models. Although these actions are temporary, they can be essential to reduce or avoid intense pressure on the Atlantic bonito stock in the SEEZ. However, it is necessary to establish harvest control rules to provide coherent and solid scientific information that leads to appropriate decision-making for rational and sustainable exploitation of Atlantic bonito in the SEEZ and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Keywords: multi-model approach, stock assessment, atlantic bonito, SEEZ

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Authors: Felix O. Akinboyewa

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To say that Nigeria is faced with the problem of domestic terrorism is to say the obvious. The spate of political assassination during the fourth republic (1999-2010) is representative of what has become a growing trend. In this research, an attempt was made to examine the problems of political assassination within the context of significant categories of domestic-related terrorism in Nigeria Democracy. The central questions are: What exactly are the nature of political violence and terrorist act in the Nigeria nascent democracy? Was there any factor responsible for the politics of violence and terrorist act in the Nigeria democracy? What implications can the political violence and terrorist act have on democratic consolidation, national peace, and security? What solutions can be proffered to eradicate terrorist act and political violence in the Nigeria democracy? The study adopted a descriptive survey design which falls within the empirical research methodology. The sample size of the study consisted of 220 subjects randomly selected. The main instruments used were questionnaire and interview schedule. Data generated from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage and tables. The research findings showed that unemployed youths and the members of Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) were the major actors in political violence in Nigeria. They have access to weapons and ammunitions which they use to terrorize the populace. The research showed that factors responsible for the political violence and terrorism in Nigeria are: poor electoral administration; election rigging; poor security system; religious and ethnic sentiment; problems of poverty and unemployment; over-exuberance and low level of education. The study also showed that electoral violence affects smooth running democracy in Nigeria. On the measures to be taken to eradicate political violence and terrorism in Nigeria, the research showed that provision of employment opportunities would go a long way to solving the problem. Civil society as an important institution can help to reduce incidence of political violence in Nigeria. Also, government has greater role to play. The study concludes that adherence to the proffered suggestions would reduce the level of political violence and terrorist act in Nigeria.

Keywords: consolidation, democracy, peace, security, terrorism, violence

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Authors: Aude Gounelle, Gloria Senfaute, Ludivine Saint-Mard, Thomas Chartier

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The long-term deformation rates of faults are not fully captured by Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA). PSHA that use catalogues to develop area or smoothed-seismicity sources is limited by the data available to constraint future earthquakes activity rates. The integration of faults in PSHA can at least partially address the long-term deformation. However, careful treatment of fault sources is required, particularly, in low strain rate regions, where estimated seismic hazard levels are highly sensitive to assumptions concerning fault geometry, segmentation and slip rate. When integrating faults in PSHA various constraints on earthquake rates from geologic and seismologic data have to be satisfied. For low strain rate regions where such data is scarce it would be especially challenging. Faults in PSHA requires conversion of the geologic and seismologic data into fault geometries, slip rates and then into earthquake activity rates. Several approaches exist for translating slip rates into earthquake activity rates. In the most frequently used approach, the background earthquakes are handled using a truncated approach, in which earthquakes with a magnitude lower or equal to a threshold magnitude (Mw) occur in the background zone, with a rate defined by the rate in the earthquake catalogue. Although magnitudes higher than the threshold are located on the fault with a rate defined using the average slip rate of the fault. As high-lighted by several research, seismic events with magnitudes stronger than the selected magnitude threshold may potentially occur in the background and not only at the fault, especially in regions of slow tectonic deformation. It also has been known that several sections of a fault or several faults could rupture during a single fault-to-fault rupture. It is then essential to apply a consistent modelling procedure to allow for a large set of possible fault-to-fault ruptures to occur aleatory in the hazard model while reflecting the individual slip rate of each section of the fault. In 2019, a tool named SHERIFS (Seismic Hazard and Earthquake Rates in Fault Systems) was published. The tool is using a methodology to calculate the earthquake rates in a fault system where the slip-rate budget of each fault is conversed into rupture rates for all possible single faults and faultto-fault ruptures. The objective of this paper is to compare the SHERIFS method with one other frequently used model to analyse the impact on the seismic hazard and through sensibility studies better understand the influence of key parameters and assumptions. For this application, a simplified but realistic case study was selected, which is in an area of moderate to hight seismicity (South Est of France) and where the fault is supposed to have a low strain.

Keywords: deformation rates, faults, probabilistic seismic hazard, PSHA

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Authors: Gilda Santos, Rita Marques, Francisca Marques, João Ribeiro, André Fonseca, João M. Miranda, João B. L. M. Campos, Soraia F. Neves

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Every year, an unacceptable number of firefighters are seriously burned during firefighting operations, with some of them eventually losing their life. Although thermal protective clothing research and development has been searching solutions to minimize firefighters heat load and skin burns, currently commercially available solutions focus in solving isolated problems, for example, radiant heat or water-vapor resistance. Therefore, episodes of severe burns and heat strokes are still frequent. Taking this into account, a consortium composed by Portuguese entities has joined synergies to develop an innovative protective clothing system by following a procedure based on the application of numerical models to optimize the design and using a combinationof protective clothing components disposed in different layers. Recently, it has been shown that Phase Change Materials (PCMs) can contribute to the reduction of potential heat hazards in fire extinguish operations, and consequently, their incorporation into firefighting protective clothing has advantages. The greatest challenge is to integrate these materials without compromising garments ergonomics and, at the same time, accomplishing the International Standard of protective clothing for firefighters – laboratory test methods and performance requirements for wildland firefighting clothing. The incorporation of PCMs into the firefighter's protective jacket will result in the absorption of heat from the fire and consequently increase the time that the firefighter can be exposed to it. According to the project studies and developments, to favor a higher use of the PCM storage capacityand to take advantage of its high thermal inertia more efficiently, the PCM layer should be closer to the external heat source. Therefore, in this stage, to integrate PCMs in firefighting clothing, a mock-up of a vest specially designed to protect the torso (back, chest and abdomen) and to be worn over a fire-resistant jacketwas envisaged. Different configurations of PCMs, as well as multilayer approaches, were studied using suitable joining technologies such as bonding, ultrasound, and radiofrequency. Concerning firefighter’s protective clothing, it is important to balance heat protection and flame resistance with comfort parameters, namely, thermaland water-vapor resistances. The impact of the most promising solutions regarding thermal comfort was evaluated to refine the performance of the global solutions. Results obtained with experimental bench scale model and numerical simulation regarding the integration of PCMs in a vest designed as protective clothing for firefighters will be presented.

Keywords: firefighters, multilayer system, phase change material, thermal protective clothing

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Mursleen Yasin, Sunil Panchal, Michelle Mak, Zhonghua Chen

Abstract:

“The use of agricultural and horticultural waste to obtain beneficial products. Thus reduce its environmental impact and help the general population.” Every year 20 billion dollars of food is wasted in the world. All the energy, resources, nutrients and metabolites are lost to the landfills as well. On farm production losses are a main issue in agriculture. Almost 25% vegetables never leave the farm because they are not considered perfect for supermarkets and treated as waste material along with the rest of the plant parts. For capsicums, this waste is 56% of the total crop. Capsicum genus is enriched with a group of compounds called capsaicinoids which are a source of spiciness of these fruits. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin are the major members comprising almost 90% of this group. The major production and accumulation site is the non-edible part of fruit i.e., placenta. Other parts of the plant, like stem, leaves, pericarp and seeds, also contain these pungent compounds. Capsaicinoids are enriched with properties like analgesic, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-virulence anti-carcinogenic, chemo preventive, chemotherapeutic, antidiabetic etc. They are also effective in treating problems related to gastrointestinal tract, lowering cholesterol and triglycerides in obesity. The aim of the study is to develop a standardised technique for capsaicinoids extraction and to identify better nutrient treatment for fruit and capsaicinoids yield. For research 3 capsicum and 2 chilli varieties were grown in a high-tech glass house facility in Sydney, Australia. Plants were treated with three levels of nutrient treatments i.e., EC 1.8, EC 2.8 and EC 3.8 in order to check its effect on fruit yield and capsaicinoids concentration. Solvent extraction procedure is used with 75% ethanol to extract these secondary metabolites. Physiological, post-harvest and waste biomass measurement and metabolomic analysis are also performed. The results showed that EC 2.8 gave the better fruit yield of capsicums, and those fruits have the higher capsaicinoids concentration. For chillies, higher EC levels had better results than lower treatment. The UHPLC analysis is done to quantify the compounds, and a decrease in capsaicin concentration is observed with the crop maturation. The outcome of this project is a sustainable technique for extraction of capsaicinoids which can easily be adopted by farmers. In this way, farmers can help in value adding of waste by extracting and selling capsaicinoids to nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries and also earn some secondary income from the 56% waste of capsicum crop.

Keywords: capsaicinoids, plant waste, capsicum, solvent extraction, waste biomass

Procedia PDF Downloads 64

Authors: Mehmet Uysal, Yavuz Arat, Uğur Tuztaşı

Abstract:

As man constructed the spaces that he lived in he also designed spaces where their dead will stay according to their belief systems. These spaces are sometimes monumentalized by the means of a stone on the top of a mountain, sometimes signed by totems and sometimes became structures to protect graves and symbolize the person or make him unforgettable. Various grave monuments have been constructed from the earliest primitive societies to developed societies. Every belief system built structures for itself; Pyramids for pharaohs, grave monuments for kings and emperors, temples and tombs for important men of religion. These spaces are also architectural works like a school or a dwelling and have importance in history of architecture. After Turks embraced Islamism, examples of very beautiful tombs are built in Middle Asia during the Seljuk Period. By the time Seljuks came to Anatolia they built important tombs having peerless architectural characteristics firstly around Ahlat. After Anatolia Seljuks made Konya the capital city and Konya became administrative, cultural and scientific center, very important tombs were built in Konya. Different from the local tomb architecture, the architecture of tombs with half-open “eyvan/Iwan” is significant. Although iwan buildings is vastly used in Anatolian civil architecture and monumental buildings its best exmaples are observed in 13th century Medrese buildings. The iwan tomb tradition which was observed during the time period when this building typology was shaped and departed from the resident tradition in the form of iwan tombs are rarely represented. However, similar tombs were build in resemblance to this tradition. This study provides information on samples of iwan tombs (Gömeç Hatun Tomb, Emir Yavaştagel Tomb, and Beşparmak Tomb) and evaluates the departures from iwan building complexes in view of architectural language. This paper also gives information about iwan tombs among tombs having importance in Islamic Architectural Heritage.

Keywords: Seljuk Building Complex, Eyvan/Iwan, Anatolia, Islamic Architectural Heritage, tomb

Procedia PDF Downloads 388