Search results for: financial inclusion

Authors: Ezra Kavana

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This article analyses the role those East African countries play in enforcing crude oil pipeline regulations. The paper finds that countries are more likely to have responsibility for enforcing these regulations if they have larger networks of gathering and transmission lines and if their citizens are more liberal and more pro-environment., Pipeline operations, transportation costs, new pipeline construction, and environmental effects are all heavily controlled. All facets of pipeline systems and the facilities connected to them are governed by statutory bodies. In order to support the project manager on such new pipeline projects, companies building and running these pipelines typically include personnel and consultants who specialize in these permitting processes. The primary permissions that can be necessary for pipelines carrying different commodities are mentioned in this paper. National, regional, and local municipalities each have their own permits. Through their right-of-way group, the contractor's project compliance leadership is typically directly responsible for obtaining those permits, which are typically obtained through government agencies. The whole list of local permits needed for a planned pipeline can only be found after a careful field investigation. A country's government regulates pipelines that are entirely within its borders. With a few exceptions, state regulations governing ratemaking and safety have been enacted to be consistent with regulatory requirements. Countries that produce a lot of energy are typically more involved in regulating pipelines than countries that produce little to no energy. To identify the proper regulatory authority, it is important to research the several government agencies that regulate pipeline transportation. Additionally, it's crucial that the scope determination of a planned project engage with a various external professional with experience in linear facilities or the company's pipeline construction and environmental professional to identify and obtain any necessary design clearances, permits, or approvals. These professionals can offer precise estimations of the costs and length of time needed to process necessary permits. Governments with a stronger energy sector, on the other hand, are less likely to take on control. However, the performance of the pipeline or national enforcement activities are unaffected significantly by whether a government has taken on control. Financial fines are the most efficient government enforcement instrument because they greatly reduce occurrences and property damage.

Keywords: crude oil, pipeline, regulatory compliance, and construction permits

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Authors: Desmond F. Bellamy

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Discourses about animal rights usually assume an ontological abyss between human and animal. This supposition of non-animality allows us to utilise and exploit non-humans, particularly those with commercial value, with little regard for their rights or interests. We can and do confine them, inflict painful treatments such as castration and branding, and slaughter them at an age determined only by financial considerations. This paper explores the way images and texts depicting human cannibalism reflect this deprivation of rights back onto our species and examines how this offers new perspectives on our granting or withholding of rights to farmed animals. The animals we eat – sheep, pigs, cows, chickens and a small handful of other species – are during processing de-animalised, turned into commodities, and made unrecognisable as formerly living beings. To do the same to a human requires the cannibal to enact another step – humans must first be considered as animals before they can be commodified or de-animalised. Different iterations of cannibalism in a selection of fiction and non-fiction texts will be considered: survivalism (necessitated by catastrophe or dystopian social collapse), the primitive savage of colonial discourses, and the inhuman psychopath. Each type of cannibalism shows alternative ways humans can be animalised and thereby dispossessed of both their human and animal rights. Human rights, summarised in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights as ‘life, liberty, and security of person’ are stubbornly denied to many humans, and are refused to virtually all farmed non-humans. How might this paradigm be transformed by seeing the animal victim replaced by an animalised human? People are fascinated as well as repulsed by cannibalism, as demonstrated by the upsurge of films on the subject in the last few decades. Cannibalism is, at its most basic, about envisaging and treating humans as objects: meat. It is on the dinner plate that the abyss between human and ‘animal’ is most challenged. We grasp at a conscious level that we are a species of animal and may become, if in the wrong place (e.g., shark-infested water), ‘just food’. Culturally, however, strong traditions insist that humans are much more than ‘just meat’ and deserve a better fate than torment and death. The billions of animals on death row awaiting human consumption would ask the same if they could. Depictions of cannibalism demonstrate in graphic ways that humans are animals, made of meat and that we can also be butchered and eaten. These depictions of us as having the same fleshiness as non-human animals reminds us that they have the same capacities for pain and pleasure as we do. Depictions of cannibalism, therefore, unconsciously aid in deconstructing the human/animal binary and give a unique glimpse into the often unnoticed repudiation of animal rights.

Keywords: animal rights, cannibalism, human/animal binary, objectification

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Alissa Lefebre

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It might seem intuitive to hope for a fast decision on the patent grant. After all, a granted patent provides you with a monopoly position, which allows you to obstruct others from using your technology. However, this does not take into account the strategic advantages one can obtain from keeping their patent applications pending. First, you have the financial advantage of postponing certain fees, although many applicants would probably agree that this is not the main benefit. As the scope of the patent protection is only decided upon at the grant, the pendency period introduces uncertainty amongst rivals. This uncertainty entails not knowing whether the patent will actually get granted and what the scope of protection will be. Consequently, rivals can only depend upon limited and uncertain information when deciding what technology is worth pursuing. One way to keep patent applications pending, is the use of divisional applications. These applicants can be filed out of a parent application as long as that parent application is still pending. This allows the applicant to pursue (part of) the content of the parent application in another application, as the divisional application cannot exceed the scope of the parent application. In a fast-moving and complex market such as the tele- and digital communications, it might allow applicants to obtain an actual monopoly position as competitors are discouraged to pursue a certain technology. Nevertheless, this practice also has downsides to it. First of all, it has an impact on the workload of the examiners at the patent office. As the number of patent filings have been increasing over the last decades, using strategies that increase this number even more, is not desirable from the patent examiners point of view. Secondly, a pending patent does not provide you with the protection of a granted patent, thus not only create uncertainty for the rivals, but also for the applicant. Consequently, the European patent office (EPO) has come up with a “raising the bar initiative” in which they have decided to tackle the strategic use of divisional applications. Over the past years, two rules have been implemented. The first rule in 2010 introduced a time limit, upon which divisional applications could only be filed within a 24-month limit after the first communication with the patent office. However, after carrying-out a user feedback survey, the EPO abolished the rule again in 2014 and replaced it by a fee mechanism. The fee mechanism is still in place today, which might be an indication of a better result compared to the first rule change. This study tests the impact of these rules on the strategic use of divisional applications in the tele- and digital communication industry and provides empirical evidence on their success. Upon using three different survival models, we find overall evidence that divisional applications prolong the pendency time and that only the second rule is able to tackle the strategic patenting and thus decrease the pendency time.

Keywords: divisional applications, regulatory changes, strategic patenting, EPO

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Joshua Fogel, Rivka Herzog

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Although direct-to-consumer prescription medication advertisements (DTCA) are viewed or heard in many venues, there does not appear to be any research for internet social media DTCA. We study the association of traditional media DTCA and digital media DTCA including internet social media of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter with three different outcomes. There was one intentions outcome and two different behavior outcomes. The intentions outcome was the agreement level for seeking additional information about a prescription medication after seeing a DTCA. One behavior outcome was the agreement level for obtaining additional information about a prescription medication after seeing a DTCA. The other behavior outcome was the frequency level for obtaining additional information about a prescription medication after seeing a DTCA. Surveys were completed by 635 college students. Predictors included demographic variables, theory of planned behavior variables, health variables, and advertisements seen or heard. Also, in the behavior analyses, additional predictors of intentions and sources for seeking additional prescription drug information were included. Multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted. We found that increased age was associated with increased behavior, women were associated with increased intentions, and Hispanic race/ethnicity was associated with decreased behavior. For the theory of planned behavior variables, increased attitudes were associated with increased intentions, increased social norms were associated with increased intentions and behavior, and increased intentions were associated with increased behavior. Very good perceived health was associated with increased intentions. Advertisements seen in spam mail were associated with decreased intentions. Advertisements seen on traditional or cable television were associated with decreased behavior. Advertisements seen on television watched on the internet were associated with increased behavior. The source of seeking additional information of reading internet print content was associated with increased behavior. No internet social media advertisements were associated with either intentions or behavior. In conclusion, pharmaceutical brand managers and marketers should consider these findings when tailoring their DTCA advertising campaigns and directing their DTCA advertising budget towards young adults such as college students. They need to reconsider the current approach for traditional television DTCA and also consider dedicating a larger advertising budget toward internet television DTCA. Although internet social media is a popular place to advertise, the financial expenditures do not appear worthwhile for DTCA when targeting young adults such as college students.

Keywords: brand managers, direct-to-consumer advertising, internet, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Oktia Woro Kasmini Handayani, Bambang Budi Raharjo, Efa Nugroho, Bertakalswa Hermawati

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Obesity prevalence and severe malnutrition in Indonesia has increased from 2007 to 2013. The utilization of local resources in nutritional program planning can be used to program efficiency and to reach the goal. The aim of this research is to plan a nutrition program based on local resources for urban fringe areas in a developing country. This research used a qualitative approach, with a focus on local resources including social capital, social system, cultural system. The study was conducted in Mijen, Central Java, as one of the urban fringe areas in Indonesia. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques are used to determine participants. A total of 16 participants took part in the study. Observation, interviews, focus group discussion, SWOT analysis, brainstorming and Miles and Huberman models were used to analyze the data. We have identified several local resources, such as the contributions from nutrition cadres, social organizations, social financial resources, as well as the cultural system and social system. The outstanding contribution of nutrition cadres is the participation and creativity to improve nutritional status. In addition, social organizations, like the role of the integrated health center for children (Pos Pelayanan Terpadu), can be engaged in the nutrition program planning. This center is supported by House of Nutrition to assist in nutrition program planning, and provide social support to families, neighbors and communities as social capitals. The study also reported that cultural systems that show appreciation for well-nourished children are a better way to improve the problem of balanced nutrition. Social systems such as teamwork and mutual cooperation can also be a potential resource to support nutritional programs and overcome associated problems. The impact of development in urban areas such as the introduction of more green areas which improve the perceived status of local people, as well as new health services facilitated by people and companies, can also be resources to support nutrition programs. Local resources in urban fringe areas can be used in the planning of nutrition programs. The expansion of partnership with all stakeholders, empowering the community through optimizing the roles of nutrition care centers for children as our recommendation with regard to nutrition program planning.

Keywords: developing country, local resources, nutrition program, urban fringe

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Authors: Tatiana Butkova, Nikolai Kibrik, Kristina Malsagova, Alexander Izotov, Alexander Stepanov, Anna Kaysheva

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Relevance. The genetic risk of developing schizophrenia is determined by two factors: single nucleotide polymorphisms and gene copy number variations. The search for serological markers for early diagnosis of schizophrenia is driven by the fact that the first five years of the disease are accompanied by significant biological, psychological, and social changes. It is during this period that pathological processes are most amenable to correction. The aim of this study was to analyze single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are hypothesized to potentially influence the onset and development of the endogenous process. Materials and Methods It was analyzed 73 single nucleotide polymorphism variants. The study included 48 patients undergoing inpatient treatment at "Psychiatric Clinical Hospital No. 1" in Moscow, comprising 23 females and 25 males. Inclusion criteria: - Patients aged 18 and above. - Diagnosis according to ICD-10: F20.0, F20.2, F20.8, F21.8, F25.1, F25.2. - Voluntary informed consent from patients. Exclusion criteria included: - The presence of concurrent somatic or neurological pathology, neuroinfections, epilepsy, organic central nervous system damage of any etiology, and regular use of medication. - Substance abuse and alcohol dependence. - Women who were pregnant or breastfeeding. Clinical and psychopathological assessment was complemented by psychometric evaluation using the PANSS scale at the beginning and end of treatment. The duration of observation during therapy was 4-6 weeks. Total DNA extraction was performed using QIAamp DNA. Blood samples were processed on Illumina HiScan and genotyped for 652,297 markers on the Infinium Global Chips Screening Array-24v2.0 using the IMPUTE2 program with parameters Ne=20,000 and k=90. Additional filtration was performed based on INFO>0.5 and genotype probability>0.5. Quality control of the obtained DNA was conducted using agarose gel electrophoresis, with each tested sample having a volume of 100 µL. Results. It was observed that several SNPs exhibited gender dependence. We identified groups of single nucleotide polymorphisms with a membership of 80% or more in either the female or male gender. These SNPs included rs2661319, rs2842030, rs4606, rs11868035, rs518147, rs5993883, and rs6269.Another noteworthy finding was the limited combination of SNPs sufficient to manifest clinical symptoms leading to hospitalization. Among all 48 patients, each of whom was analyzed for deviations in 73 SNPs, it was discovered that the combination of involved SNPs in the manifestation of pronounced clinical symptoms of schizophrenia was 19±3 out of 73 possible. In study, the frequency of occurrence of single nucleotide polymorphisms also varied. The most frequently observed SNPs were rs4849127 (in 90% of cases), rs1150226 (86%), rs1414334 (75%), rs10170310 (73%), rs2857657, and rs4436578 (71%). Conclusion. Thus, the results of this study provide additional evidence that these genes may be associated with the development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. However, it's impossible cannot rule out the hypothesis that these polymorphisms may be in linkage disequilibrium with other functionally significant polymorphisms that may actually be involved in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. It has been shown that missense SNPs by themselves are likely not causative of the disease but are in strong linkage disequilibrium with non-functional SNPs that may indeed contribute to disease predisposition.

Keywords: gene polymorphisms, genotyping, single nucleotide polymorphisms, schizophrenia.

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Authors: Wusu Conteh

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Since the 1990s, neo-liberalization has become a global agenda. The free market ushered in an unprecedented drive by Multinational Corporations (MNCs) to secure mineral rights in resource-rich countries. Several governments in the Global South implemented a liberalized mining policy with support from the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). MNCs have maintained that voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has engendered socio-economic development in mining-affected communities. However, most resource-rich countries are struggling to transform the resources into sustainable socio-economic development. They are trapped in what has been widely described as the ‘resource curse.’ In an attempt to address this resource conundrum, the African Mining Vision (AMV) of 2009 developed a model on resource governance. The advent of the AMV has engendered the introduction of mandatory community development agreement (CDA) into the legal framework of many countries in Africa. In 2009, Sierra Leone enacted the Mines and Minerals Act that obligates mining companies to invest in Primary Host Communities. The study employs interviews and field observation techniques to explicate the dynamics of the CDA program. A total of 25 respondents -government officials, NGOs/CSOs and community stakeholders were interviewed. The study focuses on a case study of the Sierra Rutile CDA program in Sierra Leone. Extant scholarly works have extensively explored the resource curse and voluntary CSR. There are limited studies to uncover the mandatory CDA and its impact on socio-economic development in mining-affected communities. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explicate the impact of the CDA in Sierra Leone. Using the theory of change helps to understand how the availability of mandatory funds can empower communities to take an active part in decision making related to the development of the communities. The results show that the CDA has engendered a predictable fund for community development. It has also empowered ordinary members of the community to determine the development program. However, the CDA has created a new ground for contestations between the pre-existing local governance structure (traditional authority) and the newly created community development committee (CDC) that is headed by an ordinary member of the community.

Keywords: community development agreement, impact, mandatory, participation

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Authors: Lorand Ujhazi

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The vast majority of existing canonical studies about migration are focused on examining the general pastoral and legal regulations of the Catholic Church. The weakness of this approach is that it ignores a number of important factors; like the financial, legal and personal circumstances of a particular church or the canonical position of certain organizations which actually look after the immigrants. This paper is a case study, which analyses the current and historical migration related policies and activities of the Catholic Church in Hungary. To achieve this goal the study uses canon law, historical publications, various instructions and communications issued by church superiors, Hungarian and foreign media reports and the relevant Hungarian legislation. The paper first examines how the Hungarian Catholic Church assisted migrants like Armenians fleeing from the Ottoman Empire, Poles escaping during the Second World War, East German and Romanian citizens in the 1980s and refugees from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. These events underline the importance of past historical experience in the development of contemporary pastoral and humanitarian policy of the Catholic Church in Hungary. Then the paper turns to the events of the ongoing crisis by describing the unique challenges faced by churches in transit countries like Hungary. Then the research contrasts these findings with the typical responsibilities of churches in countries which are popular destinations for immigrants. The next part of the case study focuses on the changes to the pre-crisis legal and canonical framework which influenced the actions of hierarchical and charity organizations in Hungary. Afterwards, the paper illustrates the dangers of operating in an unclear legal environment, where some charitable activities of the church like a fundraising campaign may be interpreted as a national security risk by state authorities. Then the paper presents the reactions of Hungarian academics to the current migration crisis and finally it offers some proposals how to improve parts of Canon Law which govern immigration. The conclusion of the paper is that during the formulation of the central refugee policy of the Catholic Church decision makers must take into consideration the peculiar circumstances of its particular churches. This approach may prevent disharmony between the existing central regulations, the policy of the Vatican and the operations of the local church organizations.

Keywords: canon law, Catholic Church, civil law, Hungary, immigration, national security

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Andrea Ando

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The development of the blockchain has been a major innovation in the technology field. It opened the door to the creation of novel cyberassets and currencies. In more recent times, the non-fungible tokens have started to be at the centre of media attention. Their popularity has been increasing since 2021, and they represent the latest in the world of distributed ledger technologies and cryptocurrencies. It seems more and more likely that NFTs will play a more important role in our online interactions. They are indeed increasingly taking part in the arts and technology sectors. Their impact on society and the market is still very difficult to define, but it is very likely that there will be a turning point in the world of digital assets. There are some examples of their peculiar behaviour and effect in our contemporary tech-market: the former CEO of the famous social media site Twitter sold an NFT of his first tweet for around £2,1 million ($2,5 million), or the National Basketball Association has created a platform to sale unique moment and memorabilia from the history of basketball through the non-fungible token technology. Their growth, as imaginable, paved the way for civil disputes, mostly regarding their position under the current intellectual property law in each jurisdiction. In April 2022, the High Court of England and Wales ruled in the OpenSea case that non-fungible tokens can be considered properties. The judge, indeed, concluded that the cryptoasset had all the indicia of property under common law (National Provincial Bank v. Ainsworth). The research has demonstrated that the ruling of the High Court is not providing enough answers to the dilemma of whether minting an NFT is a violation or not of intellectual property and/or property rights. Indeed, if, on the one hand, the technology follows the framework set by the case law (e.g., the 4 criteria of Ainsworth), on the other hand, the question that arises is what is effectively protected and owned by both the creator and the purchaser. Then the question that arises is whether a person has ownership of the cryptographed code, that it is indeed definable, identifiable, intangible, distinct, and has a degree of permanence, or what is attached to this block-chain, hence even a physical object or piece of art. Indeed, a simple code would not have any financial importance if it were not attached to something that is widely recognised as valuable. This was demonstrated first through the analysis of the expectations of intellectual property law. Then, after having laid the foundation, the paper examined the OpenSea case, and finally, it analysed whether the expectations were met or not.

Keywords: technology, technology law, digital law, cryptoassets, NFTs, NFT, property law, intellectual property law, copyright law

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Authors: Rapuane Eric Jan Pule

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Sport participation plays a significant role in learners’ well-being and lifestyle. Learners spend most of their time in the school environment, where they are monitored, guided and advised by teachers. Teachers have a good relationship with the learners, therefore they can play a major role in promoting and influencing learners to participate in physical activities, both competitive and recreational purposes. Their influence and involvement could assist in increasing the number learners' involvement in physical activities, sport and recreation at Township schools. The national sport and recreation plan in South Africa, recommends that promotion of sport and physical activities at primary and secondary schools should play an important role in helping learners commit to a live-long participation in sport, recreational and physical activities. Schoolteachers could play an influential role in ensuring that learners spent their leisure time productively through physical and recreational activities. However, the role and the influence of teachers in promoting physical and recreational activities have been previously overlooked in the literature. Part of this study focuses on the in-depth challenges encountered by primary and secondary school teachers at Township schools in promoting and influencing learners’ involvement in sport, recreation and physical activities. 109 primary and secondary teachers at Township schools agreed to participate in the study through the provision of informed consent. The participants consisted of 49 primary school teachers and 60 secondary school teachers. Quantitative approach was followed using validated structured questionnaire comprising 12 close-ended items were used. Findings indicated that teachers' can play a significant role in influencing and encouraging learners to participate in sport, recreation or physical activities. Teachers view physical activity as an important developmental component for learners. Primary school teachers believe that they have a significant role to play in encouraging and promoting physical activities, sport and recreation, as compared to the secondary school teachers. Both group of teachers at primary and secondary schools, believe that infrastructure development, financial support, and extra incentives could motivate them to promote physical, recreational and sporting activities at schools. Teachers also acknowledge that schools are facing challenges in implementing and coordinating physical activities and recreational programmes as required by the Department of sport and recreation South Africa. It is recommended that the Department of Basic Education and Sport and Recreation South Africa revise their policies regarding the role of teachers in promoting and administering physical and recreational activities at schools.

Keywords: township, physical activities, sport and recreation participation, learners, teachers, primary and secondary schools, physical education

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

Authors: Melanie Grier, Adam Murry

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Objective: Worldwide, Indigenous Peoples experience underemployment and poverty at disproportionately higher rates than non-Indigenous people, despite similar rates of employment seeking. Euro-colonial conquest and genocidal assimilation policies are implicated as perpetuating poverty, which research consistently links to health and wellbeing disparities. Many of the contributors to poverty, such as inadequate income and lack of access to medical care, can be directly or indirectly linked to underemployment. Calls have been made to prioritize Indigenous perspectives in Industrial-Organizational (I/O) psychology research, yet the literature on Indigenous employment remains scarce. What does exist is disciplinarily diverse, topically scattered, and lacking evidence of community-based participatory research (CBPR) practices, a research project approach which prioritizes community leadership, partnership, and betterment and reduces the potential for harm. Due to the harmful colonial legacy of extractive scientific inquiry "on" rather than "with" Indigenous groups, Indigenous leaders and research funding agencies advocate for academic researchers to adopt reparative research methodologies such as CBPR to be used when studying issues pertaining to Indigenous Peoples or individuals. However, the frequency and consistency of CBPR implementation within scholarly discourse are unknown. Therefore, this project’s goal is two-fold: (1) to understand what comprises CBPR in Indigenous research and (2) to determine if CBPR has been historically used in Indigenous employment research. Method: Using a systematic literature review process, sixteen articles about CBPR use with Indigenous groups were selected, and content was analyzed to identify key components comprising CBPR usage. An Indigenous CBPR components framework was constructed and subsequently utilized to analyze the Indigenous employment empirical literature. A similar systematic literature review process was followed to search for relevant empirical articles on Indigenous employment. A total of 120 articles were identified in six global regions: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America, the Pacific Islands, and Greenland/Norway. Each empirical study was procedurally examined and coded for criteria inclusion using content analysis directives. Results: Analysis revealed that, in total, CBPR elements were used 14% of the time in Indigenous employment research. Most studies (n=69; 58%) neglected to mention using any CBPR components, while just two studies discussed implementing all sixteen (2%). The most significant determinant of overall CBPR use was community member partnership (CP) in the research process. Studies from New Zealand were most likely to use CBPR components, followed by Canada, Australia, and America. While CBPR use did increase slowly over time, meaningful temporal trends were not found. Further, CBPR use did not directly correspond with the total number of topical articles published that year. Conclusions: Community-initiated and engaged research approaches must be better utilized in employment studies involving Indigenous Peoples. Future research efforts must be particularly attentive to community-driven objectives and research protocols, emphasizing specific areas of concern relevant to the field of I/O psychology, such as organizational support, recruitment, and selection.

Keywords: community-based participatory research, content analysis, employment, indigenous research, international, reconciliation, recruitment, reparative research, selection, systematic literature review

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Authors: Josephine Aikpitanyi, Friday Okonofua, Lorrettantoimo, Sandy Tubeuf

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Every day, 800 women die from conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, resulting in an estimated 300,000 maternal deaths worldwide per year. Over 99 percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, with more than half of them occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria being the most populous nation in sub-Saharan Africa bears a significant burden of worsening maternal and child health outcomes with a maternal mortality rate of 917 per 100,000 live births and child mortality rate of 117 per 1,000 live births. While several studies have documented that financial barriers disproportionately discourage poor women from seeking needed maternal and child healthcare, other studies have indicated otherwise. Evidence shows that there are instances where health facilities with skilled healthcare providers exist, and yet maternal, and child health outcomes remain abysmally low, indicating the presence of non-cognitive and behavioural factors that may affect the utilization of healthcare services. This study investigated the influence of locus of control and self-esteem on utilization of maternal and child healthcare services in Nigeria. Specifically, it explored the differences in utilization of antenatal care, skilled birth care, postnatal care, and child vaccination by women having an internal and external locus of control and women having high and low self-esteem. We collected information on non-cognitive traits of 1411 randomly selected women, along with information on utilization of the various indicators of maternal and child healthcare. Estimating logistic regression models for various components of healthcare services utilization, we found that women’s internal locus of control was a significant predictor of utilization of antenatal care, skilled birth care, and completion of child vaccination. We also found that having high self-esteem was a significant predictor of utilization of antenatal care, postnatal care, and completion of child vaccination after adjusting for other control variables. By improving our understanding of non-cognitive traits as possible barriers to maternal and child healthcare utilization, our findings offer important insights for enhancing participant engagement in intervention programs that are initiated to improve maternal and child health outcomes in low-and-middle-income countries.

Keywords: behavioural economics, health-seeking behaviour, locus of control and self-esteem, maternal and child healthcare, non-cognitive traits, and healthcare utilization

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Isalira Peroba Ramos, Cherley Borba Vieira de Andrade, Grazielle Suhett, Camila Salata, Paulo Cesar Canary, Guilherme Visconde Brasil, Antonio Carlos Campos de Carvalho, Regina Coeli dos Santos Goldenberg

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Background: The therapeutic options for patients with cancer now include increasingly complex combinations of medications, radiation therapy (RT), and surgical intervention. Many of these treatments have important potential adverse cardiac effects and are likely to have significant effects on patient outcomes. Cell therapy appears to be promising for the treatment of chronic and degenerative diseases, including cardiomyopathy induced by RT, as the current therapeutic options are insufficient. Aims: To evaluate the potential of bone marrow mesenchymal cells (BMMCs) in radioinduced cardiac damage Methods: Female Wistar rats, 3 months old (Ethics Committee 054/14), were divided into 2 groups, non-treated irradiated group (IR n=15) and irradiated and BMMC treated (IRT n=10). Echocardiography was performed to evaluate heart function. After euthanasia, 3 months post treatment; the left ventricle was removed and prepared for RT-qPCR (VEGF and Pro Collagen I) and histological (picrosirius) analysis. Results: In both groups, 45 days after irradiation, ejection fraction (EF) was in the normal range for these animals (> 70%). However, the BMMC treated group had EF (83.1%±2.6) while the non-treated IR group showed a significant reduction (76.1%±2.6) in relation to the treated group. In addition, we observed an increase in VEGF gene expression and a decrease in Pro Collagen I in IRT when compared to IR group. We also observed by histology that the collagen deposition was reduced in IRT (10.26%±0.83) when compared to IR group (25.29%±0.96). Conclusions: Treatment with BMMCs was able to prevent ejection fraction reduction and collagen deposition in irradiated animals. The increase of VEGF and the decrease of pro collagen I gene expression might explain, at least in part, the cell therapy benefits. All authors disclose no financial or personal relationships with individuals or organizations that could be perceived to bias their work. Sources of funding: FAPERJ, CAPES, CNPq, MCT.

Keywords: mesenchymal cells, radioation, cardiotoxicity, bone marrow

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Authors: Erica Cochran Hameen, Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, Mounica Guturu

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The United Stated (U.S.) populous spends the majority of their time indoors in spaces where building codes and voluntary sustainability standards provide clear Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) metrics. The existing sustainable building standards and codes are aimed towards improving IEQ, health of occupants, and reducing the negative impacts of buildings on the environment. While they address the post-occupancy stage of buildings, there are fewer standards on the pre-occupancy stage thereby placing a large labor population in environments much less regulated. Construction personnel are often exposed to a variety of uncomfortable and unhealthy elements while on construction sites, primarily thermal, visual, acoustic, and air quality related. Construction site power generators, equipment, and machinery generate on average 9 decibels (dBA) above the U.S. OSHA regulations, creating uncomfortable noise levels. Research has shown that frequent exposure to high noise levels leads to chronic physiological issues and increases noise induced stress, yet beyond OSHA no other metric focuses directly on the impacts of noise on contractors’ well-being. Research has also associated natural light with higher productivity and attention span, and lower cases of fatigue in construction workers. However, daylight is not always available as construction workers often perform tasks in cramped spaces, dark areas, or at nighttime. In these instances, the use of artificial light is necessary, yet lighting standards for use during lengthy tasks and arduous activities is not specified. Additionally, ambient air, contaminants, and material off-gassing expelled at construction sites are one of the causes of serious health effects in construction workers. Coupled with extreme hot and cold temperatures for different climate zones, health and productivity can be seriously compromised. This research evaluates the impact of existing green building metrics on construction and risk management, by analyzing two codes and nine standards including LEED, WELL, and BREAM. These metrics were chosen based on the relevance to the U.S. construction industry. This research determined that less than 20% of the sustainability context within the standards and codes (texts) are related to the pre-occupancy building sector. The research also investigated the impact of construction personnel’s health and well-being on construction management through two surveys of project managers and on-site contractors’ perception of their work environment on productivity. To fully understand the risks of limited Environmental and Health Quality metrics for contractors (EHQ) this research evaluated the connection between EHQ factors such as inefficient lighting, on construction workers and investigated the correlation between various site coping strategies for comfort and productivity. Outcomes from this research are three-pronged. The first includes fostering a discussion about the existing conditions of EQH elements, i.e. thermal, lighting, ergonomic, acoustic, and air quality on the construction labor force. The second identifies gaps in sustainability standards and codes during the pre-occupancy stage of building construction from ground-breaking to substantial completion. The third identifies opportunities for improvements and mitigation strategies to improve EQH such as increased monitoring of effects on productivity and health of contractors and increased inclusion of the pre-occupancy stage in green building standards.

Keywords: construction contractors, health and well-being, environmental quality, risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Esha Thakkar, Ina Liu, Kalynn Hosea, Shana Katz, Katie Marks, Sarah Hall, Cat Liu, Suzanne Harris

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Purpose: Inequities in mental healthcare accessibility are cited as an international public health concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). These disparities are further exacerbated in racial and ethnic minority groups and are especially concerning in health professional training settings such as Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs and postgraduate residency training where mental illness rates are high. The purpose of the study was to determine baseline access to culturally sensitive mental healthcare and how to improve such access and communication for racially and ethnically minoritized pharmacy students and residents at one school of pharmacy and a partnering academic medical center in the United States. Methods: This IRB-exempt study included 60-minute focus groups conducted in person or online from November 2021 to February 2022. Eligible participants included PharmD students in their first (P1), second (P2), third (P3), or fourth year (P4) or pharmacy residents completing a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) or PGY2 who identify as Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color (BIPOC). There were four core theme questions asked during the focus groups to lead the discussion, specifically on the core themes of personal barriers, identities, areas that are working well, and areas for improvement. Participant responses were transcribed and analyzed using an open coding system with two individual reviews, followed by collaborative and intentional discussion and, as needed, an external audit of the coding by a third research team member to reach a consensus on themes. Results: This study enrolled 26 participants, with eight P1, five P2, seven P3, two P4, and four resident participants. Within the four core themes of barriers, identities, areas working well, and areas for improvement, emerging subthemes included: lack of time, access to resources, and stigma under barriers; lack of representation, cultural and family stigma, and gender identities for identity barriers; supportive faculty, sense of community and culture supporting paid time off for areas going well; and wellness days, reduced workload and diversity of the workforce in areas of improvement. Subthemes sometimes varied within a core theme depending on the participant year. Conclusions: There is a gap in the literature in addressing barriers and disparities in mental health access for pharmacy trainees who identify as BIPOC. We identified key findings in regards to barriers, identities, areas going well and areas for improvement that can inform the School and the Residency Program in two priority initiatives of well-being and diversity equity and inclusion in creating actionable recommendations for trainees, program directors, and employers of our institutions, and also has the potential to provide insight for other organizations about the structures influencing access to culturally sensitive care in BIPOC trainees. These findings can inform organizations on how to continue building on communication with those who identify as BIPOC and improve access to care.

Keywords: mental health, disparities, minorities, wellbeing, identity, communication, barriers

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Yu-Hsin Tsai

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A new, mandated county regional plan system has been initiated since 2010 nationwide in Taiwan, with its role situated in-between the policy-led cross-county regional plan and the blueprint-led city plan. This new regional plan contain both urban and rural areas in one single plan, which provides a more complete planning territory, i.e., city region within the county’s jurisdiction, and to be executed and managed effectively by the county government. However, the full picture of its functions and characteristics seems still not totally clear, compared with other levels of plans; either are planning goals and issues that can be most appropriately dealt with at this spatial scale. In addition, the extent to which the inclusion of sustainability ideal and measures to cope with climate change are unclear. Based on the above issues, this study aims to clarify the roles of county regional plan, to analyze the extent to which the measures cope with sustainability, climate change, and forecasted declining population, and the success factors and issues faced in the planning process. The methodology applied includes literature review, plan quality evaluation, and interview with officials of the central and local governments and urban planners involved for all the 23 counties in Taiwan. The preliminary research results show, first, growth management related policies have been widely implemented and expected to have effective impact, including incorporating resources capacity to determine maximum population for the city region as a whole, developing overall vision of urban growth boundary for all the whole city region, prioritizing infill development, and use of architectural land within urbanized area over rural area to cope with urban growth. Secondly, planning-oriented zoning is adopted in urban areas, while demand-oriented planning permission is applied in the rural areas with designated plans. Then, public participation has been evolved to the next level to oversee all of government’s planning and review processes due to the decreasing trust in the government, and development of public forum on the internet etc. Next, fertile agricultural land is preserved to maintain food self-supplied goal for national security concern. More adoption-based methods than mitigation-based methods have been applied to cope with global climate change. Finally, better land use and transportation planning in terms of avoiding developing rail transit stations and corridor in rural area is promoted. Even though many promising, prompt measures have been adopted, however, challenges exist to surround: first, overall urban density, likely affecting success of UGB, or use of rural agricultural land, has not been incorporated, possibly due to implementation difficulties. Second, land-use related measures to mitigating climate change seem less clear and hence less employed. Smart decline has not drawn enough attention to cope with predicted population decrease in the next decade. Then, some reluctance from county’s government to implement county regional plan can be observed vaguely possibly since limits have be set on further development on agricultural land and sensitive areas. Finally, resolving issue on existing illegal factories on agricultural land remains the most challenging dilemma.

Keywords: city region plan, sustainability, global climate change, growth management

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Samantha R. Dutra

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There are many issues that students face in college, such as academic-based struggles, financial issues, family responsibilities, and vocational problems. Students with dyslexia struggle even more with these problems compared to other students. This qualitative study examines faculty perceptions of instructing students with dyslexia. This study is important to the human services and post-secondary educational fields due to the increase in disabled students enrolled in college. This study is also substantial because of the reported bias faced by students with dyslexia and their academic failure. When students with LDs such as dyslexia experience bias, discrimination, and isolation, they are more apt to not seek accommodations, lack communication with faculty, and are more likely to drop out or fail. College students with dyslexia often take longer to complete their post-secondary education and are more likely to withdraw or drop out without earning a degree. Faculty attitudes and academic cultures are major barriers to the success and use of accommodations as well as modified instruction for students with disabilities, which leads to student success. Faculty members are often uneducated or misinformed regarding students with dyslexia. More importantly, many faculty members are unaware of the many ethical and legal implications that they face regarding accommodating students with dyslexia. Instructor expectations can generally be defined as the understanding and perceptions of students regarding their academic success. Skewed instructor expectations can affect how instructors interact with their students and can also affect student success. This is true for students with dyslexia in that instructors may have lower and biased expectations of these students and, therefore, directly impact students’ academic successes and failures. It is vital to understand how instructor attitudes affect the academic achievement of dyslexic students. This study will examine faculty perceptions of instructing students with dyslexia and faculty attitudes towards accommodations and institutional support. The literature concludes that students with dyslexia have many deficits and several learning needs. Furthermore, these are the students with the highest dropout and failure rates, as well as the lowest retention rates. Disabled students generally have many reasons why accommodations and supports just do not help. Some research suggests that accommodations do help students and show positive outcomes. Many improvements need to be made between student support service personnel, faculty, and administrators regarding providing access and adequate supports for students with dyslexia. As the research also suggests, providing more efficient and effective accommodations may increase positive student as well as faculty attitudes in college, and may improve student outcomes overall.

Keywords: dyslexia, faculty perception, higher education, learning disability

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Yeasir Arafat Alve, Nazmun Nahar, Salma BeguM

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Introduction / Rationale: Caregivers of stroke survivors have experienced financial, emotional, physical and mental anxiety and have influence of family bonding and social customs, where 80% of caregivers were women and majority of the patients were cared for by immediate family members for example a spouse, son/daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, siblings and they are significantly feel burden as a caregiver. In Bangladeshi context, there has a limitation of knowledge about the level of caregiver burden. This study could be suggested the health professional to focus on the care giving stress to provide a better support to them and also it will be advisable to provide equivalent services for caregivers and their families. Objectives: The study finds out the socio-demographic image of caregivers of stroke survivors in Bangladesh as well as discovers the level of burden of caregiver of stroke survivor in relation to general strain, isolation, disappointment, emotional involvement and environment. The study will find out the association between level of burden among caregivers and onset of stroke of survivors & duration of care giving. As well as to determine the association between level of burden among caregivers and caregiver’s age, gender, occupation and caregiver’s relationship with stroke survivors. Method / Approach: The study is a non experimental cross-sectional study design where 151 participants were selected through purposive comprehensive sampling. Data were selected from occupational therapy outdoor and stroke rehab unit, CRP (Savar & Mirpur) where using the Caregiver Burden Scale (a structured questionnaire) with face to face interview. Results: Most of the caregivers (78.8%) of stroke survivors faced moderate level of burden in general strain (37.7%), isolation (27.2%) but in case of disappointment (60.3%) feel higher burden and lower burden in emotional involvement (9.9%) and environment (0.7%). Caregiver burden level was significantly associated with caregivers’ age (P=0.006), sex (P=0.002), occupation (p= 0.04), relationship with stroke survivors (P=0.02), care giving duration (P=0.000), care giving hours (P=0.009), and onset of stroke (P=0.000) of stroke survivors. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that most of the caregivers faced moderate burden where no environmental burden for them, this is possibly in case of Bangladeshi culture where people hospitable. Through this study, it was also found that there is a possibility to have the higher burden. Finally, it is being also suggested that appropriate advice and support may preserve care giving which eventually enables the survivors to live a longer and more fulfilling life in the community.

Keywords: caregiver, level of caregiver burden, stroke survivor, stroke rehab unit

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohammed

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Integration sustainability outcomes give attention to construction ecology in the design review of urban environments to comply with Earth’s System that is composed of integral parts of the (i.e., physical, chemical and biological components). Naturally, exchange patterns of industrial ecology have consistent and periodic cycles to preserve energy flows and materials in Earth’s System. When engineering topology is affecting internal and external processes in system networks, it postulated the valence of the first-level spatial outcome (i.e., project compatibility success). These instrumentalities are dependent on relating the second-level outcome (i.e., participant security satisfaction). Construction ecology approach feedback energy from resources flows between biotic and abiotic in the entire Earth’s ecosystems. These spatial outcomes are providing an innovation, as entails a wide range of interactions to state, regulate and feedback “topology” to flow as “interdisciplinary equilibrium” of ecosystems. The interrelation dynamics of ecosystems are performing a process in a certain location within an appropriate time for characterizing their unique structure in “equilibrium patterns”, such as biosphere and collecting a composite structure of many distributed feedback flows. These interdisciplinary systems regulate their dynamics within complex structures. These dynamic mechanisms of the ecosystem regulate physical and chemical properties to enable a gradual and prolonged incremental pattern to develop a stable structure. The engineering topology of construction ecology for integration sustainability outcomes offers an interesting tool for ecologists and engineers in the simulation paradigm as an initial form of development structure within compatible computer software. This approach argues from ecology, resource savings, static load design, financial other pragmatic reasons, while an artistic/architectural perspective, these are not decisive. The paper described an attempt to unify analytic and analogical spatial modeling in developing urban environments as a relational setting, using optimization software and applied as an example of integrated industrial ecology where the construction process is based on a topology optimization approach.

Keywords: construction ecology, industrial ecology, urban topology, environmental planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Natalia Kalinowska

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The adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation, (GDPR) finished the four-year work of the European Commission in this area in the European Union. Considering far-reaching changes, which will be applied by GDPR, the European legislator envisaged two-year transitional period. Member states and companies have to prepare for a new regulation until 25 of May 2018. The idea, which becomes a new look at an attitude to data protection in the European Union is risk-based approach. So far, as a result of implementation of Directive 95/46/WE, in many European countries (including Poland) there have been adopted very particular regulations, specifying technical and organisational security measures e.g. Polish implementing rules indicate even how long password should be. According to the new approach from May 2018, controllers and processors will be obliged to apply security measures adequate to level of risk associated with specific data processing. The risk in GDPR should be interpreted as the likelihood of a breach of the rights and freedoms of the data subject. According to Recital 76, the likelihood and severity of the risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject should be determined by reference to the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing. GDPR does not indicate security measures which should be applied – in recitals there are only examples such as anonymization or encryption. It depends on a controller’s decision what type of security measures controller considered as sufficient and he will be responsible if these measures are not sufficient or if his identification of risk level is incorrect. Data protection regulation indicates few levels of risk. Recital 76 indicates risk and high risk, but some lawyers think, that there is one more category – low risk/now risk. Low risk/now risk data processing is a situation when it is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons. GDPR mentions types of data processing when a controller does not have to evaluate level of risk because it has been classified as „high risk” processing e.g. processing on a large scale of special categories of data, processing with using new technologies. The methodology will include analysis of legal regulations e.g. GDPR, the Polish Act on the Protection of personal data. Moreover: ICO Guidelines and articles concerning risk based approach in GDPR. The main conclusion is that an appropriate risk assessment is a key to keeping data safe and avoiding financial penalties. On the one hand, this approach seems to be more equitable, not only for controllers or processors but also for data subjects, but on the other hand, it increases controllers’ uncertainties in the assessment which could have a direct impact on incorrect data protection and potential responsibility for infringement of regulation.

Keywords: general data protection regulation, personal data protection, privacy protection, risk based approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 226

Authors: Oluwabiyi Adeola Ayodele

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This study analysed the Policy and general issues that have arisen over time in Nigeria’ Cashless banking environment as a result of the lack of a Legal framework on Electronic banking in Nigeria. It undertook an in-depth study of the cashless banking system. It discussed the evolution, growth and development of cashless banking in Nigeria; It revealed the expected benefits of the cashless banking system; It appraised regulatory issues and other prevalent problems on cashless banking in Nigeria; and made appropriate recommendations where necessary. The study relied on primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources included the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Statutes, Conventions and Judicial decisions, while the secondary sources included Books, Journals Articles, Newspapers and Internet Materials. The study revealed that cashless banking has been adopted in Nigeria but still at the developing stage. It revealed that there is no law for the regulation of cashless banking in Nigeria, what Nigeria relies on for regulation is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Policy, 2014. The Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act Chapter B3, LFN, 2004 of Nigeria lack provision to accommodate issues on Internet banking. However, under the general principles of legality in criminal law, and by the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, a person can only be punished for conducts that have been defined to be criminal by written laws with the penalties specifically stated in the law. Although Nigeria has potent laws for the regulation of paper banking, these laws cannot be substituted for paperless transactions. This is because the issues involved in both transactions vary. The study also revealed that the absence of law in the cashless banking environment in Nigeria will subject consumers to endless risks. This study revealed that the creation of banking markets via the Internet relies on both available technologies and appropriate laws and regulations. It revealed however that Law of some of the countries considered on cashless banking has taken care of most of the legal issues and other problems prevalent in the cashless banking environment. The study also revealed some other problems prevalent in the Nigerian cashless banking environment. The study concluded that for Nigeria to find solutions to the legal issues raised in its cashless banking environment and other problems of cashless banking, it should have a viable legal Frame work for internet banking. The study concluded that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Policy on Cashless banking is not potent enough to tackle the challenges posed to cashless banking in Nigeria because policies only have a persuasive effect and not a binding effect. There is, therefore, a need for appropriate Laws for the regulation of cashless Banking in Nigeria. The study also concluded that there is a need to create more awareness of the system among Nigerians and solve infrastructural problems like prevalent power outage which often have been creating internet network problem.

Keywords: cashless-banking, Nigeria, policies, laws

Procedia PDF Downloads 466

Authors: Ozcan Yavas, Berrak Erol Nalbur, Sermin Gunarslan

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A materiality matrix is a tool that organizations use to prioritize their activities and adapt to the increasing sustainability requirements in recent years. For the materiality index to move from business models to the sustainability business model stage, it must be done with all partners in the raw material, supply, production, product, and end-of-life product stages. Within the scope of this study, the Materiality Matrix was used to transform the business model into a sustainability business model and to create a sustainability roadmap in a factory producing electric buses. This matrix determines the necessary roadmap for all stakeholders to participate in the process, especially in sectors that produce sustainable products, such as the electric vehicle sector, and to act together with the cradle-to-cradle approach of sustainability roadmaps. Global Reporting Initiative analysis was used in the study conducted with 1150 stakeholders within the scope of the study, and 43 questions were asked to the stakeholders under the main headings of 'Legal Compliance Level,' 'Environmental Strategies,' 'Risk Management Activities,' 'Impact of Sustainability Activities on Products and Services,' 'Corporate Culture,' 'Responsible and Profitable Business Model Practices' and 'Achievements in Leading the Sector' and Economic, Governance, Environment, Social and Other. The results of the study aimed to include five 1st priority issues and four 2nd priority issues in the sustainability strategies of the organization in the short and medium term. When the studies carried out in the short term are evaluated in terms of Sustainability and Environmental Risk Management, it is seen that the studies are still limited to the level of legal legislation (60%) and individual studies in line with the strategies (20%). At the same time, the stakeholders expect the company to integrate sustainability activities into its business model within five years (35%) and to carry out projects to become the first company that comes to mind with its success leading the sector (20%). Another result obtained within the study's scope is identifying barriers to implementation. It is seen that the most critical obstacles identified by stakeholders with climate change and environmental impacts are financial deficiency and lack of infrastructure in the dissemination of sustainable products. These studies are critical for transitioning to sustainable business models for the electric vehicle sector to achieve the EU Green Deal and CBAM targets.

Keywords: sustainability business model, materiality matrix, electricity bus, carbon neutrality, sustainability management

Procedia PDF Downloads 26

Authors: Elissavet Feloni, Ioannis Kourtis, Konstantinos Kotsifakis, Evangelos Baltas

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Water inadequacy in small dry islands scattered in the Aegean Sea (Greece) is a major problem regarding Water Resources Management (WRM), especially during the summer period due to tourism. In the present work, various WRM schemes are designed and presented. The WRM schemes take into account current infrastructure and include Rainwater Harvesting tanks and Reverse Osmosis Desalination Units. The energy requirements are covered mainly by wind turbines and/or a seawater pumped storage system. Sizing is based on the available data for population and tourism per island, after taking into account a slight increase in the population (up to 1.5% per year), and it guarantees at least 80% reliability for the energy supply and 99.9% for potable water. Evaluation of scenarios is carried out from a financial perspective, after calculating the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of each investment for a lifespan of 30 years. The wind-powered desalination plant was found to be the most cost-effective practice, from an economic point of view. Finally, in order to estimate the Climate Change (CC) impact, six different CC scenarios were investigated. The corresponding rate of on-grid versus off-grid energy required for ensuring the targeted reliability for the zero and each climatic scenario was investigated per island. The results revealed that under CC the grid-on energy required would increase and as a result, the reduction in wind turbines and seawater pumped storage systems’ reliability will be in the range of 4 to 44%. However, the range of this percentage change does not exceed 22% per island for all examined CC scenarios. Overall, CC is proposed to be incorporated into the design process for WRM-related projects. Acknowledgements: This research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund - ESF) through the Operational Program «Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020» in the context of the project “Development of a combined rain harvesting and renewable energy-based system for covering domestic and agricultural water requirements in small dry Greek Islands” (MIS 5004775).

Keywords: small dry islands, water resources management, climate change, desalination, RES, seawater pumped storage system, rainwater harvesting

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Opemiposi Adegbulu

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Conflicts of interest is an elusive, diverse and engaging subject, a cross-cutting problem of governance; all levels of governance, ranging from local to global, public to corporate or financial sectors. In all these areas, its mismanagement could lead to the distortion of decision-making processes, corrosion of trust and the weakening of administration. According to Professor Peters, an expert in the area, conflict of interest, a problem at the root of many scandals has “become a pervasive ethical concern in our professional, organisational, and political life”. Conflicts of interest corrode trust, and like in the public sector, trust is mandatory for the market, consumers/clients, shareholders and other stakeholders in the private sector. However, conflicts of interest in the private sector are distinct and must be treated in like manner when regulatory efforts are made to address them. The research looks at identifying conflicts of interest in the private sector and differentiating them from those in the public sector. The public interest is submitted as a criterion which allows for such differentiation. This is significant because it would for the use of tailor-made or sector-specific approaches to addressing this complex issue. This is conducted through extensive review of literature and theories on the definition of conflicts of interest. This study will employ theoretical, doctrinal and comparative methods. The nature of conflicts of interest in the private sector will be explored, through an analysis of the public sector where the notion of conflicts of interest appears more clearly identified, reasons, why they are of business ethics concern, will be advanced, and then, once again, looking at public sector solutions and other solutions, the study will identify ways of mitigating and managing conflicts in the private sector. An exploration of public sector conflicts of interest and solutions will be carried out because the typologies of conflicts of interest in both sectors appear very similar at the core and thus, lessons can be learnt with regards to the management of these issues in the private sector. Conflicts of interest corrode trust, and like in the public sector, trust is mandatory for the market, consumers/clients, shareholders and other stakeholders in the private sector. This research will then focus on some specific challenges to understanding and identifying conflicts of interest in the private sector; origin, diverging theories, the psychological barrier to the definition, similarities with public sector conflicts of interest due to the notions of corrosion of trust, ‘being in a particular kind of situation,’ etc. The notion of public interest will be submitted as a key element at the heart of the distinction between public sector and private sector conflicts of interests. It will then be proposed that the appreciation of the notion of conflicts of interest differ according to sector, country to country, based on the public interest test, using the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (US), France and the Philippines as illustrations.

Keywords: conflicts of interest, corporate governance, global governance, public interest

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: M. V. Shivaani, P. K. Jain, Surendra S. Yadav

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Worldwide regulators, practitioners and researchers view risk-disclosure as one of the most important steps that will promote corporate accountability and transparency. Recognizing this growing significance of risk disclosures, the paper first develops a risk disclosure index. Covering 69 risk items/themes, this index is developed by employing thematic content analysis and encompasses three attributes of disclosure: namely, nature (qualitative or quantitative), time horizon (backward-looking or forward-looking) and tone (no impact, positive impact or negative impact). As the focus of study is on substantive rather than symbolic disclosure, content analysis has been carried out manually. The study is based on non-financial companies of Nifty500 index and covers a ten year period from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2015, thus yielding 3,872 annual reports for analysis. The analysis reveals that (on an average) only about 14% of risk items (i.e. about 10 out 69 risk items studied) are being disclosed by Indian companies. Risk items that are frequently disclosed are mostly macroeconomic in nature and their disclosures tend to be qualitative, forward-looking and conveying both positive and negative aspects of the concerned risk. The second objective of the paper is to gauge the factors that affect the level of disclosures in annual reports. Given the panel nature of data, and possible endogeneity amongst variables, Diff-GMM regression has been applied. The results indicate that age and size of firms have a significant positive impact on disclosure quality, whereas growth rate does not have a significant impact. Further, post-recession period (2009-2015) has witnessed significant improvement in quality of disclosures. In terms of corporate governance variables, board size, board independence, CEO duality, presence of CRO and constitution of risk management committee appear to be significant factors in determining the quality of risk disclosures. It is noteworthy that the study contributes to literature by putting forth a variant to existing disclosure indices that not only captures the quantity but also the quality of disclosures (in terms of semantic attributes). Also, the study is a first of its kind attempt in a prominent emerging market i.e. India. Therefore, this study is expected to facilitate regulators in mandating and regulating risk disclosures and companies in their endeavor to reduce information asymmetry.

Keywords: risk disclosure, voluntary disclosures, corporate governance, Diff-GMM

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Kathy Pain, Nalumino Akakandelwa

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The study explores the potential to fill a gap in health and wellbeing evidence for purposeful urban real estate asset management to make investment a powerful force for societal good. Part of a five-year programme investigating the root causes of unhealthy urban development funded by the United Kingdom Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP), the study pilots the use of a systems mapping approach to identify drivers and barriers to the incorporation of health and wellbeing evidence in urban brownfield asset management decision-making. Urban real estate not only provides space for economic production but also contributes to the quality of life in the local community. Yet market approaches to urban land use have, until recently, insisted that neo-classical technology-driven efficient allocation of economic resources should inform acquisition, operational, and disposal decisions. Buildings in locations with declining economic performance have thus been abandoned, leading to urban decay. Property investors are recognising the inextricable connection between sustainable urban production and quality of life in local communities. The redevelopment and operation of brownfield assets recycle existing buildings, minimising embodied carbon emissions. It also retains established urban spaces with which local communities identify and regenerate places to create a sense of security, economic opportunity, social interaction, and quality of life. Social implications of urban real estate on health and wellbeing and increased adoption of benign sustainability guidance in urban production are driving the need to consider how they affect brownfield real estate asset management decisions. Interviews with real estate upstream decision-makers in the study, find that local social needs and impact analysis is becoming a commercial priority for large-scale urban real estate development projects. Evidence of the social value-added of proposed developments is increasingly considered essential to secure local community support and planning permissions, and to attract sustained inward long-term investment capital flows for urban projects. However, little is known about the contribution of population health and wellbeing to socially sustainable urban projects and the monetary value of the opportunity this presents to improve the urban environment for local communities. We report early findings from collaborations with two leading property companies managing major investments in brownfield urban assets in the UK to consider how the inclusion of health and wellbeing evidence in social valuation can inform perceptions of brownfield development social benefit for asset managers, local communities, public authorities and investors for the benefit of all parties. Using holistic case studies and systems mapping approaches, we explore complex relationships between public health considerations and asset management decisions in urban production. Findings indicate a strong real estate investment industry appetite and potential to include health as a vital component of sustainable real estate social value creation in asset management strategies.

Keywords: brownfield urban assets, health and wellbeing, social needs and impact, social valuation, sustainable real estate, systems mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 34

Authors: Kyere Francis, Sun Dongying, Asante Dennis, Nkrumah Nana Kwame Edmund, Naana Yaa Gyamea Kumah

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With a focus on renewable energy to achieve low-carbon transition objectives, there is a greater demand for effective collaborative strategies for planning, strategic decision mechanisms, and long-term policy designs to steer the transitions. Government agencies, NGOs, the private sector, and individual citizens play an important role in sustainable energy production. In Ghana, however, such collaboration is fragile in the fight against climate change. This current study seeks to re-examine the position or potential of network governance in Ghana's renewable energy transition. The study adopted a qualitative approach and employed semi-structured interviews for data gathering. To explore network governance and low carbon transitions in Ghana, we examine key themes such as political environment and impact, actor cooperation and stakeholder interactions, financing and the transition, market design and renewable energy integration, existing regulation and policy gaps for renewable energy transition, clean cooking accessibility, and affordability. The findings reveal the following; Lack of comprehensive consultations with relevant stakeholders leads to lower acceptance of the policy model and sometimes lack of policy awareness. Again, the unavailability and affordability of renewable energy technologies and access to credit facilities is a significant hurdle to long-term renewable transition. Ghana's renewable energy transitions require strong networking and interaction among the public, private, and non-governmental organizations. The study participants believe that the involvement of relevant energy experts and stakeholders devoid of any political biases is instrumental in accelerating renewable energy transitions, as emphasized in the proposed framework. The study recommends that the national renewable energy transition plan be evident to all stakeholders and political administrators. Such policy may encourage renewable energy investment through stable and fixed lending rates by the financial institutions and build a network with international organizations and corporations. These findings could serve as valuable information for the transition-based energy process, primarily aiming to govern sustainability changes through network governance.

Keywords: actors, development, sustainable energy, network governance, renewable energy transition

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Giovanna X. De Moura, Fernando A. Starepravo

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In recent years, the discussion of women in sports has been part of the political agenda in several countries. However, in the Brazilian scope, it is possible to say that women's sport has not become a social problem recognized by political actors and, therefore, it has not entered the country's governmental agenda. Thus, this work aimed to analyze why sport for women is not on the Brazilian government's agenda. For this, it was interviewed six women considered to be stakeholders in sports, that is, women who influence or are influenced by sports. The interviews were based on a semi-structured script and carried out in the year 2022. Due to the difficulties of commuting and of the schedule of the interviewees, some interviews were carried out in person, others by video call or telephone and others by WhatsApp. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Bardin's Content Analysis. As a result, from the stakeholders' perception, it was ascertained that women's sport is not considered a political problem because both sport and politics are considered masculinized fields, making it difficult for women to be present in both spaces. Besides, not only the sport of women but sport in general, is seen as just a marketing tool and a way of getting financial return for companies, being neglected in government plans. Due to this fact, private institutions, corporative means, federations and confederations have been mobilized in the creation of policies that seek changes in the current scenario. Despite this, two PLs (PL 6263/2019 and PL 5297/2020) have been in the process since 2019 but have not been approved yet due to the failure to submit amendments within the established deadline. In order to change this reality, the ones surveyed suggested that there should be not only different types of women represented on the most varied fronts of sports but also more visibility of the issue of women in this field. Furthermore, they mentioned the importance of the creation of specific plans and policies that guarantee a safe place for women and that are consolidated as State policies. In addition, the need for more women in political decision-making positions was also mentioned. It was concluded that women's sport appears on the agenda at a secondary level since it is included on the legislative, and political agenda but not in the executive branch. In addition, there is not enough movement and mobilization in favor of women's sports for it to become a discussion in the field of politics. Regarding the Multiple Streams Model, women's sport is present only in the ideas stream, as there are solutions and ideas for improvements in this field. Finally, it was pointed that there is still a strong dependence on the State for the creation of policies that seek improvements in the participation of girls and women in sport, hence, being necessary the creation of multicentric policies, including non-governmental agents in the process of elaborating policies.

Keywords: agenda, politics, stakeholders, women’s sport

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Saima Shaikh, Andre Brown, Wallace Enegbuma

Abstract:

Earthquakes strike both developed and developing countries, causing tremendous damage and the loss of lives of millions of people, mainly due to the collapsing of buildings, particularly in poorer countries. Despite the socio-economic and technological restrictions, the poorer countries have adopted proven and established housing-strengthening techniques from affluent countries. Rural communities are aware of the earthquake-strengthening mechanisms for improving housing resilience, but owing to socio-economic and technological constraints, the seismic guidelines are rarely implemented, resulting in informal construction practice. Unregistered skilled laborers make substantial contributions to the informal construction sector, particularly in rural areas where knowledge is scarce. Laborers employ their local expertise in house construction; however, owing to a lack of seismic expertise in safe building procedures, the authorities' regulated seismic norms are not applied. From the perspective of seismic knowledge transformation in safe buildings practices, the study focuses on the feasibility of seismic guidelines implementation. The study firstly employs a literature review of massive-scale reconstruction after the 2005 earthquake in rural Pakistan. The 2005-earthquake damaged over 400,000 homes, killed 70,000 people and displaced 2.8 million people. The research subsequently corroborated the pragmatic approach using questionnaire field survey among the rural people in 2005-earthquake affected areas. Using the literature and the questionnaire survey, the research analyzing people's perspectives on technical acceptability, financial restrictions, and socioeconomic viability and examines the effectiveness of seismic knowledge transfer in safe buildings practices. The findings support the creation of a knowledge transfer framework in disaster mitigation and recovery planning, assisting rural communities and builders in minimising losses and improving response and recovery, as well as improving housing resilience and lowering vulnerabilities. Finally, certain conclusions are obtained in order to continue the resilience research. The research can be further applied in rural areas of developing countries having similar construction practices.

Keywords: earthquakes, knowledge transfer, resilience, informal construction practices

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Authors: Samedin Mehmeti

Abstract:

Very tens political and economic situation, in particular armed conflicts that followed at the time of the destruction of the former Yugoslavia, influenced migrations and displacement of population. Especially setting international sanctions and embargo influenced the creation of organized criminal groups. A lot of members of the former Yugoslav security apparatus in collaboration with ordinary criminal groups engaged in: smuggling of goods, petroleum and arms, sale and transport of drugs, payable murder, damage to public property, kidnappings, extortion, racketeering, etc. This tradition of criminality, of course in other forms and with other methods, has continued after conflicts and continues with a high intensity even in nowadays. One of the most delicate problems of organized crime activity is the impact on the economic sphere, where organized crime opposes and severely damages national security and economy to criminalize it in certain sectors and directions. Organized crime groups including who find Kosovo as a place to develop their criminal activities are characterized by: loyalty of many people especially through family connections and kinship in carrying out criminal activities and the existence of powerful hierarchy of leadership which in many cases include the corrupt officials of state apparatus. Groups have clear hierarchy and flexible structure of command, each member within the criminal group knows his duties concrete. According to statistics presented in police reports its notable that Kosovo has a large number of cases of organized crime, cultivation, trafficking and possession of narcotics. As already is very well known that one of the primary conditions that must be fulfilled on track toward integration in the European Union is precisely to prevent and combat organized crime. Kosovo has serious problems with prosecutorial and judicial system. But the misuse of public funds, even those coming directly from EU budget or the budget of the European Union member states, have a negative impact on this process. The economic crisis that has gripped some of the EU countries has led to the creation of an environment in which there are far fewer resources and opportunities to invest in preventing and combating organized crime within member states. This automatically reduces the level of financial support for other countries in the fight against organized crime. Kosovo as a poor country, now has less likely benefiting from the support tools that will be eventually offered by Europe set of in this area.

Keywords: police, european integration, organized crime, narcotics

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