Search results for: soft issues

Authors: Somsakhool Neelasmith, Darunee Jongudomkarn, Rutja Phuphaibul

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Adolescent pregnancy is a major global concern including Thailand, which has long adopted policies and solutions to prevent such problem. Family is one of the key strategies to drive policy achievement whereas the various families and regional differences will be challenges. This article reports a preliminary study finding using qualitative case study methods, aiming to explore the situation of families living with adolescent mother in the North Eastern of Thailand or ISAN. Data were collected by in-depth interview with six key informants; five adolescent mothers age 14- 19 years and one mother in law of adolescent mother during November to December of 2017. The preliminary suggests that firstly, the adolescent pregnancy was found to be one of the significant issues among most of the families and that adolescent mothers and their family perceived other families were also faced with this problem with despite different conditions. Secondly, the parents assumed simultaneous roles as both parents and grandparents when one of their adolescent girls became an adolescent mother. Lastly, when perceiving that their adolescent daughter became pregnant, families addressed this issue by compromise with the related parties to maintain family and social relationship. This situation can be a potential intractable problem to adolescents and their families. Families may suffer from adolescent pregnancy with respect to health, economy and other family burdens. Moreover, the national development may be affected or delayed since this group of people is considered promising human resource. It is therefore required to further conduct in-depth research to cope with this issue particularly about the policies related to adolescent pregnancy.

Keywords: adolescent mother, adolescent pregnancy, consequential effect, family living with adolescent mother

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Authors: Mohamed Abdullahi Gure, Farhia Ali Abdi

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There is almost a complete certainty among educators that parental involvement is the remedy for many of the problems facing schools. It is also widely acknowledged that school administrators and teachers have important roles in promoting parental involvement in children’s education. This work aims at examining the views of parents and teachers on school-partnership practices for promoting parental involvement in education in selected primary schools in Mogadishu-Somalia. The method, which has been employed in this study, is a mixed-method approach; data were collected from parents as well as from teachers of the selected schools using survey questionnaires and interviews. A sample size of 377 parents and 214 teachers participated in this study. This study used an instrument that has been developed by Epstein and Salinas (1993) to assess the perceptions of parents and teachers about parental involvement. Furthermore, data was collected qualitatively through interviews with parents and teachers of the selected schools. The findings of this study show that parents and teachers had similar positive perceptions towards school practices for parental involvement. This study is significant for several reasons. It contributes to the limited information on parental involvement in Somalia and therefore, filling a gap in the existing empirical literature. It offers information to educators as well as to parents, which will help them understand the issues that relate to parental involvement in education. It is hoped that information from this study will facilitate parents and teachers to understand each other’s ideas on parental involvement and develop positive working relations to support children to become successful in their education.

Keywords: Mogadishu, parents, school-partnership, practices, teachers

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Authors: Sasan Chalaki, Seyed Ali Mirgholange, Touba Nadri, Saman Chalaki

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In the current world, proper poultry nutrition has garnered special attention as one of the fundamental factors for enhancing their health and performance. Concerns related to the excessive use of antibiotics in the poultry industry and their role in antibiotic resistance have transformed this issue into a global challenge in public health and the environment. On the other hand, poultry farming plays a vital role as a primary source of meat and eggs in human nutrition, and improving their health and performance is crucial. One effective approach to enhance poultry nutrition is the utilization of the antibiotic properties of plant-based ingredients. The use of plant-based alternatives as natural antibiotics in poultry nutrition not only aids in improving poultry health and performance but also plays a significant role in reducing the consumption of synthetic antibiotics and preventing antibiotic resistance-related issues. Plants contain various antibacterial compounds, such as flavonoids, tannins, and essential oils. These compounds are recognized as active agents in combating bacteria. Plant-based antibiotics are compounds extracted from plants with antibacterial properties. They are acknowledged as effective substitutes for chemical antibiotics in poultry diets. The advantages of plant-based antibiotics include reducing the risk of resistance to chemical antibiotics, increasing poultry growth performance, and lowering the risk of disease transmission.

Keywords: poultry, antibiotics, essential oils, plant-based

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Authors: Mi Yuan

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Employment issues have become increasingly severe in contemporary society, with job seekers' criteria for work environments becoming more complex. However, most studies lack an analysis from the perspective of employment spatial environment. This study employs qualitative research methods such as interviews and thematic analysis, focusing on spatial environment behavior research. By analyzing the behaviors and preferences of key employment groups in China (college graduates, migrant workers, and reemployed laid-off workers) from the perspectives of physical and socio-cultural environments, this study identifies the consistencies and differences in personal viewpoints during job selection and their impact on employment decisions. The findings indicate that college graduates tend to emphasize the macro spatial environment, while migrant workers and reemployed laid-off workers are more concerned with micro spatial environment factors. Additionally, college graduates have higher requirements for the diversity of space types and the distinction between public and private spaces. Furthermore, aside from salary considerations, key employment groups generally place less importance on the socio-cultural environment compared to the physical environment. This study aims to highlight the significance of spatial environment in job selection decisions from the perspective of diverse job seekers, providing insights for policy-making and corporate recruitment strategies.

Keywords: job-seeking populations, spatial environment behavior, micro, macro, qualitative research, physical environment, socio-cultural environment

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Authors: Ruixin Zhang, Joel Carboni, Songchenchen Gong

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Since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) officially became the 17 development goals set by the United Nations in 2015, it has become an inevitable trend in project management development globally. Since Sustainability and glob-alization are the main focus and trends in the 21st century, project management contains system-based optimization, and or-ganizational humanities, environmental protection, and economic development. As a populous country globally, with the advanced development of economy and technology, China becomes one of the biggest markets in the wine industry. However, the develop-ment of society also brings specific environmental issues. Climate changes have already brought severe impacts on the Chinese wine market, including consumer behavior, wine production activities, and organizational humanities. Therefore, the implementation of sustainable project management in Chinese wine market is essential. Surveys based analysis is the primary method to interpret how the climate variation effect the Chinese wine market and the importance of sustainable project management implementation for green market growth in China. This paper proposes the CWW Conceptual model that can be used in the wine industry, the new 7 Drivers Model, and SPM Framework to interpret the main drivers that impact project management implementation in the wine industry and to offer the directions to wine companies in China which would help them to achieve the green growth.

Keywords: project management, sustainability, green growth, climate changes, Chinese wine market

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Authors: Ting Li Liu

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‘Leftover woman’ or ‘3S’ woman is the term used to describe a well-educated, high income, independent woman who is single and never married around 30 years in Chinese society. With the naming of this demographic of ‘leftover women’, their family, dating culture, mate selection and marriage attract public concern. Massive media representations of ‘leftover women’ occur daily; the research aims to present several media representations of women’s anxiety about their singlehood and related marital issues around thirty. The research triangulates two areas of media representation of ‘leftover women’: films and audience reviews on ‘Douban Movie’ website. Drawing on traditional media studies, Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis combined with multimodal techniques is applied to the research to analyze the representations of ‘leftover women’ and their implications for marital culture in China, in conjunction with a feminist perspective. The conference paper will discuss two case studies: the film ‘The last woman standing’ and ‘I Do’. Paying attention to different aspects of ‘leftover women’, the research aims to re-examine the representations of ‘leftover women’ in selected scenes, such as their age anxiety, family, marriage, dating process, careers, etc. The paper also includes public beliefs about ‘leftover women’ from online audience reviews. In conclusion, the emergence of ‘leftover women’ is a reflection of Chinese tradition’s impact on people’s lives and new changes in Chinese families and their attitude to marriage.

Keywords: leftover women, marriage, family, media culture, China

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Authors: Y. H. Wang, C. C. Hsieh

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Good service design can increase organization revenue and consumer satisfaction while reducing labor and time costs. The problems facing consumers in the original serve model for eyewear and optical industry includes the following issues: 1. Insufficient information on eyewear products 2. Passively dependent on recommendations, insufficient selection 3. Incomplete records on progression of vision conditions 4. Lack of complete customer records. This study investigates the case of Kobayashi Optical, applying the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) to develop innovative solutions for eyewear and optical industry. Analysis results raise the following conclusions and management implications: In order to provide customers with improved professional information and recommendations, Kobayashi Optical is suggested to establish customer purchasing records. Overall service efficiency can be enhanced by applying data mining techniques to analyze past consumer preferences and purchase histories. Furthermore, Kobayashi Optical should continue to develop a 3D virtual trial service which can allow customers for easy browsing of different frame styles and colors. This 3D virtual trial service will save customer waiting times in during peak service times at stores.

Keywords: theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), service design, augmented reality (AR), eyewear and optical industry

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Authors: Atena Tazikeh Lemeski, Ismail Ozdamar

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This study presents a detailed analysis of harmonic distortion in a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system using real-time data captured from a solar power plant. Harmonics introduced by inverters in PV systems can degrade power quality and lead to increased Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), which poses challenges such as transformer overheating, increased power losses, and potential grid instability. This research addresses these issues by applying Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to identify significant harmonic components and employing notch filters to target specific frequencies, particularly the 3rd harmonic (150 Hz), which was identified as the largest contributor to THD. Initial analysis of the unfiltered voltage signal revealed a THD of 21.15%, with prominent harmonic peaks at 150 Hz, 250 Hz and 350 Hz, corresponding to the 3rd, 5th, and 7th harmonics, respectively. After implementing the notch filters, the THD was reduced to 5.72%, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in mitigating harmonic distortion without affecting the fundamental frequency. This paper provides practical insights into the application of real-time filtering techniques in PV systems and their role in improving overall grid stability and power quality. The results indicate that targeted harmonic mitigation is crucial for the sustainable integration of renewable energy sources into modern electrical grids.

Keywords: grid-connected photovoltaic systems, fast Fourier transform, harmonic filtering, inverter-induced harmonics

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Authors: Wed Othman Alghamdi

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The current study aims to find a non-toxic, low density, hydrogen-rich material that can be used in aprons without causing health issues for nuclear medical workers that could hinder their work and negatively affect patients. Five samples were tested in terms of fast neutron removal cross-section(C21H25ClO5, C2H4, LiH,H3NBH3,MgH2) mathematically using computer program called Phy-x/PSD it is a computer program designed to calculate the fast neutron removal cross section, and it was obtained that ammonia borane (𝐻3𝑁𝐵𝐻3) with a density of 0.78 (g/ cm3) ,And it containment of the three most important elements that play a major role in protection shields, which are (hydrogen, boron, nitrogen), Hydrogen works as a moderator that slows neutrons and turn them into thermal neutrons, boron and nitrogen both have the largest neutron absorption cross section. Ammonia borane has the highest fast neutron removal cross-section with the value of (0.122959317985393cm-1) and the least for polyethylene (𝐶2𝐻4) with the value of (0.0838038707225853 cm-1) which made the ammonia borane a better candidate than polyethylene and other compounds that have been tasted in previous research for multi-layer aprons in nuclear medicine, and may approve a proper protection against the hazard radiations that its produced in nuclear medicine filed by several ways, due to it is low density and non-toxicity.

Keywords: aprons, radiation, non-toxic, nuclear medicine, neutrons

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Authors: Suleman Ibrahim

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Purpose: The research is seeking people's perceptions on cybercrime issues, rather than their knowledge of the facts. Unlike the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF), the binary models are ill-equipped to differentiate between cyber fraud (a socioeconomic crime) and cyber bullying or cyber stalking (psychosocial cybercrimes). Whilst the binary categories suggested that digital crimes are dichotomized: (i.e. cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent), the TCF, recently proposed, argued that cybercrimes can be conceptualized into three groups: socioeconomic, psychosocial and geopolitical. Concomitantly, as regards to the experience/perceptions of cybercrime, the TCF’s claim requires substantiation beyond its theoretical realm. Approach/Methodology: This scholar endeavor framed with the TCF, deploys a survey method to explore the experience of cybercrime across gender. Drawing from over 400 participants in the UK, this study aimed to contrast the differential perceptions/experiences of socioeconomic cybercrime (e.g. cyber fraud) and psychological cybercrime (e.g. cyber bullying and cyber stalking) across gender. Findings: The results revealed that cyber stalking was rated as least serious of the different digital crime categories. Further revealed that female participants judged all types of cybercrimes as more serious than male participants, with the exception of socioeconomic cybercrime – cyber fraud. This distinction helps to emphasize that gender cultures and nuances not only apply both online and offline, it emphasized the utilitarian value of the TCF. Originality: Unlike existing data, this study has contrasted the differential perceptions and experience of socioeconomic and psychosocial cybercrimes with more refined variables.

Keywords: gender variations, psychosocial cybercrime, socioeconomic cybercrime, tripartite cybercrime framework

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Authors: S. R. Shamili, C. Natarajan, J. Karthikeyan

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Rapid growth of world population and widespread urbanization has remarkably increased the development of the construction industry which caused a huge demand for sand and gravels. Environmental problems occur when the rate of extraction of sand, gravels, and other materials exceeds the rate of generation of natural resources; therefore, an alternative source is essential to replace the materials used in concrete. Now-a-days, electronic products have become an integral part of daily life which provides more comfort, security, and ease of exchange of information. These electronic waste (E-Waste) materials have serious human health concerns and require extreme care in its disposal to avoid any adverse impacts. Disposal or dumping of these E-Wastes also causes major issues because it is highly complex to handle and often contains highly toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, brominates flame retardants (BFRs), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and phosphorus compounds. Hence, E-Waste can be incorporated in concrete to make a sustainable environment. This paper deals with the composition, preparation, properties, classification of E-Waste. All these processes avoid dumping to landfills whilst conserving natural aggregate resources, and providing a better environmental option. This paper also provides a detailed literature review on the behaviour of concrete with incorporation of E-Wastes. Many research shows the strong possibility of using E-Waste as a substitute of aggregates eventually it reduces the use of natural aggregates in concrete.

Keywords: dumping, electronic waste, landfill, toxic chemicals

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Authors: Ahmed Usman

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This paper attempts to examine the relevance of an Electoral Commission in the democratic process of governance in Nigeria. However, democratic system and governance present a clear indication of responsive and responsible governments. The idea of a government being responsive and responsible is based on the premise of conventional principles of democracy such as freedom of political, economic and social rights of and individual. More so, upholding of the Rule of Law based on the ground of constitutionalism is a clear manifestation of the democratic governance. The burdens of ascertaining theses democratic ethos rely solely on the constituted election management body known as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the case of Nigeria. This body is however, saddled with the responsibility of organizing and conducting periodic regular credible election known as free and fair election. The body also, is expected to be neutral, and independent to ensure fair treatment to all. It is on the basis of this fair treatment that credible leaders emerged. To this end, the paper examines the powers, functions and features of Independent National Electoral Commission. More so, the concepts of election and democracy have been operationalized. It is obvious that electoral process in Nigeria is marred with series of problems of which the paper identified and solutions were proffered towards credible, free and fair elections for sustainable democratic governance. In order to succinctly discuss and analyze the issues at stake, Structural Functional Analysis theory is adopted as a theoretical frame work for the paper.

Keywords: election, electoral commission, democracy, governance

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Authors: Larry Powell, Seth Polsley, Drew Casey, Tracy Hammond

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Human activity recognition (HAR) systems have shown positive performance when recognizing repetitive activities like walking, running, and sleeping. Water-based activities are a reasonably new area for activity recognition. However, water-based activity recognition has largely focused on supporting the elite and competitive swimming population, which already has amazing coordination and proper form. Beginner swimmers are not perfect, and activity recognition needs to support the individual motions to help beginners. Activity recognition algorithms are traditionally built around short segments of timed sensor data. Using a time window input can cause performance issues in the machine learning model. The window’s size can be too small or large, requiring careful tuning and precise data segmentation. In this work, we present a method that uses a time window as the initial segmentation, then separates the data based on the change in the sensor value. Our system uses a multi-phase segmentation method that pulls all peaks and valleys for each axis of an accelerometer placed on the swimmer’s lower back. This results in high recognition performance using leave-one-subject-out validation on our study with 20 beginner swimmers, with our model optimized from our final dataset resulting in an F-Score of 0.95.

Keywords: time window, peak/valley segmentation, feature extraction, beginner swimming, activity recognition

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Authors: M. Devaki, K. B. Jayanthi

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The identification of water bodies from satellite images has recently received a great deal of attention. Different methods have been developed to distinguish water bodies from various satellite images that vary in terms of time and space. Urban water identification issues body manifests in numerous applications with a great deal of certainty. There has been a sharp rise in the usage of satellite images to map natural resources, including urban water bodies and forests, during the past several years. This is because water and forest resources depend on each other so heavily that ongoing monitoring of both is essential to their sustainable management. The relevant elements from satellite pictures have been chosen using a variety of techniques, including machine learning. Then, a convolution neural network (CNN) architecture is created that can identify a superpixel as either one of two classes, one that includes water or doesn't from input data in a complex metropolitan scene. The deep learning technique, CNN, has advanced tremendously in a variety of visual-related tasks. CNN can improve classification performance by reducing the spectral-spatial regularities of the input data and extracting deep features hierarchically from raw pictures. Calculate the water body using the satellite image's resolution. Experimental results demonstrate that the suggested method outperformed conventional approaches in terms of water extraction accuracy from remote-sensing images, with an average overall accuracy of 97%.

Keywords: water body, Deep learning, satellite images, convolution neural network

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Authors: Elham Rajabian

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The ascent of cybersecurity incidents is a rising threat to most organisations in general, while the impact of the incidents is unique to each of the organizations. It is a need for behavioural sciences to concentrate on employees’ behaviour in order to prepare key security mitigation opinions versus cybersecurity incidents. There are noticeable differences among users of a computer system in terms of complying with security behaviours. We can discuss the people's differences under several subjects such as delaying tactics on something that must be done, the tendency to act without thinking, future thinking about unexpected implications of present-day issues, and risk-taking behaviours in security policies compliance. In this article, we introduce high-profile cyber-attacks and their impacts on weakening cyber resiliency in organizations. We also give attention to human errors that influence network security. Human errors are discussed as a part of psychological matters to enhance compliance with the security policies. The organizational challenges are studied in order to shape a sustainable cyber risks management approach in the related work section. Insiders’ behaviours are viewed as a cyber security gap to draw proper cyber resiliency in section 3. We carry out the best cybersecurity practices by discussing four CIS challenges in section 4. In this regard, we provide a guideline and metrics to measure cyber resilience in organizations in section 5. In the end, we give some recommendations in order to build a cybersecurity culture based on individual behaviours.

Keywords: cyber resilience, human factors, cybersecurity behavior, attitude, usability, security culture

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Authors: Karen Bell

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It is vital to integrate a working-class perspective into the just transition to an inclusive and sustainable society because of the particular expertise and interests that working-class people bring to the debates and actions. In class societies, those who are not well represented in the current structures of power can find it easier to see when the system is not working. They are also more likely to be impacted by the environmental crises because wealthier people can change their dwelling places, jobs and other aspects of their lives in the face of risks. Therefore, challenging the ‘post-material values thesis’, this paper argues that, if enabled to do so, working-class people are more likely to identify what needs to be addressed and changed in transition and can be more motivated to make the changes necessary than other social groups. However, they are often excluded from environmental decision-making and environmental social movements. The paper is based on a mixed methodology; drawing on secondary data, interview material, participant observation and documentary analysis. It is based on years of research and activism on environmental issues in working-class communities. The analysis and conclusion discusses the seven kinds of change required to address this problem: 1) organizational change - participatory practice (2) legislative change - make class an equalities and human rights issue (3) policy change - reduce inequality (4) social movement change - radicalize the environmental movement and support the environmental working-class (5) political change - create an eco-social state based on sharing (6) cultural change - integrate social and environmental justice, and (7) revolutionary change - dismantle capitalism.

Keywords: environmentalism, just transition, sustainability, working class

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Authors: Josephine Mirador

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Too often, one hears teachers complaining about how uncritical students can be, yet the notion of ‘criticality’ may be subject to variable understandings or interpretations. One challenge facing postgraduate students is the writing of essays responding to a specific reading assignment. Such an essay requires students not only to summarise, but to engage in a discussion of the significant points of the article, pointing out its strengths as well as its weaknesses. This paper presents the results of an investigation on criticality in written assignments of postgraduate students in applied linguistics and TESOL. The guiding questions for this investigation were: -How ‘critical’ are postgraduate students when writing their assignments? -What kind of ‘critical’ comments are they able to offer? A total of 70 essays were analysed, using two sets of corpora in the initial and follow-through phases of the research from three different universities in Asia. The essays were written by MA applied linguistics and TESOL students. Students were told that the response essay should definitely not just summarise, but should offer a reflection or critique on the ideas presented in the subject article. The initial findings from the investigation include: the identification of at least 10 general ‘moves’ each of which has a number of possible specific categories; presence of critique ‘nodes’ as distinguished from ‘support’ comments; and the identification of at least 4 moves as the most recurrent and possibly obligatory categories. This investigation has unearthed a few more questions or issues that are definitely worth investigating as extensions of this research, and will be of interest (most especially) to genre analysts and teachers of writing.

Keywords: criticality, discourse and genre analysis, postgraduate students, applied linguistics

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Authors: M. Murmu, Govardhan, J. Satya Eswari

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Concrete is the most common and widely used building material. Concrete is basically made of aggregates, both fine and coarse, glued by a cement paste which is made of cement and water. Each one of these constituents of concrete has a negative environmental impact and gives rise to different sustainability issues. The current concrete construction practice is unsustainable because, not only it consumes enormous quantities of stones, sand, and drinking water, but also one billion tons a year of cement, which is not an environment friendly material. Preventing the reduction of natural resources and enhancing the usage of waste materials has become a challenge to the scientist and engineers. A number of studies have been conducted concerning the protection of natural resources, prevention of environmental pollution and contribution to the economy by using this waste material. This paper outlines the influence of Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) as partial replacement of fine aggregate on mechanical properties of concrete. The strength of concrete is determined having OPC binder, replaced the fine aggregate with15%, 30%, 45% respectively. For this purpose, characteristics concrete mix of M25 with partial replacement of cement with GGBS is used and the strength of concrete cubes and cylinder have determined. The strength of concrete specimens has been compared with the reference specimen. Also X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests have been performed to examine the hydration products and the microstructure of the tested specimens. A correlation has been established between the developmental strength concrete with and without GGBS through analysis of hydration products and the microstructure.

Keywords: GGBS, sand, concrete, workability

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Authors: Mariann Veresne Somosi, Zoltan Nagy, Krisztina Varga

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Innovation is the key element of economic development and a key factor in social processes. Technical innovations can be identified as prerequisites and causes of social change and cannot be created without the renewal of society. The study of social innovation can be characterised as one of the significant research areas of our day. The study’s aim is to identify the process of social innovation, which can be defined by input, transformation, and output factors. This approach divides the social innovation process into three parts: situation analysis, implementation, follow-up. The methods associated with each stage of the process are illustrated by the chronological line of social innovation. In this study, we have sought to present methodologies that support long- and short-term decision-making that is easy to apply, have different complementary content, and are well visualised for different user groups. When applying the methods, the reference objects are different: county, district, settlement, specific organisation. The solution proposed by the study supports the development of a methodological combination adapted to different situations. Having reviewed metric and conceptualisation issues, we wanted to develop a methodological combination along with a change management logic suitable for structured support to the generation of social innovation in the case of a locality or a specific organisation. In addition to a theoretical summary, in the second part of the study, we want to give a non-exhaustive picture of the two counties located in the north-eastern part of Hungary through specific analyses and case descriptions.

Keywords: factors of social innovation, methodological combination, social innovation process, supporting decision-making

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Authors: Saeed Abbas, Rahilla Tabassum, Haider Abbas, Babar Khan, Shahid Hussain, Muhammad Zafar Khan, Fazal Karim, Yawar Abbas, Rizwan Karim

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Human–carnivore conflict is considered to be a major conservation and rural livelihood concern because many carnivore species have been heavily victimized due to elevated conflict levels with communities. Like other snow leopard range countries, this situation prevails in Pakistan, where WWF is currently working under Asia High Mountain Project (AHMP) in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. To mitigate such conflicts requires a firm understanding of grazing and predation pattern including human-carnivore interaction. For this purpose we conducted a survey in Hoper valley (one of the AHMP project sites in Pakistan), during August, 2013 through a questionnaire based survey and unstructured interviews covering 647 households, permanently residing in the project area out of the total 900 households. The valley, spread over 409 km2 between 36°7'46" N and 74°49'2"E, at 2900m asl in Karakoram ranges is considered to be one of an important habitat of snow leopard and associated prey species such as Himalayan ibex. The valley is home of 8100 Brusho people (ancient tribe of Northern Pakistan) dependent on agro-pastoral livelihoods including farming and livestock rearing. The total number of livestock reported were (N=15,481) out of which 8346 (53.91%) were sheep, 3546 (22.91%) goats, 2193 (14.16%) cows, 903 (5.83%) yaks, 508 (3.28%) bulls, 28 (0.18%) donkeys, 27 (0.17%) zo/zomo (cross breed of yak and cow), and 4 (0.03%) horses. 83 percent respondent (n=542 households) confirmed loss of their livestock during the last one year July, 2012 to June, 2013 which account for 2246 (14.51%) animals. The major reason of livestock loss include predation by large carnivores such as snow leopards and wolf (1710, 76.14%) followed by diseases (536, 23.86%). Of the total predation cases snow leopard is suspected to kill 1478 animals (86.43%). Among livestock sheep were found to be the major prey of snow leopard (810, 55%) followed by goats (484, 32.7%) cows (151, 10.21%), yaks (15, 1.015%), zo/zomo (7, 0.5%) and donkey (1, 0.07%). The reason for the mass depredation of sheep and goats is that they tend to browse on twigs of bushes and graze on soft grass near cliffs. They are also considered to be very active as compared to other species in moving quickly and covering more grazing area. This makes them more vulnerable to snow leopard attack. The majority (1283, 75%) of livestock killed by predators occurred during the warm season (May-September) in alpine and sub-alpine pastures and remaining (427, 25%) occurred in the winter season near settlements in valley. It was evident from the recent study that Snow leopard kills outside the pen were (1351, 79.76%) as compared to inside pen (359, 20.24%). Assessing the economic loss of livestock predation we found that the total loss of livestock predation in the study area is equal to PKR 11,230,000 (USD 105,797), which is about PRK 17, 357 (USD 163.51) per household per year. Economic loss incurred by the locals due to predation is quite significant where the average cash income per household per year is PKR 85,000 (USD 800.75).

Keywords: carnivores, conflict, predation, livelihood, conservation, rural, snow leopard, livestock

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Authors: Md. Shakhawat Ullah Chowdhury

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Mobile school is an innovative methodology in non-formal education to increase access to education for children during conflict through theatre for education for appropriate basic education to children during conflict. The continuous exposure to harsh environments and the nature of the lifestyles of children in conflict make them vulnerable. However, the mobile school initiative takes into consideration the mobile lifestyle of children in conflict. Schools are provided considering the pocket area of the street children with portable chalkboards, tin of books and materials as communities move. Teaching is multi-grade to ensure all children in the community benefit. The established mobile schools, while focused on basic literacy and numeracy skills according to traditions of the communities. The school teachers are selected by the community and trained by a theatre activist. These teachers continue to live and move with the community and provide continuous education for children in conflict. The model proposed a holistic team work to deliver education focused services to the street children’s pocket area where the team is mobile. The team consists of three members –an educator (theatre worker), a psychological counsellor and paramedics. The mobile team is responsible to educate street children and also play dramas which specially produce on the basis of national curriculum and awareness issues for street children. Children enjoy play and learn about life skills and basic literacy and numeracy skills which may be a pillar of humanitarian aid during conflict.

Keywords: vulnerable, children in conflict, mobile schooling, child-friendly

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Authors: Mahdi Karimi

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One of the most basic standards of fair trial is the right to defense, hire an attorney and its presence in the hearing stages. On the one hand, based on the reason and justice, as the legal issues, particularly criminal affairs, become complicated, the accused must benefit from an attorney in the court in order to defend itself which requires legal knowledge. On the other hand, as the judicial system has jurists such as investigation judges at its disposal, the accused must enjoy the same right to defend itself and reject allegations so that the balance is maintained between the litigating parties based on the principle of "equality of arms". The right to adequate time and facilities for defense is cited among the principles and rights relevant to the proceedings in international regulations such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The innovations made in the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2013 guaranteed the presence of the accused’s attorney in the proceedings. The present study aims at assessing the result of the aforementioned guarantee in practice and made attempts to investigate the effect of the presence of accused’s attorney on reducing the punishment by asking the question and addressing the statistical population of this study including 48 judges of lower courts and courts of appeal. It seems that in despite of guarantees provided in the new Code of Criminal Procedure, Iran's penal system, does not tolerate the presence of an attorney in practice.

Keywords: defense attorney, equality of arms, fair trial, reducing the penalty, right to defense

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Authors: Ayad Salih Sabbar, Amin Chegenizadeh, Hamid Nikraz

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Utilizing waste materials in civil engineering applications has a positive influence on the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and issues associated with waste disposal. Granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) is a by-product of the iron and steel industry, with millions of tons of slag being annually produced worldwide. Slag has been widely used in structural engineering and for stabilizing clay soils; however, studies on the effect of slag on sandy soils are scarce. This article investigates the effect of slag content on shear strength parameters through direct shear tests and unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests on mixtures of Perth sand and slag. For this purpose, sand-slag mixtures, with slag contents of 2%, 4%, and 6% by weight of samples, were tested with direct shear tests under three normal stress values, namely 100 kPa, 150 kPa, and 200 kPa. Unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests were performed under a single confining pressure of 100 kPa and relative density of 80%. The internal friction angles and shear stresses of the mixtures were determined via the direct shear tests, demonstrating that shear stresses increased with increasing normal stress and the internal friction angles and cohesion increased with increasing slag. There were no significant differences in shear stresses parameters when slag content rose from 4% to 6%. The unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests demonstrated that shear strength increased with increasing slag content.

Keywords: direct shear, shear strength, slag, UU test

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Authors: Elisenda Camprecios, Alicia Macarrila, Montse Albiol, Neus Garriga Garriga

Abstract:

The loss of a child during pregnancy, or shortly after birth, is not a common occurrence, but it is a prevalent fact in our society. When this loss happens, life and death walk together. The grief that parents experience following a perinatal loss is a devastating experience. Professionals are aware that the quality of care offered during this first period is crucial to support the families experiencing a perinatal loss and meet their needs. However, it is not always easy for the health care professionals to know what to say and what to do in these difficult circumstances. Given the complexity of the Health, painful process that a family must face when is affected by such loss, we believe that the creation of a protocol that pays special attention to the emotional needs of those couples can be a very valuable tool for the professionals. The short documentary named ‘When the illusion vanished’ was created as part of the material of this protocol, which focuses on the emotional needs of the families who have suffered a perinatal loss. This video is designed to see what impact has a perinatal death and to raise awareness among professionals working in this field. The methodology is based on interviews with couples who have experienced perinatal death and to professionals who accompany families suffering from perinatal loss. The use of sensitive and empathized words, being encouraged to express feelings, respect the time, appropriate training for the professionals are some of the issues reflected in this documentary. We believe that this video has contributed to help health care professionals to empathize and understand the need to be able to accompany these families with the appropriate care, respectful, empathetic attitude and professionalism so that they can start the path to a ‘healthy’ mourning.

Keywords: neonatal loss, midwifery, perinatal bereavement, perinatal loss

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Authors: Jenee Gooden, Kevin Vasquez-monterroso, Lady Paula Dejesus, Sandra Wainwright, Daniel Kim, Mackenzie Walker

Abstract:

Introduction: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare, rapidly progressive, neutrophilic ulcerative colitis condition with an incidence of 3 to 10 cases per year ¹ ². Due to the similar appearance, PG is often misdiagnosed as a diabetic ulcer in diabetic patients. Though they may clinically appear similar in appearance, the treatment protocol and diagnostic criteria differ. Also, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is often a condition seen in diabetic patients, which can have a significant impact on wound healing due to the wide range of uremic toxins³. This case study demonstrates a multidisciplinary team and multimodal treatment approach by podiatric surgery, general surgery, rheumatology, infectious disease, interventional cardiology, wound care and hyperbaric medicine for an uncontrolled diabetic with pyoderma gangrenosum of a significant circumferential wound, covering almost the entire right lower extremity. Methods:56 y.o male presents with multiple PG ulcerations, including the chest, right posterior lower extremity and sacrum. All ulcerations were previously managed by the same wound care specialist. His chief complaint was worsening PG ulcerations accompanied by a fever of 103 °F . This case study focuses on the wound to his RLE. Past medical history significant for diabetes mellitus type 2 with hemoglobin A1c of 10% and end stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis. A multidisciplinary team approach by podiatric surgery, general surgery, rheumatology, infectious disease, interventional cardiology, wound care and hyperbaric medicine was successfully used to perform right lower extremity limb salvage. The patient was managed by rheumatology for the continuation of prior medication, as well as the mutual agreement with wound care for the addition of dapsone. A coronary CT angiogram was performed by interventional cardiology, but no significant disease was noted, and no further vascular workup was necessary. Multiple surgical sharp wide excisional debridements with application of allografts and split thickness skin grafts for the circumferential ulceration that encompassed almost the entire right lower extremity were performed by both podiatric surgery and general surgery. Wound cultures and soft tissue biopsies were performed, and infectious disease managed antibiotic therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy and wound vac therapy by wound care were also completed as adjunct management. Results: Prevention of leg amputation by limb salvage of the RLE was accomplished by a multidisciplinary team approach, with the wound size decreasing over a total of 29 weeks from 600 cm² to 12.0 x 3.5 x 0.2 cm. Our multidisciplinary team included podiatric surgery, general surgery, rheumatology, infectious disease, interventional cardiology, wound care and hyperbaric medicine. Discussion: Wound healing, in general, can have its challenges, and those challenges are only magnified when accompanied by multiple systemic illnesses. Though the negative impact of diabetes on wound healing is well known, the compound impact of being a diabetic with ESRD and having pyoderma gangrenosum is not. This case demonstrates the necessity for a multidisciplinary team approach with a wide array of treatment modalities to optimize wound healing and perform limb salvage with prevention of lower extremity amputation.

Keywords: diabetes, podiatry, pyoderma gangrenosum, end stage renal disease

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Authors: Helena Baffoe

Abstract:

The US has developed numerous programs over the past 50 years to enhance the lives of those who suffer from mental health illnesses and substance abuse, as well as the effectiveness of their treatments. Despite these advances over the past 50 years, there hasn't been a corresponding improvement in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental health disorders and substance abuse. Highly publicized acts of violence frequently elicit comments that blame the perpetrator's perceived mental health disorder since such people are thought to be substance abusers. Despite these strong public beliefs and perception about mental disorder and substance abuse, concreate empirical evidence that entail this perception is lacking, and evidence of their effectiveness has not been integrated. A rich data was collected from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with a hypothesis that people who are diagnosed with a mental health disorder are likely to be diagnosed with substance abuse using logit regression analysis and Instrumental Variable. It was found that depressive, anxiety, and trauma/stressor mental disorders constitute the most common mental disorder in the United States, and the study could not find statistically significant evidence that being diagnosed with these leading mental health disorders in the United States does necessarily imply that such a patient is diagnosed with substances abuse. Thus, the public has a misconception of mental health and substance abuse issues, and social workers' responsibilities are outlined in order to assist ameliorate this attitude and perception.

Keywords: mental health disorder, substance abuse, role of a social worker, evidence based research

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Authors: Rasha Ali Dheyab, Edurad Vlad

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Migration is associated with other important global issues, including development, poverty, and human rights. Migrants are often the most dynamic members of society; historically, migration has supported economic development and the rise of nations and enriched cultures. It also presents significant challenges. The word ‘racism’ is not just about beliefs or statements; it also contains the ability to force those beliefs or world views as hegemonic and as a basis for the refusal of rights or equality. For this reason, racism is embedded in power relations of different types. Racism is not only an awareness of distinction and groups, but it also has extremely practical roles in maintaining: First, inequitable social power arrangements; and second, racist behavioral manifestations such as verbal rejection, avoidance, discrimination, physical attack, and elimination. The focus is on aspects of racism in the media to deal with the migration phenomenon. The reproduction and promotion of racism by certain areas of the media is not a simple and straightforward process. It is important to see how the media serves in the reproduction of racism. This article shows attitudes to migration as they have appeared in British periodicals over the last few years. One might conclude that the reproduction of racism by the media is not a simple and straightforward process. It has become obvious that the role of the media in the reproduction of racism is inextricably linked to the general characteristics of racism and white domination in society, particularly the structural and ideological structuring of that kind of group power. This highlights the press's function as a business, social, and cultural institution. The press has to be examined in connection to the institutions of the economic and political as well.

Keywords: British periodicals, culture studies, migration, racism

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Authors: Nadezhda Kvatashidze

Abstract:

The International Accounting Standards Board updated the conceptual framework for financial reporting. The main reason behind it is to resolve the tasks of the accounting, which are caused by the market development and business-transactions of a new economic content. Also, the investors call for higher transparency of information and responsibility for the results in order to make a more accurate risk assessment and forecast. All these make it necessary to further develop the conceptual framework for financial reporting so that the users get useful information. The market development and certain shortcomings of the conceptual framework revealed in practice require its reconsideration and finding new solutions. Some issues and concepts, such as disclosure and supply of information, its qualitative characteristics, assessment, and measurement uncertainty had to be supplemented and perfected. The criteria of recognition of certain elements (assets and liabilities) of reporting had to be updated, too and all this is set out in the updated edition of the conceptual framework for financial reporting, a comprehensive collection of concepts underlying preparation of the financial statement. The main objective of conceptual framework revision is to improve financial reporting and development of clear concepts package. This will support International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to set common “Approach & Reflection” for similar transactions on the basis of mutually accepted concepts. As a result, companies will be able to develop coherent accounting policies for those transactions or events that are occurred from particular deals to which no standard is used or when standard allows choice of accounting policy.

Keywords: conceptual framework, measurement basis, measurement uncertainty, neutrality, prudence, stewardship

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Authors: A. Sreedevi, G. Anantaramu

Abstract:

The present space research organizations are striving towards the development of lighter, smaller, more efficient, low cost, and highly reliable power supply. Switch mode power supplies (SMPS) overcome the demerits of linear power supplies such as low efficiency, difficulties in thermal management, and in boosting the output voltage. Space applications require a constant DC voltage to supply its load. As the load varies, the battery terminal voltage tends to vary accordingly. To avoid this variation in the load terminal voltage, a DC-DC regulator is required. The conventional regulator for space applications is isolated boost topology. The proposed topology uses an interleaved push-pull converter with a current doubler secondary to reduce the EMI issues and increase efficiency. The proposed topology uses a floating technique where the converter derives power from the battery and generates only the voltage that is required to fill the gap between the bus and the battery voltage. The direct voltage sense and current loop provide tight regulation of output and better stability. Converter is designed with 50 kHz switching frequency using UC 1825 PWM controller employing both voltage and peak current mode control. Experimental tests have been carried out on the converter under different input and load conditions to validate the design. The experimental results showed that the efficiency was greater than 91%. Stability analysis is done using venable stability analyzer.

Keywords: push pull converter, current doubler, converter, PWM control

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Authors: Funke Morenike Jiyah, Joshua Jiyah

Abstract:

The occurrence of various health issues have been linked to excessive noise pollution in all works of life as evident in many research efforts. This study provides empirical analysis of the effects of noise pollution on the well-being of the residents of Bida Local Government Area, Niger State, Nigeria. The study adopted a case study research design, involving cross-sectional procedure. Field observations and medical reports were obtained to support the respondents’ perception on the state of their well-being. The sample size for the study was selected using the housing stock in the various wards. One major street in each ward was selected. A total of 1,833 buildings were counted along the sampled streets and 10% of this was selected for the administration of structured questionnaire.The environmental quality of the wards was determined by measuring the noise level using Testo 815 noise meters. The result revealed that Bariki ward which houses the GRA has the lowest noise level of 37.8 dB(A)while the noise pollution levels recorded in the other thirteen wards were all above the recommended levels. The average ambient noise level in sawmills, commercial centres, road junctions and industrial areas were above 90 dB(A). The temporal record from the Federal Medical Centre, Bida revealed that, apart from malaria, hypertension (5,614 outpatients) was the most prevalent health issue in 2013 alone. The paper emphasised the need for compatibility consideration in the choice of residential location, the use of ear muffler and effective enforcement of zoning regulations.

Keywords: bida, decibels, environmental quality, noise, well-being

Procedia PDF Downloads 135