Search results for: community resource centers

Authors: Ayse Inel Manav, Nuray Simsek

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The number of people with dementia and the problems that are experienced by these people are increasing along with aging world population. This study was carried out to assess the effects of reminiscence therapy using internet videos on the cognitive condition and apathy levels of elderly people who had mild dementia and lived in nursing homes. This randomly controlled experimental study was conducted between 25 May-25 August 2016 in the nursing home, elderly care and rehabilitation centers in Adana and Seyhan, Turkey. A total of 32 individuals participated in this study, 16 in the experimental group and 16 in the control group. Data were collected using a personal information form developed on the basis of the published literature, the Standardized Mini Mental Test (SMMT) and the Apathy Rating Scale (ARS). The Clinical Research Ethics Committee's approval, written institutional permission, and the written consent of the participants were obtained before data collection. The individuals in the experimental group received reminiscence therapy using internet videos for 60 minutes one day a week for three months. During the same period, 25-30 minutes of unstructured interviews on subjects unrelated to reminiscence were carried out with individuals in the control group. The SMMT and ARS were administered before the applications in the experimental group and at the end of the third month. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and frequencies) as well as Student's t-test, the Mann-Whitney U-test, and Wilcoxon's signed ranks test. In this study, the total SMMT post-test scores of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group (p = 0.001; p < 0.01). There was a difference between experimental and control groups' total SMMT post-test scores (p = 0.001; p < 0.01). The experimental group's ARS total post-test scores were higher than those of the control group (p = 0.001; p < 0.01). This study found that group reminiscence therapy using internet videos improved the cognitive functions and apathy levels of elderly individuals with mild dementia.

Keywords: apaty, cognitive testing, dementia, elderly, reminisence threapy

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Authors: Muna Mohamed Omer Mirghani

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This paper responds to one of the key national development strategies and a typical challenge in the Gash Basin as well as in different parts of Sudan, namely managing water scarcity in view of climate change impacts in minor water systems sustaining over 50% of the Sudan population. While now focusing on the Gash river basin, the ultimate aim is to replicate the same approach in similar water systems in central and west Sudan. The key objective of the paper is the identification of outcome-based water governance interventions in Gash Basin, guided by the global Sustainable Development Goal six (SDG 6 on water and sanitation) and the Sudan water resource policy framework. The paper concluded that improved water resources management of the Gash Basin is a prerequisite for ensuring desired policy outcomes of groundwater use and flood risk management purposes. Analysis of various water governance dimensions in the Gash indicated that the operationalization of a Basin-level institutional reform is critically focused on informed actors and adapted practices through knowledge and technologies along with the technical data and capacity needed to make that. Adapting the devolved Institutional structure at state level is recommended to strengthen the Gash basin regulatory function and improve compliance of groundwater users.

Keywords: water governance, Gash Basin, integrated groundwater management, Sudan

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Authors: Yulin Liang

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Under the background of protecting ecology, natural education is an effective way for people to understand nature. At the same time, it is a new means of sustainable development of eco-tourism, which can improve the functions of China 's protected areas and develop new business formats for the development of national parks. This study takes national park gateway communities as the research object and uses literature review, inductive reasoning and other research methods to sort out the development process of natural education in China and the research progress of natural education design in national park gateway communities. Finally, it discuss how gateway communities can use natural education to transform their development methods and provide theoretical and practical basis for the development of gateway communities in national parks.

Keywords: nature education, gateway communities, national park, sustainable development

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Authors: Hilary J. Watsilla, Narasimha R. Vajjhala

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has made information access easier and affordable. Academic research has also benefited from this, with online journals and academic resource readily available by the click of a button. However, there are limited ways of assessing and controlling the quality of the academic research mostly in public institution. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with a significant number of universities and young population. The quality of knowledge created by academic researchers, however, needs to be evaluated due to the high number of predatory journals published by academia. The purpose of this qualitative study is to look at the knowledge creation, acquisition, and assimilation process by academic researchers in public universities in Nigeria. Qualitative research will be carried out using in-depth interviews and observations. Academic researchers will be interviewed and absorptive capacity theory will be used as the theoretical framework to guide the research. The findings from this study should help understand the impact of ICT on the knowledge creation process in academic research and to understand how ICT can affect the quality of knowledge produced by researchers. The findings from this study should help add value to the existing body of knowledge on the quality of academic research, especially in Africa where there is limited availability of quality academic research. As this study is limited to Nigerian universities, the outcome may not be generalized to other developing countries.

Keywords: knowledge creation, academic research, university, information and communication technology

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Authors: Moanaro Ao, Nzanthung Ngullie

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Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has unique challenges in hilly urban settlements. Efforts have been taken by municipalities, private players, non-governmental organizations, etc. for managing solid waste by preventing its generation, reusing, and recovering them into useful products to the extent possible, thereby minimizing its impact on the environment and human health. However, there are many constraints that lead to inadequate management of solid waste. Kohima is an unplanned hill station city in the North Eastern Region of India. The city is facing numerous issues due to the mismanagement of the MSW generated. Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) is the Urban Local Body (ULB) responsible for providing municipal services. The present MSWM system in Kohima comprises of collection, transportation, and disposal of waste without any treatment. Several efforts and experimental projects on waste management have been implemented without any success. Waste management in Kohima city is challenging due to its remote location, difficult topography, dispersed settlements within the city, sensitive ecosystem, etc. Furthermore, the narrow road network in Kohima with limited scope for expansion, inadequate infrastructure facilities, and financial constraints of the ULB add up to the problems faced in managing solid waste. This hill station also has a unique system of traditional local self-governance. Thus, shifting from a traditional system to a modern system in implementing systematic and scientific waste management is also a challenge in itself. This study aims to analyse the existing situation of waste generation, evaluate the effectiveness of the existing management system of MSW, and evolve a strategic approach to achieve a sustainable and resilient MSWM system. The results from the study show that a holistic approach, including social aspects, technical aspects, environmental aspects, and financial aspects, is needed to reform the MSWM system. Stringent adherence to source segregation is required by encouraging public participation through awareness programs. Active involvement of community-based organizations (CBOs) has brought a positive change in sensitizing the public. A waste management model was designed to be adopted at a micro-level such as composting household biodegradable waste and incinerator plants at the community level for non-biodegradable waste. Suitable locations for small waste stations were identified using geographical information system (GIS) tools for waste recovery and recycling. Inculcating the sense of responsibility in every waste generator towards waste management by implementing incentive-based strategies at the Ward level was explored. Initiatives based on the ‘polluters pay principle’ were also explored to make the solid waste management model “self-sustaining”.

Keywords: municipal solid waste management, public participation, source segregation, sustainable

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Authors: Mohammad Sheikhalishahi, Vahid Ebrahimipour, Amir Hossein Radman-Kian

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This paper proposes an Ontology framework for knowledge modeling and representation of the equipment integrity process in a typical oil and gas production plant. Our aim is to construct a knowledge modeling that facilitates translation, interpretation, and conversion of human-readable integrity interpretation into computer-readable representation. The framework provides a function structure related to fault propagation using ISO 14224 and ISO 15926 OWL-Lite/ Resource Description Framework (RDF) to obtain a generic system-level model of asset integrity that can be utilized in the integrity engineering process during the equipment life cycle. It employs standard terminology developed by ISO 15926 and ISO 14224 to map textual descriptions of equipment failure and then convert it to a causality-driven logic by semantic interpretation and computer-based representation using Lite/RDF. The framework applied for an offshore gas riser. The result shows that the approach can cross-link the failure-related integrity words and domain-specific logic to obtain a representation structure of equipment integrity with causality inference based on semantic extraction of inspection report context.

Keywords: asset integrity modeling, interoperability, OWL, RDF/XML

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Authors: Hassan Barau Singhry

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Purpose: Leadership or the absence of it is an important behaviour affecting employees’ job satisfaction. Although, there are many models of leadership, one that stands out in a period of change is the transformational behaviour. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of an organizational justice on the relationship between transformational leadership and employee job satisfaction. The study is based on the assumption that change begins with leaders and leaders should be fair and just. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey through structured questionnaire was employed to collect the data of this study. The population is selected the three tiers of government such as the local, state, and federal governments in Nigeria. The sampling method used in this research is stratified random sampling. 418 middle managers of public organizations respondents to the questionnaire. Multiple regression aided by structural equation modeling was employed to test 4 hypothesized relationships. Finding: The regression results support for the mediating role of organizational justice such as distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational justice in the link between transformational leadership and job satisfaction. Originality/value: This study adds to the literature of human resource management by empirically validating and integrating transformational leadership behaviour with the four dimensions of organizational justice theory. The study is expected to be beneficial to the top and middle-level administrators as well as theory building and testing.

Keywords: distributive justice, job satisfaction, organizational justice, procedural justice, transformational leadership

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Authors: I. Chebbi, L. Boudaya, L. Neifar

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The bogue, Boops boops is an economically important fishery resource and commonly captured in the Mediterranean, and its diversity in parasites has been used as a tool to differentiate between stocks along with Tunisia since it is widely acceptable in fisheries management. In this study, a total of 90 fish are investigated from three localities off Tunisia, including Kelibia, Mahdia, and Zarzis. Fifteen species of parasites totaling 1270 individuals were harvested from B. boops, whereas ten parasites were used as biological tags. Based on Mahalanobis distance, each parasite species shows a great importance in the discrimination between groups. Tetraphyllidea larvae are the most influential parasites in determining the position of samples belonging to Kelibia. Monogenean species and Hysterothylacium sp. are the most important species for determining the position of samples from Mahdia. Specimens from Zarzis are characterized by the absence of the four Monogenean species and the Tetraphyllidea larvae. Parasites allocate B. boops population correctly to their origin communities with an accuracy of 83.3%. These results were corroborated by the discriminant analyses, highlighted the presence of three stocks, and improved that the parasitological method can be considered as a reliable key to provide imperative information for discriminating among B. boops stocks in Tunisian waters.

Keywords: biological marker, Boops boops, parasite, population structure

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Authors: Daniel O. Kleinsman

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The 2019 terrorist attack on two masjidain in Christchurch, New Zealand, was a shocking demonstration of the harm that can be caused by hate crime. As legal and governmental responses to the attack struggle to provide effective remedies to its victims, restorative justice has emerged as a tool that can assist, in terms of both meeting victims’ needs and discharging the obligations of the state under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), arts 2(3), 26, 27. Restorative justice is a model that emphasizes the repair of harm caused or revealed by unjust behavior. It also prioritises the facilitation of dialogue, the restoration of equitable relationships, and the prevention of future harm. Returning to the case study, in the remarks of the sentencing judge, the terrorist’s actions were described as a hate crime of vicious malevolence that the Court was required to decisively reject, as anathema to the values of acceptance, tolerance and mutual respect upon which New Zealand’s inclusive society is based and which the country strives to maintain. This was one of the reasons for which the terrorist received a life sentence with no possibility of parole. However, in the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack, it was found that victims felt the attack occurred within the context of widespread racism, discrimination and Islamophobia, where hostile behaviors, including hate-based threats and attacks, were rarely recorded, analysed or acted on. It was also found that the Government had inappropriately concentrated intelligence resources on the risk of ‘Islamist’ terrorism and had failed to adequately respond to concerns raised about threats against the Muslim community. In this light, the remarks of the sentencing judge can be seen to reflect a criminal justice system that, in the absence of other remedies, denies systemic accountability and renders hate crime an isolated incident rather than an expression of more widespread discrimination and hate to be holistically addressed. One of the recommendations of the Royal Commission was to explore with victims the desirability and design of restorative justice processes. This presents an opportunity for victims to meet with state representatives and pursue effective remedies (ICCPR art 2(3)) not only for the harm caused by the terrorist but the harm revealed by a system that has exposed the minority Muslim community in New Zealand to hate in all forms, including but not limited to violent extremism. In this sense, restorative justice can also assist the state in discharging its wider obligations to protect all persons from discrimination (art 26) and allow ethnic and religious minorities to enjoy their own culture and profess and practice their own religion (art 27). It can also help give effect to the law and its purpose as a remedy to hate crime, as expressed in this case study by the sentencing judge.

Keywords: hate crime, restorative justice, minorities, victims' rights

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Authors: Jennifer E. Lynette

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This study describes the development process of a methodological framework for quality standards used to measure the efficiency and quality of response efforts of trained personnel at emergency events. This paper describes the techniques used to develop the initial framework and its potential application to professions under the broader field of emergency management. The example described in detail in this paper applies the framework specifically to fire response activities by firefighters. Within the quality standards framework, the fire response process is chronologically mapped. Individual variables within the sequence of events are identified. Through in-person data collection, questionnaires, interviews, and the expansion of the incident reporting system, this study identifies and categorizes previously unrecorded variables involved in the response phase of a fire. Following a data analysis of each variable using a quantitative or qualitative assessment, the variables are ranked pertaining to the magnitude of their impact to the event outcome. Among others, key indicators of quality performance in the analysis involve decision communication, resource utilization, response techniques, and response time. Through the application of this framework and subsequent utilization of quality standards indicators, there is potential to increase efficiency in the response phase of an emergency event; thereby saving additional lives, property, and resources.

Keywords: emergency management, fire, quality standards, response

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Authors: Yongsheng Guo, Mengyu Lu

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This study investigates how Chinese SMEs manage financial risks in financing from customers from the perspectives of ethics and national culture. A grounded theory approach is adopted to identify the causal conditions, actions/interactions, and consequences. 32 interviews were conducted, and systematic coding methods were used to identify themes and categories. This study found that Chinese ethical principles, including integrity, friendship, and reciprocity, and cultural traits, including collectivism, acquaintance society, and long-term orientation, provide conditions for financing from customers. The SMEs establish trust-based relationships with customers through personal communications and social networks and reduce financial risk through diversification, frequent operations, and enterprise reputations. Both customers and SMEs can get benefits like financial resources and customer experiences. This study creates a theoretical framework that connects the causal conditions, processes, and outcomes, providing a deeper understanding of financing from customers. A resource and process capability theory of SMEs and a customer capital and customer value model are proposed to connect accounting and finance concepts. Suggestions are proposed for the authorities as more guidance and regulations are needed for this informal finance.

Keywords: CRM, culture, ethics, SME, risk management

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Authors: Ayman M. Mansour

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In this paper, we propose a multi-agent intelligent system that is used for monitoring the health conditions of elderly people. Monitoring the health condition of elderly people is a complex problem that involves different medical units and requires continuous monitoring. Such expert system is highly needed in rural areas because of inadequate number of available specialized physicians or nurses. Such monitoring must have autonomous interactions between these medical units in order to be effective. A multi-agent system is formed by a community of agents that exchange information and proactively help one another to achieve the goal of elderly monitoring. The agents in the developed system are equipped with intelligent decision maker that arms them with the rule-based reasoning capability that can assist the physicians in making decisions regarding the medical condition of elderly people.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, inference system, monitoring system, multi-agent system

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Authors: Ofra Walter Btel Liran Hazan

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This study’s goal was to clarify whether psychological capital (PsyCap) mediated the relations between social support and subjective well-being among post-secondary students during the Covid-19 pandemic and to assess whether students diagnosed with a learning disability (LD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differed from others in their reliance on social support and their level of PsyCap and subjective wellbeing. Participants were257 students, 152 diagnosed with LD/ADHD and the rest neurotypical. The study used four questionnaires: demographic and academic information; Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ); Subjective Well-Being Index; social support questionnaire. The results indicated PsyCapmediated relations between social support and subjective wellbeing. Students diagnosed with LD/ADHD differed from neurotypicals in their PsyCap and subjective wellbeing levels but not in their social support. In addition, the relations between PsyCap and social support were stronger among students diagnosed with LD/ADHD. PsyCap was an important resource for all participants and was related to social support and subjective wellbeing, making it especially valuable for LD/ADHD students facing new and threatening situations, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: LD/ADHD post-secondary students, subjective wellbeing, social support, PsyCap, covid-19

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Authors: Pedram Saadati, Zahra Nazari

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Today, the role and importance of financial technology businesses in Iran have increased significantly. Although, in Iran, there is no Islamic or non-Islamic personal financial planning field of study in the universities or educational centers, the profession of personal financial planning is not defined, and there is no software introduced in this regard for advisors or consumers. The largest sales network of financial services in Iran belongs to the insurance industry, and there is an untapped market for international companies in Iran that can contribute to 130 thousand representatives in the insurance industry and 28 million families by providing training and personal financial advisory software. To the best of the author's knowledge, despite the lack of previous internal studies in this field, the present study investigates the level of readiness of the salesforce of the insurance industry to accept this career and its technology. The statistical population of the research is made up of managers, insurance sales representatives, assistants and heads of sales departments of insurance companies. An 18-minute video was prepared that introduced and taught the job of Islamic personal financial planning and explained its difference from its non-Islamic model. This video was provided to the respondents. The data collection tool was a research-made questionnaire. To investigate the factors affecting technology acceptance and job change, independent T descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were used, and Friedman's test was used to rank the effective factors. The results indicate the mental perception and very positive attitude of the insurance industry activists towards the usefulness of this job and its technology, and the studied sample confirmed the intention of training in this knowledge. Based on research results, the change in the customer's attitude towards the insurance advisor and the possibility of increasing income are considered as the reasons for accepting. However, Restrictions on using investment opportunities due to Islamic financial services laws and the uncertainty of the position of the central insurance in this regard are considered as the most important obstacles.

Keywords: fintech, insurance, personal financial planning, wealth management

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Authors: Mirjana Ilic, Dragan Zivotic, Aleksandra Perovic, Predrag Gavrilovic

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The service quality perception depends on many factors, such as the area in which the services are provided, socioeconomic status, educational status, experience, age and gender of consumers, as well as many others. For this reason, it is not possible to apply instrument for establishing the service quality perception that is developed in other areas and in other populations. The aim of the research was to form an instrument for assessing the quality perception in the field of fitness in Serbia. After analyzing the available literature and conducting a pilot research, there were 15 isolated areas in which it was possible to observe the service quality perception. The areas included: material and technical basis, secondary facilities, coaches, programs, reliability, credibility, security, rapid response, compassion, communication, prices, satisfaction, loyalty, quality outcomes and motives. These areas were covered by a questionnaire consisted of 100 items where the number of items varied from area to area from 3 up to 11. The questionnaire was administered to 350 subjects of both genders (174 men and 176 women) aged from 18 to 68 years, being beneficiaries of fitness services for at least 1 year. In each of the areas was conducted a factor analysis in its exploratory form by principal components method. The number of significant factors has been determined in accordance with the Kaiser Guttman criterion. The initial factor solutions were simplified using the Varimax rotation. Analyses per areas have produced from 1 to 4 factors. Afterward, the factor analysis of factor scores on the first principal component of each of the respondents in each of the analyzed area was performed, and the factor structure was obtained with four latent dimensions interpreted as offer, the relationship with the coaches, the experience of quality and the initial impression. This factor structure was analysed by hierarchical analysis of Oblique factors, which in the second order space produced single factor interpreted as a general factor of the service quality perception. The resulting questionnaire represents an instrument which can serve managers in the field of fitness to optimize the centers development, raising the quality of services in line with consumers needs and expectations.

Keywords: fitness, hierarchical model, quality perception, factor analysis

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Authors: Dalal Albudaiwi, Mike Allen, Talal Alhaji, Shahnaz Khadimehzadah

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As a pandemic, COVID-19 has impacted the whole world since November 2019. In other words, every organization, industry, and institution has been negatively affected by the Coronavirus. The uncertainty of how long the pandemic will last caused chaos at all levels. As with any other institution, public libraries were affected and transmitted into online services and resources. As internationally, have been witnessed that some public libraries were well-prepared for such disasters as the pandemic, and therefore, collections, users, services, technologies, staff, and budgets were all influenced. Public libraries’ policies did not mention any plan regarding such a pandemic. Instead, there are several rules in the guidelines about disasters in general, such as natural disasters. In this pandemic situation, libraries have been involved in different uneasy circumstances. However, it has always been apparent to public libraries the role they play in serving their communities in excellent and critical times. It dwells into the traditional role public libraries play in providing information services and sources to satisfy their information-based community needs. Remarkably increasing people’s awareness of the importance of informational enrichment and enhancing society’s skills in dealing with information and information sources. Under critical circumstances, libraries play a different role. It goes beyond the traditional part of information providers to the untraditional role of being a social institution that serves the community with whatever capabilities they have. This study takes two significant directions. The first focuses on investigating how libraries have responded to COVID-19 and how they manage disasters within their organization. The second direction focuses on how libraries help their communities to act during disasters and how to recover from the consequences. The current study examines how libraries prepare for disasters and the role of public libraries during disasters. We will also propose “measures” to be a model that libraries can use to evaluate the effectiveness of their response to disasters. We intend to focus on how libraries responded to this new disaster. Therefore, this study aims to develop a comprehensive policy that includes responding to a crisis such as Covid-19. An analytical lens inside the libraries as an organization and outside the organization walls will be documented based on analyzing disaster-related literature published in the LIS publication. The study employs content analysis (CA) methodology. CA is widely used in the library and information science. The critical contribution of this work is to propose solutions it provides to libraries and planers to prepare crisis management plans/ policies, specifically to face a new global disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study will help library directors to evaluate their strategies and to improve them properly. The significance of this study lies in guiding libraries’ directors to enhance the goals of the libraries to guarantee crucial issues such as: saving time, avoiding loss, saving budget, acting quickly during a crisis, maintaining libraries’ role during pandemics, finding out the best response to disasters, and creating plan/policy as a sample for all libraries.

Keywords: Covid-19, policy, preparedness, public libraries

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Authors: Sudheer Gupta

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Approximately 4 billion citizens of the world live on the equivalent of less than $8 a day. This segment constitutes a $5 trillion global market that remains under-served. Multinational corporations have historically tended to focus their innovation efforts on the upper segments of the economic pyramid. The academic literature has also been dominated by theories and frameworks of innovation that are valid when applied to the developed markets and consumer segments, but fail to adequately account for the challenges and realities of new product and service creation for the poor. Theories of entrepreneurship developed in the context of developed markets similarly ignore the challenges and realities of operating in developing economies that can be characterized by missing institutions, missing markets, information and infrastructural challenges, and resource constraints. Social entrepreneurs working in such contexts develop solutions differently. In this talk, we summarize lessons learnt from a long-term research project that involves data collection from a broad range of social entrepreneurs in developing countries working towards solutions to alleviate poverty, and grounded theory-building efforts. We aim to develop a better understanding of consumers, producers, and other stakeholder involvement, thus laying the foundation to build a robust theory of innovation and entrepreneurship for the poor.

Keywords: poverty alleviation, social enterprise, social innovation, development

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Authors: Shamsu Abdullahi, Nazir Yusuf, Hazrina Sofian, Abubakar Zakari, Amina Nura, Salisu Suleiman

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Requirements negotiation process models help in resolving conflicting requirements of the heterogeneous stakeholders in the software development industry. This is to achieve a shared vision of software projects to be developed by the industry. Negotiating stakeholder agreements is a serious and difficult task in the software development process. There are many requirements negotiation process models that effectively negotiate stakeholder agreements that have been proposed by the research community. Other issues in the requirements negotiation research domain include stakeholder communication, decision-making, lack of negotiation interoperability, and managing requirement changes and analysis. This study highlights the current state of the art in the existing software requirements negotiation process models. The study also describes the issues and limitations in the software requirements negotiations process models.

Keywords: requirements, negotiation, stakeholders, agreements

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Authors: Cihat Aşan

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Istanbul Strait is a crucial and narrow waterway, not only having a role in linking two continents but also has a crossover mission for the petroleum, which is the biggest energy resource, between its supply and demand sources. Besides its substantial features, sensitivities like around 18 million populations in surroundings, military facilities, ports, oil lay down areas etc. also brings the high risk to use of Istanbul Strait. Based on the statistics of Turkish Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communication, although the number of vessel passage in Istanbul Strait is declining, tonnage of hazardous and flammable cargo like oil and chemical transportation is increasing and subsequently the risk of oil pollution, loss of life and property is also rising. Based on the mentioned above; it is crucial to be prepared for the initial and subsequent response to eventual ship sourced oil spill which may cause to block the Strait for an unbearable duration. In this study; preconditioned Istanbul Strait sensitive areas studies has been taken into account and possible oil spill scenario is loaded to PISCES 2 (Potential Incident Simulation Control and Evaluation System) decision support system for the determined specific sea area. Consequences of the simulation like oil expanding process, required number and types of assets to response, had in hand and evaluated.

Keywords: Istanbul strait, oil spill, PISCES simulator, initial response

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Authors: Kholil, Laksanto Utomo

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The food needs of the Indonesian people will continue increase year to year due to the increase of population growth. For ensuring food securityand and resilience, the government has developed a program food self-resilience village since 2006. Food resilience is a complex system, consisting of subsystem availability, distribution and consumption of the sufficiency of food consumed both in quantity and quality. Low access, and limited assets to food sources is the dominant factor vulnerable of food. Women have a major role in supporting the productive activities of the family to meet food sufficiency and resilience. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the model of food self-resilience village wich gender responsive by using a dynamic system model. Model will be developed into 3 level: family, vilage, and regency in accordance with the concept of village food resilience model wich has been developed by ministry of agriculture. Model development based on the results of experts discussion and field study. By some scenarios and simulation models we will able to develop appropriate policy strategies for family food resilience. The result of study show that food resilience was influenced by many factors: goverment policies, technology, human resource, and in the same time it will be a feed back for goverment policies and number of poor family.

Keywords: food availability, food sufficiency, gender, model dynamic, law enfrocement

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Authors: Mohamad Reza Khodabakhsh

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Physical activity is important because it affects the stress and mental health of the elderly. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between the physical activity of the elderly and stress and mental health. The current research is correlational research, and the studied population includes all the elderly who are engaged in sports in the parks of Mashhad city in 2021. The whole community consists of 200 people. Sampling was done by the headcount method. The tool used in this research is a questionnaire. The physical activity questionnaire is Likert. General GHQ is based on the self-report method. The study method is correlation type to find the relationship between predictor and predicted variables, and the multiple regression method was used for the relationships between the sub-components. And the results showed that physical activity has the effect of reducing the stress of the elderly and improving their mental health. In general, the results of this research indicate the confirmation of the research hypotheses.

Keywords: relationship, physical activity, stress, mental health, elderly

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Authors: Jaleh Shoshtarian Malak, Niloofar Mohamadzadeh

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Managing pre-hospital emergency patients requires real-time practices and efficient resource utilization. Since we are facing a distributed Network of healthcare providers, services and applications choosing the right resources and treatment protocol considering patient situation is a critical task. Delivering care to emergency patients at right time and with the suitable treatment settings can save ones live and prevent further complication. In recent years Multi Agent Systems (MAS) introduced great solutions to deal with real-time, distributed and complicated problems. In this paper we propose a multi agent based pre-hospital emergency management architecture in order to manage coordination, collaboration, treatment protocol and healthcare provider selection between different parties in pre-hospital emergency in a self-organizing manner. We used AnyLogic Agent Based Modeling (ABM) tool in order to simulate our proposed architecture. We have analyzed and described the functionality of EMS center, Ambulance, Consultation Center, EHR Repository and Quality of Care Monitoring as main collaborating agents. Future work includes implementation of the proposed architecture and evaluation of its impact on patient quality of care improvement.

Keywords: multi agent systems, pre-hospital emergency, simulation, software architecture

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Authors: Shyam Sunder Kawan

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Museums are enclosed buildings encompassing and displaying creative artworks, artefacts, and discoveries for people’s knowledge and observation. In the context of Nepal, museums and exhibition areas are either adaptive to small gallery spaces in residences or ‘neo-classical palatial complexes’ that evolved during the 19th century. This study accepts the sparse occurrence of a diverse range of artworks and expressions in the country's complex cultural manifestations within vivid ethnic groups. This study explores the immense potential of one such prevalence beyond the delimitation of physical boundaries. Taking Bhaktapur World Heritage Site as a case, the study perpetuates its investigation into real-time life activities that this city and its cultural landscapes ensemble. Seeking the ‘musealization’ as an urban process to induce museums into the city precinct, this study anticipates art space into urban spaces to offer a limitless experience for this contemporary world. Unveiling art as an experiential component, this study aims to conceptualize a living heritage as an infinite resource for museum interpretation beyond just educational institute purposes.

Keywords: living museum, site museum, museulization, contemporary arts, cultural heritage, historic cities

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Authors: Karima Kharroub, Mohamed Amine Gomri, Mercedes Monteoliva-Sanchez

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Sabkhas and chotts are examples of hypersaline environments inhabited by halophilic microorganisms. In the present study, a culture-dependent methodology was used to determine the archaeal diversity present within Ezzemoul sabkha located in the north-eastern of Algeria. It was assessed using different media with different substrates in attempt to initiate the growth of wide spectrum of halophiles. Several strains were isolated and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic characterization. The isolates tested placed within the family Halobacteriaceae, a group of extremely halophilic, aerobic archaea that have a salinity tolerance of 3 to 4M and associated with six genera Halorubrum, Halobacterium, Haloterrigena, Haloferax, Halomicrobium and Haloarcula. Halorubrum species were found to be the dominant archaea community as indicated by the presence of different strains recovered from this sabkha. In the other hand, two new species within Halobacteriaceae family; Halorubrum ezzemolulense sp. nov. and Halomicrobium katesii sp. nov. were described.

Keywords: sabkha, archaea, halophilic, hypersaline environments

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Authors: Sara Kakuk

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Pedagogy has always been open to other disciplines that reflect about the educational process (philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, technology, etc.). Its interdisciplinary openness puts education, as the subject of pedagogy within a broader context of the community, enabling the knowledge of other disciplines to contribute to a better understanding of the fundamental pedagogical notion of education. The purpose of pedagogy as a science serves humans, strives towards humans, must be for humans, and this is its ultimate goal. Humans are essentially dependent on education, which is also considered as a category of humans’ being, because through education an entire world develops in humans. Anthropological assumptions of humans as "deficient beings" see the solution in education, but they also indicate a wealth of shortcomings, because they provide an opportunity for enrichment and formation of culture, living and the self. In that context, this paper illustrates the determination of pedagogy through an anthropological conception of humans and the phenomenon of education. It presents a review of anthropological ideas about education, by providing an analysis of relevant literature dealing with the anthropological notion of humans, which provides fruitful conditions for a pedagogical reconsideration of education.

Keywords: pedagogy, education, humans, anthropology, culture

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Authors: Zeynep Turhan

Abstract:

This review emphasized the effectiveness of men’s participation, and whether non-violent (NV) boys’ and men’s perceptions of IPV prevention programs affect their involvement. Additionally, the review aimed to identify the barriers of non-engagement as well as the most effective approaches to end and prevent violence-against-women (VAW). The main goals of this assessment were to investigate 1) how NV men engage in anti-violence prevention programs that empower women, 2) what are the possible perceptions of NV men involved in prevention programs 3) how to identify effective approaches and strategies that encourage NV men to become involved in prevention programs. This critical review also included the overview of prevention programs such as The Mentors in Violence Prevention Programs (MVP), The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC), and Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership through Alliances (DELTA). The review recommended expanding these programs to reach more macro settings such as workplace, faith-based and other community-based organizations. Additionally, secondary and territory prevention programs need to expand through addressing the long-term effects of violence.

Keywords: engagement, non-violent men, prevention programs

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Authors: Huseyin Arasli, Maryam Abdullahi, Tugrul Gunay

Abstract:

One of the prominence elements used by the destination marketing organization (DMO) as a marketing strategy is the application of Social media tools. During the current spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), travel restriction was placed in most countries of the world, leading to the closure of borders movement. It should be noted that most tourism travelers depend on social media to obtain and exchange different kinds of information about COVID-19 in an unprecedented scale. The situational information people received is valued, which calls for the response of the tourism industry on the epidemic. Therefore, it is highly important to recognize such situational information and to understand how people spread this propaganda on social media platforms so that suitable information that relates the COVID-19 epidemic is available in a manner that will not tarnish the marketing strategies, festival planners. Data for this research study was collected from the desk review, which is a secondary source data, online blogs, and interview through social media chat. The results of this research show that the widespread of COVID-19 pandemics led to rapid lockdown in states and cities all over Nigeria, causing declining demands in hotels, airlines, recreation, and tourism centers. Additionally, billions of dollars lost has been recorded in the high increase of hotels and travel bookings cancellations which caused hundreds and thousands of job loss in the country. The result of this research also revealed that COVID-19 is causing more havoc on the unemployment rate indices of the country. Similarly, the over-dependence of government on petroleum has further caused considerable revenue loss, thereby raising a high poverty rate among less privileged Nigerians. Based on this result, the study suggested that there is an urgent need for the government to diversify its economy by looking at other different sectors such as tourism and agricultural farm produce to harmonize other commercial trades sectors in the country.

Keywords: social media, destination marketing organizations, DMOs, cultural COVID-19, coronavirus, hospitality, travel tour, tourism

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Authors: Alberto Alfano, Sergio D’ambrosio, Darshankumar Parecha, Donatella Cimini, Chiara Schiraldi.

Abstract:

The main objective of this study regards the setup of an efficient small-scale platform for the conversion of local renewable waste materials, such as whey, into added-value products, thereby reducing environmental impact and costs deriving from the disposal of processing waste products. The buffalo milk whey derived from the cheese-making process, called second cheese whey, is the main by-product of the dairy industry. Whey is the main and most polluting by-product obtained from cheese manufacturing consisting of lactose, lactic acid, proteins, and salts, making whey an added-value product. In Italy, and in particular, in the Campania region, soft cheese production needs a large volume of liquid waste, especially during late spring and summer. This project is part of a circular economy perspective focused on the conversion of potentially polluting and difficult to purify waste into a resource to be exploited, and it embodies the concept of the three “R”: reduce, recycle, and reuse. Special focus was paid to the production of health-promoting biomolecules and biopolymers, which may be exploited in different segments of the food and pharmaceutical industries. These biomolecules may be recovered through appropriate processes and reused in an attempt to obtain added value products. So, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration processes were performed to fractionate bioactive components starting from buffalo milk whey. In this direction, the present study focused on the implementation of a downstream process that converts waste generated from food and food processing industries into added value products with potential applications. Owing to innovative downstream and biotechnological processes, rather than a waste product may be considered a resource to obtain high added value products, such as food supplements (probiotics), cosmeceuticals, biopolymers, and recyclable purified water. Besides targeting gastrointestinal disorders, probiotics such as Lactobacilli have been reported to improve immunomodulation and protection of the host against infections caused by viral and bacterial pathogens. Interestingly, also inactivated microbial (probiotic) cells and their metabolic products, indicated as parabiotic and postbiotics, respectively, have a crucial role and act as mediators in the modulation of the host’s immune function. To boost the production of biomass (both viable and/or heat inactivated cells) and/or the synthesis of growth-related postbiotics, such as EPS, efficient and sustainable fermentation processes are necessary. Based on a “zero-waste” approach, wastes generated from local industries can be recovered and recycled to develop sustainable biotechnological processes to obtain probiotics as well as post and parabiotic, to be tested as bioactive compounds against gastrointestinal disorders. The results have shown it was possible to recover an ultrafiltration retentate with suitable characteristics to be used in skin dehydration, to perform films (i.e., packaging for food industries), or as a wound repair agent and a nanofiltration retentate to recover lactic acid and carbon sources (e.g., lactose, glucose..) used for microbial cultivation. On the side, the last goal is to obtain purified water that can be reused throughout the process. In fact, water reclamation and reuse provide a unique and viable opportunity to augment traditional water supplies, a key issue nowadays.

Keywords: biotech process, downstream process, probiotic growth, from waste to product, buffalo whey

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Authors: Veronika Antoniou, Rene Carraz, Yiorgos Hadjichristou

Abstract:

The Green Urban Lab took the form of public installations that were placed at various locations in four cities in Cyprus. These installations - through which a series of events, activities, workshops and research took place - were the main tools in regenerating a series of urban public spaces in Cyprus. The purpose of this project was to identify issues and opportunities related to public space and to offer guidelines on how design and participatory democracy improvements could strengthen civil society, while raising the quality of the urban public scene. Giant inflatable structures were injected in important urban fragments in order to accommodate series of events. The design and playful installation generated a wide community engagement. The fluid presence of the installations acted as a catalyst for social interaction. They were accessed and viewed effortlessly and surprisingly, creating opportunities to rediscover public spaces.

Keywords: bottom-up initiatives, creativity, public space, social innovation, urban environments

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Authors: Akanksha Indora

Abstract:

Environmental problems are considered a vital social issue in terms of the world’s problems with pollution, environmental degradation, and resource depletion. And populism is about appropriating the social issues according to the social condition for mobilizing a mass and constructing a ‘general will’. Populism encourages a move towards a common cause, it channelizes the emotions of the ‘common people’ towards a nation and nature. The Gandhian ideology has been received as a dominant ideology and the ‘only’ solution to environmental problems. This paper strives to understand the symmetry of environmentalism and Gandhianismi.e., how the debate on the environment in India has been primarily studied through the Gandhian ideology. The Indian Social Sciences visualize the broader issues of the environment from these perspectives, thus, making it a hegemonic approach. Being anti pluralist rhetoric is major rhetoric in the becoming of a populist. This paper shall focus on the idea that how this hegemonic construction of Gandhian ideology in the debates on environmentalism has contributed to the making of anti-pluralistic rhetoric. This anti-pluralistic rhetoric has eliminated the possibility of a pluralistic perspective in the debates on the environment. The quest for a moral inspiration embedded in Gandhianism, whose situatedness is found in the Hindu Social order, seems to have been completely rationalized through the larger politics of knowledge and thus making it appear as the only way forward when it is not.

Keywords: environmental populism, gandhianism, populist rhetoric, environmentalism

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