Search results for: social innovation perspectives
7811 Behave Imbalances Comparative Checking of Children with and without Fathers between the Ages of 7 to 11 in Rasht
Authors: Farnoush Haghanipour
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Objective: Father loss as one of the major stress factor, can causethe mental imbalances in children. It's clear that children's family condition of lacking a father is very clearly different from the condition of having a father. The goal of this research is to examine mental imbalances comparative checking in complete form and in five subsidiary categories as aggression, stress and depression, social incompatibility, anti-social behavior, and attention deficit imbalances (wackiness) do between children without father and normal ones. Method: This research is in descriptive and analytical method that reimburse to checking mental imbalances from 50 children that are student in one zone of Rasht’s education and nurture office. Material of this research is RATER behavior questionnaire (teacher form) and data analyses were did by SPSS software. Results: The results showed that there are clear different in relation with behavior imbalances between have father children and children without father and in children without a father behavior imbalance is more. Also showed that there is clearly a difference in aggression, stress, and depression and social incompatibility between children without and without fathers, and in children without a father the proportion increases. However, in antisocial behaviours and attention deficit imbalances there are not a clear difference between them. Conclusion: With upper amount of imbalance behaviour detection in children without fathers compared with children with fathers, it is essential that practitioners of society hygienic and remedy put efforts in order to primary and secondary prevention, for mental health of this group of society.Keywords: child, behave imbalances, children without father, mental imbalances
Procedia PDF Downloads 2567810 The Impact of Stigma on the Course of Mental Illness: A Brief Review
Authors: Mariana Mangas, Yaroslava Martins, Ana Matos Pires
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Introduction: Stigmatization is a common problem to overcome for people suffering from chronic diseases. It usually follows mental disorders and complicates the course of illness and reduces quality of life for people with mental illness. Objective: unsystematic review concerning stigma and mental illness, its impact on psychiatric disease and strategies to eradicate stigma. Methods: A search was conducted on PubMed, using keywords 'stigma' and 'mental illness'. Results and Discussion: Stigma is a psychosocial process that identifies individuals by the negative label of their differences. Stigma often brings a loss of occupational success and social support, reduced functioning and lower quality of life. The sense of stigma is common in individuals with mental illness and has considerable negative repercussions: delays treatment achievement, promotes social isolation, stress and maladaptive coping behaviors and it is associated with higher symptom levels, placing these individuals at higher risk for a poorer outcome and prognoses. Conclusion: Given the interrelation between stigma, symptoms, treatment seeking and disease management, stigma is a key construct in mental illness upon which anti-stigma initiatives may have considerable therapeutic potential. It will take multidisciplinary interventions to overcome mental illness stigma, including changes in social policy, attitudes and practices among mental health professionals, liaison between general public and people with a mental illness under conditions of equity and parity, family support, and easy access to evidence-based treatments.Keywords: discrimination, stigma, mental illness, quality of life
Procedia PDF Downloads 3397809 French Managers and Their Subordinates’ Well-Being
Authors: B. Gangloff, N. Malleh
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Well-being at work has many positive aspects. Our general hypothesis is that employees who feel well-being at work will be positively valued by their superiors, and that this positive value, which evokes the concept of social norms, allows us to assign to well-being at work a normative status. Three populations (line managers, students destined to become human resource managers, and employees) responded to a well-being questionnaire. Managers had to indicate, for each item, if they appreciated (or not) an employee feeling the well-being presented in the item; students had to indicate which items an employee should check if s/he wants to be positively (versus negatively) appreciated by his/her superior; and employees had to indicate to what degree each item corresponded to the well-being they used to feel. Three hypotheses are developed and confirmed: Managers positively value employees feeling some sense of well-being; students are aware of this positivity; spontaneously employees show a state of well-being, which means, knowing that spontaneous self-presentation is often produced by social desirability, that employees are aware of the well-being positivity. These data are discussed under a conceptual and applied angle.Keywords: normativity, well-being at work, organization, evaluation
Procedia PDF Downloads 2677808 Constitutional Status of a Child in the Republic of Belarus and Its Principles
Authors: Maria Ashitko
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The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus is based on the principle of the unity of rights and obligations, including those of the child. The constitutional status of the child is aspecific system of constitutional elements established and guaranteed by the state through the current legislation and regulatory acts that ensure the special legal status of the child, his or her constitutional legal capacity, implementation of the principles of the constitutional and legal status of the child, constitutional rights of the child and their safeguards. Under the principles of the constitutional status of the child, we consider the general, normative, social-volitional rules of behavior established by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, laws and other regulatory acts that determine the content and social purpose of the legal status of the child. The constitutional and legal status of the child is characterized by the following special principles, which form a feature of the state legal system:1) Ensuring the interests of the child means providing for the child in accordance with his or her age, state of health, characteristics of development, life experience, family life, cultural traditions, ethnicity. 2) The principle of equal responsibility of both parents or their substitutes characterized by caring for the next generation as one of the priority tasks of the state and society, and all issues related to the implementation of children’s rights should be addressed at the constitutional level. 3) We would like to highlight such a special principle as the subprinciple of safeguards, which is the principle of ensuring the safety of the child. It is also worth noting that in legal studies, there is no relationship between safety and constitutional rights as general safeguards of individual rights and freedoms, and as special safeguards for the right to life. 4) The principle of justice is expressed by the fact that in modern conditions, the quality of life is determined not only by material wealth but also by the ability of the state to ensure the harmonization of social relations and social harmony on the basis of humanism and justice. Thus, the specificity of the constitutional status of the child is the age boundary between adulthood and minority; therefore, we propose to highlight the age characteristics of the child as an additional element. It is advisable to highlight such a special principle as the subprinciple of safeguards, which is the principle of ensuring the safety of the child.Keywords: children’s rights, constitutional status, constitutional principles, constitutional rights
Procedia PDF Downloads 1267807 Rational Bureaucracy and E-Government: A Philosophical Study of Universality of E-Government
Authors: Akbar Jamali
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Hegel is the first great political philosopher who specifically contemplates on bureaucracy. For Hegel bureaucracy is the function of the state. Since state, essentially is a rational organization, its function; namely, bureaucracy must be rational. Since, what is rational is universal; Hegel had to explain how the bureaucracy could be understood as universal. Hegel discusses bureaucracy in his treatment of ‘executive power’. He analyses modern bureaucracy as a form of political organization, its constituent members, and its relation to the social environment. Therefore, the essence of bureaucracy in Hegel’s philosophy is the implementation of law and rules. Hegel argues that unlike the other social classes that are particular because they look for their own private interest, bureaucracy as a class is a ‘universal’ because their orientation is the interest of the state. State for Hegel is essentially rational and universal. It is the actualization of ‘objective Spirit’. Marx criticizes Hegel’s argument on the universality of state and bureaucracy. For Marx state is equal to bureaucracy, it constitutes a social class that based on the interest of bourgeois class that dominates the society and exploits proletarian class. Therefore, the main disagreement between these political philosophers is: whether the state (bureaucracy) is universal or particular. Growing e-government in modern state as an important aspect of development leads us to contemplate on the particularity and universality of e-government. In this article, we will argue that e-government essentially is universal. E-government, in itself, is impartial; therefore, it cannot be particular. The development of e-government eliminates many side effects of the private, personal or particular interest of the individuals who work as bureaucracy. Finally, we will argue that more a state is developed more it is universal. Therefore, development of e-government makes the state a more universal and affects the modern philosophical debate on the particularity or universality of bureaucracy and state.Keywords: particularity, universality, rational bureaucracy, impartiality
Procedia PDF Downloads 2497806 Housing Precarity and Pathways: Lived Experiences Among Bangladeshi Migrants in Dublin
Authors: Mohammad Altaf Hossain
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A growing body of literature in urban studies has presented that urban precarity has been a lived experience for low-income groups of people in the cities of the Global South. It does not necessarily mean that cities in the Global North, where advanced capitalist economies exist, avoided the adverse realities of urban precarity. As a multifaceted condition, it creates other associated precariousness in lives -for example, economic deprivation, mental stress, and housing precarity. The interrelations between urbanity and precarity have been ubiquitous regardless of the developed and developing countries. People, mainly manual labourers with low incomes, go through uncertainties in every aspect of life. By analysing qualitative data and embracing structure-agency interaction, this paper intends to present how Bangladeshi migrants experience housing precarity in Dublin. Continued population growth and political economy factors such as labour market inequality, financialisation of the private rental sector, and the impact of cuts to government funding for social housing provision are combined to produce a housing supply crisis, affordability, and access in the city. As a result, low-income people practice informality in securing jobs and housing. The macro-structural components of this analysis include the Irish housing policy, the European labour market, the immigration policy, and the financialised housing market. The micro-structural components of South Asian communities’ experiences include social networks and social class. Access to social networks and practices of informality play a significant role in enabling them to negotiate urban precarity, including housing crises and income insecurity. In some cases, the collective agency of ethnic diaspora communities plays a vital role in negotiating with structural constraints.Keywords: housing precarity, housing pathways, migration, agency, Dublin
Procedia PDF Downloads 267805 Impact Evaluation of Intellectual Capital on Business Performance Using Composite Ratios: Longitudinal Analysis in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania
Authors: Nellija Titova
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Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, as Baltic Countries, have gone throughout transformational changes since 90s leading to the high level of economic development. As countries departing Soviet Union with industrialization policy moved to service economies, the issues of intangibles, human capital, structural capital, and innovation capital have gained impetus. Following the growing demand of practitioners and later academia, intellectual capital as a discipline, which appeared in 90s, became fundamental nowadays. Aim of the paper is to analyze the Baltic companies entering stock markets at Nasdaq Baltic from the perspective of Intellectual Capital. Methodology of the research is based on a longitudinal analysis of the companies using composite ratios of Intellectual Capital and Business performance in the period 2012-2019. Data for 2020 as COVID year) were excluded from the analysis. Findings allow concluding there is a pattern of influence and companies clearly experience the systemic impact of IC on business performance, identifying also time effect investing in intangibles.Keywords: intellectual capital, impact analysis, longitudinal effect, composite ratios
Procedia PDF Downloads 1037804 The Social and Economic Discourse of Roberto Cochrane Simonsen: The Presence of Americanism
Authors: Maxwel F. Silva, José Geraldo Pedrosa
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The issue revolves around the discourse on development that was current in Brazil in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and its relation to industrialization as idea of civility, modernity and progress. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the workmanship of the visionary entrepreneur and organic intellectual Roberto Cochrane Simonsen (1889-1948). In the set of speeches, lectures and conferences pronounced by Simonsen, the USA constantly appears like model of civilization. The hypothesis is that, as base of the proposals of industrialization defended by him there was an idea of Americanism that would serve of foundation to a way of thinking and acting. For Simonsen, the construction of a nation is directly related to its industrialization. In his thought, develop the Brazil means to structure the country with rational economic mechanisms. This paper investigates the American influences on the discourse of Simonsen about the development of Brazil.Keywords: Americanism, development of Brazil, Simonsen, social discourse
Procedia PDF Downloads 3447803 Municipalities as Enablers of Citizen-Led Urban Initiatives: Possibilities and Constraints
Authors: Rosa Nadine Danenberg
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In recent years, bottom-up urban development has started growing as an alternative to conventional top-down planning. In large proportions, citizens and communities initiate small-scale interventions; suddenly seeming to form a trend. As a result, more and more cities are witnessing not only the growth of but also an interest in these initiatives, as they bear the potential to reshape urban spaces. Such alternative city-making efforts cause new dynamics in urban governance, with inevitable consequences for the controlled city planning and its administration. The emergence of enabling relationships between top-down and bottom-up actors signals an increasingly common urban practice. Various case studies show that an enabling relationship is possible, yet, how it can be optimally realized stays rather underexamined. Therefore, the seemingly growing worldwide phenomenon of ‘municipal bottom-up urban development’ necessitates an adequate governance structure. As such, the aim of this research is to contribute knowledge to how municipalities can enable citizen-led urban initiatives from a governance innovation perspective. Empirical case-study research in Stockholm and Istanbul, derived from interviews with founders of four citizen-led urban initiatives and one municipal representative in each city, provided valuable insights to possibilities and constraints for enabling practices. On the one hand, diverging outcomes emphasize the extreme oppositional features of both cases (Stockholm and Istanbul). Firstly, both cities’ characteristics are drastically different. Secondly, the ideologies and motifs for the initiatives to emerge vary widely. Thirdly, the major constraints for citizen-led urban initiatives to relate to the municipality are considerably different. Two types of municipality’s organizational structures produce different underlying mechanisms which demonstrate the constraints. The first municipal organizational structure is steered by bureaucracy (Stockholm). It produces an administrative division that brings up constraints such as the lack of responsibility, transparency and continuity by municipal representatives. The second structure is dominated by municipal politics and governmental hierarchy (Istanbul). It produces informality, lack of transparency and a fragmented civil society. In order to cope with the constraints produced by both types of organizational structures, the initiatives have adjusted their organization to the municipality’s underlying structures. On the other hand, this paper has in fact also come to a rather unifying conclusion. Interestingly, the suggested possibilities for an enabling relationship underline converging new urban governance arrangements. This could imply that for the two varying types of municipality’s organizational structures there is an accurate governance structure. Namely, the combination of a neighborhood council with a municipal guide, with allowance for the initiatives to adopt a politicizing attitude is found as coinciding. Especially its combination appears key to redeem varying constraints. A municipal guide steers the initiatives through bureaucratic struggles, is supported by coproduction methods, while it balances out municipal politics. Next, a neighborhood council, that is politically neutral and run by local citizens, can function as an umbrella for citizen-led urban initiatives. What is crucial is that it should cater for a more entangled relationship between municipalities and initiatives with enhanced involvement of the initiatives in decision-making processes and limited involvement of prevailing constraints pointed out in this research.Keywords: bottom-up urban development, governance innovation, Istanbul, Stockholm
Procedia PDF Downloads 2197802 Role of Education in the Transference of Global Values
Authors: Baratali Monfarediraz
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Humans’ identity is not only under the influence of a certain society or social structure but also it is influenced by an international identity. This article is a research on role of education in the manifestation of universally accepted values such as, advancement of science, improvement in the quality of education, preservation of the natural environment, preservation, and spread of peace, exchange of knowledge and technology, equal educational opportunities, benefiting from a universal morality and etc. Therefore, the relation between universal beliefs and values and educational approaches and programs is the first thing to pay attention to. Studies indicate that the first step in achieving the above mentioned goals is offering learning strategies. Therefore the importance of educational approaches and programs as a tool for the transference of ideas, experiences and thoughts becomes quite clear. Proper education gives everyone the opportunity of acquiring knowledge while creating tendency toward social activities paves the way for achieving the universal values.Keywords: globalization, universal values, education, universal goal, values, society
Procedia PDF Downloads 3797801 Factors of Successful Transition of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities from School to Employment
Authors: Mubarak S. Aldosari
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Transition of adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities (ID) from secondary level to post-school employment level is a critical step for them and their families. Transition of adolescents with mild ID to post secondary levels faces serious difficulties and challenges. The current research highlighted the important factors related to the success of transition of students with mild ID to post-school employment such as vocational training, Self-determination skills, Social skills, and family involvement.Keywords: adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities, post-school employment, vocational training, self-determination skills, social skills, family involvement
Procedia PDF Downloads 2937800 Economic Empowerment before Political Participation: Peacebuilding from the Perspective of Women Activists in the Post-Yugoslav Area
Authors: Emilie Fort
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Two major pitfalls emerge at the intersection of gender and peacebuilding literature: the comprehension of women as a homogeneous category and a focus on women's participation in formal peace processes and state structures. However, women belong (and identify) to distinct ethnic, religious, or social groups, and the variety of their social location impacts their ability to mobilize, to participate in peace processes as well as the way they envision peace. This study is based on interviews conducted (remotely) with women activists from the post-Yugoslav area. It shows that women's economic empowerment and education are central issues that must be addressed for women political participation being effective. This has implications for peace projects –their priorities, scales of implementation, etc.– and the allocation of civil society’s funds.Keywords: ex-Yugoslavia, gender-based issues, peacebuilding, women activism
Procedia PDF Downloads 1957799 E Learning/Teaching and the Impact on Student Performance at the Postgraduate Level
Authors: Charles Lemckert
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E-Learning and E-Teaching can mean many things to different people. For some, the implication is that all material must be delivered in an E way, while for others it only forms part of the learning/teaching process, and (unfortunately) for some it is considered too much work. However, just look around and you will see all generations learning using E devices. In this study we used different forms of teaching, including E, to look at how students responded to set activities and how they performed academically. The particular context was set around a postgraduate university course where students were either present at a face-to-face intensive workshop (on water treatment plant design) or where they were not. For the latter, students needed to make sole use of E media. It is relevant to note that even though some were at the face-to-face class, they were still exposed to E material as the lecturer did use PC projections. Additionally, some also accessed the associate E material (pdf slides and video recordings) to assist their required activities. Analysis of the student performance, in their set assignment, showed that the actual form of delivery did not affect the student performance. This is because, in the end, all the students had access to the recorded/presented E material. The study also showed (somewhat expectedly) that when the material they required for the assignment was clear, the student performance did drop. Therefore, it is possible to enhance future delivery of courses through careful reflection and appropriate support. In the end, we must remember innovation is not just restricted to E.Keywords: postgraduate, engineering, assignment, perforamance
Procedia PDF Downloads 3327798 Local Food Movements and Community Building in Turkey
Authors: Derya Nizam
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An alternative understanding of "localization" has gained significance as the ecological and social issues associated with the growing pressure of agricultural homogeneity and standardization become more apparent. Through an analysis of a case study on an alternative food networks in Turkey, this research seeks to critically examine the localization movement. The results indicate that the idea of localization helps to create new niche markets by creating place-based labels, but it also strengthens local identities through social networks that connect rural and urban areas. In that context, localization manifests as a commodification movement that appropriates local and cultural values to generate capitalist profit, as well as a grassroots movement that strengthens the resilience of local communities. This research addresses the potential of community development approaches in the democratization of global agro-food networks.Keywords: community building, local food, alternative food movements, localization
Procedia PDF Downloads 807797 Intervention Guide for Holistic Needs and Coping Strategies of Cancer Patients
Authors: Arvin Baes
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This study was conducted to assess the holistic needs of cancer patients in terms of physiological, psychological, social, and spiritual needs and to determine how they respond through coping. It was conducted from January-April 2018 from various hospitals in Laguna, with 20 respondents. It utilized a survey descriptive type of research, a checklist type of questionnaire, and purposive sampling in selecting the respondents. It was found out that in terms of physiological needs, fatigue is the most common symptoms they experienced. In terms of psychological, social, and spiritual needs, most of the patients experienced a significant concern. Meanwhile, in coping, religion dominates among the 14 strategies followed by Use of Emotional Support and Positive Reframing, and Substance Use obtained the lowest response. Most of the respondents were female, and its significant relationship in terms of Positive Reframing agrees significantly. In coping and civil status, Positive Reframing and Humor are significant among married respondents. In coping and stage of cancer, 'Positive Reframing' and 'Humor' are significant with the stage of cancer. In coping and treatment modalities, Active Coping, Use of Emotional Support, and Religion are significantly related to patients’ treatment modalities. There is also a significant relationship between Active Coping and Physiological Needs, Religion and Psychological Needs, and Self-blaming and Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Needs. Thus, it is concluded that holistic needs and coping are essential to each other to meet the wholeness of cancer patients. A formulated care intervention program would be beneficial among this group of patients.Keywords: coping strategies, cancer, cancer patients, holistic needs
Procedia PDF Downloads 1137796 Study on the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Psycho-Social-Genetic Risk Factors among Tibetan Alolescents in Heavily-Hit Area Three Years after Yushu Earthquake in Qinghai Province, China
Authors: Xiaolian Jiang, Dongling Liu, Kun Liu
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Aims: To examine the prevalence of POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) symptoms among Tibetan adolescents in heavily-hit disaster area three years after Yushu earthquake, and to explore the interactions of the psycho-social-genetic risk factors. Methods: This was a three-stage study. Firstly, demographic variables,PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C),the Internality、Powerful other、Chance Scale,(IPC),Coping Style Scale(CSS),and the Social Support Appraisal(SSA)were used to explore the psychosocial factors of PTSD symptoms among adolescent survivors. PCL-C was used to examine the PTSD symptoms among 4072 Tibetan adolescents,and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders(SCID)was used by psychiatrists to make the diagnosis precisely. Secondly,a case-control trial was used to explore the relationship between PTSD and gene polymorphisms. 287adolescents diagnosed with PTSD were recruited in study group, and 280 adolescents without PTSD in control group. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technology(PCR-RFLP)was used to test gene polymorphisms. Thirdly,SPSS 22.0 was used to explore the interactions of the psycho-social-genetic risk factors of PTSD on the basis of the above results. Results and conclusions: 1.The prevalence of PTSD was 9.70%. 2.The predictive psychosocial factors of PTSD included earthquake exposure, support from others, imagine, abreact, tolerant, powerful others and family support. 3.Synergistic interactions between A1 gene of DRD2 TaqIA and the external locus of control, negative coping style, severe earthquake exposure were found. Antagonism interactions between A1 gene of DRD2 TaqIA and poor social support was found. Synergistic interactions between A1/A1 genotype and the external locus of control, negative coping style were found. Synergistic interactions between 12 gene of 5-HTTVNTR and the external locus of control, negative coping style, severe earthquake exposure were found. Synergistic interactions between 12/12 genotype and the external locus of control, negative coping style, severe earthquake exposure were also found.Keywords: adolescents, earthquake, PTSD, risk factors
Procedia PDF Downloads 1527795 The Justice of Resources Allocation for People with Disability Base on Activity and Participation Functioning: The Cross-Section Study of National Population
Authors: Chia-Feng Yen, Shyang-Woei Lin
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Background: In Taiwan, people with disability can obtain national social welfare services after evaluation. All subsidies and services in- kind are pronounced in People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act. The new disability eligibility determination system base on ICF has carried out five years in Taiwan. There were no systematic outcomes to discuss the relationships between the evaluation results of activity and participation functioning (AP functioning) and ratification of social services for people with disability. The decision-making of welfare resources allocation is in local government, so the ratification could be affected by resource variations in every area (local governments). The purposes of this study are to compare the ratification rate between different areas (the equity of allocation), and to understand the ratification of social services for people with disability after needs assessment stage that can help to predict the resources allocation for local governments in the further. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used, and the data came from Disability Eligibility Determination System in Taiwan between 2013/11/04-2015/01/12. All samples were evaluated by FUNDES-adult version 7th and they all above 18 years old. The samples were collected face to face by physicians and AP evaluators. Result: In the needs assessment stage, the welfare ratification rates are significant differences between these local governments for the samples with the similar impairment and AP functioning.Keywords: allocation, activity and participation, people with disability, justice
Procedia PDF Downloads 1687794 The Effects of High-frequency rTMS Targeting the Mirror Neurons on Improving Social Awareness in ASD, the Preliminary Analysis of a Pilot Study
Authors: Mitra Assadi, Md. Faan
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Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a common neurodevelopmental disorder with limited pharmacological interventions. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) has produced promising results in ASD, although there is no consensus regarding optimal targets or stimulation paradigms. A prevailing theory in ASD attributes the core deficits to dysfunction of the mirror neurons located in the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Methods: Thus far, 11 subjects with ASD, 10 boys and 1 girl with the mean age of 13.36 years have completed the study by receiving 10 session of high frequency rTMS to the IPL. The subjects were randomized to receive stimulation on the left or right IPL and sham stimulation to the opposite side. The outcome measures included the Social Responsiveness Scale – Second Edition (SRS-2) and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Verbal Fluency task. Results: None of the 11 subjects experienced any adverse effects. The rTMS did not produce any improvement in verbal fluency, nor there was any statistically significant difference between the right versus left sided stimulation. Analysis of social awareness on SRS-2 (SRS-AWR) indicated a close to significant effect of the treatment with a small to medium effect size. After removing a single subject with Level 3 ASD, we demonstrated a close to significant improvement on SRS-AWR with a large effect size. The analysis of the data 3-month post TMS demonstrated return of the SRS-AWR values to baseline. Conclusion: This preliminary analysis of the 11 subjects who have completed our study thus far shows a favorable response to high frequency rTMS stimulation of the mirror neurons/IPL on social awareness. While the decay of the response noted during the 3-month follow-up may be considered a limitation of rTMS, the presence of the improvement, especially the effect size despite the small sample size, is indicative of the efficacy of this technique.Keywords: rTMS, autism, scoial cognition, mirror neurons
Procedia PDF Downloads 697793 The Role of Emotional Intelligence in the Manager's Psychophysiological Activity during a Performance-Review Discussion
Authors: Mikko Salminen, Niklas Ravaja
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Emotional intelligence (EI) consists of skills for monitoring own emotions and emotions of others, skills for discriminating different emotions, and skills for using this information in thinking and actions. EI enhances, for example, work outcomes and organizational climate. We suggest that the role and manifestations of EI should also be studied in real leadership situations, especially during the emotional, social interaction. Leadership is essentially a process to influence others for reaching a certain goal. This influencing happens by managerial processes and computer-mediated communication (e.g. e-mail) but also by face-to-face, where facial expressions have a significant role in conveying emotional information. Persons with high EI are typically perceived more positively, and they have better social skills. We hypothesize, that during social interaction high EI enhances the ability to detect other’s emotional state and controlling own emotional expressions. We suggest, that emotionally intelligent leader’s experience less stress during social leadership situations, since they have better skills in dealing with the related emotional work. Thus the high-EI leaders would be more able to enjoy these situations, but also be more efficient in choosing appropriate expressions for building constructive dialogue. We suggest, that emotionally intelligent leaders show more positive emotional expressions than low-EI leaders. To study these hypotheses we observed performance review discussions of 40 leaders (24 female) with 78 (45 female) of their followers. Each leader held a discussion with two followers. Psychophysiological methods were chosen because they provide objective and continuous data from the whole duration of the discussions. We recorded sweating of the hands (electrodermal activation) by electrodes placed to the fingers of the non-dominant hand to assess the stress-related physiological arousal of the leaders. In addition, facial electromyography was recorded from cheek (zygomaticus major, activated during e.g. smiling) and periocular (orbicularis oculi, activated during smiling) muscles using electrode pairs placed on the left side of the face. Leader’s trait EI was measured with a 360 questionnaire, filled by each leader’s followers, peers, managers and by themselves. High-EI leaders had less sweating of the hands (p = .007) than the low-EI leaders. It is thus suggested that the high-EI leaders experienced less physiological stress during the discussions. Also, high scores in the factor “Using of emotions” were related to more facial muscle activation indicating positive emotional expressions (cheek muscle: p = .048; periocular muscle: p = .076, almost statistically significant). The results imply that emotionally intelligent managers are positively relaxed during s social leadership situations such as a performance review discussion. The current study also highlights the importance of EI in face-to-face social interaction, given the central role facial expressions have in interaction situations. The study also offers new insight to the biological basis of trait EI. It is suggested that the identification, forming, and intelligently using of facial expressions are skills that could be trained during leadership development courses.Keywords: emotional intelligence, leadership, performance review discussion, psychophysiology, social interaction
Procedia PDF Downloads 2457792 Automated CNC Part Programming and Process Planning for Turned Components
Authors: Radhey Sham Rajoria
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Pressure to increase the competitiveness in the manufacturing sector and for the survival in the market has led to the development of machining centres, which enhance productivity, improve quality, shorten the lead time, and reduce the manufacturing cost. With the innovation of machining centres in the manufacturing sector the production lines have been replaced by these machining centers, having the ability to machine various processes and multiple tooling with automatic tool changer (ATC) for the same part. Also the process plans can be easily generated for complex components. Some means are required to utilize the machining center at its best. The present work is concentrated on the automated part program generation, and in turn automated process plan generation for the turned components on Denford “MIRAC” 8 stations ATC lathe machining centre. A package in C++ on DOS platform is developed which generates the complete CNC part program, process plan and process sequence for the turned components. The input to this system is in the form of a blueprint in graphical format with machining parameters and variables, and the output is the CNC part program which is stored in a .mir file, ready for execution on the machining centre.Keywords: CNC, MIRAC, ATC, process planning
Procedia PDF Downloads 2697791 A Bi-Objective Model to Optimize the Total Time and Idle Probability for Facility Location Problem Behaving as M/M/1/K Queues
Authors: Amirhossein Chambari
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This article proposes a bi-objective model for the facility location problem subject to congestion (overcrowding). Motivated by implementations to locate servers in internet mirror sites, communication networks, one-server-systems, so on. This model consider for situations in which immobile (or fixed) service facilities are congested (or queued) by stochastic demand to behave as M/M/1/K queues. We consider for this problem two simultaneous perspectives; (1) Customers (desire to limit times of accessing and waiting for service) and (2) Service provider (desire to limit average facility idle-time). A bi-objective model is setup for facility location problem with two objective functions; (1) Minimizing sum of expected total traveling and waiting time (customers) and (2) Minimizing the average facility idle-time percentage (service provider). The proposed model belongs to the class of mixed-integer nonlinear programming models and the class of NP-hard problems. In addition, to solve the model, controlled elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithms (Controlled NSGA-II) and controlled elitist non-dominated ranking genetic algorithms (NRGA-I) are proposed. Furthermore, the two proposed metaheuristics algorithms are evaluated by establishing standard multiobjective metrics. Finally, the results are analyzed and some conclusions are given.Keywords: bi-objective, facility location, queueing, controlled NSGA-II, NRGA-I
Procedia PDF Downloads 5837790 Students’ and Clinical Supervisors’ Experiences of Occupational Therapy Practice Education: A Structured Critical Review
Authors: Hamad Alhamad, Catriona Khamisha, Emma Green, Yvonne Robb
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Introduction: Practice education is a key component of occupational therapy education. This critical review aimed to explore students’ and clinical supervisors’ experiences of practice education, and to make recommendations for research. Method: The literature was systematically searched using five databases. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies were included. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist for qualitative studies and Mixed Methods Assessment Tool for quantitative and mixed methods studies were used to assess study quality. Findings: Twenty-two studies with high quality scores were included: 16 qualitative, 3 quantitative and 3 mixed methods. Studies were conducted in Australia, Canada, USA and UK. During practice education, students learned professional skills, practical skills, clinical skills and problem-solving skills, and improved confidence and creativity. Supervisors had an opportunity to reflect on their practice and get experience of supervising students. However, clear objectives and expectations for students, and sufficient theoretical knowledge, preparation and resources for supervisors were required. Conclusion: Practice education provides different skills and experiences, necessary to become competent professionals; but some areas of practice education need to improve. Studies in non-western countries are needed to explore the perspectives of students and clinical supervisors in different cultures, to ensure the practice education models adopted are relevant.Keywords: occupational therapy, practice education, fieldwork, students, clinical supervisors
Procedia PDF Downloads 2037789 From Design, Experience and Play Framework to Common Design Thinking Tools: Using Serious Modern Board Games
Authors: Micael Sousa
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Board games (BGs) are thriving as new designs emerge from the hobby community to greater audiences all around the world. Although digital games are gathering most of the attention in game studies and serious games research fields, the post-digital movement helps to explain why in the world dominated by digital technologies, the analog experiences are still unique and irreplaceable to users, allowing innovation in new hybrid environments. The BG’s new designs are part of these post-digital and hybrid movements because they result from the use of powerful digital tools that enable the production and knowledge sharing about the BGs and their face-to-face unique social experiences. These new BGs, defined as modern by many authors, are providing innovative designs and unique game mechanics that are still not yet fully explored by the main serious games (SG) approaches. Even the most established frameworks settled to address SG, as fun games implemented to achieve predefined goals need more development, especially when considering modern BGs. Despite the many anecdotic perceptions, researchers are only now starting to rediscover BGs and demonstrating their potentials. They are proving that BGs are easy to adapt and to grasp by non-expert players in experimental approaches, with the possibility of easy-going adaptation to players’ profiles and serious objectives even during gameplay. Although there are many design thinking (DT) models and practices, their relations with SG frameworks are also underdeveloped, mostly because this is a new research field, lacking theoretical development and the systematization of the experimental practices. Using BG as case studies promise to help develop these frameworks. Departing from the Design, Experience, and Play (DPE) framework and considering the Common Design Think Tools (CDST), this paper proposes a new experimental framework for the adaptation and development of modern BG design for DT: the Design, Experience, and Play for Think (DPET) experimental framework. This is done through the systematization of the DPE and CDST approaches applied in two case studies, where two different sequences of adapted BG were employed to establish a DT collaborative process. These two sessions occurred with different participants and in different contexts, also using different sequences of games for the same DT approach. The first session took place at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Coimbra in a training session of serious games for project development. The second session took place in the Casa do Impacto through The Great Village Design Jam light. Both sessions had the same duration and were designed to progressively achieve DT goals, using BGs as SGs in a collaborative process. The results from the sessions show that a sequence of BGs, when properly adapted to address the DPET framework, can generate a viable and innovative process of collaborative DT that is productive, fun, and engaging. The DPET proposed framework intents to help establish how new SG solutions could be defined for new goals through flexible DT. Applications in other areas of research and development can also benefit from these findings.Keywords: board games, design thinking, methodology, serious games
Procedia PDF Downloads 1127788 Tokenism and Invisible Labor of Black Women Within Social Work Education
Authors: LaShawnda N. Fields, Valandra
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As part of a larger study, this particular line of inquiry focuses on experiences of tokenism and invisible labor expected of Black women within social work education. Black women faculty members and doctoral students participated in semi-formal, in-depth interviews. All participants were identified as members of schools of social work within Carnegie-designated R-1 institutions. Several participants believed that their race independently and the intersection of their race and gender was often misrepresented by their institution as an indication of a diverse and equitable environment. These women believed they were often solicited to participate in visual materials and make public appearances to benefit the school while feeling invisible. Most of the Black women interviewed, whether faculty members or doctoral students, were the sole Black person or one of very few Black women at these schools of social work. Similarly, the Black doctoral students spoke of being “paraded around” as a prized show horse while enduring a toxic culture that lacks inclusion. These women expressed frustration and disappointment as their images and scholarship were featured on websites and within marketing materials, not the pride and joy such exposure should elicit. These experiences of tokenism were taking place while the women constantly received messages of not being good enough or not a good fit at their institution. Invisible labor refers to work that is not compensated nor formally recognized. This labor is primarily committee work and student support. Representation of Black women faculty members is limited at these research-intensive schools of social work resulting in these women being sought out by students across disciplines. Similarly, the Black women doctoral students are informally recruited as peer mentors to support those students rising in the ranks behind them. Though this work is rooted in retention efforts, it is never identified as such. All participants identified committee work related to their identities as another way they find themselves engaged in work that often goes unrecognized and underappreciated. Committee work is usually tied to identity work, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion though it rarely translates to action and improvements. This qualitative study provides insight into the lived experiences of an at-risk and under-represented demographic. Institutions can better understand how they can support this demographic. These Black women scholars have been invited into these institutions but have not historically been granted full access. These women have survived unsavory conditions through sheer determination and support found mostly outside their schools of social work. Utilizing this data as a springboard for informed and action-oriented strategic planning would allow institutions to create inclusive and equity cultures that result in Black women thriving versus simply surviving.Keywords: education, equity, invisible labor, tokenism, intersectionality
Procedia PDF Downloads 897787 The Musical Imagination: Re-Imagining a Sound Education through Musical Boundary Play
Authors: Michael J. Cutler
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This paper presents what musical boundary play can look like when beginning music learners work with professional musicians with an emphasis on composition. Music education can be re-imagined through the lenses of boundary objects and boundary play by engaging non-professional musicians in collaborative sound creation, improvisation and composition along with professional musicians. To the author’s best knowledge, no similar study exists on boundary objects and boundary play in music education. The literature reviewed for this paper explores the epistemological perspectives connected to music education and situates musical boundary play as an alternative approach to the more prevalent paradigms of music education in K-12 settings. A qualitative multiple-case study design was chosen to seek an in-depth understanding of the role of boundary objects and musical boundary play. The constant comparative method was utilized in analyzing and interpreting the data resulting in the development of effective, transferable theory. The study gathered relevant data using audio and video recordings of musical boundary play, artifacts, interviews, and observations. Findings from this study offer insight into the development of a more inclusive music education and yield a pedagogical framework for music education based on musical boundary play. Through the facilitation of musical boundary play, it is possible for music learners to experience musical sound creation, improvisation and composition in the same way an instrumentalist or vocalist would without the acquisition of complex component operations required to play a traditional instrument or sing in a proficient manner.Keywords: boundary play, boundary objects, music education, music pedagogy, musical boundary play
Procedia PDF Downloads 1267786 Exploring Inclusive Culture and Practice: The Perspectives of Macao Teachers in Informing Inclusive Teacher Education Programmes in Higher Education
Authors: Elisa Monteiro, Kiiko Ikegami
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The inclusion of children with diverse learning needs and/or disabilities in regular classrooms has been identified as crucial to the provision of educational equity and quality for all students. In this, teachers play an essential role, as they have a strong impact on student attainment. Whilst the adoption of inclusive practice is increasing, with potential benefits for the teaching profession, there is also a rise in the level of its challenges in Macao as many more students with learning disabilities are now being included in general education classes. Consequently, there has been a significant focus on teacher professional development to ensure that teachers are adequately prepared to teach in inclusive classrooms that give access to diverse students. Major changes in teacher education will need to take place to include more inclusive education content and to equip teachers with the necessary skills in the area of inclusive practice. This paper draws on data from in-depth interviews with 20 teachers to examine teachers’ views of support, challenges, and barriers to inclusive practices at the school and classroom levels. Thematic analysis was utilised to determine major themes within the data. Several themes emerged and serve to illustrate the identified barriers and the potential value of effective teacher education. Suggestions for increased professional development opportunities for inclusive education specific to higher education institutions are presented and the implications for practice and teacher education are discussed.Keywords: inclusion, inclusive practice, teacher education, higher education
Procedia PDF Downloads 847785 Beyond Bindis, Bhajis, Bangles, and Bhangra: Exploring Multiculturalism in Southwest England Primary Schools, Early Research Findings
Authors: Suparna Bagchi
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Education as a discipline will probably be shaped by the importance it places on a conceptual, curricular, and pedagogical need to shift the emphasis toward transformative classrooms working for positive change through cultural diversity. Awareness of cultural diversity and race equality has heightened following George Floyd’s killing in the USA in 2020. This increasing awareness is particularly relevant in areas of historically low ethnic diversity which have lately experienced a rise in ethnic minority populations and where inclusive growth is a challenge. This research study aims to explore the perspectives of practitioners, students, and parents towards multiculturalism in four South West England primary schools. A qualitative case study methodology has been adopted framed by sociocultural theory. Data were collected through virtually conducted semi-structured interviews with school practitioners and parents, observation of students’ classroom activities, and documentary analysis of classroom displays. Although one-third of the school population includes ethnically diverse children, BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) characters featured in children's books published in Britain in 2019 were almost invisible, let alone a BAME main character. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) are vocal about extending the Curriculum beyond the academic and technical arenas for pupils’ broader development and creation of an understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity. However, race equality and community cohesion which could help in the students’ broader development are not Ofsted’s school inspection criteria. The absence of culturally diverse content in the school curriculum highlighted by the 1985 Swann Report and 2007 Ajegbo Report makes England’s National Curriculum look like a Brexit policy three decades before Brexit. A revised National Curriculum may be the starting point with the teachers as curriculum framers playing a significant part. The task design is crucial where teachers can place equal importance on the interwoven elements of “how”, “what” and “why” the task is taught. Teachers need to build confidence in encouraging difficult conversations around racism, fear, indifference, and ignorance breaking the stereotypical barriers, thus helping to create students’ conception of a multicultural Britain. Research showed that trainee teachers in predominantly White areas often exhibit confined perspectives while educating children. Irrespective of the geographical location, school teachers can be equipped with culturally responsive initial and continuous professional development necessary to impart multicultural education. This may aid in the reduction of employees’ unconscious bias. This becomes distinctly pertinent to avoid horrific cases in the future like the recent one in Hackney where a Black teenager was strip-searched during period wrongly suspected of cannabis possession. Early research findings show participants’ eagerness for more ethnic diversity content incorporated in teaching and learning. However, schools are considerably dependent on the knowledge-focused Primary National Curriculum in England. Moreover, they handle issues around the intersectionality of disability, poverty, and gender. Teachers were trained in times when foregrounding ethnicity matters was not happening. Therefore, preoccupied with Curriculum requirements, intersectionality issues, and teacher preparations, schools exhibit an incapacity due to which keeping momentum on ethnic diversity is somewhat endangered.Keywords: case study, curriculum decolonisation, inclusive education, multiculturalism, qualitative research in Covid19 times
Procedia PDF Downloads 1207784 Cultural Competence and Healthcare Challenges of Migrants in South Wales United Kingdom
Authors: Qirat Naz, Abasiokpon Udoakah
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In developed countries, global migration is diversifying. The minority ethnic population, including refugees and asylum seekers who, fled their home countries due to war, terrorism, oppression, or natural disasters, and returning home is dangerous for them. They need sanctuary and peaceful environment in host countries. They begin the process of acculturation, in which a person adopts the social mores and behavioral patterns of the dominant culture, yet they still have unique multicultural needs that the dominant society fails to address. The aim of this research is to provide a holistic understanding of the living experiences of a minority population, particularly migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees, in the health and social care system of South Wales. The purpose of this study is to investigate three research objectives: the multicultural health care needs of minorities, as well as the barriers to seeking health and social care facilities. There are Welsh policies for promoting cultural competence in the health and social care sectors; this research will explore the implications and impact of these policies on the target population. This research study will be conducted using qualitative research methods, tools, and techniques. This research is an inductive approach to coming up with a grounded theory. The sample will be divided into two groups: migrants and professionals providing any kind of services to migrants; each group will contain 30 participants. Interpretive phenomenological analysis would be utilized during the process of coding and developing the main themes of this research. The positionality of the researcher would be minimized by unloaded and open-ended questions, researcher’s work experience in research, continuous evaluation of her positionality, daily base reflection of fieldwork and seeking the help of male and female gatekeepers. The research findings would be based on emic perspective, and by documenting the emic perspective of minorities, this research will contribute to the knowledge of appropriate channels, including organizations, academics, and policymakers, to discover possible solutions and coping mechanisms to deal with the challenges and meet the multicultural demands of minorities. This research will provide a more in-depth understanding of minorities and will help to promote the diversity of health and social care in South Wales.Keywords: migration, migrants, cultural competence, cultural barriers, healthcare challenges
Procedia PDF Downloads 607783 Investigating Online Literacy among Undergraduates in Malaysia
Authors: Vivien Chee Pei Wei
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Today we live in a scenario in which letters share space with images on screens that vary in size, shape, and style. The popularization of television, then the computer and now the e-readers, tablets, and smartphones made the electronic assume the role that previously was restricted to printed materials. Since the extensive use of new technologies to produce, disseminate, collect and access electronic publications began, the changes to reading has been intensified. To be able to read online, it involves more than just utilizing specific skills, strategies, and practices, but also in negotiating multiple information sources. In this study, different perspectives of digital reading are being explored in order to define the key aspects of the term. The focus is to explore how new technologies affect how undergraduates’ reading behavior, which in turn, gives readers different reading levels and engagement with the text and other support materials in the same media. There is also the importance of the relationship between reading platforms, reading levels and formats of electronic publications. The study looks at the online reading practices of about 100 undergraduates from a local university. The data collected using the survey and interviews with the respondents are analyzed thematically. Findings from this study found that both digital and traditional reading are interrelated, and should not be viewed as separate, but complementary to each other. However, reading online complicates some of the skills required by traditional reading. Consequently, in order to successfully read and comprehend multiple sources of information online, undergraduates need regular opportunities to practice and develop their skills as part of their natural reading practices.Keywords: concepts, digital reading, literacy, traditional reading
Procedia PDF Downloads 3117782 African Traders Beyond China: Delving Into Their Entrepreneurial Activities Following COVID-19
Authors: Phillip Thebe
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African traders in China have generated magnanimous attention from scholars because of their choices to take short-term trips to Guangzhou and other places in search of cheaper products taking advantage of the status of China as a "global manufacturing hub". Nevertheless, their activities only gained traction at the turn of the millennium, with their presence in China incrementally dwindling over the next two decades. Now, with the devastating effects of COVID-19, their journeys have had to be totally cut short by unending lockdowns and stiff migration rules due to China's zero-tolerance of COVID-19 policy. This unfortunate yet untimely occurrence has left many scholars wondering if this marks the end of African traders in China and, indeed, the end of their business careers. Between March and September 2022, 20 traders were followed back to Africa, Zimbabwe, to find out what they are doing after having been shut out of China. Data was collected through ethnographic immersion and purposive in-depth interviewing in and around the city of Bulawayo. Snowballing was employed to reach out to the traders until a saturation point was reached and interview transcripts were filed for analysis. The findings revealed that some still trading online in China, report different opinions and feelings about doing business during COVID-19. Others have left the Chinese marketplace, now pursuing European industries in Turkey and other places. Others are still getting Chinese goods but in African countries such as Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, and Botswana. Some are now into the second-hand clothing trade, whereas others have stopped doing business to pursue other life-course interests. These and other issues are addressed in this paper from the anthropology of migration and globalization perspectives.Keywords: entrepreneurship, African traders, China, COVID-19, Africans in China
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