Search results for: semi urban

Authors: Anandita Mitro, Archana Srivastava, Bidisha Banerjee

Abstract:

The present paper attempts to analyze the hierarchy and interconnection of factors responsible for the uptake of BCG vaccination in India. The study uses National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data which was conducted during 2019-21. The univariate logistic regression method is used to understand the univariate effects while the interconnection effects have been studied using the Categorical Inference Tree (CIT) which is a non-parametric Machine Learning (ML) model. The hierarchy of the factors is further established using Conditional Inference Forest which is an extension of the CIT approach. The results suggest that BCG vaccination coverage was influenced more by system-level factors and awareness than education or socio-economic status. Factors such as place of delivery, antenatal care, and postnatal care were crucial, with variations based on delivery location. Region-specific differences were also observed which could be explained by the factors. Awareness of the disease was less impactful along with the factor of wealth and urban or rural residence, although awareness did appear to substitute for inadequate ANC. Thus, from the policy point of view, it is revealed that certain subpopulations have less prevalence of vaccination which implies that there is a need for population-specific policy action to achieve a hundred percent coverage.

Keywords: vaccination, NFHS, machine learning, public health

Procedia PDF Downloads 52

Authors: Hong Wu, Naiji Lu, Chenguang Wang, Xinming Tu

Abstract:

This article analyzes the causal effects of informal care, mental health, and physical health on falls and other accidents (e.g. traffic accidents) among elderly people. To purge potential reversal causal effects, e.g., past accidents induce more future informal care, we use two-stage least squares to identify the impacts. By using longitudinal data from a representative national China Health and retirement longitudinal study of people aged 45 and older in China, our findings indicate that informal care decreases while poor health conditions increase the occurrence of accidents. We also find heterogeneous impacts on the occurrence of accidents, varying by gender, urban status, and past accident history. Our findings suggest the following three policy implications. First, policy makers who aim to decrease accidents should take informal care to elders into account. Second, ease of birth policy and postponed retirement policy are urgent to meet the demand of informal care. Third, medical policies should attach great importance to not only physical health but also mental health of elderly parents especially for older people with accident history.

Keywords: accident, China, fall, informal care, mental health, physical health

Procedia PDF Downloads 473

Authors: Tharaki Hetti Arachchi

Abstract:

Sri Lanka has undergone numerous changes in the fields of social-economic and cultural processors during the past decades. Consequently, the Sri Lankan construction industry was subjected to rapid growth while contributing a considerable amount to the national economy. The prevailing situation under the Covid-19 pandemic exhibited challenges to almost all of the sectors of the country in attaining success. Although productivity is one of the dimensions that measure the degree of project success, achieving sufficient productivity has become challengeable due to the Covid-19 outbreak. As employee motivation is an influential factor in defining productivity, the present study becomes significant in discovering ways of enhancing construction productivity via employee motivation. The study has adopted a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in attaining the study objectives. While the research population refers to construction professionals in Sri Lanka, the study sample is aimed at Quantity Surveyors in the bottom and middle managements of organizational hierarchies. The data collection was implemented via primary and secondary sources. The primary data collection was accomplished by undertaking semi-structured interviews and online questionnaire surveys while sampling the overall respondents based on the purposive sample method. The responses of the questionnaire survey were gathered in a form of a ‘Likert Scale’ to examine the degree of applicability on each respondent. Overall, 76.36% of primary data were recovered from the expected count while obtaining 60 responses from the questionnaire survey and 24 responses from interviews. Secondary data were obtained by reviewing sources such as research articles, journals, newspapers, books, etc. The findings suggest adopting and enhancing sixteen motivational factors in achieving greater productivity in the Sri Lankan construction sector.

Keywords: Covid 19 pandemic, motivation, quantity surveying, Sri Lanka

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Dlir Abdullah Ahmed

Abstract:

Overall aims of this study are to investigate the effects of differences of opinions among Shari’ah supervisory bodies on standardization and internationalization of Islamic banking products and services. The study has used semi-structured in-depth interview where five respondents from both the Middle East and Malaysia Shari’ah advisors participated in the interview sessions. The data were analyzed by both manual and software techniques. The findings reveal that indeed there are differences of opinions among Shari’ah advisors in different jurisdictions. These differences are due to differences in educational background, schools of thoughts, environment in which they operate, and legal requirements. Moreover, the findings also reveal that these differences in opinions among Shari’ah bodies create confusions among public and bankers, and negatively affect standardization of Islamic banking transactions. In addition, the study has explored the possibility to develop Islamic-based products. However, the finding shows that it is difficult for the industry to have Islamic-based products due to high competition from conventional counterpart, legal constraints and moral hazard. Furthermore, the findings indicate that lack of political will and unity, lack of technology are the main constraints to internationalization of Islamic banking products. Last but not least, the study found that there are possibility of convergence of opinions, standardization of Islamic banking products and services if there are unified international Shari’ah h advisory council, international basic requirements for Islamic Shari’ah h advisors, and increase training and educations of Islamic bankers. This study has several implications to the bankers, policymakers and researchers. The policymakers should be able to resolve their political differences and set up unified international advisory council and international research and development center. The bankers should increase training and educations of the workforce as well improve on their banking infrastructure to facility cross-border transactions.

Keywords: Shari’ah h views, Islamic banking, products & services, standardization.

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: D. Pazder

Abstract:

The main assumption of the study is to examine the coherence between two aspects of spatial planning important in Poland. The first one is the need to realize a participatory planning paradigm, and the second is a global trend of the pro-ecological orientation of city development. The aim of the research is the verification of the possibility of finding the right balance between economic and socio-spatial dimensions of urban redefinition, especially within public green areas. The significance of the examination lies in the fact that there are a huge anthropopressure and overinvestment in downtown areas of big Polish cities. The methodology used in the research of a case study was the three-layered comparative analyses of spatial planning documents, participatory planning undertakings, soft and hard actions concerning a given area in the period of 2008-2020. The main findings are that there is a lack of satisfactory cooperation between the municipality and local communities, a connection between soft actions and investment in green public space, inhabitants are of high ecological consciousness but not so concerned about spatial planning legislation. The conclusion is that it is needed to provide real participation in spatial planning processes so as to take advantage of local communities’ activity and to combine more top-down and bottom-up actions so as to integrate people and educate them on how to act in favor of a common good in democratic citizenship.

Keywords: placemaking, participatory planning, anesthetization, public greenery

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Nazma Sultana

Abstract:

Social media has become an important part of our daily life. It has a significance influences on the people who use them in their daily life frequently. The number of people using social network sites has been increasing continuously. For this frequent utilization has started to affect our social life. This study examine whether the use of social network sites affects the psychosocial interaction between children and their parents. At first parents introduce their children to the internet and different type of device in their early childhood. Many parents use device for feeding their children by watching rhyme or cartoon. As a result children are habituate with it. In Bangladesh 70% people are heavy internet users. About 23 percent of them spend more than five hours on the social networking sites a day. Media are increasing pervasive in the lives of children-roughly the average child today spends nearly about 45 hours per week with media, compared with 17 hours with parents and 30 hours in school. According to a social learning theory, children & adolescents learn by observing & imitating what they see on screen particularly when these behaviors are realistic or are rewarded. The influence of the media on the psychosocial development of children is profound. Thus it is important for parents to provide guidance on age-appropriate use of all media, including television, radio, music, video games and the internet.

Keywords: social media, psychosocial, Technology, Parent, Social Relationship, Adolescents, Teenage, Youth

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Ramiz Kuliev, Fuad Kuliev-Smirnov

Abstract:

The 'Shadow Sparring' training exercise is widely used in the training of boxers and martial artists. The main disadvantage of the usual shadow sparring is that the trainer cannot fully control such training and evaluate its results. During the competition, the athlete, preparing for the upcoming fight, imagines the Shadow (upcoming opponent) in accordance with his own imagination. A ‘Smart-Shadow Sparring’ (SSS) is an innovative version of the ‘Shadow Sparring’. During SSS, the fighter will see the Shadow (virtual opponent that moves, defends, and punches) and understand when he misses the punches from the Shadow. The task of a real athlete is to spar with a virtual one, move around, punch in the direction of unprotected areas of the Shadow and dodge his punches. Moves and punches of Shadow are set up before each training. The system will give the coach full information about virtual sparring: (i) how many and what type of punches has the fighter landed, (ii) accuracy of these punches, (iii) how many and what type of virtual punches (punches of Smart-Shadow) has the fighter missed, etc. SSS will be recorded as animated fighting of two fighters and will help the coach to analyze past training. SSS can be configured to fit the physical and technical characteristics of the next real opponent (size, techniques, speed, missed and landed punches, etc.). This will allow to simulate and rehearse the upcoming fight and improve readiness for the next opponent. For amateur fighters, SSS will be reconfigured several times during a tournament, when the real opponent becomes known. SSS can be used in three versions: (1) Digital Shadow: the athlete will see a Shadow on a monitor (2) VR-Shadow: the athlete will see a Shadow in a VR-glasses (3) Smart Shadow: a Shadow will be controlled by artificial intelligence. These technologies are based on the ‘semi-real simulation’ method. The technology allows coaches to train athletes remotely. Simulation of different opponents will help the athletes better prepare for competition. Repeat rehearsals of the upcoming fight will help improve results. SSS can improve results in Boxing, Taekwondo, Karate, and Fencing. 41 sets of medals will be awarded in these sports at the 2020 Olympic Games.

Keywords: boxing, combat sports, fight simulation, shadow sparring

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: NeisaKuonuo Tungoe

Abstract:

Tenyidie, also known as Angami, is spoken by the Angami tribe of Nagaland, North-East India, bordering Myanmar (Burma). It belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language group, falling under the Kuki-Chin-Naga sub-family. Tenyidie studies have seen random attempts at explaining the phonemic inventory of Tenyidie. Different scholars have variously emphasized the grammar or the history of Tenyidie. Many of these claims have been stimulating, but they were often based on a small amount of merely suggestive data or on auditory perception only. The principal objective of this paper is to analyse the affricate segments of Tenyidie as an acoustic study. There are seven categories to the inventory of Tenyidie; Plosives, Nasals, Affricates, Laterals, Rhotics, Fricatives, Semi vowels and Vowels. In all, there are sixty phonemes in the inventory. As mentioned above, the only prominent readings on Tenyidie or affricates in particular are only reflected through auditory perception. As noted above, this study aims to lay out the affricate segments based only on acoustic conclusions. There are seven affricates found in Tenyidie. They are: 1) Voiceless Labiodental Affricate - / pf /, 2) Voiceless Aspirated Labiodental Affricate- / pfh /, 3) Voiceless Alveolar Affricate - / ts /, 4) Voiceless Aspirated Alveolar Affricate - / tsh /, 5) Voiced Alveolar Affricate - / dz /, 6) Voiceless Post-Alveolar Affricate / tʃ / and 7) Voiced Post- Alveolar Affricate- / dʒ /. Since the study is based on acoustic features of affricates, five informants were asked to record their voice with Tenyidie phonemes and English phonemes. Throughout the study of the recorded data, PRAAT, a scientific software program that has made itself indispensible for the analyses of speech in phonetics, have been used as the main software. This data was then used as a comparative study between Tenyidie and English affricates. Comparisons have also been drawn between this study and the work of another author who has stated that there are only six affricates in Tenyidie. The study has been quite detailed regarding the specifics of the data. Detailed accounts of the duration and acoustic cues have been noted. The data will be presented in the form of spectrograms. Since there aren’t any other acoustic related data done on Tenyidie, this study will be the first in the long line of acoustic researches on Tenyidie.

Keywords: tenyidie, affricates, praat, phonemic inventory

Procedia PDF Downloads 412

Authors: Nasrin Nejatbakhsh, Anita Kaiser, Sander Hitzig, Colleen McGillivray

Abstract:

Following spinal cord injury (SCI), many individuals experience anxiety in adjusting to their lives, and its impacts on their sexuality. Research has demonstrated that regaining sexual function is a very high priority for individuals with SCI. Despite this, sexual health is one of the least likely areas of focus in rehabilitating individuals with SCI. There is currently a considerable gap in appropriate education and resources that address sexual health concerns and needs of people with spinal cord injury. Furthermore, the determinants of sexual health in individuals with SCI are poorly understood and thus poorly addressed. The purpose of this study was to improve current practices by informing a service delivery model that rehabilitation centers can adopt for appropriate delivery of their services. Methodology: We utilized qualitative methods in the form of a semi-structured interview containing open-ended questions to assess 1) sexual health concerns, 2) helpful strategies in current resources, 3) unhelpful strategies in current resources, and 4) Barriers to obtaining sexual health information. In addition to the interviews, participants completed surveys to identify socio-demographic factors. Data gathered was coded and evaluated for emerging themes and subthemes through a ‘code-recode’ technique. Results: We have identified several robust themes that are important for SCI sexual health resource development. Through analysis of these themes and their subthemes, several important concepts have emerged that could provide agencies with helpful strategies for providing sexual health resources. Some of the important considerations are that services be; anonymous, accessible, frequent, affordable, mandatory, casual and supported by peers. Implications: By incorporating the perspectives of individuals with SCI, the finding from this study can be used to develop appropriate sexual health services and improve access to information through tailored needs based program development.

Keywords: spinal cord injury, sexual health, determinants of health, resource development

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Bihan Qaimari

Abstract:

In many areas of the world there are political conflicts the consequences of which have an inevitable impact on the educational system. Palestine is one such country where the experience of political conflict, going back over many years, has had a devastating effect on the development and maintenance of a stable educational environment for children and their teachers. Up to now there have been few studies that have focussed on the effects of living and working in a war zone on the professional identity of teachers. The aim of this study is to explore how the formation of Palestinian teachers’ professional identity is affected by their experience of the current political conflict its impact on the school social culture. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of political violence on the formation of the professional identity of Palestinian teachers, a qualitative multiple case-study approach was adopted which draws on sociocultural theories of identity formation. An initial study was first conducted in six schools and this was followed by an in-depth study of teachers working in three further primary schools. Data sources included participant observation, a research diary, semi-structured group and individual interviews. Grounded theory, constant-comparative methods, and discourse analysis procedures were used to interpret the data. The findings suggest that the Palestinian primary school teachers negotiate multiple conflicting identities through their every day experiences of political conflict and the schools’ social culture. This tension is formed as a result of the historical cultural meaning that teachers construct about themselves and within the current unstable and unsettling conditions that exist in their country. In addition, the data indicate that the geographical location of the schools in relation of their proximity to the events of the political conflict also had an influence on the degree of tension inherent in teachers’ professional identity. The study makes significant theoretical, practical, and methodical contributions to the study of the formation of teachers’ professional identity in countries affected by political conflict.

Keywords: identity, political conflict, Palestine, teacher's professional identity

Procedia PDF Downloads 410

Authors: Mohamad Khairi Haji Othman, Mohd Zailani Mohd Yusoff, Rozalina Khalid

Abstract:

The inculcation of noble values in teaching and learning is very important, especially to build students with good characters and values. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the challenges of implementing the inculcation of noble values in teaching in primary schools. This study was conducted at four North Zone Peninsular Malaysia schools. This study was used a qualitative approach in the form of case studies. The qualitative approach aims at gaining meaning and a deep understanding of the phenomenon studied from the perspectives of the study participants and not intended to make the generalization. The sample in this study consists of eight teachers who teach in four types of schools that have been chosen purposively. The method of data collection is through semi-structured interviews used in this study. The comparative method is continuously used in this study to analyze the primary data collected. The study found that the main challenges faced by teachers were students' problems and class control so that teachers felt difficult to the inculcation of noble values in teaching. In addition, the language challenge is difficult for students to understand. Similarly, peers are also challenging because students are more easily influenced by friends rather than listening to teachers' instructions. The last challenge was the influence of technology and mass media electronic more widespread. The findings suggest that teachers need to innovate in order to assist the school in inculcating religious and moral education towards the students. The school through guidance and counseling teachers can also plan some activities that are appropriate to the student's present condition. Through this study, teachers and the school should work together to develop the values of students in line with the needs of the National Education Philosophy that wishes to produce intelligent, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and social human capital.

Keywords: challenges, implementation, inculcation, noble values

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Radzuan Junin, Dayang Zulaika A. Hasbollah

Abstract:

The increasing amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere recently has become one of the discussed topics in relation with world’s concern on climate change. Developing countries’ emissions (such as Malaysia) are now seen to surpass developed country’s emissions due to rapid economic development growth in recent decades. This paper presents the potential storage sites suitability and storage capacity assessment for CO2 sequestration in sedimentary basins of Malaysia. This study is the first of its kind that made an identification of potential storage sites and assessment of CO2 storage capacity within the deep saline aquifers in the country. The CO2 storage capacity in saline formation assessment was conducted based on the method for quick assessment of CO2 storage capacity in closed, and semi-closed saline formations modified to suit the geology setting of Malaysia. Then, an integrated approach that involved geographic information systems (GIS) analysis and field data assessment was adopted to provide the potential storage sites and its capacity for CO2 sequestration. This study concentrated on the assessment of major sedimentary basins in Malaysia both onshore and offshore where potential geological formations which CO2 could be stored exist below 800 meters and where suitable sealing formations are present. Based on regional study and amount of data available, there are 14 sedimentary basins all around Malaysia that has been identified as potential CO2 storage. Meanwhile, from the screening and ranking exercises, it is obvious that Malay Basin, Central Luconia Province, West Baram Delta and Balingian Province are respectively ranked as the top four in the ranking system for CO2 storage. 27% of sedimentary basins in Malaysia were evaluated as high potential area for CO2 storage. This study should provide a basis for further work to reduce the uncertainty in these estimates and also provide support to policy makers on future planning of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects in Malaysia.

Keywords: CO₂ storage, deep saline aquifer, GIS, sedimentary basin

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: Ihtasham Hamza

Abstract:

In the contemporary world, where the West is afflicted by the diseases of excess nutrition, much of the rest globe suffers at the hands of hunger. A troubling constituent of hunger is micronutrient deficiency, also called hidden hunger. Major dependence on calorie-rich diets and low diet diversification are responsible for high malnutrition rates, especially in African and Asian countries. But the dilemma isn’t immune to solutions. Highlighting the substantial cause to be sole dependence on staples for food, biofortification has emerged as a novel tool to confront the widely distributed jeopardize of hidden hunger. Biofortification potentials the better nutritional approachability to commonalities overcoming various difficulties and reaching the doorstep. The crops associated with biofortification offer a rural-based involvement that, proposal, primarily reaches these more remote populations, which comprise a majority of the malnourished in many countries, and then penetrates to urban populations as assembly overages are marketed. Initial investments in agricultural research at a central location can generate high recurrent benefits at low cost as adapted biofortified cultivars become widely available in countries across time at low recurrent costs as opposed to supplementation which is comparatively expensive and requires continued financing over time, which may be imperilled by fluctuating political curiosity.

Keywords: biofortified crops, hunger, malnutrition, agricultural practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Aminu Abdullahi Isyaku

Abstract:

Semi-arid Bornu basin in northeast Nigeria is characterised with flat topography, thick cover sediments and lack of continuous bedrock outcrops discernible for field geology. This paper presents the methodology for the characterisation of neotectonic surface structures and surface lithology in the north-eastern Bornu basin in northeast Nigeria as an alternative approach to field geological mapping using free multispectral Landsat 7 ETM+, SRTM DEM and ASAR Earth Observation datasets. Spectral lithological mapping herein developed utilised spectral discrimination of the surface features identified on Landsat 7 ETM+ images to infer on the lithology using four steps including; computations of band combination images; band ratio images; supervised image classification and inferences of the lithological compositions. Two complementary approaches to lineament mapping are carried out in this study involving manual digitization and automatic lineament extraction to validate the structural lineaments extracted from the Landsat 7 ETM+ image mosaic covering the study. A comparison between the mapped surface lineaments and lineament zones show good geospatial correlation and identified the predominant NE-SW and NW-SE structural trends in the basin. Topographic profiles across different parts of the Bama Beach Ridge palaeoshorelines in the basin appear to show different elevations across the feature. It is determined that most of the drainage systems in the northeastern Bornu basin are structurally controlled with drainage lines terminating against the paleo-lake border and emptying into the Lake Chad mainly arising from the extensive topographic high-stand Bama Beach Ridge palaeoshoreline.

Keywords: Bornu Basin, lineaments, spectral lithology, tectonics

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Saptarshi Dhar, Tahira Farzana

Abstract:

In Bangladesh, particularly in rural areas, persons with disabilities are generally isolated from the mainstream and are pushed to the margins of society. They are seen as an individual problem, not as a social responsibility. As a result, persons with disabilities face challenges to actively participate in social and economic activities. The country is experiencing a steady economic and per capita growth over the past few years and entrepreneurial opportunities are also increasing. However, involvement of persons with disabilities in entrepreneurship is yet to increase. The aim of this paper is to explore the issue of entrepreneurship for persons with disabilities through contribution of individuals and corporations in the context of social responsibility. The paper is exploratory in nature and is approached through a three-month research project 'Shwanirbhor' run by the authors in Pakshi area of Pabna District in Bangladesh. The authors collected data through semi structured questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. Through the project, persons with disabilities were provided with financial capital (collected through contribution of individuals and corporations), business plans and advisory assistance on a need basis to help them start entrepreneurial ventures. The findings of the study indicate that in terms of contribution toward a social cause, individuals and corporations have positive attitude and are willing to offer monetary and nonmonetary assistance. When provided with entrepreneurial opportunity, persons with disabilities showed motivation in joining entrepreneurship to improve their economic standing and to be financially independent. In addition to that, the study also found that factors such as social inclusion and acceptance, economic empowerment, breaking the social and family barrier are also the reasons that drive persons with disabilities into embracing entrepreneurship. Moreover, while starting and running the entrepreneurial activities, they face constraints that range from personal, environmental, operational and infrastructural to informational barriers. The paper also proposes a strategy framework for entrepreneurship creation in Bangladesh which could be supportive for policy development for persons with disabilities.

Keywords: Bangladesh, entrepreneurship, persons with disabilities (PWD), social responsibility

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Radegunda Kessy, Justus Ochieng, Victor Afari-Sefa, Takemore Chagomoka, Ngoni Nenguwo

Abstract:

Vegetables are excellent sources of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals which constitute an indispensable constituent of diets, but in Tanzania and other Sub-Saharan African countries, they are not readily available all year round due to seasonal variations in the production cycle. Drying of vegetables is one of the traditional methods for food preservation known to man. The Dodoma and Singida regions of Tanzania are characterized by semi-arid agro-climate, thereby experiencing short seasonal supply of fresh vegetables followed by long drought in which dried vegetables become an alternative to meet high household demands. A primary survey of 244 of rural consumers was carried out to understand how knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of rural consumers affect consumption of dried vegetables. The sample respondents were all found to be aware of open sun drying of vegetables while less than 50% of them were aware of solar-dried vegetables. Consumers were highly concerned with the hygiene, nutritional values, taste, drying method, freshness, color of dried vegetables, timely availability and easiness of cooking as important factors they consider before they purchase dried vegetables. Logit model results show that gender, income, years of consuming dried vegetables, awareness of the importance of solar dried vegetables vis-à-vis sun-dried alternatives and employment status influenced rural consumer’s decision to purchase dried vegetables. Preference on dried vegetables differs across the regions which are also important considerations for any future planned interventions. The findings imply that development partners and policymakers need to design better social marketing and promotion techniques for the enhanced adoption of solar drying technology, which will greatly improve the quality and utilization of dried vegetables by target households.

Keywords: dried vegetables, postharvest management, sun drying, solar drying

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Abdulkerim Ilgun, Ahmad Javid Zia

Abstract:

In developing countries, the urban populations are increasing rapidly and with this increment the residential areas are experiencing major problems. Construction of high-rise buildings in confined spaces is one of the most practical solutions for this problem. However, by living in high-rise buildings and sharing common residential areas, residents will face many problems. Irritating sound problem which is known as noise is one of the major problems mentioned above. The second most important problem is the weight of the high-rise buildings which makes the structure more vulnerable to earthquakes. To decrease earthquake loads it’s very important to decrease the weight of the buildings. To solve the problem of noise and keep the building weight at minimum level, experimentally designed soundproof gypsum partition wall which has optimum thickness has been used in high-rise story building and the results have been compared with ordinary brick partition walls. In this compression the effect of weights of soundproof gypsum walls and ordinary brick walls in accordance to structural engineering have been investigated.

Keywords: cellubor, gypsum board, gypsum partition walls, light partition walls, noise, sound

Procedia PDF Downloads 304

Authors: Adriane Amend, Leidiene Ferreira Santos, Daniella Pires Nunes

Abstract:

The experience of assuming or caring for older persons dependents by relatives is a complex task that encompasses or affective involvement, the demand for technical activities and or psychological support. It would be necessary to understand the situations related to the caregiver, the person and the environment, which help the family difficulty, as a caregiver to lead this role. Objective: To identify the forces that drive and restrict the care process of family caregivers of the older adults. Method: Descriptive and exploratory research, with a qualitative approach, which has as a reference the Force Field Theory. Five family caregivers of older adult’s dependents residing in the city of Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil will participate. The data were collected from December 2021 to February 2022, through a semi-structured individual interview, and submitted to content analysis. Results: As forces that drive or process of caring for family caregivers were: the account of compassionate attitudes and patience of the caregiver (I); to the collaboration of the other person to the care and to the body structure of the same (Other); and the supports of other people not cared for and structural, such as adaptations in the room, read and bathroom, as in the presence of air conditioners (Environment). Among the restrictive forces of care we mention difficulties in delegating care to another person, or stress of care and other personal demands (I); imposition of the older person about care and e a transfer from bed to hip (Other); e lack of accessibility of the house and absence of air conditioning and hospital bed (Environment). Conclusion: The results show that there are driving forces with the caregiver's attitude and feelings, a bond as an idol and support for the caregiver and the environment. On the other hand, conflicting ties, absence of physical structure and daily and continuous care shifts, can significantly compromise well-being or the cycle of older adult, caregiver and care.

Keywords: caregivers, frail elderly, perception, geriatric nursing

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Phillip F. Kanokanga, Patrick W. Mamimine, Molline Mwando, Charity Mapingure

Abstract:

Tourism development tends to follow anchor attractions, including cities and their surroundings, while marginalizing small towns and their environs. This is even though the small towns and their hinterlands can also offer competitive tourism products. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) gathers visitor statistics of major tourist destinations only thereby sidelining the density of tourist traffic that either passes through or visits the small towns in the country. Unless this problem is addressed, the tourism potential of small towns and their hinterlands will not be fully tapped for economic development. Using qualitative research methodology, this study investigated the opportunities for tourism development in the Greater Chinhoyi Area. The study revealed that the Greater Chinhoyi area had potential for heritage tourism, village tourism, urban tourism, educational tourism, dark tourism, recreational tourism, agrotourism, and nature tourism. There is a need to link the various tourism resources in the Greater Chinhoyi area to anchor attractions in dominant resorts, then develop and present the tourism products in transit towns as ‘appetisers’ or ‘appetisser attractions’ before one gets to the main destination.

Keywords: anchor attractions, appetisers, heritage tourism, agrotourism, small towns, tourism corridor, systems approach, hidden treasures

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Mahani Razali, Nordin Mamat

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to identify the teacher’s role and parent’s participation to develop children`s socio emotion through play activities. This research is based on three main objectives which are to identify children`s socio emotion during play activities, teacher’s role and parent’s participation to develop children`s socio emotion. This qualitative study was carried out among 25 pre-school children, three teachers and three parents as the research sample. On the other hand, parent’s support was obtained from their discussions, supervisions and communication at home. The data collection procedures involved structured observation which was to identify socio emotional development element among pre-school children through play activities; as for semi-structured interviews, it was done to study the perception of the teachers and parents on the acquired socio emotional development among the children. Besides, documentation analysis method was used as to triangulate acquired information with observations and interviews. In this study, the qualitative data analysis was tabulated in descriptive manner with frequency and percentage format. This study primarily focused on five main socio emotional elements among the pre-school children: 1) Cooperation, 2) Confidence and Courage, 3) Ability to communicate, 4) patience, and 5) Tolerance. The findings of this study were presented in the form of case to case manner from the researches sample. Findings revealed that the children showed positive outcomes on the socio emotional development during their play. Both teachers and parents showed positive perceptions towards the acquired socio emotional development during their play activities. In conclusion, this research summarizes that teacher’s role and parent’s support can improve children`s socio emotional development through play activities. As a whole, this research highlighted the significance of play activities as to stimulate socio emotional development among the pre-school children.

Keywords: social emotional, children, play activities, stimulating

Procedia PDF Downloads 404

Authors: Kahlouche Amal, Touzene F. Zohra, Betatache Fatihaet Nouani Abdelouahab

Abstract:

The development of the world production of the cheese these last decades, as well as agents' greater request cheap coagulants, accentuated the search for new surrogates of the rennet. What about the interest to explore the vegetable biodiversity, the source well cheap of many naturals metabolites that the scientists today praise it (thistle, latex of fig tree, Cardoon, seeds of melon). Indeed, a big interest is concerned the search for surrogates of vegetable origin. The objective of the study is to show the possibility of extracting a protease coagulant the milk from the cake of Sunflower, available raw material and the potential source of surrogates of rennet. so, the determination of the proteolytic activity of raw extracts, the purification, the elimination of the pigments of tint of the enzymatic preparations, a better knowledge of the coagulative properties through study of the effect of certain factors (temperature, pH, concentration in CaCl2) are so many factors which contribute to value milk particularly those produced by the small ruminants of the Algerian dairy exploitations. Otherwise, extracts coagulants of vegetable origin allowed today to value traditional, in addition, although the extract coagulants of vegetable origin made it possible today to develop traditional cheeses whose Iberian peninsula is the promoter, but the test of 'pressed paste not cooked' cheese manufacturing led to the semi-scale pilot; and that, by using the enzymatic extract of sunflower (Helianthus annus) which gave satisfactory results as well to the level of outputs as on the sensory level,which, statistically,did not give any significant difference between studied cheeses. These results confirm the possibility of use of this coagulase as a substitute of rennet commercial on an industrial scale.

Keywords: characterization, cheese, Rennet, sunflower

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Siamak Eskandari, Neda Ebadi

Abstract:

After discovering and using Freon as refrigerant in refrigerators and air conditioners, researchers have been working hard to minimize massive environmental damage caused by this type of systems, including ozone depletion, heat production, and urban warming. However, there is a growing concern for global warming and climate change and its impacts on climates. Although gas air conditioners can provide comfort in short term, there are long-term consequences and effects, including global warming, polar ice melting, sea level rising, rising sea surface temperatures, reduction in seasonal precipitation, tropical storms, and drought. In this theoretical and practical study, Peltier electronic chip was used with no gas in the structure and operation. In fact, cooling and heating are based on bipolar electronics. With an innovative method, Peltier air conditioners provide cooling in warm seasons and heating in cold seasons in buildings. Such a system prevents ambient warming. The problem of air circulation between high buildings in large cities and draught will be considerably resolved through the use of the silent fan in the system. In addition, the system is designed and developed in accordance with international standards such as LEED and Energy Star.

Keywords: energy, Building cooling and heating, peltier, leed, energy star

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Deepak Bhardwaj, Narendra Tuteja

Abstract:

Global climate change is impacting large agrarian societies, especially those in countries located near the equator. Agriculture, and consequently, plant-based food, is the hardest hit in tropical and sub-tropical countries such as India due to an increased incidence of drought as well as an increase in soil salinity. One method that holds promise is AMF-rich biofertilizers which assist in activating proteins which in turn help alleviate abiotic stress in plants. In the present study, we identified two important species of (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus) AMF belonging to Glomus and Gigaspora from the rhizosphere of the important medicinal plant Justicia adathoda. These two species have been found to be responsible for the abundance of Justicia adathoda in the semi-arid areas of the Jammu valley located in northern India, namely, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. We isolated the species of Glomus and Gigaspora from the rhizosphere of Justicia adathoda and used them as biofertilizers for the tomato plant. Significant improvements in the growth parameters were observed in the tomato plants inoculated with Glomus sp. and Gigaspora sp. in comparison with the tomato plants that were grown without AMF treatments. Tomato plants grown along with Glomus sp. and Gigaspora sp. have been observed to withstand 200 mM of salinity and 25% PEG stress. AMF also resulted in an increased concentration of proline and antioxidant enzymes in tomato plants. We also examined the expression levels of salinity and drought stress-inducible genes such as pea DNA helicase 45 (PDH 45) and genes of G-protein subunits of the tomato plants inoculated with and without AMF under stress and normal conditions. All the stress-inducible genes showed a significant increase in their gene expression under stress and AMF inoculation, while their levels were found to be normal under AMF inoculation without stress. We propose a model of abiotic stress alleviation in tomato plants with the help of external factors such as AMF and internally with the help of proteins like PDH 45 and G-proteins.

Keywords: AMF, abiotic stress, g-proteins, PDH-45

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Obiora E. Anisiji, Jeremiah L. Chukwuneke, Chinonso H. Achebe, Paul C. Okolie

Abstract:

This work developed a mathematical model of a biogas plant from a mechanistic point of view, for urban area clean energy requirement. It aimed at integrating thermodynamics; which deals with the direction in which a process occurs and Biochemical kinetics; which gives the understanding of the rates of biochemical reaction. The mathematical formulation of the proposed gas plant follows the fundamental principles of thermodynamics, and further analysis were accomplished to develop an algorithm for evaluating the plant performance preferably in terms of daily production capacity. In addition, the capacity of the plant is equally estimated for a given cycle of operation and presented in time histories. A nominal 1500m3 biogas plant was studied characteristically and its performance efficiency evaluated. It was observed that the rate of biogas production is essentially a function of enthalpy ratio, the reactor temperature, pH, substrate concentration, rate of degradation of the biomass, and the accumulation of matter in the system due to bacteria growth. The results of this study conform to a very large extent with reported empirical data of some existing plant and further model validations were conducted in line with classical records found in literature.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biogas plant, biogas production, bio-reactor, energy, fermentation, rate of production, temperature, therm

Procedia PDF Downloads 429

Authors: Zhu Zhizheng, Huang Yong, Li Tong

Abstract:

In the context of land and space development and resource environmental protection. Due to its special geographical location, mountain-plain transition zones are limited by many factors such as topography, mountain forest protection, etc., and their ecology is also more sensitive, with the characteristics of disaster susceptibility and resource gradient. Taking Dujiangyan City, Chengdu as an example, this paper establishes resilience evaluation indicators on the basis of ecological suitability evaluation through the analysis of current situation data and relevant policies: water conservation evaluation, soil and water conservation evaluation, biodiversity evaluation, soil erosion sensitivity evaluation, etc. Based on GIS spatial analysis, the ecological suitability and resilience evaluation results of Dujiangyan city were obtained by disjunction operation. The ecological resilience level of Dujiangyan city was divided into three categories: high, medium and low, with an area ratio of 50.81%, 16.4% and 32.79%, respectively. This paper can provide ideas for solving the contradiction between man and land in the mountain-plain transition zones, and also provide a certain basis for the construction of regional ecological protection and the delineation of three zones and three lines.

Keywords: urban and rural planning, ecological resilience, dujiangyan city, mountain-plain transition zones

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Jaypalsinh B. Parmar, Pintu Nakrani, Ashish Chaurasia

Abstract:

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is considered as an important data in GIS-based terrain analysis for many applications and assessment of processes such as environmental and climate change studies, hydrologic modelling, etc. Vertical accuracy of DEM having geographically dynamic nature depends on different parameters which affect the model simulation outcomes. Vertical accuracy assessment in Indian landscape especially in low-lying coastal urban terrain such as lower Tapi Basin is very limited. In the present study, attempt has been made to evaluate the vertical accuracy of 30m resolution open source Indian National Cartosat-1 DEM v3 for Lower Tapi Basin (LTB) from western India. The extensive field investigation is carried out using stratified random fast static DGPS survey in the entire study region, and 117 high accuracy ground control points (GCPs) have been obtained. The above open source DEM was compared with obtained GCPs, and different statistical attributes were envisaged, and vertical error histograms were also evaluated.

Keywords: CartoDEM, Digital Elevation Model, GPS, lower Tapi basin

Procedia PDF Downloads 355

Authors: Priya Nambisan, Lien B. Nguyen

Abstract:

Women participate extensively in the healthcare field, professionally (as physicians, nurses, dietitians, etc.) as well as informally (as caregivers at home). This provides them with a better understanding of the health needs of people. Women are also in the forefront of using social media and other mobile health related apps. Further, many health mobile apps are specifically designed for women users. All of these indicate the potential for women to be successful entrepreneurs in healthcare, especially, in the area of mobile health app development. However, extant research in entrepreneurship has paid limited attention to women entrepreneurship in healthcare. The objective of this study is to determine the key factors that shape the intentions and actions of women entrepreneurs with regard to their entrepreneurial pursuits in the healthcare field. Specifically, the study advances several hypotheses that relate key variables such as personal skills and capabilities, experience, support from institutions and family, and perceptions regarding entrepreneurship to individual intentions and actions regarding entrepreneurship (specifically, in the area of mobile apps). The study research model will be validated using survey data collected from potential women entrepreneurs in the healthcare field – students in the area of health informatics and engineering. The questionnaire-based survey relates to woman respondents’ intention to become entrepreneurs in healthcare and the key factors (independent variables) that may facilitate or inhibit their entrepreneurial intentions and pursuits. The survey data collection is currently ongoing. We also plan to conduct semi-structured interviews with around 10-15 women entrepreneurs who are currently developing mobile apps to understand the key issues and challenges that they face in this area. This is an exploratory study and as such our goal is to combine the findings from the regression analysis of the survey data and that from the content analysis of the interview data to inform on future research on women entrepreneurship in healthcare. The study findings will hold important policy implications, specifically for the development of new programs and initiatives to promote women entrepreneurship, particularly in healthcare and technology areas.

Keywords: women entrepreneurship, healthcare, mobile apps, health apps

Procedia PDF Downloads 445

Authors: Bisi-Johnson, Mary A., Hamzart A. Oyelade, Kehinde A. Adediran, Saheed A. Akinola

Abstract:

Geophagic and cosmetic clays are among potential nano-material which occur naturally and are of various forms. The use of these nano-clays is a common practice in both rural and urban areas mostly due to tradition and medicinal reasons. These naturally occurring materials can be valuable sources of nano-material by serving as nano-composites. The need to ascertain the safety of these materials is the motivation for this research. Physical Characterization based on the hue value and microbiological qualities of the nano-clays were carried out. The Microbial analysis of the clay samples showed considerable contamination with both bacteria and fungi with fungal contaminants taking the lead. This observation may not be unlikely due to the ability of fungi species to survive harsher growth conditions than bacteria. 'Atike pupa' showed no bacterial growth. The clay with the largest bacterial count was Calabash chalk (Igbanke), while that with the highest fungal count was 'Eko grey'. The most commonly isolated bacteria in this study were Clostridium spp. and Corynebacterium spp. while fungi included Aspergillus spp. These results are an indication of the need to subject these clay materials to treatments such as heating before consumption or topical usage thereby ascertaining their safety.

Keywords: nano-material, clay, microorganism, quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Iman Shabanzadeh

Abstract:

In terms of its geopolitical position, Iran has been one of the main centers of migration movements in the world in recent decades. However, the policy makers' lack of preparation in completing the cycle of social integration of these immigrants, especially the second and third generation, has caused these people to always be prone to leave the country and immigrate to developed and industrialized countries. In this research, the issue of integration of immigrants in Iran from the perspective of four indicators, "Identity Documents", "Access to Banking Services", "Access to Health and Treatment Services" and "Obtaining a Driver's License" will be analyzed. The research method is descriptive-analytical. To collect information, library and document sources in the field of laws and regulations related to immigrants' rights in Iran, semi-structured interviews with experts have been used. The investigations of this study show that none of the residence documents of immigrants in Iran guarantee the full enjoyment of basic citizenship rights for them. In fact, the function of many of these identity documents, such as the census card, educational support card, etc., is only to prevent crossing the border, and none of them guarantee the basic rights of citizenship. Therefore, for many immigrants, the difference between legality and illegality is only in the risk of crossing the border, and this has led to the spread of the habit of illegal presence for them. Despite this, it seems that there is no clear and coherent policy framework around the issue of foreign immigrants in the country. This policy incoherence can be clearly seen in the diversity and plurality of identity and legal documents of the citizens present in the country and the policy maker's lack of planning to integrate and organize the identity of this huge group. Examining the differences and socioeconomic inequalities between immigrants and the native Iranian population shows that immigrants have been poorly integrated into the structures of Iranian society from an economic and social point of view.

Keywords: immigrants, social integration, citizen services, structural inequality

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: Yu-Ching Liu

Abstract:

Background: Family numbers usually take responsibility for taking care of their elderly relatives, especially parents. Caring for a patient with chronic diseases is a stressful experience, which makes carers suffer physical and mental health stress, difficulties maintaining family relationships and issues in participating in the labor market, which may lower their quality of life (QoL). The issue of providing care to relatives with chronic illness has been widely explored in Taiwan, but most studies focus on the need for full-time caregivers. Objective: The main goal of this study was to examine the topic of working carers involved in the decision-making process of LTC services and to explore what affects working carers considering when they choose the care services for their disabled, elderly relatives. Method: A total of 7 working caregivers were enrolled in this study. A face-to-face and semi-structured in-depth qualitative interview study were conducted to explore the caregivers' perspectives. Results: Working carers have a positive experience of using LTC service because it allows them to kill two birds with one stone, continue employment, and care for an elderly disabled relative. However, working carers have still been struggling to find friendly community-based LTC services. There were no longer available community services that could be used with the illness condition of patients getting worse. As such, patients have to be cared for at home, which might increase the caregiver burden of carers. Conclusion: Working family caregivers suffer from heavy physical and psychological burdens as they not only have to maintain their employment but care for elderly disabled relatives; however, the current support provided is insufficient. The design of services should consider working carers' employment situation and need rather than the only caring situation of patients at home.

Keywords: family caregiver, Long-term care, work-life balance, decision-making

Procedia PDF Downloads 177