Search results for: cultural policy

Authors: L. P. K. Liyanage, N. R. P. Withana, A. L. Sandika

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The purpose of this study was to determine tourist and community perception-based sustainable tourism indicators as well as Human Pressure Index (HPI) and Tourist Activity Index (TAI). Study was carried out in Sinharaja forest which is considered as one of the major eco-tourism destination in Sri Lanka. Data were gathered using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire as well as records from Forest department. Convenient sampling technique was applied. For the majority of issues, the responses were obtained on multi-point Likert-type scales. Visual portrayal was used for display analyzed data. The study revealed that the host community of the Kudawa gets many benefits from tourism. Also, tourism has caused negative impacts upon the environment and community. The study further revealed the need of proper waste management and involvement of local cultural events for the tourism business in the Kudawa conservation center. The TAI, which accounted to be 1.27 and monthly evolution of HPI revealed that congestion can be occurred in the Sinharaja rainforest during peak season. The results provide useful information to any party involved with tourism planning anywhere, since such attempts would be more effective once the people’s perceptions on these aspects are taken into account.

Keywords: Kudawa Conservation Center, Sinharaja World Heritage Rainforest, sustainability indicators, community perception

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Authors: Yamam Abuzinadah

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Mental health literacy has become a very influential topic around the world due to the increase of mental health issues that have been reported through national research and surveys. Mental health literacy refers to the awareness, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and skills when dealing with mental illness. This research explores mental health literacy in the Arabic and the ways culture informs perceptions of mental health in general. Also, the impact of mental health literacy on: help-seeking attitudes, relationships and community interactions. The outcomes of this research will contribute to raising mental health awareness among the Arabic community, develop and enhance mental health service provision and explore new ideas in regards to elevating mental health literacy in the Arabic community. This research aims to explore attitudes, beliefs, perspective, values and perceptions toward mental health in general among the Arabic community. It will also aim to highlight the factors contributing to theses beliefs, perspective, value and perception and accordingly the role these factors play in regards to awareness, services access, recovery and care provided from the family and the community. This thesis will aim to reflect a detailed theorisation and exploration of: (1) The impact of cultural factors on mental health literacy ie. attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and skills. (2) The ways culture informs perceptions of mental health literacy. (3) The impact of mental health literacy on: help-seeking behaviors, and relationships and community interactions.

Keywords: Arab, mental health, literacy, awareness

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Authors: Sungwoo Park

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The paper attempts to investigate the correlation between climate change and migration that has caused violent disputes in some regions of the world. Recently, NGOs and educational institutions have proposed claims that migratory patterns and violent uprisings are intertwined with climate change. Thus, the paper is primarily concerned with collecting evidences provided from scholars, validating this significant connection between climate change and migration, and evaluating and suggesting current and future research approaches respectively to enhance the acknowledgment and protection of environmental refugees. In order to examine the linkage of environmental migration, primary sources, such as political speeches, and secondary sources like theses from environmental policy analysts, books, and reports are used. More specifically, the investigation focuses on an civil war in Syria to draw a connection between environmental migration and violent dispute that threatens the global security. The examination undertaken specifically analyzes examples where forced migration occurred due to climate change. In Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Kiribati, residents have been at risk of fleeing their countries because of abnormal climate patterns, such as the rise of sea level or an excessive heat stress. As the brutal uprising in Syria has proven that climate change can pose a significant threat to global security, correlation between climate change and migration is surely worth delving into.

Keywords: climate change, climate migration, global security, refugee crisis

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Authors: Fuling Deng

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Today’s children are frequently exposed to multimodal texts that adopt diverse modes to communicate myriad meanings within different cultural contexts. To respond to the new textual landscape, scholars have considered new literacy theories which propose picturebooks as important educational resources. Picturebooks are multimodal, with their meaning conveyed through the synchronisation of multiple modes, including linguistic, visual, spatial, and gestural acting as access to multimodal literacy. Picturebooks have been popular reading materials in primary educational settings in China. However, often viewed as “easy” texts directed at the youngest readers, picturebooks remain on the margins of Chinese upper primary classrooms, where they are predominantly used for linguistic tasks, with little value placed on their multimodal affordances. Practices with picturebooks in the upper grades in Chinese primary schools also encounter many challenges associated with the curation of texts for use, designing curriculum, and assessment. To respond to these issues, a qualitative study was conducted with a community of Chinese primary teachers using multi-methods such as interviews, focus groups, and documents. The findings showed the impact of the teachers’ increased awareness of picturebooks' multimodal affordances on their pedagogical decisions in using picturebooks as educational resources in upper primary classrooms.

Keywords: picturebook education, multimodal literacy, teachers' response to contemporary picturebooks, community of practice

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Authors: Iassen Vanev

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The two objectives of the research are to enlighten the significant role of Venice as an agent of “transporting” the features of the Italian Renaissance in Cyprus, as well as to assess the countercheck that the Cypriots might have exercised in opposition to the Venetian influence and to what extent they left they own mark on the Serenissima and influenced the Venetian Renaissance. This will be achieved in the backdrop of Venice’s interaction and dichotomy with the Ottoman Empire during the Venetian rule over the island (1474-1571). The research is carried out within the interdisciplinary domains of architecture, visual arts, and literature. Such studies have already been carried out extensively for other ex-Byzantine centers and consecutively Venetian possessions, like, for example Crete. Cyprus, however, has largely been left on the periphery of scholarly interest, and the author will strive to fill this gap as much as possible. The nature of much of the Venetian Renaissance Architecture on Cyprus was dictated by the Ottoman threat to the island. On the other hand, the vast majority of the Cypriot Renaissance literary production was done in Italy, a little before and after the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571. This conquest was an enormous crisis for both Venetians and Cypriots, and it led to migrations, mutual Venetian-Cypriot interaction in arts and literature, the formation of cultural landscapes, the shaping of Cypriot identity/ies, dialect and diasporas in Italy, etc., which makes the current research very important.

Keywords: architecture, arts, Cyprus, gender, identity, linguistics, Ottoman Empire, Venice

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Authors: Azizeh Chalak, Firouzeh Baktash

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Reticence is a prominent and complex phenomenon which occurs in foreign language classrooms and influences students’ oral passivity. The present study investigated the extent in which students experience reticence in the EFL classrooms and explored the underlying factors triggering reticence. The participants were 104 Iranian freshmen undergraduate male and female EFL students, who enrolled in listening and speaking courses, all majoring in English studying at Islamic Azad University Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch and University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. To collect the data, the Reticence Scale-12 (RS-12) questionnaire which measures the level of reticence consisting of six dimensions (anxiety, knowledge, timing, organization, skills, and memory) was administered to the participants. The statistical analyses showed that the reticent level was high among the Iranian EFL undergraduate students, and their major problems were feelings of anxiety and delivery skills. Moreover, the results revealed that factors such as low English proficiency, the teaching method, and lack of confidence contributed to the students’ reticence in Iranian EFL classrooms. It can be implied that language teachers’ awareness of learners’ reticence can help them choose more appropriate activities and provide a friendly environment enhancing hopefully more effective participation of EFL learners. The findings can have implications for EFL teachers, learners and policy makers.

Keywords: anxiety, Iranian EFL learners, reticence, reticence scale-12

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Authors: Muhamad Nugraha

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Economic growth always correlate positively with the magnitude of the unemployment rate. This is caused by labor which one of important variable to keep growth in the real sector of the region. Meanwhile, the economic structure in districts of Jember showed an increase of economic activity began to shift towards the industrial sector and some other economic sectors, so they have an affects to considerations for policy makers to increase economic growth in Jember as an autonomous region in East Java Province. At the fact, SMEs is among the factors driving economic growth in the region. This is shown by the high amount of SMEs. However, employment in the sector grew slightly slowed. It is caused by a lack of productivity in SMEs. Through the analysis of the transformation of economic structure theory, and the theory of Triple Helix using descriptive analytical method Location Quotient and Shift - Share, found that the results of the economic structure in Jember slowly shifting from the agricultural sector to the industrial sector, because it is dominated by trade sector, hotel and restaurant sector. In addition, SMEs is the potential sector of economic growth in Jember. While to maximizing role and functions of the institution's Research and Development Center of SMEs, there are three points to be known, that are Business Landscape, Business Architecture and Value Added.

Keywords: economic growth, SMEs, labor, Research and Development Center of SMEs

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Authors: Xuguo Zhang, Jimmy Fung, Kenneth Leung, Alexis Lau

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Fine particulate matter concentrations have been decreasing in the past few years while the ozone concentrations are posing an increasing trend in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China. A series of control policies have been released to mitigate the country-wide air pollution, however, how to effectively evaluate the exercised control measures and efficiently reveal potential projected mitigation pathways are still limited. By refining an enhanced air-quality-modeling system, this study provides an account of the air quality assessments from 2019 to 2025 to appraise the air quality results and improvement under designed scenarios for assessing the optimum scope for tightening the Air Quality Objectives (AQOs). The results show that it is doable to tighten the 24-hour AQO for SO2 from the World Health Objective air quality guidelines Interim Targets Level-1 (IT-1) (125μg/m3) to IT-2 level (50μg/m3) with the current number of exceedance allowed (three) remains unchanged. It is also possible to tighten the annual AQO for PM2.5 from IT-1 (35 μg/m3) to IT 2 (25 μg/m3), and its 24-hr AQO from IT-1 (75 μg/m3) to IT 2 (50 μg/m3) with the number of exceedances allowed increased from current nine to 35. Regional cooperation under the development of the GBA cooperation are still needed to be focused and strengthen due to the cross-boundary transport characteristics of the air pollution.

Keywords: air quality attainment, Hong Kong, mitigation policy, chemical transport modeling, sensitivity analysis

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Authors: S. M. Ali, A. Salam Khan, A. U. Khan, M. Tariq, M. S. Hussain, B. A. Abbasi, I. Hussain, U. Farid

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Environment and surrounding plays a pivotal rule in structuring life-style of the consumers. Living standards intern effect the energy consumption of the consumers. In smart grid paradigm, climate drifts, weather parameter and green environmental directly relates to the energy profiles of the various consumers, such as residential, commercial and industrial. Considering above factors helps policy in shaping utility load curves and optimal management of demand and supply. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop correlation models of load and weather parameters and critical analysis of the factors effecting energy profiles of smart grid consumers. In this paper, we elaborated various environment and weather parameter factors effecting demand of consumers. Moreover, we developed correlation models, such as Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall, an inter-relation between dependent (load) parameter and independent (weather) parameters. Furthermore, we validated our discussion with real-time data of Texas State. The numerical simulations proved the effective relation of climatic drifts with energy consumption of smart grid consumers.

Keywords: climatic drifts, correlation analysis, energy consumption, smart grid, weather parameter

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Authors: Aisami A., Z. A. Adamu, Lawan Bulama

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Due to growing issues of crude oil pollution in both marine and terrestrial environments, Billions to Trillions of US Dollars were spent over the years for the treatment of this spill. There is an urgent need for effective bioremediation strategies. This current study focuses on the isolation and characterization of a crude oil-degrading bacterium from hydrocarbon-contaminated soil samples. Soil samples were collected from an oil spill site and subjected to enrichment culture techniques in a mineral salt medium supplemented with crude oil as the singular carbon source. The isolates were screened for their crude oil-degrading capabilities using gravimetric analysis. The most efficient isolation was identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Cultural and physical conditions such pH, temperature salinity and crude oil concentrations were optimized. The isolates showed significant crude oil degradation efficiency, reducing oil concentration (2.5%) by 75% within 15 days of incubation. The strain was identified as Providencia sp. through molecular characterization, the sequence was deposited at the NCBI Genbank with accession number MN880494. The bacterium exhibited optimal growth at 32.5°C, pH 7.0 to 7.5, and in the presence of 1.5% (w/v) NaCl. The isolated Providencia sp. shows encouraging potential for bioremediation of crude oil-contaminated environments. This study successfully isolated and characterized a crude oil-degrading Providencia sp., highlighting its potential in bioremediation.

Keywords: crude oil degradation, providencia sp., bioremediation, hydrocarbon utilization, environmental pollution.

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Authors: Rungrot Trongsakul

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This paper was aimed to study the model of education cooperation during Thailand and neighbor countries, especially the countries which the territory-cohesion border with Thailand used “Soft Power” to enhance the good relationship. This research employed qualitative method, analyzed and synthesized the content of cooperation projects, policies, laws, relevant theories, relevant research papers and documents and used SWOT analysis. The research findings revealed that Thailand’s education cooperation projects with neighbor countries had two characteristics: 1) education cooperation projects/programs were a part in economic cooperation projects, and 2) there were directly education cooperation projects. The suggested education cooperation model was based on the concept of “Soft Power”, thus the determination of action plans or projects as key factors of public and private organizations should be based on sincere participation among people, communities and relevant organizations of the neighbor countries. Adoption of education-cultural exchange, learning and sharing process is a key to strengthen good relationship of the countries’ cooperation. The roles of education in this included sharing and acceptance of culture and local wisdom, human resource development, knowledge management, integration and networking building could enhance relationship between agents of related organizations of Thailand and neighbors countries.

Keywords: education, soft-power, relationship, cooperation, Thailand neighboring countries

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Authors: Aida Humaira

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Aromatic plants hold an honored place in Indonesian culture, where they are deeply intertwined with everyday customs, rituals, and ceremonies. From the fragrant herbs and spices used in cooking to the aromatic incense burned in temples and homes, aromatic plants play multifaceted roles in enhancing well-being and fostering spiritual connections. These plants are valued not only for their pleasant aromas but also for their medicinal properties and symbolic meanings. This article aims to summarize the role of aromatic plants in Indonesian traditional culture, medicine, spirituality, and how it shifted to a modern version of aromatherapy. Traditional Indonesian medicine, known as Jamu, relies heavily on aromatic plants for their therapeutic benefits. Herbalists and traditional healers use a wide array of aromatic herbs, roots, barks, and resins to treat various ailments, ranging from digestive disorders and respiratory infections to skin conditions and reproductive issues. In conclusion, aromatic plants represent a cultural treasure with multifaceted uses and significance deeply rooted in Indonesia’s tradition. From their medicinal properties to their spiritual symbolism, these plants embody the interconnection of culture, nature, and well-being. Further research and collaboration are needed to document and preserve traditional knowledge surrounding Indonesian aromatic plants and ensure their continued recognition and sustainable utilization in the face of modernization and environmental challenges.

Keywords: aromatic plants, indonesia, Jamu, traditional medicine

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Authors: Olivia Kurucz

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Gamification is one of the outstanding new methodological possibilities of urban public participation processes to make the most informed decision possible for the future steps of urban development. This paper examines four Hungarian experimental projects in which gamified tools were applied during the public participation progresses by the Urban Future Laboratory (UFLab) research workshop of Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE). The recently implemented future planning projects (in the cities of Pécel, Kistarcsa, Budapest, and Salgótarján) were initiated by various motives, but the multi-stakeholder dialogues were facilitated through physical gamified tools in all cases. Based on the urban gamification hypothesis, the use of gamified tools supported certain steps of participatory processes in several aspects: it helped to increase the attractiveness of public events, to create a more informal atmosphere, to ensure equal conditions for actors, to recall a design mindset, to bridge contrasting social or cultural differences, to fix opinions and to assist dialogue between city actors, designers, and residents. This statement is confirmed by assessing the applied tools, analyzing the case studies, and comparing them to perceive their effects and interrelations.

Keywords: experimental projects, future planning, gamification, gamified tools, Hungary, public participation, UFLab, urban gamification

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Authors: Filip Jaroš

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The Swiss scholar Adolf Portmann (1897-1982) was an outstanding figure in the history of biology and the philosophy of the life sciences. Portmann’s biological theory is primarily focused on the problem of animal form (Gestalt), and it poses a significant counterpart to neo-Darwinian theories about the explanatory primacy of a genetic level over the outer appearance of animals. Besides that, Portmann’s morphological studies related to species-specific ontogeny and the influence of environmental surroundings can be classified as the antecedents of contemporary synthetic approaches such as “eco-evo-devo, “extended synthesis or biosemiotics. The most influential of Portmann’s concepts up to the present is his thesis of a social womb (Soziale Mutterschos): human children are born physiologically premature in comparison with other primates, and they find a second womb in a social environment nurturing their healthy development. It is during the first year of extra-uterine life when a specific human nature is formed, characterized by the strong tie between an individual and a broader historical, cultural whole. In my paper, I will closely analyze: a) the historical coordinates of Portmann’s philosophy of the life sciences (e.g., the philosophical anthropology of A. Gehlen, H. Plessner, and their concept of humans as beings “open to the world”), b) the relation of Portmann’s concept of the social womb to contemporary theories of infant birth evolution.

Keywords: adolf portmann, extended synthesis, philosophical anthropology, social womb

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Authors: Chandan Deep Singh, Jaimal Singh Khamba, Harleen Kaur

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Eminence, charge, deliverance, modernism, and awareness underlie most manufacturing strategic plan today. Firms have traditionally pursued the above tasks through the implementation of advanced technologies and manufacturing practices, such as Reverse Engineering, Value Engineering, worker empowerment, etc. Recent developments in industry suggest the materialization of another route to manufacturing brilliance, that is, there is an increasing focus by industry regulators and professional bodies on the need to stimulate innovation in a broad range of manufacturing competencies. By ‘competencies’ we mean the methods, equipment and expertise that can be developed as a leading capability in one market sector or application and have real potential to be applied successfully across other sectors or applications as well. Further, competencies are the ability to apply or use a set of related knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform 'critical work functions' or tasks in a defined work setting. Competencies often serve as the basis for skill standards that specify the level of knowledge, skills, and abilities required for success in the workplace as well as potential measurement criteria for assessing competency attainment. The present research is so designed to come up to the level of the expectations of the industrialists, policy makers, designers of the competencies, specially, the manufacturing competencies upon which the whole strategic success of the industry depends.

Keywords: manufacturing competency, strategic success, manufacturing excellence, competitive strategy

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Authors: Sankalp Devanand, Prateek Agasimani, Shamith V. S., Rohith Neeraje

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Machine translation has witnessed significant advancements in recent years, but the translation of languages with distinct linguistic characteristics, such as English and Sanskrit, remains a challenging task. This research presents the development of a dedicated English-to-Sanskrit machine translation model, aiming to bridge the linguistic and cultural gap between these two languages. Using a variety of natural language processing (NLP) approaches, including FastText embeddings, this research proposes a thorough method to improve word meaning retrieval. Data preparation, part-of-speech tagging, dictionary searches, and transliteration are all included in the methodology. The study also addresses the implementation of an interpreter pattern and uses a word similarity task to assess the quality of word embeddings. The experimental outcomes show how the suggested approach may be used to enhance word meaning retrieval tasks with greater efficacy, accuracy, and adaptability. Evaluation of the model's performance is conducted through rigorous testing, comparing its output against existing machine translation systems. The assessment includes quantitative metrics such as BLEU scores, METEOR scores, Jaccard Similarity, etc.

Keywords: machine translation, English to Sanskrit, natural language processing, word meaning retrieval, fastText embeddings

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Authors: Rafiat Olasumbo Akande

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Most college libraries in Oyo State show signs of unhealthy collection practices like the preponderance of non-recent collections and indiscriminate acquisition of sub-standard books from hawkers. The objective of this study, therefore, is to determine the extent at which available published materials in those college libraries are able to meet both knowledge and information needs of students in those institutions. A descriptive survey was conducted among 18 librarians and 21 library officers in three colleges purposively selected for the exercise using simple sampling technique. In all, 279 questionnaires were administered and out of those 279 administered, 265 were returned and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Three College Librarian were also interviewed. Findings from the study showed that due to the paucity of funds, obsolete materials, and sub-standard materials being procured from roadside book hawkers hinders the college libraries in meeting the information needs of the students in these college libraries. It then concluded that only when there is standard procedure for collection management and acquisition of library materials that the knowledge and information needs of the students could be met. The study recommends that students and curriculum review committee members from various departments should always be involved in determining materials needed by the library to meet students information needs and that institution authority must fund, monitor and ensure compliance with the acquisition policy in place in the college libraries.

Keywords: libraries, published materials, information needs, college, evaluation, students

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Authors: Italo Luigi de Paoli

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The use of synthetic soil for the vegetables cultivation in conditions of limited water consumption The separate collection of urban organic waste and green waste for the countries of the European Union averages 100 kg / inhabitant x year with an annual growth of about 10%. The production of quality compost averages 38% - 40% of the production of organic waste material. Most of the compost produced is used as an organic soil improver in those nutrient-poor soils in order to improve its quality. This study seeks to enhance the production of quality compost by creating a synthetic soil, where the percentages of compost on average oscillate between 50% and 60% in which, with appropriate precautions, different species of horticultural can be grown in conditions of high environmental safety without the use of pesticides and with a consumption of water used for irrigation limited to the actual evaporation of the plants. The project started in 2018 and is still ongoing, confirms its validity through a series of different horticultural productions, especially if this technology is applied where the availability of land suitable for the cultivation of vegetables is limited and where the use of water for irrigation represents a cultural criticality. Furthermore, the creation of "open field" crops, together with their automation, represents a further possibility in the concrete development of such technologies, giving the final product organoleptic characteristics equal if not superior to what the market offers today for human nutrition.

Keywords: water scarcity, compost, vegetable foods, syntetic soil

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Authors: Anna Siegler, Sara Bigazzi, Sara Serdult, Ildiko Bokretas

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Social identity emerging from group membership defines the representational processes of our social reality. Based on our theoretical assumption the subjective perception of identity threat leads to an instable identity structure. The need to re-establish the positive identity will lead us to strengthen group boundaries. Prejudice in our perspective offer psychological security those who thinking in exclusive barriers, and we suggest that those who identify highly with their ingroup/national identity and less with superordinate identities take distance from others and this is related to their perception of threat. In our study we used a newly developed questionnaire, the Multiple Threat and Prejudice Questionnaire (MTPQ) which measure identity threat at different dimensions of identification (national, existential, gender, religious) and the distancing of different outgroups, over and above we worked with Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Identification with All Humanity Scale (IWAH). We conduct one data collection (N=1482) in a Hungarian sample to examine the connection between national threat and distance-taking, and this survey includes the investigation (N=218) of identification with different group categories. Our findings confirmed that those who feel themselves threatened in their national identity aspects are less likely to identify themselves with superordinate groups and this correlation is much stronger when they think about the nation as a bio-cultural unit, while if nation defined as a social-economy entity this connection is less powerful and has just the opposite direction.

Keywords: group boundaries, identity threat, prejudice, superordinate groups

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Authors: Saule Mussabekova, Samal Abzhanova

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The Kazakh Language Fluency Test, based on the IELTS exam, was implemented in 2012 at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. We would like to share our experience in developing this exam and some exam results with other language instructors. In this paper, we will cover all these peculiarities and their related issues. The Kazakh Language Fluency Test is a young exam. During its development, we faced many difficulties. One of the goals of the university and the country is to encourage fluency in the Kazakh language for all citizens of the Republic. Nazarbayev University has introduced a Kazakh language program to assist in achieving this goal. This policy is one-step in ensuring that NU students have a thorough understanding of the Kazakh language through a fluency test based on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The Kazakh Language Fluency Test exam aims to determine student’s knowledge of Kazakh language. The fact is that there are three types of students at Nazarbayev University: Kazakh-speaking heritage learners, Russian-speaking and English-speaking students. Unfortunately, we have Kazakh students who do not speak Kazakh. All students who finished school with Russian language instruction are given Kazakh Language Fluency Test in order to determine their Kazakh level. After the test exam, all students can choose appropriate Kazakh course: Basic Kazakh, Intermediate Kazakh and Upper-Intermediate Kazakh. The Kazakh Language Fluency Test consists of four parts: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. They are taken on the same day in the abovementioned order.

Keywords: diagnostic test, kazakh language, placement test, test result

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Authors: Francis Sichimba

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Literature has increasingly acknowledged the important role that grandparents play in child care with evidence highlighting differences in grand-parental investment between countries and cultures. However, there are very few systematic cross cultural studies on grandparents’ participation in child care. Thus, we decided to conduct this study in Zambia and the Netherlands because the two countries differ rather drastically socially and culturally. The objective of this study was to investigate grand-parental involvement in child care in Zambia and the Netherlands. In line with the general objective, four hypotheses were formulated using nationality, family size, social economic status (SES), attachment security as independent variables. The study sample consisted of 411 undergraduate students from the University of Zambia and the University of Leiden. A questionnaire was used to measure grand-parental involvement in child care. Results indicated that grandparent involvement in child care was prevalent in both Zambia and Netherlands. However, as predicted it was found that Zambian grandparents (M = 9.69, SD=2.40) provided more care for their grandchildren compared to their Dutch counterparts (M = 7.80, SD=3.31) even after controlling for parents being alive. Using hierarchical logistic regression analysis the study revealed that nationality and attachment-related avoidance were significant predictors of grand-parental involvement in child care. It was concluded that grand-parental care is a great resource in offering complementary care in both countries.

Keywords: attachment, care, grand-parenting involvement, social economic status

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Authors: Dermot O'Brien, Vasileios Christaras, Georgios Fontaras, Igor Nai Fovino, Ioannis Kounelis

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With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, and blockchain (BC) technologies, vehicles are becoming ever increasingly connected and are already transmitting substantial amounts of data to the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) servers. This data could be used to help detect mileage fraud and enable more accurate vehicle emissions monitoring. This would not only help regulators but could enable applications such as permitting efficient drivers to pay less tax, geofencing for air quality improvement, as well as pollution tolling and trading platforms for transport-related businesses and EU citizens. Other applications could include traffic management and shared mobility systems. BC enables the transmission of data with additional security and removes single points of failure while maintaining data provenance, identity ownership, and the possibility to retain varying levels of privacy depending on the requirements of the applied use case. This research performs simulations of vehicles interacting with European member state authorities and European Commission BC nodes that are running hyperleger fabric and explores whether the technology is currently feasible for transport applications such as the emission monitoring use-case.

Keywords: future transportation systems, technological innovations, policy approaches for transportation future, economic and regulatory trends, blockchain

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Authors: Meltem Eryılmaz

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With the emergence of the COVID-19 infection outbreak, the socio-cultural, political, economic, educational systems dynamics of the world have gone through a major change, especially in the educational field, specifically dentistry preclinical education, where the students must have a certain amount of real-time experience in endodontics and other various procedures. The totality of the digital and physical elements that make our five sense organs feel as if we really exist in a virtual world is called virtual reality. Virtual reality, which is very popular today, has started to be used in education. With the inclusion of developing technology in education and training environments, virtual learning platforms have been designed to enrich students' learning experiences. The field of health is also affected by these current developments, and the number of virtual reality applications developed for students studying dentistry is increasing day by day. The most widely used tools of this technology are virtual reality glasses. With virtual reality glasses, you can look any way you want in a world designed in 3D and navigate as you wish. With this project, solutions that will respond to different types of dental practices of students who study dentistry with virtual reality applications are produced. With this application, students who cannot find the opportunity to work with patients in distance education or who want to improve themselves at home have unlimited trial opportunities. Unity 2021, Visual Studio 2019, Cardboard SDK are used in the study.

Keywords: dentistry, intelligent tutoring system, virtual reality, online learning, COVID-19

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Authors: Joanna Stawska

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The main objective of this article is to examine the impact of interest rates on investments in Poland in the context of financial crisis. The paper also investigates the dependence of bank loans to enterprises on interbank market rates. The article studies the impact of interbank market rate on the level of investments in Poland. Besides, this article focuses on the research of the correlation between the level of corporate loans and the amount of investments in Poland in order to determine the indirect impact of central bank interest rates through the transmission mechanism of monetary policy on the real economy. To achieve the objective we have used econometric and statistical research methods like: econometric model and Pearson correlation coefficient. This analysis suggests that the central bank reference rate inversely proportionally affects the level of investments in Poland and this dependence is moderate. This is also important issue because it is related to preparing of Poland to accession to euro area. The research is important from both theoretical and empirical points of view. The formulated conclusions and recommendations determine the practical significance of the paper which may be used in the decision making process of monetary and economic authorities of the country.

Keywords: central bank, financial crisis, interest rate, investments

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Authors: Wiji Wijaya

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The aim of this research is to examine the effect of internal control weaknesses and audit opinion on the state’s loss findings of audit compliance to the regulation in public sector. The samples of this research consisted of 175 local government financial statements in the area of Central Java Province at 2009 until 2013. Area sampling design was used to select the financial statements. This study using quantitative descriptive statistical analysis and regression was run for data analysis and hypothesis examination. Result of this study indicated that internal control weaknesses and audit opinion contributes a positive influence which is significant to the state’s loss findings of audit compliance to the regulation. The internal control weaknesses that affect the state's loss finding are weakness control system of accounting and reporting with the value of the critical ratio 0.010 p 2.613 ; weakness budget execution control system with critical ratio value of 3.421 p 0.001 and weaknesses internal control structure with critical ratio value of 2.246 p 0.026 . While the audit opinion with a critical ratio value of 4.401 p 0.000. The implications of this research so that policy makers at the local government should give more attention to the implementation and improvement of internal control system.

Keywords: audit compliance findings, state’s loss, audit opinion, internal control, local government

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Authors: İsmail İnce, Ali Bozdag, Ayla Bozdag, M. Bahadır Tosunlar, M. Ergun Hatır, Mustafa Korkanc

Abstract:

The building stones used in the construction of historical structures are exposed to atmospheric effects directly or indirectly. As a result of this process, building stones are partially or completely degraded. Historical buildings are important symbols of cultural heritage, so it is very significant to transfer to the future generations by protecting and repairing of these historical buildings. The Eflatunpınar Hitit Monument located near the Eflatunpınar cold water spring was constructed by using natural rock blocks during the Hittites Empire period. The monument has been protected without losing its function until today. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the deteriorations in the Eflatunpınar Hitit Monument and to detect the water chemistry of the Eflatunpınar spring located around the Beysehir County in the west of Konya. For this purpose, the petrographic and mechanical properties of the rocks used in this monument were determined, and the deteriorations in the monument were determined with the aid of non-destructive test methods including Schmidt hardness value, relative humidity measurement, thermal imaging. Additionally, the physical (electrical conductivity (EC), pH and temperature) and chemical characteristics (major anions and cations) of the Eflatunpınar cold water spring have been detected.

Keywords: deteriorations, Eflatunpınar Hitit monument, Eflatunpınar spring, Konya, non-destructıve tests

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Authors: Maryam Idris Bakori

Abstract:

The level of poverty in our region (West Africa) is a severe problem. The statistics about it are scary and alarming. For example, Report on Economic and Social Conditions in West Africa by United Nations Economic Commission for Africa gives the following gloomy picture of social conditions in the region: In West Africa, approximately one person in three in the towns, and one in two in the rural areas, cannot afford the expenditure needed to cover their basic needs. The situation has reached emergency proportions and calls for urgent social action (Recent Economic and Social Developments in West Africa and Prospects for 2010). Many different policies and programs to combat the poverty in the region have been embarked upon by the government of various countries in West Africa, but yet the ugly face of poverty persists. However, to explore opportunities and avenues for making positive contributions to national and regional development, this paper sets out to examine the role of two Islamic institutions; Zakah and Waqf, in poverty alleviation and how Islam uses these two institutions among others to eradicate poverty. The paper suggests that the governments of various countries of West Africa should endeavor to integrate Zakah and Waqf into their poverty alleviation programs by borrowing a leaf from some countries in Africa and Asia that have integrated these Islamic institutions into their poverty reduction programs, and they have started to reap the positive result from the policy.

Keywords: waqf, poverty, zakah, Islamic economy, education

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Authors: Eman Mohamed Ali Elalwani

Abstract:

The Libyan heritage buildings are currently facing a number of crises that pose a threat to their structural integrity, functionality, and overall performance. One of the challenges pertains to the loss of community identity, which has arisen due to the lack of awareness and unconscious behavior of the residents. An additional issue arises from inadequate site management practices, including the implementation of modern techniques and innovative building materials that are incompatible with structural elements, resulting in the deformation of certain sections of the buildings. The security concerns of the city, along with the ongoing civil conflict, fostered a conducive environment for violations, resulting in the vandalism of certain monuments in the city. However, the degradation of this valuable heritage is mainly attributed to the city's neglect and pollution. The elevated groundwater level resulting from pollution has led to erosion in the building's foundations. Mitigating these negative consequences through strategic interventions and rehabilitation is required to preserve this treasure. In order to assist the local community in recovering from those crises, this paper stated a viable strategy for promoting preservation efforts that aimed at safeguarding the heritage sites while also providing guidance to decision-makers and the local community on how to avoid these crises, preserve, enhance, and recognize the significance of the Libyan heritage.

Keywords: cultural heritage, historical buildings, Tripoli’s old city, Red Castle, crises, preservation

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Authors: Maciej Dudek, Robert Kruszewski, Janusz Kudla, Konrad Walczyk

Abstract:

In this paper, we study how taxation of bequests affects human capital formation in the long term and short term horizon. Our underlying model is an overlapping generation model (OLG) with some degree of altruism on the part of the ancestors' generation towards their descendants. We ask the question in three separate frameworks. First, we study a simple one-sector model where a proxy of human capital is wage income. It the steady-state -for CRRA utility function and human capital produced with non-decreasing returns -the taxation of bequests is neutral to the accumulation of human capital. In the second framework, neutrality applies to the growth rates of human capital, physical capital, and consumption. In this case, taxation increases the level of bequests, leading to a lower value of current consumption. Finally in we consider two periods model instead of infinite horizon model as long as the tax revenue is at least partially rebated back to the public, the fraction of human capital engaged in the process of formation of human capital increases with the tax rate on bequests. In other words, taxation of bequests is partially offset by an increase in human capital formation. Higher human capital allows the future generation to earn higher wages, and today's generation can find it optimal to endow the future generation with more human capital when taxation is imposed on physical capital transferred to the next generation.

Keywords: taxation, bequests, policy, human capital

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Authors: Tarak Barhoumi, Younes Boujelbene

Abstract:

Nowadays, the problems of freight transport pose logistical constraints on the urban system in the city. The aim of this article is to gain a better understanding of the interactions between local traffic and interurban traffic on the one hand and between the location system and the transport system on the other hand. Thus, in a simulation and analysis approach cannot be restricted to the only transport system. The proposed approach is based on an assessment of the impact of freight transport, which is closely linked to the diagnostic method, based on two surveys carried out on the territory of the urban community of Sfax. These surveys are based on two main components 'establishment component' first and 'driver component' second. The results propose a reorganization of freight transport in the city of Sfax. First, an orientation of the heavy goods vehicles traffic towards the major axes of transport namely the ring roads (ring road N° 2, ring road N° 4 and ring road N° 11) and the penetrating news of the city. Then, the implementation of a retail goods delivery policy and the strengthening of logistics in the city. The creation of a logistics zone at the ring road N° 11 where various modes of freight transport meet, in order to decongest the roads of heavy goods traffic, reduce the cost of transport and thus improve the competitiveness of the economy regional.

Keywords: urban logistics systems, transport freight, diagnostics, evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 148