Search results for: planning skills

Authors: Ellina Zipman

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This research investigates the place of music education in aged care facilities through the implementation of a program of regular piano lessons for residents. Using a qualitative case study methodology, the research explores aged care residents’ experiences in learning to play the piano. Since the aged care homes are unlikely places for formal learning and since older adults, especially in residential care, are not considered likely candidates for learning, this research opens the door for innovative and transformative thinking about where and to whom educational programs can be delivered. By addressing the educational needs of residents in aged care facilities, this research fills the gap in the literature. The research took place in Australia in two of Melbourne’s residential aged care facilities, engaging two residents (a nonagenarian female and an octogenarian male) to participate in 12-months weekly individual piano lessons. The data was collected through video recording of lessons, observations, interviews, emails, and a reflective journal. Data analysis was done using Nvivo and hard copy analysis with identifications of themes. The case studies revealed that passion for music was a major driver in participants’ motivation to engage in a long-term piano lessons program. This participation led to experiences of positive emotions, positive attitude, successes and challenges, the exercise of control, maintaining and building new relationships, improved self-confidence through autonomy and independent skills development, and discovering new identities through finding a new purpose and new roles in life. Speaking through participants’ voices, this research project demonstrates the importance of music education for older adults and hopes to influence transformation in the residential aged care sector.

Keywords: adult music education, quality of life, passion, positive ageing, wellbeing

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Authors: Meiju Chen, Chaoyu Guo, Chia Wei Tang

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The present study's purpose is twofold: first, to construct indicators for learning-oriented school education and, second, to conduct a survey to examine how learning-oriented education has been implemented in junior high schools after the launch of the 12-year compulsory curriculum. For indicator system construction, we compiled relevant literature to develop a preliminary indicator list model and then conducted two rounds of a questionnaire survey to gain comprehensive feedback from experts to finalize our indicator model. In the survey's first round, 12 experts were invited to evaluate the indicators' appropriateness. Based on the experts' consensus, we determined our final indicator list and used it to develop the Fuzzy Delphi questionnaire to finalize the indicator system and each indicator's relative value. For the fact-finding survey, we collected 454 valid samples to examine how the concept of learning-oriented education is adopted and implemented in the junior high school context. We also used this data in our importance-performance analysis to explore the strengths and weaknesses of school education in Taiwan. The results suggest that the indicator system for learning-oriented school education must consist of seven dimensions and 34 indicators. Among the seven dimensions, 'student learning' and 'curriculum planning and implementation' are the most important yet underperforming dimensions that need immediate improvement. We anticipate that the indicator system will be a useful tool for other countries' evaluation of schools' performance in learning-oriented education.

Keywords: learning-oriented education, school education, fuzzy Delphi method, importance-performance analysis

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Authors: Frederick Kobe O. Obar, Preity B. Quinzon, Trisha B. Tumbokon, Mario Joshua D. Marron, Kenichi Katsuo Kichiro A. Rimorin

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The Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) is a program meant to reform the current state of the Philippines’ public transportation sector. This study determined the impact of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program on San Fernando City, La Union's jeepney drivers, interviewing six individuals, three with traditional vehicles and three with modernized units. This study used a descriptive qualitative research design and employed purposive sampling to select the six participants suited for the study, who were then subjected to a semi-structured face-to-face interview. The gathered data was then analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings highlighted evidence that the jeepney drivers experienced abrupt and prevailing changes in their routine and in their everyday work. This study concludes that while the sentiment of the program was appreciated, it has changed the environment for jeepney drivers drastically, provoking many reactions. These changes have, of course, shifted the daily lives of the jeepney drivers significantly, but through adaptability, they found ways. Recommendations include flexible compliance policies, educational initiatives, and support for drivers, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making in the ongoing transportation modernization discussion. This study concluded that while the drivers are not opposed to reform, they are not entirely in approval of the current effects of the program as it is being implemented in their local area.

Keywords: transport reform, transport modernization, public transport, jeepney drivers, PUVMP, urban planning, public utility vehicles

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Authors: Davoud Mokhtari

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One of the factors behind the increasing development of geotourism is the identification and introduction of new facets of amazing geosphere phenomena. The Misho-Dagh Mountains in northwestern Iran are one of the rich geodiversity areas. The presence of some rare and interesting phenomena in this mountain has increased the potential of this region for geotourism development. Active pressure ridges, arcuate valleys, sag Ponds, granite complexes, glacial rock springs, and displaced habitats due to tectonic activity are among the most significant phenomena in the study area. The research is based on the literature review of geotourism and personal research experiences on geomorphosites of the northwest of Iran. Monitoring the changes of geomorphosites and evaluation of corresponding changes in the geomorphosite̕s location and their capabilities using satellite images and fieldwork is done. In this study, six geomorphosite were introduced, each with special characteristics and with one of the geotourism topics. Selection of this location of northwestern Iran is due to the focus of author of this paper is on this part of the country, and there is no doubt that such places, even with higher values of geotourism, there are in various parts of Iran and the world that could be interested in this field of emerging science. From in situ observations taken in the field and estimating a level of impact, employing assessment techniques, and then finally extrapolating the resultant factors across all case studies, we have been able to generate a geotourism map for future planning purposes. Accordingly, it should be noted that we are not just part of the landscape of the geomorphosites. The geomorphosites are also part of our landscape. It is hoped that the findings of this paper can open a new world of geotourism that, if is not associated with geomorphological processes, will be very short.

Keywords: geotourism, sources of geotourism, geotouristic areas, mishow_dagh, northwest of Iran

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Authors: Hamad Albadr

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With a rapid influence to sustain the needs for global trends that had arisen for the increasing complexities in health-care provision, the increasing number of health professionals at different levels, and the need to assure more equitable access to health care, the great variation in the levels of initial education for health care professional around the world had been assign bachelor's degree as the minimum point of entry to the health professions. This intent had affected all the health care professions including biomedical engineering. In Saudi Arabia, these challenges add more pressure to retain the global trends for associate degree graduates to upgrade their education to the bachelor's degree or called birding. This paper is to review the reality of biomedical technology programs that offered in Saudi Arabia by Technical Colleges or Community Colleges nationwide and the challenges that face these colleges to run such bridging program to achieve the Bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering and the official requirements by the Ministry of Higher Education and to maintain the international standards. The author will use strategic planning methodology for designing the biomedical engineering bridging of bachelor's program by reviewing the responsibilities of the biomedical engineers in hospitals through their job descriptions to determine the job assessment needs in advance to Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) through Instructional System Design (ISD) approach via five steps: Analysis, Design, Development, Implement, Evaluate (ADDIE).

Keywords: bachelor's degree bridging, biomedical engineering program, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh College of Technology

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Authors: Mohammed Belalia Douma

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Interactive learning is considered as the most effective strategy of learning, it is an educational philosophy based on the learner's contribution and involvement mainly in classroom and how he interacts toward his small society “classroom”, and the level of his collaboration into challenge, discovering, games, participation, all these can be provided through the interactive learning, which aims to activate the learner's role in the operation of learning, which focuses on research and experimentation, and the learner's self-reliance in obtaining information, acquiring skills, and forming values and attitudes. Whereas not based on memorization only, but rather on developing thinking and the ability to solve problems, on teamwork and collaborative learning. With the exchange or roles - teacher to student- , when the student will be more active and performing operations more than the student under the interactive learning method; we might face a several issues dealing with class controlling management, noise, and stability of learning… etc. This research paper is observing the application of the interactive learning on reality “classroom” and answers several assumptions and analyzes the issues coming up of these strategies mainly: noise, class control…etc The research sample was about 150 student of the 3rd year primary school in “Chlef” district, Algeria, level: beginners in the range of age 08 to 10 years old . We provided a questionnaire of confidential fifteen questions and also analyzing the attitudes of learners during three months. it have witnessed as teachers a variety of strategies dealing with applying the interactive learning but with a different issues; time management, noise, uncontrolled classes, overcrowded classes. Finally, it summed up that although the active education is an inevitably effective method of teaching, however, there are drawbacks to this, in addition to the fact that not all theoretical strategies can be applied and we conclude with solutions of this case study.

Keywords: interactive learning, student, learners, strategies.

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Authors: Alaina Caulkett, Audra Selkowitz, Lauren Harter, Aimee DeFoe

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Educational robotics is an effective tool for teaching and learning STEM curricula. Yet, most traditional professional development programs do not cover engineering, coding, or robotics. This paper will give an overview of how and why the VEX Professional Development Plus Introductory Training courses were developed to provide guided, simple professional development in the area of robotics and computer science instruction. These training courses guide educators through learning the basics of VEX robotics platforms, including VEX 123, GO, IQ, and EXP. Because many educators do not have experience teaching robotics or computer science, this course is meant to simulate one on one training or tutoring through video-based instruction. These videos, led by education professionals, can be watched at any time, which allows educators to watch at their own pace and create their own personalized professional development timeline. This personalization expands beyond the course itself into an online community where educators at different points in the self-paced course can converse with one another or with instructors from the videos and learn from a growing community of practice. By the end of each course, educators are armed with the skills to introduce robotics or computer science in their classroom or educational setting. The design of the course was guided by a variation of the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework and included hands-on activities and challenges to keep educators engaged and excited about robotics. Some of the concepts covered include, but are not limited to, following build instructions, building a robot, updating firmware, coding the robot to drive and turn autonomously, coding a robot using multiple methods, and considerations for teaching robotics and computer science in the classroom, and more. A secondary goal of this research is to discuss how this professional development approach can serve as an example in the larger educational community and explore ways that it could be further researched or used in the future.

Keywords: computer science education, online professional development, professional development, robotics education, video-based instruction

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Authors: Caiwei Zhu, Remke Klapwijk

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Spatial thinking, a way of thinking based on the understanding and reasoning of spatial concepts and representations, is embedded in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) learning. Aside from many studies that successfully used targeted training to improve students’ spatial thinking skills, few have closely examined how spatial thinking can be trained in classroom settings. Design and technology education, which receives increasing attention towards its integration into formal curriculums, inherently encompasses a wide range of spatial activities, such as constructing mental representations of design ideas, mentally transforming objects and materials to form designs, visually communicating design plans through annotated drawings, and creating 2D and 3D design artifacts. Among different design topics, biomimicry offers a unique avenue for students to recognize and analyze the shapes and structures in nature. By mapping the forms of plants and animals onto functions, students gain inspiration to solve human design challenges. This study is one of the first to highlight opportunities for training spatial thinking in a biomimicry design project for primary school students. Embracing methodological principles of educational design-based research, this case study is conducted along with iterations in the design of the intervention and collaboration with teachers. Data are harvested from small groups of 10- to 12-year-olds at an international school in the Netherlands. Classroom videos, semi-structured interviews with students, design drawings and artifacts, formative assessment, and the pre- and post-intervention spatial test triangulate evidence for students' spatial thinking. In addition to contributing to a theory of integrating spatial thinking in the primary curriculum, mechanisms underlying such improvement in spatial thinking are explored and discussed.

Keywords: biomimicry, design and technology education, primary education, spatial thinking

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Authors: Nopadol Nimsuwan, Sumet Prom-in

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the body types, size, and body compositions of softball players in the 39th National Games of Thailand. The population of this study was 352 softball players who participated in the 39th National Games of Thailand from which a sample size of 291 was determined using the Taro Yamane formula and selection is made with stratified sampling method. The data collected were weight, height, arm length, leg length, chest circumference, mid-upper arm circumference, calf circumference, subcutaneous fat in the upper arm area, the scapula bone area, above the pelvis area, and mid-calf area. Keys and Brozek formula was used to calculate the fat quantity, Kitagawa formula to calculate the muscle quantity, and Heath and Carter method was used to determine the values of body dimensions. The results of the study can be concluded as follows. The average body dimensions of the male softball players were the endo-mesomorph body type while the average body dimensions of female softball players were the meso-endomorph body type. When considered according to the softball positions, it was found that the male softball players in every position had the endo-mesomorph body type while the female softball players in every position had the meso-endomorph body type except for the center fielder that had the endo-ectomorph body type. The endo-mesomorph body type is suitable for male softball players, and the meso-endomorph body type is suitable for female softball players because these body types are suitable for the five basic softball skills which are: gripping, throwing, catching, hitting, and base running. Thus, people related to selecting softball players to play in sports competitions of different levels should consider factors in terms of body type, size, and body components of the players.

Keywords: body types, softball players, national games of Thailand, social sustainability

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Authors: Montasser Mohamed Abdelwahab Mahmoud, Abdelwahab Saber Esawi

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The language of the Qur’an has a wide range of understanding, reflection, and meanings. Therefore, translation of the Qur’an is inevitably nothing but a translation of the interpretation of the meanings of the Qur’an. It requires special competencies and skills for translators so that they can get close to the intended meaning of the verse of the Qur’an and convey it with precision. In the Arabic language, the verbal noun “AlMasdar” is a very important derivative that properly expresses the verbal idea in the form of a noun. It sounds the same as the base form of the verb with minor changes in the vowel pattern. It is one of the important topics in morphology. The morphologists divided verbal nouns into auditory and analogical, and they stated that that the verbal nouns (Masadars) originating from three-letter verbs are auditory, although they set controls for some of them in order to preserve them. As for the lexicographers, they mentioned the verbal nouns while talking about the lexical materials, and in some cases, their explanation of them exceeded that made by the morphologists, especially in their discussion of structures that the morphologists did not refer to in their books. The verb kafara (disbelief), for example, has three patterns, namely: al-kufْr, al-kufrān, and al-kufūr, and it was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an with different connotations. The verb ṣāma (fasted) with his two patterns (al-ṣaūm and al-ṣīām) was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an while their semantic meaning is different. The problem discussed in this research paper lied in the "linguistic loss" committed by translators when dealing with Islamic religious texts, especially the Qur'an. The study tried to identify the strategy adopted by translators of the Holy Qur'an in translating words that were classified as verbal nouns through analyzing the translation rendered by five translations of the Qur’an into English: Yusuf Ali, Pickthall, Mohsin Khan, Muhammad Sarwar, and Shakir. This study was limited to the verbal nouns in the Quraan that originate from three-letter verbs and have different semantic meanings.

Keywords: pattern, three-letter verbs, translation of the Quran, verbal nouns

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Authors: Ana Maria Reis d'Azevedo Breda, Catarina Maria Neto da Cruz

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The role of images/illustrations in communicating meanings and triggering emotions assumes an increasingly relevant role in contemporary texts, regardless of the age group for which they are intended or the nature of the texts that host them. It is no coincidence that children's books are full of illustrations and that the image/text ratio decreases as the age group grows. The vast majority of children's books can be considered multimodal texts containing text and images/illustrations interacting with each other to provide the young reader with a broader and more creative understanding of the book's narrative. This interaction is very diverse, ranging from images/illustrations that are not essential for understanding the storytelling to those that contribute significantly to the meaning of the story. Usually, these books are also read by adults, namely by parents, educators, and teachers who act as mediators between the book and the children, explaining aspects that are or seem to be too complex for the child's context. It should be noted that there are books labeled as children's books that are clearly intended for both children and adults. In this work, following a qualitative and interpretative methodology based on written productions, participant observation, and field notes, we will describe the perceptions of future teachers of the 1st cycle of basic education, attending a master's degree at a Portuguese university, about the role of the image in literary and non-literary texts, namely in mathematical texts, and how these can constitute precious resources for emotional regulation and for the design of creative didactic situations. The analysis of the collected data allowed us to obtain evidence regarding the evolution of the participants' perception regarding the crucial role of images in children's literature, not only as an emotional regulator for young readers but also as a creative source for the design of meaningful didactical situations, crossing other scientific areas, other than the mother tongue, namely mathematics.

Keywords: children’s literature, emotions, multimodal texts, soft skills

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Authors: Giselle Martinez Negrette

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Language and culture mutually shape and reflect the human experience. In the learning process, this connection creates and sustains the shared world of learners and educators. Dual Language (DL) programs exemplify this relationship by placing language and culture at the center of their educational approach. These programs, originally conceived to advance social justice in education, aim to foster bilingualism, biliteracy, academic development and sociocultural competence, emphasizing the inseparability of linguistic and cultural growth. Furthermore, because DL programs serve children from diverse cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, they operate as spaces where linguistic skills and sociocultural understandings are actively cultivated, negotiated, and celebrated. Against this background, this paper examines how two DL teachers see language and culture shaping and reflecting the educational experience, and how their understandings of the relationship influence their mediation of sociocultural competence in their classrooms. This qualitative study employs critical discourse analysis to study in detail participants’ narratives seeking to uncover their perspectives on the “politics” surrounding language use and cultural understandings in their school contexts. Our findings show that these educators are not only keenly aware of the pivotal role that language and culture play in multilingual students’ learning journeys, but they have identified the sociolinguistic “games” taking place in their classrooms. We contend these understandings are pivotal for the critical development of sociocultural competence in DL programs. This study provides DL educators with important conceptual and pedagogical insights regarding the intersection between language and culture in their classrooms and seeks to encourage them to analyze their roles as supporters or opponents of transformative rupture opportunities to contest inequities in education

Keywords: sociocultural competence, critical discourse analysis, dual language programs, language, culture

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Authors: Mahtsente Tadese, Lalit Kumar, Richard Koech

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The aim of this study was to project and analyze climate change in the Awash River Basin (ARB) using bias-corrected Global and Regional Climate Model simulations. The analysis included a baseline period from 1986-2005 and two future scenarios (the 2050s and 2070s) under two representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Bias correction methods were evaluated using graphical and statistical methods. Following the evaluation of bias correction methods, the Distribution Mapping (DM) and Power Transformation (PT) were used for temperature and precipitation projection, respectively. The 2050s and 2070s RCP4 simulations showed an increase in precipitation during half of the months with 32 and 10%, respectively. Moreover, the 2050s and 2070s RCP8.5 simulation indicated a decrease in precipitation with 18 and 26%, respectively. The 2050s and 2070s RCP8.5 simulation indicated a significant decrease in precipitation in four of the months (February/March to May) with the highest decreasing rate of 34.7%. The 2050s and 2070s RCP4.5 simulation showed an increase of 0.48-2.6 °C in maximum temperature. In the case of RCP8.5, the increase rate reached 3.4 °C and 4.1 °C in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. The changes in precipitation and temperature might worsen the water stress, flood, and drought in ARB. Moreover, the critical focus should be given to mitigation strategies and management options to reduce the negative impact. The findings of this study provide valuable information on future precipitation and temperature change in ARB, which will help in the planning and design of sustainable mitigation approaches in the basin.

Keywords: variability, climate change, Awash River Basin, precipitation

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Authors: Michael C. Barbecho, Romeo B. Morcilla

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This study focused on the development of a solar powered front wheel drive electric trike for personal use and short distance travel, utilizing solar power and a variable speed transmission to adapt in places where varying road grades and unavailability of plug-in charging stations are of great problems. The actual performance of the vehicle was measured in terms of duration of charging using solar power, distance travel and battery power duration, top speed developed at full power, and load capacity. This project followed the research and development process which involved planning, designing, construction, and testing. Solar charging tests revealed that the vehicle requires 6 to 8 hours sunlight exposure to fully charge the batteries. At full charge, the vehicle can travel 35 km utilizing battery power down to 42%. Vehicle showed top speed of 25 kph at 0 to 3% road grade carrying a maximum load of 122 kg. The maximum climbing grade was 23% with the vehicle carrying a maximum load of 122 kg. Technically the project was feasible and can be a potential model for possible conversion of traditional Philippine made “pedicabs” and gasoline engine powered tricycle into modern electric vehicles. Moreover, it has several technical features and advantages over a commercialized electric vehicle such as the use solar charging system and variable speed power transmission and front drive power train for adaptability in any road gradient.

Keywords: electric vehicle, solar vehicles, front drive, solar, solar power

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Authors: Lynn Mcquarrie, Charlotte Enns

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The goal of this project was to develop a visually-based, signed language phonological awareness training program and to pilot the intervention with signing deaf children (ages 6 -10 years/ grades 1 - 4) who were beginning readers to assess the effects of systematic explicit American Sign Language (ASL) phonological instruction on both ASL vocabulary and English print vocabulary learning. Growing evidence that signing learners utilize visually-based signed language phonological knowledge (homologous to the sound-based phonological level of spoken language processing) when reading underscore the critical need for further research on the innovation of reading instructional practices for visual language learners. Multiple single-case studies using a multiple probe design across content (i.e., sign and print targets incorporating specific ASL phonological parameters – handshapes) was implemented to examine if a functional relationship existed between instruction and acquisition of these skills. The results indicated that for all cases, representing a variety of language abilities, the visually-based phonological teaching approach was exceptionally powerful in helping children to build their sign and print vocabularies. Although intervention/teaching studies have been essential in testing hypotheses about spoken language phonological processes supporting non-deaf children’s reading development, there are no parallel intervention/teaching studies exploring hypotheses about signed language phonological processes in supporting deaf children’s reading development. This study begins to provide the needed evidence to pursue innovative teaching strategies that incorporate the strengths of visual learners.

Keywords: American sign language phonological awareness, dual language strategies, vocabulary learning, word reading

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Authors: Yibeltal Chanie Manie, Zebider Asire Munyelet

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5G and 6G technology offers enhanced quality of service with high data transmission rates, which necessitates the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) in 5G/6G architecture. In this paper, we proposed the integration of free space optical communication (FSO) with fiber sensor networks for IoT applications. Recently, free-space optical communications (FSO) are gaining popularity as an effective alternative technology to the limited availability of radio frequency (RF) spectrum. FSO is gaining popularity due to flexibility, high achievable optical bandwidth, and low power consumption in several applications of communications, such as disaster recovery, last-mile connectivity, drones, surveillance, backhaul, and satellite communications. Hence, high-speed FSO is an optimal choice for wireless networks to satisfy the full potential of 5G/6G technology, offering 100 Gbit/s or more speed in IoT applications. Moreover, machine learning must be integrated into the design, planning, and optimization of future optical wireless communication networks in order to actualize this vision of intelligent processing and operation. In addition, fiber sensors are important to achieve real-time, accurate, and smart monitoring in IoT applications. Moreover, we proposed deep learning techniques to estimate the strain changes and peak wavelength of multiple Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors using only the spectrum of FBGs obtained from the real experiment.

Keywords: optical sensor, artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, free-space optics

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Authors: R. R. Billones, N. Lukkahatai, L. N. Saligan

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Mindfulness based interventions (MBIs) have been used in medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). This systematic review describes the literature investigating the general effect of MBIs on MUS and identifies the effects of specific MBIs on specific MUS conditions. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines (PRISMA) and the modified Oxford quality scoring system (JADAD) were applied to the review, yielding an initial 1,556 articles. The search engines included PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, and PsychINFO using the search terms: mindfulness, or mediations, or mindful or MBCT or MBSR and medically unexplained symptoms or MUS or fibromyalgia or FMS. A total of 24 articles were included in the final systematic review. MBIs showed large effects on socialization skills for chronic fatigue syndrome (d=0.65), anger in fibromyalgia (d=0.61), improvement of somatic symptoms (d=1.6) and sleep (d=1.12) for painful conditions, physical health for chronic back pain (d=0.51), and disease intensity for irritable bowel disease/syndrome (d=1.13). A manualized MBI that applies the four fundamental elements present in all types of interventions were critical to efficacy. These elements were psycho-education sessions specific to better understand the medical symptoms, the practice of awareness, the non-judgmental observance of the experience at the moment, and the compassion to ones’ self. The effectiveness of different mindfulness interventions necessitates giving attention to improve the gaps that were identified related to home-based practice monitoring, competency training of mindfulness teachers, and sound psychometric properties to measure the mindfulness practice.

Keywords: mindfulness-based interventions, medically unexplained symptoms, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome

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Authors: Restuning Widiasih, Katherine Nelson, Joan Skinner

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Muslim husbands have significant roles in the family including their roles in women’s health and illness. However, studies that explore Muslim husbands’ participation in women’s health is limited. The objective of this study was to uncover Muslim husbands’ participation in women’ health and illness including cancer prevention and screening. A descriptive exploratory approach was used involving 20 Muslim women from urban and rural areas of West Java Province, Indonesia. Muslim women shared experience related to their husbands support and activities in women’s health and illness. The data from the interviews were analyzed using the Comparative Analysis for Interview (CAI). Women perceived that husbands fully supported their health by providing opportunities for activities, and reminding them about healthy food, their workloads, and family planning. Husbands actively involved when women faced health issues including sharing knowledge and experience, discussing any health problems, advising for medical check-ups, and accompanying them for treatments. The analysis also found that husbands were less active and offered less advice regarding prevention and early detection of cancer. This study highlights the significant involvement of Muslim husbands in women’s health and illness, yet a lack of support from husbands related to screening and cancer prevention. This condition could be a burden for Muslim women to participate in health programs related to cancer prevention and early detection. Health education programs to improve Muslim husbands’ understanding of women’s health is needed.

Keywords: descriptive exploratory study, Muslim husbands, Muslim women, women's health and illness

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Authors: Elise Machline

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In the late 1980’s, sustainable urban development emerged in Europe. Sustainable neighborhoods are one attempt to implement sustainable urban energy planning in the city. So, for twenty years, projects of sustainable neighborhoods (or ‘eco-neighborhoods’) have emerged in Europe. Debates about sustainability no longer restrict it to environmental concerns (to limit greenhouse gas emissions), but rather extend to the economic and social dimensions. A growing number of empirical studies demonstrate that sustainable urbanism yield rental/sale premia, as well as higher occupancy rates and thus higher asset values. For example, European eco neighborhood projects usually focus on the middle to upper classes, given the costs involved in renting or buying the dwellings built in such projects. As a result sustainable residential buildings are not affordable and their construction tends to have a gentrifying effect. An increasing number of countries are institutionalizing green strategies for affordable housing. In France, the sustainable neighborhoods ‘ecoquartier’ must meet environmental performance criteria, have a potential for economic development and, provide social and functional diversity. The issue of social diversity trough the provision of affordable housing has emerged as a dimension of public housing policies. Thus, the ecoquartier residential buildings must be both energy efficient and affordable. Through the Parisian example our study considers how the concept of social diversity and other elements of sustainability are illustrated in the ecoquartiers and whether the authorities have been able to avoid gentrification when implementing a sustainable urban policy.

Keywords: sustainable neighborhoods, social diversity, social housing policies, green buildings

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Authors: Matteo Rossini, Alberto Portioli Staudacher

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The market competition is moving from the single firm to the whole supply chain one because of increasing competition and growing need for operational efficiencies and customer orientation. Supply chain management allows companies to look beyond their organizational boundaries to develop and leverage resources and capabilities of their supply chain partners. This leads to create competitive advantages in the marketplace and because of this SCM has acquired strategic importance. Lean Approach is a management strategy that focuses on reducing every type of waste present in an organization. This approach is becoming more and more popular among supply chain managers. The supply chain application of lean approach is low diffused. It is not well studied which are the impacts of lean approach principles in a supply chain context. In literature there are only few studies simulating the lean approach performance in single products supply chain. This research work studies the impacts of lean principles implementation along a supply chain. To achieve this, a simulation model of a three-echelon multiproduct product supply chain has been built. Kanban system (and several priority policies) and setup time reduction degrees are implemented in the lean-configured supply chain to apply pull and lot-sizing decrease principles respectively. To evaluate the benefits of lean approach, lean supply chain is compared with an EOQ-configured supply chain. The simulation results show that Kanban system and setup-time reduction improve inventory stock level. They also show that logistics efforts are affected to lean implementation degree. The paper concludes describing performances of lean supply chain in different contexts.

Keywords: inventory policy, Kanban, lean supply chain, simulation study, supply chain management, planning

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Authors: Ming-Jong Yao, Chin-Sum Shui, Chih-Han Wang

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This paper is developed based on a real-world decision scenario that an industrial gas company that applies the Vendor Managed Inventory model and supplies liquid oxygen with a self-operated heterogeneous vehicle fleet to hospitals in nearby cities. We name it as a Joint Replenishment and Heterogeneous Vehicle Routing Problem with Cyclical Schedule and formulate it as a non-linear mixed-integer linear programming problem which simultaneously determines the length of the planning cycle (PC), the length of the replenishment cycle and the dates of replenishment for each customer and the vehicle routes of each day within PC, such that the average daily operation cost within PC, including inventory holding cost, setup cost, transportation cost, and overtime labor cost, is minimized. A solution method based on genetic algorithm, embedded with an encoding and decoding mechanism and local search operators, is then proposed, and the hash function is adopted to avoid repetitive fitness evaluation for identical solutions. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed solution method can effectively solve the problem under different lengths of PC and number of customers. The method is also shown to be effective in determining whether the company should expand the storage capacity of a customer whose demand increases. Sensitivity analysis of the vehicle fleet composition shows that deploying a mixed fleet can reduce the daily operating cost.

Keywords: cyclic inventory routing problem, joint replenishment, heterogeneous vehicle, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Cansu Tari, Ute Poerschke

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Sustainable campus design and planning in Higher Education requires an entire action plan and coordination of physical, educational, and social systems. Many institutions in the world are defining their sustainable development path and some are following existing green building and sustainable campus rating/ranking systems, guidelines. In the context of higher education, Turkish universities have limited academic, social and financial support related to sustainable living, building, and campus studies. While some research has been conducted in the last 60 years by farsighted academics, most of these works are based on individuals’ or small organizations’ own interests and efforts, and they are not known enough by the population of universities and possible prospective investors. Regarding the recent fast and uncontrolled growth in the Turkish Higher Education environment, setting a campus sustainability indicator set is a necessity for sustainable development of universities. The main objective of this paper is to specify the applicable sustainability indicators in the national context of Turkey, and propose a model guideline for sustainable Turkish university campuses. The analysis of Turkish legislation on environmental issues, special conditions of Turkish Higher Education system, and Turkey’s environmental risks and challenges set the backbone of the study and distinguish the set of indicators from generalized guidelines. Finally, the paper outlines some concrete suggestions for Turkish Universities to integrate sustainability efforts in their regional context. It will be useful for campus sustainability managers and planners, interested in developing action plans in their national and regional scope.

Keywords: campus sustainability, sustainability indicators, Turkish universities, national campus sustainability action plan

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Authors: Xiaoyan Wang, Zhongde Wang

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The issue of climate change, which originated in the middle of the twentieth century, has become a focus of international political, academic, and non-governmental organizations and public attention. In order to address the problems caused by climate change, the Chinese government has proposed a dual-carbon target and taken some national measures, such as ecological priority and green low-carbon development. These goals and measures are highly aligned with the values of the landscape architecture industry. This is an opportunity for the architectural discipline and the landscape architecture industry, so it is very necessary to summarize and analyze the hotspots related to climate change in the field of building science in China, which can assist the landscape architecture industry and related organizations in formulating more rational professional goals and taking actions that contribute to the betterment of societal, environmental development. Through the study, it is found as follows: firstly, after 20 years of rapid development, the research on climate change in the major architectural disciplines has shown a trend of diversification of research perspectives, interdisciplinary cross-cutting, and broadening of content; secondly, the research contents of landscape architecture focuses on the strategies to adapt to climate change, such as selection of urban tree species, the urban green infrastructure space layout, and the resilient city. Finally, in the future, climate change-based landscape architecture research will make the content system more diversified, but at the same time, it is still necessary to further deepen the research on quantitative methodology and construct scale systematic planning and design methods.

Keywords: climate change, landscape architecture, knowledge mapping, cites-pace

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Authors: Habibi Said Mustafa, Hiroko Ono

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Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, has witnessed a major population growth in the last decades which caused a significant increase in the number of informal settlements. The residents are suffering from many problems such as poor infrastructure, shortage of public facilities, depriving of the sense of ownership and facing much environmental degradation. Even though majority of the residents are living in such condition, the government response has been quite weak. The government’s main planning strategy has been upgrading in the form of provision of facilities and improving elements of physical infrastructure, unfortunately most of the projects which had not community’s support, faced with lots of challenges such as people’s resistance or even in some cases the project rather than solving the problem, compounded them to a worse condition. A major reason as to why many projects have not been effective in achieving certain objectives in the past is the results of local people were not being involved. Community participation plays an important role in slum development projects. The development of an integrated urban development concept these days without the mobilization of participants and community seems difficult and impossible. Therefore this paper looks into factors and methods which can help in creating a participatory approach for developing the slums in Kabul city. Furthermore, it describes the result of a questionnaire which was conducted on a part of the Kabul Old City due to hear resident’s problem related to the slum upgrading and collect their opinions on this regard. The research also points out some factors which can severely hamper the successful implementation of a slum upgrading project if not adequately addressed.

Keywords: Community empowerment, Informal settlements, Job opportunities, People participation

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Authors: Alexander J. Severinsky, Allen L. Sessoms

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Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) has dominated the discussion about the causes of climate change. This is a reflection of the time horizon that has become the norm adopted by the IPCC as the planning horizon. Recently, it has become clear that a 100-year time horizon is much too long, and yet almost all mitigation efforts, including those in the near-term horizon of 30 years, are geared toward it. In this paper, we show that, for a 30-year time horizon, methane (CH₄) is the greenhouse gas whose radiative forcing exceeds that of CO₂. In our analysis, we used radiative forcing of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere since they directly affect the temperature rise on Earth. In 2019, the radiative forcing of methane was ~2.5 W/m² and that of carbon dioxide ~2.1 W/m². Under a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario until 2050, such forcing would be ~2.8 W/m² and ~3.1 W/m², respectively. There is a substantial spread in the data for anthropogenic and natural methane emissions as well as CH₄ leakages from production to consumption. We estimated the minimum and maximum effects of the reduction of these leakages. Such action may reduce the annual radiative forcing of all CH₄ emissions by between ~15% and ~30%. This translates into a reduction of the RF by 2050 from ~2.8 W/m² to ~2.5 W/m² in the case of the minimum effect and to ~2.15 W/m² in the case of the maximum. Under the BAU, we found that the RF of CO₂ would increase from ~2.1 W/m² nowadays to ~3.1 W/m² by 2050. We assumed a reduction of 50% of anthropogenic emission linearly over the next 30 years. That would reduce radiative forcing from ~3.1 W/m² to ~2.9 W/m². In the case of ‘net zero,’ the other 50% of reduction of only anthropogenic emissions would be limited to either from sources of emissions or directly from the atmosphere. The total reduction would be from ~3.1 to ~2.7, or ~0.4 W/m². To achieve the same radiative forcing as in the scenario of maximum reduction of methane leakages of ~2.15 W/m², then an additional reduction of radiative forcing of CO₂ would be approximately 2.7 -2.15=0.55 W/m². This is a much larger value than in expectations from ‘net zero’. In total, one needs to remove from the atmosphere ~660 GT to match the maximum reduction of current methane leakages and ~270 GT to achieve ‘net zero.’ This amounts to over 900 GT in total.

Keywords: methane leakages, methane radiative forcing, methane mitigation, methane net zero

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Authors: Lopamudra Bakshi Basu

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Transport is one of the most important characteristic features of Indian cities. The physical and societal requirements determine the selection of a particular transport system along with the uniqueness of road networks. Kolkata has a mixed traffic of which Paratransit system plays a crucial role. It is an indispensable transport system in Kolkata mainly because of its size and service flexibility which has led to a unique network character. The paratransit system, mainly the autorickshaws, is the most favoured mode of transport in the city. Its fast movement and comfortability make it a vital transport system of the city. Since the inception of the autorickshaws in Kolkata in 1981, this mode has gained popularity and presently serves nearly 80 to 90 percent of the total passenger trips. This employment generating mode of transport has increased its number rapidly affecting the city’s traffic. Minimal check on their growth by the authority has led to traffic snarls along many streets of Kolkata. Indiscipline behavior, violation of traffic rules and rash driving make situations even worse. The rise in the number and increasing popularity of the autorickshaws make it an interesting study area. Autorickshaws as a paratransit mode play its role as a leader or a follower. However, it is informal in its planning and operations, which makes it a problem area for the city. The entire research work deals with the growth and expansion of the number of vehicles and the routes within the city. The development of transport system has been interesting in the city, which has been studied. The growth of the paratransit modes in the city has been rapid. The network pattern of the paratransit mode within Kolkata has been analysed.

Keywords: growth, informal, network characteristics, paratransit, service flexibility

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Authors: B. Suresh Reddy

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The over dependence on chemical fertilizers for nutrient management in crop production for the last few decades has led to several problems affecting soil health, environment and farmers themselves. Based on the field work done in 2012-13 with 1080 farmers of different size-classes in semi-arid regions of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh states of India, this paper reveals that the farmers in semi-arid regions of India are actively managing soil fertility and other soil properties through a wide range of practices that are based on local resources and knowledge. It also highlights the socio-economic web woven around these soil fertility management practices. This study highlights the contribution of organic matter by traditional soil fertility management practices in maintaining the soil health. Livestock has profound influence on the soil fertility enhancement through supply of organic manure. Empirical data of this study has clearly revealed how farmers’ soil fertility management options are being undermined by government policies that give more priority to chemical fertiliser-based strategies. Based on the findings it is argued that there should be a 'level playing field' for both organic and inorganic soil fertility management methods by promoting and supporting farmers in using organic methods. There is a need to provide credit to farmers for adopting his choice of soil fertility management methods which suits his socio-economic conditions and that best suits the long term productivity of soils. The study suggests that the government policies related to soil fertility management must be enabling, creating the conditions for development based more on locally available resources and local skills and knowledge. This will not only keep Indian soils in healthy condition but also support the livelihoods of millions of people, especially the small and marginal farmers.

Keywords: livestock, organic matter, small farmers, soil fertility

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Authors: Lingfei Sun

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Based on the significant value of ecology, the strategic planning for ecological civilization construction was mentioned in the 17th and 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. How to generate economic value based on the environmental capacity is not only an economic decision but also a political decision to make. Boshan took the full use of “Ecology” and transformed it as an inexhaustible green resource to benefit people, reflecting the sustainable value of new agriculture development mode. The Strawberry Harvest Festival and Blueberry Harvest Festival hosted approximately 96,000 and 54,000 leisure tourists respectively in 2014. For the Kiwi Harvest Festival in August 2014, in average, it attracted about 4600 tourists per day, which generated daily kiwi sales of 50,000 lbs and 3 million RMB (About 476,000 USD) of daily revenue. The purpose of this study is to elaborate the modes of agritourism development, by analyzing the cases in rural area of Boshan, China. Interviews with the local government officers were applied to discover operation mode of agritourism operation. The financial data was used to demonstrate the strength of government policy and improvement of the income of rural people. The result indicated that there are mainly three types of modes: the Intensive Mode, the Model Mode and the Mixed Mode, supported by case study respectively. With the boom of tourism, the development of agritourism in Boshan relies on the agriculture encouraging policy of China and the effort of local government; meanwhile, large scale of cultivation and the product differentiation are the crucial elements for the success of rural agritourism projects.

Keywords: agriculture, agritourism, economy, rural area development

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Authors: Salah Al-Ali

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The role of technology transfer in technical and vocational education is significant since lecturers, trainers, and students can obtain the updated knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are currently being practiced by local and international businesses and industries. Technology transfer can indeed close the gap between what is being learned and practiced in technical and vocational institutions and the world of work. However, the success of technology transfer in technical and vocational education perspectives would depend entirely on the quality of management. It is their responsibility when signing an agreement with internal or external providers of technology, to include calluses that enable academic staff in related specialty to interact positively and freely with the supplier of technology. In other terms, ensuring no clear or hidden restriction is imposed by the supplier of technology to acquire the know-how and know-why that are embedded in the agreement. In this paper, I present some of the empirical results and observations which describe the interactions between the supplier of technology (Electrical Engineering System) and the recipient of the technology (PAAE&T) in the field of technology transfer. In another word, whether the PAAE&T have taken the opportunity while building its new headquarter, the transfer of technology from the supplier of an electrical engineering system to its academic staff in its various Electrical Engineering Academic Departments at the PAAE&T colleges and institutions. The paper argues that, for effective and efficient transfer of technology, the recipient (PAAE&T) must ensure that the agreement with the supplier of the Electrical Engineering System must include calluses that would allow the PAAE&T academic staff in its various Electrical Engineering Academic Departments in its various colleges and institutions to acquire the technology embedded in the agreement. The paper concludes that the transfer of technology and the building of a local scientific and technical infrastructure must be viewed by Kuwaiti decision-makers as complementary to one another. Thus, reducing, to great extent, the level of dependence on expatriates, particularly in the essential sectors of the economy.

Keywords: vocational and technical education, technology transfer, enhancing indigenous capabilities, Kuwait

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Authors: Sarah Barnard, John Arnold, Fehmidah Munir, Sara Bosley

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Gender issues in higher education continue to represent a complex issue as institutions grapple with the role that organisations can play in combatting inequality. Schemes like Athena SWAN and the Aurora leadership programme in the UK context are attempting to tackle some of the issues around representation and the recognition of women in the sector. This paper is the first of its kind in reporting findings from a mixed-methods longitudinal study on both professional services and academic women in higher education in the UK. Online surveys have been completed by over 2,000 women in the sector. The qualitative elements include interviews with women and their mentors, and diaries with a select group of women. So far results have shown that contrary to the stereotype of women lacking leadership skills or having no desire to go into higher roles, women in the sector consistently assessed their leadership abilities positively, especially but not only regarding interpersonal interaction and facilitation. Over 80% of women agreed that they felt confident about putting themselves forward for positions of responsibility at work. However, qualitative data shows that confidence remains a salient term for how women talk about the challenges they have faced at work. This suggests that the work needed to challenge systemic gender issues requires action to be driven above the individual level. Overall, academics reported more negative experiences than professional services staff. Similarly BAME women’s responses are more negative. Therefore, the study offers some information on the differential experiences of women. In conclusion, women in higher education are undertaking considerable ‘below the radar’ leadership activities in what they perceive to be a somewhat inhospitable hostile workplace culture. The significant amount of effort expended in the sector is affecting slow, partial impacts on gender inequalities.

Keywords: gender, higher education, leadership, longitudinal research

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