Search results for: Dinara Nature Park

Authors: Fatna Benmessaoud, Mohammed Cheikh, Vencent Velay, Vanessa Vidal, Farhad Rezai-Aria, Christine Boher

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Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy is one of the most widely used materials in aeronautical and aerospace industries. Because of its high specific strength, good fatigue, and corrosion resistance, this alloy is very suitable for moderate temperature applications. At room temperature, Ti-6Al-4V mechanical behavior is generally controlled by the behavior of alpha phase (beta phase percent is less than 8%). The plastic strain of this phase notably based on crystallographic slip can be hindered by various obstacles and mechanisms (crystal lattice friction, sessile dislocations, strengthening by solute atoms and grain boundaries…). The grains aspect of alpha phase (its morphology and texture) and the nature of its crystallographic lattice (which is hexagonal compact) give to plastic strain heterogeneous, discontinuous and anisotropic characteristics at the local scale. The aim of this work is to develop a multi-scale model for Ti-6Al-4V mechanical behavior using crystal plasticity approach; this multi-scale model is used then to investigate grains size, dispersion of grains size, crystallographic texture and slip systems activation effects on Ti-6Al-4V mechanical behavior under monotone quasi-static loading. Nine representative elementary volume (REV) are built for taking into account the physical elements (grains size, dispersion and crystallographic) mentioned above, then boundary conditions of tension test are applied. Finally, simulation of the mechanical behavior of Ti-6Al-4V and study of slip systems activation in alpha phase is reported. The results show that the macroscopic mechanical behavior of Ti-6Al-4V is strongly linked to the active slip systems family (prismatic, basal or pyramidal). The crystallographic texture determines which family of slip systems can be activated; therefore it gives to the plastic strain a heterogeneous character thus an anisotropic macroscopic mechanical behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy modeled. The grains size influences also on mechanical proprieties of Ti-6Al-4V, especially on the yield stress; by decreasing of the grain size, the yield strength increases. Finally, the grains' distribution which characterizes the morphology aspect (homogeneous or heterogeneous) gives to the deformation fields distribution enough heterogeneity because the crystallographic slip is easier in large grains compared to small grains, which generates a localization of plastic deformation in certain areas and a concentration of stresses in others.

Keywords: multi-scale modeling, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, crystal plasticity, grains size, crystallographic texture

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Authors: Ana Carolina Felizardo Da Silva

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People with disabilities are those who have limitations of a physical, mental, intellectual or sensory nature and who, therefore, should not be excluded or marginalized. In Brazil, the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities defines that people with disabilities have the right to culture, sport, tourism and leisure on an equal basis with other people. Sport for people with disabilities, in its genesis, had a character aimed at rehabilitating men and soldiers, that is, the male figure who returned wounded from war and needed care. By gaining practitioners, the marketing issue emerges and, successively, high performance, what we call Paralympic sport. We found that sport for people with disabilities was designed for men, corroborating the social idea that sport is a masculine and masculinizing environment. In this way, the inclusion of women with disabilities in sports becomes a double challenge because they are women and have a disability. From data collected from official documents of the International Paralympic Committee, it is found that the first report on the participation of women in the Paralympic Games was in 1948, in England, in Stoke Mandeville, a championship considered the firstborn of the games, later, became called the “Paralympic Games”. However, due to the lack of information, the return of the appearance of women participating in the Paralympics took place after long 40 years, in 1984, which demonstrates a large gap of records on the official website referring to women in the games. Despite the great challenge, the number of women has been growing substantially. When collecting data from participants of all 16 editions of the Paralympic Games, in its last edition, held in Tokyo, out of 4,400 competing athletes, 1,853 were women, which represents 42% of the total number of athletes. In this same edition, we had the largest delegation of Brazilian women, represented by 96 athletes out of a total of 260 Brazilian athletes. It is estimated that in the next edition, to be taken place in Paris in 2024, the participation of women will equal or surpass that of men. The certain invisibility of women participating in the Paralympic Games is noticed when we access the database of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee website. It is possible to identify all women medalists of a given edition. On the other side, participating female athletes who did not medal are not registered on the site. Regarding the participation of Brazilian women in the Paralympics, there was a considerable growth in the last two editions, in 2012 there were only 69 women participating, going to 102 in 2016 and 96 in 2021. The same happened in relation to the medalists, going from 8 Brazilians in 2012 to 33 in 2016 and 27 in 2021. In this sense, the present study, aims to analyze how Brazilian women participate in the Paralympics, giving visibility and voice to female athletes. Structured interviews are being carried out with the participants of the games, identifying the difficulties and potentialities of participating with athletes in the competition. The analysis will be carried out through Bardin’s content analysis.

Keywords: paralympics, sport for people with disabilities, woman, woman in sport

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Authors: Kever Bruno Paradelo Gomes, Rosana Carvalho Cristo Martins

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Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) has been a strategy used since the late 1990s by Latin American countries to finance environmental conservation. Payment for Environmental Services has been absorbing a growing amount of time in the discussions around environmentally sustainable development strategies in the world. In Brazil, this theme has permeated the discussions since the publication of the new Forest Code. The objective of this work was to verify the perception of the resident farmers in the region of Ponte Alta, Gama, Federal District, Brazil, on environmental legislation and Payments for Environmental Services. The work was carried out in 99 rural properties of the family farmers of the Rural Nucleus Ponte Alta, Administrative Region of Gama, in the city of Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. The present research is characterized methodologically as a quantitative, exploratory, and descriptive nature. The data treatment was performed through descriptive statistical analysis and hypothesis testing. The perceptions about environmental legislation in the rural area of Ponte Alta, Gama, DF respondents were positive. Although most of the family farmers interviewed have some knowledge about environmental legislation, it is perceived that in practice, the environmental adequacy of property is ineffective given the current situation of sustainable rural development; there is an abyss between what is envisaged by legislation and reality in the field. Thus, as in the reports of other researchers, it is verified that the majority of respondents are not aware of PSA (62.62%). Among those interviewed who were aware of the subject, two learned through the course, three through the university, two through TV and five through other people. The planting of native forest species on the rural property was the most informed practice by farmers if they received some Environmental Service Payment (PSA). Reflections on the environment allow us to infer that the effectiveness and fulfillment of the incentives and rewards in the scope of public policies to encourage the maintenance of environmental services, already existing in all spheres of government, are of great relevance to the process of environmental sustainability of rural properties. The relevance of the present research is an important tool to promote the discussion and formulation of public policies focused on sustainable rural development, especially on payments for environmental services; it is a space of great interest for the strengthening of the social group dedicated to production. Public policies that are efficient and accessible to the small rural producers become decisive elements for the promotion of changes in behavior in the field, be it economic, social, or environmental.

Keywords: forest code, public policy, rural development, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Hayam Qayyum

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Print and Broadcast media are considered to be the most powerful social change agents and effective medium that can revolutionize the deter society into the civilized, responsible, composed society. Beside all major roles, imperative role of media is to highlight the human rights’ violation issues in order to provide awareness and to prevent society from the social evils and injustice. So, by pointing out the odds, media can lessen the magnitude of happenings within the society. For centuries, the “Silent Crime” i.e. Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is gulping down the developing countries. This study will explore that how the appropriate Print and Broadcast media coverage can eliminate Child Sexual Abuse from the society. The immense challenge faced by the journalists today; is the accurate and ethical reporting and appropriate coverage to disclose the facts and deliver right message on the right time to lessen the social evils in the developing countries, by not harming the prestige of the victim. In case of CSA most of the victims and their families are not in favour to expose their children to media due to family norms and respect in the society. Media should focus on in depth information of CSA and use this coverage is to draw attention of the concern authorities to look into the matter for reforms and reviews in the system. Moreover, media as a change agent can bring such issue into the knowledge of the international community to make collective efforts with the affected country to eliminate the ‘Silent Crime’ from the society. The model country selected for this research paper is South Africa. The purpose of this research is not only to examine the existing reporting patterns and content of print and broadcast media coverage of South Africa but also aims to create awareness to eliminate Child Sexual abuse and indirectly to improve the condition of stake holders to overcome this social evil. The literature review method is used to formulate this paper. Trends of media content on CSA will be identified that how much amount and nature of information made available to the public through the media General view of media coverage on child sexual abuse in developing countries like India and Pakistan will also be focused. This research will be limited to the role of print and broadcast media coverage to eliminate child sexual abuse in South Africa. In developing countries, CSA issue needs to be addressed on immediate basis. The study will explore the CSA content of the most influential broadcast and print media outlets of South Africa. Broadcast media will be comprised of TV channels and print media will be comprised of influential newspapers. South Africa is selected as a model for this research paper.

Keywords: child sexual abuse, developing countries, print and broadcast media, South Africa

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Authors: İrem Yetkin, Feray Maden, Seda Tosun, Yenal Akgün, Özgür Kilit, Koray Korkmaz, Gökhan Kiper, Mustafa Gündüzalp

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Forced migration, whether caused by conflicts or other factors, frequently places individuals in vulnerable situations, necessitating immediate access to shelter. To promptly address the immediate needs of affected individuals, temporary shelters are often established. These shelters are characterized by their adaptable and functional nature, encompassing lightweight and sustainable structural systems, rapid assembly capabilities, modularity, and transportability. The shelter design is contingent upon demand, resulting in distinct phases for different structural forms. A multi-phased shelter approach covers emergency response, temporary shelter, and permanent reconstruction. Emergency shelters play a critical role in providing immediate life-saving aid, while temporary and transitional shelters, which are also called “t-shelters,” offer longer-term living environments during the recovery and rebuilding phases. Among these, temporary shelters are more extensively covered in the literature due to their diverse inhabiting functions. The roles of emergency shelters and temporary shelters are inherently separate, addressing distinct aspects of sheltering processes. Given their prolonged usage, temporary shelters are built for greater durability compared to emergency shelters. Nonetheless, inadequacies in temporary shelters can lead to challenges in ensuring habitability. Issues like non-expandable structures unsuitable for accommodating large families, the use of short-term shelters that worsen conditions, non-waterproof materials providing insufficient protection against bad weather conditions, and complex installation systems contribute to these problems. Given the aforementioned problems, there arises a need to develop adaptive shelters featuring lightweight components for ease of transport, possess the ability for rapid assembly, and utilize durable materials to withstand adverse weather conditions. In this study, first, the state-of-the-art on temporary shelters is presented. Then, an adaptive temporary shelter composed of foldable plates is proposed, which can easily be assembled and transportable. The proposed shelter is deliberated upon its movement capacity, transportability, and flexibility. This study makes a valuable contribution to the literature since it not only offers a systematic analysis of temporary shelters utilizing kinetic systems but also presents a practical solution that meets the necessary design requirements.

Keywords: deployable structures, foldable plates, forced migration, temporary shelters

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Authors: Stefan Peters, Phillip Roetman

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The global loss of biodiversity is threatening the benefits nature provides to human populations and has become a more pressing issue than climate change and requires immediate attention. While there have been successful global agreements for environmental protection, such as the Montreal Protocol, these are rare, and we cannot rely on them solely. Thus, it is crucial to take national and local actions to support biodiversity. Australia is one of the 17 countries in the world with a high level of biodiversity, and its cities are vital habitats for endangered species, with more of them found in urban areas than in non-urban ones. However, the protection of biodiversity in metropolitan Adelaide has been inadequate, with over 130 species disappearing since European colonization in 1836. In this research project we conceptualized, developed and implemented a framework for wildlife Habitat Hotspots and Habitat Corridor modelling in an urban context using geographic data and GIS modelling and analysis. We used detailed topographic and other geographic data provided by a local council, including spatial and attributive properties of trees, parcels, water features, vegetated areas, roads, verges, traffic, and census data. Weighted factors considered in our raster-based Habitat Hotspot model include parcel size, parcel shape, population density, canopy cover, habitat quality and proximity to habitats and water features. Weighted factors considered in our raster-based Habitat Corridor model include habitat potential (resulting from the Habitat Hotspot model), verge size, road hierarchy, road widths, human density, and presence of remnant indigenous vegetation species. We developed a GIS model, using Python scripting and ArcGIS-Pro Model-Builder, to establish an automated reproducible and adjustable geoprocessing workflow, adaptable to any study area of interest. Our habitat hotspot and corridor modelling framework allow to determine and map existing habitat hotspots and wildlife habitat corridors. Our research had been applied to the study case of Burnside, a local council in Adelaide, Australia, which encompass an area of 30 km2. We applied end-user expertise-based category weightings to refine our models and optimize the use of our habitat map outputs towards informing local strategic decision-making.

Keywords: biodiversity, GIS modeling, habitat hotspot, wildlife corridor

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Authors: Kar Yue Chan

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Cantonese opera is a valuable heritage originated from South China, and started to span its influence across the area to Hong Kong, and became extremely popular back in the 1950s to the 1970s. It has also been honoured and recognized as one treasurable item on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on the Representative List of UNESCO since 2009. A certain level of difficulty is encountered when one identifies the gender roles and representations from a usual performance of Cantonese opera, as conventional practices of Cantonese opera display to the audience that many of the male hero roles are played by female upon the prior knowledge of all audience, and it is understandable for them as well because in the past there were insufficient male actors and performers on the market. Female actresses, in some senses, are more capable to sing near-male voices, and their appearances in heroic operatic attires are more appreciated by general audience. Therefore, perspectives of 'feminine representation' and the 'Reception Theory' in literature are conducive to analyzing such phenomenon. In spite of some 'normal' performances with romantic love stories or historical accounts involving often a talented intellectual and a beautiful wise lady (in Chinese caizi jiaren 才子佳人), in which the male role is actually male and the female role is actually female, there have still been some opera titles specifically manifesting these extreme gender associations by putting together displacement of gender roles in the same performance in view of such chaotic complication. On top of all other factors, translators dealing with any operatic texts face plenty of challenges upon transferring Cantonese operatic performances into English. It is found that translators need to deal with cultural elements embedded in the lyrics; the form (which is as delicate as those deriving from classical Chinese poetry); the gender misplacements that affect the mood and tone of the lyrics that much when they are in the process of translating. Some lyrics and tunes are specifically designed for a particular gender role to perform, while some others are more generic; both of which require different and specific translation strategies. After scrutinizing the various sources of reference, readers of this paper should be well informed of a significance which lies in the refined nature of the poetic form and content that signifies in the way the distinguished gender voice segregation of the discourse from which the lyrics are derived, and definitely also through the on-stage performability aspect of the task. In order to produce a relatively short and concise translated version which fits performance needs, all of the above factors will be looked at in this paper with relevant examples and analysis.

Keywords: Cantonese opera, translation, chaotic gender, performance

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Authors: Faye Cosgrove, Donna Peacock

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This paper examines current state strategies for dealing with vulnerable people in police custody and identifies the underpinning discourses and practices which inform these strategies. It has previously been argued that the state has utilised contradictory and conflicting responses to the control of crime, by employing opposing strategies of denial and adaptation in order to simultaneously both display sovereignty and disclaim responsibility. This paper argues that these contradictory strategies are still being employed in contemporary criminal justice, although the focus and the purpose have now shifted. The focus is upon the ‘vulnerable’ suspect, whose social identity is as incongruous, complex and contradictory as his social environment, and the purpose is to redirect attention away from negative state practices, whilst simultaneously displaying a compassionate and benevolent countenance in order to appeal to the voting public. The findings presented here result from intensive qualitative research with police officers, with health care professionals, and with civilian volunteers who work within police custodial environments. The data has been gathered over a three-year period and includes observational and interview data which has been thematically analysed to expose the underpinning mechanisms from which the properties of the system emerge. What is revealed is evidence of contemporary state practices of denial relating to the harms of austerity and the structural relations of vulnerability, whilst simultaneously adapting through processes of ‘othering’ of the vulnerable, ‘responsibilisation’ of citizens, defining deviance down through diversionary practices, and managing success through redefining the aims of the system. The ‘vulnerable’ suspect is subject to individual pathologising, and yet the nature of risk is aggregated. ‘Vulnerable’ suspects are supported in police custody by private citizens, by multi-agency partnerships, and by for-profit organisations, while the state seeks to collate and control services, and thereby to retain a veneer of control. Late modern ambivalence to crime control and the associated contradictory practices of abjuration and adjustment have extended to state responses to vulnerable suspects. The support available in the custody environment operates to control and minimise operational and procedural risk, rather than for the welfare of the detained person, and in fact, the support available is discovered to be detrimental to the very people that it claims to benefit. The ‘vulnerable’ suspect is now subject to the bifurcated logics employed at the new limits of the sovereign state.

Keywords: custody, policing, sovereign state, vulnerability

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Authors: Aiydh Aljeddani, Fran Martin

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The study mainly aims at exploring and understanding the current practice of social studies and citizenship education curriculum contribution to sustainability literacy and competency of the ninth and tenth grade students in the Saudi general education context. This study stems from a need for conducting research in general education contexts in order to prepare future graduate students who possess fundamental elements of education for sustainable development. To the best of our knowledge, the literature on education for sustainable development reveals that little research has been conducted so far on general education contexts and this study will add new knowledge in the literature. The study is interpretive in nature and employs a qualitative case study approach, and ethnography methodologies to understand deeply this complex educational phenomenon. 167 participants took part in this study, they were from six general education schools and made up of 25 teachers, and 142 students. Document analysis, semi-structured interviews, nominal group technique, and passive participant observation were used in order to gather the data for this study. The outcomes of the study showed the keenness of the Saudi government on promoting and raising awareness education for sustainable development among its younger generation via a sustainable development promoting curriculum. However, applying this vision in a real school setting, particularly via the social studies and citizenship education curriculum in grades nine and ten, has been challenging for different reasons as revealed by this study. First, incorporating sustainability in the social studies and citizenship education curriculum in the Saudi grade ninth and tenth grade, is based on the vision of the Saudi government but the ministry of education’s rules and regulations do not support it. Moreover, the circulars issued by the ministry are also not supportive of teachers and students efforts to implement a sustainable development education curriculum. Second, teachers, as members of this community who play a significant role in achieving the objectives of incorporating sustainability, are often seen as technicians and not as professional human beings. They are confined to the curriculum, the classroom and stripped of their will power by the school management and the educational administration. The subjects, who are students here, are also not prepared nor guided to achieve the objects. In addition, the tools mediated between subjects and objects are not convenient. There were some major challenges regarding the contradictions in incorporating sustainability processes such as demanding creativity from a teacher who is overloaded with tasks irrelevant to teaching and teachers’ training programs not meeting the teachers’ training needs.

Keywords: practice, integrating sustainability, curriculum, educational context

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Authors: Jamshid Hussain, Kuen Song Lin

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Over one thousand tons of pig hair biowaste (PHB) are produced yearly in Taiwan. The improper disposal of PHB can have a negative impact on the environment, consequently contributing to the spread of diseases. The treatment of PHB has become a major environmental and economic challenge. Innovative treatments must be developed because of the heavy metal and sulfur content of PHB. Like most organic materials, PHB is composed of many organic volatiles that contain large amounts of hydrogen. Hydrogen gas can be effectively produced by the catalytic gasification of PHB using a laboratory-scale fixed-bed gasifier, employing 15 wt% NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst at 753–913 K. The derived kinetic parameters were obtained and refined using simulation calculations. FE–SEM microphotograph showed that NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst particles are Spherical or irregularly shaped with diameters of 10–20 nm. HR–TEM represented that the fresh Ni particles were evenly dispersed and uniform in the microstructure of Al₂O₃ support. The sizes of the NiO nanoparticles were vital in determining catalyst activity. As displayed in the pre-edge XANES spectra of the NiO/Al₂O₃ catalysts, it exhibited a non-intensive absorbance nature for the 1s to 3d transition, which is prohibited by the selection rule for an ideal octahedral symmetry. Similarly, the populace of Ni(II) and Ni(0) onto Al₂O₃ supports are proportional to the strength of the 1s to 4pxy transition, respectively. The weak shoulder at 8329–8334 eV and a strong character at 8345–8353 eV were ascribed to the 1s to 4pxy shift, which suggested the presence of NiO types onto Al₂O₃ support in PHB catalytic gasification. As determined by the XANES analyses, Ni(II)→Ni(0) reduction was mostly observed. The oxidation of PHB onto the NiO/Al₂O₃ surface may have resulted in Ni(0) and the formation of tar during the gasification process. The EXAFS spectra revealed that the Ni atoms with Ni–Ni/Ni–O bonds were found. The Ni–O bonding proved that the produced syngas were unable to reduce NiO to Ni(0) completely. The weakness of the Ni–Ni bonds may have been caused by the highly dispersed Ni in the Al₂O₃ support. The central Ni atoms have Ni–O (2.01 Å) and Ni–Ni (2.34 Å) bond distances in the fresh NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The PHB was converted into hydrogen-rich syngas (CO + H₂, >89.8% dry basis). When PHB (250 kg h−1) was catalytically gasified at 753–913 K, syngas was produced at approximately 5.45 × 105 kcal h−1 of heat recovery with 76.5%–83.5% cold gas efficiency. The simulation of the pilot-scale PHB catalytic gasification demonstrated that the system could provide hydrogen (purity > 99.99%) and generate electricity for an internal combustion engine of 100 kW and a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) of 175 kW. A projected payback for a PHB catalytic gasification plant with a capacity of 10- or 20-TPD (ton per day) was around 3.2 or 2.5 years, respectively.

Keywords: pig hair biowaste, catalytic gasification, hydrogen production, PEMFC, resource recovery

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Authors: Michael Russelle S. Alvarez, Noel S. Quiming, Francisco M. Heralde

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This study aims to: a) obtain ethanolic (95% EtOH) and aqueous extracts of Selaginella elmeri, Christella dentata, Elatostema sinnatum, Curculigo capitulata, Euphorbia hirta, Murraya koenigii, Alpinia speciosa, Cymbopogon citratus, Eucalyptus globulus, Jatropha curcas, Psidium guajava, Gliricidia sepium, Ixora coccinea and Capsicum frutescens and screen them for larvicidal activities against Aedes aegypti (Linn.) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) larvae; b) to fractionate the most active extract and determine the most active fraction; c) to determine the larvicidal properties of the most active extract and fraction against by computing their percentage mortality, LC50, and LC90 after 24 and 48 hours of exposure; and d) to determine the nature of the components of the active extracts and fractions using phytochemical screening. Ethanolic (95% EtOH) and aqueous extracts of the selected plants will be screened for potential larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus using standard procedures and 1% malathion and a Piper nigrum based ovicide-larvicide by the Department of Science and Technology as positive controls. The results were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA with Tukey’s and Dunnett’s test. The most active extract will be subjected to partial fractionation using normal-phase column chromatography, and the fractions subsequently screened to determine the most active fraction. The most active extract and fraction were subjected to dose-response assay and probit analysis to determine the LC50 and LC90 after 24 and 48 hours of exposure. The active extracts and fractions will be screened for phytochemical content. The ethanolic extracts of C. citratus, E. hirta, I. coccinea, G. sepium, M. koenigii, E globulus, J. curcas and C. frutescens exhibited significant larvicidal activity, with C. frutescens being the most active. After fractionation, the ethyl acetate fraction was found to be the most active. Phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, indoles and steroids. A formulation using talcum powder–300 mg fraction per 1 g talcum powder–was made and again tested for larvicidal activity. At 2 g/L, the formulation proved effective in killing all of the test larvae after 24 hours.

Keywords: larvicidal activity screening, partial purification, dose-response assay, capsicum frutescens

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Authors: Fizza Saghir

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Rohingyas are an ethnic minority of predominantly Buddhist-Myanmar. Living in ghettos in Rakhine, one of the poorest states of Myanmar, for decades, they have been marginalized, discriminated, deprived of the basic amenities and have faced ghastly violations of their rights- politically, socially, economically and culturally. In 2012, in violence that, erupted between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, hundreds of Rohingyas were slayed and many more displaced. The state does not recognize them as ‘citizens’ and the military and police have constantly persecuted and pushed them to either migrate to other countries like India, Bangladesh or else die of deprivation. Amidst the deadly violence, Rohingya women are the most vulnerable. Many of them have faced sexual abuse and gender-based violence. Minimalistic to insignificant studies have been done on the plight of Rohingya women refugees in context of India. Thus, this paper focuses on psycho-social status of Rohingya women refugees settled in Delhi, India. The research study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. It was explorative in nature and used non-probability sampling, purposive sampling, in particular. A sample size of 30 Rohingya women refugees was interviewed out of the universe of 45 Rohingya refugee families living in Kalindi Kunj Refugee Camp of Delhi. Case studies were developed. The paper explores the psychological and social status of the respondents along with a deep understanding of their issues and concerns. Moreover, it assesses the impact of violence and migration on respondents. It was found that Rohingya women refugees are deeply and severely affected by a violent past, an insecure present and an uncertain future. Major problems they face in Delhi, India are finding employment, lack of identity cards to avail government services, language barrier, lack of health and education facilities. All they desire is peace and shelter in India. Besides, recommendations and suggestions have been given to various stakeholders of the forced mass migration of Rohingya refugees which includes, Government of Myanmar, Government of India, other bordering nations of Myanmar, international NGOs and media and the Rohingya community, itself. Only an immediate, peaceful and continuous dialogue process can help resolve the issue of exodus of Rohingyas. Countries, including India, must come together to help the Rohingyas who are in need of urgent humanitarian aid and assistance.

Keywords: dialogue process, ethnic minority, forced mass migration, impact of violence and migration, psycho-social status, Rohingya women refugees, sexual abuse

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Authors: Mesfin Nigussie Ibido

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The study is designed to explore the effects of land certification in securing women’s land rights of two rural villages in Robe district at Arsi Zone of Oromia regional state. The land is very critical assets for human life survival and the backbone for rural women livelihood. Equal access and control power to the land have given a chance for rural women to participate in different economic activities and improve their bargaining ability for decision making on their rights. Unfortunately, women were discriminated and marginalized from access and control of land for centuries through customary practices. However, in many countries, legal reform is used as a powerful tool for eliminating discriminatory provisions in property rights. Among other equity and efficiency concerns, the land certification program in Ethiopia attempts to address gender bias concerns of the current land-tenure system. The existed rural land policy was recognizing a women land rights and benefited by strengthened wives awareness of their land rights and contribute to the strong involvement of wives in decision making. However, harmful practices and policy implementation problems still against women do not fully exercise a provision of land rights in a different area of the country. Thus, this study is carried out to examine the effect of land certification in securing women’s land rights by eliminating the discriminatory nature of cultural abuses of study areas. Probability and non-probability sampling types were used, and the sample size was determined by using the sampling distribution of the proportion method. Systematic random sampling method was applied by taking the nth element of the sample frame. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied, and survey respondents of 192 households were conducted and administering questionnaires in the quantitative method. The qualitative method was applied by interviews with focus group discussions with rural women, case stories, Village, and relevant district offices. Triangulation method was applied in data collection, data presentation and in the analysis of findings. Study finding revealed that the existence of land certification is affected by rural women positively by advancing their land rights, but still, some women are challenged by unsolved problems in the study areas. The study forwards recommendation on the existed problems or gaps to ensure women’s equal access to and control over land in the study areas.

Keywords: decision making, effects, land certification, land right, tenure security

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Authors: Husam Abdulmuttaleb Hashim

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The environmental pollution problems represent a great challenge to the world, threatening to destroy all the evolution that mankind has reached, the organizations and associations that cares about environment are trying to warn the world from the forthcoming danger resulted from excessive use of nature resources and consuming it without looking to the damage happened as a result of unfair use of it. Most of the urban centers suffers from the environmental pollution problems and health, economic, and social dangers resulted from this pollution, and while the land use planning is responsible for distributing different uses in urban centers and controlling the interactions between these uses to reach a homogeneous and perfect state for the different activities in cities, the occurrence of environmental problems in the shade of existing land use planning operation refers to the disorder or insufficiency in this operation which leads to presence of such problems, and this disorder lays in lack of sufficient importance to the environmental considerations during the land use planning operations and setting up the master plan, so the research start to study this problem and finding solutions for it, the research assumes that using accurate and scientific methods in early stages of land use planning operation will prevent occurring of environmental pollution problems in the future, the research aims to study and show the importance of the environmental impact assessment method (EIA) as an important planning tool to investigate and predict the pollution ranges of the land use that has a polluting pattern in land use planning operation. This research encompasses the concept of environmental assessment and its kinds and clarifies environmental impact assessment and its contents, the research also dealt with urban planning concept and land use planning, it also dealt with the current situation of the case study (Al-Garma district) and the land use planning in it and explain the most polluting use on the environment which is the industrial land use represented in the tannery industries and then there was a stating of current situation of this land use and explaining its contents and environmental impacts resulted from it, and then we analyzed the tests applied by the researcher for water and soil, and perform environmental evaluation through applying environmental impact assessment matrix using the direct method to reveal the pollution ranges on the ambient environment of industrial land use, and we also applied the environmental and site limits and standards by using (GIS) and (AUTOCAD) to select the site of the best alternative of the industrial region in Al-Garma district after the research approved the unsuitability of its current site location for the environmental and site limitations, the research conducted some conclusions and recommendations regard clarifying the concluded facts and to set the proper solutions.

Keywords: EIA, pollution, tannery industry, land use planning

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Authors: Viviane P. Romani, Bradley D. Olsen, Vilásia G. Martins

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Biodegradable films for food packaging have gained growing attention due to environmental pollution caused by synthetic films and the interest in the better use of resources from nature. Important research advances were made in the development of materials from proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. However, the commercial use of these new generation of sustainable materials for food packaging is still limited due to their low mechanical and barrier properties that could compromise the food quality and safety. Thus, strategies to improve the performance of these materials have been tested, such as chemical modifications, incorporation of reinforcing structures and others. Cold plasma is a versatile, fast and environmentally friendly technology. It consists of a partially ionized gas containing free electrons, ions, and radicals and neutral particles able to react with polymers and start different reactions, leading to the polymer degradation, functionalization, etching and/or cross-linking. In the present study, biodegradable films from fish protein prepared through the casting technique were plasma treated using an AC glow discharge equipment. The reactor was preliminary evacuated to ~7 Pa and the films were exposed to air plasma for 2, 5 and 8 min. The films were evaluated by their mechanical and water vapor permeability (WVP) properties and changes in the protein structure were observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Potential cross-links and elimination of surface defects by etching might be the reason for the increase in tensile strength and decrease in the elongation at break observed. Among the times of plasma application tested, no differences were observed when higher times of exposure were used. The X-ray pattern showed a broad peak at 2θ = 19.51º that corresponds to the distance of 4.6Å by applying the Bragg’s law. This distance corresponds to the average backbone distance within the α-helix. Thus, the changes observed in the films might indicate that the helical configuration of fish protein was disturbed by plasma treatment. SEM images showed surface damage in the films with 5 and 8 min of plasma treatment, indicating that 2 min was the most adequate time of treatment. It was verified that plasma removes water from the films once weight loss of 4.45% was registered for films treated during 2 min. However, after 24 h in 50% of relative humidity, the water lost was recovered. WVP increased from 0.53 to 0.65 g.mm/h.m².kPa after plasma treatment during 2 min, that is desired for some foods applications which require water passage through the packaging. In general, the plasma technology affects the properties and structure of fish protein films. Since this technology changes the surface of polymers, these films might be used to develop multilayer materials, as well as to incorporate active substances in the surface to obtain active packaging.

Keywords: fish protein films, food packaging, improvement of properties, plasma treatment

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Authors: Inga Žukovaitė

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This work aims to present postdoc research on remote criminal proceedings in court in order to streamline the proceedings and, at the same time, ensure the effective participation of the parties in criminal proceedings and the court's obligation to administer substantive and procedural justice. This study tests the hypothesis that remote criminal proceedings do not in themselves violate the fundamental principles of criminal procedure; however, their implementation must ensure the right of the parties to effective legal remedies and a fair trial and, only then, must address the issues of procedural economy, speed and flexibility/functionality of the application of technologies. In order to ensure that changes in the regulation of criminal proceedings are in line with fair trial standards, this research will provide answers to the questions of what conditions -first of all, legal and only then organisational- are required for remote criminal proceedings to ensure respect for the parties and enable their effective participation in public proceedings, to create conditions for quality legal defence and its accessibility, to give a correct impression to the party that they are heard and that the court is impartial and fair. It also seeks to present the results of empirical research in the courts of Lithuania that was made by using the interview method. The research will serve as a basis for developing a theoretical model for remote criminal proceedings in the EU to ensure a balance between the intention to have innovative, cost-effective, and flexible criminal proceedings and the positive obligation of the State to ensure the rights of participants in proceedings to just and fair criminal proceedings. Moreover, developments in criminal proceedings also keep changing the image of the court itself; therefore, in the paper will create preconditions for future research on the impact of remote criminal proceedings on the trust in courts. The study aims at laying down the fundamentals for theoretical models of a remote hearing in criminal proceedings and at making recommendations for the safeguarding of human rights, in particular the rights of the accused, in such proceedings. The following criteria are relevant for the remote form of criminal proceedings: the purpose of judicial instance, the legal position of participants in proceedings, their vulnerability, and the nature of required legal protection. The content of the study consists of: 1. Identification of the factual and legal prerequisites for a decision to organise the entire criminal proceedings by remote means or to carry out one or several procedural actions by remote means 2. After analysing the legal regulation and practice concerning the application of the elements of remote criminal proceedings, distinguish the main legal safeguards for protection of the rights of the accused to ensure: (a) the right of effective participation in a court hearing; (b) the right of confidential consultation with the defence counsel; (c) the right of participation in the examination of evidence, in particular material evidence, as well as the right to question witnesses; and (d) the right to a public trial.

Keywords: remote criminal proceedings, fair trial, right to defence, technology progress

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Amit Zriker, Anat Freund

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The aim of the study was to conduct a thorough examination into the multiple complexities of bringing a foreign caregiver into the home to care for older adults in the Haredi society, by relating to the perspectives of the older adult and his family members. Research questions were: What is the meaning of bringing a foreign caregiver into the home in Haredi society, from the point of view of the older adult’s family members, and what are the implications of these meanings in the context of developing social policies and interventions? The current study was a qualitative-phenomenological study, which relates to “the lived experience” of those involved in the studied phenomenon. In the framework of the study, the participants included 15 adult Haredi sons and daughters of elderly impaired parents who receive homecare from a foreign caregiver. Data collection was carried out using in-depth, semi-structured interviews; the interview guidelines are comprised of the following content worlds: the meanings of aging in Haredi families; the decision-making process in relation to providing home care assistance for elderly impaired parents; making decisions regarding bringing a foreign caregiver into the home to care for an elderly parent; the daily routine after bringing in a foreign caregiver; bringing in a foreign caregiver vs. the society and vs. the Haredi establishment; and more. The issue of bringing a foreign caregiver into the home in the context of a faith-based society has received only scant and partial research attention to date. Nevertheless, in light of the growing elderly population in the Haredi society in Israel, and in closed, faith-based societies, in general; there is a growing need to bring foreign caregivers into the home as a possible solution to the “aging-in-place” problem in these societies. The separatist nature, and the collectivist and faith-based lifestyle of the Haredi society present unique challenges and needs in the process of employing a foreign caregiver. Moreover, the foreign caregiver also brings his/her own cultural world to the encounter, meaning, this process involves the elderly impaired individual, his/her family members, as well as the foreign caregiver. Therefore, it is important to understand their attitudes, perceptions and interactions, in order to create a good fit among all involved parties. The innovation and uniqueness of the current study is in its in-depth exploration of a phenomenon through an emotional-cultural lens. The study findings also contribute to the creation of social policy in the field of nursing, which will be adapted and culturally sensitive to Haredi society, and other faith-based societies.

Keywords: culturally-sensitive intervention, faith-based society, foreign caregiver, Haredi society

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Leticia Lengler, Jefferson Oliveira, Vania Estivalete, Jordana Marques Kneipp

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The context of social, economic and environmental transformations has driven innumerable changes in the organizational environment, influencing the social interactions that occur in this scenario. In this sense, social entrepreneurship emerges as a unique opportunity to challenge, question, rethink certain concepts and traditional theories widely discussed in relation to entrepreneurship. Therefore, the interest in studying personal values has been based on the idea that they might be predictors of the behavior of individuals. As an attempt to relate personal values with the characteristics of social entrepreneurs, this study aims to investigate the salient values and the social entrepreneurship perceptions that occur in two social projects responsible for developing sports skills among the students. For purposes of analysis, it is intended to consider: (i) a description of both Social Projects and their respective institutions, considering their history and relevance in the context; (ii) analysis of the personal values of the idealizers and teachers responsible for the projects, (iii) identification of the characteristics of social entrepreneurship manifested in the two projects, and (iv) discussion of similarities and disparities of the categories identified among the participants of the projects. Therefore, this study will carry a qualitative analysis from the interviews with 10 participants of each social project (named Projeto Remar/ASENA and Projeto Mãos Dadas/JUDÔ SANTA MARIA): 2 projects coordinators, 2 students, 2 parents of students, 2 physical education internships and 2 businessmen who stablished a partnership with each project. The data collection will be done through semi-structured interviews that are going to last around 30 minutes each, being recorded, transcribed and later analyzed, through the categorical analysis. The option for categorical analysis is supported by the fact that it is the best alternative when one wants to study values, opinions, attitudes and beliefs, through qualitative ones. In the present research, the pre-analysis phase consisted of an organization of the material collected during the research with Remar and Mãos Dadas Project, and a dynamic reading of this material, seeking to identify the characteristics of social entrepreneurship and values addressed in the study. In the analytical description phase, a more in-depth analysis of the material collected in the research will be carried out. The third phase, referred to as referential interpretation or treatment of results obtained will allow to verify the homogeneity and the heterogeneity among the participants' perceptions of the projects. Some preliminary results coming from the first interviews revealed the projects are guided by values such as cooperation, respect, well-being and nature preservation. These values are linked to the social entrepreneurship perception of the projects managers, who established their activities in behalf of the local community.

Keywords: personal values, social entrepreneurship, social projects, sports participants

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Fatih Topaloğlu

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Although philosophy is inherently a theoretical and intellectual activity, it should not be denied that environmental conditions influence the formation and shaping of philosophical thought. In this context, it should be noted that the Philosophy of Religion has been influential in the debates in the West, especially since the beginning of the 20th century, and that this influence has dimensions that cannot be limited to academic or intellectual fields. The issues and problems that fall within the field of interest of Philosophy of Religion are followed with interest by a significant proportion of society through popular publications. Philosophy of Religion has its share in many social, economic, cultural, scientific, political and ethical developments. Philosophy of Religion, in the most general sense, can be defined as a philosophical approach to religion or a philosophical way of thinking and discussing religion. Philosophy of Religion tries to explain the epistemological foundations of concepts such as belief and faith that shape religious life by revealing their meaning for the individual. Thus, Philosophy of Religion tries to evaluate the effect of beliefs on the individual's values, judgments and behaviours with a comprehensive and critical eye. The Philosophy of Religion, which tries to create new solutions and perspectives by applying the methods of philosophy to religious problems, tries to solve these problems not by referring to the holy book or religious teachings but by logical proofs obtained through the possibilities of reason and evidence filtered through the filter of criticism. Although there is no standard method for doing Philosophy of Religion, it can be said that an approach that can be expressed as thinking about religion in a rational, objective, and consistent way is generally accepted. The evaluations made within the scope of Philosophy of Religion have two stages. The first is the definition stage, and the second is the evaluation stage. In the first stage, the data of different scientific disciplines, especially other religious sciences, are utilized to define the issues objectively. In the second stage, philosophical evaluations are made based on this foundation. During these evaluations, the issue of how the relationship between religion and philosophy should be established is extremely sensitive. The main thesis of this paper is that the Philosophy of Religion, as a branch of philosophy, has been affected by the conditions caused by the historical experience through which it has passed and has differentiated its subjects and the methods it uses to realize its philosophical acts over time under the influence of these conditions. This study will attempt to evaluate the validity of this study based on the "Introduction to Philosophy of Religion" literature, which we assume reflects this differentiation. As a result of this examination will aim to reach some factual conclusions about the nature of both philosophical and religious thought, to determine the phases that the Philosophy of Religion as a discipline has gone through since the day it emerged, and to investigate the possibilities of a holistic view of the field.

Keywords: content analysis, culture, history, philosophy of religion, method

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Authors: B. F. Espiritu

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This paper examines the resistance of the Lumad people, the indigenous peoples in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, and of environmental and human rights activists to the Philippine government's neoliberal policies and their call for justice and a new economic paradigm that will uphold peoples' rights and environmental protection in two alternative media online sites. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on indigenous resistance to neoliberal globalization and the quest for a new economic paradigm that upholds social justice for the marginalized in society, empathy and compassion for those who depend on the land for their survival, and environmental sustainability. The study analyzes the discourses in selected news articles from Davao Today and Kalikasan (translated to English as 'Nature') People's Network for the Environment’s statements and advocacy articles for the Lumad and the environment from 2018 to February 2020. The study reveals that the alternative media news articles and the advocacy articles contain statements that expose the oppression and violation of human rights of the Lumad people, farmers, government environmental workers, and environmental activists as shown in their killings, illegal arrest and detention, displacement of the indigenous peoples, destruction of their schools by the military and paramilitary groups, and environmental plunder and destruction with the government's permit for the entry and operation of extractive and agribusiness industries in the Lumad ancestral lands. Anchored on Christian Fuch's theory of alternative media as critical media and Bert Cammaerts' theorization of alternative media as counterhegemonic media that are part of civil society and form a third voice between state media and commercial media, the study reveals the counterhegemonic discourses of the news and advocacy articles that oppose the dominant economic system of neoliberalism which oppresses the people who depend on the land for their survival. Furthermore, the news and advocacy articles seek to advance social struggles that transform society towards the realization of cooperative potentials or a new economic paradigm that upholds economic democracy, where the local people, including the indigenous people, are economically empowered their environment and protected towards the realization of self-sustaining communities. The study highlights the call for justice, empathy, and compassion for both the people and the environment and the need for a new economic paradigm wherein indigenous peoples and local communities are empowered towards becoming self-sustaining communities in a sustainable environment.

Keywords: alternative media, environmental sustainability, human rights, indigenous resistance

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Hernando Santamaría-García, Sandra Báez, Pablo Reyes, José Santamaría-García, Diana Matallana, Adolfo García, Agustín Ibañez

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The study of moral emotions (i.e., Schadenfreude and envy) is critical to understand the ecological complexity of everyday interactions between cognitive, affective, and social cognition processes. Most previous studies in this area have used correlational imaging techniques and framed Schadenfreude and envy as monolithic domains. Here, we profit from a relevant neurodegeneration model to disentangle the brain regions engaged in three dimensions of Schadenfreude and envy: deservingness, morality, and legality. We tested 20 patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), 24 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as a contrastive neurodegeneration model, and 20 healthy controls on a novel task highlighting each of these dimensions in scenarios eliciting Schadenfreude and envy. Compared with the AD and control groups, bvFTD patients obtained significantly higher scores on all dimensions for both emotions. Interestingly, the legal dimension for both envy and Schadenfreude elicited higher emotional scores than the deservingness and moral dimensions. Furthermore, correlational analyses in bvFTD showed that higher envy and Schadenfreude scores were associated with greater deficits in social cognition, inhibitory control, and behavior. Brain anatomy findings (restricted to bvFTD and controls) confirmed differences in how these groups process each dimension. Schadenfreude was associated with the ventral striatum in all subjects. Also, in bvFTD patients, increased Schadenfreude across dimensions was negatively correlated with regions supporting social-value rewards, mentalizing, and social cognition (frontal pole, temporal pole, angular gyrus and precuneus). In all subjects, all dimensions of envy positively correlated with the volume of the anterior cingulate cortex, a region involved in processing unfair social comparisons. By contrast, in bvFTD patients, the intensified experience of envy across all dimensions was negatively correlated with a set of areas subserving social cognition, including the prefrontal cortex, the parahippocampus, and the amygdala. Together, the present results provide the first lesion-based evidence for the multidimensional nature of the emotional experiences of envy and Schadenfreude. Moreover, this is the first demonstration of a selective exacerbation of envy and Schadenfreude in bvFTD patients, probably triggered by atrophy to social cognition networks. Our results offer new insights into the mechanisms subserving complex emotions and moral cognition in neurodegeneration, paving the way for groundbreaking research on their interaction with other cognitive, social, and emotional processes.

Keywords: social cognition, moral emotions, neuroimaging, frontotemporal dementia

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Authors: Francesca Schiavello

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This work aims to create a hybrid algorithm, combining Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) with an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) in the place of traditional gradient based optimization processes. QAOA’s were first introduced in 2014, where, at the time, their algorithm performed better than the traditional best known classical algorithm for Max-cut graphs. Whilst classical algorithms have improved since then and have returned to being faster and more efficient, this was a huge milestone for quantum computing, and their work is often used as a benchmarking tool and a foundational tool to explore variants of QAOA’s. This, alongside with other famous algorithms like Grover’s or Shor’s, highlights to the world the potential that quantum computing holds. It also presents the reality of a real quantum advantage where, if the hardware continues to improve, this could constitute a revolutionary era. Given that the hardware is not there yet, many scientists are working on the software side of things in the hopes of future progress. Some of the major limitations holding back quantum computing are the quality of qubits and the noisy interference they generate in creating solutions, the barren plateaus that effectively hinder the optimization search in the latent space, and the availability of number of qubits limiting the scale of the problem that can be solved. These three issues are intertwined and are part of the motivation for using EAs in this work. Firstly, EAs are not based on gradient or linear optimization methods for the search in the latent space, and because of their freedom from gradients, they should suffer less from barren plateaus. Secondly, given that this algorithm performs a search in the solution space through a population of solutions, it can also be parallelized to speed up the search and optimization problem. The evaluation of the cost function, like in many other algorithms, is notoriously slow, and the ability to parallelize it can drastically improve the competitiveness of QAOA’s with respect to purely classical algorithms. Thirdly, because of the nature and structure of EA’s, solutions can be carried forward in time, making them more robust to noise and uncertainty. Preliminary results show that the EA algorithm attached to QAOA can perform on par with the traditional QAOA with a Cobyla optimizer, which is a linear based method, and in some instances, it can even create a better Max-Cut. Whilst the final objective of the work is to create an algorithm that can consistently beat the original QAOA, or its variants, due to either speedups or quality of the solution, this initial result is promising and show the potential of EAs in this field. Further tests need to be performed on an array of different graphs with the parallelization aspect of the work commencing in October 2023 and tests on real hardware scheduled for early 2024.

Keywords: evolutionary algorithm, max cut, parallel simulation, quantum optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Isabella Maurizio

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This research analyses the pronunciation of Hebrew consonants 'bgdkpt' in II- III C. E. in Palestine, through the confrontation of two kinds of data: the fragments of transliteration of Old Testament in the Greek alphabet, from the second column of Origen’s synopsis, called Hexapla, and Hebrew names transliterated in Greek documents, especially epigraphs. Origen is a very important author, not only for his bgdkpt theological and exegetic works: the Hexapla, synoptic six columns for a critical edition of Septuaginta, has a relevant role in attempting to reconstruct the pronunciation of Hebrew language before Masoretic punctuation. For this reason, at the beginning, it is important to analyze the column in order to study phonetic and linguistic phenomena. Among the most problematic data, there is the evidence from bgdkpt consonants, always represented as Greek aspirated graphemes. This transcription raised the question if their pronunciation was the only spirant, and consequently, the double one, that is, the stop/spirant contrast, was introduced by Masoretes. However, the phonetic and linguistic examination of the column alone is not enough to establish a real pronunciation of language: this paper is significant because a confrontation between the second column’s transliteration and Hebrew names found in Greek documents epigraphic ones mainly, is achieved. Palestine in II - III was a bilingual country: Greek and Aramaic language lived together, the first one like the official language, the second one as the principal mean of communication between people. For this reason, Hebrew names are often found in Greek documents of the same geographical area: a deep examination of bgdkpt’s transliteration can help to understand better which the real pronunciation of these consonants was, or at least it allows to evidence a phonetic tendency. As a consequence, the research considers the contemporary documents to Origen and the previous ones: the first ones testify a specific stadium of pronunciation, the second ones reflect phonemes’ evolution. Alexandrian documents are also examined: Origen was from there, and the influence of Greek language, spoken in his native country, must be considered. The epigraphs have another implication: they are totally free from morphological criteria, probably used by Origen in his column, because of their popular origin. Thus, a confrontation between the hexaplaric transliteration and Hebrew names is absolutely required, in Hexapla’s studies: first of all, it can be the second clue of a pronunciation already noted in the column; then because, for documents’ specific nature, it has more probabilities to be real, reflecting a daily use of language. The examination of data shows a general tendency to employ the aspirated graphemes for bgdkpt consonants’ transliteration. This probably means that they were closer to Greek aspirated consonants rather than to the plosive ones. The exceptions are linked to a particular status of the name, i.e. its history and origin. In this way, this paper gives its contribution to onomastic studies, too: indeed, the research may contribute to verify the diffusion and the treatment of Jewish names in Hellenized world and in the koinè language.

Keywords: bgdkpt consonants, Greek epigraphs, Jewish names, origen's Hexapla

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Jeremy Jenrette, Z. Y. C. Liu, Pranav Chimote, Edward Fox, Trevor Hastie, Francesco Ferretti

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Suitable shark conservation depends on well-informed population assessments. Direct methods such as scientific surveys and fisheries monitoring are adequate for defining population statuses, but species-specific indices of abundance and distribution coming from these sources are rare for most shark species. We can rapidly fill these information gaps by boosting media-based remote monitoring efforts with machine learning and automation. We created a database of shark images by sourcing 24,546 images covering 219 species of sharks from the web application spark pulse and the social network Instagram. We used object detection to extract shark features and inflate this database to 53,345 images. We packaged object-detection and image classification models into a Shark Detector bundle. We developed the Shark Detector to recognize and classify sharks from videos and images using transfer learning and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). We applied these models to common data-generation approaches of sharks: boosting training datasets, processing baited remote camera footage and online videos, and data-mining Instagram. We examined the accuracy of each model and tested genus and species prediction correctness as a result of training data quantity. The Shark Detector located sharks in baited remote footage and YouTube videos with an average accuracy of 89\%, and classified located subjects to the species level with 69\% accuracy (n =\ eight species). The Shark Detector sorted heterogeneous datasets of images sourced from Instagram with 91\% accuracy and classified species with 70\% accuracy (n =\ 17 species). Data-mining Instagram can inflate training datasets and increase the Shark Detector’s accuracy as well as facilitate archiving of historical and novel shark observations. Base accuracy of genus prediction was 68\% across 25 genera. The average base accuracy of species prediction within each genus class was 85\%. The Shark Detector can classify 45 species. All data-generation methods were processed without manual interaction. As media-based remote monitoring strives to dominate methods for observing sharks in nature, we developed an open-source Shark Detector to facilitate common identification applications. Prediction accuracy of the software pipeline increases as more images are added to the training dataset. We provide public access to the software on our GitHub page.

Keywords: classification, data mining, Instagram, remote monitoring, sharks

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Lynn C. Jonas

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The African continent is rich in coastal history, heritage, and culture, presenting immense potential for the development of maritime tourism. Shipping and its related components are generally associated with the maritime industry, and tourism’s link is to the various forms of nautical tourism. Activities may include cruising, yachting, visits to lighthouses, ports, harbors, and excursions to related sites of cultural, historical, or ecological significance. There have been hundreds of years of explorers leaving a string of shipwrecks along the various coastal areas on the continent in their pursuit of establishing trade routes between Europe, Africa, and the Far East. These shipwrecks present diving opportunities in artificial reefs and marine heritage to be explored in various ways in the maritime cultural zones. Along the South African coast, for example, six Portuguese shipwrecks highlight the Bartolomeu Dias legacy of exploration, and there are a number of warships in Tanzanian waters. Furthermore, decades of African countries being under colonized rule have left the continent with an intricate cultural heritage that is enmeshed in European language architecture interlinked with, in many instances, hard-fought independent littoral states. There is potential for coastal trails to be developed to follow these historical events as, at one point in history, France had colonized 35 African states, and subsequently, 32 African states were colonized by Britain. Countries such as Cameroon still have the legacy of Francophone versus Anglophone as a result of this shift in colonizers. Further to the colonized history of the African continent, there is an uncomfortable heritage of the slave trade history. To a certain extent, these coastal slave trade posts are being considered attractive to a niche tourism audience; however, there is potential for education and interpretive measures to grow this as a tourism product. Notwithstanding these potential opportunities, there are numerous challenges to consider, such as poor maritime infrastructure, maritime security concerns with issues such as piracy, transnational crimes including weapons and migrant smuggling, drug, and human trafficking. These and related maritime issues contribute to the concerns over the porous nature of African ocean gateways, adding to the security concerns for tourists. This theoretical paper will consider these trends and how they may contribute to the growth and development of maritime tourism on the African continent. African considerations of the growth potential of tourism in coastal and marine spaces are needed, particularly with a focus on embracing the continent's tumultuous past as part of its heritage. This has the potential to contribute to the creation of a sense of ownership of opportunities.

Keywords: coastal trade routes, maritime tourism, shipwrecks, slave trade routes

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Authors: Ambeck Celyne Tebid, Harry S. Rampa

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The South African Education system recognises the need for all learners including those experiencing learning difficulties, to have access to a single unified system of education. For teachers to be pedagogically responsive to an increasingly diverse learner population without appropriate support has been proven to be unrealistic. As such, this has considerably hampered interest amongst teachers, especially those at the foundation phase to work within an Inclusive Education (IE) and training system. This qualitative study aimed at investigating foundation phase teachers’ experiences of school-based support teams (SBSTs) in two Full-Service (inclusive schools) and one Mainstream public primary school in the Gauteng province of South Africa; with particular emphasis on finding ways to supporting them, since teachers claimed they were not empowered in their initial training to teach learners experiencing learning difficulties. Hence, SBSTs were created at school levels to fill this gap thereby, supporting teaching and learning by identifying and addressing learners’, teachers’ and schools’ needs. With the notion that IE may be failing because of systemic reasons, this study uses Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecosystemic as well as Piaget’s (1980) maturational theory to examine the nature of support and experiences amongst teachers taking individual and systemic factors into consideration. Data was collected using in-depth, face-to-face interviews, document analysis and observation with 6 foundation phase teachers drawn from 3 different schools, 3 SBST coordinators, and 3 school principals. Data was analysed using the phenomenological data analysis method. Amongst the findings of the study is that South African full- service and mainstream schools have functional SBSTs which render formal and informal support to the teachers; this support varies in quality depending on the socio-economic status of the relevant community where the schools are situated. This paper, however, argues that what foundation phase teachers settled for as ‘support’ is flawed; as well as how they perceive the SBST and its role is problematic. The paper conclude by recommending that, the SBST should consider other approaches at foundation phase teacher support such as, empowering teachers with continuous practical experiences on how to deal with real classroom scenarios, as well as ensuring that all support, be it on academic or non-academic issues should be provided within a learning community framework where the teacher, family, SBST and where necessary, community organisations should harness their skills towards a common goal.

Keywords: foundation phase, full- service schools, inclusive education, learning difficulties, school-based support teams, teacher support

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Rupali Chaudhary

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Shakespeare has been widely revisited by dramatists, critics, filmmakers and scholars around the globe. Shakespeare's kaleidoscopic work has been borrowed and redesigned into resonant patterns by artists, thus weaving myriad manifestations to pick from. Along with adaptation into wholly verbal medium (e.g., translations) the practice of indigenization through performing arts has played a great role in amplifying the reach of plays. The proliferation of Shakespeare's oeuvre commenced with the spread of colonialism itself. The plays illustrating the core values of Western tradition were introduced in the colonies. Therefore, the colonial domination extended to cultural domination. The plays were translated and adapted by the locals at times as it is and sometimes intermingled with the altered landscape and culture. The present paper discusses the global dimensions of Shakespearean cinema along with the historical cinematic shift from silent era to spoken dialogue in multiple languages. The methodology followed is descriptive in nature, and related information is availed from related literature, i.e., books, research articles and films. America and Europe dominated the silent era Shakespearean film production, thereby giving the term 'global' a less broad meaning. Five nations that dominated silent Shakespearean cinema were the United States, England, Italy, France, and Germany. Gradually the work of the exemplary figure with artistic and literary greatness surpassed the boundaries of the colonies and became a global legacy. Presently apart from English speaking nations Shakespearean films have been shot or produced in many of non-Anglophone locales. The findings indicate that when discussing about global dimensions of Shakespearean cinema various factors can be considered: involvement of actors and directors of foreign origin, transportability and universal comprehensibility of visual imagery across geographical borders, commodification of art or West's use of it as a tool of cultural hegemony or promotion of international amity, propagation of interculturalism through individual director's cultural translations and localization of Western art. Understanding of Shakespeare as a global export also depends on how an individual Shakespearean film works. Shakespeare's global appeal for cinema does not reside alone in his exquisite writings, distinctive characters, the setting, the story and the plots that have nurtured cinema since the medium's formative years. Shakespeare's global cinematic appeal is present in the spirit of cinema itself, i.e., the moving images capturing human behaviour and emotions that the plays invoke in audiences.

Keywords: adaptation, global dimensions, Shakespeare, Shakespearean cinema

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Monalisa Halder, Amit K. Das, Ajit K. Meikap

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Polymer nanocomposites are very significant materials both in academia and industry for diverse potential applicability in electronics. Polymer plays the role of matrix element which has low density, flexibility, good mechanical strength and electrical properties. Use of nanosized multiferroic filler in the polymer matrix is suitable to achieve nanocomposites with enhanced magneto-dielectric effect and good mechanical properties both at the same time. Multiferroic terbium manganate (TbMnO₃) nanoparticles have been synthesized by sol-gel method using chloride precursors. Terbium manganate-polyvinyl alcohol (TbMnO₃-PVA) nanocomposite film has been prepared by solution casting method. Crystallite size of TbMnO₃ nanoparticle has been calculated to be ~ 40 nm from XRD analysis. Morphological study of the samples has been done by scanning electron microscopy and a well dispersion of the nanoparticles in the PVA matrix has been found. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) exhibits enhancement of thermal stability of the nanocomposite film with the inclusion of TbMnO₃ nanofiller in PVA matrix. The electrical transport properties of the nanocomposite film sample have been studied in the frequency range 20Hz - 2MHz at and above room temperature. The frequency dependent variation of ac conductivity follows universal dielectric response (UDR) obeying Jhonscher’s sublinear power law. Correlated barrier hopping (CBH) mechanism is the dominant charge transport mechanism with maximum barrier height 19 meV above room temperature. The variation of dielectric constant of the sample with frequency has been studied at different temperatures. Real part of dielectric constant at 1 KHz frequency at room temperature of the sample is found to be ~ 8 which is higher than that of the pure PVA film sample (~ 6). Dielectric constant decreases with the increase in frequency. Relaxation peaks have been observed in the variation of imaginary part of electric modulus with frequency. The relaxation peaks shift towards higher frequency as temperature increases probably due to the existence of interfacial polarization in the sample in presence of applied electric field. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the nanocomposite film have been studied under ±40 V applied at different temperatures. I-V characteristic exhibits temperature dependent rectifying nature indicating the formation of Schottky barrier diode (SBD) with barrier height 23 meV. In conclusion, using multiferroic TbMnO₃ nanofiller in PVA matrix, enhanced thermal stability and electrical properties can be achieved.

Keywords: correlated barrier hopping, nanocomposite, schottky diode, TbMnO₃, TGA

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Nadhiya N. Subramony, Jenifer Vaughan, Lesley E. Scott

Abstract:

In South Africa, the World Health Organisation estimated 454000 new cases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection (MTB) in 2015. Disseminated tuberculosis arises from the haematogenous spread and seeding of the bacilli in extrapulmonary sites. The gold standard for the detection of MTB in bone marrow is TB culture which has an average turnaround time of 6 weeks. Histological examinations of trephine biopsies to diagnose MTB also have a time delay owing mainly to the 5-7 day processing period prior to microscopic examination. Adding to the diagnostic delay is the non-specific nature of granulomatous inflammation which is the hallmark of MTB involvement of the bone marrow. A Ziehl-Neelson stain (which highlights acid-fast bacilli) is therefore mandatory to confirm the diagnosis but can take up to 3 days for processing and evaluation. Owing to this delay in diagnosis, many patients are lost to follow up or remain untreated whilst results are awaited, thus encouraging the spread of undiagnosed TB. The Xpert® MTB/RIF (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) is the molecular test used in the South African national TB program as the initial diagnostic test for pulmonary TB. This study investigates the optimisation and performance of the Xpert® MTB/RIF on bone marrow aspirate specimens (BMA), a first since the introduction of the assay in the diagnosis of extrapulmonary TB. BMA received for immunophenotypic analysis as part of the investigation into disseminated MTB or in the evaluation of cytopenias in immunocompromised patients were used. Processing BMA on the Xpert® MTB/RIF was optimised to ensure bone marrow in EDTA and heparin did not inhibit the PCR reaction. Inactivated M.tb was spiked into the clinical bone marrow specimen and distilled water (as a control). A volume of 500mcl and an incubation time of 15 minutes with sample reagent were investigated as the processing protocol. A total of 135 BMA specimens had sufficient residual volume for Xpert® MTB/RIF testing however 22 specimens (16.3%) were not included in the final statistical analysis as an adequate trephine biopsy and/or TB culture was not available. Xpert® MTB/RIF testing was not affected by BMA material in the presence of heparin or EDTA, but the overall detection of MTB in BMA was low compared to histology and culture. Sensitivity of the Xpert® MTB/RIF compared to both histology and culture was 8.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07-28.04%) and sensitivity compared to histology only was 11.1% (95% CI: 1.38-34.7%). Specificity of the Xpert® MTB/RIF was 98.9% (95% CI: 93.9-99.7%). Although the Xpert® MTB/RIF generates a faster result than histology and TB culture and is less expensive than culture and drug susceptibility testing, the low sensitivity of the Xpert® MTB/RIF precludes its use for the diagnosis of MTB in bone marrow aspirate specimens and warrants alternative/additional testing to optimise the assay.

Keywords: bone marrow aspirate , extrapulmonary TB, low sensitivity, Xpert® MTB/RIF

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: A. D'Alessandro, F. Ubertini, A. L. Materazzi

Abstract:

In the field of civil engineering, Structural Health Monitoring is a topic of growing interest. Effective monitoring instruments permit the control of the working conditions of structures and infrastructures, through the identification of behavioral anomalies due to incipient damages, especially in areas of high environmental hazards as earthquakes. While traditional sensors can be applied only in a limited number of points, providing a partial information for a structural diagnosis, novel transducers may allow a diffuse sensing. Thanks to the new tools and materials provided by nanotechnology, new types of multifunctional sensors are developing in the scientific panorama. In particular, cement-matrix composite materials capable of diagnosing their own state of strain and tension, could be originated by the addition of specific conductive nanofillers. Because of the nature of the material they are made of, these new cementitious nano-modified transducers can be inserted within the concrete elements, transforming the same structures in sets of widespread sensors. This paper is aimed at presenting the results of a research about a new self-sensing nanocomposite and about the implementation of smart sensors for Structural Health Monitoring. The developed nanocomposite has been obtained by inserting multi walled carbon nanotubes within a cementitious matrix. The insertion of such conductive carbon nanofillers provides the base material with piezoresistive characteristics and peculiar sensitivity to mechanical modifications. The self-sensing ability is achieved by correlating the variation of the external stress or strain with the variation of some electrical properties, such as the electrical resistance or conductivity. Through the measurement of such electrical characteristics, the performance and the working conditions of an element or a structure can be monitored. Among conductive carbon nanofillers, carbon nanotubes seem to be particularly promising for the realization of self-sensing cement-matrix materials. Some issues related to the nanofiller dispersion or to the influence of the nano-inclusions amount in the cement matrix need to be carefully investigated: the strain sensitivity of the resulting sensors is influenced by such factors. This work analyzes the dispersion of the carbon nanofillers, the physical properties of the fresh dough, the electrical properties of the hardened composites and the sensing properties of the realized sensors. The experimental campaign focuses specifically on their dynamic characterization and their applicability to the monitoring of full-scale elements. The results of the electromechanical tests with both slow varying and dynamic loads show that the developed nanocomposite sensors can be effectively used for the health monitoring of structures.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, self-sensing nanocomposites, smart cement-matrix sensors, structural health monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 227