Search results for: legal and social policy

Authors: Ladislas Havugimana, Véronique Zinnen, Mary Hadley, Jean Claude Mwumvaneza, Francois Régis Habarugira, Silas Rudasingwa, Victor Ndaruhutse, Evelyne Bocquet

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Rwanda's health systems face various challenges, including low health infrastructure coverage (the objective is to have at least one health center per administrative sector) and insufficient qualified human resources for infrastructure maintenance and financing. Moreover, there is no policy for the preventive maintenance of infrastructures for the health sector. This paper presents action research conducted in seven districts, focusing on the impact of health infrastructure's quality on maternal and neonatal care, with the support of the Belgian cooperation agency through Enable Barame project.

Keywords: health infrastructure, maintenance, maternity, neonatology

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Authors: Rabiatu Bonku, Faisal Alkaabneh

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Inspired by a food banks distribution operation for non-profit organization, we study a variant synchronized vehicle routing problem for equitable resource allocation. This research paper introduces a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model aimed at addressing the complex challenge of efficiently distributing vital resources, particularly for food banks serving vulnerable populations in urban areas. Our optimization approach places a strong emphasis on social equity, ensuring a fair allocation of food to partner agencies while minimizing wastage. The primary objective is to enhance operational efficiency while guaranteeing fair distribution and timely deliveries to prevent food spoilage. Furthermore, we assess four distinct models that consider various aspects of sustainability, including social and economic factors. We conduct a comprehensive numerical analysis using real-world data to gain insights into the trade-offs that arise, while also demonstrating the models’ performance in terms of fairness, effectiveness, and the percentage of food waste. This provides valuable managerial insights for food bank managers. We show that our proposed approach makes a significant contribution to the field of logistics optimization and social responsibility, offering valuable insights for improving the operations of food banks.

Keywords: food banks, humanitarian logistics, equitable resource allocation, synchronized vehicle routing

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Authors: Fernando Nobre Cavalcante

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In Brazil, and more recently in the city of Fortaleza, there is a new form of entrepreneurship that is focused on the information and communication technology service sector and that draws the attention of young people, investors, governments, authors and media companies: it is known as the start-up movement. Today, it is considered to be a driving force behind the creative economy. Rooted on progressive discourse, the words enterprise and innovation seduce new economic agents motivated by success stories from Silicon Valley in America along with increasing commercial activity for digital goods and services. This article assesses, from a sociological point of view, the new productive wave problematized by the light of Manuel Castells’ informational capitalism. Considering the skeptical as well as the optimistic opinions about the impact of this new entrepreneurial rearrangement, the following question is asked: How Brazilian entrepreneurs evaluate public policy incentives for startups Brazilian Federal Government? The raised hypotheses are based on employability factors as well as cultural, economical, and political matters related to innovation and technology. This study has produced a nationwide quantitative assessment with a special focus on the reality of these Ceará firms; as well as comparative qualitative interviews on Brazilian experiences lived by identified agents. This article outlines the public incentive policy of the federal government, the Start-up Brasil Program, from the perspective of these companies and provides details as to the discipline methods of the new enterprising way born in the United States. The startups are very young companies that are headed towards the economic sustainment of the productive sector services. These companies are dropping the seeds that will produce the re-enchantment of young people and bring them back to participation in political debate; they provide relief and reheats the job market; and they produce a democratization of the entrepreneurial ‘Do-It-Yourself’ culture. They capitalize the pivot of the wall street wolves and of agents being charged for new masks. There are developmental logic’s prophylaxis in the face of dreadful innovation stagnation. The lack of continuity in Brazilian governmental politics and cultural nuances related to entrepreneurship are barring the desired regional success of this ecosystem.

Keywords: creative economy, entrepreneurship, informationalism, innovation, startups, start-up brasil program

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Authors: Abdikarim Yusuf

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This study uses data from Somalia to analyse child labour using a descriptive and qualitative method. The study set out to identify root causes of child labour in Hargeisa and its implications for children. The study shows that poverty, droughts, family separation, and loss of properties are primary drivers of child labour in Hargeisa. The study found that children work in very difficult jobs such as car wash, casual work, and shoe shining for boys while girls work as housemaids, selling tea, Khat and sometimes are at risk of exploitation such as sexual abuse, rape and harassment. The majority of the parents responded that they don’t know any policy, act or law that protects children. Men showed greater awareness than the women respondents in recognizing child labour as a child rights violation.

Keywords: abuse, child, violence, protection

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Authors: Nathalie Stephenne, Mathieu Veschkens, Stéphane Palm, Christophe Charlemagne, Jacques Defoux

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According to Europe’s first River basin Management Plans (RBMPs), 56% of European rivers failed to achieve the good status targets of the Water Framework Directive WFD. In Central European countries such as Belgium, even more than 80% of rivers failed to achieve the WFD quality targets. Although the RBMP’s should reduce the stressors and improve water body status, their potential to address multiple stress situations is limited due to insufficient knowledge on combined effects, multi-stress, prioritization of measures, impact on ecology and implementation effects. This paper describes a webGis prototype developed for the Walloon administration to improve the communication and the management of sediment dredging actions carried out in rivers and lakes in the frame of RBMPs. A large number of stakeholders are involved in the management of rivers and lakes in Wallonia. They are in charge of technical aspects (client and dredging operators, organizations involved in the treatment of waste…), management (managers involved in WFD implementation at communal, provincial or regional level) or policy making (people responsible for policy compliance or legislation revision). These different kinds of stakeholders need different information and data to cover their duties but have to interact closely at different levels. Moreover, information has to be shared between them to improve the management quality of dredging operations within the ecological system. In the Walloon legislation, leveling dredged sediments on banks requires an official authorization from the administration. This request refers to spatial information such as the official land use map, the cadastral map, the distance to potential pollution sources. The production of a collective geodatabase can facilitate the management of these authorizations from both sides. The proposed internet system integrates documents, data input, integration of data from disparate sources, map representation, database queries, analysis of monitoring data, presentation of results and cartographic visualization. A prototype of web application using the API geoviewer chosen by the Geomatic department of the SPW has been developed and discussed with some potential users to facilitate the communication, the management and the quality of the data. The structure of the paper states the why, what, who and how of this communication tool.

Keywords: sediments, web application, GIS, rivers management

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Authors: Berfu Guley Goren, Ayse Lale Berkoz

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The aim of the study is to analyze the concept of universal design and accessibility to make the city which allows equality and independence for individuals. In the content of the study, literature researches and observations of samples in Istanbul, Turkey are analyzed. As a result proposals are going to be developed to create the cities which are designed for everyone. In globalization process, in cities, population have been increasing dramatically with social and economic activities. Medical developments have been effective in prolonging human life and the disability that comes with aging has also increased in parallel with the disabled population. Nowadays disability is an important phenomenon. Because approximately 1 billion people live with disabilities. The heterogeneous structure formed by the rapid gathering of individuals with different social, economic and physical characteristics in the cities creates great spatial diversity and richness in the cities with different needs brought together. Unlike the cultural and physical wealth in these places and the potential to integrate and diversify the urban people, unfortunately, the designs in practice cause the urban areas to break apart, the urbanities to tear themselves apart, to interfere with their communication and interactions. The social and physical structure of the city is important to feel belonging to the urban society. In most cities when an observation is made, obstructions for people with disabilities can be seen in urban physical structure and design. With these obstructions, people with disabilities cannot live in urban space, and they are desolated in urban life. The city, which offers equal opportunity, the relation between economic development, social justice and built environment must be planned synchronous. Isolation and stigmatization must be abolished by regulations, activities of awareness and universal urban design. Without regard to social, economical and physical features every individual has the same right, which is using the freedom of movement. Supporting freedom of movement of every individual may be ensured by universal design and its principles. So urban spaces are going to be for every individual. For equal opportunity in urban services, urban design must be the focus on every individual including people with disabilities. In built environment practices, democratic suitable spaces should be created. In this respect, urban planners, architects, political decision-makers and other relevant actors should work together and should think very versatile.

Keywords: disability, equality, universal design, urban design

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Authors: Sohail Ahmad Umer

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Since last few decades a question is raising on the subject of the importance of women in different societies of the world particularly in the developing societies of Asia and Africa. Female population constitutes almost 50% of the total population of the world and is playing a significant role in the economy with male population. In Pakistan, a developing country of Asia with majority of Muslim population, working women role is more focused. Women of rural background who are working as voluntary workers and their working hours are neither recorded nor recognized. Agricultural statistics shows that the female participation rate is below 40% while other sources claim them below 20%. Here in present study, another effort has been made to compare the women role in two different provinces of Pakistan to analyze the participation of women in agricultural activities like sowing, picking, irrigating the fields, harvesting and threshing of crops, caring and feeding of the animals, collecting the firewood and etc,as without these activities the farming would be incomplete. One hundred villages in the district Khushab (Punjab) and one hundred villages in district D.I.Khan (KPK) were selected and 33% of the families of each village have been interviewed to study their input in agriculture work. Another important feature is the social stratification therefore the contribution by different variables like the ownership, tenancy, education and caste has also been studied.

Keywords: caste, social stratification, tenancy, voluntary workers

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Authors: Goreti Botelho, Filomena Gomes, Fernanda M. Ferreira, Ilda Caldeira

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The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) is a small tree or shrub from botanical Ericaceae family that grows spontaneously nearby the Mediterranean basin and produce edible red fruits. A traditional processed fruit application, in Mediterranean countries, is the production of a spirit (known as aguardente de medronho, in Portugal) obtained from the fermented fruit. The main objective of our study was to contribute to the knowledge about the influence of the degree of maturation of fruits in the volatile composition and quality of arbutus spirit. The major volatiles in the three distillates fractions (head, heart and tail) obtained from fermentation of two different fruit maturation levels were quantified by GC-FID analysis and ANOVA one-way was performed. Additionally, the total antioxidant capacity and total phenolic compounds of both arbutus fruit spirits were determined, by ABTS and Folin-Ciocalteau method, respectively. The methanol concentration is superior (1022.39 g/hL a.a.) in the spirit made from fruits with highest total soluble solids, which is a value above the legal limit (1000 g/hL a.a.). Overall, our study emphasizes, for the first time, the influence of maturation degree of arbutus fruits in the spirit volatile composition and quality.

Keywords: arbutus fruit, maturation, quality, spirit

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Authors: Majid Omidikhankahdani, Maryam Omidikhankahdani

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Chabahar city located southeast of Iran and is one of strategic regional port in Oman sea aim of this study was measuring Chabahar city resident perceptions about tourism positive and negative effect. 322 participants selected via random sampling and fill questionnaire about their attitude toward tourism economic, social cultural and environment positive and negative impact. the result showed perspective of resident tourism have more positive effect than negative effect, also pair sample t test showed significant difference between positive and negative effect of tourism in favor positive effect.

Keywords: tourism economic effect, tourism environment, residents attitude, tourism social-cultural

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Authors: Akaash Tawade, Manan Khattar, Lucas Spangher, Costas J. Spanos

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Many grids are increasing the share of renewable energy in their generation mix, which is causing the energy generation to become less controllable. Buildings, which consume nearly 33% of all energy, are a key target for demand response: i.e., mechanisms for demand to meet supply. Understanding the behavior of office workers is a start towards developing demand response for one sector of building technology. The literature notes that dynamic computational modeling can be predictive of individual action, especially given that occupant behavior is traditionally abstracted from demand forecasting. Recent work founded on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) has provided a promising conceptual basis for modeling behavior, personal states, and environment using control theoretic principles. Here, an adapted linear dynamical system of latent states and exogenous inputs is proposed to simulate energy demand amongst office workers engaged in a social energy shifting game. The energy shifting competition is implemented in an office in Singapore that is connected to a minigrid of buildings with a consistent 'price signal.' This signal is translated into a 'points signal' by a reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm to influence participant energy use. The dynamic model functions at the intersection of the points signals, baseline energy consumption trends, and SCT behavioral inputs to simulate future outcomes. This study endeavors to analyze how the dynamic model trains an RL agent and, subsequently, the degree of accuracy to which load deferability can be simulated. The results offer a generalizable behavioral model for energy competitions that provides the framework for further research on transfer learning for RL, and more broadly— transactive control.

Keywords: energy demand forecasting, social cognitive behavioral modeling, social game, transfer learning

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Authors: Chung Danbi, Linton Oliver, Whang Yoon-Jae

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Supermodularity, or complementarity, is a popular concept in economics which can characterize many objective functions such as utility, social welfare, and production functions. Further, supermodular dominance captures a preference for greater interdependence among inputs of those functions, and it can be applied to examine which input set would produce higher expected utility, social welfare, or production. Therefore, we propose and justify a consistent testing for a useful implication of supermodular dominance. We also conduct Monte Carlo simulations to explore the finite sample performance of our test, with critical values obtained from the recentered bootstrap method, with and without the selective recentering, and the subsampling method. Under various parameter settings, we confirmed that our test has reasonably good size and power performance. Finally, we apply our test to compare the geographic and distant knowledge spillover in terms of their effects on social welfare using the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) patent data. We expect localized citing to supermodularly dominate distant citing if the geographic knowledge spillover engenders greater social welfare than distant knowledge spillover. Taking subgroups based on firm and patent characteristics, we found that there is industry-wise and patent subclass-wise difference in the pattern of supermodular dominance between localized and distant citing. We also compare the results from analyzing different time periods to see if the development of Internet and communication technology has changed the pattern of the dominance. In addition, to appropriately deal with the sparse nature of the data, we apply high-dimensional methods to efficiently select relevant data.

Keywords: supermodularity, supermodular dominance, stochastic dominance, Monte Carlo simulation, bootstrap, subsampling

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Authors: Sara Dalma Galgoczi, Judith Gabriella Kengyel

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Sex scandals are quite an engaging topic to work with, especially with their judgment in society. Most people are interested in other people's lives, specifically in public figures' such as celebrities or politicians, because ordinary people feel like they have the right to know more things about the famous and notorious ones than they would probably willing to share. Intimacy and sexual acts aren't exceptions; moreover, sexuality is one of the central interests of humans ever since. Besides, knowing and having an opinion about any kind of scandal can change even whole social groups or classes estimation of anyone. This study aims to research the social judgment of some Hungarian politicians' sex scandals and asks important questions like diverse public opinions in the light of gender or delegates’ abuse of power. Considering that this study is about collecting and evaluating opinions from the public, and no one before researched and published this exact topic and cases, an online survey was created. In the survey were different sections. We collected data about party-preference, conservativism-liberalism scale; then we used the following questionnaires: from Zero-sum perspective with regard to gender equality (Ruthig, Kehn, Gamblin, Vanderzanden & Jones, 2017), Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI; Glick & Fiske, 1996), Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (AMI; Glick & Fiske, 1999). Finally, 5 short summaries were presented about five Hungarian politicians' sex scandal cases (3 males, 2 females) from the recent past. These stories were followed by questions about their opinion of the party and attitudes towards the parties' reactions to the cases. We came to the conclusion that people are more permissive with the scandals of men, and benevolent sexism and ambivalence towards men mediate this relation. Men tend to see these cases as part of politicians' private lives more than women. Party preference had a significant effect - people tend to pass a sentence the delegates of the opposing parties, and they rather release the delegates of their preferred party.

Keywords: sex scandal, sexism, social judgement, politician

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Authors: Jesvin Puay-Hwa Yeo, Laavanya Kathiravelu, Sa’Eda Binte Buang

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In the early days, myths and taboos were used by our ancestors to give explanations to the existence of nature and man, as well as to propitiate fortunes and to avoid unluckiness and harm. Myths and taboos are deeply rooted in our cultures and environment, and they form certain characteristics of any society, even in modern societies. With decades of the three main ethnic communities in Singapore – Malay, Indian and Chinese – living together, there has been intermingling and intermixing of traditions and practices. This may mean that what we think is a ‘Malay’ practice is actually one that is a hybrid of the Chinese and Malay. A good example would be the practice of covering all mirrors in a house of mourning. Therefore, the proposed seeks to explore and understand the underlying social influences of Singapore’s oral tradition. As part of a bigger cultural research project: Designing Cultures, the proposed paper focused on using secondary data to contribute to the overall cultural understanding of the integral connections between oral traditions, people and landscapes. The proposed paper will discuss in details the initials findings of the research project, including the two manners that contributed to the intermixing of myths and taboos. The first is the presence of social institutions such as religions, and the second is the presence of cross-cultural minorities such as the Straits Chinese. As well as other observations included the use and influence of Chinese oral traditions such as folklore among the early Chinese immigrants through social institutions.

Keywords: cultural belief, multiracial society, myths, oral tradition

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Authors: Daria Lozovskaia

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This paper is focused on the news coverage of public opinion polls about Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Russian state-controlled media. After the announcement of the start of the so-called “Special Military Operation” on February 24, 2022, the number of publications of the results of public opinion polls increased many times over, and the poll numbers began to be discussed on social media and in the Kremlin’s official informational agenda. Headlines like "72 Percent of Russian Citizens Support the Operation " or "Russians Believe in Victory in the Special Military Operation" have become prominent parts of Russian state propaganda news stories and newspapers. At the same time, public opinion in Russia, as a concept and model, differs from the generally accepted democratic concept and has its own specifics. As a result, public opinion polls and their results, especially after February 24, have a number of features in the form of the dominance of the discourse of political elites in the media, which leads to a decrease in public awareness, the prevalence of the effect of joining the majority and a high number of non-responses due to fear of reprisals. The aim of this study was to determine the role of public opinion polls in the system of Russian war propaganda in Ukraine. For this purpose, were selected publications of the Russian media, the agenda of which corresponds to the official information policy of the Russian authorities. First, using frame analysis for the categories "Explicit trust", "Implicit trust", "Implicit distrust" and "Explicit distrust", provided by Irina Dusakova, the broadcast level of trust in the data of public opinion polls was determined. The results of this phase of the study showed that the Russian media broadcast an absolute level of confidence in public opinion polls regarding support for the war in Ukraine. The second stage of the study was the content analysis of publications. The categories of this analysis were derived from Anna Morelli's 10 Principles of Military Propaganda and Haavard Koppang's Definition of Propaganda to determine the purposes of the use of public opinion polls by Russian propaganda. The results of the study not only confirmed the widespread hypothesis that public opinion polls in Russia are used as a tool of state propaganda, but also showed that their purpose is to demonstrate the consolidation of society in support of the war and President Vladimir Putin.

Keywords: propaganda, public opinion, public opinion polls, Russian studies

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Authors: Ana Luiza Casasanta Garcia, Maria Del Carmen Cortizo

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From the classic contractualist and early declarations of modern rights, discussions on policies for the protection and promotion of human rights were highlighted in an attempt to ensure the realization of human dignity and its values, which are (re) negotiated according to the needs evidenced in each historical and contextual moment. Aiming at guaranteeing human rights to Brazilian citizens, created in 2009 and updated in 2010, the Third National Human Rights Program (PNDH III) in force highlights guidelines and recommendations to guarantee human rights, among them, to guarantee the rights of women in Brazil. Based on this document, this article aims to locate historically and culturally the understanding of human rights related to the rights of women in Brazilian territory, from the analysis of the guiding axes of women's rights of the PNDH III. In methodological terms, the qualitative approach and documentary research were used to analyze the data according to the critical discourse analysis. As a result, it has been found that the process of building and maintaining the guarantee of women's human rights needs a reformulation that also shows a social revolution. This is justified by the fact that even with the provision in the PNDH III that, in order to guarantee the rights of women, it is necessary, for example, to adapt the Penal Code to the decriminalization of abortion and the professionalization of prostitution, these points are still very controversial and are not put into practice by the State. Finally, the importance of the critique of politics and the current system of production of understandings in favor of this social transformation is emphasized.

Keywords: human rights of women, social transformation, national human rights program III, public politics

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Authors: Lee Jin-Eui, Kim Jin-OK, Han Seung-Hoon, Kim Nam-Jo

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Recently, there has been a growing interest in wellbeing where individuals pursue a healthy life. About the half of world population is living in cities, and the urban environment is negatively affecting the mental health of modern people. The stress level of urban dwellers continues to increase, and they pursue nature-based recreation activities to relieve their stresses. It was found that activities in green spaces are improving concentration, relieving mental stress, and positively affecting physical activities and social relationship, thus enhancing the quality of life. For that reason, studies have been continuously conducted on the role of nature, which is a green space for pursuing health and relieving the stress of urban dwellers. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of experiencing a restoration from nature-based outdoor recreation activities of urban dwellers on their quality of life for the groups with high and low-stress levels. The results of the analysis against visitors who trekked and climbed Mt. Bukhan National Park in Seoul, South Korea showed that the effect of perceiving restorative environment on relaxation, calmness and subjective vitality, and the effect of relaxation and calmness on the quality of life were similar in both groups. However, it was found that subjective vitality affected the quality of life in the group with the high-stress group, while it did not show a significant result in the low-stress group. This is because the high-stress group increased their belief in the future and themselves and vitality through nature-based outdoor activities, which in turn affected their quality of life, while people in the low-stress group normally have subjective vitality in their daily lives, not affected by nature-based outdoor recreation. This result suggests that urban dwellers feel relaxed and calm through nature-based outdoor recreation activities with perceived restorative environment, and such activities enhance their quality of life. Therefore, a wellbeing policy is needed to enhance the quality of life of citizens by creating green spaces in city centers for the promotion of public health.

Keywords: healing tourism, nature-based outdoor recreation, perceived restorative environment, quality of life

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Authors: Nasim Babazadeh

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Growing demand for a quieter dwelling environment has turned the attention of construction companies to reducing the propagated noise of their project. In inner-city constructions, close distance between the construction site and surrounding buildings lessens the efficiency of passive noise control methods. Dwellers of the nearby areas may file complaints and lawsuits against the construction companies due to the emitted construction noise, thereby leading to the interruption of processes, compensation costs, or even suspension of the project. Therefore, construction noise should be predicted along with the project schedule. The advantage of managing the noise in the pre-construction phase is two-fold. Firstly, changes in the time plan and construction methods can be applied more flexibly. Thus, the costs related to rescheduling can be avoided. Secondly, noise-related legal problems are expected to be reduced. To implement noise mapping methods for the mentioned prediction, the required detailed information (such as the location of the noisy process, duration of the noisy work) can be exported from the 4D BIM model. The results obtained from the noise maps would be used to help the planners to define different work scenarios. The proposed approach has been applied for the foundation and earthwork of a site located in a residential area, and the obtained results are discussed.

Keywords: building information modeling, construction noise management, noise mapping, 4D BIM

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Authors: Hariz Halilovich

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Based on conventional and digital ethnography, this paper discusses the ways Bosnian refugees utilise digital technologies and new media to recreate, synchronise and sustain their identities and memories in the aftermath of ‘ethnic cleansing’ and genocide and in the contexts of their new emplacements and home-making practices in diaspora. In addition to discussing representations of displacement and emplacement in the ‘digital age’, the paper also aims to make a contribution to the understanding and application of digital ethnography as an emerging method of inquiry in anthropology and related social science disciplines. While some researchers see digital ethnography as an exclusively online–based research, the author of this paper argues that it is critical to understand the online world in the context of the real world—made of real people, places, and social relations.

Keywords: Bosnia, cyber villages, digital diaspora, refugees

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Authors: Adebowale Olukayode Efunnowo

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This study was carried out to assess the awareness and utilization of Social Network Tools (SNTs) among agricultural science students in Colleges of Education in Ogun State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select 280 respondents from the study area. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the objectives while Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypothesis. The result showed that the majority (71.8%) of the respondents were single, with a mean age of 20 years. Almost all (95.7%) the respondents were aware of Facebook and 2go as a Social Network Tools (SNTs) while 85.0% of the respondents were not aware of Blackplanet, LinkedIn, MyHeritage and Bebo. Many (41.1%) of the respondents had views that using SNTs can enhance extensive literature survey, increase internet browsing potential, promote teaching proficiency, and update on outcomes of researches. However, 51.4% of the respondents perceived that SNTs usage as what is meant for the lecturers/adults only while 16.1% considered it as mainly used by internet fraudsters. Findings revealed that about 50.0% of the respondents browsed Facebook and 2go daily while more than 80% of the respondents used Blackplanet, MyHeritage, Skyrock, Bebo, LinkedIn and My YearBook as the need arise. Major constraints to the awareness and utilization of SNTs were high cost and poor quality of ICTs facilities (77.1%), epileptic power supply (75.0%), inadequate telecommunication infrastructure (71.1%), low technical know-how (62.9%) and inadequate computer knowledge (61.1%). The result of PPMC analysis showed that there was an inverse relationship between constraints and utilization of SNTs at p < 0.05. It can be concluded that constraints affect efficient and effective utilization of SNTs in the study area. It is hereby recommended that management of colleges of education and agricultural institutes should provide good internet connectivity, computer facilities, and alternative power supply in order to increase the awareness and utilization of SNTs among students.

Keywords: awareness, utilization, social network tools, constraints, students

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Authors: Marc Arthur Bien Aimé, Julio da Silveira Moreira

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This study examines the political speech in Haiti over the course of the decade 2011-2021, focusing on the speeches of the presidents Michel J. Martelly and Jovenel Moïse and their impacts on their awareness collective. In using a qualitative approach, we have analyzed the speech of the president pronounced in response to the political instability of countries, as well as interviews with a group of 20 Haitians living in Port- Au-Prince. Our results put in evidence their complex relationship between politics, awareness collective, and the influence of the powers imperialists. We show that the situation in Haiti's disastrous social and political situation is driven by personal political interests and the absence of a state political project. Moreover, the speeches of the president’s analysis are meaningless, transforming concepts such as social progress and justice in simple words. This political rhetoric contributes to the domination symbolic of the population of Haitian. This study is also linked to the theme “Constitutions, processes democratic and critical of the state in Latin America,” emphasizing the importance of analysis of political speech to understand the complexities of the democratic process and criticism of the State in their Latin American region. We suggest future research to deepen our understanding of these political dynamics and their impact on public policies and developments of the constitutions throughout Latin America.

Keywords: political discourse, conscience collective, inequality social, democratic processes, constitutions, Haiti

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Authors: Agustin Maciel-Padilla

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This paper explores the most significant change to Japan’s security strategy since the end of World War II, in particular Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government publication, in late 2022, of 3 policy documents (the National Security Strategy [NSS], the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program) that basically propose to expand the country’s military capabilities and to increase military spending over a 5-year period. These policies represent a remarkable transformation of Japan’s defense-oriented policy followed since 1946. These proposals have been under analysis and debate since they were announced, as it was also Japan’s historic ambition to strengthening its deterrence capabilities in the context of a more complex regional security environment. Even though this new defense posture has attracted significant international attention, it is far from representing a done deal because of the fact that there is still a long way to go to implement this vision because of a wide variety of political and economic issues. Japan is currently experiencing the most dangerous security environment since the end of World War II, and this situation led Japan to intensify its dialogue with the United States to reflect a re-evaluation of deterrence in the face of a rapidly worsening security environment, a changing balance of power in East Asia, and the arrival of a new era of “great power competition”. Japan’s new documents, for instance, identify China and North Korea’s as posing, respectively, a strategic challenge and an imminent threat. Japan has also noted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has contributed to erode the foundation of the international order. It is considered that Russia’s aggression was possible because Ukraine’s defense capability was not enough for effective deterrence. Moreover, Japan’s call for “counterstrike capabilities” results from a recognition that China and North Korea’s ballistic and cruise missiles could overwhelm Japan’s air and missile defense systems, and therefore there is an urgent need to strengthen deterrence and resilience. In this context, this paper will focus on the impact of these changes on the US-Japan alliance. Adapting this alliance to Tokyo’s new ambitions and capabilities could be critical in terms of updating their traditional protection/access to bases arrangement, interoperability and joint command and control issues, as well as regarding the security–economy nexus. While China is Japan’s largest trading partner, and trade between the two has been growing, US-Japan economic relationship has been slower, notwithstanding the fact that US-Japan security cooperation has strengthened significantly in recent years.

Keywords: us-japan alliance, japan security, great power competition, interoperability

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Authors: Abdullah Kattan, Khalid Alzahrani, Saud Alsaleh, Loui Ezzat, Khalid Murad, Bader Alghamdi

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Background and Significance: Patients are often bothered by the excess skin laxity and redundancy that they are left with after losing weight. Body-contouring surgery offers a solution to this problem; however, there is scarce literature on the psychological and social effects of these surgeries. This study was conducted to assess the psychosocial impact of body-contouring surgery on patients after weight loss. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, a specifically designed questionnaire was administered to forty three patients whom have undergone body-contouring surgery. All included patients had lost no less than 20 Kg before body-contouring surgery, and were interviewed at least 6 months after surgery. The twenty-question interviewer based questionnaire was used to assess the psychosocial status of the patients before and after undergoing body-contouring surgery. The questionnaire assessed the quality of life (social life, job performance and sexual activity), presence of symptoms of depression and overall satisfaction. Data was analyzed as paired variables in SPSS using McNemar’s test. Results: Among the 43 participants, 19 (44.2%) have undergone mammoplasty, 12 (27.9%) have undergone abdominoplasty and the remainder of the patients have undergone other various procedures including brachioplasty, thigh lifts and nick liposuction. The mean age of patients was 34 +/- 10, the sample included 24 (55.8%) females and 19 (44.2%) males. The patients’ quality of life significantly improved in the following areas; social life (P<0.001), job performance (P<0.002) and sexual activity (P<0.001). Moreover, 17 (39.5%) patients suffered symptoms of depression before body-contouring surgery; however, only 1 (2.3%) patient suffered symptoms of depression after surgery. Overall satisfaction rate was found to be 62.8%; with mammoplasty being the highest satisfaction rate procedure (66.6 %). Conclusion: Body-contouring surgery after weight loss has shown to improve the psychological and social aspects in patients. These findings have been found to be consistent with the majority of relevant published studies, further increasing reliability of our study.

Keywords: abdominoplasty, body-contouring, mammoplasty, psychosocial

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Authors: Li Wang, Dan Shu, Shiguang Pang, Lixiu Wang, Bing Xiang Yang, Qian Liu

Abstract:

Background: Cancer is one of the most severe diseases in childhood; long-term treatment and its side effects significantly impact the patient's physical, psychological, social functioning and quality of life while also placing substantial physical and psychological burdens on caregivers and families. Family resilience is crucial for children with cancer, helping them cope better with the disease and supporting the family in facing challenges together. As a family-level variable, family resilience requires information from multiple family members. However, to our best knowledge, there is currently no research investigating family resilience from both the perspectives of pediatric cancer patients and their caregivers. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the family resilience and quality of life of pediatric cancer patients from a patient–caregiver dyadic perspective. Methods: A total of 149 dyads of patients diagnosed with pediatric cancer patients and their principal caregivers were recruited from oncology departments of 4 tertiary hospitals in Wuhan and Taiyuan, China. All participants completed questionnaires that identified their demographic and clinical characteristics as well as assessed their family resilience and quality of life for both the patients and their caregivers. K-means cluster analysis was used to identify different clusters of family resilience based on the reports from patients and caregivers. Multivariate logistic regression and linear regression are used to analyze the factors influencing family resilience and quality of life, as well as the relationship between the two. Results: Three clusters of family resilience were identified: a cluster of high family resilience (HR), a cluster of low family resilience (LR), and a cluster of discrepant family resilience (DR). Most (67.1%) families fell into the cluster with low resilience. Characteristics such as the types of caregivers perceived social support of the patient were different among the three clusters. Compared to the LR group, families where the mother is the caregiver and where the patient has high social support are more likely to be assigned to the HR. The quality of life for caregivers was consistently highest in the HR cluster and lowest in the LR cluster. The patient's quality of life is not related to family resilience. In the linear regression analysis of the patient's quality of life, patients who are the first-born have higher quality of life, while those living with their parents have lower quality of life. The participants' characteristics were not associated with the quality of life for caregivers. Conclusions: In most families, family resilience was low. Families with maternal caregivers and patients receiving high levels of social support are more inclined to be higher levels of family resilience. Family resilience was linked to the quality of life of caregivers of pediatric cancer patients. The clinical implications of this findings suggest that healthcare and social support organizations should prioritize and support the participation of mothers in caregiving responsibilities. Furthermore, they should assist families in accessing social support to enhance family resilience. This study also emphasizes the importance of promoting family resilience for enhancing family health and happiness, as well as improving the quality of life for caregivers.

Keywords: pediatric cancer, cluster analysis, family resilience, quality of life

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Authors: Abu Umar Faruq Ahmad, Muhammad Ayub

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Tabarru` (unilateral gratuitous contribution) is thought to be the basic concept that distinguishes Takaful from conventional non-Sharīʿah compliant insurance. The Sharīʿah compliance of its current practice has been questioned in the premise that, a) it is a form of commutative contract; b) it is akin to the commercial corporate structure of insurance companies due to following the same marketing strategies, allocation to reserves, sharing of underwriting surplus by the companies one way or the other, providing loans to the Takaful funds, and resultantly absorbing the underwriting losses. The Sharīʿah scholars are of the view that the relationship between participants in Takaful should be in the form of commitment to donate, under which a contributor makes commitments himself to donate a sum of money for mutual help and cooperation on the condition that the balance, if any, should be returned to him. With the aim of finding solutions to the above mentioned concerns and other Sharīʿah related issues the study seeks to investigate whether the Takaful companies are functioning in accordance with the Islamic principles of brotherhood, solidarity, and cooperative risk sharing. Given that it discusses the cooperative model of Takaful to address the current and future Sharīʿah related and legal concerns. The study proposed an alternative model and considers it to best serve the objectives of Takaful which operates on the basis of ta`awun or mutual co-operation.

Keywords: hibah, musharakah ta`awuniyyah, Tabarru`, Takaful

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Authors: G. K. Abdigalieva, Z. N. Ismagambetova, T. H. Gabitov, K. A. Biazdikova, A. A. Mukhanbet , B. E. Moldagaliyev, Saira Shamahay

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In the article was shown attitude to contemporary traditional culture and cultural heritage preservation issues and features of further development of a culture. Concerning innovation, appeal to cultural heritage, ability of reception of a culture and cultural diffusion in the process of globalization, it is offered further positive development of Kazakhstan’s based human experience and achieved with time. System of traditions is considered as a phenomenon which describes unity, harmony and stability of social body. Contradictions of contemporary culture and civilization, processes of tradition and innovation, cultural changes, and creativities are considered as second side of a society development. Innovation is analyzed as a method of renewal of a culture, tradition and innovation are considered as universal feature of any culture.

Keywords: culture, civilization, innovation, tradition, reality, customs, social relations, morality, values

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Authors: Julio Silva, Lia Hasenclever, Gilson G. Silva Jr.

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The aim of this paper is to check possible convergence in health measures (aged-standard rate of morbidity and mortality) for communicable diseases between developed and developing countries, conditional to productive structures features. Understanding the interrelations between health patterns and economic development is particularly important in the context of low- and middle-income countries, where economic development comes along with deep social inequality. Developing countries with less diversified productive structures (measured through complexity index) but high heterogeneous inter-sectorial labor productivity (using as a proxy inter-sectorial coefficient of variation of labor productivity) has on average low health levels in communicable diseases compared to developed countries with high diversified productive structures and low labor market heterogeneity. Structural heterogeneity and productive diversification may have influence on health levels even considering per capita income. We set up a panel data for 139 countries from 1995 to 2015, joining several data about the countries, as economic development, health, and health system coverage, environmental and socioeconomic aspects. This information was obtained from World Bank, International Labour Organization, Atlas of Economic Complexity, United Nation (Development Report) and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Database. Econometric panel models evidence shows that the level of communicable diseases has a positive relationship with structural heterogeneity, even considering other factors as per capita income. On the other hand, the recent process of convergence in terms of communicable diseases have been motivated for other reasons not directly related to productive structure, as health system coverage and environmental aspects. These evidences suggest a joint dynamics between the unequal distribution of communicable diseases and countries' productive structure aspects. These set of evidence are quite important to public policy as meet the health aims in Millennium Development Goals. It also highlights the importance of the process of structural change as fundamental to shift the levels of health in terms of communicable diseases and can contribute to the debate between the relation of economic development and health patterns changes.

Keywords: economic development, inequality, population health, structural change

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Authors: June Tay, Ivy Chia

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There are numerous changes, both mental and physical, taking place when people age. We need to understand the different aspects required for healthy living, including meeting nutritional needs, regular physical activities to keep agility, sufficient rest and sleep to have physical and mental well-being, social engagement to avoid the risk of social isolation and depression, and access to healthcare to detect and manage chronic conditions. Promoting physical activities for an ageing population is necessary as many may have enjoyed sedentary lifestyles for some time. In our study, we evaluate the considerations when designing a computer vision video game for the elderly. We need to design some low-impact activities, such as stretching and gentle movements, because some elderly individuals may have joint pains or mobility issues. The exercise game should consist of simple movements that are easy to follow and remember. It should be fun and enjoyable so that they can be motivated to do some exercise. Social engagement can keep the elderly motivated and competitive, and they are more willing to engage in game exercises. Elderly citizens can compare their game scores and try to improve them. We propose a computer vision-based video game for the elderly that will capture and track the movement of the elderly hand pushing a ball on the screen into a circle. It can be easily set up using a PC laptop with a webcam. Our video game adhered to the design framework we employed, and it encompassed ease of use, a simple graphical interface, easy-to-play game exercise, and fun gameplay.

Keywords: about computer vision, video games, gerontology technology, caregiving

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Authors: Saman R. Khan, Najma Sadiq

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Silencing of opinions is an important aspect of Spiral of Silence theory however its applicability in rape-themed dramas requires investigation. This study focuses on the portrayal of female rape victim protagonists in Pakistani dramas and the factors influencing their behavior after rape. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on two prime-time dramas which directly dealt with female rape victims. Results indicate that the female protagonists who faced rape are shown as silent and submissive characters who are unable to communicate about their ordeal due to fear of social isolation. These findings lend support to the Spiral of Silence theory and indicate that the theory’s basic elements (inability to express opinions and fear of social isolation) exist in these TV dramas.

Keywords: gender stereotyping, rape victims, the spiral of silence, TV dramas

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Authors: Xukai Fu

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The concept of circular economy is interdisciplinary, intersecting environmental engineering, information technology, business, and social science domains. Over the course of its 15-year tenure in the sanitation industry, Jinkai has concentrated its efforts in the past five years on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology with street sanitation apparatus and systems. This endeavor has led to the development of various innovations, including the Intelligent Identification Sweeper Truck (Intelligent Waste Recognition and Energy-saving Control System), the Intelligent Identification Water Truck (Intelligent Flushing Control System), the intelligent food waste treatment machine, and the Intelligent City Road Sanitation Surveillance Platform. This study will commence with an examination of prevalent global challenges, elucidating how Jinkai effectively addresses each within the framework of circular economy principles. Utilizing a review and analysis of pertinent environmental management data, we will elucidate Jinkai's strategic approach. Following this, we will investigate how Jinkai utilizes the advantages of circular economy principles to guide the design of street sanitation machinery, with a focus on digitalization integration. Moreover, we will scrutinize Jinkai's sustainable practices throughout the invention and operation phases of street sanitation machinery, aligning with the triple bottom line theory. Finally, we will delve into the significance and enduring impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. Special emphasis will be placed on Jinkai's contributions to community stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on human rights. Despite the widespread adoption of circular economy principles across various industries, achieving a harmonious equilibrium between environmental justice and social justice remains a formidable task. Jinkai acknowledges that the mere development of energy-saving technologies is insufficient for authentic circular economy implementation; rather, they serve as instrumental tools. To earnestly promote and embody circular economy principles, companies must consistently prioritize the UN Sustainable Development Goals and adapt their technologies to address the evolving exigencies of our world.

Keywords: circular economy, core principles, benefits, the tripple bottom line, CSR, ESG, social justice, human rights, Jinkai

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Chang-Yong Kim, Dong-Woo Kim, Whon-Hyun Lee, Yong-Joo Kim, Tae-Won Chung, Kyung-Mi Lee, Han-Sol Kim, Eun-Joo Lee, Euh Duck Jeong

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In the past, together with the annual increase in investment on national R&D projects, the government’s budget investment in FE has steadily maintained. In the case of major developed countries, R&D and its supporting works are distinguished and professionalized in their own right, in so far as having a training system for facilities, equipment operation, and maintenance personnel. In Korea, however, research personnel conduct both research and equipment operation, leading to quantitative shortages of operational manpower and qualitative problems due to insecure employment such as maintenance issues or the loss of effectiveness of necessary equipment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the current status of engineer operated national research FE in Korea based on a 2017 survey results of domestic facilities and to suggest policy implications. A total of 395 research institutes that carried out national R&D projects and registered more than two FE since 2005 were surveyed on-line for two months. The survey showed that 395 non-profit research facilities were operating 45,155 pieces of equipment with 2,211 engineer operated national research FE, meaning that each engineer had to manage 21 items of FE. Among these, 43.9% of the workers were employed in temporary positions, including indefinite term contracts. Furthermore, the salary and treatment of the engineer personnel were relatively low compared to researchers. In short, engineers who exclusively focused on managing and maintaining FE play a very important role in increasing research immersion and obtaining highly reliable research results. Moreover, institutional efforts and government support for securing operators are severely lacking as domestic national R&D policies are mostly focused on researchers. The 2017 survey on FE also showed that 48.1% of all research facilities did not even employ engineers. In order to solve the shortage of the engineer personnel, the government will start the pilot project in 2012, and then only the 'research equipment engineer training project' from 2013. Considering the above, a national long-term manpower training plan that addresses the quantitative and qualitative shortage of operators needs to be established through a study of the current situation. In conclusion, the findings indicate that this should not only include a plan which connects training to employment but also measures the creation of additional jobs by re-defining and re-establishing operator roles and improving working conditions.

Keywords: engineer, Korea, maintenance, operation, research facilities and equipment

Procedia PDF Downloads 190