Search results for: planning and policy

Authors: Watcharapong Yaowarat, Thanee Kaewthummanukul, Waruntorn Jongrungrotsakul

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Noise-induced hearing loss, the most significant occupational and safety problem among the working population, can be effectively prevented through hearing protection devices (HPDs) use. This study aimed to examine whether the following factors, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and interpersonal and situational influences about using hearing protection could predict HPD use among 132 qualified workers in production lines at Kaolin Mineral Dressing factories, Uttaradit and Lampang provinces. Data collection was undertaken from August to September 2020 according to the interview form developed by Yaruang et al. (2010), which was assured by a panel of experts and its reliability value was at an acceptable level. Data analysis was performed using logistic regression analysis. The results revealed that only the situational factor of using hearing protection could predict HPD use, which accounted for 21.80 percent of the total variance for HPD use. It was also found that the study sample who had a score for the situational factors on using hearing protection greater than or equal to the median was 4.16 times more likely to use HPDs than those who had lower median scores. (OR = 4.16, p < .05). The results, thus, indicate that organization policies addressing worker health along with enhancing a supportive environment for HPD use, in particular, the provision of various HPDs, are of great importance. Therefore, occupational health nurses and related health teams should enhance workers’ use of HPDs effectively through knowledge dissemination by adopting strategies appropriate to the workplace context leading to an achievement of worker health policy focusing on work safety.

Keywords: predicting factors, hearing protection device, factors predicting hearing protection device use, kaolin mineral dressing factories

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Authors: Jisong Ryu, Woosik Lee, Yonggu Jang

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The paper discusses the process of establishing a reliable test bed for verifying the usability of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) exploration equipment based on an integrated underground spatial map in Korea. The aim of this study is to construct a test bed consisting of metal and non-metal pipelines to verify the performance of GPR equipment and improve the accuracy of the underground spatial integrated map. The study involved the design and construction of a test bed for metal and non-metal pipe detecting tests. The test bed was built in the SOC Demonstration Research Center (Yeoncheon) of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, burying metal and non-metal pipelines up to a depth of 5m. The test bed was designed in both vehicle-type and cart-type GPR-mounted equipment. The study collected data through the construction of the test bed and conducting metal and non-metal pipe detecting tests. The study analyzed the reliability of GPR detecting results by comparing them with the basic drawings, such as the underground space integrated map. The study contributes to the improvement of GPR equipment performance evaluation and the accuracy of the underground spatial integrated map, which is essential for urban planning and construction. The study addressed the question of how to verify the usability of GPR exploration equipment based on an integrated underground spatial map and improve its performance. The study found that the test bed is reliable for verifying the performance of GPR exploration equipment and accurately detecting metal and non-metal pipelines using an integrated underground spatial map. The study concludes that the establishment of a test bed for verifying the usability of GPR exploration equipment based on an integrated underground spatial map is essential. The proposed Korean-style test bed can be used for the evaluation of GPR equipment performance and support the construction of a national non-metal pipeline exploration equipment performance evaluation center in Korea.

Keywords: Korea-style GPR testbed, GPR, metal pipe detecting, non-metal pipe detecting

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Authors: Amleset Haile

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Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are harvested for both subsistence and commercial use and play a key role in the livelihoods of millions of rural people. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are important in rural southwest Ethiopia, Kaffa as a source of household income. market players at various levels in marketing chains are interviewed to getther information on elements of marketing system–products, product differentiation, value addition, pricing, promotion, distribution, and marketing chains. The study, therefore, was conducted in Kaffa Biosphere reserve of southwest Ethiopia with the main objective of assessing and analyzing the contribution of NTFPs to rural livelihood and to the conservation of the biosphere reserve and to identify factors influencing in the marketing of the NTFP. Five villages were selected based on their proximity gradient from Bonga town and availability of NTFP. Formal survey was carried out on rural households selected using stratified random sampling. The results indicate that Local people practice diverse livelihood activities mainly crops cultivation (cereals and cash crops) and livestock husbandry, gather forest products and off-farm/off-forest activities for surviva. NTFP trade is not a common phenomenon in southwest Ethiopia. The greatest opportunity exists for local level marketing of spices and other non timber forest products. Very little local value addition takes place within the region,and as a result local market players have little control. Policy interventions arc required to enhance the returns to local collectors, which will also contribute to sustainable management of forest resources in Kaffa biosphere reserve.

Keywords: forest management, biosphere reserve, marketing, local people

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Authors: M. Mohan, J. P. Roise, G. P. Catts

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Despite living in an era where conservation zones are de-facto the central element in any sustainable wildlife management strategy, we still find ourselves grappling with several pareto-optimal situations regarding resource allocation and area distribution for the same. In this paper, a multi-objective decision making (MODM) model is presented to answer the question of whether or not we can establish mutual relationships between these contradicting objectives. For our study, we considered a Red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) habitat conservation scenario in the coastal plain of North Carolina, USA. Red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) is a non-migratory territorial bird that excavates cavities in living pine trees for roosting and nesting. The RCW groups nest in an aggregation of cavity trees called ‘cluster’ and for our model we use the number of clusters to be established as a measure of evaluating the size of conservation zone required. The case study is formulated as a linear programming problem and the objective function optimises the Red-cockaded woodpecker clusters, carbon retention rate, biofuel, public safety and Net Present Value (NPV) of the forest. We studied the variation of individual objectives with respect to the amount of area available and plotted a two dimensional dynamic graph after establishing interrelations between the objectives. We further explore the concept of interdependency by integrating the MODM model with GIS, and derive a raster file representing carbon distribution from the existing forest dataset. Model results demonstrate the applicability of interdependency from both linear and spatial perspectives, and suggest that this approach holds immense potential for enhancing environmental investment decision making in future.

Keywords: conservation, interdependency, multi-objective decision making, red-cockaded woodpecker

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Authors: Ismail Elkhrachy

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Determination of land use changing is an important component of regional planning for applications ranging from urban fringe change detection to monitoring change detection of land use. This data are very useful for natural resources management.On the other hand, the technologies and methods of change detection also have evolved dramatically during past 20 years. So it has been well recognized that the change detection had become the best methods for researching dynamic change of land use by multi-temporal remotely-sensed data. The objective of this paper is to assess, evaluate and monitor land use change surrounding the area of Najran city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) using Landsat images (June 23, 2009) and ETM+ image(June. 21, 2014). The post-classification change detection technique was applied. At last,two-time subset images of Najran city are compared on a pixel-by-pixel basis using the post-classification comparison method and the from-to change matrix is produced, the land use change information obtained.Three classes were obtained, urban, bare land and agricultural land from unsupervised classification method by using Erdas Imagine and ArcGIS software. Accuracy assessment of classification has been performed before calculating change detection for study area. The obtained accuracy is between 61% to 87% percent for all the classes. Change detection analysis shows that rapid growth in urban area has been increased by 73.2%, the agricultural area has been decreased by 10.5 % and barren area reduced by 7% between 2009 and 2014. The quantitative study indicated that the area of urban class has unchanged by 58.2 km〗^2, gained 70.3 〖km〗^2 and lost 16 〖km〗^2. For bare land class 586.4〖km〗^2 has unchanged, 53.2〖km〗^2 has gained and 101.5〖km〗^2 has lost. While agriculture area class, 20.2〖km〗^2 has unchanged, 31.2〖km〗^2 has gained and 37.2〖km〗^2 has lost.

Keywords: land use, remote sensing, change detection, satellite images, image classification

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Authors: Nalini Murugaiyah

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Indigenous students require a positive school environment where meaningful learning ought to be there to minimise myriad challenges. Therefore, Orang Asli student’s school environment should be culturally responsive and equipped with student-centred activities or provide constructively designed curriculum and pedagogy. This study sought to extend the knowledge of culturally responsive school leadership practises which relevant and responsive to Orang Asli students through th lens of a theoretical framework, Culturally Responsive School Leadership. The aim of the proposed study is to examine and understand the real-world application of leadership practices that are relevant and responsive to Orang Asli students in Malaysia. This study will also include the often-voiceless voices’ of Orang Asli students, parents, and community leaders to gain a deeper understanding of the process and experience of engaging in culturally responsive school leadership. The study will explore the differences between school leaders, teachers, parents, and community leaders in relation to culturally responsive school environment, non-Orang Asli school leaders’ and teachers’ support to the needs of Orang Asli children, children’s perspectives of teachers’ practices in the classroom align with their culture; and, the demonstration of teacher’s culturally responsive behaviour in the classroom. A basic qualitative study is the proposed research design for this study, and the data is collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews. This qualitative research is designed to gain in-depth knowledge about how the principal’s leadership is culturally responsive towards the school environment, which will improve the quality of education received by the Orang Asli community in Malaysia, hence reducing the drop-out rates in Orang Asli students.

Keywords: indigenous leadership, equity, inclusion, policy

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Authors: Khayrullina Yulia Sergeevna, Tokareva Goulsine Shavkatovna

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The article analyzes the modern major railway hubs as a main part of the Urban Nodal Area (UNA). The term was introduced into the theory of urban planning at the end of the XX century. Tokareva G.S. jointly with Gutnov A.E. investigated the structure-forming elements of the city. UNA is the basic unit, the "cell" of the city structure. Specialization is depending on the position in the frame or the fabric of the city. This is related to feature of its organization. Spatial and functional features of UNA proposed to investigate in this paper. The base object for researching are railway hubs as connective nodes of inner and extern-city communications. Research used a stratified sampling type with the selection of typical objects. Research is being conducted on the 14 railway hubs of the native and foreign experience of the largest cities with a population over 1 million people located in one and close to the Russian climate zones. Features of the organization identified in the complex research of functional and spatial characteristics based on the hypothesis of the existence of dual characteristics of the organization of urban nodes. According to the analysis, there is using the approximation method that enable general conclusions of a representative selection of the entire population of railway hubs and it development’s area. Results of the research show specific ratio of functional and spatial organization of UNA based on railway hubs. Based on it there proposed typology of spaces and urban nodal areas. Identification of spatial diversity and functional organization’s features of the greatest railway hubs and it development’s area gives an indication of the different evolutionary stages of formation approaches. It help to identify new patterns for the complex and effective design as a prediction of the native hub’s development direction.

Keywords: urban nodal area, railway hubs, features of structural, functional organization

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Authors: A. Llopis Alvarez, D. Muller-Eie

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Participatory GIS (geographic information systems) are designed for community mapping exercises in order to produce spatial representations of local knowledge. Ideally, participatory GIS caters to public participation through the use of spatial data in order to increase community-led policy-and decision-making. Having defined a spatial object, such as a neighborhood, subjective mapping involves attaining a description of the spatial, physical, social and psychological characteristics of that spatial object. This paper highlights an emerging appreciation of the subjective component, particularly in spatial analyses. The beliefs, feelings, and behaviors associated with an urban area reflect its sense of place for an individual or a group. It is important therefore to understand what types of beliefs, emotions, and behavioral patterns are relevant to particular resident, groups and urban scales. In this sense, resident’s emotional attachment to their urban areas motivates civic engagement and facilitates awareness of its strengths and its problems. Similarly, subjective perceptions act in complex ways to influence the formation and maintenance of social identity and quality of life. This paper reports on findings from a case study of immigrant population in Norwegian cities, their residential conditions and their relationship to quality of urban life. Cognitive mapping methodologies are used in this study to understand local perceptions of urban qualities. Thus, measures to alleviate disadvantages and improve quality of urban life are more likely to be effective when they are informed by an understanding of a place as constructed by those who live in it, meaning their subjective perceptions about it.

Keywords: mapping methodologies, participatory GIS, perceptual maps, public participation, spatial analysis, subjective perceptions

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Authors: Ginés Hernández-Cánovas, Mª Camino Ramón-Llorens, Johanna Koëter-Kant

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This paper uses a survey data-set of 837 Spanish SMEs to analyze the association between borrower discouragement and prior firm´s strategic decisions, while controlling for firm and owner characteristics. While existing literature has neglected factors limiting the demand for resources by an overreliance on arguments which attempt to explain the existence of discouraged borrowers solely in terms of lack of access to supply of credit. The objective of this paper is to show that factors limiting the demand for resources and, therefore, reducing the availability of funds, can be traced back to the firm manager´s decision. Our hypothesis is that managers that undertake strategic decisions seeking growth or improvement in their business performance participate more in the banking market than those showing contentment with their current business situation. Our results shows that SMEs that undertake an active role in research and development activities and that achieve improvements in the operating performance of their business are less likely to be discouraged from applying for a loan. Who needs credit and who applies for credit is important for firms, prospective lenders and policymakers interested in the financial health of these firms. Credit constrained firms are less likely to invest in R&D and to introduce new products, possibly harming long-term economic growth. Knowing how important borrower discouragement is in Europe, is important for judging the priority which should be attached to government policies aimed at reducing its effects. For example, policy makers could encourage the transparency about credit eligibility and conditions in order to reduce discouragement.

Keywords: discouragement, financial constraints, SMEs financing

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Authors: Mohammad Talha, Abdullah Sallehhuddin Abdullah Salim, Abdul Aziz Abdul Jalil, Norzarina Md Yatim

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The significant contribution of institutional investors across the globe in socially responsible investment (SRI) is well-documented in the literature. Nevertheless, how the SRI behavior of pressure-resistant, pressure-sensitive and pressure-indeterminate institutional investors remain unexplored extensively. This study examines the moderating effect of institutional investors towards socially responsible investment behavior in the context of emerging economies. This study involved 229 institutional investors in Malaysia. A total of 1,145 questionnaires were distributed. Out of these, 308 (130 pressure sensitive institutional investors and 178 pressure resistant institutional investors), representing a usable rate of 26.9 per cent, were found fit for data analysis. Utilizing multi-group analysis via AMOS, this study found evidence for the presence of moderating effect by a type of institutional investor topology in socially responsible investment behavior. At intentional level, it established that type of institutional investor was a significant moderator in the relationship between subjective norms, and caring ethical climate with intention among pressure-resistant institutional investors, as well as between perceived behavioral controls with intention among pressure-sensitive institutional investors. At the behavioral level, the results evidenced that there was only a significant moderating effect between intention and socially responsible investment behavior among pressure-resistant institutional investors. The outcomes are expected to benefit policy makers, regulators, and market participants in order to leap forward SRI growth in developing economies. Nevertheless, the outcomes are limited to a few factors, and it is believed that future studies shall address those limitations.

Keywords: socially responsible investment, behavior, pressure sensitive investors, pressure insensitive investors, Institutional Investment Malaysia

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Authors: Hurgesa Hundera, Samuel Shibeshibikeko, Tarike Daba, Tesfaye Ganamo

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The study aimed at examining the ongoing adaptation strategies used by smallholder farmers in response to climate variability in Boset district. It also assessed the socioeconomic factors that influence the choice of adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers to climate variability risk. For attaining the objectives of the study, both primary and secondary sources of data were employed. The primary data were obtained through a household questionnaire, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and observations, while secondary data were acquired through desk review. Questionnaires were distributed and filled by 328 respondents, and they were identified through systematic random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression model were applied in this study as the main analytical methods. The findings of the study reveal that the sample households have utilized multiple adaptation strategies in response to climate variability, such as cropping early mature crops, planting drought resistant crops, growing mixed crops on the same farm lands, and others. The results of the binary logistic model revealed that education, sex, age, family size, off farm income, farm experience, access to climate information, access to farm input, and farm size were significant and key factors determining farmers’ choice of adaptation strategies to climate variability in the study area. To enable effective adaptation measures, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource, with its regional bureaus and offices and concerned non–governmental organizations, should consider climate variability in their planning and budgeting in all levels of decision making.

Keywords: adaptation strategies, boset district, climate variability, smallholder farmers

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Authors: Sidi Ahmed Berrabah

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English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is expanding rapidly in the world. A growing volume of research has been dedicated to investigating its introduction, with findings that describe a complex picture and suggest that the practicality and effectiveness of EMI are still the subjects of debate. However, considerably less attention has been given to understanding EMI in a context where its introduction has been discussed but not yet put into practice. One such context is Algeria, where discourses about a potential introduction of EMI have been going on for some time. It is likely that the first courses where EMI is introduced are Business degree programmes. This study aims to examine the current discourses and attitudes towards the potential implementation of EMI and the language practices in Business degree programmes in three Algerian universities. The research is conducted in three different universities in three different regions in Algeria with the aim of including both ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ Algerian universities. In order to achieve the previous aims, a mixed research paradigm is used. Questionnaires, semi structured interviews, and classroom observations are used to gather data from three participant cohorts: university students of Business, lecturers of Business, and lecturers of English for specific purposes. The findings showed that students and lecturers of Business are found in favour of the introduction of English instead of French or standard Arabic as a medium of instruction. The reason is that English is seen as having internationalisation and instrumental benefits, while French was too closely linked to the colonial history of the country. The favourable attitudes towards EMI, however, seem to contrast with the daily classroom practices at the departments of Business studies, where students and lecturers make practical choices of using their language repertoire based on their linguistic background and skills. Classrooms in the three Algerian universities featured fluid and translanguaging practices that cannot be reduced to a monolingual EMI policy.

Keywords: EMI, Algerian universities, business degree programmes, translanguaging

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Authors: Muhammad Hakim Bin Mat Tasir, Erwan Shahfizad Hasidan, Hamidah Makmor Bakry, M. Hafiz B. Izhar

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Every key performance indicator used to monitor a project’s construction progress emphasizes trade productivity or specific commodity run-down curves. Examples include the productivity of welding by the number of joints completed per day, quantity of NDT (Non-Destructive Tests) inspection per day, etc. This perspective is based on progress and productivity; however, it does not enable a system perspective of how we produce. This paper uses a project production system perspective by which projects are a collection of production systems comprising the interconnected network of processes and operations that represent all the work activities to execute a project from start to finish. Furthermore, it also uses the 5 Levels of production system optimization as a frame. The goal of the paper is to describe the application of Project Production Control (PPC) to control and improve the performance of several production processes associated with the fabrication and assembly of a Central Processing Platform (CPP) Jacket, part of an offshore mega project. More specifically, the fabrication and assembly of buoyancy tanks as they were identified as part of the critical path and required the highest demand for capacity. In total, seven buoyancy tanks were built, with a total estimated weight of 2,200 metric tons. These huge buoyancy tanks were designed to be reversed launching and self-upending of the jacket, easily retractable, and reusable for the next project, ensuring sustainability. Results showed that an effective application of PPC not only positively impacted construction progress and productivity but also exposed sources of detrimental variability as the focus of continuous improvement practices. This approach augmented conventional project management practices, and the results had a high impact on construction scheduling, planning, and control.

Keywords: offshore, construction, project management, sustainability

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Authors: Sepinoud Hamedi

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The ponder points to observationally look at the impact of carbon-neutrality approaches on the key assets required for Industry 4.0 driven savvy fabricating and how these assets can give a economical competitive advantage. The hypothetical system is coordinates with the regulation hypothesis and the resource-based see (RBV). The observational strategy is utilized for collecting information through studies and assist covariance-based auxiliary condition modeling is utilized to test the theories. Discoveries demonstrate that carbon–neutral-based government arrangements have a more grounded impact on unmistakable assets and human aptitudes than intangible assets related to Industry 4.0 driven shrewd fabricating. Moment, carbon–neutral arrangement arrangement with the firm’s maintainability destinations plays a directing impact on the relationship between carbon–neutral-based government arrangements and assets (substantial, intangible assets and human abilities) for Industry 4.0 driven shrewd fabricating. Finally, the three assets (substantial, intangible assets and human abilities) for Industry 4.0 driven savvy fabricating play a basic part in creating firms’ carbon–neutral capability and assist improving operational execution. Administrative suggestions incorporate venture in progressed advanced innovations, creating a solid mentality among workers and supply chain partners, and planning preparing programs for upgrading shrewd fabricating execution to create carbon-neutrality capability. This think about proposes a crossover hypothesis within the setting of carbon nonpartisanship by coordination institutional theory and RBV. Typically the primary think about that looks at the impact of carbon neutrality-based government arrangements on crucial Industry 4.0-driven savvy fabricating assets and the circuitous impact on carbon nonpartisanship capability and operational execution.

Keywords: carbon, industry 4.0, neutrality, RBV, nonpartisanship

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Authors: Tadele Tesfay Teame, Tsegaye Abrehame, Hágen István Zsombor

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Liquidity is one of the main concerns for banks, and thus achieving the optimum level of liquidity is critical. The main objective of this study is to discover the driving force of selected private commercial banks’ liquidity. In order to achieve the objective explanatory research design and quantitative research approach were used. Data has been collected from a secondary source of the sampled Ethiopian private commercial banks’ financial statements, the National Bank of Ethiopia, and the Minister of Finance, the sample covering the period from 2011 to 2022. Bank-specific and macroeconomic variables were analyzed by using the balanced panel fixed effect regression model. Bank’s liquidity ratio is measured by the total liquid asset to total deposits. The findings of the study revealed that bank size, capital adequacy, loan growth rate, and non-performing loan had a statistically significant impact on private commercial banks’ liquidity, and annual inflation rate and interest rate margin had a statistically significant impact on the liquidity of Ethiopian private commercial banks measured by L1 (bank liquidity). Thus, banks in Ethiopia should not only be concerned about internal structures and policies/procedures, but they must consider both the internal environment and the macroeconomic environment together in developing their strategies to efficiently manage their liquidity position and private commercial banks to maintain their financial proficiency shall have bank liquidity management policy by assimilating both bank-specific and macro-economic variables.

Keywords: liquidity, Ethiopian private commercial banks, liquidity ratio, panel data regression analysis

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Authors: Aayushi Lyngwa, Bimal Kishore Sahoo

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The study discusses the relationship between cognitive ability and the level of education attained by the tribal street entrepreneurs on their financial literacy. It is driven by the objective of examining the effect of cognitive ability on financial ability on the one hand and determining the effect of the same on financial literacy on the other. A field experiment was conducted on 203 tribal street vendors in the north-eastern Indian state of Mizoram. This experiment's calculations are conditioned by providing each question scores like math score (cognitive ability), financial score and debt score (financial ability). After that, categories for each of the variables, like math category (math score), financial category (financial score) and debt category (debt score), are generated to run the regression model. Since the dependent variable is ordinal, an ordered logit regression model was applied. The study shows that street vendors' cognitive and financial abilities are highly correlated. It, therefore, confirms that cognitive ability positively affects the financial literacy of street vendors through the increase in attainment of educational levels. It is also found that concerning the type of street vendors, regular street vendors are more likely to have better cognitive abilities than temporary street vendors. Additionally, street vendors with more cognitive and financial abilities gained better monthly profits and performed habits of bookkeeping. The study attempts to draw a particular focus on a set-up which is economically and socially marginalized in the Indian economy. Its finding contributes to understanding financial literacy in an understudied area and provides policy implications through inclusive financial systems solutions in an economy limited to tribal street vendors.

Keywords: financial literacy, education, street entrepreneurs, tribals, cognitive ability, financial ability, ordered logit regression.

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Authors: Debanjana Chatterjee

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Vernacular settlements in India often take the form that is dictated by the climate they are in. India, with its vast cultural diversity and various climatic regions, offers a wide range of vernacular architecture. This paper focuses on two main geographical regions: Kashmir and Kerala. They bring together myriad challenges of climatic and social characteristics to incorporate into their vernacular architectures, which are still relevant despite the advent of globalization and modernization. Scholars like William Wurster and Catherine Bauer even claimed that all the traditional buildings in these places have the kind of urbanity, which is dignified and elegant but also lively and human that every architect would like to achieve if they knew how. With modernization, and with a greater ease of construction, a reduction in labor, and the apparent robustness of contemporary construction techniques, people have, however, become increasingly tentative in respect of vernacular architecture. And yet modern architecture has typically led to energize intensive structures without much consideration to the location and surroundings of the structure itself. In contrary, Laurie Baker, the British-born Indian architect, had shown us the way to integrate the knowledge of vernacular when he developed his designs based on the traditional architecture of Kerala, respecting the local climate and environment. This paper also explores his technical creativity in his design of Center for Development Studies (CDS) in Trivandrum. Hence, in order to protect and conserve our rich cultural and architectural heritage, the elements of vernacular should be incorporated into the contemporary planning and architecture for sustainable building design. The provision should be made to incorporate vernacular architecture and traditional knowledge in the policies. Ultimately, the policymakers, planners, and architects should consider this incorporation of traditional vernacular and contemporary sustainability in their work for the betterment of society now.

Keywords: vernacular, architecture, sustainable development, Kashmir and Kerala, climate, Laurie Baker

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Authors: Jung-Il Kang, Jeon Eon Park, Yu-Jin Moon, Young-Seok Ahn, Eun-Sook Yoo, Hee-Kyoung Kang

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This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Undariopsis peterseniana, a seaweed native to Jeju Island, Korea, on the growth of hair. The dermal papilla cells (DPCs) have known to regulate hair growth cycle and length of hair follicle through interact with epithelial cells. When immortalized vibrissa DPCs were treated with the U. peterseniana extract, the U. peterseniana extract significantly increased the proliferation of DPCs. The effect of U. peterseniana extract on the growth of vibrissa follicles was also examined. U. peterseniana extract significantly increased the hair-fiber lengths of the vibrissa follicles. Hair loss is partly caused by dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binding to androgen receptor in hair follicles, and the inhibition of 5α-reductase activity can prevent hair loss through the decrease of DHT level. The U. peterseniana extract inhibited 5α-reductase activity. Minoxidil, a potent hair-growth agent, can induce proliferation in NIH3T3 fibroblasts by opening KATP channels. We thus examined the proliferative effects of U. peterseniana extract in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. U. peterseniana extract significantly increased the proliferation of NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA), a K+ channel blocker, inhibited U. peterseniana-induced proliferation in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. These results suggest that U. peterseniana could have the potential to treat alopecia through the proliferation of DPCs, the inhibition of 5α-reductase activity and the opening of KATP channels. [Acknowledgement] This research was supported by The Leading Human Resource Training Program of Regional Neo industry through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and future Planning (2016H1D5A1908786).

Keywords: hair growth, Undariopsis peterseniana, vibrissa follicles, dermal papilla cells, 5α-reductase, KATP channels

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Authors: Nirupama Sam

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COVID-19, the greatest pandemic since the turn of the century, presents several issues for urban planners, the most significant of which is determining appropriate mitigation techniques for creating pandemic-friendly and resilient public spaces. The study is conducted in four stages. The first stage consisted of literature reviews to examine the evolution and transformation of public spaces during pandemics throughout history and the role of public spaces during pandemic outbreaks. The second stage is to determine the factors that influence the success of public spaces, which was accomplished by an analysis of current literature and case studies. The influencing factors are categorized under comfort and images, uses and activity, access and linkages, and sociability. The third stage is to establish the priority of identified factors for which a questionnaire survey of stakeholders is conducted and analyzing of certain factors with the help of GIS tools. COVID-19 has been in effect in India for the last two years. Kerala has the highest daily COVID-19 prevalence due to its high population density, making it more susceptible to viral outbreaks. Despite all preventive measures taken against COVID-19, Kerala remains the worst-affected state in the country. Finally, two live case studies of the hardest-hit localities, namely Subhash bose park and Napier Museum park in the Ernakulam and Trivandrum districts of Kerala, respectively, were chosen as study areas for the survey. The responses to the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS for determining the weights of the influencing factors. The spatial success of the selected case studies was examined using the GIS interpolation model. Following the overall assessment, the fourth stage is to develop strategies and guidelines for planning public spaces to make them more efficient and robust, which further leads to improved quality, safety and resilience to future pandemics.

Keywords: urban design, public space, covid-19, post-pandemic, public spaces

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Authors: Rama Ajineh

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Neighborhoods are defined as local zones within settlements and cities recognized by individuals who live there, with their identities and given boundaries. Neighborhoods mainly structure individual’s lives, the small box which various social groups interact with each other, develop and become one strong entity. Also, it is a platform for more activities, providing many of the social services to enhance the connections between the people, giving a sense of community. However, some of these neighborhoods were unplanned and caused many social, economical and architectural problems to its residents in the first place, and to the city. A great example of such case is in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Al-Ruwais neighborhood, where the authority is planning to regenerate the area and make it a landmark for the city. Urban Regeneration of Unplanned Settlements is a process to make people live and work, now and in the future, and meet the various needs of the current and coming inhabitants, with a high-quality life for all. Through research, it was discovered that Urban regeneration plans on Al-Ruwais were planned regardless to the collective agreement of the inhabitants, giving themselves the absolute right to demolish and reconstruct the desired locations with a low compensation. Consequently, a deep research will be done on integrating the residents with the process, by showcasing examples of successful Urban Regenerations of Unplanned settlements in different cities. The research aims to understand the sustainable, and well-planned regeneration strategies used to enhance people’s living without harming them, and give sustainable urban solutions. Moreover, the research explores the definition of Sustainable Communities. The used methods in this paper are secondary research on site analysis and the relationship between the human and the neighborhood. The conclusion reveals the most successful fashion of Urban regeneration of Unplanned settlements and applies it to Al-Ruwais neighborhood considering the human factor as a primary element.

Keywords: architecture, human integration, original residents, site analysis, sustainable communities, urban sustainable solutions, urban regeneration

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Authors: Leila Kharrat, Younes Boujelbene

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In recent decades, solid waste management (SWM) has become a global concern because rapid population growth and overexploitation of non-renewable resources have generated enormous amounts of waste far exceeding carrying capacity; too, it poses serious threats to the environment and health. However, it is still difficult to combat the growing amount of solid waste before assessing the condition of people. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes, perception, and practices on the separation of solid waste in Sfax City. Nowadays, GDS is essential for sustainable development, hence the need for intensive research. Respondents from seven different districts in the city of Sfax were analyzed through a questionnaire survey with 342 households. This paper presents a qualitative exploratory study on the behavior of the citizens in the field of waste separation. The objective knows the antecedents of waste separation and the representation that individuals have about sorting waste on a specific territory which presents some characteristics regarding waste management in Sfax city. Source separation is not widely practiced and people usually sweep their places throwing waste components into the streets or neighboring plots. The results also indicate that participation in solid waste separation activities depends on the level of awareness of separating activities in the area, household income and educational level. It is, therefore, argued that increasing quality of municipal service is the best means of promoting positive attitudes to solid waste separation activities. One of the effective strategies identified by households that can be initiated by policymakers to increase the rate of participation in separation activities and eventually encourage them to participate in recycling activities is to provide a financial incentive in all residential areas in Sfax city.

Keywords: solid waste management, waste separation, public policy, econometric modelling

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Authors: Agata Krawczyk-Ozog, Mateusz K. Holda, Mateusz Koziej, Danuta Sorysz, Zbigniew Siudak, Wieslawa Klimek-Piotrowska, Dariusz Dudek

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Introduction: Rapid development of the surgical and less-invasive percutaneous mitral valve repair procedures greatly increase the interest of the mitral valve anatomy. The aim of this study was to characterize morphological variability of the mitral valve leaflets and to provide the size of their particular parts. Materials and Methods: In the study, we included 200 autopsied human hearts from Caucasian individuals (25% females) with mean age 47.5 (±17.9) without any valvular diseases. The morphology of the mitral valve was evaluated. The intercommissural and aorto-mural diameters of the mitral annulus were measured. All leaflets and their scallops were identified. The base and the height of the posteromedial commissure (PM-C), anterolateral commissure (AL-C), anterior leaflet (AL) and posterior leaflet (PL) with their scallops were measured. Results: The intercommissural diameter was 28.0±4.8 mm, the aorto-mural diameter 19.7±4.8 mm, circumference of the mitral annulus 89.9±12.6 mm and the area of the mitral valve 485.4±171.4 mm2. Classical mitral valves (AL+AL-C+PL(P1,P2,P3)+PM-C) were found in 141 (70.5%) specimens. In classical type, the mean AL base and height were 30.8±4.9 mm and 20.6±4.2 mm, while mean PL base and height 45.1±8.2 mm 12.9±2.8 mm respectively. The mean ratio of the AL base to PL base was 0.7±0.2. Variations in PL were found in 55 (27.5%) and in AL in 5 (2.5%) hearts. The most common variations were: valve with one accessory scallop (AcS) between P3 and PM-C (7%); AcS between P1 and AL-C (4%); connections of P2 and P3 scallops (4%); connections of P1 and P2 scallops (3%); AcS in AL (2.5%). All AcS were smaller than the main PL scallops. The mean intertrigonal distance was 21.9±3.8 mm. Conclusions: In all cases, the mitral valve is built by two main leaflets with possible variants in secondary to leaflets scallops (29.5%). The variations are largely associated with PL and are mostly related to the presence of AcS. Anatomically the AL is not divided into scallops, and it occupies 34.5% of the mitral annulus circumference. Understanding the anatomy of the mitral valve leaflets helps to planning and performing mitral valve repair procedures.

Keywords: accessory scallop, commissure, connected scallops, human heart, mitral leaflets, mitral valve

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Authors: Pornwipa Daoduong, Jairak Loysongkroa, Napaphan Viriyautsahakul, Wachira Pengjuntr

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Obesity is on of serious health problem in many countries including Thailand where the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased from 8.8 % in 2014 to 9.5 % in 2015 and 12.9 % in 2016. The Ministry of Public Health’s objective is to reduce prevalence of childhood Obesity to 10% or lower in 2017, by implementing the measure in relation to nutrition, physical activity (PA) and environment in 6,405 targeted school with proportion of school children with obesity is higher than 10 %. Smart Kids Coacher (SKC)” is a new innovative intervention created by Department of Health and consists of 252 regional and provincial officers. The SKC aims to train the super trainers about food and nutrition.PA and emotional control through implementing three learning activities including 1) Food for Fun is about Nutrition flag, Nutrition label, food portion and Nutrition surveillance; 2) Fun for Fit includes intermediated- and advanced level workouts within 60 minutes such as kangaroo dance, Chair stretching; and 3) Control emotional is about to prevent probability of access to unhealthy food, to ensure for having meal in appropriate time, and to recruit peers and family member to increase awareness among target groups. Apart from providing SKC lesson for 3,828 officers at district level, a number of students (2,176) as role model are selected through implementing “Smart Kids Leader: (SKL)”.Consequently. The SKC lowers proportion of childhood obesity from 17% in 2012 to 12.9% in 2016. Further, the SKC coverage should be expanded to other setting. Policy maker should be aware of the important of reduction of the prevalence of childhood obesity, and it’s related risk. Network and Collaboration between stakeholders are essential as well as an improvement of holistic intervention and knowledge “NuPETHS” for kids in the future.

Keywords: childhood obesity, model, obesity, smart kids coacher

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Authors: M. C. Pardo-Ferreira, J. C. Rubio-Romero, M. Martínez-Rojas

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Resilience Engineering is a new paradigm of safety management that proposes to change the way of managing the safety to focus on the things that go well instead of the things that go wrong. Many complex and high-risk sectors such as air traffic control, health care, nuclear power plants, railways or emergencies, have applied this new vision of safety and have obtained very positive results. In the construction sector, safety management continues to be a problem as indicated by the statistics of occupational injuries worldwide. Therefore, it is important to improve safety management in this sector. For this reason, it is proposed to apply Resilience Engineering to the construction sector. The Construction Phase Health and Safety Plan emerges as a key element for the planning of safety management. One of the key tools of Resilience Engineering is the Resilience Assessment Grid that allows measuring the four essential abilities (respond, monitor, learn and anticipate) for resilient performance. The purpose of this paper is to develop a questionnaire based on the Resilience Assessment Grid, specifically on the ability to learn, to assess whether a Construction Phase Health and Safety Plans helps companies in a construction site to implement this ability. The research process was divided into four stages: (i) initial design of a questionnaire, (ii) validation of the content of the questionnaire, (iii) redesign of the questionnaire and (iii) application of the Delphi method. The questionnaire obtained could be used as a tool to help construction companies to evolve from Safety-I to Safety-II. In this way, companies could begin to develop the ability to learn, which will serve as a basis for the development of the other abilities necessary for resilient performance. The following steps in this research are intended to develop other questions that allow evaluating the rest of abilities for resilient performance such as monitoring, learning and anticipating.

Keywords: resilience engineering, construction sector, resilience assessment grid, construction phase health and safety plan

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Authors: A. Farhad Sadri, B. Ali Farhadi, C. Nasim Shalamzari

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Waste management is a principle of urban and environmental governance. Waste management in Tehran metropolitan requires good strategies for better governance. Using of good urban governance principles together with eight main indexes can be an appropriate base for this aim. One of the reasonable tools in this field is usage of SWOT methods which provides possibility of comparing the opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths by using IFE and EFE matrixes. The results of the above matrixes, respectively 2.533 and 2.403, show that management system of Tehran metropolitan wastes has performed weak regarding to internal factors and has not have good performance regarding using the opportunities and dealing with threats. In this research, prioritizing and describing the real value of each 24 strategies in waste management in Tehran metropolitan have been surveyed considering good governance derived from Quantitative Strategic Planning Management (QSPM) by using Kolomogrof-Smirnoff by 1.549 and significance level of 0.073 in order to define normalization of final values and all of the strategies utilities and Variance Analysis of ANOVA has been calculated for all SWOT strategies. Duncan’s test results regarding four WT, ST, WO, and SO strategies show no significant difference. In addition to mean comparison by Duncan method in this research, LSD (Lowest Significant Difference test) has been used by probability of 5% and finally, 7 strategies and final model of Tehran metropolitan waste management strategy have been defined. Increasing the confidence of people with transparency of budget, developing and improving the legal structure (rule-oriented and law governance, more responsibility about requirements of private sectors, increasing recycling rates and real effective participation of people and NGOs to improve waste management (contribution) and etc, are main available strategies which have been achieved based on good urban governance management principles.

Keywords: waste, strategy, environmental management, urban good governance, SWOT

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Authors: Belaynesh Tsegay Beyene, Teklay Gebrecherkos, Atsebaha Gebrekidan Kahsay, Mahmud Abdulkader

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Background: Hepatitis B and C viruses are of important health and socioeconomic problem of the globe with remarkable diseases and deaths in Sub-Saharan African countries. The burden of hepatitis is unknown in the prison settings of Tigrai. Therefore, we aimed to describe the seroprevalence and associated factors of hepatitis B and C viruses among prisoners of Tigrai, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from February 2020 to May 2020 at the prison facilities of Tigrai. Demographics and associated factors were collected from 315 prisoners prospectively. Five milliliter of blood was collected and tested using rapid tests kits of HBsAg (Zhejiang orient Gene Biotech Co., Ltd., China) and HCV antibodies (Volkan Kozmetik Sanayi Ve Ticaret Ltd. STI, Turkey). Positive samples were confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co. Ltd). Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The overall seroprevalence of HBV and HCV were 25 (7.9%) and 1(0.3%), respectively. The majority of hepatitis B viral infections were identified from the age groups of 18-25 years (10.7%) and unmarried prisoners (11.8%). Prisoners greater than 100 per cell [AOR =3.95, 95% CI= (1.15, 13.6, p =0.029)] and having history of alcohol consumption [AOR =3.01, 95% CI= (1.17, 7.74, p =0.022)] were significantly associated with HBV infections. Conclusions: The seroprevalence of HBV among prisoners was nearly high or borderline (7.9%) with a very low HCV prevalence (0.3%). HBV was most prevalent among young adults, large number of prisoners per cell and those who had history of alcohol consumption. This study recommends that there should be prison-focused intervention including regular health education by emphasis on the mode of transmission and introducing HBV screening policy for prisoners especially when they enter to the prison.

Keywords: seroprevalence, HBV, HCV, prisoners, Tigrai

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Authors: Rachael Sullivan, Joshua Berman

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The number of satellites orbiting earth are in the thousands now. Commercial launches are increasing, and civilians are venturing into the outer reaches of the atmosphere. As the space industry continues to grow and evolve, so too will the demand on resources, the disparities amongst socio-economic groups, and space company governance standards. Outside of just ensuring that space operations are compliant with government regulations, export controls, and international sanctions, companies should also keep in mind the impact their operations will have on society and the environment. Those looking to expand their operations into outer space should remain mindful of both the opportunities and challenges that they could encounter along the way. From commercial launches promoting civilian space travel—like the recent launches from Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and Space X—to regulatory and policy shifts, the commercial landscape beyond the Earth's atmosphere is evolving. But practices will also have to become sustainable. Through a review and analysis of space industry trends, international government regulations, and empirical data, this research explores how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting and investing will manifest within a fast-changing space industry.Institutions, regulators, investors, and employees are increasingly relying on ESG. Those working in the space industry will be no exception. Companies (or investors) that are already engaging or plan to engage in space operations should consider 1) environmental standards and objectives when tackling space debris and space mining, 2) social standards and objectives when considering how such practices may impact access and opportunities for different socioeconomic groups to the benefits of space exploration, and 3) how decision-making and governing boards will function ethically, equitably, and sustainably as we chart new paths and encounter novel challenges in outer space.

Keywords: climate, environment, ESG, law, outer space, regulation

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Authors: Samah Jawad Jabari

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Water is the most important and valuable resource not only for human life but also for all living things on the planet. The water supply utilities should fulfill the water requirement quantitatively and qualitatively. Drinking water systems are exposed to both natural (hurricanes and flood) and manmade hazards (risks) that are common in Palestine. Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is a manmade risk which remains a major concern in Palestine, as the NRW levels are estimated to be at a high level. In this research, Hebron city water distribution network was taken as a case study to estimate and audit the NRW levels. The research also investigated the state of the existing water distribution system in the study area by investigating the water losses and obtained more information on NRW prevention and management practices. Data and information have been collected from the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and Hebron Municipality (HM) archive. In addition to that, a questionnaire has been designed and administered by the researcher in order to collect the necessary data for water auditing. The questionnaire also assessed the views of stakeholder in PWA and HM (staff) on the current status of the NRW in the Hebron water distribution system. The important result obtained by this research shows that NRW in Hebron city was high and in excess of 30%. The main factors that contribute to NRW were the inaccuracies in billing volumes, unauthorized consumption, and the method of estimating consumptions through faulty meters. Policy for NRW reduction is available in Palestine; however, it is clear that the number of qualified staff available to carry out the activities related to leak detection is low, and that there is a lack of appropriate technologies to reduce water losses and undertake sufficient system maintenance, which needs to be improved to enhance the performance of the network and decrease the level of NRW losses.

Keywords: non-revenue water, water auditing, leak detection, water meters

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Authors: Pampita Chakraborty, Sukumar Mukherjee

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The study was done to determine the microbiological profile and changing pattern of the pathogens causing UTI in the ICU patients. All the patients admitted to the ICU with urinary catheter insertion for more than 48hours were included in the study. Urine samples were collected in a sterile container with aseptic precaution using disposable syringe and was processed as per standards. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was done by Disc Diffusion method as per CLSI guidelines. A total of 100 urine samples were collected from ICU patients, out of which 30% showed significant bacterial growth and 7% showed growth of candida spp. Prevalence of UTI was more in female (73%) than male (27.%). Gram-negative bacilli 26(86.67%) were more common in our study followed by gram-positive cocci 4(13.33%). The most common uropathogens isolated were Escherichia coli 14 (46.67%), followed by Klebsiella spp 7(23.33%), Staphylococcus aureus 4(13.33%), Acinetobacter spp 3(10%), Enterococcus faecalis 1(3.33%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 1(3.33%). Most of the Gram-negative bacilli were sensitive to amikacin (80%) and nitrofurantoin (80%), where as all gram-positive organisms were sensitive to Vancomycin. A large number ESBL producers were also observed in this study. The study finding showed that E.coli is the predominant pathogen and has increasing resistance pattern to the commonly used antibiotics. The study proposes that the adherence to antibiotic policy is the key ingredients for successful outcome in ICU patients and also emphasizes that repeated evaluation of microbial characteristics and continuous surveillance of resistant bacteria is required for selection of appropriate antibiotic therapy.

Keywords: antimicrobial sensitivity, intensive care unit, nosocomial infection, urinary tract infection

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Authors: Koteswara Rao Pagolu, Raghava Rao Tamanam

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In India, genetic disease is a disregarded service element in the community health- protection system. This study aims to gauge the accessibility of services for treating genetic disorders and also to evaluate the practices on deterrence and management services in the district health system. A cross-sectional survey of selected health amenities in the government health sector was conducted from 15 primary health centers (PHC’s), 4 community health centers (CHC’s), 1 district government hospital (DGH) and 3 referral hospitals (RH’s). From these, the existing manpower like 130 medical officers (MO’s), 254 supporting staff, 409 nursing staff (NS) and 45 lab technicians (LT’s) was examined. From the side of private health institutions, 25 corporate hospitals (CH’s), 3 medical colleges (MC’s) and 25 diagnostic laboratories (DL’s) were selected for the survey and from these, 316 MO’s, 995 NS and 254 LT’s were also reviewed. The findings show that adequate staff was in place at more than 70% of health centers, but none of the staff have obtained any operative training on genetic disease management. The largest part of the DH’s had rudimentary infrastructural and diagnostic facilities. However, the greater part of the CHC’s and PHC’s had inadequate diagnostic facilities related to genetic disease management. Biochemical, molecular, and cytogenetic services were not available at PHC’s and CHC’s. DH’s, RH’s, and all selected medical colleges were found to have offered the basic Biochemical genetics units during the survey. The district health care infrastructure in India has a shortage of basic services to be provided for the genetic disorder. With some policy resolutions and facility strengthening, it is possible to provide advanced services for a genetic disorder in the district health system.

Keywords: district health system, genetic disorder, infrastructural amenities, management practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 161