Search results for: historical urban landscape

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: H. Hakim, C. Kibert, C. Fabre, S. Monadizadeh

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Construction industry is an industry saddled with chronic problems of high waste generation. Waste management that is to ensure materials are utilized in an efficient manner would make a major contribution to mitigating the negative environmental impacts of construction waste including finite resources depletion and growing occupied landfill areas to name a few. Furthermore, ‘material resource efficiency’ has been found an economically smart approach specially when considered during the design phase. One effective strategy is to utilizing off-site construction process which includes a series of prefabricated systems such as mobile, modular, and HUD construction (Department of Housing and Urban Development manufactured buildings). These types of buildings are by nature material and resource-efficient. Despite conventional construction that is exposed to adverse weather conditions, manufactured construction production line is capable of creating repetitive units in a factory controlled environment. A factory can have several parallel projects underway with a high speed and in a timely manner which simplifies the storage of excess materials and re-allocating to the next projects. The literature reports that prefabricated construction significantly helps reduce errors, site theft, rework, and delayed problems and can ultimately lead to a considerable waste reduction. However, there is not sufficient data to quantify this reduction when it comes to a regular modular house in the U.S. Therefore, this manuscript aims to provide an analysis of waste originated from a manufactured factory trend. The analysis was made possible with several visits and data collection of Homes of Merits, a Florida Manufactured and Modular Homebuilder. The results quantify and verify a noticeable construction waste reduction.

Keywords: construction waste, modular construction, prefabricated buildings, waste management

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Elron Fouten

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Recently, debates surrounding the social relevance of psychology in South Africa have focussed on how the growing neoliberal rationality within academia has again resulted in the discipline catering to the needs of powerful social groupings to protect its own economic interests, rather than producing socially relevant knowledge. Consequently, this study aimed to conduct a content analysis of the recent research output of psychology masters students, to establish whether it has produced research that addresses local and national psychosocial issues and as such deemed socially relevant knowledge. The study sampled clinical, counselling, and research psychology masters theses from 16 South African universities submitted between 1998 and 2017. Overall, 2001 theses were sampled, which were analysed using qualitative content analysis predominantly based on the descriptive categories identified in similar studies using published journal articles. Results indicated that empirical qualitative theses, using systems-oriented theory and post-modern frameworks were most prevalent. Further, traditional topics within psychology had relatively more weighting compared to more social topics. Although a significant number of theses recruited participants from working-class or poor backgrounds, there was an overreliance on participants from urban areas located in some of the country’s wealthiest provinces. Despite a strong adult-centric focus, trends regarding participants’ race and gender roughly resembled current population demographics. Overall, the results indicate that psychology in South Africa, at least at university-level, is to some extent trying to engage with national psychosocial concerns. However, there are still several key areas which need to be addressed to ensure the continued social relevance of the discipline.

Keywords: adult-centric, content analysis, relevance, psychosocial

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Authors: Michael D. Vinod, Hadi Khabbaz

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Construction of infrastructure above or adjacent to landfills is becoming more common to capitalize on the limited space available within urban areas. However, development above landfills is a challenging task due to large voids, the presence of organic matter, heterogeneous nature of waste and ambiguity surrounding landfill settlement prediction. Prior to construction of infrastructure above landfills, ground improvement techniques are being employed to improve the geotechnical properties of landfill material. Although the ground improvement techniques have little impact on long term biodegradation and creep related landfill settlement, they have shown some notable short term success with a variety of techniques, including methods for verifying the level of effectiveness of ground improvement techniques. This paper provides geotechnical and landfill engineers a guideline for selection of landfill ground improvement techniques and their suitability to project-specific sites. Ground improvement methods assessed and compared in this paper include concrete injected columns (CIC), dynamic compaction, rapid impact compaction (RIC), preloading, high energy impact compaction (HEIC), vibro compaction, vibro replacement, chemical stabilization and the inclusion of geosynthetics such as geocells. For each ground improvement technique a summary of the existing theory, benefits, limitations, suitable modern ground improvement monitoring methods, the applicability of ground improvement techniques for landfills and supporting case studies are provided. The authors highlight the importance of implementing cost-effective monitoring techniques to allow observation and necessary remediation of the subsidence effects associated with long term landfill settlement. These ground improvement techniques are primarily for the purpose of construction above closed landfills to cater for transport infrastructure loading.

Keywords: closed landfills, ground improvement, monitoring, settlement, transport infrastructure

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Authors: Badamasi Tarda Ayuba

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African countries contend with many developmental challenges particularly that of overcoming ethnic and religious conflicts. There is the recent wave of terrorism which is also ascribed to religious intolerance. It is a reality that most sub-Saharan African countries/communities consist of several distinct ethnic groups. In a typical classroom, within both rural and urban contexts, children from diverse ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds converge to learn and grow together. This implies that education has the potentials for fostering inter-communal understanding such that young people could learn, grow together and assume leadership positions to work in pursuit of common goals of nation building. However, given the spate of inter communal clashes erupting too frequently in many parts of the continent and the dangerous trend of ethnicization of serious national affairs, it is doubtful if these objectives are being realized through education. Thus, this paper argued that the current developments indicate failure of the education system in the realization of the countries’ educational goals of creating united, peaceful and indivisible nations, thus far. Further, the failure occurred and would continue to persist unless teachers are purposefully prepared in terms of professional competencies and attitudes to entrench in their students the culture of peaceful coexistence through the various professional roles they play within the schools and communities. Therefore, the paper examined the changing context and challenging roles expected of sub-Saharan African teachers in engendering peaceful coexistence and the need to purposefully develop their capacity and mindset for the new roles. The paper then recommended programs to expose and re-educate teachers towards such roles.

Keywords: sub-Saharan Africa, teacher, professional development, peaceful coexistence, multi-ethnicity, communities

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Authors: Sanelisiwe Ndlovu

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Cities have become testbeds for automation and experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) in managing urban services and public spaces. Smart Cities and AI systems are changing most human experiences from health and education to personal relations. For instance, in healthcare, social robots are being implemented as tools to assist patients. Similarly, in education, social robots are being used as tutors or co-learners to promote cognitive and affective outcomes. With that general picture in mind, one can now ask a further question about Smart Cities and artificial agents and their moral standing in the African context of personhood. There has been a wealth of literature on the topic of personhood; however, there is an absence of literature on African personhood in highly automated environments. Personhood in African philosophy is defined by the role one can and should play in the community. However, in today’s technologically advanced world, a risk is that machines become more capable of accomplishing tasks that humans would otherwise do. Further, on many African communitarian accounts, personhood and moral standing are associated with active relationality with the community. However, in the Smart City, human closeness is gradually diminishing. For instance, humans already do engage and identify with robotic entities, sometimes even romantically. The primary aim of this study is to investigate how African conceptions of personhood and community interact in a highly automated environment such as Smart Cities. Accordingly, this study lies in presenting a rarely discussed African perspective that emphasizes the necessity and the importance of relationality in handling Smart Cities and AI ethically. Thus, the proposed approach can be seen as the sub-Saharan African contribution to personhood and the growing AI debates, which takes the reality of the interconnectedness of society seriously. And it will also open up new opportunities to tackle old problems and use existing resources to confront new problems in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Keywords: smart city, artificial intelligence, personhood, community

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Authors: Arsalan Salahi

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Today, the number of changes in the construction industry and urban mass house building is increasing, which makes you need to pay more attention to targeted planning for human resource management and training. The human resources working in the construction industry have various problems and deficiencies, and in order to solve these problems, there is a need for basic management and training of these people in order to lower the construction costs and increase the quality of the projects, especially in mass house building projects. The success of any project in reaching short and long-term professional goals depends on the efficient combination of work tools, financial resources, raw materials, and most importantly, human resources. Today, due to the complexity and diversity of each project, specialized management fields have emerged to maximize the potential benefits of each component of that project. Human power is known as the most important resource in construction projects for its successful implementation, but unfortunately, due to the low cost of human power compared to other resources, such as materials and machinery, little attention is paid to it. With the correct management and training of human resources, which depends on its correct planning and development, it is possible to improve the performance of construction projects. In this article, the training and motivation of construction industry workers and their effects on the effectiveness of projects in this industry have been researched. In this regard, some barriers to the training and motivation of construction workers and personnel have been identified and solutions have been provided for construction companies. Also, the impact of workers and unskilled people on the efficiency of construction projects is investigated. The results of the above research show that by increasing the use of correct and basic training for human resources, we will see positive results and effects on the performance of construction projects.

Keywords: human resources, construction industry, principled training, skilled and unskilled workers

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Authors: Nadilla Saskia, Octoria Nur, Assegaf Zareeva

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Mass transport infrastructures are essential to enhance the connectivity between regions and regional equity in Indonesia. Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, ranked the 10th highest congestion rate in the world based on the 2019 traffic index, contributing to air pollution and energy consumption. Other than that, the World Air Quality Report in 2019 depicted Jakarta’s air pollutant concentration at 49.4 mg, the 5th highest in the world. Issues of severe traffic congestion, lack of sufficient urban infrastructure in Jakarta, and greenhouse gas emissions have to be addressed through mass transportation. Indonesia’s government is currently constructing The Greater Jakarta LRT (Light Rapid Transit) as convenient, efficient, and environmentally friendly transportation connecting Jakarta with Bekasi and Cibubur areas and plans to serve the passengers in August 2023. Greater Jakarta LRT is operated with Grade of Automation (GoA) No.3, Driverless Train Operation (DTO). Hence, the automated technology used in rail infrastructure is anticipated to address these issues with greater results. The paper will be validated and establish the extent to which the automation system would increase energy efficiency, help reduce carbon emissions, and benefit the environment. Based on the calculated CO2 emissions and fuel consumption for the existing condition (2015) during the feasibility study of the LRT Project and the predicted condition in 2030, it is obtained that Greater Jakarta LRT with GoA3 operation will reduce the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by more than 50% in 2030. In the bigger picture, Greater Jakarta LRT supports the government's goal of achieving Jakarta Net-Zero Emissions (NZE) 2050.

Keywords: LRT, Grade of Automation (GoA), energy efficiency, carbon emissions, railway infrastructure, DKI Jakarta

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Authors: Haji Mohammad Zulfan Farhi Bin Haji Sulaini, Mohammad Azeezudde’en Bin Mohd Ismaon

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The demands placed on military athletes extend beyond physical prowess to encompass cognitive resilience in high-stress environments. This study investigates the effects of resilience training on the cognitive performance of military athletes, shedding light on the potential benefits and implications for optimizing their overall readiness. In a rapidly evolving global landscape, armed forces worldwide are recognizing the importance of cognitive resilience alongside physical fitness. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, incorporating quantitative cognitive assessments and qualitative data from military athletes undergoing resilience training programs. Cognitive performance is evaluated through a battery of tests, including measures of memory, attention, decision-making, and reaction time. The participants, drawn from various branches of the military, are divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group undergoes a comprehensive resilience training program, while the control group receives traditional physical training without a specific focus on resilience. The initial findings indicate a substantial improvement in cognitive performance among military athletes who have undergone resilience training. These improvements are particularly evident in domains such as attention and decision-making. The experimental group demonstrated enhanced situational awareness, quicker problem-solving abilities, and increased adaptability in high-stress scenarios. These results suggest that resilience training not only bolsters mental toughness but also positively impacts cognitive skills critical to military operations. In addition to quantitative assessments, qualitative data is collected through interviews and surveys to gain insights into the subjective experiences of military athletes. Preliminary analysis of these narratives reveals that participants in the resilience training program report higher levels of self-confidence, emotional regulation, and an improved ability to manage stress. These psychological attributes contribute to their enhanced cognitive performance and overall readiness. Moreover, this study explores the potential long-term benefits of resilience training. By tracking participants over an extended period, we aim to assess the durability of cognitive improvements and their effects on overall mission success. Early results suggest that resilience training may serve as a protective factor against the detrimental effects of prolonged exposure to stressors, potentially reducing the risk of burnout and psychological trauma among military athletes. This research has significant implications for military organizations seeking to optimize the performance and well-being of their personnel. The findings suggest that integrating resilience training into the training regimen of military athletes can lead to a more resilient and cognitively capable force. This, in turn, may enhance mission success, reduce the risk of injuries, and improve the overall effectiveness of military operations. In conclusion, this study provides compelling evidence that resilience training positively impacts the cognitive performance of military athletes. The preliminary results indicate improvements in attention, decision-making, and adaptability, as well as increased psychological resilience. As the study progresses and incorporates long-term follow-ups, it is expected to provide valuable insights into the enduring effects of resilience training on the cognitive readiness of military athletes, contributing to the ongoing efforts to optimize military personnel's physical and mental capabilities in the face of ever-evolving challenges.

Keywords: military athletes, cognitive performance, resilience training, cognitive enhancement program

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Authors: Anouar El Younssi

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This study seeks to shed some light on the political and social ramifications and implications of Haifaa al-Mansour’s 2012 film Wadjda. The film made international headlines following its release, and was touted as the first film ever to be shot in its entirety inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and also the first to be directed by a female (Haifaa al-Mansour). Wadjda revolves around a simple storyline: A teenage Saudi girl living in the capital city Riyadh—named Wadjda—wants to have a bicycle just like her male teenage neighbor and friend Abdullah, but her ultra-conservative Saudi society places so many constraints on its female population—including not allowing girls and women to ride bicycles. Wadjda, who displays a rebellious spirit, takes concrete steps to save money in order to realize her dream of buying a bicycle. For example, she starts making and selling sports bracelets to her school mates, and she decides to participate in a Qur’an competition in hopes of winning a sum of money that comes with the first prize. In the end, Wadjda could not beat the system on her own, but the film reverses course, and the audience gets a happy ending: Wadjda’s mother, whose husband has decided to take a second wife, defies the system and buys her daughter the very bicycle Wadjda has been dreaming of. It is quite significant that the mother takes her daughter’s side on the subject of the bicycle at the end of the film, for this shows that she finally came to the realization that she and her daughter are both oppressed by the cultural norms prevalent in Saudi society. It is no coincidence that this change of heart and action on the part of the mother takes place immediately after the wedding night celebrating her husband’s second marriage. Gender inequality is thus placed front and center in the film. Nevertheless, a major finding of this study is that the film carries out its social critique in a soft and almost covert manner. The female actors in the film never issue a direct criticism of Saudi society or government; the criticism is consistently implied and subtle throughout. It is a criticism that relies more on showing than telling. The film shows us—rather than tells us directly—what is wrong, and lets us, the audience, decide and make a judgment. In fact, showing could arguably be more powerful and impactful than telling. Regarding methodology, this study will focus on and analyze the visuals and a number of key utterances by the main actor Wadjda in order to corroborate the study’s argument about the film’s bent on critiquing patriarchy. This research will attempt to establish a link between the film as an art object and as a social text. Ultimately, Wadjda sends a message of hope, that change is possible and that it is already happening slowly inside the Kingdom. It also sends the message that an insurrectional approach regarding women’s rights in Saudi Arabia is perhaps not the right one, at least at this historical juncture.

Keywords: bicycle, gender inequality, social critique, Wadjda, women’s rights

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Fatema Akram, Mohammad Golam Rasul, Mohammad Masud Kamal Khan, Md. Sharif Imam Ibne Amir

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A variety of routing techniques are available to develop surface runoff hydrographs from rainfall. The selection of runoff routing method is very vital as it is directly related to the type of watershed and the required degree of accuracy. There are different modelling softwares available to explore the rainfall-runoff process in urban areas. XPSTORM, a link-node based, integrated storm-water modelling software, has been used in this study for developing surface runoff hydrograph for a Golf course area located in Rockhampton in Central Queensland in Australia. Four commonly used methods, namely SWMM runoff, Kinematic wave, Laurenson, and Time-Area are employed to generate runoff hydrograph for design storm of this study area. In runoff mode of XPSTORM, the rainfall, infiltration, evaporation and depression storage for sub-catchments were simulated and the runoff from the sub-catchment to collection node was calculated. The simulation results are presented, discussed and compared. The total surface runoff generated by SWMM runoff, Kinematic wave and Time-Area methods are found to be reasonably close, which indicates any of these methods can be used for developing runoff hydrograph of the study area. Laurenson method produces a comparatively less amount of surface runoff, however, it creates highest peak of surface runoff among all which may be suitable for hilly region. Although the Laurenson hydrograph technique is widely acceptable surface runoff routing technique in Queensland (Australia), extensive investigation is recommended with detailed topographic and hydrologic data in order to assess its suitability for use in the case study area.

Keywords: ARI, design storm, IFD, rainfall temporal pattern, routing techniques, surface runoff, XPSTORM

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Authors: Elham Koohikerade, Silvio Jose Gumiere

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In this research, irrigation is highlighted as crucial for improving both the yield and quality of ‎potatoes due to their high sensitivity to soil moisture changes. The study presents a hybrid Long ‎Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model aimed at optimizing irrigation scheduling in potato fields in ‎Quebec City, Canada. This model integrates model-based and satellite-derived datasets to simulate ‎soil moisture content, addressing the limitations of field data. Developed under the guidance of the ‎Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the simulation approach compensates for the lack of direct ‎soil sensor data, enhancing the LSTM model's predictions. The model was calibrated using indices ‎like Surface Soil Moisture (SSM), Normalized Vegetation Difference Index (NDVI), Enhanced ‎Vegetation Index (EVI), and Normalized Multi-band Drought Index (NMDI) to effectively forecast ‎soil moisture reductions. Understanding soil moisture and plant development is crucial for assessing ‎drought conditions and determining irrigation needs. This study validated the spectral characteristics ‎of vegetation and soil using ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) and Moderate Resolution Imaging ‎Spectrometer (MODIS) data from 2019 to 2023, collected from agricultural areas in Dolbeau and ‎Peribonka, Quebec. Parameters such as surface volumetric soil moisture (0-7 cm), NDVI, EVI, and ‎NMDI were extracted from these images. A regional four-year dataset of soil and vegetation moisture ‎was developed using a machine learning approach combining model-based and satellite-based ‎datasets. The LSTM model predicts soil moisture dynamics hourly across different locations and ‎times, with its accuracy verified through cross-validation and comparison with existing soil moisture ‎datasets. The model effectively captures temporal dynamics, making it valuable for applications ‎requiring soil moisture monitoring over time, such as anomaly detection and memory analysis. By ‎identifying typical peak soil moisture values and observing distribution shapes, irrigation can be ‎scheduled to maintain soil moisture within Volumetric Soil Moisture (VSM) values of 0.25 to 0.30 ‎m²/m², avoiding under and over-watering. The strong correlations between parcels suggest that a ‎uniform irrigation strategy might be effective across multiple parcels, with adjustments based on ‎specific parcel characteristics and historical data trends. The application of the LSTM model to ‎predict soil moisture and vegetation indices yielded mixed results. While the model effectively ‎captures the central tendency and temporal dynamics of soil moisture, it struggles with accurately ‎predicting EVI, NDVI, and NMDI.‎

Keywords: irrigation scheduling, LSTM neural network, remotely sensed indices, soil and vegetation ‎monitoring

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Authors: Haya Salah, Srinivas Sharan

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Healthcare facilities use appointment systems to schedule their appointments and to manage access to their medical services. With the growing demand for outpatient care, it is now imperative to manage physician's time effectively. However, high variation in consultation duration affects the clinical scheduler's ability to estimate the appointment duration and allocate provider time appropriately. Underestimating consultation times can lead to physician's burnout, misdiagnosis, and patient dissatisfaction. On the other hand, appointment durations that are longer than required lead to doctor idle time and fewer patient visits. Therefore, a good estimation of consultation duration has the potential to improve timely access to care, resource utilization, quality of care, and patient satisfaction. Although the literature on factors influencing consultation length abound, little work has done to predict it using based data-driven approaches. Therefore, this study aims to predict consultation duration using supervised machine learning algorithms (ML), which predicts an outcome variable (e.g., consultation) based on potential features that influence the outcome. In particular, ML algorithms learn from a historical dataset without explicitly being programmed and uncover the relationship between the features and outcome variable. A subset of the data used in this study has been obtained from the electronic medical records (EMR) of four different outpatient clinics located in central Pennsylvania, USA. Also, publicly available information on doctor's characteristics such as gender and experience has been extracted from online sources. This research develops three popular ML algorithms (deep learning, random forest, gradient boosting machine) to predict the treatment time required for a patient and conducts a comparative analysis of these algorithms with respect to predictive performance. The findings of this study indicate that ML algorithms have the potential to predict the provider service time with superior accuracy. While the current approach of experience-based appointment duration estimation adopted by the clinic resulted in a mean absolute percentage error of 25.8%, the Deep learning algorithm developed in this study yielded the best performance with a MAPE of 12.24%, followed by gradient boosting machine (13.26%) and random forests (14.71%). Besides, this research also identified the critical variables affecting consultation duration to be patient type (new vs. established), doctor's experience, zip code, appointment day, and doctor's specialty. Moreover, several practical insights are obtained based on the comparative analysis of the ML algorithms. The machine learning approach presented in this study can serve as a decision support tool and could be integrated into the appointment system for effectively managing patient scheduling.

Keywords: clinical decision support system, machine learning algorithms, patient scheduling, prediction models, provider service time

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Authors: Muhammad Shoaib

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Every society has a set of beliefs, norms, values, folkways, mores and laws. All the principles, customs, traditions and procedures of societies are directly or indirectly related to the religion of the society and changed with the passage of time by the mediation of democratic values attitudes and mass media influence. The main objective of the present study is to examine the effects of rational thinking values on forgiveness attitude by the mediation of democratic values and mass media attitude among family members. As many other developing settings, Pakistani society is undergoing a rapid and multifaceted social change, in which traditional thinking coexists and often clashes with modern thinking. Rational thinking attitude has great effects on the forgiveness attitude among family members as well as all the members of Pakistani society. For the present study 520 respondents were sampled from two urban areas of Punjab province; Lahore and Faisalabad, through proportionate random sampling technique. A survey method was used as a technique of data collection and an interview schedule was administered to collect information from the respondents. The results support that the net of other factors, favorable democratic values attitudes are positively associated rational thinking attitudes. The results also provide support that all other things equal, mass media attitudes also have a significant positive effect on rational thinking attitudes. Favorable democratic values attitudes have a significant net positive effect and the effect of mass media attitudes is positive and statistically highly significant. It shows that the effects of both democratic values attitudes and mass media attitudes diminish in magnitude when the rational thinking attitudes scale is included. However, the effect of democratic values remains highly significant. In comparison, the effect of mass media attitudes is only marginally significant.

Keywords: rationality, forgiveness, democratic values, mass media, attitudes, Pakistan

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Authors: Jesus D. Cortes Gil, Fernanda Ewerling, Leonardo Ferreira, Aluisio J. D. Barros

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Background: The sustainable development goals call for inclusive, equitable, and quality learning opportunities for all. This is especially important for children, to ensure they all develop to their full potential. We studied the prevalence and inequalities of suspected delay in child development in 63 low- and middle-income countries. Methods and Findings: We used the early child development module from national health surveys, which covers four developmental domains (physical, social-emotional, learning, literacy-numeracy) and provides a combined indicator (early child development index, ECDI) of whether children are on track. We calculated the age-adjusted prevalence of suspected delay at the country level and stratifying by wealth, urban/rural residence, sex of the child, and maternal education. We also calculated measures of absolute and relative inequality. We studied 330.613 children from 63 countries. The prevalence of suspected delay for the ECDI ranged from 3% in Barbados to 67% in Chad. For all countries together, 25% of the children were suspected of developmental delay. At regional level, the prevalence of delay ranged from 10% in Europe and Central Asia to 42% in West and Central Africa. The literacy-numeracy domain was by far the most challenging, with the highest proportions of delay. We observed very large inequalities, and most markedly for the literacy-numeracy domain. Conclusions: To date, our study presents the most comprehensive analysis of child development using an instrument especially developed for national health surveys. With a quarter of the children globally suspected of developmental delay, we face an immense challenge. The multifactorial aspect of early child development and the large gaps we found only add to the challenge of not leaving these children behind.

Keywords: child development, inequalities, global health, equity

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Authors: Ilme Faridatul, Bo Wu

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Bangladesh is often called as a motherland of rivers. It contains about 700 rivers among all these the Padma River is one of the largest rivers of Bangladesh. The change of river bank and erosion has become a common environmental natural hazard in Bangladesh. The river banks are under intense pressure from natural processes such as erosion and accretion as well as anthropogenic processes such as urban growth and pollution. The Padma River is flowing along ten districts of Bangladesh among all these Faridpur district is most vulnerable to river bank erosion. The severity of the river erosion is so high that each year a thousand of populations become homeless and lose their agricultural lands. Though the Faridpur district is most vulnerable to river bank erosion no specific research has been conducted to identify the changing pattern of river bank along this district. The outcome of the research may serve as guidance to prepare river bank monitoring program and management. This research has utilized integrated techniques of remote sensing and geographic information system to monitor the changes from 1995 to 2015 at Faridpur district. To discriminate the land water interface Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) algorithm is applied and on screen digitization approach is used over MNDWI images of 1995, 2002 and 2015 for river bank line extraction. The extent of changes in the river bank along Faridpur district is estimated through overlaying the digitized maps of all three years. The river bank lines are highlighted to infer the erosion and accretion and the changes are calculated. The result shows that the middle of the river is gaining land through sedimentation and the both side river bank is shifting causing severe erosion that consequently resulting the loss of farmland and homestead. Over the study period from 1995 to 2015 it witnessed huge erosion and accretion that played an active role in the changes of the river bank.

Keywords: river bank, erosion and accretion, change monitoring, remote sensing

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Authors: ȘercăIanu Mihai, Aldea Mihaela, Iacoboaea Cristina, Luca Oana, Nenciu Ioana

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The emergence and neutralization of illegal waste dumps represent a global concern for waste management ecosystems with a particularly pronounced impact on disadvantaged communities. All over the world, and in this particular case in Romania, a relevant number of people resided in houses lacking any legal forms such as land ownership documents or building permits. These areas are referred to as “informal settlements”. An increasing number of regions and cities in Romania are struggling to manage their waste dumps, especially in the context of increasing poverty and lack of regulation related to informal settlements. An example of such informal settlement can be found at the terminus of Bistra Street in Câlnic, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Reșița in Caras Severin County. The article presents a case study that focuses on employing remote sensing techniques and spatial data to monitor and map illegal waste practices, with subsequent integration into a geographic information system tailored for the Reșița community. In addition, the paper outlines the steps involved in devising strategies aimed at enhancing waste management practices in disadvantaged areas, aligning with the shift toward a circular economy. Results presented in the paper contain a spatial mapping and visualization methodology calibrated with in situ data collection applicable for identifying illegal landfills. The emergence and neutralization of illegal dumps pose a challenge in the field of waste management. These approaches, which prove effective where conventional solutions have failed, need to be replicated and adopted more wisely.

Keywords: waste dumps, waste management, monitoring, GIS, informal settlements

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Authors: M. Sundaram, H. R. Sanath Kumar, A. Ramprakash

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Energy saving is a key sustainability focus area for the Indian telecom industry today. This is especially true in rural India where energy consumption contributes to 70 % of the total network operating cost. In urban areas, the energy cost for network operation ranges between 15-30 %. This expenditure on energy as a result of the lack of grid power availability highlights a potential barrier to telecom industry growth. As a result of this, telecom tower companies switch to diesel generators, making them the second largest consumer of diesel in India, consuming over 2.5 billion litres per annum. The growing cost of energy due to increasing diesel prices and concerns over rising greenhouse emissions have caused these companies to look at other renewable energy options. Even the TRAI (Telecom Regulation Authority of India) has issued a number of guidelines to implement Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) in the telecom towers as part of its ‘Implementation of Green Technologies in Telecom Sector’ initiative. Our proposal suggests the implementation of a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) based ‘optimisation controller’ that can not only efficiently utilize the energy from RETs but also help to conserve the power used in the telecom towers. When there are multiple RETs available to supply energy, this controller will pick the optimum amount of energy from each RET based on the availability and feasibility at that point of time, reducing the dependence on diesel generators. For effective maintenance of the towers, we are planing to implement a SCADA based monitoring system along with the ‘optimization controller’.

Keywords: operation costs, consumption of fuel and carbon footprint, implementation of a programmable logic controller (PLC) based ‘optimisation controller’, efficient SCADA based monitoring system

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Authors: Hussain Adnan Alsalman, Khalid Alhajri, Humoud Alrashidi, Abdulkareem Almakrami, Badie Alguwaisem, Said Alshahrani, Abdullah Alrowaished

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Most of the cost of installing a new fiber optic cable is attributed to civil work-trenching-cost. In many cases, information technology departments receive project proposals in their eReview system, but not all projects are visible to everyone. Additionally, if there was no IT scope in the proposed project, it is not likely to be visible to IT. Sometimes it is too late to add IT scope after project budgets have been finalized. Finally, the eReview system is a repository of PDF files for each project, which commits the reviewer to manual work and limits automation potential. This paper details a solution to address the late notification of the eReview system by integrating IT Sites GIS data-sites locations-with land use permit (LUP) data-civil work activity, which is the first step before securing the required land usage authorizations and means no detailed designs for any relevant project before an approved LUP request. To address the manual nature of eReview system, both the LUP System and IT data are using ArcGIS Desktop, which enables the creation of a geoprocessing tool with either Python or Model Builder to automate finding and evaluating potentially usable LUP requests to reduce trenching between two sites in need of a new FOC. To achieve this, a weekly dump was taken from LUP system production data and loaded manually onto ArcMap Desktop. Then a custom tool was developed in model builder, which consisted of a table of two columns containing all the pairs of sites in need of new fiber connectivity. The tool then iterates all rows of this table, taking the sites’ pair one at a time and finding potential LUPs between them, which satisfies the provided search radius. If a group of LUPs was found, an iterator would go through each LUP to find the required civil work between the two sites and the LUP Polyline feature and the distance through the line, which would be counted as cost avoidance if an IT scope had been added. Finally, the tool will export an Excel file named with sites pair, and it will contain as many rows as the number of LUPs, which met the search radius containing trenching and pulling information and cost. As a result, multiple projects have been identified – historical, missed opportunity, and proposed projects. For the proposed project, the savings were about 75% ($750,000) to install a new fiber with the Euclidean distance between Abqaiq GOSP2 and GOSP3 DCOs. In conclusion, the current tool setup identifies opportunities to bundle civil work on single projects at a time and between two sites. More work is needed to allow the bundling of multiple projects between two sites to achieve even more cost avoidance in both capital cost and carbon footprint.

Keywords: GIS, fiber optic cable installation optimization, eliminate redundant civil work, reduce carbon footprint for fiber optic cable installation

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Authors: Shamsher Singh

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The Diaspora Literature involves a concept of native land, from where the displacement occurs and a record of harsh journeys undertaken on account of economic compulsions. Basically, Diaspora is a splintered community living in eviction. The scattering (initially) signifies the location of a fluid human autonomous space involving a complex set of negotiations and exchange between the nostalgia and desire for the native land and the making of a new home, adapting to the relationships between the minority and majority, being spokes persons for minority rights and their people back native place and significantly transacting the Contact Zone - a space changed with the possibility of multiple challenges. They write in the background of the sublime qualities of their homeland and, at the same time, try to fit themselves into the traditions and cultural values of other strange communities or land. It also serves as an interconnection of the various cultures involved, and it is used to understand the customs of different cultures and countries; it is also a source of inspiration globally. Although diasporic literature originated back in the 20th century, it spread to other countries like Britain, Canada, America, Denmark, Netherland, Australia, Kenya, Sweden, Kuwait and different parts of Europe. Meaning of Diaspora is the combination of two words which means the movement of people away from their own country or motherland. From a historical point of view, the ‘Diaspora’ is often associated with Jewish bigotry. At the moment, the Diaspora is used for the dispersal of social or cultural groups. This group will be living in two different streams of cultures at the same time. One who left behind his culture and the other has to adapt himself to new cultural situations. The diasporic mind hangs between his birth land and place of work at the same time. A person’s mental state, living in dual existence, gives birth to Dysphoria sensation. Litterateurs had different experiences in this type of sensation e.g., social, universal, political, economic and experiences from the strange land. The struggle of these experiences is seen in diasporic literature. When a person moves to different land or country to fulfill his dreams, the discrimination of language, work and other difficulties with strangers make his relationship more emotional and deeper into his past. These past memories and relations create more difficulties in settling in a foreign land. He lives there physically, but his mental state is in his past constantly, and he ends up his life in those background memories. A person living in Diaspora is actually a dual visionary man. Although this double vision expands his global consciousness, due to this vision, he gains judgemental qualities to understand others. At the same time, he weighs his respect for his native land and the situations of foreign land he experiences, and he finds it difficult to survive in those conditions. It can be said that diaspora literature indicates a person or social organization who lives dual life inquisition structure which becomes the cause of diasporic literature.

Keywords: homeland sickness, language problem, quest for identity, materialistic desire

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Authors: Urooj Shafique, Salman Jamil

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In the context of an urban human life, city requires to meeting some standards which, at a glance are called the standards of a quality life. Measuring the quality of life according to particular social, economic and cultural conditions of a country and also the emphasis of a country twenty years visions on this issue has special importance. Cultural gathering spaces improve social and economic vitality on one side and on the other side provide favorable conditions for citizen leisure. But unfortunately these cultural gathering spaces in our society are losing their meaning and importance with time. Like coffee houses and libraries. Dedhee was the most prominent place among the cultural gathering spaces in Hazara division. People used to visit them in order to get something out of these spaces. At present they lie in our cities as places of no interest. Libraries are converted into storage houses where books lie untouched for years and years. The aim of my project is to create unique space that engage community members in the learning and creation process, where people can share their knowledge with others as well as enjoy their personal space. The spaces are flexible enough to accommodate people of different moods and interests, with the purpose of helping communities to become aware of their own cultures and to be socially engaged. The site for this specific project has been selected near Cantonment Park Abbottabad, Pakistan. The city of Abbottabad is famous for its writers, poets and storytellers. The site is selected next to the Cantonment Park, at a central location in the whole city so that it can attract users from almost every point of the city. The project provides a cultural gathering space for the people of the city where they can sit and discuss their ideas within a creative and expressive environment, which can represent the cultures of a community.

Keywords: cultural gathering space, Dedhee, Hazara literature, intellectuals’ hub

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Authors: Jorge Martinez, Brandon Roberts, Holly Payton Toca

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Background: Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the international standard of care for all comatose patients after cardiac arrest, but criticism focuses on poor outcomes. We sought to develop criteria to identify American urban patients more likely to benefit from TH. Methods: Retrospective chart review of 107 consecutive adults undergoing TH in downtown New Orleans from 2010-2014 yielded records for 99 patients with all 44 survivors or families contacted up to four years. Results: 69 males and 38 females with a mean age of 60.2 showed 63 dead (58%) and 44 survivors (42%). Presenting cardiac rhythm was divided into shockable (Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia, Ventricular Fibrillation) and non-shockable (Pulseless Electrical Activity, Asystole). Presenting in shockable rhythms with ROSC <20 minutes were 21 patients with 15 (71%) survivors (p=.001). Time >20 minutes until ROSC in shockable rhythms had 5 patients with 3 survivors (78%, p=0.001). Presenting in non-shockable rhythms with ROSC <20 minutes were 54 patients with 18 survivors (33%, p=.001). ROSC >20 minutes in non-shockable rhythms had 19 patients with 2 survivors (8%, p=.001). Survivors of shockable rhythms showed 19 (100%) living post TH. 15 survivors (79%, n=19, p=.001) had CPC score 1 or 2 with 4 survivors (21%, n=19) having a CPC score of 3. A total of 25 survived non-shockable rhythm. Acute survival of patients with non-shockable rhythm showed 18 expired <72 hours (72%, n=25) with long-term survival of 4 patients (5%, n=74) and CPC scores of 1 or 2 (p=.001). Interestingly, patients with time to ROSC <20 minutes exhibiting more than one loss of sustained ROSC showed 100% mortality (p=.001). Patients presenting with shockable >20 minutes ROSC had overall survival of 70% (p=.001), but those undergoing >3 cardiac rhythm changes had 100% mortality (p=.001). Conclusion: Patients presenting with shockable rhythms undergoing TH had overall acute survival of 70% followed by long-term survival of 100% after 4 years. In contrast, patients presenting with non-shockable rhythm had long-term survival of 5%. TH is not recommended for patients presenting with non-shockable rhythm and requiring greater than 20 minutes for restoration of ROSC.

Keywords: cardiac rhythm changes, Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA), Therapeutic Hypothermia (TH)

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Authors: Debra L. Stanley, Gabriela Wasileski

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Offenders face many challenges as they transition from being incarcerated to the community, ranging from housing and employment needs to long standing problems with addictions and mental health issues. A lack of appropriate behavioral health services in the more remote parts of the United States has led to a significant illegal substance abuse problem, housing instability, and unaddressed mental health and trauma issues. High rates of poverty and unemployment exacerbate the growing behavioral health issues, drug overdoses, co-occurring disorders, and crime that are so prevalent across rural communities. This study examines the challenges of rural jail reentry faced by offenders in a treatment capacity. The client-centered evidence-based program is uniquely designed to provide continuity of care that focuses on issues which affect rural communities. Prior to release from jail, individuals go through comprehensive assessment screenings to measure mental health and substance use disorder as well as trauma and prior crime victimization histories; the assessments help to target client-specific services. The quasi-experimental research design tracks clients throughout their recovery and reintegration into the community. Individuals in a rural program often do not have the benefit of easy access or peer mentoring that is so often found in urban recovery programs. Therefore, much of the support is provided through telehealth and e-services. The goal of this study is to explore the nature of rural reentry programs and measures of recidivism, drug overdoses, and other behavioral health needs and successful reentry to include stable housing and employment.

Keywords: jail reentry, rehabilitation, behavioral health, drug abuse, recidivism

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Authors: Bushra Alghamdi, Alla Alsharif, Hamzah Aljohani, Saba Kassim

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Introduction: Collaborative work has always been acknowledged as a fundamental concept in delivering oral health care. Aim: This study aimed to assess the perception and attitude of pharmacists in oral health promotion and to determine the confident levels of pharmacists in delivering advice on oral health problems. Methods: An observational cross-sectional survey, using self-administered anonymous questionnaires, was conducted between March and April 2017. The study recruited a convenience sample of registered community pharmacists who were working in local private pharmaceutical stores in the urban area of Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A preliminary descriptive analysis was performed. Results: Thirty-five pharmacists have completed the surveys. All participants were males, with a mean age of 35.5 ( ± 6.92) years. Eighty-six percent of the participants reported that pharmacists should have a role in oral health promotion. Eighty percent have reported adequate level of confident when giving advice on most of the common oral health problems that include; oral health related risk behaviors such as tobacco cessation (46%), bleeding gums (63%) and sensitive teeth (60%). However, higher percentages of pharmacists have reported low confident levels when giving advice in relation to specific domain of dentistry, such as lost dental fillings (57%), loose crowns (60%), trauma to teeth (40%), denture-related problems (51%) and oral cancer (6.9%). Conclusion: Community pharmacists recognized their potential role in promoting oral health in KSA. Community pharmacists had varying levels of ability and confidence to offer support for oral health. The study highlighted that inner professional collaboration between pharmacists and dental care healthcare should be enhanced.

Keywords: community, oral health, promotion, pharmacist

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Authors: Abdulmalik Altuwayjiri, Milad Pirhadi, Mohammed Kalafy, Badr Alharbi, Constantinos Sioutas

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In this study, we investigated the chemical and toxicological characteristics of PM10 in the metropolitan area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PM10 samples were collected on quartz and teflon filters during cold (December 2019–April 2020) and warm (May 2020–August 2020) seasons, including dust and non-dust events. The PM10 constituents were chemically analyzed for their metal, inorganic ions, and elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) contents. Additionally, the PM10 oxidative potential was measured by means of the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay. Our findings revealed that the oxidative potential of the collected ambient PM10 samples was significantly higher than those measured in many urban areas worldwide. The oxidative potential of the collected ambient PM¹⁰⁻ samples was also higher during dust episodes compared to non-dust events, mainly due to higher concentrations of metals during these events. We performed Pearson correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and multi-linear regression (MLR) to identify the most significant sources contributing to the toxicity of PM¹⁰⁻ The results of the MLR analyses indicated that the major pollution sources contributing to the oxidative potential of ambient PM10 were soil and resuspended dust emissions (identified by Al, K, Fe, and Li) (31%), followed by secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation (traced by SO₄-² and NH+₄) (20%), and industrial activities (identified by Se and La) (19%), and traffic emissions (characterized by EC, Zn, and Cu) (17%). Results from this study underscore the impact of transported dust emissions on the oxidative potential of ambient PM10 in Riyadh and can be helpful in adopting appropriate public health policies regarding detrimental outcomes of exposure to PM₁₀-

Keywords: ambient PM10, oxidative potential, source apportionment, Riyadh, dust episodes

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Authors: Riyona Chetty, Raisuyah Bhagwan, Nalini Govender

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Background: A myriad of physical, psychosocial, and environmental sequelae are associated with limb loss. However, there is a paucity of empirical South African data, which focuses on these sequelae, how they interface with the amputee’s quality of life as well as the challenges they experience following amputation. Objective: This study sought to explore the biopsychosocial effects of amputation and how amputation affected the quality of life of transtibial amputees. Setting: Participants were recruited from a medical facility, under the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health in South Africa. Methods: A qualitative approach guided this study. Data was collected using one-on-one interviews with 14 unilateral transtibial amputees. Data was analysed thematically. Results: Five broad themes emerged from the inquiry, which captured amputees’ experiences of phantom limb pain, body image disturbances, and their challenges related to adapting to daily activities. Participants also expressed the salience of familial support as well as the importance of psychological interventions to cope. Conclusion: The findings suggested that support networks and professional psychological intervention are imperative in facilitating successful adjustment to the amputation experience. Raising awareness of limb loss in both, rural and urban settings may help reduce the stigma attached to it. Contribution: Quality of life comprises several domains, namely physical, psychological, environmental, and social albeit limited local and international data exists regarding the environmental and social effects. This study brought to the fore the positive and negative effects of amputation in each domain, as well as various strategies that facilitate successful adjustment to amputation.

Keywords: amputation, quality of life, biopsychosocial, phantom limb pain, body image, support

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Authors: Amit Kumar

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Accurate identification of deteriorated air quality regions is very helpful in devising better environmental practices and mitigation efforts. In the present study, an attempt has been made to identify the air pollutant dispersion patterns especially NOX due to vehicular and industrial sources over a rapidly developing urban city, Visakhapatnam (17°42’ N, 83°20’ E), India, during April 2009. Using the emission factors of different vehicles as well as the industry, a high resolution 1 km x 1 km gridded emission inventory has been developed for Visakhapatnam city. A dispersion model AERMOD with explicit representation of planetary boundary layer (PBL) dynamics and offline coupled through a developed coupler mechanism with a high resolution mesoscale model WRF-ARW resolution for simulating the dispersion patterns of NOX is used in the work. The meteorological as well as PBL parameters obtained by employing two PBL schemes viz., non-local Yonsei University (YSU) and local Mellor-Yamada-Janjic (MYJ) of WRF-ARW model, which are reasonably representing the boundary layer parameters are considered for integrating AERMOD. Significantly different dispersion patterns of NOX have been noticed between summer and winter months. The simulated NOX concentration is validated with available six monitoring stations of Central Pollution Control Board, India. Statistical analysis of model evaluated concentrations with the observations reveals that WRF-ARW of YSU scheme with AERMOD has shown better performance. The deteriorated air quality locations are identified over Visakhapatnam based on the validated model simulations of NOX concentrations. The present study advocates the utility of tNumerical Simulation of Air Pollutant Using Coupled AERMOD-WRF Modeling System over Visakhapatnam: A Case Studyhe developed gridded emission inventory of NOX with coupled WRF-AERMOD modeling system for air quality assessment over the study region.

Keywords: WRF-ARW, AERMOD, planetary boundary layer, air quality

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Authors: Muhammad Safi, Abdul Manan

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In recent years, research in aircraft avionics systems (i.e., radars and antennas) has grown revolutionary. Aircraft technology is experiencing an increasing inclination from all mechanical to all electrical aircraft, with the introduction of inhabitant air vehicles and drone taxis over the last few years. This develops an overriding need to summarize the history, latest trends, and future development in aircraft avionics research for a better understanding and development of new technologies in the domain of avionics systems. This paper focuses on the future trends in antennas and phased arrays for avionics systems. Along with the general overview of the future avionics trend, this work describes the review of around 50 high-quality research papers on aircraft communication systems. Electric-powered aircraft have been a hot topic in the modern aircraft world. Electric aircraft have supremacy over their conventional counterparts. Due to increased drone taxi and urban air mobility, fast and reliable communication is very important, so concepts of Broadband Integrated Digital Avionics Information Exchange Networks (B-IDAIENs) and Modular Avionics are being researched for better communication of future aircraft. A Ku-band phased array antenna based on a modular design can be used in a modular avionics system. Furthermore, integrated avionics is also emerging research in future avionics. The main focus of work in future avionics will be using integrated modular avionics and infra-red phased array antennas, which are discussed in detail in this paper. Other work such as reconfigurable antennas and optical communication, are also discussed in this paper. The future of modern aircraft avionics would be based on integrated modulated avionics and small artificial intelligence-based antennas. Optical and infrared communication will also replace microwave frequencies.

Keywords: AI, avionics systems, communication, electric aircrafts, infra-red, integrated avionics, modular avionics, phased array, reconfigurable antenna, UAVs

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Authors: Mumtaz Mooncey, Alexander Jolly, Megan Fisher, Kerry Robinson, Robert Lloyd, Dave Fielding

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Introduction: The integration of the WingFactors in-situ simulation programme has transformed the education landscape at the Whittington Health NHS Trust. To date, there have been a total of 90 simulations - 19 aimed at Paediatric trainees, including 2 Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) scenarios. The opportunity for joint debriefs provided by clinical faculty and airline pilots, has created a new exciting avenue to explore human factors within psychiatry. Through the use of real clinical environments and primed actors; the benefits of high fidelity simulation, interdisciplinary and interprofessional learning has been highlighted. The use of in-situ simulation within Psychiatry is a newly emerging concept and its success here has been recognised by unanimously positive feedback from participants and acknowledgement through nomination for the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Award (Best Education Programme 2021). Methodology: The first CAMHS simulation featured a collapsed patient in the toilet with a ligature tied around her neck, accompanied by a distressed parent. This required participants to consider:; emergency physical management of the case, alongside helping to contain the mother and maintaining situational awareness when transferring the patient to an appropriate clinical area. The second simulation was based on a 17- year- old girl attempting to leave the ward after presenting with an overdose, posing potential risk to herself. The safe learning environment enabled participants to explore techniques to engage the young person and understand their concerns, and consider the involvement of other members of the multidisciplinary team. The scenarios were followed by an immediate ‘hot’ debrief, combining technical feedback with Human Factors feedback from uniformed airline pilots and clinicians. The importance of psychological safety was paramount, encouraging open and honest contributions from all participants. Key learning points were summarized into written documents and circulated. Findings: The in-situ simulations demonstrated the need for practical changes both in the Emergency Department and on the Paediatric ward. The presence of airline pilots provided a novel way to debrief on Human Factors. The following key themes were identified: -Team-briefing (‘Golden 5 minutes’) - Taking a few moments to establish experience, initial roles and strategies amongst the team can reduce the need for conversations in front of a distressed patient or anxious relative. -Use of checklists / guidelines - Principles associated with checklist usage (control of pace, rigor, team situational awareness), instead of reliance on accurate memory recall when under pressure. -Read-back - Immediate repetition of safety critical instructions (e.g. drug / dosage) to mitigate the risks associated with miscommunication. -Distraction management - Balancing the risk of losing a team member to manage a distressed relative, versus it impacting on the care of the young person. -Task allocation - The value of the implementation of ‘The 5A’s’ (Availability, Address, Allocate, Ask, Advise), for effective task allocation. Conclusion: 100% of participants have requested more simulation training. Involvement of airline pilots has led to a shift in hospital culture, bringing to the forefront the value of Human Factors focused training and multidisciplinary simulation. This has been of significant value in not only physical health, but also mental health simulation.

Keywords: human factors, in-situ simulation, inter-professional, multidisciplinary

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Authors: Francisco Javier Montes Ruiz-Cabello, Guillermo Guerrero-Vacas, Sara Bermudez-Romero, Miguel Cabrerizo Vilchez, Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Valverde

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Galvanized steel is one of the widespread metallic materials used in industry. It consists on a iron-based alloy (steel) coated with a layer of zinc with variable thickness. The zinc is aimed to prevent the inner steel from corrosion and staining. Its production is cheaper than the stainless steel and this is the reason why it is employed in the construction of materials with large dimensions in aeronautics, urban/ industrial edification or ski-resorts. In all these applications, turning the natural hydrophilicity of the metal surface into superhydrophobicity is particularly interesting and would open a wide variety of additional functionalities. However, producing a superhydrophobic surface on galvanized steel may be a very difficult task. Superhydrophobic surfaces are characterized by a specific surface texture which is reached either by coating the surface with a material that incorporates such texture, or by conducting several roughening methods. Since galvanized steel is already a coated material, the incorporation of a second coating may be undesired. On the other hand, the methods that are recurrently used to incorporate the surface texture leading to superhydrophobicity in metals are aggressive and may damage their surface. In this work, we used a novel strategy which goal is to produce superhydrophobic galvanized steel by a two-step non-aggressive process. The first process is aimed to create a hierarchical structure by incorporating zinc nanoparticles sintered on the surface at a temperature slightly lower than the zinc’s melting point. The second one is a hydrophobization by a thick fluoropolymer layer deposition. The wettability of the samples is characterized in terms of tilting plate and bouncing drop experiments, while the roughness is analyzed by confocal microscopy. The durability of the produced surfaces was also explored.

Keywords: galvanaized steel, superhydrophobic surfaces, sintering nanoparticles, zinc nanopowder

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