Search results for: start-up entrepreneurs support economic policy

Authors: Jara Kaye S. Villanueva, M. Rosario Concepcion O. Ang

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For the past few years, Philippines has depended most of its energy source on oil, coal, and fossil fuel. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the dominance of coal in the energy mix will continue until the year 2020. The expanding energy needs in the country have led to increasing efforts to promote and develop renewable energy. This research is a part of the government initiative in preparation for renewable energy development and expansion in the country. The Philippine Renewable Energy Resource Mapping from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Surveys is a three-year government project which aims to assess and quantify the renewable energy potential of the country and to put them into usable maps. This study focuses on the site suitability analysis of the four renewable energy sources – biomass (coconut, corn, rice, and sugarcane), hydro, solar, and wind energy. The site assessment is a key component in determining and assessing the most suitable locations for the construction of renewable energy power plants. This method maximizes the use of both the technical methods in resource assessment, as well as taking into account the environmental, social, and accessibility aspect in identifying potential sites by utilizing and integrating two different methods: the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. For the MCDA, Analytical Hierarchy Processing (AHP) is employed to determine the parameters needed for the suitability analysis. To structure these site suitability parameters, various experts from different fields were consulted – scientists, policy makers, environmentalists, and industrialists. The need to have a well-represented group of people to consult with is relevant to avoid bias in the output parameter of hierarchy levels and weight matrices. AHP pairwise matrix computation is utilized to derive weights per level out of the expert’s gathered feedback. Whereas from the threshold values derived from related literature, international studies, and government laws, the output values were then consulted with energy specialists from the DOE. Geospatial analysis using GIS tools translate this decision support outputs into visual maps. Particularly, this study uses Euclidean distance to compute for the distance values of each parameter, Fuzzy Membership algorithm which normalizes the output from the Euclidean Distance, and the Weighted Overlay tool for the aggregation of the layers. Using the Natural Breaks algorithm, the suitability ratings of each of the map are classified into 5 discrete categories of suitability index: (1) not suitable (2) least suitable, (3) suitable, (4) moderately suitable, and (5) highly suitable. In this method, the classes are grouped based on the best groups similar values wherein each subdivision are set from the rest based on the big difference in boundary values. Results show that in the entire Philippine area of responsibility, biomass has the highest suitability rating with rice as the most suitable at 75.76% suitability percentage, whereas wind has the least suitability percentage with score 10.28%. Solar and Hydro fall in the middle of the two, with suitability values 28.77% and 21.27%.

Keywords: site suitability, biomass energy, hydro energy, solar energy, wind energy, GIS

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Authors: Dmytro Zubov, Francesco Volponi

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In this paper, D-Wave quantum computing Ising model is used for the forecasting of positive extremes of daily mean air temperature. Forecast models are designed with two to five qubits, which represent 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-day historical data respectively. Ising model’s real-valued weights and dimensionless coefficients are calculated using daily mean air temperatures from 119 places around the world, as well as sea level (Aburatsu, Japan). In comparison with current methods, this approach is better suited to predict heat wave values because it does not require the estimation of a probability distribution from scarce observations. Proposed forecast quantum computing algorithm is simulated based on traditional computer architecture and combinatorial optimization of Ising model parameters for the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport dataset with 1-day lead-time on learning sample (1975-2010 yr). Analysis of the forecast accuracy (ratio of successful predictions to total number of predictions) on the validation sample (2011-2014 yr) shows that Ising model with three qubits has 100 % accuracy, which is quite significant as compared to other methods. However, number of identified heat waves is small (only one out of nineteen in this case). Other models with 2, 4, and 5 qubits have 20 %, 3.8 %, and 3.8 % accuracy respectively. Presented three-qubit forecast model is applied for prediction of heat waves at other five locations: Aurel Vlaicu, Romania – accuracy is 28.6 %; Bratislava, Slovakia – accuracy is 21.7 %; Brussels, Belgium – accuracy is 33.3 %; Sofia, Bulgaria – accuracy is 50 %; Akhisar, Turkey – accuracy is 21.4 %. These predictions are not ideal, but not zeros. They can be used independently or together with other predictions generated by different method(s). The loss of human life, as well as environmental, economic, and material damage, from extreme air temperatures could be reduced if some of heat waves are predicted. Even a small success rate implies a large socio-economic benefit.

Keywords: heat wave, D-wave, forecast, Ising model, quantum computing

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Authors: Rose Mwanza

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This paper investigates security factors influencing primary school pupils’ school participation in Kenya. Schools, communities and the Government all have roles to play in enhancing primary school pupil’s school participation. The effective security system of a country provides the necessary avenues to facilitate improved health services protection of children and allows free movement of the country’s citizens which leads to a conducive atmosphere for school participation. Kenya is a signatory to international commitments and conventions related to security such as the National Policy on Peace Building and Conflict Management, United Nations Development Assistance Framework and Key Security Unity, which enable primary school pupils to participate in education. The paper also looks at the strategies the Government of Kenya has put in place to ensure effective pupil school participation.

Keywords: ethnicity, social media, participation in school, poverty, terrorism

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Authors: Mirim Kim, Won-Oak Oh

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify hospitalized children's fall risk factors, fall prevention status and fall prevention strategies recognized by nurses and caregivers of hospitalized children and present an ecological model for fall preventive management in hospitalized children. Method: The participants of this study were 14 nurses working in medical institutions and having more than one year of child care experience and 14 adult caregivers of children under 6 years of age receiving inpatient treatment at a medical institution. One to one interview was attempted to identify their perception of fall preventive management. Transcribed data were analyzed through latent content analysis method. Results: Fall risk factors in hospitalized children were 'unpredictable behavior', 'instability', 'lack of awareness about danger', 'lack of awareness about falls', 'lack of child control ability', 'lack of awareness about the importance of fall prevention', 'lack of sensitivity to children', 'untidy environment around children', 'lack of personalized facilities for children', 'unsafe facility', 'lack of partnership between healthcare provider and caregiver', 'lack of human resources', 'inadequate fall prevention policy', 'lack of promotion about fall prevention', 'a performanceism oriented culture'. Fall preventive management status of hospitalized children were 'absence of fall prevention capability', 'efforts not to fall', 'blocking fall risk situation', 'limit the scope of children's activity when there is no caregiver', 'encourage caregivers' fall prevention activities', 'creating a safe environment surrounding hospitalized children', 'special management for fall high risk children', 'mutual cooperation between healthcare providers and caregivers', 'implementation of fall prevention policy', 'providing guide signs about fall risk'. Fall preventive management strategies of hospitalized children were 'restrain dangerous behavior', 'inspiring awareness about fall', 'providing fall preventive education considering the child's eye level', 'efforts to become an active subject of fall prevention activities', 'providing customed fall prevention education', 'open communication between healthcare providers and caregivers', 'infrastructure and personnel management to create safe hospital environment', 'expansion fall prevention campaign', 'development and application of a valid fall assessment instrument', 'conversion of awareness about safety'. Conclusion: In this study, the ecological model of fall preventive management for hospitalized children reflects various factors that directly or indirectly affect the fall prevention of hospitalized children. Therefore, these results can be considered as useful baseline data for developing systematic fall prevention programs and hospital policies to prevent fall accident in hospitalized children. Funding: This study was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Korea (grant number NRF-2016R1A2B1015455).

Keywords: fall down, safety culture, hospitalized children, risk factors

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Authors: Bai-Chen Xie, Xian-Peng Chen

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China has become the world's largest energy producer and consumer, and its development of renewable energy is of great significance to global energy governance and the fight against climate change. The rapid growth of solar power in China could help achieve its ambitious carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets early. However, the non-technical costs of solar power in China are much higher than at international levels, meaning that inefficiencies are rooted in poor management and improper policy design and that efficiency distortions have become a serious challenge to the sustainable development of the renewable energy industry. Unlike fossil energy generation technologies, the output of solar power is closely related to the volatile solar resource, and the spatial unevenness of solar resource distribution leads to potential efficiency spatial distribution differences. It is necessary to develop an efficiency evaluation method that considers the volatility of solar resources and explores the mechanism of the influence of natural geography and social environment on the spatially varying characteristics of efficiency distribution to uncover the root causes of managing inefficiencies. The study sets solar resources as stochastic inputs, introduces a chance-constrained data envelopment analysis model combined with the directional distance function, and measures the solar resource utilization efficiency of 222 solar power plants in representative photovoltaic bases in northwestern China. By the meta-frontier analysis, we measured the characteristics of different power plant clusters and compared the differences among groups, discussed the mechanism of environmental factors influencing inefficiencies, and performed statistical tests through the system generalized method of moments. Rational localization of power plants is a systematic project that requires careful consideration of the full utilization of solar resources, low transmission costs, and power consumption guarantee. Suitable temperature, precipitation, and wind speed can improve the working performance of photovoltaic modules, reasonable terrain inclination can reduce land cost, and the proximity to cities strongly guarantees the consumption of electricity. The density of electricity demand and high-tech industries is more important than resource abundance because they trigger the clustering of power plants to result in a good demonstration and competitive effect. To ensure renewable energy consumption, increased support for rural grids and encouraging direct trading between generators and neighboring users will provide solutions. The study will provide proposals for improving the full life-cycle operational activities of solar power plants in China to reduce high non-technical costs and improve competitiveness against fossil energy sources.

Keywords: solar power plants, environmental factors, data envelopment analysis, efficiency evaluation

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Authors: Shideh Mohseni Movahed, Mansoureh Safari, Ali Safari

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In this paper, the state of play and prospect of nanoparticles and nanoproducts in medicine have been discussed. Advances in terms of scientific knowledge in the Nanosciences (nanotechnologies and/or nanomaterials) have and already translated into an industrial and economic reality. Just like other sectors in the phase of launching products in the markets, it is to consider the introduction of these new products in order to measure and control potential consequences in terms of health impacts on humans and the environment, but also in terms of societal impacts.

Keywords: nanoparticles, nanoproducts, medicine, health

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Authors: Aparna Saha, Tuhin Ahmed

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West Bengal has a number of important rivers, each with its distinctive character and a story. Traditionally, cities have ‘divulged’ to rivers at the river edges and rivers have been an inseparable part of the urban experience. Considering the research aspect, the area is taken in Barrackpore, a small but important outgrowth of Kolkata Municipal Association, West Bengal. Barrackpore, at present, has ample inadequate public open spaces at the neighborhood level where people of different socio-cultural, economic, and religious backgrounds can come together and engage in various leisure activities, but there is no opportunity either, where people can learn about and explore the rich history of the settlement. Pertaining to these issues forms the backdrop of this research paper which has been conceptualized as a place from space that will bring people back to the river and increase community interactions and will also celebrate and commemorate towards the historical importance of the river and its edges. The entire precinct bordering the river represents the transition from pre-independence (Raj era) to Sepoy phase (Swaraj era), finally culminating into the Gandhian philosophy which is being projected into the already existing Gandhi Ghat. The ultimate aim of the paper entitled ‘Utsadhara- Rejuvenating the dead river edge into an urban activity space along the banks of river Hooghly’ is to create a socio-cultural space keeping the heritage identity intact through judicious use of the water body. Also, a balance is kept between the natural ecosystem and the cosmetic development of the surrounding open spaces. It can be duly achieved by the aforementioned methodology provided in the document, but mainly it would focus into preserving the historic ethnicity of the place by holding its character through various facts and figures as well as features. Most importantly the natural topography of the place is left intact. The second priority is given in terms of hierarchy of well connected public plazas, podiums where people from different socio-economic backgrounds irrespective of age and sex could socialize and reach towards venturing into a cordial relationship with one another. The third priority is to provide a platform for the common mass for showcasing their skills and talent through different art and craft forms which in turn would enhance their individual self and also the community as a whole through economic rise. Apart from this here some spaces are created in accordance to different age groups or class of people. The paper intends to see the river as a major multifunctional public space to attract people for different activities and re-establish the relationship of the river with the settlement. Hence, it is apprehended that the paper is not only intended to a simple riverfront conservation project but unlike others it is a place which is created for the people, by the people and of the people towards a holistic community development through a sustainable approach.

Keywords: holistic community development, public activity space, river-urban precinct, urban dead space

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Authors: Hyun Chang Kim, Yong Hun Jung, Kyung Woon Jeung

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Background: From the viewpoint of cardiac pump theory, the area of the left ventricle (LV) subjected to compression increases as the LV lies closer to the sternum, possibly resulting in higher blood flow in patients with LV closer to the sternum. However, no study has evaluated LV position during cardiac arrest or its relationship with hemodynamic parameters during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The objectives of this study were to determine whether the position of the LV relative to the anterior-posterior axis representing the direction of chest compression shifts during cardiac arrest and to examine the relationship between LV position and hemodynamic parameters during CPR. Methods: Subcostal view echocardiograms were obtained from 15 pigs with the transducer parallel to the long axis of the sternum before inducing ventricular fibrillation (VF) and during cardiac arrest. Computed tomography was performed in three pigs to objectively observe LV position during cardiac arrest. LV position parameters including the shortest distance between the anterior-posterior axis and the mid-point of the LV chamber (DAP-MidLV), the shortest distance between the anterior-posterior axis and the LV apex (DAP-Apex), and the area fraction of the LV located on the right side of the anterior-posterior axis (LVARight/LVATotal) were measured. Results: DAP-MidLV, DAP-Apex, and LVARight/LVATotal decreased progressively during untreated VF and basic life support (BLS), and then increased during advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS). A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant time effects for these parameters. During BLS, the end-tidal carbon dioxide and systolic right atrial pressure were significantly correlated with the LV position parameters. During ACLS, systolic arterial pressure and systolic right atrial pressure were significantly correlated with DAP-MidLV and DAP-Apex. Conclusions: LV position changed significantly during cardiac arrest compared to the pre-arrest baseline. LV position during CPR had significant correlations with hemodynamic parameters.

Keywords: heart arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, heart ventricle, hemodynamics

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Authors: Theresa Bacon-Baguley, Martina Reinhold

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Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of both formative and summative evaluation of a Physician Assistant (PA) program with a distant campus delivered through Interactive Television (ITV) to assure equity of educational experiences. Methodology: A needs assessment utilizing a case-control design determined the need and interest in expanding the existing PA program to northern Michigan. A federal grant was written and funded, which supported the hiring of two full-time faculty members and support staff at the distant site. The strengths and weaknesses of delivering a program through ITV were evaluated using weekly formative evaluation, and bi-semester summative evaluation. Formative evaluation involved discussion of lecture content to be delivered, special ITV needs, orientation of new lecturers to the system, student concerns, support staff updates, and scheduling of student/faculty traveling between the two campuses. The summative evaluation, designed from a literature review of barriers to ITV, included 19 statements designed to evaluate the following items: quality of technology (audio, video, etc.), confidence in the ITV system, quality of instruction and instructor interaction between the two locations, and availability of resources at each location. In addition, students were given the opportunity to write qualitative remarks for each course delivered between the two locations. This summative evaluation was given to all students at mid-semester and at the end of the semester. The goal of the summative evaluation was to have 80% or greater of the students respond favorably (‘Very Good’ or ‘Good’) to each of the 19 statements. Results: Prior to the start of the first cohort at the distant campus, the technology was tested. During this time period, the formative evaluations identified key components needing modification, which were rapidly addressed: ability to record lectures, lighting, sound, and content delivery. When the mid-semester summative survey was given to the first cohort of students, 18 of the 19 statements in the summative evaluation met the goal of 80% or greater in the favorable category. When the summative evaluation statements were stratified by the two cohorts, the summative evaluation identified that students at the home location responded that they did not have adequate access to printers, and students at the expansion location responded that they did not have adequate access to library resources. These results allowed the program to address the deficiencies through contacting informational technology for additional printers, and to provide students with knowledge on how to access library resources. Conclusion: Successful expansion of programs to a distant site utilizing ITV technology requires extensive monitoring using both formative and summative evaluation. The formative evaluation allowed for quick identification of issues that could immediately be addressed, both at the planning and developing stage, as well as during implementation. Through use of the summative evaluation the program is able to monitor the success/ effectiveness of the expansion and identify specific needs of students at each location.

Keywords: assessment, distance learning, formative feedback, interactive television (ITV), student experience, summative feedback, support

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Authors: Michelangelo Sofo, Giuseppe Labianca

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In recent years, the scientific community's interest in the exploratory analysis of biomedical data has increased exponentially. Considering the field of research of nutritional biologists, the curative process, based on the analysis of clinical data, is a very delicate operation due to the fact that there are multiple solutions for the management of pathologies in the food sector (for example can recall intolerances and allergies, management of cholesterol metabolism, diabetic pathologies, arterial hypertension, up to obesity and breathing and sleep problems). In this regard, in this research work a system was created capable of evaluating various dietary regimes for specific patient pathologies. The system is founded on a mathematical-numerical model and has been created tailored for the real working needs of an expert in human nutrition using the human-centered design (ISO 9241-210), therefore it is in step with continuous scientific progress in the field and evolves through the experience of managed clinical cases (machine learning process). DietAdhoc® is a decision support system nutrition specialists for patients of both sexes (from 18 years of age) developed with an agile methodology. Its task consists in drawing up the biomedical and clinical profile of the specific patient by applying two algorithmic optimization approaches on nutritional data and a symbolic solution, obtained by transforming the relational database underlying the system into a deductive database. For all three solution approaches, particular emphasis has been given to the explainability of the suggested clinical decisions through flexible and customizable user interfaces. Furthermore, the system has multiple software modules based on time series and visual analytics techniques that allow to evaluate the complete picture of the situation and the evolution of the diet assigned for specific pathologies.

Keywords: medical decision support, physiological data extraction, data driven diagnosis, human centered AI, symbiotic AI paradigm

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Authors: J. Waita, S. Wamuhu, J. Makoyo, M. Rachel, T. Ngangari, W. Christine, M. Zipporah

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Contraceptive use is one of the key global strategies to alleviate maternal mortality. Global efforts through advocating for contraceptive uptake and service provision has led improved contraceptive prevalence. In Kenya maternal mortality rate has remained a challenged despites efforts by government and non-governmental organizations. Objective: To describe the uptake of contraceptives among women in Tunza Clinics, Kenya. Design and Methods: Ps Kenya through health care marketing fund is implementing a family planning program among its 350 Tunza fractional franchise facilities. Through private partnership, private owned facilities in low socio-economic areas are recruited and trained on contraceptive technology update. The providers are supported through facilitative supervision through a mobile based application Health Network Quality Improvement System (HNQIS) and interpersonal communication through 150 community based volunteers. The data analyzed in this paper was collected between January to July 2017 to show the uptake of modern Contraceptives among women in the Tunza franchise, method mix, age and distribution among the age bracket. Further analysis compares two different service delivery strategies; outreach and walk ins. Supportive supervision HNQIS scores was analyzed. Results: During the time period, a total of 132121 family planning clients were attended in 350 facilities. The average age of clients was 29.6 years. The average number of clients attended in the facilities per month was 18874. 73.7 %( n=132121) of the clients attended in the Tunza facilities were aged above 25 years while 22.1% 20-24 years and 4.2% 15-19 years. On contraceptive method mix, intra uterine device insertions clients contributed to 7.5%, implant insertions 15.3%, pills 11.2%, injections 62.7% while condoms and emergency pills had 2.7% and 0.6% respectively. Analysis of service delivery strategy indicated more than 79% of the clients were walk ins while 21% were attended to during outreaches. Uptake of long term contraceptive methods during outreaches was 73% of the clients while short term modern methods were 27%. Health Network Quality Improvement system assessment scores indicated 51% of the facilities scored over 90%, 25% scoring 80-89% while 21% scored below 80%. Conclusion: Preference for short term methods by women is possibly associated to cost as they are cheaper and easy to administer. When the cost of intra uterine device Implants is meant affordable during outreaches, the uptake is observed to increase. Making intra uterine device and implants affordable to women is a key strategy in increasing contraceptive prevalence hence averting maternal mortality.

Keywords: contraceptives, contraceptive uptake, low socio economic, supportive supervision

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Authors: Abdur Raheem, Ado Yakub

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Urban violence in the form of ethnic and religious conflicts have been on the increase in many African cities in the recent years of which most of them are the result of intense and bitter competition for political power, the control of limited economic, social and environmental resources. In Nigeria, the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency in most parts of the north eastern parts have ignited violence, bloodshed, refuge exodus and internal migration. Not only do the persistent attacks of the sect create widespread insecurity and fear, it has also stifled normal processes of trade and investments most especially real property investment which is acclaimed to accelerate the economic cycle, thus the need to evolve strategies for an improved property market in such areas. This paper, therefore, examines the impact of these social crisis on effective and efficient utilization of real properties as a resource towards the development of the economy, using a descriptive analysis approach where particular emphasis was based on trends in residential housing values; volume of estimated property transactions and real estate investment decisions by affected individuals. Findings indicate that social crisis in the affected areas have been a clog on the wheels of property development and investment as properties worth hundreds of millions have been destroyed thereby having great impact on property values. Based on these findings, recommendations were made to include the need to strategically continue investing in property during such times, the need for Nigerian government to establish an active conflict monitoring and management unit for prompt response, encourage community and neighbourhood policing to ameliorate security challenges in Nigeria.

Keywords: social crisis, property market, economy, resources, north-eastern Nigeria

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Authors: Chooi Fong Lee

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Maternal psychological well-being has been investigated from various aspects, such as social support, employment status. However, a perspective from self-discrepancy theory has not been employed. Moreover, most were focused on young mothers. Less is understanding the middle-aged mother’s psychological well-being. This research examined the influence of maternal self-discrepancy between actual and ideal self on maternal role achievement, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and subjective well-being among Japanese middle-aged mothers across their employment status. A pilot study with 20 Japanese mother participants (aged 40-55, 9 regular-employed, 8 non-regular-employed, and 3 homemakers) was conducted to assess the viability of survey questionnaires (Maternal Role Achievement Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Subjective Well-being Scale, and Self-report questionnaire). The self-report questionnaire prompted participants to list up to 3 ideal selves they aspired to be and rate the extent to which their actual selves deviated from their ideal selves on a 7-point scale (1= not at all; 4 = medium; 7 = extremely). Self-discrepancy scores were calculated by subtracting participants’ degree ratings from a 7-point scale, summing them up, and then dividing the total by 3. The final sample consisted of 241 participants, 97 regular-employed, 87 non-regular employed, and 57 homemaker mothers. We ensured participants were randomly selected to mitigate bias. The results show that regular-employed mothers tend to exhibit lower self-discrepancy scores compared to non-regular employed and homemaker mothers. Moreover, the discrepancy between actual and ideal self negatively correlated with maternal role achievement, state anxiety, and subjective well-being, while positively correlated with trait anxiety. Trait anxiety arises when one feels they did not meet their ideal self, as evidenced by higher levels in homemaker mothers, who experience lower state anxiety. Conversely, regular-employed mothers exhibit higher state anxiety but lower trait anxiety, suggesting satisfaction in their professional pursuits despite balancing work and family responsibilities. Full-time maternal roles contribute to lower state anxiety but higher trait anxiety among homemaker mothers due to a lack of personal identity achievement. Non-regular employed mothers show similarities to homemaker mothers. In self-reports, regular-employed mothers highlight support and devotion to their children’s development, while non-regular-employed mothers seek life fulfillment through part-time work alongside child-rearing duties. Homemaker mothers emphasize qualities like sociability, and communication skills, potentially influencing their self-discrepancy scores. Furthermore, the hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that the discrepancy between actual and ideal self significantly predicts subjective well-being. In conclusion, the findings offer valuable insights into the impact of maternal self-discrepancy on psychological well-being among middle-aged Japanese mothers across different employment statuses. Understanding these dynamics becomes crucial as contemporary women increasingly pursue higher education and depart from traditional motherhood norms. Working toward one ideal self might contribute to a mother psychological well-being. Acknowledgment: This project was made possible with funding support from the Japan ICU Foundation.

Keywords: maternal employment, maternal role, self-discrepancy, state-trait anxiety, subjective well-being

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Authors: Mimoza Canga, Irene Malagnino, Ruzhdie Qafmolla, Vergjini Mulo, Gresa Baboci, Vito Antonio Malagnino

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Background: Dental caries represents the most widespread pathology in childhood. The prevalence of dental caries varies with age, gender, socio economic status, geographical location, nutrition habits, and oral hygiene. Objective: The objective of the present longitudinal study is to show clearly the prevalence of dental caries in the children of age 6 and 7 years old in Vlore, Albania, in a two year time period with controls done every 6 months. Materials and methods: The present study was conducted on 530 children, with a controlled sample for a time period of 24 months from September 2019- September 2021. The children in the study had different economic and social backgrounds. The teeth controls were done by the dentists who work at the hospital of the city. The present study was conducted in accordance with Helsinki declaration. Permissions were obtained in written form, which allowed us to perform the observations. Parents had the right to withdraw their children at any time. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0. The significance level (α) was set at 0.05, whereas P-value and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. Results: The data of the present study showed that the age group of 6 years old had 139 or 52.3% of the children with dental caries and 127 or 47.7% of them had no dental caries, while at the age of 7 there were 184 or 69.7% of the children with dental caries problems in the permanent molars and 80 or 30.3% of them had no dental caries. In the present study, it was observed that there is a statistically significant association between age group and presence of caries. Children 7 years old had higher presence of dental caries (χ2 = 16.934 (df 1) p-value < 0.001). According to the present research, there is a statistically significant correlation between period of time and the presence of dental caries. Furthermore, in the actual research, it was established that in the time 18-24 months, the prevalence of dental caries was high (χ2=15,318 (df 1) p-value = 0.004). Conclusion: According to the results of the present study performed in Albania in a two year time period with controls done every 6 months, it is proved that the prevalence of dental caries was 17.4 percent higher among children 7 years old in comparison with the children 6 years old.

Keywords: age, children, dental caries, permanent molars

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Authors: Mohamed Elmeshad

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During the mid-1990's Egypt had become obliged to implement the Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Program that included broad economic liberalization, expansion of the private sector and a contraction the size of government spending. This coincided as well with attempts to appear more democratic and open to liberalizing public space and discourse. At the same time, economic pressures and the proliferation of social media access and activism had led to increased pressure to open a mediascape and remove it from the clutches of the government, which had monopolized print and broadcast mass media for over 4 decades by that point. However, the mechanisms that governed the privatization of mass media allowed for sustained government control, even through the prism of ostensibly privately owned newspapers and television stations. These mechanisms involve barriers to entry from a financial and security perspective, as well as operational capacities of distribution and access to means of production. The power dynamics between mass media establishments and the state were moulded during this period in a novel way. Power dynamics within media establishments had also formed under such circumstances. The changes in the country's political economy itself somehow mirrored these developments. This paper will examine these dynamics and shed light on the political economy of Egypt's newly privatized mass media in the early 2000's especially. Methodology: This study will rely on semi-structured interviews from individuals involved with these changes from the perspective of the media organizations. It also will map out the process of media privatization by looking at the administrative, operative and legislative institutions and contexts in order to attempt to draw conclusions on methods of control and the role of the state during the process of privatization. Finally, a brief discourse analysis will be necessary in order to aptly convey how these factors ultimately reflected on media output. Findings and conclusion: The development of Egyptian private, “independent” mirrored the trajectory of transitions in the country’s political economy. Liberalization of the economy meant that a growing class of business owners would explore opportunities that such new markets would offer. However the regime’s attempts to control access to certain forms of capital, especially in sectors such as the media affected the structure of print and broadcast media, as well as the institutions that would govern them. Like the process of liberalisation, much of the regime’s manoeuvring with regards to privatization of media had been haphazardly used to indirectly expand the regime and its ruling party’s ability to retain influence, while creating a believable façade of openness. In this paper, we will attempt to uncover these mechanisms and analyse our findings in ways that explain how the manifestations prevalent in the context of a privatizing media space in a transitional Egypt provide evidence of both the intentions of this transition, and the ways in which it was being held back.

Keywords: business, mass media, political economy, power, privatisation

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Authors: Nugzar Todua

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The paper studies the role of food labeling in order to promote healthy eating issue in Georgia. The main focus of the research is directed to consumer attitudes regarding food labeling. The methodology of the paper is based on the focus group work, as well as online and face to face surveys. The data analysis has been provided through ANOVA. The study proves that the impact of variables such as the interest, awareness, reliability, assurance and satisfaction of consumers' on buying decision, is statistically important. The study reveals that consumers’ perception regarding to food labeling is positive, but their level of knowledge and ability is rather low. It is urgent to strengthen marketing promotions strategies in the process of implementations of food security policy in Georgia.

Keywords: food labeling, buying decision, Georgian consumers, marketing research

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Authors: Miguel A. Borrella, Ana P. Fanjul, Suca Munoz, Liliana Herrera

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This paper evaluates the impact of LEADER, a remarkable Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) approach of the European Program for Rural Development applied to rural municipalities of Spain in 2018 and 2019. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy and a newly-constructed database, results show that aided municipalities have significantly lower unemployment levels than non-aided municipalities. Results are significant for the decrease in unemployment for both women and people younger than 25 years old, two of the target groups of the policy. Nevertheless, they are larger for male and older workers. Therefore, findings suggest that LEADER 2017-2018 was successful in reducing unemployment in rural areas.

Keywords: community-led local development, ex-post evaluation, LEADER, rural development

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Authors: Jiaqi Yan, Yani Shi

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With the growing popularity of bitcoin transactions, criminals have exploited the bitcoin like cryptocurrencies, and cybercriminals such as money laundering have thrived. Unlike traditional currencies, the Internet-based virtual currencies can be used anonymously via the blockchain technology underpinning. In this paper, we analyze the double-edged sword features of blockchain technology in the context of money laundering. In particular, the traceability feature of blockchain-based system facilitates a level of governance, while the decentralization feature of blockchain-based system may bring governing difficulties. Based on the analysis, we propose guidelines for policy makers in governing blockchain-based cryptocurrency systems.

Keywords: cryptocurrency, money laundering, blockchain, decentralization, traceability

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Authors: Raymond K. Dziwornu

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Lending rate of agriculture loan has persistently been high and attributed to risk in the sector. This study examined how food inflation and agriculture lending rate react to each other in Ghana using vector autoregressive approach. Quarterly data from 2006 to 2018 was obtained from the Bank of Ghana quarterly bulletin and the Ghana Statistical Service reports. The study found that a positive standard deviation shock to food inflation causes lending rate of agriculture loan to react negatively in the short run, but positively and steadily in the long run. This suggests the need to direct appropriate policy measures to reduce food inflation and consequently, the cost of credit to the agricultural sector for its growth.

Keywords: food inflation, agriculture, lending rate, vector autoregressive, Ghana

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Authors: S. Jimenez, R.Duarte, J.Sanchez-Choliz, I. Villanua

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There is a certain consensus in economic literature about the factors that have influenced in historical differences in growth rates observed between developed and developing countries. However, it is less clear what elements have marked different paths of growth in developed economies in recent decades. R&D has always been seen as one of the major sources of technological progress, and productivity growth, which is directly influenced by technological developments. Following recent literature, we can say that ‘innovation pushes the technological frontier forward’ as well as encourage future innovation through the creation of externalities. In other words, productivity benefits from innovation are not fully appropriated by innovators, but it also spread through the rest of the economies encouraging absorptive capacities, what have become especially important in a context of increasing fragmentation of production This paper aims to contribute to this literature in two ways, first, exploring alternative indexes of R&D flows embodied in inter-country, inter-sectorial flows of good and services (as approximation to technology spillovers) capturing structural and technological characteristic of countries and, second, analyzing the impact of direct and embodied R&D on the evolution of labor productivity at the country/sector level in recent decades. The traditional way of calculation through a multiregional input-output framework assumes that all countries have the same capabilities to absorb technology, but it is not, each one has different structural features and, this implies, different capabilities as part of literature, claim. In order to capture these differences, we propose to use a weight based on specialization structure indexes; one related with the specialization of countries in high-tech sectors and the other one based on a dispersion index. We propose these two measures because, as far as we understood, country capabilities can be captured through different ways; countries specialization in knowledge-intensive sectors, such as Chemicals or Electrical Equipment, or an intermediate technology effort across different sectors. Results suggest the increasing importance of country capabilities while increasing the trade openness. Besides, if we focus in the country rankings, we can observe that with high-tech weighted R&D embodied countries as China, Taiwan and Germany arose the top five despite not having the highest intensities of R&D expenditure, showing the importance of country capabilities. Additionally, through a fixed effects panel data model we show that, in fact, R&D embodied is important to explain labor productivity increases, in fact, even more that direct R&D investments. This is reflecting that globalization is more important than has been said until now. However, it is true that almost all analysis done in relation with that consider the effect of t-1 direct R&D intensity over economic growth. Nevertheless, from our point of view R&D evolve as a delayed flow and it is necessary some time to be able to see its effects on the economy, as some authors have already claimed. Our estimations tend to corroborate this hypothesis obtaining a gap between 4-5 years.

Keywords: economic growth, embodied, input-output, technology

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Authors: Rorick Daniel Tovar Galvan

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The existence of different legal systems represents an important barrier for married couples that attempt to reside in another country. Each movement can cause important changes in the rights and obligations derived from the marriage since a different law could be used by the courts to solve legal disputes arising from their relationship. In a context in which it is increasingly common to move from one country to another, people cannot be certain about the outcomes of proceedings dealing with i.e., the dissolution of property regime, maintenance payments or time to wait to initiate divorce because a foreign – and in most cases unknown – law could apply every time they move. At first glance, the answer to this issue seems to be the harmonization of the legal systems: the greater the mobility of individuals inside a group of countries, the higher the similarities of their laws should be. Such a solution could be positive for spouses because a higher degree of legal certainty would be reached in case the same legal rules applied regardless of the place where the couple lives. However, the legal pluralism brings with it also advantages that could be appreciated when one looks closely at the economic rationale behind the legal institution of marriage. This contribution carries out an economic analysis of the existence of different legal systems in the area of marriage law and proposes another strategy to cope with the problems arising from legal pluralism. Far from eliminating the diversity of legal systems, one wishes to foster it, since significant advantages could arise from such diversity in case couples are permitted to choose the applicable law themselves. Based on the idea that the law could be seem as a product offered in the market as well as states and spouses as suppliers and consumers of this product, the paper shows the advantages of designing a legal framework that allows spouses to determine freely the law governing the legal effects of their marriage. Instead of promoting the harmonization of the substantive law, one explores the benefits of encouraging the regulatory competition at international level in the area of marriage law.

Keywords: conflict of laws, harmonization, international marriage law, law and economics, regulatory competition

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Authors: Emrehan Ozcan, Dilek Beyazlı

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The development of tourism depends on an accurate planning approach as well as on the right planning process. This dependency is also a key factor in ensuring sustainability of tourism. The types of tourism, social expectations, planning practice, the socio-economic and the cultural structure of the region are determinants of planning approaches for tourism development. The tourism plans prepared for the historic city centers are usually based on the revitalization of cultural and historical values. The preservation and development of the tourism potentials of the historic city centers are important for providing an economic contribution to the locality, creating livable solutions for local residents and also the sustainability of tourism. This research is about experiencing and discussing a planning approach that will provide tourism development based on historical and cultural values. Historical and cultural values in the historical city center of Trabzon -which has a settlement history of approximately 4000 years, is located on the Black Sea coast of Turkey- wear out over years and lose their tourism potential. A planning study has been experienced with strategic spatial planning approach for Trabzon, which has not done a tourism-oriented planning study until now. The stages of the planning process provided by strategic spatial planning approach are an assessment of the current situation; vision, strategies, and actions; action planning; designing and implementation of actions and monitoring-evaluation. In the discussion section, the advantages, planning process, methods and techniques of the approach are discussed for the possibilities and constraints in terms of tourism planning. In this context, it is aimed to put forth tourism planning process, stages, and implementation tools within the scope of strategic spatial planning approach by comparing approaches used in the tourism-oriented/priority planning of historical city centers. Suggestions on the position and effect of the preferred planning approach in the existing spatial planning practice are the outputs of the study.

Keywords: cultural heritage, tourism oriented planning, Trabzon, strategic spatial Planning

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Authors: Jocelyne Uwibambe, Ange Thaina Ndizeye, Dinah Ishimwe, Emmanuel Mugabo Byakagaba

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Background: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the use of modern contraceptive methods among women, including adolescents, is still low despite the desire to avoid pregnancy. In addition, countries have set a minimum age for marriage, which is 21 years for most countries, including Rwanda. The Rwandan culture, to a certain extent, and religion, to a greater extent, however, limit the freedom of young women to use contraceptive services because it is wrongly perceived as an encouragement for premarital sexual intercourse. In the end, what doesn’t change is that denying access to contraceptives to either male or female adolescents does not translate into preventing them from sexual activities, hence leading to an ever-increasing number of unwanted pregnancies, possible STIs, HIV, Human Papilloma Virus, and subsequent unsafe abortion followed by avoidable expensive complications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perception of healthcare providers regarding contraceptive use among adolescents. Methodology: This was a qualitative study. Interviews were done with different healthcare providers, including doctors, nurses, midwives, and pharmacists, through focused group discussions and in-depth interviews, then the audio was transcribed, translated and thematic coding was done. Results: This study explored the perceptions of healthcare workers regarding the provision of modern contraception to adolescents in Rwanda. The findings revealed that while healthcare providers had a good understanding of family planning and contraception, they were hesitant to provide contraception to adolescents. Sociocultural beliefs played a significant role in shaping their attitudes, as many healthcare workers believed that providing contraception to adolescents would encourage promiscuous behavior and go against cultural norms. Religious beliefs also influenced their reluctance, with some healthcare providers considering premarital sex and contraception as sinful. Lack of knowledge among parents and adolescents themselves was identified as a contributing factor to unwanted pregnancies, as inaccurate information from peers and social media influenced risky sexual behavior. Conditional policies, such as the requirement for parental consent, further hindered adolescents' access to contraception. The study suggested several solutions, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, involving multiple stakeholders, ensuring easy access to contraception, and involving adolescents in policymaking. Overall, this research highlights the need for addressing sociocultural beliefs, improving healthcare providers' knowledge, and revisiting policies to ensure adolescents' reproductive health rights are met in Rwanda. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of enhancing healthcare provider training, expanding access to modern contraception, implementing community-based interventions, and strengthening policy and programmatic support for adolescent contraception. Addressing these challenges is crucial for improving the provision of family planning services to adolescents in Rwanda and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to sexual and reproductive health. Collaborative efforts involving various stakeholders and organizations can contribute to overcoming these barriers and promoting the well-being of adolescents in Rwanda.

Keywords: adolescent, health care providers, contraception, reproductive health

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Authors: Chloé Kernaléguen, Laura Kundun, Tessie Lery, Ryan Laleg, Zhangyun Tan

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This study explores global disparities in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis incidence among children aged 0-2 years, focusing on the human development index (HDI) as a key determinant. RSV bronchiolitis poses a significant health risk to young children, influenced by factors, including socio-economic conditions captured by the HDI. Through a comprehensive systematic review and dataset selection (Switzerland, Brazil, United States of America), we formulated an HDI-SEIRS numerical model within the SEIRS framework. Results show variations in RSV bronchiolitis dynamics across countries, emphasizing the influence of HDI. Modelling reveals a correlation between higher HDI and increased bronchiolitis spread, notably in the USA and Switzerland. The ratios HDIcountry over HDImax strengthen this association, while climate disparities contribute to variations, especially in colder climates like the USA and Switzerland. The study raises the hypothesis of an indirect link between higher HDI and more frequent bronchiolitis, underlining the need for nuanced understanding. Factors like improved healthcare access, population density, mobility, and social behaviors in higher HDI countries might contribute to unexpected trends. Limitations include dataset quality and restricted RSV bronchiolitis data. Future research should encompass diverse HDI datasets to refine HDI's role in bronchiolitis dynamics. In conclusion, HDI-SEIRS models offer insights into factors influencing RSV bronchiolitis spread. While HDI is a significant indicator, its impact is indirect, necessitating a holistic approach to effective public health policies. This analysis sets the stage for further investigations into multifaceted interactions shaping bronchiolitis dynamics in diverse socio-economic contexts.

Keywords: bronchiolitis propagation, HDI influence, respiratory syncytial virus, SEIRS model

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Authors: Sulaiman Kassim Ibrahim

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Human Resource is one of the most important elements in any country. They are very important in actualizing the potential of every sector in the country, i.e Agric, Education, Finance, Judiciary and all formal and informal sectors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the loss of human resource in Nigeria through street begging. The study used intensive literature review. Finding from the review indicate that a significant number of human resource are into street begging in the country undeveloped and untapped. The paper recommend that policy should be initiated to discourage street begging, develop this resource through education and empowerment, stop rural-urban migration by providing infrastructure in the rural areas and abolish informal (Almajiri or beggars school) and transform it into formal school.

Keywords: human resource, street begging, Nigeria, Almajiri

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: A. Hira Masood, B. Umer Hameed, C. Ezza Nasir

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Contemporary studies support the strong co-relation between psychology and design. This study elaborates how different psychological personality test can help a fashion designer to judge the needs of their clients with respect to have products which will satisfy the client's request concerning costumised clothing. This study will also help the designer to improve the lacking in the personality and will enable him to put his effort in required areas for grooming the customer, control and direct organization regarding quality maintenance. The use of psychology test to support the choice of certain design strategies that how the right clothing can make client a better intellectual with enhanced self-esteem and confidence. Different projective personality test are being used to suggest to evaluate personality traits. The Rorschach Inkblot Test is projective mental comprising of 10 ink-blots synonymous with the clinical brain research. Lüsher Color Diagnostics measures a person’s psycho physical state, his or her ability to withstand stress to perform and communicate. HTP is a projective responsibility test measuring self-perception, attitudes. The TAT test intend to evaluate a person’s patterns of thoughts, attitudes, observation, capacity and emotional response to this ambiguous test materials. No doubt designers are already crucially redesigning the individuals by their attires, but to expose the behavioral mechanism of the customer, designers should be able to recognize the hidden complexity behind his client by using the above mentioned methods. The study positively finds the design and psychology need to become substantially contacted in order to create a new regime of norms to groom a personality under the concentration and services of a fashion designer in terms of clothing, This interactive activity altimately upgrade design team to help customers to find the suited way to satisfy their needs and wishes, offer client relible relationship and quality management services, and to become more disereable.

Keywords: projective personality tests, customized clothing, Rorschach Inkblot test, TAT, HTP, Lüsher color diagnostics, quality management services

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Authors: Nicole A. Alford

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The study of online graduate education started just 30 years ago, with the first online graduate program in the 1990s. Institutions are looking for ways to increase retention and support the needs of students with the rapid expansion of online higher education due to the global pandemic. Online education provides access and opportunities to those who otherwise would be unable to pursue an advanced degree for logistical reasons. Thus, the objective of the critical literature review is to survey current research of student experiences given the expanding role of online doctoral programs. The guiding research questions are: What are the personal, professional, and student life practices of graduate students who enrolled in a fully online university doctoral program or course? and How do graduate students who enrolled in a fully online doctoral program or course describe the factors that contributed to their continued study? The systematic literature review was conducted employing a variety of databases to locate articles using key Boolean terms and synonyms within three categories of the e-learning, doctoral education, and student perspectives. Inclusion criteria for the literature review consisted of empirical peer-reviewed studies with original data sources that focused on doctoral programs and courses within a fully online environment and centered around student experiences. A total of 16 articles were selected based on the inclusion criteria and systemically analyzed through coding using the Boote and Beile criteria. Major findings suggest that doctoral students face stressors related to social and emotional wellbeing in the online environment. A lack of social connection, isolation, and burnout were the main challenges experienced by students. Students found support from their colleagues, advisors, and faculty to persist. Communities and cohorts of online doctoral students were found to guard against these challenges. Moreover, in the methods section of the articles, there was a lack of specificity related to student demographics, general student information, and insufficient detail about the online doctoral program. Additionally, descriptions regarding the experiences of cohorts and communities in the online environment were vague and not easily replicable with the given details. This literature review reveals that doctoral students face social and emotional challenges related to isolation and the rigor of the academic process and lean on others for support to continue in their studies. Given the lack of current knowledge about online doctoral students, it proves to be a challenge to identify effective practices and create high-retention doctoral programs in online environments. The paucity of information combined with the dramatic transition to e-learning due to the global pandemic can provide a perfect storm for attrition in these programs. Several higher education institutions have transitioned graduate studies online, thus providing an opportunity for further exploration. Given the new necessity of online learning, this work provides insight into examining current practices in online doctoral programs that have moved to this modality during the pandemic. The significance of the literature review provides a springboard for research into online doctoral programs as the solution to continue advanced education amongst a global pandemic.

Keywords: e-learning, experiences, higher education, literature review

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Authors: Vaiddehi Bansal, Ridhi Sahai, Kareem Kysia

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Overseas labor migration is currently one of the most important contributors to the economy of Bangladesh and is a highly profitable form of labor for Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries. In 2019, 700,159 migrant workers from Bangladeshtraveled abroad for employment. GCC countries are a major destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers, with Saudi Arabia being the most common destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers since 2016. Despite the high rate of migration between these countries every year, the OLR industry remains complex and often leaves migrants susceptible to human trafficking, forced labor, and modern slavery. While the prevalence of forced labor among Bangladeshi migrants in GCC countries is still unknown, the IOM estimates international migrant workers comprise one fourth of the victims of forced labor. Moreover, the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic has exposed migrant workers to additional adverse situations, making them even more vulnerable to forced labor and health risks. This paper presents findings from a rapid assessment of the impacts of COVID-19 on OLR in Bangladesh, with an emphasis on the increased risk of forced labor among vulnerable migrant worker populations, particularly women.Rapid reviews are a useful approach to swiftly provide actionable evidence for informed decision-making during emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The research team conducted semi-structured key information interviews (KIIs) with a range of stakeholders, including government officials, local NGOs, international organizations, migration researchers, and formal and informal recruiting agencies, to obtain insights on the multi-facted impacts of COVID-19 on the OLR sector. The research team also conducted a comprehensive review of available resources, including media articles, blogs, policy briefs, reports, white papers, and other online content, to triangulate findings from the KIIs. After screening for inclusion criteria, a total of 110 grey literature documents were included in the review. A total of 31 KIIs were conducted, data from which was transcribed and translated from Bangla to English, andanalyzed using a detailed codebook. Findings indicate that there was limited reintegration support for returnee migrants. Facing increasing amounts of debt, financial insecurity, and social discrimination, returnee migrants, were extremely vulnerable to forced labor and exploitation. Growing financial debt and limited job opportunities in their home country will likely push migrants to resort to unsafe migration channels. Evidence suggests that women, who are primarily domestic works in GCC countries, were exposed to increased risk of forced labor and workplace violence. Due to stay-at-home measures, women migrant workers were tasked with additional housekeeping working and subjected to longer work hours, wage withholding, and physical abuse. In Bangladesh, returnee women migrant workers also faced an increased risk of domestic violence.

Keywords: forced labor, migration, gender, human trafficking

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Hamid Alalwany, Nabeel A. Koshak, Mohammad K. Ibrahim

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Both knowledge economy and sustainable development are considered key dimensions in the policy action lines of many developed and developing countries. In this context, universities and other higher education institutes have a vital role in developing and sustaining wellbeing communities. In this paper, the authors’ aim is to address the links between the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurial capacity and knowledge economy, and to utilize the approach of intellectual capital development in building a sustainable knowledge economy. The paper will contribute to two discourses: (1) Developing a common understanding of the intersection aspects between the three concepts: Knowledge economy, Innovation and entrepreneurial system, and sustainable development; (2) Paving the road towards developing an integrated multidimensional framework for sustainable knowledge economy.

Keywords: innovation and entrepreneurial capacity, intellectual capital development, sustainable development, sustainable knowledge economy.

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Authors: Andrew R. Beatty

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The exploitation of Australia’s vast mineral wealth is regulated by a matrix of planning, environment and heritage legislation, and despite the desire for a ‘balance’ between economic, environmental and heritage values, Aboriginal objects and places are often detrimentally impacted by mining approvals. The Australian experience is not novel. There are other cases of clashes between the rights of traditional landowners and businesses seeking to exploit mineral or other resources on or beneath those lands, including in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. How one reconciles the rights of traditional owners with those of resource companies is an ongoing legal problem of general interest. In Australia, planning and environmental approvals for resource projects are ordinarily issued by State or Territory governments. Federal legislation such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) is intended to act as a safety net when State or Territory legislation is incapable of protecting Indigenous objects or places in the context of approvals for resource projects. This paper will analyse the context and effectiveness of legislation enacted to protect Indigenous heritage in the planning process. In particular, the paper will analyse how the statutory objects of such legislation need to be weighed against the statutory objects of competing legislation designed to facilitate and control resource exploitation. Using a current claim in the Federal Court of Australia for the protection of a culturally significant landscape as a case study, this paper will examine the challenges faced in ascribing value to cultural heritage within the wider context of environmental and planning laws. Our findings will reveal that there is an inherent difficulty in defining and weighing competing economic, environmental and heritage considerations. An alternative framework will be proposed to guide regulators towards making decisions that result in better protection of Indigenous heritage in the context of resource management.

Keywords: environmental law, heritage law, indigenous rights, mining

Procedia PDF Downloads 94