Search results for: communication between women and midwives

Authors: Taha Benarbia

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The advent of automated and connected vehicles has revolutionized the transportation industry, presenting new opportunities for enhancing the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of our transportation networks. This paper explores the integration of automated and connected vehicles into a smart transportation framework, leveraging the power of deep learning techniques to optimize the overall network performance. The first aspect addressed in this paper is the deployment of automated vehicles (AVs) within the transportation system. AVs offer numerous advantages, such as reduced congestion, improved fuel efficiency, and increased safety through advanced sensing and decisionmaking capabilities. The paper delves into the technical aspects of AVs, including their perception, planning, and control systems, highlighting the role of deep learning algorithms in enabling intelligent and reliable AV operations. Furthermore, the paper investigates the potential of connected vehicles (CVs) in creating a seamless communication network between vehicles, infrastructure, and traffic management systems. By harnessing real-time data exchange, CVs enable proactive traffic management, adaptive signal control, and effective route planning. Deep learning techniques play a pivotal role in extracting meaningful insights from the vast amount of data generated by CVs, empowering transportation authorities to make informed decisions for optimizing network performance. The integration of deep learning with automated and connected vehicles paves the way for advanced transportation network optimization. Deep learning algorithms can analyze complex transportation data, including traffic patterns, demand forecasting, and dynamic congestion scenarios, to optimize routing, reduce travel times, and enhance overall system efficiency. The paper presents case studies and simulations demonstrating the effectiveness of deep learning-based approaches in achieving significant improvements in network performance metrics

Keywords: automated vehicles, connected vehicles, deep learning, smart transportation network

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Authors: Melba Sheila D'Souza, Anandhi Amirtharaj, Shreedevi Balachandran

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Background: Type 2 diabetes has a significant impact on individuals’ health and well-being. Glycemic control may influence self-efficacy and self-care behaviors, and reduce the risk of complications among adults with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has substantial morbidity and mortality and 60% of adults’ poor self-care. Glycemic control is associated with reported self-efficacy and self-care behavior. Adults with type 2 diabetes with less information were less likely to take diabetes self-care. Aim: To examine the relationship between glycemic control, demographic factors, clinical factors on self-efficacy, self-care behaviors among Omani adults with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A correlational, descriptive study was used. Omani adults with type 2 diabetes (n=140) were recruited from a public hospital in Oman. The data were collected during January-March 2015. Ethical approval was given by the college research and ethics committee, College of Nursing, and the Hospital, Sultan Qaboos University Data was collected on self-efficacy, self-care behaviors and glycemic control. The study was approved by the Institution Ethics and Research Committee. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results: Most adults had a fasting blood glucose >7.2mmol/L (90.7%), with the majority demonstrating ‘uncontrolled or poor HbA1c of > 8%’ (65%). Variance of self-care behavior (20.6%) and 31.3% of the variance of the self-efficacy was explained by the age, duration of diabetes, medication, HbA1c and prevention of activities of living. Adults with type 2 diabetes with poor glycemic control were more likely to have poor self-efficacy and poor self-care behaviors. Conclusion: This study confirms that self-efficacy model on outcome predicts self-efficacy and self-care behavior. Higher understanding of diabetes, prevention of normal daily activities, higher ability to fit diabetes life in a positive manner and high patient-physician communication were significant with self-efficacy and self-care behaviors. Hence, glycemic control has a high effect on improving self-care behaviors like diet, exercise, medication, foot care and self-efficacy among type 2 diabetes. Implications: Using these findings to improve self-efficacy, individualized self-care management is recommended for better self-efficacy and self-care behaviors among adults with type 2 diabetes.

Keywords: self-efficacy, self-care behaviors, self-care management, glycemic control, type 2 diabetes, nurse

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Authors: Lok Yi Joyce Poon

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China's mobile payment market has boomed in the past few years. WeChat (Chinese name as Weixin) owned by Tencent is known as the fastest growing all-in-one social messaging platforms. The company has launched the WeChat Pay in 2013, in which users can link their credit card to their user account and make payments within the app’s built in digital wallet. WeChat Payment is a one-stop payment tool that can provide a seamless online experience for the shoppers to transfer money between WeChat users (peer-to-peer) and make payments online by scanning a QR code, a prominent facilitator for transactions in WeChat, to complete the payment with the app without directing the users to the external websites. The aims of this study are to examine the effectiveness of WeChat mobile payment in China as well as the impacts of the China teen’s online purchasing behavior since the establishment of WeChat Payment. The research method of this study is conducted by both online survey on Sojump, a popular online survey platform in China. A total of 120 respondents among 18 to 25 teens in China completed the survey. Data sources included participants’ response to an end-of-session questionnaire, encompassing with the types of multiple choice, open-ended questions. To have an in-depth analysis, a face-to-face interview with a Chinese teen who is a frequent user of the WeChat Pay. The main finding of the study shows that the majority of the teenagers frequently use the WeChat payment tool because of its convenience, user-friendliness and the scenarios offered within the WeChat Wallet. The respondents claimed that they will settle the bills in their daily lives via WeChat Pay. However, the respondents in the age group of 40 or above will not use the WeChat Pay due to the security concern and they do not see the app as a platform for commercial activities like online shopping. Throughout the study, it is recommended WeChat should put more efforts on the security issue and improve the payment technology by adopting the near-field communication terminals instead of requiring users to scan QR codes before they complete the transaction.

Keywords: digital wallet, mobile payment, online purchasing behavior, WeChat Pay

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Authors: Asim Quddus

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A miniaturized three dimensional co-planar waveguide (CPW) two-port MIMO antenna, exhibiting high isolation and WLAN band-notched characteristics is presented in this paper for ultrawideband (UWB) communication applications. The microstrip patch antenna operates as a single UWB antenna element. The proposed design is a cuboid-shaped structure having compact size of 35 x 27 x 45 mm³. Radiating as well as decoupling structure is placed around cuboidal polystyrene sheet. The radiators are 27 mm apart, placed Face-to-Face in vertical direction. Decoupling structure is placed on the side walls of polystyrene. The proposed antenna consists of an oval shaped radiating patch. A rectangular structure with fillet edges is placed on ground plan to enhance the bandwidth. The proposed antenna exhibits a good impedance match (S11 ≤ -10 dB) over frequency band of 2 GHz – 10.6 GHz. A circular slotted structure is employed as a decoupling structure on substrate, and it is placed on the side walls of polystyrene to enhance the isolation between antenna elements. Moreover, to achieve immunity from WLAN band distortion, a modified, inverted crescent shaped slotted structure is etched on radiating patches to achieve band-rejection characteristics at WLAN frequency band 4.8 GHz – 5.2 GHz. The suggested decoupling structure provides isolation better than 15 dB over the desired UWB spectrum. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and gain for the MIMO antenna are analyzed as well. Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations are carried out in Ansys High Frequency Structural Simulator (HFSS) for the proposed design. The antenna is realized on a Rogers RT/duroid 5880 with thickness 1 mm, relative permittivity ɛr = 2.2. The proposed antenna achieves a stable omni-directional radiation patterns as well, while providing rejection at desired WLAN band. The S-parameters as well as MIMO parameters like ECC are analyzed and the results show conclusively that the design is suitable for portable MIMO-UWB applications.

Keywords: 3-D antenna, band-notch, MIMO, UWB

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Authors: Cristobal Miralles Insa

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The network of chairs of the "Valencian Public System of Social Services" (VPSSS) is sponsored by the Valencian Institute of Training, Research, and Quality in Social Services and aims to promote research, dissemination, and evaluation of the needs that arise in the field of the public system of social services. It also seeks to transfer knowledge to foster the development of public policies in this field. Given that it is an Interuniversity Chair among the five public universities in Valencia, there is coordination of complementary themes and roles for this objective, with Universitat Politènica de València focusing primarily on promoting innovation and social entrepreneurship to address multiple social challenges through its platform INSSPIRA. This approach is aimed at the entire university community and its various interest groups, carrying out research, teaching, and dissemination activities that promote social inclusion, personal development, and autonomy for groups in situations of vulnerability, lack of protection, dependence, or social urgency. Although it focuses on the Valencian context, both the issues in this context and the tools in process to address them, often have a universal and scalable character and has been inspiring for the innovation system of UPV. This entrepreneurial incubator goes along from early stages of students on the campus until the so-called “StartUPV” system, where students are challenged with social problems that require creative solutions. Therefore, the Chair is conceived with a holistic spirit and an inspiring vocation that engages the whole university community. In this communication, it is described the entities and individuals participating in this UPV Chair of VPSSS, followed by the presentation of different work lines and objectives for the chair. Subsequently, a description of various activities undertaken to promote innovation in social services are described, where support to teaching and extracurricular activities in this field are exposed. It must be noted that some awareness and dissemination of activities are carried out in a transversal mode as they contribute to different objectives simultaneously; with special focus on Learning-Service approaches that achieved very good results which are also summarized.

Keywords: social innovation, entrepeneurship, university, vulnerable sectors

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Authors: Amaraporn Puraya, Roongtiva Boonpracom, Somsak Thojampa, Sirikanok Klankhajhon, Kittisak Kumpeera

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The objective of this qualitative research was to study the elderly health care process by community participation. Data were collected by quality research methods, including secondary data study, observation, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions and analyzed by content analysis, reflection and review of information. The research results pointed out that the important elderly health care process by community participation consisted of 2 parts, namely the community participation development process in elderly health care and the outcomes from the participation development process. The community participation development process consisted of 4 steps as follows: 1) Building the leadership team, an important social capital of the community, which started from searching for both formal and informal leaders by giving the opportunity for public participation and creating clear agreements defining roles, duties and responsibilities; 2) investigating the problems and the needs of the community, 3) designing the elderly health care activities under the concept of self-care potential development of the elderly through participation in community forums and meetings to exchange knowledge with common goals, plans and operation and 4) the development process of sustainable health care agreement at the local level, starting from opening communication channels to create awareness and participation in various activities at both individual and group levels as well as pushing activities/projects into the community development plan consistent with the local administration policy. The outcomes from the participation development process were as follows. 1) There was the integration of the elderly for doing the elderly health care activities/projects in the community managed by the elderly themselves. 2) The service system was changed from the passive to the proactive one, focusing on health promotion rather than treating diseases or illnesses. 3) The registered nurses / the public health officers can provide care for the elderly with chronic illnesses through the implementation of activities/projects of elderly health care so that the elderly can access the services more. 4) The local government organization became the main mechanism in driving the elderly health care process by community participation.

Keywords: elderly health care process, community participation, elderly, Thailand

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Authors: Sanchari Mukhopadhyay

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Today, almost the entire realm of human activities are becoming increasingly dependent on the power of information, where through ICTs it is now possible to cater distances and avail various services at a few clicks. In principle, ICTs are thus expected to blur location-specific differences and affiliations of development and bring in an inclusive society at the wake of globalization. However, eventually researchers and policy analysts realized that ICTs are also generating inequality in spite of the hope for an integrated world and widespread social well-being. Regarding this unevenness, location plays a major role as often ICT development is seen to be concentrated into pockets, leaving behind large tracks as underprivileged. Thus, understanding the spatial pattern of ICT development and distribution is significant in relation to exploring the extent to which ICTs are fulfilling the promises or reassuring the existing divisions. In addition, it is also profoundly crucial to investigate how regions are connecting and competing both locally and globally. The focus of the research paper is to evaluate the spatial structure of ICT led development in India. Thereby, it attempts to understand the state level (four selected states) pattern of ICT penetration, the pattern of diffusion across districts with respect to large urban centres and the rural-urban disparity of technology adoption. It also tries to assess the changes in access dynamisms of ICTs as one move away from a large metropolitan city towards the periphery. In brief, the analysis investigates into the tendency towards the uneven growth of development through the identification of the core areas of ICT advancement within the country and its diffusion from the core to the periphery. In order to assess the level of ICT development and rural-urban disparity across the districts of selected states, two indices named ICT Development Index and Rural-Urban Digital Divide Index have been constructed. The study mostly encompasses the latest Census (2011) of the country and TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in some cases.

Keywords: ICT development, diffusion, core-periphery, digital divide

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Authors: Jasna Milošević Đorđević, Jelisaveta Blagojević, Jovana Timotijević, Alison Mckinley

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Young people in Serbia, have grown up in turbulent times during the Balkan wars, in a cultural and economic isolation without adequate education on (ethnic, gender, social,..) equality. They often have very strong patriarchal gender stereotypes. The perception of gender in Serbia is still heavily influenced by traditional worldview and young people have little opportunity in traditional educational system to challenge it, receiving no formal sex education. Educational policies have addressed achieving gender equality as one of the goals, supporting all young people to gain better educational opportunities, but there are obvious shortcomings of the official education system in implementation of those goals. Therefore new approaches should be implemented. We evaluate the impact of non traditional approach, such as participatory theatre performance with strong transformative potential, especially in relation to gender issues. Theatre based intervention (TBI) was created to provoke the young people to become aware of their gender constructs. Engaging young people in modern form of education such as transformative gender intervention through participatory theatre could have positive impact on their sex knowledge and understanding gender roles. The transformative process in TBI happens on two levels – the affective and the cognitive. The founding agency of the project and evaluation is IPPF. The most important aim of this survey is evaluation of the transformative TBI, as a new educational approach related to better understanding gender as social construct. To reach this goal, we have measured attitude change in three indicators: a) gender identity/ perception of feminine identity, perception of masculine identity, importance of gender for personal identity, b) gender roles on the labor market, c) Gender equality in partnership & sexual behavior. Our main hypothesis is that participatory theatre-based intervention can have a transformational potential in challenging traditional gender knowledge and attitudes among youth in Serbia. To evaluate the impact of TB intervention, we implement: online baseline and end-line survey with nonparticipants of the TBI on the representative sample in targeted towns (control group). Additionally we conducted testing the experimental group twice: pretest at the beginning of each TBI and post testing of participants after the play. A sample of 500 respondents aged 18-30 years, from 9 towns in Serbia responded to online questionnaire in September 2017, in a baseline research. Pre and post measurement of all tested variables among participants in nine towns would be performed. End-line survey with 500 respondents would be conducted at the end of the project (early year 2018). After the first TBI (60 participants) no impact was detected on measured indicators: perception of desirable characteristics of man F(1,59)= 1.291, p=.260; perception of desirable characteristics of women F(1,55)=1.386, p= .244; gender identity importance F(1,63)= .050, p=.824; sex related behavior F(1,61)=1,145, p=.289; gender equality on labor market F(1,63)=.076, p=.783; gender equality in partnership F(1,61)=.201, p=.656; However, we hope that following intervention would bring more data showing that participatory theatre intervention explaining gender as a social construct could have additional positive impact in traditional educational system.

Keywords: educational impact, gender identity, gender role, participatory theatre based intervention

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Authors: Majid Aldalbahi

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In 2009, over 3.4 billion people in the world resided in urban areas as a result of rapid urban growth. This figure is estimated to increase to 6.5 billion by 2050. This urban growth phenomenon has raised challenges for many countries in both the developing and developed worlds. Urban growth is a complicated process involving the spatiotemporal changes of all socio-economic and physical components at different scales. The socio-economic components of urban growth are related to urban population growth and economic growth, while physical components of urban growth and economic growth are related to spatial expansion, land cover change and land use change which are the focus of this research. The interactions between these components are complex and no-linear. Several factors and forces cause these complex interactions including transportation and communication, internal and international migrations, public policies, high natural growth rates of urban populations and public policies. Urban growth has positive and negative consequences. The positive effects relates to planned and orderly urban growth, while negative effects relate to unplanned and scattered growth, which is called sprawl. Although urban growth is considered as necessary for sustainable urbanization, uncontrolled and rapid growth cause various problems including consumption of precious rural land resources at urban fringe, landscape alteration, traffic congestion, infrastructure pressure, and neighborhood conflicts. Traditional urban planning approaches in fast growing cities cannot accommodate the negative consequences of rapid urban growth. Microsimulation programme, and modelling techniques are effective means to provide new urban development, management and planning methods and approaches. This paper aims to use these techniques to understand and analyse the complex interactions for the case study of Riyadh city, a fast growing city in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: policy implications, urban planning, traffic congestion, urban growth, Suadi Arabia, Riyadh

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Authors: Manaf Bashir

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a tool for corporations to meet the expectations of different stakeholders about economic, social and environmental issues. It has become indispensable for an organization’s success, positive image and reputation. Equally important is how corporations communicate and report their CSR. Employing the stakeholder theory, the purpose of this research is to analyse CSR content of leading Kuwaiti corporations. No research analysis of CSR reporting has been conducted in Kuwait and this study is an attempt to redress in part this empirical deficit in the country and the region. It attempts to identify the issues and stakeholders of the CSR and if corporations are following CSR reporting standards. By analysing websites, annual and CSR reports of the top 100 Kuwaiti corporations, this study found low mentions of the CSR issues and even lower mentions of CSR stakeholders. Environmental issues were among the least mentioned despite an increasing global concern toward the environment. ‘Society’ was mentioned the most as a stakeholder and ‘The Environment’ was among the least mentioned. Cross-tabulations found few significant relationships between type of industry and the CSR issues and stakeholders. Independent sample t-tests found no significant difference between the issues and stakeholders that are mentioned on the websites and the reports. Only two companies from the sample followed reporting standards and both followed the Global Reporting Initiative. Successful corporations would be keen to identify the issues that meet the expectations of different stakeholders and address them through their corporate communication. Kuwaiti corporations did not show this keenness. As the stakeholder theory suggests, extending the spectrum of stakeholders beyond investors can open mutual dialogue and understanding between corporations and various stakeholders. However, Kuwaiti corporations focus on few CSR issues and even fewer CSR stakeholders. Kuwaiti corporations need to pay more attention to CSR and particularly toward environmental issues. They should adopt a strategic approach and allocate specialized personnel such as marketers and public relations practitioners to manage it. The government and non-profit organizations should encourage the private sector in Kuwait to do more CSR and meet the needs and expectations of different stakeholders and not only shareholders. This is in addition to reporting the CSR information professionally because of its benefits to corporate image, reputation, and transparency.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, environmental responsibility, Kuwait, stakeholder theory

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Authors: Lucia Vodanovic, Bryan Pirolli

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The London College of Communication is one of the only universities in the world to offer a lifestyle journalism master’s degree. A hybrid originally constructed largely out of a generic journalism program crossed with numerous cultural studies approaches, the degree has developed into a leading lifestyle journalism education attracting students worldwide. This research project seeks to present a framework for structuring the degree as well as to understand how students in this emerging field of study value the program. While some researchers have addressed questions about journalism and higher education, none have looked specifically at the increasingly important genre of lifestyle journalism, which Folker Hanusch defines as including notions of consumerism and critique among other identifying traits. Lifestyle journalism, itself poorly researched by scholars, can relate to topics including travel, fitness, and entertainment, and as such, arguably a lifestyle journalism degree should prepare students to engage with these topics. This research uses the existing Masters of Arts and Lifestyle Journalism at the London College of Communications as a case study to examine the school’s approach. Furthering Hanusch’s original definition, this master’s program attempts to characterizes lifestyle journalism by a specific voice or approach, as reflected in the diversity of student’s final projects. This framework echoes the ethos and ideas of the university, which focuses on creativity, design, and experimentation. By analyzing the current degree as well as student feedback, this research aims to assist future educators in pursuing the often neglected field of lifestyle journalism. Through a discovery of the unique mix of practical coursework, theoretical lessons, and broad scope of student work presented in this degree program, researchers strive to develop a framework for lifestyle journalism education, referring to Mark Deuze’s ten questions for journalism education development. While Hanusch began the discussion to legitimize the study of lifestyle journalism, this project strives to go one step further and open up a discussion about teaching of lifestyle journalism at the university level.

Keywords: education, journalism, lifestyle, university

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Authors: Renu Satish Nair

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Indian higher education system is the third largest in the world next to United States and China. India is experiencing a rapid growth in higher education in terms of student enrollment as well as establishment of new universities, colleges and institutes of national importance. Presently about 22 million students are being enrolled in higher education and more than 46 thousand institutions’ are functioning as centers of higher education. Indian government plays a 'command and control' role in higher education. The main governing body is University Grants Commission, which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. Accreditation of higher learning is over seen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission. The present paper is an effort to analyze the strength, weakness, opportunities and threat (SWOT Analysis) of Indian Higher education system. The higher education in India is progressing ahead by virtue of its strength which is being recognized at global level. Several institutions of India, such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) have been globally acclaimed for their standard of education. Three Indian universities were listed in the Times Higher Education list of the world’s top 200 universities i.e. Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Management and Jawahar Lal Nehru University in 2005 and 2006. Six Indian Institutes of Technology and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science - Pilani were listed among the top 20 science and technology schools in Asia by the Asia Week. The school of Business situated in Hyderabad was ranked number 12 in Globe MBA ranking by the Financial Times of London in 2010 while the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been recognized as a global leader in medical research and treatment. But at the same time, because of vast expansion, the system bears several weaknesses. The Indian higher education system in many parts of the country is in the state of disrepair. In almost half the districts in the country higher education enrollment are very low. Almost two third of total universities and 90% of colleges are rated below average on quality parameters. This can be attributed to the under prepared faculty, unwieldy governance and other obstacles to innovation and improvement that could prohibit India from meeting its national education goals. The opportunities in Indian higher education system are widely ranged. The national institutions are training their products to compete at global level and make them capable to grab opportunities worldwide. The state universities and colleges with their limited resources are giving the products that are capable enough to secure career opportunities and hold responsible positions in various government and private sectors with in the country. This is further creating opportunities for the weaker section of the society to join the main stream. There are several factors which can be defined as threats to Indian higher education system. It is a matter of great concern and needs proper attention. Some important factors are -Conservative society, particularly for women education; -Lack of transparency, -Taking higher education as a means of business

Keywords: Indian higher education system, SWOT analysis, university grants commission, Indian institutes of technology

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Authors: Petra Hypšová, Martin Seitl

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One of the challenges of forensic psychology is to detect deception during a face-to-face interview. In addition to the classical approaches of monitoring the utterance and its components, detection is also sought by observing behavioral and physiological changes that occur as a result of the increased emotional and cognitive load caused by the production of distorted information. Typical are changes in facial temperature, eye movements and their fixation, pupil dilation, emotional micro-expression, heart rate and its variability. Expanding technological capabilities have opened the space to detect these psychophysiological changes and behavioral manifestations through non-contact technologies that do not interfere with face-to-face interaction. Non-contact deception detection methodology is still in development, and there is a lack of studies that combine multiple non-contact technologies to investigate their accuracy, as well as studies that show how different types of lies produced by different interviewers affect physiological and behavioral changes. The main objective of this study is to apply a specific non-contact technology for deception detection. The next objective is to investigate scenarios in which non-contact deception detection is possible. A series of psychophysiological experiments using infrared thermal imaging, eye tracking and behavioral analysis with FaceReader 9.0 software was used to achieve our goals. In the laboratory experiment, 16 adults (12 women, 4 men) between 18 and 35 years of age (SD = 4.42) were instructed to produce alternating prepared and spontaneous truths and lies. The baseline of each proband was also measured, and its results were compared to the experimental conditions. Because the personality of the examiner (particularly gender and facial appearance) to whom the subject is lying can influence physiological and behavioral changes, the experiment included four different interviewers. The interviewer was represented by a photograph of a face that met the required parameters in terms of gender and facial appearance (i.e., interviewer likability/antipathy) to follow standardized procedures. The subject provided all information to the simulated interviewer. During follow-up analyzes, facial temperature (main ROIs: forehead, cheeks, the tip of the nose, chin, and corners of the eyes), heart rate, emotional expression, intensity and fixation of eye movements and pupil dilation were observed. The results showed that the variables studied varied with respect to the production of prepared truths and lies versus the production of spontaneous truths and lies, as well as the variability of the simulated interviewer. The results also supported the assumption of variability in physiological and behavioural values during the subject's resting state, the so-called baseline, and the production of prepared and spontaneous truths and lies. A series of psychophysiological experiments provided evidence of variability in the areas of interest in the production of truths and lies to different interviewers. The combination of technologies used also led to a comprehensive assessment of the physiological and behavioral changes associated with false and true statements. The study presented here opens the space for further research in the field of lie detection with non-contact technologies.

Keywords: emotional expression decoding, eye-tracking, functional infrared thermal imaging, non-contact deception detection, psychophysiological experiment

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Authors: Maciej Jedrzejczyk, Karolina Marzantowicz

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Traditional utility value chain is being transformed during last few years into unbundled markets. Increased distributed generation of energy is one of considerable challenges faced by Smart Grid networks. New sources of energy introduce volatile demand response which has a considerable impact on traditional middlemen in E&U market. The purpose of this research is to search for ways to allow near-real-time electricity markets to transact with surplus energy based on accurate time synchronous measurements. A proposed framework evaluates the use of secure peer-2-peer (P2P) communication and distributed transaction ledgers to provide flat hierarchy, and allow real-time insights into present and forecasted grid operations, as well as state and health of the network. An objective is to achieve dynamic grid operations with more efficient resource usage, higher security of supply and longer grid infrastructure life cycle. Methods used for this study are based on comparative analysis of different distributed ledger technologies in terms of scalability, transaction performance, pluggability with external data sources, data transparency, privacy, end-to-end security and adaptability to various market topologies. An intended output of this research is a design of a framework for safer, more efficient and scalable Smart Grid network which is bridging a gap between traditional components of the energy network and individual energy producers. Results of this study are ready for detailed measurement testing, a likely follow-up in separate studies. New platforms for Smart Grid achieving measurable efficiencies will allow for development of new types of Grid KPI, multi-smart grid branches, markets, and businesses.

Keywords: autonomous agents, Distributed computing, distributed ledger technologies, large scale systems, micro grids, peer-to-peer networks, Self-organization, self-stabilization, smart grids

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Authors: Gherbi Khadidja

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In the Mediterranean region, water resources are limited and very unevenly distributed in space and time. The main objective of this project is the development of a wireless network for the management of water resources in northern Algeria, the Mitidja plain, which helps farmers to irrigate in the most optimized way and solve the problem of water shortage in the region. Therefore, we will develop an aid tool that can modernize and replace some traditional techniques, according to the real needs of the crops and according to the soil conditions as well as the climatic conditions (soil moisture, precipitation, characteristics of the unsaturated zone), These data are collected in real-time by sensors and analyzed by an algorithm and displayed on a mobile application and the website. The results are essential information and alerts with recommendations for action to farmers to ensure the sustainability of the agricultural sector under water shortage conditions. In the first part: We want to set up a wireless sensor network, for precise management of water resources, by presenting another type of equipment that allows us to measure the water content of the soil, such as the Watermark probe connected to the sensor via the acquisition card and an Arduino Uno, which allows collecting the captured data and then program them transmitted via a GSM module that will send these data to a web site and store them in a database for a later study. In a second part: We want to display the results on a website or a mobile application using the database to remotely manage our smart irrigation system, which allows the farmer to use this technology and offers the possibility to the growers to access remotely via wireless communication to see the field conditions and the irrigation operation, at home or at the office. The tool to be developed will be based on satellite imagery as regards land use and soil moisture. These tools will make it possible to follow the evolution of the needs of the cultures in time, but also to time, and also to predict the impact on water resources. According to the references consulted, if such a tool is used, it can reduce irrigation volumes by up to up to 40%, which represents more than 100 million m3 of savings per year for the Mitidja. This volume is equivalent to a medium-size dam.

Keywords: optimal irrigation, soil moisture, smart irrigation, water management

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Authors: Teresa Naves, Katy Pallas, Carme Florit, Cristina Anton, Joan Collado, Diana Millan

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Although gender-fair language is relatively novel in Spain, in Catalonia, the Department of Education, as well as LGBT Associations, have been promoting several innovative programmes aimed at implementing gender-inclusive schools. These Rainbow School communities are ideal for looking at how these programmes affect the use of gender-fair language and the balanced representation of gender. The students' and teachers' perceptions and attitudes have been compared to those analysed in schools that have never implemented such programmes in primary or secondary education. Spanish and Catalan, unlike English, are gendered languages in which masculine forms have traditionally been used as the unmarked gender and have been claimed to be inclusive of all genders. While the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) rejects the use of inclusive language and thus deems all variables of inclusion of double gender as unnecessary, the vast majority of universities are promoting not only inclusive language but also gender-inclusive curricula. Adopting gender-fair language policies and including gender perspective in the curricula is an innovative trend at university level and in primary and secondary school education. Inclusion in education is a basic human right and the foundation for a more just and equal society. Educators can facilitate the process of welcoming by ensuring handbooks, forms, and other communications are inclusive of all family structures and gender identities. Using gendered language such as 'girls and boys' can be alienating for gender non-conforming and gender diverse students; on the other hand, non-gendered words like 'students' are regarded as inclusive of all identities. The paper discusses the results of mixed method research (survey, interviews, and experiment) conducted in Rainbow and non-Rainbow schools in Alacant and Barcelona (Spain). The experiment aimed at checking the role of gender-fair language in learners' perception of gender balance. It was conducted in Spanish, Catalan, and English. Students aged 10 to 16 (N > 600) were asked to draw pictures of people using specific prompts. The prompts in Spanish and Catalan were written using the generic masculine, 'los presidentes' 'els presidents' (presidents); using double gendered language such as 'ninos y ninas', 'nens i nenes' (boys and girls); and using non-gendered words like 'alumnado' 'alumnat' (students). The prompts were subdivided into people in school contexts participants could identify with, such as students and teachers; occupations mostly associated with men, such as pilots and firefighters; and occupations associated with women, such as ballet dancers and nurses. As could be expected, the participants only drew approximately the same percentage of female and male characters when double-gendered language or non-gendered words such as 'students' or 'teachers' were used, regardless of the language used in the experiment. When they were asked to draw people using the so-called generic masculine in Spanish or Catalan, 'los estudiantes' 'els estudiants' (students), less than 35% of the drawings contained female characters. The differences between the results for Rainbow and Non-Rainbow schools will be discussed in the light of the innovative coeducation programmes and learners' perceptions on gender-fair language gathered in the surveys and interviews.

Keywords: gender-fair language, gender-inclusive schools, learners’ and teachers’ perceptions and attitudes, rainbow coeducation programmes

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Authors: Shahin Marjan Nanaje

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The present century is the time that social worker faced complicated issues in the area of their work. All the focus are on bringing change in the life of those that they live in margin or live in poverty became the cause that we have forgotten to look at ourselves and start to bring change in the way we address issues. It seems that there is new area of needs that social worker should response to that. In need of dialogue and collaboration, to address the issues and needs of community both individually and as a group we need to have new method of dialogue as tools to reach to collaboration. The social worker as link between community, organization and government play multiple roles. They need to focus in the area of communication with new ability, to transfer all the narration of the community to those organization and government and vice versa. It is not relate only in language but it is about changing dialogue. Migration for survival by job seeker to the big cities created its own issues and difficulty and therefore created new need. Collaboration is not only requiring between government sector and non-government sectors but also it could be in new way between government, non-government and communities. To reach to this collaboration we need healthy, productive and meaningful dialogue. In this new collaboration there will not be any hierarchy between members. The methodology that selected by researcher were focusing on observation at the first place, and used questionnaire in the second place. Duration of the research was three months and included home visits, group discussion and using communal narrations which helped to bring enough evidence to understand real need of community. The sample selected randomly was included 70 immigrant families which work as sweepers in the slum community in Bangalore, Karnataka. The result reveals that there is a gap between what a community is and what organizations, government and members of society apart from this community think about them. Consequently, it is learnt that to supply any service or bring any change to slum community, we need to apply new skill to have dialogue and understand each other before providing any services. Also to bring change in the life of those marginal groups at large we need to have collaboration as their challenges are collective and need to address by different group and collaboration will be necessary. The outcome of research helped researcher to see the area of need for new method of dialogue and collaboration as well as a framework for collaboration and dialogue that were main focus of the paper. The researcher used observation experience out of ten NGO’s and their activities to create framework for dialogue and collaboration.

Keywords: collaboration, dialogue, community development, empowerment

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Authors: Carolina L. Cerdeira, Julia V. F. Cortes, Maria E. V. Amarante, Gersika B. Santos

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Skin cancer is the most common cancer in several parts of the world; in a tropical country like Brazil, the situation isn’t different. The Brazilian population is exposed to high levels of solar radiation, increasing the risk of developing cutaneous carcinoma. Aimed at encouraging prevention measures and the early diagnosis of these tumors, a study was carried out that analyzed data on cutaneous melanomas, basal cell, and epidermoid carcinomas, using as primary data source the medical records of 161 patients registered in one pathology service, which performs skin biopsies in a city of Minas Gerais, Brazil. All patients diagnosed with skin cancer at this service from January 2015 to December 2019 were included. The incidence of skin carcinoma cases was correlated with the identification of histological type, sex, age group, and topographic location. Correlation between variables was verified by Fisher's exact test at a nominal significance level of 5%, with statistical analysis performed by R® software. A significant association was observed between age group and type of cancer (p=0.0085); age group and sex (0.0298); and type of cancer and body region affected (p < 0.01). Those 161 cases analyzed comprised 93 basal cell carcinomas, 66 epidermoid carcinomas, and only two cutaneous melanomas. In the group aged 19 to 30 years, the epidermoid form was most prevalent; from 31 to 45 and from 46 to 59 years, the basal cell prevailed; in 60-year-olds or over, both types had higher frequencies. Associating age group and sex, in groups aged 18 to 30 and 46 to 59 years, women were most affected. In the 31-to 45-year-old group, men predominated. There was a gender balance in the age group 60-year-olds or over. As for topography, there was a high prevalence in the head and neck, followed by upper limbs. Relating histological type and topography, there was a prevalence of basal cell and epidermoid carcinomas in the head and neck. In the chest, the basal cell form was most prevalent; in upper limbs, the epidermoid form prevailed. Cutaneous melanoma affected only the chest and upper limbs. About 82% of patients 60-year-olds or over had head and neck cancer; from 46 to 59 and 60-year-olds or over, the head and neck region and upper limbs were predominantly affected; the distribution was balanced in the 31-to 45-year-old group. In conclusion, basal cell carcinoma was predominant, whereas cutaneous melanoma was the rarest among the types analyzed. Patients 60-year-olds or over were most affected, showing gender balance. In young adults, there was a prevalence of the epidermoid form; in middle-aged patients, basal cell carcinoma was predominant; in the elderly, both forms presented with higher frequencies. There was a higher incidence of head and neck cancers, followed by malignancies affecting the upper limbs. The epidermoid type manifested significantly in the upper limbs. Body regions such as the thorax and lower limbs were less affected, which is justified by the lower exposure of these areas to incident solar radiation.

Keywords: basal cell carcinoma, cutaneous melanoma, skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, topographic location

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Authors: Eleni Karasavvidou

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Social and anthropological research, parallel to Gender Studies, highlighted the relationship between social structures and symbolic forms as an important field of interaction and recording of 'social trends.' Since the study of representations can contribute to the understanding of the social functions and power relations, they encompass. This ‘mirage,’ however, has not only to do with the representations themselves but also with the ways they are received and the film or critical narratives that are established as dominant or alternative. Cinema and the criticism of its cultural products are no exception. Even in the rapidly changing media landscape of the 21st century, movies remain an integral and widespread part of popular culture, making films an extremely powerful means of 'legitimizing' or 'delegitimizing' visions of domination and commonsensical gender stereotypes throughout society. And yet it is film criticism, the 'language per se,' that legitimizes, reinforces, rewards and reproduces (or at least ignores) the stereotypical depictions of female roles that remain common in the realm of film images. This creates the need for this issue to have emerged (also) in academic research questioning gender criteria in film reviews as part of the effort for an inclusive art and society. Qualitative content analysis is used to examine female roles in selected Oscar-nominated films against their reviews from leading websites and newspapers. This method was chosen because of the complex nature of the depictions in the films and the narratives they evoke. The films were divided into basic scenes depicting social functions, such as love and work relationships, positions of power and their function, which were analyzed by content analysis, with borrowings from structuralism (Gennette) and the local/universal images of intercultural philology (Wierlacher). In addition to the measurement of the general ‘representation-time’ by gender, other qualitative characteristics were also analyzed, such as: speaking time, sayings or key actions, overall quality of the character's action in relation to the development of the scenario and social representations in general, as well as quantitatively (insufficient number of female lead roles, fewer key supporting roles, relatively few female directors and people in the production chain and how they might affect screen representations. The quantitative analysis in this study was used to complement the qualitative content analysis. Then the focus shifted to the criteria of film criticism and to the rhetorical narratives that exclude or highlight in relation to gender identities and functions. In the criteria and language of film criticism, stereotypes are often reproduced or allegedly overturned within the framework of apolitical "identity politics," which mainly addresses the surface of a self-referential cultural-consumer product without connecting it more deeply with the material and cultural life. One of the prime examples of this failure is the Bechtel Test, which tracks whether female characters speak in a film regardless of whether women's stories are represented or not in the films analyzed. If perceived unbiased male filmmakers still fail to tell truly feminist stories, the same is the case with the criteria of criticism and the related interventions.

Keywords: representations, context analysis, reviews, sexist stereotypes

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Authors: Shah Awan, Fahad Sultan, Shahid Jan Kakakhel

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Higher education in the 21st century has been faced with game-changing developments impacting teaching and learning and also strengthening the academia and industry relationship. The academia and industry relationship plays a key role in economic development in developed, developing and emerging economies. The partnership not only explores innovation but also provide a real time experience of the theoretical knowledge. For this purpose, the paper assessing the role of HEC in the Pakistan and discusses the way in academia and industry contribute their role in improving Pakistani economy. Successive studies have reported the importance of innovation and technology , research development initiatives in public sector universities, and the significance of role of higher education commission in strengthening the academia and industrial relationship to improve performance and minimize failure. The paper presents the results of interviews conducted, using semi-structured interviews amongst 26 staff members of two public sector universities, higher education commission and managers from corporate sector.The study shows public sector universities face the several barriers in developing economy like Pakistan, to establish the successful collaboration between universities and industry. Of the participants interviewed, HEC provides an insufficient road map to improve organisational capabilities in facilitating and enhance the performance. The results of this study have demonstrated that HEC has to embrace and internalize support to industry and public sector universities to compete in the era of globalization. Publication of this research paper will help higher education sector to further strengthen research sector through industry and university collaboration. The research findings corroborate the findings of Dooley and Kirk who highlights the features of university-industry collaboration. Enhanced communication has implications for the quality of the product and human resource. Crucial for developing economies, feasible organisational design and framework is essential for the university-industry relationship.

Keywords: higher education commission, role, academia and industry relationship, Pakistan

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Authors: Amanda Grace Ahl, Matthew Brummer

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‘Smart cities’ are not always as ‘smart’ as the term suggests, which is not often covered in the associated academic and public policy literatures. In what has become known as the smart city approach to urban planning, governments around the world are seeking to harness the power of information and communications technology with increasingly advanced data analytics to address major social, economic, and environmental issues reshaping the ways people live. The definitional and theoretical boundaries of the smart city framework are broad and at times ambiguous, as is empirical treatment of the topic. However, and for all the disparity, in investigating any number of institutional and policy prescriptions to the challenges faced by current and emerging metropoles, scholarly thought has hinged overwhelmingly on value-positive conceptions of informatics-centered design. From enhanced quality of services, to increased efficiency of resources, to improved communication between societal stakeholders, the smart city design is championed as a technological wellspring capable of providing answers to the systemic issues stymying a utopian image of the city. However, it is argued that this ‘techtopia’, has resulted in myopia within the discipline as to value-negative implications of such planning, such as weaknesses in practicality, scalability, social equity and affordability of solutions. In order to more carefully examine this observation - that ‘stupid’ represents an omitted variable bias in the study of ‘smart’ - this paper reviews critical cases of unsuccessful smart city developments. It is argued that also understanding the negative factors affiliated with the development processes is imperative for the advancement of theoretical foundations, policies, and strategies to further the smart city as an equitable, holistic urban innovation. What emerges from the process-tracing carried out in this study are distinctly negative lessons of smart city projects, the significance of which are vital for understanding how best to conceive smart urban planning in the 21st century.

Keywords: case study, city management, innovation system, negative lessons, smart city development

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Authors: Sara Parker, Kay Standing

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This paper will share insights into how menstruators bodies in Nepal are viewed and controlled in Nepal due to the deeply held stigmas and taboos that exist that frame menstrual blood as impure and polluting. It draws on a British Academy Global Challenges Research (BA/GCRF) funded project, ‘Dignity Without Danger,’ that ran from December 2019 to 2022. In Nepal, beliefs and myths around menstrual related practices prevail and vary in accordance to time, generation, caste and class. Physical seclusion and/or restrictions include the consumption of certain foods, the ability to touch certain people and objects, and restricted access to water sources. These restrictions not only put women at risk of poor health outcomes, but they also promote discrimination and challenge fundamental human rights. Despite the pandemic, a wealth of field research and creative outputs have been generated to help break the silence that surrounds menstruation and also highlights the complexity of addressing the harms associated with the exclusion from sacred and profane spaces that menstruators face. Working with locally recruited female research assistants, NGOS and brining together academics from the UK and Nepal, we explore the intersecting factors that impact on menstrual experiences and how they vary throughout Nepal. WE concur with Tamang that there is no such thing as a ‘Nepali Woman’, and there is no one narrative that captures the experiences of menstruators in Nepal. These deeply held beliefs and practices mean that menstruators are denied their right to a dignified menstruation. By being excluded from public and private spaces, such as temples and religious sites, as well as from kitchens and your own bedroom in your own home, these beliefs impact on individuals in complex and interesting ways. Existing research in Nepal by academics and activists demonstrates current programmes and initiatives do not fully address the misconceptions that underpin the exclusionary practices impacting on sexual and reproductive health, a sense of well being and highlight more work is needed in this area. Research has been conducted in all 7 provinces and through exploring and connecting disparate stories, artefacts and narratives, we will deepen understanding of the complexity of menstrual practices enabling local stakeholders to challenge exclusionary practices. By using creative methods to engage with stakeholders and share our research findings as well as highlighting the wealth of activism in Nepal. We highlight the importance of working with local communities, leaders and cutting across disciplines and agencies to promote menstrual justice and dignity. Our research findings and creative outputs that we share on social media channels such as Dignity Without Danger Facebook, Instagram and you tube stress the value of employing a collaborative action research approach to generate material which helps local people take control of their own narrative and change social relations that lead to harmful practices.

Keywords: menstruation, Nepal, stigma, social norms

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Authors: Jennifer Kehinde, Claire O’Donnell, Annmarie Grealish

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Introduction: Breastfeeding has been shown to provide numerous health benefits for both infants and mothers. The decision to breastfeed is influenced by physiological, psychological, and emotional factors. However, the importance of equipping mothers with the necessary knowledge for successful breastfeeding practice cannot be ruled out. The decline in global breastfeeding rate can be linked to a lack of adequate breastfeeding education during the prenatal stage. This systematic review examined the effectiveness of prenatal breastfeeding education on breastfeeding uptake postpartum. Method: This review was undertaken and reported in conformity with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement (PRISMA) and was registered on the international prospective register for systematic reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42020213853). A PICO analysis (population, intervention, comparison, outcome) was undertaken to inform the choice of keywords in the search strategy to formulate the review question, which was aimed at determining the effectiveness of prenatal breastfeeding educational programs in improving breastfeeding uptake following birth. A systematic search of five databases (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline, Psych INFO, and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts) was searched between January 2014 until July 2021 to identify eligible studies. Quality assessment and narrative synthesis were subsequently undertaken. Results: Fourteen studies were included. All 14 studies used different types of breastfeeding programs; eight used a combination of curriculum-based breastfeeding education programs, group prenatal breastfeeding counselling, and one-to-one breastfeeding educational programs, which were all delivered in person; four studies used web-based learning platforms to deliver breastfeeding education prenatally which were both delivered online and face to face over a period of 3 weeks to 2 months with follow-up periods ranging from 3 weeks to 6 months; one study delivered breastfeeding educational intervention using mother-to-mother breastfeeding support groups in promoting exclusive breastfeeding, and one study disseminated breastfeeding education to participants based on the theory of planned behaviour. The most effective interventions were those that included both theory and hands-on demonstrations. Results showed an increase in breastfeeding uptake, breastfeeding knowledge, an increase in a positive attitude to breastfeeding, and an increase in maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy among mothers who participated in breastfeeding educational programs during prenatal care. Conclusion: Prenatal breastfeeding education increases women’s knowledge of breastfeeding. Mothers who are knowledgeable about breastfeeding and hold a positive approach towards breastfeeding have the tendency to initiate breastfeeding and continue for a lengthened period. Findings demonstrate a general correlation between prenatal breastfeeding education and increased breastfeeding uptake postpartum. The high level of positive breastfeeding outcomes inherent in all the studies can be attributed to prenatal breastfeeding education. This review provides rigorous contemporary evidence that healthcare professionals and policymakers can apply when developing effective strategies to improve breastfeeding rates and ultimately improve the health outcomes of mothers and infants.

Keywords: breastfeeding, breastfeeding programs, breastfeeding self-efficacy, prenatal breastfeeding education

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Authors: Sanaa Riaz

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The free people, Amazigh (plural Imazighen), often known by the more popular exonym, Berber, are spread across several North African countries with the highest population in Morocco have been substantially misunderstood and differentially showcased by entities from western-school educated scholars to human, health and women’s rights organizations, to the State to the international community. This paper is an examination of the various conceptualization of the Imazighen. With the popularity of the Arab Spring movement to oust monarchical and dictatorial rulers across the Middle East and North Africa in Morocco, the Moroccan monarchy introduced various reform programs to win public favor. These included social, economic and educational reforms to incorporate marginalized groups such as the Imazighen. The monarchy has ushered Amazigh representation in public offices and landscape through Amazigh script, even though theirs has been an oral culture. After the Arab Spring, the Justice and Development party, an Islamist party took over in Morocco due to its accessibility to the masses, In Sept. 2021, unlike the case of Egypt and Tunisia where military and constitutional means were sought, Morocco successfully removed it from power through the ballot, resulting in a real victory for the neutral monarchy and its representation as a moderate, secular and liberal force for the nation. As a result, supporting the perpetuation of Amazigh linguistic identity also became synonymous to making a secular statement as a Muslim. It has led to the telling of Amazigh identity at state museums as one representing the indigenous, pure, diverse, culturally-rich and united Morocco. Reform efforts have also prioritized an amiable look towards the economic and familial links of Moroccan Jews with the few thousand families still left in the country and a showcasing through museums and cultural centers of the Jewish identity as Moroccan first. In that endeavor, it is interesting to note the coverage of Jews as the indigenous of Morocco through the embracing of their “folk” cultural and religious practices, those that are not continued outside Morocco. In this epistemology, the concept of the Moroccan Jew becomes similar to the indigenous Amazigh, both cherished as the oldest peoples of Morocco and symbols of its unity and resilience. In the urban discourse, Amazigh identity is a concept that continues to be part of the deliberations of elites and scholars graduating from French schools on the incorporation of rural and illiterate Morocco in economic and educational advancement. Yet, with the constant influx of migrants from Western Sahara into cities like Fez and Marrakesh, Amazigh has often been described as the umbrella term of those of “mixed” ethnic ancestry who constitute the country’s free population. In sum, Amazigh identity highlights the changing discourse on marginalized communities, human rights, representation, Moroccan nationhood, and regional and transnational politics. The aim of this paper is to analyze perceptions of Amazigh identity in Morocco post-2021 ousting of the Islamist party using data from state-sponsored museum displays and cultural centers collected in Summer 2022 and scholarly analyses of Amazigh identity, representation and rights in Morocco.

Keywords: Amazigh identity, Morocco, representation, state politics

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Authors: Neuma Chaveiro, Juliana Guimarães Faria

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Introduction: The thematic that guides this study is teacher training for the teaching of sign language in a perspective of bilingual education – specifically aimed at Brazilian public schools that offer inclusive education, and that have, among its students, deaf children who use Brazilian Sign Language as a means of communication and expression. In the Teacher Training Course for Letters/Libras at the Universidade Federal de Goiás/UFG, we developed a bilingual education project for the deaf, linked to PIBID (Institutional Scholarship for Teaching Initiation Program), funded by the Brazilian Federal Government through CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel). Goals: to provide the education of higher education teachers to work in public schools in basic education and to insert students from the UFG’s Letters/Libras course in the school’s daily life, giving them the opportunity for the creation and participation in methodological experiences and of teaching practices in order to overcome the problems identified in the teaching-learning process of deaf students, in a bilingual perspective, associating Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) and Portuguese. Methodology: qualitative approach and research-action, prioritizing action – reflection – action of the people involved. The Letters-Libras PIBID of the College of Letters/UFG, in this qualitative context, is guided by the assumptions of investigation-action to contribute to the education of the Libras teacher. Results: production of studies and researches in the area of education, professionalization and teaching practice for the degree holder in Letters: Libras; b) studies, research and training in bilingual education; c) clarification and discussion of the myths that permeate the reality of users of sign languages; d) involving students in the development of didactic materials for bilingual education. Conclusion: the PIBID Project Letters/Libras allows, both to the basic education school and to the teachers in training for the teaching of Libras, an integrated and collective work partnership, with discussions and changes in relation to bilingual education for the deaf and the teaching of Libras.

Keywords: deaf, sign language, teacher training, educacion

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Authors: Carolina Busco, Daniela Osses

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The development of digital literacy has become a fundamental element that allows for citizen inclusion, access to quality jobs, and a labor market capable of responding to the digital economy. There are no methodological instruments available in Chile to measure the workforce’s digital literacy and improve national policies on this matter. Thus, the objective of this research is to develop a survey to measure digital literacy in a sample of 200 Chilean workers. Dimensions considered in the instrument are sociodemographics, access to infrastructure, digital education, digital skills, and the ability to use e-government services. To achieve the research objective of developing a digital literacy model of indicators and a research instrument for this purpose, along with an exploratory analysis of data using factor analysis, we used an empirical, quantitative-qualitative, exploratory, non-probabilistic, and cross-sectional research design. The research instrument is a survey created to measure variables that make up the conceptual map prepared from the bibliographic review. Before applying the survey, a pilot test was implemented, resulting in several adjustments to the phrasing of some items. A validation test was also applied using six experts, including their observations on the final instrument. The survey contained 49 items that were further divided into three sets of questions: sociodemographic data; a Likert scale of four values ranked according to the level of agreement; iii) multiple choice questions complementing the dimensions. Data collection occurred between January and March 2022. For the factor analysis, we used the answers to 12 items with the Likert scale. KMO showed a value of 0.626, indicating a medium level of correlation, whereas Bartlett’s test yielded a significance value of less than 0.05 and a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.618. Taking all factor selection criteria into account, we decided to include and analyze four factors that together explain 53.48% of the accumulated variance. We identified the following factors: i) access to infrastructure and opportunities to develop digital skills at the workplace or educational establishment (15.57%), ii) ability to solve everyday problems using digital tools (14.89%), iii) online tools used to stay connected with others (11.94%), and iv) residential Internet access and speed (11%). Quantitative results were discussed within six focus groups using heterogenic selection criteria related to the most relevant variables identified in the statistical analysis: upper-class school students; middle-class university students; Ph.D. professors; low-income working women, elderly individuals, and a group of rural workers. The digital divide and its social and economic correlations are evident in the results of this research. In Chile, the items that explain the acquisition of digital tools focus on access to infrastructure, which ultimately puts the first filter on the development of digital skills. Therefore, as expressed in the literature review, the advance of these skills is radically different when sociodemographic variables are considered. This increases socioeconomic distances and exclusion criteria, putting those who do not have these skills at a disadvantage and forcing them to seek the assistance of others.

Keywords: digital literacy, digital society, workforce digitalization, digital skills

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Authors: M. Miljkovic, A. Urakpo, M. Simic-Koumoutsaris

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Benefit-risk assessment (BRA) is a valuable tool that takes place in multiple stages during a medicine's lifecycle, and this assessment can be conducted in a variety of ways. The aim was to summarize current BRA methods used during approval decisions and in post-approval settings and to see possible future directions. Relevant reviews, recommendations, and guidelines published in medical literature and through regulatory agencies over the past five years have been examined. BRA implies the review of two dimensions: the dimension of benefits (determined mainly by the therapeutic efficacy) and the dimension of risks (comprises the safety profile of a drug). Regulators, industry, and academia have developed various approaches, ranging from descriptive textual (qualitative) to decision-analytic (quantitative) models, to facilitate the BRA of medicines during the product lifecycle (from Phase I trials, to authorization procedure, post-marketing surveillance and health technology assessment for inclusion in public formularies). These approaches can be classified into the following categories: stepwise structured approaches (frameworks); measures for benefits and risks that are usually endpoint specific (metrics), simulation techniques and meta-analysis (estimation techniques), and utility survey techniques to elicit stakeholders’ preferences (utilities). All these approaches share the following two common goals: to assist this analysis and to improve the communication of decisions, but each is subject to its own specific strengths and limitations. Before using any method, its utility, complexity, the extent to which it is established, and the ease of results interpretation should be considered. Despite widespread and long-time use, BRA is subject to debate, suffers from a number of limitations, and currently is still under development. The use of formal, systematic structured approaches to BRA for regulatory decision-making and quantitative methods to support BRA during the product lifecycle is a standard practice in medicine that is subject to continuous improvement and modernization, not only in methodology but also in cooperation between organizations.

Keywords: benefit-risk assessment, benefit-risk profile, product lifecycle, quantitative methods, structured approaches

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Authors: A. Kourou, M. Panoutsopoulou

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Nowadays, disaster risk reduction requires innovative ways of working collaboratively, monitoring tools, management methods, risk communication, and knowledge, as key factors for decision-making actors. Experience has shown that the assessment of seismic risk and its effective management is still an important challenge. In Greece, Ionian Islands region is characterized as the most seismic area of the country and one of the most active worldwide. It is well known that in case of a disastrous earthquake the local authorities need to assess the situation in the affected area and coordinate the disaster response. In particular, the main outcomes of 'Telemachus' project are the development of an innovative operational system that hosts the needed data of seismic risk management in the Ionian Islands and the implementation of educational actions for the involved target groups. This project is funded in the Priority Axis 'Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development' of Operational Plan 'Ionian Islands 2014-2020'. EPPO is one of the partners of the project and it is responsible, among others, for the development of proper training material. This paper presents the training material of 'Telemachus' and its usage as a helpful, managerial tool in case of earthquake emergency. This material is addressed to different target groups, such as civil protection staff, people that involved with the tourism industry, educators of disabled people, etc. Very positive aspect of the project is the involvement of end-users that should evaluate the training products; test standards; clarify the personnel’s roles and responsibilities; improve interagency coordination; identify gaps in resources; improve individual performance; and identify opportunities for improvement. It is worth mentioning that even though the abovementioned material developed is useful for the training of specific target groups on emergency management issues within Ionian Islands Region, it could be used throughout Greece and other countries too.

Keywords: education of civil protection staff, Ionian Islands Region of Greece, seismic risk, training material

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Authors: Kiana Zeighami, Morteza Ozlati Moghadam

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Designing a high accuracy and high precision motion controller is one of the important issues in today’s industry. There are effective solutions available in the industry but the real-time performance, smoothness and accuracy of the movement can be further improved. This paper discusses a complete solution to carry out the movement of three stepper motors in three dimensions. The objective is to provide a method to design a fully integrated System-on-Chip (SOC)-based motion controller to reduce the cost and complexity of production by incorporating Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) into the design. In the proposed method the FPGA receives its commands from a host computer via wireless internet communication and calculates the motion trajectory for three axes. A profile generator module is designed to realize the interpolation algorithm by translating the position data to the real-time pulses. This paper discusses an approach to implement the linear interpolation algorithm, since it is one of the fundamentals of robots’ movements and it is highly applicable in motion control industries. Along with full profile trajectory, the triangular drive is implemented to eliminate the existence of error at small distances. To integrate the parallelism and real-time performance of FPGA with the power of Central Processing Unit (CPU) in executing complex and sequential algorithms, the NIOS II soft-core processor was added into the design. This paper presents different operating modes such as absolute, relative positioning, reset and velocity modes to fulfill the user requirements. The proposed approach was evaluated by designing a custom-made FPGA board along with a mechanical structure. As a result, a precise and smooth movement of stepper motors was observed which proved the effectiveness of this approach.

Keywords: 3-axis linear interpolation, FPGA, motion controller, micro-stepping

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Authors: Monika Simkute-Bukante

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Teachers significantly influence student achievements, personal development, and academic success. Consequently, they are subject to heightened expectations and scrutiny from governments, school administrations, parents, and even students. Increasing responsibilities and pressures impact teachers’ professional well-being, contributing to a global trend of increased teacher turnover and shortages due to stress and heavy workloads. Given the critical role of teachers in educating young people, it is essential to implement strategies to retain them. School administrations are pivotal in creating an environment conducive to optimal performance. However, there remains a gap in understanding how school administration leadership impacts teachers' professional well-being and its potential for improvement. This research aims to define teacher professional well-being, identify its attributes, and explore the factors influencing it, with a particular focus on the role of school administration. Employing the concept analysis method, this study reviews scholarly publications from 2019 to 2024 to articulate the components of teacher professional well-being. The findings highlight key attributes of teacher well-being, including self-efficacy, work engagement, job satisfaction, relationships with colleagues and students, support from administration, work autonomy, school climate, time pressure, workload, resilience, stress, burnout, and turnover intentions. The analysis demonstrates that school administration leadership directly affects these aspects by providing support in challenging situations, empowering teachers, offering recognition, facilitating open communication, and ensuring autonomy at work. In conclusion, the research shows that teachers' professional well-being is heavily dependent on relationships with school administration, colleagues, and students, as well as the overall school climate. It suggests that by enhancing these elements, school leaders can significantly improve teacher professional well-being. Recommendations are made for developing strategies to support these relationships, thereby fostering an environment that enhances teacher retention and effectiveness.

Keywords: concept analysis, teacher professional well-being, school administration leadership, well-being factors

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