Search results for: young adult literature

Authors: Kathie Records, R. Jeanne Ruiz, Kimberly Ayers, Rebecca Pasillas

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Background: Preterm births of less than 37 weeks gestation occur disproportionately to Hispanics living along the U.S.-Mexico border. Prematurity has devastating and costly effects on children, families and the health care system. Few preventive interventions have been tested for this vulnerable group. Objectives: To present the modeling and pilot testing of the theory-based Mastery Lifestyle Intervention (MLI), designed to reduce and prevent PTB among Mexican American women (the terms Hispanics or Latinas will also be used to represent this group) living in the United States. Design and Methods: The conceptualization of the problem of preterm births and the available literature underpinning the mastery lifestyle intervention will be reviewed. The lifestyle intervention includes foundational components of problem solving therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. Findings from implementation of a one-group pilot test and focus group evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of the MLI. Summary: Participants found the MLI to be feasible and acceptable, and reported perceiving improved health status and familial relationships. Suggestions were provided for modifications prior to efficacy testing. The MLI appears to be a theoretically and empirically grounded intervention that holds promise for preventing preterm births among Latinas.

Keywords: birth, Hispanic, intervention, stress

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Authors: Fiona Soraya Addai-Sundiata, Ernest Yeboah Acheampong, Ralph Frimpong

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The rationale of this study is to examine the career experiences of elite female football coaches in Ghana. More importantly, it focus on their motives, the challenges of football coaching and their experiences along their career paths. The study draws from literature on female coaches in football to understand their experiences and reflections in their chosen careers. The findings of the study relied on in-depth semi-structured interviews with five elite female football coaches aged between 28 and 50 years. Participants’ responses reveal that both intrinsic and extrinsic motives drive them into football coaching, including learning experiences from abroad, a strong desire to break the gendered hegemony of coaching in Ghana, serving as role models, enjoyment, satisfaction and passion for their chosen careers. Results indicate that they encountered sociocultural, organisational, personal and interpersonal challenges. Also, they experience gender stereotyping, limited career mobility, sexism and marginalisation, which prevent them from becoming elite coaches. The study provides useful data for stakeholders, including Ghana Football Association (GFA), to use effective strategies (e.g., special incentives for women coaches) to attract and retain women in the football coaching space.

Keywords: elite female football coaches, career experiences, gender, motives, trajectories

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Authors: Fiona Soraya Addai-Sundiata, Ernest Yeboah Acheampong, Ralph Frimpong

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The rationale of this study is to examine the career experiences of elite female football coaches in Ghana. More importantly, it focus on their motives, the challenges of football coaching and their experiences along their career paths. The study draws from literature on female coaches in football to understand their experiences and reflections in their chosen careers. The findings of the study relied on in-depth semi-structured interviews with five elite female football coaches aged between 28 and 50 years. Participants’ responses reveal that both intrinsic and extrinsic motives drive them into football coaching including learning experiences from abroad, a strong desire to break the gendered hegemony of coaching in Ghana, serving as role models, enjoyment, satisfaction and passion for their chosen careers. Results indicate that they encountered sociocultural, organisational, personal and interpersonal challenges. Also, they experience gender stereotyping, limited career mobility, sexism and marginalisation, which prevent them from becoming elite coaches. The study provides useful data for stakeholders including Ghana Football Association (GFA) to use effective strategies (e.g., special incentives for women coaches) to attract and retain women in the football coaching space.

Keywords: elite female football coaches, career experiences, gender, motives, trajectories

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Authors: Mo'ath F. Bataineh

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Exercise is highly effective against obesity. Milk contains several components that support exercising and physical performance. However, there is a lack of published studies on the relationship between camel milk and ability to exercise. A pilot study was conducted with the purpose of comparing the impact of milk type (Cow vs Camel) compared with water on physical performance. Seven male obese participants (age: 20.3 ± 1.5 years; BMI: 35.7 ± 2.7 kg/m2; resting heart rate: 92.7 ± 4.7 beats per minute; training frequency: 4.4 ± 0.8 days/week) were recruited for this pilot study. In a randomized counterbalanced crossover design, participants took part in 3 trials that included ingesting 3 different pre workout drinks in a random order. The pre workout drinks were water (W), whole cow milk (CW), and whole camel milk (CM). On each trial day, participants were asked to report to the laboratory after an overnight fasting. Following a 15-minute short recovery period after their arrival to the laboratory, each participant was presented with a 500 ml of the assigned experimental drink and were asked to ingest it in one minute and at least 120 minutes prior to performing the 6-minute walk test. All drinks were presented at room temperature. Trials with different experimental drinks were performed on separate days. Participants were given at least 4 days of washout period between trials. The trial order was randomized to avoid bias due to learning effect. The 6-minute walk test was performed by all participants and immediately at the conclusion of the test, the covered distance in meters and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. All data were analysed using SPSS software (Version 29.0). The repeated measures ANOVA testing of collected data showed a significant main effect for treatment on covered distance in meters, F (2, 8) = 5.794, p=0.028 with a large effect size (partial eta squared (ηp2) =0.592). Also, LSD post hoc pairwise comparison analysis revealed that Camel milk and Cow milk were significantly (p = 0.044 and p = 0.020 respectively) superior to water in improving the covered distance during the test and that Camel milk tended to be better than Cow’s milk. The RPE values were not significantly different between experimental drinks (p>0.05). In conclusion, milk is superior to water as a pre workout drink, and camel milk is comparable to cow’s milk in enhancing ability to support a higher level of performance compared with water, therefore, camel milk could be used to replace cow’s milk as a suitable pre-exercise drink without expecting any negative consequences on physical performance. The fact that these positive results were obtained with obese individuals should encourage using camel milk without the fear of disturbing physical performance in other weight categories.

Keywords: camel milk, cow milk, obesity, physical performance, pre-workout drink

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Authors: Mifrah Ahmad

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Game designing processes vary with the intentions of the game. Digital games have versatile starting and finishing processes and these have been reported throughout the literature over decades. However, the need to understand how game designers’ practice in designing games is approached in the industry and how do they approach designing games is yet to be informed and whether they consider existing models or frameworks in their practice to assist their designing process of games. Therefore, this paper discusses 17 game designers’ participants' perspectives on how they approach designing games and how their experience of designing various games influences their practice. This research is conducted in an Australian context, through a phenomenology approach, where semi-structured interviews were designed and grounded by theory of experience by John Dewey. The audio data collected was analyzed using NVivo and interpreted using the interpretivism paradigm to contextualize the essence of game designers’ experiences in their practice and unfold their designing, developing, and iterative methodologies. As a result, a generic game-designing model is proposed that illuminates a sequence of steps that enables game designers’ initiatives toward a successful game design process. A ‘Five-Essential-Steps’ model (5ESM) for designing digital games may potentially assist early career game designers, gaming researchers as well as academics pursuing the designing process of games, educational games, or serious games.

Keywords: game designers practice, experiential design, designing models, game design approaches, designing process, software design, top-down model

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Authors: Murat Mert, Yusuf Ozer, Fatih Kolay

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Behaviour of giving harm to the body in literature has been named as “self-injury”, “self-mutilation” ve “self-harm”. “Self-injury”, or “self-mutilation” is generally used for the same meaning and mentioned as an action which is committed to the body itself directly. As is seen that alcohol and drug users have injured their bodies because of deprivation, whereas behaviour of self-injury in some societies is accepted as religious and cultural, it has nevertheless been diagnosed in people who have a borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, psychotic personality disorder and mood disorder. There has not been any direct self-murder tendency in people having self-harmed. However, death cases can be seen together with loss of consciousness depending on loss of blood by exceeding the limit in the course of injury action. 34- year old – male person who was alcohol addicted, having had a psycological treatment beforehand, had mutilated his small intestine together with fatty tissue by cutting his body with a razor-blade at the thought of insects strolling around the body (delirium tremens) due to deprivation attack and had died in the result of various cuts. In this study, crime scene investigation and death mechanism of the person having had self-harmed in a result of abstinence syndrome will be explained. Relevant criteria which differentiate this case from homicide will be examined.

Keywords: self-injury, autopsy, abstinence syndrome, CSI

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Authors: Edson Pierre, Gustavo de Jesus Lopez Nunez

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The objective of this work is to analyze how physics can be taught remotely through the use of platforms and software to attract the attention of 2nd-year high school students at Colégio Cívico Militar Professor Carmelita Souza Dias and point out how remote teaching can be a teaching-learning strategy during the period of social distancing. Teaching physics has been a challenge for teachers and students, permeating common sense with the great difficulty of teaching and learning the subject. The challenge increased in 2020 and 2021 with the impact caused by the new coronavirus pandemic (Sars-Cov-2) and its variants that have affected the entire world. With these changes, a new teaching modality emerged: remote teaching. It brought new challenges and one of them was promoting distance research experiences, especially in physics teaching, since there are learning difficulties and it is often impossible for the student to relate the theory observed in class with the reality that surrounds them. Teaching physics in schools faces some difficulties, which makes it increasingly less attractive for young people to choose this profession. Bearing in mind that the study of physics is very important, as it puts students in front of concrete and real situations, situations that physical principles can respond to, helping to understand nature, nourishing and nurturing a taste for science. The use of new platforms and software, such as PhET Interactive Simulations from the University of Colorado at Boulder, is a virtual laboratory that has numerous simulations of scientific experiments, which serve to improve the understanding of the content taught practically, facilitating student learning and absorption of content, being a simple, practical and free simulation tool, attracts more attention from students, causing them to acquire greater knowledge about the subject studied, or even a quiz, bringing certain healthy competitiveness to students, generating knowledge and interest in the themes used. The present study takes the Theory of Social Representations as a theoretical reference, examining the content and process of constructing the representations of teachers, subjects of our investigation, on the evaluation of teaching and learning processes, through a methodology of qualitative. The result of this work has shown that remote teaching was really a very important strategy for the process of teaching and learning physics in the 2nd year of high school. It provided greater interaction between the teacher and the student. Therefore, the teacher also plays a fundamental role since technology is increasingly present in the educational environment, and he is the main protagonist of this process.

Keywords: physics teaching, technologies, remote learning, pandemic

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Authors: Olphiara Rodolpheza Alexandre, Carla David, Rafael Guerra Lund, Nadia Ferreira

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Due to the increasing demand for biomaterials in the dental field, especially in endodontics, calcium silicate-based cements (CSCs) have gained prominence because of their biocompatibility and tissue regeneration capabilities. Originating from Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA), the first bioceramic in endodontics derived from Portland cement, these materials are becoming increasingly prevalent in the market. For any drug released to the market, pharmacovigilance must ensure the absence of adverse health effects on consumers through rigorous toxicological testing. Although these materials have undergone in vitro and in vivo testing, such tests have typically been conducted over a limited period. Some effects may only become apparent after several years, and these studies are generally carried out on a non-specific population. However, the variety of calcium silicate-based products, including cement and sealers, raises questions about their toxicity, particularly considering potential long-term effects not addressed in existing studies. While the scientific literature includes comparative studies on the toxicity of these materials, the consistency of their conclusions is often controversial. Therefore, this project aims to map the scientific evidence from in vitro biocompatibility studies, including those investigating the toxicity of calcium silicate-based bioceramics.

Keywords: toxicity, toxicity test, bioceramics, calcium silicate, genotoxicity

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Authors: Mumtaz Ali, Hamzullah Khan, Khalid Khanzada, Shahid Ayub, Aurangzeb Wazir

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Objective: To analyse the death of patients treated in neuro-surgical ICU for severe head injuries from different perspectives. The evaluation of the data so obtained to help improve the health care delivery to this group of patients in ICU. Study Design: It is a descriptive study based on retrospective analysis of patients presenting to neuro-surgical ICU in Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. Study Duration: It covered the period between 1st January 2009 to 31st December 2009. Material and Methods: The Clinical record of all the patients presenting with the clinical radiological and surgical features of severe head injuries, who expired in neuro-surgical ICU was collected. A separate proforma which mentioned age, sex, time of arrival and death, causes of head injuries, the radiological features, the clinical parameters, the surgical and non surgical treatment given was used. The average duration of stay and the demographic and domiciliary representation of these patients was noted. The record was analyzed accordingly for discussion and recommendations. Results: Out of the total 112 (n-112) patients who expired in one year in the neuro-surgical ICU the young adults made up the majority 64 (57.14%) followed by children, 34 (30.35%) and then the elderly age group: 10 (8.92%). Road traffic accidents were the major cause of presentation, 75 (66.96%) followed by history of fall; 23 (20.53%) and then the fire arm injuries; 13 (11.60%). The predominant CT scan features of these patients on presentation was cerebral edema, and midline shift (diffuse neuronal injuries). 46 (41.07%) followed by cerebral contusions. 28 (25%). The correctable surgical causes were present only in 18 patients (16.07%) and the majority 94 (83.92%) were given conservative management. Of the 69 (n=69) patients in which CT scan was repeated; 62 (89.85%) showed worsening of the initial CT scan abnormalities while in 7 cases (10.14%) the features were static. Among the non surgical cases both ventilatory therapy in 7 (6.25%) and tracheostomy in 39 (34.82%) failed to change the outcome. The maximum stay in the neuro ICU leading upto the death was 48 hours in 35 (31.25%) cases followed by 31 (27.67%) cases in 24 hours; 24 (21.42%) in one week and 16 (14.28%) in 72 hours. Only 6 (5.35%) patients survived more than a week. Patients were received from almost all the districts of NWFP except. The Hazara division. There were some Afghan refugees as well. Conclusion: Mortality following the head injuries is alarmingly high despite repeated claims about the professional and administrative improvement. Even places like ICU could not change the out come according to the desired aims and objectives in the present set up. A rethinking is needed both at the individual and institutional level among the concerned quarters with a clear aim at the more scientific grounds. Only then one can achieve the desired results.

Keywords: Glasgow Coma Scale, pediatrics, geriatrics, Peshawar

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Authors: Mehrnoosh Askarizadeh

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In an ever changeable and globalized world with new economic and global competitors competing for the same customers and resources, is increasing the pressure on organizations' competitiveness. In addition, organizations faces additional challenges due to an ever-growing amount of data and the ever-bigger challenge of analyzing that data and keeping the data secure. Successful companies are characterized by exploiting their intellectual capital in an efficient manner. Thus, the most valuable asset an organization has today has become its employees' knowledge. To enable this, there is a tool that supports easier handling and optimizes the use of knowledge, which is knowledge management. Based on the theoretical framework and careful review as well as analysis of interviews and observations resulted in six essential areas: structure, management, compensation, communication, trust and motivation. The analysis showed that the scientific articles and literature have different perspectives, different definitions and are based on different theories but the essence is that they all finally seems to arrive at the same result and conclusion, although with different viewpoints and perspectives. This is regardless of whether the focus is on management style, rewards or communication they all focus on the individual. The conclusion is that organizational culture affects knowledge management and dissemination of information, because of its direct impact on the individual. The largest and most important underlying factor why we choose to participate in improvement work or share knowledge is our motivation. Motivation is the reason for and the reason behind our actions.

Keywords: lean, lean production, knowledge management, information management, motivation

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Authors: P. Mbecke

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The role of the government to tangibly alleviate poverty, improve and sustain the quality of people’s lives remains a “work in progress” twenty-two years after the dawn of democracy in South Africa despite a host of socio-economic programs and pro-poor policies and legislations. This paper assesses the development process and the implementation of the White Paper on Families in South Africa as one of the pro-poor policies intended to curb poverty and redress the imbalances of the apartheid regime. The paper is the result of a qualitative implementation research theory facilitated through in-depth interviews with social work managers complemented by literature and policy review techniques. It investigates the level of basic knowledge and understanding as well as the implementation challenges of the White Paper on Families as causes of its failure. The paper emphasizes the importance of the family-centered approach in the implementation of pro-poor policies. To facilitate the understanding of the White Paper on Families by its users, the Department of Social Development needs take stock of the identified challenges of its implementation so as to facilitate its success in fostering positive family well-being that will directly contributes to the overall socio-economic development of South Africa.

Keywords: poverty alleviation, pro-poor policy, social development, social welfare, South Africa

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Authors: Manasvi Pinnaka, Brianna Chrisman

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Cystic fibrosis patients often develop lung infections that range anywhere in severity from mild to life-threatening due to the presence of thick and sticky mucus that fills their airways. Since many of these infections are chronic, they not only affect a patient’s ability to breathe but also increase the chances of mortality by respiratory failure. With a publicly available dataset of DNA sequences from bacterial species in the lung microbiome of cystic fibrosis patients, the correlations between different microbial species in the lung and the extent of deterioration of lung function were investigated. 16S sequencing technologies were used to determine the microbiome composition of the samples in the dataset. For the statistical analyses, referencing helped distinguish between taxonomies, and the proportions of certain taxa relative to another were determined. It was found that the Fusobacterium, Actinomyces, and Leptotrichia microbial types all had a positive correlation with the FEV1 score, indicating the potential displacement of these species by pathogens as the disease progresses. However, the dominant pathogens themselves, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, did not have statistically significant negative correlations with the FEV1 score as described by past literature. Examining the lung microbiology of cystic fibrosis patients can help with the prediction of the current condition of lung function, with the potential to guide doctors when designing personalized treatment plans for patients.

Keywords: bacterial infections, cystic fibrosis, lung microbiome, 16S sequencing

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Authors: Cecile Laval, Harriet Lowe

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Processing Instruction is a psycholinguistic pedagogical approach drawing insights from the Input Processing Model which establishes the initial innate strategies used by second language learners to connect form and meaning of linguistic features. With the ever-growing use of technology in Second Language Acquisition research, the present study uses eye-tracking to measure the effectiveness of Processing Instruction in the acquisition of French and its effects on learner’s cognitive strategies. The experiment was designed using a TOBII Pro-TX300 eye-tracker to measure participants’ default strategies when processing French linguistic input and any cognitive changes after receiving Processing Instruction treatment. Participants were drawn from lower intermediate adult learners of French at the University of Greenwich and randomly assigned to two groups. The study used a pre-test/post-test methodology. The pre-tests (one per linguistic item) were administered via the eye-tracker to both groups one week prior to instructional treatment. One group received full Processing Instruction treatment (explicit information on the grammatical item and on the processing strategies, and structured input activities) on the primary target linguistic feature (French past tense imperfective aspect). The second group received Processing Instruction treatment except the explicit information on the processing strategies. Three immediate post-tests on the three grammatical structures under investigation (French past tense imperfective aspect, French Subjunctive used for the expression of doubt, and the French causative construction with Faire) were administered with the eye-tracker. The eye-tracking data showed the positive change in learners’ processing of the French target features after instruction with improvement in the interpretation of the three linguistic features under investigation. 100% of participants in both groups made a statistically significant improvement (p=0.001) in the interpretation of the primary target feature (French past tense imperfective aspect) after treatment. 62.5% of participants made an improvement in the secondary target item (French Subjunctive used for the expression of doubt) and 37.5% of participants made an improvement in the cumulative target feature (French causative construction with Faire). Statistically there was no significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores in the cumulative target feature; however, the variance approximately tripled between the pre-test and the post-test (3.9 pre-test and 9.6 post-test). This suggests that the treatment does not affect participants homogenously and implies a role for individual differences in the transfer-of-training effect of Processing Instruction. The use of eye-tracking provides an opportunity for the study of unconscious processing decisions made during moment-by-moment comprehension. The visual data from the eye-tracking demonstrates changes in participants’ processing strategies. Gaze plots from pre- and post-tests display participants fixation points changing from focusing on content words to focusing on the verb ending. This change in processing strategies can be clearly seen in the interpretation of sentences in both primary and secondary target features. This paper will present the research methodology, design and results of the experimental study using eye-tracking to investigate the primary effects and transfer-of-training effects of Processing Instruction. It will then provide evidence of the cognitive benefits of Processing Instruction in Second Language Acquisition and offer suggestion in second language teaching of grammar.

Keywords: eye-tracking, language teaching, processing instruction, second language acquisition

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Authors: Albert Chang, Duncan Webster

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Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus infections in humans can be contracted through contact with domestic animals or unpasteurized dairy products. Although infection in humans is rare, the course can be fulminant. We describe the case of a 75-year-old, immunocompetent male, who developed disseminated disease with bacteremia, native aortic valve endocarditis, suppurative pericarditis with cardiac tamponade, meningitis and bilateral endopthalmitis. Despite treatment with pericardial drain placement, intravenous ceftriaxone and rifampin the patient, unfortunately, did not survive. To date, reported cases of disseminated infection by S. zooepidemicus are few. Furthermore, with the review of the literature, this case demonstrates the broadest organ system involvement reported. Of interest, previous studies have suggested an affinity of this organism for certain organ systems and this case corroborates an emerging association of S. zooepidemicus with endopthalmitis. In addition, this is the second Canadian case of documented human infection with both cases being similar in clinical features, presentation, and geographical location. A discussion regarding previous S. zooepidemicus outbreaks and the potential for zoonotic outbreaks to occur is included. In short, this case report should serve to warn clinicians regarding complications and sites of haematogenous seeding in the setting of disseminated S. zooepidemicus infections.

Keywords: endopthalmitis, endocarditis, meningitis, Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus

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Authors: Tamanda Kamwendo

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The concept of benefit sharing has been a prominent global debate in the world, gaining traction in human research ethics. Despite its prevalence, the concept of benefit sharing is not without controversy over its meaning and justification. This is due to the fact that it lacks a broadly accepted definition and many proponents discuss benefit sharing by arguing for its necessity rather than engaging in critical intellectual engagement with technical issues such as what it implies. What is clear in the literature is that the underlying premise of benefit-sharing is that research involving underprivileged and marginalized people is currently unjust and inequitable because these people are denied access to these gains; thus, benefit-sharing arrangements are required for these research projects to be just and equitable. This paper, therefore, investigates the discourses and justifications behind the concept of benefit sharing to human participants, particularly when dealing with human genomics research. Furthermore, considering that benefit sharing is generally viewed as a transaction between research organizations and research participants, it raises ethical concerns concerning the commodification of human material and undermines the sanctity of the human genome. This is predicated on the idea that research sponsors would be compelled to deliver a minimum set of possible benefits to research participants and communities in exchange for their involvement in the study. There is, therefore, need to protect benefit-sharing practices in international health research by developing a governance legal framework. A legal framework of benefit sharing will also dispel the issue of commodification of human material where human genomic research is done.

Keywords: benefit sharing, human participants, human genomic research, ethical concerns

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Authors: Mengmeng Zhang, Honghui Chen, Kalle Lyytinen

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The major challenges for sustainable business-IT alignment (BITA) in a company root in its volatile external competitive environment, increasingly complex internal relationships, and subversive IT roles. Failure to adequately address BITA results in wasting organizational resources, losing competitive advantages, and failing to produce adequate returns on investments. The coevolution is more suitable to describe the dynamic relationships of business and IT and has received certain attention in recent years. Multiple mechanisms for achieving BITC (e.g., sharing domain knowledge, modular design) were obtained. However, instead of a complete managing process, BITC achievement is still hard to operate in practice. This study emphasizes what the BITC management process looks like and how to execute this coevolution step-by-step. A practical coevolutionary framework that combines the enterprise architecture (EA) method with misalignment analysis is proposed in this paper. It contains steps of EA design, misalignment detection, misalignment correction, and EA management /misalignment prevention. The step of misalignment correction is especially discussed at length. This study also evaluates the proposed framework by comparing the characteristics, principles, and approaches of coevolution in the literature.

Keywords: business-IT alignment, business-IT coevolution, enterprise architecture, misalignment analysis, misalignment correction

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Authors: Ivan Orozco

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Introduction: Forced contraception constitutes part of an effort to control the life and reproductive capacity of women through public health institutions. This phenomenon has affected many Mexican women historically and still persists nowadays. The notion of reproductive governmentality refers to the mechanisms through which different historical configurations of social actors (state institutions, churches, donor agents, NGOs, etc.) use legislative controls, economic incentives, moral mandates, direct coercion, and ethical incitements, to produce, monitor and control reproductive behaviors and practices. This research focuses on the use of these mechanisms by the Mexican State to control women's contraceptive practices in a public hospital. Method: An Institutional Ethnography was carried out, with the objective of knowing women's experiences from their own perspective, as they occur in their daily lives, but at the same time, discovering the structural elements that shape the discourses that promote women's contraception, even against their will. The fieldwork consisted in an observation of the dynamics between different participants within a public hospital and the conduction of interviews with the medical and nursing staff in charge of family planning services, as well as women attending the family planning office. Results: Public health institutions in Mexico are state tools to control and regulate reproduction. There are several strategies that are used for this purpose, for example, health personnel provide insufficient or misleading information to ensure that women agree to use contraceptives; health institutions provide economic incentives to the members of the health staff who reach certain goals in terms of contraceptive placement; young women are forced to go to the family planning service, regardless of the reason they went to the clinic; health campaigns are carried out, consisting of the application of contraceptives outside the health facilities, directly in the communities of people who visit the hospital less frequently. All these mechanisms seek for women to use contraceptives, from the women’s perspective; however, the reception of these discourses is ambiguous. While, for some women, the strategies become coercive mechanisms to use contraceptives against their will, for others, they represent an opportunity to take control over their reproductive lives. Conclusion: Since 1974, the Mexican government has implemented campaigns for the promotion of family planning methods as a means to control population growth. Although it is established in several legislations that the counselling must be carried out with a gender and human rights perspective, always respecting the autonomy of people, these research testify that health personnel uses different strategies to force some women to use contraceptive methods, thereby violating their reproductive rights.

Keywords: feminist research, forced contraception, institutional ethnography, reproductive. governmentality

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Authors: Hamid Yazdani, Fatemeh Abbasi

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Biomimicry, where flora, fauna or entire ecosystems are emulated as a basis for design, is a growing area of research in the fields of architecture and engineering. This is due to both the fact that it is an inspirational source of possible new innovation and because of the potential it offers as a way to create a more sustainable and even regenerative built environment. The widespread and practical application of biomimicry as a design method remains however largely unrealised. A growing body of international research identifies various obstacles to the employment of biomimicry as an architectural design method. One barrier of particular note is the lack of a clear definition of the various approaches to biomimicry that designers can initially employ. Through a comparative literature review, and an examination of existing biomimetic technologies, this paper elaborates on distinct approaches to biomimetic design that have evolved. A framework for understanding the various forms of biomimicry has been developed, and is used to discuss the distinct advantages and disadvantages inherent in each as a design methodology. It is shown that these varied approaches may lead to different outcomes in terms of overall sustainability or regenerative potential. It is posited that a biomimetic approach to architectural design that incorporates an understanding of ecosystems could become a vehicle for creating a built environment that goes beyond simply sustaining current conditions to a restorative practice where the built environment becomes a vital component in the integration with and regeneration of natural ecosystems.

Keywords: biomimicry, bio-inspired design, ecology, ecomimicry, industrial ecology

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Authors: D. Y. Fong, C. Y. Kuo, Y. T. Chiang, W. C. Lin

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Objectives: Qigong is an ancient Chinese practice in pursuit of a healthier body and a more peaceful mindset. It emphasizes on the restoration of vital energy (Qi) in body, mind, and spirit. The practice is the combination of gentle movements and mild breathing which help the doers reach the condition of tranquility. On account of the features of Qigong, first, we use cross-sectional methodology to compare the differences among the varied levels of Qigong practitioners on cognitive function with event-related potential (ERP) and electroencephalography (EEG). Second, we use the longitudinal methodology to explore the effects on the Qigong trainees for pretest and posttest on ERP and EEG. Current study adopts Attentional Network Test (ANT) task to examine the participants’ cognitive function, and aging-related researches demonstrated a declined tread on the cognition in older adults and exercise might ameliorate the deterioration. Qigong exercise integrates physical posture (muscle strength), breathing technique (aerobic ability) and focused intention (attention) that researchers hypothesize it might improve the cognitive function in aging adults. Method: Sixty participants were involved in this study, including 20 young adults (21.65±2.41 y) with normal physical activity (YA), 20 Qigong experts (60.69 ± 12.42 y) with over 7 years Qigong practice experience (QE), and 20 normal and healthy adults (52.90±12.37 y) with no Qigong practice experience as experimental group (EG). The EG participants took Qigong classes 2 times a week and 2 hours per time for 24 weeks with the purpose of examining the effect of Qigong intervention on cognitive function. ANT tasks (alert network, orient network, and executive control) were adopted to evaluate participants’ cognitive function via ERP’s P300 components and P300 amplitude topography. Results: Behavioral data: 1.The reaction time (RT) of YA is faster than the other two groups, and EG was faster than QE in the cue and flanker conditions of ANT task. 2. The RT of posttest was faster than pretest in EG in the cue and flanker conditions. 3. No difference among the three groups on orient, alert, and execute control networks. ERP data: 1. P300 amplitude detection in QE was larger than EG at Fz electrode in orient, alert, and execute control networks. 2. P300 amplitude in EG was larger at pretest than posttest on the orient network. 3. P300 Latency revealed no difference among the three groups in the three networks. Conclusion: Taken together these findings, they provide neuro-electrical evidence that older adults involved in Qigong practice may develop a more overall compensatory mechanism and also benefit the performance of behavior.

Keywords: Qigong, cognitive function, aging, event-related potential (ERP)

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Authors: Hazem Hasan Hushayish

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Motivation and teaching strategies are commonly believed to improve students’ communicative competence in English as a foreign language; still, there is not much empirical evidence to support this claim. The present study is intended to focus on the effects of motivational factors and teaching strategies on the communicative competence among the Palestinian undergraduates. In the first phase, one hundred and eighty participants, who are studying English language in three Palestinian universities, answered a questionnaire. The questionnaire included items derived from Gardner’s 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007 Attitude/Motivation Test Battery AMTB and items from Dörnyei 2007 and Guilloteaux and Dörnyei 2008 teaching strategies framework for foreign language classrooms. In the second phase, 6 participants, from the same universities, were interviewed. The quantitative results indicated that participants’ communicative competence is significantly affected by motivation and teaching strategies. Also, the qualitative results indicated that teaching strategies do not directly affect students’ communicative competence, but rather affect their motivation. Consequently, the current study will add substantively to the literature concerning the effects of motivation and teaching strategies in communicative competencies among EFL learners in the Palestinian context, and some suggested procedures and suggestions that help improve learners’ communicative competences.

Keywords: communicative competence, motivation, teaching strategies, Palestinian undergraduates

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Authors: Umedov Mekhroz, Griaznova Svetlana

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The quality of life and well-being of patients, staff and visitors are central to the delivery of health care. Architecture and design are becoming an integral part of the healing and recovery approach. The most significant point that can be implemented in hospital buildings is the therapeutic value of the artificial environment, the design and integration of plants to bring the natural world into the healthcare environment. The hospital environment should feel like home comfort. The techniques that therapeutic architecture uses are very cheap, but provide real benefit to patients, staff and visitors, demonstrating that the difference is not in cost but in design quality. The best environment is not necessarily more expensive - it is about special use of light and color, rational use of materials and flexibility of premises. All this forms innovative concepts in modern hospital architecture, in new construction, renovation or expansion projects. The aim of the study is to identify the methods and principles of therapeutic architecture. The research methodology consists in studying and summarizing international experience in scientific research, literature, standards, methodological manuals and project materials on the research topic. The result of the research is the development of graphic-analytical tables based on the system analysis of the processed information; 3d visualization of hospital interiors based on processed information.

Keywords: therapeutic architecture, healthcare interiors, sustainable design, materials, color scheme, lighting, environment.

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Authors: Fatma Sümer

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Introduction: This case report aims to report myopic anisometropia with copy-image in monozygotic twins. Methods: In February 2021, a 6-year-old identical twin was seen, who was referred to us with the diagnosis of amblyopia in their left eye from an external center. Both twins had a full ophthalmic examination, which included visual acuity testing, ocular motility testing, cycloplegic refraction, and fundus examination. Results: On examination, “copy image” myopic anisometropia was discovered. Twin 1 had anisometropia with myopic astigmatism in the left eye. His cycloplegic refraction was +1.00 (-0.75x 75) in the right eye and -8.0 (-1.50x175) in the left eye. Similarly, twin 2 had anisometropia with myopic astigmatism in the left eye. His cycloplegic refraction was -7.75 (-1.50x180) in the left eye and +1.25 (-0.75x90 ) in the right eye. The best-corrected visual acuity was 20/60 in the amblyopic eyes and 20/20 in the unaffected eyes. There was no ocular deviation. In either patient, a slit-lamp microscopic examination revealed no abnormalities in the anterior parts of either eye. Fundoscopic examination revealed no abnormalities. No abnormal ocular movements were demonstrated. Conclusion: As far as we have reviewed in the literature, previous studies with twins were mostly concerned with mirror-effect myopic anisometropia and myopic anisometropia, whereas ipsilateral amblyopia and anisometropia were not reported in monozygotic twins. This case underscores the possible genetic basis of myopic anisometropia.

Keywords: amblyopia, anisometropia, myopia, twins

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Authors: Lauren Dixon, David Galvani

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Objective: Sharing devastating news with patients is often considered the most difficult task of doctors. This study aimed to explore patients’ perceptions of receiving bad news including which features improve the experience and which areas need refining. Methods: A questionnaire was written based on the steps of the SPIKES model for breaking bad news. 20 patients receiving treatment for a haematological malignancy completed the questionnaire. Results: Overall, the results are promising as most patients praised their consultation. ‘Poor’ was more commonly rated by women and participants aged 45-64. The main differences between the ‘excellent’ and ‘poor’ consultations include the doctor’s sensitivity and checking the patients’ understanding. Only 35% of patients were asked their existing knowledge and 85% of consultations failed to discuss the impact of the diagnosis on daily life. Conclusion: This study agreed with the consensus of existing literature. The commended aspects include consultation set-up and information given. Areas patients felt needed improvement include doctors determining the patient’s existing knowledge and exploring how the diagnosis will affect the patient’s life. With a poorer prognosis, doctors should work on conveying appropriate hope. The study was limited by a small sample size and potential recall bias.

Keywords: cancer, diagnosis, haematology, patients

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Authors: Suneet Jagdev

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17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the world leaders in September 2015 at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. These goals were adopted by UN member states to promote prosperity, health and human rights while protecting the planet. Around the same time, the Government of India launched the Smart City Initiative to speed up development of state of the art infrastructure and services in 100 cities with a focus on sustainable and inclusive development. These cities are meant to become role models for other cities in India and promote sustainable regional development. This paper examines goals set under the Smart City Initiative and evaluates them in terms of the Sustainable Development Goals, using case studies of selected Smart Cities in India. The study concludes that most Smart City projects at present actually consist of individual solutions to individual problems identified in a community rather than comprehensive models for complex issues in cities across India. Systematic, logical and comparative analysis of important literature and data has been done, collected from government sources, government papers, research papers by various experts on the topic, and results from some online surveys. Case studies have been used for a graphical analysis highlighting the issues of migration, ecology, economy and social equity in these Smart Cities.

Keywords: housing, migration, smart cities, sustainable development goals, urban infrastructure

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Authors: Baba Iddrisu Musah

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Many Ghanaians, including the rich and downtrodden, elite and unlettered, rural and urban dwellers, politicians and civil servants, in one way or the other, believe in and practice witchcraft. The existence of witches’ camp in northern Ghana, the rise of Pentecostal churches, especially in southern Ghana with the penchant to cleanse people of witchcraft, as well as media reports of witchcraft imputations assuming wider dimensions in the country, often classified as a citadel of democracy, good governance and human rights in Africa, buttress the pervasive nature of belief in and the practice of witchcraft in the country. This is in spite of the fact that tremendous efforts, especially by British colonial authorities, were made to regulate witchcraft beliefs and its associated practices. Informed by Western values and philosophy, witchcraft was considered by colonial authorities as illogical and unscientific. This paper, which is largely a review of existing literature, supplemented by archival information from the national archives of Ghana, focuses on the nature of witchcraft regulation in Ghana’s pre-colonial and colonial past, as well as immediately after Ghana obtained her independence in 1957. This article concludes by rhetorically questioning whether or not believing in and the practice of witchcraft in contemporary Ghana in general, and the existence of witches’ camps in the northern region of the country are attributed to the failure of past regulations, as well as the failure of present government policies.

Keywords: colonial, natives, regulation, witchcraft

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Authors: Zahra Tolou-Ghamari

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Introduction: After allogeneic organ transplantation, in order to lower the rate of rejectiontacrolimus is given. In fact, infection is reported as the most complication of tacrolimus that might be associated with higher susceptibility by its’ long term use. Aim: This study aims to review the association between the occurrence of infections after organ transplantation following the administration of tacrolims. Materials and Methods: Scientific literature on the pharmacotherapy of tacrolimus after organ transplantation and infections were searched using PUBMED.Gov (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/), Web of Science, and Scopus. Results: In order to prevent acute and chronic rejection, the potent immunosuppressive drug tacrolimus administered as a calcineurin inhibitor after organ transplantation. Its’ most frequent infectious complication is reported as urinary tract infection. Virulent strain of recombinant Literiamonocytogenes, in addition to an increase in bacterial burden in the liver and spleen tissues, was reported in the animal experimental study. The consequence of aggressive events and recipients total area under the cureve exposure to immunosuppressive could be as considered as surrogate markers for individual infection’s risk evaluation. Conclusion: Transplant surgery and duration of hospital stay could determinate the risk of infection during the first month of organ transplantation. Despite administration of antiviral drugs, opportunistic infection such as cytomegalovirus could increase the risk of infection during month 1 to year after transplantation.

Keywords: transplant, infection, tacrolimus, kidney

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Authors: Vajhollah Ghorbanizadeh, Seyed Mohsen Asadi, Mirali Seyednaghavi, Davoud Hoseynpour

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In the current era, all organizations need knowledge to be able to manage the diverse human resources. Creative, dynamic and knowledge-based Human resources are important competitive advantage and the scarcest resource in today's knowledge-based economy. In addition managers with skills of knowledge management must be aware of human resource management science. It is now generally accepted that successful implementation of knowledge management requires dynamic interaction between knowledge management and human resource management. This is emphasized at systematic approach to knowledge management as well. However human resource management can be complementary of knowledge management because human resources management with the aim of empowering human resources as the key resource organizations in the 21st century, the use of other resources, creating and growing and developing today. Thus, knowledge is the major capital of every organization which is introduced through the process of knowledge management. In this context, knowledge management is systematic approach to create, receive, organize, access, and use of knowledge and learning in the organization. This article aims to define and explain the concepts of knowledge management and human resource management and the importance of these processes and concepts. Literature related to knowledge management and human resource management as well as related topics were studied, then to design, illustrate and provide a theoretical model to explain the factors affecting the relationship between knowledge management and human resource management and knowledge management system approach, for schematic design and are drawn.

Keywords: systemic approach, human resources, knowledge, human resources management, knowledge management

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Authors: A. K. Aswathy, Asha Manoharan, Arya Manoharan

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The purpose of this study are to define the nature of oral sensory issues in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), identify important components of the assessment and treatment of this issues specific to this population, and delineate specific therapeutic techniques designed to improve assessment and treatment within therapeutic settings. Literature review and case example is used to define the predominant nature of the oral sensory issues that are experienced by some children on the autism spectrum. Characteristics of this complex disorder that can have an impact on feeding skill and behavior are also identified. These factors are then integrated to create assessment and intervention techniques that can be used in conjunction with traditional feeding approaches to facilitate improvements in eating as well as reducing oral apraxic component in this unique population. The complex nature of ASD and its many influences on feeding skills and behavior create the need for modification to both assessment and treatment approaches. Additional research is needed to create therapeutic protocols that can be used by speech-language pathologists to effectively assess and treat feeding and oro motor apraxic difficulties that are commonly encountered in children with ASD.

Keywords: autism, assessment, feeding, intervention, oral sensory issues, oral apraxia

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Authors: Fatiha Benghanem, Mokhtar Berarma, Saida Keraghel, Ali Ourari

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Corrosion is the result of the reaction between a material and its environment. Steel in concrete is protected from corrosion by a passive film promoted by concrete alkalinity. For the initiation of corrosion, this protective film must be destroyed and this can be mainly done in two ways: by the attack of chlorides on the steel or by carbonation of the cover concrete due the reaction with carbon dioxide, which causes reduction in the alkalinity of concrete. The literature reports several ways to decrease or to prevent reinforcement corrosion. Among them, the use of corrosion inhibitors has been an envisaged solution. Two approaches are generally used to evaluate the efficiency of inhibitors for concrete application; one uses simulated pore solution testing , and the other uses actual concrete or mortar specimens. Both methods are some times used in conjunction. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of 2,3-diaminopyridine as a corrosion inhibitors of steel in alkaline media which simulate the electrolyte in the concrete pores. The effectiveness of this compound as corrosion inhibitor was investigated by measuring the corrosion potentials, the polarization curves and the corrosion current densities of steel with and without chlorides. The study of corrosion inhibition by this compound led to the conclusion that he has low rates of inhibition in the absence of aggressive ions and high rates in their presence. This type of organic compounds are promoting for the protection of armatures in concrete.

Keywords: corrosion, inhibitors, mild steel, conjunction

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Authors: Vaishali Joshi

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Purpose: A literature gap exists on the concept of sensory marketing elements, such as tactile elements, auditory elements, visual elements, and olfactory elements, studied together in the context of retailing. An investigation is required to study the impact of these sensory cues together on consumer behaviour. So, this study will undertake the impact of sensory marketing in fashion accessories stores on female shoppers’ purchasing activities. The present research study highlights the role of sensory cues, such as tactile cues, visual cues, auditory cues, and olfactory cues, on the shopper’s emotional states and their purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach: The emotional states and the purchase intention of the female shoppers influenced by the visual, tactile, olfactory, and auditory cues present in the fashion accessories stores were measured. The mall intercept technique was used for the data collection. Data analysis was done through Structural Equation Modelling. Research limitations/implications: The restricted geographical range and limited sample size of the study had a substantial poor influence on the wide usage of the study’s outcome. Also, here, the sample was female respondents only.

Keywords: sensory marketing, visual cues, olfactory cues, tactile cues, auditory cues

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