Search results for: municipal authorities

Authors: Joy Ghosh, Debasmita Biswas

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The road network of any area is the most important indicator of regional planning. For proper utilization of urban road networks, the structural parameters such as connectivity and accessibility should be analyzed and evaluated. This paper aims to explain the application of GIS on urban road network connectivity and accessibility analysis with a case study of Chandannagar City. This paper has been made to analyze the road network connectivity through various connectivity measurements like the total number of nodes and links, Cyclomatic Number, Alpha Index, Beta Index, Gamma index, Eta index, Pi index, Theta Index, and Aggregated Transport Score, Road Density based on existing road network in Chandannagar city in India. Accessibility is measured through the shortest Path Matrix, associate Number, and Shimbel Index. Various urban services, such as schools, banks, Hospitals, petrol pumps, ATMs, police stations, theatres, parks, etc., are considered for the accessibility analysis for each ward. This paper also highlights the relationship between urban land use/ land cover (LULC) and urban road network and population density using various spatial and statistical measurements. The datasets were collected through a field survey of 33 wards of the Chandannagar Municipal Corporation area, and the secondary data were collected through an open street map and satellite image of LANDSAT8 OLI & TIRS from USGS. Chandannagar was actually once a French colony, and at that time, various sort of planning was applied, but now Chandannagar city continues to grow haphazardly because that city is facing some problems; the knowledge gained from this paper helps to create a more efficient and accessible road network. Therefore, it would be suggested that some wards need to improve their connectivity and accessibility for the future growth and development of Chandannagar.

Keywords: accessibility, connectivity, transport, road network

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Authors: Madeline W. Miller

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The global textile industry produces pollutants in the form of liquid discharge, solid waste, and emissions into the natural environment. Textile waste resulting from garment production and other manufacturing processes makes a significant contribution to the amount of waste landfilled globally. While the majority of curbside and other convenient recycling methods cater to post-consumer paper and plastics, pre-consumer textile waste is often discarded with trash and is commonly classified as ‘other’ in municipal solid waste breakdowns. On a larger scale, many clothing manufacturers and other companies utilizing textiles have not yet identified or began using the most sustainable methods for discarding their post-industrial, pre-consumer waste. To lessen the amount of waste sent to landfills, there are post-industrial, pre-consumer textile waste recycling methods that can be used to give textiles a new life. This process requires that textile and garment manufacturers redirect their waste to companies that use industrial machinery to shred or fiberize these materials in preparation for their second life. The goal of this literature review is to identify the recycling and reuse challenges faced by producers within the clothing and textile industry that prevent these companies from utilizing the described recycling methods, causing them to opt for landfill. The literature analyzed in this review reflects manufacturer sentiments toward waste disposal and recycling. The results of this review indicate that the cost of logistics is the determining factor when it comes to companies recycling their pre-consumer textile waste and that the most applicable and successful textile waste recycling methods require a company separate from the manufacturer to account for waste production, provide receptacles for waste, arrange waste transport, and identify a secondary use for the material at a price-point below that of traditional waste disposal service.

Keywords: leadership demographics, post-industrial textile waste, pre-consumer textile waste, industrial shoddy

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Authors: Sujata Mukherjee, Arunavo Mukherjee

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Water covers 70 per cent of our planet; however, freshwater is incredibly rare, and scarce has been listed as the highest impact global risk. The problems related to freshwater scarcity multiplies with the human population having more than doubled coupled with climate change, changing water cycles leading to droughts and floods and a rise in water pollution. Businesses, governments, and local communities are constrained by water scarcity and are facing growing challenges to their growth and sustainability. Water foot printing as an indicator for water use was introduced in 2002. Business water footprint measures the total water consumed to produce the goods and services it provides. It is a combination of the water that goes into the production and manufacturing of a product or service and the water used throughout the supply chain, as well as during the use of the product. A case study approach was applied describing the efforts of Tata Steel. It is based on a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews with top executives of the company as well as observation and content analysis of internal and external documents about the company’s efforts in sustainable water management. Tata Steel draws water required for industrial use from surface water sources, primarily perennial rivers and streams, internal reservoirs and water from municipal sources. The focus of the present study was to explore Tata Steel’s engagement in sustainable water management focusing on water foot printing accounting as a tool to account for water use in the steel supply chain at its Jamshedpur plant. The findings enabled the researchers to conclude that no sources of water are adversely affected by the company’s production of steel at Jamshedpur.

Keywords: sustainability, corporate responsibility water management, risk management, business engagement

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Authors: Ridhish Kumar, Sudeep Nadukkandy, Anirban Roy

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The development of reverse osmosis happened in 1960. Along the years this technique has been widely accepted all over the world for varied applications ranging from seawater desalination to municipal water treatment. Forward osmosis (FO) is one of the foremost technologies for low energy consuming solutions for water purification. In this study, we have carried out a detailed analysis on selection, design, and pricing for a prototype of potable water system for purifying water in emergency situations. The portable and light purification system is envisaged to be driven by FO. This pouch will help to serve as an emergency water filtration device. The current effort employs a model to understand the interplay of permeability and area on the rate of purification of water from any impure source/brackish water. The draw solution for the FO pouch is considered to be a combination of salt and sugar such that dilution of the same would result in an oral rehydration solution (ORS) which is a boon for dehydrated patients. However, the effort takes an extra step to actually estimate the cost and pricing of designing such a prototype. While the mathematical model yields the best membrane (compositions are taken from literature) combination in terms of permeability and area, the pricing takes into account the feasibility of such a solution to be made available as a retail item. The product is envisaged to be a market competitor for packaged drinking water and ORS combination (costing around $0.5 combined) and thus, to be feasible has to be priced around the same range with greater margins in order to have a better distribution. Thus a proper business plan and production of the same has been formulated in order to be a feasible solution for unprecedented calamities and emergency situations.

Keywords: forward osmosis, water treatment, oral rehydration solution, prototype

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Authors: Asad Iqbal, Feixiang Zan, Xiaoming Liu, Guang-Hao Chen

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Water, food, and energy nexus is a vital subject to achieve sustainable development goals worldwide. Wastewater (WW) and food waste (FW) from municipal sources are primary contributors to their respective wastage sum from a country. Along with the loss of these invaluable natural resources, their treatment systems also consume a lot of abiotic energy and resources input with a perceptible contribution to global warming. Hence, the global paradigm has evolved from simple pollution mitigation to a resource recovery system (RRS). In this study, the prospects of six alternative FW treatment scenarios are quantitatively evaluated for Hong Kong in terms of energy use and greenhouse emissions (GHEs) potential, using life cycle assessment (LCA). Considered scenarios included: aerobic composting, anaerobic digestion (AD), combine AD and composting (ADC), co-disposal, and treatment with wastewater (CoD-WW), incineration, and conventional landfilling as base-case. Results revealed that in terms of GHEs saving, all-new scenarios performed significantly better than conventional landfilling, with ADC scenario as best-case and incineration, AD alone, CoD-WW ranked as second, third, and fourth best respectively. Whereas, composting was the worst-case scenario in terms of energy balance, while incineration ranked best and AD alone, ADC, and CoD-WW ranked as second, third, and fourth best, respectively. However, these results are highly sensitive to boundary settings, e.g., the inclusion of the impact of biogenic carbon emissions and waste collection and transportation, and several other influential parameters. The study provides valuable insights and policy guidelines for the decision-makers locally and a generic modelling template for environmental impact assessment.

Keywords: food waste, resource recovery, greenhouse emissions, energy balance

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Authors: Riza Yilmaz, Samet Kiyak, Sezin Nur Yilmaz, Yasemin Yilmaz

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Child delinquency has been increasing in our country as well as in many countries of the world. Child intelligence, abilities, family's social environment and life conditions are the factors which affect the child delinquency. The reports of 73 cases ages of 12-15 which were sent to the University of Bulent Ecevit, School of Medicine, Forensic Medicine Department between January 2011-September 2015, in order to evaluate medically, children pushed to crime by the judicial authorities are examined in terms of age, gender, educational background, place of residence, reasons for being sent, whether it’s a repeating crime or not, type of intelligence test, results revealed by forensic medicine and department of mental and neurological disorders. When children pushed to crime examined in terms of their crimes, the most common type of crime was identified as theft (n = 24). The crimes with 19 physical attacks and 12 sexual abuse were seen. Following that other 12 crimes were determined as damage to property, hemp crop, insult, incitement to crime, forgery of private documents, illegal excavation, threatening, involuntary manslaughter. The alleged crimes in 6 cases were more than one. The children pushed to crime are one of the major social problems of many countries. In this sense, it is not only the responsibility of government agencies to protect children pushed to crime, also, the civil society organizations should take place in this struggle.

Keywords: delinquent behaviour, forensic medicine, crime, punishment

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Authors: Bai-Chen Xie, Biao Li

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With the deepening of international exchanges and investment, the international comparison of power grid firms has become the focus of regulatory authorities. Ignoring the differences in the economic environment, resource endowment, technology, and other aspects of different countries or regions may lead to efficiency bias. Based on the Meta-frontier model, this paper divides China and Japan into two groups by using the data of China and Japan from 2006 to 2020. While preserving the differences between the two countries, it analyzes and compares the efficiency of the transmission and distribution industries of the two countries. Combined with the four-component stochastic frontier model, the efficiency is divided into transient and persistent efficiency. We found that there are obvious differences between the transmission and distribution sectors in China and Japan. On the one hand, the inefficiency of the two countries is mostly caused by long-term and structural problems. The key to improve the efficiency of the two countries is to focus more on solving long-term and structural problems. On the other hand, the long-term and structural problems that cause the inefficiency of the two countries are not the same. Quality factors have different effects on the efficiency of the two countries, and this different effect is captured by the common frontier model but is offset in the overall model. Based on these findings, this paper proposes some targeted policy recommendations.

Keywords: transmission and distribution industries, transient efficiency, persistent efficiency, meta-frontier, international comparison

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Authors: Sai Rajeev Reddy, Ishita Roy, M. Anji Reddy

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The paper describes the importance of preventive measures and immediate Emergency logistics during accidents and unfortunate Disasters for the Hyderabad Metro Rails in their various stages of construction. This is the need of the modern generation where accidents, explosions, attacks and sudden crisis are frequent casualties which take huge tolls of life in the present world. The paper utilizes the workflow and application of Geographical information System (GIS) to provide information about problems and crisis structures for efficient Metro Transportation in the city. The study analyzes the difficulties and problems which cause accidents during operation and maintenance stages of the Metro Rail. The paper focuses upon the intermediate and firsthand information of Crisis with the help of GIS technology to share Disaster data for effective measures by the Cyber Police stations, Emergency Responders, Hospitals and First Aid Centre to act immediately and save lives. The results and conclusions have nevertheless proved very informative and useful for the safety board authorities of the Hyderabad Metro Rail. The operation and Maintenance are integral stages in the development of any Multipurpose transportation Projects and are usually prone to various Disasters and tragedies. Hence, the GIS technologies help in distribution of information among the masses with the web Technologies and advanced software developed to prevent and manage crisis widely and in a cost-benefits manner.

Keywords: Geographical Information System, emergency assessment, accident zones, surveillance

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Authors: Andres Calderon

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In order to avoid detection and punishment, cartels have recruited the help of third parties to organize, execute and disguise the anticompetitive practices cartel members have agreed upon. These third parties may take the form of consultancy firms, guilds or professional advisors that do not perform an economic activity in the market where the collusion takes place. This paper takes a look into how national competition authorities and national legislators have dealt with the emergence of the cartels’ facilitators in Latin America. Following the practice of other jurisdictions such as United States (Toys R' Us, Apple), European Union (AC Treuhand), United Kingdom (Replica Kits, Hasbro) and Spain (Urban, Snap-On), some countries (e.g. Argentina, Chile) in Latin America have started to conduct investigations and find antitrust liability in cartels’ facilitators for helping others to violate their national competition laws. Some countries (e.g. Peru and Colombia) have also amended their legislation to amplify the subjective scope of application in order to include cartels’ facilitators. The Latin American case is one of special relevance because public officials are often prone to promote or indulge agreements between competitors in sectors of political interest. A broad definition of cartels’ facilitator, consequently, could lead to the prosecution of punishment of public officials that may hinder the competitive process.

Keywords: anticompetitive practices, cartel, collusion, competition, facilitator, hub and spoke

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Authors: Montserrat Crespi-Vallbona; Oscar Mascarilla-Miró

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Mature destinations have different challenges trying to attract tourism and please its citizens. Hence, they have to maintain their touristic interest to standard demand and also not to undeceive those tourists with more advanced experiences. Second, they have to be concerned for the daily life of citizens and avoid the negative effects of touristification. This balance is quite delicate and often has to do with the sensitivity and commitment of the party in the local government. However, what is a general consensus is the need for destinations to differentiate from the homogeneous rest of regions and create new content, consumable resources or marketing events to guarantee their positioning. In this sense, the main responsibility of destinations is to satisfy users, tourists and citizens. Hence, its aim has to do with holistic experiences, which collect these wide approaches. Specifically, this research aims to analyze the volume and growth of tourist houses in the central touristic neighborhoods of Barcelona (this is Ciutat Vella) as the starting point to identify the behavior of tourists regarding their interests in searching for local heritage attractiveness and community atmosphere. Then, different cases are analyzed in order to show how Barcelona struggles to keep its attractive brand for the visitors, as well as for its inhabitants. Methodologically, secondary data used in this research comes from official registered tourist houses (Catalunya Government), Open Data (Barcelona municipality), the Airbnb tourist platform, from the Incasol Data and Municipal Register of Inhabitants. Primary data are collected through in-depth interviews with neighbors, social movement managers and political representatives from Turisme de Barcelona (local DMO, Destination Management Organization). Results show what the opportunities and priorities are for key actors to design policies to find a balance between all different interests.

Keywords: touristification, tourist houses, governance, tourism demand, airbnbfication

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Authors: A. Das, L. Hitihamillage, S. Moridpour

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Natural disasters are inevitable to the biodiversity. Disasters such as flood, tsunami and tornadoes could be brutal, harsh and devastating. In Australia, flooding is a major issue experienced by different parts of the country. In such crisis, delays in evacuation could decide the life and death of the people living in those regions. Congestion management could become a mammoth task if there are no steps taken before such situations. In the past to manage congestion in such circumstances, many strategies were utilised such as converting the road shoulders to extra lanes or changing the road geometry by adding more lanes. However, expansion of road to resolving congestion problems is not considered a viable option nowadays. The authorities avoid this option due to many reasons, such as lack of financial support and land space. They tend to focus their attention on optimising the current resources they possess and use traffic signals to overcome congestion problems. Traffic Signal Management strategy was considered a viable option, to alleviate congestion problems in the City of Geelong, Victoria. Arterial road with signalised intersections considered in this paper and the traffic data required for modelling collected from VicRoads. Traffic signalling software SIDRA used to model the roads, and the information gathered from VicRoads. In this paper, various signal parameters utilised to assess and improve the corridor performance to achieve the best possible Level of Services (LOS) for the arterial road.

Keywords: congestion, constraints, management, LOS

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Authors: Deike Janssen

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In the scenery of the Tyrolean mountains, at an altitude of 1300 meters, stands a building. Residents and activists call it a prison. However, it is not a prison -according to authorities, it is a 'Return Counseling Facility' where migrants and refugees should be "motivated" to return "voluntary" to their countries of origin. This paper argues that the geographical location of the camp functions as a site of exclusion, isolation, and coercion where no one can decide “voluntary” to return, but where people are brought to despair to leave Austria. Through a qualitative case study, this paper documents the heavy impact of offshore detention on the mental, physical and social state of the residents and a variety of human rights problems in the centre. Different developments at the Return Counselling Facility and the law that back up the centre uncover a worrying dynamic that deliberately accepts human rights problems in order to enforce borders, a policy that disregards humanitarian, legal, and ethical stands in order to deport people at all hazards. It, therefore, can be seen as a creative and ultimate exercise of state power, which uses isolated locations to control migration. While the analysis revises the micro and macro implications of the facility and, therefore, the legal and political facets, it also sheds light on the role of the civil society, which tries to increase through constant and collective efforts the human rights efforts of the government.

Keywords: deportation, human rights, migration, refugee detention, voluntary return

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Authors: Meseret Gebeyehu Yehuala

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Women represent the majority of urban farmers engaged in vegetable and fruit production in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. We examine urban agriculture in Bahir Dar city in the context of disruptions caused by the civil war and COVID-19. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework serves as a conceptual frame to explore the vulnerability context, the structural and institutional challenges faced by women, and how this impacts their livelihoods. A total of 25 urban women farmers and 6 key informants were involved in the study through explorative and structured interviews conducted in 2021. Observations and informal conversations during repeated visits provided deeper insights. In addition, key informants employed in civil service institutions and experts were interviewed. Data were analysed by applying qualitative content analysis by using Atlas tia software. Women report that they experience a lack of access to land, insecurity of tenure, irregular technical support and input provision by agricultural extension services, and lack of access to credit and formal marketplaces. The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions aggravated this situation by delaying agricultural extension offices’ provision of necessary inputs and disrupting food handling and storage leading to the loss of perishable products. Bombing in relation to the civil war has destroyed harvests and left women in fear of returning to their fields. Women stated that vegetable and fruit production could contribute to their incomes, household food supplies, and more diversified diets. However, the city municipal office has, so far, not committed to supporting urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy.

Keywords: urban agriculture, institutional challenges, Bahir Dar, sustainable livelihood framework

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Authors: Arshad A. Narejo, M. Javed Sheikh, G. Mujtaba Khushk, Naeem A Qureshi, M. Ali Sheikh

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Climate change not only influences on agriculture activities but also has certain effects on daily human activities, as well as on overall human health. Keeping in view the significance and huge research gap on the issues, the researchers have found an opportunity to conduct a study in Sindh province of Pakistan, in which the issue of climate shifting/change regarding temperature and precipitation were discussed with the local farmers of district Hyderabad. The quantified perception was gathered on a reliable and valid scale from 200 respondents and was analyzed through SPSS and AMOS software. The result of this study revealed that the significant changes are being occurred in summer (r²=0.96; M=6.78) and winter seasons (r²=0.71; M=6.57), therefore it is leaving bad effects on human health (r²=0.96) and behavior of the local population (r²=0.70). In addition, the change in the cropping calendar, i.e., timing of sowing (r²=0.69; M=8.42) and harvesting (r²=0.79; M=8.27) of different crops have been altered due to changes in local weather patterns. Since the local farmers are also facing seed germination (r²=0.57; M=7.98) problems, it is therefore recommended that concerned authorities/departments should revise the agricultural calendar. Besides this, respondents were in opinion that actual summer starts even before the vacation and cold season starts when winter vacations ended. Thus, the government and other concerned departments should reconsider or reschedule the vacation regulation policy (r²=0.70) at least at the provincial level.

Keywords: climate, climate shifting/change, impact on daily life, impact on agricultural activities

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Authors: Elvira Loibl

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In Western countries, the demand for adoptable children, especially healthy babies, has been considerably high for several years. Rising infertility rates, liberal abortion politics, the widespread use of contraception, and the increasing acceptance of unmarried motherhood are factors that have decreased the number of infants available for domestic adoption in the U.S. and Europe. As a consequence, many involuntarily childless couples turn to intercountry adoption as a viable alternative to have a child of their own. However, the demand for children far outpaces the supply of orphans with the desired characteristics. The imbalance between the number of prospective adopters and the children available for intercountry adoption results in long waiting lists and high prices. The inordinate sums of money involved in the international adoption system have created a commercial ‘underbelly’ where unethical and illicit practices are employed to provide the adoption market with adoptable children. Children are being purchased or abducted from their families, hospitals or child care institutions and then trafficked to receiving countries as ‘orphans’. This paper aims to uncover and explain the factors of the German adoption system that are conducive to child trafficking for adoption purposes. It explains that the tension between money and integrity as experienced by German adoption agencies, blind trust in the authorities in the sending countries as well as a lenient control system encourage and facilitate the trafficking in children to Germany.

Keywords: child trafficking, intercountry adoption, market in adoptable babies, German adoption system

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Authors: Aleburu Rufus Edeki

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The activities of Boko Haram terrorist group have become worrisome in Nigeria. Boko Haram killed innocent civilians, destroyed schools, churches, military barracks, police stations, and other government establishments. The federal government of Nigerian Military engaged in counter-insurgency to curtail the activities of Boko Haram militant. The engagement of the military led to mass killing across the Northeast region. The reported cases of mass-killing led to petition written to the International Criminal Court by the civil society organization as a result of denial by the military authorities of their involvement. The investigation carried out by the International Criminal Court awash by denial of military involvement in war crimes. As a result of this denial, the ICC called for further investigation of war crimes by the military. This study was carried out among fifty-eight participants. In-depth interviews were conducted among the following participants: civilians 41; human rights commission 5 and civil society 12. This study revealed that professional ethics is associated with denial of military involvement in mass killing in the region. This study also revealed that denial is associated with personality. It was also found that social attributes such as trauma, shame, ostracism, criticism, and punishment are found with denial. It is therefore concluded in this study that protection is needed for war actors, so that situation of denial is minimal in post-conflict truth findings.

Keywords: Boko Haram, crime, insurgence, war

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Authors: Paul Narh Doku

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The relationship between parental HIV/AIDS status or death and child mental health is well known, although the role of child maltreatment as a confounder or mediator in this relationship remains uncertain. This study examined the potential path mechanism through child maltreatment mediating the link between HIV/AIDS family dysfunction trajectories and psychosocial problems. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Lower Manya Municipal Assembly of Ghana. A questionnaire which consisted of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Social and Health Assessment (SAHA), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) was completed by 291 adolescents. Controlling for relevant sociodemographic confounders, mediation analyses using linear regression were fitted to examine whether the association between family dysfunction and psychosocial problems is mediated by child maltreatment. The results indicate that, among adolescents, child maltreatment fully mediated the association between being orphaned by AIDS and self-esteem, delinquency and risky behaviours, and peer problems. Similarly, child maltreatment fully mediated the association between living with an HIV/AIDS-infected parent and self-esteem, delinquency and risky behaviours, depression/emotional problems, and peer problems. Partial mediation was found for hyperactivity. Child maltreatment mediates the association between the family dysfunction trajectories of parental HIV/AIDS or death and psychosocial problems among adolescents. This implies that efforts to address child maltreatment among families affected by HIV/AIDS may be helpful in the prevention of psychosocial problems among these children, thus enhancing their well-being. The findings, therefore, underscore the need for comprehensive psychosocial interventions that address both the unique negative exposures of HIV/AIDS and maltreatment for children affected by HIV.

Keywords: child maltreatment, child abuse, mental health, psychosocial problems, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, adolescents

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Authors: Aspalella A. Rahman

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It is widely accepted that the investigation of money laundering and the tracing and confiscation of criminal proceeds have intruded into the principles of banking secrecy. The inroads into banking secrecy present serious threats to democracy, and more importantly, to the traditional banker-customer relationship. It is generally accepted that the fight against money laundering is in conflict with the secrecy rule. Banking secrecy is a customer privilege whereas combating crime is critical for public safety and security. Indeed, achieving a proper balance is a desirable goal. But how we go about achieving such a balance is a question encountered by many law enforcement authorities. Therefore, this paper examines the effect of disclosure under the Malaysian anti-money laundering laws on the traditional duty of banks to keep the customer’s information confidential. It also analyzes whether the Malaysian laws provide a right balance between a duty to keep customer’s information secret and a duty to disclose such information in the fight against money laundering. On closer inspection, it is submitted that the Malaysian laws provide sufficient safeguards to ensure that the disclosure of customer’s information is carried out in a manner that is not prejudicial to the interest of legitimate customers. This is a positive approach that could protect the innocent customers from being mistreated by the law. Ultimately, it can be said that the growing threat of global money laundering and terrorism makes the overriding of banking secrecy justified because without a flow of information from the banks, the effective prevention of the menace is not possible.

Keywords: anti-money laundering law, banker-customer relationship, banking secrecy, confidentiality, money laundering

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Authors: Abiodun O. Ibude

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Several organizations have devised the strategy of engaging the services of staff not directly employed by them in their production and service delivery. Some organizations also engage on contracting another organization to carry out a part of service or production process on their behalf. Outsourcing is becoming an important alternative employment option for most organizations. This paper attempts an exposition on the rights of workers within the more specific context of outsourcing as a human resource management phenomenon. Outsourced employees and their rights are treated conceptually and analytically in a generic sense as a mere subset of the larger whole, that is, labor. Outsourced employees derive their rights, like all workers, from their job context as well as the legal environment (municipal and global) in which they operate. The dynamics of globalization and the implications of this development for labor practices receive considerable attention in this exposition. In this regard, a guarded proposition is made, to examine the practice and effect of engaging outsourcing as an economic decision designed primarily to cut down on operational costs rather than a Human Resources Management decision to improve worker welfare. The population of the study was selected from purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data obtained were analyzed through a simple percentage, Pearson product-moment correlation, and cross-tabulation. From the research conducted, it was discovered that, although outsourcing possesses opportunities for organizations, there are drawbacks arising from its implementation of job securities. It was also discovered that some employees are being exploited through this strategy. This gives rise to lower motivation and thereby decline in performance. In conclusion, there is need for examination of Human Resource Managers’ strategies that can serve as management policy tools for the protection of the rights of outsourced employees.

Keywords: legal environment, operational cost, outsourcing, protection

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Authors: Yixin Yan, Miao Yan, Irini Angelidaki, Ioannis Fotidis

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Ammonia, which derives from the degradation of urea and protein-substrates, is the major toxicant of the commercial anaerobic digestion reactors causing loses of up to 1/3 of their practical biogas production, which reflects directly on the overall revenue of the plants. The current experimental work is aiming to alleviate the ammonia inhibition in anaerobic digestion (AD) process by developing an innovative bioaugmentation method of ammonia tolerant methanogenic consortia. The ammonia tolerant consortia were cultured in batch reactors and immobilized together with biochar in agar (customized inocula). Three continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTR), fed with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste at a hydraulic retention time of 15 days and operated at thermophilic (55°C) conditions were assessed. After an ammonia shock of 4 g NH4+-N L-1, the customized inocula were bioaugmented into the CSTR reactors to alleviate ammonia toxicity effect on AD process. Recovery rate of methane production and methanogenic activity will be assessed to evaluate the bioaugmentation performance, while 16s rRNA gene sequence will be used to reveal the difference of microbial community changes through bioaugmentation. At the microbial level, the microbial community structures of the four reactors will be analysed to find the mechanism of bioaugmentation. Changes in hydrogen formation potential will be used to predict direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between ammonia tolerant methanogens and syntrophic bacteria. This experimental work is expected to create bioaugmentation inocula that will be easy to obtain, transport, handled and bioaugment in AD reactors to efficiently alleviate the ammonia toxicity, without alternating any of the other operational parameters including the ammonia-rich feedstocks.

Keywords: artisanal fishing waste, acidogenesis, volatile fatty acids, pH, inoculum/substrate ratio

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Authors: kamran Bhatti

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Objective: To evaluate spectrum and resistance rates to antibacterial agents in causative pathogens of bacterial prostatitis in patients from Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Materials: 1027 isolates from cultures of urine or expressed prostatic secretion, post-massage urine or seminal fluid, or urethral samples were considered. Results: Escherichia coli (32%) and Enterococcus spp. (21%) were the most common isolates. Other Gram-negative, Gram-positive, and atypical pathogens accounted for 22%, 20%, and 5%, respectively. Resistance was <15% for piperacillin/tazobactam and carbapenems (both Gram-negative and -positive pathogens); <5% for glycopeptides against Gram-positive; 7%, 14%, and 20% for aminoglycosides, fosfomycin, and macrolides against Gram-negative pathogens, respectively; 10% for amoxicillin/clavulanate against Gram-positive pathogens; <20% for cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones against to Gram-negative pathogens (higher against Gram-positive pathogens); none for macrolides against atypical pathogens, but 20% and 27% for fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines. In West Africa, the resistance rates were generally higher, although the highest rates for ampicillin, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones were observed in the Gulf area. Lower rates were observed in Southeastern Europe. Conclusions: Resistance to antibiotics is a health problem requiring local health authorities to combat this phenomenon. Knowledge of the spectrum of pathogens and antibiotic resistance rates is crucial to assess local guidelines for the treatment of prostatitis.

Keywords: enterobacteriacae; escherichia coli, gram-positive pathogens, antibiotic, bacterial prostatitis, resistance

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Authors: Zunaidah Ab Hasan, Azhana Othman, Abd Halim Mohd Noor, Nor Shahrina Mohd Rafien

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Zakat is a portion of wealth contributed from financially able Muslims to be distributed to predetermine recipients; main among them are the poor and the needy. Distribution of the zakat fund is given with the objective to lift the recipients from poverty. Due to the multidimensional and multifaceted nature of poverty, it is imperative that the causes of poverty are properly identified for assistance given by zakat authorities reached the intended target. Despite, various studies undertaken to identify the poor correctly, there are reports of the poor not receiving the adequate assistance required from zakat. Thus, this study examines the determinants of poverty among applicants for zakat assistance distributed by the State Islamic Religious Council in Malacca (SIRCM). Malacca is a state in Malaysia. The respondents were based on the list of names of new zakat applicants for the month of April and May 2014 provided by SIRCM. A binary logistic regression was estimated based on this data with either zakat applications is rejected or accepted as the dependent variable and set of demographic variables and health as the explanatory variables. Overall, the logistic model successfully predicted factors of acceptance of zakat applications. Three independent variables namely gender, age; size of households and health significantly explain the likelihood of a successful zakat application. Among others, the finding suggests the importance of focusing on providing education opportunity in helping the poor.

Keywords: logistic regression, zakat distribution, status of zakat applications, poverty, education

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Authors: Akhilendra Nath Tiwary

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Vindhyanchal is a very famous pilgrimage and tourism site in the west of Mirzapur city of Uttar Pradesh State in India. The city in east is a commercial center for cotton, metal ware and carpets. Among the Hindu population, it is believed that the primordial creative forces of the GOD and the power of the GODDESS make respective triangles which superimpose opposite to each other as hexagram at a point or node (Bindu (point) +Vasini (located) or Vindhyavasini, located in a point/node). Mirzapur city has served as a natural connecting point between north and south India. Before independence of India from Britain in 1947, it was a flourishing commercial center. Post-independence, the negligence of planning authorities and nexus of bureaucrats and politicians started affecting its development. In the meantime, emergence of new industrial cities as Kanpur, Agra, Moradabad, etc., nearer to the capital city of Delhi, posed serious challenges to the development of this small city as many commercial and business activities along with the skilled workforce started shifting to these new cities or to the relatively bigger neighboring cities of Varanasi in east and Allahabad in west. In the present paper, the significant causes, issues and challenges in development of Vindhyanchal is discussed with geographical perspective. An attempt has been made to find out the ways to restore the lost glory of the city as a center of pilgrimage, tourism, and commerce.

Keywords: cultural node, pilgrimage, sacred, Vindhyan triangle, ommercial centre

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Authors: Guo Jinhong

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The purpose of this study is to explore the association between board member functions and information disclosure levels. Based on the literature variables, such as the characteristics of the board of directors in the past, a single comprehensive indicator is established as a substitute variable for board functions, and the information disclosure evaluation results published by the Securities and Foundation are used to measure the information disclosure level of the company. This study focuses on companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange from 2006 to 2010 and uses descriptive statistical analysis, univariate analysis, correlation analysis and ordered normal probability (Ordered Probit) regression for empirical analysis. The empirical results show that there is a significant positive correlation between the function of board members and the level of information disclosure. This study also conducts a sensitivity test and draws similar conclusions, showing that boards with better board member functions have higher levels of information disclosure. In addition, this study also found that higher board independence, lower director shareholding pledge ratio, higher director shareholding ratio, and directors with rich professional knowledge and practical experience can help improve the level of information disclosure. The empirical results of this study provide strong support for the "relative regulations to improve the level of information disclosure" formulated by the competent authorities in recent years.

Keywords: function of board members, information disclosure, securities, foundation

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Authors: S. K. Ashiquer Rahman

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The innovative knowledge threshold significantly shifted education from traditional to an online version which was an emergent state of arts for academic programs of any higher education institutions; the substantive situation thus raises the importance of deliberative integration of education, Knowledge, technology and sustainability as well as knowledge platforms, e.g., ePLANETe. In fact, the concept of 'ePLANETe' an innovative knowledge platform and its functionalities as an experimental digitized platform for contributing sustainable assessment of academic programs of higher education institution(HEI). Besides, this paper assessed and define the common sustainable development challenges of higher education(HE) and identified effective approach and tools of 'ePLANETe’ that is enable to practices sustainability assessment of academic programs through the deliberation methodologies. To investigate the effectiveness of knowledge tools and approach of 'ePLANETe’, I have studied sustainable challenges digitized pedagogical content as well as evaluation of academic programs of two public universities in France through the 'ePLANETe’ evaluation space. The investigation indicated that the effectiveness of 'ePLANETe’s tools and approach perfectly fit for the quality assessment of academic programs, implementation of sustainable challenges, and dynamic balance of ecosystem within the university communities and academic programs through 'ePLANETe’ evaluation process and space. The study suggests to the relevant higher educational institution’s authorities and policymakers could use this approach and tools for assessing sustainability and enhancing the sustainability competencies of academic programs for quality education

Keywords: ePLANETe, deliberation, evaluation, competencies

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Authors: Sedat Aktas, Egemen Ulusoy, Remzi Yildirim

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This article explains how to get a ram image from a computer with a Linux operating system and what steps should be followed while getting it. What we mean by taking a ram image is the process of dumping the physical memory instantly and writing it to a file. This process can be likened to taking a picture of everything in the computer’s memory at that moment. This process is very important for tools that analyze ram images. Volatility can be given as an example because before these tools can analyze ram, images must be taken. These tools are used extensively in the forensic world. Forensic, on the other hand, is a set of processes for digitally examining the information on any computer or server on behalf of official authorities. In this article, the protected mode architecture in the Linux operating system is examined, and the way to save the image sample of the kernel driver and system memory to disk is followed. Tables and access methods to be used in the operating system are examined based on the basic architecture of the operating system, and the most appropriate methods and application methods are transferred to the article. Since there is no article directly related to this study on Linux in the literature, it is aimed to contribute to the literature with this study on obtaining ram images. LIME can be mentioned as a similar tool, but there is no explanation about the memory dumping method of this tool. Considering the frequency of use of these tools, the contribution of the study in the field of forensic medicine has been the main motivation of the study due to the intense studies on ram image in the field of forensics.

Keywords: linux, paging, addressing, ram-image, memory dumping, kernel modules, forensic

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Authors: Caiwei Chen, Jianhao Li, Jiasong Zhu

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The reform and opening-up stimulated economic and technological take-off in China while resulting in massive urbanization and motorization. Wujiaochang area was set as a secondary business district in Shanghai to meet the growing demand, with the reconstruction of Wujiaochang Plaza in 2005 being a milestone of this intended urban renewal. Wujiaochang is now an economically dynamic area providing much larger traffic and transit capacity transportation-wise. However, this rebuilding has completely changed the face of the district. It is, therefore, appropriate to evaluate its impact on neighborhoods and communities while assessing the overall sustainability of such an operation. In this study, via an online questionnaire survey among local residents and daily visitors, we assess the perceptions and the estimated impact of Wujiaochang Plaza's reconstruction. We then confront these results to the 62 answers from local residents to a questionnaire collected on paper. The analysis of our data, along with observation and other forms of information -such as maps analysis or online applications (Dianping)- demonstrate major improvement in economic sustainability but also significant losses in environmental sustainability, especially in terms of active transportation. As for the social viewpoint, local residents' opinions tend to be rather positive, especially regarding traffic safety and access to consumption, despite the lack of connectivity and radical changes induced by Wujiaochang massive transformations. In general, our investigation exposes the overall positive outcomes of Wujiaochang Plaza reconstruction but also unveils major drawbacks, especially in terms of soft mobility and traffic fluidity. We gather that our approach could be of tremendous help for future major urban interventions, as such approaches in municipal regeneration are widely implemented in Chinese cities and yet still need to be thoroughly assessed in terms of sustainability.

Keywords: China's reform and opening-up, economical revitalization, neighborhood identity, sustainability assessment, urban renewal

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Authors: Egbo Anthonia Chinonyelum

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This study was designed to identify the extent of the influence of vocational guidance services on career choice of secondary school students in Enugu State. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. A sample of 1,054 respondents made of teachers, students and counsellors drawn from the 34 secondary schools from the six educational zones of Enugu State Nigeria was used for the study. The researcher administered the research instruments generated from the randomly selected senior secondary schools from the six educational zones in Enugu State. The data collected from the respondents were analyzed using mean statistics drawn from the responses of senior secondary school students, counsellor and teacher to the questionnaire item. Four point scale was used to measure the opinion of the respondents, such that after the statistical analysis, those items in the questionnaire that have the mean rate of 2.5 and is of great level of influence on the career choice of students. While questionnaire item with the mean below 2.5 were taken as having little extent of influence on career choice of students. The findings in this work showed that there was little extent on the influence of vocational guidance on career choice, choice of subjects and positive attitude of students towards vocational guidance. Based on the findings the researcher recommended that government and other relevant authorities should help by creating the awareness of vocational guidance programme in Schools.

Keywords: vocation, guidance, counselling, services, career, choice

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Authors: Antonia Stanojević, Agnes Akkerman

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In contemporary society, economically active people typically spend most of their waking hours doing their job. Having that in mind, this research examines how socialization at the workplace shapes political preferences. Innovatively, it examines, in particular, the possible relationship between employees’ voice suppression by the employer and the formation of their political preferences. Since the employer is perceived as an authority figure, their behavior might induce spillovers to attitudes about political authorities and authoritarian governance. Therefore, a positive effect of suppression of voice by employers on employees' preference for authoritarian governance is expected. Furthermore, this relation is expected to be mediated by two mechanisms: system justification and power distance. Namely, it is expected that suppression of voice would create a power distance organizational climate and increase employees’ acceptance of unequal distribution of power, as well as evoke attempts of oppression rationalization through system justification. The hypotheses will be tested on the data gathered within the first wave of Work and Politics Dataset 2017 (N=6000), which allows for a wide range of demographic and psychological control variables. Although a cross-sectional analysis to be used at this point does not allow for causal inferences, the confirmation of expected relationships would encourage and justify further longitudinal research on the same panel dataset, in order to get a clearer image of the causal relationship between employers' suppression of voice and workers' political preferences.

Keywords: authoritarian values, political preferences, power distance, system justification, voice suppression

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Authors: Abubakar Samaila

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Pastoralism has been an old practice in the Sahel region of west Africa. In recent years, pastoralists in Nigeria have increasingly been migrating on seasonal transhumance southward from the neighboring countries, especially Niger Republic, in search of better grazing conditions due to mainly, climate change. This has increased pressure on farm lands which instigate farmer-herder conflicts. These conflicts occur mainly between farmers and pastoralists but also between pastoralist groups themselves. However, there has been a shift in these conflicts recently to involve traditional institutions and, in some cases, the local authorities along the borderlands. The involvement of local institutions in the conflict has created an incentive to local actors, particularly pastoralcommunity-based groups, in responding to these violent threats. As pastoralists are mobile, these conflicts became difficult to contain and, thus, spill across borders. Consequently, the conflict has now transformed into an urbanized regional conflicts that involve some major cities along the Nigeria-Niger borderlands; Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina on the Nigerian side andDosso, Tahoa andMaradi in Niger republic. These areas are now experiencing unprecedented growing wave of violence that have become complex and escalates into a hydra-social conflict. The aim of this research is to investigate how the fluidities of Nigeria-Niger borderland intensified armed conflicts between the local pastoral organizations and sedentary populationspreading to some urban cities along the borderlands. The paper further suggests alternative approaches towards addressing the perennial crisis in African borderlands.

Keywords: pastoralism, climate change, conflict, nigeria, niger, borderlands

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