Search results for: green architecture/building

Authors: Abebe Yimer, Sirawdink Fikereyesus Forsido, Getachew Addis, Abebe Ayelign

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Background: Oxidative stress has been an important health problem as itinduceschronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular, diabetics, and neurodegenerative disease. Plant source natural antioxidant has gained attention as synthetic antioxidant negatively impact human health. Wild edible plants arecheap source of dietary-medicine in mainly rural communityin south-west Ethiopia and elsewhere the country. Thus, the study aimed to determine total pheneol,flavoinoids, antioxidant, vitamin C, and beta-carotene content from wild edible plants Solanum nigrum L., Vigna membranacea A. Rich, Dioscorea praehensilis Benth., Trilepisium madagascariense D.C.andCleome gynandra L. Methods: Methanol was used to extract samples of oven-dried edible plants. Total phenolic compound (TPC) was determined using a Folin Ciocalteu method, whereas total flavonoid content (TFC) was determined using the Aluminium chloride colorimetric method. By using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) tests, antioxidant activities were evaluated in vitro. Additionally, beta-carotene was assessed using a spectrophotometric technique, whilst vitamin C was determined using a titration approach. Results: Total flavonoid contentranged from 0.85±0.03 to 11.25±0.01 mg CE/g in D. praehensilis Benth. tuber and C. gynandra L, respectively. Total phenolic compounds varied from 0.25±0.06 GAE/g in D. praehensilis Benth tuber to 35.73±2.52 GAE/g in S.nigrum L. leaves. In the DPPH test, the highest antioxidant value (87.65%) was obtained in the S.nigrum L. leaves, whereas the smallest amount of antioxidant (50.12%)was contained in D. praehensilis Benth tuber. Similarly in FRAP assay,D. praehensilis Benth tuber showed the least reducing potential(49.16± 2.13mM Fe2+/100 g)whilst the highest reducing potential was presented in the S.nigrum L. leaves(188.12±1.13 mM Fe2+/100 g). The beta-carotene content was found between 11.81±0.00 mg/100g in D. praehensilis Benth tubers to 34.49±0.95 mg/100g in V. membranacea A. Rich leaves. The concentration of vitamin C ranged from 10.00±0.61 in D. praehensilis Benth tubers to 45±1.80 mg/100g in V. membranacea A. Rich leaves. The results showed that high positive linear correlations between TPC and TFC of WEPs (r=0.828), as well as between FRAP and total phenolic contents (r = 0.943) and FRAP and vitamin C (r= 0.928). Conclusion: These findings showed the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Solanum nigrum L. and Cleome gynandra L, respectively, are abundant. The outcome may be used as a natural supply of dietary antioxidants, which may be useful in preventing oxidative stress. The study's findings also showed that Vigna membranacea A. Rich leaves were cheap source of vitamin C and beta-carotene for people who consumed these wild green. Additional research on the in vivo antioxidant activity, toxicological analysis, and promotion of these wild food plants for agricultural production should be taken into consideration.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, beta-carotene, flavonoids, phenolic content, and vitamin c

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Authors: Hanna Kroczak

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In Poland, the system of social and professional reintegration of people at risk of social exclusion is, in fact, based on the activity of social economy enterprises. Playing this significant role these entities have to cope with various problems, related to the necessity of being successful on the open market, location on the peripheral (especially rural) areas or the “socialist heritage” in social and economic relations, which is certainly not favorable for implementing the idea of activation policy. One of the main objectives of the project entitled “Innovation among people. The analysis of the innovations creation and implementation in companies and social economy enterprises operating in Poland”, was to investigate the innovativeness of Polish social economy entities as a possible way for them to be prosperous (the project was funded by the Polish National Science Centre grant on the decision DEC-2013/11/B/HS4/00691). The ethnographic research in this matter was conducted in 2015 in two parts: six three-day studies using participant observation and individual in-depth interview (IDI) techniques (in three social cooperatives and three social integration centres) and two one-month shadowings (in one social cooperative and one social integration centre). Enterprises were selected from various provinces in Poland on the basis of data from previous computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) research, where they declared that innovation management is a central element of their strategy. The ethnographic study revealed that they, indeed, create innovations and the main types of them are social and organisational innovations – but not always and not all the employees are aware of that. Moreover, it turned out that wherever the research was conducted, researchers found some similar opportunities of innovations creating process, like a “charismatic leader”, true passion and commitment not depended on the earned money or building local institutional networks, and similar threats, e.g. under-staffed offices or the great bureaucracy of some institutions. The primary conclusion for the studied entities is that being innovative is not only their challenge and opportunity for well-being at the same time, but even a necessity, something deeply rooted in their specific organisational structures. Explanations and illustrations for the statements above will be presented in the proposed paper.

Keywords: ethnographic research, innovation, Polish social economy, professional reintegration, social economy enterprises, social reintegration

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Authors: Biback Das

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New Public Management, a phenomenal tool, which is used to enforcing in public administration in different country’s to enhance the capacities. Since the 1980s, New Public Management (NPM) is primarily focusing to modernize the public sector. From the initial period, many developed countries such as UK, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA are applied in their administration to modernize. Almost 1990s, it has been applied in many developing countries. This study can describe the real situations of NPM based administration. Bangladesh Government has taken many projects to reform the public sector under NPM. Even many Development Agencies like UN, UNDP, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and so on, along with many developed countries also invested and prescribed to take NPM based reform that can to restructure the public sector so that it can maximize the efforts to provide the better service. This study examines using many factors that effects work on Public Administration in Bangladesh and also assessing its endeavor to adopt in it. Although Government has taken such initiatives to implement NPM originated reform, it’s not effectively been implemented to bring positive change about as per NPM objectives. This study mainly examines some initiatives in Bangladesh that have the influence of NPM as well as some drawbacks that can’t help the satisfaction of these initiatives. This article help to identify the efforts of many development agencies providing a fund to enhance the NPM based projects with their specific conditions that are prescribed by them helping to get fund. Therefore, to establish effective public management or to follow NPM model, Bangladesh need having an institutional framework, sound rule of law, proper structure, effective civil service system, appropriate checks, and balances to restructure the public sector help along with donor agencies ad implement in it. Bangladesh Government has applied its recent days to enhance the capabilities in its Public Administration. Moreover, this study mainly identifies how the designing strategies, program formulating, its implementation in various sector such as education, health sector etc. and how to reduce the backdrop the during problem by smooth functioning. This paper is also assessing the influence of many projects like PPP (Public-Private and Partnership) to work along with private organizations for smooth service delivery. Accordingly, this paper briefly reviews how it applies in a global context following the taken many initiatives and the consequences of Bangladesh context.

Keywords: new public management, capacity building, conditionalities, service delivery, public-private-partnership

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Authors: Jessica Federman

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The current research offers a longitudinal and qualitative study design to examine how reciprocity improves relations between the homeless and various stakeholders within a community. The study examines a homeless shelter that sought to establish a facility within a community of Los Angeles, that was initially met with strong resistance and opposition from a variety of organizations due to deeply entrenched views about the negative impact of having homeless individuals within the community. The project tested an intervention model that targets the reduction of stigmatization of homeless individuals and promotes synergistic exchanges between conflicted organizational entities in communities. Years later, the data show that there has been a remarkable reversal in the perception of the agency by the very forces that initially prevented it from being established. This reversal was achieved by a few key strategic decisions. Community engagement was the first step toward changing people’s minds and demonstrating how the homeless shelter was helping to alleviate the problem of homelessness instead of contributing to it. Central to the non-profit’s success was the agency’s pioneering formulation of a treatment model known as, Reciprocal Community Engagement Model (RCEM). The model works by reintegrating the homeless back into society through relationship building within a network of programs that foster positive human connections. This approach aims to draw the homeless out of the debilitating isolation of their situation, reintegrate them through purposeful roles in the community while simultaneously providing a reciprocal benefit to the community at large. Through multilevel, simultaneous social interaction, RCEM has a direct impact not only on the homeless shelter’s clients but also for the community as well. The agency’s approach of RCEM led to their homeless clients getting out of the shelter and getting to work in the community directly alongside other community volunteers and for the benefit of other city and community organizations. This led to several opportunities for community members and residents to interact in meaningful ways. Through each successive exposure, the resident and community members’ distrust in one another was gradually eased and a mutually supportive relationship restored. In this process, the community member becomes the locus of change as much as the residents of the shelter. Measurements of community trust and resilience increased while negative perceptions of homeless people decreased.

Keywords: stigma, homelessness, reciprocity, identity

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Authors: Azza A. Ali, Mona G. Khalil, Hemat A. Elariny, Shereen S. El Shaer

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Background: Aluminium (Al) is very abundant metal in the earth’s crust. It is a constituent of cooking utensils, medicines, cosmetics, some foods and food additives. Salts of Al are widely used in the treatment of drinking water for purification purposes. Excessive and prolonged exposure to Al causes oxidative stress and impairment of many physiological functions. Its accumulation in liver and kidney causes hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Social isolation (SI) or Protein malnutrition (PM) also increases oxidative stress and may enhance the toxicity of Al as well as the degeneration in liver and kidney. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the most abundant catechin in green tea and has strong antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory activities and can protect against oxidative stress-induced degenerations. Objective: To study the influence of stress or PM on Al-induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity in rats, as well as on the potential role of EGCG in providing protection. Methods: Rats received daily AlCl3 (70 mg/kg, IP) for three weeks (Al-toxicity groups) except one normal control group received saline. Al-toxicity groups were divided into four treated and four untreated groups; treated rats received EGCG (10 mg/kg, IP) together with AlCl3. One group of both treated and untreated rats served as control for each of them, and the others were subjected to either stress (mild using isolation or high using electric shock) or to PM (10% casein diet). Specimens of liver and kidney were used for assessment of levels of inflammatory mediators as TNF-α, IL6β, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), oxidative stress (MDA, SOD, TAC, NO), Caspase-3 and for DNA fragmentation as well as for histopathological examinations. Biochemical changes were also measured in the serum as total lipids, cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, proteins, bilirubin, creatinine and urea as well as the level of Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate deshydrogenase (LDH). Results: Nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity induced by Al were enhanced in rats exposed to stress and to PM. The influence of stress was more pronounced than PM. Al-toxicity was indicated by the increase in liver and kidney MDA, NO, TNF-α, IL-6β, NF-κB, caspase-3, DNA fragmentation and in ALT, AST, ALP, LDH and total lipids, cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, proteins, bilirubin, creatinine and urea levels, together with the decrease in total proteins, SOD, TAC. EGCG provided protection against hazards of Al as indicated by the decrease in MDA, NO, TNF-α, IL-6β, NF-κB, caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation as well as in levels of ALT, AST, ALP, LDH and total lipids, cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, proteins, bilirubin, creatinine and urea in liver and kidney, together with the increase in total proteins, SOD, TAC and confirmed by histopathological examinations. It provided more pronounced protection in high stressful conditions than in mild one than in PM. Conclusion: Stress have a bad impact on Al-induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity more than PM. Thus it can clarify and maximize the role of EGCG in providing protection. Consequently, administration of EGCG is advised with excessive Al-exposure to avoid nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity especially in populations more subjected to stress or PM.

Keywords: aluminum, stress, protein malnutrition, nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, rats

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Authors: Marvin Eslava

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The over-arching aim of this research is to determine the potential contribution of local food resources to the tourism growth of Nueva Vizcaya. It reviews some of the underpinning concepts and to provide a set of considerations for stakeholders to maximize the opportunity of local food can offer to businesses and the wider community. The basis of the study is to develop a sustainable food tourism model for Nueva Vizcaya. For the purpose of this research, there were 60 total numbers of respondents classified as samples from a six municipality. The respondents of the study were stakeholder consisting of government official, local producers, businessman and Non-government organizations in the selected municipalities of Nueva Vizcaya. Stratified purposive sampling was the appropriate technique that was used to the local government officials and employees, NGOs including the businessmen who are associated with local food resources and local producers. The documentary study, focus group discussion and survey questionnaire was used in order to meet the objectives of the study. Kruskall Wallis test was used to test the variances the ratings of the participants. This was used in the computation of hypothesis. The study concluded that the province of Nueva Vizcaya is blessed for its rich farmlands and fertile mountain soil boasts to produce high quality agricultural products. It is a home of various different indigenous groups creating a wide range of local cuisine. The province has substantial local food development evidence by the various food tourism related resources, increase in facilities and celebrating food tourism related events. The local food resources provide extensive potential economic empowerment and help in building the identity of the province. In addition, the local food resources extensively enhance the agriculture sector and other attractions in the province. Finally, it helps to preserve the authenticity of the food culture and generated pride among all stakeholders extensively. All stakeholders have the same perception on the potential contribution of local food resources to the development of the province of Nueva Vizcaya. The public and private sectors are cognizant on their roles to support the production of local food resources in Nueva Vizcaya. Major challenges and barriers in the development of sustainable food tourism in Nueva Vizcaya include production or supply and marketing.

Keywords: local food resources, contribution, food tourism, benefits

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Authors: Rosa Tiziana Bruno

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The connection between education and sustainability has been posited to have benefit for realizing a social development compatible with environmental protection. However, an educational paradigm based on the passage of information or on the fear of a catastrophe might not favor the acquisition of eco-identity. To build a sustainable world, it is necessary to "become people" in harmony with other human beings, being aware of belonging to the same human community that is part of the natural world. This can only be achieved within an authentic educating community and the most effective tools for building educating communities are reading literacy and storytelling. This paper is the report of a research-action carried out in this direction, in agreement with the sociology department of the University of Salerno, which involved four hundred children and their teachers in a path based on the combination of reading literacy, storytelling, autobiographical writing and outdoor education. The goal of the research was to create an authentic educational community within the school, capable to encourage the acquisition of an eco-identity by the pupils, that is, personal and relational growth in the full realization of the Self, in harmony with the social and natural environment, with a view to an authentic education for sustainability. To ensure reasonable validity and reliability of findings, the inquiry started with participant observation and a process of triangulation has been used including: semi-structured interview, socio-semiotic analysis of the conversation and time budget. Basically, a multiple independent sources of data was used to answer the questions. Observing the phenomenon through multiple "windows" helped to comparing data through a variety of lenses. All teachers had the experience of implementing a socio-didactic strategy called "Fiabadiario" and they had the possibility to use it with approaches that fit their students. The data being collected come from the very students and teachers who are engaged with this strategy. The educational path tested during the research has produced sustainable relationships and conflict resolution within the school system and between school and families, creating an authentic and sustainable learning community.

Keywords: educating community, education for sustainability, literature in education, social relations

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Authors: U. Gunal, H. I. Turgut, H. Gurler, S. Kaya

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There are many ever-increasing and newly emerging problems with rapid population growth in the world. With the increase in people's quality of life in our daily life, acoustic comfort has become an important feature in the textile industry. In order to meet all these expectations in people's comfort areas and survive in challenging competitive conditions in the market without compromising the customer product quality expectations of textile manufacturers, it has become a necessity to bring functionality to the products. It is inevitable to research and develop materials and processes that will bring these functionalities to textile products. The noise we encounter almost everywhere in our daily life, in the street, at home and work, is one of the problems which textile industry is working on. It brings with it many health problems, both mentally and physically. Therefore, noise control studies become more of an issue. Besides, materials used in noise control are not sufficient to reduce the effect of the noise level. The fabrics used in acoustic studies in the textile industry do not show sufficient performance according to their weight and high cost. Thus, acoustic textile products can not be used in daily life. In the thesis study, the attributions used in the noise control and building acoustics studies in the literature were analyzed, and the product with the highest damping value that a textile material will have was designed, manufactured, and tested. Optimum values were obtained by using different material samples that may affect the performance of the acoustic material. Acoustic measurement methods should be applied to verify the acoustic performances shown by the parameters and the designed three-dimensional structure at different values. In the measurements made in the study, the device designed for determining the acoustic performance of the material for both the impedance tube according to the relevant standards and the different noise types in the study was used. In addition, sound records of noise types encountered in daily life are taken and applied to the acoustic absorbent fabric with the aid of the device, and the feasibility of the results and the commercial ability of the product are examined. MATLAB numerical computing programming language and libraries were used in the frequency and sound power analyses made in the study.

Keywords: acoustic, egg crate, fabric, textile

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Authors: Sisaynew Tesfaw Admassu

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The strengthening of timber beams can be necessary for several reasons including the increase of live loads (possible in a historical building for a change of destination of use or upgrading to meet new requirements), the reduction of the resistant cross-sections following deterioration (attacks of biological agents such as fungi, and insects) or traumatic events (fires) and the excess of deflection in the members. The main purpose of strengthening an element is not merely to repair it, but also to prevent and minimize the appearance of future problems. This study did an experimental investigation on the behavior of reference and strengthened solid timber beams. The strengthening materials used in this study were CSM-450 glass fiber and steel materials for both flexural and shear strengthening techniques. Twenty-two solid timber beams of Juniperus procera (TID) species with the dimensions of 60 x 90 x 780 mm were used in the present study. The binding material to bond the strengthening materials with timber was general-purpose resin with Luperox® K10 MEKP catalyst. Three beams were used as control beams (unstrengthen beams) while the remaining nineteen beams were strengthened using the strengthening materials for flexure and shear. All the beams were tested for three points loading to failure by using a Universal Testing Machine, UTM-600kN machine. The experimental results showed that the strengthened beams performed better than the unstrengthen beams. The experimental result of flexural strengthened beams showed that the load-bearing capacity of strengthened beams increased between 16.34 – 42.55%. Four layers of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer on the tension side of the beams was shown to be the most effective way to enhance load-bearing capacity. The strengthened beams also have an enhancement in their flexural stiffness. The stiffness of flexural strengthened beams was increased between 1.18 – 65.53% as compared to the control beams. The highest increment in stiffness has occurred on beams strengthened using 2x60 mm steel plates. The shear-strengthened beams showed a relatively small amount of performance as compared to flexural-strengthened beams; the reason is that the beams are sufficient for shear. The polyester resin used in the experimental work showed good performance in bonding agents between materials. The resin showed more effectiveness in GFRP materials than steel materials.

Keywords: heritage structures, strengthening, stiffness, adhesive, polyester resin, steel plates

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Authors: Nasser Koleini Mamaghani, Sara Mostowfi

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The complexity of public space design makes it difficult for designers to simultaneously consider all issues for thorough decision-making. Among public spaces, the public space around people’s house is the most prominent space that affects and impacts people’s daily life. Considering recreational public spaces in cities, their main purpose would be to design for experiences that enable a deep feeling of peace and a moment of being away from the hectic daily life. Respecting human emotions and restoring natural environments, although difficult and to some extent out of reach, are key issues for designing such spaces. In this paper we propose to analyse the structure of recreational public spaces and the related emotional impressions. Furthermore, we suggest investigating how these structures influence people’s choice for public spaces by using differential semantics. According to Kansei methodology, in order to evaluate a situation appropriately, the assessment variables must be adapted to the user’s mental scheme. This means that the first step would have to be the identification of a space’s conceptual scheme. In our case study, 32 Kansei words and 4 different locations, each with a different sensual experience, were selected. The 4 locations were all parks in the city of Tehran (Iran), each with a unique structure and artifacts such as a fountain, lighting, sculptures, and music. It should be noted that each of these parks has different combination and structure of environmental and artificial elements like: fountain, lightning, sculpture, music (sound) and so forth. The first one was park No.1, a park with natural environment, the selected space was a fountain with motion light and sculpture. The second park was park No.2, in which there are different styles of park construction: ways from different countries, the selected space was traditional Iranian architecture with a fountain and trees. The third one was park No.3, the park with modern environment and spaces, and included a fountain that moved according to music and lighting. The fourth park was park No.4, the park with combination of four elements: water, fire, earth, wind, the selected space was fountains squirting water from the ground up. 80 participant (55 males and 25 females) aged from 20-60 years participated in this experiment. Each person filled the questionnaire in the park he/she was in. Five-point semantic differential scale was considered to determine the relation between space details and adjectives (kansei words). Received data were analyzed by multivariate statistical technique (factor analysis using SPSS statics). Finally the results of this analysis are criteria as inspiration which can be used in future space designing for creating pleasant feeling in users.

Keywords: environmental design, differential semantics, Kansei engineering, subjective preferences, space

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Authors: Dana Pugach, Michal Tamir

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Most criminal cases end with a plea agreement, an issue whose many aspects have been discussed extensively in legal literature. One important feature, however, has gained little notice, and that is crime victims’ place in plea agreements following the federal Crime Victims Rights Act of 2004. This law has provided victims some meaningful and potentially revolutionary rights, including the right to be heard in the proceeding and a right to appeal against a decision made while ignoring the victim’s rights. While victims’ rights literature has always emphasized the importance of such right, references to this provision in the general literature about plea agreements are sparse, if existing at all. Furthermore, there are a few cases only mentioning this right. This article purports to bridge between these two bodies of legal thinking – the vast literature concerning plea agreements and victims’ rights research– by using behavioral economics. The article will, firstly, trace the possible structural reasons for the failure of this right to be materialized. Relevant incentives of all actors involved will be identified as well as their inherent consequential processes that lead to the victims’ rights malfunction. Secondly, the article will use nudge theory in order to suggest solutions that will enhance incentives for the repeat players in the system (prosecution, judges, defense attorneys) and lead to the strengthening of weaker group’s interests – the crime victims. Behavioral psychology literature recognizes that the framework in which an individual confronts a decision can significantly influence his decision. Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein developed the idea of ‘choice architecture’ - ‘the context in which people make decisions’ - which can be manipulated to make particular decisions more likely. Choice architectures can be changed by adjusting ‘nudges,’ influential factors that help shape human behavior, without negating their free choice. The nudges require decision makers to make choices instead of providing a familiar default option. In accordance with this theory, we suggest a rule, whereby a judge should inquire the victim’s view prior to accepting the plea. This suggestion leaves the judge’s discretion intact; while at the same time nudges her not to go directly to the default decision, i.e. automatically accepting the plea. Creating nudges that force actors to make choices is particularly significant when an actor intends to deviate from routine behaviors but experiences significant time constraints, as in the case of judges and plea bargains. The article finally recognizes some far reaching possible results of the suggestion. These include meaningful changes to the earlier stages of criminal process even before reaching court, in line with the current criticism of the plea agreements machinery.

Keywords: plea agreements, victims' rights, nudge theory, criminal justice

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Authors: Jabulani Mtshiya, Yasmin Sultana-Muchindu

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Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) is the platform on which developed nations have built their economic foundations, which have led them to attain high standards of living. Zambia has put up educational systems aimed at empowering the citizens and building the economy. Nations such as China, the United States America, and several other European nations are such examples. Despite having programs in Technical and Vocations Education, the Zambian economy still lags, and the industries contributing merger to Gross Domestic Product. This study addresses the significance of Technical and Vocational Education and how it can improve the livelihood of citizens. It addresses aspects of development and productivity and highlights the problems faced by learners in Lusaka and Southern provinces in Zambia. The study employed qualitative research design in data collection and a method of descriptive data analysis was used in order to bring out the description of the prevailing state of affairs in TVE in the perspective of learners. This meant that the respondents indicated their views and thoughts toward TVE. The study collected information through research questionnaires. The findings showed that TVE is regarded important by government and various stakeholders and that it is also regarded important by learners. The findings also showed that stakeholders and society need to pay particular attention to the development of TVE in order to improve the livelihood of citizens and to improve the national economy. Just like any other developed nation that used TVE to develop their industries, Zambia also has the potential to train its youth and to equip them with the necessary skills required for them to contribute positively to the growth of industries and the growth of the economy. Deliberate steps need to be taken by the government and stakeholders to apply and make firm the TVE policies that were laid. At the end of the study recommendations were made; that government should put in the right measures in order to harness the potential at hand. Further on, recommendations were made to carry out this research at the national level and also to conduct it using the quantitative research method, and that government should be consistent to its obligations of funding and maintaining TVE institutions in order for them to be able to operate effectively.

Keywords: education, technical, training, vocational

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Authors: A. Y. Purnama, N. Yasufuku

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The bridge structure is a building that has to be maintained, especially for the elastomeric bearing. The girder of the bridge needs to be lifted upward to maintain this elastomeric bearing, that needs high cost. Nowadays, integral abutment bridges are becoming popular. The integral abutment bridge is less costly because the elastomeric bearings are eliminated, which reduces the construction cost and maintenance costs. However, when this elastomeric bearing removed, the girder movement due to environmental thermal forces directly support by pile foundation, and it needs to be considered in the design. In case of pile foundation in a stiff soil, in the top area of the pile cannot move freely due to the fixed condition by soil stiffness. Pre-bored pile system can be used to increase the flexibility of pile foundation using a pre-bored hole that filled with elastic materials, but the behavior of soil-pile interaction and soil response due to this system is still rarely explained. In this paper, an experimental study using small-scale laboratory model test conducted in a half size model. Single flexible pile model embedded in sandy soil with the pre-bored ring, which filled with the filler material. The testing box made from an acrylic glass panel as observation area of the pile shaft to monitor the displacement of the pile during the lateral loading. The failure behavior of the soil inside the pre-bored ring and around the pile shaft was investigated to determine the point of pile rotation and the movement of this point due to the pre-bored ring system along the pile shaft. Digital images were used to capture the deformations of the soil and pile foundation during the loading from the acrylic glass on the side of the testing box. The results were presented in the form of lateral load resistance charts against the pile shaft displacement. The failure pattern result also established due to the cyclic lateral loading. The movement of the rotational point was measured due to the pre-bored system filled with appropriate filler material. Based on the findings, design considerations for pre-bored pile system due to cyclic lateral loading can be introduced.

Keywords: failure behavior, pre-bored pile system, cyclic lateral loading, sandy soil

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Authors: Theingi Shwe, Riken Homma, Kazuhisa Iki, Juko Ito

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The growing cities of the developing country are characterized by rapid growth and poor infrastructure management inviting and accelerating relative environmental problems. Even though the movements of the sustainability had already been developed around the world, it is still increasing in the developing countries to plant sustainable practices. Aligned with the sustainable development actions, many sustainable assessment tools are also developed to rate and evaluate the sustainability performances through the building to community level. Among them, CASBEE is developed by Japanese organizations and is recognized as one of the international well-known assessment tools. The main purpose of the study is to find out the potential of CASBEE tool reflecting sustainability city level performances in developing countries. The research framework was designed with three major phases: Quantitative Approach, Qualitative Approach and Evaluation Reflection. The first two approaches were based on the investigation of tool’s contents and indicators by means of three sustainable dimensions and sustainability categories. To know the reality and reflection on developing country, Pathein City from Myanmar was selected and evaluated by 2012 version of CASBEE for Cities. The evaluation practices went through assigned indicators and the evaluation outcome presents the performances of Pathein city’s environmental efficiency as a very good in current conditions. The results of this study indicate that the indicators of this tool have balance coverage among three dimensions of sustainability but it has not yet counted enough for some indicators like location, infrastructure and institution which are relative to society dimension. In the developing countries’ cities, the most critical issues on development such as affordable housing and heritage preservation which are already planted in Pathein City but the tool does not account for those issues. Moreover, in some of the indicators, the benchmark and the weighting coefficient are strongly linked to the system birth region. By means of this study, it can be stated that CASBEE for Cities would be potential for delivering sustainable city level development in developing country especially in Myanmar along with further inclusion of the indicators.

Keywords: assessment tool, CASBEE, developing country, Myanmar, Pathein city, sustainable development

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Authors: Anirudh Lahiri

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Neuromorphic computing, inspired by the intricate operations of biological neural networks, offers a revolutionary approach to overcoming the limitations of traditional computing architectures. This research proposes the integration of spintronics with neuromorphic systems, aiming to enhance computational performance, scalability, and energy efficiency. Traditional computing systems, based on the Von Neumann architecture, struggle with scalability and efficiency due to the segregation of memory and processing functions. In contrast, the human brain exemplifies high efficiency and adaptability, processing vast amounts of information with minimal energy consumption. This project explores the use of spintronics, which utilizes the electron's spin rather than its charge, to create more energy-efficient computing systems. Spintronic devices, such as magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) manipulated through spin-transfer torque (STT) and spin-orbit torque (SOT), offer a promising pathway to reducing power consumption and enhancing the speed of data processing. The integration of these devices within a neuromorphic framework aims to replicate the efficiency and adaptability of biological systems. The research is structured into three phases: an exhaustive literature review to build a theoretical foundation, laboratory experiments to test and optimize the theoretical models, and iterative refinements based on experimental results to finalize the system. The initial phase focuses on understanding the current state of neuromorphic and spintronic technologies. The second phase involves practical experimentation with spintronic devices and the development of neuromorphic systems that mimic synaptic plasticity and other biological processes. The final phase focuses on refining the systems based on feedback from the testing phase and preparing the findings for publication. The expected contributions of this research are twofold. Firstly, it aims to significantly reduce the energy consumption of computational systems while maintaining or increasing processing speed, addressing a critical need in the field of computing. Secondly, it seeks to enhance the learning capabilities of neuromorphic systems, allowing them to adapt more dynamically to changing environmental inputs, thus better mimicking the human brain's functionality. The integration of spintronics with neuromorphic computing could revolutionize how computational systems are designed, making them more efficient, faster, and more adaptable. This research aligns with the ongoing pursuit of energy-efficient and scalable computing solutions, marking a significant step forward in the field of computational technology.

Keywords: material science, biological engineering, mechanical engineering, neuromorphic computing, spintronics, energy efficiency, computational scalability, synaptic plasticity.

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Authors: Kathryn Ewing

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Safe and accessible public spaces are vital elements of our South African cities. Public spaces hold the potential to act as important, vibrant places for learning, exchange, and practice. Public walkways, however, are some of the most neglected and extremely dangerous public spaces experienced in the local neighborhood of Gugulethu in Cape Town. Walkways feel insignificant, being recognized as informal and undetermined or retain complex fragments of formal erven. They are generally out of sight connecting minor streets and informal settlements. Community residents refer to the walkways as unsafe and dirty spaces. Local authorities allocate minimal to no municipal budgets nor maintenance plans resulting in a lack of basic services, particularly lighting and green infrastructure. ‘The Walkway Project’ presents a series of urban stories collected from co-design workshops, emotional mapping exercises, and fieldwork, including urban walks and urban talks. The narrative interprets the socio-spatial practice and complexity of informal public space in Gugulethu, Cape Town. The Walkway Project research, interrelated to the Master of Urban Design teaching and design-research studio, has a strong focus on participatory and engaged learning and action research methodology within a deliberate pedagogy. A consolidated urban design implementation plan exposes the impact and challenges of waste and water, opening the debate on relevant local solutions for resilience and safety in Cape Town. A small and neglected passage connecting two streets, commonly referred to as iThemba Walkway, is presented as a case study to show-case strategic urban design intervention strategies for urban upgrading. The iThemba walkway is a community-driven project that demonstrates active and responsible co-design and participatory development opportunities. In March 2021, when visited on an urban walk, the public space was covered by rubble and solid waste. By April 2021, the community cleaned the walkway and created an accessible passage for the school children to pass. Numerous co-design workshops have taken place over the past year. The walkway has emerged as a public space upgrading project facilitated, motivated, and implemented by multiple local partners and residents. Social maps from urban walks and talks illustrate the transformation of iThemba Walkway into an inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable urban space, linked to Sustainable Development Goal number 11, sustainable cities and communities. The outcomes of the upgrading project facilitate a deeper understanding of co-design methods, urban upgrading processes, and monitoring of public space and informal urbanism.

Keywords: informal, public space, resilience, safety, upgrade, walkways

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Authors: Karen Guerrero

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Kindergarten-12th grade teachers engaged in teacher professional development (PD) on game-based learning techniques and strategies to support teaching STEMSS (STEM + Social Studies with an emphasis on geography across the curriculum) to language learners. Ten effective strategies have supported teaching content and language in tandem. To provide exiting teacher PD on summer and spring breaks, gamification has integrated these strategies to engage linguistically diverse student populations to provide informal language practice while students engage in the content. Teachers brought a STEMSS lesson to the PD, engaged in a wide variety of games (dice, cards, board, physical, digital, etc.), critiqued the games based on gaming elements, then developed, brainstormed, presented, piloted, and published their game-based STEMSS lessons to share with their colleagues. Pre and post-surveys and focus groups were conducted to demonstrate an increase in knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in using gamification to teach content in the classroom. Provide an engaging strategy (gamification) to support teaching content and language to linguistically diverse students in the K-12 classroom. Game-based learning supports informal language practice while developing academic vocabulary utilized in the game elements/content focus, building both content knowledge through play and language development through practice. The study also investigated teacher's increase in knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in using games to teach language learners. Mixed methods were used to investigate knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy prior to and after the gamification teacher training (pre/post) and to understand the content and application of developing and utilizing game-based learning to teach. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge in applying game-based learning theories to the K-12 classroom to support English learners in developing English skills and STEMSS content knowledge.

Keywords: gamification, teacher professional development, STEM, English learners, game-based learning

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Authors: Pieter A. Cornelissen, Joris J. Van Hoof

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The interest in improving occupational safety started almost simultaneously with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Yet, it was not until the late 1970’s before the role of communication was considered in scientific research regarding occupational safety. In recent years the importance of communication as a means to improve occupational safety has increased. Not only as communication might have a direct effect on safety performance and safety outcomes, but also as it can be viewed as a major component of other important safety-related elements (e.g., training, safety meetings, leadership). And while safety communication is an increasingly important topic in research, its operationalization is often vague and differs among studies. This is not only problematic when comparing results, but also in applying these results to practice and the work floor. By means of an in-depth analysis—building on an existing dataset—this review aims to overcome these problems. The initial database search yielded 25.527 articles, which was reduced to a research corpus of 176 articles. Focusing on the 37 articles of this corpus that addressed communication (related to safety outcomes and safety performance), the current study will provide a comprehensive overview of the role and effects of safety communication and outlines the conditions under which communication contributes to a safer work environment. The study shows that in literature a distinction is commonly made between safety communication (i.e., the exchange or dissemination of safety-related information) and feedback (i.e. a reactive form of communication). And although there is a consensus among researchers that both communication and feedback positively affect safety performance, there is a debate about the directness of this relationship. Whereas some researchers assume a direct relationship between safety communication and safety performance, others state that this relationship is mediated by safety climate. One of the key findings is that despite the strongly present view that safety communication is a formal and top-down safety management tool, researchers stress the importance of open communication that encourages and allows employees to express their worries, experiences, views, and share information. This raises questions with regard to other directions (e.g., bottom-up, horizontal) and forms of communication (e.g., informal). The current review proposes a framework to overcome the often vague and different operationalizations of safety communication. The proposed framework can be used to characterize safety communication in terms of stakeholders, direction, and characteristics of communication (e.g., medium usage).

Keywords: communication, feedback, occupational safety, review

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Authors: A. Kavita Murugkar, B. Anurag Kashyap

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With the Rights for Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD Act) 2016, the Indian government has made it mandatory for all establishments, including Heritage Sites, to be accessible for People with Disabilities. However, recent access audit surveys done under the Accessible India Campaign by Ministry of Culture indicate that there are very few accessibility measures provided in the Heritage sites for people with disabilities. Though there are some measures for the mobility impaired, surveys brought out that there are almost no provisions for people with vision impairment (PwVI) in heritage sites thus depriving them of a reasonable physical & intellectual access that facilitates an enjoyable experience and enriching interpretation of the Heritage Site. There is a growing need to develop multisensory interpretative tools that can help the PwVI in perceiving heritage sites in the absence of vision. The purpose of this research was to examine the usability of an audio-tactile model as a haptic and sound-based strategy for augmenting the perception and experience of PwVI in a heritage site. The first phase of the project was a multi-stage phenomenological experimental study with visually impaired users to investigate the design parameters for developing an audio-tactile model for PwVI. The findings from this phase included user preferences related to the physical design of the model such as the size, scale, materials, details, etc., and the information that it will carry such as braille, audio output, tactile text, etc. This was followed by the second phase in which a working prototype of an audio-tactile model is designed and developed for a heritage site based on the findings from the first phase of the study. A nationally listed heritage site from the author’s city was selected for making the model. The model was lastly tested by visually impaired users for final refinements and validation. The prototype developed empowers People with Vision Impairment to navigate independently in heritage sites. Such a model if installed in every heritage site, can serve as a technological guide for the Person with Vision Impairment, giving information of the architecture, details, planning & scale of the buildings, the entrances, location of important features, lifts, staircases, and available, accessible facilities. The model was constructed using 3D modeling and digital printing technology. Though designed for the Indian context, this assistive technology for the blind can be explored for wider applications across the globe. Such an accessible solution can change the otherwise “incomplete’’ perception of the disabled visitor, in this case, a visually impaired visitor and augment the quality of their experience in heritage sites.

Keywords: accessibility, architectural perception, audio tactile model , inclusive heritage, multi-sensory perception, visual impairment, visitor experience

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Authors: Silvia A. Magalhaes, Vasco P. De Freitas, Jose L. Alexandre

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Most of the European literature concerning energy efficiency and thermal comfort of dwellings assumes permanent heating and focuses on energy-saving measures. European National regulations are designed for those permanent comfort conditions. On the other hand, very few studies focus on the effect of the improvement measures in comfort reduction, for free-floating conditions or intermittent heating, in fuel poverty vulnerable countries. In Portugal, only 21% of the household energy consumptions (and 10% of the cost) are spent in space heating, while, on average European bills, this value rises to 67%. The mild climate, but mainly fuel poverty and cultural background, justifies these low heating practices. This study proposes a “passive discomfort” index definition, considering free-floating temperatures or with intermittent heating profiles (more realistic conditions), putting the focus on comfort rather than energy consumption (which is low for these countries). The aim is to compare both energy (regarding the legal framework of national regulation) and comfort (considering realistic conditions of use) to identify some correlation. It was developed an experimental campaign of indoor thermal conditions in a 19th building located in Porto with several apartments. One dwelling was chosen as a case study to carry out a sensitivity analysis. The results are discussed comparing both theoretical energy consumption (energy rates from national regulation) and discomfort (new index defined), for different insulation thicknesses, orientations, and intermittent heating profiles. The results show that the different passive options (walls insulation and glazing options) have a small impact on winter discomfort, which is always high for low heating profiles. Moreover, it was shown that the insulation thickness on walls has no influence, and the minimum insulation thickness considered is enough to achieve the same impact on discomfort reduction. Plus, for these low heating profiles, other conditions are critical, as the orientation. Finally, there isn’t an unequivocal relation between the energy label and the discomfort index. These and other results are surprising when compared with the most usual approaches, which assume permanent heating.

Keywords: dwellings in historical buildings, low-heating countries, mild climates, thermal comfort

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Authors: Skyler Kim

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An early diagnosis of leukemia has always been a challenge to doctors and hematologists. On a worldwide basis, it was reported that there were approximately 350,000 new cases in 2012, and diagnosing leukemia was time-consuming and inefficient because of an endemic shortage of flow cytometry equipment in current clinical practice. As the number of medical diagnosis tools increased and a large volume of high-quality data was produced, there was an urgent need for more advanced data analysis methods. One of these methods was the AI approach. This approach has become a major trend in recent years, and several research groups have been working on developing these diagnostic models. However, designing and implementing a leukemia diagnostic system in real clinical environments based on a deep learning approach with larger sets remains complex. Leukemia is a major hematological malignancy that results in mortality and morbidity throughout different ages. We decided to select acute lymphocytic leukemia to develop our diagnostic system since acute lymphocytic leukemia is the most common type of leukemia, accounting for 74% of all children diagnosed with leukemia. The results from this development work can be applied to all other types of leukemia. To develop our model, the Kaggle dataset was used, which consists of 15135 total images, 8491 of these are images of abnormal cells, and 5398 images are normal. In this paper, we design and implement a leukemia diagnostic system in a real clinical environment based on deep learning approaches with larger sets. The proposed diagnostic system has the function of detecting and classifying leukemia. Different from other AI approaches, we explore hybrid architectures to improve the current performance. First, we developed two independent convolutional neural network models: VGG19 and ResNet50. Then, using both VGG19 and ResNet50, we developed a hybrid deep learning architecture employing transfer learning techniques to extract features from each input image. In our approach, fusing the features from specific abstraction layers can be deemed as auxiliary features and lead to further improvement of the classification accuracy. In this approach, features extracted from the lower levels are combined into higher dimension feature maps to help improve the discriminative capability of intermediate features and also overcome the problem of network gradient vanishing or exploding. By comparing VGG19 and ResNet50 and the proposed hybrid model, we concluded that the hybrid model had a significant advantage in accuracy. The detailed results of each model’s performance and their pros and cons will be presented in the conference.

Keywords: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, hybrid model, leukemia diagnostic system, machine learning

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Authors: Anamika Sahu

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The Himalayas, like many mountainous regions, is susceptible to multiple hazards. In recent times, the frequency of such disasters is continuously increasing due to extreme weather phenomena. These natural hazards are responsible for irreparable human and economic loss. The Indian Himalayas has repeatedly been ruptured by great earthquakes in the past and has the potential for a future large seismic event as it falls under the seismic gap. Damages caused by earthquakes are different in different localities. It is well known that, during earthquakes, damage to the structure is associated with the subsurface conditions and the quality of construction materials. So, for sustainable mountain development, prior estimation of site characterization will be valuable for designing and constructing the space area and for efficient mitigation of the seismic risk. Both geotechnical and geophysical investigation of the subsurface is required to describe the subsurface complexity. In mountainous regions, geophysical methods are gaining popularity as areas can be studied without disturbing the ground surface, and also these methods are time and cost-effective. The MASW method is used to calculate the Vs30. Vs30 is the average shear wave velocity for the top 30m of soil. Shear wave velocity is considered the best stiffness indicator, and the average of shear wave velocity up to 30 m is used in National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) provisions (BSSC,1994) and Uniform Building Code (UBC), 1997 classification. Parameters obtained through geotechnical investigation have been integrated with findings obtained through the subsurface geophysical survey. Joint interpretation has been used to establish inter-relationships among mineral constituents, various textural parameters, and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) with shear wave velocity. It is found that results obtained through the MASW method fitted well with the laboratory test. In both conditions, mineral constituents and textural parameters (grain size, grain shape, grain orientation, and degree of interlocking) control the petrophysical and mechanical properties of rocks and the behavior of shear wave velocity.

Keywords: MASW, mechanical, petrophysical, site characterization

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Authors: S. J. Addinell, T. Richard, B. Evans

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The Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre (DET CRC) is researching and developing a new coiled tubing based greenfields mineral exploration drilling system utilising downhole water powered percussive drill tooling. This new drilling system is aimed at significantly reducing the costs associated with identifying mineral resource deposits beneath deep, barron cover. This system has shown superior rates of penetration in water-rich hard rock formations at depths exceeding 500 meters. Several key challenges exist regarding the deployment and use of these bottom hole assemblies for mineral exploration, and this paper discusses some of the key technical challenges. This paper presents experimental results obtained from the research program during laboratory and field testing of the prototype drilling system. A study of the morphological aspects of the cuttings generated during the percussive drilling process is presented and shows a strong power law relationship for particle size distributions. Several percussive drilling parameters such as RPM, applied fluid pressure and weight on bit have been shown to influence the particle size distributions of the cuttings generated. This has direct influence on other drilling parameters such as flow loop performance, cuttings dewatering, and solids control. Real-time, accurate knowledge of percussive system operating parameters will assist the driller in maximising the efficiency of the drilling process. The applied fluid flow, fluid pressure, and rock properties are known to influence the natural oscillating frequency of the percussive hammer, but this paper also shows that drill bit design, drill bit wear and the applied weight on bit can also influence the oscillation frequency. Due to the changing drilling conditions and therefore changing operating parameters, real-time understanding of the natural operating frequency is paramount to achieving system optimisation. Several techniques to understand the oscillating frequency have been investigated and presented. With a conventional top drive drilling rig, spectral analysis of applied fluid pressure, hydraulic feed force pressure, hold back pressure and drill string vibrations have shown the presence of the operating frequency of the bottom hole tooling. Unfortunately, however, with the implementation of a coiled tubing drilling rig, implementing a positive displacement downhole motor to provide drill bit rotation, these signals are not available for interrogation at the surface and therefore another method must be considered. The investigation and analysis of ground vibrations using geophone sensors, similar to seismic-while-drilling techniques have indicated the presence of the natural oscillating frequency of the percussive hammer. This method is shown to provide a robust technique for the determination of the downhole percussive oscillation frequency when used with a coiled tubing drill rig.

Keywords: cuttings characterization, drilling optimization, oscillation frequency, percussive drilling, spectral analysis

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Authors: Nikolett Deutsch, Éva Pintér, Péter Bagó, Miklós Hetényi

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Strategic technology management has emerged and evolved parallelly with strategic management paradigms. It focuses on the opportunity for organizations operating mainly in technology-intensive industries to explore and exploit technological capabilities upon which competitive advantage can be obtained. As strategic technology management involves multifunction within an organization, requires broad and diversified knowledge, and must be developed and implemented with business objectives to enable a firm’s profitability and growth, excellence in strategic technology management provides unique opportunities for organizations in terms of building a successful future. Accordingly, a framework supporting the evaluation of the technological readiness level of management can significantly contribute to developing organizational competitiveness through a better understanding of strategic-level capabilities and deficiencies in operations. In the last decade, several innovation maturity assessment models have appeared and become designated management tools that can serve as references for future practical approaches expected to be used by corporate leaders, strategists, and technology managers to understand and manage technological capabilities and capacities. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art innovation maturity frameworks, to investigate the critical lessons learned from their application, to identify the similarities and differences among the models, and identify the main aspects and elements valid for the field and critical functions of technology management. To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out considering the relevant papers and articles published in highly ranked international journals around the 27 most widely known innovation maturity models from four relevant digital sources. Key findings suggest that despite the diversity of the given models, there is still room for improvement regarding the common understanding of innovation typologies, the full coverage of innovation capabilities, and the generalist approach to the validation and practical applicability of the structure and content of the models. Furthermore, the paper proposes an initial structure by considering the maturity assessment of the technological capacities and capabilities - i.e., technology identification, technology selection, technology acquisition, technology exploitation, and technology protection - covered by strategic technology management.

Keywords: innovation capabilities, innovation maturity models, technology audit, technology management, technology management maturity models

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Authors: Paula Costa, Ana Picado, Filomena Pinto, Justina Catarino

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Environmental impact associated with large scale shale gas development is of major concern to the public, policy makers and other stakeholders. To assess this impact on the atmosphere, it is important to monitoring ambient air quality prior to and during all shale gas operation stages. Baseline observations can provide a standard of the pre-shale gas development state of the environment. The lack of baseline concentrations was identified as an important knowledge gap to assess the impact of emissions to the air due to shale gas operations. In fact baseline monitoring of air quality are missing in several regions, where there is a strong possibility of future shale gas exploration. This makes it difficult to properly identify, quantify and characterize environmental impacts that may be associated with shale gas development. The implementation of a baseline air monitoring program is imperative to be able to assess the total emissions related with shale gas operations. In fact, any monitoring programme should be designed to provide indicative information on background levels. A baseline air monitoring program should identify and characterize targeted air pollutants, most frequently described from monitoring and emission measurements, as well as those expected from hydraulic fracturing activities, and establish ambient air conditions prior to start-up of potential emission sources from shale gas operations. This program has to be planned for at least one year accounting for ambient variations. In the literature, in addition to GHG emissions of CH4, CO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOx), fugitive emissions from shale gas production can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). The VOCs include a.o., benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylenes, hexanes, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, styrene. The concentrations of six air pollutants (ozone, particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx), and lead) whose regional ambient air levels are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are often discussed. However, the main concern in the emissions to air associated to shale gas operations, seems to be the leakage of methane. Methane is identified as a compound of major concern due to its strong global warming potential. The identification of methane leakage from shale gas activities is complex due to the existence of several other CH4 sources (e.g. landfill, agricultural activity or gas pipeline/compressor station). An integrated monitoring study of methane emissions may be a suitable mean of distinguishing the contribution of different sources of methane to ambient levels. All data analysis needs to be carefully interpreted taking, also, into account the meteorological conditions of the site. This may require the implementation of a more intensive monitoring programme. So, it is essential the development of a low-cost sampling strategy, suitable for establishing pre-operations baseline data as well as an integrated monitoring program to assess the emissions from shale gas operation sites. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 640715.

Keywords: air emissions, baseline, green house gases, shale gas

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Authors: Calvince Okome Odeny

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There is a current action to increase radiotherapy services in Kenya. The National government of Kenya, in collaboration with the county governments, has embarked on building radiotherapy centers in all 47 regions of the country. As these new centers are established in Kenya, it has to be ensured that minimum radiation safety standards are in place prior to operation. For full implementation of this, it is imperative that more Research and training for regulators are done on radiation protection, and safety and national regulatory infrastructure is geared towards ensuring radiation protection and safety in all aspects of the use of external radiotherapy practices. The present work aims at reviewing the level of protection and safety for patients and staff during external beam radiotherapy using Linac in Kenya and provides relevant guidance to improve protection and safety. A retrospective evaluation was done to verify whether those occupationally exposed workers and patients are adequately protected from the harmful effect of radiation exposure during the treatment procedures using Linac. The project was experimental Research, also including an analysis of resource documents obtained from the literature and international organizations. The critical findings of the work revealed that the key elements of protection of occupationally exposed workers and patients include a comprehensive quality Management system governing all planned activities from siting, safety, and design of the Facility, construction, acceptance testing, commissioning, operation, and decommissioning of the Facility; Government empowering the Regulatory Authority to license Medical Linear facilities and to enforce the applicable regulations to ensure adequate protection; A comprehensive Radiation Protection and Safety program must be established to ensure adequate safety and protection of workers and patients during treatment planning and treatment delivery of patients and categories of staff associated with the Facility must be well educated and trained to perform professionally with a commitment to sound safety culture. Relevant recommendations from the findings are shared with the Medical Linear Accelerator facilities and the regulatory authority to provide guidance and continuous improvement of protection and safety to improve regulatory oversight.

Keywords: oncology, radiotherapy, protection, staff

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Authors: Hasen Keder Edris, Ryuji Matsunaga, Toshi Yamanaka

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The issue of climate change and its impact is a major contemporary global concern. Ethiopia is one of the countries experiencing adverse climate change impact including frequent extreme weather events that are exacerbating drought and water scarcity. Due to this reason, the government of Ethiopia develops a strategic document which focuses on the climate resilience green economy. One of the major components of the strategic framework is designed to improve community adaptation capacity and mitigation of drought. For effective implementation of the strategy, identification of regions relative vulnerability to drought is vital. There is a growing tendency of applying Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing technologies for collecting information on duration and severity of drought by direct measure of the topography as well as an indirect measure of land cover. This study aims to show an application of remote sensing technology and GIS for developing drought vulnerability index by taking lowland of Ethiopia as a case study. In addition, it assesses integrated Information Communication Technology (ICT) potential of Ethiopia lowland and proposes integrated solution. Satellite data is used to detect the beginning of the drought. The severity of drought risk prone areas of livestock keeping pastoral is analyzed through normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and ten years rainfall data. The change from the existing and average SPOT NDVI and vegetation condition index is used to identify the onset of drought and potential risks. Secondary data is used to analyze geographical coverage of mobile and internet usage in the region. For decades, the government of Ethiopia introduced some technologies and approach to overcoming climate change related problems. However, lack of access to information and inadequate technical support for the pastoral area remains a major challenge. In conventional business as usual approach, the lowland pastorals continue facing a number of challenges. The result indicated that 80% of the region face frequent drought occurrence and out of this 60% of pastoral area faces high drought risk. On the other hand, the target area mobile phone and internet coverage is rapidly growing. One of identified ICT solution enabler technology is telecom center which covers 98% of the region. It was possible to identify the frequently affected area and potential drought risk using the NDVI remote-sensing data analyses. We also found that ICT can play an important role in mitigating climate change challenge. Hence, there is a need to strengthen implementation efforts of climate change adaptation through integrated Remote Sensing and web based information dissemination and mobile alert of extreme events.

Keywords: climate changes, ICT, pastoral, remote sensing

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Authors: Magdy Torab

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Ancient Egyptians built their temples purposefully close to the River Nile to use it for transporting construction stones from far away quarries to building sites in river-boats. Most temples, therefore, have river-harbors associated with their geometric designs. The paleoriver channel remapped by using this idea, besides other geomorphological and geoarchaeological indicators/evidence located between Aswan and Luxor cities. In this sense, this paper defines the characteristics of this ancient course and its associated landforms using paleochannel morphology, paleomeandering, and ancient river dynamics during historic and prehistoric times. Both geomorphological and geoarchaeological approaches used to reconstruct the paleomorphology of the river course. It helps to investigate the ancient river morphology by using the following techniques: comparison and interpretation of multi dates satellite images and historical maps between 1943 and 2004. The results illustrated on maps using GIS (ARC GIS V.10 software) and the field data collected from the western bank of The Nile River at Luxor area and Karnak, Edfu, Esna and Kom Ombo temples. Created both current and paleogeomorphological maps depending upon the results of geoarchaeological surveying and soil analysis and dating, for surface and subsurface soil sampling by handle auger, laser diffraction analysis for 7 soil samples collected from some mounds and Malkata channel in the western bank of The Nile River near Luxor. Paleo-current directions were determined by using standard Brunton compass to use it as an indicator is evidence for the direction of flow of The Nile River during deposition of some accumulated mounds on the western part of the floodplain near Luxor city. C-14 dating was used for two samples collected from these mounds as well as geographical information system (GIS) technique for mapping. The geomorphological and geoarchaeological evidence shows that the Nile River course in Luxor area was around 4.5 km wide and contained many islands and sandbars which separated inside the river channel, now appearing as scattered mounds inside the floodplain. Upper Egypt has migrated during the historic times to the east up to five kilometers and become far away from the ancient temples, quarries, and harbors. It has also become as well as become more meandering and narrower than before.

Keywords: Nile River, ancient harbours, Luxor, paleogeomorphology, geoarchaeology

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Authors: Sandra Cardoso, Gaspar Pais, Judite Neves, Sandra Cavaca, Fernando Araújo

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In 2021, Portugal has 63 emergency department (ED) visits per 100 people annually, the highest numbers in Europe. While EDs provide a critical service, high use is indicative of inappropriate and inefficient healthcare. In Portugal, all ED have the Manchester Triage System (MTS), a clinical risk management tool to enable that patients are seen in order of clinical priority. In 2023, more than 40% of the ED visits were of non-urgent conditions (blue and green), that could be better managed in primary health care (PHC), meaning wrong use of resources and lack of health literacy. From 2017, the country has a phone line, SNS24 (Contact Centre of the National Health Service), for triage, counseling, and referral service, 24 hours/7 days a week. The pilot project ‘Call before, save lives’ was implemented in the municipalities of Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde (around 150.000 residents), in May 2023, by the executive board of the Portuguese Health Service, with the support of the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health, and local authorities. This geographical area has short travel times, 99% of the population a family doctor and the region is organized in a health local unit (HLU), integrating PHC and the local hospital. The purposes of this project included to increase awareness to contact SNS 24, before going to an ED, and non-urgent conditions oriented to a family doctor, reducing ED visits. The implementation of the project involved two phases, beginning with: i) development of campaigns using local influencers (fishmonger, model, fireman) through local institutions and media; ii) provision of telephone installed on site to contact SNS24; iii) establishment of open consultation in PHC; iv) promotion of the use of SNS24; v) creation of acute consultations at the hospital for complex chronic patients; and vi) direct referral for home hospitalization by PHC. The results of this project showed an excellent level of access to SNS24, an increase in the number of users referred to ED, with great satisfaction of users and professionals. The second phase, initiated in January 2024, for access to the ED, the need for prior referral was established as an admission rule, except for certain situations, as trauma patients. If the patient refuses, their registration in the ED and subsequent screening in accordance with the MTS must be ensured. When the patient is non-urgent, shall not be observed in the ED, provided that, according to his clinical condition, is guaranteed to be referred to PHC or to consultation/day hospital, through effective scheduling of an appointment for the same or the following day. In terms of results, 8 weeks after beginning of phase 2, we assist of a decrease in self-reported patients to ED from 59% to 15%, and a reduction of around 7% of ED visits. The key for this success was an effective public campaign that increases the knowledge of the right use of the health system, and capable of changing behaviors.

Keywords: contact centre of the national health service, emergency department visits, public campaign, health literacy, SNS24

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Authors: Uzma Ahmad

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hyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) is the most turbulent province of Pakistan, sharing a longborder with Afghanistan. For about four decades, KPK is facing a series of international events. The peak was reached after 9/11when region was labelled as posing a major theatre of militancy and terrorism which was intensified when Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) began attempts to seize the authority of state. One of the main focus of TTP was to damage and uprooting of female education system and infrastructure in KPK which later became the site of a massacre of school children of Army Public School Peshawar on 16 December 2014.It resulted to the launching of Zarb-e-Azb against the TTP insurgency,casualty and crime rates in the KPKas a whole dropped by 40.0% as compared to 2011–13. All this has badly hampered the female education both in terms of quantity and quality. Malala Yousafzai who is now an advocate of female education has been a victim of Talibans brutality in that area. And thelanguage in which she managed to express herself to the International community is English.Keeping in view the situation, the present project was designed with a sole aim to focus on female students of the area which are few in numbers and to investigate some specific area, where they have been confronting problems in the use of grammar, vocabulary,tenses and organization of ideas in writings. The reasons might be the careless attitude, insufficient reading habits, lack of interest and poor knowledge of English language. The methodology was a descriptive one as it shows the effects of the internal efficiency(independent variables) on an intermediate college’s progress(dependent variables). It was a case study since data was collected from a focused group of 60 female students of arts and humanities at Swabi college at Intermediate level. The ultimate focus was to explore the possibilities of creating a Gender friendly environment for female students. This research has proved how the correct use of English language has given them confidence to move ahead side by side with men and to acknowledge their right of self-determination.

Keywords: capacity building, female education, gender friendly, internal efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 166