Search results for: financial development

Authors: Hannes Groeneweg

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Myanmar is considered one of the largest fishing nations in the world. The country’s rapid economic and political reform process since 2011 entails both challenges and opportunities for its marine fishing sector. The development pathway of the sector remains unclear. Which future will eventually materialize is shaped and determined by the various visions and actions of the stakeholders engaging in political debates and decision-making. These visions can be conceptualized through the Science and Technology Studies (STS) concept of sociotechnical imaginaries. The research of this article is guided by the question of which imaginaries are currently relevant, who is propagating these imaginaries, and how are these imaginaries produced and contested. Using qualitative documentary analysis of policy documents, reports, and media articles as well as in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, three archetypical national sociotechnical imaginaries of Myanmar’s future marine fisheries were identified: The industrial scale extractivism imaginary views marine fishing sector as a driver for national economic growth and focuses on the industrial and technological development of the production chain, increasing yield and exports. Sustainable fishing management encompasses the vulnerability of marine ecosystems and views increasing efficient sustainability governance, planning, and management into existing fishing practices. In the traditional sufficiency fishing imaginary, small-scale fishing practices are viewed as an important livelihood practice for millions of coastal dwellers. The need to conserve them through strengthening the self-reliance, autonomy, and resilience of these communities is stressed. In national debates, the first two imaginaries are currently dominant. The imaginaries, as well as their contestations, are also linked to other critical political issues. The paper suggests that participatory decision-making processes are needed to create an inclusive imaginary of the future marine fishing sector.

Keywords: science and technology studies, sociotechnical imaginaries, marine fishing, knowledge coproduction, Myanmar

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Authors: Anita Lazurko, Laszlo Pinter, Jeremy Richardson

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Uncertain climate projections, multiple possible development futures, and a financing gap create challenges for water infrastructure decision making. In contrast to conventional predict-plan-act methods, an emerging decision paradigm that enables social-ecological resilience supports decisions that are appropriate for uncertainty and leverage social, ecological, and economic multifunctionality. Concurrently, water infrastructure project finance plays a powerful role in sustainable infrastructure development but remains disconnected from discourse in socio-ecological resilience. At the time of research, a project to transfer water from Lesotho to Botswana through South Africa in the Orange-Senqu River Basin was at the pre-feasibility stage. This case was analysed through documents and interviews to investigate how uncertainty and multifunctionality are conceptualised and considered in decisions for the resilience of water infrastructure and to explore bridging concepts that might allow project finance to better enable socio-ecological resilience. Interviewees conceptualised uncertainty as risk, ambiguity and ignorance, and multifunctionality as politically-motivated shared benefits. Numerous efforts to adopt emerging decision methods that consider these terms were in use but required compromises to accommodate the persistent, conventional decision paradigm, though a range of future opportunities was identified. Bridging these findings to finance revealed opportunities to consider a more comprehensive scope of risk, to leverage risk mitigation measures, to diffuse risks and benefits over space, time and to diverse actor groups, and to clarify roles to achieve multiple objectives for resilience. In addition to insights into how multiple decision paradigms interact in real-world decision contexts, the research highlights untapped potential at the juncture between socio-ecological resilience and project finance.

Keywords: socio-ecological resilience, finance, multifunctionality, uncertainty

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Authors: Loren S. Bernal., Catalina Castillo, Carel E. Carvajal, José F. Ibla

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Plastic pollution, specifically microplastics, has become a significant issue in aquatic ecosystems worldwide. The large amount of plastic waste carried by water tributaries has resulted in the accumulation of microplastics in water bodies. The polymer aging process caused by environmental influences such as photodegradation and chemical degradation of additives leads to polymer embrittlement and properties change that require degradation or reduction procedures in rivers. However, there is a lack of such procedures for freshwater entities that develop over extended periods. The aim of this study is evaluate the potential of Pleurotus ostreatus a fungus, in reducing lowdensity polyethylene microplastics present in freshwater samples collected from the middle basin of the Magdalena River in Colombia. The study aims to evaluate this process both in vitro and in silico by identifying the growth capacity of Pleurotus ostreatus in the presence of microplastics and identifying the most likely interactions of Pleurotus ostreatus enzymes and their affinity energies. The study follows an engineering development methodology applied on an experimental basis. The in vitro evaluation protocol applied in this study focused on the growth capacity of Pleurotus ostreatus on microplastics using enzymatic inducers. In terms of in silico evaluation, molecular simulations were conducted using the Autodock 1.5.7 program to calculate interaction energies. The molecular dynamics were evaluated by using the myPresto Portal and GROMACS program to calculate radius of gyration and Energies.The results of the study showed that Pleurotus ostreatus has the potential to degrade low-density polyethylene microplastics. The in vitro evaluation revealed the adherence of Pleurotus ostreatus to LDPE using scanning electron microscopy. The best results were obtained with enzymatic inducers as a MnSO4 generating the activation of laccase or manganese peroxidase enzymes in the degradation process. The in silico modelling demonstrated that Pleurotus ostreatus was able to interact with the microplastics present in LDPE, showing affinity energies in molecular docking and molecular dynamics shown a minimum energy and the representative radius of gyration between each enzyme and its substract. The study contributes to the development of bioremediation processes for the removal of microplastics from freshwater sources using the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. The in silico study provides insights into the affinity energies of Pleurotus ostreatus microplastic degrading enzymes and their interaction with low-density polyethylene. The study demonstrated that Pleurotus ostreatus can interact with LDPE microplastics, making it a good agent for the development of bioremediation processes that aid in the recovery of freshwater sources. The results of the study suggested that bioremediation could be a promising approach to reduce microplastics in freshwater systems.

Keywords: bioremediation, in silico modelling, microplastics, Pleurotus ostreatus

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Authors: Raheleh Farzanmanesh, Christopher J. Weston

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Mangroves are forest ecosystems located in the inter-tidal regions of tropical and subtropical coastlines that provide many valuable economic and ecological benefits for millions of people, such as preventing coastal erosion, providing breeding, and feeding grounds, improving water quality, and supporting the well-being of local communities. In addition, mangroves capture and store high amounts of carbon in biomass and soils that play an important role in combating climate change. The decline in mangrove area has prompted government and private sector interest in mangrove conservation and restoration projects to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals, from reducing poverty to improving life on land. Mangrove aboveground biomass plays an essential role in the global carbon cycle, climate change mitigation and adaptation by reducing CO2 emissions. However, little information is available about the effectiveness of mangrove sustainable management on mangrove change area and aboveground biomass (AGB). Here, we proposed a method for mapping, modeling, and assessing mangrove area and AGB in two Global Environment Facility (GEF) blue forests projects based on Sentinel-2 Level 1C imagery during their conservation lifetime. The SVR regression model was used to estimate AGB in Tahiry Honko project in Madagascar and the Abu Dhabi Blue Carbon Demonstration Project (Abu Dhabi Emirates. The results showed that mangrove forests and AGB declined in the Tahiry Honko project, while in the Abu Dhabi project increased after the conservation initiative was established. The results provide important information on the impact of mangrove conservation activities and contribute to the development of remote sensing applications for mapping and assessing mangrove forests in blue carbon initiatives.

Keywords: blue carbon, mangrove forest, REDD+, aboveground biomass, Sentinel-2

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Authors: Ilona Buchem, Carolin Gellner

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The call for the support of senior learners in the development of digital literacy has become prevalent in recent years, especially in view of the aging societies paired with advances in digitalization in all spheres of life, including e-health. The goal has been to create opportunities for learning that incorporate the use of context in a reflective and dialogical way. Contextual learning has focused on developing skills through the application of authentic problems. While major research efforts in supporting senior learners in developing digital literacy have been invested so far in e-learning, focusing on knowledge acquisition and cognitive tasks, little research exists in reflective mentoring and coaching with the help of pedagogical agents and addressing the contextual dimensions of learning. This paper describes an approach to creating opportunities for senior learners to improve their digital literacy in the authentic context of the electronic health record (EHR) with the support of an intelligent virtual learning coach. The paper focuses on the design of the virtual coach as part of an e-learning system, which was developed in the EPA-Coach project founded by the German Ministry of Education and Research. The paper starts with the theoretical underpinnings of contextual learning and the related design considerations for a virtual learning coach based on previous studies. Since previous research in the area was mostly designed to cater to the needs of younger audiences, the results had to be adapted to the specific needs of senior learners. Next, the paper outlines the stages in the design of the virtual coach, which included the adaptation of the design requirements, the iterative development of the prototypes, the results of the two evaluation studies and how these results were used to improve the design of the virtual coach. The paper then presents the four prototypes of a senior-friendly virtual learning coach, which were designed to represent different preferences related to the visual appearance, the communication and social interaction styles, and the pedagogical roles. The first evaluation of the virtual coach design was an exploratory, qualitative study, which was carried out in October 2020 with eight seniors aged 64 to 78 and included a range of questions about the preferences of senior learners related to the visual design, gender, age, communication and role. Based on the results of the first evaluation, the design was adapted to the preferences of the senior learners and the new versions of prototypes were created to represent two male and two female options of the virtual coach. The second evaluation followed a quantitative approach with an online questionnaire and was conducted in May 2021 with 41 seniors aged 66 to 93 years. Following three research questions, the survey asked about (1) the intention to use, (2) the perceived characteristics, and (3) the preferred communication/interaction style of the virtual coach, i. e. task-oriented, relationship-oriented, or a mix. This paper follows with the discussion of the results of the design process and ends with conclusions and next steps in the development of the virtual coach including recommendations for further research.

Keywords: virtual learning coach, virtual mentor, pedagogical agent, senior learners, digital literacy, electronic health records

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Authors: Mahmoud Ahmad Mahmoud

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The surge in unemployment among nations and the understanding of the important role played by entrepreneurship in job creation by researchers and policy makers have steered to the postulation that entrepreneurship activities can be spurred through the development of entrepreneurial intentions. Notwithstanding, entrepreneurial intention studies are very scarce in the developing world especially in the African continent. Even among the developed countries, studies of entrepreneurial intention were mostly focused on the undergraduate candidates. This paper therefore, aimed at filling the gap by employing the descriptive quantitative survey method to examine the entrepreneurial intention of 158 Nigerian postgraduate candidates of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), comprising 46 Masters and 112 PhD candidates who are studying in the College of Business (COB), College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and College of Legal, Government and International Studies (COLGIS), the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model was used due its reputable validity, with attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control as the independent variables. Preliminary analysis and data screening were conducted which qualifies the data to the multivariate analysis assumptions. The reliability test was performed using the Cronbach Alpha method which shows all variables as reliable with a value of >0.70. However, the data is free from the multicollinearity issue with all factors in the Pearson correlation having <0.9 value and the VIF having <10. Regression analysis has shown the sufficiency and predictive capability of the TPB model to entrepreneurship intention with attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control being positively and significantly related to the entrepreneurial intention of Nigerian postgraduates. Considering the Beta values, perceived behavioural control emerged as the strongest factor that influences the postgraduates entrepreneurial intention. Developing countries are therefore, recommended to make efforts in redesigning their entrepreneurship development policies to fit candidates of the highest level of academia. Further studies should replicate in a larger sample that comprises more than one university and more than one developing country.

Keywords: attitude, entrepreneurial intention, Nigeria, perceived behavioral control, postgraduates, subjective norms

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Authors: Bernard Nnamdi Emenyeonu

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The study of communication as a fully-fledged discipline in institutions of higher education in the Sultanate of Oman is relatively young. Its evolution is associated with Oman's Renaissance beginning from 1970, which ushered in an era of modernization in which education, industrialization, expansion, and liberalization of the mass media, provision of infrastructure, and promotion of multilateral commercial ventures were considered among the top priorities of national development plans. Communication studies were pioneered by the sole government university, Sultan Qaboos University, in the 1990s, but so far, the program is taught in Arabic only. In recognition of the need to produce professionals suitably equipped to fit into the expanding media establishments in the Sultanate as well as the widening global market, the government decided to establish programs in which communication would be taught in English language. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education, six Colleges of Applied Sciences were established in Oman in 2007. These colleges offer a 4-year Bachelor degree program in communication studies that comprises six areas of specialization: Advertising, Digital Media, International Communication, Journalism, Media Management and Public Relations. Over the years, a trend has emerged where students tend to flock to particular specializations such as Public Relations and Digital Media, while others, such as Advertising and Journalism, continue to draw the least number of students. In some instances, some specializations have had to be frozen due to the dire lack of interest among new students. It has also been observed that female students are more likely to be more biased in choice of specializations. It was therefore the task of this paper to establish, through a survey and focus group interviews, the factors that influence choice of communication studies as well as particular specializations, among Omani Communication Studies undergraduates. Results of the study show that prior to entering into the communication studies program, the majority of students had no idea of what the field entailed. Whatever information they had about communication studies was sourced from friends and relatives rather than more reliable sources such as career fairs or guidance counselors. For the most part, the choice of communication studies as a major was also influenced by factors such as family, friends and prospects for jobs. Another significant finding is the strong association between gender and choice of specializations within the program, with females flocking to digital media while males tended to prefer public relations. Reasons for specialization preferences dwelt strongly on expectations of a good GPA and the promise of a good salary after graduation. Regardless of gender, most students identified careers in news reporting, public relations and advertising as unsuitable for females. Teaching and program presentation were identified as the most suitable for females. Based on these and other results, the paper not only examined the social and cultural factors that are likely to have influenced the respondent's attitude to communication studies, but also discussed the implication for curriculum development and career development in a developing society such as Oman.

Keywords: career choice, communication specialization, media education, Oman

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Authors: Fulufhelo Amanda Doboro, Kgomotso Sebeko, Stephen Njiro, Moritz Van Vuuren

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Ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) genome obtained from the lymphopblastoid cell line of a BJ1035 cow was recently sequenced in the United States of America (USA). Information on the sequences of OvHV-2 genes obtained from South African strains from bovine or other African countries and molecular characterization of OvHV-2 is not documented. Present investigation provides information on the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences and genetic diversity of Ov 7, Ov 8 ex2, ORF 27 and ORF 73 genes, of these genes from OvHV-2 strains circulating in South Africa. Gene-specific primers were designed and used for PCR of DNA extracted from 42 bovine blood samples that previously tested positive for OvHV-2. The expected PCR products of 495 bp, 253 bp, 890 bp and 1632 bp respectively for Ov 7, Ov 8 ex2, ORF 27 and ORF 73 genes were sequenced and multiple sequence analysis done on the selected regions of the sequenced PCR products. Two genotypes for ORF 27 and ORF 73 gene sequences, and three genotypes for Ov 7 and Ov 8 ex2 gene sequences were identified, and similar groupings for the derived amino acid sequences were obtained for each gene. Nucleotide and amino acid sequence variations that led to the identification of the different genotypes included SNPs, deletions and insertions. Sequence analysis of Ov 7 and ORF 27 genes revealed variations that distinguished between sequences from SA and reference OvHV-2 strains. The implication of geographic origin among SA sequences was difficult to evaluate because of random distribution of genotypes in the different provinces, for each gene. However, socio-economic factors such as migration of people with animals, or transportation of animals for agricultural or business use from one province to another are most likely to be responsible for this observation. The sequence variations observed in this study have no impact on the antibody binding activities of glycoproteins encoded by Ov 7, Ov 8 ex2 and ORF 27 genes, as determined by prediction of the presence of B cell epitopes using BepiPred 1.0. The findings of this study will be used for selection of gene candidates for the development of diagnostic assays and vaccine development as well.

Keywords: amino acid, genetic diversity, genes, nucleotide

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Authors: Geoffrey A. Wright

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Over the past year we have developed and implemented a blended STEM curriculum based on ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) underwater technology with over 300 students in grades 2–9. This paper presents an overview of the curriculum, what we have learned from the development and implementation, with suggestions of how to build a similar statewide ROV program, and how we will continue and enhance the effort this next year with more than 300 additional students. The benefits of the program are the application and blending of STEM principles using inquiry based instruction, where students have shown to increase in STEM self-efficacy and interest.

Keywords: STEM, technology, engineering, ROV

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Authors: Farzaneh Tahmoorian, Bijan Samali, John Yeaman

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Road networks are expanding all over the world during the past few decades to meet the increasing freight volumes created by the population growth and industrial development. At the same time, the rate of generation of solid wastes in the society is increasing with the population growth, technological development, and changes in the lifestyle of people. Thus, the management of solid wastes has become an acute problem. Accordingly, there is a need for greater efficiency in the construction and maintenance of road networks, in reducing the overall cost, especially the utilization of natural materials such as aggregates. An efficient means to reduce construction and maintenance costs of road networks is to replace natural (virgin) materials by secondary, recycled materials. Recycling will also help to reduce pressure on landfills and demand for extraction of natural virgin materials thus ensuring sustainability. Application of solid wastes in asphalt layer reduces not only environmental issues associated with waste disposal but also the demand for virgin materials which will subsequently result in sustainability. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the feasibility of the application of some of the waste materials such as glass, construction and demolition wastes, etc. as alternative materials in pavement construction, particularly flexible pavements. To this end, various combination of different waste materials in certain percentages is considered in designing the asphalt mixture. One of the goals of this research is to determine the optimum percentage of all these materials in the mixture. This is done through a series of tests to evaluate the volumetric properties and resilient modulus of the mixture. The information and data collected from these tests are used to select the adequate samples for further assessment through advanced tests such as triaxial dynamic test and fatigue test, in order to investigate the asphalt mixture resistance to permanent deformation and also cracking. This paper presents the results of these investigations on the application of waste materials in asphalt mixture for production of a sustainable asphalt mix.

Keywords: asphalt, glass, pavement, recycled aggregate, sustainability

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Authors: Henry Pariaman, Iwa Garniwa, Isti Surjandari, Bambang Sugiarto

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Availability of a complex system of thermal power plant is strongly influenced by the reliability of spare parts and maintenance management policies. A reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) technique is an established method of analysis and is the main reference for maintenance planning. This method considers the consequences of failure in its implementation, but does not deal with further risk of down time that associated with failures, loss of production or high maintenance costs. Risk-based maintenance (RBM) technique provides support strategies to minimize the risks posed by the failure to obtain maintenance task considering cost effectiveness. Meanwhile, condition-based maintenance (CBM) focuses on monitoring the application of the conditions that allow the planning and scheduling of maintenance or other action should be taken to avoid the risk of failure prior to the time-based maintenance. Implementation of RCM, RBM, CBM alone or combined RCM and RBM or RCM and CBM is a maintenance technique used in thermal power plants. Implementation of these three techniques in an integrated maintenance will increase the availability of thermal power plants compared to the use of maintenance techniques individually or in combination of two techniques. This study uses the reliability, risks and conditions-based maintenance in an integrated manner to increase the availability of thermal power plants. The method generates MPI (Priority Maintenance Index) is RPN (Risk Priority Number) are multiplied by RI (Risk Index) and FDT (Failure Defense Task) which can generate the task of monitoring and assessment of conditions other than maintenance tasks. Both MPI and FDT obtained from development of functional tree, failure mode effects analysis, fault-tree analysis, and risk analysis (risk assessment and risk evaluation) were then used to develop and implement a plan and schedule maintenance, monitoring and assessment of the condition and ultimately perform availability analysis. The results of this study indicate that the reliability, risks and conditions-based maintenance methods, in an integrated manner can increase the availability of thermal power plants.

Keywords: integrated maintenance techniques, availability, thermal power plant, MPI, FDT

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Authors: Sandra Arango-Caro, Kristine Callis-Duehl

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The Education Research and Outreach Lab at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center established the Plant and Agriculture Augmented and Virtual Reality Learning Laboratory (PAVRLL) to promote science education through professional development, school programs, internships, and outreach events. Professional development is offered to high school and college science and agriculture educators on the use and applications of zSpace and Oculus platforms. Educators learn to use, edit, or create lesson plans in the zSpace platform that are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. They also learn to use virtual reality experiences created by the PAVRLL available in Oculus (e.g. The Soybean Saga). Using a cost-free loan rotation system, educators can bring the AVR units to the classroom and offer AVR activities to their students. Each activity has user guides and activity protocols for both teachers and students. The PAVRLL also offers activities for 3D plant modeling. High school students work in teams of art-, science-, and technology-oriented students to design and create 3D models of plant species that are under research at the Danforth Center and present their projects at scientific events. Those 3D models are open access through the zSpace platform and are used by PAVRLL for professional development and the creation of VR activities. Both teachers and students acquire knowledge of plant and agriculture content and real-world problems, gain skills in AVR technology, 3D modeling, and science communication, and become more aware and interested in plant science. Students that participate in the PAVRLL activities complete pre- and post-surveys and reflection questions that evaluate interests in STEM and STEM careers, students’ perceptions of three design features of biology lab courses (collaboration, discovery/relevance, and iteration/productive failure), plant awareness, and engagement and learning in AVR environments. The PAVRLL was established in the fall of 2019, and since then, it has trained 15 educators, three of which will implement the AVR programs in the fall of 2021. Seven students have worked in the 3D plant modeling activity through a virtual internship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of teachers trained, and classroom implementations have been very limited. It is expected that in the fall of 2021, students will come back to the schools in person, and by the spring of 2022, the PAVRLL activities will be fully implemented. This will allow the collection of enough data on student assessments that will provide insights on benefits and best practices for the use of AVR technologies in the classrooms. The PAVRLL uses cutting-edge educational technologies to promote science education and assess their benefits and will continue its expansion. Currently, the PAVRLL is applying for grants to create its own virtual labs where students can experience authentic research experiences using real Danforth research data based on programs the Education Lab already used in classrooms.

Keywords: assessment, augmented reality, education, plant science, virtual reality

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Authors: Sónia Ribeiro, Diana Farinha, Elsa Pereira, Hélia Sales, Filipa Figueiredo, Rita Pontes, João Nunes

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Conventional plastic impacts on Planet, natural resources contamination, human health as well as animals are the most attractive environmental and health attention. The lack of treatment in the end-of-life (EOL) phase and uncontrolled discard allows plastic to be found everywhere in the world. Food waste is increasing significantly, with a final destination to landfills. To face these difficulties, new packaging solutions are needed with the objective of prolonging the shelf-life of products as well as equipment solutions for the development of the mentioned packaging. FLUI project thus presents relevance and innovation to reach a new level of knowledge and industrial development focused in Ecodesign. Industrial equipment field for the manufacture of new packaging solutions based on biodegradable plastics films to apply in the food sector. With lesser environmental impacts and new solutions that make it possible to prevent food waste, reduce the production e consequent poor disposal of plastic of fossil origin. It will be a paradigm shift at different levels, from industry to waste treatment stations, passing through commercial agents and consumers. It can be achieved through the life cycle assessment (LCA) and ecodesign of the products, which integrates the environmental concerns in the design of the product as well as through the entire life cycle. The FLUI project aims to build a piece of new bio-PLA extrusion equipment with the incorporation of bioactive extracts through the production of flexible mono- and multi-layer functional films (FLUI systems). The biofunctional and biodegradable films will prompt the extension of packaged products’ shelf-life, reduce food waste and contribute to reducing the consumption of non-degradable fossil plastics, as well as the use of raw material from renewable sources.

Keywords: food packing, bioplastics, ecodesign, circular economy

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Authors: Klara Strecker

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During times of globalization, socioeconomic systems have become connected across the world through global supply chains. As a result, consumption and production locations have increasingly become spatially decoupled. This decoupling leads to complex entanglements of systems and sustainability challenges across distances -entanglements which can be conceptualized as telecouplings. Through telecouplings, people and environments across the world have become closely connected, bringing challenges as well as opportunities. Some argue that telecoupling dynamics started taking shape during times of colonization when resources were first traded across the world. An example of such a telecoupling is that of the rose. Every third rose sold in Europe is grown in Kenya and enters the European market through the Dutch flower auction system. Many Kenyan farms are Dutch-owned, closely entangling Kenya and the Netherlands through the trade of roses. Furthermore, the globalization of the flower industry and the resulting shift of production away from the Netherlands and towards Kenya has led to significant changes in the Dutch horticulture sector. However, the sustainability effects of this rose telecoupling is limited neither to the horticulture sector nor to the Netherlands and Kenya. Alongside the flow of roses between these countries come complex financial, knowledge-based, and regulatory flows. The rose telecoupling also creates spillover effects to other countries, such as Ethiopia, and other industries, such as Kenyan tourism. Therefore, telecoupling dynamics create complex entanglements that cut across sectors, environments, communities, and countries, which makes effectively governing and managing telecouplings and their sustainability implications challenging. Indeed, sustainability can no longer be studied in spatial and temporal isolation. This paper aims to map the rose telecoupling’s complex environmental and social interactions to identify points of tension guiding sustainability-targeted interventions. Mapping these interactions will provide a more holistic understanding of the sustainability challenges involved in the Dutch-Kenyan rose trade. This interdisciplinary telecoupling approach reframes and integrates interdisciplinary knowledge about the rose trade between the Netherlands, Kenya, and beyond.

Keywords: Dutch-Kenyan rose trade, globalization, socio-ecological system, sustainability, telecoupling

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Authors: Naziema B. Jappie

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Internationalization is very complex and multifaceted and has implications for the entire university sector, and the larger community which it serves. Higher education strategic plans require sustainability on all levels of academic engagement and internationalization contributes to the sustainability because of the global competition but, at the same time, ensures diversity on campuses. Universities all over the world are increasingly recognizing the challenges of globalization and the pressures towards internationalization. The past 25 years of internationalization has faded away, and new challenges have emerged. Although internationalization remains a central strategic objective for all universities, for many leaders and education practitioners it has remained a confused concept. It has various interpretations, and it intersects with numerous other national agendas in higher education domain; it often builds upon narrow notions limited to one of its facets –attracting international student fees for financial sustainability or for ensuring a diverse campus culture. It is essential to have clear institutional views, but it is imperative that everyone reflects on the values and beliefs that underpin the internationalization of higher education and have a global focus. This paper draws together the international experience locally and globally to explore the emerging patterns of strategy and practice in internationalizing higher education. This will highlight some critical notions of how the concepts of internationalization and globalization in the context of higher education is understood by those who lead universities and what new challenges are being created as universities seek to become more international. Institutions cannot simply have bullet points in the strategic plan about recruitment of international students; there has to be a complete commitment to an international strategy of inclusivity. This paper will further examine the leadership styles that ensure transformation together with the goals set out for internationalization. The interviews with the senior leadership are in-depth semi-structured recorded interviews of approximately one-hour to learn about their institutional experiences, promotion, and enhancement of the value of internationalisation to the tertiary education sector and initiating discussions around adding the international relations dimension to the curriculum. This paper will address the issues relevant to the cross-border delivery of higher education. To ensure anonymity throughout this study, the interviewees are identified only by their institutions.

Keywords: challenges, globalization, higher education, internationalization, strategic focus

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Authors: Katherine van Kampen, Reva Qiu, Patricia Farrugia

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Orthopedic surgery has fallen behind when it comes to gender diversity despite medical school classes reaching gender parity. Studies have shown that orthopedic surgery would require 117 years to reach gender parity with the trainee population, the longest time than any other specialty, including neurosurgery, urology, and otolaryngology. The barriers that face women in orthopedic surgery have been well researched, with contributing factors being on-going stereotypes of the field, lack of women mentors, and gender roles outside of the hospital. Furthermore, women in orthopedic surgery face barriers to achieve promotion, publications, and leadership roles leading to a “leaky pipeline,” resulting in less and less women in key academic roles in the field. It is a complex topic with barriers and challenges faced in medical school, residency, and throughout employment. Our scoping review seeks to understand these challenges across a temporal timeline and to further characterize such barriers and the driving factors behind them. To this date, authors did not find a scoping review that seeks to look broadly at factors impacting the decreased amount of women entering orthopedics and the factors that cause women to hit a “glass ceiling”, the idea that women will not achieve the same success as men despite the same qualifications, upon entering the field. This scoping review is the first of its kind to attempt to summarize the large body of research focusing on women in orthopedic surgery from the preconceptions in medical school impacting their desire to pursue orthopedics all the way to employment, including challenges to academic success and financial success. Literature databases will be searched with the following key terms: women, gender inequity, workforce, orthopedics, and citations will be hand searched and collected. Articles included will discuss gender inequality within orthopedics with non-english, patient related articles excluded. Full-text review will seek to characterize the specific barriers faced by women across medical school, residency, and employment. Themes that are expected to be highlighted are workforce data, women in orthopedic leadership, medical student perspectives on the specialty, and gender bias and discrimination in the field.

Keywords: orthopedics, gender equity, workforce, women in surgery

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Authors: Clarisse Umutoni, Augustine Ayantunde, Matthew Turner, Germain J. Sawadogo

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Decentralized governance of natural resources is considered one of the key strategies for promoting sustainable management of natural resources at local level. The rationale behind decentralization of natural resources is that local populations are both better situated and more highly motivated than outside agencies to manage the resources in an ecologically and economically sustainable manner. Effective decentralized natural resource management requires strong local natural resource institutions. Therefore, strengthening local institutions governing natural resource management is essential to promoting strong participation of local communities in managing their resources. This paper investigated the existing local institutions (rules, norms and or local conventions) governing the management of natural resources and forms of community participation in the development of these natural resource institutions. Group discussions and individual interviews were conducted to collect data. Our findings showed significant variation within the study sites regarding the level of knowledge of existing local rules and norms governing the management of natural resources by the respondents. The results also show that participation was dominated by a small group of individuals, often community leaders and elites. The results suggest that women are marginalized. In general, factors which influence the level of participation include; age, year of residence in the community, gender and education level. This study also highlights the strengths of local natural resource institutions especially if enforced. Presently, the big challenge that faces the institutions governing natural resource use in the study area is the system of representativeness in the community in the development of local rules and norms as community leaders and household heads often dominate, which does not encourage active participation of community members. Therefore, for effective implementation of local natural resource institutions, the interest of key natural resource users should be taken into account. It is also important to promote rules and norms that attempt to protect or strengthen women’s access to natural resources in the community.

Keywords: decentralization, land use plan, local institutions, Mali

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Authors: Dereje Regasa

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The global food system is at a crossroads, which requires prompt action to minimize the effects of the crises. Agroecology is gaining prominence due to its contributions to sustainable food systems. To support efforts in mitigating the crises, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established alternative approaches for sustainable agri-food systems. Agroecological elements and principles were developed to guide and support measures that countries need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs require the systemic integration of practices for a smart intensification or adaptation of traditional or industrial agriculture. As one of the countries working towards SDGs, the agricultural practices in Ethiopia need to be guided by these agroecological elements and principles. Aiming at the identification of challenging aspects of a sustainable agri-food system and the characterization of an enabling environment for agroecology, as well as exploring to what extent the existing policies and strategies support the agroecological transition process, five policy and strategy documents were reviewed. These documents are the Rural Development Policy and Strategy, the Environment Policy, the Biodiversity Policy, and the Soil Strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). Using the Agroecology Criteria Tool (ACT), the contents were reviewed, focusing on agroecological requirements and the inclusion of sustainable practices. ACT is designed to support a self-assessment of elements supporting agroecology. For each element, binary values were assigned based on the inclusion of the minimum requirements index and then validated through discussion with the document owners. The results showed that the documents were well below the requirements for an agroecological transition of the agri-food system. The Rural Development Policy and Strategy only suffice to 83% in Human and Social Value. It does not support the transition concerning the other elements. The Biodiversity Policy and Soil Strategy suffice regarding the inclusion of Co-creation and Sharing of knowledge (100%), while the remaining elements were not considered sufficiently. In contrast, the Environment Policy supports the transition with three elements accounting for 100%. These are Resilience, Recycling, and Human and Social Care. However, when the four documents were combined, elements such as Synergies, Diversity, Efficiency, Human and Social value, Responsible governance, and Co-creation and Sharing of knowledge were identified as fully supportive (100%). This showed that the policies and strategies complemented one another to a certain extent. However, the evaluation results call for improvements concerning elements like Culture and food traditions, Circular and solidarity economy, Resilience, Recycling, and Regulation and balance since the majority of the elements were not sufficiently observed. Consequently, guidance for the smart intensification of local practices is needed, as well as traditional knowledge enriched with advanced technologies. Ethiopian agricultural and environmental policies and strategies should provide sufficient support and guidance for the intensification of sustainable practices and should provide a framework for an agroecological transition towards a sustainable agri-food system.

Keywords: agroecology, diversity, recycling, sustainable food system, transition

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Authors: Jared Cheves, Amanda DeChent, Joyce Pan

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Total knee replacements (TKAs) are one of the most common but painful surgical procedures performed in the United States. Currently, the gold standard for postoperative pain management is the utilization of opioids. However, in the wake of the opioid epidemic, the healthcare system is attempting to reduce opioid consumption by trialing innovative opioid sparing analgesic techniques such as continuous peripheral nerve blocks (CPNB) and continuous periarticular infiltration (CPAI). The alleviation of pain, particularly during the first 72 hours postoperatively, is of utmost importance due to its association with delayed recovery, impaired rehabilitation, immunosuppression, the development of chronic pain, the development of rebound pain, and decreased patient satisfaction. While both CPNB and CPAI are being used today, there is limited evidence comparing the two to the current standard of care or to each other. An extensive literature review was performed to explore the safety profiles and effectiveness of CPNB and CPAI in reducing reported pain scores and decreasing opioid consumption. The literature revealed the usage of CPNB contributed to lower pain scores and decreased opioid use when compared to opioid-only control groups. Additionally, CPAI did not improve pain scores or decrease opioid consumption when combined with a multimodal analgesic (MMA) regimen. When comparing CPNB and CPAI to each other, neither unanimously lowered pain scores to a greater degree, but the literature indicates that CPNB decreased opioid consumption more than CPAI. More research is needed to further cement the efficacy of CPNB and CPAI as standard components of MMA in TKA procedures. In addition, future research can also focus on novel catheter-free applications to reduce the complications of continuous catheter analgesics.

Keywords: total knee arthroplasty, continuous peripheral nerve blocks, continuous periarticular infiltration, opioid, multimodal analgesia

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Authors: P.V. Lostelius, M.Mattebo, E. Thors Adolfsson, A. Söderlund, Å. Revenäs

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Adolescents are vulnerable in healthcare settings. Early detection of poor health in young people is important to support a good quality of life and adult social functioning. Youth Health Clinics (YHCs) in Sweden provide healthcare for young people ages 13-25 years old. Using an overall mixed methods approach, the project’s main objective was to develop and evaluate an electronic health system, including a health questionnaire, a case report form, and an evaluation questionnaire to assess young people’s health risks in early stages, increase health, and quality of life. In total, 72 young people, 16-23 years old, eleven healthcare professionals and eight researchers participated in the three project studies. Results from interviews with fifteen young people gave that an electronic health questionnaire should include questions about physical-, mental-, sexual health and social support. It should specifically include questions about self-harm and suicide risk. The young people said that the questionnaire should be appealing, based on young people’s needs and be user-friendly. It was important that young people felt safe when responding to the questions, both physically and electronically. Also, they found that it had the potential to support the face-to face-meeting between young people and healthcare professionals. The electronic health report system was developed by the researchers, performing a structured development of the electronic health questionnaire, construction of a case report form to present the results from the health questions, along with an electronic evaluation questionnaire. An Information Technology company finalized the development by digitalizing the electronic health system. Four young people, three healthcare professionals and seven researchers evaluated the usability using interviews and a usability questionnaire. The electronic health questionnaire was found usable for YHCs but needed some clarifications. Essentially, the system succeeded in capturing the overall health of young people; it should be able to keep the interest of young people and have the potential to contribute to health assessment planning and young people’s self-reflection, sharing vulnerable feelings with healthcare professionals. In advance of effect studies, a feasibility study was performed by collecting electronic questionnaire data from 54 young people and interview data from eight healthcare professionals to assess the feasibility of the use of the electronic evaluation questionnaire, the case report form, and the planned recruitment method. When merging the results, the research group found that the evaluation questionnaire and the health report were feasible for future research. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, commitment challenges and drop-outs affected the recruitment of young people. Also, some healthcare professionals felt insecure about using computers and electronic devices and worried that their workload would increase. This project contributes knowledge about the development and use of electronic health tools for young people. Before implementation, clinical routines need for using the health report system need to be considered.

Keywords: adolescent health, developmental studies, electronic health questionnaire, mixed methods research

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Authors: Shankaran Sitarama

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New Product Development (NPD) is invariably a team effort and involves effective teamwork. NPD team has members from different disciplines coming together and working through the different phases all the way from conceptual design phase till the production and product roll out. Creativity and Innovation are some of the key factors of successful NPD. Team members going through the different phases of NPD interact and work closely yet challenge each other during the design phases to brainstorm on ideas and later converge to work together. These two traits require the teams to have a divergent and a convergent thinking simultaneously. There needs to be a good balance. The team dynamics invariably result in conflicts among team members. While some amount of conflict (ideational conflict) is desirable in NPD teams to be creative as a group, relational conflicts (or discords among members) could be detrimental to teamwork. Team communication truly reflect these tensions and team dynamics. In this research, team communication (emails) between the members of the NPD teams is considered for analysis. The email communication is processed through a semantic analysis algorithm (LSA) to analyze the content of communication and a semantic similarity analysis to arrive at a social network graph that depicts the communication amongst team members based on the content of communication. The amount of communication (content and not frequency of communication) defines the interaction strength between the members. Social network adjacency matrix is thus obtained for the team. Standard social network analysis techniques based on the Adjacency Matrix (AM) and Dichotomized Adjacency Matrix (DAM) based on network density yield network graphs and network metrics like centrality. The social network graphs are then rendered for visual representation using a Metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MMDS) algorithm for node placements and arcs connecting the nodes (representing team members) are drawn. The distance of the nodes in the placement represents the tie-strength between the members. Stronger tie-strengths render nodes closer. Overall visual representation of the social network graph provides a clear picture of the team’s interactions. This research reveals four distinct patterns of team interaction that are clearly identifiable in the visual representation of the social network graph and have a clearly defined computational scheme. The four computational patterns of team interaction defined are Central Member Pattern (CMP), Subgroup and Aloof member Pattern (SAP), Isolate Member Pattern (IMP), and Pendant Member Pattern (PMP). Each of these patterns has a team dynamics implication in terms of the conflict level in the team. For instance, Isolate member pattern, clearly points to a near break-down in communication with the member and hence a possible high conflict level, whereas the subgroup or aloof member pattern points to a non-uniform information flow in the team and some moderate level of conflict. These pattern classifications of teams are then compared and correlated to the real level of conflict in the teams as indicated by the team members through an elaborate self-evaluation, team reflection, feedback form and results show a good correlation.

Keywords: team dynamics, team communication, team interactions, social network analysis, sna, new product development, latent semantic analysis, LSA, NPD teams

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Authors: Hasmayadi Abdul Majid, Yuzman Yusoff, Noor Shelida Salleh

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This paper presents the development of a single-ended 38.5 kS/s 10-bit programmable reference SAR ADC which is realized in MIMOS’s 0.35 µm CMOS process. The design uses a resistive DAC, a dynamic comparator with pre-amplifier and a SAR digital logic to create 10 effective bits ADC. A programmable reference circuitry allows the ADC to operate with different input range from 0.6 V to 2.1 V. A single ended 38.5 kS/s 10-bit programmable reference SAR ADC was proposed and implemented in a 0.35 µm CMOS technology and consumed less than 7.5 mW power with a 3 V supply.

Keywords: successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter, SAR ADC, resistive DAC, programmable reference

Procedia PDF Downloads 496

Authors: Maria Dora Horvath, Norbert Buzas, Zsanett Tesch

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Diabetes management poses many unique challenges for children and their parents. The use of a diabetes management device should not be one of these challenges as the purpose of these devices is to make the management more convenient. The objective of our study was to examine how demographical, psychological and diabetes-related factors determine the choices parents make regarding their child’s diabetes management technologies and how they perceive advanced devices. We conducted the study using an online questionnaire with 318 parents (mostly mothers). The questions of the survey were about demographical, diabetes-related and psychological factors (diabetes management problems, diabetes management competence). In addition, we asked the parents opinions about advanced diabetes management devices. We expanded our data with semi-structured in-depth interviews. 61 % of the participants Self-Monitored Blood Glucose (SMBG), and 39 % used a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (CGM). Considering insulin administration, 58 % used Multiple Daily Insulin Injections (MDII) and 42 % used Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion (CSII). Parents who used diverse combinations of diabetes management devices showed significant differences in age (parents’ and child’s), the monthly cost of diabetes, the duration of diabetes, the highest level of education and average monthly household income. CGM users perceived diabetes management problems significantly more severe than SMBG users and CSII users felt significantly more competent in diabetes management than MDII users. Avoiding CGM use due to lack of financial resources was determined by diagnosis duration. While avoiding its use by the cause of the child rejecting, it was determined by the child’s age and diabetes competence. Using MDII instead of CSII because of the child’s rejection was determined by the monthly cost of diabetes and child’s age. We conducted a complex empirical study in which we examined perceptions and experiences of advanced and less advanced diabetes management technologies comprehensively. Our study highlights the factors that fundamentally influence parents’ motivations and choices about diabetes management technologies. These results could contribute to developing diabetes management technologies more suitable for children living with type 1 diabetes and their parents.

Keywords: advanced diabetes management technologies, children living with type 1 diabetes, diabetes management, motivation, parents

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Authors: Maria João Ferreira, Natalia Sierra-Garcia, Javier Cremades, Carla António, Ana M. Rodrigues, Helena Silva, Ângela Cunha

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Salicornia ramosissima, a halophyte that grows naturally in coastal areas of the northern hemisphere, is often considered the most promising halophyte candidate for extensive crop cultivation and saline agriculture practices. The expanding interest in this plant surpasses its use as gourmet food and includes their potential application as a source of bioactive compounds for the pharmaceutical industry. Despite growing well in saline soils, sustainable and ecologically friendly techniques to enhance crop production and the nutritional value of this plant are still needed. The root microbiome of S. ramosissima proved to be a source of taxonomically diverse plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). Halotolerant strains of Bacillus, Salinicola, Pseudomonas, and Brevibacterium, among other genera, exhibit a broad spectrum of plant-growth promotion traits [e.g., 3-indole acetic acid (IAA), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, siderophores, phosphate solubilization, Nitrogen fixation] and express a wide range of extracellular enzyme activities. In this work, three plant growth-promoting bacteria strains (Brevibacterium casei EB3, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans RL18, and Bacillus aryabhattai SP20) isolated from the rhizosphere and the endosphere of S. ramosissima roots from different saltmarshes along the Portuguese coast were inoculated in S. ramosissima seeds. Plants germinated from inoculated seeds were grown for three months in pots filled with a mixture of perlite and estuarine sediment (1:1) in greenhouse conditions and later transferred to a growth chamber, where they were maintained two months with controlled photoperiod, temperature, and humidity. Pots were placed on trays containing the irrigation solution (Hoagland’s solution 20% added with 10‰ marine salt). Before reaching the flowering stage, plants were collected, and the fresh and dry weight of aerial parts was determined. Non-inoculated seeds were used as a negative control. Selected dried stems from the most promising treatments were later analyzed by GC-TOF-MS for primary metabolite composition. The efficiency of inoculation and persistence of the inoculum was assessed by Next Generation Sequencing. Inoculations with single strain EB3 and co-inoculations with EB3+RL18 and EB3+RL18+SP20 (All treatment) resulted in significantly higher biomass production (fresh and dry weight) compared to non-inoculated plants. Considering fresh weight alone, inoculation with isolates SP20 and RL18 also caused a significant positive effect. Combined inoculation with the consortia SP20+EB3 or SP20+RL18 did not significantly improve biomass production. The analysis of the profile of primary metabolites will provide clues on the mechanisms by which the growth-enhancement effect of the inoculants operates in the plants. These results sustain promising prospects for the use of rhizospheric and endophytic PGPB as biofertilizers, reducing environmental impacts and operational costs of agrochemicals and contributing to the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of saline agriculture. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by project Rhizomis PTDC/BIA-MIC/29736/2017 financed by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through the Regional Operational Program of the Center (02/SAICT/2017) with FEDER funds (European Regional Development Fund, FNR, and OE) and by FCT through CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020), LAQV-REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020). We also acknowledge FCT/FSE for the financial support to Maria João Ferreira through a PhD grant (PD/BD/150363/2019). We are grateful to Horta dos Peixinhos for their help and support during sampling and seed collection. We also thank Glória Pinto for her collaboration providing us the use of the growth chambers during the final months of the experiment and Enrique Mateos-Naranjo and Jennifer Mesa-Marín of the Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, the University of Sevilla for their advice regarding the growth of salicornia plants in greenhouse conditions.

Keywords: halophytes, PGPB, rhizosphere engineering, biofertilizers, primary metabolite profiling, plant inoculation, Salicornia ramosissima

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Authors: Konstantinos Tolidis

Abstract:

The mountains are amongst the most fragile environments in the world. The world’s mountain areas cover 24% of the Earth’s land surface and are home to 12% of the global population. A further 14% of the global population is estimated to live in the vicinity of their surrounding areas. As urbanization continues to increase in the world, the mountains are also key centers for recreation and tourism; their attraction is often heightened by their remarkably high levels of biodiversity. Due to the fact that the features in mountain areas vary spatially (development degree, human geography, socio-economic reality, relations of dependency and interaction with other areas-regions), the spatial planning on these areas consists of a crucial process for preserving the natural, cultural and human environment and consists of one of the major processes of an integrated spatial policy. This research has been focused on the spatial decision problem of land use allocation optimization which is an ordinary planning problem on the mountain areas. It is a matter of fact that such decisions must be made not only on what to do, how much to do, but also on where to do, adding a whole extra class of decision variables to the problem when combined with the consideration of spatial optimization. The utility of optimization as a normative tool for spatial problem is widely recognized. However, it is very difficult for planners to quantify the weights of the objectives especially when these are related to mountain areas. Furthermore, the land use allocation optimization problems at mountain areas must be addressed not only by taking into account the general development objectives but also the spatial objectives (e.g. compactness, compatibility and accessibility, etc). Therefore, the main research’s objective was to approach the land use allocation problem by utilizing a hybrid meta-heuristic optimization technique tailored to the mountain areas’ spatial characteristics. The results indicates that the proposed methodological approach is very promising and useful for both generating land use alternatives for further consideration in land use allocation decision-making and supporting spatial management plans at mountain areas.

Keywords: multiobjective land use allocation, mountain areas, spatial planning, spatial decision making, meta-heuristic methods

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Abolade Olajoke, Adigun Folasade Oyenike, Odunjo Oluronke Omolola Olaleye, Babajide Rotimi

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Against the shortfall associated with unprecedented urbanization in most cities of the world, coupled with rapid expansion of outer boundaries, is the resultant birth of the development of new towns. The paper therefore examines the impacts of Ibeju - Lekki New Town on Neighbouring communities of Ibeju Lekki. Random systematic sampling was employed elicit relevant information from a total number of 269 residents at interval of five buildings in four neighbouring communities. Descriptive statistics was employed to test for the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents, problems faced by government officials during the implementation and monitoring process. Likert scale was employed to ascertain respondents view on the impact of the new town on neighbouring communities. Result from the findings shows that male (56.9%) are the most dominant occupant in the study area of which most (68.1%) fall within the most the active age group (18-39 and 40-59 years). Results further shows that 36% of the total respondents are traders and majority (32%) earn below government salary wage cap of ₦18000 thus indicating that majority of the respondents are petty traders. Results of findings from development authority reveals that the major problem encountered during monitoring and implementation is harassment of government officials (35%). Result of likert scale further show that new town has brought increase in intensity of land use within neighbouring communities (RAI 3.65), provision of job opportunity (RAI 3.57). This have consequently improve standard of living of the neighbouring community (RAI 3.27). On the contrary some (RAI 1.97) opined that attention should paid to provision of power supply and provision of recreation facilities (RAI I.63). The study recommends that government should make adequate provisions for basic facilities such power supply, adequate health care system, basic education and provision of healthy portable water. This should be given utmost priority to enhance the living condition of residents. To forestall attack from residents’ adequate security measures should be provided as backup for Government official during implementation and monitoring. Appropriate sanction to illegal occupants and demolition of illegal structures should be fully implemented, This will indubitably prevent haphazard development and also promote a liveable environment. Against the shortfall associated with unprecedented urbanization in most cities of the world, coupled with rapid expansion of outer boundaries, is the resultant birth of the development of new towns. The paper therefore examines the impacts of Ibeju - Lekki New Town on Neighbouring communities of Ibeju Lekki. Random systematic sampling was employed elicit relevant information from a total number of 269 residents at interval of five buildings in four neighbouring communities. Descriptive statistics was employed to test for the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents, problems faced by government officials during the implementation and monitoring process. Likert scale was employed to ascertain respondents view on the impact of the new town on neighbouring communities. Result from the findings shows that male (56.9%) are the most dominant occupant in the study area of which most (68.1%) fall within the most the active age group (18-39 and 40-59 years). Results further shows that 36% of the total respondents are traders and majority (32%) earn below government salary wage cap of ₦18000 thus indicating that majority of the respondents are petty traders. Results of findings from development authority reveals that the major problem encountered during monitoring and implementation is harassment of government officials (35%) Result of likert scale further show that new town has brought increase in intensity of land use within neighbouring communities (RAI 3.65), provision of job opportunity (RAI 3.57). This have consequently improve standard of living of the neighbouring community (RAI 3.27). On the contrary some (RAI 1.97) opined that attention should paid to provision of power supply and provision of recreation facilities (RAI I.63). The study recommends that government should make adequate provisions for basic facilities such power supply, adequate health care system, basic education and provision of healthy portable water. This should be given utmost priority to enhance the living condition of residents. To forestall attack from residents’ adequate security measures should be provided as backup for Government official during implementation and monitoring. Appropriate sanction to illegal occupants and demolition of illegal structures should be fully implemented, This will indubitably prevent haphazard development and also promote a liveable environment.

Keywords: new town, urbanization, infrastructure boundary

Procedia PDF Downloads 402

Authors: Odenigbo Veronica Ngozi, Lorreta Chika Ukwuaba

Abstract:

This study focuses on how the strengthening adult literacy program can help accelerate transformative strategies to end female genital mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria, specifically in Nsukka Local Government Area. The research delves into the definition of FGM, adult literacy programs, and how to achieve ending FGM to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030. It further discusses the practice of FGM in Nigeria and emphasizes the statement of the problem. The main aim of the study is to investigate how strengthening adult literacy programs can help accelerate transformative strategies to end FGM in Nigeria and achieve SDGs in 2030. The researchers utilized a survey research design to conduct the study in Nsukka L.G.A. The population was composed of 26 facilitators and adult learners in five adult learning centers in the area. The entire population was used as a sample, and structured questionnaires were employed to elicit information. The items on the questionnaire were face-validated by three experts, and the reliability of the instrument was verified using Cronbach Alpha Reliability Technique. The research questions were analyzed using means and standard deviation while the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of degree of significance using a t-test. The findings show that through adult literacy program acceleration of transformative strategies, the practices of FGM can be ended. Strengthening adult literacy programs is a good channel to end or stop FGM through the knowledge and skill acquired from the learning centers. The theoretical importance of the study lies in the fact that it highlights the role of adult literacy programs in accelerating transformative strategies to combat harmful cultural practices such as FGM. It further supports the importance of education and knowledge in achieving sustainable development goals by 2030. Structured questionnaires were distributed to an entire population of 26 facilitators and adult learners in five adult learning centers in Nsukka L.G.A. The questionnaire items were face–validated by three experts, and the reliability of the instrument was verified using Cronbach Alpha Reliability Technique. The research questions were analyzed using means and standard deviation, while the hypothesis was tested using a t-test at 0.05 level of degree of significance. The study addressed the question of how strengthening adult literacy programs can help accelerate transformative strategies to end FGM in Nigeria and achieve SDGs by 2030. In conclusion, the study found that adult literacy is a good tool to end FGM in Nigeria. The recommendations were that government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Community-based organizations (CBOs), and individuals should support the funding and establishment of adult literacy centers in communities so as to reach every illiterate parent or individual and acquire the knowledge and skill needed to understand the negative effect of FGM in the life of a girl child.

Keywords: adult literacy, female genital mutilation, learning centers, SDGs, strengthening

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Khairil I. Othman, Mahfuzah Mahayaddin, Zarina Bibi Ibrahim

Abstract:

We develop and demonstrate a computationally efficient numerical technique to solve first order stiff differential equations. This technique is based on block method whereby three approximate points are calculated. The Cholistani of varied step sizes are presented in divided difference form. Stability regions of the formulae are briefly discussed in this paper. Numerical results show that this block method perform very well compared to existing methods.

Keywords: block method, divided difference, stiff, computational

Procedia PDF Downloads 409

Authors: Simone Belli, Sergio Minniti, Valeria Santoro

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ICTs and technology transfer can benefit and move a country forward in economic and social development. However, ICT and access to the Internet have been inequitably distributed in most developing countries. In terms of science production and dissemination, this divide articulates itself also through the inequitable distribution of access to scientific knowledge and networks, which results in the exclusion of developing countries from the center of science. Developing countries are on the fringe of Science and Technology (S&T) production due not only to low investment in research but also to the difficulties to access international scholarly literature. In this respect, Open access (OA) initiatives and knowledge infrastructure represent key elements for both producing significant changes in scholarly communication and reducing the problems of developing countries. The spreading of the OA movement in the region, exemplified by the growth of regional and national initiatives, such as the creation of OA institutional repositories (e.g. SciELO and Redalyc) and the establishing of supportive governmental policies, provides evidence of the significant role that OA is playing in reducing the scientific gap between Latin American countries and improving their participation in the so-called ‘global knowledge commons’. In this paper, we map OA publications in Latin America and observe how Latin American countries are moving forward and becoming a leading force in widening access to knowledge. Our analysis, developed as part of the H2020 EULAC Focus research project, is based on mixed methods and consists mainly of a bibliometric analysis of OA publications indexed in the most important scientific databases (Web of Science and Scopus) and OA regional repositories, as well as the qualitative analysis of documents related to the main OA initiatives in Latin America. Through our analysis, we aim at reflecting critically on what policies, international standards, and best practices might be adapted to incorporate OA worldwide and improve the infrastructure of the global knowledge commons.

Keywords: open access, LAC countries, scientific publications, bibliometric analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Joanna Cabaj, Sylwia Baluta, Karol Malecha, Kamila Drzozga

Abstract:

Catecholamines are the principal neurotransmitters that mediate a variety of the central nervous system functions, such as motor control, cognition, emotion, memory processing, and endocrine modulation. Dysfunctions in catecholamine neurotransmission are induced in some neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases. Changeable neurotransmitters level in biological fluids can be a marker of several neurological disorders. Because of its significance in analytical techniques and diagnostics, sensitive and selective detection of neurotransmitters is increasingly attracting a lot of attention in different areas of bio-analysis or biomedical research. Recently, fluorescent techniques for detection of catecholamines have attracted interests due to their reasonable cost, convenient control, as well as maneuverability in biological environments. Nevertheless, with the observed need for a sensitive and selective catecholamines sensor, the development of a convenient method for this neurotransmitter is still at its basic level. The manipulation of nanostructured materials in conjunction with biological molecules has led to the development of a new class of hybrid modified biosensors in which both enhancement of charge transport and biological activity preservation may be obtained. Immobilization of biomaterials on electrode surfaces is the crucial step in fabricating electrochemical as well as optical biosensors and bioelectronic devices. Continuing systematic investigation in the manufacturing of enzyme–conducting sensitive systems, here is presented a convenient fluorescence sensing strategy for catecholamines detection based on FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) phenomena observed for, i.e., complexes of Fe²⁺ and epinephrine. The biosensor was constructed using low temperature co-fired ceramics technology (LTCC). This sensing system used the catalytical oxidation of catecholamines and quench of the strong luminescence of obtained complexes due to FRET. The detection process was based on the oxidation of substrate in the presence of the enzyme–laccase/tyrosinase.

Keywords: biosensor, conducting polymer, enzyme, FRET, LTCC

Procedia PDF Downloads 247