Search results for: early childhood care and development (ECCD)

Authors: Muñiz-Lino Marcos A.

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The ectomesenchymal tissues involved in tooth development and their remnants are the origin of different odontogenic lesions, including tumors and cysts of the jaws, with a wide range of clinical behaviors. A dentigerous cyst (DC) represents approximately 20% of all cases of odontogenic cysts, and it has been demonstrated that it can develop benign and malignant odontogenic tumors. DC is characterized by bone destruction of the area surrounding the crown of a tooth that has not erupted and contains liquid. The treatment of odontogenic tumors and cysts usually involves a partial or total removal of the jaw, causing important secondary co-morbidities. However, molecules implicated in DC pathogenesis, as well as in its development into odontogenic tumors, remain unknown. A cellular model may be useful to study these molecules, but that model has not been established yet. Here, we reported the establishment of a cell culture derived from a dentigerous cyst. This cell line was named DeCy-1. In spite of its ectomesenchymal morphology, DeCy-1 cells express epithelial markers such as cytokeratins 5, 6, and 8. Furthermore, these cells express the ODAM protein, which is present in odontogenesis and in dental follicles, indicating that DeCy-1 cells are derived from odontogenic epithelium. Analysis by electron microscopy of this cell line showed that it has a high vesicular activity, suggesting that DeCy-1 could secrete molecules that may be involved in DC pathogenesis. Thus, secreted proteins were analyzed by PAGE-SDS where we observed approximately 11 bands. In addition, the capacity of these secretions to degrade proteins was analyzed by gelatin substrate zymography. A degradation band of about 62 kDa was found in these assays. Western blot assays suggested that the matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) is responsible for this protease activity. Thus, our results indicate that the establishment of a cell line derived from DC is a useful in vitro model to study the biology of this odontogenic lesion and its participation in the development of odontogenic tumors.

Keywords: dentigerous cyst, ameloblastoma, MMP-2, odontogenic tumors

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Authors: Cui Long (Allen)

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The role of the Arctic in world politics and international relations has increased significantly over the past decades. With its large natural resources, the Arctic region has important geopolitical, strategic, and economic significance. All this determines the interest in it not only of the Arctic states but also of states located far from the Arctic. One of these states is the People's Republic of China. Relations between China and Russia in recent decades have been built on the basis of strategic partnership. Joint projects in the Arctic have become the most important priority area of this partnership. These are projects in the transport and energy fields. A large number of works by Russian scientists are devoted to the Sino-Russian Arctic cooperation. Most authors consider cooperation as a guarantee of stability for China and Russia in a globalized world. However, there are authors who believe that there are separate contradictions in the relations between the Arctic and non-Arctic countries. In their opinion, China sometimes acts as a competitor, and its activities become expansionist. In general, according to the Russian authors, Sino-Russian cooperation is mutually beneficial and is under development. China and Russia have a long way to go in the issue of sustainable development of the Arctic.

Keywords: People’s Republic of China, Russian Federation, Arctic, historiography

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Authors: Anita Burgund Isakov, Cristina Nunes, Nevenka Zegarac, Ana Antunes

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Contemporary societies are facing a noticeable shift in family realities, urging to need for the development of new policies, service, and practice orientation that has application across different sectors who serves families with children across the world. A challenge for the field of family support is diversity in conceptual assumptions and epistemological frameworks. Since many disciplines and professionals are working in the family support field, there is a need to map and gain a deeper insight into the skills for the workforce in this field. Under the umbrella of the COST action 'The Pan-European Family Support Research Network: A bottom-up, evidence-based and multidisciplinary approach', a review of the current state of knowledge published from the European studies on family support workforce skills standards is performed. Contributing to the aim of mapping and catalogization of skills standards, key stages of literature review were identified in order to extract and systematize the data. We have considered inclusion and exclusion criteria for this literature review. Inclusion criteria were: a) families living with their children and families using family support services; different methodological approaches were included: qualitative, quantitative, mix method, literature review and theoretical reflections various topic appeared in journals like working with families that are facing difficulties or culturally sensitive practice and relationship-based approaches; b) the dates ranged from 1995 to February 2020. Articles published prior to 1995 were excluded due to modernization of family support services across world; c) the sources and languages included peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals in English. Six databases were searched and once we have extracted all the relevant papers (n=29), we searched the list of reference in each and we found 11 additional papers. In total 40 papers have been extracted from six data basis. Findings could be summarized in: 1) only five countries emerged with production in the specific topic, that is, workforce skills to family support (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and Spain), 2) studies revealed that diverse skills support family topics were investigated, namely the professional support skills to help families of neglected/abused children or in care; the professional support skills to help families with children who suffer from behavioral problems and families with children with disabilities; and the professional support skills to help minority ethnic parents, 3) social workers were the main targeted professionals' studies albeit other child protection workers were studied too, 4) the workforce skills to family support were grouped in three topics: the qualities of the professionals (attitudes and attributes); technical skills, and specific knowledge. The framework of analyses, literature strategy and findings with study limitations will be further discussed. As an implication, this study contributes and advocates for the structuring of a common base for cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary qualification standards for the family support workforce.

Keywords: family support, skill standards, systemic review, workforce

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Authors: K. Lekshmi

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Land becomes a predominant constituent of transitional justice paradigm subsequent to the apartheid inspired land grabs and conflict induced forceful evictions in South Africa effecting land encroachment, expropriation, and alienation. In this pretext, post-Apartheid regime initiated land reconciliation measures which presume to overcome the politically appropriated historical injustices in conjunction with reconstructing transitional justice. As land grabs became one of the quintessential repercussions followed by ethnic cleansing in South Africa, it is prominent to study how land reconciliation becomes necessary in imparting transitional justice to the victims. The study also looks into the nature of developmental pattern after re- territorialization process in a post-conflict country like South Africa and, tries to look how re-territorialization process construed the functional distribution of income vis-a-vis income inequality in particular. Further the paper attempts to study how far land distribution and equal access as part of the land reconciliation process juxtaposed the principle of restitution. Research methodology applied is empirical followed by analytical research.

Keywords: development, land reconciliation, transitional justice, income inequality and displacement, re-territorialization

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Authors: Rose Virginy S. Bautista, Ida Marie Tabangay-Lim, Helen Bongalon-Amo, Jose Modesto B. Abellera

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Chordomas, particularly those of the spine and the head and neck region, represent a rare and locally aggressive group of malignancies. The complexity of these tumors -given the rarity, location, and involvement of neurovascular structures- imposes a challenge in the diagnosis and management. We herein report a case of spinal cord compression due to a prevertebral cervical chordoma. The patient presented with a gradually enlarging lateral neck mass, with progressive bilateral extremity weakness and urinary incontinence; preoperative biopsy showed chordoma. A multidisciplinary approach for the management of this case was made, involving neurosurgery, head and neck surgery, and radiation oncology services. Surgical collaboration between the two cutting services was done to have a radical excision of the tumor and spinal cord decompression. The patient was then referred for adjuvant radiation therapy. With this collaborative treatment strategy, more comprehensive and quality care could be provided to our patients.

Keywords: chordoma, surgical collaboration, spinal cord compression, neurosurgery, head and neck surgery

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Authors: Cynthia A. Gallardo, Kelly S. Hall, Kristopher Garza, Linda Challoo, Mais Nijim

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Dual-enrollment programs have become more prevalent in college and high school settings. Also known as early college programs, dual-enrollment programs help students acquire a head start in earning college credit for post-secondary studies. The number and percentage of high school students who take college courses while in high school is growing. However, little is known about how dual-enrolled students fare. The classroom environment is important to learning. This study compares dually enrolled high school students who take courses that yield college credit either within their high school or at some other location. Mann-Whitney U was the statistical test used. Mean proportions were compared for each of the five standard letter grades earned across the state of Texas. Results indicated that students earn similar passing A, B, and C grades when they take dual-enrollment courses at their high school location but are more likely to fail if they take dual-enrollment courses at non-high school locations. Implications of results are that student success rate of dual-enrollment college courses may have a significant difference between the locations and student performance.

Keywords: educational leadership, dual-enrollment, student performance, college

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Authors: Zenab Naseem, Sadia Imran

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One of the key solutions to the climate change crisis is to develop renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind power and biogas. This paper explores the socioeconomic and environmental viability of solar energy, based on a case study of the Soan Valley Development Program. Under this project, local farmers were provided solar water pumps at subsidized rates. These have been functional for the last seven years and have gained popularity among the local communities. The study measures the economic viability of using solar energy in agriculture, based on data from 36 households, of which 12 households each use diesel, electric and solar water pumps. Our findings are based on the net present value of each technology type. We also carry out a qualitative assessment of the social impact of solar water pumps relative to diesel and electric pumps. Finally, we conduct an environmental impact assessment, using the lifecycle assessment approach. All three analyses indicate that solar energy is a viable alternative to diesel and electricity.

Keywords: alternative energy sources, pollution control adoption and costs, solar energy pumps, sustainable development

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Authors: Lenore Van Den Berg

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Vocabulary development is positively associated with reading development, reading comprehension, and academic achievement. It is frequently stated that South Africa is in the midst of a literacy crisis. The past 24 years since the first democratically elected government have not revolutionised the education system; rather, after various curriculum changes and continued struggles to incorporate all 11 official languages as languages of instruction, research shows that 78 per cent of South African Grade 4 learners are functionally illiterate. The study sets out to find solutions to this problem and to add to the research base on vocabulary acquisition by assessing the effect of integrating the principles of explicit, interactive vocabulary instruction, within the context of storybook reading, on Grade 1 vocabulary acquisition. Participants comprised of 69 Grade 1 English second language learners from three classes in two government primary schools. The two schools differ in socio-economic status (SES), with School A having a lower SES than School B. One Grade 1 class was randomly assigned to be the Experimental Group, while two other classes served as control groups. The intervention took place for a period of 18 weeks and consisted of 30-minute storybook reading sessions, accompanied by interactive vocabulary instruction, twice a week. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test IV (PPVT-IV) was the diagnostic test administered to all learners before the intervention, as a pre-test, and after the interventions as a post-test. Data regarding excising vocabulary instruction practices and approaches were also collected through classroom observations and individual, semi-structured interviews with the Experimental Group’s teacher. Findings suggest that second language storybook reading, accompanied by explicit, interactive vocabulary instruction, have a positive impact on Grade 1 vocabulary acquisition but that vocabulary teaching practices and socio-economic status also play a key role in vocabulary acquisition.

Keywords: interactive vocabulary instruction, second language vocabulary, storybook reading, vocabulary acquisition, reading development, PPVT

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Authors: May Bazzi, Shafik Tokmaj, Younes Saberi, Mats Geijer, Tony Jurkiewicz, Patrik Sund, Anna Bjällmark

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Mobile radiography, employing portable X-ray equipment, has become a routine procedure within hospital settings, with chest X-rays in intensive care units standing out as the most prevalent mobile X-ray examinations. This approach is not limited to hospitals alone, as it extends its benefits to imaging patients in various settings, particularly those too frail to be transported, such as elderly care residents in nursing homes. Moreover, the utility of mobile X-ray isn't confined solely to traditional healthcare recipients; it has proven to be a valuable resource for vulnerable populations, including the homeless, drug users, asylum seekers, and patients with multiple co-morbidities. Mobile X-rays reduce patient stress, minimize costly hospitalizations, and offer cost-effective imaging. While studies confirm its reliability, further research is needed, especially regarding image quality. Recent advancements in lightweight equipment with enhanced battery and detector technology provide the potential for nearly handheld radiography. The main aim of this study was to evaluate a new lightweight mobile X-ray system with two different detectors and compare the image quality with a modern stationary system. Methods: A total of 74 images of the chest (chest anterior-posterior (AP) views and chest lateral views) and pelvic/hip region (AP pelvis views, hip AP views, and hip cross-table lateral views) were acquired on a whole-body phantom (Kyotokagaku, Japan), utilizing varying image parameters. These images were obtained using a stationary system - 18 images (Mediel, Sweden), a mobile X-ray system with a second-generation detector - 28 images (FDR D-EVO II; Fujifilm, Japan) and a mobile X-ray system with a third-generation detector - 28 images (FDR D-EVO III; Fujifilm, Japan). Image quality was assessed by visual grading analysis (VGA), which is a method to measure image quality by assessing the visibility and accurate reproduction of anatomical structures within the images. A total of 33 image criteria were used in the analysis. A panel of two experienced radiologists, two experienced radiographers, and two final-term radiographer students evaluated the image quality on a 5-grade ordinal scale using the software Viewdex 3.0 (Viewer for Digital Evaluation of X-ray images, Sweden). Data were analyzed using visual grading characteristics analysis. The dose was measured by the dose-area product (DAP) reported by the respective systems. Results: The mobile X-ray equipment (both detectors) showed significantly better image quality than the stationary equipment for the pelvis, hip AP and hip cross-table lateral images with AUCVGA-values ranging from 0.64-0.92, while chest images showed mixed results. The number of images rated as having sufficient quality for diagnostic use was significantly higher for mobile X-ray generation 2 and 3 compared with the stationary X-ray system. The DAP values were higher for the stationary compared to the mobile system. Conclusions: The new lightweight radiographic equipment had an image quality at least as good as a fixed system at a lower radiation dose. Future studies should focus on clinical images and consider radiographers' viewpoints for a comprehensive assessment.

Keywords: mobile x-ray, visual grading analysis, radiographer, radiation dose

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Authors: Ren Guangchun

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The village in the city is surrounded by formal cities but retains distinct social and morphological characteristics of the countryside, and has the ability of self-growth. County is the basic unit of urban-rural integration development, and urban village is the key focus of integration. At present, the flow of urban and rural factors in Chongqing does not match the development needs of urban villages. Based on the multi-case study of Chongqing 's districts and counties, this paper studies the characteristics of its geospatial advantages, composite functions, open spatial structure, pluralistic social structure, and reciprocity. From the aspects of community governance, social relations and space construction, this paper analyzes the dilemma of lack of subjectivity and social atomization faced by the interaction between urban villages and cities, and explores the strategies of community opening and social integration in urban villages, so as to present diversified landscapes and value spaces.

Keywords: gated community, open community, city update, Urban village

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Authors: Mahesh S. Harne, Sunil V. Deshmukh

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A continuous passive motion machine improves and helps the patient to restore range of motion in various physiotherapy activities. The paper presents a concept for portable CPM. The device is used for various joint for upper and lower body extremities. The device is designed so that the active and passive motion is incorporated. During development, the physiotherapist and patient need is integrated with designer aspects. Various tools such as Analytical Higher Hierarchy process (AHP) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is used to integrate the need at the design stage. With market survey of various commercial CPM the gaps are identified, and efforts are made to fill the gaps with ergonomic need. Indian anthropomorphic dimension is referred. The device is modular to best suit for all the anthropomorphic need of different human. Experimentation is carried under the observation of physiotherapist and doctor on volunteer patient. We reported better results are compare to conventional CPM with comfort and less pain. We concluded that the concept will be helpful to reduces therapy cost and wide utility of device for various joint and physiotherapy exercise.

Keywords: continuous passive motion machine, ergonomics, physiotherapy, quality function deployment

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Authors: Alexandre Rabaseda, Emelie Seguin, Marc Doumit

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Human mobility exoskeletons have been in development for several years and are becoming increasingly efficient. Unfortunately, user comfort was not always a priority design criterion throughout their development. To further improve this technology, exoskeletons should operate and deliver assistance without causing discomfort to the user. For this, improvements are necessary from an ergonomic point of view. The device’s control method is important when endeavoring to enhance user comfort. Exoskeleton or rehabilitation device controllers use methods of control called interaction controls (admittance and impedance controls). This paper proposes an extended version of an admittance controller to enhance user comfort. The control method used consists of adding an inner loop that is controlled by a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. This allows the interaction force to be kept as close as possible to the desired force trajectory. The force-tracking admittance controller modifies the actuation force of the system in order to follow both the desired motion trajectory and the desired relative force between the user and the exoskeleton.

Keywords: mobility assistive device, exoskeleton, force-tracking admittance controller, user comfort

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Authors: Sana Abbasa, Shahzad Bhattiab, Nadir Khan

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Sargassum siliquastrum is brown seaweed with traditional claims for some medicinal properties. This research was done to investigate the methanol extract of S. siliquastrum for antiproliferative activity against human cervical cancer cell line, HeLa and its mode of cell death. From methylene blue assay, S. siliquastrum exhibited antiproliferative activity on HeLa cells with IC50 of 3.87 µg/ml without affecting non-malignant cells. Phase contrast microscopy indicated the confluency reduction in HeLa cells and changes on the cell shape. Nuclear staining with Hoechst 33258 displayed the formation of apoptotic bodies and fragmented nuclei. S. siliquastrum also induced early apoptosis event in HeLa cells as confirmed by FITC-Annexin V/propidium iodide staining by flow cytometry analysis. Cell cycle analysis indicated growth arrest of HeLa cells at G1/S phase. Protein study by flow cytometry indicated the increment of p53, slight increase of Bax and unchanged level of Bcl-2. In conclusion, S. siliquastrum demonstrated an antiproliferative activity in HeLa cell by inducing G1/S cell cycle arrest via p53-mediated pathway.

Keywords: sargassum siliquastrum, cervical cancer, P53, antiproleferation

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Authors: Kirstie Smith

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This paper elucidates the value of neighborhood perception as it contributes to the advancement of well-being for individuals and families within a neighborhood. Through in-depth interviews with city residents, this paper examines the degree to which key stakeholders’ (residents) evaluate their neighborhood and perception of resources and identify, access, and utilize local assets existing in the community. Additionally, the research objective included conducting a community inventory that qualified the community assets and resources of lower-income neighborhoods of a medium-sized industrial city. Analysis of the community’s assets was compared with the interview results to allow for a better understanding of the community’s condition. Community mapping revealed the key informants’ reflections of assets were somewhat validated. In each neighborhood, there were more assets mapped than reported in the interviews. Another chief supposition drawn from this study was the identification of key development partners and social networks that offer the potential to facilitate locally-driven community development. Overall, the participants provided invaluable local knowledge of the perception of neighborhood assets, the well-being of residents, the condition of the community, and suggestions for responding to the challenges of the entire community in order to mobilize the present assets and networks.

Keywords: community mapping, family, resource allocation, social networks

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Authors: Kairat Kurakbayev, Dina Gungor, Adil Ashirbekov, Assel Kambatyrova

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Kazakhstan, a post-Soviet economy located in the Central Asia, is making great efforts to internationalize its national system of education. The country is very ambitious in making the national economy internationally competitive and education has become one of the main pillars of the nation’s strategic development plan for 2030. This paper discusses the role of professional teacher development in upgrading the secondary education curriculum with the introduction of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in grades 10-11 grades. Having Kazakh as the state language and Russian as the official language, English bears a status of foreign language in the country. The development of trilingual education is very high on the agenda of the Ministry of Education and Science. It is planned that by 2019 STEM-related subjects – Biology, Chemistry, Computing and Physics – will be taught in EMI. Introducing English-medium education appears to be a very drastic reform and the teaching cadre is the key driver here. At the same time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the teaching profession is still struggling to become attractive in the eyes of the local youth. Moreover, the quality of Kazakhstan’s secondary education is put in question by OECD national review reports. The paper presents a case study of the nation-wide professional development programme arranged for 5 010 school teachers so that they could be able to teach their content subjects in English starting from 2019 onwards. The study is based on the mixed methods research involving the data derived from the surveys and semi-structured interviews held with the programme participants, i.e. school teachers. The findings of the study imply the significance of the school teachers’ attitudes towards the top-down reform of trilingual education. The qualitative research data reveal the teachers’ beliefs about advantages and disadvantages of having their content subjects (e.g. Biology or Chemistry) taught in EMI. The study highlights teachers’ concerns about their professional readiness to implement the top-down reform of English-medium education and discusses possible risks of academic underperforming on the part of students whose English language proficiency is not advanced. This paper argues that for the effective implementation of the English-medium education in secondary schools, the state should adopt a comprehensive approach to upgrading the national academic system where teachers’ attitudes and beliefs play the key role in making the trilingual education policy effective. The study presents lessons for other national academic systems considering to transfer its secondary education to English as a medium of instruction.

Keywords: teacher education, teachers' beliefs, trilingual education, case study

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Authors: Kazuko Sakamoto

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Anthropomorphic agents have been successful in areas where there are many human interactions, such as education and medical care. The persuasive effect is also expected in e-shopping sites on the web. This indicates that customer service is not necessarily human but can play that role. However, the 'humanity' in anthropomorphism sometimes has a risk of working negatively. In general, as the appearance of anthropomorphic agents approaches humans, it is thought that their affinity with humans increases. However, when the degree of similarity reaches a certain level, it gives the user a weird feeling. This is the 'eerie valley' phenomenon. This is a concept used in the world of robotics, but it seems to be applicable to anthropomorphic agents such as characters. Then what kind of design can you accept as an anthropomorphic agent that gives you a feeling of friendliness or good feeling without causing discomfort or fear to people? This study focused on this point and examined what design and characteristics would be effective for marketing communication. As a result of the investigation, it was found that there is no need for gaze and blinking, the size of the eyes is normal or large, and the impression evaluation is higher when the structure is as simple as possible. Conversely, agents with high eye-gaze and white-eye ratios had low evaluations, and the negative impact on eye-gaze was particularly large.

Keywords: anthropomorphicgents, design evaluation, marketing communication, customer service

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Authors: Yidan Xu, Pim Martens, Thomas Krafft

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Marine fishing, an energy-intensive activity, directly emits greenhouse gases through fuel combustion, making it a significant contributor to oceanic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and worsening climate change. China is the world’s second-largest economy and the top emitter of GHG emissions, and it carries a significant energy conservation and emission reduction burden. However, the increasing GHG emissions from marine fishing is an easily overlooked but essential issue in China. This study offers a diverse perspective by integrating the concepts of total carbon emissions, carbon intensity, and per capita carbon emissions as indicators into calculation and discussion. To better understand the GHG emissions-Gross marine fishery product (GFP) relationship and influencing factors in Chinese marine fishing, the relationship between GHG emissions and economic development in marine fishing, a comprehensive framework is developed by combining the environmental Kuznets curve, the Tapio elasticity index, and the decomposition model. Results indicated that (1) The GHG emissions increased from 16.479 to 18.601 million tons in 2001-2020, in which trawlers and gillnetter are the main source in fishing operation. (2) Total carbon emissions (TC) and CI presented the same decline as GHG emissions, while per capita carbon emissions (PC) displayed an uptrend. (32) GHG emissions and gross marine fishery product (GFP) presented an inverted U-shaped relationship in China; the turning point came in the 13th Five-year Plan period (2016-2020). (43) Most provinces strongly decoupled GFP and CI. Still, PC and TC need more effort to decouple. (54) GHG emissions promoted by an industry structure driven, though carbon intensity and industry scale aid in GHG emissions reduced. (5) Compare with TC and PC, CI has been relatively affected by COVID-19 in 2020. The rise in fish and seafood prices during COVID-19 has boosted the GFP.

Keywords: marine fishing economy, greenhouse gas emission, fishery management, green development

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Authors: Sarah Kinyanjui, Mahnaaz Mohamed

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The child justice system in Kenya is organically departing from a managerial and retributive model to one that espouses restorative justice. Notably, the Children Act 2001, and the most recent, Children Act 2022, signalled an aspiration to facilitate meaningful interventions as opposed to ‘processing’ children through the justice system. In this vein, the Children Act 2022 formally recognises diversion and provides modalities for its implementation. This paper interrogates the diversion promise and reflects on the implementation of diversion as envisaged by the 2022 Act. Using restorative justice, labelling and differential association theories as well as the value of care lenses, the paper discusses diversion as a meaningful response to child offending. It further argues that while diversion presents a strong platform for the realisation of the restorative and rehabilitative ideals, in the absence of a well-planned, coordinated, and resourced framework, diversion may remain a mere alternative ‘conveyor belt’. Strategic multi-agency planning, capacity building and cooperation are highlighted as essential minimums for the realisation of the goals of diversion.

Keywords: diversion for child offenders, restorative justice, responsive criminal justice system, children act 2022 kenya

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Authors: Shyamani Hettiarachchi, Thilini Lokubalasuriya, Shakeela Saleem, Dinusha Nonis, Isuru Dharmaratne, Lakshika Udugama

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Introduction: Late identification of language difficulties in children could result in long-term negative consequences for communication, literacy and self-esteem. This highlights the need for early identification and intervention for speech, language and communication difficulties. Speech and language therapy is a relatively new profession in Sri Lanka and at present, there are no formal standardized screening tools to assess language skills in Sinhala-speaking children. The development and validation of a short, accurate screening tool to enable the identification of children with syntactic difficulties in Sinhala is a current need. Aims: 1) To develop test items for a Sinhala Syntactic Structures (S3 Short Form) test on children aged between 3;0 to 5;0 years 2) To validate the test of Sinhala Syntactic Structures (S3 Short Form) on children aged between 3; 0 to 5; 0 years Methods: The Sinhala Syntactic Structures (S3 Short Form) was devised based on the Renfrew Action Picture Test. As Sinhala contains post-positions in contrast to English, the principles of the Renfrew Action Picture Test were followed to gain an information score and a grammar score but the test devised reflected the linguistic-specificity and complexity of Sinhala and the pictures were in keeping with the culture of the country. This included the dative case marker ‘to give something to her’ (/ejɑ:ʈə/ meaning ‘to her’), the instrumental case marker ‘to get something from’ (/ejɑ:gən/ meaning ‘from him’ or /gɑhən/ meaning ‘from the tree’), possessive noun (/ɑmmɑge:/ meaning ‘mother’s’ or /gɑhe:/ meaning ‘of the tree’ or /male:/ meaning ‘of the flower’) and plural markers (/bɑllɑ:/ bɑllo:/ meaning ‘dog/dogs’, /mɑlə/mɑl/ meaning ‘flower/flowers’, /gɑsə/gɑs/ meaning ‘tree/trees’ and /wɑlɑ:kulə/wɑlɑ:kulu/ meaning ‘cloud/clouds’). The picture targets included socio-culturally appropriate scenes of the Sri Lankan New Year celebration, elephant procession and the Buddhist ‘Wesak’ ceremony. The test was piloted with a group of 60 participants and necessary changes made. In phase 1, the test was administered to 100 Sinhala-speaking children aged between 3; 0 and 5; 0 years in one district. In this presentation on phase 2, the test was administered to another 100 Sinhala-speaking children aged between 3; 0 to 5; 0 in three districts. In phase 2, the selection of the test items was assessed via measures of content validity, test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability. The age of acquisition of each syntactic structure was determined using content and grammar scores which were statistically analysed using t-tests and one-way ANOVAs. Results: High percentage agreement was found on test-retest reliability on content validity and Pearson correlation measures and on inter-rater reliability. As predicted, there was a statistically significant influence of age on the production of syntactic structures at p<0.05. Conclusions: As the target test items included generated the information and the syntactic structures expected, the test could be used as a quick syntactic screening tool with preschool children.

Keywords: Sinhala, screening, syntax, language

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Authors: Kate Whitman, Zahra Murad, Joe Cox

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Digital piracy is costly to creative economies across the world. Anti-piracy messages can cause people to pirate more rather than less, suggesting the presence of psychological reactance. Gender differences in message reactance and the moderating impact of attitudes have not been explored. In this paper, we examine whether messages based on real-world anti-piracy campaigns cause reactance and whether this effect is explained by gender and attitudes. An experiment compares two threatening and one prosocial message against a control group, with changes in piracy intention from past behavior for digital TV/film analysed. The results suggest that the prosocial message is ineffective for both genders. However, the threatening messages have significantly opposing effects on men and women. One threatening message influences women to reduce their piracy intentions by over 50% and men to increase it by 18%. Gender effects are moderated by pre-existing attitudes, with men and women who report the most favorable attitudes towards piracy having the most polarised changes in piracy intentions. The results suggest that men and women process threatening messages differently and that the creative industries should take care when targeting their messages.

Keywords: piracy, reactance, persuasive-messages, TV/film, gender

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Authors: Abbas Pourreza

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small single-stranded non-coding RNAs. They are almost 18-25 nucleotides long and very conservative through evolution. They are involved in adjusting the expression of numerous genes due to the existence of a complementary region, generally in the 3' untranslated regions (UTR) of target genes, against particular mRNAs in the cell. Also, miRNAs have been proven to be involved in cell development, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. More than 2000 miRNAs have been recognized in human cells, and these miRNAs adjust approximately one-third of all genes in human cells. Dysregulation of miRNA originated from abnormal DNA methylation patterns of the locus, cause to down-regulated or overexpression of miRNAs, and it may affect tumor formation or development of it. Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly identified cancer, the most prevalent cancer (23%), and the second-leading (14%) mortality in all types of cancer in females. BC can be classified based on the status (+/−) of the hormone receptors, including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and the Receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 (ERBB2 or HER2). Currently, there are four main molecular subtypes of BC: luminal A, approximately 50–60 % of BCs; luminal B, 10–20 %; HER2 positive, 15–20 %, and 10–20 % considered Basal (triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)) subtype. Aberrant expression of miR-145, miR-21, miR-10b, miR-125a, and miR-206 was detected by Stem-loop real-time RT-PCR in BC cases. Breast tumor formation and development may result from down-regulation of a tumor suppressor miRNA such as miR-145, miR-125a, and miR-206 and/or overexpression of an oncogenic miRNA such as miR-21 and miR-10b. MiR-125a, miR-206, miR-145, miR-21, and miR-10b are hugely predicted to be new tumor markers for the diagnosis and prognosis of BC. MiR-21 and miR-125a could play a part in the treatment of HER-2-positive breast cancer cells, while miR-145 and miR-206 could speed up the evolution of cure techniques for TNBC. To conclude, miRNAs will be presented as hopeful molecules to be used in the primary diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of BC and battle as opposed to its developed drug resistance.

Keywords: breast cancer, HER2 positive, miRNA, TNBC

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Authors: Qin Wei

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There has been an increased number of immigrants arriving in Canada and a concurrent rise in the number of immigrant youth suffering from drug abuse. Immigrant youths’ drug abuse has become a significant social and public health concern for researchers. This literature review explores the nature of immigrant youths’ drug abuse by examining the factors influencing the onset of substance misuse, the barriers that discourage youth to seek out treatment, and how to resolve addictions amidst immigrant youth. Findings from the literature demonstrate that diminished parental supervision, acculturation challenges, peer conformity, discrimination, and ethnic marginalization are all significant factors influencing youth to use drugs as an outlet for their pain, while culturally competent care and fear of family and culture-based addiction stigma act as barriers discouraging youth from seeking out addiction support. To resolve addiction challenges amidst immigrant youth, future research should focus on promoting and implementing culturally sensitive practices and psychoeducational initiatives into immigrant communities and within public health policies.

Keywords: approaches, barriers, drug abuse, Canada, immigrant youth, reasons

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Authors: Alina Murtishcheva

Abstract:

The tendency of globalization, challenges to democracy and peace caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and other global conflicts require searching general orientations of governmental development, including local government. The formation of a common theoretical framework for local government guarantees not only of harmonisation of European legislation but also creates prerequisites for the integration of new members into the European Union. One of the most important milestones of such a theoretical framework is the concept of decentralization. Decentralization as a phenomenon is characteristic of most European Union countries at different historical stages. For Ukraine, as a country that has clearly defined a European integration vector of development, understanding not only the legal but also the theoretical basis of decentralisation processes in European countries is an important prerequisite for further reforms. Decentralisation takes different forms, which leads to a variety of understandings in doctrine and, consequently, different interpretations in national legislation. Despite of this, decentralisation is based on common ideas and values such as democracy, participation, the rule of law, and proximity government that are shared by all EU member states. Nevertheless, not all EU countries are currently implementing broad decentralization in their political and legal practices. Some countries are gradually moving in this direction, while others remain quite centralised. There is also a new, insufficiently studied trend today – recentralisation, which can be broadly defined as the strengthening of centralization tendencies in countries that were considered to be decentralized. Consequently, an exploratory theoretical study is needed to identify how the concept of decentralization is combined with the recentralization tendency in EU member states. The purpose of this study is to empirically analyse scientific approaches to the concept of “decentralisation”, to highlight the tendency of recentralisation and its consequences, to analyse Ukraine's experience in the field of decentralisation of public power, and to outline the prospects for further development of Ukrainian legislation in this area.

Keywords: centralization, decentralization, local government, recentralization, reforms

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Authors: Samuel Richard Marcourt

Abstract:

The economic impact of community sports facilities can be examined through various dimensions, such as job creation, tourism, local business development, and property values. The aim of the study is to evaluate the economic impacts of community sports facilities on residents who lived within 500m radii of 4 Astro Turf soccer facilities in Ghana. The results of the study were based on the responses from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 purposively selected participants aged between 25 and 55 years. Participants’ responses revealed that community sports facilities create direct and indirect benefits for residents. Further, the direct benefits include job creation and employment among residents in the locality. Again, the promotion of local entrepreneurship and small business development, as well promotion of tourism, were indirect benefits. Consequently, the study provides useful data for stakeholders, including The Ministry of Sports, Ghana Football Association (GFA), and Government and non-governmental organizations, to construct more community sports facilities to assist in reducing the level of unemployment in Ghanaian communities.

Keywords: economic impact, community sports facilities, Astro turf, residents

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Authors: April C. Abalos, Marmie R. Poquiz, Paul Nigel S. Abalos

Abstract:

With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, everything is becoming possible with just a single click through the internet. What is more exciting is that through the power of the technological advancements, options are readily available in one’s fingertips. These technological advancements have greatly affected the perspectives of people in almost all human endeavors, even in their purchasing behavior. Hence, this study is conceptualized. This aims to identify the significance of the online purchase behavior of tourists for the development of travel bookings and provide knowledge to sellers and understanding major factors towards the online purchase behavior of tourists. Social media applications in booking online were also identified, as well as the profile and the marketing strategies influencing the behavior of individuals in an online travel booking. This study also sought to determine which behavioral intention should be given more attention to know where to exert more effort in winning the hearts of consumers. This study used a descriptive-survey design using an online survey questionnaire to gather real-time responses from the tourists visiting and/or planning to visit the scenic spots in the province of Pangasinan, which are highly reliable to formulate conclusions as deemed necessary.

Keywords: behavior, online purchase, tourists, travel bookings

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Authors: Amie Smith, Jodi-Lyn Benjamin

Abstract:

In 2020, there are currently four generations in the nursing workforce: The Veterans, Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y (Gen Y). Understanding each generation and their growing needs will equip the workforce for when the Boomers prepare for retirement, with majority of nursing leadership positions to be potentially replaced with Gen Y nurses. In SA Medical Imaging(SAMI), at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC), it has been proven that despite challenges in succession planning, Gen Y nurse leaders are able to overcome these obstacles and provide the leadership necessary to meet the changing needs in healthcare and across organisations. Changing the culture in radiology nursing has been seen as an obstacle due to the historical nursing practices and resistance to adapt to current/future practice. As radiology advances so does the role of the nurse in imaging, this has required resilience and strong support through leadership as we change and develop the culture to keep up with the evolution of technology and standard of patient care. As a result of supporting Gen Y nurses in leadership roles, SAMI, FMC has seen a positive change in culture by creating a healthy work environment which has allowed Gen Y nurses to make long lasting contributions to the nursing profession.

Keywords: changing culture, Generation Y, radiology, nursing, leadership

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Authors: Saifunnahar

Abstract:

As a former English colony, the relationship of Bangladesh with the English language goes a long way back. English is taught as a compulsory subject in Bangladesh from an early age starting from grade 1 and continuing through the 12th, yet, students are not competent enough to communicate in English proficiently. To improve students’ English language competency, the Bangladesh Ministry of Education introduced communicative language teaching (CLT) methods in English classrooms in the 1990s. It has been decades since this effort was taken, but the students’ level of proficiency is still not satisfactory. The main reason behind this failure is that CLT-based teaching-learning methods have not been effectively implemented. Very little research has been conducted to address the issues English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms are facing to carry out CLT methodologies in secondary schools (grades 6 to 10) in Bangladesh. Though the secondary level is crucial for students’ language learning and retention, EFL classrooms are marked with various issues that make teaching-learning harder for teachers and students. This study provides an overview of the status of CLT in EFL classrooms and the reasons behind failing to implement CLT in secondary schools in Bangladesh through an analysis of the qualitative data collected from different literature. Based on the findings, effective approaches have been recommended to employ CLT in EFL classrooms.

Keywords: Bangladesh, communicative language teaching, English as a foreign language, secondary schools, pedagogy

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Authors: Z. N. Salim, R. T. Lebese, M. S. Maputle

Abstract:

Background: The international community has been concerned about population growth for more than a century. Teenagers in sub-Saharan Africa continue to be at high risk of HIV infection, and this is exacerbated by poverty, whereby many teenagers in Africa come from disadvantaged families/background, which leads them to engage in sexual activities at an early age for survival hence leading to increased rate of teenage pregnancy. Purpose: The study sought to explore, describe and to identify the factors that lead to teenage pregnancy in the selected villages in Mopani District. Design: The study was conducted using a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual approach. A non-probability purposive sampling approach was used. Researcher collected the data with the assistance of research assistant. Participants were interviewed and information was captured on a tape recorder and analysed using open coding and thereafter collected into main themes, themes and sub-themes. The researcher conducted four focus groups, Participants aged between 10-19 years of age. Results: The finding of the study revealed that there are several factors that is contributing to teenagers falling pregnant. Personal, intuitional, and cultural were identified to be the factors leading to teenage pregnancy.

Keywords: factors, leading, pregnancy, teenage

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Authors: R. Kandiah, K. Miyamoto

Abstract:

In Sri Lanka, the Jaffna area is a high drought affected area and depends mainly on groundwater aquifers for water needs. Water for daily activities is extracted from wells. As households manually extract water from the wells, it is not drawn from mid evening to early morning. The water inflow at night provides the maximum water level that decreases during the daytime due to extraction. The storage volume of water in wells is limited or at its lowest level during the dry season. This study analyzes the domestic water budget during the dry season in the Jaffna area. In order to evaluate the water inflow rate into wells, storage volume and extraction volume from wells over time, water pressure is measured at the bottom of three wells, which are located in coastal area denoted as well A, in nonspecific area denoted as well B, and agricultural area denoted as well C. The water quality at the wells A, B, and C, are mostly fresh, modest fresh, and saline respectively. From the monitoring, we can find that the daily inflow amount of water into the wells and daily water extraction depend on each other, that is, higher extraction yields higher inflow. And, in the dry season, the daily inflow volume and the daily extraction volume of each well are almost in balance.

Keywords: accessible volume, consumption volume, inflow rate, water budget

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Authors: Mclee Kerolle

Abstract:

For more than 50 years, the state of Hawaii has had the beginnings of a burgeoning commercial aerospace presence statewide. While Hawaii provides the aerospace industry with unique assets concerning geographic location, lack of range safety issues and other factors critical to aerospace development, Hawaii’s strategy and commitment for aerospace have been unclear. For this reason, this paper presents a comparative analysis of Hawaii’s space sector with two of the world’s leading space sectors, Colorado and the Netherlands, in order to provide a strategic plan that establishes a firm position going forward to support Hawaii’s aerospace development statewide. This plan will include financial and other economic incentives legislatively supported by the State to help grow and diversify Hawaii’s aerospace sector. The first part of this paper will examine the business model adopted by the Colorado Space Coalition (CSC), a group of industry stakeholders working to make Colorado a center of excellence for aerospace, as blueprint for growth in Hawaii’s space sector. The second section of this paper will examine the business model adopted by the Netherlands Space Business Incubation Centre (NSBIC), a European Space Agency (ESA) affiliated program that offers business support for entrepreneurs to turn space-connected business ideas into commercial companies. This will serve as blueprint to incentivize space businesses to launch and develop in Hawaii. The third section of this paper will analyze the current policies both CSC, and NSBIC implores to promote industry expansion and legislative advocacy. The final section takes the findings from both space sectors and applies their most adaptable features to a Hawaii specific space business model that takes into consideration the unique advantage and disadvantages found in developing Hawaii’s space sector. The findings of this analysis will show that the development of a strategic plan based on a comparative analysis that creates high technology jobs and new pathways for a trained workforce in the space sector, as well as elicit state support and direction, will achieve the goal of establishing Hawaii as a center of space excellence. This analysis will also serve as a signal to the federal, private sector and international community that Hawaii is indeed serious about developing its’ aerospace industry. Ultimately this analysis and subsequent aerospace development plan will serve as a blueprint for the benefit of all space-faring nations seeking to develop their space sectors.

Keywords: Colorado, Hawaii, Netherlands, space policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 159