Search results for: drawing digital tool

Authors: William Ho, Agus Wicaksana

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Anecdotal evidence in the last decade shows that the occurrence of disruptive events and uncertainties in the supply chain is increasing. The coupling of these events with the nature of an increasingly complex and interdependent business environment leads to devastating impacts that quickly propagate within and across organizations. For example, the recent COVID-19 pandemic increased the global supply chain disruption frequency by at least 20% in 2020 and is projected to have an accumulative cost of $13.8 trillion by 2024. This crisis raises attention to organizational resilience to weather business uncertainty. However, the concept has been criticized for being vague and lacking a consistent definition, thus reducing the significance of the concept for practice and research. This study is intended to solve that issue by providing a comprehensive review of the conceptualization, measurement, and antecedents of operational resilience that have been discussed in the supply chain risk management literature (SCRM). We performed a Scholarly Network Analysis, combining citation-based and text-based approaches, on 252 articles published from 2000 to 2021 in top-tier journals based on three parameters: AJG ranking and ABS ranking, UT Dallas and FT50 list, and editorial board review. We utilized a hybrid scholarly network analysis by combining citation-based and text-based approaches to understand the conceptualization, measurement, and antecedents of operational resilience in the SCRM literature. Specifically, we employed a Bibliographic Coupling Analysis in the research cluster formation stage and a Co-words Analysis in the research cluster interpretation and analysis stage. Our analysis reveals three major research clusters of resilience research in the SCRM literature, namely (1) supply chain network design and optimization, (2) organizational capabilities, and (3) digital technologies. We portray the research process in the last two decades in terms of the exemplar studies, problems studied, commonly used approaches and theories, and solutions provided in each cluster. We then provide a conceptual framework on the conceptualization and antecedents of resilience based on studies in these clusters and highlight potential areas that need to be studied further. Finally, we leverage the concept of abnormal operating performance to propose a new measurement strategy for resilience. This measurement overcomes the limitation of most current measurements that are event-dependent and focus on the resistance or recovery stage - without capturing the growth stage. In conclusion, this study provides a robust literature review through a scholarly network analysis that increases the completeness and accuracy of research cluster identification and analysis to understand conceptualization, antecedents, and measurement of resilience. It also enables us to perform a comprehensive review of resilience research in SCRM literature by including research articles published during the pandemic and connects this development with a plethora of articles published in the last two decades. From the managerial perspective, this study provides practitioners with clarity on the conceptualization and critical success factors of firm resilience from the SCRM perspective.

Keywords: supply chain risk management, organizational resilience, scholarly network analysis, systematic literature review

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Authors: Ahmed A. El-Gindy, Elham S. El-Nashar, Abdallah Nafaa, Sameh El-Kafrawy

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The generation of energy from marine energy became one of the most preferable resources since it is a clean source and friendly to environment. Egypt has long shores along Mediterranean with important cities that need energy resources with significant wave energy. No detailed studies have been done on wave energy distribution in the Egyptian waters. The objective of this paper is to assess the energy wave power available in the Egyptian waters for the choice of the most suitable devices to be used in this area. This paper deals the characteristics and power of the offshore waves in the Egyptian waters. Since the field observations of waves are not frequent and need much technical work, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) interim reanalysis data in Mediterranean, with a grid size 0.75 degree, which is a relatively course grid, are considered in the present study for preliminary assessment of sea waves characteristics and power. The used data covers the period from 2012 to 2014. The data used are significant wave height (swh), mean wave period (mwp) and wave direction taken at six hourly intervals, at seven chosen stations, and at grid points covering the Egyptian waters. The wave power (wp) formula was used to calculate energy flux. Descriptive statistical analysis including monthly means and standard deviations of the swh, mwp, and wp. The percentiles of wave heights and their corresponding power are done, as a tool of choice of the best technology suitable for the site. The surfer is used to show spatial distributions of wp. The analysis of data at chosen 7 stations determined the potential of wp off important Egyptian cities. Offshore of Al Saloum and Marsa Matruh, the highest wp occurred in January and February (16.93-18.05) ± (18.08-22.12) kw/m while the lowest occurred in June and October (1.49-1.69) ± (1.45-1.74) kw/m. In front of Alexandria and Rashid, the highest wp occurred in January and February (16.93-18.05) ± (18.08-22.12) kw/m while the lowest occurred in June and September (1.29-2.01) ± (1.31-1.83) kw/m. In front of Damietta and Port Said, the highest wp occurred in February (14.29-17.61) ± (21.61-27.10) kw/m and the lowest occurred in June (0.94-0.96) ± (0.71-0.72) kw/m. In winter, the probabilities of waves higher than 0.8 m in percentage were, at Al Saloum and Marsa Matruh (76.56-80.33) ± (11.62-12.05), at Alexandria and Rashid (73.67-74.79) ± (16.21-18.59) and at Damietta and Port Said (66.28-68.69) ± (17.88-17.90). In spring, the percentiles were, at Al Saloum and Marsa Matruh, (48.17-50.92) ± (5.79-6.56), at Alexandria and Rashid, (39.38-43.59) ± (9.06-9.34) and at Damietta and Port Said, (31.59-33.61) ± (10.72-11.25). In summer, the probabilities were, at Al Saloum and Marsa Matruh (57.70-66.67) ± (4.87-6.83), at Alexandria and Rashid (59.96-65.13) ± (9.14-9.35) and at Damietta and Port Said (46.38-49.28) ± (10.89-11.47). In autumn, the probabilities were, at Al Saloum and Marsa Matruh (58.75-59.56) ± (2.55-5.84), at Alexandria and Rashid (47.78-52.13) ± (3.11-7.08) and at Damietta and Port Said (41.16-42.52) ± (7.52-8.34).

Keywords: distribution of sea waves energy, Egyptian Mediterranean waters, waves characteristics, waves power

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Authors: L. J. de Jager

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In the South African English school curriculum, one of the aims is to achieve communicative competence, the knowledge of using language competently and appropriately in a speech community. Communicatively competent speakers should not only produce grammatically correct sentences but also produce contextually appropriate sentences for various purposes and in different situations. As most speakers of English are non-native speakers, achieving communicative competence remains a complex challenge. Moreover, the changing needs of society necessitate not merely language proficiency, but also technological proficiency. One of the burning issues in the South African educational landscape is the replacement of the standardised literacy model by the pedagogy of multiliteracies that incorporate, by default, the exploration of technological text forms that are part of learners’ everyday lives. It foresees learners as decoders, encoders, and manufacturers of their own futures by exploiting technological possibilities to constantly create and recreate meaning. As such, 21st century learners will feel comfortable working with multimodal texts that are intrinsically part of their lives and by doing so, become authors of their own learning experiences while teachers may become agents supporting learners to discover their capacity to acquire new digital skills for the century of multiliteracies. The aim is transformed practice where learners use their skills, ideas, and knowledge in new contexts. This paper reports on a research project on the integration of technology for language learning, based on the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework, conceptually founded in the theory of multiliteracies, and which aims to achieve communicative competence. The qualitative study uses the community of inquiry framework to answer the research question: How does the integration of technology transform language teaching of preservice teachers? Pre-service teachers in the Postgraduate Certificate of Education Programme with English as methodology were purposively selected to source and evaluate apps for teaching and learning English. The participants collaborated online in a dedicated Blackboard module, using discussion threads to sift through applicable apps and develop interactive lessons using the Apps. The selected apps were entered on to a predesigned Qualtrics form. Data from the online discussions, focus group interviews, and reflective journals were thematically and inductively analysed to determine the participants’ perceptions and experiences when integrating technology in lesson design and the extent to which communicative competence was achieved when using these apps. Findings indicate transformed practice among participants and research team members alike with a better than average technology acceptance and integration. Participants found value in online collaboration to develop and improve their own teaching practice by experiencing directly the benefits of integrating e-learning into the teaching of languages. It could not, however, be clearly determined whether communicative competence was improved. The findings of the project may potentially inform future e-learning activities, thus supporting student learning and development in follow-up cycles of the project.

Keywords: apps, communicative competence, English teaching, technology integration, technological pedagogical content knowledge

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Authors: Diego Abbo

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On February 15, 2012 off the Indian coast of Kerala, in position 091702N-0760180E by the oil tanker Enrica Lexie, flying the Italian flag, bursts of 5.56 x45 caliber shots were fired from assault rifles AR/70 Italian-made Beretta towards the Indian fisher boat St. Anthony. The shots that hit the St. Anthony fishing boat were six, of which two killed the Indian fishermen Ajesh Pink and Valentine Jelestine. From the analysis concerning the kinematic engagement of the two ships and from the autopsy and ballistic results of the Indian judicial authorities it is possible to reconstruct the trajectories of the six aforementioned shots. This essay reconstructs the trajectories of the six shots that cannot be of direct shooting but have undergone a rebound on the water. The investigation carried out scientifically demonstrates the rebound of the blows on the water, the gyrostatic deviation due to the rebound and the tumbling effect always due to the rebound as regards intermediate ballistics. In consideration of the four shots that directly impacted the fishing vessel, the current examination proves, with scientific value, that the trajectories could not be downwards but upwards. Also, the trajectory of two shots that hit to death the two fishermen could not be downwards but only upwards. In fact, this paper demonstrates, with scientific value: The loss of speed of the projectiles due to the rebound on the water; The tumbling effect in the ballistic medium within the two victims; The permanent cavities subject to the injury ballistics and the related ballistic trauma that prevented homeostasis causing bleeding in one case; The thermo-hardening deformation of the bullet found in Valentine Jelestine's skull; The upward and non-downward trajectories. The paper constitutes a tool in forensic ballistics in that it manages to reconstruct, from the final spot of the projectiles fired, all phases of ballistics like the internal one of the weapons that fired, the intermediate one, the terminal one and the penetrative structural one. In general terms the ballistics reconstruction is based on measurable parameters whose entity is contained with certainty within a lower and upper limit. Therefore, quantities that refer to angles, speed, impact energy and firing position of the shooter can be identified within the aforementioned limits. Finally, the investigation into the internal bullet track, obtained from any autopsy examination, offers a significant “lesson learned” but overall a starting point to contain or mitigate bleeding as a rescue from future gunshot wounds.

Keywords: impact physics, intermediate ballistics, terminal ballistics, tumbling effect

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Authors: Bensaid A., Mostephaoui T., Nedjai R.

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A considerable area of Algerian lands are threatened by the phenomenon of wind erosion. For a long time, wind erosion and its associated harmful effects on the natural environment have posed a serious threat, especially in the arid regions of the country. In recent years, as a result of increases in the irrational exploitation of natural resources (fodder) and extensive land clearing, wind erosion has particularly accentuated. The extent of degradation in the arid region of the Algerian Mécheriadepartment generated a new situation characterized by the reduction of vegetation cover, the decrease of land productivity, as well as sand encroachment on urban development zones. In this study, we attempt to investigate the potential of remote sensing and geographic information systems for detecting the spatial dynamics of the ancient dune cords based on the numerical processing of PlanetScope PSB.SB sensors images by September 29, 2021. As a second step, we prospect the use of a multi-scale geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) approach to segment the high spatial resolution images acquired on heterogeneous surfaces that vary according to human influence on the environment. We have used the fractal net evolution approach (FNEA) algorithm to segment images (Baatz&Schäpe, 2000). Multispectral data, a digital terrain model layer, ground truth data, a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) layer, and a first-order texture (entropy) layer were used to segment the multispectral images at three segmentation scales, with an emphasis on accurately delineating the boundaries and components of the sand accumulation areas (Dune, dunes fields, nebka, and barkhane). It is important to note that each auxiliary data contributed to improve the segmentation at different scales. The silted areas were classified using a nearest neighbor approach over the Naâma area using imagery. The classification of silted areas was successfully achieved over all study areas with an accuracy greater than 85%, although the results suggest that, overall, a higher degree of landscape heterogeneity may have a negative effect on segmentation and classification. Some areas suffered from the greatest over-segmentation and lowest mapping accuracy (Kappa: 0.79), which was partially attributed to confounding a greater proportion of mixed siltation classes from both sandy areas and bare ground patches. This research has demonstrated a technique based on very high-resolution images for mapping sanded and degraded areas using GEOBIA, which can be applied to the study of other lands in the steppe areas of the northern countries of the African continent.

Keywords: land development, GIS, sand dunes, segmentation, remote sensing

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Authors: Cassandra Hansen, Paul Doherty, Chris Ferner, German Whitley, Holly Torpey

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Wildfire is a natural and inevitable occurrence, yet changing climatic conditions have increased the severity, frequency, and risk to human populations in the wildland/urban interface (WUI) of the Western United States. Rapid dissemination of accurate wildfire information is critical to both the Incident Management Team (IMT) and the affected community. With the advent of increasingly sophisticated information systems, GIS can now be used as a web platform for sharing geographic information in new and innovative ways, such as virtual story map applications. Crowdsourced information can be extraordinarily useful when coupled with authoritative information. Information abounds in the form of social media, emergency alerts, radio, and news outlets, yet many of these resources lack a spatial component when first distributed. In this study, we describe how twenty-eight volunteer GIS professionals across nine Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACC) sourced, curated, and distributed Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) from authoritative social media accounts focused on disseminating information about wildfires and public safety. The combination of fire progression maps with VGI incident information helps answer three critical questions about an incident, such as: where the first started. How and why the fire behaved in an extreme manner and how we can learn from the fire incident's story to respond and prepare for future fires in this area. By adding a spatial component to that shared information, this team has been able to visualize shared information about wildfire starts in an interactive map that answers three critical questions in a more intuitive way. Additionally, long-term social and technical impacts on communities are examined in relation to situational awareness of the disaster through map layers and agency links, the number of views in a particular region of a disaster, community involvement and sharing of this critical resource. Combined with a GIS platform and disaster VGI applications, this workflow and information become invaluable to communities within the WUI and bring spatial awareness for disaster preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery. This study highlights progression maps as the ultimate storytelling mechanism through incident case studies and demonstrates the impact of VGI and sophisticated applied cartographic methodology make this an indispensable resource for authoritative information sharing.

Keywords: storytelling, wildfire progression maps, volunteered geographic information, spatial and temporal

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Authors: Lauren G. Coggins

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Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) are among the most common healthcare-associated infections (HAI), contributing to prolonged lengths of stay, greater costs of patient care, and increased patient mortality. Evidence-based preventative care bundles exist to establish consistent, safe patient-care practices throughout an entire organization, helping to ensure the collective application of care strategies that aim to improve patient outcomes and minimize complications. The cardiac intensive care unit at a nationally ranked teaching and research hospital in the United States exceeded its annual CAUTI and CLABSI targets in the fiscal year 2019, prompting examination into the unit’s infection prevention efforts that included preventative care bundles for both HAIs. Adherence to the CAUTI and CLABSI preventative care bundles was evaluated through frequent audits conducted over three months, using standards and resources from The Joint Commission, a globally recognized leader in quality improvement in healthcare and patient care safety. The bundle elements with the lowest scores were identified as the most commonly missed elements. Three elements from both bundles, six elements in total, served as key content areas for the educational interventions targeted to bedside nurses. The CAUTI elements included appropriate urinary catheter order, appropriate continuation criteria, and urinary catheter care. The CLABSI elements included primary tubing compliance, needleless connector compliance, and dressing change compliance. An integrated, multi-platform education campaign featured content on each CAUTI and CLABSI preventative care bundle in its entirety, with additional reinforcement focused on the lowest scoring elements. One-on-one educational materials included an informational pamphlet, badge buddy, a presentation to reinforce nursing care standards, and real-time application through case studies and electronic health record demonstrations. A digital hub was developed on the hospital’s Intranet for quick access to unit resources, and a bulletin board helped track the number of days since the last CAUTI and CLABSI incident. Audits continued to be conducted throughout the education campaign, and staff were given real-time feedback to address any gaps in adherence. Nearly every nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit received all educational materials, and adherence to all six key bundle elements increased after the implementation of educational interventions. Recommendations from this implementation include providing consistent, comprehensive education across multiple teaching tools and regular audits to track adherence. The multi-platform education campaign brought focus to the evidence-based CAUTI and CLABSI bundles, which in turn will help to reduce CAUTI and CLABSI rates in clinical practice.

Keywords: education, healthcare-associated infections, infection, nursing, prevention

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Authors: Najeebullah Soomro, Habib Noorbhai, Mariam Soomro, Ross Sanders

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The demands on cricketers are increasing with more matches being played in a shorter period of time with a greater intensity. A ten year report on injury incidence for Australian elite cricketers between the 2000- 2011 seasons revealed an injury incidence rate of 17.4%.1. In the 2009–10 season, 24 % of Australian fast bowlers missed matches through injury. 1 Injury rates are even higher in junior cricketers with an injury incidence of 25% or 2.9 injuries per 100 player hours reported. 2 Traditionally, injury surveillance has relied on the use of paper based forms or complex computer software. 3,4 This makes injury reporting laborious for the staff involved. The purpose of this presentation is to describe a smartphone based mobile application as a means of improving injury surveillance in cricket. Methods: The researchers developed CricPredict mobile App for the Android platforms, the world’s most widely used smartphone platform. It uses Qt SDK (Software Development Kit) as IDE (Integrated Development Environment). C++ was used as the programming language with the Qt framework, which provides us with cross-platform abilities that will allow this app to be ported to other operating systems (iOS, Mac, Windows) in the future. The wireframes (graphic user interface) were developed using Justinmind Prototyper Pro Edition Version (Ver. 6.1.0). CricPredict enables recording of injury and training status conveniently and immediately. When an injury is reported automated follow-up questions include site of injury, nature of injury, mechanism of injury, initial treatment, referral and action taken after injury. Direct communication with the player then enables assessment of severity and diagnosis. CricPredict also allows the coach to maintain and track each player’s attendance at matches and training session. Workload data can also be recorded by either the player or coach by recording the number of balls bowled or played in a day. This is helpful in formulating injury rates and time lost due to injuries. All the data are stored at a secured password protected data server. Outcomes and Significance: Use of CricPredit offers a simple, user friendly tool for the coaching or medical staff associated with teams to predict, record and report injuries. This system will assist teams to capture injury data with ease thus allowing better understanding of injuries associated with cricket and potentially optimize the performance of such cricketers.

Keywords: injury, cricket, surveillance, smartphones, mobile

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Authors: Martin Cai, Khadijah B. Hashim, Leng Leo, Edmund F. Tian

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Analysis of traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) supplements has always been a laborious task, particularly in the case of multi‐ingredient formulations. Traditionally, herbal extracts are analysed using one or few markers compounds. In the recent years, however, pharmaceutical companies are introducing health supplements of TCM active ingredients to cater to the needs of consumers in the fast-paced society in this age. As such, new problems arise in the aspects of composition identification as well as quality analysis. In most cases of products or supplements formulated with multiple TCM herbs, the chemical composition, and nature of each raw material differs greatly from the others in the formulation. This results in a requirement for individual analytical processes in order to identify the marker compounds in the various botanicals. Thin-layer Chromatography (TLC) is a simple, cost effective, yet well-regarded method for the analysis of natural products, both as a Pharmacopeia-approved method for identification and authentication of herbs, and a great analytical tool for the discovery of chemical compositions in herbal extracts. Recent technical advances introduced High-Performance TLC (HPTLC) where, with the help of automated equipment and improvements on the chromatographic materials, both the quality and reproducibility are greatly improved, allowing for highly standardised analysis with greater details. Here we report an industrial consultancy project with ONI Global Pte Ltd for the analysis of LAC Liver Protector, a TCM formulation aimed at improving liver health. The aim of this study was to identify 4 key components of the supplement using HPTLC, following protocols derived from Chinese Pharmacopeia standards. By comparing the TLC profiles of the supplement to the extracts of the herbs reported in the label, this project proposes a simple and cost-effective analysis of the presence of the 4 marker compounds in the multi‐ingredient formulation by using 4 different HPTLC methods. With the increasing trend of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) bringing natural products and health supplements into the market, it is crucial that the qualities of both raw materials and end products be well-assured for the protection of consumers. With the technology of HPTLC, science can be incorporated to help SMEs with their quality control, thereby ensuring product quality.

Keywords: traditional Chinese medicine supplement, high performance thin layer chromatography, active ingredients, product quality

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Authors: Barbara Eschen Danielsen, Morten Niels Baxter, Per Sieverts Nielsen

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Europe is currently in an energy and climate crisis, which requires more sustainable solutions than what has been used to before. Europe uses 40% of its energy in buildings so there has come a significant focus on trying to find and commit to new initiatives to reduce energy consumption in buildings. The European Union has introduced a building standard in 2021 to be upheld by 2030. This new building standard requires a significant reduction of CO2 emissions from both privately and publicly owned buildings. The overall aim is to achieve a zero-emission building stock by 2050. EU is revising the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) as part of the “Fit for 55” package. It was adopted on March 14, 2023. The new directive’s main goal is to renovate the least energy-efficient homes in Europe. There will be a cost for the home owner with a renovation project, but there will also be an improvement in energy efficiency and, therefore, a cost reduction. After the implementation of the EU directive, many homeowners will have to focus their attention on how to make the most effective energy renovations of their homes. The new EU directive will affect almost one million Danish homes (30%), as they do not meet the newly implemented requirements for energy efficiency. The problem for this one mio homeowners is that it is not easy to decide which renovation project they should consider. The houses are build differently and there are many possible solutions. The main focus of this paper is to identify the most impactful solutions and evaluate their impact and evaluating them with a criteria based sustainability indicator framework. The result of the analysis give each homeowner an insight in the various renovation options, including both advantages and disadvantages with the aim of avoiding unnecessary costs and errors while minimizing their CO2 footprint. Given that the new EU directive impacts a significant number of home owners and their homes both in Denmark and the rest of the European Union it is crucial to clarify which renovations have the most environmental impact and most cost effective. We have evaluated the 10 most impactful solutions and evaluated their impact in an indicator framework which includes 9 indicators and covers economic, environmental as well as social factors. We have packaged the result of the analysis in three packages, the most cost effective (short term), the most cost effective (long-term) and the most sustainable. The results of the study secure transparency and thereby provides homeowners with a tool to help their decision-making. The analysis is based on mostly qualitative indicators, but it will be possible to evaluate most of the indicators quantitively in a future study.

Keywords: energy efficiency, building renovation, renovation solutions, building energy performance criteria

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Authors: Lugean K. Alomari, Rahaf K. Sharif, Basil K. Alomari, Hind M. Aljabri, Faisal F. Aljahdali, Amal A. Alomari, Saeed A. Alghamdi

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Background: The thermal pulsation system is a therapy that uses heat and massage to treat dry eye disease; thus, some trials have been published to compare it with the conventional treatment. The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the efficacy of thermal pulsation systems with conventional treatment in patients undergoing cataract surgery. Methods: Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases were searched for eligible trials. We included three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the thermal pulsation system with the conventional treatment in patients undergoing cataract surgery. A table of characteristics was plotted, and the Quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2). Forest plots were plotted using the Random-effect Inverse Variance method. χ2 test and the Higgins-I-squared (I2) model were used to assess heterogeneity. A total of 201 cataract surgery patients were included, with 105 undergoing preoperative pulsation therapy and 96 receiving conventional treatment. Demographic analysis revealed comparable distributions across groups. Results: All the studies in our analysis are of good quality with a low risk of bias. A total of 201 patients were included in the analysis, out of which 105 underwent pulsation therapy, and 95 were in the control group. Tear Break-up Time (TBUT) analysis revealed no significant baseline differences, except pulsation therapy being better at 1 month. (SMD 0.42 [95%CI 0.14 - 0.70] p=0.004). This positive trend continued at three months (SMD 0.52 [95% CI (0.20 – 0.84)] p=0.002). Corneal fluorescein staining scores and Meibomian gland-yielding secretion scores showed no significant differences at baseline. However, at one month, pulsation therapy significantly improved Meibomian gland function (SMD -0.86 [95% CI (-1.20 - -0.53)] p<0.00001), indicating a reduced risk of dry eye syndrome. Conclusion: Preoperative pulsation therapy appears to enhance post-cataract surgery outcomes, particularly in terms of tear film stability and Meibomian gland secretory function. The sustained positive effects observed at one and three months post-surgery suggest the potential for long-term benefits.

Keywords: lipiflow, cataract, thermal pulsation, dry eye

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Authors: José Antonio Donaire Benito, Konstantina Zerva

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Historically, cities have been places where people from many nations and cultures have met and settled together, while population flows and density have had a significant impact on urban dynamics. Cities' high density of social, cultural, business offerings, everyday services, and other amenities not intended for tourists draw not only tourists but a wide range of city users as well. With the coordination of city rhythms and the porosity of the community, city users order and frame their urban experience. From one side, recent literature focuses on the shift in urban tourist experience from 'having' a holiday through 'doing' activities to 'becoming' a local by experiencing a part of daily life. On the other hand, there is a debate on the 'touristification of everyday life', where middle and upper class urban dwellers display attitudes and behaviors that are virtually undistinguishable from those of visitors. With the advent of globalization and technological advances, modern society has undergone a radical transformation that has altered mobility patterns within it, blurring the boundaries between tourism and everyday life, work and leisure, and "hosts" and "guests". Additionally, the presence of other 'temporary city' users, such as commuters, digital nomads, second home owners, and migrants, contributes to a more complex transformation of tourist cities. Moving away from this traditional clear distinction between 'hosts' and 'guests', which represents a more static view of tourism, and moving towards a more liquid narrative of mobility, academics on tourism development are embracing the New Mobilities Paradigm. The latter moves beyond the static structures of the modern world and focuses on the ways in which social entities are made up of people, machines, information, and images in a moving system. In light of this fluid interdependence between tourists and guests, a question arises as to whether overtourism, which is considered as the underlying cause of citizens' perception of a lower urban quality of life, is a fair representation of perceived mobility excessiveness, place consumption disruptiveness, and residents displacement. As a representative example of an overtourism narrative, Barcelona was chosen as a study area for this purpose, focusing on the incoming city users to reflect in depth the variety of people who contribute to mobility flows beyond those residents already have. Several statistical data have been analyzed to determine the number of national and international visitors to Barcelona at some point during the day in 2019. Specifically, tracking data gathered from mobile phone users within the city are combined with tourist surveys, urban mobility data, zenithal data capture, and information about the city's attractions. The paper shows that tourists are only a small part of the different incoming city users that daily enter Barcelona; excursionists, commuters, and metropolitans also contribute to a high mobility flow. Based on the diversity of incoming city users and their place consumption, it seems that the city's urban experience is more likely to be impacted by over-mobility tan over-tourism.

Keywords: city users, density, new mobilities paradigm, over-tourism.

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Authors: Brian Bacia, Esther Githaiga, Teresia Kabucho, Paul Moses Ndegwa, Lucy Gichohi

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Purpose: The aim of the study is to ensure an appropriate mix of evidence-based prevention strategies geared towards the reduction of new HIV infections and the incidence of Sexually transmitted Illnesses Background: In Nakuru County, more than 90% of all HIV-infected patients are adults and on a single-dose medication-one pill that contains a combination of several different HIV drugs. Nakuru town has been identified as the hardest hit by HIV/Aids in the County according to the latest statistics from the County Aids and STI group, with a prevalence rate of 5.7 percent attributed to the high population and an active urban center. Method: 2 key studies were carried out to provide evidence for the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) when used optimally on preventing sexual transmission of HIV. Discussions based on an examination, assessments of successes in planning, program implementation, and ultimate impact of prevention and treatment were undertaken involving health managers, health workers, community health workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS between February -August 2021. Questionnaires were carried out by a trained duo on ethical procedures at 15 HIV treatment clinics targeting patients on ARVs and caregivers on ARV prevention and treatment of pediatric HIV infection. Findings: Levels of AIDS awareness are extremely high. Advances in HIV treatment have led to an enhanced understanding of the virus, improved care of patients, and control of the spread of drug-resistant HIV. There has been a tremendous increase in the number of people living with HIV having access to life-long antiretroviral drugs (ARV), mostly on generic medicines. Healthcare facilities providing treatment are stressed challenging the administration of the drugs, which require a clinical setting. Women find it difficult to take a daily pill which reduces the effectiveness of the medicine. ART adherence can be strengthened largely through the use of innovative digital technology. The case management approach is useful in resource-limited settings. The county has made tremendous progress in mother-to-child transmission reduction through enhanced early antenatal care (ANC) attendance and mapping of pregnant women Recommendations: Treatment reduces the risk of transmission to the child during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Promote research of medicines through patients and community engagement. Reduce the risk of transmission through breastfeeding. Enhance testing strategies and strengthen health systems for sustainable HIV service delivery. Need exists for improved antenatal care and delivery by skilled birth attendants. Develop a comprehensive maternal reproductive health policy covering equitability, efficient and effective delivery of services. Put in place referral systems.

Keywords: evidence-based prevention strategies, service delivery, human management, integrated approach

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Authors: Tais Basaco, Stefanie Pektor, Josue A. Moreno, Matthias Miederer, Andreas Türler

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Radiopharmaceuticals based in monoclonal anti-body (mAb) via chemical linkers have become a potential tool in nuclear medicine because of their specificity and the large variability and availability of therapeutic radiometals. It is important to identify the conjugation sites and number of attached chelator to mAb to obtain radioimmunoconjugates with required immunoreactivity and radiostability. Girentuximab antibody (G250) is a potential candidate for radioimmunotherapy of clear cell carcinomas (RCCs) because it is reactive with CAIX antigen, a transmembrane glycoprotein overexpressed on the cell surface of most ( > 90%) (RCCs). G250 was conjugated with the bifunctional chelating agent DOTA (1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane-N,N’,N’’,N’’’-tetraacetic acid) via a benzyl-thiocyano group as a linker (p-SCN-Bn-DOTA). DOTA-G250 conjugates were analyzed by size exclusion chromatography (SE-HPLC) and by electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The potential site-specific conjugation was identified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) and the number of linkers per molecule of mAb was calculated using the molecular weight (MW) measured by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The average number obtained in the conjugates in non-reduced conditions was between 8-10 molecules of DOTA per molecule of mAb. The average number obtained in the conjugates in reduced conditions was between 1-2 and 3-4 molecules of DOTA per molecule of mAb in the light chain (LC) and heavy chain (HC) respectively. Potential DOTA modification sites of the chelator were identified in lysine residues. The biological activity of the conjugates was evaluated by flow cytometry (FACS) using CAIX negative (SKRC-18) and CAIX positive (SKRC-52). The DOTA-G250 conjugates were labelled with 177Lu with a radiochemical yield > 95% reaching specific activities of 12 MBq/µg. The stability in vitro of different types of radioconstructs was analyzed in human serum albumin (HSA). The radiostability of 177Lu-DOTA-G250 at high specific activity was increased by addition of sodium ascorbate after the labelling. The immunoreactivity was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Binding to CAIX positive cells (SK-RC-52) at different specific activities was higher for conjugates with less DOTA content. Protein dose was optimized in mice with subcutaneously growing SK-RC-52 tumors using different amounts of 177Lu- DOTA-G250.

Keywords: mass spectrometry, monoclonal antibody, radiopharmaceuticals, radioimmunotheray, renal cancer

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Authors: Raya Sulaiman

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Critical discourse analysis investigates how discourse is used to abuse power relationships. Political debates constitute discourses which mirror aspects of ideologies. The Arab world has been one of the most unsettled zones in the world and has dominated global politics due to the Arab revolutions which started in 2010. This study aimed at uncovering the ideological intentions in the formulation and circulation of hegemonic political ideology in the TV political debates of the 2011 to 2012 Yemen revolution, how ideology was used as a tool of hegemony. The study specifically examined the ideologies associated with the use of protesters as a social actor. Data of the study consisted of four debates (17350 words) from four live debate programs: The Opposite Direction, In Depth, Behind the News and the Revolution Talk that were staged at Al Jazeera TV channel between 2011 and 2012. Data was readily transcribed by Al Jazeera online. Al Jazeera was selected for the study because it is the most popular TV network in the Arab world and has a strong presence, especially during the Arab revolutions. Al Jazeera has also been accused of inciting protests across the Arab region. Two debate sites were identified in the data: government and anti-government. The government side represented the president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his regime while the anti-government side represented the gathering squares who demanded the president to ‘step down’. The study analysed verbal discourse aspects of the debates using critical discourse analysis: aspects from the Social Actor Network model of van Leeuwen. This framework provides a step-by-step analysis model, and analyses discourse from specific grammatical processes into broader semantic issues. It also provides representative findings since it considers discourse as representative and reconstructed in social practice. Study findings indicated that Al Jazeera and the anti-government had similarities in terms of the ideological intentions related to the protesters. Al Jazeera victimized and incited the protesters which were similar to the anti-government. Al Jazeera used assimilation, nominalization, and active role allocation as the linguistic aspects in order to reach its ideological intentions related to the protesters. Government speakers did not share the same ideological intentions with Al Jazeera. Study findings indicated that Al Jazeera had excluded the government from its debates causing a violation to its slogan, the opinion, and the other opinion. This study implies the powerful role of discourse in shaping ideological media intentions and influencing the media audience.

Keywords: Al Jazeera network, critical discourse analysis, ideology, Yemeni revolution

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Authors: Ghada M. AlSwayied, Anas N. AlHumaid

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Smoking has been linked to thousands of deaths worldwide. Around three million adults continue to use tobacco each day in Saudi Arabia; a sign that smoking is prevalent among Saudi population and obviously considered as a public health threat. Although the awareness against smoking is continuously running, it can be observed that smoking behavior increases noticeably as common practice especially among young adults across the world. Therefore, it was an essential step to guess what does motivate smokers to think about quit smoking. Can a graphic and emotional ad that is focusing on health consequences do really make a difference? A case study has been conducted on the Annual Anti-Smoking National Campaign, which was provided by Saudi Ministry of Health in the period of May 2017. To assess campaign’s effects on the number of calls, the number of visits and online access to health messages during and after the campaign period from May to August compared with the previous campaign in 2016. The educational video was selected as a primary tool to deliver the smoking health message. The Minister of Health who is acting as a role model for young adults was used to deliver a direct message to smokers with an avoidance of smoking cues usage. Due to serious consequences of smoking, the Minister of Health delivered the news of canceling the media campaign and directing the budget to smoking cessation clinics. It was shown that the positive responses and interactions on the campaign were obviously remarkable; achieving a high rate of recall and recognition. During the campaign, the number of calls to book for a visit reached 45880 phone calls, and the total online views ran to 1,253,879. Whereas, clinic visit raised up to 213 cumulative percent. Interestingly, a total number of 15,192 patients visited the clinics along three months compared with the last year campaign’s period, which was merely 4850 patients. Furthermore, around half of patients who visited the clinics were in the age from 26 to 40-year-old. There was a great progress in enhancing public awareness on: 'where to go' to assist smokers in making a quit attempt. With regard to the stages of change theory, it was predicted that by following direct-message technique; the proportion of patients in the contemplation and preparation stages would be increased. There was no process evaluation obtained to assess implementation of the campaigns’ activities.

Keywords: smoking, health promotion, role model, educational material, intervention, community health

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Authors: Drazen Simlesa, Jelena Pudjak, Anita Tonkovic Busljeta

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Regarding social economy (SE), Croatia is, on general level, considered as ex-communist country with good tradition, bad performance in second part of 20th Century because of political control in the business sector, which has in transition period (1990-1999) became a problem of ignorance in public administration (policy level). Today, social economy in Croatia is trying to catch up with other EU states on all important levels of SE sector: legislative and institutional framework, financial infrastructure, education and capacity building, and visibility. All four are integral parts of Strategy for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia for the period of 2015 – 2020. Within iPRESENT project, funded by Croatian Science Foundation, we have mapped social economy actors and after many years there is a clear and up to date social economy base. At the ICSE 2016 we will present main outcomes and results of this process. In the second year of the project we conducted a field research across Croatia carried out 19 focus groups with most influential, innovative and inspirational social economy actors. We divided interview questions in four themes: laws on social economy and public policies, definition/ideology of social economy and cooperation on SE scene, the level of democracy and working conditions, motivation and existence of intrinsic values. The data that are gathered through focus group interviews has been analysed via qualitative data analysis software (Atlas ti.). Major finding that will be presented in ICSA 2016 are: Social economy actors are mostly unsatisfied with legislative and institutional framework in Croatia and consider it as unsupportive and confusing. Social economy actors consider SE to be in the line with WISE model and as a tool for community development. The SE actors that are more active express satisfaction with cooperation amongst SE actors and other partners and stakeholders, but the ones that are in more isolated conditions (spatially) express need for more cooperation and networking. Social economy actors expressed their praise for democratic atmosphere in their organisations and fair working conditions. And finally, they expressed high motivation to continue to work in the social economy and are dedicated to the concept, including even those that were at the beginning interested just in getting a quick job. It means that we can detect intrinsic values for employees in social economy organisations. This research enabled us to describe for the first time in Croatia the view from the inside, attitudes and opinion of employees of social economy organisations.

Keywords: employees, focus groups, mapping, social economy

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Authors: Inês N. Peça , A. Bicho, Rui Gardner, M. Margarida Cardoso

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Inorganic/organic nanocomplexes offer tremendous scope for future biomedical applications, including imaging, disease diagnosis and drug delivery. The combination of Fe3O4 with biocompatible polymers to produce smart drug delivery systems for use in pharmaceutical formulation present a powerful tool to target anti-cancer drugs to specific tumor sites through the application of an external magnetic field. In the present study, we focused on the evaluation of the effect of the magnetic field application time on the rate of drug release from iron oxide polymeric nanoparticles. Doxorubicin, an anticancer drug, was selected as the model drug loaded into the nanoparticles. Nanoparticles composed of poly(d-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA), a biocompatible polymer already approved by FDA, containing iron oxide nanoparticles (MNP) for magnetic targeting and doxorubicin (DOX) were synthesized by the o/w solvent extraction/evaporation method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), by dynamic light scattering (DLS), by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. The produced particles yielded smooth surfaces and spherical shapes exhibiting a size between 400 and 600 nm. The effect of the magnetic doxorubicin loaded PLGA nanoparticles produced on cell viability was investigated in mammalian CHO cell cultures. The results showed that unloaded magnetic PLGA nanoparticles were nontoxic while the magnetic particles without polymeric coating show a high level of toxicity. Concerning the therapeutic activity doxorubicin loaded magnetic particles cause a remarkable enhancement of the cell inhibition rates compared to their non-magnetic counterpart. In vitro drug release studies performed under a non-permanent magnetic field show that the application time and the on/off cycle duration have a great influence with respect to the final amount and to the rate of drug release. In order to determine the mechanism of drug release, the data obtained from the release curves were fitted to the semi-empirical equation of the the Korsmeyer-Peppas model that may be used to describe the Fickian and non-Fickian release behaviour. Doxorubicin release mechanism has shown to be governed mainly by Fickian diffusion. The results obtained show that the rate of drug release from the produced magnetic nanoparticles can be modulated through the magnetic field time application.

Keywords: drug delivery, magnetic nanoparticles, PLGA nanoparticles, controlled release rate

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Authors: Magali Canovi, Francesca Pucciarelli

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Over the past decade Langhe has developed as a wine tourism destination and has become increasingly popular on an international basis. Wine tourism has been recognized as an important business driver for wineries in Langhe and wine owners have taken advantage of this opportunity through developing a variety of tourism-related activities at their wineries, notably winery visits, wine tastings, cellar-door sales, B&Bs and/or restaurants. In order to promote these tourism-related activities and attract an increasing number of wine tourists, wineries have started to engage in social media. While tourism scholars are now well aware of the benefits social media provides to both travellers and service providers, the existing literature on social media from supplier’s perspective remains limited. Accordingly, this paper aims to fill this gap through providing new insights into how service providers, that is winery owners, exploit social media to promote tourism online. The paper explores the importance and the role of social media as part of wineries’ marketing strategies to promote wine tourism online. The focus lies on understanding, which motives drive winery owners to activate and implement social media activities in promoting wine tourism. A case study approach is adopted, using the North Italian wine region of Langhe in Piedmont. Empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 28 winery owners. An interpretivist approach to research is adopted in order to extend current understandings of social media within the context of wine tourism. In line with the interpretivist perspective, this paper uses discourse analysis (DA) as a methodological approach for analyzing and interpreting winery owners’ accounts. Three key findings emerge from this research. First, there is a general understanding among winery owners what social media represents an opportunity in promoting wine tourism – if not even a must have. Second, the majority of interviewed winery owners are currently applying to some extent social media to promote wine tourism online as well as to interact and engage with tourists directly. Lastly, a varying degree of usage of social media amongst wineries is identified, with some wineries not recognizing social media as a crucial tool in marketing communication strategies. On the other extent, some commonalities in strategies and platforms chosen can be detected by these wineries that actively participate in social media. In conclusion, the main contribution of this paper is that it extends current understandings of social media in the wine tourism context by offering valuable insights into how service providers perceive and engage in social media.

Keywords: langhe, promotion, social media, wine tourism

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Authors: Yingyi Luo

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Cross-border surrogacy is seen by many as a market in which women are bought and sold commodities at risk of trafficking. A surrogate can be framed as either a fully acknowledged subject, with whom intended parents engage in cross-border surrogacy—or as a tool utilized by intended parents and surrogacy facilitators in the furtherance of their own objectives. In order to identify which frame prevails, this paper applies subjectivity theory to an empirical study of cross-border surrogacy facilitated by facilitators in Australia analysing interviews with surrogate agents, counsellors and lawyers, and observations at trade show. The aim of the paper is to advance understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between intended parents, surrogates, and surrogacy facilitators by collecting new data and applying unique framework. As dominant players, surrogacy facilitators have a significant impact on determining the nature of cross-border surrogacy. However, little is known concerning the manner in which facilitators influence the inter-subjectivity between surrogate mothers and intended parents. Thus, this paper intends to identify how facilitators depict surrogate mothers, the degree to which their perspectives bear upon both the subjectivity of the surrogate mother and the relationship of intended parents with surrogate mothers. For the purpose of introducing and developing this framework in the context of cross-border surrogacy, this paper borrows from the work of theorists not often mentioned in bioethics, including Jacques Lacan, Marco Cavallaro, Michel Foucault, and others. It also applies the concept of 'the gaze' along with the dynamic of 'self' and 'other' to the cross-border surrogacy arrangement. Applying the concept of the gaze can provide a new way to interpret the power dynamic that plays out among surrogacy facilitators, intended parents, and surrogates within the commercial surrogacy arrangement and how the subjectivity is produced through the power. Viewing the relationships between the players in cross-border surrogacy through the lens of gaze theory, this paper finds that, in cross-border surrogacy, due to the structural power imbalance, affluent intended parents and surrogacy facilitators are possessors of the gaze, while surrogate mothers are under the thrall of the gaze. Specifically, facilitators frame surrogate mothers' reproductive abilities as commodities that intended parents can purchase to fulfil their urgent need to have children and experience full subjectivity, and they take a cut of the money that paid by intended parents. Therefore, commodification of the body results in degrading a surrogate mother (the object), reifying her as no more than a walking womb (the other), a process which is highly detrimental to the self of surrogate mothers. This relationship, formalized through contractual means, allows intended parents and facilitators to take advantage of surrogate mothers in the furtherance of their own objectives. This argument is enriched by new data from interviews and observations that provide nuance to this understanding of inter-subjectivity.

Keywords: cross-border surrogacy, facilitators, self, surrogate mothers

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Authors: Ira V. Stancheva, Ely G. Zayova, Maria P. Geneva, Marieta G. Hristozkova, Lyudmila I. Dimitrova, Maria I. Petrova

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The study describes a highly efficient and low-cost protocol for rapid and mass in vitro propagation of medicinal and aromatic plant species (Hyssopus officinalis L., Lamiaceae). Hyssop is an important aromatic herb used for its medicinal values because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. The protocol for large-scale multiplication of this aromatic plant was developed using young stem tips explants. The explants were sterilized with 0.04% mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) solution for 20 minutes and washing three times with sterile distilled water in 15 minutes. The cultural media was full and half strength Murashige and Skoog medium containing indole-3-butyric acid. Full and ½ Murashige and Skoog media without auxin were used as controls. For each variant 20 glass tubes with two plants were used. In each tube two tip and nodal explants were inoculated. Maximum shoot and root number were obtained on ½ Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.1 mg L-1 indole-3-butyric acid at the same time after four weeks of culture. The number of shoots per explant and shoot height were considered. The data on rooting percentage, the number of roots per plant and root length were collected after the same cultural period. The highest percentage of survival 85% for this medicinal plant was recorded in mixture of soil, sand and perlite (2:1:1 v/v/v). This mixture was most suitable for acclimatization of all propagated plants. Ex vitro acclimatization was carried out at 24±1 °C and 70% relative humidity under 16 h illuminations (50 μmol m⁻²s⁻¹). After adaptation period, the all plants were transferred to the field. The plants flowered within three months after transplantation. Phenotypic variations in the acclimatized plants were not observed. An average of 90% of the acclimatized plants survived after transferring into the field. All the in vitro propagated plants displayed normal development under the field conditions. Developed in vitro techniques could provide a promising alternative tool for large-scale propagation that increases the number of homologous plants for field cultivation. Acknowledgments: This study was conducted with financial support from National Science Fund at the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, Project DN06/7 17.12.16.

Keywords: Hyssopus officinalis L., in vitro culture, micro propagation, acclimatization

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Authors: Elmira Ghanbari, Jan Van Esch, Stephen J. Picken, Sahil Aggarwal

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Low-molecular-weight organogelators form gels by self-assembly into the crystalline network which immobilizes the organic solvent. For single bisamide organogelator systems, the effect of the molecular structure on the molecular interaction and their self-assembly behavior has been explored. The spatial arrangement of bisamide molecules in the gel-state is driven by a combination of hydrogen bonding and Van der Waals interactions. The hydrogen-bonding pattern between the amide groups of bisamide molecules is regulated by the number of methylene spacers; the even number of methylene spacers between two amide groups, in even-spaced bisamides, leads to the antiparallel position of amide groups within a molecule. An even-spaced bisamide molecule with antiparallel amide groups can make two pairs of hydrogen bonding with the molecules on the same plane. The odd-spaced bisamide with a parallel directionality of amide groups can form four independent hydrogen bonds with four other bisamide molecules on different planes. The arrangement of bisamide molecules in the crystalline state and the interaction of these molecules depends on the molecular structure, particularly the parity of the spacer length between the amide groups in the bisamide molecule. In this study, the directionality of amide groups has been exploited as a structural characteristic to affect the arrangement of molecules in the crystalline state and produce different binary bisamide gelators with different degrees of crystallinities. Single odd- and even-spaced single bisamides were synthesized and blended to produce binary bisamide organogelators to be characterized in order to understand the effect of the different directionality of amide groups on the molecular interaction in the crystalline state. The pattern of molecular interactions between these blended molecules, mixing or phase separation, has been monitored via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and crystallography techniques; X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The formation of lamellar structures for odd- and even-spaced bisamide gelators was confirmed by using SAXS and XRD techniques. DSC results have shown that binary bisamide organogelators with different parity of methylene spacers (odd-even binary blends) have a higher tendency for phase separation compared to the binary bisamides with the same parity (odd-odd or even-even binary blends). Phase separation in binary odd-even bisamides was confirmed by the presence of individual (100) reflections of odd and even lamellar structures. The structural characteristic of bisamide organogelators, the parity of spacer length in binary systems, is a promising tool to control the arrangement of molecules and their crystalline structure.

Keywords: binary bisamide organogelators, crystalline structure, phase separation, self-assembly behavior

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Authors: Anna Marie Fisker, Daniele Sepe, Mette Bøgh Jensen, Daniela Rimei

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In the space of just a few years, the European policy framework on cultural heritage has been completely overhauled, moving towards a people-centred and holistic approach, and eliminating the divisions between the tangible, intangible and digital dimensions. The European Union regards cultural heritage as a potential shared resource, highlighting that all stakeholders share responsibility for its transmission to future generations. This new framework will potentially change the way in which cultural institutions manage, protect and provide access to their heritage. It will change the way in which citizens and communities engage with their cultural heritage and naturally influence the way that professionals deal with it. Participating in the creation of cultural heritage awareness can lead to an increased perception of its value, be it economic, social, environmental or cultural. It can also strengthen our personal identity, sense of belonging and community citizenship. Open Atelier, a Creative Europe project, is based on this foundation, with the goal through co-creation to develop the use, understanding and engagement with our cultural heritage. The project aim to transform selected parts of the heritage into an “experience lab” – an interactive, co-creative, dynamic and participatory space, where cultural heritage is the point of departure for new interactions and experiences between the audience and the museum and its professionals. Through a workshop-based approach built on interdisciplinary collaboration and co-creative processes, Open Atelier has started to design, develop, test, and evaluate a set of Experiences. The first collaborative initiative was set out in the discourse and knowledge of a highly creative period in Denmark where a specific group of Scandinavian artists, the Skagen Painters, gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. The Art Museums of Skagen have a large collection of photos from the period, that has never been the subject of more thorough research. The photos display a variation of many different subjects: community, family photos, reproductions of art works, costume parties, family gatherings etc., and carry with them the energies of those peoples’ work and life and evoke instances of communication with the past. This paper is about how we in Open Atelier connect these special stories, this legacy, with another place, in another time, in another context and with another audience. The first Open Atelier Experience – the performance “Around the Lighthouse” – was an initiative resulted from the collaboration between AMAT, an Italian creative organisation, and the Art Museums of Skagen. A group of Italian artists developed a co-creative investigation and reinterpretation of a selection of these historical photos. A poetic journey through videos and voices, aimed at exploring new perspectives on the museum and its heritage. An experiment on how to create new ways to actively engage audiences in the way cultural heritage is explored, interpreted, mediated, presented, and used to examine contemporary issues. This article is about this experiment and its findings, and how different views and methodologies can be adopted to discuss the cultural heritage in museums around Europe and their connection to the community.

Keywords: cultural heritage, community, innovation, museums

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Authors: Rubisha Adhikari, Rajani Shah

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Introduction: Aging is a natural, global and inevitable phenomenon every single person has to go through, and nobody can escape the process. One of the emerging challenges to public health is to improve the quality of later years of life as life expectancy continues to increase. Quality of life (QoL) has grown to be a key goal for many public health initiatives. Population aging has become a global phenomenon as they are growing more quickly in emerging nations than they are in industrialized nations, leaving minimal opportunities to regulate the consequences of the demographic shift. Methods: A community-based descriptive analytical approach was used to examine the quality of life and associated factors among elderly people. A mixed method was chosen for the study. For the quantitative data collection, a household survey was conducted using the WHOQOL-OLD tool. In-depth interviews were conducted among twenty participants for qualitative data collection. Data generated through in-depth interviews were transcribed verbatim. In-depth interviews lasted about an hour and were audio recorded. The in-depth interview guide had been developed by the research team and pilot-tested before actual interviews. Results: This study result showed the association between quality of life and socio-demographic variables. Among all the variables under socio-demographic variable of this study, age (ꭓ2=14.445, p=0.001), gender (ꭓ2=14.323, p=<0.001), marital status (ꭓ2=10.816, p=0.001), education status (ꭓ2=23.948, p=<0.001), household income (ꭓ2=13.493, p=0.001), personal income (ꭓ2=14.129, p=0.001), source of personal income (ꭓ2=28.332,p=<0.001), social security allowance (ꭓ2=18.005,p=<0.001), alcohol consumption (ꭓ2=9.397,p=0.002) are significantly associated with quality of life of elderly. In addition, affordability (ꭓ2=12.088, p=0.001), physical activity (ꭓ2=9.314, p=0.002), emotional support (ꭓ2=9.122, p=0.003), and economic support (ꭓ2=8.104, p=0.004) are associated with quality of life of elderly people. Conclusion: In conclusion, this mixed method study provides insight into the attributes of the quality of life of elderly people in Nepal and similar settings. As the geriatric population is growing in full swing, maintaining a high quality of life has become a major challenge. This study showed that determinants such as age, gender, marital status, education status, household income, personal income, source of personal income, social security allowance and alcohol consumption, economic support, emotional support, affordability and physical activity have an association with quality of life of the elderly.

Keywords: ageing, chitwan, elderly, health status, quality of life

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Authors: Chineduum Okpala

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Nigeria, since her independence, has been engulfed in financial crimes of different forms. From embezzlement and conversion of public funds by public servants to stealing, contract inflation, and money laundering. Money laundering in Nigeria, particularly by political exposed persons, has been an issue of concern since independence. Corruption has been endemic, and Nigeria needs to integrate pro-active measures to show to the international community that it is ready to move against this vice. This paper discusses the negative effect of corruption and its effect on prosecutorial discretion. It also takes cognisance of the policy and aims of the anti-money laundering (AML) policy as enacted in Nigeria. It also takes as valid the assumption that the effective application of the rule of law will improve the efficacy of the Nigerian regime. In this regard, the perspective is internal to the Nigerian regime and its internal policy discourse which also reflect its policy discourse at international level. This paper takes notice of the typology of money laundering (ML) offences that most affect Nigeria, which hinges on corruption and abuse of office by a specific type of person, politically exposed persons (PEP). This typology of money laundering offence appears to be the most prevalent in developing nations like Nigeria. The application of essential principles of law provides an opportunity for the internalisation of the rule of law in the anti-money laundering regime in Nigeria, which could aid the successful prosecution of politically exposed persons on money laundering offences. The rule of law and how well the Nigerian legal system manages to deal with the interface between high level politics and the criminal justice system in Nigeria cannot be understood from internal sources but must be developed as a genuine but critical account informed by perspectives external to the Nigerian regime. If the efficacy of the regime is to be assessed in view of notorious failures of the regime, an external assessment is needed. Hence the paper discusses the need to integrate the essential principles of law in the application of prosecutorial discretion in the anti-money laundering regime in Nigeria, particularly with politically exposed persons. The paper highlights jurisdiction where prosecutorial discretion is integrated into the anti-money laundering regime in accordance to the rule of law which forms a basis for comparative analysis of the success of the anti-money laundering regime in Nigeria. This paper discusses why the application of prosecutorial discretion should not be used as a tool to extricate or avail the rich and powerful in the society from justice. The paper aims to argue that the successful prosecution of politically exposed persons, will raise the confidence of the citizens and the international community in the anti-money laundering regime in Nigeria.

Keywords: money laundering, politically exposed persons, corruption, Nigeria

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Authors: Yuna Lee

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In the current policy process, there has been a growing interest in more open approaches that incorporate creativity and innovation based on the forecasting groups composed by the public and experts together into scientific data-driven foresight methods to implement more effective policymaking. Especially, citizen participation as collective intelligence in policymaking with design and deep scale of innovation at the global level has been developed and human-centred design thinking is considered as one of the most promising methods for strategic foresight. Yet, there is a lack of a common theoretical foundation for a comprehensive approach for the current situation of and post-COVID-19 era, and substantial changes in policymaking practice are insignificant and ongoing with trial and error. This project hypothesized that rigorously developed policy systems and tools that support strategic foresight by considering the public understanding could maximize ways to create new possibilities for a preferable future, however, it must involve a better understating of Behavioural Insights, including individual and cultural values, profit motives and needs, and psychological motivations, for implementing holistic and multilateral foresight and creating more positive possibilities. To what extent is the policymaking system theoretically possible that incorporates the holistic and comprehensive foresight and policy process implementation, assuming that theory and practice, in reality, are different and not connected? What components and environmental conditions should be included in the strategic foresight system to enhance the capacity of decision from policymakers to predict alternative futures, or detect uncertainties of the future more accurately? And, compared to the required environmental condition, what are the environmental vulnerabilities of the current policymaking system? In this light, this research contemplates the question of how effectively policymaking practices have been implemented through the synthesis of scientific, technology-oriented innovation with the strategic design for tackling complex societal challenges and devising more significant insights to make society greener and more liveable. Here, this study conceptualizes the notions of a new collaborative way of strategic foresight that aims to maximize mutual benefits between policy actors and citizens through the cooperation stemming from evolutionary game theory. This study applies mixed methodology, including interviews of policy experts, with the case in which digital transformation and strategic design provided future-oriented solutions or directions to cities’ sustainable development goals and society-wide urgent challenges such as COVID-19. As a result, artistic and sensual interpreting capabilities through strategic design promote a concrete form of ideas toward a stable connection from the present to the future and enhance the understanding and active cooperation among decision-makers, stakeholders, and citizens. Ultimately, an improved theoretical foundation proposed in this study is expected to help strategically respond to the highly interconnected future changes of the post-COVID-19 world.

Keywords: policymaking, strategic design, sustainable innovation, evolution of cooperation

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Authors: M. De Filippo, J. S. Kuang

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In construction industry, reinforced concrete (RC) slabs represent fundamental elements of buildings and bridges. Different methods are available for analysing the structural behaviour of slabs. In the early ages of last century, the yield-line method has been proposed to attempt to solve such problem. Simple geometry problems could easily be solved by using traditional hand analyses which include plasticity theories. Nowadays, advanced finite element (FE) analyses have mainly found their way into applications of many engineering fields due to the wide range of geometries to which they can be applied. In such cases, the application of an elastic or a plastic constitutive model would completely change the approach of the analysis itself. Elastic methods are popular due to their easy applicability to automated computations. However, elastic analyses are limited since they do not consider any aspect of the material behaviour beyond its yield limit, which turns to be an essential aspect of RC structural performance. Furthermore, their applicability to non-linear analysis for modeling plastic behaviour gives very reliable results. Per contra, this type of analysis is computationally quite expensive, i.e. not well suited for solving daily engineering problems. In the past years, many researchers have worked on filling this gap between easy-to-implement elastic methods and computationally complex plastic analyses. This paper aims at proposing a numerical procedure, through which a pseudo-lower bound solution, not violating the yield criterion, is achieved. The advantages of moment distribution are taken into account, hence the increase in strength provided by plastic behaviour is considered. The lower bound solution is improved by detecting over-yielded moments, which are used to artificially rule the moment distribution among the rest of the non-yielded elements. The proposed technique obeys Nielsen’s yield criterion. The outcome of this analysis provides a simple, yet accurate, and non-time-consuming tool of predicting the lower-bound solution of the collapse load of RC slabs. By using this method, structural engineers can find the fracture patterns and ultimate load bearing capacity. The collapse triggering mechanism is found by detecting yield-lines. An application to the simple case of a square clamped slab is shown, and a good match was found with the exact values of collapse load.

Keywords: computational mechanics, lower bound method, reinforced concrete slabs, yield-line

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Authors: Igor A. Krichtafovitch

Abstract:

The evolutionary processes are not linear. Long periods of quiet and slow development turn to rather rapid emergences of new species and even phyla. During Cambrian explosion, 22 new phyla were added to the previously existed 3 phyla. Contrary to the common credence the natural selection or a survival of the fittest cannot be accounted for the dominant evolution vector which is steady and accelerated advent of more complex and more intelligent living organisms. Neither Darwinism nor alternative concepts including panspermia and intelligent design propose a satisfactory solution for these phenomena. The proposed hypothesis offers a logical and plausible explanation of the evolutionary processes in general. It is based on two postulates: a) the Biosphere is a single living organism, all parts of which are interconnected, and b) the Biosphere acts as a giant biological supercomputer, storing and processing the information in digital and analog forms. Such supercomputer surpasses all human-made computers by many orders of magnitude. Living organisms are the product of intelligent creative action of the biosphere supercomputer. The biological evolution is driven by growing amount of information stored in the living organisms and increasing complexity of the biosphere as a single organism. Main evolutionary vector is not a survival of the fittest but an accelerated growth of the computational complexity of the living organisms. The following postulates may summarize the proposed hypothesis: biological evolution as a natural life origin and development is a reality. Evolution is a coordinated and controlled process. One of evolution’s main development vectors is a growing computational complexity of the living organisms and the biosphere’s intelligence. The intelligent matter which conducts and controls global evolution is a gigantic bio-computer combining all living organisms on Earth. The information is acting like a software stored in and controlled by the biosphere. Random mutations trigger this software, as is stipulated by Darwinian Evolution Theories, and it is further stimulated by the growing demand for the Biosphere’s global memory storage and computational complexity. Greater memory volume requires a greater number and more intellectually advanced organisms for storing and handling it. More intricate organisms require the greater computational complexity of biosphere in order to keep control over the living world. This is an endless recursive endeavor with accelerated evolutionary dynamic. New species emerge when two conditions are met: a) crucial environmental changes occur and/or global memory storage volume comes to its limit and b) biosphere computational complexity reaches critical mass capable of producing more advanced creatures. The hypothesis presented here is a naturalistic concept of life creation and evolution. The hypothesis logically resolves many puzzling problems with the current state evolution theory such as speciation, as a result of GM purposeful design, evolution development vector, as a need for growing global intelligence, punctuated equilibrium, happening when two above conditions a) and b) are met, the Cambrian explosion, mass extinctions, happening when more intelligent species should replace outdated creatures.

Keywords: supercomputer, biological evolution, Darwinism, speciation

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Yonit Nissim, Eyal Weissblueth

Abstract:

This research is the continuation of a process that began in 2010 with the goal of redesigning the training program for future early childhood teachers at the Ohalo College, to integrate technology and provide 21st-century skills. The article focuses on a study of the processes involved in developing a special educational unit which challenged students with the task of designing, planning and building an internet site for kindergartens. This project was part of their second-year studies in the early childhood track of an interdisciplinary course entitled 'Educating for the Future.' The goal: enabling students to gain experience in developing an internet site specifically for kindergartens, and gain familiarity with Google platforms, the acquisition and use of innovative skills and the integration of technology in pedagogy. Research questions examined how students handled the task of building an internet site. The study explored whether the guided process of building a site helped them develop proficiency in creativity, teamwork, evaluation and learning appropriate to the 21st century. The research tool was a questionnaire constructed by the researchers and distributed online to the students. Answers were collected from 50-course participants. Analysis of the participants’ responses showed that, along with the significant experience and benefits that students gained from building a website for kindergarten, ambivalence was shown toward the use of new, unfamiliar and complex technology. This attitude was characterized by unease and initial emotional distress triggered by the departure from routine training to an island of uncertainty. A gradual change took place toward the adoption of innovation with the help of empathy, training, and guidance from the instructors, leading to the students’ success in carrying out the task. Initial success led to further successes, resulting in a quality product and a feeling of personal competency among the students. A clear and extreme emotional shift was observed on the spectrum from a sense of difficulty and dissatisfaction to feelings of satisfaction, joy, competency and cognitive understanding of the importance of facing a challenge and succeeding. The findings of this study can contribute to increased understanding of the complex training process of future kindergarten teachers, coping with a changing world, and pedagogy that is supported by technology.

Keywords: early childhood teachers, educating for the future, emotions, kindergarten website

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Albert Kwabena Osei Konadu

Abstract:

One of the endemic forest species of the savannah transition zones enlisted by the Convention of International Treaty for Endangered Species (CITES) in Appendix II is the Rosewood, also known as Pterocarpus erinaceus or Krayie. Its economic viability has made it increasingly popular and in high demand. Ghana’s forest resource management regime for these ecozones is mainly on conservation and very little on resource utilization. Consequently, commercial logging management standards are at teething stage and not fully developed, leading to a deficiency in the monitoring of logging operations and quantification of harvested trees volumes. Tree information form (TIF); a volume estimation and tracking regime, has proven to be an effective sustainable management tool for regulating timber resource extraction in the high forest zones of the country. This work aims to generate TIF that can track and capture requisite parameters to accurately estimate the volume of harvested rosewood within forest savannah transition zones. Tree information forms were created on three scenarios of individual billets, stacked billets and conveying vessel basis. The study was limited by the usage of regulators assigned volume as benchmark and also fraught with potential volume measurement error in the stacked billet scenario due to the existence of spaces within packed billets. These TIFs were field-tested to deduce the most viable option for the tracking and estimation of harvested volumes of rosewood using the smallian and cubic volume estimation formula. Overall, four districts were covered with individual billets, stacked billets and conveying vessel scenarios registering mean volumes of 25.83m3,45.08m3 and 32.6m3, respectively. These adduced volumes were validated by benchmarking to assigned volumes of the Forestry Commission of Ghana and known standard volumes of conveying vessels. The results did indicate an underestimation of extracted volumes under the quotas regime, a situation that could lead to unintended overexploitation of the species. The research revealed conveying vessels route is the most viable volume estimation and tracking regime for the sustainable management of the Pterocarpous erinaceus species as it provided a more practical volume estimate and data extraction protocol.

Keywords: cubic volume formula, smallian volume formula, pterocarpus erinaceus, tree information form, forest transition and savannah zones, harvested tree volume

Procedia PDF Downloads 36