Search results for: affect theory

Authors: Pooja Ichplani, Archna Kumar, Jessica Mayberry

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Community Video (CV) is a participatory medium that has immense potential to strengthen community communications and amplify the voice of people for their empowerment. By building capacities especially of marginalized community groups and providing a platform to freely voice their ideas, CV endeavours to bring about shifts towards more participatory, bottom up development processes and greater power in the hands of the people, especially the disadvantaged. In various parts of the world, among marginalized community groups, community video initiatives have become instrumental in facilitating micro-level, yet significant changes in communities. Video Volunteers (VV) is an organization that promotes community media and works towards providing disadvantaged communities with journalistic, critical thinking and creative skills they need for catalysing change in their communities. Working since 2002, VV has evolved a unique community media model fostering locally-owned and managed media production, as well as building people’s capacities to articulate and share their perspectives on the issues that matter to them – on a local and a global scale. Further, by integrating a livelihood aspect within its model, VV has actively involved people from poor marginalized communities and provided them a new tool for serving their communities whilst keeping their identities intact. This paper, based on a qualitative research, seeks to map the range of VV impacts in communities and provide an in-depth analysis of factors contributing to VV impacting change in communities. Study tools included content analysis of a longitudinal sample of impact videos produced, narratives of community correspondents using the Most Significant Change Technique (MSCT) and interviews with key informants. Using a multi-fold analysis, the paper seeks to gain holistic insights. At the first level, the paper profiles the Community Correspondents (CCs), spearheading change, and maps their personal and social context and their perceptions about VV in their personal lives. Secondly, at an organizational level, the paper maps the significance of impacts brought about in the CCs communities and their association, challenges and achievements while working with VV. Lastly, at the community level, it consists of analysis of the nature of impacts achieved and aspects influencing the same. Finally, the study critiques the functioning of Video Volunteers as a community media initiative using the tipping point theory emphasizing on the power of context that is constituted by their socio-cultural environment. It concludes how empowerment of its Community Correspondents, multifarious activities during pre and post video production, and other innovative mechanisms have enabled in center staging issues of marginalized communities and snowballing processes of change in communities.

Keywords: community media, empowerment, participatory communication, social change

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Authors: Nafiah Solikhah Thoha

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One area that has spatial character as Heritage area is Kauman Villages. Kauman village in The City of Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia was formed in 1757 by Paku Buwono III as the King of Kasunanan kingdom (Mataram Kingdom) for Kasunanan kingdom courtiers and scholars of Madrasa. Spatial character of Kauman village influenced by Islamic planning and socio-cultural rules of Kasunanan Kingdom. As traditional settlements influenced by Islamic planning, the Grand Mosque is a binding part of the whole area. Circulation pattern forming network (labyrinth) with narrow streets that ended at the Grand Mosque. The outdoor space can be used for circulation. Social activity is dominated by step movement from one place to a different place. Stalemate (the fina/cul de sac) generally only passable on foot, bicycles, and motorcycles. While the pass (main and branch) can be traversed by motor, vehicles. Kauman village has an area that can not be used as a public road that penetrates and serves as a liaison between the outside world to the other. Hierarchy of hall in Kauman village shows that the existence of a space is getting into more important. Firstly, woman in Kauman make the handmade batik for themself. In 2005 many people improving batik tradisional into commercial, and developed program named "Batik Tourism village of Kauman". That program affects the spatial transformations. This study aimed to explore the influence of tourism program towards spatial transformations. The factors that studied are the organization of space, circulation patterns, hierarchical space, and orientation through the descriptive-evaluation approach methods. Based on the study, tourism activity engenders transformations on the spatial scale (macro), residential block (mezo), homes (micro). First, the Grand Mosque and madrasa (religious school) as a binding zoning; tangle of roads as forming the structure of the area developed as a liaison with outside Kauman; organization of space in the residential of batik entrepreneurs firstly just a residential, then develop into residential, factory of batik including showroom. Second, the circulation pattern forming network (labyrinth) and ends at the Grand Mosque. Third, the hierarchy in the form of public space (the shari), semi-public, and private (the fina/culdesac) is no longer to provide protection to women, only as hierarchy of circulation path. Fourth, cluster building orientation does not follow the kiblat direction or axis oriented to cosmos, but influence by the new function as the showroom. It was need the direction of the main road. Kauman grow as an appropriate area for the community. During its development, the settlement function changes according to community activities, especially economic activities. The new function areas as tourism area affect spatial pattern of Kauman village. Spatial existence and activity as a local wisdom that has been done for generations have meaning of holistic, encompassing socio-cultural sustainability, economics, and the heritage area. By reviewing the local wisdom and the way of life of that society, we can learn how to apply the culture as education for sustainable of heritage area.

Keywords: impact of tourism, Kauman village, spatial transformation, sustainable of heritage area

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Authors: Sharon Jackson White

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Purpose: Nurse practitioners (NPs) practicing within hospital medicine play a significant role in caring for patients who might benefit from palliative care (PC) services. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among facilitators to referral, barriers to referral, self-efficacy with end-of-life discussions, history of referral, and referring to PC among NPs in hospital medicine. Hypotheses: 1) Perceived facilitators to referral will be associated with a higher history of referral and a higher number of referrals to PC. 2) Perceived barriers to referral will be associated with a lower history of referral and a lower number of referrals to PC. 3) Increased self-efficacy with end-of-life discussions will be associated with a higher history of referral and a higher number of referrals to PC. 4) Perceived facilitators to referral, perceived barriers to referral, and self–efficacy with end-of-life discussions will contribute to a significant variance in the history of referral to PC. 5) Perceived facilitators to referral, perceived barriers to referral, and self–efficacy with end-of-life discussions will contribute to a significant variance in the number of referrals to PC. Significance: Previous studies of referring patients to PC within the hospital setting care have focused on physician practices. Identifying factors that influence NPs referring hospitalized patients to PC is essential to ensure that patients have access to these important services. This study incorporates the SNRS mission of advancing nursing research through the dissemination of research findings and the promotion of nursing science. Methods: A cross-sectional, predictive correlational study was conducted. History of referral to PC, facilitators to referring to PC, barriers to referring to PC, self-efficacy in end-of-life discussions, and referral to PC were measured using the PC referral case study survey, facilitators and barriers to PC referral survey, and self-assessment with end-of-life discussions survey. Data were analyzed descriptively and with Pearson’s Correlation, Spearman’s Rho, point-biserial correlation, multiple regression, logistic regression, Chi-Square test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Only one facilitator (PC team being helpful with establishing goals of care) was significantly associated with referral to PC. Three variables were statistically significant in relation to the history of referring to PC: “Inclined to refer: PC can help decrease the length of stay in hospital”, “Most inclined to refer: Patients with serious illnesses and/or poor prognoses”, and “Giving bad news to a patient or family member”. No predictor variables contributed a significant variance in the number of referrals to PC for all three case studies. There were no statistically significant results showing a relationship between the history of referral and referral to PC. All five hypotheses were partially supported. Discussion: Findings from this study emphasize the need for further research on NPs who work in hospital settings and what factors influence their behaviors of referring to PC. Since there is an increase in NPs practicing within hospital settings, future studies should use a larger sample size and incorporate hospital medicine NPs and other types of NPs that work in hospitals.

Keywords: palliative care, nurse practitioners, hospital medicine, referral

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Authors: Tshephang Bright Molale

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Much is written on the importance of participatory communication and its role in uplifting indigent communities. As the closest government sphere to communities, local government is charged with directly improving the lives of the poor and is required by legislation to conduct Integrated Development Planning (IDP). This requires a municipality to utilise participatory communication aspects including dialogue, empowerment, and planning. These are most important pillars of community development. However, many studies have warned that elements such as modernisation, dependency and bureaucracy need to be observed with caution since they have the potential to impede and limit the extent of participatory communication in community development. These concepts serve as the basic points of departure and theoretical background underpinning this study, which is tasked with exploring the extent of participatory communication in the IDP context of Jouberton Township in the Matlosana Local Municipality, South Africa. In her public address on challenges facing South Africa’s local municipalities in January 2014, former premier, Thandi Modise, emphasised the need for communities to attend municipal IDP meetings, approve earmarked IDP projects, and learn about municipal budget spending. It is evident from theory and higher echelon of government that participatory communication is seen as cardinal to the existence of municipal government. From this background, this study was carried out under the assumption that the practice of participatory communication in contemporary local government only exists on paper; while in reality the public does not enjoy active participation in municipal IDP consultative frameworks. This is despite much discourse being available in government and in academia around the importance of participatory communication in community development. The study espoused a qualitative research approach to gather data and purposive sampling was used to select respondents linked to two IDP projects in Jouberton Township from the 2012/13 financial year. Its purpose was to explore perceptions among municipal representatives and community members in Jouberton Township on the extent of participatory communication in the IDP context. The empirical part of the study comprised of focus group, unstructured interviews, and participant observation. The study revealed that Jouberton communities are passive participators in municipal IDP consultative frameworks where they participate by just being informed about what is going to happen or has already happened and feedback is minimal. This is opposed to a desired form of empowered participation which is recommended by scholars in development communication where stakeholders granted space to participate in joint analysis and joint decision-making about what should be achieved and how. It has been discovered that there is a lack of active participation in community development in the IDP context of Matlosana Municipality and the study makes recommendations on how transformative participatory communication can be applied to improve current norms and standards in local government.

Keywords: development communication, government communication, integrated development plan, participatory communication

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Authors: Betül Gelengül Eki̇mci̇, Semra Günay Aktaş

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Festive, habitual activities celebrated on the specified date by a local community, are conducive to recognition of the region. The main function of festive events is to help gathering people via an annual celebration to create an atmosphere of understanding and the opportunity to participate in the joy of life. At the same time, festive events may serve as special occasions on which immigrants return home to celebrate with their family and community, reaffirming their identity and link to the community’s traditions. Festivals also support the local economy by bringing in different visitors to the region. The tradition of “Beet Brewing-Molasses Production,” which is held in İdrisyayla Village is an intangible cultural heritage with customs, traditions, and rituals carrying impacts of cuisine culture of Rumelian immigrants in the Ottoman. After the harvest of the beet plant in the autumn season of the year, Beet Brewing Molasses syrup is made by traditional production methods with co-op of the local community. Festive occurring brewing paste made process provided transmission of knowledge and experience to the young generations. Making molasses, which is a laborious process, is accompanied by folk games such as "sayacı," which is vital element of the festive performed in İdrisyayla. Performance provides enjoyable time and supporting motivation. Like other forms of intangible cultural heritage, “Beet Brewing-Molasses Festive in İdrasyayla is threatened by rapid urbanisation, young generation migration, industrialisation and environmental change. The festive events are threatened with gradual disappearance due to changes communities undergo in modern societies because it depends on the broad participation of practitioners. Ensuring the continuity of festive events often requires the mobilization of large numbers of individuals and the social, political and legal institutions and mechanisms of society. In 2015, Intangible cultural heritage research project with the title of "İdrisyayla Molasses Process" managed by the Eskişehir Governorship, City Directorate of Culture and Tourism and Anadolu University, project members took part in the festival organization to promote sustainability, making it visible, to encourage the broadest public participation possible, to ensure public awareness on the cultural importance. To preserve the originality of and encourage participation in the festive İdrisyayla, local associations, researchers and institutions created foundation and supports festive events, such as "sayacı" folk game, which is vital element of the festive performed in İdrisyayla. Practitioners find new opportunity to market İdrisyayla Molasses production. Publicity program through the press and exhibition made it possible to stress the cultural importance of the festive in İdrisyayla Village. The research reported here used a survey analysis to evaluate an affect of the festive after the spirit of the 2015 Festive in İdrisyayla Village. Particular attention was paid to the importance of the cultural aspects of the festival. Based on a survey of more than a hundred festival attendees, several recommendations are made to festival planners. Results indicate that the variety of festive activities and products offered for sale very important to attendees. The local participants care product sales rather than cultural heritage.

Keywords: agritourism, cultural tourism, festival, sustainable cultural heritage

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Authors: Ritika Chaturvedi

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Introduction: Sexual objectification, characterized by the reduction of an individual to a mere object of sexual desire, remains a pervasive societal issue with profound repercussions on individual well-being. Such experiences, often rooted in systemic and cultural norms, have long-lasting implications for mental and emotional health. This study aims to explore the intricate relationship between experiences of sexual objectification and insidious trauma, further investigating the potential moderating effects of overexcitabilities as proposed by Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration. Methodology: The research involved a comprehensive cohort of 204 women, spanning ages from 18 to 65 years. Participants were tasked with completing self-administered questionnaires designed to capture their experiences with sexual objectification. Additionally, the questionnaire assessed symptoms indicative of insidious trauma and explored overexcitabilities across five distinct domains: emotional, intellectual, psychomotor, sensory, and imaginational. Employing advanced statistical techniques, including multiple regression and moderation analysis, the study sought to decipher the intricate interplay among these variables. Findings: The study's results revealed a compelling positive correlation between experiences of sexual objectification and the onset of symptoms indicative of insidious trauma. This correlation underscores the profound and detrimental effects of sexual objectification on an individual's psychological well-being. Interestingly, the moderation analyses introduced a nuanced understanding, highlighting the differential roles of various overexcitabilities. Specifically, emotional, intellectual, and sensual overexcitabilities were found to exacerbate trauma symptomatology. In contrast, psychomotor overexcitability emerged as a protective factor, demonstrating a mitigating influence on the relationship between sexual objectification and trauma. Implications: The study's findings hold significant implications for a diverse array of stakeholders, encompassing mental health practitioners, educators, policymakers, and advocacy groups. The identified moderating effects of overexcitabilities emphasize the need for tailored interventions that consider individual differences in coping and resilience mechanisms. By recognizing the pivotal role of overexcitabilities in modulating the traumatic consequences of sexual objectification, this research advocates for the development of more nuanced and targeted support frameworks. Moreover, the study underscores the importance of continued research endeavors to unravel the intricate mechanisms and dynamics underpinning these relationships. Such endeavors are crucial for fostering the evolution of informed, evidence-based interventions and strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of sexual objectification and promoting holistic well-being.

Keywords: sexual objectification, insidious trauma, emotional overexcitability, intellectual overexcitability, sensual overexcitability, psychomotor overexcitability, imaginational overexcitability

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Authors: Noa Nelson, Meitar Moshe, Dana Cohen

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Work-family conflict (WFC) is a significant source of stress for contemporary employees, with research indicating its heightened severity for women. The conservation of resources theory argues that individuals experience stress when their resources fall short of demands, and attempt to reach balance by obtaining resources. Presumably then, to achieve work-family balance women would need to negotiate for resources such as spouse support, employer support and work flexibility. The current research tested the hypotheses that competent negotiation at home and at work associated with increased family and job resources and with decreased WFC, as well as with higher work, marital and life satisfaction. In the first study, 113 employed mothers, married or cohabiting, reported to what extent they conducted satisfactory negotiation with spouse over division of housework, and their actual housework load compared to spouse. They answered a WFC questionnaire, measuring how much work interferes with family (WIF) and how much family interferes with work (FIW), and finally, measurements of satisfaction. In the second study, 94 employed mothers, married or cohabiting reported to what extent they conducted satisfactory negotiation with their boss over balancing work demands with family needs. They reported the levels of three job resources: flexibility, control and family-friendly organizational culture. Finally, they answered the same WFC and satisfaction measurements from study 1. Statistical analyses –t-tests, correlations, and hierarchical linear regressions- showed that in both studies, women reported higher WIF than FIW. Negotiations associated with increased resources: support from spouse, work flexibility and control and a family-friendly culture; negotiation with spouse associated also with satisfaction measurements. However, negotiations or resources (except family-friendly culture) did not associate with reduced conflict. The studies demonstrate the role of negotiation in obtaining family and job resources. Causation cannot be determined, but the fact is that employed mothers who enjoyed more support (at both home and work), flexibility and control, were more likely to keep active interactions to increase them. This finding has theoretical and practical implications, especially in view of research on female avoidance of negotiation. It is intriguing that negotiations and resources generally did not associate with reduced WFC. This finding might reflect the severity of the conflict, especially of work interfering with family, which characterizes many contemporary jobs. It might also suggest that employed mothers have high expectations from themselves, and even under supportive circumstances, experience the challenge of balancing two significant and demanding roles. The research contributes to the fields of negotiation, gender, and work-life balance. It calls for further studies, to test its model in additional populations and validate the role employees have in actively negotiating for the balance that they need. It also calls for further research to understand the contributions of job and family resources to reducing work-family conflict, and the circumstances under which they contribute.

Keywords: sork-family conflict, work-life balance, negotiation, gender, job resources, family resources

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Authors: Lam Hong Lan

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The textile industry is said to be the second-largest polluter, responsible for 92 million tonnes of waste annually. There is an urgent need to practice the circular economy to increase the use and reuse around the world. By its nature, the pre-owned fashion business is considered part of the circular economy as it helps to eliminate waste and circulate products. Second-hand clothes and accessories used to be associated with a ‘cheap image’ that carried ‘old energy’ in Vietnam. This perception has been shifted, especially amongst the younger generation. Vietnamese consumer is spending more on products and services that increase self-esteem. The same consumer is moving away from a collectivist social identity towards a ‘me, not we’ outlook as they look for a way to express their individual identity. And pre-owned fashion is one of their solutions as it values money, can create a unique personal style for the wearer and links with sustainability. The design of this study is based on the second-hand shopping motivation theory. A semi-structured online survey with 100 consumers from one pre-owned clothing community and one pre-owned e-commerce site in Vietnam. The findings show that in contrast with Vietnamese older consumers (55+yo) who, in the previous study, generally associated pre-owned fashion with ‘low-cost’, ‘cheap image’ that carried ‘old energy’, young customers (20-30 yo) were actively promoted their pre-owned fashion items to the public via outlet’s social platforms and their social media. This cultural shift comes from the impact of global and local discourse around sustainable fashion and the growth of digital platforms in the pre-owned fashion business in the last five years, which has generally supported wider interest in pre-owned fashion in Vietnam. It can be summarised in three areas: (1) global and local celebrity influencers. A number of celebrities have been photographed wearing vintage items in music videos, photoshoots or at red carpet events. (2) E-commerce and intermediaries. International e-commerce sites – e.g., Vinted, TheRealReal – and/or local apps – e.g., Re.Loved – can influence attitudes and behaviors towards pre-owned consumption. (3) Eco-awareness. The increased online coverage of climate change and environmental pollution has encouraged customers to adopt a more eco-friendly approach to their wardrobes. While sustainable biomaterials and designs are still navigating their way into sustainability, sustainable consumerism via pre-owned fashion seems to be an immediate solution to lengthen the clothes lifecycle. This study has found that young consumers are primarily seeking value for money and/or a unique personal style from pre-owned/vintage fashion while using these purchases to promote their own “eco-awareness” via their social media networks. This is a good indication for fashion designers to keep in mind in their design process and for fashion enterprises in their business model’s choice to not overproduce fashion items.

Keywords: cultural shift, pre-owned fashion, sustainable consumption, sustainable fashion.

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Authors: K. Ghosh, S. N. Tripathi, Manish Joshi, Y. S. Mayya, Arshad Khan, B. K. Sapra

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We have developed a CFD coupled aerosol microphysics model in the context of aerosol generation from a glowing wire. The governing equations can be solved implicitly for mass, momentum, energy transfer along with aerosol dynamics. The computationally efficient framework can simulate temporal behavior of total number concentration and number size distribution. This formulation uniquely couples standard K-Epsilon scheme with boundary layer model with detailed aerosol dynamics through residence time. This model uses measured temperatures (wire surface and axial/radial surroundings) and wire compositional data apart from other usual inputs for simulations. The model predictions show that bulk fluid motion and local heat distribution can significantly affect the aerosol behavior when the buoyancy effect in momentum transfer is considered. Buoyancy generated turbulence was found to be affecting parameters related to aerosol dynamics and transport as well. The model was validated by comparing simulated predictions with results obtained from six controlled experiments performed with a laboratory-made hot wire nanoparticle generator. Condensation particle counter (CPC) and scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) were used for measurement of total number concentration and number size distribution at the outlet of reactor cell during these experiments. Our model-predicted results were found to be in reasonable agreement with observed values. The developed model is fast (fully implicit) and numerically stable. It can be used specifically for applications in the context of the behavior of aerosol particles generated from glowing wire technique and in general for other similar large scale domains. Incorporation of CFD in aerosol microphysics framework provides a realistic platform to study natural convection driven systems/ applications. Aerosol dynamics sub-modules (nucleation, coagulation, wall deposition) have been coupled with Navier Stokes equations modified to include buoyancy coupled K-Epsilon turbulence model. Coupled flow-aerosol dynamics equation was solved numerically and in the implicit scheme. Wire composition and temperature (wire surface and cell domain) were obtained/measured, to be used as input for the model simulations. Model simulations showed a significant effect of fluid properties on the dynamics of aerosol particles. The role of buoyancy was highlighted by observation and interpretation of nucleation zones in the planes above the wire axis. The model was validated against measured temporal evolution, total number concentration and size distribution at the outlet of hot wire generator cell. Experimentally averaged and simulated total number concentrations were found to match closely, barring values at initial times. Steady-state number size distribution matched very well for sub 10 nm particle diameters while reasonable differences were noticed for higher size ranges. Although tuned specifically for the present context (i.e., aerosol generation from hotwire generator), the model can also be used for diverse applications, e.g., emission of particles from hot zones (chimneys, exhaust), fires and atmospheric cloud dynamics.

Keywords: nanoparticles, k-epsilon model, buoyancy, CFD, hot wire generator, aerosol dynamics

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Authors: Natasa Ilic, Alisa Gruden-Movsesijan, Maja Kosanovic, Sofija Glamoclija, Marina Bekic, Ljiljana Sofronic-Milosavljevic, Sergej Tomic

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As a very promising candidate for modulation of immune response in the sense of biasing the inflammatory towards an anti-inflammatory type of response, Trichinella spiralis infection was shown to successfully alleviate the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the animal model of human disease multiple sclerosis. This effect is achieved via its excretory-secretory muscle larvae (ES L1) products which affect the maturation status and function of dendritic cells (DCs) by inducing the tolerogenic status of DCs, which leads to the mitigation of the Th1 type of response and the activation of a regulatory type of immune response both in vitro and in vivo. ES L1 alone or via treated DCs successfully mitigated EAE in the same manner as the infection itself. On the other hand, it has been shown that T. spiralis infection slows down the tumour growth and significantly reduces the tumour size in the model of mouse melanoma, while ES L1 possesses a pro-apoptotic and anti-survival effect on melanoma cells in vitro. Hence, although the mechanisms still need to be revealed, T. spiralis infection and its ES L1 products have a bit of controversial potential to modulate both inflammatory diseases and malignancies. The recent discovery of T. spiralis extracellular vesicles (TsEVs) suggested that the induction of complex regulation of the immune response requires simultaneous delivery of different signals in nano-sized packages. This study aimed to explore whether TsEVs bare the similar potential as ES L1 to influence the status of DCs in initiation, progression and regulation of immune response, but also to investigate the effect of both ES L1 and TsEVs on myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) which present the regular tumour tissue environment. TsEVs were enriched from the conditioned medium of T. spiralis muscle larvae by differential centrifugation and used for the treatment of human monocyte-derived DCs and MDSC. On DCs, TsEVs induced low expression of HLA DR and CD40, moderate CD83 and CD86, and increased expression of ILT3 and CCR7 on treated DCs, i.e., they induced tolerogenic DCs. Such DCs possess the capacity to polarize T cell immune response towards regulatory type, with an increased proportion of IL-10 and TGF-β producing cells, similarly to ES L1. These findings indicated that the ability of TsEVs to induce tolerogenic DCs favoring anti-inflammatory responses may be helpful in coping with diseases that involve Th1/Th17-, but also Th2-mediated inflammation. In MDSC in vitro model, although both ES L1 and TsEVs had the same impact on MDSC phenotype i.e., they acted suppressive, ES L1 treated MDSC, unlike TsEVs treated ones, induced T cell response characterized by the increased RoRγT and IFN-γ, while the proportion of regulatory cells was decreased followed by the decrease in IL-10 and TGF-β positive cells proportion within this population. These findings indicate the interesting ability of ES L1 to modulate T cells response via MDSC towards pro-inflamatory type, suggesting that, unlike TsEVs which consistently demonstrate the suppresive effect on inflammatory response, it could be used also for the development of new approaches aimed for the treatment of malignant diseases. Acknowledgment: This work was funded by the Promis project – Nano-MDCS-Thera, Science Fund, Republic of Serbia.

Keywords: dendritic cells, myeloid derived suppressor cells, immunomodulation, Trichinella spiralis

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Authors: Tal Braverman Uriel, Tal Litvak Hirsch

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Background and Objectives: Little or only partial emphasis has been placed on exploring the complexity of consensual non-monogamous relationships. The term "polyamory" refers to consensual non-monogamy, and it is defined as having emotional and/or sexual relations simultaneously with two or more people, the consent and knowledge of all the partners concerned. Managing multiple romantic relationships with different people evokes more emotions, leads to more emotional conflicts arising from different interests, and demands practical strategies. An individual's transition from a monogamous lifestyle to a consensual non-monogamous lifestyle yields new challenges, accompanied by stress, uncertainty, and question marks, as do other life-changing events, such as divorce or transition to parenthood. The study examines both the process of transition and adaptation to a consensually non-monogamous relationship, as well as the coping mechanism involved in the daily conduct of this lifestyle. The research focuses on understanding the consequences, challenges, and coping methods from a personal, marital, and familial point of view and focuses on 40 middle-aged individuals (20 men and 20 women ages 40-60). The research sheds light on a way of life that has not been previously studied in Israel and is still considered unacceptable. Theories of crisis (e.g., as Folkman and Lazarus) were applied, and as a result, a deeper understanding of the subject was reached, all while focusing on multiple aspects of dealing with stress. The basic research question examines the consequences of entering a polyamorous life from a personal point of view as an individual, partner, and parent and the ways of coping with these consequences. Method: The research is conducted with a narrative qualitative approach in the interpretive paradigm, including semi-structured in-depth interviews. The method of analysis is thematic. Results: The findings indicate that in most cases, an individual's motivation to open the relationship is mainly a longing for better sexuality and for an added layer of excitement to their lives. Most of the interviewees were assisted by their spouses in the process, as well as by social networks and podcasts on the subject. Some of them therapeutic professionals from the field are helpful. It also clearly emerged that among those who experienced acute emotional crises with the primary partner or painful separations from secondary partners, all believed polyamory to be the adequate way of life for them. Finally, a key resource for managing tension and stress is the ability to share and communicate with the primary partner. Conclusions: The study points to the challenges and benefits of a non-monogamous lifestyle as well as the use of coping mechanisms and resources that are consistent with the existing theory and research in the field in the context of life changes. The study indicates the need to expand the research canvas in the future in the context of parenting and the consequences for children.

Keywords: a-monogamy, consent, family, stress, tension

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Authors: Dalia Hanna, Alexander Ferworn

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This research provides detailed proposed training modules for the public safety teams and, specifically, SAR teams responsible for search and rescue operations related to finding lost persons with dementia. Finding a lost person alive is the goal of this training. Time matters if a lost person is to be found alive. Finding lost people living with dementia is quite challenging, as they are unaware they are lost and will not seek help. Even a small contribution to SAR operations could contribute to saving a life. SAR operations will always require expert professional and human volunteers. However, we can reduce their time, save lives, and reduce costs by providing practical training that is based on real-life scenarios. The content for the proposed training is based on the research work done by the researcher in this area. This research has demonstrated that, based on utilizing drones, the algorithmic approach could support a successful search outcome. Understanding the behavior of the lost person, learning where they may be found, predicting their survivability, and automating the search are all contributions of this work, founded in theory and demonstrated in practice. In crisis management, human behavior constitutes a vital aspect in responding to the crisis; the speed and efficiency of the response often get affected by the difficulty of the context of the operation. Therefore, training in this area plays a significant role in preparing the crisis manager to manage the emotional aspects that lead to decision-making in these critical situations. Since it is crucial to gain high-level strategic choices and the ability to apply crisis management procedures, simulation exercises become central in training crisis managers to gain the needed skills to respond critically to these events. The training will enhance the responders’ ability to make decisions and anticipate possible consequences of their actions through flexible and revolutionary reasoning in responding to the crisis efficiently and quickly. As adult learners, search and rescue teams will be approaching training and learning by taking responsibility of the learning process, appreciate flexible learning and as contributors to the teaching and learning happening during that training. These are all characteristics of adult learning theories. The learner self-reflects, gathers information, collaborates with others and is self-directed. One of the learning strategies associated with adult learning is effective elaboration. It helps learners to remember information in the long term and use it in situations where it might be appropriate. It is also a strategy that can be taught easily and used with learners of different ages. Designers must design reflective activities to improve the student’s intrapersonal awareness.

Keywords: training, OER, dementia, drones, search and rescue, adult learning, UDL, instructional design

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Authors: Stella Chioma Nwizu

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The National Commission for Adult and Non Formal Education (NMEC) in Nigeria is charged with the reduction of illiteracy rate through the development, monitoring, and supervision of literacy programmes in Nigeria. In spite of various efforts by NMEC to reduce illiteracy, literature still shows that the illiteracy rate is still high. According to NMEC/UNICEF, about 60 million Nigerians are non-literate, and nearly two thirds of them are women. This situation forced the government to search for innovative and better approaches to literacy promotion and delivery. The literacy by radio project was adopted as an innovative intervention to literacy delivery in Nigeria because the radio is the cheapest and most easily affordable medium for non-literates. The project aimed at widening access to literacy programmes for the non-literate marginalized and disadvantaged groups in Nigeria by taking literacy programmes to their door steps. The literacy by radio has worked perfectly well in non-literacy reduction in Cuba. This innovative intervention of literacy by radio is anchored on the diffusion of innovation theory by Rogers. The literacy by radio has been going on for fifteen years and the efficacy and contributions of this innovation need to be investigated. Thus, the purpose of this research is to review the contributions of the literacy by radio in Nigeria. The researcher adopted the survey research design for the study. The population for the study consisted of 2,706 participants and 47 facilitators of the literacy by radio programme in the 10 pilot states in Nigeria. A sample of four states made up of 302 participants and eight facilitators were used for the study. Information was collected through Focus Group Discussion (FGD), interviews and content analysis of official documents. The data were analysed qualitatively to review the contributions of literacy by radio project and determine the efficacy of this innovative approach in facilitating literacy in Nigeria. Results from the field experience showed, among others, that more non-literates have better access to literacy programmes through this innovative approach. The pilot project was 88% successful; not less than 2,110 adults were made literate through the literacy by radio project in 2017. However, lack of enthusiasm and commitment on the part of the technical committee and facilitators due to non-payment of honorarium, poor signals from radio stations, interruption of lectures with adverts, low community involvement in decision making in the project are challenges to the success rate of the project. The researcher acknowledges the need to customize all materials and broadcasts in all the dialects of the participants and the inclusion of more civil rights, environmental protection and agricultural skills into the project. The study recommends among others, improved and timely funding of the project by the Federal Government to enable NMEC to fulfill her obligations towards the greater success of the programme, setting up of independent radio stations for airing the programmes and proper monitoring and evaluation of the project by NMEC and State Agencies for greater effectiveness. In an era of the knowledge-driven economy, no one should be allowed to get saddled with the weight of illiteracy.

Keywords: innovative approach, literacy, project, radio, survey

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Authors: Visvaganthie Moodley

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While rhetoric goes back as far as Aristotle who focalised its meaning as the “art of persuasion”, most scholars have focused on elocutio and dispositio canons, neglecting the rhetorical impact of multimodal texts, such as documentaries. Film documentaries are being increasingly rhetoric, often used by wildlife conservationists for influencing people to become more mindful about humanity’s connection with nature. This paper examines the award-winning film documentary, “My Octopus Teacher”, which depicts naturalist, Craig Foster’s unique discovery and relationship with a female octopus in the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Storms in South Africa. It is anchored in Leech and Short’s (2007) framework of linguistic and stylistic categories – comprising lexical items, grammatical features, figures of speech and other rhetoric features, and cohesiveness – with particular foci on diction, anthropomorphic language, metaphors and symbolism. It also draws on Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) multimodal analysis to show how verbal cues (the narrator’s commentary), visual images in motion, visual images as metaphors and symbolism, and aural sensory images such as music and sound synergise for rhetoric effect. In addition, the analysis of “My Octopus Teacher” is guided by Nichol’s (2010) narrative theory; features of a documentary which foregrounds the credibility of the narrative as a text that represents real events with real people; and its modes of construction, viz., the poetic mode, the expository mode, observational mode and participatory mode, and their integration – forging documentaries as multimodal texts. This paper presents a multimodal rhetoric discussion on the sequence of salient episodes captured in the slow moving one-and-a-half-hour documentary. These are: (i) The prologue: on the brink of something extraordinary; (ii) The day it all started; (iii) The narrator’s turmoil: getting back into the ocean; (iv) The incredible encounter with the octopus; (v) Establishing a relationship; (vi) Outwitting the predatory pyjama shark; (vii) The cycle of life; and (viii) The conclusion: lessons from an octopus. The paper argues that wildlife documentaries, characterized by plausibility and which provide researchers the lens to examine the ideologies about animals and humans, offer an assimilation of the various senses – vocal, visual and audial – for engaging viewers in stylized compelling way; they have the ability to persuade people to think and act in particular ways. As multimodal texts, with its use of lexical items; diction; anthropomorphic language; linguistic, visual and aural metaphors and symbolism; and depictions of anthropocentrism, wildlife documentaries are powerful resources for promoting wildlife conservation and conscientizing people of the need for establishing a harmonious relationship with nature and humans alike.

Keywords: documentaries, multimodality, rhetoric, style, wildlife, conservation

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Authors: Aabha Chaubey, Bani Bhattacharya

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Evaluation of the quality of teaching in engineering education in India needs to be conducted on a continuous basis to achieve the best teaching quality in technical education. Quality teaching is an influential factor in technical education which impacts largely on learning outcomes of the students. Present study is not exclusively theory-driven, but it draws on various specific concepts and constructs in the domain of technical education. These include teaching and learning in higher education, teacher effectiveness, and teacher evaluation and performance management in higher education. Student Evaluation of Education Quality (SEEQ) was proposed as one of the evaluation instruments of the quality teaching in engineering education. SEEQ is one of the popular and standard instrument widely utilized all over the world and bears the validity and reliability in educational world. The present study was designed to evaluate the teaching quality through SEEQ in the context of technical education in India, including its validity and reliability based on the collected data. The multiple dimensionality of SEEQ that is present in every teaching and learning process made it quite suitable to collect the feedback of students regarding the quality of instructions and instructor. The SEEQ comprises of 9 original constructs i.e.; learning value, teacher enthusiasm, organization, group interaction, and individual rapport, breadth of coverage, assessment, assignments and overall rating of particular course and instructor with total of 33 items. In the present study, a total of 350 samples comprising first year undergraduate students from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT, Kharagpur, India) were included for the evaluation of the importance of SEEQ. They belonged to four different courses of different streams of engineering studies. The above studies depicted the validity and reliability of SEEQ was based upon the collected data. This further needs Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Analysis of Moment structure (AMOS) for various scaled instrument like SEEQ Cronbach’s alpha which are associated with SPSS for the examination of the internal consistency. The evaluation of the effectiveness of SEEQ in CFA is implemented on the basis of fit indices such as CMIN/df, CFI, GFI, AGFI and RMSEA readings. The major findings of this study showed the fitness indices such as ChiSq = 993.664,df = 390,ChiSq/df = 2.548,GFI = 0.782,AGFI = 0.736,CFI = 0.848,RMSEA = 0.062,TLI = 0.945,RMR = 0.029,PCLOSE = 0.006. The final analysis of the fit indices presented positive construct validity and stability, on the other hand a higher reliability was also depicted which indicated towards internal consistency. Thus, the study suggests the effectivity of SEEQ as the indicator of the quality evaluation instrument in teaching-learning process in engineering education in India. Therefore, it is expected that with the continuation of this research in engineering education there remains a possibility towards the betterment of the quality of the technical education in India. It is also expected that this study will provide an empirical and theoretical logic towards locating a construct or factor related to teaching, which has the greatest impact on teaching and learning process in a particular course or stream in engineering education.

Keywords: confirmatory factor analysis, engineering education, SEEQ, teaching and learning process

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Authors: Victoria Brennan, Andrea Mallaburn, Linda Seton

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Science outreach programmes connect school pupils with external agencies to provide activities and experiences that enhance their exposure to science. It can be argued that these programmes not only aim to support teachers with curriculum engagement and promote scientific literacy but also provide pivotal opportunities to spark scientific interest in students. In turn, a further objective of these programmes is to increase awareness of career opportunities within this field. Although outreach work is also often described as a fun and satisfying venture, a plethora of researchers express caution to how successful the processes are to increases engagement post-16 in science. When researching the impact of outreach programmes, it is often student feedback regarding the activities or enrolment numbers to particular science courses post-16, which are generated and analysed. Although this is informative, the longevity of the programme’s impact could be better informed by the teacher’s perceptions; the evidence of which is far more limited in the literature. In addition, there are strong suggestions that teachers can have an indirect impact on a student’s own self-concept. These themes shape the focus and importance of this ongoing research project as it presents the rationale that teachers are under-used resources when it comes to considering the design of science outreach programmes. Therefore, the end result of the research will consist of a presentation of an ‘optimum’ model of outreach. The result of which should be of interest to the wider stakeholders such as universities or private or government organisations who design science outreach programmes in the hope to recruit future scientists. During phase one, questionnaires (n=52) and interviews (n=8) have generated both quantitative and qualitative data. These have been analysed using the Wilcoxon non-parametric test to compare teachers’ perceptions of science outreach interventions and thematic analysis for open-ended questions. Both of these research activities provide an opportunity for a cross-section of teacher opinions of science outreach to be obtained across all educational levels. Therefore, an early draft of the ‘optimum’ model of science outreach delivery was generated using both the wealth of literature and primary data. This final (ongoing) phase aims to refine this model using teacher focus groups to provide constructive feedback about the proposed model. The analysis uses principles of modified Grounded Theory to ensure that focus group data is used to further strengthen the model. Therefore, this research uses a pragmatist approach as it aims to focus on the strengths of the different paradigms encountered to ensure the data collected will provide the most suitable information to create an improved model of sustainable outreach. The results discussed will focus on this ‘optimum’ model and teachers’ perceptions of benefits and drawbacks when it comes to engaging with science outreach work. Although the model is still a ‘work in progress’, it provides both insight into how teachers feel outreach delivery can be a sustainable intervention tool within the classroom and what providers of such programmes should consider when designing science outreach activities.

Keywords: educational partnerships, science education, science outreach, teachers

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Authors: Yumei Han, Naiqing Song, Xiaoping Yang, Yuping Han

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This study explores the conceptualization of key competencies that children are expected to develop in three year preschools (age 3-6) and the assessment practices of such key competencies in China. Assessment of children development has been put into the central place of early childhood education quality evaluation system in China. In the context of students key competencies development centered education reform in China, defining and selecting key competencies of children in preschools are of great significance in that they would lay a solid foundation for children’s lifelong learning path, and they would lead to curriculum and instruction reform, teacher development reform as well as quality evaluation reform in the early childhood education area. Based on sense making theory and framework, this study adopted multiple stakeholders’ (early childhood educators, parents, evaluation administrators, scholars in the early childhood education field) perspectives and grass root voices to conceptualize and operationalize key competencies for children in preschools in Southwest China. On the ground of children development theories, Chinese and international literature related to children development and key competencies, and key competencies frameworks by UNESCO, OECD and other nations, the authors designed a two-phase sequential mixed method study to address three main questions: (a) How is early childhood key competency defined or labeled from literature and from different stakeholders’ views? (b) Based on the definitions explicated in the literature and the surveys on different stakeholders, what domains and components are regarded to constitute the key competency framework of children in three-year preschools in China? (c) How have early childhood key competencies been assessed and measured, and how such assessment and measurement contribute to enhancing early childhood development quality? On the first phase, a series of focus group surveys were conducted among different types of stakeholders around the research questions. Moreover, on the second phase, based on the coding of the participants’ answers, together with literature synthesis findings, a questionnaire survey was designed and conducted to select most commonly expected components of preschool children’s key competencies. Semi-structured open questions were also included in the questionnaire for the participants to add on competencies beyond the checklist. Rudimentary findings show agreeable concerns on the significance and necessity of conceptualization and assessment of key competencies for children in preschools, and a key competencies framework composed of 7 domains and 25 indicators was constructed. Meanwhile, the findings also show issues in the current assessment practices of children’s competencies, such as lack of effective assessment tools, lack of teacher capacity in applying the tools to evaluating children and advancing children development accordingly. Finally, the authors put forth suggestions and implications for China and international communities in terms of restructuring early childhood key competencies framework, and promoting child development centered reform in early childhood education quality evaluation and development.

Keywords: assessment, conceptualization, early childhood education quality in China, key competencies

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Authors: Rameshwar Dahal, S. Ping Ho

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Although the demand for infrastructure development forms a promising market opportunity for international firms, the dominance of informal institutions over formal ones, investors are facing extraordinary institutional challenges when investing in emerging Least Developed Countries (LDCs). We believe that, in emerging LDCs, the project performance heavily depends on how well the entrants respond to the challenges exerted by the host institutional environments. Which primarily depends on how much they learn about the host institution and what strategy they apply in response. In Nepal, almost all international or global infrastructure projects are financed by international financers, so the procurement process of the infrastructure projects financed by foreign agencies is guided by the policies and regulations of the financer. Because of limited resources and the financers’ demand, contractors and consults are procured internationally. Moreover, the resources, including but not limited to construction material, manpower, and equipment, also need to be imported. Therefore, the involvement of international companies as an entrant in global infrastructure projects of LDCs is obvious. In a global project (GP), participants from different geographical and institutional environments hold different beliefs and have disparate interests. Therefore, the entrants face the challenges exerted by the host institutional environments. The entrants must either adapt to the institutions prevailing in the environment or resist the institutional pressures. It is hypothesized that, in emerging LDCs, the project performance heavily depends on how much the entrants learn about the host institutional knowledge and how well they respond to the institutional environments. While it is impossible to generalize the phenomenon and contextual conditions because of their vast diversity, this study has answered why and how participants’ level of institutional knowledge impacts the project's implementation performance. To draw that conclusion, firstly, we explored two typical GPs from Nepal. For this study, the data were collected by conducting interviews and examining the secondary data, such as the project reports published by the financers, project data provided by interviewees, and news reports. In an event analysis, firstly, we identify the sources, causes, or nature of the institutional challenges; secondly, we analyze the entrant’s responses to the exerted challenges and evaluate the impacts of the responses on the overall project performance. In this study, at first, the events occurred during the project implementation process have a causal link with the local institutions that demand the entrants’ response are extracted. Secondly, each event is scrutinized as the critical success factor of the case project. Finally, it is crucially examined whether and what institutional knowledge in these events played a critical role in project success or failure. The results also provide insights into the crucial institutional knowledge in LDCs and the subsequent strategy implications for undertaking projects in LDCs.

Keywords: emerging countries, LDC, project management, project performance, institutional knowledge, institutional theory

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Authors: Kassahun Tilahun

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The purpose of the study was two-fold: to examine the socio-demographic and psychological predictors of well-being and formulate a socio-culturally sound approach explaining the meaning and experience of psychological well-being among Ethiopian adults. Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory was duly considered as a theoretical framework of the study. The study followed a sequential explanatory mixed method design. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained, via scales and open-ended questionnaires, from 438 civil servants working in Addis Ababa. 30 interviews were also conducted to gain further information. An in-depth analysis of the reliability and validity of instruments was made before employing them to the main study. The results showed that adults were better off in both their scores of psychological and subjective well-being. Besides, adults’ well-being was found to be quite a function of their gender, age, marital status, educational level and household income. Males had a healthier psychological well-being status than females, where as females were better in their subjective well-being. A significant difference in psychological well-being was also observed between emerging and young adults, in favor of the young; and between cohabitated and married adults, married being advantageous. A significant difference in subjective well-being measures was also noticed among single, cohabitated and married adults, in favor of the married adults in all measures. The finding revealed that happiness level of adults decrease as their educational status increases while the reverse is true to psychological well-being. Besides, as adults’ household income boosts, so do their psychological well-being and satisfaction in life. The regression analysis also produced significant independent contributions of household income to overall well-being of adults. As such, subjective well-being was significantly predicted by dummy variable of sex and marital status. Likewise, the agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness dimensions of personality were notable significant predictors of adults’ psychological well-being where as extraversion and agreeableness were significant predictors of their subjective well-being. Religiosity was also a significant predictor of adults’ psychological well-being. Besides, adults’ well-being was significantly predicted by the interaction between conscientiousness and religiosity. From goal pursuit dimensions, attainment of extrinsic life goals was a significant predictor of both psychological and subjective well-being. Importance and attainment of intrinsic life goals also significantly predicts adults’ psychological well-being. Finally, the subjective well-being of adults was significantly predicted by environmental mastery, positive relations with others, self-acceptance and overall psychological well-being scores of adults. The thematic analysis identified five major categories of themes, which are essential in explaining the psychological well-being of Ethiopian adults. These were; socio-cultural harmony, social cohesion, security, competence and accomplishment, and the self. Detailed discussion on the rational for including these themes was made and appropriate implications were proposed. Researchers are encouraged to expand the findings of this research and in turn develop a suitable approach taping the psychological well-being of adults living in countries like Ethiopia.

Keywords: psychological well-being, subjective well-being, adulthood, Ethiopia

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Authors: Shahira Mahmoud Yacout

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Writing is an essential skill in many vocational, academic environments, and notably workplaces, yet many students perceive writing as being something tiring and boring or maybe a “waste of time”. Studies in the field of foreign languages related this fact might be due to the lack of connection between what is learned in the university and what students come to encounter in real life situations”. Arabic learners felt they needed more language exposure to the context of their future professions. With this idea in mind, Scenario based learning (SBL) is reported to be an educational approach to motivate, engage and stimulate students’ interest and to achieve the desired writing learning outcomes. In addition, researchers suggested Scenario based learning (SBL)as an instructional approach that develops and enhances students skills through developing higher order thinking skills and active learning. It is a subset of problem-based learning and case-based learning. The approach focuses on authentic rhetorical framing reflecting writing tasks in real life situations. It works successfully when used to simulate real-world practices, providing context that reflects the types of situations professionals respond to in writing. It was claimed that using realistic scenarios customized to the course’s learning objectives as it bridged the gap for students between theory and application. Within this context, it is thought that scenario-based learning is an important approach to enhance the learners’ writing skills and to reflect meaningful learning within authentic contexts. As an Arabicforeign language instructor, it was noticed that students find difficulties in adapting writing styles to authentic writing contexts and addressing different audiences and purposes. This idea is supported by studieswho claimed that AFL students faced difficulties with transferring writing skills to situations outside of the classroom context. In addition, it was observed that some of the Arabic textbooks for teaching Arabic as a foreign language lacked topics that initiated higher order thinking skills and stimulated the learners to understand the setting, and created messages appropriate to different audiences, context, and purposes. The goals of this study are to 1)provide a rational for using scenario-based learning approach to improveAFL learners in writing skills, 2) demonstrate how to design/ implement a scenario-based learning technique aligned with the writing course objectives,3) demonstrate samples of scenario-based approach implemented in AFL writing class, and 4)emphasis the role of peer-review along with the instructor’s feedback, in the process of developing the writing skill. Finally, this presentation highlighted and emphasized the importance of using the scenario-based learning approach in writing as a means to mirror students’ real-life situations and engage them in planning, monitoring, and problem solving. This approach helped in making writing an enjoyable experience and clearly useful to students’ future professional careers.

Keywords: meaningful learning, real life contexts, scenario based learning, writing skill

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Authors: Sanaz Alizadeh, Yves Comeau, Arshath Abdul Rahim, Sunhasis Ghoshal

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The application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in personal care products, various household and industrial products has resulted in an inevitable environmental exposure of such engineered nanoparticles (ENPs). Ag ENPs, released via household and industrial wastes, reach water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs), yet the fate and transport of ENPs in WRRFs and their potential risk in the biological wastewater processes are poorly understood. Accordingly, our main objective was to elucidate the impact of long-term continuous exposure to AgNPs on biological activity of aerobic wastewater biofilm. The fate, transport and toxicity of 10 μg.L-1and 100 μg.L-1 PVP-stabilized AgNPs (50 nm) were evaluated in an attached growth biological treatment process, using lab-scale moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs). Two MBBR systems for organic matter removal were fed with a synthetic influent and operated at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 180 min and 60% volumetric filling ratio of Anox-K5 carriers with specific surface area of 800 m2/m3. Both reactors were operated for 85 days after reaching steady state conditions to develop a mature biofilm. The impact of AgNPs on the biological performance of the MBBRs was characterized over a period of 64 days in terms of the filtered biodegradable COD (SCOD) removal efficiency, the biofilm viability and key enzymatic activities (α-glucosidase and protease). The AgNPs were quantitatively characterized using single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (spICP-MS), determining simultaneously the particle size distribution, particle concentration and dissolved silver content in influent, bioreactor and effluent samples. The generation of reactive oxygen species and the oxidative stress were assessed as the proposed toxicity mechanism of AgNPs. Results indicated that a low concentration of AgNPs (10 μg.L-1) did not significantly affect the SCOD removal efficiency whereas a significant reduction in treatment efficiency (37%) was observed at 100 μg.L-1AgNPs. Neither the viability nor the enzymatic activities of biofilm were affected at 10 μg.L-1AgNPs but a higher concentration of AgNPs induced cell membrane integrity damage resulting in 31% loss of viability and reduced α-glucosidase and protease enzymatic activities by 31% and 29%, respectively, over the 64-day exposure period. The elevated intercellular ROS in biofilm at a higher AgNPs concentration over time was consistent with a reduced biological biofilm performance, confirming the occurrence of a nanoparticle-induced oxidative stress in the heterotrophic biofilm. The spICP-MS analysis demonstrated a decrease in the nanoparticles concentration over the first 25 days, indicating a significant partitioning of AgNPs into the biofilm matrix in both reactors. The concentration of nanoparticles increased in effluent of both reactors after 25 days, however, indicating a decreased retention capacity of AgNPs in biofilm. The observed significant detachment of biofilm also contributed to a higher release of nanoparticles due to cell-wall destabilizing properties of AgNPs as an antimicrobial agent. The removal efficiency of PVP-AgNPs and the biofilm biological responses were a function of nanoparticle concentration and exposure time. This study contributes to a better understanding of the fate and behavior of AgNPs in biological wastewater processes, providing key information that can be used to predict the environmental risks of ENPs in aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords: biofilm, silver nanoparticle, single particle ICP-MS, toxicity, wastewater

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Authors: Eric Spruth, Lindsey Herbert, Danielle DiCristofano, Isis Violet Spruth, Drake Von Spruth

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Turning dreams into reality, the lifelong passion of Mr. Spruth and the company is to transform garbage-filled courtyards into flourishing flower and vegetable gardens, bringing light, hope, and wellness to not just the space but to the populations served within these public and private spaces. As an Expressive Art Therapist at Cook County Jail, Eric Spruth has implemented gardening projects, mobile radish carts, plant fostering systems, and large-scale murals. Lindsey Herbert, the Manager of Operations and Events at the International Museum of Surgical Science, supports gardening projects with Mr. Spruth along the front lawn of the museum, which will eventually accumulate into a community wellness garden. Mr. Spruth and Ms. Herbert both have dedicated efforts towards fostering awareness of hope and help and accountability for physical and mental wellbeing. Medicinal plants can rightfully be called one of nature’s wonderful healing tools with therapeutic powers. They can inhibit and kill bacteria, lower blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar, prevent blood clotting, boost the immune system, and serve as a digestive aid. Some plants have the ability to stimulate the lymphatic system, which expedites the removal of waste products from the body to fight off evil toxins. Many plants are considered effective antioxidants to protect cells against free radical damage, serving to prevent some forms of cancer, heart disease, strokes, and viral infections. Garlic alone can provide us with over two hundred unusual chemicals that have the capability of protecting the human body from a wide variety of diseases. Besides the medicinal qualities of plants, plant and vegetable gardens also have an echoing effect on non-participants to look at something beautiful rather than a concrete courtyard or an unkempt lawn in front of a beautiful building. Plants also purify spaces and affect mood with color therapy. Collective gardening can foster a sense of community and purpose. Additionally, by recognizing the ever-evolving planet with global warming, horticulture therapy teaches important lessons in responsibility, accountability, and sustainability. Growing local food provides an opportunity to be involved in your own mental and physical health and gives you a chance for your own self-resilience, combating depression and a lack of nutrition. In adolescents, the process of watering and caring for plants can teach important life lessons that transcend beyond the garden by providing knowledge on how to care for yourself and how to be an active member of society. It also gives a sense of purpose and pride in transforming a small seed into a plant that can be consumed or enjoyed by others. Mr. Spruth and Ms. Herbert recognize the importance of bringing more green spaces to urban areas, both to serve a nutritional benefit and provide a beautiful transformation to underutilized areas. Gardens can bring beauty, wellness, and hope to dark spaces and provide immeasurable benefits for all.

Keywords: growth, hope, mental health, sustainability, transformation, wellness

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Authors: Majed A. Alsalem

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In our contemporary world, literacy is an essential skill that enables students to increase their efficiency in managing the many assignments they receive that require understanding and knowledge of the world around them. In addition, literacy enhances student participation in society improving their ability to learn about the world and interact with others and facilitating the exchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge. Therefore, literacy needs to be studied and understood in its full range of contexts. It should be seen as social and cultural practices with historical, political, and economic implications. This study aims to rebuild and reorganize the instructional designs that have been used for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students to improve their literacy level. The most critical part of this process is the teachers; therefore, teachers will be the center focus of this study. Teachers’ main job is to increase students’ performance by fostering strategies through collaborative teamwork, higher-order thinking, and effective use of new information technologies. Teachers, as primary leaders in the learning process, should be aware of new strategies, approaches, methods, and frameworks of teaching in order to apply them to their instruction. Literacy from a wider view means acquisition of adequate and relevant reading skills that enable progression in one’s career and lifestyle while keeping up with current and emerging innovations and trends. Moreover, the nature of literacy is changing rapidly. The notion of new literacy changed the traditional meaning of literacy, which is the ability to read and write. New literacy refers to the ability to effectively and critically navigate, evaluate, and create information using a range of digital technologies. The term new literacy has received a lot of attention in the education field over the last few years. New literacy provides multiple ways of engagement, especially to those with disabilities and other diverse learning needs. For example, using a number of online tools in the classroom provides students with disabilities new ways to engage with the content, take in information, and express their understanding of this content. This study will provide teachers with the highest quality of training sessions to meet the needs of DHH students so as to increase their literacy levels. This study will build a platform between regular instructional designs and digital materials that students can interact with. The intervention that will be applied in this study will be to train teachers of DHH to base their instructional designs on the notion of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theory. Based on the power analysis that has been done for this study, 98 teachers are needed to be included in this study. This study will choose teachers randomly to increase internal and external validity and to provide a representative sample from the population that this study aims to measure and provide the base for future and further studies. This study is still in process and the initial results are promising by showing how students have engaged with digital books.

Keywords: deaf and hard of hearing, digital books, literacy, technology

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Authors: Georgi Y. Georgiev, Matthew Brouillet

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This research applies the power of agent-based modeling to a pivotal question at the intersection of biology, computer science, physics, and complex systems theory about the self-organization processes in open, complex, non-equilibrium thermodynamic systems. Central to this investigation is the principle of Maximum Entropy Production (MEP). This principle suggests that such systems evolve toward states that optimize entropy production, leading to the formation of structured environments. It is hypothesized that guided by the least action principle, open thermodynamic systems identify and follow the shortest paths to transmit energy and matter, resulting in maximal entropy production, internal structure formation, and a decrease in internal entropy. Concurrently, it is predicted that there will be an increase in system information as more information is required to describe the developing structure. To test this, an agent-based model is developed simulating an ant colony's formation of a path between a food source and its nest. Utilizing the Netlogo software for modeling and Python for data analysis and visualization, self-organization is quantified by calculating the decrease in system entropy based on the potential states and distribution of the ants within the simulated environment. External entropy production is also evaluated for information increase and efficiency improvements in the system's action. Simulations demonstrated that the system begins at maximal entropy, which decreases as the ants form paths over time. A range of system behaviors contingent upon the number of ants are observed. Notably, no path formation occurred with fewer than five ants, whereas clear paths were established by 200 ants, and saturation of path formation and entropy state was reached at populations exceeding 1000 ants. This analytical approach identified the inflection point marking the transition from disorder to order and computed the slope at this point. Combined with extrapolation to the final path entropy, these parameters yield important insights into the eventual entropy state of the system and the timeframe for its establishment, enabling the estimation of the self-organization rate. This study provides a novel perspective on the exploration of self-organization in thermodynamic systems, establishing a correlation between internal entropy decrease rate and external entropy production rate. Moreover, it presents a flexible framework for assessing the impact of external factors like changes in world size, path obstacles, and friction. Overall, this research offers a robust, replicable model for studying self-organization processes in any open thermodynamic system. As such, it provides a foundation for further in-depth exploration of the complex behaviors of these systems and contributes to the development of more efficient self-organizing systems across various scientific fields.

Keywords: complexity, self-organization, agent based modelling, efficiency

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Authors: Somnath Bhattacharya, Kamal Sharma, Vaibhav Sonkar

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Composite materials emerged in the middle of the 20th century as a promising class of engineering materials providing new prospects for modern technology. Recently, a new class of composite materials known as functionally graded materials (FGMs) has drawn considerable attention of the scientific community. In general, FGMs are defined as composite materials in which the composition or microstructure or both are locally varied so that a certain variation of the local material properties is achieved. This gradual change in composition and microstructure of material is suitable to get gradient of properties and performances. FGMs are synthesized in such a way that they possess continuous spatial variations in volume fractions of their constituents to yield a predetermined composition. These variations lead to the formation of a non-homogeneous macrostructure with continuously varying mechanical and / or thermal properties in one or more than one direction. Lightweight functionally graded composites with high strength to weight and stiffness to weight ratios have been used successfully in aircraft industry and other engineering applications like in electronics industry and in thermal barrier coatings. In the present work, elastic-plastic crack growth problems (using Ramberg-Osgood Model) in an FGM plate under cyclic load has been explored by extended finite element method. Both edge and centre crack problems have been solved by taking additionally holes, inclusions and minor cracks under plane stress conditions. Both soft and hard inclusions have been implemented in the problems. The validity of linear elastic fracture mechanics theory is limited to the brittle materials. A rectangular plate of functionally graded material of length 100 mm and height 200 mm with 100% copper-nickel alloy on left side and 100% ceramic (alumina) on right side is considered in the problem. Exponential gradation in property is imparted in x-direction. A uniform traction of 100 MPa is applied to the top edge of the rectangular domain along y direction. In some problems, domain contains major crack along with minor cracks or / and holes or / and inclusions. Major crack is located the centre of the left edge or the centre of the domain. The discontinuities, such as minor cracks, holes, and inclusions are added either singly or in combination with each other. On the basis of this study, it is found that effect of minor crack in the domain’s failure crack length is minimum whereas soft inclusions have moderate effect and the effect of holes have maximum effect. It is observed that the crack growth is more before the failure in each case when hard inclusions are present in place of soft inclusions.

Keywords: elastic-plastic, fatigue crack, functionally graded materials, extended finite element method (XFEM)

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Authors: Laila Albughayl

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The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore Saudi females’ leadership journeys as they navigate the labyrinth of leadership in higher education. To gain a better understanding of how these leaders overcame challenges and accessed support as they progressed through the labyrinth to top positions in Saudi higher education. The significance of this research derived from the premise that leaders need to acquire essential leadership competencies such as knowledge, skills, and practices to effectively lead through economic transformation, growing globalism, and rapidly developing technology in an increasingly diverse world. In addition, understanding Saudi women’s challenges in the labyrinth will encourage policymakers to improve the situation under which these women work. The metaphor ‘labyrinth’ for Eagly and Carli (2007) encapsulates the winding paths, dead ends, and maze-like pathways that are full of challenges and supports that women traverse to access and maintain leadership positions was used. In this study, ‘labyrinth’ was used as the conceptual framework to explore women leaders’ challenges and opportunities in leadership in Saudi higher education. A proposed model for efficient navigation of the labyrinth of leadership was used. This model focused on knowledge, skills, and behaviours (KSB) as the analytical framework for examining responses to the research questions. This research was conducted using an interpretivist qualitative approach. A case study was the methodology used. Semi-structured interviews were the main data collection method. Purposive sampling was used to select ten Saudi leaders in three public universities. In coding, the 6-step framework of thematic analysis for Braun and Clarke was used to identify, analyze, and report themes within the data. NVivo software was also used as a tool to assist with managing and organizing the data. The resultant findings showed that the challenges identified by participants in navigating the labyrinth of leadership in Saudi higher education replicated some of those identified in the literature. The onset findings also revealed that the organizational barriers in Saudi higher education came as the top hindrance to women’s advancement in the labyrinth of leadership, followed by societal barriers. The findings also showed that women’s paths in the labyrinth of leadership in higher education were still convoluted and tedious compared to their male counterparts. In addition, the findings revealed that Saudi women leaders use significant strategies to access leadership posts and effectively navigate the labyrinth; this was not indicated in the literature. In addition, the resultant findings revealed that there are keys that assisted Saudi female leaders in effectively navigating the labyrinth of leadership. For example, the findings indicated that spirituality (religion) was a powerful key that enabled Saudi women leaders to pursue and persist in their leadership paths. Based on participants' experiences, a compass for effective navigation of the labyrinth of leadership in higher education was created for current and aspirant Saudi women leaders to follow. Finally, the findings had several significant implications for practice, policy, theory, and future research.

Keywords: women, leadership, labyrinth, higher education

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Authors: Tiera Tanksley, Amanda M. McLeroy

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The advent of technology and social media has ushered in a new era of communication, providing platforms for news dissemination and cause advocacy. However, this digital landscape has also exposed a distressing phenomenon termed "Black death," or trauma porn. This paper delves into the profound effects of repeated exposure to traumatic content on Black youth via social media, exploring the psychological impacts and potential reinforcing of stereotypes. Employing Critical Race Technology Theory (CRTT), the study sheds light on algorithmic anti-blackness and its influence on Black youth's lives and educational experiences. Through ethnographic content analysis, the research investigates common manifestations of Black death encountered online by Black adolescents. Findings unveil distressing viral videos, traumatic images, racial slurs, and hate speech, perpetuating stereotypes. However, amidst the distress, the study identifies narratives of activism and social justice on social media platforms, empowering Black youth to engage in positive change. Coping mechanisms and community support emerge as significant factors in navigating the digital landscape. The study underscores the need for comprehensive interventions and policies informed by evidence-based research. By addressing algorithmic anti-blackness and promoting digital resilience, the paper advocates for a more empathetic and inclusive online environment. Understanding coping mechanisms and community support becomes imperative for fostering mental well-being among Black adolescents navigating social media. In education, the implications are substantial. Acknowledging the impact of Black death content, educators play a pivotal role in promoting media literacy and digital resilience. Creating inclusive and safe online spaces, educators can mitigate negative effects and encourage open discussions about traumatic content. The application of CRTT in educational technology emphasizes dismantling systemic biases and promoting equity. In conclusion, this study calls for educators to be cognizant of the impact of Black death content on social media. By prioritizing media literacy, fostering digital resilience, and advocating for unbiased technologies, educators contribute to an inclusive and just educational environment for all students, irrespective of their race or background. Addressing challenges related to Black death content proactively ensures the well-being and mental health of Black adolescents, fostering an empathetic and inclusive digital space.

Keywords: algorithmic anti-Blackness, digital resilience, media literacy, traumatic content

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Authors: Magdalena Suárez-Ortega, M. Fe. Sánchez-García

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This paper focuses on the analysis of the motivations that lead people to undertake and consolidate their business. It is addressed from the framework of planned behavior theory, which recognizes the importance of the social environment and cultural values, both in the decision to undertake business and in business consolidation. Similarly, it is also based on theories of career development, which emphasize the importance of career management competencies and their connections to other vital aspects of people, including their roles within their families and other personal activities. This connects directly with the impact of entrepreneurship on the career and the professional-personal project of each individual. This study is part of the project titled Career Design and Talent Management (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain, State Plan 2013-2016 Excellence Ref. EDU2013-45704-P). The aim of the study is to identify and describe entrepreneurial competencies and motivational profiles in a sample of 248 Spanish entrepreneurs, considering the consolidated profile and the profile in transition (n = 248).In order to obtain the information, the Questionnaire of Motivation and conditioners of the entrepreneurial career (MCEC) has been applied. This consists of 67 items and includes four scales (E1-Conflicts in conciliation, E2-Satisfaction in the career path, E3-Motivations to undertake, E4-Guidance Needs). Cluster analysis (mixed method, combining k-means clustering with a hierarchical method) was carried out, characterizing the groups profiles according to the categorical variables (chi square, p = 0.05), and the quantitative variables (ANOVA). The results have allowed us to characterize three motivational profiles relevant to the motivation, the degree of conciliation between personal and professional life, and the degree of conflict in conciliation, levels of career satisfaction and orientation needs (in the entrepreneurial project and life-career). The first profile is formed by extrinsically motivated entrepreneurs, professionally satisfied and without conflict of vital roles. The second profile acts with intrinsic motivation and also associated with family models, and although it shows satisfaction with their professional career, it finds a high conflict in their family and professional life. The third is composed of entrepreneurs with high extrinsic motivation, professional dissatisfaction and at the same time, feel the conflict in their professional life by the effect of personal roles. Ultimately, the analysis has allowed us to line the kinds of entrepreneurs to different levels of motivation, satisfaction, needs and articulation in professional and personal life, showing characterizations associated with the use of time for leisure, and the care of the family. Associations related to gender, age, activity sector, environment (rural, urban, virtual), and the use of time for domestic tasks are not identified. The model obtained and its implications for the design of training actions and orientation to entrepreneurs is also discussed.

Keywords: motivation, entrepreneurial career, guidance needs, life-work balance, job satisfaction, assessment

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Authors: Beth Vale

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Academic research has often neglected the city after dark. Surprisingly little consideration has been given to the every night life of cities: the spatial tactics and creative insurgencies of urban residents when night falls. The focus on ‘pleasure’ in the nocturnal city has often negated the subtle politics of night-time play, embedded in expressions of identity, attachment and resistance. This paper investigates Johannesburg nightclubs as sites of quotidian political labour, through which young people contest social space and their place in it, thereby contributing to the city’s effective and socio-political cartography. The tactical remodelling of the nocturnal city through nightclubbing traces lines of desire (material, emotional, sexual), affiliation, and fear. These in turn map onto young people’s expressions of their social and political identities, as well as their attempts at place-making in a ‘post-apartheid’ context. By examining the micro-politics of the cities' nightclubs, this paper speaks back to an earlier post-94 literature, which regularly characterised Johannesburg youth as superficial, individualist and idealistic. Similarly, some might position nightclubs as sites of frivolous consumption or liberatory permissiveness. Yet because nightclub spaces are racialised, classed and gendered, historically-signified and socially regulated, they are also profoundly political. Through ordinary encounters on the cities' dancefloors, young Jo’burgers are imagining, contesting and negotiating their socio-political identities and indeed their claims to the city. Meanwhile, the politics of this generation of youth, who are increasingly critical of the utopian post-apartheid city, are being increasingly inserted and coopted into night-time cultures. Data for this study was gathered through five months of ethnographic fieldwork in Johannesburg nightclubs, including over 120 hours of participant observation and in-depth interviews with organisers and partygoers. Interviewees recognised that parties, rather than being simple frivolity, are a cacophony of celebration, mourning, worship, rage, rebellion and attachment. Countering standard associations between partying and escapism, party planners, venue owners and nightclub audiences were infusing night-time infrastructures with the aesthetics of politics and protest. Not unlike parties, local political assemblies so often rely on music, dance, the occupation of space, and a heaving crowd. References to social movements, militancy and anti-establishment emerged in nightclub themes, dress codes and décor. Metaphors of fire crossed over between party and protest, both of which could be described as having ‘been lit’ or having ‘brought flames’. More so, young people’s articulations of the city’s night-time geography, and their place in it, reflected articulations of race, class and ideological affiliation. The location, entrance fees and stylistic choices of one’s chosen club destination demarcated who was welcome, while also signalling membership to a particular politics (whether progressive or materialistic, inclusive or elitist, mainstream or counter-culture). Because of their ability to divide and unite, aggravate and titillate, mask and reveal, club cultures might offer a mirror to the complex socialities of a generation of Jo’burg youth, as they inhabit, and bring into being, a contemporary South African city.

Keywords: affect, Johannesburg, nightclub, nocturnal city, politics

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Authors: Marcus Lee

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The energy sector is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia, which induces climate change. The climate change problem is therefore an energy sector problem. Tackling climate change issues successfully is contingent on actions taken in the energy sector. The researcher propounds that ‘Climate Policy Integration’ (CPI) into energy policy is a viable and insufficiently developed strategy in Malaysia that promotes the synergies between climate change and energy objectives, in order to achieve the targets found in both climate change and energy policies. In exploring this hypothesis, this paper presentation will focus on two particular aspects. Firstly, the meaning of CPI as an approach and as a concept will be explored. As an approach, CPI into energy policy means the integration of climate change objectives into the energy policy area. Its subject matter focuses on establishing the functional interrelations between climate change and energy objectives, by promoting their synergies and minimising their contradictions. However, its conceptual underpinnings are less than straightforward. Drawing from the ‘principle of integration’ found in international treaties and declarations such as the Stockholm Declaration 1972, the Rio Declaration 1992 and the United Nations Framework on Climate Change 1992 (‘UNFCCC’), this paper presentation will explore the contradictions in international standards on how the sustainable development tenets of environmental sustainability, social development and economic development are to be balanced and its relevance to CPI. Further, the researcher will consider whether authority may be derived from international treaties and declarations in order to argue for the prioritisation of environmental sustainability over the other sustainable development tenets through CPI. Secondly, this paper presentation will also explore the degree to which CPI into energy policy has been achieved and pursued in Malaysia. In particular, the strength of the conceptual framework with regard to CPI in Malaysian governance will be considered by assessing Malaysia’s National Policy on Climate Change (2009) (‘NPCC 2009’). The development (or the lack of) of CPI as an approach since the publication of the NPCC 2009 will also be assessed based on official government documents and policies that may have a climate change and/or energy agenda. Malaysia’s National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan (2010), draft National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (2014), Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (2015) in relation to the Paris Agreement, 11th Malaysia Plan (2015) and Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC (2015) will be discussed. These documents will be assessed for the presence of CPI based on the language/drafting of the documents as well as the degree of subject matter regarding CPI expressed in the documents. Based on the analysis, the researcher will propose solutions on how to improve Malaysia’s climate change and energy governance. The theory of reflexive governance will be applied to CPI. The concluding remarks will be about whether CPI reflects reflexive governance by demonstrating how the governance process can be the object of shaping outcomes.

Keywords: climate policy integration, mainstreaming, policy coherence, Malaysian energy governance

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