Search results for: traditional street space

Authors: Vandenbroucke Karel, Georges Annabel, Schuurman Dimitri

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In the past years, bundling of transport flows, whether or not implemented in an intermodal process, has popped up as a promising concept in the logistics sector. Bundling of transport flows is a process where two or more shippers decide to synergize their shipped goods over a common transport lane. Promoted by the European Commission, several programs have been set up and have shown their benefits. Bundling promises both shippers and logistics service providers economic, societal and ecological benefits. By bundling transport flows and thus reducing truck (or other carrier) capacity, the problems of driver shortage, increased fuel prices, mileage charges and restricted hours of service on the road are solved. In theory, the advantages of bundled transport exceed the drawbacks, however, in practice adoption among shippers remains low. In fact, bundling is mentioned as a disruptive process in the rather traditional logistics sector. In this context, a Belgian company asked iMinds Living Labs to set up a Living Lab research project with the goal to investigate how the uptake of bundling transport flows can be accelerated and to check whether an online data sharing platform can overcome the adoption barriers. The Living Lab research was conducted in 2016 and combined quantitative and qualitative end-user and market research. Concretely, extensive desk research was conducted and combined with insights from expert interviews with four consultants active in the Belgian logistics sector and in-depth interviews with logistics professionals working for shippers (N=10) and LSP’s (N=3). In the article, we present findings which show that there are several factors slowing down the uptake of bundling transport flows. Shippers are hesitant to change how they currently work and they are hesitant to work together with other shippers. Moreover, several practical challenges impede shippers to work together. We also present some opportunities that can accelerate the adoption of bundling of transport flows. First, it seems that there is not enough support coming from governmental and commercial organizations. Secondly, there is the chicken and the egg problem: too few interested parties will lead to no or very few matching lanes. Shippers are therefore reluctant to partake in these projects because the benefits have not yet been proven. Thirdly, the incentive is not big enough for shippers. Road transport organized by the shipper individually is still seen as the easiest and cheapest solution. A solution for the abovementioned challenges might be found in the online data sharing platform of the Belgian company. The added value of this platform is showing shippers possible matching lanes, without the shippers having to invest time in negotiating and networking with other shippers and running the risk of not finding a match. The interviewed shippers and experts indicated that the online data sharing platform is a very promising concept which could accelerate the uptake of bundling of transport flows.

Keywords: adoption barriers, bundling of transport, shippers, transport optimization

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Authors: Eisa Younes Alblooshi

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Counterterrorism strategies, to be effective and efficient, require a sound understanding of the dynamics, the interlinked organizational elements of the terrorist outfits being combated, with a view to having cognizance of their strong points to be guarded against, as well as the vulnerable zones that can be targeted for optimal results in a timely fashion by counterterrorism agencies. A unique model regarding the organizational imperatives was evolved in this research through likening the terrorist organizations with the traditional commercial ones, with a view to understanding in detail the dynamics of interconnectivity and dependencies, and the related compulsions facing the leaderships of such outfits that provide counterterrorism agencies with opportunities for forging better strategies. It involved assessing the evolving organizational dynamics and imperatives of different types of terrorist organizations, to enable the researcher to construct a prototype model that defines the progression and linkages of the related organizational elements of such organizations. It required detailed analysis of how the various elements are connected, with sequencing identified, as any outfit positions itself with respect to its external environment and internal dynamics. A case study focusing on a transnational radical religious state-sponsored terrorist organization was conducted to validate the research findings and to further strengthen the specific counterterrorism strategies. Six different variants of the business model of terrorist organizations were identified, categorized based on their outreach, mission, and status of any state sponsorship. The variants represent vast majority of the range of terrorist organizations acting locally or globally. The model shows the progression and dynamics of these organizations through various dimensions including mission, leadership, outreach, state sponsorship status, resulting in the organizational structure, state of autonomy, preference divergence in its fold, recruitment core, propagation avenues, down to their capacity to adapt, resulting critically in their own life cycles. A major advantage of the model is the utility of mapping terrorist organizations according to their fits to the sundry identified variants, allowing for flexibility and differences within, enabling the researchers and counterterrorism agencies to observe a neat blueprint of the organization’s footprint, along with highlighting the areas to be evaluated for focused target zone selection and timing of counterterrorism interventions. Special consideration is given to the dimension of financing, keeping in context the latest developments regarding cryptocurrencies, hawala, and global anti-money laundering initiatives. Specific counterterrorism strategies and intervention points have been identified for each of the respective model variants, with a view to efficient and effective deployment of resources.

Keywords: terrorism, counterterrorism, model, strategy

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Authors: Franciele L. Bernard, Felipe Dalla Vecchia, Barbara B. Polesso, Jose A. Donato, Marcus Seferin, Rosane Ligabue, Jailton F. do Nascimento, Sandra Einloft

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The increasing level of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere related to fossil fuels processing and utilization are contributing to global warming phenomena considerably. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies appear as one of the key technologies to reduce CO2 emissions mitigating the effects of climate change. Absorption using amines solutions as solvents have been extensively studied and used in industry for decades. However, solvent degradation and equipment corrosion are two of the main problems in this process. Poly (ionic liquid) (PIL) is considered as a promising material for CCS technology, potentially more environmentally friendly and lesser energy demanding than traditional material. PILs possess a unique combination of ionic liquids (ILs) features, such as affinity for CO2, thermal and chemical stability and adjustable properties, coupled with the intrinsic properties of the polymer. This study investigated new Poly (ionic liquid) (PIL) based on polyurethanes with different ionic liquids cations and its potential for CO2 capture. The PILs were synthesized by the addition of diisocyante to a difunctional polyol, followed by an exchange reaction with the ionic Liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIM Cl); tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) and tetrabutylphosphonium bromide (TBPB). These materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Tensile strength analysis, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The PILs CO2 sorption capacity were gravimetrically assessed in a Magnetic Suspension Balance (MSB). It was found that the ionic liquids cation influences in the compounds properties as well as in the CO2 sorption. The best result for CO2 sorption (123 mgCO2/g at 30 bar) was obtained for the PIL (PUPT-TBA). The higher CO2 sorption in PUPT-TBA is probably linked to the fact that the tetraalkylammonium cation having a higher positive density charge can have a stronger interaction with CO2, while the imidazolium charge is delocalized. The comparative CO2 sorption values of the PUPT-TBA with different ionic liquids showed that this material has greater capacity for capturing CO2 when compared to the ILs even at higher temperature. This behavior highlights the importance of this study, as the poly (urethane) based PILs are cheap and versatile materials.

Keywords: capture, CO2, ionic liquids, ionic poly(urethane)

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Authors: Hande Burcu Deniz

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People in the U.S. spend a considerable portion of their time indoors. This makes it crucial to provide environments that support the well-being of people. Restorative environments aim to help people recover their cognitive resources that were spent due to intensive use of directed attention. Spending time in nature and taking a nap are two of the best ways to restore these resources. However, they are not possible to do most of the time. The problem is that many studies have revealed how nature and spending time in natural contexts can help boost restoration, but there are fewer studies conducted to understand how cognitive resources can be restored in interior settings. This study aims to explore the answer to this question: which qualities of interiors increase the restorativeness of an interior setting and how do they mediate restorativeness of an interior. To do this, a phenomenological qualitative study was conducted. The study was interested in the definition of attention restoration and the experiences of the phenomena. As the themes emerged, they were analyzed to match with Attention Restoration Theory components (being away, extent, fascination, compatibility) to examine how interior design elements mediate the restorativeness of an interior. The data was gathered from semi-structured interviews with international residents of Minnesota. The interviewees represent young professionals who work in Minnesota and often experience mental fatigue. Also, they have less emotional connections with places in Minnesota, which enabled data to be based on the physical qualities of a space rather than emotional connections. In the interviews, participants were asked about where they prefer to be when they experience mental fatigue. Next, they were asked to describe the physical qualities of the places they prefer to be with reasons. Four themes were derived from the analysis of interviews. The themes are in order according to their frequency. The first, and most common, the theme was “connection to outside”. The analysis showed that people need to be either physically or visually connected to recover from mental fatigue. Direct connection to nature was reported as preferable, whereas urban settings were the secondary preference along with interiors. The second theme emerged from the analysis was “the presence of the artwork,” which was experienced differently by the interviewees. The third theme was “amenities”. Interviews pointed out that people prefer to have the amenities that support desired activity during recovery from mental fatigue. The last theme was “aesthetics.” Interviewees stated that they prefer places that are pleasing to their eyes. Additionally, they could not get rid of the feeling of being worn out in places that are not well-designed. When we matched the themes with the four art components (being away, extent, fascination, compatibility), some of the interior qualities showed overlapping since they were experienced differently by the interviewees. In conclusion, this study showed that interior settings have restorative potential, and they are multidimensional in their experience.

Keywords: attention restoration, fatigue, interior design, qualitative study, restorative environments

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Authors: Elizabeth Ankiambom Chiatii

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The effective participation of graduates as leaders in entrepreneurial resilience is a key driver to achieving sustainable job creation and curbing unemployment issues in the urban and rural communities of Cameroon. The unemployment problem is a global challenge in the Labour market, especially for youths graduating from universities. Statistics from the Cameroon National Institute of statistics indicate that the unemployment rate in the country increased to 3.9% in 2021 from 3.8% in 2020. One of the main causes of unemployment challenges and job hooping among university graduates is the high expectation for “white-collar jobs syndrome” as opposed to involvement in ‘blue-collar jobs’. In the recent years, the Catholic University of Cameroon has engaged its resources in problem and project based learning (PBL) approaches in order to enable the students at the end of their course work to be competent and resourceful in impacting their communities and the world at large. It is so encouraging to notice that most of our current and female ex-students have engaged as leaders in fostering entrepreneurial resilience through small and medium size ‘blue-collar’ enterprises like seamstresses or tailors, designers, catering services, poultry owners, traditional regalia designers, phone booth operators, farming (gardening) activities, saloon owners, wedding designers, restaurant operators and many other creative jobs where they also act as petty employers. A good number of them sponsor their university studies through these self-income generating activities. Part one of this paper centres on the introduction and background of study. Part two embodies some literature review in which we concentrate on some related conceptual issues. For example, we have some analogy of employment difficulties faced by the university graduates. Secondly, we will examine the details on entrepreneurial resilience within the context of Bamenda- Cameroon. Thirdly, we expound on the leadership role played by these graduates in building resilience as entrepreneurs stemming from their university training. The primary method of data collection is implemented, where questionnaires are distributed to at least 100 of these graduates engaged in building entrepreneurial resilience. The IVProbit regression analysis is used to determine the effect of these graduate participation as leader on entrepreneurial resilience. The results can contribute to the development of entrepreneurial resilience, and recommendations will be made to CATUC Bamenda, some communities and government leaders to enhance their policies to empower these young graduates in fostering these resourceful activities.

Keywords: graduates entrepreneurial resilience, unemployment challenges, white-collar job syndrome, small and medium size blue-collar enterprises

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Authors: Sudipta Garai

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Films as a cultural, social practice remains a dominant space for creation and destruction of ideologies and practices which make the sociological viewing, analysis, and interpretation of the same a complex affair. It remains the doorway between the interpretations and understanding of the writer/director and the reader/viewer. India, being a multi-linguistic culture, the media plays a much intriguing role than that of newspaper, books, stories, novels or any other medium of expression. Known to be the largest democracy, the State seem to guarantee and safeguard people’s choices and life of dignity through its Fundamental Rights and Directives. However, the laws contradict themselves when it comes to IPC 377 criminalizing anything except penovaginal sexual intercourse restricting alternative sexual preferences and practices questioning its sense of ‘democracy.' In this context, the issue of homosexuality came up in bits and pieces through various representations in ‘popular’ cinema mostly with sudden references of mockery and laughter where the explicit narratives of ‘queer’ seemed missing. Rituparno Ghosh, an eminent film maker of Bengal, came up as the ‘queer’ face in Kolkata specifically through his ‘queer’ trilogy (Memories in March, 2010; Arekti Premer Golpo, 2010; Chitrangada: A Crowning Wish, 2012) coming out of his own closet and speaking about his own sexual choices not only through the explicit narratives in films but also in person which made these films an important point of departure in Bengali film history. A sociological reading of these films through a discourse analysis is being done with the critical questions of ‘choice,' ’freedom,' ‘love and marriage’ and most importantly the ‘change.' This study not only focuses on the films and its analysis of content but also to engage with its audience, queer and not in order to extend beyond the art form into the actual vulnerabilities of life and experiences through informal interviews, focused group discussions and engaging with the real life narratives. A research of this kind is always looked upon as a medium of change hoping for a better world wiping away the discrimination and ‘shame’ the ‘queer’ faces in their everyday life, but a social science research is limited but its ‘time’ and academic boundary where the hope of change might be initiated but not fulfilled. The experiences and reflections of the ‘queer’ not only redefined the narratives of the films but also me as a researcher. The perspectives of the ‘hetero-normative’ informants gave a broader picture of the study and the socio-cultural complications that are intrigued with the ideas of resistance and change. The issues on subjectivity, power, and position couldn’t be wiped out in a study of this kind as both politics and aesthetics become integrated with each other in the creation of any art form be it films or a study of research.

Keywords: cinema, alternative sexualities, narratives, sexual choices, state and society

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Authors: Otgonjargal Damdinbaljir

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Background: Infant feeding practices have a major role in determining the nutritional status of children and are associated with household socioeconomic and demographic factors. In 2010, Mongolia used WHO 2008 edition of Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices for the first time. Objective: To evaluate the feeding status of infants and young children under 2 years old in Mongolia. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted by cluster random sampling. The data on breastfeeding and complementary food supplement of the 350 infants and young children aged 0-23 months in 21 provinces of the 4 economic regions of the country and capital Ulaanbaatar city were collected through questionnaires. The feeding status was analyzed according to the WHO 2008 edition of Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices. Analysis of data: Survey data was analysed using the PASW statistics 18.0 and EPI INFO 2000 software. For calculation of overall measures for the entire survey sample, analyses were stratified by region. Age-specific feeding patterns were described using frequencies, proportions and survival analysis. Logistic regression was done with feeding practice as dependent and socio demographic factors as independent variables. Simple proportions were calculated for each IYCF indicator. The differences in the feeding practices between sexes and age-groups, if any, were noted using chi-square test. Ethics: The Ethics Committee under the auspices of the Ministry of Health approved the study. Results: A total of 350 children aged 0-23 months were investigated. The rate of ever breastfeeding of children aged 0-23 months reached up to 98.2%, while the percentage of early initiation of breastfeeding was only 85.5%. The rates of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months, continued breastfeeding for 1 year, and continued breastfeeding for 2 years were 71.3%, 74% and 54.6%, respectively. The median time of giving complementary food was the 6th month and the weaning time was the 9th month. The rate of complementary food supplemented from 6th-8th month in time was 80.3%. The rates of minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency, and consumption of iron-rich or iron-fortified foods among children aged 6-23 months were 52.1%, 80.8% (663/813) and 30.1%, respectively. Conclusions: The main problems revealed from the study were inadequate category and frequency of complementary food, and the low rate of consumption of iron-rich or iron-fortified foods were the main issues to be concerned on infant feeding in Mongolia. Our findings have highlighted the need to encourage mothers to enrich their traditional wheat- based complementary foods add more animal source foods and vegetables.

Keywords: complementary feeding, early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, minimum meal frequency

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Authors: Mohammed Hmimou, Khalid Amediaz, Imane Sebari, Nabil Bounajma

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Annual crop production is one of the most important macroeconomic indicators for the majority of countries around the world. This information is valuable, especially for exporting countries which need a yield estimation before harvest in order to correctly plan the supply chain. When it comes to estimating agricultural yield, especially for arboriculture, conventional methods are mostly applied. In the case of the citrus industry, the sale before harvest is largely practiced, which requires an estimation of the production when the fruit is on the tree. However, conventional method based on the sampling surveys of some trees within the field is always used to perform yield estimation, and the success of this process mainly depends on the expertise of the ‘estimator agent’. The present study aims to propose a methodology based on the combination of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images and terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) point cloud to estimate citrus production. During data acquisition, a fixed wing and rotatory drones, as well as a terrestrial laser scanner, were tested. After that, a pre-processing step was performed in order to generate point cloud and digital surface model. At the processing stage, a machine vision workflow was implemented to extract points corresponding to fruits from the whole tree point cloud, cluster them into fruits, and model them geometrically in a 3D space. By linking the resulting geometric properties to the fruit weight, the yield can be estimated, and the statistical distribution of fruits size can be generated. This later property, which is information required by importing countries of citrus, cannot be estimated before harvest using the conventional method. Since terrestrial laser scanner is static, data gathering using this technology can be performed over only some trees. So, integration of drone data was thought in order to estimate the yield over a whole orchard. To achieve that, features derived from drone digital surface model were linked to yield estimation by laser scanner of some trees to build a regression model that predicts the yield of a tree given its features. Several missions were carried out to collect drone and laser scanner data within citrus orchards of different varieties by testing several data acquisition parameters (fly height, images overlap, fly mission plan). The accuracy of the obtained results by the proposed methodology in comparison to the yield estimation results by the conventional method varies from 65% to 94% depending mainly on the phenological stage of the studied citrus variety during the data acquisition mission. The proposed approach demonstrates its strong potential for early estimation of citrus production and the possibility of its extension to other fruit trees.

Keywords: citrus, digital surface model, point cloud, terrestrial laser scanner, UAV, yield estimation, 3D modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Carlos Tapia Cortez, Serkan Saydam, Jeff Coulton, Claude Sammut

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Strategic mineral commodities (SMC) both energetic and metals have long been fundamental for human beings. There is a strong and long-run relation between the mineral resources industry and society's evolution, with the provision of primary raw materials, becoming one of the most significant drivers of economic growth. Due to mineral resources’ relevance for the entire economy and society, an understanding of the SMC market behaviour to simulate price fluctuations has become crucial for governments and firms. For any human activity, SMC price fluctuations are affected by economic, geopolitical, environmental, technological and psychological issues, where cognition has a major role. Cognition is defined as the capacity to store information in memory, processing and decision making for problem-solving or human adaptation. Thus, it has a significant role in those systems that exhibit dynamic equilibrium through time, such as economic growth. Cognition allows not only understanding past behaviours and trends in SCM markets but also supports future expectations of demand/supply levels and prices, although speculations are unavoidable. Technological developments may also be defined as a cognitive system. Since the Industrial Revolution, technological developments have had a significant influence on SMC production costs and prices, likewise allowing co-integration between commodities and market locations. It suggests a close relation between structural breaks, technology and prices evolution. SCM prices forecasting have been commonly addressed by econometrics and Gaussian-probabilistic models. Econometrics models may incorporate the relationship between variables; however, they are statics that leads to an incomplete approach of prices evolution through time. Gaussian-probabilistic models may evolve through time; however, price fluctuations are addressed by the assumption of random behaviour and normal distribution which seems to be far from the real behaviour of both market and prices. Random fluctuation ignores the evolution of market events and the technical and temporal relation between variables, giving the illusion of controlled future events. Normal distribution underestimates price fluctuations by using restricted ranges, curtailing decisions making into a pre-established space. A proper understanding of SMC's price dynamics taking into account the historical-cognitive relation between economic, technological and psychological factors over time is fundamental in attempting to simulate prices. The aim of this paper is to discuss the SMC market cognition hypothesis and empirically demonstrate its dynamic-cognitive capacity. Three of the largest and traded SMC's: oil, copper and gold, will be assessed to examine the economic, technological and psychological cognition respectively.

Keywords: commodity price simulation, commodity price uncertainties, dynamic-cognition, dynamic systems

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Authors: Jaroslav Kraus

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Spatial information about demographic processes are a standard part of outputs in the Czech Republic. That was also the case of Population and Housing Census which was held on 2011. This is a starting point for a follow up study devoted to two basic types of households: single person households and households of one completed family. Single person households and one family households create more than 80 percent of all households, but the share and spatial structure is in long-term changing. The increase of single households is results of long-term fertility decrease and divorce increase, but also possibility of separate living. There are regions in the Czech Republic with traditional demographic behavior, and regions like capital Prague and some others with changing pattern. Population census is based - according to international standards - on the concept of currently living population. Three types of geospatial approaches will be used for analysis: (i) firstly measures of geographic distribution, (ii) secondly mapping clusters to identify the locations of statistically significant hot spots, cold spots, spatial outliers, and similar features and (iii) finally analyzing pattern approach as a starting point for more in-depth analyses (geospatial regression) in the future will be also applied. For analysis of this type of data, number of households by types should be distinct objects. All events in a meaningful delimited study region (e.g. municipalities) will be included in an analysis. Commonly produced measures of central tendency and spread will include: identification of the location of the center of the point set (by NUTS3 level); identification of the median center and standard distance, weighted standard distance and standard deviational ellipses will be also used. Identifying that clustering exists in census households datasets does not provide a detailed picture of the nature and pattern of clustering but will be helpful to apply simple hot-spot (and cold spot) identification techniques to such datasets. Once the spatial structure of households will be determined, any particular measure of autocorrelation can be constructed by defining a way of measuring the difference between location attribute values. The most widely used measure is Moran’s I that will be applied to municipal units where numerical ratio is calculated. Local statistics arise naturally out of any of the methods for measuring spatial autocorrelation and will be applied to development of localized variants of almost any standard summary statistic. Local Moran’s I will give an indication of household data homogeneity and diversity on a municipal level.

Keywords: census, geo-demography, households, the Czech Republic

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Authors: Marco Ranzato, Maguelone Vignes

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The co-design process recently run by the trans-disciplinary urban laboratory Metrolab Brussels for outlining the architecture of a future integrated health centre in Brussels (Belgium) has highlighted that a buffer place open to the local community is the appropriate cornerstone around which organizing a space where diverse professionals and patients are together. In the context of the migrants 'crisis' in Europe, the growing number of vulnerable people in Brussels and the increasing complexity of the health and welfare systems, the NGO Doctors of the World (DoW) has launched a project funded by The European Regional Development Fund, and aiming to create a new community centre combining social and health services in a poor but changing neighborhood of Brussels. Willing not to make a 'ghetto' of this new integrated service, the NGO looks at hosting different publics in order to make the poorest, marginal and most vulnerable people access to a regular kind of service. As a trans-disciplinary urban research group, Metrolab has been involved in the process of co-designing the architecture of the future centre with a set of various health professionals, social workers, and patients’ representatives. Metrolab drawn on the participants’ practice experiences and knowledge of hosting different kinds of publics and professions in a same structure in order to imagine what rooms should fit into the centre, what atmosphere they should convey, how should they be interrelated and organized, and, concurrently, how the building should fit into the urban frame of its neighborhood. The result is that, in order for an integrated health centre framed in the landscape of a disadvantaged neighborhood to function, it has to work as social community centre offering accessibility and conviviality to diverse social groups. This paper outlines the methodology that Metrolab used to design and conduct, in close collaboration with DoW, a series of 3 workshops. Through sketching and paper modeling, the methodology made participants talk about their experience by projecting them into a situation. It included a combination of individual and collective work in order to sharp participants’ eyes on architectural forms, explicit their thoughts and experience through inter-subjectivity and imagine solutions to the challenges they raised. Such a collaborative method encompasses several challenges about patients’ participation and representation, replicability of the conditions of success and the plurality of the research findings communication formats. This paper underlines how this participatory process has contributed to build knowledge on the few-documented topic of the architecture of community health centres. More importantly, the contribution builds on this participatory process to discuss the importance of adapting the architecture of the new integrated health centre to the changing population of Brussels and to the issues of its specific neighborhood.

Keywords: co-design, health, social innovation, urban lab

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Authors: Kamaljeet Kaur, Vinod Kumari, Jatesh Kathpalia, Bas Kaur

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A gender bias towards girl child is pervasive across the world. It is seen in all the strata of the society and manifests in various forms. However nature and extent of these inequalities are not uniform. Generally these inequalities are more prevalent in patriarchal society. Despite emerging and increasing opportunities for women, there are still inequalities between men and women in each and every sphere like education, health, economy, polity and social sphere. Patriarchal ideology as a cultural norm enforces gender construction which is oriented toward hierarchical relations between the sexes and neglect of women in Indian society. Discrimination to girls may also vary by their age and be restricted to the birth order and sex composition of her elder surviving siblings. The present study was conducted to know the gender discrimination among rural children in India. The respondents were selected from three generations as per AICRP age group viz, 18-30 years (3rd generation), 31-60 years (2nd generation) and above 60 years (1st generation). A total sample size was 600 respondents from different villages of two districts of Haryana state comprising of half males and half females. Data were collected using personal interview schedule and analysed by SPSS software. Among the total births 46.35 per cent were girl child and 53.64 % were male child. Dropout rate was more in female children as compared to male children i.e. near about one third (31.09%) female children dropped school followed by 21.17 % male children. It was quite surprising that near about two-third (61.16%) female children and more than half (59.22%) of the male children dropped school. Cooking was mainly performed by adult female with overall mean scores 2.0 and ranked first which was followed by female child (1.7 mean scores) clearly indicating that cooking was the activity performed mainly by females while activity related to purchase of fruits and vegetable, cereals and pulses was mainly done by adult male. First preference was given to male child for serving of costly and special food. Regarding professional aspiration of children of the respondents’ families, it was observed that 20.10% of the male children wanted to become engineer, whereas only 3.89 % female children wanted to become engineer. Ratio of male children was high in both generations irrespective of the districts. School dropouts were more in case of female in both the 1st and 2 nd generations. The main reasons of school dropout were lack of interest, lack of resources and early marriage in both the generations. Female enrolment was more in faculty of arts, whereas in case of male percentage it was more in faculty of non-medical and medical which showed that female children were getting traditional type of education. It is suggested to provide equal opportunities to girls and boys in home as well as outside the home for smooth functioning of society.

Keywords: gender biasness, male child, female child, education, home

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Authors: Arsalan Jabbar, Wajiha Javed, Nelofer Mehboob, Zahid Memon

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Introduction: There are multiple social, individual and cultural factors that influence an individual’s decision to adopt family planning methods especially among non-users in patriarchal societies like Pakistan.Non-users, if targeted efficiently, can contribute significantly to country’s CPR. A research study showed that non-users if convinced to adopt lactational amenorrhea method can shift to long-term methods in future. Research shows that if non-users are targeted efficiently a 59% reduction in unintended pregnancies in Saharan Africa and South-Central and South-East Asia is anticipated. Methods: We did secondary data analysis on Pakistan Demographic Heath Survey (2012-13) dataset. Use of contraception (never-use/ever-use) was the outcome variable. At univariate level Chi-square/Fisher Exact test was used to assess relationship of baseline covariates with contraception use. Then variables to be incorporated in the model were checked for multi-collinearity, confounding, and interaction. Then binary logistic regression (with an urban-rural stratification) was done to find the relationship between contraception use and baseline demographic and social variables. Results: The multivariate analyses of the study showed that younger women (≤ 29 years) were more prone to be never users as compared to those who were > 30 years and this trend was seen in urban areas (AOR 1.92, CI 1.453-2.536) as well as rural areas (AOR 1.809, CI 1.421-2.303). While looking at regional variation, women from urban Sindh (AOR 1.548, CI 1.142-2.099) and urban Balochistan (AOR 2.403, CI 1.504-3.839) had more never users as compared to other urban regions. Women in the rich wealth quintile were more never users and this was seen both in urban and rural localities (urban (AOR 1.106 CI .753-1.624); rural areas (AOR 1.162, CI .887-1.524)) even though these were not statistically significant. Women idealizing more children(> 4) are more never users as compared to those idealizing less children in both urban (AOR 1.854, CI 1.275-2.697) and rural areas (AOR 2.101, CI 1.514-2.916). Women who never lost a pregnancy were more inclined to be non-users in rural areas (AOR 1.394, CI 1.127-1.723) .Women familiar with only traditional or no method had more never users in rural areas (AOR 1.717, CI 1.127-1.723) but in urban areas it wasn’t significant. Women unaware of Lady Health Worker’s presence in their area were more never users especially in rural areas (AOR 1.276, CI 1.014-1.607). Women who did not visit any care provider were more never users (urban (AOR 11.738, CI 9.112-15.121) rural areas (AOR 7.832, CI 6.243-9.826)). Discussion/Conclusion: This study concluded that government, policy makers and private sector family planning programs should focus on the untapped pool of never users (younger women from underserved provinces, in higher wealth quintiles, who desire more children.). We need to make sure to cover catchment areas where there are less LHWs and less providers as ignorance to modern methods and never been visited by an LHW are important determinants of never use. This all is in sync with previous literate from similar developing countries.

Keywords: contraception, demographic and health survey, family planning, never users

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Authors: Lina Wu

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The excessive discharge of nitrogen in sewage greatly intensifies the eutrophication of water bodies and poses a threat to water quality. Nitrogen pollution control has become a global concern. Currently, the problem of water pollution in China is still not optimistic. As a typical high ammonia nitrogen organic wastewater, landfill leachate is more difficult to treat than domestic sewage because of its complex water quality, high toxicity, and high concentration.Many studies have shown that the autotrophic anammox bacteria in nature can combine nitrous and ammonia nitrogen without carbon source through functional genes to achieve total nitrogen removal, which is very suitable for the removal of nitrogen from leachate. In addition, the process also saves a lot of aeration energy consumption than the traditional nitrogen removal process. Therefore, anammox plays an important role in nitrogen conversion and energy saving. The process composed of short-range nitrification and denitrification coupled an ammo ensures the removal of total nitrogen and improves the removal efficiency, meeting the needs of the society for an ecologically friendly and cost-effective nutrient removal treatment technology. Continuous flow process for treating late leachate [an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB), anoxic/oxic (A/O)–anaerobic ammonia oxidation reactor (ANAOR or anammox reactor)] has been developed to achieve autotrophic deep nitrogen removal. In this process, the optimal process parameters such as hydraulic retention time and nitrification flow rate have been obtained, and have been applied to the rapid start-up and stable operation of the process system and high removal efficiency. Besides, finding the characteristics of microbial community during the start-up of anammox process system and analyzing its microbial ecological mechanism provide a basis for the enrichment of anammox microbial community under high environmental stress. One research developed partial nitrification-Anammox (PN/A) using an internal circulation (IC) system and a biological aerated filter (BAF) biofilm reactor (IBBR), where the amount of water treated is closer to that of landfill leachate. However, new high-throughput sequencing technology is still required to be utilized to analyze the changes of microbial diversity of this system, related functional genera and functional genes under optimal conditions, providing theoretical and further practical basis for the engineering application of novel anammox system in biogas slurry treatment and resource utilization.

Keywords: nutrient removal and recovery, leachate, anammox, partial nitrification

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Authors: João Pedro Zanella, Michel J. O. Fagundes

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Introduction: Drug use has been practised by humans universally for millennia, not excluding any population from these habits, however, the rampant drug use is a global concern due to the harm that affects the health of the world population. In this sense, it is observed the reduction of lasting and effective public policies for the resolution, increasing the demand for treatment services. With this comes ibogaine, an alkaloid derived from the root of an African bush (Tabernanthe Iboga), found mostly in Gabon and used widely by the native Bwiti population in rituals, and also other social groups, which demonstrates efficacy against chemical dependence, psychic and emotional disorders, opioid withdrawal was first confirmed by a study in rats done by Michailo Dzoljic and associates in 1988 and again in 1994. Methods: A brief description of the plant, its neurohumoral potential and the effects caused by ingested doses, in a simplified and objective way, will be discussed in the course of this abstract. Results: Ibogaine is not registered or passed by Anvisa, regarding safety and efficacy, and cannot be sold in Brazil. Its illegal trade reaches R$ 5 thousand for a session with the proceeds of the root, and its effect can last up to 72 hours, attributing Iboga's psychoactive effects to the alkaloid called ibogaine. The shrub where Ibogaine is located has pink and yellow flowers, and its fruit produced does not have psychoactive substances, but its root bark contains 6 to 7% indolic alkaloids. Besides extraction from the iboga plant, ibogaine hydrochloride can be semisynthesized from voacangine, another plant alkaloid that acts as a precursor. Its potential has the ability to perform multiple interactions with the neurotransmitter system, which are closely associated with addiction, including nicotinic, opioid and serotoninergic systems. Studies carried out by Edwards found that the doses administered of Iboga should be determined by a health professional when its purpose is to treat individuals for dependence on other drugs. Its use in small doses may cause an increase in sensibility, impaired vision and motor alterations; in moderate quantities, hallucinations, motor and neurological alterations and impaired vision; in high quantities it may cause hallucinations with personal events at a deeper level lasting up to 24 hours or more, followed by motor and visual alterations. Conclusion: The product extracted from the Iboga plant is of great importance in controlling addiction, reducing the need for the use of narcotics by patients, thus gaining a space of extreme importance in the treatment of users of psychoactive substances. It is remarkable the progress of the latest’s research about the usefulness of Ibogaine, and its benefits for certain treatments, even with the restriction of its sale in Brazil. Besides this, Ibogaine has an additional benefit of helping the patient to gain self-control over their destructive behaviours.

Keywords: alkaloids, dependence, Gabon, ibogaine

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Authors: Esraa A. Khalil, Mohamed N. AbouZeid

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Building materials selection is critical for the sustainability of any project. The choice of building materials has a huge impact on the built environment and cost of projects. Building materials emit huge amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) due to the use of cement as a basic component in the manufacturing process and as a binder, which harms our environment. Energy consumption from buildings has increased in the last few years; a huge amount of energy is being wasted from using unsustainable building and finishing materials, as well as from the process of heating and cooling of buildings. In addition, the construction sector in Egypt is taking a good portion of the economy; however, there is a lack of awareness of buildings environmental impacts on the built environment. Using advanced building materials and different wall systems can help in reducing heat consumption, the project’s initial and long-term costs, and minimizing the environmental impacts. Red Bricks is one of the materials that are being used widely in Egypt. There are many other types of bricks such as Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC); however, the use of Red Bricks is dominating the construction industry due to its affordability and availability. This research focuses on the New Egyptian Administrative Capital as a case study to investigate the potential of the influence of using different wall systems such as AAC on the project’s cost and the environment. The aim of this research is to conduct a comparative analysis between the traditional and most commonly used bricks in Egypt, which is Red Bricks, and AAC wall systems. Through an economic and environmental study, the difference between the two wall systems will be justified to encourage the utilization of uncommon techniques in the construction industry to build more affordable, energy efficient and sustainable buildings. The significance of this research is to show the potential of using AAC in the construction industry and its positive influences. The study analyzes the factors associated with choosing suitable building materials for different projects according to the need and criteria of each project and its nature without harming the environment and wasting materials that could be saved or recycled. The New Egyptian Administrative Capital is considered as the country’s new heart, where ideas regarding energy savings and environmental benefits are taken into consideration. Meaning that, Egypt is taking good steps to move towards more sustainable construction. According to the analysis and site visits, there is a potential in reducing the initial costs of buildings by 12.1% and saving energy by using different techniques up to 25%. Interviews with the mega structures project engineers and managers reveal that they are more open to introducing sustainable building materials that will help in saving the environment and moving towards green construction as well as to studying more effective techniques for energy conservation.

Keywords: AAC blocks, building material, environmental impact, modern construction, new Egyptian administrative capital

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Authors: Sahar Heidary

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Radiography and radiotherapy have emerged as crucial pillars of modern medical practice, revolutionizing diagnostics and treatment for a myriad of health conditions. This abstract highlights the pivotal role of radiography and radiotherapy in favor of healthcare and society. Radiography, a non-invasive imaging technique, has significantly advanced medical diagnostics by enabling the visualization of internal structures and abnormalities within the human body. With the advent of digital radiography, clinicians can obtain high-resolution images promptly, leading to faster diagnoses and informed treatment decisions. Radiography plays a pivotal role in detecting fractures, tumors, infections, and various other conditions, allowing for timely interventions and improved patient outcomes. Moreover, its widespread accessibility and cost-effectiveness make it an indispensable tool in healthcare settings worldwide. On the other hand, radiotherapy, a branch of medical science that utilizes high-energy radiation, has become an integral component of cancer treatment and management. By precisely targeting and damaging cancerous cells, radiotherapy offers a potent strategy to control tumor growth and, in many cases, leads to cancer eradication. Additionally, radiotherapy is often used in combination with surgery and chemotherapy, providing a multifaceted approach to combat cancer comprehensively. The continuous advancements in radiotherapy techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery, have further improved treatment precision while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Furthermore, radiography and radiotherapy have demonstrated their worth beyond oncology. Radiography is instrumental in guiding various medical procedures, including catheter placement, joint injections, and dental evaluations, reducing complications and enhancing procedural accuracy. On the other hand, radiotherapy finds applications in non-cancerous conditions like benign tumors, vascular malformations, and certain neurological disorders, offering therapeutic options for patients who may not benefit from traditional surgical interventions. In conclusion, radiography and radiotherapy stand as indispensable tools in modern medicine, driving transformative improvements in patient care and treatment outcomes. Their ability to diagnose, treat, and manage a wide array of medical conditions underscores their favor in medical practice. As technology continues to advance, radiography and radiotherapy will undoubtedly play an ever more significant role in shaping the future of healthcare, ultimately saving lives and enhancing the quality of life for countless individuals worldwide.

Keywords: radiology, radiotherapy, medical imaging, cancer treatment

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Authors: Paulette Henry

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If Caribbean Universities wish to remain sustainable in the global education market they must meet the new demands of the 21st Centuries learners. This means preparing the teaching and learning environment with the human and material and resources so that the University can blossom out into the entrepreneurial University. The entrepreneurial University prepares the learner to become a global citizen, one who is innovative and a critical thinker and has the competencies to create jobs. Entrepreneurship education provides more equitable access to university education building capacity for the local and global economy. The entrepreneurial thinking, the mindset, must therefore be among academic and support staff as well as students. In developing countries where resources are scarce, Universities are grappling with a myriad of financial and non-financial issues. These include increasing costs, Union demands for increased remuneration for staff and reduced subvention from governments which has become the norm. In addition, there is the political pressure against increasing tuition fees and the perceptions on the moral responsibilities of universities in national development. The question is how do small universities carve out their niche, meet both political and consumer demands for a high quality, low lost education, fulfil their development mandate and still remain not only viable but competitive. Themes which are central to this discourse on the transitions necessary for the entrepreneurial university are leadership, governance and staff well-being. This paper therefore presents a case study of a Caribbean University to show how transformational leadership and the change management framework propels change towards an entrepreneurial institution seeking to have a competitive advantage despite its low resourced context. Important to this discourse are the transformational approaches used by the University to prepare staff to move from their traditional psyche to embracing an entrepreneurial mindset whilst equipping students within the same mode to become work ready and creative global citizens. Using the mixed methods approach, opinions were garnered from both members of the University community as well as external stakeholder groups on their perception of the role of the University in the business arena and as a primary stakeholder in national development. One of the critical concepts emanating from the discourse was the need to change the mindset of the those in university governance as well as how national stakeholders engage the university. This paper shows how multiple non-financial factors can contribute to change. A combination of transformational and servant leadership, strengthened institutional structures and developing new ones, rebuilding institutional trust and pride have been among the strategies employed within the change management framework. The university is no longer limited by borders but through international linkages has transcended into a transnational stakeholder.

Keywords: competitiveness, context, entrepreneurial, leadership

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: Belinda du Plooy, Ruth Albertyn, Christel Troskie-De Bruin, Ella Belcher

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In the academy, scholarliness or intellectual craftsmanship is considered the highest level of achievement, culminating in being consistently successfully published in impactful, peer-reviewed journals and books. Scholarliness implies rigorous methods, systematic exposition, in-depth analysis and evaluation, and the highest level of critical engagement and reflexivity. However, being a scholar does not happen automatically when one becomes an academic or completes graduate studies. A graduate qualification is an indication of one’s level of research competence but does not necessarily prepare one for the type of scholarly writing for publication required after a postgraduate qualification has been conferred. Scholarly writing for publication requires a high-level skillset and a specific mindset, which must be intentionally developed. The rite of passage to become a scholar is an iterative process with liminal spaces, thresholds, transitions, and transformations. The journey from researcher to published author is often fraught with rejection, insecurity, and disappointment and requires resilience and tenacity from those who eventually triumph. It cannot be achieved without support, guidance, and mentorship. In this article, the authors use collective auto-ethnography (CAE) to describe the phases and types of liminality encountered during the liminal journey toward scholarship. The authors speak as long-time facilitators of Writing for Academic Publication (WfAP) capacity development events (training workshops and writing retreats) presented at South African universities. Their WfAP facilitation practice is structured around experiential learning principles that allow them to act as critical reading partners and reflective witnesses for the writer-participants of their WfAP events. They identify three essential facilitation features for the effective holding of a generative, liminal, and transformational writing space for novice academic writers in order to enable their safe passage through the various liminal spaces they encounter during their scholarly development journey. These features are that facilitators should be agents of disruption and liminality while also guiding writers through these liminal spaces; that there should be a sense of mutual trust and respect, shared responsibility and accountability in order for writers to produce publication-worthy scholarly work; and that this can only be accomplished with the continued application of high levels of sensitivity and discernment by WfAP facilitators. These are key features for successful WfAP scholarship training events, where focused, individual input triggers personal and professional transformational experiences, which in turn translate into high-quality scholarly outputs.

Keywords: academic writing, liminality, scholarship, scholarliness, threshold experience, writing for publication

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Authors: A. M. Tarola, R. Preti, A. M. Girelli, P. Campana

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Goat dairy products are gaining popularity worldwide. In developing countries, but also in many marginal regions of the Mediterranean area, goats represent a great part of the economy and ensure food security. In fact, these small ruminants are able to convert efficiently poor weedy plants and small trees into traditional products of high nutritional quality, showing great resilience to different climatic and environmental conditions. In developed countries, goat milk is appreciated for the presence of health-promoting compounds, bioactive compounds such as conjugated linoleic acids, oligosaccharides, sphingolipids and polyammines. This paper focuses on the recent advances in literature on the nutritional properties of goat milk and on innovative techniques to improve its quality as to become a promising functional food. The environmental sustainability of different methodologies of production has also been examined. Goat milk is valued today as a food of high nutritional value and functional properties as well as small environmental footprint. It is widely consumed in many countries due to high nutritional value, lower allergenic potential, and better digestibility when compared to bovine milk, that makes this product suitable for infants, elderly or sensitive patients. The main differences in chemical composition between a cow and goat milk rely on fat globules that in goat milk are smaller and in fatty acids that present a smaller chain length, while protein, fat, and lactose concentration are comparable. Milk nutritional properties have demonstrated to be strongly influenced by animal diet, genotype, and welfare, but also by season and production systems. Furthermore, there is a growing interest in the dairy industry in goat milk for its relatively high concentration of prebiotics and a good amount of probiotics, which have recently gained importance for their therapeutic potential. Therefore, goat milk is studied as a promising matrix to develop innovative functional foods. In addition to the economic and nutritional value, goat milk is considered a sustainable product for its small environmental footprint, as they require relatively little water and land, and less medical treatments, compared to cow, these characteristics make its production naturally vocated to organic farming. Organic goat milk production has becoming more and more interesting both for farmers and consumers as it can answer to several concerns like environment protection, animal welfare and economical sustainment of rural populations living in marginal lands. These evidences make goat milk an ancient food with novel properties and advantages to be valorized and exploited.

Keywords: goat milk, nutritional quality, bioactive compounds, sustainable production, animal welfare

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Authors: Matias Hargreaves, Martin Del Valle, Diego Rodriguez, Riveros Jose Luis

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Trough years, all kind of social development projects have tried to solve social problems such as hunger, poverty, malnutrition, food insecurity, among others, with poor success. Both private and state initiatives have invested resources in several countries and communities. Nevertheless, most of these initiatives are scientific or external developers-centered, with a lack of local participation. This compromises the sustainability of any intervention and also leads to a poor empowerment of local community. The participatory approach aims to rescue and enhance the local knowledge since it recognizes that this kind of problems are better known by native actors. The objective of the study was to describe the role played by the community empowerment on food security improvement in the NGO “O Viveiro” (15°43'37.77"S; 32°46'27.53"E) and Barrio Broma village (15°43'58.78"S; 32°46'7.27"E) in Chitima, Mozambique. A center for training in goat livestock and orchard was build. A community orchard was co-constructed between foreign technicians and local actors. The prototype was installed in February, 2016 by the technician team and local community with 16 m2 as a nursery garden. Two orchard workshops were conducted in order to design a sustainable productive model which mixes both local and technological approaches. Two goat meat workshops were conducted in order to describe local methods and train the community to conduce their own techniques with high sanitary and productive standards. Technician team stayed in Mozambique until May, 2016. The quorum for the orchard workshops was 20 and 14 persons respectively, which represents 100% and 70%of the total requested quorum (20). For the goat meat workshops were 4 and 5 persons, which representa80% and 100% of the total requested quorum (5). Until August, 2016, the orchard is 3.219 m2 and it grows several vegetables as beans, chili pepper, garlic, onion, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet potato, yuca potato, cabbage, eggplant, papaya trees, mango, and cassava. The process of increasing in size and diversification of vegetables grown was led entirely by the local community. In connection with this, the local community started to harvest and began to sell the vegetable products at the local market. At the meat goat workshops, local participants rescued a local knowledge by describing and practicing a traditional way to process goat meat by drying it outdoors and then doing a smoked treatment. This information might contribute to describe the level of empowerment of this community, and thus give evidence of acceptance of foreign intervention for improving their own proceedings and traditions.

Keywords: children malnutrition, food security, Local community, participatory approach

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Authors: Shaher A. I. Shalfawi, Fredrik Hviding, Bjornar Kjellstadli

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The main purpose of this study was to measure the effect of two different strength training methods on muscle strength, muscle mass, fat mass and endurance factors. Fourteen physical education students accepted to participate in this study. The participants were then randomly divided into three groups, traditional training group (TTG), cluster training group (CTG) and control group (CG). TTG consisted of 4 participants aged ( ± SD) (22.3 ± 1.5 years), body mass (79.2 ± 15.4 kg) and height (178.3 ± 11.9 cm). CTG consisted of 5 participants aged (22.2 ± 3.5 years), body mass (81.0 ± 24.0 kg) and height (180.2 ± 12.3 cm). CG consisted of 5 participants aged (22 ± 2.8 years), body mass (77 ± 19 kg) and height (174 ± 6.7 cm). The participants underwent a hypertrophy strength training program twice a week consisting of 4 sets of 10 reps at 70% of one-repetition maximum (1RM), using barbell squat and barbell bench press for 8 weeks. The CTG performed 2 x 5 reps using 10 s recovery in between repetitions and 50 s recovery between sets, while TTG performed 4 sets of 10 reps with 90 s recovery in between sets. Pre- and post-tests were administrated to assess body composition (weight, muscle mass, and fat mass), 1RM (bench press and barbell squat) and a laboratory endurance test (Bruce Protocol). Instruments used to collect the data were Tanita BC-601 scale (Tanita, Illinois, USA), Woodway treadmill (Woodway, Wisconsin, USA) and Vyntus CPX breath-to-breath system (Jaeger, Hoechberg, Germany). Analysis was conducted at all measured variables including time to peak VO2, peak VO2, heart rate (HR) at peak VO2, respiratory exchange ratio (RER) at peak VO2, and number of breaths per minute. The results indicate an increase in 1RM performance after 8 weeks of training. The change in 1RM squat was for the TTG = 30 ± 3.8 kg, CTG = 28.6 ± 8.3 kg and CG = 10.3 ± 13.8 kg. Similarly, the change in 1RM bench press was for the TTG = 9.8 ± 2.8 kg, CTG = 7.4 ± 3.4 kg and CG = 4.4 ± 3.4 kg. The within-group analysis from the oxygen consumption measured during the incremental exercise indicated that the TTG had only a statistical significant increase in their RER from 1.16 ± 0.04 to 1.23 ± 0.05 (P < 0.05). The CTG had a statistical significant improvement in their HR at peak VO2 from 186 ± 24 to 191 ± 12 Beats Per Minute (P < 0.05) and their RER at peak VO2 from 1.11 ± 0.06 to 1.18 ±0.05 (P < 0.05). Finally, the CG had only a statistical significant increase in their RER at peak VO2 from 1.11 ± 0.07 to 1.21 ± 0.05 (P < 0.05). The between-group analysis showed no statistical differences between all groups in all the measured variables from the oxygen consumption test during the incremental exercise including changes in muscle mass, fat mass, and weight (kg). The results indicate a similar effect of hypertrophy strength training irrespective of the methods of the training used on untrained subjects. Because there were no notable changes in body-composition measures, the results suggest that the improvements in performance observed in all groups is most probably due to neuro-muscular adaptation to training.

Keywords: hypertrophy strength training, cluster set, Bruce protocol, peak VO2

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Authors: Mark Darius Juszczak

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While epistemology, as a sub-field of philosophy, is generally concerned with theoretical questions about the nature of knowledge, the explosion in digital media technologies has resulted in an exponential increase in the storage and transmission of human information. That increase has resulted in a particular non-linear dynamic – digital epistemological functions are radically altering how and what we know. Neither the rate of that change nor the consequences of it have been well studied or taken into account in developing state-level strategies for epistemological functions. At the current time, US Federal policy, like that of virtually all other countries, maintains, at the national state level, clearly defined boundaries between various epistemological agencies - agencies that, in one way or another, mediate the functional use of knowledge. These agencies can take the form of patent and trademark offices, national library and archive systems, departments of education, departments such as the FTC, university systems and regulations, military research systems such as DARPA, federal scientific research agencies, medical and pharmaceutical accreditation agencies, federal funding for scientific research and legislative committees and subcommittees that attempt to alter the laws that govern epistemological functions. All of these agencies are in the constant process of creating, analyzing, and regulating knowledge. Those processes are, at the most general level, epistemological functions – they act upon and define what knowledge is. At the same time, however, there are no high-level strategic epistemological directives or frameworks that define those functions. The only time in US history where a proxy state-level epistemological strategy existed was between 1961 and 1969 when the Kennedy Administration committed the United States to the Apollo program. While that program had a singular technical objective as its outcome, that objective was so technologically advanced for its day and so complex so that it required a massive redirection of state-level epistemological functions – in essence, a broad and diverse set of state-level agencies suddenly found themselves working together towards a common epistemological goal. This paper does not call for a repeat of the Apollo program. Rather, its purpose is to investigate the minimum structural requirements for a national state-level epistemological strategy in the United States. In addition, this paper also seeks to analyze how the epistemological work of the multitude of national agencies within the United States would be affected by such a high-level framework. This paper is an exploratory study of this type of framework. The primary hypothesis of the author is that such a function is possible but would require extensive re-framing and reclassification of traditional epistemological functions at the respective agency level. In much the same way that, for example, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) evolved to respond to a new type of security threat in the world for the United States, it is theorized that a lack of coordination and alignment in epistemological functions will equally result in a strategic threat to the United States.

Keywords: strategic security, epistemological functions, epistemological agencies, Apollo program

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Authors: Alexandra McKinzie, Lucy Brown, Sarah Komanapalli, Sarah Swiezy, Caitlin Bernard

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Background: While 25% of US women will seek an abortion before age 45, targeted laws have led to a decline in abortion clinics, subsequently leaving 96% of Indiana counties and the 70% of Hoosier women residing in these counties without access to services they desperately need.1,2 Despite the need for a physician workforce that is educated and able to provide full-spectrum reproductive health care, few medical institutions have a standardized family planning and abortion pre-clinical curriculum. Methods: A Qualtrics survey was disseminated to students from Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) to evaluate (1) student interest in curriculum reform, (2) self-assessed preparedness to counsel on contraceptive and pregnancy options, and (3) preferred modality of instruction for family planning and abortion topics. Based on the pre-panel survey feedback, a case-based pregnancy options counseling panel will be implemented in the students’ pre-clinical, didactic course Endocrine, Reproductive, Musculoskeletal, Dermatologic Systems (ERMD) in February 2022. A Qualtrics post-panel survey will be disseminated to evaluate students’ perceived efficacy and quality of the panel, as well as their self-assessed preparedness to counsel on pregnancy options. Results: Participants in the pre-panel survey (n=303) were primarily female (61.72%) and White (74.43%). Across all class levels, many (60.80%) students expected to learn about family planning and abortion in their pre-clinical education. While most (84-88%) participants felt prepared to counsel about common, non-controversial pharmacotherapies (e.g. beta-blockers and diuretics), only 20% of students felt prepared to counsel on abortion options. Overall, 85.67% of students believed that IUSM should enhance its reproductive health coverage in pre-clinical, didactic courses. Traditional lectures, panels, and direct clinical exposure were the most popular instructional modalities. Expected Results: The authors predict that following the panel, students will indicate improved confidence in providing pregnancy options counseling. Additionally, students will provide constructive feedback on the structure and content of the panel for incorporation into future years’ curriculum. Conclusions: IUSM students overwhelmingly expressed interest in expanding their pre-clinical curriculum’s coverage of family planning and abortion topics. To specifically improve students’ self-assessed preparedness to provide pregnancy options counseling and address students’ self-cited learning gaps, a case-based provider panel session will be implemented in response to students’ preferred modality feedback.

Keywords: options counseling, family planning, abortion, curriculum reform, case-based panel

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Authors: Vidya Yadav

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In every society, males and females are expected to behave in certain ways, and in every culture, those expectation, values and norms are different and vary accordingly. Many of the inequalities between men and women are rooted in institutional structure such as in educational field, labour market, wages, decision-making power, access to services as well as in accessing the health and well-being care also. The marriage and kinship pattern shape both men’s and women’s lives. Earlier many studies have highlighted the gender disparities which vary tremendously between regions, social classes, and communities. This study will try to explore the prominent indicators to show the status of women and well-being condition in Indian society. Primarily this paper concern with firstly identification of indicators related to gender in each area like education, work status, mobility, women participation in public and private decision making, autonomy and domestic violence etc. And once the indicators are identified next task is to define them. The indicators which are selected here are for a comparison of women’s status across Indian states. Recent Indian Human Development Survey, 2011-12 has been procured to show the current situation of women. Result shows that in spite of rising levels of education and images of growing westernization in India, love marriages remain in rarity even among urban elite. In India marriage is universal, and most of the men and women marry at relatively young age. Even though the legal age of marriage is 18, but more than 60 percent are married before the legal age. Not surprisingly, but Bihar and Rajasthan are the states with earliest age at marriage. Most of them reported that they have very limited contact with their husband before marriages. Around 69 percent of women met their husbands on the day of the wedding or shortly before. In spite of decline in fertility, still childbearing remains essential to women’s lives. Mostly women aged 25 and older had at least one child. Women’s control over household resources, physical space and mobility is also limited. Indian women’s, mostly rely on men to purchase day to day necessities, as well as medicines, as well as other necessary items. This ultimately reduces the likelihood that women have cash in hand for such purchases. The story is quite different when it comes to have control over decision over purchasing household assets such as TVs or refrigerator, names on the bank account, and home ownership papers. However, the likelihood of ownership rises among urbanite educated women’s. Women’s still have to the cultural norms and the practice of purdah or ghunghat, familial control over women’s physical movement. Wife beating and domestic violence still remain pervasive, and beaten for minor transgression like going out without permission. Development of India cannot be realized without the very significant component of gender. Therefore detailed examinations of different indicators are required to understand, strategize, plan and formulate programmes.

Keywords: autonomy, empowerment, gender, violence

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Authors: Manali Chakraborty

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In the developing countries the most prevalent pathological state is malnutrition and under nutrition due to deficiency of essential nutrients. This condition is more seen between the woman population, especially in the adolescent girls. It is causing childhood deaths along with others cognitive, degenerative diseases. Born of low weight babies and stillbirth are also major problems associated with the malnutrition. Along with the increased level of population, people not only should concern about their quantity of food but also for the quality of the food to be healthy. Lethargy, depression caused due to iron deficiency often quoted as normal or unimportant issues. Children of malnourished women are more likely associated with cognitive impairment, immune dysfunction leading to a higher risk of being attacked by diseases. Malnourishment also affects the productivity of women. Low social status, lack of proper nutritional education is an important cause of this nutrient deficiency among women. Iron deficiency and anemia are mostly famous nutritional deficiencies among women worldwide. Mostly women from below poverty lined area are anemic due to less consumption of iron-rich foods or having foods that might inhibit the iron absorption. Growing females like adolescents or lactating females need more iron supply. Less supplement causes iron deficiency. Though malaria also might cause anemia, it is more likely endemic one in some specific areas. Folate deficiency in females also may cause neurological defects in the infants. Other Vitamin B, A deficiencies along with low iodine level is also noted in malnourished women. According to tradition, still in some areas in developing countries females have their food at the end. According to some survey and collected data, these females are often into the risk zone of being malnourished. Regularly they have the very lesser amount, or food sometimes may start to lose its nutrients. Women are the one who maintains the responsibility to cook foods in the home. Lack of proper nutritional education and proper food preparation not only make those foods lose the nutrients leading to impairment in proper nutrient intake of the family members but also impairing own nutritional status. Formulation and development of food products from iron or other nutrient affluent sources viz., traditional herbs can be helpful in the prevention of such malnutrition condition in females. Keeping low cost and smooth maintenance of the food product development from the natural sources like pulses, cereals or other vegetation also can be beneficial to sustain socio-economic condition. Consumption of such kind of foodstuff is much healthier rather than taking continuous supplements like capsules. Utilization of proper scientific and cost-effective techniques for this food product development and their distribution among rural women population might be an enormous initiative.

Keywords: anemia, food supplements, malnutrition, rural places, women population

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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: Rainner Roweder

Abstract:

Theme: The present paper aims to analyze the specificity of the judicial evidence linked to the subjects of dignity and personality rights, otherwise known as moral rights, in the determination of the truth and formation of the judicial reasoning in cases concerning these areas. This research is about the way courts in Brazilian domestic law search for truth and handles evidence in cases involving moral rights that are abundant and important in Brazil. The main object of the paper is to analyze the effectiveness of the evidence in the formation of judicial conviction in matters related to morally controverted rights, based on the Brazilian, and as a comparison, the Latin American legal systems. In short, the rights of dignity and personality are moral. However, the evidential legal system expects a rational demonstration of moral rights that generate judicial conviction or persuasion. Moral, in turn, tends to be difficult or impossible to demonstrate in court, generating the problem considered in this paper, that is, the study of the moral demonstration problem as proof in court. In this sense, the more linked to moral, the more difficult to be demonstrated in court that right is, expanding the field of judicial discretion, generating legal uncertainty. More specifically, the new personality rights, such as gender, and their possibility of alteration, further amplify the problem being essentially an intimate manner, which does not exist in the objective, rational evidential system, as normally occurs in other categories, such as contracts. Therefore, evidencing this legal category in court, with the level of security required by the law, is a herculean task. It becomes virtually impossible to use the same evidentiary system when judging the rights researched here; therefore, it generates the need for a new design of the evidential task regarding the rights of the personality, a central effort of the present paper. Methodology: Concerning the methodology, the Method used in the Investigation phase was Inductive, with the use of the comparative law method; in the data treatment phase, the Inductive Method was also used. Doctrine, Legislative, and jurisprudential comparison was the technique research used. Results: In addition to the peculiar characteristics of personality rights that are not found in other rights, part of them are essentially linked to morale and are not objectively verifiable by design, and it is necessary to use specific argumentative theories for their secure confirmation, such as interdisciplinary support. The traditional pragmatic theory of proof, for having an obvious objective character, when applied in the rights linked to the morale, aggravates decisionism and generates legal insecurity, being necessary its reconstruction for morally charged cases, with the possible use of the “predictive theory” ( and predictive facts) through algorithms in data collection and treatment.

Keywords: moral rights, proof, pragmatic proof theory, insufficiency, Brazil

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Mohammed AL-Hasani

Abstract:

The Pandemic COVID-19 altered the daily habits and affected the functional performance of the cities after this crisis leaving remarkable impacts on many metropolises worldwide. It is so obvious that having more densification in the city leads to more threats altering this main approach that was called for achieving sustainable development. The main goal to achieve resiliency in the cities, especially in forcing risks, is to deal with a planning system that is able to resist, absorb, accommodate and recover from the impacts that had been affected. Many Cities in London, Wuhan, New York, and others worldwide carried different planning approaches and varied in reaction to safeguard the impacts of the pandemic. The cities globally varied from the radiant pattern predicted by Le Corbusier, or having multi urban centers more like the approach of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City, or having linear growth or gridiron expansion that was common by Doxiadis, compact pattern, and many other hygiene patterns. These urban patterns shape the spatial distribution and Identify both open and natural spaces with gentrified and gentrifying areas. This crisis paid attention to reassess many planning approaches and examine the existing urban patterns focusing more on the aim of continuity and resiliency in managing the crises within the rapid transformation and the power of market forces. According to that, this paper hypothesized that those urban planning patterns determine the method of reaction in assuring quarantine for the inhabitance and the performance of public services and need to be updated through carrying out an innovative urban management system and adopt further resilience patterns in prospective urban planning approaches. This paper investigates the adaptivity and resiliency of variant urban planning patterns regarding selected cities worldwide that affected by COVID-19 and their role in applying certain management strategies in controlling the pandemic spread, finding out the main potentials that should be included in prospective planning approaches. The examination encompasses the spatial arrangement, blocks definition, plots arrangement, and urban space typologies. This paper aims to investigate the urban patterns to deliberate also the debate between densification as one of the more sustainable planning approaches and disaggregation tendency that was followed after the pandemic by restructuring and managing its application according to the assessment of the spatial distribution and urban patterns. The biggest long-term threat to dense cities proves the need to shift to online working and telecommuting, creating a mixture between using cyber and urban spaces to remobilize the city. Reassessing spatial design and growth, open spaces, urban population density, and public awareness are the main solutions that should be carried out to face the outbreak in our current cities that should be managed from global to tertiary levels and could develop criteria for designing the prospective cities

Keywords: COVID-19, densification, resiliency, urban patterns

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Qian Sun, Dannie Dai, Vivian Lou

Abstract:

Background: Changes in population structure and modernization have left traditional channels of achieving intergenerational solidarity in crisis. Policies and projects purposefully structuring intergenerational interaction are regarded as effective ways to enhance positive attitude changes between generations. However, few inter-generational interaction program has put equal emphasis on promoting positive changes on both attitude and behavior across generational groups. Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of an intergenerational interaction program which aims to facilitate positive attitude and behavioral interaction between both young and old individuals in Hong Kong. Method: A quasi-experimental design was adopted with the sample of 150 older participants and 161 young participants. Among 73 older and 78 young participants belong to experiment groups while 77 older participants and 84 young participants belong to control groups. The Age Group Evaluation and Description scale (AGED) was adopted to measure attitude toward young people by older participants and the Chinese version of Kogan’s Attitude towards Older People (KAOP) as well as Polizzi’s refined version of the Ageing Semantic Differential Scale (ASD) were used to measure attitude toward older people by the younger generation. The interpersonal behaviour of participants was assessed using Beglgrave’s behavioural observation tool. Six primary verbal or non-verbal interpersonal behaviours including smiles, looks, touches, encourages, initiated conversations and assists were identified and observed. Findings Effectiveness of attitude and behavior changes on both younger and older participants was confirmed in results. Compared with participants from the control group, experimental participants of elderly showed significant positive changes of attitudes toward the younger generation as assessed by AGED (F=138.34, p < .001). Moreover, older participants showed significant positive changes on three out of six behaviours (visual attention: t=2.26, p<0.05; initiate conversation: t=3.42, p<0.01; and touch: t=2.28, p<0.05). For younger participants, participants from experimental group showed significant positive changes in attitude toward older people (with F-score of 47.22 for KAOP and 72.75 for ASD, p<.001). Young participants also showed significant positive changes in two out of six behaviours (visual attention: t=3.70, p<0.01; initiate conversation: t=2.04, p<0.001). There is no significant relationship between attitude change and behaviour change in both older (p=0.86) and younger (p=0.22) groups. Conclusion: This study has brought practical implications for social work. The effective model of this program could assist social workers and allied professionals to design relevant projects for nurture intergenerational solidarity. Furthermore, insignificant results between attitude and behavior changes revealed that attitude change was not a strong predictor for behavior change, hence, intergenerational programs against age-stereotype should put equal emphasis on both attitudinal and behavioral aspects.

Keywords: attitude and behaviour changes, intergenerational interaction, intergenerational solidarity, program design

Procedia PDF Downloads 229