Search results for: nature worship; cultural colonization

Authors: Mariko Hara, Mari Aoki, Takako Ito, Masao Sugita

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Social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 crisis had a severe impact on music and art practices based in community settings. They had to re-think how to connect with their dispersed community using online tools. As the social distancing continues, there is an urgent need to investigate the possibilities of online community music and art practices. Are they sustainable actions that can have positive impacts on the community and the quality of lives of people over time? The Online Lindgren Café (hereafter ‘OLC’) is a monthly online literature event which started in June 2020. In the OLC, up to 14 members meet online to discuss the works of Astrid Lindgren and similar authors. Members come from various places in Japan and Norway, with a variety of expertise from music therapy, music education, psychotherapy, music sociology, storytelling, and theatre, and their family members join them. In these meetings, music and arts activities emerged in response to interests among the members. The resources and experiences of the members helped to develop these activities further. This paper first introduces one of the music and art activities in one specific event, a collaborative picture book-making with music, which was initiated and led by the second author. The third author chose the music, and the activity itself was recorded. This is followed by the description of a reflecting event, where the recording of the collaborative picture book-making activity was shared to facilitate further creations (drawings, haiku, and fabric weaving) as well as group reflections on the trajectories of the Online Lindgren Café. Finally, we will discuss the preliminary findings using the data collected at the reflecting event. Key findings suggest that the resource-driven approach of the OLC leveled the relationships among the intergenerational, multi-cultural, and interdisciplinary members. This enabled the members to set aside their professional and/or predominant identities, which allowed them to discover their own and others’ resources. The relaxed, unstructured, and liminal phenomenon at OLC can be regarded as a form of communitas, where members gain a sense of liberation and belonging in a different way from in-person communications. Participation from one’s home, as well as a video conferencing function that allowed the members to position themselves among the other participants in equal-sized windows, seems to have enabled members to feel safe to express themselves openly at the same time feel a sense of belonging. Furthermore, in the OLC, music and arts activities acted to inclusively connect and re-connect dispersed, intergenerational members with each other. For instance, in a music and drawing activity, music acted as a means for each member to engage in their own ‘drawing space’ while still feeling connected with the others. The positive experiences from these activities inspired the members to use similar approaches outside of the OLC. The finding suggests that, because of its resource-driven approach supported by the music and arts activities, the OLC could be developed further as a permeable and sustainable action even after any current social distancing measures are lifted.

Keywords: communitas, COVID-19, musical affordances, online community of practices, resource-driven approach

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Authors: L. Le Priol, A. Nesterenko, K. El Kirat, K. Saleh

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Introduction and objectives: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) omega-3 and omega-6 are widely recognized as being beneficial to the health and normal growth. Unfortunately, due to their highly unsaturated nature, these molecules are sensitive to oxidation and thermic degradation leading to the production of toxic compounds and unpleasant flavors and smells. Hence, it is necessary to find out a suitable way to protect them. Microencapsulation by spray-drying is a low-cost encapsulation technology and most commonly used in the food industry. Many compounds can be used as wall materials, but there is a growing interest in the use of biopolymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides, over the last years. The objective of this study is to increase the oxidative stability of sunflower oil by microencapsulation in plant protein matrices using spray-drying technique. Material and methods: Sunflower oil was used as a model substance for oxidable food oils. Proteins from brown rice, hemp, pea, soy and sunflower seeds were used as emulsifiers and microencapsulation wall materials. First, the proteins were solubilized in distilled water. Then, the emulsions were pre-homogenized using a high-speed homogenizer (Ultra-Turrax) and stabilized by using a high-pressure homogenizer (HHP). Drying of the emulsion was performed in a Mini Spray Dryer. The oxidative stability of the encapsulated oil was determined by performing accelerated oxidation tests with a Rancimat. The size of the microparticles was measured using a laser diffraction analyzer. The morphology of the spray-dried microparticles was acquired using environmental scanning microscopy. Results: Pure sunflower oil was used as a reference material. Its induction time was 9.5 ± 0.1 h. The microencapsulation of sunflower oil in pea and soy protein matrices significantly improved its oxidative stability with induction times of 21.3 ± 0.4 h and 12.5 ± 0.4 h respectively. The encapsulation with hemp proteins did not significantly change the oxidative stability of the encapsulated oil. Sunflower and brown rice proteins were ineffective materials for this application, with induction times of 7.2 ± 0.2 h and 7.0 ± 0.1 h respectively. The volume mean diameter of the microparticles formulated with soy and pea proteins were 8.9 ± 0.1 µm and 16.3 ± 1.2 µm respectively. The values for hemp, sunflower and brown rice proteins could not be obtained due to the agglomeration of the microparticles. ESEM images showed smooth and round microparticles with soy and pea proteins. The surfaces of the microparticles obtained with sunflower and hemp proteins were porous. The surface was rough when brown rice proteins were used as the encapsulating agent. Conclusion: Soy and pea proteins appeared to be efficient wall materials for the microencapsulation of sunflower oil by spray drying. These results were partly explained by the higher solubility of soy and pea proteins in water compared to hemp, sunflower, and brown rice proteins. Acknowledgment: This work has been performed, in partnership with the SAS PIVERT, within the frame of the French Institute for the Energy Transition (Institut pour la Transition Energétique (ITE)) P.I.V.E.R.T. (www.institut-pivert.com) selected as an Investments for the Future (Investissements d’Avenir). This work was supported, as part of the Investments for the Future, by the French Government under the reference ANR-001-01.

Keywords: biopolymer, edible oil, microencapsulation, oxidative stability, release, spray-drying

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Authors: Junaid Hamid Bhat

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Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the main causes of occupational illness. Mechanisms and the factors like repetitive work, physical effort and posture, endangering the risk of musculoskeletal disorders would now appear to have been properly identified. Teacher’s exposure to work-related musculoskeletal disorders appears to be insufficiently described in the literature. Little research has investigated the prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders in teaching profession. Very few studies are available in this regard and there are no studies evident in India. Purpose: To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and to identify and measure the association of such risk factors responsible for developing musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers. Methodology: An observational cross sectional study was carried out. 500 school teachers from primary, middle, high and secondary schools were selected, based on eligibility criteria. A signed consent was obtained and a self-administered, validated questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics was used to compute the statistical mean and standard deviation, frequency and percentage to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers. The data analysis was done by using SPSS version 16.0. Results: Results indicated higher pain prevalence (99.6%) among school teachers during the past 12 months. Neck pain (66.1%), low back pain (61.8%) and knee pain (32.0%) were the most prevalent musculoskeletal complaints of the subjects. Prevalence of shoulder pain was also found to be high among school teachers (25.9%). 52.0% subjects reported pain as disabling in nature, causing sleep disturbance (44.8%) and pain was found to be associated with work (87.5%). A significant association was found between musculoskeletal disorders and sick leaves/absenteeism. Conclusion: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders particularly neck pain, low back pain, and knee pain, is highly prevalent and risk factors are responsible for the development of same in school teachers. There is little awareness of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers, due to work load and prolonged/static postures. Further research should concentrate on specific risk factors like repetitive movements, psychological stress, and ergonomic factors and should be carried out all over the country and the school teachers should be studied carefully over a period of time. Also, an ergonomic investigation is needed to decrease the work-related musculoskeletal disorder problems. Implication: Recall bias and self-reporting can be considered as limitations. Also, cause and effect inferences cannot be ascertained. Based on these results, it is important to disseminate general recommendations for prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders with regards to the suitability of furniture, equipment and work tools, environmental conditions, work organization and rest time to school teachers. School teachers in the early stage of their careers should try to adapt the ergonomically favorable position whilst performing their work for a safe and healthy life later. Employers should be educated on practical aspects of prevention to reduce musculoskeletal disorders, since changes in workplace and work organization and physical/recreational activities are required.

Keywords: work related musculoskeletal disorders, school teachers, risk factors funding, medical and health sciences

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Authors: María Canal-Rodríguez, María Arnaiz, Natalia Rey-Raap, Ana Arenillas, Jon Ajuria

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The constant demand of electrical energy, as well as the increase in environmental concern, lead to the necessity of investing in clean and eco-friendly energy sources that implies the development of enhanced energy storage devices. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) are the most widespread energy systems. Batteries are able to storage high energy densities contrary to capacitors, which main strength is the high-power density supply and the long cycle life. The combination of both technologies gave rise to Li-ion capacitors (LICs), which offers all these advantages in a single device. This is achieved combining a capacitive, supercapacitor-like positive electrode with a faradaic, battery-like negative electrode. Due to the abundance and affordability, dual carbon-based LICs are nowadays the common technology. Normally, an Active Carbon (AC) is used as the EDLC like electrode, while graphite is the material commonly employed as anode. LICs are potential systems to be used in applications in which high energy and power densities are required, such us kinetic energy recovery systems. Although these devices are already in the market, some drawbacks like the limited power delivered by graphite or the energy limiting nature of AC must be solved to trigger their used. Focusing on the anode, one possibility could be to replace graphite with Hard Carbon (HC). The better rate capability of the latter increases the power performance of the device. Moreover, the disordered carbonaceous structure of HCs enables storage twice the theoretical capacity of graphite. With respect to the cathode, the ACs are characterized for their high volume of micropores, in which the charge is storage. Nevertheless, they normally do not show mesoporous, which are really important mainly at high C-rates as they act as transport channels for the ions to reach the micropores. Usually, the porosity of ACs cannot be tailored, as it strongly depends on the precursor employed to get the final carbon. Moreover, they are not characterized for having a high electrical conductivity, which is an important characteristic to get a good performance in energy storage applications. A possible candidate to substitute ACs are carbon aerogels (CAs). CAs are materials that combine a high porosity with great electrical conductivity, opposite characteristics in carbon materials. Furthermore, its porous properties can be tailored quite accurately according to with the requirements of the application. In the present study, CAs with controlled porosity were obtained from polymerization of resorcinol and formaldehyde by microwave heating. Varying the synthesis conditions, mainly the amount of precursors and pH of the precursor solution, carbons with different textural properties were obtained. The way the porous characteristics affect the performance of the cathode was studied by means of a half-cell configuration. The material with the best performance was evaluated as cathode in a LIC versus a hard carbon as anode. An analogous full LIC made by a high microporous commercial cathode was also assembled for comparison purposes.

Keywords: li-ion capacitors, energy storage, tailored porosity, carbon aerogels

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Authors: Zihao He

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The majority of existing studies on the Taiping Movement (1851-1864) viewed their anti-Manchu attitudes as nationalist agendas: Taiping was aimed at revolting against the Manchu government and establishing a new political regime. To explain these aggressive and violent attitudes towards Manchu, these studies mainly found socio-economic factors and stressed the status of “being deprived”. Even the ‘demon-slaying’ narrative of the Taiping to dehumanize the Manchu tends to be viewed as a “religious tool” to achieve their political, nationalist aim. This paper argues that these studies on Taiping’s anti-Manchu attitudes and behaviors are analyzed from an external angle and have two major problems. Firstly, they distinguished “religion” from “nationalist” or “political”, focusing on the “political” nature of the movement. “Religion” and the religious experience within Taiping were largely ignored. This paper argues that there was no separable and independent “religion” in the Taiping Movement, as opposed to secular, nationalist politics. Secondly, these analyses held an external perspective on Taiping’s anti-Manchu agenda. Demonizing and killing Manchu were viewed as purely political actions. On the contrary, this paper focuses on the internal perspective of anti-Manchu narratives in the Taiping Movement. The method of this paper is mainly textual analysis, focusing on the official documents, edicts, and proclamations of the Taiping movement. It views the writing of the Taiping as a coherent narrative and rhetoric, which was attractive and convincing for its followers. In terms of the main findings, firstly, internal and external perspectives on anti-Manchu violence are different. Externally, violence was viewed as a tool and necessary process to achieve the political goal. However, internally speaking, in Taiping’s writing, violence was a result of Godlessness, which would be solved as far as the faith in God is restored in China. Having a framework of universal love among human beings as sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father and killing was forbidden, the Taiping excluded Manchus from the family of human beings and demonized them. “Demon-slaying” was not violence. It was constructed as a necessary process to achieve the Great Peace. Moreover, Taiping’s anti-Manchu violence was not merely “political.” Rather, the category “religion” and its binary opposition, “secular,” is not suitable for Taiping. A key point related to this argument is the revolutionary violence against the Manchu government, which inherited the traditional “Heavenly Mandate” model. From an internal, theological perspective, anti-Manchu was ordained and commanded by the Heavenly Father. Manchu, as a regime, was standing as a hindrance in the path toward God. Besides, Manchu was not only viewed as a regime, but they were also “demons.” Therefore, the paper examines how Manchus were dehumanized in Taiping’s writings and were situated outside of the consideration of nonviolent and love. Manchu as a regime and Manchu as demons are in a dynamic relationship. As a regime, the Manchu government was preventing Chinese people from worshipping the Heavenly Father, so they were demonized. As they were demons, killing Manchus during the revolt was justified and not viewed as being contradicted the universal love among human beings.

Keywords: anti-manchu, demon-slaying, heavenly mandate, religion and violence, the taiping movement.

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Authors: Abayomi O. Adetuyi, Jamiu M. Jabar, Samuel O. Afolabi

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Vegetable fibres are classes of fibres of low density, biodegradable and non-abrasive that are largely abundant fibre materials with specific properties and mostly found/ obtained in plants on earth surface. They are classified into three categories, depending on the part of the plant from which they are gotten from namely: fruit, Blast and Leaf fibre. Ever since four/five millennium B.C, attention has been focussing on the commonest and highly utilized cotton fibre obtained from the fruit of cotton plants (Gossypium spp), for the production of cotton fabric used in every home today. The present study, therefore, focused on the ability of three underutilized vegetable (fruit) fibres namely: coir fiber (Eleas coniferus), palm kernel fiber and empty fruit bunch fiber (Elias guinensis) through chemical modifications for better composite value addition performance to polyurethane form and dye adsorption. These fibres were sourced from their parents’ plants, identified and cleansed with 2% hot detergent solution 1:100, rinsed in distilled water and oven-dried to constant weight, before been chemically modified through alkali bleaching, mercerization and acetylation. The alkali bleaching involves treating 0.5g of each fiber material with 100 mL of 2% H2O2 in 25 % NaOH solution with refluxing for 2 h. While that of mercerization and acetylation involves the use of 5% sodium hydroxide NaOH solution for 2 h and 10% acetic acid- acetic anhydride 1:1 (v/v) (CH3COOH) / (CH3CO)2O solution with conc. H2SO4 as catalyst for 1 h, respectively on the fibres. All were subsequently washed thoroughly with distilled water and oven dried at 105 0C for 1 h. These modified fibres were incorporated as composite into polyurethane form and used in dye adsorption study of indigo. The first two treatments led to fiber weight reduction, while the acidified acetic anhydride treatment gave the fibers weight increment. All the treated fibers were found to be of less hydrophilic nature, better mechanical properties, higher thermal stabilities as well as better adsorption surfaces/capacities than the untreated ones. These were confirmed by gravimetric analysis, Instron Universal Testing Machine, Thermogravimetric Analyser and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) respectively. The fiber morphology of the modified fibers showed smoother surfaces than unmodified fibres.The empty fruit bunch fibre and the coconut coir fibre are better than the palm kernel fibres as reinforcers for composites or as adsorbents for waste-water treatment. Acetylation and alkaline bleaching treatment improve the potentials of the fibres more than mercerization treatment. Conclusively, vegetable fibres, especially empty fruit bunch fibre and the coconut coir fibre, which are cheap, abundant and underutilized, can replace the very costly powdered activated carbon in wastewater treatment and as reinforcer in foam.

Keywords: chemical modification, industrial application, value addition, vegetable fibre

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Authors: Krešimir Begović, Miloš Rydval, Jan Tumajer, Kristyna Svobodová, Thomas Langbehn, Yumei Jiang, Vojtech Čada, Vaclav Treml, Ryszard Kaczka, Miroslav Svoboda

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Environmental changes have increased the frequency and intensity of climatic extremes, particularly hotter droughts, leading to altered tree growth patterns and multi-year lags in tree recovery. The effects of shifting climatic conditions on tree growth are inhomogeneous across species’ natural distribution ranges, with large spatial heterogeneity and inter-population variability, but generally have significant consequences for contemporary forest dynamics and future ecosystem functioning. Despite numerous studies on the impacts of regional drought effects, large uncertainties remain regarding the mechanistic basis of drought legacy effects on wood formation and the ability of individual species to cope with increasingly drier growing conditions and rising year-to-year climatic variability. To unravel the complexity of climate-growth interactions and assess species-specific responses to severe droughts, we combined forward modeling of tree growth (VS-lite model) with correlation analyses against climate (temperature, precipitation, and the SPEI-3 moisture index) and growth responses to extreme drought events from multiple tree-ring parameters (tree-width and blue intensity parameters). We used an extensive dataset with over 1000 tree-ring samples from 23 nature forest reserves across an altitudinal range in Czechia and Slovakia. Our results revealed substantial spatiotemporal variability in growth responses to summer season temperature and moisture availability across species and tree-ring parameters. However, a general trend of increasing spring moisture-growth sensitivity in recent decades was observed in the Scots pine mountain forests and lowland forests of both species. The VS-lite model effectively captured nonstationary climate-growth relationships and accurately estimated high-frequency growth variability, indicating a significant incidence of regional drought events and growth reductions. Notably, growth reductions during extreme drought years and discrete legacy effects identified in individual wood components were most pronounced in the lowland forests. Together with the observed growth declines in recent decades, these findings suggest an increasing vulnerability of Norway spruce and Scots pine in dry lowlands under intensifying climatic constraints.

Keywords: dendroclimatology, Vaganova–Shashkin lite, conifers, central Europe, drought, blue intensity

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Authors: Ekaterina Malova

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Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic illness requiring immense lifestyle changes to reduce the chance of life-threatening complications. Moving to a college may be the first time for a young adult with T1D to take responsibility for all the aspects of their diabetes care. In addition, people with T1D constantly face stigmatization and discrimination as a result of their health condition, which puts additional pressure on young adults with T1D. Hence, omissions in diabetes self-care often occur during the time of transition to college when both the social and physical environment of young adults changes drastically and contribute to the fact that emerging young adults remain one of the age groups with the highest hemoglobin levels and poorest diabetes control. However, despite potential severe health risks caused by a lack of proper diabetes self-care, little is known about the experiences of emerging adults embarking on a higher education journey as this population. Thus, young adults with type 1 diabetes are a 'forgotten group,' meaning that their experiences are rarely addressed by researchers. Given that self-disclosure and information-seeking can be challenging for individuals with stigmatized illnesses, online platforms like YouTube have become a popular medium of self-disclosure and information-seeking for people living with T1D. Thus, this study aims to provide an analysis of experiences that college students with T1D choose to share with the general public online and explore the nature of information being communicated by college students with T1D to the online community in personal narratives posted on YouTube. A systematic approach was used to retrieve a video sample by searching YouTube with keywords 'type 1 diabetes' and 'college,' with results ordered by relevance. A total of 18 videos were saved. Video lengths ranged from 2 to 28 minutes. The data were coded using NVivo. Video transcripts were coded and analyzed utilizing the thematic analysis method. Three key themes emerged from thematic analysis: 1) Advice, 2) Personal experience, and 3) Things I wish everyone knew about T1D. In addition, Theme 1 was divided into subtopics to differentiate between the most common types of advice: 1) Overcoming stigma and b) Seeking social support. The identified themes indicate that two groups of the population can potentially benefit from watching students’ video testimonies: 1) lay public and 2) other students with T1D. Given that students in the videos reported a lack of T1D education in the lay public, such video narratives can serve important educational purposes and reduce health stigma, while perceived similarity and identification with students in the videos may facilitate the transition of health information to other individuals with T1D and positively affect their diabetes routine. Thus, online video narratives can potentially serve both educational and persuasive purposes, empowering students with T1D to stay in control of T1D while succeeding academically.

Keywords: type 1 diabetes, college students, health communication, transition period

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Authors: Miranda Lin

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This project examined the impact of a globally focused service-learning project implemented in a multicultural education course in a Midwestern university. This project facilitated critical self-reflection and build cross-cultural competence while nurturing a partnership with two schools that serve students with disabilities in Vietnam. Through a service-learning project, pre-service teachers connected via Skype with the principals/teachers at schools in Vietnam to identify and subsequently develop needed instructional materials for students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities. Qualitative data sources include students’ intercultural competence self-reflection survey (pre-test and post-test), reflections, discussions, service project, and lesson plans. Literature Review- Global service-learning is a teaching strategy that encompasses service experiences both in the local community and abroad. Drawing on elements of global learning and international service-learning, global service-learning experiences are guided by a framework that is designed to support global learning outcomes and involve direct engagement with difference. By engaging in real-world challenges, global service-learning experiences can support the achievement of learning outcomes such as civic. Knowledge and intercultural knowledge and competence. Intercultural competence development is considered essential for cooperative and reciprocal engagement with community partners.Method- Participants (n=27*) were mostly elementary and early childhood pre-service teachers who were enrolled in a multicultural education course. All but one was female. Among the pre-service teachers, one Asian American, two Latinas, and the rest were White. Two pre-service teachers identified themselves as from the low socioeconomic families and the rest were from the middle to upper middle class.The global service-learning project was implemented in the spring of 2018. Two Vietnamese schools that served students with disabilities agreed to be the global service-learning sites. Both schools were located in an urban city.Systematic collection of data coincided with the course schedule as follows: an initial intercultural competence self-reflection survey completed in week one, guided reflections submitted in week 1, 9, and 16, written lesson plans and supporting materials for the service project submitted in week 16, and a final intercultural competence self-reflection survey completed in week 16. Significance-This global service-learning project has helped participants meet Merryfield’s goals in various degrees. They 1) learned knowledge and skills in the basics of instructional planning, 2) used a variety of instructional methods that encourage active learning, meet the different learning styles of students, and are congruent with content and educational goals, 3) gained the awareness and support of their students as individuals and as learners, 4) developed questioning techniques that build higher-level thinking skills, and 5) made progress in critically reflecting on and improving their own teaching and learning as a professional educator as a result of this project.

Keywords: global service-learning, teacher education, intercultural competence, diversity

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Authors: Fengjuan Wang, Azilawati Jamaludin

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Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) is defined as a particular learning difficulty with continuous challenges in learning requisite math skills that cannot be explained by intellectual disability or educational deprivation. Recent studies have increasingly recognized that DD is a heterogeneous, instead of monolithic, learning disorder with not only cognitive and behavioral deficits but so too neural dysfunction. In recent years, neuroimaging studies employed group comparison to explore the neural underpinnings of DD, which contradicted the heterogenous nature of DD and may obfuscate critical individual differences. This research aimed to investigate the neural heterogeneity of DD using case studies with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). A total of 54 aged 6-7 years old of children participated in this study, comprising two comprehensive cognitive assessments, an 8-minute resting state, and an 8-minute one-digit addition task. Nine children met the criteria of DD and scored at or below 85 (i.e., the 16th percentile) on the Mathematics or Math Fluency subtest of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III) (both subtest scores were 90 and below). The remaining 45 children formed the typically developing (TD) group. Resting-state data and brain activation in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) were collected for comparison between each case and the TD group. Graph theory was used to analyze the brain network under the resting state. This theory represents the brain network as a set of nodes--brain regions—and edges—pairwise interactions across areas to reveal the architectural organizations of the nervous network. Next, a single-case methodology developed by Crawford et al. in 2010 was used to compare each case’s brain network indicators and brain activation against 45 TD children’s average data. Results showed that three out of the nine DD children displayed significant deviation from TD children’s brain indicators. Case 1 had inefficient nodal network properties. Case 2 showed inefficient brain network properties and weaker activation in the IFG and IPS areas. Case 3 displayed inefficient brain network properties with no differences in activation patterns. As a rise above, the present study was able to distill differences in architectural organizations and brain activation of DD vis-à-vis TD children using fNIRS and single-case methodology. Although DD is regarded as a heterogeneous learning difficulty, it is noted that all three cases showed lower nodal efficiency in the brain network, which may be one of the neural sources of DD. Importantly, although the current “brain norm” established for the 45 children is tentative, the results from this study provide insights not only for future work in “developmental brain norm” with reliable brain indicators but so too the viability of single-case methodology, which could be used to detect differential brain indicators of DD children for early detection and interventions.

Keywords: brain activation, brain network, case study, developmental dyscalculia, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, graph theory, neural heterogeneity

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Authors: Xiaoying Zhang

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Forest school – an outdoor educational experience that is undertaken in an outdoor environment with trees – becomes an emerging field of early childhood education recently. In China, the benefits of natural outdoor education to children and young people’s wellness have raised attention. Although different types of outdoor-based activities have been involved in some pre-school of China, few study and practice have been conducted in terms of the notion of forest school. To comprehend the impact of forest school for children and young people, this study aims to systematically review articles on the topic of forest school in preschool education from an ecological perspective, i.e. from individual level (e.g., behavior and mental health) to microsystem level (e.g., the relationship between teachers and children) to ecosystem level. Based on PRISMA framework flow, using the key words of “Forest School” and “Early Childhood Education” for searching in Web-of-science database, a total of 33 articles were identified. Sample participants of 13 studies were not preschool children, five studies were not on forest school theme, and two literature review articles were excluded for further analysis. Finally, 13 articles were eligible for thematic analysis. According to Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, there are some fingdings, on the individual level, current forest school studies are concerned about the children behavioral experience in forest school, how these experience may relate to their achievement or to develop children’s wellbeing/wellness, and how this type of learning experience may enhance children’s self-awareness on risk and safety issues. On the microsystem/mesosystem level, this review indicated that pedagogical development for forest school, risk perception from teachers and parents, social development between peers, and adult’s role in the participation of forest school were concerned, explored and discussed most frequently. On the macrosystem, the conceptualization of forest school is the key theme. Different forms of presentation in various countries with diverse cultures could provide various models of forest school education. However, there was no study investigating forest school on an ecosystem level. As for the potential benefits of physical health and mental wellness that results from forest school, it informs us to reflect the system of preschool education from the ecological perspective for Chinese children. For instance, most Chinese kindergartens ignored the significance of natural outdoor activities for children. Preschool education in China is strongly oriented by primary school system, which means pre-school children are expected to be trained as primary school students to do different subjects, such as math. Hardly any kindergarteners provide the opportunities for children and young people to take risks in a natural environment like forest school does. However, merely copying forest school model for a Chinese preschool education system will be less effective. This review of different level concerns could inform us that the localization the idea of forest school to adapt to a Chinese political, educational and cultural background. More detailed results and profound discussions will be presented in the full paper.

Keywords: early childhood education, ecological system, education development prospects in China, forest school

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Authors: Leoni Van Der Merwe

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Historically, in South Africa, disability has been viewed as a dilemma of the individual. The discourse surrounding the definition of disability and applicable theories are as fluid as the differing needs of persons with disabilities within society. In 1997, the Office of the Deputy President published the White Paper on the Integrated National Disability Strategy (WPINDS) which sought to integrate disability issues in all governmental development strategies, planning and programs as well as to solidify the South African government’s stance that disability was to be considered according to the social model and not the, previously utilized, medical model of disability. The models of disability are conceptual frameworks for understanding disability and can provide some insight into why certain attitudes exist and how they are reinforced in society. Although the WPINDS was regarded as a critical milestone in the history of the disability rights struggle in South Africa; it has taken approximately twenty years for the publication of a similar document taking into account South Africa’s changing social, economic, political and technological dispensation. December 2015 marked the approval of the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (WPRPD) which seeks to update the WPINDS, integrate principles contained in international law instruments and endorse a mainstreaming trajectory for realizing the rights of persons with disabilities. While the WPINDS and the WPRPD were published two decades apart, both documents contain an emphasis on a transition from the medical model to the social model. Whereas, the medical model presupposes that disability is mainly a health and welfare matter and is focused on an individualistic and dependency-based approach; the social model requires a paradigm shift in the manner in which disability is constructed so as to highlight the shortcomings of society in respect of disability and to bring to the fore the capabilities of persons with disabilities. The social model has led to unmatched success in changing the perceptions surrounding disability. This article seeks to investigate the progress made in the implementation of the social model in South Africa by taking into account the effect of the diverse political and cultural landscape in promoting the historically entrenched medical model and the rise of disability activism prior to the new democratic dispensation as well as legislation, case law, policy documents and barriers in respect of persons with disabilities that are pervasive in South African society. The research paper will conclude that although numerous interventions have been identified and implemented to promote the consideration of disability within a social construct in South Africa, such interventions require increased national and international collaboration, resources and pace to ensure that the efforts made lead to sustainable results. For persons with disabilities, what remains to be seen is whether the proliferation of activism by interest groups, social awareness as well as the development of policy documents, legislation and case law will serve as the impetus to dissipate the view that disability is burden to be carried solely on the shoulders of the person with the disability.

Keywords: disability, medical model, social model, societal barriers, South Africa

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Authors: Shayma Mohammed, Adel Trabelsi

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Radiopharmacy is the art of preparing high-quality, radioactive, medicinal products for use in diagnosis and therapy. Radiopharmaceuticals unlike normal medicines, this dual aspect (radioactive, medical) makes their management highly critical. One of the most convincing applications of modern technologies is the ability to delegate the execution of repetitive tasks to programming scripts. Automation has found its way to the most skilled jobs, to improve the company's overall performance by allowing human workers to focus on more important tasks than document filling. This project aims to contribute to implement a comprehensive system to insure rigorous management of radiopharmaceuticals through the use of a platform that links the Nuclear Medicine Service Management System to the Nuclear Radio-pharmacy Management System in accordance with the recommendations of World Health Organization (WHO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In this project we attempt to build a web application that targets radiopharmacies, the platform is built atop the inherently compatible web stack which allows it to work in virtually any environment. Different technologies are used in this project (PHP, Symfony, MySQL Workbench, Bootstrap, Angular 7, Visual Studio Code and TypeScript). The operating principle of the platform is mainly based on two parts: Radiopharmaceutical Backoffice for the Radiopharmacian, who is responsible for the realization of radiopharmaceutical preparations and their delivery and Medical Backoffice for the Doctor, who holds the authorization for the possession and use of radionuclides and he/she is responsible for ordering radioactive products. The application consists of sven modules: Production, Quality Control/Quality Assurance, Release, General Management, References, Transport and Stock Management. It allows 8 classes of users: The Production Manager (PM), Quality Control Manager (QCM), Stock Manager (SM), General Manager (GM), Client (Doctor), Parking and Transport Manager (PTM), Qualified Person (QP) and Technical and Production Staff. Digital platform bringing together all players involved in the use of radiopharmaceuticals and integrating the stages of preparation, production and distribution, Web technologies, in particular, promise to offer all the benefits of automation while requiring no more than a web browser to act as a user client, which is a strength because the web stack is by nature multi-platform. This platform will provide a traceability system for radiopharmaceuticals products to ensure the safety and radioprotection of actors and of patients. The new integrated platform is an alternative to write all the boilerplate paperwork manually, which is a tedious and error-prone task. It would minimize manual human manipulation, which has proven to be the main source of error in nuclear medicine. A codified electronic transfer of information from radiopharmaceutical preparation to delivery will further reduce the risk of maladministration.

Keywords: automated system, management, radiopharmacy, technical papers

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Authors: Motaz Alsolaim

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Nowadays, the challenges of running a start-up can be very complex and are perhaps more difficult than at any other time in the past. Changes in technology, manufacturing innovation, and product development, combined with intense competition and market regulations are factors that have put pressure on classic ways of managing firms, thereby forcing change. As a result, the rate of closure, exit or discontinuation of start-ups and young businesses is very high. Despite the essential role of small firms in an economy, they still tend to face obstacles that exert a negative influence on their performance and rate of survival. In fact, it is not easy to determine with any certainty the reasons why small firms fail. For this reason, failure itself is not clearly defined, and its exact causes are hard to diagnose. In this current study, therefore, the barriers to survival will be covered more broadly, especially personal/entrepreneurial, enterprise and environmental factors with regard to various possible reasons for this failure, in order to determine the best solutions and make appropriate recommendations. Methodology: It could be argued that mixed methods might help to improve entrepreneurship research addressing challenges emphasis in previous studies and to achieve the triangulation. Calls for the combined use of quantitative and qualitative research were also made in the entrepreneurship field since entrepreneurship is a multi-faceted area of research. Therefore, explanatory sequential mixed method was used, using questionnaire online survey for entrepreneurs, followed by semi-structure interview. Collecting over 750 surveys and accepting 296 valid surveys, after that 13 interviews from government official seniors, businessmen successful entrepreneurs, and non-successful entrepreneurs. Findings: The first phase findings ( quantitative) shows the obstacles to survive; starting from the personal/ entrepreneurial factors such as; past work experience, lack of skills and interest, are positive factors, while; gender, age and education level of the owner are negative factors. Internal factors such as lack of marketing research and weak business planning are positive. The environmental factors; in economic perspectives; difficulty to find labors, in socio-cultural perspectives; Social restriction and traditions found to be a negative factors. In other hand, from the political perspective; cost of compliance and insufficient government plans found to be a positive factors for small business failure. From infrastructure perspective; lack of skills labor, high level of bureaucracy and lack of information are positive factors. Conclusion: This paper serves to enrich the understanding of failure factors in MENA region more precisely in SA, by minimizing the probability of failure in small-micro entrepreneurial start-up in SA, in the light of the Saudi government’s Vision 2030 plan.

Keywords: small business barriers, start-up business, entrepreneurship, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Oluwafunmibi Omotayo Fasanya, Augustine Kena Adjei

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Effective management of hypertension remains a critical public health challenge, particularly among racially and ethnically diverse populations. This study employs sophisticated statistical models to rigorously investigate the predictors of poor blood pressure (BP) control, with a specific focus on demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical risk factors. Leveraging a large sample of 19,253 adults drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) across three distinct time periods (2013-2014, 2015-2016, and 2017-2020), we applied multivariable logistic regression and generalized estimating equations (GEE) to account for the clustered structure of the data and potential within-subject correlations. Our multivariable models identified significant associations between poor BP control and several key predictors, including race/ethnicity, age, gender, body mass index (BMI), prevalent diabetes, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Non-Hispanic Black individuals consistently exhibited higher odds of poor BP control across all periods (OR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.69, 2.36 for the overall sample; OR = 2.33; 95% CI: 1.79, 3.02 for 2017-2020). Younger age groups demonstrated substantially lower odds of poor BP control compared to individuals aged 75 and older (OR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.20 for ages 18-44). Men also had a higher likelihood of poor BP control relative to women (OR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.31, 1.82), while BMI ≥35 kg/m² (OR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.40, 2.20) and the presence of diabetes (OR = 2.20; 95% CI: 1.80, 2.68) were associated with increased odds of poor BP management. Further analysis using GEE models, accounting for temporal correlations and repeated measures, confirmed the robustness of these findings. Notably, individuals with chronic kidney disease displayed markedly elevated odds of poor BP control (OR = 3.72; 95% CI: 3.09, 4.48), with significant differences across the survey periods. Additionally, higher education levels and better self-reported diet quality were associated with improved BP control. College graduates exhibited a reduced likelihood of poor BP control (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.89), particularly in the 2015-2016 period (OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.84). Similarly, excellent dietary habits were associated with significantly lower odds of poor BP control (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.94), underscoring the importance of lifestyle factors in hypertension management. In conclusion, our findings provide compelling evidence of the complex interplay between demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic factors in predicting poor BP control. The application of advanced statistical techniques such as GEE enhances the reliability of these results by addressing the correlated nature of repeated observations. This study highlights the need for targeted interventions that consider racial/ethnic disparities, clinical comorbidities, and lifestyle modifications in improving BP control outcomes.

Keywords: hypertension, blood pressure, NHANES, generalized estimating equations

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Authors: Rose Branch-Allen, John Jayachandran

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Background and purpose: Canada is a pluralistic, multicultural society with an ethno-cultural composition that has been shaped over time by immigrants and their descendants. Although Canada welcomes these immigrants, many will endure hardship and assimilation difficulties. Despite these life hurdles, surveys consistently disclose high life satisfaction for all Canadians. Most research studies on Life Satisfaction/ Subjective Wellbeing (SWB) have focused on one main determinant and a variety of social demographic variables to delineate the determinants of life satisfaction. However, very few research studies examine life satisfaction from a holistic approach. In addition, we need to understand the causal pathways leading to life satisfaction, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB. The aim this study was to utilize a holistic approach to construct a causal model and identify major determinants of life satisfaction. Data and measures: This study utilized data from the General Social Survey, with a sample size of 19, 597. The exogenous concepts included age, gender, marital status, household size, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, location, immigration status, religiosity, and neighborhood. The intervening concepts included health, social contact, leisure, enjoyment, work-family balance, quality time, domestic labor, and sense of belonging. The endogenous concept life satisfaction was measured by multiple indicators (Cronbach’s alpha = .83). Analysis: Several multiple regression models were run sequentially to estimate path coefficients for the causal model. Results: Overall, above average satisfaction with life was reported for respondents with specific socio-economic, demographic and lifestyle characteristics. With regard to exogenous factors, respondents who were female, younger, married, from high socioeconomic status background, born in Canada, very religious, and demonstrated high level of neighborhood interaction had greater satisfaction with life. Similarly, intervening concepts suggested respondents had greater life satisfaction if they had better health, more social contact, less time on passive leisure activities and more time on active leisure activities, more time with family and friends, more enjoyment with volunteer activities, less time on domestic labor and a greater sense of belonging to the community. Conclusions and Implications: Our results suggest that a holistic approach is necessary for establishing determinants of life satisfaction, and that life satisfaction is not merely comprised of positive or negative affect rather understanding the causal process of life satisfaction. Even though, most of our findings are consistent with previous studies, a significant number of causal connections contradict some of the findings in literature today. We have provided possible explanation for these anomalies researchers encounter in studying life satisfaction and policy implications.

Keywords: causal model, holistic approach, life satisfaction, socio-demographic variables, subjective well-being

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Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohammed

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This paper introduces Luhmann’s autopoietic social systems starting with the original concept of autopoiesis by biologists and scientists, including the modification of general systems based on socialized medicine. A specific type of autopoietic system is explained in the three existing groups of the ecological phenomena: interaction, social and medical sciences. This hypothesis model, nevertheless, has a nonlinear interaction with its natural environment ‘interactional cycle’ for the exchange of photon energy with molecular without any changes in topology. The external forces in the systems environment might be concomitant with the natural fluctuations’ influence (e.g. radioactive radiation, electromagnetic waves). The cantilever sensor deploys insights to the future chip processor for prevention of social metabolic systems. Thus, the circuits with resonant electric and optical properties are prototyped on board as an intra–chip inter–chip transmission for producing electromagnetic energy approximately ranges from 1.7 mA at 3.3 V to service the detection in locomotion with the least significant power losses. Nowadays, therapeutic systems are assimilated materials from embryonic stem cells to aggregate multiple functions of the vessels nature de-cellular structure for replenishment. While, the interior actuators deploy base-pair complementarity of nucleotides for the symmetric arrangement in particular bacterial nanonetworks of the sequence cycle creating double-stranded DNA strings. The DNA strands must be sequenced, assembled, and decoded in order to reconstruct the original source reliably. The design of exterior actuators have the ability in sensing different variations in the corresponding patterns regarding beat-to-beat heart rate variability (HRV) for spatial autocorrelation of molecular communication, which consists of human electromagnetic, piezoelectric, electrostatic and electrothermal energy to monitor and transfer the dynamic changes of all the cantilevers simultaneously in real-time workspace with high precision. A prototype-enabled dynamic energy sensor has been investigated in the laboratory for inclusion of nanoscale devices in the architecture with a fuzzy logic control for detection of thermal and electrostatic changes with optoelectronic devices to interpret uncertainty associated with signal interference. Ultimately, the controversial aspect of molecular frictional properties is adjusted to each other and forms its unique spatial structure modules for providing the environment mutual contribution in the investigation of mass temperature changes due to pathogenic archival architecture of clusters.

Keywords: autopoiesis, nanoparticles, quantum photonics, portable energy, photonic structure, photodynamic therapeutic system

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Authors: Anastasios Zopiatis, Antonis L. Theocharous

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In the midst of a fierce war for talent, the hospitality industry is seeking new and innovative ways to enrich its image as an employer of choice and not a necessity. Historically, the industry’s professions are portrayed as ‘unattractive’ due to their repetitious nature, long and unsocial working schedules, below average remunerations, and the mental and physical demands of the job. Aligning with the industry, hospitality and tourism scholars embarked on a journey to investigate pertinent topics with the aim of enhancing our conceptual understanding of the elements that influence employees at the hospitality world of work. Topics such as job involvement, commitment, job and career satisfaction, and turnover intentions became the focal points in a multitude of relevant empirical and conceptual investigations. Nevertheless, gaps or inconsistencies in existing theories, as a result of both the volatile complexity of the relationships governing human behavior in the hospitality workplace, and the academic community’s unopposed acceptance of theoretical frameworks mainly propounded in the United States and United Kingdom years ago, necessitate our continuous vigilance. Thus, in an effort to enhance and enrich the discourse, we set out to investigate the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction traits and the individual’s career satisfaction, and subsequent intention to remain in the hospitality industry. Reflecting on existing literature, a quantitative survey was developed and administered, face-to-face, to 650 individuals working as full-time employees in 4- and 5- star hotel establishments in Cyprus, whereas a multivariate statistical analysis method, namely Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), was utilized to determine whether relationships existed between constructs as a means to either accept or reject the hypothesized theory. Findings, of interest to both industry stakeholders and academic scholars, suggest that the individual’s future intention to remain within the industry is primarily associated with extrinsic job traits. Our findings revealed that positive associations exist between extrinsic job traits, and both career satisfaction and future intention. In contrast, when investigating the relationship of intrinsic traits, a positive association was revealed only with career satisfaction. Apparently, the local industry’s environmental factors of seasonality, excessive turnover, overdependence on seasonal, and part-time migrant workers, prohibit industry stakeholders in effectively investing the time and resources in the development and professional growth of their employees. Consequently intrinsic job satisfaction factors such as advancement, growth, and achievement, take backstage to the more materialistic extrinsic factors. Findings from the subsequent mediation analysis support the notion that intrinsic traits can positively influence future intentions indirectly only through career satisfaction, whereas extrinsic traits can positively impact both career satisfaction and future intention both directly and indirectly.

Keywords: career satisfaction, Cyprus, hotel employees, structural equation modeling, SEM

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Authors: Mauro Callejas-Cuervo, Andrea C. Alarcon-Aldana, Andres F. Ruiz-Olaya, Juan C. Alvarez

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Motion capture (MC) is the construction of a precise and accurate digital representation of a real motion. Systems have been used in the last years in a wide range of applications, from films special effects and animation, interactive entertainment, medicine, to high competitive sport where a maximum performance and low injury risk during training and competition is seeking. This paper presents an inertial and magnetic sensor based technological platform, intended for particular amplitude monitoring and telerehabilitation processes considering an efficient cost/technical considerations compromise. Our platform particularities offer high social impact possibilities by making telerehabilitation accessible to large population sectors in marginal socio-economic sector, especially in underdeveloped countries that in opposition to developed countries specialist are scarce, and high technology is not available or inexistent. This platform integrates high-resolution low-cost inertial and magnetic sensors with adequate user interfaces and communication protocols to perform a web or other communication networks available diagnosis service. The amplitude information is generated by sensors then transferred to a computing device with adequate interfaces to make it accessible to inexperienced personnel, providing a high social value. Amplitude measurements of the platform virtual system presented a good fit to its respective reference system. Analyzing the robotic arm results (estimation error RMSE 1=2.12° and estimation error RMSE 2=2.28°), it can be observed that during arm motion in any sense, the estimation error is negligible; in fact, error appears only during sense inversion what can easily be explained by the nature of inertial sensors and its relation to acceleration. Inertial sensors present a time constant delay which acts as a first order filter attenuating signals at large acceleration values as is the case for a change of sense in motion. It can be seen a damped response of platform virtual in other images where error analysis show that at maximum amplitude an underestimation of amplitude is present whereas at minimum amplitude estimations an overestimation of amplitude is observed. This work presents and describes the platform virtual as a motion capture system suitable for telerehabilitation with the cost - quality and precision - accessibility relations optimized. These particular characteristics achieved by efficiently using the state of the art of accessible generic technology in sensors and hardware, and adequate software for capture, transmission analysis and visualization, provides the capacity to offer good telerehabilitation services, reaching large more or less marginal populations where technologies and specialists are not available but accessible with basic communication networks.

Keywords: inertial sensors, joint amplitude measurement, MEMS, telerehabilitation

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Authors: Yohanna Panshak

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The impact of macroeconomic instability on economic growth and prosperity has been at forefront in many discourses among researchers and policy makers and has generated a lot of controversies over the years. This has generated series of research efforts towards understanding the remote causes of this phenomenon; its nature, determinants and how it can be targeted and mitigated. While others have opined that the root cause of macroeconomic flux in Nigeria is attributed to Oil-Price volatility, others viewed the issue as resulting from some constellation of structural constraints both within and outside the shores of the country. Research works of scholars such as [Akpan (2009), Aliyu (2009), Olomola (2006), etc] argue that oil volatility can determine economic growth or has the potential of doing so. On the contrary, [Darby (1982), Cerralo (2005) etc] share the opinion that it can slow down growth. The earlier argument rest on the understanding that for a net balance of oil exporting economies, price upbeat directly increases real national income through higher export earnings, whereas, the latter allude to the case of net-oil importing countries (which experience price rises, increased input costs, reduced non-oil demand, low investment, fall in tax revenues and ultimately an increase in budget deficit which will further reduce welfare level). Therefore, assessing the precise impact of oil price volatility on virtually any economy is a function of whether it is an oil-exporting or importing nation. Research on oil price volatility and its outcome on the growth of the Nigerian economy are evolving and in a march towards resolving Nigeria’s macroeconomic instability as long as oil revenue still remain the mainstay and driver of socio-economic engineering. Recently, a major importer of Nigeria’s oil- United States made a historic breakthrough in more efficient source of energy for her economy with the capacity of serving significant part of the world. This undoubtedly suggests a threat to the exchange earnings of the country. The need to understand fluctuation in its major export commodity is critical. This paper leans on the Renaissance growth theory with greater focus on theoretical work of Lee (1998); a leading proponent of this school who makes a clear cut of difference between oil price changes and oil price volatility. Based on the above background, the research seeks to empirically examine the impact oil-price volatility on government expenditure using quarterly time series data spanning 1986:1 to 2014:4. Vector Auto Regression (VAR) econometric approach shall be used. The structural properties of the model shall be tested using Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron. Relevant diagnostics tests of heteroscedasticity, serial correlation and normality shall also be carried out. Policy recommendation shall be offered on the empirical findings and believes it assist policy makers not only in Nigeria but the world-over.

Keywords: oil-price, volatility, prosperity, budget, expenditure

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Authors: Khondokar Farid Ahmmed, Robin Bown

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It is widely recognized that the formal financing of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) by Private Commercial Banks (PCBs) is restricted. Due to changing financial market competition, SMEs are now important customers to PCBs in the member countries of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Various initiatives in enhancing the efficiency of risk assessment of PCBs have failed in increasing financing accessibility in the traditional financing system where information asymmetry is a key constraint. In this circumstance, PCBs need to undertake a holistic approach. Holistic approach refers to methods that attempt to fundamentally change established traditions. To undertake holistic approach, this study intends to find the entire established financing culture between PCBs and SMEs in a new lens beyond the tradition on the basis of two basic questions: “What is the traditional lending culture between PCBs and SMEs” and “What could be potential role of PCBs to develop that culture where focusing on SME financing to PCBs". This study considered formal SME financing in Bangladesh by focusing on SMEs applying for their first loan. Bangladesh is a member country of ADB. The data collection method is semi-structured and we utilized face-to-face interviews with in-depth branch managers, higher officials and owner-managers of SME customers of PCBs and higher officials of SME Foundation and the Bangladesh central bank. Discourse analysis method was used for data analysis on the frame of thematic discussion fully based on participants’ views. The research found that branch managers and loan officers have a high level of power in assessing and financing decision-making. There is a changing attitude in PCB sector in requiring flexible collateral assets. Branch managers (Loan Officers) consider value of business prospect of owner-mangers as complementary of collateral assets. However, the study found the assessment process of business prospect is entirely unstructured and linked with socio-cultural settings that does not support PCBs’ changing manner in terms of collateral requirement. The study redefined and classified collateral assets to include all financing constructs in a structure. The degree of value of the collateral assets determines the degree of business prospects. This study suggested applying an outside classroom-learning paradigm such as “knowledge tour” to enhance the value of the kinds of collateral assets. This is the scope of PCBs in increasing SMEs’ financing eligibility in win-win basis. The findings and proposition could be effective in other ADB member countries and audiences in the field.

Keywords: CCA, financing, information asymmetry, PCA, PCB, financing

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Authors: H. Alqunayeer, S. Zamir

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Blended learning, an ideal amalgamation of online learning and face to face traditional approach is a new approach that may result in outstanding outcomes in the realm of teaching and learning. The dexterity and effectiveness offered by e-learning experience cannot be guaranteed in a traditional classroom, whereas one-to-one interaction the essential element of learning that can only be found in a traditional classroom. In recent years, a spectacular expansion in the incorporation of technology in language teaching and learning is observed in many universities of Saudi Arabia. Some universities recognize the importance of blending face-to-face with online instruction in language pedagogy, Qassim University is one of the many universities adopting Blackboard Learning Management system (LMS). The university has adopted this new mode of teaching/learning in year 2015. Although the experience is immature; however great pedagogical transformations are anticipated in the university through this new approach. This paper examines the role of blended language learning with particular reference to the influence of Blackboard Learning Management System on the development of English language learning for EFL learners registered in Bachelors of English language program. This paper aims at exploring three main areas: (i) the present status of Blended learning in the educational process in Saudi Arabia especially in Qassim University by providing a survey report on the number of training courses on Blackboard LMS conducted for the male and female teachers at various colleges of Qassim University, (ii) a survey on teachers perception about the utility, application and the outcome of using blended Learning approach in teaching English language skills courses, (iii) the students’ views on the efficiency of Blended learning approach in learning English language skills courses. Besides, analysis of students’ limitations and challenges related to the experience of blended learning via Blackboard, the suggestion and recommendations offered by the language learners have also been thought-out. The study is empirical in nature. In order to gather data on the afore mentioned areas survey questionnaire method has been used: in order to study students’ perception, a 5 point Likert-scale questionnaire has been distributed to 200 students of English department registered in Bachelors in English program (level 5 through level 8). Teachers’ views have been surveyed with the help of interviewing 25 EFL teachers skilled in using Blackboard LMS in their lectures. In order to ensure the validity and reliability of questionnaire, the inter-rater approach and Cronbach’s Alpha analysis have been used respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been used to analyze the students’ perception about the productivity of the Blended approach in learning English language skills. The analysis of feedback by Saudi teachers and students about the usefulness, ingenuity, and productivity of Blended Learning via Blackboard LMS highlights the need of encouraging and expanding the implementation of this new approach into the field of English language teaching in Saudi Arabia, in order to augment congenial learning aura. Furthermore, it is hoped that the propositions and practical suggestions offered by the study will be functional for other similar learning environments.

Keywords: blended learning, black board learning management system, English as foreign language (EFL) learners, EFL teachers

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Authors: Erol Bayraktarov, Asya Ilgun, Thomas Schickl, Alexandre Campo, Nicolis Stamatios

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Traditional means of harvesting honey are often stressful for honeybees. Each time honey is collected a portion of the colony can die. In consequence, the colonies’ resilience to environmental stressors will decrease and this ultimately contributes to the global problem of honeybee colony losses. As part of the project HIVEOPOLIS, we design and build a different kind of beehive, incorporating technology to reduce negative impacts of beekeeping procedures, including honey harvesting. A first step in maintaining more sustainable honey harvesting practices is to design honey storage frames that can automate the honey collection procedures. This way, beekeepers save time, money, and labor by not having to open the hive and remove frames, and the honeybees' nest stays undisturbed.This system shows promising features, e.g., high reliability which could be a key advantage compared to current honey harvesting technologies.Our original concept of fractional honey harvesting has been to encourage the removal of honey only from "safe" locations and at levels that would leave the bees enough high-nutritional-value honey. In this abstract, we describe the current state of our honey harvester, its technology and areas to improve. The honey harvester works by separating the honeycomb cells away from the comb foundation; the movement and the elastic nature of honey supports this functionality. The honey sticks to the foundation, because of the surface tension forces amplified by the geometry. In the future, by monitoring the weight and therefore the capped honey cells on our honey harvester frames, we will be able to remove honey as soon as the weight measuring system reports that the comb is ready for harvesting. Higher viscosity honey or crystalized honey cause challenges in temperate locations when a smooth flow of honey is required. We use resistive heaters to soften the propolis and wax to unglue the moving parts during extraction. These heaters can also melt the honey slightly to the needed flow state. Precise control of these heaters allows us to operate the device for several purposes. We use ‘Nitinol’ springs that are activated by heat as an actuation method. Unlike conventional stepper or servo motors, which we also evaluated throughout development, the springs and heaters take up less space and reduce the overall system complexity. Honeybee acceptance was unknown until we actually inserted a device inside a hive. We not only observed bees walking on the artificial comb but also building wax, filling gaps with propolis and storing honey. This also shows that bees don’t mind living in spaces and hives built from 3D printed materials. We do not have data yet to prove that the plastic materials do not affect the chemical composition of the honey. We succeeded in automatically extracting stored honey from the device, demonstrating a useful extraction flow and overall effective operation this way.

Keywords: honey harvesting, honeybee, hiveopolis, nitinol

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Authors: Elena Chernyak, Ryan Ceresola

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Intimate partner violence is a serious social problem that affects a million women worldwide and impacts their health and wellbeing. Some risk factors for intimate partner violence against women (e.g., disobeying or arguing with a partner, women’s age, education, and employment) are similar in many countries, both developed and developing. However, one of the principal and most significant contributors to women’s vulnerability to violence perpetrated by their intimate partners is the witnessing of interparental aggression in the family of origin. Witnessing interparental violence may lead to acceptance of intimate partner violence as a normal way to resolve conflicts. Thus, utilization of violence becomes the behavioral model: men who witnessed the parental violence are more likely to employ physical violence against their female partners whereas women who observed their fathers beating their mothers learn to tolerate aggressive behavior and become victims of domestic violence themselves. Taking into consideration the importance of this subject matter, the association between witnessing intimate partner violence in family-of-origin and experience of intimate partner violence in adulthood requires further attention. The objective of this research is to analyze and compare the prevalence of intimate partner violence in ten developing countries in different regions, namely: Mali, Haiti, Jordan, Peru, the Philippines, Pakistan, Cambodia, Egypt, the Dominican Republic and Nigeria. Specifically, this research asks whether witnessing interparental violence in a family of origin is associated with the woman’s experience of intimate partner violence during adulthood and to what extent this factor varies among the countries under investigation. This study contributes to the literature on domestic violence against women, prevalence and experience of intimate partner violence against women in developing countries, and the risk factors, using recently collected, nationally representative population-based data from above-mentioned countries. The data used in this research are derived from the demographic and health surveys conducted in the ten mentioned above countries from 2013-2016. These surveys are cross-sectional, nationally representative surveys of ever-married or cohabitating women of reproductive age and the good source of high quality and comprehensive information about women, their children, partners, and households. To complete this analysis, multivariate logistic regression was run for each of the countries, and the results are presented with odds ratios, in order to highlight the effect of witnessing intimate partner violence controlling for other factors. The results of this study indicated that having witnessed partner violence in a family of origin significantly (by 50-500%) increases the likelihood of experiencing later abuse for respondents in all countries. This finding provides robust support for the intergenerational transmission of violence theory that explains the link between interparental aggression and intimate partner violence in subsequent relationships in adulthood as a result of a learned model of behavior observed in childhood. Furthermore, it was found that some of the control variables (e.g., education, number of children, and wealth) are associated with intimate partner violence in some countries under investigation while are not associated with male partner’s abusive behavior in some other, which may be explained by specific cultural and economic factors.

Keywords: intimate partner violence, domestic violence against women, developing countries, demographic and health surveys, risk factors

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Authors: Meilan Jin, Mary Jane Moran

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This study aims to introduce the framework of culturally responsive home visiting (CRHV) to head start teacher professional sessions in the Southeastern of the US and investigate its influence on the evolving beliefs of teachers about their roles and relationships with families in-home visits. The framework orients teachers to an effective way of taking on the role of learner to listen for spoken and unspoken needs and look for family strengths. In addition, it challenges the deficit model that is grounded on 'cultural deprivation,' and it stresses the value of family cultures and advocates equal, collaborative parent-teacher relationships. The home visit reflection papers and focus group transcriptions of eight teachers have been collected since 2010 throughout a five-year longitudinal collaboration with them. Reflection papers were written by the teachers before and after introducing the CRHV framework, including the details of visit purposes and actions and their plans for later home visits. Particularly, the CRHV framework guided the teachers to listen and look for information about family-living environments; parent-child interactions; child-rearing practices; and parental beliefs, values, and needs. Two focus groups were organized in 2014 by asking the teachers to read their written reflection papers and then discussing their shared beliefs and experiences of home visits in recent years. The average length of the discussions was one hour, and the discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Moreover, the data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis, and the analysis was verified through (a) the uses of multiple data sources, (b) the involvement of multiple researchers, (c) coding checks, and (d) the provisions of the thick descriptions of the findings. The study findings corroborate that the teachers become to reposition themselves as 'knowledge seekers' through reorienting their cynosure toward 'setting stones' to learn, grow, and change rather than framing their home visits. The teachers also continually engage in careful listening, observing, questioning, and dialoguing, and these actions reflect their care toward parents. The value of teamwork with parents is advocated, and the teachers recognize that when parents feel empowered, they are active and committed to doing more for their children, which can further advantage proactive long-term parent-teacher collaborations. The study findings also validate that the framework is influential for educators to provide the experiences of home visiting that is culturally responsive and to share collaborative relationships with caregivers. The long-term impact of the framework further implies that teachers continue to put themselves in the position of evolving, including beliefs and actions, to better work with children and families who are culturally, ethnically, and linguistically different from them. This framework can be applicable to educators and professionals who are looking for avenues to bridge the relationship between home and school and parents and teachers.

Keywords: culturally responsive home visit, early childhood education, parent–teacher collaboration, teacher professional development

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Authors: Valeria Cotza

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School drop-out is a multifactorial phenomenon that in Italy concerns all those underage students who, at different school stages (up to 16 years old) or training (up to 18 years old), manifest educational difficulties from dropping out of compulsory education without obtaining a qualification to repetition rates and absenteeism. From the 1980s to the 2000s, there was a progressive attenuation of the economic and social model towards a multifactorial reading of the phenomenon, and the European Commission noted the importance of learning about the phenomenon through approaches able to integrate large-scale quantitative surveys with qualitative analyses. It is not a matter of identifying the contextual factors affecting the phenomenon but problematising them by means of systemic and comprehensive in-depth analysis. So, a privileged point of observation and field of intervention are those schools that propose alternative models of teaching and learning to the traditional ones, such as popular and second-chance schools. Alternative schools and interventions grew in these years in Europe as well as in the US and Latin America, working in the direction of greater equity to create the conditions (often absent in conventional schools) for everyone to achieve educational goals. Against extensive Anglo-Saxon and US literature on this topic, there is yet no unambiguous definition of alternative education, especially in Europe, where second-chance education has been most studied. There is little literature on a second chance in Italy and almost none on alternative education (with the exception of method schools, to which in Italy the concept of “alternative” is linked). This research aims to fill the gap by systematically surveying the alternative interventions in the area and beginning to explore some models of popular and second-chance schools and experiences through a mixed methods approach. So, the main research objectives concern the spread of alternative education in the Lombardy region, the main characteristics of these schools and interventions, and their effectiveness in terms of students’ well-being and school results. This paper seeks to answer the first point by presenting the preliminary results of the first phase of the project dedicated to mapping. Through the Google Forms platform, a questionnaire is being distributed to all schools in Lombardy and some schools in the rest of Italy to map the presence of alternative schools and interventions and their main characteristics. The distribution is also taking place thanks to the support of the Milan Territorial and Lombardy Regional School Offices. Moreover, other social realities outside the school system (such as cooperatives and cultural associations) can be questioned. The schools and other realities to be questioned outside Lombardy will also be identified with the support of INDIRE (Istituto Nazionale per Documentazione, Innovazione e Ricerca Educativa, “National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research”) and based on existing literature and the indicators of “Futura” Plan of the PNRR (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza, “National Recovery and Resilience Plan”). Mapping will be crucial and functional for the subsequent qualitative and quantitative phase, which will make use of statistical analysis and constructivist grounded theory.

Keywords: school drop-out, alternative education, popular and second-chance schools, map

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Authors: Claudia P. Saunderson

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Widening of participation in higher education globally has increased diversity of student populations. However, widening participation is more than mere access. Central to the debate about widening participation are social justice issues of authentic inclusion and appropriate support for success for all students in higher education (HE). Given the recent global campaign for 'Black Lives Matter' as well as the worldwide advocacy for justice in the George Floyd case, the importance of the experiences of Black men, were again poignantly foregrounded. The literature abounds with the negative experiences of Black male students in higher education. Much of this literature emanates from the Global North, with little systematic research on black male students' university experiences originating from the Global South. This research, therefore, explores the psychosocial experiences of Black male students at a historically white South African university. Not only are these students' educational or academic adjustment important, but so is their psychosocial adjustment to the institution. The psychosocial adjustment might include emotional well-being, motivation, as well as the student’s perception of how well he fits in or is made to feel welcome at the institution. The study draws on strands of critical race theory (CRT), co-cultural theory (CCT) as well as defining properties of micro-aggression theory (MAT). In the study, CRT, therefore, served as an overarching theory at the macro level, and it comments on the structural dynamics while MAT and CCT rather focussed on the impact of structural arrangements like racialization, at an individual and micro-level. These theories furthermore provided a coherent analytic framework for this study. Using a case study design, this qualitative study, employing focus groups and individual interviews, drew on the psychosocial experiences of twenty Black male students to explore how they navigate this specific historically white campus. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis that provided a systematic procedure for generating codes and themes from the qualitative data. The study found that the combination of race and gender-based micro-aggressions experienced by students included negative stereotyping, criminalization as well as racial profiling and that these experiences impede participants' ability to thrive at the institution. However, participants also shared positive perspectives about the institution. Some of the positive traits of the institution that the participants mentioned were well-aligned administration, good quality of education, as well as various funding opportunities. This study implies that if any HE institution values transformation, it necessitates the exploration and interrogation of potential aspects that are subtly hidden in the institutional culture and environment that might serve as barriers to the transformation process. This positioning is based on a social justice stance and believes that all students are equal and have the right to racially and culturally equitable and appropriate education and support.

Keywords: critical race theory, higher education transformation, micro-aggression, student experience

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Authors: Anju Vaidya

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Sanitation is concerned with proper disposal of human excreta, waste water and promotion of hygiene. Lack of sanitation impacts our environment affecting our finance, schooling, health, and thus exacerbating poverty, discrimination and exclusion of the marginalized group. Sanitation can be a route and one of the most important factor to reach the goals of all Millennium Development goals. This study aims at exploring what are the rights to sanitation of the people, how it is enacted and what challenges are being faced while implementing the right to sanitation in South-Asian countries (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Srilanka) at government, non-government and international level. This study also aims at finding how right sanitation is interlinked with children rights. The available reports submitted by government and civil society organizations working in South-Asian countries from the website of the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights that were submitted under International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights and Convention on rights of the child have been selected and analyzed. The study uses Literature review to analyze these UN documents submitted from 2000 to 2015 in the context of South-Asian countries. Preliminary insight reveals that sanitation is recognized as one of the important factor to attain adequate standard of living. It has been found that inadequate sanitation has been a major factor that affects all aspects of life and one of its devastating impacts is increased child mortality. Many efforts have been made at national and international level in South-Asian countries to improve the state of sanitation and sanitation services. Various approaches such as Community led Total Sanitation, School led Total Sanitation, establishing Open Defecation free zone, water supply services and other sanitation and hygiene awareness programs are being launched. Despite different efforts and programs being implemented, sanitation and hygiene practices and behavior change remains to be a big challenge. Disparity in access and imbalance between urban and rural services and geographical regions, inadequate financing, clear policy framework and fragile functionality are some of the significant challenges faced while implementing these programs. Children are one of the most vulnerable group that are affected to a large extent. The study brings into light varied approaches that are being made and challenges that are being faced by government, non-government and civil society organizations while implementing the programs and strategies related to sanitation. It also highlights the relation of sanitation as a human right with child rights. This can help the stakeholders and policymakers better understand that improving sanitation situation is a process that requires learning, planning and behavior change and achieving sanitation coverage targets and motivating behavior change requires additional tools based on participation, non-discrimination and process approaches for planning and feedback.

Keywords: challenges, child rights, open defecation, sanitation as a human right

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Authors: Hussain Adnan Alsalman, Khalid Alhajri, Humoud Alrashidi, Abdulkareem Almakrami, Badie Alguwaisem, Said Alshahrani, Abdullah Alrowaished

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Most of the cost of installing a new fiber optic cable is attributed to civil work-trenching-cost. In many cases, information technology departments receive project proposals in their eReview system, but not all projects are visible to everyone. Additionally, if there was no IT scope in the proposed project, it is not likely to be visible to IT. Sometimes it is too late to add IT scope after project budgets have been finalized. Finally, the eReview system is a repository of PDF files for each project, which commits the reviewer to manual work and limits automation potential. This paper details a solution to address the late notification of the eReview system by integrating IT Sites GIS data-sites locations-with land use permit (LUP) data-civil work activity, which is the first step before securing the required land usage authorizations and means no detailed designs for any relevant project before an approved LUP request. To address the manual nature of eReview system, both the LUP System and IT data are using ArcGIS Desktop, which enables the creation of a geoprocessing tool with either Python or Model Builder to automate finding and evaluating potentially usable LUP requests to reduce trenching between two sites in need of a new FOC. To achieve this, a weekly dump was taken from LUP system production data and loaded manually onto ArcMap Desktop. Then a custom tool was developed in model builder, which consisted of a table of two columns containing all the pairs of sites in need of new fiber connectivity. The tool then iterates all rows of this table, taking the sites’ pair one at a time and finding potential LUPs between them, which satisfies the provided search radius. If a group of LUPs was found, an iterator would go through each LUP to find the required civil work between the two sites and the LUP Polyline feature and the distance through the line, which would be counted as cost avoidance if an IT scope had been added. Finally, the tool will export an Excel file named with sites pair, and it will contain as many rows as the number of LUPs, which met the search radius containing trenching and pulling information and cost. As a result, multiple projects have been identified – historical, missed opportunity, and proposed projects. For the proposed project, the savings were about 75% ($750,000) to install a new fiber with the Euclidean distance between Abqaiq GOSP2 and GOSP3 DCOs. In conclusion, the current tool setup identifies opportunities to bundle civil work on single projects at a time and between two sites. More work is needed to allow the bundling of multiple projects between two sites to achieve even more cost avoidance in both capital cost and carbon footprint.

Keywords: GIS, fiber optic cable installation optimization, eliminate redundant civil work, reduce carbon footprint for fiber optic cable installation

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Authors: Aisha Zubair, Anila Kamal

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Leadership styles and practices greatly influence the organizational effectiveness and productivity. It also plays an important role in employees’ experiences of positive emotions at workplace and creative work behaviors. Authentic leadership as a newly emerging concept has been found as a significant predictor of various desirable work related outcomes. However, leadership practices and its work related outcomes, to a great extent, are determined by the very nature of the organizational structures (tall and flat). Tall organizations are characterized by multiple hierarchical layers with predominant vertical communication patterns, and narrow span of control; while flat organizations are featured by few layers of management employing both horizontal and vertical communication styles, and wide span of control. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine the work related outcomes of perceived authentic leadership; that is work related flow and creative work behavior among employees of flat and tall organizations. Moreover, it was also intended to determine the moderating role of organizational structure (flat and tall) in the relationship between perceived authentic leadership with work related flow and creative work behavior. In this regard, two types of companies have been considered; that is, banks as a form of tall organizational structure with multiple hierarchical structures while software companies have been considered as flat organizations with minimal layers of management. Respondents (N = 1180) were full time regular employees of marketing departments of banks (600) and software companies (580) including both men and women with age range of 22-52 years (M = 33.24; SD = 7.81). Confirmatory Factor Analysis yielded factor structures of measures of work related flow and creative work behavior in accordance to the theoretical models. However, model of authentic leadership exhibited variation in terms of two items which were not included in the final measure of the perceived authentic leadership. Results showed that perceived authentic leadership was positively associated with work related flow and creative work behavior. Likewise, work related flow was positively aligned with creative work behavior. Furthermore, type of organizational structure significantly moderated the relationship of perceived authentic leadership with work related flow and creative work behavior. Results of independent sample t-test showed that employees working in flat organization reflected better perceptions of authentic leadership; higher work related flow and elevated levels of creative work behavior as compared to those working in tall organizations. It was also found that employees with extended job experience and more job duration in the same organization displayed better perceptions of authentic leadership, reported more work related flow and augmented levels of creative work behavior. Findings of the present study distinctively highlighted the similarities as well as differences in the interactions of major constructs which function differentially in the context of tall (banks) and flat (software companies) organizations. Implications of the present study for employees and management as well as future recommendations were also discussed.

Keywords: creative work behavior, organizational structure, perceived authentic leadership, work related flow

Procedia PDF Downloads 391