Search results for: culture and practices

Authors: Ayobami Solomon Popoola, Victor N. Enujiugha

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Production of soy-yogurt by fermentation of soymilk with lactic acid bacteria isolated from soymilk was studied. Soymilk was extracted from dehulled soybean seeds and pasteurized at 95 °C for 15 min. The soymilk was left to naturally ferment (temperature 40 °C; time 8 h) and lactic acid bacteria were isolated, screened and selected for yogurt production. Freshly prepared soymilk was pasteurized (95 °C, 15 min), inoculated with the lactic acid bacteria isolated (3% w/v starter culture) and incubated at 40 °C for 8 h. The yogurt produced was stored at 4 °C. Investigations were carried out with the aim of improving the sensory qualities and acceptability of soy yogurt. Commercial yogurt was used as a control. The percentage of soymilk inoculated was 70% of the broth. Soy-yoghurt samples produced were subsequently subjected to biochemical and microbiological assays which included total viable counts of fresh milk and soy-based yoghurt; proximate composition of functional soy-based yoghurt fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum; changes in pH, Titratable acidity, and lactic acid bacteria during a 14 day period of storage; as well as morphological and biochemical characteristics of lactic acid bacteria isolated. The results demonstrated that using Lactobacillus plantarum to inoculate soy milk for yogurt production takes about 8 h. The overall acceptability of the soy-based yogurt produced was not significantly different from that of the control sample. The use of isolate from soymilk had the added advantage of reducing the cost of yogurt starter culture, thereby making soy-yogurt, a good source of much desired good quality protein. However, more experiments are needed to improve the sensory qualities such as beany or astringent flavor and color.

Keywords: soy, soymilk, yoghurt, starter culture

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Authors: Rogaleva Liudmila, Malkin Valery

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Physical culture lessons are considered not only to be a means of physical development of students, but a matter of their personal development. Physical culture lessons can enable to develop such qualities of students as activity and initiation, readiness to cooperate, self-confidence, ability to define and reach targets, readiness to overcome difficulties and assess their abilities (and disadvantages) properly in any precise situation as well to be responsible for their own decision. The solution of this problem is possible under the circumstance if the students aware themselves as the subject of the activity that are able to develop their possibilities. The research was aimed to learn the matters that enable female teenagers of senior forms to become strong personalities attending physical culture lessons. There were two stages of the research. At the first stage we define the interests and demands of the girls. According the results of research we changed the programme of physical culture lessons. We took into consideration values of youth subculture: youth music, preferences to sport-dancing physical activities, demand of self-determination, revealing their individualities, needs of cooperative work. At the second stage we worked out motivating technology of course. This technology was aimed to create sush conditions under which students could show themselves as the subjects of activity and self-development. The active participation sport-dance festivals during 2-3 years creates the conditions for their self-realization. 78% students of the experimental groups considered their main motives to were: the interest, developing of their abilities, the satisfaction of the achievements of targets. Control groups 67% of the students claimed the success school good marks. The girls said that due to festivals they became self-confident (94%), responsible (86%), ability to cooperate (73%), aspiration for reaching the target (68%), self-exactingness (57 %). The main factors that provide successful performance were called: efforts to reach the target (87%), mutual support and mutual understanding (77%). The research on values showed that in the experimental groups we can find increase of importance of such values as: social initiative (active life) 83%, friends (75%), self-control (73%), effectiveness in deeds (58%).

Keywords: physical culture, subject, personal development, self-determination

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Authors: Indrapriya Kularatne, Olufemi Omisakin

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Climate change mitigation is one of the most complex challenges that humanity has ever faced in the context of global environmental protection. This a multifaceted challenge that needs immediate, targeted and concentrated actions at global, national and local levels. Individual actions play a crucial role in mitigating climate change. New Zealand attracts a significant number of international students annually for higher education. Therefore, it is critical to understand what international students are bringing into the country in terms of their practices for mitigating climate change challenges. This exploratory research aims to investigate international students' perceptions on mitigating climate change issues. The study focuses particularly on the areas of energy conservation and effective transportation. A specific questionnaire was developed covering the areas of energy conserving practices, use of energy efficient products, use of environmentally friendly transportation methods and practices to reduce vehicle usage. The quantitative data was collected from nearly 240 participants using the Qualtrics online system. The research findings provide valuable insights into international students' perceptions of sustainability and environmental protection actions, particularly in the areas of energy conservation and effective transportation. These insights can contribute to ongoing efforts to mitigate climate change issues and promote sustainable development practices in New Zealand.

Keywords: climate change, energy conservation, effective transportation, perceptions

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Authors: S. Rostampour Yasouri, M. Ghane, M. Doudi

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Leptospirosis is one of the most significant infectious and zoonotic diseases along with global spreading. This disease is causative agent of economoic losses and human fatalities in various countries, including Northern provinces of Iran. The aim of this research is to identify and compare the rapid diagnostic techniques of pathogenic leptospiras, considering the multifacetedness of the disease from a clinical manifestation and premature death of patients. In the spring and summer of 2020-2022, 25 fecal samples were collected from suspected leptospirosis patients and 25 Fecal samples from mice residing in the rice fields and factories in Tonekabon city. Samples were prepared by centrifugation and passing through membrane filters. Culture technique was used in liquid and solid EMJH media during one month of incubation at 30°C. Then, the media were examined microscopically. DNA extraction was conducted by extraction Kit. Diagnosis of leptospiras was enforced by PCR and Real time PCR (SYBR Green) techniques using lipL32 specific primer. Out of the patients, 11 samples (44%) and 8 samples (32%) were determined to be pathogenic Leptospira by Real time PCR and PCR technique, respectively. Out of the mice, 9 Samples (36%) and 3 samples (12%) were determined to be pathogenic Leptospira by the mentioned techniques, respectively. Although the culture technique is considered to be the gold standard technique, but due to the slow growth of pathogenic Leptospira and lack of colony formation of some species, it is not a fast technique. Real time PCR allowed rapid diagnosis with much higher accuracy compared to PCR because PCR could not completely identify samples with lower microbial load.

Keywords: culture, pathogenic leptospiras, PCR, real time PCR

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Authors: Stanis Koko Nyalongomo, Benjamin Mputela Bankanza, Moise Kisempa Mahungudi

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Several areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) experience serious problems of streaming and soil erosion. Erosion leads to degradation of soil health, and the three main causative factors of similar importance are deforestation, overgrazing, and land agricultural mismanagement. Degradation of soil health leads to a decrease in agricultural productivity and carbon dioxide (CO₂), and other greenhouse gas emissions. Agricultural productivity low, and sanitation-related diseases are a concern of a majority of DRC rural people -whose main livelihoods are conventional smallholder agriculture- due to degradation of agricultural soil health and prevalence of inappropriate sanitation in rural areas. Land management practices that increase soil carbon stocks on agricultural lands with practices including conservation agriculture and agroforestry do not only limit CO₂ emissions but also help prevent erosion while enhancing soil health and productivity. Promotion to adopt sustainable land management practices, especially conversion to well-managed agroforestry practices, is a necessity. This needs to be accompanied by incentives. Methods that incite smallholders to adopt practices that increase carbon stocks in agricultural lands and enhance soil health and productivity for social, economic, and environmental benefits, and give them the ability to get and use household dry toilets -included activities to inform and raise smallholder households awareness on the conversion of croplands to well-managed agroforestry systems through planting at least 20 fruit trees and/or acacias, soil carbon and practices that sequester it in soil and ecological sanitation; and offer smallholders technique and material supports and incentives under the form of dry toilets constructed for free for well-managed agroforestry implementation- were carried out to address problems of soil erosion as well as agricultural productivity and sanitation-related diseases. In 2018 and 2019, 19 of 23 targeted smallholder households expressed their satisfaction and converted their croplands to agroforestry through planting 374 trees, and each gotten 1 dry toilet constructed for free. Their neighbors expressed a willingness to participate in the project. Conversion to well-managed agroforestry practices offers many advantages to both farmers and the environment. The strategy of offering smallholders incentives for soil-friendly agricultural practices, especially well-managed agroforestry, is one of the solutions to prevent soil erosion. DRC rural people whose majority are smallholder households, need to be able to get and use dry toilets. So, dry toilets could be offered like incentives for well-managed agroforestry practices. Given the many advantages agroforestry and dry toilet can offer, recommendations are made for funding organizations to support such projects that promote the adoption of soil health practices.

Keywords: agroforestry, croplands, soil carbon, soil health

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Authors: Sonia Mannan

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A qualitative study was conducted in a rural area of the southwestern region of Bangladesh to identify perceptions, practices, and the role of first-time mothers surrounding acute respiratory infections (ARI) in infants and children aged under four years. The study reveals that all mothers had knowledge of ARI and were able to identify a number of signs and symptoms. They also recognized pneumonia and thought it to be caused by exposure to cold or weather change, supernatural causes, evil influences, mothers’ negligence, and failure to observe ‘purdah’. They were able to identify chest retractions, difficult breathing, and inability to feed as signs of severe disease needing treatment outside the home. In these cases, spiritual healers were sought, and allopathic treatment was delayed or avoided. Home care practices involved massaging the child with oil and avoiding 'cooling' foods, including water. With the presence of fever and breathing difficulty, mothers tended to increase the number and diversity of medicines, although more concern was expressed about fever than about breathing difficulty. Effective medical care was more likely to be delayed for infants than for older children (they often waited 2-5 days after signs of illness appeared); infants were also more likely to be taken to a spiritual healer as the first-choice provider. The reasons for these perceptions and practices and their implications on the ARI of infants and young children are discussed. Community intervention is identified as viable, effective, and practical to address the body of local socio-cultural knowledge about family practices and the role of the mother regarding the mitigation of ARI in infants and young children.

Keywords: acute respiratory infections , public health, pneumonia, Bangladesh

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Authors: Michael Lousis

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The systematic identification of the most conspicuous and significant errors made by learners during three-years of testing of their progress in learning Arithmetic throughout the development of the Kassel Project in England and Greece was accomplished. How much retentive these errors were over three-years in the officially provided school instruction of Arithmetic in these countries has also been shown. The learners’ errors in Arithmetic stemmed from a sample, which was comprised of two hundred (200) English students and one hundred and fifty (150) Greek students. The sample was purposefully selected according to the students’ participation in each testing session in the development of the three-year project, in both domains simultaneously in Arithmetic and Algebra. Specific teaching practices have been invented and are presented in this study for subverting these learners’ errors, which were found out to be retentive to the level of the nationally provided mathematical education of each country. The invention and the development of these proposed teaching practices were founded on the rationality of the theoretical accounts concerning the explanation, prediction and control of the errors, on the conceptual metaphor and on an analysis, which tried to identify the required cognitive components and skills of the specific tasks, in terms of Psychology and Cognitive Science as applied to information-processing. The aim of the implementation of these instructional practices is not only the subversion of these errors but the achievement of the mathematical competence, as this was defined to be constituted of three elements: appropriate representations - appropriate meaning - appropriately developed schemata. However, praxis is of paramount importance, because there is no independent of science ‘real-truth’ and because praxis serves as quality control when it takes the form of a cognitive method.

Keywords: arithmetic, cognitive science, cognitive psychology, information-processing paradigm, Kassel project, level of the nationally provided mathematical education, praxis, remedial mathematical teaching practices, retentiveness of errors

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Authors: Adeline Stals

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The transformation of architectural design practices has been underway for almost forty years due to the development and democratization of computer technology. New and more efficient tools are constantly being proposed to architects, amplifying a technological wave that sometimes stimulates them, sometimes overwhelms them, depending essentially on their digital culture and the context (socio-economic, structural, organizational) in which they work on a daily basis. Our focus is on VR, AR, and MR technologies dedicated to architecture. The commercialization of affordable headsets like the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive or more low-tech like the Google CardBoard, makes it more accessible to benefit from these technologies. In that regard, researchers report the growing interest of these tools for architects, given the new perspectives they open up in terms of workflow, representation, collaboration, and client’s involvement. However, studies rarely mention the consequences of the sample studied on results. Our research provides an overview of VR, AR, and MR researches among a corpus of papers selected from conferences and journals. A closer look at the sample of these research projects highlights the necessity to take into consideration the context of studies in order to develop tools truly dedicated to the real practices of specific architect profiles. This literature review formalizes milestones for future challenges to address. The methodology applied is based on a systematic review of two sources of publications. The first one is the Cumincad database, which regroups publications from conferences exclusively about digital in architecture. Additionally, the second part of the corpus is based on journal publications. Journals have been selected considering their ranking on Scimago. Among the journals in the predefined category ‘architecture’ and in Quartile 1 for 2018 (last update when consulted), we have retained the ones related to the architectural design process: Design Studies, CoDesign, Architectural Science Review, Frontiers of Architectural Research and Archnet-IJAR. Beside those journals, IJAC, not classified in the ‘architecture’ category, is selected by the author for its adequacy with architecture and computing. For all requests, the search terms were ‘virtual reality’, ‘augmented reality’, and ‘mixed reality’ in title and/or keywords for papers published between 2015 and 2019 (included). This frame time is defined considering the fast evolution of these technologies in the past few years. Accordingly, the systematic review covers 202 publications. The literature review on studies about XR technologies establishes the state of the art of the current situation. It highlights that studies are mostly based on experimental contexts with controlled conditions (pedagogical, e.g.) or on practices established in large architectural offices of international renown. However, few studies focus on the strategies and practices developed by offices of smaller size, which represent the largest part of the market. Indeed, a European survey studying the architectural profession in Europe in 2018 reveals that 99% of offices are composed of less than ten people, and 71% of only one person. The study also showed that the number of medium-sized offices is continuously decreasing in favour of smaller structures. In doing so, a frontier seems to remain between the worlds of research and practice, especially for the majority of small architectural practices having a modest use of technology. This paper constitutes a reference for the next step of the research and for further worldwide researches by facilitating their contextualization.

Keywords: architectural design, literature review, SME, XR technologies

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Authors: Joko Nurkamto

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A lesson plan is a part of the planning phase in a learning and teaching system framing the scenario of pedagogical activities in the classroom. It informs a decision on what to teach and how to landscape classroom interaction. Regardless of these benefits, the writer has witnessed the fact that lesson plans are viewed merely as a teaching document. Therefore, this paper will explore teachers’ beliefs and practices in designing lesson plans. It focuses primarily on how both teachers and students negotiate lesson plans in which the students are deemed to be the agents of instructional innovations. Additionally, the paper will talk about how such lesson plans are enacted. To investigate these issues, document analysis, in-depth interviews, participant classroom observation, and focus group discussion will be deployed as data collection methods in this explorative case study. The benefits of the paper are to show different roles of lesson plans and to discover different ways to design and enact such plans from a socio-interactional perspective.

Keywords: instructional innovation, learning and teaching system, lesson plan, pedagogical activities, teachers' beliefs and practices

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Authors: Teresa M. Odipo

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Inclusive physical education and an inclusive educational approach in German schools have received much attention in recent years due to the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities proposals, which came into force in Germany in 2009. The aim of inclusive PE is to include children with disabilities and able bodied children, based on the idea, that all children should attend school together. While PE mostly took place in a heterogeneous environment, introducing children with all kinds of disabilities posed more challenges to the teachers, when children with disabilities were included. Therefore it is important that the educational approach should include pre-service teachers’ (PST) self-efficacy for and their attitudes towards inclusive practices. The PSTs’ self-efficacy for inclusive practices is one of the strongest predictors of the success of the inclusion reforms introduced in 2009, in order to improve PSTs’ ability to handle these very new challenges. PE stands out because the very nature of sport involves the body which means that all children, especially those with special needs should be treated in an appropriate manner. Up till now, it has been mostly English-speaking countries that have been assessed for inclusive practices in PE. Due to the lack of research in Germany, there is a strong need to question PSTs’ prepared-ness. This paper presents results from the 2016 survey conducted on around 100 PSTs by the German University of Sports in Cologne and opens up new directions within PSTs’ education, concerning their attitudes and self-efficacy towards inclusive PE. These new aspects will be included in the construction of new learning and teaching tools to improve pre-service teachers’ education for inclusive Physical Education.

Keywords: attitudes, inclusive physical education, pre-service teachers, self-efficacy

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Authors: Maria de Nazaré Moraes Soares, Silvia Maria Dias Pedro Rebouças, José Carlos Lázaro

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The Solidarity Economy (SE) acts in the re-articulation of the economic field to the other spheres of social action. The significant participation of women in SE resulted in the formation of a national network of self-managed enterprises in Brazil: The Solidarity and Feminist Economy Network (SFEN). The objective of the research is to identify factors of gender justice and feminist self-management practices that adhere to the reality of women in SE enterprises. The conceptual apparatus related to feminist studies in this research covers Nancy Fraser approaches on gender justice, and Patricia Yancey Martin approaches on feminist management practices, and authors of postcolonial feminism such as Mohanty and Maria Lugones, who lead the discussion to peripheral contexts, a necessary perspective when observing the women’s movement in SE. The research has a quantitative nature in the phases of data collection and analysis. The data collection was performed through two data sources: the database mapped in Brazil in 2010-2013 by the National Information System in Solidary Economy and 150 questionnaires with women from 16 enterprises in SFEN, in a state of Brazilian northeast. The data were analyzed using the multivariate statistical technique of Factor Analysis. The results show that the factors that define gender justice and feminist self-management practices in SE are interrelated in several levels, proving statistically the intersectional condition of the issue of women. The evidence from the quantitative analysis allowed us to understand the dimensions of gender justice and feminist management practices intersectionality; in this sense, the non-distribution of domestic work interferes in non-representation of women in public spaces, especially in peripheral contexts. The study contributes with important reflections to the studies of this area and can be complemented in the future with a qualitative research that approaches the perspective of women in the context of the SE self-management paradigm.

Keywords: feminist management practices, gender justice, self-management, solidarity economy

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Authors: Eun Kyong Park

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This study explores the relationships between immigrant parents’ beliefs about bilingualism, family literacy practices, and their children’s identity development in Sydney, Australia. This project examines how these parents’ ideological beliefs and knowledge are related to their provision of family literacy practices and management of the environment for their bilingual children based on family language policy (FLP). This is a follow-up study of the author’s prior thesis that presented Korean immigrant mothers’ beliefs and decision-making in support of their children’s bilingualism. It includes fathers’ perspectives within the participating families as a whole by foregrounding their perceptions of bilingual and identity development. It adopts a qualitative approach with twelve immigrant mothers and fathers living in a Korean-Australian community whose child attends one of the communities Korean language programs. This time, it includes introspective and self-evocative auto-ethnographic data. The initial data set collected from the first part of this study demonstrated the mothers provided rich, diverse, and specific family literacy activities for their children. These mothers selected specific practices to facilitate their child’s bilingual development at home. The second part of data has been collected over a three month period: 1) a focus group interview with mothers; 2) a brief self-report of fathers; 3) the researcher’s reflective diary. To analyze these multiple data, thematic analysis and coding were used to reveal the parents’ ideologies surrounding bilingualism and bilingual identities. It will highlight the complexity of language and literacy practices in the family domain interrelated with sociocultural factors. This project makes an original contribution to the field of bilingualism and FLP and a methodological contribution by introducing auto-ethnographic input of this community’s lived practices. This project will empower Korean-Australian immigrant families and other multilingual communities to reflect their beliefs and practices for their emerging bilingual children. It will also enable educators and policymakers to access authentic information about how bilingualism is practiced within these immigrant families in multiple ways and to help build the culturally appropriate partnership between home and school community.

Keywords: bilingualism, beliefs, identity, family language policy, Korean immigrant parents in Australia

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Authors: Manal Farea, Adam Husein, Ahmad S. Halim, Zurairah Berahim, Nurul A. Abdullah, Khairani I. Mokhtar, Kasmawati Mokhtar

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Endodontic furcal perforation remains both an endodontic and a periodontal problem. Regeneration of cementum is very essential for the perforation repair. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Hertwig's epithelial root sheath (HERS) cells on the cementogenic differentiation of stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) in the presence of chitosan scaffold-TGFβ1. HERS cells were isolated and characterized then co-cultured with SHED with/without chitosan scaffold-TGFβ1. SHED proliferation was assessed by PrestoBlue. Alkaline phosphatase activity, mineralization behaviour and gene/protein expression of cemento/osteoblast phenotype of SHED were evaluated. Results of the present study showed that HERS cells in association with chitosan-TGFβ1 enhanced proliferation and cemento/osteogenic differentiation of SHED. Our novel co-culture system confirmed the potential effect of HERS cells to stimulate the differentiation of SHED along the cementoblastic lineage which was triggered in the presence of chitosan-TGFβ1. This approach possesses a novel therapeutic strategy for future endodontic perforation and periodontitis.

Keywords: cementogenesis, co-culture system, HERS, SHED

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Authors: Miseri Roeslan Afany, Nur Ainun Pulungan

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The unique characteristics of Andisol differentiate them from other soils. These characteristics become a guideline in determining management and usage with regards to agriculture. Especially in the tropical area, Andisols may have fast mineral alteration due to intensive water movement in the soils. Four soil chemical tests were conducted for evaluating soils in the study area. Al/Fe humus, allophane, pH, and P retention were used to differentiate Andisols under different practices. Non-cultivation practice (e.g. natural forest) and cultivation practices (e.g. horticulture systems and intensive farming systems) are compared in this study. We applied Blackmore method for P retention analysis. The aims of this study are: (i) to analyze the specific behavior of Al/Fe humus, pH, and allophane towards P retention in order (ii) to evaluate the effect of cultivation practices on their behavior changes among Andisols, and (iii) to gain the sustainable agriculture through proposing an appropriate soil managements in the study area. 5 observation sites were selected, and 75 soil sampling were analyzed in this study. The results show that the cultivation decreases P retention in all sampling sites. There is a declining from ±90% to ±50% of P retention in the natural forest where shifts into cultivated land. The average of P retention under 15 years of cultivation down into 63%, whereas, the average of P retention more than 15 years of cultivation down into 54%. Many factors affect the retention of P in the soil such as: (1) type and amount of clay, (2) allophone and/or imogolit, (3) Al/Fe humus, (4) soil pH, (5) type and amount of organic material, (6) Exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, Na, K), (7) forms and solubility of Al/Fe. To achieve the sustainable agriculture in the study area, conventional agriculture practices should be preserved and intensive fertilizing practices should be applied in order to increase the soil pH, to maintain the organic matter of andisols, to maintain microba activities, and to release Al/Fe humus complex, and thus increase available P in the soils.

Keywords: Andisols, cultivation, P retention, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Othman Ali Alghtani, Yahya Abdul-Ekhalq Ali, Abdullah Abdul-Ekhalq Ali, Ahmed Al Sadiq Abdul Majeed, Najwa Attian Al-Mohammadi, Obead Mozel Alharbi, Sabri Mohamed Ismail, Omar Ibrahim Asiri

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This study assessed the curricula of secondary schools given requirements to enhance the quality of life of students. The components of quality of life were described to build a list of standards and indicators. A questionnaire assessing the dimensions of mental (cognitive and emotional), physical, digital, and social health, and environmental awareness was prepared. A descriptive-analytical approach was used on a sample of 258 teachers and educational supervisors in Tabuk. The results indicated shortcomings in the secondary school curricula regarding developing standards and indicators of components of quality of life. Results also indicated that secondary school curricula incorporated few practices to improve student’s quality of life. No significant differences were found regarding the core subject, job, gender, and years of experience.

Keywords: assessing curricula, teacher practices, quality of life, teaching practices

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Authors: Malmi Amadoru, Chandana Gamage

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Sri Lanka is emerging as a global IT-BPO hub topping up among the 20 global outsourcing destinations. When setting up a new venture in Sri Lanka, talent sourcing plays one of the key functions due to the rapid growth of workforce. Getting competent people with right skills for right positions leads organizations achieving its vision, mission and objectives. It also drives in earning competitive advantage over industry competitors. Thus it is crucial to scan and recruit the best employees to an organization. However there is no published information available on recruitment methods utilized in Sri Lankan software industry, as a study of this nature had not being conducted previously in Sri Lanka. The main objective of this study was to explore various talent sourcing practices exploited in Sri Lankan software industry. Also this study analyses the extent which Sri Lanka has adopted different recruitment strategies utilized in worldwide and its deviations. The research outcome is beneficial for HR professionals to identify the current trends in recruitment practices. Moreover investors who are interested in IT-BPO engagements can gain a thorough knowledge about talent sourcing techniques in Sri Lankan software industry. Finally, this research clues trending areas which can be further investigated in future.

Keywords: IT-BPO, recruitment, Sri Lanka, software industry, talent

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Authors: Chen Zhang, Fengxue Xin, Jianzhong He

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A unique Clostridium beijerinckii species strain BGS1 was obtained from grass land samples, which is capable of producing 8.43g/L butanol and 3.21 isopropanol from 60g/L glucose while generating 4.68g/L volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from 30g/L xylan. The concentration of isopropanol produced by culture BGS1 is ~15% higher than previously reported wild-type Clostridium beijerinckii under similar conditions. Compared to traditional Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) fermentation species, culture BGS1 only generates negligible amount of ethanol and acetone, but produces butanol and isopropanol as biosolvent end-products which are pure alcohols and more economical than ABE. More importantly, culture BGS1 can consume acetone to produce isopropanol, e.g., 1.84g/L isopropanol from 0.81g/L acetone in 60g/L glucose medium containing 6.15g/L acetone. The analysis of BGS1 draft genome annotated by RAST server demonstrates that no ethanol production is caused by the lack of pyruvate decarboxylase gene – related to ethanol production. In addition, an alcohol dehydrogenase (adhe gene) was found in BGS1 which could be a potential gene responsible for isopropanol-generation. This is the first report on Isopropanol-Butanol (IB) fermentation by wild-type Clostridium strain and its application for isopropanol and butanol production.

Keywords: acetone conversion, butanol, clostridium, isopropanol

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Authors: Liu M. Hanmin

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Wong Kar-Wai’s multi-genre film 2046, world premiered in 2004, comes with a vibrant mediascape made up of multiple named languages, code-switching, intertitles, news footage from the real world, and extra-linguistic means of communication. In film- and multilingual studies it is still a challenge to incorporate non-languages into an analytical framework with conventional languages. This paper uses translanguaging theory to read silent practices in Wong Kar-Wai’ 2046. Two scenes that feature the silence experience the most are taken as case studies. In these two scenes, we can identify two tropes of intersemiotic relationships that are co-articulated by silence: patriarchy and unfinished romance, respectively. The conclusion argues that silence in Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046 exerts multimodal agency by ‘speaking’ directly to the audience and in mutual directions to characters. Thereby, it moves beyond the passive role of merely accentuating or assisting the aural register of a film.

Keywords: translanguaging, Wong Kar-Wai, multimodality, semiotics, inter semiotics, Hong Kong media, film culture

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Authors: Fabiola Trejo Perez, Rolando Diaz Loving

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Sexual pleasure consists of the positively valued feelings induced by sexual stimuli, but it is also weighed down by pop-psychological baggage, and subjected to cross-cultural and cross-historical variation. Social and individual interpretations of what can or can’t be considered as pleasurable are intertwined with culture’s predominant values, norms and beliefs. For each culture, sexual norms work as a guide to be followed in order to model socially accepted behaviors. Therefore, cultural messages regarding sexuality are usually directed to restrict men and women from enjoyment, sexual satisfaction and specifically orgasm. Given that sexual pleasure hasn’t been recognized as an accepted topic of open discussion, particularly for women, people have to eventually complement their knowledge using their own experience filling in the blanks from what little has been said. Thus, this research aims to identify which are the particular social messages associated with the easing or inhibition of sexual pleasure. Three hundred Mexican men and women ages 25 to 35 years old answered a self-report survey composed by the Inventory of facilitators and inhibitors of sexual pleasure and the Sexual premises questionnaire via pencil-paper and online. Results show a high endorsement to double standard messages associated with higher levels of sexual pleasure inhibitors like feeling pressured to have sexual activity, guilt and inability to reach orgasm, in contrast with people who endorse more permissive norms and beliefs, feeling connected to their sexual partners and confident with themselves. These results illustrate that the shaping of sexuality, from experience to society, is comprised of an important relationship between culture and sexual pleasure.

Keywords: culture, sexual double standard, sexual norms and beliefs, sexual pleasure

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Authors: Rose Chapman Rodriguez

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Problem: Evidence-based practice (EBP) attributes are significantly associated with EBP implementation science, which improves patient care outcomes. Nurses influence EBP, yet little is known of the specific EBP attributes of pediatric nurses in their clinical sub-specialties. Aim: This study aims to investigate the relationship between nursing academic degree, years of experience, and clinical specialty, with mean survey scores on EBP belief, organizational culture, and implementation scales across all levels of nursing in a Children’s Hospital. Methods: A convenience sample of nurses (n=185) participated in a descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational study in May 2023. The electronic surveys comprised 11 demographic questions and nine survey items from the short-version EBP Beliefs Scale (Cronbach α = 0.81), Organizational Culture and Readiness Scale for System-wide Integration Scale (Cronbach α = 0.87), and EBP Implementation Scale (Cronbach α = 0.89). Findings: EBP belief scores were notably higher in nurses working in neonatology (m=4.33), critical care (m=4.47), and among nurse leaders (m=4.50). There was a statistically significant difference in EBP organizational culture among nurse leaders (m = 3.95, p=0.039) compared to clinical nurses (m = 3.34) and advanced practice nurses (m = 3.34). EBP implementation was favorable in neonatology (m=4.20), acute care (m=4.05), and nurse leaders (m=4.33). No significant difference or correlation was found in EBP belief, organizational culture, or implementation mean scores related to nurses' age, academic nursing degree, or years of experience in our cohort (EBP beliefs (r = -.06, p = .400), organizational readiness (r = .02, p = .770), and implementation scales (r = .01, p = .867). Conclusions: This study identified nurse’s EBP attributes in a Children’s Hospital using key variables studied in EBP social cognitive theory and learning theory. Magnet status, shared governance structure, specialty certification, and nurse leaders play a significant role in favorable EBP culture and implementation. Nurses’ unit level ‘group culture’ may vary depending on the EBP attributes and collaborative efforts of local teams. Opportunities for mentoring were identified, which may continue to enhance EBP implementation science across all nursing roles in our pediatric organization.

Keywords: evidence-based practice, peditrics, nursing roles, implementation

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Authors: K. P. Farsana

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Belief in supernatural causation of mental illnesses and resort to religious and faith healing as the method of intervention still continue in many parts of the world. The proposed study intended to find out the belief and causation on health and illness and utilization of religious and faith healing, its implications, and associated socio-cultural and religious factors among Mappila Muslims of Malabar, Kerala, a southern state of India.Thangals are the endogamous community in Kerala, of Yemeni heritage who claim direct descent from the Prophet Mohammed’s family. Because of their sacrosanct status, many Thangal works as religious healers in Malabar, Northern Kerala. Using the case of one Thangal healer as an illustration of the many religious healers in Kerala who engage in the healing practices, it is intended, in this paper to illustrate the religious and ritual healing practices among Mappila Muslims of Malabar. It was found that the majority of the Mappila Muslims believed in supernatural causation on illness, and majority of them consulted religious and faith healers for various health problems before seeking professional help, and a considerable proportion continued to believe in the healing efficiency of the religious and faith healing. A significant proportion of the population found religious and faith healing practices are supportive and more acceptable within the community. Religion and belief system play an important role in the heath seeking behavior of a person.

Keywords: religious and faith healing, mental illness, Mappila Muslims, Malabar

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Authors: Lucia Perez, Maria Gaton y Santa Palella

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Starting from the etymology of the word culture, the Latin term ‘colere’, whose meaning is to cultivate, we understand that the society that cultivates its knowledge is laying the foundations for new possibilities. In this sense, art and fashion contain the same attributes: concept, aesthetic principles, and refined techniques. Both play a crucial role, communication, and this implies a sense of community, relationship with tradition, and innovation. This is the mirror in which to contemplate, but also the space that helps to grow. This is the framework where our object of study opens up: the anthropological management or the mission management model applied to fashion exhibitions in museums and cultural institutions. For this purpose, a bibliographic review has been carried out with its subsequent analysis, a case study of three successful exhibitions: ‘Christian Dior: designer of dreams’, ‘Balenciaga and the Spanish painting’, and ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’. The methodology has been completed with interviews focused on the curators. Amongst the results obtained, it is worth highlighting the fundamental role of transcendent leadership, which, in addition to being results-oriented, must align the motivations of the collaborators with the mission. The anthropological management model conceives management as a service, and it is oriented to the interests of the staff and the public, in short, of the person; this is what enables the objectives of effectiveness, efficiency, and social value to be achieved; dimensions, all necessary for the proper development of the mission of the exhibitions. Fashion, understood as art, is at the service of culture, and therefore of the human being, which defines a transcendent mission. We conclude that the profile of an anthropological management model applied to fashion exhibitions in museums is the ideal one to achieve the purpose of these institutions.

Keywords: art, culture, fashion, anthropological model, fashion exhibitions

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Authors: Maserapelo Gladys Serapelwane, Eva Mofatiki Manyedi

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Background: Unfair labour practices on staff is a worldwide concern, which creates conflicts and disharmony among health workers. It is found that nursing staff members are unfairly treated without a valid reason in primary health care (PHC) facilities and predominantly in developing countries, and South Africa is not excluded. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of operational managers regarding unfair labour practices on staff by their local area managers and describe the perceptions of operational managers towards such treatment. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory, and contextual research approach was considered appropriate for the study. In this study, the population comprised operational managers working in the PHC facilities of Northwest Province, South Africa. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for the study and focus group interviews were used to interview 23 operational managers. Ethical measures were applied throughout the study. Findings: The six phases of thematic analysis were used to analyze data collected for the study. Two themes that emerged are experiences of factors related to unfair labour practices in the PHC facilities and perceptions regarding how to improve their working conditions. The categories that were found in the first themes were favouritism and discrimination. In the second theme, in-service training and transparency regarding staff training and development emerged. Recommendations comprised, among others, training on the concepts of quality in the workplace and reinforcement of transparency regarding granting of study leave and attending workshops. Conclusion: Operational managers in the PHC facilities experienced unfair labour practices as evidenced by favouritism.

Keywords: unfair labour practices, primary health care facilities, operational managers, North West Province

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Authors: Carolyn B. Mires, David L. Lee, David B. McNaughton

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High school students’ with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are one of the most underserved populations in today's schools. Using a multiple case study methodology, interviews were conducted to examine current practices and perceptions of the communication practices of teachers working with high school students with EBD. These interviews involved questions about general communication instances which occurred each week, communication strategies used each week, and how progress was being made on forming relationships with parents. Results confirm previous researchers’ hypotheses regarding methods, purposes, and regularity of positive communication incidences. Communication that met the positive goals of nurturing and maintaining relationships was open and frequent, reciprocal, and informal. Limitations are discussed as well as issues of trustworthiness. The case study concludes with a discussion and suggestions for high school special educators of students with EBD.

Keywords: emotional behavioral disorders, high school adolescence, home-school communication, relationships between parents and schools

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Authors: Rana Mohamed Abd El Aal

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This is an exploratory study that aims to answer the question of whether and to what extent the prevailing political culture with a special focus to the factor of political awareness for Egyptian university students is influential in shaping their participatory behavior; more precisely in four main Universities ;(Cairo University- BaniSwif University- BUE University- Suez Canal University). To ensure the validity of my results, I deployed a number of different data collection methods: the collection, analysis, integration of both quantitative and qualitative methods; for investigating two main hypothesis H1: There is a positive relation between the political awareness level and political participation for university students, H2: There is a positive relation between political values in the society and the level of political participation of university students. The study reveals that though the sample represented the portion of political science students in different Universities, the level of political awareness and political participation was low with a statistically significant relationship; also, the patterns of values in Egyptian culture affects significantly the level of participation in the different universities. Therefore; the study using SWOT analysis recommends some policies for increasing the level of awareness and integrating youth in the political process.

Keywords: political awareness, political participation, civic culture, citizenship, egyptian universities, political knowledge

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Authors: Nurzahidah Haji Jaapar, Anis Husna Abdul Halim, Mohd Faiz Mohamed Yusof, Mohd Dani Muhamad, Sharifah Fadylawaty Syed Abdullah

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The growing size of Muslim is recognised with significant increasing of purchasing power in the market. The realm of trade and business has embedded religious values as the new market segments are emerging in offering food products to meet needs and demands of Muslim consumer. The emergence of new market in food industry, advertising is charged with all sort of negative effects includes promoting controversial unsafety and harmful products, wasteful spending and exploiting women and kids. Therefore, this research attempts to examine between previous examinations of advertising standardisation in ancient era and current practices in the market. This paper is based on content analysis of the literature. The results show that there are a bridge gap between the implementation of practices as the advent in industrial 4.0 in using digital advertising by food industry. Thus, this paper is able to recognize the differences between two era and significant in determining the best practices in advertising by following Islamic principles.

Keywords: Islamic advertising, unethical advertising, ethical advertising, Islamic principles

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Authors: Protus A. Lumiti, Susan O. Wekesa, Mary Omondi

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Performance is a key pillar to the accomplishment of the goals of all organizations, whether private, public or non- profit. Employees are the intellectual assets of the organization and they are an avenue to the achievement of competitive advantage. An employee welfare service in an organization is vital in fostering employee motivation and improving their productivity. In view of this, the main goal of this research was to determine the relationship between employee welfare practices and the performance of non-governmental organizations in Kenya. The study was guided by four objectives, namely: to establish, determine, evaluate and assess the relationship between employee welfare practices and the performance of non-governmental organizations in Kenya. The study utilized a survey design using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In this study, a purposive, stratified and simple random sampling technique was used to arrive at a sample of 355 respondents who comprised senior managers, middle level managers and operational employees out of the targeted population of 14,283 employees of non-governmental organizations working in Nairobi County. The primary data collection tools were questionnaires supplemented by an interview schedule, while secondary data was obtained from reviewed journals, published books and articles. Data analysis was done using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences Software version 23. The study utilized multiple linear regression and a structural equation model. The findings of the study were that: employee welfare practices had a positive and significant relationship with the performance of Non-governmental organizations in Kenya. In addition, there was also a linear relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable and the study concluded that there was a relationship between the predictor variable and the dependent variable of the study. The study recommended that management of No-governmental organization boards in Kenya should come up with a comprehensive policy document on employee welfare practices in order to enhance the performance of non-governmental organizations in Kenya.

Keywords: employee, economic, performance, welfare

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Authors: Richard Okyere Boadu, Judith Obiri-Yeboah, Kwame Adu Okyere Boadu, Nathan Kumasenu Mensah, Grace Amoh-Agyei

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Routine health information system (RHIS) quality assurance has become an important issue, not only because of its significance in promoting a high standard of patient care but also because of its impact on government budgets for the maintenance of health services. A routine health information system comprises healthcare data collection, compilation, storage, analysis, report generation, and dissemination on a routine basis in various healthcare settings. The data from RHIS give a representation of health status, health services, and health resources. The sources of RHIS data are normally individual health records, records of services delivered, and records of health resources. Using reliable information from routine health information systems is fundamental in the healthcare delivery system. Quality assurance practices are measures that are put in place to ensure the health data that are collected meet required quality standards. Routine health information system quality assurance practices ensure that data that are generated from the system are fit for use. This study considered quality assurance practices in the RHIS processes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in eight health facilities in Tarkwa Sub-Municipal Health Service in the western region of Ghana. The study involved routine quality assurance practices among the 90 health staff and management selected from facilities in Tarkwa Sub-Municipal who collected or used data routinely from 24th December 2019 to 20th January 2020. Results: Generally, Tarkwa Sub-Municipal health service appears to practice quality assurance during data collection, compilation, storage, analysis and dissemination. The results show some achievement in quality control performance in report dissemination (77.6%), data analysis (68.0%), data compilation (67.4%), report compilation (66.3%), data storage (66.3%) and collection (61.1%). Conclusions: Even though the Tarkwa Sub-Municipal Health Directorate engages in some control measures to ensure data quality, there is a need to strengthen the process to achieve the targeted percentage of performance (90.0%). There was a significant shortfall in quality assurance practices performance, especially during data collection, with respect to the expected performance.

Keywords: quality assurance practices, assessment of routine health information system quality, routine health information system, data quality

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Authors: Mai To

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Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ontario, Canada have invested in social media presence for multiple purposes, such as branding, student’ engagement, and recruitment. To have a full picture of the social media strategy implemented by HEIs in Ontario, Canada, this study used a mixed-method approach to analyze Facebook posts’ characteristics and content. A total of 1789 Facebook posts from September 2019 to April 2020 of six selected HEIs were collected for analysis and coding based on five pre-determined branding positions: Elite, Nurturing, Campus, Outcome, and Commodity. Besides, the study also calculated the engagement rate for each social media practice to measure its effectiveness. The results show that there were not many differences in practices such as posting frequency, length, types, and timing among HEIs. However, the distribution of branding positions and content targeting future students versus current students was varied, although the HEIs employed all five branding positions and targeted the same lists of audiences. Some practices such as evening post for colleges and nurturing branding for universities attracted significantly higher engagement. This study provides a review of current social media practices and branding strategy, as well as informs the practices that can better engage the audiences.

Keywords: branding, higher education, social media, student engagement, student recruitment

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Authors: Kika Ioannou Kazamia

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This paper examines the action research cycle of the second phase of longitudinal research on sustainable interior design practices, between two groups of stakeholders, designers and clients. During this phase of the action research, the second step - the change stage - of Lewin’s change management model has been utilized to change values, approaches, and attitudes toward sustainable design practices among the participants. Affective domain learning theory is utilized to attach new values. Learning with the use of information technology, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning are the learning methods implemented toward the acquisition of the objectives. Learning methods, and aims, require the design of interventions with participants' involvement in activities that would lead to the acknowledgment of the benefits of sustainable practices. Interventions are steered to measure participants’ decisions for the worth and relevance of ideas, and experiences; accept or commit to a particular stance or action. The data collection methods used in this action research are observers’ reports, participants' questionnaires, and interviews. The data analyses use both quantitative and qualitative methods. The main beneficial aspect of the quantitative method was to provide the means to separate many factors that obscured the main qualitative findings. The qualitative method allowed data to be categorized, to adapt the deductive approach, and then examine for commonalities that could reflect relevant categories or themes. The results from the data indicate that during the second phase, designers and clients' participants altered their behaviours.

Keywords: design, change, sustainability, learning, practices

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