Search results for: Military Crime

Authors: Bharath Kenchappa, Kunigal Shivakumar

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Lightweight, low thermal conductivity and high temperature resistant materials or the system with moderate mechanical properties and capable of taking high heating rates are needed in both commercial and military applications. A single material with these attributes is very difficult to find and one needs to come with innovative ideas to make such material system using what is available. To bring down the cost of the system, one has to be conscious about the cost of basic materials. Such a material system can be called as the thermal barrier system. This paper focuses on developing, testing and characterization of material system for thermal barrier applications. The material developed is porous, low density, low thermal conductivity of 0.1062 W/m C and glass transition temperature about 310 C. Also, the thermal properties of the developed material was measured in both longitudinal and thickness direction to highlight the fact that the material shows isotropic behavior. The material is called modified Eco-Core which uses only less than 9% weight of high-char resin in the composite. The filler (reinforcing material) is a component of fly ash called Cenosphere, they are hollow micro-bubbles made of ceramic materials. Special mixing-technique is used to surface coat the fillers with a thin layer of resin to develop a point-to-point contact of particles. One could use commercial ceramic micro-bubbles instead of Cenospheres, but it is expensive. The bulk density of Cenospheres is about 0.35 g/cc and we could accomplish the composite density of about 0.4 g/cc. One percent filler weight of 3mm length standard drywall grade fibers was used to bring the added toughness. Both thermal and mechanical characterization was performed and properties are documented. For higher temperature applications (up to 1,000 C), a hybrid system was developed using an aerogel mat. Properties of combined material was characterized and documented. Thermal tests were conducted on both the bare modified Eco-Core and hybrid materials to assess the suitability of the material to a thermal barrier application. The hybrid material system was found to meet the requirement of the application.

Keywords: aerogel, fly ash, porous material, thermal barrier

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Authors: M. F. Slim, A. Alhussein, F. Sanchette, M. François

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Thin films are widely used in various applications to enhance the surface properties and characteristics of materials. They are used in many domains such as: biomedical, automotive, aeronautics, military, electronics and energy. Depending on the elaboration technique, the elastic behavior of thin films may be different from this of bulk materials. This dependence on the elaboration techniques and their parameters makes the control of the elasticity constants of coated components necessary. Our work is focused on the characterization of the elasticity constants of isotropic thin films by means of Impulse Excitation Techniques. The tests rely on the measurement of the sample resonance frequency before and after deposition. In this work, a finite element model was performed with ABAQUS software. This model was then compared with the analytical approaches used to determine the Young’s and shear moduli. The best model to determine the film Young’s modulus was identified and a relation allowing the determination of the shear modulus of thin films of any thickness was developed. In order to confirm the model experimentally, Tungsten films were deposited on glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering of a 99.99% purity tungsten target. The choice of tungsten was done because it is well known that its elastic behavior at crystal scale is ideally isotropic. The macroscopic elasticity constants, Young’s and shear moduli and Poisson’s ratio of the deposited film were determined by means of Impulse Excitation Technique. The Young’s modulus obtained from IET was compared with measurements by the nano-indentation technique. We did not observe any significant difference and the value is in accordance with the one reported in the literature. This work presents a new methodology on the determination of the elasticity constants of thin films using Impulse Excitation Technique. A formulation allowing the determination of the shear modulus of a coating, whatever the thickness, was developed and used to determine the macroscopic elasticity constants of tungsten films. The developed model was validated numerically and experimentally.

Keywords: characterization, coating, dynamical resonant method, Poisson's ratio, PVD, shear modulus, Young's modulus

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Authors: Yahaya Abdullahi Adadu, Canice Erunke Esidene

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The problems of socio-economic development have been a major challenge bedeviling the Nigerian post-colonial state since her political independence from Britain in October I,1960. Critics have argued that the dilemma of Nigeria’s economic survival started since the early 1970s when the agricultural sector which supposedly was the economic mainstay has been literally substituted with the gains of the oil petro-dollars coming from the foreign exchange earnings. Agriculture therefore, which used to be a major player in terms of human and national upliftment in Nigeria have been given a back seat while oil and gas has taken over the front burner in virtually every aspect of Nigeria’s national life. This study is therefore an exposition of the efforts of the Nasarawa state government in reversing the dangerous trend in which the over reliance on oil wealth has caused to persons, individuals and groups in terms of the prevailing levels of poverty and other attendant vices therein. The study focuses on the management policies of the various regimes in the state since its inception in 1996, with particular reference to the regime types-military and civilian alike in propelling the needed policy change, which could transform the economy in line with international best practices. Particular emphasis will be paid to the BADA-KOSHI agricultural scheme whose interest was to recover the lost glory of rural agriculture through series of roots and tuber expansion, and particularly such crops as yam minissetts, cassava, sweet potatoes and coco-yam, respectively. The paper covers the period between 1996 -2011, a period considered to be critical in the agricultural revolution of the state. The study adopts a theoretical approach via secondary methods of analysis for the efficient explanations of the burning issues under consideration. The paper sums up with policy recommendations and conclusion.

Keywords: poverty, agriculture, Badakoshi, rural policy management

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Authors: Gali Pesin, Yuliya Lipshits-Braziler, Sima Amram-Vaknin, Moshe Tatar

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The present study introduces four different patterns of seeking and providing help online among adolescents: (I) ‘Transceivers’ - adolescents who both seek as well as provide help online; (II) ‘Receivers’ - adolescents who seek help online, yet don’t provide it; (III) ‘Transmitters’ - adolescents who provide help online, yet don’t seek it; and (IV) ‘Idles’ - adolescents who refrain from seeking and providing help online. The study examined differences in seeking and providing help online between possible combinations of the four patterns, as well as gender differences within each pattern. Data was collected from 528 adolescents in Israel (59% were girls). Findings revealed that Transceivers are the largest group (45%) in this study, with higher representation of girls (65%). These adolescents seek help mainly around social difficulties, and they turn to peers who are both known and unknown to them. In addition, their preferred way to seek and provide help is through social network sites. Moreover, they often accept and give others emotional support. Receivers are the smallest group (5%) in this study. They turn to both known and unknown professionals more often than to friends and family. In addition, they seek help mostly around health and nutrition issues, and they usually receive instrumental support. For Receivers, the most important factor for seeking help online is anonymity, and the least important factor is familiarity with the help giver. Transmitters represent 16% of the adolescents in this study, with a greater representation of boys (52%). Their main reason to refrain from seeking help online is self-reliance. Nevertheless, these adolescents provide help to others online, mainly to those known to them through posting or responding to posts on social network sites. Idles represent 34% of the adolescents in this study. They refrain from seeking help online mainly due to their preference to seek help face to face, and due to their lack of trust in the internet or those using it. Idles and Transmitters are willing to seek help online mostly from friends and family. In addition, they are willing seek help online mainly regarding questions concerning military or civil service. They consider the most important facilitators for seeking help online as confidentiality and reliability. The present study’s main contribution is exploring the role of providing online help in understanding the adolescent behavior of seeking help online. In addition, the results of the present study have practical implications for the work of mental health providers, such as counseling psychologists and online mental health support.

Keywords: adolescents, counseling, online help-seeking, online help-providing

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Uzma Ahmad

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hyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) is the most turbulent province of Pakistan, sharing a longborder with Afghanistan. For about four decades, KPK is facing a series of international events. The peak was reached after 9/11when region was labelled as posing a major theatre of militancy and terrorism which was intensified when Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) began attempts to seize the authority of state. One of the main focus of TTP was to damage and uprooting of female education system and infrastructure in KPK which later became the site of a massacre of school children of Army Public School Peshawar on 16 December 2014.It resulted to the launching of Zarb-e-Azb against the TTP insurgency,casualty and crime rates in the KPKas a whole dropped by 40.0% as compared to 2011–13. All this has badly hampered the female education both in terms of quantity and quality. Malala Yousafzai who is now an advocate of female education has been a victim of Talibans brutality in that area. And thelanguage in which she managed to express herself to the International community is English.Keeping in view the situation, the present project was designed with a sole aim to focus on female students of the area which are few in numbers and to investigate some specific area, where they have been confronting problems in the use of grammar, vocabulary,tenses and organization of ideas in writings. The reasons might be the careless attitude, insufficient reading habits, lack of interest and poor knowledge of English language. The methodology was a descriptive one as it shows the effects of the internal efficiency(independent variables) on an intermediate college’s progress(dependent variables). It was a case study since data was collected from a focused group of 60 female students of arts and humanities at Swabi college at Intermediate level. The ultimate focus was to explore the possibilities of creating a Gender friendly environment for female students. This research has proved how the correct use of English language has given them confidence to move ahead side by side with men and to acknowledge their right of self-determination.

Keywords: capacity building, female education, gender friendly, internal efficiency

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Authors: Hezha Hewa, Taher Sur

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Nowadays, child affairs is a matter of both national and international interests. This issue is regarded a vital topic for various scientific fields across ages, and for all the communities without exception. However, the nature of child caring may vary due to the verities in science perspectives. So, considering child's affairs from different perspectives is helpful to have a complementary image about this matter. The purpose behind selecting this topic is to keep a balance between the victim on the one hand, and the guardian and the offender on the other hand, (i.e.) to avoid any kind of excessiveness either in the protection of the child and its rights not in the punishment of the offender. This is achieved through considering various legal materials in the Iraqi legislation and in the comparative legislations that are concerned with the child's issue and the extent to which the child makes use of these rights. The scope of this study involves the crimes that are considered as aggressions against the child's right to life, and the crimes that are dangerous to their physical and psychological safety. So, this study comprehensively considers the intentional murder of child, child murder to avoid disgrace, child kidnapping, child abandonment, physical abuse for the sake of punishment or not, child circumcision, verbal violence, and abstaining from leaving a child with a person who has the right of custody. This study ends with the most significant concluding points that have been derived throughout this study, which are: Unlike the Iraqi legislation, the Egyptian legislation defines the child in the Article 2 of the Child Law No. 12 of 1996 amended by the Law No. 126 of 2008 that the child is a person who does not exceed 18 years of age. Some legislation does not provide special criminal protection for child intentional murder, as in the Iraqi and the Egyptian legislation. However, some others have provided special criminal protection for a child, as in French and Syrian legislations. Child kidnapping is regarded as one of the most dangerous crimes that affects the child and the family as well, as it may expose the child's life to danger or to death. The most significant recommendations from the researcher are: The Iraqi legislation is recommended to take the necessary measures to establish a particular legislation for the child by including all the legal provisions that are associated with this weak creature, and make use of the Egyptian legislator’s experience as a pioneer in this respect. Both the Iraqi legislation and the Egyptian legislation are recommended to enact special laws to protect a child from the crimes of intentional murder, as the crime of child murder is currently subjected to the same provisions consider for adult murder.

Keywords: child, criminal, penal, law, safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 233

Authors: Akram Sadat Jafari Roodbandi, Alireza Choobineh, Nazanin Hosseini, Vafa Feyzi

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Introduction: Physical fitness and optimum functional movement are essential for efficiently performing job tasks without fatigue and injury. Functional Movement Screening (FMS) tests are used in screening of athletes and military forces. Nurses and emergency medical staff are obliged to perform many physical activities such as transporting patients, CPR operations, etc. due to the nature of their jobs. This study aimed to assess relationship between FMS test score and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in emergency nurses and emergency medical services (EMS) staff. Methods: 134 male and female emergency nurses and EMS technicians participated in this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study. After video tutorial and practical training of how to do FMS test, the participants carried out the test while they were wearing comfortable clothes. The final score of the FMS test ranges from 0 to 21. The score of 14 is considered weak in the functional movement base on FMS test protocol. In addition to the demographic data questionnaire, the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was also completed for each participant. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis with a significance level of 0.05. Results: Totally, 49.3% (n=66) of the subjects were female. The mean age and work experience of the subjects were 35.3 ± 8.7 and 11.4 ± 7.7, respectively. The highest prevalence of MSDs was observed at the knee and lower back with 32.8% (n=44) and 23.1% (n=31), respectively. 26 (19.4%) health worker had FMS test score of 14 and less. The results of the Spearman correlation test showed that the FMS test score was significantly associated with MSDs (r=-0.419, p < 0.0001). It meant that MSDs increased with the decrease of the FMS test score. Age, sex, and MSDs were the remaining significant factors in linear regression logistic model with dependent variable of FMS test score. Conclusion: FMS test seems to be a usable screening tool in pre-employment and periodic medical tests for occupations that require physical fitness and optimum functional movements.

Keywords: functional movement, musculoskeletal disorders, health care worker, screening test

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Authors: Constantinos Adamides, Petros Petrikkos

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In the era of growing hybrid threats, small states find themselves in need to re-evaluate existing foreign and defense policies. The pressure to establishing or maintain a status of a reliable partner in the community in which they belong to, vis-à-vis their multilateral relations with other organisations and entities, small states may need to shift their policies in the field to accommodate security needs that are not only pertinent to their security, but also to that of the organisations (bloc) in which they interact. Unlike potential shortcomings in a small state’s mainstream security and defence framework where the threat would be limited to the state itself, in more contemporary times with dominating hybrid threats, the small states’ security shortcomings may also become a security problem for the bloc in which these states belong to. An indicative example is small states like Cyprus and Malta, which belong and 'interact' in the European Union. As a result, the nature of hybrid threats can be utilised to hurt bigger states in a bloc by exploiting the small states’ vulnerabilities and security gaps. Inevitably, both the defensive and foreign policy collaborations of small states with bigger states have been and are constantly re-evaluated to tackle and prevent such problems. In essence, the goal of this ‘re-evaluation’ aims to achieve a twofold goal: The first is the small states’ quest to appear as a reliable partner within the bloc, while the second is to avoid being the weakest security link in the bloc’s defence against hybrid threats. Indeed, the hybrid arena is a security area where they can excel in the bloc, despite the potential and expected conventional military deficiencies. This new environment prompts us to think security from the perspective of small states differently and in relation to their role as members or big organisations. The paper focuses on the case of Cyprus following its accession to the European Union and examines how a country that has had a very focused security orientation –not least due to its ongoing security problems– altered its foreign and defence policies within the European Union to ensure compliance with the rest of the bloc, while at the same time maximizing its role as a security player. Specifically, it examines the methods through which the country shifted its policies as well as the challenges and opportunities that emerged from these security shifts.

Keywords: Cyprus, defence, foreign policy, hybrid threats, ontological security, small states

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Authors: Sebastian van Delden, Matthew Anuszkiewicz, Jayse White, Scott Stolarski

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Industrial robotic manipulators have been commonplace in the manufacturing world since the early 1960s, and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have only begun to realize their full potential in the service industry and the military. The omnipresence of these technologies in their respective fields will only become more potent in coming years. While these technologies have greatly evolved over the years, the typical approach to human interaction with these robots has not. In the industrial robotics realm, a manipulator is typically jogged around using a teach pendant and programmed using a networked computer or the teach pendant itself via a proprietary software development platform. Drones are typically controlled using a two-handed controller equipped with throttles, buttons, and sticks, an app that can be downloaded to one’s mobile device, or a combination of both. This application-oriented work offers a novel approach to human interaction with both unmanned aerial vehicles and industrial robotic manipulators via hand gestures and movements. Two systems have been implemented, both of which use a Myo™ armband to control either a drone (DJI Spark™) or a robotic arm (Stäubli™ TX40). The methodologies developed by this work present a mapping of armband gestures (fist, finger spread, swing hand in, swing hand out, swing arm left/up/down/right, etc.) to either drone or robot arm movements. The findings of this study present the efficacy and limitations (precision and ergonomic) of hand gesture control of two distinct types of robotic technology. All source code associated with this project will be open sourced and placed on GitHub. In conclusion, this study offers a framework that maps hand and arm gestures to drone and robot arm control. The system has been implemented using current ubiquitous technologies, and these software artifacts will be open sourced for future researchers or practitioners to use in their work.

Keywords: human robot interaction, drones, gestures, robotics

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Authors: Shanza Akram, Samir Salah, Imran Saleem, Ashraf Alzaabi, Jassim Abdou

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Introduction: 300 million people worldwide are affected by asthma .In UAE, prevalence is around 10% (900,000 people).Patients with persistent symptoms despite using high dose ICS plus a second controller +/- OCS are considered to have severe asthma. Omalizumab (Xolaire) an IgE monoclonal antibody is approved as add on therapy for severe allergic asthma. Objective: To determine the efficacy of omalizumab based on clinical outcomes in our cohort of patient pre and post 52 weeks of treatment to assess safety and tolerability of treatment. Methods: Medical records of patients receiving omalizumab therapy for asthma at ZMH ,Abu Dhabi were retrospectively analyzed.Patients fulfilling the criteria of severe allergic asthma as per GINA guidelines were included. Asthma control over 12 months prior to and 12 months after commencement of omalizumab therapy was analysed by taking into account the number of exacerbations and hospitalizations in addition to maintenance of medication dosages, need for rescue reliever therapy and pulmonary function testing. Results: Total cohort of 21 patient (5 females), average age 41 years and av length of therapy 22 months were included. Seven patients (total 11/52%) managed to stop steroids on treatment while four were able to decrease the dosage. Mean exacerbation rate decreased from five/ year pre treatment to 1.36 while on treatment. Number of hospitalizations decreased from mean of two per year to 0.9 per year. Rescue reliever inhaler usage decreased from mean of 40 puffs to 15 puffs per week. 2 patients discontinued therapy, 1 due to lack of benefit (2 doses) and 2nd due to severe persistent side effects including local irritation, severe limb and joint pains after 6 months. Conclusion: Treatment with omalizumab showed effect in terms of reduced number of exacerbations, maintenance therapy and reliever medications. However, no improvement was seen in PFTs.There is room for improved documentation in terms of symptom recording and use of rescue medicationas as well as for better patient education and counselling in order to improve compliance.

Keywords: asthma, omalizumab, severe allergic asthma, UAE

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Authors: J. Tochukwu Omenma

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Buzzword in Nigeria is that democracy has “come to stay”. Politicians in their usual euphoria consider democracy as already consolidated in the country. Politicians linked this assumption to three fundamental indicators – (a) multiparty system; (b) regular elections and (c) absence of military coup after 15 years of democracy in Nigeria. Beyond this assumption, we intend to empirically verify these claims and assumptions, by relying on Huntington’s conceptualization of democratic consolidation. Though, Huntington asserts that multipartism, regular elections and absence of any major obstacle leading to reversal of democracy are significant indicators of democratic consolidation, but the presence of those indicators must result to alternation of executive power for democratic consolidation to occur. In other words, regular conduct of election and existence of multiple political parties are not enough for democratic consolidation, rather free and fair elections. Past elections were characterized of massive fraud and irregularities casting doubts on integrity of electoral management body (EMB) to conduct free and fair elections in Nigeria. There are three existing perspectives that have offered responses to the emasculation of independence of EMB. One is a more popular position indicating that the incumbent party, more than the opposition party, influence the EMB activities with the aim of rigging elections; the other is a more radical perspective that suggests that weakening of EMB power is more associated with the weakest party than with the incumbent; and the last, is that godfather(s) are in direct control of EMB members thereby controlling the process of electoral process to the advantage of the godfather(s). With empirical evidence sourced from the reports of independent election monitors, (European Union, Election Observation Mission in Nigeria) this paper shows at different electoral periods that, in terms of influencing election outcomes, the incumbent and godfather have been more associated with influencing election results than the opposition. The existing nature of executive power in Nigeria provides a plausible explanation for the incumbent’s overbearing influence thereby limiting opportunity for free and fair elections and by extension undermining the process of democratic consolidation in Nigeria.

Keywords: political party, democracy, democratic consolidation, election, godfatherism

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Authors: Sonia Sassi, Mostapha Tarfaoui, Hamza Ben Yahia

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In this investigation, an experimental technique in which the dynamic response, damage kinetic and heat dissipation are measured simultaneously during high strain rates on adhesively bonded joints materials. The material used in this study is widely used in the design of structures for military applications. It was composed of a 45° Bi-axial fiber-glass mat of 0.286 mm thickness in a Polyester resin matrix. In adhesive bonding, a NORPOL Polyvinylester of 1 mm thickness was used to assemble the composite substrate. The experimental setup consists of a compression Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB), a high-speed infrared camera and a high-speed Fastcam rapid camera. For the dynamic compression tests, 13 mm x 13 mm x 9 mm samples for out-of-plane tests were considered from 372 to 1030 s-1. Specimen surface is controlled and monitored in situ and in real time using the high-speed camera which acquires the damage progressive in specimens and with the infrared camera which provides thermal images in time sequence. Preliminary compressive stress-strain vs. strain rates data obtained show that the dynamic material strength increases with increasing strain rates. Damage investigations have revealed that the failure mainly occurred in the adhesive/adherent interface because of the brittle nature of the polymeric adhesive. Results have shown the dependency of the dynamic parameters on strain rates. Significant temperature rise was observed in dynamic compression tests. Experimental results show that the temperature change depending on the strain rate and the damage mode and their maximum exceed 100 °C. The dependence of these results on strain rate indicates that there exists a strong correlation between damage rate sensitivity and heat dissipation, which might be useful when developing damage models under dynamic loading tacking into account the effect of the energy balance of adhesively bonded joints.

Keywords: adhesive bonded joints, Hopkinson bars, out-of-plane tests, dynamic compression properties, damage mechanisms, heat dissipation

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Authors: Oktay Celenk, Ugur Karanfil, Iskender Demir, Samir Lamrini, Jorg Neumann, Arif Demir

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Due to its favourable material characteristics, fiber reinforced plastics are amongst the main topics of all actual lightweight construction megatrends. Especially in transportation trends ranging from aeronautics over the automotive industry to naval transportation (yachts, cruise liners) the expected economic and environmental impact is huge. In naval transportation components like yacht bodies, antenna masts, decorative structures like deck lamps, light houses and pool areas represent cheap and robust solutions. Commercially available laser tools like carbon dioxide gas lasers (CO₂), frequency tripled solid state UV lasers, and Neodymium-YAG (Nd:YAG) lasers can be used. These tools have emission wavelengths of 10 µm, 0.355 µm, and 1.064 µm, respectively. The scientific goal is first of all the generation of a parameter matrix for laser processing of each used material for a Tm-fiber laser system (wavelength 2 µm). These parameters are the heat affected zone, process gas pressure, work piece feed velocity, intensity, irradiation time etc. The results are compared with results obtained with well-known material processing lasers, such as a Yb-fiber lasers (wavelength 1 µm). Compared to the CO₂-laser, the Tm-laser offers essential advantages for future laser processes like cutting, welding, ablating for repair and drilling in composite part manufacturing (components of cruise liners, marine pipelines). Some of these are the possibility of beam delivery in a standard fused silica fiber which enables hand guided processing, eye safety which results from the wavelength, excellent beam quality and brilliance due to the fiber nature. There is one more feature that is economically absolutely important for boat, automotive and military projects manufacturing that the wavelength of 2 µm is highly absorbed by the plastic matrix and thus enables selective removal of it for repair procedures.

Keywords: Thulium (Tm) fiber laser, laser processing of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP), composite, heat affected zone

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Authors: Sandeep Mehmi, Harsh Verma, A. L. Sangal

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Ever since the idea of using computing services as commodity that can be delivered like other utilities e.g. electric and telephone has been floated, the scientific fraternity has diverted their research towards a new area called utility computing. New paradigms like cluster computing and grid computing came into existence while edging closer to utility computing. With the advent of internet the demand of anytime, anywhere access of the resources that could be provisioned dynamically as a service, gave rise to the next generation computing paradigm known as cloud computing. Today, cloud computing has become one of the most aggressively growing computer paradigm, resulting in growing rate of applications in area of IT outsourcing. Besides catering the computational and storage demands, cloud computing has economically benefitted almost all the fields, education, research, entertainment, medical, banking, military operations, weather forecasting, business and finance to name a few. Smart grid is another discipline that direly needs to be benefitted from the cloud computing advantages. Smart grid system is a new technology that has revolutionized the power sector by automating the transmission and distribution system and integration of smart devices. Cloud based smart grid can fulfill the storage requirement of unstructured and uncorrelated data generated by smart sensors as well as computational needs for self-healing, load balancing and demand response features. But, security issues such as confidentiality, integrity, availability, accountability and privacy need to be resolved for the development of smart grid cloud. In recent years, a number of intrusion prevention techniques have been proposed in the cloud, but hackers/intruders still manage to bypass the security of the cloud. Therefore, precise intrusion detection systems need to be developed in order to secure the critical information infrastructure like smart grid cloud. Considering the success of artificial neural networks in building robust intrusion detection, this research proposes an artificial neural network based model for detecting attacks in smart grid cloud.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, cloud computing, intrusion detection systems, security issues, smart grid

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Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili

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The article analyzes the modern level of industrial production in Georgia, shows the export-import of industrial products and evaluates the results of the activities of institutions implementing industrial policy. The research showed us that the level of development of industry in the country and its export potential are quite low. The article concludes that in the modern phase of industrial development, the country should choose a model focused on technological development and maximum growth of export potential. Objectives. The aim of the research is to develop an economic policy that promotes the development of industry and to look for ways to implement it effectively. Methodologies This paper uses general and specific methods, in particular, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, scientific abstraction, comparative and statistical methods, as well as experts’ evaluation. In-depth interviews with experts were conducted to determine quantitative and qualitative indicators; Publications of the National Statistics Office of Georgia are used to determine the regularity between analytical and statistical estimations. Also, theoretical and applied research of international organizations and scientist-economists are used. Contributions Based on the identified challenges in the area of industry, recommendations for the implementation of an active industrial policy in short and long term periods were developed. In particular: the government's priority orientation of industrial development; paying special attention to the processing industry sectors that Georgia has the potential to produce; supporting the development of scientific fields; Determination of certain benefits for those investors who invest money in industrial production; State partnership with the private sector, manifested in the fight against bureaucracy, corruption and crime, creating favorable business conditions for entrepreneurs; Coordination between education - science - production should be implemented in the country. Much attention should be paid to basic scientific research, which does not require purely commercial returns in the short term, science should become a real productive force; Special importance should be given to the creation of an environment that will support the expansion of export-oriented production; Overcoming barriers to entry into export markets.

Keywords: industry, sectoral structure of industry, exsport-import of industrial products, industrial policy

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Authors: Stefano Barone

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Seismic retrofit of buildings through base isolation represents a consolidated protection strategy against earthquakes. It consists in decoupling the ground motion from that of the structure and introducing anti-seismic devices at the base of the building, characterized by high horizontal flexibility and medium/high dissipative capacity. This allows to protect structural elements and to limit damages to non-structural ones. For these reasons, full functionality is guaranteed after an earthquake event. Base isolation is applied extensively to both new and existing buildings. For the latter, it usually does not require any interruption of the structure use and occupants evacuation, a special advantage for strategic buildings such as schools, hospitals, and military buildings. This paper describes the application of seismic isolation to three existing masonry buildings in Italy: Villa “La Maddalena” in Macerata (Marche region), “Giacomo Matteotti” and “Plinio Il Giovane” school buildings in Perugia (Umbria region). The seismic hazard of the sites is characterized by a Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of 0.213g-0.287g for the Life Safety Limit State and between 0.271g-0.359g for the Collapse Limit State. All the buildings are isolated with a combination of free sliders type TETRON® CD with confined elastomeric disk and anti-seismic rubber isolators type ISOSISM® HDRB to reduce the eccentricity between the center of mass and stiffness, thus limiting torsional effects during a seismic event. The isolation systems are designed to lengthen the original period of vibration (i.e., without isolators) by at least three times and to guarantee medium/high levels of energy dissipation capacity (equivalent viscous damping between 12.5% and 16%). This allows the structures to resist 100% of the seismic design action. This article shows the performances of the supplied anti-seismic devices with particular attention to the experimental dynamic response. Finally, a special focus is given to the main site activities required to isolate a masonry building.

Keywords: retrofit, masonry buildings, seismic isolation, energy dissipation, anti-seismic devices

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Authors: Hai-Hong Gu, Yan-Jun Ai, Zheng Zhou

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Vanadium and titanium are rare metals with superior properties and are important resources in aerospace, aviation, and military. The vanadium/titanium magnetite are mostly ultra-lean ores, and a large number of tailings has been produced in the exploitation process. The tailings are characterized by loose structure, poor nutrient, complex composition and high trace metal contents. Returning green manure has been shown to not only increase plant biomass and soil nutrients but also change the bioavailability of trace metals and the microbial community structure. Fungi play an important role in decomposing organic matter and increasing soil fertility, and the application of organic matter also affects the community structure of fungi. The effects of green manure plants, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), returned to the tailings in situ on community structure of fungi, nutrients and bioavailability of trace metals in vanadium/titanium magnetite tailings were investigated in a pot experiment. The results showed that the fungal community diversity and richness were increase after alfalfa green manure returned in situ. The dominant phyla of the fungal community were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Ciliophora, especially, the phyla Ciliophora was rare in ordinary soil, but had been found to be the dominant phyla in tailings. Meanwhile, the nutrient properties and various trace metals may shape the microbial communities by affecting the abundance of fungi. It was found that the plant growth was stimulated and the available N and organic C were significantly improved in the vanadium/titanium magnetite tailing with the long-term returning of alfalfa green manure. Moreover, the DTPA-TEA extractable Cd and Zn concentrations in the vanadium/titanium magnetite tailing were reduced by 7.72%~23.8% and 8.02%~24.4%, respectively, compared with those in the non-returning treatment. The above results suggest that the returning of alfalfa green manure could be a potential approach to improve fungal community structure and restore mine tailing ecosystem.

Keywords: fungal community, green manure returning, vanadium/titanium magnet tailings, trace metals

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Authors: Rajender Lal, Seema Kaushik

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The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. Its 20th edition took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, which was won by Germany. The World Cup is the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games; the cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup was estimated to be 26.29 billion with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the final match, a ninth of the entire population of the planet. General-interest newspapers typically publish news articles and feature articles on national and international news as well as local news. The news includes political events and personalities, business and finance, crime, severe weather, and natural disasters; health and medicine, science, and technology; sports; and entertainment, society, food and cooking, clothing and home fashion, and the arts. It became curiosity to investigate that how much coverage is given to this most widely viewed international event as compared to other sports in India. Hence, the present study was conducted with the aim of examining the comparative coverage of FIFA World Cup 2014 and other sports in the four leading Newspapers of India including Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Times of India, and The Tribune. Specific objectives were to measure the source of news, type of news items and the placement of news related to FIFA World Cup and other sports. Representative sample of ten editions each of the four English dailies was chosen for the purpose of the study. The analysis was based on the actual scanning of data from the representative sample of the dailies for the period of the competition. It can be concluded from the analysis that this event was given maximum coverage by the Hindustan Times while other sports were equally covered by The Hindu.

Keywords: coverage analysis, FIFA World Cup 2014, Hindustan Times, the Hindu, The Times of India, The Tribune

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Authors: Zhao Xinlei

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In general, interstate relations are diverse and include economic, political, military, and diplomatic. Therefore, by analyzing the development of the relationship between Malaysia and China, we can better verify how the Hirschman effect works between small countries and great powers. This paper mainly adopts qualitative research methods and uses Malaysia's 2020-2022 political crisis as a specific case to verify the practice of the Hirschman effect between small and large countries. In particular, the interest groups in small countries that are closely related to trade with extraordinary abilities, as the primary beneficiaries in the development of trade between the two countries, although they may use their resources to a certain extent to influence the decisions of small countries towards great powers, they do not fundamentally determine the small countries' response to large countries. In this process, the relative power asymmetry between states plays a dominant role, as small states lack trust and suspicion in political diplomacy towards large states based on the perception of threat arising from the relative power asymmetry. When developing bilateral relations with large countries, small states seek practical cooperation to promote economic and trade development but become more cautious in their political ties to avoid being caught in power struggles between large states or being controlled by them. The case of Malaysia-China relations also illustrates that despite the ongoing political crisis in Malaysia, which saw the country go through the transition from (Perikatan Nasional) PN to (Barisan Nasional) BN, different governments have maintained a pragmatic and proactive economic policy towards China to reduce suspicion and mistrust between the two countries in political and diplomatic affairs, thereby enhancing cooperation and interactions between the two countries. At the same time, the Malaysian government is developing multi-dimensional foreign relations and actively participating in multilateral, regional organizations and platforms, such as those organized by the United States, to maintain a relative balance in the influence of the US and China on Malaysia.

Keywords: Hirschman effect, interest groups, Malaysia, China, bilateral relations

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Authors: Monika Ksiezopolska-Gocalska, Pawel Albrycht, Robert Holyst

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Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) is a technique used to analyze very low concentrations of substances in solutions, even in aqueous solutions - which is its advantage over IR. This technique can be used in the pharmacy (to check the purity of products); forensics (whether at a crime scene there were any illegal substances); or medicine (serving as a medical test) and lots more. Due to the high potential of this technique, its increasing popularity in analytical laboratories, and simultaneously - the absence of appropriate platforms enhancing the SERS signal (crucial to observe the Raman effect at low analyte concentration in solutions (1 ppm)), we decided to invent our own SERS platforms. As an enhancing layer, we have chosen gold and silver nanoparticles, because these two have the best SERS properties, and each has an affinity for the other kind of particles, which increases the range of research capabilities. The next step was to commercialize them, which resulted in the creation of the company ‘SERSitive.eu’ focusing on production of highly sensitive (Ef = 10⁵ – 10⁶), homogeneous and reproducible (70 - 80%) substrates. SERStive SERS substrates are made using the electrodeposition of silver or silver-gold nanoparticles technique. Thanks to a very detailed analysis of data based on studies optimizing such parameters as deposition time, temperature of the reaction solution, applied potential, used reducer, or reagent concentrations using a standardized compound - p-mercaptobenzoic acid (PMBA) at a concentration of 10⁻⁶ M, we have developed a high-performance process for depositing precious metal nanoparticles on the surface of ITO glass. In order to check a quality of the SERSitive platforms, we examined the wide range of the chemical compounds and the biological substances. Apart from analytes that have great affinity to the metal surfaces (e.g. PMBA) we obtained very good results for those fitting less the SERS measurements. Successfully we received intensive, and what’s more important - very repetitive spectra for; amino acids (phenyloalanine, 10⁻³ M), drugs (amphetamine, 10⁻⁴ M), designer drugs (cathinone derivatives, 10⁻³ M), medicines and ending with bacteria (Listeria, Salmonella, Escherichia coli) and fungi.

Keywords: nanoparticles, Raman spectroscopy, SERS, SERS applications, SERS substrates, SERSitive

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Authors: Agnieszka Nowogrodzka

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Objectives: ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which symptoms are most prominent throughout childhood. In the longer term, these symptoms, as well as the behaviour of the child, the experiences arising from the response of the community to the child's symptoms, as well as the functioning of the community itself, all contribute to the onset of secondary symptoms and subsequent outcomes of the disorder, such as crime or mental disorders. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of ADHD among Polish convicts serving a prison sentence. To that end, the study will focus on the relationship between the severity of ADHD and early childhood trauma, family relations, maladaptive cognitive schemas, as well as mental disorders. It is an attempt to assess the interdependence between ADHD, childhood experiences, and secondary outcomes. Methods: The study enrolled two groups of first-time convicts and repeat offenders aged between 21 and 65 –each of the study groups comprised 120 participants; 240 participants in total took part in the study. Participants were recruited in semi-open penal institutions in Poland (Poznań Custody Suite, Wronki Penal Institution, Iława Penal Institution). The control group comprised 110 men without criminal records aged 21 to 65. The DIVA 5.0 questionnaire was employed to identify the severity of ADHD symptoms. Other questionnaires employed in the course of the study included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale IV (FACES-IV), Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30). Results: The findings of the study in question are currently still being compiled and will be shared during the conference. The findings of a pilot study involving two cohorts of convicts (each numbering 20 men) and a control group (20 men with no criminal records) indicate a significant correlation between ADHD and the experience of early childhood trauma. The severity of ADHD also shows a correlation with the assessment of the functioning of the family, with the subjects assessing the relationships in their families more negatively than the control group. Furthermore, the severity of ADHD is also correlated with maladaptive emotional schemas manifesting in the participants. The findings also show a correlation between selected dimensions and the severity of offenses.

Keywords: ADHD, social impairments, mental disorders, early childhood traumas, criminality

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Authors: Hilly Moodrick-Even Khen

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This study analyzes the legal regulation of the use of force in international law in the context of three emerging Palestinian forms of struggle against Israeli occupation: the Knife Intifada, Gaza border disturbances, and the launching of incendiary kites. It discusses what legal paradigms or concepts should regulate the type and level of force used in each situation—a question that is complicated by various dilemmas—and appraises the Israel Defence Forces policies tailored in response. Methodologically, the study is based on analysis of scholarship on the conceptual legal issues as well as dicta of the courts. It evaluates the applicability of two legal paradigms regulating the use of force in military operations—(i) the conduct of hostilities and (ii) law enforcement—as well as the concept of self-defense in international law and the escalation of force procedure. While the “Knife Intifada” clearly falls under the law enforcement paradigm, the disturbances at the border and the launching of incendiary kites raise more difficult questions, as applying law enforcement, especially in the latter case, can have undesirable ramifications for safeguarding humanitarian interests. The use of force in the cases of the border disturbances and the incendiary kites should thus be regulated, mutatis mutandis, by the concept of self-defense and escalation of force procedures; and in the latter case, the hostilities paradigm can also be applied. The study provides a factual description and analysis of the background and nature of the forms of struggle in Gaza and the West Bank—in each case surveying the geo-political developments since operation Protective Edge, contextualizing how the organized and unorganized violent activities evolved, and analyzing them in terms of level of organization and intensity. It then presents the two paradigms of the use of force—law enforcement and conduct of hostilities—and the concept of self-defense. Lastly, it uses the factual findings as the basis for legally analyzing which paradigm or concept regulating the use of force applies for each form of struggle. The study concludes that in most cases, the concept of self-defense is preferable to the hostilities or the law enforcement paradigms, as it best safeguards humanitarian interests and ensures the least loss of civilian lives.

Keywords: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, self defense, terrorism, use of force

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Authors: R. M. W. Rajapakshe

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Sri Lanka, which is officially called the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island nation situated near India. It is a multi-lingual, multi- religious and multi – ethnic country, where Sinhalese form the majority and the Tamils form the largest ethnic minority. The composition of the population (ethnic basis) in Sri Lanka is as follows: Sinhalese: 74.5%, Tamil (Sri Lankan): 12.6%, Muslim: 7.5 %, Tamil (Indian): 5.5%, Malay: 0.3%, Burgher: 0.3 %, other: 0.2 %. The Tamil people use the Tamil language as their mother tongue and the Sinhala people use the Sinhala language as their mother tongue. A very few people in both communities use English as their mother tongue and however, a large number of people use English as a second language. The Sinhala Language was declared the only official language in Sri Lanka in 1959. However, it was not acceptable to Tamil politicians as well as to the common Tamil people and it was the beginning of long standing ethnic crisis which later became a military war where a lot of blood was shed. As a solution to the above ethnic crisis the thirteenth amendment to the constitution of Sri Lanka was introduced in 1987 and according to it both Sinhala and Tamil were declared official languages and English as the link language in Sri Lanka. Thus, a new programme namely, second language teaching programme under which Sinhala was taught to Tamil students and Tamil was taught to Sinhala students, was introduced at government schools. Language teaching includes knowledge of the culture of the target language. As all cultures are mixed and have common features students have reduced their enmity about the other community and learned to respect the other culture. On the other hand as all languages are mixed, students came to the understanding that there are no pure languages. Thus, they learned to respect the other language. In the case of Sri Lanka the Sinhala language is mixed with the Tamil language and vice versa. Thus, the development of second language teaching is the prominent way to solve the above ethnic problem and this study clearly shows it. However, the above programme suffers with lack of trained second language teachers, infrastructure facilities and insufficient funds and, they can be considered as the main obstacles to develop the second language teaching programme. Yet, there are no satisfactory answers to those problems. The data were collected from relevant books, articles and other documents based on research and forty five recordings, each with one hour duration, of natural conversations covering all factions of the Sinhala community.

Keywords: ethnic crisis, official language, second language teaching, Sinhala, Tami

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Authors: M. S. Said, J. A. Ghani, C. H. Che Hassan, N. N. Wan, M. A. Selamat, R. Othman

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Metal Matrix Composite (MMCs) have attracted considerable attention as a result of their ability to provide high strength, high modulus, high toughness, high impact properties, improved wear resistance and good corrosion resistance than unreinforced alloy. Aluminium Silicon (Al/Si) alloys Metal Matrix composite (MMC) has been widely used in various industrial sectors such as transportation, domestic equipment, aerospace, military, construction, etc. Aluminium silicon alloy is MMC reinforced with aluminium nitride (AlN) particle and becomes a new generation material for automotive and aerospace applications. The AlN material is one of the advanced materials with light weight, high strength, high hardness and stiffness qualities which have good future prospects. However, the high degree of ceramic particles reinforcement and the irregular nature of the particles along the matrix material that contribute to its low density, is the main problem that leads to the machining difficulties. This paper examines tool wear when milling AlSi/AlN Metal Matrix Composite using a TiB2 coated carbide cutting tool. The volume of the AlN reinforced particle was 10%. The milling process was carried out under dry cutting condition. The TiB2 coated carbide insert parameters used were the cutting speed of (230 m/min, feed rate 0.4mm tooth, DOC 0.5mm, 300 m/min, feed rate 0.8mm/tooth, DOC 0.5mm and 370 m/min, feed rate 0.8, DOC 0.4m). The Sometech SV-35 video microscope system was used for tool wear measurements respectively. The results have revealed that the tool life increases with the cutting speed (370 m/min, feed rate 0.8 mm/tooth and depth of cut 0.4mm) constituted the optimum condition for longer tool life which is 123.2 min. While at medium cutting speed, it is found that the cutting speed of 300m/min, feed rate 0.8 mm/tooth and depth of cut 0.5mm only 119.86 min for tool wear mean while the low cutting speed give 119.66 min. The high cutting speed gives the best parameter for cutting AlSi/AlN MMCs materials. The result will help manufacture to machining the AlSi/AlN MMCs materials.

Keywords: AlSi/AlN Metal Matrix Composite milling process, tool wear, TiB2 coated carbide tool, manufacturing engineering

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Authors: Bharti Jain, Rajeev Jain, Abuzar Kabir, Torki Zughaibi, Shweta Sharma

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Drug-facilitated crimes (DFCs) entail the use of a single drug or a mixture of drugs to render a victim unable. Traditionally, biological samples have been gathered from victims and conducted analysis to establish evidence of drug administration. Nevertheless, the rapid metabolism of various drugs and delays in analysis can impede the identification of such substances. For this, the present article describes a rapid, sustainable, highly efficient and miniaturized protocol for the identification and quantification of three sedative-hypnotic drugs, namely diazepam, chlordiazepoxide and ketamine in alcoholic beverages and complex food samples (cream of biscuit, flavored milk, juice, cake, tea, sweets and chocolate). The methodology involves utilizing fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) to extract diazepam (DZ), chlordiazepoxide (CDP), and ketamine (KET). Subsequently, the extracted samples are subjected to analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Several parameters, including the type of membrane, pH, agitation time and speed, ionic strength, sample volume, elution volume and time, and type of elution solvent, were screened and thoroughly optimized. Sol-gel Carbowax 20M (CW-20M) has demonstrated the most effective extraction efficiency for the target analytes among all evaluated membranes. Under optimal conditions, the method displayed linearity within the range of 0.3–10 µg mL–¹ (or µg g–¹), exhibiting a coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.996–0.999. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) for liquid samples range between 0.020-0.069 µg mL-¹ and 0.066-0.22 µg mL-¹, respectively. Correspondingly, the LODs for solid samples ranged from 0.056-0.090 µg g-¹, while the LOQs ranged from 0.18-0.29 µg g-¹. Notably, the method showcased better precision, with repeatability and reproducibility both below 5% and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, the FPSE-GC-MS method proved effective in determining diazepam (DZ) in forensic food samples connected to drug-facilitated crimes (DFCs). Additionally, the proposed method underwent evaluation for its whiteness using the RGB12 algorithm.

Keywords: drug facilitated crime, fabric phase sorptive extraction, food forensics, white analytical chemistry

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Authors: K. Yang, Y. Wei, M. Zhang, S. Yong, R. Torah, J. Tudor, S. Beeby

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E-textiles are traditional textiles with integrated electronic functionality. It is an emerging innovation with numerous applications in fashion, wearable computing, health and safety monitoring, and the military and medical sectors. The piezoelectric effect is a widespread and versatile transduction mechanism used in sensor and actuator applications. Piezoelectric materials produce electric charge when stressed. Conversely, mechanical deformation occurs when an electric field is applied across the material. Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) is a widely used piezoceramic material which has been used to fabricate e-textiles through screen printing, electro spinning and hydrothermal synthesis. This paper explores an alternative fabrication process: Spray coating. Spray coating is a straightforward and cost effective fabrication method applicable on both flat and curved surfaces. It can also be applied selectively by spraying through a stencil which enables the required design to be realised on the substrate. This work developed a sprayable PZT based piezoelectric ink consisting of a binder (Fabink-Binder-01), PZT powder (80 % 2 µm and 20 % 0.8 µm) and acetone as a thinner. The optimised weight ratio of PZT/binder is 10:1. The components were mixed using a SpeedMixer DAC 150. The fabrication processes is as follows: 1) Screen print a UV-curable polyurethane interface layer on the textile to create a smooth textile surface. 2) Spray one layer of a conductive silver polymer ink through a pre-designed stencil and dry at 90 °C for 10 minutes to form the bottom electrode. 3) Spray three layers of the PZT ink through a pre-designed stencil and dry at 90 °C for 10 minutes for each layer to form a total thickness of ~250µm PZT layer. 4) Spray one layer of the silver ink through a pre-designed stencil on top of the PZT layer and dry at 90 °C for 10 minutes to form the top electrode. The domains of the PZT elements were aligned by polarising the material at an elevated temperature under a strong electric field. A d33 of 37 pC/N has been achieved after polarising at 90 °C for 6 minutes with an electric field of 3 MV/m. The application of the piezoelectric textile was demonstrated by fabricating a pressure sensor to switch an LED on/off. Other potential applications on e-textiles include motion sensing, energy harvesting, force sensing and a buzzer.

Keywords: piezoelectric, PZT, spray coating, pressure sensor, e-textile

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Authors: Shola H. Adeosun, Lekan M. Togunwa, Kolawole Z. Amos

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This paper appraises ‘Newspaper Coverage of 2015 General Election: A study of The Punch and Guardian Newspapers’. The objectives of the study were to examine how credible newspaper reports of 2015 election were and to examine the significant role Nigeria Newspapers played in the 2015 general elections. Also this study examined the extent at which the print media contributed to the success of 2015 general election and to ascertain the extent at which print media reports serve as a tool for sensitizing the masses. The research questions that guided this research include: How credible was newspaper report of 2015 general election? To what extent did the print media contributed to the success of 2015 general elections? To what extent did the print media reports serve as a tool for sensitizing the masses? The research work was given solid theoretical foundation with the review of Agenda-setting theory, Media System Dependency Theory and Normative theories. This study was given solid theoretical foundation with the review of Agenda-setting theory, Media Dependency Theory and Normative theories. The theory was conducted using content analysis method of research and 30 publications of both The Guardian and Punch Newspaper between January 1st and March 30, 2015 forms the population for this research work. Selection of the dates and editions of Newspaper under study were done using the composite week sampling technique. All the days of the week were used for the newspapers because they (The Punch and The Guardian) are published all the days of the week. Coding sheet was the tool of data collection for the content analysis of this study. Findings of the study revealed that by the Punch newspaper and Guardian has played a significant role in eradicating election malpractices in Nigeria. It therefore concludes that media is metaphoric when we termed it to be a watchdog of the nation as well the mirror through which the nation see and recognize itself. The study also recommends that Nigerian media should strike balance between entertainment stories, crisis stories, economic stories, law story, education stories, terrorism stories, health stories, sport stories, metropolitan stories instead of portraying the country as being crime oriented.

Keywords: newspaper, coverage, general elections, impact

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Authors: Ujunma Nnenna Egbuawa

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Rape or sexual assault is a hideous crime of violence done predominantly to women and occasionally to men. In institutions of higher learning, it’s mostly experienced within or outside the campus environment due to students who are from different backgrounds socially. These students also have been imbibed with conflicting ethical standards, thus act both morally and amoral with respect to their sexual urges. The most affected among these are the female students who live outside the campus environment that is suitable for any immoral activity. These female students that are victims of rape hardly would want to be identified and this has left them as habitual prey to the unsuspecting predators. The socio-cultural setting has also been a contributory factor to the psychological and physical damage these victims face throughout their time of study as female rape victims. This is an empirical study designed to elicit information from students of Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri Imo State Nigeria on whether they have been sexually assaulted or raped and how they handled it thereafter. This institution was used as a case study because the provost of this tertiary institution is a woman whose name is Dr( Mrs ) C.U Njoku who has made consented efforts to ensure these rape victims rise above the social stigma associated with it. This rector has also put in some measures to bring about a decline in cases of rape within and outside the campus environment. She also granted the researcher an oral interview on how she has been able to achieve these and the challenges she hitherto faced in the process. Three research questions and a hypothesis guided the study. Samples of 119 students were used and stratification was done for sex, age and the academic level of the students. 14 item questionnaires were used and data generated from the survey were analyzed using percentages. This workshop would engage the participants by investigating some courses that may help in declining the rate of rape cases within a campus. Also, necessary measures that would be taken to help in sensitizing the tertiary institutions in areas that can aid the healing procedures of these victims. The need also for guidance and counseling unit is also a necessity for the psychological survival of these rape victims. As a result, the participants would gain an increased awareness of the influence of rape and sexual assault on campus. There ought to be a paradigm shift in institutions of higher learning in policies, administrative decisions and introduction of courses that will uplift ethical standards in order to bring about a change both locally and globally.

Keywords: institutions, psychological, sexual assault, socio-cultural

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Authors: Himanshu Kushwah, Nidhi Sandal, Meenakshi K. Chauhan, Gaurav Mittal

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Excessive bleeding is the primary factor of avoidable death in both civilian trauma centers as well as the military battlefield. Hundreds of Indian troops die every year due to blood loss caused by combat-related injuries. These deaths are avoidable and can be prevented to a large extent by making available a suitable hemostatic dressing in an emergency medical kit. In this study, natural gums were evaluated as potential hemostatic agents in combination with calcium gluconate. The study compares the hemostatic activity of Gum Tragacanth (GT), Guar Gum (GG), Xanthan Gum (XG) and Gum Acacia (GA) by carrying out different in-vitro and in-vivo studies. In-vitro studies were performed using the Lee-White method and Eustrek method, which includes the visual and microscopic analysis of blood clotting. MTT assay was also performed using human lymphocytes to check the cytotoxicity of the gums. The in-vivo studies were performed in Sprague Dawley rats using tail bleeding assay to evaluate the hemostatic efficacy of the gums and compared with a commercially available hemostatic sponge, Surgispon. Erythrocyte agglutination test was also performed to check the interaction between blood cells and the natural gums. Other parameters like blood loss, adherence strength of the developed hemostatic dressing material incorporating these gums, re-bleeding, and survival of the animals were also studied. The data obtained from the MTT assay showed that Guar gum, Gum Tragacanth, and Gum Acacia were not significantly cytotoxic, but substantial cytotoxicity was observed in Xanthan gum samples at high concentrations. Also, Xanthan gum took the least time with its minimum concentration to achieve hemostasis, (approximately 50 seconds at 3mg concentration). Gum Tragacanth also showed efficient hemostasis at a concentration of 35mg at the same time, but the other two gums tested were not able to clot the blood in significantly less time. A sponge dressing made of Tragacanth gum was found to be more efficient in achieving hemostasis and showed better practical applicability among all the gums studied and also when compared to the commercially available product, Surgispon, thus making it a potentially better alternative.

Keywords: cytotoxicity, hemostasis, natural gums, sponge

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Authors: Oleg Sokolov

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Despite the fact that the epoch of the Crusades ended more than 700 years ago, its legacy still remains relevant both in the Middle East and in the West. There was made a comparison of the positions of the most prominent Western and Arab medievalists of XX-XXI centuries, using the example of their interpretations of the success of the First Crusade. The analyzed corpus consists of 70 works. In the modern Arab Historiography, it is often pointed out that the Seljuks' struggle against the crusaders of the First Crusade was seriously hampered by the raids of the Arab Bedouin tribes of Jazira. At the same time, it is emphasized that the Arab rulers of Northern Syria were ‘pleased’ with the defeats of the Turks and made peace with the Crusaders, refusing to fight them. At the same time it is usually underlined that the Fatimid aggression against the Turks led both the first and the second to defeat from the Crusaders and became one of the main reasons for the success of the First Crusade and the Muslims' loss of Jerusalem in 1099. The position of Western historians about the reasons for the success of the First Crusade differs significantly. First of all, in the Western Historiography, it is noted that the deaths of the Fatimid and Abbasid Caliphs and the Seljuk Sultan between 1092 and 1094 years created political vacuum just before the crusaders appeared in the Middle East political arena. In 1097-1099, when the Crusaders advanced through Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine to Jerusalem, there was an active internecine struggle between the parts of the Seljuq state that had broken up by that time, and the crusaders were not perceived as a general threat of all Muslims of this region at that time. It is also pointed out that the main goals of the Crusaders - Antioch, Edessa, and Jerusalem - were at that time periphery since the main struggle for power in the Middle East was at this time in Iran. Thus, Arab historians see the lack of support from Arabs of Syria and Jazira and the aggression from Egypt as a crucial factors preventing the Seljuks from defeating the Crusaders, while their Western counterparts consider the internal power struggle between the Seljuks as a more important reason for the success of the First Crusade. The reason for this divergence in the treatment of the events of the First Crusade is probably the prevailing in much of Arab historiography, the idea of the Franks as an enemy of all peoples and religions of the Middle East. At the same time, in contemporary Western Historiography, the crusaders are described only as one of the many military and political forces that operated in this region at the end of the eleventh century.

Keywords: Arabs, Crusades, historiography, Turks

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