Search results for: attention restoration theory

Authors: Eleonora Carloni, Michela Arnaboldi

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In academia, the investigation of the relationship between cultural heritage and corporations is ubiquitous in several fields of studies. In practice corporations are more and more integrating arts and cultural heritage in their strategies for disparate benefits, such as: to foster customer’s purchase intention with authentic and aesthetic experiences, to improve their reputation towards local communities, and to motivate employees with creative thinking. There are diverse forms under which corporations set these artistic interventions, from sponsorships to arts-based training centers for employees, but scholars agree that the maximum expression of this cultural trend are corporate museums, growing in number and relevance. Corporate museums are museum-like settings, hosting artworks of corporations’ history and interests. In academia they have been ascribed as strategic asset and they have been associated with diverse uses for corporations’ benefits, from place for preservation of cultural heritage, to tools for public relations and cultural flagship stores. Previous studies have thus extensively but fragmentally studied the diverse benefits of corporate museum opening to corporations, with a lack of comprehensive approach and a digression on how to evaluate and report corporate museum’s performances. Stepping forward, the present study aims to investigate: 1) what are the key performance measures corporate museums need to report to the associated corporations; 2) how are the key performance measures reported to the concerned corporations. This direction of study is not only suggested as future direction in academia but it has solid basis in practice, aiming to answer to the need of corporate museums’ directors to account for corporate museum’s activities to the concerned corporation. Coherently, at an empirical level the study relies on action research method, whose distinctive feature is to develop practical knowledge through a participatory process. This paper indeed relies on the experience of a collaborative project between the researchers and a set of corporate museums in Italy, aimed at co-developing a performance measurement system. The project involved two steps: a first step, in which researchers derived the potential performance measures from literature along with exploratory interviews; a second step, in which researchers supported the pool of corporate museums’ directors in co-developing a set of key performance indicators for reporting. Preliminary empirical findings show that while scholars insist on corporate museums’ capability to develop networking relations, directors insist on the role of museums as internal supplier of knowledge for innovation goals. Moreover, directors stress museums’ cultural mission and outcomes as potential benefits for corporation, by remarking to include both cultural and business measures in the final tool. In addition, they give relevant attention to the wording used in humanistic terms while struggling to express all measures in economic terms. The paper aims to contribute to corporate museums’ and more broadly to arts-based initiatives’ literature in two directions. Firstly, it elaborates key performance measures with related indicators to report on cultural initiatives for corporations. Secondly, it provides evidence of challenges and practices to handle reporting on these initiatives, because of tensions arising from the co-existence of diverse perspectives, namely arts and business worlds.

Keywords: arts-based initiative, corporate museum, hybrid organization, performance measurement

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Authors: Sugandha Gupta, Arun Kumar Jha

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A large number of ferroelectric materials have been intensely investigated for applications in non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMs), piezoelectric transducers, actuators, pyroelectric sensors, high dielectric constant capacitors, etc. Bismuth layered ferroelectric materials such as Strontium Bismuth Tantalate (SBT) has attracted a lot of attention due to low leakage current, high remnant polarization and high fatigue endurance up to 1012 switching cycles. However, pure SBT suffers from various major limitations such as high dielectric loss, low remnant polarization values, high processing temperature, bismuth volatilization, etc. Significant efforts have been made to improve the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of this compound. Firstly, it has been reported that electrical properties vary with the Sr/ Bi content ratio in the SrBi2Ta2O9 compsition i.e. non-stoichiometric compositions with Sr-deficient / Bi excess content have higher remnant polarization values than stoichiometic SBT compositions. With the objective to improve structural, dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of SBT compound, rare earth holmium (Ho3+) was chosen as a donor cation for substitution onto the Bi2O2 layer. Moreover, hardly any report on holmium substitution in stoichiometric SrBi2Ta2O9 and non-stoichiometric Sr0.8Bi2.2Ta2O9 compositions were available in the literature. The holmium substituted SrBi2-xHoxTa2O9 (x= 0.00-2.0) and Sr0.8Bi2.2Ta2O9 (x=0.0 and 0.01) compositions were synthesized by the solid state reaction method. The synthesized specimens were characterized for their structural and electrical properties. X-ray diffractograms reveal single phase layered perovskite structure formation for holmium content in stoichiometric SBT samples up to x ≤ 0.1. The granular morphology of the samples was investigated using scanning electron microscope (Hitachi, S-3700 N). The dielectric measurements were carried out using a precision LCR meter (Agilent 4284A) operating at oscillation amplitude of 1V. The variation of dielectric constant with temperature shows that the Curie temperature (Tc) decreases on increasing the holmium content. The specimen with x=2.0 i.e. the bismuth free specimen, has very low dielectric constant and does not show any appreciable variation with temperature. The dielectric loss reduces significantly with holmium substitution. The polarization–electric field (P–E) hysteresis loops were recorded using a P–E loop tracer based on Sawyer–Tower circuit. It is observed that the ferroelectric property improve with Ho substitution. Holmium substituted specimen exhibits enhanced value of remnant polarization (Pr= 9.22 μC/cm²) as compared to holmium free specimen (Pr= 2.55 μC/cm²). Piezoelectric co-efficient (d33 values) was measured using a piezo meter system (Piezo Test PM300). It is observed that holmium substitution enhances piezoelectric coefficient. Further, the optimized holmium content (x=0.01) in stoichiometric SrBi2-xHoxTa2O9 composition has been substituted in non-stoichiometric Sr0.8Bi2.2Ta2O9 composition to obtain further enhanced structural and electrical characteristics. It is expected that a new class of ferroelectric materials i.e. Rare Earth Layered Structured Ferroelectrics (RLSF) derived from Bismuth Layered Structured Ferroelectrics (BLSF) will generate which can be used to replace static (SRAM) and dynamic (DRAM) random access memories with ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMS).

Keywords: dielectrics, ferroelectrics, piezoelectrics, strontium bismuth tantalate

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Authors: Diana Kwok

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Introduction: There is a rising concern on the educational needs of school guidance teachers, counselors, and sex educators to work effectively with students from multicultural groups, such as racial minorities, gender minorities, sexual minorities, and disability groups etc., and to respect cultural diversities. A specialized training model, the multicultural framework based on contact theory is recognized as necessary training model for professional training programs. Methodology: While the major focus of this project is on improving teaching and learning in teacher training courses within the department of Special Education and Counselling, it specifically aims to enhance the cultural competence of 102 participants enrolled in counseling and sexuality education courses by integrating the following teaching and learning strategies: 1) Panel presentation; 2) Case studies; 3) Experiential learning. Data sources from the participants consisted of the following: (a) questionnaires (MCKAS and ATLG) administered in classes; (b) weekly reflective journals, and c) focus group interviews with panel members. The focus group interviews with panel members were documented. Qualitatively, the weekly reflections were content analyzed. The presentation in this specific conference put focus on themes we found from qualitative content analysis of weekly reflective journals from 102 participants. Findings: Content analysis had found the following preliminary emergent themes: Theme I) Cultural knowledge and challenges to personal limitation. Students had gained a new perspective that specific cultural knowledge involved unique values and worldview. Awareness of limitation of counsellors is very important after actively acquiring the cultural knowledge. Theme 2 - Observation, engagement and active learning. Through the sharing and case studies, as well as visits to the communities, students recognized that observation and listening to the needs of cultural group members were the essential steps before taking any intervention steps. Theme 3 - Curiosity and desire for further inter-group dialogue. All students expressed their desire, curiosity, and motivation to have further inter-group dialogue in their future work settings. Theme 4: Experience with teaching and learning strategies. Students shared their perspectives on how teaching and learning strategies had facilitated their acquisition of cultural competence. Results of this analysis suggests that diverse teaching and learning strategies based on contact perspective had stimulated their curiosity to re-examine their values and motivated them to acquire cultural knowledge relevant to the cultural groups. Acknowledgment: The teaching and learning project was funded by the Teaching and Development Grant, Hong Kong Institute of Education (Project Number T0142).

Keywords: cultural competence, Chinese teacher students, teaching and learning, contacts

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Authors: Amrisha Pandey

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Indian constitution has distributed the powers to govern and legislate between the centre and the state governments based on the list of subject-matter provided in the seventh schedule. By that schedule, the states are authorized to regulate the water resource within their territory. However, the centre/union government is authorized to regulate the inter-state water disputes. The powers entrusted to the union government mainly deals with the sharing of river water which flows through the territory of two or more states. For that purpose, a provision enumerated in Article 262 of the Constitution of India which empowers the parliament to resolve any such inter-state river water dispute. Therefore, the parliament has enacted the - ‘Inter-State River Water Dispute Tribunal, Act’, which allows the central/union government to constitute the tribunal for the adjudication of the disputes and expressly bars the jurisdiction of the judiciary in the concerned matter. This arrangement was intended to resolve the dispute using political or diplomatic means, without deliberately interfering with the sovereign power of the states to govern the water resource. The situation in present context is complicated and sensitive. Due to the change in climatic conditions; increasing demand for the limited resource; and the advanced understanding of the freshwater cycle, which is missing from the existing legal regime. The obsolete legal and political tools, the existing legislative mechanism and the institutional units do not seem to accommodate the rising challenge to regulate the resource. Therefore, resulting in the rise of the politicization of the inter-state water disputes. Against this background, this paper will investigate the inter-state river water dispute in India and will critically analyze the ability of the existing constitutional, and institutional units involved in the task. Moreover, the competence of the tribunal as the adjudicating body in present context will be analyzed using the long ongoing inter-state water dispute in India – The Cauvery Water Dispute, as the case study. To conduct the task undertaken in this paper the doctrinal methodology of the research is adopted. The disputes will also be investigated through the lens of sovereignty, which is accorded to the states using the theory of ‘separation of power’ and the ‘grant of internal sovereignty’, to its federal units of governance. The issue of sovereignty in this paper is discussed in two ways: 1) as the responsibility of the state - to govern the resource; and 2) as the obligation of the state - to govern the resource, arising from the sovereign power of the state. Furthermore, the duality of the sovereign power coexists in this analysis; the overall sovereign authority of the nation-state, and the internal sovereignty of the states as its federal units of governance. As a result, this investigation will propose institutional, legislative and judicial reforms. Additionally, it will suggest certain amendments to the existing constitutional provisions in order to avoid the contradictions in their scope and meaning in the light of the advanced hydrological understanding.

Keywords: constitution of India, federalism, inter-state river water dispute tribunal of India, sovereignty

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Authors: Cathrine Scharning Cornwall-Nyquist, David Rafael Vaz Fernandes

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Since its origins, mankind has been dreaming of communicating directly with other animals. Past civilizations interacted on different levels with other species and recognized them in their rituals and daily activities. However, recent scientific developments have limited the ability of humans to consider deeper levels of interaction beyond observation and/or physical behavior. In recent years, animal caretakers and facilities such as sanctuaries or rescue centers have been introducing new techniques based on intuition. Most of those initiatives are related to specific cases, such as the incapacity to understand an animal’s behavior. Respected organizations also include intuitive animal communication (IAC) sessions to follow up on past interventions with their animals. Despite the lack of credibility of this discipline, some animal caring structures have opted to integrate IAC into their daily routines and approaches to animal welfare. At this stage, animal communication will be generally defined as the ability of humans to communicate with animals on an intuitive level. The trend in the field remains to be explored. The lack of theory and previous research urges the scientific community to improve the description of the phenomenon and its consequences. Considering the current scenario, qualitative approaches may become a suitable pathway to explore this topic. The purpose of this case study is to explore the beliefs behind and the consequences of an approach based on intuitive animal communication techniques for Panthera Africa (PA), an ethical sanctuary located in South Africa. Due to their personal experience, the Sanctuary’s founders have developed a philosophy based on IAC while respecting the world's highest standards for big cat welfare. Their dual approach is reflected in their rescues, daily activities, and healing animals’ trauma. The case study's main research questions will be: (i) Why do they choose to apply IAC in their work? (ii) What consequences to their activities do IAC bring? (iii) What effects do IAC techniques bring in their interactions with the outside world? Data collection will be gathered on-site via: (i) Complete participation (field notes); (ii) Semi-structured interviews (audio transcriptions); (iii) Document analysis (internal procedures and policies); (iv) Audio-visual material (communication with third parties). The main researcher shall become an active member of the Sanctuary during a 30-day period and have full access to the site. Access to documents and audio-visual materials will be granted on a request basis. Interviews are expected to be held with PA founders and staff members and with IAC practitioners related to the facility. The information gathered shall enable the researcher to provide an extended description of the phenomenon and explore its internal and external consequences for Panthera Africa.

Keywords: animal welfare, intuitive animal communication, Panthera Africa, rescue

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Authors: Tsuiping Chen

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It has always been an international consensus that food forms a big part of any culture since the old times. However, this idea has not been globally concretized until the announcement of including food or cuisine as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010. This announcement strengthens the value of food culture, which is getting more and more notice by every country. Although Taiwan is not one of the members of the United Nations, we cannot detach ourselves from this important global trend, especially when we have a lot of culinary students expected to join the world culinary job market. These students should have been well educated with the knowledge of world food culture to make them have the sensibility and perspectives for the occurring global food issues before joining the culinary jobs. Under the premise of the above concern, the researcher and also the instructor took on action research with one class of students in the 'Food Culture' course watching, discussing, and analyzing 12 culinary documentary films selected from one decade’s (2007-2016) of Berlin Culinary Cinema in one semester of class hours. In addition, after class, the students separated themselves into six groups and joined 12 times of one-hour-long focus group discussion on the 12 films conducted by the researcher. Furthermore, during the semester, the students submitted their reflection reports on each film to the university e-portfolio system. All the focus discussions and reflection reports were recorded and collected for further analysis by the researcher and one invited film researcher. Glaser and Strauss’ Grounded Theory (1967) constant comparison method was employed to analyze the collected data. Finally, the findings' results were audited by all participants of the research. All the participants and the researchers created 200 items of food culture products, 74 items of food culture practices, and 50 items of food culture perspectives from the action research journey through watching culinary documentaries. The journey did broaden students’ points of view on world food culture and enhance their capability on perspective construction for food culture. Four aspects of significant findings were demonstrated. First, learning food culture through watching Berlin culinary films helps students link themselves to the happening global food issues such as food security, food poverty, and food sovereignty, which direct them to rethink how people should grow, share and consume food. Second, watching different categories of documentary food films enhances students’ strong sense of responsibility for ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all people in every corner of the world. Third, watching these documentary films encourages students to think if the culinary education they have accepted in this island is inclusive and the importance of quality education, which can promote lifelong learning. Last but not least, the journey of the culinary documentary film watching in the 'Food Culture' course inspires students to take pride in their profession. It is hoped the model of teaching food culture with culinary documentary films will inspire more food culture educators, researchers, and the culinary curriculum designers.

Keywords: food culture, action research, culinary documentary films, food culture products, practices, perspectives

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Authors: Jeni Stolow, Lina Moses, Carl Kendall

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Zika virus (ZIKV) reemerged as a global threat in 2015 with Brazil at its epicenter. Brazilians have a long history of combatting Aedes aegypti mosquitos as it is a common vector for dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. As a response to the epidemic, public health authorities promoted ZIKV prevention behaviors such as mosquito bite prevention, reproductive counseling for women who are pregnant or contemplating pregnancy, pregnancy avoidance, and condom use. Most prevention efforts from Brazil focused on the mosquito vector- utilizing recycled dengue approaches without acknowledging the context in which women were able to adhere to these prevention messages. This study used qualitative methods to explore how women in Fortaleza, Brazil perceive ZIKV, the Brazilian authorities’ ZIKV prevention recommendations, and the feasibility of adhering to these recommendations. A core study aim was to look at how women perceive their physical, social, and natural environment as it impacts women’s ability to adhere to ZIKV prevention behaviors. A Rapid Anthropological Assessment (RAA) containing observations, informational interviews, and semi-structured in-depth interviews were utilized for data collection. The study utilized Grounded Theory as the systematic inductive method of analyzing the data collected. Interviews were conducted with 35 women of reproductive age (15-39 years old), who primarily utilize the public health system. It was found that women’s self-identified economic class was associated with how strongly women felt they could prevent ZIKV. All women interviewed technically belong to the C-class, the middle economic class. Although all members of the same economic class, there was a divide amongst participants as to who perceived themselves as higher C-class versus lower C-class. How women saw their economic status was dictated by how they perceived their physical, social, and natural environment. Women further associated their environment and their economic class to their likelihood of contracting ZIKV, their options for preventing ZIKV, their ability to prevent ZIKV, and their willingness to attempt to prevent ZIKV. Women’s perceived economic status was found to relate to their structural environment (housing quality, sewage, and locations to supplies), social environment (family and peer norms), and natural environment (wetland areas, natural mosquito breeding sites, and cyclical nature of vectors). Findings from this study suggest that women’s perceived environment and economic status impact their perceived feasibility and desire to attempt behaviors to prevent ZIKV. Although ZIKV has depleted from epidemic to endemic status, it is suggested that the virus will return as cyclical outbreaks like that seen with similar arboviruses such as dengue and chikungunya. As the next ZIKV epidemic approaches it is essential to understand how women perceive themselves, their abilities, and their environments to best aid the prevention of ZIKV.

Keywords: Aedes aegypti, environment, prevention, qualitative, zika

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Authors: Sara Dragisic

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Using the theoretical analysis of the birth of biopolitics that Foucault performed through the history of liberalism and neoliberalism, in this paper we will try to show how, precisely through problematizing the role of international institutions, the model of governance differs from previous ways of objectifying body and life. Are the state and its mechanisms still a Leviathan to fight against, or can it be even the driver of resistance against the proponents of modern governance and the biopolitical power? Do paradigmatic examples of biopolitics still appear through sovereignty and (international) law, or is it precisely this sphere that shows a significant dose of incompetence and powerlessness in relation to, not only the economic sphere (Foucault’s critique of neoliberalism) but also the new politics of freedom? Have the struggle for freedom and human rights, as well as the war on terrorism, opened a new spectrum of biopolitical processes, which are manifested precisely through new international institutions and humanitarian discourse? We will try to answer these questions, in the following way. On the one hand, we will show that the views of authors such as Agamben and Hardt and Negri, in whom the state and sovereignty are seen as enemies to be defeated or overcome, fail to see how such attempts could translate into the politicization of life like it is done in many examples through the doctrine of liberal interventionism and humanitarianism. On the other hand, we will point out that it is precisely the humanitarian discourse and the defense of the right to intervention that can be the incentive and basis for the politicization of the category of life and lead to the selective application of human rights. Zizek example of the killing of United Nations workers and doctors in a village during the Vietnam War, who were targeted even before police or soldiers, because they were precisely seen as a powerful instrument of American imperialism (as they were sincerely trying to help the population), will be focus of this part of the analysis. We’ll ask the question whether such interpretation is a kind of liquidation of the extreme left of the political (Laclau) or on this basis can be explained at least in part the need to review the functioning of international organizations, ranging from those dealing with humanitarian aid (and humanitarian military interventions) to those dealing with protection and the security of the population, primarily from growing terrorism. Based on the above examples, we will also explain how the discourse of terrorism itself plays a dual role: it can appear as a tool of liberal biopolitics, although, more superficially, it mostly appears as an enemy that wants to destroy the liberal system and its values. This brings us to the basic problem that this paper will tackle: do the mechanisms of institutional struggle for human rights and freedoms, which is often seen as opposed to the security mechanisms of the state, serve the governance of citizens in such a way that the latter themselves participate in producing biopolitical governmental practices? Is the freedom today "nothing but the correlative development of apparatuses of security" (Foucault)? Or, we can continue this line of Foucault’s argumentation and enhance the interpretation with the important question of what precisely today reflects the change in the rationality of governance in which society is transformed from a passive object into a subject of its own production. Finally, in order to understand the skills of biopolitical governance in modern civil society, it is necessary to pay attention to the status of international organizations, which seem to have become a significant place for the implementation of global governance. In this sense, the power of sovereignty can turn out to be an insufficiently strong power of security policy, which can go hand in hand with freedom policies, through neoliberal governmental techniques.

Keywords: neoliberalism, Foucault, sovereignty, biopolitics, international organizations, NGOs, Agamben, Hardt&Negri, Zizek, security, state power

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Authors: Fru Vitalis Akuma, Jenna Koenen

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The science education community is increasingly calling for learning experiences that mirror the work of scientists. Although inquiry-based science education is aligned with these calls, the implementation of this strategy is a complex and daunting task for many teachers. Thus, policymakers and researchers have noted the need for continued teacher Professional Development (PD) in the enactment of inquiry-based science education, coupled with effective ways of reaching the goals of teacher PD. This is a complex problem for which educational design research is suitable. The purpose at this stage of our design research is to develop a generic PD framework that is valid as the blueprint of a PD program for supporting science teachers in relation to inquiry-based curriculum units. The seven components of the framework are the goal, learning theory, strategy, phases, support, motivation, and an instructional model. Based on a systematic review of the literature on effective (science) teacher PD, coupled with developer screening, we have generated a design principle per component of the PD framework. For example, as per the associated design principle, the goal of the framework is to provide science teachers with experiences in authentic inquiry, coupled with enhancing their competencies linked to the adoption, customization and design; then the classroom implementation and the revision of inquiry-based curriculum units. The seven design principles have allowed us to synthesize the PD framework, which, coupled with the design principles, are the preliminary outcomes of the current research. We are in the process of evaluating the content and construct validity of the framework, based on nine one-on-one interviews with experts in inquiry-based classroom and teacher learning. To this end, we have developed an interview protocol with the input of eight such experts in South Africa and Germany. Using the protocol, the expert appraisal of the PD framework will involve three experts from Germany, South Africa, and Cameroon, respectively. These countries, where we originate and/or work, provide a variety of inquiry-based science education contexts, making the countries suitable in the evaluation of the generic PD framework. Based on the evaluation, we will revise the framework and its seven design principles to arrive at the final outcomes of the current research. While the final content and construct a valid version of the framework will serve as an example of the needed ways through which effective inquiry-based science teacher PD may be achieved, the final design principles will be useful to researchers when transforming the framework for use in any specific educational context. For example, in our further research, we will transform the framework to one that is practical and effective in supporting inquiry-based practical work in resource-constrained physical sciences classrooms in South Africa. Researchers in other educational contexts may similarly consider the final framework and design principles in their work. Thus, our final outcomes will inform practice and research around the support of teachers to increase the incorporation of learning experiences that mirror the work of scientists in a worldwide manner.

Keywords: design principles, educational design research, evaluation, inquiry-based science education, professional development framework

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Authors: Islam Sherif, Ahmed Ashour, Ahmed Hassan, Hatem Osman

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Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries are common among athletes and individuals participating in sports with sudden stops, pivots, and changes in direction. Arthroscopic surgery is the gold standard for ACL reconstruction, aiming to restore knee stability and function. Recent years have witnessed significant advancements in arthroscopic surgery techniques, graft materials, and technological innovations, revolutionizing the field of ACL reconstruction. This presentation delves into the latest advancements in arthroscopic surgery techniques for ACL reconstruction and their potential impact on patient outcomes. Traditionally, autografts from the patellar tendon, hamstring tendon, or quadriceps tendon have been commonly used for ACL reconstruction. However, recent studies have explored the use of allografts, synthetic scaffolds, and tissue-engineered grafts as viable alternatives. This abstract evaluates the benefits and potential drawbacks of each graft type, considering factors such as graft incorporation, strength, and risk of graft failure. Moreover, the application of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies in surgical planning and intraoperative navigation has gained traction. AR and VR platforms provide surgeons with detailed 3D anatomical reconstructions of the knee joint, enhancing preoperative visualization and aiding in graft tunnel placement during surgery. We discuss the integration of AR and VR in arthroscopic ACL reconstruction procedures, evaluating their accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and overall impact on surgical outcomes. Beyond graft selection and surgical navigation, patient-specific planning has gained attention in recent research. Advanced imaging techniques, such as MRI-based personalized planning, enable surgeons to tailor ACL reconstruction procedures to each patient's unique anatomy. By accounting for individual variations in the femoral and tibial insertion sites, this personalized approach aims to optimize graft placement and potentially improve postoperative knee kinematics and stability. Furthermore, rehabilitation and postoperative care play a crucial role in the success of ACL reconstruction. This abstract explores novel rehabilitation protocols, emphasizing early mobilization, neuromuscular training, and accelerated recovery strategies. Integrating technology, such as wearable sensors and mobile applications, into postoperative care can facilitate remote monitoring and timely intervention, contributing to enhanced rehabilitation outcomes. In conclusion, this presentation provides an overview of the cutting-edge advancements in arthroscopic surgery techniques for ACL reconstruction. By embracing innovative graft materials, augmented reality, patient-specific planning, and technology-driven rehabilitation, orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists can achieve superior outcomes in ACL injury management. These developments hold great promise for improving the functional outcomes and long-term success rates of ACL reconstruction, benefitting athletes and patients alike.

Keywords: arthroscopic surgery, ACL, autograft, allograft, graft materials, ACL reconstruction, synthetic scaffolds, tissue-engineered graft, virtual reality, augmented reality, surgical planning, intra-operative navigation

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Authors: Shanhua Hu

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Social media as a critical propagandizing form of film, video games, and digital products has received substantial research attention, but there exists several critical barriers such as: (1) few studies exploring the internal and external connections of a product as part of the multimodal context that gives rise to readability and commercial return; (2) the lack of study of multimodal analysis in product’s official account of game publishers and its impact on users’ behaviors including purchase intention, social media engagement, and playing time; (3) no standardized ecologically-valid, game type-varying data can be used to study the complexity of official account’s postings within a time period. This proposed research helps to tackle these limitations in order to develop a model of readability study that is more ecologically valid, robust, and thorough. To accomplish this objective, this paper provides a more diverse dataset comprising different visual elements and messages collected from the official Twitter accounts of the Top 20 best-selling games of 2021. Video game companies target potential users through social media, a popular approach is to set up an official account to maintain exposure. Typically, major game publishers would create an official account on Twitter months before the game's release date to update on the game's development, announce collaborations, and reveal spoilers. Analyses of tweets from those official Twitter accounts would assist publishers and marketers in identifying how to efficiently and precisely deploy advertising to increase game sales. The purpose of this research is to determine how official game accounts use Twitter to attract new customers, specifically which types of messages are most effective at increasing sales. The dataset includes the number of days until the actual release date on Twitter posts, the readability of the post (Flesch Reading Ease Score, FRES), the number of emojis used, the number of hashtags, the number of followers of the mentioned users, the categorization of the posts (i.e., spoilers, collaborations, promotions), and the number of video views. The timeline of Twitter postings from official accounts will be compared to the history of pre-orders and sales figures to determine the potential impact of social media posts. This study aims to determine how the above-mentioned characteristics of official accounts' Twitter postings influence the sales of the game and to examine the possible causes of this influence. The outcome will provide researchers with a list of potential aspects that could influence people's judgments in limited-word posts. With the increased average online time, users would adapt more quickly than before in online information exchange and readings, such as the word to use sentence length, and the use of emojis or hashtags. The study on the promotion of official game accounts will not only enable publishers to create more effective promotion techniques in the future but also provide ideas for future research on the influence of social media posts with a limited number of words on consumers' purchasing decisions. Future research can focus on more specific linguistic aspects, such as precise word choice in advertising.

Keywords: engagement, official account, promotion, twitter, video game

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Authors: Nicholas Fieseler

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The nature of religion implicit in popular culture is relevant both in and out of the university. The traditional rules-based conception of religion and the ethical systems that emerge from them do not necessarily convey the behavior of daily life as it exists apart from spaces deemed sacred. This paper proposes to examine the religion implicit in the popular culture phenomenon of professional wrestling and how that affects the understanding of popular religion. Pro wrestling, while frequently dismissed, offers a unique manner through which to re-examine religion in popular culture. A global phenomenon, pro wrestling occupies a distinct space in numerous countries and presents a legitimate reflection of human behavior cross-culturally on a scale few other phenomena can equal. Given its global viewership of millions, it should be recognized as a significant means of interpreting the human attraction to violence and its association with religion in general. Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theory of Theodrama will be used to interrogate the inchoate religion within pro wrestling. While Balthasar developed theodrama within the confines of Christian theology; theodrama contains remarkable versatility in its potential utility. Since theodrama re-envisions reality as drama, the actions of every human actor on the stage contributes to the play’s development, and all action contains some transcendent value. It is in this sense that even the “low brow” activity of pro wrestling may be understood in religious terms. Moreover, a pro wrestling storyline acts as a play within a play: the struggles in a pro wrestling match reflect the human attitudes toward life as it exists in the sacred and profane realms. The indistinct lines separating traditionally good (face) from traditionally bad (heel)wrestlers mirror the moral ambiguity in which many people interpret life. This blurred distinction between good and bad, and large segments of an audience’s embrace of the heel wrestlers, reveal ethical constraints that guide the everyday values of pro wrestling spectators, a moral ambivalence that is often overlooked by traditional religious systems, and which has hitherto been neglected in the academic literature on pro wrestling. The significance of interpreting the religion implicit in pro wrestling through a the dramatic lens extends beyond pro wrestling specifically and can examine the religion implicit in popular culture in general. The use of theodrama mitigates the rigid separation often ascribed to areas deemed sacred/ profane, ortranscendent / immanent, enabling a re-evaluation of religion and ethical systems as practiced in popular culture. The use of theodrama will be expressed by utilizing the pro wrestling match as a literary text that reflects the society from which it emerges. This analysis will also reveal the complex nature of religion in popular culture and provides new directions for the academic study of religion. This project consciously bridges the academic and popular realms. The goal of the research is not to add only to the academic literature on implicit religion in popular culture but to publish it in a form which speaks to those outside the standard academic audiences for such work.

Keywords: ethics, popular religion, professional wrestling, theodrama

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Authors: Xiaoqing Peng, Aijing Luo, Yang Chen

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Background: Cyberchondria, as an "emerging risk" accompanied by the information era, is a new abnormal pattern characterized by excessive or repeated online searches for health-related information and escalating health anxiety, which endangers people's physical and mental health and poses a huge threat to public health. Objective: To explore and discuss the research status, hotspots and trends of Cyberchondria. Methods: Based on a total of 77 articles regarding "Cyberchondria" extracted from Web of Science from the beginning till October 2019, the literature trends, countries, institutions, hotspots are analyzed by bibliometric analysis, the concept definition of Cyberchondria, instruments, relevant factors, treatment and intervention are discussed as well. Results: Since "Cyberchondria" was put forward for the first time in 2001, the last two decades witnessed a noticeable increase in the amount of literature, especially during 2014-2019, it quadrupled dramatically at 62 compared with that before 2014 only at 15, which shows that Cyberchondria has become a new theme and hot topic in recent years. The United States was the most active contributor with the largest publication (23), followed by England (11) and Australia (11), while the leading institutions were Baylor University(7) and University of Sydney(7), followed by Florida State University(4) and University of Manchester(4). The WoS categories "Psychiatry/Psychology " and "Computer/ Information Science "were the areas of greatest influence. The concept definition of Cyberchondria is not completely unified in the world, but it is generally considered as an abnormal behavioral pattern and emotional state and has been invoked to refer to the anxiety-amplifying effects of online health-related searches. The first and the most frequently cited scale for measuring the severity of Cyberchondria called “The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) ”was developed in 2014, which conceptualized Cyberchondria as a multidimensional construct consisting of compulsion, distress, excessiveness, reassurance, and mistrust of medical professionals which was proved to be not necessary for this construct later. Since then, the Brazilian, German, Turkish, Polish and Chinese versions were subsequently developed, improved and culturally adjusted, while CSS was optimized to a simplified version (CSS-12) in 2019, all of which should be worthy of further verification. The hotspots of Cyberchondria mainly focuses on relevant factors as follows: intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, internet addition, abnormal illness behavior, Whiteley index, problematic internet use, trying to make clear the role played by “associated factors” and “anxiety-amplifying factors” in the development of Cyberchondria, to better understand the aetiological links and pathways in the relationships between hypochondriasis, health anxiety and online health-related searches. Although the treatment and intervention of Cyberchondria are still in the initial stage of exploration, there are kinds of meaningful attempts to seek effective strategies from different aspects such as online psychological treatment, network technology management, health information literacy improvement and public health service. Conclusion: Research on Cyberchondria is in its infancy but should be deserved more attention. A conceptual consensus on Cyberchondria, a refined assessment tool, prospective studies conducted in various populations, targeted treatments for it would be the main research direction in the near future.

Keywords: cyberchondria, hypochondriasis, health anxiety, online health-related searches

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Authors: Siham Boulaknadel

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Every culture has its share of a rich history of storytelling in oral, visual, and textual form. The Amazigh language, as many languages, has its own which has entertained and informed across centuries and cultures, and its instructional potential continues to serve teachers. According to many researchers, listening to stories draws attention to the sounds of language and helps children develop sensitivity to the way language works. Stories including repetitive phrases, unique words, and enticing description encourage students to join in actively to repeat, chant, sing, or even retell the story. This kind of practice is important to language learners’ oral language development, which is believed to correlate completely with student’s academic success. Today, with the advent of multimedia, digital storytelling for instance can be a practical and powerful learning tool. It has the potential in transforming traditional learning into a world of unlimited imaginary environment. This paper reports on a research project on development of multimedia Storytelling Website using traditional Amazigh oral narratives called “tell me a story”. It is a didactic tool created for the learning of good moral values in an interactive multimedia environment combining on-screen text, graphics and audio in an enticing environment and enabling the positive values of stories to be projected. This Website developed in this study is based on various pedagogical approaches and learning theories deemed suitable for children age 8 to 9 year-old. The design and development of Website was based on a well-researched conceptual framework enabling users to: (1) re-play and share the stories in schools or at home, and (2) access the Website anytime and anywhere. Furthermore, the system stores the students work and activities over the system, allowing parents or teachers to monitor students’ works, and provide online feedback. The Website contains following main feature modules: Storytelling incorporates a variety of media such as audio, text and graphics in presenting the stories. It introduces the children to various kinds of traditional Amazigh oral narratives. The focus of this module is to project the positive values and images of stories using digital storytelling technique. Besides development good moral sense in children using projected positive images and moral values, it also allows children to practice their comprehending and listening skills. Reading module is developed based on multimedia material approach which offers the potential for addressing the challenges of reading instruction. This module is able to stimulate children and develop reading practice indirectly due to the tutoring strategies of scaffolding, self-explanation and hyperlinks offered in this module. Word Enhancement assists the children in understanding the story and appreciating the good moral values more efficiently. The difficult words or vocabularies are attached to present the explanation, which makes the children understand the vocabulary better. In conclusion, we believe that the interactive multimedia storytelling reveals an interesting and exciting tool for learning Amazigh. We plan to address some learning issues, in particularly the uses of activities to test and evaluate the children on their overall understanding of story and words presented in the learning modules.

Keywords: Amazigh language, e-learning, storytelling, language teaching

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Authors: Valerie Porr, Sydney A. DeCaro

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TARA for borderline personality disorder (BPD), an education and advocacy organization, helps families to compassionately and effectively deal with troubling BPD behaviors. Our psychoeducational programs focus on understanding underlying neurobiological features of BPD and evidence-based methodology integrating dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and mentalization based therapy (MBT,) clarifying the inherent misunderstanding of BPD behaviors and improving family communication. TARA4BPD conducts online surveys, workshops, and topical webinars. For over 25 years, we have collected data from BPD helpline callers. This data drew our attention to particular childhood idiosyncrasies that seem to characterize many of the children who later met the criteria for BPD. The idiosyncrasies we observed, heightened sensory sensitivity and hypervigilance, were included in Adolf Stern’s 1938 definition of “Borderline.” This aspect of BPD has not been prioritized by personality disorder researchers, presently focused on emotion processing and social cognition in BPD. Parents described sleep reversal problems in infants who, early on, seem to exhibit dysregulation in circadian rhythm. Families describe children as supersensitive to sensory sensations, such as specific sounds, heightened sense of smell, taste, textures of foods, and an inability to tolerate various fabrics textures (i.e., seams in socks). They also exhibit high sensitivity to particular words and voice tones. Many have alexithymia and dyslexia. These children are either hypo- or hypersensitive to sensory sensations, including pain. Many suffer from fibromyalgia. BPD reactions to pain have been studied (C. Schmahl) and confirm the existence of hyper and hypo-reactions to pain stimuli in people with BPD. To date, there is little or no data regarding what comprises a normative range of sensitivity in infants and children. Many parents reported that their children were tested or treated for sensory processing disorder (SPD), learning disorders, and ADHD. SPD is not included in the DSM and is treated by occupational therapists. The overwhelming anecdotal data from thousands of parents of children who later met criteria for BPD led TARA4BPD to develop a sensitivity survey to develop evidence of the possible role of early sensory perception problems as a pre-cursor to BPD, hopefully initiating new directions in BPD research. At present, the research community seems unaware of the role supersensory sensitivity might play as an early indicator of BPD. Parents' observations of childhood sensitivity obtained through family interviews and results of an extensive online survey on sensory responses across various ages of development will be presented. People with BPD suffer from a sense of isolation and otherness that often results in later interpersonal difficulties. Early identification of supersensitive children while brain circuits are developing might decrease the development of social interaction deficits such as rejection sensitivity, self-referential processes, and negative bias, hallmarks of BPD, ultimately minimizing the maladaptive methods of coping with distress that characterizes BPD. Family experiences are an untapped resource for BPD research. It is hoped that this data will give family observations the critical credibility to inform future treatment and research directions.

Keywords: alexithymia, dyslexia, hypersensitivity, sensory processing disorder

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Authors: Sundaram Chandrasekaran, Seung Hyun Hur

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Exploring strategies for oxygen vacancy engineering under mild conditions and understanding the relationship between dislocations and photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell performance are challenging issues for designing high performance PEC devices. Therefore, it is very important to understand that how the oxygen vacancies (VO) or other defect states affect the performance of the photocatalyst in photoelectric transfer. So far, it has been found that defects in nano or micro crystals can have two possible significances on the PEC performance. Firstly, an electron-hole pair produced at the interface of photoelectrode and electrolyte can recombine at the defect centers under illumination of light, thereby reducing the PEC performances. On the other hand, the defects could lead to a higher light absorption in the longer wavelength region and may act as energy centers for the water splitting reaction that can improve the PEC performances. Even if the dislocation growth of ZnO has been verified by the full density functional theory (DFT) calculations and local density approximation calculations (LDA), it requires further studies to correlate the structures of ZnO and PEC performances. Exploring the hybrid structures composed of graphene oxide (GO) and ZnO nanostructures offer not only the vision of how the complex structure form from a simple starting materials but also the tools to improve PEC performances by understanding the underlying mechanisms of mutual interactions. As there are few studies for the ZnO growth with other materials and the growth mechanism in those cases has not been clearly explored yet, it is very important to understand the fundamental growth process of nanomaterials with the specific materials, so that rational and controllable syntheses of efficient ZnO-based hybrid materials can be designed to prepare nanostructures that can exhibit significant PEC performances. Herein, we fabricated various ZnO nanostructures such as hollow sphere, bucky bowl, nanorod and triangle, investigated their pH dependent growth mechanism, and correlated the PEC performances with them. Especially, the origin of well-controlled dislocation-driven growth and its transformation mechanism of ZnO nanorods to triangles on the GO surface were discussed in detail. Surprisingly, the addition of GO during the synthesis process not only tunes the morphology of ZnO nanocrystals and also creates more oxygen vacancies (oxygen defects) in the lattice of ZnO, which obviously suggest that the oxygen vacancies be created by the redox reaction between GO and ZnO in which the surface oxygen is extracted from the surface of ZnO by the functional groups of GO. On the basis of our experimental and theoretical analysis, the detailed mechanism for the formation of specific structural shapes and oxygen vacancies via dislocation, and its impact in PEC performances are explored. In water splitting performance, the maximum photocurrent density of GO-ZnO triangles was 1.517mA/cm-2 (under UV light ~ 360 nm) vs. RHE with high incident photon to current conversion Efficiency (IPCE) of 10.41%, which is the highest among all samples fabricated in this study and also one of the highest IPCE reported so far obtained from GO-ZnO triangular shaped photocatalyst.

Keywords: dislocation driven growth, zinc oxide, graphene oxide, water splitting

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Authors: Adu-Ampomah Yaw Junior

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Local procurement has become one of the latest trends in the discourse of sustainable tourism due to the economic benefits it generates for tourist destinations in developing countries. Local procurement helps in creating jobs which consequently helps in alleviating poverty. However, there have been limited studies on local procurement patterns in developing countries. Research on hotel procurement practices has mainly emphasized the challenges that hoteliers face when procuring locally, leaving questions regarding their motivations to engage in local procurement unanswered. The institutional theory provides a suitable framework to better understand these motivations as it underlines the importance of individual cognitive perceptions on issues in shaping organizational response strategies. More specifically, the extent to which an issue is perceived to belong to the organization’s responsibility. Also the organizational actors’ belief of losses or gains resultant from acting or not acting on an issue (degree of importance). Furthermore the organizational actors’ belief of the probability of resolving an issue (degree of feasibility). These factors influence how an organization will act on this issue. Hence, this paper adopts an institutional perspective to examine local procurement patterns of food by hoteliers in Ghana. Qualitative interviews with 20 procurement managers about their procurement practices and motivations, as well as interviews with different stakeholders for data triangulation purposes, indicated that most hotels sourced their food from middlemen who imported most of their products. However, direct importation was more prevalent foreign owned hotels as opposed to locally owned ones. Notwithstanding, the importation and the usage of foreign foods as opposed to local ones can be explained by the lack of pressure from NGOs and trade associations on hotels to act responsibly. Though guests’ menu preferences were perceived as important to hoteliers business operations, western tourists demand foreign food primarily with the foreign owned hotels make it less important to procure local produce. Lastly hoteliers, particularly those in foreign owned ones, perceive local procurement to be less feasible, raising concerns about quality and variety of local produce. The paper outlines strategies to improve the perception and degree of local Firstly, there is the need for stakeholder engagement in order to make hoteliers feel responsible for acting on the issue.Again it is crucial for Ghana government to promote and encourage hotels to buy local produce. Also, the government has to also make funds and storage facilities available for farmers to impact on the quality and quantity of local produce. Moreover, Sites need to be secured for farmers to engage in sustained farming.Furthermore, there is the need for collaborations between various stakeholders to organize training programs for farmers. Notwithstanding hotels need to market local produce to their guests. Finally, the Ghana hotels association has to encourage hotels to indulge in local procurement.

Keywords: sustainable tourism, feasible, important, local procurement

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Authors: Bianca Koroschetz, Emma Mäenpää

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The purpose of this paper is to study consumer practices and meanings of different antifouling methods in order to identify the main barriers for sustainable consumption of antifouling products in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is considered to be an important tourism area. More than 3.5 million leisure boaters use the sea for recreational boating. Most leisure boat owners use toxic antifouling paint to keep barnacles from attaching to the hull. Attached barnacles limit maneuverability and add drag which in turn increases fuel costs. Antifouling paint used to combat barnacles causes particular problems, as the use of these products continuously adds to the distribution of biocides in the coastal ecosystem and leads to the death of marine organisms. To keep the Baltic Sea as an attractive tourism area measures need to be undertaken to stop the pollution coming from toxic antifouling paints. The antifouling market contains a wide range of environment-friendly alternative products such as a brush wash for boats, hand scrubbing devices, hull covers and boat lifts. Unfortunately, not a lot of boat owners use these environment-friendly alternatives and instead prefer the use of the traditional toxic copper paints. We ask “Why is the unsustainable consumption of toxic paints still predominant when there is a big range of environment-friendly alternatives available? What are the barriers for sustainable consumption?” Environmental psychology has concentrated on developing models of human behavior, including the main factors that influence pro-environmental behavior. The main focus of these models was directed to the individual’s attitudes, principals, and beliefs. However, social practice theory emphasizes the importance to study practices, as they have a stronger explanatory power than attitude-behavior to explain unsustainable consumer behavior. Thus, the study focuses on describing the material, meaning and competence of antifouling practice in order to understand the social and cultural embeddedness of the practice. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with boat owners using antifouling products such as paints and alternative methods. This data collection was supplemented with participant observations in marinas. Preliminary results indicate that different factors such as costs, traditions, advertising, frequency of use, marinas and application of method impact on the consumption of antifouling products. The findings have shown that marinas have a big influence on the consumption of antifouling goods. Some marinas are very active in supporting the sustainable consumption of antifouling products as for example in Stockholm area several marinas subsidize costs for using environmental friendly alternatives or even forbid toxic paints. Furthermore the study has revealed that environmental friendly methods are very effective and do not have to be more expensive than painting with toxic paints. This study contributes to a broader understanding why the unsustainable consumption of toxic paints is still predominant when a big range of environment-friendly alternatives exist. Answers to this phenomenon will be gained by studying practices instead of attitudes offering a new perspective on environmental issues.

Keywords: antifouling paint, Baltic Sea, boat tourism, sustainable consumption

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Authors: William Gallagher, Harriet Bothwell, Lowri Evans, Kevin Jones

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Background: Worldwide, a third of adult deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease, a high proportion occurring in the developing world. Contributing to these poor outcomes are suboptimal assessments, treatments and monitoring of the acutely unwell patient. Successful training in trauma and neonates is recognised in the developing world but there is little literature supporting adult resuscitation. As far as the authors are aware no literature has been published on resuscitation training in Uganda since 2000 when a resuscitation training officer ran sessions in neonatal and paediatric resuscitation. The aim of this project was to offer training in Basic Life Support ( BLS) to staff and healthcare students based at Villa Maria Hospital in the Kalungu District, Central Uganda. This project was undertaken as a student selected component (SSC) offered by Swindon Academy, based at the Great Western Hospital, to medical students in their fourth year of the undergraduate programme. Methods: Semi-structured, informal interviews and focus groups were conducted with different clinicians in the hospital. These interviews were designed to focus on the level of training and understanding of BLS. A training session was devised which focused on BLS (excluding the use of an automatic external defribrillator) involving pre and post-training questionnaires and clinical assessments. Three training sessions were run for different cohorts: a pilot session for 5 Ugandan medical students, a second session for a group of 8 nursing and midwifery students and finally, a third was devised for physicians. The data collected was analysed in excel. Paired T-Tests determined statistical significance between pre and post-test scores and confidence before and after the sessions. Average clinical skill assessment scores were converted to percentages based on the area of BLS being assessed. Results: 27 participants were included in the analysis. 14 received ‘small group training’ whilst 13 received’ large group training’ 88% of all participants had received some form of resuscitation training. Of these, 46% had received theory training, 27% practical training and only 15% received both. 12% had received no training. On average, all participants demonstrated a significant increase of 5.3 in self-assessed confidence (p <0.05). On average, all participants thought the session was very useful. Analysis of qualitative date from clinician interviews in ongoing but identified themes identified include rescue breaths being considered the most important aspect resuscitation and doubts of a ‘good’ outcome from resuscitation. Conclusions: The results of this small study reflect the need for regular formal training in BLS in low resource settings. The active engagement and positive opinions concerning the utility of the training are promising as well as the evidence of improvement in knowledge.

Keywords: basic life support, education, resuscitation, sub-Saharan Africa, training, Uganda

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Authors: Wee Tong Liaw, Elaine Wong Yee Sing

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Since 2001, many companies in Singapore have voluntarily participated in the bi-annual Singapore HEALTH Award initiated by the Health Promotion Board of Singapore (HPB). The Singapore HEALTH Award (SHA), is an industry wide award and assessment process. SHA assesses and recognizes employers in Singapore for implementing a comprehensive and sustainable health promotion programme at their workplaces. The rationale for implementing a sustained health promoting workplace and participating in SHA is obvious when company management is convinced that healthier employees, business productivity, and profitability are positively correlated. However, performing research or empirical studies on the impact of a sustained health promoting workplace on stock returns are not likely to yield any interests in the absence of a systematic and independent assessment on the comprehensiveness and sustainability of a health promoting workplace in most developed economies. The principles of diversification and mean-variance efficient portfolio in Modern Portfolio Theory developed by Markowitz (1952) laid the foundation for the works of many financial economists and researchers, and among others, the development of the Capital Asset Pricing Model from the work of Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966), and the Fama-French Three-Factor Model of Fama and French (1992). This research seeks to support the rationale by studying whether there is a significant relationship or impact of a sustained health promoting workplace on the performance of companies listed on the SGX. The research shall form and test hypotheses pertaining to the impact of a sustained health promoting workplace on company’s performances, including stock returns, of companies that participated in the SHA and companies that did not participate in the SHA. In doing so, the research would be able to determine whether corporate and fund manager should consider the significance of a sustained health promoting workplace as a risk factor to explain the stock returns of companies listed on the SGX. With respect to Singapore’s stock market, this research will test the significance and relevance of a health promoting workplace using the Singapore Health Award as a proxy for non-diversifiable risk factor to explain stock returns. This study will examine the significance of a health promoting workplace on a company’s performance and study its impact on stock price performance and beta and examine if it has higher explanatory power than the traditional single factor asset pricing model CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model). To study the significance there are three key questions pertinent to the research study. I) Given a choice, would an investor be better off investing in a listed company with a sustained health promoting workplace i.e. a Singapore Health Award’s recipient? II) The Singapore Health Award has four levels of award starting from Bronze, Silver, Gold to Platinum. Would an investor be indifferent to the level of award when investing in a listed company who is a Singapore Health Award’s recipient? III) Would an asset pricing model combining FAMA-French Three Factor Model and ‘Singapore Health Award’ factor be more accurate than single factor Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Three Factor Model itself?

Keywords: asset pricing model, company's performance, stock prices, sustained health promoting workplace

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Authors: Helen Potkin

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This paper presents a practice-based case study of a project in which the student group designed and planned the curriculum content, classroom activities and assessment briefs in collaboration with the tutor. It focuses on the co-creation of the curriculum within a history and theory module, Researching the Contemporary, which runs for BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History and for BA (Hons) Art Design History Practice at Kingston University, London. The paper analyses the potential of collaborative approaches to engender students’ investment in their own learning and to encourage reflective and self-conscious understandings of themselves as learners. It also addresses some of the challenges of working in this way, attending to the risks involved and feelings of uncertainty produced in experimental, fluid and open situations of learning. Alongside this, it acknowledges the tensions inherent in adopting such practices within the framework of the institution and within the wider of context of the commodification of higher education in the United Kingdom. The concept underpinning the initiative was to test out co-creation as a creative process and to explore the possibilities of altering the traditional hierarchical relationship between teacher and student in a more active, participatory environment. In other words, the project asked about: what kind of learning could be imagined if we were all in it together? It considered co-creation as producing different ways of being, or becoming, as learners, involving us reconfiguring multiple relationships: to learning, to each other, to research, to the institution and to our emotions. The project provided the opportunity for students to bring their own research and wider interests into the classroom, take ownership of sessions, collaborate with each other and to define the criteria against which they would be assessed. Drawing on students’ reflections on their experience of co-creation alongside theoretical considerations engaging with the processual nature of learning, concepts of equality and the generative qualities of the interrelationships in the classroom, the paper suggests that the dynamic nature of collaborative and participatory modes of engagement have the potential to foster relevant and significant learning experiences. The findings as a result of the project could be quantified in terms of the high level of student engagement in the project, specifically investment in the assessment, alongside the ambition and high quality of the student work produced. However, reflection on the outcomes of the experiment prompts a further set of questions about the nature of positionality in connection to learning, the ways our identities as learners are formed in and through our relationships in the classroom and the potential and productive nature of creative practice in education. Overall, the paper interrogates questions of what it means to work with students to invent and assemble the curriculum and it assesses the benefits and challenges of co-creation. Underpinning it is the argument that, particularly in the current climate of higher education, it is increasingly important to ask what it means to teach and to envisage what kinds of learning can be possible.

Keywords: co-creation, collaboration, learning, participation, risk

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Authors: Colin Schmidt, Adrien Lecossier, Pascal Crubleau, Simon Richir

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Introduction:The widespread availability of artificial intelligence, exemplified by Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT) relying on large language models (LLM), has caused a seismic shift in the realm of knowledge. Everyone now has the capacity to swiftly learn how these models can either serve them well or not. Today, conversational AI like ChatGPT is grounded in neural transformer models, a significant advance in natural language processing facilitated by the emergence of renowned LLMs constructed using neural transformer architecture. Inventiveness of an LLM : OpenAI's GPT-3 stands as a premier LLM, capable of handling a broad spectrum of natural language processing tasks without requiring fine-tuning, reliably producing text that reads as if authored by humans. However, even with an understanding of how LLMs respond to questions asked, there may be lurking behind OpenAI’s seemingly endless responses an inventive model yet to be uncovered. There may be some unforeseen reasoning emerging from the interconnection of neural networks here. Just as a Soviet researcher in the 1940s questioned the existence of Common factors in inventions, enabling an Under standing of how and according to what principles humans create them, it is equally legitimate today to explore whether solutions provided by LLMs to complex problems also share common denominators. Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) : We will revisit some fundamentals of TRIZ and how Genrich ALTSHULLER was inspired by the idea that inventions and innovations are essential means to solve societal problems. It's crucial to note that traditional problem-solving methods often fall short in discovering innovative solutions. The design team is frequently hampered by psychological barriers stemming from confinement within a highly specialized knowledge domain that is difficult to question. We presume ChatGPT Utilizes TRIZ 40. Hence, the objective of this research is to decipher the inventive model of LLMs, particularly that of ChatGPT, through a comparative study. This will enhance the efficiency of sustainable innovation processes and shed light on how the construction of a solution to a complex problem was devised. Description of the Experimental Protocol : To confirm or reject our main hypothesis that is to determine whether ChatGPT uses TRIZ, we will follow a stringent protocol that we will detail, drawing on insights from a panel of two TRIZ experts. Conclusion and Future Directions : In this endeavor, we sought to comprehend how an LLM like GPT addresses complex challenges. Our goal was to analyze the inventive model of responses provided by an LLM, specifically ChatGPT, by comparing it to an existing standard model: TRIZ 40. Of course, problem solving is our main focus in our endeavours.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, Triz, ChatGPT, inventiveness, problem-solving

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Authors: Hosna Pourhashemi

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Chahar Bagh, the symbol of the world, displayed around the pool of life in the centre, attempts to emulate Eden. It represents a duality concept based on the division of the universe into two perceptional insights, a celestial and an earthly one. Chahar Bagh garden pattern refers to the Garden of Eden, that was watered and framed by main four rivers. This microcosm is combined with a mystical love of flowers, sweet-scented trees, the variety of colors, and the sense of eternal life. This symbol of the integration of spontaneous expressivity of the natural elements and reasoning awareness of man strives for the ideal of divine perfection. Through collecting and analyzing the data, the prevalence and continuous influence of Chahar Bagh concept on selected historical gardens was elaborated and evaluated. After the conquest of Persia by the Arabs in the 7th century, Chahar Bagh was adopted and spread throughout the Islamic expansion, from the Middle East, westward across northern Africa to Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula, and eastward through Iran to Central Asia and India. Furthermore, its continuity to the mid of 16th century Renaissance period is shown. By adapting the semiotic theory of Peirce and Saussure on the Persian garden, Chahar Bagh was defined as the basic pattern language for the garden culture. The hypothesis of the continuous influence of Chahar Bagh pattern language on today’s landscape architecture was examined on selected works of Dieter Kienast, as the important and relevant protagonist of his time (end of twentieth ct.) and up to our time. Chahar Bagh pattern language offers collective cultural sensitive healing wisdom transmitted down through the millennia. Through my reflections in Dieter Kienast’s works, I transformed my personal experience into a transpersonal understanding regarding the Sufi philosophy and the Jung psychology, which brings me to define new design theories and methods to form a spiritual, as I call it” Quaternary Perception Model” for landscape architecture. Based on a cognition process through self-journeying in this holistic model, human consciousness can be developed to access to “higher” levels of being and embrace the unity. The self-purification and mindfulness through transpersonal confrontation in the ”Quaternary Perception Model” generates a form of heart-based treatment. I adapted the seven spiritual levels of Sufi self-development on the perception of landscape, representing the stages of the self, ranging from absolutely self-centered to pure spiritual humanity. I redefine and reread the elements and features of Chahar Bagh pattern language for today’s landscape architecture. The “lost paradise” lies in our heart and can be perceived by all humans in landscapes and cities designed in the spirit of” Quaternary Model”.

Keywords: persian garden, pattern language of Chahar Bagh, wholistic Perception, dieter kienast, “quaternary model”

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Authors: Naziema Jappie

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South Africa is a diverse nation but with many challenges. The fundamental changes in the political, economic and educational domains in South Africa in the late 1990s affected the South African community profoundly. In higher education, experiences of discrimination and bias are detrimental to the sense of belonging of staff and students. It is therefore important to cultivate an appreciation of diversity and inclusion. To bridge common understandings with the reality of racial inequality, we must understand the ways in which senior and executive leadership at universities think about social justice issues relating to diversity and inclusion and contextualize these within the current post-democracy landscape. The position and status of social justice issues and initiatives in South African higher education is a slow process. The focus is to highlight how and to what extent initiatives or practices around campus diversity and inclusion have been considered and made part of the mainstream intellectual and academic conversations in South Africa. This involves an examination of the social and epistemological conditions of possibility for meaningful research and curriculum practices, staff and student recruitment, and student access and success in addressing the challenges posed by social diversity on campuses. Methodology: In this study, university senior and executive leadership were interviewed about their perceptions and advancement of social justice and examine the buffering effects of diverse and inclusive peer interactions and institutional commitment on the relationship between discrimination–bias and sense of belonging for staff and students at the institutions. The paper further explores diversity and inclusion initiatives at the three institutions using a Critical Race Theory approach in conjunction with a literature review on social justice with a special focus on diversity and inclusion. Findings: This paper draws on research findings that demonstrate the need to address social justice issues of diversity and inclusion in the SA higher education context. The reason for this is so that university leaders can live out their experiences and values as they work to transform students into being accountable and responsible. Documents were selected for review with the intent of illustrating how diversity and inclusion work being done across an institution can shape the experiences of previously disadvantaged persons at these institutions. The research has highlighted the need for institutional leaders to embody their own mission and vision as they frame social justice issues for the campus community. Finally, the paper provides recommendations to institutions for strengthening high-level diversity and inclusion programs/initiatives among staff, students and administrators. The conclusion stresses the importance of addressing the historical and current policies and practices that either facilitate or negate the goals of social justice, encouraging these privileged institutions to create internal committees or task forces that focus on racial and ethnic disparities in the institution.

Keywords: diversity, higher education, inclusion, social justice

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Authors: Lesibana Rafapa

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Accounts exist of circumcision-anchored cultural initiation in central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, North Africa, and West Africa -straddling states like Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This attests to the continent-wide spread of this cultural practice. In this paper, the writer relates the cultural aspect of circumcision-subsuming initiation among black African cultural groups across the continent to the notion that African cultures are varied yet subscribe to a common central concept. The premise of the paper is that the common practice of initiation for both male and female children that have to be initiated by adults to the tradition and customs of a people coincides with such a central concept. The practice of traditional initiation is as broad as to encompass aspects of spirituality, morality, and social organisation, in the nature of the central concept of which it is a trans-sectional part. Cultural initiation, sometimes referred to as traditional circumcision, constitutes culture-determined rites of passage for the initiates. The study’s aim, the findings of which are presented in this paper, was to probe gender equality in the development and promotion of the cultural practice of initiation. The researcher intended to demonstrate how in South Africa, female circumcision is treated equally or marginalised in efforts of the democratic government to regulate and strengthen the practice of circumcision as part of its broader liberation programme meant to reverse politico-cultural bondage experienced during apartheid rule that the present black regime helped bring to an end. It is argued that the failure to regard female circumcision as equal to its male counterpart is a travesty of the black government’s legislation and policies espousing equality and the protection and empowerment of vulnerable and previously marginalised population groups that include black women. The writer did a desk-top study of the history and characteristics of female circumcision among the black Northern Sotho, VaTsonga, and VhaVenda cultural groups of the Limpopo Province, stretching north to the border of South Africa with Zimbabwe, as well as literature on how political and other authorities exert efforts to preserve and empower the practice. The findings were that male initiation is foregrounded and totalised to represent the practice of initiation as a whole, at the expense of its female counterpart facing marginalisation and unequal regard. It is outlined in this paper how such impoverishment of an otherwise woman-empowering cultural practice deprives hitherto black cultures that suffered brutal repression during apartheid of a fuller recovery much needed in the democratic era. The writer applies some aspects of postcolonial theory and some tropes of feminism in the discussion of an uneven status of cultural circumcision at the hands of present day powers that be.

Keywords: African cultures, female circumcision, gender equality, women empowerment

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Authors: Rebecca Dewfall, Mark Coleman, Vladimir Basabe

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Oxide scale growth is an inevitable byproduct of the high temperature processing of steel. Blister is a phenomenon that occurs due to oxide growth, where high temperatures result in the swelling of surface scale, producing a bubble-like feature. Blisters can subsequently become embedded in the steel substrate during hot rolling in the finishing mill. This rolled in scale defect causes havoc within industry, not only with wear on machinery but loss of customer satisfaction, poor surface finish, loss of material, and profit. Even though blister is a highly prevalent issue, there is still much that is not known or understood. The classic iron oxidation system is a complex multiphase system formed of wustite, magnetite, and hematite, producing multi-layered scales. Each phase will have independent properties such as thermal coefficients, growth rate, and mechanical properties, etc. Furthermore, each additional alloying element will have different affinities for oxygen and different mobilities in the oxide phases so that oxide morphologies are specific to alloy chemistry. Therefore, blister regimes can be unique to each steel grade resulting in a diverse range of formation mechanisms. Laboratory conditions were selected to simulate industrial hot rolling with temperature ranges approximate to the formation of secondary and tertiary scales in the finishing mills. Samples with composition: 0.15Wt% C, 0.1Wt% Si, 0.86Wt% Mn, 0.036Wt% Al, and 0.028Wt% Cr, were oxidised in a thermo-gravimetric analyser (TGA), with an air velocity of 10litresmin-1, at temperaturesof 800°C, 850°C, 900°C, 1000°C, 1100°C, and 1200°C respectively. Samples were held at temperature in an argon atmosphere for 10minutes, then oxidised in air for 600s, 60s, 30s, 15s, and 4s, respectively. Oxide morphology and Blisters were characterised using EBSD, WDX, nanoindentation, FIB, and FEG-SEM imaging. Blister was found to have both a nucleation and growth process. During nucleation, the scale detaches from the substrate and blisters after a very short period, roughly 10s. The steel substrate is then exposed inside of the blister and further oxidised in the reducing atmosphere of the blister, however, the atmosphere within the blister is highly dependent upon the porosity of the blister crown. The blister crown was found to be consistently between 35-40um for all heating regimes, which supports the theory that the blister inflates, and the oxide then subsequently grows underneath. Upon heating, two modes of blistering were identified. In Mode 1 it was ascertained that the stresses produced by oxide growth will increase with increasing oxide thickness. Therefore, in Mode 1 the incubation time for blister formation is shortened by increasing temperature. In Mode 2 increase in temperature will result in oxide with a high ductility and high oxide porosity. The high oxide ductility and/or porosity accommodates for the intrinsic stresses from oxide growth. Thus Mode 2 is the inverse of Mode 1, and incubation time is increased with temperature. A new phenomenon was reported whereby blister formed exclusively through cooling at elevated temperatures above mode 2.

Keywords: FEG-SEM, nucleation, oxide morphology, surface defect

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Authors: Liu Jia’nan

Abstract:

The default accounts hold the view that there exists a kind of scalar implicature which can be processed without context and own a psychological privilege over other scalar implicatures which depend on context. In contrast, the Relevance Theorist regards context as a must because all the scalar implicatures have to meet the need of relevance in discourse. However, in Katsos, the experimental results showed: Although quantitatively the adults rejected under-informative utterance with lexical scales (context-independent) and the ad hoc scales (context-dependent) at almost the same rate, adults still regarded the violation of utterance with lexical scales much more severe than with ad hoc scales. Neither default account nor Relevance Theory can fully explain this result. Thus, there are two questionable points to this result: (1) Is it possible that the strange discrepancy is due to other factors instead of the generation of scalar implicature? (2) Are the ad hoc scales truly formed under the possible influence from mental context? Do the participants generate scalar implicatures with ad hoc scales instead of just comparing semantic difference among target objects in the under- informative utterance? In my Experiment 1, the question (1) will be answered by repetition of Experiment 1 by Katsos. Test materials will be showed by PowerPoint in the form of pictures, and each procedure will be done under the guidance of a tester in a quiet room. Our Experiment 2 is intended to answer question (2). The test material of picture will be transformed into the literal words in DMDX and the target sentence will be showed word-by-word to participants in the soundproof room in our lab. Reading time of target parts, i.e. words containing scalar implicatures, will be recorded. We presume that in the group with lexical scale, standardized pragmatically mental context would help generate scalar implicature once the scalar word occurs, which will make the participants hope the upcoming words to be informative. Thus if the new input after scalar word is under-informative, more time will be cost for the extra semantic processing. However, in the group with ad hoc scale, scalar implicature may hardly be generated without the support from fixed mental context of scale. Thus, whether the new input is informative or not does not matter at all, and the reading time of target parts will be the same in informative and under-informative utterances. People’s mind may be a dynamic system, in which lots of factors would co-occur. If Katsos’ experimental result is reliable, will it shed light on the interplay of default accounts and context factors in scalar implicature processing? We might be able to assume, based on our experiments, that one single dominant processing paradigm may not be plausible. Furthermore, in the processing of scalar implicature, the semantic interpretation and the pragmatic interpretation may be made in a dynamic interplay in the mind. As to the lexical scale, the pragmatic reading may prevail over the semantic reading because of its greater exposure in daily language use, which may also lead the possible default or standardized paradigm override the role of context. However, those objects in ad hoc scale are not usually treated as scalar membership in mental context, and thus lexical-semantic association of the objects may prevent their pragmatic reading from generating scalar implicature. Only when the sufficient contextual factors are highlighted, can the pragmatic reading get privilege and generate scalar implicature.

Keywords: scalar implicature, ad hoc scale, dynamic interplay, default account, Mandarin Chinese processing

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Authors: Georges F. Hatoum, Thomas H. Temple, Silvio Garcia, Xiaodong Wu

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Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STS) represent a diverse group of malignancies with heterogeneous clinical and pathological features. The treatment of extremity STS aims to achieve optimal local tumor control, improved survival, and preservation of limb function. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, based on the cumulated clinical data, recommend radiation therapy (RT) in conjunction with limb-sparing surgery for large, high-grade STS measuring greater than 5 cm in size. Such treatment strategy can offer a cure for patients. However, when recurrence occurs (in nearly half of patients), the prognosis is poor, with a median survival of 12 to 15 months and with only palliative treatment options available. The spatially-fractionated-radiotherapy (SFRT), with a long history of treating bulky tumors as a non-mainstream technique, has gained new attention in recent years due to its unconventional therapeutic effects, such as bystander/abscopal effects. Combining single fraction of GRID, the original form of SFRT, with conventional RT was shown to have marginally increased the rate of pathological necrosis, which has been recognized to have a positive correlation to overall survival. In an effort to consistently increase the pathological necrosis rate over 90%, multiple fractions of Lattice RT (LRT), a newer form of 3D SFRT, interdigitated with the standard RT as neoadjuvant therapy was conducted in a preliminary clinical setting. With favorable results of over 95% of necrosis rate in a small cohort of patients, a Phase I/II clinical study was proposed to exam the safety and feasibility of this new strategy. Herein the design of the clinical study is presented. In this single-arm, two-stage phase I/II clinical trial, the primary objectives are >80% of the patients achieving >90% tumor necrosis and to evaluation the toxicity; the secondary objectives are to evaluate the local control, disease free survival and overall survival (OS), as well as the correlation between clinical response and the relevant biomarkers. The study plans to accrue patients over a span of two years. All patient will be treated with the new neoadjuvant RT regimen, in which one of every five fractions of conventional RT is replaced by a LRT fraction with vertices receiving dose ≥10Gy while keeping the tumor periphery at or close to 2 Gy per fraction. Surgical removal of the tumor is planned to occur 6 to 8 weeks following the completion of radiation therapy. The study will employ a Pocock-style early stopping boundary to ensure patient safety. The patients will be followed and monitored for a period of five years. Despite much effort, the rarity of the disease has resulted in limited novel therapeutic breakthroughs. Although a higher rate of treatment-induced tumor necrosis has been associated with improved OS, with the current techniques, only 20% of patients with large, high-grade tumors achieve a tumor necrosis rate exceeding 50%. If this new neoadjuvant strategy is proven effective, an appreciable improvement in clinical outcome without added toxicity can be anticipated. Due to the rarity of the disease, it is hoped that such study could be orchestrated in a multi-institutional setting.

Keywords: lattice RT, necrosis, SFRT, soft tissue sarcoma

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Authors: Dina Kon Mushid, Kabutakapua Kakanda, Dibu Dave Mbako

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The failure of material usually involves elastoplastic deformation and fracturing. Continuum mechanics can effectively deal with plastic deformation by using a yield function and the flow rule. At the same time, it has some limitations in dealing with the fracture problem since it is a theory based on the continuous field hypothesis. The lattice model can simulate the fracture problem very well, but it is inadequate for dealing with plastic deformation. Based on the discretized virtual internal bond model (DVIB), this paper proposes a lattice model that can account for plasticity. DVIB is a lattice method that considers material to comprise bond cells. Each bond cell may have any geometry with a finite number of bonds. The two-body or multi-body potential can characterize the strain energy of a bond cell. The two-body potential leads to the fixed Poisson ratio, while the multi-body potential can overcome the limitation of the fixed Poisson ratio. In the present paper, the modified Stillinger-Weber (SW), a multi-body potential, is employed to characterize the bond cell energy. The SW potential is composed of two parts. One part is the two-body potential that describes the interatomic interactions between particles. Another is the three-body potential that represents the bond angle interactions between particles. Because the SW interaction can represent the bond stretch and bond angle contribution, the SW potential-based DVIB (SW-DVIB) can represent the various Poisson ratios. To embed the plasticity in the SW-DVIB, the plasticity is considered in the two-body part of the SW potential. It is done by reducing the bond stiffness to a lower level once the bond reaches the yielding point. While before the bond reaches the yielding point, the bond is elastic. When the bond deformation exceeds the yielding point, the bond stiffness is softened to a lower value. When unloaded, irreversible deformation occurs. With the bond length increasing to a critical value, termed the failure bond length, the bond fails. The critical failure bond length is related to the cell size and the macro fracture energy. By this means, the fracture energy is conserved so that the cell size sensitivity problem is relieved to a great extent. In addition, the plasticity and the fracture are also unified at the bond level. To make the DVIB able to simulate different Poisson ratios, the three-body part of the SW potential is kept elasto-brittle. The bond angle can bear the moment before the bond angle increment is smaller than a critical value. By this method, the SW-DVIB can simulate the plastic deformation and the fracturing process of material with various Poisson ratios. The elastoplastic SW-DVIB is used to simulate the plastic deformation of a material, the plastic fracturing process, and the tunnel plastic deformation. It has been shown that the current SW-DVIB method is straightforward in simulating both elastoplastic deformation and plastic fracture.

Keywords: lattice model, discretized virtual internal bond, elastoplastic deformation, fracture, modified stillinger-weber potential

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Authors: Laura Butabayeva, Svetlana Ismagulova, Gulbarshin Nogaibayeva, Maiya Temirbayeva, Aidana Zhussip

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Over the years of independence, Kazakhstan has not only ratified international documents regulating the rights of children to Inclusive education, but also developed its own inclusive educational policy. Along with this, the state pays particular attention to high school students' preparedness for professional self-determination. However, a number of problematic issues in this field have been revealed, such as the lack of systemic mechanisms coordinating stakeholders’ actions in preparing schoolchildren for a conscious choice of in-demand profession, meeting their individual capabilities and special educational needs (SEN). The analysis of the state’s current situation indicates school graduates’ adaptation to the labor market does not meet existing demands of the society. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, about 70 % of Kazakhstani school graduates find themselves difficult to choose a profession, 87 % of schoolchildren make their career choice under the influence of parents and school teachers, 90 % of schoolchildren and their parents have no idea about the most popular professions on the market. The results of the study conducted by KorlanSyzdykova in 2016 indicated the urgent need of Kazakhstani school graduates in obtaining extensive information about in- demand professions and receiving professional assistance in choosing a profession in accordance with their individual skills, abilities, and preferences. The results of the survey, conducted by Information and Analytical Center among heads of colleges in 2020, showed that despite significant steps in creating conditions for students with SEN, they face challenges in studying because of poor career guidance provided to them in schools. The results of the study, conducted by the Center for Inclusive Education of the National Academy of Education named after Y. Altynsarin in the state’s general education schools in 2021, demonstrated the lack of career guidance, pedagogical and psychological support for children with SEN. To investigate these issues, the further study was conducted to examine the state of students’ career guidance and socialization, taking into account their SEN. The hypothesis of this study proposed that to prepare school graduates for a conscious career choice, school teachers and specialists need to develop their competencies in early identification of students' interests, inclinations, SEN and ensure necessary support for them. The state’s 5 regions were involved in the study according to the geographical location. The triangulation approach was utilized to ensure the credibility and validity of research findings, including both theoretical (analysis of existing statistical data, legal documents, results of previous research) and empirical (school survey for students, interviews with parents, teachers, representatives of school administration) methods. The data were analyzed independently and compared to each other. The survey included questions related to provision of pedagogical support for school students in making their career choice. Ethical principles were observed in the process of developing the methodology, collecting, analyzing the data and distributing the results. Based on the results, methodological recommendations on students’ career guidance for school teachers and specialists were developed, taking into account the former’s individual capabilities and SEN.

Keywords: career guidance, children with special educational needs, inclusive education, Kazakhstan

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