Search results for: cognitive development program ASD caregivers

Authors: Gabrielle Veloso, Melanie Porter, Kelsie Boulton, Adam Guastella

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The aim of the current systematic review was to examine child and parent factors and their associations with parent sensitivity towards children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Eight bibliographic databases were used to identify peer-reviewed journal articles examining these associations via quantitative analyses, with parent sensitivity measured via validated and reliable observation coding systems. Thirty-one studies were finalized as having met full criteria for inclusion. The review found agreement across studies that parent sensitivity was positively associated with the child’s initiations and responsiveness toward their parent, with more frequent parent-directed behaviors providing greater opportunity for parents to act and react in sensitive manner. There was also substantial evidence that parent sensitivity predicted later growth in child language ability and child social skills. Other factors such as child attachment, parent insightfulness toward their child, and parent resolution of the diagnosis were also identified across a number of studies as being positively associated with parent sensitivity, however, interpretations of these findings were limited by the absence of covariates identified in the literature as explaining much of the variance in parent sensitivity. With respect to non-significant associations, the literature reliably found that parents showed sensitivity toward their child with ASD, regardless of child age, ASD symptomology, concurrent child social skills, and concurrent child cognitive abilities. The robust associations found in this review and their potential explanations can serve as a jump off point in identifying an understanding protective and risk factors for families of children with ASD. With regard to future directions in research, assessment of the studies’ methodological quality identified points for improvement with respect to the measurement of parent sensitivity, as well as the consideration of several important methodological confounds that may be controlled for in statistical analyses.

Keywords: ASD, autism, parenting, parent sensitivity

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Authors: Anna Papadopoulou

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Women’s relationship to the post-industrial city has been defined by a reciprocal relationship between women’s identity and urban form. Women’s place within the social structure has been influenced by often limiting conditions set by the built environment, and, concurrently, women’s active role in social processes has definitively impacted urban development. Cities in Cyprus present unique locations for urban investigations pertaining to gender because of the country’s particular urban history: unlike most prominent European cities that have experienced approximately five hundred years of urban growth spurred by industrial development, Cypriot cities did not begin to form until the end of the Ottoman occupation that occurred in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Consequently, Cyprus’ urban history is distinctive in that it coincides with international awakenings towards gender equality. This paper is drawn from a study of a contemporary urban narrative of Limassolian women and aims to elucidate spatial and perceptual boundaries that are inherent, constructed and implied. Within the context of this study, gender - in its socially constructed form - becomes a tool for reading and understanding the urban landscape, as well as a vehicle to impact the production and consumption of space. The investigation evaluates urban changes through the lens of women’s entry into the workforce which is a profound event in the social process and consequently explores issues of space and time, connectivity, and access, perceptions and awareness. A narrative of gendered urbanism has been derived from semi-structured interviews where the findings are studied, organised, analysed and synthesised through a grounded theory approach. These qualitative findings have been complemented and specialised by a series of informal observations and mappings.

Keywords: boundaries, gender, Limassol, urbanism

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Authors: Sujit Kumar Guchhait, Subir Paul

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One of the major research areas is to find an alternative source of energy to fulfill the energy crisis and environmental problems. The Fuel cell is such kind of energy producing unit. Use of fuel cell to produce renewable energy for commercial purpose is limited by the high cost of Pt based electrode material. Development of high energetic, as well as inexpensive fuel cell electrode materials, is needs of hour to produce clean energy using derive bio-fuel. In this present investigation, inexpensive Cu-Ni-CeO2 electrode material has been synthesized by using pulse current. The surface morphology of the electrode materials is controlled by several deposition parameters to increase the rate of electrochemical oxidation of alcoholic fuel, ethanol. The electrochemical characterization of the developed material was done by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Chronoamperometry (CA) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy test. It is interesting to find that both these materials have shown high electrocatalytic properties in terms of high exchange current density (I0), low polarization resistance (Rp) and low impedance. It is seen that the addition of CeO2 to Ni-Cu has outperformed Pt as far as high electrocatalytic properties are concerned. The exchange current density on the Cu-Ni-CeO2 electrode surface for ethanol oxidation is about eight times higher than the same on the Pt surface with much lower polarization resistance than the later. The surface morphology of the electrode materials has been revealed by Field Effect Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). It is seen that grains are narrow and subspherical with 3D surface containing pores in between two elongated grains. XRD study exhibits the presence of Ni and CeO2 on the Cu surface.

Keywords: electro-catalyst, alcoholic fuel, cyclic voltammetry, potentiodynamic polarization, EIS, XRD, SEM

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Authors: Sanelisiwe Ndlovu

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Cities have become testbeds for automation and experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) in managing urban services and public spaces. Smart Cities and AI systems are changing most human experiences from health and education to personal relations. For instance, in healthcare, social robots are being implemented as tools to assist patients. Similarly, in education, social robots are being used as tutors or co-learners to promote cognitive and affective outcomes. With that general picture in mind, one can now ask a further question about Smart Cities and artificial agents and their moral standing in the African context of personhood. There has been a wealth of literature on the topic of personhood; however, there is an absence of literature on African personhood in highly automated environments. Personhood in African philosophy is defined by the role one can and should play in the community. However, in today’s technologically advanced world, a risk is that machines become more capable of accomplishing tasks that humans would otherwise do. Further, on many African communitarian accounts, personhood and moral standing are associated with active relationality with the community. However, in the Smart City, human closeness is gradually diminishing. For instance, humans already do engage and identify with robotic entities, sometimes even romantically. The primary aim of this study is to investigate how African conceptions of personhood and community interact in a highly automated environment such as Smart Cities. Accordingly, this study lies in presenting a rarely discussed African perspective that emphasizes the necessity and the importance of relationality in handling Smart Cities and AI ethically. Thus, the proposed approach can be seen as the sub-Saharan African contribution to personhood and the growing AI debates, which takes the reality of the interconnectedness of society seriously. And it will also open up new opportunities to tackle old problems and use existing resources to confront new problems in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Keywords: smart city, artificial intelligence, personhood, community

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Authors: Wei-Chia Huang, Jane Wang

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Damage to nerves is considered one of the most irreversible injuries. The regeneration of nerves has always been an important topic in regenerative medicine. In general, damage to human tissue will naturally repair overtime. However, when the nerves are damaged, healed flesh wound cannot guarantee full restoration to its original function, as truncated nerves are often irreversible. Therefore, the development of treatment methods to successfully guide and accelerate the regeneration of nerves has been highly sought after. In order to induce nerve tissue growth, nerve conduits are commonly used to help reconnect broken nerve bundles to provide protection to the location of the fracture while guiding the growth of the nerve bundles. To prevent the protected tissue from becoming necrotic and to ensure the growth rate, the conduits used are often modified with microstructures or blended with neuron growth factors that may facilitate nerve regeneration. Electrical stimulation is another attempted treatment for medical rehabilitation. With appropriate range of voltages and stimulation frequencies, it has been demonstrated to promote cell proliferation and migration. Biodegradability are critical for medical devices like nerve conduits, while conductive polymers pose great potential toward the differentiation and growth of nerve cells. In this work, biodegradability and conductivity were combined into a novel biodegradable, photocurable, conductive polymer composite materials by embedding conductive nanoparticles in poly(glycerol sebacate) acrylate (PGSA) and 3D-printed into nerve conduits. Rat pheochromocytoma cells and rat neuronal Schwann cells were chosen for the in vitro tests of the conduits and had demonstrate selective growth upon culture in the conductive conduits with built-in microchannels and electrical stimulation.

Keywords: biodegradable polymer, 3d printing, neural regeneration, electrical stimulation

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Authors: Danielle Schneider, Ying Xie

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Middle school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers experience an exceptional challenge in the expectation to incorporate curricula that builds strong spatial reasoning skills on rudimentary geometry concepts. Because spatial ability is so closely tied to STEM students’ success, researchers are tasked to determine effective instructional practices that create an authentic learning environment within the immersive virtual reality learning environment (IVRLE). This study looked to investigate the effect of the IVRLE on middle school STEM students’ spatial reasoning skills as a methodology to benefit the STEM middle school students’ spatial reasoning skills. This experimental study was comprised of thirty 7th-grade STEM students divided into a treatment group that was engaged in an immersive VR platform where they engaged in building an object in the virtual realm by applying spatial processing and visualizing its dimensions and a control group that built the identical object using a desktop computer-based, computer-aided design (CAD) program. Before and after the students participated in the respective “3D modeling” environment, their spatial reasoning abilities were assessed using the Middle Grades Mathematics Project Spatial Visualization Test (MGMP-SVT). Additionally, both groups created a physical 3D model as a secondary measure to measure the effectiveness of the IVRLE. The results of a one-way ANOVA in this study identified a negative effect on those in the IVRLE. These findings suggest that with middle school students, virtual reality (VR) proved an inadequate tool to benefit spatial relation skills as compared to desktop-based CAD.

Keywords: virtual reality, spatial reasoning, CAD, middle school STEM

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Authors: Merkineh Markos Lorato, Gedefaw Diress Alene

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Introduction: Visual impairment is any condition of the eye or visual system that results in loss/reduction of visual functioning. It significantly influences the academic routine and social activities of children, and the effect is severe for low-income countries like Ethiopia. So, this study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of visual impairment among school children in Ethiopia. Methods: Databases such as Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Excerpta Medica dataBASE, World Wide Web of Science, and Cochrane Library searched to retrieve eligible articles. In addition, Google Scholar and a reference list of the retrieved eligible articles were addressed. Studies that reported the prevalence of visual impairment were included to estimate the pooled prevalence. Data were extracted using a standardized data extraction format prepared in Microsoft Excel and analysis was held using STATA 11 statistical software. I² was used to assess the heterogeneity. Because of considerable heterogeneity, a random effect meta-analysis model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of visual impairment among school children in Ethiopia. Results: The result of 9 eligible studies showed that the pooled prevalence of visual impairment among school children in Ethiopia was 7.01% (95% CI: 5.46, 8.56%). In the subgroup analysis, the highest prevalence was reported in South Nations Nationalities and Tigray region together (7.99%; 3.63, 12.35), while the lowest prevalence was reported in Addis Ababa (5.73%; 3.93, 7.53). Conclusion: The prevalence of visual impairment among school children is significantly high in Ethiopia. If it is not detected and intervened early, it will cause a lifetime threat to visually impaired school children, so that school vision screening program plan and its implementation may cure the life quality of future generations in Ethiopia.

Keywords: visual impairment, school children, Ethiopia, prevalence

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Authors: Stephen Daniel Iduh, Evans Chidi Egwin, Oluwatosin Kudirat Shittu

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The process for the development of reliable and eco-friendly metallic Nanoparticles is an important step in the field of Nanotechnology for biomedical application. To achieve this, use of natural sources like biological systems becomes essential. In the present work, extracellular biosynthesis of gold Nanoparticles using aqueous leave and stembark extracts of K. senegalensis has been attempted. The gold Nanoparticles produced were characterized using High Resolution scanning electron microscopy, Ultra Violet–Visible spectroscopy, zeta-sizer Nano, Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDAX) Spectroscopy and Fourier Transmission Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. The cytotoxicity of the synthesized gold nanoparticles on MCF-7 cell line was evaluated using MTT assay. The result showed a rapid development of Nano size and shaped particles within 5 minutes of reaction with Surface Plasmon Resonance at 520 and 525nm respectively. An average particle size of 20-90nm was confirmed. The amount of the extracts determines the core size of the AuNPs. The core size of the AuNPs decreases as the amount of extract increases and it causes the shift of Surface Plasmon Resonance band. The FTIR confirms the presence of biomolecules serving as reducing and capping agents on the synthesised gold nanoparticles. The MTT assay shows a significant effect of gold nanoparticles which is concentration dependent. This environment-friendly method of biological gold Nanoparticle synthesis has the potential and can be directly applied in cancer therapy.

Keywords: biosynthesis, gold nanoparticles, characterization, calotropis procera, cytotoxicity

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Authors: Tukur Daiyabu Abdulkadir, Wan Ishak Wan Ismail, Muhammad Saufi Mohd Kassim

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Seed singulation and accuracy in seed spacing are the major challenges associated with the adoption of mechanical seeder for system of rice intensification. In this research the metering system of a pneumatic planter was modified and automated for increase precision to meet the demand of system of rice intensification SRI. The chain and sprocket mechanism of a conventional vacuum planter were now replaced with an electro mechanical system made up of a set of servo motors, limit switch, micro controller and a wheel divided into 10 equal angles. The circumference of the planter wheel was determined based on which seed spacing was computed and mapped to the angles of the metering wheel. A program was then written and uploaded to arduino micro controller and it automatically turns the seed plates for seeding upon covering the required distance. The servo motor was calibrated with the aid of labVIEW. The machine was then calibrated using a grease belt and varying the servo rpm through voltage variation between 37 rpm to 47 rpm until an optimum value of 40 rpm was obtained with a forward speed of 5 kilometers per hour. A pressure of 1.5 kpa was found to be optimum under which no skip or double was recorded. Precision in spacing (coefficient of variation), miss index, multiple index, doubles and skips were investigated. No skip or double was recorded both at laboratory and field levels. The operational parameters under consideration were both evaluated at laboratory and field. Even though there was little variation between the laboratory and field values of precision in spacing, multiple index and miss index, the different is not significant as both laboratory and field values fall within the acceptable range.

Keywords: automation, calibration, pneumatic seed planter, system of rice intensification

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Authors: Okhee Woo

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Purpose: With increasing concern of individual radiation exposure doses, studies analyzing radiation dosage in breast imaging modalities are required. Aim of this study is to compare radiation dosage and image quality between digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and full-field digital mammography (FFDM). Methods and Materials: 303 patients (mean age 52.1 years) who studied DBT and FFDM were retrospectively reviewed. Radiation dosage data were obtained by radiation dosage scoring and monitoring program: Radimetrics (Bayer HealthCare, Whippany, NJ). Entrance dose and mean glandular doses in each breast were obtained in both imaging modalities. To compare the image quality of DBT with two-dimensional synthesized mammogram (2DSM) and FFDM, 5-point scoring of lesion clarity was assessed and the better modality between the two was selected. Interobserver performance was compared with kappa values and diagnostic accuracy was compared using McNemar test. The parameters of radiation dosages (entrance dose, mean glandular dose) and image quality were compared between two modalities by using paired t-test and Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results: For entrance dose and mean glandular doses for each breasts, DBT had lower values compared with FFDM (p-value < 0.0001). Diagnostic accuracy did not have statistical difference, but lesion clarity score was higher in DBT with 2DSM and DBT was chosen as a better modality compared with FFDM. Conclusion: DBT showed lower radiation entrance dose and also lower mean glandular doses to both breasts compared with FFDM. Also, DBT with 2DSM had better image quality than FFDM with similar diagnostic accuracy, suggesting that DBT may have a potential to be performed as an alternative to FFDM.

Keywords: radiation dose, DBT, digital mammography, image quality

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Authors: Merve Ak Efe

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Youth branches in Turkey are one of the sub-fields where political ideologies are intersected with daily life practices. When the youth branches are examined within the framework of daily life practices, a social area can be defined where many types of capital turn into gains. The relationship between politics and capital is not only financial but can also be observed in the form of social, cultural, or emotional capital. This paper examines the political mobilization of young people who are members of the Youth Branch of the Justice and Development Party. The reason why JDP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) was chosen is that they have been the ruling party for twenty years, and there is a considerable number of young members within the party. Since Bayrampaşa is a district where JDP is politically active, This study is based on Bayrampaşa youth branches. The study examines how young people who are members of the party are mobilized and the everyday life practices and emotions underlying this mobilization. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with 13 young people, and the participant observation method was applied at the weekly meetings of the Justice and Development Party Bayrampaşa Youth Branch. Youth Branches represent a political space in which emotions turn into action for the young people who are involved in the party. During the field study at the micro level, it has been observed that the Bayrampaşa JDP Youth Branch hosted a transformation that incorporates political and social practices into modern tactics. One of the other results shows that being a member of youth branches causes a significant rise in social capital for young people. On the other hand, for the members with low cultural capital, there is an increase in social capital; however, an increase in cultural capital is not prominent.

Keywords: political mobilization, everyday practices, emotional capital, social capital, cultural capital

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Authors: Mohammad Hossein Panahi

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Modern social sciences developed in Western Europe, and from there, it disseminated to the rest of the world, including Muslim World. Within the hierarchical world social science system that emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries, the West occupied the center, and the Third and Muslim Worlds fell into its periphery. Many social scientists, especially sociologists, in the Third and Muslim World since the 1970s have criticized this worldwide unequal division of scientific labor and have called for the development of independent/indigenous social sciences relevant to their own social conditions. Based on the conceptual framework of the World Social Science System, this paper studied the encounter of Muslim social scientists/sociologists with the Western social sciences. Using inductive thematic content analysis as the method of research, the author analyzed 32 purposefully selected articles from among over 500 collected articles from the 1970s to 2018 and categorized the obtained themes. The findings revealed three main types of encounters: reception, indigenization, and Islamization. ‘Reception’ refers to the encounter of those Muslim social scientists who embrace the positivist approach and believe that Western social sciences are valid and applicable worldwide, including the Muslim World. ‘Indigenization’ refers to the approach of those Muslim social scientists who, along with many critical Third World social scientists, reject the universality of Western social sciences and call for the development of indigenous social sciences. ‘Islamization’ refers to the position of those religious Muslim social scientists who believe that Muslim nations should Islamize social sciences based on the Islamic value and knowledge systems, in order to attain viable social sciences and free themselves from Western domination. Discussing these encounters, their supporters and opponents, the paper concludes that despite various efforts, none of the two alternatives to the Western social sciences have been able to replace it so far.

Keywords: indigenization, Islamization, Muslim world, social sciences, world social science system

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Authors: Samar Mousa, Rebecca Shirley

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Injuries to the hand account for 20% of all emergency department attendances, with an estimated annual treatment cost of over £100 million in the UK. Functional impairments as a result of hand injuries often necessitate absence from employment, resulting in reduced productivity estimated to incur an additional £600m loss to the UK economy. Appropriate and early management is vital to preserve anatomy, prevent stiffness and allow function. The initial assessment and management of hand injuries are usually undertaken by junior staff, many of whom have little or no training or experience in splinting hand fractures. In our plastic surgery department at Stoke Mandeville hospital Buckinghamshire trust, we carried out an audit project to detect errors in hand splinting in the period between April 2022 and July 2022 and find out measures to support junior doctors, nurses and hand therapists in providing the best possible care for hand trauma patients. Our standards were The British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) standard of care in hand trauma, AO surgery reference and Stoke Mandeville hospital hand therapy mini protocol Feb 2022 During the period of 4 months, 5 cases were identified. Two cases of wrong splint choice, two cases of early removal of the splint and one tight splint that required change. In order to avoid those mistakes, a training program was given to junior doctors and nurses in collaboration with the hand therapy team regarding ways of splinting the hand in different injuries like fractures, tendons injuries, muscle injuries and ligamentous injuries. In addition to, a poster hung in the examination rooms and theatres to help junior doctors reach the correct decision.

Keywords: splinting, hand trauma, plastic surgery, tendon injury, hand fracrture

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Authors: Xiao-Yin Liu, Liang-Xue Zhou

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI), as a kind of nerve trauma caused by an external force, affects people all over the world and is a global public health problem. Although there are various clinical treatments for brain injury, including surgery, drug therapy, and rehabilitation therapy, the therapeutic effect is very limited. To improve the therapeutic effect of TBI, scaffolds combined with exosomes are a promising but challenging method for TBI repair. In this study, we examined whether a novel 3D-printed collagen/chitosan scaffold/exosomes derived from neural stem cells (NSCs) pretreated with insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-I) scaffolds (3D-CC-INExos) could be used to improve TBI repair and functional recovery after TBI. Our results showed that composite scaffolds of collagen-, chitosan- and exosomes derived from NSCs pretreated with IGF-I (INExos) could continuously release the exosomes for two weeks. In the rat TBI model, 3D-CC-INExos scaffold transplantation significantly improved motor and cognitive function after TBI, as assessed by the Morris water maze test and modified neurological severity scores. In addition, immunofluorescence staining and transmission electron microscopy showed that the recovery of damaged nerve tissue in the injured area was significantly improved by 3D-CC-INExos implantation. In conclusion, our data suggest that 3D-CC-INExos might provide a potential strategy for the treatment of TBI and lay a solid foundation for clinical translation.

Keywords: traumatic brain injury, exosomes, insulin growth factor-1, neural stem cells, collagen, chitosan, 3D printing, neural regeneration, angiogenesis, functional recovery

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Authors: Nur Inayah Ismaniar, Sukri Palutturi, Ansariadi, Atjo Wahyu

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Background: In various countries in the world, the problem of smoking is now considered something serious because of the effects of smoking which can not only lead to addiction but also have the potential to harm health. Public health authorities have concluded that one solution that can be done to protect the public from active smokers is to issue a policy that requires public facilities to be completely smoke-free. The hospital is one of the public facilities that has been designated as a smoke-free area. However, the implementation and maintenance of a successful program based on a smoke-free hospital are still considered an ongoing challenge worldwide due to the very low level of adherence. The low level of compliance with this smoke-free policy is also seen in other public facilities. The purpose of the literature review is to review the level of compliance with the application of the Non-Smoking Area policy, how this policy has succeeded in reducing smoking activity in hospitals, and what factors lead to such compliance in each country in the world. Methods: A literature review of articles was carried out on all types of research methods, both qualitative and quantitative. The sample is all subjects who are in the research location, which includes patients, staff and hospital visitors. Results: Various variations in the level of compliance were found in various kinds of literature. The literature with the highest level of compliance is 88.4%. Furthermore, several determinants that are known to affect the compliance of the Non-Smoking Area policies in hospitals include communication, information, knowledge, perceptions, interventions, attitudes and support. Obstacles to its enforcement are the absence of sanctions against violators of the Non-Smoking Area policy, the ineffectiveness of the function of policymakers in hospitals, and negative perceptions of smoking related to mental health. Conclusion: Violations of the Non-Smoking Area policy are often committed by the hospital staff themselves, which makes it difficult for this policy to be fully enforced at various points in the hospital.

Keywords: health policy, non-smoking area, hospital, implementation

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Authors: Priyanka Tamta, Sukanya Sharma

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The Kamakhya Temple in Assam plays a very important role in the development of Assam as not only a historical place but also as an archaeologically important site. Temple building activity on the site began in 5th century AD when a cave temple dedicated to Lord Balabhadraswami was constructed here by King Maharajadhiraja Sri Surendra Varman. In the history of Assam, the name of this king is not found and neither the name of this form of Vishnu is known in this region. But this inscription sanctified the place as it recorded the first ever temple building activity in this region. The fifteen hundred years habitation history of the Kamakhya temple sites shows a gradual progression of the site from a religious site to an archaeological site and finally as a historical landmark. Here, in this paper, our main objective is to understand the evolution of Kamakhya temple site as a historical landscape and as an important landmark in the history of Assam. The central theme of the paper is the gradual development of the religious site to a historical landmark. From epigraphical records, it is known that the site received patronage from all ruling dynasties of Assam and its adjoining regions. Royal households of Kashmir, Nepal, Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, etc. have left their footprints on the site. According to records they donated wealth, constructed or renovated temples and participated in the overall maintenance of the deity. This made Kamakhya temple a ground of interaction of faiths, communities, and royalties of the region. Since the 5th century AD, there was a continuous struggle between different beliefs, faiths, and power on the site to become the dominant authority of the site. In the process, powerful beliefs system subsumed minor ones into a larger doctrine of beliefs. This can be seen in the case of the evolution of the Kamakhya temple site as one of the important Shakta temples in India. Today, it is cultural identity marker of the state of Assam within which it is located. Its diverse faiths and beliefs have been appropriated by powerful legends to the dominant faith of the land. The temple has evolved from a cave temple to a complex of seventeen temples. The faith has evolved from the worship of water, an element of nature to the worship of the ten different forms of the goddess with their five male consorts or Bhairavas. Today, it represents and symbolizes the relationship of power and control out of which it has emerged. During different periods of occupation certain architectural and iconographical characters developed which indicated diffusion and cultural adaptation. Using this as sources and the epigraphical records this paper will analyze the interactive and dynamic processes which operated in the building of this cultural marker, the archaeological site of Kamakhya.

Keywords: cultural adaptation and diffusion, cultural and historical landscape, Kamakhya, Saktism, temple art and architecture, historiography

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Authors: Abdul Haseeb Wani, Shruti Sharma, Rafat Siddique

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Self-compacting concrete is an engineered concrete that flows and de-airs without additional energy input. Such concrete requires a high slump which can be achieved by the addition of superplasticizers to the concrete mix. In the present work, bagasse ash is utilised as a replacement of cement in self-compacting concrete. This serves the purpose of both land disposal and environmental concerns related to the disposal of bagasse ash. Further, an experimental program was carried out to study the fresh, strength, and durability properties of self-compacting concrete made with bagasse ash. The mixes were prepared with four percentages (0, 5, 10 and 15) of bagasse ash as partial replacement of cement. Properties investigated were; Slump-flow, V-funnel and L-box, Compressive strength, Splitting tensile strength, Chloride-ion penetration resistance and Water absorption. Compressive and splitting tensile strength tests were conducted at the age of 7 and 28 days. Rapid chloride-ion permeability test was carried at the age of 28 days and water absorption test was carried out at the age of 7 days after initial curing of 28 days. Test results showed that there is an increase in the compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of the concrete specimens having up to 10% replacement level, however, there is a slight decrease at 15% level of replacement. Resistance to chloride-ion penetration of the specimens increased as the percentage of replacement was increased. The charge passed in all the specimens containing bagasse ash was lower than that of the specimen without bagasse ash. Water absorption of the specimens decreased up to 10% replacement level and increased at 15% level of replacement. Hence, it can be concluded that optimum level of replacement of cement with bagasse ash in self-compacting concrete comes out to be 10%; at which the self-compacting concrete has satisfactory flow characteristics (as per the European guidelines), improved compressive and splitting tensile strength and better durability properties as compared to the control mix.

Keywords: bagasse ash, compressive strength, self-compacting concrete, splitting tensile strength

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Authors: Tanusree Moitra, Garga Chatterjee, Diganta Mukherjee, Anjali Ghosh

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Stroop task is considered to be an important measure of selective attention. However, the color – word Stroop task cannot be administered to the illiterate population. Some of the participants in the present study are illiterate, therefore, object – color Stroop task was used among male juvenile delinquents of India and Bangladesh citizenship (IC & BC), housed in delinquent home in India. The purpose of the study is to test the hypothesis that over - selective attention is present among juvenile delinquents across both the countries. Eighty juvenile delinquents and matched control of 12 – 18 years (50 IC juvenile delinquents, 30 BC juvenile delinquents and 50 Indian control) were shown 24 familiar objects in both typical (e.g. a red apple) and atypical (e.g. a blue apple) color. Repeated – measure factorial ANOVA was used and it was found that all the three groups have taken longer response time in the atypical condition compared to the typical condition. However, contrary to the over - selective attention hypothesis, both groups of juvenile delinquents displayed higher Stroop interference in comparison to the matched control group. The findings of the study can be explained on the basis of anxiety score. IC and BC juvenile delinquents have high anxiety score compared to the control group which indicates that increased anxiety is correlated with the interference produced by the atypical color object stimuli when compared with the typical object stimuli. Funding acknowledgement: Authors acknowledge Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for financial support to the first author of the paper vide Reference no. SR/CSRI/PDF -01/2013 under Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI) to carry out this work.

Keywords: Bangladesh, India, male juvenile delinquent, objects - color Stroop task

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Authors: Feng Yue, Fei Dai

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With the rapid development of urbanization process in China, its environmental protection pressure is severely tested. So, analyzing and optimizing the landscape pattern is an important measure to ease the pressure on the ecological environment. This paper takes Wuhan Urban Development Zone as the research object, and studies its landscape pattern evolution and quantitative optimization strategy. First, remote sensing image data from 1990 to 2015 were interpreted by using Erdas software. Next, the landscape pattern index of landscape level, class level, and patch level was studied based on Fragstats. Then five indicators of ecological environment based on National Environmental Protection Standard of China were selected to evaluate the impact of landscape pattern evolution on the ecological environment. Besides, the cost distance analysis of ArcGIS was applied to simulate wildlife migration thus indirectly measuring the improvement of ecological environment quality. The result shows that the area of land for construction increased 491%. But the bare land, sparse grassland, forest, farmland, water decreased 82%, 47%, 36%, 25% and 11% respectively. They were mainly converted into construction land. On landscape level, the change of landscape index all showed a downward trend. Number of patches (NP), Landscape shape index (LSI), Connection index (CONNECT), Shannon's diversity index (SHDI), Aggregation index (AI) separately decreased by 2778, 25.7, 0.042, 0.6, 29.2%, all of which indicated that the NP, the degree of aggregation and the landscape connectivity declined. On class level, the construction land and forest, CPLAND, TCA, AI and LSI ascended, but the Distribution Statistics Core Area (CORE_AM) decreased. As for farmland, water, sparse grassland, bare land, CPLAND, TCA and DIVISION, the Patch Density (PD) and LSI descended, yet the patch fragmentation and CORE_AM increased. On patch level, patch area, Patch perimeter, Shape index of water, farmland and bare land continued to decline. The three indexes of forest patches increased overall, sparse grassland decreased as a whole, and construction land increased. It is obvious that the urbanization greatly influenced the landscape evolution. Ecological diversity and landscape heterogeneity of ecological patches clearly dropped. The Habitat Quality Index continuously declined by 14%. Therefore, optimization strategy based on greenway network planning is raised for discussion. This paper contributes to the study of landscape pattern evolution in planning and design and to the research on spatial layout of urbanization.

Keywords: landscape pattern, optimization strategy, ArcGIS, Erdas, landscape metrics, landscape architecture

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Authors: Arif Sikander, Imran Saeed

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The behavioral pattern and performance of airline pilots are influenced by the level of stress, their ethical decision-making ability and above all their leadership style as part of the Crew Management process. Cultural differences of pilots, especially while working in ex-country airlines, could influence the stress perception. Culture also influences ethical decision making. Leadership style is also a variable dimension, and pilots need to adapt to the cultural settings while flying with the local pilots as part of their team. Studies have found that age, education, gender, and management experience are statistically significant factors in ethical maturity. However, in the decades to come, more studies are required to validate the results over and over again; thereby, providing support for the validity of the Moral Development Theory. Leadership style plays a vital role in ethical decision making. This study is grounded in the Moral Development theory and seeks to analyze the styles of leadership of airline pilots related to ethical decision making and also the influence of the culture on their stress perception. The sample for the study included commercial pilots from a National Airline. It is expected that these results should provide useful input to the literature in the context of developing appropriate Talent Management strategies. The authors intend to extend this study (carried out in one country) to major national carriers (many countries) to be able to develop a ultimate framework on Talent Management which should serve as a benchmark for any international airline as most of them (e.g., Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, etc.) are dependent on the supply of this scarce resource from outside countries.

Keywords: ethics, leadership, pilot, stress

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Authors: Ahmad Hashim, Thariq Khan Azizuddin Khan, Zulakbal Abd Karim, Nohazira Abdul Karim

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This research aims to obtain the validity and reliability of a survey instrument to evaluate the values, attitudes, and professionalism of sports science students, from the Faculty of Sports Science and Coaching, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). It is a survey which is divided into two components namely first; moral, self-esteem, proactive, self-reliant and voluntary and second; ethics and professionalism. Development of the survey instrument is based on the Malaysian Education Development Plan, Higher Education Malaysia. There are 50 items prepared based on the five-point Likert scale which were tested at the pilot test level. It involved 212 research subjects selected based on random sampling. In addition, the research method applied is in the form of pre-experimental one group pre-test-post-test. Results of the analysis showed that overall field expert validity is r = .89, while the Cronbach alpha reliability correlation value of outdoor education instrument evaluation survey is r = .85. Next, this survey was tested again for construct validity using the factor analysis method for statistical analysis which would validate each item tested was supposed to be in the right component. From the analysis, results show that Bartlett's test is significant p < .05 and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index range is r = .87. The result showed 39 survey items are produced out of 50 items of the survey based on this factor analysis method. Research has shown that the survey instrument developed is valid and reliable to be used for the Faculty of Sports Sciences and Coaching, UPSI.

Keywords: values, attitudes, professionalism, ethics, professionalism

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Authors: P. S. Dhananjaya Swamy, B. Chinnappa, G. B. Ramesh, Naveen P. Kumar

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Kodagu district is one of the most densely forested districts in the India as around sixty five per cent of geographical areas under tree cover. Nearly 53 per cent of the flora of Kodagu is endemic. The district is also a hotspot of endemic orchids found mainly in the Thadiandamol. Shade grown, eco-friendly coffee farms are perhaps a selected few places on this planet where nature runs wild. The Kodagu accounts for more than 8.8 per cent of floral diversity of Karnataka state. Estimation of unit cost of cultivation plays a vital role in determining the governmental program their market intervention policies. On an average, planters incurred around Rs. 17041 per acre. The extent of production risk was highest among small category of planters (66 %) compared to other two exhibiting production instability. The result shows that, the coffee productivity in medium plantations was 1051.2 kg per acre as against 758.5 and 789.2 kg in the case of small and large plantations. An annual net return per acre was highest in the case of medium planters (Rs. 26109.3) as against Rs. 20566.7 and Rs. 18572.7 in the case of small and large planters. Cost of production was lowest in the case of small planters (Rs. 18.9 per kg of output) followed by medium planters (Rs. 21.2 per kg of output) and large planters (Rs. 22.5 per kg of output). The productivity of coffee is less whenever it is grown under high shade and native tree cover; it is around 6 quintals per acre when compared with low shade conditions, which is around 8.9 quintals per acre, without a significant difference in the amount invested for growing coffee. Net gain was lower by Rs. 15.5 per kg for the planters growing under high shade and native trees cover when compared with low shade and exotic trees cover.

Keywords: coffee, cultivation, economics, Kodagu

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Authors: Gülay Dalgıç, Gildis Tachir

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Architectural design studios are ambiencein where architecture design is realized as a palpable product in architectural education. In the design studios that the architect candidate will use in the design processthe information, the methods of approaching the design problem, the solution proposals, etc., are set uptogetherwith the studio coordinators. The architectural design process, on the other hand, is complex and uncertain.Candidate architects work in a process that starts with abstre and ill-defined problems. This process starts with the generation of alternative solutions with the help of representation tools, continues with the selection of the appropriate/satisfactory solution from these alternatives, and then ends with the creation of an acceptable design/result product. In the studio ambience, many designs and thought relationships are evaluated, the most important step is the early design phase. In the early design phase, the first steps of converting the information are taken, and converted information is used in the constitution of the first design decisions. This phase, which positively affects the progress of the design process and constitution of the final product, is complex and fuzzy than the other phases of the design process. In this context, the aim of the study is to investigate the effects of face-to-face learning model and e-learning model on the early design phase. In the study, the early design phase was defined by literature research. The data of the defined early design phase criteria were obtained with the feedback graphics created for the architect candidates who performed e-learning in the first year of architectural education and continued their education with the face-to-face learning model. The findings of the data were analyzed with the common graphics program. It is thought that this research will contribute to the establishment of a contemporary architectural design education model by reflecting the evaluation of the data and results on architectural education.

Keywords: education modeling, architecture education, design education, design process

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Authors: Supakij Saisopon

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The process of economic development incurs spatial transformation. This spatial alternation also causes environmental impacts, leading to higher pollution. In the case of Thailand, there is still a lack of price-endogenous quantitative analysis incorporating relationships among economic growth, land-use change, and environmental impact. Therefore, this paper aimed at developing the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model with the capability of stimulating such mutual effects. The developed CGE model has also incorporated the nested constant elasticity of transformation (CET) structure that describes the spatial redistribution mechanism between agricultural land and urban area. The simulation results showed that the 1% decrease in the availability of agricultural land lowers the value-added of agricultural by 0.036%. Similarly, the 1% reduction of availability of urban areas can decrease the value-added of manufacturing and service sectors by 0.05% and 0.047%, respectively. Moreover, the outcomes indicate that the increasing farming and urban areas induce higher volumes of solid waste, wastewater, and air pollution. Specifically, the 1% increase in the urban area can increase pollution as follows: (1) the solid waste increase by 0.049%, (2) water pollution ̶ indicated by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) value ̶ increase by 0.051% and (3) air pollution ̶ indicated by the volumes of CO₂, N₂O, NOₓ, CH₄, and SO₂ ̶ increase within the range of 0.045%–0.051%. With the simulation for exploring the sustainable development path, a 1% increase in agricultural land use efficiency leads to the shrinking demand for agricultural land. But this is not happening in urban, a 1% scale increase in urban utilization results in still increasing demand for land. Therefore, advanced clean production technology is necessary to align the increasing land-use efficiency with the lowered pollution density.

Keywords: CGE model, CET structure, environmental impact, land use

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Authors: Mardianto

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Education and learning are now grown rapidly. Synergy of techonology especially instructional technology in the learning activities are very big influence on the effectiveness of learning and creativity to achieve optimal results. But on the other hand there is a education value that is difficult to be articulated through character-forming technology such as honesty, discipline, hard work, heroism, and so forth. Learning strategy and storytelling from the past until today is still an option for teachers to convey the message of character values. With the material was loaded from the local culture (stories folklore), the combination of learning objectives (build character child) strategy, and traditional methods (storytelling and story), and the preservation of local culture (dig tale folklore) is critical to maintaining the nation's culture. In the context of maintaining the nation's culture, then since the age of the child at the level of government elementary school a necessity. Globalization, the internet and technology sometimes feel can displace the role of the teacher in the learning activities. To the oral tradition is a mainstay of storytelling should be maintained and preserved. This research was conducted at the elementary school in the city of Medan, North Sumatra Indonesia, with a random sampling technique, the 27 class teachers were respondents who were randomly assigned to the Madrasah Ibtdaiyah (Islamic Elementary School) both public and private. Research conducted at the beginning of 2014 refers to a curriculum that is being transformed in the environment ministry Republic Religion Indonesia. The results of this study indicate that; the declining skills of teachers to develop storytelling this can be seen from; 74.07% of teachers have never attended a special training storytelling, 85.19% no longer nasakah new stories, only 22.22% are teachers who incorporate methods of stories in the learning plan. Most teachers are no longer concerned with storytelling, among those experiencing difficulty in developing methods because the story; 66.67% of children are more interested in children's cartoons like Bobo boy, Angrybirds and others, 59.26 children prefer other activities than listening to a story. The teachers hope, folklore books should be preserved, storytelling training should be provided by the government through the ministry of religion, race or competition of storytelling should be scheduled, writing a new script-based populist storytelling should be provided immediately. The teachers’ hope certainly not excessive, by realizing the story method becomes articulation as the efforts of child character development based populist, therefore the local knowledge can be a strong fortress facing society in the era of progress as at present, and future.

Keywords: story telling, local wisdom, education, technology development

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Authors: N. Tal-Alon, O. Shapira-Lishchinsky

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Disability disclosure is one of the most complicated dilemmas that people with invisible disabilities face. There are only a few research studies that have focused on the difficulties and dilemmas of teachers who have different disabilities. In addition, there are currently no research studies focusing specifically on the different aspects of disability disclosure, which are unique to teachers. This research has, therefore, broadened the knowledge base and understanding of the dilemma of disability disclosure among teachers with invisible physical disabilities. In addition, it has shed light on the ways this issue is perceived by different groups: the perspective of school principals, the perspective of colleagues, and the perspective of teachers with physical disabilities themselves. The study sample included 12 teachers with invisible physical disabilities, 10 school principals who employ at least one teacher with an invisible physical disability, and 10 professional colleagues of at least one teacher with an invisible physical disability. This particular research study was conducted using a qualitative approach through the Narralizer computer program based on a series of in-depth interviews. The data analysis was carried out by grouping major points of interest into specific categories and sub-categories. The findings of this research suggest that teachers with disabilities struggle with the dilemma of whether or not to reveal their disability to the school staff and to their students. It was found that there were considerable differences between the issues that faculty members considered regarding this dilemma and the ones that teachers with disabilities considered. While the principals and professional colleagues focused solely on their own interests, the teachers with a disability emphasized more on the ways that they might have a positive influence on their students, as well as their own individual interests. In addition, school principals on a whole tended to view negatively the option of disclosing the disability to the students and were often critical towards teachers who concealed their disability from the school staff. The importance of this research is in its potential to influence policy decisions that can be implemented by the Ministry of Education regarding the support system for teachers with invisible physical disabilities.

Keywords: education, employment, invisible disabilities, teachers

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Authors: A. T. Muruviwa

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Empirical studies of the current CSR agenda have been dominated by literature from the North at the expense of the nations from the South where most TNCs are located. Therefore, owing to the limitations of the current discourse that is dominated by Western ideas such as voluntarism, philanthropy, business case and economic gains, scholars have been calling for a new CSR agenda that is South-centred and addresses the needs of developing nations. The development theme has dominated in the recent literature as scholars concerned with the relationship between business and society have tried to understand its relationship with CSR. Despite a plethora of literature on the roles of corporations in local communities and the impact of CSR initiatives, there is lack of adequate empirical evidence to help us understand the nexus between CSR and development. For all the claims made about the positive and negative consequences of CSR, there is surprisingly little information about the outcomes it delivers. This study is a response to these claims made about the developmental aspect of CSR in developing countries. It offers some empirical bases for assessing the major CSR projects that have been fulfilled by a major mining company, Zimplats in Mhondoro-Ngezi Zimbabwe. The neo-liberal idea of capitalism and market dominations has empowered TNCs to stamp their authority in the developing countries. TNCs have made their mark in developing nations as they stamp their global private authority, rivalling or implicitly challenging the state in many functions. This dominance of corporate power raises great concerns over their tendencies of abuses in terms of environmental, social and human rights concerns as well as how to make them increasingly accountable. The hegemonic power of TNCs in the developing countries has had a tremendous impact on the overall CSR practices. While TNCs are key drivers of globalization they may be acting responsibly in their Global Northern home countries where there is a combination of legal mechanisms and the fear of civil society activism associated with corporate scandals. Using a triangulated approach in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were used the study found out that most CSR projects in Zimbabwe are dominated and directed by Zimplats because of the power it possesses. Most of the major CSR projects are beneficial to the mining company as they serve the business plans of the mining company. What was deduced from the study is that the infrastructural development initiatives by Zimplats confirm that CSR is a tool to advance business obligations. This shows that although proponents of CSR might claim that business has a mandate for social obligations to society, we need not to forget the dominant idea that the primary function of CSR is to enhance the firm’s profitability.

Keywords: hegemonic power, projects, reciprocity, stakeholders

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Authors: Giorgi Gaprindashvili

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One of the best examples, in evolution of the public procurement, from post-soviet countries are reforms carried out in Georgia, which brought them close to international standards of procurement. In Georgia, public procurement legislation started functioning in 1998. The reform has passed several stages and came in the form as it is today. It should also be noted, that countries with economy in transition, including Georgia, implemented all the reforms in public procurement based on recommendations and support of World Bank, the United Nations and other international organizations. The first law on public procurement in Georgia was adopted on December 9, 1998 which aimed regulation of the procurement process of budget-organizations, transparent and competitive environment for private companies to access state funds legally. The priorities were identified quite clearly in the wording of the law, but operation/function of this law could not be reached on its level, because of some objective and subjective reasons. The high level of corruption in all levels of governance, can be considered as a main obstacle reason and of course, it is natural, that it had direct impact on the procurement process, as well as on transparency and rational use of state funds. This circumstances were the reasons that reforms in this sphere continued, to improve procurement process, in particular, the first wave of reforms began in 2001. Public procurement agency carried out reform with World Bank with main purpose of smartening the procurement legislation and its harmonization with international treaties and agreements. Also with the support of World Bank various activities were carried out to raise awareness of participants involved in procurement system. Further major changes in the legislation were filed in May 2005, which was also directed towards the improvement and smarten of the procurement process. The third wave of the reform began in 2010, which more or less guaranteed the transparency of the procurement process, which later became the basis for the rational spending of state funds. The reform of the procurement system completely changed the procedures. Carried out reform in Georgia resulted in introducing new electronic tendering system, which benefit the transparency of the process, after this became the basis for the further development of a competitive environment, which become a prerequisite for the state rational spending. Increased number of supplier organizations participating in the procurement process resulted in reduction of the estimated cost and the actual cost from 20% up to 40%, it is quite large saving for the procuring organizations and allows them to use the freed-up funds for their other needs. Assessment of the reforms in Georgia in the field of public procurement can be concluded, that proper regulation of the sector and relevant policy may proceed to rational and transparent spending of the budget from country’s state institutions. Also, the business sector has the opportunity to work in competitive market conditions and to make a preliminary analysis, which is a prerequisite for future strategy and development.

Keywords: public administration, public procurement, reforms, transparency

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Authors: Nevila Bardhi, Joanna Magda, Kolapo Alex-Oni, Slavenka Sedlar, Paromita Hore

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The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) receives blood lead test results for NYC residents and conducts lead poisoning case investigations for individuals with elevated blood lead levels exposed to lead occupationally and non-occupationally. To (1) improve participant engagement, (2) aid the identification of potential lead sources, and (3) better tailor recommendations to reduce lead exposure, Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques were incorporated during risk assessment interviews of non-pregnant adults by DOHMH’s Adult Lead Poisoning Prevention (ALP) Program. MI is an evidence-based counselling method used in clinical settings that have been effective in promoting behavior change by resolving ambivalence and enhancing motivation in treating both physiological and psychological health conditions. The incorporation of MI techniques in the ALP risk assessment interview was effective in improving the identification of lead sources for non-pregnant adult cases, thus, allowing for the opportunity to better tailor lead poisoning prevention recommendations. The embedding of MI cues in the ALP risk assessment interview also significantly increased engagement in the interview process, resulting in approximately 50 more interviews conducted per year and a decrease in interview refusals during case investigations. Additionally, the pre-MI interview completion rate was 57%, while the post-MI Interview completion rate was 68%. We recommend MI techniques to be used by other lead poisoning prevention programs during lead poisoning investigations in similar diverse populations.

Keywords: lead poisoning prevention, motivational interviewing, behavior change, lead poisoning risk factors, self-efficacy

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Authors: Adey Nigatu Mersha, Ilyas Masih, Charlotte de Fraiture, Tena Alamirew

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Conflicts over water are increasing mainly as a result of water scarcity in response to higher water demand and climatic variability. There is often not enough water to meet all demands for different uses. Thus, decisions have to be made as to how the available resources can be managed and utilized. Correspondingly water allocation goals, practically national water policy goals, need to be revised accordingly as the pressure on water increases from time to time. A case study is conducted in the Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia, to assess and evaluate prioritized comprehensive water demand management options based on the framework of integrated water resources management in account of stakeholders’ knowledge and preferences as well as practical prominence within the Upper Awash Basin. Two categories of alternative management options based on policy analysis and stakeholders' consultation were evaluated against the business-as-usual scenario by using WEAP21 model as an analytical tool. Strong effects on future (unmet) demands are observed with major socio-economic assumptions and forthcoming water development plans. Water management within the basin will get more complex with further abstraction which may lead to an irreversible damage to the ecosystem. It is further confirmed through this particular study that efforts to maintain users’ preferences alone cannot insure economically viable and environmentally sound development and vice versa. There is always a tradeoff between these factors. Hence, all of these facets must be analyzed separately, related with each other in equal footing, and ultimately taken up in decision making in order for the whole system to function properly.

Keywords: water demand, water availability, WEAP21, scenarios

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