Search results for: public life

Authors: Zülfiye Bıkmaz, Aytolan Yıldırım

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This study was planned as a descriptive regressive study in order to determine the relationship between the competency levels of working nurses, the levels of competency expected by nursing students, the critical thinking disposition of nurses, their perceived autonomy levels, and certain socio demographic characteristics. It is also a methodological study with regard to the intercultural adaptation of the Nursing Competence Scale (NCS) in both working and student samples. The sample of the study group of nurses at a university hospital for at least 6 months working properly and consists of 443 people filled out questionnaires. The student group, consisting of 543 individuals from the 4 public university nursing 3rd and 4th grade students. Data collection tools consisted of a questionnaire prepared in order to define the socio demographic, economic, and personal characteristics of the participants, the ‘Nursing Competency Scale’, the ‘Autonomy Subscale of the Sociotropy – Autonomy Scale’, and the ‘California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory’. In data evaluation, descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests, Rasch analysis and correlation and regression tests were used. The language validity of the ‘NCS’ was performed by translation and back translation, and the context validity of the scale was performed with expert views. The scale, which was formed into its final structure, was applied in a pilot application from a group consisting of graduate and student nurses. The time constancy of the test was obtained by analysis testing retesting method. In order to reduce the time problems with the two half reliability method was used. The Cronbach Alfa coefficient of the scale was found to be 0.980 for the nurse group and 0.986 for the student group. Statistically meaningful relationships between competence and critical thinking and variables such as age, gender, marital status, family structure, having had critical thinking training, education level, class of the students, service worked in, employment style and position, and employment duration were found. Statistically meaningful relationships between autonomy and certain variables of the student group such as year, employment status, decision making style regarding self, total duration of employment, employment style, and education status were found. As a result, it was determined that the NCS which was adapted interculturally was a valid and reliable measurement tool and was found to be associated with autonomy and critical thinking.

Keywords: nurse, nursing student, competence, autonomy, critical thinking, Rasch analysis

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Authors: Pei-Ti Hsu, I-Ju Chen, Jeu-Jung Chen, Cheng-Fen Chang, Shiu-Yan Yang

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Taiwan now is an aging society Research on the elderly should not be confined to caring for seniors, but should also be focused on ways to improve health and the quality of life. Senior citizens who participate in volunteer services could become less lonely, have new growth opportunities, and regain a sense of accomplishment. Thus, the question of how to get the elderly to participate in volunteer service is worth exploring. Apply the Transtheoretical Model to understand stages of change in regular volunteer service and voluntary service behaviour among the seniors. 1525 adults over the age of 65 from the Renai district of Keelung City were interviewed. The research tool was a self-constructed questionnaire and individual interviews were conducted to collect data. Then the data was processed and analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 (Windows version) statistical software program. In the past six months, research subjects averaged 9.92 days of volunteer services. A majority of these elderly individuals had no intention to change their regular volunteer services. We discovered that during the maintenance stage, the self-efficacy for volunteer services was higher than during all other stages, but self-perceived barriers were less during the preparation stage and action stage. Self-perceived benefits were found to have an important predictive power for those with regular volunteer service behaviors in the previous stage, and self-efficacy was found to have an important predictive power for those with regular volunteer service behaviors in later stages. The research results support the conclusion that community nursing staff should group elders based on their regular volunteer services change stages and design appropriate behavioral change strategies.

Keywords: seniors, stages of change in regular volunteer services, volunteer service behavior, self-efficacy, self-perceived benefits

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Authors: Ernest Nweke

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Mongolia has made giant strides in the development of its auditing and accounting system from Soviet-style to a market-oriented system. High levels of domestic and foreign investment desired by the Mongolian government require that better and improved quality of corporate information and disclosure consistent with international standards be made available to investors. However, the Mongolian Certified Public Accountants (CPA) profession is still developing, and the quality of services provided by accounting firms in most cases do not comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) framework approved by the government for use in financial reporting. Against this backdrop, Accounting and audit reforms, liberalization and deregulation, establishment of an efficient and effective professional monitoring and supervision regime are policy necessities. These will further enhance the Mongolian business environment, eliminate incompetence in the system, make the economy more attractive to investors and ultimately lift reporting standards and bring about improved accounting, auditing and disclosure practices among Mongolian firms. This paper examines the fundamental issues in the accounting and auditing environment in Mongolia and investigates the relationship between selected characteristics of Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE) listed firms (profitability, leverage, firm size, firm auditor size, firm listing age, board size and proportion of independent directors) and voluntary accounting disclosures in their annual reports and accounts. The selected sample of firms for the research purpose consists of the top 20 indexes of the MSE, representing over 95% of the market capitalization. An empirical analysis of the hypothesized relationship was carried out using multiple regression in EViews analytical software. Research results lend credence to the fact that only a few of the company attributes positively impact voluntary accounting disclosures in Mongolian Stock Exchange-listed firms. The research is motivated by the absence of empirical evidence on the correlation between the quality of voluntary accounting disclosures made by listed companies in Mongolia and company characteristics and the findings thereof significantly useful to both firms and regulatory authorities. The concluding part of the paper precisely consists of useful research-based recommendations for listed firms and regulatory agencies on measures to put in place in order to enhance the quality of corporate financial reporting and disclosures in Mongolia.

Keywords: accounting, auditing, corporate disclosure, listed firms

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Authors: Sajjad Esmaeili Aghdam

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Economics typically conceptualizes individual behavior as the consequence of external states, for example, budgets and prices (or respective beliefs) and choices. As the main goal, we focus on the influence of a range of Behavioral Economics factors on Strategies of Digital Marketing, evaluation of strategies and deformation of it into highly prospective marketing strategies. The different forms of behavioral prospects all lead to the succeeding two main results. First, the steadiness of the economic dynamics in a currency union be contingent fatefully on the level of economic incorporation. More economic incorporation leads to more steady economic dynamics. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is “all casual communications focused at consumers through Internet-based technology connected to the usage or characteristics of specific properties and services or their venders.” eWOM can take many methods, the most significant one being online analyses. Writing this paper, 72 articles have been gathered, focusing on the title and the aim of the article from research search engines like Google Scholar, Web of Science, and PubMed. Recent research in strategic management and marketing proposes that markets should not be viewed as a given and deterministic setting, exogenous to the firm. Instead, firms are progressively abstracted as dynamic inventors of market prospects. The use of new technologies touches all spheres of the modern lifestyle. Social and economic life becomes unbearable without fast, applicable, first-class and fitting material. Psychology and economics (together known as behavioral economics) are two protruding disciplines underlying many theories in marketing. The wide marketing works papers consumers’ none balanced behavior even though behavioral biases might not continuously be steadily called or officially labeled.

Keywords: behavioral economics, digital marketing, marketing strategy, high impact strategies

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Authors: Păcurar Diana Istina

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Structured in three chapters, the article attempts an X-ray of the theatrical aesthetics, correctly understood through the emotions generated in the intimate structure of the spectator that precedes the triggering of the viewer’s perception and not through the superposition, unfortunately common, of the notion of aesthetics with the style in which a theater show is built. The first chapter contains a brief history of the appearance of the word aesthetic, the formulation of definitions for this new term, as well as its connections with the notions of semiotics, in particular with the perception of the message transmitted. Starting with Aristotle and Plato, and reaching Magritte, their interventions should not be interpreted in the sense that the two scientific concepts can merge into one discipline. The perception that is the object of everyone’s analysis, the understanding of meaning, the decoding of the messages sent, and the triggering of feelings that culminate in pleasure, shaping the aesthetic vision, are some elements that keep semiotics and aesthetics distinct, even though they share many methods of analysis. The compositional processes of aesthetic representation and symbolic formation are analyzed in the second part of the paper from perspectives that include or do not include historical, cultural, social, and political processes. Aesthetics and the organization of its symbolic process are treated, taking into account expressive activity. The last part of the article explores the notion of aesthetics in applied theater, more specifically in the theater show. Taking the postmodern approach that aesthetics applies to the creation of an artifact and the reception of that artifact, the intervention of these elements in the theatrical system must be emphasized –that is, the analysis of the problems arising in the stages of the creation, presentation, and reception, by the public, of the theater performance. The aesthetic process is triggered involuntarily, simultaneously, or before the moment when people perceive the meaning of the messages transmitted by the work of art. The finding of this fact makes the mental process of aesthetics similar or related to that of semiotics. No matter how perceived individually, beauty, the mechanism of production can be reduced to two. The first step presents similarities to Peirce’s model, but the process between signified and signified additionally stimulates the related memory of the evaluation of beauty, adding to the meanings related to the signification itself. Then, the second step, a process of comparison, is followed, in which one examines whether the object being looked at matches the accumulated memory of beauty. Therefore, even though aesthetics is derived from the conceptual part, the judgment of beauty and, more than that, moral judgment come to be so important to the social activities of human beings that it evolves as a visible process independent of other conceptual contents.

Keywords: aesthetics, semiotics, symbolic composition, subjective joints, signifying, signified

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Authors: F. M. Pisano, M. Ciminello

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Aerospace, mechanical, and civil engineering infrastructures can take advantages from damage detection and identification strategies in terms of maintenance cost reduction and operational life improvements, as well for safety scopes. The challenge is to detect so called “barely visible impact damage” (BVID), due to low/medium energy impacts, that can progressively compromise the structure integrity. The occurrence of any local change in material properties, that can degrade the structure performance, is to be monitored using so called Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems, in charge of comparing the structure states before and after damage occurs. SHM seeks for any "anomalous" response collected by means of sensor networks and then analyzed using appropriate algorithms. Independently of the specific analysis approach adopted for structural damage detection and localization, textual reports, tables and graphs describing possible outlier coordinates and damage severity are usually provided as artifacts to be elaborated for information extraction about the current health conditions of the structure under investigation. Visual Analytics can support the processing of monitored measurements offering data navigation and exploration tools leveraging the native human capabilities of understanding images faster than texts and tables. Herein, a SHM system enrichment by integration of a Visual Analytics component is investigated. Analytical dashboards have been created by combining worksheets, so that a useful Visual Analytics tool is provided to structural analysts for exploring the structure health conditions examined by a Principal Component Analysis based algorithm.

Keywords: interactive dashboards, optical fibers, structural health monitoring, visual analytics

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Authors: Nawaf A. Alqahtani, Ali M. Alqahtani, Khalid A. Alqahtani, Huda S. Abdullfattah, Ebtehal A. Alessa, Khalid S. Al Gelban, Ossama A. Mostafa

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Background: The internet is an exciting medium that is becoming an essential part of everyday life. Although the internet is fully observed in Saudi Arabia, young people may be vulnerable to problematic internet use, possibly leading to addiction. Aim of study: To explore the magnitude of internet addiction (IA) among medical students associated risk factors and its impact on students' academic achievement. Subjects and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in 2014 on 571 medical students (293 males and 278 females) at the College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. Data Collection was done through using the Arabic version of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale and a checklist of demographic characteristics. Results: Age of participants ranged from 19 to 26 years (Mean+SD: 21.9+1.5 years). Internet access was available to 97.4% of students at home and to 80.2% of students at their mobile phones. The most frequently accessed websites by medical students were the social media (90.7%), scientific website (50.4%) and the news websites (31.3%). IA was mild in 47.8% of medical students while 5.8% had moderate IA. None of the students had severe IA. Prevalence of IA was significantly higher among female medical students (p=0.002), availability of internet at home (p=0.022), and availability of internet at the students' mobile phone (p=0.041). The mean General Point Average (GPA) was highest among students with mild IA (4.0+0.6), compared with 3.6+0.6 among those with moderate addiction, and 3.9+0.6 among those who did not show IA. Differences in mean GPA according to grade of IA were statistically significant ((P=0.001). Conclusions: Prevalence of IA is high among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Risk factors for IA include female gender, availability of internet at home or at the mobile phone. IA has a significant impact on students' GPA. Periodic screening of medical students for IA and raising their awareness toward the possible risk of IA are recommended.

Keywords: internet addiction, medical students, risk factors, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: V. R. Venugopal

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Human being evolved 200,000 years ago in an area which is now the Sahara desert and lived all along in the northern part of Africa. It was around 10,000 to15,00 years that he moved out of Africa. Various ancient civilizations – mainly the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indus valley and the Chinese yellow river valley civilizations - developed and perished till the beginning of the Christian era. Strangely the regions where all these civilizations flourished are no deserts. After the ancient civilizations the two major religions of the world the Christianity and Islam evolved. These too evolved in the regions of Jerusalem and Mecca which are now in the deserts of the present Israel and Saudi Arabia. Human activity since ancient age right from his origin was in areas which are now deserts. This is only because wherever Man lived in large numbers he has turned them into deserts. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the ancient days alone. Over the last 500 years the forest cover on the earth is reduced by 80 percent. Even more currently Just over the last forty decades human population has doubled but the number of bugs, beetles, worms and butterflies (micro fauna) have declined by 45%. Deforestation and defaunation are the first signs of desertification and Desertification is a process parallel to the extinction of life. There is every possibility that soon most of the earth will be in deserts. This writer has been involved in the process of forestation and increase of fauna as a profession since twenty years and this is a report of his efforts made in the process, the results obtained and concept generated to revert the ongoing desertification of this earth. This paper highlights how desertification can be reverted by applying these basic principles. 1) Man is not owner of this earth and has no right destroy vegetation and micro fauna. 2) Land owner shall not have the freedom to do anything that he wishes with the land. 3) The land that is under agriculture shall be reduced at least by a half. 4) Irrigation and modern technology shall be used for the forest growth also. 5) Farms shall have substantial permanent vegetation and the practice of all in all out shall stop.

Keywords: desertification, extinction, micro fauna, reverting

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Authors: Mojtaba Fayaz, Richard Hallal

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This study examines the various types of dangers that our virtual environment is vulnerable to, including how it can be attacked and how to avoid/secure our data. The terrain of cyberspace is never completely safe, and Covid- 19 has added to the confusion, necessitating daily periodic checks and evaluations. Cybercriminals have been able to enact with greater skill and undertake more conspicuous and sophisticated attacks while keeping a higher level of finesse by operating from home. Different types of cyberattacks, such as operation-based attacks, authentication-based attacks, and software-based attacks, are constantly evolving, but research suggests that software-based threats, such as Ransomware, are becoming more popular, with attacks expected to increase by 93 percent by 2020. The effectiveness of cyber frameworks has shifted dramatically as the pandemic has forced work and private life to become intertwined, destabilising security overall and creating a new front of cyber protection for security analysis and personal. The high-rise formats in which cybercrimes are carried out, as well as the types of cybercrimes that exist, such as phishing, identity theft, malware, and DDoS attacks, have created a new front of cyber protection for security analysis and personal safety. The overall strategy for 2022 will be the introduction of frameworks that address many of the issues associated with offsite working, as well as education that provides better information about commercialised software that does not provide the highest level of security for home users, allowing businesses to plan better security around their systems.

Keywords: cyber security, authentication, software, hardware, malware, COVID-19, threat actors, awareness, home users, confidentiality, integrity, availability, attacks

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Authors: Lorenza Sganzetta, Nunzia Borrelli

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The research intends to reflect on the current mapping of the Food Strategies, on the reasons why in the planning objectives panorama, such sustainability priorities are located in those geographic areas and on the evolutions of these priorities of the Mediterranean planning dispositions. The whirling population growth that is affecting global cities is causing an enormous challenge to conventional resource-intensive food production and supply and the urgent need to face food safety, food security and sustainability concerns. Urban or Territorial Food Strategies can provide an interesting path for the development of this new agenda within the imperative principle of sustainability. In the specific, it is relevant to explore what ‘sustainability’ means within these policies. Most of these plans include actions related to four main components and interpretations of sustainability that are food security and safety, food equity, environmental sustainability itself and cultural identity and, at the designing phase, they differ slightly from each other according to the degree of approximation to one of these dimensions. Moving from these assumptions, the article would analyze some practices and policies representatives of different Food Strategies of the world and focus on the Mediterranean ones, on the problems and negative externalities from which they start, on the first interventions that are implementing and on their main objectives. We will mainly use qualitative data from primary and secondary collections. So far, an essential observation could have been made about the relationship between these sustainability dimensions and geography. In statistical terms, the US and Canadian policies tended to devote a large research space to health issues and access to food; those northern European showed a special attention to the environmental issues and the shortening of the chain; and finally the policies that, even in limited numbers, were being developed in the Mediterranean basin, were characterized by a strong territorial and cultural imprint and their major aim was to preserve local production and the contact between the productive land and the end consumer. Recently, though, Mediterranean food planning strategies are focusing more on health related and food accessibility issues and analyzing our diets not just as a matter of culture and territorial branding but as tools for reducing public health costs and accessibility to fresh food for everyone. The article would reflect then on how Food Safety, Food Security and Health are entering the new agenda of the Mediterranean Food Strategies. The research hypothesis suggests that the economic crisis that in the last years invested both producers and consumers had a significant impact on the nutrition habits and on the redefinition of food poverty, even in the fatherland of the healthy Mediterranean diet. This trend and other variables influenced the orientation and the objectives of the food strategies.

Keywords: food security, food strategy, health, sustainability

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Authors: Zita Fomukong Andam

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The decision on where to host sport events does not depend on the national politicians or specific international sport event bodies but also involves the residents of the hosting country. Sport tourism is one of the fast growing industries in the world. Cameroonians consider sport as a point of unity and growth within the country. It has a huge variety of sporting activities like swimming, canoe racing, tug of war and most especially soccer well known as football. The football national team made an impact in 1990 at the FIFA world cup. They also won the African Nations Cup five times. Being the winner of the 2017 African Cup of Nations, they are to host the 2019 African cup of Nations. The purpose of this research is to analyse the impacts of sport tourism event in Cameroon and specifically examine how this event influences the residents. A deep research discourse conducted with randomly selected 300 inbound residents and 200 Cameroonian residents living abroad. Survey questionnaires, interviews and direct observations were carried out as a method of collecting data. The results showed that sport events brings a lot of prestige and honor to the country; generate revenues to the country’s economy and particularly to the local businesses. On the other hand, the results showed that the local residents lose their intimacy, privacy, and their daily life routine is affected. In addition to this, they face negative social inequalities and environmental impacts. Understanding these results the national government and international bodies might be able to contribute to future studies and propose efficient measures to maximize the positive benefits and minimize the negative benefits.

Keywords: sport Tourism, economic impact, resident altitude, african Cup of nations

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Authors: Patrick M. Garvey, Roger P. Pech, Daniel M. Tompkins

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Competition is a widespread interaction and natural selection will encourage the development of mechanisms that recognise and respond to dominant competitors, if this information reduces the risk of a confrontation. As olfaction is the primary sense for most mammals, our research tested whether olfactory ‘eavesdropping’ mediates alien species interactions and whether we could exploit our understanding of this behaviour to create ‘super-lures’. We used a combination of pen and field experiments to evaluate the importance of this behaviour. In pen trials, stoats (Mustela erminea) were exposed to the body odour of three dominant predators (cat / ferret / African wild dog) and these scents were found to be attractive. A subsequent field trial tested whether attraction displayed towards predator odour, particularly ferret (Mustela furo) pheromones, could be replicated with invasive predators in the wild. We found that ferret odour significantly improved detection and activity of stoats and hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus), while also improving detections of ship rats (Rattus rattus). Our current research aims to identify the key components of ferret odour, using chemical analysis and behavioural experiments, so that we can produce ‘scent from a can’. A lure based on a competitors’ odour would be beneficial in many circumstances including: (i) where individuals display variability in attraction to food lures, (ii) there are plentiful food resources available, (iii) new immigrants arrive into an area, (iv) long-life lures are required. Pest management can therefore benefit by exploiting behavioural responses to odours to achieve conservation goals.

Keywords: predator interactions, invasive species, eavesdropping, semiochemicals

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Authors: Anusha Vaddiraj Pallapu

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Across the globe, there is a steady increase in people residing in urban areas. Due to this increase in urban population, urban health is affecting. The major issues identified like overcrowding, air pollution, unhealthy diet, inadequate infrastructure, poor solid waste management systems and insufficient access to health facilities, these issues are gradually clearly observed in health statistics of diseases and deaths rapidly increase in urban areas. Therefore, the present study aims to assess the health statistics and infrastructure services at urban areas to know the cause and effect between Infrastructure, its management and diseases (water borne). Most of the Indian cities have the municipal boundaries, which authorized by their respective municipal corporations and development authorities. Generally, cities have various zones under which municipal wards exist. The paper focuses on the city Ahmedabad, at Gujarat state. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is divided into six zones namely Central zone, West zone, New-West zone, East zone, North zone, and South zone. Each zone includes various wards within it. Incidence of diseases in Ahmadabad which are linked to infrastructure was identified such as water-borne diseases. Later on, the occurrence of water-borne diseases at urban area was examined at each zone level. The study methodology follows four steps i.e. 1) Pre-Field literature study: Study on Sewerage system in urban areas and its best practices and public health status globally and Indian scenario; 2) Field study: Data collection and interviews of stakeholders regarding heal status and issues at each zone and ward level; 3) Post field: Data analysis with qualitative description of each ward of zones, followed by correlation coefficient analysis between sewerage coverage, diseases and density of each ward using geographic information system mapping (GIS); 4) Identification of reasons: Affected health on each of zone and wards followed by correlation analysis on each reason. The results reveal that the health conditions in Ahmedabad municipal zones or boundaries are effected due to the slums created by the migrated people from various rural and urban areas. It is also observed that due to increase in population water supply and sewerage management is affecting. The overall effect on infrastructure is creating the health diseases which detailed in the paper using geographical information system in Indian city.

Keywords: infrastructure, municipal wards, GIS, water supply, sewerage, medical facilities, water borne diseases

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Authors: Samah Jawad Jabari

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Water is the most important and valuable resource not only for human life but also for all living things on the planet. The water supply utilities should fulfill the water requirement quantitatively and qualitatively. Drinking water systems are exposed to both natural (hurricanes and flood) and manmade hazards (risks) that are common in Palestine. Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is a manmade risk which remains a major concern in Palestine, as the NRW levels are estimated to be at a high level. In this research, Hebron city water distribution network was taken as a case study to estimate and audit the NRW levels. The research also investigated the state of the existing water distribution system in the study area by investigating the water losses and obtained more information on NRW prevention and management practices. Data and information have been collected from the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and Hebron Municipality (HM) archive. In addition to that, a questionnaire has been designed and administered by the researcher in order to collect the necessary data for water auditing. The questionnaire also assessed the views of stakeholder in PWA and HM (staff) on the current status of the NRW in the Hebron water distribution system. The important result obtained by this research shows that NRW in Hebron city was high and in excess of 30%. The main factors that contribute to NRW were the inaccuracies in billing volumes, unauthorized consumption, and the method of estimating consumptions through faulty meters. Policy for NRW reduction is available in Palestine; however, it is clear that the number of qualified staff available to carry out the activities related to leak detection is low, and that there is a lack of appropriate technologies to reduce water losses and undertake sufficient system maintenance, which needs to be improved to enhance the performance of the network and decrease the level of NRW losses.

Keywords: non-revenue water, water auditing, leak detection, water meters

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Authors: Hugo Badia

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This research answers which is the most suitable transit network structure to serve specific demand requirements in an increasing urban dispersion process. Two main approaches of network design are found in the literature. On the one hand, a traditional answer, widespread in our cities, that develops a high number of lines to connect most of origin-destination pairs by direct trips; an approach based on the idea that users averse to transfers. On the other hand, some authors advocate an alternative design characterized by simple networks where transfer is essential to complete most of trips. To answer which of them is the best option, we use a two-step methodology. First, by means of an analytical model, three basic network structures are compared: a radial scheme, starting point for the other two structures, a direct trip-based network, and a transfer-based one, which represent the two alternative transit network designs. The model optimizes the network configuration with regard to the total cost for each structure. For a scenario of dispersion, the best alternative is the structure with the minimum cost. This dispersion degree is defined in a simple way considering that only a central area attracts all trips. If this area is small, we have a high concentrated mobility pattern; if this area is too large, the city is highly decentralized. In this first step, we can determine the area of applicability for each structure in function to that urban dispersion degree. The analytical results show that a radial structure is suitable when the demand is so centralized, however, when this demand starts to scatter, new transit lines should be implemented to avoid transfers. If the urban dispersion advances, the introduction of more lines is no longer a good alternative, in this case, the best solution is a change of structure, from direct trips to a network based on transfers. The area of applicability of each network strategy is not constant, it depends on the characteristics of demand, city and transport technology. In the second step, we translate analytical results to a real case study by the relationship between the parameters of dispersion of the model and direct measures of dispersion in a real city. Two dimensions of the urban sprawl process are considered: concentration, defined by Gini coefficient, and centralization by area based centralization index. Once it is estimated the real dispersion degree, we are able to identify in which area of applicability the city is located. In summary, from a strategic point of view, we can obtain with this methodology which is the best network design approach for a city, comparing the theoretical results with the real dispersion degree.

Keywords: analytical network design model, network structure, public transport, urban dispersion

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Authors: Kusay Wheib, Alexandra Krvchenko

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Crop yields are influenced by many factors, including natural ones, such as soil and environmental characteristics of the agricultural land, as well as manmade ones, such as management applications. One of the factors that frequently affect crop yields in undulating Midwest landscapes is topography, which controls the movement of water and nutrients necessary for plant life. The main objective of this study is to examine how field topography influences performance of different management practices in undulated terrain of southwest Michigan. A total of 26 agricultural fields, ranging in size from 1.1 to 7.4 ha, from the Scale-Up at Kellogg Biological Station were included in the study. The two studied factors were crop species with three levels, i.e., corn (Zea mays L.) soybean (Glycine max L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and management practice with three levels, i.e., conventional, low input, and organic managements. They were compared under three contrasting topographical settings, namely, summit (includes summits and shoulders), slope (includes backslopes), and depression (includes footslope and toeslope). Yield data of years 2007 through 2012 was processed, cleaned, and filtered, average yield then was calculated for each field, topographic setting, and year. Topography parameters, including terrain, slope, curvature, flow direction and wetness index were computed under ArcGIS environment for each topographic class of each field to seek their effects on yield. Results showed that topographical depressions produced greatest yields in most studied fields, while managements with chemical inputs, both low input and conventional, resulted in higher yields than the organic management.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture, precision agriculture, topography, yield

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Authors: Kamyar Moradi

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Background: Acute mesenteric ischemia is known as a life-threatening condition. Re-establishment of blood flow in this condition can lead to mesenteric ischemia reperfusion (MIR) injury, which is accompanied by inflammatory response. Still, clear blueprint of inflammatory mechanism underlying MIR injury has not been provided. Interestingly, Albendazole has exhibited notable effects on inflammation and cytokine production. In this study, we aimed to evaluate outcomes of MIR injury following pretreatment with Albendazole with respect to assessment of mesenteric inflammation and ischemia threshold. Methods: Male rats were randomly divided into sham operated, vehicle treated, Albendazole 100 mg/kg, and Albendazole 200 mg/kg groups. MIR injury was induced by occlusion of superior mesenteric artery for 30 minutes followed by 120 minutes of reperfusion. Samples were utilized for assessment of epithelial survival and villous height. Immunohistochemistry study revealed intestinal expression of TNF-α and HIF-1-α. Gene expression of NF-κB/TLR4/TNF-α/IL-6 was measured using RTPCR. Also, protein levels of inflammatory cytokines in serum and intestine were assessed by ELISA method. Results: Histopathological study demonstrated that pretreatment with Albendazole could ameliorate decline in villous height and epithelial survival following MIR injury. Also, systemic inflammation was suppressed after administration of Albendazole. Analysis of possible participating inflammatory pathway could demonstrate that intestinal expression of NF-κB/TLR4/TNF-α/IL-6 is significantly attenuated in treated groups. Eventually, IHC study illustrated concordant decline in mesenteric expression of HIF-1-α/TNF-α. Conclusion: Single dose pretreatment with Albendazole could ameliorate inflammatory response and enhance ischemia threshold following induction of MIR injury. Still, more studies would clarify existing causality in this phenomenon.

Keywords: albendazole, ischemia reperfusion injury, inflammation, mesenteric ischemia

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Authors: Florian Lienert, Peter Costa, Caroline Aurensan, Elaine Melander

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Introduction: Rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can be given before travel and simplifies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). We studied the knowledge about rabies, the uptake of PrEP, and reasons for deciding for or against PrEP in at-risk travelers. We also examined how healthcare professionals (HCPs) counsel on rabies prevention. Methods: On behalf of Bavarian Nordic, Ipsos MORI conducted two online surveys in the USA. Fieldwork from February 24th to April 23rd, 2021, 689 participants aged 18-85 years, visited one of 91 endemic rabies countries in the past 3 years for at least one week, involved in at least 1 of 7 at-risk activities, heard of rabies, positive towards vaccination and chose to take part (surveyed travelers). Secondly, 76 HCPs, with responsibility for advising/ making decisions about vaccination requirements for their patients, personally recommend or prescribe vaccines for rabies, positive towards vaccination and chose to take part (surveyed HCPs). Results: A minority (36%) of surveyed travelers classified rabies as a life-threatening disease. A third of surveyed HCPs (37%) did not discuss rabies vaccination with at-risk travelers, 18% discussed only PEP, 23% only PrEP and 22% both. A minority (21%) of surveyed travelers reported having received rabies vaccination since they were 18. Among those participants (n=145), the most common reasons for deciding to get PrEP were for their own peace of mind (35%) and following an HCP recommendation (32%). Of those who decided not to receive the rabies vaccine (n=319), the most common reasons were that they did not think their risk of rabies was sufficient (23%) and that the HCP did not suggest it (23%). Conclusions: The survey demonstrated knowledge gaps around rabies and low PrEP coverage among surveyed travelers. It also highlighted the role of HCP recommendations and showed that most HCPs did not discuss PrEP with at-risk travelers.

Keywords: rabies, pre-exposure prophylaxis, travel, travel health, post-travel care, rabies treatment, vaccine, post-exposure, prophylaxis, at-risk, education, PrEP, PEP

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Authors: Georgia H. Mega

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Art street, a category of artwork displayed in public spaces, has been recognized as a potential tool for promoting reflective thinking in both adult and primary education. Educational techniques that encourage critical and creative thinking, as well as deeper reflection, have been developed and applied in educational curricula. This paper aims to explore the potential of art street in cultivating learners' reflective awareness toward multiculturalism. The main objective of this case study is to investigate the possibilities that art street offers in terms of developing learners' critical reflection, regardless of their age. The study compares two art street works from Greece and Norway, focusing on their common theme of multiculturalism. The study adopts a qualitative methodology, specifically a case study approach. This approach allows for an in-depth analysis of the two selected art street works and their impact on learners' reflective thinking. The study demonstrates that art street can effectively cultivate learners' reflective awareness of multiculturalism. The selected works of art, despite being created by different artists and displayed in different cities, share similar content and convey messages that facilitate reflective dialogue on cultural osmosis. Both adult and primary education approaches utilize the same art street works to achieve reflective awareness. This paper contributes to the existing literature on reflective learning processes by highlighting the potential of art street as a means for encouraging reflective thinking. It builds upon the theoretical frameworks of adult education theorists such as Freire and Mezirow, as well as those of primary education theorists such as Perkins and Project Zero. Data for this study were collected through observation and analysis of two art street works, one from Greece and one from Norway. These works were selected based on their common theme of multiculturalism. Analysis Procedures: The collected data were analyzed using qualitative analysis techniques. The researchers examined the content and messages conveyed by the selected art street works and explored their impact on learners' reflective thinking. The central question addressed in this study is whether art street can develop learners' critical reflection toward multiculturalism, regardless of their age. The findings of this study support the notion that art street can effectively cultivate learners' reflective awareness toward multiculturalism. The selected art street works, despite their differences in origin and location, share common themes that encourage reflective dialogue. The use of art street in both adult and primary education approaches showcases its potential as a tool for promoting reflective learning processes. Overall, this paper contributes to the understanding of art street as a means for reflective thinking in the field of adult and primary education.

Keywords: art street, educational techniques, multiculturalism, observation of artworks, reflective awareness

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Authors: Christakis Chatzichristou, Elias Kranos

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Architectural awards, especially if they are given by the state, recognize excellence in the field and, at the same time, strongly contribute to the making of the architectural culture of a place. The present research looks at the houses that have been awarded through such a system in Cyprus in order to discuss the values promoted, directly or not, by such a setup which is quite similar to other prestigious award systems such as the Mies van de Rohe Prize in Europe. In fact, many of the projects signed out through the state award system end up being selected to represent the country for the European awards. The residential architecture encouraged by such systems is quite interesting in that the most public of institutions influence how the most private unit of society is architecturally accommodated. The methodology uses both qualitative as well as quantitative research tools in order to analyze: the official state call for entries to the competition; the final report of the evaluation committee; the spatial characteristics of the houses through the Space Syntax methodology; the statements of the architects regarding their intentions and the final outcome; the feelings of the owners and users of the houses regarding the design process as well as the degree of satisfaction regarding the final product. The above-mentioned analyses allow for a more thorough discussion regarding not only the values promoted explicitly by the system through the brief that describes what the evaluation committee is looking for but also the values that are actually being promoted indirectly through the results of the actual evaluation itself. The findings suggest that: the strong emphasis in brief on bioclimatic design and issues of sustainability weakens significantly, if at all present, in the actual selection process; continuous improvement seems to be fuzzily used as a concept; most of the houses tend to have a similar spatial genotype; most of the houses have similar aesthetic qualities; discrepancies between the proposed lifestyle through the design and the actual use of the spaces do not seem to be acknowledged in the evaluation as an issue; the temporal factor seems to be ignored as the projects are required to be ‘finished projects’ as though the users and their needs do not change through time. The research suggests that, rather than preserving a critical attitude regarding the role of the architect in society, the state award system tends, like any other non-reflective social organism, to simply promote its own unexamined values as well as prejudices. This is perhaps more evident in the shared aesthetic character of the awarded houses and less so in the hidden spatial genotype to which they belong. If the design of houses is indeed a great opportunity for architecture to contribute in a more deliberate manner to the evolution of society, then what the present study shows is that this opportunity seems to be largely missed. The findings may serve better less as a verdict and more as a chance for introspection and discussion.

Keywords: award systems, houses, spatial genotype, aesthetic qualities

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Authors: Olayinka Ariba, Abe Oudshoorn, Steve Rolfe, Carrie Anne Marshall, Deanna Befus, Jason Gilliland, Miranda Crockett, Susana Caxaj, Sarah McLean, Amy Van Berkum, Natasha Thuemler

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Background: Secure housing is a platform for health and well-being. Those who struggle with housing stability have complex life and health histories and often require some support services such as the provision of permanent supportive housing. Poor access to supportive resources creates an exacerbation of chronic homelessness, particularly affecting individuals who need immediate access to mental health and addiction supports. This paper presents the first phase of a three-part study examining how on-site support impacts housing stability for recently-re-housed persons. Method: This study utilized a community-based participatory research methodology. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with permanent supportive housing residents from a single-site dwelling. Interpretative description analysis was used to draw common themes and understand the experiences and challenges of housing support. Results: Three interconnected themes were identified: 1) Available and timely supports; 2) Affordability; and 3) Community, but with independence as desired. These interconnected components are helping residents transition from homelessness or long-term mental health inpatient care to live in the community. Despite some participant concerns about resident conflicts, staff availability, and affordability, this has been a welcome and successful move for most. Conclusion: Supportive housing is essential for successful tenancies as a platform for health and well-being among Canada’s most vulnerable and, from the perspective of persons recently re-housed, permanent supportive housing is a worthwhile investment.

Keywords: homelessness, supportive housing, rehoused, housing stability

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Authors: Parminder Kaur, Chandrajit B. Majumder

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The unrestrained usage of pesticides to meet the burgeoning demand of enhanced crop productivity has led to the serious contamination of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem. The remediation of mixture of pesticides is a challenging affair regarding inadvertent mixture of pesticides from agricultural lands treated with various compounds. Global concerns about the excessive use of pesticides have driven the need to develop more effective and safer alternatives for their remediation. We focused our work on the microbial degradation of a mixture of three Type II-pyrethroids, namely Cypermethrin, Cyhalothrin and Deltamethrin commonly applied for both agricultural and domestic purposes. The fungal strains (Fusarium strain 8-11P and Fusarium sp. zzz1124) had previously been isolated from agricultural soils and their ability to biotransform this amalgam was studied. In brief, the experiment was conducted in two growth systems (added carbon and carbon-free) enriched with variable concentrations of pyrethroids between 100 to 300 mgL⁻¹. Parameter optimization (pH, temperature, concentration and time) was done using a central composite design matrix of Response Surface Methodology (RSM). At concentrations below 200 mgL⁻¹, complete removal was observed; however, degradation of 95.6%/97.4 and 92.27%/95.65% (in carbon-free/added carbon) was observed for 250 and 300 mgL⁻¹ respectively. The consortium has been shown to degrade the pyrethroid mixture (300 mg L⁻¹) within 120 h. After 5 day incubation, the residual pyrethroids concentration in unsterilized soil were much lower than in sterilized soil, indicating that microbial degradation predominates in pyrethroids elimination with the half-life (t₁/₂) of 1.6 d and R² ranging from 0.992-0.999. Overall, these results showed that microbial consortia might be more efficient than single degrader strains. The findings will complement our current understanding of the bioremediation of mixture of Type II pyrethroids with microbial consortia and potentially heighten the importance for considering bioremediation as an effective alternative for the remediation of such pollutants.

Keywords: bioremediation, fungi, pyrethroids, soil

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Authors: Meshal M. Abdullah, Rusty A. Feagin, Layla Musawi

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When humans mismanage arid landscapes, soil erosion can become a primary mechanism that leads to desertification. This study focuses on applying soil erosion models to a disturbed landscape in Umm Nigga, Kuwait, and identifying its predicted change under restoration plans, The northern portion of Umm Nigga, containing both coastal and desert ecosystems, falls within the boundaries of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) adjacent to Iraq, and has been fenced off to restrict public access since 1994. The central objective of this project was to utilize GIS and remote sensing to compare the MPSIAC (Modified Pacific South West Inter Agency Committee), EMP (Erosion Potential Method), and USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) soil erosion models and determine their applicability for arid regions such as Kuwait. Spatial analysis was used to develop the necessary datasets for factors such as soil characteristics, vegetation cover, runoff, climate, and topography. Results showed that the MPSIAC and EMP models produced a similar spatial distribution of erosion, though the MPSIAC had more variability. For the MPSIAC model, approximately 45% of the land surface ranged from moderate to high soil loss, while 35% ranged from moderate to high for the EMP model. The USLE model had contrasting results and a different spatial distribution of the soil loss, with 25% of area ranging from moderate to high erosion, and 75% ranging from low to very low. We concluded that MPSIAC and EMP were the most suitable models for arid regions in general, with the MPSIAC model best. We then applied the MPSIAC model to identify the amount of soil loss between coastal and desert areas, and fenced and unfenced sites. In the desert area, soil loss was different between fenced and unfenced sites. In these desert fenced sites, 88% of the surface was covered with vegetation and soil loss was very low, while at the desert unfenced sites it was 3% and correspondingly higher. In the coastal areas, the amount of soil loss was nearly similar between fenced and unfenced sites. These results implied that vegetation cover played an important role in reducing soil erosion, and that fencing is much more important in the desert ecosystems to protect against overgrazing. When applying the MPSIAC model predictively, we found that vegetation cover could be increased from 3% to 37% in unfenced areas, and soil erosion could then decrease by 39%. We conclude that the MPSIAC model is best to predict soil erosion for arid regions such as Kuwait.

Keywords: soil erosion, GIS, modified pacific South west inter agency committee model (MPSIAC), erosion potential method (EMP), Universal soil loss equation (USLE)

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Authors: Obaidul Fattah Tanvir, Zinat Ara Afroze

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Community living adjacent to forests and Protected Areas, especially in South Asian countries, have a common practice in extracting resources for their living and livelihoods. This extraction of resources, because the way it is done, destroys the biophysical features of the area. Deforestation, wildlife poaching, illegal logging, unauthorized hill cutting etc. are some of the serious issues of concern for the sustainability of the natural resources that has a direct impact on environment and climate as a whole. To ensure community involvement in conservation initiatives of the state, community based forest management, commonly known as Comanagement, has been in practice in 6 South Asian countries. These are -India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Involving community in forestry management was initiated first in Bangladesh in 1979 and reached as an effective co-management approach through a several paradigm shifts. This idea of Comanagement has been institutionalized through a Government Order (GO) by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of Bangladesh on November 23, 2009. This GO clearly defines the structure and functions of Co-management and its different bodies. Bangladesh Forest Department has been working in association with community to conserve and manage the Forests and Protected areas of Bangladesh following this legal document. Demographically young people constitute the largest segment of population in Bangladesh. This group, if properly sensitized, can produce valuable impacts on the conservation initiatives, both by community and government. This study traced the major factors that motivate community youths to work effectively with different tiers of comanagement organizations in conservation of forests and Protected Areas of Bangladesh. For the purpose of this study, 3 FGDs were conducted with 30 youths from the community living around the Protected Areas of Cox’s bazar, South East corner of Bangladesh, who are actively involved in Co-management organizations. KII were conducted with 5 key officials of Forest Department stationed at Cox’s Bazar. 2 FGDs were conducted with the representatives of 7 Co-management organizations working in Cox’s Bazar region and approaches of different community outreach activities conducted for forest conservation by 3 private organizations and Projects have been reviewed. Also secondary literatures were reviewed for the history and evolution of Co-management in Bangladesh and six South Asian countries. This study found that innovative community outreach activities that are financed by public and private sectors involving youths and community as a whole have played a pivotal role in conservation of forests and Protected Areas of the region. This approach can be replicated in other regions of Bangladesh as well as other countries of South Asia where Co-Management exists in practice.

Keywords: community, co-management, conservation, forests, protected areas, youth

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Authors: Erik Jon Byker

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Government leaders and education policymakers have increasingly focused on ways that teachers can better prepare children for life in a global society. Such preparation includes the development of global citizenship among young people. Yet, scholars point out that many elementary school educators and teacher candidates have limited awareness of being global citizens in an interdependent world. More and more teacher preparation programs aim to integrate global citizenship in their program plans and use educational technology to help develop global citizenship. Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), like the Asia Society and Partnership for 21st Century Skills, have led the way in creating global citizenship frameworks that prepare teachers and students with global competencies. The development of global citizenship among teachers needs to begin even before teachers sign their first contract. Global citizenship development should start when teacher candidates are being prepared to teach. Using the Critical Cosmopolitan Theory as a conceptual lens, this paper examines the integration of global citizenship curricula in teacher education programs in North Carolina and Texas in the United States of America. Using a case study methodology, the paper describes and compares the teacher candidates’ (n=136) perceptions of the global citizenship curricula delivered with the aid of educational technology. The study found that after participating in the global citizenship curricula, participants: (1) made conceptual leaps in their global citizenship definitions; (2) developed a stronger commitment for their future role as educators in developing global citizens; and (3) were more willing to take action for social justice-related issues in education. In sum, this paper discusses empirical findings related to the ways to integrate educational technology in preparing globally competent teachers.

Keywords: educational technology, global education, intercultural awareness, teacher candidates

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Authors: Professor Jo Angouri, Polina Mesinioti, Chris Turner

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In order for a group of ad-hoc professional to perform as a team, a shared understanding of the problem at hand and an agreed action plan are necessary components. This is particularly significant in complex, time sensitive professional settings such as in trauma emergencies. In this context, team briefings prior to the patient arrival (pre-briefings) constitute a critical event for the performance of the team; they provide the necessary space for co-constructing a shared understanding of the situation through summarising information available to the team: yet the act of summarising is widely assumed in medical practice but not systematically researched. In the vast teamwork literature, terms such as ‘shared mental model’, ‘mental space’ and ‘cognate labelling’ are used extensively, and loosely, to denote the outcome of the summarising process, but how exactly this is done interactionally remains under researched. This paper reports on the forms and functions of pre-briefings in a major trauma centre in the UK. Taking an interactional approach, we draw on 30 simulated and real-life trauma emergencies (15 from each dataset) and zoom in on the use of pre-briefings, which we consider focal points in the management of trauma emergencies. We show how ad hoc teams negotiate sharedness of future orientation through summarising, synthesising information, and establishing common understanding of the situation. We illustrate the role, characteristics, and structure of pre-briefing sequences that have been evaluated as ‘efficient’ in our data and the impact (in)effective pre-briefings have on teamwork. Our work shows that the key roles in the event own the act of summarising and we problematise the implications for leadership in trauma emergencies. We close the paper with a model for pre-briefing and provide recommendations for clinical practice, arguing that effective pre-briefing practice is teachable.

Keywords: summarising, medical emergencies, interaction analysis, shared/mental models

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Authors: Melanie Tang

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According to Nietzsche, the eternal recurrence is his most important idea. However, it is perhaps his most cryptic and difficult to interpret. Early readings considered it as a cosmological hypothesis about the cyclic nature of time. However, following Nehamas’s ‘Life as Literature’ (1985), it has become a widespread interpretation that the eternal recurrence never really had any theoretical dimensions, and is not actually a philosophy of time, but a practical thought experiment intended to measure the extent to which we have mastered and perfected our lives. This paper endeavours to challenge this line of thought becoming scholarly consensus, and to carry out a more complex analysis of the eternal recurrence as it is presented in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In its wider scope, this research proposes that Thus Spoke Zarathustra — as opposed to The Birth of Tragedy — be taken as the primary source for a study of Nietzsche’s Aesthetics, due to its more intrinsic aesthetic qualities and expressive devices. The eternal recurrence is the central philosophy of a work that communicates its ideas in unprecedentedly experimental and aesthetic terms, and a more in-depth understanding of why Nietzsche chooses to present his conception of time in aesthetic terms is warranted. Through hermeneutical analysis of Thus Spoke Zarathustra and engagement with secondary sources such as those by Nehamas, Karl Löwith, and Jill Marsden, the present analysis challenges the ethics of self-perfection upon which current interpretations of the recurrence are based, as well as their reliance upon a linear conception of time. Instead, it finds the recurrence to be a cyclic interplay between the self and the world, rather than a metric pertaining solely to the self. In this interpretation, time is found to be composed of an intertemporal rather than linear multitude of will to power, which structures itself through tensional cycles into an experience of circular time that can be seen to have aesthetic dimensions. In putting forth this understanding of the eternal recurrence, this research hopes to reopen debate on this key concept in the field of Nietzsche studies.

Keywords: Nietzsche, eternal recurrence, Zarathustra, aesthetics, time

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Authors: Jeremy Jenrette, Z. Y. C. Liu, Pranav Chimote, Edward Fox, Trevor Hastie, Francesco Ferretti

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Suitable shark conservation depends on well-informed population assessments. Direct methods such as scientific surveys and fisheries monitoring are adequate for defining population statuses, but species-specific indices of abundance and distribution coming from these sources are rare for most shark species. We can rapidly fill these information gaps by boosting media-based remote monitoring efforts with machine learning and automation. We created a database of shark images by sourcing 24,546 images covering 219 species of sharks from the web application spark pulse and the social network Instagram. We used object detection to extract shark features and inflate this database to 53,345 images. We packaged object-detection and image classification models into a Shark Detector bundle. We developed the Shark Detector to recognize and classify sharks from videos and images using transfer learning and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). We applied these models to common data-generation approaches of sharks: boosting training datasets, processing baited remote camera footage and online videos, and data-mining Instagram. We examined the accuracy of each model and tested genus and species prediction correctness as a result of training data quantity. The Shark Detector located sharks in baited remote footage and YouTube videos with an average accuracy of 89\%, and classified located subjects to the species level with 69\% accuracy (n =\ eight species). The Shark Detector sorted heterogeneous datasets of images sourced from Instagram with 91\% accuracy and classified species with 70\% accuracy (n =\ 17 species). Data-mining Instagram can inflate training datasets and increase the Shark Detector’s accuracy as well as facilitate archiving of historical and novel shark observations. Base accuracy of genus prediction was 68\% across 25 genera. The average base accuracy of species prediction within each genus class was 85\%. The Shark Detector can classify 45 species. All data-generation methods were processed without manual interaction. As media-based remote monitoring strives to dominate methods for observing sharks in nature, we developed an open-source Shark Detector to facilitate common identification applications. Prediction accuracy of the software pipeline increases as more images are added to the training dataset. We provide public access to the software on our GitHub page.

Keywords: classification, data mining, Instagram, remote monitoring, sharks

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Authors: Hira Jabbar, Tanzeel-Ur Rehman

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Urban parks and open spaces play a significant role in improving physical and mental health of the citizens, strengthen the societies and make the cities more attractive places to live and work. As the world’s cities continue to grow, continuing to value green space in cities is vital but is also a challenge, particularly in developing countries where there is pressure for space, resources, and development. Offering equal opportunity of accessibility to parks is one of the important issues of park distribution. The distribution of parks should allow all inhabitants to have close proximity to their residence. Remote sensing and Geographic information systems (GIS) can provide decision makers with enormous opportunities to improve the planning and management of Park facilities. This study exhibits the capability of GIS and RS techniques to provide baseline knowledge about the distribution of parks, level of accessibility and to help in identification of potential areas for such facilities. For this purpose Landsat OLI imagery for year 2016 was acquired from USGS Earth Explorer. Preprocessing models were applied using Erdas Imagine 2014v for the atmospheric correction and NDVI model was developed and applied to quantify the land use/land cover classes including built up, barren land, water, and vegetation. The parks amongst total public green spaces were selected based on their signature in remote sensing image and distribution. Percentages of total green and parks green were calculated for each town of Lahore City and results were then synchronized with the recommended standards. ANGSt model was applied to calculate the accessibility from parks. Service area analysis was performed using Network Analyst tool. Serviceability of these parks has been evaluated by employing statistical indices like service area, service population and park area per capita. Findings of the study may contribute in helping the town planners for understanding the distribution of parks, demands for new parks and potential areas which are deprived of parks. The purpose of present study is to provide necessary information to planners, policy makers and scientific researchers in the process of decision making for the management and improvement of urban parks.

Keywords: accessible natural green space standards (ANGSt), geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS), United States geological survey (USGS)

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Authors: N. Y. H. Konagano

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Riverside population of Brazilian amazon suffers drinking water scarcity, seeking alternative water resources such as well and rivers, ordinary polluted. Although Amazon Region holds high annual river inflow and enough available of underground water, human activities have compromised the conservation of water resources. In addition, decentralized rural households make difficult to access of potable water. Main objective is to analyze quantitatively the potential of rainwater harvesting to human consumption at Marupaúba community, located in northeast of Amazon region, Brazil. Methods such as historical rainfall data series of municipality of Tomé-Açu at Pará state were obtained from Hydrological Information System of National Water Agency (ANA). Besides, Rippl method was used to calculate, mainly, volume of the reservoir based on difference of water demand and volume available through rainwater using as references two houses (CA I and CA II) as model of rainwater catchment and supply. Results presented that, from years 1984 to 2017, average annual precipitation was 2.607 mm, average maximum precipitation peak was 474 mm on March and average minimum peak on September was 44 mm. All months, of a year, surplus volume of water have presented in relation to demand, considering catchment area (CA) I = 134.4m² and demand volume =0.72 m³/month; and, CA II = 81.84 m² and demand volume = 0.48 m³/month. Based on results, it is concluded that it is feasible to use rainwater for the supply of the rural community Marupaúba, since the access of drinking water is a human right and the lack of this resource compromises health and daily life of human beings.

Keywords: Amazon Region, rainwater harvesting, rainwater resource, rural community

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