Search results for: cognitive approaches to language teaching

Authors: Kaaryn Cater

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People vary in how they perceive, process, and react to internal, external, social, and emotional environmental factors; some are more sensitive than others. Compassionate people have a highly reactive nervous system and are more impacted by positive and negative environmental conditions (Differential Susceptibility). Further, some sensitive individuals are disproportionately able to benefit from positive and supportive environments without necessarily suffering negative impacts in less supportive environments (Vantage Sensitivity). Environmental sensitivity is underpinned by physiological, genetic, and personality/temperamental factors, and the phenotypic expression of high sensitivity is Sensory Processing Sensitivity. The hallmarks of Sensory Processing Sensitivity are deep cognitive processing, emotional reactivity, high levels of empathy, noticing environmental subtleties, a tendency to observe new and novel situations, and a propensity to become overwhelmed when over-stimulated. Several educational advantages associated with high sensitivity include creativity, enhanced memory, divergent thinking, giftedness, and metacognitive monitoring. High sensitivity can also lead to some educational challenges, particularly managing multiple conflicting demands and negotiating low sensory thresholds. A mixed methods study was undertaken. In the first quantitative study, participants completed the Perceived Success in Study Survey (PSISS) and the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS-12). Inclusion criteria were current or previous postsecondary education experience. The survey was presented on social media, and snowball recruitment was employed (n=365). The Excel spreadsheets were uploaded to the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS)26, and descriptive statistics found normal distribution. T-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculations found no difference in the responses of demographic groups, and Principal Components Analysis and the posthoc Tukey calculations identified positive associations between high sensitivity and three of the five PSISS factors. Further ANOVA calculations found positive associations between the PSISS and two of the three sensitivity subscales. This study included a response field to register interest in further research. Respondents who scored in the 70th percentile on the HSPS-12 were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Thirteen interviews were conducted remotely (12 female). Reflexive inductive thematic analysis was employed to analyse data, and a descriptive approach was employed to present data reflective of participant experience. The results of this study found that compassionate students prioritize work-life balance; employ a range of practical metacognitive study and self-care strategies; value independent learning; connect with learning that is meaningful; and are bothered by aspects of the physical learning environment, including lighting, noise, and indoor environmental pollutants. There is a dearth of research investigating sensitivity in the educational context, and these studies highlight the need to promote widespread education sector awareness of environmental sensitivity, and the need to include sensitivity in sector and institutional diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Keywords: differential susceptibility, highly sensitive person, learning, neurosensitivity, sensory processing sensitivity, vantage sensitivity

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Authors: Juan Manuel Macia

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The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) wanted to build a new road link via Souligny Avenue to increase the fluidity of goods transported by truck in the Viau Street area of Montreal and to mitigate the current traffic problems on Notre-Dame Street. With the purpose of having a better integration and acceptance of this project with the neighboring residential surroundings, this project needed to include an architectural integration, bringing some artistic components to the bridge design along with some landscaping components. The MPA is required primarily to provide direct truck access to Port of Montreal with a direct connection to the future Assomption Boulevard planned by the City of Montreal and, thus, direct access to Souligny Avenue. The MPA also required other key aspects to be considered for the proposal and development of the project, such as the layout of road and rail configurations, the reconstruction of underground structures, the relocation of power lines, the installation of lighting systems, the traffic signage and communication systems improvement, the construction of new access ramps, the pavement reconstruction and a summary assessment of the structural capacity of an existing service tunnel. The identification of the various possible scenarios began by identifying all the constraints related to the numerous infrastructures located in the area of the future link between the port and the future extension of Souligny Avenue, involving interaction with several disciplines and technical specialties. Several viaduct- and tunnel-type geometries were studied to link the port road to the right-of-way north of Notre-Dame Street and to improve traffic flow at the railway corridor. The proposed design took into account the existing access points to Port of Montreal, the built environment of the MPA site, the provincial and municipal rights-of-way, and the future Notre-Dame Street layout planned by the City of Montreal. These considerations required the installation of an engineering structure with a span of over 60 m to free up a corridor for the future urban fabric of Notre-Dame Street. The best option for crossing this span length was identified by the design and construction of a curved bridge over Notre-Dame Street, which is essentially a structure with a deck formed by a reinforced concrete slab on steel box girders with a single span of 63.5m. The foundation units were defined as pier-cap type abutments on drilled shafts to bedrock with rock sockets, with MSE-type walls at the approaches. The configuration of a single-span curved structure posed significant design and construction challenges, considering the major constraints of the project site, a design for durability approach, and the need to guarantee optimum performance over a 75-year service life in accordance with the client's needs and the recommendations and requirements defined by the standards used for the project. These aspects and the need to include architectural and artistic components in this project made it possible to design, build, and integrate a signature infrastructure project with a sustainable approach, from which the MPA, the commuters, and the city of Montreal and its residents will benefit.

Keywords: curved bridge, steel box girder, medium span, simply supported, industrial and urban environment, architectural integration, design for durability

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Authors: Osman Turkoglu, Alvin Estilo, Ritu Gupta, Liliam Pineda-Salgado, Rajesh Pandey

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Background: Hepatotoxicity can be linked to a variety of clinical symptoms and histopathological signs, posing a great challenge in the surveillance of suspected drug-induced liver injury (DILI) cases in the safety database. Additionally, the majority of such cases are rare, idiosyncratic, highly unpredictable, and tend to demonstrate unique individual susceptibility; these qualities, in turn, lend to a pharmacovigilance monitoring process that is often tedious and time-consuming. Objective: Develop a multifactorial algorithm to assist pharmacovigilance physicians in identifying high-risk hepatotoxicity cases associated with DILI from the sponsor’s safety database (Argus). Methods: Multifactorial selection criteria were established using Structured Query Language (SQL) and the TIBCO Spotfire® visualization tool, via a combination of word fragments, wildcard strings, and mathematical constructs, based on Hy’s law criteria and pattern of injury (R-value). These criteria excluded non-eligible cases from monthly line listings mined from the Argus safety database. The capabilities and limitations of these criteria were verified by comparing a manual review of all monthly cases with system-generated monthly listings over six months. Results: On an average, over a period of six months, the algorithm accurately identified 92% of DILI cases meeting established criteria. The automated process easily compared liver enzyme elevations with baseline values, reducing the screening time to under 15 minutes as opposed to multiple hours exhausted using a cognitively laborious, manual process. Limitations of the algorithm include its inability to identify cases associated with non-standard laboratory tests, naming conventions, and/or incomplete/incorrectly entered laboratory values. Conclusions: The newly developed multifactorial algorithm proved to be extremely useful in detecting potential DILI cases, while heightening the vigilance of the drug safety department. Additionally, the application of this algorithm may be useful in identifying a potential signal for DILI in drugs not yet known to cause liver injury (e.g., drugs in the initial phases of development). This algorithm also carries the potential for universal application, due to its product-agnostic data and keyword mining features. Plans for the tool include improving it into a fully automated application, thereby completely eliminating a manual screening process.

Keywords: automation, drug-induced liver injury, pharmacovigilance, post-marketing

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Authors: Bangun F., Crevits B., Bellet T., Banet A., Boy G. A., Katili I.

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This paper seeks the incoherencies in cognitive process during an accident of Powered Two Wheelers (PTW) by understanding the factual sequences of events and causal relations for each case of accident. The principle of this approach is undertaking in-depth investigations on case per case of PTW accidents based on elaborate data acquisitions on accident sites that officially stamped in Police Crash Report (PCRs) 2012 of Medan with criteria, involved at least one PTW and resulted in serious injury and fatalities. The analysis takes into account four modules: accident chronologies, perpetrator, and victims, injury surveillance, vehicles and road infrastructures, comprising of traffic facilities, road geometry, road alignments and weather. The proposal for improvement could have provided a favorable influence on the chain of functional processes and events leading to collision. Decision Aiding Processes (DAP) assists in structuring different entities at different decisional levels, as each of these entities has its own objectives and constraints. The entities (A) are classified into 6 groups of accidents: solo PTW accidents; PTW vs. PTW; PTW vs. pedestrian; PTW vs. motor-trishaw; and PTW vs. other vehicles and consecutive crashes. The entities are also distinguished into 4 decisional levels: level of road users and street systems; operational level (crash-attended police officers or CAPO and road engineers), tactical level (Regional Traffic Police, Department of Transportation, and Department of Public Work), and strategic level (Traffic Police Headquarters (TCPHI)), parliament, Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Public Work). These classifications will lead to conceptualization of Problem Situations (P) and Problem Formulations (I) in DAP context. The DAP concerns the sequences process of the incidents until the time the accident occurs, which can be modelled in terms of five activities of procedural rationality: identification on initial human features (IHF), investigation on proponents attributes (PrAT), on Injury Surveillance (IS), on the interaction between IHF and PrAt and IS (intercorrelation), then unravel the sequences of incidents; filtering and disclosure, which include: what needs to activate, modify or change or remove, what is new and what is priority. These can relate to the activation or modification or new establishment of law. The PrAt encompasses the problems of environmental, road infrastructure, road and traffic facilities, and road geometry. The evaluation model (MP) is generated to bridge P and I since MP is produced by the intercorrelations among IHF, PrAT and IS extracted from the PCRs 2012 of Medan. There are 7 findings of incoherences: lack of knowledge and awareness on the traffic regulations and the risks of accidents, especially when riding between 0 < x < 10 km from house, riding between 22 p.m.–05.30 a.m.; lack of engagements on procurement of IHF Data by CAPO; lack of competency of CAPO on data procurement in accident-sites; no intercorrelation among IHF and PrAt and IS in the database systems of PCRs; lack of maintenance and supervision on the availabilities and the capacities of traffic facilities and road infrastructure; instrumental bias with wash-back impacts towards the TCPHI; technical robustness with wash-back impacts towards the CAPO and TCPHI.

Keywords: decision aiding processes, evaluation model, PTW accidents, police crash reports

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Authors: Melanie Grier, Adam Murry

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Objective: Worldwide, Indigenous Peoples experience underemployment and poverty at disproportionately higher rates than non-Indigenous people, despite similar rates of employment seeking. Euro-colonial conquest and genocidal assimilation policies are implicated as perpetuating poverty, which research consistently links to health and wellbeing disparities. Many of the contributors to poverty, such as inadequate income and lack of access to medical care, can be directly or indirectly linked to underemployment. Calls have been made to prioritize Indigenous perspectives in Industrial-Organizational (I/O) psychology research, yet the literature on Indigenous employment remains scarce. What does exist is disciplinarily diverse, topically scattered, and lacking evidence of community-based participatory research (CBPR) practices, a research project approach which prioritizes community leadership, partnership, and betterment and reduces the potential for harm. Due to the harmful colonial legacy of extractive scientific inquiry "on" rather than "with" Indigenous groups, Indigenous leaders and research funding agencies advocate for academic researchers to adopt reparative research methodologies such as CBPR to be used when studying issues pertaining to Indigenous Peoples or individuals. However, the frequency and consistency of CBPR implementation within scholarly discourse are unknown. Therefore, this project’s goal is two-fold: (1) to understand what comprises CBPR in Indigenous research and (2) to determine if CBPR has been historically used in Indigenous employment research. Method: Using a systematic literature review process, sixteen articles about CBPR use with Indigenous groups were selected, and content was analyzed to identify key components comprising CBPR usage. An Indigenous CBPR components framework was constructed and subsequently utilized to analyze the Indigenous employment empirical literature. A similar systematic literature review process was followed to search for relevant empirical articles on Indigenous employment. A total of 120 articles were identified in six global regions: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America, the Pacific Islands, and Greenland/Norway. Each empirical study was procedurally examined and coded for criteria inclusion using content analysis directives. Results: Analysis revealed that, in total, CBPR elements were used 14% of the time in Indigenous employment research. Most studies (n=69; 58%) neglected to mention using any CBPR components, while just two studies discussed implementing all sixteen (2%). The most significant determinant of overall CBPR use was community member partnership (CP) in the research process. Studies from New Zealand were most likely to use CBPR components, followed by Canada, Australia, and America. While CBPR use did increase slowly over time, meaningful temporal trends were not found. Further, CBPR use did not directly correspond with the total number of topical articles published that year. Conclusions: Community-initiated and engaged research approaches must be better utilized in employment studies involving Indigenous Peoples. Future research efforts must be particularly attentive to community-driven objectives and research protocols, emphasizing specific areas of concern relevant to the field of I/O psychology, such as organizational support, recruitment, and selection.

Keywords: community-based participatory research, content analysis, employment, indigenous research, international, reconciliation, recruitment, reparative research, selection, systematic literature review

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Authors: Alexander K. Edwards

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Introduction: The moral dimension of teacher education globally has assumed a new paradigm of thinking based on the public gain (return-on-investments), value-creation (quality), professionalism (practice), and business strategies (innovations). Abundant literature reveals an interesting revolutionary trend in complimenting the raising of teachers and academic performances. Because of the global competition in the knowledge-creation and service areas, the C21st teacher at all levels is expected to be resourceful, strategic thinker, socially intelligent, relationship aptitude, and entrepreneur astute. This study is a significant contribution to practice and innovations to raise exemplary or primal teachers. In this study, the qualities needed were considered as ‘Quadrant Intelligence (Q-i)’ model for a primal teacher leadership beyond the classroom. The researcher started by examining the issue of the majority of teachers in Ghana Education Services (GES) in need of this Q-i to be effective and efficient. The conceptual framing became determinants of such Q-i. This is significant for global employability and versatility in teacher education to create premium and primal teacher leadership, which are again gaining high attention in scholarship due to failing schools. The moral aspect of teachers failing learners is a highly important discussion. In GES, some schools score zero percent at the basic education certificate examination (BECE). The question is what will make any professional teacher highly productive, marketable, and an entrepreneur? What will give teachers the moral consciousness of doing the best to succeed? Method: This study set out to develop a model for primal teachers in GES as an innovative way to highlight a premium development for the C21st business-education acumen through desk reviews. The study is conceptually framed by examining certain skill sets such as strategic thinking, social intelligence, relational and emotional intelligence and entrepreneurship to answer three main burning questions and other hypotheses. Then the study applied the causal comparative methodology with a purposive sampling technique (N=500) from CoE, GES, NTVI, and other teachers associations. Participants responded to a 30-items, researcher-developed questionnaire. Data is analyzed on the quadrant constructs and reported as ex post facto analyses of multi-variances and regressions. Multiple associations were established for statistical significance (p=0.05). Causes and effects are postulated for scientific discussions. Findings: It was found out that these quadrants are very significant in teacher development. There were significant variations in the demographic groups. However, most teachers lack considerable skills in entrepreneurship, leadership in teaching and learning, and business thinking strategies. These have significant effect on practices and outcomes. Conclusion and Recommendations: It is quite conclusive therefore that in GES teachers may need further instructions in innovations and creativity to transform knowledge-creation into business venture. In service training (INSET) has to be comprehensive. Teacher education curricula at Colleges may have to be re-visited. Teachers have the potential to raise their social capital, to be entrepreneur, and to exhibit professionalism beyond their community services. Their primal leadership focus will benefit many clienteles including students and social circles. Recommendations examined the policy implications for curriculum design, practice, innovations and educational leadership.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, entrepreneurship, leadership, quadrant intelligence (q-i), primal teacher leadership, strategic thinking, social intelligence

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Authors: Mary Jane B. Suarez

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Public speaking anxiety (PSA), also known as speech anxiety, is innumerably persistent in any traditional communication classes, especially for students who learn English as a second language. The speech anxiety intensifies when communication skills assessments have taken their toll in an online or a remote mode of learning due to the perils of the COVID-19 virus. Both teachers and students have experienced vast ambiguity on how to realize a still effective way to teach and learn speaking skills amidst the pandemic. Communication skills assessments like public speaking, oral presentations, and student reporting have defined their new meaning using Google Meet, Zoom, and other online platforms. Though using such technologies has paved for more creative ways for students to acquire and develop communication skills, the effectiveness of using such assessment tools stands in question. This mixed method study aimed to determine the factors that affected the public speaking skills of students in a communication class, to probe on the assessment gaps in assessing speaking skills of students attending online classes vis-à-vis the implementation of remote and blended modalities of learning, and to recommend ways on how to address the public speaking anxieties of students in performing a speaking task online and to bridge the assessment gaps based on the outcome of the study in order to achieve a smooth segue from online to on-ground instructions maneuvering towards a much better post-pandemic academic milieu. Using a convergent parallel design, both quantitative and qualitative data were reconciled by probing on the public speaking anxiety of students and the potential assessment gaps encountered in an online English communication class under remote and blended learning. There were four phases in applying the convergent parallel design. The first phase was the data collection, where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using document reviews and focus group discussions. The second phase was data analysis, where quantitative data was treated using statistical testing, particularly frequency, percentage, and mean by using Microsoft Excel application and IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19, and qualitative data was examined using thematic analysis. The third phase was the merging of data analysis results to amalgamate varying comparisons between desired learning competencies versus the actual learning competencies of students. Finally, the fourth phase was the interpretation of merged data that led to the findings that there was a significantly high percentage of students' public speaking anxiety whenever students would deliver speaking tasks online. There were also assessment gaps identified by comparing the desired learning competencies of the formative and alternative assessments implemented and the actual speaking performances of students that showed evidence that public speaking anxiety of students was not properly identified and processed.

Keywords: blended learning, communication skills assessment, public speaking anxiety, speech anxiety

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Authors: Peregrine James Dalziel, Philip Vu Tran

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Objective / Introduction: Demand for radiology services from Emergency Departments (ED) continues to increase with greater demands placed on radiology staff providing reports for the management of complex cases. Queuing theory indicates that wide variability of process time with the random nature of request arrival increases the probability of significant queues. This can lead to delays in the time-to-availability of radiology reports (TTA-RR) and potentially impaired ED patient flow. In addition, greater “cognitive workload” of greater volume may lead to reduced productivity and increased errors. We sought to quantify the potential ED flow improvements obtainable from increased radiology providers serving 3 public hospitals in Melbourne Australia. We sought to assess the potential productivity gains, quality improvement and the cost-effectiveness of increased labor inputs. Methods & Materials: The Western Health Medical Imaging Department moved from single resident coverage on weekend days 8:30 am-10:30 pm to a limited period of 2 resident coverage 1 pm-6 pm on both weekend days. The TTA-RR for weekend CT scans was calculated from the PACs database for the 8 month period symmetrically around the date of staffing change. A multivariate linear regression model was developed to isolate the improvement in TTA-RR, between the two 4-months periods. Daily and hourly scan volume at the time of each CT scan was calculated to assess the impact of varying department workload. To assess any improvement in report quality/errors a random sample of 200 studies was assessed to compare the average number of clinically significant over-read addendums to reports between the 2 periods. Cost-effectiveness was assessed by comparing the marginal cost of additional staffing against a conservative estimate of the economic benefit of improved ED patient throughput using the Australian national insurance rebate for private ED attendance as a revenue proxy. Results: The primary resident on call and the type of scan accounted for most of the explained variability in time to report availability (R2=0.29). Increasing daily volume and hourly volume was associated with increased TTA-RR (1.5m (p<0.01) and 4.8m (p<0.01) respectively per additional scan ordered within each time frame. Reports were available 25.9 minutes sooner on average in the 4 months post-implementation of double coverage (p<0.01) with additional 23.6 minutes improvement when 2 residents were on-site concomitantly (p<0.01). The aggregate average improvement in TTA-RR was 24.8 hours per weekend day This represents the increased decision-making time available to ED physicians and potential improvement in ED bed utilisation. 5% of reports from the intervention period contained clinically significant addendums vs 7% in the single resident period but this was not statistically significant (p=0.7). The marginal cost was less than the anticipated economic benefit based assuming a 50% capture of improved TTA-RR inpatient disposition and using the lowest available national insurance rebate as a proxy for economic benefit. Conclusion: TTA-RR improved significantly during the period of increased staff availability, both during the specific period of increased staffing and throughout the day. Increased labor utilisation is cost-effective compared with the potential improved productivity for ED cases requiring CT imaging.

Keywords: workflow, quality, administration, CT, staffing

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Authors: Tomasz Grzes, Maciej Kopczynski, Jaroslaw Stepaniuk

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The rough sets theory developed by Prof. Z. Pawlak is one of the tools that can be used in the intelligent systems for data analysis and processing. Banking, medicine, image recognition and security are among the possible fields of utilization. In all these fields, the amount of the collected data is increasing quickly, but with the increase of the data, the computation speed becomes the critical factor. Data reduction is one of the solutions to this problem. Removing the redundancy in the rough sets can be achieved with the reduct. A lot of algorithms of generating the reduct were developed, but most of them are only software implementations, therefore have many limitations. Microprocessor uses the fixed word length, consumes a lot of time for either fetching as well as processing of the instruction and data; consequently, the software based implementations are relatively slow. Hardware systems don’t have these limitations and can process the data faster than a software. Reduct is the subset of the decision attributes that provides the discernibility of the objects. For the given decision table there can be more than one reduct. Core is the set of all indispensable condition attributes. None of its elements can be removed without affecting the classification power of all condition attributes. Moreover, every reduct consists of all the attributes from the core. In this paper, the hardware implementation of the two-stage greedy algorithm to find the one reduct is presented. The decision table is used as an input. Output of the algorithm is the superreduct which is the reduct with some additional removable attributes. First stage of the algorithm is calculating the core using the discernibility matrix. Second stage is generating the superreduct by enriching the core with the most common attributes, i.e., attributes that are more frequent in the decision table. Described above algorithm has two disadvantages: i) generating the superreduct instead of reduct, ii) additional first stage may be unnecessary if the core is empty. But for the systems focused on the fast computation of the reduct the first disadvantage is not the key problem. The core calculation can be achieved with a combinational logic block, and thus add respectively little time to the whole process. Algorithm presented in this paper was implemented in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) as a digital device consisting of blocks that process the data in a single step. Calculating the core is done by the comparators connected to the block called 'singleton detector', which detects if the input word contains only single 'one'. Calculating the number of occurrences of the attribute is performed in the combinational block made up of the cascade of the adders. The superreduct generation process is iterative and thus needs the sequential circuit for controlling the calculations. For the research purpose, the algorithm was also implemented in C language and run on a PC. The times of execution of the reduct calculation in a hardware and software were considered. Results show increase in the speed of data processing.

Keywords: data reduction, digital systems design, field programmable gate array (FPGA), reduct, rough set

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Authors: Era Dorihi Kale, Sabina Gero, Uly Agustine

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Asylum seekers are people who come to other countries to get asylum. In line with that, they also carry the culture and health behavior of their country, which is very different from the new country they currently live in. This situation raises problems, also in the health sector. The approach taken must also be a culturally sensitive approach, where the culture and habits of the refugee's home area are also valued so that the health services provided can be right on target. Some risk factors that already exist in this group are lack of activity, consumption of fast food, smoking, and stress levels that are quite high. Overall this condition will increase the risk of an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. This research is a descriptive and experimental study. The purpose of this study is to identify health status and develop a culturally sensitive health promotion model, especially related to the risk of cardiovascular disease for asylum seekers in detention homes in the city of Kupang. This research was carried out in 3 stages, stage 1 was conducting a survey of health problems and the risk of asylum seeker cardiovascular disease, Stage 2 developed a health promotion model, and stage 3 conducted a testing model of health promotion carried out. There were 81 respondents involved in this study. The variables measured were: health status, risk of cardiovascular disease and, health promotion models. Method of data collection: Instruments (questionnaires) were distributed to respondents answered for anamnese health status; then, cardiovascular risk measurements were taken. After that, the preparation of information needs and the compilation of booklets on the prevention of cardiovascular disease is carried out. The compiled booklet was then translated into Farsi. After that, the booklet was tested. Respondent characteristics: average lived in Indonesia for 4.38 years, the majority were male (90.1%), and most were aged 15-34 years (90.1%). There are several diseases that are often suffered by asylum seekers, namely: gastritis, headaches, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, skin allergies, sore throat, cough, and depression. The level of risk for asylum seekers experiencing cardiovascular problems is 4 high risk people, 6 moderate risk people, and 71 low risk people. This condition needs special attention because the number of people at risk is quite high when compared to the age group of refugees. This is very related to the level of stress experienced by the refugees. The health promotion model that can be used is the transactional stress and coping model, using Persian (oral) and English for written information. It is recommended for health practitioners who care for refugees to always pay attention to aspects of culture (especially language) as well as the psychological condition of asylum seekers to make it easier to conduct health care and promotion. As well for further research, it is recommended to conduct research, especially relating to the effect of psychological stress on the risk of cardiovascular disease in asylum seekers.

Keywords: asylum seekers, health status, cardiovascular disease, health promotion

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Authors: Vidhya Venugopal, Jeremiah Chinnadurai, Rebekah A. I. Lucas, Tord Kjellstrom, Bruno Lemke

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Introduction: The effects of climate change (CC) are largely discussed across the globe in terms of impacts on the environment and the general population, but the impacts on workers remain largely unexplored. The predicted rise in temperatures and heat events in the CC scenario have health implications on millions of workers in physically exerting jobs. The current health and productivity risks associated with heat exposures are characterized, future risk estimates as temperature rises and recommendations towards developing protective and preventive occupational health and safety guidelines for India are discussed. Methodology: Cross-sectional studies were conducted in several occupational sectors with workers engaged in moderate to heavy labor (n=1580). Quantitative data on heat exposures (WBGT°C), physiological heat strain indicators viz., Core temperature (CBT), Urine specific gravity (USG), Sweat rate (SwR) and qualitative data on heat-related health symptoms and productivity losses were collected. Data were analyzed for associations between heat exposures, health and productivity outcomes related to heat stress. Findings: Heat conditions exceeded the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for safe manual work in 66% of the workers across several sectors (Avg.WBGT of 28.7°C±3.1°C). Widespread concerns about heat-related health outcomes (86%) were prevalent among workers exposed to high TLVs, with excessive sweating, fatigue and tiredness being commonly reported by workers. The heat stress indicators, core temperature (14%), Sweat rate (8%) and USG (9%), were above normal levels in the study population. A significant association was found between rise in Core Temperatures and WBGT exposures (p=0.000179) Elevated USG and SwR in the worker population indicate moderate dehydration, with potential risks of developing heat-related illnesses. In a steel industry with high heat exposures, an alarming 9% prevalence of kidney/urogenital anomalies was observed in a young workforce. Heat exposures above TLVs were associated with significantly increased odds of various adverse health outcomes (OR=2.43, 95% CI 1.88 to 3.13, p-value = <0.0001) and productivity losses (OR=1.79, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.4, p-value = 0.0002). Rough estimates for the number of workers who would be subjected to higher than TLV levels in the various RCP scenarios are RCP2.6 =79%, RCP4.5 & RCP6 = 81% and at RCP 8.5 = 85%. Rising temperatures due to CC has the capacity to further reduce already compromised health and productivity by subjecting the workers to increased heat exposures in the RCP scenarios are of concern for the country’s occupational health and economy. Conclusion: The findings of this study clearly identify that health protection from hot weather will become increasingly necessary in the Indian subcontinent and understanding the various adaptation techniques needs urgent attention. Further research with a multi-targeted approach to develop strategies for implementing interventions to protect the millions of workers is imperative. Approaches to include health aspects of climate change within sectoral and climate change specific policies should be encouraged, via a number of mechanisms, such as the “Health in All Policies” approach to avert adverse health and productivity consequences as climate change proceeds.

Keywords: heat stress, occupational health, productivity loss, heat strain, adverse health outcomes

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Authors: Shana Malio-Satele, Lemalu Silao Vaisola Sefo

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Introductory Statement: South Seas Healthcare is Ōtara’s largest Pacific health provider in South Auckland, New Zealand. Our vision is excellent health and well-being for Pacific people and all communities through strong Pacific values. During the DELTA and Omicron outbreak of COVID-19, our Pacific people, indigenous Māori, and the community of South Auckland were disproportionately affected and faced significant hardship with existing inequities magnified. This study highlights the community-based learnings of harnessing community-based strengths such as indigenous resilience, family-informed experiences and stories that provide critical insights that inform health reform changes that will be sustainable and equitable for all indigenous populations. This study is based on critical learnings acquired during COVID-19 that challenge the deficit narrative common in healthcare about indigenous populations. This study shares case studies of marginalised groups and religious groups and the successful application of indigenous cultural strengths, such as collectivism, positive protective factors, and using trusted relationships to create meaningful change in the way healthcare is delivered. The significance of this study highlights the critical conditions needed to adopt a community-informed way of creating integrated healthcare that works and the role that the community can play in being part of the solution. Methodologies: Key methodologies utilised are indigenous and Pacific-informed. To achieve critical learnings from the community, Pacific research methodologies, heavily informed by the Polynesian practice, were applied. Specifically, this includes; Teu Le Va (Understanding the importance of trusted relationships as a way of creating positive health solutions); The Fonofale Methodology (A way of understanding how health incorporates culture, family, the physical, spiritual, mental and other dimensions of health, as well as time, context and environment; The Fonua Methodology – Understanding the overall wellbeing and health of communities, families and individuals and their holistic needs and environmental factors and the Talanoa methodology (Researching through conversation, where understanding the individual and community is through understanding their history and future through stories). Major Findings: Key findings in the study included: 1. The collectivist approach in the community is a strengths-based response specific to populations, which highlights the importance of trusted relationships and cultural values to achieve meaningful outcomes. 2. The development of a “village model” which identified critical components to achieving health reform change; system navigation, a sense of service that was culturally responsive, critical leadership roles, culturally appropriate support, and the ability to influence the system enablers to support an alternative way of working. Concluding Statement: There is a strong connection between community-based strengths being implemented into healthcare strategies and reforms and the sustainable success of indigenous populations and marginalised communities accessing services that are cohesive, equitably resourced, accessible and meaningful for families. This study highlights the successful community-informed approaches and practices used during the COVID-19 response in New Zealand that are now being implemented in the current health reform.

Keywords: indigenous voice, community voice, health reform, New Zealand

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Authors: Kiran Sharma, Viktor Kunder, Zerha Rizvi, Ricardo Soubelet

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Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has been recognized as a method of treatment in medicine since the 1980s. It primarily functions by releasing cytokines and growth factors that promote wound healing; these growth promoting factors released by PRP enact new processes such as angiogenesis, collagen deposition, and tissue formation that can change wound healing outcomes. Many studies recognize that PRP aids in chronic wound healing, which is advantageous for patients who suffer from chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). This scoping review aims to examine literature to identify the efficacy of PRP use in the healing of DFUs. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched randomized-controlled trials involving PRP use in diabetic patients with foot ulcers using PubMed, Medline, CINAHL Complete, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. We restricted the search to articles published during 2005-2022, full texts in the English language, articles involving patients aged 19 years or older, articles that used PRP on specifically DFUs, articles that included a control group, articles on human subjects. The initial search yielded 119 articles after removing duplicates. Final analysis for relevance yielded 8 articles. In all cases except one, the PRP group showed either faster healing, more complete healing, or a larger percentage of healed participants. There were no situations in the included studies where the control group had a higher rate of healing or decreased wound size as compared to a group with isolated PRP-only use. Only one study did not show conclusive evidence that PRP caused accelerated healing in DFUs, and this study did not have an isolated PRP variable group. Application styles of PRP for treatment were shown to influence the level of healing in patients, with injected PRP appearing to achieve the best results as compared to topical PRP application. However, this was not conclusive due to the involvement of several other variables. Two studies additionally found PRP to be useful in healing refractory DFUs, and one study found that PRP use in patients with additional comorbidities was still more effective in healing DFUs than the standard control groups. The findings of this review suggest that PRP is a useful tool in reducing healing times and improving rates of complete wound healing in DFUs. There is room for further research in the application styles of PRP before conclusive statements can be made on the efficacy of injected versus topical PRP healing based on the findings in this study. The results of this review provide a baseline for further research in PRP use in diabetic patients and can be used by both physicians and public health experts to guide future treatment options for DFUs.

Keywords: diabetic foot ulcer, DFU, platelet rich plasma, PRP

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Rahel Birhanu Kassaye, Ralf Otterpohl, Kumelachew Yeshitila

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Water resource management and land degradation are among the critical issues threatening the suitable livability of many cities in developing countries such as Ethiopia. Rapid expansion of urban areas and fast growing population has increased the pressure on water security. On the other hand, the large transformation of natural green cover and agricultural land loss to settlement and industrial activities such as quarrying is contributing to environmental concerns. Integrated water harvesting is considered to play a crucial role in terms of providing alternative water source to insure water security and helping to improve soil condition, agricultural productivity and regeneration of ecosystem. Moreover, it helps to control stormwater runoff, thus reducing flood risks and pollution, thereby improving the quality of receiving water bodies and the health of inhabitants. The aim of this research was to investigate the potential of applying integrated water harvesting approaches as a provision for water source and enabling land restoration in Jemo river catchment consisting of abandoned quarry site adjacent to a settlement area that is facing serious water shortage in western hilly part of Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia. The abandoned quarry site, apart from its contribution to the loss of aesthetics, has resulted in poor water infiltration and increase in stormwater runoff leading to land degradation and flooding in the downstream. Application of GIS and multi-criteria based analysis are used for the assessment of potential water harvesting technologies considering the technology features and site characteristics of the case study area. Biophysical parameters including precipitation, surrounding land use, surface gradient, soil characteristics and geological aspects are used as site characteristic indicators and water harvesting technologies including retention pond, check dam, agro-forestation employing contour trench system were considered for evaluation with technical and socio-economic factors used as parameters in the assessment. The assessment results indicate the different suitability potential among the analyzed water harvesting and restoration techniques with respect to the abandoned quarry site characteristics. Application of agro-forestation with contour trench system with the revegetation of indigenous plants is found to be the most suitable option for reclamation and restoration of the quarry site. Successful application of the selected technologies and strategies for water harvesting and restoration is considered to play a significant role to provide additional water source, maintain good water quality, increase agricultural productivity at urban peri-urban interface scale and improve biodiversity in the catchment. The results of the study provide guideline for decision makers and contribute to the integration of decentralized water harvesting and restoration techniques in the water management and planning of the case study area.

Keywords: abandoned quarry site, land reclamation and restoration, multi-criteria assessment, water harvesting

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Judson P. LaGrone

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Simulation-based education in curricula was once a luxurious component of nursing programs but now serves as a vital element of an individual’s learning experience. A debriefing occurs after the simulation scenario or clinical experience is completed to allow the instructor(s) or trained professional(s) to act as a debriefer to guide a reflection with a purpose of acknowledging, assessing, and synthesizing the thought process, decision-making process, and actions/behaviors performed during the scenario or clinical experience. Debriefing is a vital component of the simulation process and educational experience to allow the learner(s) to progressively build upon past experiences and current scenarios within a safe and welcoming environment with a guided dialog to enhance future practice. The aim of this integrative review was to assess current practices of debriefing models in simulation-based education for health care professionals and students. The following databases were utilized for the search: CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews, EBSCO (ERIC), PsycINFO (Ovid), and Google Scholar. The advanced search option was useful to narrow down the search of articles (full text, Boolean operators, English language, peer-reviewed, published in the past five years). Key terms included debrief, debriefing, debriefing model, debriefing intervention, psychological debriefing, simulation, simulation-based education, simulation pedagogy, health care professional, nursing student, and learning process. Included studies focus on debriefing after clinical scenarios of nursing students, medical students, and interprofessional teams conducted between 2015 and 2020. Common themes were identified after the analysis of articles matching the search criteria. Several debriefing models are addressed in the literature with similarities of effectiveness for participants in clinical simulation-based pedagogy. Themes identified included (a) importance of debriefing in simulation-based pedagogy, (b) environment for which debriefing takes place is an important consideration, (c) individuals who should conduct the debrief, (d) length of debrief, and (e) methodology of the debrief. Debriefing models supported by theoretical frameworks and facilitated by trained staff are vital for a successful debriefing experience. Models differed from self-debriefing, facilitator-led debriefing, video-assisted debriefing, rapid cycle deliberate practice, and reflective debriefing. A reoccurring finding was centered around the emphasis of continued research for systematic tool development and analysis of the validity and effectiveness of current debriefing practices. There is a lack of consistency of debriefing models among nursing curriculum with an increasing rate of ill-prepared faculty to facilitate the debriefing phase of the simulation.

Keywords: debriefing model, debriefing intervention, health care professional, simulation-based education

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Xu Qian

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This abstract explores the importance of building resilience within families and offers evidence-based strategies for promoting positive parenting and enhancing emotional well-being. It emphasizes the role of effective communication, conflict resolution, and fostering a supportive environment to strengthen family bonds and promote healthy child development. Introduction: The well-being and resilience of families play a crucial role in fostering healthy child development and promoting overall emotional well-being. This abstract highlights the significance of nurturing resilient families and provides evidence-based strategies for positive parenting. By focusing on effective communication, conflict resolution, and creating a supportive environment, families can strengthen their bonds and enhance emotional well-being for both parents and children. Methods: This abstract draws upon a comprehensive review of existing research and literature on resilient families, positive parenting, and emotional well-being. The selected studies employ various methodologies, including surveys, interviews, and longitudinal observations, to investigate the factors contributing to family resilience and the strategies that promote positive parenting practices. The findings from these studies serve as the foundation for the strategies discussed in this abstract. Results: The results of the reviewed studies demonstrate that effective communication within families is a key factor in building resilience and promoting emotional well-being. Open and honest communication allows family members to express their thoughts, feelings, and concerns, fostering trust and understanding. Conflict resolution skills, such as active listening, compromise, and problem-solving, are vital in managing conflicts constructively and preventing negative consequences on family dynamics and children's well-being. Creating a supportive environment that nurtures emotional well-being is another critical aspect of promoting resilient families. This includes providing emotional support, setting clear boundaries, and promoting positive discipline strategies. Research indicates that consistent and responsive parenting approaches contribute to improved self-regulation skills, emotional intelligence, and overall mental health in children. Discussion: The discussion centers on the implications of these findings for promoting positive parenting and emotional well-being. It emphasizes the need for parents to prioritize self-care and seek support when facing challenges. Parental well-being directly influences the quality of parenting and the overall family environment. By attending to their own emotional needs, parents can better meet the needs of their children and create a nurturing atmosphere. Furthermore, the importance of fostering resilience in children is highlighted. Resilient children are better equipped to cope with adversity, adapt to change, and thrive in challenging circumstances. By cultivating resilience through supportive relationships, encouragement of independence, and providing opportunities for growth, parents can foster their children's ability to bounce back from setbacks and develop essential life skills. Conclusion: In conclusion, nurturing resilient families is crucial for positive parenting and enhancing emotional well-being. This abstract presents evidence-based strategies that emphasize effective communication, conflict resolution, and creating a supportive environment. By implementing these strategies, parents can strengthen family bonds, promote healthy child development, and enhance overall family resilience. Investing in resilient families not only benefits individual family members but also contributes to the well-being of the broader community.

Keywords: childrearing families, family education, children's mental health, positive parenting, emotional health

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Mercedes Sepulveda, Saras Henderson, Dana Farrell, Gaby Heuft

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In Australia, there is a significant number of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Grandparent Carers who are sole carers for their grandchildren. Services in the community such as accessible healthcare, financial support, legal aid, and transport to services can assist Grandparent Carers to continue to live in their own home whilst caring for their grandchildren. Community nurses can play a major role by being aware of the needs of these grandparents and link them to services via information and referrals. The CALD Grandparent Carer experiences have only been explored marginally and may be similar to the general Grandparent Carer population, although cultural aspects may add to their difficulties. This Needs-Gap Analysis aimed to uncover ‘hidden issues’ for CALD Grandparent Carers such as service gaps and actions needed to address these issues. The stakeholders selected for this Needs-Gap Analysis were drawn from relevant service providers such as community and aged care services, child and/or grandparents support services and CALD specific services. One hundred relevant service providers were surveyed using six structured questions via face to face, phone interviews, or email correspondence. CALD Grandparents who had a significant or sole role of being a carer for grandchildren were invited to participate through their CALD community leaders. Consultative Forums asking five questions that focused on the caring role, issues encountered, and what needed to be done, were conducted with the African, Asian, Spanish-Speaking, Middle Eastern, European, Pacific Islander and Maori Grandparent Carers living in South-east Queensland, Australia. Data from the service provider survey and the CALD Grandparent Carer forums were content analysed using thematic principles. Our findings highlighted social determinants of health grouped into six themes. These were; 1) service providers and Grandparent Carer perception that there was limited research data on CALD grandparents as carers; 2) inadequate legal and financial support; 3) barriers to accessing information and advice; 4) lack of childcare options in the light of aging and health issues; 5) difficulties around transport; and 6) inadequate technological skills often leading to social isolation for both carer and grandchildren. Our Needs-Gap Analysis provides insight to service providers especially health practitioners such as doctors and community nurses, particularly on the impact of caring for grandchildren on CALD Grandparent Carers. Furthermore, factors such as cultural differences, English language difficulties, and migration experiences also impacted on the way CALD Grandparent Carers are able to cope. The findings of this Need-Gap Analysis signposts some of the ‘ hidden issues’ that CALD Grandparents Carers face and draws together recommendations for the future as put forward by the stakeholders themselves.

Keywords: CALD grandparents, carer needs, community nurses, grandparent carers

Procedia PDF Downloads 293

Authors: Andrew D. Henshaw

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The research examines the influence of familial and kinship based leadership on the resilience of politically violent organizations. Organizations of this type frequently fight in the same conflicts though are called 'terrorist' or 'insurgent' depending on political foci of the time, and thus different approaches are used to combat them. The research considers them correlated phenomena with significant overlap and identifies strengths and vulnerabilities in resilience processes. The research employs paired case studies to examine resilience in organizations under significant external pressure, and achieves this by measuring three variables. 1: Organizational robustness in terms of leadership and governance. 2. Bounce-back response efficiency to external pressures and adaptation to endogenous and exogenous shock. 3. Perpetuity of operational and attack capability, and political legitimacy. The research makes three hypotheses. First, familial/kinship leadership groups have a significant effect on organizational resilience in terms of informal operations. Second, non-familial/kinship organizations suffer in terms of heightened security transaction costs and social economics surrounding recruitment, retention, and replacement. Third, resilience in non-familial organizations likely stems from critical external supports like state sponsorship or powerful patrons, rather than organic resilience dynamics. The case studies pair familial organizations with non-familial organizations. Set 1: The Haqqani Network (HQN) - Pair: Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Set 2: Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) - Pair: The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Case studies were selected based on three requirements, being: contrasting governance types, exposure to significant external pressures and, geographical similarity. The case study sets were examined over 24 months following periods of significantly heightened operational activities. This enabled empirical measurement of the variables as substantial external pressures came into force. The rationale for the research is obvious. Nearly all organizations have some nexus of familial interconnectedness. Examining familial leadership networks does not provide further understanding of how terrorism and insurgency originate, however, the central focus of the research does address how they persist. The sparse attention to this in existing literature presents an unexplored yet important area of security studies. Furthermore, social capital in familial systems is largely automatic and organic, given at birth or through kinship. It reduces security vetting cost for recruits, fighters and supporters which lowers liabilities and entry costs, while raising organizational efficiency and exit costs. Better understanding of these process is needed to exploit strengths into weaknesses. Outcomes and implications of the research have critical relevance to future operational policy development. Increased clarity of internal trust dynamics, social capital and power flows are essential to fracturing and manipulating kinship nexus. This is highly valuable to external pressure mechanisms such as counter-terrorism, counterinsurgency, and strategic intelligence methods to penetrate, manipulate, degrade or destroy the resilience of politically violent organizations.

Keywords: Counterinsurgency (COIN), counter-terrorism, familial influence, insurgency, intelligence, kinship, resilience, terrorism

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Juan A. Arzate, Funda C. Ertem, M. Nicolas Cruz-Bournazou, Peter Neubauer, Stefan Junne

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— One of the biggest challenges the world faces today is global warming that is caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) coming from the combustion of fossil fuels for energy generation. In order to mitigate climate change, the European Union has committed to reducing GHG emissions to 80–95% below the level of the 1990s by the year 2050. Renewable technologies are vital to diminish energy-related GHG emissions. Since water and biomass are limited resources, the largest contributions to renewable energy (RE) systems will have to come from wind and solar power. Nevertheless, high proportions of fluctuating RE will present a number of challenges, especially regarding the need to balance the variable energy demand with the weather dependent fluctuation of energy supply. Therefore, biogas plants in this content would play an important role, since they are easily adaptable. Feedstock availability varies locally or seasonally; however there is a lack of knowledge in how biogas plants should be operated in a stable manner by local feedstock. This problem may be prevented through suitable control strategies. Such strategies require the development of convenient mathematical models, which fairly describe the main processes. Modelling allows us to predict the system behavior of biogas plants when different feedstocks are used with different loading rates. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a technique for analyzing several sides from evolution of a product till its disposal in an environmental point of view. It is highly recommend to use as a decision making tool. In order to achieve suitable strategies, the combination of a flexible energy generation provided by biogas plants, a secure production process and the maximization of the environmental benefits can be obtained by the combination of process modelling and LCA approaches. For this reason, this study focuses on the biogas plant which flexibly generates required energy from the co-digestion of maize, grass and cattle manure, while emitting the lowest amount of GHG´s. To achieve this goal AMOCO model was combined with LCA. The program was structured in Matlab to simulate any biogas process based on the AMOCO model and combined with the equations necessary to obtain climate change, acidification and eutrophication potentials of the whole production system based on ReCiPe midpoint v.1.06 methodology. Developed simulation was optimized based on real data from operating biogas plants and existing literature research. The results prove that AMOCO model can successfully imitate the system behavior of biogas plants and the necessary time required for the process to adapt in order to generate demanded energy from available feedstock. Combination with LCA approach provided opportunity to keep the resulting emissions from operation at the lowest possible level. This would allow for a prediction of the process, when the feedstock utilization supports the establishment of closed material circles within a smart bio-production grid – under the constraint of minimal drawbacks for the environment and maximal sustainability.

Keywords: AMOCO model, GHG emissions, life cycle assessment, modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Nashwa Elyamany

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In visual cultures, namely that of the United States, media representations are such influential and pervasive reflections of societal norms and expectations to the extent that they impact the manner in which both genders view themselves. Health and fitness magazines fall within the realm of visual culture. Since the main goal of communication is to ensure proper dissemination of information in order for the target audience to grasp the intended messages, it becomes imperative that magazine publishers, editors, advertisers and image producers use different modes of communication within their reach to convey messages to their readers and viewers. A rapid waxing flow of multimodality floods popular discourse, particularly health and fitness magazine cover pages. The use of well-crafted cover lines and visual images is imbued with agendas, consumerist ideologies and properties capable of effectively conveying implicit and explicit meaning to potential readers and viewers. In essence, the primary goal of this thesis is to interrogate the multi-semiotic operations and manifestations of hegemonic masculinity and femininity in male and female body culture, particularly on the cover pages of the twin American magazines Men's Health and Women's Health using corpora that spanned from 2011 to the mid of 2016. The researcher explores the semiotic resources that contribute to shaping and legitimizing a new form of postmodern, consumerist, gendered discourse that positions the reader-viewer ideologically. Methodologically, the researcher carries out analysis on the macro and micro levels. On the macro level, the researcher takes on a critical stance to illuminate the ideological nature of the multimodal ensemble of the cover pages, and, on the micro level, seeks to put forward new theoretical and methodological routes through which the semiotic choices well invested on the media texts can be more objectively scrutinized. On the macro level, a 'themes' analysis is initially conducted to isolate the overarching themes that dominate the fitness discourse on the cover pages under study. It is argued that variation in terms of frequencies of such themes is indicative, broadly speaking, of which facets of hegemonic masculinity and femininity are infused in the fitness discourse on the cover pages. On the micro level, this research work encompasses three sub-levels of analysis. The researcher follows an SF-MMDA approach, drawing on a trio of analytical frameworks: Halliday's SFG for the verbal analysis; Kress & van Leeuween's VG for the visual analysis; and CMT in relation to Sperber & Wilson's RT for the pragma-cognitive analysis of multimodal metaphors and metonymies. The data is presented in terms of detailed descriptions in conjunction with frequency tables, ANOVA with alpha=0.05 and MANOVA in the multiple phases of analysis. Insights and findings from this multi-faceted, social-semiotic analysis are interpreted in light of Cultivation Theory, Self-objectification Theory and the literature to date. Implications for future research include the implementation of a multi-dimensional approach whereby linguistic and visual analytical models are deployed with special regards to cultural variation.

Keywords: gender, hegemony, magazine cover page, multimodal discourse analysis, multimodal metaphor, multimodal metonymy, systemic functional grammar, visual grammar

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Arzyana Sunkar, Yanto Santosa, Siti Badriyah Rushayati

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Indonesia has experienced annual forest fires that have rapidly destroyed and degraded its forests. Fires in the peat swamp forests of Riau Province, have set the stage for problems to worsen, this being the ecosystem most prone to fires (which are also the most difficult, to extinguish). Despite various efforts to curb deforestation, and forest degradation processes, severe forest fires are still occurring. To find an effective solution, the basic causes of the problems must be identified. It is therefore critical to have an in-depth understanding of the underlying causal factors that have contributed to deforestation and forest degradation as a whole, in order to attain reductions in their rates. An assessment of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation was carried out, in order to design and implement measures that could slow these destructive processes. Research was conducted in Giam Siak Kecil–Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve (GSKBB BR), in the Riau Province of Sumatera, Indonesia. A biosphere reserve was selected as the study site because such reserves aim to reconcile conservation with sustainable development. A biosphere reserve should promote a range of local human activities, together with development values that are in line spatially and economically with the area conservation values, through use of a zoning system. Moreover, GSKBB BR is an area with vast peatlands, and is experiencing forest fires annually. Various factors were analysed to assess the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in GSKBB BR; data were collected from focus group discussions with stakeholders, key informant interviews with key stakeholders, field observation and a literature review. Landsat satellite imagery was used to map forest-cover changes for various periods. Analysis of landsat images, taken during the period 2010-2014, revealed that within the non-protected area of core zone, there was a trend towards decreasing peat swamp forest areas, increasing land clearance, and increasing areas of community oil-palm and rubber plantations. Fire was used for land clearing and most of the forest fires occurred in the most populous area (the transition area). The study found a relationship between the deforested/ degraded areas, and certain distance variables, i.e. distance from roads, villages and the borders between the core area and the buffer zone. The further the distance from the core area of the reserve, the higher was the degree of deforestation and forest degradation. Research findings suggested that agricultural expansion may be the direct cause of deforestation and forest degradation in the reserve, whereas socio-economic factors were the underlying driver of forest cover changes; such factors consisting of a combination of socio-cultural, infrastructural, technological, institutional (policy and governance), demographic (population pressure) and economic (market demand) considerations. These findings indicated that local factors/problems were the critical causes of deforestation and degradation in GSKBB BR. This research therefore concluded that reductions in deforestation and forest degradation in GSKBB BR could be achieved through ‘local actor’-tailored approaches such as community empowerment

Keywords: Actor-led solution, community empowerment, drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, Giam Siak Kecil – Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: Terryann Clark, Kabir Dasgupta, Sonia Lewycka, Gail Pacheco, Alexander Plum

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This paper focused on two main research aims using data from the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUINZ) birth cohort: 1. To examine ethnic differences in life-course trajectories in the use and experience of healthcare services in early childhood years (namely immunisation, dental checks and use of General Practitioners (GPs)) 2. To quantify the contribution of relevant explanatory factors to ethnic differences. Current policy in New Zealand indicates there should be, in terms of associated direct costs, equitable access by ethnicity for healthcare services. However, empirical evidence points to persistent ethnic gaps in several domains. For example, the data highlighted that Māori have the lowest immunisation rates, across a number of time points in early childhood – despite having a higher antenatal intention to immunise relative to NZ European. Further to that, NZ European are much more likely to have their first-choice lead maternity caregiver (LMC) and use child dental services compared to all ethnicities. Method: This research explored the underlying mechanisms behind ethnic differences in the use and experience of child healthcare services. First, a multivariate regression analysis was used to adjust raw ethnic gaps in child health care utilisation by relevant covariates. This included a range of factors, encompassing mobility, socio-economic status, mother and child characteristics, household characteristics and other social aspects. Second, a decomposition analysis was used to assess the proportion of each ethnic gap that can be explained, as well as the main drivers behind the explained component. The analysis for both econometric approaches was repeated for each data time point available, which included antenatal, 9 months, 2 years and 4 years post-birth. Results: The following findings emerged: There is consistent evidence that Asian and Pacific peoples have a higher likelihood of child immunisation relative to NZ Europeans and Māori. This was evident at all time points except one. Pacific peoples had a lower rate relative to NZ European for receiving all first-year immunisations on time. For a number of potential individual and household predictors of healthcare service utilisation, the association is time-variant across early childhood. For example, socio-economic status appears highly relevant for timely immunisations in a child’s first year, but is then insignificant for the 15 month immunisations and those at age 4. Social factors play a key role. This included discouragement or encouragement regarding child immunisation. When broken down by source, discouragement by family has the largest marginal effect, followed by health professionals; whereas for encouragement, medical professionals have the largest positive influence. Perceived ethnically motivated discrimination by a health professional was significant with respect to both reducing the likelihood of achieving first choice LMC, and also satisfaction levels with child’s GP. Some ethnic gaps were largely unexplained, despite the wealth of factors employed as independent variables in our analysis. This included understanding why Pacific mothers are much less likely to achieve their first choice LMC compared to NZ Europeans; and also the ethnic gaps for both Māori and Pacific peoples relative to NZ Europeans concerning dental service use.

Keywords: child health, cohort analysis, ethnic disparities, primary healthcare

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Sylvia Mac

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This ethnographic case study examines disaster capitalism, neoliberal market-based school reforms, and disability through the lens of Disability Studies in Education. More specifically, it explores neoliberalism and special education at a small, urban charter school in a large city in California and the (re)production of social inequality. The study uses Sociology of Special Education to examine the ways in which special education is used to sort and stratify disabled students. At a time when rhetoric surrounding public schools is framed in catastrophic and dismal language in order to justify the privatization of public education, small urban charter schools must be examined to learn if they are living up to their promise or acting as another way to maintain economic and racial segregation. The study concludes that neoliberal contexts threaten successful inclusive education and normalize poor, disabled students’ continued low achievement and poor post-secondary outcomes. This ethnographic case study took place at a small urban charter school in a large city in California. Participants included three special education students, the special education teacher, the special education assistant, a regular education teacher, and the two founders and charter writers. The school claimed to have a push-in model of special education where all special education students were fully included in the general education classroom. Although presented as fully inclusive, some special education students also attended a pull-out class called Study Skills. The study found that inclusion and neoliberalism are differing ideologies that cannot co-exist. Successful inclusive environments cannot thrive while under the influences of neoliberal education policies such as efficiency and cost-cutting. Additionally, the push for students to join the global knowledge economy means that more and more low attainers are further marginalized and kept in poverty. At this school, neoliberal ideology eclipsed the promise of inclusive education for special education students. This case study has shown the need for inclusive education to be interrogated through lenses that consider macro factors, such as neoliberal ideology in public education, as well as the emerging global knowledge economy and increasing income inequality. Barriers to inclusion inside the school, such as teachers’ attitudes, teacher preparedness, and school infrastructure paint only part of the picture. Inclusive education is also threatened by neoliberal ideology that shifts the responsibility from the state to the individual. This ideology is dangerous because it reifies the stereotypes of disabled students as lazy, needs drains on already dwindling budgets. If these stereotypes persist, inclusive education will have a difficult time succeeding. In order to more fully examine the ways in which inclusive education can become truly emancipatory, we need more analysis on the relationship between neoliberalism, disability, and special education.

Keywords: case study, disaster capitalism, inclusive education, neoliberalism

Procedia PDF Downloads 199

Authors: Roland F. Karthaus, Rachel S. O'Brien

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Over the past decade, the authors have undertaken applied research aimed at enabling transformation within the prison service to improve conditions and outcomes for those living, working and visiting in prisons in the UK and the communities they serve. The research has taken place against a context of reducing resources and public discontent at increasing levels of violence, deteriorating conditions and persistently high levels of re-offending. Top-down governmental policies have mainly been ineffectual and in some cases counter-productive. The prison service is characterised by hierarchical organisation, and the research has applied design thinking at multiple levels to challenge and precipitate change: top-down, middle-out and bottom-up. The research employs three distinct but related approaches, system design (top-down): working at the national policy level to analyse the changing policy context, identifying opportunities and challenges; engaging with the Ministry of Justice commissioners and sector organisations to facilitate debate, introducing new evidence and provoking creative thinking, place-based design (middle-out): working with individual prison establishments as pilots to illustrate and test the potential for local empowerment, creative change, and improved architecture within place-specific contexts and organisational hierarchies, everyday design (bottom-up): working with individuals in the system to explore the potential for localised, significant, demonstrator changes; including collaborative design, capacity building and empowerment in skills, employment, communication, training, and other activities. The research spans a series of projects, through which the methodological approach has developed responsively. The projects include a place-based model for the re-purposing of Ministry of Justice land assets for the purposes of rehabilitation; an evidence-based guide to improve prison design for health and well-being; capacity-based employment, skills and self-build project as a template for future open prisons. The overarching research has enabled knowledge to be developed and disseminated through policy and academic networks. Whilst the research remains live and continuing; key findings are emerging as a basis for a new methodological approach to effecting change in the UK prison service. An interdisciplinary approach is necessary to overcome the barriers between distinct areas of the prison service. Sometimes referred to as total environments, prisons encompass entire social and physical environments which themselves are orchestrated by institutional arms of government, resulting in complex systems that cannot be meaningfully engaged through narrow disciplinary lenses. A scalar approach is necessary to connect strategic policies with individual experiences and potential, through the medium of individual prison establishments, operating as discrete entities within the system. A reflexive process is necessary to connect research with action in a responsive mode, learning to adapt as the system itself is changing. The role of individuals in the system, their latent knowledge and experience and their ability to engage and become agents of change are essential. Whilst the specific characteristics of the UK prison system are unique, the approach is internationally applicable.

Keywords: architecture, design, policy, prison, system, transformation

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Gerald Steyn

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Despite the huge number of identical, tiny, boxy, freestanding houses built by the South African government after the advent of democracy in 1994, squatter camps continue to mushroom, and there is no evidence that the backlog is being reduced. Not only is the wasteful low-density detached-unit approach of the past being perpetuated, but the social, spatial, and economic marginalization is worse than before 1994. The situation is precarious since squatters are vulnerable to fires and flooding. At the same time, the occupants of the housing schemes are trapped far from employment opportunities or any public amenities. Despite these insecurities, the architectural, urban design, and city planning professions are puzzlingly quiet. Design projects address these issues only at the universities, albeit inevitably with somewhat Utopian notions. Geoffrey Payne, the renowned urban housing and urban development consultant and researcher focusing on issues in the Global South, once proclaimed that “we do not have a housing problem – we have a settlement problem.” This dictum was used as the guiding philosophy to conceptualize urban design and architectural principles that foreground the needs of low-income households and allow them to be fully integrated into the larger conurbation. Information was derived from intensive research over two decades, involving frequent visits to informal settlements, historic Black townships, and rural villages. Observations, measured site surveys, and interviews resulted in several scholarly articles from which a set of desirable urban and architectural criteria could be extracted. To formulate culturally appropriate design principles, existing vernacular and informal patterns were analyzed, reconciled with contemporary designs that align with the requirements for the envisaged settlement attributes, and reimagined as residential design principles. Five interrelated design principles are proposed, ranging in scale from (1) Integrating informal settlements into the city, (2) linear neighborhoods, (3) market streets as wards, (4) linear neighborhoods, and (5) typologies and densities for clustered and aggregated patios and courtyards. Each design principle is described, first in terms of its context and associated issues of concern, followed by a discussion of the patterns available to inform a possible solution, and finally, an explanation and graphic illustration of the proposed design. The approach is predominantly bottom-up since each of the five principles is unfolded from existing informal and vernacular practices studied in situ. They are, however, articulated and represented in terms of contemporary design language. Contrary to an idealized vision of housing for South Africa’s low-income urban households, this study proposes actual principles for critical assessment by peers in the tradition of architectural research in design.

Keywords: culturally appropriate design principles, informal settlements, South Africa’s housing backlog, squatter camps

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Authors: Brad Fox

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Between something and nothing, a bit of both, neither/nor, a figment of the imagination, the womb of the universe - questions of what matter is, where it exists and what it means continue to surge up from the bottom of our concepts and theories. This paper looks at divergences and convergences, intimations and mistranslations, in a lineage of thought that begins with Plato’s Timaeus, travels through Arabic Spain and Syria, finally to end up in the language of science. Up to the 13th century, philosophers in Christian France based such inquiries on a questionable and fragmented translation of the Timaeus by Calcidius, with a commentary that conflated the Platonic concept of khora (‘space’ or ‘void’) with Aristotle’s hyle (‘primal matter’ as derived from ‘wood’ as a building material). Both terms were translated by Calcidius as silva. For 700 years, this was the only source for philosophers of matter in the Latin-speaking world. Bernard Silvestris, in his Cosmographia, exemplifies the concepts developed before new translations from Arabic began to pour into the Latin world from such centers as the court of Toledo. Unlike their counterparts across the Pyrenees, 13th century philosophers in Muslim Spain had access to a broad vocabulary for notions of primal matter. The prolific and visionary theologian, philosopher, and poet Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi could draw on the Ikhwan Al-Safa’s 10th Century renderings of Aristotle, which translated the Greek hyle as the everyday Arabic word maddah, still used for building materials today. He also often used the simple transliteration of hyle as hayula, probably taken from Ibn Sina. The prophet’s son-in-law Ali talked of dust in the air, invisible until it is struck by sunlight. Ibn Arabi adopted this dust - haba - as an expression for an original metaphysical substance, nonexistent but susceptible to manifesting forms. Ibn Arabi compares the dust to a phoenix, because we have heard about it and can conceive of it, but it has no existence unto itself and can be described only in similes. Elsewhere he refers to it as quwwa wa salahiyya - pure potentiality and readiness. The final portion of the paper will compare Bernard and Ibn Arabi’s notions of matter to the recent ontology developed by theoretical physicist and philosopher Karen Barad. Looking at Barad’s work with the work of Nils Bohr, it will argue that there is a rich resonance between Ibn Arabi’s paradoxical conceptions of matter and the quantum vacuum fluctuations verified by recent lab experiments. The inseparability of matter and meaning in Barad recall Ibn Arabi’s original response to Ibn Rushd’s question: Does revelation offer the same knowledge as rationality? ‘Yes and No,’ Ibn Arabi said, ‘and between the yes and no spirit is divided from matter and heads are separated from bodies.’ Ibn Arabi’s double affirmation continues to offer insight into our relationship to momentary experience at its most fundamental level.

Keywords: Karen Barad, Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, primal matter, Bernard Silvestris

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Authors: Dipankar Saha, J. P. Singh, C. B. Pandey

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Indian Thar desert being the seventh largest in the world is the main hot sand desert occupies nearly 385,000km2 and about 9% of the area of the country harbours several species likely the flora of 682 species (63 introduced species) belonging to 352 genera and 87 families. The degree of endemism of plant species in the Thar desert is 6.4 percent, which is relatively higher than the degree of endemism in the Sahara desert which is very significant for the conservationist to envisage. The advent and development of computer technology for digitization and data base management coupled with the rapidly increasing importance of biodiversity conservation resulted in the invention of biodiversity informatics as discipline of basic sciences with multiple applications. Aichi Target 19 as an outcome of Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) specifically mandates the development of an advanced and shared biodiversity knowledge base. Information on species distributions in space is the crux of effective management of biodiversity in the rapidly changing world. The efficiency of biodiversity management is being increased rapidly by various stakeholders like researchers, policymakers, and funding agencies with the knowledge and application of biodiversity informatics. Herbarium specimens being a vital repository for biodiversity conservation especially in climate change scenario the digitization process usually aims to improve access and to preserve delicate specimens and in doing so creating large sets of images as a part of the existing repository as arid plant information facility for long-term future usage. As the leaf characters are important for describing taxa and distinguishing between them and they can be measured from herbarium specimens as well. As a part of this activity, laminar characterization (leaves being the most important characters in assessing climate change impact) initially resulted in classification of more than thousands collections belonging to ten families like Acanthaceae, Aizoaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Anacardeaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Aristolochiaceae, Berseraceae and Bignoniaceae etc. Taxonomic diversity indices has also been worked out being one of the important domain of biodiversity informatics approaches. The digitization process also encompasses workflows which incorporate automated systems to enable us to expand and speed up the digitisation process. The digitisation workflows used to be on a modular system which has the potential to be scaled up. As they are being developed with a geo-referencing tool and additional quality control elements and finally placing specimen images and data into a fully searchable, web-accessible database. Our effort in this paper is to elucidate the role of BIs, present effort of database development of the existing botanical collection of institute repository. This effort is expected to be considered as a part of various global initiatives having an effective biodiversity information facility. This will enable access to plant biodiversity data that are fit-for-use by scientists and decision makers working on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the region and iso-climatic situation of the world.

Keywords: biodiversity informatics, climate change, digitization, herbarium, laminar characters, web accessible interface

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Authors: S. Grinnell

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A PhD Research Project exploring the Social Health and Well-Being Impacts associated with Hydraulic Fracturing, with an aim to produce a Best Practice Support Guidance for those anticipating dealing with planning applications or submitting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). Amid a possible global energy crisis, founded upon a number of factors, including unstable political situations, increasing world population growth, people living longer, it is perhaps inevitable that Hydraulic Fracturing (commonly referred to as ‘fracking’) will become a major player within the global long-term energy and sustainability agenda. As there is currently no best practice guidance for governing bodies the Best Practice Support Document will be targeted at a number of audiences including, consultants undertaking EIAs, Planning Officers, those commissioning EIAs Industry and interested public stakeholders. It will offer a robust, evidence-based criteria and recommendations which provide a clear narrative and consistent and shared approach to the language used along with containing an understanding of the issues identified. It is proposed that the Best Practice Support Document will also support the mitigation of health impacts identified. The Best Practice Support Document will support the newly amended Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (2011/92/EU), to be transposed into UK law by 2017. A significant amendment introduced focuses on, ‘higher level of protection to the environment and health.’ Methodology: A qualitative research methods approach is being taken with this research. It will have a number of key stages. A literature review has been undertaken and been critically reviewed and analysed. This was followed by a descriptive content analysis of a selection of international and national policies, programmes and strategies along with published Environmental Impact Assessments and associated planning guidance. In terms of data collection, a number of stakeholders were interviewed as well as a number of focus groups of local community groups potentially affected by fracking. These were determined from across the UK. A theme analysis of all the data collected and the literature review will be undertaken, using NVivo. Best Practice Supporting Document will be developed based on the outcomes of the analysis and be tested and piloted in the professional fields, before a live launch. Concluding statement: Whilst fracking is not a new concept, the technology is now driving a new force behind the use of this engineering to supply fuels. A number of countries have pledged moratoria on fracking until further investigation from the impacts on health have been explored, whilst other countries including Poland and the UK are pushing to support the use of fracking. If this should be the case, it will be important that the public’s concerns, perceptions, fears and objections regarding the wider social health and well-being impacts are considered along with the more traditional biomedical health impacts.

Keywords: fracking, hydraulic fracturing, socio-economic health, well-being

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Authors: André Augusto Ceballos Melo

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Design to facilitate the recognition of congruent prosthetic movements, context-to-motion translations guided by image, verbal prompt, users nonverbal communication such as facial expressions, gestures, paralinguistics, scene context, and object recognition contributes to this process though it can also be applied to other tasks, such as walking, Prosthetic limbs as assistive technology through gestures, sound codes, signs, facial, body expressions, and scene context The context-to-motion model is a machine learning approach that is designed to improve the control and dexterity of prosthetic limbs. It works by using sensory input from the prosthetic limb to learn about the dynamics of the environment and then using this information to generate smooth, stable movements. This can help to improve the performance of the prosthetic limb and make it easier for the user to perform a wide range of tasks. There are several key benefits to using the context-to-motion model for prosthetic limb control. First, it can help to improve the naturalness and smoothness of prosthetic limb movements, which can make them more comfortable and easier to use for the user. Second, it can help to improve the accuracy and precision of prosthetic limb movements, which can be particularly useful for tasks that require fine motor control. Finally, the context-to-motion model can be trained using a variety of different sensory inputs, which makes it adaptable to a wide range of prosthetic limb designs and environments. Stable diffusion is a machine learning method that can be used to improve the control and stability of movements in robotic and prosthetic systems. It works by using sensory feedback to learn about the dynamics of the environment and then using this information to generate smooth, stable movements. One key aspect of stable diffusion is that it is designed to be robust to noise and uncertainty in the sensory feedback. This means that it can continue to produce stable, smooth movements even when the sensory data is noisy or unreliable. To implement stable diffusion in a robotic or prosthetic system, it is typically necessary to first collect a dataset of examples of the desired movements. This dataset can then be used to train a machine learning model to predict the appropriate control inputs for a given set of sensory observations. Once the model has been trained, it can be used to control the robotic or prosthetic system in real-time. The model receives sensory input from the system and uses it to generate control signals that drive the motors or actuators responsible for moving the system. Overall, the use of the context-to-motion model has the potential to significantly improve the dexterity and performance of prosthetic limbs, making them more useful and effective for a wide range of users Hand Gesture Body Language Influence Communication to social interaction, offering a possibility for users to maximize their quality of life, social interaction, and gesture communication.

Keywords: stable diffusion, neural interface, smart prosthetic, augmenting

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Authors: Suresh B. Shinde

Abstract:

The present paper examined the selective fictional works of the Indian writers in the Marathi language which reflects the gradual erosion of sexual repression of modern women characters. Furthermore, the study employed the attitudinal survey method to counter check the fictional reality of the Indian women in real life in the modern era. The Indian writers in an early stage from the pre and post-independence period pictured the women characters such as sexually suppressed and adherence to male sexual dominance. Gangadhar Gadgil a ‘Sahitya Akademi’ award winner writer in his story ‘Ek Manus’ shown that a husband, abnormally exploited her wife. G. A. Kulkarni a ‘Sahitya Akademi’ award winner writer shown that a young lady character suppressed her proposal of marriage with she loved due to the social pressure and conventions. Arvind Gokhale and Kamal Desai have also pictured lady characters who suppressed their sexual urges even they were highly educated. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, the trends of Marathi literature is dramatically changed accordingly the women fictions. Gouri Deshpande, the popular story writer, penetrates modern woman very clearly. Two lady characters are living happily together accepting revolts of society for a sexual relationship. Meghna Pethe, another well-known writer in her story, depicts a women character who was lived with her friend as live-in-relationship and enjoying the erotic sex. How so far, it was seen that the pre and post-independence women fictions are gradually changed regarding her sexually urges. This reality leads to design the survey research design in which 100 college girls and 100 middle-aged women were surveyed with sexual attitude scale and feminist identity test. It was hypothesized that the today's college girls would higher on sexual attitude and feminist identity than middle-aged women. Moreover, it was also assumed that sexual attitude and feminist identity would have a strong positive correlation. The obtained data analyzed through Students’ test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The results reveal that the today's college girls are having a high level of sexual attitude and feminist identity than middle-aged women. Results also reveal that sexual attitude and feminist identity have a strongest positive correlation. How so far the survey research has provided the reality ground to the modern women in Indian fictions in Marathi literature. The findings of the research have been discussed accordingly the gender equality as well as psychological perspectives.

Keywords: sexual repression, women in Indian fictions, sexual attitude, feminist perspectives

Procedia PDF Downloads 310