Search results for: human rights violations

Authors: Amir Hosseinvand

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Probiotics have health-giving effects on the human body, so by stimulating the immune system, they prevent many occurrences they are diseases and food allergies in humans. There are various bacteria in the human digestive system; some are useful, some are harmless, and other groups of bacteria are harmful to human health. These bacteria should be in balance in the body of people in a normal state. In certain conditions, such as a person's high stress, aging, continuous use of antibiotics, or improper diet, the intestinal microbial flora has changed, and these changes cause some diseases in people. Probiotics have health benefits for the human body and are often found in the digestive system of healthy people. Nevertheless, fermented foods such as fermented dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, buttermilk or fermented pickles contain some species of these bacteria that are useful. But the important point that should be noted is that due to modern and industrial life, high fat and high protein diets, and excessive use of antibiotics, the number of these bacteria in people's bodies has decreased, and it is necessary to consume probiotics either in the form of probiotic foods or in the form of supplements. Probiotics with mild stimulation of the immune system increase the immunity level of the body and prevent the occurrence of food allergies in people.

Keywords: human health, dairy products, food allergies, probiotic

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Authors: Ajay Kumar Rana

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Predicting human behaviour, discerning monozygotic twins or left over remnant tissues/fluids of a single human source remains a big challenge in forensic science. Recent advances in the field of DNA methylations which are broadly chemical hallmarks in response to environmental factors can certainly help to identify and discriminate various single-source DNA samples collected from the crime scenes. In this review, cytosine methylation of DNA has been methodologically discussed with its broad applications in many challenging forensic issues like body fluid identification, race/ethnicity identification, monozygotic twins dilemma, addiction or behavioural prediction, age prediction, or even authenticity of the human DNA. With the advent of next-generation sequencing techniques, blooming of DNA methylation datasets and together with standard molecular protocols, the prospect of investigating and solving the above issues and extracting the exact nature of the truth for reconstructing the crime scene events would be undoubtedly helpful in defending and solving the critical crime cases.

Keywords: DNA methylation, differentially methylated regions, human identification, forensics

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Authors: Jimoh Yusuf Amuda

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Human security is a great panacea for sustainable development of world societies. Today the whole globe cum human species is living in nightmares of insecurity. This is due to acts of terrorism by various terrorists’ organization worldwide. The situation is on the increase daily. The number of lives and properties lost to religious insurgency cannot be quantifiably analyzed. It is on this note that this paper examine the book haram menace in northern Nigerian vis-à-vis it’s threat to the existence of human lives. The methodology applied for this research is the multi-disciplinary approach, the use journal articles, news papers, magazines, oral interview. Field trips to areas of terrorist attack and the use of text books. The following recommendations were made base on the findings. First of all the Nigerian government should declare total war on the book haram terrorist, then secondly the source of armament coming to this terrorist should be blocked, thirdly the European world should also place an arms embargo on terrorist source arms demands, also security agencies-police, the military, immigration, customs, state security service should work hand-in-hand, in a security tight measures to reduce the penetration of insurgent into the society.

Keywords: human, insecurity, security, terrorism

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Authors: Lesa A. Thompson, Yoshinori Ikenaka, Victor Wepener, Mayumi Ishizuka

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One method for controlling malaria in endemic regions is the killing of vector mosquitoes using pesticides such as DDT in indoor residual spraying (IRS). This study was carried out to investigate the presence of and human health risk due to DDT and its metabolites (collectively, DDTs) contaminating human food sources in areas where DDT is used for IRS. Free-range chicken products (meat and eggs) were collected from homesteads in KwaZulu-Natal Province in the northeast of South Africa, and fish meat samples from Maputo Bay in neighbouring Mozambique. Samples were analysed for DDTs (o,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDT, o,p’-DDD, p,p’-DDD, o,p’-DDE and p,p’-DDE) using a gas chromatograph with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). DDTs were detected in all food types, with the predominant congener being p,p’-DDE. The presence of p,p’-DDT confirmed recent release of DDT into the environment. By using concentration levels detected in foods and national consumption levels, the risk to human health through consumption of such food products was calculated. In order of risk level, these were: chicken eggs > chicken meat > fish meat. Human risk (carcinogenic) values greater than one suggest there is an increased health risk through consumption of these foods.

Keywords: DDT, food contamination, human health risk, Mozambique, South Africa

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Authors: Abdelkadir Muzey Mohammed, Habtu Alemayehu Atsbaha, Yohannes Yirga Kefela, Woldegebriel Assefa Woldegerima, Kiros Tedla Gebrehiwot

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The circumstances of war and conflict have long been associated with concerns about heightening HIV infection due to the use of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war and lack of health services access to the patients with HIV as well as sexual violence and rape victims. This paper examines the impact of war related mass rape on HIV incidence and prevalence in the war ravaged Tigray, Ethiopia. Risk equation model and uncertainty analyses with sampled ranges of parameters were employed using data from WHO, Ethiopian Public Health Institute and Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency was used. Our analysis indicated that the mass rape committed in Tigray could cause an increase of incidence and prevalence by a median of 63.01% and 1.14% respectively. The significant increase in HIV incidence and prevalence due to mass rape demands a special attention including region wide improved surveillance and tracing of rape survivors. Furthermore, HIV prevention and treatment strategies such as delivery of emergency health service, providing pre and post exposure treatments on the basis of human rights should priority of governmental and nongovernmental organizations in a conflict situation.

Keywords: conflict situation, mass rape, HIV, mathematical model, uncertainty analysis

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Authors: M. Yoneda

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It is known that stationary human occupants act as dynamic mass-spring-damper systems and can change the modal properties of civil engineering structures. This paper describes the full scale measurement to explain the tuned mass damper effects of stationary people on structural damping of footbridge with center span length of 33 m. A human body can be represented by a lumped system consisting of masses, springs, and dashpots. Complex eigenvalue calculation is also conducted by using ISO5982:1981 human model (two degree of freedom system). Based on experimental and analytical results for the footbridge with the stationary people in the standing position, it is demonstrated that stationary people behave as a tuned mass damper and that ISO5982:1981 human model can explain the structural damping characteristics measured in the field.

Keywords: dynamic interaction, footbridge, stationary people, structural damping

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Authors: F. L. Bernardo, R. A. S. Zacarias

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The ways to translate are manifold since textual genres undergoing translations are diverse. In this essay, our goal is to give special attention to the literary genre and to the online translation tool Google Translate (GT), widely used either by nonprofessionals or by scholars, in order to show evidence of the indispensability of human wit in a good translation. Our study has its basis on a literary review of prominent authors, with emphasis on translation categories. Also highlighting the issue of polysemous literary translation, we aim to shed light on the translator’s craft and the fallible nature of online translation. To better illustrate these principles, the methodology consisted on performing a comparative analysis involving the original text Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe in English to its online translation given by GT and to a translation into Brazilian Portuguese performed by a human. We proceeded to identifying and analyzing the degrees of textual equivalence according to the following categories: volume, levels and order. The results have attested the unsuitability in a translation done by a computer connected to the World Wide Web.

Keywords: Google Translator, human translation, literary translation, Moll Flanders

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Authors: S. O. Oyamakin, A. U. Chukwu

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Richard's growth equation being a generalized logistic growth equation was improved upon by introducing an allometric parameter using the hyperbolic sine function. The integral solution to this was called hyperbolic Richard's growth model having transformed the solution from deterministic to a stochastic growth model. Its ability in model prediction was compared with the classical Richard's growth model an approach which mimicked the natural variability of heights/diameter increment with respect to age and therefore provides a more realistic height/diameter predictions using the coefficient of determination (R2), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Square Error (MSE) results. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Shapiro-Wilk test was also used to test the behavior of the error term for possible violations. The mean function of top height/Dbh over age using the two models under study predicted closely the observed values of top height/Dbh in the hyperbolic Richard's nonlinear growth models better than the classical Richard's growth model.

Keywords: height, Dbh, forest, Pinus caribaea, hyperbolic, Richard's, stochastic

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Authors: Peter Pfeifer, Julian Pfeifer, Niko Pfeifer

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Information processing is the focus of brain and cognition research. This work has a different perspective; it starts with behaviors. The detailed analysis of behaviors leads to the discovery that a significant proportion of them are based on only five basic drives. These basic drives are combinable, and the combinations result in the diversity of human behavior and thinking. The key elements are drive memories. They collect memories of drive-related situations and feelings. They contain variations of basic drives in numerous areas of life and build combinations with different meanings depending on the area. Human thinking could be explained with variations on these nested combinations of basic drives.

Keywords: cognition, psycholinguistics, psychology, psychophysiology of cognition

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Authors: Marvin R. Tenecio

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The analysis of "religious resistance" has been prevalent in Asian and Philippine studies. Discussions on religious resistance from a variety of perspectives are deemed as crucial turning points in the concept's ongoing development and expansion. By broadening the backdrop of religious protest between the early 1960s and the late 1980s, the researchers contend that a study examining the role carried by the Catholic Church in the upheavals against dictatorships in South Korea and the Philippines would be beneficial to the body of knowledge. This study examines a variety of historical writings about the activities occurring at that time. The researchers also compare and contrast the Catholic Church's contributions to the Korean and Philippine resistance against Park Chung-Hee and Ferdinand Marcos Sr., respectively, during the early 1960s until the late 1980s, using the lens of history from below, particularly the Pasyon and Revolution. The Catholic Church stood out against human rights abuses, promoted social justice, and mobilized the public for political reform in response to the dictatorships in South Korea and the Philippines. Even though the specific circumstances and personalities may have changed, the Church's position in both countries was vital in opposing authoritarian governments and supporting democratic movements.

Keywords: resistance, movements, catholic, church, dictatorship

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Authors: Ekta Pandey

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The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry is ranked third largest by volume and fourteenth by value. It thus accounts for 10% of world’s production by volume and 1.5% by value according to Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India. The industry has shown phenomenal growth over past few years, moving from US $ 1 billion turnover in 1990 to a turnover of around US $30 billion in 2015. The Indian pharmaceutical sector is ranked seventeenth in terms of export value of active pharmaceutical ingredients and dosage forms to more than 200 countries around the globe. It has shown tremendous changes especially after Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. Recognizing the immense potential for growth and its direct impact on Indian economy, it is important to look up the industrial policies adopted since Indian independence which turnaround the Indian pharmaceutical industry. A systematic review of changes in market structure of Indian pharmaceutical industry due to shift in policy regimes is done from 1850 to 2015 using secondary peer reviewed published research work. The aim is to understand the impact of anti-trust laws, intellectual property rights, industry competition acts and regulations are quite crucial in determining effective economic policy and have overall lasting effects on international trade and ties. The proposed paper examines the position of Indian domestic firms relative to multinational pharmaceutical firms tries to throw some light on the growth curve of Indian pharmaceutical sector.

Keywords: active pharmaceutical ingredients, competition act, pharmaceutical industry, TRIPS

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Authors: Tingirtu Gebretsadik

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This study aimed at explaining factors behind the ever increasing individualization over pastoral commons land and assesses the implication of the current change in property-ownership and land use system on the livelihoods of the Guji agro-pastoral system. Thus, three kebeles of Ana Sora woreda were selected for they conventionally appear to accommodate farming, pastoral and agro-pastoral systems. The survey method was employed to gather information on the major socio-economic condition of households. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were also held in all the three kebele. The empirical results were interpreted by integrating institutional, livelihood and adaptation frameworks. In this study individualization of ownership of pastoral commons manifested in the form of fenced closures is on the rise among the Guji and it has been adopted as the outcome of a long run process. Factors related to ecology and rangeland degradation, socio-economic changes, land registration and certification has allowed the increasing engagement in fencing commons grazing land for individual use. Consequently, the Guji pastoral system of production demonstrated a declining trend, and are adapting to alternative livelihood strategies. Moreover, farming and other developments have facilitated pastoral land losses and land use claims and tenure ambiguities.

Keywords: land tenure, traditional institutions, property rights, fenced plots

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Authors: Nizar Mansour, Chiha Gaha, Emna Gara

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The present research investigates the relationship among HRM practices, knowledge sharing behavior and a certain number of intermediary variables in the context of Tunisian knowledge-intensive firms. Results suggest that five HR practices influence either directly or indirectly the knowledge sharing behavior through enhancing the value of human capital and fostering a learning-oriented organizational climate. Results have strong theoretical implications for both the fields of knowledge management and strategic human resource management. Managerial implications are also derived.

Keywords: human capital, knowledge intensive firms, knowledge sharing, organizational climate, Tunisia

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Authors: Leon C. Prieto, Simone T. A. Phipps

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There is a need to promote social entrepreneurship in order to solve some of the complex problems facing various countries in Africa (poverty, unemployment, crime, HIV, etc.). For example, one possible consequence of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Zimbabwe and elsewhere is a deterioration in the educational opportunities for orphans and other vulnerable children. Given that high returns are associated with education, the loss of education for a large segment of the population would likely worsen the already dire economic consequences of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Using a systems approach, this paper argues that social entrepreneurship can be used as a vehicle to promote national human resource development, which will assist in the alleviation of societal ills on the national level as well as throughout Africa.

Keywords: human resource development, pan-african, social entrepreneurship, social enterprise

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Authors: Ulemu Maseko

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This research is a critical assessment of the empowerment of Muslim women in Malawi. The study assessed, evaluated, and analyzed how the Muslim Women Organization (MWO) has influenced gender equality and women empowerment in different Islamic communities. In analyzing the data collected for this research, the study has examined the following topics: The way MWO has interpreted Islamic women’s rights, the various stereotypes Muslim women face, and lastly, the factors contributing to the limitation of Muslim women’s rights in Malawi. Towards this analysis, the study revealed that women groups such as MWO are crucial in understanding Muslim women and the different dynamics related to their empowerment. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how Muslim women comprehend various Islamic sources and how they link religion to their position and participation in society. To achieve the scope of this study, relevant works of literature that best described Islam in Malawi, Muslim women groups, and women empowerment in Malawi were used, coupled with a qualitative research approach that involved interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observations. In addition, phenomenology and feminist theoretical frameworks were used to examine and analyze the findings. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that MWO is a significant body for gender equality and women empowerment initiatives in the Malawian Islamic community. Since its establishment in 1985 till the time of this study, MWO has been an imperative driving force towards an Islamic women’s discourse that uses Islamic teachings, faith, policies, and practices to justify the role of the Muslim woman in society. This has been enlightening for their platform and has given them more confidence to justify the empowerment of Muslim women and support different initiatives towards social change.

Keywords: Islam, women, empowerment, Malawi

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Authors: Sean Roy, Mercedes Miller

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A study was conducted to assess the positive outcomes related to Filipino human trafficking survivors working at a social enterprise. As most existing research on human survivors pertains to the adverse outcomes of victims, the researchers were seeking to fill the dearth of existing data related to positive outcomes. A quantitative study was conducted using a convenience sample of 41 participants within three staggered cohorts of the social enterprise. A Kruskal-Wallis H test was conducted and indicated that participants in the third cohort (who were employed at the social enterprise the longest) had significantly lower anxiety scores than participants in other cohorts. This study indicates that social enterprises hold the promise of positively impacting anxiety of human trafficking survivors and provides a starting point for researchers looking to assess ways to positively influence the lives of survivors.

Keywords: human trafficking, Philippines, quantitative analysis, self-identity

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Authors: Gideon Ndubuisi

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It is widely acknowledged that the quality of a country’s export matters more decisively than the quantity it exports. Hence, understanding the drivers of exported goods’ quality is a relevant policy question. Among other things, product quality upgrading is a considerable cost uncertainty venture that can be undertaken by an entrepreneur. Once a product is successfully upgraded, however, others can imitate the product, and hence, the returns to the pioneer entrepreneur are socialized. Along with this line, a government policy such as intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection which lessens the non-appropriability problem and incentivizes cost discovery investments becomes both a panacea in addressing the market failure and a sine qua non for an entrepreneur to engage in product quality upgrading. In addendum, product quality upgrading involves complex tasks which often require a lot of knowledge and technology sharing beyond the bounds of the firm thereby creating rooms for knowledge spillovers and imitations. Without an institution that protects upstream suppliers of knowledge and technology, technology masking occurs which bids up marginal production cost and product quality fall. Despite these clear associations between IPRs and product quality upgrading, the surging literature on the drivers of the quality of exported goods has proceeded almost in isolation of IPRs protection as a determinant. Consequently, the current study uses a difference-in-difference method to evaluate the effects of IPRs reforms on the quality of exported goods in 16 developing countries over the sample periods of 1984-2000. The study finds weak evidence that IPRs reforms increase the quality of all exported goods. When the industries are sorted into high and low-patent sensitive industries, however, we find strong indicative evidence that IPRs reform increases the quality of exported goods in high-patent sensitive sectors both in absolute terms and relative to the low-patent sensitive sectors in the post-reform period. We also obtain strong indicative evidence that it brought the quality of exported goods in the high-patent sensitive sectors closer to the quality frontier. Accounting for time-duration effects, these observed effects grow over time. The results are also largely consistent when we consider the sophistication and complexity of exported goods rather than just quality upgrades.

Keywords: exports, export quality, export sophistication, intellectual property rights

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Authors: Ni'mal Baroya, Andrei Ramani, Irma Prasetyowati

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The access to reproduction health services, including with safe and effective contraception were human rights regardless of social stratum and residence. In addition to individual factors, family and contextual factors were also believed to be the cause in the use of contraceptive methods. This study aimed to assess the determinants of long-term contraceptive methods (LTCM) by considering all the factors at either the individual level or contextual level. Thereby, this study could provide basic information for program development of prevalence enhancement of MKJP in East Java. The research, which used cross-sectional design, utilized Riskesdas 2013 data, particularly in East Java Province for further analysis about multilevel modeling of MKJP application. The sample of this study consisted of 20.601 married women who were not in pregnant that were drawn by using probability sampling following the sampling technique of Riskesdas 2013. Variables in this study were including the independent variables at the individual level that consisted of education, age, occupation, access to family planning services (KB), economic status and residence. As independent variables in district level were the Human Development Index (HDI, henceforth as IPM) in each districts of East Java Province, the ratio of field officers, the ratio of midwives, the ratio of community health centers and the ratio of doctors. As for the dependent variable was the use of Long-Term Contraceptive Method (LTCM or MKJP). The data were analyzed by using chi-square test and Pearson product moment correlation. The multivariable analysis was using multilevel logistic regression with 95% of Confidence Interval (CI) at the significance level of p < 0.05 and 80% of strength test. The results showed a low CPR LTCM was concentrated in districts in Madura Island and the north coast. The women which were 25 to 35 or more than 35 years old, at least high school education, working, and middle-class social status were more likely to use LTCM or MKJP. The IPM and low PLKB ratio had implications for poor CPR LTCM / MKJP.

Keywords: multilevel, long-term contraceptive methods, east java, contextual factor

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Authors: Divyanshi Singh

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Women’s right to have choices, sense of self-worth and their right to have access to opportunities have been a subject of serious concern. The health of women and their children in Indian society is adversely affected by the woman’s inferior status within households. The level of human development in society is a reflection of the better status of a woman, which has a clear impact on the usage of contraceptive methods and maternal health. The study is an attempt to assess the performance of Indian states on the parameters of levels of development and to see how the developmental trajectory is influencing the choice for contraception and maternal health. The objective of the paper is to study the relationship between usage of contraception, maternal health and levels of human development in Indian states. Data from NFHS-4th round, AHS (2012-13) and census 2011 is used. Three indicators of human development (effective literacy, infant mortality and gross district domestic product) have been taken. Maternal health for the study has been measured in MMR, IMR and pregnancy resulted in abortions, stillbirths and miscarriage. The multiple regression analysis has been done to analyze the relationship between them. The Developmental factor is found to be greatly influencing the choice of family planning and thus they both show strong relation with maternal health.

Keywords: human development, contraceptive usage, maternal health, effective literacy

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Authors: Ashish Kumar, Kaptan Singh, Amit Saxena

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Today, it is believed that crimes have the greatest impact on a person's ability to progress financially and personally. Identifying places where individuals shouldn't go is crucial for preventing crimes and is one of the key considerations. As society and technologies have advanced significantly, so have crimes and the harm they wreak. When there is a concentration of people in one place and changes happen quickly, it is even harder to prevent. Because of this, many crime prevention strategies have been embraced as a component of the development of smart cities in numerous cities. However, crimes can occur anywhere; all that is required is to identify the pattern of their occurrences, which will help to lower the crime rate. In this paper, an analysis related to crime has been done; information related to crimes is collected from all over India that can be accessed from anywhere. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between several factors and India's crime rate. The review has covered information related to every state of India and their associated regions of the period going in between 2001- 2014. However various classes of violations have a marginally unique scope over the years.

Keywords: K-nearest neighbor, random forest, decision tree, pre-processing

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Authors: Sina Mahdavi

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive inflammatory autoimmune disease of the CNS that affects the myelination process in the central nervous system (CNS). Complex interactions of various "environmental or infectious" factors may act as triggers in autoimmunity and disease progression. The association between viral infections, especially human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and MS is one potential cause that is not well understood. This study aims to summarize the available data on human HIV infection in MS disease progression. In this study, the keywords "Multiple sclerosis", "Human immunodeficiency virus ", and "Central nervous system" in the databases PubMed, and Google Scholar between 2017 and 2022 were searched and 15 articles were chosen, studied, and analyzed. Revealed histologic signs of "MS-like illness" in the setting of HIV, which comprised widespread demyelination with reactive astrocytes, foamy macrophages, and perivascular infiltration with inflammatory cells, all of which are compatible with MS lesions. Human immunodeficiency virus causes dysfunction of the immune system, especially characterized by hypergammaglobulinemia and chronic activation of B cells. Activation of B cells leads to increased synthesis of immunoglobulin and finally to an excess of free light chains. Free light chains may be involved in autoimmune responses against neurons. There is a high expression of HIV during the course of MS, which indicates the relationship between HIV and MS, that this virus can play a role in the development of MS by creating an inflammatory state. Therefore, measures to modulate the expression of HIV may be effective in reducing inflammatory processes in demyelinated areas of MS patients.

Keywords: multiple sclerosis, human immunodeficiency virus, central nervous system, autoimmunity

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Authors: Umulisa Linda, Andy Cons Matata

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The origin of legal feminism can be attributed to an attempt to provide a safe space for women such as voting, parental, and inheritance rights, among others. It was also a rebellion against male supremacy. However, with the development of technology and especially in the era of the internet, it appears that both legal feminism and the modernism are losing their luster. While these movements had their origin either in the United States of America or western Europe, their impacts have been felt as far as Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In Africa, different countries have different levels of penetration of these movements. This study, therefore, had its focus on how legal feminism and modernism have influenced legal developments in Kenya and Rwanda. The study adopted a qualitative approach with the respondents being asked about their feelings and perceptions on how the two movements had affected legal developments in their countries. In order to gauge the opinion of different categories of people such as the youth, middle-aged and the elderly people as well as being gender-sensitive, the study adopted a purpose method of sampling. The questionnaires and the focus group discussions were employed as the main tools for data gathering. From the questionnaires, the focus group discussions, and the data analysis that followed, the study concluded that both legal feminism and modernity had penetrated the legal systems of both Kenya and Rwanda so deeply. The study further found that the proponents of the two movements were mostly urban based and educated women. The men were generally opposed to the movements.

Keywords: legal development, legal feminsim, modernism, voting, parental and inheritance rights

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Authors: Adekeye Joshua Temitope

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“Transgender” presents a complexion of ambiguity in the African context and it remains a contested topography in the discourse of sexual identity. The casts and stigmatisations towards transgender unveils vital facts and intricacies often ignored in the academic communities; the problems and oppressions of given sex/gender system, the constrain of monogamy and ignorance of fluidity of human sexuality thereby generating dual discords of “enforced heterosexual” and “unavoidable homosexual.” The African culture voids transgender movements and perceive same-sex sexual behavior as “taboo or bad habits” and this provide reasonable explanations for the failure of asserting for the sexual rights in GLBT movement in most discourse on sexuality in the African context. However, we could not deny the real existence of active flowing and fluidity of human sexuality even though its variants could be latent. The incessant consciousness of the existence of transgender practices in Africa either in form of bisexual desire or bisexual behavior with or without sexual identity, including people who identify themselves as bisexual opens up the vision for us to reconsider and reexamine what constitutes such ambiguity and controversy of transgender identity at present time. The notion of identity politics in gay, lesbian, and transgender community has its complexity and debates in its historical development. This paper analyses the representation of the historical trajectory of transgender practices by presenting the dynamic transition of how people cognize transgender practices under different historical conditions since the understanding of historical transition of bisexual practices would be very crucial and meaningful for gender/sexuality liberation movement at present time and in the future. The paper did a juxtaposition of the trajectories of bisexual practices between Anglo-American world and Africa, as it has certain similarities and differences within diverse historical complexities. The similar condition is the emergence of gay identity under the influence of capitalism but within different cultural context. Therefore, the political economy of each cultural context plays very important role in understanding the formation of sexual identities historically and its development and influence for the GLBT movement afterwards and in the future. By reexamining Kinsey’s categorization and applying Klein’s argument on individual’s sexual orientation this paper is poised to break the given and fixed connection among sexual behavior/sexual orientation/sexual identity, on the other hand to present the potential fluidity of human sexuality by reconsidering and reexamining the present given sex/gender system in our world. The paper concludes that it is obligatory for the essentialist and exclusionary trend at this historical moment since gay and lesbian communities in Africa need to clearly demonstrate and voice for themselves under the nuances of gender/sexuality liberation.

Keywords: heterosexual, homosexual, identity politics, queer politics, transgender

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Authors: Samuel Oluwafemi Oyamakin, Angela Unna Chukwu

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Richrads growth equation being a generalized logistic growth equation was improved upon by introducing an allometric parameter using the hyperbolic sine function. The integral solution to this was called hyperbolic Richards growth model having transformed the solution from deterministic to a stochastic growth model. Its ability in model prediction was compared with the classical Richards growth model an approach which mimicked the natural variability of heights/diameter increment with respect to age and therefore provides a more realistic height/diameter predictions using the coefficient of determination (R2), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Square Error (MSE) results. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Shapiro-Wilk test was also used to test the behavior of the error term for possible violations. The mean function of top height/Dbh over age using the two models under study predicted closely the observed values of top height/Dbh in the hyperbolic Richards nonlinear growth models better than the classical Richards growth model.

Keywords: height, diameter at breast height, DBH, hyperbolic sine function, Pinus caribaea, Richards' growth model

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Authors: Crescentia Ugwuona

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Considering the importance of proverbs in socio-cultural life through socialization in any given society, it is deemed important for people to understand the hidden meanings that proverbs may convey. So far, there has been hardly any systematic research in the representation of different genders in Nigeria. Although there are writings on the representation of women in Nigerian proverbs, they are based on the writers’ introspection. Beyond that, investigators often tend to overlook the representations of men in proverbs. This study therefore explores from the perspective of sociolinguistics and critical discourse analysis (CDA) how different genders (men and women) are represented in Nigerian proverbs with particular reference to Igbo-Nigerians; with the aim of uncovering hidden gender inequalities that exist in them. The analysis reveals that Igbo proverbs consistently perpetuate an ideology of gender inequality, that is, male proverbs depict male achievements, power, bravery, and male supremacy; while that of female connotes their submissions to cultural and traditional female domestic roles, chastity, less competent, and women subjugation. The study alerts to how gendered language in proverbs can reflect, create, and sustain gender inequality in societies; and contributes to an education aimed at gender equality, emancipator practice of appropriate language in proverbs, respect for human rights; and of the need to develop strategies for addressing the problem.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, gender representation, gender stereotypes, Igbo-Nigerian, sociolinguistics analysis, proverbs

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Authors: Vilasinee Jintalikhitdee, Saowapa Phaithayawat

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The research on “The Way of Life of the Civil Servant Community under the Bureau of the Royal Household” aims to study 1) the way of life of the people who live in the civil servant community in Tha Wasukri, and 2) the model of community administration of civil servants under the Bureau of the Royal Household. This research is conducted qualitatively and quantitatively by collecting data from interviews, focus group discussion, participant and non-participant observation along with the data from the questionnaire based on age groups which include elder group, working age group and youth group. The result of the research shows that the origin of this community is related to the history during the Rama V’s reign. It has been a harbor for the king to boat in any royal ceremonies; this custom is still maintained until today. The status or position of person who serves the king in terms of working is often inherited from the bureau of the Royal Household based on his/her consanguinity and, hence, further receives the rights to live in the Tha Wasukri area. Therefore, this community has some special characteristics demonstrating the way of living influenced by the regulation of the Bureau of the Royal Household such as respecting elders and interdependence in which there is internal social organization with the practice of bureaucracy in going in and out the community. The person who has rights to live here must be friendly to everybody so that this community will be a safe place for lives and property. The administration based on the model of Bangkok for local administration was used as an external structure only, but the way of living still follows the practice of the Bureau of the Royal Household.

Keywords: way of life, community, Tha Wasukri, Bureau of the Royal Household

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Authors: Jessica Ho

Abstract:

AI has helped government, businesses and industries transform the way they do things. AI is used in automating tasks to improve decision-making and efficiency. AI is embedded in sensors and used in automation to help save time and eliminate human errors in repetitive tasks. Today, we saw the growth in AI using the collection of vast amounts of data to forecast with greater accuracy, inform decision-making, adapt to changing market conditions and offer more personalised service based on consumer habits and preferences. Government around the world share the opportunity to leverage these disruptive technologies to improve productivity while reducing costs. In addition, these intelligent solutions can also help streamline government processes to deliver more seamless and intuitive user experiences for employees and citizens. This is a critical challenge for NSW Government as we are unable to determine the risk that is brought by the unprecedented pace of adoption of AI solutions in government. Government agencies must ensure that their use of AI complies with relevant laws and regulatory requirements, including those related to data privacy and security. Furthermore, there will always be ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI, such as the potential for bias, intellectual property rights and its impact on job security. Within NSW’s public sector, agencies are already testing AI for crowd control, infrastructure management, fraud compliance, public safety, transport, and police surveillance. Citizens are also attracted to the ease of use and accessibility of AI solutions without requiring specialised technical skills. This increased accessibility also comes with balancing a higher risk and exposure to the health and safety of citizens. On the other side, public agencies struggle with keeping up with this pace while minimising risks, but the low entry cost and open-source nature of generative AI led to a rapid increase in the development of AI powered apps organically – “There is an AI for That” in Government. Other challenges include the fact that there appeared to be no legislative provisions that expressly authorise the NSW Government to use an AI to make decision. On the global stage, there were too many actors in the regulatory space, and a sovereign response is needed to minimise multiplicity and regulatory burden. Therefore, traditional corporate risk and governance framework and regulation and legislation frameworks will need to be evaluated for AI unique challenges due to their rapidly evolving nature, ethical considerations, and heightened regulatory scrutiny impacting the safety of consumers and increased risks for Government. Creating an effective, efficient NSW Government’s governance regime, adapted to the range of different approaches to the applications of AI, is not a mere matter of overcoming technical challenges. Technologies have a wide range of social effects on our surroundings and behaviours. There is compelling evidence to show that Australia's sustained social and economic advancement depends on AI's ability to spur economic growth, boost productivity, and address a wide range of societal and political issues. AI may also inflict significant damage. If such harm is not addressed, the public's confidence in this kind of innovation will be weakened. This paper suggests several AI regulatory approaches for consideration that is forward-looking and agile while simultaneously fostering innovation and human rights. The anticipated outcome is to ensure that NSW Government matches the rising levels of innovation in AI technologies with the appropriate and balanced innovation in AI governance.

Keywords: artificial inteligence, machine learning, rules, governance, government

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Authors: Elizabeta Krstić Vukelja

Abstract:

Digitization of personal data is a consequence of the development of information and communication technologies that create a new work environment with many advantages and challenges, but also potential threats to privacy and personal data protection. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council is becoming a law and obligation that should address the issues of personal data protection and information security. The existence of the Regulation leads to the conclusion that national legislation in the field of virtual environment, protection of the rights of EU citizens and processing of their personal data is insufficiently effective. In the health system, special emphasis is placed on the processing of special categories of personal data, such as health data. The healthcare industry is recognized as a particularly sensitive area in which a large amount of medical data is processed, the digitization of which enables quick access and quick identification of the health insured. The protection of the individual requires quality IT solutions that guarantee the technical protection of personal categories. However, the real problems are the technical and human nature and the spatial limitations of the application of the Regulation. Some conclusions will be drawn by analyzing the implementation of the basic principles of the Regulation on the example of the Croatian health care system and comparing it with similar activities in other EU member states.

Keywords: regulation, healthcare system, personal dana protection, quality data assurance

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Authors: Alexander Scott English, Yilin Ma, Xiaoying Liu

Abstract:

The widespread use of artificial intelligence in everyday life has triggered a fervent discussion covering a wide range of areas. However, to date, research on the influence of gender in various segments and factors from a social science perspective is still limited. This study aims to explore whether there are gender differences in human trust in AI for its application in basic everyday life and correlates with human perceived similarity, perceived emotions (including competence and warmth), and attractiveness. We conducted a study involving 321 participants using a two-subject experimental design with a two-factor (masculinized vs. feminized voice of the AI) multiplied by a two-factor (pitch level of the AI's voice) between-subject experimental design. Four contexts were created for the study and randomly assigned. The results of the study showed significant gender differences in perceived similarity, trust, and perceived emotion of the AIs, with females rating them significantly higher than males. Trust was higher in relation to AIs presenting the same gender (e.g., human female to female AI, human male to male AI). Mediation modeling tests indicated that emotion perception and similarity played a sufficiently mediating role in trust. Notably, although trust in AIs was strongly correlated with human gender, there was no significant effect on the gender of the AI. In addition, the study discusses the effects of subjects' age, job search experience, and job type on the findings.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, gender differences, human-robot trust, mediation modeling

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Authors: Nirmala Gopal, Sheetal Bhoola, Audecious Mugwagwa

Abstract:

This paper discusses the continued infringement and exploitation of data by non-state actors for destructive purposes, emphasizing radical terrorist organizations. It will discuss how terrorist organizations access and use data to foster their nefarious agendas. It further examines how cybersecurity, designed as a tool to curb data exploitation, is ineffective in raising global citizens' concerns about how their data can be kept safe and used for its acquired purpose. The study interrogates several policies and data protection instruments, such as the Data Protection Act, Cyber Security Policies, Protection of Personal Information(PPI) and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), to understand data use and storage in democratic states. The study outcomes point to the fact that international cybersecurity and cybercrime legislation, policies, and conventions have not curbed violations of data access and use by radical terrorist groups. The study recommends ways to enhance cybersecurity and reduce cyber risks using democratic principles.

Keywords: cybersecurity, data exploitation, terrorist organizations, data democracy

Procedia PDF Downloads 205