Search results for: fragile States

Authors: Olasunkanmi G. Jeje, John G. Laah, Eunice S. A. Jeje

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In recent times Nigeria has been bedeviled with political, religious and ethnic crises such as indigene/settler phenomena, Boko Haram etc. resulting in the emergence of internally displaced persons(IDPs), this has been a hunch on national development. Most states of the federation have had their share of one crisis or the other such as Jos, Yobe, Borno etc thereby affecting the economy of the country. These persons are uprooted from their residential locations of which they are active contributors to the national GDP. In addition, the attempt to rehabilitate them has gulped billions of naira for feeding, shelter and medicals etc., which is not adequate for such. However, the financing could have been used for projects such as capacity building and infrastructural development. Similarly, traumatic experience by this group of people is overwhelming as most of them are mainly the aged, women and children. Importantly, the active roles of youths that constitute the productive sector of the economy have also been truncated. Therefore, it is the prerogative of this research to examine the effect of IDP's on National Development and also to recommend solutions.

Keywords: development, implication, internally displaced persons, Nigeria

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Authors: Ammar Alrefaei

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The COVID-19 pandemic changed human life. The vast majority of the COVID effect was on the healthcare sector, but its impact on the global economy cannot be denied. In the field of environment, the pandemic may have a more significant impact on the environment than all environmental activity and policies of recent years. The pandemic consequences for the environment may be far more unpredictable than one might assume. In view of this, it is imperative for legislators from different states to be prepared to apply adequate measures to counteract such consequences. This article aimed to examine the obstacles to implementing effective environmental policies after the COVID-19 pandemic using different examples from different countries. Also, how adopting new initiatives, such as the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, can help policymakers and legislators adopt new laws and policies. In addition, this paper reviewed the developing dangers to environmental protection after the pandemic and analyzed the major challenges to instrument active environmental policies during COVID-19 and in the world after COVID.

Keywords: environmental policy, environment law, green initiative, COVID 19

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Authors: Hamzeh Soltanali, Abbas Rohani, A. H. S. Garmabaki, Mohammad Hossein Abbaspour-Fard, Adithya Thaduri

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Toward continuous innovation and high complexity of technological systems, the automotive manufacturing industry is also under pressure to implement adequate management strategies regarding availability and productivity. In this context, evaluation of system’s performance by considering reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) methodologies can constitute for resilient operation, identifying the bottlenecks of manufacturing process and optimization of maintenance actions. In this paper, RAM parameters are evaluated for improving the operational performance of the fluid filling process. To evaluate the RAM factors through the behavior of states defined for such process, a systematic decision framework was developed. The results of RAM analysis revealed that that the improving reliability and maintainability of main bottlenecks for each filling workstation need to be considered as a priority. The results could be useful to improve operational performance and sustainability of production process.

Keywords: automotive, performance, reliability, RAM, fluid filling process

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Authors: Lidia Sanchis-Marco, Antonio Rubia

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In this paper we analyze the state-dependent risk-spillover in different economic areas. To this end, we apply the quantile regression-based methodology developed in Adams, Füss and Gropp approach to examine the spillover in conditional tails of daily returns of indices of the banking industry in the US, BRICs, Peripheral EMU, Core EMU, Scandinavia, the UK and Emerging Markets. This methodology allow us to characterize size, direction and strength of financial contagion in a network of bilateral exposures to address cross-border vulnerabilities under different states of the economy. The general evidence shows as the spillover effects are higher and more significant in volatile periods than in tranquil ones. There is evidence of tail spillovers of which much is attributable to a spillover from the US on the rest of the analyzed regions, specially on European countries. In sharp contrast, the US banking system show more financial resilience against foreign shocks.

Keywords: spillover effects, Bank Contagion, SDSVaR, expected shortfall, VaR, expectiles

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Authors: Carlo Schick

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Legitimacy can be regarded the very fabric of political orders. Up to this point, IR scholarship was particularly interested in the legitimacy of nation-states, international regimes and of non-governmental actors. The legitimacy of collaborative governance comprising public, private and civic actors, however, has not received much attention from an IR perspective. This is partly due to the fact that the concept of legitimacy is difficult to operationalise and measure in settings where there is no clear boundary between political authorities and those who are subject to collaborative governance. In this case, legitimacy cannot be empirically approached in its own terms, but can only be analysed in terms of dialectic legitimation processes. The author develops a three-fold analytical framework based on a dialogical understanding of legitimation. Legitimation first has to relate to public legitimacy demands and contestations of collaborative governance and second to legitimacy claims issued by collaborative governance networks themselves. Lastly, collaborative governance is dependent on constant self-legitimisation. The paper closes with suggesting a discourse analytic approach to further empirical research on the legitimacy of collaborative governance.

Keywords: legitimacy, collaborative governance, discourse analysis, dialectic legitimation

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Authors: Cheyne Kirkpatrick

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In an attempt to make the university intensive English program more worthwhile for students, many English language programs are redesigning curriculum to offer for-credit English for Academic Purposes classes, sometimes marketed as “bridge” courses. These programs are designed to be accredited to national language standards, provide communicative language learning, and give students the opportunity to simultaneously earn university language credit while becoming proficient in academic English. This presentation will discuss the curriculum design of one such program in the United States at a large private university that created its own for-credit “bridge” program. The planning, development, piloting, teaching, and challenges of designing this type of curriculum will be presented along with the aspects of accreditation, communicative language learning, and integration within various university programs. Attendees will learn about how such programs are created and what types of objectives and outcomes are included in American EAP classes.

Keywords: IEP, AEP, Curriculum, CEFR, University Credit, Bridge

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Authors: E. Wairimu Mwangi, Daniel Sarpong

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Background: Access to effective antiretroviral therapy in the United States has resulted in the rise in longevity in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Despite the progress, women living with HIV (WLWH) experience increasing rates of cardiometabolic disorders compared with their HIV-negative counterparts. Studies focusing on the predictors of metabolic disorders in this population have largely focused on the composite measure of metabolic syndrome (METs). This study seeks to identify the predictors of composite and individual METs factors in a nationally representative sample of WLWH. In particular, the study also examines the role of food security in predicting METs. Methods: The study comprised 1800 women, a subset of participants from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). The primary exposure variable, food security, was measured using the U.S. 10-item Household Food Security Survey Module. The outcome measures are the five metabolic syndrome indicators (elevated blood pressure [systolic BP > 130 mmHg and diastolic BP ≥ 85 mmHg], elevated fasting glucose [≥ 110 mg/dL], elevated fasting triglyceride [≥ 150 mg/dL], reduced HDL cholesterol [< 50 mg/dL], and waist circumference > 88 cm) and the composite measure - Metabolic Syndrome (METs) Status. Each metabolic syndrome indicator was coded one if yes and 0 otherwise. The values of the five indicators were summed, and participants with a total score of 3 or greater were classified as having metabolic syndrome. Participants classified as having metabolic syndrome were assigned a code of 1 and 0 otherwise for analysis. The covariates accounted for in this study fell into sociodemographic factors and behavioral and health characteristics. Results: The participants' mean (SD) age was 47.1 (9.1) years, with 71.4% Blacks and 10.9% Whites. About a third (33.1%) had less than a high school (HS) diploma, 60.4% were married, 32.8% were employed, and 53.7% were low-income. The prevalence of worst dietary diversity, low, moderate, and high food security were 24.1%, 26.6%, 17.0%, and 56.4%, respectively. The correlate profile of the five individual METs factors plus the composite measure of METs differ significantly, with METs based on HDL having the most correlates (Age, Education, Drinking Status, Low Income, Body Mass Index, and Health Perception). Additionally, metabolic syndrome based on waist circumference was the only metabolic factor where food security was significantly correlated (Food Security, Age, and Body Mass Index). Age was a significant predictor of all five individual METs factors plus the composite METs measure. Except for METs based on Fasting Triglycerides, body mass index (BMI) was a significant correlate of the various measures of metabolic syndrome. Conclusion: High-density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol significantly correlated with most predictors. BMI was a significant predictor of all METs factors except Fasting Triglycerides. Food insecurity, the primary predictor, was only significantly associated with waist circumference.

Keywords: blood pressure, food insecurity, fasting glucose, fasting triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, metabolic syndrome, waist circumference, women living with HIV

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Authors: Pallavi Roe

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Violent crime is a significant public safety concern in urban areas across the United States, and Washington, DC, is no exception. This research discusses the prevalence and types of crime, particularly violent crime, in Washington, DC, along with the factors contributing to the high rate of violent crime in the city, including poverty, inequality, access to guns, and racial disparities. The organizations working towards ensuring safety in neighborhoods are also listed. The proposal to perform spatial and temporal analysis on violent crime and the use of guns in crime analysis is presented to identify patterns and trends to inform evidence-based interventions to reduce violent crime and improve public safety in Washington, DC. The stakeholders for crime analysis are also discussed, including law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, judges, policymakers, and the public. The anticipated result of the spatial and temporal analysis is to provide stakeholders with valuable information to make informed decisions about preventing and responding to violent crimes.

Keywords: crime analysis, spatial analysis, temporal analysis, violent crime

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Authors: Brock Decker

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Vision and hearing have been given metaphysical, epistemic, moral and aesthetic preference over the gustatory senses since the very beginnings of Western philosophy. This unjustified prejudice has directed philosophical inquiry away from taste and smell and the values and interests of those concerned with them. The metaphysical and epistemic prejudices that have hindered work in this field are confronted by accepting an oblique invitation from David Hume to pursue a gustatory aesthetics of taste. A framework for further discussion of gustatory experience is added by arguing that taste and smell are cognitively configurable senses capable of bifurcated intentionality and that the taste perception of states of affairs is influenced both by culture and personal preference. Taste perceptions are revealed to admit an aesthetic standard. Using both a Humean aesthetic and a Brillat-Savarin-inspired understanding of taste can explain and discriminate between untrained and expert aesthetic taste experiences and contribute a perspective free from traditional prejudice for future work in the aesthetics of taste.

Keywords: aesthetics, Hume, Korsmeyer, taste, Scruton

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Authors: Lishuang Ma

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Charge transfer (CT) complex, also known as Electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex, has received attentions increasingly in the field of synthetic chemistry community, due to the CT complex can absorb the visible light through the intermolecular charge transfer excited states, various of catalyst-free photochemical transformations under mild visible-light conditions. However, a number of fundamental questions are still ambiguous, such as the origin of visible light absorption, the photochemical and photophysical properties of the CT complex, as well as the detailed mechanism of the radical coupling pathways mediated by CT complex. Since these are critical factors for target-specific design and synthesis of more new-type CT complexes. To this end, theoretical investigations were performed in our group to answer these questions based on multiconfigurational perturbation theory. The photo-induced fluoroalkylation reactions are mediated by CT complexes, which are formed by the association of an acceptor of perfluoroalkyl halides RF−X (X = Br, I) and a suitable donor molecule such as β-naphtholate anion, were chosen as a paradigm example in this work. First, spectrum simulations were carried out by both CASPT2//CASSCF/PCM and TD-DFT/PCM methods. The computational results showed that the broadening spectra in visible light range (360-550nm) of the CT complexes originate from the 1(σπ*) excitation, accompanied by an intermolecular electron transfer, which was also found closely related to the aggregate states of the donor and acceptor. Moreover, from charge translocation analysis, the CT complex that showed larger charge transfer in the round state would exhibit smaller charge transfer in excited stated of 1(σπ*), causing blue shift relatively. Then, the excited-state potential energy surface (PES) was calculated at CASPT2//CASSCF(12,10)/ PCM level of theory to explore the photophysical properties of the CT complexes. The photo-induced C-X (X=I, Br) bond cleavage was found to occur in the triplet state, which is accessible through a fast intersystem crossing (ISC) process that is controlled by the strong spin-orbit coupling resulting from the heavy iodine and bromine atoms. Importantly, this rapid fragmentation process can compete and suppress the backward electron transfer (BET) event, facilitating the subsequent effective photochemical transformations. Finally, the reaction pathways of the radical coupling were also inspected, which showed that the radical chain propagation pathway could easy to accomplish with a small energy barrier no more than 3.0 kcal/mol, which is the key factor that promote the efficiency of the photochemical reactions induced by CT complexes. In conclusion, theoretical investigations were performed to explore the photophysical and photochemical properties of the CT complexes, as well as the mechanism of radical coupling reactions mediated by CT complex. The computational results and findings in this work can provide some critical insights into mechanism-based design for more new-type EDA complexes

Keywords: charge transfer complex, electron transfer, multiconfigurational perturbation theory, radical coupling

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Authors: Manuel Jose Oyson

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its most recent report for the entire world “to both mitigate and adapt to climate change if it is to effectively avoid harmful climate impacts.” The IPCC observed “with high confidence” a more rapid rise in total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions from 2000 to 2010 than in the past three decades that “were the highest in human history”, which if left unchecked will entail a continuing process of global warming and can alter the climate system. Current efforts, however, to respond to the threat of global warming, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, have focused on states, and fail to involve Transnational Corporations (TNCs) which are responsible for a vast amount of GHG emissions. Involving TNCs in the search for solutions to climate change is consistent with an acknowledgment by contemporary international law that there is an international role for other international persons, including TNCs, and departs from the traditional “state-centric” response to climate change. Putting the focus of GHG emissions away from states recognises that the activities of TNCs “are not bound by national borders” and that the international movement of goods meets the needs of consumers worldwide. Although there is no legally-binding instrument that covers TNC activities or legal responsibilities generally, TNCs have increasingly been made legally responsible under international law for violations of human rights, exploitation of workers and environmental damage, but not for climate change damage. Imposing on TNCs a legally-binding obligation to reduce their GHG emissions or a legal liability for climate change damage is arguably formidable and unlikely in the absence a recognisable source of obligation in international law or municipal law. Instead a recourse to “soft law” and non-legally binding instruments may be a way forward for TNCs to reduce their GHG emissions and help in addressing climate change. Positive effects have been noted by various studies to voluntary approaches. TNCs have also in recent decades voluntarily committed to “soft law” international agreements. This development reflects a growing recognition among corporations in general and TNCs in particular of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). While CSR used to be the domain of “small, offbeat companies”, it has now become part of mainstream organization. The paper argues that TNCs must voluntarily commit to reducing their GHG emissions and helping address climate change as part of their CSR. One, as a serious “global commons problem”, climate change requires international cooperation from multiple actors, including TNCs. Two, TNCs are not innocent bystanders but are responsible for a large part of GHG emissions across their vast global operations. Three, TNCs have the capability to help solve the problem of climate change. Assuming arguendo that TNCs did not strongly contribute to the problem of climate change, society would have valid expectations for them to use their capabilities, knowledge-base and advanced technologies to help address the problem. It would seem unthinkable for TNCs to do nothing while the global environment fractures.

Keywords: climate change law, corporate social responsibility, greenhouse gas emissions, transnational corporations

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Authors: Anna Paola Micheli, Carmelo Intrisano, Anna Maria Calce

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This research focused on the capability of health tourism to improve the economic and financial performance of healthcare companies. It is assumed that health tourism companies have better profitability and financial efficiency because they can also count on cross-border demand differently from no health tourism companies. A three-level gap analysis was conducted: the first concerns health tourism companies located in Italy and in the other EU28 states; in the second Italian and EU28, no health tourism companies were compared; the third level is about the Italian system with a comparison between health tourism and no health tourism companies. Findings highlighted that Italian healthcare companies have better profitability performance if compared to European ones, but they present weaknesses in the financial position given the illiquidity and excessive leverage. Furthermore, studying the Italian system, we found that health tourism companies are more profitable than no health tourism companies.

Keywords: financial performance, gap analysis, health tourism, profitability performance, value creation

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Authors: Kevin Baxter, Ron Grove, James Pitney, John Harrison, Ozlem Gumus

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The purpose of this research is to determine the mediating effect of effectiveness of the training provided by Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command (SPSC), on the ability of law enforcement mid-level managers to learn transformational and authentic leadership traits. This study will also evaluate the leadership styles, of course, graduates compared to non-attendees using a static group comparison design. The Louisiana State Police pay approximately $40,000 in salary, tuition, housing, and meals for each state police lieutenant attending the 10-week program of the SPSC. This school lists the development of transformational leaders as an increasing element. Additionally, the SPSC curriculum addresses all four components of authentic leadership - self-awareness, transparency, ethical/moral, and balanced processing. Upon return to law enforcement in roles of mid-level management, there are questions as to whether or not students revert to an “autocratic” leadership style. Insufficient evidence exists to support claims for the effectiveness of management training or leadership development. Though it is widely recognized that transformational styles are beneficial to law enforcement, there is little evidence that suggests police leadership styles are changing. Police organizations continue to hold to a more transactional style (i.e., most senior police leaders remain autocrats). Additionally, research in the application of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership related to police organizations is minimal. The population of the study is law enforcement mid-level managers from various states within the United States who completed leadership training presented by the SPSC. The sample will be composed of 66 active law enforcement mid-level managers (lieutenants and captains) who have graduated from SPSC and 65 active law enforcement mid-level managers (lieutenants and captains) who have not attended SPSC. Participants will answer demographics questions, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, and the Kirkpatrick Hybrid Evaluation Survey. Analysis from descriptive statistics, group comparison, one-way MANCOVA, and the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model survey will be used to determine training effectiveness in the four levels of reaction, learning, behavior, and results. Independent variables are SPSC graduates (two groups: upper and lower) and no-SPSC attendees, and dependent variables are transformational and authentic leadership scores. SPSC graduates are expected to have higher MLQ scores for transformational leadership traits and higher ALQ scores for authentic leadership traits than SPSC non-attendees. We also expect the graduates to rate the efficacy of SPSC leadership training as high. This study will validate (or invalidate) the benefits, costs, and resources required for leadership development from a nationally recognized police leadership program, and it will also help fill the gap in the literature that exists between law enforcement professional development and transformational and authentic leadership styles.

Keywords: training effectiveness, transformational leadership, authentic leadership, law enforcement mid-level manager

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Authors: P. Lalitha

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Economic and social empowerment and educational upliftment of socially disadvantaged groups and marginalized sections of society is necessary for achieving faster and more inclusive development. Programmes are being implemented through states, government’s apex corporations, and NGOs for the up-liftment of disadvantaged and marginalized sections of society. As per the primary data collected, a majority of tribal land holdings (60%) are below 2 hectare and only 5% are above 10 hectares. However, the ownership of large holdings does not give a distinct advantage unless the land is of good quality. There are areas in which even large holdings beyond 5 hectares are not sufficient to meet the food necessity of the tribal families all-round the year. Some initiatives e.g. grain-golas, jhum cultivation, wadi project, Joint Forest Management(JFM), enhancing Livelihood and Health through Traditional Knowledge Management, Associating Individual Rural Volunteers (IRVs) in SHG Bank Linkage Programme have been taken in various tribal areas of the country.

Keywords: tribals, unemployment, health, food

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Authors: Robert H. Bradley

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Many minority adolescents in the United States live in adverse circumstances that pose long-term threats to their well-being. A strong sense of personal control and self-efficacy can help youth mitigate some of those risks and may help protect youth from influences connected with deviant peer groups. Accordingly, it is important to identify conditions that help foster feelings of efficacy in areas that seem critical for the accomplishment of developmental tasks during adolescence. The purpose of this study is to examine two aspects of the home environment (modeling and encouragement of maturity, family companionship and investment) and their relation to three components of self efficacy (self efficacy in enlisting social resources, self efficacy for engaging in independent learning, and self-efficacy for self-regulatory behavior) in three groups of minority adolescents (Native American, African American, Latino). The sample for this study included 54 Native American, 131 African American, and 159 Latino families, each with a child between 16 and 20 years old. The families were recruited from four states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, and Oklahoma. Each family was administered the Late Adolescence version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory and each adolescent completed a 30-item measure of perceived self-efficacy. Three areas of self-efficacy beliefs were examined for this study: enlisting social resources, independent learning, and self-regulation. Each of the three areas of self-efficacy was regressed on the two aspects of the home environment plus overall household risk. For Native Americans, modeling and encouragement were significant for self-efficacy pertaining to enlisting social resources and independent learning. For African Americans, companionship and investment was significant in all three models. For Latinos, modeling and encouragement was significant for self-efficacy pertaining to enlisting social resources and companionship and investment were significant for the other two areas of self-efficacy. The findings show that even as minority adolescents are becoming more individuated from their parents, the quality of experiences at home continues to be associated with their feelings of self-efficacy in areas important for adaptive functioning in adult life. Specifically, individuals can develop a sense that they are efficacious in performing key tasks relevant to work, social relationships, and management of their own behavior if they are guided in how to deal with key challenges and they have been exposed and supported by others who are competent in dealing with such challenges. The findings presented in this study would seem useful given that there is so little current research on home environmental factors connected to self-efficacy beliefs among adolescents in the three groups examined. It would seem worthwhile that personnel from health, human service and juvenile justice agencies give attention to supporting parents in communicating with adolescents, offering expectations to adolescents in mutually supportive ways, and in engaging with adolescents in productive activities. In comparison to programs for parents of young children, there are few specifically designed for parents of children in middle childhood and adolescence.

Keywords: family companionship, home environment, household income, modeling, self-efficacy

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Authors: Shivani Gupta, Shrishti Chaturvedi

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By using a miniscule of nuclear matter, the problem of immeasurable human needs for energy can be resolved. However since nuclear energy also has the inherent potential for catastrophic destruction, one should be extremely mindful of the consequences should a mischance occur. Civil Nuclear Liability has recently gained a lot of momentum after India entered into agreements with nations like United States of America, France and others. Also now India is a part of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC). With a history of Bhopal Gas Tragedy, India is now much more vigilant about the latest developments in this sector. Therefore, it has become imperative to analyses the liability regime in the background of international conventions such as Vienna Convention 1963, Paris Convention 1960, Convention on Supplementary Compensation, 1997 and others. Also the present Indian legal scenarios in this regard which are derived from Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act, 2010 and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Rules, 2011 have also been extensively discussed in the paper.

Keywords: nuclear liability, civil liability for nuclear damages act, 2010, civil liability for nuclear damages rules, India

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Authors: Abhinandan Singh Gill, Gurbir Kaur Jawanda

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Since the introduction of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) in Japan during the late 1980’s, acceptance and usage of this concrete in the construction industry has been steadily gaining momentum. In the United States, the usage of SCC has been spearheaded by the precast concrete industry. Good SCC must possess the following key fresh properties: filling ability, passing ability, and resistance to segregation. Self-compacting concrete is one of 'the most revolutionary developments' in concrete research; this concrete is able to flow and to fill the most restocked places of the form work without vibration. There are several methods for testing its properties. In the fresh state: the most frequently used are slump flow test, L box and V-funnel. This work presents properties of self-compacting concrete, mixed with fly ash. The test results for acceptance characteristics of self-compacting concrete such as slump flow; V-funnel and L-Box are presented. Further, the compressive strength at the ages of 7, 28 days was also determined and results are included here.

Keywords: compressive strength, fly ash, self-compacting concrete, slump flow test, super plasticizer

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Authors: Mulindwa Gerald

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Forced Migration is believed to be the most pressing issue in migration studies today, it therefore makes it of paramount importance that we examine the efficacy of the prevailing laws, treaties, conventions and global policies of refugee management. It suffices to note that the existing policies are vague and ambiguous encouraging the hospitality but not assessing the social economic impact to not only the refugees but also their host communities. The commentary around the Off-shore arrangements like one of UK-Rwanda and the legal implications of the same, make it even more fascinating. These are issues that need to be amplified and captured in the Migration Policies. In Uganda, a small landlocked country in East Africa, there always appeared new faces who were refugees from the Congo and Rwanda the neighboring countries to the West and South West respectively. The refugees would migrate to Uganda with absolutely no idea whatsoever how they were going to meet the daily needs of life, no food, no shelter, no clothing. It interest’s one’s mind to conscientiously interrogate the policy issues surrounding refugee management. The 1951 convention sets a number of obligations to states and the conundrum, faced by citizens of the universe interested in Migration studies is ensuring maximum compliance to these obligations considering the resource challenges. States have a duty to protect refugees in accordance with Article 14 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights which was adopted by the 1951 convention, these speak to rights like the most important right of refugees known as the Principle of Non-Refoulement, which prohibits expulsion or return of refugees or asylum seekers The International Organization for Migrations projection of the number of migrants globally by 2050 was overwhelmingly surpassed by 2019 due to wars, conflicts that have been experienced in different parts of the globe. This is also due natural calamities and tough economic conditions. It is a descriptive analysis that encompasses a qualitative design research based on a case study involving both desk research and field study. The use of qualitative research approaches like interview guides, document review and direct observation methods helped to bring in the experience, social, behavioral and cultural aspects of the respondents into the study, and since qualitative research uses subjective information and not limited to the rigidly definable variables, thus it helped to explore the research area of the study. it therefore verily believe that this paper is going to trigger perspectives and spark a conversation on this really pressing global issue of refugees and asylum seekers, it is suggesting viable solutions to the management challenges while making recommendations like the ensuring that no refugees or asylum seekers are closed at any borders on the globe for instance a concerted effort of all global players to ensure that refugees are protected efficiently.

Keywords: management, migration, refugees, rights

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Authors: Joel Mintz, Kyle Huntley, Waseem Wahood, Samuel Raine, Farzanna Haffizulla

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The effect of different state government interventions on COVID-19 health outcomes is currently unknown. Stay at home (SAH) orders, all non-essential business closures and school closures in the Northeastern US were examined. A linear correlation between the peak number of new daily COVID-19 positive tests, hospitalizations and deaths per capita and the elapsed time between government issued guidance and a fixed number of COVID-19 deaths in each state was performed. Earlier government interventions were correlated with lower peak healthcare burden. Statewide closures of schools and non-essential businesses showed significantly greater (p<.001) correlation to peak COVID-19 disease burden as compared to a statewide SAH. The implications of these findings require further study to determine the effectiveness of these interventions.

Keywords: Coronavirus, epidemiology, government intervention, public health, social distancing

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Authors: Davide Forcellini, James Marshal Kelly

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Seismic isolation using multi-layer elastomeric isolators has been used in the United States for more than 20 years. Although isolation bearings normally have a large factor of safety against buckling due to low shear stiffness, this phenomenon has been widely studied. In particular, the linearly elastic theory adopted to study this phenomenon is relatively accurate and adequate for most design purposes. Unfortunately it cannot consider the large deformation response of a bearing when buckling occurs and the unresolved behaviour of the stability of the post-buckled state. The study conducted in this paper may be viewed as a development of the linear theory of multi-layered elastomeric bearing, simply replacing the differential equations by algebraic equations, showing how it is possible to evaluate the post-buckling behaviour and the interactions at large deformations.

Keywords: multi-layer elastomeric isolators, large deformation, compressive load, tensile load, post-buckling behaviour

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Authors: Sharon Diaz Ruiz

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The population of Latinx adult English language learners (ELLs) in the United States will increase in the next few years and become even more racially and linguistically diverse. Our classrooms reflect these demographic changes; therefore, there will always be the need to identify language teaching practices that would allow educators to meet this linguistic diversity. This qualitative study explores Latinx adult English language learners' perceptions of culturally responsive teaching strategies. Participants in this study will be enrolled in an English developmental course for the Fall of 2022. The data collection process will consist of overt observation during five presentations/activities, including culturally inclusive readings and student reflections. The teaching materials selected will align with the course module's goals and objectives. The result of this investigation will shed light on the gap in the literature documenting the application of culturally responsive pedagogy to Latino adult language learners.

Keywords: emergent bilinguals, adult learners, Latinx learners, ELL

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Authors: S. N. Ekbote, G. K. Padam, Manju Arora

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Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopic investigations of (Bi, Pb)₂Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀₋ₓ (Bi-2223) bulk samples were carried out in both the normal and superconducting states. A broad asymmetric resonance signal with side signals is obtained in the normal state, and all of them disappear in the superconducting state. The temperature and angular orientation effects on these signals suggest that the broad asymmetric signal arises from electron spin resonance of conduction electrons (CESR) and the side signals from exchange interactions as Platzman-Wolff type spin waves. The disappearance of CESR and spin waves in a superconducting state demonstrates the role of exchange interactions in Cooper pair formation.

Keywords: Bi-2223 superconductor, CESR, ESR, exchange interactions, spin waves

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Authors: Molshree A. Sharma

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As a result of globalization, it is increasingly common for people to live in different parts of the world. However there is a corresponding rise of international family law issues and competing jurisdictions. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction is a multilateral treaty that provides an expeditious method to return a child to their country of habitual residence when ‘internationally abducted’ by a parent from one member country to another. Specifically, the Convention provides a protocol for expeditious return of the child to their habitual residence unless there is a valid exception, the most common being that return would result in an intolerable situation or cause grave risk of harm to the child. This paper analyzes case law from various signatory countries including the United States, highlighting the differences in interpretation of key terms under the Convention, as well as case law in non-Hague signatory countries, with a focus on India and the Middle East.

Keywords: best interest of the child, grave risk of harm, habitual residence, well-settled

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Authors: Ethan Shafer, Timothy Graziano

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This research seeks to answer whether first-year courses at institutions of higher learning can impact STEM major selection. Unlike many universities, an entry-level technology course (often referred to as CS0) is required for all United States Military Academy (USMA) students–regardless of major–in their first year of attendance. Students at the academy choose their major at the end of their first year of studies. Through student responses to a multi-semester survey, this paper identifies a number of factors that potentially influence STEM major selection. Student demographic data, pre-existing exposure and access to technology, perceptions of STEM subjects, and initial desire for a STEM major are captured before and after taking a CS0 course. An analysis of factors that contribute to student perception of STEM and major selection are presented. This work provides recommendations and suggestions for institutions currently providing or looking to provide CS0-like courses to their students.

Keywords: education, STEM, pedagogy, digital literacy

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Authors: Russell Rosen

Abstract:

American Sign Language (ASL) has been developed and used by signing deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) individuals in the American Deaf community since early nineteenth century. In the last two decades, secondary schools in the US offered ASL for foreign language credit to secondary school learners. The learners who learn ASL as a foreign language are largely American native speakers of English. They not only learn ASL in US schools but also create spaces under certain interactional and social conditions in their home communities outside of classrooms and use ASL with each other instead of their native English. This phenomenon is a transmigration of language from a native social group to a non-native, non-kin social group. This study looks at the transmigration of ASL from signing Deaf community to the general speaking and hearing American society. Theoretical implications of this study are discussed.

Keywords: American Sign Language, Foreign Language, Language transmission, United States

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Authors: Belhouchet Selma, Ben Amar Anis

Abstract:

We examine the impact of COVID-19 transmission, containment measures, and vaccination growth on daily stock market returns for the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) from January 22, 2020, to August 31, 2021, more than a year and a half after COVID-19. For this objective, we use panel pooled ordinary least squares regressions. Our findings indicate that the spread of the pandemic has a negative impact on the daily performance of the world's seven main stock markets. Government measures to improve stock market returns are no longer successful. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that immunization efforts in G7 nations do not increase stock market performance in these countries. A variety of robustness tests back up our conclusions. Our findings have far-reaching implications for investors, governments, and regulators not only in the G7 countries but also in all developed countries and all countries globally.

Keywords: COVID-19, G7 stock market, containment measures, vaccination

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Authors: Xingguo Feng, Hui Zhou, Kaifeng Zhang, Zhao Jiang, Hanjun Hu, Jun Zheng, Hong Hao

Abstract:

TiN and TiC films have been prepared on Ti6Al4V alloy substrates by plasma-based ion implantation. The effect of N+C and Ti+N hybrid ion implantation at 50 kV, and Ti+C hybrid ion implantation at 20 kV, 35 kV and 50 kV extraction voltages on mechanical properties at a dose of 2×10¹⁷ ions / cm² was studied. The chemical states and microstructures of the implanted samples were investigated using X-ray photoelectron (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), together with the mechanical and tribological properties of the samples were characterized using nano-indentation and ball-on-disk tribometer. It was found that the modified layer by Ti+C implanted at 50 kV was composed of mainly TiC and Ti-O bond and the layer of Ti+N implanted at 50 kV was observed to be TiN and Ti-O bond. Hardness tests have shown that the hardness values for N+C, Ti+N, and Ti+C hybrid ion implantation samples were much higher than the un-implanted ones. The results of wear tests showed that both Ti+C and Ti+N ion implanted samples had much better wear resistance compared un-implanted sample. The wear rate of Ti+C implanted at 50 kV sample was 6.7×10⁻⁵mm³ / N.m, which was decreased over one order than unimplanted samples.

Keywords: plasma ion implantation, x-ray photoelectron (XPS), hardness, wear

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Authors: Chiu-Pin Wei

Abstract:

This research aims to explore the impact of music preferences on the emotional well-being of military academy students, recognizing the potential long-term implications for their high-stress careers post-graduation. Given the significance of positive emotion regulation in military personnel, this study focuses on understanding the types of music preferred by military cadets and analyzing how these preferences correlate with their emotional states. The study employs a quantitative approach, utilizing the Music Category Scale and Mood Scale to collect data. Statistical tools, such as Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS), are employed for inferential analysis, including t-tests for emotional responses to instrumental and vocal music, one-way variance analysis for different demographic factors (grades, genders, and music listening frequencies), and Pearson's correlation to examine the relationship between music preferences and moods of military students.

Keywords: music preference, emotional regulation, military academic students, SPASS

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Authors: N. F. F. Ebecken, G. C. Pereira

Abstract:

Ecological systems are exposed and are influenced by various natural and anthropogenic disturbances. They produce various effects and states seeking response symmetry to a state of global phase coherence or stability and balance of their food webs. This research project addresses the development of a computational methodology for modeling plankton food webs. The use of algorithms to establish connections, the generation of representative fuzzy multigraphs and application of technical analysis of complex networks provide a set of tools for defining, analyzing and evaluating community structure of coastal aquatic ecosystems, beyond the estimate of possible external impacts to the networks. Thus, this study aims to develop computational systems and data models to assess how these ecological networks are structurally and functionally organized, to analyze the types and degree of compartmentalization and synchronization between oscillatory and interconnected elements network and the influence of disturbances on the overall pattern of rhythmicity of the system.

Keywords: ecological networks, plankton food webs, fuzzy multigraphs, dynamic of networks

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Authors: Haytham Yassine

Abstract:

This research seeks to identify how money laundering activities are executed through the real estate sector. This article provides academics with literature on the topic and provides scholars, and practitioners with a better understanding of the risks and challenges involved. Data are gathered through survey in the Middle East and North Africa region and review of the available research. The results of the analysis will help identifying the factors attracting criminals to the real estate sector and develop an understanding of the methods used to launder illicit funds through this sector and the indicators of suspicion for reporting entities. Further analysis reveals the risks posed by money laundering and terrorist financing on the real estate sector and challenges facing states in this regard.

Keywords: money laundering, terrorism financing, real estate sector, Middle East and North Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 156