Search results for: social entrepreneurial activity

Authors: Usha N. Murthy, H. B. Rekha, Mahaveer Devoor

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The introduction of more stringent pollution regulations, in relation to financial and social pressures for sustainable development, has pressed toward limiting the volumes of industrial and domestic effluents discharged into the environment-as well as to increase the efforts within research and development of new or more efficient wastewater treatment technologies. Considering both discharge volume and effluent composition, wastewater generated by the textile industry is rated as the most polluting among all industrial sectors. The pollution load is mainly due to spent dye baths, which are composed of unreacted dyes, dispersing agents, surfactants, salts and organics. In the present investigation, the textile dye wastewater was characterized by high colour, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS) and pH. Electrochemical oxidation process for four plate electrodes was carried out at five different current intensities, out of which 0.14A has achieved maximum percentage removal of COD with 75% and 83% of colour. The COD removal rate in kg COD/h/m2 decreases with increase in the current intensity. The energy consumption increases with increase in the current intensity. Hence, textile dye wastewater can be effectively pre-treated by electrochemical oxidation method where the process limits objectionable colour while leaving the COD associated with organics left for natural degradation thus causing a sustainable reduction in pollution load.

Keywords: electrochemical treatment, COD, colour, environmental engineering

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Authors: Mark Pizzato

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How do ideas, images, and emotions in stage-plays and videos affect us? Do they evoke a greater awareness (or cognitive reappraisal of emotions) through possible shifts between left-cortical, right-cortical, and subcortical networks? To address these questions, this presentation summarizes the research of various neuroscientists, especially Bernard Baars and others involved in Global Workspace Theory, Matthew Lieberman in social neuroscience, Iain McGilchrist on left and right cortical functions, and Jaak Panksepp on the subcortical circuits of primal emotions. Through such research, this presentation offers an ‘inner theatre’ model of the brain, regarding major hubs of neural networks and our animal ancestry. It also considers recent experiments, by Mario Beauregard, on the cognitive reappraisal of sad, erotic, and aversive film clips. Finally, it applies the inner-theatre model and related research to survey results of theatre students who read and then watched the ‘To be or not to be’ speech in 8 different video versions (from stage and screen productions) of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Findings show that students become aware of left-cortical, right-cortical, and subcortical brain functions—and shifts between them—through staging and movie-making choices in each of the different videos.

Keywords: cognitive reappraisal, Hamlet, neuroscience, Shakespeare, theatre

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Authors: Ružica Tomičić, Zorica Tomičić, Peter Raspor

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An abundant growth of unwanted yeasts in food processing plants can lead to problems in quality and safety with significant financial losses. Candida and Pichia are the genera mainly involved in spoilage of products in the food and beverage industry. These contaminating microorganisms can form biofilms on food contact surfaces, being difficult to eradicate, increasing the probability of microbial survival and further dissemination during food processing. It is well known that biofilms are more resistant to antimicrobial agents compared to planktonic cells and this makes them difficult to eliminate. Among the strategies used to overcome resistance to antifungal drugs and preservatives, the use of natural substances such as plant extracts has shown particular promise, and many natural substances have been found to exhibit antifungal properties. This study aimed to investigated the impact of growth medium (Malt Extract broth (MEB) or Yeast Peptone Dextrose (YPD) broth) and temperatures (7°C, 37°C, 43°C for Candida strains and 7°C, 27°C, 32°C for Pichia strains) on the adhesion of Candida spp. and Pichia spp. to stainless steel (AISI 304) discs with different degrees of surface roughness (Ra = 25.20 – 961.9 nm), a material commonly used in the food industry. We also evaluated the antifungal and antiadhesion activity of plant extracts such as Humulus lupulus, Alpinia katsumadai and Evodia rutaecarpa against C. albicans, C glabrata and P. membranifaciens and investigated whether these plant extracts can interfere with biofilm formation. The adhesion was assessed by the crystal violet staining method, while the broth microdilution method CLSI M27-A3 was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of plant extracts. Our results indicated that the nutrient content of the medium significantly influenced the amount of adhered cells of the tested yeasts. The growth medium which resulted in a higher adhesion of C. albicans and C. glabrata was MEB, while for C. parapsilosis and C. krusei was YPD. In the case of P. pijperi and P. membranifaciens, YPD broth was more effective in promoting adhesion than MEB. Regarding the effect of temperature, C. albicans strain adhered to stainless steel surfaces in significantly higher level at a temperature of 43°C, while on the other hand C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis and C. krusei showed a different behavior with significantly higher adhesion at 37°C than at 7°C and 43°C. Further, the adherence ability of Pichia strains was highest at 27°C. Based on the MIC values, all plant extracts exerted significant antifungal effects with MIC values ranged from 100 to 400 μg/mL. It was observed that biofilm of C. glabrata were more resistance to plant extracts as compared to C. albicans. However, extracts of A. katsumadai and E. rutaecarpa promoted the growth and development of the preformed biofilm of P. membranifaciens. Thus, the knowledge of how these microorganisms adhere and which factors affect this phenomenon is of great importance in order to avoid their colonization on food contact surfaces.

Keywords: adhesion, Candida spp., Pichia spp., plant extracts

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Authors: Tran Thanh Le, Pham Trong Duc

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The fresh groundwater lens of the Pleistocene aquifer in Nam Dinh was formed since 12,900 years ago. Currently, the Pleistocene aquifer has been continuously exploited on average of 154,163m3/day, distributed mainly in the districts of Nghia Hung, Hai Hau, a part of Truc Ninh, Y Yen, Nam Truc and Giao Thuy. The groundwater level is still on a declining trend, saltwater intrusion in this freshwater lens can occur if the growth rate in exploitation is maintained. This study focused on groundwater sustainable use by means of 4 groups of criteria including: Groundwater quality and pollution; Aquifers’ productivity and capacity; Environment impacts due to exploitation (groundwater level decline, land subsidence due to water exploitation); Social and economic impacts. Using a combination of methods including field surveys, geophysics, hydrogeochemistry, isotope and numerical models to determine safe groundwater exploitation thresholds for the whole study area has been determined to be 544,314m3/day and the actual exploitation amount is currently about 30% compared to the safe exploitation threshold. However, it should also be noted that the current groundwater exploitation threshold and level of its exploitation compared to the safe exploitation threshold of each locality are not the same. From this result, the groundwater exploitation threshold map of the study area was established to serve the management, licensing and orientation of groundwater exploitation.

Keywords: criteria, groundwater, fresh groundwater lens, pleistocene, Nam Dinh

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Authors: Adem Pala, Mustafa Biner

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Nowadays, despite the fact that technology and internet shorten the virtual distance, too much use and misuse of internet create distance among people. There is a considerable number of people living in the same house even sitting at the same table but busy themselves with mobiles and computers for long hours without talking to each other. Internet usage is very common among young people especially university students. Evolving out of this problem, internet addiction of university students and effect on their loneliness, and relationship between them consist of the purpose of this study. The study is important because it discusses what can be done in order to make the young people more social via determining the university students’ loneliness and their internet addiction. The study was carried out with 440 university students studying at different universities and departments. The group consists of 200 female and 240 male students with average of age 20,9. In the study, 19 questions, “internet addiction scale” consisting of 3 subscales, and UCLA loneliness scale were used as data collection tools. As a result, it is found out that the loneliness of individuals with internet addiction is higher than the other individuals. The males’ loneliness related to internet addiction is higher than the females; on the other hand, it is determined females feel more lonesome in general loneliness. It is thought that the findings of the study will determine the individuals under risk, prevent them, help researchers and people doing clinical studies during rehabilitation progress.

Keywords: internet addiction, loneliness, Turkey, university students

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Authors: Ajda Osifo, Fatma Elshafie

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Mobile-assisted language learning favors social-constructivist and connectivist theories to learning and adaptive approaches to teaching. It offers many opportunities to differentiated instruction in meaningful ways as it enables learners to become more collaborative, engaged and independent through additional dimensions such as web-based media, virtual learning environments, online publishing to an imagined audience and digitally mediated communication. MALL applications can be a tool for the teacher to personalize and adjust instruction according to the learners’ needs and give continuous feedback to improve learning and performance in the process, which support differentiated instruction practices. This paper explores the utilization of Mobile Assisted Language Learning applications as a supporting tool for effective differentiation in the language classroom. It reports overall experience in terms of implementing MALL to shape and apply differentiated instruction and expand learning options. This session is structured in three main parts: first, a review of literature and effective practice of academically responsive instruction will be discussed. Second, samples of differentiated tasks, activities, projects and learner work will be demonstrated with relevant learning outcomes and learners’ survey results. Finally, project findings and conclusions will be given.

Keywords: academically responsive instruction, differentiation, mobile learning, mobile-assisted language learning

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Authors: Samer Katerji, Mustafa Ozakça, Esra Demircioğlu

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The inner-city slums become a global phenomenon problem. It is widely distributed in separate zones through the urban textures, threatens cities in physical, economic and social aspects. It often has illegal settlements with unsafe and unhealthy conditions. By the time, it grown up rapidly followed by growing in its problems. According to United Nations, in some cities, up to 80 percent of the population lives in slums. Fifty-five million new slum dwellers have been added to the global population since 2000. Both developed and developing countries started to figure out mechanics to find solutions, which is suitable to solve the inner-city slums problems. In turn, the planning agenda of Turkey has been focused on urban transformation as a solution for inner-city slums problems since the 2000s. The current laws after 2004 changed all of the statements on the urban transformation of the country. This paper come to explain the urban transformation approach as qualified presses in dealing with inner-city slums problems of turkey. After that, it highlights one of the earliest ongoing transformation projects in Gaziantep city, which is adopted by the local municipalities. The study includes assessment of the pros and cons of pursuing the project and identifying the potential consequences. This is more likely to keep up with the efforts of Gaziantep Municipality in developing and transforming slum areas.

Keywords: transformation, urban, slums, Gaziantep

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Authors: Charalambos C. Cleanthous, Ryan Sain, Tabitha Black, Stephen Vera, Suzanne Milton

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A concern when administering questionnaires is whether the participant is providing information that is accurate. The results may be invalid because the person is trying to present oneself in an unrealistic positive manner referred to as ‘faking good’, or in an unrealistic negative manner known as ‘faking bad’. The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) was used to assess commercial pilots’ responses on the two subscales of the BIDR: impression management (IM) and self-deceptive enhancement (SDE) that result in high or low scores. Thus, the BIDR produces four valid profiles: IM low and SDE low, IM high and SDE low, IM low and SDE high, and IM high and SDE high. The various profiles were used to compare the respondents’ answers to crew resource management (CRM) items developed from the USA Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) guidelines for CRM composition and training. Of particular interest were the results on the IM subscale. The comparisons between those scoring high (lying or faking) versus those low on the IM suggest that there were significant differences regarding their views of the various dimensions of CRM. One of the more disconcerting conclusions is that the high IM scores suggest that the pilots were trying to impress rather than honestly answer the questions regarding their CRM training and practice.

Keywords: USA commercial pilots, crew resource management, faking, social desirability

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Authors: Kaushiki Sanyal, Rajesh Chakrabarti

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In India, on average, about 60 Bills are passed every year in both Houses of Parliament – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha (calculated from information on websites of both Houses). These are debated in both Lok Sabha (House of Commons) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States) before they are passed. However, lawmakers rarely use empirical evidence to make a case for a law. Most of the time, they support a law on the basis of anecdote, intuition, and common sense. While these do play a role in law-making, without the necessary empirical evidence, laws often fail to achieve their desired results. The quality of legislative debates is an indicator of the efficacy of the legislative process through which a Bill is enacted. However, the study of legislative debates has not received much attention either in India or worldwide due to the difficulty of objectively measuring the quality of a debate. Broadly, three approaches have emerged in the study of legislative debates. The rational-choice or formal approach shows that speeches vary based on different institutional arrangements, intra-party politics, and the political culture of a country. The discourse approach focuses on the underlying rules and conventions and how they impact the content of the debates. The deliberative approach posits that legislative speech can be reasoned, respectful, and informed. This paper aims to (a) develop a framework to judge the quality of debates by using the deliberative approach; (b) examine the legislative debates of three Bills passed in different periods as a demonstration of the framework, and (c) examine the broader structural issues that disincentive MPs from scrutinizing Bills. The framework would include qualitative and quantitative indicators to judge a debate. The idea is that the framework would provide useful insights into the legislators’ knowledge of the subject, the depth of their scrutiny of Bills, and their inclination toward evidence-based research. The three Bills that the paper plans to examine are as follows: 1. The Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985: This act was passed to curb drug trafficking and abuse. However, it mostly failed to fulfill its purpose. Consequently, it was amended thrice but without much impact on the ground. 2. The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2013: This act amended the Indian Penal Code to add a section on human trafficking. The purpose was to curb trafficking and penalise traffickers, pimps, and middlemen. However, the crime rate remains high while the conviction rate is low. 3. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021: This act bans commercial surrogacy allowing only relatives to act as surrogates as long as there is no monetary payment. Experts fear that instead of preventing commercial surrogacy, it would drive the activity underground. The consequences would be borne by the surrogate, who would not be protected by law. The purpose of the paper is to objectively analyse the quality of parliamentary debates, get insights into how MPs understand the evidence and deliberate on steps to incentivise them to use empirical evidence.

Keywords: legislature, debates, empirical, India

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Authors: Yong Wook Kim

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The diversity of students in regular classrooms is increasing due to expand inclusive education and increase multicultural students in South Korea. In this diverse classroom environment, the universal design for learning (UDL) has been proposed as a way to meet both the educational need and social expectation of student achievement. UDL offers a variety of practical teaching methods, one of which is a differentiating instruction. The differentiating instruction has been pointed out resource limitation, organizational resistance, and lacks easy-to-implement framework. However, through the framework provided by the UDL, differentiating instruction is able to be flexible in their implementation. In practice, the UDL and differentiating instruction are complementary, but there is still a lack of research that suggests specific implementation methods that apply both concepts at the same time. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of differentiating instruction strategies according to learner characteristics (readiness, interest, learning profile), components of differentiating instruction (content, process, performance, learning environment), especially UDL principles (representation, behavior and expression, participation) existed in differentiating instruction, and implementation of UDL-based differentiating instruction through the Planning for All Learner (PAL) and UDL Lesson Plan Cycle. It is meaningful that such a series of studies can enhance the possibility of more concrete and realistic UDL-based teaching and learning strategies in the classroom, especially in inclusive settings.

Keywords: universal design for learning, differentiating instruction, UDL lesson plan, PAL

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Authors: Laura Zizka, Gaby Probst

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The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the way Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have given their courses. From emergency remote where all students and faculty were immediately confined to home teaching and learning, the continuing evolving sanitary situation obliged HEIs to adopt other methods of teaching and learning from blended courses that included both synchronous and asynchronous courses and activities to hy-flex models where some students were on campus while others followed the course simultaneously online. Each semester brought new challenges for HEIs and, subsequently, additional emotional reactions. This paper investigates the affective side of teaching and learning in various online modalities and its toll on students and faculty members over the past three semesters. The findings confirm that students and faculty who have more self-efficacy, flexibility, and resilience reported positive emotions and embraced the opportunities that these past semesters have offered. While HEIs have begun a new semester in an attempt to return to ‘normal’ face-to-face courses, this paper posits that there are lessons to be learned from these past three semesters. The opportunities that arose from the challenge of the pandemic should be considered when moving forward by focusing on a greater emphasis on the affective aspect of teaching and learning in HEIs worldwide.

Keywords: effective teaching and learning, higher education, engagement, interaction, motivation

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Authors: M. Marín-Ferrer, M. A. Hernández, T. Tollefsen, S. Vanzo, E. Nweke, P. V. Tognoli, M. De Cort

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Under the terms of Article 36 of the Euratom Treaty, European Union Member States (MSs) shall periodically communicate to the European Commission (EC) information on environmental radioactivity levels. Compilations of the information received have been published by the EC as a series of reports beginning in the early 1960s. The environmental radioactivity results received from the MSs have been introduced into the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring database (REMdb) of the Institute for Transuranium Elements of the EC Joint Research Centre (JRC) sited in Ispra (Italy) as part of its Directorate General for Energy (DG ENER) support programme. The REMdb brings to the scientific community dealing with environmental radioactivity topics endless of research opportunities to exploit the near 200 millions of records received from MSs containing information of radioactivity levels in milk, water, air and mixed diet. The REM action was created shortly after Chernobyl crisis to support the EC in its responsibilities in providing qualified information to the European Parliament and the MSs on the levels of radioactive contamination of the various compartments of the environment (air, water, soil). Hence, the main line of REM’s activities concerns the improvement of procedures for the collection of environmental radioactivity concentrations for routine and emergency conditions, as well as making this information available to the general public. In this way, REM ensures the availability of tools for the inter-communication and access of users from the Member States and the other European countries to this information. Specific attention is given to further integrate the new MSs with the existing information exchange systems and to assist Candidate Countries in fulfilling these obligations in view of their membership of the EU. Article 36 of the EURATOM treaty requires the competent authorities of each MS to provide regularly the environmental radioactivity monitoring data resulting from their Article 35 obligations to the EC in order to keep EC informed on the levels of radioactivity in the environment (air, water, milk and mixed diet) which could affect population. The REMdb has mainly two objectives: to keep a historical record of the radiological accidents for further scientific study, and to collect the environmental radioactivity data gathered through the national environmental monitoring programs of the MSs to prepare the comprehensive annual monitoring reports (MR). The JRC continues his activity of collecting, assembling, analyzing and providing this information to public and MSs even during emergency situations. In addition, there is a growing concern with the general public about the radioactivity levels in the terrestrial and marine environment, as well about the potential risk of future nuclear accidents. To this context, a clear and transparent communication with the public is needed. EURDEP (European Radiological Data Exchange Platform) is both a standard format for radiological data and a network for the exchange of automatic monitoring data. The latest release of the format is version 2.0, which is in use since the beginning of 2002.

Keywords: environmental radioactivity, Euratom, monitoring report, REMdb

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Authors: Gautam Sharda

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The concept of right speech is the third stage of the noble eightfold path as prescribed by the Buddha and followed by millions of practicing Buddhists. The Buddha lays a lot of importance on the notion of right speech (Samma Vacca). In the Angutara Nikaya, the Buddha mentioned what constitutes right speech, which is basically four kinds of abstentions; namely abstaining from false speech, abstaining from slanderous speech, abstaining from harsh or hateful speech and abstaining from idle chatter. The Buddha gives reasons in support of his view as to why abstaining from these four kinds of speeches is favourable not only for maintaining the peace and equanimity within an individual but also within a society. It is a known fact that when we say something harsh or slanderous to others, it eventually affects our individual peace of mind too. We also know about the many examples of hate speeches which have led to senseless cases of violence and which are well documented within our country and the world. Also, indulging in false speech is not a healthy sign for individuals within a group as this kind of a social group which is based on falsities and lies cannot really survive for long and will eventually lead to chaos. Buddha also told us to refrain from idle chatter or gossip as generally we have seen that idle chatter or gossip does more harm than any good to the individual and the society. Hence, if most of us actually inculcate this third stage (namely, right speech) of the noble eightfold path of the Buddha in our daily life, it would be highly beneficial both for the individual and for the harmony of the society.

Keywords: Buddhism, speech, individual, society

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Authors: Ya-Hui Lee, Ching-Yi Lu

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Taiwan will become an aging society in 2018. The method to face the challenges related to the aging population has become an important topic. Purpose: This study aims to understand the future preparation of middle-age and older adults, and how they prepared themselves to face the problems of aging, and how they took actions to plan and cope with their future life. Moreover, how did they generate the process of learning action, so that they would be able to live a more active and meaningful life when they entered into their older age? Method: We conducted semi-structure interviews with 10 middle-aged and older adults who had taken actions to prepare for their future. We examined the interviewees’ consciousness and learning actions in their future preparation. Preliminary Results: 1. The triggering factors of the interviewees’ consciousness to prepare for the future included: family events, the desire to maintain active social lives after retirement, the continuation of the interviewees’ professional careers after retirement, and the aspiration for participation in volunteer services. 2. 'Health problems' and 'economic security' were issued of the utmost concern for the interviewees’ future. However, they would transform these worries to learning actions, comprising of active participation in learning, finding relevant information through learning; thus, accumulating more resources to cope with their future needs.

Keywords: middle-age and older adults, preparing for future, older adult learning

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Authors: Ricardo Schnug

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This paper puts the transnational crime of human trafficking in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa and its quickly growing youth bulge. By mapping recent and concurrent trends and emerging issues, it explores the implications that it has not only for the region itself but also for the greater global dynamics of the issue. Through the application of Causal Layered Analysis to various alternative future scenarios as well as the identification of the core narrative surrounding the international discourse, it is possible to understand more deeply the forces that underlie future trafficking and what change becomes possible. With the provision of a reconstructed narrative that avoids the current blind spots, this research points out the need for a new and organic leadership paradigm that allows for a more holistic and future-oriented inquiry about socio-economic and political change and what it entails for a transnational crime such as human trafficking. 'Ubuntu' as a social and leadership philosophy then, provides the principles needed for creating this path towards a truly preferred future. Furthermore, this paper inspires follow-up research and the continuous monitoring and transdisciplinary research of this region’s demographic emergence as well as its possible consequences that have been explored in this inquiry.

Keywords: causal layered analysis, emerging issues, human trafficking, scenarios, sub-Saharan Africa

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Authors: Kim Bower

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Evaluating and researching motivation in language learning is a complex and multi-faceted activity. Various models for investigating learner motivation have been proposed in the literature, but no one model supplies a complex and coherent model for investigating a range of motivational characteristics. Here, such a methodological framework, which includes exemplification of sources of evidence and potential methods of investigation, is proposed. The process model for the investigation of motivation within language learning settings proposed is based on a complex dynamic systems perspective that takes account of cognition and affects. It focuses on three overarching aspects of motivation: the learning environment, learner engagement and learner identities. Within these categories subsets are defined: the learning environment incorporates teacher, course and group specific aspects of motivation; learner engagement addresses the principal characteristics of learners' perceived value of activities, their attitudes towards language learning, their perceptions of their learning and engagement in learning tasks; and within learner identities, principal characteristics of self-concept and mastery of the language are explored. Exemplifications of potential sources of evidence in the model reflect the multiple influences within and between learner and environmental factors and the possible changes in both that may emerge over time. The model was initially developed as a framework for investigating different models of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in contrasting contexts in secondary schools in England. The study, from which examples are drawn to exemplify the model, aimed to address the following three research questions: (1) in what ways does CLIL impact on learner motivation? (2) what are the main elements of CLIL that enhance motivation? and (3) to what extent might these be transferable to other contexts? This new model has been tried and tested in three locations in England and reported as case studies. Following an initial visit to each institution to discuss the qualitative research, instruments were developed according to the proposed model. A questionnaire was drawn up and completed by one group prior to a 3-day data collection visit to each institution, during which interviews were held with academic leaders, the head of the department, the CLIL teacher(s), and two learner focus groups of six-eight learners. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. 2-4 naturalistic observations of lessons were undertaken in each setting, as appropriate to the context, to provide colour and thereby a richer picture. Findings were subjected to an interpretive analysis by the themes derived from the process model and are reported elsewhere. The model proved to be an effective and coherent framework for planning the research, instrument design, data collection and interpretive analysis of data in these three contrasting settings, in which different models of language learning were in place. It is hoped that the proposed model, reported here together with exemplification and commentary, will enable teachers and researchers in a wide range of language learning contexts to investigate learner motivation in a systematic and in-depth manner.

Keywords: investigate, language-learning, learner motivation model, dynamic systems perspective

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Authors: Kazi Md. Shifun Newaz, S. Miaji, Shahnewaz Hazanat-E-Rabbi

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In this study, the kernel density estimation tool has been used to identify most crash prone locations in a national highway of Bangladesh. Like other developing countries, in Bangladesh road traffic crashes (RTC) have now become a great social alarm and the situation is deteriorating day by day. Today’s black spot identification process is not based on modern technical tools and most of the cases provide wrong output. In this situation, characteristic analysis and black spot identification by spatial analysis would be an effective and low cost approach in ensuring road safety. The methodology of this study incorporates a framework on the basis of spatial-temporal study to identify most RTC occurrence locations. In this study, a very important and economic corridor like Dhaka to Sylhet highway has been chosen to apply the method. This research proposes that KDE method for identification of Hazardous Road Location (HRL) could be used for all other National highways in Bangladesh and also for other developing countries. Some recommendations have been suggested for policy maker to reduce RTC in Dhaka-Sylhet especially in black spots.

Keywords: hazardous road location (HRL), crash, GIS, kernel density

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Authors: Takesure Mahohoma

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Community life is an epitome of the African axiom 'I am because we are, since we are therefore I am.' This culminates in the Ubuntu philosophy which is summarized in the Zulu words, 'umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu' (A person is a person through other people). This relationship gives honour to all people. This is the gist of the paper. This paper seeks to demonstrate the impact of community life in promoting unity from an African perspective. Using the proto-community in Acts 2:42, it is argued that community life is a solution to many social problems that divide African society today. The aim is to encourage all Africans and other people to cultivate a sense of belonging and valuing community life in the light of Acts 2:42. Hence we shall trace this theme from Old Testament, New Testament, and Christian history. The other section touches on the essence of community life and obstacles that hinder it. We shall offer spiritual suggestions and an integrative reflection. The nature of the paper is theology in general but spiritual in particular. As a spiritual paper, it is guided by the foundational approach. Thus, it employs the dialogical and integrative reflection method. The expected result is that freedom from all the miseries experienced is brought by living a community life. This is a life that gives greater assurance of enough food, education, health, peace, employment, and increased responsibility that values human dignity. Thus people are neighbours to each other. There is no stranger among them. The basic presumption is that there can be no development in any society without community life.

Keywords: community, seged, koinonia, neighbor

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Authors: Marta Maria Aguilar Carceles

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This theoretical study argues how terrorism is rising around the world and which are the factors and situations that contribute to this process. Linked to aspects of human development, minors are one of the most vulnerable collectives to be engaged for this purpose. Its special weakness and lower possibility of self-defense makes them more likely to become victims as a result of a brainwashing process. Terrorism is an illicit way to achieve political and social changes and new technologies and available resources make it easier to spread. In this sense, throughout a theoretical revision of different recent and scientific articles, it is evaluated which risk factors can provoke its affiliation and later develop of antisocial and illicit behavior. An example of this group of factors could be the inter-generational continuity between parents and their children, as well as the sociodemographic aspects joined to cultural experiences (i.e. sense of dishonor, frustration, etc.). The assess of this kind of variables must be accompanied by the evaluation of protective factors, because the reasons through one person decides to join to terrorism are inherently idiosyncratic and we can only install mechanisms of prevention knowing those personal characteristics. To sum, both aspects underline the relevance of the internalizing and externalizing personal factors, each of them in one specific direction: a) to increase the possibility of being recruited or follow this type of criminal group by himself, and b) to be able of avoiding the effects and consequences of terrorism thanks to personal and resilient characteristics (resilience).

Keywords: criminality, minors, recruitment, resilience, terrorism

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Authors: Kevin R. Collins Sr.

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In South Central Los Angeles, Black people have endured various forms of trauma that spans across generations. This includes the horrors of slavery and the aftermaths of the Jim Crow Laws, institutionalized racism, and legislative segregation, just to name a few. The individuals born from the 1900’s until today have continued to transmit the traumas experienced across generations. Parents unconsciously transmit the hidden trauma, and the children take these experiences and apply it to the society they live in. Although there are some who attempt to break the cycle of transmitted trauma, the remninsce still remain and play a huge role in how they interact with others. The attempt of this discussion is to bring these traumatic experiences to the surface and attack them head on. It is important that we do this to allow not only the suffering individuals but the suffering society to heal. As a society, looking at the humane side of it and attempting to stop the racial injustice placed on black people to relieve them of the stress that some. If not all,, endure in this great United States of America. Changing the behavior as a country to create an improved since of common unity within. If we solve our own racial and social issues within this country, maybe we can solve these same issues that have been the footstool to the many wars we see around the world. Thus, breaking the cycle of inherited intergenerational trauma.

Keywords: intergenerational trauma, inherited trauma, transmission of trauma, blacks in South central LA, black trauma in America

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Authors: Yusra Ibrahim

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This study explores the online discourse of justice-involved youth on Reddit, focusing on how anonymity and asynchronicity influence their ability to share and reflect on their incarceration experiences within the "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) community. The study utilizes a quantitative analysis of speech acts to examine the varied communication patterns exhibited by youths and commenters across two AMA threads. The results indicate that, although Reddit is not specifically designed for formerly incarcerated youths, its features provide a supportive environment for them to share their incarceration experiences with non-incarcerated individuals. The level of empathy and support from the audience varies based on the audience’s perspectives on incarceration and related traumatic experiences. Additionally, the study identifies a reciprocal relationship where youths benefit from community support while offering insights into the juvenile justice system and helping the audience understand the experience of incarceration. The study also reveals cultural shocks in physical and digital environments that youth experience after release and when using social media platforms and the internet. The study has implications for juvenile justice personnel, policymakers, and researchers in the juvenile justice system.

Keywords: juvenile justice, online discourse, reddit AMA, anonymity, speech acts taxonomy, reintegration, online community support

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Authors: Joseph Reylan Viray, Kriztine R. Viray

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Call center conversations, more than the business dimensions that they normally manifest, are interactions between human beings. These are communication exchanges that are packed with psychological, cultural and social dimensions that affect the specific experience of the parties. The increasing development of information and communication technology over the past decades brought about important advantages and corresponding disadvantages in the process of communicational transactions in call center industry. It has been established that the technology is so powerful that it strongly affects, among others, call center business. In the present study, the author explores the interplay between the technology being utilized by the industry and the cultural orientations of both the call center agents and their customers in the process of communication exchanges. Specifically, the paper seeks to (1) describe the interplay between culture and technology in inbound call center industry as it affects the communication exchange of the agents and customers; (2) understand the nature and the dynamics of the call center industry as regards the cultural dimensions of Hofstede; and (3) come up with a simple study where the cross-cultural aspect of the call center industry could be highlighted and could provide necessary knowledge to the stakeholders. Cognizant of the complexity of the topic, the researchers employed Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Likewise, another theory that was used in this study is the Computer Mediated Communication Theory.

Keywords: call center industry, culture, Hofstede, CMT, technology

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Authors: Nikita Mahajani

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The Bene Israel is the oldest Jewish community on the subcontinent, and their shipwreck off the coast of Navgaon (a coastal settlement south of Alibaug), in which only seven men and women survived, anticipated the first millennia of their residence in the Konkan. The community was cut off from mainstream Judaism for decades as a result of its poverty. Almost all of the Bene Israel people in the northern Konkan region have relocated to Israel. The few who remained have settled down in Mumbai and Thane. Despite this, they have left a rich cultural legacy, as seen by their houses, cemeteries and synagogues. Even though the population has reduced owing to outside migration, much of this built legacy has survived. This paper attempts to examine the Jewish architectural heritage in Raigad with an aim to recreate their cultural, social and economic history. Oral histories by interviews of the Bene Israel community from Revdanda helped gain information about naming customs, migrations, professions, religious customs and funeral practices. The findings of this research reveal that most synagogues in Raigad district are shut due to a lack of Bene Israelis coming for prayers. The cemeteries are in a dilapidated condition. The little-known Bene Israeli community of Raigad is a seamless blend of Maharashtrian and Jew culture and feels more homely in India.

Keywords: Konkan, Alibag, Revdanda, Pen, Bene Israeli, Indian jews, synagogue, cemetry

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Authors: Masami Usui

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The 21th century has already witnessed the rapid globalization of catastrophes caused by layered political, social, religious, cultural, and environmental conflicts. The post 9/11 literature that reflects these characteristics retells the experiences of those who are, whether directly or indirectly, involved in the globalized catastrophes of enlarging and endangering their boundaries and consequences. With an Irish-Turkish origin, a Dutch and British educational background, and as an American green-card holder, Joseph O’Neill challenges this changing circumstances of the expanding crisis. In his controversial novel, Netherland (2008), O’Neill embodies the deeply-rooted compromises, the transplanted conflicts, and human internalized crisis in post 9/11 New York City. O’Neill presents to us the transition between Netherland to New York with a post-colonial perspective. This internalized conflicts are revised in The Dog (2014) in which a newly-constructing and expanding global city of gold, Dubai, represents the transitional location from New York City. Through these two novels, words and voices are migrating beyond cultural and political boundaries and discussing what a collective mind embodies in this globalized society.  

Keywords: American literature, global literature, cultural studies, political science

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Authors: Vandana Kumari

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One of the most ancient and detailed legal codes proclaimed the Babylonian King Hammurabi during his reign in the erstwhile Mesopotamian society, provides a fascinating account of the social and justice system of Babylon. The 282 laws intricately carved on eight feet black stone stela serve as an important source of contemporary commercial, family and criminals laws. This paper attempts an inquiry into the contemporary relevance of this legal code to our current legal system. An exhaustive study of one of ancient legal system based on a series of practical experiences rather than being founded on mere theoretical ideologies can be assumed pertinent to the promulgation of practically viable laws in our country. The first chapter of the paper focuses on law seven which established the rules of commerce and the role of government in overseeing justice and honesty regarding the law of property. The second chapter deals with the laws of family, marriages, divorce and adoption prevailing in the Babylonian era. The third chapter traces the earliest known history of criminal jurisprudence which impregnated the principle of an eye for an eye. The paper is not merely a theoretical account of the Mesopotamian way of living but a novice attempt to discover the roots of Indian laws in the ruins of the courtrooms of the Hammurabi Empire.

Keywords: Babylonian legal system, Contemporary relevance, criminal jurisprudence, Hammurabi Code

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Authors: Nicholas Fieseler

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The nature of religion implicit in popular culture is relevant both in and out of the university. The traditional rules-based conception of religion and the ethical systems that emerge from them do not necessarily convey the behavior of daily life as it exists apart from spaces deemed sacred. This paper proposes to examine the religion implicit in the popular culture phenomenon of professional wrestling and how that affects the understanding of popular religion. Pro wrestling, while frequently dismissed, offers a unique manner through which to re-examine religion in popular culture. A global phenomenon, pro wrestling occupies a distinct space in numerous countries and presents a legitimate reflection of human behavior cross-culturally on a scale few other phenomena can equal. Given its global viewership of millions, it should be recognized as a significant means of interpreting the human attraction to violence and its association with religion in general. Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theory of Theodrama will be used to interrogate the inchoate religion within pro wrestling. While Balthasar developed theodrama within the confines of Christian theology; theodrama contains remarkable versatility in its potential utility. Since theodrama re-envisions reality as drama, the actions of every human actor on the stage contributes to the play’s development, and all action contains some transcendent value. It is in this sense that even the “low brow” activity of pro wrestling may be understood in religious terms. Moreover, a pro wrestling storyline acts as a play within a play: the struggles in a pro wrestling match reflect the human attitudes toward life as it exists in the sacred and profane realms. The indistinct lines separating traditionally good (face) from traditionally bad (heel)wrestlers mirror the moral ambiguity in which many people interpret life. This blurred distinction between good and bad, and large segments of an audience’s embrace of the heel wrestlers, reveal ethical constraints that guide the everyday values of pro wrestling spectators, a moral ambivalence that is often overlooked by traditional religious systems, and which has hitherto been neglected in the academic literature on pro wrestling. The significance of interpreting the religion implicit in pro wrestling through a the dramatic lens extends beyond pro wrestling specifically and can examine the religion implicit in popular culture in general. The use of theodrama mitigates the rigid separation often ascribed to areas deemed sacred/ profane, ortranscendent / immanent, enabling a re-evaluation of religion and ethical systems as practiced in popular culture. The use of theodrama will be expressed by utilizing the pro wrestling match as a literary text that reflects the society from which it emerges. This analysis will also reveal the complex nature of religion in popular culture and provides new directions for the academic study of religion. This project consciously bridges the academic and popular realms. The goal of the research is not to add only to the academic literature on implicit religion in popular culture but to publish it in a form which speaks to those outside the standard academic audiences for such work.

Keywords: ethics, popular religion, professional wrestling, theodrama

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Authors: Christine F. Boos, Fernando M. Azevedo

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Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of the electrical activity of the brain that has many applications, such as monitoring alertness, coma and brain death; locating damaged areas of the brain after head injury, stroke and tumor; monitoring anesthesia depth; researching physiology and sleep disorders; researching epilepsy and localizing the seizure focus. Epilepsy is a chronic condition, or a group of diseases of high prevalence, still poorly explained by science and whose diagnosis is still predominantly clinical. The EEG recording is considered an important test for epilepsy investigation and its visual analysis is very often applied for clinical confirmation of epilepsy diagnosis. Moreover, this EEG analysis can also be used to help define the types of epileptic syndrome, determine epileptiform zone, assist in the planning of drug treatment and provide additional information about the feasibility of surgical intervention. In the context of diagnosis confirmation the analysis is made using long term EEG recordings with at least 24 hours long and acquired by a minimum of 24 electrodes in which the neurophysiologists perform a thorough visual evaluation of EEG screens in search of specific electrographic patterns called epileptiform discharges. Considering that the EEG screens usually display 10 seconds of the recording, the neurophysiologist has to evaluate 360 screens per hour of EEG or a minimum of 8,640 screens per long term EEG recording. Analyzing thousands of EEG screens in search patterns that have a maximum duration of 200 ms is a very time consuming, complex and exhaustive task. Because of this, over the years several studies have proposed automated methodologies that could facilitate the neurophysiologists’ task of identifying epileptiform discharges and a large number of methodologies used neural networks for the pattern classification. One of the differences between all of these methodologies is the type of input stimuli presented to the networks, i.e., how the EEG signal is introduced in the network. Five types of input stimuli have been commonly found in literature: raw EEG signal, morphological descriptors (i.e. parameters related to the signal’s morphology), Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectrum, Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) spectrograms and Wavelet Transform features. This study evaluates the application of these five types of input stimuli and compares the classification results of neural networks that were implemented using each of these inputs. The performance of using raw signal varied between 43 and 84% efficiency. The results of FFT spectrum and STFT spectrograms were quite similar with average efficiency being 73 and 77%, respectively. The efficiency of Wavelet Transform features varied between 57 and 81% while the descriptors presented efficiency values between 62 and 93%. After simulations we could observe that the best results were achieved when either morphological descriptors or Wavelet features were used as input stimuli.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, electroencephalogram signal, pattern recognition, signal processing

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Authors: Mitali Saha, Soma Das

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The fabrication of nanoscale materials for use in chemical sensing, biosensing and biological analyses has proven a promising avenue in the last few years. Cholesterol has aroused considerable interest in recent years on account of its being an important parameter in clinical diagnosis. There is a strong positive correlation between high serum cholesterol level and arteriosclerosis, hypertension, and myocardial infarction. Enzyme-based electrochemical biosensors have shown high selectivity and excellent sensitivity, but the enzyme is easily denatured during its immobilization procedure and its activity is also affected by temperature, pH, and toxic chemicals. Besides, the reproducibility of enzyme-based sensors is not very good which further restrict the application of cholesterol biosensor. It has been demonstrated that carbon nanotubes could promote electron transfer with various redox active proteins, ranging from cytochrome c to glucose oxidase with a deeply embedded redox center. In continuation of our earlier work on the synthesis and applications of carbon and metal based nanoparticles, we have reported here the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CCNT) by burning coconut oil under insufficient flow of air using an oil lamp. The soot was collected from the top portion of the flame, where the temperature was around 6500C which was purified, functionalized and then characterized by SEM, p-XRD and Raman spectroscopy. The SEM micrographs showed the formation of tubular structure of CCNT having diameter below 100 nm. The XRD pattern indicated the presence of two predominant peaks at 25.20 and 43.80, which corresponded to (002) and (100) planes of CCNT respectively. The Raman spectrum (514 nm excitation) showed the presence of 1600 cm-1 (G-band) related to the vibration of sp2-bonded carbon and at 1350 cm-1 (D-band) responsible for the vibrations of sp3-bonded carbon. A nonenzymatic cholesterol biosensor was then fabricated on an insulating Teflon material containing three silver wires at the surface, covered by CCNT, obtained from coconut oil. Here, CCNTs worked as working as well as counter electrodes whereas reference electrode and electric contacts were made of silver. The dimensions of the electrode was 3.5 cm×1.0 cm×0.5 cm (length× width × height) and it is ideal for working with 50 µL volume like the standard screen printed electrodes. The voltammetric behavior of cholesterol at CCNT electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammeter and differential pulse voltammeter using 0.001 M H2SO4 as electrolyte. The influence of the experimental parameters on the peak currents of cholesterol like pH, accumulation time, and scan rates were optimized. Under optimum conditions, the peak current was found to be linear in the cholesterol concentration range from 1 µM to 50 µM with a sensitivity of ~15.31 μAμM−1cm−2 with lower detection limit of 0.017 µM and response time of about 6s. The long-term storage stability of the sensor was tested for 30 days and the current response was found to be ~85% of its initial response after 30 days.

Keywords: coconut oil, CCNT, cholesterol, biosensor

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Authors: Thauane Silva, Gabrielle do Vale, Andre Ferreira, Marilda Siqueira, Thiago Moreno L. Souza, Milene D. Miranda

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The exposure of A(H1N1)pdm09-infected epithelial cells (HeLa) to HIV-1 viral particles, or its gp120, enhanced interferon-induced transmembrane protein (IFITM3) content, a viral restriction factor (RF), resulting in a decrease in influenza replication. The gp120 binds to CCR5 (R5) or CXCR4 (X4) cell receptors during HIV-1 infection. Then, it is possible that the endogenous ligands of these receptors also modulate the expression of IFITM3 and other cellular factors that restrict influenza virus replication. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the role of cellular receptors R5 and X4 in modulating RFs in order to inhibit the replication of the influenza virus. A549 cells were treated with 2x effective dose (ED50) of endogenous R5 or X4 receptor agonists, CCL3 (20 ng/ml), CCL4 (10 ng/ml), CCL5 (10 ng/ml) and CXCL12 (100 ng/mL) or exogenous agonists, gp120 Bal-R5, gp120 IIIB-X4 and its mutants (5 µg/mL). The interferon α (10 ng/mL) and oseltamivir (60 nM) were used as a control. After 24 h post agonists exposure, the cells were infected with virus influenza A(H3N2) at 2 MOI (multiplicity of infection) for 1 h. Then, 24 h post infection, the supernatant was harvested and, the viral titre was evaluated by qRT-PCR. To evaluate IFITM3 and SAM and HD domain containing deoxynucleoside triphosphate triphosphohydrolase 1 (SAMHD1) protein levels, A549 were exposed to agonists for 24 h, and the monolayer was lysed with Laemmli buffer for western blot (WB) assay or fixed for indirect immunofluorescence (IFI) assay. In addition to this, we analyzed other RFs modulation in A549, after 24 h post agonists exposure by customized RT² Profiler Polymerase Chain Reaction Array. We also performed a functional assay in which SAMHD1-knocked-down, by single-stranded RNA (siRNA), A549 cells were infected with A(H3N2). In addition, the cells were treated with guanosine to assess the regulatory role of dNTPs by SAMHD1. We found that R5 and X4 agonists inhibited influenza replication in 54 ± 9%. We observed a four-fold increase in SAMHD1 transcripts by RFs mRNA quantification panel. After 24 h post agonists exposure, we did not observe an increase in IFITM3 protein levels through WB or IFI assays, but we observed an upregulation up to three-fold in the protein content of SAMHD1, in A549 exposed to agonists. Besides this, influenza replication enhanced in 20% in cell cultures that SAMDH1 was knockdown. Guanosine treatment in cells exposed to R5 ligands further inhibited influenza virus replication, suggesting that the inhibitory mechanism may involve the activation of the SAMHD1 deoxynucleotide triphosphohydrolase activity. Thus, our data show for the first time a direct relationship of SAMHD1 and inhibition of influenza replication, and provides perspectives for new studies on the signaling modulation, through cellular receptors, to induce proteins of great importance in the control of relevant infections for public health.

Keywords: chemokine receptors, gp120, influenza, virus restriction factors

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Authors: Karim Hamidi Machekposhti, Hossein Sedghi

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This study was designed to find the best stochastic model (using of time series analysis) for annual extreme streamflow (peak and maximum streamflow) of Karkheh River at Iran. The Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model used to simulate these series and forecast those in future. For the analysis, annual extreme streamflow data of Jelogir Majin station (above of Karkheh dam reservoir) for the years 1958–2005 were used. A visual inspection of the time plot gives a little increasing trend; therefore, series is not stationary. The stationarity observed in Auto-Correlation Function (ACF) and Partial Auto-Correlation Function (PACF) plots of annual extreme streamflow was removed using first order differencing (d=1) in order to the development of the ARIMA model. Interestingly, the ARIMA(4,1,1) model developed was found to be most suitable for simulating annual extreme streamflow for Karkheh River. The model was found to be appropriate to forecast ten years of annual extreme streamflow and assist decision makers to establish priorities for water demand. The Statistical Analysis System (SAS) and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) codes were used to determinate of the best model for this series.

Keywords: stochastic models, ARIMA, extreme streamflow, Karkheh river

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