Search results for: abstract word

Authors: Tamara Anderson, Neela Badrie

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Plant phenolics which are found in red grape wine, have received considerable attention due to their potential antioxidant activity. Grape by-products contain large amounts of phenolic compounds, mostly flavonoids at high concentrations of 1000-1800 mg/L. Plant phenolics contribute to the flavor, and nutritional value. Sorrel or roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) belongs to the family Malvaceae. The brilliant red pigments in sorrel calyces contain anthocyanins which are the major sources of antioxidant capacity. Consumers are demanding novel beverages that are healthier, convenient and have appealing consumer acceptance. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of adding grape polyphenols and the influence of presenting health claims on the sensory acceptability of the wines. Fresh red sorrel calyces were fermented into wines. The total soluble solids of the pectinase-treated sorrel puree were from 4°Brix to 23.8°Brix. Polyphenol in the form of grape pomace extract was added to sorrel wines (w/v) in specified levels to give 0. 25. 50 and 75 ppm. A focus group comprising of 12 panelists was use to select the level of polyphenol to be added to sorrel wines for sensory preference The sensory attributed of the wines which were evaluated were colour, clarity, aroma, flavor, mouth-feel, sweetness, astringency and overall preference. The sorrel wine which was most preferred from focus group evaluation was presented for hedonic rating. In the first stage of hedonic testing, the sorrel wine was served chilled at 7°C for 24 h prior to sensory evaluation. Each panelist was provided with a questionnaire and was asked to rate the wines on colour, aroma, flavor, mouth-feel, sweetness, astringency and overall acceptability using a 9-point hedonic scale. In the second stage of hedonic testing, the panelist were instructed to read a health abstract on the health benefits of polyphenolic compounds and again to rate sorrel wine with added 25 ppm polyphenol. Paired t-test was used for the analysis of the influence of presenting health information on polyphenols on hedonic scoring of sorrel wines. Focus groups found that the addition of polyphenol addition had no significant effect on sensory color and aroma but affected clarity and flavor. A 25 ppm wine was liked moderately in overall acceptability. The presentation of information on the health benefit of polyphenols in sorrel wines to panelists had no significant influence on the sensory acceptance of wine. More than half of panelists would drink this wine now and then. This wine had color L 19.86±0.68, chroma 2.10±0.12, hue° 16.90 ±3.10 and alcohol content of 13.0%. The sorrel wine was liked moderately in overall acceptability with the added polyphenols.

Keywords: sorrel wines, Roselle Hibiscus sabdariffa L, novel wine, polyphenols, health benefits, physicochemical properties

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Authors: Rachel S. E. Lim, Winnie L. C. Tan

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Visual literacy is about making meaning through the interaction of images, words, and sounds. Graphic communication students typically develop visual literacy through critique and production of studio-based projects for their portfolios. However, the abrupt switch to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has made it necessary to consider new strategies of visualization and planning to scaffold teaching and learning. This study, therefore, investigated how MIRO, a cloud-based visual collaboration platform, could be used to develop the visual literacy confidence of 30 diploma in graphic communication students attending a graphic design course at a Singapore arts institution. Due to COVID-19, the course was taught fully online throughout a 16-week semester. Guided by Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, the two lecturers developed students’ engagement with visual literacy concepts through different activities that facilitated concrete experiences, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Throughout the semester, students create, collaborate, and centralize communication in MIRO with infinite canvas, smart frameworks, a robust set of widgets (i.e., sticky notes, freeform pen, shapes, arrows, smart drawing, emoticons, etc.), and powerful platform capabilities that enable asynchronous and synchronous feedback and interaction. Students then drew upon these multimodal experiences to brainstorm, research, and develop their motion design project. A survey was used to examine students’ perceptions of engagement (E), confidence (C), learning strategies (LS). Using multiple regression, it¬ was found that the use of MIRO helped students develop confidence (C) with visual literacy, which predicted performance score (PS) that was measured against their application of visual literacy to the creation of their motion design project. While students’ learning strategies (LS) with MIRO did not directly predict confidence (C) or performance score (PS), it fostered positive perceptions of engagement (E) which in turn predicted confidence (C). Content analysis of students’ open-ended survey responses about their learning strategies (LS) showed that MIRO provides organization and structure in documenting learning progress, in tandem with establishing standards and expectations as a preparatory ground for generating feedback. With the clarity and sequence of the mentioned conditions set in place, these prerequisites then lead to the next level of personal action for self-reflection, self-directed learning, and time management. The study results show that the affordances of MIRO can develop visual literacy and make up for the potential pitfalls of student isolation, communication, and engagement during online learning. The context of how MIRO could be used by lecturers to orientate students for learning in visual literacy and studio-based projects for future development are discussed.

Keywords: design education, graphic communication, online learning, visual literacy

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Authors: M. Ghasemi, S.Fazelifar

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Abstract Aim: Over-weight is not desirable and has implications for health and in the case of athletes affects performance. Exercise is a strategy used to counteract overweight owing to create a negative energy balance by increasing energy expenditure and influencing appetite regulating hormones. Interestingly, recent studies have revealed inhibitory effects of exercise on the hunger associated with these hormones in healthy subjects Neuropeptide Y(NPY) is a 36 amino acid protein that is a powerful stimulant appetite. NPY is an important central orexigenic hormone predominantly produced by the hypothalamus, and recently found to be secreted in adipose tissue. This neurotransmitter is secreted in the brain and autonomic nervous system. On the other hand, research has shown that thyme in addition to various properties, also affects the appetite. The purpose of this study was to determine Effects of eight weeks endurance training and thyme consumption on neuropeptide Y in untrained men. Methodology: 36 Healthy untrained men (mean body weight 78.25±3.2 kg, height 176±6.8 cm, age 34.32±4.54 years and BMI 29.1±4.3 kg/m2) voluntarily participated in this study . Subjects were randomly divided into four groups: 1. control, 2. Endurance training, 3. Thyme 4. Endurance training + Thyme. Amount of 10cc Blood sampling were obtained pre-test and post-test (after 8 weeks). The taken blood samples were centrifuged at 1500 × g for 15 min then plasma was stored at -20 °C until analysis. Endurance training consisted three session per week with 60% -75% of reserve heart rate for eight weeks. Exclusion criteria were history of gastrointestinal, endocrine, cardiovascular or psychological disease, and consuming any supplementation, alcohol and tobacco products. Descriptive statistics including means, standard deviations, and ranges were calculated for all measures. K-S test to determine the normality of the data and analysis of variance for repeated measures was used to analyze the data. A significant difference in the p<0/05 accepted. Results: Results showed that aerobic training significantly reduced body weight, body mass index, percent body fat, but significant increase observed in maximal oxygen consumption level (p ≤ 0/05). The neuropeptide Y levels were significantly increased after exercise. Analysis of data determined that there was no significant difference between the four groups. Conclusion: Appetite control plays a critical role in the competition between energy consumption and energy expenditure. The results of this study showed that endurance training and thyme consumption can be cause improvement in physiological parameters such as increasing aerobic capacity, reduction of fat mass and improve body composition in untrained men.

Keywords: Endurance training, neuropeptide Y, thyme, untrained men

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Authors: Sahar Heidary

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Radiography and radiotherapy have emerged as crucial pillars of modern medical practice, revolutionizing diagnostics and treatment for a myriad of health conditions. This abstract highlights the pivotal role of radiography and radiotherapy in favor of healthcare and society. Radiography, a non-invasive imaging technique, has significantly advanced medical diagnostics by enabling the visualization of internal structures and abnormalities within the human body. With the advent of digital radiography, clinicians can obtain high-resolution images promptly, leading to faster diagnoses and informed treatment decisions. Radiography plays a pivotal role in detecting fractures, tumors, infections, and various other conditions, allowing for timely interventions and improved patient outcomes. Moreover, its widespread accessibility and cost-effectiveness make it an indispensable tool in healthcare settings worldwide. On the other hand, radiotherapy, a branch of medical science that utilizes high-energy radiation, has become an integral component of cancer treatment and management. By precisely targeting and damaging cancerous cells, radiotherapy offers a potent strategy to control tumor growth and, in many cases, leads to cancer eradication. Additionally, radiotherapy is often used in combination with surgery and chemotherapy, providing a multifaceted approach to combat cancer comprehensively. The continuous advancements in radiotherapy techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery, have further improved treatment precision while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Furthermore, radiography and radiotherapy have demonstrated their worth beyond oncology. Radiography is instrumental in guiding various medical procedures, including catheter placement, joint injections, and dental evaluations, reducing complications and enhancing procedural accuracy. On the other hand, radiotherapy finds applications in non-cancerous conditions like benign tumors, vascular malformations, and certain neurological disorders, offering therapeutic options for patients who may not benefit from traditional surgical interventions. In conclusion, radiography and radiotherapy stand as indispensable tools in modern medicine, driving transformative improvements in patient care and treatment outcomes. Their ability to diagnose, treat, and manage a wide array of medical conditions underscores their favor in medical practice. As technology continues to advance, radiography and radiotherapy will undoubtedly play an ever more significant role in shaping the future of healthcare, ultimately saving lives and enhancing the quality of life for countless individuals worldwide.

Keywords: radiology, radiotherapy, medical imaging, cancer treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Stephanie Al Otaiba, Kyle Roberts

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Background and Significance Globally far too many students read below grade level; thus improving literacy outcomes is vital. Research suggests that non-cognitive factors, including Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) are linked to success in literacy outcomes. Converging evidence exists that early interventions are more effective than later remediation; therefore teachers need strategies to support early literacy while developing students’ SEL and their vocabulary, or language, for learning. This presentation describe findings from a US federally-funded project that trained teachers to provide an evidence-based read-aloud program for young children, using commercially available books with multicultural characters and themes to help their students “GROW”. The five GROW SEL themes include: “I can name my feelings”, “I can learn from my mistakes”, “I can persist”, “I can be kind to myself and others”, and “I can work toward and achieve goals”. Examples of GROW vocabulary (from over 100 words taught across the 5 units) include: emotions, improve, resilient, cooperate, accomplish, responsible, compassion, adapt, achieve, analyze. Methodology This study used a mixed methods research design, with qualitative methods to describe data from teacher feedback surveys (regarding satisfaction, feasibility), observations of fidelity of implementation, and with quantitative methods to assess the effect sizes for student vocabulary growth. GROW Intervention and Teacher Training Procedures Researchers trained classroom teachers to implement GROW. Each thematic unit included four books, vocabulary cards with images of the vocabulary words, and scripted lessons. Teacher training included online and in-person training; researchers incorporated virtual reality videos of instructors with child avatars to model lessons. Classroom teachers provided 2-3 20 min lessons per week ranging from short-term (8 weeks) to longer-term trials for up to 16 weeks. Setting and Participants The setting for the study included two large urban charter schools in the South. Data was collected across two years; during the first year, participants included 7 kindergarten teachers and 108 and the second year involved an additional set of 5 kindergarten and first grade teachers and 65 students. Initial Findings The initial qualitative findings indicate teachers reported the lessons to be feasible to implement and they reported that students enjoyed the books. Teachers found the vocabulary words to be challenging and important. They were able to implement lessons with fidelity. Quantitative analyses of growth for each taught word suggest that students’ growth on taught words ranged from large (ES = .75) to small (<.20). Researchers will contrast the effects for more and less successful books within the GROW units. Discussion and Conclusion It is feasible for teachers of young students to effectively teach SEL vocabulary and themes during shared book reading. Teachers and students enjoyed the books and students demonstrated growth on taught vocabulary. Researchers will discuss implications of the study and about the GROW program for researchers in learning sciences, will describe some limitations about research designs that are inherent in school-based research partnerships, and will provide some suggested directions for future research and practice.

Keywords: early literacy, learning science, language and vocabulary, social and emotional learning, multi-cultural

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Authors: Preetinder Kaur Randhawa

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The rural areas can be differentiated from urban areas in terms of their economic activities as rural areas are primarily involved in agricultural sector and provide natural resources whereas, urban areas are primarily involved in infrastructure sector and provide manufacturing services. Census of India defines a Census Town as an area which satisfies the following three criteria i.e. population exceeds 5000, at least 75 percent of male population engaged in non-agricultural sector and minimum population density of 400 persons per square kilometers. Urban areas can be attributed to the improvement of transport facilities, the massive decline in agricultural, especially male workers and workers shift to non-agricultural activities. This study examines the pattern, process of rural areas transformed into urban areas/ census town. The study has analyzed the various factors which are responsible for land transformation as well as the socio-economic transformation of the village population. Nilpur (CT) which belongs to Rajpura Tehsil in Patiala district, Punjab has been selected for the present study. The methodology adopted includes qualitative and quantitative research design, methods based on secondary data. Secondary data has been collected from unpublished revenue record office of Rajpura Tehsil and Primary Census Abstract of Patiala district, Census of India 2011. The results have showed that rate of transformation of a village to census town in Rajpura Tehsil has been one of highest among other villages. The census town has evolved through the evolutionary process of human settlement which grows in size, population and physical development. There must be a complete economic transformation and attainment of high level of technological development. Urban design and construction of buildings and infrastructure can be carried out better and faster and can be used to aid human habitation with the enhancement of quality of life. The study has concluded that in the selected area i.e Nilpur (CT) literacy rate has increased to 72.1 percent in year 2011 from 67.6 percent in year 2001. Similarly non-agricultural work force has increased to 95.2 percent in year 2011 from 81.1 percent in year 2001. It is very much clear that the increased literacy rate has put a positive impact on the involvement of non-agricultural workers have enhanced. The study has concluded that rural-urban linkages are important tools for understanding complexities of people livelihood and their strategies which involve mobility migration and the diversification of income sources and occupations.

Keywords: Census Town, India, Nilpur, Punjab

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Authors: Richard J. Hanowski, Rebecca L. Hammond

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Very few studies have been conducted to investigate safety issues associated with motorcoach/bus operations. The current study investigates the impact that roadway infrastructure, including locality, roadway grade, traffic flow and traffic density, have on bus safety. A naturalistic driving study was conducted in the U.S.A that involved 43 motorcoaches. Two fleets participated in the study and over 600,000 miles of naturalistic driving data were collected. Sixty-five bus drivers participated in this study; 48 male and 17 female. The average age of the drivers was 49 years. A sophisticated data acquisition system (DAS) was installed on each of the 43 motorcoaches and a variety of kinematic and video data were continuously recorded. The data were analyzed by identifying safety critical events (SCEs), which included crashes, near-crashes, crash-relevant conflicts, and unintentional lane deviations. Additionally, baseline (normative driving) segments were also identified and analyzed for comparison to the SCEs. This presentation highlights the need for bus safety research and the methods used in this data collection effort. With respect to elements of roadway infrastructure, this study highlights the methods used to assess locality, roadway grade, traffic flow, and traffic density. Locality was determined by manual review of the recorded video for each event and baseline and was characterized in terms of open country, residential, business/industrial, church, playground, school, urban, airport, interstate, and other. Roadway grade was similarly determined through video review and characterized in terms of level, grade up, grade down, hillcrest, and dip. The video was also used to make a determination of the traffic flow and traffic density at the time of the event or baseline segment. For traffic flow, video was used to assess which of the following best characterized the event or baseline: not divided (2-way traffic), not divided (center 2-way left turn lane), divided (median or barrier), one-way traffic, or no lanes. In terms of traffic density, level-of-service categories were used: A1, A2, B, C, D, E, and F. Highlighted in this abstract are only a few of the many roadway elements that were coded in this study. Other elements included lighting levels, weather conditions, roadway surface conditions, relation to junction, and roadway alignment. Note that a key component of this study was to assess the impact that driver distraction and fatigue have on bus operations. In this regard, once the roadway elements had been coded, the primary research questions that were addressed were (i) “What environmental condition are associated with driver choice of engagement in tasks?”, and (ii) “what are the odds of being in a SCE while engaging in tasks while encountering these conditions?”. The study may be of interest to researchers and traffic engineers that are interested in the relationship between roadway infrastructure elements and safety events in motorcoach bus operations.

Keywords: bus safety, motorcoach, naturalistic driving, roadway infrastructure

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Authors: Hamid Abbasi, Neda Jourabchi, Ranasadat Abedi, Kiarash Tajernarenj, Mehdi Farhoudi, Sarvin Sanaie

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Background: Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), fat- and water-soluble, coenzyme with sulfuret content, has received considerable attention for its potential therapeutic role in diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and central nervous disease. This investigation aims to evaluate the probable protective effects of ALA in stroke patients. Methods: Based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, This meta-analysis was performed. The PICO criteria for this meta-analysis were as follows: Population/Patients (P: stroke patients); Intervention (I: ALA); Comparison (C: control); Outcome (O: blood glucose, lipid profile, oxidative stress, inflammatory factors).In addition, Studies that were excluded from the analysis consisted of in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo studies, case reports, quasi-experimental studies. Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE databases were searched until August 2023. Results: Of 496 records that were screened in the title/abstract stage, 9 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The sample sizes in the included studies vary between 28 and 90. The result of risk of bias was performed via risk of bias (RoB) in randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) based on the second version of the Cochrane RoB assessment tool. 8 studies had a definitely high risk of bias. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, The present meta-analysis is the first study addressing the effectiveness of ALA supplementation in enhancing post-stroke metabolic markers, including lipid profile, oxidative stress, and inflammatory indices. It is imperative to acknowledge certain potential limitations inherent in this study. First of all, type of treatment (oral or intravenous infusion) could alter the bioavailability of ALA. Our study had restricted evidence regarding the impact of ALA supplementation on included outcomes. Therefore, further research is warranted to develop into the effects of ALA specifically on inflammation and oxidative stress. Funding: The research protocol was approved and supported by the Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (grant number: 72825). Registration: This study was registered in the International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO ID: CR42023461612).

Keywords: alpha-lipoic acid, lipid profile, blood glucose, inflammatory factors, oxidative stress, meta-analysis, post-stroke

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Authors: S. Masud, J. Merson, D. F. Robinson

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The management of environmental resources requires engagement of a range of stakeholders including public/private agencies and different community groups to implement sustainable conservation practices. The challenge which is often ignored is the analysis of agencies involved and their power relations. One of the barriers identified is the difference in risk perceptions among the agencies involved that leads to disjointed efforts of assessing and managing risks. Wood et al 2012, explains that it is important to have an integrated approach to risk management where decision makers address stakeholder perspectives. This is critical for an effective risk management policy. This abstract is part of a PhD research that looks into barriers to flood management under a changing climate and intends to identify bottlenecks that create maladaptation. Experiences are drawn from international practices in the UK and examined in the context of Australia through exploring the flood governance in a highly flood-prone region in Australia: the Hawkesbury Ne-pean catchment as a case study. In this research study several aspects of governance and management are explored: (i) the complexities created by the way different agencies are involved in assessing flood risks (ii) different perceptions on acceptable flood risk level; (iii) perceptions on community engagement in defining acceptable flood risk level; (iv) Views on a holistic flood risk management approach; and, (v) challenges of centralised information system. The study concludes that the complexity of managing a large catchment is exacerbated by the difference in the way professionals perceive the problem. This has led to: (a) different standards for acceptable risks; (b) inconsistent attempt to set-up a regional scale flood management plan beyond the jurisdictional boundaries: (c) absence of a regional scale agency with license to share and update information (d) Lack of forums for dialogue with insurance companies to ensure an integrated approach to flood management. The research takes the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment as case example and draws from literary evidence from around the world. In addition, conclusions were extrapolated from eighteen semi-structured interviews from agencies involved in flood risk management in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment of NSW, Australia. The outcome of this research is to provide a better understanding of complexity in assessing risks against a rapidly changing climate and contribute towards developing effective risk communication strategies thus enabling better management of floods and achieving increased level of support from insurance companies, real-estate agencies, state and regional risk managers and the affected communities.

Keywords: adaptive governance, flood management, flood risk communication, stakeholder risk perceptions

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Authors: Andrea Fiorista

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The learning of prepositions is a quite problematic aspect in foreign language instruction, and Italian is certainly not an exception. In their prototypical function, prepositions express schematic relations of two entities in a highly abstract, typically image-schematic way. In other terms, prepositions assume concepts such as directionality, collocation of objects in space and time and, in Cognitive Linguistics’ terms, the position of a trajector with respect to a landmark. Learners of different native languages may conceptualize them differently, implying that they are supposed to operate a recategorization (or create new categories) fitting with the target language. However, most current Italian Foreign/Second Language handbooks and didactic grammars do not facilitate learners in carrying out the task, as they tend to provide partial and idiosyncratic descriptions, with the consequent learner’s effort to memorize them, most of the time without success. In their prototypical meaning, prepositions are used to specify precise topographical positions in the physical environment which become less and less accurate as they radiate out from what might be termed a concrete prototype. According to that, the present study aims to elaborate a cognitive and conceptually well-grounded analysis of some extensive uses of the Italian preposition a, in order to propose effective pedagogical solutions in the Teaching/Learning process. Image schemas, cognitive metaphors and embodiment represent efficient cognitive tools in a task like this. Actually, while learning the merely spatial use of the preposition a (e.g. Sono a Roma = I am in Rome; vado a Roma = I am going to Rome,…) is quite straightforward, it is more complex when a appears in constructions such as verbs of motion +a + infinitive (e.g. Vado a studiare = I am going to study), inchoative periphrasis (e.g. Tra poco mi metto a leggere = In a moment I will read), causative construction (e.g. Lui mi ha mandato a lavorare = He sent me to work). The study reports data from a teaching intervention of Focus on Form, in which a basic cognitive schema is used to facilitate both teachers and students to respectively explain/understand the extensive uses of a. The educational material employed translates Cognitive Linguistics’ theoretical assumptions, such as image schemas and cognitive metaphors, into simple images or proto-scenes easily comprehensible for learners. Illustrative material, indeed, is supposed to make metalinguistic contents more accessible. Moreover, the concept of embodiment is pedagogically applied through activities including motion and learners’ bodily involvement. It is expected that replacing rote learning with a methodology that gives grammatical elements a proper meaning, makes learning process more effective both in the short and long term.

Keywords: cognitive approaches to language teaching, image schemas, embodiment, Italian as FL/SL

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Authors: Meron Zenaselase Rata, Euridice Leyequien Abarca

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The production of major crops in Northern Ethiopia, especially the Tigray Region, is at subsistence level due to drought, erratic rainfall, and poor soil fertility. Since cactus pear is a drought-resistant plant, it is considered as a lifesaver fruit and a strategy for poverty reduction in a drought-affected area of the region. Despite its contribution to household income and food security in the area, the cactus pear sub-sector is experiencing many constraints with limited attention given to its post-harvest loss management. Therefore, this research was carried out to identify opportunities for reducing post-harvest losses and recommend possible strategies to reduce post-harvest losses, thereby improving production and smallholder’s income. Both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were employed to collect the data. Ganta Afeshum district was selected from Eastern Tigray, and two peasant associations (Buket and Golea) were also selected from the district purposively for being potential in cactus pear production. Simple random sampling techniques were employed to survey 30 households from each of the two peasant associations, and a semi-structured questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. Moreover, in this research 2 collectors, 2 wholesalers, 1 processor, 3 retailers, 2 consumers were interviewed; and two focus group discussion was also done with 14 key farmers using semi-structured checklist; and key informant interview with governmental and non-governmental organizations were interviewed to gather more information about the cactus pear production, post-harvest losses, the strategies used to reduce the post-harvest losses and suggestions to improve the post-harvest management. To enter and analyze the quantitative data, SPSS version 20 was used, whereas MS-word were used to transcribe the qualitative data. The data were presented using frequency and descriptive tables and graphs. The data analysis was also done using a chain map, correlations, stakeholder matrix, and gross margin. Mean comparisons like ANOVA and t-test between variables were used. The analysis result shows that the present cactus pear value chain involves main actors and supporters. However, there is inadequate information flow and informal market linkages among actors in the cactus pear value chain. The farmer's gross margin is higher when they sell to the processor than sell to collectors. The significant postharvest loss in the cactus pear value chain is at the producer level, followed by wholesalers and retailers. The maximum and minimum volume of post-harvest losses at the producer level is 4212 and 240 kgs per season. The post-harvest loss was caused by limited farmers skill on-farm management and harvesting, low market price, limited market information, absence of producer organization, poor post-harvest handling, absence of cold storage, absence of collection centers, poor infrastructure, inadequate credit access, using traditional transportation system, absence of quality control, illegal traders, inadequate research and extension services and using inappropriate packaging material. Therefore, some of the recommendations were providing adequate practical training, forming producer organizations, and constructing collection centers.

Keywords: cactus pear, post-harvest losses, profit margin, value-chain

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Authors: Majdah Alnefaie

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The ‘netnographic study’ and data mining have been used to monitor the public interaction on Social Media Sites (SMSs) to understand what the motivational factors influence the Saudi intentions regarding allowing women driving in Saudi Arabia in 2018. The netnographic study monitored the publics’ textual and visual communications in Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube. SMSs users’ communications method is also known as electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Netnography methodology is still in its initial stages as it depends on manual extraction, reading and classification of SMSs users text. On the other hand, data mining is come from the computer and physical sciences background, therefore it is much harder to extract meaning from unstructured qualitative data. In addition, the new development in data mining software does not support the Arabic text, especially local slang in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, collaborations between social and computer scientists such as ‘netnographic study’ and data mining will enhance the efficiency of this study methodology leading to comprehensive research outcome. The eWOM communications between individuals on SMSs can promote a sense that sharing their preferences and experiences regarding politics and social government regulations is a part of their daily life, highlighting the importance of using SMSs as assistance in promoting participation in political and social. Therefore, public interactions on SMSs are important tools to comprehend people’s intentions regarding the new government regulations in the country. This study aims to answer this question, "What factors influence the Saudi Arabians' intentions of Saudi female's car-driving in 2018". The study utilized qualitative method known as netnographic study. The study used R studio to collect and analyses 27000 Saudi users’ comments from 25th May until 25th June 2018. The study has developed data collection model that support importing and analysing the Arabic text in the local slang. The data collection model in this study has been clustered based on different type of social networks, gender and the study main factors. The social network analysis was employed to collect comments from SMSs owned by governments’ originations, celebrities, vloggers, social activist and news SMSs accounts. The comments were collected from both males and females SMSs users. The sentiment analysis shows that the total number of positive comments Saudi females car driving was higher than negative comments. The data have provided the most important factors influenced the Saudi Arabians’ intention of Saudi females car driving including, culture and environment, freedom of choice, equal opportunities, security and safety. The most interesting finding indicted that women driving would play a role in increasing the individual freedom of choice. Saudi female will be able to drive cars to fulfill her daily life and family needs without being stressed due to the lack of transportation. The study outcome will help Saudi government to improve woman quality of life by increasing the ability to find more jobs and studies, increasing income through decreasing the spending on transport means such as taxi and having more freedom of choice in woman daily life needs. The study enhances the importance of using use marketing research to measure the public opinions on the new government regulations in the country. The study has explained the limitations and suggestions for future research.

Keywords: netnographic study, data mining, social media, Saudi Arabia, female driving

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Authors: Benjamin Arazi

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Blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. It revolutionizes the meaning of trust in the sense of offering total reliability without relying on any central entity that controls or supervises the system. The Wall Street Journal states: “Blockchain Marks the Next Step in the Internet’s Evolution”. Blockchain was listed as #1 in Linkedin – The Learning Blog “most in-demand hard skills needed in 2020”. As stated there: “Blockchain’s novel way to store, validate, authorize, and move data across the internet has evolved to securely store and send any digital asset”. GSMA, a leading Telco organization of mobile communications operators, declared that “Blockchain has the potential to be for value what the Internet has been for information”. Motivated by these seminal observations, this paper presents the foundations of a Blockchain-based “Internet of Assets” academic program that joins under one roof leading application areas that are characterized by the transfer of assets over communication lines. Two such areas, which are pillars of our economy, are Fintech – Financial Technology and mobile communications services. The next application in line is Healthcare. These challenges are met based on available extensive professional literature. Blockchain-based assets communication is based on extending the principle of Bitcoin, starting with the basic question: If digital money that travels across the universe can ‘prove its own validity’, can this principle be applied to digital content. A groundbreaking positive answer here led to the concept of “smart contract” and consequently to DLT - Distributed Ledger Technology, where the word ‘distributed’ relates to the non-existence of reliable central entities or trusted third parties. The terms Blockchain and DLT are frequently used interchangeably in various application areas. The World Bank Group compiled comprehensive reports, analyzing the contribution of DLT/Blockchain to Fintech. The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are engaged in Project Stella, “Balancing confidentiality and auditability in a distributed ledger environment”. 130 DLT/Blockchain focused Fintech startups are now operating in Switzerland. Blockchain impact on mobile communications services is treated in detail by leading organizations. The TM Forum is a global industry association in the telecom industry, with over 850 member companies, mainly mobile operators, that generate US$2 trillion in revenue and serve five billion customers across 180 countries. From their perspective: “Blockchain is considered one of the digital economy’s most disruptive technologies”. Samples of Blockchain contributions to Fintech (taken from a World Bank document): Decentralization and disintermediation; Greater transparency and easier auditability; Automation & programmability; Immutability & verifiability; Gains in speed and efficiency; Cost reductions; Enhanced cyber security resilience. Samples of Blockchain contributions to the Telco industry. Establishing identity verification; Record of transactions for easy cost settlement; Automatic triggering of roaming contract which enables near-instantaneous charging and reduction in roaming fraud; Decentralized roaming agreements; Settling accounts per costs incurred in accordance with agreement tariffs. This clearly demonstrates an academic education structure where fundamental technologies are studied in classes together with these two application areas. Advanced courses, treating specific implementations then follow separately. All are under the roof of “Internet of Assets”.

Keywords: blockchain, education, financial technology, mobile telecommunications services

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Authors: Soumya Dutta

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This research paper aims at investigating the impact of emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence on radio presenter’s performance in the All India Radio, Kolkata (India’s public service broadcaster). The ancient concept of productivity is the ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. But, father of modern management Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) defined productivity of knowledge work and knowledge workers in a new form. In the other hand, the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) originated back in 1920’s when Thorndike (1920) for the first time proposed the emotional intelligence into three dimensions, i.e., abstract intelligence, mechanical intelligence, and social intelligence. The contribution of Salovey and Mayer (1990) is substantive, as they proposed a model for emotional intelligence by defining EI as part of the social intelligence, which takes measures the ability of an individual to regulate his/her personal and other’s emotions and feeling. Cognitive intelligence illustrates the specialization of general intelligence in the domain of cognition in ways that possess experience and learning about cognitive processes such as memory. The outcomes of past research on emotional intelligence show that emotional intelligence has a positive effect on social- mental factors of human resource; positive effects of emotional intelligence on leaders and followers in terms of performance, results, work, satisfaction; emotional intelligence has a positive and significant relationship with the teachers' job performance. In this paper, we made a conceptual framework based on theories of emotional intelligence proposed by Salovey and Mayer (1989-1990) and a compensatory model of emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and job performance proposed by Stephen Cote and Christopher T. H. Miners (2006). For investigating the impact of emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence on radio presenter’s performance, sample size consists 59 radio presenters (considering gender, academic qualification, instructional mood, age group, etc.) from All India Radio, Kolkata station. Questionnaires prepared based on cognitive (henceforth called C based and represented by C1, C2,.., C5) as well as emotional intelligence (henceforth called E based and represented by E1, E2,., E20). These were sent to around 59 respondents (Presenters) for getting their responses. Performance score was collected from the report of program executive of All India Radio, Kolkata. The linear regression has been carried out using all the E-based and C-based variables as the predictor variables. The possible problem of autocorrelation has been tested by having the Durbinson-Watson (DW) Statistic. Values of this statistic, almost within the range of 1.80-2.20, indicate the absence of any significant problem of autocorrelation. The possible problem of multicollinearity has been tested by having the Variable Inflation Factor (VIF) value. Values of this statistic, around within 2, indicates the absence of any significant problem of multicollinearity. It is inferred that the performance scores can be statistically regressed linearly on the E-based and C-based scores, which can explain 74.50% of the variations in the performance.

Keywords: cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, performance, productivity

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Authors: Galina N. Parshina, Olga N. Shemshura, Ulzhan S. Mukiyanova, Gulnur M. Beisetbayeva

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From a medical point of view some species from the family Lamiaceae Lindl. attract the attention of scientists. Many plant species from this family are used in science and medicine. Some researchers believe that the medicinal properties of these plants are caused by the action on the organism of the individual components (camphor, menthol, thymol, eugenol, phenols, flavonoids, alcohols, and their derivatives) or the entire complex of essential oils. Biologically active substances (BAS), isolated from these medicinal plants can be an effective supplement in the complex treatment of infectious diseases. The substances of the phenolic group such as flavonoids and phenolic acids; and also alkaloids included in the component composition of the plants from the family Lamiaceae Lindl. present the scientific and practical interest for future investigations of their biological activity and development of medicinal products. The research objects are the species from the family Lamiaceae Lindl., cultivated in the North-Kazakhstan region. In this abstract, we present the results of the investigation of polyphenolic complex (flavonoids and phenolic acids) and alkaloids in aqueous and ethanol extracts. Investigation of the qualitative composition of flavonoids in the aqueous extracts showed that the species Monarda Diana contains flavone, Dracocephalum moldavica contains rutin, Ocimum basilicum (purple form) contains both ruin and quercetin. Biochemical analysis revealed that the ethanol extract of Monarda Diana has phenolic acids, similar to protocatechuic and benzoic acids by their chromatographic characteristics. But the aqueous extract contains four phenolic acids, one of which is an analogue of gentisic acid; and the other three are not identified yet. The phenolic acids such as benzoic and gentisic acids identified in ethanol extracts of species Ocimum basilicum (purple form) and Satureja hortensis, correspondingly. But the same phenolic acids did not appear in aqueous extracts. The phenolic acids were not determined neither in the ethanol or aqueous extracts of species Dracocephalum moldavica. The biochemical analysis did not reveal the content of alkaloids in aqueous extracts of investigated plants. However, the alkaloids in the amount of 5-13 components were identified in the ethanolic extracts of plants by the qualitative reactions. The results of analysis with reagent of Dragendorff showed that next amounts of alkaloids were identified in extracts of Monarda Diana (6-7), Satureja hortensis (6), Ocimum basilicum (7-9) and Dracocephalum moldavica (5-6). The reactions with reagent of Van-Urca showed that next amounts of alkaloids were identified in extracts of Monarda Diana (9-12), Satureja hortensis (9-10), two alkaloids of them with Rf6=0,39 and Rf6=0,31 similar to roquefortine), Ocimum basilicum (11) and Dracocephalum moldavica (13, two of them with Rf5=0,34 and Rf5=0,33 by their chromatographic characteristics similar to epikostaklavin).

Keywords: biologically active substances, Lamiaceae, component composition, medicinal plant

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Authors: Meinrad Haule Lembuka

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Introduction: Ubuntu culture represents African humanism with collective and positive feeling of people living together, interdependence, equally and peaceful etc. Overtime, Ubuntu culture developed varieties of communicative strategies to express experiences, feelings and knowledge. Khanga or kanga (garment) is among the Ubuntu cultural practice of Bantu speaking people along the East African coast following interaction with Arabs and Bantu speaking people to formulate Swahili culture. Kanga or Kanga is a Swahili word which means a traditional soft cotton cloths in varieties of colours, patterns, and styles which as a deep cultural, historical, and social significance not only in Tanzania but the rest of East African coast. Swahili culture is a sub culture of Ubuntu African culture which is rich in customs and rituals that serve to preserve goodness and life where Tanzania, like the rest of East African societies along the Indian coast engaged in kanga dressing custom under Swahili culture to express their feelings and knowledge sharing. After the independence of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika) from British colonial rule, Kanga traditional dressing gained momentum in Swahili culture and spread to the rest of East Africa and beyond. To date kanga dressing holds a good position as a formal and informal tool for advocating marginalised groups, counselling, psychosocial therapy, liberation, compassion, love, justice, campaign, and cerebration etc. Methodology: A literature review method was guided by Ubuntu theory to assess the implications of kanga traditional dressing in empowering Tanzanian community. Findings: During slavery, slaves wore Kaniki and people despised Kaniki dressing due to its association with slavery. Ex-slave women seeking to become part of the Swahili society began to decorate their Kaniki clothes. After slavery was abolished in 1897, Kangas began to be used for self-empowerment and to indicate that the wearer had personal wealth. During colonial era, freedom of expressions for Africans were restricted by colonial masters thus Tanzanians used kanga to express the evils of colonialism and other social problems, Under Ubuntu value of unity and solidarity liberation and independence fighters crafted motto and liberation messages that were shared and spread rapidly in the community. Political parities like TANU used kanga to spread nationalism and Ujamaa policy. kanga is more than a piece of fabric-it is a space for women to voice unspeakable communication and a women-centred repository for indigenous knowledge, feminisms addressing social ills, happiness, campaigns, memories and reconciliation etc. Kanga provides an indirect voice and support vulnerable and marginalised populations and strongly it has proved to be a peaceful platform of capture attention of government and societies. Kanga textiles gained increased international fame when an Obama kanga design was produced upon the president’s election in 2008 and his visit to Tanzania in 2013. Conclusion: Kanga preserves and symbolises Swahili culture and contributes in realization of social justice, inclusion, national identity and unity. As an inclusive cultural tool, Kanga spread across Africa to international community and the practice has moved from being a woman domination dressing code to other sex orientations.

Keywords: African culture, Kanga, khanga, swahili culture, ubuntu

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Authors: Aderonke Olaitan Adesina

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Background: The paradigm shift to knowledge, as the key to organizational innovation and competitive advantage, has made the management of knowledge resources in organizations a mandate. A key component of the knowledge management (KM) cycle is knowledge creation, which is researched to be the result of the interaction between explicit and tacit knowledge. An effective knowledge creation process requires the use of the right model. The SECI (Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination, and Internalisation) model, proposed in 1995, is attested to be a preferred model of choice for knowledge creation activities. The model has, however, been criticized by researchers, who raise their concern, especially about its sequential nature. Therefore, this paper reviews extant literature on the practical application of each mode of the SECI model, from 1995 to date, with a view to ascertaining the relevance in modern-day KM practice. The study will establish the trends of use, with regards to the location and industry of use, and the interconnectedness of the modes. The main research question is, for organizational knowledge creation activities, is the SECI model indeed linear and sequential? In other words, does the model need to be reviewed in today’s KM practice? The review will generate a compendium of the usage of the SECI modes and propose a framework of use, based on the strength weaknesses opportunities and threats (SWOT) findings of the study. Method: This study will employ the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to investigate the usage and SWOT of the modes, in order to ascertain the success, or otherwise, of the sequential application of the modes in practice from 1995 to 2019. To achieve the purpose, four databases will be explored to search for open access, peer-reviewed articles from 1995 to 2019. The year 1995 is chosen as the baseline because it was the year the first paper on the SECI model was published. The study will appraise relevant peer-reviewed articles under the search terms: SECI (or its synonym, knowledge creation theory), socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization in the title, abstract, or keywords list. This review will include only empirical studies of knowledge management initiatives in which the SECI model and its modes were used. Findings: It is expected that the study will highlight the practical relevance of each mode of the SECI model, the linearity or not of the model, the SWOT in each mode. Concluding Statement: Organisations can, from the analysis, determine the modes of emphasis for their knowledge creation activities. It is expected that the study will support decision making in the choice of the SECI model as a strategy for the management of organizational knowledge resources, and in appropriating the SECI model, or its remodeled version, as a theoretical framework in future KM research.

Keywords: combination, externalisation, internalisation, knowledge management, SECI model, socialisation

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Authors: Camilla Simoncelli

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The connection between language and cognition has been one of the main interests of linguistics from several years. According to the Sapir-Whorf Linguistic Relativity Theory, the way we perceive reality depends on the language we speak which in turn has a central role in the human cognition. This paper is in line with this research work with the aim of analyzing how language structures reflect on our cognitive abilities even in the description of space, which is generally considered as a human natural and universal domain. The main objective is to identify the differences in the encoding of spatial inclusion relationships in French and Italian speakers to make evidence that a significant variation exists at various levels even in two similar systems. Starting from the constitution a corpora, the first step of the study has been to establish the relevant complex prepositions marking an inclusion relation in French and Italian: au centre de, au cœur de, au milieu de, au sein de, à l'intérieur de and the opposition entre/parmi in French; al centro di, al cuore di, nel mezzo di, in seno a, all'interno di and the fra/tra contrast in Italian. These prepositions had been classified on the base of the type of Noun following them (e.g. mass nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, body-parts noun, etc.) following the Collostructional Analysis of lexemes with the purpose of analyzing the preferred construction of each preposition comparing the relations construed. Comparing the Italian and the French results it has been possible to define the degree of representativeness of each target Noun for the chosen preposition studied. Lexicostatistics and Statistical Association Measures showed the values of attraction or repulsion between lexemes and a given preposition, highlighting which words are over-represented or under-represented in a specific context compared to the expected results. For instance, a Noun as Dibattiti has a negative value for the Italian Al cuore di (-1,91), but it has a strong positive representativeness for the corresponding French Au cœur de (+677,76). The value, positive or negative, is the result of a hypergeometric distribution law which displays the current use of some relevant nouns in relations of spatial inclusion by French and Italian speakers. Differences on the kind of location conceptualization denote syntactic and semantic constraints based on spatial features as well as on linguistic peculiarity, too. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the domain of spatial relations is basic to human experience and is linked to universally shared perceptual mechanisms which create mental representations depending on the language use. Therefore, linguistic coding strongly correlates with the way spatial distinctions are conceptualized for non-verbal tasks even in close language systems, like Italian and French.

Keywords: cognitive semantics, cross-linguistic variations, locational terms, non-verbal spatial representations

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Authors: Maddumage Don Sandeepa Lakshad Wimalananda, Jae-Kwan Kim, Ji-Myon Lee

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Graphene is an extraordinary 2D material that shows superior electrical, optical, and mechanical properties for the applications such as transparent contacts. Further, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique facilitates to synthesizing of large-area graphene, including transferability. The abstract is describing the use of high surface free energy (SFE) and nano-scale high-density surface kinks (rough) existing Cu foil for CVD graphene growth, which is an opposite approach to modern use of catalytic surfaces for high-quality graphene growth, but the controllable rough morphological nature opens new era to fast synthesis (less than the 50s with a short annealing process) of graphene as a continuous film over conventional longer process (30 min growth). The experiments were shown that high SFE condition and surface kinks on Cu(100) crystal plane existing Cu catalytic surface facilitated to synthesize graphene with high monolayer and continuous nature because it can influence the adsorption of C species with high concentration and which can be facilitated by faster nucleation and growth of graphene. The fast nucleation and growth are lowering the diffusion of C atoms to Cu-graphene interface, which is resulting in no or negligible formation of bilayer patches. High energy (500W) Ar plasma treatment (inductively Coupled plasma) was facilitated to form rough and high SFE existing (54.92 mJm-2) Cu foil. This surface was used to grow the graphene by using CVD technique at 1000C for 50s. The introduced kink-like high SFE existing point on Cu(100) crystal plane facilitated to faster nucleation of graphene with a high monolayer ratio (I2D/IG is 2.42) compared to another different kind of smooth morphological and low SFE existing Cu surfaces such as Smoother surface, which is prepared by the redeposit of Cu evaporating atoms during the annealing (RRMS is 13.3nm). Even high SFE condition was favorable to synthesize graphene with monolayer and continuous nature; It fails to maintain clean (surface contains amorphous C clusters) and defect-free condition (ID/IG is 0.46) because of high SFE of Cu foil at the graphene growth stage. A post annealing process was used to heal and overcome previously mentioned problems. Different CVD atmospheres such as CH4 and H2 were used, and it was observed that there is a negligible change in graphene nature (number of layers and continuous condition) but it was observed that there is a significant difference in graphene quality because the ID/IG ratio of the graphene was reduced to 0.21 after the post-annealing with H2 gas. Addition to the change of graphene defectiveness the FE-SEM images show there was a reduction of C cluster contamination of the surface. High SFE conditions are favorable to form graphene as a monolayer and continuous film, but it fails to provide defect-free graphene. Further, plasma modified high SFE existing surface can be used to synthesize graphene within 50s, and a post annealing process can be used to reduce the defectiveness.

Keywords: chemical vapor deposition, graphene, morphology, plasma, surface free energy

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Authors: Xinyue Jiao, Yu-Ren Lin

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Argumentation is an essential aspect of scientific thinking which has been widely concerned in recent reform of science education. The purpose of the present studies was to explore the influences of two variables termed ‘the argumentation strategy’ and ‘the kind of science concept’ on student’s web-based argumentation. The first variable was divided into either monological (which refers to individual’s internal discourse and inner chain reasoning) or dialectical (which refers to dialogue interaction between/among people). The other one was also divided into either descriptive (i.e., macro-level concept, such as phenomenon can be observed and tested directly) or theoretical (i.e., micro-level concept which is abstract, and cannot be tested directly in nature). The present study applied the quasi-experimental design in which 138 7th grade students were invited and then assigned to either monological group (N=70) or dialectical group (N=68) randomly. An argumentation learning program called ‘the PWAL’ was developed to improve their scientific argumentation abilities, such as arguing from multiple perspectives and based on scientific evidence. There were two versions of PWAL created. For the individual version, students can propose argument only through knowledge recall and self-reflecting process. On the other hand, the students were allowed to construct arguments through peers’ communication in the collaborative version. The PWAL involved three descriptive science concept-based topics (unit 1, 3 and 5) and three theoretical concept-based topics (unit 2, 4 and 6). Three kinds of scaffoldings were embedded into the PWAL: a) argument template, which was used for constructing evidence-based argument; b) the model of the Toulmin’s TAP, which shows the structure and elements of a sound argument; c) the discussion block, which enabled the students to review what had been proposed during the argumentation. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. An analytical framework for coding students’ arguments proposed in the PWAL was constructed. The results showed that the argumentation approach has a significant effect on argumentation only in theoretical topics (f(1, 136)=48.2, p < .001, η2=2.62). The post-hoc analysis showed the students in the collaborative group perform significantly better than the students in the individual group (mean difference=2.27). However, there is no significant difference between the two groups regarding their argumentation in descriptive topics. Secondly, the students made significant progress in the PWAL from the earlier descriptive or theoretical topic to the later one. The results enabled us to conclude that the PWAL was effective for students’ argumentation. And the students’ peers’ interaction was essential for students to argue scientifically especially for the theoretical topic. The follow-up qualitative analysis showed student tended to generate arguments through critical dialogue interactions in the theoretical topic which promoted them to use more critiques and to evaluate and co-construct each other’s arguments. More explanations regarding the students’ web-based argumentation and the suggestions for the development of web-based science learning were proposed in our discussions.

Keywords: argumentation, collaborative learning, scientific concepts, web-based learning

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Authors: Ayla Hoeta

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In a post-colonial Aotearoa New Zealand, solutions by rangatahi (youth) for rangatahi are essential as is civic participation and building economic agency in an increasingly tough economic climate. Upsouth was an online community crowdsourcing platform developed by The Southern Initiative, in collaboration with Itsnoon that provides rangatahi and whānau (family) a safe space to share lived experience, thoughts and ideas about local kaupapa (issues/topics) of importance to them. The target participants were Māori indigenous peoples and Pacifica groups, aged 14 - 21 years. In the Aotearoa New Zealand context, this participant group is not likely to engage in traditional consultation processes despite being an essential constituent in helping shape better local communities, whānau and futures. The Upsouth platform was active for two years from 2018-2019 where it completed 42 callups with 4300+ participants. The web platform collates the ideas, voices, feedback, and content of users around a callup that has been commissioned by a sponsor, such as Auckland Council, Z Energy or Auckland Transport. A callup may be about a pressing challenge in a community such as climate change, a new housing development, homelessness etc. Each callup was funded by the sponsor with Upsouths main point of difference being that participants are given koha (money donation) through digital wallets for their ideas. Depending on the quality of what participants upload, the koha varies between small micropayments and larger payments. This encouraged participants to develop creative and critical thinking - upskilling for future focussed jobs, enterprise and democratic skills while earning pocket money at the same time. Upsouth enables youth-led action and voice, and empowers them to be a part of a reciprocal and creative economy. Rangatahi are encouraged to express themselves culturally, creatively, freely and in a way they are free to choose - for example, spoken word, song, dance, video, drawings, and/or poems. This challenges and changes what is considered acceptable as community engagement feedback by the local government. Many traditional engagement platforms are not as consultative, do not accept diverse types of feedback, nor incentivise this valuable expression of feedback. Upsouth is also empowering for rangatahi, since it allows them the opportunity to express their opinions directly to the government. Upsouth gained national and international recognition for the way it engages with youth: winning the Supreme Award and the Accessibility and Transparency Award at Auckland Council’s 2018 Engagement Awards, becoming a finalist in the 2018 Digital Equity and Accessibility category of International Data Corporation’s Smart City Asia and Pacific Awards. This paper will fully contextualize the challenges of rangatahi and whānau civic engagement in Aotearoa New Zealand and then present a reflective case study of the Upsouth project, with examples from some of the callups. This is intended to form part of the Divided Cities 22 conference New Ground sub-theme as a critical reflection on a design intervention, which was conceived and implemented by the lead author to overcome the post-colonial divisions of Māori, Pacifica and minority ethnic rangatahi in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Keywords: rangatahi, youth empowerment, civic engagement, enabling, relating, digital platform, participation

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Authors: Ani Demetrashvili

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As online learning continues to reshape the landscape of education, questions arise regarding its efficacy for diverse learning styles, particularly for visual learners. This abstract delves into the impact of online learning on visual learners, exploring how digital mediums influence their educational experience and how educational platforms can be optimized to cater to their needs. Visual learners comprise a significant portion of the student population, characterized by their preference for visual aids such as diagrams, charts, and videos to comprehend and retain information. Traditional classroom settings often struggle to accommodate these learners adequately, relying heavily on auditory and written forms of instruction. The advent of online learning presents both opportunities and challenges in addressing the needs of visual learners. Online learning platforms offer a plethora of multimedia resources, including interactive simulations, virtual labs, and video lectures, which align closely with the preferences of visual learners. These platforms have the potential to enhance engagement, comprehension, and retention by presenting information in visually stimulating formats. However, the effectiveness of online learning for visual learners hinges on various factors, including the design of learning materials, user interface, and instructional strategies. Research into the impact of online learning on visual learners encompasses a multidisciplinary approach, drawing from fields such as cognitive psychology, education, and human-computer interaction. Studies employ qualitative and quantitative methods to assess visual learners' preferences, cognitive processes, and learning outcomes in online environments. Surveys, interviews, and observational studies provide insights into learners' preferences for specific types of multimedia content and interactive features. Cognitive tasks, such as memory recall and concept mapping, shed light on the cognitive mechanisms underlying learning in digital settings. Eye-tracking studies offer valuable data on attentional patterns and information processing during online learning activities. The findings from research on the impact of online learning on visual learners have significant implications for educational practice and technology design. Educators and instructional designers can use insights from this research to create more engaging and effective learning materials for visual learners. Strategies such as incorporating visual cues, providing interactive activities, and scaffolding complex concepts with multimedia resources can enhance the learning experience for visual learners in online environments. Moreover, online learning platforms can leverage the findings to improve their user interface and features, making them more accessible and inclusive for visual learners. Customization options, adaptive learning algorithms, and personalized recommendations based on learners' preferences and performance can enhance the usability and effectiveness of online platforms for visual learners.

Keywords: online learning, visual learners, digital education, technology in learning

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Authors: Alexandru-Ion Marinescu

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There exist a plethora of methods in the scientific literature which tackle the well-established task of credit score evaluation. In its most abstract form, a credit scoring algorithm takes as input several credit applicant properties, such as age, marital status, employment status, loan duration, etc. and must output a binary response variable (i.e. “GOOD” or “BAD”) stating whether the client is susceptible to payment return delays. Data imbalance is a common occurrence among financial institution databases, with the majority being classified as “GOOD” clients (clients that respect the loan return calendar) alongside a small percentage of “BAD” clients. But it is the “BAD” clients we are interested in since accurately predicting their behavior is crucial in preventing unwanted loss for loan providers. We add to this whole context the constraint that the algorithm must yield an actual, tractable mathematical formula, which is friendlier towards financial analysts. To this end, we have turned to genetic algorithms and genetic programming, aiming to evolve actual mathematical expressions using specially tailored mutation and crossover operators. As far as data representation is concerned, we employ a very flexible mechanism – LINQ expression trees, readily available in the C# programming language, enabling us to construct executable pieces of code at runtime. As the title implies, they model trees, with intermediate nodes being operators (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) or mathematical functions (sin, cos, abs, round, etc.) and leaf nodes storing either constants or variables. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the client properties and the formula variables. The mutation and crossover operators work on a flattened version of the tree, obtained via a pre-order traversal. A consequence of our chosen technique is that we can identify and discard client properties which do not take part in the final score evaluation, effectively acting as a dimensionality reduction scheme. We compare ourselves with state of the art approaches, such as support vector machines, Bayesian networks, and extreme learning machines, to name a few. The data sets we benchmark against amount to a total of 8, of which we mention the well-known Australian credit and German credit data sets, and the performance indicators are the following: percentage correctly classified, area under curve, partial Gini index, H-measure, Brier score and Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic, respectively. Finally, we obtain encouraging results, which, although placing us in the lower half of the hierarchy, drive us to further refine the algorithm.

Keywords: expression trees, financial credit scoring, genetic algorithm, genetic programming, symbolic evolution

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Authors: Leigh G. Hayden, Susan E. Shepley, Cristina Passarelli, William Tingo

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Introduction: Sensory interventions are popular therapeutic and recreational approaches for people living with all stages of dementia. However, it is unknown which sensory interventions are used to achieve which outcomes across all subtypes of dementia. Methods: To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of sensory interventions for people living with dementia. We conducted a search of the literature for any article published in English from 1 January 1990 to 1 June 2019, on any sensory or multisensory intervention targeted to people living with any kind of dementia, which reported on patient health outcomes. We did not include complex interventions where only a small aspect was related to sensory stimulation. We searched the databases Medline, CINHAL, and Psych Articles using our institutional discovery layer. We conducted all screening in duplicate to reduce Type 1 and Type 2 errors. The data from all included papers were extracted by one team member, and audited by another, to ensure consistency of extraction and completeness of data. Results: Our initial search captured 7654 articles, and the removal of duplicates (n=5329), those that didn’t pass title and abstract screening (n=1840) and those that didn’t pass full-text screening (n=281) resulted in 174 articles included. The countries with the highest publication in this area were the United States (n=59), the United Kingdom (n=26) and Australia (n=15). The most common type of interventions were music therapy (n=36), multisensory rooms (n=27) and multisensory therapies (n=25). Seven articles were published in the 1990’s, 55 in the 2000’s, and the remainder since 2010 (n=112). Discussion: Multisensory rooms have been present in the literature since the early 1990’s. However, more recently, nature/garden therapy, art therapy, and light therapy have emerged since 2008 in the literature, an indication of the increasingly diverse scholarship in the area. The least popular type of intervention is a traditional food intervention. Taste as a sensory intervention is generally avoided for safety reasons, however it shows potential for increasing quality of life. Agitation, behavior, and mood are common outcomes for all sensory interventions. However, light therapy commonly targets sleep. The majority (n=110) of studies have very small sample sizes (n=20 or less), an indicator of the lack of robust data in the field. Additional small-scale studies of the known sensory interventions will likely do little to advance the field. However, there is a need for multi-armed studies which directly compare sensory interventions, and more studies which investigate the use of layering sensory interventions (for example, adding an aromatherapy component to a lighting intervention). In addition, large scale studies which enroll people at early stages of dementia will help us better understand the potential of sensory and multisensory interventions to slow the progression of the disease.

Keywords: sensory interventions, dementia, scoping review

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Authors: Mariam Begadze

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Separation of Powers (SOP) has often been the most frequently posed objection against the judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights. Although a lot has been written to refute those, very rarely has it been assessed what effect the current practice of social rights adjudication has had on the construction of SOP doctrine in specific jurisdictions. Colombia is an appropriate case-study on this question. The notion of collaborative SOP in the 1991 Constitution has affected the court’s conception of its role. On the other hand, the trends in the jurisprudence have further shaped the collaborative notion of SOP. Other institutional characteristics of the Colombian constitutional law have played its share role as well. Tutela action, particularly flexible and fast judicial action for individuals has placed the judiciary in a more confrontational relation vis-à-vis the political branches. Later interventions through abstract review of austerity measures further contributed to that development. Logically, the court’s activism in this sphere has attracted attacks from political branches, which have turned out to be unsuccessful precisely due to court’s outreach to the middle-class, whose direct reliance on the court has turned into its direct democratic legitimacy. Only later have the structural judgments attempted to revive the collaborative notion behind SOP doctrine. However, the court-supervised monitoring process of implementation has itself manifested fluctuations in the mode of collaboration, moving into more managerial supervision recently. This is not surprising considering the highly dysfunctional political system in Colombia, where distrust seems to be the default starting point in the interaction of the branches. The paper aims to answer the question, what the appropriate judicial tools are to realize the collaborative notion of SOP in a context where the court has to strike a balance between the strong executive and the weak and largely dysfunctional legislative branch. If the recurrent abuse lies in the indifference and inaction of legislative branches to engage with political issues seriously, what are the tools in the court’s hands to activate the political process? The answer to this question partly lies in the court’s other strand of jurisprudence, in which it combines substantive objections with procedural ones concerning the operation of the legislative branch. The primary example is the decision on value-added tax on basic goods, in which the court invalidated the law based on the absence of sufficient deliberation in Congress on the question of the bills’ implications on the equity and progressiveness of the entire taxing system. The decision led to Congressional rejection of an identical bill based on the arguments put forward by the court. The case perhaps is the best illustration of the collaborative notion of SOP, in which the court refrains from categorical pronouncements, while does its bit for activating political process. This also legitimizes the court’s activism based on its role to counter the most perilous abuse in the Colombian context – failure of the political system to seriously engage with serious political questions.

Keywords: Colombian constitutional court, judicial review, separation of powers, social rights

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Authors: João Pedro Zanella, Michel J. O. Fagundes

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Introduction: Drug use has been practised by humans universally for millennia, not excluding any population from these habits, however, the rampant drug use is a global concern due to the harm that affects the health of the world population. In this sense, it is observed the reduction of lasting and effective public policies for the resolution, increasing the demand for treatment services. With this comes ibogaine, an alkaloid derived from the root of an African bush (Tabernanthe Iboga), found mostly in Gabon and used widely by the native Bwiti population in rituals, and also other social groups, which demonstrates efficacy against chemical dependence, psychic and emotional disorders, opioid withdrawal was first confirmed by a study in rats done by Michailo Dzoljic and associates in 1988 and again in 1994. Methods: A brief description of the plant, its neurohumoral potential and the effects caused by ingested doses, in a simplified and objective way, will be discussed in the course of this abstract. Results: Ibogaine is not registered or passed by Anvisa, regarding safety and efficacy, and cannot be sold in Brazil. Its illegal trade reaches R$ 5 thousand for a session with the proceeds of the root, and its effect can last up to 72 hours, attributing Iboga's psychoactive effects to the alkaloid called ibogaine. The shrub where Ibogaine is located has pink and yellow flowers, and its fruit produced does not have psychoactive substances, but its root bark contains 6 to 7% indolic alkaloids. Besides extraction from the iboga plant, ibogaine hydrochloride can be semisynthesized from voacangine, another plant alkaloid that acts as a precursor. Its potential has the ability to perform multiple interactions with the neurotransmitter system, which are closely associated with addiction, including nicotinic, opioid and serotoninergic systems. Studies carried out by Edwards found that the doses administered of Iboga should be determined by a health professional when its purpose is to treat individuals for dependence on other drugs. Its use in small doses may cause an increase in sensibility, impaired vision and motor alterations; in moderate quantities, hallucinations, motor and neurological alterations and impaired vision; in high quantities it may cause hallucinations with personal events at a deeper level lasting up to 24 hours or more, followed by motor and visual alterations. Conclusion: The product extracted from the Iboga plant is of great importance in controlling addiction, reducing the need for the use of narcotics by patients, thus gaining a space of extreme importance in the treatment of users of psychoactive substances. It is remarkable the progress of the latest’s research about the usefulness of Ibogaine, and its benefits for certain treatments, even with the restriction of its sale in Brazil. Besides this, Ibogaine has an additional benefit of helping the patient to gain self-control over their destructive behaviours.

Keywords: alkaloids, dependence, Gabon, ibogaine

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Authors: Sherine S. Aly, Fahd A. Hemeida, Mohamed A. Elshamy

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In the face of rapid urbanization and the myriad challenges posed by climate change, population growth, and socio-economic disparities, fostering urban resilience has become paramount. This abstract offers a comprehensive overview of the study on "Urban Resilience Challenges," exploring the background, methodologies, major findings, and concluding insights. The paper unveils a spectrum of challenges encompassing environmental stressors and deep-seated socio-economic issues, such as unequal access to resources and opportunities. Emphasizing their interconnected nature, the study underscores the imperative for holistic and integrated approaches to urban resilience, recognizing the intricate web of factors shaping the urban landscape. Urbanization has witnessed an unprecedented surge, transforming cities into dynamic and complex entities. With this growth, however, comes an array of challenges that threaten the sustainability and resilience of urban environments. This study seeks to unravel the multifaceted urban resilience challenges, exploring their origins and implications for contemporary cities. Cities serve as hubs of economic, social, and cultural activities, attracting diverse populations seeking opportunities and a higher quality of life. However, the urban fabric is increasingly strained by climate-related events, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and social inequalities. Understanding the nuances of these challenges is crucial for developing strategies that enhance urban resilience and ensure the longevity of cities as vibrant and adaptive entities. This paper endeavors to discern strategic guidelines for enhancing urban resilience amidst the dynamic challenges posed by rapid urbanization. The study aims to distill actionable insights that can inform strategic approaches. Guiding the formulation of effective strategies to fortify cities against multifaceted pressures. The study employs a multifaceted approach to dissect urban resilience challenges. A qualitative method will be employed, including comprehensive literature reviews and data analysis of urban vulnerabilities that provided valuable insights into the lived experiences of resilience challenges in diverse urban settings. In conclusion, this study underscores the urgency of addressing urban resilience challenges to ensure the sustained vitality of cities worldwide. The interconnected nature of these challenges necessitates a paradigm shift in urban planning and governance. By adopting holistic strategies that integrate environmental, social, and economic considerations, cities can navigate the complexities of the 21st century. The findings provide a roadmap for policymakers, planners, and communities to collaboratively forge resilient urban futures that withstand the challenges of an ever-evolving urban landscape.

Keywords: resilient principles, risk management, sustainable cities, urban resilience

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Authors: Lubos Rojka

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The common perception of morally responsible behavior is that it presupposes freedom of choice, and that free decisions and actions are not determined by natural events, but by a person. In other words, the moral agent has the ability and the possibility of doing otherwise when making morally responsible decisions, and natural causal determinism cannot fully account for morally significant freedom. The incompatibility between a person’s morally significant freedom and causal determinism appears to be a natural position. Nevertheless, some of the most influential philosophical theories on moral responsibility are compatibilist or semi-compatibilist, and they exclude the requirement of alternative possibilities, which contradicts the claims of classical incompatibilism. The compatibilists often employ Frankfurt-style thought experiments to prove their theory. The goal of this paper is to examine the role of imaginary Frankfurt-style examples in compatibilist accounts. More specifically, the compatibilist accounts defended by John Martin Fischer and Michael McKenna will be inserted into the broader understanding of a person elaborated by Harry Frankfurt, Robert Kane and Walter Glannon. Deeper analysis reveals that the exclusion of alternative possibilities based on Frankfurt-style examples is problematic and misleading. A more comprehensive account of moral responsibility and morally significant (source) freedom requires higher order complex theories of human will and consciousness, in which rational and self-creative abilities and a real possibility to choose otherwise, at least on some occasions during a lifetime, are necessary. Theoretical moral reasons and their logical relations seem to require a sort of higher-order agent-causal incompatibilism. The ability of theoretical or abstract moral reasoning requires complex (strongly emergent) mental and conscious properties, among which an effective free will, together with first and second-order desires. Such a hierarchical theoretical model unifies reasons-responsiveness, mesh theory and emergentism. It is incompatible with physical causal determinism, because such determinism only allows non-systematic processes that may be hard to predict, but not complex (strongly) emergent systems. An agent’s effective will and conscious reflectivity is the starting point of a morally responsible action, which explains why a decision is 'up to the subject'. A free decision does not always have a complete causal history. This kind of an emergentist source hyper-incompatibilism seems to be the best direction of the search for an adequate explanation of moral responsibility in the traditional (merit-based) sense. Physical causal determinism as a universal theory would exclude morally significant freedom and responsibility in the traditional sense because it would exclude the emergence of and supervenience by the essential complex properties of human consciousness.

Keywords: consciousness, free will, determinism, emergence, moral responsibility

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Authors: Muhammad Nouman, Salim Gul, Karim Ullah

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Partnership has been understood as the essence of Islamic banking. However, in practice, the non-partnership paradigm dominates the operations of Islamic banks. Islamic banks adopt partnership contracts for the scheme of deposits, especially for term deposit accounts. However, they do not adopt partnership contracts (i.e., Musharakah and Mudarabah) as the main financing scheme. In practice, non-partnership contracts including Murabahah and Ijara are widely used for financing. Many authors have provided different explanations for the less utilization of the partnership contracts as a scheme of financing. However, the typology of constraints remains missing. The extant literature remains scattered, with diverse studies focused on different dimensions of the issue. Therefore, there is no unified understanding of the constraints in the application of the partnership contracts. This paper aims to highlight the major factors hindering the application of partnership contracts, and produce a coherent view by synthesizing different explanations provided in several studies conducted around the globe. The present study employs insights form the extant literature using a systematic review and provides academia, practitioners, and policy makers with a holistic framework to name and make sense of what is making partnership contracts a less attractive option for Islamic banks. A total of 84 relevant publications including 11 books, 14 chapters of edited books, 48 journal articles, 8 conference papers and 3 IMF working papers were selected using a systematic procedure. Analysis of these selected publications followed three steps: i) In the first step of analysis the constraints explicitly appearing in the literature set of 84 articles were extracted, ii) In the second step 27 factors hindering the application of partnership contracts were identified from the constraints extracted in the first step with the overlapping items either eliminated or combined, iii) In the last step the factors identified in the second step were classified into three distinct categories. Our intention was to develop the typology of constraints by connecting the rather abstract concepts into the broader sets of constraints for better conceptualization and policy implications. Our framework highlights that there are mainly three facets of lower preference for partnership contracts of financing. First, there are several factors in the contemporary business settings, prevailing social setting, and the bank’s internal environment that underpin uncertainty in the success of partnership contracts of financing. Second, partnership contracts have lower demand i.e., entrepreneurs prefer to use non-partnership contracts for financing their ventures due to the inherent restraining characteristics of the partnership contracts. Finally, there are certain factors in the regulatory framework that restraint the extensive utilization of partnership contracts of financing by Islamic banks. The present study contributes to the Islamic banking literature in many ways. It provides clarification to the heavily criticized operations of Islamic banks, integrates the scattered literature, and provides a holistic framework for better conceptualization of the key constraints in the application of the partnership contracts and policy implications. Moreover, it demonstrates an application of systematic review in Islamic banking research.

Keywords: Islamic banking, Islamic finance, Mudarabah, Musharakah, partnership, systematic review

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Authors: Tso Sheng-Yang, Wang Tien-Ni

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Introduction and Purpose: Previous researchers have documented children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) prefer to escaping internal privates and external privates when they face tough conditions they can’t control or they don’t like.Especially, when children with ASD need to learn challenging tasks, such us Chinese language, their inappropriate behaviors will occur apparently. Recently, researchers apply positive behavior support strategies for children with ASD to enhance their self-efficacy and therefore to reduce their adverse behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this research was to design a series of lecture based on art therapy and to evaluate its effectiveness on the child’s self-efficacy. Method: This research was the single-case design study that recruited a high school boy with ASD. Whole research can be separated into three conditions. First, baseline condition, before the class started and ended, the researcher collected participant’s competencies of self-efficacy every session. In intervention condition, the research used dramatic conventions to teach the child in Chinese language twice a week.When the data was stable across three documents, the period entered to the maintenance condition. In maintenance condition, the researcher only collected the score of self-efficacynot to do other interventions five times a month to represent the effectiveness of maintenance.The time and frequency of data collection among three conditions are identical. Concerning art therapy, the common approach, e.g., music, drama, or painting is to use art medium as independent variable. Due to visual cues of art medium, the ASD can be easily to gain joint attention with teachers. Besides, the ASD have difficulties in understanding abstract objectives Thus, using the drama convention is helpful for the ASD to construct the environment and understand the context of Classical Chinese. By real operation, it can improve the ASD to understand the context and construct prior knowledge. Result: Bassd on the 10-points Likert scale and research, we product following results. (a) In baseline condition, the average score of self-efficacyis 1.12 points, rangedfrom 1 to 2 points, and the level change is 0 point. (b)In intervention condition, the average score of self-efficacy is 7.66 points rangedfrom 7 to 9 points, and the level change is 1 point. (c)In maintenance condition, the average score of self-efficacy is 6.66 points rangedfrom 6 to 7 points, and the level change is 1 point. Concerning immediacy of change, between baseline and intervention conditions, the difference is 5 points. No overlaps were found between these two conditions. Conclusion: According to the result, we find that it is effective that using dramatic conventions a s teaching strategies to teach children with ASD. The result presents the score of self-efficacyimmediately enhances when the dramatic conventions commences. Thus, we suggest the teacher can use this approach and adjust, based on the student’s trait, to teach the ASD on difficult task.

Keywords: dramatic conventions, autism spectrum disorder, slef-efficacy, teaching strategy

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