Search results for: behavioral consequences

Authors: Driouiche Ali, Karmal Ilham

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The Agadir region is characterized by a dry climate, ranging from arid attenuated by oceanic influences to hyper-arid. The water mobilized in the agricultural sector of greater Agadir is 95% of underground origin and comes from the water table of Chtouka. The rest represents the surface waters of the Youssef Ben Tachfine dam. These waters are intended for the irrigation of 26880 hectares of modern agriculture. More than 120 boreholes and wells are currently exploited. Their depth varies between 10 m and 200 m and the unit flow rates of the boreholes are 5 to 50 l/s. A drop in the level of the water table of about 1.5 m/year, on average, has been observed during the last five years. Farmers are thus called upon to improve irrigation methods. Thus, localized or drip irrigation is adopted to allow rational use of water. The importance of this irrigation system is due to the fact that water is applied directly to the root zone and its compatibility with fertilization. However, this irrigation system faces a thorny problem which is the clogging of pipes and drippers. This leads to a lack of uniformity of irrigation over time. This so-called scaling phenomenon, the consequences of which are harmful (cleaning or replacement of pipes), leads to considerable unproductive expenditure. The objective set by this work is the search for green inhibitors likely to prevent this phenomenon of scaling. This study requires a better knowledge of these waters, their physico-chemical characteristics and their scaling power. Thus, using the "LCGE" controlled degassing technique, we initially evaluated, on pure calco-carbonic water at 30°F, the scaling-inhibiting power of some available plant extracts in our region of Souss-Massa. We then carried out a comparative study of the efficacy of these green inhibitors. The action of the most effective green inhibitor on real agricultural waters was then studied.

Keywords: green inhibitors, localized irrigation, plant extracts, scaling inhibition

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Authors: Jean Hugé, Francisco Benitez-Capistros, Giorgia Camperio-Ciani

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Addressing conservation conflicts requires the consideration of multiple stakeholders' perspectives and knowledge claims, in order to inform complex and possibly contentious decision-making dilemmas. Hence, a better understanding of why people in particular contexts act in a particular way in a conservation conflict is needed. First, this contribution aims at providing and applying an approach to map and interpret the diversity of subjective viewpoints with regard to iconic species in conservation conflicts. Secondly, this contribution aims to feed the reflection on the possible consequences of the diversity of perspectives for the future management of wildlife (in particular iconic species), based on case studies in Galapagos and Malaysia. The use of the semi-quantitative Q methodology allowed us to identify various perspectives on conservation in different social-ecological contexts. While the presence of iconic species may lead to a more passionate and emotional debate, it may also provide more opportunities for finding common ground and for jointly developing acceptable management solutions that will depolarize emergent, long-lasting or latent conservation conflicts. Based on the research team’s experience in the field, and on the integration of ecological and social knowledge, methodological and management recommendations are made with regard to conservation conflicts involving iconic wildlife. The mere presence of iconic wildlife does not guarantee its centrality in conservation conflicts, and comparisons will be drawn between the cases of the giant tortoises (Chelonoidis spec.) in Galapagos, Ecuador and the Milky Stork (Mycteria cinerea) in western peninsular Malaysia. Acknowledging the diversity of viewpoints, reflecting how different stakeholders see, act and talk about wildlife management, highlights the need to develop pro-active and resilient strategies to deal with these issues.

Keywords: conservation conflicts, Q methodology, Galapagos, Malaysia, giant tortoise, milky stork

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Authors: Yosra Mefteh Rekik, Younes Boujelbene

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We introduce in this paper a new conceptual model representing the stock market dynamics. This model is essentially based on cognitive behavior of the intelligence investors. In order to validate our model, we build an artificial stock market simulation based on agent-oriented methodologies. The proposed simulator is composed of market supervisor agent essentially responsible for executing transactions via an order book and various kinds of investor agents depending to their profile. The purpose of this simulation is to understand the influence of psychological character of an investor and its neighborhood on its decision-making and their impact on the market in terms of price fluctuations. Therefore, the difficulty of the prediction is due to several features: the complexity, the non-linearity and the dynamism of the financial market system, as well as the investor psychology. The Artificial Neural Networks learning mechanism take on the role of traders, who from their futures return expectations and place orders based on their expectations. The results of intensive analysis indicate that the existence of agents having heterogeneous beliefs and preferences has provided a better understanding of price dynamics in the financial market.

Keywords: artificial intelligence methods, artificial stock market, behavioral modeling, multi-agent based simulation

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Authors: Razan Salem

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Men and women are different, and so their investment behaviors may also vary. To the author’s best knowledge, women's investment behavior and its association with demographic factors have not been explored directly in the behavioral finance literature, however, particularly in respect to the Arab region. Thus, this study extends the literature by focusing on examining the association of demographic factors (age, annual income, and education) with Arab women’s investment behavior. To achieve the study’s aim, the researcher distributed 600 close-ended online questionnaires to a sample of Arab male and female individual investors in both Saudi Arabia and Jordan; using Kruskal-Wallis H Test and the Mann-Whitney U Test to analyze the data. The findings reveal that age, education, and level of income are associated with Arab women’s investment behavior. Educational level and level of income are positively associated with Arab women investment confidence level. On the contrary, age is negatively associated with Arab women financial risk tolerance. According to annual income, Arab women with lower incomes have lower confidence and investment literacy levels. Overall, the study concludes that age, income, and education are important demographic factors that must be considered when investigating the investment behavior of women in the Arab region.

Keywords: Arab region, demographic factors, investment behavior, women investors

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Authors: Ojo Oo, Akinde S. B., Kiilani A. O., Jayeola Jo, Jogbodo T. M., Ajani Ka, Olaniyan So, Adeagbo Oy, Bolarinwa Ra, Durosomo Ha, Sule W. F.

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Lockdown imposed to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission hampered malaria control services in Nigeria. Considering COVID-19 vaccination, we assessed Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) antigen and SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin-G (IgG) positivity among adults in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. Consenting attendees of four Healthcare Centres were consecutively enrolled for blood sampling; relevant socio-demographic/behavioral/clinical/environmental data were collected with a questionnaire. Samples were tested, using commercial rapid test kits, for Pf antigen and SARS-CoV-2 IgG and results were analyzed using logistic regression. Participants' mean age was 40.99 years (n=200), and they were predominantly females (84.5%), traders/businessmen/women (86.0%), with self-reported receipt of COVID-19 vaccine from 123 (61.5%). Pf antigen positivity was 17.5% (95% CI: 12.23–22.77%) with age (p=0.004), marital status (p=0.004), report of stagnant water around the workplace (p=0.041) and bush around homes (p=0.008) being associated. SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity was 56.5% (95% CI: 49.63–63.37%) with age (p=0.012) and receipt of COVID-19 vaccination (p=0.001) being associated. Although the vaccinated had a 22.8 times higher likelihood of IgG positivity, no factor was predictive of COVID-19 vaccine receipt. We report 17.5% Pf antigen positivity with four predictors, and 56.5% SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity with two predictors.

Keywords: COVID-19, vaccine, IgG, Plasmodium falciparum, SARS-CoV-2

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Authors: Nazia Zaffar, Alam Khan, Abdul Haq, Malik Badshah

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Pakistan is an agricultural country. The increasing population leads to an increase in demand for food. A large number of crops are infected by different microbes, and nutrient deficiency of soil adversely affects the yield of crops. Furthermore, the use of chemical fertilizers like Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (NPK) Urea, and Diammonium phosphate (DAP) and pesticides have environmental consequences. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore alternative renewable and sustainable biofertilizers. Maize is one of the top growing crops in Pakistan, but it has low yield compared to other countries due to deficiency of organic matter, widespread nutrients deficiency (phosphorus and nitrogen), unbalanced use of fertilizers and various fungal diseases. In order to get rid of all these disadvantages, Digestate emerged as a win-win opportunity for the control of a few plant diseases and a replacement for the chemical fertilizers. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of Anerobic digestate on Antifungal Activity and in different parameters of Maize. The antifungal activity, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) against selected phytopathogens (Colletotrichum coccodis, Pythium ultimum, Phytophthora capsci, Rhizoctonia solani, Bipolaris oryzae and Fusarium Fujikuroi) were determined by microtiter plate method. The effect of various fertilizers in different growth parameters height, diameter, chlorophyll, leaf area, biomass, and yield were studied in field experiments. The extracts from anaerobic digestate have shown antifungal activity against selected phytopathogens, the highest activity was noted against P. ultimum, the MIC activity was high in case of P. ultimum and B. oryzae. The present study concludes that anaerobic digestate have a positive effect on maize growth and yield as well as an antifungal activity which can be potentially a good biofertilizer.

Keywords: anaerobic digestate, antifungal activity, MIC, phytopathogens

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Authors: Marawan Abd Elbaset Mohamed, Hanan A. Ogaly, Rehab F. Abdel-Rahman, Ahmed-Farid O.A., Marwa S. Khattab, Reham M. Abd-Elsalam

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Liver fibrosis is a severe worldwide health concern due to various chronic liver disorders. Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is one of its most common complications affecting liver and brain cognitive function. Beta-Carotene (B-Car) is an organic, strongly colored red-orange pigment abundant in fungi, plants, and fruits. The study attempted to know B-Car neuroprotective potential against thioacetamide (TAA)-induced neurotoxicity and cognitive decline in HE in rats. Hepatic encephalopathy was induced by TAA (100 mg/kg, i.p.) three times per week for two weeks. B-Car was given orally (10 or 20 mg/kg) daily for two weeks after TAA injections. Organ body weight ratio, Serum transaminase activities, liver’s antioxidant parameters, ammonia, and liver histopathology were assessed. Also, the brain’s mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), antioxidant parameters, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine monophosphate (AMP), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) expression and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression were measured. The brain’s cognitive functions (Spontaneous locomotor activity, Rotarod performance test, Object recognition test) were assessed. B-Car prevented alteration of the brain’s cognitive function in a dose-dependent manner. The histopathological outcomes supported these biochemical evidences. Based on these results, it could be established that B-Car could be assigned to treat the brain’s neurotoxicity consequences of HE via downregualtion of MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathways.

Keywords: beta-carotene, liver injury, MAPK, NF-κB, rat, thioacetamide

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Authors: K. M. Saif Ur Rahman, Razib Mamun, Himica Arjuman, Fida Al Shams

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Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become an emerging neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing prevalence. It has become an important public health issue globally. Many approaches including speech and language therapy (SLT), occupational therapy, behavioral therapy etc. are being applied for the betterment of the ASD patients. This study aims to describe the characteristics of ASD patients and perception of caregiver regarding SLT in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a therapy and rehabilitation center at Dhaka city. Caregivers of 48 ASD patients responded regarding their perception of SLT and characteristics of patients. Results: Among 48 ASD patients, 56.3% were between 3 to 5 years age group with a male predominance (87.5%). More than half of the participants (56.3%) initiated SLT at the age of 1-3 years and the majority (43.8%) were taking SLT for less than 1 year. Majority of the patients (64.6%) were taken to a physician for healthcare as a first contact of which 29.2% were referred to SLT by physicians. More than half (56.3%) of the caregivers were moderately satisfied with SLT and most of them (62.5%) mentioned moderate improvement through SLT. Improvement rate was 10-15% in specific symptoms such as eye contact, complex mannerism, pointing, imitation etc. Conclusion: This study reveals the self-reported perception of caregivers on SLT. Despite reported improvements, more exploration of different approaches and intervention for management of ASD is recommended.

Keywords: ASD, characteristics, SLT, Bangladesh

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Authors: Corlia van der Walt, Michele K. Havenga

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The study considers corporate governance regulation and practice in South African higher education institutions and makes recommendations for the improvement of current governance practices in this sector. The development of corporate governance principles and practices in South Africa, culminating in the King IV Report on Corporate Governance which was launched in November 2016, is discussed. King IV enjoys international recognition as a progressive corporate governance instrument. It was necessitated by the fundamental changes in business and society nationally and globally, as well as by the significant changes to South African company law introduced by new legislation. Corporate governance and the corporate form are narrowly associated, but there is general recognition that the principles of ethical and effective leadership are not restricted to corporations. Thus King IV was drafted with the express aim that it should apply to all organisations, regardless of their form of incorporation, and the report includes specific sector supplements in support of this aspiration. The South African higher education sector has of late been under intense scrutiny, and a few universities have been placed under administration because of poor governance practices. Universities have also been severely impacted by the consequences of what is generally known as ‘#FeesmustFall’, a student led protest movement initially aimed against the increase of fees at public universities, but which rapidly expanded to also include other concerns. It was clearly necessary to revisit corporate governance policy and practice in the sector. The review of the current higher education governance regime in light of the King IV recommendations, lessons from company law regarding the entrenchment and enforcement of corporate governance principles, and a comparison of higher education governance practices in selected other jurisdictions led to recommendations for the improvement of governance practices in South African higher education. It is further suggested that a sector supplement for higher education institutions may provide additional clarity. Some of the recommendations may be of comparative value for international higher education governance.

Keywords: committees, corporate governance, ethical leadership, higher education institutions, integrated reporting, King IV, sector supplements, sustainability

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Authors: Jenyu Peng

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Incestuous abuse can be considered a form of domestic violence that exemplifies gender inequality. It challenges the common image of home as “haven of safety”. In Taiwan, even after years of feminist NGOs’ effort to encourage victims to speak up, the shared cultural representations of family, still praising piety towards the parents, seem to keep the incest trauma in secret. As clinical practitioners have observed, most devastating psychological sequels of incest trauma are often related to silencing. Thus one can expect that in families centered cultures, the difficulties for victims to disclose are greater, and the traumatic consequences more severe. This poses crucial therapeutic issues for clinicians working in those cultures. Since 2009, the author, a trained psychoanalyst and researcher, has been conducting “clinical fieldwork” on incest trauma in Taiwan. Employing ethnographical method, our theoretical references are both psychoanalytical and anthropological. The necessity of interdisciplinary efforts in incest trauma research will be addressed and discussed. The analyses of the present paper will focus on five incestuous families: four Han families, and one aboriginal. Although Taiwanese aboriginal peoples have been pretty much sinicized since decades, it is worth observing the convergent and divergent aspects in these two cultures. Moreover, findings of a previous research conducted in France during 2002-2004 will serve as background for the purpose of comparison. The results will be presented along with three questions: 1) How the perception of family influences the process of disclosure? 2) How the incestuous experience comes into play with victims’ gender identity and sexuality, pivotal for the subjectification? 3) How victims more successful in gendered subjectification modify their dynamics with their traumatizing family? This research finds that most victims tend to defend their own incestuous families, and that victims’ subjectivity and agency are actually entangled in the power structure of incestuous family.

Keywords: incestuous family, subjectification, gender identity, agency

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Authors: Ibrahim Azem

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The purpose of the present study was to investigate the attitudes of regular classroom teachers, special education teachers, principals, social workers, parents of students without disabilities and parents of students with disabilities, in Sultanate Oman towards inclusion of students with disabilities in the general school setting. Participants’ Four hundred fifty schools were selected randomly from all public schools in Sultanate Oman. From these schools 2,025 individuals volunteered to participate in this study. The Attitude Scale toward inclusion was used to measure adults’ attitudes toward teaching students with disabilities with their peers in an inclusive classroom. The scale was developed based on the conceptualization of attitude as a tri component evaluation consisting of cognitive, affective, and behavioral intention. To investigate the validity and the reliability of the scale, it shows that it has valid appropriate connotations and reliability. The results of the study showed that the adult’s role had significant effect (p < .05) on the participants’ attitudes toward inclusion. Moreover, the results indicated significant (p < .05) gender differences in the attitudes toward inclusion, males scored significantly (p < .05) higher than females. The result of the study also showed that the special education teachers had positives attitudes more than the other type of stakeholders.

Keywords: inclusion, students with disabilities, Oman, stakeholders

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Authors: Peter Shi

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Algorithmic trading is a rapidly expanding domain within quantitative finance, constituting a substantial portion of trading volumes in the US financial market. The demand for rigorous and robust mathematical theories underpinning these trading algorithms is ever-growing. In this study, the author establishes a new stock market model that integrates the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the statistical arbitrage. The model, for the first time, finds probabilistic relations between the rational price and the market price in terms of the conditional expectation. The theory consequently leads to a mathematical justification of the old market adage: buy-low and sell-high. The thresholds for “low” and “high” are precisely derived using a max-min operation on Bayes’s error. This explicit connection harmonizes the Efficient Market Hypothesis and Statistical Arbitrage, demonstrating their compatibility in explaining market dynamics. The amalgamation represents a pioneering contribution to quantitative finance. The study culminates in comprehensive numerical tests using historical market data, affirming that the “buy-low” and “sell-high” algorithm derived from this theory significantly outperforms the general market over the long term in four out of six distinct market environments.

Keywords: efficient market hypothesis, behavioral finance, Bayes' decision, algorithmic trading, risk control, stock market

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Authors: M. Inmaculada Alvarez-Fernández, Celestino González-Nicieza, M. Belén Prendes-Gero, Fernando López-Gayarre

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Among many factors affecting the stability of mining excavations, rock-bursts and tremors play a special role. These dynamic loads occur practically always and have different sources of generation. The most important of them is the commonly used mining technique, which disintegrates a certain area of the rock mass not only in the area of the planned mining, but also creates waves that significantly exceed this area affecting the structural elements. In this work it is analysed the consequences of dynamic loads over the structural elements in an underground room and pillar mine to avoid roof instabilities. With this end, dynamic loads were evaluated through in situ and laboratory tests and simulated with numerical modelling. Initially, the geotechnical characterization of all materials was carried out by mean of large-scale tests. Then, drill holes were done on the roof of the mine and were monitored to determine possible discontinuities in it. Three seismic stations and a triaxial accelerometer were employed to measure the vibrations from blasting tests, establish the dynamic behaviour of roof and pillars and develop the transmission laws. At last, computer simulations by FLAC3D software were done to check the effect of vibrations on the stability of the roofs. The study shows that in-situ tests have a greater reliability than laboratory samples because of eliminating the effect of heterogeneities, that the pillars work decreasing the amplitude of the vibration around them, and that the tensile strength of a beam and depending on its span is overcome with waves in phase and delayed. The obtained transmission law allows designing a blasting which guarantees safety and prevents the risk of future failures.

Keywords: dynamic modelling, long term instability risks, room and pillar, seismic collapse

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Authors: Oshienemen Albert

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Human’s activities could be pointed as the root cause of almost all environmental damages/ disasters as we contribute to the activities that are currently damaging the ozone layers (global warming), unusual environmental changes and extreme weather conditions (climate change) in recent times. Nigeria just as every other disaster-prone nation is faced with different types of disasters and environmental calamities, starting from terrorist displacement disasters, flood, drought and oil spill hazards. Oil spillage as an environmental disaster has great consequences not just on the environment but on human health, economy and the entire populace that might be involved, which deem necessary to look into the root causes of the incidents and how it can be curtailed. The different incidents of oil spillages and other oil production consequent on the environment is alarming in the Nigerian context and cannot be overemphasized without a critical investigation and synthesis. This paper investigates the root causes of environmental pollution induced by oil spill hazards from petroleum activities within Niger Delta communities of effects and detailed the potential solutions to reduce the causal factors and reoccurrence of the incidents. This study adopts a desk-based approach, interviews with key members of communities which consist of chiefs, youth leaders, and key women within the high environmental damaged communities. Also, Interviews were conducted with environmental expertise representatives from the oil and gas sectors and representatives from oil spill-related agency. Data were analyzed using thematic techniques. The study shows different influencing factors of sabotage and vandalism of oil facilities as such; marginalization, deprivation of resources utility and resource derivation principles were identified as major contributors to vandalism and sabotage act. The study proposed potential strategies to curtail the root causes of sabotage and vandalism as the major causes of environmental devastations in Nigeria.

Keywords: environment, oil spill hazards, Niger delta, Nigeria

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Authors: Nazli Akhlaghinia, Ali Rajabzadeh Ghatari

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In today's world, with increasing environmental awareness, firms are facing severe pressure from various stakeholders, including the government and customers, to reduce their harmful effects on the environment. Over the past few decades, the increasing effects of global warming, climate change, waste, and air pollution have increased the global attention of experts to the issue of the green supply chain and led them to the optimal solution for greenery. Green supply chain management (GSCM) plays an important role in motivating the sustainability of the organization. With increasing environmental concerns, the main objective of the research is to use system thinking methodology and Vensim software for designing a dynamic system model for green supply chain and observing behaviors. Using this methodology, we look for the effects of a green supply chain structure on the behavioral dynamics of output variables. We try to simulate the complexity of GSCM in a period of 30 months and observe the complexity of behaviors of variables including sustainability, providing green products, and reducing energy consumption, and consequently reducing sample pollution.

Keywords: supply chain management, green supply chain management, system dynamics, energy consumption

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Authors: Sajid Bin Doza

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A town or a city contributes a lot to human mankind. City evolves memory, ambition, frustration and achievement. The city is something that offers life, as the character of the city is. A city is having confined image to the human being. Time place and matter generate this vive, city celebrates with its inhabitant, belongs and to care for each other. Apart from all these; although city and settlements are the contentious and changing phenomenon; the origin of the city in the very delta land started with unique and strategic sequences. Religious belief, topography, availability of resource and connection with commercial hub make the potential of the settlement. Ancient cities of Bengal are not the exception from these phenomenologies. From time immemorial; Bengal is enriched with numerous cities and notorious settlements. These cities and settlements were connected with other inland ports and Bengal became an important trade route, trailed by the Riverine connections. The delta land formation is valued for its geographic situation, consequences of this position; a new story or a new conception could be found in origin of an ancient city. However, the objective of this research is to understand the origin and spirit of the ancient city of Bengal, the research would also try to unfold the authentic and rational meaning of soul of the city, this research addresses the interest to elaborate the soul of the ancient sites of Riverine Delta. As rivers used to have the common character in this very landform; river supported community generated as well. River gives people wealth, sometimes fall us in sorrow. The river provides us commerce and trading. River gives us faith and religion. All these potentials have evolved from the Riverine excel. So the research would approach thoroughly to justify the riverine value as the soul for the ancient cities of Bengal. Cartographic information and illustration would be the preferred language for this research. Preferably, the historic mapping would be the unique folio of this study.

Keywords: memory of the city, riverine network, ancient cities, cartographic mapping, settlement pattern

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Authors: Selina Schwaabe

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Community pharmacies deliver high-quality health care and are responsible for medication safety. During the pandemic, accessibility to the nearest pharmacy became more essential to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and to get medical aid. The government's goal is to ensure nationwide, reachable, and affordable medical health care services by pharmacies. Therefore, the density of community pharmacies matters. Overall, the density of community pharmacies is fluctuating, with slightly decreasing tendencies in some countries. So far, the literature has shown that changes in the system affect prices and density. However, a European overview of the development of the density of community pharmacies and its triggers is still missing. This research is essential to counteract against decreasing density consulting in a lack of professional health care through pharmacies. The analysis focuses on liberal versus regulated market structures, mail-order prescription drug regulation, and third-party ownership consequences. In a panel analysis, the relative influence of the measures is examined across 27 European countries over the last 21 years. In addition, the paper examines seven selected countries in depth, selected for the substantial variance in their pharmacy system: Germany, Austria, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Poland. Overall, the results show that regulated pharmacy markets have over 10.75 pharmacies/100.000 inhabitants more than liberal markets. Further, mail-order prescription drugs decrease the density by -17.98 pharmacies/100.000 inhabitants. Countries allowing third-party ownership have 7.67 pharmacies/100.000 inhabitants more. The results are statistically significant at a 0.001 level. The output of this analysis recommends regulated pharmacy markets, with a ban on mail-order prescription drugs allowing third-party ownership to support nationwide medical health care through community pharmacies.

Keywords: community pharmacy, market conditions, pharmacy, pharmacy market, pharmacy lobby, prescription, e-prescription, ownership structures

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Authors: Sabina Garayeva

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To determine the significant risk factors for intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), we carried out a thorough study of the social status of the parents of children with IUGR. We observed 315 mothers who gave birth to children with (IUGR), of which 172 mothers with asymmetric type and 143 mothers with symmetric type of IUGR. Through a detailed survey was gathered detailed information about education of parents. The results show that the majority of mothers with IUGR had secondary education (44,8 ± 2,8%), and fathers - higher education (35,2 ± 2,7%). Whereas in the control group, the largest number of parents had higher education (mother 35,3 ± 4,4%, fathers 42,9 ± 4,5%). Number of mothers with secondary education with IUGR was significantly (p1 <0,01; χ2 = 22,67) differs from the number of mothers with physiological pregnancy with the same level of education. Meanwhile, in the group with a symmetrical embodiment of IUGR mothers with secondary formation of significantly greater 53,1 ± 4,2%, than the asymmetric embodiment IUGR 37,8 ± 3,7% (p2 <0,05; χ2 = 8 06). Among fathers with secondary education significant difference was noted in the symmetric version of IUGR 37,8 ± 4,1% more than in the control group (p1 <0,05), and among parents of children with asymmetric IUGR option prevailed fathers with higher education - 37 2 ± 3,7%. Thus, our results revealed a low educational level of the mother as a risk factor for IUGR, which further help to develop preventive and therapeutic measures to eliminate the severity of its consequences. As seen from the data presented, mothers of children with asymmetric IUGR had a school education and fathers - higher education, while in the symmetric type of both parents had secondary education. It is found that frequency of children, born with IUGR, of mothers - housewives and fathers, engage in physical labor, was high. Thus, the analysis conducted by the social status of the parents with IUGR revealed a low level of education and unemployed mothers as risk factors for this disease, which in the future will help to develop preventive and therapeutic measures to eliminate the severity of its.

Keywords: intrauterine growth restriction, education of mothers, education influence, IUGR

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Authors: Elisabeth Pedersen

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Representations and interpretations of womanhood and female sexualities bring forth various questions regarding gender norms, and the implications of these norms, which are permeating and repetitive within various societies. Literature is one form of media which provides the space to represent and interpret women, their bodies, and sexualities, and also reveals the power of language as an affective and affected force. As literature allows an opportunity to explore history and the representations of gender, power dynamics, and sexuality through historical contexts, this paper uses engaged theory through a comparative analysis of two work of literature, The Duchess of Malfi by John Wester, and The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. These novels span across space and time, which lends to the theory that repetitive tropes of womanhood and female sexuality in literature are influenced by and have an influence on the hegemonic social order throughout history. It analyzes how the representation of the dichotomy of male chivalry and honor, and female purity are disputed and questioned when a woman is portrayed as sexually emancipated, and explores the historical context in which these works were written to examine how socioeconomic events challenged the hegemonic social order. The analysis looks at how stereotypical ideals of womanhood and manhood have damaging implications on women, as the structure of society provides more privilege and power to men than to women, thus creating a double standard for men and women in regards to sexuality, sexual expression, and rights to sexual desire. This comparative analysis reveals how strict gender norms are permeating and have negative consequences. However, re-reading stories through a critical lens can provide an opportunity to challenge the repetitive tropes of female sexuality, and thus lead to the embrace of the complexity of female sexuality and expression.

Keywords: femininity, literature, representation, sexuality

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Authors: Karl Gerrard Tiu See

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Military bases are an indelible mark of prolonged US defense relationships in the Pacific. Bases like the Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City have irreversible consequences for their host communities, not all of which are positive. One consequence the Subic Naval Base had for Olongapo City was the rise of vibrant sex industry. While the Philippine Senate voted to remove US bases like Subic in 1991, the question remains as to why did prostitution not end after the bases pull-out? To answer this question, the study used an institutionalist lens coupled with focus group discussions from the sex industry. It found that prostitution persisted due to two main reasons. The first was that like Olongapo City; the sex industry successfully shifted its reliance from the military to foreign tourism. The second was that agreements such as the 1996 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) ensured that the sex industry continued to receive US military clientele. With the contextual factors as the backdrop, this study used the Theory of Institutional Change to study institutions pivotal in altering Olongapo City and its sex industry after Subic Naval Base. These include local government, civil society actors such as NGOs, and the city’s economic base. The study found that policy such as the VFA allowed the bases period status quo to revive (Symbionts). This led to renewed exploitation from the military presence coupled with foreign tourism (Opportunists). The local government, however, shifted focus away from base reliance which allowed a reinvigorated civil society to effect a gradual change (Subversives). Furthermore, uncertainties like rising HIV incidence, abandoned children born from US soldiers, and the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) remain to change the sex industry’s future, for better or worse.

Keywords: Philippine-USA defence relations, overseas USA basing, 1991 Philippine-USA bases pull-out, Olongapo city, Subic naval base, institutional change

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Authors: Ozoemelam Ikechukwu Lazarus, Nizamuddin B. Zainuddi, Abdul Kafi

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Numerous studies have been carried out on Green Logistics Management Practices (GLMPs) across the globe. The study on the practices and performance of green chain practices in Africa in particular has not gained enough scholarly attention. Again, the majority of supply chain sustainability research being conducted focus on environmental sustainability. Logistics has been a major cause of supply chain resource waste and environmental damage. Many sectors of the economy that engage in logistical operations significantly rely on vehicles, which emit pollutants into the environment. Due to urbanization and industrialization, the logistical operations of manufacturing companies represent a serious hazard to the society and human life, making the sector one of the fastest expanding in the world today. Logistics companies are faced with numerous difficulties when attempting to implement logistics practices along their supply chains. In Nigeria, manufacturing companies aspire to implement reverse logistics in response to stakeholders’ requirements to reduce negative environmental consequences. However, implementing this is impeded by a criteria framework, and necessitates the careful analysis of how such criteria interact with each other in the presence of uncertainty. This study integrates most of the green logistics management practices (GLMPs) into the Nigerian firms to improve generalizability, and credibility. It examines the effect of Green Logistics Management Practices on environmental performance, social performance, market performance, and financial performance in the logistics industries. It seeks to identify the critical success factors in order to develop a model that incorporates different factors from the perspectives of the technology, organization, human and environment to inform the adoption and use of technologies for logistics supply chain social sustainability in Nigeria. It uses exploratory research approach to collect and analyse the data.

Keywords: logistics, management, sustainability, environment, operations

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Authors: James Kinsella

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There is currently very little understanding of how the interaction between in- vestors, consumers, the firms (agents) affect a) the transmission of information, and b) the creation and transfer of value and wealth between these two groups. Employing scholarly ideas from multiple research areas (behavioural finance, emotional finance, econo-biology, and game theory) we develop a conceptual the- oretic model (the ‘bow-tie’ model) as a framework for considering this interaction. Our bow-tie model views information transfer, value and wealth creation, and transfer through the lens of “investor-consumer connection facilitated through the communicative medium of the ‘firm’ (agents)”. We confront our bow-tie model with theoretical and practical examples. Next, we utilise consumer and business confidence data alongside index data, to conduct quantitative analy- sis, to support our bow-tie concept, and to introduce the concept of “investor- consumer connection”. We highlight the importance of information persuasiveness, knowledge, and emotional categorization of characteristics in facilitating a communicative relationship between investors, consumers, and the firm (agents), forming academic and practical applications of the conceptual bow-tie model, alongside applications to wider instances, such as those seen within the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: behavioral finance, emotional finance, economy-biology, social mood

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Authors: Aliasghar Mehdizadeh Dastjerdi, Francisco Camara Pereira

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The increasing complexity and demand of transport services strains transportation systems especially in urban areas with limited possibilities for building new infrastructure. The solution to this challenge requires changes of travel behavior. One of the proposed means to induce such change is multimodal travel apps. This paper describes a study of the intention to use a real-time multi-modal travel app aimed at motivating travel behavior change in the Greater Copenhagen Region (Denmark) toward promoting sustainable transport options. The proposed app is a multi-faceted smartphone app including both travel information and persuasive strategies such as health and environmental feedback, tailoring travel options, self-monitoring, tunneling users toward green behavior, social networking, nudging and gamification elements. The prospective for mobility management travel apps to stimulate sustainable mobility rests not only on the original and proper employment of the behavior change strategies, but also on explicitly anchoring it on established theoretical constructs from behavioral theories. The theoretical foundation is important because it positively and significantly influences the effectiveness of the system. However, there is a gap in current knowledge regarding the study of mobility-management travel app with support in behavioral theories, which should be explored further. This study addresses this gap by a social cognitive theory‐based examination. However, compare to conventional method in technology adoption research, this study adopts a reverse approach in which the associations between theoretical constructs are explored by Max-Min Hill-Climbing (MMHC) algorithm as a hybrid causal discovery method. A technology-use preference survey was designed to collect data. The survey elicited different groups of variables including (1) three groups of user’s motives for using the app including gain motives (e.g., saving travel time and cost), hedonic motives (e.g., enjoyment) and normative motives (e.g., less travel-related CO2 production), (2) technology-related self-concepts (i.e. technophile attitude) and (3) use Intention of the travel app. The questionnaire items led to the formulation of causal relationships discovery to learn the causal structure of the data. Causal relationships discovery from observational data is a critical challenge and it has applications in different research fields. The estimated causal structure shows that the two constructs of gain motives and technophilia have a causal effect on adoption intention. Likewise, there is a causal relationship from technophilia to both gain and hedonic motives. In line with the findings of the prior studies, it highlights the importance of functional value of the travel app as well as technology self-concept as two important variables for adoption intention. Furthermore, the results indicate the effect of technophile attitude on developing gain and hedonic motives. The causal structure shows hierarchical associations between the three groups of user’s motive. They can be explained by “frustration-regression” principle according to Alderfer's ERG (Existence, Relatedness and Growth) theory of needs meaning that a higher level need remains unfulfilled, a person may regress to lower level needs that appear easier to satisfy. To conclude, this study shows the capability of causal discovery methods to learn the causal structure of theoretical model, and accordingly interpret established associations.

Keywords: travel app, behavior change, persuasive technology, travel information, causality

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Authors: Meron Okbandrias

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The South African formal economy is rule-based economy, unlike most African and Asian markets. It has a highly developed financial market. In such a market, foreign migrants have dominated the small or spaza shops that service the poor. They are highly competitive and capture significant market share in South Africa. This paper analyses the factors that assisted the foreign migrants in having a competitive age. It does that by interviewing Somali, Bangladesh, and Ethiopian shop owners in Cape Town analysing the data through a narrative analysis. The paper also analyses the 2019 South African consumer report. The three migrant nationalities mentioned above dominate the spaza shop business and have significant distribution networks. The findings of the paper indicate that family, ethnic, and nationality based network, in that order of importance, form bases for a relationship-based business network that has trust as its mainstay. Therefore, this network ensures the pooling of resources and abiding by certain principles outside the South African rule-based system. The research identified practises like bulk buying within a community of traders, sharing information, buying from a within community distribution business, community based transportation system and providing seed capital for people from the community to start a business is all based on that relationship-based system. The consequences of not abiding by the rules of these networks are social and economic exclusion. In addition, these networks have their own commercial and social conflict resolution mechanisms aside from the South African justice system. Network theory and relationship based systems theory form the theoretical foundations of this paper.

Keywords: migrant, spaza shops, relationship-based system, South Africa

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Authors: Raana Babadi Fathipour

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Biofilms, those intricate structures of microbial aggregation that emerge as microorganisms adhere to animate or inanimate surfaces, possess an innate capacity to shield their inhabitants from adversities within the environment whilst fortifying their endurance against antimicrobial agents. This remarkable aspect facilitates the persistence and virulence of said microorganisms, establishing biofilm formation as an integral component of bacterial survival mechanisms. However, should foodborne pathogens adopt this mode of existence, the potentiality for foodborne disease infections becomes alarmingly intensified—an alarming prospect that harbors significant public health hazards and engenders deleterious economic ramifications. Thus, due to these consequences lurking on the horizon, extensive research concentrating upon comprehending biofilms and devising efficacious removal strategies assumes a position imbued with paramount importance within the realm of the food industry. The problem of food waste resulting from spoilage in the food industry continues to present a widespread challenge to both environmental sustainability and the security of our food supplies. In this comprehensive analysis, we delve into the formation of bacterial biofilms, highlighting the specific issues they pose within the realm of food production. Additionally, we provide an overview of various types of common foodborne pathogens that tend to thrive in these biofilms. Furthermore, we summarize existing strategies aimed at tackling or managing detrimental bacterial biofilm growth. We also introduce contemporary approaches that show promise in terms of controlling this issue and highlight their potential for further advancement. Ultimately, our focus lies on outlining prospects for future development as they pertain specifically to combatting bacterial biofilms within the field.

Keywords: foodborne pathogens, food safety, biofilm, resistance, quorum-sensing

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Authors: Lloyd A. Taylor

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An increase in the prevalence of Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) highlights the need to consider factors that may be exacerbating symptom presentation. Traditional diagnostic criteria provide a little framework for healthcare providers to consider as they attempt to diagnose and treat children with behavioral problems. In fact, aside from exclusion criteria, limited alternative considerations are available, and approaches fail to consider the impact of outside factors that could increase or decrease the likelihood of appropriate diagnosis and success of interventions. This paper will consider specific systems-based factors that influence behavior and intervention successes that, when not considered, could account for the upsurge of diagnoses. These include understanding (1) challenges in the healthcare system, (2) the influence and impact of educators and the educational system, (3) technology use, and (4) patient and parental attitudes about the diagnosis of ADHD. These factors must be considered both individually and as a whole when considering both the increase in diagnoses and the subsequent increases in prescriptions for psychostimulant medication. A theoretical model based on a risk management approach will be presented. Finally, data will be presented that demonstrates pediatric provider satisfaction with this approach to diagnoses and treatment of ADHD as it relates to practice trends.

Keywords: ADHD, diagnostic criteria, risk management model, pediatricians

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Authors: Skiker Kaoutar, Mounir Maouene

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Neuroimaging studies have shown that animal and tool concepts rely on distinct networks of brain areas. Animal concepts depend predominantly on temporal areas while tool concepts rely on fronto-temporo-parietal areas. However, the origin of this neurofunctional distinction for processing animal and tool concepts remains still unclear. Here, we address this question from a network perspective suggesting that the neural distinction between animals and tools might reflect the differences in their structural semantic networks. We build semantic networks for animal and tool concepts derived from Mc Rae and colleagues’s behavioral study conducted on a large number of participants. These two networks are thus analyzed through a large number of graph theoretical measures for small-worldness: centrality, clustering coefficient, average shortest path length, as well as resistance to random and targeted attacks. The results indicate that both animal and tool networks have small-world properties. More importantly, the animal network is more vulnerable to targeted attacks compared to the tool network a result that correlates with brain lesions studies.

Keywords: animals, tools, network, semantics, small-world, resilience to damage

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Authors: Luma Vaz, Marcio Port-Carvalho

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The main objective of this research was to study the basics aspects of the ecology of a group of capuchin monkeys (Cebus spp.), evaluating the risks that habit and food that is given by the visitors may cause to the people's health and animals welfare, also how to make proposals for mitigation and management guidelines. In order to do that, some aspects of the animal's ecology (such as diet, habitat range and habitat use) and activity patterns were studied. It was also measured the frequency of contact with visitors at the park using protocols for data collection. The behavioral categories of displacement and resting represent more than 80% of total activities, followed by feeding (13%) and others (6%). When compared to the studies in natural environment, the Cebus group studied has a small living area (1.7ha) occupying mostly the PEAL public area. The diversity of items offered by the visitors and the high frequency of contact closer than one meter suggests that using information and education campaigns must be a priority in the public program in PEAL in order to avoid future accidents and diseases transmissions.

Keywords: capuchin monkeys, Cebus, environmental education, public health, wildlife management

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Authors: Tsai-Pei Liu, Zhi-Rou Zheng, Tzu-Tzu Wen

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Innovative logistics system simulation teaching is to extract the characteristics of the system through simulation methodology. The system has randomness and interaction problems in the execution time. Therefore, the simulation model can usually deal with more complex logistics process problems, giving students different learning modes. Students have more autonomy in learning time and learning progress. System simulation has become a new educational tool, but it still needs to accept many tests to use it in the teaching field. Although many business management departments in Taiwan have started to promote, this kind of simulation system teaching is still not popular, and the prerequisite for popularization is to be supported by students. This research uses an extension of Integration Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) to explore the acceptance of students in universities of science and technology to use system simulation as a learning tool. At the same time, it is hoped that this innovation can explore the effectiveness of the logistics system simulation after the introduction of teaching. The results indicated the significant influence of performance expectancy, social influence and learning value on students’ intention towards confirmed the influence of facilitating conditions and behavioral intention. The extended UTAUT2 framework helps in understanding students’ perceived value in the innovative logistics system teaching context.

Keywords: UTAUT2, logistics system simulation, learning value, Taiwan

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Authors: Ayodeji Adebayo, Tolulope Soyannwo, Oluwakemi A. Sigbeku

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Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem with adverse health consequences. There is increasing evidence of association of IPV with mental health problems. Understanding the association between IPV and mental health status of women of reproductive aged group in the rural communities in Nigeria can provide information to improve maternal health status. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the relationship between experience of IPV and mental health status of women of reproductive aged group in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria. A community based cross-sectional survey was conducted using a cluster sampling technique to select 283 non-pregnant women of reproductive age group (15-49 years Mental health was assessed based on respondents’ experience of any symptoms of depression, anxiety and/or low self-esteem. IPV was assessed over a period of 12 months and the forms of IPV assessed were emotional, physical and sexual. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect information on experience of IPV, reproductive history and factors influencing mental health. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and multivariate logistic regression at 5% level of significance. The mean age of respondents was 26.1± 7.8 with 57.1% aged 15-24years. More than half (58.0%) were married. Overall, 60.7% of respondents had mental health problems while 84.8% experienced all categories of violence. The pattern of IPV includes physical violence (10.7%), emotional violence (82.7%) and sexual violence (20.8%). Women who experienced sexual violence by a partner are most likely to suffer from all mental issues. Also, gynaecological morbidities are associated with increasing risk of mental health problems. The research demonstrates an urgent need for mental health policies to recognize the relationship between intimate partner violence, gynaecological morbidities and mental health problems in women in Nigeria.

Keywords: intimate partner violence, mental health, reproductive age group, women

Procedia PDF Downloads 323