Search results for: social/interpersonal/life transformation

Authors: Eric D. Olson

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The lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer/questioning tourist (LGBTQ+) travels more frequently, spends more money on travel, and is more likely to travel internationally compared to their straight/heterosexual counterparts. For Vietnam, this represents a huge opportunity to increase international tourism, considering social advancements and recognition of the LGBTQ+ have greatly increased in the past few years in Vietnam. For example, Vietnam’s Health Ministry confirmed in 2022 that same-sex attraction and being transgender is not a mental health condition. A robust hospitality ecosystem of LGBTQ+ tourism suppliers already exists in Vietnam catering to LGBTQ+ tourists (e.g., Gay Hanoi Tours, VietPride). Vietnam is a safe and welcoming destination with incredible nature, cosmopolitan cities, and friendly people; however, there is a dearth of academic and industry research that has examined how LGBTQ+ international tourists perceive Vietnam as an LGBTQ+ friendly destination. To rectify this gap, this research examines Vietnam as an LGBTQ+ destination in order to provide government officials, destination marketers, and industry practitioners with insight into this increasingly visible tourist market segment. A self-administered survey instrument was administered to n=375 international LGBTQ+ tourists to examine their perceptions of Vietnam. A factor analysis found three categories of LGBTQ+ factors of visitation to Vietnam: safety and security (Eigenvalue = 4.12, variance = 32.45, α = .82); LGBTQ+ attractions (Eigenvalue = 3.65 variance = 24.23, α = .75); and friendly interactions (Eigenvalue = 3.71, variance = 10.45, α = .96). Multiple regression was used to examine LGBTQ+ visitation factors and intention to visit Vietnam, F=12.20 (2, 127), p < .001, R2 = .56. Safety and security (β = 0.42, p < .001), LGBTQ+ attractions (β = 0.61, p < .001) and friendly interactions (β = 0.42, p < .001) are predictors to visit Vietnam. Results are consistent with previous research that highlight safety/security is of utmost importance to the community when traveling. Attractions, such as LGBTQ+ tours, suppliers, and festivals can also be used as a pull factor in encouraging tourism. Implications/limitations will be discussed.

Keywords: tourism, LGBTQ, vietnam, regression

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Authors: N. Bakradze, T. Dumbadze, N. Gagelidze, L. Amiranashvili, A. D. L. Batako

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Cereals are considered as a strategic product in human life and it demand is increasing with the growth of world population. There is always shortage of cereals in various areas of the globe. For example, Georgia own production meets only 15-20% of the demand for grain, despite the fact that the country is considered one of the main centers of wheat origin. In Georgia, there are 14 types of wheat and more than 150 subspecies, and 40 subspecies of common wheat. Increasing wheat production is important for the country. One of the ways to solve the problem is to develop and implement new, environmentally and economically acceptable technologies. Such technologies include pre-sowing treatment of seed with a laser and associative nitrogen-fixing of the Azospirillum brasilensse bacteria. In the region there are Dika and Lomtagora which are among the most common in Georgia. Dika is a frost-resistant wheat, with a high ability to adapt to the environment, resistant to falling and it is sown in highlands. Dicka excellent properties are due to its strong immunity to fungal diseases; Dicka grains are rich in protein and lysine. Lomtagora 126 differs with its winter and drought resistance, and, it has a great ability to germinate. Lomtagora is characterized by a strong root system and a high budding capacity. It is an early variety, fall-resistant, easy to thresh and suitable for mechanized harvesting with large and red grains. The plant is moderately resistant to fungal diseases. This paper presents some preliminary experimental results where, a continuous CO2 laser at a power of 25-40 W/cm2 was used to radiate grains at a flow rate of 10-15 cm/sec. The treatment was carried out on grains of the Triticum aestivum L. var. of Lutescens (local variety name - Lomtagora 126), and Triticum carthlicum Nevski (local variety name - Dika). Here the grains were treated with Azospirillum brasilensse isolate (108-109 CFU / ml), which was isolated from the rhizosphere of wheat. It was observed that the germination of the wheat was not significantly influenced by either laser or bacteria treatment. In the case of the variety Lomtagora 126, when irradiated at an angle of 90°, it slightly improved the growth within 38 days of sawing, and in the case of irradiation at an angle of 90°+1, by 23%. The treatment of seeds with Azospirillum brazilense in both irradiated and non-irradiated variants led to an improvement in the growth of ssprouts. However, in the case of treatment with azospiril alone - by 22%, and with joint treatment of seeds with azospiril and irradiation - by 29%. In the case of the Dika wheat, the irradiation only led to an increase in growth by 8-9%, and the combine treatment of seeds with azospiril and irradiation - by 10-15%, in comparison with the control. Thus, the combine treatment of wheat of different varieties provided the best effect on the growth. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG) (Grant number CARYS 19-573)

Keywords: laser treatment, Azospirillum brasilensse, seeds, wheat varieties, Lomtagora, Dika

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Authors: B. O. Diyaolu

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The globalization of football especially among youth over the decade is uprising. Nigeria youth displaying football jerseys at every opportunity is an acceptance of football globalization. The Love for English Premier League (EPL) football jersey is very strong among Nigeria fans. Football club jerseys of the EPL are a common sports product among fans in Nigeria. This study investigates the contribution of football club jerseys towards EPL fans’ loyalty in Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population consists of EPL fans in Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique (fish bowl without replacement) was used to select two states from the six geo-political zones. Purposive sampling technique was used to pick eight viewing centres while accidental sampling technique was used to pick five vendor stands from each State. An average of 250 respondents was selected from each state. A total of 3,200 respondents participated in the research. Two research instruments were used. A self-developed structured questionnaire on Football Jersey Scale (FJS): The instrument consists of 10 items. Fans Loyalty Scale (FLS): The instrument was modified from the psychological commitment to team (PCT) scale, and consists of 20 items. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.72 and 0.75 was obtained, respectively. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 significant levels. Data were analysed using frequency, percentages count, pie chart and multiple regressions. The result showed that the b-value of football club jersey is 0.148 also the standard regression coefficient (Beta) is 0.089. The t = 4.759 is statistically significant at p = 0.000. This signified a relative contribution of football club jersey on EPL fans loyalty in Nigeria. Club jersey, which is the most outstanding identifier of every club, was found to significantly predict loyalty. The jersey on the body of the fan has become the site for a declaration of loyalty which becomes available for social interaction and negotiation. The Nigerian local league clubs in an attempt to keep Nigerian fans loyal must borrow a leaf from their European counterparts.

Keywords: club Jerseys, English Premier League, football fans, Nigeria youth

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Authors: Mas Pertiwi I. G. AG Istri, Sri Kristinayanti Wayan, Oka Aryawan I. Gede Made

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Ability of government to meet the needs of infrastructure investment constrained by the size of the budget commitments for other sectors. Another barrier is the complexity of the process of land acquisition. Public Private Partnership can help bridge the investment gap by including the amount of funding from the private sector, shifted the responsibility of financing, construction of the asset, and the operation and post-project design and care to them. In principle, a construction project implementation always requires the investor as a party to provide resources in the form of funding which it must be contained in a successor agreement in the form of a contract. In general, construction contracts consist of contracts which passed in Indonesia and contract International. One source of funding used in the implementation of construction projects comes from funding that comes from the collaboration between the government and the private sector, for example with the system: BLT (Build Lease Transfer), BOT (Build Operate Transfer), BTO (Build Transfer Operate) and BOO (Build Operate Own). And form of payment under a construction contract can be distinguished several ways: monthly payment, payments based on progress and payment after completed projects (Turn Key). One of the tools used to analyze the feasibility of the investment is to use financial models. The financial model describes the relationship between different variables and assumptions used. From a financial model will be known how the cash flow structure of the project, which includes revenues, expenses, liabilities to creditors and the payment of taxes to the government. Net cash flow generated from the project will be used as a basis for analyzing the feasibility of investment source of project financing Public Private Partnership could come from equity or debt. The proportion of funding according to its source is a comparison of a number of investment funds originating from each source of financing for a total investment cost during the construction period by selected the contract system and several alternative financing percentage ratio determined according to sources will generate cash flow structure that is different. Of the various possibilities for the structure of the cash flow generated will be analyzed by software is to test T Paired to compared the contract system used by various alternatives comparison of financing to determine the effect of the contract system and the comparison of such financing for the feasibility of investment toll road construction project for the economic life of 20 (twenty) years. In this use case studies of toll road contruction project Bali Mandara. And in this analysis only covered two systems contracts, namely Build Operate Transfer and Turn Key. Based on the results obtained by analysis of the variable investment feasibility of the NPV, BCR and IRR between the contract system Build Operate Transfer and contract system Turn Key on the interest rate of 9%, 12% and 15%.

Keywords: contract system, financing, internal rate of return, net present value

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Authors: Simont Toussi

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Cameroon and the Central African Republic arebound by the provisions of many regional and international charters, which condemn the manipulation of information, obstacles to access reliable information, or the limitation of freedoms of expression and opinion. These two countries also have constitutional guarantees for free speech and access to true and liable information. However, they are yet to define specific policies and regulations for access to information, disinformation, or misinformation. Yet, certain countries’ laws and regulations related to information and communication technologies, to criminal procedures, to terrorism, or intelligence services contain provisions that rather hider human rights by condemning false information. Like many other African countries, Cameroon and the Central African Republic face a profound democratic regression, and governments use multiple methods to stifle online discourse and digital rights. Despite the increased uptake of digital tools for political participation, there is a lack of interactivity and adoption of these tools. This enables a scarcity of information and creates room for the spreading of disinformation in the public space, hamperingdemocracy and the respect for human rights. This research aims to analyse the adequacy of stakeholders’ responses to disinformation in Cameroon and the Central African Republic in periods of political contestation, such as elections and anti-government protests, to highlight the nature, perpetrators, strategies, and channels of disinformation, as well as its effects on democratic actors, including civil society, bloggers, government critics, activists, and other human rights defenders. The study follows a qualitative method with literature review, content analysis, andkey informant’sinterviews with stakeholders’ representatives, emphasized crowdsourcing as a data and information collecting method in the two countries.

Keywords: disinformation, democracy, political manipulation, social media, media, fake news, central Africa, cameroon, misinformation, free speech

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Authors: Mia Bahar, Özlem Bozkurt

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a typical, persistent, and long-lasting mental health condition in which a person experiences uncontrollable, recurrent thoughts (or "obsessions") and/or activities (or "compulsions") that they feel compelled to engage in repeatedly. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is both underdiagnosed and undertreated. It frequently manifests in a variety of medical settings and is persistent, expensive, and burdensome. Obsessive-compulsive neurosis was long believed to be a condition that offered valuable insight into the inner workings of the unconscious mind. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is now recognized as a prime example of a neuropsychiatric condition susceptible to particular pharmacotherapeutic and psychotherapy therapies and mediated by pathology in particular neural circuits. An obsessive-compulsive disorder which is called OCD, usually has two components, one cognitive and the other behavioral, although either can occur alone. Obsessions are often repetitive and intrusive thoughts that invade consciousness. These obsessions are incredibly hard to control or dismiss. People who have OCD often engage in rituals to reduce anxiety associated with intrusive thoughts. Once the ritual is formed, the person may feel extreme relief and be free from anxiety until the thoughts of contamination intrude once again. These thoughts are strengthened through a manifestation of negative reinforcement because they allow the person to avoid anxiety and obscurity. These thoughts are described as autogenous, meaning they most likely come from nowhere. These unwelcome thoughts are related to actions which we can describe as Thought Action Fusion. The thought becomes equated with an action, such as if they refuse to perform the ritual, something bad might happen, and so people perform the ritual to escape the intrusive thought. In almost all cases of OCD, the person's life gets extremely disturbed by compulsions and obsessions. Studies show OCD is an estimated 1.1% prevalence, making it a challenging issue with high co-morbidities with other issues like depressive episodes, panic disorders, and specific phobias. The first to reveal brain anomalies in OCD were numerous CT investigations, although the results were inconsistent. A few studies have focused on the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate gyrus (AC), and thalamus, structures also implicated in the pathophysiology of OCD by functional neuroimaging studies, but few have found consistent results. However, some studies have found abnormalities in the basal ganglion. There have also been some discussions that OCD might be genetic. OCD has been linked to families in studies of family aggregation, and findings from twin studies show that this relationship is somewhat influenced by genetic variables. Some Research has shown that OCD is a heritable, polygenic condition that can result from de novo harmful mutations as well as common and unusual variants. Numerous studies have also presented solid evidence in favor of a significant additive genetic component to OCD risk, with distinct OCD symptom dimensions showing both common and individual genetic risks.

Keywords: compulsions, obsessions, neuropsychiatric, genetic

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Authors: S. M. Giripunje, Mohit Kumar

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Acoustic energy that exists in our everyday life and environment have been overlooked as a green energy that can be extracted, generated, and consumed without any significant negative impact to the environment. The harvested energy can be used to enable new technology like wireless sensor networks. Technological developments in the realization of truly autonomous MEMS devices and energy storage systems have made acoustic energy harvesting (AEH) an increasingly viable technology. AEH is the process of converting high and continuous acoustic waves from the environment into electrical energy by using an acoustic transducer or resonator. AEH is not popular as other types of energy harvesting methods since sound waves have lower energy density and such energy can only be harvested in very noisy environment. However, the energy requirements for certain applications are also correspondingly low and also there is a necessity to observe the noise to reduce noise pollution. So the ability to reclaim acoustic energy and store it in a usable electrical form enables a novel means of supplying power to relatively low power devices. A quarter-wavelength straight-tube acoustic resonator as an acoustic energy harvester is introduced with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and PVDF doped with ZnO nanoparticles, piezoelectric cantilever beams placed inside the resonator. When the resonator is excited by an incident acoustic wave at its first acoustic eigen frequency, an amplified acoustic resonant standing wave is developed inside the resonator. The acoustic pressure gradient of the amplified standing wave then drives the vibration motion of the PVDF piezoelectric beams, generating electricity due to the direct piezoelectric effect. In order to maximize the amount of the harvested energy, each PVDF and PVDF-ZnO piezoelectric beam has been designed to have the same structural eigen frequency as the acoustic eigen frequency of the resonator. With a single PVDF beam placed inside the resonator, the harvested voltage and power become the maximum near the resonator tube open inlet where the largest acoustic pressure gradient vibrates the PVDF beam. As the beam is moved to the resonator tube closed end, the voltage and power gradually decrease due to the decreased acoustic pressure gradient. Multiple piezoelectric beams PVDF and PVDF-ZnO have been placed inside the resonator with two different configurations: the aligned and zigzag configurations. With the zigzag configuration which has the more open path for acoustic air particle motions, the significant increases in the harvested voltage and power have been observed. Due to the interruption of acoustic air particle motion caused by the beams, it is found that placing PVDF beams near the closed tube end is not beneficial. The total output voltage of the piezoelectric beams increases linearly as the incident sound pressure increases. This study therefore reveals that the proposed technique used to harvest sound wave energy has great potential of converting free energy into useful energy.

Keywords: acoustic energy, acoustic resonator, energy harvester, eigenfrequency, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)

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Authors: Jarmila Štěpánová, Martin Kudláček, Lukáš Jakubec

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The people with spinal cord injury are one of the least sport active members of our society. Their hypoactivity is determined by primary injury, i.e., the loss of motor function, the injured part of the body is connected with health complications and social handicap. Study performs one part of the standardization process of semi-structured interview PARA-SCI.CZ (Czech version of the Physical Activity Recall Assessment for People with Spinal Cord Injury), which measures the type, frequency, duration, and intensity of physical activity of people with spinal cord injury. The study focused on persons with paraplegia who use a wheelchair as their primary mode of mobility. The aim of this study was to perform a process to determine the criterion validity of PARA-SCI.CZ. The actual physical activity of wheelchair users was monitored during three days by using accelerometers Actigraph GT3X fixed on the non-dominant wrist, and semi-structured interview PARA-SCI.CZ. During the PARA-SCI.CZ interview, participants were asked to recall activities they had done over the past 3 days, starting with the previous day. PARA-SCI.CZ captured frequency, duration, and intensity (low, moderate, and heavy) of two categories of physical activity (leisure time physical activity and activities of a usual day). Accelerometer Actigraph GT3X captured duration and intensity (low and moderate + heavy) of physical activity during three days and nights. The study presented three potential recalculations of measured data. Standardization process of PARA-SCI.CZ is essential to critically approach issues of health and active lifestyle of persons with spinal cord injury in the Czech Republic. Standardized PARA-SCI.CZ can be used in practice by physiotherapists and sports pedagogues from the field of adapted physical activities.

Keywords: physical activity, lifestyle, paraplegia, semi-structure interview, accelerometer

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Authors: Djehich Mohamed Yousri

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As a result of the destruction and devastation left by the two world wars, the international community worked to establish a global organization based on a contractual basis, in which the Security Council was entrusted with the task of working to maintain international peace and security, and to achieve this, the United Nations Charter assigned the latter a wide authority to adapt everything It would threaten international peace and security, although the examiner of the Charter of the United Nations does not find the slightest definition of the concept of international peace and security, although these two principles are among the basic principles that the Charter stipulated the necessity of achieving, and perhaps this was also what was in the opposite case for them. And by that, we mean cases of a threat to peace, a breach of it, or an act of aggression. These terms were not dealt with in the Charter in explanation and detail, leaving ample room for the Security Council to assess each of these cases separately, and perhaps this is due to the fact that the framers of the Charter intended to set a flexible standard. It does not restrict the authority of the Security Council to carry out the adjustment process on the one hand and, on the other hand, to allow and enable the Security Council to keep pace with new developments and threats to which international peace and security are exposed. There is no doubt that the concept of international peace and security has undergone significant changes during the 70-year period that followed the establishment of the international organization. After the threat to peace and security focused - in the first stage - on cases of war or the threat of war, what distinguishes the post- The new world order is the emergence of other challenges and threats that find their source in economic, social, humanitarian, and environmental instability. Perhaps this is what the member states of the Security Council indicated during the preparation of the Peace Agenda. The expansion of the concept of peace and security is what paved the way for some permanent states to use the Security Council to legitimize and implement their decisions and take the council as a tool to implement their foreign policy and punish states instead of maintaining international peace and security, which prompted some states and jurisprudence to call for the establishment of oversight of the decisions of the Council Security on the one hand, and amending the UN Charter to make it more expressive of the aspirations of the international community, referring to the obstacles that prevent this amendment.

Keywords: peace, security, united nations charter, security council, united nations organization

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Authors: Beaudoin Marie-Joelle, Poirier Nathalie

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Introduction: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to lack socio-emotional skills (e.g., emotional regulation and theory of mind). Eisenberg’s theoretical model on emotion-related socialization behaviors suggests that mothers of children with ASD could play a central role in fostering the acquisition of socio-emotional skills by engaging in frequent educational conversations about emotions. Although, mothers’ perceptions of their own emotional skills and their child’s personality traits and social deficits could mitigate the benefit of their educative role. Objective: Our study aims to explore the association between mother-child conversations about emotions and the socio-emotional skills of their children when accounting for the moderating role of the mothers’ perceptions. Forty-nine mothers completed five questionnaires about emotionally related conversations, self-openness to emotions, and perceptions of personality and socio-emotional skills of their children with ASD. Results: Regression analyses showed that frequent mother-child conversations about emotions predicted better emotional regulation and theory of mind skills in children with ASD (p < 0.01). The children’s theory of mind was moderated by mothers’ perceptions of their own emotional openness (p < 0.05) and their perceptions of their children’s openness to experience (p < 0.01) and conscientiousness (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Mothers likely play an important role in the socio-emotional education of children with ASD. Further, mothers may be most helpful when they perceive that their interventions improve their child’s behaviors. Our findings corroborate those of the Eisenberg model, which claims that mother-child conversations about emotions predict socio-emotional development skills in children with ASD. Our results also help clarify the moderating role of mothers’ perceptions, which could mitigate their willingness to engage in educational conversations about emotions with their children. Therefore, in special needs' children education, school professionals could collaborate with mothers to increase the frequency of emotion-related conversations in ASD's students with emotion dysregulation or theory of mind problems.

Keywords: autism, parental socialization of emotion, emotional regulation, theory of mind

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Authors: Kevin R. Wilson, Roger Mantie

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Community arts-based learning and participatory education are pedagogical techniques that serve to be advantageous for students, curriculum development, and local communities. Using an interpretive approach to examine the significance of this arts-informed research in relation to the eight ‘design imperatives’ proposed as the new model for measuring quality in scholarship for Arizona State University as ‘A New American University’, the purpose of this study was to investigate personal, social, and cultural benefits resulting from student engagement in interdisciplinary community-based projects. Students from a graduate level music education class at the ASU Tempe campus (n=7) teamed with students from an undergraduate level community development class at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus (n=14) to plan, facilitate, and evaluate seven community-based projects in several locations around the Phoenix-metro area. Data was collected using photo evidence, student reports, and evaluative measures designed by the students. The effectiveness of each project was measured in terms of their ability to meet the eight design imperatives to: 1) leverage place; 2) transform society; 3) value entrepreneurship; 4) conduct use-inspired research; 5) enable student success; 6) fuse intellectual disciplines; 7) be socially embedded; and 8) engage globally. Results indicated that this community arts-based project sufficiently captured the essence of each of these eight imperatives. Implications for how the nature of this interdisciplinary initiative allowed for the eight imperatives to manifest are provided, and project success is expounded upon in relation to utility of each imperative. Discussion is also given for how this type of service learning project formatted within the ‘New American University’ model for measuring quality in academia can be a beneficial pedagogical tool in higher education.

Keywords: community arts-based learning, participatory education, pedagogy, service learning

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Authors: Natalie A. Sterk, Bernard van Vuuren, Petrie Marais, Bongani Mthombeni

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Injuries to the internal structures of the thorax and abdomen remain a leading cause of death among soldiers. Body armour is a standard issue piece of military equipment designed to protect the vital organs against ballistic and stab threats. When configured for maximum protection, the excessive weight and size of the armour may limit soldier mobility and increase physical fatigue and discomfort. Providing soldiers with more armour than necessary may, therefore, hinder their ability to react rapidly in life-threatening situations. The capability to determine the optimal trade-off between the amount of essential anatomical coverage and hindrance on soldier performance may significantly enhance the design of armour systems. The current study aimed to develop and pilot a methodology for relating internal anatomical structures with actual armour plate coverage in real-time using low-dose diagnostic X-ray scanning. Several pilot scanning sessions were held at Lodox Systems (Pty) Ltd head-office in South Africa. Testing involved using the Lodox eXero-dr to scan dummy trunk rigs at various degrees and heights of measurement; as well as human participants, wearing correctly fitted body armour while positioned in supine, prone shooting, seated and kneeling shooting postures. The verification of sizing and metrics obtained from the Lodox eXero-dr were then confirmed through a verification board with known dimensions. Results indicated that the low-dose diagnostic X-ray has the capability to clearly identify the vital internal structures of the aortic arch, heart, and lungs in relation to the position of the external armour plates. Further testing is still required in order to fully and accurately identify the inferior liver boundary, inferior vena cava, and spleen. The scans produced in the supine, prone, and seated postures provided superior image quality over the kneeling posture. The X-ray-source and-detector distance from the object must be standardised to control for possible magnification changes and for comparison purposes. To account for this, specific scanning heights and angles were identified to allow for parallel scanning of relevant areas. The low-dose diagnostic X-ray provides a non-invasive, safe, and rapid technique for relating vital internal structures with external structures. This capability can be used for the re-evaluation of anatomical coverage required for essential protection while optimising armour design and fit for soldier performance.

Keywords: body armour, low-dose diagnostic X-ray, scanning, vital organ coverage

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Authors: Ma'ruf

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Pilgrimage has a universal value, founded in every religion. No exception to Islam, has a ritual value, and became part of the religion, as well as the procession of a social culture in nature. The tradition of pilgrimage, especially in Indonesia, rooted in the society, because the Islam that entered into the archipelago through Sufism (tasawuf). In the Sufi tradition, the interconnecty of the human spirit (ruh) to the spirit (ruh) of God, must go through a guardian (wasilah) appointed by God himself ,the prophet Muhammad and wali. In the process of pilgrimage rituals usually by reading the prayer to praise God, the prophet and wali, then convey intent (hajat). In the pilgrimage procession, usually not only done in the house, but aslo completed the process by direct pilgrimage visiting the tombs of saints. The tradition of pilgrimage, especially in Indonesia continues to be maintained, and still attached to the traditions in Nahdiyin (NU followers). The relationship with God manifested in wasilah prayer to God, the prophet Muhammad, the best companions of the Prophet and Nine wali (Songo), who had been influential in spreading Islam in Java. The tradition of pilgrimage in Indonesia is also linked to the Shia community in Indonesia, along with a growing number of followers of the Shia in Indonesia, especially after the Islamic revolution of Iran after the 1979. Pilgrimage in the Shia community, Likewise NU members also pray with supplication of tawasul to the Prophet and Shia Imams. If NU members to make improvements pilgrimage to visit the tomb wali Songo in Java, residents Shia pilgrimage rituals abroad, usually one package with umrah trip, with a pilgrimage to the tomb of the prophet, proceed to the tomb of the Imam Shia, in Iran and Iraq. Trends of pilgrimage as a ritual in the Indonesian Shia tradition, together with the growing number of Shia residents increased, followed by increasing the awareness (syi’isme) - bond with the Imam, Shia. In every certain months (arbaeen, asyuro) Shia pilgrims routinely perform pilgrimage, along with increasing number spiritual travel.

Keywords: traditional approach, religious experience, culture, religion, pilgrimage, Syria

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Authors: Dina C. Castro, Rossana Boyd, Eugenia Papadaki

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Immigration within and across continents is currently a global reality. The number of people leaving their communities in search for a better life for them and their families has increased dramatically during the last twenty years. Therefore, young children of the 21st century around the World are growing up in diverse communities, exposed to many languages and cultures. One consequence of these migration movements is the increased linguistic diversity in school settings. Depending on the linguistic history and the status of languages in the communities (i.e., minority-majority; majority-majority) the instructional approaches will differ. This session will discuss how bilingualism is addressed in early education programs in both minority-majority and majority-majority language communities, analyzing experiences in three countries with very distinct societal and demographic characteristics: Peru (South America), the United States (North America), and Italy (European Union). The ultimate goal is to identify commonalities and differences across the three experiences that could lead to a discussion of bilingualism in early education from a global perspective. From Peru, we will discuss current national language and educational policies that have lead to the design and implementation of bilingual and intercultural education for children in indigenous communities. We will also discuss how those practices are being implemented in preschool programs, the progress made and challenges encountered. From the United States, we will discuss the early education of Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers, including the national policy environment, as well as variations in language of instruction approaches currently being used with these children. From Italy, we will describe early education practices in the Bilingual School of Monza, in northern Italy, a school that has 20 years promoting bilingualism and multilingualism in education. While the presentations from Peru and the United States will discuss bilingualism in a majority-minority language environment, this presentation will lead to a discussion on the opportunities and challenges of promoting bilingualism in a majority-majority language environment. It is evident that innovative models and policies are necessary to prevent inequality of opportunities for bilingual children beginning in their earliest years. The cross-cultural examination of bilingual education experiences for young children in three part of the World will allow us to learn from our success and challenges. The session will end with a discussion of the following question: To what extent are early care and education programs being effective in promoting positive development and learning among all children, including those from diverse language, ethnic and cultural backgrounds? We expect to identify, with participants to our session, a set of recommendations for policy and program development that could ensure access to high quality early education for all bilingual children.

Keywords: early education for bilingual children, global perspectives in early education, cross-cultural, language policies

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Authors: André Jesus, Yanjie Zhu, Irwanda Laory

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Structural health monitoring is one of the most promising technologies concerning aversion of structural risk and economic savings. Analysts often have to deal with a considerable variety of uncertainties that arise during a monitoring process. Namely the widespread application of numerical models (model-based) is accompanied by a widespread concern about quantifying the uncertainties prevailing in their use. Some of these uncertainties are related with the deterministic nature of the model (code uncertainty) others with the variability of its inputs (parameter uncertainty) and the discrepancy between a model/experiment (systematic uncertainty). The actual process always exhibits a random behaviour (observation error) even when conditions are set identically (residual variation). Bayesian inference assumes that parameters of a model are random variables with an associated PDF, which can be inferred from experimental data. However in many Bayesian methods the determination of systematic uncertainty can be problematic. In this work systematic uncertainty is associated with a discrepancy function. The numerical model and discrepancy function are approximated by Gaussian processes (surrogate model). Finally, to avoid the computational burden of a fully Bayesian approach the parameters that characterise the Gaussian processes were estimated in a four stage process (modular Bayesian approach). The proposed methodology has been successfully applied on fields such as geoscience, biomedics, particle physics but never on the SHM context. This approach considerably reduces the computational burden; although the extent of the considered uncertainties is lower (second order effects are neglected). To successfully identify the considered uncertainties this formulation was extended to consider multiple responses. The efficiency of the algorithm has been tested on a small scale aluminium bridge structure, subjected to a thermal expansion due to infrared heaters. Comparison of its performance with responses measured at different points of the structure and associated degrees of identifiability is also carried out. A numerical FEM model of the structure was developed and the stiffness from its supports is considered as a parameter to calibrate. Results show that the modular Bayesian approach performed best when responses of the same type had the lowest spatial correlation. Based on previous literature, using different types of responses (strain, acceleration, and displacement) should also improve the identifiability problem. Uncertainties due to parametric variability, observation error, residual variability, code variability and systematic uncertainty were all recovered. For this example the algorithm performance was stable and considerably quicker than Bayesian methods that account for the full extent of uncertainties. Future research with real-life examples is required to fully access the advantages and limitations of the proposed methodology.

Keywords: bayesian, calibration, numerical model, system identification, systematic uncertainty, Gaussian process

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Authors: Vesa Salminen, Esa Santakallio, Heikki Ruohomaa

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Introduction: The city of Riihimäki has decided robotics on well-being, service and industry as the main focus area on their ecosystem strategy. Robotics is going to be an important part of the everyday life of citizens and present in the working day of the average citizen and employee in the future. For that reason, also education system and education programs on all levels of education from diaper age to doctorate have been directed to fulfill this ecosystem strategy. Goal: The objective of this activity has been to develop education continuity from diaper age to doctorate. The main target of the development activity is to create a unique robotics study entity that enables ongoing robotics studies from preprimary education to university. The aim is also to attract students internationally and supply a skilled workforce to the private sector, capable of the challenges of the future. Methodology: Education instances (high school, second grade, Universities on all levels) in a large area of Tavastia Province have gradually directed their education programs to support this goal. On the other hand, applied research projects have been created to make proof of concept- phases on areal real environment field labs to test technology opportunities and digitalization to change business processes by applying robotic solutions. Customer-oriented applied research projects offer for students in robotics education learning environments to learn new knowledge and content. That is also a learning environment for education programs to adapt and co-evolution. New content and problem-based learning are used in future education modules. Major findings: Joint robotics education entity is being developed in cooperation with the city of Riihimäki (primary education), Syria Education (secondary education) and HAMK (bachelor and master education). The education modules have been developed to enable smooth transitioning from one institute to another. This article is introduced a case study of the change of education of wellbeing education because of digitalization and robotics. Riihimäki's Elderly citizen's service house, Riihikoti, has been working as a field lab for proof-of-concept phases on testing technology opportunities. According to successful case studies also education programs on various levels of education have been changing. Riihikoti has been developed as a physical learning environment for home care and robotics, investigating and developing a variety of digital devices and service opportunities and experimenting and learn the use of equipment. The environment enables the co-development of digital service capabilities in the authentic environment for all interested groups in transdisciplinary cooperation.

Keywords: ecosystem strategy, digitalization and robotics, education continuity, learning environment, transdisciplinary co-operation

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Authors: Michelle Belinda S. Weerawardana, Gobika Thiripuranathar, Priyani A. Paranagama

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Most of fresh vegetables and fruits available in the retail markets undergo a physiological disorder in its appearance and coloration, which indeed discourages consumer purchase. A loss of millions of dollars yearly to the food industry had been due to this pronounced color reaction called Enzymatic Browning which is driven due to the catalytic activity by an oxidoreductase enzyme, polyphenol oxidase (PPO). The enzyme oxidizes the phenolic compounds which are abundantly available in fruits and vegetables as substrates into quinones, which could react with proteins in its surrounding to generate black pigments, called melanins, which are highly UV-active compounds. Annona muricata (Katu anoda) and Musa acuminata (Ash plantains) is a fruit and a vegetable consumed by Sri Lankans widely due to their high nutritional values, medicinal properties and economical importance. The objective of the present study was to evaluate and determine the effective natural anti-browning inhibitors that could prevent PPO activity in the selected fruit and vegetable. Enzyme extracts from Annona muricata (Katu anoda) and Musa acuminata (Ash plantains), were prepared by homogenizing with analytical grade acetone, and pH of each enzyme extract was maintained at 7.0 using a phosphate buffer. The extracts of inhibitors were prepared using powdered ginger rhizomes and essential oil from the bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum. Water extracts of ginger were prepared and the essential oil from Ceylon cinnamon bark was extracted using steam distillation method. Since the essential oil is not soluble in water, 0.1µl of cinnamon bark oil was mixed with 0.1µl of Triton X-100 emulsifier and 5.00 ml of water. The effect of each inhibitor on the PPO activity was investigated using catechol (0.1 mol dm-3) as the substrate and two samples of enzyme extracts prepared. The dosages of the prepared Cinnamon bark oil, and ginger (2 samples) which were used to measure the activity were 0.0035 g/ml, 0.091 g/ml and 0.087 g/ml respectively. The measurements of the inhibitory activity were obtained at a wavelength of 525 nm using the UV-visible spectrophotometer. The results evaluated thus revealed that % inhibition observed with cinnamon bark oil, and ginger for Annona muricata was 51.97%, and 60.90% respectively. The effects of cinnamon bark oil, and ginger extract on PPO activity of Musa acuminata were 49.51%, and 48.10%. The experimental findings thus revealed that Cinnamomum zeylanicum bark oil was a more effective inhibitor for PPO enzyme present in Musa acuminata and ginger was effective for PPO enzyme present in Annona muricata. Overall both the inhibitors were proven to be more effective towards the activities of PPO enzyme present in both samples. These inhibitors can thus be corroborated as effective, natural, non-toxic, anti-browning extracts, which when added to the above fruit and vegetable will increase the shelf life and also the acceptance of the product by the consumers.

Keywords: anti-browning agent, enzymatic browning, inhibitory activity, polyphenol oxidase

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Authors: Arpita Banerjee

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We now live in a world where half of the human population is city dwellers. The migration of people from rural to urban areas is rising continuously. But, the promise of a greater wage and better quality of life cannot keep up with the pace of migration. The rate of urbanization is much higher in developing countries. The UN predicts that 95 percent of this urban expansion will take place in the developing world in the next few decades. The population in the urban settlements of the developing nations is soaring, and megacities like Mumbai, Dhaka, Jakarta, Karachi, Manila, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, and Kinshasa are crammed with people, a majority of whom are migrants. Rural-urban migration has taken a new shape with the rising number of smaller cities. Apart from the increase in non-agricultural economic activities, growing demand for resources and energy, an increase in wastes and pollution, and a greater ecological footprint, there is another significant characteristic of the current wave of urbanization. This paper analyses that important marker of urbanization. It is the invisibility of production sites. The growing urban space ensures that the producers, the production sites, or the process stay beyond urban visibility. In cities and towns, living is majorly about earning money in either the informal service and small scale manufacturing sectors (a major part of which is food preparation), or the formal service sector. In the cases of both the informal service and small scale manufacturing or the formal service sector, commodity creation cannot be seen. The urban space happens to be the marketplace, where nature and its services, along with the non-urban labour, cannot be seen unless it is sold in the market. Hence, the consumers are now increasingly becoming disengaged from the producers. This paper compares the rate of increase in the size of and employment in the informal sector and/or that of the formal sector of some selected urban areas of India. Also, a comparison over the years of the aforementioned characteristics is presented in this paper, in order to find out how the anonymity of the producers to the urban consumers have grown as urbanization has risen. This paper also analyses the change in the transport cost of goods into the cities and towns of India and supports that claim made here that the invisibility of production is a crucial marker of modern-day urban-centric economic development. Such urbanization has an important ecological impact. The invisibility of the production site saves the urban consumer society from dealing with the ethical and ecological aspects of the production process. Once the real sector production is driven out of the cities and towns, the invisible ethical and ecological impacts of the growing urban consumption frees the consumers from associating themselves with any responsibility towards those impacts.

Keywords: ecological impact of urbanization, informal sector, invisibility of production, urbanization

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Authors: Ngwako Daniel Sebola

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Introductory Statement: Religions are necessary as they offer and teach something to their adherence. People in one religion may not have a complete understanding of the Supreme Being (Deity) in a certain religion other than their own. South Africa, like other countries in the world, consists of various religions, including Christianity. Almost 80% of South African population adheres to the Christian faith, though in different denominations and sects. Each church fulfils spiritual needs that perhaps others cannot fill. African Independent Churches is one of the denominations in the country. These churches arose as a protest to the Western forms and expressions of Christianity. Their major concern was to develop an indigenous expression of Christianity. The relevance of African Independent Churches includes addressing the needs of the people holistically. Controlling diseases was an important aspect of change in different historical periods. Through healing services, leaders of African churches are able to attract many followers. The healing power associated with the founders of many African Initiated Churches leads to people following and respecting them as true leaders within many African communities. Despite its strong points, African Independent Churches, like many others, face a variety of challenges, especially conflicts. Ironically, destructive conflicts resulted in violence.. Such violence demonstrates a lack of informed religious orientation among those concerned. This paper investigates and analyses the causes of conflict and violence in the African Independent Church. The researcher used the Shembe and International Pentecostal Holiness Churches, in South Africa, as a point of departure. As a solution to curb violence, the researcher suggests useful strategies in handling conflicts. Methodology: Comparative and qualitative approaches have been used as methods of collecting data in this research. The intention is to analyse the similarities and differences of violence among members of the Shembe and International Pentecostal Holiness Churches. Equally important, the researcher aims to obtain data through interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, among others. The researcher aims to interview fifteen individuals from both churches. Finding: Leadership squabbles and power struggle appear to be the main contributing factors of violence in many Independent Churches. Ironically, violence resulted in the loss of life and destruction of properties, like in the case of the Shembe and International Pentecostal Holiness Churches. Violence is an indication that congregations and some leaders have not been properly equipped to deal with conflict. Concluding Statement: Conflict is a common part of every human existence in any given community. The concern is when such conflict becomes contagious; it leads to violence. There is a need to understand consciously and objectively towards devising the appropriate measures to handle the conflict. Conflict management calls for emotional maturity, self-control, empathy, patience, tolerance and informed religious orientation.

Keywords: African, church, religion, violence

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Authors: Tzipi Eshet

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The importance of environmental education as part of a national strategy to promote the environment is recognized around the world. Lecturers at colleges of teacher education have considerable responsibility, directly and indirectly, for the environmental literacy of students who will end up teaching in the school system. This study examined whether lecturers in colleges of teacher education and teacher training in Israel, are able and willing to develop among the students, environmental literacy. Capability and readiness is assessed by evaluating the level of environmental literacy dimensions that include knowledge on environmental issues, positions related to the environmental agenda and "green" patterns of behavior in everyday life. The survey included 230 lecturers from 22 state colleges coming from various sectors (secular, religious, and Arab), from different academic fields and different personal backgrounds. Firstly, the results show that the higher the commitment to environmental issues, the lower the satisfaction with the current situation. In general, the respondents show positive environmental attitudes in all categories examined, they feel that they can personally influence responsible environmental behavior of others and are able to internalize environmental education in schools and colleges; they also report positive environmental behavior. There are no significant differences between teachers of different background characteristics when it comes to behavior patterns that generate personal income funds (e.g. returning bottles for deposit). Women show a more responsible environmental behavior than men. Jewish lecturers, in most categories, show more responsible behavior than Druze and Arab lecturers; however, when referring to positions, Arabs and Druze have a better sense in their ability to influence the environmental agenda. The Knowledge test, which included 15 questions, was mostly based on basic environmental issues. The average score was adequate - 83.6. Science lecturers' environmental literacy is higher than the other lecturers significantly. The larger the environmental knowledge base is, they are more environmental in their attitudes, and they feel more responsible toward the environment. It can be concluded from the research findings, that knowledge is a fundamental basis for developing environmental literacy. Environmental knowledge has a positive effect on the development of environmental commitment that is reflected in attitudes and behavior. This conclusion is probably also true of the general public. Hence, there is a great importance to the expansion of knowledge among the general public and teacher educators in particular on environmental. From the open questions in the survey, it is evident that most of the lecturers are interested in the subject and understand the need to integrate environmental issues in the colleges, either directly by teaching courses on the environment or indirectly by integrating environmental issues in different professions as well as asking the students to set an example (such as, avoid unnecessary printing, keeping the environment clean). The curriculum at colleges should include a variety of options for the development and enhancement of environmental literacy of student teachers, but first there must be a focus on bringing their teachers to a high literacy level so they can meet the difficult and important task they face.

Keywords: colleges of teacher education, environmental literacy, environmental education, teacher's teachers

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Authors: Mark Linden, Rachel Leonard, Trisha Forbes, Michael Brown, Lynne Marsh, Stuart Todd, Nathan Hughes, Maria Truesdale

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Background: Current interventions which aim to improve the mental health of family carers are often face to face, which can create barriers to full participation. Online interventions can offer flexibility in delivery compared to face to face approaches. The primary objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of delivering the Carers-ID online intervention, while the secondary outcome is to improve the mental health of family carers of people with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Family carers (n = 120) will be randomised to receive the intervention (n=60) or assigned to a wait-list control (n=60) group. The intervention (www.Carers-ID.com) consists of fourteen modules which cover topics including promoting resilience, providing peer support, reducing anxiety, managing stress, accessing local supports, managing family conflict and information for siblings who are carers. Primary outcomes for this study include acceptability and feasibility of the outcome measures, recruitment, participation and retention rates and effect sizes. Secondary outcomes will be completed at three time points (baseline, following intervention completion and three months after completion). Secondary outcomes include, depression, anxiety, stress, well-being , resilience and social connectedness. Participants (n=12) who have taken part in the intervention arm of the research will be invited to participate in semi-structured interviews as part of the process evaluation. Discussion: To determine whether a full-scale randomised controlled effectiveness trial is warranted, feasibility testing of the intervention and trial procedures is a necessary first step. The Carers-ID intervention provides an accessible resource for family carers to support their mental health and well-being.

Keywords: intellectual disability, family carer, feasibility trial, online intervention

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Authors: Luciana S. Almeida

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Nanotechnology has revolutionized the world of science and technology bringing great expectations due to its great potential of application in the most varied industrial sectors. The same characteristics that make nanoparticles interesting from the point of view of the technological application, these may be undesirable when released into the environment. The small size of nanoparticles facilitates their diffusion and transport in the atmosphere, water, and soil and facilitates the entry and accumulation of nanoparticles in living cells. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the environmental regulatory process of nanomaterials in the Brazilian scenario. Three specific objectives were outlined. The first is to carry out a global scientometric study, in a research platform, with the purpose of identifying the main lines of study of nanomaterials in the environmental area. The second is to verify how environmental agencies in other countries have been working on this issue by means of a bibliographic review. And the third is to carry out an assessment of the Brazilian Nanotechnology Draft Law 6741/2013 with the state environmental agencies. This last one has the aim of identifying the knowledge of the subject by the environmental agencies and necessary resources available in the country for the implementation of the Policy. A questionnaire will be used as a tool for this evaluation to identify the operational elements and build indicators through the Environment of Evaluation Application, a computational application developed for the development of questionnaires. At the end will be verified the need to propose changes in the Draft Law of the National Nanotechnology Policy. Initial studies, in relation to the first specific objective, have already identified that Brazil stands out in the production of scientific publications in the area of nanotechnology, although the minority is in studies focused on environmental impact studies. Regarding the general panorama of other countries, some findings have also been raised. The United States has included the nanoform of the substances in an existing program in the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act). The European Union issued a draft of a document amending Regulation 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and Council to cover the nanoform of substances. Both programs are based on the study and identification of environmental risks associated with nanomaterials taking into consideration the product life cycle. In relation to Brazil, regarding the third specific objective, it is notable that the country does not have any regulations applicable to nanostructures, although there is a Draft Law in progress. In this document, it is possible to identify some requirements related to the environment, such as environmental inspection and licensing; industrial waste management; notification of accidents and application of sanctions. However, it is not known if these requirements are sufficient for the prevention of environmental impacts and if national environmental agencies will know how to apply them correctly. This study intends to serve as a basis for future actions regarding environmental management applied to the use of nanotechnology in Brazil.

Keywords: environment; management; nanotecnology; politics

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Nabila Ihaddadene, Razika Ihaddadene, Abdelwahaab Betka

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1973 energy crisis (rising oil prices) pushed the world to consider other alternative energy resources to existing conventional energies consisting predominantly of hydrocarbons. Renewable energies such as solar, the wind and geothermal have received renewed interest, especially to preserve nature ( the low-temperature rise of global environmental problems). Solar energy as an available, cheap and environmental friendly alternative source has various applications such as heating, cooling, drying, power generation, etc. In short, there is no life on earth without this enormous nuclear reactor, called the sun. Among available solar collector designs, flat plate collector (FPC) is low-temperature applications (heating water, space heating, etc.) due to its simple design and ease of manufacturing. Flat plate collectors are permanently fixed in position and do not track the sun (non-concentrating collectors). They operate by converting solar radiation into heat and transferring that heat to a working fluid (usually air, water, water plus antifreeze additive) flowing through them. An FPC generally consists of the main following components: glazing, absorber plate of high absorptivity, fluid tubes welded to or can be an integral part of the absorber plate, insulation and container or casing of the above-mentioned components. Insulation is of prime importance in thermal applications. There are three main families of insulation: mineral insulation; vegetal insulation and synthetic organic insulation. The old houses of the inhabitants of North Africa were built of brick made of composite material that is clay and straw. These homes are characterized by their thermal comfort; i.e. the air inside these houses is cool in summer and warm in winter. So, the material composed from clay and straw act as a thermal insulation. In this research document, the polystyrene used as insulation in the ET200 flat plate solar collector is replaced by the cheapest natural material which is clay and straw. Trials were carried out on a solar energy demonstration system (ET 200). This system contains a solar collector, water storage tank, a high power lamp simulating solar energy and a control and command cabinet. In the experimental device, the polystyrene is placed under the absorber plate and in the edges of the casing containing the components of the solar collector. In this work, we have replaced the polystyrene of the edges by the composite material. The use of the clay and straw as insulation instead of the polystyrene increases temperature difference (T2-T1) between the inlet and the outlet of the absorber by 0.9°C; thus increases the useful power transmitted to water in the solar collector. Tank Water is well heated when using the clay and straw as insulation. However, it is less heated when using the polystyrene as insulation. Clay and straw material improves also the performance of the solar collector by 5.77%. Thus, it is recommended to use this cheapest non-polluting material instead of synthetic insulation to improve the performance of the solar collector.

Keywords: clay, insulation material, polystyrene, solar collector, straw

Procedia PDF Downloads 444

Authors: Yeo Ryeong Jeon, Pyong Kon Cho, Eun Ok Han, Hyon Chul Jang, Yong Min Kim

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This study surveyed on recognition related to radiation safety for radiation safety managers and workers those who have been worked in Republic of Korea education and research institution. At present, South Korea has no guideline and manual of radiation safety for education and research institution. Therefore, we tried to find an educational basis for development of radiation safety guideline and manual. To check the level of knowledge, attitude, and behavior about radiation safety, we used the questionnaire that consisted of 29 questions against knowledge, attitude and behavior, 4 questions against self-efficacy and expectation based on four factors (radiation source, human, organizational and physical environment) of the Haddon's matrix. Responses were collected between May 4 and June 30, 2015. We analyzed questionnaire by means of IBM SPSS/WIN 15 which well known as statistical package for social science. The data were compared with mean, standard deviation, Pearson's correlation, ANOVA (analysis of variance) and regression analysis. 180 copies of the questionnaire were returned from 60 workplaces. The overall mean results for behavior level was relatively lower than knowledge and attitude level. In particular, organizational environment factor on the radiation safety management indicated the lowest behavior level. Most of the factors were correlated in Pearson’s correlation analysis, especially between knowledge of human factors and behavior of human factors (Pearson’s correlation coefficient 0.809, P<.01). When analysis performed in line with the main radiation source type, institutions where have been used only opened RI (radioisotope) behavior level was the lowest among all subjects. Finally, knowledge of radiation source factor (β=0.556, P<.001) and human factor(β=0.376, P<.001) had the greatest impact in terms of behavior practice. Radiation safety managers and workers think positively about radiation safety management, but are poorly informed organizational environment of their institution. Thus, each institution need to efforts to settlement of radiation safety culture. Also, pedagogical interventions for improving knowledge on radiation safety needs in terms of safety accident prevention.

Keywords: radiation safety management, factor analysis, SPSS, republic of Korea

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: Abdelsalam Elawwad, Mostafa Ragab, Hisham Abdel-Halim

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Leakage in sewerage system can cause groundwater and soil contamination in urban areas, especially in area with a high groundwater table. This is a serious problem in small villages in developing countries that rely on ground water as a source for irrigation and drinking purposes. In the developed countries, the recent trend in areas with low population densities is vacuum sewerage system, which is environmentally safer than conventional gravity system, protecting public health, preventing exfiltration to the ground water, very easily applied in a relatively short time and can cope with a faster expansion of the urbanized areas. The aim of this work is to assess the feasibility of using vacuum sewerage in developing country, such as Egypt. Knowledge of local conditions can determine the most suitable sewer system for a specific region. Technical, environmental and financial comparisons between conventional sewerage system and vacuum sewerage system were held using statistical analysis. Different conditions, such as population densities, geometry of area, and ground water depths were evaluated. Sample comprising of 30 Egyptian villages was selected, where a complete design for conventional sewerage system and vacuum sewerage system was done. Based on this study, it is recommended from the environmental point of view to construct the vacuum sewerage system in such villages with low population densities; however, it is not economic for all cases. From financial point of view, vacuum sewerage system was a good competitor to conventional systems in flat areas and areas with high groundwater table. The local market supplying of the construction equipment especially collection chambers will greatly affect the investment cost. Capacity building and social mobilization will also play a great role in sustainability of this system. At the end, it is noteworthy that environmental sustainability and public health are more important than the financial aspects.

Keywords: ground water, conventional system, vacuum system, statistics, cost, density, terrain

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Authors: Divyani Redhu, Sachin Bharti

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India, as a nation, has always been known for its concept of ‘Unity in Diversity’, and the same ideology can very well be witnessed in the kind of cinema that is produced in India. From mythological films in the beginning to historical films and from comedy to the all-entertaining commercial ‘masala’ films, the Indian film industry has time and again catered its viewers with varied flavors on screen. Needless to say that for a film industry which stood at a total value of 183.2 billion in the year 2019 as per the Statista Portal 2020, there is no dearth of viewers and at the same time, to cater to the needs of a humongous viewer base, variety in content needs to be offered. Particularly looking at the filmography of the Hindi film industry of the last decade, undoubtedly, the genre that has risen like a shining star is that of Biopics. Hindi cinema’s never-ending fascination with the biopic has grown stronger and become more evident in recent times. The success of biographical films like Jodha Akbar, The Dirty Picture, Mary Kom, Bajirao Mastani, Neerja, Aligarh, Azhar, etc. seems to have truly reinforced the industry’s faith and put Bollywood on a biopic spree. From films on the lives of sportspersons to those of the actors, gangsters, social workers, historical figures, and extraordinary citizens, the industry has left no stone unturned till now. Also, many more biopics are in the pipeline slated to be released soon. Also, when the film viewers are concerned, India is known as the youngest nation in the world where youth constituted about 34% of the country’s population in 2019, making India the country with maximum young people. Thus, the attempt of the researchers is to understand the perception of youth (15-24 years of age as per the UN) towards the biopic films. The above-mentioned study would be quantitative in nature. For the same, a survey would be conducted in the capital city of India, i.e., Delhi. The tool of the survey would be a questionnaire, and the number of respondents would be 200. The results derived from the study would focus on the film viewing preferences of youth in Delhi, the popularity of biopic films among the youth, reasons for watching biopic films and their overall perception about the same, etc.

Keywords: biopics, Delhi, Hindi cinema, India, youth

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Authors: Aipeng Zhu, Yun Zhang

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The growing grievous environment problems together with the exhaustion of energy resources put urgent demands for developing high energy density. Considering the factors including capacity, resource and environment, Manganese-based lithium-rich layer-structured cathode materials xLi₂MnO₃⋅(1-x)LiMO₂ (M = Ni, Co, Mn, and other metals) are drawing increasing attention due to their high reversible capacities, high discharge potentials, and low cost. They are expected to be one type of the most promising cathode materials for the next-generation Li-ion batteries (LIBs) with higher energy densities. Unfortunately, their commercial applications are hindered with crucial drawbacks such as poor rate performance, limited cycle life and continuous falling of the discharge potential. With decades of extensive studies, significant achievements have been obtained in improving their cyclability and rate performances, but they cannot meet the requirement of commercial utilization till now. One major problem for lithium-rich layer-structured cathode materials (LLOs) is the side reaction during cycling, which leads to severe surface degradation. In this process, the metal ions can dissolve in the electrolyte, and the surface phase change can hinder the intercalation/deintercalation of Li ions and resulting in low capacity retention and low working voltage. To optimize the LLOs cathode material, the surface coating is an efficient method. Considering the price and stability, Al₂O₃ was used as a coating material in the research. Meanwhile, due to the low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE), the pristine LLOs was pretreated by KMnO₄ to increase the ICE. The precursor was prepared by a facile coprecipitation method. The as-prepared precursor was then thoroughly mixed with Li₂CO₃ and calcined in air at 500℃ for 5h and 900℃ for 12h to produce Li₁.₂[Ni₀.₂Mn₀.₆]O₂ (LNMO). The LNMO was then put into 0.1ml/g KMnO₄ solution stirring for 3h. The resultant was filtered and washed with water, and dried in an oven. The LLOs obtained was dispersed in Al(NO₃)₃ solution. The mixture was lyophilized to confer the Al(NO₃)₃ was uniformly coated on LLOs. After lyophilization, the LLOs was calcined at 500℃ for 3h to obtain LNMO@LMO@ALO. The working electrodes were prepared by casting the mixture of active material, acetylene black, and binder (polyvinglidene fluoride) dissolved in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone with a mass ratio of 80: 15: 5 onto an aluminum foil. The electrochemical performance tests showed that the multiple surface modified materials had a higher initial Coulombic efficiency (84%) and better capacity retention (91% after 100 cycles) compared with that of pristine LNMO (76% and 80%, respectively). The modified material suggests that the KMnO₄ pretreat and Al₂O₃ coating can increase the ICE and cycling stability.

Keywords: Li-rich materials, surface coating, lithium ion batteries, Al₂O₃

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Authors: Carlos A. C. G. Neto, Natan C. G. e Silva , Thaís de O. Costa, Luciana R. B. Gonçalves, Maria V. P. Rocha

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β-galactosidases (E.C. 3.2.1.23) are enzymes that have attracted by catalyzing the hydrolysis of lactose and in producing galacto-oligosaccharides by favoring transgalactosylation reactions. These enzymes, when immobilized, can have some enzymatic characteristics substantially improved, and the coating of supports with multifunctional polymers is a promising alternative to enhance the stability of the biocatalysts, among which polyethylenimine (PEI) stands out. PEI has certain properties, such as being a flexible polymer that suits the structure of the enzyme, giving greater stability, especially for multimeric enzymes such as β-galactosidases. Besides that, protects them from environmental variations. The use of chitosan support coated with PEI could improve the catalytic efficiency of β-galactosidase from Kluyveromyces lactis in the transgalactosylation reaction for the production of prebiotics, such as lactulose since this strain is more effective in the hydrolysis reaction. In this context, the aim of the present work was first to develop biocatalysts of β-galactosidase from K. lactis immobilized on chitosan-coated with PEI, determining the immobilization parameters, its operational and thermal stability, and then to apply it in hydrolysis and transgalactolisation reactions to produce lactulose using whey as a substrate. The immobilization of β-galactosidase in chitosan previously functionalized with 0.8% (v/v) glutaraldehyde and then coated with 10% (w/v) PEI solution was evaluated using an enzymatic load of 10 mg protein per gram support. Subsequently, the hydrolysis and transgalactosylation reactions were conducted at 50 °C, 120 RPM for 20 minutes, using whey supplemented with fructose at a ratio of 1:2 lactose/fructose, totaling 200 g/L. Operational stability studies were performed in the same conditions for 10 cycles. Thermal stabilities of biocatalysts were conducted at 50 ºC in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6.6 with 0.1 mM MnCl2. The biocatalyst whose support was coated was named CHI_GLU_PEI_GAL, and the one that was not coated was named CHI_GLU_GAL. The coating of the support with PEI considerably improved the parameters of immobilization. The immobilization yield increased from 56.53% to 97.45%, biocatalyst activity from 38.93 U/g to 95.26 U/g and the efficiency from 3.51% to 6.0% for uncoated and coated support, respectively. The biocatalyst CHI_GLU_PEI_GAL was better than CHI_GLU_GAL in the hydrolysis of lactose and production of lactulose, converting 97.05% of lactose at 5 min of reaction and producing 7.60 g/L lactulose in the same time interval. QUI_GLU_PEI_GAL biocatalyst was stable in the hydrolysis reactions of lactose during the 10 cycles evaluated, converting 73.45% lactose even after the tenth cycle, and in the lactulose production was stable until the fifth cycle evaluated, producing 10.95 g/L lactulose. However, the thermal stability of CHI_GLU_GAL biocatalyst was superior, with a half-life time 6 times higher, probably because the enzyme was immobilized by covalent bonding, which is stronger than adsorption (CHI_GLU_PEI_GAL). Therefore, the strategy of coating the supports with PEI has proven to be effective for the immobilization of β-galactosidase from K. lactis, considerably improving the immobilization parameters, as well as, the catalytic action of the enzyme. Besides that, this process can be economically viable due to the use of an industrial residue as a substrate.

Keywords: β-galactosidase, immobilization, kluyveromyces lactis, lactulose, polyethylenimine, transgalactosylation reaction, whey

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Authors: Getinet Gezahegn Gebre

Abstract:

The study examined the impact of gender differences on Crop productivity in Decha woreda of south west Kafa zone, located 140 Km from Jimma Town and 460 km south west of Addis Ababa, between Bonga town and Omo River. The specific objectives were to assess the extent to which the agricultural production system is gender oriented, to examine access and control over productive resources, and to estimate men’s and women’s productivity in agriculture. Cross-sectional data collected from a total of 140 respondents were used in this study, whereby 65 were female headed and 75 were male headed households. The data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, percentage, t-test, and chi-square were used to summarize and compare the information between the two groups. Moreover, Cobb-Douglas(CD) production function was to estimate the productivity difference in agriculture between male and female headed households. Results of the study showed that male headed households (MHH) own more productive resources such as land, livestock, labor, and other agricultural inputs as compared to female headed households (FHH). Moreover, the estimate of CD production function shows that livestock, herbicide use, land size, and male labor were statistically significant for MHH, while livestock, land size, herbicides use and female labor were significant variables for FHH. The crop productivity difference between MHH and FHH was about 68.83% in the study area. However, if FHH had equal access to the inputs as MHH, the gross value of the output would be higher by 23.58% for FHH. This might suggest that FHH would be more productive than MHH if they had equal access to inputs as MHH. Based on the results obtained, the following policy implication can be drawn: accessing FHH to inputs that increase the productivity of agriculture, such as herbicides, livestock, and male labor; increasing the productivity of land; and introducing technologies that reduce the time and energy of women, especially for inset processing.

Keywords: gender difference, crop, productivity, efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: Elakneswaran Yogarajah, Toyoharu Nawa, Eiji Owaki

Abstract:

Cement-based materials have been using in various reinforced concrete structural components as well as in nuclear waste repositories. The sulfate attack has been an environmental issue for cement-based materials exposed to sulfate bearing groundwater or soils, and it plays an important role in the durability of concrete structures. The reaction between penetrating sulfate ions and cement hydrates can result in swelling, spalling and cracking of cement matrix in concrete. These processes induce a reduction of mechanical properties and a decrease of service life of an affected structure. It has been identified that the precipitation of secondary sulfate bearing phases such as ettringite, gypsum, and thaumasite can cause the damage. Furthermore, crystallization of soluble salts such as sodium sulfate crystals induces degradation due to formation and phase changes. Crystallization of mirabilite (Na₂SO₄:10H₂O) and thenardite (Na₂SO₄) or their phase changes (mirabilite to thenardite or vice versa) due to temperature or sodium sulfate concentration do not involve any chemical interaction with cement hydrates. Over the past couple of decades, an intensive work has been carried out on sulfate attack in cement-based materials. However, there are several uncertainties still exist regarding the mechanism for the damage of concrete in sulfate environments. In this study, modelling work has been conducted to investigate the chemical degradation of cementitious materials in various sulfate environments. Both internal and external sulfate attack are considered for the simulation. In the internal sulfate attack, hydrate assemblage and pore solution chemistry of co-hydrating Portland cement (PC) and slag mixing with sodium sulfate solution are calculated to determine the degradation of the PC and slag-blended cementitious materials. Pitzer interactions coefficients were used to calculate the activity coefficients of solution chemistry at high ionic strength. The deterioration mechanism of co-hydrating cementitious materials with 25% of Na₂SO₄ by weight is the formation of mirabilite crystals and ettringite. Their formation strongly depends on sodium sulfate concentration and temperature. For the external sulfate attack, the deterioration of various types of cementitious materials under external sulfate ingress is simulated through reactive transport model. The reactive transport model is verified with experimental data in terms of phase assemblage of various cementitious materials with spatial distribution for different sulfate solution. Finally, the reactive transport model is used to predict the long-term performance of cementitious materials exposed to 10% of Na₂SO₄ for 1000 years. The dissolution of cement hydrates and secondary formation of sulfate-bearing products mainly ettringite are the dominant degradation mechanisms, but not the sodium sulfate crystallization.

Keywords: thermodynamic calculations, reactive transport, radioactive waste disposal, PHREEQC

Procedia PDF Downloads 145