Search results for: sustainable social space

Authors: Jennifer Fane, Mike Gray, Melissa Sager

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Children with diagnosed or suspected learning disabilities frequently experience significant skill gaps in foundational learning areas such as reading, writing, and math. Remedial one-to-one instruction is a highly effective means of supporting children with learning differences in building these foundational skills and closing the learning gap between them and their same-age peers. However, due to the learning challenges children with learning disabilities face, and ensuing challenges with self-confidence, many children with learning differences struggle with motivation and self-regulation within remedial one-to-one learning environments - despite the benefits of these sessions. Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) are an innovative educational technology tool that has been trialled in a range of educational settings to support diverse learning needs. Yet, little is known about the impact of SARs on the learning of children with learning differences in a one-to-one remedial instructional setting. This study sought to explore the impact of SARs on the engagement of children (n=9) with learning differences attending one-to-one remedial instruction sessions at a non-profit remedial education provider. The study used a mixed-methods design to explore learner engagement during learning tasks both with and without the use of a SAR to investigate how the use of SARs impacts student learning. The study took place over five weeks, with each session within the study followed the same procedure with the SAR acting as a teaching assistant when in use. Data from the study included analysis of time-sample video segments of the instructional sessions, instructor recorded information about the student’s progress towards their session learning goal and student self-reported mood and energy levels before and after the session. Analysis of the findings indicates that the use of SARs resulted in fewer instances of off-task behaviour and less need for instructor re-direction during learning tasks, allowing students to work in more sustained ways towards their learning goals. This initial research indicates that the use of SARs does have a material and measurable impact on learner engagement for children with learning differences and that further exploration of the impact of SARs during one-to-one remedial instruction is warranted.

Keywords: engagement, learning differences, learning disabilities, instruction, social robotics.

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Authors: Djeddi Khaled, Houssou Hind, Miloudi Abdelatif, Rabah Siham

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Camels play a vital role as multipurpose animals, providing milk meat and serving as a means of transportation. They serve as a financial reserve for pastoralists and hold significant cultural and social value. Camel milk, known for its exceptional nutritional properties, is considered a valuable substitute for human milk. However, udder infections, particularly mastitis, pose significant challenges to camel farming. Clinical and subclinical mastitis can lead to substantial economic losses. Mastitis, especially the subclinical form, is a persistent and prevalent condition affecting milk hygiene and quality in dairy camels. This review offers insights into the prevalence and risk factors associated with subclinical mastitis in camels. The prevalence of subclinical mastitis in dairy camels was found to range from 9.28% to 87.78%. Major pathogens responsible for camel mastitis include Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus spp, Pasteurella haemolytica and Corynebacterium spp. The study outlines key risk factors contributing to camel mastitis, emphasizing factors such as severe tick infestation, age, stage of lactation, parity, body condition score, skin lesion on the teats or udders, anti-suckling devices, previous history of the udder, conformation of the udder, breed, unhygienic milking practices, production system, amongst others have been reported to be important in the prevalence of subclinical mastitis. This comprehensive overview provides valuable insights into the multifaceted aspects of camel mastitis, encompassing prevalent bacterial pathogens and diverse risk factors. The findings underscore the importance of holistic management practices, emphasizing hygiene, health monitoring, and targeted interventions to ensure the well-being and productivity of camels in various agro-pastoral contexts.

Keywords: bacterial pathogens, camel, mastitis, risk factors

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Authors: Abdul Rashid, Varsha Rokade

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Service Quality within retail units is pivotal for satisfying customers and retaining them. This study on customer perception towards Service Quality variables in Retail aims to identify the dimensions and their impact on customers. An analytical study of the different retail service quality variables was done to understand the relationship between them. The study tries exploring the factors that attract the customers towards the organised and unorganised retail stores in the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, India. As organised retailers are seen as offering similar products in the outlets, improving service quality is seen as critical to ensuring competitive advantage over unorganised retailers. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire on a five-point Likert scale from existing walk-in customers of selected organised and unorganised retail stores in Bhopal City of Madhya Pradesh, India. The data was then analysed by factor analysis using (SPSS) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences especially Percentage analysis, ANOVA and Chi-Square. This study tries to find interrelationship between various Retail Service Quality dimensions, which will help the retailers to identify the steps needed to improve the overall quality of service. Thus, the findings of the study prove to be helpful in understanding the service quality variables which should be considered by organised and unorganised retail stores in Capital city of Madhya Pradesh, India.Also, findings of this empirical research reiterate the point of view that dimensions of Service Quality in Retail play an important role in enhancing customer satisfaction – a sector with high growth potential and tremendous opportunities in rapidly growing economies like India’s. With the introduction of FDI in multi-brand retailing, a large number of international retail players are expected to enter the Indian market, this intern will bring more competition in the retail sector. For benchmarking themselves with global standards, the Indian retailers will have to improve their service quality.

Keywords: organized retail, unorganised retail, retail service quality, service quality dimension

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Authors: Babajide Olufemi Diyaolu

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The opportunity provided by advances in technology as regards sports betting is so numerous that even at one's comfort, with the use of a phone, Nigerian youth are found engaging in all kinds of betting. Today it is more difficult to differentiate a true fan as there are quite a number of them that became fans as a result of betting on live games. This study investigated the influence of online sports events on betting among Nigerian youth. A descriptive survey research design was used, and the population consists of all Nigerian youth that engages in betting and live within the southwest zone of Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was used to pick three states from the southwest zone of Nigeria. Two thousand five hundred respondents comprising males and female were sampled from the three states. A structured questionnaire on online sports event contribution to sports betting (OSECSB) was used. The Instrument consists of three sections. Section A seeks information on the demographic data of the respondents. Section B seeks information on online sports events, while section C is used to extract information on sports betting. The modified instrument, which consists of 14 items, has a reliability coefficient of 0.74. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 significance level. The completed questionnaire was collated, coded, and analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentage and pie chart, and inferential statistics of multiple regressions. The findings of this study revealed that online sports betting is a significant predictor of an increase in sports betting among Nigerian youth. The media and television, as well as globalization and the internet coupled with social media and various online platforms, have all contributed to the immense increase in sports betting. The increase in the advertisement of the betting platform during live matches, especially football, is becoming more alarming. In most organized international events, the media attention, as well as sponsorship right, are now been given to one or two betting platforms. There is a need for all stakeholders to put in place school-based intervention programs to reorientate our youth about the consequences of addiction to betting. Such programs must include meta-analyses and emotional control towards sports betting.

Keywords: betting platform, Nigerian fans, Nigerian youth, sports betting

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Authors: Rasha Ahmadi

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In December 2019, a coronavirus, currently identified as SARS-CoV-2, produced a series of acute atypical respiratory illnesses in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The sickness induced by this virus was named COVID-19. The virus is transmittable between humans and has caused pandemics worldwide. The number of death tolls continues to climb and a huge number of countries have been obliged to perform social isolation and lockdown. Lack of focused therapy continues to be a problem. Epidemiological research showed that senior patients were more susceptible to severe diseases, whereas children tend to have milder symptoms. In this study, we focus on other possible side effects of COVID-19 and more detailed treatment strategies. Using bioinformatics analysis, we first isolated the gene expression profile of patients with severe COVID-19 from the GEO database. Patients' blood samples were used in the GSE183071 dataset. We then categorized the genes with high and low expression. In the next step, we uploaded the genes separately to the Enrichr database and evaluated our data for signs and symptoms as well as related medication regimens. The results showed that 138 genes with high expression and 108 genes with low expression were observed differentially in the severe COVID-19 VS control group. Symptoms and diseases such as embolism and thrombosis of the abdominal aorta, ankylosing spondylitis, suicidal ideation or attempt, regional enteritis were observed in genes with high expression and in genes with low expression of acute and subacute forms of ischemic heart, CNS infection and poliomyelitis, synovitis and tenosynovitis. Following the detection of diseases and possible signs and symptoms, Carmustine, Bithionol, Leflunomide were evaluated more significantly for high-expression genes and Chlorambucil, Ifosfamide, Hydroxyurea, Bisphenol for low-expression genes. In general, examining the different and invisible aspects of COVID-19 and identifying possible treatments can help us significantly in the emergency and hospitalization of patients.

Keywords: phenotypes, drug regimens, gene expression profiles, bioinformatics analysis, severe COVID-19

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Authors: Sanchari Mukhopadhyay

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Today, almost the entire realm of human activities are becoming increasingly dependent on the power of information, where through ICTs it is now possible to cater distances and avail various services at a few clicks. In principle, ICTs are thus expected to blur location-specific differences and affiliations of development and bring in an inclusive society at the wake of globalization. However, eventually researchers and policy analysts realized that ICTs are also generating inequality in spite of the hope for an integrated world and widespread social well-being. Regarding this unevenness, location plays a major role as often ICT development is seen to be concentrated into pockets, leaving behind large tracks as underprivileged. Thus, understanding the spatial pattern of ICT development and distribution is significant in relation to exploring the extent to which ICTs are fulfilling the promises or reassuring the existing divisions. In addition, it is also profoundly crucial to investigate how regions are connecting and competing both locally and globally. The focus of the research paper is to evaluate the spatial structure of ICT led development in India. Thereby, it attempts to understand the state level (four selected states) pattern of ICT penetration, the pattern of diffusion across districts with respect to large urban centres and the rural-urban disparity of technology adoption. It also tries to assess the changes in access dynamisms of ICTs as one move away from a large metropolitan city towards the periphery. In brief, the analysis investigates into the tendency towards the uneven growth of development through the identification of the core areas of ICT advancement within the country and its diffusion from the core to the periphery. In order to assess the level of ICT development and rural-urban disparity across the districts of selected states, two indices named ICT Development Index and Rural-Urban Digital Divide Index have been constructed. The study mostly encompasses the latest Census (2011) of the country and TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in some cases.

Keywords: ICT development, diffusion, core-periphery, digital divide

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Authors: Vorapoj Promasatayaprot, Sumattana Glangkarn

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Background: Early childhood, the first five years of life, is a time of rapid cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and motor development. This study was descriptive research which the main purpose of this research was to study early childhood development in Child Center of Local Government in order to emphasize the public citizen and communities participate in the Child Development Center. Method: The study designed was Action Research and divided into four steps consisted of (1) Planning (2) Acting (3) Observing and (4) Reflecting. This study was employed the areas and the subjects consisted of 10 committees of the Child Center in Thakhonyang municipality, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham Province, Thailand and 50 representative parents by using the purposive sampling technique. The instrument used in this study were questionnaires. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistic; percentage, mean, standard deviation, maximum value, minimum, median. Qualitative data was collected using the observation and interview and was analysed by content analysis. Results: The results of this research were as follows: The promoting of early childhood development in child center at Thakhonyang Municipality, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham Province, Thailand were 6 procedures ; (1) workshop participation (2) workshop in action plan (3) performing in action plan (4) following supervision (5) self – assessment (6) knowledge sharing seminar. The service model of the Local Fund Health Security in Thailand was passed the qualifications of local fund health security by 6 procedures to be the high potential local fund health security. Conclusion: The key success is that the commission will have to respond the performance at all process of plan to address the issue in the future. Factor of success is to community participate with transparent procedure. Coordination committee should manipulate the child center benefits among stake holders.

Keywords: child center, develop, early childhood development, local government, promote

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Authors: Haftay Abraha Tadesse, Atsebaha Gebrekidan Kahsay, Mahumd Abdulkader

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Background: Salmonella species and Escherichia coli are important foodborne pathogens affecting humans and animals. They are among the most important causes of infection that are associated with the consumption of contaminated food. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and associated risk factors for Salmonella species and E. coli in raw meat from butchery houses of Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to September 2019. Socio-demographic data and risk factors were collected using a predesigned questionnaire. Meat samples were collected aseptically from the butchery houses and transported using icebox to Mekelle University, College of Veterinary Sciences for the isolation and identification of Salmonella species and E. coli, Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were determined using Kirby disc diffusion method. Data obtained were cleaned and entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22 and logistic regression models with odds ratio were calculated. P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 153 out of 384 (39.8%) of the meat specimens were found to be contaminated. The contamination of Salmonella species and E. coli were 15.6% (n=60) and 20.8%) (n=80), respectively. Mixed contamination (Salmonella species and E. coli) was observed in 13 (3.4 %) of the analyzed. Poor washing hands regularly (AOR = 8.37; 95% CI: 2.75-25.50) and not using gloves during meat handling (AOR=11. 28; 95% CI: (4.69 27.10) were associated with an overall bacterial contamination.About 95.5% of the tested isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol and norfloxacin while the resistance of amoxyclav_amoxicillin and erythromycin were both isolated bacteria species. The overall multidrug resistance pattern for Salmonella and E. coli were 51.4% (n=19) and 31.8% (14), respectively. Conclusion: Of the 153 (153/384) contaminated raw meat, 60 (15.6%) and 80 (20.8%) were contaminated by Salmonella species and E. coli, respectively. Poor hand washing practice and not using glove during meat handling showed significant association with bacterial contamination. Multidrug-resistant showed in Salmonella species and E. coli were 19 (51.4%) and 14 (31.8%), respectively.

Keywords: antimicrobial susceptibility test, butchery houses, e. coli, salmonella species

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Authors: Borislava Dimitrova, Didem Kepir Savoly

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The movie analysis offers a dynamic and multifaceted lens in order to explore and understand various aspects of human behavior and relationship, emotion, and cognition. Cinema therapy can be an important tool for counselor education and counselors in therapy. Therefore, this paper aims to delve deeper into human relationships and individual behavior patterns and analyze some of their most vivid aspects in light of the transactional analysis and its main components. While describing certain human behaviors and emotional states in real life, sometimes it can be difficult even for mental health practitioners to become aware of the subtle social cues and hints that are being transmitted, often in a rushed and swift manner. To address this challenge, the current paper focuses on the relationship dynamics as conveyed through the plot of the movie “Sunset Boulevard”, and examines slightly exaggerated yet true-to-life examples. The movie was directed by Billy Wilder and written by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D.M. Marshman Jr. The scenes of interest were examined through Transactional Analysis concepts: the different ego states, strokes, the various kinds of transactions, the paradigm of games in transactional analysis, and lastly, with the help of the drama triangle. The addressed themes comprised mainly the way the main characters engaged in game playing, which eventually had a negative outcome on the sequences of interactions between the individuals and the desired payoffs that they craved as a result. Furthermore, counselor educators can use the result of this paper for educational purposes, such as for teaching theoretical knowledge about Transactional Analysis, and for utilizing characters’ interactions and behaviors as real-life situations that can serve as case studies and role-playing activities. Finally, the paper aims to foster the use of movies as materials for psychological analysis which can assist the teaching of new mental health professionals in the field.

Keywords: transactional analysis, movie analysis, drama triangle, games, ego-state

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Authors: Lucia Rottava

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The present study focuses on academic literacy and addresses the impact of semantic-discursive resources on the constitution of genres that are produced in such context. The research considers the development of writing in the academic context in Portuguese. Researches that address academic literacy and the characteristics of the texts produced in this context are rare, mainly with focus on the development of writing, considering three variables: the constitution of the writer, the perception of the reader/interlocutor and the organization of the informational text flow. The research aims to map the semantic-discursive resources of the written register in texts of several genres and produced by students in the first semester of the undergraduate course in letters. The hypothesis raised is that writing in the academic environment is not a recurrent literacy practice for these learners and can be explained by the ontogenetic and phylogenetic nature of language development. Qualitative in nature, the present research has as empirical data texts produced in a half-yearly course of Reading and Textual Production; these data result from the proposition of four different writing proposals, in a total of 600 texts. The corpus is analyzed based on semantic-discursive resources, seeking to contemplate relevant aspects of language (grammar, discourse and social context) that reveal the choices made in the reader/writer interrelationship and the organizational flow of the text. Among the semantic-discursive resources, the analysis includes three resources, including (a) appraisal and negotiation to understand the attitudes negotiated (roles of the participants of the discourse and their relationship with the other); (b) ideation to explain the construction of the experience (activities performed and participants); and (c) periodicity to outline the flow of information in the organization of the text according to the genre it instantiates. The results indicate the organizational difficulties of the flow of the text information. Cartography contributes to the understanding of the way writers use language in an effort to present themselves, evaluate someone else’s work, and communicate with readers.

Keywords: academic writing, portuguese mother tongue, semantic-discursive resources, sistemic funcional linguistic

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Authors: Ali Arazeem Abdullahi, Mariam Seedat-Khan, Bamidele S. Akanni

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Background: Like the rest of the world, cancer of the breast is a life-threatening disease to Nigerian women. The utilization of mammography is however very poor among the general population. Whereas, there strong indications that women who engage in the regular screening of breast cancer using mammography are more likely to have a lower risk of developing and dying from advanced breast cancer compared to unscreened women. This study examined knowledge of breast cancer and utilization of mammography among undergraduate female students at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Health Belief Model (HBM) was deployed to guide the conduct of the study. Method: Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 292 undergraduate female students from the faculties of Social and Management Sciences of the University. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The study found that apart from high knowledge of breast cancer and mammography, perceived threat, perceived susceptibility and perceived seriousness of breast cancer were equally high. However, the uptake of mammography was very poor largely due to perceived barriers including being single and young and poor history of breast cancer in families (cues to action). The test of hypotheses showed that there is a weak relationship of about 6.8% between knowledge of breast cancer and utilization of mammography (p-value= 0.244) at 0.05 level of significance. However, 64.4% of the respondents were willing to utilize mammography in the future if the opportunity arises. While the study found a significant statistical relationship between the perceived benefits of mammography and its utilization among the respondents, no significant statistical association was found between the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and the uptake of mammography. Recommendations: Findings highlight the need for health education interventions to promote breast cancer screening and the utilization mammography, while addressing barriers to the uptake of mammography among female undergraduate students of the University of Ilorin and Nigeria in general.

Keywords: cancer of the breast, mammography, female undergraduate students, health belief model, University of Ilorin

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Authors: Mohammad Arif, Soumen Chatterjee, Krishnendu Gupta

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The peri-urban interface is an area of transition where the urban and rural areas meet and interact. So the peri-urban areas, which is characterized by strong urban influence, easy access to markets, services and other inputs, are ready supplies of labour but distant from the land paucity and pollution related to urban growth. Hence, the present study is primarily aimed at quantifying the spatio-temporal pattern of land use/land cover change during the last three decades (i.e., 1987 to 2016) in the peri-urban area of Burdwan city. In the recent past, the morphology of the study region has rapid change due to high growth of population and establishment of industries. The change has predominantly taken place along the State and National Highway 2 (NH-2) and around the Burdwan Municipality for meeting both residential and commercial purposes. To ascertain the degree of change in land use and land cover, over the specified time, satellite imageries and topographical sheets are employed. The data is processed through appropriate software packages to arrive at a deduction that most of the land use changes have occurred by obliterating agricultural land & water bodies and substituting them by built area and industrial spaces. Geospatial analysis of study area showed that this area has experienced a steep increase (30%) of built-up areas and excessive decrease (15%) in croplands between 1987 and 2016. Increase in built-up areas is attributed to the increase of out-migration during this period from the core city. This study also examined social, economic and institutional factors that lead to this rapid land use change in peri-urban areas of the Burdwan city by carrying out a field survey of 250 households in peri-urban areas. The research concludes with an urgency for regulating land subdivisions in peri-urban areas to prevent haphazard land use development. It is expected that the findings of the study would go a long way in facilitating better policy making.

Keywords: growth, land use land cover, morphology, peri-urban, policy making

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Authors: Simone Tedeschi, Francesco Crespi, Paolo Liberati, Massimo Paradiso, Antonio Sciala

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This paper aims at contributing to the understanding of smokers’ responses to cigarette prices increases with a focus on heterogeneity, both across individuals and price levels. To do this, a stated preference quasi-experimental design grounded in a random utility framework is proposed to evaluate the effect on smokers’ utility of the price level and variation, along with social conditioning and health impact perception. The analysis is based on individual-level data drawn from a unique survey gathering very detailed information on Italian smokers’ habits. In particular, qualitative information on the individual reactions triggered by changes in prices of different magnitude and composition are exploited. The main findings stemming from the analysis are the following; the average price elasticity of cigarette consumption is comparable with previous estimates for advanced economies (-.32). However, the decomposition of this result across five latent-classes of smokers, reveals extreme heterogeneity in terms of price responsiveness, implying a potential price elasticity that ranges between 0.05 to almost 1. Such heterogeneity is in part explained by observable characteristics such as age, income, gender, education as well as (current and lagged) smoking intensity. Moreover, price responsiveness is far from being independent from the size of the prospected price increase. Finally, by comparing even and uneven price variations, it is shown that uniform across-brand price increases are able to limit the scope of product substitutions and downgrade. Estimated price-response heterogeneity has significant implications for tax policy. Among them, first, it provides evidence and a rationale for why the aggregate price elasticity is likely to follow a strictly increasing pattern as a function of the experienced price variation. This information is crucial for forecasting the effect of a given tax-driven price change on tax revenue. Second, it provides some guidance on how to design excise tax reforms to balance public health and revenue goals.

Keywords: smoking behaviour, preference heterogeneity, price responsiveness, cigarette taxation, random utility models

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Authors: Zahid Ullah, Atlas Khan

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The rapid advancements in data collection, storage, and processing capabilities have led to an explosion of data in various domains. In this era of big data, mathematical sciences play a crucial role in uncovering valuable insights and driving informed decision-making through data analytics. The purpose of this abstract is to present the latest advances in mathematical sciences and their application in harnessing the power of data analytics. This abstract highlights the interdisciplinary nature of data analytics, showcasing how mathematics intersects with statistics, computer science, and other related fields to develop cutting-edge methodologies. It explores key mathematical techniques such as optimization, mathematical modeling, network analysis, and computational algorithms that underpin effective data analysis and interpretation. The abstract emphasizes the role of mathematical sciences in addressing real-world challenges across different sectors, including finance, healthcare, engineering, social sciences, and beyond. It showcases how mathematical models and statistical methods extract meaningful insights from complex datasets, facilitating evidence-based decision-making and driving innovation. Furthermore, the abstract emphasizes the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange among researchers, practitioners, and industry professionals. It recognizes the value of interdisciplinary collaborations and the need to bridge the gap between academia and industry to ensure the practical application of mathematical advancements in data analytics. The abstract highlights the significance of ongoing research in mathematical sciences and its impact on data analytics. It emphasizes the need for continued exploration and innovation in mathematical methodologies to tackle emerging challenges in the era of big data and digital transformation. In summary, this abstract sheds light on the advances in mathematical sciences and their pivotal role in unveiling the power of data analytics. It calls for interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge exchange, and ongoing research to further unlock the potential of mathematical methodologies in addressing complex problems and driving data-driven decision-making in various domains.

Keywords: mathematical sciences, data analytics, advances, unveiling

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Authors: Dagnew Dessie Mengie

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The purpose of this study was to investigate German tourists' demand for Ethiopian tourism destinations. The author has made every effort to identify the differences in the preferences of German visitors’ demand in Ethiopia comparing with Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, and South African tourism sectors if they are invited to visit at the same time. However, the demand of international tourism for Ethiopia currently lags behind these African countries. Therefore, to offer demand-driven tourism products, the Ethiopian government, Tour & Travel operators need to understand the important factors that affect international tourists’ decision to visit Ethiopian tourist destinations. The aim of this study was intended to analyze German Tourists’ Demand towards Ethiopian destination. The researcher aimed to identify the demand for German tourists’ preference to Ethiopian tourist destinations comparing to the above-mentioned African countries. For collecting and analysing data for this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods of research are being used in this study. The most significant data are collected by using the primary data collection method i.e. survey and interviews which are the most and large number of potential responses and feedback from nine German active tourists,12 Ethiopian tourism officials, four African embassies, and four well functioning private tour companies and secondary data collected from books, journals, previous research and electronic websites. based on the data analysis of the information gathered from interviews and questionnaires, the study disclosed that majority of German tourists have not that much high demand on Ethiopian Tourist destinations due to the following reasons; Many Germans are fascinated by adventures, safari and simply want to lie on the beach and relax. These interests have leaded them to look for other African countries which have these accesses. Uncomfortable infrastructure and transport problems attributed for the decreasing the number of German tourists in the country. Inadequate marketing operation of Ethiopian Tourism Authority and its delegates in advertising and clarifying the above irregularities which are raised by the tourists.

Keywords: environmental benefits of tourism, social benefits of tourism, economical benefits of tourism, political factors in tourism

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Authors: Jaqueline Bohn Donada

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The significance of Euripides’ Medea for contemporary literature is noticeable. Even if the bulk of Classical Reception studies does not tend to look carefully and consistently to the literature produced outside the Anglophone world, Brazilian literature offers abundant materials for such studies. Indeed, a certain Classical background can be observed in Brazilian literature at least since 1975 when Gota d’Água [The Final Straw, in English], a play that recreates the story of Medea and sets it in a favela in Rio de Janeiro. Also worthy of notice is Ivo Bender’s Trilogia Perversa [Perverse Trilogy, in English], a series of three historical plays set in Southern Brazil and based on Aeschylus’ Oresteia and on Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis published in the 1980s. Since then, a number of works directly inspired by the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides have been published, not to mention several adaptations of Homer’s two epic poems. This paper proposes a comparative analysis of two such works: Grace Passô’s 2017 play Mata teu Pai [Kill your father, in English] and Marcia Lima’s 2019 play Medeia Negra [Black Medea, in English] from the perspective of Classical Reception Studies in an intersection with feminist literary criticism. The paper intends to look at the endurance of Euripides’ character in contemporary Brazilian literature with a focus on how the character seems to have acquired special relevance to the treatment of pressing issues of the twenty-first century. Whereas Grace Passô’s play sets Medea at the center of a group of immigrant women, Marcia Limma has the character enact the dilemmas of incarcerated women in Brazil. The hypothesis that this research aims at testing is that both artists preserve the pathos of Euripides’s original character at the same time that they recreate his Medea in concrete circumstances of Brazilian contemporary social reality. At the end, the research aims at stating the significance of the Medea theme to contemporary Brazilian literature.

Keywords: Euripides, Medea, Grace Passô, Marcia Limma, Brazilian literature

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Authors: T. Iakovleva

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Present paper suggests a theoretical model that describes the process of the development of responsible innovations on the firm level in health and welfare sectors. There is a need to develop new firm strategies in these sectors. This paper suggests to look on the concept of responsible innovation that was originally developed on the social level and to apply this new concept to the new area of firm strategy. The rapid global diffusion of information and communication technologies has greatly improved access to knowledge. At the same time, communication is cheap, information is a commodity, and global trade increases technological diffusion. As a result, firms and users, including those outside of industrialized nations, get early exposure to the latest technologies and information. General-purpose technologies such as mobile phones and 3D printers enable individuals to solve local needs and customize products. The combined effect of these changes is having a profound impact on the innovation landscape. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector is facing unprecedented challenges, which are magnified by budgetary constraints, an aging population and the desire to provide care for all. On the other hand, patients themselves are changing. They are savvier about their diseases, they expect their relation with the healthcare professionals to be open and interactive, but above all they want to be part of the decision process. All of this is a reflection of what is already happening in other industries where customers have access to large amount of information and became educated buyers. This article addresses the question of how ICT research and innovation may contribute to developing solutions to grand societal challenges in a responsible way. A broad definition of the concept of responsibility in the context of innovation is adopted in this paper. Responsibility is thus seen as a collective, uncertain and future-oriented activity. This opens the questions of how responsibilities are perceived and distributed and how innovation and science can be governed and stewarded towards socially desirable and acceptable ends. This article addresses a central question confronting politicians, business leaders, and regional planners.

Keywords: responsible innovation, ICT, healthcare, welfare sector

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Authors: Deepa Shokeen, Bani Tamber Aeri

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Food environments are believed to play a significant role in the obesity epidemic and robust research methods are required to establish which factors or aspects of the food environment are relevant to food choice and to adiposity. The relationship between the food environment and obesity is complex. While there is little research linking food access with obesity as an outcome measure in any age group, with the help of this article we will try to understand the relationship between what we eat and the environmental context in which these food choices are made. Methods: A literature search of studies published between January 2000 and December 2013 was undertaken on computerized medical, social science, health, nutrition and education databases including Google, PubMed etc. Reports of organisations such as World Health Organisation (WHO), Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC) were studied to project the data. Results: Studies show that food environments play a significant role in the obesity epidemic and robust research methods are required to establish which factors or aspects of the food environment are relevant to food choice and to adiposity. Evidence indicates that the food environment may help explain the obesity and cardio-metabolic risk factors among young adults. Conclusion: Cardiovascular disease is the ever growing chronic disease, the incidence of which will increase markedly in the coming decades. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to assess the prevalence of various risk factors that contribute to the incidence of cardiovascular diseases especially in the work environment. Research is required to establish how different environments affect different individuals as individuals interact with the environment on a number of levels. We need to ascertain the impact of selected food and nutrition environments (Information, organization, community, consumer) on food choice and dietary intake of the working adults as it is important to learn how these food environments influence the eating perceptions and health behaviour of the adults.

Keywords: food environment, prevalence, cardiovascular disease, India, worksite, risk factors

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Authors: Esther Mafunda, Simbarashe Muparangi

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The present paper tests the applicability of the Regression Hypothesis on the pathological language dissolution of a Shona male adult with Broca’s aphasia. It particularly assesses the prediction of the Regression Hypothesis, which states that the process according to which language is forgotten will be the reversal of the process according to which it will be acquired. The main aim of the paper is to find out whether mirror symmetries between L1 acquisition and L1 dissolution of tense in Shona and, if so, what might cause these regression patterns. The paper also sought to highlight the practical contributions that Linguistic theory can make to solving language-related problems. Data was collected from a 46-year-old male adult with Broca’s aphasia who was receiving speech therapy at St Giles Rehabilitation Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe. The primary data elicitation method was experimental, using the probe technique. The TART (Test for Assessing Reference Time) Shona version in the form of sequencing pictures was used to access tense by Broca’s aphasic and 3.5-year-old child. Using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Studies) and Excel analysis, it was established that the use of the future tense was impaired in Shona Broca’s aphasic whilst the present and past tense was intact. However, though the past tense was intact in the male adult with Broca’s aphasic, a reference to the remote past was made. The use of the future tense was also found to be difficult for the 3,5-year-old speaking child. No difficulties were encountered in using the present and past tenses. This means that mirror symmetries were found between L1 acquisition and L1 dissolution of tense in Shona. On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that the use of tense in a Shona adult with Broca’s aphasia supports the Regression Hypothesis. The findings of this study are important in terms of speech therapy in the context of Zimbabwe. The study also contributes to Bantu linguistics in general and to Shona linguistics in particular. Further studies could also be done focusing on the rest of the Bantu language varieties in terms of aphasia.

Keywords: Broca’s Aphasia, regression hypothesis, Shona, language dissolution

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Authors: Naci Büyükkaracığan, Murat Ahmet Ökmen

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In parallel with the population growth rate, the need of human being for energy sources in the world is gradually increasing incessant. The addition of this situation that demand for energy will be busier in the future, industrialization, the rise in living standards and technological developments, especially in developing countries. Alternative energy sources have aroused interest due to reasons such as serious environmental issues that were caused by fossil energy sources, potentially decreasing reserves, different social, political and economic problems caused by dependency on source providing countries and price instability. Especially in developed countries as European countries and also U.S.A particularly, alternative energy sources such as wind, geothermal, solar and biomass energy, hydrolic and hydrogen have been utilized in different forms, especially in electricity production. It includes a review of technical and environmental factors for energy sources that are potential replacements for fossil fuels and examines their fitness to supply the energy for a high standard of living on a worldwide basis. Despite all developments, fossil energy sources have been overwhelmingly used all around the world in primary energy sources consumption and they will outnumber other energy sources in the short term. Today, parallel to population growth and economy in Turkey, energy sources consumption is increasingly continuing. On one side, Turkey, currently 80% dependent on energy providing countries, has been heavily conducting fossil energy sources raw material quest within its own borders in order to lower the percentage, and the other side, there have been many researches for exploring potential of alternative energy sources and utilization. This case will lead to both a decrease in foreign energy dependency and a variety of energy sources. This study showed the current energy potential of Turkey and presents historical development of these energy sources and their share in electricity production. The research also seeked for answers to arguments that if the potential can be sufficient in the future. As a result of this study, it was concluded that observed geothermal energy, particularly active tectonic regions of Turkey, to have an alternative energy potential could be considered to be valuable on bass wind and solar energy.

Keywords: alternative energy sources, energy productions, hydroenergy, solar energy, wind energy

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Authors: Dovile Petkeviciute-Barysiene

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Legal technologies not only create new ways for accessing and providing legal services but also transform the role of legal practitioners. Both lawyers and users of legal services expect automated solutions to outperform people with objectivity and impartiality. Although fairness of the automated decisions is crucial, research on assessing various characteristics of automated processes related to the perceived fairness has only begun. One of the major obstacles to this research is the lack of comprehensive understanding of what legal actions are automated and could be meaningfully automated, and to what extent. Neither public nor legal practitioners oftentimes cannot envision technological input due to the lack of general without illustrative examples. The aim of this study is to map decision making stages and automation levels which are and/or could be achieved in legal actions related to pre-trial and trial processes. Major legal decisions and judgments are identified during the consultations with legal practitioners. The dual-process model of information processing is used to describe cognitive processes taking place while making legal decisions and judgments during pre-trial and trial action. Some of the existing legal technologies are incorporated into the analysis as well. Several published automation level taxonomies are considered because none of them fit well into the legal context, as they were all created for avionics, teleoperation, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc. From the information processing perspective, analysis of the legal decisions and judgments expose situations that are most sensitive to cognitive bias, among others, also help to identify areas that would benefit from the automation the most. Automation level analysis, in turn, provides a systematic approach to interaction and cooperation between humans and algorithms. Moreover, an integrated map of legal decisions and judgments, information processing characteristics, and automation levels all together provide some groundwork for the research of legal technology perceived fairness and acceptance. Acknowledgment: This project has received funding from European Social Fund (project No 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0116) under grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT).

Keywords: automation levels, information processing, legal judgment and decision making, legal technology

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Authors: Yu Chen, Xiaoguang Yang, Lin Lin

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Traffic engineering construction is an important infrastructure for economic and social development. In the process of construction and operation, the ability to make a correct evaluation of the project's environmental impact appears to be crucial to the rational operation of existing transportation projects, the correct development of transportation engineering construction and the adoption of corresponding measures to scientifically carry out environmental protection work. Most of the existing research work on ecological and environmental impact assessment is limited to individual aspects of the environment and less to the overall evaluation of the environmental system; in terms of research conclusions, there are more qualitative analyses from the technical and policy levels, and there is a lack of quantitative research results and quantitative and operable evaluation models. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of the ecological and environmental impacts of transportation construction projects is conducted, and factors such as the accessibility of data and the reliability of calculation results are comprehensively considered to extract indicators that can reflect the essence and characteristics. The qualitative evaluation indicators were screened using the expert review method, the qualitative indicators were measured using the fuzzy statistics method, the quantitative indicators were screened using the principal component analysis method, and the quantitative indicators were measured by both literature search and calculation. An environmental impact evaluation index system with the general objective layer, sub-objective layer and indicator layer was established, dividing the environmental impact of the transportation construction project into two periods: the construction period and the operation period. On the basis of the evaluation index system, the index weights are determined using the hierarchical analysis method, and the individual indicators to be evaluated are dimensionless, eliminating the influence of the original background and meaning of the indicators. Finally, the thesis uses the above research results, combined with the actual engineering practice, to verify the correctness and operability of the evaluation method.

Keywords: transportation construction projects, ecological and environmental impact, analysis and evaluation, indicator evaluation system

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Authors: Prabesh Karki, Shyam Thapa Chettri, Bajarang Prasad Sah, Manoj Bhattarai, Sudeep Mishra

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Introduction: Frontal sinus is frequently described as the most difficult sinus to access surgically due to its proximity to the cribriform plate, orbit, and anterior ethmoid artery. Frontal sinus surgery requires a detailed understanding of the cellular structure and FSDP unique to each patient, making high-resolution CT scans an indispensable tool to assess the difficulty of planned sinus surgery. International Frontal Sinus Anatomy Classification (IFAC) was developed to provide a more precise nomenclature for cells in the frontal recess, classifying cells based on their anatomic origin. Objectives: To assess the proportion of frontal cell variants defined by IFAC, variation with respect to age and gender. Methods: 54 cases were enrolled after a detailed clinical history, thorough general and physical examinations, and CT a report ordered in a film. Assessment and tabulation of the presence of frontal cells according to the IFAC analyzed. The prevalence of each cell type was calculated, and data were entered in MS Excel and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics and frequencies were defined for categorical and numerical variables. Frequency, percentage, the mean and standard deviation were calculated. Result: Among 54 patients, 30 (55.6%) were male and 24 (44.4%) were female. The patient enrolled ranged from 18 to 78 years. Majority33.3% (n=18) were in age group of >50 years.According to IFAC, Agger nasi cells (92.6%) were most common, whereas supraorbital ethmoidal cells were least common 16 (29.6%). Prevalence of other frontoethmoidal cells was SAC- 57.4%, SAFC- 38.9%, SBC- 74.1%, SBFC- 33.3%, FSC- 38.9% of 54 cases. Conclusion: IFAC is an international consensus document that describes an anatomically precise nomenclature for classifying frontoethmoidal cells' anatomy. This study has defined the prevalence, symmetry and reliability of frontoethmoidal cells as established by the IFAC system as in other parts of the world.

Keywords: frontal sinus, frontoethmoidal cells, international frontal sinus anatomy classification

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Authors: Sumohon Matilal, Neveen Abdelrehim

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The purpose of this study is to examine the way households manage the risks of civil war, using the calculative practices of accounting as a lens. As is the case with other social phenomena, accounting serves as a conduit for attributing values and rationales to crisis and in the process makes it visible and calculable. Our focus, in particular, is on the dialogue facilitated by the numerical logic of accounting between the householder and a crisis scenario, such as civil war. In other words, we seek to study how the risk of war is rationalized through household budgets, income and expenditure statements etc. and how such accounting constructs in turn shape attitudes toward earnings and spending in a wartime economy. The existing literature on war and accounting demonstrates how an accounting logic can have potentially destabilising consequences and how it is used to legitimise war. However, very few scholars have looked at the way accounting constructs are used to internalise the effects of war in an average household and the behavioural consequences that arise from such accounting. Relatedly, scholars studying household accounting have mostly focussed on the links between gender and hierarchy in relation to managing the financial affairs. Few have focused on the role of household accounts in a crisis scenario. This study intends to fill this gap. We draw upon Egypt, a country in the middle of civil war since 2011 for our purpose. We intend to carry out 15-20 semi-structured interviews with middle income households in Cairo that maintain some form of accounts to study the following issues: 1. How do people internalise the risks of civil war? What kind of accounting constructs do they use (this may take the form of simple budgets, income-expenditure notes/statements on a periodic basis, spreadsheets etc.) 2. How has civil war affected household expenditure? Are people spending more/less than before? 3. How has civil war affected household income? Are people finding it difficult/easy to survive on the pre-war income? 4. How is such accounting affecting household behaviour towards earnings and expenditure? Are families prioritising expenditure on necessities alone? Are they refraining from indulging in luxuries? Are family members doing two or three jobs to cope with difficult times? Are families increasingly turning toward borrowing? Is credit available? From whom?

Keywords: risk, accounting, war, crisis

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Authors: Christina Zourna, Ioanna Papavassiliou-Alexiou

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Drama in Education (DiE) is a dynamic experiential method that can be used in many interdisciplinary contexts. In the Educational and Social Policy Department, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece, DiE is being used as a core method for developing professional competences in pre- and postgraduate courses as well as adult education training programs. In this presentation, an innovative DiE application will be described concerning the development of educational leaders’ skills necessary to meet unprecedented, unexpected challenges in the 21st century schools. In a non-threatening risk-taking no-penalty environment, future educational leaders live-in-role problems, challenges, and dilemmas before having to face similar ones in their profession. Through personal involvement, emotional engagement, and reflection, via individual and group activities, they experience the behaviour, dilemmas, decision-making processes, and informed choices of a recognized leader and are able to make connections with their own life. As pretext serves the life of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian King who defeated the vast Persian empire in the 4th century BC and, by uniting all Greeks, conquered the up-to-date known eastern world thanks to his authentic leadership skills and exceptional personality traits. Since the early years of his education mastered by the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle, Alexander proved his unique qualities by providing the world with the example of an undeniably genuine, inspirational, effective, and most recognizable authentic leader. Through questionnaires and individual interviews, participants in these workshops revealed how they developed active listening, empathy, creativity, imagination, critical strategic and out-of-the-box thinking, cooperation and own vision communicating, crisis management skills, self-efficacy, self-awareness, self-exposure, information management, negotiation and inspiration skills, enhanced sense of responsibility and commitment, and decision-making skills.

Keywords: drama in education method, educational leadership, professional competences, skills’ development

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Authors: Saira Maqbool, Qaisara Parveen, Muhammad Arshad Dahar

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Improving females' involvement in management and enterprises in Pakistan requires the development of female entrepreneurs as leaders. Entrepreneurial education aims for providing students the knowledge, aptitudes and motivation to energize innovative accomplishment in various settings. Assortments of venture instruction are advertised at all stages of mentoring, from fundamental or discretionary institutes through graduate institutional platforms. The business enterprise will be considered the procedure by which a looming business visionary or business person pursues after openings without respect to the resources they directly regulate. This entails the ability of the business visionary to join every single other generation. This study explores the relationship between developing Women's Leadership skills and Entrepreneurship Education The essential reason for this consider was to analyze the role of Entrepreneurship Edification (EE) towards women's Leadership and develop entrepreneurial intentions among students. The major goal of this study was to foster entrepreneurial attitudes among PMAS Arid Agriculture University undergraduate students concerning their choice to work for themselves. This study focuses on the motivation and interest of female students in the social sciences to build entrepreneurial leadership skills. The quantitative analysis used a true-experimental, pretest-posttest control group research design. Female undergraduate students from PMAS Arid Agriculture University made up the study population. For entrepreneurial activity, a training module has been created. The students underwent a three-week training program at PMAS Arid Agriculture University, where they learned about entrepreneurial leadership abilities. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and T-tests. The findings indicated that students acquired entrepreneurial leadership skills and intentions after training. They have decided to launch their businesses as leaders. It is advised that other PMAS Arid Agriculture University departments use the training module and course outline because the research's usage of them has important results.

Keywords: business, entrepreneurial, intentions, leadership, women

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Authors: Luísa Pedro, José Pais-Ribeiro, João Páscoa Pinheiro

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Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that affects more often young adults in the prime of his career and personal development, with no cure and unknown causes. The most common signs and symptoms are fatigue, muscle weakness, changes in sensation, ataxia, changes in balance, gait difficulties, memory difficulties, cognitive impairment and difficulties in problem solving. MS is a relatively common neurological disorder in which various impairments and disabilities impact strongly on function and daily life activities. The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the program of self-regulation in the perception of illness and mental health (psychological well-being domain) in MS patients. MS is a relatively common neurological disorder in which various impairments and disabilities impact strongly on function and daily life activities. The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the program of self-regulation in the perception of illness and mental health (psychological well-being domain) in MS patients. After this, a set of exercises was implemented to be used in daily life activities, according to studies developed with MS patients. We asked the subjects the question “Please classify the severity of your disease?” and used the domain of psychological well-being, the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38) at the beginning (time A) and end (time B) of the program of self-regulation. We used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. A non-parametric statistical hypothesis test (Wilcoxon test) was used for the variable analysis. The intervention followed the recommendations of the Helsinki Declaration. The age range of the subjects was between 20 and 58 years with a mean age of 44 years. 58.3 % were women, 37.5 % were currently married, 67% were retired and the mean level of education was 12.5 years. In the correlation between the severity of the disease perception and psychological well before the self-regulation program, an obtained result (r = 0.26, p <0.05), then the self-regulation program, was (r = 0.37, p <0.01), from a low to moderate correlation. We conclude that the program of self-regulation for physical activity in patients with MS can improve the relationship between the perception of disease severity and psychological well-being.

Keywords: psychological well-being, multiple sclerosis, self-regulation, physical activity

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Authors: Sofiya An, Akbota Kanderzhanova, Assel Akhmetova, Faye Foster, Chee K. Chan

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Healthcare, education and social support for children with autism in Kazakhstan has been evolving and transforming over the last three decades. There is still limited knowledge of the use of complementary and alternative medicine by families caring for autistic children in this post-Soviet region. An exploratory qualitative focus group study of Kazakhstani families was carried out to capture and understand their experiences of using complementary and alternative (CAM) medicine. A total of six focus groups were conducted in five cities across the country including Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Kyzylorda, Karaganda and Taraz. The perceived factors driving the availability, choice, and use of complementary and alternative medicine by families of autistic children in the country were distilled and evaluated. The data collected was analyzed using a framework analysis and themes and subthemes were developed. Two major themes stood out. The first was the “unmet needs”, which relates to the predisposing factors that motivate parents to CAM uptake, and the second was the “chasing hope”, which relates to the enabling factors that facilitate parents’ uptake of CAM. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a latent underlying motivation underscoring these two themes as well. Parents of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children in Kazakhstan have to deal with many challenges when seeking treatment for their children with ASD. They are prepared and resort to try out whatever CAM interventions available. The motivation and rationale of choice of use is driven by the lack of options and the hope of any potential positive outcome rather than from rational decisions based on efficacy or the evidence-based data of CAM. Parents get desperate and are willing to try CAM regardless of and independent of their cultural and belief systems and they do not want to miss out just in case it might work. This study also gives an international and cross-cultural perspective on the motives, choice and practice of parents with ASD children using CAM in Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, Central Asia, complementary and alternative medicine, cross-cultural perspective, qualitative research

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Authors: Tong Mei Yan

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Introduction: The experience of infertility could be excruciating but has not received much attention in Hong Kong. The strong Confucian culture pressures couples to continue their family lineage resulting in women facing more stress than men in the social-cultural milieu. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment is one of the common ways to deal with the problem. Abundant literature exists the psychological trajectories of people receiving IVF treatment in Europe, the USA and other east Asian societies but not in Hong Kong. Aim: This study aims to highlight the circumstances and needs of the women before, during and after IVF treatment through examining their lived experiences. It is hoped that the public, once informed of regarding their tribulations and needs , would support the adequate provision of the required psychological support . Methods: Qualitative analysis was adopted in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with six women who have undergone at least one complete cycle of IVF treatment within the past five years. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis and narrative analysis. Results: 4 broad themes were found, including (i) emotional responses; (ii) experiences in medical consultation; (iii) impacts of the treatment; and (iv) their coping strategies. Additionally, specific events in three cases were chosen for narrative analysis to further examine their unresolved emotional distress and the ethical issues. Conclusion: IVF treatment distressed the interviewees immensely, both physically and psychologically, with the negative emotions outweighing their physical strains, a result unexpected by all of the interviewees. The pressure for lineage continuation, the demanding treatment process and the dearth of support from health professionals all contribute to their emotional pain which could linger for both successful and unsuccessful cases. Although a number of coping strategies were attempted, most of them completely failed to ease their psychological tension. The findings of this study therefore evidence the need for psychological support for this population. A service model to cater their needs of IVF treatment before, during and after treatment is therefore proposed.

Keywords: coping strategies, emotional experiences, impacts of IVF, infertility, IVF treatment, medical experiences

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Authors: Adha Bayu Wijaya, A. Zainal Abidin, Naufal Baihaqi, Joko Suprayitno, Astika Titistiti, Muslim Adi Wijaya, Endah Tri Lestari, Agung Wibowo

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Sulfur is a non-metallic chemical element in the form of a yellow crystalline solid with the chemical formula, and is formed from several types of natural and artificial chemical reactions. Commercial applications of sulfur processed products can be found in various aspects of life, for example in the use of processed sulfur as paving blocks. The Gundih Central Processing Plant (CPP) is capable of producing 14 tons/day of sulfur pellets. This amount comes from the high H2S content of the wells with a total concentration of 20,000 ppm and a volume accumulation of 14 MMSCFD acid gas. H2S is converted to sulfur using the thiobacillus microbe in the Biological Sulfur Recovery Unit (BSRU) with a sulfur product purity level greater than 95%. In 2018 sulfur production at Gundih CPP was recorded at 4044 tons which could potentially trigger serious problems from an environmental aspect. The use of sulfur as material for making paving blocks is an alternative solution in addressing the potential impact on the environment, as regulated by Government Regulation No.22 of Year 2021 concerning the Waste Management of Non-Hazardous and Toxic Substances (B3), and the high cost of handling sulfur by third parties. The design mix of ratio sulfur paving blocks is 22% cements, rock ash 67%, and 11% of sulfur pellets. The sulfur used in making the paving mixture is pure sulfur, namely the side product category without any contaminants, thereby eliminating the potential for environmental pollution when implementing sulfur paving. Strength tests of sulfur paving materials have also been confirmed by external laboratories. The standard used in making sulfur paving blocks refers to the SNI 03-0691-1996 standard. With the results of sulfur paving blocks made according to quality B. Currently, sulfur paving blocks are used in building access to wells locations and in public roads in the Cepu Field area as a contribution from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Keywords: sulphur, innovation, paving block, CSR, sulphur paving

Procedia PDF Downloads 75