Search results for: North Cyprus
127 Estimation of Level of Pesticide in Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Its Correlation with Paraoxanase1 Gene in North Indian Population
Authors: Apurva Singh, S. P. Jaiswar, Apala Priyadarshini, Akancha Pandey
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Objective: The aim of this study is to find the association of PON1 gene polymorphism with pesticides In RPL subjects. Background: Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is defined as three or more sequential abortions before the 20th week of gestation. Pesticides and its derivatives (organochlorine and organophosphate) are proposed to accommodate a ruler chemical for RPL in the sub-humid region of India. The paraoxonase-1 enzyme (PON1) plays an important role in the toxicity of some organophosphate pesticides, with low PON1 activity being associated with higher pesticide sensitivity Methodology: This is a case-control study done in Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology & Department of Biochemistry, K.G.M.U, Lucknow, India. The subjects were enrolled after fulfilling the inclusion & exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria: Cases- Subject having two or more spontaneous abortions & Control- Healthy female having one or more alive child was selected. Exclusion criteria: Cases & Control- Subject having the following disease will be excluded from the study Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Tuberculosis, Immunocompromised patients, any endocrine disorder and genital, colon or breast cancer any other malignancies. Blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes from cases & healthy control women & genomic DNA was extracted by phenol-chloroform method. The estimation of pesticides residue from blood was done by HPLC. Biochemical estimation was also performed. Genotyping of PON1 gene polymorphism was performed by RFLP. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS16.3 software. Results: A sum of total 14 pesticides (12 organochlorine and 2 organophosphate) selected on the basis of their persistent nature and consumption rate. The significant level of pesticide (ppb) estimated by the Mann whiney test and it was found to be significant at higher level of β-HCH (p:0.04), γ-HCH (p:0.001), δ-HCH (p: 0.002), chloropyrifos (p:0.001), pp-DDD (p:0.001) and fenvalrate (p: 0.001) in case group compare to its control. The level of antioxidant enzymes were found to be significantly decreased among the cases. Wild homozygous TT was more frequent and prevalent among control groups. However, heterozygous group (Tt) was more in cases than control groups (CI-0.3-1.3) (p=0.06). Conclusion: Higher levels of pesticides with endocrine disrupting potential in cases indicate the possible role of these compounds as one of the causes of recurrent pregnancy loss. Possibly, increased pesticide level appears to indicate increased levels of oxidative damage that has been associated with the possible cause of Recurrent Miscarriage, it may reflect indirect evidence of toxicity rather than the direct cause. Since both factors are reported to increase risk, individuals with higher levels of these 'Toxic compounds' especially in 'high-risk genotypes' might be more susceptible to recurrent pregnancy loss.Keywords: paraoxonase, pesticides, PON1, RPL
Procedia PDF Downloads 137126 The Effect of Interpersonal Relationships on Eating Patterns and Physical Activity among Asian-American and European-American Adolescents
Authors: Jamil Lane, Jason Freeman
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Background: The role of interpersonal relationships is vital predictors of adolescents’ eating habits, exercise activity, and health problems including obesity. The effect of interpersonal relationships (i.e. family, friends, and intimate partners) on individual health behaviors and development have gained considerable attention during the past 10 years. Teenagers eating habits and exercise activities are established through a dynamic course involving internal and external factors such as food preferences, body weight perception, and parental and peer influence. When conceptualizing one’s interpersonal relationships, it is important to understand that how one relates to others is shaped by their culture. East-Asian culture has been characterized as collectivistic, which describes the significant role intergroup relationships play in their construction of the self. Cultures found in North America, on the other hand, can be characterized as individualistic, meaning that these cultures encourage individuals to prioritize their interest over the needs and want of their compatriots. Individuals from collectivistic cultures typically have stronger boundaries between in-group and out-group membership, whereas those from individualistic cultures see themselves as distinct and separate from strangers as well as family or friends. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of collectivism and individualism on interpersonal relationships that shapes eating patterns and physical activity among Asian-American and European-American adolescents. Design/Methods: Analyses were based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of adolescents in the United States who were surveyed from 1994 through 2008. This data will be used to examine interpersonal relationship factors that shape dietary intake and physical activity patterns within the Asian-American and European-American population in the United States. Factors relating to relationship strength, eating, and exercise behaviors were reported by participants in this first wave of data collection (1995). We plan to analyze our data using intragroup comparisons among those who identified as 'Asian-American' (n = 270) and 'White or European American' (n = 4,294) among the domains of positivity of peer influence and level of physical activity / healthy eating. Further, intergroup comparisons of these relationships will be made to extricate how the role positive peer influence in maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits differs with cultural variation. Results: We hypothesize that East-Asian participants with a higher degree of positivity in their peer and family relationships will experience a significantly greater rise in healthy eating and exercise behaviors than European-American participants with similar degrees of relationship positivity.Keywords: interpersonal relationships, eating patterns, physical activity, adolescent health
Procedia PDF Downloads 192125 A Quantitative Analysis of Rural to Urban Migration in Morocco
Authors: Donald Wright
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The ultimate goal of this study is to reinvigorate the philosophical underpinnings the study of urbanization with scientific data with the goal of circumventing what seems an inevitable future clash between rural and urban populations. To that end urban infrastructure must be sustainable economically, politically and ecologically over the course of several generations as cities continue to grow with the incorporation of climate refugees. Our research will provide data concerning the projected increase in population over the coming two decades in Morocco, and the population will shift from rural areas to urban centers during that period of time. As a result, urban infrastructure will need to be adapted, developed or built to fit the demand of future internal migrations from rural to urban centers in Morocco. This paper will also examine how past experiences of internally displaced people give insight into the challenges faced by future migrants and, beyond the gathering of data, how people react to internal migration. This study employs four different sets of research tools. First, a large part of this study is archival, which involves compiling the relevant literature on the topic and its complex history. This step also includes gathering data bout migrations in Morocco from public data sources. Once the datasets are collected, the next part of the project involves populating the attribute fields and preprocessing the data to make it understandable and usable by machine learning algorithms. In tandem with the mathematical interpretation of data and projected migrations, this study benefits from a theoretical understanding of the critical apparatus existing around urban development of the 20th and 21st centuries that give us insight into past infrastructure development and the rationale behind it. Once the data is ready to be analyzed, different machine learning algorithms will be experimented (k-clustering, support vector regression, random forest analysis) and the results compared for visualization of the data. The final computational part of this study involves analyzing the data and determining what we can learn from it. This paper helps us to understand future trends of population movements within and between regions of North Africa, which will have an impact on various sectors such as urban development, food distribution and water purification, not to mention the creation of public policy in the countries of this region. One of the strengths of this project is the multi-pronged and cross-disciplinary methodology to the research question, which enables an interchange of knowledge and experiences to facilitate innovative solutions to this complex problem. Multiple and diverse intersecting viewpoints allow an exchange of methodological models that provide fresh and informed interpretations of otherwise objective data.Keywords: climate change, machine learning, migration, Morocco, urban development
Procedia PDF Downloads 140124 Urban Growth and Its Impact on Natural Environment: A Geospatial Analysis of North Part of the UAE
Authors: Mohamed Bualhamam
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Due to the complex nature of tourism resources of the Northern part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the potential of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) in resolving these issues was used. The study was an attempt to use existing GIS data layers to identify sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources that may be threatened by increased urban growth and give some specific recommendations to protect the area. By identifying sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources, public agencies and citizens are in a better position to successfully protect important natural lands and direct growth away from environmentally sensitive areas. The paper concludes that applications of GIS and RS in study of urban growth impact in tourism resources are a strong and effective tool that can aid in tourism planning and decision-making. The study area is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. The increase in population along the region, as well as rapid growth of towns, has increased the threat to natural resources and archeological sites. Satellite remote sensing data have been proven useful in assessing the natural resources and in monitoring the changes. The study used GIS and RS to identify sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources that may be threatened by increased urban growth. The result of GIS analyses shows that the Northern part of the UAE has variety for tourism resources, which can use for future tourism development. Rapid urban development in the form of small towns and different economic activities are showing in different places in the study area. The urban development extended out of old towns and have negative affected of sensitive tourism resources in some areas. Tourism resources for the Northern part of the UAE is a highly complex resources, and thus requires tools that aid in effective decision making to come to terms with the competing economic, social, and environmental demands of sustainable development. The UAE government should prepare a tourism databases and a GIS system, so that planners can be accessed for archaeological heritage information as part of development planning processes. Applications of GIS in urban planning, tourism and recreation planning illustrate that GIS is a strong and effective tool that can aid in tourism planning and decision- making. The power of GIS lies not only in the ability to visualize spatial relationships, but also beyond the space to a holistic view of the world with its many interconnected components and complex relationships. The worst of the damage could have been avoided by recognizing suitable limits and adhering to some simple environmental guidelines and standards will successfully develop tourism in sustainable manner. By identifying sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources of the Northern part of the UAE, public agencies and private citizens are in a better position to successfully protect important natural lands and direct growth away from environmentally sensitive areas.Keywords: GIS, natural environment, UAE, urban growth
Procedia PDF Downloads 255123 Using Balanced Scorecard Performance Metrics in Gauging the Delivery of Stakeholder Value in Higher Education: the Assimilation of Industry Certifications within a Business Program Curriculum
Authors: Thomas J. Bell III
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This paper explores the value of assimilating certification training within a traditional course curriculum. This innovative approach is believed to increase stakeholder value within the Computer Information System program at Texas Wesleyan University. Stakeholder value is obtained from increased job marketability and critical thinking skills that create employment-ready graduates. This paper views value as first developing the capability to earn an industry-recognized certification, which provides the student with more job placement compatibility while allowing the use of critical thinking skills in a liberal arts business program. Graduates with industry-based credentials are often given preference in the hiring process, particularly in the information technology sector. And without a pioneering curriculum that better prepares students for an ever-changing employment market, its educational value is dubiously questioned. Since certifications are trending in the hiring process, academic programs should explore the viability of incorporating certification training into teaching pedagogy and courses curriculum. This study will examine the use of the balanced scorecard across four performance dimensions (financial, customer, internal process, and innovation) to measure the stakeholder value of certification training within a traditional course curriculum. The balanced scorecard as a strategic management tool may provide insight for leveraging resource prioritization and decisions needed to achieve various curriculum objectives and long-term value while meeting multiple stakeholders' needs, such as students, universities, faculty, and administrators. The research methodology will consist of quantitative analysis that includes (1) surveying over one-hundred students in the CIS program to learn what factor(s) contributed to their certification exam success or failure, (2) interviewing representatives from the Texas Workforce Commission to identify the employment needs and trends in the North Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth) area, (3) reviewing notable Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act publications on training trends across several local business sectors, and (4) analyzing control variables to identify specific correlations between industry alignment and job placement to determine if a correlation exists. These findings may provide helpful insight into impactful pedagogical teaching techniques and curriculum that positively contribute to certification credentialing success. And should these industry-certified students land industry-related jobs that correlate with their certification credential value, arguably, stakeholder value has been realized.Keywords: certification exam teaching pedagogy, exam preparation, testing techniques, exam study tips, passing certification exams, embedding industry certification and curriculum alignment, balanced scorecard performance evaluation
Procedia PDF Downloads 100122 Climate Change and Landslide Risk Assessment in Thailand
Authors: Shotiros Protong
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The incidents of sudden landslides in Thailand during the past decade have occurred frequently and more severely. It is necessary to focus on the principal parameters used for analysis such as land cover land use, rainfall values, characteristic of soil and digital elevation model (DEM). The combination of intense rainfall and severe monsoons is increasing due to global climate change. Landslide occurrences rapidly increase during intense rainfall especially in the rainy season in Thailand which usually starts around mid-May and ends in the middle of October. The rain-triggered landslide hazard analysis is the focus of this research. The combination of geotechnical and hydrological data are used to determine permeability, conductivity, bedding orientation, overburden and presence of loose blocks. The regional landslide hazard mapping is developed using the Slope Stability Index SINMAP model supported on Arc GIS software version 10.1. Geological and land use data are used to define the probability of landslide occurrences in terms of geotechnical data. The geological data can indicate the shear strength and the angle of friction values for soils above given rock types, which leads to the general applicability of the approach for landslide hazard analysis. To address the research objectives, the methods are described in this study: setup and calibration of the SINMAP model, sensitivity of the SINMAP model, geotechnical laboratory, landslide assessment at present calibration and landslide assessment under future climate simulation scenario A2 and B2. In terms of hydrological data, the millimetres/twenty-four hours of average rainfall data are used to assess the rain triggered landslide hazard analysis in slope stability mapping. During 1954-2012 period, is used for the baseline of rainfall data at the present calibration. The climate change in Thailand, the future of climate scenarios are simulated by spatial and temporal scales. The precipitation impact is need to predict for the climate future, Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) version 4.2, is used to assess the simulation scenario of future change between latitude 16o 26’ and 18o 37’ north and between longitude 98o 52’ and 103o 05’ east by SDSM software. The research allows the mapping of risk parameters for landslide dynamics, and indicates the spatial and time trends of landslide occurrences. Thus, regional landslide hazard mapping under present-day climatic conditions from 1954 to 2012 and simulations of climate change based on GCM scenarios A2 and B2 from 2013 to 2099 related to the threshold rainfall values for the selected the study area in Uttaradit province in the northern part of Thailand. Finally, the landslide hazard mapping will be compared and shown by areas (km2 ) in both the present and the future under climate simulation scenarios A2 and B2 in Uttaradit province.Keywords: landslide hazard, GIS, slope stability index (SINMAP), landslides, Thailand
Procedia PDF Downloads 548121 The Effects of Heavy Metal and Aromatic Hydrocarbon Pollution on Bees
Authors: Katarzyna Zięba, Hajnalka Szentgyörgyi, Paweł Miśkowiec, Agnieszka Moos-Matysik
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Bees are effective pollinators of plants using by humans. However, there is a concern about the fate different species due to their recently decline. Pollution of the environment is described in the literature as one of the causes of this phenomenon. Due to human activities, heavy metals and aromatic hydrocarbons can occur in bee organisms in high concentrations. The presented study aims to provide information on how pollution affects bee quality, taking into account, also the biological differences between various groups of bees. Understanding the consequences of environmental pollution on bees can help to create and promote bee friendly habitats and actions. The analyses were carried out using two contamination gradients with 5 sites on each. The first, mainly heavy metal polluted gradient is stretching approx. 30km from the Bukowno Zinc smelter near Olkusz in the Lesser Poland Voivodship, to the north. The second cuts through the agglomeration of Kraków up to the southern borders of the Ojców National Park. The gradient near Olkusz is a well-described pollution gradient contaminated mainly by zinc, lead, and cadmium. The second gradient cut through the agglomeration of Kraków and end below the Ojców National Park. On each gradient, two bee species were installed: red mason bees (Osmia bicornis) and honey bees (Apis mellifera). Red mason bee is a polylectic, solitary bee species, widely distributed in Poland. Honey bees are a highly social species of bees, with clearly defined casts and roles in the colony. Before installing the bees in the field, samples of imagos of red mason bees and samples of pollen and imagos from each honey bee colony were analysed for zinc, lead cadmium, polycyclic and monocyclic hydrocarbons levels. After collecting the bees from the field, samples of bees and pollen samples for each site were prepared for heavy metal, monocyclic hydrocarbon, and polycyclic hydrocarbon analysis. Analyses of aromatic hydrocarbons were performed with gas chromatography coupled with a headspace sampler (HP 7694E) and mass spectrometer (MS) as detector. Monocyclic compounds were injected into column with headspace sampler while polycyclic ones with manual injector (after solid-liquid extraction with hexane). The heavy metal content (zinc, lead and cadmium) was assessed with flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS AAnalyst 300 Perkin Elmer spectrometer) according to the methods for honey and bee products described in the literature. Pollution levels found in bee bodies and imago body masses in both species, and proportion of sex in case of red mason bees were correlated with pollution levels found in pollen for each site and colony or trap nest. An attempt to pinpoint the most important form of contamination regarding bee health was also be undertaken based on the achieved results.Keywords: heavy metals, aromatic hydrocarbons, bees, pollution
Procedia PDF Downloads 504120 Rediscovering English for Academic Purposes in the Context of the UN’s Sustainable Developmental Goals
Authors: Sally Abu Sabaa, Lindsey Gutt
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In an attempt to use education as a way of raising a socially responsible and engaged global citizen, the YU-Bridge program, the largest and fastest pathway program of its kind in North America, has embarked on the journey of integrating general themes from the UN’s sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) in its English for Academic Purposes (EAP) curriculum. The purpose of this initiative was to redefine the general philosophy of education in the middle of a pandemic and align with York University’s University Academic Plan that was released in summer 2020 framed around the SDGs. The YUB program attracts international students from all over the world but mainly from China, and its goal is to enable students to achieve the minimum language requirement to join their undergraduate courses at York University. However, along with measuring outcomes, objectives, and the students’ GPA, instructors and academics are always seeking innovation of the YUB curriculum to adapt to the ever growing challenges of academics in the university context, in order to focus more on subject matter that students will be exposed to in their undergraduate studies. However, with the sudden change that has happened globally with the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other natural disasters like the increase in forest fires and floods, rethinking the philosophy and goal of education was a must. Accordingly, the SDGs became the solid pillars upon which we, academics and administrators of the program, could build a new curriculum and shift our perspective from simply ESL education to education with moral and ethical goals. The preliminary implementation of this initiative was supported by an institutional-wide consultation with EAP instructors who have diverse experiences, disciplines, and interests. Along with brainstorming sessions and mini-pilot projects preceding the integration of the SDGs in the YUB-EAP curriculum, those meetings led to creating a general outline of a curriculum and an assessment framework that has the SDGs at its core with the medium of ESL used for language instruction. Accordingly, a community of knowledge exchange was spontaneously created and facilitated by instructors. This has led to knowledge, resources, and teaching pedagogies being shared and examined further. In addition, experiences and reactions of students are being shared, leading to constructive discussions about opportunities and challenges with the integration of the SDGs. The discussions have branched out to discussions about cultural and political barriers along with a thirst for knowledge and engagement, which has resulted in increased engagement not only on the part of the students but the instructors as well. Later in the program, two surveys will be conducted: one for the students and one for the instructors to measure the level of engagement of each in this initiative as well as to elicit suggestions for further development. This paper will describe this fundamental step into using ESL methodology as a mode of disseminating essential ethical and socially correct knowledge for all learners in the 21st Century, the students’ reactions, and the teachers’ involvement and reflections.Keywords: EAP, curriculum, education, global citizen
Procedia PDF Downloads 179119 Challenges of Carbon Trading Schemes in Africa
Authors: Bengan Simbarashe Manwere
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The entire African continent, comprising 55 countries, holds a 2% share of the global carbon market. The World Bank attributes the continent’s insignificant share and participation in the carbon market to the limited access to electricity. Approximately 800 million people spread across 47 African countries generate as much power as Spain, with a population of 45million. Only South Africa and North Africa have carbon-reduction investment opportunities on the continent and dominate the 2% market share of the global carbon market. On the back of the 2015 Paris Agreement, South Africa signed into law the Carbon Tax Act 15 of 2019 and the Customs and Excise Amendment Act 13 of 2019 (Gazette No. 4280) on 1 June 2019. By these laws, South Africa was ushered into the league of active global carbon market players. By increasing the cost of production by the rate of R120/tCO2e, the tax intentionally compels the internalization of pollution as a cost of production and, relatedly, stimulate investment in clean technologies. The first phase covered the 1 June 2019 – 31 December 2022 period during which the tax was meant to escalate at CPI + 2% for Scope 1 emitters. However, in the second phase, which stretches from 2023 to 2030, the tax will escalate at the inflation rate only as measured by the consumer price index (CPI). The Carbon Tax Act provides for carbon allowances as mitigation strategies to limit agents’ carbon tax liability by up to 95% for fugitive and process emissions. Although the June 2019 Carbon Tax Act explicitly makes provision for a carbon trading scheme (CTS), the carbon trading regulations thereof were only finalised in December 2020. This points to a delay in the establishment of a carbon trading scheme (CTS). Relatedly, emitters in South Africa are not able to benefit from the 95% reduction in effective carbon tax rate from R120/tCO2e to R6/tCO2e as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has not yet finalized the establishment of the market for trading carbon credits. Whereas most carbon trading schemes have been designed and constructed from the beginning as new tailor-made systems in countries the likes of France, Australia, Romania which treat carbon as a financial product, South Africa intends, on the contrary, to leverage existing trading infrastructure of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Clearing and Settlement platforms of Strate, among others, in the interest of the Paris Agreement timelines. Therefore the carbon trading scheme will not be constructed from scratch. At the same time, carbon will be treated as a commodity in order to align with the existing institutional and infrastructural capacity. This explains why the Carbon Tax Act is silent about the involvement of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).For South Africa, there is need to establish they equilibrium stability of the CTS. This is important as South Africa is an innovator in carbon trading and the successful trading of carbon credits on the JSE will lead to imitation by early adopters first, followed by the middle majority thereafter.Keywords: carbon trading scheme (CTS), Johannesburg stock exchange (JSE), carbon tax act 15 of 2019, South Africa
Procedia PDF Downloads 57118 Sattriya: Its Transformation as a Principal Medium of Preaching Vaishnava Religion to Performing Art
Authors: Smita Lahkar
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Sattriya, the youngest of the eight principal Classical Indian dance traditions, has undergone too many changes and modifications to arrive at its present stage of performing art form extracting itself from age-old religious confinement. Although some of the other traditions have been revived in the recent past, Sattriya has a living tradition since its inception in the 15th century by Srimanta Sankardeva, the great Vaishnavite saint, poet, playwright, lyricist, painter, singer and dancer of Assam, a primary north-eastern state of India. This living dance tradition from the Sattras, the Vaishnavite monasteries, has been practiced for over five hundred years by celibate male monks, as a powerful medium for propagating the Vaishnava religious faith. Sankardeva realised the potential of the vocalised word integrated with the visual image as a powerful medium of expression and communication. So he used this principal medium for propagating his newly found message of devotion among the people of his time. Earlier, Sattriya was performed by male monks alone in monasteries (Sattras) as a part of daily rituals. The females were not even allowed to learn this art form. But, in present time, Sattriya has come out from the Sattras to proscenium stage, performed mostly by female as well as few male dancers also. The technique of performing movements, costumes, ornaments, music and style of performance too have experienced too many changes and modifications. For example, earlier and even today in Sattra, the ‘Pataka’ hand gesture is depicted in conformity with the original context (religious) of creation of the dance form. But, today stage-performers prefer the instructions of the scripture ‘Srihastamuktavali’ and depict the ‘Pataka’ in a sophisticated manner affecting decontextualisation to a certain extent. This adds aesthetic beauty to the dance form as an art distancing it from its context of being a vehicle for propagating Vaishnava religion. The Sattriya dance today stands at the crossroads of past and future, tradition and modernity, devotion and display, spirituality and secularism. The traditional exponents trained under the tutelage of Sattra maestros and imbibing a devotionally inspired rigour of the religion, try to retain the traditional nuances; while the young artists being trained outside the monasteries are more interested in taking up the discipline purely from the perspective of ‘performing arts’ bereft of the philosophy of religion or its sacred associations. Hence, this paper will be an endeavor to establish the hypothesis that the Sattriya, whose origin was for propagating Vaishnava faith, has now entered the world of performing arts with highly aesthetical components. And as a transformed art form, Sattriya may be expected to carve a niche in world dance arena. This will be done with the help of historical evidences, observations from the recorded past and expert rendezvous.Keywords: dance, performing art, religion, Sattriya
Procedia PDF Downloads 211117 The Rise of Blue Water Navy and its Implication for the Region
Authors: Riddhi Chopra
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Alfred Thayer Mahan described the sea as a ‘great common,’ which would serve as a medium for communication, trade, and transport. The seas of Asia are witnessing an intriguing historical anomaly – rise of an indigenous maritime power against the backdrop of US domination over the region. As China transforms from an inward leaning economy to an outward-leaning economy, it has become increasingly dependent on the global sea; as a result, we witness an evolution in its maritime strategy from near seas defense to far seas deployment strategies. It is not only patrolling the international waters but has also built a network of civilian and military infrastructure across the disputed oceanic expanse. The paper analyses the reorientation of China from a naval power to a blue water navy in an era of extensive globalisation. The actions of the Chinese have created a zone of high alert amongst its neighbors such as Japan, Philippines, Vietnam and North Korea. These nations are trying to align themselves so as to counter China’s growing brinkmanship, but China has been pursuing claims through a carefully calibrated strategy in the region shunning any coercive measures taken by other forces. If China continues to expand its maritime boundaries, its neighbors – all smaller and weaker Asian nations would be limited to a narrow band of the sea along its coastlines. Hence it is essential for the US to intervene and support its allies to offset Chinese supremacy. The paper intends to provide a profound analysis over the disputes in South China Sea and East China Sea focusing on Philippines and Japan respectively. Moreover, the paper attempts to give an account of US involvement in the region and its alignment with its South Asian allies. The geographic dynamics is said the breed a national coalition dominating the strategic ambitions of China as well as the weak littoral states. China has conducted behind the scenes diplomacy trying to persuade its neighbors to support its position on the territorial disputes. These efforts have been successful in creating fault lines in ASEAN thereby undermining regional integrity to reach a consensus on the issue. Chinese diplomatic efforts have also forced the US to revisit its foreign policy and engage with players like Cambodia and Laos. The current scenario in the SCS points to a strong Chinese hold trying to outspace all others with no regards to International law. Chinese activities are in contrast with US principles like Freedom of Navigation thereby signaling US to take bold actions to prevent Chinese hegemony in the region. The paper ultimately seeks to explore the changing power dynamics among various claimants where a rival superpower like US can pursue the traditional policy of alliance formation play a decisive role in changing the status quo in the arena, consequently determining the future trajectory.Keywords: China, East China Sea, South China Sea, USA
Procedia PDF Downloads 237116 Applications of Digital Tools, Satellite Images and Geographic Information Systems in Data Collection of Greenhouses in Guatemala
Authors: Maria A. Castillo H., Andres R. Leandro, Jose F. Bienvenido B.
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During the last 20 years, the globalization of economies, population growth, and the increase in the consumption of fresh agricultural products have generated greater demand for ornamentals, flowers, fresh fruits, and vegetables, mainly from tropical areas. This market situation has demanded greater competitiveness and control over production, with more efficient protected agriculture technologies, which provide greater productivity and allow us to guarantee the quality and quantity that is required in a constant and sustainable way. Guatemala, located in the north of Central America, is one of the largest exporters of agricultural products in the region and exports fresh vegetables, flowers, fruits, ornamental plants, and foliage, most of which were grown in greenhouses. Although there are no official agricultural statistics on greenhouse production, several thesis works, and congress reports have presented consistent estimates. A wide range of protection structures and roofing materials are used, from the most basic and simple ones for rain control to highly technical and automated structures connected with remote sensors for monitoring and control of crops. With this breadth of technological models, it is necessary to analyze georeferenced data related to the cultivated area, to the different existing models, and to the covering materials, integrated with altitude, climate, and soil data. The georeferenced registration of the production units, the data collection with digital tools, the use of satellite images, and geographic information systems (GIS) provide reliable tools to elaborate more complete, agile, and dynamic information maps. This study details a methodology proposed for gathering georeferenced data of high protection structures (greenhouses) in Guatemala, structured in four phases: diagnosis of available information, the definition of the geographic frame, selection of satellite images, and integration with an information system geographic (GIS). It especially takes account of the actual lack of complete data in order to obtain a reliable decision-making system; this gap is solved through the proposed methodology. A summary of the results is presented in each phase, and finally, an evaluation with some improvements and tentative recommendations for further research is added. The main contribution of this study is to propose a methodology that allows to reduce the gap of georeferenced data in protected agriculture in this specific area where data is not generally available and to provide data of better quality, traceability, accuracy, and certainty for the strategic agricultural decision öaking, applicable to other crops, production models and similar/neighboring geographic areas.Keywords: greenhouses, protected agriculture, GIS, Guatemala, satellite image, digital tools, precision agriculture
Procedia PDF Downloads 187115 Distribution, Seasonal Phenology and Infestation Dispersal of the Chickpea Leafminer Liriomyza cicerina (Diptera: Agromizidae) on Two Winter and Spring Chickpea Varieties
Authors: Abir Soltani, Moez Amri, Jouda Mediouni Ben Jemâa
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In North Africa, the chickpea leafminer Liriomyza cicerina (Rondani) (Diptera: Agromizidae) is one of the major damaging pests affecting both spring and winter-planted chickpea. Damage is caused by the larvae which feed in the leaf mesophyll tissue, resulting in desiccation and premature leaf fall that can cause severe yield losses. In the present work, the distribution and the seasonal phenology of L. cicerina were studied on two chickpea varieties; a winter variety Beja 1 which is the most cultivated variety in Tunisia and a spring-sown variety Amdoun 1. The experiment was conducted during the cropping season 2015-2016. In the experimental research station Oued Beja, in the Beja region (36°44’N; 9°13’E). To determine the distribution and seasonal phenology of L. cicerina in both studied varieties Beja 1 and Amdoun 1, respectively 100 leave samples (50 from the top and 50 from the base) were collected from 10 chickpea plants randomly chosen from each field. The sampling was done during three development stages (i) 20-25 days before flowering (BFL), (ii) at flowering (FL) and (ii) at pod setting stage (PS). For each plant, leaves were checked from the base till the upper ones for the insect infestation progress into the plant in correlation with chickpea growth Stages. Fly adult populations were monitored using 8 yellow sticky traps together with weekly leaves sampling in each field. The traps were placed 70 cm above ground. Trap catches were collected once a week over the cropping season period. Results showed that L. cicerina distribution varied among both studied chickpea varieties and crop development stage all with seasonal phenology. For the winter chickpea variety Beja 1, infestation levels of 2%, 10.3% and 20.3% were recorded on the bases plant part for BFL, FL and PS stages respectively against 0%, 8.1% and 45.8% recorded for the upper plant part leaves for the same stages respectively. For the spring-sown variety Amdoun 1 the infestation level reached 71.5% during flowering stage. Population dynamic study revealed that for Beja 1 variety, L. cicerina accomplished three annual generations over the cropping season period with the third one being the most important with a capture level of 85 adult/trap by mid-May against a capture level of 139 adult/trap at the end May recorded for cv. Amdoun 1. Also, results showed that L. cicerina field infestation dispersal depends on the field part and on the crop growth stage. The border areas plants were more infested than the plants placed inside the plots. For cv. Beja 1, border areas infestations were 11%, 28% and 91.2% for BFL, FL and PS stages respectively, against 2%, 10.73% and 69.2% recorded on the on the inside plot plants during the for the same growth stages respectively. For the cv. Amdoun1 infestation level of 90% was observed on the border plants at FL and PS stages against an infestation level less than 65% recorded inside the plot.Keywords: leaf miner, liriomyza cicerina, chickpea, distribution, seasonal phenology, Tunisia
Procedia PDF Downloads 277114 Municipal Solid Waste Management in an Unplanned Hill Station in India
Authors: Moanaro Ao, Nzanthung Ngullie
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Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has unique challenges in hilly urban settlements. Efforts have been taken by municipalities, private players, non-governmental organizations, etc. for managing solid waste by preventing its generation, reusing, and recovering them into useful products to the extent possible, thereby minimizing its impact on the environment and human health. However, there are many constraints that lead to inadequate management of solid waste. Kohima is an unplanned hill station city in the North Eastern Region of India. The city is facing numerous issues due to the mismanagement of the MSW generated. Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) is the Urban Local Body (ULB) responsible for providing municipal services. The present MSWM system in Kohima comprises of collection, transportation, and disposal of waste without any treatment. Several efforts and experimental projects on waste management have been implemented without any success. Waste management in Kohima city is challenging due to its remote location, difficult topography, dispersed settlements within the city, sensitive ecosystem, etc. Furthermore, the narrow road network in Kohima with limited scope for expansion, inadequate infrastructure facilities, and financial constraints of the ULB add up to the problems faced in managing solid waste. This hill station also has a unique system of traditional local self-governance. Thus, shifting from a traditional system to a modern system in implementing systematic and scientific waste management is also a challenge in itself. This study aims to analyse the existing situation of waste generation, evaluate the effectiveness of the existing management system of MSW, and evolve a strategic approach to achieve a sustainable and resilient MSWM system. The results from the study show that a holistic approach, including social aspects, technical aspects, environmental aspects, and financial aspects, is needed to reform the MSWM system. Stringent adherence to source segregation is required by encouraging public participation through awareness programs. Active involvement of community-based organizations (CBOs) has brought a positive change in sensitizing the public. A waste management model was designed to be adopted at a micro-level such as composting household biodegradable waste and incinerator plants at the community level for non-biodegradable waste. Suitable locations for small waste stations were identified using geographical information system (GIS) tools for waste recovery and recycling. Inculcating the sense of responsibility in every waste generator towards waste management by implementing incentive-based strategies at the Ward level was explored. Initiatives based on the ‘polluters pay principle’ were also explored to make the solid waste management model “self-sustaining”.Keywords: municipal solid waste management, public participation, source segregation, sustainable
Procedia PDF Downloads 64113 The Latest Salt Caravans: The Chinese Presence between Danakil and Tigray: Interdisciplinary Study to Integrate Chinese and African Relations in Ethiopia: Analyzing Road Evolution and Ethnographic Contexts
Authors: Erika Mattio
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The aim of this project is to study the Chinese presence in Ethiopia, in the area between the Saba River and the Coptic areas of the Tigray, with detailed documentation of the Danakil region, from which the salt pickers caravans departed; the study was created to understand the relationships and consequences of the Chinese advance in these areas, inhabited by tribes linked to ancient, still practiced religious rituals, and home to unique landscapes and archaeological sites. Official estimates of the number of Chinese in Africa vary widely; on the continent, there are increasingly diverse groups of Chinese migrants in terms of language, dialect, class, education, and employment. Based on this and on a very general state of the art, it was decided to increase the studies on this phenomenon, focusing the attention on one of the most interesting countries for its diversity, cultural wealth, and for strong Chinese presence: Ethiopia. The study will be integrated with interdisciplinary investigation methods, such as landscape archeology, historiographic research, participatory anthropology, geopolitics, and cultural anthropology and ethnology. There are two main objectives of the research. The first is to predict what will happen to these populations and how the territory will be modified, trying to monitor the growth of infrastructure in the country and the effects it will have on the population. Risk analyzes will be carried out to understand what the foreign presence may entail, such as the absence of sustenance for local populations, the ghettoization of foreigners, unemployment of natives and the exodus of the population to the capital; the relationships between families and the local population will be analyzed, trying to understand the dynamics of socialization and interaction. Thanks to the use of GIS, the areas affected by the Chinese presence will be geo-referenced and mapped, delimiting the areas most affected and creating a risk analysis, both in desert areas and in archaeologically and historically relevant areas. The second point is to document the life and rituals of Ethiopian populations in order not to lose the aspects of uniqueness that risk being lost. Local interviews will collect impressions and criticisms from the local population to understand if the Chinese presence is perceived as a threat or as a solution. Furthermore, Afar leaders in the Logya area will be interviewed, in truly exclusive research, to understand their links with the foreign presence. From the north, along the Saba river, we will move to the northwest, in the Tigray region, to know the impressions in the Coptic area, currently less threatened by the Chinese presence but still affected by urbanization proposals. There will also be documented the Coptic rituals of Gennà and Timkat, unique expressions of a millennial tradition. This will allow the understanding of whether the Maoist presence could influence the religious rites and forms of belief present in the country, or the country will maintain its cultural independence.Keywords: Ethiopia, GIS, risk perceptions, salt caravans
Procedia PDF Downloads 177112 From Scalpel to Leadership: The Landscape for Female Neurosurgeons in the UK
Authors: Anda-veronica Gherman, Dimitrios Varthalitis
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Neurosurgery, like many surgical specialties, undoubtedly exhibits a significant gender gap, particularly in leadership positions. While increasing women representation in neurosurgery is important, it is crucial to increase their presence in leadership positions. Across the globe and Europe there are concerning trends of only 4% of all neurosurgical departments being chaired by women. This study aims to explore the situation regarding gender disparities in leadership in the United Kingdom and to identify possible contributing factors as well as discussing future strategies to bridge this gap. Methods: A literature review was conducted utilising PubMed as main database with search keywords including ‘female neurosurgeon’, ‘women neurosurgeon’, ‘gender disparity’, ‘leadership’ and ‘UK’. Additionally, a manual search of all neurosurgical departments in the UK was performed to identify the current female department leads and training director leads. Results: The literature search identified a paucity of literature addressing specifically leadership in female neurosurgeons within the UK, with very few published papers specifically on this topic. Despite more than half of medical students in the UK being female, only a small proportion pursue a surgical career, with neurosurgery being one of the least represented specialties. Only 27% of trainee neurosurgeons are female, and numbers are even lower at a consultant level, where women represent just 8%.Findings from published studies indicated that only 6.6% of leadership positions in neurosurgery are occupied by women in the UK. Furthermore, our manual searches across UK neurosurgical departments revealed that around 5% of department lead positions are currently held by women. While this figure is slightly higher than the European average of 4%, it remains lower compared to figures of 10% in other North-West European countries. The situation is slightly more positive looking at the training directors, with 15% being female. Discussion: The findings of this study highlight a significant gender disparity in leadership positions within neurosurgery in the UK, which may have important implications, perpetuating the lack of diversity on the decision-making process, limiting the career advancement opportunities of women and depriving the neurosurgical field from the voices, opinions and talents of women. With women representing half of the population, there is an undeniable need for more female leaders at the policy-making level. There are many barriers that can contribute to these numbers, including bias, stereotypes, lack of mentorship and work-like balance. A few solutions to overcome these barriers can be training programs addressing bias and impostor syndrome, leadership workshops tailored for female needs, better workplace policies, increased in formal mentorship and increasing the visibility of women in neurosurgery leadership positions through media, speaking opportunities, conferences, awards etc. And lastly, more research efforts should focus on the leadership and mentorship of women in neurosurgery, with an increased number of published papers discussing these issues.Keywords: female neurosurgeons, female leadership, female mentorship, gender disparities
Procedia PDF Downloads 25111 Spatial Analysis and Determinants of Number of Antenatal Health Care Visit Among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: Application of Spatial Multilevel Count Regression Models
Authors: Muluwerk Ayele Derebe
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Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is an essential element in the continuum of reproductive health care for preventing preventable pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the spatial pattern and predictors of ANC visits in Ethiopia. Method: This study was done using Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data of 2016 among 7,174 pregnant women aged 15-49 years which was a nationwide community-based cross-sectional survey. Spatial analysis was done using Getis-Ord Gi* statistics to identify hot and cold spot areas of ANC visits. Multilevel glmmTMB packages adjusted for spatial effects were used in R software. Spatial multilevel count regression was conducted to identify predictors of antenatal care visits for pregnant women, and proportional change in variance was done to uncover the effect of individual and community-level factors of ANC visits. Results: The distribution of ANC visits was spatially clustered Moran’s I = 0.271, p<.0.001, ICC = 0.497, p<0.001). The highest spatial outlier areas of ANC visit was found in Amhara (South Wollo, Weast Gojjam, North Shewa), Oromo (west Arsi and East Harariga), Tigray (Central Tigray) and Benishangul-Gumuz (Asosa and Metekel) regions. The data was found with excess zeros (34.6%) and over-dispersed. The expected ANC visit of pregnant women with pregnancy complications was higher at 0.7868 [ARR= 2.1964, 95% CI: 1.8605, 2.5928, p-value <0.0001] compared to pregnant women who had no pregnancy complications. The expected ANC visit of a pregnant woman who lived in a rural area was 1.2254 times higher [ARR=3.4057, 95% CI: 2.1462, 5.4041, p-value <0.0001] as compared to a pregnant woman who lived in an urban. The study found dissimilar clusters with a low number of zero counts for a mean number of ANC visits surrounded by clusters with a higher number of counts of an average number of ANC visits when other variables held constant. Conclusion: This study found that the number of ANC visits in Ethiopia had a spatial pattern associated with socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic risk factors. Spatial clustering of ANC visits exists in all regions of Ethiopia. The predictor age of the mother, religion, mother’s education, husband’s education, mother's occupation, husband's occupation, signs of pregnancy complication, wealth index and marital status had a strong association with the number of ANC visits by each individual. At the community level, place of residence, region, age of the mother, sex of the household head, signs of pregnancy complications and distance to health facility factors had a strong association with the number of ANC visits.Keywords: Ethiopia, ANC, spatial, multilevel, zero inflated Poisson
Procedia PDF Downloads 68110 Ambient Factors in the Perception of Crowding in Public Transport
Authors: John Zacharias, Bin Wang
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Travel comfort is increasingly seen as crucial to effecting the switch from private motorized modes to public transit. Surveys suggest that travel comfort is closely related to perceived crowding, that may involve lack of available seating, difficulty entering and exiting, jostling and other physical contacts with strangers. As found in studies on environmental stress, other factors may moderate perceptions of crowding–in this case, we hypothesize that the ambient environment may play a significant role. Travel comfort was measured by applying a structured survey to randomly selected passengers (n=369) on 3 lines of the Beijing metro on workdays. Respondents were standing with all seats occupied and with car occupancy at 14 levels. A second research assistant filmed the metro car while passengers were interviewed, to obtain the total number of passengers. Metro lines 4, 6 and 10 were selected that travel through the central city north-south, east-west and circumferentially. Respondents evaluated the following factors: crowding, noise, smell, air quality, temperature, illumination, vibration and perceived safety as they experienced them at the time of interview, and then were asked to rank these 8 factors according to their importance for their travel comfort. Evaluations were semantic differentials on a 7-point scale from highly unsatisfactory (-3) to highly satisfactory (+3). The control variables included age, sex, annual income and trip purpose. Crowding was assessed most negatively, with 41% of the scores between -3 and -2. Noise and air quality were also assessed negatively, with two-thirds of the evaluations below 0. Illumination was assessed most positively, followed by crime, vibration and temperature, all scoring at indifference (0) or slightly positive. Perception of crowding was linearly and positively related to the number of passengers in the car. Linear regression tested the impact of ambient environmental factors on perception of crowding. Noise intensity accounted for more than the actual number of individuals in the car in the perception of crowding, with smell also contributing. Other variables do not interact with the crowding variable although the evaluations are distinct. In all, only one-third of the perception of crowding (R2=.154) is explained by the number of people, with the other ambient environmental variables accounting for two-thirds of the variance (R2=.316). However, when ranking the factors by their importance to travel comfort, perceived crowding made up 69% of the first rank, followed by noise at 11%. At rank 2, smell dominates (25%), followed by noise and air quality (17%). Commuting to work induces significantly lower evaluations of travel comfort with shopping the most positive. Clearly, travel comfort is particularly important to commuters. Moreover, their perception of crowding while travelling on metro is highly conditioned by the ambient environment in the metro car. Focussing attention on the ambient environmental conditions of the metro is an effective way to address the primary concerns of travellers with overcrowding. In general, the strongly held opinions on travel comfort require more attention in the effort to induce ridership in public transit.Keywords: ambient environment, mass rail transit, public transit, travel comfort
Procedia PDF Downloads 259109 Stability Assessment of Underground Power House Encountering Shear Zone: Sunni Dam Hydroelectric Project (382 MW), India
Authors: Sanjeev Gupta, Ankit Prabhakar, K. Rajkumar Singh
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Sunni Dam Hydroelectric Project (382 MW) is a run of river type development with an underground powerhouse, proposed to harness the hydel potential of river Satluj in Himachal Pradesh, India. The project is located in the inner lesser Himalaya between Dhauladhar Range in the south and the higher Himalaya in the north. The project comprises two large underground caverns, a Powerhouse cavern (171m long, 22.5m wide and 51.2m high) and another transformer hall cavern (175m long, 18.7m wide and 27m high) and the rock pillar between the two caverns is 50m. The highly jointed, fractured, anisotropic rock mass is a key challenge in Himalayan geology for an underground structure. The concern for the stability of rock mass increases when weak/shear zones are encountered in the underground structure. In the Sunni Dam project, 1.7m to 2m thick weak/shear zone comprising of deformed, weak material with gauge has been encountered in powerhouse cavern at 70m having dip direction 325 degree and dip amount 38 degree which also intersects transformer hall at initial reach. The rock encountered in the powerhouse area is moderate to highly jointed, pink quartz arenite belonging to the Khaira Formation, a transition zone comprising of alternate grey, pink & white quartz arenite and shale sequence and dolomite at higher reaches. The rock mass is intersected by mainly 3 joint sets excluding bedding joints and a few random joints. The rock class in powerhouse mainly varies from poor class (class IV) to lower order fair class (class III) and in some reaches, very poor rock mass has also been encountered. To study the stability of the underground structure in weak/shear rock mass, a 3D numerical model analysis has been carried out using RS3 software. Field studies have been interpreted and analysed to derive Bieniawski’s RMR, Barton’s “Q” class and Geological Strength Index (GSI). The various material parameters, in-situ characteristics have been determined based on tests conducted by Central Soil and Materials Research Station, New Delhi. The behaviour of the cavern has been studied by assessing the displacement contours, major and minor principal stresses and plastic zones for different stage excavation sequences. For optimisation of the support system, the stability of the powerhouse cavern with different powerhouse orientations has also been studied. The numerical modeling results indicate that cavern will not likely face stress governed by structural instability with the support system to be applied to the crown and side walls.Keywords: 3D analysis, Himalayan geology, shear zone, underground power house
Procedia PDF Downloads 80108 Using the Theory of Reasoned Action and Parental Mediation Theory to Examine Cyberbullying Perpetration among Children and Adolescents
Authors: Shirley S. Ho
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The advancement and development of social media have inadvertently brought about a new form of bullying – cyberbullying – that transcends across physical boundaries of space. Although extensive research has been conducted in the field of cyberbullying, most of these studies have taken an overwhelmingly empirical angle. Theories guiding cyberbullying research are few. Furthermore, very few studies have explored the association between parental mediation and cyberbullying, with majority of existing studies focusing on cyberbullying victimization rather than perpetration. Therefore, this present study investigates cyberbullying perpetration from a theoretical angle, with a focus on the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Parental Mediation Theory. More specifically, this study examines the direct effects of attitude, subjective norms, descriptive norms, injunctive norms and active mediation and restrictive mediation on cyberbullying perpetration on social media among children and adolescents in Singapore. Furthermore, the moderating role of age on the relationship between parental mediation and cyberbullying perpetration on social media are examined. A self-administered paper-and-pencil nationally-representative survey was conducted. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was used to ensure that schools from all the four (North, South, East, and West) regions of Singapore were equally represented in the sample used for the survey. In all 607 upper primary school children (i.e., Primary 4 to 6 students) and 782 secondary school adolescents participated in our survey. The total average response rates were 69.6% for student participation. An ordinary least squares hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses and research questions. The results revealed that attitude and subjective norms were positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration on social media. Descriptive norms and injunctive norms were not found to be significantly associated with cyberbullying perpetration. The results also showed that both parental mediation strategies were negatively associated with cyberbullying perpetration on social media. Age was a significant moderator of both parental mediation strategies and cyberbullying perpetration. The negative relationship between active mediation and cyberbullying perpetration was found to be greater in the case of children than adolescents. Children who received high restrictive parental mediation were less likely to perform cyberbullying behaviors, while adolescents who received high restrictive parental mediation were more likely to be engaged in cyberbullying perpetration. The study reveals that parents should apply active mediation and restrictive mediation in different ways for children and adolescents when trying to prevent cyberbullying perpetration. The effectiveness of active parental mediation for reducing cyberbullying perpetration was more in the case of children than for adolescents. Younger children were found to be more likely to respond more positively toward restrictive parental mediation strategies, but in the case of adolescents, overly restrictive control was found to increase cyberbullying perpetration. Adolescents exhibited less cyberbullying behaviors when under low restrictive strategies. Findings highlight that the Theory of Reasoned Action and Parental Mediation Theory are promising frameworks to apply in the examination of cyberbullying perpetration. The findings that different parental mediation strategies had differing effectiveness, based on the children’s age, bring about several practical implications that may benefit educators and parents when addressing their children’s online risk.Keywords: cyberbullying perpetration, theory of reasoned action, parental mediation, social media, Singapore
Procedia PDF Downloads 247107 Urban Seismic Risk Reduction in Algeria: Adaptation and Application of the RADIUS Methodology
Authors: Mehdi Boukri, Mohammed Naboussi Farsi, Mounir Naili, Omar Amellal, Mohamed Belazougui, Ahmed Mebarki, Nabila Guessoum, Brahim Mezazigh, Mounir Ait-Belkacem, Nacim Yousfi, Mohamed Bouaoud, Ikram Boukal, Aboubakr Fettar, Asma Souki
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The seismic risk to which the urban centres are more and more exposed became a world concern. A co-operation on an international scale is necessary for an exchange of information and experiments for the prevention and the installation of action plans in the countries prone to this phenomenon. For that, the 1990s was designated as 'International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)' by the United Nations, whose interest was to promote the capacity to resist the various natural, industrial and environmental disasters. Within this framework, it was launched in 1996, the RADIUS project (Risk Assessment Tools for Diagnosis of Urban Areas Against Seismic Disaster), whose the main objective is to mitigate seismic risk in developing countries, through the development of a simple and fast methodological and operational approach, allowing to evaluate the vulnerability as well as the socio-economic losses, by probable earthquake scenarios in the exposed urban areas. In this paper, we will present the adaptation and application of this methodology to the Algerian context for the seismic risk evaluation in urban areas potentially exposed to earthquakes. This application consists to perform an earthquake scenario in the urban centre of Constantine city, located at the North-East of Algeria, which will allow the building seismic damage estimation of this city. For that, an inventory of 30706 building units was carried out by the National Earthquake Engineering Research Centre (CGS). These buildings were digitized in a data base which comprises their technical information by using a Geographical Information system (GIS), and then they were classified according to the RADIUS methodology. The study area was subdivided into 228 meshes of 500m on side and Ten (10) sectors of which each one contains a group of meshes. The results of this earthquake scenario highlights that the ratio of likely damage is about 23%. This severe damage results from the high concentration of old buildings and unfavourable soil conditions. This simulation of the probable seismic damage of the building and the GIS damage maps generated provide a predictive evaluation of the damage which can occur by a potential earthquake near to Constantine city. These theoretical forecasts are important for decision makers in order to take the adequate preventive measures and to develop suitable strategies, prevention and emergency management plans to reduce these losses. They can also help to take the adequate emergency measures in the most impacted areas in the early hours and days after an earthquake occurrence.Keywords: seismic risk, mitigation, RADIUS, urban areas, Algeria, earthquake scenario, Constantine
Procedia PDF Downloads 254106 Climate Change Impact on Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) Population Infesting Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentus) in Sub-Himalayan India and Their Sustainable Management Using Biopesticides
Authors: Sunil Kumar Ghosh
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Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentus L.) is an annual vegetable crop grown in the sub-Himalayan region of north east India throughout the year except rainy season in normal field cultivation. The crop is susceptible to various insect pests of which whitefly (Bemesia tabaci Genn.) causes heavy damage. Thus, a study on its occurrence and sustainable management is needed for successful cultivation. The pest was active throughout the growing period. During 38th standard week to 41st standard week that is during 3rd week of September to 2nd week of October minimum population was observed. The maximum population level was maintained during 11th standard week to 18th standard week that is during 2nd week of March to 3rd week of March with peak population (0.47/leaf) was recorded. Weekly population counts on white fly showed non-significant negative correlation (p=0.05) with temperature and weekly total rainfall where as significant negative correlation with relative humidity. Eight treatments were taken to study the management of the white fly pest such as botanical insecticide azadirachtin botanical extracts, Spilanthes paniculata flower, Polygonum hydropiper L. flower, tobacco leaf and garlic and mixed formulation like neem and floral extract of Spilanthes were evaluated and compared with the ability of acetamiprid. The insectide acetamiprid was found most lethal against whitefly providing 76.59% suppression, closely followed by extracts of neem + Spilanthes providing 62.39% suppression. Spectophotometric scanning of crude methanolic extract of Polygonum flower showed strong absorbance wave length between 645-675 nm. Considering the level of peaks of wave length the flower extract contain some important chemicals like Spirilloxanthin, Quercentin diglycoside, Quercentin 3-O-rutinoside, Procyanidin B1 and Isorhamnetin 3-O-rutinoside. These chemicals are responsible for pest control. Spectophotometric scanning of crude methanolic extract of Spilanthes flower showed strong absorbance wave length between 645-675 nm. Considering the level of peaks of wave length the flower extract contain some important chemicals of which polysulphide compounds are important and responsible of pest control. Neem and Spilanthes individually did not produce good results but when used as a mixture they recorded better results. Highest yield (30.15 t/ha) were recorded from acetamiprid treated plots followed by neem + Spilanthes (27.55 t/ha). Azadirachtin and Plant extracts are biopesticides having less or no hazardous effects on human health and environment. Thus they can be incorporated in IPM programmes and organic farming in vegetable cultivation.Keywords: biopesticides, organic farming, seasonal fluctuation, vegetable IPM
Procedia PDF Downloads 305105 Biogas Production Using Water Hyacinth as a Means of Waste Management Control at Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa
Authors: Trevor Malambo Simbayi, Diane Hildebrandt, Tonderayi Matambo
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The rapid growth of population in recent decades has resulted in an increased need for energy to meet human activities. As energy demands increase, the need for other sources of energy other than fossil fuels, increases in turn. Furthermore, environmental concerns such as global warming due to the use of fossil fuels, depleting fossil fuel reserves and the rising cost of oil have contributed to an increased interest in renewables sources of energy. Biogas is a renewable source of energy produced through the process of anaerobic digestion (AD) and it offers a two-fold solution; it provides an environmentally friendly source of energy and its production helps to reduce the amount of organic waste taken to landfills. This research seeks to address the waste management problem caused by an aquatic weed called water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) at the Hartbeespoort (Harties) Dam in the North West Province of South Africa, through biogas production of the weed. Water hyacinth is a category 1 invasive species and it is deemed to be the most problematic aquatic weed. This weed is said to double its size in the space of five days. Eutrophication in the Hartbeespoort Dam has manifested itself through the excessive algae bloom and water hyacinth infestation. A large amount of biomass from water hyacinth and algae are generated per annum from the two hundred hectare surface area of the dam exposed to the sun. This biomass creates a waste management problem. Water hyacinth when in full bloom can cover nearly half of the surface of Hartbeespoort Dam. The presence of water hyacinth in the dam has caused economic and environmental problems. Economic activities such as fishing, boating, and recreation, are hampered by the water hyacinth’s prolific growth. This research proposes the use of water hyacinth as a feedstock or substrate for biogas production in order to find an economic and environmentally friendly means of waste management for the communities living around the Hartbeespoort Dam. In order to achieve this objective, water hyacinth will be collected from the dam and it will be mechanically pretreated before anaerobic digestion. Pretreatment is required for lignocellulosic materials like water hyacinth because such materials are called recalcitrant solid materials. Cow manure will be employed as a source of microorganisms needed for biogas production to occur. Once the water hyacinth and the cow dung are mixed, they will be placed in laboratory anaerobic reactors. Biogas production will be monitored daily through the downward displacement of water. Characterization of the substrates (cow manure and water hyacinth) to determine the nitrogen, sulfur, carbon and hydrogen, total solids (TS) and volatile solids (VS). Liquid samples from the anaerobic digesters will be collected and analyzed for volatile fatty acids (VFAs) composition by means of a liquid gas chromatography machine.Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biogas, waste management, water hyacinth
Procedia PDF Downloads 186104 Food Sovereignty as Local Resistance to Unequal Access to Food and Natural Resources in Latin America: A Gender Perspective
Authors: Ana Alvarenga De Castro
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Food sovereignty has been brought by the international peasants’ movement, La Via Campesina, as a precondition to food security, speaking about the right of each nation to keep its own supply of foods respecting cultural, sustainable practices and productive diversity. The political conceptualization nowadays goes beyond saying that this term is about achieving the rights of farmers to control the food systems according to local specificities, and about equality in the access to natural resources and quality food. The current feminization of agroecosystems and of food insecurity identified by researchers and recognized by international agencies like the UN and FAO has enhanced the feminist discourse into the food sovereignty movement, considering the historical inequalities that place women farmers in subaltern positions inside the families and rural communities. The current tendency in many rural areas of more women taking responsibility for food production and still facing the lack of access to natural resources meets particular aspects in Latin America due to the global economic logic which places the Global South in the position of raw material supplier for the industrialized North, combined with regional characteristics. In this context, Latin American countries play the role of commodities exporters in the international labor division, including among exported items grains, soybean paste, and ores, to the expense of local food chains which provide domestic quality food supply under more sustainable practices. The connections between gender inequalities and global territorial inequalities related to the access and control of food and natural resources are pointed out by feminist political ecology - FPE - authors, and are linked in this article to the potentialities and limitations of women farmers to reproduce diversified agroecosystems in the tropical environments. The work brings the importance of local practices held by women farmers which are crucial to maintaining sustainable agricultural systems and their results on seeds, soil, biodiversity and water conservation. This work presents an analysis of documents, releases, videos and other publicized experiences launched by some peasants’ organizations in Latin America which evidence the different technical and political answers that meet food sovereignty from peasants’ groups that are attributed to women farmers. They are associated with articles presenting the empirical analysis of women farmers' practices in Latin America. The combination drove to discuss the benefits of peasants' conceptions about food systems and their connections with local realities and the gender issues linked to the food sovereignty conceptualization. Conclusion meets that reality on the field cannot reach food sovereignty's ideal homogeneously and that agricultural sustainable practices are dependent on rights' achievement and social inequalities' eradication.Keywords: food sovereignty, gender, diversified agricultural systems, access to natural resources
Procedia PDF Downloads 242103 Monitoring Future Climate Changes Pattern over Major Cities in Ghana Using Coupled Modeled Intercomparison Project Phase 5, Support Vector Machine, and Random Forest Modeling
Authors: Stephen Dankwa, Zheng Wenfeng, Xiaolu Li
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Climate change is recently gaining the attention of many countries across the world. Climate change, which is also known as global warming, referring to the increasing in average surface temperature has been a concern to the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana. Recently, Ghana has become vulnerable to the effect of the climate change as a result of the dependence of the majority of the population on agriculture. The clearing down of trees to grow crops and burning of charcoal in the country has been a contributing factor to the rise in temperature nowadays in the country as a result of releasing of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases into the air. Recently, petroleum stations across the cities have been on fire due to this climate changes and which have position Ghana in a way not able to withstand this climate event. As a result, the significant of this research paper is to project how the rise in the average surface temperature will be like at the end of the mid-21st century when agriculture and deforestation are allowed to continue for some time in the country. This study uses the Coupled Modeled Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) experiment RCP 8.5 model output data to monitor the future climate changes from 2041-2050, at the end of the mid-21st century over the ten (10) major cities (Accra, Bolgatanga, Cape Coast, Koforidua, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Sunyani, Ho, Tamale, Wa) in Ghana. In the models, Support Vector Machine and Random forest, where the cities as a function of heat wave metrics (minimum temperature, maximum temperature, mean temperature, heat wave duration and number of heat waves) assisted to provide more than 50% accuracy to predict and monitor the pattern of the surface air temperature. The findings identified were that the near-surface air temperature will rise between 1°C-2°C (degrees Celsius) over the coastal cities (Accra, Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi). The temperature over Kumasi, Ho and Sunyani by the end of 2050 will rise by 1°C. In Koforidua, it will rise between 1°C-2°C. The temperature will rise in Bolgatanga, Tamale and Wa by 0.5°C by 2050. This indicates how the coastal and the southern part of the country are becoming hotter compared with the north, even though the northern part is the hottest. During heat waves from 2041-2050, Bolgatanga, Tamale, and Wa will experience the highest mean daily air temperature between 34°C-36°C. Kumasi, Koforidua, and Sunyani will experience about 34°C. The coastal cities (Accra, Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi) will experience below 32°C. Even though, the coastal cities will experience the lowest mean temperature, they will have the highest number of heat waves about 62. Majority of the heat waves will last between 2 to 10 days with the maximum 30 days. The surface temperature will continue to rise by the end of the mid-21st century (2041-2050) over the major cities in Ghana and so needs to be addressed to the Environmental Protection Agency in Ghana in order to mitigate this problem.Keywords: climate changes, CMIP5, Ghana, heat waves, random forest, SVM
Procedia PDF Downloads 196102 Collaborative Program Student Community Service as a New Approach for Development in Rural Area in Case of Western Java
Authors: Brian Yulianto, Syachrial, Saeful Aziz, Anggita Clara Shinta
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Indonesia, with a population of about two hundred and fifty million people in quantity, indicates the outstanding wealth of human resources. Hundreds of millions of the population scattered in various communities in various regions in Indonesia with the different characteristics of economic, social and unique culture. Broadly speaking, the community in Indonesia is divided into two classes, namely urban communities and rural communities. The rural communities characterized by low potential and management of natural and human resources, limited access of development, and lack of social and economic infrastructure, and scattered and isolated population. West Java is one of the provinces with the largest population in Indonesia. Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2015 the number of population in West Java reached 46.7096 million souls spread over 18 districts and 9 cities. The big difference in geographical and social conditions of people in West Java from one region to another, especially the south to the north causing the gap is high. It is closely related to the flow of investment to promote the area. Poverty and underdevelopment are the classic problems that occur on a massive scale in the region as the effects of inequity in development. South Cianjur and Tasikmalaya area South became one of the portraits area where the existing potential has not been capable of prospering society. Tri Dharma College not only define the College as a pioneer implementation of education and research to improve the quality of human resources but also demanded to be a pioneer in the development through the concept of public service. Bandung Institute of Technology as one of the institutions of higher education to implement community service system through collaborative community work program "one of the university community" as one approach to developing villages. The program is based Community Service, where students are not only required to be able to take part in community service, but also able to develop a community development strategy that is comprehensive and integrity in cooperation with government agencies and non-government related as a real form of effort alignment potential, position and role from various parties. Areas of western Java in particular have high poverty rates and disparity. On the other hand, there are three fundamental pillars in the development of rural communities, namely economic development, community development, and the integrated infrastructure development. These pillars require the commitment of all components of community, including the students and colleges for upholding success. College’s community program is one of the approaches in the development of rural communities. ITB is committed to implement as one form of student community service as community-college programs that integrate all elements of the community which is called Kuliah Kerja Nyata-Thematic.Keywords: development in rural area, collaborative, student community service, Kuliah Kerja Nyata-Thematic ITB
Procedia PDF Downloads 217101 Nuancing the Indentured Migration in Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies
Authors: Murari Prasad
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This paper is motivated by the implications of indentured migration depicted in Amitav Ghosh’s critically acclaimed novel, Sea of Poppies (2008). Ghosh’s perspective on the experiences of North Indian indentured labourers moving from their homeland to a distant and unknown location across the seas suggests a radical attitudinal change among the migrants on board the Ibis, a schooner chartered to carry the recruits from Calcutta to Mauritius in the late 1830s. The novel unfolds the life-altering trauma of the bonded servants, including their efforts to maintain a sense of self while negotiating significant social and cultural transformations during the voyage which leads to the breakdown of familiar life-worlds. Equally, the migrants are introduced to an alternative network of relationships to ensure their survival away from land. They relinquish their entrenched beliefs and prejudices and commit themselves to a new brotherhood formed by ‘ship siblings.’ With the official abolition of direct slavery in 1833, the supply of cheap labour to the sugar plantation in British colonies as far-flung as Mauritius and Fiji to East Africa and the Caribbean sharply declined. Around the same time, China’s attempt to prohibit the illegal importation of opium from British India into China threatened the lucrative opium trade. To run the ever-profitable plantation colonies with cheap labour, Indian peasants, wrenched from their village economies, were indentured to plantations as girmitiyas (vernacularized from ‘agreement’) by the colonial government using the ploy of an optional form of recruitment. After the British conquest of the Isle of France in 1810, Mauritius became Britain’s premier sugar colony bringing waves of Indian immigrants to the island. In the articulations of their subjectivities one notices how the recruits cope with the alienating drudgery of indenture, mitigate the hardships of the voyage and forge new ties with pragmatic acts of cultural syncretism in a forward-looking autonomous community of ‘ship-siblings’ following the fracture of traditional identities. This paper tests the hypothesis that Ghosh envisions a kind of futuristic/utopian political collectivity in a hierarchically rigid, racially segregated and identity-obsessed world. In order to ground the claim and frame the complex representations of alliance and love across the boundaries of caste, religion, gender and nation, the essential methodology here is a close textual analysis of the novel. This methodology will be geared to explicate the utopian futurity that the novel gestures towards by underlining new regulations of life during voyage and dissolution of multiple differences among the indentured migrants on board the Ibis.Keywords: indenture, colonial, opium, sugar plantation
Procedia PDF Downloads 391100 Socio-Economic Transformation of Barpak Post-Earthquake Reconstruction
Authors: Sudikshya Bhandari, Jonathan K. London
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The earthquake of April 2015 was one of the biggest disasters in the history of Nepal. The epicenter was located near Barpak, north of the Gorkha district. Before the disaster, this settlement was a compact and homogeneous settlement manifesting its uniqueness through the social and cultural activities, and a distinct vernacular architecture. Narrow alleys with stone paved streets, buildings with slate roofs, and common spaces between the houses made this settlement socially, culturally, and environmentally cohesive. With the presence of micro hydro power plants, local economic activities enabled the local community to exist and thrive. Agriculture and animal rearing are the sources of livelihood for the majority of families, along with the booming homestays (where local people welcome guests to their home, as a business) and local shops. Most of these activities are difficult to find as the houses have been destroyed with the earthquake and the process of reconstruction has been transforming the outlook of the settlement. This study characterized the drastic transformation in Barpak post-earthquake, and analyzed the consequences of the reconstruction process. In addition, it contributes to comprehending a broader representation about unsustainability created by the lack of contextual post-disaster development. Since the research is based in a specific area, a case study approach was used. Sample houses were selected on the basis of ethnicity and house typology. Mixed methods such as key informant and semi structured interviews, focus groups, observations and photographs are used for the collection of data. The research focus is predominantly on the physical change of the house typology from vernacular to externally adopted designs. This transformation of the house entails socio-cultural changes such as social fragmentation with differences among the rich and the poor and decreases in the social connectivity within families and neighborhood. Families have found that new houses require more maintenance and resources that have increased their economic expenses. The study also found that the reconstructed houses are not thermally comfortable in the cold climate of Barpak, leading to the increased use of different sources of heating like electric heaters and more firewood. Lack of storage spaces for crops and livestock have discouraged them to pursue traditional means of livelihood and depend more on buying food from stores, ultimately making it less economical for most of the families. The transformation of space leading to the economic, social and cultural changes demonstrates the unsustainability of Barpak. Conclusions from the study suggest place based and inclusive planning and policy formations that include locals as partners, identifying the possible ways to minimize the impact and implement these recommendations into the future policy and planning scenarios.Keywords: earthquake, Nepal, reconstruction, settlement, transformation
Procedia PDF Downloads 10799 Mapping and Measuring the Vulnerability Level of the Belawan District Community in Encountering the Rob Flood Disaster
Authors: Dessy Pinem, Rahmadian Sembiring, Adanil Bushra
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Medan Belawan is one of the subdistricts of 21 districts in Medan. Medan Belawan Sub-district is directly adjacent to the Malacca Strait in the North. Due to its direct border with the Malacca Strait, the problem in this sub-district, which has continued for many years, is a flood of rob. In 2015, rob floods inundated Sicanang urban village, Belawan I urban village, Belawan Bahagia urban village and Bagan Deli village. The extent of inundation in the flood of rob that occurred in September 2015 reached 540, 938 ha. Rob flood is a phenomenon where the sea water is overflowing into the mainland. Rob floods can also be interpreted as a puddle of water on the coastal land that occurs when the tidal waters. So this phenomenon will inundate parts of the coastal plain or lower place of high tide sea level. Rob flood is a daily disaster faced by the residents in the district of Medan Belawan. Rob floods can happen every month and last for a week. The flood is not only the residents' houses, the flood also soaked the main road to Belawan Port reaching 50 cm. To deal with the problems caused by the flood and to prepare coastal communities to face the character of coastal areas, it is necessary to know the vulnerability of the people who are always the victims of the rob flood. Are the people of Medan Belawan sub-district, especially in the flood-affected villages, able to cope with the consequences of the floods? To answer this question, it is necessary to assess the vulnerability of the Belawan District community in the face of the flood disaster. This research is descriptive, qualitative and quantitative. Data were collected by observation, interview and questionnaires in 4 urban villages often affected by rob flood. The vulnerabilities measured are physical, economic, social, environmental, organizational and motivational vulnerabilities. For vulnerability in the physical field, the data collected is the distance of the building, floor area ratio, drainage, and building materials. For economic vulnerability, data collected are income, employment, building ownership, and insurance ownership. For the vulnerability in the social field, the data collected is education, number of family members, children, the elderly, gender, training for disasters, and how to dispose of waste. For the vulnerability in the field of organizational data collected is the existence of organizations that advocate for the victims, their policies and laws governing the handling of tidal flooding. The motivational vulnerability is seen from the information center or question and answer about the rob flood, and the existence of an evacuation plan or path to avoid disaster or reduce the victim. The results of this study indicate that most people in Medan Belawan sub-district have a high-level vulnerability in physical, economic, social, environmental, organizational and motivational fields. They have no access to economic empowerment, no insurance, no motivation to solve problems and only hope to the government, not to have organizations that support and defend them, and have physical buildings that are easily destroyed by rob floods.Keywords: disaster, rob flood, Medan Belawan, vulnerability
Procedia PDF Downloads 12098 Using Passive Cooling Strategies to Reduce Thermal Cooling Load for Coastal High-Rise Buildings of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Ahmad Zamzam
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With the development of the economy in recent years, Saudi Arabia has been maintaining high economic growth. Therefore, its energy consumption has increased dramatically. This economic growth reflected on the expansion of high-rise tower's construction. Jeddah coastal strip (cornice) has many high-rise buildings planned to start next few years. These projects required a massive amount of electricity that was not planned to be supplied by the old infrastructure. This research studies the effect of the building envelope on its thermal performance. It follows a parametric simulation methodology using Ecotect software to analyze the effect of the building envelope design on its cooling energy load for an office high-rise building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which includes building geometrical form, massing treatments, orientation and glazing type effect. The research describes an integrated passive design approach to reduce the cooling requirement for high-rise building through an improved building envelope design. The research used Ecotect to make four simulation studies; the first simulation compares the thermal performance of five high-rise buildings, presenting the basic shape of the plan. All the buildings have the same plan area and same floor height. The goal of this simulation is to find out the best shape for the thermal performance. The second simulation studies the effect of orientation on the thermal performance by rotating the same building model to find out the best and the worst angle for the building thermal performance. The third simulation studies the effect of the massing treatment on the total cooling load. It compared five models with different massing treatment, but with the same total built up area. The last simulation studied the effect of the glazing type by comparing the total cooling load of the same building using five different glass type and also studies the feasibility of using these glass types by studying the glass cost effect. The results indicate that using the circle shape as building plan could reduce the thermal cooling load by 40%. Also, using shading devices could reduce the cooling loads by 5%. The study states that using any of the massing grooving, recess or any treatment that could increase the outer exposed surface is not preferred and will decrease the building thermal performance. Also, the result shows that the best direction for glazing and openings from thermal performance viewpoint in Jeddah is the North direction while the worst direction is the East one. The best direction angle for openings - regarding the thermal performance in Jeddah- is 15 deg West and the worst is 250 deg West (110 deg East). Regarding the glass type effect, comparing to the double glass with air fill type as a reference case, the double glass with Air-Low-E will save 14% from the required amount of the thermal cooling load annually. Argon fill and triple glass will save 16% and 17% from the total thermal cooling load respectively, but for the glass cost purpose, using the Argon fill and triple glass is not feasible.Keywords: passive cooling, reduce thermal load, Jeddah, building shape, energy
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