Search results for: mental Imagery

Authors: Vibha Kriti

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Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder generally found in reproductive women. It is associated with significant reproductive, metabolic, cosmetic, and psychological consequences. Objective: There is a high prevalence of PCOS found among reproductive-age women, therefore, the major objective of the present study is to identify the illness perception of PCOS women and to explore the relationship between illness perception and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a university tertiary-care center, Sir Sunder Lal Hospital, Banaras Hindu University (B.H.U). Tools used for data collection were self-structured, which included socio-demographic status, illness perception questionnaire (revised version), and short-form 36 for assessing illness perception and health-related quality of life, respectively. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version ‘24’. Results: The results of correlation analyses indicated that there is a strong relationship between strong illness perception and HRQoL. Stepwise regression indicated that illness identity, long illness duration, and severe consequences were associated with the worse outcome on emotional functioning and on social functioning. A high score on the controllability of the disease and seeking social support was significantly related to better functioning. Conclusion: Illness perception is an important factor in self-care behaviors in PCOS females and has a strong association with health-related quality of life and has a profound effect on it.

Keywords: polycystic ovary syndrome, illness perception, quality of life, young females, mental health

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Authors: Arpita Paul

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Wang Yang-ming introduced a revolutionary dimension to Japanese thought through his philosophy on intuitive moral consciousness. Post-Meiji Restoration,Emerson struck a chord with the Japanese due to the striking similarities his theories on transcendentalism had with doctrines of Wang Yang-ming'sschool of thought (Yōmeigaku), as pointed out by HomeiIwano (1873-1920). Wang's philosophy, chiefly anchored in the idea of the fundamental unity of thought and action, resembles the non-dualistic aspect of Brahman, a subject of Emerson's deep interest. Kitamura Tōkoku's (1868-1894) ardent reading of Emerson corroborated what he had learned in Wang Yang-ming's philosophy. This essay shall begin with a discussion on Emerson's discoveries of Vedanta that later, on a parallel ground with Yōmeigaku, significantly influenced Tōkoku. This essay will then demonstrate how Tōkokutransforms these philosophies to portray the advent of modern consciousness in Japan in his magnum opus"Naibuseimeiron." In his attempt to undo the blindfold of past feudalism,Tōkoku repeatedly championed the mental process of a self-reliant individual in his essays which showcase the metamorphosis of Japanese individualism in the final decades of the Meiji Period. In seeking to express Japan's budding intellectual enterprise,Tōkoku asserts securing one's vantage point in the world through an awakened consciousness. In his desire to articulate this, Tōkoku becomes, as argued in this paper's penultimate and final sections, a fascinating merging point of the philosophical doctrines of Vedanta, Yōmeigaku, and Emerson, a rare depiction in the existing scholarship.

Keywords: meiji intellengtsia, yomeigaku, vedanta, modern consciousness

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Authors: Begum Serim-Yildiz

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The aim of this study is to examine the role of parents' emotional and behavioral reactions on fears of children in the COVID-19 pandemic considering Rachman’s Three Pathways Theory. For this purpose, a phenomenological qualitative study was conducted. Thirteen participants living with their children were utilized through criterion and snowball sampling. In semi-structured interviews parents were asked about their own and their children’s beahavioral and emotional reactions in the COVID-19 pandemic, and they were expected to give detailed information about fears of their children before and in pandemic. Firstly, parents were asked about their behavioral and emotional reactions in the COVID-19 pandemic. As behavioral reactions, precautions taken by parents to protect the rest of the family from negative physical and emotional impact of the pandemic were mentioned, while emotional reactions were defined as acquisition of negative emotions like fear, anxiety, and worry. Secondly, parents were asked about their children’s behavioral and emotional reactions. Some of the parents talked about positive behavioral changes such as gaining self-control, while some others explained negative behavioral changes like increased time spent with technological tools. In the emotional changes section, all of the parents explained at least one negative emotion. All of the parents stated that their children had COVID-19 related fears. According to parents’ expressions, fears of children in pandemic were examined in two dimensions. Fears directly related to COVID-19 were fear of virus/microbes, illness or death of someone in family and death and fears. Fears indirectly related to COVID-19 were fear of going out, sleep alone at night, separation, touching stuff outside the home, and cold. Considering existing literature and based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that children’s modelling experiences have impact on acquisition of negative emotions, especially fear, therefore, preventive interventions involving caregivers should be provided by mental health professionals working with children.

Keywords: children’s fears, COVID-19 pandemic, modelling experiences, parents’ reactions

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Authors: Hari Krishna Ayyappa, Reenu Singh

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Rising population and restricted land for development has led towards the growth of vertical buildings and small complexes. It provides many possibilities to change the shape and size of internal space in addition to the social impacts on the commercial spaces. With the increased volatility of necessities of people, the need for mental and physical comfort has continuously increased. . Living in a small space musts minimalist and space- saving cabinetwork results to sustain mortal good. This paper attempts to explore the Influence of Using Minimalist Furniture on the Efficiency of the commercial Space interiors by means of the variable resulting from preceding studies based on literature. A literature review was conducted on research articles to understand the contributing variables in a well designed small commercial spaces. A questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the layout of small commercial spaces with respect to Environmental impact, material, Design elements, Modern approach, Layered lightings, and colours. The problem of small spaces can be resolved by some ways; it's still needed for cabinetwork to develop to be more innovative to accommodate small living spaces. Since cabinetwork is a necessity and not luxury, everybody is in need of it. The spatial factors affecting overall satisfaction at a detailed position were bandied. The variable helped in proposing design ideation and mock ups to explore improved interiors. This paper concludes that most of the principles of the minimalist approach have been overlooked at, which had an impact on the space efficiency in commercial spaces like storage rooms, office area, retail stores, restaurants, and other spaces where business is conducted.

Keywords: materials, modern approach, space efficiency, tall commercial buildings

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Authors: B. Bergström, A. Ladd, A. Jones, L. Rosso, P. Michael

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Attitudes toward treatment manuals serve as a meaningful predictor of general attitudes toward evidence-based practice. Despite demonstrating high effectiveness in treating many mental disorders, manualized treatments have been underutilized by practitioners. Thus, one can assess the state of the field regarding the adoption of evidence-based practices by surveying practitioner attitudes towards manualized treatments. This study is an adapted replication that assesses psychology graduate student attitudes towards manualized treatments, as a general marker for attitudes towards evidence-based practice. Training programs provide future clinicians with the foundation for critical skills in clinical practice. Research demonstrates that post-graduate continuing education has little to no effect on clinical practice; thus, graduate programs serve as the primary, and often final platform for all future practice. However, there are little empirical data identifying the attitudes and training of graduate students in utilizing manualized treatments. The empirical analysis of this study indicates an increase in positive attitudes among graduate student attitudes towards manualized treatments (within the United States), when compared to past surveys of professional psychologists. Findings from this study may inform graduate programs of barriers for students in developing positive attitudes toward manualized treatments and evidence-based practice. This study also serves as a preliminary predictor of the state-of-the field, in regards to professional psychologists attitudes towards evidence-based practice, if attitudes remain stable. This study indicates that the attitudes toward utilizing evidence-based practices, such as treatment manuals, has become more positive since year 2000.

Keywords: exposure therapy, evidence based practice, manualized treatments, student attitudes

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Authors: Arzyana Sunkar, Yanto Santosa, Siti Badriyah Rushayati

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Indonesia has experienced annual forest fires that have rapidly destroyed and degraded its forests. Fires in the peat swamp forests of Riau Province, have set the stage for problems to worsen, this being the ecosystem most prone to fires (which are also the most difficult, to extinguish). Despite various efforts to curb deforestation, and forest degradation processes, severe forest fires are still occurring. To find an effective solution, the basic causes of the problems must be identified. It is therefore critical to have an in-depth understanding of the underlying causal factors that have contributed to deforestation and forest degradation as a whole, in order to attain reductions in their rates. An assessment of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation was carried out, in order to design and implement measures that could slow these destructive processes. Research was conducted in Giam Siak Kecil–Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve (GSKBB BR), in the Riau Province of Sumatera, Indonesia. A biosphere reserve was selected as the study site because such reserves aim to reconcile conservation with sustainable development. A biosphere reserve should promote a range of local human activities, together with development values that are in line spatially and economically with the area conservation values, through use of a zoning system. Moreover, GSKBB BR is an area with vast peatlands, and is experiencing forest fires annually. Various factors were analysed to assess the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in GSKBB BR; data were collected from focus group discussions with stakeholders, key informant interviews with key stakeholders, field observation and a literature review. Landsat satellite imagery was used to map forest-cover changes for various periods. Analysis of landsat images, taken during the period 2010-2014, revealed that within the non-protected area of core zone, there was a trend towards decreasing peat swamp forest areas, increasing land clearance, and increasing areas of community oil-palm and rubber plantations. Fire was used for land clearing and most of the forest fires occurred in the most populous area (the transition area). The study found a relationship between the deforested/ degraded areas, and certain distance variables, i.e. distance from roads, villages and the borders between the core area and the buffer zone. The further the distance from the core area of the reserve, the higher was the degree of deforestation and forest degradation. Research findings suggested that agricultural expansion may be the direct cause of deforestation and forest degradation in the reserve, whereas socio-economic factors were the underlying driver of forest cover changes; such factors consisting of a combination of socio-cultural, infrastructural, technological, institutional (policy and governance), demographic (population pressure) and economic (market demand) considerations. These findings indicated that local factors/problems were the critical causes of deforestation and degradation in GSKBB BR. This research therefore concluded that reductions in deforestation and forest degradation in GSKBB BR could be achieved through ‘local actor’-tailored approaches such as community empowerment

Keywords: Actor-led solution, community empowerment, drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, Giam Siak Kecil – Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve

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Authors: Siew Ming Thang, Wong Hoo Keat, Chee Hao Sue, Fung Lan Loo, Ahju Rosalind

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There are numerous studies that explored young learners’ literacy skills in Malaysia but none that uses the eye-tracking device to track their cognitive processes when reading picture storybooks. This study used this method to investigate two groups of prereaders’ cognitive processes in four conditions. (1) A congruent picture was presented, and a matching narration was read aloud by a recorder; (2) Children heard a narration telling about the same characters in the picture but involves a different scene; (3) Only a picture with matching text was present; (4) Students only heard the reading aloud of the text on the screen. The two main objectives of this project are to test which content of pictures helps the prereaders (i.e., young children who have not received any formal reading instruction) understand the narration and whether children try to create a coherent mental representation from the oral narration and the pictures. The study compares two groups of children from two different kindergartens. Group1: 15 Chinese children; Group2: 17 Malay children. The medium of instruction was English. An eye-tracker were used to identify Areas of Interest (AOI) of each picture and the five target elements and calculate number of fixations and total time spent on fixation of pictures and written texts. Two mixed factorial ANOVAs with the storytelling performance (good, average, or weak) and vocabulary level (low, medium, high) as between-subject variables, and the Areas of Interests (AOIs) and display conditions as the within-subject variables were performedon the variables.

Keywords: eye-tracking, cognitive processes, literacy skills, prereaders, visual attention

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Authors: Sandhya Rao

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Kevin Lynch’s Theory on Imeageability, let on explore a city in terms of five elements, Nodes, Paths, Edges, landmarks and Districts. What happens when we try to record the same data in an Indian context? What happens when we apply the same theory of Imageability to a complex shifting urban pattern of the Indian cities and how can we as Urban Designers demonstrate our role in the image building ordeal of these cities? The organizational patterns formed through mental images, of an Indian city is often diverse and intangible. It is also multi layered and temporary in terms of the spirit of the place. The pattern of images formed is loaded with associative meaning and intrinsically linked with the history and socio-cultural dominance of the place. The embedded memory of a place in one’s mind often plays an even more important role while formulating these images. Thus while deriving an image of a city one is often confused or finds the result chaotic. The images formed due to its complexity are further difficult to represent using a single medium. Under such a scenario it’s difficult to derive an output of an image constructed as well as make design interventions to enhance the legibility of a place. However, there can be a combination of tools and methods that allows one to record the key elements of a place through time, space and one’s user interface with the place. There has to be a clear understanding of the participant groups of a place and their time and period of engagement with the place as well. How we can translate the result obtained into a design intervention at the end, is the main of the research. Could a multi-faceted cognitive mapping be an answer to this or could it be a very transient mapping method which can change over time, place and person. How does the context influence the process of image building in one’s mind? These are the key questions that this research will aim to answer.

Keywords: imageability, organizational patterns, legibility, cognitive mapping

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Authors: Abeer Mohammed, Nevein Mustafa Elashery, Mona Hassan Abdel Aal, Ereny Wilson Nagib

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The Aim of the current study is to investigate nutrition role in the management of psychiatric disorders. Research Design: A quasi- experimental research design was utilized for this study. Setting The study was conducted at outpatient clinic at Institute of Psychiatry affiliated to Ain Shams University hospitals, using a convenient sample of 50 psychiatric patients with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders. Tools: data were collected through; first, an interview questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, second, nutrition assessment tools Third, nutrition risk assessment. Fourth, nutrition management program Results showed that there were highly statistically significant improvements in modified nutritional supplements for patients with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders' patients after conducting the nutrition management program. Regarding psychiatric patients’ knowledge about healthy food, healthy nutritional habits, and patients’ awareness & readiness for change, there were highly statistically significant improvements. Concerning signs and symptoms of psychiatric disorders, there were highly statistically significant improvements for depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and obsessive-compulsive patients after conducting the management program. In conclusion, the nutrition management program was effective in improving symptoms associated with, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders. The study recommended that nurses should have more contribution in counseling psychiatric patients, and their families about healthy diet and healthy habits. Further research should recommend studying the effectiveness of herbs on enhancing mental health for psychiatric patients.

Keywords: nutrition, role, management, psychiatric disorders

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Authors: Sakkaphat T. Ngamake, Arunya Tuicomepee, Panrapee Suttiwan, Rewadee Watakakosol, Sompoch Iamsupasit

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Generally, 'positive' emotion regulation strategies such as cognitive reappraisal have linked to desirable outcomes while 'negative' strategies such as behavioral suppression have linked to undesirable outcomes. These trends have been found in both the elderly and professional practitioners. Hence, this study sought to investigate these trends further by examining the relationship between two dominant emotion regulation strategies in the literature (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and behavioral suppression) and well-being outcomes among the elderly (i.e., successful aging) and their caregivers (i.e., satisfaction with life), using the actor-partner interdependence model. A total of 150 elderly-caregiver dyads participated in the study. The elderly responded to two measures assessing the two emotion regulation strategies and successful aging while their caregivers responded to the same emotion regulation measure and a measure of satisfaction with life. Two criterion variables (i.e., successful aging and satisfaction with life) were specified as latent variables whereas four predictors (i.e., two strategies for the elderly and two strategies for their caregivers) were specified as observed variables in the model. Results have shown that, for the actor effect, the cognitive reappraisal strategy yielded positive relationships with the well-being outcomes for both the elderly and their caregivers. For the partner effect, a positive relationship between caregivers’ cognitive reappraisal strategy and the elderly’s successful aging was observed. The behavioral suppression strategy has not related to any well-being outcomes, within and across individual agents. This study has contributed to the literature by empirically showing that the mental activity of the elderly’s immediate environment such as their family members or close friends could affect their quality of life.

Keywords: emotion regulation, caregiver, older adult, well-being

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Authors: Chrysovalanto Sofia Karatosidi, Dimitra Iordanoglou

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The overlap of leadership skills with personality traits, beliefs, values, and the integration of cognitive abilities, analytical and critical thinking skills into leadership competencies raises the need to segregate further and investigate them. Hence, the domains of cognitive functions that contribute to leadership effectiveness should also be identified. Organizational cognitive neuroscience and neuroleadership can shed light on the study of these critical leadership skills. As the first part of our research, this pilot study aims to explore the relationships between higher-order cognitive functions (executive functions), trait emotional intelligence (EI), personality, and general cognitive ability in leadership. Twenty-six graduate and postgraduate students were assessed on neuropsychological tests that measure important aspects of executive functions (EF) and completed self-reported questionnaires about trait EI, personality, leadership styles, and leadership effectiveness. Specifically, we examined four core EF—fluency (phonemic and semantic), information updating and monitoring, working memory, and inhibition of prepotent responses. Leadership effectiveness was positively associated with phonemic fluency (PF), which involves mental flexibility, in turn, an increasingly important ability for future leaders in this rapidly changing world. Transformational leadership was positively associated with trait EI, extraversion, and openness to experience, a result that is following previous findings. The relationship between specific EF constructs and leadership effectiveness emphasizes the role of higher-order cognitive functions in the field of leadership as an individual difference. EF brings a new perspective into leadership literature by providing a direct, non-invasive, scientifically-valid connection between brain function and leadership behavior.

Keywords: cognitive neuroscience, emotional intelligence, executive functions, leadership

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Authors: Wantana Amatariyakul, Chumnong Amatariyakul

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The research aims to examine the spread of drugs in higher education, especially amphetamine which is rapidly increasing in Thai society, its causes and effects, including the sociological perspective, in order to explain, prevent, control, and solve the problems. The students who participated in this research are regular students of Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Khon Kaen Campus. The data were collected using questionnaires, group discussions, and in-depth interviews. The quantity data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation and using content analysis to analyzed quality data. The result of the study showed that the students had the results of examination on level of knowledge and understanding on drug abuse projected that the majority of sample group attained their knowledge on drug abuse respectively. Despite their uncertainty, the majority of samples presumed that amphetamine, marijuana and grathom (Mitragyna Speciosa Korth) would most likely be abused. The reason for first drug abuse is because they want to try and their friends convince them, as well as, they want to relax or solve the problems in life, respectively. The bad effects appearing to the drug addicts shows that their health deteriorates or worsens, as well as, they not only lose their money but also face with worse mental states. The reasons that respondents tried to avoid using drugs or refused drugs offered by friends were: not wanting to disappoint or upset their family members, fear of rejection by family members, afraid of being arrested by the police, afraid of losing their educational opportunity and ruining their future respectively. Students therefore defended themselves against drug addiction by refusing to try all drugs. Besides this, the knowledge about the danger and the harm of drugs persuaded them to stay away from drugs.

Keywords: drugs, higher education, drug addiction, spread of drugs

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Authors: Mina Ganji Morad, Maziar Azadisoleimanieh, Sina Ganji Morad

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A green roof is formed by green plants alive and has many positive impacts in the regional climatic, as well as indoor. Green roof system to prevent solar radiation plays a role in the cooling space. The cooling is done by reducing thermal fluctuations on the exterior of the roof and by increasing the roof heat capacity which cause to keep the space under the roof cool in the summer and heating rate increases during the winter. A roof garden is one of the recommended ways to reduce energy consumption in large cities. Despite the scale of the city green roofs have effective functions, such as beautiful view of city and decontaminating the urban landscape and reduce mental stress, and in an exchange of energy and heat from outside to inside spaces. This article is based on a review of 20 articles and 10 books and valid survey results on the positive effects of green roofs to prevent energy waste in the building. According to these publications, three of the conventional roof, green roof typical and green roof with certain administrative details (layers of glass) and the use of resistant plants and shrubs have been analyzed and compared their heat transfer. The results of these studies showed that one of the best green roof systems for mountainous climate is tree and shrub system that in addition to being resistant to climate change in mountainous regions, will benefit from the other advantages of green roof. Due to the severity of climate change in mountainous areas it is essential to prevent the waste of buildings heating and cooling energy. Proper climate design can greatly help to reduce energy.

Keywords: green roof, heat transfer, reducing energy consumption, mountainous areas, sustainable architecture

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Authors: Rahaf Alasiri, Tarek Alghamdi, Abdullah Zarkan

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Background: Due to measures such as school closure, social distancing, and virtual teaching during the pandemic, primary school children's psychological well-being is greatly affected. These measures have short and long-term consequences on the children's well-being and mental health. Identifying these consequences is important. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate mood and behavior changes in children who attended school virtually. Subjects and methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among children and their parents who visited the outpatient clinic. A self-administered questionnaire was given to the parents of children aged between 6 to 14 years. The questionnaire includes socio-demographic characteristics, Conor's modifies scale to assess the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) of children, and the parental stress scale (PSS) to assess the stress symptoms of the parents. Results: Of the 66 surveyed children, 60.6% were aged between 10 to 14 years old, with the female being dominant (77.3%). The most common medical condition was asthma (7.6%), and nearly two-thirds (63.6%) indicated good health conditions during the pandemic. There was a significant inverse correlation observed between ADHD score and PSS score (r=-0.387). No significant differences are in ADHD and PSS scores in relation to the socio-demographic characteristics of the children, including age, gender, and having an associated medical condition (p>0.05). Conclusion: During the pandemic, children who attended virtual classes did not seem to affect even with restrictions. Most children indicated good health conditions during the pandemic. However, it is surprising to know that in spite of children’s high spirits during the pandemic, their parents were seen to have an increased level of stress. Strategies to address parents’ psychological disorders during the pandemic are warranted.

Keywords: children's mood, COVID-19, ADHD, parental stress

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Authors: Gholamzadeh Sakineh, Jedi Maryam, Fereshteh Dehghanrad

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Background: Mental and psychological issues are common among older adults. Positive psychology theorists and researchers recommend focusing on constructs such as happiness, life satisfaction and hope rather than dwelling on negative experiences and perceptions. Objective: The research aim was to evaluate the impact of hope therapy interventions on the life satisfaction, happiness, and hopefulness of older adults in Iran. Methodology: This study used a quasi-experimental design. A convenience sample of 32 older adults was recruited from a retirement center in Shiraz, Iran. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control group (n = 16) or an experimental group (n = 16). The experimental group received eight sessions of hope therapy, each lasting 1.5 hours. The data for this study were collected using Snyder's Adult Hope Scale (AHS), Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, and Life Satisfaction Index-Z. The questionnaires were administered before, immediately after the intervention, and two months later. Descriptive and analytical statistical tests were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 19. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample characteristics and the distribution of the data. Analytical statistics were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings: The results showed that the hope therapy intervention significantly increased the life satisfaction and hopefulness of older adults (p < 0.05). In addition, the influence of time was also significant (p < 0.05). However, the intervention did not affect happiness in statistically significant ways. Conclusions: The findings of this study support the theoretical importance of hope therapy in improving the life satisfaction and hopefulness of older adults. Hope therapy interventions can be considered as an effective way to improve the emotional well-being and quality of life of older adults.

Keywords: older adults, life satisfaction, happiness, hopefulness, hope therapy

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Authors: Alemayehu Hailemicael Mezgebe, A. J. Solomon Raju

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Context: Lake Chamo is a significant lake in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, known for its diversity of wildlife and vegetation. However, the lake is facing various threats due to human activities and global effects. The poor management of resources could lead to food insecurity, ecological degradation, and loss of biodiversity. Research Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze the environmental implications of lake level changes using GIS and remote sensing. The research also aims to examine the floristic composition of the lakeside vegetation and propose spatially oriented environmental planning for the sustainable utilization of the biodiversity resources. Methodology: The study utilizes multi-temporal satellite images and aerial photographs to analyze the changes in the lake area over the past 45 years. Geospatial analysis techniques are employed to assess land use and land cover changes and change detection matrix. The composition and role of the lakeside vegetation in the ecological and hydrological functions are also examined. Findings: The analysis reveals that the lake has shrunk by 14.42% over the years, with significant modifications to its upstream segment. The study identifies various threats to the lake-wetland ecosystem, including changes in water chemistry, overfishing, and poor waste management. The study also highlights the impact of human activities on the lake's limnology, with an increase in conductivity, salinity, and alkalinity. Floristic composition analysis of the lake-wetland ecosystem showed definite pattern of the vegetation distribution. The vegetation composition can be generally categorized into three belts namely, the herbaceous belt, the legume belt and the bush-shrub-small trees belt. The vegetation belts collectively act as different-sized sieve screen system and calm down the pace of incoming foreign matter. This stratified vegetation provides vital information to decide the management interventions for the sustainability of lake-wetland ecosystem.Theoretical Importance: The study contributes to the understanding of the environmental changes and threats faced by Lake Chamo. It provides insights into the impact of human activities on the lake-wetland ecosystem and emphasizes the need for sustainable resource management. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The study utilizes aerial photographs, satellite imagery, and field observations to collect data. Geospatial analysis techniques are employed to process and analyze the data, including land use/land cover changes and change detection matrices. Floristic composition analysis is conducted to assess the vegetation patterns Question Addressed: The study addresses the question of how lake level changes and human activities impact the environmental health and biodiversity of Lake Chamo. It also explores the potential opportunities and threats related to water utilization and waste management. Conclusion: The study recommends the implementation of spatially oriented environmental planning to ensure the sustainable utilization and maintenance of Lake Chamo's biodiversity resources. It emphasizes the need for proper waste management, improved irrigation facilities, and a buffer zone with specific vegetation patterns to restore and protect the lake outskirt.

Keywords: buffer zone, geo-spatial, lake chamo, lake level changes, sustainable utilization

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Authors: John Bosco Ngendakurio

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The key question this paper asks is, ‘how does the refugee encampment policy undermine refugees’ potentials and fail local economy in East African countries?’ It is important to develop a full understanding of the legacies of the encampment policy for refugees’ performances economically, socially, and politically. The negative impacts of the encampment policy include the lack of participation or access to opportunities outside the refugee camps such as employment, education, and local integration, unfair imprisonments and constant alienation of refugees, mental and physical health issues, just to name a few. Evidence suggests that refugee camps in East Africa have progressively become open detention centres due to their designs, their locations, and movement restrictions imposed on refugees. Such restrictions in a region that hosts millions of refugees do not only undermine refugees’ potentials, but it also hurts the local economy- host countries miss out in many ways. Outlining the negative impacts of the encampment policy will enable governments and relevant non-governmental actors, including policymakers, to re-consider this policy with the aim to improve refugees’ participation and contributions in the broader society, promote socially cohesive practices, and help millions of refugees gain independence and reach their potentials financially, socially and politically, finally and truly giving the voice to the voiceless. The encampment policy undermines the general human security in East Africa, and it is one of the migration practices showcasing East African governments’ lack of will to protect human rights, especially within the most vulnerable population groups such as refugees.

Keywords: migration policy, immigration, refugees, encampment, migration, integration, social cohesion

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Authors: Maryam Borjali

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Introduction. Mortality due to noncommunicable diseases has increased in the world today with the advent of demographic shifts, growing age, and lifestyle patterns in the world, which have been affected by economic and social crises. Congenital heart defects are one of the forms of diseases that have raised infant mortality worldwide. e objective of present study was to identify nonmedical determinants related to this abnormality from the mother’s perspectives. Methods. is research was a qualitative study and the data collection method was a semistructured interview with mothers who had children with congenital heart diseases referring to the Shahid Rajaei Heart Hospital in Tehran, Iran. A thematic analysis approach was employed to analyze transcribed documents assisted by MAXQDA Plus version 12. Results. Four general themes and ten subthemes including social contexts (social harms, social interactions, and social necessities), psychological contexts (mood disorders and mental well-being), cultural contexts (unhealthy lifestyle, family culture, and poor parental health behaviors), and environmental contexts (living area and polluted air) were extracted from interviews with mothers of children with congenital heart diseases. Conclusions. Results suggest that factors such as childhood poverty, lack of parental awareness of congenital diseases, lack of proper nutrition and health facilities, education, and lack of medical supervision during pregnancy were most related with the birth of children with congenital heart disease from mothers’ prospective. In this regard, targeted and intersectorial collaborations are proposed to address nonmedical determinants related to the incidence of congenital heart diseases.

Keywords: congenital_cou, cultural, social, platform

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Authors: Awan A. Zaima, Tanvieer Ayesha, Mirshahi Shahsoltan, Pocard Marc, Mirshahi Massoud

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Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is described as a factor helping to support the survival of existing neurons by involving the growth and differentiation of new neurons and synapses. Cancer diagnosis impacts the mental health, and in consequences, depression arise eventually hinders recovery and disrupts the quality of life and surviving chances of patients. The focus of this study is to hint upon a prospective biomarker as a promising diagnostic tool for an early indicator/predictor of depression prevalence in cancer patients for better care and treatment options. The study aims to analyze peripheral biomarkers from neuro immune axis (BDNF, IL21 as a NK cell activator) using co-relation approach. Samples were obtained from random non cancer candidates and advanced peritoneum carcinomatosis patients with 25% pseudomyxoma, 21% Colon cancer,19% stomach cancer, 10% ovarian cancer, 8% appendices cancer, and 10% other area of peritoneum cancer patients. Both groups of the study were categorized by gender and age, with a range of 18 to 86 years old. Biomarkers were analyzed in collected plasma by performing multiplex sandwich ELISA system. Data were subjected to statistical analysis for the assessment of the correlation. Our results demonstrate that BNDF and IL 21 down regulated significantly in patient groupas compared to non-cancer candidates (ratio of patients/normalis 2.57 for BNDF and 1.32 for IL21). This preliminary investigation suggested that the neuro immune biomarkers are down regulated in carcinomatosis patients and can be associated with cancer expansion and cancer genesis. Further studies on larger cohort are necessary to validate this hypothesis.

Keywords: biomarkers, depression, peritoneum carcinoma, BNDF, IL21

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Authors: Walter Rafael Ramos Villanueva

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The overwhelming majority of scholarship on David Chariandy’s novel Soucouyant focuses on how Adele’s dementia represents the preservation of “cultural memory” and the perniciousness of “historical trauma.” However, by metaphorizing Adele’s mental condition, these critics risk treating her dementia as mostly figurative, and they thus elide a more detailed discussion of the literal ramifications of her dementia diagnosis. To move beyond these readings, then, my paper will approach Adele’s disorder as a literal medical condition and explore how her caregiving needs affect not only her but also those around her. Soucouyant subverts traditional caregiving narratives by depicting the difficult and typically invisible labour of informal caregiving that is undertaken by the families and friends of those who are ill or otherwise disabled. Because Adele’s family is unable to access proper public healthcare resources within the community, the burden of care falls upon the protagonist and his brother, who become “parentified children.” Parentified children, according to Nancy D. Chase, are “parents to their parents, and fulfill this role at the expense of their own developmentally appropriate needs and pursuits.” The novel provides a depiction of informal caregiving that is multi-faceted and asks us to question why is it exactly that we place the burden of care on those who are not equipped to handle such pressures instead of putting the onus on the government and the public healthcare system to take care of its most vulnerable members. Ageing Studies scholar Larry Polvika notes that although policymakers often offer “pious expressions of appreciation” and acknowledge that informal caregiving is “the backbone of our long-term care system,” governmental support for these caregivers remains inadequate. It is my belief that, by showcasing the struggles of informal caregivers, Chariandy’s text combats this dangerous and empty political rhetoric.

Keywords: caregiving, dementia, literature, parentified children

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Authors: Amani Hassan Abu Atieh

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This study aims at examining the patterns of ideology reflected in the written discourse of women writers in the media of Jordan; Lana Mamkgh is taken as an example. This study critically analyzes the discursive, linguistic, and cognitive representations that she employs as an agent in the institutionalized discourse of the media. Grounded in van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis approach to Sociocognitive Discourse Studies, the present study builds a multilayer framework that encompasses van Dijk’s triangle: discourse, society, and cognition. Specifically, the study attempts to analyze, at both micro and macro levels, the underlying cognitive processes and structures, mainly ideology and discursive strategies, which are functional in the production of women’s discourse in terms of meaning, forms, and functions. Cognitive processes that social actors adopt are underlined by experience/context and semantic mental models on the one hand and social cognition on the other. This study is based on qualitative research and adopts purposive sampling, taking as an example a sample of an opinion article written by Lana Mamkgh in the Arabic Jordanian Daily, Al Rai. Taking her role as an agent in the public sphere, she stresses the National and feminist ideologies, demonstrating the use of assertive, evaluative, and expressive linguistic and rhetorical devices that appeal to the logic, ethics, and emotions of the addressee. Highlighting the agency of Jordanian writers in the media, the study sought to achieve the macro goal of dispensing political and social justice to the underprivileged. Further, the study seeks to prove that the voice of Jordanian women, viewed as underrepresented and invisible in the public arena, has come through clearly.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, sociocognitive theory, ideology, women discourse, media

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Authors: John E. Muñoz, Jose F. Lopez, David S. Lopez

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that affects 1 out of 5 Colombian children, converting into a real public health problem in the country. Conventional treatments such as medication and neuropsychological therapy have been proved to be insufficient in order to decrease high incidence levels of ADHD in the principal Colombian cities. This work demonstrates a design and development of a videogame that uses a brain computer interface not only to serve as an input device but also as a tool to monitor neurophysiologic signal. The video game named “The Harvest Challenge” puts a cultural scene of a Colombian coffee grower in its context, where a player can use his/her avatar in three mini games created in order to reinforce four fundamental aspects: i) waiting ability, ii) planning ability, iii) ability to follow instructions and iv) ability to achieve objectives. The details of this collaborative designing process of the multimedia tool according to the exact clinic necessities and the description of interaction proposals are presented through the mental stages of attention and relaxation. The final videogame is presented as a tool for sustained attention training in children with ADHD using as an action mechanism the neuromodulation of Beta and Theta waves through an electrode located in the central part of the front lobe of the brain. The processing of an electroencephalographic signal is produced automatically inside the videogame allowing to generate a report of the theta/beta ratio evolution - a biological marker, which has been demonstrated to be a sufficient measure to discriminate of children with deficit and without.

Keywords: BCI, neuromodulation, ADHD, videogame, neurofeedback, theta/beta ratio

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Authors: Sehrish Ather

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Introduction: To improve organizational achievements through the production of new knowledge, health policy and system research is the basic requirement. An aging population is always the source of the increased burden of chronic diseases, disabilities, mental illnesses, and other co-morbidities; therefore the provision of quality health care services to every group of the population should be achieved by making strong policy and system research for the betterment of health care system. Unfortunately, the whole world is lacking policies and system research for providing health care to their elderly population. Materials and Methods: A literature review of published studies on aging diseases was done, ranging from the year 2011-2018. Geriatric, population, health policy, system, and research were the key terms used for the search. Databases searched were Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Ovid, and Research Gate. Grey literature was searched from various websites, including IHME, Library of the University of Lahore, World Health Organization (Ageing and Life Course), and Personal communication with Neuro-physicians. After careful reviewing published and un-published information, it was decided to carry on with commentary. Results and discussion: Most of the published studies have highlighted the need to advocate the funders of health policy and stakeholders of healthcare system research, and it was detected as a major issue, research on policy and healthcare system to provide health care to 'geriatric population' was found as highly neglected area. Conclusion: It is concluded that physicians are more involved with the policy and system research regarding any type of diseases, but scientists and researchers of basic and social science are less likely to be involved in methods used for health policy and system research due to lack of funding and resources. Therefore ageing diseases should be considered as a priority, and comprehensive policy and system research should be initiated for diseases of the geriatric population.

Keywords: geriatric population, health care system, health policy, system research

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Authors: J. S. P. Barbosa, L. C. Pereira, K. R. Garcia, P. C. P. Bouchardet, S. C. T. Vieira, A. O. Gomes, S. S. Funghetto, M. G. O. Kanikowski

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For this population, height seems to be a good predictor of strength and body composition. This increase in life expectancy of the Brazilian's population is associated with sociodemographic variables, but also to more access to health services in the prevention and better living conditions. With the growth of elderly population, a problem that has been a concern to health's professionals and public health at all is the use of psychoactive substances. The purpose of this study was to identify the sociodemographic profile of the elderly people who was attended at the Center of Psychosocial Care of alcohol and other drugs in the Federal District of Brazil. 408 medical records of people aged 60 years or over were evaluated, and it is possible to know that most of them were males (85.3%), with a mean age of 64 years (DP ± 4.16), 60 and 84 years and a mean age of 64 years (DP ± 4.42); 88.2% have some family ties, are married and have children, with relatives living in masonry housing. The educational level of drug users was considered low with more emphasis on those who had elementary education being the majority retired or unemployed. Regarding the street situation, there was no significance (p = 0.084), and the women (OR = 2.98) had few chances of street situations compared to men (OR = 0.89). As for substance consumption, the highest quantity of drug consumption bids in relation to the number of illicit. It did not present significant statistical value, and there is a greater probability of consumption/abuse of legal and/or illicit drugs for both sexes (OR = 0.96) for men and (OR = 1.32) for women. In relation to the use of multiple drugs, there was no significant difference between the sexes, (OR = 1.1) male sex and (OR = 0.74) female sex. Based on the results found in the present study, it was concluded that alcohol consumption is the main agent that causes vulnerability in the elderly and predisposes the latter to the consumption of other associated drugs.

Keywords: centers of attention psychosocial alcohol and drugs, elderly, mental disorder due to drug use, street situations

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Authors: N. Khodarahmi, L. Ford

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Decades of research on the impact of trauma in early childhood suggest severe risks to the mental health, emotional, social and physical development of a young child. Trauma-exposed students can pose a variety of different levels of challenges to schools and educators of young children and to date, few studies have addressed ECE teachers’ role in providing trauma support. The present study aims to contribute to this literature by exploring the beliefs of British Columbia’s (BC) early childhood education (ECE) teachers in their level of readiness and capability to work within a trauma-informed practice (TIP) framework to support their trauma-exposed students. Through a sequential, mix-methods approach, a self-report questionnaire and semi-structured interviews will be used to gauge BC ECE teachers’ knowledge of TIP, their preparedness, and their ability in using this framework to support their most vulnerable students. Teacher participants will be recruited through the ECEBC organization and various school districts in the Greater Vancouver Area. Questionnaire data will be primarily collected through an online survey tool whereas interviews will be taking place in-person and audio-recorded. Data analysis of survey responses will be largely descriptive, whereas interviews, once transcribed, will be employing thematic content analysis to generate themes from teacher responses. Ultimately, this study hopes to highlight the necessity of utilizing the TIP framework in BC ECE classrooms in order to support both trauma-exposed students and provide essential resources to compassionate educators of young children.

Keywords: early childhood education, early learning classrooms, refugee students, trauma-exposed students, trauma-informed practice

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Authors: Kasun P. Wijayaratna, Lauren Gardner, Taha Hossein Rashidi

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Undergraduate students entering university across the last 2 to 3 years tend to be born during the middle years of the 1990s. This generation of students has been exposed to the internet and the desire and dependency on technology since childhood. Brains develop based on environmental influences and technology has wired this generation of student to be attuned to sophisticated complex visual imagery, indicating visual forms of learning may be more effective than the traditional lecture or discussion formats. Furthermore, post-millennials perspectives on career are not focused solely on stability and income but are strongly driven by interest, entrepreneurship and innovation. Accordingly, it is important for educators to acknowledge the generational shift and tailor the delivery of learning material to meet the expectations of the students and the needs of industry. In the context of transport engineering, effectively teaching undergraduate students the basic principles of transport planning, traffic engineering and highway design is fundamental to the progression of the profession from a practice and research perspective. Recent developments in technology have transformed the discipline as practitioners and researchers move away from the traditional “pen and paper” approach to methods involving the use of computer programs and simulation. Further, enhanced accessibility of technology for students has changed the way they understand and learn material being delivered at tertiary education institutions. As a consequence, blended learning approaches, which aim to integrate face to face teaching with flexible self-paced learning resources, have become prevalent to provide scalable education that satisfies the expectations of students. This research study involved the development of a series of ‘Blended Learning’ initiatives implemented within an introductory transport planning and geometric design course, CVEN2401: Sustainable Transport and Highway Engineering, taught at the University of New South Wales, Australia. CVEN2401 was modified by conducting interactive polling exercises during lectures, including weekly online quizzes, offering a series of supplementary learning videos, and implementing a realistic design project that students needed to complete using modelling software that is widely used in practice. These activities and resources were aimed to improve the learning environment for a large class size in excess of 450 students and to ensure that practical industry valued skills were introduced. The case study compared the 2016 and 2017 student cohorts based on their performance across assessment tasks as well as their reception to the material revealed through student feedback surveys. The initiatives were well received with a number of students commenting on the ability to complete self-paced learning and an appreciation of the exposure to a realistic design project. From an educator’s perspective, blending the course made it feasible to interact and engage with students. Personalised learning opportunities were made available whilst delivering a considerable volume of complex content essential for all undergraduate Civil and Environmental Engineering students. Overall, this case study highlights the value of blended learning initiatives, especially in the context of large class size university courses.

Keywords: blended learning, highway design, teaching, transport planning

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Authors: Nur Inayah Ismaniar, Sukri Palutturi, Ansariadi, Atjo Wahyu

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Background: In various countries in the world, the problem of smoking is now considered something serious because of the effects of smoking which can not only lead to addiction but also have the potential to harm health. Public health authorities have concluded that one solution that can be done to protect the public from active smokers is to issue a policy that requires public facilities to be completely smoke-free. The hospital is one of the public facilities that has been designated as a smoke-free area. However, the implementation and maintenance of a successful program based on a smoke-free hospital are still considered an ongoing challenge worldwide due to the very low level of adherence. The low level of compliance with this smoke-free policy is also seen in other public facilities. The purpose of the literature review is to review the level of compliance with the application of the Non-Smoking Area policy, how this policy has succeeded in reducing smoking activity in hospitals, and what factors lead to such compliance in each country in the world. Methods: A literature review of articles was carried out on all types of research methods, both qualitative and quantitative. The sample is all subjects who are in the research location, which includes patients, staff and hospital visitors. Results: Various variations in the level of compliance were found in various kinds of literature. The literature with the highest level of compliance is 88.4%. Furthermore, several determinants that are known to affect the compliance of the Non-Smoking Area policies in hospitals include communication, information, knowledge, perceptions, interventions, attitudes and support. Obstacles to its enforcement are the absence of sanctions against violators of the Non-Smoking Area policy, the ineffectiveness of the function of policymakers in hospitals, and negative perceptions of smoking related to mental health. Conclusion: Violations of the Non-Smoking Area policy are often committed by the hospital staff themselves, which makes it difficult for this policy to be fully enforced at various points in the hospital.

Keywords: health policy, non-smoking area, hospital, implementation

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Authors: Ajmal Hussain

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In Indian music parlance, Rasa denotes a distinct aesthetic experience that builds up in the mind of the listeners while listening to a piece of Indian classical music. The distinction of the experience is rooted in the concept that it gives rise to an enhanced awareness about the Self or God and creates a mental state detached from mundane issues of everyday life. The theory of Rasa was initially proposed in the context of theatre but became a part of Indian musicological discourse roughly two thousand years ago, however, to this day, it remains shrouded in mystery due to its religious associations and connotations. This paper attempts to demystify the theory of Rasa in the light of available scientific knowledge fund particularly in Brain and Mind sciences. The paper initially describes the religious context of the theory of Rasa and then discusses its classical formulations by Bharata and Abhinavagupta including the steps and stages laid down by the latter to explain the creation of musical experience. The classical formulations are then interpreted with reference to the scientific knowledge fund about the human mind and mechanics of perception. The study uses the model of human mind as proposed by Portuguese-American neuroscientist Antonio Damasio in his theory ‘A Nesting Principle’. On the basis of the findings by Damasio, the paper interprets the experience of Rasa from a scientific perspective and clarifies the sequence of steps and stages involved in the making of musical experience. The study concludes that although the classical formulations of Rasa identify key aspects of musical experience, the association of Rasa with religion is misleading. The association with religion does not depend upon musical stimulus but the intellectual orientation of the listener. It further establishes that the function of Rasa is more profound as, from an evolutionary perspective, it can be seen as a catalyst for higher consciousness.

Keywords: aesthetic, consciousness, music, Rasa

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Authors: Wafeek Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed

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In the era of globalization and openness informational. Anyone who thinks about innovation in the earth population in Islam in our contemporary reality, he will find that it is not destined to its civilized extension to last. The purpose of the research is a trial to reach a realistic vision for creative, innovative and intellectual thought for the earth population in Islam as an instrument to Confrontation and observe the changes that have affected in the architecture of the land during different eras. Through knowing the controls of the ruling legitimacy(that served as definitions and laws which formulate its features) and using customs, traditions, and conventions as a telescope for the earth population in Islam, It explained the impact of them on features of creative formation for the architecture of the land in our contemporary reality. The study shows a modern vision to identify innovation in the earth population in Islam. As well as reformulating its mental image and monitoring its changes in Islamic heritage cities. This will be done through a two main branches: firstly, set forth a theory represented in studying creative concepts which formulate the population of the earth in Islam. Such as initiative and responsibility for reviving the dead land, the lane [alley] as formation unit and social solidarity,… Etc.. The second branch is preparing a practical, critical vision for innovative conceptual thought for the architecture of the land of Islam, through studying the development of a traditional Islamic city., The conceptual thought of making the birth festival ["Al-Refaee"] and its emulation for governing roles in the traditional city building. The research concludes The necessity of forming the suggested a creative vision for identifying how to re-form the conceptual for our contemporary population of the earth. It poses an important question which is how to return to creativity in the architecture of the land of Islam in our built environments.

Keywords: innovation and creation, architecture, the land in Islam, criticism of design

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Authors: Nevila Bardhi, Joanna Magda, Kolapo Alex-Oni, Slavenka Sedlar, Paromita Hore

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The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) receives blood lead test results for NYC residents and conducts lead poisoning case investigations for individuals with elevated blood lead levels exposed to lead occupationally and non-occupationally. To (1) improve participant engagement, (2) aid the identification of potential lead sources, and (3) better tailor recommendations to reduce lead exposure, Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques were incorporated during risk assessment interviews of non-pregnant adults by DOHMH’s Adult Lead Poisoning Prevention (ALP) Program. MI is an evidence-based counselling method used in clinical settings that have been effective in promoting behavior change by resolving ambivalence and enhancing motivation in treating both physiological and psychological health conditions. The incorporation of MI techniques in the ALP risk assessment interview was effective in improving the identification of lead sources for non-pregnant adult cases, thus, allowing for the opportunity to better tailor lead poisoning prevention recommendations. The embedding of MI cues in the ALP risk assessment interview also significantly increased engagement in the interview process, resulting in approximately 50 more interviews conducted per year and a decrease in interview refusals during case investigations. Additionally, the pre-MI interview completion rate was 57%, while the post-MI Interview completion rate was 68%. We recommend MI techniques to be used by other lead poisoning prevention programs during lead poisoning investigations in similar diverse populations.

Keywords: lead poisoning prevention, motivational interviewing, behavior change, lead poisoning risk factors, self-efficacy

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