Search results for: urban life quality

Authors: Maria Luiza Fulga, Georgeta Truca, Mihaela Alexandru, Andriescu Mariana, Crin Marcean

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The significance of nursing as a subject in the post-secondary healthcare curriculum is a major. We aimed to enable our students to assess the patient's risk, to establish prevention measures and to adapt to a specific learning context, in order to acquire the skills and abilities necessary for the nursing profession. In order to achieve these objectives, during the three years of study, teachers put an emphasis on acquiring communication skills, because in our country after the first cycle of hospital accreditation concluded in 2016, the National Authority for Quality of Health Management has introduced the criteria for the implementation and application of the nursing process according to the accreditation standards. According to these requirements, the nurse has to carry out the nursing assessment, based on communication as a distinct component, so that they can identify nursing diagnoses and implement the nursing plan. In this respect, we, the teachers, have refocused, by approaching various teaching strategies and preparing students for the real context of learning and applying what they learn. In the educational process, the tutors in the hospitals have an important role to play in acquiring professional skills. Students perform their activity in the hospital in accordance with the curriculum, in order to verify the practical applicability of the theoretical knowledge acquired in the school classes and also have the opportunity to acquire their skills in a real learning context. In clinical education, the student nurse learns in the middle of a guidance team which includes a practice tutor, who is a nurse that takes responsibility for the practical/clinical learning of the students in their field of activity. In achieving this objective, the tutor's abilities involve pedagogical knowledge, knowledge for the good of the individual and nursing theory, in order to be able to guide clinical practice in accordance with current requirements. The aim of this study is to find out the students’ confidence level in practice tutors in hospitals, the students’ degree of satisfaction in the pedagogical skills of the tutors and the practical applicability of the theoretical knowledge. In this study, we used as a method of investigation a student satisfaction questionnaire regarding the clinical practice in the hospital and the sample of the survey consisted of 100 students aged between 20 and 50 years, from the first, second and third year groups, with the General Nurse specialty (nurses responsible for general care), from 'Fundeni' Healthcare Post-Secondary School, Bucharest, Romania. Following the analysis of the data provided, we arrived the conclusion that the hospital tutor needs to improve his/her pedagogical skills, the knowledge of nursing diagnostics, and the implementation of the nursing plan, so that the applicability of the theoretical notions would be increased. Future plans include the pedagogical training of the medical staff, as well as updating the knowledge needed to implement the nursing process in order to meet current requirements.

Keywords: clinical training, nursing process, pedagogical skills, tutor

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Authors: Brittany E. Coff, Tommy K. K. Ngai, Laura A. S. MacDonald

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Many organizations in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector provide education and training in order to increase the effectiveness of their WASH interventions. A key challenge for these organizations is measuring how well their education and training activities contribute to WASH improvements. It is crucial for implementers to understand the returns of their education and training activities so that they can improve and make better progress toward the desired outcomes. This paper presents information on CAWST’s development and piloting of the evaluation methodology. The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) has developed a methodology for evaluating education and training activities, so that organizations can understand the effectiveness of their WASH activities and improve accordingly. CAWST developed this methodology through a series of research partnerships, followed by staged field pilots in Nepal, Peru, Ethiopia and Haiti. During the research partnerships, CAWST collaborated with universities in the UK and Canada to: review a range of available evaluation frameworks, investigate existing practices for evaluating education activities, and develop a draft methodology for evaluating education programs. The draft methodology was then piloted in three separate studies to evaluate CAWST’s, and CAWST’s partner’s, WASH education programs. Each of the pilot studies evaluated education programs in different locations, with different objectives, and at different times within the project cycles. The evaluations in Nepal and Peru were conducted in 2013 and investigated the outcomes and impacts of CAWST’s WASH education services in those countries over the past 5-10 years. In 2014, the methodology was applied to complete a rigorous evaluation of a 3-day WASH Awareness training program in Ethiopia, one year after the training had occurred. In 2015, the methodology was applied in Haiti to complete a rapid assessment of a Community Health Promotion program, which informed the development of an improved training program. After each pilot evaluation, the methodology was reviewed and improvements were made. A key concept within the methodology is that in order for training activities to lead to improved WASH practices at the community level, it is not enough for participants to acquire new knowledge and skills; they must also apply the new skills and influence the behavior of others following the training. The steps of the methodology include: development of a Theory of Change for the education program, application of the Kirkpatrick model to develop indicators, development of data collection tools, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and use of the findings for improvement. The methodology was applied in different ways for each pilot and was found to be practical to apply and adapt to meet the needs of each case. It was useful in gathering specific information on the outcomes of the education and training activities, and in developing recommendations for program improvement. Based on the results of the pilot studies, CAWST is developing a set of support materials to enable other WASH implementers to apply the methodology. By using this methodology, more WASH organizations will be able to understand the outcomes and impacts of their training activities, leading to higher quality education programs and improved WASH outcomes.

Keywords: education and training, capacity building, evaluation, water and sanitation

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Authors: Lauren Dhugga, Meena Parameswaran, David Blundell, Abbas Khushnood

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Context: A multidisciplinary weekly safety briefing was implemented at the Paediatric Cardiothoracic Unit at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It is a tertiary referral centre with a quarternary cardiac paediatric intensive care unit and provides complexed care including heart and lung transplants, mechanical support and advanced heart failure assessment. Aim: The aim of this briefing is to provide a structured platform of communication, in an effort to improve efficiency, safety, and patient care. Problem: The paediatric cardiothoracic unit is made up of a vast multidisciplinary team including doctors, intensivists, anaesthetists, surgeons, specialist nurses, echocardiogram technicians, physiotherapists, psychologists, dentists, and dietitians. It provides care for children with congenital and acquired cardiac disease and is one of only two units in the UK to offer paediatric heart transplant. The complexity of cases means that there can be many teams involved in providing care to each patient, and frequent movement of children between ward, high dependency, and intensive care areas. Currently, there is no structured forum for communicating important information across the department, for example, staffing shortages, prescribing errors and significant events. Strategy: An initial survey questioning the need for better communication found 90% of respondents agreed that they could think of an incident that had occurred due to ineffective communication, and 85% felt that incident could have been avoided had there been a better form of communication. Lastly, 80% of respondents felt that a weekly 60 second safety briefing would be beneficial to improve communication within our multidisciplinary team. Based on those promising results, a weekly 60 second safety briefing was implemented to be conducted on a Monday morning. The safety briefing covered four key areas (SAFE): staffing, awareness, fix and events. This was to highlight any staffing gaps, any incident reports to be learned from, any issues that required fixing and any events including teachings for the week ahead. The teams were encouraged to email suggestions or issues to be raised for the week or to approach in person with information to add. The safety briefing was implemented using change theory. Effect: The safety briefing has been trialled over 6 weeks and has received a good buy in from staff across specialties. The aim is to embed this safety briefing into a weekly meeting using the PDSA cycle. There will be a second survey in one month to assess the efficacy of the safety briefing and to continue to improve the delivery of information. The project will be presented at the next clinical governance briefing to attract wider feedback and input from across the trust. Lessons: The briefing displays promise as a tool to improve vigilance and communication in a busy multi-disciplinary unit. We have learned about how to implement quality improvement and about the culture of our hospital - how hierarchy influences change. We demonstrate how to implement change through a grassroots process, using a junior led briefing to improve the efficiency, safety, and communication in the workplace.

Keywords: briefing, communication, safety, team

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Authors: Min Koo Choi

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The paper will examine Im Sun-dŭk’s two short stories, 'Iryoil' (Sunday, 1937) and 'Nazuoya' (A Godmother, 1942), which illuminate the subjects of Korean intellectuals going through the later period of a harsh and oppressive Japanese colonial rule. When Japan went to war against China in 1937, Korea, a colony of Japan since 1910, became an outpost for Japanese expansionism into China, and the Korean people were mobilized into the war effort. Nationalist movements and radical ideas that posed a threat and opposition to Japanese colonial rule in Korea and its colonial expansionism were ruthlessly suppressed, and Koreans were forcibly assimilated into becoming Japanese citizens without political rights. Racial discrimination between Koreans and Japanese was prevalent. Im Sun-dŭk, who participated in the Socialist movement in the 1930s, had his debut as a literary writer and a critic in the late 1930s, when Korean literary society was reincorporated in order to collaborate with the Japanese war effort through writing and public speech. Sun-duk's writing illuminates the unique internal landscape of a female subject who strives to live on while preserving her commitment and dignity under the circumstances that force Korean intellectuals either to collaborate with or acquiesce to Japanese colonial rule. 'Iryoil' (Sunday, 1937) foregrounds an educated intellectual, Hyeyŏng, who supplies her fiancé in prison for political involvement in resistance against Japan. On Sundays, she turns down her friends’ suggestion for enjoying holidays outside, due to her indebtedness to her fiancé. Her fiancé's imprisonment indicates the social conscience that still remains, and she seeks to share the commitment and suffering with her fiancé. The short story 'Nazuoya' (A Godmother, 1942), written in Japanese due to the suppression of Korean language publications at the time, also problematizes Japanese policy that forces Koreans to change their names into Japanese. Through the narrator I, who struggles to find a meaningful name for her cousin brother’s baby, she highlights how meaningful one’s name is for one’s life and identity. What makes her two stories unique is that her writing draws other people’s confessions into its own narrative through fragmentary forms, such as part of letter or reflection. The voices of others are intersected with the main character in 'Iryoil' (Sunday, 1937) and a narrator in 'Nazuoya' (A Godmother, 1942). In many ways, the narrator and main character provide the confessional voices who display the characters' gloomy interiorities. Even though these confessional voices do not share the commitment and values, both the main character and I in the stories reveal a more open set of viewpoints to them. In this way, they seek to form bonds and encouragement and acquire a more resilient sensibility that embraces those who strive to survive and endure in the gloomy days of the later period of Japanese colonial rule.

Keywords: Im Sun-dŭk, Japanese colonial rule, Korean literature, socialist movement

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Authors: Maryam Nazari

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COVID-19 is a respiratory disease triggered by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that has reached pandemic status today. Acute inflammation and immune cells infiltration into lung injuries result in multi-organ failure. The presence of other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with systemic inflammation derived from COVID-19 may exacerbate the patient's situation and increase the risk for adverse effects and mortality. This pandemic is a novel situation and the scientific community at this time is looking for vaccines or drugs to treat the pathology. One of the biggest challenges is focused on reducing inflammation without compromising the correct immune response of the patient. In this regard, addressing the nutritional factors should not be overlooked not only as a matter of avoiding the presence of NCDs with severe infections but also as an adjunctive way to modulate the inflammatory status of the patients. Despite the pivotal role of nutrition in modifying immune response, due to the novelty of the COVID-19 disease, information about the effects of specific dietary agents is limited in this area. From the macronutrients point of view, protein deficiency (quantity or quality) has negative effects on the number of functional immunoglobulins and gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). High biological value proteins or some amino acids like arginine and glutamine are well known for their ability to augment the immune system. Among lipids, fish oil has the ability to inactivate enveloped viruses, suppress pro-inflammatory prostaglandin production and block platelet-activating factors and their receptors. In addition, protectin D1, which is an Omega-3 PUFAs derivation, is a novel antiviral drug. So it seems that these fatty acids can reduce the severity and/or improve recovery of patients with COVID-19. Carbohydrates with lower glycemic index and fibers are associated with lower levels of inflammatory cytokines (CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6). Short-Chain Fatty acids not only exert a direct anti-inflammatory effect but also provide appropriate gut microbial, which is important in gastrointestinal issues related to COVID-19. From the micronutrients point of view, Vitamins A, C, D, E, iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium and copper play a vital role in the maintenance of immune function. Inadequate status in these nutrients may result in decreased resistance against COVID-19 infection. There are specific bioactive compounds in the diet that interact with the ACE2 receptor, which is the gateway for SARS and SARS-CoV-2, and thus controls the viral infection. Regarding this, the potential benefits of probiotics, resveratrol (a polyphenol found in grape), oleoylethanolamide (derived from oleic acid), and natural peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ agonists in foodstuffs (like curcumin, pomegranate, hot pepper) are suggested. Yet, it should be pointed out that most of these results have been reported in animal models and further human studies are needed to be verified.

Keywords: Covid-19, inflammation, nutrition, dietary agents

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Authors: Felicite Ann Fairer-Wessels

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There has always been a disparity between mining and tourism mainly due to the socio-economic and environmental impacts of mines on both the adjacent resident communities and the areas taken up by the mining operation. Although heritage mining tourism has been actively and successfully pursued and developed in the UK, largely Wales, and Scandinavian countries, the debate whether active mining and tourism can have a mutually beneficial relationship remains imminent. This pilot study explores the relationship between the ‘to be developed’ future Nokeng Mine and its adjacent community, the rural community of Moloto, will be investigated in terms of whether sustainable tourism and livelihood activities can potentially be developed with the support of the mine. Concepts such as social entrepreneur, corporate social responsibility, sustainable development and triple bottom line are discussed. Within the South African context as a mineral rich developing country, the government has a statutory obligation to empower disenfranchised communities through social and labour plans and policies. All South African mines must preside over a Social and Labour Plan according to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, No 28 of 2002. The ‘social’ component refers to the ‘social upliftment’ of communities within or adjacent to any mine; whereas the ‘labour’ component refers to the mine workers sourced from the specific community. A qualitative methodology is followed using the case study as research instrument for the Nokeng Mine and Moloto community with interviews and focus group discussions. The target population comprised of the Moloto Tribal Council members (8 in-depth interviews), the Moloto community members (17: focus groups); and the Nokeng Mine representatives (4 in-depth interviews). In this pilot study two disparate ‘worlds’ are potentially linked: on the one hand, the mine as social entrepreneur that is searching for feasible and sustainable ideas; and on the other hand, the community adjacent to the mine, with potentially sustainable tourism entrepreneurs that can tap into the resources of the mine should their ideas be feasible to build their businesses. Being an exploratory study the findings are limited but indicate that the possible success of tourism and sustainable livelihood activities lies in the fact that both the Mine and Community are keen to work together – the mine in terms of obtaining labour and profit; and the community in terms of improved and sustainable social and economic conditions; with both parties realizing the importance to mitigate negative environmental impacts. In conclusion, a relationship of trust is imperative between a mine and a community before a long term liaison is possible. However whether tourism is a viable solution for the community to engage in is debatable. The community could initially rather pursue the sustainable livelihoods approach and focus on life-supporting activities such as building, gardening, etc. that once established could feed into possible sustainable tourism activities.

Keywords: community development, mining tourism, sustainability, South Africa

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Authors: Gagandeep Kaur

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The pesticide industry is a big supplier of agricultural inputs. The uses of pesticides control weeds, fungal diseases, etc., which causes of yield losses in agricultural production. In agribusiness and agrichemical industry, Globalization of markets, competition and innovation are the dominant trends. By the tradition of increasing the productivity of agro-systems through generic, universally applicable technologies, innovation in the agrichemical industry is limited. The marketing of technology of agriculture needs to deal with some various trends such as locally-organized forces that envision regionalized sustainable agriculture in the future. Agricultural production has changed dramatically over the past century. Before World War second agricultural production was featured as a low input of money, high labor, mixed farming and low yields. Although mineral fertilizers were applied already in the second half of the 19th century, most f the crops were restricted by local climatic, geological and ecological conditions. After World War second, in the period of reconstruction, political and socioeconomic pressure changed the nature of agricultural production. For a growing population, food security at low prices and securing farmer income at acceptable levels became political priorities. Current agricultural policy the new European common agricultural policy is aimed to reduce overproduction, liberalization of world trade and the protection of landscape and natural habitats. Farmers have to increase the quality of their productivity and they have to control costs because of increased competition from the world market. Pesticides should be more effective at lower application doses, less toxic and not pose a threat to groundwater. There is a big debate taking place about how and whether to mitigate the intensive use of pesticides. This debate is about the future of agriculture which is sustainable agriculture. This is possible by moving away from conventional agriculture. Conventional agriculture is featured as high inputs and high yields. The use of pesticides in conventional agriculture implies crop production in a wide range. To move away from conventional agriculture is possible through the gradual adoption of less disturbing and polluting agricultural practices at the level of the cropping system. For a healthy environment for crop production in the future there is a need for the maintenance of chemical, physical or biological properties. There is also required to minimize the emission of volatile compounds in the atmosphere. Companies are limiting themselves to a particular interpretation of sustainable development, characterized by technological optimism and production-maximizing. So the main objective of the paper will present the trends in the pesticide industry and in agricultural production in the era of Globalization. The second objective is to analyze sustainable agriculture. Companies of pesticides seem to have identified biotechnology as a promising alternative and supplement to the conventional business of selling pesticides. The agricultural sector is in the process of transforming its conventional mode of operation. Some experts give suggestions to farmers to move towards precision farming and some suggest engaging in organic farming. The methodology of the paper will be historical and analytical. Both primary and secondary sources will be used.

Keywords: globalization, pesticides, sustainable development, organic farming

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Authors: Anabel Moriña

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In recent years, advances have been made in disability policy at Spanish universities, especially in terms of creating more inclusive learning environments. Nevertheless, while efforts to foster inclusion at the tertiary level -and the growing number of students with disabilities at university- are clear signs of progress, serious barriers to full participation in learning still exist. The research shows that university responses to diversity tend to be reactive, not proactive; as a result, higher education (HE) environments can be especially disabling. It has been demonstrated that the performance of students with disabilities is closely linked to the good will of university faculty and staff. Lectures are key players when it comes to helping or hindering students throughout the teaching/learning process. This paper presents an analysis of how lecturers respond to students with disabilities, the initial question being: do lecturers aid or hinder students? The general aim is to analyse-by listen to the students themselves-lecturers barriers and support identified as affecting academic performance and overall perception of the higher education (HE) experience. Biographical-narrative methodology was employed. This research analysed the results differentiating by fields of knowledge. The research was conducted in two phases: discussion groups along with individual oral/written interviews were set up with 44 students with disabilities and mini life histories were completed for 16 students who participated in the first stage. The study group consisted of students with disabilities enrolled during three academic years. The results of this paper noted that participating students identified many more barriers than bridges when speaking about the role lecturers play in their learning experience. Findings are grouped into several categories: Faculty attitudes when “dealing with” students with disabilities, teaching methodologies, curricular adaptations, and faculty training in working with students. Faculty does not always display appropriate attitudes towards students with disabilities. Study participants speak of them turning their backs on their problems-or behaving in an awkward manner. In many cases, it seems lecturers feel that curricular adaptations of any kind are a form of favouritism. Positive attitudes, however, often depend almost entirely on the good will of faculty and-although well received by students-are hard to come by. As the participants themselves suggest, this study confirms that good teaching practices not only benefit students with disabilities but the student body as a whole. In this sense, inclusive curricula provide new opportunities for all students. A general coincidence has been the lack of training on behalf of lecturers to adequately attend disabled students, and the need to cover this shortage. This can become a primary barrier and is more often due to deficient faculty training than to inappropriate attitudes on the part of lecturers. In conclusion, based on this research we can conclude that more barriers than bridges exist. That said, students do report receiving a good deal of support from their lecturers-although almost exclusively in a spirit of good will; when lecturers do help, however, it tends to have a very positive impact on students' academic performance.

Keywords: barriers, disability, higher education, lecturers

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Authors: Zaman Jawahar, Anne Rouve-Khiev, Elizabeth Hoban, Joanne Williams

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Ensuring access to timely obstetric care is essential to prevent maternal deaths. Geographical barriers pose significant challenges for women accessing quality reproductive and maternal health services in rural Cambodia. This policy brief affirms the need to address the issue of transportation and cost (direct and indirect) as critical barriers to accessing reproductive and maternal health (RMH) services in four provinces in Northeast Cambodia (Kratie, Ratanak Kiri, Mondul Kiri, Stung Treng). A systemic search of the literature identified 1,116 articles, and only ten articles from low-and-middle-income countries met the inclusion criteria. The ten articles reported on transportation and cost related to accessing RMH services. In addition, research findings from Partnering to Save Lives (PSL) studies in the four provinces were included in the analysis. Thematic data analysis using the information in the ten articles and PSL research findings was conducted, and the findings are presented in this paper. The key findings are the critical barriers to accessing RMH services in the four provinces because women experience: 1) difficulties finding affordable transportation; 2) lack of available and accessible transportation; 3) greater distance and traveling time to services; 4) poor geographical terrain and; 5) higher opportunity costs. Distance and poverty pose a double burden for the women accessing RMH services making a facility-based delivery less feasible compared to home delivery. Furthermore, indirect and hidden costs associated with institutional delivery may have an impact on women’s decision to seek RMH care. Existing health financing schemes in Cambodia such as the Health Equity Fund (HEF) and the Voucher Scheme contributed to the solution but have also shown some limitations. These schemes contribute to improving access to RMH services for the poorest group, but the barrier of transportation costs remains. In conclusion, initiatives that are proven to be effective in the Cambodian context should continue or be expanded in conjunction with the HEF, and special consideration should be given to communities living in geographically remote regions and difficult to access areas. The following strategies are recommended: 1) maintain and further strengthen transportation support in the HEF scheme; 2) expand community-based initiatives such as Community Managed Health Equity Funds and Village Saving Loans Associations; 3) establish maternity waiting homes; and 4) include antenatal and postnatal care in the provision of integrated outreach services. This policy brief can be used to inform key policymakers and provide evidence that can assist them to develop strategies to increase poor women’s access to RMH services in low-income settings, taking into consideration the geographic distance and other indirect costs associated with a facility-based delivery.

Keywords: access, barriers, northeast Cambodia, reproductive and maternal health service, transportation and cost

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Authors: Sam Derakhshan Deilami, Iain N. Kings, Lynne E. Macaskie, Brajendra K. Sharma, Anthony V. Bridgwater, Joseph Wood

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This paper reports the application of a bacteria-supported palladium catalyst to the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of pyrolysis bio-oil, towards producing an upgraded transport fuel. Biofuels are key to the timely replacement of fossil fuels in order to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases and depletion of non-renewable resources. The process is an essential step in the upgrading of bio-oils derived from industrial by-products such as agricultural and forestry wastes, the crude oil from pyrolysis containing a large amount of oxygen that requires to be removed in order to create a fuel resembling fossil-derived hydrocarbons. The bacteria supported catalyst manufacture is a means of utilizing recycled metals and second life bacteria, and the metal can also be easily recovered from the spent catalysts after use. Comparisons are made between bio-Pd, and a conventional activated carbon supported Pd/C catalyst. Bio-oil was produced by fast pyrolysis of beechwood at 500 C at a residence time below 2 seconds, provided by Aston University. 5 wt % BioPd/C was prepared under reducing conditions, exposing cells of E. coli MC4100 to a solution of sodium tetrachloropalladate (Na2PdCl4), followed by rinsing, drying and grinding to form a powder. Pd/C was procured from Sigma-Aldrich. The HDO experiments were carried out in a 100 mL Parr batch autoclave using ~20g bio-crude oil and 0.6 g bio-Pd/C catalyst. Experimental variables investigated for optimization included temperature (160-350C) and reaction times (up to 5 h) at a hydrogen pressure of 100 bar. Most of the experiments resulted in an aqueous phase (~40%) and an organic phase (~50-60%) as well as gas phase (<5%) and coke (<2%). Study of the temperature and time upon the process showed that the degree of deoxygenation increased (from ~20 % up to 60 %) at higher temperatures in the region of 350 C and longer residence times up to 5 h. However minimum viscosity (~0.035 Pa.s) occurred at 250 C and 3 h residence time, indicating that some polymerization of the oil product occurs at the higher temperatures. Bio-Pd showed a similar degree of deoxygenation (~20 %) to Pd/C at lower temperatures of 160 C, but did not rise as steeply with temperature. More coke was formed over bio-Pd/C than Pd/C at temperatures above 250 C, suggesting that bio-Pd/C may be more susceptible to coke formation than Pd/C. Reactions occurring during bio-oil upgrading include catalytic cracking, decarbonylation, decarboxylation, hydrocracking, hydrodeoxygenation and hydrogenation. In conclusion, it was shown that bio-Pd/C displays an acceptable rate of HDO, which increases with residence time and temperature. However some undesirable reactions also occur, leading to a deleterious increase in viscosity at higher temperatures. Comparisons are also drawn with earlier work on the HDO of Chlorella derived bio-oil manufactured from micro-algae via hydrothermal liquefaction. Future work will analyze the kinetics of the reaction and investigate the effect of bi-metallic catalysts.

Keywords: bio-oil, catalyst, palladium, upgrading

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Authors: Waseem Makai

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The term ‘political Islam’ now seem to have gained the centre stage in every discourse pertaining to Islamic legitimacy and compatibility in modern civilisations. A never ceasing tradition of the philosophy of caliphate that has kept overriding the options of any alternate political institution in the Muslim world still permeates a huge faction of believers. Fully accustomed with the proliferation of changes and developments in individual, social and natural dispositions of the world, Islamic theologians retaliated to this flux through both conventional and modernist approaches. The so-called conventional approach was quintessential of the interpretations put forth by Syed Maududi, with new comprehensive, academic and powerful vigour, as never seen before. He generated the avant-garde scholarship which would bear testimony to his statements, made to uphold the political institution of Islam as supreme and noble. However, it was not his trait to challenge the established views but to codify them in such a bracket which a man of the 20th century would find captivating to his heart and satisfactory to his rationale. The delicate microcosms like selection of a caliph, implementation of Islamic commandments (Sharia), interest free banking sectors, imposing tax (Jazyah) on non-believers, waging the holy crusade (Jihad) for the expansion of Islamic boundaries, stoning for committing adulteration and capital punishment for apostates were all there in his scholarship which he spent whole of his life defending in the best possible manner. What and where did he went wrong with all this, was supposedly to be notified later, by his once been disciple, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. Ghamidi is being accused of struggling between Scylla and Charybdis as he tries to remain steadfast to his basic Islamic tenets while modernising their interpretations to bring them in harmony with the Western ideals of democracy and liberty. His blatant acknowledgement of putting democracy at a high pedestal, calling the implementation of Sharia a non-mandatory task and denial to bracket people in the categories of Zimmi and Kaafir fully vindicates his stance against conventional narratives like that of Syed Maududi. Ghamidi goes to the extent of attributing current forms of radicalism and extremism, as exemplified in the operations of organisations like ISIS in Iraq and Syria and Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan, to such a version of political Islam as upheld not only by Syed Maududi but by other prominent theologians like Ibn-Timyah, Syed Qutub and Dr. Israr Ahmad also. Ghamidi is wretched, in a way that his allegedly insubstantial claims gained him enough hostilities to leave his homeland when two of his close allies were brutally murdered. Syed Maududi and Javed Ghamidi, both stand poles apart in their understanding of Islam and its political domain. Who has the appropriate methodology, scholarship and execution in his mode of comprehension, is an intriguing task, worth carrying out in detail.

Keywords: caliphate, democracy, ghamidi, maududi

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Authors: Sukalyan Chakraborty

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Arsenic contamination in groundwater has been a matter of serious concern worldwide. Globally, arsenic contaminated water has caused serious chronic human diseases and in the last few decades the transfer of arsenic to human beings via food chain has gained much attention because food represents a further potential exposure pathway to arsenic in instances where crops are irrigated with high arsenic groundwater, grown in contaminated fields or cooked with arsenic laden water. In the present study, the groundwater of Sahibganj district of Jharkhand has been analysed to find the degree of contamination and its probable associated risk due to direct consumption or irrigation. The present study area comprising of three blocks, namely Sahibganj, Rajmahal and Udhwa in Sahibganj district of Jharkhand state, India, situated in the western bank of river Ganga has been investigated for arsenic contamination in groundwater, soil and crops predominantly growing in the region. Associated physicochemical parameters of groundwater including pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), oxidation reduction potential (ORP), ammonium, nitrate and chloride were assessed to understand the mobilisation mechanism and chances of arsenic exposure from soil to crops and further into the food chain. Results suggested the groundwater to be dominantly Ca-HCO3- type with low redox potential and high total dissolved solids load. Major cations followed the order of Ca ˃ Na ˃ Mg ˃ K. The concentration of major anions was found in the order of HCO3− > Cl− > SO42− > NO3− > PO43− varied between 0.009 to 0.20 mg L-1. Fe concentrations of the groundwater samples were below WHO permissible limit varying between 54 to 344 µg L-1. Phosphate concentration was high and showed a significant positive correlation with arsenic. As concentrations ranged from 7 to 115 µg L-1 in premonsoon, between 2 and 98 µg L-1 in monsoon and 1 to 133µg L-1 in postmonsoon season. Arsenic concentration was found to be much higher than the WHO or BIS permissible limit in majority of the villages in the study area. Arsenic was also seen to be positively correlated with iron and phosphate. PCA results demonstrated the role of both geological condition and anthropogenic inputs to influence the water quality. Arsenic was also found to increase with depth up to 100 m from the surface. Calculation of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects of the arsenic concentration in the communities exposed to the groundwater for drinking and other purpose indicated high risk with an average of more than 1 in a 1000 population. Health risk analysis revealed high to very high carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk for adults and children in the communities dependent on groundwater of the study area. Observation suggested the groundwater to be considerably polluted with arsenic and posing significant health risk for the exposed communities. The mobilisation mechanism of arsenic also could be identified from the results suggesting reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxides due to high phosphate concentration from agricultural input arsenic release from the sediments along river Ganges.

Keywords: arsenic, physicochemical parameters, mobilisation, health effects

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Authors: A. Pallavi, N. Vijay Mohan

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A nation can be economically progressive only when the citizens have sufficient capacity to work efficiently to increase the productivity. So, good health must be regarded as a primary need of the community. This helps the growth and development of the body and the mind, which in turn leads to progress and prosperity of the nation. An optimum growth is a necessity for an efficient existence in a biologically adverse and economically competitive world. It is also necessary for the execution of daily routine work. Yoga is a method or a system for the complete development of the personality in a human being. It can be further elaborated as an all-around and complete development of the body, mind, morality, intellect and soul of a being. Sri Aurobindo defines yoga as 'a methodical effort towards self-perfection by the development of the potentialities in the individual.' Aerobic exercise as any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmic I nature. It is a type of exercise that overloads the heart and lungs and causes them to work harder than at rest. The important idea behind aerobic exercise today, is to get up and get moving. There are more activities that ever to choose from, whether it is a new activity or an old one. Find something you enjoy doing that keeps our heart rate elevated for a continuous time period and get moving to a healthier life. Middle aged selected and served as the subjects for the purpose of this study. The selected subjects were in the age group of 30 to 40 years. By going through the literature and after consulting the experts in yoga and aerobic training, the investigator had chosen the variables which are specifically related to the middle-aged men. The selected physiological variables are pulse rate, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure; percent body fat and vital capacity. The selected psychological variables are job anxiety, occupational stress. The study was formulated as a random group design consisting of aerobic exercise and yogic exercises groups. The subjects (N=60) were at random divided into three equal groups of twenty middle-aged men each. The groups were assigned the names as follows: 1. Experimental group I- aerobic exercises group, 2. Experimental group II- yogic exercises, 3. Control group. All the groups were subjected to pre-test prior to the experimental treatment. The experimental groups participated in their respective duration of twenty-four weeks, six days in a week throughout the study. The various tests administered were: prior to training (pre-test), after twelfth week (second test) and twenty-fourth weeks (post-test) of the training schedule.

Keywords: pulse rate, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure; percent body fat and vital capacity, psychological variables, job anxiety, occupational stress, aerobic exercise, yogic exercise

Procedia PDF Downloads 438

Authors: R. R. Galiev, I. I. Lykov, A. E. Shitikov, I. A. Bilenko

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Dual-comb interferometry is based on the mixing of two optical frequency combs with slightly different lines spacing which results in the mapping of the optical spectrum into the radio-frequency domain for future digitizing and numerical processing. The dual-comb approach enables diverse applications, including metrology, fast high-precision spectroscopy, and distance range. Ordinary frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) laser-based Light Identification Detection and Ranging systems (LIDARs) suffer from two main disadvantages: slow and unreliable mechanical, spatial scan and a rather wide linewidth of conventional lasers, which limits speed measurement resolution. Dual-comb distance measurements with Allan deviations down to 12 nanometers at averaging times of 13 microseconds, along with ultrafast ranging at acquisition rates of 100 megahertz, allowing for an in-flight sampling of gun projectiles moving at 150 meters per second, was previously demonstrated. Nevertheless, pump lasers with EDFA amplifiers made the device bulky and expensive. An alternative approach is a direct coupling of the laser to a reference microring cavity. Backscattering can tune the laser to the eigenfrequency of the cavity via the so-called self-injection locked (SIL) effect. Moreover, the nonlinearity of the cavity allows a solitonic frequency comb generation in the very same cavity. In this work, we developed a fully integrated, power-efficient, electrically driven dual-micro comb source based on the semiconductor lasers SIL to high-quality integrated Si3N4 microresonators. We managed to obtain robust 1400-1700 nm combs generation with a 150 GHz or 1 THz lines spacing and measure less than a 1 kHz Lorentzian withs of stable, MHz spaced beat notes in a GHz band using two separated chips, each pumped by its own, self-injection locked laser. A deep investigation of the SIL dynamic allows us to find out the turn-key operation regime even for affordable Fabry-Perot multifrequency lasers used as a pump. It is important that such lasers are usually more powerful than DFB ones, which were also tested in our experiments. In order to test the advantages of the proposed techniques, we experimentally measured a minimum detectable speed of a reflective object. It has been shown that the narrow line of the laser locked to the microresonator provides markedly better velocity accuracy, showing velocity resolution down to 16 nm/s, while the no-SIL diode laser only allowed 160 nm/s with good accuracy. The results obtained are in agreement with the estimations and open up ways to develop LIDARs based on compact and cheap lasers. Our implementation uses affordable components, including semiconductor laser diodes and commercially available silicon nitride photonic circuits with microresonators.

Keywords: dual-comb spectroscopy, LIDAR, optical microresonator, self-injection locking

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Authors: Mara Aparecida De Castilho Lopes. Maria Eliza Mattosinho Bernardes

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The education of deaf individuals in Brazil is grounded in the bilingual approach, which presupposes Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) as the first language for these students. In this perspective, Portuguese should be taught as a second language in its written form, ensuring that deaf students also have access to various academic subjects in sign language. Brazilian legislation (Federal Decree No. 5626 of 2005) mandates the teaching of Brazilian Sign Language in university teacher training programs, but there is no pre-established minimum workload. As a result, there is a significant disparity in the teaching and quality of teacher education across the Brazilian territory. Added to this fact is the general lack of awareness within society regarding the linguistic status of Libras, leading to a shortage of competent teachers for its use and instruction, particularly in higher education. Recently, Federal Law No. 14191 of 2021 established bilingual education for the deaf as a mode of instruction, indicating the need for adjustments in teacher training within higher education teacher preparation programs. Given this context, the objective of the present study was to analyze the teaching proposals for Brazilian Sign Language for students in teacher training programs at public universities in Brazil, presenting alternatives to overcome the current models and academic pathways of teaching and learning. In addition to analyzing Brazilian teaching models, an analysis of a continuing education model for teachers in a French institution was also conducted - considering the historical Franco-Brazilian path of deaf education in Brazil. The analysis of the current teacher training model for deaf education in Brazil revealed that initial exposure to sign language and its linguistic structure is not sufficient to provide future teachers with opportunities to reflect on bilingual teaching methods and practices, as seen in other definitions of bilingualism - bilingual education for proficient listeners in two oral languages. As a result, a training proposal was developed for an experimental interdisciplinary course, integrating the curriculum of an initial and continuing teacher training program alongside the Alfredo Bossi Chair at the University of São Paulo. This proposal is structured into three disciplines, which constitute consecutive moments in teacher education: Fundamental Aspects of Brazilian Sign Language, Bilingual Teaching Methodology, and Teaching Investigation Project - interdisciplinary engagement in the field of deafness. The last offered discipline represents an interdisciplinary supervised internship proposal, considering the multi-professional context that constitutes deaf education within a bilingual approach. In interdisciplinary work within the field of deafness, dialogue between teachers and other professionals who work with deaf students from different perspectives - teachers, speech therapists, and sign language interpreters - is frequently necessary. Through alternative avenues, these actions aim to direct the linguistic development of deaf students within their learning processes. Based on the innovative curriculum proposal described here, the intention is to contribute to the enhancement of teacher education in Brazil, with the goal of ensuring bilingual education for deaf students.

Keywords: bilingual education, teacher training, historical-cultural approach, interdisciplinary education, inclusive education

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Liudmila Shabalinskaya, Victor Golovanov, Liudmila Milinis, Sergey Loponos, Alexander Maslov, D. O. Frolov

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The work is devoted to the rapid laboratory diagnosis of the condition of aircraft friction units, based on the application of the nondestructive testing method by analyzing the parameters of wear particles, or tribodiagnostics. The most important task of tribodiagnostics is to develop recommendations for the selection of more advanced designs, materials and lubricants based on data on wear processes for increasing the life and ensuring the safety of the operation of machines and mechanisms. The object of tribodiagnostics in this work are the tooth gears of the central drive and the gearboxes of the gas turbine engine of the civil aviation PS-90A type, in which rolling friction and sliding friction with slip occur. The main criterion for evaluating the technical state of lubricated friction units of a gas turbine engine is the intensity and rate of wear of the friction surfaces of the friction unit parts. When the engine is running, oil samples are taken and the state of the friction surfaces is evaluated according to the parameters of the wear particles contained in the oil sample, which carry important and detailed information about the wear processes in the engine transmission units. The parameters carrying this information include the concentration of wear particles and metals in the oil, the dispersion composition, the shape, the size ratio and the number of particles, the state of their surfaces, the presence in the oil of various mechanical impurities of non-metallic origin. Such a morphological analysis of wear particles has been introduced into the order of monitoring the status and diagnostics of various aircraft engines, including a gas turbine engine, since the type of wear characteristic of the central drive and the drive box is surface fatigue wear and the beginning of its development, accompanied by the formation of microcracks, leads to the formation of spherical, up to 10 μm in size, and in the aftermath of flocculent particles measuring 20-200 μm in size. Tribodiagnostics using the morphological analysis of wear particles includes the following techniques: ferrography, filtering, and computer analysis of the classification and counting of wear particles. Based on the analysis of several series of oil samples taken from the drive box of the engine during their operating time, a study was carried out of the processes of wear kinetics. Based on the results of the study and comparing the series of criteria for tribodiagnostics, wear state ratings and statistics of the results of morphological analysis, norms for the normal operating regime were developed. The study allowed to develop levels of wear state for friction surfaces of gearing and a 10-point rating system for estimating the likelihood of the occurrence of an increased wear mode and, accordingly, prevention of engine failures in flight.

Keywords: aviation, box of drives, morphological analysis, tribodiagnostics, tribology, ferrography, filtering, wear particle

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Karolina Wieczorek, Sophie Wiliams

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Introduction: Patient data is often collected in Electronic Health Record Systems (EHR) for purposes such as providing care as well as reporting data. This information can be re-used to validate data models in clinical trials or in epidemiological studies. Manual validation of automated tools is vital to pick up errors in processing and to provide confidence in the output. Mentioning a disease in a discharge letter does not necessarily mean that a patient suffers from this disease. Many of them discuss a diagnostic process, different tests, or discuss whether a patient has a certain disease. The COVID-19 dataset in this study used natural language processing (NLP), an automated algorithm which extracts information related to COVID-19 symptoms, complications, and medications prescribed within the hospital. Free-text patient clinical patient notes are rich sources of information which contain patient data not captured in a structured form, hence the use of named entity recognition (NER) to capture additional information. Methods: Patient data (discharge summary letters) were exported and screened by an algorithm to pick up relevant terms related to COVID-19. Manual validation of automated tools is vital to pick up errors in processing and to provide confidence in the output. A list of 124 Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) Clinical Terms has been provided in Excel with corresponding IDs. Two independent medical student researchers were provided with a dictionary of SNOMED list of terms to refer to when screening the notes. They worked on two separate datasets called "A” and "B”, respectively. Notes were screened to check if the correct term had been picked-up by the algorithm to ensure that negated terms were not picked up. Results: Its implementation in the hospital began on March 31, 2020, and the first EHR-derived extract was generated for use in an audit study on June 04, 2020. The dataset has contributed to large, priority clinical trials (including International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) by bulk upload to REDcap research databases) and local research and audit studies. Successful sharing of EHR-extracted datasets requires communicating the provenance and quality, including completeness and accuracy of this data. The results of the validation of the algorithm were the following: precision (0.907), recall (0.416), and F-score test (0.570). Percentage enhancement with NLP extracted terms compared to regular data extraction alone was low (0.3%) for relatively well-documented data such as previous medical history but higher (16.6%, 29.53%, 30.3%, 45.1%) for complications, presenting illness, chronic procedures, acute procedures respectively. Conclusions: This automated NLP algorithm is shown to be useful in facilitating patient data analysis and has the potential to be used in more large-scale clinical trials to assess potential study exclusion criteria for participants in the development of vaccines.

Keywords: automated, algorithm, NLP, COVID-19

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Authors: Anselm Ego Onyimonyi, Maduako Johnpaul O.

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The study was designed to investigate into the socio-ecological impact of migration of Fulani herders in Anambra state of Nigeria, through a climate justice lens. Nigeria is one of the world’s most densely populated countries with a population of over 284 million people, half of which are considered to be in abject poverty. There is no doubt that livestock production provides sustainable contributions to food security and poverty reduction to Nigeria economy, but not without some environmental implications like any other economic activities. Nigeria is recognized as being vulnerable to climate change. Climate change and global warming if left unchecked will cause adverse effects on livelihoods in Nigeria, such as livestock production, crop production, fisheries, forestry and post-harvest activities, because the rainfall regimes and patterns will be altered, floods which devastate farmlands would occur, increase in temperature and humidity which increases pest and disease would occur and other natural disasters like desertification, drought, floods, ocean and storm surges, which not only damage Nigerians’ livelihood but also cause harm to life and property, would occur. This and other climatic issue as it affects Fulani herdsmen was what this study investigated. In carrying out this research, a survey research design was adopted. A simple sampling technique was used. One local government area (LGA) was selected purposively from each of the four agricultural zone in the state based on its predominance of Fulani herders. For appropriate sampling, 25 respondents from each of the four Agricultural zones in the state were randomly selected making up the 100 respondent being sampled. Primary data were generated by using a set of structured 5-likert scale questionnaire. Data generated were analyzed using SPSS and the result presented using descriptive statistics. From the data analyzed, the study indentified; Unpredicted rainfall (mean = 3.56), Forest fire (mean = 4.63), Drying Water Source (mean = 3.99), Dwindling Grazing (mean 4.43), Desertification (mean = 4.44), Fertile land scarcity (mean = 3.42) as major factor predisposing Fulani herders to migrate southward while rejecting Natural inclination to migrate (mean = 2.38) and migration to cause trouble as a factor. On the reason why Fulani herders are trying to establish a permanent camp in Anambra state; Moderate temperature (mean= 3.60), Avoiding overgrazing (4.42), Search for fodder and water (mean = 4.81) and (mean = 4.70) respectively, Need for market (4.28), Favorable environment (mean = 3.99) and Access to fertile land (3.96) were identified. It was concluded that changing climatic variables necessitated the migration of herders from Northern Nigeria to areas in the South were the variables are most favorable to the herders and their animals.

Keywords: socio-ecological, migration, fulani, climate, justice, lens

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Authors: Nadia Noor, Farida Faisal

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Horizontal hostility has been identified as a special type of workplace violence and refers to the aggressive behavior inflicted by women towards other women due to gender issues or towards minority group members due to minority issues. Many women, while they want eagerly to succeed and invest invigorated efforts to achieve success, harbor negative feelings for other women to succeed in their career. This phenomenon has been known as Horizontal Violence, Horizontal Hostility, Lateral Violence, Indirect Aggression, or The Tall Poppy Syndrome in Australian culture. Tall Poppy is referred to as a visibly successful individual who attracts envy or hostility due to distinctive characteristics. Therefore, horizontal hostility provides theoretical foundation to examine fierce competition among females than males for their limited access to top level management positions. In Pakistan, gender discrimination persists due to male dominance in the society and women do not enjoy basic equality rights in all aspects of life. They are oppressed at social and organizational level. As Government has been trying to enhance women participation through providing more employment opportunities, provision of peaceful workplace is mandatory that will enable aspiring females to achieve objectives of career success. This research study will help to understand antecedents, dimensions and outcomes of horizontal hostility that hinder career success of competitive females. The present paper is a review paper and various forms of horizontal hostility have been discussed in detail. Different psychological and organizational level drivers of horizontal hostility have been explored through literature. Psychological drivers include oppression, lack of empowerment, learned helplessness and low self-esteem. Organizational level drivers include sticky floor, glass ceiling, toxic work environment and leadership role. Horizontal hostility among working women results in psychological and physical outcomes including stress, low motivation, poor job performance and intention to leave. The study recommends provision of healthy and peaceful work environment that will enable competent women to achieve objectives of career success. In this regard, concrete actions and effective steps are required to promote gender equality at social and organizational level. The need is to ensure the enforcement of legal frameworks by government agencies in order to provide healthy working environment to women by reducing harassment and violence against them. Organizations must eradicate drivers of horizontal hostility and provide women peaceful work environment. In order to develop coping skills, training and mentoring must be provided to them.

Keywords: gender discrimination, glass ceiling, horizontal hostility, oppression

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Hamid Reza Mahdipoor, Mehdi Bahrami, Mohammad Bodaghi, Seyed Ali Akbar Mansoori

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Nowadays, with stricter limitations to reduce emissions, considerable penalties are imposed if pollution limits are exceeded. Therefore, refineries, along with focusing on improving the quality of their products, are also focused on producing products with the least environmental impact. The duty of the sulfur recovery unit (SRU) is to convert H₂S gas coming from the upstream units to elemental sulfur and minimize the burning of sulfur compounds to SO₂. The Claus process is a common process for converting H₂S to sulfur, including a reaction furnace followed by catalytic reactors and sulfur condensers. In addition to a Claus section, SRUs usually consist of a tail gas treatment (TGT) section to decrease the concentration of SO₂ in the flue gas below the emission limits. To operate an SRU properly, the flow rate of combustion air to the reaction furnace must be adjusted so that the Claus reaction is performed according to stoichiometry. Accurate control of the air demand leads to an optimum recovery of sulfur during the flow and composition fluctuations in the acid gas feed. Therefore, the major control system in the SRU is the air demand control loop, which includes a feed-forward control system based on predetermined feed flow rates and a feed-back control system based on the signal from the tail gas online analyzer. The use of online analyzers requires compliance with the installation and operation instructions. Unfortunately, most of these analyzers in Iran are out of service for different reasons, like the low importance of environmental issues and a lack of access to after-sales services due to sanctions. In this paper, an SRU in Iran was simulated and calibrated using industrial experimental data. Afterward, the effect of the malfunction of the online analyzer on the performance of SRU was investigated using the calibrated simulation. The results showed that an increase in the SO₂ concentration in the tail gas led to an increase in the temperature of the reduction reactor in the TGT section. This increase in temperature caused the failure of TGT and increased the concentration of SO₂ from 750 ppm to 35,000 ppm. In addition, the lack of a control system for the adjustment of the combustion air caused further increases in SO₂ emissions. In some processes, the major variable cannot be controlled directly due to difficulty in measurement or a long delay in the sampling system. In these cases, a secondary variable, which can be measured more easily, is considered to be controlled. With the correct selection of this variable, the main variable is also controlled along with the secondary variable. This strategy for controlling a process system is referred to as inferential control" and is considered in this paper. Therefore, a sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the sensitivity of other measurable parameters to input disturbances. The results revealed that the output temperature of the first Claus reactor could be used for inferential control of the combustion air. Applying this method to the operation led to maximizing the sulfur recovery in the Claus section.

Keywords: sulfur recovery, online analyzer, inferential control, SO₂ emission

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh, Bhabani Prasad Mukhopadhay

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Rice milling is an important activity in agricultural economy of India, particularly the Burdwan district. However, the environmental impact of rice mills is frequently underestimated. The environmental impact of rice mills in the Burdwan district is a major source of concern, given the importance of rice milling in the local economy and food supply. In the Burdwan district, more than fifty (50) rice mills are in operation. The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of rice mills on several environmental components, with a particular emphasis on groundwater, surface water, soil, and vegetation. The research comprises a thorough review of numerous rice mills located around the district, utilising both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Water samples taken from wells near rice mills will be tested for groundwater quality, with an emphasis on factors such as heavy metal pollution and pollutant concentrations. Monitoring rice mill discharge into neighbouring bodies of water and studying the potential impact on aquatic ecosystems will be part of surface water evaluations. Furthermore, soil samples from the surrounding areas will be taken to examine changes in soil characteristics, nutrient content, and potential contamination from milling waste disposal. Vegetation studies will be conducted to investigate the effects of emissions and effluents on plant health and biodiversity in the region. The findings will provide light on the extent of environmental degradation caused by rice mills in the Burdwan district, as well as valuable insight into the effects of such operations on water, soil, and vegetation. The findings will aid in the development of appropriate legislation and regulations to reduce negative environmental repercussions and promote sustainable practises in the rice milling business. In some cases, heavy metals have been related to health problems. Heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, Hg) are linked to skin, lung, brain, kidney, liver, metabolic, spleen, cardiovascular, haematological, immunological, gastrointestinal, testes, pancreatic, metabolic, and bone problems. As a result, this study contributes to a better knowledge of industrial environmental impacts and establishes the framework for future studies aimed at developing a more ecologically balanced and resilient Burdwan district. The following recommendations are offered for reducing the rice mill's environmental impact: To keep untreated effluents out of bodies of water, adequate waste management systems must be established. Use environmentally friendly rice milling processes to reduce pollution. To avoid soil pollution, rice mill by-products should be used as fertiliser in a controlled and appropriate manner. Groundwater, surface water, soil, and vegetation are all regularly monitored in order to study and adapt to environmental changes. By adhering to these principles, the rice milling industry of Burdwan district may achieve long-term growth while lowering its environmental effect and safeguarding the environment for future generations.

Keywords: groundwater, environmental analysis, biodiversity, rice mill, waste management, diseases, industrial impact

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Authors: Diana Mitova, Krassimir Mitrev

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To prepare the current generation for the future, education systems need to change. It implies a way of learning that meets the demands of the times and the environment in which we live. Productive interaction in the educational process implies an interactive learning environment and the possibility of personal development of learners based on communication and mutual dialogue, cooperation and good partnership in decision-making. Students need not only theoretical knowledge, but transferable skills that will help them to become inventors and entrepreneurs, to implement ideas. STEM education , is now a real necessity for the modern school. Through learning in a "learning company", students master examples from classroom practice, simulate real life situations, group activities and apply basic interactive learning strategies and techniques. The learning company is the subject of this study, reduced to entrepreneurship training in STEM - technologies that encourage students to think outside the traditional box. STEM learning focuses the teacher's efforts on modeling entrepreneurial thinking and behavior in students and helping them solve problems in the world of business and entrepreneurship. Learning based on the implementation of various STEM projects in extracurricular activities, experiential learning, and an interdisciplinary approach are means by which educators better connect the local community and private businesses. Learners learn to be creative, experiment and take risks and work in teams - the leading characteristics of any innovator and future entrepreneur. This article presents some European policies on STEM and entrepreneurship education. It also shares best practices for training company training , with the integration of STEM in the learning company training environment. The main results boil down to identifying some advantages and problems in STEM entrepreneurship education. The benefits of using integrative approaches to teach STEM within a training company are identified, as well as the positive effects of project-based learning in a training company using STEM. Best practices for teaching entrepreneurship through extracurricular activities using STEM within a training company are shared. The following research methods are applied in this research paper: Theoretical and comparative analysis of principles and policies of European Union countries and Bulgaria in the field of entrepreneurship education through a training company. Experiences in entrepreneurship education through extracurricular activities with STEM application within a training company are shared. A questionnaire survey to investigate the motivation of secondary vocational school students to learn entrepreneurship through a training company and their readiness to start their own business after completing their education. Within the framework of learning through a "learning company" with the integration of STEM, the activity of the teacher-facilitator includes the methods: counseling, supervising and advising students during work. The expectation is that students acquire the key competence "initiative and entrepreneurship" and that the cooperation between the vocational education system and the business in Bulgaria is more effective.

Keywords: STEM, entrepreneurship, training company, extracurricular activities

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Authors: Sean Griffiths

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Introduction: This paper examines the expression of ‘objectivity’ in architecture in the context of the post-war rejection of this concept. It aims to re-examine the question in light of the assault on truth characterizing contemporary culture and of the unassailable truth of the climate emergency. The paper analyses the search for objective truth as it was prosecuted in the Modern Movement in the early 20th century, looking at the extent to which this quest was successful in contributing to the development of a radically new, politically-informed architecture and the extent to which its particular interpretation of objectivity, limited that development. The paper studies the influence of the Vienna Circle philosophers Rudolph Carnap and Otto Neurath on the pedagogy of the Bauhaus and the architecture of the Neue Sachlichkeit in Germany. Their logical positivism sought to determine objective truths through empirical analysis, expressed in an austere formal language as part of a ‘scientific world conception’ which would overcome metaphysics and unverifiable mystification. These ideas, and the concurrent prioritizing of measurement as the determinant of environmental quality, became key influences in the socially-driven architecture constructed in the 1920s and 30s by Bauhaus architects in numerous German Cities. Methodology: The paper reviews the history of the early Modern Movement and summarizes accounts of the relationship between the Vienna Circle and the Bauhaus. It looks at key differences in the approaches Neurath and Carnap took to the achievement of their shared philosophical and political aims. It analyses how the adoption of Carnap’s foundationalism influenced the architectural language of modern architecture and compares, through a close reading of the structure of Neurath’s ‘protocol sentences,’ the latter’s alternative approach, speculating on the possibility that its adoption offered a different direction of travel for Modern Architecture. Findings: The paper finds that the adoption of Carnap’s foundationalism, while helping Modern Architecture forge a new visual language, ultimately limited its development and is implicated in its failure to escape the very metaphysics against which it had set itself. It speculates that Neurath’s relational language-based approach to the issue of establishing objectivity has its architectural corollary in the process of revision and renovation that offers new ways an ‘objective’ language of architecture might be developed in a manner that is more responsive to our present-day crisis. Conclusion: The philosophical principles of the Vienna Circle and the architects of the Modern Movement had much in common. Both contributed to radical historical departures which sought to instantiate a world scientific conception in their respective fields, which would attempt to banish mystification and metaphysics and would align itself with socialism. However, in adopting Carnap’s foundationalism as the theoretical basis for the new architecture, Modern Architecture not only failed to escape metaphysics but arguably closed off new avenues of development to itself. The adoption of Neurath’s more open-ended and interactive approach to objectivity offers possibilities for new conceptions of the expression of objectivity in architecture that might be more tailored to the multiple crises we face today.

Keywords: Bauhaus, logical positivism, Neue Sachlichkeit, rationalism, Vienna Circle

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Authors: Shailaja Thakur

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Managerial literature abounds with discussions on business strategies, success stories as well as cases of failure, which provide an indication of the parameters that should be considered in gauging the dynamism of an entrepreneur. Neoclassical economics has reduced entrepreneurship to a mere factor of production, driven solely by the profit motive, thus stripping him of all creativity and restricting his decision making to mechanical calculations. His ‘dynamism’ is gauged simply by the amount of profits he earns, marginalizing any discussion on the means that he employs to attain this objective. With theoretical backing, we have developed an Index of Entrepreneurial Dynamism (IED) giving weights to the different moves that the entrepreneur makes during his business journey. Strategies such as changes in product lines, markets and technology are gauged as very important (weighting of 4); while adaptations in terms of technology, raw materials used, upgradations in skill set are given a slightly lesser weight of 3. Use of formal market analysis, diversification in related products are considered moderately important (weight of 2) and being a first generation entrepreneur, employing managers and having plans to diversify are taken to be only slightly important business strategies (weight of 1). The maximum that an entrepreneur can score on this index is 53. A semi-structured questionnaire is employed to solicit the responses from the entrepreneurs on the various strategies that have been employed by them during the course of their business. Binary as well as graded responses are obtained, weighted and summed up to give the IED. This index was tested on about 150 tribal entrepreneurs in Mizoram, a state of India and was found to be highly effective in gauging their dynamism. This index has universal acceptability but is devoid of the socio-cultural context, which is very central to the success and performance of the entrepreneurs. We hypothesize that a society that respects risk taking takes failures in its stride, glorifies entrepreneurial role models, promotes merit and achievement is one that has a conducive socio- cultural environment for entrepreneurship. For obtaining an idea about the social acceptability, we are putting forth questions related to the social acceptability of business to another set of respondents from different walks of life- bureaucracy, academia, and other professional fields. Similar weighting technique is employed, and index is generated. This index is used for discounting the IED of the respondent entrepreneurs from that region/ society. This methodology is being tested for a sample of entrepreneurs from two very different socio- cultural milieus- a tribal society and a ‘mainstream’ society- with the hypothesis that the entrepreneurs in the tribal milieu might be showing a higher level of dynamism than their counterparts in other regions. An entrepreneur who scores high on IED and belongs to society and culture that holds entrepreneurship in high esteem, might not be in reality as dynamic as a person who shows similar dynamism in a relatively discouraging or even an outright hostile environment.

Keywords: index of entrepreneurial dynamism, India, social acceptability, tribal entrepreneurs

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Authors: Kumalbeo Paul Kamani

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Marketing plays a very important role in the success of any firm since it represents the means through which a firm can reach its customers and also promotes its products and services. In fact, marketing aids the firm in identifying customers who the business can competitively serve, and tailoring product offerings, prices, distribution, promotional efforts, and services towards those customers. Unfortunately, in many firms, marketing has been reduced to merely advertisement. For effective marketing, firms must go beyond this often-limited function of advertisement. In the fashion industry in particular, marketing faces challenges due to its peculiar characteristics. Previous research for instance affirms the idiosyncrasy and peculiarities that differentiate the fashion industry from other industrial areas. It has been documented that the fashion industry is characterized seasonal intensity, short product life cycles, the difficulty of competitive differentiation, and long time for companies to reach financial stability. These factors are noted to pose obstacles to the fashion entrepreneur’s endeavours and can be the reasons that explain their low survival rates. In recent times, the fashion industry has been described as a market that is accessible market, has low entry barriers, both in terms of needed capital and skills which have all accounted for the burgeoning nature of startups. Yet as already stated, marketing is particularly challenging in the industry. In particular, areas such as marketing, branding, growth, project planning, financial and relationship management might represent challenges for the fashion entrepreneur but that have not been properly addressed by previous research. It is therefore important to assess marketing strategies of fashion firms and the factors influencing their success. This study generally sought to examine marketing strategies of fashion dealers in Ghana and their critical success factors. The study employed the quantitative survey research approach. A total of 120 fashion dealers were sampled. Questionnaires were used as instrument of data collection. Data collected was analysed using quantitative techniques including descriptive statistics and Relative Importance Index. The study revealed that the marketing strategies used by fashion apparels are text messages using mobile phones, referrals, social media marketing, and direct marketing. Results again show that the factors influencing fashion marketing effectiveness are strategic management, marketing mix (product, price, promotion etc), branding and business development. Policy implications are finally outlined. The study recommends among others that there is a need for the top management executive to craft and adopt marketing strategies that enable that are compatible with the fashion trends and the needs of the customers. This will improve customer satisfaction and hence boost market penetration. The study further recommends that the fashion industry in Ghana should seek to ensure that fashion apparels accommodate the diversity and the cultural setting of different customers to meet their unique needs.

Keywords: marketing, fashion, industry, success factors

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Authors: Markéta Chmelíková, David Ullrich, Iva Burešová

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The paper maps the possibilities and limits of diagnosing selected personality and performance characteristics of military leadership and psychology students in the context of coping with challenging situations. Individuals vary greatly inter-individually in their ability to effectively manage extreme situations, yet existing diagnostic tools are often criticized mainly for their low predictive power. Nowadays, every modern army focuses primarily on the systematic minimization of potential risks, including the prediction of desirable forms of behavior and the performance of military commanders. The context of military leadership is well known for its life-threatening nature. Therefore, it is crucial to research stress load in the specific context of military leadership for the purpose of possible anticipation of human failure in managing extreme situations of military leadership. The aim of the submitted pilot study, using an experiment of 24 hours duration, is to verify the possibilities of a specific combination of psychodiagnostic to predict people who possess suitable equipment for coping with increased stress load. In our pilot study, we conducted an experiment of 24 hours duration with an experimental group (N=13) in the bomb shelter and a control group (N=11) in a classroom. Both groups were represented by military leadership students (N=11) and psychology students (N=13). Both groups were equalized in terms of study type and gender. Participants were administered the following test battery of personality characteristics: Big Five Inventory 2 (BFI-2), Short Dark Triad (SD-3), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-P). This test battery was administered only once at the beginning of the experiment. Along with this, they were administered a test battery consisting of the Test of Attention (d2) and the Bourdon test four times overall with 6 hours ranges. To better simulate an extreme situation – we tried to induce sleep deprivation - participants were required to try not to fall asleep throughout the experiment. Despite the assumption that a stay in an underground bomb shelter will manifest in impaired cognitive performance, this expectation has been significantly confirmed in only one measurement, which can be interpreted as marginal in the context of multiple testing. This finding is a fundamental insight into the issue of stress management in extreme situations, which is crucial for effective military leadership. The results suggest that a 24-hour stay in a shelter, together with sleep deprivation, does not seem to simulate sufficient stress for an individual, which would be reflected in the level of cognitive performance. In the context of these findings, it would be interesting in future to extend the diagnostic battery with physiological indicators of stress, such as: heart rate, stress score, physical stress, mental stress ect.

Keywords: bomb shelter, extreme situation, military leadership, psychodiagnostic

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Authors: Nashwa Moheyeldine

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Education for sustainable development (ESD) aims to preserve the rights of the present and future generations as well as preserving the globe, both humans and nature. ESD should aim not only to bring about consciousness of the current and future issues, but also to foster student agency to bring about change at schools, communities and nations. According to the Freirian concept of conscientização, (conscientization) — “learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions, and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality”, education aims to liberate people to understand and act upon their worlds. Social justice is greatly intertwined with a nation’s social, political and economic rights, and thus, should be targeted through ESD. “Literacy researchers have found that K-12 students who engage in social justice inquiries develop vital academic knowledge and skills, critical understandings about oppression in the world, and strong dispositions to continue working toward social justice beyond the initial inquiries they conduct”. Education for social justice greatly equips students with the critical thinking skills and sense of agency, that are required for responsible decision making that would ensure a sustainable world. In fact teaching for social justice is intersecting with many of the pedagogies such as multicultural education, cultural relevant pedagogy, education for sustainable development, critical theory pedagogy, (local and global) citizenship education, all of which aim to prepare students for awareness, responsibility and agency. Social justice pedagogy has three specific goals, including helping students develop 1) a sociopolitical consciousness - an awareness of the symbiotic relationship between the social and political factors that affect society, 2) a sense of agency, the freedom to act on one’s behalf and to feel empowered as a change agent, and 3) positive social and cultural identities. The keyword to social justice education is to expose the realities to the students, and challenge the students not only to question , but also to change. Social justice has been usually discussed through the subjects of history and social sciences, however, an interdisciplinary approach is essential to enhance the students’ understanding of their world. Teaching social justice through various subjects is also important, as it make students’ learning relevant to their lives. The main question that this paper seeks to answer is ‘How could social justice be taught through different subjects and tools, such as mathematics, literature through story-telling, geography, and service learning will be shown in this paper. Also challenges to education for social justice will be described. Education is not a neutral endeavor, but is either oriented toward the cause of liberation or in support of domination. In fact , classrooms can be “a microcosm of the emancipatory societies we seek to encourage”, education for the 21st century should be relevant to students' lives where it exposes life's realities to them. Education should also provide students with the basics of school subjects with the bigger goal of helping them make the world a better, more just place to live in.

Keywords: teaching for social justice, student agency, citizenship education, education

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Rene Hellmuth

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The requirements for the factory planning and the building concerned have changed in the last years. Factory planning has the task of designing products, plants, processes, organization, areas, and the building of a factory. Regular restructuring gains more importance in order to maintain the competitiveness of a factory. Restrictions regarding new areas, shorter life cycles of product and production technology as well as a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world cause more frequently occurring rebuilding measures within a factory. Restructuring of factories is the most common planning case today. Restructuring is more common than new construction, revitalization and dismantling of factories. The increasing importance of restructuring processes shows that the ability to change was and is a promising concept for the reaction of companies to permanently changing conditions. The factory building is the basis for most changes within a factory. If an adaptation of a construction project (factory) is necessary, the inventory documents must be checked and often time-consuming planning of the adaptation must take place to define the relevant components to be adapted, in order to be able to finally evaluate them. The different requirements of the planning participants from the disciplines of factory planning (production planner, logistics planner, automation planner) and industrial construction planning (architect, civil engineer) come together during reconstruction and must be structured. This raises the research question: Which requirements do the disciplines involved in the reconstruction planning place on a digital factory model? A subordinate research question is: How can model-based decision support be provided for a more efficient design of the conversion within a factory? Because of the high adaptation rate of factories and its building described above, a methodology for rescheduling factories based on the requirements engineering method from software development is conceived and designed for practical application in factory restructuring projects. The explorative research procedure according to Kubicek is applied. Explorative research is suitable if the practical usability of the research results has priority. Furthermore, it will be shown how to best use a digital factory model in practice. The focus will be on mobile applications to meet the needs of factory planners on site. An augmented reality (AR) application will be designed and created to provide decision support for planning variants. The aim is to contribute to a shortening of the planning process and model-based decision support for more efficient change management. This requires the application of a methodology that reduces the deficits of the existing approaches. The time and cost expenditure are represented in the AR tablet solution based on a building information model (BIM). Overall, the requirements of those involved in the planning process for a digital factory model in the case of restructuring within a factory are thus first determined in a structured manner. The results are then applied and transferred to a construction site solution based on augmented reality.

Keywords: augmented reality, digital factory model, factory planning, restructuring

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Vidhya Venugopal, Rekha S.

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Introduction: Climate change and the growing frequency of higher average temperatures and heat waves have detrimental health effects, especially for certain vulnerable groups with limited socioeconomic status (SES) or physiological capacity to adapt to or endure high temperatures. Little research has been conducted on the effects of heat stress on pregnant women and fetuses in tropical regions such as India. Very high ambient temperatures may worsen Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (APOs) and are a major worry in the scenario of climate change. The relationship between rising temperatures and APO must be better understood in order to design more effective interventions. Methodology: We conducted an observational cohort study involving 865 pregnant women in various districts of Tamil Nadu districts between 2014 and 2021. Physiological Heat Strain Indicators (HSI) such as morning and evening Core Body Temperature (CBT) and Urine Specific Gravity (USG) were monitored using an infrared thermometer and refractometer, respectively. A validated, modified version of the HOTHAPS questionnaire was utilised to collect self-reported health symptoms. A follow-up was undertaken with the mothers to collect information regarding birth outcomes and APOs, such as spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, Preterm Birth (PTB), birth abnormalities, and Low Birth Weight (LBW). Major findings of the study: According to the findings of our study, ambient temperatures (mean WBGT°C) were substantially higher (>28°C) for approximately 46% of women performing moderate daily life activities. 82% versus 43% of these women experienced dehydration and heat-related complaints. 34% of women had USG >1.020, which is symptomatic of dehydration. APOs, which include spontaneous abortions, were prevalent at 2.2%, stillbirth/preterm birth/birth abnormalities were prevalent at 2.2%, and low birth weight was prevalent at 16.3%. With exposures to WBGT>28°C, the incidence of miscarriage or unexpected abortion rose by approximately 2.7 times (95% CI: 1.1-6.9). In addition, higher WBGT exposures were associated with a 1.4-fold increased risk of unfavorable birth outcomes (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.02-1.09). The risk of spontaneous abortions was 2.8 times higher among women who conceived during the hotter months (February – September) compared to those women who conceived in the cooler months (October – January) (95% CI: 1.04-7.4). Positive relationships between ambient heat and APOs found in this study necessitate further exploration into the underlying factors for extensive cohort studies to generate information to enable the formulation of policies that can effectively protect these women against excessive heat stress for enhanced maternal and fetal health.

Keywords: heat exposures, community, pregnant women, physiological strain, adverse outcome, interventions

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Authors: Angelo Corallo, Maria Elena Latino, Marta Menegoli

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The link between man and food plays, in the social and economic system, a central role where cultural and multidisciplinary aspects intertwine: food is not only nutrition, but also communication, culture, politics, environment, science, ethics, fashion. This multi-dimensionality has many implications in the food economy. In recent years, the consumer became more conscious about his food choices, involving a consistent change in consumption models. This change concerns several aspects: awareness of food system issues, employment of socially and environmentally conscious decision-making, food choices based on different characteristics than nutritional ones i.e. origin of food, how it’s produced, and who’s producing it. In this frame the ‘consumption choices’ and the ‘interests of the citizen’ become one part of the others. The figure of the ‘Citizen Consumer’ is born, a responsible and ethically motivated individual to change his lifestyle, achieving the goal of sustainable consumption. Simultaneously the branding, that before was guarantee of the product quality, today is questioned. In order to meet these needs, Agri-Food companies are developing specific product lines that follow two main philosophies: ‘Back to basics’ and ‘Less is more’. However, the issue of ethical behavior does not seem to find an adequate on market offer. Most likely due to a lack of attention on the communication strategy used, very often based on market logic and rarely on ethical one. The label in its classic concept of ‘clean labeling’ can no longer be the only instrument through which to convey product information and its evolution towards a concept of ‘clear label’ is necessary to embrace ethical and transparent concepts in progress the process of democratization of the Food System. The implementation of a voluntary traceability path, relying on the technological models of the Internet of Things or Industry 4.0, would enable the Agri-Food Supply Chain to collect data that, if properly treated, could satisfy the information need of consumers. A change of approach is therefore proposed towards Agri-Food traceability that is no longer intended as a tool to be used to respond to the legislator, but rather as a promotional tool useful to tell the company in a transparent manner and then reach the slice of the market of food citizens. The use of mobile technology can also facilitate this information transfer. However, in order to guarantee maximum efficiency, an appropriate communication model based on the ethical communication principles should be used, which aims to overcome the pipeline communication model, to offer the listener a new way of telling the food product, based on real data collected through processes traceability. The Citizen Consumer is therefore placed at the center of the new model of communication in which he has the opportunity to choose what to know and how. The new label creates a virtual access point capable of telling the product according to different point of views, following the personal interests and offering the possibility to give several content modalities to support different situations and usability.

Keywords: agri food traceability, agri-food transparency, clear label, food system, internet of things

Procedia PDF Downloads 150