Search results for: social and economic interventions accelerators of building reconstruction

Authors: Alice Civera, Mattia Cattaneo, Michele Meoli, Stefano Paleari

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Despite the fact that more equal access to higher education has been an objective public policy for several decades, little is known about the effectiveness of alternative means for achieving such goal. Indeed, nowadays, high level of graduate population can be observed both in countries with the high and low level of fees, or high and low level of public expenditure in higher education. This paper surveys the extant literature providing some background on the economic concepts of the higher education market, and reviews key determinants of demand and supply. A theoretical model of aggregate demand and supply of higher education is derived, with the aim to facilitate the understanding of the challenges in today’s higher education systems, as well as the opportunities for development. The model is validated on some exemplary case studies describing the different relationship between the level of public investment and levels of graduate population and helps to derive general implications. In addition, using a two-stage least squares model, we build a macroeconomic model of supply and demand for European higher education. The model allows interpreting policies shifting either the supply or the demand for higher education, and allows taking into consideration contextual conditions with the aim of comparing divergent policies under a common framework. Results show that the same policy objective (i.e., increasing graduate population) can be obtained by shifting either the demand function (i.e., by strengthening student aid) or the supply function (i.e., by directly supporting higher education institutions). Under this theoretical perspective, the level of tuition fees is irrelevant, and empirically we can observe high levels of graduate population in both countries with high (i.e., the UK) or low (i.e., Germany) levels of tuition fees. In practice, this model provides a conceptual framework to help better understanding what are the external conditions that need to be considered, when planning a policy for increasing graduate population. Extrapolating a policy from results in different countries, under this perspective, is a poor solution when contingent factors are not addressed. The second implication of this conceptual framework is that policies addressing the supply or the demand function needs to address different contingencies. In other words, a government aiming at increasing graduate population needs to implement complementary policies, designing them according to the side of the market that is interested. For example, a ‘supply-driven’ intervention, through the direct financial support of higher education institutions, needs to address the issue of institutions’ moral hazard, by creating incentives to supply higher education services in efficient conditions. By contrast, a ‘demand-driven’ policy, providing student aids, need to tackle the students’ moral hazard, by creating an incentive to responsible behavior.

Keywords: graduates, higher education, higher education policies, tuition fees

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Authors: Mutshinye Manguvhewa, Maria Florence, Mansoo Yu, Elize Koch, Kamal Kamaloodien

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Substance use among pregnant women is a perennial problem in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. There are many influential factors are associated with substance use among women of childbearing age. The study explored factors associated with substance use among pregnant women using a qualitative research design and the bio-ecological theoretical framework to explore and guide the researcher throughout the study. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Only participants accessed from the Department of Social Development meeting the inclusion criteria of the study were interviewed using semi structured interviews. Immediate referral for psychological intervention during the interview was available for participants who needed it. Braun and Clarke's six phases of thematic analysis were utilised to analyse the data. The study adheres to ethical guidelines for the participants' protection. Participants were informed about the study before the initiation of the interviews and the details of their voluntary participation were explained. The key findings from this study illustrate that socio-cultural factors, personal factors, emotional response and intimate relationships are the major contributing factors to substance use among pregnant women in this sample. The results outline the preventative measures that pregnant women implement. Lastly, the study reveals the positive and negative perceptions of substance use programmes that participants share. Some of the study findings are similar to the existing literature and some of the findings differed. Recommendations emanating from the study include that the stakeholders, rehabilitation centres, Department of Health and future researchers should act proactively against substance use during pregnancy.

Keywords: substance addiction, antenatal care, pregnancy, substance use

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Authors: Chia-Jung Chen, Yu-Chi Hsu, June-Dong Lin, Kun-Chen Chan, Chieh-Tien Wang, Li-Ching Wu, Chung-Feng Liu

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With fast advances in healthcare technology, various total laboratory automation (TLA) processes have been proposed. However, adopting TLA needs quite high funding. This study explores an early adoption experience by Taiwan’s large-scale hospital group, the Chimei Hospital Group (CMG), which owns three branch hospitals (Yongkang, Liouying and Chiali, in order by service scale), based on the five stages of Everett Rogers’ Diffusion Decision Process. 1.Knowledge stage: Over the years, two weaknesses exists in laboratory department of CMG: 1) only a few examination categories (e.g., sugar testing and HbA1c) can now be completed and reported within a day during an outpatient clinical visit; 2) the Yongkang Hospital laboratory space is dispersed across three buildings, resulting in duplicated investment in analysis instruments and inconvenient artificial specimen transportation. Thus, the senior management of the department raised a crucial question, was it time to process the redesign of the laboratory department? 2.Persuasion stage: At the end of 2013, Yongkang Hospital’s new building and restructuring project created a great opportunity for the redesign of the laboratory department. However, not all laboratory colleagues had the consensus for change. Thus, the top managers arranged a series of benchmark visits to stimulate colleagues into being aware of and accepting TLA. Later, the director of the department proposed a formal report to the top management of CMG with the results of the benchmark visits, preliminary feasibility analysis, potential benefits and so on. 3.Decision stage: This TLA suggestion was well-supported by the top management of CMG and, finally, they made a decision to carry out the project with an instrument-leasing strategy. After the announcement of a request for proposal and several vendor briefings, CMG confirmed their laboratory automation architecture and finally completed the contracts. At the same time, a cross-department project team was formed and the laboratory department assigned a section leader to the National Taiwan University Hospital for one month of relevant training. 4.Implementation stage: During the implementation, the project team called for regular meetings to review the results of the operations and to offer an immediate response to the adjustment. The main project tasks included: 1) completion of the preparatory work for beginning the automation procedures; 2) ensuring information security and privacy protection; 3) formulating automated examination process protocols; 4) evaluating the performance of new instruments and the instrument connectivity; 5)ensuring good integration with hospital information systems (HIS)/laboratory information systems (LIS); and 6) ensuring continued compliance with ISO 15189 certification. 5.Confirmation stage: In short, the core process changes include: 1) cancellation of signature seals on the specimen tubes; 2) transfer of daily examination reports to a data warehouse; 3) routine pre-admission blood drawing and formal inpatient morning blood drawing can be incorporated into an automatically-prepared tube mechanism. The study summarizes below the continuous improvement orientations: (1) Flexible reference range set-up for new instruments in LIS. (2) Restructure of the specimen category. (3) Continuous review and improvements to the examination process. (4) Whether installing the tube (specimen) delivery tracks need further evaluation.

Keywords: innovation decision process, total laboratory automation, health care

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Authors: Leticia Souza Guirra, Márcia Eduarda Vieira Ramos, Edlaine Souza Pereira, Leticia Correa Celeste

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Introduction: Studies indicate that equine-assisted therapy enables improvements in several areas of functioning that are impaired in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as social interaction and communication. Objective: The study proposes to analyze the development of dialogic skills of a verbal child with ASD after participating in the equine-assisted therapy Step By Step in Communication. Method: This is quantitative and qualitative research through a case study. It refers to a 6 years old child diagnosed with ASD belonging to a group of practitioners of the Brazilian National Equine-Assited-Therapy Association. The Behavioral Observation Protocol (PROC) was used to evaluate communicative skills before and after the intervention, which consisted of 24 sessions once a week. Results: All conversational skills increased their frequency, with participation in dialogue and initiation of interaction. The child also increases the habit of waiting for his turn and answering the interlocutor. The emission of topics not related to conversation and echolalia showed a significant decrease after the intervention. Conclusion: The studied child showed improvement in communicative skills after participating in the equine-assisted therapy Step By Step in Communication. Contributions: This study contributes to a greater understanding of the impact of equine-assisted therapy on the communicative abilities of children with ASD.

Keywords: equine-assisted-therapy, autism spectrum disorder, language, communication, language and hearing sciences

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Authors: Mzamani Aaron Mabasa

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The research study examines the reality that the Language Services Directorate can be considered a language repository hub. The study postulates that multilingual education guided by language policy implementation can improve student performance and pass rate. Various documents in the form of style guides, glossaries and tutorial letters may be used to enable students to understand complex words, sentences, phrases and paragraphs when technical vocabularies are used. This paper addresses the way in which quality assurance can transform South African official languages, including Sign Language, as mandated by the Language Policy for Higher Education. The paper further emphasizes that Language Services is unique in the sense that it involves all South African officials as tools for student support and facilitation of learning. This is in line with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and the Unisa Language Policy of 2023, which declares the status, parity and esteem of these official languages regarding usage in formal function domains, namely education, economy, social and politics. The aim of this paper is to ensure that quality assurance is ultimately accomplished in terms of teaching and learning standards. Eventually, all South African languages can be used for official domains to achieve functional multilingualism. This paper furthermore points out that content analysis as a research instrument as far as a qualitative approach is concerned may be used as a data collection technique.

Keywords: repository, multilingualism, policy, education

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Authors: Yongsheng Guo, Shuchao Li

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This study explores Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe and the cross-cultural cooperation between Chinese and European managers. The aim of this research is to shed light on the phenomenon of investments in developed countries from an emerging market and to gain insights into the cooperation process. A grounded theory approach is adopted, and 46 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 case companies in Germany and 13 case companies in the UK. Grounded theory models are developed from primary data and interview quotes are used to support the themes. The interviewees perceived differences between the two parties in cultural traits, management concepts, knowledge structure and resource endowment between the two parties. Chinese and European partners can take advantage of different resources and cooperate in innovative ways to improve corporate performance. Moreover, both parties appreciate different ethical and cultural characteristics and complement each other to develop a combined organizational culture. This study proposes an ethical and cultural diversity theory in international management arguing that a team with diversified values and behaviors may be more excited and motivated. This study suggests that “resource complement” and “cross-cultural cooperation” might be an advantage for international investment. Firms are encouraged to open their minds and cooperate with partners with different resources and cultures. The authorities may review the FDI policies to reduce social and political barriers.

Keywords: cross-culture, FDI, cooperation, innovation, China, Europe

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Authors: Feng-Ming Fan, Xiu-Hui Wen

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Shortage of water resources is a crucial problem to be solved in Taiwan. However, lack of effective and mandatory regulation on water recovery and recycling leads to no effective water resource controls currently. Although existing legislation sets standards regarding water recovery, implementation and enforcement of legislation are facing challenges. In order to break through the dilemma, this study aims to find enforcement tools, improve inspection skills, develop an inspection system, to achieve sustainable development of precious water resources. The Taiwan Environmental Impact Assessment Act (EIA Act) was announced on 1994. The aim of EIA Act is to protect the environment by preventing and mitigating the adverse impact of development activity on the environment. During the EIA process, we can set standards that require enterprises to reach a certain percentage of water recycling based on different case characteristics, to promote sewage source reduction and water saving benefits. Next, we have to inspect how the enterprises handle their waste water and perform water recovery based on environmental assessment commitments, for the purpose of reviewing and measuring the implementation efficiency of water recycling and reuse, an eco-friendly measure. We invited leading experts in related fields to provide lecture on water recycling, strengthen law enforcement officials’ inspection knowledge, and write inspection reference manual to be used as basis of enforcement. Then we finalized the manual by reaching mutual agreement between the experts and relevant agencies. We then inspected 65 high-tech companies whose daily water consumption is over 1,000 tons individually, located at 3 science parks, set up by Ministry of Science and Technology. Great achievement on water recycling was achieved at an amount of 400 million tons per year, equivalent to 2.5 months water usage for general public in Taiwan. The amount is equal to 710 billion bottles of 600 ml cola, 170 thousand international standard swimming pools of 2,500 tons, irrigation water applied to 40 thousand hectares of rice fields, or 1.7 Taipei Feitsui Reservoir of reservoir storage. This study demonstrated promoting effects of environmental impact assessment commitments on water recycling, and therefore water resource sustainable development. It also confirms the value of EIA Act for environmental protection. Economic development should go hand in hand with environmental protection, and it’s a mainstream. It clearly shows the EIA regulation can minimize harmful effects caused by development activity to the environment, as well as pursuit water resources sustainable development.

Keywords: the environmental impact assessment act, water recycling environmental assessment commitment, water resource sustainable development, water recycling, water reuse

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Authors: Ailin Agaahi, Nafise Daneshvar Hoseini, Shahnaz Tamizi, Mehrdad Sabet

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Music education has been recognized as a valuable therapeutic and educational intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study explores the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children with ASD have participated in music lessons at the Tehran Conservatory. The aim is to understand the impacts and barriers of this educational approach, providing insights into the real-world experiences of families integrating music into the lives of their children. Qualitative research was conducted through in-depth interviews with parents of children with ASD enrolled in the Tehran Conservatory's music program. The interviews examined parental motivations, observations of their child's progress, and evaluations of the program's effectiveness. Preliminary findings suggest that the music program positively impacts social interaction, emotional regulation, and communication. Parents highlighted the program's adaptability to meet the unique needs of children with ASD and the supportive environment fostered by specialized instructors. However, several barriers were identified, including the need for greater awareness and acceptance of music education for children with ASD and the limited availability of similar programs in the region. This research contributes valuable insights from parents and caregivers, emphasizing the importance of inclusive and effective music programs to support the needs of children with ASD and their families.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, music education, therapeutic intervention, parental perspectives

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Authors: York Neudel

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The phenomenon of tourism has been considered as tool to overcome cultural frontiers, to comprehend the other and to cope with mutual mistrust and suspicion. Well, that has been a myth, at least when it comes to mass-tourism. Other approaches, like community-based tourism, still are based on the idea of embracing the other in order to help or to understand the cultural difference. In 1997, two American NGOs incentivized a tourism-project in a community in the highlands of Ecuador, in order to protect the cloud forest from destructive exploitation of its own inhabitants. Nineteen years after that, I analyze in this investigation the interactions between the Ecuadorian hosts in the mestizo-community of Yunguilla and the foreign tourist in the quest for “authentic life” in the Ecuadorian cloud forest. As a sort of “contemporary pilgrim” the traveller tries to find authenticity in other times and places far away from their everyday life in Europe or North America. Therefore, tourists are guided by stereotypes and expectations that are produced by the touristic industry. The host, on the other hand, has to negotiate this pre-established imaginary. That generates a kind of theatre-play with front- and backstage in organic gardens, little fabrics and even private housing, since this alternative project offers to share the private space of the host with the tourist in the setting the community-based tourism. In order to protect their privacy, the community creates new hybrid spaces that oscillate between front- and backstages that culminates in a game of hide and seek – a phenomenon that promises interesting frictions for an anthropological case-study.

Keywords: Tourism, Authenticity, Community-based tourism, Ecuador, Yunguilla

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Authors: Mary Funke Olabanji, Thando Ndarana, Nerhene Davis, Sylvester Okechukwu Ilo

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Scientific evidence indicates that climate change is already being experienced by farmers, and its impacts are felt on agricultural and food systems. Understanding the perceptions of farmers on climate change and how they respond to this change is essential to the development and implementation of appropriate policies for agriculture and food security. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of farmers’ perceptions of climate change, adopted coping strategies, long-term implications of their adaptation choices, and barriers to their decisions to adapt. Data were randomly collected from 73 respondents in five districts located in the Olifants catchment of South Africa. A combination of descriptive statistics and Chi-Square statistical tests using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyse the data obtained from the survey. Results show that smallholder farmers have an in-depth perception of climate change. The most significant changes perceived by farmers were increased temperature and low rainfall. The results equally revealed that smallholder farmers in the Olifants catchment had adopted several adaptation strategies in response to the perceived climate change. The significant adaptation strategies from the results include changing cropping patterns and planting date, use of improved seed variety, and chemical fertilizers. The study, therefore, concludes that crop diversification and agroforestry were more effective and sustainable in mitigating the impact of climate change.

Keywords: adaptation, climate change, perception, smallholder farmers

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Authors: Dasom Kim, Chen Liu, Myungsu Lim, Su-Hyeon Jeon, ByeoungKug Jeon, Kee-Young Kwahk, Namgyu Kim

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Recently, numerous documents including unstructured data and text have been created due to the rapid increase in the usage of social media and the Internet. Each document is usually provided with a specific category for the convenience of the users. In the past, the categorization was performed manually. However, in the case of manual categorization, not only can the accuracy of the categorization be not guaranteed but the categorization also requires a large amount of time and huge costs. Many studies have been conducted towards the automatic creation of categories to solve the limitations of manual categorization. Unfortunately, most of these methods cannot be applied to categorizing complex documents with multiple topics because the methods work by assuming that one document can be categorized into one category only. In order to overcome this limitation, some studies have attempted to categorize each document into multiple categories. However, they are also limited in that their learning process involves training using a multi-categorized document set. These methods therefore cannot be applied to multi-categorization of most documents unless multi-categorized training sets are provided. To overcome the limitation of the requirement of a multi-categorized training set by traditional multi-categorization algorithms, we previously proposed a new methodology that can extend a category of a single-categorized document to multiple categorizes by analyzing relationships among categories, topics, and documents. In this paper, we design a survey-based verification scenario for estimating the accuracy of our automatic categorization methodology.

Keywords: big data analysis, document classification, multi-category, text mining, topic analysis

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Authors: Agnetha Schuchardt, Jennifer Hartmann, Laura Schulte, Roman Peperhove, Lars Gerhold

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If critical infrastructures fail, even for a short period of time, it can have significant negative consequences for the affected population. This is especially true for the food sector that is strongly interlinked with other sectors like the power supply. A blackout could lead to several cities being without food supply for numerous days, simply because cash register systems do no longer work properly. Following the public opinion, securing the food supply in emergencies is considered a task of the state, however, in the German context, the key players are private enterprises and private households. Both are not aware of their responsibility and both cannot be forced to take any preventive measures prior to an emergency. This problem became evident to officials and politicians so that the law covering food security was revised in order to include private stakeholders into mitigation processes. The paper will present a scientific review of governmental and regulatory literature. The focus is the inclusion of the food industry through a law reform and the challenges that still exist. Together with legal experts, an analysis of regulations will be presented that explains the development of the law reform concerning food security and emergency storage in Germany. The main findings are that the existing public food emergency storage is out-dated, insufficient and too expensive. The state is required to protect food as a critical infrastructure but does not have the capacities to live up to this role. Through a law reform in 2017, new structures should to established. The innovation was to include the private sector into the civil defense concept since it has the required knowledge and experience. But the food industry is still reluctant. Preventive measures do not serve economic purposes – on the contrary, they cost money. The paper will discuss respective examples like equipping supermarkets with emergency power supply or self-sufficient cash register systems and why the state is not willing to cover the costs of these measures, but neither is the economy. The biggest problem with the new law is that private enterprises can only be forced to support food security if the state of emergency has occurred already and not one minute earlier. The paper will cover two main results: the literature review and an expert workshop that will be conducted in summer 2018 with stakeholders from different parts of the food supply chain as well as officials of the public food emergency concept. The results from this participative process will be presented and recommendations will be offered that show how the private economy could be better included into a modern food emergency concept (e. g. tax reductions for stockpiling).

Keywords: critical infrastructure, disaster control, emergency food storage, food security, private economy, resilience

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Authors: Anjalika Fernando, Banuka Athuraliya

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This paper presents a comprehensive approach for converting Sinhala Sign Language (SSL) into grammatically correct sentences using Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques in real-time. While previous studies have explored various aspects of SSL translation, the research gap lies in the absence of grammar checking for SSL. This work aims to bridge this gap by proposing a two-stage methodology that leverages deep learning models to detect signs and translate them into coherent sentences, ensuring grammatical accuracy. The first stage of the approach involves the utilization of a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) deep learning model to recognize and interpret SSL signs. By training the LSTM model on a dataset of SSL gestures, it learns to accurately classify and translate these signs into textual representations. The LSTM model achieves a commendable accuracy rate of 94%, demonstrating its effectiveness in accurately recognizing and translating SSL gestures. Building upon the successful recognition and translation of SSL signs, the second stage of the methodology focuses on improving the grammatical correctness of the translated sentences. The project employs a Neural Machine Translation (NMT) architecture, consisting of an encoder and decoder with LSTM components, to enhance the syntactical structure of the generated sentences. By training the NMT model on a parallel corpus of Sinhala wrong sentences and their corresponding grammatically correct translations, it learns to generate coherent and grammatically accurate sentences. The NMT model achieves an impressive accuracy rate of 98%, affirming its capability to produce linguistically sound translations. The proposed approach offers significant contributions to the field of SSL translation and grammar correction. Addressing the critical issue of grammar checking, it enhances the usability and reliability of SSL translation systems, facilitating effective communication between hearing-impaired and non-sign language users. Furthermore, the integration of deep learning techniques, such as LSTM and NMT, ensures the accuracy and robustness of the translation process. This research holds great potential for practical applications, including educational platforms, accessibility tools, and communication aids for the hearing-impaired. Furthermore, it lays the foundation for future advancements in SSL translation systems, fostering inclusive and equal opportunities for the deaf community. Future work includes expanding the existing datasets to further improve the accuracy and generalization of the SSL translation system. Additionally, the development of a dedicated mobile application would enhance the accessibility and convenience of SSL translation on handheld devices. Furthermore, efforts will be made to enhance the current application for educational purposes, enabling individuals to learn and practice SSL more effectively. Another area of future exploration involves enabling two-way communication, allowing seamless interaction between sign-language users and non-sign-language users.In conclusion, this paper presents a novel approach for converting Sinhala Sign Language gestures into grammatically correct sentences using NLP techniques in real time. The two-stage methodology, comprising an LSTM model for sign detection and translation and an NMT model for grammar correction, achieves high accuracy rates of 94% and 98%, respectively. By addressing the lack of grammar checking in existing SSL translation research, this work contributes significantly to the development of more accurate and reliable SSL translation systems, thereby fostering effective communication and inclusivity for the hearing-impaired community

Keywords: Sinhala sign language, sign Language, NLP, LSTM, NMT

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Authors: A. S. Haruna, M. U. Tambawal, A. A. Salawu

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The psychological impact of peer influence on its individual group members, can make them resist HIV/AIDS counselling and testing. This study investigated the correlate of peer influence and resistance to HIV/AIDS counselling and testing among students in tertiary institutions in Kano state, Nigeria. To achieve this, three null hypotheses were postulated and tested. Cross-Sectional Survey Design was employed in which 1512 sample was selected from a student population of 104,841.Simple Random Sampling was used in the selection. A self-developed 20-item scale called Peer Influence and Psychological Resistance Inventory (PIPRI) was used for data collection. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMCC) via test-retest method was applied to estimate a reliability coefficient of 0.86 for the scale. Data obtained was analyzed using t-test and PPMCC at 0.05 level of confidence. Results reveal 26.3% (397) of the respondents being influenced by their peer group, while 39.8% showed resistance. Also, the t-tests and PPMCC statistics were greater than their respective critical values. This shows that there was a significant gender difference in peer influence and a difference between peer influence and resistance to HIV/AIDS counselling and testing. However, a positive relationship between peer influence and resistance to HIV/AIDS counselling and testing was shown. A major recommendation offered suggests the use of reinforcement and social support for positive attitudes and maintenance of safe behaviour among students who patronize HIV/AIDS counselling.

Keywords: peer group influence, HIV/AIDS counselling and testing, psychological resistance, students

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Authors: Eman S. Soliman, Sana Hawamdeh, Najmus S. Mahfooz

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to examine various components of applied emotional intelligence as demonstrated in the leadership style of Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid in pre and post-Islamic society. Methodology: The research used a qualitative research method, specifically historical and ethnographic techniques. Data collection included both primary and secondary sources. Data from sources were analyzed to document the use of emotional intelligent leadership behaviors throughout Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid leadership experience from 596 A.D. to 621 A.D. Findings: Demonstration of four cornerstones of emotional intelligence which are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Apply them on khadejah Bint Khuwaylid leadership style reveal that she possess main behavioral competences in the form of emotionally self-aware, self-.confidence, adaptability, empathy and influence. Conclusions: Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid serves as a historical model of effective leadership that included the use of emotional intelligence in her leadership behavior. The inclusion of the effective portion of the brain created a successful leadership style that can be learned by present day and future leadership. The recommendations for future leaders are to include the use of emotionally self-aware and self-confidence, adaptability, empathy and influence as components of leadership. This will then demonstrate in a leadership a basic knowledge and understanding of feelings, the keenness to be emotionally open with others, the ability to prototype beliefs and values, and the use of emotions in future communications, vision and progress.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, leadership, Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid, women

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Authors: Valliyil Govindankutty

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Human civilizations across the globe stand testimony to water being one of the major interaction points with nature. The interactions with nature especially in drier areas revolve around water, be it harnessing, transporting, usage and management. Many ingenious ideas were born, nurtured and developed for harnessing, transporting, storing and distributing water through the areas in the drier parts of the world. Many methods of water extraction, collection and management could be found throughout the world, some of which are associated with efficient, sustained use of surface water, ground water and rain water. Karez is one such ingenious method of collection, transportation, storage and distribution of ground water. Most of the Karez systems in India were developed during reign of Muslim dynasties with ruling class descending from Persia or having influential connections and inviting expert engineers from there. Karez have strongly influenced the village socio-economic organisations due to multitude of uses they were brought into. These are masterpiece engineering structures to collect groundwater and direct it, through a subsurface gallery with a gradual slope, to surface canals that provide water to settlements and agricultural fields. This ingenious technology, karez was result of need for harnessing groundwater in arid areas like that of Bidar. The study views this traditional technology in historical perspective linked to sustainable utilization and management of groundwater and above all the immediate environment. The karez system is one of the best available demonstration of human ingenuity and adaptability to situations and locations of water scarcity. Bidar, capital of erstwhile Bahmani sultanate with a history of more than 700 years or more is one of the heritage cities of present Karnataka State. The unique water systems of Bidar along with other historic entities have been listed under World Heritage Watch List by World Monument Fund. The Historical or cultural landscape in Bidar is very closely associated to the natural resources of the region, Karez systems being one of the best examples. The Karez systems were the lifeline of Bidar’s historical period providing potable water, fulfilling domestic and irrigation needs, both within and outside the fort enclosures. These systems are still functional, but under great pressure and threat of rapid and unplanned urbanisation. The change in land use and fragmentation of land are already paving way for irreversible modification of the karez cultural and geographic landscape. The Paper discusses the significance of character defining elements of Naubad Karez Landscape, highlights the importance of conserving cultural heritage and presents a geographical approach to its revival.

Keywords: Karez, groundwater, traditional water harvesting, cultural heritage landscape, urban planning

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Authors: Redie Kidane Ghebrehawariat, Betiel Habte Hadgu, Filmon Berhane Kahsay, Rim Berhane Fisehaye, Samuel Haile Kahsay, Saron Yemane Yosief, Selemawit Mosazghi Gilazghi

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A cross-sectional study was conducted from 22 February to 9 April 2022 on small, medium, and large holder dairy farms to determine the bovine mastitis prevalence and associated risk factors in the Anseba region, Eritrea. A total of 34 dairy farms and 193 dairy cows were randomly selected. Dairy cows were physically examined for any change on the udder and milk; a California mastitis test was performed to check sub-clinical mastitis; a closed-ended semi-structured questionnaire composed of 28 variables/risk factors (21 management risk factors and 7 animal-level risk factors) was used to determine the risk factors responsible for clinical and sub-clinical mastitis in the dairy cows. The overall cow-level prevalence of mastitis was 147 (76.2%). The animal level prevalence rate of clinical and sub-clinical mastitis was found to be 22 (11.4%) and 125 (64.8%), respectively, while herd level prevalence both for clinical and subclinical mastitis was found to be 14 (41.2%) and 26 (76.5%) respectively. Based on the already set P-value, which is <0.05, a number of risk factors were found to have a significant relationship with the occurrence of clinical and sub-clinical mastitis. Generally, animal risk factors such as animal age, parity, injury on the udder or teat, and previous history of mastitis presence of injury on the udder and lactation stage were risk factors with a significant relationship with the occurrence of clinical and sub-clinical mastitis. On the other hand, management risk factors with a significant relationship to the occurrence of clinical and sub-clinical mastitis were herd size, failure to milk mastitic cow, at last, educational level, floor type, failure to use a towel, using one towel for more than one cow and failure to practice mastitis test. From a total of 772 quarters, 280 (36.3%) were found positive for sub-clinical mastitis using the California mastitis test; of these, 70 (9%) were weakly positive, 90 (11.7%) were distinct positive, and 120 (15.5%) were strongly positive. Furthermore, 13 (1.7%) quarters were blocked. Quarter level prevalence was right front 80 (41.5%), left front 64 (33.3%), right hind 69 (35.8%) and left hind 67 (34.7%). The study has shown that mastitis is a major problem for dairy farms and the findings suggested that mastitis is one of the limiting factors in increasing milk production. Subclinical mastitis was found to be a devastating problem, and it occurred in all three breeds of lactating dairy cattle. Therefore, farmers should work hard to avoid the above-mentioned risk factors to minimize the infection of their dairy cattle by mastitis and thereby increase their profit. On the other hand, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the extension unit, should work in close contact with the farmers to increase awareness of the economic importance of the disease and associated risk factors.

Keywords: mastitis, prevalence, dairy cattle, Anseba, Eritrea

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Authors: Masoumeh Kazemi

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Depression is one of the most common mental disorders that damage mental health. In addition to mental distress, mental health damage affects other dimensions of human health, including physical and social health. According to the national study of diseases and injuries in Iran, the third health problem of the country is depression. The purpose of this study was to measure the level of depression in people referred to Karaj psychiatric treatment centers, and to investigate the relationship between depression and drug and alcohol consumption. The statistical population included 5000 people. Morgan table was used to determine the sample size. The research questions sought to identify the relationship between depression and factors such as drug and alcohol use, employment and marital status, and gender. Beck standard questionnaire was used to collect complete information. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to confirm the reliability of the questionnaire. To test research hypotheses, non-parametric methods of correlation coefficient, Spearman's rank, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used. The results of using SPSS statistical software showed that there is a direct relationship between depression and drug and alcohol use. Also, the rate of depression was higher in women, widows and unemployed people. Finally, by conducting the present study, it is suggested that people use the following treatments in combination for effective recovery: 1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) 2. Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) 3. Treatment with appropriate medication 4. Special light therapy 5. Electric shock treatment (in acute and exceptional cases) 6. Self-help

Keywords: alcohol, depression, drug, Iran

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Authors: Masako Darrough, Mahmud Hossain, Santanu Mitra

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The prevalent and increasing workplace misconduct in the United States presents a significant threat to social welfare. Despite efforts by enforcement agencies, U.S. workers remain vulnerable to employer exploitation, as evidenced by rising workplace injuries and discrimination lawsuits. While existing literature has identified several factors associated with unethical labor practices, the influence of political corruption remains largely unexplored. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the relationship between political corruption and workplace misconduct in the U.S. context. Using the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and corruption convictions reported by the Department of Justice, we find a positive association between political corruption and workplace misconduct among U.S.-listed firms that are headquartered in different states from 2004 to 2022. Both unionization and stricter labor laws attenuate the positive association between corruption and unethical labor practices. Our analyses also address potential endogeneity concerns via difference-in-differences, instrumental variables, and propensity-score-matched analyses, reaffirming the robustness of our findings. This research contributes to the literature by shedding light on how corrupt political climates influence organizational operational behavior and unethical practices. It also underscores the importance of stakeholder trust and the role of regulatory frameworks and offers practical insights to policymakers by suggesting a judicious allocation of enforcement resources to more corrupt states.

Keywords: workplace misconduct, political corruption, unionization, labor law strictness

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Authors: Mona Alzahrani

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Microworld theories can help to define the many influences on female development. In this research, theories together with narratives have been used to discover the reality of children’s gender perceptions in Saudi Arabia. Today, Saudi Arabia is considered a ‘closed and conserved’ society due to tribal, cultural and religious factors. This study focuses on how young girls in Saudi Arabia learn about what is expected of them as females. Cultural beliefs and experiences contribute to children’s notions of identity. Moreover, significant others such as more experienced peers, teachers, parents, and other members of a society can influence a child’s development of knowledge through interactions within their social world. There are dominant influences from the Saudi State. These influences have very strong devices and perceptions of what or how a female should act and be. However, children may have other viewpoints, as it also needs to be considered that the Internet and other media sources could have an influence. Consequently, difficulties could exist for these young children to feel an authentic sense of belonging. The study gathered data using a multi-method approach that elicited the perspectives of the children using ‘multiple modes of expression’ such as observations, story-telling, picture prompt cards, group interviews, drawings and annotations. For this study, prompts and a book was devised, specifically, for use in a Saudi setting. It was found that Saudi young girls in preschool were heteronomous, mainly influenced by culture and society, in their perceptions of female gender and role.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, pre-school, female, teachers, gender, identity, role

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Authors: Nam-Phuong T. Hoang, Divna Haslam, Matthew Sanders

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Parenting psychological control (PPC) is a parenting manner of which intrusive tactics such as guilt induction, shaming or love withdrawal is adopted to manipulate the child's behavior, emotion and beliefs. PPC has been widely reported to be associated with both psychological dysfunction and low self-esteem in adolescents. Highly demanding and restrictive parenting was also found to related to high rate of risk behaviors, depression, anxiety and anti-social behaviors in adults who co-live with their parents. In many cultures like that of Asia, adults keep on co-live with their parents even after having their own families, and this is not an uncommon practice. Due to the culture obligation of family relationship and the filial piety, children are expected to stay with their parents to taking care of them when they get older, and the parents are also expected to co-live with their children in order to support them with grandchild care. As one become a grandparent, however, it does not means one stop being the parent to their own child. The effect of PPC if exist thus might continue to interfere one’s relationship with their adult children and also their adult child’s parenting. This study was designed to examine that effect of PPC on adults’ life as parents. Data was collected from 501 Vietnamese parents whose children between the age of 2 to 12 and having their parent living with them or taking care of the grandchild on daily basic. Findings show that grandparent psychological control (GPPC) is significantly associated with parent’s harsh parenting, parent’s well-being, and parent-grandparent coparenting relationship. Significantly, GPPC is the strongest predictor for the coparenting conflict between parent and grandparent.

Keywords: parenting psychological control, grandparent, coparenting, well-being

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Authors: Pphakamani Irvine Dlamini

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The impact of supervisory gossip on subordinate work performance was investigated in this paper. The paper postulated that supervisory gossip, both bad and positive, has an impact on employee job engagement, which in turn has an impact on employee job performance. Data was collected from 238 employees and supervisors from the Mpumalanga Government Municipality in South Africa using a dyadic study approach. Employees responded to questions on supervisor gossip and job engagement, while supervisors responded to questions about employee work performance. Three waves of data gathering were carried out. Favourable superior gossip had a positive and substantial effect on employee job engagement, which increased employee job performance, according to the study, but negative superior gossip had a positive but insignificant effect on employee job engagement. The multicultural aspect of the municipality, as well as causation concerns and frequent method biases connected with research design, hampered the study. After successfully disentangling the supervisor-subordinate reciprocal communication web using Social Exchange Theory (SET), the study suggests that managers should instil effective ways for using both positive and negative gossip in the workplace to achieve favourable employee outcomes. Positive gossip creates workplace rivalry and competition, but negative gossip creates tension, stress, and mistrust among employees. This study attempted to assess the implication of supervisor gossip on employee job engagement and performance in the public service sector, whose employees are characterised by high job security as compared to their peers in the private sector.

Keywords: worlplace gossip, supervisor, employee engagement, LMX

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Authors: V. A. Adzika, D. Ayim-Aboagye, T. Gordh

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Background and aims: Prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is high in Ghana but not much is known in terms of research into non-medical strategies for managing and coping with the pain associated with SCD. This study was carried out to examine effective non-medical related strategies patients use to cope and manage their SCD condition. Methods: SCD patients (387) consisting of 180 males and 204 females between 18-65 years old years participated in the study. A cross-sectional research design was used in which participants completed questionnaires on pain, non-medical coping and management strategies, anxiety, and depression. Results of multiple regression analysis showed that socio-demographic characteristics contributed to the variance in the pain associated with SCD. Results: Over 90% of participants reported that pains associated with SCD were the main reason for seeking treatment in SCD crisis. In terms of non-medical related coping strategies, attending a place of worship and praying were the main coping strategies used in SCD crises, suggesting that patients’ beliefs, particularly in a supernatural being, served as a mitigating factor in the process of coping with the pain associated with SCD crisis. Also, avoidance and withdrawal from people and social activities were reported to be strategies used to cope effectively with the pain associated with SCD crisis. Conclusion: This indicates that it is imperative to incorporate non-medical related coping and management strategies, especially religious beliefs and psychosocial factors, to coping and management of the pain associated with SCD.

Keywords: anxiety, depression, sickle cell disease, quality of life, socio-demographic characteristics, Ghana

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Authors: Pegah Farokhzad

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Family is a basic unit of the society and the main source of human development. The initial aim of the family is psychological and social support of its members and has special developmental stages. Researches show the families who have less cohesion, have more conflicts and maladjustments and the members of such families are not able to communicate effectively. Family is a system in which any inter communication is related to child rearing patterns and can affect it. Even the child rearing styles in childhood can determine the family communications in adulthood. Therefore, the aim of the present research was to examine the relationship between child-rearing styles including authoritative, authoritarian and permissive with dimensions of family communication patterns including the conversation and conformity. The research design was a correlational and the population consisted of the psychology students of Roudehen Islamic Azad University who were studying in academic year 2013-2014. A sample of 324 students were selected randomly from the population. The research tools were the Baumrind Child-rearing Questionnaires and Family Communication Patterns Inventory, The Revised Scale of Koerner and Fitzpatrick. The results were: (a) There was a positive and significant relationship between conversation orientation and authoritative style. (b) There was no significant relationship between conversation orientation and other child-rearing styles. (c) There was a negative significant relationship between conformity orientation and authoritative style. (d) There was a positive significant relationship between conformity orientation with authoritarian and permissive styles. (e) There was a significant relationship between 3 dimensions of child-rearing and communication patterns.

Keywords: child-rearing styles, family relationship patterns, university students, Iran

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Authors: Ozge Yalciner

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Intercultural communication is crucial in the education of multilingual learners in primary grades, significantly influencing their academic and social development. This study explores how intercultural communication intersects with multilingual education, highlighting the importance of culturally responsive teaching practices. It addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by diverse linguistic backgrounds and proposes strategies for creating inclusive and supportive learning environments. The research emphasizes the need for teacher training programs that equip educators with the skills to recognize and address cultural differences, thereby enhancing student engagement and participation. This study was completed in an elementary school in a city in the Midwest, USA. The data was collected through observations and interviews with students and teachers. It discusses the integration of multicultural perspectives in curricula and the promotion of language diversity as an asset. Peer interactions and collaborative learning are highlighted as crucial for developing intercultural competence among young learners. The findings suggest that meaningful intercultural communication fosters a sense of belonging and mutual respect, leading to improved educational outcomes for multilingual students. Prioritizing intercultural communication in primary education is essential for supporting the linguistic and cultural identities of multilingual learners. By adopting inclusive pedagogical approaches and fostering an environment of cultural appreciation, educators can better support their students' academic success and personal growth.

Keywords: diversity, intercultural communication, multilingual learners, primary grades

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Authors: Sanusi Abubakar Sadiq, Rebecca William Chiwar

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Wildlife Park stands a chance of contributing to tourism development in different ways, but available infrastructure, and facilities required by visitors when they arrive, access road to the destination, and resources to facilitate positive experience are lacking in certain areas. The study set out to find out the need to develop Sumu Wildlife Park Bauchi State, to an international standard. The study focused on identifying the existing facilities and infrastructure at the park and to further identify the available resources used by visitors. In attempt to find out the impact of developing Sumu Wildlife Park and ways of filling the gap of the actual standard data were obtained from fifteen administrative staff of Sumu Wildlife Park, ten staff of Bauchi state Tourism Board and twenty-five residents of the community in Kafin Madaki, Bauchi. Relevant literature were reviewed in the study; data collected were organized and analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS), software for analysis. Findings revealed that though Sumu Wildlife Park has attractions to keep visitors patronage but has insufficient facilities to maintain visitors and has not been developed to an expected standard. The problem faced by the management of Sumu wildlife Park is lack of adequate facilities, infrastructure and resources. The need to develop Sumu Wildlife Park has enormous benefits in increasing patronage. Provision of more funds would help improve standard as there would be more activities within and around the park. Regular maintenance of those facilities protects the life span of the park.

Keywords: attractions, facilities, infrastructure, resources

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Authors: Rahmoune Abdelhaq

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Systemic Islamic banking has been in practice for long but started receiving due attention and high popularity since last decade. It has received a warm welcome from all over the world and these banks operating on Islamic principles have been able to get a sizeable business not only in Islamic countries but in non-Islamic countries too. Despite exemplary advancements and achievements, there remains number of controversies over various underlying concepts and practices. This paper basically explores and highlights all those controversies and challenges which are in minds of different school of thoughts and are needed to be addressed and overcome if Islamic banking continues flourishing the way it is at present. The authors have also tried to suggest suitable remedies to overcome these challenges where appropriate. As well, This paper makes an attempt to review major principles surrounding the working of Islamic banking and its historical growth. A brief overview of main differences between the Islamic banking and the conventional banking. In addition, references are particularly made to implications arising from the emergence of e-commerce and the realities that the Islamic Shari’ah law has to consider in adopting the new phenomenon into its banking system. This paper shows, whilst the conventional banking and financial system is based on the principle of rationality and interest, the Islamic financial system is based on morality and social justice which prohibits interest as a means of speculation and injustice. The concepts of e-business such as e-commerce and e-banking are acceptable in Islam as since in Islam anything is halal unless prohibited by Shari’ah, dealing with business by internet is considered as Shari’ah compliant. This paper, therefore, provides the latest thinking of e-business from an Islamic viewpoint, thus creating a reference point and valued information for a future research.

Keywords: Islamic Finance, principles of Islamic banking, Islamic commerce, Shari’ah compliant

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Authors: Luciano E. Sewaybricker

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Psychology has faced many challenges in order to claim its right to study happiness. Probably the major issue has been to present a clear definition of happiness, which has a long history outside the scientific field and has been used imprecisely in the daily life. Even after years of great improvement, different meanings of happiness still have been seen in academic studies. This scenario allows to question if any definition is consistent enough to sustain the recent findings of the psychological processes behind happiness. Moreover, does it make sense to seek a single definition of happiness? By investigating the history of happiness and the theoretical foundations of Positive Psychology, it can be advocated that it’s proper for happiness to be polysemic. Since Ancient Greece most attempts to outline happiness consists of an appreciation of the "best way to live" and consequently requires a delineation of the most important things in life. Besides this generic definition, it’s hard to find consensus about happiness. In fact, what and how much something will be considered important to happiness depend on social influence. This compels happiness to vary between groups, historical periods, and even for the same person over time. Therefore, the same psychological processes will not necessarily be behind all forms of happiness. Consequently, three assumptions should be considered when studying happiness: it’s intrinsic of happiness to be transitory and socially influenced; happiness refers not only to what is possible in the present, but also to an ideal future; when someone (including a scientist) talks about happiness they describe and prescribe a better way to live. Because any attempt to define happiness will be limited in space and time, it's more suitable to study its variations than its universalities. This may have considerable consequences to political agenda on happiness evaluation and maximization, like Gross National Happiness and utilitarian initiatives. Happiness policies should be understood as an arbitrary choice amongst all kinds of happiness and as prescriptive of what “the best way to live” should be.

Keywords: happiness, politics, positive psychology, well-being

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Authors: Atty. James M. Violon, Atty. Sherrymae O. Velos

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This groundbreaking study unveils the enduring human rights violations experienced by Indigenous peoples in Valencia City, Bukidnon, with a particular focus on the Bukidnon, Higaonon, Talaandig, Manobo, Matigsalug, Tigwahanon, and Umayamnon tribes. Through a robust qualitative approach incorporating in-depth interviews and oral histories, the research captures the profound impacts of land grabbing, forced displacement, and cultural erosion on these communities. By illuminating the historical injustices intertwined with contemporary government policies that prioritize corporate interests, the study reveals a stark reality: these violations have precipitated not only the loss of livelihoods but also the marginalization and disintegration of Indigenous identities. This research stands out by advocating for urgent reforms, calling for more comprehensive legal frameworks and inclusive decision-making processes that genuinely reflect the needs and rights of Indigenous communities. Moreover, the study emphasizes the necessity of public awareness campaigns to safeguard these marginalized groups' rights and dignity. Its findings contribute significantly to the discourse on social justice, advocating for policies that protect ancestral lands and empower communities to pursue sustainable development that honors Indigenous cultures. This work serves as a crucial call to action, highlighting the importance of respecting and uplifting the voices of Indigenous peoples in Bukidnon.

Keywords: indigenous peoples, human rights, land grabbing, Bukidnon, cultural erosion

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Authors: Jason Blair, Adeboye Adebayo, Mohamed Saad, Jeannette M. Byrne, Fabien A. Basset

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Running economy is a key physiological parameter of an individual’s running efficacy and a valid tool for predicting performance outcomes. Of the many factors known to influence running economy (RE), footwear certainly plays a role owing to its characteristics that vary substantially from model to model. Although minimalist footwear is believed to enhance RE and thereby endurance performance, conclusive research reports are scarce. Indeed, debates remain as to which footwear characteristics most alter RE. The purposes of this study were, therefore, two-fold: (a) to determine whether wearing minimalist shoes results in better RE compared to shod and to identify relationships with kinematic and muscle activation patterns; (b) to determine whether changes in RE with minimalist shoes are still evident following a fatiguing bout of exercise. Well-trained male distance runners (n=10; 29.0 ± 7.5 yrs; 71.0 ± 4.8 kg; 176.3 ± 6.5 cm) partook first in a maximal O₂ uptake determination test (VO₂ₘₐₓ = 61.6 ± 7.3 ml min⁻¹ kg⁻¹) 7 days prior to the experimental sessions. Second, in a fully randomized fashion, an RE test consisting of three 8-min treadmill runs in shod and minimalist footwear were performed prior to and following exercise induced fatigue (EIF). The minimalist and shod conditions were tested with a minimum of 7-day wash-out period between conditions. The RE bouts, interspaced by 2-min rest periods, were run at 2.79, 3.33, and 3.89 m s⁻¹ with a 1% grade. EIF consisted of 7 times 1000 m at 94-97% VO₂ₘₐₓ interspaced with 3-min recovery. Cardiorespiratory, electromyography (EMG), kinematics, rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and blood lactate were measured throughout the experimental sessions. A significant main speed effect on RE (p=0.001) and stride frequency (SF) (p=0.001) was observed. The pairwise comparisons showed that running at 2.79 m s⁻¹ was less economic compared to 3.33, and 3.89 m s⁻¹ (3.56 ± 0.38, 3.41 ± 0.45, 3.40 ± 0.45 ml O₂ kg⁻¹ km⁻¹; respectively) and that SF increased as a function of speed (79 ± 5, 82 ± 5, 84 ± 5 strides min⁻¹). Further, EMG analyses revealed that root mean square EMG significantly increased as a function of speed for all muscles (Biceps femoris, Gluteus maximus, Gastrocnemius, Tibialis anterior, Vastus lateralis). During EIF, the statistical analysis revealed a significant main effect of time on lactate production (from 2.7 ± 5.7 to 11.2 ± 6.2 mmol L⁻¹), RPE scores (from 7.6 ± 4.0 to 18.4 ± 2.7) and peak HR (from 171 ± 30 to 181 ± 20 bpm), expect for the recovery period. Surprisingly, a significant main footwear effect was observed on running speed during intervals (p=0.041). Participants ran faster with minimalist shoes compared to shod (3:24 ± 0:44 min [95%CI: 3:14-3:34] vs. 3:30 ± 0:47 min [95%CI: 3:19-3:41]). Although EIF altered lactate production and RPE scores, no other effect was noticeable on RE, EMG, and SF pre- and post-EIF, except for the expected speed effect. The significant footwear effect on running speed during EIF was unforeseen but could be due to shoe mass and/or heel-toe-drop differences. We also cannot discard the effect of speed on foot-strike pattern and therefore, running performance.

Keywords: exercise-induced fatigue, interval training, minimalist footwear, running economy

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