Search results for: informal social control

Authors: Amir Shouri, Fereshteh Tabe

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Thoughtful and sequential design strategies will shape the future of human being’s lifestyle. Design, as a product, either being for small furniture on sidewalk or a multi-story structure in urban scale, will be important in creating the sense of quality for citizens of a city. Technology besides economy has played a major role in improving design process and increasing awareness of clients about the character of their required design product. Architects along with other design professionals benefited from improvements in aesthetics and technology in building industry. Accordingly, the expectation platforms of people about the quality of habitable space have risen. However, the question is if the quality of architectural design product has increased with the same speed as technology and client’s expectations. Is it behind or a head of technological and economical improvements? This study will work on developing a model of planning for New York City, from the past to present to future. The role of thoughtful thinking at design stage regardless of where or when it is for; may result in a positive or negative aspect. However, considering design objectives based on the need of human being may help in developing a successful design plan. Technology, economy, culture and people’s support may be other parameters in designing a good product. ‘Design Forms Urban Space’ is going to be done in an analytical, qualitative and quantitative work frame, where it will study cases from all over the world and their achievements compared to New York City’s development. Technology, Organic Design, Materiality, Urban forms, city politics and sustainability will be discussed in different cases in international scale. From design professional’s interest in doing a high quality work for a particular answer to importance of being a follower, the ‘Zero-Carbon City’ in Persian Gulf to ‘Polluted City’ in China, from ‘Urban Scale Furniture’ in cities to ‘Seasonal installations’ of a Megacity, will all be studied with references and detailed look to analysis of each case in order to propose the most resourceful, practical and realistic solutions to questions on ‘A Good Design in a City’, ‘New City Planning and social activities’ and ‘New Strategic Architecture for better Cities’.

Keywords: design quality, urban scale, active city, city installations, architecture for better cities

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Authors: Bjornar Kjellstadli, Shaher A. I. Shalfawi

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of strength training Cluster set-method compared to traditional set-method 30 m sprinting time and maximum strength in squats and bench-press. Thirteen Physical Education students, 7 males and 6 females between the age of 19-28 years old were recruited. The students were random divided in three groups. Traditional set group (TSG) consist of 2 males and 2 females aged (±SD) (22.3 ± 1.5 years), body mass (79.2 ± 15.4 kg) and height (177.5 ± 11.3 cm). Cluster set group (CSG) consist of 3 males and 2 females aged (22.4 ± 3.29 years), body mass (81.0 ± 24.0 kg) and height (179.2 ± 11.8 cm) and a control group (CG) consist of 2 males and 2 females aged (21.5 ± 2.4 years), body mass (82.1 ± 17.4 kg) and height (175.5 ± 6.7 cm). The intervention consisted of performing squat and bench press at 70% of 1RM (twice a week) for 8 weeks using 10 repetition and 4 sets. Two types of strength-training methods were used , cluster set (CS) where the participants (CSG) performed 2 reps 5 times with a 10 s recovery in between reps and 50 s recovery between sets, and traditional set (TS) where the participants (TSG) performed 10 reps each set with 90 s recovery in between sets. The pre-tests and post-tests conducted were 1 RM in both squats and bench press, and 10 and 30 m sprint time. The 1RM test were performed with Eleiko XF barbell (20 kg), Eleiko weight plates, rack and bench from Hammerstrength. The speed test was measured with the Brower speed trap II testing system (Brower Timing Systems, Utah, USA). The participants received an individualized training program based on the pre-test of the 1RM. In addition, a mid-term test of 1RM was carried out to adjust training intensity. Each training session were supervised by the researchers. Beast sensors (Milano, Italy) were also used to monitor and quantify the training load for the participants. All groups had a statistical significant improvement in bench press 1RM (TSG 1RM from 56.3 ± 28.9 to 66 ± 28.5 kg; CSG 1RM from 69.8 ± 33.5 to 77.2 ± 34.1 kg and CG 1RM from 67.8 ± 26.6 to 72.2 ± 29.1 kg), whereas only the TSG (1RM from 84.3 ± 26.8 to 114.3 ± 26.5 kg) and CSG (1RM from 100.4 ± 33.9 to 129 ± 35.1 kg) had a statistical significant improvement in Squats 1RM (P < 0.05). However, a between groups examination reveals that there were no marked differences in 1RM squat performance between TSG and CSG (P > 0.05) and both groups had a marked improvements compared to the CG (P < 0.05). On the other hand, no differences between groups were observed in Bench press 1RM. The within groups results indicate that none of the groups had any marked improvement in the distances from 0-10 m and 10-30 m except the CSG which had a notable improvement in the distance from 10-30 m (-0.07 s; P < 0.05). Furthermore, no differences in sprinting abilities were observed between groups. The results from this investigation indicate that traditional set strength training at 70% of 1RM gave close results compared to Cluster set strength training at the same intensity. However, the results indicate that the cluster set had an effect on flying time (10-30 m) indicating that the velocity at which those repetitions were performed could be the explanation factor of this this improvement.

Keywords: physical performance, 1RM, pushing velocity, velocity based training

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Authors: Ashan Wijekoon, Abi Beane, Subashini Jayawardana

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Background: Civil war in Sri Lanka ended a decade ago, leaving thousands of army veterans permanently disabled following lower-limb amputations. Quantifying long-term functional health and psychological wellbeing will inform the development of tailored home-based rehabilitation intervention. Objectives: To assess the long-term health and quality of life of Sri Lankan soldiers with traumatic lower-limb amputation.Methods and Materials: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in five districts of Sri Lanka. Using stratified random sample technique, two groups of 85 participants were selected; group 1, community re-integrated male army veterans with unilateral lower-limb amputation, and group 2, age and sex matched normal healthy individuals. Long-term health and quality of life (QoL) outcomes were assessed and compared between the two groups using self-administered Short-Form Health Survey-36 questionnaire (SF-36) previously validated for use in Sri Lanka. Results: Group 1 were active prosthetic users who had undergone amputation > ten years ago (Mean±SD: 21.7±5.9). The most prevalent comorbidities for group 1 and 2 were hypertension and diabetes (22.4% and 30.6% and 9.4% and 9.8%, respectively). In group 1, injury-associated long-term health outcomes included knee osteoarthritis (18.8%), knee pain (20.0%), and back pain (69.4%). Scores of physical health and psychological wellbeing were 53.1 (IQR 64.4- 43.8) and 63.5 (IQR 73.3- 51.4) for each group, respectively. Scores revealed the highest QoL related to social functioning (75 (IQR 87.5- 62.5)) and the poorest aspects of QoL related to general health (40 (IQR 50- 35)). Prevalence of comorbidities was significantly higher, and QoL outcomes were significantly lower among soldiers compared to normal healthy individuals (p<0.05).Conclusion: Higher prevalence of comorbidities, poor physical health, and lower QoL outcomes were more prevalent in soldiers with lower-limb amputation when compared to healthy counterparts.

Keywords: community-based, disability, health outcomes, quality of life, soldiers

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Authors: Muhammad Farooq

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The present article explores the woman's consent as a paramount element in contracting a Muslim marriage. Also, whether permission of the wali (guardian) is a condition per se for a valid nikah (marriage deed) in the eye of law and Sharia. The researcher attempts to treat it through the related issues, inter alia; the marriage guardian, the women's legal capacity to give consent whether she is a virgin or nonvirgin and how that consent is to be given or may be understood. Does her laugh, tears or salience needs a legal interpretation as well as other female manifestations of emotion explained by the Muslim jurists? The silence of Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961 (hereafter; MFLO 1961) in this regard and the likely reasons behind such silence is also inquired in brief. Germane to the theme, the various cases in which the true notion of woman's consent is interpreted by courts in Pakistan are also examined. In order to address the issue in hand, it is proposed to provide a brief overview of a few contemporary writers' opinions in which the real place of woman's consent in Muslim marriage is highlighted. Key to the idea of young Muslim woman's marriage, the doctrine of kafa'a (equality or suitability) between the man and woman is argued here to be grounded in the patriarchal and social norms. It is, therefore, concluded that such concept was the result of analogical reasoning and has less importance in the present time. As such it is not a valid factor in current scenarios to validate or invalidate marital bonds. A standard qualitative convention is used for this research. Among primary and secondary sources; for examples, Qur'an, Sunnah, Books, Scholarly articles, texts of law and case law is used to point out the researcher's view. In summation, the article is concluded with a bold statement that a young woman being a party to the contract, is absolutely entitled to 'full and free' consent for the Muslim marriage contract. It is the woman, an indispensable partaker and her consent (not the guardian' permission) that does validate or invalidate the said agreement in the eye of contemporary personal law and in Sharia.

Keywords: consent of woman, ejab (declaration), Nikah (marriage agreement), qabol (acceptance), sui juris (of age; independent), wali (guardian), wilayah (guardianship)

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Authors: Gemma Reynolds, Deborah Bailey Rodriguez, Maria Paula Valdivieso Rueda

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In recent years, the mental health of Higher Education (HE) students has been a growing concern. This has been further exacerbated by the stresses associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, placing students at even greater risk of developing mental health issues. Support available to students in HE tends to follow an established and traditional route. The demands for counselling services have grown, not only with the increase in student numbers but with the number of students seeking support for mental health issues. One way of improving well-being and mental health in HE students is through the use of brief interventions, such as expressive writing (EW). This intervention involves encouraging individuals to write continuously for at least 15-20 minutes for three to five sessions (often on consecutive days) about their deepest thoughts and feelings to explore significant personal experiences in a meaningful way. Given the brevity, simplicity and cost-effectiveness of EW, this intervention has considerable potential as an intervention for HE populations. The current study, therefore, employed a mixed-methods design to explore the effectiveness of EW in reducing anxiety, general stress, academic stress and depression in HE students while improving well-being. HE students at MDX were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) The UniExp-EW group were required to write about their emotions and thoughts about any stressors they have faced that are directly relevant to their university experience (2) The NonUniExp-EW group were required to write about their emotions and thoughts about any stressors that are NOT directly relevant to their university experience, and (3) The Control group were required to write about how they spent their weekend, with no reference to thoughts or emotions, and without thinking about university. Participants were required to carry out the EW intervention for 15minutes per day for four consecutive days. Baseline mental health and wellbeing measures were taken before the intervention via a battery of standardised questionnaires. Following completion of the intervention on day four, participants were required to complete the questionnaires a second time and again one week later. Participants were also invited to attend focus groups to discuss their experience of the intervention. This will allow an in-depth investigation into students’ perceptions of EW as an effective intervention to determine whether they would choose to use this intervention in the future. The quantitative findings will be discussed at the conference as well as a discussion of the important implications of the findings. The study is fundamental because if EW is an effective intervention for improving mental health and well-being in HE students, its brevity and simplicity means it can be easily implemented and can be freely-available to students. Improving the mental health and well-being of HE students can have knock-on implications for improving academic skills and career development.

Keywords: mental health, wellbeing, higher education students, expressive writing

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Authors: Priyatma Singh, Manpreet Kaur

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Climate change is progressively being identified as a global crisis and this has immediate repercussions for Fiji Islands due to its geographical location being prone to natural disasters. In the Pacific, it is common to find significant differences between men and women, in terms of their roles and responsibilities. In the pursuit of prudent preparedness before disasters, Fijian women’s engagement is constrained due to socially constructed roles and expectation of women here in Fiji. This vulnerability is aggravated by viewing women as victims, rather than as key people who have vital information of their society, economy, and environment, as well as useful skills, which, when recognized and used, can be effective in disaster risk reduction. The focus of this study on disaster management is to outline ways in which Fijian women can be actively engaged in disaster risk management, articulating in decision-making, negating the perceived ideology of women’s constricted roles in Fiji and unveiling social constraints that limit women’s access to practical disaster management strategic plan. This paper outlines the importance of gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction and the ways of mainstreaming gender based on a literature review. It analyses theoretical study of academic literature as well as papers and reports produced by various national and international institutions and explores ways to better inform and engage women for climate change per ser disaster management in Fiji. The empowerment of women is believed to be a critical element in constructing disaster resilience as women are often considered to be the designers of community resilience at the local level. Gender mainstreaming as a way of bringing a gender perspective into climate related disasters can be applied to distinguish the varying needs and capacities of women, and integrate them into climate change adaptation strategies. This study will advocate women articulation in disaster risk management, thus giving equal standing to females in Fiji and also identify the gaps and inform national and local Disaster Risk Management authorities to implement processes that enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment towards a more equitable and effective disaster practice.

Keywords: disaster risk management, climate change, gender mainstreaming, women empowerment

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Authors: Camila Freire Barrios, Gonzalo Rivera Talavera

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The importance of public spaces has been shown for many years, and in different disciplines, with one example being their ability for developing a sustainable social environment, especially in mega cities like Lima. The aim of this study was to explore the process of space appropriation that occurs in the Peripheral Library of the district El Agustino in Lima, Peru. Space appropriation is a process by which people develop a link with a place within a specific sociocultural context. This process has been related to positive outcomes, such as: participation and in the development of compassionate behaviors with these places. To achieve the purpose of the research, a qualitative design was selected because this will allowed exploring in deep the process in an specific context. The study interviewed six adults, all of whom were deliberately chosen to have the longest residence time in the district and also utilized the library the most. In a complementary manner, two children and one adolescent were interviewed. Likewise, two observations were made on a weekday and weekend, and public documentation information was collected. As a result, five categories linked to this process were identified. It was found that the process of space appropriation begins with the needs of the people who arrive at the library, which provides benefits to these people by fulfilling them. Next in the process, through the construction of meanings, the library is then valued as a pleasant, productive, safe and regulated place; as a result, people become identified with the library. The identification generated is subsequently reflected in the level of participation that the person has in the library, which may go in a continuum from no participating at all to a more direct involvement in the library activities, as well as voluntary and altruistic work. Finally, this process leads to the library becoming part of the neighborhood. This study allows having a better understanding of how sociospatial processes work in a Latinamerican context and in cities like Lima, where the third of the country’s population lives. Also, Lima has grown in the past 50 years in a excessively way and with lack of planification. Therefore, these results brings new research questions and highlights the importance of learning how to design public spaces in order to promote these processes to develop.

Keywords: bond with the place, place identity, public spaces, space appropriation

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Authors: Steven D. Capener

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The 1997 Asian financial crisis was a watershed event in Korea as it necessitated changes that begin an unravelling of many of the norms and traditions that had served to underpin society. Divorce skyrocketed; the era of lifetime employment was over; women came out the home to become, in many cases, the main breadwinners; competitive forces were exacerbated; and traditional sources of authority began to crumble. All of these changes weekend the power to structure human relations of the Confucian Three Bonds and Five Relationships (삼강오륜). Since then, this “de-confucianization” has only become more pronounced with women increasingly refusing to marry, partly in protest to what they perceive as entrenched gender inequality, married couples eschewing childbirth resulting in the lowest birthrate in the world, and diminishing inheritances eroding the traditionally strong sense of filial piety (효) of children toward parents. The result of all this can be seen in the continued weakening or outright crumbling of the hierarchies codified in the Three Bonds and Five Relationship, which have served as a social template in Korea for centuries. In his 2004 work “Oppa Came Back,” writer Kim Yong Ha depicts what he apparently sees as the “post-Confucian” family in a wickedly funny portrayal of what Korean society could look like if traditional bulwarks of prescriptive values suddenly collapse and are not replaced with tenable alternatives. In the short story, Kim subverts all the traditional hierarchies while leaving the desire to dominate these hierarchies intact. This produces the picture of a Korean family governed by the new values of money and physical power. After lying out what can be identified as major cultural changes in what could be called “traditional” society,” the article uses a close reading of Kim’s story for its implications regarding a possible new, dysfunctional version of Korean society. It seems apparent that Kim’s story is a cautionary tale of the pitfalls that lie athwart the late-modern Korean landscape. These changes have important implications in the areas of education and socio-political philosophy. The conclusion focuses on possible alternatives to this post-Confucian conundrum.

Keywords: post-confucian, three bonds and five relationships, traditional society, hierarchies

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Authors: Nurcihan Kiris

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Restricted sleep is common in young adults and adolescents. The results of a few objective studies of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance were not clarified. In particular, the effect of sleep deprivation on the cognitive functions associated with frontal lobe such as attention, executive functions, working memory is not well known. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of partial sleep deprivation experimentally in adolescents on the cognitive tasks of frontal lobe including working memory, strategic thinking, simple attention, continuous attention, executive functions, and cognitive flexibility. Subjects of the study were recruited from voluntary students of Cukurova University. Eighteen adolescents underwent four consecutive nights of monitored sleep restriction (6–6.5 hr/night) and four nights of sleep extension (10–10.5 hr/night), in counterbalanced order, and separated by a washout period. Following each sleep period, cognitive performance was assessed, at a fixed morning time, using a computerized neuropsychological battery based on frontal lobe functions task, a timed test providing both accuracy and reaction time outcome measures. Only the spatial working memory performance of cognitive tasks was found to be statistically lower in a restricted sleep condition than the extended sleep condition. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the performance of cognitive tasks evaluating simple attention, constant attention, executive functions, and cognitive flexibility. It is thought that especially the spatial working memory and strategic thinking skills of adolescents may be susceptible to sleep deprivation. On the other hand, adolescents are predicted to be optimally successful in ideal sleep conditions, especially in the circumstances requiring for the short term storage of visual information, processing of stored information, and strategic thinking. The findings of this study may also be associated with possible negative functional effects on the processing of academic social and emotional inputs in adolescents for partial sleep deprivation. Acknowledgment: This research was supported by Cukurova University Scientific Research Projects Unit.

Keywords: attention, cognitive functions, sleep deprivation, working memory

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Authors: Jane E. Hill

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Many variables led to the changes in the insanity defense since the Wild Beast Standard of 1723 until the Federal Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984. The insanity defense is used in criminal trials and argued that the defendant is ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’ because the individual was unable to distinguish right from wrong during the time they were breaking the law. The issue that surrounds whether or not to use the insanity defense in the criminal court depends on the mental state of the defendant at the time the criminal act was committed. This leads us to the question of did the defendant know right from wrong when they broke the law? In 1723, The Wild Beast Test stated that to be exempted from punishment the individual is totally deprived of their understanding and memory and doth not know what they are doing. The Wild Beast Test became the standard in England for over seventy-five years. In 1800, James Hadfield attempted to assassinate King George III. He only made the attempt because he was having delusional beliefs. The jury and the judge gave a verdict of not guilty. However, to legal confine him; the Criminal Lunatics Act was enacted. Individuals that were deemed as ‘criminal lunatics’ and were given a verdict of not guilty would be taken into custody and not be freed into society. In 1843, the M'Naghten test required that the individual did not know the quality or the wrongfulness of the offense at the time they committed the criminal act(s). Daniel M'Naghten was acquitted on grounds of insanity. The M'Naghten Test is still a modern concept of the insanity defense used in many courts today. The Irresistible Impulse Test was enacted in the United States in 1887. The Irresistible Impulse Test suggested that offenders that could not control their behavior while they were committing a criminal act were not deterrable by the criminal sanctions in place; therefore no purpose would be served by convicting the offender. Due to the criticisms of the latter two contentions, the federal District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled in 1954 to adopt the ‘product test’ by Sir Isaac Ray for insanity. The Durham Rule also known as the ‘product test’, stated an individual is not criminally responsible if the unlawful act was the product of mental disease or defect. Therefore, the two questions that need to be asked and answered are (1) did the individual have a mental disease or defect at the time they broke the law? and (2) was the criminal act the product of their disease or defect? The Durham courts failed to clearly define ‘mental disease’ or ‘product.’ Therefore, trial courts had difficulty defining the meaning of the terms and the controversy continued until 1972 when the Durham rule was overturned in most places. Therefore, the American Law Institute combined the M'Naghten test with the irresistible impulse test and The United States Congress adopted an insanity test for the federal courts in 1984.

Keywords: insanity defense, psychology law, The Federal Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984, The Wild Beast Standard in 1723

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Authors: Gabriela Kalcikova, Igor Bosevski, Ula Rozman, Andreja Zgajnar Gotvajn

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Antibiotics are extensively used in human medicine and also in animal husbandry to prevent or control infections. Recently, a lot of attention has been put on veterinary antibiotics, because their global consumption is increasing and it is expected to be 106.600 tons in 2030. Most of veterinary antibiotics are introduced into the environment via animal manure, which is used as fertilizer. One of such veterinary antibiotics is tiamulin. It is used the form of fumarate for treatment of pig and poultry. It is used against prophylaxis of dysentery, pneumonia and mycroplasmal infections, but its environmental impact is practically unknown. Tiamulin has been found very persistent in animal manure and thus it is expected that can be, during rainfalls, transported into the aquatic environment and affect various organisms. For assessment of its environmental impact, it is necessary to evaluate its biodegradability and toxicity to various organisms from different levels of a food chain. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate ready biodegradability and toxicity of tiamulin fumarate to various organisms. Bioassay used included luminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri heterotrophic and nitrifying microorganisms of activated sludge, water flea Daphnia magna and duckweed Lemna minor. For each species, EC₅₀ values were calculated. Biodegradability test was used for determination of ready biodegradability and it provides information about biodegradability of tiamulin under the most common environmental conditions. Results of our study showed that tiamulin differently affects selected organisms. The most sensitive organisms were water fleas with 48hEC₅₀ = 14.2 ± 4.8 mg/L and duckweed with 168hEC₅₀ = 22.6 ± 0.8 mg/L. Higher concentrations of tiamulin (from 10 mg/L) significantly affected photosynthetic pigments content in duckweed and concentrations above 80 mg/L cause visible chlorosis. It is in agreement with previous studies showing significant effect of tiamulin on green algae and cyanobacteria. Tiamuline has a low effect on microorganisms. The lower toxicity was observed for heterotrophic microorganisms (30minEC₅₀ = 1656 ± 296 mg/L), than Vibrio fisheri (30minEC₅₀ = 492 ± 21) and the most sensitive organisms were nitrifying microorganisms (30minEC₅₀ = 183 ± 127 mg/L). The reason is most probably the mode of action of tiamulin being effective to gram-positive bacteria while gram-negative (e.g., Vibrio fisheri) are more tolerant to tiamulin. Biodegradation of tiamulin was very slow with a long lag-phase being 20 days. The maximal degradation reached 40 ± 2 % in 43 days of the test and tiamulin as other antibiotics (e.g. ciprofloxacin) are not easily biodegradable. Tiamulin is widely used antibiotic in veterinary medicine and thus present in the environment. According to our results, tiamulin can have negative effect on water fleas and duckweeds, but the concentrations are several magnitudes higher than that found in any environmental compartment. Tiamulin is low toxic to tested microorganisms, but it is very low biodegradable and thus possibly persistent in the environment.

Keywords: antibiotics, biodegradability, tiamulin, toxicity

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Authors: Cheng-Chi Yu, Yu-Shiue Wang, Kei-Lin Kuo

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Active Independent Front Steering system is a steering system which can according to vehicle driving situation adjusts the relation of steering angle between inner wheel and outer wheel. In low-speed cornering, AIFS sets the steering angles of inner and outer wheel into Ackerman steering geometry to make vehicle has less cornering radius. Besides, AIFS changes the steering geometry to parallel or even anti-Ackerman steering geometry to keep vehicle stability in high-speed cornering. Therefore, based on the analysis of the vehicle steering behavior from different steering geometries, this study develops a new screw type of active independent front steering system to make vehicles best cornering performance at any speeds. The screw type of active independent front steering system keeps the pinion and separates the rack into main rack and second rack. Two racks connect by a screw. Extra screw rotated motion powered by assistant motor through coupler makes second rack move relative to main rack, which can adjust both steering ratio and steering geometry. First of all, this study distinguishes the steering geometry by using Ackerman percentage and utilizes the software of ADAMS/Car to construct diverse steering geometry models. The different steering geometries are compared at low-speed and high-speed cornering, and then control strategies of the active independent front steering systems could be formulated. Secondly, this study applies closed loop equation to analyze tire steering angles and carries out optimization calculations to make the steering geometry from traditional rack and pinion steering system near to Ackerman steering geometry. Steering characteristics of the optimum steering mechanism and motion characteristics of vehicle installed the steering mechanism are verified by ADAMS/Car models of front suspension and full vehicle respectively. By adding dual auxiliary rack and dual motor to the optimum steering mechanism, the active independent front steering system could be developed to achieve the functions of variable steering ratio and variable steering geometry. At last, this study uses ADAMS/Car and Matlab/Simulink to co-simulate the cornering motion of vehicles confirms the vehicle installed the Active Independent Front Steering (AIFS) system has better handling performance than that with Active Independent Steering (AFS) system or with Electric Power Steering (EPS) system. At low-speed cornering, the vehicles with AIFS system and with AFS system have better maneuverability, less cornering radius, than the traditional vehicle with EPS system because that AIFS and AFS systems both provide function of variable steering ratio. However, there is a slight penalty in the motor(s) power consumption. In addition, because of the capability of variable steering geometry, the vehicle with AIFS system has better high-speed cornering stability, trajectory keeping, and even less motor(s) power consumption than that with EPS system and also with AFS system.

Keywords: active front steering system, active independent front steering system, steering geometry, steering ratio

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Authors: Nushrat Khan, Mike Thelwall, Kayvan Kousha

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Making research data openly accessible has been mandated by most funders over the last 5 years as it promotes reproducibility in science and reduces duplication of effort to collect the same data. There are evidence that articles that publicly share research data have higher citation rates in biological and social sciences. However, how and whether shared data is being reused is not always intuitive as such information is not easily accessible from the majority of research data repositories. This study aims to understand the practice of data citation and how data is being reused over the years focusing on biodiversity since research data is frequently reused in this field. Metadata of 38,878 datasets including citation counts were collected through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) API for this purpose. GBIF was used as a data source since it provides citation count for datasets, not a commonly available feature for most repositories. Analysis of dataset types, citation counts, creation and update time of datasets suggests that citation rate varies for different types of datasets, where occurrence datasets that have more granular information have higher citation rates than checklist and metadata-only datasets. Another finding is that biodiversity datasets on GBIF are frequently updated, which is unique to this field. Majority of the datasets from the earliest year of 2007 were updated after 11 years, with no dataset that was not updated since creation. For each year between 2007 and 2017, we compared the correlations between update time and citation rate of four different types of datasets. While recent datasets do not show any correlations, 3 to 4 years old datasets show weak correlation where datasets that were updated more recently received high citations. The results are suggestive that it takes several years to cumulate citations for research datasets. However, this investigation found that when searched on Google Scholar or Scopus databases for the same datasets, the number of citations is often not the same as GBIF. Hence future aim is to further explore the citation count system adopted by GBIF to evaluate its reliability and whether it can be applicable to other fields of studies as well.

Keywords: data citation, data reuse, research data sharing, webometrics

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Authors: D. O. Miranda, L. R. Azevedo, J. F. C. Cordeiro, A. H. Dos Santos, S. F. Lisboa, F. S. Guimarães, G. S. Bisson

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Background: The Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers and the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the world. The prevalence of psychiatric-disorders among CRC patients, mainly depression, is high, resulting in impaired quality of life and side effects of primary treatment. High levels of proinflammatory cytokines at tumor microenvironment is a feature of CRC and the literature suggests that those mediators could contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders. Nevertheless, the ability of tumor-associated biological processes to affect the central nervous system (CNS) has only recently been explored in the context of symptoms of depression and is still not well understood. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that depressive-like behavior in an experimental model of CCR induced by N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) was correlated to proinflammatory profile in the periphery and in the brain. Methods: Colorectal carcinogenesis was induced in adult C57BL/6 mice (n=12) by administration of MNNG (5mg/kg, 0.1ml/intrarectal instillation) 2 times a week, for 2 week. Control group (n=12) received saline (0.1ml/intrarectal instillation). Eight weeks after beginning of MNNG administration animals were submitted to the forced swim test (FST) and the sucrose preference test for evaluation, respectively, of depressive- and anhedonia-like behaviors. After behavioral evaluation, the colon was collected and brain regions dissected (cortex-C, striatum-ST and hippocampus-HIP) for posterior evaluation of cytokine levels (IL-1β, IL-10, IL-17, and CX3CL1) by ELISA. Results: MNNG induced depressive-like behavior, represented by increased immobility time in the FST (Student t test, p < 0.05) and lower sucrose preference (Student t test, p < 0.05). Moreover, there were increased levels of IL-1β, IL-17 and CX3CL1 in the colonic tissue (Student t test, p < 0.05) and in the brain (IL-1 β in the ST and HIP, Student t test, p < 0.05; IL-17 and CX3CL1 in the C and HIP, p < 0.05). IL-10 levels, in contrast, were decreased in both the colon (p < 0.05) and the brain (C and HIP, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results obtained in the present work support the notion that tumor growth induces neuroinflammation in stress-related brain regions and depressive-like behavior, which could be related to the high incidence of depression in colorectal carcinogenesis. This work have important clinical and research implications, taken into account that cytokine levels may be a marker promissory for the developing depression in CRC patients. New therapeutic strategies to assist in alleviating mental suffering in cancer patients might result from a better understanding of the role of cytokines in the pathophysiology of depression in these subjects.

Keywords: cytokines, brain, depression, colorectal cancer

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Authors: Mingming Leng

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Wal-Mart has allocated considerable human resources for its quality assurance program, in which the largest retailer serves its supply chains as a quality gatekeeper. Asda Stores Ltd., the second largest supermarket chain in Britain, is now investing £27m in significantly increasing the frequency of quality control checks in its supply chains and thus enhancing quality across its fresh food business. Moreover, Tesco, the largest British supermarket chain, already constructed a quality assessment center to carry out its gatekeeping responsibility. Motivated by the above practices, we consider a supply chain in which a retailer plays the gatekeeping role in quality assurance by identifying defects among a manufacturer's products prior to selling them to consumers. The impact of a retailer's gatekeeping activity on pricing and quality assurance in a supply chain has not been investigated in the operations management area. We draw a number of managerial insights that are expected to help practitioners judiciously consider the quality gatekeeping effort at the retail level. As in practice, when the retailer identifies a defective product, she immediately returns it to the manufacturer, who then replaces the defect with a good quality product and pays a penalty to the retailer. If the retailer does not recognize a defect but sells it to a consumer, then the consumer will identify the defect and return it to the retailer, who then passes the returned 'unidentified' defect to the manufacturer. The manufacturer also incurs a penalty cost. Accordingly, we analyze a two-stage pricing and quality decision problem, in which the manufacturer and the retailer bargain over the manufacturer's average defective rate and wholesale price at the first stage, and the retailer decides on her optimal retail price and gatekeeping intensity at the second stage. We also compare the results when the retailer performs quality gatekeeping with those when the retailer does not. Our supply chain analysis exposes some important managerial insights. For example, the retailer's quality gatekeeping can effectively reduce the channel-wide defective rate, if her penalty charge for each identified de-fect is larger than or equal to the market penalty for each unidentified defect. When the retailer imple-ments quality gatekeeping, the change in the negotiated wholesale price only depends on the manufac-turer's 'individual' benefit, and the change in the retailer's optimal retail price is only related to the channel-wide benefit. The retailer is willing to take on the quality gatekeeping responsibility, when the impact of quality relative to retail price on demand is high and/or the retailer has a strong bargaining power. We conclude that the retailer's quality gatekeeping can help reduce the defective rate for consumers, which becomes more significant when the retailer's bargaining position in her supply chain is stronger. Retailers with stronger bargaining powers can benefit more from their quality gatekeeping in supply chains.

Keywords: bargaining, game theory, pricing, quality, supply chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Emmanuel Benjamin, Matthias Blum

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Purpose – We address smallholder farmers’ restricted possibilities to adopt sustainable technologies which have direct and indirect benefits. Smallholders often face little asset endowment due to small farm size und insecure property rights, therefore experiencing constraints in adopting agricultural innovation. A program involving payments for ecosystem services (PES) benefits poor smallholder farmers in developing countries in many ways and has been suggested as a means of easing smallholder farmers’ financial constraints. PES may also provide additional mainstay which can eventually result in more favorable credit contract terms due to the availability of collateral substitute. Results of this study may help to understand the barriers, motives and incentives for smallholders’ participation in PES and help in designing a strategy to foster participation in beneficial programs. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a random utility model and a logistic regression approach to investigate factors that influence agroforestry adoption. We investigate non-monetary factors, such as information spillover, that influence the decision to adopt such conservation strategies. We collected original data from non-government-run agroforestry mitigation programs with PES that have been implemented in the Mount Kenya region. Preliminary Findings – We find that spread of information, existing networks and peer involvement in such programs drive participation. Conversely, participation by smallholders does not seem to be influenced by education, land or asset endowment. Contrary to some existing literature, we found weak evidence for a positive correlation between the adoption of agroforestry with PES and age of smallholder, e.g., one increases with the other, in the Mount Kenyan region. Research implications – Poverty alleviation policies for developing countries should target social capital to increase the adoption rate of modern technologies amongst smallholders.

Keywords: agriculture innovation, agroforestry adoption, smallholders, payment for ecosystem services, Sub-Saharan Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 384

Authors: Milagros S. Salibad, Levita B. Grana

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The presence and role of Indigenous Peoples residing in key biodiversity, protected, and watershed areas within the ancestral domain in the Caraga Region hold immense significance. This study aimed to determine the level of biodiversity conservation practices among the Mamanwas, Manobos, and Higaonons, and identify facilitating or hindering factors. Employing a mixed-method research design, 421 respondents participated through a researcher-made questionnaire. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, researcher field notes, community immersions, and secondary sources were done. The three groups have demonstrated a high level of biodiversity conservation practices manifesting their commitment to conserving their natural resources and ecosystems. Evidently, selecting and cutting only mature trees for shelter and tribal usage, and preservation of large trees that harbor ancestors’ spirits and worship through rituals (Mambabaja). Each group exhibited unique environmental practices shaped by their distinct cultures, traditions, customary knowledge, and access to information. The Mamanwa practiced traditional hunting and gathering by using traps while Manobo practiced shifting cultivation to maintain soil fertility and biodiversity, and Higaonon managed forest resources through traditional forest management (establishment of sacred forests and conservation areas). Various facilitating and hindering factors influenced their conservation efforts. Their traditional knowledge and practices, partnership and collaboration, legal recognition and support, access to information, and biodiversity monitoring system facilitate practices. Insufficient government assistance, political and social issues, scarce financial support, inadequate policy enforcement, lack of livelihood opportunities, and land use conflicts hinder them. Monitoring the sustainability of IPs' local biodiversity conservation practices is essential as they contribute to conservation endeavors.

Keywords: biodiversity, conservation, indigenous peoples, traditional knowledge

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Israel B. Bitton

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“Memory” is associated with various phenomena, from physical to mental, personal to collective and historical to cultural. As part of a broader exploration of memory studies in philosophy and science (slated for academic publication October 2021), this specific study employs analytical methods of cognitive psychology and philosophy of memory to theorize that A) the primary human will (drive) is to significance, in that every human action and expression can be rooted in a most primal desire to be cosmically significant (however that is individually perceived); and B) that the will to significance manifests as the will to memorability, an innate desire to be remembered by others after death. In support of these broad claims, a review of various popular culture “touchpoints”—historic and contemporary records spanning literature, film and television, traditional news media, and social media—is presented to demonstrate how this very theory is repeatedly and commonly expressed (and has been for a long time) by many popular public figures as well as “everyday people.” Though developed before COVID, the crisis only increased the theory’s relevance: so many people were forced to die alone, leaving them and their loved ones to face even greater existential angst than what ordinarily accompanies death since the usual expectations for one’s “final moments” were shattered. To underscore this issue of, and response to, what can be considered a sociocultural “memory gap,” this study concludes with a summary of several projects launched by journalists at the height of the pandemic to document the memorable human stories behind COVID’s tragic warped speed death toll that, when analyzed through the lens of Viktor E. Frankl’s psychoanalytical perspective on “existential meaning,” shows how countless individuals were robbed of the last wills and testaments to their self-significance and memorability typically afforded to the dying and the aggrieved. The resulting insight ought to inform how government and public health officials determine what is truly “non-essential” to human health, physical and mental, at times of crisis.

Keywords: cognitive psychology, covid, neuroscience, philosophy of memory

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Mustafa Hyder, Shamaila Burney, Roohi Mumtaz

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The aim of this study is to determine the consequences of silent or hidden messages and their effectiveness in deteriorating or altering our ethical norms and values. The study also focuses the repercussions of subconscious messages and possibilities of ethical diffusion in our society. The research based on the question that what are the different factors that motivate advertisers to include subliminal messages and how much these unspoken truths affecting our ethical values silently. What are the causes and effects of the subliminal messages in general and the level of ethical diffusion and its acceptance? The concept of advertising is to promote and highlight the salient features of the products and services, a company offers. Advertising is the best option nowadays to convey the related information to the consumers so that they attracted more towards the products or services proposed. The other thing advertisers concentrate, is the psychological characteristics using to persuade consumers choice. Using skills and tactics of advertising to promote a product in such a way that it creates a sensation, controversy or brand consciousness among the consumers or customers. The purpose to have increase purchase or to gain popularity in comparison to their competitors, they sometimes use such tactics and techniques, which is highly unethical and immoral for any society. These kinds of stuff used very smartly within the ads that only the conscious mind subconsciously catches the meaning of those glittery images, posters, phrases, tag lines and non-verbal clues. This study elucidates the subliminal advertising their repercussions and impact on consumer’s behaviour in our society with the help of few ads embedded subliminally and the trends of profitability. The methods used to accomplish our research are based on qualitative research along with the research articles, books and feedback from focused groups regarding the topic. The basic objective of this study was that, there is no significant change in the behaviour and attitude observed. These messages capture very short-term life on the viewer’s subconscious mind but in long run people get used to it and hence not only have the diffusion power but also has the high level of acceptance as well that reflects mostly through their social behaviours and attitudes.

Keywords: ethical diffusion, subconscious, subliminal advertising, unspoken facts

Procedia PDF Downloads 328

Authors: Agumah N. B. Orji, M. U., Oru C. M., Ugbo, E. N., Onwuliri E. A Nwakaeze, E. A.,

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ERG11 gene has been reported to be one of the genes whose expression is responsible for resistance of Candida to various triazole drugs, which are first line treatment for candidiasis. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Triazole (Fluconazole and voriconazole) resistant Candida albicans expressing ERG11 gene from adult females in Abakaliki. Urine and vaginal swab samples were randomly collected from volunteers after obtaining their consent to participate in the study. A total of 565 adult females participated in the study. A total of 340 urine specimens and 288 vaginal swab specimens were collected. Direct wet mount technique, as well as culture in Trichomonas broth, were used to examine the urine and vaginal swab specimens for the presence of motile Trichomonads. The Trichomonas broth used was selective for both T. vaginalis and C. albicans. Broths that yielded budding yeast cells after microscopy were subcultured on to Sabouraud dextrose agar, after which Germ tube test was carried out to confirm the presence of C. albicans. Biochemical tests, including carbohydrate fermentation and urease utilization, were also performed. Antibiogram of C. albicans isolates obtained from this study was carried out using commercially available azole drugs. Fluconazole and voriconazole were selected as Triazole drugs used for this study. Nystatin was used as a tangential control. An MIC test was carried out with E-strips on some of the resistant C. albicans isolates A total of 6 isolates that resisted all the azole drugs were selected and screened for the presence of ERG11 gene using Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction technique. The total prevalence recorded for C. albicans was 13.0%. Frequency was statistically higher in Pregnant (7.96%) than non pregnant (5.09%) volunteers (X2=0.94 at P=0.05). With respect to clinical samples, frequency was higher in vaginal swabs samples (7.96%) than Urine samples (5.09%) (X2=9.05 at P=0.05). Volunteers within the age group 26-30 years recorded the highest prevalence (4.46%), while those within the age group 36-40 years recorded the lowest at 1.27%(X2=4.34 at P=0.05). In pregnant female participants, the highest frequency was recorded with those in their 3rd trimester (4.14%), while lowest incidence was recorded for those in their first trimester (0.80%). Antibiogram results from this study showed that C. albicans isolates obtained from this study resisted Fluconazole (72%) more than Voriconazole (57%). Only one out of the six selected isolates yielded resistance in the MIC test. Results obtained from the RT-PCR showed that there was no expression of ERG11 gene among the fluconazole resistant isolates of C. albicans. Observed resistance may be due to other factors other than expression of ERG11 gene.

Keywords: candida, ERG11, triazole, nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Ariyan S. Araghi, Guy C. Jackson, Stephen J. Bonsor

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Materials & Methods: A systematic literature search was undertaken using pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. Several databases were used to search for randomised control trials and longitudinal cohort studies, which were published less than thirty years ago. A total of 54 studies met the predefined inclusion criteria. Four studies reviewed the success, survival, and failure characteristics of zirconia framework resin retained bridges, whilst two reviewed non-precious metal resin retained bridges. Results: The analysis of the studies revealed an overall survival rate of 95.9% for zirconia-based restorations compared to 90.7% for non-precious metal frameworks. Non-precious metal resin retained bridges displayed a higher overall failure rate of 11.9% compared to 4.6% for zirconia-based restorations in the analysed papers. The most frequent complications were wing debonding for the non-precious metal wing group, whereas substructure fracture and veneering ceramic fracture were more prevalent for the zirconia arm of the study. Conclusion: Both types of resin retained bridges provide effective medium to long-term survival. Zirconia-based frameworks will provide marginally increased success and survival and greatly improved aesthetics. However, catastrophic failure is more likely with zirconia-based restorations. Non-precious metal is time tested but performs worse than its zirconia counterpart with regards to longevity; it does not exhibit the same framework fractures as zirconia. Cement choice and attention to the adhesive bonding systems used appear to be paramount to restoration longevity with both restoration subtypes. Furthermore, improved longevity can be seen when air particle abrasion is incorporated into the adhesive protocol. Within the limitations of this study, it has been determined that zirconia-based resin retained bridges can be effectively used in anterior cantilever bridges. Clinical Significance: Zirconia-based resin retained bridges have been demonstrating promising results in terms of improved success and survival characteristics, together with improved aesthetics when compared to non-precious metal winged resin retained bridges. Their popularity is increasing in the age of digital dentistry as many restorations are manufactured using such technology. It is essential that clinicians understand the limitations of each material type and principles of adhesion to ensure restoration longevity.

Keywords: resin retained bridge, fixed partial denture, zirconia bridge, adhesive bridge

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Juland D. Salayo

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With numerous innovations introduced in the Philippine educational system, the country’s struggle of materializing its national goal of transforming lives ends with great loss. Many agree that the failure to emerge the integral values of the program, framework and the implementers impedes realization. Employing a descriptive-correlational method, it aimed to determine the value clusters of the Grade 9 teachers as assessed by themselves and by the students, the significant difference of the assessed values and the significant difference on the values based on their profile. Respondents were composed of sixty-nine (69) teachers and three hundred forty (340) students using simple random sampling. Through a survey-questionnaire, the study revealed that the teachers have high regards on their self-reliance, honesty and trustworthiness, obedience, politeness and respect and self-discipline and spirituality. In contrast, they have ranked the following values fairly: justice and fairness, courage, responsibility and punctuality and nationalism and patriotism. Having assessed by the students, they have highly regarded their teachers’ self-reliance, responsibility and punctuality, obedience, politeness and respect and fair play and sportsmanship. On the other hand, the student-respondents made a low assessment on the level of the teachers’ justice and fairness, nationalism and patriotism, honesty and trustworthiness and excellence. Using t-test, it showed that there is a significant difference between the assessments of the respondents. Finally, among the demographic profiles, only civil status and age rejected the hypothesis. The following were recommended: provide educators value-enhancement trainings and conferences, organize value-oriented organizations and activities, and make intensive value-campaigns heightening the low-assessed values. Thus, a Revised Values Education Program (RVEP) was made to further meet the objectives of the program, address the needs of its clienteles, and responding to the demands of both education and society towards excellence in service, social and economic revolution, and constructive national goals which are based from integral values.

Keywords: values, value clusters, values education program, values education, teachers' assessed values

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: Yang Zhou, Kaijian Li, Guiwen Liu

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Offsite construction is an innovative alternative to conventional site-based construction, with wide-ranging benefits. It requires building components, elements or modules were prefabricated and pre-assembly before installed into their final locations. To improve efficiency and achieve synergies, in recent years, construction companies were clustered into construction industrial parks (CIPs) in China. A CIP is a community of construction manufacturing and service businesses located together on a common property. Companies involved in industrial clusters can obtain environment and economic benefits by sharing resources and information in a given region. Therefore, the concept of industrial symbiosis (IS) can be applied to the traditional CIP to achieve sustainable industrial development or redevelopment through the implementation of eco-industrial parks (EIP). However, before designing a symbiosis network between companies in a CIP, candidate support tenants need to be selected to complement the existing construction companies. In this study, an access indicator system and a linear programming model are established to select candidate tenants in a CIP while satisfying the degree of connectivity among the enterprises in the CIP, minimizing the environmental impact, and maximizing the annualized profit of the CIP. The access indicator system comprises three primary indicators and fifteen secondary indicators, is proposed from the perspective of park-based level. The fifteen indicators are classified as three primary indicators including industrial symbiosis, environment performance and economic benefit, according to the three dimensions of sustainability (environment, economic and social dimensions) and the three R's of the environment (reduce, reuse and recycle). The linear programming model is a method to assess the satisfactoriness of all the indicators and to make an optimal multi-objective selection among candidate tenants. This method provides a practical tool for planners of a CIP in evaluating which among the candidate tenants would best complement existing anchor construction tenants. The reasonability and validity of the indicator system and the method is worth further study in the future.

Keywords: construction industrial park, China, industrial symbiosis, offsite construction, selection of support tenants

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Kamal Kumar Gupta, Sunil Kayesth

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Dysdercus koenigii is serious pest of cotton and other malvaceous crop. Present research work aimed at ecofriendly approach for management of pest by plant extracts. The impact of Ocimum sanctum was studied on reproductive performance of Dysdercus koenigii. The hexane extract of Ocimum leaves was prepared by ‘cold extraction method’. The newly emerged fifth instar nymphs were exposed to the extract of concentrations ranging from 0.1% to 0.00625% by ‘thin film residual method’ for a period of 24h. Reproductive fitness of the adults emerged from the treated nymphs was evaluated by assessing their courtship behaviour, oviposition behaviour, and fertility. The studies indicated that treatment of Dysdercus with the hexane extract of Ocimum altered their courtship behaviour. Consequently, the treated males exhibited less sexual activity, performed fewer mounting attempts, increased time to mate and showed decreased percent successful mating. The females often rejected courting treated male by shaking the abdomen. Similarly, the treated females in many cases remained non-receptive to the courting male. Premature termination of mating in the mating pairs prior to insemination further decreased the mating success of the treated adults. Maximum abbreviation of courtship behaviour was observed in the experimental set up where both the males and the females were treated. Only females which mate successfully were observed for study of oviposition behaviour. The treated females laid lesser number of egg batches and eggs in their life span. The eggs laid by these females were fertile indicating insemination of the female. However, percent hatchability was lesser than control. The effects of hexane extract were dose dependent. Treatment with 0.1% and 0.05% extract altered courtship behaviour. Doses of concentrations less than 0.05% did not affect courtship behaviour but altered the oviposition behaviour and fertility. Significant reduction in the fecundity and fertility was observed in the treatments at concentration as low as 0.00625%. The GCMS analysis of the extract revealed a plethora of phytochemicals including juvenile hormone mimics, and the intermediates of juvenile hormone biosynthesis. Therefore, some of these compounds individually or synergistically impair reproductive behaviour of Dysdercus. Alteration of courtship behaviour and suppression of fecundity and fertility with the help of plant extracts has wide potentials in suppression of pest population and ‘integrated pest management’.

Keywords: courtship behaviour, Dysdercus koenigii, Ocimum sanctum, oviposition behaviour

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: Barnali Saha

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Dalit writing is the interventionalist voice of the dispossessed subaltern in the cultural economy of the society. As such, Dalit writing, including Dalit poetry, considers the contradictions that permeate the socio-cultural structure historically allocated and religiously sanctioned in the Indian subcontinent. As an epicenter of all Dalit experiences of trauma and violence, the poetics the Dalit body is deeply rooted in the peripheral space socially assigned to it by anachronistic caste-based litigation. An appraisal of Dalit creative-critical work by writers like Sharan Kumar Limbale, Arjun Dangle, Namdeo Dhasal, Om Prakash Valmiki, Muktibodh and others underscore the conjunction of the physical, psychical and the psychological in their interpretation of Dalit consciousness. They put forward the idea that Dalit poetry is begotten by the trauma of societal oppression and therefore, Dalit language and its revitalization are two elements obdurately linked to Dalit poetics. The present research paper seeks to read the problematization of the Dalit agency through the conduit of the Dalit voice wherein the anatomical category of the mouth is closely related to the question of Dalit identity. Theoretically aligned to Heidegger’s notion of language as the house of being and Bachelard’s assertion of a house as an ideal metaphor of poetic imagination and Dylan Trigg’s view of the coeval existence of space and body, the paper examines a series of selected poems by Dalit poetic voices to examine how their distinct Dalit point of view underscores Dalit speech and directs our attention to the historical abstraction of it. The paper further examines how speech as a category in Dalit writing places the Dalit somatic entity as a site of contestation with the ‘Mouth’ as a loaded symbolic category inspiring rebellion and resistance. And as the quintessential purpose of Dalit literature is the unleashing of Dalit voice from the anti-verbal domain of social decrepitude, Dalit poetry needs to be critically read based on the experience of the mouth and the patois.

Keywords: Dalit, poetry, speech, mouth, subaltern, minority, exploitation, space

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Yael Wolff Sagy, Yiska Loewenberg Weisband, Vered Kaufman Shriqui, Michal Krieger, Arie Ben Yehuda, Ronit Calderon Margalit

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Background: Obesity is both a risk factor and common comorbidity of diabetes. Obesity impedes the achievement of glycemic control, and enhances damage caused by hyperglycemia to blood vessels; thus it increases diabetes-related complications. This study assessed the prevalence of obesity and morbid obesity among Israeli adults with diabetes, and estimated disparities associated with sex and socioeconomic position (SEP). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the setting of the Israeli National Program for Quality Indicators in Community Healthcare. Data on all the Israeli population is retrieved from electronic medical records of the four health maintenance organizations (HMOs). The study population included all Israeli patients with diabetes aged 20-64 with documented body mass index (BMI) in 2016 (N=180,451). Diabetes was defined as the existence of one or more of the following criteria: (a) Plasma glucose level >200 mg% in at least two tests conducted at least one month apart in the previous year; (b) HbA1c>6.5% at least once in the previous year (c) at least three prescriptions of diabetes medications were dispensed during the previous year. Two measures were included: the prevalence of obesity (defined as last BMI≥ 30 kg/m2 and <35 kg/m2) and the prevalence of morbid obesity (defined as last BMI≥ 35 kg/m2) in individuals aged 20-64 with diabetes. The cut-off value for morbid obesity was set in accordance with the eligibility criteria for bariatric surgery in diabetics. Data were collected by the HMOs and aggregated by age, sex and SEP. SEP was based on statistical areas ranking by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics and divided into 4 categories, ranking from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest). Results: BMI documentation among adults with diabetes was 84.9% in 2016. The prevalence of obesity in the study population was 30.5%. Although the overall rate was similar in both sexes (30.8% in females, 30.3% in males), SEP disparities were stronger in females (32.7% in SEP level 1 vs. 27.7% in SEP level 4; 18.1% relative difference) compared to males (30.6% in SEP level 1 vs. 29.3% in SEP level 4; 4.4% relative difference). The overall prevalence of morbid obesity in this population was 20.8% in 2016. The rate among females was almost double compared to the rate in males (28.1% and 14.6%, respectively). In both sexes, the prevalence of morbid obesity was strongly associated with lower SEP. However, in females, disparities between SEP levels were much stronger (34.3% in SEP level 1 vs. 18.7% in SEP level 4; 83.4% relative difference) compared to SEP-disparities in males (15.7% in SEP level 1 vs. 12.3% in SEP level 4; 27.6% relative difference). Conclusions: The overall prevalence of BMI≥ 30 kg/m2 among adults with diabetes in Israel exceeds 50%; and the prevalence of morbid obesity suggests that 20% meet the BMI-criteria for bariatric surgery. Prevalence rates show major SEP- and sex-disparities; especially strong SEP disparities in morbid obesity among females. These findings highlight the need for greater consideration of different population groups when implementing interventions.

Keywords: diabetes, health disparities, health policy, obesity, socio-economic position

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Valeria Velasco, Ana M. Bonilla, José L. Vergara, Alcides Lofa, Jorge Campos, Pedro Rojas-García

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Staphylococcus aureus is both commensal bacterium and opportunistic pathogen that can cause different diseases in humans and can rapidly develop antimicrobial resistance. Since this bacterium has the ability to colonize the nares and skin of humans and animals, there is a risk of contamination of food in different steps of the food chain supply. Emerging strains have been detected in food-producing animals and meat, such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and oxacillin susceptibility of S. aureus in the pork chain supply in Chile and to suggest some natural antimicrobials for control. A total of 487 samples were collected from pigs (n=332), carcasses (n=85), and retail pork meat (n=70). Presumptive S. aureus colonies were isolated by selective enrichment and culture media. The confirmation was carried out by biochemical testing (Api® Staph) and molecular technique PCR (detection of nuc and mecA genes, associated with S. aureus and methicillin resistance, respectively). The oxacillin (β-lactam antibiotic that replaced methicillin) susceptibility was assessed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the Epsilometer test (Etest). A preliminary assay was carried out to test thymol, carvacrol, oregano essential oil (Origanum vulgare L.), Maqui or Chilean wineberry extract (Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz) as anti-staphylococcal agents using the disc diffusion method at different concentrations. The overall prevalence of S. aureus in the pork chain supply reached 33.9%. A higher prevalence of S. aureus was determined in carcasses (56.5%) than in pigs (28.3%) and pork meat (32.9%) (P ≤ 0.05). The prevalence of S. aureus in pigs sampled at farms (40.6%) was higher than in pigs sampled at slaughterhouses (23.3%) (P ≤ 0.05). The contamination of no packaged meat with S. aureus (43.1%) was higher than in packaged meat (5.3%) (P ≤ 0.05). The mecA gene was not detected in S. aureus strains isolated in this study. Two S. aureus strains exhibited oxacillin resistance (MIC ≥ 4µg/mL). Anti-staphylococcal activity was detected in solutions of thymol, carvacrol, and oregano essential oil at all concentrations tested. No anti-staphylococcal activity was detected in Maqui extract. Finally, S. aureus is present in the pork chain supply in Chile. Although the mecA gene was not detected, oxacillin resistance was found in S. aureus and could be attributed to another resistance mechanism. Thymol, carvacrol, and oregano essential oil could be used as anti-staphylococcal agents at low concentrations. Research project Fondecyt No. 11140379.

Keywords: antimicrobials, mecA gen, nuc gen, oxacillin susceptibility, pork meat

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Nadeem Yousuf Khan

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This paper proposes the formation of a digital emergency response system (dERS) in the aged, long-term care, and chronic disease setups in the post-COVID healthcare ecosystem, focusing on the Asia Pacific market where the aging population is increasing significantly. It focuses on the use of digital technologies such as wearables, a global positioning system (GPS), and mobile applications to build an integrated care system for old folks with co-morbidities and other chronic diseases. The paper presents a conceptual framework of a connected digital health ecosystem that not only provides proactive care to registered patients but also prevents the damages due to sudden conditions such as strokes by alerting and treating the patients in a digitally connected and coordinated manner. A detailed review of existing digital health technologies such as wearables, GPS, and mobile apps was conducted in context with the new post-COVID healthcare paradigm, along with a detailed literature review on the digital health policies and usability. A good amount of research papers is available in the application of digital health, but very few of them discuss the formation of a new framework for a connected digital ecosystem for the aged care population, which is increasing around the globe. A connected digital emergency response system has been proposed by the author whereby all registered patients (chronic disease and aged/long term care) will be connected to the proposed digital emergency response system (dERS). In the proposed ecosystem, patients will be provided with a tracking wrist band and a mobile app through which the control room will be monitoring the mobility and vitals such as atrial fibrillation (AF), blood sugar, blood pressure, and other vital signs. In addition to that, an alert in case if the patient falls down will add value to this system. In case of any variation in the vitals, an alert is sent to the dERS 24/7, and dERS clinical staff immediately trigger that alert which goes to the connected hospital and the adulatory service providers, and the patient is escorted to the nearest connected tertiary care hospital. By the time, the patient reaches the hospital, dERS team is ready to take appropriate clinical action to save the life of the patient. Strokes or myocardial infarction patients can be prevented from disaster if they are accessible to engagement healthcare. This dERS will play an effective role in saving the lives of aged patients or patients with chronic co-morbidities.

Keywords: aged care, atrial fibrillation, digital health, digital emergency response system, digital technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Thirakorn Maneerat, Darunee Jongudomkarn, Jiraporn Khiewyoo

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Family quality of life of families who have persons with disabilities is a core concern in government services and community health promotion to deal with the multidimensionality of today’s health and societal issues. The number of families who have persons with disabilities in Thailand is gradually increasing. However, facilitation and evaluation of such family quality of life are limited by the lack of feasible tools. As a consequence, service provided for the families is not optimally facilitated and evaluated. This paper is part of a larger project which is aimed to develop a scale for measuring of family quality of life of families who have persons with developmental disabilities in Thailand, presenting the results of a three-round Delphi method involving 11 experts. The study was obtained during December 2013 to May 2014. The first round consisted of open-ended questionnaire and content analysis of the answers. The second round comprised a 5-point Likert scale structured questionnaire based on the first round analysis, with required the experts to identify the most relevant studied tool aspects. Their feedbacks levels of agreements were statistic analysis using the median, interquartile range and quartile deviation. The included criteria for items acceptance were greater than 3.50 of the median, lesser than 1.50 of interquartile range, and 0.65 or less of a quartile deviation. Finally, the proposed questionnaire was structured and validated by the experts in the third round. The results found that across all three rounds, the experts achieved 100% agreement on the five factors regarding to quality of life of a family who have person with disability were considered. These five factors with 38 items were included: 1) 10 items of family interactions; 2) 9 items of child rearing; 3) 7 items of physical and material resources; 4) 5 items of social-emotional status; and 7 items of disability-related services and welfare. Next step of the study was examined the construct validity by using factor analysis methods.

Keywords: tool development, family quality of life scale, person with disability, Delphi study

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: Sheriff Muhammad Ibrahim

Abstract:

The contemporary world has seen many agents of market liberalization, globalization, and expansion in agribusiness, which pose a big threat to the existence of smallholder farmers in the farming business or, at most, being marginalized against government interventions, investors' partnerships and further stretched by government policies in an effort to promote subsistent farming that can generate profits and speedy growth through attracting foreign businesses. The consequence of these modern shifts ends basically at the expense of smallholder farmers. Many scholars believed that this shift was among the major causes of urban-rural drift facing almost all communities in the World. In an effort to address these glaring economic crises, various governments at different levels and development agencies have created different programs trying to identify other sources of income generation for rural farmers. However, despite the different approaches adopted by many communities and states, the mass rural exodus continues to increase as the rural farmers continue to lose due to a lack of reliable sources for cost-efficient inputs such as agricultural extension services, mechanization supports, quality, and improved seeds, soil matching fertilizers and access to credit facilities and profitable markets for rural farmers output. Unfortunately for them, they see these agricultural requirements provided by large-scale farmers making their farming activities cheaper and yields higher. These have further created other social problems between the smallholder farmers and the large-scale farmers in many areas. This study aims to suggest the Islamic mode of agricultural financing named Muzara’ah for smallholder farmers as a microfinance banking product adopted and practiced by Yobe Microfinance Bank as a model to promote agricultural financing to be adopted in other communities. The study adopts a comparative research method to conclude that the Muzara’ah model of financing can be adopted as a valid means of financing smallholder farmers and reducing food insecurity.

Keywords: Muzara'ah, Islamic finance, agricultural financing, microfinance, smallholder farmers

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