Search results for: religious text

Authors: Andrea Corsale

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The historical and geographical regions of Banat and Crişana in Western Romania have long been characterized by a high degree of ethnic diversity. However, this traditionally complex cultural, linguistic, and religious mosaic has undergone a progressive simplification during the past century due to deportations, emigration, and assimilation, and both regions now have a large Romanian-speaking majority population. This contribution focuses on Jewish heritage in the two largest cities of these two regions, Timişoara (Banat) and Oradea (Crişana). The two cities shared some historical events but also went through different experiences, despite their relative geographic proximity. The Jewish community of Timişoara survived the Holocaust basically intact, an almost unique case in Central-Eastern Europe, but largely left the city after the war. Instead, the Jewish community of Oradea was almost completely deported and killed in Auschwitz, and a renewed post-war community gradually emigrated abroad in the following decades. The two Jewish communities are now very small in size but inherited a vast tangible and intangible heritage (synagogues, cemeteries, community buildings, characteristic architecture, memories, local traditions, and histories), partially restored and recovered in recent years. The author’s fieldwork shows that local Jewish stakeholders are aware of the potential of this heritage in terms of cultural and economic benefits, but significant weaknesses and concerns exist, as the small dimension of these communities, and their financial constraints, challenge their future role in the eventual promotion and management of this heritage, which is now basically in the hands of the non-Jewish public and private stakeholders. Projects, experiences, and views related to Jewish heritage conservation and promotion in these two contexts will be portrayed and analysed in order to contribute to a broader discussion on representations and narratives of minority heritage within cultural tourism development dynamics.

Keywords: Jewish heritage, ethnic minorities, heritage tourism, Romania

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Authors: Lim Pey Huan

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Yi-Kuan-Tao has been developing in Malaysia for nearly 60 years. It was initially introduced from mainland China and later from Taiwan starting from the 1970s. Yi-Kuan-Tao was considered a 'new religion' for the local Chinese community in Malaysia in its early stages, as Chinese immigrants primarily practiced Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, or Catholicism upon settling in the region. The overseas propagation and development of Yi-Kuan-Tao today primarily occur through Taiwanese temples, which began spreading abroad as early as 1949. Particularly since the 1970s, with the rapid economic growth of Taiwan, various branches of Taiwanese Yi-Kuan-Tao have gained economic strength to propagate abroad, further expanding the influence of Yi-Kuan-Tao overseas. Southeast Asia is the region out from Taiwan where the propagation and development of Yi-Kuan-Tao are fastest and most concentrated. With approximately over 6 million Chinese inhabitants, Malaysia's pursuit of traditional Chinese culture has led to a flourishing interest in Yi-Kuan-Tao, particularly its advocacy of the unity of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, with an emphasis on promoting Confucian thought. Moreover, Taiwan's rapid economic development since the 1970s has enabled Yi-Kuan-Tao to allocate significant human and financial resources for external propagation efforts. Additionally, Malaysia's government has adopted a relatively tolerant policy towards religion since that time, further fostering the flourishing development of Yi-Kuan-Tao in Malaysia. Furthermore, this thesis aims to strengthen the lineage and continuity of the Yi-Kuan-Tao tradition, particularly the branch of Fa Yi Chong De, through the perspective of Heavenly Mandate (天命). By examining the different origins and ethnic backgrounds, it investigates how the Malaysian Chinese community has experienced different changes through the cultural baptism of religion, thus delving into the religious influence of Yi-Kuan-Tao. Given that the Fa Yi Chong De Academy in Taiwan is currently in an active development and construction phase, academic works related to Yi-Kuan-Tao will lay a more solid academic foundation for the future establishment of the academy.

Keywords: initial exploration, cultural shifts, Yi-Kuan-Tao, Malaysian Chinese community

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Authors: Yulia Eka Putrie, Widjaja Martokusumo

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The development of architecture today indicates that an architectural object often does not represent one single identity only. One architectural object could represents layers of multiple identities of an increasingly complex society. Mosque architecture for example, is mainly associated with one religious identity; that mosque architecture serves as the representation of Islamic identity. However, on many occasions, mosque architecture also serves as the representation of other motives, such as political, social, even individual identity. In normal circumstances, these layers of identities are not always seen or realized by common people outside the community. They are only represented implicitly in some symbolic forms, activities, and events. On the other hand, in specific circumstances, these kinds of identities were represented explicitly in mosque architecture. This paper is a part of an initial research on the representation of socio-political identities in Nahdliyyin mosques in East Java, Indonesia. Nahdliyyin mosques were chosen as the object of research because of its significance in Indonesian socio-political context, because majority of Indonesian muslims are culturally associated with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) with its aswaja doctrine. Some frictions in mosque ownership and management between Nahdliyyin and other islamic school of thoughts, has resulted in preventive efforts, where some of the efforts are related to the representation of their identity in their mosque architecture. The research is a field research that took place in Malang, East Java. Malang is one of main cities in East Java; a cultural and regional basis of NU and Nahdliyyin people. Formal analysis were conducted in ten large Nahdliyyin mosques in Malang. Some structured and in-depth interviews were also held to explore the motives of identity representation in some architectural aspects of the mosques. The result of this initial study indicates that there are layers of identities which were manifested in the studied mosques. These layers of identities in Nahdliyyin mosques were based on the same main values, but represented through various formal expressions. Furthermore, the study also brings the deeper understanding on socio-political context of mosques in Nahdliyyin culture.

Keywords: Nahdliyyin mosque architecture, layers of identities, representation, Nahdlatul Ulama

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Authors: Juan-Pedro Rica-Peromingo

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The important change taking place with respect to the media and the audiovisual world in Europe needs to benefit all populations, in particular those with special needs, such as the deaf and hard-of-hearing population (SDH) and blind and partially-sighted population (AD). This recent interest in the field of audiovisual translation (AVT) can be observed in the teaching and learning of the different modes of AVT in the degree and post-degree courses at Spanish universities, which expand the interest and practice of AVT linguistic accessibility. We present a research project led at the UCM which consists of the compilation of AVT activities for teaching purposes and tries to analyze the creation and reception of SDH and AD: the AVLA Project (Audiovisual Learning Archive), which includes audiovisual materials carried out by the university students on different AVT modes and evaluations from the blind and deaf informants. In this study, we present the materials created by the students. A group of the deaf and blind population has been in charge of testing the student's SDH and AD corpus of audiovisual materials through some questionnaires used to evaluate the students’ production. These questionnaires include information about the reception of the subtitles and the audio descriptions from linguistic and technical points of view. With all the materials compiled in the research project, a corpus with both the students’ production and the recipients’ evaluations is being compiled: the CALING (Corpus de Accesibilidad Lingüística) corpus. Preliminary results will be presented with respect to those aspects, difficulties, and deficiencies in the SDH and AD included in the corpus, specifically with respect to the length of subtitles, the position of the contextual information on the screen, and the text included in the audio descriptions and tone of voice used. These results may suggest some changes and improvements in the quality of the SDH and AD analyzed. In the end, demand for the teaching and learning of AVT and linguistic accessibility at a university level and some important changes in the norms which regulate SDH and AD nationally and internationally will be suggested.

Keywords: audiovisual translation, corpus linguistics, linguistic accessibility, teaching

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Authors: Mark Kaahwa, Chang Zhu, Moses Muhumuza

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This study investigates the satisfaction of distance education university students (DEUS) with the use of audio media as a medium of instruction. Studying students’ satisfaction is vital because it shows whether learners are comfortable with a certain instructional strategy or not. Although previous studies have investigated the use of audio media, the satisfaction of students with an instructional strategy that combines radio teaching and podcasts as an independent teaching strategy has not been fully investigated. In this study, all lectures were delivered through the radio and students had no direct contact with their instructors. No modules or any other material in form of text were given to the students. They instead, revised the taught content by listening to podcasts saved on their mobile electronic gadgets. Prior to data collection, DEUS received orientation through workshops on how to use audio media in distance education. To achieve objectives of the study, a survey, naturalistic observations and face-to-face interviews were used to collect data from a sample of 211 undergraduate and graduate students. Findings indicate that there was no statistically significant difference in the levels of satisfaction between male and female students. The results from post hoc analysis show that there is a statistically significant difference in the levels of satisfaction regarding the use of audio media between diploma and graduate students. Diploma students are more satisfied compared to their graduate counterparts. T-test results reveal that there was no statistically significant difference in the general satisfaction with audio media between rural and urban-based students. And ANOVA results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference in the levels of satisfaction with the use of audio media across age groups. Furthermore, results from observations and interviews reveal that DEUS found learning using audio media a pleasurable medium of instruction. This is an indication that audio media can be considered as an instructional strategy on its own merit.

Keywords: audio media, distance education, distance education university students, medium of instruction, satisfaction

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Authors: Phusit Phukamchanoad, Chutchai Ditchareon, Suwaree Yordchim

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This research was to study on background and social and cultural context of Kamchanoad community for sustainable tourism management. All data was collected through in-depth interview with village headmen, community committees, teacher, monks, Kamchanoad forest field officers and respected senior citizen above 60 years old in the community who have lived there for more than 40 years. Altogether there were 30 participants for this research. After analyzing the data, content from interview and discussion, Kamchanoad has both high land and low land in the region as well as swamps that are very capable of freshwater animals’ conservation. Kamchanoad is also good for agriculture and animal farming. 80% of Kamchanoad’s land are forest, freshwater and rice farms. Kamchanoad was officially set up as community in 1994 as “Baan Nonmuang”. Inhabitants in Kamchanoad make a living by farming based on sufficiency economy. They have rice farm, eucalyptus farm, cassava farm and rubber tree farm. Local people in Kamchanoad still believe in the myth of Srisutto Naga. They are still religious and love to preserve their traditional way of life. In order to understand how to create successful tourism business in Kamchanoad, we have to study closely on local culture and traditions. Outstanding event in Kamchanoad is the worship of Grand Srisutto, which is on the full-moon day of 6th month or Visakhabucha Day. Other big events are also celebration at the end of Buddhist lent, Naga firework, New Year celebration, Boon Mahachart, Songkran, Buddhist Lent, Boon Katin and Loy Kratong. Buddhism is the main religion in Kamchanoad. The promotion of tourism in Kamchanoad is expected to help spreading more income for this region. More infrastructures will be provided for local people as well as funding for youth support and people activities.

Keywords: social and culture area, tourism management, Kamchanoad Community, Udon Thani Province

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Authors: Vassilis Argyropoulos, Magda Nikolaraizi, Maria Papazafiri

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This study describes a series of learning workshops, which took place within CUIDAR project. The workshops aimed to empower children to share their experiences and views in relation to natural hazards and disasters. The participants in the workshops were ten primary school students who had severe visual impairments or multiple disabilities and visual impairments (MDVI). The main objectives of the workshops were: a) to promote access of the children through the use of appropriate educational material such as texts in braille, enlarged text, tactile maps and the implementation of differentiated instruction, b) to make children aware regarding their rights to have access to information and to participate in planning and decision-making especially in relation to disaster education programs, and c) to encourage children to have an active role during the workshops through child-led and experiential learning activities. The children expressed their views regarding the meaning of hazards and disasters. Following, they discussed their experiences and emotions regarding natural hazards and disasters, and they chose to place the emphasis on a hazard, which was more pertinent to them, their community and their region, namely fires. Therefore, they recalled fires that have caused major disasters, and they discussed about the impact that these fires had on their community or on their country. Furthermore, they were encouraged to become aware regarding their own role and responsibility to prevent a fire or get prepared and know how to behave if a fire occurs. They realized that prevention and preparation are a matter of personal responsibility. They also felt the responsibility to inform their own families. Finally, they met important people involved in fire protection such as rescuers and firefighters and had the opportunity to carry dialogues. In conclusion, through child led workshops, experiential and accessible activities, the students had the opportunity to share their own experiences, to express their views and their questions, to broaden their knowledge and to realize their personal responsibility in disaster risk reduction, specifically in relation to fires.

Keywords: accessibility, children, disasters, visual impairment

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Authors: Zyrah Lou R. Samar, Genecarlo Liwanag

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Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is the more prevalent type, caused by a combination of insulin resistance and inadequate insulin response to hyperglycemia1. Aside from pharmacologic interventions, medical nutrition therapy is an integral part of the management of patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Whey protein, which is one of the best protein sources, has been investigated for its applicability in improving glycemic control in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to measure the magnitude of the effect of whey protein on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of this review is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of whey protein in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: A systematic electronic search for studies in the PubMed and Cochrane Collaboration database was done. Included in this review were randomized controlled trials of whey protein enrolling patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Three reviewers independently searched, assessed, and extracted data from the individual studies. Results: A systematic literature search on online databases such as Cochrane Central Registry, PubMed, and Herdin Plus was conducted in April to September 2021 to identify eligible studies. The search yielded 21 randomized controlled trials after removing duplicates. Only 5 articles were included after reviewing the full text, which met the criteria for selection. Conclusion: Whey protein supplementation significantly reduced fasting blood glucose. However, it did not reduce post-prandial blood glucose, HbA1c level, and weight when compared with the placebo. There has been a considerate heterogeneity across all studies, which may have contributed/confounded its effects. A larger sample size and better inclusion, and a more specific study may be included in the future reviews.

Keywords: whey protein, diabetes, nutrition, fasting blood sugar, postprandial glucose, HbA1c, weight reduction

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Authors: Xueyan Hu, Liwen Chen, Weilin He, Sujie Peng

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Writing is an important but challenging skill For English language learners. Due to the small amount of time allocated for writing classes at schools, students have relatively few opportunities to practice writing in the classroom. While the practice of integrating listening and speaking activates with writing instruction has been used for adult English language learners, its application for young English learners has seldom been examined due to the challenge of listening and speaking activities for young English language learners. The study attempted to integrating integrating listening and speaking activities with writing instruction for middle school English language learners so as to improving their writing achievements and writing abilities in terms of the word use, coherence, and complexity in their writings. Guided by Gagne's information processing learning theory and memetics, this study conducted a 8-week writing instruction with an experimental class (n=44) and a control class (n=48) . Students in the experimental class participated in a series of listening and retelling activities about a writing sample the teacher used for writing instruction during each period of writing class. Students in the control class were taught traditionally with teachers’ direction instruction using the writing sample. Using the ANCOVA analysis of the scores of students’ writing, word-use, Chinese-English translation and the text structure, this study showed that the experimental writing instruction can significantly improve students’ writing performance. Compared with the students in the control class, the students in experimental class had significant better performance in word use and complexity in their essays. This study provides useful enlightenment for the teaching of English writing for middle school English language learners. Teachers can skillfully use information technology to integrate listening, speaking, and writing teaching, considering students’ language input and output. Teachers need to select suitable and excellent composition templates for students to ensure their high-quality language input.

Keywords: wring instruction, retelling, English language learners, listening and speaking

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Authors: Didarul Islam Manik

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The study was conducted to determine social media usage by the Millennial/young-adult generation in the U.S. and Bangladesh. It investigated what types of social media Millennials/young-adults use in their everyday lives; for what purpose they use social media; what are the significant differences between the two cultures in terms of social media use; and how the age of the respondents correlates with differences in social media use. Among the 409 respondents, 200 were selected from the University of South Dakota and 209 from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The convenience sampling method was used to select the samples. A four-page questionnaire instrument was constructed with 19 closed-ended questions that collected 87 data points. The study considered the uses and gratifications and domestication of technology models as theoretical frameworks. The study found that the Millennials spend an average of 4.5 hours on the Internet daily. They spend an average of 134 minutes on social media every day. However, the U.S. Millennials spend more time (141 minutes) on social media than the Bangladeshis (127 minutes). The U.S. Millennials use various types of social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, SnapChat, Reddit, Imgur, etc. In contrast, Bangladeshis use Facebook, YouTube, and Google plus+. The Bangladeshis tended to spend more time on Facebook (107 minutes) than the Americans (57 minutes). The study found that the Millennials of the two countries use Facebook to fill their free time, acquire information, seek entertainment, and maintain existing relationships. However, Bangladeshis are more likely to use Facebook for the acquisition of information, entertainment, educational purposes, and connecting with the people closest to them. Millennials also use Twitter to fill their free time, acquire information, and for entertainment. The study found a statistically significant difference between female and male social media use. It also found a significant correlation between age and using Facebook for educational purposes; age and discussing and posting religious issues; and age and meeting with new people. There is also a correlation between age and the use of Twitter for spending time and seeking entertainment.

Keywords: American study, social media, millennial generation, South Asian studies

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Authors: Munaza Mubeen

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The colonial Urdu literature has played a significant role in uplifting the overall status of the Indians. Taking example of the Bhopal State, the contribution of the Royal ladies holds no match in the contemporary age. Similarly, the efforts of the Begamat-e-Bhopal in the field of education had been acknowledged across the Sub-continent. It had been noticed that with the downfall of the Mughal Empire at the hands of the British Raj, the local culture in the Indian sub-continent in general and in Bhopal State in proper got deteriorated. This led to uncertainty, chaos and an anti-British sentiment which created hatred against them in the entire sub-continent. Likely, in Bhopal State, the role of women in field of education also vanished. However, this change was felt by the ladies in the Royal Household where they struggled for restoration of the status quo with their personal efforts. The prominent contributors from the Royal household included Qudseya Begum, Nawab Sikander Begum, Nawab Shah Jahan Begum and Nawab Sultan Johan-they are known as Begamat-i-Bhopal. They established schools, colleges and universities to impart formal and non-formal education respectively. Their systematic approach and continued efforts constituted a dynamic aspect of women’ empowerment. Focused on the female education, however, one of the by-products of their efforts was an introduction of socio-cultural and politico-religious awareness among the middle class womenfolk. Unfortunately, the role of these Bagamat-i-Bhopal has been left untouched or ignored by the academic scholars. This study critically analyzed the role of Beghamat-i-Bhopal regarding female education in Hindustan in general and in Bhopal in particular. Similarly, the contribution of the contemporary writers in development of female education in Bhopal has also been discussed in this paper. This paper is based on the 'historico-textual' approach following structural reason which has established a justifiable argument. The researcher, therefore, has taken into consideration all the chronological nuances in order to accord greater visibility to the contents. The data has been described, analyzed and interpreted inclusively and in generalized manner.

Keywords: colonialism, Begamaat e Bhopal, female education, State of Bhopal

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Authors: Abdela Zeinu Yasin

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The current research aimed to assess the status of IMC in providing treatment for malnourished children and programs in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), food and livelihood security, and comprehensive healthcare through Mobile health and nutrition programs during the last 5 years period. We have conducted 60 in-depth interviews with women during the period from conception to a child’s birthday, health facility staff, and female community health volunteers (FCHVs), as well as 12 focus group discussions with health facility staff and other household decision-makers. We employed thematic analysis using framework matrices and analytical memorandums. The study revealed that 78% of the respondents, of whom 97% were women, have benefited from the selected vulnerable areas. The use of the clear water and sanitization program has reached the 81% of selected households. The use of a modern baby delivery system among the respondent has been 68% of the women and health facilities among the decision-makers/focal person. More than 8 in 10 participants (84%) could read and understand the health facility instructions, and the majority (82%) of women, health facility staff, and male decision-makers can also read and write bulletins and instructions. We found that decision-maker women preferred participative education, whereas health facilities and the IMC desired educational and motivational bulletins. A Mobile Health and Nutrition program intervention by the IMC is acceptable in the conditions of the Ethiopian community and has the potential to improve community health and nutrition service utilization, particularly by providing clean water and sanitization; women’s birth control, and health improvement in the vulnerable regions of the country. The current research findings shall contribute to text IMC Mobile Health and Nutritional intervention design in under-resourced settings.

Keywords: clean water, health and nutrition services, hygiene, IMC, mobile health, sanitation

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Authors: Aldona Guzik

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Experts have always played a special role in society. Drawing on their opinions was and most certainly is one of the most important strategies that direct people when they make decisions; something often used with the aim of exerting influence and ensuring social conformism. Many factors decide on who becomes an expert. The most important of these have hitherto been: the possession of extensive knowledge, charisma, authority as well as experience. Increasingly, however, these factors are insufficient and may even be deemed unnecessary. This state of affairs has been brought about (among other things) by the development of the media and the media’s influence on our lives. The inspiration to write the present article has its grounding in the book by Tom Nichols The Death of Expertise. The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters, in which the author claims that in our present-day open society experts and their expertise count for increasingly less for everyone who has unlimited access to the Internet and education. This has, in turn, resulted in the creation of so-called ‘collective wisdom,’ which is placed higher than any of the specialist knowledge proclaimed by experts. However, this is an incomplete picture, because admittedly, access to knowledge is nowadays unlimited, but on the other hand, the ubiquitous risk causes that the expert is someone who allows them to minimize it. Therefore, a modern society so readily refers to their opinion; from the smallest matters, eg home appliance, to important political issues. Hence, many information services include numerous experts (scientists, journalists, specialists, celebrities), whose task is to explain to the viewers in a simple way the presented reality. However, more and more often their role is also to give credence to what they explain. Hence the questions arise: who are the experts, what is their typology and what roles they play in Polish information services? To answer them, quantitative and qualitative research was used, such as analysis of lists of 100 most influential experts, analysis of expert profiles and their statements in three differentiated information services (TVN - commercial, TVP1 - public, TV Trwam - non-commercial/religious). They will be the basis for answering the above-mentioned questions and, above all, determining their role in information services in Poland.

Keywords: experts, media, public discours, symbolic elites

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Authors: Violeta Kapageorgiadou

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Over the past decade, millions of individuals from middle-eastern and African countries have migrated to Europe to seek refuge. The majority of these refugees emigrate from Muslim majority countries and seek to integrate into European societies. Notably, Greece has hosted thousands of individuals seeking asylum since 2015. Many of these individuals have applied for asylum. They have sought to integrate into the Greek society and to navigate their way through the national and European legal systems with regard to their status. This paper, drawn from a PhD thesis project, focuses on the legal consciousness of migrants and the processes open to asylum seekers to assert their rights, notably with regard to incidents of hate crime and including their interactions with the legal authorities in Greece. The research seeks to capture the factors that influence the views and behaviors of migrants towards the law and their legal rights, using legal consciousness as a theoretical framework. The research findings indicate that asylum seekers have developed a multidimensional legal consciousness influenced by their religious and political background, legal knowledge, previous (negative) experiences with the legal system and their socio-economic status in Greece. Asylum seekers, while aware of the rights essential for their survival in the host country (such as applying for asylum to obtain a secure status, claiming for benefits and housing), were unaware of, and less willing to engage with, legal authorities and rights which they did not find essential for their survival. They viewed hate incidents against them as less important, not worth reporting and sometimes did not even consider these incidents as crimes. The research suggests that asylum seekers in Greece are a vulnerable population who need mechanisms to support them and raise their legal consciousness around their rights in order to better integrate, develop and thrive in the host society. Moving forwards, a better understanding of refugees' and asylum seekers’ reactions towards hate crime will help to create future policies and support mechanisms that could improve the lives of these individuals.

Keywords: hate crime, legal consciousness, legal rights, migrations

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Authors: Khanday Pervaiz Ahmad

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It was in 19th century when the Indian educated class started to reform their socio-religious set up as an imperative to respond to the challenges put forward by the colonial empire. The colonial discourse on India from the very beginning was gendered, as the colonized society was feminized and its ‘effeminate’ character, as opposed to ‘colonial masculinity’ was held to be a justification for its loss of independence. The ‘women health figure’ is prominently in these gender discourses. The women’s health received a much place in the colonial discourse. Lack of health consciousness, illiteracy, and belief in myths, rituals and superstitions were deemed the main factors taken as an indicator of miserable condition of Indian women’s health. As the low position of women caused shame to the natives, reforming the condition of women, its health occupied a major place in their intellectual as well as activist engagements. Magazines (journals) for women began to appear in various Indian languages in the mid to late 19th century with Bengal leading the front. These sources (Magazines) like Harm, Tehzib un Niswan, Saheli, Khatoon etc. are essential for the study of the emergence of an ideology of respectable domesticity in Indian Muslim upper middle class. Similarly for the study of development of Women’s health consciousness, women’s magazines are very essential. These earliest women Urdu magazines were first started by men, and then followed by the women’s own magazines. Various health issues, like pregnancy, child-rearing, menstruation, midwives training, Pardah, and health etc. were discussed at a time when it was impossible to discuss them in public sphere. These women magazines were brave pioneers, expanding the frontiers of women’s roles, and consciousness at a time when those frontiers were severely limited. This paper will try to focus on how women responded to the question of colonial discourse about their bodies. How health consciousness developed among Indian Muslim women and in what way it contributed in the development of feminist consciousness in South Asian Muslim Women community.

Keywords: Ashraf class, khatoon, haram women, feminism

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Authors: Moriom Akter Mousumi, Spyridon Paparrizos, Fulco Ludwig

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Rice yield reduction due to climate change-induced disease occurrence is becoming a great concern for coastal farmers of Bangladesh. The development of participatory climate information services (CIS) based on farmers’ needs could implicitly facilitate farmers to get disease forecasts and make better decisions to manage diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how participatory climate information services assist coastal rice farmers to take up rice disease forecasts and better manage rice diseases by improving their informed decision-making. Through participatory approaches, we developed a tailor-made agrometeorological service through the DROP app to forecast rice diseases and manage them in advance. During farmers field schools (FFS) we communicated 7-day disease forecasts during face-to-face weekly meetings using printed paper and, messenger app derived from DROP app. Results show that the majority of the farmers understand disease forecasts through visualization, symbols, and text. The majority of them use disease forecast information directly from the DROP app followed by face-to-face meetings, messenger app, and printed paper. Farmers participation and engagement during capacity building training at FFS also assist them in making more informed decisions and improved management of diseases using both preventive measures and chemical measures throughout the rice cultivation period. We conclude that the development of participatory CIS and the associated capacity-building and training of farmers has increased farmers' understanding and uptake of disease forecasts to better manage of rice diseases. Participatory services such as the DROP app offer great potential as an adaptation option for climate-smart rice production under changing climatic conditions.

Keywords: participatory climate service, disease forecast, disease management, informed decision making, coastal Bangladesg

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Authors: Shilpa Balan

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Radio Frequency Identification, also popularly known as RFID is used to automatically identify and track tags attached to items. This study focuses on the application of RFID in healthcare. The adoption of RFID in healthcare is a crucial technology to patient safety and inventory management. Data from RFID tags are used to identify the locations of patients and inventory in real time. Medical errors are thought to be a prominent cause of loss of life and injury. The major advantage of RFID application in healthcare industry is the reduction of medical errors. The healthcare industry has generated huge amounts of data. By discovering patterns and trends within the data, big data analytics can help improve patient care and lower healthcare costs. The number of increasing research publications leading to innovations in RFID applications shows the importance of this technology. This study explores the current state of research of RFID in healthcare using a text mining approach. No study has been performed yet on examining the current state of RFID research in healthcare using a data mining approach. In this study, related articles were collected on RFID from healthcare journal and news articles. Articles collected were from the year 2000 to 2015. Significant keywords on the topic of focus are identified and analyzed using open source data analytics software such as Rapid Miner. These analytical tools help extract pertinent information from massive volumes of data. It is seen that the main benefits of adopting RFID technology in healthcare include tracking medicines and equipment, upholding patient safety, and security improvement. The real-time tracking features of RFID allows for enhanced supply chain management. By productively using big data, healthcare organizations can gain significant benefits. Big data analytics in healthcare enables improved decisions by extracting insights from large volumes of data.

Keywords: RFID, data mining, data analysis, healthcare

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Authors: Cristina Cirone, Katrina Cirone, Monali S. Malvankar-Mehta

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Purpose: An increased risk of visual impairment has been observed in individuals lacking a balanced diet. The purpose of this paper is to characterize the relationship between plant-based diets and specific ocular outcomes among adults. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement guidelines. The databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, and PubMed, were systematically searched up until May 27, 2021. Of the 503 articles independently screened by two reviewers, 21 were included in this review. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed by both reviewers. Meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 15.0. Fixed-effect and random-effect models were computed based on heterogeneity. Results: A total of 503 studies were identified which then underwent duplicate removal and a title and abstract screen. The remaining 61 studies underwent a full-text screen, 21 progressed to data extraction and fifteen were included in the quantitative analysis. Meta-analysis indicated that regular consumption of fish (OR = 0.70; CI: [0.62-0.79]) and skim milk, poultry, and non-meat animal products (OR = 0.70; CI: [0.61-0.79]) is positively correlated with a reduced risk of visual impairment (age-related macular degeneration, age-related maculopathy, cataract development, and central geographic atrophy) among adults. Consumption of red meat [OR = 1.41; CI: [1.07-1.86]) is associated with an increased risk of visual impairment. Conclusion: Overall, a pescatarian diet is associated with the most favorable visual outcomes among adults, while the consumption of red meat appears to negatively impact vision. Results suggest a need for more local and government-led interventions promoting a healthy and balanced diet.

Keywords: plant-based diet, pescatarian diet, visual impairment, systematic review, meta-analysis

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Authors: Saraswati Suna

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The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic and the subsequent lockdown have significantly impacted India's political, structural, and economic systems and a rising gap between the rich and the disadvantaged, upper and lower caste. For Dalit women, such forms of subjugation were followed by socioeconomic uncertainty due to the pandemic's economic shutdown and labour oppressions. Dalit women have been the victims of the most oppression among the nation's underprivileged groups. Dalit women undergo systemic oppression at the hands of the state, caste, class, gender, and religious hegemons historically. Dalit women hold a subordinate position within the gender to their male counterparts and caste to their upper-caste counterparts. This paper examines how Brahminical patriarchy and state power severely affected Dalit/Adivasi women during COVID-19 in Odisha, India. In order to understand caste-based sexual violence, a total of five cases have been analysed from newspapers. Findings revealed that Covid-19 appears to have a significant physical, psychological, and economic impact on Dalit women. The intention of sexual harassment and rape perpetrated by upper caste men is to maintain power and patriarchal culture in society. Dalit women are economically, socially, and culturally marginalised, which effectively exacerbates the sense of impunity by perpetrators of violence against Dalit women. This issue requires special attention to end atrocities against Dalit women. Dalit women become the target of rape, sexual assault, and murder. Sexual violence against Dalit women cannot be fully explained without linkage to caste, gender, and power. Dominant caste comes through caste privilege-socio-economic and politically; these factors contribute to sexual violence against Dalit women. The findings revealed that state police manipulate sexual violence, and in so doing, they create and deny access to both services to get justice. This article has argued that understanding Brahminical culture and the legal impacts of state police on Dalit women's identity requires a nuanced analysis.

Keywords: COVID-19, dalit women, sexual violence, brahminical patriarchy, power

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Authors: Ishrat Zakia Sultana

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The solution to the Rohingya crisis has become complicated than it was anticipated. Because of consistent persecution, ethnic cleansing, and genocide against the Rohingya in Burma, four major influxes of the Rohingya people took place to the neighboring country Bangladesh. After the latest influx of October 2016 and August 2017, the total number of Rohingya in Bangladesh stands somewhere between 900,000 to over one million, placing Bangladesh much ahead with the number of refugees compared to Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya, Bidibidi in Uganda, and Zaatari in Jordan. While Bangladesh received recognition and appreciation for receiving such a large number of Rohingya, eventually finding a solution to the Rohingya crisis has become a serious problem. The host country and the Rohingya themselves long for repatriation, the most desired solution to the crisis. But going back to their own country is now almost an impossible matter due to the unwillingness of the Myanmar government. The other two options to the solution to Rohingya crisis – reintegration in the host country and third country resettlement – have drawn little attention until now. On the one hand, the geopolitical factors have been making the Rohingya crisis complex. On the other, the war and conflict between Russia-Ukraine and Palestine-Israel have lessening the importance of the Rohingya issue and been diverting the world’s attention from the Rohingya crisis. Clearly, without the support of international community, Bangladesh finds no sustainable way to repatriate 1.1 million Rohingya. Yet, possibilities of a third country resettlement remain unexplored. In the past few years, some countries have expressed interest in accepting the Rohingya as part of third country resettlement but the number they wanted to take is like a drop in the ocean. This paper examines the roadblocks for third country resettlement of the Rohingya. It aims to look at the underlying reasons for which international community is less interested in accepting the Rohingya as refugees. Is it the racial and religious identity of the Rohingya that are considered problematic to the resettlement process? In what ways geopolitical complexities affecting the resettlement issue? How do the Rohingya view third country resettlement? This paper looks for the answers to these questions. The paper is based on qualitative study conducted from 2016-2018 and 2021-2023 in Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The camp management authority, the Rohingya themselves, and the NGOs working in the camp participated in the study.

Keywords: rohingya, refugee, resettlement, bangladesh

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Authors: Emmanuel Chinaguh, Kehinde Adeosun

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Nigerians die untimely, with 55.75 years of life expectancy, which is 17.45 below the world average of 73.2 (Worldometer, 2020). This is due, among other factors, to the country's limited access to high-quality healthcare. To increase access to good and affordable healthcare services, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Bill 2022 – which repealed the National Health Insurance Scheme Act 2004 – was passed into law. Applying Jacob Mey’s (2001) pragmatics act (pract) theory, this study explores how NHIA seeks to actualise these healthcare goals by characterising the general situational prototype or pragmemes and pragmatic acts in institutional communications. Data was sourced from the NHIA operational guidelines, which has 147 pages and four sections, and shared posters on NHIA Nigeria Twitter Handle with 14,200 followers. Digital humanities tools, like AntConc and Voyant, were engaged in the data analysis for text encoding and data visualisation. This study identifies these discourse tokens in the data: advertisement and programmes, standards and accreditation, records and information, and offences and penalties. Advertisement and programmes pract facilitating, propagating, prospecting, advising and informing; standards and accreditation, and records and information pract stating, informing and instructing; and offences and penalties pract stating and sanctioning. These practs combined to advance the goals of affordable care and universal accessibility to quality healthcare services. The pragmatic acts were marked by these pragmatic tools: shared situational knowledge (SSK), relevance (REL), reference (REF) and inference (INF). This paper adds to the understanding of health insurance discourse in Nigeria as a mediated social practice that promotes the health of Nigerians.

Keywords: affordable care, NHIA, Nigeria’s health insurance discourse, pragmatic acts.

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Authors: Thiago Spilborghs Bueno Meyer, Plinio Thomaz Aquino Junior

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Through speech, which privileges the functional and interactive nature of the text, it is possible to ascertain the spatiotemporal circumstances, the conditions of production and reception of the discourse, the explicit purposes such as informing, explaining, convincing, etc. These conditions allow bringing the interaction between humans closer to the human-robot interaction, making it natural and sensitive to information. However, it is not enough to understand what is said; it is necessary to recognize emotions for the desired interaction. The validity of the use of neural networks for feature selection and emotion recognition was verified. For this purpose, it is proposed the use of neural networks and comparison of models, such as recurrent neural networks and deep neural networks, in order to carry out the classification of emotions through speech signals to verify the quality of recognition. It is expected to enable the implementation of robots in a domestic environment, such as the HERA robot from the RoboFEI@Home team, which focuses on autonomous service robots for the domestic environment. Tests were performed using only the Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients, as well as tests with several characteristics of Delta-MFCC, spectral contrast, and the Mel spectrogram. To carry out the training, validation and testing of the neural networks, the eNTERFACE’05 database was used, which has 42 speakers from 14 different nationalities speaking the English language. The data from the chosen database are videos that, for use in neural networks, were converted into audios. It was found as a result, a classification of 51,969% of correct answers when using the deep neural network, when the use of the recurrent neural network was verified, with the classification with accuracy equal to 44.09%. The results are more accurate when only the Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients are used for the classification, using the classifier with the deep neural network, and in only one case, it is possible to observe a greater accuracy by the recurrent neural network, which occurs in the use of various features and setting 73 for batch size and 100 training epochs.

Keywords: emotion recognition, speech, deep learning, human-robot interaction, neural networks

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Authors: Manish Madappa, Madhavi Gayathri Raman

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The primary vehicle of human communication is language. A breakdown occurring in any aspect of communication may lead to frustration and isolation among the learners and the teachers. Over seven percent of the population in the world currently experience limitations and those children who exhibit a deviant/deficient language acquisition curve even when being in a language rich environment as their peers may be at risk of having a language disorder or language impairment. The difficulty may be in the word level [vocabulary/word knowledge] and/or the sentence level [syntax/morphology) Children with SLI appear to be developing normally in all aspects except for their receptive and/or expressive language skills. Thus, it is utmost importance to identify children with or at risk of SLI so that an early intervention can foster language and social growth, provide the best possible learning environment with special support for language to be explicitly taught and a step in providing continuous and ongoing support. The present study looks at Kannada English bilingual children and works towards identifying children at risk of “specific language impairment”. The study was conducted through an exploratory study which systematically enquired into the narratives of young Kannada-English bilinguals and to investigate the data for story structure in their narrative formulations. Oral narrative offers a rich source of data about a child’s language use in a relatively natural context. The fundamental objective is to ensure comparability and to be more universal and thus allows for the evaluation narrative text competence. The data was collected from 10 class three students at a primary school in Mysore, Karnataka and analyzed for macrostructure component reflecting the goal directed behavior of a protagonist who is motivated to carry out some kind of action with the intention of attaining a goal. The results show that the children exhibiting a deviation of -1.25 SD are at risk of SLI. Two learners were identified to be at risk of Specific Language Impairment with a standard deviation of more the 1.25 below the mean score.

Keywords: bilingual, oral narratives, SLI, macrostructure

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Authors: Yung Yau

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'Little people' are those who have extremely short stature as they suffer from rare bone diseases. They are commonly known as 'dwarves' or 'people with dwarfism'. Dwarfism is generally regarded as a type of rare disease for its extremely small odds (~1 in 15,000). On account of its rarity, dwarfism, unlike other types of disability, has attracted relatively little attention from the general public and in various academic fields (e.g. architecture, psychology and sociology) except medical science. In view of the extant research gaps, this study aims to investigate the physical barriers facing the little people in the built environment in Hong Kong. Between November 2017 and July 2018, ten little people or their family members participated in in-depth interviews. Responses of the interviewees were transcribed (i.e., speech being converted to text word for word). Interview data were then analyzed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology developed by J. Smith and others in 2009. The findings of the project reveal that although Hong Kong's built environment has been designed barrier-free pursuant to the prevailing building standards, those standards do not cater to the special anthropometric characteristics of little people. As a result, little people face a lot of challenges when using built facilities. For example, most water closets, urinals, and wash hand basins are not fit for little people's use. As indicated by the project findings, we are still far away from providing a discrimination-free and barrier-free living environment for the little people in Hong Kong. To make Hong Kong society more inclusive to the little people, there is a need for further tailored building design. A set of building design principles for better inclusion of the little people in our society are highlighted. These principles include 'the building design should accommodate individuals with different heights' and 'the building design should allow individuals to use comfortably and efficiently with a minimum of fatigue'. At the end of the paper, the author also calls for an agenda for further studies. For instance, we need an anthropometric study on little people for developing practical building design guidelines.

Keywords: dwarfism, little people, inclusive buildings, people with disabilities, social sustainability

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Authors: Indu ray

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In today’s digital world the internet is already flooded with information on how to master grammar in a foreign language. It is well known that one cannot master a language without grammar. Grammar is the backbone of any language. Without grammar there would be no structure to help you speak/write or listen/read. Successful communication is only possible if the form and function of linguistic utterances are firmly related to one another. Grammar has its own rules of use to formulate an easier-to-understand language. Like a tool, grammar formulates our thoughts and knowledge in a meaningful way. Every language has its own grammar. With grammar, we can quickly analyze whether there is any action in this text: (Present, past, future). Knowledge of grammar is an important prerequisite for mastering a foreign language. What’s most important is how teachers can make grammar lessons more interesting for students and thus promote grammar skills more successfully. Through this paper, we discuss a few important methods like (Interactive Grammar Exercises between students, Interactive Grammar Exercise between student to teacher, Grammar translation method, Audio -Visual Method, Deductive Method, Inductive Method). This paper is divided into two sections. In the first part, brief definitions and principles of these approaches will be provided. Then the possibility and the case of combination of this approach will be analyzed. In the last section of the paper, I would like to present a survey result conducted at my university on a few methods to quickly learn grammar in Foreign Language. We divided the Grammatical Skills in six Parts. 1.Grammatical Competence 2. Speaking Skills 3. Phonology 4. The syntax and the Semantics 5. Rule 6. Cognitive Function and conducted a survey among students. From our survey results, we can observe that phonology, speaking ability, syntax and semantics can be improved by inductive method, Audio-visual Method, and grammatical translation method, for grammar rules and cognitive functions we should choose IGE (teacher-student) method. and the IGE method (pupil-pupil). The study’s findings revealed, that the teacher delivery Methods should be blend or fusion based on the content of the Grammar.

Keywords: innovative method, grammatical skills, audio-visual, translation

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Authors: Chi S. Lee

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Marvel superhero movies have obtained its unprecedented popularity around the globe. It is a dominant narrative in current scholarship on superhero studies that the political trauma of America, such as attack of September 11, and the masculinity represented in superhero genre are symbolically connected in a way of remasculinization, a standardized plot that before becoming a superhero, a man has to overcome its trauma in his life. Through this standardized plot, American audience finds their pleasure in the spectatorship of equating this plot of remasculinization with the situation of America, rewriting their traumatic memory and resolving around the economic, social, political, and psychological instability of precarity in their own context. Shifting the context to Hong Kong, where Marvel superhero movies have been reaching its dominant status in the local film market, this analysis finds its limitation in explaining the connection between text and context. This article aims to retain this connection through investigation of the Hong Kong audience’s spectatorship. It is argued that the masculinity represented in Marvel superhero movies no longer fits into the stereotypical image of superhero, but presents itself in crisis. This crisis is resolved by the technological excess of the superpower, namely, technological remasculinization. The technological remasculinization offers a sense of futurity through which it is felt that this remasculinization can be achieved in the foreseeable future instead of remaining imaginary and fictional. In this way, the political crisis of Hong Kong is gendered as masculinity in crisis which is worth being remasculinized in the future. This gendering process is a historical product as the symbolic equation between politics and masculinity has for long been encoded in the colonial history of Hong Kong. In short, Marvel superhero’s masculinity offers a sense of masculine hope for the Hong Kong audiences to overcome the political crisis they confront in reality through a postponed identification with the superhero’s masculinity. After the discussion of the Hong Kong audience’s spectatorship on Marvel superhero movies with the insights casted by spectatorship theory, above idea is generated.

Keywords: political crisis in Hong Kong, Marvel superhero movies, spectatorship, technological remasculinization

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Authors: Hubert Feiglstorfer

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The technique of making terrazzo has been known since ancient times. During the Roman Empire, known as opus signinum, at the time of the Renaissance, known as composto terrazzo marmorino or at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the use of terrazzo experienced a common use in Europe. In Asia, especially in the Himalayas and the Tibetan highlands, a particular floor and roof manufacturing technique is commonly used for about 1500 years, known as arga. The research question in this contribution asks for technical and cultural-historical synergies of these floor-making techniques. The making process of an arga floor shows constructive parallels to the European terrazzo. Surface processing by grinding, burnishing and sealing, in particular, reveals technological similarities. The floor structure itself, on the other hand, shows differences, for example in the use of hydraulic aggregate in the terrazzo, while the arga floor is used without hydraulic material, but the result of both techniques is a tight, water-repellent and shiny surface. As part of this comparative study, the materials, processing techniques and quality features of the two techniques are compared and parallels and differences are analysed. In addition to text and archive research, the methods used are results of material analyses and ethnographic research such as participant observation. Major findings of the study are the investigation of the mineralogical composition of arga floors and its comparison with terrazzo floors. The study of the cultural-historical context in which both techniques are embedded will give insight into technical developments in Europe and Asia, parallels and differences. Synergies from this comparison let possible technological developments in the production, conservation and renovation of European terrazzo floors appear in a new light. By making arga floors without cement-based aggregates, the renovation of historical floors from purely natural products and without using energy by means of a burning process can be considered.

Keywords: European and Asian crafts, material culture, floor making technology, terrazzo, arga, Tibetan building traditions

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Authors: Xue Wang, Liwei Fan

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Renewable energy technology innovation is an important way to realize the energy transformation. Our government has issued a series of policies to guide and support the development of renewable energy. The implementation of these policies will affect the further development, utilization and technological innovation of renewable energy. In this context, it is of great significance to systematically sort out and evaluate the renewable energy technology innovation policy for improving the existing policy system. Taking the 190 renewable energy technology innovation policies issued during 2005-2021 as a sample, from the perspectives of policy issuing departments and policy keywords, it uses text mining and content analysis methods to analyze the current situation of the policies and conduct a semantic network analysis to identify the core issuing departments and core policy topic words; A PMC (Policy Modeling Consistency) index model is built to quantitatively evaluate the selected policies, analyze the overall pros and cons of the policy through its PMC index, and reflect the PMC value of the model's secondary index The core departments publish policies and the performance of each dimension of the policies related to the core topic headings. The research results show that Renewable energy technology innovation policies focus on synergy between multiple departments, while the distribution of the issuers is uneven in terms of promulgation time; policies related to different topics have their own emphasis in terms of policy types, fields, functions, and support measures, but It still needs to be improved, such as the lack of policy forecasting and supervision functions, the lack of attention to product promotion, and the relatively single support measures. Finally, this research puts forward policy optimization suggestions in terms of promoting joint policy release, strengthening policy coherence and timeliness, enhancing the comprehensiveness of policy functions, and enriching incentive measures for renewable energy technology innovation.

Keywords: renewable energy technology innovation, content analysis, policy evaluation, PMC index model

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Authors: Kim H. K. Choy, Oliva H. K. Chu, W. Y. Keung, B. Lim, Winnie P. Y. Tang

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Background: The prevalence of workplace obesity is rising worldwide; therefore, the workplace is an ideal venue to implement weight control intervention. This pilot randomized controlled trial aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate a nutritional wellness program for obese health care providers working in a hospital. Methods: This hospital-based nutritional wellness program was an 8-week pilot randomized controlled trial for obese health care providers. The primary outcomes were body weight and body mass index (BMI). The secondary outcomes were serum fasting glucose, fasting cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL) lipoprotein, body fat percentage, and body mass. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 20) or control (n = 22) group. Participants in both groups received individual nutrition counselling and nutrition pamphlets, whereas only participants in the intervention group were given mobile phone text messages. Results: 42 participants completed the study. In comparison with the control group, the intervention group showed approximately 0.98 kg weight reduction after two months. Participants in intervention group also demonstrated clinically significant improvement in BMI, serum cholesterol level, and HDL level. There was no improvement of body fat percentage and body mass for both intervention and control groups. Conclusion: The nutritional wellness program for obese health care providers was feasible in hospital settings. Health care providers demonstrated short-term weight loss, decrease in serum fasting cholesterol level, and HDL level after completing the program.

Keywords: weight management, weight control, health care providers, hospital

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Authors: Gertrude Yidanpoa Grumah

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Ghana boasts of a rich linguistic diversity, with around eighty-seven indigenous languages coexisting with English, the official language. Within this multilingual environment, speech communities adopt bilingual code choices as a common practice, as people seamlessly switch between Ghanaian languages and English. Extensive research has delved into this phenomenon from various perspectives, including the role of bilingual code choices in teaching, its implications for language policy, and its significance in multilingual communities. Yet, a noticeable gap in the literature persists, with most studies focusing on codeswitching between English and the major southern Ghanaian languages like Twi, Ga, and Ewe. The intricate dynamics of codeswitching with minority indigenous languages, such as Mampruli spoken in northern Ghana, remain largely unexplored. This thesis embarks on an investigation into Mampruli-English codeswitching, delving into the linguistic practices of educated Mampruli speakers. The data collection methods encompass interviews, recorded radio programs, and ethnographic observation. The analytical framework employed draws upon the Ethnography of Communication, with observation notes and transcribed interviews thoughtfully classified into discernible themes. The research findings suggest that a bilingual's tendency to switch from Mampruli to English is significantly influenced by factors such as the level of education, age, gender, perceptions of language prestige, and religious beliefs. In essence, this study represents a pioneering endeavor, marking the first comprehensive study on codeswitching practices within the Mampruli-English context and making a significant contribution to our understanding of Mampruli linguistics, covering the social language codes reflecting the speech community. In a region where such research has been scarce for the past four decades, this study addresses a critical knowledge gap, shedding light on the intricate dynamics of language use in northern Ghana.

Keywords: codeswitching, English, ethnography of communication, Mampruli, sociolinguistics

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