Search results for: gender based violence

Authors: Abderrahmane Khiat, Moussa Benaissa

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Due to the increasing number of sources of information available on the web and their distribution and heterogeneity, ontology alignment became a very important and inevitable problem to ensure semantic interoperability. Instance-based ontology alignment is based on the comparison of the extensions of concepts; and represents a very promising technique to find semantic correspondences between entities of different ontologies. In practice, two situations may arise: ontologies that share many common instances and ontologies that share few or do not share common instances. In this paper, we describe an approach to manage the latter case. This approach exploits the reasoning on ontologies in order to create a corpus of common instances. We show that it is theoretically powerful because it is based on description logics and very useful in practice. We present the experimental results obtained by running our approach on ontologies of OAEI 2012 benchmark test. The results show the performance of our approach.

Keywords: description logic inference, instance-based ontology alignment, semantic interoperability, semantic web

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Authors: Turan Cetinkaya

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The aim of this study is to determine the relation of the level of social anxiety to various variables of the students in physical education and sports departments. 229 students who are studying at the departments of physical education and sports teaching, sports management and coaching in Ahi Evran University, College of Physical Education and Sports participate in the research. Personal information tool and social anxiety scale consisting 30 items were used as data collection tool in the research. Distribution, frequency, t-test and ANOVA test were used in the comparison of the related data. As a result of statistical analysis, social anxiety levels do not differ according to gender, income level, sports type and national player status.

Keywords: social anxiety, undergraduates, sport, unıversty

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Authors: Yunpeng Xia, Jiajia Zha, Haoxin Huang, Hau Ping Chan, Chaoliang Tan

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Although the crystal phase of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has been proven to play an essential role in fabricating high-performance electronic devices in the past decade, its effect on the performance of 2D material-based flash memory devices still remains unclear. Here, we report the exploration of the effect of MoTe₂ in different phases as the charge trapping layer on the performance of 2D van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure-based flash memory devices, where the metallic 1T′-MoTe₂ or semiconducting 2H-MoTe₂ nanoflake is used as the floating gate. By conducting comprehensive measurements on the two kinds of vdW heterostructure-based devices, the memory device based on MoS2/h-BN/1T′-MoTe₂ presents much better performance, including a larger memory window, faster switching speed (100 ns) and higher extinction ratio (107), than that of the device based on MoS₂/h-BN/2H-MoTe₂ heterostructure. Moreover, the device based on MoS₂/h-BN/1T′-MoTe₂ heterostructure also shows a long cycle (>1200 cycles) and retention (>3000 s) stability. Our study clearly demonstrates that the crystal phase of 2D TMDs has a significant impact on the performance of nonvolatile flash memory devices based on 2D vdW heterostructures, which paves the way for the fabrication of future high-performance memory devices based on 2D materials.

Keywords: crystal Phase, 2D van der Waals heretostructure, flash memory device, floating gate

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Authors: Caglayan Pinar Demirtas, Mustafa Koc

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Objective: This study was carried out in order to find out; the methods which are used by primary school teachers to cope with stress, their psychological health, and the direction of controlling focus. The study was carried out by using the ‘school survey’ and ‘society survey’ methods. Method: The study included primary school teachers. The study group was made up of 1066 people; 511 women and 555 men who accepted volunteerly to complete; ‘the inventory for collecting data, ‘the Scale for Attitude of Overcoming Stress’ (SBTE / SAOS), ‘Rotter’s Scale for the Focus of Inner- Outer Control’ (RİDKOÖ / RSFIOC), and ‘the Symptom Checking List’ (SCL- 90). The data was collected by using ‘the Scale for Attitude of Overcoming Stress’, ‘the Scale for the Focus of Inner- Outer Control’, ‘the Symptom Checking List’, and a personal information form developed by the researcher. SPSS for Windows packet programme was used. Result: The age variable is a factor in interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxciety, hostality symptoms but it is not a factor in the other symptoms. The variable, gender, is a factor in emotional practical escaping overcoming method but it is not a factor in the other overcoming methods. Namely, it has been found out that, women use emotional practical escaping overcoming method more than men. Marital status is a factor in methods of overcoming stress such as trusting in religion, emotional practical escaping and biochemical escaping while it is not a factor in the other methods. Namely, it has been found out that married teachers use trusting in religion method, and emotional practical escaping method more than single ones. Single teachers generally use biochemical escaping method. In primary school teachers’ direction of controlling focus, gender variable is a factor. It has been found out that women are more inner controlled while the men are more outer controlled. The variable, time of service, is a factor in the direction of controlling focus; that is, teachers with 1-5 years of service time are more inner controlled compared with teachers with 16-20 years of service time. The variable, age, is a factor in the direction of controlling focus; that is, teachers in 26-30 age groups are more outer controlled compared with the other age groups and again teachers in 26-30 age group are more inner controlled when compared with the other age groups. Direction of controlling focus is a factor in the primary school teachers’ psychological health. Namely, being outer controlled is a factor but being inner controlled is not. The methods; trusting in religion, active plannıng and biochemical escaping used by primary school teachers to cope with stress act as factors in the direction of controlling focus but not in the others. Namely, it has been found out that outer controlled teachers prefer the methods of trusting in religion and active planning while the inner controlled ones prefer biochemical escaping.

Keywords: coping with, controlling focus, psychological health, stress

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Authors: Terigele

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Cultural products are always shelved into different classes of a hierarchy that separates so-called highbrow and lowbrow cultures. This study illustrated that audiences might even construct a hierarchy according to the origin countries when consuming certain products. Chinese audiences now have access to TV series from all around the world thanks to the internet. TV series from different origin countries show some particular features in terms of length, theme, plots, accessibility, seriousness etc. Their audiences were therefore stereotyped because of what they watch. Based on in-depth interviews with 20 participants, this research has following findings: 1) Most popular origin countries of foreign TV series in China are Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and European countries in a descending order. Korean TV series are most popular because they are less serious and more accessible compared to others. 2) In the hierarchy of the TV series, European TV series stand on the top followed by British and American TV series. Japanese TV series are also categorized into highbrow class. Korean TV series are at the bottom and always seen as lowbrow cultural products. 3) Most audiences consume TV series from more than one origin countries and have different needs when watching them. Participants reported that they watch European TV series because those TV series are more artistic than their counterparts and of great quality. They watch British and American TV series mainly to improve their English and to learn about the culture. They find Japanese TV series very enjoyable with a large variety of themes and impressive lines. Audiences watch Korean TV series mostly to entertain and kill time. 4) Audiences do care about cultural taste. Especially those who watch European, British and American TV series usually tend to consider audiences who watch nothing but Korean TV series to be shallow. On the other hand, Korean TV series’ audiences seem to care less about the hierarchy of the TV series. Even when they discuss the hierarchy, they tend to accept the judgments with ironies and jokes. Future studies can dig deeply into the genre and content of TV series with different origin countries and also investigate more about the psychology of audiences regarding the gender, age, education, socioeconomic status etc.

Keywords: foreign TV series, hierarchy, popularity, uses and gratification

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Authors: N. Ben Si Ali, N. Benalia, N. Zerzouri

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Many electronic drivers for the induction motor control are based on sensorless technologies. Speed and torque control is usually attained by application of a speed or position sensor which requires the additional mounting space, reduce the reliability and increase the cost. This paper seeks to analyze dynamical performances and sensitivity to motor parameter changes of reactive power based technique used in sensorless control of induction motors. Validity of theoretical results is verified by simulation.

Keywords: adaptive observers, model reference adaptive system, RP-based estimator, sensorless control, stability analysis

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Authors: Mehrdad Hosseinishakib, Mozhgan Chakani, Gholamreza Babaei

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This study aims to investigate the relationship between the bilateral communication channels, communication technologies with effective communications and communication technologies, employee participation in motivated decision-making of employees using the EFQM excellence model in Education Organization of Area 4 in Karaj. This research is an applied research in terms of the purpose and is a descriptive survey research in terms of nature and method and assesses the current situation using field studies. The statistical population consists of all employees and managers of Education Organization of Area 4 in Karaj including 5442 persons and random sampling was used and sample size is 359 using Cochran formula. Measurement tool is a researcher-made questionnaire with 20 questions including two categories of expertise and general questions. The first category includes general questions about respondents' personal characteristics such as gender and level of education, work experience and courses of study. The second category includes expertise questions of the questionnaire that have been designed to test research hypotheses that its reliability was approved by Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.916 and its validity was approved according to the vies of teachers and some senior managers of Education Organization of Area 4 in Karaj. The results of the analysis of the findings show that there is a significant relationship between mutual communication channels, communication technologies with effective communication between employees and management. There is also a significant relationship between communication technologies and employee motivation and employee participation in their motivated decision-making in Education Organization of Area 4 in Karaj.

Keywords: communication channels, effective communication, EFQM model, ANOVA

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Authors: Jiaqi Yan, Yani Shi

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With the growing popularity of bitcoin transactions, criminals have exploited the bitcoin like cryptocurrencies, and cybercriminals such as money laundering have thrived. Unlike traditional currencies, the Internet-based virtual currencies can be used anonymously via the blockchain technology underpinning. In this paper, we analyze the double-edged sword features of blockchain technology in the context of money laundering. In particular, the traceability feature of blockchain-based system facilitates a level of governance, while the decentralization feature of blockchain-based system may bring governing difficulties. Based on the analysis, we propose guidelines for policy makers in governing blockchain-based cryptocurrency systems.

Keywords: cryptocurrency, money laundering, blockchain, decentralization, traceability

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Authors: Petra F. A. Dilling, Sinan Caykoylu

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The aim of this study was to shed light on the understanding of the factors determining a company’s disclosure on climate change reporting. The underlying study examines the effect of gender diversity and the mediating effect of female representation in management and on the board of directors and the existence of a dedicated sustainability board committee. To test the study’s objectives, the authors use a global sample of the largest companies and their reporting for the year 2020. The results suggest that corporate female participation has a significant influence on the quality of climate change reporting. In addition, having a dedicated sustainability board committee also significantly impacts the non-financial disclosure of climate change information.

Keywords: climate change, non-financial reporting, governance, board diversity, sustainability, CSR

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Authors: Zijiao Chai, Wangming Li

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Hangzhou is one of the cities with the most serious aging in China. Community home-based care for the aged is an important solution to old-age care in aging society. In this aspect, Europe, the United States and Japan are on the top in the world. As an East Asian country, Japan has similar cultural traditions in pension with China. So, there is much enlightenment China can get from Japan in the mode of community home-based care for the aged. This paper introduces the mode of community home-based care for the aged in Kishiwada, Japan and Hangzhou, China. Then compare the two modes in the aspects of insurance system for the aged, community service and facilities, support system and so on. Thereby the success experience of Kishiwada and weaknesses of Hangzhou are summarized. At last, the improvement strategy of facility plan and service mode of community home-based care for the aged in China are also proposed.

Keywords: community, comparison, elderly-oriented, home-based care for the aged, support system

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Authors: Shafaq Rubab

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The inclusion of special needs students in a classroom is prevailing gradually in developing countries. Digital game-based learning is one the most effective instructional methodology for special needs students. Digital game-based learning facilitates special needs students who actually face challenges and obstacles in their learning processes. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of digital game-based learning on the educational progress of special needs students in developing countries. The quasi-experimental research was conducted by using purposively selected sample size of eight special needs students. Results of both experimental and control group showed that performance of the experimental group students was better than the control group students and there was a significant difference between both groups’ results. This research strongly recommended that digital game-based learning can help special needs students in an inclusive classroom. It also revealed that special needs students can learn efficiently by using pedagogically sound learning games and game-based learning helps a lot for the self-paced fast-track learning system.

Keywords: inclusive education, special needs, digital game-based learning, fast-track learning

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Authors: R. Vidhya

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Diasporic writings present a comprehensive view of social, cultural and psychological dualities of immigrants. Isolation and the strong feelings of insecurity and inferiority due to constant marginalization coupled with a nostalgia for their motherland, its customs, culture, language, food and people which keep haunting the minds of immigrants are the major themes that are handled by diasporic writers. In the African diaspora, more than the men, it is the women who face the brunt and burden of the triple jeopardy – the racial, class and gender discrimination. Women writers from Africa have successfully sketched the plight of African women in the diaspora. Buchi Emecheta, a Nigerian woman writer deftly portrays the African Diaspora in her novels. She skillfully weaves her stories with her own experiences as an immigrant in the United Kingdom. She portrays the immigrant life and psychology through numerous themes like exile, geographical shift of locations, transactions of culture, political instability and the dilemma of moral and religious ideologies in her diasporic novels Second-class Citizen, Gwendolyn and Kehinde. The contemporary Nigerian woman writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has also dexterously depicted the diasporic dilemma of her protagonist Ifemelu in Americannah, who initially has the experience of a despondent and a downcast in the United States of America. This paper aims to analyse the diasporic sentiments and sensibilities of the Nigerian Igbo women writers Buchi Emecheta and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie whose women characters finally find emancipation and empowerment in the African Diaspora. This study is based on the Africana Womanist Literary theory propounded by Clenora Hudson-Weems.

Keywords: African Diaspora, Nigerian women writers, Buchi Emecheta, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, emancipation, empowerment

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Authors: Betül Demirbağ, Nesrin Demir

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As a developmental period, early adulthood has a vital role in romantic relationships in young adult's life. lt's known that in this period, satisfaction of individual needs such as affiliation is essential for well-functioning and to be succeeded in sequent developmental task. Romantic relationships have an expected association with attachment style. But it's needed to get more information about indicators of romantic relationships in different cultural backgrounds. in this research it's aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between romantic relationship beliefs and Ego identity status and also other possible indicators such as gender, age, socioeconomic status. Participants were undergraduate students training in various programs in Education Faculty in Adiyaman University. As data collection tool, Romantic Relationship Beliefs scale and Ego Identity Process Questionnaire which was adapted into Turkish were used. Results were discussed in the relevant literature.

Keywords: ego identity, romantic relationships, university counseling

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Authors: Otuu O. Obasi, Jude C. Ajaraogu, Happiness C. Anthony-Ikpe

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Women in Igbo land generally experience culture-related mistreatment in the event of the death of their husbands. The mistreatment ranges from scraping of widows’ hair to denial of the right to see their husbands’ corpses. The objectives of the study were to determine the forms and prevalence of widowhood practice in the studied communities, the effects of the socio-cultural attributes of the people on the practice, and the perceived effect of the practice on the victims. Data for the study were collected from 64 randomly selected communities out of 640 communities in Imo State, Nigeria. 450 copies of the researcher-made-questionnaire were distributed across the three senatorial zones of the State. A total of 418 or 92.8% were completely filled and returned. The result of the study showed, among other things, that the majority of males and females recognized widowhood practice as dehumanizing, but opined that it cannot be stopped because it is rooted in culture. However, 30.2% of the female population did not agree that the practice is dehumanizing to women since it was their cultural practice. The study also revealed that scrapping of widows’ hair was the commonest practice while sleeping alone with the husband’s corpse was the least practice. Regarding the effect which this practice has on widows, emotional trauma topped the list; and was followed by economic hardship and health deterioration. Also shown by the study was that the level of education and religion did not have a notable effect on widowhood practice. With regard to possible stoppage measures, greater number of the respondents (38%) indicated that a synergy of efforts was needed to curb the social scourge.

Keywords: widowhood practice, socio-cultural attributes, violence, impact

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Authors: Abdullah Mohammadi

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Years of prolong war in Afghanistan has led to one of the largest refugee and migrant populations in the contemporary world. During this continuous unrest which began in 1970s (by military coup, Marxist revolution and the subsequent invasion of USSR), over one-third of the population migrated to neighboring countries, especially Pakistan and Iran. After the Soviet Army withdrawal in 1989, a new wave of conflicts emerged between rival Afghan groups and this led to new refugees. Taliban period, also, created its own refugees. During all these years, I.R. of Iran has been one of the main destinations of Afghan refugees and migrants. At first, due to the political situation after Islamic Revolution, Iran government didn’t restrict the entry of Afghan refugees. Those who came first in Iran received ID cards and had access to education and healthcare services. But in 1990s, due to economic and social concerns, Iran’s policy towards Afghan refugees and migrants changed. The government has tried to identify and register Afghans in Iran and limit their access to some services and jobs. Unfortunately, there are few studies on Afghan refugees and migrants’ situation in Iran and we have a dim and vague picture of them. Of the few studies done on this group, none of them focus on the illegal Afghan migrants’ situation in Iran. Here, we tried to study the social and economic aspects of illegal Afghan migrants’ living in Iran. In doing so, we interviewed 24 illegal Afghan migrants in Iran. The method applied for analyzing the data is thematic analysis. For the interviews, we chose family heads (17 men and 7 women). According to the findings, illegal Afghan migrants’ socio-economic situation in Iran is very undesirable. Its main cause is the marginalization of this group which is resulted from government policies towards Afghan migrants. Most of the illegal Afghan migrants work in unskilled and inferior jobs and live in rent houses on the margins of cities and villages. None of them could buy a house or vehicle due to law. Based on their income, they form one of the lowest, unprivileged groups in the society. Socially, they face many problems in their everyday life: social insecurity, harassment and violence, misuse of their situation by police and people, lack of education opportunity, etc. In general, we may conclude that illegal Afghan migrant have little adaptation with Iran’s society. They face severe limitations compared to legal migrants and refugees and have no opportunity for upward social mobility. However, they have managed some strategies to face these difficulties including: seeking financial and emotional helps from family and friendship networks, sending one of the family members to third country (mostly to European countries), establishing self-administered schools for children (schools which are illegal and run by Afghan educated youth).

Keywords: illegal Afghan migrants, marginalization, social insecurity, upward social mobility

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Authors: Xueqing Ivy Chen, Christo De Coning

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It is clear from practice that a gap exists between Result-Based Monitoring and Evaluation (RBME) as a discipline, and Knowledge Management (KM) on the other hand. Whereas various government departments have institutionalised these functions, KM and M&E has functioned in isolation from each other in a practical sense in the public sector. It’s therefore necessary to explore the relationship between KM and M&E and the necessity for integration, so that a convergence of these disciplines can be established. An integration of KM and M&E will lead to integration and improvement of evidence-based information and policy decision-making. M&E and KM process models are available but the complementarity between specific process steps of these process models are not exploited. A need exists to clarify the relationships between these functions in order to ensure evidence based information and policy decision-making. This paper will depart from the well-known policy process models, such as the generic model and consider recent on the interface between policy, M&E and KM.

Keywords: result-based monitoring and evaluation, RBME, knowledge management, KM, evident based decision making, public policy, information systems, institutional arrangement

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Authors: Noppadon Phumeechanya, Panita Wannapiroon

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The purpose of this research is to design the ubiquitous scaffold learning environment using problem-based learning activities that enhance problem-solving skills and context awareness, and to evaluate the suitability of the ubiquitous scaffold learning environment using problem-based learning activities. We divide the research procedures into two phases. The first phase is to design the ubiquitous scaffold learning environment using problem-based learning activities, and the second is to evaluate the ubiquitous scaffold learning environment using problem-based learning activities. The sample group in this study consists of five experts selected using the purposive sampling method. We analyse data by arithmetic mean and standard deviation. The research findings are as follows; the ubiquitous scaffold learning environment using problem-based learning activities consists of three major steps, the first is preparation before learning. This prepares learners to acknowledge details and learn through u-LMS. The second is the learning process, where learning activities happen in the ubiquitous learning environment and learners learn online with scaffold systems for each step of problem solving. The third step is measurement and evaluation. The experts agree that the ubiquitous scaffold learning environment using problem-based learning activities is highly appropriate.

Keywords: ubiquitous learning environment scaffolding, learning activities, problem-based learning, problem-solving skills, context awareness

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Authors: Hye Rim Lee, Eui Jun Jeong, Ji Hye Yoo

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This study makes an integrated investigation on how life satisfaction is associated with the Korean game users' psychological variables (self-esteem, game and life self- efficacy), social variables (bonding and bridging social capital), and demographic variables (age, gender). The data used for the empirical analysis came from a representative sample survey conducted in South Korea. Results show that self-esteem and game efficacy were an important antecedent to the degree of users’ life satisfaction. Both bonding social capital and bridging social capital enhance the level of the users’ life satisfaction. The importance of perspectives as well as their implications for the game users and further associated research, are explored.

Keywords: life satisfaction, self-esteem, game efficacy, life-efficacy, social capital

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Authors: Jarmon Sirigunna

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The objective of this study were to investigate the success of the implementation of problem-based learning in classroom and to evaluate the level of satisfaction of Suan Sunandra Rajabhat University’s students who participated in the study. This paper aimed to study and focus on a university students survey conducted in Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University during January to March of 2014. The quota sampling was utilized to obtain the sample which included 60 students, 50 percent male and 50 percent female students. The pretest and posttest method was utilized. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents had gained higher knowledge after the posttest significantly. The respondents’ knowledge increased about 40 percent after the experiment. Also, the findings revealed the top three highest level of satisfaction as follows: 1) the proper roles of teacher and students, 2) the knowledge gained from the method of the problem-based learning, 3) the activities of the problem-based learning, 4) the interaction of students from the problem-based learning, and 5) the problem-based learning model. Also, the mean score of all categories was 4.22 with a standard deviation of 0.7435 which indicated that the level of satisfaction was high.

Keywords: implement, problem-based learning, satisfaction, university students

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Authors: Meera Tandan, Mohan Timilsina, Martin Cormican, Akke Vellinga

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Background: In general practice, many infections are treated empirically without microbiological confirmation. Understanding susceptibility of antimicrobials during empirical prescribing can be helpful to reduce inappropriate prescribing. This study aims to apply a prediction model using a decision tree approach to predict the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of urinary tract infections (UTI) based on non-clinical features of patients over 65 years. Decision tree models are a novel idea to predict the outcome of AMR at an initial stage. Method: Data was extracted from the database of the microbiological laboratory of the University Hospitals Galway on all antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of urine specimens from patients over the age of 65 from January 2011 to December 2014. The primary endpoint was resistance to common antimicrobials (Nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, co-amoxiclav and amoxicillin) used to treat UTI. A classification and regression tree (CART) model was generated with the outcome ‘resistant infection’. The importance of each predictor (the number of previous samples, age, gender, location (nursing home, hospital, community) and causative agent) on antimicrobial resistance was estimated. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive (NPV) and positive predictive (PPV) values were used to evaluate the performance of the model. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the data were used as a training set and validation of the model was performed with the remaining 25% of the dataset. Results: A total of 9805 UTI patients over 65 years had their urine sample submitted for AST at least once over the four years. E.coli, Klebsiella, Proteus species were the most commonly identified pathogens among the UTI patients without catheter whereas Sertia, Staphylococcus aureus; Enterobacter was common with the catheter. The validated CART model shows slight differences in the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV in between the models with and without the causative organisms. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for the model with non-clinical predictors was between 74% and 88% depending on the antimicrobial. Conclusion: The CART models developed using non-clinical predictors have good performance when predicting antimicrobial resistance. These models predict which antimicrobial may be the most appropriate based on non-clinical factors. Other CART models, prospective data collection and validation and an increasing number of non-clinical factors will improve model performance. The presented model provides an alternative approach to decision making on antimicrobial prescribing for UTIs in older patients.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, urinary tract infection, prediction, decision tree

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Authors: Bing Gu

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Abstract—Most of Conventional facial recognition systems are based on image features, such as LBP, SIFT. Recently some DBN-based 2D facial recognition systems have been proposed. However, we find there are few DBN-based 3D facial recognition system and relative researches. 3D facial images include all the individual biometric information. We can use these information to build more accurate features, So we present our DBN-based face recognition system using Light Field. We can see Light Field as another presentation of 3D image, and Light Field Camera show us a way to receive a Light Field. We use the commercially available Light Field Camera to act as the collector of our face recognition system, and the system receive a state-of-art performance as convenient as conventional 2D face recognition system.

Keywords: DBN, face recognition, light field, Lytro

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Authors: Fitim Sadiku, Mjellma Rexhepi, Kreshnik Grezda, Jonijana Sadiku Tigani, Merita Qorolli, Blerta Rexhepi-Kelmendi, Zelie Sadiku, Laura Cakolli

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Background: According to the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR), biologics should be considered alongside traditional treatments in Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) patients with persistently high disease activity that directly affects functional capacity. Unfortunately, Kosovo’s health system only offers continuous treatment with etanercept (ETN), and most of the patients with AS are referred to be treated with this biological substance. Objectives: This study aims to explore the relationship between comorbidity, disease activity, and functional capacity in AS patients undergoing ETN treatment in Kosovo. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included patients diagnosed with AS who were being treated with ETN 50mg per week for at least 6 months at the Rheumatology Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo. Patients under 18, pregnant women, and patients with spinal fractures were excluded. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Prishtina and a consent form was signed by patients for participating in the study. We collected data (September-December 2023) about socio-demographics and disease history. Moreover, the presence of comorbidities was measured by the Comorbidity Charlson Index; the disease activity was measured by the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), and the functional capacity was measured by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI). Results: A total of 31 out of the 39 patients with AS receiving etanercept were included aged 18 to above 65 years (M= 40 years, SD= 14.39), and 87% were male. Diagnose delay was, on average, 7 years from the first symptoms (min-max= 0-24), while the disease duration on average was 7.5 years (min-max= 1- 50). Treatment duration with etanercept was from 0.5 to 6 years. The results indicate a significant positive correlation between comorbidity and BASFI (r= .615, p= .01) and disease activity. Additionally, a significant positive correlation exists between disease activity and BASFI (r= .507, p= .004). Regression analysis highlights the significance of both comorbidity and disease activity as predictors of patients’ functional capacity F (1, 29) = 10.047, p= .05 and F(1, 29) = 17.678, p= .01. No notable gender differences were observed. The study found no significant variations in comorbidity, disease activity, and functional capacity concerning the duration of ETN treatment. Conclusion: We found that in Kosovo, it takes at least 7 years for individuals to be diagnosed with AS from the first-time symptoms are experienced. This study showed that there is a positive correlation between comorbidity and functional capacity, disease activity and functional capacity in patients with AS undergoing etanercept treatment. Furthermore, results showed that comorbidity and disease activity are predictors of the functional status of the patients with AS receiving ETN. Gender and treatment duration with etanercept did not show any significant variations in these patients.

Keywords: ankylosing spondilitis, etanercept, physical wellbeing, comorbidities

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Authors: Stephens Oluyemi Adetunji, Nel Norma Margaret, Krogs Sozein

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There has been a shift in the role of sports from being a form of entertainment and relaxation to becoming a huge business concern and high money spinning venture. This shift has placed a greater demand on sport coaches as regards expectations for high performance from investors as well as other stake holders. The responsibility of sports coaches in ensuring high performance of sports men and women has become increasingly more demanding from both spectators and sports organisers. Coaches are leaders who should possess soft skills such as emotional intelligence aside from employing skills and drills to ensure high performance of athletes. This study is, therefore, designed to determine the emotional intelligence of sports coaches in South Africa. An assessment of the emotional intelligence of sports coaches would enable the researchers to identify those who have low emotional intelligence and to design an intervention program that could improve their emotional intelligence. This study will adopt the pragmatic world view of research using the mixed methods research design of the quantitative and qualitative approach. The non-probability sampling technique will be used to select fifty sports coaches for the quantitative study while fifteen sports coaches will be purposively selected for the qualitative study. One research question which seeks to ascertain the level of emotional intelligence of sports coaches will be raised to guide this study. In addition, two research hypotheses stating that there will be no significant difference in the level of emotional intelligence of sports coaches on the basis of gender and type of sports will be formulated and statistically analysed at 0.05 level of significance. For the quantitative study, an emotional intelligence test will be used to measure the emotional intelligence of sport coaches. Focus group interviews and open ended questions will be used to obtain the qualitative data. Quantitative data obtained will be statistically analysed using the SPSS version 22.0 while the qualitative data will be analysed using atlas ti. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations will be made.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, high performance, sports coaches, South Africa

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Authors: Sonja Grobler

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Background: Leadership and specifically Leader, member exchange has a definite impact on employee behaviour and attitudes, and specifically their state of psychological capital. The interactionist construct of person-organisational fit (P-O fit), consisting of a combination of supplementary fit (indirect fit or value congruence) and complementary fit (direct or person-job fit, as well as needs-supply fit) may, however, impact on the relationship between LMX and psychological capital. The unique permutations of these relationships are important not only for conceptualisation purposes but also for intervention design to enhance the employees’ psychological capital; this would contribute to positive employee behaviour and attitudes. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between Leader, Member Exchange (LMX) and psychological capital, with possible mediation by P-O fit. Setting: The research was conducted with ± 60 employees from each of 43 private sectors and four public sector organisations in South Africa. Method: This study utilised a positivist methodology based on an empirical approach while using a cross-sectional design and quantitative analysis. The sample is relatively representative (in terms of race, gender, and the South African work force), as it consisted of 60 employees from each of the 43 South African organisations that participated in the study, with 2 486 respondents in total. Results: Significant, positive relationships were found between LMX, P-O fit, and psychological capital. Additionally, it was found that P-O fit partially mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and supervisory trust, confirming the proposed model. Conclusion: A strong, positive relationship exists between LMX (consisting of Affect, Loyalty, Contribution, and Professional Respect) and psychological capital (consisting of Self-efficacy, Hope, Resilience and Optimism) which is partially mediated by P-O fit (consisting of supplementary fit and complementary fit).

Keywords: leader and member exchange, person-organisational fit, psychological capital, positive psychology, interactionist approach

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Authors: Immanuel Darkwa

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Climate change and environmental degradation are existential threats requiring urgent transnational action. The SDGs, as well as regional initiatives the like European Green Deal, as ambitious as they are, put an emphasis on innovatively tackling threats posed by climate change regionally. While co-creational approaches are being propagated, there is no reference blueprint for how potential solutions, particularly nature-based solutions, may be developed and implemented within urban-settings. Using a single case study in Zagreb, Croatia, this paper proposes a workshop-tool for a Living Lab as a Service model for sustainable Nature-Based-Thinking, Nature–Centred-Design and Nature based solutions. The approach is based on a co-creational methodology developed through literature synthesis, expert interviews, focus group discussions, surveys and synthesized through rigorous research analysis and participatory observation. The ensuing tool involves workshop-processes, tested with through-the-process identified stakeholders with distinctive roles and functions. The resulting framework proposes a Nature-Based-Centred-Thinking process tool involving ‘green’ routines supported by a focal unit and a collaborative network, and that allows for the development of nature-based solutions.

Keywords: living labs, nature-based solutions, nature- based design, innovation processes, innovation routines and tools

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Authors: Fred Alinda, Marjorie Negesa, Gerald Karyeija

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Like elsewhere in the world, youth unemployment remains a big problem more so to the most educated youth and female. In Rwanda, unemployment is estimated at 13.2% among youth graduates compared to 10.9% and 2.6 among secondary and primary graduates respectively. Though empirical evidence elsewhere associate youth unemployment with education level, relevance of skills and access to business support opportunities, mixed evidence still exist on the significance of these factors to youth employment. As youth employment strategies in countries like Rwanda continue to recognize the potential role university education can play to enhance employment, there is a need to understand the catalysts or barriers. This paper, therefore, draws empirical evidence from a survey on the influence of education qualification, skills relevance and access to business support opportunities on employment of the youth university graduates in Masaka sector, Rwanda. The analysis tested four hypotheses; access to university education significantly affects youth employment, Relevance of university education significantly contributes to youth employment; access to business support opportunities significantly contributes to youth employment, and significant gender differences exist in the employment of youth university graduates. A cross-section survey was used in lieu of the need to explore the prevailing status of youth employment and contributing factors across the sector. A questionnaire was used to collect data on a large sample of 269 youth to allow statistical analysis. This was beefed up with qualitative views of leaders and technical officials in the sector. The youth University graduates were selected using simple random sampling while the leaders and technical officials were selected purposively. Percentages were used to describe respondents in line with the variables under while a regression model for youth employment was fitted to determine the significant factors. The model results indicated a significant influence (p<0.05) of gender, education level and access to business support opportunities on employment of youth university graduates. This finding was also affirmed by the qualitative views of key informants. Qualitative views pointed to the fact that university education generally equipped the youth with skills that enabled their transition into employment mainly for a salary or wage. The skills were, however, deficient in technical and practical aspects. In addition, the youth generally lacked limited access to business support opportunities particularly guarantees for loans, business advisory, and grants for business as well as training in business skills that would help them gain salaried employment or transit into self-employment. The study findings bear an implication on the strategy for catalyzing youth employment through university education. The findings imply that university education should be embraced but with greater emphasis on or supplementation with specialized training in practical and technical skills as well as extending business support opportunities to the youth. This will accelerate the contribution of university education to youth employment.

Keywords: education, employment, self-employment, youth

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Authors: E. Rommes, Els Toonen, Rahil Roodsaz, Suborna Camellia, Farhana Alam, Saad Khan, Jhalok Ranjon Talukder, Tanveer Hassan, Syeda Farjana Ahmed, Sabina Faiz Rashid

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In Bangladesh, a country in which adults (both parents and teachers) find it particularly hard to speak with youth about sexuality, adolescents seem to struggle with various insecurities about their sexual feelings, thoughts, behavior and physical characteristics. On the basis of a large number of interviews and focus groups with rural and urban Bangla adolescent girls and boys of lower and middle class as part of the large-scale three-year project ‘Breaking the Shame’, we have identified ten sexual themes or ‘myths’ that youth struggle with most. These encompass amongst others beliefs and insecurities on masturbation, discharge, same-sex behavior and feelings, the effects of watching porn and gender norms. We argue that the Internet is a particularly suitable medium to ‘debunk’ those myths, as youth can consult it anonymously and privately and so avoid social shame. Moreover, amongst the myths, we have identified two kinds which may need different debunking techniques. One kind of myth concerns scientifically uncontested, generally biological related information, such as the effects of having sex with a pregnant woman, questions on the effects of a penile or vaginal discharge or questions on the effects of masturbation. The second kind of myths concerns more diverse information sources and deals with e.g. religious or culturally specific norms, such as on the meaning and existence of homosexuality or gender appropriate norms of behavior in Bangladesh. For addressing both kinds of myths, expert information including a wealth of references to information resources needs to be provided, which the Internet is very suitable for. For the second kind of myths, adolescents also need to learn how to deal with sometimes conflicting norms and information sources, and they need to develop and reflect on their own opinions as part of their identity formation. On the basis of a literature review, we thus distinguish general information needs from identity formation needs, which includes the need to be able to relate information and opinions to one’s own opinions and situation. Hence, we argue that youth not only need abstract expert information to be able to debunk sexual myths, but also the option to discuss this information with other adolescents and compare their own situation and opinions with other peers, who in that way serve as ‘warm experts’ for each other. In this paper, we will describe the outcomes of our qualitative study above. In addition, we will present our findings of an intervention by presenting youth with general, uncontested information on the Internet with additional peer discussion options to compare the debunking effects on different kinds of myths.

Keywords: peer discussion, intervention, sexual myths, shame

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Authors: Ahmad Dawabsheh

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The science of prosthetics is a renewable science that serves all humanity, regardless of gender, religion and race, and its causes are many: wars, conflicts, traffic accidents, and others. The researcher believes that there are challenges facing the specialization, including that society views a negative view of the amputee, especially if it is a female. This research aims to focus on the reality of teaching prosthetics in Palestine, especially in the Arab American University, as it is the only major. As well as the challenges facing this major: financial, human, academic, laboratories, and others. The researcher used the descriptive and analytical approach, which is the closest approach to studying the subject. The researcher believes that there is a failure on the part of the state and the Ministry of Health in this matter. In addition to the lack of societal culture, as well as the large quantities of prosthetic fittings.

Keywords: prothetics, orthotics, Arab American University, Palestine

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Authors: Elron Fouten

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Recently, debates surrounding the social relevance of psychology in South Africa have focussed on how the growing neoliberal rationality within academia has again resulted in the discipline catering to the needs of powerful social groupings to protect its own economic interests, rather than producing socially relevant knowledge. Consequently, this study aimed to conduct a content analysis of the recent research output of psychology masters students, to establish whether it has produced research that addresses local and national psychosocial issues and as such deemed socially relevant knowledge. The study sampled clinical, counselling, and research psychology masters theses from 16 South African universities submitted between 1998 and 2017. Overall, 2001 theses were sampled, which were analysed using qualitative content analysis predominantly based on the descriptive categories identified in similar studies using published journal articles. Results indicated that empirical qualitative theses, using systems-oriented theory and post-modern frameworks were most prevalent. Further, traditional topics within psychology had relatively more weighting compared to more social topics. Although a significant number of theses recruited participants from working-class or poor backgrounds, there was an overreliance on participants from urban areas located in some of the country’s wealthiest provinces. Despite a strong adult-centric focus, trends regarding participants’ race and gender roughly resembled current population demographics. Overall, the results indicate that psychology in South Africa, at least at university-level, is to some extent trying to engage with national psychosocial concerns. However, there are still several key areas which need to be addressed to ensure the continued social relevance of the discipline.

Keywords: adult-centric, content analysis, relevance, psychosocial

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Authors: Behnaz Farahani, Abbas Mirzaei

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This study explores association between circadian rhythm pattern and some demographic incidences. The participants targeting 193 (97 females and 96 males between the ages of 20-30 years) Iranian bachelor students from Islamic Azad University who completed the self-reported over the 2nd semester 2011-2012 university year. The questionnaire has been tailored amalgamation of Horn & Östberg Questionnaire (MEQ) and Demographic Incidences Questionnaire in order to measure the students circadian rhythm pattern and their Demographic Incidences. The finding of this quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional analysis confirmed the hypothesis in that 'circadian rhythm pattern' was positively associated with the demographic indices like age, marital status, gender, day in week and month of the birth time, and parent’s age and educational level at the time of the birth of the samples.

Keywords: circadian rhythm pattern, demographic incidences, morning type, evening type

Procedia PDF Downloads 521