Search results for: landscape services

Authors: A. Chandra, M. Arthur, L. Mize, A. Pomeroy-Stevens

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Background: Lower and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia face rapid urbanization resulting in both economic opportunities (the urban advantage) and emerging health challenges. Urban health risks are magnified in informal settlements and include infectious disease outbreaks, inadequate access to health services, and poor air quality. Over the coming years, urban spaces in Asia will face accelerating public health risks related to migration, climate change, and environmental health. These challenges are complex and require multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder solutions. The Building Health Cities (BHC) program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to work with smart city initiatives in the Asia region. BHC approaches urban health challenges by addressing policies, planning, and services through a health equity lens, with a particular focus on informal settlements and migrant communities. The program works to develop data-driven decision-making, build inclusivity through stakeholder engagement, and facilitate the uptake of appropriate technology. Methodology: The BHC program has partnered with the smart city initiatives of Indore in India, Makassar in Indonesia, and Da Nang in Vietnam. Implementing partners support municipalities to improve health delivery and equity using two key approaches: political economy analysis and participatory systems mapping. Political economy analyses evaluate barriers to collective action, including corruption, security, accountability, and incentives. Systems mapping evaluates community health challenges using a cross-sectoral approach, analyzing the impact of economic, environmental, transport, security, health system, and built environment factors. The mapping exercise draws on the experience and expertise of a diverse cohort of stakeholders, including government officials, municipal service providers, and civil society organizations. Results: Systems mapping and political economy analyses identified significant barriers for health care in migrant populations. In Makassar, migrants are unable to obtain the necessary card that entitles them to subsidized health services. This finding is being used to engage with municipal governments to mitigate the barriers that limit migrant enrollment in the public social health insurance scheme. In Indore, the project identified poor drainage of storm and wastewater in migrant settlements as a cause of poor health. Unsafe and inadequate infrastructure placed residents of these settlements at risk for both waterborne diseases and injuries. The program also evaluated the capacity of urban primary health centers serving migrant communities, identifying challenges related to their hours of service and shortages of health workers. In Da Nang, the systems mapping process has only recently begun, with the formal partnership launched in December 2019. Conclusion: This paper explores lessons learned from BHC’s systems mapping, political economy analyses, and stakeholder engagement approaches. The paper shares progress related to the health of migrants in informal settlements. Case studies feature barriers identified and mitigating steps, including governance actions, taken by local stakeholders in partner cities. The paper includes an update on ongoing progress from Indore and Makassar and experience from the first six months of program implementation from Da Nang.

Keywords: informal settlements, migration, stakeholder engagement mapping, urban health

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Authors: Badryah Alshehri, Kevin Gormley, Gillian Prue, Karen McCutcheon

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In a disaster event, sharing patient information between the pre-hospitals Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Emergency Department (ED) hospitals is a complex process during which important information may be altered or lost due to poor communication. The aim of this study was to critically discuss the current evidence base in relation to communication between pre-EMS hospital and ED hospital professionals by the use of Information and Communication Systems (ICT). This study followed the systematic approach; six electronic databases were searched: CINAHL, Medline, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore Digital Library were comprehensively searched in January 2018 and a second search was completed in April 2020 to capture more recent publications. The study selection process was undertaken independently by the study authors. Both qualitative and quantitative studies were chosen that focused on factors which are positively or negatively associated with coordinated communication between pre-hospital EMS and ED teams in a disaster event. These studies were assessed for quality and the data were analysed according to the key screening themes which emerged from the literature search. Twenty-two studies were included. Eleven studies employed quantitative methods, seven studies used qualitative methods, and four studies used mixed methods. Four themes emerged on communication between EMTs (pre-hospital EMS and ED staff) in a disaster event using the ICT. (1) Disaster preparedness plans and coordination. This theme reported that disaster plans are in place in hospitals, and in some cases, there are interagency agreements with pre-hospital and relevant stakeholders. However, the findings showed that the disaster plans highlighted in these studies lacked information regarding coordinated communications within and between the pre-hospital and hospital. (2) Communication systems used in the disaster. This theme highlighted that although various communication systems are used between and within hospitals and pre-hospitals, technical issues have influenced communication between teams during disasters. (3) Integrated information management systems. This theme suggested the need for an integrated health information system which can help pre-hospital and hospital staff to record patient data and ensure the data is shared. (4) Disaster training and drills. While some studies analysed disaster drills and training, the majority of these studies were focused on hospital departments other than EMTs. These studies suggest the need for simulation disaster training and drills, including EMTs. This review demonstrates that considerable gaps remain in the understanding of the communication between the EMS and ED hospitals staff in relation to response in disasters. The review shows that although different types of ICTs are used, various issues remain which affect coordinated communication among the relevant professionals.

Keywords: communication, emergency communication services, emergency medical teams, emergency physicians, emergency nursing, paramedics, information and communication technology, communication systems

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Authors: Siti Marlia Abd Rahim, Mad Khir Johari Abdullah Sani

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The ever-increasing use of social media applications by library users has raised concerns about the purpose and effectiveness of these platforms in academic libraries. While social media has the potential to revolutionize library services, its usage for non-educational purposes and security concerns have hindered its full potential. This paper aims to address the user behavioral factors affecting social media engagement in academic libraries and examine the impact of social media engagement on user participation. Additionally, it seeks to measure the effect of user participation in social media on the development of powerful learning communities.

Keywords: social media adoption, social media engagement, academic library, social media in academic library, learning community

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Authors: Sara Fioretti

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In the 2nd millennium BCE, maritime networks became essential to the Mediterranean lifestyle, creating an interconnected world. This phenomenon of interconnected cultures has often been misinterpreted as an “effect” of the Mycenaean “influence” without considering the complexity and role of regional and cross-cultural exchanges. This paper explores the socio-economic relationships, in both cross-cultural and potentially inter-regional settings, present within the archaeological repertoire of the southern Italian Late Bronze Age (LBA 1600 -1140 BCE). The emergence of economic relations within the connectivity of the regional settlements is explored through ceramic contexts found in the case studies Punta di Zambrone, Broglio di Trebisacce, and Nuraghe Antigori. This work-in-progress research is situated in the shifting theoretical views of the last ten years that discuss the Late Bronze Age’s connectivity through Social Networks, Entanglement, and Assertive Objects combined with a comparative statistical study of ceramic frequency distribution. Applying these theoretical frameworks with a quantitative approach demonstrates the specific regional economic relationships that shaped the cultural interactions of the Late Bronze Age. Through this intersection of theory and statistical analysis, the case studies establish a small percentage of pottery as imported, whilst assertive productions have a relatively higher quantity. Overall, the majority still adheres to regional Italian traditions. Therefore, we can dissect the rhizomatic relationships cultivated by the Italian coasts and Mycenaeans and their roles within their networks through the intersection of theoretical and statistical analysis. This research offers a new perspective on the connectivity of the Late Bronze Age relational structures.

Keywords: late bronze age, mediterranean archaeology, exchanges and trade, frequency distribution of ceramic assemblages

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Authors: Dongkoo Yun, Melissa James-MacEachern

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This study analyzes Americans’ views of four Atlantic Canadian provinces as travel destinations regarding specific destination attributes for a pleasure trip, awareness (heard) of the destinations, past visit to the destinations during the prior two years, and intention to visit in the next two years. Results indicate that American travellers perceived the four Atlantic Canadian provinces as separate and distinct when rating best-fit destination attributes to each destination. The results suggest that travel destinations, specifically the four selected destinations, must be prepared to differentiate their destination’s image and the range of experiences and services to appeal and attract more American travellers.

Keywords: American perceptions, Atlantic Canadian provinces, competitiveness, positioning analysis

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Authors: A. R. Manu, V. K. Agrawal, K. N. Balasubramanya Murthy

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Authentication is required in stored database systems so that only authorized users can access the data and related cloud infrastructures. This paper proposes an authentication technique using multi-factor and multi-dimensional authentication system with multi-level security. The proposed technique is likely to be more robust as the probability of breaking the password is extremely low. This framework uses a multi-modal biometric approach and SMS to enforce additional security measures with the conventional Login/password system. The robustness of the technique is demonstrated mathematically using a statistical analysis. This work presents the authentication system along with the user authentication architecture diagram, activity diagrams, data flow diagrams, sequence diagrams, and algorithms.

Keywords: design, implementation algorithms, performance, biometric approach

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Authors: Abdo Shabah

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Mass customization aims to produce customized goods (allowing economies of scope) at lower cost (to achieve economies of scale) using multiple strategies (modularization and postponement). Through a simulation experiment of organizations under turbulent environment, we aim to compare standardization and mass customization of services and assess the impact of different forms of mass customization (early and late postponement) on performance, quality and consumer satisfaction, on the use of modular dynamic 3D Geographic Information System. Our hypothesis is that mass customization performs better and achieves better quality in turbulent environment than standardization, but only when using early postponement strategies. Using mixed methods study, we try to confirm our hypothesis.

Keywords: mass customization, postponement, experiment, performance, quality, satisfaction, 3D GIS

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Authors: Sami M. Alshareef

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In the rapidly evolving energy landscape, the integration of renewable energy sources and the electrification of transportation are essential steps toward achieving sustainability goals. However, these advancements introduce new challenges, particularly in maintaining frequency stability due to variable photovoltaic (PV) generation and the growing demand for fast charging stations. The variability of photovoltaic (PV) generation due to weather conditions can disrupt the balance between generation and load, resulting in frequency deviations. To ensure the stability of power systems, it is imperative to develop effective under frequency load-shedding schemes. This research proposal presents an adaptive under-frequency load shedding scheme based on the power swing equation, designed explicitly for the IEEE-9 Bus Test System, that includes PV generation and fast charging stations. This research aims to address these challenges by developing an advanced scheme that dynamically disconnects fast charging stations based on power imbalances. The scheme prioritizes the disconnection of stations near affected areas to expedite system frequency stabilization. To achieve these goals, the research project will leverage the power swing equation, a widely recognized model for analyzing system dynamics during under-frequency events. By utilizing this equation, the proposed scheme will adaptively adjust the load-shedding process in real-time to maintain frequency stability and prevent power blackouts. The research findings will support the transition towards sustainable energy systems by ensuring a reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply while enhancing the resilience and stability of power systems during under-frequency events.

Keywords: load shedding, fast charging stations, pv generation, power system resilience

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Authors: Nandini Mohan, Thiruvengadam R. B.

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Mahatma Gandhi advocated that the true indicator of modern India lay in the development of its villages. This has been proven with the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic and the surfacing predicament of our urban centers. Developed on the Industrialization model, the current state of the metropolis is of rampant overcrowding, high rates of unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, and resources to cater to the growing population. A majority of each city’s strength composes of the migrant population, demonstrated through the migrant crisis, a direct repercussion of COVID-19. This paper explores the ideology of how rural development can act as a tactic to counter the high rates of rural-urban migration. It establishes the need for a rural push, as India is predominantly an agrarian economy, with a vast disparity between the urban and rural centers due to its urban bias. It seeks to define development in holistic terms. It studies the models of ‘cluster’ as conceptualized by V.K.R.V. Rao, and detailed by Architect Charles Correa in his book, The New Landscape. The paper reexamines the theory of cluster development through existing models proposed by the government of India. Namely, PURA (Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas), DRI (Deendayal Research Institute), and Rurban under Shyama Prasad Mukharjee Rurban Mission. It analyses the models, their strengths, weaknesses, and reasons for their failure and success to derive parameters for the ideation of an archetype model. A model of rural development that talks of the simultaneous development of existing adjacent villages, by the introduction of set unique functions, that may turn into self-sustaining clusters or agglomerations in the future, which could serve as the next step for Indian village development based on the cluster ideology.

Keywords: counter migration, models of rural development, cluster development theory, India

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Authors: Pedro Mota Veiga

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This study comprehensively evaluates the repercussions of innovation, digital advancements, and technological capabilities on the operational performance of companies across fifteen European Union countries following the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing insights from longitudinal data sourced from the 2019 World Bank business surveys and subsequent 2020 World Bank COVID-19 follow-up business surveys, our extensive examination involves a diverse sample of 5763 family businesses. In exploring the relationships between these variables, we adopt a nuanced approach to assess the impact of innovation and digital and technological capabilities on performance. This analysis unfolds along two distinct perspectives: one rooted in necessity and the other insufficiency. The methodological framework employed integrates partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with condition analysis (NCA), providing a robust foundation for drawing meaningful conclusions. The findings of the study underscore a positive influence on the performance of family firms stemming from both technological capabilities and digital advancements. Furthermore, it is pertinent to highlight the indirect contribution of innovation to enhanced performance, operating through its impact on digital capabilities. This research contributes valuable insights to the broader understanding of how innovation, coupled with digital and technological capabilities, can serve as pivotal factors in shaping the post-COVID-19 landscape for businesses across the European Union. The intricate analysis of family businesses, in particular adds depth to the comprehension of the dynamics at play in diverse economic contexts within the European Union.

Keywords: digital capabilities, technological capabilities, family firms performance, innovation, NCA, PLS-SEM

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Authors: Chan Eang Teng, Tang Mui Joo

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With the viral factor on social media, the sense of persuasion is generated by repetition and popularity. When users’ interest is captured, political awareness increases to spark political enthusiasm, but, the level of user’s political participation and political attitude of those active users is still questionable. An online survey on 250 youth and in-depth interview on two politicians are conducted to answer the main question in this paper. The result shows that Facebook significantly increases political awareness among youths. Social media may not be the major trigger to political activism among youths as most respondents opined that they would still vote without Facebook. Other factors could be political campaigning, political climate, age, peer pressure or others. Finding also shows that majority of respondents did not participate in online political debates or political groups. Many also wondered if the social media was the main power switch that triggers the political influx among young voters. The research finding is significant to understand how the new media, Facebook, has reshaped the political landscape in Malaysia, creating the Social Media Election that changed the rules of the political game. However, research finding does not support the ideal notion that the social media is the major trigger to youth’s political activism. This research outcome has exposed the flaws of the Social Media Election. It has revealed the less optimistic side of youth political activism. Unfortunately, results fall short of the idealistic belief that the social media have given rise to political activism among youths in the 13^th General Election in Malaysia. The research outcome also highlights an important lesson for the democratic discourse of Malaysia which is making informed and educated decisions takes more commitment, proactive and objective attitude.

Keywords: social media, political participation, political activism, democracy, political communication

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Authors: Wen Feiming

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As the ecological barrier of the Yangtze River, the ecological security of the Parallel Range-Valley area is very important. However, the unique geomorphic features aggravate the contradiction between man and land, resulting in the encroachment of ecological space. In recent years , relevant researches has focused on the single field of land science, ecology and landscape ecology, and it is difficult to systematically reflect the regularities of distribution and evolution trends of ecological patterns in the process of urban development. Therefore, from the perspective of "Production-Living-Ecological space", using spatial analysis methods such as Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this paper analyzes the evolution characteristics and driving factors of the ecological pattern of mountain towns in the parallel range-valley region from the aspects of land use structure, change rate, transformation relationship, and spatial correlation. It is concluded that the ecological pattern of mountain towns presents a trend from expansion and diffusion to agglomeration, and the dynamic spatial transfer is a trend from artificial transformation to the natural origin, while the driving effect analysis shows the significant characteristics of terrain attraction and construction barrier. Finally, combined with the evolution characteristics and driving mechanism, the evolution modes of "mountain area - concentrated growth", "trough area - diffusion attenuation" and "flat area - concentrated attenuation" are summarized, and the differentiated zoning and stratification ecological planning strategies are proposed here, in order to provide the theoretical basis for the sustainable development of mountain towns in parallel range-valley areas.

Keywords: parallel range-valley, ecological pattern, evolution characteristics, driving factors

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Authors: S. Dhivya, M. Abirami, M. Farjana Parveen, M. Keerthiga

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The development of high-speed railway makes people’s lives more and more convenient; meanwhile, handover is the major problem on high-speed railway communication services. In order to overcome that drawback the architecture of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) femtocell networks is used to improve network performance, and the deployment of a femtocell is a key for bandwidth limitation and coverage issues in conventional mobile network system. To increase the handover performance this paper proposed a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) assisted handoff (MAHO) algorithm. It is a technique used in mobile telecom to transfer a mobile phone to a new radio channel with stronger signal strength and improved channel quality.

Keywords: flawless handover, high-speed train, home evolved Node B, LTE, mobile femtocell, RSS

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Authors: Peter Winzer, Erik Massarczyk

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Experts, enterprises and operators expect that the bandwidth request will increase up to rates of 100 to 1,000 Mbps within several years. Therefore the most important question is, which technology shall satisfy the future consumer broadband demands. Currently the consensus is, that the fiber technology has the best technical characteristics to achieve such the high bandwidth rates. But fiber technology is so far very cost-intensive and resource consuming. To avoid these investments, operators are concentrating to upgrade the existing copper and hybrid fiber coax infrastructures. This work presents a comparison of the copper and fiber technologies including an overview about the current German broadband market. Both technologies are reviewed in the terms of demand, willingness to pay and economic efficiency in connection with the technical characteristics.

Keywords: broadband customer demand, fiber development, g.fast, vectoring, willingness to pay for broadband services

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Authors: Sindhu Manjesh

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This paper examines citizen journalism in India, specifically the inclusion of user-generated content (UGC) by mainstream media, by focusing on the case study of the Citizen Journalist show on CNN-News 18, a national television news broadcaster. It studies the processes of production involved in Citizen Journalist to find out how professional journalists and citizens interact to put together the show in order to help readers understand the relationship between journalists and the public in the evolving media landscape of India, the world’s largest democracy, and a leader in the Global South. Using an in-depth case study approach involving newsroom ethnography, interviews, and an examination of Citizen Journalist content, it studies the implications of audience participation for traditional journalistic routines and values – specifically gatekeeping and objectivity. Citizen Journalist began to much fanfare and promise about including neglected citizen views and voices. Based on evidence gathered, this study, however, argues that claims made by CNN-News18 about democratizing news production through Citizen Journalist were overstated. It made some effort to do this and broadcast a lot of important stories. But overall, in terms of bringing in citizen voices, it did not live up to its initial promise because the show was anchored in traditional journalistic norms and roles and the channel’s economic imperatives. Professional journalists were ironically the producers of 'citizen journalism' in this case. Mainstream media’s authority in defining journalistic work –who says what, where, when, why, and how– remains predominant in India. This has implications for democratic participation in India. The example of Citizen Journalist –the model it followed, its partial success, and many limitations– could well presage outcomes for other news outlets, in India and beyond, which copy its template.

Keywords: citizen journalism, digital journalism, participatory journalism, public sphere

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Authors: Resul Öztürk

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Experiential marketing is one of the marketing approaches that offers an exceptional framework to integrate elements of experience and entertainment in a product or service. Experiential marketing is defined as a memorable experience that goes deeply into the customer’s mind. Besides that, customer satisfaction is defined as an emotional response to the experiences provided by and associated with particular products or services purchased. Thus, experiential marketing activities can affect the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In this context, the research aims to explore the relationship among experiential marketing, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty among the cosmetic products customers in Konya. The partial least squares (PLS) method is used to analyse the survey data. The present study’s findings revealed have that experiential marketing has been a significant predictor of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, and also experiential marketing has a significantly positive effect on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Keywords: experiential marketing, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, social sciences

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Authors: Bishal Saha, Musah Ahmed Rufai Muhyedeen, Jubeyer Hossain Joy, Muhammad Muhitur Rahman, Mohammad Shahedur Rahman, Md Arif Hasan, Syed Masiur Rahman

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Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is one of the critical problems of today’s world. Many countries have been taking many short- and long-term plans to reduce climate change mitigation. However, the potential of behavioral changes in addressing this problem is promising, as reported by many researchers. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review that focuses on ways to influence people’s behavior in their homes, workplace, and transportation to mitigate the emission directly or indirectly. This study will investigate different theories pertinent to planned behavior and the key elements for modifying behavior like biophilia, reinforcement to use optimum energy and recyclable products, proper application of greenhouse tax, modern technology, and sustainable design adaptation, transportation sharing, social and community norms, proper education and information, and financial incentives. There is a number of challenges associated with behavioral changes. Behavioral interventions have different actions varied by their type and need to combine various policy tools and great social marketing. Many interventions can reduce GHG emissions without any compromise with household well-being. This study will develop a landscape of prevailing theories of environmental psychology by identifying and reviewing the key themes and findings of this field of study. It will support especially the developing countries to reduce GHG emissions without significant capital investment. It is also expected that the behavioral changes will lead to the successful adoption of climate-friendly policies easily. This study will also generate new research questions and directions.

Keywords: behavioral changes, climate change mitigation, environmental psychology, greenhouse gas emission

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Authors: Yang Liandong

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The rapid development of cities has triggered a series of urban health problems. Residents' daily lives have generally changed to long-term unhealthy work and rest, and the prevalence of chronic diseases in the population is on the rise. Promoting physical activity is an effective way to enhance the population's health and reduce the risk of various chronic diseases. As the most basic unit of the city, the community is the living space where residents use the highest frequency of daily activities and also the best space carrier for people to carry out all kinds of physical activities, and its planning research is of great significance for promoting physical activities. Under special conditions, the old communities in mountainous cities present compact and three-dimensional spatial characteristics, and there are problems such as disordered spatial organization, scattered distribution, and low utilization rates. This paper selects four communities in Daxigou Street, Yuzhong District, Chongqing as the research object, analyzes the current situation of the research cases through literature combing and field investigation and interviews, and puts forward the planning strategies for promoting physical activity in old communities in mountain cities from four aspects: building a convenient and smooth public space system, creating a diversified and shared activity space, creating a beautiful and healing community landscape, and providing convenient and perfect supporting facilities, to provide a certain reference for the healthy development of old communities in mountain cities.

Keywords: physical activity, community planning, old communities in mountain cities, public space optimization, spatial fairness

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Authors: Gaurav Shinde, Sai Charan Gongiguntla, Prajwal Shirur, Ahmed Hambaba

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Health issues are significantly increasing, putting a substantial strain on healthcare services. This has accelerated the integration of machine learning in healthcare, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. The utilization of machine learning in healthcare has grown significantly. We introduce DeClEx, a pipeline that ensures that data mirrors real-world settings by incorporating Gaussian noise and blur and employing autoencoders to learn intermediate feature representations. Subsequently, our convolutional neural network, paired with spatial attention, provides comparable accuracy to state-of-the-art pre-trained models while achieving a threefold improvement in training speed. Furthermore, we provide interpretable results using explainable AI techniques. We integrate denoising and deblurring, classification, and explainability in a single pipeline called DeClEx.

Keywords: machine learning, healthcare, classification, explainability

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Authors: Anisur Rahman, Sabyasachi Behera, Pawan Pathak, Benazir Patil, Rajesh Khanna

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Background: Nearly half of India’s population is expected to reside in urban areas by 2030. The extent to which India's health system can provide for this large and growing city-based population will determine the country's success in achieving universal health coverage and improved national health indices. National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) strive for improving access to primary health care in urban areas. Implementation of NUHM solicits sensitive, effective and sustainable strategies to strengthen the service delivery mechanisms. The Challenge Initiative for Healthy Cities (TCIHC) is working with the Government of India and three provincial states to develop effective service delivery mechanisms for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) through a health systems approach for the urban poor. Method: A rapid assessment study was conceptualized and executed to generate evidence in order to address the challenges impeding in functioning of urban health facilities to deliver effective, efficient and equitable health care services in 7 cities spread across two project States viz. Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. Results: The findings of the assessment reflect: 1. The overall ecosystem pertaining to planning and management of public health interventions is not conducive. 2. The challenges regarding population dynamics like migration keeps on influencing the demand-supply-enabling environment triangle for both public and private service providers. 3. Lack of norms for planning and benchmark for service delivery further impedes urban health system as a whole. 4. Operationalization of primary level services have enough potential to meet the demand of slum dwellers at large. 5. Lack of policy driven strategies on how to integrate the NUHM with other thematic areas of Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (MNCH) and Family Planning (FP). 5. The inappropriate capacity building and acute shortage of Human Resources has huge implication on service provisioning and adherence to the service delivery protocols. Conclusion: The findings from rapid assessment are aimed to inform pertinent stakeholders to develop a multiyear city health action plan to strengthen the health systems in order to improve the efficacy of service delivery mechanism in urban settings.

Keywords: city health plan, health system, rapid assessment, urban mission

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Authors: Ari Alamäki, Timo Kaski

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The value of co-creation has gained much attention in sales research, but less is known about how salespeople and customers interact in the authentic business to business (B2B) sales meetings. The study presented in this paper empirically contributes to existing research by presenting authentic B2B sales meetings that were video recorded and analyzed using observation and qualitative content analysis methods. This paper aims to study key elements of successful sales interactions between salespeople and customers/buyers. This study points out that salespeople are selling value rather than the products or services themselves, which are only enablers in realizing business benefits. Therefore, our findings suggest that promoting and easing open discourse is an essential part of a successful sales encounter. A better understanding of how salespeople and customers successfully interact would help salespeople to develop their interpersonal sales skills.

Keywords: personal selling, relationship, sales management, value co-creation

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Authors: Adeyemi Oluremi Olubusuyi

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In most of the developed countries, entrepreneurship education has been and will continue to be, a great economic stimulator. Entrepreneurship advantages cannot be overemphasized in any society that desires sustainable national development because it creates new technologies, production and services; which in turn encourage improved productivity and rapid economic growth. Economic growth will invariably have positive influences on the health, thereby leading to sound body systems, increase in the lifespan, improvement in social status and standard condition of living. Promoting an effective application of entrepreneurship education principle will, in no small measure, propel Nigeria to the much desired enviable national development level which the country is currently yearning for. The focus of this paper is to discuss entrepreneurship education with reference to its concept, nature, objectives and development approaches.

Keywords: entreprenuership, entrepreneurship education, national development, tertiary institutions

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Authors: Huawei Ma, Wencai Du, Shengbin Liang

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Smart Home Healthcare technologies for the elderly represent a transformative paradigm that leverages emerging technologies to provide the elderly’ health indicators and daily life monitoring, emergency calls, environmental monitoring, behavior perception, and other services to ensure the health and safety of the elderly who are aging in their own home. However, the excessive complexity in the main adopted framework has affected the acceptance and adoption of the elderly. Therefore, this paper proposes a lightweight synergy architecture of IoT data and service for elderly home smart health environment. It includes the modeling of IoT applications and their workflows, data interoperability, interaction, and storage paradigms to meet the growing needs of older people so that they can lead an active, fulfilling, and quality life.

Keywords: smart home healthcare, IoT, independent living, lightweight framework

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Authors: Abimbola Mobolanle Adu, Marcus Tayo Akinlade

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This comprehensive study systematically dissects the intricate interplay between the removal of fuel subsidy and its multifaceted repercussions on Nigeria's educational system. Originating in the 1970s, the fuel subsidy policy initially conceived to curtail fuel costs and faced financial unsustainability. In 2023, President Bola Tinubu's administration announced its cessation. The resultant escalation in petroleum product prices precipitated challenges within the education sector, manifesting as heightened administrative costs, increased student fees, amplified dropout rates, and others. Employing a qualitative research methodology, grounded in Critical Theory, the study draws from diverse secondary sources and employs content analysis to unravel the intricate layers of this issue. Critical Theory provides a lens through which the power dynamics, socio-economic structures, and ideological influences shaping policy decisions can be critically examined, offering a deeper understanding of the multifaceted impact. Findings underscore the imperative for strategic interventions, advocating for investments in technology and the exploration of alternative energy sources. The paper concludes by emphasizing the pivotal role of education, advocating for nuanced policies to alleviate the impact on both private and public educational institutions. In essence, this research contributes nuanced insights into the labyrinthine dynamics between fuel subsidy policies and the educational sector, underscoring the exigency for meticulous interventions to fortify the nation's educational foundation.

Keywords: administration, education, fuel subsidy, policy, multilayered impact

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Authors: Sidharth Talan, Sanjay Kumar Sharma, Eoin Joseph Wallace, Nikita Agrawal

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Underground mining is at the core of rapidly evolving metals and minerals sector due to the increasing mineral consumption globally. Even though the surface mines are still more abundant on earth, the scales of industry are slowly tipping towards underground mining due to rising depth and complexities of orebodies. Thus, the efficient and productive functioning of underground operations depends significantly on the synchronized performance of key elements such as operating site, mining equipment, manpower and mine services. Production drilling is the process of conducting long hole drilling for the purpose of charging and blasting these holes for the production of ore in underground metal mines. Thus, production drilling is the crucial segment in the underground metal mining value chain. This paper presents the process mapping tool to evaluate the production drilling process in the underground metal mining operation by dividing the given process into three segments namely Input, Process and Output. The three segments are further segregated into factors and sub-factors. As per the study, the major input factors crucial for the efficient functioning of production drilling process are power, drilling water, geotechnical support of the drilling site, skilled drilling operators, services installation crew, oils and drill accessories for drilling machine, survey markings at drill site, proper housekeeping, regular maintenance of drill machine, suitable transportation for reaching the drilling site and finally proper ventilation. The major outputs for the production drilling process are ore, waste as a result of dilution, timely reporting and investigation of unsafe practices, optimized process time and finally well fragmented blasted material within specifications set by the mining company. The paper also exhibits the drilling loss matrix, which is utilized to appraise the loss in planned production meters per day in a mine on account of availability loss in the machine due to breakdowns, underutilization of the machine and productivity loss in the machine measured in drilling meters per unit of percussion hour with respect to its planned productivity for the day. The given three losses would be essential to detect the bottlenecks in the process map of production drilling operation so as to instigate the action plan to suppress or prevent the causes leading to the operational performance deficiency. The given tool is beneficial to mine management to focus on the critical factors negatively impacting the production drilling operation and design necessary operational and maintenance strategies to mitigate them. 

Keywords: process map, drilling loss matrix, SIPOC, productivity, percussion rate

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Authors: Moyera Sanganeria

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In the highly competitive landscape of contemporary sports, sportspersons worldwide encounter formidable challenges, often practicing for extensive hours while contending with limited social and physical resources. A growing number of sportspersons globally are sharing their struggles with depression, anxiety, and stress arising from the complex journey and identity associated with being a sportsperson. This qualitative study aims to investigate the challenges faced by sportspersons in individual versus team sports and explore potential gender-based variations in coping strategies. It attempts to do so by recognizing the imperative to comprehend the root causes and coping mechanisms for these stressors. By employing purposive sampling, MMA and Kabaddi players from training academies across Mumbai were selected for the study. Twelve participants were interviewed through semi-structured interviews guided by an interview guide. Reflective thematic analysis was employed to discern diverse stressors and coping strategies. Key stressors encountered by young Indian sportspersons encompass injuries, socio-economic challenges, financial constraints, escalating competition, and performance anxiety. Notably, individuals engaged in team sports tended to adopt emotion-focused coping mechanisms, while those in individual sports leaned more towards problem-focused coping strategies in response to these stressors. There were no prominent gender differences found in coping strategies employed by sportspersons. This study underscores the critical issue of declining mental health among sportspersons in India, emphasizing the necessity for a structured and customized mental health intervention strategy tailored to the unique needs of this population.

Keywords: stressors, coping strategies, sports psychology, sportspersons, mental health

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Authors: Rebin Kamal Hama Gharib

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This research paper aims to identify the common and current problems and challenges faced by refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq. The objective of this research is to highlight the urgent need for policy measures and support to address these issues. The research methodology includes a review of academic literature, government reports, and data collected by international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The main contribution of this research is to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by refugees and IDPs in Iraq, including their legal status, access to basic services, economic opportunities, and social integration.

Keywords: efugees, internally displaced persons, Iraq, challenges, policy measures

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Authors: Tsedekech Gebremeskel Weldmichael, Tamas Szegi, Lubangakene Denish, Ravi Kumar Gangwar, Erika Micheli, Barbara Simon

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Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, soil biodiversity has been recognized globally as a crucial player in guaranteeing the functioning of soil and a provider of several ecosystem services essential for human well-being. The microbial fraction of the soil is a vital component of soil fertility as soil microbes play key roles in soil aggregate formation, nutrient cycling, humification, and degradation of pollutants. Soil fauna, such as earthworms, have huge impacts on soil organic matter dynamics, nutrient cycling, and infiltration and distribution of water in the soil. Currently, land-use change has been a global concern as evidence accumulates that it adversely affects soil biodiversity and the associated ecosystem goods and services. In this study, we examined the patterns of soil microbial respiration (SMR) and earthworm (abundance, biomass, and species richness) across three land-use types (grassland, arable land, and forest) in Hungary. The objectives were i) to investigate whether there is a significant difference in SMR and earthworm (abundance, biomass, and species richness) among land-use types. ii) to determine the key soil properties that best predict the variation in SMR and earthworm communities. Soil samples, to a depth of 25 cm, were collected from the surrounding areas of seven soil profiles. For physicochemical parameters, soil organic matter (SOM), pH, CaCO₃, E₄/E₆, available nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N), potassium (K₂O), phosphorus (P₂O₅), exchangeable Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, soil moisture content (MC) and bulk density were measured. The analysis of SMR was determined by basal respiration method, and the extraction of earthworms was carried out by hand sorting method as described by ISO guideline. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference among land-use types in SMR (p > 0.05). However, the highest SMR was observed in grassland soils (11.77 mgCO₂ 50g⁻¹ soil 10 days⁻¹) and lowest in forest soils (8.61 mgCO₂ 50g⁻¹ soil 10 days⁻¹). SMR had strong positive correlations with exchangeable Ca²⁺ (r = 0.80), MC (r = 0.72), and exchangeable Mg²⁺(r = 0.69). We found a pronounced variation in SMR among soil texture classes (p < 0.001), where the highest value in silty clay loam soils and the lowest in sandy soils. This study provides evidence that agricultural activities can negatively influence earthworm communities, in which the arable land had significantly lower earthworm communities compared to forest and grassland respectively. Overall, in our study, land use type had minimal effects on SMR whereas, earthworm communities were profoundly influenced by land-use type particularly agricultural activities related to tillage. Exchangeable Ca²⁺, MC, and texture were found to be the key drivers of the variation in SMR.

Keywords: earthworm community, land use, soil biodiversity, soil microbial respiration, soil property

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Authors: D. Tedesco, G. Feletti, P. Trucco

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The present study aims to develop a Decision Support System (DSS) to support the operational decision of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) regarding the assignment of medical emergency requests to Emergency Departments (ED). In the literature, this problem is also known as “hospital selection” and concerns the definition of policies for the selection of the ED to which patients who require further treatment are transported by ambulance. The employed research methodology consists of the first phase of revision of the technical-scientific literature concerning DSSs to support the EMS management and, in particular, the hospital selection decision. From the literature analysis, it emerged that current studies are mainly focused on the EMS phases related to the ambulance service and consider a process that ends when the ambulance is available after completing a request. Therefore, all the ED-related issues are excluded and considered as part of a separate process. Indeed, the most studied hospital selection policy turned out to be proximity, thus allowing to minimize the transport time and release the ambulance in the shortest possible time. The purpose of the present study consists in developing an optimization model for assigning medical emergency requests to the EDs, considering information relating to the subsequent phases of the process, such as the case-mix, the expected service throughput times, and the operational capacity of different EDs in hospitals. To this end, a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model was created to evaluate different hospital selection policies. Therefore, the next steps of the research consisted of the development of a general simulation architecture, its implementation in the AnyLogic software and its validation on a realistic dataset. The hospital selection policy that produced the best results was the minimization of the Time To Provider (TTP), considered as the time from the beginning of the ambulance journey to the ED at the beginning of the clinical evaluation by the doctor. Finally, two approaches were further compared: a static approach, which is based on a retrospective estimate of the TTP, and a dynamic approach, which is based on a predictive estimate of the TTP determined with a constantly updated Winters model. Findings reveal that considering the minimization of TTP as a hospital selection policy raises several benefits. It allows to significantly reduce service throughput times in the ED with a minimum increase in travel time. Furthermore, an immediate view of the saturation state of the ED is produced and the case-mix present in the ED structures (i.e., the different triage codes) is considered, as different severity codes correspond to different service throughput times. Besides, the use of a predictive approach is certainly more reliable in terms of TTP estimation than a retrospective approach but entails a more difficult application. These considerations can support decision-makers in introducing different hospital selection policies to enhance EMSs performance.

Keywords: discrete event simulation, emergency medical services, forecast model, hospital selection

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Authors: Abiola O. Temitayo-Oboh, Olugbenga L. Abodunrin, Wasiu O. Adebimpe, Micheal C. Asuzu

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Introduction: Many women who are sexually active would prefer to avoid becoming pregnant but are not using any method of contraception. These women are considered to have an unmet need for contraception. In an ideal situation, all women who want to space or limit their births and are exposed to the risk of conception would use some kind of conception; in practice, however, some women fail to use contraception which put them at risk of having mistimed or unwanted births, induced abortion, or maternal death. This study, therefore, aimed to assess the determinants of unmet need for contraception among currently married women in rural and urban communities of Osun State, South-West Nigeria. Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional comparative study, which was carried out among currently married women. Three hundred and twenty respondents each were selected for the rural and urban groups from four Local Government Areas using multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a pre-tested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and focus group discussion (FGD) guide; data analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 and detailed content analysis method respectively. Statistical analysis of the difference between proportions was done by the use of the Chi-square test and T-test was used to compare the means of the continuous variables. The study also utilized descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analytical techniques to examine the effect of some variables on unmet need. Level of statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05 for all values. Results: Two hundred and ninety-six (92.5%) of the rural and 306 (95.6%) of the urban study population had heard of contraception, 365 (57.0 %) of the total respondents had good knowledge [162 (50.6 %) for rural respondents and 203 (63.4 %) for urban respondents]. This difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Five hundred and twenty-one (81.4%) respondents had a positive attitude towards contraception [243 (75.9%) in the rural and 278 (86.9%) in the urban area], and the difference was also statistically significant (p < 0.001). Only 47 (14.7%) and 59 (18.4%) of rural and urban women were current contraceptive users respectively. The total unmet need for contraception among rural women was 138 (43.1%) of which 82 (25.6%) was for spacing and 56 (17.5%), for limiting. While the total unmet need for contraception among urban women was 145 (45.3%) of which 96 (30.0%) was for spacing and 49 (15.3%) for limiting. Number of living children, knowledge of contraceptive methods, discussion with health workers about family planning, couples discussion about family planning and availability of family planning services were found to be predictors of women’s unmet need for contraception (p < 0.05). Conclusion: It is, therefore, recommended that there is need to intensify reproductive health education in bridging the knowledge gap, improving attitude and modifying practices regarding use of contraception in Nigeria. Hence, this will help to enhance the utilization of family planning services among Nigerian women.

Keywords: contraception, married women, Nigeria, rural, urban, unmet need

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