Search results for: communities of practice

Authors: Louis Nyahunda, Frans Koketso Matlakala, Jabulani Calvin Makhubele

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Climate change is among the most vital environmental aspects that the human community is endowed with. Climate as a factor of life is particularly strong to low income rural communities whose livelihoods heavily depend on rain-fed subsistence agriculture like Makonde communal lands. The purpose of social work within the context of climate change is to enhance community expertise and empower members for participation in the decision-making process through all stages of risk assessment, rescue, planning and intervention for recovery and preparedness. This paper sought to explore the role of social workers in mitigating the effects of climate change in Makonde communal lands of Zimbabwe. The objectives of the study were to identify what roles if any are social workers playing in mitigating the effects of climate change and if not, what are the impediments in that sphere. A qualitative research approach was followed within the traditional framework of descriptive and exploratory designs. Simple random, purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were used to gather twenty-five participants in the study. The Thematic Content Analysis was followed to analyse data inductively. The study found that Social Workers are not directly involved in climate change interventions in the Makonde area owing it to lack of training on climate change issues. The study recommends that climate change falls within the purview of the social work practice therefore social workers must take the lead in supporting families and communities affected by climate change following the values, knowledge base, skills and principles of the profession.

Keywords: role, social workers, mitigation, climate change, Makonde communal lands

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Authors: Abdulquadri Ade Bilau, Richard Ajayi Jimoh, Adejoh Amodu Adaji

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The increasing exposures to natural hazards have continued to severely impair on the built environment causing huge fatalities, mass damage and destruction of housing and civil infrastructure while leaving psychosocial impacts on affected communities. The 2012 flood disaster in Nigeria which affected over 7 million inhabitants in 30 of the 36 states resulted in 363 recorded fatalities with about 600,000 houses and a number of civil infrastructure damaged or destroyed. In Kogi State, over 500 thousand people were displaced in 9 out of the 21 local government affected while Ibaji and Lokoja local governments were worst hit. This study identifies the causes and 2012 flood disasters and its effect on housing and livelihood. Personal observation and questionnaire survey were instruments used in carrying out the study and data collected were analysed using descriptive statistical tool. Findings show that the 2012 flood disaster was aided by the gap in hydrological data, sudden dam failure, and inadequate drainage capacity to reduce flood risk. The study recommends that communities residing along the river banks in Lokoja and Ibaji LGAs must be adequately educated on their exposure to flood hazard and mitigation and risk reduction measures such as construction of adequate drainage channel are constructed in affected communities.

Keywords: flood, hazards, housing, risk reduction, vulnerability

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Authors: Donatella R. Fiorino, Marzia Loddo

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The practice of freeing monuments from subsequent additions crosses the entire history of conservation and it is traditionally connected to the aim of valorisation, both for cultural and educational purpose and recently even for touristic exploitation. Defence heritage has been widely interested by these cultural and technical moods from philological restoration to critic innovations. A renovated critical analysis of Italian episodes and in particular the Sardinian case of the area of San Pancrazio in Cagliari, constitute an important lesson about the limits of this practice and the uncertainty in terms of results, towards the definition of a sustainable good practice in the restoration of military architectures.

Keywords: defensive architecture, liberation, Valorisation for tourism, historical restoration

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Authors: Priyanka Sinnarkar

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The appropriation of traditional knowledge has already deprived vast indigenous communities of material benefits. One such industry in India responsible for the extensive exploitation of the indigenous communities is Bollywood or the film industry. Indigenous communities are usually marginalized and exploited, whilst the beneficiary is always the third part. Transgender culture in India dates back to 400 AD with a precise description in the Kama Sutra. Since then, with escalating evolution in governance, the community lost its glory and was criminalized until late 2014. However, the traditional knowledge and cultural practices never diminished. The formation of cults (gharanas) and peculiar folklore has remained in place. This study is intended to highlight the culture of the hijra gharanas and their contribution to intangible cultural heritage. Whilst adhering to the norms of the United Nations pertaining to traditional knowledge and indigenous communities, these papers focuses on the fact that one of the most marginalized and ostracized communities in India treasures a huge amount of rituals and practices that are appropriated by the film industry, leaving the transgender community to indulge into odd jobs and commercial sex work leading to poverty and illiteracy. A comparison between caste reservations and no reservation for this community will bring to light the lacuna in the democratic system. Also, through empirical findings, it can be inferred that a creative sector of the society is not properly exploited to its complete potential, thereby restricting a good contribution to intellectual property. It is important to state that the roots of this problem are not in modern practices. Thus an etymological analysis from mythology to the present will help understand that appropriate application of human rights in this segment will be useful to render justice to this community and thereby recognize the IP that has been succumbed since ages.

Keywords: indigenous, intellectual property, traditional knowedge, transgender

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Authors: Meinrad Haule Lembuka

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Social work profession one of its primary mission is to restore and maintain human rights where social workers recognise all humanity as equal, and so too the philosophies that have developed across the world’s regions. Ubuntu means African Humanism, where realization of human rights has been a primary role for every member of community to protect other member. Before Universal declaration of human rights, African societies had a long history of embracing human rights through Ubuntu approach model. The article used Ubuntu theory to guide the review process of existing literature since Ubuntu theory since is grounded in African cultural values and ecology, and it was thought that application of Ubuntu theory was relevant to reflect reality of Ubuntu model and indigenization of social work in African context. Results have shown that in realization of human rights, Ubuntu was practiced is termed as model, philosophy, cultural values, way of life or framework originated in sub-sahara Africa and some of remarkably practice model in several African communities such as Angola, (gimuntu), Botswana (muthu), Burkina Faso (maaya), Ghana (biako ye), Malawi (umunthu), Mali (maaya/hadama de ya), Namibia (omundu), Nigeria (mutunchi/iwa/agwa), (bantu), Sierra Leonne (maaya), South Africa (ubuntu/botho) and Tanzania (utu/obuntu/bumuntu). Collective and holistic mechanism of Ubuntu is found through an Ubuntu framework that is contributed by individual, family, community and spirit that is characterised by interconnectedness of all things and beings. Each society has its own name but the practice remained the same and realization of human rights in Africa context was centred through human dignity, Ubuntu is built under cultural values of humanism that brings implications for African social worker to integrate this indigenous model into social work practice in restoring and maintain human rights. Social workers should promote policies and practices that demonstrate respect for human life, difference, support and expansion of cultural knowledge and resources, advocate for programmes and institutions that demonstrate cultural competence and promote policies that safeguard the rights and confirm equity and social justice for all people.

Keywords: African ubuntu, indigenous practice, African humanism, African human rights, social work and human rights

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Authors: Humayun Murshed, Shibly Abdullah

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This paper focuses on sharing experience gained through a pilot project undertaken to teach an introductory accounting subject linking real-life ground realities with the fundamental concepts of accounting. In view of the practical dimensions of Accounting it has been observed that adopting a teaching approach based on practical illustrations help students to motivate and generate interests to take accounting profession as their career. The paper reports that students’ perception about accounting as ‘dreary’ has been changed to ‘interesting’ due to adoption of practice based approach in teaching. The authors argue that ‘concept mapping’ can play a vital role in facilitating practice based education in accounting which promotes a rewarding learning experience among the students. The paper considers taking into account generic skills development, student centric learning, development of innovative assessment tasks, making students aware of the potential benefits of practice based education primarily through concept mapping, and engaging them both inside and outside of the class rooms are critical for ensuring success of this approach.

Keywords: accounting education, pedagogy, practice-based education, concept mapping

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Authors: Y. Perera, M. Pathiraja

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Within the paradigm of 'Resilient Built-environments,' in order for architecture to be resilient, 'Resilience' should be identified as an essential component of the architect’s notion of creativity. In much simpler terms, 'Resilient Built-Environment' should necessarily be a by-product of the 'Resilient Architect.' The inherent influence of individualistic notions of creativity upon the practice had intensified the dichotomy between theory and practice unless the notion of 'Resilience' is identified as an integral component of the architect’s notion of creativity. Analysing the architectural position is an ideal way of understanding the architect’s notion of creativity, therefore, in exploring the notion of 'Resilience' and the 'Resilient Architect' within the Sri Lankan platform, the architectural positions of two renowned architects; Geoffrey Bawa and Valentine Gunasekara were explored and analysed. The architectural positions of both the architects asserted specific rules and methodologies adopted within the process of problem solving that had subsequently led to a traceable language / pattern within their architecture. The dominance of such rules within the practice could be detrimental to adaptation of theories / notions, such as 'Resilience' and the formation of the 'Resilient Architect', unless methodologies itself are flexible, robust, despite rigidity, or else the notion of 'Resilience' exist in the form of a methodological rule.

Keywords: architectural position, creativity, education, practice, resilience, theory

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Authors: J. Fenianos, C. Khater, D. Brouillet

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Ecological projects are often faced with reluctance from local communities hosting the project, especially when this project involves variation from preset ideas or classical practices. This paper aims at appreciating the contribution of environmental psychology through cognitive flexibility exercises to improve the acceptability of local communities in adopting more ecological rehabilitation scenarios. The study is based on a quarry site located in Bekaa- Lebanon. Four groups were considered with different levels of involvement, as follows: Group 1 is Training (T) – 50 hours of on-site training over 8 months, Group 2 is Awareness (A) – 2 hours of awareness raising session, Group 3 is Flexibility (F) – 2 hours of flexibility exercises and Group 4 is the Control (C). The results show that individuals in Group 3 (F) who followed flexibility sessions accept comparably the ecological rehabilitation option over the more classical one. This is also the case for the people in Group 1 (T) who followed a more time-demanding “on-site training”. Another experience was conducted on a second quarry site combining flexibility with awareness-raising. This research confirms that it is possible to reduce resistance to change thanks to a limited in-time intervention using cognitive flexibility. This methodological approach could be transferable to other environmental problems involving local communities and changes in preset perceptions.

Keywords: acceptability, ecological restoration, environmental psychology, Lebanon, local communities, resistance to change

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Authors: Nkeiruka Elsie Ezomike, Chinwe L. Onyekonwu, Anthony N. Ikefuna, Bede C. Ibe

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Superficial fungal infections (SFIs) are one of the common cutaneous infections that affect children worldwide. They may lead to school absenteeism or school drop-out and hence setback in the education of the child. Community-based studies in any locality are good reflections of the health conditions within that area. There is a dearth of information in the literature about SFI among primary school children in Enugu. This study aimed to determine the clinicomycological pattern of SFIs among primary school children in rural and urban communities in Enugu. This was a comparative descriptive cross-sectional study among primary school children in Awgu (rural) and Enugu North (urban) Local Government Areas (LGAs). Subjects' selection was made over 6 months using a multi-stage sampling method. Information such as age, sex, parental education, and occupation were collected using questionnaires. Socioeconomic classes of the children were determined using the classification proposed by Oyedeji et al. The samples were collected from subjects with SFIs. Potassium hydroxide tests were done on the samples. The samples that tested positive were cultured for SFI by inoculating onto Sabouraud's dextrose chloramphenicol actidione agar. The characteristics of the isolates were identified according to their morphological features using Mycology Online, Atlas 2000, and Mycology Review 2003. Equal numbers of children were recruited from the two LGAs. A total of 1662 pupils were studied. The mean ages of the study subjects were 9.03 ± 2.10years in rural and 10.46 ± 2.33years in urban communities. The male to female ratio was 1.6:1 in rural and 1:1.1 in urban communities. The personal hygiene of the children was significantly related to the presence of SFIs. The overall prevalence of SFIs among the study participants was 45%. In the rural, the prevalence was 29.6%, and in the urban prevalence was 60.4%. The types of SFIs were tinea capitis (the commonest), tinea corporis, pityriasis Versicolor, tinea unguium, and tinea manuum with prevalence rates lower in rural than urban communities. The clinical patterns were gray patch and black dot type of non-inflammatory tinea capitis, kerion, tinea corporis with trunk and limb distributions, and pityriasis Versicolor with face, trunk and limb distributions. Gray patch was the most frequent pattern of SFI seen in rural and urban communities. Black dot type was more frequent in rural than urban communities. SFIs were frequent among children aged 5 to 8years in rural and 9 to 12 years in urban communities. SFIs were commoner in males in the rural, whereas female dominance was observed in the urban. SFIs were more in children from low social class and those with poor hygiene. Trichophyton tonsurans and Trichophyton soudanese were the common mycological isolates in rural and urban communities, respectively. In conclusion, SFIs were less prevalent in rural than in urban communities. Trichophyton species were the most common fungal isolates in the communities. Health education of mothers and their children on SFI and good personal hygiene will reduce the incidence of SFIs.

Keywords: clinicomycological pattern, communities, primary school children, superficial fungal infections

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Authors: Rocio Herrero Romero, Lucie Cluver, James Hall, Janina Steinert

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Educational delay and non-completion are major policy concerns in South Africa. However, little research has focused on predictors for educational delay amongst adolescents in disadvantaged areas. This study has two aims: first, to use data integration approaches to compare the educational delay of 599 adolescents aged 16 to 18 from disadvantaged communities to national and provincial representative estimates in South Africa. Second, the paper also explores predictors for educational delay by comparing adolescents out of school (n=64) and at least one year behind (n=380), with adolescents in the age-appropriate grade or higher (n=155). Multinomial logistic regression models using self-report and administrative data were applied to look for significant associations of risk and protective factors. Significant risk factors for being behind (rather than in age-appropriate grade) were: male gender, past grade repetition, rural location and larger school size. Risk factors for being out of school (rather than in the age-appropriate grade) were: past grade repetition, having experienced problems concentrating at school, household poverty, and food insecurity. Significant protective factors for being in the age-appropriate grade (rather than out of school) were: living with biological parents or grandparents and access to school counselling. Attending school in wealthier communities was a significant protective factor for being in the age-appropriate grade (rather than behind). Our results suggest that both personal and contextual factors –family and school- predicted educational delay. This study provides new evidence to the significant effects of personal, family, and school characteristics on the educational outcomes of adolescents from disadvantaged communities in South Africa. This is the first longitudinal and quantitative study to systematically investigate risk and protective factors for post-compulsory educational outcomes amongst South African adolescents living in disadvantaged communities.

Keywords: disadvantaged communities, quantitative analysis, school delay, South Africa

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Authors: Paulinah Oyindamola Fasanmi, Matthew Omoniyi Isinkaye

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In this study, the activity concentration of ²²²Rn in groundwater samples collected from gold and kaolin mining communities within the Ife-Ilesha schist belt, southwestern Nigeria, with their corresponding annual effective doses have been determined using the Durridge RAD-7, radon-in-water detector. The mean concentration of ²²²Rn in all the groundwater samples was 13.83 Bql-¹. In borehole water, ²²²Rn had a mean value of 20.68 Bql-¹, while it had a mean value of 11.67 Bql-¹ in well water samples. The mean activity concentration of radon obtained from the gold mining communities ranged from 1.6 Bql-¹ from Igun town to 4.8 Bql-¹ from Ilesha town. A higher mean value of 41.8 Bql-¹ was, however, obtained from Ijero, which is the kaolin mining community. The mean annual effective dose due to ingestion and inhalation of radon from groundwater samples was obtained to be 35.35 μSvyr-¹ and 34.86 nSvyr-¹, respectively. The mean annual ingestion dose estimated for well water samples was 29.90 μSvyr-¹, while 52.85 μSvyr-¹ was obtained for borehole water samples. On the other hand, the mean annual inhalation dose for well water was 29.49 nSvyr-¹, while for borehole water, 52.13 nSvyr-¹ was obtained. The mean annual effective dose due to ingestion of radon in groundwater from the gold mining communities ranged from 4.10 μSvyr-¹ from Igun to 13.1 μSvyr-¹ from Ilesha, while a mean value of 106.7 μSvyr-¹ was obtained from Ijero kaolin mining community. For inhalation, the mean value varied from 4.0 nSvyr-¹ from Igun to 12.9 nSvyr-¹ from Ilesha, while 105.2 nSvyr-¹ was obtained from the kaolin mining community. The mean annual effective dose due to ingestion and inhalation is lower than the reference level of 100 μSvyr-¹ recommended by World Health Organization except for values obtained from Ijero kaolin mining community, which exceeded the reference levels. It has been concluded that as far as radon-related health risks are concerned, groundwater from gold mining communities is generally safe, while groundwater from kaolin mining communities needs mitigation and monitoring. It has been discovered that Kaolin mining impacts groundwater with ²²²Rn than gold mining. Also, the radon level in borehole water exceeds its level in well water.

Keywords: 222Rn, Groundwater, Radioactivity, Annual Effective Dose, Mining.

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Authors: Kwasi Sarfo, Bernard Okoampah Otu

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The 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana recognises the authority and roles of traditional leaders and considers them as being entrusted with fiduciary responsibility over land in their respective territories. The new land act, Act 1036 of 2020, in buttressing the fiduciary role of traditional leaders in land matters, inserted the traditional leaders’ accountability clause. Many traditional leaders have expressed their misgivings about the insertion of this clause. Therefore, there appears to be a misunderstanding of the concept of fiduciary in land management in Ghana. The objective of this study is to examine the concept of fiduciary in respect of allodial rights holders in land management and administration and how this concept is perceived and applied by traditional leaders. The study seeks to provide insights into the discrepancy between fiduciary theory and its practical implementation in Ghana. The study is based on a qualitative empirical research approach and adopts in-depth interviews as a primary method of data collection. The study also adopts the theory of New Institutionalism of social anthropology in analysing and interpreting the findings. The data for this study was collected over a period of one year, from July 2022 to July 2023, as part of one of the author's PhD dissertation. The collected data were carefully analysed using the principles of thematic analysis, identifying key themes and patterns. This study does not seek to pursue the discussions from a legal standpoint but from a social anthropological perspective and argues that the concept of fiduciary in theory is far different from what pertains in practice and that traditional leaders’ assumptions and application of this concept contribute to the alienation of customary and communal land at the expense of their subjects. This study deepens our understanding of the continuous expropriation of communal landholders in many rural communities in Africa in the era of global land grabbing, which worsens their poverty levels. It also explains further the theory of new institutionalism of social anthropology by highlighting how the theory manifests in practice in the case of Ghana.

Keywords: fiduciary, customary land tenure, allodial rights, land alienation, communal land, Ghana

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Authors: Marlon B. Espedillon

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This qualitative study examines practice teaching as an important component of teacher education and its entanglement with the teacher quality discourse. How the key actors -student teachers, supervising instructors, cooperating teachers, and school principals- construe teacher quality is essential in understanding how the student teachers articulate their voices and challenge the cultural myths in teacher education. The ethnographic method of research was used to provide an ecological picture of field experiences. Three cultural myths were uncovered based on the thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, observations, and documents.

Keywords: teacher quality, practice teaching, student teacher agency, cultural myths

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Authors: Ping-Hung Chen, Han-Liang Lin

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Taiwan has formed diverse settlement patterns in different time and space backgrounds. Various socio-network links are created between individuals, families, communities, and societies, and different living cultures are also derived. But rapid urbanization and social structural change have caused the creation of densely-packed assembly housing complexes and made neighborhood community upward developed. This, among others, seemed to have affected neighborhood relationship and also created social problems. To understand the complex relations and socio-spatial structure of the community, it is important to use mixed methods. This research employs the theory of space syntax to analyze the layout and structural indicators of the selected communities in Tainan city. On the other hand, this research does the survey about residents' interactions and the sense of community by questionnaire of the selected communities. Then the mean values of the syntax measures from each community were correlated with the results of the questionnaire using a Pearson correlation to examine how elements in physical design affect the sense of community and neighborhood relationship. In Taiwan, most urban morphology research methods are qualitative study. This paper tries to use space syntax to find out the correlation between the community layout and the neighborhood relationship. The result of this study could be used in future studies or improve the quality of residential communities in Taiwan.

Keywords: community layout, neighborhood relationship, space syntax, mixed-method

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Authors: Amro Issam Hamed Attia Ramadan, Marco Zappatore, Pasquale Balena, Antonella Longo

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Considering the energetic crisis that is hitting Europe, it becomes more and more necessary to change the energy policies to depend less on fossil fuels and replace them with energy from renewable sources. This has triggered the urge to use clean energy not only to satisfy energy needs and fulfill the required consumption but also to decrease the danger of climatic changes due to harmful emissions. Many countries have already started creating energetic communities based on renewable energy sources. The first step to understanding energy needs in any place is to perfectly know the consumption. In this work, we aim to estimate electricity consumption for a municipality that makes up part of a rural area located in southern Italy using forecast models that allow for the estimation of electricity consumption for the next ten years, and we then apply the same model to the province where the municipality is located and estimate the future consumption for the same period to examine whether it is possible to start from the municipality level to reach the province level when creating energy communities.

Keywords: ARIMA, electricity consumption, forecasting models, time series

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Authors: Crispin Rakibu Mbamba

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Twenty-two years after the adoption of the United Nation Trafficking Protocol, evidence suggest that child trafficking continues to rise. Community level factors, like poverty which creates the conditions for children’s vulnerability is key to the rise in trafficking cases in Ghana. Albeit, growing evidence suggestthat despite the vulnerabilities, communities have the capacity to prevent and address child trafficking issues. This study contributes to this positive agenda by exploring the ways in which communities (and the key actors) in Ghana contribute to child trafficking interventions.The study objective is explored through in-depth interviews with practitioners (including social workers) from an organization working in trafficking hotspots in Ghana. Interviews wereanalyzed thematically with the help of HyperRESEARCH software. From the in-depth interviews, three themes were identified as the ways in which communities are involved in child trafficking interventions: 1) engagement of community leaders, 2) community-led anti-trafficking committees and 3) knowledge about trafficking. Albeit the cultural differences, evidence on the instrumental role of community chiefs and leaders provide important learning on how to harness trafficking intervention measures and ensure better child protection practices. Based on the findings, we recommend the need to intensify trafficking awareness campaigns in rural communities where education is lacking to contribute to United Nations (UN) promoting Just, Peaceful and Inclusive societies’ mandate.

Keywords: child trafficking, community interventions, knowledge on trafficking, human trafficking intervention

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Authors: Pooja Ichplani, Archna Kumar, Jessica Mayberry

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Community Video (CV) is a participatory medium that has immense potential to strengthen community communications and amplify the voice of people for their empowerment. By building capacities especially of marginalized community groups and providing a platform to freely voice their ideas, CV endeavours to bring about shifts towards more participatory, bottom up development processes and greater power in the hands of the people, especially the disadvantaged. In various parts of the world, among marginalized community groups, community video initiatives have become instrumental in facilitating micro-level, yet significant changes in communities. Video Volunteers (VV) is an organization that promotes community media and works towards providing disadvantaged communities with journalistic, critical thinking and creative skills they need for catalysing change in their communities. Working since 2002, VV has evolved a unique community media model fostering locally-owned and managed media production, as well as building people’s capacities to articulate and share their perspectives on the issues that matter to them – on a local and a global scale. Further, by integrating a livelihood aspect within its model, VV has actively involved people from poor marginalized communities and provided them a new tool for serving their communities whilst keeping their identities intact. This paper, based on a qualitative research, seeks to map the range of VV impacts in communities and provide an in-depth analysis of factors contributing to VV impacting change in communities. Study tools included content analysis of a longitudinal sample of impact videos produced, narratives of community correspondents using the Most Significant Change Technique (MSCT) and interviews with key informants. Using a multi-fold analysis, the paper seeks to gain holistic insights. At the first level, the paper profiles the Community Correspondents (CCs), spearheading change, and maps their personal and social context and their perceptions about VV in their personal lives. Secondly, at an organizational level, the paper maps the significance of impacts brought about in the CCs communities and their association, challenges and achievements while working with VV. Lastly, at the community level, it consists of analysis of the nature of impacts achieved and aspects influencing the same. Finally, the study critiques the functioning of Video Volunteers as a community media initiative using the tipping point theory emphasizing on the power of context that is constituted by their socio-cultural environment. It concludes how empowerment of its Community Correspondents, multifarious activities during pre and post video production, and other innovative mechanisms have enabled in center staging issues of marginalized communities and snowballing processes of change in communities.

Keywords: community media, empowerment, participatory communication, social change

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Authors: Anomi Bearden, Brooke Goodyear, Alicia Khan

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This repeated-measures experiment explored the effects of six weeks of gratitude practice on college students (N = 67) on relationship satisfaction and perceived superiority. Replicating previous research on gratitude practice, it was hypothesized that after consistent gratitude practice, participants in the experimental group (n = 32) would feel increased levels of relationship satisfaction compared to the control group (n = 35). Of particular interest was whether the level of perceived superiority would moderate the effect of gratitude practice on relationship satisfaction. The gratitude group evidenced significantly higher appreciation and marginally higher relationship satisfaction at post-test than the control group (both groups being equal at pre-test). Significant enhancements in gratitude, satisfaction, and feeling both appreciative and appreciated were found in the gratitude group, as well as significant enhancements in gratitude, satisfaction, and feeling appreciated in the control group. Appreciation for one’s partner was the only measure that improved in the gratitude group and not the control group from pre-test to post-test. Perceived superiority did not change significantly from pre-test to post-test in either group, supporting the prevalence and stability of this bias within people’s overall perceptions of their relationships.

Keywords: gratitude, relationship satisfaction, perceived superiority, partner appreciation

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Authors: Genevieve Jorolan-Quintero

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After the devastation caused by typhoon Haiyan in the southeastern part of the Philippines in 2012, there was this intense need among the indigenous communities to ‘reconcile’ with nature. The belief that the deluge, which claimed thousands of lives, was caused by the destruction of the environment because of humanities’ greed and carelessness was widespread and strong. The rift had to be mended. Nature had to be appeased. For this, the balyan (priestess) was called in to perform a ritual. Only she can communicate with the spirits. The communities depend on her spiritual intervention as she alone has the power to invoke the spirits of nature. Among the indigenous people, the balyan is most often also a magdadawot (bard) who possesses the knowledge especially about the folk epics and the skill to chant them. The balyan is the communities’ repository of knowledge. When one passes away, a whole library of tribal knowledge and wisdom is lost. The oral traditions embody the life values, ideals, customs, and even the history of the First Nations People. These include the myths, epics, legends, riddles, and songs. The indigenous system is patriarchal, but is actually indirectly matriarchal reflecting the authority of the woman. Disputes within the community are heard and tried by the Council of Elders. However, the balyan is often consulted for her opinion. Her advice is deemed significant and most often necessary. These are three instances that highlight the significant role of the balyan among the indigenous communities in the Philippines, especially among the Mandaya tribe who live in the southern region of the country. This paper highlights the unique kind of leadership of the Mandaya woman – as priestess and bard - and her impact on the lives of her people.

Keywords: balyan, bard, magdadawot, mandaya

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Authors: Briante Barretto, Haley Carreon, Anesha-Maelene Ignacio

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This research paper explores the dynamic process of cultural resilience within the context of the modern tourism of two traditional island communities (Bali, Indonesia and Guam, Micronesia). It asks the question: How do indigenous people hold on to their foundational values that define their culture while moving forward in the modern world? Both Bali and Guam serve as famous destinations for tourists from all over the world, with millions of visitors on an annual basis. Both are continually being shaped in profound ways by the forces of modernity through globalization. And both are demonstrating cultural resilience while striving to find creative ways to sustain, preserve and strengthen their values and traditions within the context of a thriving modern tourist economy. This research paper, drawing on ethnographic methodologies, and in particular participant observation and in-depth interviews, explores the many challenges both communities face and the strategies and approaches they are learning to employ that help promote sustainable tourism while contributing to cultural preservation. Drawing on the insights gained from field work in both island communities, as well as the growing literature in this field study, the paper posits important lessons that can guide and inform indigenous communities that are being drawn into the global tourism market. One powerful idea emerges in the research and one that seems to guide and shape tourism policy both indigenous communities - that this current generation should be thought of as the ancestors of future generations, and thus they have a weighty responsibility to continue to learn and strive to sustain and preserve their cultures and traditions, their natural environments, and spiritual foundations for the future.

Keywords: bali, culture, environment, guam, tourism, values

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Authors: Martin Mundo-Molina

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In Mexico, there are many small rural communities with serious water supply deficiencies. In Chiapas, Mexico, there are 19,972 poor rural communities, 15,712 of which have fewer than 100 inhabitants. The lack of a constant water supply is most severe in the highlands of Chiapas where the population is made up mainly of indigenous groups. The communities are on mountainous terrain with a widely dispersed population. These characteristics combine to make the provision of public utilities, such as water, electricity and sewerage, difficult with conventional means. The introduction of alternative, low-cost technologies represents means of supplying water such as through fog and rain catchment with zero greenhouse emissions. In this paper is presented the rainwater harvesting system (RWS) constructed in Yalentay, Chiapas Mexico. The RWS is able to store 1.2 M liters of water to provide drinking water to small rural indigenous communities of 500 people in the drought stage. Inside the system of rainwater harvesting there isn't photosynthesis in order to conserve water for long periods. The natural filters of the system of rainwater harvesting guarantee the drinking water for using to the community. The combination of potability and low cost makes rain collection a viable alternative for rural areas, weather permitting. The Mexican Institute of Water Technology and Chiapas University constructed a rainwater harvesting system in Yalentay Chiapas, it consists of four parts: 1. Roof of aluminum, for collecting rainwater, 2. Underground-cistern, divided in two tanks, 3. Filters, to improve the water quality and 4. The system of rainwater harvesting dignified the lives of people in Yalentay, saves energy, prevents the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, conserves natural resources such as water and air.

Keywords: appropriate technologies, climate change, greenhouse gases, rainwater harvesting

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Authors: Gianni Jacucci

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Alfred Schutz (1932), at the very turning towards phenomenology, of the attention for the social sciences, stated that successful communication of meanings requires the sharing of “sedimenta-tions “ of previous meanings. Börje Langefors (1966), at the very beginning of the social studies of information systems, stated that a common professional basis is required for a correct sharing of meanings, e. g., “standardised accounting data among accountants”. Harold Garfinkel (1967) at the very beginning of ethnomethodology, stated that the accounting of social events must be carried out in the same language used by the actors of those events in managing their practice. Community of practice: we advocate professional descriptions of community of practice members to scientifically determine the level of child psycho social emotional development. Our approach consists of an application to Human Sciences of Husserl’s Phenomenological Philosophy using a method reminder of Giorgi’s DPM in Psychology. Husserl’s requirement of "Epoché," which in-volves eliminating prejudices from the minds of observers, is met through "concept cleaning," achieved by consistently sharing disciplinary concepts within their community of practice. Mean-while, the absence of subjective bias is ensured by the meticulous attention to detail in their pro-fessional expertise.

Keywords: scientific rigour, descriptive phenomenological method, sedimentation of meanings, community of practice

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Authors: Suliman Mohammed Alghanem

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Ecological and botanical surveys were conducted on Rawdhat Salasil, Al-Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. The survey also includes the study of the plant communities in the study area by sampling the associated species in each community using the List Count Quadrant method to study the density, frequency, and plant cover. The present study has shown an account of the under-mentioned five different communities: Haloxylonpersicum community is a dominant perennial shrub with an important value of 47.88%. This community is represented by 20 associated species. The chemical analysis of the soil of this habitat exhibits more alkalinity with low salinity. Tamarixnilotica communityis a perennial shrub with an important value of 60.48%. This community is represented by 14 associated species. The chemical analysis of the soil of this habitat demonstrates richness in alkalis with high salinity.Salsolaimbricata communityis a perennial herb with an important value of 60.18%. This community is represented by 17 associated species. The chemical analysis of the soil of this habitat exhibits richness in alkalis with low salinity.Panicumturgidum is a perennial herb with an important value of 65.1%. This community is represented by 11 associated species. The chemical analysis of the soil of this habitat exhibits richness in alkalis and the absence of salinity. Pulicariaundulata community is predominantly an annual shrub with an important value of 91.79%. This community is represented by 16 species. The chemical analysis of the soil of this habitat exhibits richness in alkalis, and the absence of salinity.

Keywords: rangelands, plant communities, Rawdhat Salasil, edaphic factors

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Authors: Diyaolu Babajide Olufemi, Oyerinde Oyewole Olusesan

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This study examined the effect of sex education training programs on the knowledge and practice of sexual risk behavior among secondary school adolescents in Ibadan North Local Government area of Oyo State. A total of 105 students were sampled from two schools in the Local Government area. Seventy students (70) constituted the experimental group while thirty-five (35) constituted the control group. Pretest-Posttest control group quasi-experimental design was adopted. A self-developed questionnaire was used to test participants’ knowledge and practice of sexual risk behavior before and after the training (α=.62, .82 and .74). Analysis indicated a significant effect of sex education training on participants’ knowledge and practice of sexual risk behavior, a significant gender difference in knowledge of sexual risk behavior but no significant age and gender difference in the practice of sexual risk behavior. It was thus concluded that sex education should be taught in schools and emphasized at homes with no age or gender restrictions.

Keywords: early adolescent, health risk, sexual risk behavior, sex education

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Authors: Kenneth Nhundu, Leocadia Zhou, Farhad Aghdasi, Voster Muchenje

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Climate change poses increased risks to rural communities that rely on natural resources, such as forests, cropland and rangeland, waterways, and open spaces Because of their connection to the land and the potential for climate change to impact natural resources and disrupt ecosystems and seasons, rural livelihoods and well-being are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change. Climate change has the potential to affect the environment in a number of ways that place increased stress on everyone, but disproportionately on the most vulnerable populations, including the young, the old, those with chronic illness, and the poor. The communities in the study area are predominantly rural, resource-based and are generally surrounded by public or private lands that are dominated by natural resources, including forests, rangelands, and agriculture. The livelihoods of these communities are tied to natural resources. Therefore, targeted strategies to cope will be required. This paper assessed the household socio-economic characteristics and their implications to household vulnerability to climate change impacts in the rural Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The results indicate that the rural communities are climate-vulnerable populations as they have a large proportion of people who are less economically or physically capable of adapting to climate change. The study therefore recommends that at each level, the needs, knowledge, and voices of vulnerable populations, including indigenous peoples and resource-based communities, deserve consideration and incorporation so that climate change policy (1) ensures that all people are supported and able to act, (2) provides as robust a strategy as possible to address a rapidly changing environment, and (3) enhances equity and justice.

Keywords: climate change, vulnerable, socio-economic, livelihoods

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Authors: Yang Liandong

Abstract:

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: Chutikarn Sriwiboon, Suwaree Yordchim

Abstract:

Benjarong handicraft product is one of the most important handicraft products from Thailand. It involves the management of traditional wisdom of arts and Thai culture. This paper drew upon data collection from local communities by using an in-depth interview technique which was conducted in Thailand during summer of 2014. The survey was structured primarily to obtain local wisdom and concerns toward their career development. This research paper was a qualitative research conducted by focus groups with a total of 51 cooperative women and occupational groups around Thailand which produced the Benjarong products. The data were significantly collected from many sources and many communities, which totaled 24,430 handicraft products, in which the 668 different patterns of Benjarong products were produced by 51 local community network groups in Thailand. The findings revealed that after applying the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy, there was a significantly positive change in their career development and the process of knowledge management enables local community to enhance their personal development and career.

Keywords: Benjarong, career development, community, handicraft

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Authors: Sukjai Charoensuk, Penphan Pitaksongkram, Michael Christopher

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Preliminary evidences supported the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing symptoms associated with a variety of medical and psychological conditions. However, the measurements of mindfulness are questionable since they have not been developed based-on Buddhist experiences. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe meaning and cultivating factors of mindfulness as experienced by Thai females who practice Dhamma. Participants were purposively selected to include 2 groups of Thai females who practice Dhamma. The first group consisted of 6 female Buddhist monks, and the second group consisted of 7 female who practice Dhamma without ordaining. Data were collected using in-depth interview. The instruments used were demographic data questionnaire and guideline for in-depth interview developed by researchers. Content analysis was employed to analyze the data. The results revealed that Thai women who practice Dhamma described their experience in 2 themes, which were meaning and cultivating factors of mindfulness. The meaning composed of 4 categories; 1) Being Present, 2) Self-awareness, 3) Contemplation, and 4) Neutral. The cultivating factors of mindfulness composed of 2 categories; In-personal factors and Ex-personal factors. The In-personal cultivating factors included 4 sub-categories; Faith and Love, the Five Precepts, Sound body, and Practice. The Ex-personal cultivating factors included 2 sub-categories; Serenity, and Learning. These findings increase understanding about meaning of mindfulness and its cultivating factors. These could be used as a guideline to promote mental health and develop nursing interventions using mindfulness based, as well as, develop the instrument for assessing mindfulness in Thai context.

Keywords: cultivating factor, meaning of mindfulness, practice Dhamma, Thai women

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Authors: Aida Raissi, Holly Wong, Elma Raissi

Abstract:

Background: Connection is a primal need established during infancy and reiterated in many forms of social interaction. When we make connections with others we experience growth, continuity, and gain an understanding of the other’s sense of the world. Feeling socially connected to another individual or community has been shown to increase self-esteem, happiness, and meaning. However, feeling connected to another individual or a specific community may also decrease the motivation to seek connection with more distant individuals or communities. Furthermore, we allow ourselves to interact with those in other communities as apart from us, and in some cases, to dehumanize their existence. Objective: The aim of this project is to bridge the gap between different communities, specifically religious communities and foster feelings of connection as one with all members through the medium of art, specifically photography. Method: Members of all major faiths including Agnosticism, Atheism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, Ismaili, Jewish, Ja’far Shia, Sunni will be interviewed. Participants will be asked to partake in a brief interview of two parts: A. Answering two questions: 1. What are you most looking forward to in the future, and why? 2. What does religion mean to you? B. Having their picture taken. Our questions aim to elicit individual stories that together, show that we have more in common, than differences, despite our faiths. With the completion of the interviews, the responses will be compiled together and major themes will be identified. Impact: The resulting stories and corresponding individual pictures provide an excellent opportunity to encourage and inspire people to get to know those of other beliefs and values, participate in each other’s communities and develop a sense of oneness within our shared humanity. Knowledge translation: The personal stories, and the common themes they illustrate, will be shared with various audiences, including the general public, academia and targeted groups such as students. This will be done through displaying the photographs and responses at art galleries, conferences, in print and online.

Keywords: social justice, religion, connection, understanding, community

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Authors: Kenneth O. Otasowie, Matthew Ikuabe, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ayodeji Oke

Abstract:

The quantity surveying (QS) profession is one of the professions in the construction industry, and it is saddled with the responsibility of measuring the number of materials as well as the workmanship required to get work done in the industry. This responsibility is vital to the success of a construction project as it determines if a project will be completed on time, within budget, and up to the required standard. However, the practice has been criticised severally for failure to accurately execute her responsibility. The need to reduce errors, inaccuracies and omissions has made the adoption of modern technologies such as building information modeling (BIM) inevitable in its practice. Nevertheless, there are barriers to the adoption of BIM in QS practice in South Africa (SA). Thus, this study aims to investigate these barriers. A survey design was adopted. A total number of one hundred and fifteen (115) questionnaires were administered to quantity surveyors in Guateng Province, SA, and ninety (90) were returned and found suitable for analysis. Collected data were analysed using percentage, mean item score, standard deviation, one-sample t-test, and Kruskal-Wallis. The findings show that lack of BIM expertise, lack of government enforcement, resistance to change, and no client demand for BIM are the most significant barriers to the adoption of BIM in QS practice. As a result, this study recommends that trainings on BIM technology be prioritised, and government must take the lead in BIM adoption in the country, particularly in public projects.

Keywords: barriers, BIM, quantity surveying practice, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 90