Search results for: society and culture

Authors: Yuxuan Liu, Jianli Hao, Ruoyu Zhang, Lin Lin, Nelsen Andreco Muljadi, Yu Song, Guobin Gong

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With the increased municipal waste of China, household waste management (HWM) has become a key issue for sustainable development. In this study, an online survey questionnaire was conducted with the aim of assessing the current attitudes and behaviors of the households in China towards waste separationand recycling practices. Related influential factors are also determined within the context of the theory of planned behavior and PEST analysis. The survey received a total of 551 valid respondents. Results showed that the sample has an overall positive attitudes and behavior toward participating in HWM, but only 16.3% of themregularly segregate their waste. Society and policy are also found to be the two most impactful factors.

Keywords: householde waste management, theory of planned behavior, attitude, behavior

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Authors: Mutiat Temitayo James, Oladapo Olakunle James, Kabiru Oyetunde

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This paper examines occupational segregation by sex and sought to justify a case for its elimination or not. In doing this, we found that occupations are categorised among men and women in all parts of the world and this, in turn, affects the labour force participation rate of men and women in different sectors and aspects of the labour market. Data from the previous study shows that women are the most discriminated against as regards occupational segregation as many high profile jobs are regarded as men’s job and women relegated to the background. This has brought about low productivity for women and inequity in the labour market which can hinder the productivity levels of participants. It was however recommended that occupational segregation should be eliminated totally so that men and women alike can choose occupations of their choice irrespective of what gender the society ascribe to such occupation.

Keywords: occupation, gender, gender equality, labour market, segregation, discrimination

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Authors: Ammara Jabeen

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This survey report aims to find the interventions and their effectiveness that are being used globally as well as in Pakistan to treat autistic kids. ‘Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a state associated with brain development that shows ‘how a person perceives and socializes with others, causing problems in social interaction and communication’. Besides these problems, these children suffer from restricted and repetitive behaviors too. The term ‘Spectrum’ in Autism Spectrum Disorder refers to the wide range of symptoms and severity. The main cause of this Autism Spectrum Disorder is not known yet, but the research showed that genetics and environmental factors play important roles. In this survey report, after a literature review, some of the possible solutions are suggested based on the most common problems that these children are currently facing in their daily lives. Based on this report, we are able to overcome the lack of the resources (e.g. language, cost, training etc.) that mostly exist in Pakistani culture.

Keywords: autism, interventions, spectrum, disorder

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Authors: Boon Lee

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Research publication is an essential output of universities because it not only promotes university recognition, it also receives government funding. The history of university research culture has been one of ‘publish or perish’ and universities have consistently encouraged their academics and researchers to produce research articles in reputable journals in order to maintain a level of competitiveness. In turn, the United Kingdom (UK) government funding is determined by the number and quality of research publications. This paper aims to investigate on whether more government funding leads to more quality papers. To that end, the paper employs a Network DEA model to evaluate the UK higher education performance over a period. Sources of efficiency are also determined via second stage regression analysis.

Keywords: efficiency, higher education, network data envelopment analysis, universities

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Authors: Michelle D. Hand, Michelle L. Kaiser

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African refugees are among the fastest-growing populations in the United States and nearly half of these refugees come from Somalia, many of whom are Somali Bantus, the most marginalized group in Somali society. Yet limited research is available on Somali Bantu refugees. In this paper, Empowerment Theory is used to guide an in-depth exploration of the potential benefits of using community kitchen gardens to increase community food security among Somali Bantu refugees. In addition, recommendations for future research, policy and practice are offered following existing scholarly and grey source literature guidelines as informed by an Empowerment perspective to best meet the needs of this under-researched and underserved yet growing population.

Keywords: community kitchen gardens, food insecurity, refugees, Somali Bantu

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Authors: Yu Yaochuan

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This paper explores the pivotal role of public opinion during the Xinhai Revolution. Examining the dynamics of public sentiment in Chinese society in 1911 shows how information dissemination, ideological propaganda, and public mobilization worked together to drive the revolution to success. The study highlights the indispensable role of revolutionary newspapers, assemblies, and speeches in spreading revolutionary ideas, mobilizing the public, and shaping policy perceptions. By analyzing these historical events, the paper provides a deeper insight into the Xinhai Revolution and offers theoretical and empirical support for understanding the application of public opinion in modern social and political transformations.

Keywords: Xinhai Revolution, public opinion, social mobilization, information dissemination, ideology, political transformation

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Authors: P. T. Collett, M. Kershaw

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Introduction: The discussion regarding which method of anesthesia provides better results for lower limb arthroplasty is a continuing debate. Multiple meta-analysis has been performed with no clear consensus. The current recommendation is to use neuraxial anesthesia for lower limb arthroplasty; however, the evidence to support this decision is weak. The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) society has recommended, either technique can be used as part of a multimodal anesthetic regimen. A local study was performed to see if the current anesthetic practice correlates with the current recommendations and to evaluate the efficacy of the different techniques utilized. Method: 90 patients who underwent total hip or total knee replacements at Nevill Hall Hospital between February 2019 to July 2019 were reviewed. Data collected included the anesthetic technique, day one opiate use, pain score, and length of stay. The data was collected from anesthetic charts, and the pain team follows up forms. Analysis: The average of patients undergoing lower limb arthroplasty was 70. Of those 83% (n=75) received a spinal anaesthetic and 17% (n=15) received a general anaesthetic. For patients undergoing knee replacement under general anesthetic the average day, one pain score was 2.29 and 1.94 if a spinal anesthetic was performed. For hip replacements, the scores were 1.87 and 1.8, respectively. There was no statistical significance between these scores. Day 1 opiate usage was significantly higher in knee replacement patients who were given a general anesthetic (45.7mg IV morphine equivalent) vs. those who were operated on under spinal anesthetic (19.7mg). This difference was not noticeable in hip replacement patients. There was no significant difference in length of stay between the two anesthetic techniques. Discussion: There was no significant difference in the day one pain score between the patients who received a general or spinal anesthetic for either knee or hip replacements. The higher pain scores in the knee replacement group overall are consistent with this being a more painful procedure. This is a small patient population, which means any difference between the two groups is unlikely to be representative of a larger population. The pain scale has 4 points, which means it is difficult to identify a significant difference between pain scores. Conclusion: There is currently little standardization between the different anesthetic approaches utilized in Nevill Hall Hospital. This is likely due to the lack of adherence to a standardized anesthetic regimen. In accordance with ERAS recommends a standard anesthetic protocol is a core component. The results of this study and the guidance from the ERAS society will support the implementation of a new health board wide ERAS protocol.

Keywords: anaesthesia, orthopaedics, intensive care, patient centered decision making, treatment escalation

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Authors: Xiaochen Mu

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Whether in common law countries that adhere to the "commercial copyright theory" or in civil law countries that center around "author's rights," the standards for judging originality have undergone continuous adjustments in response to the development of information technology. The adherence to originality standards does not arbitrarily dictate that all types of works be judged according to a single standard of originality, nor does it rigidly ignore the changes in creative methods and dissemination models brought about by technology. Adjustments and interpretations should be allowed based on the different forms of expression of works. Appropriate adjustments and interpretations are our response to technological advancements. However, what should be upheld are the principles and bottom lines of these adjustments and interpretations, namely the legislative intent and purpose of copyright law, which are to encourage the creation and dissemination of outstanding cultural works and to promote the flourishing of culture.

Keywords: generative artificial intelligence, originality, works, copyright

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Authors: Chetna Jaswal, Nishi Srivastava, Ahammedul Kabeer AP, Puja Prasad

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We are a culture of mass media consumers and cinema as its integral part has high visibility and potential influence on public attitude towards disability which maintains no sociocultural boundaries but experiences substantial social marginalization. Given the lack of awareness and direct experience with disability, on-screen or film representations can give powerful and memorable definitions for the public that can contribute to framing the perception and attitude change. Social representation refers to common ways of thinking, conceiving about and evaluating social reality. It is a product of collective cognition, common sense and thought system. This study aims at analyzing the representations and narratives of disability in Indian cinema and Hollywood with the help of a conceptual understanding of social representation and its theoretical framework.

Keywords: disability, social representation, mainstream cinema, diversity

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Authors: Jahnu Bharadwaj

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In the third decade of the 19th century, the political landscape of the Brahmaputra valley changed at many levels. The establishment of East India Company’s authority in ‘Assam’ was complete with the Treaty of Yandaboo. The whole phenomenon of the annexation of Assam into the British Indian Empire led to several administrative reorganizations and reforms under the new regime. British colonial rule was distinguished by new systems and institutions of governance. This paper broadly looks at the historical proceedings of the introduction of the Rule of Law and a new legal structure in the region of ‘Assam’. With numerous archival data, this paper seeks to chiefly examine the trajectory of an important element in the new legal apparatus, i.e. the jury in the British criminal courts introduced in the newly annexed region. Right from the beginning of colonial legal innovations with the establishment of the panchayats and the parallel courts in Assam, the jury became an important element in the structure of the judicial system. In both civil and criminal courts, the jury was to be formed from the learned members of the ‘native’ society. In the working of the criminal court, the jury became significantly powerful and influential. The structure meant that the judge or the British authority eventually had no compulsion to obey the verdict of the jury. However, the structure also provided that the jury had a considerable say in matters of the court proceedings, and their verdict had significant weight. This study seeks to look at certain important criminal cases pertaining to the nineteenth century and the functioning of the jury in those cases. The power play at display between the British officials, judges and the members of the jury would be helpful in highlighting the important deliberations and politics that were in place in the functioning of the British criminal legal apparatus in colonial Assam. The working and the politics of the members of the jury in many cases exerted considerable influence in the court proceedings. The interesting negotiations of the British officials or judges also present us with vital insights. By reflecting on the difficulty that the British officials and judges felt with the considerable space for opinion and difference that was provided to important members of the local society, this paper seeks to locate, with evidence, the racial politics at play within the official formulations of the legal apparatus in the colonial rule in Assam. This study seeks to argue that despite the rhetorical claims of legal equality within the Empire, racial consideration and racial politics was a reality even in the making of the structure itself. This in a way helps to enrich our ideas about the racial elements at work in numerous layers sustaining the colonial regime.

Keywords: criminal courts, colonial regime, jury, race

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Authors: Hao-Jun Hong, Jung-Tang Huang

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The world is gradually becoming an aging society, and with the lack of laboring forces, this phenomenon is affecting the nation’s economy growth. Although nursing centers are booming in recent years, the lack of medical resources are yet to be resolved, thus creating an innovative wearable medical device could be a vital solution. This research is focused on the design and development of a wearable device which obtains a more precise heart failure measurement than products on the market. The method used by the device is based on the sensor fusion and big data algorithm. From the test result, the modified structure of wearable device can significantly decrease the MA (Motion Artifact) and provide users a more cozy and accurate physical monitor experience.

Keywords: big data, heart failure, motion artifact, sensor fusion, wearable medical device

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Authors: Peri Ozlem Yuksel-Sokmen, Irfan Cagtay

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Oral languages are destined to disappear rapidly in the absence of interventions aimed at encouraging their usage by young children. The seminal language preservation model proposed by Fishman (1991) stresses the importance of multiple generations using the endangered L1 while engaged in daily routines with younger children. Over the last two decades Fishman (2001) has used his intergenerational transmission model in documenting the revitalization of Basque languages, providing evidence that families are transmitting Euskara as a first language to their children with success. In our study, to motivate usage of Lazuri, we asked caregivers to speak the language while engaged with their toddlers (12 to 48 months) in semi-structured play, and included both parents (N=32) and grandparents (N=30) as play partners. This unnatural prompting to speak only in Lazuri was greeted with reluctance, as 90% of our families indicated that they had stopped using Lazuri with their children. Nevertheless, caregivers followed instructions and produced 67% of their utterances in Lazuri, with another 14% of utterances using a combination of Lazuri and Turkish (Codeswitch). Although children spoke mostly in Turkish (83% of utterances), frequencies of caregiver utterances in Lazuri or Codeswitch predicted the extent to which their children used the minority language in return. This trend suggests that home interventions aimed at encouraging dyads to communicate in a non-preferred, endangered language can effectively increase children’s usage of the language. Alternatively, this result suggests than any use of the minority language on the part of the children will promote its further usage by caregivers. For researchers examining links between play, culture, and child development, structured play has emerged as a critical methodology (e.g., Frost, Wortham, Reifel, 2007, Lilliard et al., 2012; Sutton-Smith, 1986; Gaskins & Miller, 2009), allowing investigation of cultural and individual variation in parenting styles, as well as the role of culture in constraining the affordances of toys. Toy props, as well as picture-books in native languages, can be used as tools in the transmission and preservation of endangered languages by allowing children to explore adult roles through enactment of social routines and conversational patterns modeled by caregivers. Through adult-guided play children not only acquire scripts for culturally significant activities, but also develop skills in expressing themselves in culturally relevant ways that may continue to develop over their lives through community engagement. Further pedagogical tools, such as language games and e-learning, will be discussed in this proposed oral talk.

Keywords: language intervention, pedagogical tools, endangered languages, Lazuri

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Authors: Shah Nister Kabir

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This study examines the construction of the controversy surrounding the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, as it appeared in three New Zealand newspapers; the Otago Daily Times (ODT), the New Zealand Herald (NZH) and the Press. It discursively argues that these mainstream newspapers promote the Orientalist perception of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West in their news frame, but, in most cases, the perceived clash was not apparent in editorials. This study also argues that the uniformity in news frame conflicts with editorials’ construction of the issue. Furthermore, while the construction of the issue in news frame and editorials in the Press remained similar, the other two newspapers—the ODT and NZH—both contradict their own news frame in their editorials and contradict the editorials appearing in the Press.

Keywords: clash of culture, discourse, Islam, media agenda, New Zealand, orientalism, the West

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Authors: Shaneil Taylor

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Gender-based violence is a reflection of the inequalities that are associated within a society between the men and women that affects the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims. There are various determinants that contribute to the health risk of young women who have experienced sexual violence, in countries that have a high prevalence rate for HIV. For instance, in South Africa, where the highest prevalence rate for HIV is among young women, their susceptibility to the virus has been increased by sexual violence and cultural inequalities. Therefore, this study is a review of literature that explores how gender-based violence increases the possibility for HIV/AIDS among young women in South Africa.

Keywords: gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS transmission, risky sexual behavior, young women

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Authors: Tamara Storozhenko

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In the paper, we want to highlight the influence of the advertising field on gender and vice versa. We will show what it was like before and the way it has changed until nowadays. We will also analyze when and how advertisements are used to create gender stereotypes and at which moment gender became a shaping advertisement. In this paper, we work not only with pure advertisements (e.g., videos and printed materials) but also with films that contain ads. Special attention is placed on the separation of goods for the ‘male ones’ and ‘female ones’, specifically if they can be used independently of gender and sex (food items and some kinds of personal supplies). Also, in this paper, we represent the history of several advertising campaigns, including the following reaction of the society that demonstrated that some of the gender stereotypes were finding resonance while some of them were not heard. Moreover, advertisements could be used as a tool for creating new ones or developing stereotypes that had already existed, and it wasn’t always successful. In the final part of the paper, we would like to analyze the current situation in this area and show how the change of understanding gender made advertisement change.

Keywords: advertisement, gender studies, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics

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Authors: Annisa D. Febryandini

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Batik is a unique cultural heritage that strongly linked with its community. As a product of current culture in Solo, Batik Solo not only has a specific design and color to represent the cultural identity, cultural values, and spirituality of the community, but also has some specific names given by its community which are not arbitrary. This qualitative research paper uses the primary data by interview method as well as the secondary data to support it. Based on the data, this paper concludes that the names consist of a word or words taken from a current name of things in Javanese language. They indicate the cultural meaning such as a specific event, a hope, and the social status of the people who use the motif. Different from the other research, this paper takes a look at the names of traditional motif of Batik Solo which analyzed linguistically to reveal the cultural meaning.

Keywords: traditional motif, Batik, solo, anthropological linguistics

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Authors: Feng Guo

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Human brain organoids, 3D brain tissue cultures derived from human pluripotent stem cells, hold promising potential in modeling neuroinflammation for a variety of neurological diseases. However, challenges remain in generating standardized human brain organoids that can recapitulate key physiological features of a human brain. Here, this study presents a series of organoids-on-a-chip systems to generate better human brain organoids and model neuroinflammation. By employing 3D printing and microfluidic 3D cell culture technologies, the study’s systems enable the reliable, scalable, and reproducible generation of human brain organoids. Compared with conventional protocols, this study’s method increased neural progenitor proliferation and reduced heterogeneity of human brain organoids. As a proof-of-concept application, the study applied this method to model substance use disorders.

Keywords: human brain organoids, microfluidics, organ-on-a-chip, neuroinflammation

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Authors: Silvio Araújo, Sérgio Maravilhas, Tamires Coutinho

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The aim of this paper is to present the experience of a project involving cooperation between the academic world and civil society to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector in the Chapada Diamantina region, in Bahia state, Brazil. It collaborates with studies on organizational strategies and the monitoring of economic indicators in times of crisis, using data analysis to investigate associations between the variables studied. As a result, the economic, structural, and systemic factors that determine the resumption of activities after the pandemic are presented, as well as the results obtained and the general expectations for tourism activities in the region. The conclusion is that, even with government support, from the Brazilian authorities, the undesirable effects of the externalities of the pandemic threaten not only competitiveness but also business continuity itself.

Keywords: Chapada Diamantina, competitiveness, COVID-19, tourism

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Authors: Siuzan Uorner

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The era of late modernity is characterized, on the one hand, by social disintegration, values of personal freedom, tolerance, and self-expression. Boundaries between the accessible and the elitist, normal and abnormal are blurring. On the other hand, traditional social institutions, such as religion (especially Russian Orthodox Church), exist, criticizing lifestyle and worldview other than conventionally structured canons. Despite the declared values and opportunities in late modern society, people's freedom is ambivalent. Personal identity and its aspects are becoming a subject of choice. Hence, combinations of identity aspects can be incompatible. Our theoretical framework is based on P. Ricoeur's concept of narrative identity and hermeneutics, E. Goffman’s theory of social stigma, self-presentation, discrepant roles and W. James lectures about varieties of religious experience. This paper aims to reconstruct ways of coping with incompatible identities of Orthodox gays (an extreme sampling of a combination of sexual orientation and religious identity in a heteronormative society). This study focuses on the discourse of Orthodox gay parishioners and ROC gay priests in Russia (sampling ‘hard to reach’ populations because of the secrecy of gay community in ROC and sensitivity of the topic itself). We conducted a qualitative research design, using in-depth personal semi-structured online-interviews. Recruiting of informants took place in 'Nuntiare et Recreare' (Russian movement of religious LGBT) page in VKontakte through the post with an invitation to participate in the research. In this work, we analyzed interview transcripts using axial coding. We chose the Grounded Theory methodology to construct a theory from empirical data and contribute to the growing body of knowledge in ways of harmonizing incompatible identities in late modern societies. The research has found that there are two types of conflicts Orthodox gays meet with: canonic contradictions (postulates of Scripture and its interpretations) and problems in social interaction, mainly with ROC priests and Orthodox parishioners. We have revealed semantic meanings of most commonly used words that appear in the narratives (words such as ‘love’, ‘sin’, ‘religion’ etc.). Finally, we have reconstructed biographical patterns of LGBT social movements’ involvement. This paper argues that all incompatibilities are harmonizing in the narrative itself. As Ricoeur has suggested, the narrative configuration allows the speaker to gather facts and events together and to compose causal relationships between them. Sexual orientation and religious identity are getting along and harmonizing in the narrative.

Keywords: gay priests, incompatible identities, narrative identity, Orthodox gays, religious identity, ROC, sexual orientation

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Authors: Lamidi Lawal Aduozava

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Masquerade tradition is an indigenous culture of the Anetuno an extraction of the Ebira referred to as Ebira chao. This paper seeks to make aesthetic analysis of the masquerades in terms of their costumes and socio-cultural significance. To this end, the study examined and documented the functions and roles of Anipo and Idowo masquerades in terms of therapeutic, economic, prophetic and divination, entertainment, and funeral functions to the owner community(Eziobe group of families) in Igarra, Edo State of Nigeria, West Africa. For the purpose of data collection, focus group discussion, participatory, visual and observatory methods of data collection were used. All the data collected were aesthetically, descriptively and historically analyzed.

Keywords: Aesthetics, , Costume, , Masquerades, , Significance.

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Authors: Kanchan Negi

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Background: Modern and urban occupational culture have driven demands for people to work long hours and weekends and take work to home at times. Research on the health effects of these exhaustive temporal work patterns is scant or contradictory. This study examines the relationship between work patterns and wellbeing in a sample of women living in the metropolitan hub of Delhi. Method: This study is based on the data collected from 360 currently married women between age 29 and 49 years, working in the urban capital hub of India, i.e., Delhi. The women interviewed were professionals from the education, health, banking and information and technology (IT) sector. Bivariate analysis was done to study the characteristics of the sample. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the physical and psychological wellbeing across occupational characteristics. Results: Most of the working women were below age 35 years; around 30% of women worked in the education sector, 23% in health, 21% in banking and 26% in the IT sector. Over 55% of women were employed in the private sector and only 36% were permanent employees. Nearly 30% of women worked for more than the standard 8 hours a day. The findings from logistic regression showed that compared to women working in the education sector, those who worked in the banking and IT sector more likely to have physical and psychological health issues (OR 2.07-4.37, CI 1.17-4.37); women who bear dual burden of responsibilities had higher odds of physical and psychological health issues than women who did not (OR 1.19-1.85 CI 0.96-2.92). Women who worked for more than 8 hours a day (OR 1.15, CI 1.01-1.30) and those who worked for more than five days a week (OR 1.25, CI 1.05-1.35) were more likely to have physical health issues than women who worked for 6-8 hours a day and five days e week, respectively. Also, not having flexible work timings and compensatory holidays increased the odds of having physical and psychological health issues among working women (OR 1.17-1.29, CI 1.01-1.47). Women who worked in the private sector, those employed temporarily and who worked in the non-conducive environments were more likely to have psychological health issues as compared to women in the public sector, permanent employees and those who worked in a conducive environment, respectively (OR 1.33-1.67, CI 1.09-2.91). Women who did not have poor work-life balance had reduced the odds of psychological health issues than women with poor work-life balance (OR 0.46, CI 0.25-0.84). Conclusion: Poor wellbeing significantly linked to strenuous and rigid work patterns, suggesting that modern and urban work culture may contribute to the poor wellbeing of working women. Noticing the recent decline in female workforce participation in Delhi, schemes like Flexi-timings, compensatory holidays, work-from-home and daycare facilities for young ones must be welcomed; these policies already exist in some private sector firms, and the public sectors companies should also adopt such changes to ease the dual burden as homemaker and career maker. This could encourage women in the urban areas to readily take up the jobs with less juggle to manage home and work.

Keywords: occupational characteristics, urban India, well-being, working women

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Authors: Gameel Abdelmageed

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Arabs have a rhetorical heritage which has greatly contributed to the monitoring and analyzing of the rhetoric of the Holy Quran, Hadith, and Arabic texts on poetry and oratory. But Arab scholars - as far as the researcher knows – have not contributed to monitoring and analyzing the rhetoric of digital Arabic discourse although it has prominence, particularly in social media and has strong effectiveness in the political and social life of Arab society. This discourse has made its impact by using very new rhetorical techniques in language, voice, image, painting and video clips which are known as “Multimedia” and belong to “Digital Rhetoric”. This study suggests that it is time to draw the attention of Arab scholars and invite them to monitor and analyze the rhetoric of digital Arabic discourse.

Keywords: digital discourse, digital rhetoric, Facebook, social media

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Authors: Daurenbek Kuleimenov, Elmira Otar

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Market institutions extension within transit societies contributes to constituting the new type of middle class and households livelihood strategies. The middle class households as an example of prosperity in many cases encourage the ordinary ones to do the same economic actions. Therefore, practices of using market institutions by middle class households in transit societies, which are mostly characterized by huge influence of traditional attitudes, can carry habitual features for the whole society. Market institutions consumption habit of the middle class households makes them trendsetters of economic habits of other households while adapting to the market economy. Moreover different social-economic positions of households lead them to different consuming results such as worsening or improving household economy due to indebtedness.

Keywords: middle class, households, market institutions, transition

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Authors: Binita Shah, Seema Unnikrishnan

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In the recent time, an increasing interest in the analysis and efforts to reduce the environmental impacts generated by man-made activities has been seen widely being discussed and implemented by the society. The industrial processes are expressing their concern and showing keen interest in redesigning and amending the operation process leading to better environmental performance by upgrading technologies and adjusting the financial inputs. There are various tools available for the assessment of process and production of goods on the environment. Most methods look at a particular impact on the ecosystem. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one of the most widely accepted and scientifically founded methodologies to assess the overall environmental impacts of products and processes. This paper looks at the tools used in India for environmental impact assessment.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, ecological footprint, measuring sustainability, India

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Authors: Ronit Chakraborty

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Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of West Bengal state and the former capital of India (1722-1911) of British India. Located at the heart of Hugli river (one of the main channels of Ganges river), the city is the heart of the state, which forms a base for commerce, transport and manufacture. The large and vibrant city thrives amidst the economic, social and political issues arising from the pages of history to the contemporary times. The unique nature, grandeurs, public debates on tea-stalls and obviously the charismatic scenic beauty and heritage keep the city to be criticized in all horizons, across the world. Movies in India are a big source of knowledge, which can be used as a powerful tool for political mobilization and to indirectly communicate with voters since cinema can be used as a tool of propaganda as it has a wide range of public interests. History proves the fact that films produced in India have been apt enough in making public interests be deeply portrayed through their content in a versatile manner. Such is the portrayal of India’s first capital, Kolkata and its ultimate truth being organizingly laid over by the trilogy of two international fame directors-Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray, through their ‘magnum opus- the ‘Kolkata trilogy’. Mrinal Sen’s Interview(1971), Calcutta 71(1972), Padatik(The Guerilla Fighter)(1973) and Satyajit Ray’s Pratidwandi (The Adversary)(1970), Seemabaddha(Company Limited)(1971), Jana Aranya(1976). These films picturized the contemporary Kolkata trends, issues and crises arising amidst the political set-up both by the positive and negative variables attributing to the day-to-day happenings of the city. The movies have been set amidst the turmoil that the nation was going through during Indira Gandhi’s declaration of Emergency, resulting from the general sense of disillusionment that prevailed during that time. Ray wasn't affiliated to any political party and his films largely contributed towards the contemporary conditions prevailing in the society. Mrinal Sen, being a Marxist was in constant search of the bitter truth that the society had to offer through his lens under the prevailing darkness through his trilogy. The research paper attempts to widely view and draw a comparative study of the overall description of the city of Kolkata as portrayed by Sen and Ray in their respective trilogies. By the usage of the visual content analysis method, the researcher has explored the six movies; both the trilogies of Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray and tried to analyse the differences as well as the similarities pertaining to understand India’s first capital city Kolkata in various dimensions along with its circumference.

Keywords: Kolkata, trilogy, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, films, comparative study

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Authors: O. S. Adeyemi, C. G. Whiteley

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The present study determined the toxic potential of metal nanoparticles in cell culture system. Silver and gold nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized following established "green" protocols. The synthesized nanoparticles, in varying concentrations ranging from 0.1–100 µM were evaluated for toxicity in metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells. The nanoparticles promoted a generation of reactive oxygen species and reduced cell viability to less than 50% in the demonstration of cellular toxicity. The nanoparticles; gold and the silver-gold mixture had IC50 values of 56.65 and 18.44 µM respectively. The IC50 concentration for silver nanoparticles could not be determined. Furthermore, the probe of the cell death using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy revealed the partial involvement of apoptosis as well as necrosis. Our results revealed cellular toxicity caused by the nanoparticles but the mechanism remains yet undefined.

Keywords: cell death, nanomedicine, nanotoxicology, toxicity

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Authors: V. Verma, Syed Riyaz-ul-Hassan

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Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most commonly found pathogenic bacteria and is hard to eliminate from the human environment. It is responsible for many nosocomial infections, besides being the main causative agent of food intoxication by virtue of its variety of enterotoxins. Routine detection of S. aureus in food is usually carried out by traditional methods based on morphological and biochemical characterization. These methods are time-consuming and tedious. In addition, misclassifications with automated susceptibility testing systems or commercially available latex agglutination kits have been reported by several workers. Consequently, there is a need for methods to specifically discriminate S. aureus from other staphylococci as quickly as possible. Data on protocols developed using molecular means like PCR technology will be presented for rapid and specific detection of this pathogen in food, clinical and environmental samples, especially milk.

Keywords: food Pathogens, PCR technology, rapid and specific detection, staphylococcus aureus

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Authors: Erika Ruiz, Nestor Ortiz

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Lean philosophy has evolved over time and has been implemented both in manufacturing and services, more recently lean has been integrated in the companies of the health sector. Currently it is important to understand the successful way to implement this philosophy and try to identify barriers and enablers to the sustainability of lean healthcare. The main purpose of this research is to identify the barriers and enablers in the implementation of Lean Healthcare based on case studies of Colombian healthcare centers. In order to do so, we conducted semi-structured interviews based on a maturity model. The main results indicate that the success of Lean implementation depends on its adaptation to contextual factors. In addition, in the Colombian context were identified new factors such as organizational culture, management models, integration of the care and administrative departments and triple helix relationship.

Keywords: barriers, enablers, implementation, lean healthcare, sustainability

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Authors: Ilknur Çevik Tekin, Serdar Öge

Abstract:

As a result of globalization and changing consumer preferences, the number of shopping malls has increased significantly in recent years. Consumers prefer shopping malls to both do comfortable shopping in a short time and benefit from the social facilities there. Employees, who are obliged to behave to the consumers in the way the company wants them to do, often spend intensive emotional effort because companies buy the emotions the employees must display to customers in order to ensure customer satisfaction. The emotions the employees constantly try to contain may lead to the phenomenon of burn-out in time. This study was conducted to reveal the relationship between the emotional labor and burn-out levels of shopping mall employees, who work in shopping malls and are supposed to reflect the corporate culture.

Keywords: emotional labor, burnout, shopping mall employees

Procedia PDF Downloads 338

Authors: Kamyar Kabirifar, Majid Azarniush, Behbood Maashkar

Abstract:

A proper house is a suitable residential area which provides comfort, proper accessibility, security, stability and permanence of structure, enough lighting, Proper initial infrastructures and ventilation for its inhabitants and the most important of all, it should be proportional to the family’s financial power. Saving energy and making optimal usage of it and also taking advantage of stable energies are the bases of green buildings. Making green building will help the health of a person living in it and in its surrounding. It will support the people and provoke their satisfaction. Not only it will bring about the raise of level of the quality of life for building inhabitants, but also it will cause the promotion of quality level of life of the people living in the surrounding area and the society.

Keywords: quality of life, green building, environment pollution, sick building

Procedia PDF Downloads 524