Search results for: partially observed data

Authors: Elvis Munyoka

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While the number of African refugees settling in Australia has significantly increased since the mid-1990s, the marginalisation and exclusion of young people from refugee backgrounds in employment remain a critical challenge. Unemployment or underemployment can negatively impact refugees in multiple areas, such as income, housing, life satisfaction, and social status. Higher rates of unemployment among refugees are linked in part to the intersection of pre-migration and daily challenges like trauma, racism, gender identity, and English language competency, all of which generate multiple employability disadvantages. However, the intersection of gender, race, social class, and age in impacting African refugee youth’s access to employment has received less attention. Using a qualitative case study approach, the presentation will explore how gender, race, social class, and age influence African refugee youth graduates’ access to employment in South Australia. The intersectionality theory and capability approach to social justice is used to explore intersecting factors impacting African refugee youth’s access to employment in South Australia. Participants were 16 African refugee graduates aged 18-30 living in South Australia who took part in the study for one year. Based on the trends in the data, the results suggest that long-term unemployment and underemployment, coupled with ongoing racism and marginalisation, have the potential to make refugees more vulnerable to several mental disorders such as depression, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. The analysis also reveals that resettlement challenges may limit refugees’ ability to recover from pre-migration trauma. The impact of resettlement challenges on refugee mental health highlights the need for comprehensive policy interventions to address the barriers refugees face in finding employment in resettlement communities. With African refugees constituting such an important part of Australian society, they should have equal access to meaningful employment, as decent work promotes good mental health, successful resettlement, hope, and self-sufficiency.

Keywords: African refugees, employment, mental health, Australia, underemployment

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Authors: Altayeb Abdalla Ahmed

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Skeletal phenotype is a product of a balanced interaction between genetics and environmental factors throughout different life stages. Therefore, interlimb proportions are variable between populations. Although interlimb proportion indices have been used in anthropology in assessing the influence of various environmental factors on limbs, an extensive literature review revealed that there is a paucity of published research assessing interlimb part correlations and possibility of reconstruction. Hence, this study aims to assess the relationships between upper and lower limb parts and develop regression formulae to reconstruct the parts from one another. The left upper arm length, ulnar length, wrist breadth, hand length, hand breadth, tibial length, bimalleolar breadth, foot length, and foot breadth of 376 right-handed subjects, comprising 187 males and 189 females (aged 25-35 years), were measured. Initially, the data were analyzed using basic univariate analysis and independent t-tests; then sex-specific simple and multiple linear regression models were used to estimate upper limb parts from lower limb parts and vice-versa. The results of this study indicated significant sexual dimorphism for all variables. The results indicated a significant correlation between the upper and lower limbs parts (p < 0.01). Linear and multiple (stepwise) regression equations were developed to reconstruct the limb parts in the presence of a single or multiple dimension(s) from the other limb. Multiple stepwise regression equations generated better reconstructions than simple equations. These results are significant in forensics as it can aid in identification of multiple isolated limb parts particularly during mass disasters and criminal dismemberment. Although a DNA analysis is the most reliable tool for identification, its usage has multiple limitations in undeveloped countries, e.g., cost, facility availability, and trained personnel. Furthermore, it has important implication in plastic and orthopedic reconstructive surgeries. This study is the only reported study assessing the correlation and prediction capabilities between many of the upper and lower dimensions. The present study demonstrates a significant correlation between the interlimb parts in both sexes, which indicates a possibility to reconstruction using regression equations.

Keywords: anthropometry, correlation, limb, Sudanese

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Authors: Wajiha Javed, Arsalan Jabbar, Nelofer Mehboob, Muhammad Tafseer, Zahid Memon

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Introduction: Researchers globally have strived to explore diverse factors that augment the continuation and uptake of family planning methods. Clients’ satisfaction is one of the core determinants facilitating continuation of family planning methods. There is a major debate yet scanty evidence to contrast public and private sectors with respect to client satisfaction. The objective of this study is to compare quality-of-care provided by public and private sectors of Pakistan through a client satisfaction lens. Methods: We used Pakistan Demographic Heath Survey 2012-13 dataset (Sindh province) on a total of 3133 Married Women of Reproductive Age (MWRA) aged 15-49 years. Source of family planning (public/private sector) was the main exposure variable. Outcome variable was client satisfaction judged by ten different dimensions of client satisfaction. Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variable while for categorical variable frequencies and percentages were computed. For univariate analysis, Chi-square/Fisher Exact test was used to find an association between clients’ satisfaction in public and private sectors. Ten different multivariate models were made. Variables were checked for multi-collinearity, confounding, and interaction, and then advanced logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between client satisfaction and dependent outcome after adjusting for all known confounding factors and results are presented as OR and AOR (95% CI). Results: Multivariate analyses showed that clients were less satisfied in contraceptive provision from private sector as compared to public sector (AOR 0.92,95% CI 0.63-1.68) even though the result was not statistically significant. Clients were more satisfied from private sector as compared to the public sector with respect to other determinants of quality-of-care (follow-up care (AOR 3.29, 95% CI 1.95-5.55), infection prevention (AOR 2.41, 95% CI 1.60-3.62), counseling services (AOR 2.01, 95% CI 1.27-3.18, timely treatment (AOR 3.37, 95% CI 2.20-5.15), attitude of staff (AOR 2.23, 95% CI 1.50-3.33), punctuality of staff (AOR 2.28, 95% CI 1.92-4.13), timely referring (AOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.63-3.35), staff cooperation (AOR 1.75, 95% CI 1.22-2.51) and complications handling (AOR 2.27, 95% CI 1.56-3.29).

Keywords: client satisfaction, family planning, public private partnership, quality of care

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Authors: Farzad Shirzad, Bohlol Alijani, Mehry Akbary, Mohammad Saligheh

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Climate change and global warming are very important issues today. The process of climate change, especially changes in temperature and precipitation, is the most important issue in the environmental sciences. Climate change means changing the averages in the long run. Iran is located in arid and semi-arid regions due to its proximity to the equator and its location in the subtropical high pressure zone. In this respect, the Hyrcanian forest is a green necklace between the Caspian Sea and the south of the Alborz mountain range. In the forty-third session of UNESCO, it was registered as the second natural heritage of Iran. Beech is one of the most important tree species and the most industrial species of Hyrcanian forests. In this research, using dendroclimatology, the width of the tree ring, and climatic data of temperature and precipitation from Shanderman meteorological station located in the study area, And non-parametric Mann-Kendall statistical method to investigate the trend of climate change over a time series of 202 years of growth ringsAnd Pearson statistical method was used to correlate the growth of "ring" growth rings of beech trees with climatic variables in the region. The results obtained from the time series of beech growth rings showed that the changes in beech growth rings had a downward and negative trend and were significant at the level of 5% and climate change occurred. The average minimum, medium, and maximum temperatures and evaporation in the growing season had an increasing trend, and the annual precipitation had a decreasing trend. Using Pearson method during fitting the correlation of diameter of growth rings with temperature, for the average in July, August, and September, the correlation is negative, and the average temperature in July, August, and September is negative, and for the average The average maximum temperature in February was correlation-positive and at the level of 95% was significant, and with precipitation, in June the correlation was at the level of 95% positive and significant.

Keywords: climate change, dendroclimatology, hyrcanian forest, beech

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Kristine Tuliao

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Although it is of primary concern to ensure that supervisors behave appropriately, research shows that unethical behaviors are prevalent and may cost organizations’ economic and reputational damages. Nevertheless, few studies have considered the roles of the different levels of values in shaping one’s ethicality, and the examination of the possible mediation in the process of their influence has been rarely done. To address this gap, this research employs Merton’s anomie theory in designing a mediation analysis to test the direct impacts of national cultural values on supervisors’ justification of unethical behaviors as well as their indirect impacts through personal values. According to Merton’s writings, individual behaviors are affected by the society’s culture given its role in defining the members’ goals as well as the acceptable methods of attaining those goals. Also, Merton’s framework suggests that individuals develop their personal values depending on the assimilation of their society’s culture. Using data of 9,813 supervisors across 30 countries, results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) indicated that national cultural values, specifically assertiveness, performance orientation, in-group collectivism, and humane orientation, positively affect supervisors’ unethical inclination. Some cultural values may encourage unethical tendencies, especially if they urge and pressure individuals to attain purely monetary success. In addition, some of the influence of national cultural values went through personal monetary and non-monetary success values, indicating partial mediation. These findings substantiated the assertions of Merton’s anomie theory that national cultural values influence supervisors’ ethics through their integration with personal values. Given that some of the results contradict Merton’s anomie theory propositions, complementary arguments, such as incomplete assimilation of culture, and the probable impact of job position in perceptions, values, and behaviors, could be the plausible rationale for these outcomes. Consequently, this paper advances the understanding of differences in national and personal values and how these factors impact supervisors’ justification of unethical behaviors. Alongside these contributions, suggestions are presented for the public and organizations to craft policies and procedures that will minimize the tendency of supervisors to commit unethical acts.

Keywords: mediation model, national culture, personal values, supervisors' ethics

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Authors: Kaushal Jha

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India is one of the major producers of pineapple contributing a significant part in terms of total world production of pineapple. It has spread throughout tropical and subtropical regions as a commercial fruit crop. In India, the cultivation of pineapple is confined to high rainfall and humid coastal region in the peninsular India and hilly areas of Northeastern region of India. Nagaland, one of the potential states of North-East India is basically an agrarian state having been endowed with favourable agro climatic conditions and a rich bio-diversity of flora and fauna. Agriculture contributes significantly to the state’s economy. Pineapple is an important fruit crop grown in Nagaland and has a very high potential for doubling the income of farmers in comparison to the traditional practices of rice cultivation. This requires improved farm management practices as well as a genre of entrepreneurial intentions and capabilities. The present study aimed at analysing the dimensions of entrepreneurial skill development among the pineapple growers of Nagaland. Medziphema block under Dimapur district is considered as the pineapple valley of Nagaland. Pineapple grown in this area is considered as one of the best in Nagaland in terms of its sweetness as well as quality. A multistage sampling was undertaken for conducting the present study. Medziphema rural development block was selected purposively for this purpose. The sample was drawn from three leading pineapple producing villages under Medziphema block. The respondents were selected based on random sampling procedure. Data were collected from the respondents using a pre-tested structured schedule. Major findings revealed that entrepreneurial skill development was one of the important factors to augment the increase in the sustained flow of income among the target farmers. Development of farm leadership, improving self esteem, innovativeness, economic motivation, orientation towards management of farm resources and value addition were identified as important dimensions for promoting entrepreneurial skill development and bringing prosperity to the farmers.

Keywords: skill development, entrepreneurial attributes, pineapple growers, Nagaland

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Authors: Afzal Hussain, Mohammad A. Altamimi, Syed Sarim Imam, Mudassar Shahid, Osamah Abdulrahman Alnemer

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Exhaustive application of sulfamethoxazole (SUX) became as a global threat for human health due to water contamination through diverse sources. The addressed combined application of Hansen solubility (HSPiP software) parameters and Quality by Design tool for developing various green nanoemulsions. HSPiP program assisted to screen suitable excipients based on Hansen solubility parameters and experimental solubility data. Various green nanoemulsions were prepared and characterized for globular size, size distribution, zeta potential, and removal efficiency. Design Expert (DoE) software further helped to identify critical factors responsible to have direct impact on percent removal efficiency, size, and viscosity. Morphological investigation was visualized under transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Finally, the treated was studied to negate the presence of the tested drug employing ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission microscopy) technique and HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography). Results showed that HSPiP predicted biocompatible lipid, safe surfactant (lecithin), and propylene glycol (PG). Experimental solubility of the drug in the predicted excipients were quite convincing and vindicated. Various green nanoemulsions were fabricated, and these were evaluated for in vitro findings. Globular size (100-300 nm), PDI (0.1-0.5), zeta potential (~ 25 mV), and removal efficiency (%RE = 70-98%) were found to be in acceptable range for deciding input factors with level in DoE. Experimental design tool assisted to identify the most critical variables controlling %RE and optimized content of nanoemulsion under set constraints. Dispersion time was varied from 5-30 min. Finally, ICP-OES and HPLC techniques corroborated the absence of SUX in the treated water. Thus, the strategy is simple, economic, selective, and efficient.

Keywords: quality by design, sulfamethoxazole, green nanoemulsion, water treatment, icp-oes, hansen program (hspip software

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Authors: Zhiqiang Yan, Chen Fan, Yafei Wang, Beicheng Xia

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Urban lakes play an invaluable role in urban water systems such as flood control, water supply, and public recreation. However, over 38% of the urban lakes have suffered from severe eutrophication in China. Chlorine that could remarkably inhibit the growth of phytoplankton in eutrophic, has been widely used in the agricultural, aquaculture and industry in the recent past. However, little information has been reported regarding the effects of chlorine on the lake ecosystem, especially on the main aquatic species.To investigate the ecological response of main aquatic species and system stability to chlorine interference in shallow urban lakes, a mini system dynamic model was developed based on the competition and predation of main aquatic species and total phosphorus circulation. The main species of submerged macrophyte, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, spiroggra and total phosphorus in water and sediment were used as variables in the model,while the interference of chlorine on phytoplankton was represented by an exponential attenuation equation. Furthermore, the eco-exergy expressing the development degree of ecosystem was used to quantify the complexity of the shallow urban lake. The model was validated using the data collected in the Lotus Lake in Guangzhoufrom1 October 2015 to 31 January 2016.The correlation coefficient (R), root mean square error-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR) and index of agreement (IOA) were calculated to evaluate accuracy and reliability of the model.The simulated values showed good qualitative agreement with the measured values of all components. The model results showed that chlorine had a notable inhibitory effect on Microcystis aeruginos，Rachionus plicatilis, Diaphanosoma brachyurum Liévin and Mesocyclops leuckarti (Claus).The outbreak of Spiroggra.spp. inhibited the growth of Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara, leading to a gradual decrease of eco-exergy and the breakdown of ecosystem internal equilibria. This study gives important insight into using chlorine to achieve eutrophication control and understand mechanism process.

Keywords: system dynamic model, urban lake, chlorine, eco-exergy

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Authors: Antoine Karam, Lotfi Khiari, Bruno Breton, Alfred Jaouich

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Anthropogenic sources of zinc (Zn), including industrial emissions and effluents, Zn–rich fertilizer materials and pesticides containing Zn, can contribute to increasing the concentration of soluble Zn at levels toxic to plants in acid sandy soils. The application of municipal sewage sludge or biosolids (MBS) which contain metal immobilizing agents on coarse-textured soils could improve the metal sorption capacity of the low-CEC soils. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the sorption of Zn in surface samples (0-15 cm) of six Quebec (Canada) soils amended with MBS (pH 6.9) from Val d’Or (Quebec, Canada). Soil samples amended with increasing amounts (0 to 20%) of MBS were equilibrated with various amounts of Zn as ZnCl2 in 0.01 M CaCl2 for 48 hours at room temperature. Sorbed Zn was calculated from the difference between the initial and final Zn concentration in solution. Zn sorption data conformed to the linear form of Freundlich equation. The amount of sorbed Zn increased considerably with increasing MBS rate. Analysis of variance revealed a highly significant effect (p ≤ 0.001) of soil texture and MBS rate on the amount of sorbed Zn. The average values of the Zn-sorption capacity of MBS-amended coarse-textured soils were lower than those of MBS-amended fine textured soils. The two sandy soils (86-99% sand) amended with MBS retained 2- to 5-fold Zn than those without MBS (control). Significant Pearson correlation coefficients between the Zn sorption isotherm parameter, i.e. the Freundlich sorption isotherm (KF), and commonly measured physical and chemical entities were obtained. Among all the soil properties measured, soil pH gave the best significant correlation coefficients (p ≤ 0.001) for soils receiving 0, 5 and 10% MBS. Furthermore, KF values were positively correlated with soil clay content, exchangeable basic cations (Ca, Mg or K), CEC and clay content to CEC ratio. From these results, it can be concluded that (i) municipal biosolids provide sorption sites that have a strong affinity for Zn, (ii) both soil texture, especially clay content, and soil pH are the main factors controlling anthropogenic Zn sorption in the municipal biosolids-amended soils, and (iii) the effect of municipal biosolids on Zn sorption will be more pronounced for a sandy soil than for a clay soil.

Keywords: metal, recycling, sewage sludge, trace element

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Authors: Samuel John, S. Sharanya

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Automation has become an important part of our life. It has been used to control home entertainment systems, changing the ambience of rooms for different events etc. One of the main parameters to control in a smart home is the atmospheric comfort. Atmospheric comfort mainly includes temperature and relative humidity. In homes, the desired temperature of different rooms varies from 20 °C to 25 °C and relative humidity is around 50%. However, it varies widely. Hence, automated measurement of these parameters to ensure comfort assumes significance. To achieve this, a fuzzy logic controller using Arduino was developed using MATLAB. Arduino is an open source hardware consisting of a 24 pin ATMEGA chip (atmega328), 14 digital input /output pins and an inbuilt ADC. It runs on 5v and 3.3v power supported by a board voltage regulator. Some of the digital pins in Aruduino provide PWM (pulse width modulation) signals, which can be used in different applications. The Arduino platform provides an integrated development environment, which includes support for c, c++ and java programming languages. In the present work, soft sensor was introduced in this system that can indirectly measure temperature and humidity and can be used for processing several measurements these to ensure comfort. The Sugeno method (output variables are functions or singleton/constant, more suitable for implementing on microcontrollers) was used in the soft sensor in MATLAB and then interfaced to the Arduino, which is again interfaced to the temperature and humidity sensor DHT11. The temperature-humidity sensor DHT11 acts as the sensing element in this system. Further, a capacitive humidity sensor and a thermistor were also used to support the measurement of temperature and relative humidity of the surrounding to provide a digital signal on the data pin. The comfort sensor developed was able to measure temperature and relative humidity correctly. The comfort percentage was calculated and accordingly the temperature in the room was controlled. This system was placed in different rooms of the house to ensure that it modifies the comfort values depending on temperature and relative humidity of the environment. Compared to the existing comfort control sensors, this system was found to provide an accurate comfort percentage. Depending on the comfort percentage, the air conditioners and the coolers in the room were controlled. The main highlight of the project is its cost efficiency.

Keywords: arduino, DHT11, soft sensor, sugeno

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Authors: Jiaxin Chen

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Translations have been labeled as more simplified than non-translations, featuring less diversified and more frequent lexical items and simpler syntactic structures. Such simplified linguistic features have been identified in other bilingualism-influenced language varieties, including non-native and learner language use. Therefore, it has been proposed that translation could be studied within a broader framework of constrained language, and simplification is one of the universal features shared by constrained language varieties due to similar cognitive-physiological and social-interactive constraints. Yet contradicting findings have also been presented. To address this issue, this study intends to adopt Shannon’s entropy-based measures to quantify complexity in language use. Entropy measures the level of uncertainty or unpredictability in message content, and it has been adapted in linguistic studies to quantify linguistic variance, including morphological diversity and lexical richness. In this study, the complexity of lexical and syntactic choices will be captured by word-form entropy and pos-form entropy, and a comparison will be made between constrained and non-constrained language use to test the simplification hypothesis. The entropy-based method is employed because it captures both the frequency of linguistic choices and their evenness of distribution, which are unavailable when using traditional indices. Another advantage of the entropy-based measure is that it is reasonably stable across languages and thus allows for a reliable comparison among studies on different language pairs. In terms of the data for the present study, one established (CLOB) and two self-compiled corpora will be used to represent native written English and two constrained varieties (L2 written English and translated English), respectively. Each corpus consists of around 200,000 tokens. Genre (press) and text length (around 2,000 words per text) are comparable across corpora. More specifically, word-form entropy and pos-form entropy will be calculated as indicators of lexical and syntactical complexity, and ANOVA tests will be conducted to explore if there is any corpora effect. It is hypothesized that both L2 written English and translated English have lower entropy compared to non-constrained written English. The similarities and divergences between the two constrained varieties may provide indications of the constraints shared by and peculiar to each variety.

Keywords: constrained language use, entropy-based measures, lexical simplification, syntactical simplification

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Authors: Hannele Laaksonen, Seija Nyqvist, Kari Nurmes

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Objectives: In the year 2011 the City of Vaasa started to develop know-how in the technology and the introduction of services for aging people in cooperation with the Polytechnic Novia University of Applied Sciences and VAMK, University of Applied Sciences. The project´s targets included: to help elderly people to maintain their ability to function, to provide them social and physical activities, to prevent their social exclusion, to decrease their feelings of loneliness and insecurity and to develop their technical know-how. Methods: The project was built based on open source code, tailor-made service system and user interface for the elderly living at home and their families, based on the users´ expectations and experiences of services. Activation-TV®-project vas carried out 1.4.2011-31.3.2014. A pilot group of eight elderly persons, who were living at home, were selected to the project. All necessary technical means as well as guidance and teaching equipment were provided to the pilot group. The students of University of Applied Sciences (VAMK, Novia) and employees of Center of Ageing were made all programs to the Activation-TV®. The project group were interviewed after and before intervention. The data were evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results: The built service includes a video library, a group room for interactive programs and a personal room for bilateral meetings and direct shipment. The program is bilingual and produced in both national languages. The Activation TV® reduced elderly peoples´ (n=8) feelings of emptiness, added mental well-being and quality of life with social contacts. Relatives felt, that they were able to get in to older peoples´ everyday life with Activation TV®. Discussion: The built application was tailored to the model that has not been developed elsewhere in Finland. This model can be copied from one server to another and thus transferred to other municipalities but the program requires its own personnel system management and maintenance as well as program production cooperation between the different actors. This service can be used for the elderly who are living at home without dementia.

Keywords: mental well-being, quality of life, elderly people, Finland

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Authors: Leon Mortari

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The Metropolitan East region of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, faces a historic water scarcity. Among the alternatives studied to solve this situation, the possibility of adduction of the available water in the reservoir Lagoa de Juturnaíba to supply the region's municipalities stands out. The allocation of a linear engineering project must occur through an evaluation of different aspects, such as altitude, slope, proximity to roads, distance from watercourses, land use and occupation, and physical and chemical features of the soil. This work aims to apply a multi-criteria model that combines geoprocessing techniques, decision-making, and geometric search algorithm to optimize a hypothetical adductor system in the scenario of expanding the water supply system that serves this region, known as Imunana-Laranjal, using the Lagoa de Juturnaíba as the source. It is proposed in this study, the construction of a spatial database related to the presented evaluation criteria, treatment and rasterization of these data, and standardization and reclassification of this information in a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The methodology involves the integrated analysis of these criteria, using their relative importance defined by weighting them based on expert consultations and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Three approaches are defined for weighting the criteria by AHP: the first treats all criteria as equally important, the second considers weighting based on a pairwise comparison matrix, and the third establishes a hierarchy based on the priority of the criteria. For each approach, a distinct group of weightings is defined. In the next step, map algebra tools are used to overlay the layers and generate cost surfaces, that indicates the resistance to the passage of the adductor route, using the three groups of weightings. The Dijkstra algorithm, a geometric search algorithm, is then applied to these cost surfaces to find an optimized path within the geographical space, aiming to minimize resources, time, investment, maintenance, and environmental and social impacts.

Keywords: geometric search algorithm, GIS, pipeline, route optimization, spatial multi-criteria analysis model

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Authors: Filiz Celik, Rachel Harrad, Rob Keasley, Paul Bennett

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The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant challenge to many, with some groups with particular vulnerability to adverse psychological impacts. These include those disadvantaged by mental ill health, either pre-existing or occurring during pregnancy or post-partum. Using a qualitative approach, the research aimed to identify the challenges posed by COVID-19 to women, their infants and families during the perinatal period and to suggest what further support can help alleviate the adverse mental health impact of COVID-19. 21 expectant and new mothers who were currently receiving support via a peri-natal mental health service participated in semi-structured interviews. In these interviews, participants explored the impact of changes in social circumstances and healthcare providers as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, with the resultant audio recordings transcribed and analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). Based on these accounts, it was concluded that women, their partners and potentially their infants experienced heightened peri-natal distress, and their experience at this time increased their risk for future mental health problems. Women described emerging as more vulnerable, owing to their role as primary caregivers during the perinatal period and also explained how social isolation and limited access to services meant protective buffers against mental health deterioration were reduced and the resources they needed in order to develop resilience were weakened. Although partners were invited to take part in the research, a sizeable volume of data could not be generated to fully assess the impact of the pandemic on a partner’s mental well-being. However, women expressed concerns about the paternal mental health of partners and husbands which invites us to be further vigilant to paternal mental health and associated experiences. Overall, these interviews serve to highlight and provide a voice to these women and their families who describe experiencing disadvantage at an already vulnerable time in their lives, as well as illustrating the need for services to prioritize the needs of this population when acute events strike, be those future pandemics or other disasters.

Keywords: patient experience, perinatal mental health, covid-19 pandemic, heightened anxiety, birth trauma, post-natal well-being

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Authors: Arman Kishan, Sanjay Kubsad, Steve Li, Mark Haft, Duc Nguyen, Dawn Laporte

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Objective: Carpal tunnel syndrome can be managed surgically with endoscopic or open carpal tunnel release (CTR). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a known risk factor for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and is believed to be related to compression of the median nerve secondary to inflammation. We aimed to analyze national trends, outcomes, and patient-specific comorbidities associated with ECTR and OCTR in patients with RA. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the PearlDiver database, identifying 683 RA patients undergoing ECTR and 4234 undergoing OCTR between 2010 and 2014. Demographic data, comorbidities, and complication rates were analyzed. Univariate and multivariable analyses assessed differences between the treatment methods. Results:  Patients with RA undergoing ECTR in comparison to OCTR had no significant differences in medical comorbidities such as hypertension, obesity, chronic kidney disease, hypothyroidism and diabetes mellitus. Patients in the ECTR group reported a risk ratio of 1.44 (95%CI: 1.10-1.89, p=0.01) of requiring repeat procedures within 90 days of the initial procedure. Five-year trends in ECTR and OCTR procedures reported a combined annual growth rate of 5.6% and 13.15, respectively. Conclusion: Endoscopic and open approaches to CTR are important considerations in surgical planning. RA and ECTR have previously been identified as independent risk factors for revision CTR. Our study has identified the 90-day risk of repeat procedures to be elevated in the ECTR group in comparison to the OCTR group. Additionally, the growth of OCTR procedures has outpaced the growth of ECTR procedures in the same period, likely in response to the trend of ECTR leading to higher rates of repeat procedures. The need for revision following ECTR in patients with RA could be related to chronic inflammation leading to transverse carpal ligament thickening and concomitant tenosynovitis. Future directions could include further characterization of repeat procedures performed in this subset of patients. 

Keywords: endoscopic treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, open treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, trends analysis, carpal tunnel syndrome

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Authors: Ahmet Kurnaz, Eyup Yurt, Ümit Çiftci

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In this study, too, an attempt was made to reveal the place and effects of information technologies on the lives and education of gifted children based on the views of gifted. To this end, the effects of information technologies on gifted are general skills, technology use, academic and social skills, and cooperative and personal skills were investigated. These skills were explored depending on whether or not gifted had their own computers, had internet connection at home, or how often they use the internet, average time period they spent at the computer, how often they played computer games and their use of social media. The study was conducted using the screening model with a quantitative approach. The sample of the study consisted of 129 gifted attending 5-12th classes in 12 provinces in different regions of Turkey. 64 of the participants were female while 65 were male. The research data were collected using the using computer of gifted and information technologies (UCIT) questionnaire which was developed by the researchers and given its final form after receiving expert view. As a result of the study, it was found that UCIT use improved foreign language speaking skills of gifted, enabled them to get to know and understand different cultures, and made use of computer and information technologies while they study. At the end of the study these result were obtained: Gifted have positive idea using computer and communication technology. There are differences whether using the internet about the ideas UCIT. But there are not differences whether having computer, inhabited city, grade level, having internet at home, daily and weekly internet usage durations, playing the computer and internet game, having Facebook and Twitter account about the UCIT. UCIT contribute to the development of gifted vocabulary, allows knowing and understand different cultures, developing foreign language speaking skills, gifted do not give up computer when they do their homework, improve their reading, listening, understanding and writing skills in a foreign language. Gifted children want to have transition to the use of tablets in education. They think UCIT facilitates doing their homework, contributes learning more information in a shorter time. They'd like to use computer-assisted instruction programs at courses. They think they will be more successful in the future if their computer skills are good. But gifted students prefer teacher instead of teaching with computers and they said that learning can be run from home without going to school.

Keywords: gifted, using computer, communication technology, information technologies

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Authors: Kristin Prentice, Carri Hand

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As the Canadian population ages and chronic health conditions continue to escalate, older adults will require various types of housing, such as long term care or retirement homes. Moving to a new home may require a change in leisure activities and social networks, which could be challenging to maintain identity and create a sense of home. Leisure has been known to help older adults maintain or increase their quality of life and life satisfaction and may help older adults in moving to new homes. Sense of home and identity within older adults' transitions to new homes are concepts that may also relate to leisure engagement. Literature is scant regarding the role of leisure in older adults moving to new homes and how the sense of home and identity inter-relate. This study aims to explore how leisure may play a role in older adults' transitioning to new homes, including how sense of home and identity inter-relate. An ethnographic approach will be used to understand the culture of older adults transitioning to new homes. This study will involve older adults who have recently relocated to a mid-sized city in Ontario, Canada. The study will focus on the older adult’s interactions with and connections to their home environment through leisure. Data collection will take place via video-conferencing and will include a narrative interview and two other interviews to discuss an activity diary of leisure engagement pre and post move and mental maps to capture spaces where participants engaged in leisure. Participants will be encouraged to share photographs of leisure engagement taken inside and outside their home to help understand the social spaces the participants refer to in their activity diaries and mental maps. Older adults attempt to adjust to their new homes by maintaining their identity, developing a sense of home through creating attachment to place, and maintaining social networks, all of which have been linked to engaging in leisure. This research will provide insight into the role of leisure in this transition process and the extent that the home and community can contribute to aiding their transition to the new home. This research will contribute to existing literature on the inter-relationships of leisure, sense of home, and identity and how they relate to older adults moving to new homes. This research also has potential for influencing policy and practice for meeting the housing needs of older adults.

Keywords: leisure, older adults, transition, identity

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Abbas Kamalibandpey, Alain Beland, Joseph Mukendi Kabuya

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Since a rock mass is a discontinuum medium, its behaviour is governed by discontinuities such as faults, joint sets, lithologic contact, and bedding planes. Thus, rock slope stability analysis in jointed rock masses is largely dependent upon discontinuities constitutive equations. This paper studies the difference between the Mohr-Coulomb (MC) and the Barton-Bandis (BB) joint constitutive numerical models for lithological contacts and joint sets. For the rock in these models, generalized Hoek-Brown criteria have been considered. The joint roughness coefficient (JRC) and the joint wall compressive strength (JCS) are vital parameters in the BB model. The numerical models are applied to the rock slope stability analysis in the Mont-Wright (MW) mine. The Mont-Wright mine is owned and operated by ArcelorMittal Mining Canada (AMMC), one of the largest iron-ore open pit operations in Canada. In this regard, one of the high walls of the mine has been selected to undergo slope stability analysis with RS2D software, finite element method. Three piezometers have been installed in this zone to record pore water pressure and it is monitored by radar. In this zone, the AMP-IF and QRMS-IF contacts and very persistent and altered joint sets in IF control the rock slope behaviour. The height of the slope is more than 250 m and consists of different lithologies such as AMP, IF, GN, QRMS, and QR. To apply the B-B model, the joint sets and geological contacts have been scanned by Maptek, and their JRC has been calculated by different methods. The numerical studies reveal that the JRC of geological contacts, AMP-IF and QRMS-IF, and joint sets in IF had a significant influence on the safety factor. After evaluating the results of rock slope stability analysis and the radar data, the B-B constitutive equation for discontinuities has shown acceptable results to the real condition in the mine. It should be noted that the difference in safety factors in MC and BB joint constitutive models in some cases is more than 30%.

Keywords: barton-Bandis criterion, Hoek-brown and Mohr-Coulomb criteria, open pit, slope stability

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Dieudonne Uwizeye

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Introduction: Diarrhoea is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among communities living in urban informal settlements of developing countries. It is assumed that mountainous environment introduces variations of the burden among residents of the same settlements. Design and Objective: A cross-sectional study was done in Kigali to explore the effect of mountainous informal settlements on diarrhoea risk variations. Data were collected among 1,152 households through household survey and transect walk to observe the status of sanitation. The outcome variable was the incidence of diarrhoea among household members of any age. The study used the most knowledgeable person in the household as the main respondent. Mostly this was the woman of the house as she was more likely to know the health status of every household member as she plays various roles: mother, wife, and head of the household among others. The analysis used cross tabulation and logistic regression analysis. Results: Results suggest that risks for diarrhoea vary depending on home location in the settlements. Diarrhoea risk increased as the distance from the road increased. The results of the logistic regression analysis indicate the adjusted odds ratio of 2.97 with 95% confidence interval being 1.35-6.55 and 3.50 adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval being 1.61-7.60 in level two and three respectively compared with level one. The status of sanitation within and around homes was also significantly associated with the increase of diarrhoea. Equally, it is indicated that stable households were less likely to have diarrhoea. The logistic regression analysis indicated the adjusted odds ratio of 0.45 with 95% confidence interval being 0.25-0.81. However, the study did not find evidence for a significant association between diarrhoea risks and household socioeconomic status in the multivariable model. It is assumed that environmental factors in mountainous settings prevailed. Households using the available public water sources were more likely to have diarrhoea in their households. Recommendation: The study recommends the provision and extension of infrastructure for improved water, drainage, sanitation and wastes management facilities. Equally, studies should be done to identify the level of contamination and potential origin of contaminants for water sources in the valleys to adequately control the risks for diarrhoea in mountainous urban settings.

Keywords: urbanisation, diarrhoea risk, mountainous environment, urban informal settlements in Rwanda

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Mohammad Tarek Al Muallim, Ozhan Duzenli, Ceyhun Ilguy

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Harbor protection systems are so important. The need for automatic protection systems has increased over the last years. Diver detection active sonar has great significance. It used to detect underwater threats such as divers and autonomous underwater vehicle. To automatically detect such threats the sonar image is processed by algorithms. These algorithms used to detect, track and classify of underwater objects. In this work, divers tracking and classification algorithm is improved be proposing a robust wake detection method. To detect objects the sonar images is normalized then segmented based on fixed threshold. Next, the centroids of the segments are found and clustered based on distance metric. Then to track the objects linear Kalman filter is applied. To reduce effect of noise and creation of false tracks, the Kalman tracker is fine tuned. The tuning is done based on our active sonar specifications. After the tracks are initialed and updated they are subjected to a filtering stage to eliminate the noisy and unstable tracks. Also to eliminate object with a speed out of the diver speed range such as buoys and fast boats. Afterwards the result tracks are subjected to a classification stage to deiced the type of the object been tracked. Here the classification stage is to deice wither if the tracked object is an open circuit diver or a close circuit diver. At the classification stage, a small area around the object is extracted and a novel wake detection method is applied. The morphological features of the object with his wake is extracted. We used support vector machine to find the best classifier. The sonar training images and the test images are collected by ARMELSAN Defense Technologies Company using the portable diver detection sonar ARAS-2023. After applying the algorithm to the test sonar data, we get fine and stable tracks of the divers. The total classification accuracy achieved with the diver type is 97%.

Keywords: harbor protection, diver detection, active sonar, wake detection, diver classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: V. Argyropoulos, M. Nikolaraizi, K. Tanou

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There is little available information concerning the cognitive and communicative abilities of the people who are deaf-blind. This mainly stems from the general inadequacy of existing assessment instruments employed with deafblind individuals. Although considerable variability exists with regard to cognitive capacities of the deaf-blind, careful examination of the literature reveals that the majority of these persons suffer from significant deficits in cognitive and adaptive functioning. The few reports available primarily are case studies, narrative program descriptions, or position papers by workers in the field. Without the objective verification afforded by controlled research, specialists in psychology, education, and other rehabilitation services must rely on personal speculations or biases to guide their decisions in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of services to deaf-blind children and adults. This paper highlights the framework and discusses the results of an action research network. The aim of this study was twofold: a) to describe and analyse the different ways in which a student with deafblindness approached a number of developmental issues such as novel tasks, exploration and manipulation of objects, reactions to social stimuli, motor coordination, and quality of play and b) to map the appropriate functional approach for the specific student that could be used to develop strategies for classroom participation and socialization. The persons involved in this collaborative action research scheme were general teachers, a school counsellor, academic staff and student teachers. Rating scales and checklists were used to gather information in natural activities and settings, and additional data were also obtained through interviews with the educators of the student. The findings of this case study indicated that there is a great need to focus on the development of effective intervention strategies. The results showed that the identification of positive reinforcers for this population might represent an important and challenging aspect of behaviour programmes. Finally, the findings suggest that additional empirical work is needed to increase attention to methodological and social validity issues.

Keywords: action research, cognitive and communicative abilities, deafblindness, effective strategies

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: Arunas Emeljanovas, Brigita Mieziene, Tomas Venckunas

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Background statement: Level of aerobic capacity in school age children provides important information about the current and future cardiovascular, skeletal and mental health. It is widely recognised that risk factors for modern chronic diseases of the adults have their origins in childhood and adolescence. The aim of the study was to analyse the trends of aerobic capacity across decades within groups of gender and age. Methods. The research included data of participants from the three nationally representative cohort studies performed in Lithuania in the years 1992, 2002 and 2012 among 11 to 18-years-old school children. Total of 18,294 school children were recruited for testing. Only those who had their body weight and height measured and completed 20 m shuttle endurance test were included in the analysis. The total number of students included in the analyses was 15,213 (7608 boys and 7605 girls). The permission to conduct the study was obtained from the Lithuanian Bioethics Committee (permission number BE-2-45). Major findings: Results are performed across gender and age groups. The comparison of shuttle endurance test, controlling for body mass index, indicated that in general there is a constant decrease of aerobic capacity across decades in both genders and age groups. The deterioration in aerobic capacity in boys accounted for 17 to 43 percent across age groups within decades. The biggest decrease was in 14 years-old boys. The deterioration in girls accounted for 19 to 37 percent across age groups with the highest decrease in 11 years-old girls. Though, girls had lower levels of aerobic capacity through all age groups and across three decades. Body mass index, as a covariate, accounted for up to six percent in deterioration of aerobic capacity. Final statement: The detected relationships may reflect the level and pattern of engagement in physical activity and sports where increased activity associates with superior performance in the tests because of the upregulated physiological function and instigated competitive/motivational level. The significance of the decade indirectly supports the importance of the recently changed activity among schoolchildren for this relationship.

Keywords: aerobic capacity, cardiovascular health, endurance, school age children

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Sylvain Chardon, Timotéo Payre, Hugo Grardel, Yann Quentel, Mathieu Thomachot, Gérald Aigouy, Frank Claeyssen

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With the increasing digitalization of society, access to data has become vital and strategic for individuals and nations. In this context, the number of satellite constellation projects is growing drastically worldwide and is a next-generation challenge of the New Space industry. So far, existing satellite constellations have been using radio frequencies (RF) for satellite-to-ground communications, inter-satellite communications, and feeder link communication. However, RF has several limitations, such as limited bandwidth and low protection level. To address these limitations, space optical communication will be the new trend, addressing both very high-speed and secured encrypted communication. Fast Steering Mirrors (FSM) are key components used in optical communication as well as space imagery and for a large field of functions such as Point Ahead Mechanisms (PAM), Raster Scanning, Beam Steering Mirrors (BSM), Fine Pointing Mechanisms (FPM) and Line of Sight stabilization (LOS). The main challenges of space FSM development for optical communication are to propose both a technology and a supply chain relevant for high quantities New Space approach, which requires secured connectivity for high-speed internet, Earth planet observation and monitoring, and mobility applications. CTEC proposes a mini-FSM technology offering a stroke of +/-6 mrad and a resonant frequency of 1700 Hz, with a mass of 50 gr. This FSM mechanism is a good candidate for giant constellations and all applications on board NanoSats and CubeSats, featuring a very high level of miniaturization and optimized for New Space high quantities cost efficiency. The use of piezo actuators offers a high resonance frequency for optimal control, with almost zero power consumption in step and stay pointing, and with very high-reliability figures > 0,995 demonstrated over years of recurrent manufacturing for Optronics applications at CTEC.

Keywords: fast steering mirror, feeder link, line of sight stabilization, optical communication, pointing ahead mechanism, raster scan

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Mia Françoise

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This report aims to develop a strategy for assisting short-term investors to benefit from the current economic climate in South Africa by utilizing technical analysis techniques and predictive analytics. As part of this research, value investing and technical analysis principles will be combined to maximize returns for South African investors while optimizing volatility. As an emerging market, South Africa offers many opportunities for high growth in sectors where other developed countries cannot grow at the same rate. Investing in South African companies with significant growth potential can be extremely rewarding. Although the risk involved is more significant in countries with less developed markets and infrastructure, there is more room for growth in these countries. According to recent research, the offshore market is expected to outperform the local market over the long term; however, short-term investments in the local market will likely be more profitable, as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is predicted to outperform the S&P500 over the short term. The instabilities in the economy contribute to increased market volatility, which can benefit investors if appropriately utilized. Price prediction and portfolio optimization comprise the two primary components of this methodology. As part of this process, statistics and other predictive modeling techniques will be used to predict the future performance of stocks listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Following predictive data analysis, Modern Portfolio Theory, based on Markowitz's Mean-Variance Theorem, will be applied to optimize the allocation of assets within an investment portfolio. By combining different assets within an investment portfolio, this optimization method produces a portfolio with an optimal ratio of expected risk to expected return. This methodology aims to provide a short-term investment with a stock portfolio that offers the best risk-to-return profile for stocks listed on the JSE by combining price prediction and portfolio optimization.

Keywords: financial stocks, optimized asset allocation, prediction modelling, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Suantak Demkhosei Vaiphei

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Mental illness is still considered as an illness not to be treated, resulting India becoming the most depressed country in the world. At present, 150 million Indians are suffering from mental illness and desperately in need of immediate care assessment for their mental health condition. However, only 0.06 per cent of India’s health budget is devoted to mental health treatment, in which the available data suggests that the state of spending the sanctioned budget in this regard is abysmal. Lack of awareness, ignorance, social stigma, and discriminations becomes the underlying factors for worsening the individual mental health conditions. Unfortunately, India becomes the most depressed country in the world, which is hugely affected by anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder followed by China and USA as per the latest World Health Organization report. The National Care of Medical Health stated that at least 6.5 per cent of the Indian populations are under serious mental disorder both in the rural and the urban areas’Mental health is the integral part of health and can be affected by a range of psychosocial-economic factors that need comprehensive strategically approach for promotion, prevention, treatment, and recovery. In a low- and middle-income country like India, the advance progress in mental health service is visible consistently slow and minimal. Some of the major barriers can be seen in the existing public health priorities and its influence on funding; challenges to delivery of basic mental health care in the primary care settings; the minimal numbers of well-trained professionals in the area of mental health care; and lack of mental health perspective in public-health leadership. The existing barriers according to WHO (2007) are; lack of funding for mental health services is the core barrier in implementing quality mental health services, including inadequate coordinated and consensus based national mental health advocacy and plans, the absence of mental health in major donor priorities, marketing of expensive pharmaceuticals by industry, cost-effectiveness information on mental health services that is unknown to senior decision-makers and social stigma among others. Moreover, lack of strong mental health advocacy in countries to increase resources for mental health services and the role of social stigma and the view that mental health is a private responsibility are also the two barriers to mental health.

Keywords: mental health, depression, stigma, barriers

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Elvis Munyoka

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While the number of African refugees settling in Australia has significantly increased since the mid-1990s, the marginalisation and exclusion of young people from refugee backgrounds in employment remain a critical challenge. Unemployment or underemployment can negatively impact refugees in multiple areas, such as income, housing, life satisfaction, and social status. Higher rates of unemployment among refugees are linked in part to the intersection of pre-migration and daily challenges like trauma, racism, gender identity, and English language competency, all of which generate multiple employability disadvantages. However, the intersection of gender, race, social class, and age in impacting African refugee youth’s access to employment has received less attention. Using a qualitative case study approach, the paper will explore how gender, race, social class, and age influence African refugee youth graduates’ access to employment in South Australia. The intersectionality theory and capability approach to social justice is used to explore intersecting factors impacting African refugee youth’s access to employment in South Australia. Participants were 16 African refugee graduates aged 18-30 living in South Australia who took part in the study for one year. Based on the trends in the data, the results suggest that long-term unemployment and underemployment, coupled with ongoing racism and marginalisation, have the potential to make refugees more vulnerable to several mental disorders such as depression, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. The analysis also reveals that resettlement challenges may limit refugees’ ability to recover from pre-migration trauma. The impact of resettlement challenges on refugee mental health highlights the need for comprehensive policy interventions to address the barriers refugees face in finding employment in resettlement communities. With African refugees constituting such an important part of Australian society, they should have equal access to meaningful employment, as decent work promotes good mental health, successful resettlement, hope, and self-sufficiency.

Keywords: African refugee youth, mental health, employment, resettlement, racism

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Inna V. Krotova

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The study pays special attention to the definition of the psychological potential of a specialist-defectologist, which determines his desire to increase the level of his or her professional competence. The group included participants of the educational environment – an additional professional program 'Technologies of psychological and pedagogical assistance for children with complex developmental disabilities' implemented by the department of defectology and clinical psychology of the KFU jointly with the Support Fund for the Deafblind people 'Co-Unity'. The purpose of our study was to identify the psychological aspects of the readiness of the specialist-defectologist to his or her professional development. The study assessed the indicators of psychological preparedness, and its four components were taken into account: motivational, cognitive, emotional and volitional. We used valid and standardized tests during the study. As a result of the factor analysis of data received (from Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis, Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization, Rotation converged in 12 iterations), there were identified three factors with maximum factor load from 24 indices, and their correlation coefficients with other indicators were taken into account at the level of reliability p ≤ 0.001 and p ≤ 0.01. Thus the system making factor was determined – it’s a 'motivation to achieve success'; it formed a correlation galaxy with two other factors: 'general internality' and 'internality in the field of achievements', as well as with such psychological indicators as 'internality in the field of family relations', 'internality in the field of interpersonal relations 'and 'low self-control-high self-control' (the names of the scales used is the same as names in the analysis methods. In conclusion of the article, we present some proposals to take into account the psychological model of readiness of specialists-defectologists for their professional development, to stimulate the growth of their professional competence. The study has practical value for all providers of special education and organizations that have their own specialists-defectologists, teachers-defectologists, teachers for correctional and ergotherapeutic activities, specialists working in the field of correctional-pedagogical activity (speech therapists) to people with special needs who need true professional support.

Keywords: psychological readiness, defectologist, professional development, psychological factors, special education, professional competence, innovative educational environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Henok Yebyo Henok, Araya Abrha Araya, Alemayehu Bayray Alemayehu, Gelila Goba Gelila

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Background: Every year, an estimated 19–20 million unsafe abortions take place, almost all in developing countries, leading to 68,000 deaths and millions more injured many permanently. Many women throughout the world, experience more than one abortion in their lifetimes. Repeat abortion is an indicator of the larger problem of unintended pregnancy. This study aimed to identify determinants of repeat abortion in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Methods: Unmatched case-control study was conducted in hospitals in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia, from November 2014 to June 2015. The sample included 105 cases and 204 controls, recruited from among women seeking abortion care at public hospitals. Clients having two or more abortions (“repeat abortion”) were taken as cases, and those who had a total of one abortion were taken as controls (“single abortion”). Cases were selected consecutive based on proportional to size allocation while systematic sampling was employed for controls. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Binary and multiple variable logistic regression analyses were calculated with 95% CI. Results: Mean age of cases was 24 years (±6.85) and 22 years (±6.25) for controls. 79.0% of cases had their sexual debut in less than 18 years of age compared to 57% of controls. 42.2% of controls and 23.8% of cases cited rape as the reason for having an abortion. Study participants who did not understand their fertility cycle and when they were most likely to conceive after menstruation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-3.7), having a previous abortion using medication(AOR=3.3, CI: 1.83, 6.11), having multiple sexual partners in the preceding 12 months (AOR=4.4, CI: 2.39,8.45), perceiving that the abortion procedure is not painful (AOR=2.3, CI: 1.31,4.26), initiating sexual intercourse before the age of 18 years (AOR=2.7, CI: 1.49, 5.23) and disclosure to a third-party about terminating the pregnancy (AOR=2.1, CI: 1.2,3.83) were independent predictors of repeat abortion. Conclusion: This study identified several factors correlated with women having repeat abortions. It may be helpful for the Government of Ethiopia to encourage women to delay sexual debut and decrease their number of sexual partners, including by promoting discussion within families about sexuality, to decrease the occurrence of repeated abortion.

Keywords: abortion, Ethiopia, repeated abortion, single abortion

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Vered Holzmann, Ramzi Halabi

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The current research investigates motivators and barriers to high-tech entrepreneurship in the Israeli-Arab Community. With the aim to exploit the capacity of Israel as a 'start-up nation', we identify the most important aspects to promote integration of Israeli-Arab entrepreneurs in high-tech startups and business companies, thus impact the socio-economic status of the Arab community in Israel. We reviewed the literature on the role of high-tech and entrepreneurship in the Israeli economy, the profile of the Israeli-Arab community with regard to education and employability, and the characteristics of minority entrepreneurship to understand entrepreneurs' intentions, their incentives to choose the entrepreneurial route on one hand and the obstacles that they face on the other hand. Based on the literature review, we conducted an integrated study that included a survey among 73 Israeli-Arabs involved in high-tech entrepreneurship and 16 semi-structured interviews with Israeli-Arab and Jewish entrepreneurs and leaders in the high-tech industry. We analyzed the data to explore personal and social motivating factors to entrepreneurship as well as educational and socio-economical barriers for entrepreneurship. Three major elements were found to be the most influential on Arab high-tech entrepreneurship in Israel: education, financial resources, and strategic-institutional support. The relationship between education and employability that is well-known with regard to general education, requires two additional aspects in the field of high-tech entrepreneurship: education of technology and engineering, and education of business and entrepreneurship. The study findings reveal that the main motivation factors for entrepreneurship are development of creative ideas and improvement of the socio-economic status, while financial-related factors and lack of institutional and governmental support are perceived as impediments to entrepreneurial activities. Financing difficulties are mainly derived from discriminating financial environment and lack of professional networking. The relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth seems to be clear and simple; thus it is a national interest to encourage entrepreneurship among the Arab community, and especially high-tech entrepreneurship which has a significant role in the economic growth of Israel.

Keywords: high-tech industry, innovation management, Israeli-Arab community, minority entrepreneurship, motivating factors and barriers

Procedia PDF Downloads 216

Authors: Zelal Polat, Şebnem Harsa, Semra Ülkü

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Lactic acid exists in nature optically in two forms, L(+), D(-)-lactic acid, and has been used in food, leather, textile, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Moreover, L(+)-lactic acid constitutes the raw material for the production of poly-L-lactic acid which is used in biomedical applications. Microbially produced lactic acid was aimed to be recovered from the fermentation media efficiently and economically. Among the various downstream operations, ion exchange chromatography is highly selective and yields a low cost product recovery within a short period of time. In this project, Lactobacillus casei NRRL B-441 was used for the production of L(+)-lactic acid from whey by fermentation at pH 5.5 and 37°C that took 12 hours. The product concentration was 50 g/l with 100% L(+)-lactic acid content. Next, the suitable resin was selected due to its high sorption capacity with rapid equilibrium behavior. Dowex marathon WBA, weakly basic anion exchanger in OH form reached the equilibrium in 15 minutes. The batch adsorption experiments were done approximately at pH 7.0 and 30°C and sampling was continued for 20 hours. Furthermore, the effect of temperature and pH was investigated and their influence was found to be unimportant. All the adsorption/desorption experiments were applied to both model lactic acid and biomass free fermentation broth. The ion exchange equilibria of lactic acid and L(+)-lactic acid in fermentation broth on Dowex marathon WBA was explained by Langmuir isotherm. The maximum exchange capacity (qm) for model lactic acid was 0.25 g La/g wet resin and for fermentation broth 0.04 g La/g wet resin. The equilibrium loading and exchange efficiency of L(+)-lactic acid in fermentation broth were reduced as a result of competition by other ionic species. The competing ions inhibit the binding of L(+)-lactic acid to the free sites of ion exchanger. Moreover, column operations were applied to recover adsorbed lactic acid from the ion exchanger. 2.0 M HCl was the suitable eluting agent to recover the bound L(+)-lactic acid with a flowrate of 1 ml/min at ambient temperature. About 95% of bound L(+)-lactic acid was recovered from Dowex marathon WBA. The equilibrium was reached within 15 minutes. The aim of this project was to investigate the purification of L(+)-lactic acid with ion exchange method from fermentation broth. The additional goals were to investigate the end product purity, to obtain new data on the adsorption/desorption behaviours of lactic acid and applicability of the system in industrial usage.

Keywords: fermentation, ion exchange, lactic acid, purification, whey

Procedia PDF Downloads 501