Search results for: bridge employment

Authors: Garima Singh, Kunal Malhotra

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Objective: The expansion of telehealth has been instrumental in increasing access to medical services, especially for underserved and rural communities. In 2020, 14 million patients received virtual care through telemedicine and the global telemedicine market is expected to reach up to $185 million by 2023. It provides a platform and allows a patient to receive primary care as well as specialized care using technology and the comfort of their homes. Telemedicine was particularly useful during COVID-pandemic and the number of telehealth visits increased by 5000% during that time. It continues to serve as a significant resource for patients seeking care and to bridge the gap between the disease and the treatment. Method: As per APA (American Psychiatric Association), Telemedicine is the process of providing health care from a distance through technology. It is a subset of telemedicine, and can involve providing a range of services, including evaluations, therapy, patient education and medication management. It can involve direct interaction between a physician and the patient. It also encompasses supporting primary care providers with specialist consultation and expertise. It can also involve recording medical information (images, videos, etc.) and sending this to a distant site for later review. Results: In our organization, we are using telepsychiatry and serving 25 counties and approximately 1.4 million people. We provide multiple services, including inpatient, outpatient, crisis intervention, Rehab facility, autism services, case management, community treatment and multiple other modalities. With project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) it has been used to advise and assist primary care providers in treating mental health. It empowers primary care providers to treat patients in their own community by sharing knowledge. Conclusion: Telemedicine has shown to be a great medium in meeting patients’ needs and accessible mental health. It has been shown to improve access to care in both urban and rural settings by bringing care to a patient and reducing barriers like transportation, financial stress and resources. Telemedicine is also helping with reducing ER visits, integrating primary care and improving the continuity of care and follow-up. There has been substantial evidence and research about its effectiveness and its usage.

Keywords: telehealth, telemedicine, access to care, medical technology

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Authors: Zahid Ullah, Atlas Khan

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The rapid growth of data in diverse domains has created an urgent need for effective utilization of mathematical and statistical sciences in data analytics. This abstract explores the journey from theory to practice, emphasizing the importance of harnessing mathematical and statistical innovations to unlock the full potential of data analytics. Drawing on a comprehensive review of existing literature and research, this study investigates the fundamental theories and principles underpinning mathematical and statistical sciences in the context of data analytics. It delves into key mathematical concepts such as optimization, probability theory, statistical modeling, and machine learning algorithms, highlighting their significance in analyzing and extracting insights from complex datasets. Moreover, this abstract sheds light on the practical applications of mathematical and statistical sciences in real-world data analytics scenarios. Through case studies and examples, it showcases how mathematical and statistical innovations are being applied to tackle challenges in various fields such as finance, healthcare, marketing, and social sciences. These applications demonstrate the transformative power of mathematical and statistical sciences in data-driven decision-making. The abstract also emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, as it recognizes the synergy between mathematical and statistical sciences and other domains such as computer science, information technology, and domain-specific knowledge. Collaborative efforts enable the development of innovative methodologies and tools that bridge the gap between theory and practice, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of data analytics. Furthermore, ethical considerations surrounding data analytics, including privacy, bias, and fairness, are addressed within the abstract. It underscores the need for responsible and transparent practices in data analytics, and highlights the role of mathematical and statistical sciences in ensuring ethical data handling and analysis. In conclusion, this abstract highlights the journey from theory to practice in harnessing mathematical and statistical sciences in data analytics. It showcases the practical applications of these sciences, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, and the need for ethical considerations. By bridging the gap between theory and practice, mathematical and statistical sciences contribute to unlocking the full potential of data analytics, empowering organizations and decision-makers with valuable insights for informed decision-making.

Keywords: data analytics, mathematical sciences, optimization, machine learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, practical applications

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Authors: Henry Kelly, Helena Shaw

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This paper will seek how innovative methods from Health Economics and, to a lesser extent, wellbeing analysis can be applied in the Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) of transport infrastructure and policy interventions. The context for this will focus on the framework articulated by the UK Treasury (finance department) and the English Department for Transport. Both have well-established methods for undertaking CBA, but there is increased policy interest, particularly at a regional level of exploring broader strategic goals beyond those traditionally associated with transport user benefits, productivity gains, and labour market access. Links to different CBA approaches internationally, such as New Zealand, France, and Wales will be referenced. By exploring a complementary method of accessing the impacts of policies through the quantification of health impacts is a fruitful line to explore. In a previous piece of work, 14 impact pathways were identified, mapping the relationship between transport and health. These are wide-ranging, from improved employment prospects, the stress of unreliable journey times, and air quality to isolation and loneliness. Importantly, we will consider these different measures of health from an intersectional point of view to ensure that the basis that remains in the health industry does not get translated across to this work. The objective is to explore how a CBA based on these pathways may, through quantifying forecast impacts in terms of Quality-Adjusted Life Years may, produce different findings than a standard approach. Of particular interest is how a health-based approach may have different distributional impacts on socio-economic groups and may favour distinct types of interventions. Consideration will be given to the degree this approach may double-count impacts or if it is possible to identify additional benefits to the established CBA approach. The investigation will explore a range of schemes, from a high-speed rail link, highway improvements, rural mobility hubs, and coach services to cycle lanes. The conclusions should aid the progression of methods concerning the assessment of publicly funded infrastructure projects.

Keywords: cost-benefit analysis, health, QALYs transport

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Authors: Simona Grasso, Gabrielle Smith, Sophie Bowers, Oluseyi Moses Ajayi, Mark Swainson

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Hybrid meat analogues are meat products whereby a proportion of meat has been partially replaced by more sustainable protein sources. These products could bridge the gap between meat and meat-free products, providing convenience, and allowing consumers to continue using meat products as they conventionally would, while lowering their overall meat intake. The study aimed to investigate the effect of introducing texturized soy protein (TSP) at different levels (15% and 30%) with and without nutritional yeast as flavour enhancer on the sensory and instrumental quality of beef meatballs, compared to a soy and yeast-free control. Proximate analysis, yield, colour, instrumental texture, and sensory quality were investigated. The addition of soy and yeast did not have significant effects on the overall protein content, but the total fat and moisture content went down with increasing soy substitution. Samples with 30% TSP had significantly higher yield than the other recipes. In terms of colour, a* redness values tended to go down and b* yellowness values tended to go up with increasing soy addition. The addition of increasing levels of soy and yeast modified the structure of meatballs resulting in a progressive decrease in hardness and chewiness compared to control. Sixty participants assessed the samples using Check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions and hedonic scales. The texture of all TSP-containing samples received significantly higher acceptability scores than control, while 15% TSP with yeast received significantly higher flavour and overall acceptability scores than control. Control samples were significantly more often associated than the other recipes to the term 'hard' and the least associated to 'soft' and 'crumbly and easy to cut'. All recipes were similarly associated to the terms 'weak meaty', 'strong meaty', 'characteristic' and 'unusual'. Correspondence analysis separated the meatballs in three distinct groups: 1) control; 2) 30%TSP with yeast; and 3) 15%TSP, 15%TSP with yeast and 30%TSP located together on the sensory map, showing similarity. Adding 15-30% TSP with or without yeast inclusion could be beneficial for the development of future meat hybrids with acceptable sensory quality. These results can provide encouragement for the use of the hybrid concept by the meat industry to promote the partial substitution of meat in flexitarians’ diets.

Keywords: CATA, hybrid meat products, texturised soy protein, yeast

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Authors: Faraj A. E. Alhegagi, Bassam F. A. Alhajaji

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Ductile and brittle fractures are the two main modes for the failure of engineering components. Fractures are classified with respect to several characteristics, such as strain to fracture, ductile or brittle crystallographic mode, shear or cleavage, and the appearance of fracture, granular or transgranular. Cleavage is a brittle fracture involves transcrystalline fracture along specific crystallographic planes and in certain directions. Fracture of duplex stainless steels takes place transgranularly by cleavage of the ferrite phase. On the other hand, ductile fracture occurs after considerable plastic deformation prior to failure and takes place by void nucleation, growth, and coalescence to provide an easy fracture path. Twinning causes depassivation more readily than slip and appears at stress lower than the theoretical yield stress. Consequently, damage due to twinning can occur well before that due to slip. Stainless steels are clean materials with the low efficiency of second particles phases on the fracture mechanism. The ferrite cleavage and austenite tear off are the main mode by which duplex stainless steels fails. In this study, the cracking mode and path of specimens of duplex stainless steels were investigated. Zeron 100 specimens were heat treated to different times cooled down and pulled to failure. The fracture surface was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) concentrating on the cracking mechanism, path, and origin. Cracking mechanisms were studied for those grains either as ferrite or austenite grains identified according to fracture surface features. Cracks propagated through the ferrite and the austenite two phases were investigated. Cracks arrested at the grain boundary were studied as well. For specimens aged for 100h, the ferrite phase was noted to crack by cleavage along well-defined planes while austenite ridges were clearly observed within the ferrite grains. Some grains were observed to fail with topographic features that were not clearly identifiable as ferrite cleavage or austenite tearing. Transgranular cracking was observed taking place in the ferrite phase on well-defined planes. No intergranular cracks were observed for the tested material. The austenite phase was observed to serve as a crack bridge and crack arrester.

Keywords: austenite ductile tear off, cracking mode, ferrite cleavage, stainless steels failure

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Authors: M. Roberts Masillamani

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There is a phenomenal difference, as regard to the teaching methodology adopted at the urban and the rural area colleges. However, bright and talented student may be from rural back ground even. But there is huge dearth of the digitization in the rural areas and lesser developed countries. Today’s students need new skills to compete and successful in the future. Education should be combination of practical, intellectual, and social skills. What does this mean for rural classrooms and how can it be achieved. Rural colleges are not able to hire the best resources, since the best teacher’s aim is to move towards the city. If city is provided everywhere, then there will be no rural area. This is possible by forming university clusters (UC). The University cluster is a group of renowned and accredited universities coming together to bridge this dearth. The UC will deliver the live lectures and allow the students’ from remote areas to actively participate in the classroom. This paper tries to present a plan of action of providing a better live classroom teaching and learning system from the city to the rural and the lesser developed countries. This paper titled “University Clusters using ICT for teaching and learning” provides a true concept of opening live digital classroom windows for rural colleges, where resources are not available, thus reducing the digital divide. This is different from pod casting a lecture or distance learning and eLearning. The live lecture can be streamed through digital equipment to another classroom. The rural students can collaborate with their peers and critiques, be assessed, collect information, acquire different techniques in assessment and learning process. This system will benefit rural students and teachers and develop socio economic status. This will also will increase the degree of confidence of the Rural students and teachers. Thus bringing about the concept of ‘Train the Trainee’ in reality. An educational university cloud for each cluster will be built remote infrastructure facilities (RIF) for the above program. The users may be informed, about the available lecture schedules, through the RIF service. RIF with an educational cloud can be set by the universities under one cluster. This paper talks a little more about University clusters and the methodology to be adopted as well as some extended features like, tutorial classes, library grids, remote laboratory login, research and development.

Keywords: lesser developed countries, digital divide, digital learning, education, e-learning, ICT, library grids, live classroom windows, RIF, rural, university clusters and urban

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Authors: Felix O. Akinboyewa

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To say that Nigeria is faced with the problem of domestic terrorism is to say the obvious. The spate of political assassination during the fourth republic (1999-2010) is representative of what has become a growing trend. In this research, an attempt was made to examine the problems of political assassination within the context of significant categories of domestic-related terrorism in Nigeria Democracy. The central questions are: What exactly are the nature of political violence and terrorist act in the Nigeria nascent democracy? Was there any factor responsible for the politics of violence and terrorist act in the Nigeria democracy? What implications can the political violence and terrorist act have on democratic consolidation, national peace, and security? What solutions can be proffered to eradicate terrorist act and political violence in the Nigeria democracy? The study adopted a descriptive survey design which falls within the empirical research methodology. The sample size of the study consisted of 220 subjects randomly selected. The main instruments used were questionnaire and interview schedule. Data generated from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage and tables. The research findings showed that unemployed youths and the members of Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) were the major actors in political violence in Nigeria. They have access to weapons and ammunitions which they use to terrorize the populace. The research showed that factors responsible for the political violence and terrorism in Nigeria are: poor electoral administration; election rigging; poor security system; religious and ethnic sentiment; problems of poverty and unemployment; over-exuberance and low level of education. The study also showed that electoral violence affects smooth running democracy in Nigeria. On the measures to be taken to eradicate political violence and terrorism in Nigeria, the research showed that provision of employment opportunities would go a long way to solving the problem. Civil society as an important institution can help to reduce incidence of political violence in Nigeria. Also, government has greater role to play. The study concludes that adherence to the proffered suggestions would reduce the level of political violence and terrorist act in Nigeria.

Keywords: consolidation, democracy, peace, security, terrorism, violence

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Authors: Pankaj Pradhananga

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Inclusive Tourism is a relatively new topic in Nepal. Though the effort of creating accessible and inclusive tourism has already begun, it is still in its infancy. A major concern for Destination Nepal is the lack of awareness and absence of mandatory law in place to encourage Tourism operating sectors for coming up with accessible Tourism products. Given the number economic and social benefits to may be derived from inclusive tourism, it is a critical time for the tourism industry to understand and develop measures towards inclusivity in the gateway to Himalaya. Nepal was struck with a devastating earthquake on April 25th, 2015 which concurrently left more than 4,000 Nepalese with physical disabilities. Nepal has had to rebuild and is continuing to rebuild a lot of infrastructure and the process of rebuilding should be barrier free and use universal design measures. With universal design in place, this would allow access for minority groups such as people with disabilities and the elderly to the historic monuments in Kathmandu valley. Four Seasons Travel ( 4ST) has been a key player in not only creating accessible tourism experiences in Nepal, but also promoting accessible tourism to other tourism operators. Dr. Scott Rains had worked closely with 4ST on accessible tourism. Additionally, it organised an accessible trek which was field tested with a traveler with vision impairment in August 2015. Another accessible trekking experience, in partnership with Washington DC based International Development Institute, was coined as ‘Wounded Heroes Trek to Nepal’, where a group of Veterans that are amputees went trekking in the Annapurna Region. The event made it to the list of UNWTO World Tourism Day celebrations. Such initiatives led by private sector in partnership with various organizations have worked to create a ‘Destination Nepal for all’. However, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make Nepal a truly inclusive destination. Partnerships between the private sector and DPOs ( Disabled People’s Organizations) as well as the government are also a sound opportunity for employment creation for people with disabilities. Further, partnerships between the state, tourism service providers and DPOs need to be fostered to create job opportunities for people with disabilities. This can be exemplified through the social Entrepreneurship model with the help of accessible Tourism.

Keywords: accessible tourism, disability, earthquake, inclusion

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Authors: Elida Cena

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Return migration is receiving increased attention as the phenomenon challenges assumptions of natural ‘homecomings’. This talk outlines preliminary findings from an ongoing PhD study which explores return migration of Albanian migrants (aged 30-50 years) and their children (aged 7-18 years). Participants (n=51) were purposively recruited from two Albanian cities with divergent social and economic conditions, and the majority had returned from Greece following the recent economic downturn in that country. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with respondents aged 13 years and above, and were augmented with focus groups and family case studies. Data collection for case studies was aided by photo elicitation, interviews and participatory techniques (drawing) were employed for children aged 7-12 years. Through a multidisciplinary perspective, findings will uncover experiences of migrants and children upon return, the quest to identify with the originating country and create a sense of belongingness. Narrative analysis reveals that the abrupt return was associated with ambivalent feelings and disillusionment about their (re)settlement for both younger and older participants. Faced with unexpected realities and lack of opportunities, particularly for the children of migrants, Albania is viewed as a ‘transit country’, a temporary solution to escape the crisis in the destination country and move to a more developed western country. Adult return migrants articulate lack of employment and insecurity for the future. Apart from school difficulties, children experience isolation and social exclusion, marked by stigmatized labelling from other peers which exacerbates their belonging. Such mobilities have had deeper effects in complicating family relationships as influenced by many disintegration factors. Feelings of alienation and being emigrant for the second time were common in participants' accounts. Findings concerning the difficulties of individuals (re)connecting with their ethnic background and the impact on their identities are discussed in relation to the literature on return migration and identification.

Keywords: return migration, belonging, identity, disintegration, integration

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Authors: Jaidev Tripathy

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A human generation’s lifestyle, behaviors, habits, and actions are governed heavily by homogenous mindsets. But the current scenario is witnessing a rapid gap in this homogeneity as a result of an intervention, or rather, the dominance of the digital revolution in the human lifestyle. The current mindset for mass production, employment, multi-tasking, rapid involvement, and stiff competition to stay above the rest has led to a major shift in human consciousness. Architecture, as an entity, is being perceived differently. The screens are replacing the skies. The pace at which operation and evolution is taking place has increased. It is paradoxical, that time seems to be moving faster despite the intention to save time. Parallelly, there is an evident shift in architectural typologies spanning across different generations. The architecture of today is now seems influenced heavily from here and there. Mass production of buildings and over-exploitation of resources giving shape to uninspiring algorithmic designs, ambiguously catering to multiple user groups, has become a prevalent theme. Borrow-and-steal replaces influence, and the diminishing depth in today’s designs reflects a lack of understanding and connection. The digitally dominated world, perceived as an aid to connect and network, is making humans less capable of real-life interactions and understanding. It is not wrong, but it doesn’t seem right either. The engagement level between human beings and the built environment is a concern which surfaces. This leads to a question: Does human engagement drive architecture, or does architecture drive human engagement? This paper attempts to relook at architecture's capacity and its relativity with pace to influence the conscious decisions of a human being. Secondary research, supported with case examples, helps in understanding the translation of human engagement with the built environment through physicality of architecture. The procedure, or theme, is pace and the role of slowness in the context of human behaviors, thus bridging the widening gap between the human race and the architecture themselves give shape to, avoiding a possible future dystopian world.

Keywords: junkspace, pace, perception, slowness

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Authors: Ransford Kwaku Afeadie

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Purpose – The health challenges that characterises most of the migrants’ urban slums raise a lot of concern for their well-being. Health-seeking behaviour becomes an important step towards maintaining a healthy life. The importance of contextual issues is necessary to help meet specific community health needs and programmes. Therefore, this study aims to bridge the knowledge gap by investigating health-seeking behaviour disparity among rural-urban labour migrant slum dwellers before and after migration to the urban slums of Madina in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – The author used explanatory sequential approach of research investigation. Questionnaire and interview guides were used to collect data from the respondents; however, in the absence of an existing reliable sampling frame, the various communities were selected by the use of cluster sampling proportional to size. At the second stage, a simple random sampling was used to select the various household heads. A total of 241 questionnaires were retrieved from the respondents representing a response rate of 100%. The author used the purposive sampling technique to conduct eight in-depth interviews and six key informants’ interviews. Findings – The author found various discrepancies in many of the activities that could fulfill substantial health-seeking behaviour in the slum as compared to migrant’s places of origin. The reason for coming to the slum amidst many settlements needs and low education background are the factors that accounted for this. This study, therefore, contradicts the proposition held by the health belief model. It is, therefore, important to note that contextual issues are key, in this case, rural-urban migrant slums present a different dynamic that must be taken into account when designing health programmes for such settings. Originality/value – Many, if not all the, studies on health-seeking behaviour have focused on urban slums without taking into account urban migrants’ slums. Such a failure to take into account the variations of the health needs of migrants’ urban slum settings can eventually lead to a mismatch of health programmes meant to address their challenges. Therefore, this study brings to the fore such variations that must be taken into account when designing health programmes. The study also indicates that even with the same people, there were disparities in terms of health-seeking behaviour in the slum and at places of origin.

Keywords: health-seeking behaviour, rural–urban migration, urban slums, health belief model

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Authors: Sharvari Parikh

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Climate change has always been looked upon as a threat. Increased use of fossil fuels, depletion of bio diversity, certain human activities, rising levels of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are the factors that have caused climate change. Climate change is creating new risks and aggravating the existing ones. The paper focuses on breaking the stereotypical perception of climate change and draws attention towards the constructive side of it. Researches around the world have concluded that climate change has provided us with many untapped opportunities. The next 15 years will be crucial, as it is in our hands whether we are able to grab these opportunities or just let the situation get worse. The world stands at a stage where we cannot think of making a choice between averting climate change and promoting growth and development. In fact, the solution to climate change itself has got economic opportunities. The data evidences from the paper show how we can create the opportunity to improve the lives of the world’s population at large through structural change which will promote environment friendly investments. Rising Investment in green energy and increased demand of climate friendly products has got ample of employment opportunities. Old technologies and machinery which are employed today lack efficiency and demand huge maintenance because of which we face high production cost. This can be drastically brought down by adaptation of Green technologies which are more accessible and affordable. Overall GDP of the world has been heavily affected in aggravating the problems arising out of increasing weather problems. Shifting to green economy can not only eliminate these costs but also build a sound economy. Accelerating the economy in direction of low-carbon future can lessen the burdens such as subsidies for fossil fuels, several public debts, unemployment, poverty, reduce healthcare expenses etc. It is clear that the world will be dragged into the ‘Darker phase’ if the current trends of fossil fuels and carbon are being consumed. Switching to Green economy is the only way in which we can lift the world from darker phase. Climate change has opened the gates for ‘Green and Clean economy’. It will also bring countries of the world together in achieving the common goal of Green Economy.

Keywords: climate change, economic opportunities, green economy, green technology

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Authors: Gayani Ranawake, Kate Wilson

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Underrepresentation of women in academia, particularly in science, has been discussed by many scholars for decades. The causes of this underrepresentation are debated to this day. Publication is an important aspect of success in academia, and publication and citation rates are significant metrics in performance review, promotion, and employment. It has been established that men’s and women’s language use in general, both spoken and written, is different. However, no one, to our knowledge, has looked at whether men’s and women’s writing in science is different. If there are significant differences in the writing of men and women, then these differences may affect women’s ability to succeed in science. This study is part of a larger project to explore whether differences can be recognized in the academic science writing of men and women. Mono authored articles from high ranking physics, biology and psychology journals by men and women authors were compared in terms of readability statistics. In particular, the abstract and introduction sections were compared, as these are the first sections encountered by a reviewer, and so may have an important effect on their impression of the work. The Flesch Reading Ease, the percentage of passive sentences and the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level were calculated for each section of each article, along with counts of numbers of sentences, words per sentence and sentences per paragraph. Significance of differences was tested using the Behrens statistic. It was found that for both physics and biology papers there were no significant differences in the complexity or verbosity of the writing of men and women authors. However, there was a significant difference between the two disciplines, with physics articles being generally more readable (higher readability score) while also more passive (higher number of passive sentences). In contrast, the psychology articles showed a difference between men and women authors which may be significant. The average readability for introductions in women’s articles was 28 which was higher than for men’s articles, which was 19 (higher values indicate more readable). Women’s articles in psychology also had a greater proportion of passive sentences. It can be concluded that, at least in the more traditional sciences, men and women have adopted similar ways of writing, and that disciplinary differences are greater than gender differences. This may not be the case in psychology, which many consider to be more closely aligned with the humanities. Whether the lack of differences is because women have adapted to a masculine way of writing, or whether the genre itself is gender neutral needs further investigation.

Keywords: academic writing, gender differences, readability, science

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Authors: Akalework Mengesha

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The adoption of improved agricultural technologies has been connected with higher earnings and lower poverty, enhanced nutritional status, lower staple food prices, and increased employment opportunities for landless laborers. The adoption and extension of the technologies are vastly crucial in that it enables the countries to achieve the millennium development goals (MDG) of reducing extreme poverty and hunger. There are efforts which directed to the enlargement and provision of modern crop varieties in sub-Saharan Africa in the past 30 years. Nevertheless, by and large, the adoption and expansion of rates for improved technologies have insulated behind other regions. This research aims to assess social and economic barriers in the adoption and expansion of agricultural technologies by local communities living around a private agricultural farm in Woliatta Zone, Southern Ethiopia. The study has been carried out among rural households which are located in the three localities selected for the study in the Woliatta zone. Across sectional mixed method, the design was used to address the study objective. The qualitative method was employed (in-depth interview, key informant, and focus group discussion) involving a total of 42 in-depth informants, 17 key-informant interviews, 2 focus group discussions comprising of 10 individuals in each group through purposive sampling techniques. The survey method was mainly used in the study to examine the impact of attitudinal, demographic, and socioeconomic variables on farmers’ adoption of agricultural technologies for quantitative data. The finding of the study revealed that Amibara commercial farm has not made a resolute and well-organized effort to extend agricultural technology to the surrounding local community. A comprehensive agricultural technology transfer scheme hasn’t been put in place by the commercial farm ever since it commenced operating in the study area. Besides, there is an ongoing conflict of interest between the farm and the community, which has kept on widening through time, bounds to be irreversible.

Keywords: adoption, technology transfer, agriculture, barriers

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Authors: Jigg Pelayo, Ricardo Villar

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The Philippines is long considered as a valuable producer of high value crops globally. The country’s employment and economy have been dependent on agriculture, thus increasing its demand for the efficient agricultural mechanism. Remote sensing and geographic information technology have proven to effectively provide applications for precision agriculture through image-processing technique considering the development of the aerial scanning technology in the country. Accurate information concerning the spatial correlation within the field is very important for precision farming of high value crops, especially. The availability of height information and high spatial resolution images obtained from aerial scanning together with the development of new image analysis methods are offering relevant influence to precision agriculture techniques and applications. In this study, an algorithm was developed and implemented to detect and count high value crops simultaneously through adaptive scaling of support vector machine (SVM) algorithm subjected to object-oriented approach combining watershed transformation and local maxima filter in enhancing tree counting and detection. The methodology is compared to cutting-edge template matching algorithm procedures to demonstrate its effectiveness on a demanding tree is counting recognition and delineation problem. Since common data and image processing techniques are utilized, thus can be easily implemented in production processes to cover large agricultural areas. The algorithm is tested on high value crops like Palm, Mango and Coconut located in Misamis Oriental, Philippines - showing a good performance in particular for young adult and adult trees, significantly 90% above. The s inventories or database updating, allowing for the reduction of field work and manual interpretation tasks.

Keywords: high value crop, LiDAR, OBIA, precision agriculture

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Authors: Akram Sadat Jafari Roodbandi, Alireza Choobineh, Nazanin Hosseini, Vafa Feyzi

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Introduction: Physical fitness and optimum functional movement are essential for efficiently performing job tasks without fatigue and injury. Functional Movement Screening (FMS) tests are used in screening of athletes and military forces. Nurses and emergency medical staff are obliged to perform many physical activities such as transporting patients, CPR operations, etc. due to the nature of their jobs. This study aimed to assess relationship between FMS test score and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in emergency nurses and emergency medical services (EMS) staff. Methods: 134 male and female emergency nurses and EMS technicians participated in this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study. After video tutorial and practical training of how to do FMS test, the participants carried out the test while they were wearing comfortable clothes. The final score of the FMS test ranges from 0 to 21. The score of 14 is considered weak in the functional movement base on FMS test protocol. In addition to the demographic data questionnaire, the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was also completed for each participant. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis with a significance level of 0.05. Results: Totally, 49.3% (n=66) of the subjects were female. The mean age and work experience of the subjects were 35.3 ± 8.7 and 11.4 ± 7.7, respectively. The highest prevalence of MSDs was observed at the knee and lower back with 32.8% (n=44) and 23.1% (n=31), respectively. 26 (19.4%) health worker had FMS test score of 14 and less. The results of the Spearman correlation test showed that the FMS test score was significantly associated with MSDs (r=-0.419, p < 0.0001). It meant that MSDs increased with the decrease of the FMS test score. Age, sex, and MSDs were the remaining significant factors in linear regression logistic model with dependent variable of FMS test score. Conclusion: FMS test seems to be a usable screening tool in pre-employment and periodic medical tests for occupations that require physical fitness and optimum functional movements.

Keywords: functional movement, musculoskeletal disorders, health care worker, screening test

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Authors: Franco Bruno Castaldo

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Aim: The term bioethics is a term coined by VanPotter R ., who in 1970 thought of a discipline, capable of contributing to a better quality of human life and the cosmos. At first he intended bioethics as a wisdom capable of creating a bridge between bios and ethos and between bio-experimental science and ethical-anthropological sciences.Similarly, the modern sport is presented as a polysemic phenomenon, multidisciplinary, pluris value. From the beginning, the sport is included in the discussion of bioethical problems with doping. Today, the ethical problems of the sport are not only ascribable to doping, the medicalization of society, Techniques for enhancement, violence, Fraud, corruption, even the acceptance of anthropological transhumanist theories. Our purpose is to shed light on these issues so that there is a discernment, a fine-tuning also in educational programs, for the protection of all the sport from a scientist adrift, which would lead to an imbalance of values. Method: Reading, textual and documentary analysis, evaluation of critical examples. Results: Harold VanderZwaag, (1929-2011) in ancient times, asked: how many athletic directors have read works of sport philosophy or humanities? Along with E.A. Zeigler (North American Society for Sport Management) are recognized as pioneers of educational Sport Management. Comes the need to leave the confines of a scientific field, In order to deal with other than itself. Conclusion: The quantitative sciences attracts more funds than qualitative ones, the philosopher M. Nussbaum, has relaunched the idea that the training of students will have to be more disinterested than utilitarian, Offering arguments against the choice of anti-classical, analyzing and comparing different educational systems. schools, universities must assign a prominent place in the program of study to the humanistic, literary and artistic subjects, cultivating a participation that can activate and improve the ability to see the world through the eyes of another person. In order to form citizens who play their role in society, science and technology alone are not enough, we need disciplines that are able to cultivate critical thinking, respect for diversity, solidarity, the judgment, the freedom of expression. According to A. Camelli, the humanities faculties prepare for that life-long learning, which will characterize tomorrow's jobs.

Keywords: bioethics, management, sport, transhumanist, medicalization

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Authors: Naziema B. Jappie

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Over the last 23 years leaders in government, political parties and universities have been spending much time on identifying and discussing various gaps in the system that impact systematically on students especially those from historically Black communities. Equity and access to higher education were two critical aspects that featured in achieving the transformation goals together with a funding model for those previously disadvantaged. Free education was not a feasible option for the government. Institutional leaders in higher education face many demands on their time and resources. Often, the time for crisis management planning or consideration of being proactive and preventative is not a standing agenda item. With many issues being priority in academia, people become complacent and think that crisis may not affect them or they will cross the bridge when they get to it. Historically South Africa has proven to be a country of militancy, strikes and protests in most industries, some leading to disastrous outcomes. Higher education was not different between October 2015 and late 2016 when the #Rhodes Must Fall which morphed into the # Fees Must Fall protest challenged the establishment, changed the social fabric of universities, bringing the sector to a standstill. Some institutional leaders and administrators were better at handling unexpected, high-consequence situations than others. At most crisis leadership is viewed as a situation more than a style of leadership which is usually characterized by crisis management. The objective of this paper is to show how institutions managed catastrophes of disastrous proportions, down through unexpected incidents of 2015/2016. The content draws on the vast past crisis management experience of the presenter and includes the occurrences of the recent protests giving an event timeline. Using responses from interviews with institutional leaders and administrators as well as students will ensure first-hand information on their experiences and the outcomes. Students have tasted the power of organized action and they demand immediate change, if not the revolt will continue. This paper will examine the approaches that guided institutional leaders and their crisis teams and sector crisis response. It will further expand on whether the solutions effectively changed governance in higher education or has it minimized the need for more protests. The conclusion will give an insight into the future of higher education in South Africa from a leadership perspective.

Keywords: crisis, governance, intervention, leadership, strategies, protests

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Authors: Edmund M. Muthigani

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Background: Adequate, decent housing is a universal human right integral component. Resources’ costs and intensified rural-urban migration have increased the demand for affordable housing in urban areas. Modern knowledge-based economy uses innovation. The construction industry uses product and process innovation to provide adequate and decent low-cost housing. Kenya adopted innovation practices in slum upgrading that used cost-effectively locally available building materials. This study objectively looked at the outcomes, social and economic impacts of innovative housing technologies construction in the Mathare valley slums upgrading project. Methods: This post-occupancy study used an exploratory-descriptive research design. Random sampling was used to sample 384 users of low-cost housing projects in Mathare Valley, Nairobi County. Research instruments included semi-structured questionnaires and interview guides. Pilot study, validity and reliability tests ensured the quality of a study. Ethical considerations included university approval and consent. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 21 was applied to compute the descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: Slum-upgrading had a significant-positive outcome on improved houses and community. Social impacts included communal facilities, assurance of security of tenure, and retained frameworks of establishments. Economic impacts included employment; affordable and durable units (p values <0.05). The upgrading process didn’t influence rent fees, was corrupt and led to the displacement of residents. Conclusion: Slum upgrading process impacted positively. Similar projects should consider residents in decision-making.

Keywords: innovation, technologies, slum upgrading, Mathare valley slum, social impact, economic impact

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Authors: Steven D. Capener

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The 1997 Asian financial crisis was a watershed event in Korea as it necessitated changes that begin an unravelling of many of the norms and traditions that had served to underpin society. Divorce skyrocketed; the era of lifetime employment was over; women came out the home to become, in many cases, the main breadwinners; competitive forces were exacerbated; and traditional sources of authority began to crumble. All of these changes weekend the power to structure human relations of the Confucian Three Bonds and Five Relationships (삼강오륜). Since then, this “de-confucianization” has only become more pronounced with women increasingly refusing to marry, partly in protest to what they perceive as entrenched gender inequality, married couples eschewing childbirth resulting in the lowest birthrate in the world, and diminishing inheritances eroding the traditionally strong sense of filial piety (효) of children toward parents. The result of all this can be seen in the continued weakening or outright crumbling of the hierarchies codified in the Three Bonds and Five Relationship, which have served as a social template in Korea for centuries. In his 2004 work “Oppa Came Back,” writer Kim Yong Ha depicts what he apparently sees as the “post-Confucian” family in a wickedly funny portrayal of what Korean society could look like if traditional bulwarks of prescriptive values suddenly collapse and are not replaced with tenable alternatives. In the short story, Kim subverts all the traditional hierarchies while leaving the desire to dominate these hierarchies intact. This produces the picture of a Korean family governed by the new values of money and physical power. After lying out what can be identified as major cultural changes in what could be called “traditional” society,” the article uses a close reading of Kim’s story for its implications regarding a possible new, dysfunctional version of Korean society. It seems apparent that Kim’s story is a cautionary tale of the pitfalls that lie athwart the late-modern Korean landscape. These changes have important implications in the areas of education and socio-political philosophy. The conclusion focuses on possible alternatives to this post-Confucian conundrum.

Keywords: post-confucian, three bonds and five relationships, traditional society, hierarchies

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Authors: Anesha Atul Shende

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When we are aiming at high goals for economic development, such as sustainable growth and development of the economy, poverty reduction, reduction in inequality, etc., we must not forget to include each and everyone in the society in the process of achieving these goals. This study particularly talks about women participation in economic activities. The analysis is primarily done with a special focus on Indian states. The study analyses the female labour force participation rate in all many states in India. It makes a comparison between the states having low female Labour force participation with the states that have comparatively high female Labour population. In the beginning, data has been provided to know the current state of gender biases in employment. It has been found that the male workforce is dominant all across India. Further, the study highlights the major reasons for low women participation in economic activities in some of the backward states in India like Bihar, etc. These reasons basically talk about economic, cultural, and social factors that are responsible for women unemployment. Afterward, it analyses the reasons behind comparatively higher women participation in all other states in India. The case of the north-eastern state of Telangana and Tamil Nadu have been analysed in brief. These states show the improvements in female Labour participation over a few decades. This is because of government policies that have been adopted, women-friendly workplaces, availability of quality jobs for women, etc. Organization like women UN has recognized the social and economic benefits of having active women Labour force in the country. If women unemployment declines, it will improve the growth rate of the nation as well as the welfare of the society. The study discusses the reasons why an economy must try to increase women workforce participation. It further provides suggestions to improve the conditions in backward states in India, where the female unemployment rate is high. One must understand that policy interventions and government schemes are a few of the ways to recognize this issue and work on it. However, the conditions will improve only when the changes would happen from the ground level with social and moral support to the women.

Keywords: women unemployment, labour force participation, women empowerment, economic growth and development, gender disparity

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Authors: Rasha Alsabbah

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This study explores the relationship between polite language use and religion in the Iraqi culture in computer mediated communication. It tackles the speech acts where these expressions are employed, the frequency of their occurrence and the aims behind them. It also investigates if they have equivalent expressions in English and the possibility of translating them in intercultural communication. Despite the wide assumption that language is a reflection of culture and religion, it started to grant the attention sociologists during the recent 40 years when scholars have questioned the possible interconnection between religion and language in which religion is used as a mean of producing language and performing pragmatic functions. It is presumed that Arabs in general, and Iraqis in particular, have an inclination to use religious vocabulary in showing politeness in their greeting and other speech acts. Due to Islamic religion and culture’s influences, it is observed that Iraqis are very much concerned of maintaining social solidarity and harmonious relationships which make religion a politeness strategy that operates as the key point of their social behaviours. In addition, religion has found to influence almost all their interactions in which they have a tendency of invoking religious expressions, the lexicon of Allah (God), and Qur’anic verses in their daily politeness discourse. This aspect of Islamic culture may look strange, especially to people who come from individualist societies, such as England. Data collection in this study is based on messaging applications like Viber, WhatsApp, and Facebook. After gaining the approval of the participants, there was an investigation for the different aims behind these expressions and the pragmatic function that they perform. It is found that Iraqis tend to incorporate the lexicon of Allah in most of their communication. Such employment is not only by religious people but also by individuals who do not show strong commitment to religion. Furthermore, the social distance and social power between people do not play a significant role in increasing or reducing the rate of using these expressions. A number of these expressions, though can be translated into English, do not have one to one counterpart or reflect religious feeling. In addition, they might sound odd upon being translated or transliterated in oral and written communication in intercultural communication.

Keywords: computer mediated communication (CMC), intercultural communication, politeness, religion, situation bound utterances rituals, speech acts

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Authors: Sereen Itani

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As the world aspires for technological innovation, Innovative Robotics Technology-Supported Pedagogic Models in STEAM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) are critical in our global education system to build and enhance the next generation 21st century skills. Thus, diverse international schools endeavor in attempts to construct an integrated robotics and technology enhanced curriculum based on interdisciplinary subjects. Accordingly, it is vital that the globe remains resilient in STEAM fields by equipping the future learners and educators with Innovative Technology Experiences through robotics to support such fields. A variety of advanced teaching methods is employed to learn about Robotics Technology-integrated pedagogic models. Therefore, it is only when STEAM and innovations in Robotic Technology becomes integrated with real-world applications that transformational learning can occur. Robotics STEAM education implementation faces major challenges globally. Moreover, STEAM skills and concepts are communicated in separation from the real world. Instilling the passion for robotics and STEAM subjects and educators’ preparation could lead to the students’ majoring in such fields by acquiring enough knowledge to make vital contributions to the global STEAM industries. Thus, this necessitates the establishment of Pedagogic models such as Innovative Robotics Technologies to enhance STEAM education and develop students’ 21st-century skills. Moreover, an ICT innovative supported robotics classroom will help educators empower and assess students academically. Globally, the Robotics Design System and platforms are developing in schools and university labs creating a suitable environment for the robotics cross-discipline STEAM learning. Accordingly, the research aims at raising awareness about the importance of robotics design systems and methodologies of effective employment of robotics innovative technology-supported pedagogic models to enhance and develop (STEAM) education globally and enhance the next generation 21st century skills.

Keywords: education, robotics, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Education), challenges

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Authors: R. Stoyanova, R. Dimova, M. Tarnovska, T. Boeva, R. Dimov, I. Doykov

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Patient safety culture (PSC) is an essential component of quality of healthcare. Improving PSC is considered a priority in many developed countries. Specialized software platform for registration and evaluation of hospital patient safety culture has been developed with the support of the Medical University Plovdiv Project №11/2017. The aim of the study is to assess the status of PSC in Bulgarian hospitals and to compare it to that in USA and Croatian hospitals. Methods: The study was conducted from June 01 to July 31, 2018 using the web-based Bulgarian Version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture Questionnaire (B-HSOPSC). Two hundred and forty-eight medical professionals from different hospitals in Bulgaria participated in the study. To quantify the differences of positive scores distributions for each of the 42 HSOPSC items between Bulgarian, Croatian and USA samples, the x²-test was applied. The research hypothesis assumed that there are no significant differences between the Bulgarian, Croatian and US PSCs. Results: The results revealed 14 significant differences in the positive scores between the Bulgarian and Croatian PSCs and 15 between the Bulgarian and the USA PSC, respectively. Bulgarian medical professionals provided less positive responses to 12 items compared with Croatian and USA respondents. The Bulgarian respondents were more positive compared to Croatians on the feedback and communication of medical errors (Items - C1, C4, C5) as well as on the employment of locum staff (A7) and the frequency of reported mistakes (D1). Bulgarian medical professionals were more positive compared with their USA colleagues on the communication of information at shift handover and across hospital units (F5, F7). The distribution of positive scores on items: ‘Staff worries that their mistakes are kept in their personnel file’ (RA16), ‘Things ‘fall between the cracks’ when transferring patients from one unit to another’ (RF3) and ‘Shift handovers are problematic for patients in this hospital’ (RF11) were significantly higher among Bulgarian respondents compared with Croatian and US respondents. Conclusions: Significant differences of positive scores distribution were found between Bulgarian and USA PSC on one hand and between Bulgarian and Croatian on the other. The study reveals that distribution of positive responses could be explained by the cultural, organizational and healthcare system differences.

Keywords: patient safety culture, healthcare, HSOPSC, medical error

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Authors: Diptimayee Nayak, V. Upadhyay

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This paper posits the attempt of conservation and the idea of protected areas from the Marxian primitive accumulation to the politics of sustainability. Using field survey data and secondary literature, this paper analyses an Indian wildlife sanctuary, the Bhitarkanika, Odisha and finds how the hegemony of power among different management regimes attempted for conservation and the present protected area management regime attempted to imbibe the policy of ecotourism for achieving sustainability. The paper contends that the current policy of ecotourism in protected areas acts as a veil for the local deprived people, to avoid many legal conflicts like property rights, livelihood, and man-wildlife issues. Moreover, opening the scope to accumulate on the part of tour operators, the policy of ecotourism establishes a nexus between the profit holders/tour operators (the capitalists) and the power hegemony on the part of management authorities. The sustainability attempt of ecotourism may lead to private benefits maximising the profit accumulation and can expand and continue, showing the bulk of employment generation of local people at petty odd jobs, grabbing a lion share! Positing ecotourism as a capitalist project as against the general assumption of one of the drivers of sustainable development, the paper shows that ecotourism in practice may end up ruining the very social-environmental set up, leading to unsustainability related to waste management, equality, culture, relationship and above all polarised private accumulators in absence of sound mechanism. The paper ends with the caveat that while shopping for neoliberal conservation, the conservators found ecotourism as a product without finalising the hallmark of mechanism/ institutions with appropriate modus operandii to check/guard the quality assurance/standard of ecotourism for sustainability. The paper proposes sound structural and institutional mechanism of ecotourism to be developed to harness sustainability in the local economy as well as in conservation.

Keywords: conservation, ecotourism, Marxian capitalism, protected areas, sustainability

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Authors: Lotanna Ezeonu, Jason P. Robbins, Ziyu Tang, Xiaofang Yang, Bruce E. Koel, Simon G. Podkolzin

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The interaction of organic molecules with metal surfaces is of interest in numerous technological applications, such as catalysis, bone replacement, and biosensors. Acetic acid is one of the main products of bio-oils produced from the pyrolysis of hemicellulosic feedstocks. However, their high oxygen content makes them unsuitable for use as fuels. Hydrodeoxygenation is a proven technique for catalytic deoxygenation of bio-oils. An understanding of the energetics and control of the bond-breaking sequences of biomass-derived oxygenates on metal surfaces will enable a guided optimization of existing catalysts and the development of more active/selective processes for biomass transformations to fuels. Such investigations have been carried out with the aid of ultrahigh vacuum and its concomitant techniques. The high catalytic activity of platinum in biomass-derived oxygenate transformations has sparked a lot of interest. We herein exploit infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy(IRAS), temperature-programmed desorption(TPD), and density functional theory(DFT) to study the adsorption and decomposition of acetic acid on a Pt(111) surface, which was then compared with Ni(111), a model non-noble metal. We found that acetic acid adsorbs molecularly on the Pt(111) surface, interacting through the lone pair of electrons of one oxygen atomat 90 K. At 140 K, the molecular form is still predominant, with some dissociative adsorption (in the form of acetate and hydrogen). Annealing to 193 K led to complete dehydrogenation of molecular acetic acid species leaving adsorbed acetate. At 440 K, decomposition of the acetate species occurs via decarbonylation and decarboxylation as evidenced by desorption peaks for H₂,CO, CO₂ and CHX fragments (x=1, 2) in theTPD.The assignments for the experimental IR peaks were made using visualization of the DFT-calculated vibrational modes. The results showed that acetate adsorbs in a bridged bidentate (μ²η²(O,O)) configuration. The coexistence of linear and bridge bonded CO was also predicted by the DFT results. Similar molecular acid adsorption energy was predicted in the case of Ni(111) whereas a significant difference was found for acetate adsorption.

Keywords: acetic acid, platinum, nickel, infared-absorption spectrocopy, temperature programmed desorption, density functional theory

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Authors: C. O. Igberi, M. U. Amadi

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This research paper on the impact of import restriction on rice production in Nigeria is aimed at finding/proffering valid solutions to the age long problem of rice self-sufficiency, through a better understanding of policy measures used in the past, in this case, the effectiveness of rice import restriction of the early 90’s. It tries to answer the questions of; import restriction boosting domestic rice production and the macroeconomic determining factors of Gross Domestic Rice Product (GDRP). The research probe is investigated through literature and analytical frameworks, such that time series data on the GDRP, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), average foreign rice producers’ prices(PPF), domestic producers’ prices (PPN) and the labour force (LABF) are collated for analysis (with an import restriction dummy variable, POL1). The research objectives/hypothesis are analysed using; Cointegration, Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), Impulse Response Function (IRF) and Granger Causality Test(GCT) methodologies. Results show that in the short-run error correction specification for GDRP, a percentage (1%) deviation away from the long-run equilibrium in a current quarter is only corrected by 0.14% in the subsequent quarter. Also, the rice import restriction policy had no significant effect on the GDRP at this time. Other findings show that the policy period has, in fact, had effects on the PPN and LABF. The choice variables used are valid macroeconomic factors that explain the GDRP of Nigeria, as adduced from the IRF and GCT, and in the long-run. Policy recommendations suggest that the import restriction is not disqualified as a veritable tool for improving domestic rice production, rather better enforcement procedures and strict adherence to the policy dictates is needed. Furthermore, accompanying policies which drive public and private capital investment and accumulation must be introduced. Also, employment rate and labour substitution in the agricultural sector should not be drastically changed, rather its welfare and efficiency be improved.

Keywords: import restriction, gross domestic rice production, cointegration, VECM, Granger causality, impulse response function

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Authors: Anoop T. R., Otman Basir, Robert F. Hess, Eileen E. Birch, Brooke A. Koritala, Reed M. Jost, Becky Luu, David Stager, Ben Thompson

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Strabismus refers to a misalignment of the eyes. Early detection and treatment of strabismus in childhood can prevent the development of permanent vision loss due to abnormal development of visual brain areas. We developed a two-stage method for strabismus detection and classification based on photographs of the face. The first stage detects the presence or absence of strabismus, and the second stage classifies the type of strabismus. The first stage comprises face detection using Haar cascade, facial landmark estimation, face alignment, aligned face landmark detection, segmentation of the eye region, and detection of strabismus using VGG 16 convolution neural networks. Face alignment transforms the face to a canonical pose to ensure consistency in subsequent analysis. Using facial landmarks, the eye region is segmented from the aligned face and fed into a VGG 16 CNN model, which has been trained to classify strabismus. The CNN determines whether strabismus is present and classifies the type of strabismus (exotropia, esotropia, and vertical deviation). If stage 1 detects strabismus, the eye region image is fed into stage 2, which starts with the estimation of pupil center coordinates using mask R-CNN deep neural networks. Then, the distance between the pupil coordinates and eye landmarks is calculated along with the angle that the pupil coordinates make with the horizontal and vertical axis. The distance and angle information is used to characterize the degree and direction of the strabismic eye misalignment. This model was tested on 100 clinically labeled images of children with (n = 50) and without (n = 50) strabismus. The True Positive Rate (TPR) and False Positive Rate (FPR) of the first stage were 94% and 6% respectively. The classification stage has produced a TPR of 94.73%, 94.44%, and 100% for esotropia, exotropia, and vertical deviations, respectively. This method also had an FPR of 5.26%, 5.55%, and 0% for esotropia, exotropia, and vertical deviation, respectively. The addition of one more feature related to the location of corneal light reflections may reduce the FPR, which was primarily due to children with pseudo-strabismus (the appearance of strabismus due to a wide nasal bridge or skin folds on the nasal side of the eyes).

Keywords: strabismus, deep neural networks, face detection, facial landmarks, face alignment, segmentation, VGG 16, mask R-CNN, pupil coordinates, angle deviation, horizontal and vertical deviation

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Authors: Godfrey Muiya Mukala

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This research looks at an array of fields in Sub-Saharan Africa comprising agriculture, food enterprises, medicine, organisms genetically modified, microbiology, and nanotechnology that can be gained from biotechnological research and development. Findings into dangerous organisms, mainly bacterial germs, rickettsia, fungi, parasites, or organisms that are genetically engineered, have immensely posed questions attributed to the biological danger they bring forth to human beings and the environment because of their uncertainties. In addition, the recurrence of previously managed diseases or the inception of new diseases are connected to biosafety challenges, especially in rural set-ups in low and middle-income countries. Notably, biotechnology laboratories are required to adopt biosafety measures to protect their workforce, community, environment, and ecosystem from unforeseen materials and organisms. Sensitization and inclusion of educational frameworks for laboratory workers are essential to acquiring a solid knowledge of harmful biological agents. This is in addition to human pathogenicity, susceptibility, and epidemiology to the biological data used in research and development. This article reviews and analyzes research intending to identify the proper implementation of universally accepted practices in laboratory safety and biological hazards. This research identifies ideal microbiological methods, adequate containment equipment, sufficient resources, safety barriers, specific training, and education of the laboratory workforce to decrease and contain biological hazards. Subsequently, knowledge of standardized microbiological techniques and processes, in addition to the employment of containment facilities, protective barriers, and equipment, is far-reaching in preventing occupational infections. Similarly, reduction of risks and prevention may be attained by training, education, and research on biohazards, pathogenicity, and epidemiology of the relevant microorganisms. In this technique, medical professionals in rural setups may adopt the knowledge acquired from the past to project possible concerns in the future.

Keywords: sub-saharan africa, biotechnology, laboratory, infections, health

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Authors: Cindy Davis

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Higher education is changing globally and there is increasing pressure from professional social work accreditation bodies for academic programs to demonstrate how students have successfully met mandatory graduate competencies. As professional accreditation organizations increase their demand for evidence of graduate competencies, strategies to document and recording learning outcomes becomes increasingly challenging for academics and students. Studies in higher education have found support for the pedagogical value of ePortfolios, a flexible personal learning space that is owned by the student and include opportunity for assessment, feedback and reflection as well as a virtual space to store evidence of demonstration of professional competencies and graduate attributes. Examples of institutional uses of ePortfolios include e-administration of a diverse student population, assessment of student learning, and the demonstration of graduate attributes attained and future student career preparation. The current paper presents a case study on the introduction of ePortfolios for social work graduates in Australia as part of an institutional approach to technology-enhanced learning and e-learning. Social work graduates were required to submit an ePortfolio hosted on PebblePad. The PebblePad platform was selected because it places the student at the center of their learning whilst providing powerful tools for staff to structure, guide and assess that learning. The ePortofolio included documentation and evidence of how the student met each graduate competency as set out by the social work accreditation body in Australia (AASW). This digital resource played a key role in the process of external professional accreditation by clearly documenting and evidencing how students met required graduate competencies. In addition, student feedback revealed a positive outcome on how this resource provided them with a consolidation of their learning experiences and assisted them in obtaining employment post-graduation. There were also significant institutional factors that were key to successful implementation such as investment in the digital technology, capacity building amongst academics, and technical support for staff and students.

Keywords: accreditation, social work, teaching, technology

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