Search results for: judicial instructions

Authors: K. W. Lee, C. M. Choi, H. C. Tsang, W. K. Fong, Y. K. Cheng, L. Y. Chan, C. K. Yuen, P. W. Lau, Y. L. To, K. C. Chow

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QR (Quick Response) Code is a matrix barcode. It enables users to open websites, photos and other information with mobile devices by just snapping the code. In usual Long Term Oxygen Therapy arrangement, piles of LTOT related information like leaflets from different oxygen service providers are given to patients to choose an appropriate plan according to their needs. If these printed materials are transformed into electronic format (QR Code), it would be more environmentally-friendly. More importantly, electronic materials including LTOT equipment operation and dyspnoea relieving techniques also empower patients in long-term disease management. The objective to this study is to investigate the effect of QR code in patient education on new LTOT users. This study was carried out in medical wards of North District Hospital. Adult patients and relatives who followed commands, were able to use smartphones with internet services and required LTOT arrangement on hospital discharge were recruited. In LTOT arrangement, apart from the usual LTOT education booklets which included patients’ personal information (e.g. oxygen titration and six-minute walk test results etc.), extra leaflets consisted of 1. QR codes of LTOT plans from different oxygen service providers, 2. Education materials of dyspnoea management and 3. Instructions on LTOT equipment operation were given. Upon completion of LTOT arrangement, a questionnaire about the use of QR code on patient education was filled in by patients or relatives. A total of 10 new LTOT users were recruited from November 2017 to January 2018. Initially, 70% of them did not know anything about the QR code, but all of them understood its operation after a simple demonstration. 70% of them agreed that it was convenient to use (20% strongly agree, 40% agree, 10% somewhat agree). 80% of them agreed that QR code could facilitate the retrieval of more LTOT related information (10% strongly agree, 70% agree) while 90% agreed that we should continue delivering QR code leaflets to new LTOT users in the future (30% strongly agree, 40% agree, 20% somewhat agree). It is proven that QR code is a convenient and environmentally-friendly tool to deliver information. It is also relatively easy to be introduced to new users. It has received welcoming feedbacks from current users.

Keywords: long-term oxygen therapy, physiotherapy, patient education, QR code

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Beeto W. C. Leung, Nicole C. Y. Lee

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It was well known that college students experienced a high level of stress and anxiety. College athletes, a special group of college students, may even encounter a higher level of pressure and distress due to their dual endeavors in academic and athletic settings. Due to the high demands and costs of mental health services, easily accessible, web-based self-help interventions are getting more popular. The aim of the present experimental study was to examine the potential intervention effect of a mindfulness-based self-help mobile App, called 'Smiling Mind', on mindfulness and psychological well-being. Forty-six college athletes, recruited from athletic teams of two local universities in Hong Kong, were randomly assigned to the Mindfulness App Group (MAG) and the Control Group (CG). All participants were administered the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale, and Perceived Stress Scale-10 before the study (Time 1, T1) and after the 4-week intervention (Time 2, T2). MAG was requested to use the app and follow the instructions every day for at least 5 days per week. Participants were also asked to record their daily app usage time. Results showed that, for MAG, from T1 to T2, mindfulness has been increased from 3.25 to 3.92; depressive symptoms and stress has been significantly decreased from 8.6 to 5.1 and 24.8 to 13.5 respectively while for the CG, mindfulness has been decreased slightly from 3.29 to 3.13; depressive symptoms and stress has been slightly increased from 7.1 to 7.3 and 24.1 to 27.1 respectively. Three mixed-design ANOVAs with time (T1, T2) as the within-subjects factor and intervention group (MAG, CG) as the between-subjects factor revealed a main effect of time on mindfulness, F(1, 41) = 10.28, p < 0.01, depressive symptoms, F(1, 41) = 6.55, p < 0.02 and stress, F(1, 41) = 16.96, p < 0.001 respectively. Both predicted interaction between time and intervention group on mindfulness, F(1, 41) = 26.6, p < 0.001, ηp 2 =0.39, depressive symptoms, F(1, 41) = 8.00, p < 0.01, ηp 2 =0.16 and Stress F(1, 41) = 49.3, p < 0.001, ηp 2 =0.55 were significant meaning that participants using the Mindfulness Mobile App in the intervention did experienced a significant increase in mindfulness and significant decrease in depressive symptoms and perceived level of stress after the 4-week intervention when compared with the control group. The present study provided encouraging empirical support for using Smiling Mind, a self-help mobile app, to promote mindfulness and mental health in a cost-effective way. Further studies should examine the potential use of Smiling Mind in different samples, including children and adolescence, as well as, investigate the lasting effects of using the app on other psychosocial outcomes such as emotional regulations.

Keywords: college athletes, experimental study, mindfulness mobile apps, psychological well-being

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Banu Baybars Hawks

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To date, academic attention in social sciences remains inadequate with regard to research and analysis of public opinion in Turkey. Most of the existing research has assessed the public opinion during political election periods. Therefore, it is of great interest to find out what the public thinks about current issues in Turkey, and how to interpret the results to be able to reveal whether they may have any reflections on social, political, and cultural structure of the country. Accordingly, the current study seeks to fill the gap in the social sciences literature in English regarding Turkey’s social and political stand which may be perceived to be very different by other nations. Without timely feedback from public surveys, various programs for improving different services and institutions functioning in the country might not achieve their expected goal, nor can decisions about which programs to implement be made rationally. Additionally, the information gathered may not only yield important insights into public’s opinion regarding current agenda in Turkey, but also into the correlates shaping public policies. Agenda-setting studies including agenda-building, agenda melding, reversed agenda-setting and information diffusion studies will be used to explain the roles of factors and actors in the formation of public opinion in Turkey. Knowing the importance of public agenda in the agenda setting and building process, this paper aims to reveal the social and political tendencies of the Turkish public. For that purpose, a survey will be carried out in December of 2014 to determine the social and political trends in Turkey for that same year. The subjects for the study, which utilize a questionairre in one-on-one interviews, will include 1,000 individuals aged 18 years and older from 26 cities representing general population. A stratified random sampling frame will be used. The topics covered by the survey include: The most important current problem in Turkey; the Economy; Terror; Approaches to the Kurdish Issue; Evaluations of the Government and Opposition Parties; Evaluations of Institutional Efficiency; Foreign Policy; the Judicial System/Constitution; Democracy and the Media; and, Social Relations/Life in Turkey. Since the beginning of the 21st century, Turkey has been undergoing a rapid transformation. The reflections of the changes can be seen in all areas from economics to politics. It is my hope that findings of this study may shed light on the important aspects of institutions, variables setting the agenda, and formation process of public opinion in Turkey.

Keywords: public opinion, media, agenda setting, information diffusion, government, freedom, Turkey

Procedia PDF Downloads 442

Authors: Glenn Guira

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Domestic violence is an international pandemic that has affected women from all walks of life. The World Health Organization (2016), announced that recent global prevalence of violence against women indicates that 1 in 3 (35 %) women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner violence in their lifetime. It further said that violence against women is a major public health problem and violations of women’s human rights. Furthermore, the agency said that the factors associated in an increased risk of experiencing intimate partner and sexual violence include low education, child maltreatment or exposure to violence between parents, abuse during childhood, attitudes accepting violence and gender inequality. This is an integrative review of domestic violence focusing on four themes namely types of domestic violence against women, predictors of domestic violence against women, effects of domestic violence against women and strategies in addressing domestic violence against women. This integrative research study was conducted to identify relevant themes on domestic violence that was conducted and published. This study is geared toward understanding further domestic violence as a public health concern. Using the keywords domestic violence, Google Scholar, MEDLINE PLUS, and Ingenta Connect were searched to identify relevant studies. This resulted in 3,467 studies that fall within the copyright year 2006 – 2016. The studies were delimited to domestic violence against women because there are other types of violence that can be committed such as senior citizens abuse, child abuse, violence against males and gay/lesbian abuse. The significant findings of the research study are the following: the forms of domestic violence against women include physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, economic, spiritual and conflict-related violence against, the predictors of domestic violence against women include demographic, health-related, psychological, behavioral, partner-related and social-stress factors, the effects of domestic violence against women include victim-related factors and child-related factors and the strategies addressing domestic violence against women include personal-related strategies, education-related strategies, health-related strategies, legal-related strategies and judicial-related strategies. Consequent to the foregoing findings, the following conclusions are drawn by the researcher that there are published researches that presented different forms, predictors, effects and strategies addressing domestic violence committed by perpetrators against women. The researcher recommended that the summarized comprehensive data should be use to educate people who are potential victims of domestic violence and that future researchers should continue to conduct research for the development of pragmatic programs aimed at reducing domestic violence.

Keywords: domestic violence, physical abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual violence

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Authors: Olarinde Olaniran, Oluyomi A. Sowemimo

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Toxoplasmosis is frequently misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed, and it is the third most common cause of hospitalization due to food-borne infection. Intra-uterine infection with Toxoplasma gondii due to active parasitaemia during pregnancy can cause severe and often fatal cerebral damage, abortion, and stillbirth of a fetus. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of T. gondii infection in women of childbearing age in selected communities of Osun State with a view to determining the risk factors which predispose to the T. gondii infection. Five (5) ml of blood was collected by venopuncture into a plain blood collection tube by a medical laboratory scientist. Serum samples were separated by centrifuging the blood samples at 3000 rpm for 5 mins. The sera were collected with Eppendorf tubes and stored at -20°C analysis for the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii by commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Demeditec Diagnostics GmbH, Germany) conducted according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The optical densities of wells were measured by a photometer at a wavelength of 450 nm. Data collected were analysed using appropriate computer software. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii among the women of child-bearing age in selected seven communities in Osun state was 76.3%. Out of 76.3% positive for Toxoplasma gondii infection, 70.0% were positive for anti- T. gondii IgG, and 32.3% were positive for IgM, and 26.7% for both IgG and IgM. The prevalence of T. gondii was lowest (58.9%) among women from Ile Ife, a peri-urban community, and highest (100%) in women residing in Alajue, a rural community. The prevalence of infection was significantly higher (P= 0.000) among Islamic women (87.5%) than in Christian women (70.8%). The highest prevalence (86.3%) was recorded in women with primary education, while the lowest (61.2%) was recorded in women with tertiary education (p =0.016). The highest prevalence (79.7%) was recorded in women that reside in rural areas, and the lowest (70.1%) was recorded in women that reside in peri-urban area (p=0.025). The prevalence of T. gondii infection was highest (81.4%) in women with one miscarriage, while the prevalence was lowest in women with no miscarriages (75.9%). The age of the women (p=0.042), Islamic religion (p=0.001), the residence of the women (p=0.001), and water source were all positively associated with T. gondii infection. The study concluded that there was a high seroprevalence of T. gondii recorded among women of child-bearing age in the study area. Hence, there is a need for health education and create awareness of the disease and its transmission to women of reproductive age group in general and pregnant women in particular to reduce the risk of T. gondii in pregnant women.

Keywords: seroepidemiology, Toxoplasma gondii, women, child-bearing, age, communities, Ile -Ife, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: Diego Abbo

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On February 15, 2012 off the Indian coast of Kerala, in position 091702N-0760180E by the oil tanker Enrica Lexie, flying the Italian flag, bursts of 5.56 x45 caliber shots were fired from assault rifles AR/70 Italian-made Beretta towards the Indian fisher boat St. Anthony. The shots that hit the St. Anthony fishing boat were six, of which two killed the Indian fishermen Ajesh Pink and Valentine Jelestine. From the analysis concerning the kinematic engagement of the two ships and from the autopsy and ballistic results of the Indian judicial authorities it is possible to reconstruct the trajectories of the six aforementioned shots. This essay reconstructs the trajectories of the six shots that cannot be of direct shooting but have undergone a rebound on the water. The investigation carried out scientifically demonstrates the rebound of the blows on the water, the gyrostatic deviation due to the rebound and the tumbling effect always due to the rebound as regards intermediate ballistics. In consideration of the four shots that directly impacted the fishing vessel, the current examination proves, with scientific value, that the trajectories could not be downwards but upwards. Also, the trajectory of two shots that hit to death the two fishermen could not be downwards but only upwards. In fact, this paper demonstrates, with scientific value: The loss of speed of the projectiles due to the rebound on the water; The tumbling effect in the ballistic medium within the two victims; The permanent cavities subject to the injury ballistics and the related ballistic trauma that prevented homeostasis causing bleeding in one case; The thermo-hardening deformation of the bullet found in Valentine Jelestine's skull; The upward and non-downward trajectories. The paper constitutes a tool in forensic ballistics in that it manages to reconstruct, from the final spot of the projectiles fired, all phases of ballistics like the internal one of the weapons that fired, the intermediate one, the terminal one and the penetrative structural one. In general terms the ballistics reconstruction is based on measurable parameters whose entity is contained with certainty within a lower and upper limit. Therefore, quantities that refer to angles, speed, impact energy and firing position of the shooter can be identified within the aforementioned limits. Finally, the investigation into the internal bullet track, obtained from any autopsy examination, offers a significant “lesson learned” but overall a starting point to contain or mitigate bleeding as a rescue from future gunshot wounds.

Keywords: impact physics, intermediate ballistics, terminal ballistics, tumbling effect

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Authors: Erni Agustin, Zendy Prameswari

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The Law Number 1 Year 1974 on Marriage was issued by Indonesian Government to replace the old marriage law stipulated in Burgerlijk Wetboek inherited from the Dutch colonial. The Law defines marriage as both physical and mental bond between a man and a woman as husband and wife with the purpose to form a harmonious family based on deity. Marriage shall be conducted when determined requirements are met based on the Law. Article 7 of the Law Number 1 Year 1974 stipulates the minimum age requirement to enter into marriage, which is 19 years for men and 16 years for women. This stipulation is made to make the marriage achieve the true goal to form a happy, eternal and prosperous family. It is expected at that age, each party has a mature soul and physic. However, it is possible for those who have not reached the age to enter into marriage if there is a dispensation granted by the courts or other official designated by the parents of each party in the marriage. As many other countries in the world, Indonesia has serious problems linked with the child or underage marriage. Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest absolute numbers of child marriage. In 2012, a judicial review was filed to the Constitutional Court against the provisions of the minimum age limit in the Law Number 1 Year 1974 on Marriage. The appeal was filed in order to raise the limit of minimum age for women from 16 years to be 18 years. However, the Constitutional Court considered that the provisions on the minimum age in the Law Number 1 Year 1974 on Marriage is constitutional. At the international level, Indonesia has participated in the formulation of variety of international human rights instrument which have an impact on children, and is a party to a number of them. Indonesia ratified the CRC through Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 36 Year 1990 on 5 September 1990. This paper attempts to analyze three main issues. Firstly, it will scrutinize the ratio legis of the stipulation on minimum age requirement to enter into marriage in the Law Number 1 Year 1974 on Marriage. Secondly, it will discuss the conformity of Indonesian marriage law to the principles and provisions on the CRC. Last, this paper will elaborate the legal measures shall be taken to strengthen the legal protection for children against child marriage. This paper is a doctrinal research using statute, conceptual and historical approaches. This study argues that The Law-making of Indonesian marriage law influenced by religious values that live in Indonesia. With regard to the conformity of Indonesian marriage law with the CRC, Indonesia is facing the issue of the compatibility of its respective national law with the CRC. Therefore, the legal measures that have to be taken are to review and amend the Indonesian Marriage Law to provide better protection for the children against underage marriage.

Keywords: child marriage, children’s rights, indonesian marriage law, underage marriage

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Vikas S. Minchekar

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The eyewitness is a crucial source of evidence in the criminal judicial system. However, rely on the reminiscence of an eyewitness especially intoxicated eyewitness is not always judicious. It might lead to some serious consequences. Day by day, alcohol-related crimes or the criminal incidences in bars, nightclubs, and restaurants are increasing rapidly. Tackling such cases is very complicated to any investigation officers. The people in that incidents are violated due to the alcohol consumption hence, their ability to identify the suspects or recall these phenomena is affected. The studies on the effects of alcohol consumption on motor activities such as driving and surgeries have received much attention. However, the effect of alcohol intoxication on memory has received little attention from the psychology, law, forensic and criminology scholars across the world. In the Indian context, the published articles on this issue are equal to none up to present day. This field experiment investigation aimed at to finding out the effect of alcohol consumption on identification accuracy in lineups. Forty adult, social drinkers, and twenty sober adults were randomly recruited for the study. The sober adults were assigned into 'placebo' beverage group while social drinkers were divided into two group e. g. 'low dose' of alcohol (0.2 g/kg) and 'high dose' of alcohol (0.8 g/kg). The social drinkers were divided in such a way that their level of blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) will become different. After administering the beverages for the placebo group and liquor to the social drinkers for 40 to 50 minutes of the period, the five-minute video clip of mock crime is shown to all in a group of four to five members. After the exposure of video, clip subjects were given 10 portraits and asked them to recognize whether they are involved in mock crime or not. Moreover, they were also asked to describe the incident. The subjects were given two opportunities to recognize the portraits and to describe the events; the first opportunity is given immediately after the video clip and the second was 24 hours later. The obtained data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Scheffe’s posthoc multiple comparison tests. The results indicated that the 'high dose' group is remarkably different from the 'placebo' and 'low dose' groups. But, the 'placebo' and 'low dose' groups are equally performed. The subjects in a 'high dose' group recognized only 20% faces correctly while the subjects in a 'placebo' and 'low dose' groups are recognized 90 %. This study implied that the intoxicated witnesses are less accurate to recognize the suspects and also less capable of describing the incidents where crime has taken place. Moreover, this study does not assert that intoxicated eyewitness is generally less trustworthy than their sober counterparts.

Keywords: intoxicated eyewitness, memory, social drinkers, lineups

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Lorand Ujhazi

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The vast majority of existing canonical studies about migration are focused on examining the general pastoral and legal regulations of the Catholic Church. The weakness of this approach is that it ignores a number of important factors; like the financial, legal and personal circumstances of a particular church or the canonical position of certain organizations which actually look after the immigrants. This paper is a case study, which analyses the current and historical migration related policies and activities of the Catholic Church in Hungary. To achieve this goal the study uses canon law, historical publications, various instructions and communications issued by church superiors, Hungarian and foreign media reports and the relevant Hungarian legislation. The paper first examines how the Hungarian Catholic Church assisted migrants like Armenians fleeing from the Ottoman Empire, Poles escaping during the Second World War, East German and Romanian citizens in the 1980s and refugees from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. These events underline the importance of past historical experience in the development of contemporary pastoral and humanitarian policy of the Catholic Church in Hungary. Then the paper turns to the events of the ongoing crisis by describing the unique challenges faced by churches in transit countries like Hungary. Then the research contrasts these findings with the typical responsibilities of churches in countries which are popular destinations for immigrants. The next part of the case study focuses on the changes to the pre-crisis legal and canonical framework which influenced the actions of hierarchical and charity organizations in Hungary. Afterwards, the paper illustrates the dangers of operating in an unclear legal environment, where some charitable activities of the church like a fundraising campaign may be interpreted as a national security risk by state authorities. Then the paper presents the reactions of Hungarian academics to the current migration crisis and finally it offers some proposals how to improve parts of Canon Law which govern immigration. The conclusion of the paper is that during the formulation of the central refugee policy of the Catholic Church decision makers must take into consideration the peculiar circumstances of its particular churches. This approach may prevent disharmony between the existing central regulations, the policy of the Vatican and the operations of the local church organizations.

Keywords: canon law, Catholic Church, civil law, Hungary, immigration, national security

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Farzaneh Badinlou, Reza Kormi-Nouri, Monika Knopf, Kamal Kharrazi

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When we teach, we have two critical elements at our disposal to help students: learning styles as well as testing styles. There are many different ways in which educators can effectively teach their students; verbal learning and experience-based learning. Lecture as a form of verbal learning style is a traditional arrangement in which teachers are more active and share information verbally with students. In experienced-based learning as the process of through, students learn actively through hands-on learning materials and observing teachers or others. Meanwhile, standard testing or assessment is the way to determine progress toward proficiency. Teachers and instructors mainly use essay (requires written responses), multiple choice questions (includes the correct answer and several incorrect answers as distractors), or open-ended questions (respondents answers it with own words). The current study focused on exploring an effective teaching style and testing methods as the function of age over school ages. In the present study, totally 410 participants were selected randomly from four grades (2ⁿᵈ, 4ᵗʰ, 6ᵗʰ, and 8ᵗʰ). Each subject was tested individually in one session lasting around 50 minutes. In learning tasks, the participants were presented three different instructions for learning materials (learning by doing, learning by observing, and learning by listening). Then, they were tested via different standard assessments as free recall, cued recall, and recognition tasks. The results revealed that generally students remember more of what they do and what they observe than what they hear. The age effect was more pronounced in learning by doing than in learning by observing, and learning by listening, becoming progressively stronger in the free-recall, cued-recall, and recognition tasks. The findings of this study indicated that learning by doing and free recall task is more age sensitive, suggesting that both of them are more strategic and more affected by developmental differences. Pedagogically, these results denoted that learning by modeling and engagement in program activities have the special role for learning. Moreover, the findings indicated that the multiple-choice questions can produce the best performance for school-aged children but is less age-sensitive. By contrast, the essay as essay can produce the lowest performance but is more age-sensitive. It will be very helpful for educators to know that what types of learning styles and test methods are most effective for students in each school grade.

Keywords: experience-based learning, learning style, school-aged children, testing methods, verbal learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Celine Jaspers

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The Belgian legal system is slowly evolving to mandatory mediation to promote ADR. One of the reasons for this evolution is the lack of use of alternative methods in relation to their possible benefits. Especially in divorce cases, ADR can play a beneficial role in resolving disputes, since the emotional component is very much present. When children are involved, a solution provided by the parent may be more adapted to the child’s best interest than a court order. In the first part, the lack of use of voluntary ADR and the evolution toward mandatory ADR in Belgium will be indicated by sources of legislation, jurisprudence and social-scientific sources, with special attention to divorce cases. One of the reasons is lack of knowledge on ADR, despite the continuing efforts of the Belgian legislator to promote ADR. One of the last acts of ADR-promotion, was the implementation of an Act in 2018 which gives the judge the possibility to refer parties to mediation if at least one party wants to during the judicial procedure. This referral is subject to some conditions. The parties will be sent to a private mediator, recognized by the Federal Mediation Commission, to try to resolve their conflict. This means that at least one party can be mandated to try mediation (indicated as “semi-mandatory mediation”). The main goal is to establish the factors and elements that Belgium has to take into account in their further development of mandatory ADR, with consideration of the human rights perspective and the EU perspective. Furthermore it is also essential to detect some dangerous pitfalls other systems have encountered with their process design. Therefore, the second part, the comparative component, will discuss the existing framework in California, USA to establish the necessary elements, possible pitfalls and considerations the Belgian legislator can take into account when further developing the framework of mandatory ADR. The contrasting and functional method will be used to create key elements and possible pitfalls, to help Belgium improve its existing framework. The existing mandatory system in California has been in place since 1981 and is still up and running, and can thus provide valuable lessons and considerations for the Belgian system. Thirdly, the key elements from a human rights perspective and from a European Union perspective (e.g. the right to access to a judge, the right to privacy) will be discussed too, since the basic human rights and European legislation and jurisprudence play a significant part in Belgian legislation as well. The main sources for this part will be the international and European treaties, legislation, jurisprudence and soft law. In the last and concluding part, the paper will list the most important elements of a mandatory ADR-system design with special attention to the dangers of these elements (e.g. to include or exclude domestic violence cases in the mandatory ADR-framework and the consequences thereof), and with special attention for the necessary the international and European rights, prohibitions and guidelines.

Keywords: Belgium, divorce, framework, mandatory ADR

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Authors: Arianna Vedaschi

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This paper addresses the relationship between freedom of expression, national security and radicalization. Is it still possible to talk about a balance between the first two elements? Or, due to the intrusion of the third, is it more appropriate to consider freedom of expression as “permanently disfigured” by securitarian concerns? In this study, both the legislative and the judicial level are taken into account and the comparative method is employed in order to provide the reader with a complete framework of relevant issues and a workable set of solutions. The analysis moves from the finding according to which the tension between free speech and national security has become a major issue in democratic countries, whose very essence is continuously endangered by the ever-changing and multi-faceted threat of international terrorism. In particular, a change in terrorist groups’ recruiting pattern, attracting more and more people by way of a cutting-edge communicative strategy, often employing sophisticated technology as a radicalization tool, has called on law-makers to modify their approach to dangerous speech. While traditional constitutional and criminal law used to punish speech only if it explicitly and directly incited the commission of a criminal action (“cause-effect” model), so-called glorification offences – punishing mere ideological support for terrorism, often on the web – are becoming commonplace in the comparative scenario. Although this is direct, and even somehow understandable, consequence of the impending terrorist menace, this research shows many problematic issues connected to such a preventive approach. First, from a predominantly theoretical point of view, this trend negatively impacts on the already blurred line between permissible and prohibited speech. Second, from a pragmatic point of view, such legislative tools are not always suitable to keep up with ongoing developments of both terrorist groups and their use of technology. In other words, there is a risk that such measures become outdated even before their application. Indeed, it seems hard to still talk about a proper balance: what was previously clearly perceived as a balancing of values (freedom of speech v. public security) has turned, in many cases, into a hierarchy with security at its apex. In light of these findings, this paper concludes that such a complex issue would perhaps be better dealt with through a combination of policies: not only criminalizing ‘terrorist speech,’ which should be relegated to a last resort tool, but acting at an even earlier stage, i.e., trying to prevent dangerous speech itself. This might be done by promoting social cohesion and the inclusion of minorities, so as to reduce the probability of people considering terrorist groups as a “viable option” to deal with the lack of identification within their social contexts.

Keywords: radicalization, free speech, international terrorism, national security

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Authors: Jianlun Zhang, Christine Lim

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Local food is one of the most attractive elements to tourists. The role of local cuisine in destination branding is very important because it is the distinctive identity that helps tourists remember the destination. The objectives of this study are: (1) Test the direct relation between the cognitive image of destination food and tourists’ intention to eat local food. (2) Examine the mediating effect of tourists’ desire to try destination food on the relationship between the cognitive image of local food and tourists’ intention to eat destination food. (3) Study the moderating effect of tourists’ perceived difficulties in finding local food on the relationship between tourists’ desire to try destination food and tourists’ intention to eat local food. To achieve the goals of this study, Macanese cuisine is selected as the destination food. Macau is located in Southeastern China and is a former colonial city of Portugal. The taste and texture of Macanese cuisine are unique because it is a fusion of cuisine from many countries and regions of mainland China. As people travel to seek authentically exotic experience, it is important to investigate if the food image of Macau leaves a good impression on tourists and motivate them to try local cuisine. A total of 449 Chinese tourists were involved in this study. To analyze the data collected, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique is employed. Results suggest that the cognitive image of Macanese cuisine has a direct effect on tourists’ intention to eat Macanese cuisine. Tourists’ desire to try Macanese cuisine mediates the cognitive image-intention relationship. Tourists’ perceived difficulty of finding Macanese cuisine moderates the desire-intention relationship. The lower tourists’ perceived difficulty in finding Macanese cuisine is, the stronger the desire-intention relationship it will be. There are several practical implications of this study. First, the government tourism website can develop an authentic storyline about the evolvement of local cuisine, which provides an opportunity for tourists to taste the history of the destination and create a novel experience for them. Second, the government should consider the development of food events, restaurants, and hawker businesses. Third, to lower tourists’ perceived difficulty in finding local cuisine, there should be locations of restaurants and hawker stalls with clear instructions for finding them on the websites of the government tourism office, popular tourism sites, and public transportation stations in the destination. Fourth, in the post-COVID-19 era, travel risk will be a major concern for tourists. Therefore, when promoting local food, the government tourism website should post images that show food safety and hygiene.

Keywords: cognitive image of destination food, desire to try destination food, intention to eat food in the destination, perceived difficulties of finding local cuisine, PLS-SEM

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Authors: Inga Žukovaitė

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This work aims to present postdoc research on remote criminal proceedings in court in order to streamline the proceedings and, at the same time, ensure the effective participation of the parties in criminal proceedings and the court's obligation to administer substantive and procedural justice. This study tests the hypothesis that remote criminal proceedings do not in themselves violate the fundamental principles of criminal procedure; however, their implementation must ensure the right of the parties to effective legal remedies and a fair trial and, only then, must address the issues of procedural economy, speed and flexibility/functionality of the application of technologies. In order to ensure that changes in the regulation of criminal proceedings are in line with fair trial standards, this research will provide answers to the questions of what conditions -first of all, legal and only then organisational- are required for remote criminal proceedings to ensure respect for the parties and enable their effective participation in public proceedings, to create conditions for quality legal defence and its accessibility, to give a correct impression to the party that they are heard and that the court is impartial and fair. It also seeks to present the results of empirical research in the courts of Lithuania that was made by using the interview method. The research will serve as a basis for developing a theoretical model for remote criminal proceedings in the EU to ensure a balance between the intention to have innovative, cost-effective, and flexible criminal proceedings and the positive obligation of the State to ensure the rights of participants in proceedings to just and fair criminal proceedings. Moreover, developments in criminal proceedings also keep changing the image of the court itself; therefore, in the paper will create preconditions for future research on the impact of remote criminal proceedings on the trust in courts. The study aims at laying down the fundamentals for theoretical models of a remote hearing in criminal proceedings and at making recommendations for the safeguarding of human rights, in particular the rights of the accused, in such proceedings. The following criteria are relevant for the remote form of criminal proceedings: the purpose of judicial instance, the legal position of participants in proceedings, their vulnerability, and the nature of required legal protection. The content of the study consists of: 1. Identification of the factual and legal prerequisites for a decision to organise the entire criminal proceedings by remote means or to carry out one or several procedural actions by remote means 2. After analysing the legal regulation and practice concerning the application of the elements of remote criminal proceedings, distinguish the main legal safeguards for protection of the rights of the accused to ensure: (a) the right of effective participation in a court hearing; (b) the right of confidential consultation with the defence counsel; (c) the right of participation in the examination of evidence, in particular material evidence, as well as the right to question witnesses; and (d) the right to a public trial.

Keywords: remote criminal proceedings, fair trial, right to defence, technology progress

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Ana Campina, José Caramelo Gomes, Maria Emília Teixeira, Cristina Costa-Lobo

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In the pursuit of educational equity within Human Rights and European Fundamental Laws, the reality presents serious problems based on the psychologic, social understanding. Take into account the miscellaneous cultures in the global context and the nowadays numbers of Human mobilities, there are serious problems affecting the societies. This justifies the diagnosed need of a renew pedagogical and social education strategy to achieve the integration positive context preventing violence and discrimination, especially in Education systems. Consequently, it is important to have in mind the respect, acceptance, and integration of special needs students in all study degrees, as it is law but a complex reality. Despite the UN and International Human Rights, European Fundamental Chart, and all EU Treats, as the 28th EU State Member’s fundamental laws forecast the right of Education, the respect, the action and promotion of different cultures and the Education for ‘Difference’ integration – cultures; ideologies, Special Needs Students/Citizens – there are different and severe problems. Firstly, there are questions/contexts/problems not denounced by the lack of investments, political, social or ‘powers’ pressures, so, consequently, the authorities don’t have the action as laws demand and the transgressors haven´t any juridical or judicial punishment. Secondly, and our most important point: Governments, authorities and even victims hide these violations/violence/problems what disable the effective protection and law enforcement. Finally, the official and non-official strategies to get around the duties, break away the laws, failing the victims protection and consequently enable the problems increase dramatically. With this research, we observed that there are international Organizations/regions and States acting without respect to the Education right despite their democratic ideology and the generated external ‘image’ of law-abiding and Human Rights defenders. Nevertheless, it is urgent to develop a consistent Human Rights Education program aiming to protect, promote and implement the Right to be different and be respected by the law, the governments, institutions official and non-official, adapted to the needs in each society. The background of this research is the International and European laws, in accordance with the state’s legal systems. The approaches and the differences of the Education for Human and Fundamental Rights execution in the different EU countries, studying the pedagogy and social inclusion programs/strategies, with particular analysis of the Special Needs students. The results aim to construct a European Education profiling, with the governments and EU interventions need, as well as the panorama of the Special Needs Students effective integration achieving a renewed strategy to promote the respect of the Differences and an Inclusive School life.

Keywords: international human rights, culture, differences, European education profiling

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Jinming Du

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With the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020, many higher education institutions and education systems are turning to hybrid or fully distance online courses to maintain social distance and provide a safe virtual space for learning and teaching. However, the majority of faculty members were not well prepared for the shift to blended or distance learning. Communication frustrations are prevalent in both hybrid and full-distance courses. A systematic literature review was conducted by a comprehensive analysis of 1688 publications that focused on the application of the adoption of chatbots in education. This study aimed to explore instructors' experiences with chatbots in online and blended undergraduate English courses. Language learners are overwhelmed by the variety of information offered by many online sites. The recently emerged chatbots (e.g.: ChatGPT) are slightly superior in performance as compared to those traditional through previous technologies such as tapes, video recorders, and websites. The field of chatbots has been intensively researched, and new methods have been developed to demonstrate how students can best learn and practice a new language in the target language. However, it is believed that among the many areas where chatbots are applied, while chatbots have been used as effective tools for communicating with business customers, in consulting and targeting areas, and in the medical field, chatbots have not yet been fully explored and implemented in the field of language education. This issue is challenging enough for language teachers; they need to study and conduct research carefully to clarify it. Pedagogical chatbots may alleviate the perception of a lack of communication and feedback from instructors by interacting naturally with students through scaffolding the understanding of those learners, much like educators do. However, educators and instructors lack the proficiency to effectively operate this emerging AI chatbot technology and require comprehensive study or structured training to attain competence. There is a gap between language teachers’ perceptions and recent advances in the application of AI chatbots to language learning. The results of the study found that although the teachers felt that the chatbots did the best job of giving feedback, the teachers needed additional training to be able to give better instructions and to help them assist in teaching. Teachers generally perceive the utilization of chatbots to offer substantial assistance to English language instruction.

Keywords: artificial intelligence in education, chatbots, education and technology, education system, pedagogical chatbot, chatbots and language education

Procedia PDF Downloads 38

Authors: Karla Lebedoff, Susan Walsh, Michelle Bain

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Eczema is a chronic atopy condition requiring long-term daily management in children. Written action plans for other chronic atopic conditions, such as asthma and food allergies, are widely recommended and distributed to pediatric patients' parents and caregivers, seeking to improve clinical outcomes and become empowered to manage the patient's ever-changing symptoms. Written action plans for eczema, referred to as "asthma of the skin," are not routinely used in practice. Parents of children suffering from eczema rarely receive a written action plan to follow, and commendations supporting eczema action plans are inconsistent. Pediatric patients between birth and 18 years old who were followed for eczema at an urban Midwest community hospital were eligible to participate in this quality improvement project. At the initial visit, parents received instructions on individualized eczema action plans for their child and completed two validated surveys: Health Confidence Score (HCS) and Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM). Pre- and post-survey responses were collected, and clinical symptom presentation at follow-up were outcome determinants. Project implementation was guided by Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Step-up Framework and the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. This project measured clinical outcomes and parent confidence in self-management of their child's eczema symptoms with the responses from 26 participant surveys. Pre-survey responses were collected from 36 participants, though ten were lost to follow-up. Average POEM scores improved by 53%, while average HCS scores remained unchanged. Of seven completed in-person follow-up visits, six clinical progress notes documented improvement. Individualized eczema action plans can be seamlessly incorporated into primary and specialty care visits for pediatric patients suffering from eczema. Following a patient-specific eczema action plan may lessen the daily physical and mental burdens of uncontrolled eczema for children and parents, managing symptoms that chronically flare and recede. Furthermore, incorporating eczema action plans into practice potentially reduces the likely underestimated $5.3 billion economic disease burden of eczema on the U.S. healthcare system.

Keywords: atopic dermatitis, eczema action plan, eczema symptom management, pediatric eczema

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Loukou Amoin Marie Djedri

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Financing is important for all terrorists – from the largest organizations in control of territories, to the smallest groups – not only for spreading fear through attacks, but also to finance the expansion of terrorist dogmas. These organizations pose serious threats to the international community. The disruption of terrorist financing aims to create a hostile environment for the growth of terrorism and to limit considerably the terrorist groups capacities. The World Bank (WB), together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), decided to include in their scope the Fight against the money laundering and the financing of terrorism, in order to assist Member States in protecting their internal financial system from terrorism use and abuse and reinforcing their legal system. To do so, they have adopted the Anti-Money Laundering /Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) standards that have been set up by the Financial Action Task Force. This set of standards, recognized as the international standards for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, has to be implemented by States Members in order to strengthen their judicial system and relevant national institutions. However, we noted that, to date, some States Members still have significant AML/CFT deficiencies, which can constitute serious threats not only to the country’s economic stability but also for the global financial system. In addition, studies stressed out that repressive measures are more implemented by countries than preventive measures, which could be an important weakness in a state security system. Furthermore, we noticed that the AML/CFT standards evolve slowly, while techniques used by terrorist networks keep developing. The goal of the study is to show how to enhance the AML/CFT global compliance through the work of the IMF and the WB, to help member states to consolidate their financial system. To encourage and ensure the effectiveness of these standards, a methodology for assessing the compliance with the AML/CFT standards has been created to follow up the concrete implementation of these standards and to provide accurate technical assistance to countries in need. A risk-based approach has also been adopted as a key component of the implementation of the AML/CFT Standards, with the aim of strengthening the efficiency of the standards. Instead, we noted that the assessment is not efficient in the process of enhancing AML/CFT measures because it seems to lack of adaptation to the country situation. In other words, internal and external factors are not enough taken into account in a country assessment program. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the AML/CFT regime in the fight against the financing of terrorism and to find lasting solutions to achieve the global AML/CFT compliance. The work of all the organizations involved in this combat is imperative to protect the financial network and to lead to the disintegration of terrorist groups in the future.

Keywords: AML/CFT standards, financing of terrorism, international financial institutions, risk-based approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Doreen Mekunda

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This paper is built on the premise that the current socio-political crisis in the two restive regions of Cameroon, though enveloped with destructive and devastating trends (effects) on both property and human lives, is not without its strengths and merits. It is incontestable that many cultures, to a greater extent, are going to be destroyed as people forcibly move from war-stricken habitats to non-violent places. Many cultural potentials, traditional shrines, artifacts, art, and crafts, etc., are unknowingly or knowingly disfigured, and many other ugly things will, by the end of the crisis, affect the cultures of these two regions under siege and of the receiving population. A plethora of other problems like the persecution of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) for being displaced and blamed for increased crime rates and the existence of cultural and ethnic differences that produce both inter-tribal and interpersonal conflicts and conflicts between communities will abound. However, there is the emergence of rapid literature, and other forms of cultural productions, whether written or oral, is visible, thereby precipitating a rich cultural diversity due to the coming together of a variety of cultures of both the IDPs and the receiving populations, rapid urbanization, improvement of health-related issues, the rebirth of indigenous cultural practices, the development of social and lingua-cultural competences, dependence on alternative religions, faith and spirituality. Even financial and economic dependence, though a burden to others by IDPs, has its own merits as it improves the living standards of the IDPs. To be able to obtain plausible results, cultural materialism, which is a literary theory that hinges on the empirical study of socio-cultural systems within a materialist infrastructure-super-structure framework, is employed together with the postcolonial theory. Postcolonial theory because the study deals with postcolonial experiences/tenets of migration, hybridity, ethnicity, indignity, language, double consciousness, migration, center/margin binaries, and identity, amongst others. The study reveals that the involuntary movement of persons from their habitual homes brings about movement in cultures, thus, the emergence of new cultures. The movement of people who hold fast to their cultural heritage can only influence new forms of literature, the development of new communication competences, the rise of alternative religion, faith and spirituality, the re-emergence of customary and traditional legal systems that might have been abandoned for the new judicial systems, and above all the revitalization of traditional health care systems.

Keywords: alternative religion, emergence, socio-political crisis, spirituality, lingua-cultural competences

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Inmaculada Yuste Martinez

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Since July 5, 2014, Abubaker al Bagdadi, leader of the Islamic State since 2010 climbed the pulpit of the Great Mosque of Al Nuri of Mosul and proclaimed the Caliphate, the number of fighters who have travelled to Syria to join the Caliphate has increased as never before. Although it is true that the phenomenon of foreign fighters is not a new phenomenon, as it occurred after the Spanish Civil War, Republicans from Ireland and the conflict of the Balkans among others, it is highly relevant the fact that in this case, it has reached figures unknown in Europe until now. The approval of the resolution 2178 (2014) of the Security Council, foreign terrorist fighters placed the subject a priority position on the International agenda. The available data allow us to affirm that women have increasingly assumed operative functions in jihadist terrorism and in the activities linked to it in the development of attacks in the European Union, including minors and young adults. In the case of Spain, one in four of the detainees in 2016 were women, a significant increase compared to 2015. This contrasts with the fact that until 2014 no woman had been prosecuted in Spain for terrorist activities of a jihadist nature. It is fundamental when we talk about the prevention of radicalization and counterterrorism that we do not underestimate the potential threat to the security of countries like Spain that women from the West can assume to the global jihadist movement. This work aims to deepen the radicalization processes of these women and their profiles influencing the female inmate population. It also wants to focus on the importance of creating de-radicalization programs for these inmates since women are a crucial element in radicalization processes. A special focus it is made on young radicalized female inmate population as this target group is the most recoverable and on which it would result more fruitful to intervene. De-radicalization programs must also be designed to fit their profiles and circumstances; a sensitive environment will be prisons and juvenile centers, areas that until now had been unrelated to this problem and which are already hosting the first convicted in judicial offices in Spanish territory. A qualitative research and an empirical and analytical method has been implemented in this work, focused on the cases that took place in Spain of young women and the imaginary that the Islamic State uses for the processes of radicalization for this target group and how it does not fit with their real role in the Jihad, as opposed to other movements in which women do have a real and active role in the armed conflict as YPJ do it as a part of the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party of Syria.

Keywords: caliphate, de-radicalization, foreign fighter, gender perspective, ISIS, jihadism, recruitment

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Jahnu Bharadwaj

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

Keywords: criminal courts, colonial regime, jury, race

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Agnieszka P. Regiec

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Capital companies are based on monetary capital. In the traditional model, the capital is the sum of the nominal values of all shares issued. For a few years within the European countries, the limited liability companies’ (LLC) regulations are leaning towards liberalization of the capital structure in order to provide higher degree of autonomy regarding the intra-corporate governance. Reforms were based primarily on the legal system of the USA. In the USA, the tradition of no-par shares is well-established. Thus, as a point of reference, the American legal system is being chosen. Regulations of Germany, Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Finland, Poland and the USA will be taken into consideration. The analysis of the share capital is important for the development of science not only because the capital structure of the corporation has significant impact on the shareholders’ rights, but also it reflects on relationships between creditors of the company and the company itself. Multi-level comparative approach towards the problem will allow to present a wide range of the possible outcomes stemming from the novelization. The dogmatic method was applied. The analysis was based on the statutes, secondary sources and judicial awards. Both the substantive and the procedural aspects of the capital structure were considered. In Germany, as a result of the regulatory competition, typical for the EU, the structure of LLCs was reshaped. New LLC – Unternehmergesellschaft, which does not require a minimum share capital, was introduced. The minimum share capital for Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung was lowered from 25 000 to 10 000 euro. In France the capital structure of corporations was also altered. In 2003, the minimum share capital of société à responsabilité limitée (S.A.R.L.) was repealed. In 2009, the minimum share capital of société par actions simplifiée – in the “simple” version of S.A.R.L. was also changed – there is no minimum share capital required by a statute. The company has to, however, indicate a share capital without the legislator imposing the minimum value of said capital. In Netherlands the reform of the Besloten Vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid (B.V.) was planned with the following change: repeal of the minimum share capital as the answer to the need for higher degree of autonomy for shareholders. It, however, preserved shares with nominal value. In Finland the novelization of yksityinen osakeyhtiö took place in 2006 and as a result the no-par shares were introduced. Despite the fact that the statute allows shares without face value, it still requires the minimum share capital in the amount of 2 500 euro. In Poland the proposal for the restructuration of the capital structure of the LLC has been introduced. The proposal provides among others: devaluation of the capital to 1 PLN or complete liquidation of the minimum share capital, allowing the no-par shares to be issued. In conclusion: American solutions, in particular, balance sheet test and solvency test provide better protection for creditors; European no-par shares are not the same as American and the existence of share capital in Poland is crucial.

Keywords: balance sheet test, limited liability company, nominal value of shares, no-par shares, share capital, solvency test

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Introducing Principles of Land Surveying by Assigning a Practical Project

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A practical project is used in an engineering surveying course to expose sophomore and junior civil engineering students to several important issues related to the use of basic principles of land surveying. The project, which is the design of a two-lane rural highway to connect between two arbitrary points, requires students to draw the profile of the proposed highway along with the existing ground level. Areas of all cross-sections are then computed to enable quantity computations between them. Lastly, Mass-Haul Diagram is drawn with all important parts and features shown on it for clarity. At the beginning, students faced challenges getting started on the project. They had to spend time and effort thinking of the best way to proceed and how the work would flow. It was even more challenging when they had to visualize images of cut, fill and mixed cross sections in three dimensions before they can draw them to complete the necessary computations. These difficulties were then somewhat overcome with the help of the instructor and thorough discussions among team members and/or between different teams. The method of assessment used in this study was a well-prepared-end-of-semester questionnaire distributed to students after the completion of the project and the final exam. The survey contained a wide spectrum of questions from students' learning experience when this course development was implemented to students' satisfaction of the class instructions provided to them and the instructor's competency in presenting the material and helping with the project. It also covered the adequacy of the project to show a sample of a real-life civil engineering application and if there is any excitement added by implementing this idea. At the end of the questionnaire, students had the chance to provide their constructive comments and suggestions for future improvements of the land surveying course. Outcomes will be presented graphically and in a tabular format. Graphs provide visual explanation of the results and tables, on the other hand, summarize numerical values for each student along with some descriptive statistics, such as the mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation for each student and each question as well. In addition to gaining experience in teamwork, communications, and customer relations, students felt the benefit of assigning such a project. They noticed the beauty of the practical side of civil engineering work and how theories are utilized in real-life engineering applications. It was even recommended by students that such a project be exercised every time this course is offered so future students can have the same learning opportunity they had.

Keywords: land surveying, highway project, assessment, evaluation, descriptive statistics

Procedia PDF Downloads 193

Authors: Sridhar A. Malkaram, Tamer E. Fandy

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Purpose: 5-Azacytidine (5AC) and decitabine (DC) are DNA hypomethylating agents. We recently demonstrated that both drugs increase the enzymatic activity of the histone deacetylase enzyme SIRT6. Accordingly, we are comparing the changes H3K9 acetylation changes in the whole genome induced by both drugs using leukemia cells. Description of Methods & Materials: Mononuclear cells from the bone marrow of six de-identified naive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients were cultured with either 500 nM of DC or 5AC for 72 h followed by ChIP-Seq analysis using a ChIP-validated acetylated-H3K9 (H3K9ac) antibody. Chip-Seq libraries were prepared from treated and untreated cells using SMARTer ThruPLEX DNA- seq kit (Takara Bio, USA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Libraries were purified and size-selected with AMPure XP beads at 1:1 (v/v) ratio. All libraries were pooled prior to sequencing on an Illumina HiSeq 1500. The dual-indexed single-read Rapid Run was performed with 1x120 cycles at 5 pM final concentration of the library pool. Sequence reads with average Phred quality < 20, with length < 35bp, PCR duplicates, and those aligning to blacklisted regions of the genome were filtered out using Trim Galore v0.4.4 and cutadapt v1.18. Reads were aligned to the reference human genome (hg38) using Bowtie v2.3.4.1 in end-to-end alignment mode. H3K9ac enriched (peak) regions were identified using diffReps v1.55.4 software using input samples for background correction. The statistical significance of differential peak counts was assessed using a negative binomial test using all individuals as replicates. Data & Results: The data from the six patients showed significant (Padj<0.05) acetylation changes at 925 loci after 5AC treatment versus 182 loci after DC treatment. Both drugs induced H3K9 acetylation changes at different chromosomal regions, including promoters, coding exons, introns, and distal intergenic regions. Ten common genes showed H3K9 acetylation changes by both drugs. Approximately 84% of the genes showed an H3K9 acetylation decrease by 5AC versus 54% only by DC. Figures 1 and 2 show the heatmaps for the top 100 genes and the 99 genes showing H3K9 acetylation decrease after 5AC treatment and DC treatment, respectively. Conclusion: Despite the similarity in hypomethylating activity and chemical structure, the effect of both drugs on H3K9 acetylation change was significantly different. More changes in H3K9 acetylation were observed after 5 AC treatments compared to DC. The impact of these changes on gene expression and the clinical efficacy of these drugs requires further investigation.

Keywords: DNA methylation, leukemia, decitabine, 5-Azacytidine, epigenetics

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Kurt Willems

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This research examines complaints against grading in higher education institutions in four different European regions: England and Wales, Flanders, the Netherlands, and France. The aim of the research is to examine the correlation between the applicable type of complaint handling on the one hand, and selected qualities of the higher education landscape and of public law on the other hand. All selected regions report a rising number of complaints against grading decisions, not only as to internal complaint handling within the institution but also judicially if the dispute persists. Some regions deem their administrative court system appropriate to deal with grading disputes (France) or have even erected a specialty administrative court to facilitate access (Flanders, the Netherlands). However, at the same time, different types of (governmental) dispute resolution bodies have been established outside of the judicial court system (England and Wales, and to lesser extent France and the Netherlands). Those dispute procedures do not seem coincidental. Public law issues such as the underlying legal nature of the education institution and, eventually, the grading decision itself, have an impact on the way the academic complaint procedures are developed. Indeed, in most of the selected regions, contractual disputes enjoy different legal protection than administrative decisions, making the legal qualification of the relationship between student and higher education institution highly relevant. At the same time, the scope of competence of government over different types of higher education institutions; albeit direct or indirect (o.a. through financing and quality control) is relevant as well to comprehend why certain dispute handling procedures have been established for students. To answer the above questions, the doctrinal and comparative legal method is used. The normative framework is distilled from the relevant national legislative rules and their preparatory texts, the legal literature, the (published) case law of academic complaints and the available governmental reports. The research is mainly theoretical in nature, examining different topics of public law (mainly administrative law) and procedural law in the context of grading decisions. The internal appeal procedure within the education institution is largely left out of the scope of the research, as well as different types of non-governmental-imposed cooperation between education institutions, given the public law angle of the research questions. The research results in the categorization of different academic complaint systems, and an analysis of the possibility to introduce each of those systems in different countries, depending on their public law system and higher education system. By doing so, the research also adds to the debate on the public-private divide in higher education systems, and its effect on academic complaints handling.

Keywords: higher education, legal qualification of education institution, legal qualification of grading decisions, legal protection of students, academic litigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: Agbana Olaseinde Julius, Opadere Olaolu Stephen

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The concept of cross carpeting is as old as politics itself. Basically, it entails an individual leaving a political party/group, to join another. The reasons for which cross carpeting is embarked upon are diverse: ideological differences; ethnic and/or religious differences; access to actual or perceived better political opportunities; liberty of association; rancor; etc. The current democratic dispensation in Nigeria has experienced renewed and rather alarming rate of cross carpeting, for reasons including those enumerated above and others. Right to cross carpet is inherent in a democratic setting as well as the political stakeholder; so does it also comprise of the constitutional right of ‘freedom of association’. However, the current species of cross carpeting in Nigeria requires scrutiny, in view of some potential legal and moral challenges it poses for both the present and the future. Cross carpeting is considered both legal and constitutional, but the current spate raises the question of expediency, particularly in a nascent democracy. It is considered to have a propensity of negatively impacting political stability in a polity with fragile nerves. Importantly too, cross carpeting is considered a potential damage to the psyche of posterity with regards to a warped disposition to promises, honour and integrity. The perceived peculiar dimension of cross carpeting in Nigeria raises questions on the quality of leadership presently obtainable in the country, vis-à-vis greed, self-centeredness, disregard for the concern and interest of avowed followers/fans, entrenchment of distrust, etc. Thus, the study made use of primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources included the Constitutions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended); judicial decisions; and the Electoral Act, 2010 (as Amended). The secondary sources comprised of information from books, journals, newspapers, magazines and Internet documents. Data obtained from these sources were subjected to content analysis. Findings of this study show that though the act of cross carpeting may not be in breach of any Statute or Law, it however, in most cases, breaches the morals of expediency. The morality thereof is far from justifiable, and should be condemned in the interest of the present and posterity. There is a great and urgent need to embark on a re-entrenchment of the culture of political ideology in the Nigerian polity, as obtainable in developed democracies. In conclusion, the need to exercise the right of cross carpeting with caution cannot be overemphasized. Membership of a political group/party should be backed by commitment to well defined ideologies and values. Commitment to them should be regarded akin to that found in the family, which is not easily or flippantly jettisoned.

Keywords: cross-carpeting, Nigeria, legal, moral issues, politics

Procedia PDF Downloads 424

Authors: S. Opadere Olaolu

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Religion, as a belief-system, has been with humanity for a long time. It has been recognised to impact the lives of individuals, groups, and communities that hold it dear. Whether the impact is regarded as positive or not depends on the assessor. Thus, for reasons of likely subjectiveness, possible irrationality, and even outright deliberate abuse, most emerging economies seek to follow the pattern of separating the State from religion; yet it is certain that the influence of religion on the State is incontrovertible. Corruption, on the other hand, though difficult to define in precise terms, is clearly perceptible. It could manifest in very diverse ways, including the abuse of a position of trust for the gain of an individual, or of a group with shared ulterior motive. Religion has been perceived, among others, as a means to societal stability, marital stability, infusion of moral rectitude, and conscience with regards to right and wrong. In time past, credible and dependable characters reposed largely and almost exclusively with those bearing deep religious conviction. Even in the political circle, it was thought that the involvement of those committed to religion would bring about positive changes, for the benefit of the society at large. On the contrary, in recent times, religion has failed in these lofty expectations. The level of corruption in most developing economies, and the increase of religion seem to be advancing pari passu. For instance, religion has encroached into political space, and vice versa, without any differentiable posture to the issue of corruption. Worse still, religion appears to be aiding and abetting corruption, overtly and/or covertly. Therefore, this discourse examined from the Nigerian perspective—as a developing economy—, and from a multidisciplinary stand-point of Law and Religion, the issue of religion; secularism; corruption; romance of religion and politics; inability of religion to exemplify moral rectitude; indulgence of corruption by religion; and the need to keep religion in private sphere, with proper checks. The study employed primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources included the Constitutions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended; judicial decisions; and the Bible. The secondary sources comprised of information from books, journals, newspapers, magazines and Internet documents. Data obtained from these sources were subjected to content analysis. Findings of this study include the breach of constitutional provisions to keep religion out of State affairs; failure of religion to curb corruption; outright indulgence of corruption by religion; and religion having become a political tool. In conclusion, it is considered apposite still to keep the State out of religion, and to seek enforcement of the constitutional provisions in this respect. The stamp of legality placed on overt and covert corruption by religion should be removed by all means.

Keywords: corruption, complicity, legalizing, religion

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Authors: Valentina Tereshkova

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The paper shows how the relationship between international law and national sovereignty is viewed through the implementation of European Court of Human Right judgments. Methodology: Сonclusions are based on a survey of representatives of the legislative authorities and judges of the Krasnoyarsk region, the Rostov region, Sverdlovsk region and Tver region. The paper assesses the activities of the Russian Constitutional Court from 1998 to 2015 related to the establishment of the implementation mechanism and the Russian Constitutional Court judgments of 14.07.2015, № 21-P and of 19.04.2016, № 12-P where the Constitutional Court stated the impossibility of executing ECtHR judgments. I. Implementation of ECHR judgments by courts and other authorities. Despite the publication of the report of the RF Ministry of Justice on the implementation, we could not find any formal information on the Russian policy of the ECtHR judgment implementation. Using the results of the survey, the paper shows the effect of ECtHR judgments on law and legal practice in Russia. II. Implementation of ECHR judgments by Russian Constitutional Court. Russian Constitutional Court had implemented the ECtHR judgments. However, the Court determined on July, 14, 2015 its competence to consider the question of implementation of ECHR judgments. Then, it stated that the execution of the judgment [Anchugov and Gladkov case] was impossible because the Russian Constitution has the highest legal force on April, 19, 2016. Recently the CE Committee of Ministers asked Russia to provide ‘without further delay’ a compensation plan for the Yukos case. On November 11, 2016, Constitutional Court accepted a request from the Ministry of Justice to consider the possibility of execution of the ECtHR judgment in the Yukos case. Such a request has been made possible due to a lack of implementation mechanism. Conclusion: ECtHR judgments are as an effective tool to solve the structural problems of a legal system. However, Russian experts consider the ECHR as a tool of protection of individual rights. The paper shows link between the survey results and the absence of the implementation mechanism. New Article 104 par. 2 and Article 106 par. 2 of the Federal Law of the Constitutional Court are in conflict with international obligations of the Convention on the Law on Treaties 1969 and Article 46 ECHR. Nevertheless, a dialogue may be possible between Constitutional Court and the ECtHR. In its judgment [19.04.2016] the Constitutional Court determined that the general measures to ensure fairness, proportionality and differentiation of the restrictions of voting rights were possible in judicial practice. It also stated the federal legislator had the power ‘to optimize the system of Russian criminal penalties’. Despite the fact that the Constitutional Court presented the Görgülü case [Görgülü v Germany] as an example of non-execution of the ECtHR judgment, the paper proposes to draw on the experience of German Constitutional Court, which in the Görgülü case, on the one hand, stressed national sovereignty and, on the other hand, took advantage of this sovereignty, to resolve the issue in accordance with the ECHR.

Keywords: implementation of ECtHR judgments, sovereignty, supranational jurisdictions, principle of subsidiarity

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Per Blomqvist

Abstract:

The overall aim of this study is to highlight how the degree project-course in teacher education has developed over time at Swedish universities, above all regarding changes in the formative assessment practices in relation to student's opportunities to take part in writing processes that can develop both their independent critical thinking, subject knowledge, and academic writing skills. Theoretically, the study is based on deliberative and transformative perspectives of teaching academic writing in higher education. The deliberative perspective is motivated by the fact that it is the universities and their departments' responsibility to give the students opportunities to develop their academic writing skills, while there is little guidance on how this can be implemented. The transformative perspective is motivated by the fact that education needs to be adapted to the student's prior knowledge and developed in relation to the student group. Given the academisation of education and the new student groups, this is a necessity. The empirical data consists of video recordings of teacher groups' conversations at three Swedish universities. The conversations were conducted as so-called collective remembering interviews, a method to stimulate the participants' memory through social interaction, and focused on addressing issues on how the degree project-course in teacher education has changed over time. Topic analysis was used to analyze the conversations in order to identify common descriptions and expressions among the teachers. The result highlights great similarities in how the degree project-course has changed over time, both from a deliberative and a transformative perspective. The course is characterized by a “strong framing,” where the teachers have great control over the work through detailed instructions for the writing process and detailed templates for the text. This is justified by the fact that the education has been adapted based on the student teachers' lack of prior subject knowledge. The strong framing places high demands on continuous discussions between teachers about, for example, which tools the students have with them and which linguistic and textual tools are offered in the education. The teachers describe that such governance often leads to conflicts between teachers from different departments because reading and writing are always part of cultural contexts and are linked to different knowledge, traditions, and values. The problem that is made visible in this study raises questions about how students' opportunities to develop independence and make critical judgments in academic writing are affected if the writing becomes too controlled and if passing students becomes the main goal of education.

Keywords: formative assessment, academic writing, degree project, higher education, deliberative perspective, transformative perspective

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: SeyedKeivan Nateghi, Jan Kaczmarczyk

Abstract:

People nowadays spend most of their time in buildings. Accordingly, maintaining a good quality of indoor air is very important. New universal matters related to the prevalence of Covid-19 also highlight the importance of indoor air conditioning in reducing the risk of virus infection. Cooling and Heating of a house will provide a suitable zone of air temperature for residents. One of the significant factors in energy demand is energy consumption in the building. In general, building divisions compose more than 30% of the world's fundamental energy requirement. As energy demand increased, greenhouse effects emerged that caused global warming. Regardless of the environmental damage to the ecosystem, it can spread infectious diseases such as malaria, cholera, or dengue to many other parts of the world. With the advent of the Covid-19 phenomenon, the previous instructions to reduce energy consumption are no longer responsive because they increase the risk of virus infection among people in the room. Two problems of high energy consumption and coronavirus infection are opposite. A classroom with 30 students and one teacher in Katowice, Poland, considered controlling two objectives simultaneal. The probability of transmission of the disease is calculated from the carbon dioxide concentration of people. Also, in a certain period, the amount of energy consumption is estimated by EnergyPlus. The effect of three parameters of number, angle, and time or schedule of opening windows on the probability of infection transmission and energy consumption of the class were investigated. Parameters were examined widely to determine the best possible condition for simultaneous control of infection spread and energy consumption. The number of opening windows is discrete (0,3), and two other parameters are continuous (0,180) and (8 AM, 2 PM). Preliminary results show that changes in the number, angle, and timing of window openings significantly impact the likelihood of virus transmission and class energy consumption. The greater the number, tilt, and timing of window openings, the less likely the student will transmit the virus. But energy consumption is increasing. When all the windows were closed at all hours of the class, the energy consumption for the first day of January was only 0.2 megajoules. In comparison, the probability of transmitting the virus per person in the classroom is more than 45%. But when all windows were open at maximum angles during class, the chance of transmitting the infection was reduced to 0.35%. But the energy consumption will be 36 megajoules. Therefore, school classrooms need an optimal schedule to control both functions. In this article, we will present a suitable plan for the classroom with natural ventilation through windows to control energy consumption and the possibility of infection transmission at the same time.

Keywords: Covid-19, energy consumption, building, carbon dioxide, energyplus

Procedia PDF Downloads 73