Search results for: older people

Authors: Konrad Rejdak

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Introduction: Neurodegenerative diseases are frequently accompanied by loss and unwanted change in functional independence, social relationships, and economic circumstances. Currently, the achievements of social robots to date is being projected to improve multidimensional quality of life among people with cognitive impairment and others. Objectives: Identification of particular human needs in the context of the changes occurring in course of neurodegenerative diseases. Methods: Based on the 110 surveys performed in the Medical University of Lublin from medical staff, patients, and caregivers we made prioritization of the users' needs as high, medium, and low. The issues included in the surveys concerned four aspects: user acceptance, functional requirements, the design of the robotic assistant and preferred types of human-robot interaction. Results: We received completed questionnaires; 50 from medical staff, 30 from caregivers and 30 from potential users. Above 90% of the respondents from each of the three groups, accepted a robotic assistant as a potential caregiver. High priority functional capability of assistive technology was to handle emergencies in a private home-like recognizing life-threatening situations and reminding about medication intake. With reference to the design of the robotic assistant, the majority of the respondent would like to have an anthropomorphic appearance with a positive emotionally expressive face. The most important type of human-robot interaction was a voice-operated system and by touchscreen. Conclusion: The results from our study might contribute to a better understanding of the system and users’ requirements for the development of a service robot intended to support patients with dementia.

Keywords: assistant robot, dementia, long term care, patients

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Authors: Hazaila Binti Hassan, Abu Yazid Bin Abu Bakar, Salleh Amat

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This study is to get the validity and reliability of the questionnaire for behaviour change on low-performing officers. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the behaviour of low performing officers. There are 75 items in this questionnaire which involves 5 subscales, which are the 5 dimensions intended to be studied: 1st emotional stability, 2nd psycho-spiritual enhancement, 3rd social skills development, 4th cognitive and rationality improvement and 5th behavioural alignment and adjustment. There are 2 processes in this research whereby to check the validity and reliability. Both use quantitative methods. Validity content testing has been conducted to validate the behavioural change questionnaire of the low performing officers. For the face validity, 4 people are involved, two are psychologists who carried out the program and the other two are officers of the same rank, i.e. supporting officers. They are involved in correction of sentences, languages, and grammar as well as the sentence structures so that it tallies with the purpose of studies. The questionnaire underwent content validity by the experts. Five experts are appointed to attend this session, 3 are directly involved in the construction of this questionnaire and 2 others are experts from the university with a background in questionnaire development. The result shows that the content validity obtained a high coefficient of 0.745 with a minimum and maximum value of more than 0.60 which satisfies the characteristic of Content Value Ratio. The Cronbach’s alpha result is 0.867. The highest scores are the behavioural alignment and adjustment sub-scale recorded the highest value, followed by social skills development sub-scale, cognitive and rational improvements sub-scale, psycho-spiritual enhancement sub-scale, and lastly emotional stability. Therefore, both of validity and reliability result were accepted that this questionnaire is valid and reliable can be used in the study of behaviour changes of low performing officers in the civil service.

Keywords: content validity, reliability, five dimension, low-performing officers, questionnaire

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Authors: Naeem Ahmed

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Social work is a professional activity based on the approach of “helping people to help themselves” (Stroup). Social work education and practice both are based on humanitarian philosophy in which social workers try to increase the happiness of the society and to reduce the problems of society. Labour welfare is a specialised field of social work which especially focuses on welfare of organised and unorganised labour. In India labour is facing numerous problems in both organised and unorganised sectors because of ignorance, illiteracy, high rate of unemployment etc. In most of the Indian social work institutions we have this specialization with different names like Human Resource Management or Industrial Relation and Personnel Management or Industrial Relations and Labour Welfare or Industrial Social Work etc. Field work practice is integrated part of social work education curriculum in all specialised field. In India we have different field work practice models being followed in different institutions. The main objective of this paper is to prepare a universal field work practicum model in the field of labour welfare. This paper is exploratory in nature, researcher used personal experience and secondary data (model of field work practice in different institutions like Aligarh Muslim University, Pondicherry University, Central University of Karnataka, University of Lucknow, MJP Rohilkhand University Bareilly etc.) Researcher found that there is an immediate need to upgrade the curriculum or field work practice in this particular field, as more than 40 percent of total population engaged in either unorganised or organised sector (NSSO 2011-12) and they are not aware about their rights. In this way a social worker can play an important role in existing labour welfare facilities by making them aware.

Keywords: field work, labour welfare, organised labour, social work practice, unorganised labour

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Authors: Vânia Graça, Paula Quadros-Flores, Altina Ramos

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The use of Digital Technologies in teaching and learning processes is currently a reality, namely in initial teacher training. This study aims at knowing the digital reality of students in initial teacher training in order to improve training in the educational use of ICT and to promote digital technology integration strategies in an educational context. It is part of the IFITIC Project "Innovate with ICT in Initial Teacher Training to Promote Methodological Renewal in Pre-school Education and in the 1st and 2nd Basic Education Cycle" which involves the School of Education, Polytechnic of Porto and Institute of Education, University of Minho. The Project aims at rethinking educational practice with ICT in the initial training of future teachers in order to promote methodological innovation in Pre-school Education and in the 1st and 2nd Cycles of Basic Education. A qualitative methodology was used, in which a questionnaire survey was applied to teachers in initial training. For data analysis, the techniques of content analysis with the support of NVivo software were used. The results point to the following aspects: a) future teachers recognize that they have more technical knowledge about ICT than pedagogical knowledge. This result makes sense if we consider the objective of Basic Education, so that the gaps can be filled in the Master's Course by students who wish to follow the teaching; b) the respondents are aware that the integration of digital resources contributes positively to students' learning and to the life of children and young people, which also promotes preparation in life; c) to be a teacher in the digital age there is a need for the development of digital literacy, lifelong learning and the adoption of new ways of teaching how to learn. Thus, this study aims to contribute to a reflection on the teaching profession in the digital age.

Keywords: digital technologies, initial teacher training, pedagogical use of ICT, skills

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Authors: Olabisi Badmos, Daniel Callo-Concha, Babatunde Agbola, Andreas Rienow, Klaus Greve, Carsten Jurgens

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Slums are important components of city development planning, especially in Africa where slum growth is on par with urban growth. Purposefully, our knowledge on the residential choice of slum dwellers, which contributes to population growth in slums, is limited. This is the case in Lagos, a megacity reportedly dominated by slum dwellers. Thus, this study aims to disclose the factors influencing the residential choices and causes of people to remain in Lagos slums. Data was collected through questionnaire administration and focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze and describe the factors influencing residential location choice; logistic regression was utilized to determine the extent to which the neighborhood and household attributes, influence slum dwellers decisions to remain in the slums. Results showed that movement to Lagos was the main cause of population growth in slums; most of the migrants were from closer geopolitical zones (in Nigeria). Further, the movement patterns observed support two theories of human mobility in slums: slum as a sink, and as a final destination. Also, the factors that brought most of the slum dwellers to the slums (cheap housing, proximity to work etc.) differs from the ones that made them stay (Gender, employment status, housing status etc.). This study concludes that residential choice and intention to stay are the major contributors to population growth in a slum. It is therefore important for Lagos state Government to incorporate these elements of residential choices of slum dwellers in their slum management policies if the city aims to be free of slums by 2030

Keywords: Lagos, population growth, residential decision choices, slum

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Authors: Mhd. Zakiul Fikri, M. Agus Maulidi

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Indonesia is a constitutional state. As the constitutional state, Indonesia is not only using a single legal system, but also adopting three legal systems consist of: The European continental legal system or positive law of Indonesia, adat law system, and legal system of religion. This study will discuss Marosok tradition in the process of buying and selling cattle in Payakumbuh: a comparative study between adat law and positive law of Indonesia. The objectives of this research are: First, to find the meaning of the philosophical of Marosok tradition in Payakumbuh. Second, to find the legal implications of the Marosok tradition reviewed aspects of adat law and positive law of Indonesia. Third, to find legal procedure in arbitrating the dispute wich is potentially appear in the post-process of buying and selling cattle based on positive law and adat law adopted in Indonesia. This research is empirical legal research that using two model approaches which are statute approach and conceptual approach. Data was obtained through interviews, observations, and documents or books. Then a method of data analysis used is inductive analysis. Finally, this study found that: First, tradition of Marosok contains the meaning of harmonization of social life that keep people from negative debate, envy, and arrogant. Second, Marosok tradition is one of the adat law in Indonesia; it is one of contract law in the process of buying and selling. If the comparison between the practice Marosok tradition as adat law with the provisions of Article 1320 book of civil code about the terms of the validity of a contract, the elements contained in the provisions of these regulations are met in practice Marosok. Thus, the practice of Marosok in buying and selling cattle process in Payakumbuh justified in view of the positive law of Indonesia. Last of all, all kinds of disputes arising due to contracts made by Marosok tradition can be resolved by positive law and adat law of Indonesia.

Keywords: Adat law, contract, Indonesia, Marosok

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Authors: Ihab Al-Mokrani

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The Arabic heritage has two types of spoken rhetoric: the first type which al-Jaahiz calls “the rhetoric of the sign,” which means body language, and the rhetoric of silence which is of no less importance than the rhetoric of the sign, the speaker’s appearance and movements, etc. The second type is the spoken performance of utterances which bears written rhetoric arts like metaphor, simile, metonymy, etc. Rationale of the study: First: in spite of the factual existence of rhetorical phenomena in the Arabic heritage, there has been no contemporary study handling the spoken rhetoric in the Arabic heritage. Second: Arabic Civilization is originally a spoken one. Comparing the Arabic culture and civilization, from one side, to the Greek, roman or Pharaonic cultures and civilizations, from the other side, shows that the latter cultures and civilizations started and flourished written while the former started among illiterate people who had no interest in writing until recently. That sort of difference on the part of the Arabic culture and civilization created a rhetoric different from rhetoric in the other cultures and civilizations. Third: the spoken nature of the Arabic civilization influenced the Arabic rhetoric in the sense that specific rhetorical arts have been introduced matching that spoken nature. One of these arts is the art of concision which compensates for the absence of writing’s means of preserving the text. In addition, this interprets why many of the definitions of the Arabic rhetoric were defining rhetoric as the art of concision. Also, this interprets the fact that the literary genres known in the Arabic culture were limited by the available narrow space like poetry, anecdotes, and stories, while the literary genres in the Greek culture were of wide space as epics and drama. This is not of any contrast to the fact that some Arabic poetry would exceed 100 lines of poetry as Arabic poetry was based on the line organic unity, which means that every line could stand alone with a full meaning that is not dependent on the rest of the poem; and that last aspect has never happened in any culture other than the Arabic culture.

Keywords: Arabic rhetoric, spoken rhetoric, Arabic heritage, culture

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Authors: Akber Oumer Abdurezak

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Road traffic accident is a major problem in Ethiopia, resulting in the deaths of many people and potential injuries and crash every year and loss of properties. According to the Federal Transport Authority, one of the main causes of traffic accident and crash in Ethiopia is over speeding. Implementation of different technologies is used to monitor the speed of vehicles in order to minimize accidents and crashes. This research aimed at designing a speed monitoring system to monitor the speed of travelling vehicles and movements, reporting illegal speeds or overspeeding vehicles to the concerned bodies. The implementation of the system is through a wireless sensor network. The proposed system can sense and detect the movement of vehicles, process, and analysis the data obtained from the sensor and the cloud system. The data is sent to the central controlling server. The system contains accelerometer and gyroscope sensors to sense and collect the data of the vehicle. Arduino to process the data and Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) module for communication purposes to send the data to the concerned body. When the speed of the vehicle exceeds the allowable speed limit, the system sends a message to database as “over speeding”. Both accelerometer and gyroscope sensors are used to collect acceleration data. The acceleration data then convert to speed, and the corresponding speed is checked with the speed limit, and those above the speed limit are reported to the concerned authorities to avoid frequent accidents. The proposed system decreases the occurrence of accidents and crashes due to overspeeding and can be used as an eye opener for the implementation of other intelligent transport system technologies. This system can also integrate with other technologies like GPS and Google Maps to obtain better output.

Keywords: accelerometer, IOT, GSM, gyroscope

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Authors: Mohammad Jahangeer Warsi

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This is, perhaps, the first linguistic study of Maithili Urdu, a dialect of Urdu language of Indo-Aryan family, spoken by around four million speakers in Darbhanga, Samastipur, Begusarai, Madhubani, and Muzafarpur districts of Bihar. It has the subject–verb–object (SOV) word order and it lacks script and literature. Needless to say, this work is an attempt to document this dialect so that it should contribute to the field of descriptive linguistics. Besides, it is also spoken by majority of Maithili diaspora community. Maithili Urdu does not have its own script or literature, yet it has maintained an oral history of over many centuries. It has contributed to enriching the Maithili, Hindi and Urdu languages and literature very profoundly. Dialects are the contact languages of particular regions, and they have a deep impact on their cultural heritage. Slowly with time, these dialects begin to take shape of languages. The convergence of a dialect into a language is a symbol and pride of the people who speak it. Although, confined to the five districts of northern Bihar, yet highly popular among the natives, it is the primary mode of communication of the local Muslims. The paper will focus on the structure of expressions about Maithili Urdu that include the structure of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. There are clear differences in linguistic features of Maithili Urdu vis-à-vis Urdu, Maithili and Hindi. Though being a dialect of Urdu, interestingly, there is only one second person pronoun tu and lack of agentive marker –ne. Although being spoken in the vicinity of Hindi, Urdu and Maithili, it undoubtedly has its own linguistic features, of them, verb conjugation is remarkably unique. Because of the oral tradition of this link language, intonation has become significantly prominent. This paper will discuss the morpho-syntactic pattern of Maithili Urdu and will go through a sample text to authenticate the findings.

Keywords: cultural heritage, morpho-syntactic pattern, Maithili Urdu, verb conjugation

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Authors: Nawaf A. Alqahtani, Ali M. Alqahtani, Khalid A. Alqahtani, Huda S. Abdullfattah, Ebtehal A. Alessa, Khalid S. Al Gelban, Ossama A. Mostafa

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Background: The internet is an exciting medium that is becoming an essential part of everyday life. Although the internet is fully observed in Saudi Arabia, young people may be vulnerable to problematic internet use, possibly leading to addiction. Aim of study: To explore the magnitude of internet addiction (IA) among medical students associated risk factors and its impact on students' academic achievement. Subjects and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in 2014 on 571 medical students (293 males and 278 females) at the College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. Data Collection was done through using the Arabic version of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale and a checklist of demographic characteristics. Results: Age of participants ranged from 19 to 26 years (Mean+SD: 21.9+1.5 years). Internet access was available to 97.4% of students at home and to 80.2% of students at their mobile phones. The most frequently accessed websites by medical students were the social media (90.7%), scientific website (50.4%) and the news websites (31.3%). IA was mild in 47.8% of medical students while 5.8% had moderate IA. None of the students had severe IA. Prevalence of IA was significantly higher among female medical students (p=0.002), availability of internet at home (p=0.022), and availability of internet at the students' mobile phone (p=0.041). The mean General Point Average (GPA) was highest among students with mild IA (4.0+0.6), compared with 3.6+0.6 among those with moderate addiction, and 3.9+0.6 among those who did not show IA. Differences in mean GPA according to grade of IA were statistically significant ((P=0.001). Conclusions: Prevalence of IA is high among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Risk factors for IA include female gender, availability of internet at home or at the mobile phone. IA has a significant impact on students' GPA. Periodic screening of medical students for IA and raising their awareness toward the possible risk of IA are recommended.

Keywords: internet addiction, medical students, risk factors, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Ashna Sinha, Surendra Varma

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The Asian elephant is predominantly found in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. They are intrinsically associated with the religions, religious and cultural practices and festivals of these regions. Amazingly, these magnificent animals are also mentioned in the texts and are found sculpted on the walls of places of religious significance even in the Middle Eastern countries, and evidently, they have been mentioned in all the major religions. The elephants are intrigued and associated with the cultural and religious practices of Asians for thousands of years. While some of the practices and festivals in certain geographical regions are going on for years; some regions and religions have gone through a cultural shift and cultural adaptation, and have incorporated the participation of these divine beings. The symbolism of elephants is used for preaching and giving philosophical lessons through stories and painted art, across different religions through varying literary and visual artworks. The animals carved on the ancient and present day temples can easily be found in South and South East Asian countries, signifying the importance of the animal in a given religion which the temples are associated with. Though not sculpted but captive elephants are easily found on the premises of the places of worship to give a blessing to the people or to give a tour to show their own connotation with the religion. They are also used for carrying out processions in varying religious and cultural activities, and are considered to be of immense value as they add an extra glamour and publicize the wealth and weightiness of that distinct religion or culture. Our critical review of elephant’s association with religions and their practices show, although they give a higher degree of value and respects to this animal, the practices do not match with their biological design, but profoundly compromise their welfare and conservation. It is time to follow the values the animal enjoy and use the same for their conservation and welfare.

Keywords: conservation, elephant, religion, welfare

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Authors: Leiya Ho Yin Lee

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Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993) may seemingly be a fairly unremarkable Hollywood comedy film in the 90s, it is argued that the film, with its protagonist Phil (Bill Murray), inadvertently, but perfectly, demonstrates an important aspect in filmmaking, film spectatorship and film research: repetition. Very rarely does a narrative film use one, and only one, take in its shooting. The multiple ‘repeats’ of Phil’s various endeavours due to his being trapped in a perpetual loop of the same day — from stealing money and tricking a woman into a casual relationship, to his multiple suicides, to eventually helping people in need — make the process of doing multiple ‘takes’ in filmmaking explicit. But perhaps more significantly, Phil represents a perfect model for the spectator/cinephile who has seen their favourite film for multiple times that they can remember every single detail. Crucially, their favourite film never changes, as it is a recording, but the cinephile’s experience of that very same film is most likely different each time they watch it again, just as Phil’s character and personality has completely transformed, from selfish and egotistic, to depressed and nihilistic, and ultimately to sympathetic and caring, even though he is living the exact same day. Furthermore, the author did not come up with this stimulating juxtaposition of film spectatorship and Groundhog Day the first time the author saw the film; it took the author a few casual re-viewings to notice the film’s self-reflexivity. And then, when working on it in the author’s research, the author had to re-view the film for more times, and have subsequently noticed even more things previously unnoticed. In this way, Groundhog Day not only stands for a model for filmmaking and film spectatorship, it also illustrates the act of academic research, especially in Film Studies where repeatedly viewing the same films is a prerequisite before new ideas and concepts are discovered from old material. This also recalls Deleuze’s thesis on difference and repetition in that repetition creates difference and it is difference that creates thought.

Keywords: narrative comprehension, repeated viewing, repetition, spectatorship

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Authors: A. Sadowska, R. Polaniak, P. Boczarski, E. Grochowska-Niedworok

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Working in a shopping center 12 hours a day as a shop assistant is a very demanding and stressful job, which is still underestimated. Proper eating habits, including recommended fruits, vegetables, products rich in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and proper hydration, can contribute to improvement in health and make shop assistants more resistant to stress. The aim of this study was to analyze the eating habits of shop assistants working in shopping centers 12 hours a day. Participant 101 sellers from Poland filled out authorial surveys. Nearly 50% of participants consumed the recommended number of 4 to 5 meals per day. There was a slight dependence between the number of meals consumed per day and the time that employers allowed for employee mealtimes. Respondents declared that they engaged in snacking, and they generally chose fruit, chocolates, and other sweets. Survey results indicated a low liquid intake, which was about 1,05 liters daily. Mineral water was chosen most often (63%) by participants. Participant fish consumption was very low in comparison with the norms, which can pose a risk of developing omega-3 fatty acids deficiency. Shop assistants stated that a change in their eating habits was necessary. Study findings suggest a moderate dependence between being on a diet and counting calories and macronutrients contained in meals. The number of meals eaten per day is correlated with the number of meals eaten at the worksite. The percentage of snacking by shop assistants was so high that it suggested a need for more nutrition education. The topic of eating habits among shop assistants should be examined using a larger group of participants. It is necessary to note a connection between nutrition and health problems.

Keywords: eating habits, work during 12 hours a day, shopping center, nutrition

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Authors: Felipe Osorio Ospina, Maria Adelaida Mejia Arango, Esteban Onésimo Vallejo Agudelo, Victoria Lucía Dávila Osorio, Natalia Vargas Grisales, Lina María Martínez Sanchez, Camilo Andrés Agudelo Vélez, Ángela Maria Londoño García, Isabel Cristina Ortiz Trujillo

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Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, has shown to be a risk factor for photodamage, alteration of the immune mechanisms to recognize malignant cells and cutaneous pro-inflamatorios States and skin cancers. Objective: Identify the time of exposure to ultraviolet radiation for the production of chromosomal damage in human lymphocytes. Methodology: We conducted an in vitro study serial, in which samples were taken from heparinized blood of healthy people, who do not submit exposure to agents that could induce chromosomal alterations. The samples were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, penicillin and streptomycin antibiotic. Subsequently, they were grouped and exposed to ultraviolet light for 1 to 20 seconds. At the end of the treatments, cytology samples were prepared, and it was colored with Giemsa (5%). Reading was carried out in an optical microscope and 100 metaphases analysed by treatment for posting chromosomal alterations. Each treatment was conducted at three separate times and each became two replicas. Results: We only presented chromosomal alterations in lymphocytes exposed to UV for a groups 1 to 3 seconds (p<0.05). Conclusions: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation generates visible damage in chromosomes from human lymphocytes observed in light microscopy, the highest rates of injury was observed between two and three seconds, and above this value, the reduction in the number of mitotic cells was evident.

Keywords: ultraviolet rays, lymphocytes, chromosome breakpoints, photodamage

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Authors: Felipe Osorio Ospina, Maria Adelaida Mejia Arango, Esteban Onésimo Vallejo Agudelo, Victoria Lucía Dávila Osorio, Natalia Vargas Grisales, Lina María Martínez Sanchez, Camilo Andrés Agudelo Vélez, Ángela Maria Londoño García, Isabel Cristina Ortiz Trujillo

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Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, has shown to be a risk factor for photodamage, alteration of the immune mechanisms to recognize malignant cells and cutaneous pro-inflamatorios states and skin cancers. Objective: To identify the time of exposure to ultraviolet radiation for the production of chromosomal damage in human lymphocytes. Methodology: We conducted an in vitro study serial, in which samples were taken from the heparinized blood of healthy people, who do not submit exposure to agents that could induce chromosomal alterations. The samples were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, penicillin, and streptomycin antibiotic. Subsequently, they were grouped and exposed to ultraviolet light for 1 to 20 seconds. At the end of the treatments, cytology samples were prepared, and it was colored with Giemsa (5%). Reading was carried out in an optical microscope and 100 metaphases analysed by treatment for posting chromosomal alterations. Each treatment was conducted at three separate times and each became two replicas. Results: We only presented chromosomal alterations in lymphocytes exposed to UV for groups 1 to 3 seconds (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation generates visible damage in chromosomes from human lymphocytes observed in light microscopy, the highest rates of injury was observed between two and three seconds, and above this value, the reduction in the number of mitotic cells was evident.

Keywords: chromosome breakpoints, lymphocytes, photodamage, ultraviolet rays

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Authors: Mohsen Shati, Seyede Salehe Mortazavi, Seyed Kazem Malakouti, Hamidreza Khanke Fazlollah Ahmadi

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Taking unnecessary or excessive medication or using drugs with no indication (polypharmacy) by people of all ages, especially the elderly, is associated with increased adverse drug reactions (ADR), medical errors, hospitalization and escalating the costs. It may be facilitated or impeded by the healthcare system. In this study, we are going to describe the role of the health system in the practice of polypharmacy in Iranian elderly. In this Inductive qualitative content analysis using Graneheim and Lundman methods, purposeful sample selection until saturation has been made. Participants have been selected from doctors, pharmacists, policy-makers and the elderly. A total of 25 persons (9 men and 16 women) have participated in this study. Data analysis after incorporating codes with similar characteristics revealed 14 subcategories and six main categories of the referral system, physicians’ accessibility, health data management, drug market, laws enforcement, and social protection. Some of the conditions of the healthcare system have given rise to polypharmacy in the elderly. In the absence of a comprehensive specialty and subspecialty referral system, patients may go to any physician office so may well be confused about numerous doctors' prescriptions. Electronic records not being prepared for the patients, failure to comply with laws, lack of robust enforcement for the existing laws and close surveillance are among the contributing factors. Inadequate insurance and supportive services are also evident. Age-specific care providing has not yet been institutionalized, while, inadequate specialist workforce playing a major role. So, one may not ignore the health system as contributing factor in designing effective interventions to fix the problem.

Keywords: elderly, polypharmacy, health system, qualitative study

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Authors: Mumtaz Ali Baloch

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This article aims at to review the policies and gaps including the socioeconomic and institutional factors that affected the enrollment of disabled children and caused drop-outs. It provides insights to scrutinize the gaps in policies, socioeconomic, and institutional factors with the specific concern in enrollment and drop out of disabled children in Pakistan, and Balochistan in particular. The findings of this study revealed that the old-age centralized policies and a number of socio-economic and institutional factors seemed to have significantly affected the enrollment and quality education in the case of physically disabled children. There were only a few schools functional in entire Balochistan. For example, an entire province (Balochistan) there are only two schools for disabled children, established in Quetta city. In the other 31 districts, an estimated population of 300,000 people of each district there were no schools for the disabled children. The findings of this study revealed that there is a great distinction between the policy and practice in the case of physically disabled children in Quetta, Balochistan. Consequently, such children seemed to have been out of schools. Dropout after the class eighth grade is almost 100%, as there are no high schools available for physically/disabled children, in Balochistan. The concerned organizations and authorities need to develop and ratify specific policies, provide required) facilities to the schools including sufficient budget, streamline the academic planning, and an effective monitoring and evaluation system. Only awareness and motivation could not help in improving the enrollment rate and decreasing the dropout in the case of physically disabled children. There is an urgent need to provide the required facilities to the schools. Almost all students needed assistive equipment, effective physical therapy as well as regular medical facilities. Such measures can improve the enrolment and rehabilitation of children.

Keywords: education policy, practices, physically disabled children, challenges, Balochistan, Pakistan

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Authors: Sanghamitra Roy

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In recent times, India has experienced the phenomenal rise in the number of registered vehicles and vehicular trips, particularly intra-city trips in most of its urban areas. The increase in vehicle ownership and use have increased parking demand immensely and accommodating the same is now a matter of big concern. Most cities do not have adequate off-street parking facilities thus forcing people to park on the streets. This has resulted in decreased carrying capacity, decreased traffic speed, increased congestion, and increased environmental problems. While integrated multi-modal transportation system is the answer to such problems, parking issues will continue to exist. In Kolkata, only 6.4% land is devoted for roads. The consequences of this huge crunch in road spaces coupled with increased parking demand are severe particularly in the CBD and major commercial areas, making the role of off-street parking facilities in Kolkata even more critical. To meaningfully address parking issues, it is important to identify the factors that influence parking demand so that it can be assessed and comprehensive parking policies and plans for the city can be formulated. This paper aims at identifying the factors that contribute towards parking demand for offices in Kolkata and their degree of correlation with parking demand. The study is limited to home-to-work trips located within Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) where parking related issues are most pronounced. The data for the study is collected through personal interviews, questionnaires and direct observations from offices across the wards of KMC. SPSS is used for classification of the data and analyses of the same. The findings of this study will help in re-assessment of the parking requirements specified in The Kolkata Municipal Corporation Building Rules as a step towards alleviating parking related issues in the city.

Keywords: building rules, office spaces, parking demand, urbanization

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Authors: J.P. Henriques, E. R. Neto, G. Almeida, G. Ribeiro, J.V. Coutinho, A.B. Lugli

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Industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is transforming the relationship between people and machines. In this scenario, some technologies such as Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Additive Manufacturing, among others, are making industries and devices increasingly intelligent. One of the most powerful technologies of this new revolution is the Digital Twin, which allows the virtualization of a real system or process. In this context, the present paper addresses the linear and nonlinear dynamic study of a didactic level plant using Digital Twin. In the first part of the work, the level plant is identified at a fixed point of operation, BY using the existing method of least squares means. The linearized model is embedded in a Digital Twin using Automation Studio® from Famous Technologies. Finally, in order to validate the usage of the Digital Twin in the linearized study of the plant, the dynamic response of the real system is compared to the Digital Twin. Furthermore, in order to develop the nonlinear model on a Digital Twin, the didactic level plant is identified by using the method proposed by Hammerstein. Different steps are applied to the plant, and from the Hammerstein algorithm, the nonlinear model is obtained for all operating ranges of the plant. As for the linear approach, the nonlinear model is embedded in the Digital Twin, and the dynamic response is compared to the real system in different points of operation. Finally, yet importantly, from the practical results obtained, one can conclude that the usage of Digital Twin to study the dynamic systems is extremely useful in the industrial environment, taking into account that it is possible to develop and tune controllers BY using the virtual model of the real systems.

Keywords: industry 4.0, digital twin, system identification, linear and nonlinear models

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Authors: Sandhra M. Pillai

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This article examines the relevance, difficulties, and potential applications of DNA analysis in the criminal justice system. A potent tool for connecting suspects to crime sites, clearing the innocent of wrongdoing, and resolving cold cases, DNA analysis has transformed forensic investigations. The scientific foundations of DNA analysis, including DNA extraction, sequencing, and statistical analysis, are covered in the article. To guarantee accurate and trustworthy findings, it also discusses the significance of quality assurance procedures, chain of custody, and DNA sample storage. DNA analysis has significantly advanced science, but it also brings up substantial moral and legal issues. To safeguard individual rights and uphold public confidence, privacy concerns, possible discrimination, and abuse of DNA information must be properly addressed. The paper also emphasises the effects of the criminal justice system on people and communities while highlighting the necessity of equity, openness, and fair access to DNA testing. The essay describes the obstacles and future directions for DNA analysis. It looks at cutting-edge technology like next-generation sequencing, which promises to make DNA analysis quicker and more affordable. To secure the appropriate and informed use of DNA evidence, it also emphasises the significance of multidisciplinary collaboration among scientists, law enforcement organisations, legal experts, and policymakers. In conclusion, DNA analysis has enormous potential for improving the course of criminal justice. We can exploit the potential of DNA technology while respecting the ideals of justice, fairness, and individual rights by navigating the ethical, legal, and societal issues and encouraging discussion and collaboration.

Keywords: DNA analysis, DNA evidence, reliability, validity, legal frame, admissibility, ethical considerations, impact, future direction, challenges

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Authors: Bashir Ahmad Amiri, Nsenda Lukumwena

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The developing economies are experiencing an unprecedented rate of urbanization, mainly the urbanization of poverty which is leading to sprawling of slums and informal settlement. Kabul, being the capital and primate city of Afghanistan is grossly encountered to the informal settlement where the majority of the people consider to be informal. Despite all efforts to upgrade and minimize the growth of these settlements, they are growing rapidly. Various interventions have been taken by the government and some international organizations from physical upgrading to urban renewal, but none of them have succeeded to solve the issue of informal settlement. The magnitude of the urbanization and the complexity of informal settlement in Kabul city, and the institutional and capital constraint of the government calls for integration and optimization of currently practiced strategies. This paper provides an overview of informal settlement formation and the conventional upgrading strategies in Kabul city to identify the dominant/successful practices and rationalize the conventional upgrading modes. For this purpose, Hothkhel has been selected as the case study, since it represents the same situation of major informal settlements of the city. Considering the existing potential and features of the Hothkhel and proposed land use by master plan this paper intends to find a suitable upgrading mode for the study area and finally to scale up the model for the city level upgrading. The result highlights that the informal settlements of Kabul city have high (re)development capacity for accepting the additional room without converting the available agricultural area to built-up. The result also indicates that the integrated multi-sector upgrading has the scale-up potential to increase the reach of beneficiaries and to ensure an inclusive and efficient urbanization.

Keywords: informal settlement, upgrading strategies, Kabul city, urban expansion, integrated multi-sector, scale-up

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Erik Jon Byker

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Government leaders and education policymakers have increasingly focused on ways that teachers can better prepare children for life in a global society. Such preparation includes the development of global citizenship among young people. Yet, scholars point out that many elementary school educators and teacher candidates have limited awareness of being global citizens in an interdependent world. More and more teacher preparation programs aim to integrate global citizenship in their program plans and use educational technology to help develop global citizenship. Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), like the Asia Society and Partnership for 21st Century Skills, have led the way in creating global citizenship frameworks that prepare teachers and students with global competencies. The development of global citizenship among teachers needs to begin even before teachers sign their first contract. Global citizenship development should start when teacher candidates are being prepared to teach. Using the Critical Cosmopolitan Theory as a conceptual lens, this paper examines the integration of global citizenship curricula in teacher education programs in North Carolina and Texas in the United States of America. Using a case study methodology, the paper describes and compares the teacher candidates’ (n=136) perceptions of the global citizenship curricula delivered with the aid of educational technology. The study found that after participating in the global citizenship curricula, participants: (1) made conceptual leaps in their global citizenship definitions; (2) developed a stronger commitment for their future role as educators in developing global citizens; and (3) were more willing to take action for social justice-related issues in education. In sum, this paper discusses empirical findings related to the ways to integrate educational technology in preparing globally competent teachers.

Keywords: educational technology, global education, intercultural awareness, teacher candidates

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Hung Ton

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The Vietnamese community in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a minority group with an estimated less than 1% of the population. They have been in Canada since the 1970s, therefore, many funding sources are considering them as a long-time residential group. However, their limitation of resources cannot give them equal opportunities to successfully gain support from many levels of government in Canada, compared to other long-time settled and large groups. In 2020 and 2021, they have zero financial support for addressing problem gambling in the Vietnamese community. In contrast, casinos never forget this community. The gambling industry has been targeting the Vietnamese community as one of their major clientele groups. There are always in-equal battles between low-budget educational workshops by this underserved community group and expensive variety music shows by casinos. In the very same target group, five single lines of free ads by a community project cannot get more attention than a full-page colorful poster by casinos. An outreach worker is running back and forth to talk to a group of 10 or 15 persons in an ESL or Tai Chi class held in a basement of an old community center while fifty thousand dollars variety music shows can attract five thousand audience in their luxury facilities. Five-dollar vouchers for those who attend the problem gambling awareness session are incomparable to two hundred dollar free tickets for people to attend the show in casinos and then exit the gambling area after the show ends. There is only one problem gambling counselor who speaks the Vietnamese language in the Ontario province and in Canada at large. However, there are 70 casinos in Ontario and more than 200 licensed gambling facilities in Canada. He has been lonely in all in-equal "battles" for the last almost 25 years. He exists, fighting over there with or without funding support for the program, he fights still.

Keywords: Canadian Vietnamese, gambling addiction, gambling treatment, community awareness

Procedia PDF Downloads 30

Authors: Shotiros Protong

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In recent years, Thailand has been affected by climate change phenomenon, which is clearly seen from the season change for different times. The occurrence of violent storms, heavy rains, floods, and drought were found in several areas. In a long dry period, the water supply is not adequate in drought areas. Nowadays, it is renowned that there is a significant decrease of rainwater use for household consumption in rural area of Thailand. Rainwater harvesting is the practice of collection and storage of rainwater in storage tanks before it is lost as surface run-off. Rooftop rainwater harvesting is used to provide drinking water, domestic water, and water for livestock. Rainwater harvesting in households is an alternative for people to readily prepare water resources for their own consumptions during the drought season, can help mitigate flooding of flooded plains, and also may reduce demand on the basin and well. It also helps in the availability of potable water, as rainwater is substantially free of salts. Application of rainwater harvesting in rural water system provide a substantial benefit for both water supply and wastewater subsystems by reducing the need for clean water in water distribution systems, less generated storm water in sewer systems, and a reduction in storm water runoff polluting freshwater bodies. The combination of rainwater quality and rainfall quantity is used to determine proper rainwater harvesting for household consumption to be safe and adequate for survivals. Rainwater quality analysis is compared with the drinking water standard. In terms of rainfall quantity, the observed rainfall data are interpolated by GIS 10.5 and showed by map during 1980 to 2020, used to assess the annual yield for household consumptions.

Keywords: rainwater harvesting, drinking water standard, annual yield, rainfall quantity

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Taher M. Abou-deif, Esmail M. El-Bialy, Essam E. Khalil

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The paper is devoted to numerically investigating the influence of the air supply outlets geometry on human comfort inside living looms. A computational fluid dynamics model is developed to examine the air flow characteristics of a room with different supply air diffusers. The work focuses on air flow patterns, thermal behavior in the room with few number of occupants. As an input to the full-scale 3-D room model, a 2-D air supply diffuser model that supplies direction and magnitude of air flow into the room is developed. Air distribution effect on thermal comfort parameters was investigated depending on changing the air supply diffusers type, angles and velocity. Air supply diffusers locations and numbers were also investigated. The pre-processor Gambit is used to create the geometric model with parametric features. Commercially available simulation software “Fluent 6.3” is incorporated to solve the differential equations governing the conservation of mass, three momentum and energy in the processing of air flow distribution. Turbulence effects of the flow are represented by the well-developed two equation turbulence model. In this work, the so-called standard k-ε turbulence model, one of the most widespread turbulence models for industrial applications, was utilized. Basic parameters included in this work are air dry bulb temperature, air velocity, relative humidity and turbulence parameters are used for numerical predictions of indoor air distribution and thermal comfort. The thermal comfort predictions through this work were based on ADPI (Air Diffusion Performance Index),the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) model and the PPD (Percentage People Dissatisfied) model, the PMV and PPD were estimated using Fanger’s model.

Keywords: thermal comfort, Fanger's model, ADPI, energy effeciency

Procedia PDF Downloads 373

Authors: Nuhu Bitrus Mailabari

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Nigeria is a highly multifarious nation trapped between affluence and affliction. On one hand, the state has vast territorial size, economic strength, relative internal cohesion, and good external linkages. On the other, it is bedeviled with enormous challenges. It is common knowledge that the North-East geo-political zone has suffered colossal destruction for the most part of the last ten years due to the activities of the insurgent group Boko Haram. Several factors (political, economic, religious, socio-cultural) have been credited with the heightened insecurity in the region. Without a doubt, the security crisis in the region has rekindled several discussions critical to Nigeria’s security architecture. However, the debate on finding an enduring solution to the devastation in the North East continually neglects the nexus between cross border migration and national security. Using content analysis, this paper debates two main issues that continue to affect security in the North East. One, the cumulative impact of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on the free movement of people and goods. Two, the porous nature of Nigeria’s borders. Theoretically, the paper will rely on the systems theory because of its broad focus on structure, linkage, and process. The work concludes in twofold. First, that cross border migration and poor border management processes further worsened the political and socio-economic conditions of a region that is already in a bad state. Secondly, in addition to the existing strategies, Nigeria must develop a holistic approach including new methods of handling cross border movements in solving the security issues.

Keywords: border, cross border, migration, Nigeria, northeast region, security

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Almutazballlah Qablan, Jihan M. Muhaidat, Bana Abu Rajab

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Background: Acne vulgaris is the most common skin condition that general practitioners and dermatologists encounter. It represents a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the pilosebaceous unit. Although acne vulgaris is not a life-threatening condition, it has a considerable psychological impact on the affected person. Acne patients have poor body image, low self-esteem, social isolation, and restricted activities. As part of the emotional impact, increased levels of anxiety, anger, depression, and frustration have also been observed in acne patients. (1) In this study, we want to assess the association between two modifiable risk factors; BMI and smoking, regarding acne vulgaris. Methods: A case-control study was conducted at King Abdullah University Hospital in Irbid, north Jordan in 2019/2020. A total number of 163 Acne cases were collected and interviewed by the author; on the other hand, there were 162 control cases. Anthropometric measures for Acne patients and control individuals were taken, and BMI was calculated. Both groups were asked about smoking habits. Data on subjects between 14 and 33 years of age were extracted. The characteristics of people who reported acne were compared with those with no acne using univariate and multivariate analysis. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was relied on to analyze the collected data. The crosstabs methods (chi-square) and odd ratios were relied on to test the study hypothesis. Results: Cigarette smoking was highly associated with no-acne, with an odds ratio of 0.4 (95% CI: 0.2–0.9), P-value = 0.018. BMI and waterpipe smoking were not significantly associated with acne in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Cigarette smoking was found to be protective from Acne. No significant relation between BMI nor waterpipe smoking and the development of Acne Vulgaris.

Keywords: acne, BMI, smoking, case-control

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Skander Ben Mami

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Despite its particular patterns and historical importance, the remote region of the Pamir Hindu Kush still lacks public recognition, as well as scientific substance, because of the abundance of classical state-centred geopolitical studies, the resilience of (inter)national narratives, and the political utility of the concepts of 'Central Asia' and 'South Asia'. However, this specific region of about 100 million inhabitants and located at the criss-cross of four geopolitical areas (Indian, Iranian, Chinese and Russian) over a territory of half a million square kilometres features a string of patterns that set it apart from the neighbouring areas of the Fergana, the Gansu and Punjab. Moreover, the Pamir Hindu Kush undergoes a series of parallel social and economic transformations that deserve scrutiny for their strong effect on the people’s lifestyle, particularly in three major urban centres (Aksu in China, Bukhara in Uzbekistan and Islamabad in Pakistan) and their immediate rural surroundings. While the involvement of various public and private stakeholders (States, NGOs, civil movements, private firms…) has undeniably resulted in positive elements (economic growth, connectivity, higher school attendance), it has in the same time generated a collection of negative effects (radicalizing, inequalities, pollution, territorial divide) that need to be addressed to strengthen regional and international security. This paper underscores the region’s strategical importance as the major hotbed and engine of insecurity and violence in Asia, notably in the context of Afghanistan’s enduring violence. It introduces the inner structures of the region, the different sources of violence as well as the governments’ responses to address it.

Keywords: geography, security, terrorism, urbanisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 104

Authors: Isomar Lima da Silva, Aristeu Jonatas Leite de Oliveira, Roberto Maia Augusto

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Biological isolation capsules are equipment commonly used in the control and prevention of infectious diseases in the hospital environment. This type of equipment, combined with pre-established medical protocols, contributes significantly to the containment of highly transmissible pathogens such as COVID-19. Due to its hermetic isolation, it allows more excellent patient safety, protecting companions and the health team. In this context, this work presents the development, testing, and validation of a medical capsule to treat patients affected by COVID-19. To this end, requirements such as low cost and easy handling were considered to meet the demand of people infected with the virus in remote locations in the Amazon region and/or where there are no ICU beds and mechanical ventilators for orotracheal intubation. Conceived and developed in a partnership between SAMEL Planos de Saúde and Instituto Conecthus, the device entitled "Vanessa Capsule" was designed to be used together with the NIV protocol (non-invasive ventilation), has an automatic exhaust system and filters performing the CO2 exchange, in addition to having BiPaps ventilatory support equipment (mechanical fans) in the Cabin Kit. The results show that the degree of effectiveness in protecting against infection by aerosols, with the protection cabin, is satisfactory, implying the consideration of the Vanessa capsule as an auxiliary method to be evaluated by the health team. It should also be noted that the medical observation of the evaluated patients found that the treatment against the COVID-19 virus started earlier with non-invasive mechanical ventilation reduces the patient's suffering and contributes positively to their recovery, in association with isolation through the Vanessa capsule.

Keywords: COVID-19, mechanical ventilators, medical capsule, non-invasive ventilation

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Uttam Kumar Sahoo, K. Lalhmingsangi, J. H. Lalremruati

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Non-timber forest resources particularly the high-value, low volume NTFPs has drawn interest as an activity all over the world during the past three decades that could raise standards of living for the rural folks while being compatible with forest conservation. This is particularly true for the people living in and around or fringes of protected areas. However, the economics that plays between resources’ stock and its utilization by the humans is yet to be validated and evaluated logistically. A study was therefore designed to understand the linkages between resource (especially NTFPs) availability and their utilization, existing threats to this biodiversity conservation and the role of NTFPs within the livelihood systems of those households that are most directly involved in creating conservation threats. About 25% of the households were sampled from the two sites ‘resource-rich’ and ‘resource poor’ area of Dampa Tiger Reserve (Western boundary). Our preliminary findings suggest that the collection of relatively high-volume and low value NTFPs such as fuelwood, fodder has caused degradation of forest resources while the low-volume and high-value NTFPs such as wild edible mushrooms, vegetables, other specialty food products, inputs to crafts, medicinal plants have resulted into species promotion/conservation through their domestication in traditional agroforestry systems including home gardens and/or collateral protection of the Tiger Reserve. It is thus suggested that proper assessment of these biodiversities, their direct and indirect valuation, market and non-market profits etc be carried out in greater details which would result in prescribing effective management plans around the park.

Keywords: household economy, livelihood strategies, non-timber forest products, species conservation

Procedia PDF Downloads 165