Search results for: social and behavior change communication

Authors: Elena Sherstoboeva, Elena Karzanova

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This paper explores the impact of the annexation of Crimea on the regulation of live performances and tour management of Russian pop music performers in Ukraine and of Ukrainian performers in Russia. Without a doubt, the cultural relationship between Russia and Ukraine is not limited to this issue. Yet concert markets tend to respond particularly rapidly to political, economic, and social changes, especially in Russia and Ukraine, where the high level of digital piracy means that the music businesses mainly depend upon income from performances rather than from digital rights sales. This paper argues that the rules formed in both countries after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 have contributed to the separation of a single cultural space that had existed in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine before the annexation. These rules have also facilitated performers’ self-censorship and increased the politicisation of the music businesses in the two neighbouring countries. This study applies a comparative socio-legal approach to study Russian and Ukrainian live events and tour regulation. A qualitative analysis of Russian and Ukrainian national and intergovernmental legal frameworks is applied to examine formal regulations. Soviet and early post-Soviet laws and policies are also studied, but only to the extent that they help to track the changes in the Russian–Ukrainian cultural relationship. To identify and analyse the current informal rules, the study design includes in-depth semi-structured interviews with 30 live event or tour managers working in Russia and Ukraine. A case study is used to examine how the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual international competition, has played out within the Russian–Ukrainian conflict. The study suggests that modern Russian and Ukrainian frameworks for live events and tours have developed Soviet regulatory traditions when cultural policies served as a means of ideological control. At the same time, contemporary regulations mark a considerable perspective shift, as the previous rules have been aimed at maintaining close cultural connections between the Russian and Ukrainian nations. Instead of collaboration, their current frameworks mostly serve as forms of repression, implying that performers must choose only one national market in which to work. The regulatory instruments vary and often impose limitations that typically exist in non-democratic regimes to restrict foreign journalism, such as visa barriers or bans on entry. The more unexpected finding is that, in comparison with Russian law, Ukrainian regulations have created more obstacles to the organisation of live tours and performances by Russian artists in Ukraine. Yet this stems from commercial rather than political factors. This study predicts that the more economic challenges the Russian or Ukrainian music businesses face, the harsher the regulations will be regarding the organisation of live events or tours in the other country. This study recommends that international human rights organisations and non-governmental organisations develop and promote specific standards for artistic rights and freedoms, given the negative effects of the increasing politicisation of the entertainment business and cultural spheres to freedom of expression and cultural rights and pluralism.

Keywords: annexation of Crimea, artistic freedom, censorship, cultural policy

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Authors: Abha Gupta, Deepak K. Mishra

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The focus of food security studies in India has been on the adequacy of calories and its linkage with poverty level. India currently being undergoing a massive demographic and epidemiological transition has demonstrated a decline in average physical activity with improved mechanization and urbanization. Food consumption pattern is also changing with decreasing intake of coarse cereals and a marginal increase in the consumption of fruits, vegetables and meat products resulting into a nutrition transition in the country. However, deficiency of essential micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals is rampant despite their growing importance in fighting back with lifestyle and other modern diseases. The calorie driven studies can hardly tackle the complex problem of malnutrition. This paper fills these research lacuna and analyses mean intake of different major and micro-nutrients among different socio-economic groups and adequacy of these nutrients from recommended dietary allowance. For the purpose, a cross-sectional survey covering 304 households selected through proportional stratified random sampling was conducted in six villages of Aligarh district of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Data on quantity consumed of 74 food items grouped into 10 food categories with a recall period of seven days was collected from the households and converted into energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, calcium, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin C using standard guidelines of National Institute of Nutrition. These converted nutrients were compared with recommended norms given by National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau. Per capita nutrient adequacy was calculated by dividing mean nutrient intake by the household size and then by comparing it with recommended norm. Findings demonstrate that source of both macro and micro-nutrients are mainly cereals followed by milk, edible oil and sugar items. Share of meat in providing essential nutrients is very low due to vegetarian diet. Vegetables, pulses, nuts, fruits and dry fruits are a poor source for most of the nutrients. Further analysis evinces that intake of most of the nutrients is higher than the recommended norm. Riboflavin is the only vitamin whose intake is less than the standard norm. Poor group, labour, small farmers, Muslims, scheduled caste demonstrate comparatively lower intake of all nutrients than their counterpart groups, though, they get enough macro and micro-nutrients significantly higher than the norm. One of the major reasons for higher intake of most of the nutrients across all socio-economic groups is higher consumption of monotonous diet based on cereals and milk. Most of the nutrients get their major share from cereals particularly wheat and milk intake. It can be concluded from the analysis that although there is adequate intake of most of the nutrients in the diet of rural population yet their source is mainly cereals and milk products depicting a monotonous diet. Hence, more efforts are needed to diversify the diet by giving more focus to the production of other food items particularly fruits, vegetables and pulse products. Awareness among the population, more accessibility and incorporating food items other than cereals in government social safety programmes are other measures to improve food security in India.

Keywords: hidden hunger, India, nutrients, recommended norm

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Authors: Katherine Maurer

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Background and purpose: Violence that occurs within families is a global social problem. Children who are victims or witness to family violence are at risk for many negative effects both proximally and distally. One of the most disconcerting long-term effects occurs when child victims become adult perpetrators: the intergenerational transmission of family violence (ITFV). Early identification of those children most at risk for ITFV is needed to inform interventions to prevent future family violence perpetration and victimization. Only about 25-30% of child family violence victims become perpetrators of adult family violence (either child abuse, partner abuse, or both). Prior research has primarily been conducted using dichotomous measures of exposure (yes; no) to predict ITFV, given the low incidence rate in community samples. It is often assumed that exposure to greater amounts of violence predicts greater risk of ITFV. However, no previous longitudinal study with a community sample has tested a dose-response model of exposure to physical child abuse and parental physical intimate partner violence (IPV) using count data of frequency and severity of violence to predict adult ITFV. The current study used advanced statistical methods to test if increased childhood exposure would predict greater risk of ITFV. Methods: The study utilized 3 panels of prospective data from a cohort of 15 year olds (N=338) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods longitudinal study. The data were comprised of a stratified probability sample of seven ethnic/racial categories and three socio-economic status levels. Structural equation modeling was employed to test a hurdle regression model of dose-response to predict ITFV. A version of the Conflict Tactics Scale was used to measure physical violence victimization, witnessing parental IPV and young adult IPV perpetration and victimization. Results: Consistent with previous findings, past 12 months incidence rates severity and frequency of interpersonal violence were highly skewed. While rates of parental and young adult IPV were about 40%, an unusually high rate of physical child abuse (57%) was reported. The vast majority of a number of acts of violence, whether minor or severe, were in the 1-3 range in the past 12 months. Reported frequencies of more than 5 times in the past year were rare, with less than 10% of those reporting more than six acts of minor or severe physical violence. As expected, minor acts of violence were much more common than acts of severe violence. Overall, regression analyses were not significant for the dose-response model of ITFV. Conclusions and implications: The results of the dose-response model were not significant due to a lack of power in the final sample (N=338). Nonetheless, the value of the approach was confirmed for the future research given the bi-modal nature of the distributions which suggest that in the context of both child physical abuse and physical IPV, there are at least two classes when frequency of acts is considered. Taking frequency into account in predictive models may help to better understand the relationship of exposure to ITFV outcomes. Further testing using hurdle regression models is suggested.

Keywords: intergenerational transmission of family violence, physical child abuse, intimate partner violence, structural equation modeling

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Authors: Joel Niklaus, Matthias Sturmer

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The publication of judicial proceedings is a cornerstone of many democracies. It enables the court system to be made accountable by ensuring that justice is made in accordance with the laws. Equally important is privacy, as a fundamental human right (Article 12 in the Declaration of Human Rights). Therefore, it is important that the parties (especially minors, victims, or witnesses) involved in these court decisions be anonymized securely. Today, the anonymization of court decisions in Switzerland is performed either manually or semi-automatically using primitive software. While much research has been conducted on anonymization for tabular data, the literature on anonymization for unstructured text documents is thin and virtually non-existent for court decisions. In 2019, it has been shown that manual anonymization is not secure enough. In 21 of 25 attempted Swiss federal court decisions related to pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceuticals, and legal parties involved could be manually re-identified. This was achieved by linking the decisions with external databases using regular expressions. An automated re-identification system serves as an automated test for the safety of existing anonymizations and thus promotes the right to privacy. Manual anonymization is very expensive (recurring annual costs of over CHF 20M in Switzerland alone, according to an estimation). Consequently, many Swiss courts only publish a fraction of their decisions. An automated anonymization system reduces these costs substantially, further leading to more capacity for publishing court decisions much more comprehensively. For the re-identification system, topic modeling with latent dirichlet allocation is used to cluster an amount of over 500K Swiss court decisions into meaningful related categories. A comprehensive knowledge base with publicly available data (such as social media, newspapers, government documents, geographical information systems, business registers, online address books, obituary portal, web archive, etc.) is constructed to serve as an information hub for re-identifications. For the actual re-identification, a general-purpose language model is fine-tuned on the respective part of the knowledge base for each category of court decisions separately. The input to the model is the court decision to be re-identified, and the output is a probability distribution over named entities constituting possible re-identifications. For the anonymization system, named entity recognition (NER) is used to recognize the tokens that need to be anonymized. Since the focus lies on Swiss court decisions in German, a corpus for Swiss legal texts will be built for training the NER model. The recognized named entities are replaced by the category determined by the NER model and an identifier to preserve context. This work is part of an ongoing research project conducted by an interdisciplinary research consortium. Both a legal analysis and the implementation of the proposed system design ESRA will be performed within the next three years. This study introduces the system design of ESRA, an end-to-end system for re-identification and anonymization of Swiss court decisions. Firstly, the re-identification system tests the safety of existing anonymizations and thus promotes privacy. Secondly, the anonymization system substantially reduces the costs of manual anonymization of court decisions and thus introduces a more comprehensive publication practice.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, courts, legal tech, named entity recognition, natural language processing, ·privacy, topic modeling

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Authors: M. Radunovic

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Region of Southeastern Europe has a substantial energy resource potential and is witnessing an increasing rate of power and energy project investments. This comes as a result of countries harmonizing their legal framework and market regulations to conform the ones of European Union, enabling direct private investments. Funding in the power and energy market in this region originates from various resources and investment entities, including commercial and institutional ones. Risk anticipation and assessment is crucial to project success, especially given the long exploitation period of project in power and energy domain, as well as the wide range of stakeholders involved. This paper analyzes the possibility of combined application of tools used in total quality management and international financing institutions for project planning, execution and evaluation, with the goal of anticipating, assessing and minimizing the risks that might occur in the development and execution phase of a power and energy project in the market of southeastern Europe. History of successful project management and investments both in the industry and institutional sector provides sufficient experience, guidance and internationally adopted tools to provide proper project assessment for investments in power and energy. Business environment of southeastern Europe provides immense potential for developing power and engineering projects of various magnitudes, depending on stakeholders’ interest. Diversification on investment sources provides assurance that there is interest and commitment to invest in this market. Global economic and political developments will be intensifying the pace of investments in the upcoming period. The proposed approach accounts for key parameters that contribute to the sustainability and profitability of a project which include technological, educational, social and economic gaps between the southeastern European region and western Europe, market trends in equipment design and production on a global level, environment friendly approach to renewable energy sources as well as conventional power generation systems, and finally the effect of the One Belt One Road Initiative led by People’s Republic of China to the power and energy market of this region in the upcoming period on a long term scale. Analysis will outline the key benefits of the approach as well as the accompanying constraints. Parallel to this it will provide an overview of dominant threats and opportunities in present and future business environment and their influence to the proposed application. Through concrete examples, full potential of this approach will be presented along with necessary improvements that need to be implemented. Number of power and engineering projects being developed in southeastern Europe will be increasing in the upcoming period. Proper risk analysis will lead to minimizing project failures. The proposed successful combination of reliable project planning tools from different investment areas can prove to be beneficial in the future power and engineering investments, and guarantee their sustainability and profitability.

Keywords: capital investments, lean six sigma, logical framework approach, logical framework matrix, one belt one road initiative, project management tools, quality function deployment, Southeastern Europe, total quality management

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Authors: Winnie Kung, Xinhua Liu, Debbie Huang, Patricia Kim, Keon Kim, Xiaoran Wang, Lawrence Yang

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Considerable Asian Americans were exposed to the World Trade Center attack due to the proximity of the site to Chinatown and a sizeable number of South Asians working in the collapsed and damaged buildings nearby. Few studies focused on Asians in examining the disaster’s mental health impact, and even less longitudinal studies were reported beyond the first couple of years after the event. Based on the World Trade Center Health Registry, this study examined the trajectory of PTSD of individuals directly exposed to the attack from 2-3 to 5-6 years after the attack, comparing Asians against the non-Hispanic White group. Participants included 2,431 Asians and 31,455 Whites. Trajectories were delineated into the resilient, chronic, delayed-onset and remitted groups using PTSD checklist cut-off score at 44 at the 2 waves. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the poorer trajectories against the resilient as a reference group, using predictors of baseline sociodemographic, exposure to the disaster, lower respiratory symptoms and previous depression/anxiety disorder diagnosis, and recruitment source as the control variable. Asians had significant lower socioeconomic status in terms of income, education and employment status compared to Whites. Over 3/4 of participants from both races were resilient, though slightly less for Asians than Whites (76.5% vs 79.8%). Asians had a higher proportion with chronic PTSD (8.6% vs 7.4%) and remission (5.9% vs 3.4%) than Whites. A considerable proportion of participants had delayed-onset in both races (9.1% Asians vs 9.4% Whites). The distribution of trajectories differed significantly by race (p<0.0001) with Asians faring poorer. For Asians, in the chronic vs resilient group, significant protective factors included age >65, annual household income >$50,000, and never married vs married/cohabiting; risk factors were direct disaster exposure, job loss due to 9/11, lost someone, and tangible loss; lower respiratory symptoms and previous mental disorder diagnoses. Similar protective and risk factors were noted for the delayed-onset group, except education being protective; and being an immigrant a risk. Between the 2 comparisons, the chronic group was more vulnerable than the delayed-onset as expected. It should also be noted that in both comparisons, Asians’ current employment status had no significant impact on their PTSD trajectory. Comparing between Asians against Whites, the direction of the relationships between the predictors and the PTSD trajectories were mostly the same, although more factors were significant for Whites than for Asians. A few factors showed significant racial difference: Higher risk for lower respiratory symptoms for Whites than Asians, higher risk for pre-9/11 mental disorder diagnosis for Asians than Whites, and immigrant a risk factor for the remitted vs resilient groups for Whites but not for Asians. Over 17% Asians still suffered from PTSD 5-6 years after the WTC attack signified its persistent impact which incurred substantial human, social and economic costs. The more disadvantaged socioeconomic status of Asians rendered them more vulnerable in their mental health trajectories relative to Whites. Together with their well-documented low tendency to seek mental health help, outreach effort to this population is needed to ensure follow-up treatment and prevention.

Keywords: PTSD, Asian Americans, World Trade Center Attack, racial differences

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Authors: Mary T. McKinley

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As socio-economic globalization impacts education and turns knowledge into a commodity, institutions of higher education are becoming more intentional about infusing a global and intercultural perspective into education via the recruitment of international students. Coming from dissimilar cultures, many of these students are evaluated and held accountable to Euro-American values of independence, self-reliance, and autonomy. Not surprisingly, these students often experience culture shock with deleterious effects on their mental health and academic functioning. Thus, it is critical to understand the experiences of international students with the hope that such knowledge will keep the field of psychology from promulgating Eurocentric ideals and values and prevent the training of these students as good-enough White therapists. Using a critical narrative inquiry framework, this study elicits stories about the challenges encountered by international students as they navigate their clinical training in the presence of acculturative stress and potentially different worldviews. With its emphasis on story-telling as meaning making, narrative research design is hinged on the assumption that people are interpretive beings who make meaning of themselves and their world through the language of stories. Also, dominant socially-constructed narratives play a central role in creating and maintaining hegemonic structures that privilege certain individuals and ideologies at the expense of others. On this premise, narrative inquiry begins with an exploration of the experiences of participants in their lived stories. Bounded narrative segments were read, interpreted, and analyzed using a critical events approach. Throughout the process, issues of reliability and researcher bias were addressed by keeping a reflective analytic memo, as well as triangulating the data using peer-reviewers and check-ins with participants. The findings situate culture at the epicenter of international students’ acculturation challenges as well as their resiliency in psychology doctoral programs. It was not uncommon for these international students to experience ethical dilemmas inherent in learning content that conflicted with their cultural beliefs and values. Issues of cultural incongruence appear to be further exacerbated by visible markers for differences like speech accent and clothing attire. These stories also link the acculturative stress reported by international students to the experiences of perceived racial discrimination and lack of support from the faculty, administration, peers, and the society at large. Beyond the impact on the international students themselves, there are implications for internationalization in psychology with the goal of equipping doctoral programs to be better prepared to meet the needs of their international students. More than ever before, programs need to liaise with international students’ services and work in tandem to meet the unique needs of this population of students. Also, there exists a need for multiculturally competent supervisors working with international students with varying degrees of acculturation. In addition to making social justice and advocacy salient in students’ multicultural training, it may be helpful for psychology doctoral programs to be more intentional about infusing cross-cultural theories, indigenous psychotherapies, and/or when practical, the possibility for geographically cross-cultural practicum experiences in the home countries of international students while taking into consideration the ethical issues for virtual supervision.

Keywords: decolonizing pedagogies, international students, multiculturalism, psychology doctoral programs

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Authors: Lauren B. Birney

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The BOP-CCERS (Billion Oyster Project- Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science) Near-Peer Mentoring Program provides the long-term (five-year) support network to motivate and guide students toward restoration science-based CTE pathways. Students are selected from middle schools with actively participating BOP-CCERS teachers. Teachers will nominate students from grades 6-8 to join cohorts of between 10 and 15 students each. Cohorts are comprised primarily of students from the same school in order to facilitate mentors' travel logistics as well as to sustain connections with students and their families. Each cohort is matched with an exceptional undergraduate or graduate student, either a BOP research associate or STEM mentor recruited from collaborating City University of New York (CUNY) partner programs. In rare cases, an exceptional high school junior or senior may be matched with a cohort in addition to a research associate or graduate student. In no case is a high school student or minor be placed individually with a cohort. Mentors meet with students at least once per month and provide at least one offsite field visit per month, either to a local STEM Hub or research lab. Keeping with its five-year trajectory, the near-peer mentoring program will seek to retain students in the same cohort with the same mentor for the full duration of middle school and for at least two additional years of high school. Upon reaching the final quarter of 8th grade, the mentor will develop a meeting plan for each individual mentee. The mentee and the mentor will be required to meet individually or in small groups once per month. Once per quarter, individual meetings will be substituted for full cohort professional outings. The mentor will organize the entire cohort on a field visit or educational workshop with a museum or aquarium partner. In addition to the mentor-mentee relationship, each participating student will also be asked to conduct and present his or her own BOP field research. This research is ideally carried out with the support of the students’ regular high school STEM subject teacher; however, in cases where the teacher or school does not permit independent study, the student will be asked to conduct the research on an extracurricular basis. Near-peer mentoring affects students’ social identities and helps them to connect to role models from similar groups, ultimately giving them a sense of belonging. Qualitative and quantitative analytics were performed throughout the study. Interviews and focus groups also ensued. Additionally, an external evaluator was utilized to ensure project efficacy, efficiency, and effectiveness throughout the entire project. The BOP-CCERS Near Peer Mentoring program is a peer support network in which high school students with interest or experience in BOP (Billion Oyster Project) topics and activities (such as classroom oyster tanks, STEM Hubs, or digital platform research) provide mentorship and support for middle school or high school freshmen mentees. Peer mentoring not only empowers those students being taught but also increases the content knowledge and engagement of mentors. This support provides the necessary resources, structure, and tools to assist students in finding success.

Keywords: STEM education, environmental science, citizen science, near peer mentoring

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Authors: Antonella Falanga, Armando Cartenì

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"Big data" refers to extremely vast and complex sets of data, encompassing extraordinarily large and intricate datasets that require specific tools for meaningful analysis and processing. These datasets can stem from diverse origins like sensors, mobile devices, online transactions, social media platforms, and more. The utilization of big data is pivotal, offering the chance to leverage vast information for substantial advantages across diverse fields, thereby enhancing comprehension, decision-making, efficiency, and fostering innovation in various domains. Big data, distinguished by its remarkable attributes of enormous volume, high velocity, diverse variety, and significant value, represent a transformative force reshaping the industry worldwide. Their pervasive impact continues to unlock new possibilities, driving innovation and advancements in technology, decision-making processes, and societal progress in an increasingly data-centric world. The use of these technologies is becoming more widespread, facilitating and accelerating operations that were once much more complicated. In particular, big data impacts across multiple sectors such as business and commerce, healthcare and science, finance, education, geography, agriculture, media and entertainment and also mobility and logistics. Within the transportation sector, which is the focus of this study, big data applications encompass a wide variety, spanning across optimization in vehicle routing, real-time traffic management and monitoring, logistics efficiency, reduction of travel times and congestion, enhancement of the overall transportation systems, but also mitigation of pollutant emissions contributing to environmental sustainability. Meanwhile, in public administration and the development of smart cities, big data aids in improving public services, urban planning, and decision-making processes, leading to more efficient and sustainable urban environments. Access to vast data reservoirs enables deeper insights, revealing hidden patterns and facilitating more precise and timely decision-making. Additionally, advancements in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) have further amplified the potential of big data, enabling more sophisticated and comprehensive analyses. Certainly, utilizing big data presents various advantages but also entails several challenges regarding data privacy and security, ensuring data quality, managing and storing large volumes of data effectively, integrating data from diverse sources, the need for specialized skills to interpret analysis results, ethical considerations in data use, and evaluating costs against benefits. Addressing these difficulties requires well-structured strategies and policies to balance the benefits of big data with privacy, security, and efficient data management concerns. Building upon these premises, the current research investigates the efficacy and influence of big data by conducting an overview of the primary and recent implementations of big data in transportation systems. Overall, this research allows us to conclude that big data better provide to enhance rational decision-making for mobility choices and is imperative for adeptly planning and allocating investments in transportation infrastructures and services.

Keywords: big data, public transport, sustainable mobility, transport demand, transportation planning

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Authors: Denise De Fátima Fernandes Barbosa, Tyane Mayara Ferreira Oliveira, Diego Jorge Maia Lima, Paula Renata Amorim Lessa, Ana Karina Bezerra Pinheiro, Cintia Gondim Pereira Calou, Glauberto Da Silva Quirino, Hellen Lívia Oliveira Catunda, Tatiana Gomes Guedes, Nicolau Da Costa

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The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of Digital Cervicography (DC) in the diagnosis of precancerous lesions related to Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, of evaluative type, held in a health unit linked to the Pro Dean of Extension of the Federal University of Ceará, in the period of July to August 2015 with a sample of 33 women. Data collecting was conducted through interviews with enforcement tool. Franco (2005) standardized the technique used for DC. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed to identify high-risk HPV genotypes. DC were evaluated and classified by 3 judges. The results of DC and PCR were classified as positive, negative or inconclusive. The data of the collecting instruments were compiled and analyzed by the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) with descriptive statistics and cross-references. Sociodemographic, sexual and reproductive variables were analyzed through absolute frequencies (N) and their respective percentage (%). Kappa coefficient (κ) was applied to determine the existence of agreement between the DC of reports among evaluators with PCR and also among the judges about the DC results. The Pearson's chi-square test was used for analysis of sociodemographic, sexual and reproductive variables with the PCR reports. It was considered statistically significant (p<0.05). Ethical aspects of research involving human beings were respected, according to 466/2012 Resolution. Regarding the socio-demographic profile, the most prevalent ages and equally were those belonging to the groups 21-30 and 41-50 years old (24.2%). The brown color was reported in excess (84.8%) and 96.9% out of them had completed primary and secondary school or studying. 51.5% were married, 72.7% Catholic, 54.5% employed and 48.5% with income between one and two minimum wages. As for the sexual and reproductive characteristics, prevailed heterosexual (93.9%) who did not use condoms during sexual intercourse (72.7%). 51.5% had a previous history of Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI), and HPV the most prevalent STI (76.5%). 57.6% did not use contraception, 78.8% underwent examination Cancer Prevention Uterus (PCCU) with shorter time interval or equal to one year, 72.7% had no cases of Cervical Cancer in the family, 63.6% were multiparous and 97% were not vaccinated against HPV. DC identified good level of agreement between raters (κ=0.542), had a specificity of 77.8% and sensitivity of 25% when compared their results with PCR. Only the variable race showed a statistically significant association with CRP (p=0.042). DC had 100% acceptance amongst women in the sample, revealing the possibility of other experiments in using this method so that it proves as a viable technique. The DC positivity criteria were developed by nurses and these professionals also perform PCCU in Brazil, which means that DC can be an important complementary diagnostic method for the appreciation of these professional’s quality of examinations.

Keywords: gynecological examination, human papillomavirus, nursing, papillomavirus infections, uterine lasmsneop

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Authors: Gabriella Zarlenga, Martha L. Hall

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Introduction: Premature infants are at risk for neurodevelopmental deficits and hospital readmissions, which can increase the financial burden on the health care system and families. Kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact) is a practice that can improve preterm infant health outcomes. Preterm infants can acquire adequate body temperature, heartbeat, and breathing regulation through lying directly on the mother’s abdomen and in between her breasts. Due to some infant’s condition, kangaroo care is not a feasible intervention. The purpose of this proof-of-concept research project is to create a device which simulates skin-to-skin contact for pre-term infants not eligible for kangaroo care, with the aim of promoting baby’s health outcomes, reducing the incidence of serious neonatal and early childhood illnesses, and/or improving cognitive, social and emotional aspects of development. Methods: The study design is a proof-of-concept based on a three-phase approach; (1) observational study and data analysis of the standard of care for 2 groups of pre-term infants, (2) design and concept development of a novel device for pre-term infants not currently eligible for standard kangaroo care, and (3) prototyping, laboratory testing, and evaluation of the novel device in comparison to current assessment parameters of kangaroo care. A single center study will be conducted in an area hospital offering Level III neonatal intensive care. Eligible participants include newborns born premature (28-30 weeks of age) admitted to the NICU. The study design includes 2 groups: a control group receiving standard kangaroo care and an experimental group not eligible for kangaroo care. Based on behavioral analysis of observational video data collected in the NICU, the device will be created to simulate mother’s body using electrical components in a thermoplastic polymer housing covered in silicone. It will be designed with a microprocessor that controls simulated respiration, heartbeat, and body temperature of the 'simulated caregiver' by using a pneumatic lung, vibration sensors (heartbeat), pressure sensors (weight/position), and resistive film to measure temperature. A slight contour of the simulator surface may be integrated to help position the infant correctly. Control and monitoring of the skin-to-skin contact simulator would be performed locally by an integrated touchscreen. The unit would have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity as well as an optional Bluetooth connection in which the respiration and heart rate could be synced with a parent or caregiver. A camera would be integrated, allowing a video stream of the infant in the simulator to be streamed to a monitoring location. Findings: Expected outcomes are stabilization of respiratory and cardiac rates, thermoregulation of those infants not eligible for skin to skin contact with their mothers, and real time mother Bluetooth to the device to mimic the experience in the womb. Results of this study will benefit clinical practice by creating a new standard of care for premature neonates in the NICU that are deprived of skin to skin contact due to various health restrictions.

Keywords: kangaroo care, wearable technology, pre-term infants, medical design

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Authors: Rachana Tank, Donald. M. Lyall, Kristin Flegal, Joey Ward, Jonathan Cavanagh

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Alzheimer’s research UK estimates by 2050, 2 million individuals will be living with Late Onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). However, individuals experience considerable cognitive deficits and brain pathology over decades before reaching clinically diagnosable LOAD and studies have utilised gene candidate studies such as genome wide association studies (GWAS) and polygenic risk (PGR) scores to identify high risk individuals and potential pathways. This investigation aims to determine whether high genetic risk of LOAD is associated with worse brain MRI and cognitive performance in healthy older adults within the UK Biobank cohort. Previous studies investigating associations of PGR for LOAD and measures of MRI or cognitive functioning have focused on specific aspects of hippocampal structure, in relatively small sample sizes and with poor ‘controlling’ for confounders such as smoking. Both the sample size of this study and the discovery GWAS sample are bigger than previous studies to our knowledge. Genetic interaction between loci showing largest effects in GWAS have not been extensively studied and it is known that APOE e4 poses the largest genetic risk of LOAD with potential gene-gene and gene-environment interactions of e4, for this reason we  also analyse genetic interactions of PGR with the APOE e4 genotype. High genetic loading based on a polygenic risk score of 21 SNPs for LOAD is associated with worse brain MRI and cognitive outcomes in healthy individuals within the UK Biobank cohort. Summary statistics from Kunkle et al., GWAS meta-analyses (case: n=30,344, control: n=52,427) will be used to create polygenic risk scores based on 21 SNPs and analyses will be carried out in N=37,000 participants in the UK Biobank. This will be the largest study to date investigating PGR of LOAD in relation to MRI. MRI outcome measures include WM tracts, structural volumes. Cognitive function measures include reaction time, pairs matching, trail making, digit symbol substitution and prospective memory. Interaction of the APOE e4 alleles and PGR will be analysed by including APOE status as an interaction term coded as either 0, 1 or 2 e4 alleles. Models will be adjusted partially for adjusted for age, BMI, sex, genotyping chip, smoking, depression and social deprivation. Preliminary results suggest PGR score for LOAD is associated with decreased hippocampal volumes including hippocampal body (standardised beta = -0.04, P = 0.022) and tail (standardised beta = -0.037, P = 0.030), but not with hippocampal head. There were also associations of genetic risk with decreased cognitive performance including fluid intelligence (standardised beta = -0.08, P<0.01) and reaction time (standardised beta = 2.04, P<0.01). No genetic interactions were found between APOE e4 dose and PGR score for MRI or cognitive measures. The generalisability of these results is limited by selection bias within the UK Biobank as participants are less likely to be obese, smoke, be socioeconomically deprived and have fewer self-reported health conditions when compared to the general population. Lack of a unified approach or standardised method for calculating genetic risk scores may also be a limitation of these analyses. Further discussion and results are pending.

Keywords: Alzheimer's dementia, cognition, polygenic risk, MRI

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Authors: Alessandra Swiny, Michalis Georgiou, Yiorgos Hadjichristou

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This paper focuses on the questions raised through the work of Unit 5: ‘In/Out of crisis, emergent and adaptive’; an architectural research-based studio at the University of Nicosia. It focusses on sustainable architectural and urban explorations tackling with the ever growing crises in its various types, phases and locations. ‘Great crisis situations’ are seen as ‘great chances’ that trigger investigations for further development and evolution of the built environment in an ultimate sustainable approach. The crisis is taken as an opportunity to rethink the urban and architectural directions as new forces for inventions leading to emergent and adaptive built environments. The Unit 5’s identity and environment facilitates the students to respond optimistically, alternatively and creatively towards the global current crisis. Mark Wigley’s notion that “crises are ultimately productive” and “They force invention” intrigued and defined the premises of the Unit. ‘Weather and nature are coauthors of the built environment’ Jonathan Hill states in his ‘weather architecture’ discourse. The weather is constantly changing and new environments, the subnatures are created which derived from the human activities David Gissen explains. The above set of premises triggered innovative responses by the Unit’s students. They thoroughly investigated the various kinds of crisis and their causes in relation to their various types of Terrains. The tools used for the research and investigation were chosen in contradictive pairs to generate further crisis situations: The re-used/salvaged competed with the new, the handmade rivalling with the fabrication, the analogue juxtaposed with digital. Students were asked to delve into state of art technologies in order to propose sustainable emergent and adaptive architectures and Urbanities, having though always in mind that the human and the social aspects of the community should be the core of the investigation. The resulting unprecedented spatial conditions and atmospheres of the emergent new ways of living are deemed to be the ultimate aim of the investigation. Students explored a variety of sites and crisis conditions such as: The vague terrain of the Green Line in Nicosia, the lost footprints of the sinking Venice, the endangered Australian coral reefs, the earthquake torn town of Crevalcore, and the decaying concrete urbanscape of Athens. Among other projects, ‘the plume project’ proposes a cloud-like, floating and almost dream-like living environment with unprecedented spatial conditions to the inhabitants of the coal mine of Centralia, USA, not just to enable them to survive but even to prosper in this unbearable environment due to the process of the captured plumes of smoke and heat. Existing water wells inspire inversed vertical structures creating a new living underground network, protecting the nomads from catastrophic sand storms in the Araoune of Mali. “Inverted utopia: Lost things in the sand”, weaves a series of tea-houses and a library holding lost artifacts and transcripts into a complex underground labyrinth by the utilization of the sand solidification technology. Within this methodology, crisis is seen as a mechanism for allowing an emergence of new and fascinating ultimate sustainable future cultures and cities.

Keywords: adaptive built environments, crisis as opportunity, emergent urbanities, forces for inventions

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Authors: Nicola Colaninno, Eugenio Morello

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The urban environment affects local-to-global climate and, in turn, suffers global warming phenomena, with worrying impacts on human well-being, health, social and economic activities. Physic-morphological features of the built-up space affect urban air temperature, locally, causing the urban environment to be warmer compared to surrounding rural. This occurrence, typically known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI), is normally assessed by means of air temperature from fixed weather stations and/or traverse observations or based on remotely sensed Land Surface Temperatures (LST). The information provided by ground weather stations is key for assessing local air temperature. However, the spatial coverage is normally limited due to low density and uneven distribution of the stations. Although different interpolation techniques such as Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW), Ordinary Kriging (OK), or Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) are used to estimate air temperature from observed points, such an approach may not effectively reflect the real climatic conditions of an interpolated point. Quantifying local UHI for extensive areas based on weather stations’ observations only is not practicable. Alternatively, the use of thermal remote sensing has been widely investigated based on LST. Data from Landsat, ASTER, or MODIS have been extensively used. Indeed, LST has an indirect but significant influence on air temperatures. However, high-resolution near-surface air temperature (NSAT) is currently difficult to retrieve. Here we have experimented Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) as an effective approach to enable NSAT estimation by accounting for spatial non-stationarity of the phenomenon. The model combines on-site measurements of air temperature, from fixed weather stations and satellite-derived LST. The approach is structured upon two main steps. First, a GWR model has been set to estimate NSAT at low resolution, by combining air temperature from discrete observations retrieved by weather stations (dependent variable) and the LST from satellite observations (predictor). At this step, MODIS data, from Terra satellite, at 1 kilometer of spatial resolution have been employed. Two time periods are considered according to satellite revisit period, i.e. 10:30 am and 9:30 pm. Afterward, the results have been downscaled at 30 meters of spatial resolution by setting a GWR model between the previously retrieved near-surface air temperature (dependent variable), the multispectral information as provided by the Landsat mission, in particular the albedo, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), both at 30 meters. Albedo and DEM are now the predictors. The area under investigation is the Metropolitan City of Milan, which covers an area of approximately 1,575 km2 and encompasses a population of over 3 million inhabitants. Both models, low- (1 km) and high-resolution (30 meters), have been validated according to a cross-validation that relies on indicators such as R2, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). All the employed indicators give evidence of highly efficient models. In addition, an alternative network of weather stations, available for the City of Milano only, has been employed for testing the accuracy of the predicted temperatures, giving and RMSE of 0.6 and 0.7 for daytime and night-time, respectively.

Keywords: urban climate, urban heat island, geographically weighted regression, remote sensing

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Authors: Laura Butabayeva, Svetlana Ismagulova, Gulbarshin Nogaibayeva, Maiya Temirbayeva, Aidana Zhussip

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Over the years of independence, Kazakhstan has not only ratified international documents regulating the rights of children to Inclusive education, but also developed its own inclusive educational policy. Along with this, the state pays particular attention to high school students' preparedness for professional self-determination. However, a number of problematic issues in this field have been revealed, such as the lack of systemic mechanisms coordinating stakeholders’ actions in preparing schoolchildren for a conscious choice of in-demand profession, meeting their individual capabilities and special educational needs (SEN). The analysis of the state’s current situation indicates school graduates’ adaptation to the labor market does not meet existing demands of the society. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, about 70 % of Kazakhstani school graduates find themselves difficult to choose a profession, 87 % of schoolchildren make their career choice under the influence of parents and school teachers, 90 % of schoolchildren and their parents have no idea about the most popular professions on the market. The results of the study conducted by KorlanSyzdykova in 2016 indicated the urgent need of Kazakhstani school graduates in obtaining extensive information about in- demand professions and receiving professional assistance in choosing a profession in accordance with their individual skills, abilities, and preferences. The results of the survey, conducted by Information and Analytical Center among heads of colleges in 2020, showed that despite significant steps in creating conditions for students with SEN, they face challenges in studying because of poor career guidance provided to them in schools. The results of the study, conducted by the Center for Inclusive Education of the National Academy of Education named after Y. Altynsarin in the state’s general education schools in 2021, demonstrated the lack of career guidance, pedagogical and psychological support for children with SEN. To investigate these issues, the further study was conducted to examine the state of students’ career guidance and socialization, taking into account their SEN. The hypothesis of this study proposed that to prepare school graduates for a conscious career choice, school teachers and specialists need to develop their competencies in early identification of students' interests, inclinations, SEN and ensure necessary support for them. The state’s 5 regions were involved in the study according to the geographical location. The triangulation approach was utilized to ensure the credibility and validity of research findings, including both theoretical (analysis of existing statistical data, legal documents, results of previous research) and empirical (school survey for students, interviews with parents, teachers, representatives of school administration) methods. The data were analyzed independently and compared to each other. The survey included questions related to provision of pedagogical support for school students in making their career choice. Ethical principles were observed in the process of developing the methodology, collecting, analyzing the data and distributing the results. Based on the results, methodological recommendations on students’ career guidance for school teachers and specialists were developed, taking into account the former’s individual capabilities and SEN.

Keywords: career guidance, children with special educational needs, inclusive education, Kazakhstan

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Authors: Sabina Auhunas

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These days in Ukraine, Open Science dramatically develops for the sake of scientists of all branches, providing an opportunity to take a more close look on the studies by foreign scientists, as well as to deliver their own scientific data to national and international journals. However, when it comes to the generalization of data on science activities by Ukrainian scientists, these data are often integrated into E-systems that operate inconsistent and barely related information sources. In order to resolve these issues, developed countries productively use E-systems, designed to store and manage research data, such as Current Research Information Systems that enable combining uncompiled data obtained from different sources. An algorithm for selecting SARS-CoV-2 research articles was designed, by means of which we collected the set of papers published by Ukrainian scientists and uploaded by August 1, 2020. Resulting metadata (document type, open access status, citation count, h-index, most cited documents, international research funding, author counts, the bibliographic relationship of journals) were taken from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The study also considered the info from COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2-related documents published from December 2019 to September 2020, directly from documents published by authors depending on territorial affiliation to Ukraine. These databases are enabled to get the necessary information for bibliometric analysis and necessary details: copyright, which may not be available in other databases (e.g., Science Direct). Search criteria and results for each online database were considered according to the WHO classification of the virus and the disease caused by this virus and represented (Table 1). First, we identified 89 research papers that provided us with the final data set after consolidation and removing duplication; however, only 56 papers were used for the analysis. The total number of documents by results from the WoS database came out at 21641 documents (48 affiliated to Ukraine among them) in the Scopus database came out at 32478 documents (41 affiliated to Ukraine among them). According to the publication activity of Ukrainian scientists, the following areas prevailed: Education, educational research (9 documents, 20.58%); Social Sciences, interdisciplinary (6 documents, 11.76%) and Economics (4 documents, 8.82%). The highest publication activity by institution types was reported in the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (its percent of published scientific papers equals 36% or 7 documents), Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University goes next (5 documents, 15%) and P. L. Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education (4 documents, 12%). Basically, research activities by Ukrainian scientists were funded by 5 entities: Belgian Development Cooperation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH, U.S.), The United States Department of Health & Human Services, grant from the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale, a grant from the Yale Women Faculty Forum. Based on the results of the analysis, we obtained a set of published articles and preprints to be assessed on the variety of features in upcoming studies, including citation count, most cited documents, a bibliographic relationship of journals, reference linking. Further research on the development of the national scientific E-database continues using brand new analytical methods.

Keywords: content analysis, COVID-19, scientometrics, text mining

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Authors: Shoba Rathilal

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High unemployment rates and a shortage of experienced and qualified employees appear to be a paradox that currently plagues most countries worldwide. In a developing country like South Africa, the rate of unemployment is reported to be approximately 35%, the highest recorded globally. At the same time, a countrywide deficit in experienced and qualified potential employees is reported in South Africa, which is causing fierce rivalry among firms. Employers have reported that graduates are very rarely able to meet the demands of the job as there are gaps in their knowledge and conceptual understanding and other 21st-century competencies, attributes, and dispositions required to successfully negotiate the multiple responsibilities of employees in organizations. In addition, the rates of unemployment and suitability of graduates appear to be skewed by race and social class, the continued effects of a legacy of inequitable educational access. Higher Education in the current technologically advanced and dynamic world needs to serve as an agent of transformation, aspiring to develop graduates to be creative, flexible, critical, and with entrepreneurial acumen. This requires that higher education curricula and pedagogy require a re-envisioning of our selection, sequencing, and pacing of the learning, teaching, and assessment. At a particular Higher education Institution in South Africa, Design Thinking and Project Based learning are being adopted as two approaches that aim to enhance the student experience through the provision of a “distinctive education” that brings together disciplinary knowledge, professional engagement, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Using these methodologies forces the students to solve real-time applied problems using various forms of knowledge and finding innovative solutions that can result in new products and services. The intention is to promote the development of skills for self-directed learning, facilitate the development of self-awareness, and contribute to students being active partners in the application and production of knowledge. These approaches emphasize active and collaborative learning, teamwork, conflict resolution, and problem-solving through effective integration of theory and practice. In principle, both these approaches are extremely impactful. However, at the institution in this study, the implementation of the PBL and DT was not as “smooth” as anticipated. This presentation reports on the analysis of the implementation of these two approaches within higher education curricula at a particular university in South Africa. The study adopts a qualitative case study design. Data were generated through the use of surveys, evaluation feedback at workshops, and content analysis of project reports. Data were analyzed using document analysis, content, and thematic analysis. Initial analysis shows that the forces constraining the implementation of PBL and DT range from the capacity to engage with DT and PBL, both from staff and students, educational contextual realities of higher education institutions, administrative processes, and resources. At the same time, the implementation of DT and PBL was enabled through the allocation of strategic funding and capacity development workshops. These factors, however, could not achieve maximum impact. In addition, the presentation will include recommendations on how DT and PBL could be adapted for differing contexts will be explored.

Keywords: design thinking, project based learning, innovative higher education pedagogy, student and staff capacity development

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Authors: Zhiwei Wang

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Much emphasis has been placed on the political dimension of digitised Chinese national(ist) discourses and their embodied national identities, which neglects other important dimensions constitutive of their discursive nature. A further investigation into how Chinese national(ist) discourses are daily (re)shaped online by diverse socio-political actors (especially ordinary users) is crucial, which can contribute to not only deeper understandings of Chinese national sentiments on China’s Internet beyond the excessive focus on their passionate, political-charged facet but also richer insights into the socio-technical ecology of the contemporary Chinese digital (and physical) world. This research adopts an ethnographic methodology, by which ‘fieldsites’ are Sina Weibo and bilibili. The primary data collection method is virtual ethnographic observation on everyday national(ist) discussions on both platforms. If data obtained via observations do not suffice to answer research questions, in-depth online qualitative interviews with ‘key actors’ identified from those observations in discursively (re)producing Chinese national identity on each ‘fieldsite’ will be conducted, to complement data gathered through the first method. Critical discourse analysis is employed to analyse data. During the process of data coding, NVivo is utilised. From November 2021 to December 2022, 35 weeks’ digital ethnographic observations have been conducted, with 35 sets of fieldnotes obtained. The strategy adopted for the initial stage of observations was keyword searching, which means typing into the search box on Sina Weibo and bilibili any keywords related to China as a nation and then observing the search results. Throughout 35 weeks’ online ethnographic observations, six keywords have been employed on Sina Weibo and two keywords on bilibili. For 35 weeks’ observations, textual content created by ordinary users have been concentrated much upon. Based on the fieldnotes of the first week’s observations, multifarious national(ist) discourses on Sina Weibo and bilibili have been found, targeted both at national ‘Others’ and ‘Us’, both on the historical and real-world dimension, both aligning with and differing from or even conflicting with official discourses, both direct national(ist) expressions and articulations of sentiments in the name of presentation of national(ist) attachments but for other purposes. Second, Sina Weibo and bilibili users have agency in interpreting and deploying concrete national(ist) discourses despite the leading role played by the government and the two platforms in deciding on the basic framework of national expressions. Besides, there are also disputes and even quarrels between users in terms of explanations for concrete components of ‘nation-ness’ and (in)direct dissent to officially defined ‘mainstream’ discourses to some extent, though often expressed much more mundanely, discursively and playfully. Third, the (re)production process of national(ist) discourses on Sina Weibo and bilibili depends upon not only technical affordances and limitations of the two sites but also, to a larger degree, some established socio-political mechanisms and conventions in the offline China, e.g., the authorities’ acquiescence of citizens’ freedom in understanding and explaining concrete elements of national discourses while setting the basic framework of national narratives to the extent that citizens’ own national(ist) expressions do not reach political bottom lines and develop into mobilising power to shake social stability.

Keywords: national identity, national(ist) discourse(s), everyday nationhood/nationalism, Chinese nationalism, digital nationalism

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Authors: Ok-Kyun Im, Kyoung Hee Kim

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We live in an era that faces global challenges of climate changes and resource depletion. With the rapid urbanization and growing energy consumption in the built environment, building facades become ever more important in architectural practice and environmental stewardship. Furthermore, building facade undergoes complex dynamics of social, cultural, environmental and technological changes. Kinetic facades have drawn attention of architects, designers, and engineers in the field of adaptable, responsive and interactive architecture since 1980’s. Materials and building technologies have gradually evolved to address the technical implications of kinetic facades. The kinetic façade is becoming an independent system of the building, transforming the design methodology to sustainable building solutions. Accordingly, there is a need for a new design methodology to guide the design of a kinetic façade and evaluate its sustainable performance. The research objectives are two-fold: First, to establish a new design methodology for kinetic facades and second, to develop a micro-oculi façade system and assess its performance using the established design method. The design approach to the micro-oculi facade is comprised of 1) façade geometry optimization and 2) dynamic building energy simulation. The façade geometry optimization utilizes multi-objective optimization process, aiming to balance the quantitative and qualitative performances to address the sustainability of the built environment. The dynamic building energy simulation was carried out using EnergyPlus and Radiance simulation engines with scripted interfaces. The micro-oculi office was compared with an office tower with a glass façade in accordance with ASHRAE 90.1 2013 to understand its energy efficiency. The micro-oculi facade is constructed with an array of circular frames attached to a pair of micro-shades called a micro-oculus. The micro-oculi are encapsulated between two glass panes to protect kinetic mechanisms with longevity. The micro-oculus incorporates rotating gears that transmit the power to adjacent micro-oculi to minimize the number of mechanical parts. The micro-oculus rotates around its center axis with a step size of 15deg depending on the sun’s position while maximizing daylighting potentials and view-outs. A 2 ft by 2ft prototyping was undertaken to identify operational challenges and material implications of the micro-oculi facade. In this research, a systematic design methodology was proposed, that integrates multi-objectives of kinetic façade design criteria and whole building energy performance simulation within a holistic design process. This design methodology is expected to encourage multidisciplinary collaborations between designers and engineers to collaborate issues of the energy efficiency, daylighting performance and user experience during design phases. The preliminary energy simulation indicated that compared to a glass façade, the micro-oculi façade showed energy savings due to its improved thermal properties, daylighting attributes, and dynamic solar performance across the day and seasons. It is expected that the micro oculi façade provides a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing alternative to glass facades. Recommendations for future studies include lab testing to validate the simulated data of energy and optical properties of the micro-oculi façade. A 1:1 performance mock-up of the micro-oculi façade can suggest in-depth understanding of long-term operability and new development opportunities applicable for urban façade applications.

Keywords: energy efficiency, kinetic facades, sustainable architecture, urban facades

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Authors: Melina Kopke, Jelle Van Dijk

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Persons with cognitive disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often dependent on some form of professional support. Recent transformations in Dutch healthcare have spurred institutions to apply new, empowering methods and tools to enable their clients to cope (more) independently in daily life. Assistive Technologies (ATs) seem promising as empowering tools. While ATs can, functionally speaking, help people to perform certain activities without human assistance, we hold that, from a design-theoretical perspective, such technologies often fail to empower in a deeper sense. Most technologies serve either to prescribe or to monitor users’ actions, which in some sense objectifies them, rather than strengthening their agency. This paper proposes that theories of embodied interaction could help formulating a design vision in which interactive assistive devices augment, rather than replace, human agency and thereby add to a persons’ empowerment in daily life settings. It aims to close the gap between empowerment theory and the opportunities provided by assistive technologies, by showing how embodiment and empowerment theory can be applied in practice in the design of new, interactive assistive devices. Taking a Research-through-Design approach, we conducted a case study of designing to support independently living people with ASD with structuring daily activities. In three iterations we interlaced design action, active involvement and prototype evaluations with future end-users and healthcare professionals, and theoretical reflection. Our co-design sessions revealed the issue of handling daily activities being multidimensional. Not having the ability to self-manage one’s daily life has immense consequences on one’s self-image, and also has major effects on the relationship with professional caregivers. Over the course of the project relevant theoretical principles of both embodiment and empowerment theory together with user-insights, informed our design decisions. This resulted in a system of wireless light units that users can program as a reminder for tasks, but also to record and reflect on their actions. The iterative process helped to gradually refine and reframe our growing understanding of what it concretely means for a technology to empower a person in daily life. Drawing on the case study insights we propose a set of concrete design principles that together form what we call the embodied empowerment design framework. The framework includes four main principles: Enabling ‘reflection-in-action’; making information ‘publicly available’ in order to enable co-reflection and social coupling; enabling the implementation of shared reflections into an ‘endurable-external feedback loop’ embedded in the persons familiar ’lifeworld’; and nudging situated actions with self-created action-affordances. In essence, the framework aims for the self-development of a suitable routine, or ‘situated practice’, by building on a growing shared insight of what works for the person. The framework, we propose, may serve as a starting point for AT designers to create truly empowering interactive products. In a set of follow-up projects involving the participation of persons with ASD, Intellectual Disabilities, Dementia and Acquired Brain Injury, the framework will be applied, evaluated and further refined.

Keywords: assistive technology, design, embodiment, empowerment

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Authors: Lakshmi Rao Kandukuri, Mamata Deenadayal, Suma Prasad, Bipin Sethi, Srinadh Buragadda, Lalji Singh

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Worldwide; at least 7.6 million children are born annually with severe genetic or congenital malformations and among them 90% of these are born in mid and low-income countries. Precise prevalence data are difficult to collect, especially in developing countries, owing to the great diversity of conditions and also because many cases remain undiagnosed. The genetic and congenital disorder is the second most common cause of infant and childhood mortality and occurs with a prevalence of 25-60 per 1000 births. The higher prevalence of genetic diseases in a particular community may, however, be due to some social or cultural factors. Such factors include the tradition of consanguineous marriage, which results in a higher rate of autosomal recessive conditions including congenital malformations, stillbirths, or mental retardation. Genetic diseases can vary in severity, from being fatal before birth to requiring continuous management; their onset covers all life stages from infancy to old age. Those presenting at birth are particularly burdensome and may cause early death or life-long chronic morbidity. Genetic testing for several genetic diseases identifies changes in chromosomes, genes, or proteins. The results of a genetic test can confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition or help determine a person's chance of developing or passing on a genetic disorder. Several hundred genetic tests are currently in use and more are being developed. Chromosomal abnormalities are the major cause of human suffering, which are implicated in mental retardation, congenital malformations, dysmorphic features, primary and secondary amenorrhea, reproductive wastage, infertility neoplastic diseases. Cytogenetic evaluation of patients is helpful in the counselling and management of affected individuals and families. We present here especially chromosomal abnormalities which form a major part of genetic disease burden in India. Different programmes on chromosome research and human reproductive genetics primarily relate to infertility since this is a major public health problem in our country, affecting 10-15 percent of couples. Prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities in high-risk pregnancies helps in detecting chromosomally abnormal foetuses. Such couples are counselled regarding the continuation of pregnancy. In addition to the basic research, the team is providing chromosome diagnostic services that include conventional and advanced techniques for identifying various genetic defects. Other than routine chromosome diagnosis for infertility, also include patients with short stature, hypogonadism, undescended testis, microcephaly, delayed developmental milestones, familial, and isolated mental retardation, and cerebral palsy. Thus, chromosome diagnostics has found its applicability not only in disease prevention and management but also in guiding the clinicians in certain aspects of treatment. It would be appropriate to affirm that chromosomes are the images of life and they unequivocally mirror the states of human health. The importance of genetic counseling is increasing with the advancement in the field of genetics. The genetic counseling can help families to cope with emotional, psychological, and medical consequences of genetic diseases.

Keywords: India, chromosome abnormalities, genetic disorders, cytogenetic study

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Authors: Vijayalaxmi Khopade

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The Prima facie caste system is intrinsic to Indian society. It is an ancient system of intense social stratification based upon birth and enjoying religious sanction. The uppermost strata and privileges are ascribed and enjoyed by brahmins (priestly class), while the lowest strata are occupied by Dalits who are not ascribed with any privileges. The caste system is inherently hierarchical, patriarchal, and systematic and thrives solely on exploitation justified through means of the Brahminical system of hegemony based singularly on birth. The caste system has extended its tentacles to other religions like Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, and Islam in South Asia. Term Dalit is colloquially used to categorize persons belonging to lower strata in the caste hierarchy. However, this category is heterogenous and highly stratified, following practices like untouchability and exclusion amongst themselves. The modern Indian legal system acknowledges the existence of Caste and its perils. Therefore, by virtue of the Indian Constitution, provisions for affirmative action for the protection and development of Dalits are made. Courts in India have liberally interpreted laws to benefit Dalits. However, the modern system of governance is not immune from Caste based biases. These biases are reflected in the implementation of governance, including the dispensation of justice. The economic reforms of the 1990s gave a huge boost to the Indian diaspora. Persons of Indian origin are now seen making great strides in almost every sector and enjoying positions of power globally. As one peels off the layer of ethnic Indian origin, a deep seated layer of Caste and Caste based patriarchy is clearly visible. Indian diaspora enjoying positions of power essentially belongs to upper castes and carry Caste based biases with them. These castes have long enjoyed the benefits of education; therefore, they were the first ones to benefit from LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization) model adopted in the 1990s. Dalits, however, had little formal education until recently. The western legal system, to the best of our knowledge, does not recognize Caste and, therefore, cannot afford protection for Dalits, wherein discrimination and exploitation take place solely on the basis of Caste. Therefore, Dalits are left with no legal remedy outside domestic jurisdiction. Countries like the UK have made an attempt to include Caste in their Equality Bill 2010. This has met with tough resistance from Upper caste Hindus who shy away from recognizing their caste privileges and, therefore, the existence of Caste. In this paper, an attempt for comparative analysis is made between various legal protections accorded to Dalits in India vis-à-vis international human rights as protected by the United Nations under its declaration of Universal Human rights. An attempt has been made to mark a distinction between race and Caste and to establish a position of women in Caste based hierarchy. The paper also makes an argument for the inclusion of atrocities committed against Dalits as a violation of international human rights, their protection by the United Nations, and the trial of their violations by International Courts. The paper puts into perspective the need for an external agency like the United Nations and International courts to interfere in rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, even with the existence of a modern legal system in a sovereign democratic country.

Keywords: atrocity, caste, diaspora, legal framework

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Authors: Hasmik V. Zanginyan, Gayane S. Ghazaryan, Laura M. Hovsepyan

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Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that is induced in laboratory animals by developing an immune response against myelin epitopes. The typical clinical course is ascending palsy, which correlates with inflammation and tissue damage in the thoracolumbar spinal cord, although the optic nerves and brain (especially the subpial white matter and brainstem) are also often affected. With multiple sclerosis, there is a violation of lipid metabolism in myelin. When membrane lipids (glycosphingolipids, phospholipids) are disturbed, metabolites not only play a structural role in membranes but are also sources of secondary mediators that transmit multiple cellular signals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ganglioside as a therapeutic agent in experimental multiple sclerosis. The biological activity of a ganglioside-containing medicinal preparation (Cronassial) was evaluated in an experimental model of multiple sclerosis in laboratory animals. An experimental model of multiple sclerosis in rats was obtained by immunization with myelin basic protein (MBP), as well as homogenization of the spinal cord or brain. EAE was induced by administering a mixture of an encephalitogenic mixture (EGM) with Complete Freund’s Adjuvant. Mitochondrial fraction was isolated in a medium containing 0,25 M saccharose and 0, 01 M tris buffer, pH - 7,4, by a method of differential centrifugation on a K-24 centrifuge. Glutathione peroxidase activity was assessed by reduction reactions of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and lipid hydroperoxides (ROOH) in the presence of GSH. LPO activity was assessed by the amount of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the total homogenate and mitochondrial fraction of the spinal cord and brain of control and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis rats. MDA was assessed by a reaction with Thiobarbituric acid. For statistical data analysis on PNP, SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) package was used. The nature of the distribution of the obtained data was determined by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov criterion. The comparative analysis was performed using a nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. The differences were statistically significant when р ≤ 0,05 or р ≤ 0,01. Correlational analysis was conducted using a nonparametric Spearman test. In the work, refrigeratory centrifuge, spectrophotometer LKB Biochrom ULTROSPECII (Sweden), pH-meter PL-600 mrc (Israel), guanosine, and ATP (Sigma). The study of the process of lipid peroxidation in the total homogenate of the brain and spinal cord in experimental animals revealed an increase in the content of malonic dialdehyde. When applied, Cronassial observed normalization of lipid peroxidation processes. Reactive oxygen species, causing lipid peroxidation processes, can be toxic both for neurons and for oligodendrocytes that form myelin, causing a violation of their lipid composition. The high content of lipids in the brain and the uniqueness of their structure determines the nature of the development of LPO processes. The lipid layer of cellular and intracellular membranes performs two main functions -barrier and matrix (structural). Damage to the barrier leads to dysregulation of intracellular processes and severe disorders of cellular functions.

Keywords: experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, multiple sclerosis, neuroinflammation, therapy

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Authors: Lily Ranjbar, Haori Yang

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Online education has been around for several decades, but the importance of online education became evident after the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventhough the online delivery approach works well for knowledge building through delivering content and oversight processes, it has limitations in developing hands-on laboratory skills, especially in the STEM field. During the pandemic, many education institutions faced numerous challenges in delivering lab-based courses, especially in the STEM field. Also, many students worldwide were unable to practice working with lab equipment due to social distancing or the significant cost of highly specialized equipment. The laboratory plays a crucial role in nuclear science and engineering education. It can engage students and improve their learning outcomes. In addition, online education and virtual labs have gained substantial popularity in engineering and science education. Therefore, developing virtual labs is vital for institutions to deliver high-class education to their students, including their online students. The School of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) at Oregon State University, in partnership with SpectralLabs company, has developed an Advanced Virtual Radiation Detection and Measurement Lab (AVR-DML) to offer a fully online Master of Health Physics program. It was essential for us to use a system that could simulate nuclear modules that accurately replicate the underlying physics, the nature of radiation and radiation transport, and the mechanics of the instrumentations used in the real radiation detection lab. It was all accomplished using a Realistic, Adaptive, Interactive Learning System (RAILS). RAILS is a comprehensive software simulation-based learning system for use in training. It is comprised of a web-based learning management system that is located on a central server, as well as a 3D-simulation package that is downloaded locally to user machines. Users will find that the graphics, animations, and sounds in RAILS create a realistic, immersive environment to practice detecting different radiation sources. These features allow students to coexist, interact and engage with a real STEM lab in all its dimensions. It enables them to feel like they are in a real lab environment and to see the same system they would in a lab. Unique interactive interfaces were designed and developed by integrating all the tools and equipment needed to run each lab. These interfaces provide students full functionality for data collection, changing the experimental setup, and live data collection with real-time updates for each experiment. Students can manually do all experimental setups and parameter changes in this lab. Experimental results can then be tracked and analyzed in an oscilloscope, a multi-channel analyzer, or a single-channel analyzer (SCA). The advanced virtual radiation detection and measurement laboratory developed in this study enabled the NSE school to offer a fully online MHP program. This flexibility of course modality helped us to attract more non-traditional students, including international students. It is a valuable educational tool as students can walk around the virtual lab, make mistakes, and learn from them. They have an unlimited amount of time to repeat and engage in experiments. This lab will also help us speed up training in nuclear science and engineering.

Keywords: advanced radiation detection and measurement, virtual laboratory, realistic adaptive interactive learning system (rails), online education in stem fields, student engagement, stem online education, stem laboratory, online engineering education

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Authors: Nafiah Solikhah Thoha

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One area that has spatial character as Heritage area is Kauman Villages. Kauman village in The City of Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia was formed in 1757 by Paku Buwono III as the King of Kasunanan kingdom (Mataram Kingdom) for Kasunanan kingdom courtiers and scholars of Madrasa. Spatial character of Kauman village influenced by Islamic planning and socio-cultural rules of Kasunanan Kingdom. As traditional settlements influenced by Islamic planning, the Grand Mosque is a binding part of the whole area. Circulation pattern forming network (labyrinth) with narrow streets that ended at the Grand Mosque. The outdoor space can be used for circulation. Social activity is dominated by step movement from one place to a different place. Stalemate (the fina/cul de sac) generally only passable on foot, bicycles, and motorcycles. While the pass (main and branch) can be traversed by motor, vehicles. Kauman village has an area that can not be used as a public road that penetrates and serves as a liaison between the outside world to the other. Hierarchy of hall in Kauman village shows that the existence of a space is getting into more important. Firstly, woman in Kauman make the handmade batik for themself. In 2005 many people improving batik tradisional into commercial, and developed program named "Batik Tourism village of Kauman". That program affects the spatial transformations. This study aimed to explore the influence of tourism program towards spatial transformations. The factors that studied are the organization of space, circulation patterns, hierarchical space, and orientation through the descriptive-evaluation approach methods. Based on the study, tourism activity engenders transformations on the spatial scale (macro), residential block (mezo), homes (micro). First, the Grand Mosque and madrasa (religious school) as a binding zoning; tangle of roads as forming the structure of the area developed as a liaison with outside Kauman; organization of space in the residential of batik entrepreneurs firstly just a residential, then develop into residential, factory of batik including showroom. Second, the circulation pattern forming network (labyrinth) and ends at the Grand Mosque. Third, the hierarchy in the form of public space (the shari), semi-public, and private (the fina/culdesac) is no longer to provide protection to women, only as hierarchy of circulation path. Fourth, cluster building orientation does not follow the kiblat direction or axis oriented to cosmos, but influence by the new function as the showroom. It was need the direction of the main road. Kauman grow as an appropriate area for the community. During its development, the settlement function changes according to community activities, especially economic activities. The new function areas as tourism area affect spatial pattern of Kauman village. Spatial existence and activity as a local wisdom that has been done for generations have meaning of holistic, encompassing socio-cultural sustainability, economics, and the heritage area. By reviewing the local wisdom and the way of life of that society, we can learn how to apply the culture as education for sustainable of heritage area.

Keywords: impact of tourism, Kauman village, spatial transformation, sustainable of heritage area

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Authors: Alexandra Cheira

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Cultural appropriation has been theorised as a form of colonialism in which members of a dominant culture reduce cultural elements that are deeply meaningful to a minority culture to the category of the “exotic other” since they do not experience the oppression and discriminations faced by members of the minority culture. Yet, in the particular case of literature, writers such as Lionel Shriver and Bernardine Evaristo have argued that authors from a cultural majority have a right to write in the voice of someone from a cultural minority, hence attacking the idea that this is a form of cultural appropriation. By definition, Shriver and Evaristo claim, writers are supposed to write beyond their own culture, gender, class, and/ or race. In this light, this paper discusses the limits of cultural appropriation vis-à-vis the ethics of narrative empathy by addressing the mixed critical reception of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help (2009) and Jeanine Cummins’s American Dirt (2020). In fact, both novels were acclaimed as global eye-openers regarding the struggles of respectively South American migrants and African American maids. At the same time, both novelists have been accused of cultural appropriation by telling a story that is not theirs to tell, given the fact that they are white women telling these stories in what critics have argued is really an American voice telling a story to American readers.These claims will be investigated within the framework of Edward Said’s foundational examination of Orientalism in the field of postcolonial studies as a Western style for authoritatively restructuring the Orient. This means that Orientalist stereotypes regarding Eastern cultures have implicitly validated colonial and imperial pursuits, in the specific context of literary representations of African American and Mexican cultures by white writers. At the same time, the conflicted reception of American Dirt and The Help will be examined within the critical framework of narrative empathy as theorised by Suzanne Keen. Hence, there will be a particular focus on the way a reader’s heated perception that the author’s perspective is purely dishonest can result from a friction between an author’s intention and a reader’s experience of narrative empathy, while a shared sense of empathy between authors and readers can be a rousing momentum to move beyond literary response to social action.Finally, in order to assess that “the key question should not be who can write about whom, but how the writer tells the story”, the recent controversy surrounding Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s decision to resign the translation of American poet Amanda Gorman’s work into Dutch will be duly investigated. In fact, Rijneveld stepped out after journalist and activist Janice Deul criticised Dutch publisher Meulenhoff for choosing a translator who was not also Black, despite the fact that 22-year-old Gorman had selected the 29-year-old Rijneveld herself, as a fellow young writer who had likewise come to fame early on in life. In this light, the critical argument that the controversial reception of The Help reveals as much about US race relations in the early twenty-first century as about the complex literary transactions between individual readers and the novel itself will also be discussed in the extended context of American Dirt and white author Marieke Rijneveld’s withdrawal from the projected translation of Black poet Amanda Gorman.

Keywords: cultural appropriation, cultural stereotypes, narrative empathy, race relations

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Authors: Andrea Scapolo, Zaya Rustamova, Arturo Matute Castro

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The “Voices in Dissent” initiative aims at collecting and making available in a digital format, testimonies, letters, and other narratives produced by victims of political oppression from different geographical spaces across the Atlantic. By recovering silenced voices behind the official narratives, this open-access online database will provide indispensable tools for rewriting the history of authoritarian regimes from the margins as memory debates continue to provoke controversy among academic and popular transnational circles. In providing an extensive database of non-hegemonic discourses in a variety of political and social contexts, the project will complement the existing European and Latin-American studies, and invite further interdisciplinary and trans-national research. This digital resource will be available to academic communities and the general audience and will be organized geographically and chronologically. “Voices in Dissent” will offer a first comprehensive study of these personal accounts of persecution and repression against determined historical backgrounds and their impact on collective memory formation in contemporary societies. The digitalization of these texts will allow to run metadata analyses and adopt comparatist approaches for a broad range of research endeavors. Most of the testimonies included in our archive are testimonies of trauma: the trauma of exile, imprisonment, torture, humiliation, censorship. The research on trauma has now reached critical mass and offers a broad spectrum of critical perspectives. By putting together testimonies from different geographical and historical contexts, our project will provide readers and scholars with an extraordinary opportunity to investigate how culture shapes individual and collective memories and provides or denies resources to make sense and cope with the trauma. For scholars dealing with the epistemological and rhetorical analysis of testimonies, an online open-access archive will prove particularly beneficial to test theories on truth status and the formation of belief as well as to study the articulation of discourse. An important aspect of this project is also its pedagogical applications since it will contribute to the creation of Open Educational Resources (OER) to support students and educators worldwide. Through collaborations with our Library System, the archive will form part of the Digital Commons database. The texts collected in this online archive will be made available in the original languages as well as in English translation. They will be accompanied by a critical apparatus that will contextualize them historically by providing relevant background information and bibliographical references. All these materials can serve as a springboard for a broad variety of educational projects and classroom activities. They can also be used to design specific content courses or modules. In conclusion, the desirable outcomes of the “Voices in Dissent” project are: 1. the collections and digitalization of political dissent testimonies; 2. the building of a network of scholars, educators, and learners involved in the design, development, and sustainability of the digital archive; 3. the integration of the content of the archive in both research and teaching endeavors, such as publication of scholarly articles, design of new upper-level courses, and integration of the materials in existing courses.

Keywords: digital archive, dissent, open educational resources, testimonies, transatlantic studies

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Authors: Mansoor Mohammed Abdu Al-Gabali

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This paper addresses the growing interest among non-Arab individuals in understanding the realities of Arab peoples and their cultures. The global media, particularly after the September 11 attacks, has contributed to negative and misrepresentative portrayals of Arabs. The paper aims to critically analyze various representations of identity, culture, and politics in the works of three contemporary Arab and Arab-American women writers. By exploring the perspectives and attitudes of these writers, the paper aims to challenge and rectify the misrepresentation created by the media and foster mutual understanding between Arab and American societies. Research Aim: The aim of this research is to examine the writings of Arab and Arab-American women in order to highlight the strengths and awareness of Arab cultures. It seeks to show how these writers create spaces for responding to the misrepresentation perpetuated by the media. The research contributes to bridging the gaps between Arab and American societies and fostering better mutual understanding. Methodology: This paper adopts a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on theoretical concepts from cultural studies. It also utilizes an inductive historical methodology to trace the works under study. The combination of these approaches allows for a comprehensive analysis of the representations of Arab peoples and cultures. Findings: The paper argues that the writings of Arab and Arab-American women demonstrate a multiplicity of perspectives and attitudes toward contemporary issues. It highlights the richness and diversity of their writing, as well as the connections they make between different periods of history and various sites of representation. The paper concludes that these writings transcend personal stories to incorporate broader national and global dialogues, emphasizing the commonalities shared by humanity and the socially contextualized issues that deserve respect. Theoretical Importance: This research holds theoretical importance in the field of cultural studies. It builds upon the works of scholars such as Jack Shaeen and Evelyn Alsultany, that have documented and critiqued the negative media representations of Arabs. By examining the writings of Arab and Arab-American women, this paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of cultural responses to media misrepresentation and the creation of spaces for mutual understanding. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The data collection for this research involved a thorough examination and analysis of the selected works by Elmaz Abinader, Diana Abu-Jaber, and Rajaa Al-Sanea. These works were scrutinized to identify the unique ways in which they tackled contemporary issues prevalent in Arab and Arab-American societies. Through close textual analysis and the application of cultural theories, the researchers were able to discern the underlying themes and messages conveyed in the writings. Question Addressed: The primary question addressed in this research is, "How do the writings of Arab and Arab-American women respond to the misrepresentation of Arab cultures in the media?" By exploring this question, the paper aims to shed light on the strengths and awareness of Arab cultures and to promote a more comprehensive understanding between Arabs and non-Arabs. Conclusion: This research concludes that the writings of Arab and Arab-American women serve as mediators between Arab and American cultures in response to the misrepresentation created by the media. These writings go beyond personal narratives, addressing broader social and cultural issues and seeking to highlight the commonalities shared by all human beings. The paper emphasizes the need for mutual respect and understanding in order to bridge the gaps between Arab and American societies and rectify the negative images that have been perpetuated in the media.

Keywords: Arabs, films, media, negotiation

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Authors: Amberly Brigden, Ali Heawood, Emma C. Anderson, Richard Morris, Esther Crawley

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Background: Paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is characterised by persistent, disabling fatigue. Health services see patients below the age of 12. This age group experience high levels of disability, with low levels of school attendance, high levels of fatigue, anxiety, functional disability and pain. CFS/ME interventions have been developed for adolescents, but the developmental needs of younger children suggest treatment should be tailored to this age group. Little is known about how intervention should be delivered to this age group, and further work is needed to explore this. Qualitative research aids patient-centered design of health intervention. Methods: Five to 11-year-olds and their parents were recruited from a specialist CFS/ME service. Semi-structured interviews explored the families’ experience of the condition and perspectives on treatment. Interactive and arts-based methods were used. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Qualitative Results: 14 parents and 7 children were interviewed. Early analysis of the interviews revealed the importance of the social-ecological setting of the child, which led to themes being developed in the context of Systems Theory. Theme one relates to the level of the child, theme two the family system, theme three the organisational and societal systems, and theme four cuts-across all levels. Theme1: The child’s capacity to describe, understand and manage their condition. Younger children struggled to describe their internal experiences, such as physical symptoms. Parents felt younger children did not understand some concepts of CFS/ME and did not have the capabilities to monitor and self-regulate their behaviour, as required by treatment. A spectrum of abilities was described; older children (10-11-year-olds) were more involved in clinical sessions and had more responsibility for self-management. Theme2: Parents’ responsibility for managing their child’s condition. Parents took responsibility for regulating their child’s behaviour in accordance with the treatment programme. They structured their child’s environment, gave direct instructions to their child, and communicated the needs of their child to others involved in care. Parents wanted their child to experience a 'normal' childhood and took steps to shield their child from medicalization, including diagnostic labels and clinical discussions. Theme3: Parental isolation and the role of organisational and societal systems. Parents felt unsupported in their role of managing the condition and felt negative responses from primary care health services and schools were underpinned by a lack of awareness and knowledge about CFS/ME in younger children. This sometimes led to a protracted time to diagnosis. Parents felt that schools have the potential important role in managing the child’s condition. Theme4: Complexity and uncertainty. Many parents valued specialist treatment (which included activity management, physiotherapy, sleep management, dietary advice, medical management and psychological support), but felt it needed to account for the complexity of the condition in younger children. Some parents expressed uncertainty about the diagnosis and the treatment programme. Conclusions: Interventions for younger children need to consider the 'systems' (family, organisational and societal) involved in the child’s care. Future research will include interviews with clinicians and schools supporting younger children with CFS/ME.

Keywords: chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), pediatric, qualitative, treatment

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Authors: Edward Shizha, Edward Makwarimba

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This literature review explores current research on the educational strengths and barriers of newcomer and refugee youth in Canada. Canada’s shift in immigration policy in the past three decades, from Europe to Asian and African countries as source continents of recent immigrants to Canada, has tremendously increased the ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious diversity of the population, including that of students in its education system. Over 18% of the country’s population was born in another country, of which 70% are visible minorities. There has been an increase in admitted immigrants and refugees, with a total of 226,203 between July 2020 and June 2021. Newcomer parents and their children in all major destination countries, including Canada, face tremendous challenges, including racism and discrimination, lack of English language skills, poverty, income inequality, unemployment, and underemployment. They face additional challenges, including discrimination against those who cannot speak the official languages, English or French. The severity of the challenges depends on several intersectional factors, including immigrant status (asylum seeker, refugee, or immigrant), age, gender, level of education and others. Through the lens of intersectionality as an explanatory perspective, this literature review examines the educational attainment and outcomes of newcomer and refugee youth in Canada in order to understand their educational needs, educational barriers and strengths. Newcomer youths’ experiences are shaped by numerous intersectional and interconnected sociocultural, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic factors—including gender, migration status, racialized status, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, sexual minority status, age, race—that produce and perpetuate their disadvantage. According to research, immigrants and refugees from visible minority ethnic backgrounds experience exclusions more than newcomers from other backgrounds and groups from the mainstream population. For many immigrant parents, migration provides financial and educational opportunities for their children. Yet, when attending school, newcomer and refugee youth face unique challenges related to racism and discrimination, negative attitudes and stereotypes from teachers and other school authorities, language learning and proficiency, differing levels of acculturation, and different cultural views of the role of parents in relation to teachers and school, and unfamiliarity with the social or school context in Canada. Recognizing discrepancies in educational attainment of newcomer and refugee youth based on their race and immigrant status, the paper develops insights into existing research and data gaps related to educational strengths and challenges for visible minority newcomer youth in Canada. The paper concludes that the educational successes or failures of the newcomer and refugee youth and their settlement and integration into the school system in Canada may depend on where their families settle, the attitudes of the host community and the school officials (teachers, guidance counsellors and school administrators) after-school support programs and their own set of coping mechanisms. Conceivably a unique approach to after-school programming should provide learning supports and opportunities that consider newcomer and refugee youth’s needs, experiences, backgrounds and circumstances. This support is likely to translate into significant academic and psychological well-being of newcomer students.

Keywords: deficit discourse, discrimination, educational outcomes, newcomer and refugee youth, racism, strength-based approach, whiteness

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