Search results for: theme parks

Authors: Zeynep İnan Ocak, Gülsün Tanyeli

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One of the most important architectural types of Islamic architecture is madrasah used as educational institutions, hospital or observatory. This type of buildings has one or two storeys, central open or closed courtyards, four iwans and students cells located among the iwans. The main characteristic of the designs featured in the portals. The Islamic art features and adornments are seen well on these buildings made of stone. The earliest examples date to late 12th century in Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. Under the Seljuks rule over the one thousand facilities were built in 12th and 13th centuries and there are one hundred thirty five madrasah in total list. But today no all of them are conserved only forty percent are remained. The Seljuks madrasah located in many Anatolian were registered as immovable cultural property in several times by Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry. The first Turkish buildings inscribed on the World Heritage List are the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği in 1985. Also the nominated site named as Anatolian Seljuks Madrasah is in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage in 2014. The property is composed some of notable madrasah such as İnce Minareli Madrasah and Karatay Madrasah in Konya; Çifte Madrasah and Sahibiye Madrasah in Kayseri; Buruciye Madrasah, Çifte Minareli Madrasah and Gök Madrasah in Sivas; Çifte Minareli Madrasah and Yakutiye Madrasah in Erzurum; Cacabey Madrasah in Kirşehir. Certainly the advantage of tourism is important for conducting the preservation of heritage. It offers much kind of cultural heritage products by means of visiting monuments. In spite of advantage of tourism, it can be the negative effects of tourism on sites and places of cultural significance. While assisting and guiding the conservation works of madrasah, it should be get reference to international charters and other doctrinal texts about the relation between heritage and tourism. Thereby the monuments will be conserved in good condition promoting by tourism. It should be plan a project about the correlation of visitors and heritage to focus on theme of Seljuks architecture. This study aims to set out the principles about the conservation of madrasah as world heritage taking advantages of tourism. The madrasah as a heritage should be evaluated not only a monument but also cultural route. So the cultural route for madrasah is determined by means of a journey through space and time, how the heritage of the different Anatolian cities. Also the cultural route is created visiting both the madrasah and the other medieval structures. In this study, the route, the principles, relation of tourism are represented considering the conservation of Seljuks madrasah.

Keywords: architectural heritage, cultural routes, Seljuks madrasah, Anatolia

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Authors: Katie E. Jennings

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The interactions between family dynamics and environmental factors with mental health vulnerability in individuals are well known and are a theme for on-going research and debate. The impact upon mental health issues and forensic issues on family dynamics, experience, and emotional wellbeing cannot be over-Emphasised. For forensic patients with diagnosed mental disorders, these relationships and environments may have also been functionally linked to the development and maintenance of those disorders; with significant adverse childhood experiences being a common feature of many Patient’s histories. Mental health hospitals remove the patient from their home environments and provide treatment outside of these relationships and often outside of the home area. There is, therefore, a major focus on Services ensuring that patients are able to build and maintain relationships with family and friends, requiring services to involve families in Patients' care and treatment wherever possible. There are standards set by Government and clinical bodies that require absolute demonstration of the inclusion of family and friends in all aspects of the care and treatment of forensic patients. For some patients and family members, this push to take on a “role” in care can be unhelpful, extremely stressful, and has constant implications for the potential delicate reparation of relationships. Based on work undertaken for over 20 years in forensic mental health settings, this paper explores the positive psychology approach to a dimensional model to family inclusion in mental health care that learns from family court work and allows for the maintenance of relationships to be at both proximal and Distil levels; to prevent the replication of abuse, decrease the need for falsehoods and assist the recovery of all. The model is based on allowing families to choose to not be involved or be involved in different ways if this is seen to be more helpful. It also allows patients to choose the level of potential involvement that they would find helpful, and for this to be reviewed at a timeframe agreed by all parties, rather than when the next survey is due or the patient has a significant care meeting. This paper is significant as there is a lack of research to support services to use a positive psychology approach to work in this area, the assumption that being asked to be involved must be positive for all seems naïve at best for this patient group. Work relating to the psychology of family can significantly contribute to the development of knowledge in this area. The development of a dimensional model will support choice within families and assist in the development of more honest and open relationships.

Keywords: family dynamics, forensic, mental disorder, positive psychology

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Authors: Irina-Emily Hansen, Ola Jon Mork

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The European economic growth strategy and supporting it framework for research and innovation highlight the importance of nurturing new open innovation in order to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. One of the main approaches to enhance innovation in European society is the Triple Helix model that centres on science- industry collaboration where the universities are assigned the managerial role. In spite of the defined collaboration strategy, the collaboration between academics and in-dustry in Europe has still many challenges. Many of them are explained by culture difference: academic culture aims towards scientific knowledge, while businesses are oriented towards pro-duction and profitable results; also execution of collaborative projects is seen differently by part-ners involved. That proves that traditional management strategies applied to collaboration between researchers and businesses are not effective. There is a need for dynamic strategies that can support the interaction between researchers and industry intensifying knowledge co-creation and contributing to development of national innovation system (NIS) by incorporating individual, organizational and inter-organizational learning. In order to find a good subject to follow, the researchers of a given paper have investigated one of the most rapidly developing knowledge-based, innovation society, Singapore. Singapore does not dispose much land- or sea- resources that normally provide income for any country. Therefore, Singapore was forced to think differently and build society on resources that are available: talented people and knowledge. Singapore has during the last twenty years developed attracting high rated university camps, research institutions and leading industrial companies from all over the world. This article elucidates and elaborates Singapore’s national innovation strategies from Knowledge Management perspective. The research is done on the variety of organizations that enable and support knowledge development in this state: governmental research and development (R&D) centers in universities, private talent incubators for entrepreneurs, and industrial companies with own R&D departments. The research methods are based on presentations, documents, and visits at a number of universities, research institutes, innovation parks, governmental institutions, industrial companies and innovation exhibitions in Singapore. In addition, a literature review of science articles is made regarding the topic. The first finding is that objectives of collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs and industry in Singapore correspond primary goals of the state: knowledge- and economy growth. There are common objectives for all stakeholders on all national levels. The second finding is that Singapore has enabled system on a national level that supports innovation the entire way from fostering or capturing the new knowledge, providing knowledge exchange and co-creation to application of it in real-life. The conclusion is that innovation means not only new idea, but also the enabling mechanism for its execution and the marked-oriented approach in order that new knowledge can be absorbed in society. The future research can be done with regards to application of Singapore knowledge management strategy in innovation to European countries.

Keywords: knowledge management strategy, national innovation system, research industry and business collaboration, knowledge enabling

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Authors: Emy Nayana Pinto, Denise Bomtempo Birche De Carvalho

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In the present study, the harmful use of illicit drugs is seen as a public health problem and as one of the expressions of the social question, since its consequences fall mainly on the poorer classes of the population. This perspective is a counterpoint to the dominant paradigm on illicit drug policy at the global level, whose centrality lies within the criminal justice arena. The 'drug problem' is internationally combated through fragmented approaches that focus its actions on banning and criminalizing users. In this sense, the research seeks to answer the following key questions: What are the influences of the prohibitionism in the recommendations of the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the formulation of drug policies in member countries? What are the actors that have been provoking the prospect of breaking with the prohibitionist paradigm? What is the WHO contribution to the rupture with the prohibitionist paradigm and the displacement of the drug problem in the field of public health? The general objective of this work is to seek evidence from the perspective of rupture with the prohibitionist paradigm in the field of drugs policies at the global and regional level, through analysis of documents of the World Health Organization (WHO), between the years of 2001 to 2016. The research was carried out in bibliographical and documentary sources. The bibliographic sources contributed to the approach with the object and the theoretical basis of the research. The documentary sources served to answer the research questions and evidence the existence of the perspective of change in drug policy. Twenty-two documents of the UN system were consulted, of which fifteen had the contribution of the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to the documents that directly relate to the subject of the research, documents from various agencies, programs, and offices, such as the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which also has drugs as the central or transversal theme of its performance. The results showed that from the 2000s it was possible to find in the literature review and in the documentary analysis evidence of the critique of the prohibitionist paradigm parallel to the construction of a new perspective for drug policy at the global level and the displacement of criminal justice approaches for the scope of public health, with the adoption of alternative and pragmatic interventions based on human rights, scientific evidence and the reduction of social damages and health by the misuse of illicit drugs.

Keywords: illicit drugs, international organizations, prohibitionism, public health, World Health Organization

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Authors: Kever Bruno Paradelo Gomes, Rosana Carvalho Cristo Martins

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Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) has been a strategy used since the late 1990s by Latin American countries to finance environmental conservation. Payment for Environmental Services has been absorbing a growing amount of time in the discussions around environmentally sustainable development strategies in the world. In Brazil, this theme has permeated the discussions since the publication of the new Forest Code. The objective of this work was to verify the perception of the resident farmers in the region of Ponte Alta, Gama, Federal District, Brazil, on environmental legislation and Payments for Environmental Services. The work was carried out in 99 rural properties of the family farmers of the Rural Nucleus Ponte Alta, Administrative Region of Gama, in the city of Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. The present research is characterized methodologically as a quantitative, exploratory, and descriptive nature. The data treatment was performed through descriptive statistical analysis and hypothesis testing. The perceptions about environmental legislation in the rural area of Ponte Alta, Gama, DF respondents were positive. Although most of the family farmers interviewed have some knowledge about environmental legislation, it is perceived that in practice, the environmental adequacy of property is ineffective given the current situation of sustainable rural development; there is an abyss between what is envisaged by legislation and reality in the field. Thus, as in the reports of other researchers, it is verified that the majority of respondents are not aware of PSA (62.62%). Among those interviewed who were aware of the subject, two learned through the course, three through the university, two through TV and five through other people. The planting of native forest species on the rural property was the most informed practice by farmers if they received some Environmental Service Payment (PSA). Reflections on the environment allow us to infer that the effectiveness and fulfillment of the incentives and rewards in the scope of public policies to encourage the maintenance of environmental services, already existing in all spheres of government, are of great relevance to the process of environmental sustainability of rural properties. The relevance of the present research is an important tool to promote the discussion and formulation of public policies focused on sustainable rural development, especially on payments for environmental services; it is a space of great interest for the strengthening of the social group dedicated to production. Public policies that are efficient and accessible to the small rural producers become decisive elements for the promotion of changes in behavior in the field, be it economic, social, or environmental.

Keywords: forest code, public policy, rural development, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Mesfin Abebe Molla

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This research aims to examine the practices of inclusion of the hard of hearing and deaf students in regular schools. It also focuses on exploring strategies for optimal benefits of students with Hard of Hearing and Deaf (HH-D) from inclusion. Concurrent mixed methods research design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The instruments used to gather data for this study were questionnaire, semi- structured interview, and observations. A total of 102 HH-D students and 42 primary and High School teachers were selected using simple random sampling technique and used as participants to collect quantitative data. Non-probability sampling technique was also employed to select 14 participants (4-school principals, 6-teachers and 4-parents of HH-D students) and they were interviewed to collect qualitative data. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (independent sample t-test, one way ANOVA and Multiple regressions) were employed to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data were also analyzed qualitatively by theme analysis. The findings reported that there were individual principals’, teachers’ and parents’ strong commitment and efforts for practicing inclusion of HH-D students effectively; however, most of the core values of inclusion were missing in both schools. Most of the teachers (78.6 %) and HH-D students (75.5%) had negative attitude and considerable reservations about the feasibility of inclusion of HH-D students in both schools. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant difference of attitude toward to inclusion between the two school’s teachers and the teachers’ who had taken and had not taken additional training on IE and sign language. The study also indicated that there was a statistically significant difference of attitude toward to inclusion between hard of hearing and deaf students. However, the overall contribution of the demographic variables of teachers and HH-D students on their attitude toward inclusion is not statistically significant. The finding also showed that HH-D students did not have access to modified curriculum which would maximize their abilities and help them to learn together with their hearing peers. In addition, there is no clear and adequate direction for the medium of instruction. Poor school organization and management, lack of commitment, financial resources, collaboration and teachers’ inadequate training on Inclusive Education (IE) and sign language, large class size, inappropriate assessment procedure, lack of trained deaf adult personnel who can serve as role model for HH-D students and lack of parents and community members’ involvement were some of the major factors that affect the practicing inclusion of students HH-D. Finally, recommendations are made to improve the practices of inclusion of HH-D students and to make inclusion of HH-D students an integrated part of Ethiopian education based on the findings of the study.

Keywords: deaf, hard of hearing, inclusion, regular schools

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Authors: Mark R. Leipnik, Dahlia Durga, Linda Johnson-Bhola

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Kaieteur is the most iconic National Park in the rainforest-clad nation of Guyana in South America. However, the magnificent 226-meter-high waterfall at its center is virtually inaccessible by surface transportation, and the occasional charter flights to the small airstrip in the park are too expensive for many tourists and residents. Thus, the largest waterfall in all of Amazonia, where the Potaro River plunges over a single free drop twice as high as Victoria Falls, remains preserved in splendid isolation inside a 57,000-hectare National Park established by the British in 1929, in the deepest recesses of a remote jungle canyon. Kaieteur Falls are largely unseen firsthand, but images of the falls are depicted on the Guyanese twenty dollar note, in every Guyanese tourist promotion, and on many items in the national capital of Georgetown. Georgetown is only 223-241 kilometers away from the falls. The lack of a single mileage figure demonstrates there is no single overland route. Any journey, except by air, involves changes of vehicles, a ferry ride, and a boat ride up a jungle river. It also entails hiking for many hours to view the falls. Surface access from Georgetown (or any city) is thus a 3-5 day-long adventure; even in the dry season, during the two wet seasons, travel is a particularly sticky proposition. This journey was made overland by the paper's co-author Dahlia Durga. This paper focuses on potential ways to improve overland tourist access to Kaieteur National Park from Georgetown. This is primarily a GIS-based analysis, using multiple criteria to determine the least cost means of creating all-weather road access to the area near the base of the falls while minimizing distance and elevation changes. Critically, it also involves minimizing the number of new bridges required to be built while utilizing the one existing ferry crossings of a major river. Cost estimates are based on data from road and bridge construction engineers operating currently in the interior of Guyana. The paper contains original maps generated with ArcGIS of the potential routes for such an overland connection, including the one deemed optimal. Other factors, such as the impact on endangered species habitats and Indigenous populations, are considered. This proposed infrastructure development is taking place at a time when Guyana is undergoing the largest boom in its history due to revenues from offshore oil and gas development. Thus, better access to the most important tourist attraction in the country is likely to happen eventually in some manner. But the questions of the most environmentally sustainable and least costly alternatives for such access remain. This paper addresses those questions and others related to access to this magnificent natural treasure and the tradeoffs such access will have on the preservation of the currently pristine natural environment of Kaieteur Falls.

Keywords: nature tourism, GIS, Amazonia, national parks

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Authors: Ferentinos George, Papatheodorou George, Belmonte Genuario, Geraga Maria, Christodoulou Dimitris, Fakiris Elias, Iatrou Margarita, Kordella Stravroula, Prevenios Michail, Mentogianis Vassilis, Sotiropoulos Makis

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The Ionian Sea Aquarium-Museum in Kefallinia Island, Greece and its twinning with that of Santa Maria al Bagno in the Salento peninsula, Italy, are recently established Hubs in the Ionian Sea funded by the European Territorial Cooperation Programme, Greece-Italy 2007-2013. The objectives of the Ionian Sea Aquarium-Museum are: (i) exhibiting to the public the underwater natural and cultural treasures of the seas surrounding the island, (ii) the functioning of a recreational/vocational hub for all educational levels but also for sea users and stakeholders, to raise their awareness of the seas and engage them in the European notion of the Blue Growth of the Seas and (iii) setting up diving parks in sites of natural and cultural importance. The natural heritage in the Aquarium-Museum is exhibited in five tanks displaying the two most important benthic habitats in the Mediterranean Sea, that is, the Posidonia oceanica and the Coralligene assemblages with the associated rich fauna. The cultural heritage is exhibited in: (i) Dioramas displaying scale model replicas of the three best preserved ancient and historic wrecks. -The Fiscardo Roman wreck dating between 1st cent B.C. and 2nd cent. A.D., which is one of the largest and best preserved in the Mediterranean Sea. -The HMS PERSEUS British submarine, which is known for the second deepest submarine escape from all sunken submarines in WW II, and -A wooden wreck, the Italian ship Alma probably, which was requisitioned by the German army and used for transporting supplies and ammunition. (ii) Documentaries: The first two present the complete story from launching to sinking of: the HMS PERSEUS British submarine, the SS Ardena which is associated with the Italian Aqui Division killed by the German forces in Kefallinia and made known from the book and film “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” and the third documentary deals with the birth place of seafaring in the world, which took place in the Greek. Archipelago by Neanderthals and modern humans between 115 and 35 thousand years ago. The Aquarium-Museum starts from next year (a) educational programmes for schools and tourists to discover the natural and cultural treasures around Kefallinia island, (b) recreational/vocational holiday activities centered on eco-diving and get involved in mapping and monitoring NATURA 2000 sites around the island and thus actively engaged in the Blue Growth of the seas and (c) summer schools aimed at under/post-graduate students, who are interested in marine archaeology and geo-habitat mapping and are looking for a job in the sustainable management of the seas. The exhibition themes in the Aquarium-Museum as well as the recreational /vocational and educational activities are prepared by the Oceanus Net laboratories of Patras University and were selected after surveying the seafloor using the latest state of art sonar and camera technologies.

Keywords: aquarium-museum, cultural and natural treasures, ionian sea, Kefallinia Island

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Authors: Bruna F. Oliveira, Marcelo M. Sousa, Flávia V. Barbosa

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Circular economy is a popular concept used in many companies nowadays. Some industries are better forwarded to this reality than others, but the textile industry is a sector that needs bigger attention due to the lack of recyclability and second use of its products, as well as the industrial effluents generated by the manufacturing processes. For these reasons, the zero-waste goal and the European objectives are further from being achieved. In this context, a need arises to provide an effective methodology that allows to determine the level of circularity of textile companies. Regarding the complexity of the circular economy concept, few factories have a specialist in sustainability to assess the company’s circularity or that have the ability to implement circular strategies that could benefit the manufacturing processes. Although there are several methodologies to assess the circularity in companies and in specific industrial sectors, there is not an easy go-to methodology applied in factories aiming for cleaner production. Therefore, a straight-forward methodology to assess the level of circularity, in this case of a textile industry, is presented and discussed in this work, allowing any company to measure the impact of their activities. The methodology developed consists in calculating the overall circular index (OCI) by evaluating the circularity of four key areas – Energy, Material, Economic and Social – in a specific factory. The index is a value between 0 and 1, where 0 means a linear economy, and 1 is a complete circular economy. Each key area has a sub-index, obtained through Key-Performance Indicators (KPIs) regarding each theme, and the OCI reflects the average of the four sub-indexes. Some fieldwork in the appointed company was required in order to obtain all the necessary data. By having separate sub-indexes, one can observe which areas are more linear and which ones are more circular. Thus, it is possible to work on the most critical areas by implementing strategies to increase the circular index. After these strategies are implemented, the OCI is recalculated to check the improvements made and if any other changes in the remaining sub-indexes occurred. As such, the methodology in discussion works through continuous improvement, constantly reevaluating the circularity of the factory and improving it. The methodology is also flexible enough to be implemented in any industrial sector, by adapting the KPIs. This methodology was implemented to a selected Portuguese Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) textile industry and proves to be a relevant tool to measure the circularity level of the factory. It was witnessed that it is easier for non-specialists to evaluate circularity and identify possible solutions to increase its value as well as learn how one action can impact their environment. At the end, energetic and environmental inefficiencies were identified and corrected, increasing the sustainability and circularity of the company. Through this work, important contributions were provided, helping the Portuguese SME to achieve the European and UN 2030 sustainable goals.

Keywords: circular economy, circularity index, sustainability, textile industry, zero waste

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Authors: Payal Sudhan

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Popular films in India, Bollywood, and other local industries make a range of commercial films that attract vast viewership. Love, Heroism, Action, Adventure, Revenge, etc., are some of the dearest themes chosen by many filmmakers of various popular film Industries across the world. However, sexuality has become an issue to address within the cinema. Such films feature in small numbers compared to other themes. One can easily assume that homosexuality is unlikely to be a favorite theme found in Indian popular cinema. It doesn’t mean that there is absolutely no film made on the issues of homosexuality. There have been several attempts. Earlier, some movies depicted homosexual (gay) characters as comedians, which continued until the beginning of the 21st century. The study aims to explore how modern homophobia and stereotype are represented in the films and how it affects homosexuality in the recent Malayalam Cinema. The study wills primarily focusing on Mumbai Police (2013) and My Life Partner (2014). The study tries to explain social space, the idea of a cure, and criminality. The film that has been selected for the analysis Mumbai Police (2013) is a crime thriller. The nonlinear narration of the movie reveals, towards the end, the murderer of ACP Aryan IPS, who was shot dead in a public meeting. In the end, the culprit is the enquiring officer, ACP Antony Moses, himself a close friend and colleague of the victim. Much to one’s curiosity, the primary cause turns out to be the sexual relation Antony has. My Life Partner generically can be classified as a drama. The movie puts forth male bonding and visibly riddles the notions of love and sex between Kiran and his roommate Richard. Running through the same track, the film deals with a different ‘event.’ The ‘event’ is the exclusive celebration of male bonding. The socio-cultural background of the cinema is heterosexual. The elements of heterosexual social setup meet the ends of diplomacy of the Malayalam queer visual culture. The film reveals the life of two gays who were humiliated by the larger heterosexual society. In the end, Kiran dies because of extreme humiliation. The paper is a comparative and cultural analysis of the two movies, My Life Partner and Mumbai Police. I try to bring all the points of comparison together and explain the similarities and differences, how one movie differs from another. Thus, my attempt here explains how stereotypes and homophobia with other related issues are represented in these two movies.

Keywords: queer cinema, homophobia, malayalam cinema, queer films

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Authors: Michael Picard

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This proposal offers to shed light on the changing legal geography of the global waste economy. Global waste recycling has become a multi-billion-dollar industry. NASDAQ predicts the emergence of a worldwide 1,296G$ waste management market between 2017 and 2022. Underlining this evolution, a new generation of preferential waste-trade agreements has emerged in the Pacific. In the last decade, Japan has concluded a series of bilateral treaties with Asian countries, and most recently with China. An agreement between Tokyo and Beijing was formalized on 7 May 2008, which forged an economic partnership on waste transfer and mining. The agreement set up International Recycling Zones, where certified recycling plants in China process industrial waste imported from Japan. Under the joint venture, Chinese companies salvage the embedded value from Japanese industrial discards, reprocess them and send them back to Japanese manufacturers, such as Mitsubishi and Panasonic. This circular economy is designed to convert surplus garbage into surplus value. Ever since the opening of Sino-Japanese eco-parks, millions of tons of plastic and e-waste have been exported from Japan to China every year. Yet, quite unexpectedly, China has recently closed its waste market to imports, jeopardizing Japan’s billion-dollar exports to China. China notified the WTO that, by the end of 2017, it would no longer accept imports of plastics and certain metals. Given China’s share of Japanese waste exports, a complete closure of China’s market would require Japan to find new uses for its recyclable industrial trash generated domestically every year. It remains to be seen how China will effectively implement its ban on waste imports, considering the economic interests at stake. At this stage, what remains to be clarified is whether China's ban on waste imports will negatively affect the recycling trade between Japan and China. What is clear, though, is the rapid transformation in the legal geography of waste mining in East-Asia. For decades, East-Asian waste trade had been tied up in an ‘ecologically unequal exchange’ between the Japanese core and the Chinese periphery. This global unequal waste distribution could be measured by the Environmental Stringency Index, which revealed that waste regulation was 39% weaker in the Global South than in Japan. This explains why Japan could legally export its hazardous plastic and electronic discards to China. The asymmetric flow of hazardous waste between Japan and China carried the colonial heritage of international law. The legal geography of waste distribution was closely associated to the imperial construction of an ecological trade imbalance between the Japanese source and the Chinese sink. Thus, China’s recent decision to ban hazardous waste imports is a sign of a broader ecological shift. As a global economic superpower, China announced to the world it would no longer be the planet’s junkyard. The policy change will have profound consequences on the global circulation of waste, re-routing global waste towards countries south of China, such as Vietnam and Malaysia. By the time the Berlin Conference takes place in May 2018, the presentation will be able to assess more accurately the effect of the Chinese ban on the transboundary movement of waste in Asia.

Keywords: Asia, ecological unequal exchange, global waste trade, legal geography

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Authors: Shanaka Gunasekara, Maleen Jayasuriya, Nalin Harischandra, Lilantha Samaranayake, Gamini Dissanayake

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One serious facet of the worsening Human-Elephant conflict (HEC) in nations such as Sri Lanka involves elephant-train collisions. Endangered Asian elephants are maimed or killed during such accidents, which also often result in orphaned or disabled elephants, contributing to the phenomenon of lone elephants. These lone elephants are found to be more likely to attack villages and showcase aggressive behaviour, which further exacerbates the overall HEC. Furthermore, Railway Services incur significant financial losses and disruptions to services annually due to such accidents. Most elephant-train collisions occur due to a lack of adequate reaction time. This is due to the significant stopping distance requirements of trains, as the full braking force needs to be avoided to minimise the risk of derailment. Thus, poor driver visibility at sharp turns, nighttime operation, and poor weather conditions are often contributing factors to this problem. Initial investigations also indicate that most collisions occur in localised “hotspots” where elephant pathways/corridors intersect with railway tracks that border grazing land and watering holes. Taking these factors into consideration, this work proposes the leveraging of recent developments in Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) technology to detect elephants using an RGB/infrared capable camera around known hotspots along the railway track. The CNN was trained using a curated dataset of elephants collected on field visits to elephant sanctuaries and wildlife parks in Sri Lanka. With this vision-based detection system at its core, a prototype unit of an early warning system was designed and tested. This weatherised and waterproofed unit consists of a Reolink security camera which provides a wide field of view and range, an Nvidia Jetson Xavier computing unit, a rechargeable battery, and a solar panel for self-sufficient functioning. The prototype unit was designed to be a low-cost, low-power and small footprint device that can be mounted on infrastructures such as poles or trees. If an elephant is detected, an early warning message is communicated to the train driver using the GSM network. A mobile app for this purpose was also designed to ensure that the warning is clearly communicated. A centralized control station manages and communicates all information through the train station network to ensure coordination among important stakeholders. Initial results indicate that detection accuracy is sufficient under varying lighting situations, provided comprehensive training datasets that represent a wide range of challenging conditions are available. The overall hardware prototype was shown to be robust and reliable. We envision a network of such units may help contribute to reducing the problem of elephant-train collisions and has the potential to act as an important surveillance mechanism in dealing with the broader issue of human-elephant conflicts.

Keywords: computer vision, deep learning, human-elephant conflict, wildlife early warning technology

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Authors: Giovana Privatte Maciera, Jair Izaías Kappann

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Introduction: The violence against woman is a complex phenomenon that accompanies the woman throughout her life and is a result of a social, cultural, political and religious construction, based on the differences among the genders. Those differences are felt, mainly, because of the patriarchal system that is still present which just naturalize and legitimate the asymmetry of power. As consequence of the women’s lasting historical and collective effort for a legislation against the impunity of violence against women in the national scenery, it was ordained, in 2006, a law known as Maria da Penha. The law was created as a protective measure for women that were victims of violence and consequently for the punishment of the aggressor. Methodology: Analysis of police inquiries is established by the Police Station of Defense of the Woman of Assis city, by formal authorization of the justice, in the period of 2013 to 2015. For the evaluating of the results will be used the content analysis and the theoretical referential of Psychoanalysis. Results and Discussion: The final analysis of the inquiries demonstrated that the violence against women is reproduced by the society and the aggressor, in most cases it is a member of their own family, mainly the current or former-spouse. The most common kinds of aggression were: the threat bodily harm, and the physical violence, that normally happens accompanied by psychological violence, being the most painful for the victims. The biggest part of the aggressors was white, older than the victim, worker and had primary school. But, unlike the expected, the minority of the aggressors were users of alcohol and/or drugs and possessed children in common with the victim. There is a contrast among the number of victims who already admitted have suffered some type of violence earlier by the same aggressor and the number of victims who has registered the occurrence before. The aggressors often use the discourse of denial in their testimony or try to justify their act like the blame was of the victim. It is believed in the interaction of several factors that can influence the aggressor to commit the abuse, including psychological, personal and sociocultural factors. One hypothesis is that the aggressor has a violence history in the family origin. After the aggressor being judged, condemned or not, usually there is no rehabilitation plan or supervision that enable his change. Conclusions: It has noticed the importance of studying the aggressor’s characteristics and the reasons that took him to commit such violence, making possible the implementation of an appropriate treatment to prevent and reduce the aggressions, as well the creation of programs and actions that enable communication and understanding concerning the theme. This is because the recurrence is still high, since the punitive system is not enough and the law is still ineffective and inefficient in certain aspects and in its own functioning. It is perceived a compulsion in repeat so much for the victims as for the aggressors, because they end involving, almost always, in disturbed and violent relationships, with the relation of subordination-dominance as characteristic.

Keywords: aggressors' profile, gender equality, Maria da Penha law, violence against women

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Authors: Xavier Louis, Madhava Soma Sundaram

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The Palk Bay, a narrow strip of water, separates the state of Tamil Nadu in India from north Sri Lanka. The bay, which is 137 km in length and varies from 64 to 137 kilometers in width and is home to more than 580 fish species and chunks of shrimp’s resources, is divided by the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The bay, bordering it are five Tamil Nadu districts of India and three Sri Lankan districts and assumes importance as it is one of the areas presenting permanent and serious challenges to both India and Sri Lanka with respect to the fishing rights in the Bay. Fishermen from both sides were enjoying fishing with hormones for centuries. Katchchadeevu is a tiny Island located in the Bay, which was a part of India. After the Katchchadeevu agreement 1974 it became a part of Sri Lanka and a fishing conflict arose between the two countries' fishermen. Fuelling the dispute over Katchatheevu is the overfishing of Indian mechanized trawlers in Palk Bay and the damaging environmental and economic effects of trawling. Since 2008, more than 300 Indian fishermen have been killed by firing by Sri Lankan Navy, nearly 100 fishermen have gone missing and more than 3000 fishermen were arrested and later released after the trials for trespassing into Sri Lankan waters. Currently, more than 120 fishing boats and 29 fishermen are in Sri Lankan custody. This paper attempts to find out the causes of fishing conflict and who has the fishing rights in the mentioned waters, how the international treaties are complied with at the time of arrest and trials, how the arrested fishermen are treated by them and how they suffer from fishermen families without a breadwinner. A Semi-structured interview schedule tool was prepared by the researcher, which is suitable for measuring quantitative and qualitative aspects of the above-mentioned theme. One hundred arrested fishermen were interviewed and recorded their prison experiences in Sri Lanka. The research found that the majority of the fishermen believe that they have the right to fish in the historical water and that the Sri Lankan Naval personnel have brutally attacked the Indian fishermen at the time of the arrest. The majority of the fishermen accepted that they had limited fishing grounds. As a result, they entered Sri Lankan waters for their livelihood. The majority of the fishermen expected that they would also get their belongings back at the time of release, primarily the boats. Most of the arrested fishermen's families face financial crises in the absence of their breadwinners and this situation has created conditions for child labor among the affected families and some fishers migrate to different places for different occupations. The majority of the fishers have trauma about their victimization and face uncertainty in the future of their occupation. We can discuss more the causes and nature of the fishing conflict and the financial and psychological victimization of Indian fishermen in relation to the conflict.

Keywords: palk bay, historical water, fishing conflict, arrested fishermen, victimization

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Authors: Inês Amorim Leitão, Loes van Shaick, António Dinis Ferreira, Violette Geissen

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Plastic pollution is a growing concern worldwide: plastics are commercialized in large quantities and it takes a long time for them to degrade. When in the environment, plastic is fragmented into microplastics (<5mm), which have been found in all environmental compartments at different locations. Microplastics contribute to the environmental pollution in water, air and soil and are linked to human health problems. The progressive increase of population living in cities led to the aggravation of the pollution problem worldwide, especially in urban environments. Urban areas represent a strong source of pollution, through the roads, industrial production, wastewater, landfills, etc. It is expected that pollutants such as microplastics are transported diffusely from the sources through different pathways such as wind and rain. Therefore, it is very complex to quantify, control and treat these pollutants, designated current problematic issues by the European Commission. Green areas are pointed out by experts as natural filters for contaminants in cities, through their capacity of retention by vegetation. These spaces have thus the capacity to control the load of pollutants transported. This study investigates the spatial distribution of microplastics in urban soils of different land uses, their transport through atmospheric deposition, wind erosion, runoff and streams, as well as their deposition in vegetation like grass and tree leaves in urban environment. Coimbra, a medium large city located in the central Portugal, is the case-study. All the soil, sediments, water and vegetation samples were collected in Coimbra and were later analyzed in the Wageningen University & Research laboratory. Microplastics were extracted through the density separation using Sodium Phosphate as solution (~1.4 g cm−3) and filtration methods, visualized under a stereo microscope and identified using the u-FTIR method. Microplastic particles were found in all the different samples. In terms of soils, higher concentrations of microplastics were found in green parks, followed by landfills and industrial places, and the lowest concentrations in forests and pasture land-uses. Atmospheric deposition and streams after rainfall events seems to represent the strongest pathways of microplastics. Tree leaves can retain microplastics on their surfaces. Small leaves such as needle leaves seem to present higher amounts of microplastics per leaf area than bigger leaves. Rainfall episodes seem to reduce the concentration of microplastics on leaves surface, which suggests the wash of microplastics down to lower levels of the tree or to the soil. When in soil, different types of microplastics could be transported to the atmosphere through wind erosion. Grass seems to present high concentrations of microplastics, and the enlargement of the grass cover leads to a reduction of the amount of microplastics in soil, but also of the microplastics moved from the ground to the atmosphere by wind erosion. This study proof that vegetation can help to control the transport and dispersion of microplastics. In order to control the entry and the concentration of microplastics in the environment, especially in cities, it is essential to defining and evaluating nature-based land-use scenarios, considering the role of green urban areas in filtering small particles.

Keywords: microplastics, cities, sources, pathways, vegetation

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Authors: Elisa Menardo, Margherita Pasini, Margherita Brondino

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A growing body of empirical research from different areas of inquiry suggests that brief contact with natural environment restore mental resources. The Attention Restoration Theory (ART) is the widespread used and empirical founded theory developed to explain why exposure to nature helps people to recovery cognitive resources. It assumes that contact with nature allows people to free (and then recovery) voluntary attention resources and thus allows them to recover from a cognitive fatigue situation. However, it was suggested that some people could have more cognitive benefit after exposure to urban environment. The objective of this study is to report the results of a meta-analysis on studies (peer-reviewed articles) comparing the restorativeness (the quality to be restorative) perceived in natural environments than those perceived in urban environments. This meta-analysis intended to estimate how much nature environments (forests, parks, boulevards) are perceived to be more restorativeness than urban ones (i.e., the magnitude of the perceived restorativeness’ difference). Moreover, given the methodological difference between study, it studied the potential role of moderator variables as participants (student or other), instrument used (Perceived Restorativeness Scale or other), and procedure (in laboratory or in situ). PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Scopus, SpringerLINK, Web of Science online database were used to identify all peer-review articles on restorativeness published to date (k = 167). Reference sections of obtained papers were examined for additional studies. Only 22 independent studies (with a total of 1371 participants) met inclusion criteria (direct exposure to environment, comparison between one outdoor environment with natural element and one without natural element, and restorativeness measured by self-report scale) and were included in meta-analysis. To estimate the average effect size, a random effect model (Restricted Maximum-likelihood estimator) was used because the studies included in the meta-analysis were conducted independently and using different methods in different populations, so no common effect-size was expected. The presence of publication bias was checked using trim and fill approach. Univariate moderator analysis (mixed effect model) were run to determine whether the variable coded moderated the perceived restorativeness difference. Results show that natural environments are perceived to be more restorativeness than urban environments, confirming from an empirical point of view what is now considered a knowledge gained in environmental psychology. The relevant information emerging from this study is the magnitude of the estimated average effect size, which is particularly high (d = 1.99) compared to those that are commonly observed in psychology. Significant heterogeneity between study was found (Q(19) = 503.16, p < 0.001;) and studies’ variability was very high (I2[C.I.] = 96.97% [94.61 - 98.62]). Subsequent univariate moderator analyses were not significant. Methodological difference (participants, instrument, and procedure) did not explain variability between study. Other methodological difference (e.g., research design, environment’s characteristics, light’s condition) could explain this variability between study. In the mine while, studies’ variability could be not due to methodological difference but to individual difference (age, gender, education level) and characteristics (connection to nature, environmental attitude). Furthers moderator analysis are working in progress.

Keywords: meta-analysis, natural environments, perceived restorativeness, urban environments

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Authors: Priyanka Tamta, Sukanya Sharma

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The Kamakhya Temple in Assam plays a very important role in the development of Assam as not only a historical place but also as an archaeologically important site. Temple building activity on the site began in 5th century AD when a cave temple dedicated to Lord Balabhadraswami was constructed here by King Maharajadhiraja Sri Surendra Varman. In the history of Assam, the name of this king is not found and neither the name of this form of Vishnu is known in this region. But this inscription sanctified the place as it recorded the first ever temple building activity in this region. The fifteen hundred years habitation history of the Kamakhya temple sites shows a gradual progression of the site from a religious site to an archaeological site and finally as a historical landmark. Here, in this paper, our main objective is to understand the evolution of Kamakhya temple site as a historical landscape and as an important landmark in the history of Assam. The central theme of the paper is the gradual development of the religious site to a historical landmark. From epigraphical records, it is known that the site received patronage from all ruling dynasties of Assam and its adjoining regions. Royal households of Kashmir, Nepal, Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, etc. have left their footprints on the site. According to records they donated wealth, constructed or renovated temples and participated in the overall maintenance of the deity. This made Kamakhya temple a ground of interaction of faiths, communities, and royalties of the region. Since the 5th century AD, there was a continuous struggle between different beliefs, faiths, and power on the site to become the dominant authority of the site. In the process, powerful beliefs system subsumed minor ones into a larger doctrine of beliefs. This can be seen in the case of the evolution of the Kamakhya temple site as one of the important Shakta temples in India. Today, it is cultural identity marker of the state of Assam within which it is located. Its diverse faiths and beliefs have been appropriated by powerful legends to the dominant faith of the land. The temple has evolved from a cave temple to a complex of seventeen temples. The faith has evolved from the worship of water, an element of nature to the worship of the ten different forms of the goddess with their five male consorts or Bhairavas. Today, it represents and symbolizes the relationship of power and control out of which it has emerged. During different periods of occupation certain architectural and iconographical characters developed which indicated diffusion and cultural adaptation. Using this as sources and the epigraphical records this paper will analyze the interactive and dynamic processes which operated in the building of this cultural marker, the archaeological site of Kamakhya.

Keywords: cultural adaptation and diffusion, cultural and historical landscape, Kamakhya, Saktism, temple art and architecture, historiography

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Authors: A. G. Back

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Urban planning is a relevant tool to address, in a systemic way, several sectoral policies capable of linking the urban agenda with the reduction of socio-environmental risks. The Sao Paulo’s master plan (2014) presents innovations capable of promoting the transition to sustainability in the urban space, with a view to its regulatory instruments related to i) promotion of density in the axes of mass transport involving the mixture of commercial, residential, services, and leisure uses (principles related to the compact city); ii) vulnerabilities reduction based on housing policies including regular sources of funds for social housing and land reservation in urbanized areas; iii) reserve of green areas in the city to create parks and environmental regulations for new buildings focused on reducing the effects of heat island and improving urban drainage. However, its long-term implementation involves distributive conflicts and can undergo changes in different political, economic, and social contexts over time. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to identify and analyze the dynamics of conflicts of interest between social groups in the implementation of Sao Paulo’s urban development policy, particularly in relation to recent attempts at a (re) interpretation of the Master Plan guidelines, in view of the proposals for revision of the urban zoning law. In this sense, we seek to identify the demands, narratives of urban actors, including the real estate market, middle-class neighborhood associations ('not in my backyard' movements), and social housing rights movements. And we seek to analyze the power resources that these actors mobilize to influence the decision-making process, involving five categories: social capital, political access; discursive resource; media, juridical resource. The major findings of this research suggest that the interests and demands of the real estate market do not always prevail in urban regulation. After all, other actors also press for the definition of urban law with interests opposite to those of the real estate market. This is the case of associations of middle-class neighborhoods, which work to protect the characteristics of the locality, acting, in general, to prevent constructive and population densification in neighborhoods well located near the center, in São Paulo. One of the main demands of these “not in my backyard” movements is the delimitation of exclusively residential areas in the central region of the city, which is not only contrary to the interests of the real state market but also contrary to the principles of the compact city. On the other hand, social housing rights movements have also made progress in delimiting special areas of social interest in well-located and valued areas in the city dedicated to building social housing, also contrary to the interests of the real estate market. An urban development that follows the principles of the compact city must take into account the insertion of low-income populations in well-located regions; otherwise, such a development model may continue to push the less favored to the peripheries towards the preservation areas and/or risk areas.

Keywords: interest groups, Sao Paulo, sustainable urban development, urban policies implementation

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Authors: A. T. Muruviwa

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Empirical studies of the current CSR agenda have been dominated by literature from the North at the expense of the nations from the South where most TNCs are located. Therefore, owing to the limitations of the current discourse that is dominated by Western ideas such as voluntarism, philanthropy, business case and economic gains, scholars have been calling for a new CSR agenda that is South-centred and addresses the needs of developing nations. The development theme has dominated in the recent literature as scholars concerned with the relationship between business and society have tried to understand its relationship with CSR. Despite a plethora of literature on the roles of corporations in local communities and the impact of CSR initiatives, there is lack of adequate empirical evidence to help us understand the nexus between CSR and development. For all the claims made about the positive and negative consequences of CSR, there is surprisingly little information about the outcomes it delivers. This study is a response to these claims made about the developmental aspect of CSR in developing countries. It offers some empirical bases for assessing the major CSR projects that have been fulfilled by a major mining company, Zimplats in Mhondoro-Ngezi Zimbabwe. The neo-liberal idea of capitalism and market dominations has empowered TNCs to stamp their authority in the developing countries. TNCs have made their mark in developing nations as they stamp their global private authority, rivalling or implicitly challenging the state in many functions. This dominance of corporate power raises great concerns over their tendencies of abuses in terms of environmental, social and human rights concerns as well as how to make them increasingly accountable. The hegemonic power of TNCs in the developing countries has had a tremendous impact on the overall CSR practices. While TNCs are key drivers of globalization they may be acting responsibly in their Global Northern home countries where there is a combination of legal mechanisms and the fear of civil society activism associated with corporate scandals. Using a triangulated approach in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were used the study found out that most CSR projects in Zimbabwe are dominated and directed by Zimplats because of the power it possesses. Most of the major CSR projects are beneficial to the mining company as they serve the business plans of the mining company. What was deduced from the study is that the infrastructural development initiatives by Zimplats confirm that CSR is a tool to advance business obligations. This shows that although proponents of CSR might claim that business has a mandate for social obligations to society, we need not to forget the dominant idea that the primary function of CSR is to enhance the firm’s profitability.

Keywords: hegemonic power, projects, reciprocity, stakeholders

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Authors: Majed A. Alsalem

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is common theme in education across the US and an influential model and framework that enables students in general and particularly students who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) to access the general education curriculum. UDL helps teachers determine how information will be presented to students and how to keep students engaged. Moreover, UDL helps students to express their understanding and knowledge to others. UDL relies on technology to promote students' interaction with content and their communication of knowledge. This study included 120 DHH students who received daily instruction based on UDL principles. This study presents the results of the study and discusses its implications for the integration of UDL in day-to-day practice as well as in the country's education policy. UDL is a Western concept that began and grew in the US, and it has just begun to transfer to other countries such as Saudi Arabia. It will be very important to researchers, practitioners, and educators to see how UDL is being implemented in a new place with a different culture. UDL is a framework that is built to provide multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression that should be part of curricula and lessons for all students. The purpose of this study is to investigate the variables associated with the implementation of UDL in Saudi Arabian schools and identify the barriers that could prevent the implementation of UDL. Therefore, this study used a mixed methods design that use both quantitative and qualitative methods. More insights will be gained by including both quantitative and qualitative rather than using a single method. By having methods that different concepts and approaches, the databases will be enriched. This study uses levels of collecting date through two stages in order to insure that the data comes from multiple ways to mitigate validity threats and establishing trustworthiness in the findings. The rationale and significance of this study is that it will be the first known research that targets UDL in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it will deal with UDL in depth to set the path for further studies in the Middle East. From a perspective of content, this study considers teachers’ implementation knowledge, skills, and concerns of implementation. This study deals with effective instructional designs that have not been presented in any conferences, workshops, teacher preparation and professional development programs in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, Saudi Arabian schools are challenged to design inclusive schools and practices as well as to support all students’ academic skills development. The total participants in stage one were 336 teachers of DHH students. The results of the intervention indicated significant differences among teachers before and after taking the training sessions associated with their understanding and level of concern. Teachers have indicated interest in knowing more about UDL and adopting it into their practices; they reported that UDL has benefits that will enhance their performance for supporting student learning.

Keywords: deaf and hard of hearing, professional development, Saudi Arabia, universal design for learning

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Authors: Marielle Hanley, Brandon Takahashi, Gerry Hanley, Gabriella Hancock

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Safety harnesses and their protocols are very common within the construction industry, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has provided extensive guidelines with protocols being constantly updated to ensure the highest level of safety within construction sites. There is also extensive research on harnesses that are meant to keep people in place in moving vehicles, such as seatbelts. Though this research is comprehensive in these areas, the findings and recommendations are not generally applicable to other industry sectors where harnesses are used, such as the entertainment industry. The focus of this case study is on the design and use of harnesses used by theme park employees wearing elaborate costumes in parades and performances. The key factors of posture, kinesthetic factors, and harness engineering interact in significantly different ways when the user is performing repetitive choreography with 20 to 40 lbs. of apparatus connected to harnesses that need to be hidden from the audience’s view. Human factors and ergonomic analysis take into account the required performers’ behaviors, the physical and mental preparation and posture of the performer, the design of the harness-embedded costume, and the environmental conditions during the performance (e.g., wind) that can determine the physical stresses placed on the harness and performer. The uniqueness and expense of elaborate costumes frequently result in one or two costumes created for production, and a variety of different performers need to fit into the same costume. Consequently, the harnesses should be adjustable if they are to minimize the physical and cognitive loads on the performer, but they are frequently more a “one-size fits all”. The complexity of human and technology interactions produces a range of detrimental outcomes, from muscle strains to nerve damage, mental and physical fatigue, and reduced motivation to perform at peak levels. Based on observations conducted over four years for this case study, a number of recommendations to institutionalize the human factors and ergonomic analyses can significantly improve the safety, reliability, and quality of performances with harness-embedded costumes in the entertainment industry. Human factors and ergonomic analyses can be integrated into the engineering design of the performance costumes with embedded harnesses, the conditioning and training of the performers using the costumes, the choreography of the performances within the staged setting and the maintenance of the harness-embedded costumes. By applying human factors and ergonomic methodologies in the entertainment industry, the industry management and support staff can significantly reduce the risks of injury, improve the longevity of unique performers, increase the longevity of the harness-embedded costumes, and produce the desired entertainment value for audiences.

Keywords: ergonomics in entertainment industry, harness-embedded costumes, performer safety, injury prevention

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Authors: V. Jayanthi

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Urbanization and pace of urbanization have increased tremendously in last few decades. More towns are now getting converted into cities. Urbanization trend is seen all over the world but is becoming most dominant in Asia. Today, the scale of urbanization in India is so huge that Indian cities are among the fastest-growing in the world, including Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai. Urbanization remains a single predominant factor that is continuously linked to the destruction of urban green spaces. With reference to Chennai as a case study, which is suffering from rapid deterioration of its green spaces, this paper sought to fill this gap by exploring key factors aside urbanization that is responsible for the destruction of green spaces. The paper relied on a research approach and triangulated data collection techniques such as interviews, focus group discussion, personal observation and retrieval of archival data. It was observed that apart from urbanization, problem of ownership of green space lands, low priority to green spaces, poor maintenance, enforcement of development controls, wastage of underpass spaces, and uncooperative attitudes of the general public, play a critical role in the destruction of urban green spaces. Therefore the paper narrows down to a point, that for a city to have a proper sustainable urban green space, broader city development plans are essential. Though rapid urbanization is an indicator of positive development, it is also accompanied by a host of challenges. Chennai lost a lot of greenery, as the city urbanized rapidly that led to a steep fall in vegetation cover. Environmental deterioration will be the big price we pay if Chennai continues to grow at the expense of greenery. Soaring skyscrapers, multistoried complexes, gated communities, and villas, frame the iconic skyline of today’s Chennai city which reveals that we overlook the importance of our green cover, which is important to balance our urban and lung spaces. Chennai, with a clumped landscape at the center of the city, is predicted to convert 36% of its total area into urban areas by 2026. One major issue is that a city designed and planned in isolation creates underused spaces all around the cities which are of negligence. These urban voids are dead, underused, unused spaces in the cities that are formed due to inefficient decision making, poor land management, and poor coordination. Urban voids have huge potential of creating a stronger urban fabric, exploited as public gathering spaces, pocket parks or plazas or just enhance public realm, rather than dumping of debris and encroachments. Flyovers need to justify their existence themselves by being more than just traffic and transport solutions. The vast, unused space below the Kathipara flyover is a case in point. This flyover connects three major routes: Tambaram, Koyambedu, and Adyar. This research will focus on the concept of urban voids, how these voids under the flyovers, can be used for place making process, how this space beneath flyovers which are neglected, can be a part of the urban realm through urban design and landscaping.

Keywords: landscape design, flyovers, public spaces, reclaiming lost spaces, urban voids

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Authors: Isaura Bonneux

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District heating and cooling (DHC) is increasingly recognized as a viable path towards sustainable heating and cooling. While some countries like Sweden and Denmark have a longstanding tradition of DHC, Belgium is lacking behind. The Northern part of Belgium, Flanders, had only a total of 95 heating networks in July 2023. Nevertheless, it is increasingly exploring its possibilities to enhance the scope of DHC. DHC is a complex energy system, requiring a lot of collaboration between various stakeholders on various levels. Therefore, it is of interest to look closer at policy-related documents at the Flemish (regional) level, as these policies set the scene for DHC development in the Flemish region. This kind of analysis has not been undertaken so far. This paper has the following research question: “Who talks about DHC, and in which way and context is DHC discussed in Flemish policy-related documents?” To answer this question, the Overton policy database was used to search and retrieve relevant policy-related documents. Overton retrieves data from governments, think thanks, NGOs, and IGOs. In total, out of the 244 original results, 117 documents between 2009 and 2023 were analyzed. Every selected document included theme keywords, policymaking department(s), date, and document type. These elements were used for quantitative data description and visualization. Further, qualitative content analysis revealed patterns and main themes regarding DHC in Flanders. Four main conclusions can be drawn: First, it is obvious from the timeframe that DHC is a new topic in Flanders with still limited attention; 2014, 2016 and 2017 were the years with the most documents, yet this number is still only 12 documents. In addition, many documents talked about DHC but not much in depth and painted it as a future scenario with a lot of uncertainty around it. The largest part of the issuing government departments had a link to either energy or climate (e.g. Flemish Environmental Agency) or policy (e.g. Socio-Economic Council of Flanders) Second, DHC is mentioned most within an ‘Environment and Sustainability’ context, followed by ‘General Policy and Regulation’. This is intuitive, as DHC is perceived as a sustainable heating and cooling technique and this analysis compromises policy-related documents. Third, Flanders seems mostly interested in using waste or residual heat as a heating source for DHC. The harbors and waste incineration plants are identified as potential and promising supply sources. This approach tries to conciliate environmental and economic incentives. Last, local councils get assigned a central role and the initiative is mostly taken by them. The policy documents and policy advices demonstrate that Flanders opts for a bottom-up organization. As DHC is very dependent on local conditions, this seems a logic step. Nevertheless, this can impede smaller councils to create DHC networks and slow down systematic and fast implementation of DHC throughout Flanders.

Keywords: district heating and cooling, flanders, overton database, policy analysis

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Authors: Susan C. Graham

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Islands have a long established allure for travellers the world over. From earliest accounts of human history, travellers were drawn by the sense of islandness embodied by these destinations. The concept of islandness describes the essence of what makes islands unique relative to non-islands and extends beyond geographic interpretations by attempting to capture the specific sense of self-exhibited by islanders in relation to their connection to place. The themes most strongly associated with islandness include a) a strong connection to water as both the life blood and a physical barrier, b) a unique culture and robust arts community that is deeply linked to both the island and islanders, c) an appreciation of and for nature, d) a rich sense of history and tradition connected to the place, e) a sense of community and belonging that arose through shared triumphs and struggles, and f) a profound awareness of independence, separateness, and uniqueness derived from both physical and social experience. The island brand, like all brands, is a marketing tactic designed to succinctly express a specific value proposition in simplistic ways which might include a brand symbol, logo, slogan, or representation meant to distinguish one brand from another. If a value proposition is the identification of attributes that separate one brand from another by highlighting the brand’s uniqueness, then presumably island brands may, at least in part, emphasize islandness as part of the destination brand. Yet it may in naïve to expect all islands to brand themselves using similar themes when islands can differ so substantially in terms of population, geography, political climate, economy, culture, and history. Of particular interest is the increased focus on tourism among 'cold-water' islands. This paper will examine the incorporation of themes related to islandness in tourism branding among cold-water, warm-water, and temperate-water islands. The tourism logos of 83 islands were collected and assessed for the use of themes related to islandness, namely water, arts and culture, nature, history and tradition, community and belongingness, and independence, separateness, and uniqueness. The ratings for each theme related to islandness for each of the 83 island destinations were then analyzed to identify if differences exist between cold-water, warm-water, and temperate-water islands. A general consensus of what constitutes 'cold-water' destinations is lacking, therefore a water temperature of 15C was adopted using the guidelines from the National Center for Cold Water Safety. Among these 83 islands, the average high and average low water temperatures of 196 specific locations, including the capital, northern, and southern most points of each island, was recorded to determine if the location was a cold-water (average high and low below 15C), warm-water (average high and low above 15C), or temperate-water (average high above 15C and low below 15C) location.

Keywords: branding, cold-water, islands, tourism

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Authors: Elena Pucci, Margherita Tufarelli, Leonardo Giliberti

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As central for human and social development of the future, sustainability is becoming a recurring theme also in the fashion industry, where the need to explore new possible directions aimed at achieving sustainability goals and their communication is rising. Scholars have been devoted to the overall environmental impact of the textile and fashion industry, which, emerging as one of the world’s most polluting, today concretely assumes the need to take the path of sustainability in both products and production processes. Every day we witness the impact of our consumption, showing that the sustainability concept is as vast as complex: with a sometimes ambiguous definition, sustainability can concern projects, products, companies, sales, packagings, supply chains in relation to the actors proximity as well as traceability, raw materials procurement, and disposal. However, in its primary meaning, sustainability is the ability to maintain specific values and resources for future generations. The contribution aims to address sustainability in the fashion system as a layered problem that requires substantial changes at different levels: in the fashion product (materials, production processes, timing, distribution, and disposal), in the functioning of the system (life cycle, impact, needs, communication) and last but not least in the practice of fashion design which should conceive durable, low obsolescence and possibly demountable products. Moreover, consumers play a central role for the growing awareness, together with an increasingly strong sensitivity towards the environment and sustainable clothing. Since it is also a market demand, undertaking significant efforts to achieve total transparency and sustainability in all production and distribution processes is becoming fundamental for the fashion system. Sustainability is not to be understood as purely environmental but as the pursuit of collective well-being in relation to conscious production, human rights, and social dignity with the aim to achieve intelligent, resource, and environmentally friendly production and consumption patterns. Assuming sustainability as a layered problem makes the role of communication crucial to convey scientific or production specific content so that people can obtain and interpret information to make related decisions. Hence, if it is true that “what designers make becomes the future we inhabit'', design is facing great and challenging responsibility. The fashion industry needs a system of rules able to assess the sustainability of products, which is transparent and easily interpreted by consumers, identifying and enhancing virtuous practices. There are still complex and fragmented value chains that make it extremely difficult for brands and manufacturers to know the history of their products, to identify exactly where the risks lie, and to respond to the growing demand from consumers and civil society for responsible and sustainable production practices in the fashion industry.

Keywords: fashion design, fashion system, sustainability, communication, complexity

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Authors: Dorothy Kagazi

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The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) remains one of the most crop-damaging species around Kibale National Park, western Uganda. Elephant crop raiding deprives communities of food and incomes, consequently impacting livelihoods, attitude, and support for conservation. It also attracts an aggressive reaction from local communities including the retaliatory killing of a species that is already endangered and listed under Appendix I of the Convention on Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). In order to mitigate against elephant crop raiding and minimize conflict, a number of interventions were devised by the government of Uganda such as physical guarding, scare-shooting, excavation of trenches, growing of unpalatable crops and fire lighting all of which have over the years been implemented around the park. These generated varying degrees of effectiveness but largely never solved the problem of elephants crossing into communities to destroy food and shelter which had a negative effect onto sustainable tourism of the communities who often resorted to killing these animals and hence contributing the falling numbers of these animals. It was until government discovered that there are far more effective ways of deterring these animals from crossing to communities that it commissioned a study to deploy the African honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata) as a deterrent against elephant crop raiding and income enhancement for local people around the park. These efforts led to a number of projects around Kibale National Park where communities were facilitated to keep bees for human-elephant conflict mitigation and rural income enhancement through the sale of honey. These projects have registered tremendous success in reducing crop damage, enhance rural incomes, influence positive attitude change and ultimately secure community support for elephant and park conservation which is a clear manifestation of sustainable tourism development in the area. To address the issue of sustainability, the project was aligned with four major objectives that contributed to the overall goal of maintaining the areas around the parks and the national park itself in such a manner that it remains viable over an infinite period. Among these included determining deterrence effects of bees against elephant crop raiding, assessing the contribution of beekeeping towards rural income enhancement, determining the impact of community involvement of park conservation and management among others. The project deployed 500 improved hives by placing them at specific and previously identified and mapped out elephant crossing points along the park boundary. A control site was established without any intervention to facilitate comparison of findings and data was collected on elephant raiding frequency, patterns, honey harvested, and community attitude towards the park. A socio-economic assessment was also undertaken to ascertain the contribution of beekeeping to incomes and attitude change. In conclusion, human-wildlife conflicts have disturbed conservation and sustainable tourism development efforts. Such success stories like the beekeeping strategy should hence be extensively discussed and widely shared as a conservation technique for sustainable tourism.

Keywords: bees, communities, conservation, elephants

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Authors: Chethana V. Casiker, Jagadishakumara B., Sunil G. M., Chaithra K., M. Soubadra Devy

Abstract:

A majority of the world’s food crops depends on insects for pollination, among which bees are the most dominant taxon. Bees pollinate vegetables, fruits and oilseeds which are rich in essential micronutrients. Besides being a prerequisite for a nutritionally secure diet, agrarian economies such as India depend heavily on pollination for good yield and quality of the product. As cities all over the world expand rapidly, large tracts of green spaces are being built up. This, along with high usage of agricultural chemicals has reduced floral diversity and shrunk bee habitats. Indeed, pollinator decline is being reported from various parts of the world. Further, the FAO has reported a huge increase in the area of land under cultivation of pollinator-dependent crops. In the light of increasing demand for pollination and disappearing natural habitats, it is critical to understand whether and how urban spaces can support pollinators. To this end, this study investigates the influence of landscape and local habitat quality on bee community dynamics. To capture the dynamics of expanding cityscapes, the study employs a space for time substitution, wherein a transect along the gradient of urbanization substitutes a timeframe of increasing urbanization. This will help understand how pollinators would respond to changes induced by increasing intensity of urbanization in the future. Bengaluru, one of the fastest growing cities of Southern India, is an excellent site to study impacts associated with urbanization. With sites moving away from the Bengaluru’s centre and towards its peripheries, this study captures the changes in bee species diversity and richness along a gradient of urbanization. Bees were sampled under different land use types as well as in different types of vegetation, including plantations, croplands, fallow land, parks, lake embankments, and private gardens. The relationship between bee community metrics and key drivers such as a percentage of built-up area, land use practices, and floral resources was examined. Additionally, data collected using questionnaire interviews were used to understand people’s perceptions towards and level of dependence on pollinators. Our results showed that urban areas are capable of supporting bees. In fact, a greater diversity of bees was recorded in urban sites compared to adjoining rural areas. This suggests that bees are able to seek out patchy resources and survive in small fragments of habitat. Bee abundance and species richness correlated positively with floral abundance and richness, indicating the role of vegetation in providing forage and nesting sites which are crucial to their survival. Bee numbers were seen to decrease with increase in built-up area demonstrating that impervious surfaces could act as deterrents. Findings from this study challenge the popular notion of cities being biodiversity-bare spaces. There is indeed scope for conserving bees in urban landscapes, provided that there are city-scale planning and local initiative. Bee conservation can go hand in hand with efforts such as urban gardening and terrace farming that could help cities urbanize sustainably.

Keywords: bee, landscape ecology, urbanization, urban pollination

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Authors: Bu Kyung Park

Abstract:

Background: The survival rate of pediatric cancer patients has been increased. Thus, the needs of long-term management and follow-up education after discharge continue to grow. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of pediatric cancer patients and their families from first diagnosis to returning their social life. The ultimate goal of this study was to assess which information and intervention did pediatric cancer patients and their families required and needed, so that this could provide fundamental information for developing educational content of web-based intervention program for pediatric cancer patients. Research Approach: This study was based on a descriptive qualitative research design using semi-structured focus group interview. Participants: Twelve pediatric cancer patients and 12 family members participated in a total six focus group interview sessions. Methods: All interviews were audiotaped after obtaining participants’ approval. The recordings were transcribed. Qualitative Content analysis using the inductive coding approach was performed on the transcriptions by three coders. Findings: Eighteen categories emerged from the six main themes: 1) Information needs, 2) Support system, 3) Barriers to treatment, 4) Facilitators to treatment, 5) Return to social life, 6) Healthcare system issues. Each theme had both pediatric cancer patients’ codes and their family members’ codes. Patients and family members had high information needs through the whole process of treatment, not only the first diagnosis but also after completion of treatment. Hospitals provided basic information on chemo therapy, medication, and various examinations. However, they were more likely to rely on information from other patients and families by word of mouth. Participants’ information needs were different according to their treatment stage (e.g., first admitted patients versus cancer survivors returning to their social life). Even newly diagnosed patients worried about social adjustment after completion of all treatment, such as return to school and diet and physical activity at home. Most family members had unpleasant experiences while they were admitted in hospitals and concerned about healthcare system issues, such as medical error and patient safety. Conclusions: In conclusion, pediatric cancer patients and their family members wanted information source which can provide tailored information based on their needs. Different information needs with patients and their family members based on their diagnosis, progress, stage of treatment were identified. Findings from this study will be used to develop a patient-centered online health intervention program for pediatric cancer patients. Pediatric cancer patients and their family members had variety fields of education needs and soak the information from various sources. Web-based health intervention program for them is required to satisfy their inquiries to provide reliable information.

Keywords: focus group interview, family caregivers, pediatric cancer patients, qualitative content analysis

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Authors: Rainner Roweder

Abstract:

Theme: The present paper aims to analyze the specificity of the judicial evidence linked to the subjects of dignity and personality rights, otherwise known as moral rights, in the determination of the truth and formation of the judicial reasoning in cases concerning these areas. This research is about the way courts in Brazilian domestic law search for truth and handles evidence in cases involving moral rights that are abundant and important in Brazil. The main object of the paper is to analyze the effectiveness of the evidence in the formation of judicial conviction in matters related to morally controverted rights, based on the Brazilian, and as a comparison, the Latin American legal systems. In short, the rights of dignity and personality are moral. However, the evidential legal system expects a rational demonstration of moral rights that generate judicial conviction or persuasion. Moral, in turn, tends to be difficult or impossible to demonstrate in court, generating the problem considered in this paper, that is, the study of the moral demonstration problem as proof in court. In this sense, the more linked to moral, the more difficult to be demonstrated in court that right is, expanding the field of judicial discretion, generating legal uncertainty. More specifically, the new personality rights, such as gender, and their possibility of alteration, further amplify the problem being essentially an intimate manner, which does not exist in the objective, rational evidential system, as normally occurs in other categories, such as contracts. Therefore, evidencing this legal category in court, with the level of security required by the law, is a herculean task. It becomes virtually impossible to use the same evidentiary system when judging the rights researched here; therefore, it generates the need for a new design of the evidential task regarding the rights of the personality, a central effort of the present paper. Methodology: Concerning the methodology, the Method used in the Investigation phase was Inductive, with the use of the comparative law method; in the data treatment phase, the Inductive Method was also used. Doctrine, Legislative, and jurisprudential comparison was the technique research used. Results: In addition to the peculiar characteristics of personality rights that are not found in other rights, part of them are essentially linked to morale and are not objectively verifiable by design, and it is necessary to use specific argumentative theories for their secure confirmation, such as interdisciplinary support. The traditional pragmatic theory of proof, for having an obvious objective character, when applied in the rights linked to the morale, aggravates decisionism and generates legal insecurity, being necessary its reconstruction for morally charged cases, with the possible use of the “predictive theory” ( and predictive facts) through algorithms in data collection and treatment.

Keywords: moral rights, proof, pragmatic proof theory, insufficiency, Brazil

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Authors: Scott Wysong

Abstract:

Qatar will spend billions of dollars to host the 2022 World Cup. While football fans around the globe get excited to cheer on their favorite team every four years, critics debate the merits of a country hosting such an expensive and large-scale event. That is, the host countries spend billions of dollars on stadiums and infrastructure to attract these mega sporting events with the hope of equitable returns in economic impact and creating jobs. Yet, in many cases, the host countries are left in debt with decaying venues. There are benefits beyond the economic impact of hosting mega-events. For example, citizens are often proud of their city/country to host these famous events. Yet, often overlooked in the literature is the proposition that serving as the host for a mega-event may enhance the country’s brand image, not only as a tourist destination but for the products made in that country of origin. This research aims to explore this phenomenon by taking an exploratory look at consumer perceptions of three host countries of a mega-event in sports. In 2014, the U.S., Chinese and Finn (Finland) consumer attitudes toward Brazil and its products were measured before and after the World Cup via surveys (n=89). An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the pre-and post-World Cup perceptions of Brazil’s brand personality or country-of-origin image. After the World Cup in 2018, qualitative interviews were held with U.S. sports fans (n=17) in an effort to further explore consumer perceptions of products made in the host country: Russia. A consistent theme of distrust and corruption with Russian products emerged despite their hosting of this prestigious global event. In late 2021, U.S. football (soccer) fans (n=42) and non-fans (n=37) were surveyed about the upcoming 2022 World Cup. A regression analysis revealed that how much an individual indicated that they were a soccer fan did not significantly influence their desire to visit Qatar or try products from Qatar in the future even though the country was hosting the World Cup—in the end, hosting a mega-event as grand as the World Cup showcases the country to the world. However, it seems to have little impact on consumer perceptions of the country, as a whole, or its brands. That is, the World Cup appeared to enhance already pre-existing stereotypes about Brazil (e.g., beaches, partying and fun, yet with crime and poverty), Russia (e.g., cold weather, vodka and business corruption) and Qatar (desert and oil). Moreover, across all three countries, respondents could rarely name a brand from the host country. Because mega-events cost a lot of time and money, countries need to do more to market their country and its brands when hosting. In addition, these countries would be wise to measure the impact of the event from different perspectives. Hence, we put forth a comprehensive future research agenda to further the understanding of how countries, and their brands, can benefit from hosting a mega sporting event.

Keywords: branding, country-of-origin effects, mega sporting events, return on investment

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