Search results for: community health

Authors: Perumal, V., Sharji, E. A

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This paper reports a case study on how a conceptual and analytical thinking approach was used in Art and Design Department at Multimedia University (Malaysia) in addressing the issues of one nation and its impact in the society through artworks. The art project was designed for students to increase the know-how and develop creative thinking in design and communication. Goals of the design project were: (1) to develop creative thinking in design and communication, (2) to increase student understanding on the process of problem solving for design work, and (3) to use design elements and principles to generate interest, attention and emotional responses. An exhibition entitled "One Nation" was showcased to local and international viewers consisting of the general public, professionals, academics, artists and students. Findings indicate that the project supported several visual art standards, as well as generated awareness in the society. This project may be of interest to current and future art educators and others interested in the potential of utilizing global issues as content for art, community and environment studies for the purpose of educational art.

Keywords: Conceptual and analytical thinking, Visual arts, Communication, Art & design.

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Authors: Daniel C. S. Lim

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There are numerous nutritional supplements, such as multivitamins and nutrition drinks, in the market today. Many of these supplements are expensive and tend to be driven commercially by business decisions and big marketing budgets. Many of the costs are ultimately borne by the end user in the quest for keeping to a healthy lifestyle. This paper proposes a system with a list of ten determinants to gauge how to decide the value of various supplements. It suggests variables such as composition, safety, efficacy and bioavailability, as well as several other considerations. These guidelines can help to tackle many of the issues that people of all ages face in the way that they receive essential nutrients. The system also aims to promote and improve the safety and choice of foods and supplements. In so doing, the system aims to promote the individual’s or population’s control over their own health and reduce the growing health care burden on the society.

Keywords: Nutritional supplements, vitamins and minerals, bioavailability, supplementation determinants, nutrition guidelines.

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Authors: Shireen Simon

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Cyberbullying among schoolchildren and teenagers became a hot issue discussed by Malaysian society. Cyberbullying is a new age of bullying because it uses the modern digital technology intentionally to hurt and degrade someone in the cyber world. Cyberbullying is a problem affecting many teenagers as they embrace online communication and interaction whereby virtual world with no borders. By adopting a qualitative approach, this study has captured 8 cyberbullied victims’ school experience. Even years after leaving school, these 8 cyberbullied victims remember how it feels to be bullied in the cyber world. The principal investigator also tries to identify the possibility factors that contribute to cyberbullying among these 8 victims. The result shows that these victims were bullied differently in cyber world. This study not just primarily focuses on cyberbullying issues among schoolchildren and teenagers; it also addresses the motives and causes of cyberbullying. Lastly, this article will be served as guidance for school teachers, parents and teenagers to prepare to tackle cyberbullying together. Cyberbullying is no laughing matter in our community, and it is time to spread the seeds of peace inspires others to do the same.

Keywords: Cyberbullying, cyber victimization, internet, school experience, teenagers.

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Authors: Karan Vishavjit, Aakash Lakra, Shafaq Khan

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The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed healthcare professionals to use big data analytics as a vital tool for tracking and evaluating the effects of contagious viruses. To effectively analyse huge datasets, efficient NoSQL databases are needed. The analysis of post-COVID-19 health and well-being outcomes and the evaluation of the effectiveness of government efforts during the pandemic is made possible by this research’s integration of several datasets, which cuts down on query processing time and creates predictive visual artifacts. We recommend applying sharding and indexing technologies to improve query effectiveness and scalability as the dataset expands. Effective data retrieval and analysis are made possible by spreading the datasets into a sharded database and doing indexing on individual shards. Analysis of connections between governmental activities, poverty levels, and post-pandemic wellbeing is the key goal. We want to evaluate the effectiveness of governmental initiatives to improve health and lower poverty levels. We will do this by utilising advanced data analysis and visualisations. The findings provide relevant data that support the advancement of UN sustainable objectives, future pandemic preparation, and evidence-based decision-making. This study shows how Big Data and NoSQL databases may be used to address problems with global health.

Keywords: COVID-19, big data, data analysis, indexing, NoSQL, sharding, scalability, poverty.

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Authors: Kristine D. de Leon, Junifer A. Abatayo, Jose Cristina M. Pariña

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The current study is a comparative analysis of the use of shell nouns as a cohesive device (CD) in an English for Second Language (ESL) setting in order to identify their use and relationship in the quality of second language (L2) writing. As these nouns were established to anticipate the meaning within, across or outside the text, their use has fascinated writing researchers. The corpus of the study included published articles from reputable journals and graduate students’ papers in order to analyze the frequency of shell nouns using “highly prevalent” nouns in the academic community, to identify the different lexicogrammatical patterns where these nouns occur and to the functions connected with these patterns. The result of the study implies that published authors used more shell nouns in their paper than graduate students. However, the functions of the different lexicogrammatical patterns for the frequently occurring shell nouns are somewhat similar. These results could help students in enhancing the cohesion of their text and in comprehending it.

Keywords: Anaphoric-cataphoric, cohesive device, lexicogrammatical, shell nouns.

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Authors: Gaysu R. Arvind

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In policy discourse of 1990s, more inclusive spaces have been constructed for realizing full and meaningful participation of common people in education. These participatory spaces provide an alternative possibility for universalizing elementary education against the backdrop of a history of entrenched forms of social and economical exclusion; inequitable education provisions; and shrinking role of the state in today-s neo-liberal times. Drawing on case-studies of bottom-up approaches to school governance, the study examines an array of innovative ways through which poor people gained a sense of identity and agency by evolving indigenous solutions to issues regarding schooling of their children. In the process, state-s institutions and practices became more accountable and responsive to educational concerns of the marginalized people. The deliberative participation emerged as an active way of experiencing deeper forms of empowerment and democracy than its passive realization as mere bearers of citizen rights.

Keywords: Deliberative Forum, Inclusive Spaces, Participatory Governance, People's Agency

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Authors: Hussain Ali Bekhet, Nor Hamisham Harun

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The main objective of this paper is to give a comprehensive review of non-renewable energy and renewable energy utilization in Malaysia, including hydropower, solar photovoltaic, biomass and biogas technologies. Malaysia mainly depends on non-renewable energy (natural gas, coal and crude oil) for electricity generation. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the energy sector and discusses diversification of electricity generation as a strategy for providing sustainable energy in Malaysia. Energy policies and strategies to protect the non-renewable energy utilization also are highlighted, focusing in the different sources of energy available for high and sustained economic growth. Emphasis is also placed on a discussion of the role of renewable energy as an alternative source for the increase of electricity supply security. It is now evident that to achieve sustainable development through renewable energy, energy policies and strategies have to be well designed and supported by the government, industries (firms), and individual or community participation. The hope is to create a positive impact on sustainable development through renewable sources for current and future generations.

Keywords: Malaysia, non-renewable energy, renewable energy, sustainable energy.

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Authors: Rahul Malhotra

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The field of wireless sensor networks (WSN) engages a lot of associates in the research community as an interdisciplinary field of interest. This type of network is inexpensive, multifunctionally attributable to advances in micro-electromechanical systems and conjointly the explosion and expansion of wireless communications. A mobile ad hoc network is a wireless network without fastened infrastructure or federal management. Due to the infrastructure-less mode of operation, mobile ad-hoc networks are gaining quality. During this work, we have performed an efficient performance study of the two major routing protocols: Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV) and Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocols. We have used an accurate simulation model supported NS2 for this purpose. Our simulation results showed that AODV mitigates the drawbacks of the DSDV and provides better performance as compared to DSDV.

Keywords: Routing protocols, mobility, Mobile Ad-hoc Networks, Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector, Dynamic Source Routing, Destination Sequence Distance Vector, Quality of Service.

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Authors: A. Natsir, M. Nadir, S. Syahrir, A. Mujnisa, N. Purnomo, A. R. Egan, B. J. Leury

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Rumen degradation characteristic of feedstuff is one of the prominent factors affecting microbial population in rumen of animal. High rumen degradation rate of faba bean protein may lead to inconstant rumen conditions that could have a prominent impact on rumen microbial diversity. Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) is utilized to monitor diversity of rumen microbes on sheep fed low quality forage supplemented by faba beans. Four mature merino sheep with existing rumen cannula were used in this study according to 4 x 4 Latin square design. The results of study indicated that there were 37 different ARDRA types identified out of 136 clones examined. Among those clones, five main clone types existed across the treatments with different percentages. In conclusion, the ARDRA method is potential to be used as a routine tool to assess the temporary changes in the rumen community as a result of different feeding strategies.

Keywords: ARDRA method, clones, microbial diversity, ribotypes, ruminants.

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Authors: B. Tondu, N. Bardou

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The recent development of humanoid robots has led robot designers to imagine a great variety of anthropomorphic forms for human-like machine. Which form is the best ? We try to answer this question from a double meaning of the anthropomorphism : a positive anthropomorphism corresponing to the realization of an effective anthropomorphic form object and a negative one corresponding to our natural tendency in certain circumstances to give human attributes to non-human beings. We postulate that any humanoid robot is concerned by both these two anthropomorphism kinds. We propose to use gestalt theory and Heider-s balance theory in order to analyze how negative anthropomorphism can influence our perception of human-like robots. From our theoretical approach we conclude that an “even shape" as defined by gestalt theory is not a sufficient condition for a good integration of future humanoid robots into a human community. Aesthetic perception of the robot cannot be splitted from a social perception : a humanoid robot, any how the efforts made for improving its appearance, could be rejected if it is devoted to a task with too high affective implications.

Keywords: Robot appearance, humanoid robot, uncanny valley, human-robot-interaction.

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Authors: Ananya Das, Arun Kumar, Gazala Habib, Vivekanandan Perumal

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Regulatory bodies has proposed limits on Particulate Matter (PM) concentration in air; however, it does not explicitly indicate the incorporation of effects of toxicities of constituents of PM in developing regulatory limits. This study aimed to provide a structured approach to incorporate toxic effects of components in developing regulatory limits on PM. A four-step human health risk assessment framework consists of - (1) hazard identification (parameters: PM and its constituents and their associated toxic effects on health), (2) exposure assessment (parameters: concentrations of PM and constituents, information on size and shape of PM; fate and transport of PM and constituents in respiratory system), (3) dose-response assessment (parameters: reference dose or target toxicity dose of PM and its constituents), and (4) risk estimation (metric: hazard quotient and/or lifetime incremental risk of cancer as applicable). Then parameters required at every step were obtained from literature. Using this information, an attempt has been made to determine limits on PM using component-specific information. An example calculation was conducted for exposures of PM_2.5 and its metal constituents from Indian ambient environment to determine limit on PM values. Identified data gaps were: (1) concentrations of PM and its constituents and their relationship with sampling regions, (2) relationship of toxicity of PM with its components.

Keywords: Air, component-specific toxicity, human health risks, particulate matter.

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Authors: K. P. Jain, J. F. J. Pruyn, J. J. Hopman

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In May 2009, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships to address the growing concerns about the environmental, occupational health and safety risks related to ship recycling. The aim of the Hong Kong Convention is to provide a legally binding instrument which ensures that the process of ship recycling does not pose risks to human health, safety and to the environment. In this paper, critical analysis of the Hong Kong Convention has been carried out in order to study the effectiveness of the Convention to meet its objectives. The Convention has been studied in detail including its background, main features, major stakeholders, strengths and weaknesses. The Convention, though having several deficiencies, is a major breakthrough in not only recognizing but also dealing with the ill-practices associated with ship recycling.

Keywords: Hong Kong Convention, IMO, Ship breaking, Ship recycling.

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Authors: Ishani Pruthi, William Burch Jr

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The concept of sacred and nature have long been interlinked. Various cultural aspects such as religion, faith, traditions bring people closer to nature and the natural environment. Memorial Parks and Sacred Groves are examples of two such cultural landscapes that exist today. The project mainly deals with the significance of such sites to the environment and the deep rooted significance it has to the people. These parks and groves play an important role in biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. There are many differences between the establishment of memorial parks and sacred groves, but the underlying significance is the same. Sentiments, emotions play an important role in landscape planning and management. Hence the people and communities living at these sites need to be involved in any planning activity or decisions. The conservation of the environment should appeal to the sentiments of the people; the need to be 'with nature' should be used in the setting up of memorial forests and in the preservation of sacred groves.

Keywords: Sacred groves, memorial forests, community based natural resource management.

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Authors: A. Arya, R. Laha, V. R. Dantham

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We report the enhancement of Raman scattering signal by one order of magnitude using photonic nanojet (PNJ) of a lollipop shaped dielectric microstructure (LSDM) fabricated by a pulsed CO₂ laser. Here, the PNJ is generated by illuminating sphere portion of the LSDM with non-resonant laser. Unlike the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique, this technique is simple, and the obtained results are highly reproducible. In addition, an efficient technique is proposed to enhance the SERS signal with the help of high quality factor optical resonance (whispering gallery mode) of a LSDM. From the theoretical simulations, it has been found that at least an order of magnitude enhancement in the SERS signal could be achieved easily using the proposed technique. We strongly believe that this report will enable the research community for improving the Raman scattering signals.

Keywords: Localized surface plasmons, photonic nanojet, SERS, whispering gallery mode.

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Authors: Estrella C. Damaris, Ingrid A. Olais, Gloria P. Uicab

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This study explores the relationship between the level of functionality and cognitive impairment in older adult women from the south-east of Mexico. It is a descriptive, cross-sectional study; performed with 172 participants in total who attended a health institute and live in Merida, Yucatan Mexico. After a non-probabilistic sampling, Barthel and Pfeiffer scales were applied. The results show statistically significant correlation between the cognitive impairment (Pfeiffer) and the levels of independence and function (Barthel) (r =0.489; p =0.001). Both determine a dependence level so they need either a little or a lot of help. Society needs that the older woman be healthy and that the professionals of mental health develop activities to prevent and rehabilitate because cognitive impairment and function are directly related with the quality of life.

Keywords: Functionality, cognition, routine activities, cognitive impairment.

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Authors: Tomasz Sapiński, Dorota Kamińska, Adam Pelikant, Egils Avots, Cagri Ozcinar, Gholamreza Anbarjafari

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People express emotions through different modalities. Integration of verbal and non-verbal communication channels creates a system in which the message is easier to understand. Expanding the focus to several expression forms can facilitate research on emotion recognition as well as human-machine interaction. In this article, the authors present a Polish emotional database composed of three modalities: facial expressions, body movement and gestures, and speech. The corpora contains recordings registered in studio conditions, acted out by 16 professional actors (8 male and 8 female). The data is labeled with six basic emotions categories, according to Ekman’s emotion categories. To check the quality of performance, all recordings are evaluated by experts and volunteers. The database is available to academic community and might be useful in the study on audio-visual emotion recognition.

Keywords: Body movement, emotion recognition, emotional corpus, facial expressions, gestures, multimodal database, speech.

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Authors: M. Norazamina, A. Azizah, Y. Najihah Marha, A. Suraya

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Malaysian Public Sector departments or agencies are responsible to provide efficient public services with zero corruption. However, corruption continues to occur due to the absence of ethical leadership and well-execution of ethical guidelines. Thus, the objective of this paper is to explore the attributes of ethical leadership and ethical guidelines. This study employs a qualitative research by analyzing data from interviews with key informers of public sector using conceptual content analysis (NVivo11). The study reveals eight attributes of ethical leadership which are role model, attachment, ethical support, knowledgeable, discipline, leaders’ spirituality encouragement, virtue values and shared values. Meanwhile, five attributes (guidelines, communication, check and balance, concern on stakeholders and compliance) of ethical guidelines are identified. These identified attributes should become the ethical identity and ethical direction of Malaysian Public Sector. This could enhance the public trust as well as the international community trust towards the public sector.

Keywords: Check and balance, ethical guidelines, ethical leadership, public sector, spirituality encouragement .

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Authors: Keke, Reginald Chikere

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This paper examined leadership failure consequent on endemic corruption as being the bane of good governance in Nigeria since independence in 1960 and the way forward. Nigeria is lavishly gifted by nature of abundance in human and material resources to be harnessed a strategic, resolute, ingenious, and inventive leadership. For leadership to drive sustainable growth in society, it must be rooted in the cultural values of the people. This, however, is contrary in Nigeria owing to unscrupulous leadership miscarriage, corruption, and bad governance. Using the eclectic approach, the paper scrutinizes the issues of leadership, corruption, and governance to clearly show how bad leadership and governance have destroyed the national fabric and the way out of Nigeria's development quack mire. Furthermore, this paper examined the perplexing nature of corruption in Nigeria that has made it the only lucrative endeavor for politicians and their cronies, leading Nigeria to be regarded as the world's poverty capital. This paper advocates that Nigerians and the international community must endeavor to enshrine effective leadership and good governance through strong institutions, laws, and individuals who have zero tolerance for corruption and mediocrity in the polity. It is only when this is done that Nigeria will be a better place for present and future generations.

Keywords: Corruption, leadership, governance, Nigeria.

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Authors: Khadiga Kahwa, Aniza Ismail

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Depression, anxiety, and stress are associated with decreased role functioning, productivity, and quality of life. International students are more prone to psychological distress as they face many stressors while studying abroad. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and associated factors of depression, anxiety, and stress among international students, their help-seeking behavior, and their awareness of the available on-campus mental support services. A cross-sectional study with a purposive sampling method was performed on 280 international students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) between the age of 18 and 35 years. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire was used anonymously to assess the mental health of students. Socio-demographic, help-seeking behavior, and awareness data were obtained. Independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA test, and multiple linear regression were used to explore associated factors. The overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among international students were 58.9%, 71.8%, and 53.9%, respectively. Age was significantly associated with depression and anxiety. Ethnicity showed a significant association with depression and stress. No other factors were found to be significantly associated with psychological distress. Only 9.6% of the international students had sought help from on-campus mental support services. Students who were aware of the presence of such services were only 21.4% of the participants. In conclusion, this study addressed the gap in the literature on the mental health of international students and provided data that could be used in intervention programs to improve the mental health of the increasing number of international students in Malaysia.

Keywords: Anxiety, depression, stress, help-seeking behavior, students.

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Authors: Zuhal Zeybekoglu Calıskan, Erkan Tabancali

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The aim of this qualitative case study is to examine how school principals perform their new roles and responsibilities defined in accordance with the new curriculum. Of ten primary schools that the new curriculum was piloted in Istanbul in school year of 2004-2005, one school was randomly selected as the sample of the study. The participants of the study were comprised of randomly-selected 26 teachers working in the case school. To collect data, an interview schedule was developed based on the new role definitions for school principals by the National Ministry of Education. Participants were interviewed on one-to-one basis in February and March 2007. Overall results showed that the school principal was perceived to be successful in terms of the application of the new curriculum in school. According to the majority of teachers, the principal has done his best to establish the infrastructure that is necessary for successful application of the new program. In addition to these, the principal was reported to adopt a collegial and participatory leadership style by creating a positive school atmosphere that enables the school community (teachers, parents and students) to involve school more than before. Keywordscase study, curriculum implementation, school principals and curriculum

Keywords: Case study, curriculum implementation, school principals and curriculum.

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Authors: Elisa Orofino

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Islamism is a very debated topic in the West but almost exclusively explored in its violent forms. Nevertheless, a number of “vocal radical Islamist” groups exist in the West and legally operate because of their non-violent nature. Vocal radicals continually inspire individuals and lead them towards specific goals and priorities, sometimes even towards violence. This paper uses the long-living group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) to explore the elements that make the organization appealing to segments of Muslim community in the West. This paper uses three agency variables - reflexive monitoring, the rationalization of action and the motivations for actions – to analyze HT’s appeal vis-à-vis two other Islamist groups, Ikhwan al-Muslimun and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), having similar goals and the same high international profile. This paper concludes that HT’s uniqueness is given by its method, detailed vision of the caliphate, consistency over time and the emphasis placed on the caliphate as the leading force of HT’s unchanged motivation for action.

Keywords: Agency, Caliphate, Radicalization, Vocal Radicals.

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Authors: Luke S. Carlos A. Thompson

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The medical model of disability, though beneficial for the medical professional, is often exclusionary, restrictive and dehumanizing when applied to the lived experience of disability. As a result, a critique of this model was constructed called the social model of disability. Much of the language used to articulate the purpose behind the social model of disability can be summed up within the word inclusion. However, this essay asserts that inclusiveness is an incomplete aspiration. The social model, as it currently stands, does not aid in creating a society where those with impairments actually belong. Rather, the social model aids in lessening the visibility, or negative consequence of, difference. Therefore, the social model does not invite society to welcome those with physical and intellectual impairments. It simply aids society in ignoring the existence of impairment by removing explicit forms of exclusion. Rather than simple inclusion, then, this essay uses John Swinton’s concept of friendship and Jean Vanier’s understanding of belonging to better articulate the intended outcome of the social model—a society where everyone can belong.

Keywords: Belong, community, disability, exclusion, friendship, inclusion.

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Authors: Prachi Singh

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This paper presents a low-cost, eco-friendly and reproducible microbe mediated biosynthesis of TiO₂ nanoparticles. TiO₂ nanoparticles synthesized using the bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, from titanium as a precursor, were confirmed by TEM analysis. The morphological characteristics state spherical shape, with the size of individual or aggregate nanoparticles, around 30-40 nm. Microbial resistance represents a challenge for the scientific community to develop new bioactive compounds. Here, the antibacterial effect of TiO₂ nanoparticles on Escherichia coli was investigated, which was confirmed by CFU (Colony-forming unit). Further, growth curve study of E. coli Hb101 in the presence and absence of TiO₂ nanoparticles was done. Optical density decrease was observed with the increase in the concentration of TiO₂. It could be attributed to the inactivation of cellular enzymes and DNA by binding to electron-donating groups such as carboxylates, amides, indoles, hydroxyls, thiols, etc. which cause little pores in bacterial cell walls, leading to increased permeability and cell death. This justifies that TiO₂ nanoparticles have efficient antibacterial effect and have potential to be used as an antibacterial agent for different purposes.

Keywords: Antibacterial effect, CFU, Escherichia coli Hb101, growth curve, TEM, TiO2 nanoparticle, toxicity, UV-Vis.

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Authors: Ayman M. Mottaleb

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In conducting a case study to analyze the status-quo of the extremists’ dominance in Egypt, the author of this paper uses qualitative research method to analyze the evolution of extreme Islamist groups in Egypt. In conducting this qualitative research, the author of this paper intends to use several lenses to understand the rise and the evolution of the hegemony of extremist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups in Egypt. Therefore, unless he intends to show an important nexus between the Egyptian groups and their sister-groups in other countries, he will intentionally exclude analyzing extreme Islamism of non-Egyptian origins. This case study relies on the moral disengagement theory to shed light on the ideological evolution of extremism in Egypt. The goal of this case study is to help in understanding extreme-Islamism adverse to the mainstream Islam; therefore, understanding the concept here should help in preventing similar groups from threatening the international community.

Keywords: Extremism, International Terrorism, Islamists, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood.

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Authors: Christos A. Ioannou, Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos, Lampros Stergioulas

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The new status generated by technological advancements and changes in the global economy raises important issues on how communities and organisations need to innovate upon their traditional processes in order to adapt to the challenges of the Knowledge Society. The DialogoS+ European project aims to study the role of and promote social dialogue in the banking sector, strengthen the link between old and new members and make social dialogue at the European level a force for innovation and change, also given the context of the international crisis emerging in 2008- 2009. Under the scope of DialogoS+, this paper describes how the community of Europe-s banking sector trade unions attempted to adapt to the challenges of the Knowledge Society by exploiting the benefits of new channels of communication, learning, knowledge generation and diffusion focusing on the concept of roadmapping. Important dimensions of social dialogue such as collective bargaining and working conditions are addressed.

Keywords: Banking sector, knowledge society, road mapping, social dialogue.

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Authors: Mohamed M. Saleh, Khalid S. Al-Hagla

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By taking advantage of computer-s processing power, an unlimited number of variations and parameters in both spatial and environmental can be provided while following the same set of rules and constraints. This paper focuses on using the tools of parametric urbanism towards a more responsive environmental and sustainable urban morphology. It presents an understanding to Parametric Urban Comfort Envelope (PUCE) as an interactive computational assessment urban model. In addition, it investigates the applicability potentials of this model to generate an optimized urban form to Borg El Arab city (a new Egyptian Community) concerning the human comfort values specially wind and solar envelopes. Finally, this paper utilizes its application outcomes -both visual and numerical- to extend the designer-s limitations by decrease the concern of controlling and manipulation of geometry, and increase the designer-s awareness about the various potentials of using the parametric tools to create relationships that generate multiple geometric alternatives.

Keywords: Assessment model, human comfort, parametric urbanism, sustainable urban morphology.

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Authors: Melissa C. LaDuke

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The purpose of this targeted analysis was to identify the use of online communities of practice (CoP) within e-learning environments as a method to build social interaction and student-centered educational experiences. A literature review was conducted to survey and collect scholarly thoughts concerning CoPs from a variety of sources. Data collected included best practices, ties to educational theories, and examples of online CoPs. Social interaction has been identified as a critical piece of the learning infrastructure, specifically for adult learners. CoPs are an effective way to help students connect to each other and the material of interest. The use of CoPs falls in line with many educational theories, including situated learning theory, social constructivism, connectivism, adult learning theory, and motivation. New literacies such as social media and gamification can help increase social interaction in online environments and provide methods to host CoPs. Steps to build and sustain a CoP were discussed in addition to CoP considerations and best practices.

Keywords: Community of practice, knowledge sharing, social interaction, online course design, new literacies.

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Authors: Jonathan Sahu, Jill Aylott

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Individuals with Autism, Intellectual and Developmental disabilities (AIDD) are one of the most vulnerable groups in society, hampered not only by their own limitations to understand and interact with the wider society, but also societal limitations in perception and understanding. Communication to express their needs and wishes is fundamental to enable such individuals to live and prosper in society. This research project was designed as an organisational case study, in a large secondary health care hospital within the National Health Service (NHS), to assess the quality of care provided to people with AIDD and to review the role of advocacy to reduce health inequalities in these individuals. Methods: The research methodology adopted was as an “insider researcher”. Data collection included both quantitative and qualitative data i.e. a mixed method approach. A semi-structured interview schedule was designed and used to obtain qualitative and quantitative primary data from a wide range of interdisciplinary frontline health care workers to assess their understanding and awareness of systems, processes and evidence based practice to offer a quality service to people with AIDD. Secondary data were obtained from sources within the organisation, in keeping with “Case Study” as a primary method, and organisational performance data were then compared against national benchmarking standards. Further data sources were accessed to help evaluate the effectiveness of different types of advocacy that were present in the organisation. This was gauged by measures of user and carer experience in the form of retrospective survey analysis, incidents and complaints. Results: Secondary data demonstrate near compliance of the Organisation with the current national benchmarking standard (Monitor Compliance Framework). However, primary data demonstrate poor knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, poor knowledge of organisational systems, processes and evidence based practice applied for people with AIDD. In addition there was poor knowledge and awareness of frontline health care workers of advocacy and advocacy schemes for this group. Conclusions: A significant amount of work needs to be undertaken to improve the quality of care delivered to individuals with AIDD. An operational strategy promoting the widespread dissemination of information may not be the best approach to deliver quality care and optimal patient experience and patient advocacy. In addition, a more robust set of standards, with appropriate metrics, needs to be developed to assess organisational performance which will stand the test of professional and public scrutiny.

Keywords: Autism, intellectual developmental disabilities, advocacy, health inequalities, quality of care.

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Authors: Ahmed Hossam_ ElDin, Ahmed Farag, Ibrahim Madi., Hanaa Karawia

Abstract:

In our modern society electricity is vital to our health, safety, comfort and well-being. While our daily use of electricity is often taken for granted, public concern has arisen about potential adverse health effects from electric and magnetic – electromagnetic – fields (EMFs) produced by our use of electricity. This paper aims to compare between the measured magnetic field values and the simulated models for the indoor medium to low voltage (MV/LV) distribution substations. To calculate the magnetic flux density in the substations, interactive software SUBCALC is used which is based on closed form solution of the Biot-Savart law with 3D conductor model. The comparison between the measured values and the simulated models was acceptable. However there were some discrepancies, as expected, may be due to the current variation during measurements.

Keywords: Distribution substation, magnetic field, measurement, simulation.

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Authors: Chastiti Mediafira Wulolo, Tri Legionosuko, Suhirwan, Yusuf

Abstract:

Terrorism and radicalization have become a common threat to every nation in this world. As a part of the asymmetric warfare threat, terrorism and radicalization need a complex strategy as the problem solver. One such way is by collaborating with the international community. The Our Eyes Initiative (OEI), for example, is a cooperation pact in the field of intelligence information exchanges related to terrorism and radicalization initiated by the Indonesian Ministry of Defence. The pact has been signed by Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, and Singapore. This cooperation mostly engages military acts as a central role, but it still requires the involvement of various parties such as the police, intelligence agencies and other government institutions. This paper will use a qualitative content analysis method to address the opportunity and enhance the optimization of OEI. As the result, it will explain how OEI takes the opportunities as the strategy for counter-terrorism by building it up as the regional cooperation, building the legitimacy of government and creating the legal framework of the information sharing system.

Keywords: Our Eyes Initiative, terrorism, counter-terrorism, ASEAN, cooperation, strategy.

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