Central Theme Research Articles

Optimizing high availability multi-controller placement in SDN/NFV 5G networks: a survey

<p>In meeting the diverse and occasionally conflicting quality of service (QoS) requirements associated with modern communication networks, 5G technology has emerged as a pivotal player. In its architecture, 5G has adopted network function virtualization (NFV) and cloud-based approaches, aiming to simplify network and service deployment, operational processes, and management. The convergence of software defined networking (SDN) and NFV offers an effective solution, enabling scalable and high-performance 5G networks. However, this integration poses critical challenges, with the placement of SDN controllers being a central concern due to its significant impact on network performance, covering aspects such as latency, costs, and energy efficiency. This challenge is known as the controller placement problem (CPP). The central theme of this paper revolves around the intricate relationship between 5G core networks, virtualization technology, and the pressing concern of SDN controller placement, underscoring its significance in the modern networking landscape. We provide a survey of recent methodologies aimed at solving the CPP within the realm of SDN, with a particular focus on resiliency and high availability.</p>

EdTechnica: a vision of an educational publishing community of practice that is accessible, flexible, and just

Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) have the potential to transform and positively impact individuals, institutions, and society. As educators, we have a unique responsibility to explore opportunities and possibilities afforded by openness enabled by current technologies to reimagine and reshape current educational reality and provide a more hopeful and equitable future for all. EdTechnica is an openly licensed living encyclopedia that provides background information on central topics and theories in the field of educational technology. As an OER, EdTechnica extends the 5Rs of openness—retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute by also attending to the 3Rs of social justice—recognition, representation, and redistribution—bringing about a responsive product that reimagines what encyclopedias should be. Additionally, the governing board enacts principles of openness in its practice, striving for OEP in all its activities. This article explores how EdTechnica promotes knowledge creation and academic discourse by attending to key principles of openness in terms of ensuring accessibility, flexibility, justice, and sustainable generosity. Specific examples of OER/P in the EdTechnica context offer an insight into our practices and ambitions to improve the current educational landscape, illustrating what is possible at the intersection of justice, hope, and educational technology when we strive for openness and are guided by the values of sustainable generosity and sustainable improvement.

Funding Opera in the Changing Landscape: Should Opera Be Funded or Accepted as a Fading Culture in South Africa?

Opera is considered a significant part of cultural heritage in many societies. In the South African context, opera has a rich history and has contributed to the development of various art forms. Opera has continued to play a significant role in preserving and promoting cultural diversity in South Africa. Opera production contribute to the economy by creating jobs for artists, musicians, technicians, and other professionals. Additionally, opera events can attract tourism and boost local economies. Public funding for opera may be seen as an investment with economic returns. The purpose of this article is to examine the funding of opera in South Africa against the backdrop of a changing cultural landscape. It aims to investigate whether opera should continue to receive funding or if it should be accepted as a fading cultural form. Employing a qualitative approach, ten participants, including opera company managers and artists, share their perspectives through semi-structured interviews. Colaizzi's phenomenological data analysis method reveals key themes of financial viability, challenges, and opportunities. Findings were presented in themes and supported by quotes from research participants. Opera company managers and artists shared valuable insights into financial viability, challenges, and opportunities. Strategic collaborations, revenue diversification, and the pivotal role of public funding emerged as central themes. The findings shed light on the adaptive measures undertaken by stakeholders in response to the changing cultural and financial climate. The conclusion synthesises the key findings, emphasising the resilience of South African opera in the face of funding challenges. It underscores the importance of balancing financial support and cultural acceptance for sustained vitality. The study contributes to ongoing discussions on the intersection of funding, cultural relevance, and the future of opera in South Africa.

What information did the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interviews provide when used with Swedish-speaking patients in a psychiatric setting in Stockholm?

IntroductionCultural and contextual factors affect communication and how psychiatric symptoms are presented, therefore psychiatric assessments need to include awareness of the patients’ culture and context. The Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) in DSM-5 is a person-centred tool developed to support the exploration of cultural and contextual factors in an individualized and non-stereotypic way.MethodsThe aim of this qualitative study was to find out what information the DSM-5 CFI revealed when used with native Swedish-speaking patients as part of routine clinical psychiatric assessment at an outpatient clinic. An additional aim was to enhance understanding of what kind of information the questions about background and identity yielded. The CFI was added to the psychiatric assessment of 62 native Swedish-speaking patients at an outpatient psychiatric clinic in Stockholm.ResultsFrom the thematic analysis of the documented CFI answers, six central themes were found; Descriptions of distress and dysfunction, Managing problems and distress, Current life conditions affecting the person, Perceived failure in meeting social expectations, Making sense of the problem, and Experiences of, and wishes for, help. The CFI questions about identity yielded much information, mainly related to social position and feelings of social failure.DiscussionFor further refinement of the CFI, we see a need for re-framing the questions about cultural identity and its impact on health so that they are better understood. This is needed for majority population patients as direct questions about culture may be difficult to understand when cultural norms are implicit and often unexamined. For clinical implications, our findings suggest that for cultural majority patients the DSM-5 CFI can be a useful person-centred tool for exploring cultural and, in particular, social factors and patients’ perception and understanding of distress.

Work pressure in higher education: a state of the art bibliometric analysis on academic work–life balance

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to review the work–life balance (WLB) among academics. Academics are the pillars of higher education institutions’ (HEIs) mission to provide quality education to students and the community, supporting socioeconomic development. Most academics today are overworked and overburdened with duties, forcing them to work longer hours on weekends and at odd hours. This eventually affects their work–life balance and causes boundary conflicts between work and personal life.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes a bibliometric analysis to investigate the underlying knowledge structure of this phenomenon by uncovering the past and present themes and predicting future trends of WLB in academia. This review adopts two analyses (bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis), presenting the knowledge structure network. A total of 307 journal publications were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database, revealing significant clusters and themes.FindingsFindings identified central themes, including the issue of women in academia, predictors and the impact of WLB in academia.Research limitations/implicationsImplications towards research and practice relevant to scholars and practitioners are discussed, particularly in balancing academics, professional work and personal life.Originality/valueThis study presents a state-of-the-art bibliometric analysis by uncovering the knowledge structure of academics’ work–life balance in HEIs.

Living in fear at the unpredictability of mental health issues in the classroom: a phenomenological study of secondary school teachers in encountering students with mental health issues

BackgroundThe prevalence of mental health issues among secondary school students is on the rise. Secondary school teachers, outside the home environment, are often in a prime position to identify adolescents facing mental health challenges. Limited knowledge regarding the experiences and perspectives of secondary school teachers when encountering this particular group of students, particularly in Asian countries.ObjectivesThis study aimed to describe the lived experiences of secondary school teachers exposed to students with mental health issues in the classroom in a Chinese context.MethodsA descriptive phenomenological approach within the tradition of Husserl was used. A purposive sampling method was used to collect the participants in Changsha, Hunan, China. Sixteen secondary school teachers participated in this study. Individual, face-to-face interviews were conducted, tape-recorded, and transcripted. Colaizzi’s seven-step descriptive phenomenological method was used to do the data analysis.ResultsOne Central theme: Living in fear at the unpredictability of mental health issues in the classroom and four sub-themes emerged: (1) Worried and anxious by the uncertainty of student mental health issues; (2) Scared and afraid by students’ unpredictable behaviors; (3) Afraid of students’ failure and its potential outcome; (4) Students having mental health issues are dangerous.Conclusions and implicationsThe teachers in this study found managing the unpredictability of mental health issues in the classroom deeply distressing and challenging. A comprehensive approach to address the cultural, social, and educational factors influencing secondary school teachers’ experiences is encouraged.

Reflections on the commensal model and future directions in Polynesian interaction studies

ABSTRACTOne of the central themes of indigenous Polynesian historical narratives involves voyaging, navigation and patterns of inter‐island cultural connection. One of the ways archaeologists have long looked at these questions through the lens of material culture studies—distributions of artefact and assemblage traits in time and space. Here we examine patterns of historical interaction inferred from the application of the commensal model with those derived from more traditional archaeological approaches. We suggest that the most reliable and nuanced models of past cultural interaction in Eastern Polynesia will result from a creative synthesis of molecular zooarchaeology and traditional archaeological and zooarchaeological methods.

An "integration" of professional identity formation among rural physicians experiencing an interplay between their professional and personal identities.

The present understanding of professional identity formation is problematic since it underrepresents minority physicians and potentially excludes their professional identity formation experiences. Rural physicians are expected to have similar underrepresented aspects as minority physicians because of their specific sociocultural contexts and consequent private-professional intersection, which lead to ethical complexities. Therefore, to bridge this research gap, we interviewed 12 early- to mid-career Japanese physicians working in rural areas and explored their experiences. Through a narrative analysis guided by Figured Worlds theory, we analysed the data by focusing on the vocabulary, expressions, and metaphors participants used to describe their experiences. A central theme emerged concerning how the rural physicians configurated their personal versus professional participation in their local communities. Further, their identity narratives varied regarding how they constructed their identities, rural communities, and relationships as well as their identity formation ideals and strategies to achieve them. Informed by 'Big Questions' concerning worldview framework, we delineated four identity narratives as prototypes to describe how they participated in their communities. These identity narratives provide a preliminary understanding of how diverse identity formation is for rural physicians. In addition, our findings exposed the current professional identity formation framework as potentially biased towards single forms of participation in monolithic communities, overlooking complicated forms of participation in multiple communities. We argue that applying frameworks and concepts to capture these multiple forms of participation as well as revisiting the 'discourse of integration' are necessary steps to overcome the limitation of the current understanding of professional identity formation.

(2024). [Review of the book the "Advice trap: Be humble, stay curious & change the way you lead forever", by M. Bungay Stanier, 2020

The Advice Trap is a short book accessible to anyone who wants to improve their leadership and to those interested in coaching and business management. The central theme of the book is that giving advice about a problem, in general, does not actually solve the problem, much less benefit the person asking for it. Bungay Stanier explains why rushing to give advice during a conversation is a trap. Very interesting tools, applicable in several professional fields are developed throughout the book’s 248 pages to help you control your desire to always want to give advice and to help be a good leader. This is a very practical book, very useful on several levels, and a good companion to help us tame our advice monster. We are led to evolve, surpass ourselves, and improve the quality of our relationships with others. And the advice trap has the necessary tools to help us do it.

Reskilling and Upskilling the Workforce: Text Mining to Identify Patterns and Trends in Research

In the aftermath of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the seismic shifts triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor market has undergone a significant transformation, compelling a reassessment of workforce competencies. This study delivers a comprehensive analysis of the emerging trends in reskilling and upskilling initiatives, which are pivotal for adapting to these shifts. Employing text mining techniques through Voyant Tools, we meticulously examined a corpus of 68 academic articles from the Web of Science database, all related to workforce development. Our methodological framework encompassed a thorough statistical analysis to distill and scrutinize term frequencies, inter-term relationships, and the overarching sentiment within the scholarly dialogue. The outcomes of this inquiry provide a sophisticated understanding of the prevailing academic terrain, accentuating the central themes and lacunae in the extant research corpus. The revelations from this preliminary study make a significant contribution to the domain of human capital development. The findings lay down an empirical groundwork for future studies in this sphere, poised to furnish strategic insights crucial for crafting robust career development programs. By illuminating the imperative of perpetual learning and skill enhancement, this paper adds to the conversation on equipping a resilient workforce, ready to excel in the dynamic, tech-centric economy that lies ahead.

The Intersection of ‘Hindu’, ‘Independence,’ and ‘Sovereignty’ in the Nepali Public Discourse of the 1920s

This study analyzes the public discourse on Nepal around the 1923 treaty which rested on its central theme of reassuring Nepal’s independence and sovereignty in the comity of nation-states, studying Nepali national imaginative elements of statehood that unravels intricacies of history for the present discourse of Nepali state in a substantial way. The aim is to unpack the treaty’s reception and assess its consequences in shaping Nepali ‘state’ discourse, shedding fresh light on a historical event that has remained largely understudied. Once a treaty is signed, it becomes public property, capable of igniting change in the behavior of the signing nations or the lives of their citizens, or both. Examining how such changes manifested in the public discourse in Nepal and beyond after the 1923 treaty provides valuable insights into the formative democratic space in the country. For this, it employs a triangulation of primary sources from Nepal's domestic discourse as chronicled in the Gorkhapatra. The second set of data is drawn from the sporadic and emergent Nepali media landscape of the 1920s, primarily based in India. Furthermore, a third set of sources is assembled from English-language newspapers from India and the United Kingdom that reported on the 1923 treaty as it unfolded. This approach, hitherto unapplied in the study of this treaty, provides a comprehensive understanding of the public discourse surrounding it.

A Grounded Theory Study of Couple Caregiving: A Qualitative Study

Aim: Caregiving is fundamental to human relationships and plays a crucial role in the quality and stability of marital relationships. The present study aimed to explain the concept of couple caregiving. Methods: This qualitative research was conducted in 2021, adopting a grounded theory approach. For this purpose, ten couples residing in city of Aligudarz (Iran) were selected based on inclusion criteria and purposive sampling. The sampling continued until data saturation was reached. These individuals were examined through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s (2014) method and the MAXQDA20 software. Findings: The data analysis led to the identification of 78 open codes and 13 axial codes in the form of causal conditions: life history, conscious marriage; contextual conditions: individual and couple contexts; efficient couple relationship; Intervening conditions: behavioral and cognitive facilitating factors; obstacles: personal and environmental stressors; Strategies for sustaining and improving care, and persona; outcomes for the caregiver and care recipient and couple outcomes and the central theme of “reciprocal couple caregiving” was chosen. Conclusions: The findings indicated that factors influencing couple caregiving extend to the time before marriage. Couple caregiving involves conscious marriage and proactive and constructive actions of the couple. It is an interactive and reciprocal process that enhances the insight and awareness of the couple, and the use of care-seeking and caregiving receptivity strategies significantly contributes to its continuity.

Exposure Experiences of Area Residents Near a Chronic Environmental Contamination Site

Background: The study aims to analyze and interpret the exposure experiences of local residents living within 5 miles of the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center, a former uranium processing site. The goal is to enhance public health efforts addressing psychological stress resulting from environmental exposure. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted from July 1998 to February 2001 as part of the Fernald Living History Project. The study focuses on 4 key phenomenological events: air releases of uranium by-products, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency public notifications of water contamination, a citizens' class action lawsuit against the US Department of Energy and National Lead of Ohio, Inc, and extensive media coverage. Researchers used descriptive inductive coding to analyze data from these events, involving 34 participants. Results: The study identified 5 central themes in the residents' exposure experiences: disruptions to life, loss of trust, seeking answers, interpreting ambiguous threats, and adaptive responses. Participants recounted how these events affected their lives and triggered emotional responses. Conclusion: This research provides valuable insights into the experiences of individuals living near environmentally contaminated sites and offers guidance for future prevention and mitigation strategies.

Relationality in Indigenous Climate Change Education Research: A Learning Journey from Indigenous Communities in Bangladesh

Abstract This article explores my relational learning reflections with the Laitu Khyeng Indigenous community in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh, focusing on Indigenous perspectives on climate change education. Implementing a relational theoretical framework, I share my reflections on relational learning in this research as part of being accountable to the Indigenous community. Through exploring Indigenous land-based climate change research, five central themes emerge Indigenous land rights, relationship with the environment, community-led relationality as collaboration, intergenerational relational knowledge and relationality as ethical reciprocity. The findings explore the intrinsic connection between Indigenous communities and their ancestral territories, emphasising the significance of upholding Indigenous sovereignty over land for sustainable adaptation to climate change. In this article, I highlight the importance of relational learning as a form of education, fostering resilience rooted in preserving traditional practices and spaces. Relationality with the environment is central to Indigenous climate education, promoting understanding and reciprocity with the land. In my learning, I learned that community dynamics and collaborative learning are essential for effective climate education, emphasising collective action and diverse perspectives. In relational learning, inter-generational knowledge transmission ensures the preservation and sharing of traditional land-based knowledge across generations, forming the foundation for sustainable adaptation strategies. Ethical engagement and reciprocity guide research interactions, emphasising mutual respect and cultural sensitivity. By centring Indigenous perspectives and knowledge systems, this study advocates for community-led approaches to climate change education, fostering resilience and environmental stewardship within Indigenous communities.

Unveiling Divinity: A Comparative Quest Into The Perception Of God In Islam And Semitic Religions

The quest to understand the perception of God across different religions has been a central theme in human civilization. This comparative study delves into the essence of divinity as perceived in Islam and Semitic religions, exploring the foundational beliefs and philosophical underpinnings that shape the understanding of the Supreme Divine Authority. Drawing from insights gleaned from renowned historian Arnold Toynbee's monumental work on the history of religion, this study underscores the significance of religion in unraveling the mysteries of existence. Despite attempts by non-religious ideologies like Marxism and Freudianism to undermine organized religion, the enduring presence of faith systems underscores the intrinsic role of religion in human existence. Through an examination of key scriptures, including the Glorious Qur'an, this study elucidates the commonalities and divergences in the perception of God, emphasizing the universal call to worship a singular, omnipotent deity. Moreover, it highlights the innate human inclination towards belief in the Creator, positing that acceptance of divinity requires no precondition, while disbelief necessitates conditioned skepticism. Ultimately, this study offers profound insights into the universal quest for understanding the divine, transcending cultural and religious boundaries to illuminate the timeless truths underlying human spirituality.

Friendship Circles and Self-Discovery: Peer Pressure's Impact on Adolescents' Personality and Life Satisfaction

This research delves into the interplay of friendship circles, self-discovery, and peer pressure on adolescent personality and life satisfaction. It examines the role of friendships in emotional and cognitive development, navigating positive and negative peer influences. Personality traits like resilience and self-esteem are analyzed within the context of peer dynamics, alongside conflicts' long-term effects. Life satisfaction emerges as a central theme, correlated with friendship dynamics. Strategies for positive peer influence are proposed, aiming to mitigate negative impacts. By shedding light on these complexities, this study informs stakeholders, fostering environments conducive to adolescent well-being and resilience.

Max Weber’s rationalization processes disenchantment, alienation, or anomie?

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to analyze which concept describes the central theme in Max Weber’s works — the rationalization processes — best: disenchantment, alienation, or anomie. I first describe how Weber’s rationalization processes were understood in the past. Most scholars have interpreted these processes as disenchantment, although some have seen a stronger affinity to the Marxist concept of alienation. Since the majority have regarded disenchantment as the central theme of Weber’s legacy, I discuss Weber’s rare statements about the disenchantment process, most of which appear in a speech that was published later as Science as a Vocation. I then introduce definitions of key concepts (Hegelian alienation, Marxist alienation, Durkheimian anomie, and de-magification) to provide a more varied and precise vocabulary. This will aid in describing at least two different rationalization processes that can be derived from Weber’s theoretical framework (Economy and Society) and his historical studies. The first, in the economic and political sphere, can be characterized as Marxist alienation, whereas the second, in the religious sphere, can be interpreted as de-magification and Hegelian alienation. It is possible to regard Weber’s statement in Science as a Vocation as a third rationalization process, in the sphere of knowledge production, which would suggest the concepts of de-magification and anomie. However, such a reading would seem to contradict the greater body of Weber’s methodological writings. Finally, it is concluded that the term disenchantment is not a very useful concept for portraying Weber’s intended view.

The Role of Souvenirs in Enhancing Local Cultural Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review

Souvenirs can facilitate the dissemination and promotion of culture, and culture gives souvenirs unique characteristics and cultural connotations. With the increasingly competitive academic environment, an in-depth understanding of the relationship between souvenirs and local culture is crucial to the theory and practice of souvenir and local culture-development research. The main purpose of this study is to review the previous literature that articulates the dynamic relationship of interdependence and development between souvenirs and local culture. Based on a systematic literature review, the data for this study came from a review of 35 documents between 2019 and 2024. The documents were then analysed individually using the ATLAS.ti 24 program. The analysis revealed five central themes: (1) sustainability and innovation; (2) authenticity and experience; (3) economic and community impact; (4) cultural identity expression; and (5) consumer behaviour and technology. These themes illuminate that souvenirs are not only cultural ambassadors, but also play a critical role in economic development, cultural preservation, and consumer engagement. The findings provide new directions for future research and actionable insights for practitioners, researchers, and designers who enhance the sustainability of local culture through souvenirs. This review contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamic interactions between souvenirs and local cultures and proposes a framework for the sustainable development of souvenirs.

Social norms and the dynamics of practices

ABSTRACT I endorse five central themes of Charlotte Witt's Social Goodness: the pervasiveness and irreducibility of social roles and norms; normative externalism; the artisanal model; a richer social ontology; and the possible critical transformation of social norms from within. I reframe these themes within the biological account of the evolution and development of human ways of life in Joseph Rouse's Social Practices as Biological Niche Construction. Witt's social analysis attends to human bodies as loci of artisanal skills and social salience as gendered, sexed, and raced, but not to bodies as vulnerable, dependent organisms in social environments. A broader, biological conception of normativity shifts from Witt's focus on social roles and norms to the dynamics of social practices as shaping people's developmental environments. This more complex account of social dynamics enriches Witt's conservative account of how practices are transmitted and sustained. It thereby surpasses limitations in her account of how hierarchical social norms can be both obligating and open to critical challenge from within. It does so in three ways: by emphasizing normative conflicts within practices, by shifting from individual know-how to discursive practices as loci of artisanal authority, and by an account of power relations as intertwined with biosocial normativity.

Solar -Powered Lawn Care: Revolutionizing Yard Maintenance with Automated Grass Cutting

The introduction of paper adeptly articulates the significance of solar energy as a clean, abundant, and renewable resource. The emphasis on its non-polluting nature distinguishes it as a pivotal player in addressing environmental concerns, particularly the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. By drawing attention to the environmental impact of traditional grass cutters reliant on fuel, it highlights a critical issue – their contribution to both the greenhouse effect and air pollution. Additionally, The acknowledgment of the manual labor involved in operating electric-powered grass cutters underscores the multifaceted challenges associated with conventional methods. This succinctly sets the stage for a solution-oriented exploration, suggesting that an automatic grass cutter powered by renewable energy could provide a promising resolution. The subsequent transition in your discourse towards the central theme of the paper - technological progress in automatic solar grass cutters - adds depth and specificity to the argument. This direction allows for a comprehensive examination of how advancements in technology can directly address the identified problems. The mention of keywords such as"Fully Automated Grass Cutter," "Solar Panel," "Internet of Things," and "Fire Detection Mechanism in Grass Cutter" hints at a investigation into cutting edge development