Community Gathering Research Articles

An inventory of birds and extent of damage to rice farms at the Kpong Irrigation Dam in the Lower Volta Basin, Ghana

This study aimed to assess the incidence of birds raiding rice fields in the Kpong Irrigation Dam area of Ghana. Structured questionnaires were used to interview rice farmers in order to identify the bird species involved, quantify the economic losses incurred, and determine the mitigation measures employed by farmers. The main bird species identified as actively raiding rice fields were Ploceus cucullatus, Ploceus nigerrimus, Spermestes cucullatus, Spermestes bicolor, Quelea erythrops, and Dendrocygna viduata. The economic loss associated with bird raiding was estimated to range from 1,000.00 GHC (124.61 USD) to 1,500.00 GHC (186.92 USD), considering an exchange rate of 8.06 GHC to 1.00 USD at the time of the study. Additionally, farmers incurred 20.00 GHC in daily overhead labour costs to prevent bird raiding. Bird raiding on rice fields not only caused substantial economic losses but also had unintended social consequences. These included increased students’ absence from school and farmers' inability to attend and participate in family, community, and other social gatherings. The study highlights the need for practical and efficient methods to mitigate the effects of bird raiding. Given the significant economic and social impacts, it is crucial to develop strategies that effectively reduce bird raiding in rice fields.

Creating access to SARS-CoV-2 screening and testing through community-based COVID-19 case-finding, observations from cross-sectional studies in Lesotho and Zambia.

The health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic largely depends on the ability of the healthcare systems to develop effective and adaptable preparedness and mitigation strategies. A collaborative initiative (BRCCH-EDCTP COVID-19 Initiative) was set up between Lesotho and Zambia early on in the pandemic, to jointly conduct a project to investigate creating access to SARS-CoV-2 screening and testing through community-based COVID-19 case-finding. Two different community case-finding strategies were deployed. In Lesotho, an approach was implemented whereby a community (village) health worker screened community members at their home or during community gatherings for COVID-19 signs and symptoms. All community members who screened positive were then offered SARS-CoV-2 testing. In Zambia, so-called community hubs, staffed by community health care workers, were set up at different locations in the community for people to walk in and get tested for SARS-CoV-2. Hubs changed location from week-to-week and targeted transmission hotspots. All persons visiting the hubs were offered testing for SARS-CoV-2 irrespective of self-reported signs and symptoms of COVID-19 though information was collected on occurrence of these. Testing in both approaches was done using SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests. Setting up testing in the community setting was feasible in both countries. In Lesotho in the village health worker approach, over a period of 46 weeks, 7221 persons were screened, and 49 (11.4%) SARS-COV-2 cases identified among 428 COVID-19 screen positive participants. In the community hubs among 3150 people tested, 166 (5.3%) SARS-CoV-2 cases were identified in a period of 26 weeks. From the community hubs approach, where all seen were offered COVID-19 testing it was learned that people screening positive for COVID-19 signs and symptoms were more likely to test SARS-COV-2 positive, especially those reporting classic COVID-19 symptoms like loss of sense/smell for a short period of time (1-3 days). In conclusion, in this project we learned that implementing COVID-19 screening and testing by lay health workers in the community is possible. Characteristics of the population screened, tested, and identified to have SARS-CoV-2 are described to help guide development of future testing strategies.

Understanding the Spatial Distribution and Behavior of Elderly Residents in Age-Friendly Communities: An Analysis of Outdoor Space Features in Hangzhou, China

In the context of an aging population and the rise of age-friendly communities, the creation of outdoor spaces that cater to the daily needs of elderly residents, promote their physical and mental well-being, and strengthen their sense of community is a pressing matter requiring immediate attention and solutions. This study focuses on boosting the outdoor space of communities that are age-friendly. The research sample consists of four age-friendly communities in the representative city of Hangzhou. Aerial and ground surveys were carried out to examine the spatial distribution and behavioral tendencies of elderly citizens in outdoor community gathering locations. A GoPro MAX panoramic camera and a weather meter were utilized to evaluate the outside space’s landscape components, spatial attributes, and microclimate. Using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses, we discovered the key parameters impacting the spatial gathering and behaviors of elderly residents in age-friendly communities’ outdoor spaces. When constructing outdoor gathering spaces for the elderly, our findings indicate that weatherproof amenities, a greater variety of pavers, and greenery should be prioritized. Community fitness facilities should be considered throughout the development and refurbishment phases for activity areas. Consideration should also be given to the construction of weatherproof facilities with less walls and increased hard surface areas for chess spaces.

Staphylococcal Food Poisoning Outbreak from a Community Gathering, Wang Nuea District, Lampang Province, Northern Thailand, July 2022

On 17 Jul 2022, the Thailand Department of Disease Control was notified about a food poisoning cluster related to a local funeral. We investigated to identify epidemiological characteristics of the outbreak, determine sources, and provide recommendations. A descriptive study and a retrospective cohort analysis were performed. Suspected cases were funeral participants or their household members who had at least one of the following: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or bloody mucous stool during 17–20 Jul 2022. We used multiple logistic regression and transformed the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) to the adjusted risk ratio (ARR). We interviewed chefs and inspected the kitchen. Clinical specimens and food samples were sent for bacteria culture. Three hundred eighteen cases were identified. Ten patients (3.1%) had a shock; three had a septic shock; none died. The median age was 58 (range 47–66). The pork in the lunch boxes (ARR 7.80, 95% CI 0.75–81.34) was the most likely source. Improper food storage and cross-contamination risk were recognized. This outbreak was due to S. aureus with enterotoxin genes A and C, which were isolated from patients, food, and food handlers. Safety standards should be monitored, particularly in large community gatherings where the elderly attend.

Tantangan Implementasi Corporate Social Responsibility Perusahaan Saat Pandemi Covid-19 Tahun 2020-2022

During the current Covid-19 pandemic, many sectors were paralyzed and affected and affected the people's economy during the pandemic. CSR as a form of company activity has become a breath of fresh air for the community during the increasing number of the Covid-19 pandemic that has entered Indonesia. The discussion of this research aims to determine the obstacles to corporate social responsibility (CSR) faced by PT Vale Indonesia Tbk while implementing the CSR program to strengthen local communities in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. The population taken from this research is PT Vale Indonesia's CSR report during the pandemic, while the sample is PT Vale Indonesia's CSR report for 2020-2022. This type of research uses a qualitative approach with the case study method. The results of the study show that there are three challenges that hinder the CSR program and three implementations found in the company's CSR program. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several of these aspects have hindered the sustainability of PT Vale Indonesia's CSR program, namely Community Development and Empowerment (PPM). Where this program wants to involve the community gathering in large numbers for a local event, as well as the existence of licensing barriers from the local government. Overall, the community has greatly benefited from the PPM program during the pandemic and this program has received broad support from the communities within the area.

Mask recognition in computer vision technology

In order to lessen the strain on employees and the potential for carelessness, intelligent identification is required in China where there is a scarcity of staff to monitor the wearing of masks in public areas. In this work, we use a mask recognition technique to determine which members of the population weren't wearing masks by using the CNN and the VGG16 model. The ideas of data augmentation, dropout, non malicious, and transfer learning are used in the proposed study. This method may be used at hospitals, retail centers, transit hubs, dining establishments, and other community gatherings that require monitoring.

Capturing and Documenting the Wider Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic Through the Remember Rebuild Saskatchewan Initiative: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Interdisciplinary Project.

In the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, the global COVID-19 pandemic appeared amidst existing social health challenges in food insecurity, housing precarity and homelessness, poor mental health, and substance misuse. These chronic features intersected with the pandemic, producing a moment in time when the urgency of COVID-19 brought attention to underlying shortcomings in public health services. The objectives of the program of research are (1) to identify and measure relationships between the pandemic and wider health and social impacts, namely, food insecurity, housing precarity and homelessness, and mental health and substance use in Saskatchewan, and (2) to create an oral history of the pandemic in Saskatchewan in an accessible digital public archive. We are using a mixed methods approach to identify the impacts of the pandemic on specific equity-seeking groups and areas of social health concern by developing cross-sectional population-based surveys and producing results based on statistical analysis. We augmented the quantitative analysis by conducting qualitative interviews and oral histories to generate more granular details of people's experiences of the pandemic. We are focusing on frontline workers, other service providers, and individuals within equity-seeking groups. We are capturing digital evidence and social media posts; we are collecting and organizing key threads using a free open-source research tool, Zotero, to trace the digital evidence of the pandemic in Saskatchewan. This study is approved by the Research Ethics Board at the University of Saskatchewan (Beh-1945). Funding for this program of research was received in March and April 2022. Survey data were collected between July and November 2022. The collection of oral histories began in June 2022 and concluded in March 2023. In total, 30 oral histories have been collected at the time of this writing. Qualitative interviews began in April 2022 and will continue until March 2024. Survey analysis began in January 2023, and results are expected to be published in mid-2023. All data and stories collected in this work are archived for preservation and freely accessible on the Remember Rebuild Saskatchewan project's website. We will share results in academic journals and conferences, town halls and community gatherings, social and digital media reports, and through collaborative exhibitions with public library systems. The pandemic's ephemeral nature poses a risk of us "forgetting" this moment and the attendant social inequities. These challenges inspired a novel fusion among health researchers, historians, librarians, and service providers in the creation of the Remember Rebuild Saskatchewan project, which focuses on preserving the legacy of the pandemic and capturing data to support an equitable recovery in Saskatchewan. DERR1-10.2196/46643.

Advances in Physics of Semiconductors

It is my pleasure to write this preface to the Special Section in the May 2023 issue of pss(b), dedicated to the collection of selected works presented during the 35th International Conference on Physics of Semiconductors (ICPS) held in Sydney, Australia in 2022. It was one of the first meetings post the pandemic and it was wonderful to see the community gathering physically together. The ICPS series traditionally encompasses a variety of topics spanning device physics, quantum technologies, spin physics, wide bandgap materials, light–matter interactions, and other branches of materials science, physics and engineering. The collection to follow offers a glimpse into what has been presented, and showcases the excellent science undertaken around the globe. A growing interest in the scientific community is currently evolving around van der Waals crystals, and other two-dimensional systems. It is therefore no surprise, several works focus on these topics – discussing various excitonic, photonic, magnetic, and terahertz properties. Various spin phenomena effects are also discussed in traditional semiconductors such as GaAs/GaN and SiGe. Works on plasmonic gap cavities and electroluminescence as well as theoretical calculations of electronic structures are also included. The ICPS series has been continuously going now for over 70 years, one of the longest running conference series in the world. As we are preparing for the next meeting in Ottawa, Canada, the collection of papers should inspire our junior colleagues, that not only semiconductor physics is here to stay, but in fact, it is a multi-disciplinary and burgeoning field of research.

Paddling Together: Water Trails as Innovative Public Health Strategies.

Blueways can help improve health and quality-of-life by providing places for exercise, recreation, and community gatherings. The Rouge River Watershed is an industrialized region in Southeast Michigan with high rates of chronic disease and historic disinvestment in social and environmental conditions. The purpose of this article is to describe the process taken to develop an equitable, community-driven vision and approach for developing a water trail along the Lower Rouge River and to identify the key elements that emerged. Project leaders incorporated community-driven planning, community outreach, and community ownership strategies. The Rouge River Water Trail Leadership Committee engages the public, those affected by decisions, with a transparent, fact-based process. The public is given equal status and shares decision-making authority. This approach led to the development of a Water Trail Strategic Plan, community-informed recommendations for capital improvements, development of key relationships, and coalitions that provide a vehicle for ongoing community engagement and ownership. Five main elements, considered through an equity lens, go into building a water trail: (1) creating access points, (2) water quality monitoring, (3) woody debris management, (4) signage, and (5) developing a safety plan. Water trail development should consist of (1) environmental change through the creation of access points and safe, navigable waterways and (2) opportunities to utilize the infrastructure through programming and initiatives to make the trail accessible to all communities.

BUSINESS PLAN : RENCANA PENDIRIAN EVENT ORGANIZER

Opportunities for business services for organizing activities that are increasingly widespread and developing, either as activity planners or activity organizers. Here preparations that must be made to conduct events such as community gathering, music concert, wedding, and corporate events are discussed. The objective of this study is to determine strategies that will be realized based on the analyses on the related aspects in order to develop and to face competition in event organizing business in Bojonegoro. This qualitative descriptive research uses primary data obtained from observations and interviews and secondary data compiled from relevant literature. This study finds that the business planning has met the necessary aspects such as analysis of customer’s interest, support from the government, the availability of other companies for partnership purposes, planning workflow and event execution, analyses on competitors of the same field of industry, required service variations, form of partnership agreements, business legality, and analyses of sponsors from other companies as the supporting parties for the organization of an event.

Supporting Healthy Aging and Older Adult Health: The Role of State and Territorial Health Agencies.

Supporting Healthy Aging and Older Adult Health: The Role of State and Territorial Health Agencies.

Variable patterns of daily activity participation across settings in autistic youth: A latent profile transition analysis.

What people do or engage in in their daily lives, or daily life participation, is often linked to their state of being happy and healthy, as well as potential for living independently. To date, little research has been conducted on daily activity participation by autistic youth at home, at school or in the community. Learning more about individual differences in participation levels and what might influence them can help to create custom supports for autistic youth and their families. In this study, 158 caregivers of autistic youth were asked how often their children took part in 25 common activities at two assessments, about one year apart. The analysis showed three profiles for each of the home and school settings and two profiles for the community setting. These profiles reflected distinct patterns in how often autistic youth took part in various daily activities, particularly in doing homework, school club activities and community gatherings. Most autistic youth were in profiles marked by often taking part at home but less often at school and in the community, and about three-fourths of them tended to stay in the same profile over time. Autistic youth with limited participation profiles were more likely to have lower scores on measures of cognitive ability and daily life skills and more challenging behaviour, and faced more barriers in their environment. These findings show how important it is to think about each autistic person's strengths and weaknesses, and changing needs, to better support their daily life participation.

Anomaly detection for fault detection in wireless community networks using machine learning

Machine learning has received increasing attention in computer science in recent years and many types of methods have been proposed. In computer networks, little attention has been paid to the use of ML for fault detection, the main reason being the lack of datasets. This is motivated by the reluctance of network operators to share data about their infrastructure and network failures. In this paper, we attempt to fill this gap using anomaly detection techniques to discern hardware failure events in wireless community networks. For this purpose we use 4 unsupervised machine learning, ML, approaches based on different principles. We have built a dataset from a production wireless community network, gathering traffic and non-traffic features, e.g. CPU and memory. For the numerical analysis we investigated the ability of the different ML approaches to detect an unprovoked gateway failure that occurred during data collection. Our numerical results show that all the tested approaches improve to detect the gateway failure when non-traffic features are also considered. We see that, when properly tuned, all ML methods are effective to detect the failure. Nonetheless, using decision boundaries and other analysis techniques we observe significant different behavior among the ML methods.

Indian Time: Temporality, Gender, Mobility

Indian Time: Temporality, Gender, Mobility

Spatial Dialogues between Exhibited Interiors and Cultural Exteriors: How Local Museums Connect to the Community

Local museums can no longer simply wait for visitors to come and see their exhibited interiors. They are tasked with community engagement and cultural continuity. They must remain relevant to their communities, but how? Recently, local museums, especially those promoting local history, have struggled to relate to rapidly changing and diverse communities. To ensure museums are community-centred spaces, this research suggests that their spatial components need rethinking. While exhibitions in local museums should be designed through a collaboration and co-creation process between museum staff and locals, semi-outdoor and exterior spaces could be organised to host community gatherings, cultural events, and public conveniences. The paper explores the spatial dialogue between exhibited interiors, semi-outdoor multifunction spaces, and cultural exteriors of four local museums in Thailand, including how they build communities and support cultural heritage. The paper elucidates that while the exhibited interiors of these local museums represent pride in treasures of the past, semi-outdoor multipurpose spaces and cultural exteriors support heritage continuity. With a combination of the three spatial components: exhibited interior, semi-outdoor multifunction space, and cultural exterior, local museums can look forward to a promising future.

THE EEFECT OF SEX EDUCATION ON SCHOOL BOYS AND GIRLS: A CASE OF SELECTED PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN LUSAKA, ZAMBIA

The study investigated on sex education in seven selected schools of Lusaka District, Zambia. This study was conducted in seven primary and secondary schools; Harry Mwanga Nkumbula primary, New Chunga Primary, Chunga Secondary, Nelson Mandela Secondary, Twins Park Primary, Daina Kaimba Primary and Barlastone Park Primary schools. The population of this study comprised of district education board secretary, head teachers, teachers and pupils in Lusaka district of Zambia respectively. The total sample size of 200 respondents from selected primary and secondary schools were interviewed particularly, 2 officers from the ministry of education, 150 pupils and 48 teachers. The primary data was collected through interview guide. From the results obtained, it shows that there is the integration of sex education in some subject to make learners aware of involving themselves in sexual activities. Therefore, there was danger especially to school going girls and boys that could make them disturbed in terms of schooling. Sex education is not there in curriculum of Zambia. No wonder, getting rid of HIV/AIDS will be difficult among school going children. The curriculum developers ‘must’ make sure that sex education has been provided to every school to lessen early pregnancies, sexual transmitted infectious diseases and marriages. Though, the ministry of education was coming up with some measure to help learners in school by making sure that every lesson delivered must have a component of sex education. Pupils involving themselves in illicit activity; the blame does not go to the parents alone but also the ministry of education through teachers for not sensitize and mentioning dangers of engaging in early sexual relationship. Therefore, some schools were not even trying to embed sex education. There was a high and not interesting numbers of school boys and girls drop-outing of schools and marrying at the very tender age. In addition, girls become pregnant due to the absence of the most important information they should learn in class. Further findings showed that some of the selected schools do not have clubs where pupils could learn different things not only at home, church and community gatherings. The teachers being co-parents who supposed to nurture the young ones for the betterment of their lives. The recommendations were put forward to address the problems the learners were facing.

THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROCESSION OF THE MOTHER GODDESS AT THE Y LA MOTHER GODDESS TEMPLE IN TUYEN QUANG PROVINCE

Festivals are forms of cultural events and community gatherings. Tuyen Quang province is known for hosting many festivals, including the procession of Mother Goddess at Y La Mother Goddess temple, located in Y La Ward, Tuyen Quang City. This festival is closely tied to the worship of the Mother Goddesses and holds significant cultural and economic significance, such as reflecting the spiritual life, preserving and developing local culture, and contributing to the local economy.

"Where Do You Do Holocaust Remembrance Day?" The "Memory in the Living Room" Project at the Southern Periphery of Israel

"Memory in the Living Room" (MIL) is a social enterprise that offers Israelis a new way to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. It calls for informal community gatherings in the living rooms of private homes. These meetings encourage participants' involvement and make the commemoration more meaningful and relevant. The special format offered by MIL has, in one decade, attracted about a million participants who choose this way to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day every year and regard MIL as a new Israeli tradition. Thanks to its unique style and rapid growth rate, it seems that the project is a major Israeli commemorative phenomenon that will have a long-term impact on the culture of memory. Nevertheless, an examination of the manifestations of the venture in the southern periphery of Israel presents a completely different picture. This study claims that the further one moves from the center to the southern periphery of Israel, the more the perception of MIL differs from that among the mainstream of society. The overall characteristics of MIL, which distinguish it from other commemorations, have failed to penetrate the borders of the periphery.

Contribution of community champions to accelerate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination in Rukwa region, Tanzania, February - October 2022.

Tanzania is among the African countries which started COVID-19 vaccination late (August 2021) compared to other countries in the African continent. By mid-March 2022, overall vaccine uptake was 13% of the targeted population, which was very low compared to other countries. We describe the contribution of champions in the Rukwa region that led to an increase in vaccine coverage rate in Tanzania. a community-based campaign was conducted using community champions from July 15th to August 31st, 2022. A baseline assessment was conducted focusing on the key drivers, barriers, and enablers for COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the region. A working session to develop IEC materials and messages tailored to addressing the issues raised in the community to be used in the campaign in the region was conducted, followed by the campaign's launch. Community engagement and sensitizations, which contributed to the rise of vaccinated people, were based on house-to-house visits, village meetings, and visiting community gatherings such as marketplaces, places of worship, and sports areas, which were done by champions alongside vaccinators. the campaign contributed to the increase of vaccination coverage because, before the start of the campaign, the vaccination coverage was 10% as of July 14th, 2022. After the campaign, which started on July 15th to August 31st, 2022, the coverage increased by 12%. During the post-evaluation exercise after the campaign, the coverage keeps increased and reached 94% by October 2022. The coverage kept increasing even after the intervention's end due to the campaign's positive effect. the community still needs correct information to avoid misinformation and hesitancy, especially when introducing new disease response mechanisms such as vaccines. The community champions who are based in the community play a critical role in addressing community concerns and contribute to the effectiveness of the implementation; hence sustainability is crucial.

The Contribution of Local Muslim Scholars to the Development of Indonesia’s Education

Education is an urgent matter in every culture and civilization. With education, mankind can change themselves and their civilization. The same is true for the process of spreading Islam in Indonesia. Since Islam was first introduced in Indonesia, its spreading has been inseparable from people’s daily lives, including the building and shaping of the education sector (Rochmawati et al., 2018; Vickers, 2013; Hasan, 2009). Java Island is one of Indonesia’s regions with a wider history of Islamic education (Ricklefs, 2012; Woodward, 2010). In the present manuscript, the author examines the contribution of Muslim scholars in developing Indonesia’s modern education. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The mediator and social agency method has been used to facilitate the investigation. The author conducted a structural study that reconstructs historical events and occurrences regarding educational development and transformation in the country. The study’s findings are based on the question, “What is the contribution of Muslim Scholars in the development of Indonesia’s modern education, and how is the education process on Java Island? This question laid the foundation for this study, and it helps to understand the functions of local Muslim scholars in the development of education between the 19th and 20th centuries in the Indonesian archipelago. The findings show that the characteristics of Muslim scholars’ movements regarding education on Java Island consist of mainly two stages. Firstly, education is conducted at mosques, which later developed into Islamic schools classified as madrasahs and pesantren (Azra, 2018). In the second stage, education efforts are converted from its form of Islamic schools into Islamic organizations, leading to the establishment of several educational institutions and public schools, ranging from kindergarten to higher education (Daulay & Tobroni, 2017; Azra, 2015). Finally, it concludes that Indonesia’s education developed in stages, from education at mosques and small community gatherings in residences of Muslim scholars to Islamic schools. Finally, Islamic organizations were formed to develop today’s public education system.