Accessibility Criteria Research Articles

Mean-field model of melting in superheated crystals based on a single experimentally measurable order parameter

Melting is one of the most studied phase transitions important for atomic, molecular, colloidal, and protein systems. However, there is currently no microscopic experimentally accessible criteria that can be used to reliably track a system evolution across the transition, while providing insights into melting nucleation and melting front evolution. To address this, we developed a theoretical mean-field framework with the normalised mean-square displacement between particles in neighbouring Voronoi cells serving as the local order parameter, measurable experimentally. We tested the framework in a number of colloidal and in silico particle-resolved experiments against systems with significantly different (Brownian and Newtonian) dynamic regimes and found that it provides excellent description of system evolution across melting point. This new approach suggests a broad scope for application in diverse areas of science from materials through to biology and beyond. Consequently, the results of this work provide a new guidance for nucleation theory of melting and are of broad interest in condensed matter, chemical physics, physical chemistry, materials science, and soft matter.

Availability of forest plots for reforestation activities

Over the past decades, as a result of the economic use of forests, the impact of fires and biotic factors, the forest cover has undergone significant anthropogenic transformation. In certain forest conditions, reforestation is delayed for a long period, which leads to the accumulation of non-producing forest lands. The aim of the work was to develop a methodology for determining the criteria for accessibility of forest areas for carrying out reforestation activities on the example of the territory of the Taezhinsky forestry of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The area is dominated by deciduous plantations of average productivity. In the surveyed areas, natural regeneration is represented by soft-leaved species - birch and aspen of medium and large size categories from 1000 to 6000 pcs/ha. There is no natural regeneration of coniferous species. In these areas, it is necessary to create forest crops. The availability of forest areas for carrying out reforestation activities is limited by the transport, ecological and economic accessibility of forest crops. Within the boundaries of transport accessible quarters for carrying out reforestation activities, areas are identified that are suitable for soil and forest growing conditions for creating forest cultures with promising forest inventory characteristics not lower than grade III. The presented conditions correspond, first of all, to the green moss and forb groups of forest types. These plots constitute the second zone of silvicultural zoning, that is, an outstanding characteristic within the transport accessible quarters. The first stage of development includes forest areas of the II class of bonitet and higher, the second stage - III class of bonitet. Areas of quality class IV and below are reserved for natural reforestation.

BETWEEN HABERMAS AND MOUFFE: WHICH MODEL OF DEMOCRACY TO BRAZIL?

The aim of this paper is to compare the political models of Jürgen Habermas and Chantal Mouffe, on the way to identify which one has the greatest possibility of practical application. In order to fulfill this proposal, the research problem is: which theory is more adequate to analyze Brazilian democracy? The hypothesis of research previously formulated, in order to be tested, is that the Habermasian model is not applicable to the current situation of Brazilian democracy, which is closer to Mouffe’s agonistic pluralism. The scientific method used was hypothetical-deductive, developing a qualitative, primarily theoretical and descriptive research. The instrumental procedures (research techniques) employed were the literature review (selected, respectively, by the criteria of relevance, accessibility and topicality), documentary material and operational categories and concepts. It was concluded that disparities in factors such as Education and Income make it impossible to construct a communicational "middle level", moving away from the ethical-rational procedurality that guides the deliberative democracy model. On the other hand, the permeability of the political dimension and the plurality of external factors reinforce antagonisms and hegemonic relations, pointing to the proximity of Brazilian democracy with Mouffe's model.

"Real-Life" Remote Dystonia Assessment: Feasibility, Accuracy, and Practice Implications.

"Real-Life" Remote Dystonia Assessment: Feasibility, Accuracy, and Practice Implications.

Travel Accessibility Criterion of Urban Commuters: Evidence from Hyderabad, Pakistan

Travel accessibility is a crucial factor in examining travel and transportation services. However, lack of suitable transportation facilities often severely affects the daily working schedule of the local inhabitants. Thus, this study aimed to record and examine the accessibility criterion of the commuters of Hyderabad, Pakistan. The data were randomly procured with the help of a questionnaire survey. Total 384 questionnaires were filled from the study to record the accessibility parameter of the local inhabitants. Correlation and frequency tests were performed to analyze data. It was found that local inhabitants in Hyderabad were facing accessibility problems and struggled to reach their destinations efficiently. This study can assist the development authority and traffic department of Hyderabad in formulating relevant policies to mitigate the accessibility problems.

Prospects of Georgia becoming EU member in context of economic development trends

In this article we discuss accession criteria for EU membership - the Copenhagen Criteria. We largely focus on and critically analyze Georgia’s the economic development level and modern trends. Using the recent data published by international, regional, and local institutions we analyzed macroeconomic measures and international rankings of EU countries and Georgia.Based on qualitative and quantitative research approaches, we conclude that Georgia’s recent economic levels and economic development trends, unfortunately, don’t satisfy the Copenhagen economic criteria and it can be a delay factor for Georgia’s EU integration. In this paper, we present recommendations, a satisfaction of which will facilitate fulfillment of the Copenhagen Criteria by Georgia and speed up the process of Georgia joining the EU.

Geographic and Temporal Access to Basic Banking Services Offered through Post Offices in Wales

Access to ‘universal banking services’ through the post office network has been a goal of the UK governments over the last twenty years. Various policies and mechanisms have been put in place in an attempt to maintain national geographical coverage with access points while increasing the financial viability of the network. One such mechanism is represented by the six official criteria for access to post offices, expressed as a percentage of the UK population living within one mile, three miles, and six miles of a post office. The method for calculating compliance with these access criteria is not published. Nor will any granular results be published, but only an annual statement that the criteria are being met. This article examines geographical and temporal access to post offices in order to understand the territorial coverage of the network and the impact this has on the provision of basic banking services. The area under investigation is Wales, for which we are reviewing the Government’s official access criteria. Through the Post Office Ltd website, we are collecting up-to-date information on the locations and opening hours of post offices in Wales. In addition, a detailed population grid is combined with calculated areas of equidistant geographical access, called isochrones, to determine the number of people who have access to the post office network. The isochrones are based on the Welsh road network and are calculated for different travel modes and thresholds using a powerful routing engine. Our results show that the official access criteria are largely unmet in Wales. In addition, and in contrast to previous studies, we show a rural-urban divide not in terms of spatial access, but in the combination of spatial and temporal access. The results are of both practical and theoretical value and will hopefully inform policy makers.

Ultrasound-based criteria for adequate peripheral venous access in therapeutic apheresis procedures.

Apheresis procedures require adequate vascular access to achieve adequate inlet flow rates. Central dialysis-type catheters are often used in apheresis, despite their multiple risks. Peripheral venous access is a safe and effective option for many patients. We previously demonstrated that ultrasound guidance reduces central venous catheter use in apheresis patients; however, no validated criteria for preprocedural evaluation of peripheral veins exist. Here, we hypothesized that ultrasound-based criteria could predict the adequacy of a peripheral vein for apheresis procedures. In this pilot cohort study, we reviewed the procedural outcomes for 50 cases of peripheral venous procedures that used our ultrasound-based criteria. Of the procedures that met our criteria, 96% (46/48) were successfully completed. Overall, our criteria had 100% sensitivity, 50% specificity, 96% positive predictive value, and 100% negative predictive value. Our criteria justify an evidence-based ultrasound-guided standard for evaluation of peripheral venous access for apheresis procedures.

TOWARDS A PEOPLE-FIRST ENGINEERING DESIGN APPROACH. A COMPREHENSIVE ONTOLOGY FOR DESIGNING INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS

AbstractThe world is ageing, and this change will strongly impact the design of products, services and environments. Notwithstanding the proliferation of research initiatives, guidelines, policies and regulations, there is still a significant gap and lack of a uniformed strategy to guide engineers, designers, and architects to design inclusive environments. This article explores and summarizes through a review of international regulations and standards, the requirements that design practitioners need to consider when designing accessible, inclusive, smart, age-friendly environments. With this explorative study, we reviewed documentation and developed a comprehensive ontology comprised of people and design related criteria aiming to support the design of inclusive, smart and accessible buildings. The ontology was created by interpreting the criteria through semantics used in peoplecentered design approaches, where people's needs and design requirements are two fundamental phases for designing inclusively.The results are intended to enable researchers and practitioners to better identify clusters of accessibility and inclusion criteria to facilitate the study and the design of accessible, inclusive, smart, age-friendly environments.

ON INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND ACCESSIBILITY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN. A REVIEW OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS.

AbstractSince the mid-20th century, assessing the performance of the built environment was recognized as an instrument to improve the efficiency in the design and construction processes. However, it appears difficult to identify assessment tools that currently include a holistic assessment of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility criteria for the built environments.A systematic literature review was performed to define the state of the art of assessment tools in the domain of civil engineering and architectural design, and to identify gaps in the criteria of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.The review highlighted three fundamental aspects. First, how the binomial relationship between regulations and assessment tools is not mutually exclusive. Second, how the process of assessing buildings is shifting towards mixed evaluation methods. Third, how assessment tools have been developed with a perceivable evolutionary latency from when standards were released.With this work, we produced a state-of-the-art overview about inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) in the built environment, to inform the development of tools that will foster the design of future inclusive environments.

Time for a paradigm change? Incorporating transnational processes into the analysis of the emerging European health-care system

Health services have long been insulated from the process of European integration. In this article, however, we show that we are witnessing their re-configuration in an emerging EU health-care system. The article uncovers the structuring lines of this system by focusing on three interrelated EU-wide processes influencing the integration of national health-care systems into a larger whole. First, the privatisation of health-care services following the constraints of Maastricht economic convergence and the EU accession criteria; second, health-care worker and patient mobility arising from the free movement of workers and services within the European Single Market; and third, new EU laws and country-specific prescriptions on economic governance that the EU has been issuing following the 2008 financial crisis. The article shows that these processes have helped to construct a European health-care system that is uneven in terms of the distribution of patient access to services and of health-care workers’ wages and working conditions, but very similar in terms of EU economic and financial governance pressures on health care across EU Member States.

Concept for legal and economic changes to the pension insurance of farmers

Motivation: The study presents the current conditions for receiving the agricultural pension from the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS) and the rules for calculating it. They are organised in such a way that the longer the insurance period of the insured person, the lower the so-called supplementary part of their pension than in the case of the insured person with the shorter insurance period. In addition, since 2011, persons insured in KRUS and having farms with an area of more than 50 ha of utilised agricultural area have been obliged to pay higher amounts for their pension insurance which do not have any impact on the level of benefits received. Farmers who also run business activities are treated by the insurance legislation in a similar manner. Hence, there is a need to make changes to the legal and economic regulations in KRUS, which would reflect the new conditions of management in Poland after 1989 and the solutions existing in the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS).
 Aim: The objective of the study is to identify the regulations related to agricultural pension insurance which are inadequate in relation to the existing conditions of management in our country and to the solutions existing in ZUS. In addition, the objective of the paper is to propose changes to the insurance regulations of KRUS concerning the rules for calculating pensions and the definition of special branches of agricultural production. Also, the effects of these changes from the viewpoint of the insured person have been presented.
 Results: The result of the study is a proposal for changes to the rules for calculating pensions for farmers insured in KRUS. The paper proposes to split the pension from KRUS into three parts: the contribution part, supplementary part and capital part. The proposals presented differentiate the pension amount depending on the insurance period and additionally paid contributions. The paper proposes to extend the special branches of agricultural production and to adopt income they generate at the level of 50% of the average salary in the national economy or at the level of the minimum wage as a criterion for access to insurance in KRUS.

Age-discriminated IVF Access and Evidence-based Ageism: Is There a Better Way?

Access to state-funded fertility treatments is age-restricted in many countries based on epidemiological evidence showing age-associated fertility decline and aimed at administering scarce resources. In this article, we consider whether age-related restrictions can be considered ageist and what this entails for a normative appraisal of access criteria. We use the UK as a case study due to the state-funded and centrally regulated nature of in vitro fertilization (IVF) provision. We begin by reviewing concepts of ageism and age discrimination in gerontological scholarship and contend that it is analytically useful to differentiate between them when considering age-restricted health services. We then argue that criteria to access IVF could be considered indirectly ageist so far as they rely on an age-related evidence base that manifests ageist categorizations of persons. Lastly, we examine whether there could be more normatively desirable alternatives to devise criteria to access fertility treatment, considering “lifestyle” as a potential candidate. We conclude, however, that lifestyle-based discrimination is problematic because, unlike age-based discrimination, it risks exacerbating existing socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities.

PIN45 Antibiotic Consumption Among Hospitalized Patients Using the World Health Organization Aware Classification: A Secondary Analysis of a POINT-Prevalence Survey in Northern Nigeria

There is paucity of data describing the quantity of antibiotics used among hospitalized patients in Nigeria. This study describes the quantity of antibiotics (in defined daily dose [DDD]) used among hospitalized patients using the World Health Organization access, watch and reserve (AWaRe) criteria.

THE WORKING PROGRAMME OF THE ACADEMIC COURSE: THE COMPETENCE VECTOR

The article considers the problem of effective construction of the working programme as the main kind of the educational and methodical support for a course. The relevance of the topic of the research is caused by the existence of significant differences between the evaluation criteria and the expected results of teaching, the content of the course and the requirements of the educational programme. The quality of the architectonics and contentual logic of a working programme illustrates the professional competence of the scientific and pedagogical worker. The aim of the article is to raise the awareness of the methodical problem of construction of the working programme of the Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes course on the basis of the competence approach. The research process was based on the systemic structural and comparative methods of analysis of methodical materials, as well as generalisation and systematisation of the detected disadvantages. The selection of the working programme s for the analysis has been conducted considering the geographical criterion of the location of the pedagogical institution of higher education and the criterion of the free access to the educational programmes of the specialities 012 Pre-School Education, 013 Primary Education and the corresponding working programme s in the Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes course. The results of the research have been formulated according to the determined parameters. A gradual decrease in the interest in teaching the course at pedagogical institutions of higher education has been indicated, as well as its replacement with the Bases of Academic Writing course at non-pedagogical institutions of higher education. The author emphasizes the non-systemic use of the competence approach, the absence of a clear correlation between the programmatic competences and their concretisation within the course. Clearly determined teaching results concerning each topic in accordance with the educational programme have not been detected in any of the analysed programmes.

Strategies and criteria targeting the reform and development for the teaching resource of nursing undergraduate: A multi-center cross-sectional study.

Teaching resource of nursing students play an important role in improving clinical performance, while there is a little know and dearth of the access and development criteria or guidance of teaching resources for nursing undergraduates.To develop the admission and development criteria of education resources for nursing undergraduates, and to explore and determine its composition and connotation.A cross-sectional survey has been used.A total of 22 Chinese nursing schools and affiliated teaching bases (hospitals and community health centers).A total of 20 nursing experts were consulted to develop the questionnaire of admission and development criteria of teaching resource for nursing undergraduates in China, and then 285 valid experts from 22 Chinese nursing schools and affiliated teaching bases (hospitals and community health centers) conducted the questionnaire survey to evaluate experts’ consensus rate and view on the composition and connotation of the developed criteria.There were 6 domains and 43 items included in the admission and development criteria of teaching resource for nursing undergraduates, which domains included educational budget and allocation of resources, infrastructure, clinical teaching bases, books and information services, educational experts, and educational exchanges. The experts’ consensus rate was more than 90.2%.The standard is helpful to guide the future admission and development of teaching resource for nursing undergraduates, and favor the education quality improvement of nursing undergraduates.

QUALITY OF DESIGNS AND FEATURES OF SMALL URBAN GREEN SPACES IN PETALING JAYA TOWN, MALAYSIA

Small Urban Green Spaces (SUGS) mushroomed in dense cities as a scaled down version of larger parks. In the past, SUGS are often abandoned, or their quality is often overlooked. The purpose of this study is to explore the design and features to make a good quality SUGS. Five experts were approached with a weightage evaluation to rate its quality based on selected criteria's; Accessibility, Attractiveness, Functionality, and Safety. Each criterion had a variable to measure the construct. Findings from the expert evaluation showed that SUGS were rated medium or low overall quality. The variables that obtained the highest score and attained high-quality ratings were Obstacles (Safety criteria), General Maintenance (Attractiveness criteria), and Play Area (Accessibility criteria). Interview with park users revealed that they preferred the "presence of trees," "well-maintained environment," and "walking path accessibility." The least preferred attributes were "poor maintenance," "dangerous walking path," and "negative perception of safety." Overall, to ensure the quality of SUGS attention should be placed on the Accessibility of its features (e.g., walking path and play area), the attractiveness of the park (e.g., vegetation and maintenance), the functionality of the features (e.g., sports facilities) and perception of Safety (e.g., absence of obstacles).

Evaluación del índice de pobreza hídrica (WPI) en la cuenca de Borujerd-Dorood (Irán) para reforzar los planes de gestión del territorio

El Índice de Pobreza Hídrica (WPI) se considera, en general, una herramienta simple y clara para evaluar los efectos de factores combinados sobre la escasez de agua y la tensión de los recursos hídricos. En esta investigación, intentamos centrarnos en las problemáticas hídricas en las cabeceras de montaña de la cuenca de Karoon en Irán para analizar el estado de los recursos hídricos. Para este propósito, los datos requeridos se obtuvieron en primer lugar mediante la preparación de un informe de la Autoridad del Agua, la parte Agrícola y la Organización de Agua y Saneamiento del Condado de Borujerd. Luego, se estimó el valor del WPI a escala de subcuenca del río Karoon considerando como recurso la posibilidad de acceso, capacidad socioeconómica, usos y criterios de calidad ambiental. Los resultados de esta investigación indicaron un rango de variación entre 6,6 y 18,2, obteniendo el punto más bajo por su condición ambiental actual y el punto más alto por el fácil acceso. Los valores más altos de cada criterio muestran las mejores condiciones que conducen a una menor pobreza hídrica en esa subcuenca. En general, el valor de WPI es aproximadamente 67,65, según la clasificación del centro de Ecología e Hidrología de Wallingford, esta subcuenca se ubica en un rango de pobreza hídrica de baja a moderada. Dado el carácter multidimensional del WPI y considerando todos los factores que afectan a la disponibilidad o falta de recursos hídricos, así como las implicaciones económicas y sociales para la población dedicada, principalmente a la agricultura y la ganadería, podemos concluir que este índice puede ser considerado como una herramienta útil para esta región priorizar las áreas críticas y un paso efectivo para el desarrollo y uso óptimo de sus recursos hídricos.

Primary education degree programs in Alicante, Barcelona and Helsinki: Could the differences in the mathematical knowledge of incoming students be explained by the access criteria?

This perspective paper draws on the interest in ensuring that students who enter primary teacher training programs have a solid background knowledge of mathematics. We describe the access criteria and requirements for admission to the primary education degree programs at the Universidad de Alicante and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in Spain, and the University of Helsinki, in Finland. We present the results of an evaluation of the mathematical knowledge that students bring to their education as teachers at these three institutions. The results show that in each program, the subgroup of students who had followed the longer track of mathematics courses scored significantly higher on the mathematical test, although this was no longer as clear when we compared across universities. We also found that the students who had taken the mathematics section of the entrance examination or the matriculation examination scored higher on the test than those from the same program who had not, but this tendency broke down when cross-university comparisons were made. We also explored how the cap set on the number of students admitted to the three programs – this being the most striking difference in the admission policies – could be an explanatory variable for these discrepancies. The comparison between universities leads us to hypothesize that expecting applicants to have met certain requirements in their academic trajectories prior to university entrance and adjusting the cap set on the number of places could ensure a better mastery of mathematical knowledge among those students admitted to the Spanish programs.

Independent contractors and Covid-19 relief: Tax and social insurance legislative reform to extend protection to independent contractors

Since the Covid-19 virus arrived in South Africa, government has quite swiftly created a legislative framework to support its efforts to curb the rapid spread of the virus. For the most part the initiatives of government are commendable, but they very clearly leave out a great number of independent contractors and workers who may be currently incorrectly classified as such. The Department of Labour has created the TERS system (Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme), geared at providing support to employers in the event that the business, as a result of the pandemic, may find that they need to retrench staff or close their business altogether in the foreseeable future. TERS is aimed at assisting employers to avoid these measures. However, the key word in all of these measures is employees. Who is an employee? There are some key differences between employees and independent contractors, the latter falling outside of the scope of the support structures set out above. However, what we know is that because of the downturn of many global economies we have seen an increased ‘uberisation’ of work. More and more companies are resorting to fixed term and independent contracts to perform work, as opposed to permanent employment. Uber drivers, domestic workers, consultants, waste pickers, performing artists, actors are all amongst the individuals who cannot claim from the UIF fund. The main criterion for access to TERS and the National Disaster Benefit is that you already contribute to the Fund through your employer. This contribution considers the challenges with the linking of social insurance to the definition of an employee, the possibility of expansion of the scope of the UIF Act as well the restructuring of tax contributions made by independent contractors to possibly allow them access to increased social protection.