First-hand Information Research Articles

Home Sweet Home: A Program Report on Promoting the Uptake of Home Dialysis.

Canada's growing prevalence of people with kidney failure receiving kidney replacement therapy has necessitated the expansion of dialysis programs. Although facility-based hemodialysis is the predominant dialysis modality in Canada, it is substantially costlier than home dialysis (peritoneal or home hemodialysis). Initiatives to increase the uptake of home dialysis typically consist of didactic and experiential education. We describe a novel local initiative, Home Sweet Home (HSH), where individuals with lived experience of home dialysis and kidney health professionals share their experience and knowledge with participants in a clinic setting that has been set up to represent a metaphorical home. The aim of this report is to describe our HSH program and to evaluate its acceptability and reach for future scale and spread. We also explored home dialysis uptake among program participants. We collected feedback from attendees following each HSH event with anonymized surveys. We obtained clinical and demographic data and modality at follow-up from 2 linked databases, the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) and a regional clinical database, the Nephrology Information System (NIS). Reach was evaluated according to modality (i.e., the proportion of participants who were non-dialysis dependent vs the proportion receiving facility-based maintenance hemodialysis) and the proportion living remotely (defined as greater than 200 km from the event). We examined acceptability as the proportion who were interested in a home therapy (either peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis, or both) after attending the event. Demographic data and survey data were summarized with counts and percentages. Free text from surveys was collated and summarized. Participants were followed from the time of program attendance until June 21, 2022 or death. A total of 291 participants attended HSH between 2015 and 2019. At the time of program attendance, 70% of participants had chronic kidney disease (CKD) not requiring dialysis (CKD G4-5ND) and 30% had CKD G5D on facility-based maintenance hemodialysis. Participants were primarily urban dwelling (ie, in Edmonton). After the event, 92% of participants indicated they were interested in a home dialysis modality. From the survey free text, participants commonly expressed that they valued the "first-hand information" and a "real life perspective" from HSH facilitators and the simulation helped to ease anxiety about home dialysis. Participants expressed a desire for longer HSH events with more opportunities to ask questions. At a median follow-up of 858 days (interquartile range = 353-1347), 18% of the cohort remained dialysis independent and 25% died. Of the remaining 167 participants, N = 41 (25%) were receiving a home dialysis modality (either peritoneal dialysis or home hemodialysis), N = 40 (24%) received a kidney transplant, and N = 86 (51%) were dialyzing with facility-based hemodialysis. A more in-depth understanding of how the HSH program influenced decision-making for home dialysis could be attained from interviews and focus groups. No causal inferences can be made regarding the uptake of home therapies and HSH attendance. We did not have data on who received a home therapy prior to the last recorded modality at follow-up, which likely underestimated the use of home therapies. The HSH program was highly acceptable with 92% of participants reporting they were interested in a home modality. The reach of HSH could be improved by recruiting more individuals from facility-based hemodialysis and rural and remote locations.

Deep learning for polymer scaffold bioimage analysis: Opportunities and challenges

Significant efforts have been made to advance bioprinted scaffold research in cell biology, tissue engineering, and drug screening studies. Ideal scaffolds should demonstrate suitable mechanical properties, excellent biocompatibility, and bioactivities. However, the design and preparation of such scaffolds are challenging. Imaging modalities including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT), ultrasound imaging (UI), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) are commonly used to visualize the interior architecture of bioprinted scaffolds as well as the surrounding cells and tissues. The obtained bioimages provide the first-hand information of scaffold biological functionalities, while the interpretation of such images can readily give rise to divergent viewpoints and even arguments. This study is to review and explore deep learning (DL) methods in those image analysis through restoration, segmentation, and classification. Firstly, the current DL methods for biological image processing are summarized, such as convolutional neural network, U-Net and generative adversarial network. The corresponding outcomes of these methods can reveal the cell-scaffold and tissue-scaffold interactions and guide scaffold design in each specific task. Last but not least, the challenges and limitations of DL applications in this area are highlighted, such as building DL models using smaller bioimage datasets, interpreting DL models, vision-language model guided bioimage analysis, and developing intelligent analysis platforms. These studies would mark a paradigm shift in polymer scaffold designs and the associated performance.

Prediction of relative survival trends in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma using a model-based period analysis: a retrospective analysis of the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database

ObjectivesCutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) represents a malignancy characterised by the aberrant proliferation of skin epithelial cells, and certain instances of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) exhibit features indicative of a...

‘Bapedi A Re Boeleng Setṧong’ - Consequences of Undermining Ancestral Beliefs with Regards to the Concept of ‘Mohlobolo’ from Bapedi People’s Cultural Perspective

There appears to be an increasing interest in the integration of the concept ‘mohlobolo’ and traditional wedding ceremony (monyanya) in the Bapedi society, and this revives and strengthens Bapedi people’s traditional relationship with the ancestral realm. Strengthening interactions of ancestors of both families (bride and groom) through the significance role played by ‘mohlobolo’ has been a common practice for ages in the Bapedi society, but some families deliberately ignore this practice as the consequence of being mesmerized by external theological beliefs and modern technologies. There has been unsatisfactory integration of the concept ‘mohlobolo’ and traditional wedding ceremony even though Bapedi cultural heritage and identity advocates its use, and significant meaning stating that it strengthens the marriage relationship and preserves Bapedi people’s cultural wedding practice. Amongst Bapedi people, teamwork is preferable to get everyone involved and to facilitate ancestor veneration. This paper has its goal a drive to recognize ancestral beliefs as the foundation of a happy family and the creation of spiritual and religious values within Bapedi people’s cultural context. To address the objectives of this study, the following primary research questions were considered: 1) What are the consequences of undermining the pivotal role played by the concept ‘mohlobolo’ in traditional Bapedi wedding ceremonies? and 2) why are innocent children and grandchildren suffering because of the ignorance and negligence by their parents and grandparents? The primary sources for data collection include observations and oral interviews that were conducted through face-to-face interaction. The interviews were aimed at eliciting first-hand information on the knowledge of the subject matter. The secondary sources included among others, materials such as journal articles, books and theses, and of course personal experience. The results have shown that in the Bapedi society, some families are disintegrated as the consequence of undermining the pivotal role played by the concept ‘mohlobolo’. There appears to be unpleasant marriage relationship in some families; female partners cannot procreate, etc. It was concluded that ‘mohlobolo’ serves as the eternal bond between the families and the ancestors of the two families that are coming together through the bride and bridegroom.

The Methods and Practices of the Anglican Church of Uganda for Environmental Promotion and Protection

The study focuses on the methods and practices of the Anglican Church of Uganda for environmental promotion and protection. This research uses a qualitative approach with a literature study method. Primary sources enabled the study to generate firsthand information known as primary data. During the collection of data, the researcher used interviews, focus group discussions, and observation methods. Secondary data was collected through a major document review and analysis. From documents, the study generated secondary information that gave a broader perspective of the research questions and concepts for this study which was also cost-friendly. The results from the respondents confirmed that Christians are enabled to take their obligation seriously to promote and protect the environment. It was shown from the data obtained from the respondents that some of the Christians are regularly educated about environmental promotion and protection. The findings from the respondents suggested that the Anglican Theological Institutions of learning include environmental issues in their curricula. It was revealed by the respondents that a full week of reflection on stewardship of the environment annually was designated by the Anglican Christians of Uganda.

Effects of early marriage among women married before reaching 18 years old (qualitative study approach).

The consequences of early marriage have become a global concern for young women. The detrimental effects of early marriage disproportionately affect girls. Regarding its effects in poor nations like Ethiopia, there is a dearth of data. As a result, this study offers baseline, first-hand, and updated information for both the nation and the study area. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of early marriage on Guji women who were married before the age of 18. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach and was carried out from January to April 2024. An in-depth interview technique was employed to collect the data. The interviews were conducted in the Oromo language. A purposive sampling technique was applied to choose the study participants. A total of 25 women who met the eligibility criteria were selected. A thematic data analysis approach was employed to analyze the data in this study. Three themes, 10 subthemes, and more than hundreds of codes were extracted after the interview data were analyzed. The main themes and subthemes of this study were as follows: 1-Precipitators of early marriage (abduction and arranged marriage); 2-Consequences of early marriage (emotional damage, moral damage, early marriage is a risk factor for maternal and child health, early marriage is a major cause for girls to drop out of school, poverty, gender-based violence and divorce, lack of essential life skills); and 3-Attitudes toward early marriage (early marriage is a harmful cultural practice; girls should be protected). The study's findings illustrated the multidimensional effect of early marriage, necessitating the involvement of numerous sectors and stakeholders. The community, religious leaders, the health, education, and legal sectors, as well as the parents of young girls, should all take an active role in delaying early marriage. This indicates the development of policies that permit cooperation amongst all relevant parties. Creating awareness among girls, families, and the community through community-based education is crucial. Early married women should participate in intervention programs to provide their experience to young girls. Women who are victims of early marriage must receive full support to mitigate its negative consequences.

Perceptions of Implementing Real-Time Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes and Digital Analytics in a Majority-Minority Cancer Center.

Electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) tools are increasingly used to provide first-hand information on patient's symptoms and quality of life. This study explored how patients and health care providers (HCPs) perceive the use of a digital real-time ePRO tool, coupled with digital analytics at a cancer center located in a majority-minority county. Furthermore, we described the implementation barriers and facilitators identified from the participants' perspectives. We conducted a qualitative substudy as part of a larger implementation study conducted at University of California Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Patients and HCPs completed semistructured interviews and a focus group discussion. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes regarding perceived impact of the intervention on patient's care and implementation factors. A total of 31 participants, comprising 15 patients (67% English-speaking, 33% Spanish-speaking) and 16 HCPs (43.8% pharmacists, 37.5% physicians, 18.8% nurses), were interviewed. The utilization of real-time ePRO was perceived to beneficially affect patient care, improve patient-provider communication, and increase symptom awareness. Implementation facilitators included ease of comprehension and completion within the infusion center. Barriers included the need to incorporate results in electronic medical records and create real-time referral pathways to address patient's needs. The use of real-time ePRO in a majority-minority population was perceived to enhance patient-centered oncology care, yet implementation barriers must be addressed for successful integration in clinical settings. The findings from this study may inform implementation strategies to reduce health disparities.

Validating the place of Underutilized Indigenous Vegetable (UIV) Marketers: A case of Agrarian Communities, Southwestern Nigeria

Over the years, staple crops have faced several challenges, and a step away from over-reliance on them is very important to achieve food security in Nigeria. Indeed, underutilized vegetables are usually indigenous ancient crops that are still used reasonably in local, national, and even international communities. Hence, this study validates the spatial pattern and network of underutilized indigenous vegetable (UIV) marketers in Ondo State, southwestern, Nigeria with emphasis on fluted pumpkin (Telfaria occidentalis), African eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon) and Amaranth (Amaranthus virides). A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 120 UIV marketers from 5 villages. Primary data were collected and gathered using structured questionnaires and responses from the interview were coded and analyzed with STATA and UCINET. The study further examines the factors influencing the performance of the UIV marketers and determines the predictors driving association membership using multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression, respectively. The analysis results revealed that the majority (90.83%) of the UIVs marketers are female with a large proportion of the marketers within the age range of 51-60 years. The primary occupation of most of the respondents is trading (51.67%). From the regression results, belonging to a vegetable association is not statistically significant and thus it can be concluded that being a member of a vegetable association does not affect the income of the marketers. This is in sync with the information gathered from the focus group interviews that the association only serve as a medium to get firsthand information on price, product quality, and vegetables demanded. However, from social network analysis, it can also be concluded that the major actors involved in UIV marketing are interrelated and that they transfer information between themselves with the association being the common ground for such exchange. The study recommends that the government should consciously push for the wide acceptance of vegetable cultivation and provide good network roads in rural areas.

The implementation of the fee-free secondary education policy in Ukerewe district, Tanzania: Teachers’ points of view on increased classroom workload

The implementation of the fee-free secondary education policy offers significant comprehension into teachers' points of view, particularly regarding workload challenges. Guided by Expectancy-Value Theory, this study explores teachers' points of view on the policy's implementation in the selected government secondary schools in Ukerewe District, Tanzania. A key focus is on whether the government sufficiently considered the increased teacher workload resulting from higher student enrolments. In this article, surveys, non-participant observations, and focus group discussions were utilised to collect first-hand information. This was complemented by documentary reviews for secondary data. Qualitative data were thematically analysed, while quantitative data were processed using descriptive statistics. A five-point Likert scale was also designed to assess three hypothetical statements regarding teachers' points of view on the implementation of the policy. In this study, 90.63% of the teachers considered that their workload had significantly increased due to the surge in student numbers following the policy's implementation. The study concludes that the implementation process was flawed, as the government did not recruit additional teachers to meet the growing demand. The study recommends the government to invest in more educational resources and recruit additional teachers to better accommodate the expanding student population.

A Study of Hong Kong's Insurance Industry Based on the New Development Pattern Model

Against the backdrop of global economic changes and China's economic restructuring, the potential of Hong Kong's insurance industry as an investment channel is gaining increasing attention. This thesis aims to explore the opportunities and challenges of Hong Kong's insurance industry under the new development pattern. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses, it examines the historical data and future trends of Hong Kong's insurance market and conducts a study based on first-hand information obtained through data surveys and expert interviews, exploring the specific impacts of the new development pattern on the insurance industry, and incorporating the development of the Greater Bay Area into the research framework. Hong Kong's insurance industry harbours a wealth of investment opportunities in terms of expanding market size, product diversification, and policy support, but it also faces challenges such as intensifying market competition and international uncertainty. The study recommends that investors should focus on long-term trends to optimise their investment strategies and address market risks.

Adult Education Program Implementers’ Understanding and Usage of Strategy Policy Documents in Addis Abab City Administration, Ethiopia

This study was targeted to assess adult education program implementers’ understanding towards adult education policy documents and usage of the documents in Addis Ababa City Administration. In order to guide the study qualitative method was applied. Accordingly, qualitative data was gathered using interview and document analysis. Qualitative data like views of respondents and result gained from document analysis were discussed by narrating the evidences/responses in words. As the findings of this study reveals, majority of adult education program implementers lack understanding about the policy documents of adult education sector; there is no established and sustainable awareness creation system and capacity building program for newly employed and other personnel; non-existence an established structure to lead adult education program according to the designed strategy documents are some of the results of the research. In order to overcome the challenges mentioned above adult education implementing organizations have to launch continuous professional development (CPD) program for implementers of adult education program. Consequently, implementers of the program can get first-hand information on the policy documents on one hand and they can also upgrade their profession on the other hand.

Adopting marketing intelligence to achieve competitive advantage: Applied research in a sample of the union bank of Iraq

The purpose of this research is to investigate how a marketing intelligence system may help an organization get a competitive edge within the study setting and to comprehend the practicalities of doing so. There were two variables in the study: marketing intelligence, which was represented by the dimensions of customer understanding, market analysis, product intelligence, and competitor monitoring, was the independent variable, and competitive advantage, which was represented by the dimensions of cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery, was the dependent variable. Surveys were used in the study to get firsthand information from the Union Bank of Iraq in the province of Baghdad. A deliberate sample including thirty bank managers was chosen. SPSS V.26 software was utilized to process the data utilizing a range of statistical methods. The investigation produced a number of findings. The most notable of them was the direct connection and beneficial impact of the marketing intelligence system on Union Bank of Iraq's ability to gain a competitive edge. A number of recommendations were also made, the most notable of which being that the management of the bank should monitor environmental changes in order to recognize changes in the market, take advantage of opportunities, and address dangers.

An improved time series SAR interferometry (TSInSAR) for investigating earthquake-induced active unstable slopes (AUS) in Pakistan

ABSTRACT Time series interferometric SAR (TSInSAR) techniques face challenges related to the availability of highly coherent point targets in non-urban, vegetated, and mountainous regions. In this study, we tested an improved TSInSAR approach with the help of distributed scatterers (DS) detected through the fast statistically homogeneous pixel selection (faSHP) approach and jointly processed with persistent scatterers (PS) within the interferometric point target analysis (IPTA) framework. The method is applied to a seismically active and highly gradient terrain to investigate the earthquake-induced active unstable slopes (AUS) in the Muzaffarabad-Balakot region of northern Pakistan, particularly using sixteen PALSAR-2 images acquired between October 2014 and May 2020. However, its effectiveness was also assessed by using Sentinel-1 data from the same time period. The quantitative assessment showed the effectiveness of the method in delineating the sliding surfaces of the unstable slopes and achieving approximately four times higher point density as compared to the standard PSI approach when applied to PALSAR-2 data and approximately nine times higher point targets when Sentinel-1 data is used. Exhibiting an average deformation rate varying between −40 mm yr−1 and 20 mm yr−1 along the line of sight (LOS) direction, the obtained results from PALSAR-2 data revealed the existence of 451 AUS in the region. The study also reports the discovery of a giant destabilized slope (~2.30 sq. km) located near Patika Village along the Neelam River. The majority of these unstable slopes are found at altitudes above 780 m, with slope angles ranging from 15 to 50 degrees. The study also found a significant correlation between deformation patterns and local precipitation. The rainwater gradually penetrates into the joints and cracks, accelerating the processes of deformation and slope failure. The research and its findings could help decision-making entities by providing first-hand information for managing the risks associated with slope failure.

Research or policy – which lever pushes practice faster? A universal design for learning historical footnote: A response to Guy Boysen

The article by Guy Boysen provides an evidence-based review of sound foundational works in the field of universal design for learning (UDL). As the field of UDL continues to evolve, his work is timely and important. The questions he raises about the foundational research base supporting UDL illustrate the significance of scientific scrutiny about how research is translated into educational policy. Reading the author’s article, I realized that I had first-hand information about one aspect of the critique concerning how the initial UDL research based was identified. The purpose of this article is to provide a historical footnote that may assist the profession in analyzing the UDL evidence base and its connection to educational policy.

Rediscovering the location of agricultural production: Spatial linkage of farmland use intensity and labor opportunity costs in Central China

Agricultural location theory was the earliest work to reveal the land use and agricultural layout of urban suburbs; however, there is an increasing difference between Dunn's theoretical model and modern agricultural layouts, and there is thus an urgent need to establish new theoretical relationships. In this work, we sought to reveal new patterns of modern suburban agricultural land use using remote sensing data and land economics knowledge. We used remote sensing data to obtain first-hand land-use information while considering the attractiveness of the urban center to labor, and we explored the impact of agricultural opportunity costs on agricultural land use. We found that agricultural land use in suburbs in Central China have four obvious layers: dominance of built-up areas, dominance of single cropping, dominance of double cropping, and dominance of triple cropping. From the perspective of planting patterns, with increasing distance from the city center, the proportion of single-cropping areas decreases from 60% to 20%, that of double-cropping areas increases from 20% to 70%, that of triple-cropping areas always remains below 10%, and the multiple-cropping index increases from 120% to 180%. From the perspective of land economics and considering labor cost, planting profits decrease with increasing distance from the city center. The increasing attractiveness of the urban center to migrant workers significantly weakens farmers' willingness to plant. From the perspective of the circle structure, before 2000, farmers' planting profits were higher than the opportunity costs in all regions; after 2000, farmers with arable land within a 40-km radius of the center may have been more inclined to choose farming, while those with land outside this 40-km radius may have been more inclined to work elsewhere. Under changing agricultural policies, farmers' planting profits increased to a historical high, but profits became negative in all regions after 2015, and the willingness of people to farm reached a historical low. With this work, we continue the development of the hierarchical structure model of The Location of Agricultural Production and summarize new laws of modern agricultural land use from the perspectives of remote sensing data and land economics, supplementing and enriching agricultural location theory.

Nontarget Analysis of Legacy and Emerging PFAS in a Lithium-Ion Power Battery Recycling Park and Their Possible Toxicity Measured Using High-Throughput Phenotype Screening.

Driven by the global popularity of electric vehicles and the shortage of critical raw materials for batteries, the spent lithium-ion power battery (LIPB) recycling industry has exhibited explosive growth in both quantity and scale. However, relatively little information is known about the environmental risks posed by LIPB recycling, in particular with regards to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In this work, suspect screening and nontarget analysis were carried out to characterize PFAS in soil, dust, water and sediment from a LIPB recycling area. Twenty-five PFAS from nine classes were identified at confidence level 3 or above, including 13 legacy and 12 emerging PFAS, as well as two ultrashort-chain PFAS. Based on the target analysis of 16 PFAS, at least nine were detected in each environmental sample, indicating their widespread presence in a LIPB recycling area. Perfluorodecanoic acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and trifluoromethanesulfonamide showed significant differences in the four phenotypic parameters (growth, movement, survival and fecundity) of Caenorhabditis elegans and were the most toxic substances in all target PFAS at an exposure concentration of 200 μM. Our project provides first-hand information on the existence and environmental risk of PFAS, facilitating the formulation of regulations and green development of the LIPB recycling industry.

Analysis of Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Rwanda Using Wood Firm-Level Data

This study assesses and quantifies the economic and financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic during the period of business operation restrictions countrywide (lockdown measures). We examine the strategies adopted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reopen their business operations after lockdown measures had been relaxed or lifted. Data were collected in Rwanda from nearly 244 SMEs across the country, providing firsthand and reliable information on the effects of the pandemic on business performance, with a particular emphasis on wood-based enterprises. We used Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) and multivariate linear regression methods to measure the pandemic’s effects on employment, sales, and tax payments among SMEs. The findings reveal that firms downsized employment by 36%, with significant deviations within different SME sizes. Small businesses were particularly affected by reduced sales levels due to the pandemic. Although there was an overall reduction in tax payments during the crisis, medium-sized enterprises experienced a more significant decrease in taxes paid to the government by 74.6%. Additionally, regression findings affirm that the COVID-19 effects on SMEs were manifested in reduced sales across all categories of SMEs, reduced employment, and a reduced amount of taxes paid to the government, which further translate to reduced economic performance during COVID-19 period. Furthermore, SME owners utilised various coping mechanisms during the reopening phase, including a reliance on savings and selling assets. The analysis recommends establishing medium-term financing mechanisms and providing technical support for SMEs to ensure a steady and sustainable recovery from the pandemic’s effects, as well as enhancing their resilience to future socio-economic shocks.

Ensuring quality higher education in Ukraine in times of war

This study focuses on exploring the issue of ensuring quality higher education in the conditions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It synthesizes and analyzes literature sources, legal documents, secondary data, original (survey) data, and the author’s experiences with enhancing the quality of higher education. Using analysis of the legal documents, such as the National Doctrine of the Development of Education, the Law of Ukraine ‘On education’, and the Law of Ukraine ‘On higher education’, I study the legal framework for Ukrainian higher education. Using secondary data obtained from online sources, I find irrefutable evidence of mass destruction from Russian military aggression on educational institutions of Ukraine and the educational process in general, and specific initiatives from the Ukrainian state, Ukrainian universities, and international institutions to support the Ukrainian higher education system in wartime conditions. Using original data collected through surveys, I present first-hand information on the processes of changes in higher education in Ukraine under the conditions of Russia’s ongoing military aggression and the issue of ensuring quality higher education through the prism of the experience of students at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Using the author’s personal teaching experience in the implementation of joint global classrooms, I analyze the possibilities of developed partnerships for motivating students and ensuring quality higher education in the conditions of war. Based on the analysis and synthesis of secondary data, I identify the main responses of the higher education system of Ukraine which enable it to maintain the quality of higher education as the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals during the war, namely (i) improvement and wider implementation of an online education system; (ii) organization of work of higher education institutions relocated from the occupied territories to territories controlled by Ukraine; (iii) support of international institutions; and (iv) partnership programmes with partner universities. The analysis of the results of the survey of students highlighted that the top priority of a Ukrainian university during wartime should be the safety of all participants in the educational and research process and high-quality education, and the most serious problems that create obstacles to ensuring the quality of education are the distressed psychological states of the participants in the educational process and organizational issues in the conditions of military aggression. By analyzing the experience of the implementation of joint global classrooms format, I also highlight that this format can be an effective additional measure in motivating students and ensuring the quality of higher education in the difficult conditions of war, and a developed partnership plays a crucial role in its implementation.

Shear-imposed falling film on a vertical moving plate with disrupted time-reversal

We propose a mathematical model to study the stability and dynamics of a shear-imposed thin film flow on a vertical moving plate, incorporating the influence of odd viscosity. This odd viscosity effect is vital in conventional fluids when there is a disruption in time-reversal symmetry. Our motivation to study the dynamics with odd viscosity arises from recent studies (Kirkinis & Andreev, vol. 878, 2019, pp. 169–189; Chattopadhyay & Ji, vol. 455, 2023, pp. 133883) where the odd viscosity effectively reduces flow instabilities under different scenarios. Utilizing a long wave perturbation method, we derive a nonlinear evolution equation at the liquid–air interface, which is influenced by the motion of the vertical plate, imposed shear, odd viscosity, and inertia. We first perform a linear stability analysis of the model to get firsthand information on various flow parameters. Three distinct conditions for the vertical plate, quiescent, upward-moving, and downward-moving, are considered, accounting the imposed shear and odd viscosity. Additionally, employing the method of multiple scales, we conduct a weakly nonlinear stability analysis for the traveling wave solution of the evolution equation and explore its bifurcation analysis. The bifurcation analysis reveals the existence of subcritical unstable and supercritical stable zones for crucial flow parameters: odd viscosity, imposed shear, and motion of the vertical plate. Both linear and weakly nonlinear stability analyses demonstrate that the destabilizing effect induced by the upward motion of the vertical plate can be alleviated by applying uphill shear, while the destabilizing effect of downhill shear can be mitigated when the vertical plate is in a downward motion. Moreover, we define an eigenvalue problem that mirrors the Orr–Sommerfeld (OS) model for analyzing normal modes and identifying the critical Reynolds number. We investigate the dynamics of surface waves through numerical solutions of the OS eigenvalue problem using the Chebyshev spectral collocation method. We observe the consistent enhancement of stabilization in the presence of odd viscosity. In the low to moderate Reynolds number range, vertical plate motion and odd viscosity show similar behavior in OS analysis, while imposed shear exhibits distinct changes. The Benney-type model does not agree with the OS problem when the Reynolds number is moderate with or without the three key parameters: vertical plate motion, imposed shear, and odd viscosity. However, when the Reynolds number is low with or without the three key parameters: vertical plate motion, imposed shear, and odd viscosity, the Benney-type model agrees with the OS. Further, numerical simulations of the evolution equation corroborate the results obtained from linear stability, weakly nonlinear stability, and OS analyses. Finally, the Hopf bifurcation analysis of the fixed point reveals that the wave speed is influenced by both the motion of the plate and the imposed shear while it remains independent of odd viscosity.

Implementation of Pancasila Values in Regional Head Leadership (Case Study: Hand of Love Assistance Program in the Leadership of Paulus Waterpauw 2020-2022 in West Papua Province)

The "Hand of Love (Bantuan Tangan Kasih) Assistance Program" under the leadership of Paulus Waterpauw from 2020-2022 in West Papua Province is investigated in this study. The data used here were firsthand information directly related to the implementation of the program and its implementation, along with documents, reports, and literature related to Pancasila values, regional leadership, and specific programs. The results of the research are discussed based on the policy implementation of Van Meter and Van Horn (1975), which emphasizes six dimensions, namely policy goals and objectives, policy resources, characteristics of implementing agents, implementing attitudes, communication between implementing organizations, and socio-economic and political environment. The findings show that the success of the implementation process of the Hand of Love Assistance Program is greatly influenced by the characteristics of the implementers. The hedonistic lifestyle after the enactment of the Special Autonomy has eroded the morality of almost some state administrators. The "hand of love" program is a program that has been implemented by a transmigration and labor office, Bank Penyalur, as the implementer.