Mainstream Systems Research Articles

A REVIEW OF CAMBODIAN PRIVATE TUTORING: PARASITIC AND SYMBIOTIC FUNCTIONS TOWARDS THE MAINSTREAM SYSTEM

Offering private tutoring (PT) to their students is legal in Cambodia. However, teachers are banned from engaging in PT during official hours and holidays. Literature has proven common root causes across contexts such as low salaries, class size, insufficient instructional times and high-stakes examinations. With a new attempt, this narrative paper aims to discuss PT and its effects from the different stakeholders’ perspectives and to reflect PT functions towards mainstream education. On the one hand, symbiosis generates a ‘dependency system,’ divided into two relationships such as ‘commensalism’ between PT and the mainstream system, and ‘mutualism’ between supply and demand side including the mainstream system. On the other hand, parasitism (professional misconduct) exists owing to policy implementers’ laissez-faire approach in exercising the approved codes of conducts. Hence, the parasitism remains in the public classrooms owing to the lack of accountability and monitoring system of the in-charge stakeholders. Its presence enlarges the capacity of the dependency system to cast a shadow over the incomplete shape and size of the mainstream system. Thus, it should be alerted that when it is oversized, this symbiotic function may downplay the mainstream system and moves it away from the core attention of the demand side.
 
 Keywords: Cambodia, extra lesson, private tuition, shadow education, supplementary tutoring.
 
 Cite as: Soeung, S. (2021). A review of Cambodian private tutoring: Parasitic and symbiotic functions towards the mainstream system. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(1), 42-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss1pp42-58

Persistent inequitable design and implementation of patient portals for users at the margins.

ObjectiveDiane Forsythe and other feminist scholars have long shown how system builders’ tacit assumptions lead to the systematic erasure of certain users from the design process. In spite of this phenomena being known in the health informatics literature for decades, recent research shows how patient portals and electronic patients health records continue to reproduce health inequalities in Western societies. To better understand this discrepancy between scholarly awareness of such inequities and mainstream design, this study unravels the (conceptual) assumptions and practices of designers and others responsible for portal implementation in the Netherlands and how citizens living in vulnerable circumstances are included in this process.Materials and methodsWe conducted semistructured interviews (n = 24) and questionnaires (n = 14) with portal designers, health professionals, and policy advisors.ResultsIn daily design practices, equity is seen as an “end-of-the-pipeline” concern. Respondents identify health care professionals rather than patients as their main users. If patients are included in the design, this generally entails patients in privileged positions. The needs of citizens living in vulnerable circumstances are not prioritized in design processes. Developers legitimize their focus with reference to the innovation-theoretical approach of the Diffusion of Innovations.Discussion and conclusionAlthough feminist scholars have developed important understandings of the exclusion of citizens living in vulnerable circumstances from portal design, other academic efforts have profoundly shaped daily practices of portal development. Diane Forsythe would likely have taken up this discrepancy as a challenge by finding ways to translate these insights into mainstream systems design.

Forage-fed cattle point the way forward for beef?

Many try to eat sustainably but reliable information is lacking, and environmental impact often prioritises over nutritional quality. Here we consider beneficial fatty acid profiles in steaks from 4 UK systems: non-organic, organic, certified pasture-fed and conservation cattle.Most individual fatty acids and ratios considered beneficial for health (individual and total omega 3, vaccenic acid and CLA) followed a gradient, against assumed intensity of production. Ratios for linoleic acid: α-linolenic acid, omega-6:omega-3 and SFA:PUFA in pasture-fed sirloins were only 27%, 55% and 70% (respectively) of those in non-organic beef. Intramuscular fat from pasture-fed meat had twice as much omega-3 and 1.9x the long chain omega-3 concentrations compared with non-organic meat, with a ratio of omega-6:omega-3 only 38% of that in non-organic meat.Meat from 100% pasture-fed and conservation grazing offer public good, matching dietary guidelines better than meat from mainstream systems and qualifying as a source of long chain omega-3 fatty acids.

Factors that promote and sustain the use of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine services at LEKMA hospital, Ghana, 2017: an observational study

BackgroundAbout 70% of Ghanaians depend on traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) practices for primary healthcare needs. It was therefore integrated into mainstream healthcare delivery system by the Ministry of Health in September 2012. LEKMA hospital was one of the institutions for piloting TCIM services. We assessed factors that promote the usage and sustainability of TCIM services within the formal healthcare system.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study from April–June 2017 at the LEKMA hospital, Accra, Ghana. Patients and managers of TCIM clinic were interviewed. Data was collected through qualitative and quantitative approaches. We defined usage of TCIM as its current use, and sustainability as structures in place to run TCIM services. For assessing usage, a five-point Likert scale was used to assess five domain areas via exit interviews. Managers were assessed on the sustainability of TCIM services through in-depth interviews. Likert scales responses were analysed quantitatively using descriptive tertile statistics. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative analysis.ResultsOverall, 72.7% (40/55) of the clients showed a high preference for TCIM usage and 80.0% (4/5) of the managers valued it as partially sustainable. Eighty per cent (44/55) of patients indicated that the location of TCIM services and availability of visible directional signs influenced the good usage; 84% (46/55) of the patients agreed that the usage of TCIM was influenced by their perceived effectiveness. Managers indicated that human resources for providing services was a challenge and TCIM integration into the operations of the hospital needed to be improved.ConclusionWe observed a high preference for usage of TCIM among users at LEKMA hospital. The general belief in the potency, perceived effectiveness, location and availability of TCIM services are key determinants of the high preference for usage of TCIM. Provision of TCIM services in its current form is partially sustainable from the managers’ perspective. We recommend that the Ministry of Health ensures the availability of staff and create awareness of TCIM services among the general populace.

The Two Great Healing Traditions: Issues, Opportunities, and Recommendations for an Integrated First Nations Healthcare System in Canada

ABSTRACT The First Nations in Manitoba, Canada, are calling for active recognition and incorporation of holistic traditional healing and medicine ways and approaches by the mainstream healthcare system that has hitherto tended to ignore all but biomedical approaches. This request for recognition requires elaboration on areas of opportunity for collaboration that could positively influence both Indigenous and allopathic medicine. We discuss pathways to an integrated healthcare system as community-based primary healthcare transformation. A community-based participatory research approach was used to engage eight Manitoba First Nations communities. One hundred and eighty-three (183) in-depth, semi-structured key informant interviews were completed in all communities. Grounded theory guided data analysis using NVivo 10 software. We learned that increased recognition and incorporation of traditional healing and medical methods would enhance a newly envisioned funded health system. Elders and healers will be meaningfully involved in the delivery of community-based primary health care. Funding for traditional healing and medicines are necessary components of primary health care. An overall respect for Indigenous health knowledge would aid transformation in community-based primary health care. Recognition of and respect for traditional healing, healers, medicines, therapies, and approaches is also recommended as part of addressing the legacy and intergenerational impact of assimilative policies including Indian residential schools as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has stated in its Calls to Action.

The criminalization of indigenous people in Roraima state, Brazil: indigenous strategies to bring their rights into effect in the face of injustices and inequalities

Abstract The criminalization of indigenous people in the prisons of Roraima state, Brazil, is examined, in which the justice system, as throughout Brazil, has no mechanisms to identify indigenous people and recognize their differentiated constitutional rights, reinforcing the inequalities and injustices for indigenous people, the most oppressed and discriminated since colonial times. Over the past decade, indigenous organizations in the state capital have drawn attention to this problem and taken protagonist measures to try to change it. The Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), through their lawyer, Joênia Wapichana, elected, in 2018 the first Indigenous woman to be a federal deputy, set up a project to write down indigenous oral law so that it could be used locally to deal with criminal cases, encouraging indigenous communities to resolve accusations of crimes through councils of local leaders and thereby avoid them being handed over to the mainstream criminal justice system.

MobilityDB

Despite two decades of research in moving object databases and a few research prototypes that have been proposed, there is not yet a mainstream system targeted for industrial use. In this article, we present MobilityDB, a moving object database that extends the type system of PostgreSQL and PostGIS with abstract data types for representing moving object data. The types are fully integrated into the platform to reuse its powerful data management features. Furthermore, MobilityDB builds on existing operations, indexing, aggregation, and optimization framework. This is all made accessible via the SQL query interface.

Novel Data Placement Algorithm for Distributed Storage System Based on Fault-Tolerant Domain

The 3-replica redundancy strategy is widely used to solve the problem of data reliability in large-scale distributed storage systems. However, its storage capacity utilization is only 33%. In this paper, a data placement algorithm based on fault-tolerant domain (FTD) is proposed. Owing to the fine-grained design of the FTD, the data reliability of systems using two replicas is comparable to that of current mainstream systems using three replicas, and the capacity utilization is increased to 50%. Moreover, the proposed FTD provides a new concept for the design of distributed storage systems. Distributed storage systems can take FTDs as the units for data placement, data migration, data repair and so on. In addition, fault detection can be performed independently and concurrently within the FTDs.

Barriers and enablers for Indigenous public health practitioners

Abstract Indigenous Maori Public Health Practitioners who work in mainstream public health systems experience significant barriers to workplace success and the barriers to positive public health impact in our communities. This is a Kaupapa Maori qualitative study that highlights the barriers and enablers to Maori Senior Public Health practitioners within Mainstream New Zealand Public Health Units. Given there are nearly 400 million Indigenous people worldwide, this is an opportunity to share recommendations from this research study with the global public health community about how to re-orient public health organisations and approaches to effectively address workforce development as well as improve engagement and impact in Indigenous communities. Key messages Indigenous knowledge is undervalued in Mainstream Public Health Systems. Indigenous inequities cannot be truly addressed unless providers re-orient themselves by authentically understanding Indigenous ways of working.

Genetic and genomic resources for improving proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.): a potential crop for food and nutritional security

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is a food crop domesticated around 10,000 years ago, that has been prevalent throughout ancient civilization. However, use of millets in the diets has drastically been reduced owing to the addition of cereals such as rice and wheat. At present, proso millet is being cultivated and consumed by a marginal population. Irrespective of the lack of popularity, the crop is well known for its climate resilience traits as well as nutritional properties. Noteworthy, the crop is low on glycemic index, gluten-free, possesses good quality protein, vitamins, minerals, and other nutraceutical properties. Being a C4 panicoid species, proso millet possesses better water-use and nitrogen-use efficiency, thus promising this as an ideal crop for cultivation in the scenario of global climate change. The extent of food insecurity among the ever-growing population, as well as the prevalence of malnutrition and undernutrition among the children, reinstate the requirement of a nutritious diet that millets and other traditionally important crops can address. Given this, the present review enumerates the progress made in genetics, genomics, and other omics of proso millet that would pave way for improvement using biotechnological as well as breeding interventions. Further, this review elaborates a roadmap for improving this crop in the mainstream cropping system.

Disability-Related Questions for Administrative Datasets.

High rates of unemployment among people with disability are long-standing and persistent problems worldwide. For public policy, estimates of prevalence and population profiles are required for designing support schemes such as Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme; for monitoring implementation of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and for monitoring service access, participation, and equity for people with disability in mainstream systems including employment. In the public sector, creating a succinct identifier for disability in administrative systems is a key challenge for public policy design and monitoring. This requires concise methods of identifying people with disability within systems, producing data comparable with population data to gauge accessibility and equity. We aimed to create disability-related questions of value to the purposes of an Australian state and contribute to literature on parsimonious and respectful disability identification for wider application. The research, completed in 2017, involved mapping and identification of key disability concepts for inclusion in new questions, focus groups to refine wording of new questions, and online surveys of employees evaluating two potential new question sets on the topic of disability and environment. Recommendations for new disability-related questions and possible new data collection processes are being considered and used by the leading state authority.

Role of TLC to ensure manifestation of individual ingredients in herbal formulation

Herbal medicine is gaining its popularity day by day and gradually streaming toward integration into the mainstream healthcare systems. Therefore, standardization of herbal formulations is essential in order to assess quality of the drugs. Two commonly used paradigms, compound and pattern-based approaches, were performed to ensure quality and hence product consistency. A rapid, sensitive, and reproducible high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method has been developed for one of the major bioactive markers, piperine. The plates were developed using the mobile phase with toluene–ethyl acetate–formic acid–methanol (3:3:0.8:0.2, v/v). The method was validated for limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity, specificity, precession, and recovery. The results indicate that the bioactive compound was present in 2.64% w/w in the fruit of Piper nigrum Linn. and 0.253% in a herbal formulation. Each ingredient was analyzed vis-a-vis the herbal formulation and the reflectance spectrum of the matching component(s) to ensure the presence of each ingredient in the herbal formulation. The individual component adding up has also resulted similar fingerprint pattern as that of herbal formulation. Thus, the TLC method could be a rapid tool for the delineation of each individual ingredient in the finished products for authenticity, efficacy, and for batch-to-batch consistency.

Non-Performing Loan in Bangladesh: A Comparative Study on the Islamic Banks and Conventional Banks

The banking business is one of the booming businesses in Bangladesh. But at present, the sector is struggling to be on the growth path due to the growing proportion of Non-Performing Loan (NPL). The NPL has instigated a negative influence on the growth of Banking Business. This study has compared the severity of the impact of operational modes between two mainstream banking systems, traditional banking and Islamic banking, which may affect Non-performing loans. Other variables such as governance of the banks, bureaucracy, and size of the banks, the difference in reserve ratio, capital adequacy ratio, and interest rates have different impacts on NPL. We have explained the impact of the variables on the bank performance as per mainstream banking operational model. Finally, we have proposed some evocative measures through which the Non-performing loan can be minimized.

Effects of various side stream phosphorus recovery volume on the performance and microbial structures of mainstream biological system

ABSTRACT The effects of three side stream phosphorous recovery volume on the performance and microbial structure of biological phosphorous removal system were investigated. Results showed that the removal of COD and nitrogen had no significant impacts by side stream operation, but the removal of phosphorous were gradually enhanced with the increase in side stream volume (SSV). The secretion of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) were variously promoted at the stripping period. However, with the increase in SSV, the inhibition on EPS and phosphorus-accumulating organisms (PAOs) phosphorous absorption were severe and the restoration were tougher. The high throughout 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed the succession of microbial population were significantly effected by side stream operation. The relative abundances of PAOs reduced to 0.17%, 0.09% and 0.07% with 30%, 60% and 90% side stream operations, respectively. At the restoration period, the relative abundance could restore to 95.4%, 65% and 38% initial values, respectively. The relative abundances of glycogen-accumulating organisms were variously enhanced under various SSV conditions. In conclusion, at SSV of 60%, more abundant recovered phosphorous could be obtained and had slighter and reversible effects on activated sludges. The SSV of 60% was the applicable SSV for phosphorous recovery from the biological phosphorus removal system.

Labeled Network Stack: A High-Concurrency and Low-Tail Latency Cloud Server Framework for Massive IoT Devices

Internet of Things (IoT) applications have massive client connections to cloud servers, and the number of networked IoT devices is remarkably increasing. IoT services require both low-tail latency and high concurrency in datacenters. This study aims to determine whether an order of magnitude improvement is possible in tail latency and concurrency in mainstream systems by proposing a hardware–software codesigned labeled network stack (LNS) for future datacenters. The key innovation is a cross-layered payload labeling mechanism that distinguishes different requests by payload across the full network stack, including application, TCP/IP, and Ethernet layers. This type of design enables prioritized data packet processing and forwarding along the full datapath, such that latency-insensitive requests cannot significantly interfere with high-priority requests. We build a prototype datacenter server to evaluate the LNS design against a commercial X86 server and the mTCP research, using a cloud-supported IoT application scenario. Experimental results show that the LNS design can provide an order of magnitude improvement in tail latency and concurrency. A single datacenter server node can support over 2 million concurrent long-living connections for IoT devices as a 99-percentile tail latency of 50 ms is maintained. In addition, the hardware–software codesign approach remarkably reduces the labeling and prioritization overhead and constrains the interference of high-priority requests to low-priority requests.

Autism and the right to education in the EU: policy mapping and scoping review of Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, and Sweden

IntroductionThe universal right to education for people with disabilities has been highlighted by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In this paper, we mapped policies addressing the right to education and special education needs of autistic children in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.MethodsA policy path analysis was carried out using a scoping review as an underlying framework for data gathering. Policy mapping was performed independently by both lead authors to increase reliability.Results and discussionThe values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have been closely translated into the respective education systems of the countries under study, offering special education needs services and support in mainstream education with the aim of including as many children into mainstream education as possible. Even though the education systems are comparable, the approaches between the countries under study are slightly different. Denmark and Sweden have passed several policies specifically geared towards special education needs, while Finland incorporates this more in general education policy.ConclusionAll countries under study have incorporated the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in their respective education systems while emphasising the need to include as many children in the mainstream system as possible.

Investigation of anaerobic side-stream phosphorus recovery and its effect on the performance of mainstream EBPR subjected to low-consumption.

In this study, phosphate-rich supernatant at the end of anaerobic phase was extracted by a certain side-stream ratio for chemical precipitation to investigate the optimal conditions for phosphorus recovery. The effect of side-stream reaction on the performance of the mainstream enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) system was also explored. The experiment was carried out in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operated in an alternating anaerobic/aerobic mode with dissolved oxygen controlled at 1.0 mg · L-1. The results showed that the optimum magnesium source,temperature, stirring speed and reaction equilibrium time for side-stream phosphorus recovery were: MgCl2 · 6H2O, 25 °C, 150 rpm and 20 min, respectively. It was also observed that the average phosphorus removal efficiency of the mainstream system maintained as high as 90.7% during the side-stream extraction period despite insufficient time for phosphate uptake under limited dissolved oxygen condition and phosphate deprivation of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs). Besides, the sludge settling performance of the mainstream EBPR system decreased with no sludge loss. Afterwards, phosphorus removal and sludge settling performance were restored with dismissing side-stream phosphorus recovery. This study suggested that side-stream extraction of anaerobic supernatant from a mainstream EBPR subjected to low dissolved oxygen conditions for chemical phosphorus recovery was feasible and environmentally friendly.

Long-Term Follow-up of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation with the Modified Peking Regimen for the Treatment of Acute Leukemia

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the only curative treatment strategy for patients with acute leukemia. The ATG-based transplantation system initiated by Peking University people's hospital, known as the Peking regimen, has become a mainstream transplant system worldwide. Here, based on the Peking regimen, we report a modified protocol:(1)add Fludarabine and replace ATG with ATG-F in the conditioning regimen; (2)transfuse higher-dose cell collections from granulocyte-colony stimulating factor(G-CSF) primed bone marrow and peripheral blood samples; (3) add Basiliximab (a CD25-antibody) on day +3 for acute GVHD prophylaxis. In this study, 265 patients (158 patients with haplo-SCT and 107 patients with sibling-SCT) underwent allo-HSCT with our modified protocols. All patients achieved sustained full-donor chimerism. The incidence of grade II-IV and III-IV acute GVHD in haplo-SCT comparing with sibling-SCT was 36.1%(57/158) vs 17.8%(19/107)(P=0.001) and 13.3% (21/158) vs 9.3%(10/107)(P>0.05) respectively. The 2-year cumulative incidence of total chronic GVHD and extensive chronic GVHD in haplo-SCT was 41% (65/158) and 15% (24/158) respectively. The 3-year cumulative incidence of non-relapse mortality (NRM) in haplo-SCT and sibling-SCT was 6.3% (10/158) and 4.7%(5/107) respectively(P>0.05). The 100-day cumulative incidence of CMV viremia in haplo-SCT and sibling-SCT was 35.5% (56/158) and 23.4%(25/107) respectively(P=0.036). A total of 36 patients in haplo-SCT group and 24 patients in haplo-SCT group had recurrent disease, reaching a cumulative incidence of relapse of 20.8% in haplo-SCT and 23.4% in sibling-SCT at 3 years respectively(P>0.05). The relapse ratio of haplo-SCT and sibing-SCT in the 1st year, between the 1st and the 2nd year and after 2 years was 21.5% vs 14.1%(P>0.05), 1.3%(2/158) vs 0%(P>0.05) and 0% vs 6.5%(P=0.009) respectively. The 3-year overall survival(OS) and leukemia-free survival(LFS) rates in haplo-SCT and sibling-SCT was 78.8% vs 74.2% and 76.8% vs 75.04% respectively(P>0.05) by the Kaplan-Meier estimate. The 3-year GVHD-free and leukemia-free survival rates (GRFS) in haplo-SCT and sibling-SCT were 43.4% vs 69.5%(P=0.045) respectively. Lower OS in haplo-SCT was associated with III-IV aucte GVHD and lower MNC(<19×10^8/L) in grafts by Cox regression analysis. In a word, the results from our experience showed that the modified protocol based on the Peking Regimen is safe and reliable for acute leukemia patients and brings on a long-stage survival post transplantation. Disclosures Zheng: Pfizer: Research Funding.

Knowledge, attitude, and use of mHealth technology among students in Ghana: A university-based survey

BackgroundInterest in mHealth interventions, defined as the use of mobile phones to access healthcare is increasingly becoming popular globally. Given its technology-based applications, university students may be key clients of the mHealth adoption but studies are rare in sub-Saharan Africa. This study provides a snapshot and baseline evidence on knowledge, attitude and use of mHealth among university students in Ghana.MethodsUsing a self-administered questionnaire, we collected data between April and June 2017 from 963 randomly sampled undergraduate students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Pearson’s Chi-square (χ2) test assessed the differences between variables whilst logistic regression models estimated the independent predictors of use of mHealth with p < 0.05 as significant.ResultsKnowledge on mHealth was moderately high. Specifically, more than half of the sample reported awareness of mHealth although the prevalence of use of mHealth stood at 51%. Logistic regressions revealed that mHealth use was positively associated with respondents’ year (second year: OR = 1.704, 95% CI: 1.185–2.452, and third year: OR = 1.528, 95% CI: 1.060–2.202), and monthly income (OR:3.112, 95%CI: 1.180-8.211). However, ethnicity [(OR = 0.761, 95% CI (0.580–0.997)] was negatively associated with the use of mHealth technology.ConclusionFindings suggest that knowledge of mHealth among university students is low. Policy and public health interventions for urgent awareness creation and promotion of use of mHealth as well as its possible integration into the mainstream healthcare system in Ghana are timely.

Pathways to justice in the APY Lands: breaking the cycle of offending

ABSTRACT In 2017 the Australian Law Reform Commission released the Pathways to Justice report, an inquiry into the incarceration rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Commission found that ‘community reinvestment’ strategies were needed to redress the disproportionately high incarceration rates experienced by Indigenous people. Previous strategies involved attempts at pluralising the mainstream criminal justice system, such as by mandating the use of English language interpreters and Aboriginal Justice Officers. However, the example of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands demonstrates that these efforts have had limited success in curbing offending and resulting incarceration. The cultural alienation and physical dislocation of the mainstream criminal justice system from APY communities has perpetuated barriers to justice, as seen in the difficulty of accessing interpreters and the occurrence of convenience pleas. To best deliver justice, prevent recidivism and reduce incarceration in Indigenous communities, this article supports the central recommendation of the Pathways to Justice report that mainstream criminal justice resources be transferred into community-led programs.