Unconventional Practices Research Articles

Physico-chemical quality and toxicity of wastewater from Katiola commune (North-Central Côte d’Ivoire)

In Africa in general and in Côte d’Ivoire in particular, the management of wastewater in the context of sanitation is devolved to cities and municipalities. Katiola commune is no exception. In fact, this municipality faces problems with wastewater management. The objective of this study is to evaluate the physicochemical quality and toxicity of wastewater from this municipality with a view to implementing an appropriate management method. Thus, surveys followed by field visits and wastewater sampling were carried out on six (06) sites. The data from the analyzes were compared to the guide values ​​of the WHO, France and Ivory Coast. The results reveal that populations dispose of wastewater using unconventional practices (90%). This wastewater is considerably mineralized (469 and 663 μS/cm), of domestic origin and easily biodegradable (biodegradability index equal to 2.49) with a normal pH. In terms of toxicology, Katiola wastewater is rich in lead (26.9 to 640 µg/L) and nickel (50 to 779.2 µg/L). As for pesticides, beta-endosulfan and endrin have concentrations lower than the limit value set by the French standard, thus meaning a low impact on humans and their environment.

Testing the consistency of performance scores reported for binary classification problems

Binary classification is a fundamental task in machine learning, with applications across various scientific domains. Whether conducting fundamental research or refining practical applications, scientists typically assess and rank classification techniques based on performance metrics such as accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. However, reported performance scores may not always provide a reliable basis for research ranking. The unreliability can be attributed to undisclosed or unconventional practices related to cross-validation, typographical errors, and other factors.In a given experimental setup with a specific number of positive and negative test items, performance scores can only assume specific, interrelated values. Based on this observation, in this paper, we introduce numerical techniques to assess the consistency of reported performance scores with the assumed experimental setup. Importantly, the proposed approaches do not rely on statistical inference. Instead, they use numerical methods (interval computing and integer linear programming) to identify inconsistencies with certainty.Through three applications in different fields of medicine, we demonstrate how the proposed tests can detect inconsistencies, thereby safeguarding the integrity of research fields. The power analyses of the tests in these applications show at least 71% of power when the performance scores are reported to four decimal places. In the investigated areas, the tests have so far identified inconsistencies in more than 100 scientific papers. To benefit the scientific community, we have made the consistency tests available in the open-source Python package mlscorecheck.

Evaluation of Interactions between Malaria Vector Control Practices and Demographic Parameters in Selected Communities in Abia State, South-East, Nigeria

Malaria, transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes has become a debilitating and burdensome disease in Sub-Saharan Africa and conventional practices such as Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITNs), and Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and unconventional practices are usually employed as malaria vector control measures. Hence, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the interactions that exist between these control practices and demographic parameters in selected communities across Ikwuano, Osisioma and Ohafia Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Abia State, South-East, Nigeria using multi-stage sampling technique with five hundred and ten structured questionnaires. Data obtained reveals that the predominant control practices were IRS (325; 63.7%), although it was used in combination with other control methods. This was followed by screening of windows with net (221; 43.3%), whereas only a few respondents used LLITNs. Respondent’s LGA, level of education, type of dwelling structure and household size had significant relationship with most of the malaria vector control practices/perceptions (P < 0.05). However, gender had no significant relationship with any of the malaria vector control practices/perceptions (P > 0.05). Effectiveness (306; 60.0%) was the major reason behind choice of method practiced. Respondents also chose methods that were cheap (175; 34.3%) and prevented contact with mosquitoes (154; 30.2%), but attested to not being aware of any recent Government/Non-Governmental (NGO) mosquito control intervention (386; 75.7%). Considering the low ownership and usage of LLITNs in Abia, efforts should be made towards more distribution. Control programs are advised to consider LGA, level of education, household size, and type of dwelling structure during the design and deployment of interventions.

Diverse Sound Practices: An exploration of experimental electronic music in regional Australia

Examining the role of arts and culture in regional Australia often focuses on economic aspects within the creative industries. However, this perspective tends to disregard the value of unconventional practices and fails to recognise the influence of regional ecological settings and the well-being advantages experienced by amateur and hobbyist musicians who explore ubiquitous methods of music creation. This article presents the results of a survey conducted among practitioners in regional Australia, exploring their utilisation of creative technology ecosystems. This project marks the first independent, evidence-based study of experimental electronic music practices in regional Australia and how local and digital resource ecosystems support those activities. Spanning the years 2021 and 2022, the study involved interviewing 11 participants from many Australian states. In this article, we share the study’s findings, outlining the diverse range of experimental electronic music practices taking place across regional Australia and how practitioners navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by their local context.

Status politics is the origin of morality policy.

After drawing a distinction between "class" and "status," an early but short-lived sociological literature on status politics is reviewed. That approach has lost favor, but moral foundations theory (MFT) offers a new opportunity to link morality policy to status politics. While any of the five moral foundations (care, fairness, loyalty, authority, sanctity) can provoke conflict over status, most often sanctity is the cause of status politics because it engages the emotion of disgust. Disgust drives the behavioral immune system, which prevents us from being infected by contaminants in tainted food or by "outsiders" who are perceived to follow unconventional practices. This research note concludes by referencing 20 empirical studies in which feelings of disgust targeted certain groups or practices in society (i.e., immigrants, criminals, abortion). Thus, status politics is the origin of morality policy.

Trailblazers in green business: unconventional practices and motivation within a chamber of commerce business network

PurposeThe motivation and practices of business network members are explored with the purpose of determining what leads businesses to fully share and learn sustainable practice from each other and how chambers contribute to an urgent need.Design/methodology/approachIn this exploratory case study using in-depth interviews, SMEs belonging to a chamber of commerce green initiative address their unconventional thoughts regarding their participation and willingness to share their own sustainable practices.FindingsThe expectancy theory of motivation explains why members of a green business network participate in conventional and unconventional sustainable practices and the role networks play in recognizing but not increasing sustainable business practice.Originality/valueThis study is unique in that it explores the motivation and reticence of chamber of commerce business members to fully participate in a green initiative. Filling a literature gap, this study provides optimism that a chamber's green initiative may contribute to providing support for promising sustainable practice.

Multidomain judging and administration of justice: evidence from a major emerging-market jurisdiction

Inefficacious courts and limited judicial resources are a ubiquitous problem in many jurisdictions worldwide. To facilitate administration of justice, court administrators must therefore resort to unconventional practices. In Brazilian state and federal courts, judges normally assigned to the disposition of cases in a single domain are often directed to dispose cases in an additional domain, thus engaging in multidomain judging. Using a comprehensive court-level panel dataset, we investigate the consequences of multidomain judging for the efficacy of Brazilian administration of justice. In contrast to conventional wisdom, we find no evidence that multidomain judging reduces court efficacy in resolution of special-procedure cases and appeals to special-procedure cases. Multidomain judging evidently reduces court efficacy exclusively in the resolution of ordinary-procedure cases, and even then only when judges assigned to the disposition of those cases are instructed to additionally resolve special-procedure cases. We discuss plausible explanations for this and the policy implications of our findings. Points for practitioners Multidomain judging in Brazil is best viewed as a pragmatic policy response to binding resource constraints in justice administration. Our analysis reveals in what contexts multidomain judging does not appear to harm court efficacy and when, in contrast, a reduction in the extent of multidomain judging would improve court efficacy. Our article offers the first evidence-based insight into the efficacy repercussions of a pervasive yet understudied administrative practice in Brazilian courts. Because related administrative practices are known to exist in other jurisdictions, our findings have implications beyond Brazilian borders.

Chapitre 9. Les droits du patient et les pratiques de soins non conventionnelles : une protection insuffisante en droit français

Il existe à l’heure actuelle une demande croissante et même un engouement des patients en faveur des médecines non conventionnelles. Le recours aux pratiques non conventionnelles offre des perspectives intéressantes, non seulement pour le patient pris individuellement, mais aussi pour la collectivité (afin de faire face aux problèmes contemporains des dépenses de santé, d’accès aux soins, et du vieillissement de la population). Se pose toutefois la question de la protection des droits du patient qui recourt aux pratiques de soins non conventionnelles. Il existe un décalage entre la demande croissante de soins non conventionnels, et le faible niveau d’encadrement juridique de ces pratiques par le droit français. La quasi-absence d’encadrement de certains diplômes et de l’exercice de certaines professions soulève la question de la sécurité et de la qualité des soins dispensés. D’autres incertitudes apparaissent s’agissant du respect des droits personnels du patient (information, consentement, refus de soins, secret des informations de santé, etc.). Le cadre juridique actuel mériterait donc d’être développé pour assurer une meilleure protection du patient qui recourt aux soins non conventionnels.

Urban Scene Protection and Unconventional Practices—Contemporary Landscapes in World Heritage Cities of Spain

This paper theoretically examines the extent to which visual perception has excluded alternative forms of culture in World Heritage cities and towns in Spain. To do so, an initial review is carried out of the UNESCO framework and criteria which establishes the outstanding universal value of Spanish cities and towns. This is followed by a review of minor concepts such as informality and creativity, which are related to alternative conceptions of culture and heritage. Thirdly, a review of the literature provides an overview of the appraisal of the social value in the heritage realm. This is achieved through the Historic Urban Landscape approach, which is adapted to specific forms of local appraisal. An analysis of policy helps explain the need to review principles of protection in terms of ethical evaluations. The analysis shows that outdated policies clash with contemporary assessment and participatory methods of heritage-making.

Chapitre 8. Droit du patient et médecine traditionnelle

There is currently a growing demand in favor of non-conventional medicines. The use of unconventional practices is interesting, not only for the patient himself, but also for the community (in order to face the contemporary problems of health expenditure, access to healthcare, and the aging of the population). However, we can ask ourselves about the protection of patient's rights when he uses unconventional care practices. There is a gap between the growing demand for unconventional care, and the low level of legal framework of these practices by French law. The near absence of supervision of certain diplomas and the exercise of certain professions raises the question of the safety and quality of the care provided. Other uncertainties appear regarding the respect of the patient's personal rights (information, consent, refusal of treatment, secrecy of health information, etc.). The current legal framework deserves to be developed to ensure a better protection for patients who use unconventional care.

Adaptable-translation, pseudotranslation, and translation from the perspective of Buddhistsutratranslations in early medieval China

AbstractThis article provides an early medieval Chinese perspective to further the discussion of adaptation, pseudotranslation, and translation. During the first to the fifth centuries CE, Chinese translation of Buddhistsutrasincluded some unconventional practices. Translators either rendered source texts that were incomplete or partially rendered the complete source texts in their possession. The works were accepted as faithful translations of genuine sources from India and helped disseminate Buddhism, though theoretically, believers would only accept literal translations ofsutras. Based on Bastin’s conceptualization of adaptation and the features of Buddhist translations, I have labeled it as “adaptable-translation” and argue that in early medieval China, there were adaptable-translations with pseudotranslation elements and adaptable-translations with the nature of pseudotranslation. Detailed analysis and case studies of five specific modes of “adaptable-translation” will show how they differ from “adaptation” of Bastin and “pseudotranslation” of Toury or Bassnett. Based on the analysis, I argue that a judgment of the nature of a text as a “translation” can be both qualitative and quantitative.

The Christian Funeral as Counter Witness

The proliferation of unconventional death practices in North America, however innovative, is in part an expression of societal confusion about the nature of death and grief. If the church can recover the theological and liturgical fabric of funerals, reclaiming their main purpose as public confession rather than private pastoral care, Christian funerals can serve as a hopeful counter-witness to an uncertain culture.

'Devi Needs those Rituals!' Ontological Considerations on Ritual Transformations in a Contemporary South Indian Srividya Tradition

Negotiations between continuity and discontinuity have characterized Srividya traditions for centuries; these are primarily studied through texts or the juxtaposition of textual prescriptions with observed practices, leaving the process of how Srividya practitioners negotiate esoteric and orthodox tendencies unexplored. Building on extensive fieldwork among practitioners of a contemporary South Indian Srividya tradition, I present the dynamics animating such transformations. Focusing on kalavahana, one of the tradition's central rituals aimed at identifying with Devi, I trace the underlying forces that gradually replace its most esoteric aspects (centred around the body and pleasure) with conventional worship (external or meditative practices), refashioning the tradition as part of mainstream Saktism. While some practitioners conform to the new canon, others, for whom the changes diminish ritual efficacy, secretly continue embodied practices. Through a Foucauldian archaeologico-genealogical analysis, I investigate which regimes of truth and ontological coordinates allow the ritual to change, and which diminish its efficacy. While at first negotiations between continuity and discontinuity appear driven by socio-political motives, ultimately they are governed and legitimized by fundamentally diverging modes of being. A pre-objectified worldview demands embodied experiences (including unconventional practices invoking pleasure) while a dualistic framework endorses representational practices (such as meditation and idol-worship).

Let’s talk about affordances: some implications of the social-material affordances approach

In Erik Rietveld’s inaugural lecture “The Affordances of Art for Making Technologies,” art is presented as a valuable avenue to enrich the environment with material and social affordances that may enhance human meaning giving practices. In this contribution, I make a distinction between conventional and unconventional practices and argue for an account of sociomateriality that covers the whole spectrum and not just the evidently artistic and artful ones. In this context, I plea for a cognitive science program that adds to the rich resources art has to offer for understanding the whole spectrum of practices and deals with the complexity of social, material, and cultural practices.

Informal Practices in Public Administrations in Cameroon

The article questions the practices of violation of the law and the link between illegality and administrative practices, with a focus on administrative services. In this paper, I propose to study the experience of Cameroon, a country where formality and informality work hand in hand. Precisely, administrative practices have for some time seen the proliferation of unconventional practices in the management of administrative services. The assessment is the use of informality that rub shoulders with the formal rules established by the legislator. The informal management of administrative services can be explained on the one hand by the state crisis which results in the state registry struggling to take. Administrative burdens as an institutional factor should not also be overlooked as an explanatory factor for this practice. Informality, therefore, becomes an alternative to bypass regulatory frameworks. The objective of this article is to stimulate reflection on the role that informality can play in administrative practices in Cameroon. Starting from the principle of methodological individualism, we demonstrate that informality is a vector of underdevelopment, and this way of doing must retain the attention of governments to overcome this practice.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards menopause among Congolese middle-aged and postmenopausal women.

Introductionwith the increase in life expectancy, women will live longer during their postmenopausal period. To improve their quality of life, they should be aware of what challenges they will be facing. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of middle-aged women towards menopause.Methodsin this cross-sectional study, data collected using a multistage clustered random sampling from 54 health centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo were used. Participants filled a questionnaire derived from the menopause rating scale and from local beliefs. The knowledge, attitudes and practices towards menopause were evaluated among pre- and postmenopausal women.Resultsof the 353 women, both pre- and postmenopausal women knew the definition of menopause but for the symptoms, postmenopausal women were more informed than premenopausal. For the attitudes and practices towards menopause, while both had equally positive attitudes, the premenopausal women did not know which practice to adopt.ConclusionCongolese women had limited knowledge, positive attitudes and unconventional practices towards menopause. Health-care providers, therefore, need to dispense appropriate advice to middle-aged women before the advent of menopause.

The Relationship between Academic Procrastination and Academic Performance of Freshmen Students from a Teacher Education Institution

The academic environment is full of challenges and obstacles. With this idea, students promote some unconventional practices in studying. One of which is academic procrastination. This study analyzed the relationship between academic procrastination and academic performance of freshmen students from a teacher education institution. The researcher used a descriptive-correlational research design for this study. Ninety (90) freshmen students took part in the survey using a convenience sampling technique in the academic year of 2018-2019. This study used an adapted instrument for data gathering through a survey. The study also utilized SPSS 20 to analyze the data. Results showed that the respondents procrastinate in their academic activities. In terms of academic performance, professional education subjects got the lowest rating score and the major subjects got the highest. In addition, the program, scholarship status, and religion of the respondents got significant statistical differences. Furthermore, the study also obtained a low indirect relationship between academic procrastination, general education subjects, and professional education subjects. From the findings of the study, the researcher provided pertinent recommendations for parents, students, instructors, and the institution.

Chaste Bodies, Chaste Canon: Nationalist Discourse and the Female Performing Body in Munshi Premchand’s Sevasadan

Through a close reading of Munshi Premchand’s 1917 novel Sevasadan, the essay attempts to examine how constructions of the female performing body in early 20th century Indian fiction were shaped by the discourses of womanly chastity, domesticity and piety. The essay proposes to discuss how the Hindi literary tradition, that came of age in the early decades of the 20th century, and whose evolution paralleled the genesis of a newly constituted national, autonomous cultural order, accommodated the female performing body within its narrative framework. As the yardstick of “normative” womanhood embodied in the figure of the chaste Hindu wife crucially informed the constructions of femininity around this time, women performers like the tawaifs came to be derided in public debates and popular imagination as embodiments of moral decline. The central dilemma of the nationalist literary imagination, as reflected in the novel’s narrative design, is to resolve the many ambiguities that emerge from the delineation of the non-monogamous, unconventional sexual practices of the courtesan in the chaste idiom of Hindi. The resolution of this tension is worked out through certain narrative templates whereby the courtesan experiences a series of “shifts” – topographical, ideological, and cultural – which position her outside the envisioned “respectable” national order followed by her reconfiguration in a rhetoric of domesticity and piety that enables her assimilation into the nation-space as well as into the national literary canon. Through an interdisciplinary approach which looks at the intersections between gender, sexuality, nation and performance in the Indian colonial context, the essay intends to establish how the claims for a chaste literary canon were premised upon the erasure of the courtesan’s sexual burden and her embodiment of the standards of womanly chastity.

A survey of empirical findings on unconventional central bank policies

PurposeThis paper presents an integrated overview of the empirical literature on the impact of all forms of unconventional monetary policy on macroeconomic variables and on markets.Design/methodology/approachThis survey covers the findings concerning portfolio rebalancing, signaling, liquidity, bank lending and confidence channels.FindingsThe positive effect of QE announcements on stock and bond prices seems to be unified across studies. A contagion effect from US QE to other emerging markets is identified, while currency devaluation is present in most cases for the country that its central bank adopted such policies. Moreover, impacts of non-conventional practices on GDP, inflation and unemployment are examined. The studies presenting weak instead of strong positive effects on inflation are more, and these studies, also, present weak positive effects on GDP growth.Originality/valueBased on the large body of research on non-conventional action taking, this is the first survey including effects of each country that adopted quantitative easing (QE) measures and that provides results from every methodology employed in order to estimate unconventional practices' impacts.

Underground Inscriptions

This essay examines the politics of home in underground Bucharest, and the ways relationships of care among homeless drug users emerge amid everyday violence and exclusion, illuminating the unconventional practices of belonging that take shape in transient communal spaces such as underground electric, transportation, and waste-management systems. The traces of systemic exclusion in these experiences converge in makeshift forms of kinship and care, provoking questions of solidarity, fragility, and the political potential of recognizing such forms through ethnographic collaboration.