Unpleasant Environment Research Articles

Coping with non-take-up of means-tested benefits: a qualitative longitudinal study on single parents’ life courses in French-speaking Switzerland

Abstract Many single parents (SPs) receive means-tested benefits (MTBs) in Switzerland. As a risk-management policy, MTBs can alleviate phases of financial hardship in SPs’ life courses. Conversely, when SPs experience non-take-up (NTU), MTBs may turn into a stressor and impinge on their lives. This paper investigates how NTU can shape SPs’ life courses. Thirteen SPs with full custody of their children who experienced NTU while facing economic hardship were interviewed in a qualitative panel in French-speaking Switzerland. A three-step analytical strategy involving thematic, categorical and chronological analysis of the qualitative data was conducted. The results show that SPs can compensate for the lack of MTBs by looking for alternative support from their families, friends and acquaintances or the labour market; by trying to bypass the MTB regulations so as to access them; by making changes to their lives to comply with MTB eligibility criteria or by giving up on the MTBs. NTU not only affects SPs financially but can also delay their professional careers, jeopardise their relationships with the children; delay new couple relationships and force them to live in an unpleasant environment. Intergroup inequalities affect SPs’ paths as MTB clients. By overlooking the implications of SPs’ childcare obligations and the hidden costs linked to separation, targeting practices may lead to tertiary NTU.

Revisão de escopo da aplicação do Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) na residência médica

Abstract Introduction: The PHEEM (postgraduate hospital educational environment measure) is a validated and reliable instrument to assess the educational environment in medical residency programs. Objective: To map the application of the PHEEM questionnaire in medical residency, evaluate the results found, positive and negative aspects and points for improvement. Method: We performed a scoping review according to the Joanna Briggs institution’s methodology. Studies that followed the PCC structure were included, as follows: P (participants) = resident physicians of any specialty; C (concept) = The PHEEM is an instrument used to assess the educational environment in medical residency, through a 40-item questionnaire divided into 3 subscales that include perception of autonomy, teaching and social support. C (context)= studies on PHEEM in medical residency of any specialty. PubMed, EMBASE and the Virtual Health Library databases were the data sources. Results: We identified 1588 references, and after reading the title and abstract, 50 references were selected for full reading, and 36 studies were included. The studies were carried out in 22 countries, and most revealed a more positive than negative educational environment, albeit with room for improvement. In the subscales, the perception of autonomy was more positive than negative, and the perception of teaching revealed that most programs are moving in the right direction. However, when evaluating social support, the results were divided between an unpleasant environment and an environment with more pros than cons. The main highlighted positive points were low racial and sexual discrimination, possibility of working in a team, adequate level of responsibilities, accessible teachers with good teaching skills, learning opportunities and participation in educational events. The main negative points were lack of adequate food and accommodation during the shifts, excessive workload, lack of feedback from preceptors and lack of protected time for study and the culture of blaming the resident. Conclusion: The application of PHEEM revealed that in most medical residency programs the educational environment was more positive than negative, albeit with room for improvement. Efforts are needed to improve the educational environment, especially social support, in medical residency programs.

Evaluating the effectiveness and challenges of the solid waste management system in lilongwe city council, Malawi

The current state of Solid Waste Management in Lilongwe City underscores the need to integrate contemporary and technological approaches for more efficient waste handling, with the support of digital solutions. Despite the severity of the solid waste issue impacting various sectors, including households, businesses, industries, and agriculture, there has been minimal effort to educate communities and townships on the importance of waste separation prior to collection. Recognizing that certain types of waste can be recycled for specific purposes, such as in agriculture, is essential. There is also a need for increased individual involvement to address solid waste management challenges, aiming to shift public perception and promote sustainable waste management practices. The rapid pace of waste production, driven by industrialization and population growth, is concerning. Unauthorized dumping has led to an unpleasant environment, noxious odors, and significant health risks through contamination of land, air, and water resources. Addressing these challenges requires focusing on technology and innovative solutions to manage solid waste effectively. This approach should enhance coordination and improve waste management from the point of creation and categorization to disposal at the dumping site. Implementing such methods could help reduce public health issues related to waste mishandling in urban areas. A proposed digital waste management solution, such as a cloud-based application, could represent a significant step towards achieving effective waste management practices in the city.

Factor Influencing Impact of Intergroup and Intragroup Conflict to the Organization: Concept Paper

Conflict occurs in different scenarios between individuals and group of people. Basically, this is due to opposing ideas and actions of different units or same units, creating an antagonistic state. However, conflict is an unavoidable part of life. In a working environment, conflict influence our actions and decision in one way or another. Intergroup and intragroup conflict is a major factor that affects the pattern of group-level movement patterns and ultimately shaped the evolution of group living and sociality. It shows the conflict that happens at any level of the group can cause a significant impact to shape the organisation. It can be a positive impact or a negative impact. However, the conflict can be very meaningful in coming up with decisions because all parties involved try to give the organisation the best solution. However, it must parallel with the spirit of harmony to avoid any unpleasant environment. This paper will provide an idea to the reader what are the impact of intergroup and intragroup conflict in terms of (1) Team Innovation (2) Freedom of Speech (3) technology evolution and as well as (4) how to manage the conflict.

Non-COVID-19 hospitalizations: patients’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of this Qualitative Descriptive study was to describe the experience of hospitalized adults during the pandemic who did not have COVID-19. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 English-speaking adults who were hospitalized on a medical or surgical floor after April 1, 2020 and were negative for COVID-19 throughout their entire hospital stay. The interview questions focused on the overall hospital experience, the nurse’s role in their experience, comfort needs, and the experience of having comfort needs met during the hospitalization. Conventional content analysis of the transcribed transcripts revealed five main themes related to the hospital experience: I don’t expect the hospital to be comfortable; I was always tense; Wanting human connection; Communication is important; and Nurses are busy. An unpleasant environment, longing for comfort from family and nurses, a perception that the nurses were too busy, feelings of being isolated from others and the world, and experiencing fear and anxiety were all elements of the hospital experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings identified a need for targeted practice, research, and education to improve patient comfort in the physical, psycho-spiritual, sociocultural, and environmental contexts. This is important as we look toward improving the overall patient experience during hospitalization.

The Causes of Anxiety in Highly Anxious Students in Japanese Communicative EFL Classes

The purpose of this study was to identify the causes of speaking anxiety in highly anxious students, of which their teachers might not have been aware, and solutions to alleviate the problem. Sixteen students from a Japanese language-oriented university participated in an interview survey. The participants’ anxiety levels were measured using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire that included five items related to foreign language classroom anxiety. The results were compared to the results of interviews with their teachers, and interesting responses from the student interviews that their teachers did not raise were highlighted. The main causes of anxiety were an unpleasant classroom environment, peer pressure, and non-ideal class types. Students argued for several strategies to reduce the anxiety associated with speaking practice, increase their use of English, and improve their proficiency. To achieve these strategies, teachers need to take into account the opinions of students they did not previously focus on.

A Monte Carlo Based COVID-19 Detection Framework for Smart Healthcare

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus disease that has been declared as a global pandemic in 2019. It affects the whole world through person-to-person communication. This virus spreads by the droplets of coughs and sneezing, which are quickly falling over the surface. Therefore, anyone can get easily affected by breathing in the vicinity of the COVID-19 patient. Currently, vaccine for the disease is under clinical investigation in different pharmaceutical companies. Until now, multiple medical companies have delivered health monitoring kits. However, a wireless body area network (WBAN) is a healthcare system that consists of nano sensors used to detect the real-time health condition of the patient. The proposed approach delineates is to fill a gap between recent technology trends and healthcare structure. If COVID-19 affected patient is monitored through WBAN sensors and network, a physician or a doctor can guide the patient at the right time with the correct possible decision. This scenario helps the community to maintain social distancing and avoids an unpleasant environment for hospitalized patients Herein, a Monte Carlo algorithm guided protocol is developed to probe a secured cipher output. Security cipher helps to avoid wireless network issues like packet loss, network attacks, network interference, and routing problems. Monte Carlo based covid-19 detection technique gives 90% better results in terms of time complexity, performance, and efficiency. Results indicate that Monte Carlo based covid-19 detection technique with edge computing idea is robust in terms of time complexity, performance, and efficiency and thus, is advocated as a significant application for lessening hospital expenses.

A Qualitative Review of 18 Years of Research on Workplace Deviance: New Vectors and Future Research Directions

ABSTRACT Workplace deviance is a major cause of concern for organizations. It leads to an unpleasant work environment and results in decreased productivity, as well as financial and reputational losses for the organization. This paper synthesizes the vast amount of literature in the field of workplace deviance by qualitatively reviewing 245 papers published from 2003 till October 2020, highlighting the theoretical frameworks and set of antecedents of negative workplace deviant behavior. It further lays out future research directions concordant with the changing nature and scope of acts of deviance in the workplace that are rapidly transforming due to technology advancement, infusion and globalization. We discuss the changing socio-technological factors and their implications for perpetrator-victim dynamics and urge future researchers to study workplace deviance within this context.

Investigation on Productivity of Synonym Words with Different Semantic Prosody in English

“Semantic prosody” has been researched since the first claim of Sinclair in (1987). Since then, semantic prosody became one of the most important issues in language studies as a linguistic phenomenon. In 1993, Louw defined semantic prosody as a special tendency of words, which might be in a pleasant environment that creates a ‘positive semantic prosody’ or in an unpleasant environment that creates a ‘negative semantic prosody’. The current research is based on a corpus analysis design, in “COCA” and “COHA”. Two synonym pair words of “Start/Begin” and “Guide/Lead to” were chosen as a case study. Representative number of each word was estimated by “Cochran’s formula”. This study is concentrated on investigation of the fact that while negative semantic prosodies are much more frequent than words with positive semantic prosody, but based on the linguistic positivity bias and “The Pollyanna hypothesis” which is introduced by Boucher and Osgood (1969), in English, the productivity of words with positive semantic prosody in synonym pairs, is more than productivity of negative semantic productivity. This fact might be due to the social interactions, the emotional content of words and linguistic behavior. It is notable to say that people tend to talk more about the brighter side than the darker side of life. This discrepancy makes words’ choosing somehow problematic for translators and English learners.

Production, Measurement and Applications of Vacuum Systems

The most common type of vacuum pumps and measuring gauges based on available literature are studied with emphasis on how new research and development will enable the new generation of vacuum technology specially in designing, its operational procedure and applications. The technologies were developed to meet the operational goal which include vacuum chamber structures, compatible materials, specialized vacuum pump and gauges. There are many areas where different vacuum condition is required for conducting experiments therefore modeling of pumping system is on demand. The basic understanding of how and when the particular pumping and measurement system can be applied most effectively and economically is essential. The poor choice of pumping and measurement system will interfere the scientific objectives and may leads to substantial maintenance demands and an unpleasant working environment. The development and fundamental investigation of innovative vacuum techniques for creation and measurement of vacuum used for various applications necessary for the research work to be done in future are presented.

Kesejahteraan Siswa: Faktor Pendukung dan Penghambatnya

The efforts to improve student wellbeing are one of the main concerns in the current educational process. There are a lot of research on wellbeing, but there is still very little research on the wellbeing of children and adolescents, especially in the school context. This paper aims to examine internal and external factors for improving student wellbeing, as well as to reveal the inhibiting factors for student wellbeing. The student wellbeing during childhood and adolescence is important because it will determine the quality of life of students in the future. The results of the study show the factors of increasing wellbeing internally are: 1. The ability to adapt; 2. Learning orientation; 3. Self-assessment; 4. Personal characteristics, while external factors are 1. Student teacher relations; 2. Relationship between children and parents; 3. Friend relations; 4. An environment that supports discipline. While the factors that inhibit wellbeing internally are: 1. Physical health, 2. Students are not maximal in learning, 3. Inadequate achievement, 4. Inadequate material needs, 5. Negative behavior, such as lazy, arrogant, shy, and naughty. While externally are 1. The unpleasant environment 2. Receiving less pleasant treatment; 3. Not able to actualize well.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Institutional Delivery and Home Delivery: A Qualitative Study in Northern Nigeria

Background: Nigeria faces high maternal and infant mortality; and Nigeria is one of the two countries, with India, that account for one-third of global child mortality. Many deaths could be prevented by institutional delivery, yet many women especially in developing countries still deliver a baby at home. Nigeria is not an exception; it faces low rate of institutional delivery, only 35.8%. Objective: To identify why many women do not deliver at a clinic, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of each place – home and clinic – for childbirth. Method: We conducted a qualitative study among 86 women in northern Nigeria. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Result: Among women who delivered a baby at home, the main barriers to institutional delivery include misconception about the importance, unpleasant clinic environment, and perceived harsh attitudes of health staff. One advantage of home delivery is the emotional support from family. Most women who delivered at clinic are satisfied with their experiences with no complaint about harsh staff attitude. The main disadvantages of clinic delivery is the condition of the clinic. Conclusion: The low quality of care at the health clinics is a concern and should be improved. Providing women with emotional support and pleasant environment at clinic are two feasible and potentially effective options.

E-6 The Compulsion Upon Muslims to Migrate Towards the Medina: (An Analytical Study of the Objectives and Causes From Historical Perspective)

Allah (SWT) is a lord of the universe and everything which are in this universe, these all are in the hand of Allah (SWT). When a load of evil acts were increased upon earth, then Allah (SWT) sent His last messenger Hadrat Muhammad (PBUH) to guide the off-track people. At that time, the entire world has drowned up in sinful deeds. The pagan Arab was illiterate, they forgot the name of Allah (SWT) and they made many idols for worship. In the ignorant Arab society, women and slaves were deprived of their fundamental rights. The girls were buried alive in the dust. It needed that someone guides them towards the right path. Hence, Allah (SWT) showered His blessing upon people and He selected the name of Muhammad (PBUH) for this mission. Hadrat Muhammad (PBUH) started his mission as a messenger of Allah (SWT) in pagan Arab society and preached the Islamic teachings for thirteen years in Makkah, besides the hard efforts, some people converted to Islam. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Muslims were facing the worst situation in Makkah. Ignorant Arabia increased their cruelty upon Muslims with the passage of time, hence, in this unpleasant environment, it was not possible for Muslims to fulfill the commands of Islam. Therefore, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Muslims migrated to Medina. The people of Medina were soft-hearted rather than Makkan's people and the environment was also pleasant for living. So, Hadrat Muhammad (PBUH) established an Islamic state there, where Muslims were easily accomplishing all the commands of Islam and as well as, all the basic rights were given to them. It was the first Muslim state in Medina, where the equality, justice, brotherhood, peace and harmony etc were maintained among people. The aim of this paper is to highlight the objectives of migration of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to Medina. This work will be an important research work for its theme. Which will provide a lot of information for readers and researchers.

E-8 Prevailing Situation of Disorder in Pakistani Society: (An Analytical Overview from Islamic Perspective)

Islam is a nonviolent and peaceful religion, everyone either Muslim and non-Muslim can get the safety in the shade of this religion. Allah (SWT) chose it for mankind. Its teachings are regarding the justice, equality, brotherhood, peace and harmony etc. Pakistan has been made on the name of Islam. Its rules and policies should be according to Islamic teachings, therefore. But, the present conditions are quite different. We have forgotten the sacrifices and real efforts of our elders (seniors) in getting this country, unfortunately. As well as, we also ignored the Islamic teachings, whereas our lives are entirely dependent on them. Islam advises for showing obedience concerning implemented rules of society. It needs to maintain peace and tranquil in society. But, we are not following the implemented rules. Due to which, we are facing the critical and misery situations in society, such as murder, injustice, robbery, harassment in different forms, domestic violence, acid throwing, wife beating, rape/gang rape, child harassment, child marriages and jealousy etc. Actually, due to breaking the rules, we are going towards ruin with the passage of time. However, we do not accept it and even, we are in this misconception that we are moving towards development. In reality, this thought is a reason to create an unpleasant environment in society. Although, we can eliminate disobedience only in this form that we follow the Islamic teachings strictly and give significance to the implemented rules of society. Then the creation of a pleasant atmosphere would be possible in society. The aim of this research work was to explain the circumstances of contemporary society in the light of Islamic teachings. The method of qualitative and quantitative have been used in this research work, for this purpose one hundred people of Peshawar have been taken and questionnaires have been filled by them to know their views. The majority of people gave their response that the disobedience of implemented laws of state is a main reason of violent environment in state. Therefore we should follow the implemented rules of state and strickly act upon on Islamic teachings, then we would be able to produce peace, harmony, brotherhood and justice in enironment of society. This research work may be significance due to its specific theme and field work for researchers and readers.

Analysis of Adsorption and Decomposition of Odour and Tar Components in Tobacco Smoke on Non-Woven Fabric-Supported Photocatalysts

The release of substantial amounts of toxicologically significant, irritant, and malodourous compounds during the complete combustion of tobacco can generate an unpleasant environment, especially indoors. Herein, we developed non-woven fabric-supported UV- and visible-light-responsive photocatalysts capable of adsorbing and decomposing the odour and tar components of tobacco smoke under irradiation with UV or visible light. The processes of odour component adsorption and subsequent decomposition under irradiation were evaluated in terms of colour changes in the catalytic system and by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. By considering three different photocatalysts, namely TiO2, Fe(III)-grafted TiO2, and Cu(II)-grafted WO3, we assessed the magnitude of odour and tar component adsorption on the fabric fibres, as well as the decomposition of these species after specific visible light or UV irradiation periods. Considering the expansion of our technology for practical applications, the best results among the three tested materials were obtained for non-woven fabric-supported Fe/TiO2. We believe that our technology can be implemented in the design of interior decoration materials for creating a comfortable environment.

Forest cover change detection using Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing techniques: a spatio-temporal study on Komto Protected forest priority area, East Wollega Zone, Ethiopia

BackgroundForest plays an important role in climate regulation and carbon sequestration. Komto Forest is one of the remnant natural forests found in Guto Gida district of East Wollega zone, Ethiopia, has been supporting the local community for construction, energy and household furniture. Currently, influenced by land use land cover change (LULCC), this forest has been declining at an alarming rate. Detecting LULCC and understanding the driving forces has important for supporting decision making processes. We examine variation in forest cover dynamics over the period 1991–2012 using Landsat TM image of 1991, ETM + of 2002 and OLI-TIRS of 2019.ResultsThe LULCC detection results show that a dramatic increase of agricultural land from (24.78%) in 1991 to (33.5%) in 2019 with annual expansion rate (23.68%) per annum, where forest cover declined by 20.1% in 1991 and 37.38% in 2019 with annual decreasing rate of 4.18% per annum. Our finding indicates the increment of agricultural land, grassland, and settlement, while the dense and open forest cover shows a declining trend. The declining of forest coverage is likely to cause unpleasant environment and affects human wellbeing.ConclusionsThe massive declined in forest cover change are often associated with agricultural expansion in the periphery of the forest. Timber exploitation and charcoal production are other problems that contribute for the declining of forest coverage. Overall, our results suggest the need of participatory forest management and public awareness creation to sustain the Komto remnant forest.

Functional Groups and Individual Phenolic Compounds in Different Fractional Polarities Extracts of Rhizophora apiculata

The mangrove forest is often regarded as an unpleasant environment with less intrinsic values. Rhizophora apiculata has an important value as it provides several benefits to people, for example, it is a traditional medicinal plant that is also used in construction, as a source of food, dye and so forth. This study aims to identify types of functional groups and individual phenolic compounds from R. apiculata. An analytical method for R. apiculata was developed with different fractional extracts from water extraction. The result from the FT-IR analysis presented all fractional extract detected with different types of functional groups. The results revealed that four types of individual phenolic acids, which are Caffeic acid, Vanillic acid, trans-p-Coumaric acid and Ferulic acid, were detected in ethyl acetate and butanol extracts. However, none of the phenolic acids was detected in petroleum ether extract. All the phenolic acids detected in the study have not been exploited to their full potential. More research on optimizing the isolation and purification of these pigments as well as their usage in food systems is needed to enable their use in food applications or textile industries.

Efficacy of photocatalytic air purifiers in reducing dimethyl sulfide malodor following cryopreserved peripheral blood stem cell infusion

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is used as a cryoprotectant for peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) preservation. Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a metabolite of DMSO secreted through patients' breath after PBSC infusion. It possesses malodor causing an unpleasant environment. We evaluated the efficacy of a photocatalyst environment purifier, which has the potential to lyse toxic substances, in reducing DMS malodor. High DMS concentration in the air after PBSC infusion rapidly decreased after operating the device. Our results suggest that photocatalytic reaction has the potential to reduce the DMS odor associated with PBSC infusion.

Waves Across the Pond: Exiling Clerics in Late Antiquity

Exiling a Christian cleric in Late Antiquity—something that happened hundreds of times between the fourth and the sixth centuries—was like throwing a stone in a pond. It often generated a spectacular splash that served to make a statement about the rightfulness and agency of the exiler through an act of deterrence, humiliation, but also mercy. It separated the cleric from his previous surroundings, immersing him in an unfamiliar and at times unpleasant environment. Yet, exiling a cleric also often created an enormous ripple effect that was felt by people and in places far removed from the initial rupture and a long time after it had subsided. Over the last decades our understanding of the first two aspects of clerical exile in Late Antiquity has made significant advancements. We now know exile was the main method emperors and bishops employed to suppress religious dissidence during Late Antiquity, fostering unprecedented collaboration between, but also struggle over, imperial and ecclesiastical legal spheres. Those who suffered exile—either as banishment proper or as flight from arrest—connected their experience to specific Christian understandings of cosmopolitanism, asceticism, and imagined wandering, and attempted to reinsert their stories into a Christian trajectory of persecution, martyrdom, and salvation. The study of clerical exile therefore has opened a window into the institutionalization of the Christian Church, the changing relationship between ecclesiastical and imperial law, the construction of sanctity, and the quest for Christian orthodoxy amidst religious conflict. The third aspect—the “waves across the pond” that clerical exile generated—has so far remained relatively unexplored. Scholarly efforts to illuminate the legal dimensions of late antique clerical exile, its usefulness as a form of conflict management, and its generation of a type of holiness and Christian leadership mean that the emphasis has mostly been on those who exiled and those who were exiled. This …

A Low-Light Sensor Image Enhancement Algorithm Based on HSI Color Model.

Images captured by sensors in unpleasant environment like low illumination condition are usually degraded, which means low visibility, low brightness, and low contrast. In order to improve this kind of images, in this paper, a low-light sensor image enhancement algorithm based on HSI color model is proposed. At first, we propose a dataset generation method based on the Retinex model to overcome the shortage of sample data. Then, the original low-light image is transformed from RGB to HSI color space. The segmentation exponential method is used to process the saturation (S) and the specially designed Deep Convolutional Neural Network is applied to enhance the intensity component (I). At the end, we back into the original RGB space to get the final improved image. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm not only enhances the image brightness and contrast significantly, but also avoids color distortion and over-enhancement in comparison with some other state-of-the-art research papers. So, it effectively improves the quality of sensor images.