bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Traditional Knowledge of Tharu Community on Plants Used For 'Marcha' (Fermented Cake) Preparation in Benimanipur Vdc Of NawalparasiDistrict, Western Nepal.
Authors: Thapa Kantiprabha , Rajbhandary Sangeeta
Published: January 2018

Nepal is rich in ethnobotanical information and there are many plants of ethnobotanical values used by various ethnic community and many studies have been carried out in this aspect. The present study was carried out on the western part of Nepal, in Benimanipur VDC, Nawalparasi district focusing mainly on the plants used in 'Marcha' preparation. Data were collected from two field visits from May-June and September 2006. A total of 20 plant species were found as 'Marcha' preparing plants in Tharu community, which were collected and preserved. The traditional technique of 'Marcha' preparation along with different species of plants used by the Tharu community was documented. The different sample of 'Marcha' with different combination of plants was also documented. This paper does highlight the commonly used plants for 'Marcha' preparation by Tharu community.Keywords: Asparagus racemosus;  Elephantopus scaber;  Piper longum; Fermentation starter; Beverages.Journal of Natural History MuseumVol. 24, 2009Page: 137-145
SEM Investigation of Pollen Taxa in Honeys from Autochtone Apis cerana in Godavari, Lalitpur District, Nepal
Authors: Paudayal Khum Narayan , Gautam Ishan
Published: January 2018

Pollen analysis of 8 multifloral honey samples collected from 4 locations of Godavari, Lalitpur district, Nepal was performed using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). In this investigation, a wide range of foraging plant sources for Apis cerana honey bees was identified which demonstrates the adequate potential for expanding and sustaining beekeeping in this area. The palynological assemblage of a total of 44 species of pollen flora representing 28 families was identified to the generic and some up to species level. Some of the pollen grains identified to only families, belong to Acanthaceae, Apiaceae, Araliaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Lamiaceae, Loranthaceae, Meliaceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae, Rutaceae and Pteridaceae. The pollen assemblages in honeys were mostly belonging to angiosperms while the gymnosperm pollen was completely absent. One pteridophyte spore belonging to family Pteridaceae recovered. In this paper the morphology of the pollen grains based on SEM observation are described and the importance of the systematic documentation of various bee flora are discussed.J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 26, 2012: 29-67
On some Diatoms from High Altitude Gokyo Lake-Iii, Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal
Authors: Rai Shiva Kumar , Mishra Pradeep Kumar , Madan Kamal
Published: January 2018

The present paper describes total 16 taxa of diatoms under 12 genera, belonging to 1 centric (Cyclotella antiqua W. Smith var. minor Suxena & Venkateswarlu) and 15 pennate species from Gokyo lake- III, Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal. Of these, 6 were the new records for the country. The morphological descriptions, taxonomic accounts and distribution are described systematically with photographs J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 26, 2012: 93-110
Wild Ungulate Population in Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest, Nepal
Authors: Sharma Bhuvan Keshar , Solanki Ghana Shyam , Chalise Mukesh Kumar
Published: January 2018

This study was conducted in Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest aiming to find out the ungulate population. Total complete count method was utilized by direct visual counting technique. The enumerator covered the entire forest by walking along the fixed bearing from one end to another end of the forest counting all ungulates. The animals were stalked and approached with minimum disturbance, counting and sex were confirmed with the help of binoculars. The current study recorded five species of ungulates. There were 12 resident Barking Deer, 2 Hog Deer, 23 Sambar, 4 Wild Boar and 182 Spotted Deer. The number of wild ungulates increased significantly (T=2.01, p < 0.05, df=8) in post-community management regimes (n=224) than the pre-community management (n=1). J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 27, 2013: 66-71
Weeds of Wheat in Nepal: A Literature Review
Authors: Dangol Dharma Raj
Published: January 2018

This paper reviews publications dealing with weeds and/or their control in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Nepal and enumerates 370 weed species of 210 genera in 54 families. This review shows that the Asteraceae (69 spp.), Poaceae (52 spp.), Leguminosae (25 spp.), Polygonaceae (19 spp.), Caryophyllaceae (18 spp.), Scrophulariaceae (17 spp.), Euphorbiaceae and Lamiaceae (14 spp. each), Brassicaceae and Cyperaceae (13 spp.), and Solanaceae (11 spp. each) were the dominant families, which accounted for 71.35% of the total weeds. This paper also documented 63 species reported as the principal or most common weeds and 4 species (Chenopodium album, Cynodon dactylon, Phalaris minor, Polygonum plebeium) as the most commonly reported weeds of wheat in Nepal in the papers reviewed. This paper also highlighted the fact that the researchers from the Tribhuvan University, Department of Plant Resources (then Department of Medicinal Plants/HMG) and Nepal Agricultural Research Council mentioned about the deposition of their herbarium specimens in the respective organizations. This paper also analyzed the publication media in which the reviewed papers appeared.J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 27, 2013: 132-178
Taxus wallichiana (Himalayan Yew) for the Livelihood of Local People in Some Protected Areas of Nepal
Authors: Gajurel Jyoti Prasad , Shrestha Krishna Kumar , Werth Silke , Scheidegger Christoph
Published: January 2018

Nepal is a small country but diverse in ethnic communities living in different parts of the country. These ethnic communities have been practicing the indigenous knowledge of plants for their livelihood. The objective of this study is to document the traditional knowledge of one of the most important medicinal plant species Taxus wallichiana Zucc. in different altitudinal gradients in Manaslu Conservation Area, Sagarmatha National Park and surrounding and Kanchenjunga Conservation Area. This study was carried out in six altitudinal gradients (2200 m asl to 3800 masl) with altitudinal steps of 400 m asl. We used direct observation method and standardized interviews to collect the data related to the use of T. wallichiana. Out of five caste groups, only four were local to the site while one cast had migrated from Terai region and had settled down recently. The four caste groups included Sherpa, Tamang, Rai and Gurung who have been using the plant products for various reasons. People used the species as timber, medicine for jaundice and cancer, fence, construction material for houses and cattle fodder. Knowledge of the use of T. wallichiana was mainly available at an altitude of 2600 m a.s.l., the species altitudinal distribution optimum. Most of the informants were related to community forests in the study areas and many also depend on plants for their livelihood. This study also helped the local people by informing them about sustainable use and conservation of this plant in the study areas.J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 28, 2014: 1-8
Prevalence of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 in Layer Chicken of Some Poultry Farms of Kathmandu and Lalitpur Districts
Authors: Jayswal Rakesh Prasad , Gupta Ranjana , Shrestha Swoyam Prakash
Published: January 2018

In the present study five Eimeria species viz. Eimeria tenella, E. acervulina, E. necatrix, E. maxima and E. brunetti responsible for coccidiosis are reported and its general prevalence was found to be 24 percent. Among the five Eimeria species, prevalence of E. tenella was recorded to be the highest (25%), followed by E. acervulina (15%), E. necatrix (10%). E. maxima (7%) and E. brunetti (3%). Altogether 400 stool samples (dropping) were collected by random sampling methods from four poultry farms. These samples were preserved in preservative solution (2% potassium dichromate solution). Stool samples were examined by thin feacal smear methods. There were altogether 96 cases of coccidiosis of which 25% were caecal, 35% intestinal and 40% mixed. Prevalence of coccidiosis was recorded in all the 12 months and four seasons of the study period. The highest (38%) prevalence rate was found in the month of July and the lowest (5.71%) in the month of October. The difference in monthly prevalence of Eimeria was insignificant (x2 =19.675, P<0.05). Similarly season wise prevalence showed the highest (35%) prevalence rate in the spring season followed by summer (25%), winter (23%) and autumn (12%). Season-wise difference in prevalence of Eimeria was found to be insignificant (x2= 7.815, P> 0.05). The age- wise prevalence was the highest (34.66%) in 61 weeks above chicken, followed by 30% in the 46-60 weeks age group, 22.5% in the 31-45 weeks age group, 17.14% in the 0-15 weeks age group and 15.78% in the 16-30 weeks age group. The difference in age- wise prevalence was found to be insignificant (x2= 9.488,P> 0.05). J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 28, 2014: 66-72
The Pre–Historic Proboscideans of Nepal
Authors: Shrestha Ramesh
Published: January 2018

Although Nepal is one of the native habitats of the present day species of the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus; it is also an important seat of early Proboscidean evolutionary grounds. Up to now four families and within them seven species of Proboscideans are recorded from Nepal in the forms of different fossils. Out of the total known Proboscideans throughout the world and Indian sub–continent, Nepal had approximately 3.86% and 14% respectively. This fact undoubtedly indicates that Nepal has remained an important place with perfect ecological conditions for the advance of elephants since pre–historic times.J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 28, 2014: 137-141
Sphaerotheca Fuliginea (Powdery Mildew) Parasitic on Macrotyloma uniflorum (Gahat): a Fungus New to Nepalese Mycoflora
Authors: Adhikari Mahesh Kumar
Published: January 2018

The powdery mildew (a fungus) Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Sch.: Fr.) Poll., parasitic on Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc (Gahat) is recorded as new addition to Nepalese mycoflora. The description and distribution to the species is provided herewith.J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 28, 2014: 171-174
Forest Diversity and Carbon Sequestration In Resunga Sacred Grove, Gulmi, Nepal
Authors: Sharma Bhuvan Keshar , Pokharel Chandra Prasad , Shrestha Laxmi
Published: January 2018

Resunga forest is a store-house of diverse wildlife and wild plants ranging from sub-tropical to temperate climatic zones in the midhill physiographic region. Aiming to assess the forest diversity and sequestrated carbon, this study was conducted in Resunga religious forest. Data were collected from systematically distributed plots at the interval of 50m elevation along the altitudinal gradients from 2100–2450 m elevation. Eight circular plots of 10 m radius were used to collect information on tree level characteristics. Importance value index, Shannon-Weiner index of diversity and evenness were used to assess the forest diversity. Published allometric functions were used to examine the aboveground tree biomass. Tree carbon stocks were calculated using carbon fraction value. Nineteen tree species were recorded from Rhododendron and oak forests. Comparing the forest types, Rhododendron forest was more diverse (H = 1.0)  than oak forest (H = 0.9). Similarly, tree species were more evenly distributed (0.87) in the oak forest than that of Rhododendron forest (0.77). The vegetation carbon stock of Rhododendron forest was lower (101.8 t/ha) than that of oak forest (153.8 t/ha). Overall, the average vegetation carbon stocks in the Resunga Sacred Grove (RSG) was 127.75 t/ha.  J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol. 29, 2015, Page: 60-69
Clip ligation for ruptured intracranial aneurysm in a child with Loeys-Dietz syndrome: case report
Authors: Carr Steven B. , Imbarrato Greg , Breeze Robert E. , Wilkinson C. Corbett
Published: January 2018

The authors present the case of a pediatric patient with Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) who underwent craniotomy for clip ligation of a ruptured intracranial aneurysm. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the youngest reported patient with LDS who has been treated for a ruptured intracranial aneurysm. The patient presented with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage even though the results of surveillance screening were negative, and the aneurysm arose from the wall of the parent artery away from an arterial branch point. She was treated with open clip ligation and recovered well. The authors review the other reported cases of treated intracranial aneurysms in patients with LDS.
Long-term outcome of pallidal stimulation for Meige syndrome
Authors: Horisawa Shiro , Ochiai Taku , Goto Shinichi , Nakajima Takeshi , Takeda Nobuhiko , Kawamata Takakazu , Taira Takaomi
Published: January 2018

OBJECTIVE

Meige syndrome is characterized by blepharospasm and varied subphenotypes of craniocervical dystonia. Current literature on pallidal surgery for Meige syndrome is limited to case reports and a few small-scale studies. The authors investigated the clinical outcomes of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus internus (GPi) in patients with Meige syndrome.

METHODS

Sixteen patients who underwent GPi DBS at the Tokyo Women’s Medical University Hospital between 2002 and 2015 were included in this study. Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS) movement subscale (BFMDRS-M) scores (range 0–120) obtained at the following 3 time points were included in this analysis: before surgery, 3 months after surgery, and at the most recent follow-up evaluation.

RESULTS

The patients’ mean age (± SD) at symptom onset was 46.7 ± 10.1 years, and the mean disease duration at the time of the authors’ initial evaluation was 5.9 ± 4.1 years. In 12 patients, the initial symptom was blepharospasm, and the other 4 patients presented with cervical dystonia. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 66.6 ± 40.7 months (range 13–150 months). The mean total BFMDRS-M scores at the 3 time points were 16.3 ± 5.5, 5.5 ± 5.6 (66.3% improvement, p < 0.001), and 6.7 ± 7.3 (58.9% improvement, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate long-term efficacy for GPi DBS for the majority of patients with Meige syndrome.
Aggravated Damages or Additional Awards of Solatium: A Distinction without a Difference?
Authors: Bailey James
Published: January 2018

What are aggravated damages? Can they be recovered under Scots law? These are questions which might cross the mind of a Scots lawyer upon noticing the label in a tort textbook or the English case reports. This article seeks to address these two questions, in addition to critically examining whether aggravated damages ought to be recognised north of the border. The article will show that the Scots courts have granted additional awards of solatium in circumstances where the English courts would likely award aggravated damages. It will be argued that, despite their similarities, this traditional Scots approach is preferable to the English aggravated damages model. While the central focus is the right approach for Scots law, the article may still be of interest to English lawyers, since there are signs that English law might be moving closer to the Scots position.
The Policies against Leapfrogging in Unjust Enrichment: A Critical Assessment
Authors: Verhagen Hendrik L E
Published: January 2018

This article critically examines the merit of the policy reasons against leapfrogging one's contractual counterparty in unjust enrichment. Where the benefit of a performance, which is rendered by someone (C) pursuant to a contract with his counterparty (T), ends up with someone (D) who is not a party to that contract, will the law of unjust enrichment then allow the performer (C) to recover that benefit directly from its recipient (D)? The utility of allowing the leapfrog arises where recovery by C from T under general rules of contract becomes impossible (mainly) due to the insolvency of T. The most important policy reasons brought forward against leapfrogging are insolvency-related. These policy reasons are assessed in this article with reference to Dutch and English cases in particular. In past decades the comparative approach has proven to be extremely fruitful for unjust enrichment. As I hope to illustrate with this contribution, also after ‘Brexit’ it will continue to be important and exciting to examine legal problems on a comparative basis in common law and civil law (and mixed) jurisdictions.
Le débitage Levallois : un concept de préhension normalisé et varié ? Exemples de productions levalloiso-moustériennes issues du site d’Umm el Tlel, Syrie centrale
Authors: Bonilauri Stéphanie
Published: January 2018

Cet article tente d’apporter un nouvel éclairage concernant la logique opératoire du concept Levallois en tant que système producteur d’outils et, en conséquence, sur la conception même des outils Levallois en contexte proche-oriental. Les recherches menées depuis plusieurs années sur des niveaux levalloiso-moustériens du site d’Umm el Tlel, en Syrie centrale, ont permis de mettre au jour de nombreux vestiges lithiques bitumés, témoins incontestables de l’utilisation de l’emmanchement, ou tout du moins d’intermédiaires entre la main et la partie en silex d’un outil, par les hommes fossiles. Les analyses techniques et tracéologiques des macro-et micro-résidus de bitume et des traces d’emmanchement présents sur un certain nombre de produits prédéterminés, issus des niveaux levalloiso-moustériens d’Umm el Tlel (complexe VI3 et couche VI3d’), montrent que l’emmanchement apparaît en tant que composante omniprésente totalement intégrée aux systèmes de production Levallois. L’outil emmanché semble être de plus en plus une conception inhérente aux systèmes de production lithiques du Paléolithique moyen ; nous verrons qu’avec le Levallois cette conception est exacerbée par la capacité de ce mode de débitage à anticiper et à intégrer, dans ses critères techniques de prédétermination, deux parties fonctionnelles indissociables et interagissant : une partie transformative tranchante, normalisée et diversifiable et une partie préhensive, également normalisée et répondant à des normes de préhension.
Craft, administration and power in Early Dynastic Mesopotamian public buildings. Recovering the Plano-convex building at Kish, Iraq
Authors: Zaina Federico
Published: January 2018

The Plano-convex building (PCB) at Kish is a very significant complex from the 3rd millennium in Mesopotamia. This construction was partially uncovered and the evidence was sketchily recorded and published by the Anglo-American expedition. Notwithstanding the value of subsequent studies, much work remains to be done to understand the stratigraphy, chronology and function of the building. Thus, the aim of this paper is the understanding of the architectural and chronological sequence of area P and to reconstruct activities and the use of space in the Plano-convex building. New data have been obtained analyzing the unpublished documentation and materials kept in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the Field Museum, Chicago. Thanks to the new information, a stratigraphical sequence ranging from the late Early Dynastic to the Early Akkadian period has been recognized. Furthermore different activities such as beer brewing, textile and oil production, as well as shell working were identified within the PCB. Those were managed through a multi-step economic system confirmed by the presence of specific finds. Finally, architectural analysis provides hints suggesting that the PCB might have housed the administration of political power by élite or even royal families.
Mapping ancient hunting installations on the Ustyurt Plateau, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan: New results from Remote Sensing Imagery
Authors: Amirov Shamil S. , Betts Alison , Yagodin Vadim N.
Published: January 2018

Hunting installations have been known in the Aralo-Caspian region since the mid-20th century. An extensive study of many of these, based on archaeological survey and excavation, was published by V. Yagodin in 1991 when the Ustyurt Plateau lay within the Soviet Union. Since that time, this highly inaccessible region has been subdivided along national boundaries, but the advent of widely available satellite imagery has provided a new and important research tool making remote study a practical reality. This paper reports on previously unrecorded structures in North East Ustyurt using remote sensing imagery and discusses new interpretations made possible by the extent of currently available data.
Al2O3/TiO2 inverse opals from electrosprayed self-assembled templates
Authors: Coll Arnau , Bermejo Sandra , Hernández David , Castañer Luís
Published: January 2018

The fabrication of high optical quality inverse opals is challenging, requiring large size, three-dimensional ordered layers of high dielectric constant ratio. In this article, alumina/TiO2–air inverse opals with a 98.2% reflectivity peak at 798 nm having an area of 2 cm2 and a thickness of 17 µm are achieved using a sacrificial self-assembled structure of large thickness, which was produced with minimum fabrication errors by means of an electrospray technique. Using alumina as the first supporting layer enables the deposition of TiO2 at a higher temperature, therefore providing better optical quality.
Luttes scolaires dans le 93
Authors: Chevauchez Paul-Arthur , Flores Anaïs , Martin Jérome
Published: January 2018

Résumé luttes locales
Arabe, langue vivante 1
Authors: Chémery Valentin
Published: January 2018

Résumé
APB mon amour
Authors: Chémery Valentin
Published: January 2018

Résumé Mort pour rien
L’égalité au pied du mur
Authors: Taharount Karim
Published: January 2018

Résumé Carton d’archives
Une force vulnérable
Authors: Fernández-Savater Amador
Published: January 2018

Résumé Alchimies politiques
« Isola », un conte documentaire
Authors: Lary Marion
Published: January 2018

Résumé
Le rêve arabe en sons et en images
Authors: Gonzalez-Quijano Yves
Published: January 2018

Résumé Chronique Arabologies
Éduquer
Authors: Brunon Hervé
Published: January 2018

Résumé Chronique Cultiver notre jardin
Mining Patterns Using Business Process Management
Authors: Meddah Ishak H. A. , Belkadi Khaled
Published: January 2018

Process mining provides an important bridge between data mining and business process analysis. This technique allows for the extraction of information from event logs. In general, there are two steps in process mining: correlation definition or discovery and then process inference or composition. Firstly, the authors mine small patterns from log traces of two applications; those patterns are the representation of the execution traces of a business process. In this step, the authors use existing techniques. The patterns are represented by finite state automaton or their regular expression. The final model is the combination of only two types of small patterns that are represented by the regular expressions (ab)* and (ab*c)*. Secondly, the authors compute these patterns in parallel and then combine those small patterns using the composition rules. They have two parties. The first is the mine, where the authors discover patterns from execution traces, and the second is the combination of these small patterns. The pattern mining and the composition is illustrated by the automaton existing techniques.
Bio-Inspired Algorithms for Medical Data Analysis
Authors: Menad Hanane , Amine Abdelmalek
Published: January 2018

Medical data mining has great potential for exploring the hidden patterns in the data sets of the medical domain. These patterns can be utilized for clinical diagnosis. Bio-inspired algorithms is a new field of research. Its main advantage is knitting together subfields related to the topics of connectionism, social behavior, and emergence. Briefly put, it is the use of computers to model living phenomena and simultaneously the study of life to improve the usage of computers. In this chapter, the authors present an application of four bio-inspired algorithms and meta heuristics for classification of seven different real medical data sets. Two of these algorithms are based on similarity calculation between training and test data while the other two are based on random generation of population to construct classification rules. The results showed a very good efficiency of bio-inspired algorithms for supervised classification of medical data.
Multimodal Information Systems
Authors: Bendaoud Zakaria , Khadidja Yachba , Karim Bouamrane
Published: January 2018

The number of individuals using public transportation is increasing. Transport companies want to ensure, at best, the satisfaction of the travellers. Nevertheless, a significant number of these companies sometimes pushes the travellers to confusion to compose their itineraries and obtain the required information. The authors suggest in this chapter integrating several traveller information systems into the same global system. This chapter aims to provide information to the traveller without concern for their location and optimize processing by limiting the number of involved nodes. They opted for a multi-agent system associated with the Voronoï decomposition of the global network.
Epigenetic Signature in Breast Carcinoma, a Hidden Language to Dictate Against Genomic Insults
Authors: Kumar Azad , Jahagirdar Devashree , Purohit Shruti , Sharma Nilesh Kumar
Published: January 2018

The bottleneck in breast carcinoma treatment regimen is actually contributed from inherent genetic and epigenetic signatures present in heterogeneous clonal populations. Epigenetic changes are viewed as permanent and inheritable molecular pattern alterations of a cellular phenotype such as the gene expression profile but do not involve changes of the DNA sequence itself. Epigenetic phenomena are mediated by several molecular mechanisms comprising of histone modifications, DNA methylation and microRNA (miRNA) guided tools. Epigenetic reprograming may help in protective adaption to environment insults as chemotherapy and radiation therapy either enhance epigenetic tag or erase the epigenetic tag. Such epigenetic tools are being preferably used by several cancer types including breast carcinoma to achieve distinctive proliferation, metastasis and resistance in the wake of genomic insults. In this book chapter, we highlight the summarized findings on implications of epigenetic landscape in breast carcinoma occurrence and presenting as promising avenues for therapeutic intervention.
Sustainable Development Goals and Their Implication on Economic Growth
Authors: Katundu Mangasini Atanasi
Published: January 2018

The MDGs have been criticised for being too narrow and leaving out many people and their needs, like mental health. Likewise, not all MDGs were implemented successfully in all countries. Some countries implemented one or two MDGs of their choice and left others untouched, others partially implemented all MDGs. It was on this basis that the UN member states met in Rio to frame the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, in order for the SDGs to address systemic challenges across economic, social, and ecological dimensions of sustainable development they require appropriate institutional support to effectively integrate them into institutions and practices, to coordinate activities, and to mobilize resources for implementation. Rising income inequality negatively impacts economic growth and is threatening sustainable development of East African Community (EAC) member states. Since, the SDGs are many, it is recommended that, East African Member states should adopt a targeted approach in implementing the SDGs and focus on the smallholder farming sector.
Towards Child-Centred Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Nhapi Tatenda Goodman , Mathende Takudzwa Leonard
Published: January 2018

This chapter is mainly based on a historiography approach and explores enhanced child protection and safeguarding mainstreaming in Zimbabwe within the milieu of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs set the tone for further global development outcomes taking off from the millennium development goals. The chapter unpacks how SDGs can complement Zimbabwe's readily comprehensive legal and child protection policy framework to enrich child protection. The chapter offers recommendations on possible approaches to dovetail SDG targets with enhanced child protection and development in Zimbabwe.
Public Sector Role in Sustainable Development
Authors: Gichuru Onesmus
Published: January 2018

Being at a global development crossroad under an era plagued by major global challenges including financial crisis, poor governance, economic inequalities, climate change, food insecurity, human rights injustices, among others calls for a concerted effort from all the stakeholders to play a critical role in development. These roles are to be embraced through market-driven and people-centered modalities that seek to address inefficiency in service delivery and unequal distribution of economic gains. To foster this, the public sector is at the central point in driving institutional reforms in safeguarding progressive development-oriented norms and practices within an economy. In this regard, strategic reforms ought to be upheld as multifaceted processes that involve social structural changes, attitudinal changes, national institutions reforms, economic growth acceleration, reduction of inequalities, and poverty eradication. Restructuring, participation, public-private partnership, accountability, human-resource issues are some of the reformation strategies identified in this chapter.
Community Participation
Authors: Mkhize Mbekezeli Comfort , Madumi Phathutshedzo P. , Manona Wela Wellman
Published: January 2018

The emphases placed on community participation as a sustainable development strategy have increased in developing countries including South Africa. The shift to people-centred development initiative was in response to growing concerns over the unsustainable top-down and bureaucratic approaches to development. Despite the adoption of new development approaches, community participation has been plagued by pitfalls in the post-apartheid South Africa. Community participation remains centralised and politicised. The spaces of participation are closed. The objective of the chapter is to identify the pitfalls and opportunities for community participation in the sustainable development discourse. The chapter bridges the knowledge-gap with reference to critical analysis of development challenges and the alternative strategies. It concludes that community participation is the viable method for ensuring participation of the marginalised groups.
Political Clientelism and Sustainable Development
Authors: Sidha Zedekia
Published: January 2018

This chapter examines the dilemmas faced by policy makers and bureaucratic executives in implementing sustainable development policy objectives. The dilemma stems from the fact that while on the one hand, implementation of sustainable development goals requires momentary sacrifices by some segment of the population for the long-term benefits of the whole population, on the other hand, those entrusted to make implementation decisions are in office only for a short period of time thereby constrained to pursue policy objectives that maximize short-time benefits and minimizes short-term costs. To discuss these challenges, the chapter employs the case of Mau Forest Complex conservation efforts in Kenya. It is advanced that political clientelism is the main explanatory factor for both Mau Forest distraction and failure of its conservation efforts. It recommends employment of the incremental model to public policy implementation for forest conservation efforts, as well as political sensitivity and intense grassroots mobilization.
Advocacy as a Strategy for Sustainable Development and Economic Growth
Authors: Gbortsu Fabian Kwame
Published: January 2018

This chapter argues that civil society organizations have an important role to play in the attainment of sustainable development when the concept and practice of advocacy are transformed into a governance strategy. They can play this role by means of their core mandate of social transformation and attainment of social justice. The mechanisms they use to attain their goal have been identified in the chapter as participation, empowerment, education, and values. To show how advocacy can bring about social transformation for sustainability and growth, the chapter postulates a new development paradigm as model to follow with the necessary mapping in advocacy work. The dynamics of the relationship between advocacy and development are described and the framework for further research is outlined using principles of John Rawls' social and political philosophy.
The Nexus Between Human-Rights-Based Approach and Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers for Sustainable Development
Authors: Negussie Solomon
Published: January 2018

The ultimate objective of intergovernmental transfer is to enable each level of government to respect, protect, and fulfill social, economic, cultural, and political rights. As a result, human rights should be embodied as a central element in government budget reflecting revenue allocation and expenditure priorities. However, the economic rationales may not be fulfilled due to tax collection inefficiency, a sense of “free-ridership,” or fiscal profligacy leading to regional development imbalances. Moreover, important principles embodied in human rights such as participation, accountability, and empowerment of marginalized groups could be sidelined. This chapter analyzes the conceptual and practical underpinnings of transfer programs in Ethiopia and the need to address human rights to achieve development in an integrated manner. The study further argues that the nexus between human-rights-based approach (HRBA) and fiscal transfers is compatible with a federal system in an effort to address regional development asymmetries.
Tourism and Hospitality in Ethiopia's Development Agenda
Authors: Wudie Alelign Aschale
Published: January 2018

The tourism and hospitality operation is a lucrative but volatile business. Concerns about its sustainability require utmost knowledge and skills. Practicable philosophies about people, economics, finance, management, culture, and political ideology are essential. The chapter critically analyzes trans-disciplinary options that can assist responsible stakeholders to make and take remedial actions and classified decisions for sustainable growth and development in Ethiopia. Fundamental but profitable actions that demand a timely call for Ethiopia's tourism and hospitality amelioration are explicated. Underlined is that a destination should not entertain decline at the expense of rejuvenation. Skilled dependence on technology can boost returns and scale up on indigenous resources to sustain a tourism and hospitality operation. In a nutshell, a trans-disciplinary vibrant interaction of growth and development variables can create and highly soar the hegemonic status quo of tourism and hospitality business operation in Ethiopia.
The Role of Mass Transport for Sustainable Public Transit in Developing Cities
Authors: Bogale Belew Dagnew
Published: January 2018

The need for an efficient public mass transportation system in the context of developing countries can well be overemphasized since a majority of the urban population continues to be either captive walkers or users of the public transport facility. In Addis Ababa, inadequacy of public transit and improper traffic management issues are dominant problems. Evidence indicates that solutions related to traffic congestion and accidents are still left behind the city. However, it is expected that the recent project interventions and initiatives will enhance the capability of the public transit to deliver effective and sustainable transportation. This chapter evaluates the public transit performance, the initiatives towards terminals, and the future models for implementation. It concludes that an integrated public mass transit system is vital to a sustainable future public transport in developing cities in general and in Addis Ababa in particular. Recommendations are forwarded in the chapter.
Co-Design Flow for Embedded Systems (MPSoC)
Authors: Smiri Kamel , Fourati Nourhen
Published: January 2018

In this chapter, the authors explore the estimation of the performances in an earlier stage of (multi-processors system on chip) MPSoC design in which it is necessary to drive design space exploration and support important design decisions. Therefore, they address the co-design hardware/software with estimating performances in order to find an adequate solution, which consists in mapping the application on the components of architecture with respect the criteria of performance of the system defined from the beginning. The chapter provides a hybrid model for estimating performance in which cohabited simulation and analytical techniques are carried out via a link layer in order to reach an optimal architectural solution quickly. Thus, it allows faster performance estimation with better accuracy at different levels of abstraction.
Lyapunov-Based Predictive Control Methodologies for Networked Control Systems
Authors: Caruntu Constantin-Florin
Published: January 2018

The problem considered in this chapter is to control a vehicle drivetrain in order to minimize its oscillations while coping with the time-varying delays introduced by the CAN communication network and the strict timing limitations. As such, two Lyapunov-based model predictive control design methodologies are presented: one based on modeling the network-induced time-varying delays using a polytopic approximation technique and the second one based on modeling the delays as disturbances. Several tests performed using an industry validated drivetrain model indicate that the proposed design methodologies can handle both the performance/physical constraints and the strict limitations on the computational complexity, while effectively coping with the time-varying delays. Moreover, a comparative analysis between the two Lyapunov-based model predictive control design methodologies in terms of computational complexity, number of optimization variables, and obtained performances is carried out.
Performance Analysis of Nature-Inspired Algorithms-Based Bayesian Prediction Models for Medical Data Sets
Authors: Kumar Amit , Sarkar Bikash Kanti
Published: January 2018

Research in medical data prediction has become an important classification problem due to its domain specificity, voluminous, and class imbalanced nature. In this chapter, four well-known nature-inspired algorithms, namely genetic algorithms (GA), genetic programming (GP), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and ant colony optimization (ACO), are used for feature selection in order to enhance the classification performances of medical data using Bayesian classifier. Naïve Bayes is most widely used Bayesian classifier in automatic medical diagnostic tools. In total, 12 real-world medical domain data sets are selected from the University of California, Irvine (UCI repository) for conducting the experiment. The experimental results demonstrate that nature-inspired Bayesian model plays an effective role in undertaking medical data prediction.
Soft Computing Approaches for Image Segmentation
Authors: Chouhan Siddharth Singh , Sharma Utkarsh , Singh Uday Pratap
Published: January 2018

In this chapter a review is done on the image segmentation techniques by using both traditional approaches and soft computing approaches. This chapter will figure out some soft computing approaches that can be used to solve the problem of identification of objects. Some traditional approaches for the extraction of objects are discussed along with their comparison with soft computing approaches. The chapter discusses various applications of image segmentation. The soft computing approaches are then analyzed and their performance is compared with the others by identifying the advantages and disadvantages of all.
Online Social Support Groups/Communities
Authors: Ngenye Liza , Wright Kevin
Published: January 2018

Numerous studies over the past two decades suggest that people with a variety of health concerns are increasingly turning to online networks for social support. This has led to the rise of online support groups/communities for people facing health concerns. Researchers have found that these groups/communities provide patients, disease survivors, and caregivers a number of advantages and disadvantages in terms of mobilizing social support for their health-related concerns. This chapter will examine these issues in greater detail as well as the theoretical and practical implications of this body of research for patients who use online support communities to help cope with and manage a variety of health issues. It will provide an overview of online social support and health outcomes, discuss key processes and theoretical explanations for the efficacy of online support communities for people facing health concerns, and the limitations of this body of research as well as an agenda for future communication research on health-related online support groups/communities.
Analyzing Online Social Support Within the Type 1 Diabetes Community
Authors: Maki Kristin G. , O'Mally Aisha K.
Published: January 2018

Social support has been linked with many health outcomes, ranging from heart disease to depression. Although its importance has been recognized, less is known about how individuals with chronic illnesses may use social media to provide and seek social support. This chapter's focus is on the way in which people with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) use social media to provide and solicit social support. A mixed-methods approach is utilized. First, posts from two social media platforms were qualitatively content analyzed. Second, the data were quantitatively analyzed to provide a finer-grained understanding of the messages. The results show informational support as the most prevalent on both sites, although there are some differences in content and use. This chapter's implications highlight the importance of social media as a conduit for social support among caregivers and individuals affected by T1D.
Social Support Through Digital Media?
Authors: Çobaner Aslıhan Ardıç , Bek Mine Gencel
Published: January 2018

This chapter aims to analyze the use of online support groups for breast cancer in Turkey. After describing the general characteristics of such groups, the authors closely analyze the two Facebook groups on breast cancer. The analysis focuses on how the patients read the illness and their struggle to cope with the illness; how social support mechanisms are used; and which aims and motivations are foregrounded. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques are used in the research. Informed by the international research literature, the chapter also tries to underline the similarities and differences of online social media in the Turkish context. Although the main purpose of the groups is to share information, emotional empathy and shared personal experience are also obvious.
Learning-Performance Relationship
Authors: Martins Ana , Martins Isabel , Pereira Orlando Petiz
Published: January 2018

Organizational learning, knowledge creation, retention, and diffusion are strategies that open many a window of opportunities for organizations to differentiate themselves in the global economy. However, performance based on knowledge has not yet become exposed. Intangible assets must be continuously analyzed to reach organizational performance and sustainability. New management and economic literature reveals that communities of practice focus on humanized leadership and self-efficacy that promote added value to the organization. Furthermore, the humanisation of the organization perspective becomes the nucleus and the framework for all levels of productivity and competitiveness. This chapter posits different organizational learning pathways according to a holistic perspective with humanisation as a unique element. The chapter is centered on an analysis of the human capital construct as the point of departure. Furthermore, the chapter reflects on humanized and humanising emotional, spiritual, and relational capital in order to reach the level of organizational knowledge.
Knowledge as Quantum Leap
Authors: Gironacci Irene Maria
Published: January 2018

A key role of every government is to control the scientific and social progress managing the knowledge and learning process with efficiency and efficacy towards a factual wellness of people. The purpose of this chapter is to describe a basic strategy paradigm of management in global capitalism of knowledge, with web economy, globalization, dematerialization of value. In this global worldmaking, an Indonesia-Italy research team proposes a new knowledge science paradigm to change the way we are behaving in educational didactic, scientific mindset, business management in the twenty-first century: nature knowledge theory (NKT). As new basic science, it is the outcome of advanced study beyond knowledge management.
Using Big Data as a Backbone for Thailand 4.0
Authors: Daengdej Jirapun , Dowpiset Kitikorn
Published: January 2018

Every country is currently preparing themselves for the fourth industrial revolution, the environment where innovation is the key concept for survival. Most of the countries have developed framework for their e-government development. Unfortunately, most of these frameworks do not contain adequate details on what are the activities required if big data will be used as a backbone of all services. This research focuses on proposing a conceptual framework for development of e-government in Thailand. The proposed framework explicitly contains all important activities to be completed if big data will serve as the core component of all services for their citizens.
Extended Managerial Implications
Authors: Riley John Thomas
Published: January 2018

In these challenging times, people need a positive vision of the future that human space exploration best provides. The way Apollo to the Moon was run in the 1960s, with a huge government program, simply cannot happen today. Fortunately, all the elements needed to build a twenty-first century grassroots human space program are now available. This chapter provides one possible approach developed by the Big Moon Dig, called MOVE, and discusses its critical elements such as management of a large out-of-box project, finding a lunar settlement site, critical habitat design, and applying the lessons learned to other problems on Earth.
The Assessment of Actions of the Environment and the Impact of Preventive Medicine for Public Health in Poland
Authors: Rosiek Anna
Published: January 2018

This chapter describes how the actions of the medical environment is aiming to improve the health of society can and must be seen on many levels. The author refers to the organizational, ethical, legal and psychological aspects. Also covered are not only patients' education, but also the scope of functioning healthcare organization, which adapts to the needs of the changing environment e.g. requirements of the patient, the development of technology, advances in medicine. Public health problems appear as complex components of the system and cannot be dealt with by a single, simple intervention, whether perceived by the prism of a single feature or element, but must be perceived as influencing factors in the system e.g. several attributes, factors. These together may potentially be used in the future to generate better health outcomes or the functioning of the entire health system in the areas of health sciences, medicine or public health.