bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Learning Analytics Approach to Monitoring the Quality of Online One-to-one Tutoring
Authors: Cukurova Mutlu , Khan-Galaria Madiha , Millan Eva , Luckin Rose
Published: October 2021

One-to-one online tutoring provided by human tutors can improve students’ learning outcomes. However, monitoring the quality of such tutoring is a significant challenge. In this paper, we propose a learning analytics approach for monitoring online one-to-one tutoring quality. The approach analyses teacher behaviours and classifies tutoring sessions into those that are effective and those that are not effective. More specifically, we use sequential behaviour pattern mining to analyse tutoring sessions using the CM-SPAM algorithm and classify tutoring sessions into effective and less effective using the J-48 and JRIP decision tree classifiers. To show the feasibility of the approach, we analysed data from 2250 minutes of online one-to-one primary Maths tutoring sessions with 44 tutors from 8 schools. The results showed that the approach can classify tutors’ effectiveness with high accuracy (F measures of 0.89 and 0.98 were achieved). The results also showed that effective tutors present significantly more frequent hint provision and proactive planning behaviours than their less effective colleagues in these online one-to-one sessions. Furthermore, effective tutors sequence their monitoring actions with appropriate pauses and initiations of students’ self-correction behaviours. We conclude that the proposed approach is feasible to monitor the quality of online one-to-one primary Maths tutoring sessions.
Toward correctness control of postal addresses geocoding
Authors: Obuhov Lev , Panidi Evgeny
Published: October 2021

The paper discusses content and results of the methodology elaborated for geocoding of postal addresses. The geocoding issue is considered on the example of study devoted to the exploration of the spatial distribution and dynamics tuberculosis and concomitant diseases infection cases. The study is carried out on a large city scale. The example of St. Petersburg city (Russia) is used.

Proposed methodology is based upon the extending of the classical geocoding scheme that assumes direct linking of the address data presented as a part of initial dataset with the address data presented in the reference dataset (in the geospatial database). The extension consists in the use of a middle reference-standard register of postal addresses. An address database developed by official agencies is used as a reference-standard register. Initial data records are linked with the records of the reference-standard register by postal addresses, and the register records, in turn, are linked with the records of the reference dataset used for geocoding (with the addresses recorded in the attributes of the geospatial database objects).

This approach allows to provide control of structure and content correctness for the address data used for geocoding, as well as to convert address data in to a unified form accepted officially at the state level and used in official documents and information systems.

The methodology is implemented on the example of the postal address system used in the Russia. However, it can also be used when operating with the address system of any other states. In such a case, it is necessary to have an official register of postal addresses to implement the methodology. The register have to be presented in a structured form (preferably in the form of a database). The methodology can be used both for medical statistics data geocoding, and for geocoding of other domain data.
“Geographical atlas of the Belgorod region: nature, society, economy” as an information basis for implementing the sustainable development policy of the region
Authors: Lebedeva Marina , Kornilov Andrey , Petina Mariya , Vendina Tatiana
Published: October 2021

The article discusses the issue of creating an updated regional atlas of the Belgorod region—“Geographic atlas: nature, society, economy”. The cartographic work is an integral result of a deep analysis of modern natural conditions and resources, the economy and the population of the Belgorod region. The Atlas provides relevant geographic information, which made it possible to make the regional atlas one of the main tools of the information and educational environment, as well as a tool in the implementation of the sustainable development policy of the region. The Geographic Atlas: Nature, Society, Economy was created by a team of scientists from the Institute of Earth Sciences of the Belgorod State National Research University with the involvement of specialized specialists with the financial support of the Russian Geographical Society. The article describes in detail the stages of creating an atlas: information-analytical accumulative; preparatory cartographic; cartographic; design; publishing. The structure of the regional atlas is given. All maps in the atlas are combined into 4 sections: “Introductory Section”, “Nature”, “Population”, “Economy”, they are consistent and complement each other. A number of thematic maps, placed in the Atlas, were built for the Belgorod Region for the first time. The atlas contains 76 thematic maps built in the ArcGIS 10.4.1 environment. When creating atlas maps, modern techniques and methods of geoinformation mapping were applied. The published “Geographic Atlas of the Belgorod Region: Nature, Society, Economy” is both a scientific work and an educational reference manual, and is intended for a wide range of users: from school and university students to highly specialized specialists of various levels.
Adaptability of Improved NEAT in Variable Environments
Authors: Bailey Destiny
Published: October 2021

Qualitative research experiment to gather descriptive data on the NEAT algorithm’s performance in an environment with variability. Individual research performed for my AP Research paper. The experiment was conducted using Python and the NEAT-Python library. The research conducted was for the sake of doing research in the field of AI in computer science and is rather outdated.
THE MEANING OF SHATER FORM IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF RUSSIAN RENAISSANCE OF THE 16TH CENTURY
Authors: Shvidkovsky Dmitry O.
Published: October 2021

The article is intended to clarify the original signification of a tent-shaped roof in church architecture in order to help Russian architects of the 21st century to use it meaningfully and in accordance with centuries-old tradition. The article deals with the problem of the genesis of the tent-shaped roof of the church and its primitive meaning in a wide cultural and symbolic context. Within the frame of a longstanding scientific discussion that lasted a century and a half different opinions had been expressed: the origin of the tent-shaped roof was linked with the traditions of Russian timber constructions as well as with the influences of Armenian, Georgian and even Indian architectural traditions. The article discusses the historical and culturalogical context of the creation of the first known masonry tent-shaped roof in the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye built according to the commission of the Grand Duke Vasily III. The date of completion of the church is documented – that happened in 1532. The authorship of the project was discussed for a long time. Now it is considered to be definitely proved that the author was an Italian architect Petrok Maly (Pietro Annibale di Piza). The authors show the link of the meaning of the church in Kolomenskoye with the conceptions of Moscow as the New Constantinople and the Third Rome. We show the similarity of forms of the muscovite church with the description of the ciborium of the church of Saint Sophia in Constantinople in the text of Saint Germanus of Constantinople, known in the 16th century Russia.
Female Portrait of Exile and Identity construction: A Case Study of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis
Authors: Contreras-Pérez Marta
Published: October 2021

This essay proposes a critical analysis of the film Persepolis (2007) directed by Marjane Satrapi (Iran, 1969-) and Vincent Paronnaud (France, 1970-). Their work is based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis (2000-2003) where she narrates, as a witness, the Iranian society, culture and politics during the 1979 revolution, as well as her own experience living in Switzerland and France. The purpose of this study is to bring reflections upon the struggles and obstacles she had to face as an exile in Europe and the traumatic souvenirs of the war and the revolution. This picture will show us a view between Orient and Occident cultures and an identity crisis caused by the war.
Escrita de Argumentos e Teatro Pós-dramático – Contradições e Oportunidades
Authors: Vaz Luís Santo
Published: October 2021

The fundamental theme of this paper is the dynamics of influence between theatre and cinema. The paper focuses on a screenwriting perspective over postdramatic, a concept introduced by Hans-Thies Lehmann (Postdramatisches Theater, 1999). The specific domain of the research deals with the possibilities of operative appropriation from postdramatic practices by contemporary narrative filmmaking. Being a case study research paper, the qualitative nature of the approach method implies a tangible object of study, thus, the specific theme is approached through an analysis of the writing process of a particular narrative screenplay (Second Rate Poetry, 2012), which was simultaneously influenced by the principles of Hollywood’s screenwriting and by postdramatic theory. The essay’s ultimate goal is to address the possibilities of a production prototype that combines the seemingly antithetical principles of Hollywood’s text-centric approach, largely based on Aristotelian Poetics, and postdramatic performance practices.
Comparative analysis of legal regulation of higher education in Germany and Finland
Authors: Мякинина С.Б.
Published: October 2021

для анализа современного правового регламентирования системы высшего образования выбраны две страны, образовательные модели которых были изучены автором непосредственно в этих странах. В статье рассматриваются избранные страны как диаметрально различные как по форме государственного устройства, что повлияло на законодательную базу, так и по подходу к реализации Болонской декларации о создании общеевропейского пространства высшего образования. Несмотря на то, что Германия реализует классическую модель образовательного процесса, а финское образование является во многом новаторским, обе эти страны добились высоких качественных показателей и занимают лидирующее положение университетского образования в Европе. Данный анализ полезен для дальнейшего совершенствования правового регулирования образования в России.

to analyze the modern legal regulation of the higher education system, two countries were selected, the educational models of which were studied by the author directly in these countries. The article examines the selected countries as diametrically different both in the form of government, which influenced the legislative framework, and in the approach to the comprehension of the Bologna Declaration for the creation of a common field of European Higher Education. Even though Germany implements the classical model of the educational process, and Finnish education is in many ways innovative – both countries have achieved high quality indicators and occupy a leading position in university education in Europe. This analysis is useful for further improving the legal regulation of education in Russia.
On the issue of training education managers to manage the risks of an educational organization
Authors: Савенкова Е.В.
Published: October 2021

в статье рассматривается необходимость подготовки в педагогическом вузе менеджеров образования к управлению рисками в образовательной организации. В реальных практических ситуациях менеджеры образования сталкиваются с рядом проблем, среди которых значительное место занимает принятие решений в условиях неопределенности и риска. Подготовка в педагогическом вузе менеджеров образования позволяет обеспечить формирование рискологической компетентности при обучении по основным образовательным программам и дополнительным профессиональным программам профессиональной переподготовки.

the article discusses the need to train education managers in a pedagogical university to manage risks in an educational organization. In real practical situations, education managers face several problems, among which a significant place is occupied by decision-making in conditions of uncertainty and risk. The training of education managers in a pedagogical university allows for the formation of risk-based competence in training in the main educational programs and additional professional programs of professional retraining.
LOCO: The 88-million-word language of conspiracy corpus
Authors: Miani Alessandro , Hills Thomas , Bangerter Adrian
Published: October 2021

The spread of online conspiracy theories represents a serious threat to society. To understand the content of conspiracies, here we present the language of conspiracy (LOCO) corpus. LOCO is an 88-million-token corpus composed of topic-matched conspiracy (N = 23,937) and mainstream (N = 72,806) documents harvested from 150 websites. Mimicking internet user behavior, documents were identified using Google by crossing a set of seed phrases with a set of websites. LOCO is hierarchically structured, meaning that each document is cross-nested within websites (N = 150) and topics (N = 600, on three different resolutions). A rich set of linguistic features (N = 287) and metadata includes upload date, measures of social media engagement, measures of website popularity, size, and traffic, as well as political bias and factual reporting annotations. We explored LOCO’s features from different perspectives showing that documents track important societal events through time (e.g., Princess Diana’s death, Sandy Hook school shooting, coronavirus outbreaks), while patterns of lexical features (e.g., deception, power, dominance) overlap with those extracted from online social media communities dedicated to conspiracy theories. By computing within-subcorpus cosine similarity, we derived a subset of the most representative conspiracy documents (N = 4,227), which, compared to other conspiracy documents, display prototypical and exaggerated conspiratorial language and are more frequently shared on Facebook. We also show that conspiracy website users navigate to websites via more direct means than mainstream users, suggesting confirmation bias. LOCO and related datasets are freely available athttps://osf.io/snpcg/.
Digital shifts in human resource management in the global economy
Authors: Nikpour Amirreza , Semushkina Svetlana
Published: October 2021

This article examines the key issues related to digital shifts in human resource management in the global economy. The purpose of the article is to identify the features and key trends in the introduction of digital technologies on the example of the BRICS countries. The study yielded a number of results. In the course of the research, the theoretical foundations of the digitalization of HR management are analyzed. The current situation and the contemporary level of human development in the BRICS countries is also noted. The features and problematic aspects of digital transformations in the human resource management system are outlined on the example of Russia, China and Brazil. In addition, the main digital technologies that are widely used in the countries under consideration are described.
Determinants of underpricing initial public offerings (IPOs) of BRICS companies
Authors: Gasymov Afik , Makarova Svetlana
Published: October 2021

The purpose of this article is to identify the nature of the influence of crucial factors on the short-term underpricing of initial public offerings of common stocks of companies in the BRICS countries. Based on a sample of 1,141 companies from the BRICS countries that conducted IPOs (using Bloomberg and World Bank databases), we tested the influence of decisive factors on the underpricing of the shares of these companies. The empirical study is based on testing OLS models for different periods: for the period 2001–2018 and separately for the periods 2001–2008 and 2010–2018. The study shows that, firstly, with an increase in the volume of the placement of shares, their underestimation in an IPO decreases. In addition, having an auditor from the Big Four also reduces the underestimation of shares. Secondly, we revealed that the underpricing of shares in the course of the IPO increased with GDP growth. Besides, if companies place their shares on a foreign exchange, the underestimation of their shares increases. At the same time, such IPO parameters as the number of underwriters, the reputation of underwriters, and the deviation of the offer price from the middle of the price range during
the placement period do not affect the underestimation of shares for companies from the BRICS countries. Taking into account the results of an empirical study, the article formulates recommendations for improving the efficiency of initial public offerings for companies from the BRICS countries.
Ground beetle fauna (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Russia)
Authors: Ruchin Alexander , Alekseev Sergey , Egorov Leonid , Artaev Oleg , Semishin Gennadiy , Esin Mikhail
Published: October 2021

Protected areas are organised in different climatic zones, which usually include typical ecosystems characteristic of certain climatic zones. In most cases, protected areas are biodiversity hotspots. These areas are benchmarks in terms of nature conservation and to determine their biological diversity is becoming an important task. It is important to investigate the carabid family of protected areas within the framework of understanding the overall biological diversity of these systems. In addition, ground beetles, as one of the largest groups of ground-based inhabitants, are indicators of the state of ecosystems and serve as markers of their well-being.

We present 2,969 new occurrence records comprising 226 species of Carabidae, belonging to eight subfamilies, from the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (central Russia). Ten species are listed for the first time for the Mordovia State Nature Reserve fauna after previous research: Cicindela maritima, Bembidion striatum, Dyschirius angustatus, Dyschirius arenosus, Notiophilus aestuans, Bembidion argenteolum, Bembidion velox, Bradycellus caucasicus, Cymindis angularis and Syntomus truncatellus, five of which were first recorded for the Republic of Mordovia (Egorov et al. 2020). Previously, this information was not published anywhere and we wanted to make it available to everyone by embedding it in the global database on biodiversity (GBIF).
La Recherche et l’Innovation en France
Authors: Bouquin Nadège
Published: October 2021

Si les moyens dévolus aux universités ont augmenté dans la période récente, les financements supplémentaires mis à la disposition des acteurs suscitent des interrogations : distorsions entre affichages et réalités ou, en tout cas, compréhension difficile du rapport entre les deux, décroissance en fin de période, modalités d’allocation complexes et peu cohérentes. Face à ces constats, les pistes de propositions se concentrent autour de trois axes. Tout d’abord, il conviendrait de simplifier et de stabiliser un dispositif de financement public des établissements reposant sur les deux outils principaux que sont le modèle Sympa et le contrat quinquennal État-université, après avoir ajusté le premier et renforcé le second. Ensuite, les universités devraient pouvoir poursuivre leur marche vers l’autonomie, car leur quête des moyens de leur développement se heurte à des obstacles structurels majeurs : comment développer des stratégies et des projets d’établissements lorsqu’on n’a de prise réelle ni sur ses ressources humaines, ni sur ses flux d’étudiants, ni sur son patrimoine et ses infrastructures ? Il faut continuer à progresser vers tout ce qui permettrait de donner davantage de capacité de vision et d’action aux responsables universitaires, ce qui implique notamment des circuits de décision, de financement et d’action raccourcis et plus cohérents. Enfin, il importe que le cœur de métier de l’université, à savoir la formation, fasse l’objet d’un investissement important, aussi bien en termes d’organisation et de gestion qu’en termes de développement et de pilotage d’une offre globale mieux ciblée. En conclusion, le développement de la capacité stratégique des universités dépend aujourd’hui largement d’une autonomie accrue, de moyens maintenus ou renforcés sur lesquels elles aient une visibilité suffisante, et, au-delà, de la poursuite des efforts de rapprochement des différentes filières de l’enseignement supérieur.
La Recherche et l’Innovation en France
Authors: Nemessany Violette
Published: October 2021

La France, comme la plupart des pays industriels, soutient la création et le développement d’entreprises de technologies innovantes, appelées start-up ou, dans le vocabulaire du ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, « jeunes pousses ». L’important soutien de l’État français à la création d’entreprises innovantes se justifie par le rôle central que jouent les jeunes pousses non seulement dans l’innovation technologique, mais aussi dans la création de valeur et, plus largement, dans la croissance économique. L’efficacité de cette politique publique se mesure par conséquent au volume d’activité économique ainsi engendré. De ce point de vue, pour mesurer le bénéfice sociétal de l’investissement public dans l’entrepreneuriat innovant, il convient de s’interroger sur le devenir de ces start-up . Le sort le plus courant d’une jeune pousse, lorsqu’elle connaît un grand succès technique et commercial, est d’être achetée par un géant de l’industrie. Dans un premier temps, ce chapitre détaille les principales motivations stratégiques qui poussent les start-up à la sortie industrielle, et les sources de valeur qui justifient leur achat par un grand groupe. Dans un deuxième temps sont décrites les difficultés rencontrées, de façon symétrique par les deux parties, tout au long du processus d’intégration de la jeune pousse dans le groupe. Et ce à travers le parcours de sept fondateurs de start-up qui ont été achetées par un industriel. Le chapitre présente, dans un troisième temps, les trois cas d’intégration réussie rencontrés dans le cadre de ce travail. Il montre alors comment la valeur de la jeune entreprise se déplace géographiquement et se développe au sein de la nouvelle entité. Pour conclure, des recommandations sont formulées à destination des créateurs de jeunes pousses et des dirigeants de grands groupes acheteurs.
Adapt Learning Path by Recommending Problems to Struggling Learners
Authors: Jdidou Youssef , Aammou Souhaib , Khaldi Mohamed
Published: October 2021

The objective of this work is the creation of a resource recommendation ap-plication in Python integrated into the code of the virtual edX platform, which appears as an additional tab in each course. By selecting this tab, learners will have access at any time to their recommended issues for this course, and so they can adapt their learning path. In this article, we present a recommendation algorithm that will be responsible for proposing these prob-lems according to the scores obtained in the problems already performed by the learner. By calculating the similarity with the rest of the classmates, an estimate of the most practical problems for the learner will be made. We also present the different functions and parameters to implement it.
Cognitive Development, Learning Strategies and Academic Performance in The First Stage of University Education
Authors: Phun-Pat Ynés , Chauca Carmen , Arones Mayurí Maritza Elizabeth , Curro-Urbano Olga Maria
Published: October 2021

Undergraduate training continues to be a challenge to train entrepreneurial specialists with research-oriented attitudes. Depending on the level of func-tional development of the brain, the level of learning will be different in re-lation to chronological age. The ACRA learning strategies scales (Román & Gallego, 2001) allow verifying the frequency, type of strategy and specific technique used by students, the coding strategies being the most important for effective performance throughout life; although there is an abbreviated and validated version of this scale applicable only at the university level by De la Fuente and Justicia (2003); In the study, the 2001 version of Román & Gallego is applied to analyze, according to age, the correspondence between the learning strategies used by the students with their academic performance, as well as to verify if there is a difference by gender, during a period of three years . Technical sheets and final grades of the students were also ap-plied; a multiple linear regression analysis; it is a mixed type investigation. It is observed that the Coding strategies are not used very frequently. In Aca-demic Performance (AR), only 7.85% of the students obtained a final score of 14 or more, the use score coinciding with scales that measure the same learning strategies. The type of strategies and the age (18-19 years) registered influence the RA and only the Acquisition strategies show a slight relation-ship with the RA. There is no gender relationship.
Microbial Mineral Dissolution and Environmental Disasters
Authors: Chikkanna Arpitha , Ghosh Devanita
Published: October 2021

Microorganisms play very important role in elemental and mineral chemistry on earth surface. Along with the major biogeochemical cycles such as Carbon, Nitrogen, Sulphur and Phosphorus, which are crucially involved in thermodynamic balances in earth system, microbes are also involved in trace metal cycling. The organic carbon sustaining the indigenous microbial communities critically controls these microbial processes. A large number of the microbial communities are able to form a wide variety minerals, of which many have only biogenic origin and cannot be formed inorganically. Microbes also play a critical role in dissolution of minerals; a process which not only helps in soil formation and the transport of nutrients to higher trophic levels, but can also have many important industrial roles. Thus, in these metabolic activities, microorganisms contribute to the geological phenomenon of the transformation of metals and minerals. This chapter focuses on the role of various microbial metabolic processes that are involved in mineralization and mineral dissolution and the consequences involved with it.
Mapping the Brazilian Reality in the Development of Special Economic Zones
Authors: Frogeri Rodrigo Franklin , Portugal Júnior Pedro dos Santos , Piurcosky Fabrício Pelloso , Vivaldi Guilherme Augusto Dionisio , Souza Brayan Cunha , Valim Lucas Maiolini
Published: October 2021

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have emerged as very popular instruments of economic policy, aiming to create conditions to attract investment and offset the weaknesses of the business environment in developing countries. Despite being a very applied economic policy, there are few studies that analyze this phenomenon in a systematic and deep way, especially in the Brazilian scenario. Therefore, the following research objectives were established (1) to map the Brazilian reality in relation to the development of SEZs and (2) to map the scientific studies that involved SEZs and Brazil. The analyses demonstrated that Brazilian SEZs are concentrated in the North and Northeast regions of the country, especially the Manaus Free Trade Zone. The implementation of this type of policy in Brazil has great influence from the state and actions of the legislative branch. However, there are obstacles that compromise a more effective outcome of this policy and that need to be removed in order to allow a more integrated impact on the territory.
Insights on the Prospects of Multi-Access Edge Computing
Authors: R. Dhaya , R. Kanthavel
Published: October 2021

Edge computing is an open information technology design that is empowering mobile computing and internet of things innovations. Edge computing is the arrangement of the process that is significant because it makes as good as ever ways for mechanical and undertaking level organizations to amplify operational proficiency, improve execution and security, computerize all center business measures, and guarantee consistently on accessibility. The effectiveness of edge computing depends on the assessment of the cleverness of IoT-supported gadgets and the way of clustering our IoT devices. Even though edge computing can give convincing advantages across a huge number of utilization cases, the innovation is a long way from foolproof. Past the conventional issues of organization constraints, a few key contemplations can influence the reception of edge computing. This chapter deals with the viewpoints on the challenges of multi-access edge computing that specially focuses on network bandwidth, distributed computing, latency, security, backup, data accumulation, control and management, and scale.
Secure File Storage in Cloud Computing Using a Modified Cryptography Algorithm
Authors: Smriti Manya , Venkatraman Shruti Varsha , Raj Aashish , Shukla Vaishnavi Raj , Cherukuri Aswani Kumar Aswani
Published: October 2021

This chapter investigates the security issues identified with the file cloud storage to ensure the security of client information in cloud information server. The authors have proposed a modified RSA algorithm with multiple keys and CRT to ensure confidentiality of data coupled with hashing through SHA-512 to maintain integrity. This work has made a secure data exchange app where files are encrypted using the RSA-CRT algorithm and hashed later. On successfully implementing the work, they observed that the proposed technique is more secure than the original RSA algorithm and RSA-CRT. Furthermore, it enhanced the algorithm performance for decryption because it employed the CRT for decryption; thus, the proposed technique proved to be faster than RSA with multi keys.
Paradigmatic Foundations of Mixed Methods Research
Authors: Pasipamire Notice , Masuku Mehluli
Published: October 2021

Mixed methods research (MMR) has gained traction among scholars owing to its ability to allow researchers to investigate a phenomenon with the lens of both qualitative and quantitative strands. However, the mixed methods field has been grappling with the challenge of demonstrating its foundation in philosophical or paradigmatic terms. To interrogate this subject of the MMR foundation, this chapter begins by tracing the evolution of MMR and then discusses why researchers find it attractive to use. The chapter moves to present the paradigmatic dilemma associated with the use of MMR. It also debates pragmatism as a philosophical position and questions whether pragmatism is an opportunistic paradigm for MMR. It produces a picture that shows the resultant logical challenge associated with MMR in practice. The chapter concludes by taking the position that it is not logically possible to carry out a study from the standpoint of a fence sitter. A researcher needs a stable disposition from which to think logically. The chapter adds weight to the growing body of MMR literature.
The Contribution of Multi-Methods to the Understanding of Disaster Management Practices of Community Libraries
Authors: Chizwina Sabelo
Published: October 2021

This chapter reflects on the lessons learnt from applying multi-methods in a study to determine community librarians' disaster management beliefs and practices in a rural context. A case study design that used a questionnaire, interviews, and document analysis was employed. The study sought to generate new knowledge about disaster management practices of community libraries in the North West Province of South Africa. The researcher collected quantitative data as the primary data collection strategy, and qualitative data supplemented it. The rationale for triangulating the two types of data was that neither quantitative nor qualitative methods were sufficient to capture the perceptions and identify practices amongst the participants. The triangulation of data facilitated the understanding of the subjective meanings, developing a description of disaster management practices and localising participants' statements within social patterns of interaction.
Application of Mixed Method Research in Studying the Use of Artificial Intelligence for the Management of Records
Authors: Marutha Ngoako Solomon , Modiba Mashilo
Published: October 2021

This study sought to share experiences and challenges in the application of mixed-method research in studying the use of artificial intelligence for the management of records. Artificial intelligence is a complex and emerging technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Therefore, it requires a robust research approach for one to come up with empirical and reliable results. The study relied on the literature review and the research experience of the researchers with the application of mixed-method research in studying the use of artificial intelligence for the management of records. The study discovered that applying a single approach in studying the use of artificial intelligence for the management of records may produce results with some gaps which may result in the study findings and recommendations being unreliable. Mixed-method research was found to be the most appropriate approach that may be applied in studying the use of artificial intelligence for the management of records to close possible research gaps.
A Research Dashboard for Aligning Research Components in Research Proposals, Theses, and Dissertations in Library and Information Science
Authors: Ocholla Dennis Ng'ong'
Published: October 2021

Alignment is important for harmoniously arranging, connecting, and linking research parts at different stages of research to produce logical, coherent, and clear relationships in, for example, a research proposal or report. Errors occur in many research proposals and research reports when the title, research problem, and research objectives or questions or hypotheses are not interrelated or linked to the theoretical framework and research methodology as a whole. This author uses related studies and several years of experience as a research supervisor and examiner of several master's and doctoral theses and dissertations in LIS in Africa to discuss this challenging factor. A conceptual model for an in-depth understanding of the constructs of research alignment for easy recognition, understanding, and application in LIS research proposals and reports is produced.. The chapter will support research proposal and research report writing in LIS and the cognate disciplines.
Microtia deformity correction with three-dimensional and two-dimensional templates
Authors: Korambayil Pradeoth Mukundan , Alappatt Kurian , Ambookan Prashanth Varkey
Published: October 2021

Expression of anatomical landmarks of the ear results in the success of ear reconstruction in microtia. Ear reconstruction in India is routinely done with a two-dimensional (2D) template by tracing the contralateral ear with an X-ray sheet. There is a need of a proper template to understand the finer details of the ear reconstruction. In this report, a three-dimensional (3D) template in association with a 2D template is utilised to augment the reconstruction ability of the plastic surgeon. After computed tomography scan, an accurate 3D scan of the normal ear is obtained. Using the 3D ear model file, a negative mould of the ear 3D model is developed and fed into a 3D printer. The model is sterilised and used for reconstruction. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used as an adjunct for the procedure. Simultaneous utilisation of 3D and 2D templates for ear reconstruction appears to increase the ability of plastic surgeons to recreate the ear.
Detection of acid sphingomyelinase in human saliva and its advantages in the diagnosis of Niemann-Pick disease type B
Authors: Giner-Ayala Alicia , Angaroni Celia Juana , de Kremer Raquel Dodelson , Martínez Lidia Dora
Published: October 2021

Background:

Niemann-Pick disease type B is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) coded by SMPD1 gene. Diagnostic assays for this enzyme were developed using fibroblasts, leukocytes, plasma and dry blood spots, however, there are no expression studies in saliva in the literature, so far. Saliva is a biofluid used to analyze the health/disease condition of an individual.

Methods:

We standardized a fluorometric method to determine ASM activity in human saliva of control subjects and in one NPD-B patient.

Results:

ASM activity was detected in all saliva samples. The range of ASM in saliva of 28 control subjects was 4.5 - 70.4 with an average of 26.93 ± 15.7 nmol/17h/mg of protein. Values in plasma were significantly lower, a 0.056- 3.2 range, with an average of 0.85 ± 0.7 nmol/17h/mg of protein. There was no correlation between saliva and plasma samples (R2= 0.001). ASM was markedly deficient in saliva activity of (0.09 nmol/17h/ mg of protein) as well as in the leukocyte pellet (0.125 nmol/17h/mg protein) and in the plasma (0.68 nmol/17h) of the NPD-B patient.

Conclusion:

Our observations indicate that saliva could be an alternative biofluid to plasma and to leucocytes to measure ASM activity, representing a non-invasive, easy-collection diagnostic means, which would allow the identification and characterization of these entities.
Nudging Handwashing among Primary School Students in the Philippines: Evidence from a Cluster Randomized Trial
Authors: Huang Haijing Crystal , Le Nhu , Battle Meghan , Villasenor Jon Michael , Maule Louise
Published: October 2021

Handwashing is key to preventing the transmission of various infectious diseases of which school-aged children are particularly susceptible. Traditional, information-messaging campaigns may increase handwashing awareness but have had limited success in promoting behavior change. Behavioral economics “nudges,” which explicitly target the knowledge-behavior gap, is a promising alternative. We evaluate the impact of school-based nudges in the first fully powered cluster randomized controlled trial in the Philippines. Out of our sample of 132 eligible schools, we randomly assigned half to receive nudges, including contextual cues (painted footpath from toilet to handwashing station) and visible reminders (posters and eye sticker), and half to the control group. Four months after implementation, we measured handwashing with soap (HWWS) after toilet use among grades 1–6 students using direct observation and compared this outcome between treatment and control schools. We also assessed whether nudges increased soap availability. The intervention increased HWWS rates by 17.3% points (pp), [95% CI: 4.2, 30.4] in treatment schools from the control group mean of 11.7%. The effect size was comparable across gender and age groups. Access to functioning handwashing facilities with soap increased by 36% (+20.2 pp, 95% CI: 10.9, 29.4). Mediation analysis suggests the program simultaneously nudged students to wash hands with soap in classrooms that already had soap, and nudged teachers to provide soap where it was not already available. These findings demonstrate that behavioral nudges costing less than $70 per school can lead to significant increases in HWWS among students 4 months post-intervention.
Evidence-Based Health Behavior Interventions for Cholera: Lessons from an Outbreak Investigation in India
Authors: Deoshatwar Avinash , Salve Dawal , Gopalkrishna Varanasi , Kumar Anuj , Barve Uday , Joshi Madhuri , Katendra Savita , Dhembre Varsha , Maheshwari Shradha , Viswanathan Rajlakshmi
Published: October 2021

In rural India, since 2014, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) has ensured construction of more than 100 million toilets and is now focusing on reinforcement of sanitation behaviors. We report a cholera outbreak in a remote village in western India where open defecation was implicated in causation. A water pipeline was damaged in the vicinity of a stream flowing from a site of open defecation. Despite the availability of a toilet facility in the majority of households (75%), open defecation was widely practiced (62.8%). Many reported not washing hands with soap and water before eating (78.5%) and after defecation (61.1%). The study emphasizes the need for focused health behavior studies and evidence-based interventions to reduce the occurrence of cholera outbreaks. This could be the last lap in the path toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”
Molecular Identification of the Human Pathogen Amphimerus sp. in the Freshwater Snail Aroapyrgus sp. in Ecuador
Authors: Calvopiña Manuel , Bastidas-Caldes Carlos , Romero Francisco , Villacrés-Granda Irina , Pointier Jean-Pierre , Takagi Hidekazu , Sugiyama Hiromu
Published: October 2021

Here, we report for the first time the snail intermediate host for the Amphimerus liver fluke, a foodborne trematodiasis. In Ecuador, Amphimerus of the Opisthorchiidae family, infects humans, cats, and dogs, in the tropical Pacific-coast region. Opisthorchiidae comprising also Clonorchis sinensis, Opisthorchis sp., and Metorchis sp., have complex life cycles involving a definitive and two intermediate hosts. We identified morphologically and investigated the presence and prevalence of Amphimerus cercaria and DNA in freshwater snails collected in a human-amphimeriasis endemic region in Ecuador, extracted DNA from snail tissue and emerged cercariae, performed real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the newly developed primers and probe amplifying the Amphimerus ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region, and sequenced the amplified DNA fragment. We collected 2,800 snails, characterized four species Aroapyrgus sp., Melanoides tuberculata, Biomphalaria cousini, and Aplexa marmorata, isolated three cercariae morphotypes. Of the 640 snails analyzed by qPCR, only Aroapyrgus and one of the three cercariae resulted positive, at a 15% infection prevalence. Polymerase chain reaction revealed that the Aroapyrgus snail and cercaria-morphotype-3 corresponded to Amphimerus, but not to C. sinensis, Fasciola hepatica, or Paragonimus mexicanus. The sequence of amplified DNA product matched that of human-isolated Amphimerus. This finding constitutes the first documentation that Aroapyrgus sp. is the first intermediate host for the Amphimerus sp. that infect humans in Ecuador. The ITS2–gene PCR and sequencing analysis demonstrated a high prevalence of snail infection and proved useful for detecting the infection in snails, which findings can help the establishment of suitable control programs against transmission in any endemic region of interest.
Prevalence of Micronutrient Deficiencies among Preschool and School-Going Children in Flood-Hit Areas of Pakistan
Authors: Haq Ijaz ul , Mehmood Zafar , Mujahid Abdul Majid , Ahmed Bilal , Shah Jahan , Khan Nadar , Haq Ihtisham Ul , Shahzad Muhammad , Khan Ejaz Ali , Khan Abbas , Zeb Umar , Xu Jielian , Xue Yufang , Chen Xiaoshuang
Published: October 2021

There is minimal literature regarding micronutrient deficiencies in flood-affected regions. In our study, we aimed to find the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies (vitamin A, calcium, zinc, iron, and iodine) among preschool and school-age children in flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. In this cross-sectional study, a multi-stage sampling technique was used for the selection of 656 households. Serum micronutrient status was detected in the targeted population in the affected districts. The least significant difference test was used with analysis of variance to determine significant differences in nutrient contents in different areas. Of the total respondents, 90.8% of the children were calcium deficient, 88.3% were zinc deficient, 26.7% were iron deficient, 53.5% were vitamin A deficient, and 39.5% were had an iodine deficiency in flood-affected areas. A significant difference (P < 0.05) was found in different age groups of children for zinc (5.7–42.63 μg/dL) and urinary iodine (69.6–85.4 μg/L). The 10- to 12-year-old age group had a lower serum zinc concentration (5.7 μg/dL), whereas the 1- to 3-year-old age group had a lower urinary iodine concentration (69.6 μg/L) than other groups. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between male and female children and various age groups for calcium and iron status. Vitamin A levels were significantly (P < 0.05) different among different age groups (high in age group 4–6 years) and districts. Vitamin A concentration was lower in the Nowshera District, whereas serum iron and zinc were lower in the Dera Ismail Khan District. All the important micronutrients in the population of children were deficient in the flood-affected areas of Pakistan. Therefore, policymakers should implement potential prevention strategies, such as food security, school health nutrition, food fortification, nutrition in the first 1,000 golden days, nutrition knowledge, and awareness of the local population, to reduce the burden of micronutrients deficiencies in flood-affected areas.
Proxy Responses for Mass Drug Administration Coverage Surveys: The Trends and Biases When Others are Allowed to Respond
Authors: Jose Rini , Bougma Roland , Drabo Franck , Tukahebwa Edridah Muheki , Mkwanda Square , Gass Katherine
Published: October 2021

Coverage surveys for mass drug administration (MDA) rely on respondent recall and often permit proxy responses, whereby another household member is allowed to respond on behalf of an absent individual. In this secondary analysis of coverage surveys in Malawi, Burkina Faso, and Uganda, we explore the characteristics of individuals who require proxy responses and quantify the association between proxy responses and reported drug coverage. The adjusted logistic regression model found that men 11–39 years and women 11–18 years who were eligible for MDA had greater odds of requiring a proxy response compared with ineligible men and women in the same age groups. A hierarchical multivariable analysis found that proxy responses had 1.70 times the odds of reporting ingestion of MDA drugs compared with first-person responses, controlling for age and sex (95% CI: 1.17, 2.46). This finding is surprising, given that individuals absent during a coverage survey may also have been absent during the MDA, and suggests that proxy responses may be leading to an inflation of survey estimates of drug coverage. This study highlights the possibility for recall bias in proxy responses to MDA coverage; however, excluding absent individuals from coverage surveys would introduce a new bias. Further research is necessary to determine the best method for obtaining information on drug coverage when individuals are absent.
Medição de desempenho em sistemas de produção lean no contexto da construção civil
Authors: Barth Karina Bertotto , Bazzan Jordana , Ransolin Natália , Formoso Carlos Torres , Echeveste Márcia Elisa Soares
Published: October 2021

This work aims to identify: (i) practices aligned to lean principles used by companies in the construction industry (ii) performance indicators used in lean systems and (iii) barriers to the implementation of these performance indicators. A survey was developed and applied as a research tool. The first version was prepared through bibliographic review and semi-structured interviews with lean production specialists. After application and refinement cycles, the final version of the questionnaire was applied to a sample of 32 companies in the construction sector, established in the state of Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil. As a contribution of the present study, the analysis of the most used practices showed that most of the companies included in the research is in an early stage of lean implementation. In addition, some of the most used practices are associated to the indicators pointed out by the participants as being more used. This relationship indicates that there is a structured attempt to mature the implementation of practices, monitored by appropriate indicators. The lack of knowledge of employees in the implementation and use of performance indicators and the lack of investment in technology are barriers to the implementation of performance indicators.