bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analysis of maternal and child health policies in Malawi: The methodological perspective
Authors: Daire J , Khalil D 
Published: April 2021

The question of why most health policies do not achieve their intended results continues to receive a considerable attention in the literature. This is in the light of the recognized gap between policy as intent and policy as practice, which calls for substantial research work to understand the factors that improve policy implementation. Although there is substantial work that explains the reasons why policies achieve or fail to achieve their intended outcomes, there are limited case studies that illustrate how to analyze policies from the methodological perspective. In this article, we report and discuss how a mixed qualitative research method was applied for analyzing maternal and child health policies in Malawi. For the purposes of this article, we do not report research findings; instead we focus our dicussion on the methodology of the study and draw lessons for policy analysis research work. We base our disusssion on our experiences from a study in which we analyzed maternal and child health policies in Malawi over the period from 1964 to 2008. Noting the multifaceted nature of maternal and child health policies, we adopted a mixed qualitative research method, whereby a number of data collection methods were employed. This approach allowed for the capturing of different perspectives of maternal and child health policies in Malawi and for strengthening of the weaknesses of each method, especially in terms of data validity. This research suggested that the multidimensional nature of maternal and child health policies, like other health policies, calls for a combination of research designs as well as a variety of methods of data collection and analysis. In addition, we suggest that, as an emerging research field, health policy analysis will benefit more from case study designs because they provide rich experiences in the actual policy context.
The patient-provider relationship and antenatal care uptake at two referral hospitals in Malawi: A qualitative study
Authors: Roberts J , Sealy D , Hopp Marshak H , Manda-Taylor L , Gleason P , Mataya R 
Published: April 2021

Background In post-stroke patients, impairment of quality of life (QOL) has been associated with functional impairment, age, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Good social support, higher education, and better socioeconomic status are associated with better QOL among stroke survivors. In Africa, studies from Nigeria and Tanzania have reported on post-stroke QOL.Background Approximately 90% of Malawian women attend antenatal care at least once during their pregnancies; however, most mothers first present during months five and six and do not adhere to the World Health Organization’s recommended four visits. The objective of this study was to explore the role the patient-provider relationship has on antenatal care uptake.Methods A qualitative study, consisting of interviews with 20 urban pregnant mothers and eight health workers, was conducted from September to December 2014. Two large tertiary care hospitals in the Central and Southern regions of Malawi were selected as study sites.Results Several factors influenced antenatal care attendance. Significant barriers reported included the patient-provider relationship, clinic wait times, family and friend support, distance from home to the clinic, transportation, cost, and number of visits. The patient-provider relationship appears to have a large impact on antenatal clinic participation. Mothers indicated that health workers often mistreat or demean them during visits. Additionally, health workers revealed that, due to staff shortages, patients often do notreceive the care they deserve.Conclusions The results of this study suggest that, in addition to other factors, healthcare provider attitudes influence antenatal clinic attendance. Improving the patient-provider relationship may increase antenatal clinic attendance and decrease pregnancy complications during pregnancy. Professional development opportunities and quality improvement programmes are would help improve patient care and health outcomes while the continued staff shortages in the country are addressed.
Semen profiles of young men involved as bicycle taxi cyclists in Mangochi District, Malawi: A case-control study
Authors: Kipandula W , Lampiao F 
Published: April 2021

Aim The purpose of this study was to evaluate the semen profiles of bicycle taxi cyclists and healthy controls in Mangochi district, Malawi.Methods Semen samples were collected from young bicycle taxi cyclists after two to three days of sexual abstinence. A control group, comprising young men who were not bicycle taxi operators also submitted semen samples. Samples were left to liquefy for 30 minutes before measurements were conducted of volume, concentration, total motility, and progressive motility. This was followed by preparation of morphology slides. Light microscopy was used for sperm analysis.Results Semen parameters such as volume (1.66 ± 0.18 mL vs. 3.64 ± 0.17 mL; p = 0.0001), concentration (28.31 ± 4.33 x 106/mL vs. 54.95 ± 5.93 x 106/ mL; p = 0.02) , total motility (56.98% ± 8.22% vs. 56.98% ± 8.22%; p = 0.03), progressive motility (22.57% ± 3.35% vs. 59.69% ± 4.82%; p = 0.004), and morphology (6.98% ± 3.23% vs. 19.73% ± 2.32%; p = 0.006) were significantly reduced in the bicycle taxi cyclists compared to the healthy controls.Conclusion In this case-control study, bicycle taxi operators had lower semen volume, concentration, total motility, and progressive motility, as well as a higher concentration of abnormally shaped spermatocytes, compared to healthy controls.
Kille Çayı (Balıkesir) Havzasında Erozyon Risk Analizi
Authors: MUTLU Yunus Emre , SOYKAN Abdullah , FIÇICI Murat 
Published: April 2021

Balıkesir’in sulama ve içme suyu ihtiyacını karşılamak üzere 1991 yılında inşa edilen İkizcetepeler Barajı’nın da içerisinde yer aldığı Kille Çayı Havzası, Türkiye’nin kuzeybatısında, Marmara Bölgesi’nin, Güney Marmara Bölümü’nde Karesi Yöresi olarak adlandırılabilen bir kesimde yer almaktadır. İdari olarak Balıkesir ve Manisa illeri sınırları içerisinde kalan saha 569 km² yüzölçümüne sahiptir. Bu çalışmada, havzadaki erozyon riskinin ve dağılışının belirlenmesi, ayrıca yıllık ortalama toprak kaybı miktarının tespit edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaca ulaşmak için birçok parametrenin karşılıklı etkileşimlerini dikkate alan, bu alanda kullanılan diğer yöntemlere göre daha doğru sonuçlar veren ve bu nedenle dünyada erozyon çalışmalarında sıklıkla kullanılan CBS tabanlı bir yöntem olan Düzenlenmiş Evrensel Toprak Kaybı Denklemi (RUSLE) tercih edilmiştir. Bu yöntem çerçevesinde havzanın topografya, toprak, yağış, arazi kullanımı gibi parametreleri değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmada altlık olarak 1/25.000 ölçeğinde topoğrafya paftaları ve Aster GDEM’e ait DEM verileri kullanılmıştır. Bu veriler WGS – 1984 formatında koordinatlandırılmış ve bilgisayar ortamında altlık veriler üretilmiştir. Sonrasında ArcMap yazılımının veri yönetimi araçları içerisinde yer alan Raster Calculator kullanılarak RUSLE denklemi uygulanmıştır. Bu analizler sonucunda sahanın erozyon risk sınıfları ve yıllık toprak kaybı miktarı elde edilmiştir. Analizler sonucunda sahada az, hafif, orta, şiddetli ve çok şiddetli olmak üzere beş farklı erozyon risk sınıfı belirlenmiştir. Havzanın % 78,69’u yıllık toprak kaybının ton/ha/yıl arasında olduğu şiddetli – çok şiddetli erozyon riski altındaki sahalar ise % 8,91’lik bir alan kaplamaktadır. Havzadaki yıllık ortalama toprak kaybı ise 2,39 ton/ha/yıl olarak hesaplanmıştır.
Yıllık ortalama toprak kaybı 2,39 ton/ha/yıl olarak hesaplanan inceleme alanı, Türkiye ortalamasının (6.14 ton/ha/yıl) altında bir değere sahiptir. RUSLE yönteminde toprak ve arazi kullanımı parametreleri beşeri faaliyetlere bağlı olarak değişmektedirler. Bunların beşeri faaliyetlerden olumsuz anlamda etkilenmesi, erozyon riskinin artmasına sebep olmaktadır. Doğru arazi kullanımı ve bununla ilişkili olarak toprak örtüsünün korunması ile birlikte erozyon riski minimum düzeyde kalacaktır.
Using Soleh English (SE) Teaching Materials with The Integration of Cultural and Islamic Values: Islamic Preschool Teachers’ Voices
Authors: Hassim Siti Hajar , Abdul Aziz Azlina 
Published: April 2021

English Language Teaching (ELT) materials are significant as tools in facilitating a second language teaching and learning including for preschool level. Also, it is necessary for teachers to opt for appropriate ELT materials which encompass cultural and local identity to generate a meaningful and relatable context of teaching and learning. Nonetheless, most of the materials currently available for preschool education in the publishing market are foreign and therefore little focus on local context. It is more evident in Islamic preschools, as the ELT materials need to be infused with Islamic values to align with the philosophy of Islamic preschools. Hence, this paper presents and discusses a part of a study on Islamic preschool teachers’ perception of the Soleh English (SE) teaching materials developed in the attempt to integrate Malay culture and Islamic values with ELT. The study employed a Case Study design involving five female Islamic preschool teachers in the Klang Valley Region. They were purposely chosen based on their experiences using the SE teaching materials. The data was obtained through semi-structured interviews and triangulated with a questionnaire and document analysis. The interview data reported in this article were thematically analysed. Findings illuminated four key themes for each research question which indicated that there is an integration of cultural and Islamic values in the SE teaching materials as well as in ESL teaching. This enabled the teachers to instil Islamic and cultural values in their English language teaching in contribution to generate noble citizens.
Keywords: materials, ESL teaching, integrated values, islamic preschool, cultural.
Leveraging technology to enhance STEM Education Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic: An overview of pertinent concerns
Authors: Amunga Jane 
Published: April 2021

Although technology in its various forms had already permeated peoples’ lives, the closure of educational institutions worldwide due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic thrust education sectors in many countries into fraught experimentation with online learning. Many educators had to adopt pedagogical practices that were in tandem with online instruction. The pandemic had a silver lining as it opened doors to new ideas and technologies that could be leveraged to enhance STEM education. This paper adopts the desk top research approach to establish the technologies that were leverageable for STEM education during the ongoing pandemic, and to determine pertinent concerns about moving STEM education online. The study found that most institutions leveraged basic synchronous and asynchronous technologies for STEM education during the pandemic. The study also established that a few institutions were embracing sophisticated technology like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in enhancing STEM education. There were also institutions already training VR and VR experts to meet anticipated STEM education manpower needs. It was established that while the use of technology enhanced STEM education during the Covid-19 pandemic, it raised concerns about access, equity, quality and student engagement. To address these concerns, the study recommends that governments should invest in the provision of power in rural settings and subsidize the cost of hardware for students. For equity considerations, the disadvantaged should be prioritized in the provision of technology enablers for online STEM education and measures that safeguard them should be inbuilt in the online transition plans. Finally, where possible remote labs should be established but this is not possible, students should be allowed to take series of scheduled physical lab sessions in turns and rules of social distancing enforced. Countries should look to superior technologies for online STEM education so that any similar future occurrences do not stall practical STEM education sessions.
Un enfoque interactivo para el análisis y diseño de sistemas de control utilizando el método del lugar de las raíces
Authors: Díaz J. M. , Costa-Castelló R. , Dormido S. 
Published: April 2021

<p>El lugar de las raíces es un método clásico para el análisis y diseño de sistemas lineales de control que ha formado parte desde su irrupción en los años cincuenta de los programas de los cursos básicos de control automático. La aparición de herramientas software de diseño interactivo de sistemas de control, que dibujan fácilmente el lugar de las raíces, permite a los docentes centrarse en explicar cómo afecta al lugar de las raíces la introducción de nuevos polos/ceros en la función de transferencia en lazo abierto, en vez de en explicar sus reglas de construcción. En este trabajo se presenta una nueva metodología docente para introducir la técnica del lugar de las raíces en cursos básicos de control que fomenta la utilización de una herramienta interactiva, como por ejemplo la herramienta LCSD desarrollada por los autores, para reforzar su aprendizaje.</p>
Determinants of Unemployment in Selected Developing Countries: A Panel Data Analysis
Authors: Siddiqa Ayesha 
Published: April 2021

This research gives a new glimpse on determinants of unemployment in developing countries. Unemployment is not only a burning issue in developing countries but also in developed countries, but in this study, the case is related to developing countries. For this purpose data of ten selected developing countries has been taken for the period of 2000 to 2019 from the World Bank. Stationarity has been checked through the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and the result showed that all variables were stationary at 1st difference except the variable of inflation. The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model has been applied and results show that all variables are statistically significant. GDP, inflation, remittances, exchange rate, and expenditure on education has a negative impact on unemployment while population and external debt has a positive impact on unemployment. Policy recommendations are that if developing economies want to reduce unemployment they have to control population, remove deficit in the balance of payment, control the inflation rate, raise their GDP, earn the exchange rate due to increase in exports, and gain the foreign remittance and have to allocate the more budget on expenditure on education. In light of these recommendations, all economies can achieve economic efficiency and economic development.
K KAJIAN TEKNIS AKTIFITAS DEWATERING DI AREA PENAMBANGAN IUP PT DUTA ALAM SUMATERA PERIODE BULAN MARET TAHUN 2020
Authors: Rusdiana Rusdiana , Rianti Lina 
Published: April 2021

Pada sistem tambang terbuka air yang masuk ke lokasi penambangan dapat mengganggu aktifitas penambangan serta menurunkan rencana produksi maka dibutuhkan penanggulangan air yang dinamakan sistem penyaliran tambang. Penelitian ini menganalisis debit outlet pompa, volume air yang masuk serta keluar dan kemampuan sump. Adapun metode yang digunakan untuk menghitung debit limpasan dengan menggunakan metode rasional dan untuk debit evapotranspirasi rumus Turc-Langbein-Wund. Sebelum meluap air yang ada di sump maka akan dipindahkan keluar tambang dengan sistem pemompaan dan pemipaan menuju settling pond sehingga didapat debit outlet pompa sebesar 1.182 l/s. Pada daerah penyelidikan mempunyai luas catchment area 287. 200 m2 dan elevasi sump 62,5 m, curah hujan maksimum diperoleh 65,23 mm/hari, jam hujan sebesar 1,22 jam dan volume air yang masuk sebanyak 5.115,08 m3/jam yang berasal dari air limpasan, air evapotranspirasi dan air tanah sedangkan volume air yang keluar sebesar 709.200 m3/jam. Letak sump berada pada sebelah timur Pit dengan jumlah pompa yang digunakan, yaitu 6 unit pompa (5 unit pompa di sump Pit 2 dan 1 pompa di sump Pit 1). Pipa yang digunakan yaitu HDPE dengan diameter 0,25 m. Jumlah pipa yang digunakan pada sump, yaitu 20 batang. Dari hasil pengamatan diperoleh sump yang ada mampu menampung air yang masuk dengan persentase kemampuan sump, yaitu 57 %. Untuk mendapatkan hasil yang maksimal perlu perawatan pompa, mengecek debit aktual pada outlet pompa serta memperhatikan kemiringan lantai bukaan tambang.
P PERBANDINGAN KUALITAS PELUMAS MOTOR 4T DI PALEMBANG DENGAN PARAMETER UJI SPECIFIC GRAVITY, KINEMATIC VISCOSITY, FLASH POINT, POUR POINT, TOTAL ACID NUMBER (TAN) DAN VACUUM DISTILLATION
Authors: Sari Dian Kurnia , Nopitasari Nopitasari 
Published: April 2021

Pelumas baik yang berasal dari minyak bumi (mineral oil) atau pelumas sintetik umumnya berupa cairan, yang berfungsi untuk mengurangi gesekan diantara dua benda yang bergerak. Pelumas merupakan bagian yang tak terpisahkan dari mesin. Pelumas dibutuhkan mesin untuk melindungi komponen-komponen mesin dari keausan. Proses pembuatan minyak pelumas adalah distilasi atmosfir, distilasi hampa, deasphalting, solvent extraction, dewaxing, blending dan packaging. Untuk mendapatkan pelumas yang baik perlu ditambahkannya aditif yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan. Aditif adalah senyawa kimia yang bila ditambahkan ke dalam pelumas akan menaikkan unjuk kerja pelumas seperti yang diharapkan. Aditif dapat menentukan mutu pelumas yang digunakan karena dapat merubah sifat kimia maupun sifat fisik dari pelumas. Untuk mengetahui kualitas minyak pelumas diperlukan adanya pengujian sifat fisika dan sifat kimia dari pelumas dengan membandingkan hasil uji dari sampel.
P PENANGGULANGAN SCALE CaCO_3 PADA SUMUR PF1 LAPANGAN 26 DI PT PERTAMINA EP ASSET 2 FIELD LIMAU
Authors: Alida Roni , Fandra Prima 
Published: April 2021

Scale merupakan suatu endapan yang mengkristal dari air formasi di suatu bidang khusunya flowline yang dipengaruhi oleh beberapa faktor seperti suhu, pH, tekanan, dan kandung ion senyawa kimia yang ada di air formasi tersebut. Jenis- jenis scale ialah hard scale, soft scale dan misc. Scale dapat mengganggu laju alir dari suatu sumur dikarenakan scale dapat membuat pengecilan inside diameter (ID) dari pipa produksi. Pada sumur PF1 Lapangan 26 yang ada di PT Pertamina EP Asset 2 Field Limau, scale terbentuk di-flowline, karena adanya peningkatan tekanan pada flowline. Pada sumur ini scale yang terbentuk berjenis CaC. Hal ini dibuktikan dengan kandungan ion senyawa kimia yang ada di air formasinya dan telah dilakukannya perhitungan mengunakan metode Stiff Davis dengan SI 1.17. Scale ini hanya akan larut pada asam, sesuai dengan karakteristik scale tersebut. Pada situasi ini asam yang digunakan untuk proses penanggulangan berjenis asam HCl. Setelah proses penanggulangan scale CaC dilakukan, hasil evaluasi terlihat pada Productivity index (PI) dan Trend produksi di Sumur PF1 Lapangan 26 terjadi peningkatan. Sehingga proses penanggulangan scale CaC tersebut dikatakan berhasil.
An Analysis of the Use of Terminological Determinants „Art of Islam“ and „Islamic Art“
Authors: Akšamija Mehmed 
Published: April 2021

This paper is a distinctive analysis of the phenomenological value of terms „Islamic art“ or „art of Islam“, which attempts to clarify the common treatment of such terms found in both Western and Muslim sources and which are inappropriate and ungrounded formulations from the viewpoint of traditional Islamic civilizational principles.
By focusing on the cognitive and precognitive approach to the productive-reflective representation of elements of visual art within this topic (i.e. by offering a possible solution) this study „comes into conflict“ with stereotypes that contemporary theories and history of art in the spirit of Western understanding of civilization, which can apply the aspect of globalization to anything it considers within the scope of its scientific area and approaches any civilizational achievement in the same way, reducing it to classic Western postulates.
In the explanation of this phenomenon (i.e. a prominent rather than appropriate need to reduce all forms of creative activity to common denominators whereby some lose and others win) the study introduces corresponding Latin and Arabic terms in parallel, and their possible lexical connections through theoretical tenets of Western civilizational circle to come closer to distinctive characteristics of Eastern/Islamic civilizational circle (homo faber, homo islamicus, homo fannān, and so forth).
It is interesting and totally distinctive that it is by approaching this terminology both from the Eastern and from the opposite, Western side through a methodological process one comes to the conclusion that these are diametrically opposite phenomena, which the ultimate Western definition names „art“, while Islamic denotation is explained and defined by means of terms grounded in the sacral and profane productive-reflective discourse of homo islamicus’s action-design/qadar, respectively qadar/ṣināʿat. Thus, we will conclude that understanding and the essential meaning of the concept of „art“ in Islamic civilization from the one hand and in other civilizations on the other are not and cannot be the same. Also, many of the issues and dogmas raised earlier are mentioned and some are addressed in this paper.
Bosniaks and Bosnia: A Study in the Philosophy of Politics (1)
Authors: Muhić Ferid 
Published: April 2021

In this article, the author suggestively points to the importance of understanding the concept of nation and the state in the context of the European philosophical thought and practice regarding the nation and the state.
Although the occasion is about the Bosniak/Bosnian nation and the Bosnian state, the author’s reflections are applicable to all groups similar to the Bosniak/Bosnain nation, as well as to all the states similar to the Bosnian state. The basic premise of this article is that the idea of a universal nationality, culture and civilisation does not oppose or negate the particular feeling or the subjective experience of either the nationality or the state.
The membership of European Union does not detract the right for any nation in Europe of the right to cultivate and develop its national culture as well as its particular state consciousness. In fact, in the extent of which every nation and every state in Europe has an active awareness of its national and cultural specific value, gives Europe, indeed – the European Union strong and important role in the global community. Hence, the Bosniaks/Bosnians, both as a nation and a state (nation) have no need to withdraw, but rather have the historical opportunity to feature their specific Bosnian culture and Bosnian state as a richness worthy of appreciation, not only in Europe, but also in the world.