Academic literature on the topic 'CAF Onlus'

There is an imperative need to alleviate the actual and predictably harder burden of spine disorders and particularly the share due to chronic nonspecific low back pain, both at the individual and community - based viewpoint. Studies on global health trends charge a relevant part of the onus to the proposed invasive procedures, raising concern over its inappropriately high and growing use, counteracting clinical guidelines recommendation of a prudent selection of patients, based on clear - cut indications. Part of this gap between evidence and practice stands from questionable assumptions regarding the usefulness of surgery. Uncertainty on relative benefits and harms in the face of increased risk of adverse events, or the higher costs and health care resources i nvolved, results in controversial decision - making to plan the intervention . Improvement of knowledge about these questions can be provided by the inclusion in the research agenda of comprehensive and standardized evaluation of outcomes after spine surgery. Such a protocol procedure would enable future systematic reviews to perform a consistent meta - analysis of data from trials, mandatory for high - quality evidence gathering. Outcome evaluation requires both subjective and objective assessments. This review a ims to clarify the role of outcome measures in support of the need to build reliable information on the effectiveness of surgical treatment of spinal disorders.

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Fondazione Umberto Veronesi (Research Grant 2011-12 to GIC) Fondazione Gigi e Pupa Ferrari ONLUS (FPF-14 to PP) Background Aortic valve sclerosis (AVSc) presents similar pathogenetic mechanisms to coronary artery disease (CAD) and is associated with short- and long-term mortality in CAD patients. Evidence of AVSc-specific pathophysiological traits in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is currently lacking. Purpose We aimed to identify a blood-based transcriptional signature that could differentiate AVSc from non-AVSc patients during AMI. Methods Whole-blood transcriptome of AVSc (n = 44) and no-AVSc (n = 66) patients with AMI was assessed by RNA-sequencing on hospital admission. Feature selection, differential expression, and enrichment analyses were performed to identify gene expression patterns discriminating AVSc from no-AVSc and infer functional associations. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to estimate the hazard ratios of cardiovascular events in AVSc versus no-AVSc patients. Results This cross-sectional study identified a panel of 100 informative genes capable of distinguishing AVSc from no-AVSc patients with 94% accuracy. Further analysis revealed significant mean differences in 143 genes, of which 30 genes withstood correction for age and previous AMI or coronary interventions. Functional inference unveiled a significant association between AVSc and key biological processes, including acute inflammatory responses, type I interferons (IFN) response, platelet activation, and hemostasis. Notably, AMI patients with AVSc exhibited a significantly higher incidence of adverse cardiovascular events during a 10-year follow-up period, with a full adjusted hazard ratio of 2.4 (95% CI: 1.3–4.5). Conclusions Our findings shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying AVSc and provide potential prognostic insights for AMI patients with AVSc. During AMI, AVSc patients showed increased type I IFN response and earlier adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Novel pharmacological therapies aiming at limiting type I IFN response during or immediately after AMI might improve poor cardiovascular outcomes of AMI patients with AVSc.

Coffee changes people. Moreover, it changes the way they interact with their friends, their fellow citizens and their community. (Ellis 24) On my daily walk around the streets of my neighbourhood, I pass the footpath cafés that have become synonymous with the area. On this particular day, I take a less familiar route and notice a new, small café wedged between a candle shop and an industrial building. At one of the two footpath tables sit a couple with their young child, conveniently (for them) asleep in a stroller. One is reading the Saturday paper, and the other has her nose in a book—coffee, muffins, and newspapers are strewn across the table. I am struck by this tableau of domestic ease and comfort, precisely because it is so domestic and yet the couple and child, with all the accoutrements of a relaxed Saturday morning, are situated outside the spaces of the home. It brings to mind an elegant phrase of Robert Hughes’ about the types of spaces that cities need, where “solitudes may lie together” (cited in Miller 79). I could, of course, also have drawn my attention to other vignettes at the café—for example, people involved in animated or easy conversation—and this would support Hughes’ other dictum, that cities need places where “people can gather and engage in energetic discourse” (79), which is of course another way in which people inhabit and utilise the café. The ascendancy of the café is synonymous with the contemporary city and, as semi-public space, it supports either solitude—through anonymity—or sociability. “Having a coffee” is central to the experience of everyday life in cities, yet it is also an expression of intent that suggests more than simply drinking a café latte or a cappuccino at our favourite neighbourhood café. While coffee aficionados will go the extra distance for a good brew, the coffee transaction is typically more to do with meeting friends, colleagues or connecting with people beyond our personal and professional networks. And under the umbrella of these types of encounters sit a variety of affective, social and civil transactions. In cities characterised by increasing density and cultural difference, and as mobile populations move back and forth across the planet, how we forge and maintain relationships with each other is important for the development of cosmopolitan cultures and social cohesion. It is the contemporary café and its coffee culture that provides the space to support sociability and the negotiation of civil encounters. Sociability, Coffee, and the Café Café culture is emblematic of social and urban change, of the rise of food culture and industries, and “aesthetic” cultures. The proliferation of hospitality and entertainment industries in the form of cafés, bars, restaurants, and other semi-public spaces—such as art galleries—are the consumer-based social spaces in which new forms of sociability and attachment are being nurtured and sustained. It is hardly surprising that people seek out places to meet others—given the transformation in social and kinship relations wrought by social change, globalization and mobile populations—to find their genesis in the city. Despite the decline of familial relations, new social formation produced by conditions such as workforce mobility, flexible work arrangements, the rise of the so-called “creative class” and single person households are flourishing. There are now more single person households in Australia than in any other period, with 1.9 million people living alone in 2006. This figure is predicted to increase to 30.36 per cent of the population by 2026 (ABS). The rapid take-up of apartment living in Australian cities suggests both a desire and necessity for urban living along with its associated amenities, and as a result, more people are living out their lives in the public and semi-public spaces of cities. Maffesoli refers to restructured and emerging social relations as “tribes” which are types of “emotional communities” (after Weber) based upon the affective, life-affirming impulse of “being togetherness” rather than an outmoded, rationalised social structure. For Maffesoli, tribes have strong powers of inclusion and integration and people are connected by shared affinities or lifestyles. Their stamping ground is the city where they gather in its public and semi-public spaces, such as the café, where sociability is expressed through “the exchange of feelings, conversation” (13). In this context, the café facilitates a mode of interaction that is both emotional and rational: while there might be a reason for meeting up, it is frequently driven by a desire for communication that is underpinned by the affective dimension. As a common ritualistic behaviour, “meeting for coffee” facilitates encounters not only with those known to us, but also among relationships that are provisional and contingent. It is among those less familiar that the café is useful as a space for engaging and practicing civil discourse (after Habermas) and where encounters with strangers might be comfortably negotiated. The café’s social codes facilitate the negotiation of less familiar relationships, promoting a sociability that is not as easy to navigate in other spaces of the city. The gesture of “having coffee” is hospitable, and the café’s neutrality as a meeting place is predicated on its function as transitional or liminal space; it is neither domestic, work, nor wholly public space. Its liminality removes inhabitants from the potentially anxious intimacy of the home and offers protection from the unknown of public space. Moreover, the café’s “safety” is further reinforced because it is regulated temporally by its central function as a place of food and beverage consumption: it provides a finite certitude to meetings, with the length of encounter largely being determined by the time it takes to consume a coffee or snack. In this way, the possible complexity or ambiguity associated with meetings with strangers in the more intimate spaces of the home is avoided, and meeting in a café may relieve the onus and anxiety that can be associated with entertaining. Café culture is not a new phenomenon, though its current manifestation differs from its antecedent, the sixteenth-century coffee house. Both the modern café and the coffee house are notable as places of intense sociability where people from all walks of life mingle (Ellis 2004). The diverse clientele of the coffee house is recorded extensively in the diaries of Samuel Pepys and unlike other social institutions of the time, was defined by its inclusivity of men from all walks of life (Ellis 59). Similarly, the espresso bars of the 1950s that appeared in Europe, North America and to a lesser extent Australia became known for their mix of customers from a range of classes, races and cultures, and for the inclusion of women as their patrons (Ellis 233). The wide assortment of people who patronised these espresso bars was noted in Architectural Digest magazine which claimed the new coffee bars as “the greatest social revolution since the launderette in 1954” (Ellis 234). Contemporary café culture continues this egalitarian tradition, with the café assuming importance as a place in which reconfigured social relationships are fostered and maintained. In Australia, the café has replaced the institution of the public house or hotel—the “pub” in Australia—as the traditional meeting place of cultural significance. Not everyone felt at home, or indeed was welcomed in the pub, despite its mythology as a place that was emblematic of “the Australian way of life”. Women, children and “others” who may have felt or may have been legally excluded from the pub are the new beneficiaries of the café’s inclusivity. The social organisation of the pub revolved around the interests of masculine relationships and culture (Fiske et al.) and until the late 1970s, women were excluded by legislation from its public bars. There are many other socio-cultural reasons why women were uncomfortable in the pub, even once legislation was removed. By comparison, the café, despite the bourgeois associations in some of its manifestations, is more democratic space than the pub and this rests to some extent on a greater emphasis placed on disciplined conduct of its patrons. The consumption of alcohol in hotels, combined with a cultural tolerance of excess and with alcohol’s effect of loosening inhibitions, also encourages the loosening of socially acceptable forms of conduct. A wider range of behaviour is tolerated and sanctioned which can present problems for women in particular. The negotiation of gendered relationships in the pub is, therefore, typically of more concern to women than men. In spite of its egalitarianism, and the diversity of patrons welcomed, the café, as a social space, is governed by a set of rules that communicate meaning about who belongs, who doesn’t and how people should behave. The social codes inscribed into café culture contribute to the production and reproduction of different social groups (Bourdieu and Lefebvre) and are reinforced by the café’s choice of aesthetics. Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital accounts for the acquisition of cultural competencies and explains why some people feel comfortable in certain spaces while others feel excluded. Knowledge and skills required in social spaces express both subtle and sometimes not so subtle hierarchies of power and ownership, cutting across gender, ethnic and class divisions. Yet despite this, the relatively low cost of obtaining entry into the café—through the purchase of a drink—gives it greater accessibility than a pub, restaurant, or any other consumer site that is central to sociability and place attachment. In cities characterised by an intensity of change and movement, the café also enables a negotiation of place attachment. A sense of place connectedness, through habitual and regular usage, facilitates social meaning and belonging. People become “regulars” at cafés, patronising one over another, getting to know the staff and perhaps other patrons. The semiotics of the café, its ambience, decor, type of food and drink it sells, all contribute to the kind of fit that helps anchors it in a place. A proliferation of café styles offers scope for individual and collective affinities. While some adopt the latest trends in interior design, others appeal to a differentiated clientele through more varied approaches to design. Critiques of urban café culture, which see it as serving the interests of taste-based bourgeois patterns of consumption, often overlook the diversity of café styles that appeal to, and serve a wide range of, demographic groups. Café styles vary across a design continuum from fashionable minimalist décor, homey, grungy, sophisticated, traditional, corporate (McDonalds and Starbucks) or simply plain with little attention to current décor trends. The growth of café culture is a significant feature of gentrified inner city areas in cities across the world. In Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley in Australia, an inner-city youth entertainment precinct, many cafés have adopted a downmarket or “grunge” aesthetic, appealing to the area’s youth clientele and other marginal groups. Here, décor can suggest a cavalier disregard for bourgeois taste: shabby décor with mismatching tables and chairs and posters and graffiti plastered over windows and walls. Ironically, the community service organisation Mission Australia saw the need to provide for its community in this area; the marginalised, disadvantaged, and disengaged original inhabitants of this gentrified area, and opened a no-frills Café One to cater for them. Civility, Coffee, and the Café One of the distinctive features of cities is that they are places where “we meet with the other” (Barthes 96), and this is in contrast to life in provincial towns and villages where people and families could be known for generations. For the last two decades or so, cities across the world have been undergoing a period of accelerated change, including the rise of Asian mega-cities—and now, for the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population is urban based. Alongside this development is the movement of people across the world, for work, study, travel or fleeing from conflict and persecution. If Barthes’s statement was apt in the 1980s, it is ever more so now, nearly thirty years later. How strangers live together in cities of unprecedented scale and density raises important questions around social cohesion and the civil life of cities. As well as offering spaces that support a growth in urban sociability, the exponential rise of café culture can be seen as an important factor in the production of urban civilities. Reciprocity is central here, and it is the café’s function as a place of hospitality that adds another dimension to its role in the cultivation of civility and sociability. Café culture requires the acquisition of competencies associated with etiquette and manners that are based upon on notions of hospitality. The protocol required for ordering food and drink and for eating and drinking with others encourages certain types of behaviour such as courtesy, patience, restraint, and tolerance by all participants, including the café staff. The serving of food and drink in a semi-public space in exchange for money is more than a commercial transaction, it also demands the language and behaviour of civility. Conduct such as not talking too loudly, not eavesdropping on others’ conversations, knowing where to look and what to hear, are considered necessary competencies when thrust into close proximity with strangers. More intimately, the techniques of conversation—of listening, responding and sharing information—are practised in the café. It can be instructive to reprise Habermas’s concept of the public sphere (1962) in order to consider how semi-public places such as the café contribute to support the civil life of a city. Habermas’s analysis, grounded in the eighteenth-century city, charted how the coffee house or salon was instrumental to the development of a civilised discourse which contributed to the development of the public sphere across Europe. While a set of political and social structures operating at the time paved the way for the advent of democracy, critical discussion and rational argument was also vital. In other words, democratic values underpin civil discourse and the parallel here is that the space the café provides for civil interaction, particularly in cities marked by cultural and other difference, is unique among public amenities on offer in the city. The “bourgeois public sphere” for Habermas is based on the development of a social mode of interaction which became normative through socio-structural transformation during this period, and the coffee house or salon was a place that enabled a particular form of sociability and communication style. For Habermas, meeting places such as the urban-based coffee house were the heart of sociability, where conversational rules based on reasoned exchange were established; the cultivation of conversation was aimed at the dialogical egalitarian. Habermas’s bourgeois public sphere is essentially and potentially a political one, “conceived […] as the sphere of private people come together as a public” (Johnson 27). It refers to a realm of social life in which something approaching public opinion can be found. I am not claiming that the contemporary café might be the site of political dialogue and civic activism of the type that Habermas suggests. Rather, what is useful here is a recognition that the café facilitates a mode of interaction similar to the one proposed by Habermas—a mode of interaction which has the potential to be distinguished by its “open and inclusive character” (Johnson 22). The expectation of a “patient, willing comprehension of sympathetic fellows” (Johnson 23) refers to the cultivation of the art of conversation based on a reciprocity and is one that requires empathetic listening as well as dialogue. Because the café is a venue where people meet with less familiar others, the practice and techniques of conversation assumes particular significance, borne out in Habermas’s and Ellis’s historical research into café culture. Both scholars attribute the establishment of coffee houses in London to the development of social discourse and urban networking which helped set the ground for conversational rules and exchange and worked towards a democratic culture. In this context, values were challenged and differences revealed but the continued practice of conversation enabled the negotiation of such social diversity. Demonstrations of civility and generosity are straightforward in the café because of its established codes of conduct in an environment focussed upon hospitality. Paying for another’s drink, although not a great expense is a simple gesture of hospitality: “meeting for coffee” has become part of the lingua franca of workplace and business culture and relationships and is weighted with meaning. As cities grow in density, complexity and cultural diversity, citizens are adapting with new techniques of urban living. At a broad level, the café can be seen as supporting the growth in networks of sociability and facilitating the negotiation of civil discourse and behaviour. In the café, to act as a competent citizen, one must demonstrate the ability to be polite, restrained, considerate and civil—that is, to act in accordance with the social situation. This involves an element of self-control and discipline and requires social standards and expectations to become self-monitored and controlled. To be perceived as acting in accordance with the needs of certain social situations, participants bend, limit and regulate their behaviour and affects. In sum, the widespread take up of café culture, based on hospitality and reciprocity, encourages a mode of interaction that has implications for the development of a social and civic ethic. References Australian Bureau of Statistics. "1301.0–Year Book Australia." 2009. 31 Jan. 2012 ‹http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/916F96F929978825CA25773700169C65?opendocument› Barthes, Roland. Empire of Signs. New York: Hill and Wang, 1982. Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Trans. Richard Nice. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984. Ellis, Markum. The Coffee House: A Cultural History. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2004. Fiske, J., B. Hodge, and G. Turner, eds. Myths of Oz: Reading Australian Popular Culture. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1987. Habermas, Jurgen. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1962. -----. The Theory of Communicative Action. Trans. T. McCarthy. Boston: Beacon Press, 1984. Johnson, Pauline. Habermas: Rescuing the Public Sphere. London: Routledge, 2006. Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991. Maffesoli, Michel. Time of the Tribes: The Decline of Individualism in Mass Society. Trans. D. Smith. London: Sage, 1996. Miller, George. “A City that Works.” Sydney Papers Spring (2001): 77–79.

This chapter examines the question of proof of foreign law and particularly the onus of proving that the foreign law is different from English law. Foreign law is treated as a question of fact, but it is ‘a question of fact of a peculiar kind’. To describe foreign law as one of fact is apposite, in the sense that the applicable law must be ascertained according to the evidence of witnesses, yet there can be no doubt that what is involved is at bottom a question of law. The courts have concluded that a mistake as to foreign law is to be regarded as a mistake of fact. This chapter first explains how foreign law is proved, including the use of expert witnesses, before turning to witnesses who can prove foreign law. It also considers the role of the English courts under the Civil Procedure Rules in dealing with expert evidence.

Principle 33 focuses on the obligation of the State to publicize ‘ad hoc procedures’ for the distribution of reparations. The ‘publicity principle’ assures the right to compensation, restitution, non-material, symbolic reparations and other remedies and places the onus on policymakers to implement outreach campaigns that inform victims of these right and how to access them. Principle 33 emanates from the idea that ‘a reparation mechanism has little practical value if potentially eligible victims are not aware of the opportunity to make claims or are not given timely information on how to do so in a language they can understand’. After providing a contextual and historical background on Principle 33, this chapter discusses its legal framework and practice, with emphasis on United Nations guidelines and principles; international mass claims processes; international courts, commissions and committees; and country specific practice.

AbstractSchool systems around the world are investing in a transition to Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs). Many policies and resources are being directed towards this change. However, if the effects of innovative educational initiatives are to be positive for our students, the onus will ultimately be on teachers to integrate learner-centric pedagogies and digital technologies in flexible learning environments. Educational innovations are dependent upon what teachers think, feel and do in classrooms (Fullan 2001). This chapter examines how teacher perceptions can influence their engagement in ILEs.

AbstractEmphasis on social engagement and innovation for the higher education sector is a priority, despite the various challenges that have arisen as result of Covid-19, for third level providers. It is a conversation that continues to evolve of how the higher education providers can prepare students for global citizenship and societal innovation. There are specific concerns regarding best practice and the contribution of higher education to teaching, research and ultimately public policy. Universities are embedded in teaching and research whereby the onus is to engage collaboratively with outside organisations to develop competences and create products for greater use by society. This chapter aims to explore how the higher education institutions can contribute to transforming teaching and research so that the student, and ultimately each academic community member, experiences the full value of contributing to a successful society, reflecting on sustainable partnerships, engagement, whilst reflecting the whole idea of societal innovation. Its ambition is to define spheres of influence for enhancing social innovation in higher education.

AbstractThis chapter summarizes the answer to the motivating question for this book: “Which life skills are important, for whom, and how can they be taught?” Drawing on research reflected in the preceding chapters, I highlight three broad themes. First, that teaching life skills helps marginalized adolescents in particular – but should not put the onus of overcoming marginalization squarely on their shoulders. Second, that consensus seems to be emerging that a cluster of social and emotional skills and cognitive abilities like critical thinking are particularly important for success. Third, that the way in which life skills are taught matters as much as which skills are taught. I also reflect on three big barriers that we need to address if we really want to advance the agenda of life skills. First, governments may not embrace the transformative change we want to see. Second, life skills programs are complex to implement and to measure. Lastly, we cannot ignore the risk of unintended consequences on the path to developing life skills. I suggest that each of these challenges is worth contending with to give youth of today a fighting chance to deal with the expected and as-yet unimagined challenges of tomorrow.

Interpreters and mediators working in complex humanitarian settings are faced with new challenges, both linguistic and non-linguistic. As part of on-going research, this chapter reports on cultural differences in interpreting major variables in interpreter-mediated medical encounters in complex humanitarian scenarios. The author will address the importance of cultural issues in humanitarian interpreting, based on the assumption that differences in culture can be a serious barrier to effective humanitarian communication. The author focuses on the interpreters and cultural mediators working for the Italian NGO Emergency ONG Onlus, which provides medical assistance to migrant communities in Southern Italy at its Castel Volturno clinic. The aim is to highlight the importance of a shared culture between interpreters/mediators and their clients and adequately deal with existing cultural differences in order to enact a so-called “cultural compromise” between migrant patients and health professionals with the goal to facilitate prevention, health promotion and education, and treatment.

Abstract This chapter situates orthodox common law analysis of burdens of proof and presumptions within the broader conceptual framework of ‘presumption of innocence’ (PoI), an expanded normative framing directly rooted in constitutional and human rights principles. One vital conceptual refinement is that PoI is not a ‘presumption’ in the common lawyer’s traditional evidentiary sense. At common law, Woolmington established the burden and standard of proof as fundamental constitutional principles. ECHR Article 6(2) introduced a more capacious (albeit still ‘procedural’) conception of PoI into English criminal jurisprudence, via HRA 1998, s.2. Burdens of proof and evidentiary presumptions can both be conceptualized as techniques for allocating the risk of non-persuasion between litigants. Any party failing to discharge an onus of proof loses on that issue (or, in relation to ultimate probanda, loses the case as a whole). The political morality of PoI (incorporating Woolmington) is institutionalized through a steeply asymmetric proof structure, requiring the prosecution to establish guilt to a very high standard (traditionally, ‘beyond reasonable doubt’, BRD). English law’s ongoing commitment to PoI is explored through doctrinal developments in jury directions on the standard of proof (‘being sure’ has replaced BRD) and the three recognized ‘exceptions to Woolmington’, where the accused is required to bear the burden of proof. Hunt conceded the possibility of implied burdens on the defence, but cautioned against inferring them. Such ‘reverse onus clauses’ must now be tested for compatibility with HRA 1998, precipitating a large, complex, and contentious jurisprudence (including five visits to the House of Lords). Whether express or implied, a statutory reverse onus clause might be ‘read down’, pursuant to HRA 1998 s.3, to a merely evidential burden of production if it would otherwise be incompatible with ECHR Article 6(2). Leading authorities, including Sheldrake, prescribe detailed criteria for assessing compatibility.

Autonomous vehicles are artificial intelligence-based mobility devices. They are not a new technological development as the concept has been a work-in-progress for centuries. However, this century has the unique opportunity to witness the emergence of self-driving cars on roads all over the world. This, thus, makes it imperative to quickly address how the world would change with robotaxis on our roads and how we ought to prepare for them. The advantages and disadvantages of autonomous driving machines abound; however, the onus is on governments to minimize the threats and harness the benefits. This chapter, therefore, is about how governments can effectively leverage autonomous vehicles to promote humans' quality of life and the necessary considerations on how to minimize the risks associated with self-driving vehicles.

As a consequence of the United Nations' Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, the international community has effectively redefined environmental degradation as a problem that can be addressed by means of sustainable development. In turn, this places an onus on businesses to develop practices that reflect new norms of behaviour. This chapter offers an overview of current implementation of governance systems that relate to regional sustainability programmes and firms' activities. This work offers credibility to the field of sustainability research and practice by identifying and discussing all actors in the business community and how they interact with sustainability. This chapter looks at market-based sustainability initiatives, and, from a quality of governance perspective, investigates the strengths and weaknesses of two emissions trading schemes. It concludes with a series of reflections on market-based approaches to environmental problem solving.

Families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds often feel disrespected, unheard, misunderstood, and undervalued. Extant research demonstrates that CLD families have considerably lower levels of participation in their children's education. The incongruence between families and the educational system's cultural values and practices may result in barriers limiting families' agency in educational decision-making. Families from nondominant cultures may not ascribe to the practices that guide the special education system, which reflect the dominant culture (i.e., white and middle-class). For families to be active agents in their student's educational decision-making (including special education), the barriers created by the perceptions of power imbalances must be broken down, and the onus of this task falls on the shoulders of those employed by the public school system. Culturally responsive family engagement that incorporates cultural liaisons can empower CLD families to have agency in their child's educational plan.

Abstract Carbon monoxide (CO) is a byproduct of a significant number of chemical and biological processes. In high amounts, it can be fatal because of its ability to bind to the hemoglobin (Hb) molecule with an affinity more than 200 times that of oxygen (O2), creating a carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) molecule. This reduces the number of hemoglobin molecules available to bind oxygen and decreases the blood oxygen content. CO also changes the conformation of the hemoglobin molecule in a way that reduces its ability to release bound O2, creating a leftward shift in the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve. Anesthesiologists need to be mindful of CO because under certain conditions it can build up in the anesthesia circuit and cause dangerously high patient carboxyhemoglobin levels. Carbon monoxide poisoning is difficult to detect because CO is a colorless and odorless gas, and early symptoms of poisoning in an awake patient, like headaches and fatigue, are very nonspecific. No single sign or symptom is pathognomonic for CO poisoning, which puts the onus on the clinician to suspect, diagnose, and treat it properly.

Over the last 20 years Aotearoa New Zealand's early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, has required and supported inclusive approaches to the active participation of disabled children and their families in everyday early childhood settings. The revised Te Whāriki, released in 2017, further places an onus of responsibility on teachers to resist inequity and exclusion experienced by disabled children through its focus on nurturing respectful, responsive relationships with families and honoring the knowledge parents bring with them as experts on their children. This chapter explores how Te Whāriki and initial teacher education (ITE) programs in Aotearoa New Zealand can act on each other to produce student teacher practice that is inclusive of family perspectives. Te Whāriki is a bicultural curriculum and recognizes the Crown's earlier commitment to the indigenous people of New Zealand. This also acknowledges the role of families in early childhood settings as equal partners in establishing aspirations for their children's learning.

We propose a method for identifying rogue ONUs based on hardware fingerprint technology. By directly detecting waveform fingerprints, the experimental results show that the average identification accuracy within 16 ONUs can reach 96.74%.

An activation method using DSM generated electrical tone as the identity of joining ONUs is proposed. The activation requests can be detected and distinguished without a quiet window or degradation on the upstream traffic.

We demonstrate the first real-time TFDMA coherent PON system with single-DAC and single-ADC ONUs, which can support up to 256 end users, and peak line rates of 100/200 Gb/s in the upstream/downstream, respectively.

In coherent PON downlink transmission with 10-km access-span length difference between two ONUs, the adaptive IQ-imbalanced DP-4ASK signal can save the 22 % power consumption of the Q channel of DAC for IQ-balanced DP-4ASK signal.

Children’s rights and needs are at the center of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, where education is viewed as crucial for providing the opportunities for sustainable, peaceful and equitable coexistence in a changing world. Alternative care settings are educational contexts (Tibollo, 2015) that deal with children in vulnerable conditions (UN General Assembly, 2010). For this reason, they can be considered as a sort of “field test” or “magnifying glass” on how the progress in striving to the implementation of the goals is proceeding – no one must be left behind. The 2020 global pandemic provoked an external shock to current socio-economic dimensions of sustainability. Education has been one of the most struck systems – let’s think of the 1,6 billion learners that have been affected by school closures (UNESCO, 2020). With this global framework in mind, the contribution aims at offering a pedagogical reflection on the impact the Covid-19 pandemic is having on children living in residential care centers (RCC). Worldwide, many RCCs, following the ongoing global pandemic, have been closed with the consequent return of children to their families of origin (CRIN, 2020). This process of deinstitutionalization, however, has not been overseen by rigorous monitoring, leading to increased risks of violence for children. This urges authorities to take carefully planned measures with respect to deinstitutionalisation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic (Goldman, et al., 2020). But Covid-19 is not only a health risk for children in RCCs. Because of the complex impact that the pandemic has had on the lives of children, on one side care responses are required, and on the other psycho-social and educational ones are also crucial (SOS Villaggi dei Bambini Onlus Italy; Save The Children, 2020). In Italy, for example, special guidelines have been drawn up to mitigate the spread of the virus within residential structures, that sometimes are overcrowded (Istituto superiore di sanità; SOS Villaggi dei Bambini Onlus Italia, 2020). In addition, tools have been provided to support the mental health of the children and adolescents that are deprived of opportunities for socialization given the closure of schools. In some cases they are isolated within the services themselves to mitigate the risk of the spread, causing a limitation in the possibility of seeing people outside the institution as their parents. Covid-19 underlines the urgency of promoting family-based alternative care for children. In particular, this paper aims to read through a pedagogical lens, the European scenario of residential services for children, to explore the impact of Covid-19 in these services; and to promote a family-based approach in alternative care preventing the risk of institutionalization in children welcomed.

Passive optical network (PON) is a cost-efficient access network technology to deliver broadband services. Moreover, service providers employ PONs to offer novel services. New business scenarios are, thus, envisioned in which customers owning multiple optical network units (ONUs) are connected to a single PON (multi-ONU customers). This paper proposes a dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithm to guaranteed bandwidth for multi-ONU customers in Ethernet PONs (EPONs). It also introduces a bandwidth sharing algorithm to support cooperation among customers. Results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the overall throughput and quality of service provisioning.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities in Singapore had to shift from traditional face-toface learning to eLearning. We explored students’ experiences with and perceptions towards eLearning in the context of a public health module about physical activity. The module had a mixture of asynchronous lectures and live Zoom tutorials. We conducted nine in-depth interviews with students from the module. Students felt that the onus was primarily on the instructors to lead lessons and engage students. As such, they often took a backseat during online classes and rarely participated in class discussions. The eLearning environment enhanced their ability to be passive as they could be largely anonymous. The eLearning environment also made it easy to lose focus and mentally disconnect during lessons. Finally, students spoke about the lack of connection to classmates which impacted their learning efforts. To alleviate this and promote social engagement and connection, check-in polls, movement breaks, and breakout room discussions can be implemented.

Transportation engineers play an important role to achieve zero- crash vision of the Government. The onus for occurrence of road crashes at under-designed and poorly constructed roads lies on the shoulders of transportation engineers. To ensure safe and comfortable driving, it is essential and necessary to evaluate the geometric design of roads, especially highways, from the perspective of the vehicle drivers. If the road is of consistent design, the driver can achieve smooth and safe driving. Inconsistent design of roads can confuse a driver and it may lead to unnecessary speed changes and even may result in unfavourable level of crashes. This paper attempts to study how the highway geometry affects the driver workload at horizontal curves and curves with gradient on two lane non-urban highways. The driver workload is assessed by measuring variations in physiological conditions of subject driver while driving in a test car under real field conditions. Heart rate (HR) and galvanic skin response (GSR) of drivers are continuously recorded using sensors attached to the driver’s ear and fingers respectively to develop a continuous profile of driver workload at varying highway geometry. The variations in heart rate from tangent sections to succeeding curve sections are determined to understand the effect of curve geometry on heart rate. The geometrical data such as radius of curvature, superelevation, sight distance, gradient and tangent length are collected from the selected study stretches. The study revealed that the inconsistent design of roads leads to large variations in heart rate and galvanic skin response. Consequently, crash frequency is found to be higher at such locations. The outcome of the study will help highway designers to design safer roads. The outcome of the study throws light on safety evaluation of highway geometry and will be helpful in developing tools and guidelines for designing safer roads.

"This research considers the role of Master’s study in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of teachers in Ireland, North and South. Countries with the highest pupil assessment outcomes emphasise the importance of teachers having Master’s degrees and effective CPD for teachers has been widely acknowledged as a key characteristic of mature systems of teacher education. There has also been a developing focus on the concept of teachers as researchers which clearly places an onus upon teachers to reframe and reconceptualise their work; in this sense, it can be seen how the Master’s qualification can have increasing relevance. Despite attempts to better understand and standardise the general definition of Master’s qualifications there is still much variation in terms of its value in relation to the professional status, identity and practice of teachers. In addition, whilst there is some evidence to suggest that teacher confidence can benefit from Master’s study, there is limited research on the extent to which Master’s work can influence professional identity and subsequent practice. This research aims to address some of these questions by generating a profile of teachers studying for Master’s degrees in Education across the island of Ireland. The research aims to clarify issues around motivation and the influence that having a Master’s degree might have on the participants’ professional identity and practice. Working within a qualitative, interpretative design and using a mixed methods approach employing survey and focus groups, primary survey data were collected from cohorts of students studying for Master’s in Education in all universities across Ireland in the time period 2017 – 2022. This first round of data collection will be presented here. The research may help inform programme design and also have the potential to influence policy-makers in terms of developing coherency around the professional development of teachers, beyond the initial stage."

Abstract The population of Africa is estimated to be about 1.5 billion, 25% of world population but the continent accounts for only 3.2% of global electricity generation (2.2% coming from South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco). This translates to the lowest per capita energy of any continent. The rapidly growing population in Africa will inevitably result in the emergence of more African cities and this underscores a need to urgently address the energy poverty concerns presented. The global energy landscape is changing, and Africa finds herself at a vantage point in the complex interplay between energy, development, climate change and sustainability. The need to provide an answer to these concerns is further highlighted by the effects of globalization and climate change. The onus rests on African countries to find a cross-functional solution; one which answers simultaneously to socio-economic and environmental challenges. This involves driving growth in energy supply and hence industrialization via the adoption of a balanced mix that harnesses all energy potential and integrated utilization possibilities. Projected increase in energy demands coupled with emission allowances present a unique opportunity for these countries to put in place plans and infrastructure congruent with the future energy landscape. In contrast to the narrative where African energy is driven majorly by renewables, the continent must first maximize the enormous fossil fuel potentials domiciled in large gas reserves in some of her countries to create an economy that can support a sustainable energy future. Natural gas is expected to play a vital role in the transition to a more environment friendly future of energy, especially in developing countries. This paper aims to present the prospects and challenges of the use of natural gas as a driver of sustainability and energy transition in the developing nations. Nigeria and the Nigerian Gas Master Plan will be taken as a Case Study.