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Large language models (LLMs) are an exciting breakthrough in the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence (AI), offering unparalleled potential in a variety of application domains such as finance, business, healthcare, cybersecurity, and so on. However, concerns regarding their trustworthiness and ethical implications have become increasingly prominent as these models are considered black-box and continue to progress. This position paper explores the potentiality of LLM from diverse perspectives as well as the associated risk factors with awareness. Towards this, we highlight not only the technical challenges but also the ethical implications and societal impacts associated with LLM deployment emphasizing fairness, transparency, explainability, trust and accountability. We conclude this paper by summarizing potential research scopes with direction. Overall, the purpose of this position paper is to contribute to the ongoing discussion of LLM potentiality and awareness from the perspective of trustworthiness and responsibility in AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research teams working with indigenous people or local communities in the field of global environmental change represent local knowledge and concerns related to climate or environmental issues in the resulting scientific texts. However, by highlighting some aspects in particular ways and fading others to the background, every representation simultaneously reveals, conceals, and distorts aspects of what is represented. This paper aims to analytically highlight how frames in scientific texts are at work in emphasizing some aspects of local knowledge and concerns while fading other aspects into the background, which inevitably has micro and macro consequences through how local knowledge is incorporated, represented, and added to the body of knowledge of a given field. I have adapted a widely used frame concept from media studies to make it suitable for the analysis of scientific texts. The proposed method identifies main frames of a paper, maps how devices for achieving selective emphases, such as repetitive formulations and strong words, are at work in the text, and elicits how the frame's key functions occur in papers: (1) identify problems, (2) diagnose causes, (3) make moral judgments, (4) suggest solutions or offer a path toward solutions, and (5) attribute roles. Points (4) and (5) are specifically designed for the analysis of scientific texts. In addition, I have added a step that shows how frames shape representations of local knowledge and concerns in scientific texts. This method is meant to develop reflexive awareness among the scholarly community about their writing practices and promote critical thinking about the unintended impacts that uncritical reproduction of taken-for-granted frames may have through their shaping of representations of local and indigenous knowledge and concerns. To illustrate the potential of the frame concept for analyzing scientific texts, I applied the new method to two papers. Further, the paper discusses the potential of frame analysis as a tool for reflexivity among research teams that work with and within local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a study that examined the affordances of an intercultural programme of telecollaboration to promote the intercultural and transcultural awareness of adolescent learners in Indonesia. Baker's (2015, 2022) model of twelve components of intercultural and transcultural awareness is applied to investigate the development of the learners' awareness as a result of their engagement in the programme. This paper begins with a review of the literature on intercultural and transcultural awareness in English Language Teaching and the description of a framework that is suitable for fostering awareness in the classroom through intercultural telecollaboration. Then, the discussion moves to the study that has been conducted following the guidelines and the features influencing an intercultural telecollaboration programme developed by Hoffstaedter and Kohn (2015), which provides a holistic framework not only for conducting pedagogical research, but also for designing an intercultural telecollaboration programme that aligns with the characteristics of the classroom context. Finally, the findings are contrasted with Baker's model in order to understand the extent to which the intercultural telecollaboration programme has promoted the learners' intercultural and transcultural awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acknowledging the importance of climate challenges to our environment, landscape and cities, this review focuses on the exploration of visual methods (e.g., design, drawing, sketches) in relation to a deeper understanding of climate emergency and sustainability on a spatial scale. It provides an overview of existing research and highlights the role design and drawing can play in landscape-led projects, as well as the impact these might have on behavioural change and decision-making. Looking at how design and drawing are perceived in landscape architecture and what their contribution is to the narrative of a project as well as the decisions made, this paper establishes a connection between pictorial forms and landscape. At the same time, this paper explores whether visualisations are used in relation to the climate and environmental challenges we face, sharing some light on the role they can play with regards to climate awareness and sustainability and how important they might be for our communities, cities and regions. This review highlights the need for further research around this topic and explains that there is a minor part of the literature looking at ways in which landscape design can be integrated into the wider climate emergency agenda and how this might influence behavioural change and the decision-making of various stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In high-mobility scenarios, a user's media experience is severely constrained by the difficulty of network channel prediction, the instability of network quality, and other problems caused by the user's fast movement, frequent base station handovers, the Doppler effect, etc. To this end, this paper proposes a video adaptive transmission architecture based on three-dimensional caching. In the temporal dimension, video data are cached to different base stations, and in the spatial dimension video data are cached to base stations, high-speed trains, and clients, thus constructing a multilevel caching architecture based on spatio-temporal attributes. Then, this paper mathematically models the media stream transmission process and summarizes the optimization problems that need to be solved. To solve the optimization problem, this paper proposes three optimization algorithms, namely, the placement algorithm based on three-dimensional caching, the video content selection algorithm for caching, and the bitrate selection algorithm. Finally, this paper builds a simulation system, which shows that the scheme proposed in this paper is more suitable for high-speed mobile networks, with better and more stable performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to examine the extent of cybersecurity awareness among college students and propose some effective measures to prevent them from cyber-attacks. In light of the pervasive integration of cutting-edge technologies in education and our daily life, College students faces various on-line threats. Given their active internet usage, college students are particularly susceptible to cyber-attacks through activities such as exploring e-content, engaging in social media platform, participating in online learning platforms, digital polls, quizzes, Kahoot, online debates and research work. This study holds significance for college students, who are particularly vulnerable. To protect them from cyber threats, understanding their level of cybersecurity consciousness regarding phishing scams, malware, ransomware, and other computer threats, as well as their knowledge of preventive measures, is extremely crucial. The escalating number of hackers and organized cybercriminals underscores the need for heightened cybersecurity awareness. These cybercriminals continually seek innovative techniques for cyber theft, including obtaining sensitive and confidential information from college students for potential blackmail or selling to others. This study involves an efficient online survey conducted among college students to gauge their cybersecurity awareness and preventive measures knowledge. Based on the survey findings, recommendations are provided to strengthen cybersecurity and encourage safer online practices among college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This literature review delves into research on the gamification of cybersecurity awareness for non-IT professionals, aiming to provide an accurate report on known and unknown information regarding three key questions: the impact of gamification on cybersecurity awareness interest and engagement, measurable results related to game elements and their connection to specific learning goals, and the long-term effectiveness of gamified cybersecurity. Examining five relevant papers, the findings confirm short-term effectiveness and indicate that the incorporation of various game elements, such as storytelling, team leaderboards, and interactive scenarios, results in increased knowledge, improved engagement, and positive behavior changes aligned with specific cybersecurity awareness learning goals. However, the review also identifies recurring gaps in evaluating individual game elements and customizing gamification strategies for non-IT professionals. Highlighting a critical gap in understanding long-term effectiveness, we argue for further empirical studies to consider habituation effects, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of gamification's impact on cybersecurity awareness over an extended period. Thus, the review contributes to the existing body of knowledge by emphasizing the necessity for empirical studies focusing on sustained, long-term effectiveness and habituation effects in gamified cybersecurity initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The issues of environmental protection, including stopping the degrading climate change, are currently a subject of particular interest of the scientific community, policymakers, practitioners, but also all people around the world. Banking institutions, as a giver of capital, play a special role in financing climate protection activities. On the other hand, they are particularly exposed to climate risk, identified with the probability that extreme natural hazards may cause adverse effects, including the loss of people’s lives, their property or other economic assets, which became the main research topic in the article. The main purpose of the paper is climate risk exegesis and to analyze the degree of climate risk inclusion in the bank risk management process in the case of the Polish banking sector. The conducted empirical research verified the research hypothesis stating that the Polish banking sector is becoming more and more oriented towards the climate risk among the bank risk management systems. Material and methods: The following research methods were used in the paper: survey questionnaire method, case study analysis, observation method and synthesis method. The research procedure included two stages of questionnaire research, followed by the analysis and evaluation of the obtained results. Results: It has been shown that the Polish banking sector defines its climate goals and is increasingly sensitive to the climate risk management, including them in its risk management systems. It also assesses exposure to climate risk in terms of physical and transitional risk. Conclusions: The research and results presented in this study are important in building political awareness as well as public, social and economic activities in the field of counteracting climate threats. However, banks’ awareness is very important for financing projects that reduce degrading impact on climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing sustainable behaviours within the Circular Economy (CE) through the lenses of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory. This objective was achieved by conducting a large scale survey in Brazil and using Composite-Based Structural Equation Modeling (cSEM) technique in conjunction with R software to analyze data and assess our research hypotheses. Our findings underscore the paramount importance of intrinsic factors-such as personal values, beliefs, and positive evaluations of sustainability outcomes-over external pressures like environmental laws and organizational policies in fostering sustainable actions. While increased awareness of the CE significantly enhances attitudes towards and the likelihood of engaging in sustainable behaviours, the study reveals that external pressures and perceived barriers, such as time, cost, and skill limitations, do not significantly deter those with a high level of awareness and positive sustainability evaluation from acting sustainably. Academically, the study enriches environmental psychology by extending TPB and VBN theories, advocating for a refinement of TPB to better account for contexts where personal values are stronger drivers than external pressures or immediate practical constraints., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, the intensification of global industrialization coupled with the enterprise's production and operating activities have caused pollution, increasing the current environmental pressure. Relevant government departments in China have instituted several stringent measures (environmental protection sensitization and awareness activities, training sessions, and exchange activities targeted towards enterprise managers) to address these rising environmental problems. Though these measures have gained traction over the years, there is a dearth of research on their effectiveness on the green innovation performance of enterprises. To bridge the gap, this research explores the effect of environmental awareness training, knowledge exchange activities, and commitment on green innovation performance with survey data from 285 medical equipment manufacturing companies in China. It further expands the theoretical application of environmental awareness training, commitment, and innovation performance from the lens of the Knowledge-Based View. The findings depict a positive relationship between environmental awareness training and innovation performance. It also finds a mediating influence of environmental commitment in the relationship between environmental awareness training and green innovation performance. Furthermore, environmental knowledge exchange activities positively moderate the relationship between environmental awareness training and environmental commitment. These findings offer valuable insights for the green development of medical equipment manufacturing enterprises and the government to formulate environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's age, we see the increasing influence of technology on people, which begs to raise the question: "Is society determined by technology?" Rising up within the constraints of each society, technology had its limitations, as it catered to the needs and interests of the masses. As society evolved, so did its requirements. We are at a stage where dependence on technology has gone through the roof with new innovations coming up in the sector, the rise of artificial intelligence, for instance. Technology has replaced the concept of being a mere tool and is creating/demanding space of its own. With advancements in various fields like robotics which churn out machines that can mimic human behaviour and are equipped with anthropomorphic features, it has become rather difficult to view them as mere commodities waiting for one's (human master's) command. Keeping this in view, the paper primarily focuses on the relationship between society and technology, with special emphasis on artificial intelligence, through an analysis of the films Ra One (Bollywood), Android Kunjappan (Mollywood), and Ironman 3 (Hollywood). Secondarily, an experimental study was carried out to know the perception of the Engineering students, the future technologists, who are the stakeholders of the 21st-century technological world, with an aim to know their perception of technology and bring an awareness of the limitations of technology and its role in the creation of utopian and dystopian world. Finally, the paper examines the consequence of technological determinism and autonomy from a colonial perspective and intends to bring preparedness among the students to perceive technology conscious of its limitation and bring harmony between society and technology that leads towards building a utopian world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context and Background: The specialised land court in Zambia is known as the Lands Tribunal, and it was created in 1996 through the 1995 Lands Act. The Tribunal was established with the objective of achieving speedy, low cost, flexible and efficient means of settling conflicts over land. Inspite of being existence for 27 years, little has been done on the progress and challenges of the Lands Tribunal in resolving conflicts over land in the country. Goal and Objectives: This paper aims at establishing the progress made by the Lands Tribunal in resolving conflicts over land and investigating the challenges faced by the Lands Tribunal in resolving conflicts over land. Methodology: The study incorporated the use of both primary and secondary data collected between January and October 2023. Secondary data were obtained through documents which include peer-reviewed journal articles, theses, books, media, Zambian land laws, and technical reports. Secondary data was supplemented by primary data obtained from three purposively selected institutions: Lands Tribunal, Law Association of Zambia, and Zambia Land Alliance (Kitwe office). The data collection method used with the key informants was in-depth face-to-face interviews. Office management at each institution chose the key informant based on their expertise and experience on the subject. Results: In order to strengthen the Tribunal's operations, the Lands Tribunal Act of 2010 was enacted, enhancing the Tribunal's operations by granting it more authority and responsibilities (that is, expanding jurisdiction). Research findings showed that between 2014 and 2023, the Lands Tribunal handled 3318 cases. According to research findings, if the Tribunal was operating efficiently and effectively, it could have handled more than 3,318 cases between 2014 and 2022 considering the numerous problems facing the general courts which adversely affect the general public to resolve their land conflicts. However, the Tribunal could not handle more cases because of various challenges which include inadequate funding, Inadequate staff, poor conditions of service for members of the Tribunal, inadequate transport, delay in the delivery of judgments, low public awareness of the Lands Tribunal, centralised operations of the Lands Tribunal, and forum shopping [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cohesion is deemed an indispensable component of writing, contributing to both the organisation of texts as well as the reader’s comprehension of the content. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the utilisation of discourse features in the academic writing of students. It specifically focuses on the cohesive devices employed by students and their level of awareness regarding cohesion and coherence. The research was conducted in the Dhanbad district, with a particular emphasis on technical students studying English for specific purposes. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic, this study also reviewed and analysed previous research that explored the usage of cohesive devices and the relationship between cohesion frequency and high-quality writing. This background research provided valuable insights into the existing body of knowledge and helped establish a foundation for the present study. The data analysis demonstrates that students possess the ability to incorporate various cohesive devices into their writing, indicating their awareness of discourse features. However, their usage is somewhat limited due to a restricted repertoire of discourse markers, which affected the range and diversity of cohesive devices employed in their writing. Overall, the paper sheds light on the significance of cohesion in academic writing, emphasising its role in organising texts and facilitating reader comprehension. It highlights the current state of students’ awareness and usage of cohesive devices in their writing, providing valuable insights for educators and curriculum developers to enhance students’ proficiency in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines and explores the challenges, issues, and problems with their solutions regarding Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education along with the awareness enjoyed by science teachers. The selection of papers for this study was done through systematic literature review techniques. The 11 themes were generated through the thematic analysis of the papers that is, STEM education and its awareness; its challenges, issues, and problems; its curriculum; inquiry and learning environment; technologies; learning and models of integration; a blended learning approach; students' problem-solving abilities and skills; its implementation and evaluation; it's research and current trends; and interdisciplinary collaboration and intervention. Policy and planning, infrastructure, and the state of society were found the main factors of the poor conditions of STEM education. STEM research studies suggest that a curriculum with a blended learning approach has to be integrated by interventions of models depicting technological and inquiry-based environments to bring awareness among teachers, which strengthens the students' problem-solving abilities and skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that Trait Emotional Awareness (TEA) - the ability to recognize one's emotions - and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) are both negatively associated with psychological disorders. Although these studies imply that TEA is related to HRV and may explain the association between HRV and psychological disorders, there is limited research investigating this implication. Such investigation is essential to illuminate the psychophysiological processes linked to psychological disorders. The present study aims to investigate a) the association between TEA and HRV, b) the association between HRV and psychological disorders, and c) whether TEA explains the association between HRV and psychological disorders. A sample of 41 German students completed self-report questionnaires as indicators of psychological disorders, including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Snaith & Zigmond, 1983) for anxiousness and depressiveness, as well as the somatization scale of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL; Derogatis et al., 1976) for physical complaints. HRV was measured at baseline (resting HRV) and during exposure to a fear-provoking movie clip (reactive HRV). As hypothesized, a) TEA showed a positive association with reactive HRV, b) HRV showed negative associations with anxiousness and physical complaints, and c) TEA explained the relationships between reactive HRV and anxiousness, as well as physical complaints. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find any association between HRV and depressiveness. We discussed the contribution of TEA to psychophysiological health, limited generalizability of the current study, and direct future research to explore the underlying mechanisms linking TEA to health., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Farhood Malekzad reports financial support was provided by John Templeton Foundation. Michael Ennis reports financial support was provided by Lantiseptic Division Summit Industries Inc. Markus Quirin reports financial support was provided by John Templeton Foundation. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A lack of navigator's Situation Awareness (SA) is one of the leading causes of maritime accidents. Visually observing the area surrounding a vessel continues to be a critical aspect and best practice of safe navigation to establish and maintain SA. Augmented Reality (AR) allows the placement of information in a user's field of view, which can encourage navigators to spend more time looking up at their external environment whilst still having access to operational data. However, empirical evidence on the impact of AR on maritime operations is limited. This paper investigates the effects of AR on navigator SA & Head-Down Time (HDT) using a within-group quasi-experimental design. Seventeen licensed navigators and nautical students analysed twelve navigation scenarios: six non-AR (control) and six AR (experimental) scenarios using a maritime training simulator. SA was measured via SAGAT scores for each scenario and the SA-SWORD to compare preferences. Each scenario was video recorded and analysed for participant's total amount of HDT and head-down occurrences in each scenario. Results found that the addition of AR significantly reduced participant HDT (by a factor of 2.67) and head-down occurrences (by 62%) in comparison to navigation scenarios without AR. Furthermore, AR did not significantly improve mean SA. This study contributes to the limited empirical data on the effects of AR on operator performance, demonstrating the potential value of AR for improving SA and facilitating increased head-up time during maritime navigation, which in turn could improve safety at sea., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The current generative adversarial network (GAN)-based methods for infrared and visible image fusion often overlook global information, leading to inappropriate distribution of fused images in terms of infrared intensity and an overall incongruous presentation. In order to tackle this issue, in this paper, a new global awareness fusion network based on GAN is proposed, termed as GAN-GA. The proposed method comprises a generator and two discriminators. The generator consists of three series-connected global awareness blocks (GABlock), namely detail branch, content branch and feature aggregation block. The detail branch employs a convolutional network and max pooling to extract local detailed information, while the content branch utilizes Transformer to obtain global information. The local details and global information are then passed through the feature aggregation block to focus attention on distinct spatial locations and assign weights based on information importance, resulting in the final fused image. Moreover, the primary and auxiliary concepts are introduced in content loss, incorporating the difference images of infrared and visible as supplementary information into the loss function to fully leverage the information in the source images. For the discriminator, the WGAN-LP loss is employed to constrain its training, which introduces a new gradient penalty based on WGAN-GP to enhance the capability of discriminator. With these enhancements, GAN-GA effectively captures the global features of the source image while preserving the local texture and infrared intensity, which obtains an overall more coordinated fused image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers’ awareness and the incidence of climate change are crucial inputs to effectively scale up interventions to mitigate the effects of climate change. This is because incidence leads to awareness due to observation of occurrences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of climate change awareness and incidence across farming systems and agroecological zones in Sierra Leone. An ex-post-facto research design was applied, while a multistage sampling procedure was used to select 865 smallholder farmers across agroecological zones and farming systems. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire subjected to face validity and split-half reliability tests. This data analyzed frequency counts, percentages, multiple regression, and principal component analysis. The results show that farmers in the coastal plain, savannah woodland, and transitional rainforest had greater awareness and incidence of climate change across the crop, livestock, and fishery farming systems. The significant determinants of awareness and incidence of climate change among farmers are the adoption of crop smart practices (t = 4.192; p < 0.01); information needs on water smart practices (t = –5.581; p < 0.01); adoption of nutrient smart practices (t = 10.592; p < 0.01); adoption of energy/carbon smart practices (t = 3.206 ; p < 0.01); adoption of livestock smart practices (t = 3.608; p < 0.01); information needs on weather smart practices (t = 3.505; p < 0.01); incidence of climate change (t = 16.282; p < 0.01); and constraints on nutrient smart practices (t = –2.669; p < 0.01). The Principal Component analysis identified four factors, namely Factor 1 (Impact), Factor 2 (Occurrence), Factor 3 (Evidence), and Factor 4 (Threat), and accounted for 14.96%, 8.27%, 6.41%, 3.50% of the variance, respectively, with a cumulative variance of 33.14%. The study concludes that farmers are aware of the incidence of climate change and are adopting different techniques in response to the different climate changes observed. This study also recommends the identification of specific climate change adaptations and the scaling of interventions for adaptation and mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracking and detection have brought great challenges to network security. Therefore, this paper proposes a monitoring method of stealthy complex network attacks considering security situation awareness. By constructing a tracking model of invisible complex network attacks, public monitoring nodes are selected for monitoring. The cost of a single monitoring node is calculated by the algorithm, and the monitoring node is determined by the monitoring node algorithm, so as to reduce the resource occupancy rate of the monitoring node and improve the monitoring accuracy. The simulation results show that this method is stable in the range of 1000 to 4000 nodes, and can effectively monitor the complex network attacks of stealing secrets., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This paper is a follow-up to a recent work by the authors on recoverable UAV-based energy-efficient reconfigurable routing (RUBER) scheme for addressing sensor node and route failure issues in smart wireless livestock sensor networks. Time complexity and processing cost issues connected to the RUBER scheme are consequently treated in this article by proffering a time-aware UAV-based energy-efficient reconfigurable routing (TUBER) scheme. TUBER scheme employs a synchronized clustering-with-backup strategy, a minimum-hop neighborhood recovery mechanism, and a redundancy minimization technique. Comparative network performance of TUBER was investigated and evaluated with respect to RUBER and UAV-based energy-efficient reconfigurable routing (UBER) schemes. The metrics adopted for this comparative performance analysis are Cluster Survival Ratio (CSR), Network Stability (NST), Energy Dissipation Ratio (EDR), Network Coverage (COV), Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), Fault Tolerance Index (FTI), Load Balancing Ratio (LBR), Routing Overhead (ROH), Average Routing Delay (ARD), Failure Detection Ratio (FDR), and Failure Recovery Ratio (FRR). With reference to best-obtained values, TUBER demonstrated improvements of 36.25%, 24.81%, 34.53%, 15.65%, 38.32%, 61.07%, 31.66%, 63.20%, 68.96%, 66.19%, and 78.63% over RUBER and UBER in terms of CSR, NST, EDR, COV, PDR, FTI, LBR, ROH, ARD, FDR, and FRR, respectively. These experimental results confirmed the relative effectiveness of TUBER against the compared routing schemes., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Bouchekara et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

We examined the impact of sharing periscope imagery and analysis tools in eighteen five-member teams (Sonar, Periscope, 2xTrack Motion Analysts, Track Manager) who undertook simulated submarine patrol tasks. Compared to a baseline condition, sharing imagery to team members increased perceived individual workload, with no improvement to team performance (tactical picture accuracy). When both imagery and analysis tools were shared, perceived workload increased and tactical picture compilation was more accurate. Despite this improved tactical picture for the imagery and analysis tools condition, there was no advantage to mission completion (rendezvous/close contact detection) or situation awareness. In contrast to the increased subjective workload, individuals in teams provided with shared imagery (with or without tools) had a lower physiological response (heart rate, electrodermal) to task demands compared to the baseline condition. Sharing imagery and analysis tools likely benefited tactical picture compilation by enabling dynamic task redistribution and multiple streams of concurrent data analysis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Theory U is a process-driven, learning, progress-directed, transformative, and relational approach to social change. This approach is predicated on the idea that spirituality may be used to create communal consciousness through change management. Dealing with spiritual hurdles, practicing meditation, improving sensing, staying in flow, and conceiving are just a few of the special skills needed for success on the U-journey. Spiritual intelligence also includes adaptive problem solving and goal achievement approaches. Theory-U holds that sources other than the outmoded paradigms that gave rise to complex problems are where answers to them must come from. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how individuals exposed to workplace spirituality can make better use of their spiritual intelligence. By using spiritual intelligence, people can attain the kind of awareness and engagement required for collective awareness, and this makes sense when we examine awareness awakening processes from the perspective of the U-journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrective feedback is a concept of second language acquisition (SLA). Previous studies have investigated the definitions, categories, and effectiveness of corrective feedback from myriad perspectives, often choosing English as a second language to conduct research on ESL students. Writing is a challenge for most L2 learners, and written feedback is part of overall corrective feedback. Much research has emphasized the effectiveness of corrective feedback, but how different types of corrective feedback influence L2 learners differently remains unknown. Few studies have combined students' with teachers' perceptions of written corrective feedback. Most only emphasized students' preferences and few studies concentrated on Chinese students. As such, this paper aims to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of teachers and Chinese students towards written corrective feedback in L2 writing, which is beneficial to determine whether teachers can have awareness of students' perceptions and satisfy their needs according to individual situations, helping them facilitate the accuracy of L2 writing. The results reveal that differences exist between Chinese students' and teachers' preferences for written corrective feedback in L2 writing. Both groups think written corrective feedback is effective to enhance L2 writing, and most Chinese students and teachers affirm that different strategies of written corrective feedback should be given according to different error types. Finally, in teachers' opinions, the most appropriate written corrective feedback for Chinese students is direct corrective feedback and metalinguistic feedback (e.g. using error codes and metalinguistic codes), while Chinese students believe that the most appropriate written corrective feedback is direct and indirect corrective feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As part of the Federal Government of Nigeria's desire to increase medical coverage among the citizenry, the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance Scheme (NEMSAS) was set up and piloted in the FCT in 2022. To gauge the progress so far, this study sought to assess the level and determinants of public awareness and utilization of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) among residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2023 among 1177 respondents residing in FCT Abuja at the time of the survey. Data was collected by trained research assistants using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and purposive sampling was adopted. The level of awareness and the socio-demographic determinants of the level of awareness in the FCT were assessed. Logistic regression was used to find predictors of EMS awareness and utilization. Results: 57.8% of respondents are aware of EMS, while 42.2% are not. 62.7% are uncertain about the source of information for EMS with only a minority relying on word of mouth (17.7%), traditional media (11.1%), or social media (8.5%). 91.4% have not accessed or utilized EMS via the toll-free emergency line, while only 8.6% reported doing so. There are median EMS awareness and utilization differences across gender, age, location, and employment status of the respondents. Additionally, the multivariate logistic regression showed that age, location, and employment status are significant predictors of EMS awareness and utilization. Males have lower odds of awareness and utilization of EMS compared to females. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between EMS access and utilization (Chi-square = 80.748, p < 0.001). However, awareness did not necessarily translate to utilization. Conclusion: The relationship between EMS awareness and utilization and the unmasked predictors in this paper should be factored into the design of interventions to increase access and utilization of EMS in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large quantity of resident space objects orbiting Earth poses a threat to safety and efficient operations in space. Radar sensors are well suited to detecting objects in space including decommissioned satellites and debris, whereas the more commonly used optical sensors are limited by daylight and weather conditions. Observations of three non-operational satellites using a VHF radar system are presented in this paper in the form of micro Doppler signatures associated with rotational motion. Micro Doppler signatures are particularly useful for characterising resident space objects at VHF given the limited bandwidth resulting in poor range resolution. Electromagnetic simulations of the micro Doppler signatures of the defunct satellites are also presented using simple computer-aided design (CAD) models to assist with interpretation of the radar observations. The simulated micro Doppler results are verified using the VHF radar data and provide insight into the attitude and spin axis of the three resident space objects. As future work, this approach will be extended to a larger number of resident space objects which requires a automated processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Awareness and human factors are becoming ever more important in cybersecurity, particularly in the context of small companies that may need more resources to deal with cybersecurity effectively. This paper introduces a theoretical framework for game analysis of the role of awareness in strategic interactions between the manager and a hacker. A computable approach is proposed based on Bayesian updating to model awareness in a cybersecurity context. The process of gaining awareness considers the manager's perception of the properties of the hacker's actions, game history, and common knowledge. The role of awareness in strategy choices and outcomes is analyzed and simulated, providing insights into decision-making processes for managers and highlighting the need to consider probabilistic assessments of threats and the effectiveness of countermeasures. The accuracy of the initial frequencies plays a significant role in the manager's success, with aligned frequencies leading to optimal results. Inaccurate information on prior frequencies still outperforms complete uncertainty, emphasizing the value of any available intelligence. However, the results suggest that other awareness modeling approaches are necessary to enhance the manager's agility and adaptiveness when the prior frequencies do not reflect the immediate attacker's type, indicating the need for improved intelligence about cyber-attacks and examinations of different awareness modeling approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of nutrition information on a nutrition label is to communicate to consumers the nutritional content of prepackaged foods so that they would be able to identify healthy foods before purchase. Many systematic reviews in the area of consumer awareness, knowledge, understanding, and use of nutrition labels have focused on the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and little attention has been given to African countries. To review the state of consumer awareness, knowledge, understanding, and use of nutrition labels within the African region, identify barriers to the use of nutrition labels, identify consumers who are more likely to use labels, and assess the factors that affect purchasing decisions. Searches were done in electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, Web of Science) and the reference lists of relevant research articles (back referencing). The review was limited to cross-sectional peer-reviewed research articles which were published in the English Language between January 2000 and June 2022. Twenty-six peer-reviewed papers from 10 African countries that met our inclusion criteria are included in this systematic review. The overall crude means of levels of awareness, knowledge, understanding, and use of nutrition labels were found to be 74.2%, 56.4%, 45.3%, and 69.1%, respectively. Consumer levels of knowledge and understanding of nutrition labels across the 10 African countries were low compared to the awareness and use of nutrition labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the influence of radio messages on the awareness and adoption of malaria preventive measures among rural dwellers in South-west Nigeria. The study investigated the participants' frequency of exposure to radio messages on malaria preventive measures, message adoption, and attitudes towards adopting measures. We used a multiple-stage sampling technique to select 48 participants from Aye North, Orile-Oshodi, Ofada, Owobaale/kasumu, Isale Oba II, and Ilepa II. The findings showed that the participants were exposed to messages on malaria preventive measures through radio broadcasts; however, exposure did not necessarily influence message adoption. Instead, a positive attitude towards the message influenced adoption. The study concluded that there is a need for radio stations to engage people's participation daily in health-related issues to achieve the desired change in health behaviour. The authors recommend that radio stations provide time to create daily health messages that influence people's engagement to achieve the desired change in health behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most significant problems affecting a concrete bridge's safety is cracks. However, detecting concrete bridge cracks is still challenging due to their slender nature, low contrast, and background interference. The existing convolutional methods with square kernels struggle to capture crack features effectively, fail to perceive the long-range dependencies between crack regions, and have weak suppression ability for background noises, leading to low detection precision of bridge cracks. To address this problem, a multi-stage feature aggregation and structure awareness network (MFSA-Net) for pixel-level concrete bridge crack detection is proposed in this paper. Specifically, in the coding stage, a structure-aware convolution block is proposed by combining square convolution with strip convolution to perceive the linear structure of concrete bridge cracks. Square convolution is used to capture detailed local information. In contrast, strip convolution is employed to interact with the local features to establish the long-range dependence relationship between discrete crack regions. Unlike the self-attention mechanism, strip convolution also suppresses background interference near crack regions. Meanwhile, the feature attention fusion block is presented for fusing features from the encoder and decoder at the same stage, which can sharpen the edges of concrete bridge cracks. In order to fully utilize the shallow detail features and deep semantic features, the features from different stages are aggregated to obtain fine-grained segmentation results. The proposed MFSA-Net was trained and evaluated on the publicly available concrete bridge crack dataset and achieved average results of 73.74%, 77.04%, 75.30%, and 60.48% for precision, recall, F1 score, and IoU, respectively, on three typical sub-datasets, thus showing optimal performance in comparison with other existing methods. MFSA-Net also gained optimal performance on two publicly available concrete pavement crack datasets, thereby indicating its adaptability to crack detection across diverse scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Computing Network is an emerging network paradigm that aims to realize computing resource scheduling through the intrinsic capabilities of the network. However, existing resource scheduling architectures based on conventional TCP/IP networks for the Computing Network suffer from deficiencies in routing flexibility and a lack of user preference awareness, while Information-Centric Networking (ICN) holds the potential to address these issues. ICN inherently supports dynamic routing in scenarios such as multi-homing and mobility due to its routing mechanism that is based on content names rather than host addresses, and it is further enhanced by the integration with Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, which facilitate convenient network-layer route readdressing, thus offering a conducive environment for flexible routing scheduling. Furthermore, ICN introduces novel routing protocols that, compared with the more rigid protocol designs in conventional TCP/IP networks, offer greater flexibility in field usage. This flexibility allows for the incorporation of customized fields, such as "preference", enabling the perception of user preferences within the network. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel ICN-based on-path computing resource scheduling architecture named IPCRSA. Within this architecture, an original design for computing resource request packet format is developed based on the IPv6 extension header. Additionally, preference-based computing resource scheduling strategies are incorporated, which employ the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) combined with the entropy weight method, to comprehensively evaluate computing resource nodes and use a roulette-selection algorithm to accomplish the probability selection of destination nodes. Experimental results indicate that, in comparison to alternative scheduling schemes, IPCRSA exhibits significant advantages in enhancing scheduling flexibility, improving scheduling success rates, and catering to diverse user requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global business today is driven by brands, each with a unique story, but rarely of a product that is a public good. Building a brand requires careful planning, creativity, and an understanding of the target market. Borrowing from various brand concepts and frameworks, this paper explores how a government-bred common bean cultivar., NUA 45, defied the odds to create a new identity and association in Zimbabwe. Firstly, the cultivar overcame the general lack of promotion investment in government-bred (public) common bean cultivars. Secondly, being a red mottle-colored cultivar in a red-speckled (sugar type) bean-predominated country, NUA 45 had to break the preference typecasts. Thirdly, NUA 45 was among the first generation of biofortified bean cultivars enriched with iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), some of the most sought-after micronutrients in a world ridden with hidden hunger. Overcoming these market barriers required a systematic approach to awareness creation, collaboration, and commercialization, avoiding the tragedy of the commons, and instead, achieving a win-win situation for all stakeholders. This entailed understanding the needs and preferences of different value chain actors, developing messages, and engaging local farmers, retailers, aggregators, and private and public sector partners to promote NUA 45. Lastly, developing compelling stories and leveraging digital channels to reach new customers that sought personal experiences, moved the cultivar name from a mere label to a spontaneously endorsed lifestyle and a brand that ‘spread like wildfire’ across the country and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. The NUA 45 brand broke new ground for other biofortified bean cultivars and non-sugar bean cultivars. Following its release in seven other countries, NUA 45 pioneered listing on the SADC regional variety catalog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the level of sustainability awareness among university students in the UAE. This research proposed and implemented an experimental digital awareness platform to educate students and citizens in the United Arab Emirates on the 17 goals of sustainability. This study presents the survey results before and after using the proposed mobile application focused on sustainability. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed digital platform in increasing awareness by conducting experiments using the platform and analyzing the survey results. Our survey results indicate that a large proportion of the participants, 49%, had no idea what the 17 SDGs are. The user experience of our digital platform showed that 93% of participants became aware of the 17 SDGs and were willing to contribute to achieving one or more SDGs. Additionally, the use of our platform encouraged 75% of the participants to be actively involved in SDG activities and events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This article focuses on communication in team-based esports, particularly in the ways that callouts enable players in team-based First-Person Shooters (FPS) to collaboratively link their own perception and awareness of in-game actions to that of their teammates. Callouts are short, community-based utterances that players use to communicate vital details of fast-paced action in competitive games. Aim: We provide an empirically-based theorization of why callouts appear to be especially important in team-based FPS games, which, because of the limited fields of vision and split-second decision-making, require players to communicate what is happening to the others in the team as they navigate the game environment. Methods: To describe this distributed perception, we borrow from studies on active military settings that term this seeing together as interperceptivity and employ ethnomethodology in our analysis of the minute details of players' actions in the screen recordings as they extended their team's collective perception and awareness of in-game activities and events. Results: Through this paper, we contribute to the ongoing research on understanding communication and collaboration in team-based games. The callout sequences (and aligning actions) are orienting towards sharing individual perceptions for the (co)construction of an interperceptivity of in-game activities. Hence, callouts form a precondition for coordinated play. Conclusion: The introduction of this concept to game studies can help in making sense of a key capability in networked team-based games; that is, how players collectively construct a situational awareness that encompasses teammates' perception. Also, because of the essential role of callouts and interperceptivity in highly-skilled networked play, we point to some of the cultural contexts in which this practice is accomplished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: This wearable system employs innovative sonification techniques to enhance balance and overall physical awareness. It offers rehabilitation and healthcare sectors an accessible and intuitive tool for balance training and physical conditioning, where monitoring and improving postural stability is crucial. This paper presents the design, development, and feasibility testing of a wearable sonification system for real-time posture monitoring and feedback. The system utilizes inexpensive motion sensors integrated into a compact, wearable package to measure body movements and standing balance continuously. The sensor data is processed through sonification algorithms to generate real-time auditory feedback cues indicating the user's balance and posture. The system aims to improve movement awareness and physical conditioning, with potential applications in balance rehabilitation and physical therapy. Initial feasibility testing was conducted with a small group of healthy participants performing standing balance tasks with eyes open and closed. Results indicate that the real-time audio feedback improved participants' ability to maintain balance, especially in the case of closed eyes. This preliminary study demonstrates the potential for wearable sonification systems to provide intuitive real-time feedback on posture and movement to improve motor skills and balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the frame of developing sustainable, reliable, and regenerative interventions on existing buildings, namely on large-scale public housing, the implementation of functional, technological, and effective strategies is devoted to thoroughly assessing the transformability of buildings using trustworthy performance indicators. With this aim, in the present paper, an assessment framework tool is presented and tested to evaluate the potential of buildings for transformation through the detection of regeneration strategies for the reduction of energy consumption, a definition of the new apartments' internal layout, and the implementation of sustainable systems to foster rainwater harvesting. The procedure is tested on a case study in Latina (Italy), showing its suitability to quantitatively assess the regenerative potentiality of public housing, thus resulting in an effective supporting tool for designers and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societies throughout today's global village are increasingly aware of the social injustices that minorities face, and immigrants are no exception. Combined with the lack of adaptation resources and the prejudice of non-migrant residents, immigrants may feel powerless in foreign places as they try to find comfort and security in new and unfamiliar environments. It is increasingly urgent to address immigrant issues, considering the crucial role of enhancing diversity, combating prejudice, and raising awareness of minority experiences. This systematic literature review investigates the innovative use of gamification in exploring and addressing the experiences and issues immigrants face. The review follows the PRISMA statement guidelines and checklist. Scopus, CINAHL, and Medline databases were searched, resulting in 17 relevant articles that were carefully analyzed. This research highlights the diverse applications of gamification in studying immigrant experiences via role-playing, interactive storytelling, and empathy-building simulations. This work explores the potential of gamified interventions in addressing pressing issues immigrants face and assesses their effectiveness in fostering empathy and intercultural communication. It also identifies gaps in the existing information sciences literature and proposes directions for future research. In conclusion, this review sheds light on the emerging field of gamification in immigration studies and games studies in the information sciences, providing valuable insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners working with immigrant communities worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: With the advancement of society and technology, the importance of professional competency has been increasingly emphasized. This study aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the Baidu search index for "professional competency" from July 3, 2017, to October 6, 2023, across 34 provincial-level administrative regions in China. Methods: The study begins with a literature review to establish a theoretical framework. Subsequently, it delves into the fundamental concepts of complex networks, their parameters, and the principles of visible network graph algorithms. The application of system clustering and community detection algorithms is explored within this framework. Results: The empirical analysis starts with a provincial-level examination, involving the construction of visible network graphs, the exploration of scale-free networks, and discussions on regional system clustering. Following this, a nationwide analysis is conducted, focusing on the construction of visible network graphs to visualize the awareness of professional competency and studying community structures. Discussion: The findings provide insights into the awareness of professional competency across different regions. These insights are valuable for informing policy formulation and corporate decision-making, contributing to a deeper understanding of professional competency awareness and its implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast scenario transfer for portrait styles has been a universal concern in the area of image processing. Conventionally, it was realized mostly by manual manipulation based on expertise experience, which costs a large amount of human labor. To fit the growing business volume in the era of Internet 4.0, it is supposed to investigate reliable autonomous workflow that generates portrait-style results via intelligent algorithms. Therefore, this paper proposes a fast scenario transfer method for portrait styles through collaborative awareness of convolutional neural network (CNN) and generative learning (GAL). On the one hand, a CNN structure is designed to make feature extraction towards the initial images, which can be used for following image generation. On the other hand, the GAL is utilized to generate new images with post-transferred scenario styles, so that the expected scenario style transfer results can be output by generating new images through long-term iterations. Especially, the loss function is designed by simultaneously considering local and global characteristics. Finally, the analysis and experimental results show that the correction process can be completed by injecting the extracted input face features into the feature maps of corresponding sizes in the generation process using a pre-trained feature extractor. Thus, the face conversion efficiency can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review aims to synthesise Web-GIS evidence for managing natural hazards to share state-of-the-art practices and policies. A comprehensive search in SCOPUS, among other databases, identified 1775 articles published between 2014 and 2023. Following a selection process based on the PRISMA model, 65 articles met the inclusion criteria. The analysis revealed a growing trend over the past decade, with most research concentrated in the last three years. Eight crucial subtopics within the Web-GIS domain have emerged: Integrated Spatial Analysis and Modelling, Technologies and Infrastructure, Visualisation and User Interface Design, Decision Support Systems, Real-time Monitoring and Early Warning, Disaster Recovery and Resilience, Citizen and Social Media Integration, and Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration. A substantial contribution of the literature has been identified in Decision Support Systems and Integrated Spatial Analysis, reflecting their vital role in strategising and predicting hazard impacts. Furthermore, a geographical distribution analysis revealed significant Web-GIS applications in countries like Italy and China, alongside a deficit in low- and middle-income countries. It also highlights potential gaps in hazard studies, including the need to prioritise heatwave management in the face of climate change. This research calls for policymakers and practitioners to leverage evidence-informed decision making and foster community collaboration for enhanced natural disaster resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-fungible tokens are transferable rights to digital assets such as artwork, videos, in-game items, collectibles or music. Non-fungible tokens relate only to a specific unique item and carry information about the owner. The non-fungible token market has received widespread attention and has grown enormously since the beginning of 2021. Despite significant growth in the market, there needs to be more surveys, especially in the context of the Czech Republic. This article, therefore, aims to evaluate the level of awareness of non-fungible tokens in the Czech Republic. The paper presents the basics of the non-fungible token market, its potential and uncertainty, and the interdisciplinary nature of non-fungible token research. First, the characteristics of nonfungible tokens are described based on a literature review. The methodological part outlines an empirical analysis based on a quantitative survey in which 103 respondents in the Czech Republic took part. Based on the research results, it was found out that in the Czech Republic, there is low level of awareness of non-fungible tokens and also low level of trust in digital assets in general. In conclusion, it is possible to say that this article provides an overall understanding of the phenomenon of non-fungible tokens in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) is an unusual type of diabetes often missed in clinical practice, especially in Africa. Treatment decisions for MODY depend on a precise diagnosis, only made by genetic testing. We aimed to determine MODY knowledge among Nigerian healthcare professionals (HCPs), their perceptions, and barriers to the implementation of genetic testing in diabetes patients. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted among doctors and nurses in three levels of public and private healthcare institutions in Ibadan, Nigeria, from December 2018 to June 2019. In all, 70% and 30% of a total 415 participants were recruited from public and private centers, respectively. HCPs were recruited in a 60:40% ratio, respectively. A 51-item instrument was used to assess MODY knowledge, perceptions of HCPs, and barriers to the implementation of genetic testing in diabetes patients. RESULTS In the survey, 43.4% self-rated their current MODY knowledge to be at least moderate. About 68%, 73% and 86%, respectively, correctly answered 3 of 5 questions on basic genetics' knowledge. However, only 1 of 7 MODYspecific questions was answered correctly by 72.7% of the respondents. The mean basic genetics and MODY-specific knowledge scores were 2.6/5 (SD=1.0) and 1.8/9 (SD=1.3), respectively. Multiple linear regression showed higher mean scores among those aged 30-49 years, those with degrees and fellowships (except PhD), and general practitioners; 360 (80.0%) perceived that genetic testing plays a central role in diabetes care. Barriers to genetic testing were lack of access to testing facilities, guidance on the use of and updates/educational materials on genetic testing (82.7%, 62.1% and 50.3%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The level of MODY awareness and knowledge among Nigerian HCPs is unacceptably low with a lack of access to genetic testing facilities. These can hinder the implementation of precision diabetes medicine. Increased awareness, provision of decision support aids, and genetic testing facilities are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objectives of the study were to determine the frequency of plastic bag usage among secondary school students of Islamabad and to assess their knowledge about plastic bag-associated pollution, its disposal and legislation. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from December 2020 to December 2021 in high schools in Islamabad. A sample size of 377 was calculated through Raosoftware comprising 53.6% male and 46.4% female students. Ethical approval was taken with the number ERC/ID/47. A consecutive non-probability sampling technique was used. Inclusion criteria were students of the 8th to 10th class and those who gave consent and filled out the questionnaire. A properly structured questionnaire was used. SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. A chi-square test of significance was applied for categorical variables. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: About 97.6 % of the participants considered plastic as a contributory factor to environmental pollution and 67.6% used plastic bags as carrying materials. Awareness about alternatives like clothed bags was observed in about 85.9% of students. Regarding legislation, half of the study population opined that the community is responsible for banning plastic bags while the other half suggested that it's the responsibility of the Government. Significant p-value was observed between gender (0.036), age (0.000), education (0.000), knowledge about plastic hazards (0.01), health hazards (0.029) and usage of plastic bags. Conclusion: The usage of plastic bags was high among the students. Although they were well aware of the hazardous effects of plastic bags, most of them were routinely using plastic bags for daily activities. Different factors that were responsible for the higher usage of plastic bags included a lack of alternatives to plastic bags, easy availability, low cost and lightweight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the awareness and usage of Academic Social Networking Sites (ASNS) among female research scholars and faculty members in Tamil Nadu, India. A structured questionnaire was used to survey 838 female research scholars through online platforms. The results showed that most respondents use at least one ASNS, with Google Scholar being the most popular. The primary reasons for using ASNS are to disseminate scholarly work and discover research papers. However, a lack of awareness and time was the main reason for not having an account with these sites. The respondents learned about ASNS primarily through friends and colleagues and suggested increasing their use and awareness through seminars and training courses, library posters, and integration in the student courses. The study highlights the importance of ASNS in the research work of female scholars and faculties while also recognizing the need for increased awareness and access to these resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union introduced Regulation No. 1151/2012 to delineate the optional quality term "mountain product," aiming to preserve and promote the originality and authenticity of mountain foodstuffs. This research endeavors to delve into the comprehension and perception of the mountain label, considering awareness of the label and willingness to pay. With the remarkable increase in the adoption of the mountain label among producers in the mountain regions of Romania, this study seeks to investigate whether consumers purchasing the product in the market are cognizant of the provisions outlined by the National regulatory bodies and authorities for the mountain label. A general consumer survey with questionnaires was planned, organised, and implemented within Brașov city to elicit necessary findings. Although, the consumer was aware regarding the benefits associated with products with mountain label and also the places to easily find the mountain label, the consumers (50.77%) perceived mountain labelled product to be expensive. Similarly, only 47% of the respondents were interested in paying more for the products with mountain labels and 50% were completely unsure about their purchasing decisions, which indicates a clear unsurety in the mind of the consumers. The consumers (70%) seemed unaware about the mountain label although they had general idea regarding mountain products and the categories of products that are made available in the market verified by the agencies. The findings of this research can be beneficial to initiate different promotional campaigns launched at consumers to better educate them regarding mountain labels and to avoid misleading the consumer with any use of terms related with mountains and assist in overall mountain sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to investigate the perceptions of teachers and learners regarding the handling of solid waste at secondary schools in the Umlazi District. This study used waste management theory and following a qualitative approach, adopted a case study design to explore the perception of teachers and learners on solid waste management in the Umlazi District, Kwa-Zulu Natal. By using focus group interviews, observation, face-to-face interviews, and photovoice, data were collected from three secondary schools three teachers, teaching Life Sciences, and 18 learners in Grade 10. The findings showed that the teachers and learners were aware of concerns with solid waste and waste management practices in their schools and local environment. It also appeared that schoolteachers and learners had an acute awareness that poor waste management would harm the school environment as well as them as individuals. Furthermore, the findings revealed that there was minimal awareness of effective solid waste management practices. Good waste solid waste management practices activities were minimal in both the schools and home environment. The critical recommendation of the study is that the Department of Basic Education needs to intensify the research on proper solid waste disposal to better understand the needs of teachers and learners regarding environmental matters such as solid waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is designed to promote awareness of DCD outside the academic world. With a prevalence of 5–6% it is one of the most common disorders of child development. It is therefore surprising that so little is known about it among professionals in child healthcare and education. Parents have expressed frustration about this lack of awareness, including the general public. The general aim of this paper was to describe those critical aspects of DCD that will promote awareness.