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In response to the problem of insufficient attention to the risk degree of potential inundation areas in the siting of shelters for dam failure floods, a new model for evaluating the sites of shelters was proposed. On the basis of establishing the risk evaluation index system, the improved catastrophe theory evaluation method was used to evaluate the risk degree and classify the risk level of the potential inundation areas. The distance between shelters and high-risk level areas was taken as the site selection evaluation index, and the disaster risk, location scale, emergency support of shelters were considered. The weights were determined by AHP method, and the TOPSIS method was applied to evaluate the sites of shelters. Finally, 13 potential inundation areas and 10 alternative shelters downstream of Luhun Reservoir in China were used as examples for validation. The results showed that among the areas with high risk levels, Baiyuan Township was a Class I hazardous area, and Pengpo Township, Minggao Township, Chengguan Street, and Longmen Township were Class II hazardous areas. The better evaluated shelters could meet the requirements of paying attention to areas with high risk degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annali di Igiene, Medicina Preventiva e di Comunità is the property of Societa Editrice Universo s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Welfare Policies & Social Work Journal / Revista Internacional de Políticas de Bienestar y Trabajo Social is the property of Asociacion Internacional de Ciencias Sociales & Trabajo Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It is well known that giant long period comets originating from the Oort's cloud could be the most threatening celestial bodies. The warning time could indeed be very short, five years, and the kinetic energy could be sufficient for global and durable effects on Earth, killing all life forms on the surface. Humans might nevertheless be able to survive decades in underground shelters. Based on a model used to determine the minimum number of people to survive on another planet, a classification of long terms shelters is proposed, taking all needs into consideration and also the double redundancy principle. Accumulation shelters corresponds to shelters with lots of resources but a weak autonomy, and therefore a well-established limited lifetime around thirty years. Borderline shelters correspond to long term shelters with strong autonomous capacities but little margins and high risks of collapse due to misconceptions, underestimations and insufficient testing. Complete shelters correspond to ideal shelters with double redundancy for every system and also for the working capacity. Thanks to a high resilience, they could last decades, eventually saving humanity from extinction. The limits of the shelters are discussed, as well as uncertainties. Given the short warning time, it is impossible to test any shelter, and, as a consequence to avoid errors in the design of a complete shelter. The risk is indeed high that some problems are underestimated and a slow but unstoppable degradation of life conditions would lead to the death of the survivals, whatever the preparation and motivation of the survivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions are living in shelters around the world, often for decades. Architects are rarely trained in shelter design and as a result speculative designs are frequently impractical or insensitive to occupants. In addition, aid agency staff can lack engineering or architectural knowledge, so need support during shelter procurement. Evidence gathered by the authors in seven countries over three years revealed poor conditions within many shelters, including condensation, excessive temperatures, lack of privacy and poor air quality, all of which contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. To address this, the paper proposes a design assessment platform, the Shelter Assessment Matrix (SAM), covering 34 issues. SAM also includes guidance documents that allow users to upskill themselves on a range of topics. The tool was tested in three ways: (i) 11 agency staff were asked to assess the same shelter. The mean score was 45.7/100, standard deviation (SD) 2.96. The narrow SD indicated that SAM provided consistent scoring. (ii) 187 previously deployed shelters were evaluated and scored between 27 and 78. This suggests that SAM generates a range of scores, and that shelters could be improved. This evaluation also provides the first contextualised performance analysis of shelters around the world, and a repository for others to judge their designs against. (iii) Use of the platform resulted in considerable measured uplifts in building science and cultural knowledge. SAM has been made freely available online and has been used by agencies to materially improve the design of shelters for thousands of individuals in four countries.

Copyright of Ecosistemas y Recursos Agropecuarios is the property of Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Simple Summary: Procambarus clarkii is typically viewed as a predator rather than prey, due to its strong anti-predatory capabilities. However, during its juvenile stage, it remains vulnerable to predators. Nonetheless, complex outdoor habitats can offer some protection. By examining the effects of three different types of shelters with various coverages and combinations on the predation rhythm, behavior, and efficiency of Silurus asotus on juvenile Procambarus clarkii, we found that the presence and complexity of shelters in the environment have a limited impact on the predatory activities of Silurus asotus. Among the shelter types, PVC pipes offered the best protection, followed by stone, with water grass providing the least protection. Furthermore, the protective effect of shelters increased with coverage rate. Therefore, we suggest that the type and abundance of shelters significantly influence the predation rhythm and behavior of Silurus asotus on Procambarus clarkii in outdoor environments. Procambarus clarkii is adept at using natural shelters and caves to evade attacks from predators. However, the concealment abilities and mechanisms of P. clarkii for different types of shelters under predation pressure have not yet been reported. In this study, laboratory experiments were carried out to determine the effects of different coverages (25%, 50%, and 75%) and different combinations (I–VII) of three types of shelters (PVC pipes, water grass, and stone) on the predation rhythm, behavior, and abilities of Silurus asotus on P. clarkii. The results indicated that the predation of S. asotus on P. clarkii exhibited significant rhythmicity under shelter conditions, excluding PVC pipes, 75% stone, and combination VI. Among the three types of shelters, PVC pipes provided the strongest concealment, followed by stone and water grass. With the increase in shelter coverage, the anti-predation ability of P. clarkii continued to increase, and the optimal shade rate for water grass was 50%. In the different shelter combinations, the environmental complexity had little effect on the predation activity of S. asotus on P. clarkii. These findings demonstrated that the type and abundance of shelters in the wild environment can affect the predation rhythm and activities of S. asotus on P. clarkii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of transitional housing for humanitarian emergencies is an important line of research in current architecture in the world. The response to an emergency, whether due to natural causes or irregular migratory movements, begins with provisory solutions, but as it continues over time, it is necessary to design temporary solutions that can house those affected until their definitive relocation is found. These homes must be able to be implemented in a short period of time, so the most appropriate solutions are prefabricated, light and transportable homes that require minimal work on site. In this sense, a type of modular and transportable housing will be analysed, made up of elements that can be stored compactly, assembled in the factory and transported complete to the place where they are needed. At your location they can be installed quickly and with the fewest possible number of operations. Finally, at the end of their period of use, they can be transferred back to the factory to be disassembled and stored while waiting to be reused again. The article develops a housing model with these characteristics. As part of a company-university collaboration agreement, the Emsamble company has built an experimental module similar to the one proposed, which has been subjected to various tests by the authors. The results obtained are provided and a critical review of the built prototype and the proposed lines of improvement is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a critical resource in emergency response and a pivotal element in disaster prevention and risk reduction, shelters play a central role in the holistic continuum of rescue and relief efforts. However, existing research often overlooks the comprehensive assessment and enhancement of shelter resilience. This study proposes a novel safety–robustness–accessibility (SRA) model aimed at evaluating and enhancing the overall resilience of shelters in the face of disasters. Firstly, a resilience assessment system for shelters was established, leveraging multi-source data and encompassing diverse dimensions, including safety, robustness, and accessibility. Subsequently, the entropy weight method was utilized to determine the weights of the assessment indicators. The case study and comparative analysis were conducted on shelters situated in two urban areas, old and new, in Kunming City, China, namely Wuhua District and Chenggong District. The findings reveal a higher quantity of shelters in Wuhua District compared to Chenggong District; however, the overall resilience level is relatively low, predominantly categorized as "Mid-Low" grade, constituting a substantial 57.94%. Conversely, shelters in Chenggong District exhibit a relatively high resilience level, predominantly classified as "Medium" grade, accounting for 33.77%. This study furnishes valuable data references and specific strategies aimed at enhancing the resilience of urban shelters against disasters. It offers crucial insights for urban planning and management to strengthen shelter resilience, thereby contributing to the development of a more resilient and sustainable urban future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Analysis of the actual state of shelters for internally displaced and vulnerable population groups, and investigation of ways to improve the comfort and energy efficiency of shelters. Methodology. The initial survey of shelters located in different regions of Ukraine, to analyze their current state from the energy efficiency and comfort points of view, was carried out using observation and survey methods. Most shelters are part of buildings and not independent construction objects. The heat transfer resistances of enclosing structures according to DSTU 9191:2022 [1] and the energy efficiency of engineering systems according to DSTU EN 15232-1:2017 [2] were determined. Findings. Based on the survey results, proposals were made to ensure and improve comfortable and energy efficient conditions in shelters. The work also highlights aspects that require joint efforts of the authorities, public organizations and international donors to improve living conditions in shelters. Originality. Considering the lack of research on the state of shelters in Europe and actualization of these issues for Ukraine in the last two years, the analysis is both timely and relevant. It is known that the level of indoor thermal comfort has a great influence on the emotional and physical state of residents. Practical value. The issues of providing comfortable and energy efficient microclimate in shelters are equally important, especially during the heating period and massive hostile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Therefore, the conducted research has indicated the relevance of the energy efficiency problems of shelters in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters pose significant challenges to affected communities, particularly vulnerable populations such as older adults. The aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake highlighted the necessity of welfare shelters to provide essential care. However, little is known about the specific role of physical therapists in these shelters. The aim of this article is to share the experiences and contributions of physical therapists in a welfare shelter in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, immediately after the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.6, damaged 76,589 houses, injured over 1,100 people, resulting in 245 deaths. The authors comprised a multidisciplinary team, including physical therapists, that provided short-term medical support at a welfare shelter in Wajima. Through several examples, we describe the contribution of physical therapists to evacuees' health outcomes. Physical therapists played multifaceted roles in the welfare shelter, optimizing living environments, conducting physical screenings, and delivering continuous medical care, including respiratory care and exercise programs. The involvement of physical therapists in post-disaster evacuation shelters is crucial for enhancing emergency health care delivery and promoting community resilience.

The reasonable spatial allocation of shelters in key urban areas and the improvement of the evacuation efficiency are critical agendas in the field of earthquake mitigation and resilient cities. Based on the conventional shelter location model, which ignores blocked roads and has deficiencies on the computational accuracy of evacuation demands and evacuation environment, this study proposes an advanced methodology for the spatial allocation of shelters considering the blockage effect on roads under earthquakes. First, based on the elastic-plastic analysis of building groups, the damage condition of each building under different seismic intensities and the influence range of falling components on evacuation roads are determined. Second, the evacuation demands are identified with an accuracy at the building scale. Third, this study proposed the hybrid cellular automata evacuation model, which combines the merits of the microscopic evacuation and macroscopic evacuation models. The proposed model not only reflects the evacuation behavior of refugees and but also has acceptable computational efficiency. Fourth, the shelter quantity is taken as the optimization objective to complete the spatial allocation of shelters via a cyclic verification and simulations for regional evacuations. Finally, Yangbi City, Yunan Province, China is employed as a case study to prove the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports empirical outcomes of an ongoing transdisciplinary participatory community action research project that implements behavioral activation in homeless shelters. The overall goal of this Project is twofold: (1) to improve psychosocial functioning of shelter residents and enhance their opportunities to overcome homelessness; and (2) to enhance civic development of service-learning students who assist in Project implementation. Two studies are reported, representing these goals. Study 1 found that residents of a men's shelter (n = 892), women's shelter (n = 433), and transitional housing (n = 40) perceived behavioral activation sessions as immediately beneficial (i.e., important, meaningful, worthy of repeating, and enjoyable), and over the course of shelter stay, they perceived behavioral activation as contributing to their hope, empowerment/self-sufficiency, quality of life, purpose/meaning in life, wellbeing, social support, shelter social climate, and relationships with staff. Quantitative findings are supported by qualitative data (comments by residents on forms). Study 2, which replicates and extends past research on civic-development in service-learning students, used a new quasi-experimental design to compare service-learning students (n = 41) in an interdisciplinary course on homelessness versus non-service-learning students (n = 16) in a psychology course. Service-learning students showed pre- to post-semester improvements in community service self-efficacy, decreases in stigmatizing attitudes, and increases in awareness of privilege and oppression, but students not engaged in service-learning did not show these civic-related changes. These quantitative results are supported by qualitative data (written reflections by students). Results and implications are discussed within the context of the concept of psychopolitical validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with an increased prevalence of domestic violence (DV). It has been proposed that the mitigation efforts—such as lockdown, social distancing, or stay-at-home orders—simultaneously increase the risk of DV while limiting the possibilities for seeking help. In this study, we explored the effects of the pandemic on shelter services. Method: The data consist of shelter use data and regular reports from 29 shelters in Finland. In a mixed-method study, we analyzed how shelter service use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland was predicted by the stringency of government actions. Furthermore, to gain additional depth on the topic, we carried out a qualitative analysis of the common issues raised by the staff in regular shelter reports. Results: We found the stringency of government actions—as measured by the comparative composite value of the Stringency Index—to causally predict shelter use during the pandemic. The major finding of our qualitative analysis is that the pandemic has affected shelters at three levels: victim, professional, and organization. Conclusion: As shelter reports indicate, the pandemic affected clients depending on how they perceive the pandemic, receive help, and the changes in their everyday lives at the shelter. At the professional level, COVID-19 affected the practices and content of work with clients, as well as the personal experience and well-being of staff. At the organizational level, there was a need to reconsider the preparedness and organization of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundCOVID-19 outbreaks have occurred in homeless shelters across the US, highlighting an urgent need to identify the most effective infection control strategy to prevent future outbreaks.MethodsWe developed a microsimulation model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a homeless shelter and calibrated it to data from cross-sectional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) surveys conducted during COVID-19 outbreaks in five homeless shelters in three US cities from March 28 to April 10, 2020. We estimated the probability of averting a COVID-19 outbreak when an exposed individual is introduced into a representative homeless shelter of 250 residents and 50 staff over 30 days under different infection control strategies, including daily symptom-based screening, twice-weekly PCR testing, and universal mask wearing.ResultsThe proportion of PCR-positive residents and staff at the shelters with observed outbreaks ranged from 2.6 to 51.6%, which translated to the basic reproduction number (R0) estimates of 2.9-6.2. With moderate community incidence (~ 30 confirmed cases/1,000,000 people/day), the estimated probabilities of averting an outbreak in a low-risk (R0 = 1.5), moderate-risk (R0 = 2.9), and high-risk (R0 = 6.2) shelter were respectively 0.35, 0.13, and 0.04 for daily symptom-based screening; 0.53, 0.20, and 0.09 for twice-weekly PCR testing; 0.62, 0.27, and 0.08 for universal masking; and 0.74, 0.42, and 0.19 for these strategies in combination. The probability of averting an outbreak diminished with higher transmissibility (R0) within the simulated shelter and increasing incidence in the local community.ConclusionsIn high-risk homeless shelter environments and locations with high community incidence of COVID-19, even intensive infection control strategies (incorporating daily symptom screening, frequent PCR testing, and universal mask wearing) are unlikely to prevent outbreaks, suggesting a need for non-congregate housing arrangements for people experiencing homelessness. In lower-risk environments, combined interventions should be employed to reduce outbreak risk.

Procambarus clarkii is adept at using natural shelters and caves to evade attacks from predators. However, the concealment abilities and mechanisms of P. clarkii for different types of shelters under predation pressure have not yet been reported. In this study, laboratory experiments were carried out to determine the effects of different coverages (25%, 50%, and 75%) and different combinations (I–VII) of three types of shelters (PVC pipes, water grass, and stone) on the predation rhythm, behavior, and abilities of Silurus asotus on P. clarkii. The results indicated that the predation of S. asotus on P. clarkii exhibited significant rhythmicity under shelter conditions, excluding PVC pipes, 75% stone, and combination VI. Among the three types of shelters, PVC pipes provided the strongest concealment, followed by stone and water grass. With the increase in shelter coverage, the anti-predation ability of P. clarkii continued to increase, and the optimal shade rate for water grass was 50%. In the different shelter combinations, the environmental complexity had little effect on the predation activity of S. asotus on P. clarkii. These findings demonstrated that the type and abundance of shelters in the wild environment can affect the predation rhythm and activities of S. asotus on P. clarkii.

This study explored results from a nationwide survey conducted with homeless youth shelter directors. The research sought to further the understanding of how policy and societal changes about gender affirming access to services have affected service delivery and accommodations at homeless youth shelters for transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) youth. Results from (n = 117) youth shelters indicate the majority of those surveyed are current in implementing many of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gender affirming policies. Among others, recommendations include a need for shelters to incorporate TGNC safety accommodations, and to update dress code policies from a universal design perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing severity and frequency of disasters have posed major challenges for people. Amongst, the risks of fatalities and injuries of People With Disabilities (PWDs) have significantly increased. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) initiated a movement to create a "disability-accessible and inclusive environment", which highlighted the problems PWDs faced during disasters. One of the most important issues is to provide evacuation and accommodation according to the special needs of PWDs. In this study, a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model is proposed to pick up PWDs from different locations and transfer them to shelters. Throughout this research, diverse disabilities, heterogonous vehicles, compatibility types of disabilities and vehicles, multidepot, and adept and amateur operators are considered to help evacuate PWDs. Also, 27 problems are solved to examine the efficacy of µ + 1) Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) in the case of large-scale problems. Subsequently, a real case study with 500 nodes (including pick-up, shelter, and depot nodes) is analyzed. The computational results illustrate that by adding small-sized (car) and medium-sized (van) vehicles to the current fleet, the time for tours traveled significantly is reduced. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to prepare some managerial implications for crisis managers during the occurrence of disasters to help PWDs during evacuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Legal Studies ( IJOLS ) is the property of International Institute of Innovation Science-Education-Development in Warsaw and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Problem: The use of drugs by street children and adolescents is a problem found in most large cities around the world. Methods: This is a cross‐sectional study of street children and adolescents living in shelters in the Federal District, Brazil. An objective questionnaire was applied to 84 individuals from September 2016 to October 2017; 14 of them participated in the qualitative study. Findings: Most participants were adolescents (84.5%) and males (64.3%), with a history of abandonment, domestic violence, and family drug abuse. All spent some time on the street; boys had a higher chance of being behind the school level and using drugs than girls. Over 60% had used drugs in the previous year, mainly alcohol and marijuana. Over 70% understand the health consequences of this behavior, but most have never tried or failed to stop. About 40% consider themselves dependent on drugs. Conclusions: The results showed that street‐life experience, peer pressure, and exposure to drugs within the family had an important impact on respondent's drug use behavior, reinforcing the importance of education programs that focus on the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the influence of local urban elites on urban planning is well established in urban studies and geography, the ways in which business and property owners take part in the management of homelessness has received far less attention. This article focuses on Portland (OR) in the United States as a means of understanding the motivations that underlie the role of the private sector and its impact on public policies. To this end, I focus on the support by Portland's downtown Business Improvement District of homeless outreach programs, and on the funding of two homeless shelters by business elites / philanthropists. I argue that although public authorities have different views on the actions to be taken to end homelessness, business elites often manage to bring initially-reluctant public authorities to support their projects in what might be termed a forced-march cooperation. I also highlight the versatility of the private sector and business elites' participation in homelessness management, given that the outreach programs they support and the homeless facilities they fund provide services for the homeless while simultaneously removing them from visible public space. In this sense, the involvement of business and property owners is also a way for them to protect their own interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical environment of a shelter for homeless families may be a stressful place for parents. Exposure to natural environments might help to improve parental wellbeing. This study tested the impact of personalized exposure to a natural environment on wellbeing of parents residing in shelters. Single-case experiments with three families involved repeated and randomized exposure to the indoor environment of the shelter (baseline phases) and to a natural environment (intervention phases). During exposure, basic psychological need fulfillment in parenting as well as parents' overall affective state and satisfaction with life were assessed. Exposure to nature significantly increased basic psychological need fulfillment of parents but did not significantly improve affective state nor satisfaction with life. To contribute to parents' functioning and resilience, professionals may invite families for nature exposure for the support of parents' basic psychological need fulfillment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this article is the analysis of the role of veterinarians in ensuring welfare in shelters for homeless animals from the law and ethics point of view. The position of veterinarians working in shelters and the Veterinary Inspection is complex and difficult. Briefly speaking, there is a huge emotional potential for positive treatment of abandoned dogs and cats but on the other hand there is real and serious problem of growing population/number of stray animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What can be the contribution of oral history to the interpretation of tangible cultural assets? Starting from this conceptual question, this article focuses on the case study of the experiences Second World War in Naples bomb shelters, recently included within the Underground Built Heritage (UBH) class. The hypothesis of the research is that bomb shelters are very significant elements in the subsoil of Naples but that, due to the lack of distinctive elements and dedicated storytelling, they are only partially exploited in the context of urban parks or generic itineraries Naples's subsoil. The thesis of the research is that the memories of those children that took refuge there during World War II (WWII), which were collected with the adoption of the oral history methodology, can integrate their value as elements of local cultural heritage and eventually support their interpretation for the benefit of the new generations. The methodology adopted was the collection, via structured and unstructured interviews, of the direct testimonies of those who took refuge in Naples' underground during the alarms. Twenty-three interviews were carried out, and all the issues introduced have been classified according to the various themes addressed during the narration in order to allow the reconstruction of dedicated storytelling in the future. The research was carried out immediately after the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, an event that claimed many victims belonging to the generation of our witnesses, whose memories were at risk of being lost forever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shelters for battered women are important in combating abuse against women. The present study focused on changes described by abused Arab women after living in shelters with Jewish abused women in Israel. The qualitative research method was based on 15 interviews with Muslim women aged 23–44. Three themes emerged. 1) Independence focuses on the empowering role of encounters with Jewish women, facilitating resistance of the patriarchal relationships with their families of origin. 2) A change in perception of motherhood, focuses on the shift in childrearing practices, from the patriarchal-cultural approach to honoring children's individuality. 3) Change in social perception, focuses on the shift from patriarchal obedience to wielding the right for self-expression. The present study contribution is in broadening the understanding the empowering potential of women's intercultural encounters, they can assist those women in transforming personal, gender, and cultural worldviews in their struggle to be free from violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Violence against women (VAW) is a major public health problem that grew worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. While all services were impacted by changing pandemic guidance, VAW shelters, as congregate settings with multiple funders and regulators, faced unique challenges. Methods We conducted a qualitative analysis of interviews with 26 women’s shelter staff and eight women accessing care, as well as 10 focus groups (five each at two time points approximately a year apart) involving 24 leaders from VAW and related services in Ontario, Canada. Results We identified eight overlapping themes specific to government and public health COVID-19 regulations and their application in women’s shelters. Overall, inconsistency or lack of clarity in rules, and how they were communicated, caused significant stress for women using, and staff providing, services. Staff and leaders were very concerned about rules that isolated women or replicated other aspects of abusive relationships. Women wanted to understand what options were available and what was expected of them and their children in these spaces. Leaders sought clarity and consistency from their various government funders, and from public health authorities, in the face of ever-evolving directives. As in the broader public, there was often the perception that the rules did not apply equally to everyone, for example, for women of colour using VAW services, or those whose first language was not English. Conclusions In the absence of consistent pandemic guidance and how to implement it, many VAW services devised tailored solutions to balance safety from COVID-19 with women’s physical and emotional safety from abuse and its impacts. However, this was difficult and exhausting. A key policy implication is that women’s shelters are a distinct form of congregate housing; they are very different in terms of services provided, size, type and age of facilities from other congregate settings and this must be reflected in public health directives. Better communication and synchronization of policies among government funders and public health authorities, in consultation with VAW sector leaders, would mean protocols tailored to minimize harm to women and children while protecting health and safety.

Nonprofits are key social service providers in many Western welfare states. Yet the nonprofits that deliver government-funded public services are also an important part of civil society and, in theory, promote democratic inclusion through their democratic civil society function. But to what extent do welfare-providing nonprofits carry out democracy-promoting activities in reality and what do these activities include? Using a survey distributed to Canadian charities that operate government-funded homeless shelters, we find evidence of activities falling within three areas of democracy promotion: support for political participation, internal democratic governance, and representative voice. The variation amongst different activities is presented in ideal types, which can inform future studies of the democratic function of nonprofits. Our empirical results point to a vital role of homeless shelters that extends beyond the provision of basic needs and contribute to a better understanding of the modalities of democratic inclusion for excluded populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic violence occurs with far too much frequency, with an average of 24 people per minute being victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States (The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, n.d.). Domestic violence shelters are typically 501c3 nonprofits which provide services to victims fleeing violence. This paper explores how shelters within the state of Arkansas have exhibited resiliency over the course of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the 40% cuts required due to changes in the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), the primary source of funding for most shelters. Our findings reveal varied abilities to respond to these co-occurring stressors and found that contracting COVID-19, fears about closing, concerns over victims, and especially funding, weighed heavily on the minds of shelter staff. We also found that shelter staff who stayed were resilient, fully invested in their organizations and the clients they serve, and looking onward to the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the framework of stock enhancement, field experiments were conducted between March and July 2021 in rocky shores of Central Portugal to test the usefulness of refuges and calcein marking for juvenile sea urchins releases. Individuals with 10–20 mm in test diameter were captured in nature and tagged through immersion in a calcein bath with a concentration of 150 mg L−1, during 48 hr. Artificial shelters were used to provide refuge and an acclimatization structure for the released sea urchins, and in situ monitoring was carried out by counting the marked specimens over three months. Results point out to the importance of using shelters to provide protection to sea urchins, and validated the efficiency of the calcein tagging protocol for in situ monitoring. Sea urchins' test diameter growth during the experiment was estimated to be 0.470 mm month−1 (SD = 0.181). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

the description of the current era as the age of digitization, in addition to the fact that all ethical charters emphasize the importance of adhering to programs and practices that have been proven to be virtually correct, as the provision of any programs or practices for orphans that are ineffective or have not been verified is an unethical act that leads to errors. The results of several previous studies and research have shown the poor level of satisfaction of orphans with the institutional shelter care provided to them. Where the study aimed to Enhance self-confidence and raise the degree of belonging to the resident by involving him in the planning and implementation of everything related to the affairs of the house. The results of the study indicated that Social homes are the latest and most important manifestation of the community's endorsement of the social protection of orphans in Saudi society under the privatization program and attention to the non-profit sector. Attention to team work in social homes, and the functional staff of social homes has been determined in accordance with Article XIII of the executive rules of the Basic Regulation of Social Houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Inzynieria Mineralna is the property of Polskie Towarzystwo Przerobki Kopalin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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The rising rate of unsheltered homelessness is a troubling and important public health issue. This narrative review sought to answer the question: What are the reasons that homeless individuals report for being unsheltered? To identify studies, systematic search methods were applied to PubMed, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO databases using the following eligibility criteria: English-written, peer-reviewed studies published from 2000 to 2023 that reported qualitative or quantitative data related to reasons why homeless individuals in a Western country were unsheltered. After duplicates were removed, 14,690 studies were screened and filtered to 10 final studies that fit all eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Eight of the 10 studies reported qualitative data from interviews and focus groups; the two quantitative studies reported data from interviewer-administered surveys. Across studies, eight thematic categories were identified as barriers to staying in shelters or other sheltered locations: lack of safety, triggers for substance use, strict shelter rules, triggers for substance use, perceived inadequate care, unsanitary conditions, required treatment to participate in housing program, no pet or family accommodations, and lack of accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Together, these findings indicate the delicate balance needed in homeless shelters to have both an inclusive/permissive and structured/safe environment for homeless individuals. Attention to the design and operation of homeless shelters, as well as staff training and accommodation for clients with special needs may improve some of these issues. • Ten studies have examined reasons why homeless individuals were unsheltered. • Safety, substance use, and strict rules were barriers to use of shelters. • Perceived inadequate care and unsanitary conditions were also barriers. • Lack of accommodations for special needs deterred use of shelters. • Shelter environments need to be both welcoming and monitoring of clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively few studies have addressed the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on IPV shelters and their staff. In this study, we conducted interviews with IPV shelter staff to examine 1) how shelters changed their work during the pandemic; 2) how staff described the occurrence of and response to vicarious trauma; and 3) what staff learned from their experience with the pandemic crisis. Three main themes emerged from the data. They include the following: 1) changes in organisational working conditions during the pandemic; 2) emotional challenges; and 3) positive effects of the pandemic. As in other countries, the pandemic in Croatia brought numerous challenges but also opportunities. Shelter staff demonstrated their strengths and commitment to supporting IPV victims during the pandemic. Their experiences should be used to develop an effective response to future crises.

Simple Summary: This study evaluated a commercial point-of-care (PoC) feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) test kit (RapidSTATUS™ FIV) for its accuracy in determining the FIV status of FIV-vaccinated and FIV-unvaccinated pet cats in Australia. In countries where FIV vaccination is used, veterinarians need a PoC kit that will produce a negative result for a FIV-uninfected cat, even if the cat is FIV-vaccinated or the FIV vaccination history is unknown, since incorrect diagnoses can impact negatively on the welfare of cats. FIV PoC kits also need to produce positive results in FIV-infected cats to help with appropriate management and to enable strategies to be implemented to prevent other cats from becoming FIV-infected. Results presented here show RapidSTATUS™ FIV to be highly accurate (98.8−100%) in a range of FIV-vaccinated and FIV-unvaccinated scenarios. Therefore, Australian veterinarians can reliably use RapidSTATUS™ FIV to rapidly and accurately determine the FIV status of all cats. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a retrovirus that can cause immunosuppression, co-morbidities, and neoplasia in infected cats, and is commonly tested for in veterinary clinics and animal shelters in Australia. FIV diagnosis using point-of-care (PoC) kits to detect FIV antibodies in Australia is complicated by the commercial availability of an inactivated whole-FIV vaccine. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of the RapidSTATUS™ FIV antibody test kit in FIV-vaccinated and FIV-unvaccinated cats in Australia. Plasma from pet cats of known FIV vaccination and FIV infection statuses (n = 361), comprised of 57 FIV-uninfected cats annually vaccinated against FIV, 10 FIV-uninfected cats with lapsed FIV vaccination histories, 259 FIV-unvaccinated/FIV-uninfected cats, and 35 FIV-infected cats, was tested. RapidSTATUS™ FIV testing had sensitivity of 97.1% (34/35) and specificity of 100% (326/326), with an overall accuracy of 99.7% (360/361). Additional testing was undertaken using plasma from FIV-uninfected cats recently administered a primary FIV vaccination course (n = 12) or an annual booster FIV vaccination (n = 10). RapidSTATUS™ FIV was 98.8% (81/82) accurate and 100% (32/32) accurate in cats recently administered primary or annual FIV vaccinations, respectively. The high level of accuracy of RapidSTATUS™ FIV (98.8–100%) therefore establishes this PoC kit as a DIVA (differentiating infected from vaccinated animals) test. RapidSTATUS™ FIV is recommended to aid animal shelters, veterinarians, and researchers in Australia to accurately determine FIV infection status, irrespective of FIV vaccination history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Current knowledge about the dogs in care and their adoption needs provides shelters with the information to promote and match dogs more successfully with potential adopters. The analyses reported here provide up-to-date insights about the dogs adopted from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Queensland (RSPCA Queensland) and risk factors that influenced their risk of readmission. For the dogs adopted, age and body weight at adoption, days in foster before adoption, and colour and breed are all independently associated with the risk of readmission to RSPCA Queensland. Not all dog adoptions are successful. This two-year retrospective study used survival (i.e., time-to-event) analyses to investigate readmissions for dogs adopted from RSPCA Queensland shelters between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2020. A better understanding of temporal patterns and risk factors associated with readmission may help RSPCA Queensland shelters better target and tailor resources to improve retention by adopters. The failure function (the cumulative percentage of adoptions that were readmitted by day of the adoption period) increased rapidly during the first 14 days of the adoption period. Approximately two-thirds of all returns occurred in this period. This readmission rate may have been influenced by the RSPCA Queensland adoption-fee refund policy. The cumulative percentage of adoptions that were readmitted plateaued at just under 15%. Dog size, age, coat colour, breed, and spending time in foster before adoption were factors associated with the risk of readmission. Failure functions for a low and a high-risk adoption example demonstrated the large degree of difference in hazard of readmission between covariate patterns, with estimated percentages of adoptions being returned by 90 days for those examples being 2% and 17%, respectively. Spending time in foster care before adoption appears to be protective against readmission, presumably because it supports a successful transition to the new home environment. Behaviour support and training provided for dogs during foster care may contribute to improve their outcomes. These findings highlight the profile of the higher-risk dogs potentially providing shelters with an opportunity to examine where and how resources could be allocated to maximize outcomes for the overall cohort. Population attributable 90-day failure estimates were calculated for each of bodyweight and age at adoption, coat colour, spending time in foster care before adoption, and breed. This calculation shows the expected reduction in the cumulative percentage of dogs readmitted by day 90 if the hazards of readmission for higher risk categories were reduced to those of a lower risk category. Expected reductions for individual factors ranged from 1.8% to 3.6% with one additional estimate of 6.8%. Risk of readmission could be reduced through increased development of foster capacity and capability, targeted interventions, improved adopter-dog matching processes, and more effective targeting of support for higher risk dogs, such as older or larger dogs. Population impact analyses provide a macro view that could assist shelters in strategically assessing the return on investment for various strategies aiming to improve adoption outcomes and potentially reduce readmissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shelter availability is one of the key features governing crayfish habitat quality. It can directly influence crayfish's individual survival of by lowering the risk of predation, but the ecosystem-wide impacts of sheltering on water quality are largely unknown. To test the effects of shelter availability for Procambarus clarkii in clear-water macrophyte-dominated lakes, we performed a 24-day mesocosm experiment in 20 tanks (4 with one crayfish with and without shelters, 4 with two crayfish with and without shelters and 4 controls). The bottom of each tank was almost completely covered by the eelgrass Vallisneria denseserrulata. Compared with the treatments with shelters, more broken leaves occurred in the treatments without shelters at both crayfish densities at equivalent crayfish numbers, and total phosphorus was higher in the treatments without shelters. Total suspended solids and total nitrogen concentrations were higher in the treatments with two crayfish without shelters than in those with shelters, whilst these variables did not differ between treatments in the mesocosms with one crayfish only. Our results suggest that shelter availability reduces the activity of crayfish (e.g. movement and burrowing) and agonistic behaviour, thereby decreasing the negative effect of the invasive P. clarkii on water quality in V. denseserrulata-dominated clear-water lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desmodus rotundus bats show a complex social structure and developed adaptive characteristics, considered key features of a pathogen disseminator, such as the rabies virus, among bats and other mammals, including cattle and humans. Our aim was to understand the correlation between the environment and the ecological features of these bats in bovine rabies outbreaks. Geostatistical analyses were performed, covering 104 cattle positives for rabies, between 2016 and 2018, in 25 municipalities, in addition to the characteristics of D. rotundus colonies mapped during this period in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Data from the shelters showed that 86.15% were artificial, mainly abandoned houses (36.10%) and manholes (23.87%), in addition to demonstrating a correlation between these shelters and a higher concentration of bovine rabies cases. Due to their adaptive capacity, these bats choose shelters close to the food source, such as livestock. In Brazil, D. rotundus is the main transmitter of rabies and the cause of outbreaks in cattle and deaths in humans, considering the advance of humans in previously preserved ecosystems. There seems to be a correlation between the impact of anthropic changes on the environment, mainly for the expansion of pasture for cattle and the outbreaks of bovine rabies in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Residents and staff of emergency shelters for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) are at high risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The importance of shelter-related transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in this population remains unclear. It is also unknown whether there is significant spread of shelter-related viruses into surrounding communities.Methods: We analyzed genome sequence data for 28 SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens collected from 8 shelters in King County, Washington between March and October, 2020.Results: We identified at least 12 separate SARS-CoV-2 introduction events into these 8 shelters and estimated that 57% (16 of 28) of the examined cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were the result of intrashelter transmission. However, we identified just a few SARS-CoV-2 specimens from Washington that were possible descendants of shelter viruses.Conclusions: Our data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 spread in shelters is common, but we did not observe evidence of widespread transmission of shelter-related viruses into the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]