Towards a comprehensive framework for the design and implementation of agile Mobile Health Units in humanitarian crises: A case study in Northwestern Syria

This study explored the utility of the learner autonomy concept in the Zimbabwean O Level English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom focusing on three Gweru urban high schools of the Midlands Province. The researchers intended to establish whether learner autonomy was a reality or just a myth in Zimbabwean classrooms. A qualitative multiple case study design was applied focusing on teaching strategies, availability of resources, challenges faced and ways of optimising it. Questionnaires and document analysis were used for data collection. The findings revealed that the concept did not manifest in explicit terms, the learners did not participate in decision making, and the teachers were not adequately prepared to administer autonomous processes with students. For it to be a reality, the Education Ministry is recommended to establish a comprehensive framework of how autonomous learning should be implemented. Teacher training should explicitly focus on how to develop autonomous learners. Teachers ought to be flexible enough to accommodate learners' contributions towards their learning.

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come_NET

10.1093/oso/9780198733249.003.0013 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Konstantin Aal ◽

Anne Weibert ◽

Kai Schubert ◽

Mary-Ann Sprenger ◽

Thomas Von Rekowski

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Design Process ◽

Participatory Design ◽

Controlled Environment ◽

Design And Implementation ◽

Neighborhood Contexts ◽

Study Results ◽

Computer Club ◽

Close Cooperation

The case study presented in this chapter discusses the design and implementation of an online platform, “come_NET,” in the context of intercultural computer clubs in Germany. This tool was built in close cooperation with the children and adult computer club participants. It was designed to foster the sharing of ideas and experiences across distances, support collaboration, and make skills and expertise accessible to others in the local neighborhood contexts. In particular, the participatory-design process involving the children in the computer clubs fostered a profound understanding of the platform structure and functionalities. The study results show how younger children in particular were able to benefit, as the closed nature of the platform enabled them to gather experience as users of social media, but in a safe and controlled environment.

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A Comprehensive Framework for Standardising System Boundary Definition in Life Cycle Energy Assessments

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings11060230 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 230

Author(s):

Hossein Omrany ◽

Veronica Soebarto ◽

Jian Zuo ◽

Ruidong Chang

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Use ◽

Embodied Energy ◽

Building Energy Efficiency ◽

System Boundary ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Energy Assessment ◽

Boundary Definition ◽

Comprehensive Framework

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for a clear description of system boundary conditions in life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) analysis in order to promote the incorporation of embodied energy impacts into building energy-efficiency regulations (BEERs). The proposed framework was developed based on an extensive review of 66 studies representing 243 case studies in over 15 countries. The framework consists of six distinctive dimensions, i.e., temporal, physical, methodological, hypothetical, spatial, and functional. These dimensions encapsulate 15 components collectively. The proposed framework possesses two key characteristics; first, its application facilitates defining the conditions of a system boundary within a transparent context. This consequently leads to increasing reliability of obtained LCEA results for decision-making purposes since any particular conditions (e.g., truncation or assumption) considered in establishing the boundaries of a system under study can be revealed. Second, the use of a framework can also provide a meaningful basis for cross comparing cases within a global context. This characteristic can further result in identifying best practices for the design of buildings with low life cycle energy use performance. Furthermore, this paper applies the proposed framework to analyse the LCEA performance of a case study in Adelaide, Australia. Thereafter, the framework is utilised to cross compare the achieved LCEA results with a case study retrieved from literature in order to demonstrate the framework’s capacity for cross comparison. The results indicate the capability of the framework for maintaining transparency in establishing a system boundary in an LCEA analysis, as well as a standardised basis for cross comparing cases. This study also offers recommendations for policy makers in the building sector to incorporate embodied energy into BEERs.

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Design and implementation of IoT based environment pollution monitoring system: A case study of Iraq

IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering ◽

10.1088/1757-899x/1105/1/012037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1105 (1) ◽

pp. 012037

Author(s):

Taha E Al-jarakh ◽

Osama A Hussein ◽

Alaa K Al-azzawi ◽

Mahmood F Mosleh

Keyword(s):

Monitoring System ◽

Pollution Monitoring ◽

Environment Pollution ◽

Design And Implementation ◽

System A

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Determinants of urban sprawl in Latin America: evidence from Santiago de Chile

SN Social Sciences ◽

10.1007/s43545-021-00197-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (8) ◽

Author(s):

Cristian Silva ◽

Francisco Vergara-Perucich

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Urban Sprawl ◽

Capital City ◽

Design And Implementation ◽

Policy Context ◽

Santiago De Chile ◽

City Regions ◽

Policy Frameworks ◽

Social And Environmental Impacts

AbstractUrban sprawl has been widely discussed in regard of its economic, political, social and environmental impacts. Consequently, several planning policies have been placed to stop—or at least restrain—sprawling development. However, most of these policies have not been successful at all as anti-sprawl policies partially address only a few determinants of a multifaceted phenomenon. This includes processes of extended suburbanisation, peri-urbanisation and transformation of fringe/belt areas of city-regions. Using as a case study the capital city of Chile—Santiago—thirteen determinants of urban sprawl are identified as interlinked at the point of defining Santiago's sprawling geography as a distinctive space that deserves planning and policy approaches in its own right. Unpacking these determinants and the policy context within which they operate is important to better inform the design and implementation of more comprehensive policy frameworks to manage urban sprawl and its impacts.

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Erosion of Civilian Control in Democracies: A Comprehensive Framework for Comparative Analysis

Comparative Political Studies ◽

10.1177/0010414021989757 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 001041402198975

Author(s):

Polina Beliakova

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Civilian Control ◽

Intrastate Conflict ◽

Civil Military Relations ◽

Large N ◽

Military Relations ◽

Comprehensive Framework ◽

The Military ◽

New Framework

Civilian control of the military is a fundamental attribute of democracy. While democracies are less coup-prone, studies treating civilian control as a dependent variable mostly focus on coups. In this paper, I argue that the factors predicting coups in autocracies, weaken civilian control of the military in democracies in different ways. To capture this difference, I advance a new comprehensive framework that includes the erosion of civilian control by competition, insubordination, and deference. I test the argument under conditions of an intrastate conflict—a conducive environment for the erosion of civilian control. A large-N analysis confirms that while intrastate conflict does not lead to coups in democracies, it increases the military’s involvement in government, pointing to alternative forms of erosion taking place. Further case study—Russia’s First Chechen War—demonstrates the causal logic behind the new framework, contributing to the nuanced comparative analysis of civil-military relations across regimes.

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