RETHINKING PLANNING THEORY AND PRACTICE: A GLIMMER OF LIGHT FOR PROSPECTS OF INTEGRATED PLANNING TO COMBAT COMPLEX URBAN REALITIES

Throughout the past half century, there has been a growing and persisting demand towards developing more integrated approaches to planning as a way to combat the notoriously complex and chronic urban problems. Cognizant of this need, this paper, while offering justification for such a planning approach, discusses problematic aspects of current planning practice and highlights key lessons and parallels from past experiences regarding the idea of planning comprehension, rationality in planning, and the role of power and politics in plan-making and plan implementation. Drawing upon recent debates in planning theory, this paper further presents an agenda for building a new integrative approach to planning, discusses major issues that planning theorists need to address in terms of functional integration, decision-making processes in planning, and political and institutional challenges to such integrated planning approaches, and offers a series of propositions to remedy these challenges. The adaptive sustainable planning model is suggested and amply delineated as an effective overarching normative framework for the development of an integrated planning approach that provides organization to the field and guides practitioners towards realizing their role as effective decision makers. The key contribution of this paper is not its reliance on the typical notion of sustainability per se but rather its unique and thorny approach of how it ought to be used as a way of moving forward with planning and policy-making to ultimately enhance a better urbanism.integrated planning, sustainability, comprehension, rationality, power.

The role of marketing to avoid product returns in online shopping : how marketers help online consumers to make better purchase decisions and thus avoid product returns

The increasing alarm about global climate change and the related consequences on the planet and humankind has raised the voices to adopt sustainability within organisations and businesses. The wide spread of the internet and smart devices allowed many consumers to buy their needs through smart devices without the need to travel to physical stores. Online shoppers are expected to increase significantly in the coming years. The online shopping environment allows a wide range of products and provides convenience to online consumers. However, this led to a significant increase in product returns among different retail sectors, including the clothing and home electronic sectors. The high products return folds into many disadvantages to the environment, society, and economics, such as higher CO2 emissions because of the increased number of shipping trips when products are returned. The increase in the number of packages and loss of product values when a consumer returns a product also significantly impacts sustainability. The high competition in the online shopping market drive marketers to provide different services such as free and fast delivery and flexible returns policies to maintain competitive advantages and thus encourage consumers to buy their products. Moreover, the legal structure protects consumers right to return the products, which hinders marketers from strict their return policies to reduce product returns. However, reducing the high returns is still in the interest of online retailers as high returns encounter higher operating costs such as repackaging and the deprecation value of the products. Many studies have explored the importance of reducing high product returns in online shopping and mentioned the different disadvantages for companies, the environment, and society. Other studies have investigated the reasons behind the high product returns within the online shopping environment. In contrast, fewer studies have addressed solutions to overcome the problems of high product returns. Because online consumers make their purchase decisions without physical interaction with the brand or its products, online consumers need more help to ensure that their purchase decisions can fulfil their desires and needs. The author of this paper suggests that marketers can help consumers make better purchase decisions since reducing product returns fall in the company's interest. Marketers are essential actors in targeting consumers to buy products. Marketers can help to create a better fit between the consumers and the products they purchase online and thus make a better purchase decision and avoid returning the products. Therefore, this paper explores how marketers can help consumers to make better purchase decisions and thus avoid product returns. Moreover, the study investigates how digital marketing tools can help marketers reach targeted consumers and help consumers to make better purchase decisions. The paper follows a case-study research design. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with defined individuals who have worked in eCommerce and digital marketing. The paper adapts in-depth narrative analysis to interpret marketers' practices during the consumer's decision journey to help them make better purchase decisions. In conclusion, the findings show that marketers can play an essential role in helping online consumers make better purchase decisions and thus avoid returning products. To avoid products, return marketers have to target consumers who are in need or interested in their products and convey detailed and truthful information about the brand and products. Digital marketing enabled marketers to reach their targeted consumers and optimise communications with them like never been, which in turn helps consumers to make better purchase decisions and thus avoid products return

The essence of fertilization: oocyte meets sperm

The problem of reduced fertility in high yielding dairy cattle is a very complicated one, and the relationship between various measures of fertility and level of milk production remains controversial. In this brief review the essence of the problem is considered: what is the oocyte's and the sperm's contribution, and what is the importance of the resulting embryo in the declining fertility of the Holstein Friesian cow

Unveiling (Hi)stories: Colonial Dispossession in Emile Habiby’s. The Pessoptimist and Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River

This thesis examines the dynamics of dispossession in two (post) colonial novels: Al-waqai‘ al-ghariba fi ikhtifa’ Sa‘id abu al-nahs al-mutasha’il (1974) by the Palestinian novelist Emile Habiby (translated as The Secret Life of Saeed: The Ill-Fated Pessoptimist [1985] by Salma Khadra Jayussi and Trevor Le Gassick) and Crossing the River (1995) by West Indian novelist Caryl Phillips. Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of the “chronotope,” “carnivalesque,” and “polyphony” are used to show how the two texts avoid using “a rhetoric of blame” (Edward Said’s expression) as their objective. Rather, both novels provide the Other’s version of an event to supplement the mainstream narrative; ultimately creating a multifaceted text that is inclusive. As a result, they creatively expose the ideological hierarchy that perpetuates dispossession, and how it affects both the oppressor and the oppressed. This study also observes parallels shared between them such as the use of racialized discourse to perpetuate the marginalization and dispossession of one group of society. The texts refer to events that the colonizer and the colonized share to expose (hi)stories that were silenced or misrepresented in the mainstream version of events to prompt the reader to explore, uncover and suspect the history written by the victors. Bakhtin’s critical theory illuminates the narrative strategies used by the works to achieve subversion of the hegemonic discourse, introduction of multiple viewpoints, and the weaving of history with imaginative episode

Cytoanalysis of Pancreatic B-cells: Using an Avian Model, Mammalian Tissue Culture and Implications of Antisense Oligonucleotides Transfection

Calbindin-D28k (CaBP28K) is a vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein that may alter intracellular calcium ion levels, [Ca2+]i. This dissertation describes experiments done to gain an understanding of the potential role of CaBP28k in pancreatic B-cells in control of insulin secretion. The localization of CaBP28k and insulin in chicken pancreas are shown in Chapter 1. CaBP28k expression was found to be highest in ventral and dorsal lobes and lowest in splenic lobe. Insulin concentrations were distributed similarly among these lobes. Confocal microscopic studies demonstrated colocalization of insulin and CaBP28k in Bcells. These findings suggest a possible role for CaBP28k in chicken B-cells that could contribute to type 2 diabetes-like characteristics of chickens. Experiments done in Chapter 2 tested the effects of changing levels of glucose in pancreatic islets in vitro from transgenically derived CaBP28k-knockout (KO) and wildtype (WT) mice. CaBP28k-KO islets were exposed to increasing glucose concentrations from 2.8 mM to 30 mM, levels that mimic transition from fasting to hyperglycemic states. KO islets showed significantly greater elevations in [Ca2+]i as compared to WT. These experiments provide evidence that levels of CaBP28k could play a role in controlling Ca2+-mediated, glucose-induced insulin secretion in B-cells. In chapter 3 the effects of reduction of CaBP28k levels on genomic and nongenomic factors using CaBP28k-antisense oligonucleotides (AS-ON) transfection in a cultured pancreatic B-cell line (RIN1046-38 cells) are described. Complete inhibition of CaBP28k expression in transfection assays was achieved using 200 nM phosphorothioate-AS-ON (PS-AS-ON) as well as 20 nM propyne-AS-ON (PY-AS-ON). In addition, cDNA microarray analysis showed up-regulation of both vitamin D receptor (VDR) and calbindin-D9k mRNAs in PS-AS-ON-transfected RIN cells as compared to controls. Western blotting indicated VDR overexpression and calbindin-D9k expression in AS-ON-transfected cells. This study is the first demonstration of compensatory expression of calbindin-D9k in response to inhibition of CaBP28k in cultured B-cells. Insulin secretory responses of PS-AS-ON-transfected cells were greater than in controls. These findings suggest that B-cells synthesize an alternative protein, calbindin-D9k, to preserve calcium regulation when expression of CaBP28k is abolished. Additional studies are required to help in understanding possible interactions of calbindin-D9k, [Ca2+]i, and VDR in the AS-ON-transfected B-cells

Characterization of activated carbon prepared by phosphoric acid activation of olive stones

AbstractThe effects of activating agent concentration on the pore structure and surface chemistry of activated carbons derived from olive stone with chemical activation method using phosphoric acid as the activating agent were studied. Mass changes associated with the impregnation, carbonization and washing processes were measured. With H3PO4 dilute solutions (60, 70, and 80 wt% H3PO4), the loading of substance on CS increases with concentration. The concentration of the H3PO4 solution seems to control the processes of impregnation, carbonization and washing in the preparation of AC from olive stones by H3PO4 chemical activation. ACs have been characterized from the results obtained by N2 adsorption at 77K. Moreover, the fractal dimension (D) has been calculated in order to determine the AC surface roughness degree. Optimal textural properties of ACs have been obtained by chemical activation with H3PO4 80wt.%. The BET surface areas and total pore volumes of the carbons produced at H3PO4 80wt.% are 1218m2/g and 0.6cm3/g, respectively

Effect of Returning versus Discarding Gastric Aspirate on the Occurrence of Gastric Complications and Comfort Outcomes on Enteral Feeding Patients

Enteral feeding (EF) is common for patients with different medical health problems, the use of gastric residual volume (GRV) is one of the most nursing practices for monitoring EF. In the nursing literature, there is a wide variation regarding whether the gastric aspirate should be returned to the patient or discarded. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to determine the effect of returning versus discarding gastric aspirate on the occurrence of gastric complications and comfort out comeson enteral feeding patients. A sample of 44 patients completed the study divided randomly into two groups, the control group who received the routine hospital care which was discarding all gastric residual aspirate, and the study group who received returned gastric aspirate up to 250 ml, all patients were followed up for 7consecutive days. The study was conducted in two medical departments of one of the Ministryof Health Hospitals at Center region (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Four tools were applied for the study, socio-demographic and medical data sheet, gastric and associate complications with tube feeding sheet, electrolyte and glucose monitoring sheet & comfort outcomes sheet. The study results showed that there was no statistical significant difference between study and control groups in relation to gastric residual volume, feeding intolerance, aspiration pneumonia, electrolytes monitored (sodium& potassium), glucose level, temperature&blood pressure and oxygen saturation in the 1st& 7th day. In addition, the results showed that there was a statistical significant difference between study & control groups in relation to gastric emptying delay in the 7thday, the study group had less mean level than control group, moreover, there was a statistical significant difference in pulse and respiration among control group before and after feeding procedure. Based on the study results, it is recommended to return gastric aspirate up to 250 ml to the patients as it had no indicated riskforgastric and associate complications as well as comfort outcomes when compared to discard gastric aspirate. In addition, further researches can be done to measure different amounts of returning gastric aspirate and its effect on patient's outcomes. Key words: enteral feeding, gastric residual volume, gastric emptying delay, comfort outcomes, returning versus discarding gastric aspirate& gastric complications

Impact of Preventive Diabetic Foot Nursing Intervention on Foot Status among Patients with Diabetes

Background and aim: Diabetic foot is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus and many of which are preventable with early recognition and therapy. Aim: The aim of the current study was to assess impact of preventive diabetic foot nursing intervention on foot status among patients with diabetes. Methods: A quazi-experimental design was utilized to conduct the current study on a convenient sample of 67 patients who were assigned randomly to either the study group or control group. The subjects in the study group (33 patients) received the preventive diabetic foot care nursing intervention while, the subjects in the control group (34 patients) received the routine clinic care. The study was conducted at the outpatient clinic in El-Kasr El-Aini Hospital, Cairo University, Egypt. Four tools were applied for the study: Socio-demographic data sheet, Diabetic foot care knowledge test, Foot care behavior, and Lower extremity health status inventory. Results: The study results showed that both groups had low mean knowledge scores related to preventive diabetic foot care in the 1st visit, while in the 4th visit after implementation of the preventive diabetic foot care nursing intervention, the difference was statistically significant. In relation to foot care behavior, there was statistically significant difference between both groups in the 4th visit. Additionally, in relation to foot health status, there was statistically significant difference in the 3rd and 4th visits between both groups. Conclusion: The preventive diabetic foot nursing intervention was effective in improving knowledge, foot care behavior and foot health status scores among patients with diabetes. Keywords: Diabetic patient, preventive foot care, nursing intervention, foot status