‘Re-voicing: Community choir participation as a medium for identity formation amongst people with learning disabilities’

This article examines findings from ethnographic research with the ReVoice choir project in North-West England. ReVoice was a community choir that consisted of members from two charitable organizations and the author of this article. A number of ReVoice’s members were adults with learning disabilities and part of the choir’s remit was to produce music that would feature in a film about hate crime perpetuated against people with disabilities. In the light of debates regarding the politics of identity for people with disabilities, this article illustrates how the formation of the choir, the rehearsal process and the choir performances constituted a distinctive cultural context that afforded people significant opportunities to develop an alternative, empowered sense of self in concert with others

Assessing the validity of western measurement of online risks to children in an Asian context

Before the advent of the Internet, television with limited channels was the only media choice that most children were exposed to, and took place under family supervision. Children’s television viewing was controllable and the risks were limited to watching sexual and violent content. Nowadays, children are surrounded by a variety of digital media and are exposed to many different risks, many of which are still unknown and under-researched. For many children, the Internet is fully integrated into their daily lives, along with the potential risks. The present study aimed to (i) describe the level of risks children are exposed to, and (2) test the measurement validity of a total of 45 items assessing nine scales online risky behavior in children were adapted from studies carried out in Europe and the United States. The study comprised 420 school going children aged 9, 11, 13, 14, and 16 studying in Malaysia. Descriptive analyses showed that children were more exposed to ‘unwanted exposure to pornography’ and less to ‘conduct risk’. Boys and older children were more exposed to the risks compared to girls and younger children. The study validated five dimensions (inappropriate materials, sexting, contact-related risks on, risky online sexual behavior, and bullying/being bullied) assessing children’s online risky behavior by using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Further research is needed to investigate the measurement of children’s online risk, since the scales developed in Europe and the United States are not wholly suitable to an Asian context

Determination of Nutritive Values of Garden Cress (Lepidium sativum L.) Leaves

The focus of this study was to investigate the nutritional values of Lepidium sativum leaves, a vegetable commonly consumed by the people of North-Western Nigeria. Sample of L. sativum leaves were collected from different farm lands at More town, Kware Local Government Area of Sokoto State. The leaves were dried then subjected to proximate, amino acids, minerals and antinutritional analyses. The results of proximate analysis indicate that the leaves had high crude protein (18.25%), crude fibre (9.31%) and ash (15.38%). The minera ls assay showed that the leaves are particularly high in potassium (1850.00 mg/100g), calcium (829.13 mg/100g), magnesium (160.60 mg/100g), sodium (141.13 mg/100g) and iron (63.47 mg/100g) with low level of phosphorus (4.10 mg/100g), manganese (5.74 mg/100g), copper (0.39 mg/100g) and chromium (0.36 mg/100g). The amino acid profile revealed that the leaf protein is generally low in lysine, sulphur containing amino acids (methionine and cystein), and threonine. Lysine was the most limiting amino acid in the leaves. In terms of antinutritional factors, the leaves had low concentrations of phytate (10.95 mg/100g), nitrate (0.05 mg/100g) and HCN (31.54mg/100g) with moderate amount of oxalate (337.50 mg/100g). Based on these nutrient contents, the leafy vegetable will have potential benefits as part of feeding programmes, as well as their promotion as part of composite die.Key words: Lepidium sativum, proximate analysis, amino acid, minerals, and antinutrients

Corporate governance: on the crossroads of meta-regulation and social responsibility

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss incongruities in the corporate entity over the matter of agency. In lieu of the traditional notion of moral agency theory, the stakeholder model offers congruent grounding to corporate governance. Socially irresponsible or unethical corporate activities are perceived to increase expenses, diminish shareholder value and tarnish business reputations. In contrast, socially responsible corporate practices contribute to positive attitudes to the company and contribute to the creation of competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach: This paper follows the ongoing evolution of the regulatory changes instituted after the scandalous corporate fiascos of the present century, such as those of Enron and WorldCom in the USA, Polly Peck in the UK, HIH Insurance and One.Tel in Australia, and Siemens in Germany, inter alia. The exposition also touches on the regulatory metamorphosis of corporate governance in its convergence towards “meta-regulation” with corporate social responsibility at the core. Findings: While meta-regulation has so far worked in many countries, caution is expressed over the perils of over-reliance on a meta-regulatory approach. Industries or market sectors should also attempt to operate from the start within the confines of self-regulation and government regulation. Market sectors and industries need to find the framework of regulation that is best suited to their operations. Originality/value: The paper concludes by discussing the observed challenges and implications of such convergence, as well as future directions for law practitioners, academics and researchers in the realm of corporate conduct

Effect of cybercrime laws on protecting citizens and businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which cybercrime laws protect citizens and businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Pertinent questions over the lax regulatory environment and incomprehensible cybersecurity policies have influenced the discussions. Design/methodology/approach: This paper will first offer a global outlook of cybersecurity laws and legislation. The global outlook will present the basis for examining best practices that the UAE could emulate. The paper will then examine the legislative landscape of cyber laws in the UAE, including cross-country comparisons. The comparisons are critical, as the country’s cybercrime laws are in their infancy phase. Findings: The UAE has taken decisive and proactive measures to deter the threat of cybercrimes and cyberattacks. The UAE strategy comprehensive strategy has been effective in protecting the economy and populations from the adverse effects of cybercrimes. The success lies in the enactment of comprehensive and streamlines laws and regulations with harsher penalties. The stringent legal measures, including longer jail terms, stiffer fines and deportation of foreigners, have ensured robust deterrence to cybercriminals. Originality/value: The analysis has shown that the UAE has a higher score of preparedness against cybercrimes and cyberattacks. The UAE has specifically crafted a broader and effective legislative framework of cybercrime laws. Although the UAE has comprehensive cybercrime laws, the remarkable level of technological advances in the country makes citizens and businesses lucrative targets. The UAE now has the burden of doubling down its legal efforts to deter emerging cybersecurity risks

The implications of the Brexit from EU and bitcoin

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to tackle the most pressing issues confronting global anti-money laundering (AML) efforts, particularly, the implications of the Brexit from EU and the increasing association of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies with crimes. Design/methodology/approach: This paper will evaluate the implications of Brexit to AML efforts and the threat that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin pose to the financial system. Findings: Instead of banning trade and other transactions using BTC and other cryptocurrencies, financial experts, with the able assistance of IT and mining experts, from all over the world need to convene and tailor an effective regulatory framework. Solid cooperation among the international community, supported by unitary standards and procedures, will help boost the worlds AML/combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) efforts. As an added bonus, effective regulation, monitoring and control can facilitate more efficient tax collection. Originality/value: Recommendations were advanced about the future of AML/CFT efforts and the need for internationally holistic approaches in combatting these twin scourges on all economies

Nutritional value OF Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) Seeds

Whole seeds, dehulled seeds and seed coats of bottle gourd seed (Lagenaria siceraria) were analysed for their proximate, amino acids and mineral compositions. The results of the analysis showed that, whole seed has highest content of moisture (17.5  0.21%) and ash (5.80  0.83%) while dehulled had highest amount of crude protein (35.0  0.48%) and crude lipid (39.22  1.48%) and seed coat contain highest amount of crude fiber (59.05  0.98%). The study showed a profile of seventeen amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, threonine, valine, alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, proline and serine) with glutamic acid, leucine and aspartic acid being the predominant amino acid. The percentages (%) of essential and non-essential amino acids in dehulled seeds, whole seeds and seed coats were 44 vs 56, 41 vs 59 and 51 vs 49 respectively. The dehulled seeds contained essential amino acids that were found to be higher than WHO/FAO/UNU requirement. In whole seeds, threonine, lysine and lysine were found to be the most limiting amino acids. Seed coats were deficient in all the essential amino acids except for valine. Generally, the mineral composition of the seed was found to be relatively high, indicating the seed to be a good source of dietary elements, except for Ca, Zn, Co and Cr where very low values were obtained. Finally, the results of the study indicate that, bottle gourd seed is a potential source of protein, lipid, micro and macronutrients, and if properly utilised, could contribute in solving the problem of malnutrition and also serve as raw material for agro-based industries Keywords: Bottle gourd seeds, seed coat, proximate analysis, minerals and Amino acid composition.Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences Vol. 14 (3) 2008: pp. 301-30

A Comprehensive Indoor Environment Dataset from Single-family Houses in the US

The paper describes a dataset comprising indoor environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, air quality, and noise levels. The data was collected from 10 sensing devices installed in various locations within three single-family houses in Virginia, USA. The objective of the data collection was to study the indoor environmental conditions of the houses over time. The data were collected at a frequency of one record per minute for a year, combining over 2.5 million records. The paper provides actual floor plans with sensor placements to aid researchers and practitioners in creating reliable building performance models. The techniques used to collect and verify the data are also explained in the paper. The resulting dataset can be employed to enhance models for building energy consumption, occupant behavior, predictive maintenance, and other relevant purposes

Machine learning approach in the development of building occupant personas

The user persona is a communication tool for designers to generate a mental model that describes the archetype of users. Developing building occupant personas is proven to be an effective method for human-centered smart building design, which considers occupant comfort, behavior, and energy consumption. Optimization of building energy consumption also requires a deep understanding of occupants' preferences and behaviors. The current approaches to developing building occupant personas face a major obstruction of manual data processing and analysis. In this study, we propose and evaluate a machine learning-based semi-automated approach to generate building occupant personas. We investigate the 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Dataset with five machine learning techniques - Linear Discriminant Analysis, K Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree (Random Forest), Support Vector Machine, and AdaBoost classifier - for the prediction of 16 occupant characteristics, such as age, education, and, thermal comfort. The models achieve an average accuracy of 61% and accuracy over 90% for attributes including the number of occupants in the household, their age group, and preferred usage of heating or cooling equipment. The results of the study show the feasibility of using machine learning techniques for the development of building occupant persona to minimize human effort.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Patterns of presentations at a free eye clinic in an urban state hospital

Background: Provision of affordable eye care is one of the cardinal programs of the Osun State Government of Nigeria.Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the pattern of eye diseases presenting in a secondary health care facility based at Osogbo the State Capital.Materials and Methods: We reviewed the hospital records of all patients that were cared for at the eye clinic of the State Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria from January 2009 to December 2010.Results: A total of 1018 patients were attended to at the eye clinic during the period of review. Mean age of these patients was 49.4 ± 23.2 years. There were 408 (40.1%) males and 610 (59.9%) females with a female-male ratio of 1.5 : 1. Most of them were traders (28.1%) and married (32.1%). Vernal conjunctivitis (21.1%), cataract (14%), glaucoma(11.1%), and refractive errors (20.7%) were the main eye diagnoses.Conclusion: Preventable causes of blindness were quite common among the patients. There is a need for community education to reduce the prevalence of these diseases in the general population.Key words: Eye clinic, free, pattern, urba