PRECISION AGRICULTURE: REALIZING INCREASED PROFIT AND REDUCED RISK THROUGH COST MAP AND LIGHTBAR ADOPTION

This thesis examines the use of two specific types of precision agriculture technologies: cost maps and lightbar. Cost maps visually depict spatial differences in production costs. The visual depictions of these costs are represented using ArcGIS in an attempt to aide farmers in further decision making. Results will show that cost maps have great possibilities in their addition to the set of tools that farmers use in decision making. This thesis will expand the understanding of lightbar from a partial budget study to a whole farm model incorporating competition across different enterprises for labor and capital. The results from the study of cost maps indicate that inaccuracy of machinery movement, whether in the application stage or the harvesting stage is very costly. As a result, the suggestion of lightbar as a guidance aide to improve farm profitability is recommended under the conditions analyzed and shows a net farm return increase in just over 6%

THE ECONOMIC CHAOS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF LEBANON

Economic studies in recent have been strongly influence by mathematical formulas ignoring to a high degree, the basic specifities and differentiating factors in every state and society. It has been common, by international institutions, such as the IMF, the World Bank and local banks, economists or researches to simply rely on superficial and often inaccurate statistics, revolving around GDP, per capita income, inflation rate and others to formulate economic and financial strategies mainly for the developing countries. The general results have been so far abysmal. Wealth is being accumulated in few hands and poverty stricken social closes are rapidly expanding. This paper focuses on the case of Lebanon to highlight the meaning and effective bases of its development. The Real Estate sector was chosen for the study because it is considered the main engine for development. The hypothesis claims that the ballooning of property prices, in the absence of proper taxation policy and economic strategic planning, is indirectly forcing the country’s youth to emigrate, while the poor class increased to about 60% of the population. The research demonstrates that in the absence of good governance and the rule of law, corruption creeps monopolizing power and finances. The country consequently is heading toward instability, violence and possible chaos. It also proves that statistical data wrongly collected do not lead to development rather prevent or worsen it

DESPOTISM VS. DEMOCRACY IN THE MENA REGION

Since its birth on the planet Earth, man has incessantly embarked on a long journey in search of its “being”. He formed tribal clans, fought endless series of wars in search of wealth and power. He attempted to discover, understand and subdue the universe to its limited mind. His imagination created then herds of good and bad gods to hide his weaknesses, fears and limitations. Often, he proclaimed himself divine and godly, when, in reality he lives in fear and anxiety facing death and threats by unseen killer bacteria or natural elements that impacted and reduced his pride, arrogance, and self-worship to ultimate death. Glory, wealth, power, and physical well being soon evaporated into some dark and narrow dungeon. This self-proclaimed superman-woman, who defies all laws and rules, keep dreaming about being eternal, while reality transforms them sometimes into weak, empty and helpless vegetables. Their worlds of violence, threats and greed continually collapsed for no return. This research focuses upon this self-proclaimed “superhuman” of the Middle East, who lives and dies in a state of slavery not imposed upon him by force, rather a result of personal consent. The authors aim to clarify the paradigm of relationship between despotism and consent

VIOLENCE IN EDUCATION: IMPACT ON FORMATION OF FUTURE LEBANESE LEADERS

History of empires and nations in a particular civilization is remembered by the scientific and academic discoveries. Greeks, Roman, Persian or other empires are mostly their military conquests and glories which faded away with time, while the taught ideologies, thoughts and inventions remain basic pillars in the development of human history, civilization and scientific discoveries. In the modern world man undertook many leaps into uncovering what previously were viewed as national mysteries and secrets. Science and technology have transported man to outer space, reaching other planets, travelling deeply in the fields of medicine, communication, transportation, electronics and continual creativity; yet that same man, remains enslaved to its own weaknesses and shortfalls. The scientific superhuman, in spite of the discoveries, focused also on self- destruction. Weapons of mass destruction are endlessly invented, poverty and misery offers over forty percent of the world population (2.6 billion humans), while over one thousand billions U.S. dollars are spent yearly on wars, destruction of humans and the environment. The authors chose to focus on (a) providing general but clear definition of educational objectives in Lebanon; (b) identifying the Lebanese educational socio-political system; (c) highlighting some deficiencies of the curricula offered at educational institutions, beginning with the first grades till the graduate studies at universities; (d) examining the family influence; (e) stressing the socio-religious, political ideological indoctrination. The study also highlights the negative effects caused by unqualified, untrained and unethical teaching staff in most institutions which resemble business bazaars where profit and money are the driving engines

VIOLENCE IN EDUCATION: IMPACT ON FORMATION OF FUTURE LEBANESE LEADERS

History of empires and nations in a particular civilization is remembered by the scientific and academic discoveries. Greeks, Roman, Persian or other empires are mostly their military conquests and glories which faded away with time, while the taught ideologies, thoughts and inventions remain basic pillars in the development of human history, civilization and scientific discoveries. In the modern world man undertook many leaps into uncovering what previously were viewed as national mysteries and secrets. Science and technology have transported man to outer space, reaching other planets, travelling deeply in the fields of medicine, communication, transportation, electronics and continual creativity; yet that same man, remains enslaved to its own weaknesses and shortfalls. The scientific superhuman, in spite of the discoveries, focused also on self- destruction. Weapons of mass destruction are endlessly invented, poverty and misery offers over forty percent of the world population (2.6 billion humans), while over one thousand billions U.S. dollars are spent yearly on wars, destruction of humans and the environment. The authors chose to focus on (a) providing general but clear definition of educational objectives in Lebanon; (b) identifying the Lebanese educational socio-political system; (c) highlighting some deficiencies of the curricula offered at educational institutions, beginning with the first grades till the graduate studies at universities; (d) examining the family influence; (e) stressing the socio-religious, political ideological indoctrination. The study also highlights the negative effects caused by unqualified, untrained and unethical teaching staff in most institutions which resemble business bazaars where profit and money are the driving engines

THE ECONOMIC CHAOS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF LEBANON

Economic studies in recent have been strongly influence by mathematical formulas ignoring to a high degree, the basic specifities and differentiating factors in every state and society. It has been common, by international institutions, such as the IMF, the World Bank and local banks, economists or researches to simply rely on superficial and often inaccurate statistics, revolving around GDP, per capita income, inflation rate and others to formulate economic and financial strategies mainly for the developing countries. The general results have been so far abysmal. Wealth is being accumulated in few hands and poverty stricken social closes are rapidly expanding. This paper focuses on the case of Lebanon to highlight the meaning and effective bases of its development. The Real Estate sector was chosen for the study because it is considered the main engine for development. The hypothesis claims that the ballooning of property prices, in the absence of proper taxation policy and economic strategic planning, is indirectly forcing the country’s youth to emigrate, while the poor class increased to about 60% of the population. The research demonstrates that in the absence of good governance and the rule of law, corruption creeps monopolizing power and finances. The country consequently is heading toward instability, violence and possible chaos. It also proves that statistical data wrongly collected do not lead to development rather prevent or worsen it

L’action collective comme voie d’accès à la justice dans le contexte de la crise libanaise : un plaidoyer pour la reconnaissance de la compétence internationale des tribunaux québécois

Les répercussions de la crise économique et politique que le Liban connait aujourd’hui ne se sont pas limitées à ses frontières. Un nombre très important d’individus résidants à l’extérieur de ce pays ont été touchés directement depuis le début de la crise. En effet, depuis octobre 2019, toute personne détenant des dépôts auprès des banques commerciales libanaises se voit refuser l’accès à ces fonds, surtout pour les transferts internationaux. Ces mesures mises en place par les banques commerciales représentent, en l'absence de législation appropriée, un contrôle des capitaux de facto dépourvu de toute légalité aux yeux du droit libanais. Compte tenu de la corruption qui ravage les institutions étatiques et des interférences politiques dans l’appareil judiciaire libanais, un recours depuis le Liban s’avère impossible aujourd’hui pour les déposants étrangers. Ces derniers recherchent désespérément un forum compétent afin d’exercer leurs droits dans l’espoir de récupérer un jour leurs économies investies dans les banques libanaises. De ces déposants, un nombre important réside au Québec. Ce groupe de personnes a subi un préjudice commun susceptible d’engendrer des litiges similaires. Ainsi se pose la question traitée par ce mémoire. En ce qui concerne les déposants québécois, et en considérant les objectifs de l’action collective québécoise, cette procédure pourrait-elle satisfaire leurs besoins d’accès à la justice? Afin de répondre à cette question, plusieurs problématiques se posent. Notamment, la compétence des tribunaux québécois de se saisir de ce litige, la satisfaction de ce dernier aux critères d’autorisation de l’action collective et les difficultés inhérentes à cette procédure dans le contexte factuel particulier. Ainsi, le lecteur comprendra, ce mémoire aura l’aspect d’une étude de cas pratique hypothétique. Toutefois, les enjeux juridiques seront traités en détail et de manière exhaustive. L’objectif principal demeure la faisabilité de ce recours selon le droit positif québécois.The repercussions of the economic and political crisis that Lebanon is experiencing today are not limited to its borders. A very large number of individuals residing outside this country have been directly affected since the beginning of this crisis. Indeed, since October 2019, any person holding deposits in Lebanese commercial banks has been denied access to these funds, especially in the case of international transfers. These measures put in place by the commercial banks represent a de facto capital control that is, absent appropriate legislation, illegal under Lebanese law. Given the corruption that plagues state institutions and the political interference in the Lebanese judiciary, recourse from Lebanon is impossible today for foreign depositors. These account holders are desperately seeking a competent forum to exercise their rights in the hope of one day recovering their savings invested in Lebanese banks. Of these depositors, a large number resides in Quebec. This group of people have suffered a common prejudice that could lead to similar litigation. This raises the question addressed by this thesis. With respect to Quebec plaintiffs and considering the objectives of the Quebec class action, could this procedure satisfy their need for access to justice? In order to answer this question, several elements must be considered. In particular, the jurisdiction of the Quebec courts to hear this case, whether it meets the criteria for certification of a class action and the difficulties inherent to this procedure considering the peculiar factual context. Thus, the reader will understand that this thesis will have the aspect of a hypothetical practical case study. However, the legal issues will be dealt with in detail and in a comprehensive manner. The main objective remains to determine the feasibility of this recourse within the framework of Quebec's positive law

Internet-delivered cognitive-behaviour therapy (ICBT) for obsessive-compulsive disorder when delivered as routine clinical care: A phase IV clinical trial

Cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but many patients experience difficulty accessing this treatment. Internet-delivered CBT (ICBT) enhances access to CBT for individuals with OCD and has been shown to be efficacious in Phase I, II, and III clinical trials. However, there are fewer studies investigating ICBT for OCD in Phase IV clinical trials, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention when provided as part of routine care. The aim of the present study was to report on the effectiveness of ICBT for OCD, using data from Australia’s MindSpot Clinic, a federally funded treatment service that provides free ICBT to Australian adults with anxiety, depression, and pain conditions. A total of 225 MindSpot users (68 % female; Mage = 34.82; SD = 11.02) were included in the study. Within-group effect sizes at post-treatment on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, indicated medium effect sizes (g = 0.6; 95 % CI: 0.5−0.7), increasing to large effects at three-month follow up (g = 0.9; 95 % CI: 0.8–1.0). Effects on secondary outcome measures including measures of depression, generalized anxiety, and psychological distress ranged from (g = 0.5–0.6) at post-treatment and (g = 0.5–0.7) at three-month follow up. Results from benchmarking analyses indicated that the results from routine care were significantly smaller than those found in a recent clinical trial using the same treatment protocol. The results indicate that ICBT delivered in real world settings is associated with meaningful improvements in OCD symptoms, however future research may wish to examine which patients respond best to this treatment approach and how to enhance outcomes

Challenges of recruiting adolescents for appearance-related research in a specialist tertiary hospital

Aim: To discuss the experiences and specific challenges of recruiting adolescents with appearance-altering conditions or injuries for qualitative interviews exploring appearance worry and an acceptability study testing a new online intervention designed to target appearance-related distress.Methods: Between August 2016 and January 2017, 88 families were invited to take part in the studies. Patients were approached in outpatient consultations at Australia’s largest paediatric tertiary hospital. A final 25 participants were recruited to at least one of the studies. Results: Successfully recruiting adolescents for research that explored appearance worry was challenging. Environmental barriers in the clinic environment and reluctance discussing appearance-related subject matter impacted clinical staff involvement and participant engagement. Misconceptions about resolving and managing appearance distress also influenced consent. Conclusions: This paper illustrates the complexities of recruiting young people for appearance-based research in a paediatric tertiary hospital and important considerations for successful recruitment. Recommendations highlight the important of early participant involvement, maximising the support of clinicians with study-specific training, being mindful of first impressions and adopting novel, non-traditional methodology and advertising strategies. Knowledge gained from this paper aims to assist future researchers conduct more successful appearance-based research in paediatric tertiary centres

The pain course: A randomised controlled trial examining an internet-delivered pain management program when provided with different levels of clinician support

© 2015 International Association for the Study of Pain. The present study evaluated an internet-delivered pain management program, the Pain Course, when provided with different levels of clinician support. Participants (n5490) were randomised to 1 of 4 groups: (1) Regular Contact (n5143), (2) Optional Contact (n5 141), (3) No Contact (n 5 131), and (4) a treatment-As-usual Waitlist Control Group (n 5 75). The treatment program was based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy and comprised 5 internet-delivered lessons provided over 8 weeks. The 3 Treatment Groups reported significant improvements (between-group Cohen's d; avg. reduction) in disability (ds ≤ 0.50; avg. reduction ≤ 18%), anxiety (ds≤0.44; avg. reduction≤32%), depression (ds≤0.73; avg. reduction≤36%), and average pain (ds≤0.30; avg. reduction ≤ 12%) immediately posttreatment, which were sustained at or further improved to 3-month follow-up. High treatment completion rates and levels of satisfaction were reported, and no marked or consistent differences were observed between the Treatment Groups. The mean clinician time per participant was 67.69 minutes (SD533.50), 12.85 minutes (SD524.61), and 5.44 minutes (SD 5 12.38) for those receiving regular contact, the option of contact, and no clinical contact, respectively. These results highlight the very significant public health potential of carefully designed and administered internet-delivered pain management programs and indicate that these programs can be successfully administered with several levels of clinical support