Vibrancy of Public Spaces: Inclusivity and Participation Amidst the Challenges in Transformative Process in the City of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines

This study examines the dynamics which lead to revitalization of everyday life in the public spaces of Cagayan de Oro, a medium-sized urban center in Northern Mindanao, the Philippines. By employing the oriental philosophies together with western thoughts such as Henri Lefebvre, Alain Touraine and Jürgen Habermas, this study elucidates that the core of perceived, lived and conceived spaces is ‘the Subject.’ Once the Subject utilizes the public sphere to instill social action, social space is ultimately produced. Hawkers, grassroots environmental activists, street readers and artists are the social Subjects who partake in the vibrancy of public spaces. The social Subjects utilize public spaces as venues of social transformation. Thus, this study argues that the social Subjects’ role in democratic process lead to inclusivity of the marginalized sector in the public spaces of the city

Transformation of Cagayan de Oro 1945-1980: from a traditional town to an urban centre

This study is an urban history of Cagayan de Oro (Northern Mindanao, Philippines), a city in a developing region, which faced urban transformation from the end of WWII in 1945 to 1980. It employed a multidisciplinary approach wherein the city’s demographic, economic and infrastructural changes were analyzed. The study revealed that Cagayan had grown and transformed from a traditional town into an urban centre whereby its demography had continuously expanded with high rates of natural increase and large streams of in-migrants; while its economic activities had shifted from agricultural production to commerce and industrialization. Its economic transition was due to the promotion of Cagayan as the “Gateway to the South” or “Gateway to Northern Mindanao” by the deciding elites who were part of the transnational economic system that supplied resources to the developed countries such as the United States and Japan. As a result, the growth of Cagayan was not directed towards the masses but instead to the elites and their foreign allies. Cagayan experienced inertia in terms of infrastructural development. Therefore the absorption of foreign structures resulted to an artificial form of urban transformation in Cagayan

Australian dental policy reform and the use of dental therapists and hygienists

Oral diseases including dental caries and periodontal disease are among the most prevalent and costly diseases in Australia today. Around 5.4% of Australia’s health dollar is spent on dental services totalling around $2.6 billion, 84% of which are delivered through the private sector (AIHW 2001). The other 16% is spent providing public sector services in varied and inadequate ways. While disease rates among school children have declined significantly in the past 20 years the gains made among children are not flowing on to adult dentitions and our aging population will place increasing demands on an inadequate system into the future (AHMAC 2001). Around 50% of adults do not received regular care and this has implications for widening health inequalities as the greatest burden falls on lower income groups (AIHW DSRU 2001). The National Competition Policy agenda has initiated, Australia-wide, reviews of dental legislation applying to delivery of services by dentists, dental specialists, dental therapists and hygienists and dental technicians and prosthetists. The review of the Victorian Dentists Act 1972, was completed first in 1999, followed by the other Australian states with Queensland, the ACT and the Northern Territory still developing legislation. One of the objectives of the new Victorian Act is to ‘…promote access to dental care’. This study has grown out of the need to know more about how dental therapists and hygienists might be utilised to achieve this and the legislative frameworks that could enable such roles. This study used qualitative methods to explore dental health policy making associated with strategies that may increase access to dental care using dental therapists and hygienists. The study used a multiple case study design to critically examine the dental policy development process around the Review of the Dentists Act 1972 in Victoria; to assess legislative and regulatory dental policy reforms in other states in Australia and to conduct a comparative analysis of dental health policy as it relates to dental auxiliary practice internationally. Data collection has involved (I) semi-structured interviews with key participants and stakeholders in the policy development processes in Victoria, interstate and overseas, and (ii) analysis of documentary data sources. The study has taken a grounded theory approach whereby theoretical issues that emerged from the Victorian case study were further developed and challenged in the subsequent interstate and international case studies. A component of this study has required the development of indicators in regulatory models for dental hygienists and therapists that will increase access to dental care for the community. These indicators have been used to analyse regulation reform and the likely impacts in each setting. Despite evidence of need, evidence of the effectiveness and efficiency of dental therapists and hygienists, and the National Competition Policy agenda of increasing efficiency, the legislation reviews have mostly produces only minor changes. Results show that almost all Australian states have regulated dental therapists and hygienists in more prescriptive ways than they do dentists. The study has found that dental policy making is still dominated by the views of private practice dentists under elitist models that largely protect dentist authority, autonomy and sovereignty. The influence of dentist professional dominance has meant that governments have been reluctant to make sweeping changes. The study has demonstrated alternative models of regulation for dental therapists and hygienists, which would allow wider utilisation of their skills, more effective use of public sector funding, increased access to services and a grater focus on preventive care. In the light of theses outcomes, there is a need to continue to advocate for changes that will increase the public health focus of oral health care

Soft but not too soft—How a rigid tube expands without breaking

Fungi grow by apical extension of their hyphae. The continuous growth requires constant delivery of vesicles, which fuse with the membrane and secrete cell wall biosynthesis enzymes. The growth mechanism requires the fungal cytoskeleton and turgor pressure. In a recent study by Fukuda et al. (mBio 12:e03196-20, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.03196-20), hyphal growth was studied in microfluidic devices with channels smaller than the hyphal diameter. The authors discovered that fast-growing fungi like Neurospora crassa enter the channels, but hyphal tips become fragile and rupture frequently, whereas slower-growing fungi like Aspergillus nidulans adapt their hyphal diameter and grow without problems through the channels. This study suggests two different growth mechanisms and a tradeoff between hyphal plasticity and growth speed

Model Kepuasaan Mahasiswa Jurusan Teknik Informatika UNESA terhadap Digital Library dengan Pieces Framework, Usability Testing, dan Information System Success

Universitas Negeri Surabaya memiliki perpustakaan digital atau yang disebut juga dengan Digilib Unesa mempunyai berbagai macam layanan, ruang, dan dukungan untuk anggota akademis termasuk mahasiswa. Adanya Digilib tentunya memudahkan mahasiswa dalam mencari berbagai referensi seperti buku hingga penelitian terdahulu khususnya yang sedang menempuh semester akhir dan mengerjakan tugas akhir yang memerlukan berbagai macam referensi. Melihat pentingnya layanan ini tentunya membutuhkan pengembangan secara berkala agar dapat terus meningkatkan layanan yang dimiliki. Salah satu masalah penting ialah masalah tingkat kepuasan pengguna Digilib. Maka dari itu perlu adanya analisis kepuasan mahasiswa jurusan teknik informatika UNESA terhadap Digilib untuk menentukan kepuasan pengguna, kenyamanan pengguna, kecepatan pencarian informasi, dan kemudahan saat mengakses Digilib Unesa. Penelitian ini mengadopsi variabel dari framework PIECES, Usability Testing, dan Information System Success yang akan digunakan sebagai indikator dalam instrumen penelitian. Analisa data pada penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan Structural Equation Model (SEM) menggunakan IBM SPSS AMOS 24. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa variabel Information and Data serta Performance memberikan pengaruh positif terhadap variabel dependen Attractiveness yang berarti pengguna tertarik dalam menggunakan Digilib Unesa karena mempunyai website yang stabil, menyajika informasi dan data yang tepat serta user interface yang menarik dengan hubungan antar variabel dapat dijelaskan sebesar 76,8%. Adapun pengaruh positif variabel independen Performance dan Attractiveness terhadap variabel dependen Information System Success yang berarti bahwa pengguna merasa puas dengan pelayanan Digilib Unesa karena memiliki performa website yang baik, mudah diakses, dan mudah dipelajari dengan hubungan antar variabel sebesar 51,8%

A pesquisa interdisciplinar na Ciência da Informação

Objetiva refletir sobre aspectos relevantes da interface entre a pesquisa e a característica interdisciplinar da Ciência da Informação. Visa responder se a interdisciplinaridade contribui com a Ciência da Informação ou prejudica seu desenvolvimento como ciência. Metodologicamente, trata-se de um estudo teórico reflexivo, de natureza qualitativa e bibliográfica. A discussão se pauta no pressuposto de que as abordagens devem ser interligadas, visando entender bem mais as reflexões, aprimorá-las e construí-las. Esse tipo de discussão é ainda mais relevante porque a Ciência da Informação é considerada nova e em evolução, e muitos de seus autores receiam refletir sobre a interdisciplinaridade, por considerar que isso dificulta o fortalecimento da identidade da própria Ciência da Informação. Os resultados evidenciam que a interdisciplinaridade ajuda a fortalecer a Ciência em questão, ao proporcionar visibilidade e respeito

The effectiveness of cartographic method as a tool in illustration of research data: a case study of Delta University, Abraka-Nigeria

This research work examined the effectiveness of cartographic method as a tool in the illustration of research data, by examining the role cartographic method has over descriptive method, it effectiveness, and process involved; in Delta State University Abraka. In line with these a structured questionnaires were administered to 200 student from various levels of study; that is from 100 to M.sc level and some question­naire were also administered to some lecturers of the department in other to obtain information on the effectiveness of cartographic method usage. The data generated where analysed using the spearman’s rank correlation and the student’s’ test. For the spearman rank analysis, the test revealed that the calculated t value (8.53) is greater than the tabulated t value (2.35) at 5% level of significance, the student‘t’ test analysis showed that the calculated t value (0.00) is less than the tabulated value (2.78) at 5% level of significance. The result of the research at the end of the day reveals that, there is a strong relationship within all the level of study based on the cartographic technique employed in research data illustration. On the other hand, with the use of statistical diagram and map, it shown that with the information extracted there is no strong relationship between the two methods. Based on the findings, recommendations were made on the use of cartographic method toward adequate coverage of the entire study topic