Towards Green Pilgrimage: A Framework For Action in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

The great Islamic pilgrimage (Hajj) to the Holy places in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, is considered one of the largest annual mass confluences of people in the world. Hajj takes at least four-days and attracts more than three million pilgrims who perform specific steps to fulfil the requirements of this unique journey. However, Hajj presents an extraordinary challenge to the Saudi government for ensuring safety during such a large-scale mass gathering, and stakeholders are overwhelmed by managing the logistics of this event. Despite prior studies’ efforts to explore attitudes towards pilgrimage safety, and to investigate ways to minimise carbon footprints on the environment, research on how to move towards greening this massive event is scarce. Hence, this paper provides a holistic overview of the challenges facing the Saudi government and involved stakeholders towards achieving the greening of this pilgrimage. This exploratory study uses a qualitative approach; data were collected via a semi-structured interview, six focus groups, and participant observation (on-site observation) in the city of Makkah during the Hajj season of 2018. Results show that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah put various elements in place, such as recycling, solid waste management, and environmental protection. However, limited communication among stakeholders involved in the event makes it difficult to go further in achieving green goals. In this study, opportunities and challenges for green pilgrimage are divided into seven main groups: initiatives towards green pilgrimage, waste management, energy efficiency and transportation, greening water resources, greening food, green rituals, and promoting green awareness. A framework of action for developing sustainable green pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia is suggested and also, implications for the Saudi government and stakeholders are discussed in the light of extant literature. Recommendations are provided for better application of green pilgrimage initiatives in Saudi Arabia, with a particular focus on the Holy City of Makkah

Religious Servicescape: Does Convenience Matter for Revisit Intentions and Positive Word of Mouth?

Umrah is an optional holy ritual that is highly rewarded when performed in the month of Ramadan. Hence, managing such an event is a challenging mission facing stakeholders. However, limited studies have examined the quality of services provided in the Umrah site (i.e., the Holy Mosque in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia) from the pilgrims’ perspective. The current study examines the influence of religious servicescape on service convenience and investigates whether service convenience matters to pilgrims. Further, the study tests the role of religious attractiveness (i.e., of the Kaaba) on pilgrims’ behavioural outcomes (i.e. intention to revisit and Positive Word of Mouth (PWOM). A Mixed-method approach is followed to collect rich data (i.e., quantitative and qualitative). The findings demonstrate that religious servicescape has a critical impact on service convenience. The results also show that service convenience is also a significant mediator between servicescape and PWOM. However, service convenience does not mediate the relationship between religious servicescape and intention to revisit. Consequently, service convenience in the religious context matters to pilgrims and the service provider. Further, Kaaba attractiveness creates a ‘halo’ effect

Traffic-related air pollution and obesity formation in children: a longitudinal, multilevel analysis.

BackgroundBiologically plausible mechanisms link traffic-related air pollution to metabolic disorders and potentially to obesity. Here we sought to determine whether traffic density and traffic-related air pollution were positively associated with growth in body mass index (BMI = kg/m2) in children aged 5-11 years.MethodsParticipants were drawn from a prospective cohort of children who lived in 13 communities across Southern California (N = 4550). Children were enrolled while attending kindergarten and first grade and followed for 4 years, with height and weight measured annually. Dispersion models were used to estimate exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Multilevel models were used to estimate and test traffic density and traffic pollution related to BMI growth. Data were collected between 2002-2010 and analyzed in 2011-12.ResultsTraffic pollution was positively associated with growth in BMI and was robust to adjustment for many confounders. The effect size in the adjusted model indicated about a 13.6% increase in annual BMI growth when comparing the lowest to the highest tenth percentile of air pollution exposure, which resulted in an increase of nearly 0.4 BMI units on attained BMI at age 10. Traffic density also had a positive association with BMI growth, but this effect was less robust in multivariate models.ConclusionsTraffic pollution was positively associated with growth in BMI in children aged 5-11 years. Traffic pollution may be controlled via emission restrictions; changes in land use that promote jobs-housing balance and use of public transit and hence reduce vehicle miles traveled; promotion of zero emissions vehicles; transit and car-sharing programs; or by limiting high pollution traffic, such as diesel trucks, from residential areas or places where children play outdoors, such as schools and parks. These measures may have beneficial effects in terms of reduced obesity formation in children

Workplace Spirituality in South Asian Context: The Role of Learning Culture, Organizational Support and Knowledge Sharing

This paper investigates the relationship among organizational learning culture (OLC), perceived organizational support (POS), knowledge sharing behavior (KSB) and workplace spirituality (WS). The study was conducted on banking sector of Pakistan and data was collected through questionnaire-based survey. A sample of 300 respondents was selected using item response theory from which 248 respondents replied, however only 226 responses were used in the final analysis because of outliers. The study used statistical package for social sciences to analyze data. The study found that both organizational learning culture and perceived organizational support positively associated to workplace spirituality. Further, the hierarchical regression has confirmed the mediating role of knowledge sharing behaviors between the same associations. The study has used cross-sectional survey technique and there is a probability that respondents have given biased responses. Identification of the antecedents of workplace spirituality will help the HR managers to increase the commitment of employees towards their organization

Ridership and the Built-Form Indicators: A Study from Ahmedabad Janmarg Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS)

Although the Janmarg (people’s way) Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) system in Ahmedabad, India, achieved worldwide accolades since its introduction, it has not reached its expected ridership. In analyzing ridership, research shows that external factors of BRTS such as built-form indicators have a potentially greater effect on ridership than its internal factors. In order to assess the ridership of the Janmarg BRTS, a methodology was developed based on built-form indicators that were quantified using the “5D” approach. The use of appropriate geo-information science (GIS) techniques helped to analyze the built-form spatial data effectively. The calculated built-form indicators were used as inputs in a regression analysis. The consulted literature suggests a relationship between built-form indicators and ridership. However, in the present study this relationship was not confirmed. Moreover, land-use diversity, road connectivity, and job accessibility by BRTS were found to be relatively low. Several policy recommendations were suggested along the BRTS corridors in line with the existing policy such as the utilization of full Floor Space Index potential, the application of Transit Oriented Development strategies and the integration with non-motorized modes to increase the accessibility to the most important job locations

Early Cretaceous radiolarians from the Indus suture zone, Ladakh, northern India

The Nidar ophiolitic complex in estern Ladakh, northem India, consists of u1tramafic rocks, gabbro and sedimentary-volcanic member, in ascending order. The sedimentary-volcanic member in thee Nidar area is about 370 m in thickness, and is composed of altemating chert, japerite, volcanic rocks, red shale, volcanic conglomerate, sandstone and shale. Among these rocks, chert and shale yields well-preserved radiolarian fossils, which range in age, at least, from Hauterivian to Aptian (Early Cretaceous). These ages are consistent with the Sm-Nd mineral-whole rock isochron age of the underlying gabbro. The lithology, ages and geochemical characteristics of the Nidar ophiolitic complex indicate that the complex formed in an intra-oceanic volcanic arc setting. A chert block from the Shergol ophiolitic melange in westem Ladakh yields Albian radiolarians

Exploring the relationship between POS, OLC, job satisfaction and OCB

The importance of Perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational learning culture (OLC) is vital for managers because it has lots of implications for them. None of the previous researchers have explored the relationship between POS and OLC. The present study was aimed to explore how OLC and POS helped organizations to promote employees’ extra role behaviour though job satisfaction. Data was collected from 412 employees working in Malaysian banking sector using simple random sampling technique. POS and OLC were found to be positively related with Job satisfaction and OCB. On the other hand SEM has confirmed the mediating role of Job satisfaction

Childhood Incident Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution at Home and School

Background: Traffic-related air pollution has been associated with adverse cardiorespiratory effects, including increased asthma prevalence. However, there has been little study of effects of traffic exposure at school on new-onset asthma. Objectives: We evaluated the relationship of new-onset asthma with traffic-related pollution near homes and schools. Methods: Parent-reported physician diagnosis of new-onset asthma (n = 120) was identified during 3 years of follow-up of a cohort of 2,497 kindergarten and first-grade children who were asthma- and wheezing-free at study entry into the Southern California Children's Health Study. We assessed traffic-related pollution exposure based on a line source dispersion model of traffic volume, distance from home and school, and local meteorology. Regional ambient ozone, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter were measured continuously at one central site monitor in each of 13 study communities. Hazard ratios (HRs) for new-onset asthma were scaled to the range of ambient central site pollutants and to the residential interquartile range for each traffic exposure metric. Results: Asthma risk increased with modeled traffic-related pollution exposure from roadways near homes [HR 1.51; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.25-1.82] and near schools (HR 1.45; 95% CI, 1.06-1.98). Ambient NO2 measured at a central site in each community was also associated with increased risk (HR 2.18; 95% CI, 1.18-4.01). In models with both NO2 and modeled traffic exposures, there were independent associations of asthma with traffic-related pollution at school and home, whereas the estimate for NO2 was attenuated (HR 1.37; 95% CI, 0.69-2.71). Conclusions: Traffic-related pollution exposure at school and homes may both contribute to the development of asthma. Editor's SummaryTraffic-related air pollution has been associated with adverse cardiorespiratory effects, including increased asthma prevalence. McConnell et al. (p. 1021) evaluated the relationship of new-onset asthma with traffic-related pollution near homes and schools. Parent-reported physician diagnosis of new-onset asthma was identified during 3 years of follow-up of a cohort of kindergarten and first-grade children who were asthma- and wheezing-free at study entry into the Southern California Children's Health Study. Traffic-related pollution exposure was assessed based on a line source dispersion model of traffic volume, distance from home and school, and local meteorology. Regional ambient ozone, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter were measured continuously at one central site monitor in each of 13 study communities. The authors report an increase in asthma risk with modeled traffic-related pollution exposure from roadways near homes and schools. Ambient NO2 was also associated with increased risk. Models that included both NO2 and modeled traffic exposures suggested independent associations of asthma with traffic-related pollution at school and at home, whereas the estimate for NO2 was attenuated. The authors conclude that traffic-related pollution exposure at school and home may both contribute to the development of asthma

Genetic risk and a primary role for cell-mediated immune mechanisms in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a common disease of the central nervous system in which the interplay between inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes typically results in intermittent neurological disturbance followed by progressive accumulation of disability. Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors are primarily responsible for the substantially increased frequency of the disease seen in the relatives of affected individuals, and systematic attempts to identify linkage in multiplex families have confirmed that variation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) exerts the greatest individual effect on risk. Modestly powered genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have enabled more than 20 additional risk loci to be identified and have shown that multiple variants exerting modest individual effects have a key role in disease susceptibility. Most of the genetic architecture underlying susceptibility to the disease remains to be defined and is anticipated to require the analysis of sample sizes that are beyond the numbers currently available to individual research groups. In a collaborative GWAS involving 9,772 cases of European descent collected by 23 research groups working in 15 different countries, we have replicated almost all of the previously suggested associations and identified at least a further 29 novel susceptibility loci. Within the MHC we have refined the identity of the HLA-DRB1 risk alleles and confirmed that variation in the HLA-A gene underlies the independent protective effect attributable to the class I region. Immunologically relevant genes are significantly overrepresented among those mapping close to the identified loci and particularly implicate T-helper-cell differentiation in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Expression of M. tuberculosis-induced suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 1, SOCS3, FoxP3 and secretion of IL-6 associates with differing clinical severity of tuberculosis

Background Appropriate immune activation of T cells and macrophages is central for the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. IFN-γ stimulated responses are lowered in tuberculosis (TB), while expression of Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS) molecules – 1 and 3 and CD4+CD25+FoxP3+T regulatory cells is increased. Here we investigated the association of these molecules in regard to clinical severity of TB. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from patients with pulmonary TB (PTB, n = 33), extra-pulmonary TB (ETB, n = 33) and healthy endemic controls (EC, n = 15). Cases were classified as moderately advanced or far advanced PTB, and less severe or severe disseminated ETB. M. tuberculosis -stimulated IFN-γ, SOCS1, SOCS3 and FoxP3 gene expression and secretion of Th1 and Th2 cytokines was measured. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann–Whitney U, Wilcoxon Rank and Kruskal Wallis non-parametric tests. Results In un-stimulated PBMCs, IL-6 (p = 0.018) and IL-10 (p = 0.013) secretion levels were increased in PTB while IL-10 was also increased in ETB (p = 0.003), all in comparison with EC. M. tuberculosis-stimulated IL-6 (p = 0.003) was lowered in ETB as compared with EC. SOCS1 mRNA expression in M. tuberculosis stimulated PBMCs levels in moderately advanced PTB (p = 0.022), far advanced (p = 0.014) PTB, and severe ETB (p = 0.009) were raised as compared with EC. On the other hand, SOCS1 mRNA titers were reduced in less severe ETB, in comparison with severe ETB (p = 0.027) and far advanced PTB (p = 0.016). SOCS3 mRNA accumulation was reduced in far advanced PTB (p = 0.007) and FoxP3 mRNA expression was increased in less severe ETB as compared with EC (p = 0.017). Conclusions The lowered SOCS1 mRNA levels in patients with less severe extra-pulmonary TB as compared to those with more severe ETB and PTB may lead to elevated IFN-γ pathway gene expression in the latter group. As localized ETB has shown to be associated with more effective Th1 immunity and adaptive responses, this suggests a role for SOCS1 in determining disease outcome in extra-pulmonary TB