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Article
Publication date: 9 February 2024

Radhika Mitra

Oral health is an integral part of general health. Different population groups have been assessed for oral health status in India, but still, many have been neglected; one such…

Abstract

Purpose

Oral health is an integral part of general health. Different population groups have been assessed for oral health status in India, but still, many have been neglected; one such group is the prisoners. The prison population is a unique and challenging one with many health problems, including poor oral health, which may be due to lack of knowledge about good oral health practices. This study aims to assess effectiveness of oral health education on oral health knowledge, attitude and practices and oral hygiene status among the male prison inmates of central jail in Kolkata, India.

Design/methodology/approach

An interventional study was done among 240 male convicts. The data was elicited using a structured proforma; oral health status was assessed by recording OHI-S index, and the severity of gingivitis was assessed by recording the gingival index. Oral health education was delivered by using audio-visual aid. Oral health knowledge, attitude, practices and oral hygiene and gingival status were reassessed among the inmates before and after dental education at the end of three and six months.

Findings

A significant change in oral health knowledge, attitude and practices was seen, which in turn resulted in an appreciable decrease in the mean gingival index score (1.73 ± 0.382 to 1.20 ± 0.321) and OHI-S (3.31 ± 0.815 to 2.57 ± 0.551) in all the inmates after oral health education program over the period of time.

Originality/value

The oral health education with reinforcement proved to be an effective tool to instil good oral hygiene practices in the inmates.

Details

International Journal of Prison Health, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2977-0254

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 October 2023

Koyeli Girigoswami, Agnishwar Girigoswami, A. Harini and J. Thanujashree

Menstruation is a part of the female reproductive cycle that begins with adolescence. Menstruation is a natural change; it relates to several malpractices and misconceptions that…

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Abstract

Purpose

Menstruation is a part of the female reproductive cycle that begins with adolescence. Menstruation is a natural change; it relates to several malpractices and misconceptions that may contribute to adverse health outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have searched relevant papers using Google Scholar and PubMed to write this mini review.

Findings

During menstruation, poor hygiene maintenance can cause serious illness, which includes the urinary tract and reproductive tract infection. Menstruation management is a hygienic system, and it is essential for females because poor hygiene maintenance during menstruation can cause some infections and numerous sexually transmitted diseases. There are a few nanotechnology-based products that have come into the market to offer some relief to females during their periods.

Originality/value

This mini review will help researchers to design innovative female hygiene products that can relieve the discomfort caused to women during their reproductive age.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 February 2024

Shahla Safwat Ravhee and Sazdik Ahmed

This paper aims to examine how the interrelation between architecture and the physical environment came to prominence and influenced the pioneering modernist architects to acquire…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how the interrelation between architecture and the physical environment came to prominence and influenced the pioneering modernist architects to acquire the features of modern architecture that the British modernists later adopted. How the post-war urban poor of Britain, suffering from ill-health and dire need of sun, air and a good environment, played an essential role in alleviating the environmental concerns of the modern movement architects.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology of this research involves a comprehensive architectural analysis of the Finsbury Health Centre alongside an in-depth historical investigation of modernist design principles. This review article examines books, articles and some archival materials, such as recordings, pictures, etc. on the early phase of British modernism and its environmental dimension by looking at the works of historians, architects and critics.

Findings

Design based on modernist principles. While it can be seen as the political agenda of the Labor Party, this building was not only functionally efficient but also represented the biometric concerns of modern architecture with the most natural means.

Research limitations/implications

While this study provides valuable insights, it may be limited by historical documents and data availability.

Originality/value

The originality and value of this paper lie in its examination of the Finsbury Health Centre as a case study, shedding light on the environmental rhetoric of modernism in historic architecture. By providing a holistic assessment of the building’s environmental aspects, this research contributes to both architectural history and contemporary sustainable design practices.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2024

Maryam Hasanzadeh, Fereshteh Kalantari, Hadi Emamat, Hamid Ghalandari and Hadith Tangestani

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional anemia in the world and a pervasive health problem, especially in developing countries. Children under two years of age…

Abstract

Purpose

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional anemia in the world and a pervasive health problem, especially in developing countries. Children under two years of age are more prone to be affected by IDA. The best strategy to prevent and treat IDA is to use iron supplements. This study aims to examine the factors associated with noncompliance (such as non-utilization or inconsistent usage) of iron drop supplementation among infants between 6 and 24 months old.

Design/methodology/approach

Online databases (PubMed, Scopus and SID) were searched to retrieve relevant articles published from inception up to July 2023. Among the 2,177 articles detected, after removing duplicate and irrelevant titles, 21 cross-sectional studies that met the authors’ inclusion criteria were included. Screening for articles and data extraction were conducted separately by two researchers.

Findings

The findings suggest that some factors related to mothers, such as education, knowledge, attitude and performance; some factors associated with child such as child’s gastrointestinal and dental complications; taste and smell of iron drops; and birth order and gender are the main determinants of adherence to iron supplementation.

Originality/value

It can be proposed that the most significant factors affecting the feeding of iron drops to children under the age of two include: the level of mother’s awareness, socio-economic status of the household and the occurrence of digestive complications following the supplementation. Given these observations, adopting proper policies toward improving the nutritional awareness of mothers and producing iron supplements with minimal side effects seems crucial.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 January 2024

Shirin Hassanizadeh, Zahra Darabi, Maryam Khosravi, Masoud Mirzaei and Mahdieh Hosseinzadeh

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. However, the role of dietary patterns as a potential risk factor for COVID-19 has not been well…

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. However, the role of dietary patterns as a potential risk factor for COVID-19 has not been well established, especially in studies with large samples. Therefore, this study aims to identify and evaluate the association between major dietary patterns and COVID-19 among adults from Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

In this cross-sectional study, the authors included 9,189 participants aged 20–70 who participated in the Yazd Health Study (YaHS) and Taghzieh Mardom-e-Yazd study (TAMIZ). They used factor analysis to extract dietary patterns based on a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Then, they assessed the relationship between these dietary patterns and the odds of COVID-19.

Findings

This study identified two major dietary patterns: “high protein and high fiber” and “transitional”. Participants in the highest tertile of the “high protein and high fiber” dietary pattern, which included vegetables, fruits, dairy and various kinds of meats such as red meat, fish and poultry, had a lower odds of COVID-19 compared with those in the lowest tertile. However, the “transitional” dietary pattern did not affect the risk of COVID-19.

Originality/value

In conclusion, a “high protein, high fiber” diet may lower the odds of COVID-19. This study suggests that dietary patterns may influence the severity and spread of future similar pandemics.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2024

Christine Wan Shean Liew and Noorliza Karia

Globally, the halal cosmetics market is experiencing rapid growth and is considered a key economic driver in shaping economy development and growth. However, the extant research…

Abstract

Purpose

Globally, the halal cosmetics market is experiencing rapid growth and is considered a key economic driver in shaping economy development and growth. However, the extant research on halal cosmetics is fragmented, potentially impeding the field’s advancement when challenged with conflicting viewpoints and limited replications. Therefore, this paper aims to address the knowledge gap by conducting a rigorous and technology-enabled systematic review by leveraging appropriate software to comprehensively evaluate the state of the halal cosmetics literature.

Design/methodology/approach

A domain-based review using a hybrid approach that incorporates both bibliometric and interpretive analyses are used to comprehensively assess the current progress of halal cosmetics, identify research gaps and suggest potential directions for future research.

Findings

Through a comprehensive review of 66 articles, this review provides a holistic and comprehensive overview of halal cosmetics that both academic scholars and market practitioners can rely upon in strategizing and positioning for future development of halal cosmetics. The study provides a holistic and comprehensive overview of halal cosmetics that both academic scholars and market practitioners can reply upon in strategizing and positioning for future development of halal cosmetics.

Originality/value

The fragmented knowledge of extant research on halal cosmetics across various disciplines limits a comprehensive understanding of the field. It is opportune to conduct a comprehensive and systematic review of the field, providing insight into both its current and future progress. In this regard, this review serves as a “one-stop reference” in providing a state-of-the-art understanding of the field, and enables industry practitioners to reveal the full potential and bridge the theory-practice gap in the halal cosmetics industry.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2023

Athena Michalakea

This paper aims to shed light on the spatial constraints of sex work in Greece. The objective is twofold: to illustrate the intertemporal stance of the Greek state to push sex…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to shed light on the spatial constraints of sex work in Greece. The objective is twofold: to illustrate the intertemporal stance of the Greek state to push sex work at the edge of both the city and the law produces sex workers as always already marginal subjects and to identify how a spatial-based understanding of sex work could help in acknowledging sex workers’ full community citizenship.

Design/methodology/approach

This article examines the legal geographies of sex work in modern and contemporary Greece. The author is a doctoral student in critical jurisprudence with a professional background in urban planning law, who also works voluntarily with Athens-based sex worker’s organizations. Law’s materialization within space (Bennet and Layard, 2015, p. 406), namely, the implication of law in the discursive and material production of place, is examined through archival research with primary and secondary sources, including legislations and LGBT publications such as Amfi and Kráximo from the 1980s and 1990s found in the Archives of Contemporary Social History (ASKI) in Athens. Additionally, as the author is currently conducting fieldwork with people who are working or have worked in the past in sex in Greece as a part of her PhD dissertation, the paper contains data provided by ten interlocutors to highlight their own personal experience. The researcher has used the critical oral history method, as it is committed to recording first-hand knowledge of experiences of marginalized community members who are often unheard or untold, with the additional goals of contextualizing these stories to reveal power differences and inequities (Lemley, 2017, Rickard, 2003).

Findings

The paper provides insight into how regulationism establishes the brothel – a metonymy of prostitution – as a heterotopia within the urban space. Contemporary approaches, such as LULUs and broken window policies, are used to indicate the historically marginal placement of sex work.

Research limitations/implications

The interviews presented here were conducted in the summer of 2022, in the context of the author’s PhD research. Despite her six years of activist-level involvement with sex workers’ rights organizations, due to ethical constraints, only the findings of interviews conducted up to the writing of this paper are presented here, while details of private discussions with members of these organizations are omitted.

Originality/value

The paper examines a significant and timely matter of place making and spatial justice. Unlike earlier research on prostitution in Greece that focused on the brothel either as a heterotopia or as an undesirable land use, the novelty of this paper is that it highlights the intersections between policing, planning, public hygiene, anti-immigration policies around the regulation of the sex market. By critically discussing the implications of the de facto illegality of sex work in Greece, the study highlights the importance of including the voices of sex workers in decision-making and contributes to the debate around the decriminalization of sex work in Greece.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Hamid Yeganeh

This article analyzes the relationships between different conceptions of time, socioeconomic development and cultural values.

Abstract

Purpose

This article analyzes the relationships between different conceptions of time, socioeconomic development and cultural values.

Design/methodology/approach

We focus on three major aspects of time, namely, 1) duration, 2) orientation and 3) tempo. Furthermore, we draw on modernization theory to distinguish between agrarian/traditional and industrial/modern societies and their respective cultural values.

Findings

Analyses indicate that agrarian/traditional societies with cultural values such as collectivism, survival, religiosity and hierarchical structures are marked by subjective/cyclical/inaccurate, past-oriented and slow-paced conceptions of time. In contrast, industrial/modern societies with cultural values such as individualism, self-expression, secularism and egalitarianism are marked by objective/linear/accurate, future-oriented and accelerated conceptions of time.

Originality/value

This paper introduces an original conceptualization of the three dimensions of time – duration, orientation and tempo – previously overlooked in the literature. Additionally, it provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the relationships between time, culture and socioeconomic development.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 February 2024

Shaimaa Hadi Al-Dulaimi and Miyada Kh Hassan

This study was design to investigate of P. aeruginosa, an example of Gram-negative bacteria, in seven primary and secondary schools of Baghdad city, and the effects of Ethanol and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study was design to investigate of P. aeruginosa, an example of Gram-negative bacteria, in seven primary and secondary schools of Baghdad city, and the effects of Ethanol and Dettol of P. aeruginosa biofilm.

Design/methodology/approach

Seventy swabs were collected from seven primary and secondary schools of Baghdad city, Iraq, during November -December 2022. Swabs were collected from classes desk, doors handles, students hands and water taps. Standard microbiological testing methods were used on the samples for isolation and identification. The ability of bacteria to form biofilm and the effects of Ethanol and Dettol on"preformed” biofilms was examined by microtiter plate with the use of an ELISA reader.

Findings

In 70 swabs from seven primary and secondary schools, growth was observed in 33 swabs as P. aeruginosa. Primary schools were higher contaminated than secondary and water taps and door handles represented the main source of this contamination. The ability of bacteria to produce biofilm was observed in 19 (57.6%) isolates and 14 (42.4%) nonbiofilm producers. As well as, Ethanol (70%) treatment of preformed biofilms led to enhance biofilm formation and revealed significantly greater staining after 4 and 24h than Dettol (3%) compared to an untreated control (tryptic soy broth (TSB) incubation).

Originality/value

Studies on P. aeruginosa in Iraqi schools are quite rare. This work is considered distinctive because it drew attention to the presence of pathogenic bacteria within primary and secondary schools, which are not considered their natural environment.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2024

Joel Nakitare, Fredrick Otike and Lydiah Mureithi

Commercial entities have recently expressed growing interest in commercialising indigenous knowledge (IK) due to its enormous economic and intrinsic value. As this happens…

Abstract

Purpose

Commercial entities have recently expressed growing interest in commercialising indigenous knowledge (IK) due to its enormous economic and intrinsic value. As this happens, custodial communities must not be disadvantaged in the process. This paper aims to understand the legal framework of the commercialisation of IK to identify the opportunities and factors impeding or affecting the commercialisation of indigenous knowledge in Kenya.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a qualitative research approach. An extensive exploratory literature review of existing legal instruments was done to establish the progress and gaps for commercialising indigenous knowledge in Kenya.

Findings

The study shows that the legal framework of IK in Kenya is inadequate. There are no well-established frameworks and policies to protect IK in Kenya, and thus, host communities are subjected to exploitation. The diversity of tribes and communities makes it challenging to have a clear framework, mainly because IK is a devolved function. The study identifies the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act 2016, The National Museums and Heritage Act 2006 and the Natural Products Industry as the key milestones towards commercialisation of IK, while inadequate documentation of IK, communal ownership and inadequate legislation were identified as the main impediments to commercialisation of IK in Kenya.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to the diverse cultures and tribal communities in Kenya, the research could not access all the literature on all traditional IK in Kenya, and very few case studies have been conducted in Kenya.

Practical implications

The gaps identified in the legal framework can form a basis for legislation, policy change, actions and research needed to improve the commercialisation of IK.

Originality/value

The paper underscores the importance of balancing economic empowerment with preserving cultural integrity and protecting indigenous rights in commercialisation.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

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