Democracy in Lebanon – Challenges and Prospects

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Democracy refers to the rule of the people. It is a system of representational government wherein people have the right to determine their social, economic and political course. Over the past centuries and decades, as the world has been embracing democracy, as a political ideal, some parts of the globe lag behind. Middle East, with its unique history and geographic importance being one among them; remains the center of discussion. Within the Middle East itself, Lebanon enjoys a very special position; not only for geo-political and economic reasons, but more so for its peculiar demographics. Divided among 18 recognized confessions, Lebanon offers a rich blend of fracture and unity. It is this mix of a small yet diverse society, limping its way towards an inclusive and successful polity that has been put to light in this paper. With its internal nuances and external flavors; Lebanon offers a test for the metal of democracy. The challenges it has and is still facing, and the prospects it enjoys for the future have been delved in this essay.

Recent Trends in Sustainable Textiles and Apparel Production

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Human life is sustainable with food, cloth, and shelter as a basic need. The global textile industry is bound to be huge, as it fulfills the second basic requirement of human. In recent years ecological issues have become more important in the textile and apparel industry, an industry known as a polluting industry despite having a natural and environmentally friendly base. Every textile item releases toxic substances that are harmful to the environment. The traditional textile industry consumes large amounts of natural resources and pollutes the environment by involving a huge amount of toxic chemical substances during the production and wet treatment processes. Sustainability has become an essential attribute of today’s textile industry. The process of transforming the textile industry into a more sustainable one is very sensitive, needs a lot of knowledge, skills, and commitment. This paper reviews the importance, recent trends, and role of governing bodies in sustainable textile production.

China’s Growing Influence in the Pacific Islands and Its Implications on Climate Change

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The geostrategic value of the Pacific region has started to gain momentum for the first time since the end of World War II. The region is consisting of Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia. The center of global geostrategic fulcrum has moved to the Asia-Pacific with China’s growing strategic and economic interest in the region. Pacific Island nations that consider themselves on the front lines of climate change had hoped the U.S. and other regional powers like Australia would stay committed to the global deal to cut emissions and help populations confront the rising seas around them. But they didn’t and as a result the island nations turned towards China, as Beijing has vowed to stay in the Paris Climate Agreement. The paper has dealt with the change in power play in the region on the perspective of climate change and has focused on the future of the regional equation with China.

Purposes of Writing Signposts: The Case of the Signposts in Nusa Penida

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The discussion of signpost belongs to the area of linguistic landscape. This area is frequently related to the other fields of study namely Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics or Historical Linguistics. One of its topics is studying the naming of objects in public space (Ben-Rafael, Shohamy, et al. 2006). According to Landry & Bourchis (1997) signpost will shape the language condition in a particular surrounding. This idea is applied in a place called Nusa Penida Island which is located in the Province of Bali. As a tourist destination, more than one languages are involved in the writing of the signpost there. The multiple languages used and the way they are put in order show the perception of the people towards those languages. Will Gorter’s (2012) idea saying that nowadays monolingual signposts are rarely found turn to be true? This research on name place has been done in Nusa Penida. The data was taken from various signposts related to tourist destination found there. The purpose of this article is to present (1) how the people in Nusa Penida, Bali create their signposts to support their increasing tourism, (2) the purposes behind the creation of the signpost. The result of the research presents that most of the signposts in Nusa Penida are presented in more than one language (script) which reflects their desire to serve tourism well or to show hospitality and at the same time to show their loyalty to their identity as Balinese people.

Physiological Comparison of Some Serum Biochemistry between Lactating and Non-Lactating Dairy Cows in Selected Dairy Farms of Dhaka District of Bangladesh

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The present study was carried out to investigate the physiological comparison of some serum biochemistry between lactating and non-lactating dairy cows in selected dairy farms of Dhaka district of Bangladesh. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the serum parameters like glucose, total protein, total cholesterol, calcium and phosphorus concentration and these parameters were measured by the serum analyzer for lactating (n=50) and non-lactating (n=50) dairy cattle which were selected from various selected dairy farms of Dhaka district. The results (mean ± standard deviation) of the study showed that among the serum biochemical parameters total protein (84.2±1.18 gm/l) and total cholesterol (156.36± 3.41 mg/dl) level in non-lactating cows were higher than the value of lactating cows as (80.14±2.31 gm/l) and (138.21± 1.21 mg/dl). On the other hand, serum glucose, calcium and phosphorus level in lactating cows (68.12± 2.34 mg/dl), (12.06±3.21 mg/dl) and (8.30±0.20 mg/dl) respectively were found higher than the non-lactating cows (60.32 ±1.42 mg/dl), (10.48±5.60 mg/dl) and (6.31 ±0.12 mg/dl). In case of parity-wise biochemical parameters were insignificant variation was found. It may be concluded that biochemical parameters variation present between lactating cow and non-lactating cow is important for interpretation of laboratory data and also for physiological diagnosis.

The Countervailing Effect of Language Proficiency and Cultural Adaptation on the Frequency of Cognitive-Metacognitive Strategies among EFL Readers

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This article is an attempt to investigate how advanced and high-intermediate learners of English receiving culturally familiar or nativized contents may differ in terms of both their performance in reading comprehension and the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. To this end, a total of 73 advanced and high-intermediate students of English were selected and assigned to two groups in order to acquire relevant data across different levels of language proficiency. Subsequently, the participants received culturally adapted texts with sociologically, semantically and pragmatically nativized contents in the form of narrative and expository texts. Following this step, the participants were given reading comprehension tests and cognitive-metacognitive questionnaires. While culturally familiar texts are generally believed to have facilitating impacts on the overall reading comprehension for all language groups, the findings of the present study suggest that the advanced learners of English may use these strategies more frequently compared to high-intermediate learners of English. These results may raise strong implications concerning the suitability and effectiveness of nativized or culturally adapted materials for learners at varying levels of language proficiency.

The Underrepresentation of Women in Moroccan Drama Movies: Through the Lens of Moroccan Male Filmmakers

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This article strives to illuminate the interlinked relationship between movies, gender, and culture in the Moroccan context. More specifically, it aims at exploring the way women are misrepresented and misinterpreted in Moroccan drama movies, and particularly through the lens of Moroccan male filmmakers. For this specific reason, two Moroccan movies are selected, critically analyzed, and thoughtfully compared using qualitative content analysis. The first one is Okba Lik, a comedy-drama movie directed by Yassine Fennane and released in 2010. The second one is Hayat, a road trip drama movie directed by Raouf Sebbahi and released in 2017. Although the two movies are seven years apart, results have revealed that the culture of domineering men and subservient women is still prevalent in Moroccan drama movies. Both male filmmakers reinforce and perpetuate patriarchal ideology through the depiction of different forms of male domination and female subordination. Results have also shown that both movies make a significant contribution to the misrepresentation, dehumanization, objectification, and sexualization of Moroccan women.

The Effect of Nanogold-Nanosilver for Immune Enhancement of Drug Abuse Victims in Areas Affected by COVID-19

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The development of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia is increasing, but until now there is no specific drug to prevent the virus. Therefore, it is necessary to do a research to produce a drug that can prevent this virus. Efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to avoid contracting the virus can be done by strengthening the immune system. Currently, the development of nanogold and nanosilver utilization occurs very rapidly, especially in the health sector due to its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. In this research, nanogold-nanosilver was presented in the form of drinking water that can be consumed directly. The purpose of this research was to find out the effect of nanogold-nanosilver health drinking water on immune enhacement in terms of anxiety level, stress level, and sleep quality. This research used one group pretest-posttest design. Data collection was conducted through observation and interviews with 75 victims of drug abuse who live in areas affected by COVID-19. Data were analyzed using one paired T-test on SPSS version 25. From the statistical test results obtained p-value 0.000 in all three aspects, it means that nanogold-nanosilver had an effect to boost the immune system.

Effect of Biomineral Sources Combination on the Agronomic Character of Shallot (Allium ascalonicum L.) in the Offseason

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This study aims to analyse the effects combination of compound fertilizer and  rhizobacteria sources on the agronomic characters of shallot in off season. The study was conducted in Sleman, Yogyakarta from February to June 2019. The experiment was arranged in a R C B D with three replications. The treatment consisted of combination  between compound fertilizer (AS) first factor was dosage (150, 250 and 350 kg ha-1) and 5%  rhizobacteria from different three sources (rhizobacteria bamboo, rhizobacteria glyricidae and rhizobacteria peanut) each concentrasion and control. The observed were made on the growth and yield of bulb, and the data were analyzed using analysis of variance and Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at P< 0.05. There was no interaction between indigenous rhizobacteria sources and AS fertilizer on all variables. The dosage of  AS fertilizer up to 350 kg ha-1 did not improve the plant growt. However, there was an increase in bulb yield when 150 kg ha-1 at AS was applied. The application of indigenous rhizobacteria from bamboo root significantly increased the growth of shallot. The application of AS 150 kg ha-1 combined indigenous rhizobacteria  bamboo root at 5% is recomended to promote shallot production in offseason  as well as to minimize the  input cost of inputs and environmental pollution.

 

Carbapenems: A Short Review about their Current Status

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In this review, we summarize the current “state of the art” of carbapenem antibiotics and their role in our antimicrobial armamentarium. Among the beta-lactams currently available, carbapenems are unique because they are relatively resistant to hydrolysis by most beta-lactamases. Herein, we described the cost effectiveness, safety, and advantages of carbapenems as compared to other antibiotics. We also highlight important features of the carbapenems that are presently in clinical use: imipenem-cilastatin, meropenem, ertapenem, doripenem, panipenem-betamipron, and biapenem. In closing, we emphasize some major challenges related to oral formulatuion of carbapenems and different strategies to overcome these challenges.