scholarly journals Sensorised Low-Cost Pencils for Developing Countries: A Quantitative Analysis of Handwriting Learning Progress in Children with/without Disabilities from a Sustainable Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10682
Author(s):  
Luis Javier Serpa-Andrade ◽  
José Juan Pazos-Arias ◽  
Martín López-Nores ◽  
Vladimir Espartaco Robles-Bykbaev
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Speech Therapy ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Triangular Prism ◽  
Special Education Needs ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Development Perspective

Learning to write is a demanding endeavour that requires a combination of linguistic, motor and cognitive skills. Some children suffer from delay or inability to acquire those skills, which often hampers their performance at school and brings about serious consequences for self-esteem, personal expectations and social relationships. The situation worsens in developing countries, due to the lack of resources and specialised personnel. With this background, this paper describes an experiment with a newly-developed sensorised pencil with triangular prism shape, which is shown to yield substantial improvements in children with/without special education needs. A team of experts in the areas of speech therapy, occupational therapy, educational psychology, physiotherapy and pedagogy have expressed very positive opinions about the sensorised pencil and the accompanying software for the acquisition and analysis of quantitative data about handwriting. Furthermore, the device stands out for its low cost in comparison with similar developments, which is a key factor to aid children from low-income families. This fact is explained with a success story of manufacturing and delivering sensorised pencils in the Ecuadorian province of Azuay, framed in a multi-layer sustainable development perspective based on collaboration of several institutions and individuals.

scholarly journals Low-income housing provision: between governmental interventions and informal settlements

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
Hussaen Ali Hasan Kahachi ◽  
Alison Brown
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
Low Cost Housing

Low-cost housing, so-called affordable housing, is an important subject as it affects many aspects of people's well-being and city planning. The urban poor, who form a respectable percentage of cities' residents in many developing countries, are the most affected segment by the availability and affordability of housing. Governments often try their best to provide affordable housing through housing interventions and programs. However, many low-income people end up in informal settlements including slums and squatter settlements. This research analyzes state-led low-cost housing initiatives compared to informal affordable housing in developing countries. The importance of this research is mainly associated with understanding how governmental housing initiatives and laws affect the housing preferences of the urban poor. The research starts by providing a brief background about the subject and its importance from the literature. The research uses mixed methods approach and a case study of Greater Cairo Region following the massive migration during the period between the 1980s and the 2000s to provide an in-depth understanding of the situation. The research then analyzes/discusses some housing initiatives, and uses both quantitative/qualitative data in order to explain potential malpractice and issues. Finally, the research will highlight the key findings and provide some recommendations for change/improvement.

scholarly journals The development of cognitive skills and gains in academic school readiness for children from low-income families.

2010 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet A. Welsh ◽  
Robert L. Nix ◽  
Clancy Blair ◽  
Karen L. Bierman ◽  
Keith E. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
School Readiness ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Academic School

scholarly journals Severe canine distemper outbreak in unvaccinated dogs in Mozambique

2016 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julieta Zacarias ◽  
Alberto Dimande ◽  
Sara Achá ◽  
Paula T. Dias ◽  
Elisa M. Leonel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Immunohistochemical Staining ◽  
Canine Distemper Virus ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Canine Distemper ◽  
Animal Suffering ◽  
Low Income Families

Although significant animal suffering caused by preventable diseases is frequently seen in developing countries, reports of this are scarce. This report describes avoidable animal suffering owing to a suspected canine distemper (CD) outbreak in unvaccinated dogs owned by low-income families in Mozambique that killed approximately 200 animals. Affected dogs exhibited clinical signs, and gross and microscopic lesions compatible with CD. Immunohistochemical staining confirmed the presence of canine distemper virus (CDV) in the kidney of one dog from the cohort. This brief communication again illustrates that large outbreaks of CDV in unvaccinated dogs occur and that large-scale avoidable suffering and threats to the health of dogs and wild canines continue. Mass vaccination supported by government and non-government organisations is recommended.Keywords: Canine distemper; dogs; outbreak; animal welfare; Mozambique

scholarly journals Analytical Approach on Women Education in India

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
N. Sreedhar ◽  
B. Ravi Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
University Education ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Entire Family ◽  
Literacy Rate ◽  
Education Of Women ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Female Literacy ◽  
Women In India

The importance of education had been recognized since the dawn of civilization as the most crucial element of becoming a human being. Women are a very important key factor in the development of human society. In India half of the population consists of women. The 11th five year plan (2007-2012) gave importance to women empowerment in all social, economic and political areas along with continuation of priority keeping over the issues like education, health, and income generating activities. The education and stated that there cannot be educated people without education of women. In India women have a much lower literacy rate than men. Literate women are better decision makers and they contributed more to the life of the community. An African proverb says “If a man is University Education Commission of India (1948-49), just after independence, felt the need of women’s e educated, an individual is educated. If a women is educated the entire family is educated”. Many states have large rural - urban differential in female literacy rate. Women power is crucial to the economic growth of any country. In recent times, people are realizing the value of women education. Even the low income families are willing to educate their children. Women are very important segment in development at local to global levels. Economic independence and education of women will go a long way in attaining self-reliance for women. The United Nations Development programme constituted eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for ensuring equity and peace across the world. The third Millennium Development Goal is directly related to the empowerment of women in India. What Indian women need therefore is not just empowerment, but a complete “Identity Revolution”.

scholarly journals Low Cost Robotic Manipulator for Family Agriculture

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 225
Author(s):  
Marcia Regina Maboni Hoppen Porsch ◽  
Luiz Antonio Rasia ◽  
Nelson José Thesing ◽  
Patricia Carolina Pedrali ◽  
Antonio Carlos Valdiero
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Robotic Manipulator ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Agricultural Activities ◽  
Functional Tests ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
Positioning Control ◽  
Low Income Families

This article introduces or designs and practices a Gantry pneumatic robotic manipulator for greenhouse automation. The prototype was built on the reduced model for sowing and harvesting vegetables using the familiar concept of agriculture. Low-cost robotic handlers can contribute to improved working conditions in family farming and enable strategies to diversify agricultural activities for low-income families. The system has two degrees of freedom, was mounted on a metal workbench using cylinders and specially manufactured guided cable actuator. The control system includes nonlinear compensations of the servo valves used. Functional tests used step input electrical signals (-4 V to +4 V and -8 V to +8 V) using open loop circuit for robot pressure and positioning control. The results obtained are important for perfecting the robotic manipulator for family farming applications.

scholarly journals The Raspberry Pi as a Computer Substitute at Elementary Schools in Developing Countries: A Pilot Experiment in Ecuador

2018 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 04023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Nuñez-Unda ◽  
Angelo Vera ◽  
Lidice Haz ◽  
Viviana Pinos ◽  
Roberto Zurita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Pilot Experiment ◽  
Countries In Transition ◽  
The Government ◽  
Technology And Communication

One of the main challenges of developing countries is to shorten the digital divide that exists with developed countries and countries in transition. The government of Ecuador through its National Plan for Technologies and Telecommunications (Plan Nacional de Telecomunicaciones y Tecnologías), has as a goal to give universal access to Technologies of Information and Communication (TICs) to its entire citizens. One of its projects is to assure connectivity and infrastructure in schools. This paper proposes a low-cost open source solution to improve the access to information technology and communication through computers to children of schools in low income areas. The proposed alternative was set out to using the Raspberry Pi 3 s a substitute of standard computer. Its performance and capabilities were put to test comparing them to standard PC main functions. the pilot experiment was implemented at the "Ciudad de Ariel" elementary school, located on Durán, Ecuador.

Accessing Cognitive Skills in Preschool Children of Middle and Low Income Families

1984 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
Claire Golomb ◽  
Lynn McLean
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Trained Subjects ◽  
Low Income Families

48 4- to 6-yr.-old children of middle and low economic status were assigned to an experimental and two control groups. The trained subjects all performed Piagetian conservation tasks, some after training. Questioning on a modified conservation posttest masked the effect of training. Economic status was not an influence, but type of question and explanation were associated. Diverse strategies were applied to the problems.

scholarly journals Development of a low cost household bone-char defluoridation filter

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1921-1927
Author(s):  
Boris Merlain Djousse Kanouo ◽  
Mathias Fru Fonteh ◽  
Steve Pindjou Ngambo
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Bone Char ◽  
Water Filter ◽  
Point Of Use ◽  
Dental And Skeletal Fluorosis ◽  
Northern Cameroon ◽  
Low Income Families

Regular intake of drinking water containing fluoride above permissible levels (>1.5 mgl-1) is responsible for dental and skeletal fluorosis. The objective of this study was to develop a low cost and efficient water defluoridation filter using local materials. The filter frame was made from Polyvinyl chloride pipe of 125 mm diameter and 1 m height, with a useful filtration volume of 9.55 l. The filtration layer consisted of a sequence of three strata: gravel, bone-char and sand, giving a total weight of 15 kg. Based on the concentration of fluoride in drinking water in parts of northern Cameroon, three different fluoride ion concentrations (10 mgl-1, 20 mgl-1 and 30 mgl-1) were prepared in the laboratory using distilled water and allowed to flow through the filter at the rate of 3.33 lh-1. High fluoride uptake capacity was observed (94.8% to 99.1%), depicting the suitability of the filter in defluoridation. The constructed filter costed about 17 US$. Based on these results, the filter can be recommended as an appropriate technology to mitigate fluoride health hazards problems in low income families. Although the estimated replacement frequency of biochar was three months, further research is required to optimize the point of use system performances.Keywords: Bone-char, water filter, fluoride.

scholarly journals General Overview of Malnutrition under five children in low income countries and solution to mitigate

2020 ◽  
pp. 466-482
Author(s):  
Caresma Chuwa ◽  
Anju K. Dhiman ◽  
Deepika Kathuria
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Severe Problem ◽  
Stunted Growth ◽  
Under Nutrition ◽  
Malnourished Children ◽  
Broad Concept

Malnutrition is a broad concept that includes both under- and over-nutrition. It is the most serious public health problem and the leading cause of child mortality. About a third of children in developing countries are either underweight or stunted. Micronutrient shortages affect more than 30 percent of the world's rising population. Under nutrition, there is a mechanism whose results are routinely spread not only in later lifestyles, but also into future generations. It is a severe problem that affects children under the age of five in developing countries, resulting in stunted growth, muscle weakness, and underweight. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are still common, and they frequently occur in conjunction with a general lack of nutrients. Malnourished children are at risk of developing marasmus, kwashiorkor, anaemia, rickets, and blindness. Malnourished children have a higher risk of dying from diarrhoea, malaria, or pneumonia than children with perfect nutritional status. Effective malnutrition prevention and treatment, including the use of low-cost food available in communities, is urgently needed. These meals contain sufficient nutrients, such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals, to combat malnutrition in infants and children in developing countries. The focus of this review article is on promoting low-cost, locally available ingredients in groups to alleviate malnutrition in toddlers and children in low-income countries.

4onse project results: quality and costs evaluation of an open and low-cost monitoring network of 30 stations in Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Strigaro ◽  
Massimiliano Cannata ◽  
Rangajeewa Ratnayake ◽  
Bh Sudantha ◽  
Imran Sahid
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
Database Management System ◽  
Weather Station ◽  
Environmental Monitoring System ◽  
Communication Layer ◽  
Conventional Systems

<p>The 4onse project (Four times Open Non-conventional system for Sensing the Environment) <span>was born</span> by the collaboration between SUPSI and two universities in developing countries namely the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka and the Institue of Space Technologies in Pakistan. The activities led to the installation of more than 30 stations in the Deduru Oya basin in Sri Lanka, following the development and testing of a prototype. The rise of technologies for Smart City and the Internet of Things (IoT) makes this project of interest to both the scientific and the private world, also considering the growing concern for environmental and climate issues.</p><p>The environmental monitoring system has been designed and developed on the wave of openness, which increasingly pervades not only scientific activity, but also the commercial sectors at different levels. Based on this philosophy, the selected hardware and software technologies have been evaluated in terms of quality, durability and sustainability and are showing very promising results. Unlike conventional systems, where the adoption of closed solutions strongly limits interoperability and data sharing, the designed solution is characterized by a high reproducibility and interoperability, guaranteed by the adoption of open software and standards for the collection and distribution of data. Such a technology can be applied and further developed for monitoring natural and non-natural environments that require low-cost sensor components with a level of quality comparable to conventional systems commonly used. This cost-effective solution is a possible alternative for the implementation of sensor networks in particular in low-income or developing countries in order to manage natural risks or water resources.</p><p>The solution consists of three different layers: hardware, server and communication layer. The hardware layer consists of a weather station based on Arduino and sensors measuring environmental variables. This kind of prototype has been validated thanks to the comparison of the time series with the data of an official weather station of the hydro-meteorological network of the Canton Ticino. The second layer is characterized by the server infrastructure that stores the measured data using the istSOS database management system (DBMS), which makes them accessible thanks to the implementation of open standards such as the Sensor Observation Service (SOS) of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). Finally, the communication layer concerns the use of GPRS for the transmission of data from the node to the server that has been optimized in terms of energy and bandwidth consumption in order to guarantee stable and fast communication.</p><p>The research project has reached the end of the activities and during this presentation the main results and outputs will be presented.</p>

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