The Jambur Karo Building View from The Lens of Disability Concerning Local Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities

Jambur is a public meeting building in the Karo Batak tribe, or just called Karo, which has a robust kinship system and can see it from the architecture of the traditional building. Even in realizing the building by using the community's approach, it becomes an empowering process for all procedures. We see that deliberation for consensus is not something impossible which is not just lip service. The principles of genuine and open democracy took place, but that only happened in the past, maybe. Because it turns out that we build no longer with the heart and character but with an approach that is often consumptive and hedonistic, this has become a very extreme and blind problem. We see it in terms of personal character development and Karo community both in Jakarta, Medan, including cities in Tanah Karo such as Kaban-Jahe and Berastagi, and others. Is there any concern or equity for vulnerable or marginalized communities in the design and planning process? Let us build it together. Nothing is impossible. Can the regional action plan be developed regarding the accessibility of physical buildings such as jambur or public meeting buildings? Can it be implemented? Furthermore, is it compatible with the National Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities? So that everything can be well coordinated.

Effectiveness of the Philippine Government’s Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID–19 pandemic is a health issue and concern that posed domino effects along with health, economy, transportation, and education, among others. In response to the pandemic, governments and institutions worldwide have implemented various measures to slow down the spread of the virus. In the Philippines, both the national and local governments have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with declarations of emergency, community quarantine, closure of schools and public meeting places, and other restrictions intended to slow the progression of the virus. Aims: The study assessed the effectiveness of the government's responses to the COVID–19 pandemic as perceived by professionals. Place and Duration of the Study: Pangasinan State University between March 2020 to May 2020. Methodology: The descriptive-survey research design was employed to a total of 522 professionals from Northern Luzon, Philippines. Data was gathered for one week after the 60 days implementation of enhanced community quarantine/lockdown using google form. Results: The results of the study showed that the government's responses to the COVID 19 pandemic was perceived effective (grand mean = 3.53); and most effective on the implementation of physical isolation (overall mean = 3.60; DR - effective) but least effective in the implementation of medical responses (overall mean = 3.37; DR – moderately effective). Further, 64.56% believed that the President's decisiveness to address the pandemic was the number factor contributing to the effectiveness of the government's responses. On the other hand, the general public's lack of discipline was seen as the number one factor contributing to the failure of the government's responses to the pandemic, as perceived by 77.39% of the respondents. Conclusion: Despite the pandemic's continuous progression, the people believed that the national and local governments have effectively responded to the pandemic.

Beyond eyesight: communicative competence of senior high school student with visual impairment

Research on the performance of students with visual impairment based on educational setting has not been conducted. It was the purpose of this paper to find out the communicative competence of senior high school student with visual impairment. This student including his mother, teacher, classmate and schoolmate participated in the research undertaking. Case study was the mode of inquiry in this study. It utilized triangulation method such as classroom observation, interview and review of available documents. As a result of this study, it was found out that the student has high communicative competence. This means that he is competent communicator in the context in public, meeting, and group or dyad to strangers, acquaintances or friends. It was also suggested that further studies should assess the differential impact of a variety of courses on students’ communication competencies in diverse contexts and describe a communication approach to develop communicative competency of student with visual impairment.

State of the Art Robotics for Combating with COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic begins in the end of 2019 and spread all over the world in few months. The pandemic is very severe in nature, challenging to the safety and health of general public, medical personals and healthcare systems. Different emerging technologies are playing a vital role to minimize the impact of pandemic. As COVID-19 imposes many restrictions like lockdowns, stay a home, no public meeting or collective works which badly impact on the normal flow of life and world economy. Robots are best alternative to humans for the continuity of work and combating against COVID-19 in different perspectives. Robotics are used for mass screening, disinfection, diagnosis, examination and medical care, industries, education and all domains. In this paper, we have explored the state of the art contributions of robotics for combating against COVID-19. The agenda of paper is based on two points; the prime contributions of robotics made against pandemic to normalize the life and reduce the COVID-19; the main key research directions and development which are needed for future pandemics. We have categorized the current robotic achievements in different categories such as medical robots, logistics, manufacturing and delivery robots, social care and assistance robots, educational robots and general robots. This paper gives a short, precise and state of the art view of the robotics in pandemic which lead the research to future work.

Analysis and design of a GIS-enabled virtual public meeting space using UML for participatory municipal planning

The main aim of this research is to develop and test Web-based Public Participation Geographical Information Systems (WebPPGIS) to enable public involvement and participation in municipal planning and decision making. This objective is based on the belief that by providing citizens with access to information and data in the form of maps and visualisations they can make better informed decisions and it can immerse them into the spatial decision making process. This thesis presents a prototype implementation serving for spatially related discussions which is based on the GeoVPMS (GIS-based Virtual Public Meeting Space) model introduced by (Li et al., 2007). Moreover, a prototype has been analysed, designed and implemented using UML (Unified Model Language) approach to demonstrate a Web GIS-based architecture with utilization of various open source GIS and other OSS (Open Source Software) tools. In addition, it depicts a cost effective model of n-tier (multi-tier) Web integrated application prototype that can facilitate online public participation in municipal planning and development processes. Its components include online GIS-based participation forum as well as notification system enhance communication during spatially-related discussions in municipal planning and manage all kinds of notice among members as well as general public participants. Furthermore, the spatial data handling components used in this prototype is designed to help the public to explore the spatial contexts related to the issues under planning with and without addressing the form, whereas this contribution makes the protytope more effective and successful. In addition, the prototype is demonstrated with a scenario of public participation in spatial planning using Region of Peel's data.

Analysis and design of a GIS-enabled virtual public meeting space using UML for participatory municipal planning

The main aim of this research is to develop and test Web-based Public Participation Geographical Information Systems (WebPPGIS) to enable public involvement and participation in municipal planning and decision making. This objective is based on the belief that by providing citizens with access to information and data in the form of maps and visualisations they can make better informed decisions and it can immerse them into the spatial decision making process. This thesis presents a prototype implementation serving for spatially related discussions which is based on the GeoVPMS (GIS-based Virtual Public Meeting Space) model introduced by (Li et al., 2007). Moreover, a prototype has been analysed, designed and implemented using UML (Unified Model Language) approach to demonstrate a Web GIS-based architecture with utilization of various open source GIS and other OSS (Open Source Software) tools. In addition, it depicts a cost effective model of n-tier (multi-tier) Web integrated application prototype that can facilitate online public participation in municipal planning and development processes. Its components include online GIS-based participation forum as well as notification system enhance communication during spatially-related discussions in municipal planning and manage all kinds of notice among members as well as general public participants. Furthermore, the spatial data handling components used in this prototype is designed to help the public to explore the spatial contexts related to the issues under planning with and without addressing the form, whereas this contribution makes the protytope more effective and successful. In addition, the prototype is demonstrated with a scenario of public participation in spatial planning using Region of Peel's data.

A recommendation for integrative public space in Lawrence Heights

Cities are never static; they are ever-evolving organisms requiring constant adaptation in an effort to function for the changing and increasingly diverse populations. One of the main issues with past planning practices in the development of social housing in Ontario is the lack of integrative strategies used to build neighbourhoods. Defining what successful integration entails is an important aspect of the creation of successful communities. The purpose of this study is to understand the elements necessary for creating integrative public space for Lawrence Heights; a community located in Toronto that will undergo an extensive revitalization process over the next twenty years. To determine the results, personal observations of the neighbourhood were conducted in a few ways: by taking photographs and notes of activities being enjoyed in the area, by attending a public meeting to comprehend the proposed plan for the redevelopment, and by participating in a workshop to understand the opinions of residents who will be affected by change in the neighbourhood. Integrative public space should include programs, facilities and multi-use, flexible aspects that cater to a variety of people, and can be easily accessed by users. Public space is only one component of integration, but is a very important one to comprehend in the practice of planning.