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Loneliness and emotion regulation in daily life
No full textThere is a growing understanding that emotion regulation (ER) abilities can be an important buffer for loneliness. However, most of this research is cross-sectional. Thus, it is unknown whether loneliness is associated with ER in momentary evaluations and can predict within-person changes in ER. We addressed these questions through ecological momentary assessment, where 169 Egyptian adults reported their loneliness and ER (social sharing, suppression, reappraisal, positive reframing, rumination) five times daily for 14 days. Loneliness negatively predicted social sharing at the within-person level and positively predicted rumination at the between-person level. However, loneliness was not linked to reappraisal, positive reframing, or suppression at the between or within-person levels. The results indicate that the global associations between loneliness and ER replicate previously established results for social sharing and rumination, but not suppression, reappraisal, or positive reframing in daily life. At the same time, the effects of loneliness on different strategies in daily life depend on whether they are at the within-person or between-person level
Riding the crypto wave: How does country R&D spending respond?
No full textPurpose: This paper aims to explore how the expansion in cryptocurrency users affects the country\u27s research and development (R&D) investments. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis covers 53 countries over the period 2019–2022. The empirical methodology implements an instrumental variable approach to overcome endogeneity and omitted variable bias issues. In particular, this study introduces novel instruments developed from Google data, specifically related to trends observed in the cryptocurrency markets. Findings: The results show that macroeconomic and institutional factors, as well as technology infrastructure affect the country\u27s R&D expenditure, as previously noted in the literature. The country\u27s R&D spending significantly responds to cryptocurrency expansions. Conspicuously, each 10% increase in cryptocurrency market users boosts the ratio of R&D to GDP by 1.35%. The countries that have imposed an adequate taxation policy on cryptocurrency gains experienced more improvement in their R&D budget, in contrast to those that forced aggressive tax brackets or did not apply adequate policies. Cryptocurrency dynamics affect both religiously regulated and nonreligious countries. Originality/value: This study has three main contributions. First, it introduces the role of the cryptocurrency market as one of the leading global trends to affect the countries’ R&D budget. Second, this paper documents the importance of forcing an adequate tax policy on cryptocurrency capital gains. Third, the results of this paper serve as guidelines for governments to face the challenges raised by the cryptocurrency market
Prevention of Food Fraud in Egypt: Policy Implementation Challenges and The Way Forward
Get PDFPrevention and control of food fraud is now an emerging policy goal for different governments. Food fraud is intentionally adulterating food intended for personal gain and deceiving consumers. Adulterated food continues to be a significant threat to Egypt\u27s food sector because of its negative impact on the food industry\u27s reputation. Additionally, it jeopardizes the success of initiatives to increase investment, tourism, and exports in Egypt. Addressing fraud is, by definition, the most challenging food control system form because it directly addresses a personal stake benefiting from fraud behavior. In light of the importance of food fraud prevention as an emerging policy, this research aims to answer the question: How is the government of Egypt’s policy working to prevent food fraud, and to what extent is it effective? The study primarily understands food fraud policies in Egypt, explores the current legal and regulatory framework used to deal with food fraud violations in Egypt, and covers the entire food production chain from farm to fork.” The research also explores the main challenges facing the government to mitigate the problem, the recent and ongoing reforms that the government did to overcome the obstacles, and the new reforms that are happening or need to happen to reduce the problem. A qualitative approach is adopted. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with different food fraud prevention policymakers and implementers from the competent authorities involved. The analysis revealed specific challenges and gaps in the food fraud laws and regulations, food fraud control management system, inspection services, laboratory services, education, and communication. In conclusion, the research introduces a comprehensive set of recommendations that Egypt can apply to strengthen its legal and regulatory framework and improve its policy implementation to fight food fraud in identified areas, including the updating of food fraud laws and regulations, strengthening the food fraud control management system, promoting inspection services, expanding laboratory services, and promoting information, education, and communication
Cardiac Active Tension Modeling via Genetic Algorithm-Optimized Fractional Order Systems
Get PDFDeveloping a computational model to model cardiac activity has been increasingly important in recent decades. Accurate cell-level active tension modeling for cardiomyocytes is critical to understanding cardiac functionality on a patient-specific basis and developing an effective in-silico cardiac model. However, cell-level models in the literature fail to account for viscoelasticity and inter-patient variations in active tension. This research proposes a genetic algorithm-optimized, fractional order system to model cell-level active tension by extending Land’s state-of-the-art model of cardiac contraction. The model features the (left) Caputo derivative of six state variables that identify the mechanistic origins of viscoelasticity in a myocardial cell in terms of the thin filament, thick filament, and length-dependent interactions. This proposed Caputo Land System (CLS) model is the first of its kind for active tension modeling in cells and demonstrates notable patient-specificity, with smaller mean square errors than the reference model relative to cell-level experiments, promising greater clinical relevance than its counterparts in the literature
The Utilitarian Islamic Modernity of Ḥasan al-ʿAṭṭār (1766–1835)
Get PDFIn this thesis, I describe and analyze the manifestations of modern thought in the life and works of Ḥasan al-ʿAṭṭār (d. 1835), an Egyptian Islamic scholar who served as Shaykh al-Azhar in the 1830s, in concert with Muḥammad ʿAlī Pasha. These manifestations were significantly influenced by the writings and ideas of Ottoman ʿulamāʿ and political elites which al-ʿAṭṭār would have encountered during his 10-year journey across the Empire. The thesis will also explore the content of al-ʿAṭṭār’s political, legal and social thought, which was guided by a unique form of ‘Islamic utilitarianism’ which reaches across his writings and the reforms he undertook as Shaykh al-Azhar. The thesis will also discuss al-ʿAṭṭār’s relationship with the post-classical tradition of Islamic scholarship and whether or not he can be classified as a reformist – a question which has dominated the literature on him thus far. For its sources, this thesis relies primarily on al-ʿAṭṭār\u27s various autobiographical notes, his magnum opus of legal theory, Ḥāshiyat al-ʿAṭṭār ʿalā jamʿ al-jawāmiʿ, and his treatise on political theory, Risāla fī taḥqīq al-khilāfat al-islāmiyya, the last of which is here translated in full
Syrian Investments and the Insertion of Displaced Syrians in the Egyptian Labor Market
Get PDFThis study explores Syrian investments and the economic insertion of displaced Syrians in the Egyptian labor market, specifically focusing on middle/large scale investments in the hospitality and textile sectors. It addresses a gap in the theoretical literature concerning Syrian investments during displacement and their economic insertion in Egypt, examining the legal framework and provisions related to employment. The conceptual framework investigates how Syrian business owners\u27 investments contribute to the insertion of displaced Syrians, emphasizing business size, legal status, and economic resources. The findings reveal a positive impact on economic integration, highlighting entrepreneurial strategies, local growth, difficulties, and their transformative role in generating employment opportunities. The research identifies a correlation between economic insertion, skill diversity, and cultural influences, emphasizing the resilience introduced by displaced Syrians. Additionally, the study underscores the importance of legal frameworks, social engagement, and tailored policies in facilitating successful insertion, acknowledging challenges faced by Syrian entrepreneurs
Fair Fault-Tolerant Approach for Access Point Failures in Networked Control System Greenhouses
Get PDFGreenhouse Networked Control Systems (NCS) are popular applications in modern agriculture due to their ability to monitor and control various environmental factors that can affect crop growth and quality. However, designing and operating a greenhouse in the context of NCS could be challenging due to the need for highly available and cost-efficient systems. This thesis presents a design methodology for greenhouse NCS that addresses these challenges, offering a framework to optimize crop productivity, minimize costs, and improve system availability and reliability. It contributes several innovations to the field of greenhouse NCS design. For example, it recommends using the 2.4GHz frequency band instead of 5GHz to minimize Access Point (AP) costs while maintaining an acceptable Packet Loss Rate (PLR) of ≤ 2%, and prolonging sensor battery life by reducing transmission power. Additionally, it proposes a metric, Ψ, to help management select an architecture that minimizes crop profit loss, considering factors like AP failure and repair rates, and overall greenhouse efficiency. Markov models are used to calculate steady-state availability (AVss) and determine system downtime. System availability is assessed by modeling various architectures using SHARPE. Moreover, the Quality of Experience (QoE) metric is used to enhance the selection process of optimal distributions in the event of single, double, and triple AP failures. QoE serves as a valuable tool for system designers to evaluate and compare different distribution strategies, taking into account factors such as packet loss rates, latency, and user perception. This metric enables informed decision-making in selecting the most suitable distribution strategy, ensuring robust and efficient operations of greenhouse NCS, even under challenging conditions. The simulation tool, Riverbed Modeler, is used to evaluate greenhouse NCS operation in terms of PLRs. The methodology and contributions of this thesis were validated through a case study on a greenhouse NCS found in the literature. The results show that the methodology can significantly reduce costs while maintaining an acceptable level of system reliability and performance. These contributions provide a comprehensive design methodology for greenhouse NCS, applicable to farmers and greenhouse operators, aimed at improving the quality and profitability of their yield
Abundant Bodies in Times of Excess: A Critical Exploration of Fatness from Cairo to Tokyo
No full textThis work is an autoethnographic exploration of the social construction of fatness in contexts of existing and emerging neoliberal state control through the embodied experiences of fat people, following the tradition of ‘fat epistemology’ promoted by the emerging \u27critical fat studies\u27 field. It is a comparative study of the experiences of fatness as an unstable embodied category of being, rather than a liminal undesirable state or medical condition, in Cairo, Alexandria, and Tokyo, paying particular attention to the gender, racial, and class dynamics surrounding the construction (and marginalization) of fatness across various spatial and temporal contexts. These experiences are considered in conversation with the urban landscapes inhabited by each interlocutor, and comparative media representations of fatness in Egypt and Japan (media including television shows, commercials, and public comments made by government officials), as well as an exploration of the historical moments oft-referenced in modern debates surrounding the body in both contexts
Solutions Journalism and Climate Change Journalistic Narratives: Comparative Insights from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates
Get PDFDue to the heavy nature of the climate crisis, climate change news tends to be massively negative. Too much negative information can cause severe psychological impacts and spur news avoidance. Along these lines, solutions-focused climate change reporting presents a juncture for introspection. Solutions journalism is rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems. Focus on the positive while not ignoring the negative; a solution approach could help expand climate coverage by changing the traditional depressing narrative and sharing stories of effective responses. Despite the academia’s growing interest in solutions journalism, there is not an abundance of literature available in the context of the Global South countries. This study aims to fill this research void while giving a first-hand account of expanding global understanding of the local practices of solutions-focused climate reporting in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two Arab hosts of COP27 and COP28. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods. It explores how prominent Egyptian and Emirati news media report climate change and interviews local science journalists. The findings reveal fluctuating editorial attention and expose inadequate and temporary climate coverage. While recognized as crucial, solutions journalism faces gaps in its presentation, indicative of the influence of positive journalism and the interplay of political sensitivities and editorial decision-making. The findings also highlight broader challenges in climate journalism, emphasizing the need for context-tailored approaches. The study finally proposes a model based on practices by journalists, addressing challenges and offering practical insights for a more informed and compelling discourse on climate change
