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This study has assessed the thermal performance of locally fabricated bio-based building envelopes made of coconut and corn husk composite bricks to reduce building wall heat transmission load and energy consumption towards green building adaptation.

Samples of coconut fiber (coir) and corn husk fiber bricks were fabricated and tested for their thermophysical properties using the Transient Plane Source (TPS) 2500s instrument. A simulation was conducted using Dynamic Energy Response of Building - Lunds Tekniska Hogskola (DEROB-LTH) to determine indoor temperature variation over 24 h. The time lag and decrement factor, two important parameters in evaluating building envelopes, were also determined.

The time lag of the bio-based composite building envelope was found to be in the range of 4.2–4.6 h for 100 mm thickness block and 10.64–11.5 h for 200 mm thickness block. The decrement factor was also determined to be in the range of 0.87–0.88. The bio-based composite building envelopes were able to maintain the indoor temperature of the model from 25.4 to 27.4 °C, providing a closely stable indoor thermal comfort despite varying outdoor temperatures. The temperature variation in 24 h, was very stable for about 8 h before a degree increment, providing a comfortable indoor temperature for occupants and the need not to rely on air conditions and other mechanical forms of cooling. Potential energy savings also peaked at 529.14 kWh per year.

The findings of this study present opportunities to building developers and engineers in terms of selecting vernacular materials for building envelopes towards green building adaptation, energy savings, reduced construction costs and job creation.

This study presents for the first time, time lag and decrement factor for bio-based composite building envelopes for green building adaptation in hot climates, as found in Ghana.

There has been a general concern about the alarming rate of loan default, resulting in a large number of bad and doubtful accounts, in the Nigerian banking industry. To stem this undesirable trend, some observers have advocated the employment of statistical models to enhance the objectivity and, hence, the predictive accuracy of banker's loan decisions.

The study analyses psychometric features of the Grasha–Riechmann student learning style scale. It measures the instructional preferences of students attending different educational stages.

The scale was translated from English to Spanish. Content and face validity evidences were analysed. After that, construct validity evidences – exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, factorial invariance analysis – and internal consistency were examined. Data were collected from samples composed of high school and college students from Argentina.

The adapted version, a four-factor 12-item scale, suitable to be used in local students, measures four learning styles – competitive, independent, dependent and collaborative. The model showed a better fit when compared to rival models – three-factor and six-factor. Besides, the four-factor model verified its factorial invariance in high school and college students' groups composing the sample. The internal consistency indices were adequate for every dimension (ordinal α > 0.70).

Despite satisfactory results of the internal validity evidences and the internal consistency analysis, further studies should analyse external validity evidences – criterion and predictive evidences.

The adapted version of the scale is suitable to be used by teachers in order to examine learning preferences in their students. Such information will allow the adaptation of teaching methods regarding the actual students' needs.

The Grasha–Riechmann student learning style scale’s Argentinian adaptation is presented. It is a valid and reliable measure of learning styles suitable to be used in high school and college.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hospitalization and hospital mortality of the patients with gallstone disease and chronic liver diseases (CLD) in the worst pandemic period in Ukraine.

A retrospective comparative analysis of annual reports data of all economy subjects, which conducted economic activity in medical practice for 2019 and 2021. Data was accepted from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) and the State Statistics Service of Ukraine (SSSU).

The total hospitalization rates for diffuse liver disease and cholelithiasis significantly decreased during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine, compared to the values of 2019. At the same time, the rates of in-hospital mortality for these diseases have significantly grown. Also, various proportions of similar trends were described in other countries during the first wave of the pandemic.

This paper highlights the fact that regulatory restrictions and the fear of the population of referring to healthcare facilities considering the high risk of getting an infection had significant disruption to medical care for patients with gallstone disease and CLD. Improving the management of medical resources and strengthening all kinds of institutions in the healthcare system must be thought about if similar challenges appear in the future.

This study addresses the importance of paid work for the autonomy of poor women in the Bolsa Família Programme (BFP), Brazil. The aim of this study is to consider the influence that BFP may have on women seeking paid work, by comparing the situation and the perceptions of women who receive Bolsa Família (BF) with those of women who fall within this same profile but are not included in the programme.

The aim of this study is to consider the influence that BFP may have on women seeking paid work, by comparing the situation and the perceptions of women who receive Bolsa Família (BF) with those of women who fall within this same profile but are not included in the programme. Data were produced from a case study, using a non-probability sample and structured individual interviews in a large city in the south of Brazil.

CCTs designed in the moulds of the BFP, despite its relevance for alleviating poverty, do not have the potential to empower women or for their autonomy, since they do not contribute towards tackling the barriers resulting from the interaction between paid and unpaid labour, and gender determinants in this interaction.

The methodology adopted, with content analysis, allows the collection of the research group participants’ experiences and perceptions, considering the specific nature of the material and symbolic context investigated. However, it does not allow for broad generalizations on the relation between CCT programmes and these women`s paid labour. Within the limits of the inferences produced by the content analysis, this study does enable the theories of ‘laziness’ as a risk resulting from social assistance to be dispelled.

Given these findings, the paper reiterates the importance of taking a critical view of the family when drafting development policies.