Suchergebnisse

After the 7/7 bombings radicalisation became a homegrown issue in the UK with Muslims born and brought up here being responsible for the attacks. This has had a subsequent impact on wellbeing and social cohesion in the UK. It feels the Government's strategy of tackling radicalisation is ineffective and maybe paradoxically serving to increase recruitment to radical groups. There is limited primary research from a sociological or a psychological perspective on the issue of radicalisation amongst the Muslim community in the UK. Two focus groups with six men and ten women, aged between 22 and 56, were established to determine the meaning of radicalisation to Muslims, gather experiences of the impact of the concept of radicalisation on the wellbeing of the Muslim community, understand more about the sociological and psychological processes that lead to radicalisation and gather in-group perspectives on how to tackle radicalisation as a means to promote social cohesion. Islamophobic media coverage and discrimination affected the wellbeing of the Muslim community resulting in a more orthodox religious identity. Drivers of radicalisation were perceived to include inequalities, and misrepresentation of Islamic teachings. Solutions to tackle radicalisation and promote social cohesion included authentic Islamic education, greater integration and reducing inequalities with greater acceptance by the Muslim community alongside more responsible journalism. Although further work is needed in Muslim communities, there also needs to be work done on non-Muslim communities to further understand the impact of extremism on social cohesion and wellbeing.

Abstract
Herein, eco-friendly mesoporous magnetic activated carbon-based agro-waste nanosorbents incorporating antimicrobial silver nanoparticles (Mag@AC1-Ag and Mag@AC1-Ag) have been prepared. Various techniques (XRD, SEM/EDX, TEM, FTIR, and BET analysis) were employed to characterize the prepared nanosorbents before being utilized as novel nanosorbents to remove Pb+2 and Cd+2 ions. Mag@AC1-Ag and Mag@AC1-Ag exhibited rapid and excellent uptake of Pb+2 and Cd+2. The pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm are more suitable for the explanation of the experimental results. The thermodynamic parameters showed that the Pb+2 and Cd+2 sorption by the nanosorbents was a spontaneous and endothermic reaction. The prepared nanosorbents can be effectively regenerated using HCl and recycled up to the fifth cycle. These nanosorbents' potential uses for eliminating Pb+2 and Cd+2 from real water samples were evaluated. Moreover, the results revealed that both Mag@AC1-Ag and Mag@AC2-Ag exhibited high antimicrobial activity against fecal coliform (gram-negative) and Bacillus subtilis (gram-positive).

This paper investigates the impact of Naira real exchange rate misalignment on Nigeria's economic growth using quarterly data spanning the period 2000-2014. We derive estimates of Real Exchange Rate Misalignment (RERMIS) by computing deviations of the actual real exchange rate from a sustainable equilibrium path that is determined using the Behavioural Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) approach of Edwards (1989). Our modelling approach accounts for the possible effects of endogeneity and structural breaks in the estimated relationships. In terms of the extent of RERMIS, results show that the naira was on the average overvalued by 0.17 per cent during the study period. The Gregory and Hansen procedure provides evidence of cointegration between output and its determinants with a structural break in 2003Q2. Furthermore, we found empirical support for a negative impact of RERMIS on economic growth. In view of these findings, the study recommends the continued use of market-based exchange rate arrangements as a way of ensuring that the naira real exchange rate follows its path of sustainable equilibrium. This would complement other government policies aimed at promoting economic growth in the country.

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The coronavirus disease is still spreading in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with subsequent lockdowns and social distancing measures being enforced by the government. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the lockdown on eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among residents of the UAE. A cross-sectional study among adults in the UAE was conducted using an online questionnaire between April and May 2020. A total of 1012 subjects participated in the study. During the pandemic, 31% reported weight gain and 72.2% had less than eight cups of water per day. Furthermore, the dietary habits of the participants were distanced from the Mediterranean diet principles and closer to "unhealthy" dietary patterns. Moreover, 38.5% did not engage in physical activity and 36.2% spent over five hours per day on screens for entertainment. A significantly higher percentage of participants reported physical exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, irritability, and tension "all the time" during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic (p < 0.001). Sleep disturbances were prevalent among 60.8% of the participants during the pandemic. Although lockdowns are an important safety measure to protect public health, results indicate that they might cause a variety of lifestyle changes, physical inactivity, and psychological problems among adults in the UAE.