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Background: There is a standard methodology for measuring and evaluating the availability and affordability of selected medicines in the healthcare system, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Aim: To investigate availability, affordability and accessibility of medicines in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2021 and compare the results with those from 2019. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study investigated the availability and affordability of 60 selected medicines in Islamic Republic of Iran. Availability and affordability were measured using the WHO/Health Action International methodology. Results: The availability rates for originator brands in the public, private and other sectors were 6.4%, 8.6% and 6.8%, respectively. In contrast, availability rates for lowest-priced and most-sold generics were 44.7% and 63.6% in the public sector, 45.4% and 66.4% in the private sector, and 39.6% and 58.6% in other sectors. Only 20.0% of originator brands in the Islamic Republic of Iran were affordable, while 96.6% of the lowest priced and 95.0% of the most sold generics were affordable. Conclusion: Most medicines in the Islamic Republic of Iran were affordable and the pharmaceutical supply chain was acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014 the National Health Service (NHS) in England released the Five Year Forward plan1, envisioning a shift in power from health professionals to patients and the public. In response the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) produced the "Patient, Public and Practitioner Partnership within Imaging and Radiotherapy: Guiding Principles" (P4) document which was implemented within four domains of radiography practice; service delivery, service development, education and research2. This project explored how these guidelines were implemented; and whether improvement to the quality and scope were needed, leading to making recommendations for updating the document. A mixed methods design was adopted with two phases. Phase 1 – a survey exploring use of the P4 document's guiding principles. There was no maximum number of participants to ensure inclusivity. Phase 2 - one focus group and four one-to-one interviews from the four domains3. 626 participants completed the phase 1 survey. 18.85% (n=118) of participants were aware of the document and used it as a reference tool for practice, teaching, and research. 81.15% (n=508) of participants stated they were unaware of the document. Themes from phase 2; importance of service user involvement in service delivery and evaluation, resources to ensure service user involvement, suggestions to update the P4 document and use of the P4 document in radiographer education. Participants acknowledged guidance in the document was best practice. They reported more awareness of patients' needs and the effect this has on radiographers in supporting their needs. Participants recommended the document be given greater visibility. The voices of patients and the public must be heard within radiography practice. Feedback from this study can be used for the future development of the P4 document. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictors of wages and salaries (earnings) are investigated to track the impact of COVID-19 on wages and salaries dynamics in Malaysia for 2019 and 2020. Data obtained from Salary and Wages Survey (2019 and 2020) is used to estimate the Mincerian models for those years. The main findings are: Firstly, public sector employees receive lesser impact during COVID-19; secondly, the younger (15–19 and 20–24) and the older (60–64) workers experienced significant reduction in earnings; thirdly, citizens in public sector saw a large improvement in earnings compared to non-citizens; fourthly, ethnic Bumiputera in public sector received 4% lower earnings than the reference category (Indian ethnic) in 2019 but in 2020, this reduced by half; and finally from a regional perspective, employees in West Coast, both public and private seems to experience earnings reduction in 2020 closer to the reference category. In a way, COVID-19 is a 'blessing in disguise' as urban–rural and male–female earnings gap in private sector reduced and citizens in public sector saw a rise in their earnings. We recommend the following. Firstly, those with lower education and low-skilled should invest more in human capital. Provision of specific skill-based or life-long learning programs are essential. Secondly, more targeted measures to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on declining wages and salaries to specific group of people will bring them far. Finally, the younger and older workers appear to be more vulnerable. More skill development opportunities enable the younger participants to build human capital. For older workers, concrete income generation opportunities through entrepreneurial opportunities (private) or extending the age of retirement (public) are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Public Health Forum is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contributions to Contemporary History / Prispevki za Novejšo Zgodovino is the property of Prispevki za Novejso Zgodovino and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia is the property of Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examined the impact of COVID-19 using a quantitative approach on disbursement of maintenance railway projects. Information was gathered by deploying questionnaire survey to practitioners who involved in railway maintenance projects. Primary factors effected to disbursement procedure were identified from 70 major railway maintenance projects (Civil, Mechanical and Electrical works). Thirty-two (32) factors effected to the disbursement procedure were then distributed in the form of questionnaire. A total 115 respondents were sent back and ranking the severity of effective factors to disbursement procedure. Findings revealed in submission stage that contractor's failure to follow the procedures submitting invoices. contractor submits claims with errors and government prevention policies were mainly factors which effected the performance of submission. While, quarantine period and adverse weather factors were the main factor which effected the performance of inspection stage. Financial crisis and shortage of staff were main factors which effected the payment execution period. All mentioned factors effected to disbursement procedure were caused by contractors and engineers and owner staffs. It appeared factors effected to performance of disbursement procedure that were normally occurred in construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a study conducted on a population of students from two technological universities in Mexico. The intention was to contrast the perceived achievement of the complex thinking competency and its sub-competencies among students in the last levels of their training. Then, to identify areas of opportunity for developing professional competencies it was applied a sample of 551 Engineering and Business school students from two higher education institutions in this Latin American country. In this manner, 60,61% corresponded to public universities while 39,39% remaining corresponded to private universities. Methodologically, a statistical descriptive analysis was carried out. The study was conducted with a convenience sample answered by students from technological universities located in western Mexico through Google Forms. After analyzing the results, it was possible to identify a gap in the students' perceived achievement in both institutions, with the private institution having a significantly higher mean. This study raises the importance of guaranteeing the development of professional competencies equitably among all students, intending to avoid differences that impact their perceptions of their abilities. All of this considering that complex thinking as a set of disciplinary and meta-competences should be similarly taught indifferent the type of university or higher education institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production or use of copyrighted material without permission of the copyright holder is copyright infringement. Copyright laws grant the owner of the copyright exclusive rights to their own creations, imaginations, and ideas for a limited time. Intellectual property rights protection and enforcement will promote social and economic well-being, protect individual rights, and promote trade, competition, and innovation. Exception and limitations in Copyright Laws are provisions that allow the use of copyrighted works without prior authorisation or a license from its owner in the public interest. But there has been seen that copyright infringement is taking place in the society. As the Clubs, bars and five stars restaurants are playing music by DJs of the famous singers and earning huge money day by day. It is pure economic exploitation of the creativity as per laws where singers should get the royalty benefit out of the income. If these people would get royalty, then they could pay some amount of royalty in the name of taxes to the government which would help and benefit in the country’s economy. There is relation between copyright and economy as it is for public welfare because copyright means human being’s creativity and the vice versa economy mean public income. So the aim of this research work is to share probable suggestions for the different issues on copyright exemptions clause under Indian copyright laws. This would also helpful to stop the economic exploitation of the singer as well as to raise country’s income which leads to public welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the figure of invocation across the philosophical and rhetorical traditions in order better to understand its role in symbolic life. From Augustine to Quintilian, and from Lyotard to Lacan, it argues that a rhetorical notion of invocation must extend itself beyond the mere dimension of the call. Exhuming an overlooked definition from Quintilian’s Institutes of Oratory, it proposes that invocation should be reconceptualized in a way that emphasizes its aversus. The consequence is that an invocatory rhetorical project—indeed, the device itself—insists against the metaphysics of the Other. Invoking Quintilian, it argues for a redefinition on the basis of invocation’s particularity as a figure, its polemic, and its publicity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: If corneal transparency is impaired and all conservative, surgical or other medical treatments have failed, corneal transplantation is the only therapeutic option. When the family knows and is aware of this, both in the case of "opt-in" and in the case of "soft opt-out", where the family is involved in the decision, the chances of receiving the organ are higher, if there is an adequate post-mortem framework. To achieve this increase in an individual's willingness to donate organs or corneas, factors that determine/predict this willingness must be explored. Aim: To investigate the factors influencing the willingness to donate corneas. Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty-nine non-health science professionals/students were reached by the principal investigator from May 2022 to January 2023, and 38 nursing students were reached by the principal investigator at a nursing student conference in November 2022. The data collection method was a self-administered questionnaire with closed-end questions. The questionnaire was printed, a version of it was created in Google Forms, and there were electronic responses as well. Descriptive analysis was performed by calculating the frequencies of sociodemographic and donating characteristics. For inferential statistical analysis, the Monte Carlo method, Chi-Square and Kruskal-Wallis tests, as well as multinomial logistic regression analysis, were used to compare the parameters of the independent variables with attitudes toward corneal donation. Results: The desire of becoming a cornea donor was expressed by 22.3% of the respondents. The multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed with the corneal donation willingness attitudes as the dependent variable (0="I do not want to become a corneal donor," 1="I have not decided whether I want to become a corneal donor," 2="I do want to become a corneal donor") and degree of spirituality, respondent type, gender, age, marital status, highest education level, and employment status as the independent variables. The overall model was significant, χ2 (16)=28.84, p<0.025. Comparing the attitudes of "I have not decided whether I want to become a corneal donor" and "I do not want to become a corneal donor", no statistically significant relationship (p≤0.05) was found with any of the variables in the regression model. The parameter "degree of spirituality" served as a predictive factor (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.06-1.81, p=0.018) regarding the comparison of "I would like to become a corneal donor" vs. "I would not like to become a corneal donor". Conclusions: To achieve increase in willingness to donate organs or corneas, the factors that determine/predict this willingness must be explored. In this study, "I want to be a cornea donor" was answered by 22.3% of the population. The current study also found that spirituality was found to predict willingness to donate corneas. These findings suggest that enhancing the public's willingness to donate corneas would necessitate an expansion in health policy focus. Alongside current guidelines, this should involve engaging theological schools, religious communities, and formal religious bodies in initiatives to encourage organ/corneal donation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how social media can be used as a tool to develop the nascent Namibian fashion industry and encourage consumer interest. This research started from the hypothesis that a localised social media platform could be used as a tool to boost industry competitiveness as well as consumer support. The research took on a mixed methods approach where a survey was undertaken, followed by a series of interviews of local fashion industry stakeholders to gain insight into how social media could best serve Namibian fashion. Analysis of results indicates that a localised social media platform could be beneficial for the industry but it is important that such a platform not exclude opportunities of international exposure and networking. Furthermore, for such a platform to work, stakeholders in the Namibian fashion industry will have to embrace the power of influencers on social media, and the idea of 'co-creation' with the social media audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology / Yingyong Shengtai Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Faculty of Letters / Edebiyat Fakultesi Dergisi is the property of Hacettepe University Faculty of Letters and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Comunicação & Sociedade is the property of Revista Comunicacao & Sociedade and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Comunicação & Sociedade is the property of Revista Comunicacao & Sociedade and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cinta de Moebio is the property of Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Ciencas Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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With discernible scorn, one Czech critic declared in 1885 that "the Viennese audience... swears by the newspapers." Indeed, music critics in fin-de-siècle Vienna tended to exert an uncommonly high degree of sway over popular opinion, as noted by David Brodbeck. Drawing upon the example of Antonín Dvořák, the present article investigates the relationships between audiences and critics in Prague during the 1870s and 1880s. To a certain extent, critics in Prague—like their Viennese counterparts—undoubtedly molded public views of Dvořák. In an environment where literacy rates were high and print culture was becoming a force to be reckoned with, Czech critics were positioned to extend their reach widely. However, rather than acting merely as passive recipients, audiences in Prague assumed much of the shaping and manipulating of opinion themselves. Their response were crucial in determining whether a performance could be characterized as a triumph by the press; accessibility to the public was considered by critics to represent an important consideration in assessments of Dvořák's works; and the prevalent patriotic aspect of the institutions in Prague at which Dvořák's compositions were performed motivated audiences to view everything through a "scrim of romantic nationalism," as Michael Beckerman has expressed it, leading critics to devote inordinate attention to the "Czechness" of Dvořák's music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Estudios de Historia de España is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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Citizen science is currently at the forefront of environmental scientific research and public policy for its potential to improve environmental governance, restore epistemic trust and help address some of the most stressing environmental challenges. Although citizen science is gaining increasing popularity, there is little empirical evidence to support these claims and demonstrate how bottom-up citizen science shapes public trust in environmental governance and science. In this paper we reflect on three grassroot environmental citizen science initiatives in Cameroon, Japan, and the UK to identify and present an instrumental framework which includes trustee attributes and conditions that influence how epistemic trust is shaped, and which should inform citizen science and other participatory practices. We explain that citizen science is an approach which enables political processes through the construction of well-informed techno-scientific arguments, which expose deficit assumptions about the public's ability to participate in knowledge co-production process. To avoid repeating the failures of the past and risk amplifying issues of public distrust further, we provide suggestions built around key trustee attributes which can be incorporated in citizen science practices and we urge that environmental policy needs to create clear policy frameworks to enable the generation of actionable data, especially when such approaches are initiated and implemented as instrumental public participation methods. • Citizen Science is increasingly utilised in environmental research and policy. • As a knowledge co-production mechanism has the potential to restore epistemic trust. • Restoring epistemic trust is essential for addressing environmental challenges. • We identify key cognitive and affective trustee attributes to improve trust through CS. • We stress that if these are ignored CS will erode public trust further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measures of public opinion regarding nursing's brand image are needed to identify and correct perceptions that are incongruent with the breadth and scope of contemporary nursing practice. Misperceptions of nursing's influence may serve to minimize or disregard nursing's unique contributions to addressing the Social Determinants of Health which are foundational for improving the health of global populations. To compare public perceptions of the brand image of nursing between China and the United States (US) and determine whether sociodemographic variables influenced factors between the two countries. A cross-sectional online survey was distributed among members of the Chinese and U.S. public. Perceptions of nursing's brand image were assessed through the original Nursing Brand Image Scale-Public Version in the US (NBIS-P) and when translated to Chinese (NBIS-P-C). Descriptive statistics and multigroup confirmatory factor analyses were used to compare perceptions of the brand image of nursing and to examine the influence of demographics. The reliability of the Chinese version of the NBIS-P-C was confirmed by this study. Age and gender did not influence public perceptions of nursing's brand image in either China or the US. Instead, educational attainment was the significant demographic variable and positively correlated with the public's perceptions of nursing in both countries (p <.05). Public respondents with lower educational attainment scored both the traditional nursing factor "Caregiver Virtues/Attributes" (e.g., Trusted, Caring, Nurturing/Mothering) and the factor "Lack Authority/Identity" (e.g., White Cap/Uniform, Subservient, Female) higher, while scoring the factor for "Leadership" (e.g., Decision Makers, Influential, Leaders) significantly lower than those with higher educational levels. A disparity exists between nursing's contemporary contributions to healthcare and the public's limited understanding of the diverse leadership roles all nurses provide, across a variety of settings, and in global public health initiatives. The virtuous traits of the nurse are perceived most directly and immediately by the public while their roles as autonomous decision-makers and leaders are less (or not at all) visible. Enhancing the accuracy and visibility of a strong brand image could advance public perceptions of nurses as experts and leaders in nursing science, thus paving the way for nurses to more effectively direct and influence the health of the public, particularly those with lower educational attainment who represent some of the most vulnerable populations. Targeted interventions that incorporate the educational level of the public offer a foundational opportunity for the nursing profession to correct inaccurate and outdated stereotypes that prevent nurses from achieving their desired brand image as influential leaders. Such campaigns could also be used to inform policy, guide strategic planning, and transform the future direction of the nursing profession. • Public opinion measures are needed to identify inaccurate stereotypes of nursing. • Virtuous traits of nurses are perceived most directly and immediately by the public. • The role of nurses as decision-makers and leaders are less visible to the public. • Misperceptions of scope of practice may hinder nurse contributions to global health. • Branding campaigns could be used to shape policy and inform the future of nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing numbers of patients are travelling abroad to undergo cosmetic surgery. This is associated with complications that often become the responsibility of clinicians in the patients' home countries. While seemingly lower cost treatments abroad may seem attractive, prospective patients should be made aware of the hidden costs of postoperative complications and their associated morbidity. Many internet sources of information regarding these procedures originate from commercial providers in the form of advertisements, which may not highlight the potential complications to prospective patients. Our study aims to perform an objective analysis of the quality and readability of online information for patients seeking cosmetic surgery abroad using tools such as JAMA and DISCERN scores. We found that the majority of online information available to prospective and current patients regarding travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery is unregulated, distributed by commercial providers and often lacking relevant and reliable information. Due to the strong influence that the internet can have on patients' decision making, it is important that reputable, informative online material is circulated regarding these procedures. Further work needs to be done by professional bodies and medical professionals in the plastic surgery community to improve patient education in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the award of a public procurement contract for the purchase of a product, work or service, the contracting authority must follow a sequence of stages, which represents a public procurement process. As a stage of the public procurement process, planning represents the set of activities carried out in public institutions that determine their main objectives, how they are achieved and what resources will be used during the process. Planning the procurement process is crucial. Failure to implement it correctly leads to errors and problems during the process of awarding and implementing the contract. The general objective of the work is to identify and solve the problems that arise during the planning process of public procurement in Romania, by identifying and anticipating directions that lead to the improvement of the entire public procurement system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the study was to compare the classroom environment of public and private universities in district Lahore. The classroom environment was compared on the basis of four factors; behavioral classroom environment, social classroom environment, motivational classroom environment and organizational classroom environment. The study was quantitative in nature and survey technique was used. Population of the study was all public and private universities in Lahore. The sample was consisted of 400 under graduate and graduate students from two public and two private universities selected through convenience sampling. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results of the analysis reveal that the behavioral classroom environment of public universities was better than private universities but in social, motivational and organizational environment there was no significant difference between both sector universities. Public and private sector universities were providing the same classroom environment to students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comunicação Pública is the property of Escola Superior de Comunicacao Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The analysis based on the leading Czech museum periodicals from 1989-2021 explores the understanding of the phenomenon of the museum. The conclusions show the lack of advanced discussion about the museum's role during this period. Most museum workers are only concerned with practical problems; they are unwilling to reflect on their work critically, and their idea of the museum is based primarily on physical collections. There is an evident distance between the narrow circle of active theorists in the academic environment and the reserved majority of curators and conservators in the regional museums. This majority does not participate in public discussions, and because of that, its opinions and arguments are more implicit in the analyzed texts. Many published articles are concerned with the history of concrete museum collections, buildings, and significant personalities. The authors frequently underlined the long and rich tradition of Czech museums. However, their perspective lacks a necessary reflective examination (i. e. the museum as an institution and a building with a long history but without a precisely defined position in contemporary society). Review of new exhibitions is a long-neglected genre, often replaced with abstracts or notices. During the last few years, the situation has been improving due to some impulses of new museology and educational turn (i. e. the museum as a responsive and accessible institution to the local community). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The main purpose of the current study was to explore the perceptions of undergraduate students about the importance of information communication technologies (ICTs) in education. All Public and Private sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were the populations of the study in which all undergraduate students of only southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were taken as samples of the study according to John Curry Sample Size rule of thumb. Self-developed questionnaire on the 6-Points Likert scale was used. The collected data were statistically analyzed through SPSS by using t-test, One Way ANOVA, and Linear Regression. T-test was used for gender and institution-wise comparison. One Way ANOVA was used to compare the perceptions of different respondents; and Linear Regression was used to know the effects of information communication technologies on Undergraduate students during COVID-19. Results and conclusions were drawn in which the role of ICTs was found highly successful for undergraduate students during COVID-19. The findings of the study highlighted the role of ICTs and especially the online sources in the teaching-learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a profile of the community writing and performance project Write Your Roots, organized by the author, which was disrupted by the impact of COVID-19 in early 2020. The project narrative is framed by the theoretical basis for the project, rooted in the concept of "making space," which borrows from Michel de Certeau's concepts of space and Sidney Dobrin's definition of "occupation." The article then offers a narrative of the Write Your Roots project in Providence, RI in 2020 leading up to and beyond the effects of COVID-19. Following the narrative, the author reflects on the project, reading its disruption through its theoretical framework to draw conclusions about the importance of liveness and publicness toward the project goals of "making space.". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an 8P theoretical framework for understanding creativity and theories of creativity. The 8Ps are purpose, press, person, problem, process, product, propulsion, and public. The article opens by distinguishing between a theory and a model, on the one hand, and a theoretical framework, on the other. It then considers briefly some of the theoretical frameworks for creativity that have been proposed in the past. Next, it describes the 8P theoretical framework and how it applies to understanding creativity and theories of creativity. The 8P framework suggests that most theories of creativity have been rather incomplete, dealing only with limited aspects of the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Arhivski Vjesnik is the property of Hrvatski Drzavni Arhiv (Croatian State Archives) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Despite enormous health awareness programmes being organised in different parts of the world, the pace of such programmes does not seem to match the pace of the advances in the field. Therefore, we decided to assess the adequacy of awareness and deficiencies in knowledge that are still prevalent in the population in order to focus on the areas and methods of education required. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study among non-medical graduate professionals residing in Bangalore was conducted using a predesigned questionnaire consisting of 23 questions divided into three sections to cover the demographic details, and the assessment of knowledge about the anaesthesia, its techniques and the anaesthesiologist. Results: A total of 91.4% of respondents was aware of the specialty; 54.3% had a source of information through self-acquired knowledge. Only 2.9% were aware of regional anaesthesia, and therefore, the majority preferred general anaesthesia. In total, 51.4% expressed a fear of not waking up due to an anaesthetic overdose. The majority (31.4%) perceived the surgeon as the doctor responsible for providing postoperative pain relief and performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Conclusion: Lack of knowledge still exists among the general public about anaesthesiology as a speciality and the role of anaesthesiologists. There is a need for regular, ongoing educational programmes to keep up with developments in the field to avoid resurgence of misconceptions. In the present digital era, electronic media needs to be utilised effectively in eliminating the misconceptions that are still prevalent in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 1980, the oil-platform Alexander L. Kielland capsized in the North Sea resulting in the death of 123 workers. The Norwegian inquiry into the disaster was closed to the public and the survivors' accounts of the disaster differed considerably from the official account. The inquiry was experienced as undemocratic by those who had been in the disaster. Many of them felt humiliated, claiming that their opinions were not given due weight. We argue that if the inquiry had been more transparent and inclusive, important information would have been made available that might have prevented subsequent disasters. Such transparency would be supported if disaster commissions used a critical realist version of knowledge acquisition based on a layered ontology and grounded in an epistemology that uses retroduction and judgemental rationality. In this article, critical realism is also used to justify the interdisciplinary nature of the research, which starts with historical methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Over the last few years, pharmacy practice in the Arab regions of the Middle East has started to change and develop. There have been small but promising steps to recognize the importance of extending community pharmacists' roles to meet the expanding public healthcare demands.Objectives: This systematic review aims to identify, synthesize and assess the quality of the literature in the Middle East concerning public attitudes on community pharmacist role and services and in relation to public perceptions on strategies to improve pharmacy services and the image of community pharmacist.Methods: A systematic search of 11 electronic databases was conducted to identify all published relevant studies from inception till January 2020. Data was extracted using a designed and tested tool. Studies were assessed for quality using Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool.Results: The final study results included 36 studies of which 31 adopted a cross-sectional-survey-based design. Included studies were published between 2004 and 2019. Most studies were done in Saudi Arabia (n = 11) or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (n = 10). We identified four overarching themes across included studies 1) Use of Community Pharmacies; 2) Attitudes towards Community Pharmacist role; 3) Attitudes towards Current Community Pharmacy Services and 4) Strategies to Improve Community Pharmacy Practice. The most common reason for visiting a community pharmacy was to purchase a prescription or over-the counter-medication. The most common factors that affected patients' choice of a particular pharmacy included convenient pharmacy location, availability of a good range of products or medicines, friendliness of the pharmacy staff and convenient pharmacy opening hours. There was a general public perception of community pharmacist as a business oriented person. Expectations of pharmacist duties included treatment of minor health ailments, consultation on over-the-counter medications and parapharmaceutical products, and accuracy checking of dispensed medications. Overall satisfaction with community pharmacy varied between the studies and ranged from 33% to 67.1%. Most commonly reported recommendations to improve pharmacy practice were provision of diagnostic, screening and monitoring services, keeping patient records in the pharmacy, advice on minor illness and provision of a private area for consultation. Seven articles were considered of low quality and 13 articles were considered of high quality.Conclusions: While the public in the Middle East has a good understanding of the basic duties of a community pharmacist, there is lack of awareness of advanced pharmaceutical services. Decision makers in Middle Eastern countries should set strategies to improve community pharmacist professional image and competence beyond medication dispensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of brands is critical in signaling products/services characteristics and attributes to consumers, with reliable products/services and the experience of unrecognizable attributes. External signs should the brand become a single meaningful sign of quality for easier recognition by consumers. It is very role-playing to find the brand to convey the core values and the quality of the products/services to all customers and the outside market; organizations need to build a full and robust brand image and identity strong. Therefore, this article aims to provide a concept and best conception of the brand image and its role for public universities and students, help public universities understand brands, and apply them to build a sustainable brand. This study determinesfactors affecting public universities' brand image in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). The study surveyed 700 studentsstudying at sevenpublic universities in HCMC, but 635 samples processed and answered 31items. The data collected from August 2020 to November 2020.The author tested with Structural Equation Model (SEM). Finally, sevenfactors affecting the brand image of public universities in HCMC with a significance level of 0.01. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of continuous calls to democratize futures research and practice, this paper reports the results of a systematic literature review of the involvement of publics in participatory futuring processes. The paper considers three key research questions: Who participates in public futuring processes? Why are publics included in these processes? And what roles do they occupy? By considering practices of participation in futuring, we aim to build a comprehensive picture of the participatory futuring landscape and highlight elements of process design that may enhance or diminish a process's democratic potential. We conclude by suggesting directions for possible future research that could serve the field's continuing desire to democratize and further integrate participatory and critical approaches to futuring. • Most participatory futuring is only inclusive of experts and professionals. • Majority of participatory futuring with publics involves them alongside experts and professionals. • Processes are limited in their consideration of what makes a group of participants diverse. • Identity position of 'subject of the future' could foster generative approach to participant identity. • Participatory futuring may empower in ways that Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation does not capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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»Dritte Wissensräume zwischen Natur und Gesellschaft: Ein Dialog«. The planetary ecological crisis has softened the well-established borders between the natural and the social sciences. The Anthropocene not only induces new modes of experiencing and inquiring nature, but also shakes the fairly robust differentiation between conflicting epistemic positionalities between explanatory, interpretative, and normative research approaches in a most profound way. For the social as well as for the natural sciences, nature, instead of being a mere resource, has become a political topic. But what does it mean to do research on the environment within the Anthropocene? Through a dialogue between a marine biogeochemist and a sociologist of science, we discuss the possibilities to experiment with the methods and reflexivities of a growing number of intertwined nature-society complexes. By exploring what we call third knowledge spaces between nature and society through our research experiences, we offer an example in putting into question our respective disciplinary positionalities. We hope to contribute thereby to a growing number of inter- and transdisciplinary attempts to turn the climate and biodiversity crisis into experimental cooperation and, finally, enhance the degrees of freedom to create a shared future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in research is an essential component of high-quality research. Patients and the public can identify which research topics are most relevant to them, contribute to study design, and interpretation and dissemination of findings. While inclusion of PPIE is widely adopted in medical research, awareness within the dental research community is more limited. To examine patient and public involvement and engagement in orthodontic research activity. Identification and appraisal of use of PPIE in orthodontic research reporting and funding applications using a systematic approach. Three sources of information were examined: (1) research articles published between September 2018 and September 2019 in four major orthodontic journals. Articles were examined for reported PPIE; (2) common funding bodies for orthodontic research were assessed to establish whether PPIE was mandated (National Institute for Health Research, Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Chief Scientist Office (Scotland), Health and Care Research Wales, British Orthodontic Society Foundation, Royal College of Surgeons and CLEFT); and (3) publication guidance for authors in these journals was examined to identify whether reporting of PPIE was included. Of the 363 research articles, 2 (0.6%) mention patient/public involvement. None of the 363 research articles mention patient/public engagement. Of nine funding bodies, 2 (22%) request evidence of patient/public involvement as a condition of receiving funding with one (11%) expecting evidence of public engagement to be provided as a condition of receiving funding. None of the four major orthodontic journals include patient/public involvement and/or engagement in their guidance for authors. There is currently: (1) a notable lack of reporting of PPIE in orthodontic research; (2) variability in the requirements of funding bodies for researchers to include PPIE in funding applications and throughout the research process; and (3) no stipulation in journals' instructions for authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land transport can no longer meet the requirements. Crowded motorways and cities, dangerous emissions, ubiquitous traffic accidents, delays, expensive railways. Solutions are being sought to transfer a large part of passenger and especially freight transport to rail, and efforts are moving towards electromobility, car- sharing, 5G-connectivity, autonomous driving, MaaS-coordinated transport or Hyperloop-type solutions. However, all these solutions have additional challenges and limitations. Solutions are not being searched where they really exist - in the mutual adaptation of road and rail vehicles and their deep cooperation. The ComplexTrans project shows that simply adapting the dimensions and functions of road and rail vehicles can eliminate or significantly reduce all the problems of existing land transport. The main features of the ComplexTrans system are sufficient parking spaces, reduction of road congestions, cheap e-vehicles with unlimited range and increased utility value, cheap and simple charging infrastructure, 'autonomous' ride, easy cooperation of passenger and freight rail transport, railway self-financing, transferring big portion of transport from road and air to rail, covid protection and many others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Pädagogik is the property of Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)