Give Realistic Cyber Peace a Chance

Bridging scales for landscape-level wildfire adaptation: A case study of the Kittitas Fire Adapted Communities Coalition

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept which is gaining in popularity and is being included in the strategies of more and more companies. Social and environmental concerns, as well as cooperation with stakeholders which is also linked to the concept of sustainable development, are becoming part of the mission statements of numerous companies. The question arises, however, whether CSR is merely a strategic concept, or if it is accompanied by specific actions. The aim of this article is to answer the following questions: What does CSR really mean in hard economic times? Is cooperation between business and stakeholders just a declaration included in company strategies as an element of CSR, or is it an actual practice implemented in everyday activities? What barriers exist to such cooperation? The above issues will be discussed on the basis of the relationship between business and academia in respect of stakeholders and the social dimensions of CSR. The paper is divided into four sections. The first section describes the corporate social responsibility that relates to the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic expectations which society has of companies, and which indicates the activities of companies which fulfil these stakeholder expectations. Universities are one of the business stakeholders within the social responsibility approach, an external and secondary stakeholder which is not critical to a company's survival. The second section discusses the case study method as a teaching method whereby collaboration between universities and busines is required to develop and apply this method during the educational process. University-business collaboration in this field gives an opportunity to fulfil the postulates of social responsibility through its impact on the quality of education. The next part of the paper analyses the case study of university- business collaboration in preparing case studies for educational purposes in Poland. Specific problems are discussed which indicate the constraints on collaboration between businesses and universities. The last section comprises conclusions and discussions. The main point of the discussion is that, on a declarative level, corporate social responsibility is a common element in companies' business strategies, but on an operational level collaboration with stakeholders as part of CSR does not easily transform into practical action. (original abstract)

Occupational risk quantification owing to falling objects

In this paper a methodology for managing occupational risk owing to contact with moving parts while maintaining machines is presented. The methodology is based on the principles of quantified risk assessment. A probabilistic model has been developed to assess the risk from contact with moving parts of machines while maintaining them as a function of working conditions and time exposure. 62 other models have been developed to cover different hazards in all working activities. They have been developed under the Workgroup Occupational Risk Model (WORM - Metamorphosis) project, financed by the Dutch government. These models allow the delineation of accidents into sequences of events describing measures (technical and/or procedural) in place to prevent them or to mitigate their consequences. Identification of these sequences enables the identification of specific root causes of such accidents and hence the determination of specific and practical actions that can influence the probability of an accident. Quantification of these models provides, furthermore, a way for assessing the relative value of such measures and hence a basis for supporting decisions aiming at reducing the consequences of accidents in the work fields. Qualitative information on the safety functions, measures and barriers the failure of which constitute the causes of accidents have been derived from the analysis of actual accidents occurred and reported under the Dutch law over a period of years. The information contained in the accident reports, required by Dutch law and composed by investigating labor inspectors, has been systematically analyzed. The results of this analysis provide a Bowtie-like visual aid of the various events that contribute to the accident. This information is then used to develop the logical models describing the logic interconnection of the various events corresponding to technical and/or procedural safety related measures and is amenable to quantification according to the laws of probability theory. The relative importance of each measure to risk reduction is depicted with the aid of sensitivity calculations. Optimization, thus minimization of risk with specific initial conditions and constraints is achieved through alterations in the working conditions.

Quantification of occupational risk owing to contact with moving parts of machines

<h3>Background</h3> Progress in the use of secondary data to inform public health practice and healthy public policy has been inconsistent and slow, despite its promise for understanding the social, political, environmental, and economic determinants of health. This is especially pertinent in the context of whole-systems approaches to public health, yet little is known about the perspectives of decision-makers across the public health system on secondary data sharing and linkage. <h3>Methods</h3> We undertook three sequential stakeholder workshops with participants from local and central government, NHS public health teams, Health &amp; Social Care Partnerships, the third sector, organisations with a remit for supporting data-intensive research, and public representatives. The workshops were informed by a scoping review on use of evidence – and particularly secondary data – in public health policy and practice, searching Medline, Scopus, SSCI, and key institutional websites, and by three case studies of existing cross-sectoral linkage projects. Findings were synthesised using thematic analysis. We focused on the use of public and third sector data by organisations in those sectors, given additional complexities associated with the use of data by, or from, commercial entities. <h3>Results</h3> The scoping review (61 included studies) highlighted that evidence serves diverse purposes in public health policy and practice and may be understood in different ways. It identified a range of barriers and facilitators to the use of evidence derived from secondary data in decision-making, which were used to guide workshop discussion around the case studies and the shaping of recommendations. From the workshop discussions with 19 participants, we identified a set of six guiding principles for cross-sectoral data sharing and linkage, and a series of specific practical actions. The guiding principles proposed that cross-sectoral data sharing and linkage should be pragmatic; participatory; ambitious; fair; iterative; with holistic and proportionate governance. The practical actions included a strategic approach to identifying and sharing key datasets; streamlining governance processes (e.g., through standardised data sharing agreements; central data repositories; and a focus on re-usable data resources) and building workforce capacity. To make these possible, participants identified a need for strong political and organisational leadership as well as a transparent and inclusive public conversation. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Stakeholders from healthy public policy and practice support greater use of cross-sectoral data sharing and linkage to inform decision-making. Our findings provide a practical set of actions that together can be used to address current barriers and constraints, and realise this potential.

Jumping the Curve: Innovation and Strategic Choice in an Age of Transition

The article investigates the formation of the foreign policy course of US President John F. Kennedy on China in January-October 1961. There were characterized the election statements of the US presidential candidate from the Democratic Party J.F. Kennedy on China. The practical implementation of pre-election initiatives by the administration of the President John F. Kennedy in the Chinese direction in January-October 1961 was studied. There were analyzed reasons, course and consequences of intensification of Washington’s foreign policy strategy towards Beijing during the during investigated period. The role of various groups in the American establishment in the process of forming the foreign policy course of the new administration towards China in January-October 1961 is outlined. It is described the specific US foreign policy actions towards communist China at the beginning of J.F. Kennedy presidential period. The victory of J.F. Kennedy in the presidential election in 1960 was accompanied by a series of changes in the system of geopolitical and military priorities of the United States. The new administration’s more realistic approach to China was due primarily to the fact that Beijing, which renounced its alliances and claimed the role of a “third force”, was a weak player in the international arena and therefore minor, insignificant deviations from traditional policies of “containment and isolation” seemed acceptable. Moreover, the policy of “isolation” did not justify itself, as China has intensified its foreign policy, established relations with many countries, including the US allies. Gradually, the number of states that supported China’s demands for a seat in the UN grew, which created a real prospect for broad recognition of communist China. At the beginning of the presidency of J.F. Kennedy in January-October 1961, his administration was unable to quickly develop and begin to implement a holistic concept of “new frontiers” for China. His Chinese policy was inextricably linked to the US foreign policy in Asia and reflected the clash of American and Chinese interests in the region. At the same time, the representatives of the American establishment did not have a clear idea of how they could influence Soviet-Chinese relations in order to deepen the rift between the USSR and China, and what concrete benefits they could derive from this. This was due to a number of reasons. First of all, when he was elected, the administration of J.F. Kennedy joined the more important events at that time in terms of the US military and political interests than the policy towards China (European problems, issues of Atlantic unity, the Berlin crisis). Secondly, Washington still viewed communist China as a state that threatened American interests in Asia and was eager to expand its influence and strengthen its military power. An important influence on the formation of the foreign policy course of the administration J.F. Kennedy also had at the beginning of his presidency the fact that, having won the election with a minimal advantage, he did not risk starting a major change in Chinese policy and abandoning the policy of “containment”. In such way, the 35th President of the United States tried, at first, to show that he respected public opinion within the country, which was negative about communist China. Secondly, by demonstrating his propensity for the heredity of politics, he hoped to strengthen his vulnerable foreign policy position. That is why J.F. Kennedy, who did not rule out the possibility of changing China’s US policy, saw in his own practical actions toward China at the time no reason to abandon the doctrine of “containment”. Particularly, the idea of “containment” of China was the basis of a number of decisions of the John F. Kennedy administration, which eventually led to the escalation of American military intervention in Indochina.

The paper considers the issues of implementing the standards of the international legislation on religious and extremist crimes in the national legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan. With regard to its ideology the category of extremism is reflected in the criminal law through the concept of extremist crime: crime for political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or hostility reasons or crimes resulting from hatred or hostility towards any social group. According to the understanding of hatred and hostility, which is deeply rooted within the criminal law, the latter one represents external practical (conflict, destructive) actions whereas the first one illustrates hostility without specific actions. The criminal law warrants five kinds of hatred or hostility motives: political, ideological, racial, national, religious hatred or hostility, as well as hatred or hostility towards any social group. These kinds partially overlap in their content, which requires their correct definition. In order to improve the criminal legislation the authors analyzed the disadvantages of the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan and made certain suggestions.

2017: The unifying power of health

Previous studies have shown that about 90% of traffic accidents are due to human error, which means that human factors may affect a driver's braking behaviors and thus their driving safety, especially when the driver makes a braking motion. However, most studies have mounted sensors on the brake pad, ignoring to some extent an analysis of the driver's behavior before the brake pad is pressed (pre-braking). Therefore, to determine the effect of different human factors on drivers' pre-braking behaviors, this study focused on analyzing drivers' local joints (knee, ankle, and toe) by a motion capture device. A Hilbert–Huang Transform (HHT)-based local human body movement analysis method was used to decompose the realistic complex pre-braking actions into sub-actions such as intrinsic mode functions (IMF1, IMF2, etc.). Analysis of the results showed that IMF1 is a common and necessary action when pre-braking for all drivers, and IMF2 may be the safety assurance action that allows right-foot transverse movement at the beginning part of the pre-braking process. We also found that the experienced, male, and Phys.50 groups may have consistent characteristics in the HHT scheme, which could mean that such drivers would have better performance and efficiency during the pre-braking process. The results of this study will be useful in decomposing and discerning the specific actions that lead to accidents, providing insights into driver training for novice drivers, and guiding the construction of daily automated driver assistance or accident prevention systems (advanced driver assistance systems, ADASs).

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and Ukraine is not an exception. The mortality rate due to cardiovascular diseases among non-communicable diseases in our country today is 63%. In the nine months of 2021, 487.9 thousand citizens died in Ukraine, most of them – from cardiovascular diseases. To perform specific and effective preventive actions among the population, it is necessary to have complete and reliable information about the prevalence of risk factors in the population. Epidemiological research, by providing this information, makes it possible to assess the extent of the problem and determine the priorities for action in medical science and practice. There is a need to optimize the continuous medical education of doctors in this problem. It is known that the classical lecture and presentation of information gives the lowest level of assimilation by the audience. Therefore, one of the modern forms of education is interactive training, which successfully combines various forms of activating the attention of trainees and attracting them to the practical actions. The objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of training sessions using the special web resource to increase the level of knowledge of family doctors regarding the implementation of cardiovascular risk screening into their clinical practice. Materials and methods. A 6-hour interactive training “Principles of evidence-based screening in the family doctors’ practice” was held for 95 family doctors from the Transcarpathian region, among whom 70 (74%) worked in rural areas and 25 (26%)– in urban areas. The level of knowledge of the training participants was assessed using 12 test tasks at the beginning, immediately after the training and 3 months after the training. The test was consisted of theд identical questions at all stages of the survey. All participants were divided into two groups: group 1 (n=45) – those who learned the topic only at training; group 2 (n=50) – those who, in addition to the training, received free personal access to the web resource “Recommendations for Prevention and Screening”. The Prevention and Screening Recommendations web resource was developed on the basis of the USPTFS evidence-based program and the generalized recommendations from the European screening protocols; the resource gives list of the needed evidence-based screening recommendations depending on the given to the system patient’s personal data. Results. According to the test results, the average level of knowledge of the participants at the beginning of the training was 6 (5.7) points. Immediately after the training the level increased to 9 (8, 10) points (p&lt;0.001). After 3 months, the average level of knowledge of family doctors decreased to 8 (7.9) points, however, it was statistically higher compared to the average level of knowledge of respondents before training (p&lt;0.001). In addition, the average level of knowledge in 3 months after the training of group 2 participants who had access to the web resource was statistically significantly higher compared to group 1, whose participants got only training (7 vs. 9) (p&lt;0.001) . Conclusions. Interactive training is an effective method of learning which should be implemented into clinical practice, it creates the prerequisites for the active and widespread use of this method in training of medical workers during their continuous professional development. Having access to a web resource helps to improve the learninf results and maintain the proper level of knowledge for a long time.

Judith Butler’s theory of performativity has been highly influential in anthropological studies, particularly of gender and sexuality. Drawing on J. L. Austin’s concept of language as action, Butler’s theory challenges identity categories and emphasizes the role of language and other semiotic resources in constructing, reproducing, and resisting social identities and power relations. While much research has focused on applying Butler’s theory to studies of gender and sexuality in the West, there is a growing interest in its application to diverse cultural settings, including African societies. The use of Butler’s theory of performativity in anthropology to understand how language and other semiotic resources are used to perform specific social actions in African contexts goes beyond gender and sexuality to encompass various areas such as research, statehood, nationhood and nationalism, kinship, religious identity and piety, respectability and social hierarchy, race and ethnicity, morality and dignity, everyday interactions, aging, and citizenship. Examining these aspects of performativity reveals the complex interplay between language and social action in shaping cultural practices and beliefs in Africa and beyond. The translation of Butler’s theory in Africa-focused anthropology emphasizes the importance of examining cultural practices and beliefs within specific sociocultural contexts rather than imposing external frameworks or preconceptions. It highlights the diverse and dynamic nature of African societies’ cultural practices and beliefs, offering a valuable theoretical framework for understanding them and contributing to a nuanced understanding of the construction of social practices and beliefs in African societies and beyond.

There is widespread belief that adding smoking status to the list of vital signs in medical practice will lead to an increased likelihood that physicians will offer more cessation support for smokers during office visits. This article evaluates the impact of introducing routine use of smoking status as a vital sign on clinician cessation support in a primary care setting. A total of 429 adult health plan members who were smokers and recent quitters from 2 primary care clinics in Minneapolis, Minn, were administered a 28-item questionnaire by telephone. The instrument included questions about patient health status, smoking status, advice about smoking, clinic actions during the most recent visit, satisfaction with clinic actions, and intention to change smoking. Comparisons were made with a cohort of smoking patients before and after smoking status was used as a vital sign, using 2-tailed t tests for continuous variables and chi-square analysis for categorical variables. Patient self-report of receiving advice about smoking in the past year (about 66%) was unchanged after smoking status was implemented as a vital sign. Medical chart documentation of tobacco use increased from 38.0% to 78.4% of all encounters, whereas documentation of advice about smoking decreased from 33.5% to 18.8%. Except for identification of tobacco use before implementation of the guideline, none of the specific activities recommended in the guideline occurred at very high levels. Implementing smoking status as a vital sign appears to have increased the documentation of tobacco use but had little effect on specific implementation actions. Overall, the findings suggest that more consistent identification of tobacco use alone will not lead to guideline-recommended changes in cessation support actions by clinicians. Greater environmental changes will be needed if tobacco guideline goals are to be achieved.

One of the reasons for the low effectiveness of the European Union's policy in the Mediterranean is the discrepancy between the EU's international identity and the national interests of its Member States. The EU has been building its international identity on values that are proper to political idealism. In large measure, however, the EU's declared aims have not been consistent with the national interests of its Member States. In effect, while Member States are able to adopt general guidelines for the EU foreign policy, translating such guidelines into specific actions often proves impossible. The aim of this article is to analyse the low effectiveness of the EU's policy in the Mediterranean region in terms of the discrepancies between the idealistic concept deriving from the EU's international identity on the one hand, and its realistic actions based on the EU's Member States' national interests, on the other. As the European Union's foreign policy is shaped at the intergovernmental level, national interests tend to take the upper hand. The Mediterranean policy of five EU-Member States will be analysed - France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.