Critical View Research Articles

Is the Safe Cholecystectomy Technique Really Safe?

Aim: This study aims to present the results of a single surgeon's experience to demonstrate the effectiveness of the 'Critical View of Safety' (CVS) technique in preventing bile duct injuries in clinical practice. 
 Method: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 899 patients who underwent cholecystectomy using the CVS technique performed by a single surgeon at the Sivas Cumhuriyet University Hospital General Surgery Department between 2018 and 2023. Ethical approval for the study was obtained. Cholecystectomy cases were scanned retrospectively. The patients' age, gender, drain placement, surgery indications, and reason for switching to open cholecystectomy were recorded. 
 Results: Among the 899 patients reviewed, 312 were male (34.70%), and 587 were female (65.30%). The average age was 55.10 for males and 51,65 for females. It was determined that 7(0.77%), cases converted to open cholecystectomy. The most common indication for cholecystectomy was elective gallbladder stone removal, accounting for 47.05% of cases. No major bile duct injuries were detected..
 Conclusions: The safe cholecystectomy technique can be safely applied to avoid bile duct injuries in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

A Critical View to Educational Technologies in the Context of Social Inequalities

Equality of opportunity in education refers to the right of students to access compulsory education and to have equal opportunities in the process of education. In addition to offering many solutions to ensure equality of opportunity in education, there are also many obstacles. As a matter of fact, educational technologies are considered as an option in terms of having an effect on individuals having equal opportunities in the education process. Educational technologies can be seen as a solution to existing inequalities in order to provide equality of opportunity in education. From this point of view, in this study, it is aimed to determine the thoughts on the use of educational technologies in the education-teaching process in the context of social inequalities. In the study, the qualitative research design of phenomenology was used and ten teachers working in different branches in private and public schools were interviewed. Semi-structured interview technique was used as the data collection method and the interviews were conducted online with the teachers. Deductive analysis method was used to analyze the data. In the study, first of all, literature review was made in the context of social inequalities and themes were determined within the framework of the literature. The themes revealed were discussed as gender, socioeconomic level, parental education level, technology use proficiency of teachers and students with special needs. Within the scope of the themes obtained, teachers’ opinions and suggestions regarding the impact of educational technologies within the framework of the concept of equality of opportunity in education were included.

«Архитектурная исповедь» Якова Рубанчика. По страницам неизданной рукописи

This article describes in detail the unpublished manuscript by the famous Soviet architect Yakov O. Rubanchik, written in 1939-1940 and entitled “My Architect's Confession”. The author takes a critical view of his creative activity in 1920-1930s, and namely architectural design and architectural engineering, his participation in competitions, town-planning projects to reconstruct the squares in Leningrad and Taganrog, graphic art and printmaking, his teaching at the Academy of Arts, research activities and studies of the history of Russian cities. The original manuscript is in the collection of Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, a copy thereof was provided to the author of this article by the Sverdlovs family.

Editorial

I am delighted to announce the publication of the inaugural issue of “Qualitative Inquiry in Education: Theory & Practice (QIETP)” under the umbrella of EDU Publishing. It’s a great pleasure to reconnect with you through this new journal. QIETP, being the first thematic journal in its field in Türkiye, builds upon the experience I gained during my 10-year tenure (2013-2023) as the founding and chief editor of the Journal of Qualitative Research in Education (ENAD). I aim to advance this experience further in QIETP. I am fully confident that, with the support of our valued authors, reviewers, editors, and readers, QIETP will soon earn a respectable position in the field. The first issue of QIETP comprises 5 articles: 4 research articles and 1 review study. The first study in this issue, “A critical view to educational technologies in the context of social inequalities,” comes from Fatma Akgün, Cem Çuhadar, and Şenay Ozan Deniz of Trakya University. The authors have examined the use of technology in the learning-teaching process from a phenomenological perspective regarding social equality. The second study, “A critical overview of Turkish research on 21st-century skills in education: 2017- 2022,” is authored by H. Ferhan Odabaşı, Elif Akyol Emmungil, Elif Atabay, and Melkaç Değer Demir from Anadolu University. This article evaluates studies conducted in Türkiye between 2017 and 2022 on 21st-century skills in education through meta-synthesis. The third study in this issue is “How to integrate sustainable development in English lessons: Reflections from teachers, students, and academicians,” conducted by Yasemen Şanal, Sena Sezgin, Seden Doğa Döker, Furkan Yavuz, and Gülçin Mutlu from İzmir Democracy University. In their qualitative descriptive study, the authors aimed to examine the characteristics of a middle school foreign language curriculum that incorporates the concept of sustainability. The fourth study of this issue, “How phenomenological are phenomenology studies in educationalsocial sciences: A sample from TR Dizin,” is a research article by M. Emir Rüzgâr and İbrahim Sözcü. The authors have evaluated how much the phenomenology studies published in the national TR Dizin index in Türkiye adhere to the assumptions of phenomenology. Although the study’s findings are presented from a quantitative perspective, it was deemed worth publishing in QIETP as it directly evaluates phenomenological studies. The only review article in this issue is “Educational science traditions and qualitative research” by Ali Yıldırım from the University of Gothenburg. In this article, Yıldırım presents the relationship between qualitative research methods and two main traditions in teacher education: the Anglo-American and the Continental European. This informative work discusses both the teacher training in these traditions and their relation to qualitative research. I am grateful to many esteemed individuals who have shown their close interest and support throughout this process. I extend my endless thanks to all colleagues who have been part of QIETP’s boards and provided technical support. I feel indebted to thank Prof. Ali Yıldırım, a pioneer in the field of Qualitative Research Methods in Türkiye, for his role in forming the international editorial board and supporting the publication of articles in the first issue.

Public Care for Children in (Post)Socialist European Films: On the Side of Sons and Stepdaughters of the Nation?

AbstractThis article explores the multifaceted role of films that disseminate critical views on public care for children in terms of their epistemic sensitivity towards the main challenges of constructing discursive practices around children and their subjectivity. Three cohorts of Eastern European films produced between the 1960s and 1990s are examined through the prism of two approaches to the deconstruction of the traditional objectified child and the development of his subjectivity, radical psychoanalysis and ‘child fundamentalism’. The diversity of critical arguments against residential care reverberates with a variety of gender‐based approaches to presenting children’s subjectivity in the films. I explore the sustainable difference between the films with either male or female protagonists through political contexts concerning the production of films and the options to accept the mission of epistemic activism regarding the children deprived in their subjectivity, namely those placed in residential care. To conclude, I discuss the exodus of epistemic activism from the post‐socialist Eastern European films about public care in favour of serving the mission of delegitimizing authoritative past and achieving positive public reception.

Reproducibility and Post-Publication Criticism: A Crisis in Electrocatalysis?

Understanding an electrocatalytic system requires electrochemistry, surface science, material science, in-situ spectroscopy, in-situ microscopy, theoretical calculations, kinetic modeling, and more. Additional to this multidisciplinarity, basic parameters of electrocatalysis are still challenging to determine, such as the number of active sites, the (electrochemical active) surface area, the intrinsic activity, the in-situ chemical nature of the catalyst's surface, and the identity of the active site.As a young postdoc with five years of experience in electrocatalytic water splitting, I have encountered and learned from a body of literature that is, in part, contradictory, oversimplified, false, methodologically flawed, and non-reproducible. All colleagues and supervisors I have met shared this critical view and such critical opinions have also been expressed in conference presentations and publications.1,2 In light of the first paragraph's points, such literature issues might not be a surprise: an expert in electrochemistry might miss a crucial point of material science and vice versa. A community response has been best practice papers, which summarize fundamental guidelines and call for their adoption.3–7 However, this approach has not proven sufficient, possibly due to the sheer number of publications and the wide range of applied methods.In this talk, we will present results from an ongoing reproducibility study. In this study, three different electrode fabrication procedures were performed in various labs worldwide, and measured electrocatalytic parameters are compared. We will then discuss a potential solution to improve the electrocatalysis literature: increased post-publication criticism. This criticism can be in the form of comment articles directly linked to the article, as offered by most journals but rarely published. In this regard, I have attended conferences where plenary speakers have pointed out fundamental misinterpretations of reports with hundreds or thousands of citations. However, they had not written a comment on the report, leaving students to encounter and potentially believe the unchallenged false conclusions. Currently, comments might be perceived as too negative in electrocatalysis and thus can upset potential referees. We propose that changing this perception is necessary to improve the quality of electrocatalysis literature and research, because the very core of science is respectful and constructive public debate and criticism.

Civil Liability of the Principal Company for Workplace Accidents in the Subcontracting Regime: A Critical View of Case Law

Having elapse over fifteen years since the enactment of Act No. 20.123, the purpose of this work is to critically review the way in which Supreme Court’s case law has interpreted the liability of the project’s principal company for the accidents suffered by workers of contracting and subcontracting companies.

CURRENT PROBLEMS OF MODERNIZATION OF MUSIC EDUCATION OF THE PRC IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN CHALLENGES

The scientific review article presents an analysis of the current problems of music education in the People's Republic of China, which are caused by the contradictions between the urgent need to preserve and multiply the national cultural potential and the requirements for the reorganization of the education system in accordance with the tasks of integration into the cultural and educational world space. The role of Chinese musical art in the historical, cultural and philosophical excursion is characterized. The main problems of music education in the People's Republic of China, which are determined by the music-pedagogical community, are presented. They are the following: orientation of Chinese music education on the training of performers, improvement of their technique; insufficient use of interdisciplinary connections with humanitarian disciplines to form a holistic view of musical art as a spiritual phenomenon; insufficient level of professional training of teachers of musical art; conservative approach in the organization and implementation of the educational process. The views of Chinese scientists, teachers, and art critics regarding the modernization of music education in the People's Republic of China are highlighted: updating and expanding the content of education by disciplines, topics of a national nature; the use of modern methods, techniques, organizational forms of training; raising the level of training of music teachers. The importance of building a national music school for the implementation of the state national cultural strategy is revealed. Among other important factors are solving the problems of national unification of the country, consolidation of the people, harmonization of relations in the society on the basis of cultural cohesion of the nation; elevation of the national identity of the Chinese nation. Prospective directions for the development of the national music school are outlined: updating the performing repertoire, supplementing the musical material studied in music lessons with examples of folk art; creating a historical and cultural context when teaching musical disciplines; promoting the spread of traditional Chinese music, its popularity and prestige in public consciousness; improvement of the process of teaching Chinese traditional music in educational institutions of all levels; defining and reconstructing the subjectivity of Chinese music, using the unique spiritual experience of national music.

‘Warming up’ to populist leaders: A comparative analysis of Argentina and Spain

What makes populist leaders, responsible for many episodes of democratic backsliding, especially appealing to a significant part of the electorate? In the following pages we argue that the effect of perceptions regarding leaders’ ‘warmth’ causes them to be perceived as having good intentions toward and even being part of ‘the people,’ resulting in a more positive overall evaluation among citizens with more critical views of democratic representativeness (external political efficacy). We test this hypothesis in two very different political systems, Argentina and Spain, using data from original surveys that contain batteries of questions on warmth and competence trait dimensions for multiple leaders in both countries. The results show that while perceptions of traits along both warmth and competence dimensions are important for the evaluation of all leaders in democratic systems, the interactive effect between external political efficacy and perceptions of warmth is important for explaining more positive evaluations of populist leaders.

THE AESTHETIC REGIME IN THE MODERN ERA: ART AND DISCOURSE ON ART

The article traces the changes in the aesthetic conventions of Modern art in accordance with the dynamics of literary development in Great Britain. The study focuses on three key areas: the impact of “the ancients and moderns” quarrel on European philosophical and literary thought; the nuances of critical and literary discourse in Enlightenment-era Great Britain; and the reception of the Enlightenment aesthetic values and novelties in Victorian criticism, linking them to the emergence of twentieth-century modernism. The subject involves the evolution of Enlightenment aesthetics and poetics in Great Britain, particularly the departure from classical art and literature models, and the emergence of concepts like imagination, novelty, and the reader’s subjective experience of art. Seminal literary-critical essays of the eighteenth century, including works by Joseph Addison, Henry Home, Richard Hurd, and Leslie Stephen’s monograph ‘History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century”, are analyzed. The paper also examines philosophical texts by Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, and Marquis de Condorcet to understand the oscillatory nature of philosophical thought before and during the Age of Enlightenment. The study contextualizes “the ancients and moderns” debate on models for literary excellence and accentuates its role in shaping the discourse of aesthetics and artistic creativity. Contributions by Enlightenment figures such as Addison, Home, and Hurd are explored, emphasizing how they reshaped the discourse of aesthetics by redefining the nature of beauty, the sublime, and the principles of artistic criticism, thereby influencing the literary and artistic productions of their time and beyond. Particular attention is paid to the critical views of Stephen who wrote about the “fluctuating mode” of the literature of the second half of the eighteenth century, illustrating his peculiar subjectivism as an exponent of the Victorian worldview (Stephen saw Sterne’s novels as a serious moral threat), and simultaneously reflecting the normative aesthetic views of the second half of the nineteenth century. The paper also demonstrates how the antinomianism in aesthetic thinking, which challenged traditional norms and values as seen in “the ancients and moderns” quarrel, was further evolved in the works of Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Schlegel, the latter articulating the antinomy of “classic versus romantic”. This tradition of antinomian thinking, coupled with the rejection of the idea of linear progression in cultural evolution, a call for a reassessment of values amidst a paradigm shift in culture and the breakdown of traditional ethic and aesthetic systems, finds a notable and unique expression in Friedrich Nietzsche’s works, that significantly influenced the transition from Modernity to Postmodernity. In summary, it is argued that the Modern Age was the time of the emergence of a new aesthetic sensibility, and its aesthetic pluralism and anti-classical literary ideas were pivotal in redefining concepts of progress, novelty, and human consciousness in art and literature. This laid the groundwork for modernist art and literature, characterized by a departure from tradition and a quest for new artistic expressions of human experience.

Finding the “Ideal”: F. Marion Crawford’s Mystical Theology and Literary Form in Mr. Isaacs

While popular nineteenth-century writer F. Marion Crawford’s interest in religion is well-documented, his fiction has been categorised as not carrying overt theological overtones. In contrast to this critical view, this article argues that Crawford’s fiction can be linked to his religious thinking; however, the manner in which his works articulate this interest is non-prescriptive. The article contends that Crawford’s handling of religious dilemmas shapes the unusual generic form of his literary works, in particular Mr. Isaacs (1882). To this end, the article examines Crawford’s mystical position on the Idealism-materialism question that was much debated within theological circles in the nineteenth century. Through an analysis of his non-fiction writings and Mr. Isaacs, I demonstrate how Crawford places ideas from Buddhism and Christianity in conversation to arrive at a “mystical” position on a spiritual “Ideal,” which he defines as an aspiration towards the transcendental that can be partly grasped in reality. As I demonstrate, Crawford draws on this unusual mystical notion of the “Ideal” to develop a new literary form that merges romance with elements from realism in Mr. Isaacs.

Problems about the Canon in Teaching Philosophy in Colombia

This text is focused on the question of what we should teach in high school philosophy and the relationship of this teaching to recognizing oneself as a good philosophy teacher. We hold that these points are connected to the idea of “canon” and “history of philosophy” that we gained with and despite Ricœur himself. This paper advances a critical view of contemporary practices in philosophy teaching in Colombia through Ricœur’s thought. In the first part, we follow Ricœur’s considerations about the history of philosophy and its connections to the very practice of thinking. In the second part, we concentrate on the question of the canon. At the end of each section, we will give some pedagogical stitches to interweave Ricœur’s philosophical legacy with the didactics and theory of the curriculum, thus forming a tripod that should be part of the didactics of philosophy as an independent discipline.

Czy reklama musi sprzedawać? Rozważania o retoryce reklamy nie zawsze nastawionej na konsumpcjonizm przez pryzmat książki Oliviero Toscaniego Reklama. Uśmiechnięte ścierwo

This article is part of the broad theme of advertising. In it, the author briefly presents the history of advertising, going back to ancient times, and discusses the rhetoric of advertising based on the artistic work of Oliviero Toscani. In doing so, she takes into account his critical view of advertising and explains how promotional messages affect people. The visual sphere of advertising is also highlighted in the discussion. In her considerations, the author comes to the conclusion that traditionally understood advertising, which is exclusively sales-oriented and operates with an unsophisticated message, does not have to be the only form of advertising objects and services. Depending on the tools used and the author's vision, advertising can dramatically change its face, acting as a counter to consumerism.

A critical view of the inter-american system of human rights protection with the european system as a paradigm

A critical view of the inter-american system of human rights protection with the european system as a paradigm

Review of five methods used in english language teaching

This paper is a review article providing an overview of five methods of English language teaching: Grammar-Translation Method (GTM), Direct Method, Audiolingual Method, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). For each method, a brief historical background is provided, followed by the aims, principles, techniques, and limitations. Continuous examination of ELT methods is essential because they provide an organized framework for teachers to deliver instructions and knowledge effectively. The choice of teaching method is vital to meet all the requirements of successful language teaching and learning. Additionally, different learning approaches suit different students. Today there are many teaching methods, but this paper will touch on the most significant ones that marked the historical development and beginnings of methods in language teaching and learning. By exploring the features of each method, this paper aims to enhance the understanding of their differences and to provide a critical view of each, in order to inform and assist young English language teachers in evaluating their own teaching practices. Keywords: English language teaching, teaching methods, English language learning

Intercropping Options for Sustainable Minor Millet Production: A Review

High population pressure, climate change, stagnant crop productivity, changing food habit and declining natural resources compelled us to go for climate resilient resource conservation technologies to bring sustainability in our crop production. Crop diversification by replacing high input requiring cereals with “nutri- cereals” minor millets in our crop rotations and by following intercropping of minor millets with pulses or oilseeds may be economically profitable, environmentally safe and socially acceptable approach to ensure food and nutritional security of the burgeoning population. This is high time to include millets in our daily diets but millet availability in sufficient amount is big issue. Millets are crops of rainfed and dryland resource poor areas and moreover under the threat of global warming and changed climatic scenario sole planting of millets generally gives less economic returns. So, there is an urgent need for incorporation of the pulses/oilseeds as intercrop in millets production system to enhance the production to feed the increasing population on sustained basis besides restoring the soil nutritional status and to overcome the environmental stress. But performance of intercropping system depends on proper selections of suitable intercrop, appropriate row ratio combination and proper input management. Very limited research work has been conducted on intercropping in millets so far but noteworthy information was recorded by the researchers, which has been reviewed through a sincere effort here to give critical view about intercropping in minor millets for agricultural sustainability to the farmers, researchers and consumers.

Application of TBLT (Task-based language teaching approach) in English teaching in junior high schools and universities

Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) offers a student-centered approach that encourages meaningful interactions and authentic language use, aligning with the growing emphasis on communicative language teaching. Researching TBLT can contribute to improving English language teaching practices by exploring innovative instructional methods. Thus, through literature review, this paper provides an overview on the application and effects of TBLT in English language education in middle school and university settings. In addition, the demerits of TBLT are also analyzed to provide a critical view and suggestions. This paper aims to examine the rationale for researching TBLT in English language teaching, discuss the research methods employed, outline the main themes explored, and emphasize the importance of such research.

Photocatalytic Membranes Toward Practical Environmental Remediation: Fundamental, Fabrication, and Application

AbstractWith the serious pollution of water resources in the process of social development, green and environmentally friendly photocatalytic technology has gradually attracted widespread attention. Though photocatalytic theory and technology are relatively mature, the current research is mainly focused on powders and less on the photocatalytic membranes, and few real practical cases of photocatalysis are studied. To summarize and update these advanced studies, this paper introduces the latest progress in photocatalytic membranes including discussing the differences of photocatalytic mechanism between free and fixed photocatalytic systems and the design philosophy of photocatalytic membranes. At the same time, some common fabrication methods, including in situ growth, coating, spinning, casting, and foaming methods are analyzed. Besides, the photocatalytic performances of different photocatalytic membranes in the actual environment and their use conditions are explored. Finally, a critical view of future trends is included. The explanation of the photocatalytic mechanism, large‐scale production, and the practicality of photocatalytic products are all problems that need to be solved in the future.

Combining preoperative C-reactive protein values with the Tokyo Guidelines 2018 grading criteria can enhance the prediction of surgical difficulty in early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis

BackgroundEarly laparoscopic cholecystectomy (ELC) is the standard treatment for acute cholecystitis (AC). However, predicting the difficulty of this procedure remains challenging. The present study aimed to develop an improved prediction model for surgical difficulty during ELC, surpassing the current Tokyo Guidelines 2018 (TG18) grading system. MethodsWe analyzed data from 201 consecutive patients who underwent ELC for AC between 2019 and 2021. Surgical difficulty was defined as the failure to achieve the critical view of safety (non-CVS). We developed a scoring system by conducting multivariate analysis on demographics, symptoms, laboratory data, and radiographic findings. The predictive accuracy of our scoring system was compared to that of the TG18 grading system (Grade I vs. Grade II/III). ResultsThrough multivariate logistic regression analysis, a novel scoring system was formulated. This system incorporated preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) values (≥5: 1 pt, ≥10: 2 pts, ≥15: 3 pts) and TG18 grading score (duration >72 h: 1 pt, image criteria for Grade II AC: 1 pt). Our model, a cutoff score of ≥3, exhibited a significantly elevated area under the curve (AUC) of 0.721 compared to the TG18 grading system alone (AUC 0.609) (p = 0.001). ConclusionCombining preoperative CRP values with TG18 grading criteria can enhance the accuracy of predicting intraoperative difficulty in ELC for AC.

Letting the plants speak: Law, landscape and conservation.

The Botany Wetlands are the contemporary remnant of a formerly extensive coastal freshwater wetland in the inner-urban suburbs of Sydney (Australia). This site supports a range of ecosystem services, including human physical and mental health benefits, filtration of stormwater runoff from a highly urban and industrial catchment, and accommodation space for floodwater. The wetlands also provide habitat to migratory water birds and act as a connective habitat corridor and refuge for native flora and fauna including endangered ecological communities recognised in state and national legislation. Current management strategies and 'on the ground' practices are informed by a hierarchy of laws and management plans that act to create and reinforce a specific narrative in the material landscape. Here we consider the ecological history of the wetlands, derived from paleoecological data, in the context of this complex network of governance entanglements. We argue that the system bears little resemblance to its long-term character and has been made and continually re-made by a portmanteau of inflexible regulatory structures. We suggest that maintaining ecosystem services in such a complex, hybridized sociolegal-biophysical system requires a critical view of both the power relations and physical processes that shape it.