General Comments Research Articles

How risky is your retirement income risk model?


 
 
 Adequately sustaining lifetime income is a critical portfolio objective for retired investors. This article provides a brief review of various retirement income modeling approaches including historical back testing, Monte Carlo simulations, and other more advanced risk modeling techniques. Implau- sible assumptions underlying common risk models may mislead investors concerning the risk and return expectations of their retirement investment strategies. We compare risk models, evaluate their credibility, and demonstrate how an oversimplified model may distort the risks retired investors face. Differences in sustainability rates are stark: 4% failure at the low end versus 49% failure at the high end. The article ends with general comments regarding model risk and practitioner investment advice.
 
 

Feedbacking Strategies of English Language Teachers on the Written Outputs of Students in Distance Learning

This study aimed to describe the feedback strategies of English Language Teachers on the written outputs of students in distance learning and how these strategies help the students improve their written outputs. It also aimed to propose a feedback framework that can be adopted by Language teachers in distance learning. This study was conducted using a general qualitative inquiry design in which a researcher-made validated interview guide served as the primary data collection tool. The study had 10 English Language Teachers as Participants who were chosen purposively using criteria set by the researcher. The findings of this study revealed that English teachers use positive words to motivate students to do better, provide constructive criticisms to improve students’ outputs, observe confidentiality, remind students to avoid plagiarism, focus on grammatical errors, use rubrics for objectivity’s sake, and give general comments on errors in class. The participants perceived that these feedback strategies lead to improvement, motivate students to keep on improving their outputs, raise awareness among students on their errors, and assure students that their outputs are being monitored. Furthermore, the things that the English teachers consider when they provide feedback on the written outputs of their students include being punctual, and assuring students that their outputs are being monitored. Additionally, feedback strategies have to be humane, and objective, and should check on the authenticity of students’ output. Lastly, the proposed feedback framework is centered on improving students’ written outputs. Its seven elements are complementary to each other to realize the main objective of the framework.

Reclaiming the delinquent child: a proposed framework for a customary lawbased child justice system in Africa using Zambia as a case study

One consequence of Africa’s colonial history appears to be the subjugation of African customs and rites in favour of western values in the legal systems of several African countries. An example of this subjugation is the ‘repugnancy clauses’ that still populate the statute books of several African nations. The effect of the ‘repugnancy clauses’ has been multiplied bytheir suppression of African customs relating to the rearing of children alleged or adjudged to have committed a crime. The article draws upon limited research conducted in 2020 and 2021 in five districts of Zambia on children in conflict with the law as part of a limited study conducted by the author in the preparation of Zambia’s juvenile justice strategy (2021-25).The study collected quantitative data on the rates of children prosecuted in Zambia’s courts for the years 2012-17 and 2019-2020 and determined the rates at which these cases were diverted to customary institutions. It also collected qualitative data in the form of interviews with seven adjudicators, five law enforcement officials and one Chief to make sense of the quantitative data. The research found that although dealing with alleged child delinquents under customary law is a requirement under Zambia’s Juveniles Act, neither law enforcement officials nor magistrates referred cases tocustomary institutions. This article seeks to propose a framework for a balanced incorporation of customary law and its institutions in Zambia’s juvenile justice system. Such framework, the article argues, comports not only with the spirit of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance, but also the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the UnitedNations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment 24.

Peer review declaration

All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. Type of peer-: Double-blindWe use a double-blind type of peer review process. The author and reviewer identities are hidden to each other. The papers that pass the plagiarism check, then proceed to review process. Review process was conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. Our reviewers are the eminent experts, prominent scientists and researchers. We use a double-blind type of peer-review process. We provide reviewers an article grading form for each paper. The article grading form contains general comments and also specific suggestions and feedbacks for each section in the paper. The reviewer also asked to make a decision regarding the feasibility of publishing a paper along with the scientific reason behind it, such as substance suitability and data eligibility. Articles will not be processed further, if the results of the review state that the article is not eligible with the reviewer's notes on the assessment form. We send the paper to the reviewer, for one until two weeks, to be reviewed. Then, we forwarded the results of the review to the author so that it could be improved according to the suggestions and notes of the reviewer. Next, we sent the results of the improvements from the authors back to the reviewers to be followed up, whether they have been well elaborated or still need improvement. When the revised paper still needed some improvement, the steps repeated until the reviewer verified that the article is feasible and ready to be processed to the final stage by the editor (layout and proofread). Conference submission management system: All the ISOSS 2022 papers were processed by MORRESSIER system and also by personal message between committees and authors. Number of submissions received: 82 Number of submissions sent for review: 77 Number of submissions accepted: 68 Acceptance Rate: 82,93% Average number of reviews per paper: 2 Total number of reviewers involved: 63 reviewers Any additional info on review process: We only accepted paper that has a plagiarism value below 20% exclude bibliography. Contact person for queries: Dr. Beginer SubhanE-mail: beginersubhan@apps.ipb.ac.idDepartment of Marine Science and Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, IPB University, Dramaga, Bogor 16680, West Java, IndonesiaPhone: +62 812 8347 579

Using the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress to address the needs of adolescent mothers living with HIV

Various human rights issues arise from the intersection of adolescent motherhood and HIV. While health rights may be the most obvious means by which to address such issues through policy development and legislative means, the right to health is not the only human right that may provide recourse or relief in this regard. This article considers an unexplored avenue of approaching such issues through reliance on the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for the ‘right to science’ in article 15(1)(b) and more recently, as elaborated on in General Comment no. 25 of 2020. This article considers how this right can be relied upon to address issues pertaining to adolescent motherhood and HIV. Precedent from a Venezuelan Supreme Court decision is considered, as well as the normative content of the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress. This may be another legal means by which to hold states accountable for the health of young mothers and their children, especially as new practices, medicines and treatments emerge regarding HIV.

IMPORTANCE OF PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO PLAY

Children’s play is first and foremost a matter of human rights. As declared in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989), all children and young people have the right to play and have an intrinsic need to play. Play provides opportunities for children and young people to be free to choose what they do, and to challenge themselves, take risks and enjoy freedoms. (Playboard Northern Ireland, Young researchers’ team, 2013). General Comment 17 of the UNCRC states that children need to play in order to grow, learn and that play is a way of taking part in everyday life. Play also provides opportunities to promote gender equality and is essential for children’s health and well-being. The importance of play in early childhood education (ECE) will be analyzed with a specific emphasis on the sociological dimension and as a right granted to children by the UNCRC.

The poetry of twilight, or a symphony of humanity: New reading and interpretation of the anthology <i>The Twilight of Humanity</i> [<i>Menschheitsdämmerung</i>]: A co-authored monograph

The review concerns a coauthored monograph that examines the various aspects of the famous anthology of German Expressionist poetry — The Twilight of Humanity [Menschheitsdämmerung]. For the first time Kurt Pinthus is presented as the solo architect of this complex work of art designed to resemble a symphony. The reviewer notes the originality of the comparison with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and argues that the monograph discovers similarities not only on a larger scale but also on the level of specific details, i. e., the arrangement of the poems that enriches the meaning of an individual text through its placement in the new context of other poems. In addition to general comments about the structure of the anthology and its thanatological code, the researchers suggest independent interpretations of the poets (J. R. Becher, T. Däubler, and others) and their role in the orchestration of the anthology. Among the monograph’s very few flaws, the reviewer points out the book’s somewhat excessive reverence for Pinthus’s mythologising.

Soft computing based e-commerce website service quality index measurement

It is observed that there is a need for a quality measurement template system that is easy to understand, effective, easily updated according to different requests, contains enough variables, and gives fast results, which can be placed on websites except for general evaluation comments or 5-star rating evaluations after a customer makes a purchase from the online shopping website. For this reason, an inference system based on human reasoning is developed to measure practically the quality index of e-commerce shopping websites according to customer feedback in this study. The proposed system includes four subs and one main fuzzy inference system. 11 parameters affecting the problem are used in subsystems, while five main parameters are used in the main inference system. The main parameters are cargo and delivery performance (CDP), customer support and campaign performance (CSCP), ease of payment and return (EPR), interface quality (IQ), and privacy-security. The subsystems produce detailed outputs for the main parameters other than privacy-security. E-commerce shopping website service quality index is computed in the main system that processes the outputs of the subsystems. In addition, survey data is applied for verifying and supporting the study. Respondents in the survey were asked about the parameter values for their 1st and 2nd preferred shopping websites and it was observed that A3 e-commerce website has high quality index, and A1 e-shopping website has good quality index but should improve its CSCP dimensions. A4 website especially should improve its IQ and EPR dimensions and its quality index is not good compared to others. Finally, a graphical user interface application of the system is formed.

Palliative Care Physicians' Perceptions of Conditions Required to Provide Early Palliative Care.

Early palliative care (EPC) is widely recommended but its implementation may be challenging. We conducted a qualitative analysis of Canadian palliative care physicians' opinions about conditions necessary to provide EPC. A survey assessing attitudes and opinions regarding EPC was distributed to physicians providing primary or specialized palliative care, as identified by the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians. The survey included an optional final section for respondents' general comments; we screened these for relevance to our study aims and conducted a thematic analysis of relevant comments. Of 531 completed surveys, 129 (24%) respondents provided written comments, of whom 104 mentioned conditions they felt to be necessary to provide EPC. Four key themes were identified: 1) Clear delineation of roles of primary and specialized palliative care physicians-all physicians should be empowered to provide primary palliative care, with specialists providing additional support; 2) Shared care with needs-dependent referral-primary and specialized palliative care physicians should work collaboratively, with referral to specialized palliative care based on need rather than on prognosis; 3) Adequate resources to support primary palliative care-education, financial incentives, and collaboration with interdisciplinary team members such as nurses and specialized providers were specifically mentioned; 4) Addressing the misconception that palliative care equals end-of-life care-there was particular emphasis on education of both healthcare providers and the public. Changes are necessary at the level of palliative care referral systems, providers, resources, and policy to enable implementation of EPC.

‘WaSH Futurism’: exploring post-SDG6 targets using the Nominal Group Technique for more equitable global agenda setting

Abstract Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) is grounded in human rights and derives from international policies refined over decades. We argue that much of this agenda setting and monitoring reflects or gives way to neo-colonialism and neo-liberalism. We implement an online version of the Nominal Group Technique to explore its efficacy for more equitable global agenda setting. We apply the technique to a group of 19 graduate WaSH students – from diverse professional backgrounds and originating from and having worked in all global regions – to gain their insights on future WaSH issues to be included in global targets. This was preceded by preparatory exercises on WaSH progress and influential contextual factors. We thus demonstrate a novel and systematic application of the NGT and discuss its potential to be used in challenging neo-colonial and neo-liberal agenda setting. The results also provide an early assessment of future priorities that could inform post-SDG target setting including: inclusivity among populations and settings, hygiene, menstrual health, sustainability, circular economy, climate resilience, preventing infectious disease transmission, and universal ‘safely managed services’. These are compared with themes highlighted in Joint Monitoring Programme reports, SDG6 indicators and General Comment 15: The Human Right to Water.

A promising potential: Using the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress to advance public health in Africa

In 2020 the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published its 25th General Comment on the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress (REBSP). The General Comment describes the normative content of the right, including the obligations of the state and the entitlements of rights holders. It addressed the major gap in the REBSP, which was the lack of internationally-accepted interpretations of what the right entails. This article aims to shed light on the REBSP, and to demonstrate how it can be applied to advance public health. The article argues that the application of the REBSP requires a balancing act between the rights of researchers or scientists and the rights of users of the scientific knowledge they generate. It further argues that, when applied to health, the REBSP has the potential to improve access to better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and could draw attention to neglected diseases, which mostly affect developing countries.

Innovating in uncharted terrain: on interpretation and normative legitimacy in the CESCR’s General Comment No. 25 on the right to science

ABSTRACT Science permeates almost every aspect of society, yet the human right to science remains neglected. In 2020, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published its General Comment No. 25, intended to interpret the abstract provisions of Article 15 ICESCR. As a non-binding treaty body pronouncement, the General Comment’s reception and impact depend on its normative legitimacy – the extent to which its reasoning is coherent, determinative, transparent, systemically consistent, and adheres to international law methodologies, particularly those set out in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. This article evaluates the General Comment’s normative legitimacy and practical value by reference to three key interpretations in Article 15: ‘science’, ‘enjoy the benefits’, and ‘participation’. The General Comment, it concludes, does not represent a comprehensive interpretation, but should be seen as opening a door to state practice and, therefore, more detailed interpretation by the Committee, States parties, and domestic and international courts. Despite purporting to innovate, the Committee’s approach generally builds on pre-existing conceptualisations, further increasing its normative legitimacy. The article concludes that the future impact of the right to science can be greatly enhanced by increased attention by the Committee and by States parties.

Organisation of the AGATA collaboration and physics campaigns

The AGATA spectrometer has a well-established organisational and management structure for its construction and operation. The roles and responsibilities of each of the management committees and their interaction, as well as the scientific organisation is described in this contribution. The organisation of the present campaign, which aims to realise the 4pi spectrometer, is presented. General comments on the previous physics campaigns at LNL (2010–2011), GSI (2012–2014) and GANIL (2015–2021) are made.

Understanding the Downstream Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sonographers and Vascular Technologists: Healthcare Heroes’ Kryptonite!

Objective: This work aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the work of sonographers and vascular technologists. Materials and Methods: A follow-up questionnaire was sent to an established registry of ultrasonography users who opted into a longitudinal research study examining worker health and wellbeing. Multiple questions related to the general impacts of COVID-19 on sonography work practices, workload, and considerations of remaining or leaving their current job were included; responses to these questions were descriptively tabulated. Participants indicated specific changes that occurred and provided general comments related to COVID-19 impacts in two free-text questions. These comments were qualitatively analyzed by two sonographers who used an interpretive grounded theory approach to formatively code and memo the comments. Four summative interviews were conducted with participants who represented varied practice areas to gain deeper insights into the experiences expressed by the total respondent pool. Qualitative coding of the free-text responses and interview transcripts was completed independently by the two sonographers using the Sonography Work Systems (SWS) framework, and the full research team contributed to the interpretation of the findings. Results: A total of 1389 ultrasonography users completed the questionnaire. The pandemic changed the ways in which examinations were performed for approximately half of the respondents. A higher or somewhat higher workload was noted by 48% of the sample, while only 10% experienced a lower or somewhat lower workload. Components of the work system were a major concern for respondents, and a lack of support from supervisors and hospital administration was a key finding. Participants felt limited in their ability to provide care, experienced posttraumatic stress, and reported a lack of reciprocity, which were all underscored as undesirable outcomes. Conclusion: Sonographers and vascular technologists suffered negative consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most marked outcome was the undesirable effects on the work system, which resulted in the need for these workers to engage in herculean efforts over a sustained period. Findings suggest that these health care heroes may have experienced physical and mental harm while trying to provide health care services, despite numerous institutional challenges.

Necessary Products for the Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Injuries: Lessons Learned That Translate Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To identify the challenges encountered in obtaining the required support surfaces and products to meet pressure injury (PrI) prevention and treatment needs during COVID-19. The authors used SurveyMonkey to gather data on healthcare perceptions and the challenges experienced regarding specific product categories deemed necessary for PrI prevention and treatment in US acute care settings during the pandemic. They created three anonymous surveys for the target populations of supply chain personnel and healthcare workers. The surveys addressed healthcare workers' perceptions, product requests, and the ability to fulfill product requests and meet facility protocols without substitution in the categories of support surfaces and skin and wound care supplies. Respondents answered one of the three surveys for a total sample of 174 respondents. Despite specific instructions, nurses responded to the surveys designed for supply chain personnel. Their responses and comments were interesting and capture their perspectives and insights. Three themes emerged from the responses and general comments: (1) expectations differed between supply chain staff and nurses for what was required for PrI prevention and treatment; (2) inappropriate substitution with or without proper staff education occurred; and (3) preparedness. It is important to identify experiences and challenges in the acquisition and availability of appropriate equipment and products for PrI prevention and treatment. To foster ideal PrI prevention and treatment outcomes, a proactive approach is required to face daily issues or the next crisis.

The Toy Brick as a Communicative Device for Amplifying Children’s Voices in Research

The Toy Brick as a Communicative Device for Amplifying Children’s Voices in Research

From Norm Violations to Norm Development: Deviance, International Institutions, and the Torture Prohibition

AbstractHow do violations affect international norms? This article demonstrates that violations develop norms by analyzing how international institutions determine the meaning of deviant behavior and the breached norm. Decisions by courts, ad hoc tribunals, commissions of inquiry, and expert committees influence formal and informal lawmaking and drive the contested and often ambiguous development of international norms. To illustrate the impact of these norm applications and lawmaking efforts, the article compares two institutions with different mandates to oversee the international torture prohibition. In the 1960s and 1970s, the European human rights institutions defined torture for human rights law and found that Greece and the United Kingdom had violated the torture prohibition, but created ambiguity regarding the threshold of torture. In 1984, the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) adopted this definition, which was informed by earlier norm violations. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the UN Committee against Torture (CmAT) applied the torture prohibition to interrogation techniques used by Israel and the United States in counterterrorism operations. CmAT’s decisions that both countries had deviated from the norm led to General Comment No. 2 on CAT, which reaffirmed and specified the absolute and non-derogable nature of the torture prohibition.

The main tendencies in the development of judicial practice for resolving disputes regarding the determination of the child’s place of residence

The article is devoted to the main complicated aspects that take place in national judicial practice devoted to resolving disputes between separated parents regarding the determination of the place of residence of their minor child(ren). The author reiterates the necessity to use more flexible approaches in order to resolve disputes about determining the place of residence of a minor child, to improve the practice of resolving such kind of disputes by national courts, the borders of which are currently limited to the use only one variant - determining the place of residence of a minor child with one parent (with the potential contact of the other parent with the child). The author tried to analyze the norms of international acts and legislation of some democratic states, which should be taken into account by national courts upon resolving disputes about determining the place of residence of a minor child. The main trends in resolving disputes on determination of the place of residence of a minor child, which are refl ected in international conventions, general comments and foreign legal framework as in judicial practice are presented. It is recommended to use in judicial practice such additional methods (variants) of resolving disputes between parents about determining the place of residence of their minor child(ren), as joint physical custody with alternate residence of the child in the accommodation of each parent according to the appropriate schedule, or determination child`s habitual residence in accommodation in which the child lived earlier (bird’s nest custody), with alternative presence of parents in this accommodation according to the agreed schedule. It is proposed to improve the approaches to resolve judicial disputes about determination of the place of residence of a minor child, to implement and use, according the circumstances of the case, different methods (models) of resolving this category of disputes. Key words: child’s physical custody, legal disputes between parents, judicial disputes concerning determination of the minor child's place of residence.

Transformative Justice for Elimination of Barriers to Access to Justice for Persons with Psychosocial or Intellectual Disabilities

By adopting the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the CRPD) in New York, the United Nations heralded a new epoch on how disability-related matters ought to be comprehended and addressed across the globe. The aim of this article is to argue the role and substance of the CRPD, under which each State Party has a responsibility and duty to protect, promote and implement access to justice for all persons with disabilities on equal bases with others. Systemic and structural barriers to access to justice that are faced by persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities are highlighted, and the determinants of them are identified including boundaries of the principle of formal equality. The human-rights-based response within the framework of obligations of the States Parties of the CRPD to ensure access to justice for persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities is argued, with specific consideration of the principle of transformative equality. The analysis is based on the CRPD Committee’s jurisprudence, including Concluding observations for the States Parties, General Comments, statements and guidelines.

JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND VICTIMS OF DIGITAL VIOLENCE

The authors are focused on the issue of digital violence among juveniles: factors, main characteristics, and responses to it. The paper is primarily based on the latest research results of judicial practice (of the Higher Court in Belgrade and the Higher Prosecution Office in Belgrade – Special Department for High-Tech Crime), data gathered by questionnaires filled out by juveniles from one secondary school in Belgrade, and other available studies on the topic. Some recommendations regarding the social response to digital violence among juveniles were made, having in mind General Comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.