Major Organizations Research Articles

Definition and measurement of post-COVID-19 conditions in real-world practice: a global systematic literature review

Post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC) is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of signs, symptoms and conditions present weeks after the acute phase of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. This systematic literature review...

Gerald H. Anderson and the Overseas Ministries Study Center: “Mission Trends” from Postcolonialism to World Christianity

This article introduces the scholarship and administrative accomplishments of Dr. Gerald H. Anderson, longtime Director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center and Editor of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research. Based on his missionary experience in the Philippines, his voluminous writings, and his founding of major missiological organizations, Anderson was central to the reframing of mission studies in the postcolonial era of the last third of the twentieth century. Under his leadership, the Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC) became a hub for the emerging network of World Christianity scholarship. Unlike the rigidity of academic institutions caught in the discourse of secularization theory, the OMSC represented a creative liminal space with the flexibility to innovate. Anderson and the OMSC incubated teams of scholars and practitioners who cumulatively formulated a new approach to the study of mission and to the understanding of Christianity as a worldwide rather than Western religion.

Integrated safety for sea and air transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Climate change and COVID-19 have disrupted food supply chains and exacerbated food security challenges (Rasul, 2021). The safety of sea and air transportation in food delivery is also a disruption that impacts logistics in the food value chain (Singh et al., 2021). Integration of sea and air transportation safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the impact of climate change on food supplies and the rapid spread of viruses through air travel, is essential to ensure that food distribution is not disrupted. The research investigates the response of countries and major international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The methodology used in the study was a systematic literature review (SLR) by identifying 875 journals in the first stage. Then, through strict screening, 50 articles were selected and further analyzed. Covering continents, specific countries, and important ports, the research uses quantitative databases such as the Scopus journal index. The study results reveal the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation and maritime sectors and its influence on global passenger and goods transportation. SLR’s findings also bring together insights from diverse research on safety integration across different modes of transportation during the pandemic. Research provides recommendations — climate-related changes for safe transportation, applicable in normal and pandemic circumstances. In conclusion, this article comprehensively explains maintaining a safe and efficient transportation network amidst complex challenges.

Language Matters: Exploring Preferred Terms for Diverse Populations

This article explores the significance of employing preferred terms and inclusive language in research practices concerning diverse populations. It highlights how inappropriate terminology can lead to labeling, stereotyping, and stigma, particularly for equity-denied groups. The study aimed to identify and analyze terminology preferences for diverse communities by major international organizations. Through a systematic environmental scan methodology, data were collected from 12 prominent organizations. The results indicate a concerted effort toward adopting inclusive language, with organizations favoring respectful and accurate terminology. For instance, terms like “people made vulnerable by systemic inequities” and “migrant workers” were preferred over outdated or stigmatizing alternatives. The discussion emphasizes the importance of identifying conflicting terms and trends in terminology preferences over time. We recommend prioritizing the use of preferred terms to promote respectful and accurate discourse, with a focus on person-centered language. Ultimately, the findings underscore the critical role of language in shaping perceptions and attitudes toward diverse communities, and advocate for continued efforts to promote inclusivity and equity in research, policy, and practice.

No farmer in the field! The Belgian agricultural organisations and the 1971 demonstration(s) against the Mansholt Plan

On 23 March 1971, approximately one hundred thousand farmers protested in Brussels against the Mansholt plan. The vast majority of them were Belgian farmers who responded en masse to the ubiquitous call from the Belgian farming organisations for “No farmer in the field”. This article analyses newspapers, agricultural magazines, archival records, and interviews to unravel the motivations, strategies, roles, and internal dynamics of various agricultural organisations in Belgium involved in preparing, organising, and evaluating the protest. The 1971 demonstration represents a significant turning point. It has become ingrained in collective memory, symbolising the conclusive end of an era in agriculture. Largely mobilised by major agricultural organisations and influenced by smaller, more radical groups, the protest marks the emergence of a cross-border agricultural alliance opposing substantial reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

디지털 혁신을 위한 표준화: ISO/IEC의 SMART 표준 개념 분석

Digital transformation is rapidly evolving digital standardization, driven by technological advancements and societal needs. SMART standards, developed using a structured approach encompassing machine readability, self-execution, and optimization, help machines and humans interact, accelerating the integration and utilization of digital technologies. Online Standard Development (OSD) provides agile support for standard development, enabling swift adaptation to technological changes.
 This study examines the current status of digital standardization by major organizations, such as KATS, IEC, and CEN/CENELEC, and investigates essential elements to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of digital standards. The findings emphasize the importance of collaborative standard development involving all stakeholders, alongside technological advancements, to create an environment where digital standards can be widely applied and efficiently utilized.

Gorzów Wielkopolski As an Attractive Location for an Innovative River Port Equipped With a Sustainable Energy Security System

The role of inland navigation in the global logistics system is gaining significance. This process is stimulated by policies implemented by major economies and international organizations such as the European Union. The objective is to achieve sustainability in transportation by exploring alternatives to conventional infrastructure. These initiatives also extend to tourism and recreation associated with inland navigation. This article presents the results of an analysis related to the location of a tourist river port, considering optimized benefits and developmental opportunities. An interesting location meeting these criteria, as well as possessing scenic, cultural, ecological, and environmental values, is Gorzów Wielkopolski. In the second part of the article, the authors propose a concept for a sustainable energy system that meets the requirements of port operations and customer demands in an era of rapidly advancing technology and increased emphasis on environmental protection.

Incretin Therapies for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease.

Since the early 2000s, an influx of novel glucose-lowering agents has changed the therapeutic landscape for treatment of diabetes and diabetes-related complications. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists represent an important therapeutic class for the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D), demonstrating benefits beyond glycemic control, including lowering of blood pressure and body weight, and importantly, decreased risk of development of new or worsening chronic kidney disease (CKD) and reduced rates of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events. Plausible non-glycemic mechanisms that benefit the heart and kidneys with GLP-1 receptor agonists include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Further supporting their use in CKD, the glycemic benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists are preserved in moderate-to-severe CKD. Considering current evidence, major guideline-forming organizations recommend the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists in cases of T2D and CKD, especially in those with obesity and/or in those with high cardiovascular risk or established heart disease. Evidence continues to build that supports benefits to the heart and kidneys of the dual GLP-1/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist tirzepatide. Ongoing outcome and mechanistic studies will continue to inform our understanding of the role of GLP-1 and dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists in diverse patient populations with kidney disease.

Prevention Platform

A brand new prevention platform calls for decisive investment in prevention.
 It is unique because the platform acts across policy domains, as well as policy levels and language borders.
 The platform aims to promote health for all, contributing to more quality of life and healthy life years. We aim at a transformation from curative care (curative) to ensuring that people are born healthy and stay healthy (preventive).
 This fits seamlessly with the goal of integrated care: enabling people to maintain or regain their independence and improve their quality of life. Prevention and self-care are as essential to achieving this goal as the coordination of health and social care services. 
 With prevention support, people should be able to make informed decisions about their care and well-being; develop skills and knowledge to self-manage their long-term conditions; remain active in their communities and not become socially isolated.
 Prevention, especially primary prevention, is the basis of the new, integrated health and well-being policies we are pursuing. This requires many initiators from the health and welfare sector, as well as schools, businesses, social services, sports clubs to pull on the same sea.
 Driven by the Health in All Policies idea, the prevention platform groups together everyone - institutions and individuals - who want to give priority to prevention, to join forces to this end (to 'unbundle').
 The prevention platform focuses on the question of how to make prevention structurally permeate all sections of society. 
 Structural attention and a long-term strategy for prevention are the message here.
 Major investments in better prevention and health promotion within a strengthened primary care system as well as in an integrated social, welfare and healthcare concept: from ""taking care of sick people" to "making sure people are born healthy and stay healthy".
 We are working on a Community. There is a common concern to work preventively, health and wellness-wise, from very different, missions and experiences. There is no common language around prevention. By working together, talking together and setting concrete goals, prevention will have richer content.
 
 First achievement of the platform during the corona crisis was the call to the GEMS "Create a healthier living environment and make a healthy lifestyle a basic rule".
 The great interest in the platform compelled us to draft a charter.
 Round table discussions were organised across Flanders for the charter's signatories. This gets the conversation going across domains and levels.
 The charter has so far been signed by 820 organisations, academics or citizens.
 Major organisations such as VVSG, Domus Medica, Zorgnet Icuro, VRP, VAD, ... put their backs into it. 
 At the launch conference of the platform, ministers from the federal and Flemish levels were present together.
 The Prevention Platform is taken up as an important stakeholder in various consultative forums, as an independent advocacy platform, striving for transformation.
 The platform aims for an Interfederal plan for Belgium: Bringing together the prevention & health promotion sector (regional level) and the curative sector (national level) to work together on government-wide policies for Health for All.

JAMALUDDIN AL-AFGHANI’S THOUGHTS IN SAREKAT ISLAM AND MUHAMMADIYAH MOVEMENT EARLY 20TH CENTURY

The global political struggle between Muslims and Western imperialists produced new Islamic thinkers. One of them was Jamaluddin Al-Afghani, a pioneer of pan-Islamism whose ideas spread to different parts of the world. His idea of ??political independence for Muslims became the compass for the figures of the early 20th-century movement in the Dutch East Indies, which carried out a movement against colonialism-imperialism. Some major organizations inspired by Jamaluddin Al-Afghani's thoughts are Sarekat Islam and Muhammadiyah. Both organisations play an important role in the machinery of the national movement. Written based on a literature study with a historical approach, the article attempts to explain the influence of Jamaluddin Al-Afghani's thoughts on the political dynamics of Islamic groups during the nationalist movement of the early 20th century.

Prediction of patient admission and readmission in adults from a Colombian cohort with bipolar disorder using artificial intelligence.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronically progressive mental condition, associated with a reduced quality of life and greater disability. Patient admissions are preventable events with a considerable impact on global functioning and social adjustment. While machine learning (ML) approaches have proven prediction ability in other diseases, little is known about their utility to predict patient admissions in this pathology. To develop prediction models for hospital admission/readmission within 5 years of diagnosis in patients with BD using ML techniques. The study utilized data from patients diagnosed with BD in a major healthcare organization in Colombia. Candidate predictors were selected from Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and included sociodemographic and clinical variables. ML algorithms, including Decision Trees, Random Forests, Logistic Regressions, and Support Vector Machines, were used to predict patient admission or readmission. Survival models, including a penalized Cox Model and Random Survival Forest, were used to predict time to admission and first readmission. Model performance was evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and concordance index. The admission dataset included 2,726 BD patients, with 354 admissions, while the readmission dataset included 352 patients, with almost half being readmitted. The best-performing model for predicting admission was the Random Forest, with an accuracy score of 0.951 and an AUC of 0.98. The variables with the greatest predictive power in the Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) importance analysis were the number of psychiatric emergency visits, the number of outpatient follow-up appointments and age. Survival models showed similar results, with the Random Survival Forest performing best, achieving an AUC of 0.95. However, the prediction models for patient readmission had poorer performance, with the Random Forest model being again the best performer but with an AUC below 0.70. ML models, particularly the Random Forest model, outperformed traditional statistical techniques for admission prediction. However, readmission prediction models had poorer performance. This study demonstrates the potential of ML techniques in improving prediction accuracy for BD patient admissions.

MUSICAL THEATER AND MEANING MAKING IN A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

Abstract “I think I’ve had it up to here with pickleball…” Thus begins the first song in “Movin”, an original musical written, produced, and performed by members of a continuing care retirement community (CCRC), which addresses themes ranging from dementia, death and widowhood to finding community, purpose, and late-life love. The idea began in informal conversation between two former university colleagues, Philip Sloane (a geriatrician, GSA member, and former CCRC board member) and Hugh Tilson (a CCRC resident, aged 82) about describing the aging experience through song. Hugh gathered a group of fellow CCRC residents, none of whom had professional songwriting or theater experience but several of whom had musical backgrounds or an interest in theater. Meeting regularly over nearly two years, they envisioned, created, and then produced an original musical around the theme of “freshman year in a retirement community.” The final production included 9 cast members, 12 original songs developed by five lyricists and two composers, many production-related volunteers, and a narration to link the songs together. This symposium will describe the process, present and illustrate aging-related themes from the production, place the musical in the context of existing research about meaning-making and the arts in later life, and conclude with a discussion by a senior leader in a major senior housing organization. Presentation about development and production of the musical will include videos of rehearsals, songs from the production, and interviews with performers. Sponsored by the Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Gerontology Advisory Panel

Med nyhetsmediekritik som utgångspunkt för kommunikation: diskutanters kommentarer till ett Facebook-inlägg från SVT Nyheter om elhushållning

On digital platforms, users can express public opinions in relation to the content of major organizations, e.g. public service broadcasters. Although media criticism has been a subject of scholarly interest, research has not primarily regarded communicative aspects of media criticism, despite such criticism potentially changing the premises for e.g. social media news reporting as a discursive practice. Building on a concept of communicative acts, this study investigates news media criticism in comments on a Facebook news post by Swedish public service broadcaster SVT on electricity housekeeping. Eleven news media critical arguments were identified according to two research questions – 1) what is the object of the criticism; 2) what is the communicative purpose of it? – resulting in seven groups of arguments. Focusing on both single instances of argument groups and combinations of groups within individual comments, the study emphasizes the communicative dynamics of news media criticism in altering between objects and purposes. Even though the result is heterogenous, some tendencies arise. Unlike constructive criticism, meant to change news reporting by media’s own standards, a majority of the most common argument groups consist of those who express strategic criticism, seemingly aiming to change media perceptions among a general news audience. Since this criticism regularly also addresses politics, the study further stresses the possibility of viewing media criticism as extended into e.g. political criticism.

A Persian Herald: The Reception of Tahirih by the Suffrage Movement of Britain, 1910–1913

Abstract In the years preceding the First World War, the suffragist media paid important attention to the figure of the Persian poetess, Tahirih. This interest in her biography coincided with ‘Abdu’l-Bahā’s two visits to England when the leader of the Bahā’ī religion met with prominent members of the country’s major suffrage organizations. This article describes references to Tahirih by various suffragist leaders and attempts to show how she was presented as a herald to their cause and a heroine to be emulated.

Inspiring respect for fathers as coparents through a trauma-informed, infant-family mental health transformation of community-based services: process and early implementation with a multi-agency community collaborative.

Despite compelling evidence that high-quality early care has an enduring impact, there has been little coordinated effort to transform services delivery to infuse Trauma-Informed Family Centered (TI-FC) principles into community-based agencies serving children and their families. A need for more culturally attuned, family-sensitive, evidence-based, and trauma-informed supports, especially for vulnerable children, their families and fathers, is apparent in evidence amassed by key stakeholders within the geographic area of this study. This report details the planning process, TI-FC training series, and organizational profile assessments. Authors conclude with recommendations regarding the establishment of multi-agency collectives, to include fathers, toward betterment of infant-family mental health at the community level. The current case study details the community-level transformational effort in which major health, mental health, substance abuse, and child welfare organizations serving families of children age 0-3 worked collaboratively to enhance TI-FC services. We describe a four-stage process (1 - planning, 2 - assessment of organizational readiness, 3 - surveys, document reviews and focus groups, 4 - delivery of a training series) detailing the work of the collaborative, guided by key agency decision-makers. The study found significant initial success in adapting approaches to serving children 0-3 and their families through TI-FC perspectives. By proactively engaging several lead organizations in a deliberative planning process with universal aims and transformational principles, the collaborative team was able to coordinate organizational assessment, staff training and consultation, self-monitoring of organizational shifts, and problem-solving of obstacles and solutions to TI-FC services delivery. All agencies succeeded in completing comprehensive, multi-faceted analyses of organizational culture, preparing personnel for TI-FC services through comprehensive training, and utilizing this collaborative to make deliberate and customized changes within their programs, as concerns both support of families and father engagement. Preliminary data indicate that important shifts took hold and signified changes across key domains of TI-FC care.

Change to persist - The adaptation of European Red Cross societies to changing patterns of volunteering

Non-profit organizations active in disaster relief depend on the engagement of volunteers. Yet, society changes, and so do engagement patterns of volunteering. We examine in this paper how Red Cross societies across Europe perceive these processes and adapt to changes. As major aid organizations, Red Cross societies need to attract volunteers in various fields between disaster relief and social services. They are consequently particularly vulnerable to changes in volunteer engagement. Organizational learning is one way to mitigate this vulnerability by adapting to these changes. We analyze these organizational learning processes with a mixed-methods research design that embraces a quantitative survey as well as in-depth interviews with various Red Cross societies. The study, which refers to the 4I-Theory, demonstrates how perceived adaptation pressure is a key driver of organizational change. Red Cross societies experiencing this pressure spark an adaptation process, scrutinizing and potentially changing their structures and standards to stay the same regarding their essential characteristics.

Efficacy of Enterprise Risk Management in Enhancing Sustainability and Financial Performance in the Solar PV Industry: A Conceptual Framework

As an alternative to fossil fuels, solar PV electricity can help mitigate global warming and improve the environment by lowering greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). More nations have developed programs to encourage the production and use of PV electricity, considering the potential of renewable energy for sustainable development. The government of Malaysia wants solar PV to be the primary source of renewable energy by 2030. To reduce global warming, renewable energy technology must be implemented more widely. However, the production of solar photovoltaic modules raises serious sustainability concerns. These concerns include using conflict minerals, toxicity, and limited supply or supply chain governance risks of rare materials. Even though solar energy projects are technically feasible, stakeholders still view the region’s initiatives as risky due to ongoing governance problems. Domains related to solar project deployment that involve installation, operation, and management are particularly susceptible to governance issues, such as a lack of accountability and transparency. Renewable energy investments upfront are risky and expensive. Risks in the solar PV value chain include subpar design and manufacturing decisions, inventory losses, quality problems during the execution process, and cultural and societal problems brought on by the absence of an effective risk management system. This study thus investigates how the implementation of ERM influences the company’s financial performance. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is a technique that regulates, and coordinates offset risks all over the firm to manage and integrate all risks holistically. As a result, this paper provides a conceptual and theoretical framework for how corporations use risk management to lower the cost of capital and improve sustainable development in the solar PV industry. The suggested theoretical and conceptual framework, supported by stakeholder and legitimacy theory, provides a foundation for empirically validating the entangled interaction between the relevant variables. It is advocated that measuring variables such as enterprise risk management, financial performance, and sustainability performance be based on previous research and frameworks and recommendations produced by major organizations. The purpose of this paper is to guide Malaysian solar PV companies in the implementation of sustainability and risk management.
 Keywords: enterprise risk management, sustainability, solar PV, financial performance

The role of the Geographies of Health and Wellbeing Research Group in shaping an evolving field over time

AbstractThe Geographies of Health and Wellbeing Research Group of the Royal Geographical Association‐Institute of British Geographers is perhaps the major professional organisation for health and medical geographers working in the UK. This paper reviews the organisational history and operation of the group, and its forerunners, and its role in shaping the development of the geographies of health and wellbeing, since its inaugural symposium in 1972, marking its 50th Anniversary.

The Changing Faces of Leadership in Surgery: Study on Presidents of Major Surgical Organizations

IntroductionTo gain an understanding of the changing faces of leadership in surgery, we examined trends in the demographics, additional degrees pursued, and scientific publication characteristics of the past presidents of three major surgery organizations. MethodsWe queried the BoardCertifiedDocs and Web of Science databases for the demographics, as well as the quantity and quality of publications, of the past presidents of the Association for Academic Surgery, Society of University Surgeons, and American College of Surgeons from 1970 to 2020. Data were analyzed by decade to identify any trends. ResultsWe identified a total of 140 presidents from the organizations. The proportion of female presidents significantly increased from the 1990s to the 2010s (10% versus 33%, P < 0.05). The percentage of non-White presidents increased from the 1970s to the 2010s (3.33% versus 21.2%, P = 0.024). The percentage of presidents with additional degrees also increased from the 1970s to the 2010s (10.0% versus 48.8%, P = 0.039). During this same time period, the most common area of expertise of presidents shifted from cardiothoracic surgery to surgical oncology. The ratio of presidents’ postinduction to preinduction publications was significantly increased among all three organizations in the 2010s compared to the 1970s (P < 0.05). Co-cluster analysis revealed a research topic change from the 1970s to the 2010s. ConclusionsThe faces of surgical leadership have changed in terms of gender equality, racial diversity, surgical subspecialty, and additional degrees held. Such a transformation mirrors evolving diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and it further highlights the adaptability of surgical leadership to the ever-changing landscape of surgery.

A national overview of nonprofit hospital community benefit programs to address the social determinants of health.

Decades of research have solidified the crucial role that social determinants of health (SDOH) play in shaping health outcomes, yet strategies to address these upstream factors remain elusive. The aim of this study was to understand the extent to which US nonprofit hospitals invest in SDOH at either the community or individual patient level and to provide examples of programs in each area. We analyzed data from a national dataset of 613 hospital community health needs assessments and corresponding implementation strategies. Among sample hospitals, 69.3% (n = 373) identified SDOH as a top-5 health need in their community and 60.6% (n = 326) reported investments in SDOH. Of hospitals with investments in SDOH, 44% of programs addressed health-related social needs of individual patients, while the remaining 56% of programs addressed SDOH at the community level. Hospitals that were major teaching organizations, those in the Western region of the United States, and hospitals in counties with more severe housing problems had greater odds of investing in SDOH at the community level. Although many nonprofit hospitals have integrated SDOH-related activities into their community benefit work, stronger policies are necessary to encourage greater investments at the community-level that move beyond the needs of individual patients.