Matter Of Life Research Articles

“A Matter of Life and Death”: Mitigating the Gray Digital Divide in Using Health Information Technologies in the Post-Pandemic Era

ABSTRACT A pervasive issue in healthcare is that elderly populations have fallen far behind in using healthcare technologies, a phenomenon known as the gray digital divide. Even more concerningly, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically catalyzed health digitization with the potential for lasting demographic-wide impacts. Against this backdrop and drawing on both the digital divide literature and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2), we investigated elderly populations’ usage of healthcare technologies through analyzing HINTS 6 (2022) survey data. Results show a widespread first- and second-level digital divide in using health information technologies (HITs) between people aged 65 and up and people aged 18–64, including Internet access, health-related Internet use, health-related social media use, health app use, use of wearable electronic health devices, telehealth visits, and accessing online medical records. Moreover, this study finds that education consistently positively predicts Internet use and use of various HITs by the elderly; income is the next reliable predictor but not as consistent as education. Health-related variables are less consistent in predicting the elderly’s use of HITs. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed to inform the mitigation of the gray digital divide in healthcare.

The Role of the Fable in Teaching Emotional-social Competences

In the article I bring the issue of using fairy tales in creating emotional social skills among children. It occupies a special place in bibliotherapy on the grounds of unique effect. The fairy tales strengthen, in fantastic form, the regional views on human intercourse and show ideals of good and justice and criteria of assessing human actions. Thanks to fairy tales, they stimulate moral development and enable to adapt socially accepted patterns of behaviour. In fairy tales the life matters are shown. They try to answer the question what the world is, which rules it governs and how to cope with fears and risks.

‘Queering’ Soho: Contesting the borders of normative space in the neoliberal city

In the context of the recent ‘black lives matter’ and ‘me too’movements, the issue of inclusivity and diversity, identity, gender, race,‘otherness’, is brought forth in many disciplines, architecture, academia, teachingand design practices. Although this is, of course, a positive progress, oneneeds to be mindful of the complexities and the potentially conflictual effectsof a normalisation, especially if this dismisses or disallows space for furtherprocesses of disruption, or if this commodifies queer space, objectifies theother, and hence distances it further. In this context, this study reflects onthe relationship between place, bodies, contested norms and social conventions,focusing on Soho, London as a case study, and on the associated evolution ofqueer spaces and narratives.

Kelios pastabos iš valdovo kanceliarijos darbo praktikų jos laikino valdytojo Ivano Hornostajaus laikais 1540–1546 metais (Lietuvos Metrikos knygų Nr. 24, 28 ir 231 (12-osios TBK) duomenimis)

This article presents an analysis of three Lithuanian Metrica books, formed in around 1540–1544, namely – books No. 24, 28 and Court Case Book No. 12, looking at their purpose and interrelativity, and the value of their information as historical sources. The author of this article found some source-research related confusion in these books, due to which historians studying this period may inadvertently incorporate a degree of undesirable errors in their work. The above-mentioned books of the Lithuanian Metrica were formed at a time when the state treasurer and grand ducal chancellery clerk Ivan Hornostay was serving as the head of the chancellery of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania following the death of Chancellor Albertas Goštautas (December, 1539).In presenting the work practices executed by the chancellery of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1540–1544, the analysis of the interrelation of Lithuanian Metrica books No. 24, 28 and Court Case Book No. 12 and the “movement” of the documents they contained allowed me to arrive at several observations. The chancellery’s work practices were found to indicate the considered redaction of texts, whereby seeking to give them the attributes of an official document, changes and additions to the regular formulated language would be made. Hornostay is deemed the most important official-bureaucrat in this activity, having direct control over the clerks in the chancellery of King and Grand Duke Sigismund the Old and indirectly – of his wife, Queen Bona, and son Sigismund Augustus, as official documents issued in the ruler’s name could only be stamped and entered into the chartulary (chartularium) kept by Marcin Tur with Hornostay’s knowledge. The noticeably significant impact of Hornostay on the ruler made it possible to influence the latter’s official decisions regarding various matters in the internal life of the state. Hornostay was the most important chancellery official not only in 1540–1544 as the executor of the chancellor’s office, but earlier as well. The bureaucratic purpose of these three analysed books of the Lithuanian Metrica may be explained differently than by grouping them into Books of Inscriptions (No. 24 and 28) and a Court Case Book (Court Case Book No. 12), as the modern period historiographic scheme of 1887 devised by Stanisław Ptaszycki dictates. Rather, we should consider Lithuanian Metrica Book No. 24 as the chartulary Book of Inscriptions containing the ruler’s official documents, whereas Book No. 28 and Court Case Book No. 12 were formed from series of clerks’ files, in which the majority of documents were not yet officially authorised – these were drafts, concepts (minutes), preliminary papers, court case protocols, the ruler’s provisional resolutions and alike. In both of the latter books of the Lithuanian Metrica we find the drafts of documents of various content, even though court case documents dominate in one book, while the other had mostly grants (endowments), records of provenance, and alike. This kind of record-keeping was found to lack consistency in the manner that documents were ordered, the documents themselves having been entered haphazardly.This research of three books of the Lithuanian Metrica by no means explains all of the aspects of the activities of the chancellery of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from that time, but only accounts for several years after the death of Albertas Goštautas. These aspects are related to the same changes to document content that were made during the progression from a draft to its official version.

Making policies more effective: The differentiated impact of work-family conflict on environmental public participation

With the accelerated pace of society, work pressures and life matters deplete the public’s time, energy, and emotional resources, consequently impacting their engagement in environmental public activities. This study utilizes the data from the China Social Survey 2019 and the Chinese General Social Survey 2021 to explore the effect of work-family conflict on two types of environmental public participation (daily participation and resistance participation). The findings include: (1) Work-family conflict negatively affects daily participation and positively affects resistance participation. (2) Environmental concern strengthens the negative effect of work-family conflict on daily participation. (3) Government environmental work satisfaction strengthens the positive effect of work-family conflict on resistance participation. The current study provides clarity on the relationship between work-family conflict and environmental public participation. The authors also propose targeted policy recommendations to mitigate work-family conflict in the public sphere and promote effective environmental public participation.

Summer (Somewhere) in the City

This (found) poem in three acts creates a conversation between Stuart Hall and Danez Smith, situated in the larger context of the long struggle for Black livingness. First comes the warning, descriptions of the violent now; HERE. Act II is a re-reading or re-writing of the secret codes of slavery and anti-Black violence, a play and exchange between realities and imaginaries, the tensions in Black social life; WHERE. The closing act insists that we dream of something different, a nod to a life Stuart Hall tried to write into existence, a life that his work is still writing; SOMEWHERE. By putting Stuart Hall in posthumous conversation with Danez Smith, I perform the kind of imaginary geographic maneuvering that characterizes Hall’s study, expanding the transatlantic and cross-generational capacity of cultural studies. Such a study, in a world where the African diaspora has been made commodity, is critical to the making of a world where Black(s) live(s) (matter).

A qualitative study on redefining normality in relatives of patients with advanced cancer.

To obtain insight into adaptation processes of redefining normality and its influencing factors in relatives of patients with advanced cancer. An exploratory qualitative study among relatives of patients with advanced cancer was conducted. Participants were purposively recruited. Ten in-depth individual (relative only) and 16 dyad (relative and patient together) interviews were conducted, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by means of thematic analysis, drawing on elements of grounded theory, combining both inductive and deductive elements. Two adaptation processes of (redefining) normality were identified: assimilation and accommodation. The latter was found to be the main way of adapting to new events. Assimilative coping strategies entailed "continuing to do the same activities as done before the disease," "difficulty accepting the situation," "avoiding to think about the disease," and "living in the short term." Accommodative strategies involved "arranging practical matters," "thinking about the future," "doing what is feasible," "engaging in new activities," "accepting the situation," "seeking distraction," "living in the short term," and "focusing on what truly matters in life." The interplay between the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, a deteriorating disease status, and the accompanying uncertainty about the future was of influence on the relatives' coping strategies. When the new situation is too divergent to assimilate, accommodation may be necessary for relatives to cope with the growing complexity of the consequences of their loved one's illness. Accommodative coping then involves accepting the changing reality and actively making the necessary adjustments to build resilience and cope with the new circumstances.

Gender Stereotype Portrayal on Hardworking Women In “The Intern” Movie Director’s Perspective

As the film industry developed, movies became a concern for some people. One of them is feminists, feminists are starting to infiltrate the film world, and like actors and directors, like Nancy Meyers, Nancy is a gender equality person. The purpose of this research is to find similarities between the characters in the film The Intern (Jules Ostin) character and the director and the reasons why the director included those elements. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method and the sources are the film itself (The Intern 2015), transcripts from the film and news media. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that there are similarities between the life of the director and the character of Jules Ostin. The director tries to include and portray several elements of feminism and gender stereotypes that are presented through the director’s own biography, and also emphasizes that the director (Nancy Meyers) wants people and views to notice a woman when she brings this subject in the film to change and consider them equal to men. in matters of life or choosing a profession.

An absolute shield: Qualified immunity, police misconduct and black lives matter

Before the global spotlight ascended upon nationwide efforts to codify into law that Black Lives Matter, specifically, police accountability against the use of excessive force against unarmed civilians, qualified immunity has silently flourished throughout America. Created to shield police officers and other government officials for the actions they engage on the job, this long-standing judicial doctrine continues to proliferate a culture of near-zero accountability when police officers engage in misconduct, which for communities of color, oftentimes results in deadly outcomes against unarmed civilians. This article will first revisit the development and legacy of qualified immunity, followed by analyzing its universal defense from police unions, then shifting to a data-rich illustration of disciplinary data highlighting the systemically designed outcomes of qualified immunity via the New York Police Department, before providing concluding thoughts. Ultimately, this article asserts that the retrogressive outcomes of police disciplinary inquiries, especially with respect to communities of color, is operating as designed, whereas efforts to review and revisit its structure and practices threaten a longstanding culture of disregard and near-zero accountability.

Developing a mentoring program to support the next generation of immunologists.

Mentorship refers to the guidance given by a mentor to a less experienced individual to enhance their professional and personal development. For graduate research students, seeking independent mentors external to their institution offers the rewarding opportunity to obtain objective guidance on a variety of work, study and life matters. This article outlines the steps taken to develop a professional society-based, international mentoring program of over 70 participants. This 6-month program aimed to connect graduate research students with more senior academic scientists in response to the limited networking opportunities imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Australia. Outlined here are the resources used to maximize the potential of this successful program, which include (1) an 'Introduction to Mentoring' workshop, (2) the use of a mentoring software or communication strategy to maintain program momentum and (3) the integration of in-person networking events. Overall, the program was a great success, with a high satisfaction rating (8.7/10) and a large number of participants reported that they would maintain their mentoring relationship. All participants stated that they would recommend the program to a peer, and thus reiterations of the program would likely be similarly well-received and beneficial to the Australasian immunology community.

Volunteering and Catholicism in Europe. The Inside Perspective Part 2: Empirical

In the paper we analyse the social activity practices of Catholic persons, as a set of individual and collective action emerging from the Catholic identity and – to more or less extent – structuralised under the Church-related formal non-profit initiatives. The purpose of the study is to clarify: (1) to what extent the Catholic unpaid social activities of different kinds could be classified as forms of volunteering and (2) to what extent the third sector definitions of volunteering are included in specific Catholic activities. Three tendencies have been observed with respect to not including religion-oriented volunteering in voluntary studies. Firstly, while using tools for collecting data adequate for the secular world, researchers face methodological difficulties to successfully cover social activities organized in parishes and congregations. Secondly, a reductionist approach reflects the ideological-rooted tendency to treat religion as a matter of private life. Thirdly, some religious-based entities tend to keep social activities of the believers within the Church-related circle. From the Catholic perspective, volunteer engagement represents an important aspect of faith-based every day activities, the so-called lived religion. At the same time, social engagement of believers provided within the Church-related entities, as well as outside them, usually fulfils all main features of volunteering. The relation between volunteering and religion is to be referred not only to the general position of faith-based and religious organizations in the public sphere, but also to the embeddedness of religious life in the society, as in fact both religion and volunteering are categories social per se. We illustrate our reflection on volunteering and Catholicism by presenting empirical evidence from the 2018 panel expert research among representatives of 29 Catholic Bishops Conferences across Europe.

Living and dying on the edge in the digital age. An interview with Andrei Vieru on why closure and boundaries matter in science, art, and life

ABSTRACT This conversation elaborates on the latest work of the Paris-based writer, philosopher, translator, mathematician and pianist Andrei Vieru, where he maintains that human freedom is inseparable from the idea of closure. Vieru’s model is rooted in the topological semantics of modal logic and provides valuable epistemological insights for the broader community of scholars (death and grief scholars, social scientists, humanists) as well as for policymakers, civil social actors and, generally, for all existentially concerned individuals in times of eroding democracies and pressing global risks. In this dialogue conducted during 2023 in face-to-face sessions and via email exchanges between Paris and Bucharest, Vieru reflects on what is at stake philosophically, artistically and existentially when humans are confronted with the radical openness of possibilities brought by contemporary challenges like global crises and digital technologies.

EXPLORATORY STUDY OF WOMEN MANAGERS’S CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN MINING INDUSTRY: CHALLENGES, SUPPORT, AND STRATEGIES BEHIND IT

The increase of women manager each year coexist with the low percentage compared to their male couneterparts caused by the challenges in their career development in the form of glass ceiling phenomenon, resulting in underrepresentative of women in strategic position in minings’s oil and gas company, which is a male dominated industry. This research explores the experiences of 6 women managers’s career advancement by conducting an in-depth interview. Using thematic analysis, this research found that women managers in oil and gas encounter challenges from their personal life and external matters, receive support from their partners and external side, and implement strategy relating to oneself and their external environment. This research also found the views regarding the figure of professional female workers in the mining industry are seen as the basis for female worker to compete in this industry. This research fills the gap in literature which discusses glass ceiling in male dominated industry, specifically in the perspective of women managers and their experience in career development process. The findings could serve as reference for employer in order to create gender-friendly and gender-neutral policy and to open many other possibilities for women in order to have an equal opportunity to serve in strategic positions.

LOVE YOURSELF: A SUCCESSFUL TRENDING CAMPAIGN IN BUILDING SELF-ACCEPTANCE OF BTS ARMY

A person can experience a lot of exchange in feelings, different emotions, relationships, loves, and many more throughout their growth. Some of us face failures, traumatic experiences, and downtime that create anxious minds of feeling unworthy and hopeless. Having a role model has been agreed to be helpful in the character development of human beings. In other words, idols affect the admirer’s choices in life matters. Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS), a seven-member boy band from South Korea, stood up at United Nations in 2018 and spoke about their support for self-love to increase child esteem. However, this campaign is not only successful in being delivered to children but also to youngsters and adults. This effort has greatly impacted their 90 million worldwide fans to be aware of their worth, proud of their own, accept their flaws, and respect differences. In a survey on BTS ARMY, 90% of the participating fans agreed to support the artist until today because they can feel the positive energy from BTS. Even though most of the songs in the albums are made in the Korean language, ARMY understands and can feel the message of the songs clearly. They can react and relate the songs easily to their situation. Fans also gain motivation from speeches, advice, or even idols' characters. The slogan of LOVE YOURSELF is very straightforward and adaptable to be a value in human lives.

The education system of pakistan: A recipe to disaster?

Education is the matter of life and death for any country. Unfortunately, Pakistan has not been able to develop a stable, up to date and just education system in the country till now. From 1947 to 2023, many major steps have been taken by the government but its implementation has been poor and unsatisfactory. A detailed analysis of all the problems in our education system has been discussed below. Also the immediate solutions to these problems have also been provided.

Reversible Binding Interfaces Made of Microstructured Polymer Brushes.

The polymer brush architecture of the end-tethered polymer molecules is one of the most widely used efficient methods to regulate interfacial interactions in colloidal systems found in live matter and manufactured materials. Emerging applications of polymer brush structures require solutions to new tasks in the control of interfacial interactions. The rapid development of live cell manufacturing relies on scalable and efficient cell harvesting methods. Stimuli-responsive surfaces made of surface-grafted poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) can bind and detach the adherent cell upon changes in temperature and have been used for cell growth and harvesting. The applications are limited by the requirement to satisfy a range of PNIPAM coating characteristics that depend on the dimensions of the integrin complex in the cell membrane and the basal surface. The analysis of the microstructured surfaces, when adhesive and disjoining functions of the microdomains are decoupled, shows that many limitations of PNIPAM one-component coatings can be avoided by using a much broader range of structural characteristics of the microstructured interfaces composed of alternating disjoining PNIPAM domains and adhesive polymeric domains with cell-affinity functional groups. Temperature-controlled reversible adhesion to such microstructured interfaces is studied here experimentally with model systems of solid spherical particles and by employing simulations for solid and soft membranes interacting with the microstructured surfaces to mimic interactions with soft and solid disk-like particles.

A matter of new life and cell death: programmed cell death in the mammalian ovary.

The mammalian ovary is a unique organ that displays a distinctive feature of cyclic changes throughout the entire reproductive period. The estrous/menstrual cycles are associated with drastic functional and morphological rearrangements of ovarian tissue, including follicular development and degeneration, and the formation and subsequent atrophy of the corpus luteum. The flawless execution of these reiterative processes is impossible without the involvement of programmed cell death (PCD). PCD is crucial for efficient and careful clearance of excessive, depleted, or obsolete ovarian structures for ovarian cycling. Moreover, PCD facilitates selection of high-quality oocytes and formation of the ovarian reserve during embryonic and juvenile development. Disruption of PCD regulation can heavily impact the ovarian functions and is associated with various pathologies, from a moderate decrease in fertility to severe hormonal disturbance, complete loss of reproductive function, and tumorigenesis. This comprehensive review aims to provide updated information on the role of PCD in various processes occurring in normal and pathologic ovaries. Three major events of PCD in the ovary-progenitor germ cell depletion, follicular atresia, and corpus luteum degradation-are described, alongside the detailed information on molecular regulation of these processes, highlighting the contribution of apoptosis, autophagy, necroptosis, and ferroptosis. Ultimately, the current knowledge of PCD aberrations associated with pathologies, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, premature ovarian insufficiency, and tumors of ovarian origin, is outlined. PCD is an essential element in ovarian development, functions and pathologies. A thorough understanding of molecular mechanisms regulating PCD events is required for future advances in the diagnosis and management of various disorders of the ovary and the female reproductive system in general.

No Lives Matter: Resisting Nihilism, Recuperating the Human

ABSTRACT Taking the slogan “no lives matter” as a starting point to diagnose the nihilism of our contemporary political culture, in this essay I tie the rise of nihilism to the resurgence of far-right political movements, chiefly the neo-reactionary thought of Nick Land. Following my discussion of Land and the culture of apocalyptic nihilism, I elucidate a Black feminist and decolonial perspective that, I argue, resists this creeping nihilism, and instead offers avenues of engaged political praxis for recuperating the politics of personhood. Using Sylvia Wynter’s work as an exemplar of such a perspective, I perform a rhetorical criticism of Land’s essay “The Dark Enlightenment” through the lens of Wynter’s understanding of the human. Critiquing his arguments, I argue that Wynter’s work offers a radical alternative to Land’s apocalypticism and antihumanism, one that maintains a commitment to reimagining the human rather than disavowing it.

Discovering clinical phronesis

Phronesis is often described as a ‘practical wisdom’ adapted to the matters of everyday human life. Phronesis enables one to judge what is at stake in a situation and what means are required to bring about a good outcome. In medicine, phronesis tends to be called upon to deal with ethical issues and to offer a critique of clinical practice as a straightforward instrumental application of scientific knowledge. There is, however, a paucity of empirical studies of phronesis, including in medicine. Using a hermeneutic and phenomenological approach, this inquiry explores how phronesis is manifest in the stories of clinical practice of eleven exemplary physicians. The findings highlight five overarching themes: ethos (or character) of the physician, clinical habitus revealed in physician know-how, encountering the patient with attentiveness, modes of reasoning amidst complexity, and embodied perceptions (such as intuitions or gut feeling). The findings open a discussion about the contingent nature of clinical situations, a hermeneutic mode of clinical thinking, tacit dimensions of being and doing in clinical practice, the centrality of caring relations with patients, and the elusive quality of some aspects of practice. This study deepens understandings of the nature of phronesis within clinical settings and proposes ‘Clinical phronesis’ as a descriptor for its appearance and role in the daily practice of (exemplary) physicians.

Living ghosts and the Laapata: the episode of genocide continuum in Pakistani art

ABSTRACT The systematic disappearance of individuals is very much a global phenomenon. In Pakistan, this phenomenon re-emerged after Pakistan decided to get involved in the U.S.-led ‘war on terror’ in the wake of 9/11. This paper exposes the politics of necropolitics in Pakistan through art, as death plays a significant role in setting up a political change. I contend that Ramla Fatima’s artworks put a human face to death and speak truth to power, to draw on Foucault, interlinking death with politics to expose the hiding and camouflaging of death in Pakistan. Fatima’s artworks represent another episode of the genocide continuum in Pakistan – the unending enforced disappearances and the sufferings of the families of the laapata – the disappeared. By painting necropolitics, she transgresses the silencing culture, a legacy of enforced disappearances. Through art, she illustrates how victims and their families are condemned to a state of subalternity and ambiguity – ambiguous loss, slow violence and torture, and psychological scars. Her artworks also draw attention to the role of expressive art in evoking awareness of human rights violations and establishing the fact that the laapata’s lives matter.