National Decision Research Articles

Land Use Pattern Change and Farmers Perception Perspective: A Case of Khagrachari Hill District, Bangladesh

The sole hilly region in Bangladesh is known as the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT), which is comprised of the three hill districts of Khagrachari, Rangamati, and Bandarban. Due to population dynamics, economic development, climatic change, improved accessibility, and agricultural developments, land usage is changing at an increasingly rapid rate in the CHT. This research was carried out in Khagrachari Sadar upazila in the Khagrachari district of Bangladesh. This study looked at how farmers perceive changes in land use patterns and the factors that influence such perceptions. A total of 180 households were sampled using the proportional random sampling technique, and the survey was conducted using a previously created, closed-ended questionnaire. The average land ownership of the farmers was 4.22 acre, although the average agricultural and forest land holding was 1.37 acre and 1.54 acre, respectively. Although, the farmers also possessed considerable amount of vegetable land and flat land also and these lands were utilized to produce different types of vegetables, crops, fruit and timber trees. Average age of the farmers was 49.75 years and 32% of them did not receive any formal education. About 62% of them did not take part any agriculture related training program. Although, 95% of the farmers had medium to poor perception on land use pattern change. Moreover, many farmers perceived that currently overall soil fertility status of the hilly land had been decreased compared to 10 years back. In addition, out of thirteen attributes, four attributes, namely, educational attainment, family annula income, agricultural training received and agricultural land ownership had significant influence on the perception of land use pattern change by the respondents. The findings from the research can be used by the nation's decision-makers and planners to create future CHT land allocation policies.

Examination of the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa

The relationship between environmental degradation and poverty has increasingly become the focus of national strategic decision-making in recent years. However, despite several theoretical explorations on the nexus, a dearth of empirical literature on the poverty-environmental degradation nexus, specifically on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), still exists. In this study, we investigated the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in SSA. We hypothesized that poverty is both a cause and effect of environmental degradation, and this relationship is explained as a vicious cycle. Unlike previous studies, we employed several alternative indicators of environmental degradation to examine the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in this study. We used data from 41 countries of SSA between 1996 and 2019 and employed the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach. The findings suggest a cyclical relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in SSA, which confirms that an increase in poverty leads to an increase in environmental degradation, especially in deforestation and PM2.5 emissions. Similarly, the increase in environmental degradation positively affects poverty in SSA. We also confirmed that exogenous conditioning factors such as population growth rate, education, industrialization, and income inequality, institutional quality indicators such as governance effectiveness, control of corruption, freedom ad civil liberty, and democracy, and endogenous factors including fossil fuel energy use, fuelwood energy use, household health expenditure, infant mortality rate, and agriculture productivity influence the nexus between poverty and environmental degradation. The findings on the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in SSA are a testimonial evidence that both poverty and environmental degradation are significant issues in SSA. Hence, poverty alleviation policies in SSA should not lead to PM2.5 emissions and deforestation, which may as well force people into a poverty-environmental degradation trap. Instead, poverty reduction policies should simultaneously achieve environmental conservation.

Multidecadal Oceanic Modulation of Summer Precipitation in North China in 1200-Year Global Climate Simulations

Abstract The multidecadal decrease of precipitation in North China since the 1960s has caused a significant impact on the ecological environment and social development. It has become a key concern for meteorologists and national decision-makers to understand what is driving this. To better understand the oceanic impact on the interdecadal variation of summer precipitation in North China, we analyze two 1200-yr global climate simulations from state-of-the-art coupled models with an explainable convolutional neural network (CNN). The accuracy of the CNN model in correctly diagnosing the increased and decreased summer precipitation anomaly in North China reaches 98% and 96.6% in two CMIP6 models, respectively. We find that a sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) in the northern Pacific, associated with the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), and an SSTA in the northern Atlantic, associated with the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO), play essential roles in the interdecadal variation of summer precipitation in North China. The modulations of the PDO and AMO on summer precipitation in North China are consistent with the results derived from limited observations and simulations, which means these mechanisms are robust. In particular, when the PDO is in a negative phase and the AMO is in a positive phase, the positive anomaly of precipitation and the associated circulation anomalies are intensified. This study also confirms that with the explainable deep learning method, a convolutional neural network can be used to identify multidecadal variability in North China summer precipitation, although limited datasets such as observational records make it more challenging to apply deep learning methods.

The unjust just transition? Exploring different dimensions of justice in the lignite regions of Lusatia, Eastern Greater Poland, and Gorj

The European Green Deal has been designed to make the European Union the world's first carbon-neutral union by 2050. Changing to fossil fuel-free energy systems is a priority for European Member States. A highly discussed and challenging topic is the phase-out of lignite, which is causing drastic changes on the ground. The European Commission has introduced the Just Transition Mechanism, an instrument designed to help ensure that the transition is fair and socially just. However, what fair and just truly means for citizens in affected regions remains unresolved. Thus, this study was conducted to ask how the policy package is perceived by stakeholders in the lignite regions of Lusatia (Germany), Eastern Greater Poland (Poland), and Gorj (Romania). We applied a qualitative research design conducting 91 semi-structured interviews which were focused on exploring different dimensions of justice, namely procedural, distributional, restorative and recognition justice. Our results show that most interviewees perceive the ongoing transition as unfair. Among the greatest challenges faced are the needs to holistically involve all stakeholders in the process and to implement their needs and demands. Major difficulties are obtaining the necessary funding and spreading the benefits to all stakeholders, as well as dealing with socio-demographic pressures, geographic isolation, or poverty. Especially the creation of a new identity and a shared vision for the post-mining era, i.e., one that is not only based on technical innovation, is lacking. The findings show that the Just Transition Mechanism does not sufficiently address its objectives to achieve justice, and major shortcomings need to be tackled by the national and regional decision-makers.

Reframing physically active learning as movement-centred pedagogy: a European priority action framework

BackgroundPhysically active learning (PAL) has emerged as a promising way of eliciting health and education-based outcomes for pupils. Concurrently, research suggests large variability in how PAL is perceived, operationalized, and prioritized in practice across Europe. Therefore, this study aimed to co-develop a framework for action to support the adoption and implementation of PAL.MethodsAdopting a design thinking approach, 40 international stakeholders representing 13 countries engaged in an idea generation workshop during a two-day PAL international conference. Participants included professionals from research (n = 20), practice (n = 4) and policy (n = 1) or a combination (n = 15). Their experience with PAL ranged from none to 19 years (with an average of 3.9 years). Participants were allocated into one of six heterogeneous and multidisciplinary groups and led through interactive tasks to identify: the landscape for PAL across Europe, barriers to the adoption and implementation of PAL, and key objectives for research, policy and practice to improve the adoption and implementation of PAL. All discussions were audio recorded and prioritized objectives were transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis.ResultsFive interlinked and mutually reinforcing themes were identified: (1) Integration of the health and education paradigms (2) Coherent national policy and decision making (3) Building confident and competent teachers (4) Adopting a whole school approach for PAL (5) Strengthening the evidence base for PAL.ConclusionsThe priority action framework identifies five key areas for action to facilitate PAL adoption and implementation across Europe. Central to the success of border uptake of PAL is the integration of the health and education paradigms. To achieve this aim, reframing PAL as movement-centered pedagogy would provide a more holistic and inclusive perspective.

Prediction of China Automobile Market Evolution Based on Univariate and Multivariate Perspectives

The automobile is an important part of transportation systems. Accurate prediction of sales prospects of different power vehicles can provide an important reference for national scientific decision making, flexible operation of enterprises and rational purchases of consumers. Considering that China has achieved the goal of 20% sales of new energy vehicles ahead of schedule in 2025, in order to accurately judge the competition pattern of new and old kinetic energy vehicles in the future, the automobile market is divided into three types according to power types: traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Based on the monthly sales data of automobiles from March 2016 to March 2023, the prediction effects of multiple models are compared from the perspective of univariate prediction. Secondly, based on the perspective of multivariate prediction, combined with the data of economic, social and technical factors, a multivariate prediction model with high prediction accuracy is selected. On this basis, the sales volume of various power vehicles from April 2023 to December 2025 is predicted. Univariate prediction results show that in 2025, the penetration rates of three types of vehicles will reach 43.8%, 44.4% and 11.8%, respectively, and multivariate prediction results show that the penetration rates will reach 51.0%, 37.9% and 11.1%, respectively.

Development and Usability Evaluation of a Web-Based Health Information Technology Dashboard of Quality and Economic Indicators

Introduction: Strategic dashboards, including hospital economic monitoring systems, play a major role in analyzing data and making decisions. As the health system is a multidimensional ecosystem, decision-makers and healthcare officials must gather and integrate information from numerous health information systems to monitor and direct healthcare centers. This study aims to develop and usability evaluation of a health information technology dashboard in Iran that utilizes qualitative and economic indicators.Material and Methods: This study was conducted in four phases. It included extracting the requirements of the system through the focus group technique. Based on these results, a comprehensive economic dashboard was developed. Then, the system’s usability is evaluated from the perspectives of experts and end-users by two scales of Nielsen and USE, respectively.Results: The dashboard was developed on the web and different access levels were defined for users according to their roles. This dashboard provides the ability to integrate information from different systems at the national level for decision-makers. The results of usability evaluation from users' point of view showed that it has a good level of usability. Furthermore, evaluation results revealed that aesthetic aspects and simple design and clarity of system status (0%), privacy (1.49%), "visibility and clarity of the system" and "adaptation between the system and the real world" (2.98%), have the fewest design errors. With 14 problems (20.89%), "recognition rather than remembering" and "compliance with uniformity and standards" have the highest frequency of problems.Conclusion: The development of an extensive integrated economic health dashboard, based on usability principles that are suitable for its stakeholders regardless of their specialty and granted access level, is welcomed by the health economist, hospital managers, and the ones who have an active role in monitoring and coordinating hospitals or even in greater scales such as national wide decision makers.

Vital role of clinicians in reducing the NHS carbon footprint through smarter procurement decisions

BackgroundThe NHS’ impact on the environment is significant, accounting for 5.9% of the national carbon footprint of the UK and 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) emissions...

Abortion Bans and Resource Utilization for Congenital Heart Disease: A Decision Analysis.

To investigate the implications of potential national abortion ban scenarios on the incidence of neonatal single-ventricle cardiac defects. A decision tree model was developed to predict the incidence of neonatal single-ventricle cardiac defects and related outcomes in the United States under four theoretical national abortion bans: 1) abortion restrictions in existence immediately before the June 2022 Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court decision, 2) 20 weeks of gestation, 3) 13 weeks of gestation, and 4) a complete abortion ban. The model included incidence of live births of neonates with single-ventricle cardiac defects, neonatal heart surgery (including heart transplant and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation [ECMO]), and neonatal death. Cohort size was based on national pregnancy incidence and different algorithm decision point probabilities were aggregated from the existing literature. Monte Carlo simulations were conducted with 10,000 iterations per model. In the scenario before the Dobbs decision, an estimated 6,369,000 annual pregnancies in the United States resulted in 1,006 annual cases of single-ventricle cardiac defects. Under a complete abortion ban, the model predicted a 53.7% increase in single-ventricle cardiac defects, or an additional 9 cases per 100,000 live births. This increase would result in an additional 531 neonatal heart surgeries, 16 heart transplants, 77 ECMO utilizations, and 102 neonatal deaths annually. More restrictive gestational age-based bans are predicted to confer increases in cases of neonatal single-ventricle cardiac defects and related adverse outcomes as well. Universal abortion bans are estimated to increase the incidence of neonatal single-ventricle cardiac defects, associated morbidity, and resource utilization. States considering limiting abortion should consider the implications on the resources required to care for increasing number of children that will be born with significant and complex medical needs, including those with congenital heart disease.

Evaluation of Dose Adjustment in Patients With Renal Impairment at Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania.

Background: The burden of renal diseases is increasing in developing countries like Tanzania. Drug accumulation exposes patients with renal impairment to drug toxicity that may lead to adverse drug reactions, poor adherence to treatment, and increased healthcare costs. There is limited information on the appropriateness of dosage regimen adjustment for patients with renal impairment, particularly in developing countries such as Tanzania. This study aimed to investigate the appropriateness of drug dosing in hospitalized patients with renal impairment in Tanzania. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. It was conducted between November 2019 and April 2020 amongst hospitalized patients at Muhimbili National Hospital. All enrolled patients had serum creatinine levels ≥1.2 mg/dL and taking at least one drug requiring dosage regimen adjustment. Creatinine clearance was calculated from patient serum creatinine using the Cockcroft-Gault equation. Drug dosing appropriateness was determined by comparing the current practice with tertiary references. The relationship between the patient's baseline characteristics and the rate of dosage regimen adjustment was determined using the X2 test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis evaluated the predictors of dosing adjustment. Results: Most of the enrolled patients, 269 (98.9%) had comorbidities. Of the medication orders included in the final analysis, 372 (27%) needed dosage regimen adjustment. Out of the 372 medication orders, not adjusted were 168 (45.2%), inappropriately adjusted 105 (28.2%), and appropriately adjusted were only 99 (26.6%). In this study, 212 (77.9%) patients received at least one drug with an incorrect dosage regimen. Females and those with level 4 renal impairment patients were more likely to have their doses appropriately adjusted compared to their counterparts. Conclusions: In this study, about three-quarters of the patients received at least one drug with an incorrect dosage regimen. Thus, appropriate measures such as the availability of national guidelines and clinical decision support systems for drug dosing adjustment in patients' renal impairment should be in place.

Origin, impacts, and potential solutions to the fragmentation of the Mexican health system: a consultation with key actors

BackgroundOne of the central debates in health policy is related to the fragmentation of health systems. Fragmentation is perceived as a major obstacle to UHC. This article presents the results of a consultation with a group of actors of the Mexican policy arena on the origins and impacts of the fragmentation of the Mexican health system.MethodsWe used a consultation to nine key actors to collect thoughts on the fragmentation of the Mexican health system. The group included national and local decision makers with experience in health care issues and researchers with background in health systems and/or public policies. The sessions were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically.ResultsParticipants defined the term ‘fragmentation’ as the separation of the various groups of the population based on characteristics which define their access to health care services. This is a core characteristic of health systems in Latin America (LA). In general, those affiliated to social security institutions have a higher per capita expenditure than those without social security, which translates into differential health benefits. According to the actors in this consultation, fragmentation is the main structural problem of the Mexican health system. Actors agreed that the best way to end fragmentation is through the creation of a universal health system. Defragmentation plans should include a research component to document the impacts of fragmentation, and design and test the instruments needed for the integration process.ConclusionsFirst, health system fragmentation in Mexico has created problems of equity since different population groups have unequal access to public resources and different health benefits. Second, Mexico needs to move beyond the fragmentation of its health system and guarantee, through its financial integration, access to the same package of health services to all its citizens. Third, defragmentation plans should include a research component to document the impacts of fragmentation, and design and test the instruments needed for the integration process. Fourth, defragmentation of health systems is not an easy task because there are vested interests that oppose its implementation. Political strategies to meet the resistance of these groups are an essential component of any defragmentation plan.

TIMBER v0.1: a conceptual framework for emulating temperature responses to tree cover change

Abstract. Land cover changes have been proposed to play a significant role, alongside emission reductions, in achieving the temperature goals agreed upon under the Paris Agreement. Such changes carry both global implications, pertaining to the biogeochemical effects of land cover change and thus the global carbon budget, and regional or local implications, pertaining to the biogeophysical effects arising within the immediate area of land cover change. Biogeophysical effects of land cover change are of high relevance to national policy and decision makers, and accounting for them is essential for effective deployment of land cover practices that optimise between global and regional impacts. To this end, Earth system model (ESM) outputs that isolate the biogeophysical responses of climate to land cover changes are key in informing impact assessments and supporting scenario development exercises. However, generating multiple such ESM outputs in a manner that allows comprehensive exploration of all plausible land cover scenarios is computationally untenable. This study proposes a framework to explore in an agile manner the local biogeophysical responses of climate under customised tree cover change scenarios by means of a computationally inexpensive emulator, the Tree cover change clIMate Biophysical responses EmulatoR (TIMBER) v0.1. The emulator is novel in that it solely represents the biogeophysical responses of climate to tree cover changes, and it can be used as either a standalone device or as a supplement to existing climate model emulators that represent the climate responses from greenhouse gas (GHG) or global mean temperature (GMT) forcings. We start off by modelling local minimum, mean, and maximum surface temperature responses to tree cover changes by means of a month- and Earth system model (ESM)-specific generalised additive model (GAM) trained over the whole globe; 2 m air temperature responses are then diagnosed from the modelled minimum and maximum surface temperature responses using observationally derived relationships. Such a two-step procedure accounts for the different physical representations of surface temperature responses to tree cover changes under different ESMs whilst respecting a definition of 2 m air temperature that is more consistent across ESMs and with observational datasets. In exploring new tree cover change scenarios, we employ a parametric bootstrap sampling method to generate multiple possible temperature responses, such that the parametric uncertainty within the GAM is also quantified. The output of the final emulator is demonstrated for the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) 1-2.6 and 3-7.0 scenarios. Relevant temperature responses are identified as those displaying a clear signal in relation to their surrounding parametric uncertainty, calculated as the signal-to-noise ratio between the sample set mean and sample set variability. The emulator framework developed in this study thus provides a first step towards bridging the information gap surrounding biogeophysical implications of land cover changes, allowing for smarter land use decision making.

New imperialisms in the making? The geo-political economy of transnational higher education mobility in the UK and China

Higher education (HE) mobility programmes around the globe have been key initiatives over the past thirty years, driven by combinations of supranational and national state-led knowledge economy policies, university strategies, and decisions made by individuals regarding employability, credentials, or academic tourism. In this paper we argue that mobility too often is understood through the prism of internationalism, itself umbilically tied to and nourished by Enlightenment liberal thinking, such as Kantian cosmopolitanism, and the romantic figure of the wandering scholar. This has the effect of reducing our understanding of transnational mobility to individual actors, their desires, and experiences. In this paper we ask: to what extent and in what ways can HE transnational mobility projects be understood as forms of imperialism? In this regard we examine the literature on imperialism and argue for a more capacious use of the term; as taking economic, political and cultural forms. We use these to examine the links between the expansion and securing of empires historically, the state’s spatial projects and global market making. We do this through the prism of two nations, the UK and China, comparing their state’s transnational HE strategies, selectivities and outcomes.

Role of Personality on Psychological Well-being in Public Services: Theorizing the Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Public services constitute an important aspect in government functioning. The well-being of such employees becomes increasingly important, as they play a crucial role in national level decisionmaking. The study is focused on two objectives, that is whether individual resources lead to positive organizational outcomes and whether the organizational outcomes lead to creating positive workplaces. In order to explore the above objectives, two hypotheses are drawn: (a) Individual personality variables (individual resources) will lead to a positive impact on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and (b) OCB will mediate the relationship between personality and perceived well- being (PWB) (conceptualized as primary component to happy workplaces). Data were collected on 399 employees from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The results showed that OCB fully mediated the relationship between agreeableness, conscientiousness and intellect, with PWB, while OCB partially mediated the relationship between extraversion and neuroticism, with PWB. The results are explained in juxtaposition with Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to provide a new theoretical perspective of eudemonic well-being in the public sector. The study highlights the importance of personality of the employees to be considered for selection in public services, which is an important determinant for their discretionary behaviour towards organization and their well-being.

Criminal and legal protection of servicemen and employees of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine against illegal offenses committed in the line of their service activities

The legal grounds for the criminal and legal protection of servicemen and employees of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine against illegal offences committed in the line of their service duties and the peculiarities of law enforcement activities in this area have been examined in the article. An analysis of the legislation norms on criminal responsibility, national judicial practice and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the protection of the border guards from illegal offences committed in the line of their official activities has been carried out. Much attention is drawn to the peculiarities of the legal status of servicemen and employees’ personnel of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, who at the same time should be recognized as employees of a law enforcement agency, that should be taken into account when qualifying criminal offenses related to illegal infringements against them. The concept of criminal legal protection of servicemen and employees of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has been formed. It has been determined that military personnel and employees of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine are special victims of a number of criminal offenses committed in the line of their service activities against the authority of state power bodies, the established military service order, peace, human security and the international legal order. A classification of criminal offenses related to infringements against servicemen and employees of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has been carried out on the basis of a number of criteria. The norms of the General Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine aimed at increasing the protection of servicemen and employees of law enforcement agencies have been determined. The obligation of the state to ensure proper legal regulation of service activities and a high level of officers’ law enforcement training has been argued.

Baseline characterization of entomological drivers of malaria transmission in Namibia: a targeted operational entomological surveillance strategy

BackgroundNamibia’s focus on the elimination of malaria requires an evidence-based strategy directed at understanding and targeting the entomological drivers of malaria transmission. In 2018 and 2019, the Namibia National Vector-borne Diseases Control Program (NVDCP) implemented baseline entomological surveillance based on a question-based approach outlined in the Entomological Surveillance Planning Tool (ESPT). In the present study, we report on the findings of the ESPT-based NVDCP on baseline vector species composition and bionomic traits in malaria endemic regions in northern Namibia, which has the aim of generating an evidence base for programmatic decision-making.MethodsNine representative sentinel sites were included in the 2018 entomological surveillance program (Kunene, Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, Kavango West, Kavango East and Zambezi); the number was reduced to four sites in 2019 due to limited funding (Ohangwena, Kavango West, Kavango East, and Zambezi). In the 2018 baseline collections, multiple sampling methods (human landing catches, pyrethroid spray catches, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention light traps [CDC-LTs], resting boxes [RBs] and larval sampling) were utilized to evaluate indoor/outdoor human biting rates, resting behaviors and insecticide resistance (IR). CDC-LTs and RBs were not used in 2019 due to low and non-representative sampling efficacies.ResultsOverall, molecular evidence demonstrated the presence of three primary mosquito vectors, namely Anopheles arabiensis, rediscovered Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto and Anopheles funestus sensu stricto, alongside Anopheles squamosus and members of the Anopheles coustani complex. Vectors were found to bite throughout the night (1800 hours 0600 hours) both indoors and outdoors, with An. arabiensis having the highest biting rates outdoors. Low numbers of indoor resting Anopheles point to possible low indoor residual spraying (IRS) efficacy—with An. arabiensis found to be the major vector species resting indoors. The IR tests demonstrated varying country-wide resistance levels to the insecticide deltamethrin, with the resistance levels confirmed to have increased in 2019, evidence that impacts national programmatic decision-making. Vectors demonstrated susceptibility to the insecticides dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, bendiocarb and Actellic 300CS in 2018, with mosquitoes from only one site (Kavango West) demonstrating possible resistance to DDT. Targeted and question-based entomological surveillance enabled a rapid and focused evidence base to be built, showing where and when humans were being bitten and providing entomological data on long-lasting insecticidal nets, IRS efficacy and insecticide resistance, which the Ministry of Health and Social Services-Namibia can use to further build a monitoring and evaluation framework for understanding the drivers of transmission.ConclusionIdentification and characterization of species-specific bionomic traits allows for an understanding of where and when vector human contact may occur as well as the potential impact of interventions. Low indoor resting rates as well as the presence of insecticide resistance (and the increase in its frequency) point to the need for mosquito-behavior-directed and appropriate interventions as well as the requirement for a resistance mitigation strategy. The ESPT-based question- and minimal essential indicator-based operational research strategy provides programs with directed and focused data for facilitating decision-making while requiring limited funding and capacity.Graphical

Being pregnant and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal qualitative study with women in the Born in Bradford COVID-19 research study

BackgroundUncertainty around the risk of COVID-19 to pregnant women and their babies prompted precautionary restrictions on their health and care during the pandemic. Maternity services had to adapt to changing Government guidance. Coupled with the imposition of national lockdowns in England and restrictions on daily activities, women’s experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, and their access to services, changed rapidly. This study was designed to understand women’s experiences of pregnancy, labour and childbirth and caring for a baby during this time.MethodsThis was an inductive longitudinal qualitative study, using in-depth interviews by telephone with women in Bradford, UK, at three timepoints during their maternity journey (18 women at timepoint one, 13 at timepoint two and 14 at timepoint three). Key topics explored were physical and mental wellbeing, experience of healthcare services, relationships with partners and general impact of the pandemic. Data were analysed using the Framework approach. A longitudinal synthesis identified over-arching themes.ResultsThree longitudinal themes captured what was important to women: (1) women feared being alone at critical points in their maternity journey, (2) the pandemic created new norms for maternity services and women’s care, and (3) finding ways to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic in pregnancy and with a baby.ConclusionsModifications to maternity services impacted significantly on women’s experiences. The findings have informed national and local decisions about how best to direct resources to reduce the impact of COVID-19 restrictions and the longer-term psychological impact on women during pregnancy and postnatally.

The “Free Trade” South versus The Mercantilist-Keynesian North during the Civil War

Since acquiring money is not, and is not intended to be, directly in the social interest, the economic principles suitable for capitalism must, in the long run, resolve the possible institutional conflicts between acquiring money for the business enterprise and producing real output for the benefit of society-at-large. Mainstream economic theory since Adam Smith has suppressed this structural quarrel by presuming the capitalist monetary economy operates as if it were a barter economy. Ironically, money as an institution of capitalism is presumed neutral with respect to both employment and output, but President Lincoln never believed this, and in the Mercantilist tradition of Hamilton-Adams-Clay-Carey (“The American System”), his Greenbacks institutionally effectuated the National Capitalism of the(se) United States. At issue had been whether to concentrate capital (North) or disperse it westward (South), whether to create a national bank to finance internal growth (North) or whether to oppose the system of finance-capital and paper credit (South). Throughout the Civil War, the North’s non-neutral view of money versus the South’s (orthodox commodity-exchange) neutral view of money proved critical to this embattled national decision of societal production (North) versus State’s rights. Ultimately, the North’s instituting the monetary-economic insights of the National Capitalist via Abraham Lincoln proved decisive

Bargaining with the Military: How Presidents Manage the Political Costs of Civilian Control

Abstract In an era of increased politicization of the military, there are powerful disincentives for commanders-in-chief to challenge the preferences of the senior military leadership. Even though presidents may have the constitutional “right to be wrong,” they require considerable political capital to test that proposition. Dominant normative theories of civil-military relations focus on ideal-type scenarios that do not reflect the messy, inherently political character of elite decision-making. A case study of civil-military dynamics during the Iraq War identifies four decision-making strategies that George W. Bush and Barack Obama used to avoid incurring a domestic political penalty for being seen to go against the preferences of the uniformed military. Drawing on declassified documents and dozens of interviews with former administration officials and top-ranking military leaders, the findings indicate that both administrations used these strategies during key episodes of civil-military friction in the Iraq War (the 2007 surge and the troop drawdown that followed). Scholars and practitioners should focus on strengthening civilian and military leaders' capacity to navigate the politics of national security decision-making and reconsidering conventional understandings of the apolitical role of the military.

The history of archives in Central Asia: ancient times

The article devoted studies of the documents on the history of the archives in Central Asia on the basis of archeological researches having been conducted in Central Asia over the last decades. Until now there have not been conducted practical complex studies of Central Asian archives of ancient times. On the basis of certain facts this following article has described the life experiences of ancient people who lived in the territory of current Uzbekistan and indicated the process of preserving documents and transferring data from generation to generation in the form of rock paintings and archival documents-libraries. These references indicate to the existence of ancient scripts in Khorezm. On the basis of scientific studies of the scientists it can be concluded that the elements of scripts discovered on the ancient ceramic handcrafts may be considered as the samples of early economic archieves found in the territory of present Uzbekistan. In the period of Akhamanids in Iran and in Central Asia cuneiform was widespread and in the whole territory of the empire Aramaic script wasn’t the only language of paperwork. As it has been indicated in the article, according to its geographic scope, the Bactrian language took the second place after the Sogd language which was widely used in the territory extending from India to Eastern Turkestan. The fact that two biggest empires as Kushanids and Ephtalits and then also the state of Takhirids utilised this script demonstrates the significance of the ancient Bactrian language in the lives of ancient nations. This paper also shows the similar attributes of the Bactrian language used in making negotiations of Surkh-Kutal, Rabotak with the scripts used in the samples of the letters in the documents from the library of Ashurbanipal and with the Het script in which the texts of the anthems, national communal decisions and religious messages were inscribed on the rocks. There are also some evidences proving the existence of particular archives in the residences of ancient rulers of Central Asia in such places as Toprak Kala (Khorezm), and in the mount of Mug’ (Devashtich archives). Particularly in royal archives there was a systematic archival work and such materials as leather and wood were widely used to fix the data. Such documents as personal letters, diplomatic correspondence, contracts and economical records were kept in this period. It also should be noted that paperwork was far more enhanced in this epoch.