National Leaders Research Articles

Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations as a Voice for Justice and Humanity during the Russian Invasion

Abstract The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has prompted a critical examination of the church’s role as a social institution during times of war. During such circumstances, national and global religious leaders are typically expected to spearhead peacebuilding initiatives focused on saving civilians, protecting critical infrastructure, and mitigating the potential for widespread destruction and humanitarian crises. In this case, however, the Kremlin has actively used the Russian Orthodox Church as well as an array of religious figures to justify Russian aggression and legitimize actions that amount to genocide against the Ukrainian people. In contrast, the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations has assumed the role of a moral guide during the war by condemning, with remarkably unity, Russian war crimes and the destructive ideology of Russkiy mir (the Russian world), and instead advocating for a humane approach and proposing peacebuilding initiatives. This paper details the scope and character of the Council’s activities carried out in wartime, providing numerous illustrative examples.

The Revolution in Black and White

Abstract: The American Revolution in Black and White compares Black and white responses to the American colonists’ struggle for freedom from British domination. Focused on colonists who rallied in support of independence, it contends that although Americans on both sides of the color line mobilized around natural rights ideology, Black and white patriots were far too divided by race and class to understand the revolutionary rhetoric they embraced the same way. While Jefferson and other slave-holding patriot leaders saw declaring independence as a natter of state-making, Black patriots such as New Englander Lemuel Haynes pushed for a more expansive understanding of the colonist’s struggle for political freedom, and read the Declaration of Independence as a liberty-making document.

Assessing pandemic preparedness, response, and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in four south American countries: agenda for the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic emerged in a context that lacked adequate prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) activities, and global, regional, and national leadership. South American countries were among world's hardest hit by the pandemic, accounting for 10.1% of total cases and 20.1% of global deaths. This study explores how pandemic PPR were affected by political, socioeconomic, and health system contexts as well as how PPR may have shaped pandemic outcomes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. We then identify lessons learned and advance an agenda for improving PPR capacity at regional and national levels. We do this through a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study in four South American countries based on structured interviews and focus groups with elite policy makers. The results of our study demonstrate that structural and contextual barriers limited PPR activities at political, social, and economic levels in each country, as well as through the structure of the health care system. Respondents believe that top-level government officials had insufficient political will for prioritizing pandemic PPR and post-COVID-19 recovery programs within their countries' health agendas. We recommend a regional COVID-19 task force, post-pandemic recovery, social and economic protection for vulnerable groups, improved primary health care and surveillance systems, risk communication strategies, and community engagement to place pandemic PPR on Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru and other South American countries' national public health agendas.

Global variability of vascular and peritoneal access for chronic dialysis.

Vascular and peritoneal access are essential elements for sustainability of chronic dialysis programs. Data on availability, patterns of use, funding models, and workforce for vascular and peritoneal accesses for dialysis at a global scale is limited. An electronic survey of national leaders of nephrology societies, consumer representative organizations, and policymakers was conducted from July to September 2018. Questions focused on types of accesses used to initiate dialysis, funding for services, and availability of providers for access creation. Data from 167 countries were available. In 31 countries (25% of surveyed countries), >75% of patients initiated haemodialysis (HD) with a temporary catheter. Seven countries (5% of surveyed countries) had >75% of patients initiating HD with arteriovenous fistulas or grafts. Seven countries (5% of surveyed countries) had >75% of their patients starting HD with tunnelled dialysis catheters. 57% of low-income countries (LICs) had >75% of their patients initiating HD with a temporary catheter compared to 5% of high-income countries (HICs). Shortages of surgeons to create vascular access were reported in 91% of LIC compared to 46% in HIC. Approximately 95% of participating countries in the LIC category reported shortages of surgeons for peritoneal dialysis (PD) access compared to 26% in HIC. Public funding was available for central venous catheters, fistula/graft creation, and PD catheter surgery in 57%, 54% and 54% of countries, respectively. There is a substantial variation in the availability, funding, workforce, and utilization of vascular and peritoneal access for dialysis across countries regions, with major gaps in low-income countries.

(Mis)leading by the spirit: Transforming African spiritualities and political leadership

African spiritualities and leadership have shared a profound connection throughout history. With Africans predominantly embracing spirituality, their engagement with national political leadership takes on a spiritual dimension. However, spiritualising contests for secular power often lead to manipulation, deception and other various consequential issues. Thus, this paper investigates the impact of African spiritualities on political leadership and vice versa, shedding light on the prevalent use and abuse of African traditional and Christian religions by prominent African politicians. While much has been written about religion and politics, less attention has been given to transforming these dynamics. This paper seeks to bridge that gap by examining the inherently influential role of African spiritualities on political leadership, highlighting manipulative tendencies that serve selfish interests. Various factors, including knowledge gaps, economic vulnerabilities, susceptibility to corruption and the co-optation of spiritual leaders, contribute to these abuses. The paper concludes with recommendations for mentorship, education, discipleship, enlightenment and empowerment of both current and emerging spiritual leaders to counteract self-centred political manipulation and promote inclusive transformation.Interdisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This paper interfaces African spiritualities and politics with leadership for inclusive transformation.

“Türkiye,” not “Turkey”

Abstract This paper critically examines the recent presidential memorandum that replaced the Anglicized exonymic version “Turkey” with the endonym “Türkiye” as a conscious, performative and public relations campaign at both national and international levels. On the surface, this change addresses populist sociolinguistic hypersensitivities surrounding the connotations of the term “turkey” while simultaneously harnessing the commodification and marketization of the Turkey brand through selective references culled from collective memory (i.e., past) and branding aimed at economic gains (i.e., future). However, at the deeper level, this transformation serves as a discursive political instrument and a top-down nation branding effort powered by substantial resources from the state and its institutions with an ultimate motivation to consolidate President Erdoğan’s political power and authority, elevate his status to that of a national leader and institutionalize his populist/nationalist yerli ve millî rhetoric from a de facto to de jure within Yeni Türkiye as a competitive authoritarian regime.

Materialised power and transitioning modernity: the architecture of Beijing Hotel, 1917–1974

Located at the heart of China’s capital, Beijing Hotel comprises three adjacent buildings exhibiting distinctly different architectural languages from each other. Constructed respectively in the 1910s, 50s, and 70s, the three buildings witnessed the hotel’s drastic transformation from a French-owned commercial hotel to a national diplomatic facility under the changing political and cultural contexts of the country in the twentieth century. This article argues that the architectural design and construction of Beijing Hotel represents the interrelation and interaction of power, architecture, and modernity in modern China. Political environment and ideological concerns were largely materialised in the three buildings of the hotel from colonialism until the Cold War while, in turn, the hotel’s design process and built form also challenged and modified existing political agenda. Direct participation of national leaders in the design and construction process also largely influenced the final built form of the hotel. Meanwhile, the three buildings of the hotel represented the shifting approaches towards modernity throughout the architectural history of modern China. They shed light on what Shmuel Eisenstadt describes as ‘multiple modernities’ as China struggled to establish itself on the world stage as a modern nation-state.

Crisis Leadership and Moral Rhetoric After a Foreign Attack on the Homeland: Zelenskyy, Bush, and Churchill

What kind of moral rhetoric do national leaders use after their homelands are attacked by foreign forces? Informed by crisis leadership literature, this study uses Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) to examine the rhetoric of three leaders of nations before and after attacks by foreign forces: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and the 2022 Russian invasion, U.S. President Bush and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and British Prime Minister Churchill and the 1940–41 German bombing campaign. The word-based automated content analysis shows that following the attacks the leaders substantially shifted their moral rhetoric. They also employed similar moral rhetoric, mainly by using Harm rhetoric, presumably to condemn the destruction and loss of life suffered by their nations. All three also emphasized Loyalty rhetoric, presumably as a call to nationalism, and Authority rhetoric, presumably to rally followership. Otherwise, they gave little attention to Degradation rhetoric, which presumably would demonize the enemy. This study is one of very few to evaluate political elite rhetoric during crises. It is also one of a small number to assess political elite rhetoric through the lens of MFT. It demonstrates that MFT can be a useful tool for understanding political elite rhetoric and crisis management across heterogeneous contexts.

The 7th Saudi Spine Society Annual Conference Proceedings in November 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Spine Society’s (SSS) 7th annual conference will be hosted in Riyadh November 17th - 19th, 2023 and is expected to have more than 550 attendees worldwide. The first day will include seven workshops covering spine diseases and management, including physical therapy, pain management, surgical treatment, evolving technology, and innovation in spine care and research. In the morning, three workshops will be conducted. These workshops will be about ultrasoundguided interventions as a treatment for common spine problems and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM). The remaining workshops will be held in the afternoon. They will be about innovative techniques and technologies in spine surgery, neuro life-cervical spine trauma, clinical neurodynamics for the neuromusculoskeletal system and the essentials of writing medical research papers.
 This will be followed by two days of the main conference with several local, regional and international speakers. The keynote speaker will be Prof. Khahled Kebaish, who will speak about adult deformity surgery. Also, 45 lectures, including several keynotes from national and international leaders in spine, and 24 peer-reviewed abstracts will be presented.
 The conference halls will include new technologies and the latest surgical and nonsurgical equipment updates.

Global climate governance leadership: Current status, measurement, and improvement paths

In an era characterized by increased global competition, global climate governance has evolved beyond the confines of environmental issues alone, highlighting the critical importance of international collaboration. This study presents a comprehensive leadership evaluation index system for global climate governance, premised on an extensive analysis of leadership theories. The system explores leadership through three dimensions: directional leadership, structural leadership, and cognitive leadership. In applying this system, the study establishes a set of stringent criteria at the intersections of national carbon emissions and economic development, subsequently selecting 53 countries that serve as representative subjects in the various climate negotiation interest groups for evaluation and analysis. Finally, the research achieves the following findings: 1) A significant difference in leadership remains between developed and developing countries. In an in-depth comparison across the three major global economies—China, the United States, and the European Union —China's leadership is observed to be in a relatively tenuous position. This is particularly evident in structural leadership, where the difference is most pronounced, while the gap in cognitive leadership is comparatively narrower. 2) The study reveals a marked decoupling between power and responsibilities in the climate negotiation interest groups. Countries facing greater pressure to reduce emissions exhibit lower leadership capability, whereas countries with higher historical emissions exhibit greater leadership capability. 3) Utilizing the DEMATEL model, the study identifies critical indicators of carbon neutrality leadership and engages in a quantitative analysis of pathways to strengthen national climate governance leadership. The findings suggest that policies centered on carbon neutrality and proactive international engagement in climate governance stand out as viable strategies for enhancing leadership capability.

A study on millennium development goals and sustainable development goals: Lesson from Bangladesh

This paper aims to present the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the general inclusive growth of the world and Bangladesh in particular. With the passing of time, the world economy and economic systems have been changing rapidly in order to reach the development facilities of the deprived people living in the world. For this, the United Nations and world leaders have undertaken Millennium Development Goals to reduce the extreme economic hardship of the deprived people living there. Based upon MDGs, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has undertaken Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to reduce the extreme poverty of the people living in Bangladesh. The study is mainly based on secondary information. Data have been collected from different publications from the United Nations, different websites, and institutional publications. During analysis of the collected data, it is seen that the steps undertaken by the Government of Bangladesh to reduce extreme poverty have become effective and the economic development of Bangladesh has been moving towards sustainability because the deprived section of people has started improving their lives and to some extent starts entering into development opportunities available in Bangladesh.

Barriers and opportunities regarding community-based forest management in Afghanistan: considerations for fragile states

SummaryThe Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA), in power during 2002–2021, initiated the process of instituting community-based forest governance and building local capacity for natural resource management. These efforts coincided with the presence of international security forces and the mobilization of civil society organizations, and they were in response to community aspirations to protect and restore often degraded local forests. Legislation was passed to enable forest protection and management, including a provision to encourage participatory management by local community user groups organized as Forest Management Associations (FMAs). By the end of the GIRoA era, c. 20 registered FMAs were operating with c. 400 others in various stages of development across Afghanistan. Our analysis of relevant policy documents revealed that the policy framework developed during the GIRoA era scores favourably on the ideal criteria for community-based resource management. Despite the change in political administration with the inception of the current Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan regime, the influence of the GIRoA era serves as a starting point and may have enduring influences on rural communities in Afghanistan and the natural resources that support them. Anecdotal evidence suggests that community-based forest management may persist under the current national leadership despite international isolation and funding constraints. The model developed in Afghanistan may be relevant to other fragile states, especially in contexts where rural forest-dependent communities have strong local institutions, such as shuras, and where forests are not prone to heavy extraction pressure.

From Stigmatization to Neo-Buddhist Identity: Reflections on the Changing Identities of the Scheduled Castes of India

The Scheduled Caste (SC) communities of India have always been locked down with stigmatized social identities since the very beginning of the caste system. They were categorized with certain administrative identities under colonial rule and branded as ‘Harijans’ (Children of God) by the nationalist leaders. On the other hand, the SC communities themselves had asserted for respectable caste identities, opposed the Brahmanical hegemony, and fought against untouchability. Harijan identity, however, has transformed into Dalit identity in the post-colonial period. In such a context, Navayana Buddhism has appeared as a symbol of dignified identity. This article has highlighted this trend of changing identifiers of the SCs of Indian society.

Research on the economic collaborative development evaluation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region based on hesitant triangular fuzzy information

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are located in the Bohai Rim region of Northeast Asia, China. It is the region with the largest economic scale and strongest economic vitality in northern China. Due to historical development and administrative division, the economic strength of Beijing and Tianjin is strong, while the economic strength of Hebei Province is weak. The economic development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is severely uneven. The “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Strategy” is proposed and elevated to a national strategy in this context, aiming to explore the path of coordinated economic development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, promote economic cooperation, balance economic differences, and enhance the overall economic strength of the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region through national leadership. The economic collaborative development evaluation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is a classical multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems. Recently, the TODIM and Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) method has been used to cope with MADM issues. The hesitant triangular fuzzy sets (HTFSs) are used as a tool for characterizing uncertain information during the economic collaborative development evaluation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. In this paper, the hesitant triangular fuzzy TODIM-EDAS (HTF-TODIM-EDAS) method is built to solve the MADM under HTFSs. In the end, a numerical case study for economic collaborative development evaluation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is given to validate the proposed method. The main contributions of this paper are summarized: (1) the HTF-TODIM-EDAS method is proposed under HTFSs. (2) The MADM method is designed based on the information entropy and HTF-TODIM-EDAS method under HTFSs. (3) A numerical case study for economic collaborative development evaluation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is given to validate the proposed method. (4) A comparison between proposed method and existing methods is carried out to check its effectiveness.

Barriers to and facilitators of effective management of fever episodes in hospitalised Kenyan children with cancer: protocol for convergent mixed methods study

IntroductionFebrile neutropenia is an oncological emergency in children with cancer, associated with serious infections and complications. In low-resourced settings, death from infections in children with cancer is 20 times higher...

Academic Historiographic Remedies of Colonialist Images of Egypt’s Nationalist Party

Abstract This article does not attempt to outline the history of Egypt’s Nationalist Party since its foundation by Mustafa Kamil in 1907; rather, it demonstrates the colonialist nature of early British narratives, then discusses the counternarratives of contemporary Egyptian nationalist leaders, and analyzes the emergence of academic narratives from Egyptian and Western academic historians. The article argues that the image of the Nationalist Party in Western academia has moved away from the defamation of early British colonialist writers, with a favorable image prevailing among Egyptian academic historians since 1952. Politicians and historians searching for inspiring nationalist personalities, particularly during the self-criticism after the Arab defeat in the 1967 war, revived the Nationalist Party leaders. This favorable image has survived several dramatic changes in ideology of successive ruling regimes and has become so popular that politicians of all orientations often use it to serve their political interests.

Fluctuating Currents: Balancing urban growth and restoring native riverine synergies in Mumbai — the case of Dahisar River

In 1690 CE, a transformation was initiated by the British East India Company on the seven islands along India's western coast. These islands, once primarily Portuguese territories featuring indigenous communities deeply intertwined with rich ecological and cultural histories spanning millennia, underwent a gradual metamorphosis into the major metropolis known as 'Bombay,' a trajectory that persists today in its rebranded identity as 'Mumbai.' This article delves into how the commonly accepted imaginations of urban utopia progressively turned away from the perceived stagnant waters of rivers and estuaries that, in reality, served as vital coastal ecological buffers. The expansion of Mumbai city propelled its citizens, particularly marginalised low-income groups and traditional settlement inhabitants, towards the outskirts where vestiges of natural ecosystems endure. This shift granted them rudimentary necessities such as water and outdoor spaces, including prospects for agriculture. The convergence of socially vulnerable communities with ecologically delicate zones frequently led to heightened intricacies and debilitation, placing immense stress on both the city's ecological and social resources. This article centres on the examination of urban rivers, using the Dahisar River, a representative seasonal watercourse in Mumbai, as a focal point. Through this exploration, it seeks to scrutinise the multifaceted networks intertwined with Mumbai's river systems, emphasising the urgency of recalibrating perceptions of rivers in Indian urban landscapes. The study also reflects upon the tumultuous socio-political dynamics of the city, involving governing bodies, indigenous stewards, urban residents, and industries. Amid the array of potential solutions, technical and ecological facets often take a backseat to the socio-political determination required to adopt a more ecologically conscious stance. Nonetheless, optimism persists, as climate change mitigation and urban well-being emerge as entrepreneurial prospects for the nation's economic hub. The national leadership aims to position itself as a catalyst for change, aligning with global ecological narratives on the political stage.

Roncopathy and daytime somnolence in autotransport workers

Background: Nuevo León state is a national leader in road accidents, according to official data, during 2016, there were 75,931 traffic accidents. There were also more than 600 deaths per year resulting from crashes. Snoring is a common social problem. Daytime sleepiness that interferes with an attention and functioning is a social health problem. Methods: This was an analytical, cross-sectional and prospective study. Primary mode, epidemiological type, pilot test. Two instruments were used for data collection; the Epworth test, to measure excessive daytime sleepiness and the Berlin questionnaire for snoring. For the descriptive statistics we obtained the mean, standard deviation, as well as the frequencies as percentages. In the inferential statistics, the ordinal variables were correlated with the Spearman's Rho coefficient with α less than 0.05 and Chi square was used for the nominal variables. Results: 30 participants were surveyed. 23.3% were identified with normal sleep, 6.7% with medium somnolence and 70% with abnormal somnolence. As for the snoring, 30% were without risk, 17% with low risk and 53% with high risk of suffering it. The snoring and diurnal sleepiness were correlated, finding a moderate positive relationship (0.517) and statistically significant (ρ=0.003). Conclusions: Snoring and breathing disorders during sleep are associated with daytime sleepiness in truck workers.

The value of BAME health professional networks in tackling vaccine hesitancy

Abstract This presentation discusses the findings from a Black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) Health Professional Leadership Engagement Session hosted by England's CMO between national health and care system leaders and the leadership of BAME health and care professional networks in England. The aim was to use an asset based approach, engage with the health professional networks both as citizens and as trusted sources of their communities, to acknowledge their contributions, to actively listen to concerns and issues, and develop sustainable solutions to address Covid vaccine hesitancy and improve uptake in the BAME communities in England. Three questions were posed to selected professional representatives of BAME networks: 1. What are the underlying factors/ key concerns responsible for reduced uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine within your communities? 2. What examples of good practice regarding increasing uptake of COVID-19 vaccine would you like to highlight? 3. What can we, as leaders, collectively do to help address underlying factors/ key concerns? Key insights included: a need to understand how the disproportionate impact of Covid on BAME communities is underpinned by different levels of acculturation and a variety of experiences; how conspiracy theories such as vaccine causing infertility can target important cultural expectations such as child bearing; the collective impact of years of historical injustices and health inequalities compounding what we see manifested as COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.Some examples of good practice cited were around collective leadership, focusing on the younger BAME generations, role of social media, the role of the BAME health professional networks, leveraging the power of existing relationships and through representation in decision making and engagement. A set of recommendations were shared with health system leaders.

A Corpus-based Study on Chunk-Explicitation in Interpreting: A Case Study of Chinese Leaders’ Speeches under the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study investigates the phenomenon of chunk explicitation in Chinese-English diplomatic interpretation during the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on high-frequency chunks employed by prominent national leaders, including General Secretary Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and State Councilor Wang Yi. The research utilizes monolingual corpus analysis and AntConc software to analyze six actual speech interpretations. It categorizes explicitation into four types: obligatory, optional, pragmatic, and translation-inherent explicitation. The study identifies three main motivations behind chunk explicitation in diplomatic interpretation: linguistic motivations stemming from syntactic and grammatical differences, cultural motivations arising from bridging cultural gaps, and interpreter motivations related to conveying information effectively. Additionally, the research assesses the implications of explicitation, including its impact on clarity, comprehensibility, and its role in conveying emotions and tone in diplomatic speeches. Chunk explicitation is a common phenomenon in Chinese-English diplomatic interpretation during the pandemic. It serves linguistic, cultural, and interpreter motivations, enhancing clarity and conveying emotions in diplomatic communication. The study contributes to diplomatic interpretation and provides practical guidance for interpreting learners and practitioners. Future research may expand the scope and classification of interpretation types, further advancing our understanding of this complex process. Ultimately, this research aids in promoting effective diplomatic communication and global understanding during crises.