Ordinary Times Research Articles

Parliamentarians and the covid-19 pandemic: insights from an executive-dominated, constituency-oriented legislature

ABSTRACT Because parliaments are the cornerstone of representative democracy, we know a significant amount about how they operate in ordinary times. Covid-19 presented extraordinary challenges to the functioning and operation of national parliaments. This article explores the impact of Covid-19 on parliament from the point of view of its members. We report results from a survey of Irish parliamentarians, exploring members’ perceptions of their engagement in law-making, government oversight, and constituency representation. The results suggest an interesting paradox: Parliamentarians felt less able to perform their legislative and oversight functions but – with the aid of new technologies – felt better able to perform their representative and constituency roles. The wider implication is that Covid-19 intensified existing patterns of executive legislative relation: in the Irish case at least, the (electoral) incentives to undertake constituency work motivated continued constituency service, while the weakness of parliamentary oversight of the executive intensified.

Hospital nurse staffing variation and Covid-19 deaths: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, Covid-19 mortality varied depending on the hospital where patients were admitted, but it is unknown what aspects of hospitals were important for mitigating preventable deaths. ObjectiveTo determine whether hospital differences in pre-pandemic and during pandemic nursing resources—average patient-to-registered nurse (RN) staffing ratios, proportion of bachelor-qualified RNs, nurse work environments, Magnet recognition—explain differences in risk-adjusted Covid-19 mortality; and to estimate how many deaths may have been prevented if nurses were better resourced prior to and during the pandemic. MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study of 87,936 Medicare beneficiaries (65–99 years old) hospitalized with Covid-19 and discharged (or died) between April 1 and December 31, 2020, in 237 general acute care hospitals in New York and Illinois. Measures of hospital nursing resources (i.e. patient-to-RN staffing ratios, proportion of bachelor-qualified RNs, nurse work environments, Magnet recognition) in the pre-pandemic period (December 2019 to February 2020) and during (April to June 2021) were used to predict in-hospital and 30-day mortality using adjusted logistic regression models. ResultsThe mean age of patients was 78 years (8.6 SD); 51 % were male (n = 44,998). 23 % of patients admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 died during the hospitalization (n = 20,243); 31.5 % died within 30-days of admission (n = 27,719). Patients admitted with Covid-19 to hospitals with better nursing resources pre-pandemic and during the pandemic were statistically significantly less likely to die. For example, each additional patient in the average nurses' workload pre-pandemic was associated with 20 % higher odds of in-hospital mortality (OR 1.20, 95 % CI [1.12–1.28], p < 0.001) and 15 % higher odds of 30-day mortality (OR 1.15, 95 % CI [1.09–1.21], p < 0.001). Hospitals with greater proportions of BSN-qualified RNs, better quality nurse work environments, and Magnet recognition offered similar protective benefits to patients during the pandemic. If all hospitals in the study had superior nursing resources prior to or during the pandemic, models estimate many thousands of deaths among patients hospitalized with Covid-19 could have been avoided. ConclusionsPatients with Covid-19 admitted to hospitals with adequate numbers of RNs caring for patients, a workforce rich in BSN-qualified RNs, and high-quality nurse work environments (both prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic) were more likely to survive the hospitalization. Bolstering these hospital nursing resources during ordinary times is necessary to ensure better patient outcomes and emergency-preparedness of hospitals for future public health emergencies.

‘It's a sanity restorer’: Narcotics anonymous (NA) as recovery capital during COVID‐19 in Aotearoa New Zealand

AbstractNarcotics Anonymous has flourished globally across 143 countries as a key community response to problematic substance use, despite disruptions, including the COVID‐19 pandemic. This research sought to understand how the Aotearoa New Zealand Narcotics Anonymous (NA) community engaged with NA meetings online during the 2020–2021 COVID‐19 pandemic. During in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews, 11 NA members shared their stories of addiction, abstinence‐based recovery, experiences of NA and managing pandemic restrictions. A narrative analysis identified four tropes particularly relating to how community members managed during the pandemic: responding via technology; maintaining recovery connections; creating opportunities; and consistency. Each trope showcases how NA members were able to connect online and garner support for their abstinence‐based recoveries and, more generally, during unprecedented times. In addition, the NA members in this research narrated the opportunities the pandemic restrictions created for them, such as engaging with the NA programme in new ways and improving their quality of life. Members of NA were able to maintain their psychological, physical, spiritual and community wellbeing during the COVID‐19 pandemic primarily due to existing recovery capital—peer‐based support and the principles of the 12‐steps of NA. The implications are that access to peer‐based communities and salient recovery identities are pivotal during ordinary and extraordinary times. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Gender During the Pandemic: Issues at Stake

The COVID pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities as well as those between researchers and the researched. This experiential note discusses the ethical dilemmas and practical difficulties that I as a feminist researcher and activist have encountered between 2020 and 2022. This was while in the process of my research as well as engagement with COVID-19-related advocacy work. I argue that, even as one was displaced from one’s status as a researcher, these skills were required in advocacy with various branches of the government. Formal research investigations involving fieldwork required that I attend to the needs of the ‘researched’ through humanitarian outreach and advocacy. Such a displacement of the identity of the researcher, I argue, points to the issues at stake in doing feminist research, even during ordinary times.

Motivating compliance behaviors in public health through enhanced sense of control

Compliance with medical interventions is crucial for the effectiveness of treatment strategies in public health. Approaches to encourage compliance with health interventions vary in both form and methodology. During ordinary times, public health campaigns mainly rely on educational efforts or incentives while in more severe circumstances, governments might take enforcement measures and even penalties for noncompliance. When interventions pose potential risks to personal interests (e.g., health risks of side effects; social risks of exclusion), individuals find it challenging to comply with such medical measures, resulting in negative consequences for both personal healthcare and public welfare. In this paper, we introduce an effective way to promote compliance with such interventions in the area of public health: enhancing sense of control. We explore three specific compliance behaviors: disclosure of personal information, vaccination, and acceptance of water resource reallocation. These behaviors, while beneficial to public health, pose personal risks like privacy breaches and health-related side effects. Through four studies, we demonstrate that the positive effect of sense of control on compliance behaviors with public health interventions is mediated by reducing perceived personal risk of the intervention. Individuals with a higher sense of control perceive lower personal risk of the medical interventions, leading to increased compliance. Additionally, our research identifies a boundary condition that if the interventions pose no harm to personal interests, the effect of sense of control will be attenuated. By concentrating on interventions that could potentially harm personal interests, our study provides deeper insights into the circumstances and reasons behind individuals’ reluctance to comply with public health interventions. The current research sheds light on the psychological processes driving compliance decisions and offers valuable strategies for health professionals and governments to enhance medical adherence.

The Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science awarded to Piet Borst

These are no ordinary times and Piet Borst is no ordinary scientist. In a world challenged by existential threats such as pandemics, climate change and the consequent upsurge in populism, flagrant disinformation, and the global distrust of science and technology, the statesman scientist is a necessary and rare being. Piet Borst has embraced that role for most of his life while remaining a superb biochemist. Borst is this year’s winner of the Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science “for research accomplishments and scientific statesmanship that engender the deepest feelings of awe and respect”.

Interactive oral assessment case studies: An innovative, academically rigorous, authentic assessment approach

ABSTRACT Assessment is a central feature of teaching and learning. It is both complex and challenging in ordinary times, and these aspects are magnified in an online learning environment. Given its central role, it is crucial that its design and purpose is rigorous and robust. This paper presents justification for using interactive oral assessment as an online, innovative, authentic assessment approach that prepares students for professional life, combats plagiarism and promotes academic integrity. It shares findings through four brief case study examples of using interactive oral assessments in computing, education, French literature, and aviation. This study also demonstrates the value of a Community of Practice in developing expertise, confidence, and resources to support the effective application of interactive oral assessment.

A proposal for formal fairness requirements in triage emergency departments: publicity, accessibility, relevance, standardisability and accountability.

This paper puts forward a wish list of requirements for formal fairness in the specific context of triage in emergency departments (EDs) and maps the empirical and conceptual research questions that need to be addressed in this context in the near future. The pandemic has brought to the fore the necessity for public debate about how to allocate resources fairly in a situation of great shortage. However, issues of fairness arise also outside of pandemics: decisions about how to allocate resources are structurally unavoidable in healthcare systems, as value judgements underlie every allocative decision, although they are not always easily identifiable. In this paper, we set out to bridge this gap in the context of EDs. In the first part, we propose five formal requirements specifically applied for ED triage to be considered fair and legitimate: publicity, accessibility, relevance, standardisability and accountability. In the second part of the paper, we map the conceptual and empirical ethics questions that will need to be investigated to assess whether healthcare systems guarantee a formally just ED triage. In conclusion, we argue that there is a vast research landscape in need of an in-depth conceptual and empirical investigation in the context of ED triage in ordinary times. Addressing both types of questions in this context is vital for promoting a fair and legitimate ED triage and for fostering reflection on formal fairness allocative issues beyond triage.

How do consumers interact with social media influencers in extraordinary times?

PurposeConsumers are increasingly spending more time on social media platforms to cope with anxiety and loneliness resulting from the recent pandemic. The extraordinary times, characterised by isolation and lockdown, has placed increasing dependence on online technology as a coping mechanism in which social media influencers (SMIs) served as the human face of brands, helping both consumers and brands maintain human connection. How should practitioners navigate their social media campaigns in this changing environment?Design/methodology/approachTo answer this question, the Source Connectedness Pyramid is proposed to help explain and compare the interactions between consumers and SMIs in ordinary and extraordinary times.FindingsIn their interactions with influencers during ordinary times, consumers are satiated with influencer source characteristics of attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise. However, during extraordinary times, consumers substitute their usual preference to focus on connectedness, characterised by relatedness, belongingness and attachment.Originality/valueThe empirical study within this paper lends support to this proposition and offers additional insights. The proposed Source Connectedness Pyramid contributes to influencer communication theoretically and has strategic implications for practitioners when navigating their social media campaigns in these extraordinary times.

Fear, loss and disconnection: the emotional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic upon staff working in mental health services and how the organization can help – a psychoanalytic perspective

ABSTRACT This paper describes the work of a psychoanalyst working within NHS mental health services in the UK . The central contribution of a psychoanalytic approach within psychiatric care in offering a committed attempt towards understanding the patients’ presentation, rather than treatment primarily aimed at symptom control, is described. Beyond this, the specific contribution of psychoanalytic ideas in establishing a containing framework for staff, and how this strengthens the capacity of the organisation as a whole to contain anxiety and to metabolize complex projective processes is outlined. Examples are given with clinical illustrations of activities which enhance this capacity in ordinary times. The author then turns to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic upon staff and patients, describing how fear, threat and experiences of multiple losses have permeated all areas of our lives and activated primitive defences. The pandemic starkly revealed profoundly disturbing questions about our assumptions and habits, adding to the intensity and multi-layered quality of the anxieties evoked . Urgent attention has been drawn to our deeply problematic relationship with the natural world, our own habitat, and indefensible social inequities have been crudely exposed. Staff have been caught between their own fear, the need to contain increased disturbance in their patients, already struggling with fragmented and disordered states of mind, and pressures from an organisation under intense strain. The capacity of mental health staff to act as containers for their patient’s distress has been profoundly challenged and compromised. This paper outlines how the pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of the organisation as a container for anxiety and in supporting staff to do their work in mental health care. In order to strengthen this capacity during the crisis, the author describes how ideas derived from psychoanalytic principles were developed into guidance for NHS Mental Health Trusts during the early days of the pandemic . This guidance was adopted nationally by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is summarised in this paper.

고등학교 ‘미술 감상과 비평’ 과목 연계 색채 실기 교육 프로그램 개발과 효과성 분석

This study recognized a problem about which the color education in public education of our country is being performed focusing on a theory with emphasizing the relevant sections in each of the emotional approach from the art subject and of the physical approach from the science teaching. And then, the color practical education program at high school was developed centering on the 2009 and 2015 Revised Curricula. During the two months of October and November in 2022, it applied the program targeting 20 third graders at D high school in Seoul who take the class for ‘Art Appreciation and Criticism’ and confirmed its effectiveness through the pre and post questionnaires. Key effectiveness questions include 7 items in totally 3 realms such as ‘awareness, understanding and attitude’ regarding the color education. The following are the research results according to this. First, the perception of importance on color appeared to be high in both before and after (t=1.099). The understanding about color could be known to have increased after the class (t=5.477). Finally, the attitude of trying to use color could be seen to have heightened either in daily life or in other fields after the practical training lesson (t=4.152). As the scientific technology advances, a human being’s sensitivity adjective of looking at the world is also changing rapidly. Hence, the transition to color education is urgent that is reflected the education focusing on the latest theory and diverse practical skills. These findings show the need to develop a variety of practical education for students who perceive the significance of color at ordinary times. This study is expected to be likely used as basic data that suggests the directivity of new color education at the point of time requiring this change.

The Bosnian War and Refugee Policy: Crisis Management and Migration Control

Based on research in the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) archives in Geneva, this article aims to reflect, through an examination of UNHCR’s huge operation during the Bosnian war, on the major role played by the crisis paradigm in conflict management and related population movements, and on the construction and conceptualization over time of long-term forms of migration management. It analyses how the notion of “preventive protection” which emerges in the early 1990s illustrates a shift in the asylum regime, which concerns altogether the categories of its beneficiaries, the spaces, and the very nature of its application. The focus on humanitarian operations taking place as close as possible to the areas from which refugees are coming is at the origin of new patterns of emergency management which intend to contain and eventually hinder massive refugee flows and migration. This new approach of refugees flow was experimented during the Bosnian war; the UNHCR reflected on this experience and its learnings to build up long-term strategies for managing migration in a context of increased States’ hostility to the permanent welcoming of refugees. The continuity between wartime and peacetime for experimenting and enforcing new modes of migration management is emphasized, in order to show that the importance of the crisis paradigm symbolized by open conflicts and wars is thereafter used as a tool to manage migration flows in ordinary times.

Proposal of a Recommended Correspondence Method for Companies and Organizations in Case of Partial Rupture of the Nankai Trough Earthquake

The occurrence rate of a subsequent earthquake is estimated to become a hundred times more than that at ordinary times when a case of partial rupture of the Nankai Trough Earthquake occurs. Companies and organizations that play a key role in social activities should take practicable actions positively in cooperation with relevant actors. Their recommended correspondences would be different by area according to the influence level by the subsequent partial rupture earthquake. Areas would be classified into three types: 1) strong earthquakes and tsunami are anticipated, 2) strong earthquakes without tsunami are anticipated, and 3) neither strong earthquakes nor tsunami is anticipated (this area should contribute as a supporter). There is also difference depending on business character and industry type. Therefore, it would be effective to examine the responses in the case of partial rupture, counting these differences in, and based on their business continuity plans (BCP). The authors will propose a recommended correspondence method (“recipe”) as an example of this means. In addition, there should be recommended actions of companies and organizations such as their operations not preventing evacuation and stockpiling in the local communities.

Modeling organizational resilience in maritime business: an ISM and MICMAC approach

PurposeBusiness environments and global transportation system have become more complex than ever due to complexity drivers of industries which create uncertainty and unpredictability to organizations. Like other industries, the maritime business faces different and difficult problems which threaten organizational survival. The ability to cope with those uncertainties, threats and problems shows the resilience ability of organizations that help to survive and prosper. The organizational resilience concept arises as a requirement to deal with problems and uncertainties of business environments which are swiftly changing. This study aims to suggest an organizational framework to show how maritime business organizations as the sea leg of global transportation system can develop resilient organizations via complex adaptive systems (CAS) approach if adequate design features of CAS could be defined and included in organizational properties.Design/methodology/approachA total of 15 CAS features were identified as the enablers of organizational resilience throughout the literature. An interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach has been conducted to determine the mutual relation between the CAS features which constitute an organizational framework. These CAS features have been categorized by conducting MICMAC analysis.FindingsThis study proposes a framework that identifies CAS features as the enabler of resilient maritime business organizations. The CAS approach offers new managerial toolkit to realize current organizational situations and allows managers to understand that it is difficult to control their system in this dynamic environment where special management practices are required especially in volatile times rather than ordinary times. Also, organizations could not compete as a sole organization but as a web/system of organizations. CAS is more resilient than other systems because resilience is the emergent occurrence of the system formed from nonlinear, dynamic interactions with self-organized agents.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has some limitations, like organizational resilience studies are in the infant stage and further research into this area should be extended. This study uses the CAS approach to develop organizational resilience. Further studies could use different lenses and contemporary subjects in management field which should also be useful while developing resilience in organizations. This study uses ISM and MICMAC analysis where further studies could use quantitative design and methods like formal concept analysis or the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory to determine the relational weighs of CAS features while developing resilient organizations. Future studies may also focus on different maritime stakeholders like IMO or ILO, maritime agencies, freight forwarders or insurance underwriters regarding developing and enhancing resilience of the maritime system.Practical implicationsWorld trade and transportation systems are getting more uncertain and lean on complex relations where maritime transportation is a “vital backbone” of such operations. But becoming more complex structures leads to vulnerable systems and organizations. Most risk management applications are based on predicting the known risks where many of them are not enough to fight with unknowns. Coping with today's problems are difficult for organizations in any industry. But for maritime business stakeholders who work in such a global web of relations, it is much more challenging. So, stakeholders of the system like forwarders, ports or ship chandlers may easily apply those features to develop resilient organizations too. Legal authorities of the system and rule-makers like local Chambers of Shipping, IMO or Classification societies can benefit from this framework and provide supportive settings to develop system-wide resilient organizations.Social implicationsBy understanding environmental uncertainty and complexity better than others, organizations become resilient and cope with significant difficulties which make them more competitive as a substantial strategic advantage. Resilient management offers to break down points at the system and shows them ways to restore quickly while transporting goods while traditional risk assessments are not enough.Originality/valueThe originality of the study lies in two folds; first of all the key and most used features of CAS is linked to developing resilient maritime organizations and by maritime expert opinions, this study tries to determine which of these CAS features are the most effective to trigger other features to develop organizational resilience in the maritime business. And secondly, the concept of organizational resilience and the CAS approach are not analyzed in depth in the context of maritime business.

Clinical effect of standardized nursing for lymphoma patients and the influencing factors of nosocomial infection.

To analyze the clinical effect of standardized nursing for lymphoma patients and the influencing factors of nosocomial infection, a total of 360 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients with disease recurrence or progression after first-line treatment were retrospectively selected from our hospital from January 2021 to July 2022. After standardized nursing, the overall infection rate of lymphoma patients was 2.50% (9/360), which was significantly lower than the overall infection rate of our hospital in 2021 (7.44%, 844/11342) (P < .05). The proportion of 3 kinds of pathogenic bacteria detected were G+ bacteria (33.5%), G- bacteria (53.3%), and fungi (13.2%). The pathogenic bacteria genus with the most G+ bacteria is Enterococcus, the pathogenic bacteria genus with the most G+ bacteria is Enterobacteriaceae, and the pathogenic bacteria with the most fungi is Candida albicans. Female infection rate was significantly higher than male (P < .05). There was no significant difference in nosocomial infection among different marital status/fertility status (P > .05). The nosocomial infection of patients with different hospitalization times was statistically significant (P < .05). The duration of hospitalization in the infected group was significantly higher than that in the non-infected group (P < .05). The clinical effect of standardized nursing for lymphoma patients is significant, and the influencing factors of nosocomial infection include patient gender, hospitalization frequency, and hospitalization duration.

The Construction and Application of an Automatic Scoring System for English Writing

This article utilizes big data technology to design an automatic scoring system for English writing. The research of this thesis specifically answers the following questions: (1) whether the automatic scoring system can effectively improve university student' English writing ability. Which is better to use only traditional teacher feedback or a combination of automatic scoring system and teachers in English teaching feedback? (2) How does the automatic scoring system affect university student? (3) Do students prefer teacher feedback or a combination of automatic scoring system and teacher feedback? Through pre-test and post test, pre-test and post test questionnaires, and interview research methods, the experiment analyzes the impact and changes of writing feedback teaching combined with automatic scoring system and teachers on students' writing learning. In the process of the experiment, two classes of university were selected as the objects of the experiment. The experimental results show that 93% of the students in class A and 92% of the students in class B scored above 90 points at ordinary times. The two data values are similar. The students in both classes have a certain English foundation and the English foundation is similar. More than half of the students can well understand the writing feedback provided by the website. Most of the students held a positive attitude towards the feedback of the automatic scoring system to promote writing revision. The system builds a teaching model with complementary resource advantages to maximize the benefit of feedback teaching in English writing.

Live, visual, social, and mobile: media ecology in emergencies and ordinary times

Live, visual, social, and mobile: media ecology in emergencies and ordinary times

An Evaluation of a Web-Based Crisis Management Training Program for Nurse Managers: The Case of the COVID-19 Crisis.

The effective management of nursing services, the main power in patients' care and treatment in the front line of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and nurse managers' effective leadership behaviors in the fight against the pandemic have been important key factors. It is thus critical to support nurse managers, strengthen them through training, and increase their competency so that they can successfully manage crises, disasters, or pandemics. This study aims to assess the effect of a web-based training program on the knowledge levels of nurse managers who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a randomized controlled experimental study. The study population consisted of the members of the Nurse Managers Association. The intervention group had 30 participants, and the control group had 31 participants in the final. There was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups' mean number of correct pre-test responses (P = 0.843). However, the intervention group's mean number of correct post-test responses was statistically significantly higher than the control group's after the web-based training program (P < 0.001). Web-based training programs can effectively increase nurse managers' knowledge levels. Therefore, web-based training programs should be developed in ordinary times for the management of crisis situations.

The United States Main Actor Across the Globe

AbstractAmericans realize that the advancement of democracy is not easy. Their own history is one of fallible people striving for centuries to satisfy the magnificent ideal of democratic principles. In ordinary times, when existing ideas, institutions, and alliances are appropriate to the challenges of the day, It’s easier for the U.S. Foreign Policy to manage and sustain the international order, but in the unpredictable disarray of matters, even in the calm postwar quiescence, it becomes dilemma for the U.S. Foreign Policy to harmonize ideals with interests.

Research on design of customer portrait system for E-commerce

Abstract Customer portrait is the customer information that is labelled and digitised. Collecting and studying consumer data is highly helpful to enterprises because it empowers them to use these data to locate target groups and meet various customer needs. With the continuous rise of the e-commerce market, major e-commerce websites list providing customer value and being data-driven as company values. Traditional customer portraits rely excessively on objective and past experience; so, a simple but powerful customer portrait system is required to make the customer analysis platform simple and intelligent, and to make the data accumulated at ordinary times bring practical value to e-commerce companies. Based mainly on addressing this requirement, this paper proposes an effective customer portrait system for e-commerce. First, the research background and significance is expounded, which lays a theoretical foundation for this research. Then, the customer portrait system is designed, including the overall design scheme and functional framework of the system. The improved FCM algorithm is used as the basis for building the customer portrait model, and the performance of this algorithm is analysed and compared with that of the improved algorithm used in this paper.