Policy-making Bodies Research Articles

Surgical decision-making in the digital age: the role of telemedicine – a narrative review

This narrative review delves into the transformative role of telemedicine in the realm of surgical decision-making. Telemedicine, a significant innovation in healthcare services, leverages electronic information and communication technologies to provide healthcare services when distance separates the participants. It addresses the challenges of increased healthcare demands, an aging population, and budget constraints. Telemedicine technologies are employed for pre- and postoperative consultations, monitoring, and international surgical teleconferencing and education. They enhance healthcare access, particularly in remote areas, and facilitate knowledge sharing among healthcare professionals. The review also provides a historical context and discusses the technological advancements in telemedicine, including the rise of digital health technologies and the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare. It delves into the details of telemedicine technologies such as telesurgery, telerobotics, telepathology, teleimaging, remote patient monitoring, and virtual and augmented reality. Despite the numerous benefits, the implementation of telemedicine is often hindered by various complex and diverse ethical and legal concerns, including privacy and data security. The review highlights the need for further evidence on health outcomes and cost savings, bridging the digital divide, and enacting policies to support telemedicine reimbursement. It also emphasizes the need for incorporating telemedicine modules in medical education. It recommends that policy-making bodies consider utilizing telemedicine to address healthcare coverage gaps, particularly in rural areas.

The development of Healthy Cities and place-based approaches in the UK: a comparative review

BackgroundThe role of cities in population health has long been discussed. This historical and comparative review compares the discourse and policy underpinning two approaches: the World Health Organization (WHO) settings-based approach Healthy Cities, and more recent place-based approaches. It aims to illuminate what has been learned over the past three to four decades about how initiatives can best be developed for the future. MethodsDocument analysis was conducted using the Ready Extract Analyse Distil (READ) protocol to review eligible grey literature: plans, guidelines or frameworks from any health policy-making body in the UK which defines their approach in relation to cities. A set of comparative criteria guided analysis and categorisation of documents: overall vision of the approach, underpinning principles, stakeholder roles, community participation and engagement, types of intervention, funding sources, impact, and legacy. A second researcher conducted a blind review of 20% of the sample. FindingsPreliminary data extraction finds that while both approaches seek to improve population health by leveraging the influence of cities, each describes how this is done in different ways, potentially reflective of their historical point in time and continuing trajectories. For example, principles of the current phase of WHO Healthy Cities include commitments to prosperity, peace, planet, and ‘healthy places and settings’ for the first time. Except settings, all these commitments are present in place-based approaches to reducing health inequalities. InterpretationThis review builds the evidence base about how cities shape health and identifies types of intervention likely to enhance health. Delineation of the differences between settings-based and place-based approaches, and between ‘settings’ and ‘places’ for health, is a key outcome: in a context of limited funding in the UK, it is important to ensure that learning is retained and informs the legacy of approaches as public health concepts and policies evolve. FundingNone.

Combination of exhaled breath condensate samples with lipoarabinomannan point of care assay for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis: protocol for a diagnostic accuracy study

IntroductionThe WHO estimates a gap of about 30% between the incident (10.6 million) and notified (7.5 million) cases of tuberculosis (TB). Combined with the growing recognition in prevalence surveys of...

Reading the Creative Industries With Deleuze: How Creative Are the Creative Industries?

This article develops a definition of creativity that is informed by the work of Gilles Deleuze, Dan Harris, Susan Luckman, and others. We explore its application in the context of the creative industries in Australia. Through our empirical interviews conducted as part of an Australian Research Council–funded project called Vital Arts, we delve into the multifaceted nature of creativity, which we argue is not always accounted for in the bureaucratic organization, categorization, and funding of the creative industries. We outline the measurements used by key governmental, nongovernmental, and policymaking bodies in Australia to categorize and fund the creative industries. These metrics reveal blind spots in how the creative industries are institutionally organized and treated when considering the Deleuzian ontology of creativity that actually motors creative work. We argue that many creative jobs and industries exist outside traditional bureaucratic definitions and categories, and through the concepts of affect, becoming, the major and the minor, as well as fabulation, from Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy, we explore these dynamics further.

Exploring Strategies to Mitigate the Adverse Health Impacts of Air Pollution on Children in India: A Qualitative Study.

Air pollution poses a significant threat to global public health, contributing to high rates of mortality and morbidity. India, home to the world's largest population of children, is particularly affected. This study aims to identify effective strategies to mitigate the adverse health impacts of air pollution on this vulnerable group. The study utilized directed content analysis using a deductive approach and purposeful sampling to carry out in-depth interviews with researchers, academicians, paediatricians, public health experts, and climate change experts from different organizations in India. In total, 17 interviews were conducted over two months in March and April 2024 until data saturation was reached. A total of 29 subcategories were extracted. The main sub-categories include strategies for reducing indoor emissions and multisectoral emission reduction, strategies to reduce exposure at home, schools and transit, strategies for public awareness, effective communication, health sector communication and awareness, and raising awareness by frontline workers and educational institutions, strategies for capacity building of health sector and frontline stakeholders, strategies for building research and knowledge translation, strategies forvertical and horizontal collaboration, strategies for child-centric policies, school closure policies, fiscal policies, comprehensive policymaking, sectoral policymaking, advocacy in policymaking, strategies for monitoring, and strategies for mother and child health. The results of this study indicate that mitigating the adverse health impacts of pollution for children would entail a multi-pronged approach encompassing effective communication and education strategies and awareness raising of important stakeholders such as health professionals, community, grassroots-level workers, parents, teachers and children. Such strategies could be useful to trigger the desired change in behaviour of all concerned. Also, there is a need for collaboration and partnership between various stakeholders and ministries as policy-making bodies. There is a need to build on the research and strengthen the monitoring and surveillance.

Role of Standard Setting Organizations in the Indian Ict Sector: an Intellectual Property Law Analysis

Introduction: Standard-setting organizations (SSOs) are critical policy-making bodies that have a decisive bearing on technical sectors that are not just global, but also in Indian society. They form rules that become the reference point for stepping up the development and deployment of the tech. This study is designed to open the curtains and delve into SSOs' standard-setting process in the Indian ICT sector and assess the challenges that emerge. Objectives: The worldwide efficient methods employed by the global SSOs and contrast them with the Indian ones to spot correlations. Moreover, Indian SSOs' IPRs hidden under Indian patent laws will be also looked at. In the end, apart from the recommendations for upgrading and aligning the policies regarding the standardization of ICT equipment in India, we will also provide some suggestions. Theoretical Framework: The sequel of this process will be the exploration of IP laws such as patents in India focused solely on patent licensing - the standardization practice carried out by patentees. Results and Discussion: Emphasize the standard-setting actions of Indian SSOs by highlighting the problems encountered. A comparative analysis of substantive cooperation between inter-planetary and Indian anti-space security organizations will be carried out. Lectures covering how Indian SSOs match the Indian Patent Act and Rules will accordingly be given. The implications of the high effect of ICT standardization in India will be suggested. Considerable facts will be culled from doctrinal law, and each of the methods used in the licensing of education institutions will be examined. Research Implications: Improving standard-setting processes by key Indian SSOs such as BIS(Bureau of Indian Standards), ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) and ISIF (Indian Standards and Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities) Moreover, the Indian IP legal system and licensing structure will be proposed to ensure integration barriers are addressed and the standardization of the ICT is improved.

DO EDUCATION AND OTHER RELATED DETERMINANTS MATTER TO BUSINESS PERFORMANCE? EVALUATION OF KOSOVO THROUGH A MULTINOMINAL REGRESSION APPROACH

The overall aim of this paper is to empirically evaluate the perception of SME managers or owners on business performance (BP) during the year 2023, compared to 2022. The research has determined the dependent variable – the evaluation of BP – while education (EDU), drafted business plan (DBP), experience in the field in which the business operates (EXP), managerial ability (YMS), new product development (NPD), and inadequate skill level of employment skills (ILES) are defined as independent variables. The sample during the realization of this research consists of 336 questionnaires. The data for the inquiry were collected between March and April 2023. Multinominal regression was applied as the econometric approach, and it was also used in some of the important tests for the model’s determination. The discoveries of this study reveal that education, experience in the field in which the business operates, and managerial skills have a statistically significant influence while other variables exhibit an insignificant influence on BP. With a view towards contribution and originality, our research differs essentially from earlier studies, both in the selection of variables and in the applied approach. Therefore, productive discussions will result between scholars, academics, and policy-making bodies.

The Role of Financial Technology on the Nexus Between Demographic, Socio-economic, and Psychological Factors, and the Financial Literacy Gap

The increased accessibility and adoption of FinTech in emerging economies prompts researchers to investigate its moderating impact on the prevalent determinants of financial literacy. This research investigates the influence of demographic, socio-economic, psychological, and FinTech innovation factors on mitigating the financial literacy gap. Structured questionnaires were used to obtain primary data from the 1,100 Saudi potential participants. The descriptive and inferential statistics were computed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The study findings revealed that FinTech innovation as a moderating variable has a limited impact on closing the financial literacy gap. Besides, marital status, income, spouse’s educational background, as well as psychographic characteristics like “present financial situation,”“meet monthly payments,”“future is hopeless,” and “don’t expect change” have a bearing on the financial literacy gap. Additionally, women lacked confidence when responding to queries on financial literacy. Finally, the study concludes with implications for the policy-making bodies.

Removing Price Subsidies and Impacts on Consumption and Production Patterns: Evidence From a Systematic Literature Review

Due to the increasing trend in prices for food and energy products in global markets, subsidy removal and complementary policies have received significant attention in recent years. Critics of subsidy removal express concerns about the potential negative effects on the economy, including impacts on GDP, employment, household welfare, and production sectors. This has led to worries among majority economic policy-making bodies regarding potential social unrest, particularly its impact on low-income households. Therefore, there exists a debate in the literature on the potential impacts of subsidy removal. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the impacts of subsidy removal policies and related subjects using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The main research question is, ‘Do subsidy removal schemes necessarily lead to economic distortions?’ The results indicate that impacts on the economy and household indicators are more explored than the influences on government and industry. The magnitude of these impacts varies depending on the types of subsidies and the extent of subsidy reduction. Considerable attention has been given to the impact of energy subsidy removal in Asian developing countries, while there is a lack of studies on other subsidized products and developed countries. Governments are advised to investigate their unique internal policy dynamics while considering external environments.

Asymmetric and time-frequency co-movements among innovation-themed investments and carbon emission efficiency: Thematic investing and hedging opportunities.

This study is aimed at investigating the asymmetric and time-frequency co-movements and the hedge or safe-haven properties of carbon efficient indices, the MSCI ACWI Sustainable Impact, and MSCI World EGS indices, in relation to technology and innovation-themed investments. In doing so, the ADCC-GJR-GARCH and wavelet coherence techniques are applied to a daily return series ranging from January 2019 to January 2023. Findings of the ADCC-GJR-GARCH model show negative and insignificant asymmetric linkage among underlying indices during the sample period. The S&P 500 carbon efficient index (CEI) acts as a strong hedge or safe-haven for technology and innovation-themed indices during tranquil and tumultuous periods. The MSCI ACWI Sustainable Impact, MSCI World EGS, and carbon efficient indices except for S&P 500 CEI exhibit weak hedge or safe-haven attributes. Wavelet coherence reveals negative (positive) co-movements between the thematic and carbon efficient indices in short-term (medium-term and long-term) horizons with consistent leading behavior of thematic indices to carbon efficient indices outcomes. It justifies the presence of short-lived hedging or safe-haven characteristics in the thematic domain for investors. These strong and weak hedge or safe-haven characteristics of low carbon and sustainability indices reveal that adding low carbon efficient and sustainable investments to a portfolio result in considerable diversification benefits for investors who tend to take minimal risk in both tranquil and tumultuous periods. The current findings imply that financial institutions, thematic investing companies, and governments need to encourage carbon efficient technology transfer and innovation-themed investments by increasing the fund allocations in underlying asset classes. Policy-making and regulatory bodies can encourage investors to make carbon-efficient and thematic investments and companies to issue carbon-efficient stocks or investments to safeguard social and economic risks during fragile periods. These investments can offer greater opportunities to combat the intensity of economic shocks on portfolios for responsible or sustainable investors.

Gender Inclusive Policy approaches in Agroforestry Management: Some Insights

Agroforestry primarily provides several benefits by growing sustainability, by providing food, wood energy, shelter, fodder and fibre; generating economic gains to allow communities and societies to flourish; and promoting ecosystems. Various literature has shown that in the agroforestry system in connection to gender, policies have been ignored. Discrepancies are addressed in this particular section with few case studies, such as on the lack of clear statistics on the women and men participants engaged in different livelihoods in the agroforestry sector; gender-responsive project activities and policy action plan for sustainable development; commercial agenda of policy-making bodies in agroforestry system; gender blindness of policymakers about women and energy transformation, the right of women to access land; women in the value chain and extension service and concerning forestry associations and forest users' groups; etc. The invisibility of women in the workforce, more particularly in agroforestry scenario is undeniable. Unfortunately, the department of each concerning state have no detailed database on women in agroforestry to increase the job participation of women in the forestry sector and it is also true in the case of agriculture database of women. It is simply not possible to get a true picture for some academic purpose or because of curiosity if anyone checks data from women who work in the agroforestry sector. In the case of the agriculture scenario, documents of agricultural statistics and planning in the state also do not provide any information on the number of farmers or families engaged in the sector.

SELF-EFFICACY, JOB PERFORMANCE, AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP: A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AMONG PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

<p>The study aimed to investigate the influence of self-efficacy, job performance, and transformational leadership style on organizational commitment using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to 400 public school teachers in Region XI, Philippines. Findings revealed a high level of self-efficacy, a very high level of job performance, and high levels of transformational leadership and organizational commitment. There is a strong, positive, and significant correlation between self-efficacy and organizational commitment; job performance and organizational commitment; and transformational leadership and organizational commitment. Further results showed that the best-fit model was model 3 showing the direct causal relationships of Self-Efficacy, Job Performance, and Transformational Leadership Style on Organizational Commitment. Moreover, the Organizational Commitment of the respondents was defined by the retained indicators, namely: Affective Commitment and Individual Performance. Self-efficacy was described with the following retained indicators: Disciplinary Self-efficacy, and Creative Positive School Climate. On the other hand, Job performance was described in terms of the indicators Workload and Working Environment. Finally, Transformational Leadership retained the following indicators: Political Skill Inventory, and Perception of Relational Uncertainty. Findings suggest that the policy-making body of the Department of Education should look into the provision of professional development, workload allocations, and benefits of the teachers to further improve their organizational commitment.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0517/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Leadership Attributes of School Heads, Classroom Instructional Environment and School Facilities: A Structural Equation Model on Job Satisfaction of Public School Teachers in Region XI

This study aimed to identify the best-fit model for job satisfaction among teachers, focusing on the influence of leadership attributes of school heads, classroom instructional environment, and school facilities among 400 public school teachers in the Davao Region, Philippines. The research employed a quantitative approach to collect and analyze data, using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to assess the relationships between the variables. The results indicated very high levels for the leadership attributes of school heads and classroom instructional environment, a high level for school facilities, and very high job satisfaction levels among the teachers. The study further revealed significant statistical correlations between leadership attributes, classroom instructional environment, school facilities, and teachers’ job satisfaction. Additionally, the study showed that all exogenous variables strongly influenced the endogenous variable (job satisfaction). Model 3 emerged as the best-fit model, meeting the necessary criteria for model fitting based on various statistical indices. The model demonstrated excellent fit, confirming its applicability for understanding the factors affecting teachers’ job satisfaction. The leadership attributes of school heads were characterized by the retained indicators: professional credibility, communication, and influence. In terms of the classroom instructional environment, the key indicators included personalization and investigation. School facilities were described through the retained indicators: marketing education facilities, auditorium/stage facilities, teachers’ workroom, and the location/site of the school. Finally, the job satisfaction of teachers was measured using the following retained indicators: security, work environment, and job responsibilities. The study’s findings suggest that the Department of Education’s policy-making body should consider evaluating school facilities more thoroughly. Further investigation with standardized measurement tools is recommended to better assess the actual status of school facilities, as this could provide a clearer picture of how physical environments influence teacher satisfaction and performance.

Occurrence of aflatoxins in Nigerian foods

Aflatoxins are a family of poisonous, mutagenic, and carcinogenic mycotoxins that contaminate a wide range of foods and agricultural goods. Aspergillus species, such as Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus parasiticus are the most common producers. Aflatoxin generation can occur at any point of the food chain, including pre-harvest, drying, storage, transit, processing, and handling, if conditions are favourable for fungus to create toxins. It is classified into six main types which are Aflatoxin B1, Aflatoxin B2, Aflatoxin G1, Aflatoxin G2, Aflatoxin M1 and Aflatoxin M2. In Nigeria, Aspergillus species that produces aflatoxin has been isolated from agricultural products such as cereals, spices, locally fermented food, oil-seeds, and animal products. Aflatoxin contamination is high due to poor storage of food crops and lack of awareness of aflatoxins contamination among farmers, marketers and the consumers of these goods. Locally fermented foods such as ogiri, ugba, ogi-baba, and iru have been said to be contaminated by aflatoxin. Preventive measures should be carried out by the policy-making bodies to create awareness and sustain ongoing measures to effectively manage aflatoxin contamination in Nigeria so as to reduce the health risk of aflatoxins on the people and economy of the country.

ELDERLY CARE POLICY IN CHINA: ITS EVOLUTIONARY PATH AND IMPLICATIONS ON GOVERNANCE

Abstract Over the years, the Chinese elderly care policy has undergone significant changes, leading to the systematic development of a comprehensive elderly care service system. This study explores the pivotal policies formulated by central policy-making bodies and examines the historical and current state of the elderly care system in China. The findings demonstrate a consistent alignment between the system’s evolutionary trajectory, the practical expectations of the population, and the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) objective of fostering a unified and balanced society. The study also highlights inherent issues concerning governance mechanisms and role-position within the system. Notably, we highlight the successful protection of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic as an exemplary care of care service provision and draw lessons from international experience.

Moral hazard in public health policies

ABSTRACT This paper studies the role of medical preparedness in the incentive of policymakers to protect their constituents against public health risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mitigation measures such as stay-at-home orders reduce health risks but result in economic losses. The goal is to examine moral hazard in determining the stringency of mitigation measures theoretically and empirically. Theoretical analysis shows that measures tend to be more lenient in better medically-prepared jurisdictions with higher hospital capacity, implying moral hazard in public health policies. The paper then empirically tests the theoretical prediction based on data on statewide stay-at-home orders across 50 states during the COVID-19 pandemic, and empirical evidence shows that one additional hospital bed per 10,000 population decreases the duration of the order by 1.8 days, lending support to the theoretical prediction. To avoid moral hazard, independent health experts should be part of the policy-making body.

The impact of community-based integrated HIV and sexual and reproductive health services for youth on population-level HIV viral load and sexually transmitted infections in Zimbabwe: protocol for the CHIEDZA cluster-randomised trial.

Youth have poorer HIV-related outcomes when compared to other age-groups. We describe the protocol for a cluster randomised trial (CRT) to evaluate the effectiveness of community-based, integrated HIV and sexual and reproductive health services for youth on HIV outcomes. The CHIEDZA trial is being conducted in three provinces in Zimbabwe, each with eight geographically demarcated areas (clusters) (total 24 clusters) randomised 1:1 to standard of care (existing health services) or to the intervention. The intervention comprises community-based delivery of HIV services including testing, antiretroviral therapy, treatment monitoring and adherence support as well as family planning, syndromic management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), menstrual health management, condoms and HIV prevention and general health counselling. Youth aged 16-24 years living within intervention clusters are eligible to access CHIEDZA services. A CRT of STI screening (chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomoniasis) is nested in two provinces (16 of 24 clusters). The intervention is delivered over a 30-month period by a multidisciplinary team trained and configured to provide high-quality, youth friendly services.Outcomes will be ascertained through a population-based survey of 18-24-year-olds. The primary outcome is HIV viral load <1000 copies/ml in those living with HIV and proportion who test positive for STIs (for the nested trial). A detailed process and cost evaluation of the trial will be conducted. The trial protocol was approved by the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe, the Biomedical Research and Training Institute Institutional Review Board and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Research Ethics Committee. Results will be submitted to open-access peer-reviewed journals, presented at academic meetings and shared with participating communities and with national and international policy-making bodies. https://clinicaltrials.gov/: NCT03719521.

Deciphering Kyrgyz science and mathematics teachers’ STEM teaching readiness

This study explored the interdependence of knowledge-base in teaching, STEM career awareness, teaching efficacy, attitudes, and STEM teaching readiness. Using a Likert-scale instrument adapted from literature, 367 public high school science and mathematics teachers from Osh and Naryn regions participated in the study. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling using SmartPLS revealed that STEM teaching readiness could be predicted by knowledge-base in teaching and STEM career awareness, and teaching efficacy and attitudes can be predicted by knowledge base in teaching. Teaching efficacy and attitudes did not have a significant direct effect on STEM teaching readiness, nor a mediating effect between knowledge-base in teaching and STEM teaching readiness and between STEM career awareness and STEM teaching readiness. The hypothesized model may inform relevant policy-making bodies and can be used in developing and implementing a locally-relevant and context-specific STEM professional development for science and mathematics teachers.

Personal values, norms and sustainable consumption behaviours of beverage consumers in Central Uganda.

This study investigated the relationship between personal values, norms, and sustainable consumption behaviours of beverage consumers in central Uganda. The study employed a correlational design where 400 beverage consumers aged 18 and older provided the data in a survey. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling in the SPSS AMOS extension Version 23. The study results show that personal values and norms were critical determinants in beverage consumers’ engagement in sustainable behaviours like recycling, reusing, and proper disposal of waste from plastic bottles. Notably, consumers with biospheric values were more predisposed to engaging in such behaviours. Both personal and social norms positively influence sustainable consumption behaviours. The mediation effects of both norms were also confirmed in this research. Therefore, this study offers valuable insights to policy-making bodies and beverage companies in Uganda regarding the factors that drive sustainable consumption behaviours among beverage consumers. These findings can be used to develop effective environmental policies and marketing campaigns.

Boosting entrepreneurial intentions: A novel EEG-guided protocol

This research proposal aims to explore the driving factors of an entrepreneurial mindset and develop pedagogies to boost entrepreneurial intention (EI) in entrepreneurially unmotivated individuals. Using an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap, the study will map the cognitive processes associated with entrepreneurship in both entrepreneurially motivated and unmotivated individuals. The expected outcomes include identifying crucial factors for a positive entrepreneurial intention and discovering effective teaching methodologies. The implications of this research extend to educational institutions, policy-making bodies, and incubation centers, supporting initiatives such as Start-up India and Stand-up India. Overall, this study contributes to entrepreneurship education and practical training for individuals lacking motivation.