Publications Committee Research Articles

Roles of Procurement Committees in Promoting Construction of Quality Infrastructure in Public Primary Schools in Moshi Municipal Council, Tanzania

The study investigated the Roles of Procurement Committees in Promoting Construction of Quality Infrastructure in Public Primary Schools in Moshi Municipal Council, Tanzania. The study anchored on Resource Dependence Theory, whereas convergent design under a mixed methods research approach was employed. Probability and non-probability sampling techniques (simple random, stratified random and purposive sampling) were used to sample 113 participants from 6 public primary schools and Municipal heads of departments. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data. Validity of the instruments was established through three experts from the Department of educational planning and Administration at Mwenge Catholic University, whereas reliability of the instruments was established through the Cronbach's Alpha technique (reliability coefficient = 0.8). Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypothesis was tested at a significant level of 0.05. Qualitative data from the interview guides were analysed thematically by transcribing the information, coding and generating themes according to the research questions that were presented in verbatim quotations. The study revealed that public primary schools' procurement committee members and experts worked hard to ensure construction and renovation materials and services were acquired in accordance with Force Account Method and Public Procurement Regulatory Authority regulations. The study also found out that primary schools' committee members were not certain about their procurement roles in planning and purchasing because they were not involved by the head teachers in the procurement process. This tendency compromised the quality of infrastructure being constructed and renovated in public primary schools in Moshi Municipality. The study concluded that the procurement committee had a significant role in constructing public primary school buildings in Moshi Municipality. The study recommended that the Ministry of PO RALG should create awareness among head teachers on the roles of procurement committee members and experts.

Public Primary Schools Committee Strategies for Soliciting Stakeholders’ Contributions to Enhance Food Availability in Moshi District, Tanzania

The study examined the implementation of public primary schools committee strategies for soliciting stakeholders’ contributions to enhance food availability in Moshi District, Tanzania. The issue of food availability is of paramount importance, particularly in the context of primary schools, as it directly impacts the well-being and education of the pupils. Effective strategies to engage stakeholders in this endeavor are crucial for sustainable and comprehensive solutions. The Public Primary Schools Committee recognizes the significance of collaboration and engagement with various stakeholders to address the challenge of food availability. The study utilized a convergent design under a mixed research approach. The target population consisted of 2061 population and the sample was 306 including public primary schools, meal coordinators, head teachers, chairperson of the school committee and pupils. Quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23, employing methods such as sorting, frequency, percentages, and means. Qualitative data underwent transcribing and contextual analysis. The findings revealed that school committees demonstrated a moderate agreement on the strategies for soliciting stakeholders’ contributions to ensure food availability in public primary schools. The study concluded that school committees have promising strategies like announcing parent meetings, connecting parents to online platforms via What’s Up where announcements regarding food contributions can be made, implementing self-reliance activities to add nutrition to the food, collaborating with stakeholders including community-based organizations among others for soliciting stakeholders’ contributions to ensure food availability in public primary schools in Moshi district. The study recommended that school administrators should strengthen the role of school committees to encourage teamwork and oversee food-feeding programs through official education policies.

Implementation of Public Sector Audit Committee Guidelines: A Case Study of the Ministry of Finance Audit Committee

This study critically examines the implementation of public sector audit committee guidelines within the MoF Audit Committee. Employing a comprehensive case study approach, the research delves into primary documents and conducts structured and semi-structured interviews with both the MoF Audit Committee and relevant stakeholders. Guided by best practices outlined in H.M. Treasury’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Handbook and the IIA’s Independent Audit Committees in Public Sector Organizations, the study establishes that the MoF has successfully instituted an audit committee in adherence to the principles and elements prescribed for public sector audit committees. While acknowledging this achievement, the research also identifies areas warranting improvement in the implementation of the audit committee. These findings underscore the importance of continual refinement to ensure optimal effectiveness and alignment with evolving best practices. The study contributes valuable insights to the discourse on public sector audit committee performance, offering practical recommendations for the MoF and other entities seeking to enhance their audit committee implementations within the broader context of public sector governance.

Towards a collaborative notion of Utopia

scopio Architecture, Art and Image publication corresponds to a novel encompassing focus and a renewed international team integrating the Editorial Team and Scientific Committee of this periodical publication. scopio AAI publication is now focused on the dissemination of the themes of Architecture, Art, Image (AAI), integrated into a dynamic information space called AAI 2 Lab linked to scopionetwork and AAI research group. The physical and online publication being innovative ensures the continuity of the scopio's original graphic identity and brand. An open access, annual, and research orientated publication that aims to offer critical, explorative and informative text capable of reaching an interdisciplinary audience, making it accessible to criticism and discussion around the universe of AAI, namely to debate / (re) think Architecture, Art and Image in contemporaneity. Scopio AAI will be governed annually by a major theme of interest and Utopia is the focus of the the first theme of Scopio AAI, which will challenge our understanding of this concept exploring ways to reanalyse the Utopian thinking within the complex societies of nowadays. (...)

The Effects of Good Corporate Governance on Company Valuation with Profitability as a Moderating Variable in the Automotive Sub-Sector Companies and Their Components Listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange

Company valuation is the sale value of a company as a business that is currently operating. There are many factors affecting company valuation, including public ownership, institutional ownership, audit committee and board of commissioners. This quantitative research aims to analyze the effect of public ownership, institutional ownership, audit committee and board of commissioners on company valuation with profitability as a moderating variable in automotive and automotive component sub-sector companies listed on the IDX from the 2017-2022. The research population is automotive companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2017 to 2022, totaling 12 companies. The duration of the research is 6 years (2017-2022) and 72 observations are obtained. The data are analysed using linear regression analysis and interaction analysis techniques. align="justify">The results prove that public ownership does not significantly affect company on valuation. Institutional ownership does not affect company valuation. Audit committee does not significantly affect company valuation. However, the board of commissioners has a significant positive effect on company valuation. Based on the results of the moderation regression interaction test, profitability cannot moderate the effect of public ownership on company valuation but it can moderate the effect of institutional ownership, audit committee and independent board of commissioners on company valuation. Keywords: good corporate governance, company valuation, profitability

Исторические этапы и модели общественного управления граждан по месту жительства в России (1914–1937 гг.)

The article examines the historical types of public self-government of citizens at the place of residence, which developed in the first half of the XX century in our country. In the process of development of territorial self-government, two periods are distinguished: from 1914 to 1921 and from 1921 to 1937. The first of them is characterized by a model of self-organization of residents, which was implemented in house committees and new social movements of workers. The created structures did not deal with policy issues, they were responsible for the problems of regulating the relationship between the owner and the tenant, exploiting tenants’ joint prop-erty, assistance to city self-government in the implementation of municipal tasks and, in some periods, the dis-tribution of ration cards among members. The model of residents’ self-governance emphasized in the second phase was represented by housing associations and various public committees. They remained in charge of the maintenance and operation of houses with maximum involvement of citizens in the process of control and management of the housing.

Israel—tax update

Abstract A public committee was established in the field of international taxation with the aim of providing recommendations to simplify and provide certainty and efficiency to the Israeli tax system. The report was submitted in November 2021 and dealt with various areas. This article will present relevant recommendations from the report that have not yet passed the relevant legislative procedure.

Chest Wall Injury Society recommendation for surgical stabilization of nonunited rib fractures to decrease pain, reduce opiate use, and improve patient reported outcomes in patients with rib fracture nonunion after trauma.

Rib fractures are common injuries which can be associated with acute pain and chronic disability. While most rib fractures ultimately go on to achieve bony union, a subset of patients may go on to develop non-union. Management of these nonunited rib fractures can be challenging and variability in management exists. The Chest Wall Injury Society's Publication Committee convened to develop recommendations for use of surgical stabilization of nonunited rib fractures (SSNURF) to treat traumatic rib fracture nonunions. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane database were searched for pertinent studies. Using a process of iterative consensus, all committee members voted to accept or reject the recommendation. No identified studies compared SSNURF to alternative therapy and the overall quality of the body of evidence was rated as low. Risk of bias was identified in all studies. Despite these limitations, there is lower-quality evidence suggesting that SSNURF may be beneficial for decreasing pain, reducing opiate use, and improving patient reported outcomes among patients with symptomatic rib nonunion. However, these benefits should be balanced against risk of symptomatic hardware failure and infection. This guideline document summarizes the current CWIS recommendations regarding use of SSNURF for management of rib nonunion. Therapeutic/Care Management; Level IV.

The Legal and Moral Permissibility of Torture

This paper attempts to address the legal and moral permissibility of torture under extreme situations. The use of torture has been prohibited by international law as a violation of human rights. In this paper, we will present a case of Public Committee Against Torture v. Israel, and analyse the legal permissibility of torture using the necessity defense. Furthermore, we will evaluate the permissibility of torture through contractarian, consequentialist, and deontologist viewpoints, on the premise that the act of torture has de facto been performed and it was the only way to obtain the truth. Ultimately, the three moral viewpoints collectively conclude that torture should be legally justifiable, while differ on the moral permissibility of the nature of the act.

Heart Failure Awareness Among the General Saudi Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Heart failure (HF) continues to be a globally prevalent condition with a poor prognosis, severe morbidity, and a high mortality rate. Despite the severity of HF, relatively few studies on public awareness of the condition have been published, with the majority indicating that awareness is quite low. This study aimed to determine HF knowledge in the general Saudi community and its associated predictors. Methods An online survey was used to conduct a cross-sectional study on the Saudi population. The publicity committee of the Korean Society of Heart Failure drafted the questionnaire used in the present investigation. Three questions assessed knowledge of cardiovascular (CV) and cerebrovascular disorders;four questions assessed knowledge of HF, its etiology, and severity; and three questions assessed knowledge of readmission, mortality, and lifetime risk. Results A total of 1,124 respondents completed the questionnaire. Approximately half of the respondents (50.1%, n = 563) were unaware that HF is a pathological rather than a physiological process. Only 13.8% of the respondents were aware that the lifetime risk of developing HF is 20%, with even lower rates of correct responses for the one-year readmission rate (7.4%) and post-discharge one-year mortality from acute HF (7.3%). Female gender and lower levels of education were associated with a lack of HF awareness. A multivariate analysis revealed that income and information sourcewere substantially associated with cardiovascular disorder knowledge. Age, education, alcohol consumption, and information source were associated with awareness of the severity of HF. Conclusion The general population in Saudi Arabia (SA) exhibited a relatively low degree ofknowledgeof HF. We suggest increasing public awareness of HF through an educational campaign led by medical personnel and disseminated via various social media websites. Changes should be made to national healthcare policies to provide healthcare institutions with continuous promotion and iterative campaigns about healthy lifestyles and preventive activities to reduce disease-related costs and disability. HF awareness must be raised through increased concentration and education.

The Updated World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Recommendations on Chatbots and Generative AI in Relation to Scholarly Publications and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (May 2023)

On January 20, 2023, the World Association of Medical Editors published a policy statement on Chatbots, ChatGPT, and Scholarly Manuscripts: WAME Recommendations on ChatGPT and Chatbots in Relation to Scholarly Publications.1 There were four recommendations, namely: 1. Chatbots cannot be authors; 2. Authors should be transparent when chatbots are used and provide information about how they were used; 3. Authors are responsible for the work performed by a chatbot in their paper (including the accuracy of what is presented, and the absence of plagiarism) and for appropriate attribution of all sources (including for material produced by the chatbot); and 4. Editors need appropriate tools to help them detect content generated or altered by AI and these tools must be available regardless of their ability to pay.1 This statement was spurred in part by some journals beginning to publish papers in which chatbots such as ChatGPT were listed as co-authors.2
 First, only humans can be authors. Chatbots cannot be authors because they cannot meet authorship requirements “as they cannot understand the role of authors or take responsibility for the paper.”1 In particular, they cannot meet the third and fourth ICMJE criteria for authorship, namely “Final approval of the version to be published” and “Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.”1,3 Moreover, “a chatbot cannot understand a conflict of interest statement, or have the legal standing to sign (such a) statement,” nor can they “hold copyright.”1 Because authors submitting a manuscript must ensure that all those named as authors meet ICMJE authorship criteria, chatbots clearly should not be included as authors.1
 Second, authors should acknowledge the sources of their materials. When chatbots are used, authors “should declare this fact and provide full technical specifications of the chatbot used (name, version, model, source) and method of application in the paper they are submitting (query structure, syntax),” “consistent with the ICMJE recommendation of acknowledging writing assistance.”1,4
 Third, authors must take public responsibility for their work; “Human authors of articles written with the help of a chatbot are responsible for the contributions made by chatbots, including their accuracy,” and “must be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in text produced by the chatbot.”1Consequently, authors must “ensure … appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations,” “seek and cite the sources that support,” as well as oppose (since chatbots can be designed to omit counterviews), the chatbot’s statements.1
 Fourth, to facilitate all this, medical journal editors (who “use manuscript evaluation approaches from the 20th century”) “need appropriate (digital) tools … that will help them evaluate … 21st century … content (generated or altered by AI) efficiently and accurately.”1

Framing Issues: Public Participation in Canadian Wireless Spectrum Consultations

Background: A descriptive statistical analysis was performed on Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s (ISED) spectrum consultations from 2008 to 2021, along with a qualitative case study of the 2019 consultation on the 3500 MHz band. Analysis: The statistical analysis evinces the dominance of corporate participation in spectrum consultations, particularly by large wireless service providers. This article examines the relationship between the complicated technical framing of spectrum management issues and the corresponding lack of public participation. Conclusions and implications: To address the lack of public participation in spectrum management, the article proposes an adaptation of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel’s recommendation for a public interest committee for ISED’s consultation process.

Is access to adjuvant treatments prioritized over therapies for metastatic cancer? The Israeli experience.

e18599 Background: The Israeli National Insurance Law determines a uniform benefits package ('the Health Basket') for all residents. A public committee advises each year on which new medications should be added to the Health Basket, subject to the fixed annum budget allocated by the government for this purpose. The clinical benefit of the proposed health technologies is the committee's prime consideration; however, the committee also considers the professional medical societies' prioritizations, the expected budget impact, and other social and ethical aspects. Towards the annual discussions for 2023, 63 new indications for 41 cancer drugs were proposed for the annual update. Of those, 8 were for novel neo-adjuvant/ adjuvant indications, all given high priority ranks by the Israeli Oncologists Society based on the significant disease-free survival (DFS) figures from the phase III clinical trials. Varying the adjuvant treatment practice patterns based solely on DFS figures without available overall survival (OS) data has been in much debate recently between global key opinion leaders. We, therefore, aimed to evaluate whether the Israeli decision-makers have de-facto accepted the attitude of prioritizing budgets for adjuvant/neo-adjuvant therapies as the Israeli Oncologists Society recommended. Methods: We collected data on all cancer therapies proposed for inclusion in the 2023 Health Basket update; drug name, indication, treatment setting (curative intent vs. metastatic disease therapy), ESMO-MCBS grade, and whether or not accepted for reimbursement. All data were extracted from the official Israeli Ministry of Health website publications and press releases. Results: 20% of the allocated budget for updating the National Health basket for 2023 was provided to treat solid tumor cancers. 7 out of the 8 candidate therapies in the neo-adjuvant/adjuvant settings received reimbursement approval (88%) vs. 11 out of 55 therapies for advanced/ metastatic stages of disease (20%). 13 of the 16 candidate metastatic disease therapies that had a high ESMO-MCBS score (4 or 5) were not approved for reimbursement in the 2023 annual committee discussions. Conclusions: Our retrospective evaluation of the Israeli reimbursement prioritization process reveals that decision-makers have accepted the approach of prioritizing potentially curative adjuvant therapies over treatments for patients with incurable cancer. In an era of prosperity of adjuvant therapies in a range of tumor types, concerns might arise regarding restrictions on access to novel therapies for metastatic cancer, even those with proven benefits of significantly improving patients' OS and quality of life. Future analysis should determine the impact of this trend adopted by decision-makers in Israel on disease progression and overall survival in the real-world setting.

Guest Editorial: Polymer electrets and ferroelectrets

Guest Editorial: Polymer electrets and ferroelectrets

Chest Wall Injury Society Recommendations for Management of Surgical Site or Implant-Related Infections After Surgical Stabilization of Traumatic Rib or Sternal Fractures.

Background: Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRF) and surgical stabilization of sternal fractures (SSSF) involves open reduction and internal fixation of fractures with an implantable titanium plate to restore and maintain anatomic alignment. The presence of this foreign, non-absorbable material presents an opportunity for infection. Although surgical site infection (SSI) and implant infection rates after SSRF and SSSF are low, they present a challenging clinical entity. Methods: The Surgical Infection Society's Therapeutics and Guidelines Committee and Chest Wall Injury Society's Publication Committee convened to develop recommendations for management of SSIs or implant-related infections after SSRF or SSSF. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane database were searched for pertinent studies. Using a process of iterative consensus, all committee members voted to accept or reject each recommendation. Results: For patients undergoing SSRF or SSSF who develop an SSI or an implant-related infection, there is insufficient evidence to suggest a single optimal management strategy. For patients with an SSI, systemic antibiotic therapy, local wound debridement, and vacuum-assisted closure have been used in isolation or combination. For patients with an implant-related infection, initial implant removal with or without systemic antibiotic therapy, systemic antibiotic therapy with local wound drainage, and systemic antibiotic therapy with local antibiotic therapy have been documented. For patients who do not undergo initial implant removal, 68% ultimately require implant removal to achieve source control. Conclusions: Insufficient evidence precludes the ability to recommend guidelines for the treatment of SSI or implant-related infection following SSRF or SSSF. Further studies should be performed to identify the optimal management strategy in this population.

Editorial introductions.

Editorial introductions.

Editorial introductions.

Editorial introductions.

From the Chair: A Notable Year for Government Information

One of my favorite annual GODORT traditions returns this year after a one-year hiatus. This spring, our Publications Committee will release their selections for the most notable government documents of the year. This year’s release will feature publications from a two-year span between late 2020 to late 2022, which means double the amount of gov pubs fun!GODORT’s Notable Documents list began in the early 1980s and has been published annually in Library Journal since 1986. Government publications in all formats and across all jurisdictions (local, federal, and international) are celebrated. Creation of the list was proposed in the hopes that the list would raise awareness of government documents in libraries and among library users.

Introduction of New Associate Editors in Chief

The IEEE Biometrics Council Publications Committee has approved the appointment of nine new AEs. We are delighted to welcome the nine new Associate Editors appointed for two years starting January 2023. They are very well respected and experts in many areas relevant to the scope of IEEE Transactions on Biometrics, Identity and Behavior. Please join me in welcoming them on board.

Dateline 1977: The LHRT as Connective Tissue

Dateline 1977: The LHRT as Connective Tissue