Take Back Research Articles

The new climate war: the fight to take back our planet

The new climate war: the fight to take back our planet

Taking back control

At a time when many aspects of our lives are very much out of our control, we need to take back control where we can

Bryan Van Norden, Taking back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto (reviewed by Gail Presbey)

Bryan Van Norden, Taking back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto (reviewed by Gail Presbey)

Taking Back the Boulevard: Art, Activism, and Gentrification in Los Angeles

Taking Back the Boulevard: Art, Activism, and Gentrification in Los Angeles

Book Review: Taking Back the Boulevard: Art, Activism, and Gentrification in Los Angeles

Book Review: Taking Back the Boulevard: Art, Activism, and Gentrification in Los Angeles

Who’s sorting who? Or the explosion of metrics and how we can take back control

Who’s sorting who? Or the explosion of metrics and how we can take back control

Taking back control: a better deal for junior doctor engagement in rota design using e-Delphi and Assignment Problem Algorithm.

The British Medical Association and NHS Employers published a guide to good rostering practice, which emphasised the need for a collaborative approach, in which the views of junior doctors should be taken into account when designing a rota.1 The guidance, however, did not provide tools for promoting junior doctor engagement in this process. Lack of structured consultation strategy and low level of satisfaction contribute to the prevailing narrative that junior doctor's input is undervalued, resulting in ’a crisis in junior doctor engagement’.2 This case study presents the utility of e-Delphi exercise for consultation and Assignment Problem Algorithm to improve satisfaction by matching work patterns to doctors’ preferences. Following review of workload and medical staffing, Medway Maritime Hospital undertook a redesign of its medical registrar (MR) rota in October 2018. With support from the Medical Staffing Department, a new rota was drafted by …

Taking Back Control of Nothing: Elites Denouncing Elites to Mobilize Populism in the Service of Power - from NAFTA to Trump, Brexit and the EU

Taking Back Control of Nothing: Elites Denouncing Elites to Mobilize Populism in the Service of Power - from NAFTA to Trump, Brexit and the EU

Taking Back the Boulevard: Art, Activism, and Gentrification in Los Angeles

Taking Back the Boulevard: Art, Activism, and Gentrification in Los Angeles

Definition and improvement of the concept and tools of a psychosocial intervention program for parents in pediatric oncology: a mixed-methods feasibility study conducted with parents and healthcare professionals

BackgroundStudies have shown that supporting parents in pediatric oncology reduces family distress following a cancer diagnosis. Manualized programs for parents have therefore been developed to reduce family distress. However, these programs have limitations that need to be improved, such as better defining programs’ procedures, developing interventions focusing on parents’ conjugal relationship, conducting rigorous evaluations of implementation, and proposing adaptations to various cultural dimensions. According to the Obesity-Related Behavioral Intervention Trials (ORBIT) model for the development of behavioral intervention, we improved these limitations and developed TAKING BACK CONTROL TOGETHER, a six in-person intervention sessions to support parents of children with cancer by taking the active components of two programs: Bright IDEAS and SCCIP. Referring to the redesign phase of the ORBIT model, this study aims to refine the definition of this program’s design by interviewing parents and healthcare professionals.MethodsIn order to refine the program, we used a sequential mixed-methods study. Parents and healthcare professionals first completed questionnaires assessing the program, and then discussed its limitations, benefits, and areas for improvement in group and/or individual interviews. We performed a descriptive thematic content analysis of the qualitative data from the open-ended questions (questionnaires and interviews) with NVivo 11 to categorize recommendations for the program refinement.ResultsThe results showed that components seemed pertinent to final users. The main areas needing improvement were the level of complexity and understandability of the parent manual, the possibility to choose the place and time of the intervention, and the lack of ethnic/cultural diversity. Changes to the program were made accordingly.ConclusionsIt is necessary to include end-users when developing complex intervention programs designed for vulnerable populations and sensitive clinical contexts. Following the present refinement, we now have a treatment package, which is safe and acceptable for the target population and has a better chance of yielding a clinically significant benefit for users in a future pilot study.

Review of "Taking Back Philosophy" by Bryan W. Van Norden

Review of "Taking Back Philosophy" by Bryan W. Van Norden

A mixed integer nonlinear model for closed-loop supply chains with incentive and proximity based product returns

Electronics firms in different locations are being required to collect used products due to environmental and health hazards. In order to meet environmental requirements, firms carry out collection activities and provide incentive offers to attract product returns. A mixed integer non-linear programming model for a Closed-Loop Supply Chain including decisions for collection activities, incentive offers and recovery options is formulated and validated. Quantity is modeled as a function of incentive offers and distance between the collection centers (distribution/retail centers) and consumers. The quality of product returns follows an arbitrary probability distribution, which is shifted by incentive level. Quality of product returns dictates the possible recovery options, which these can undergo. The model is subjected to scenario analysis. This is comprised of conditions wherein rebate, or discount incentives is preferred and when low or high incentive levels are favored. High stockout cost to secondary consumers encouraged the model to perform more cash rebate activities to stimulate more product returns to satisfy secondary consumer demand. In another situation, high cost of activities while having high stockout cost to secondary consumers induced the model to carryout discount activities as this would generate sales rather than the cash rebate which simply incentivizes the participation in the takeback program.

Application of microdissected thin anterior lateral thigh perforator flap in precise microsurgical reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial soft tissue defects

Objective To investigate the application of microdissected thin anterior lateral thigh perforator flap (ALTP flap) in precise reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial soft tissue defects and to assess the clinical reconstruction outcome. Methods From January, 2014 to September, 2015, utilizing the technique of microdissected thin anterior lateral thigh flaps to repair the defects resulted from radical resections of primary sites in 42 patients with oral cancer. Before the operation, the dominant perforator was detected and marked on the skin where the planned flap would be harvested later by Doppler probing. Initial incision was made medial to the perforator marker. Careful dissection was conducted suprafascially to isolate the dominant perforator as well as identifying its source and type. The size of flap was determined according to the area of defect after tumor ablation. Meanwhile the flap was thinned in accordance with the contour of the defect or the organ to be reconstructed. The procedure should be performed under operating microscope. Results Forty-five microdissected thin ALTP flaps were harvested and used to reconstruct the defects of tongue, buccal, oral floor, and gingiva in 42 patients. Among them, 28 flaps were nourished by single perforator, 14 flaps were nourished by 2 perforators, and 3 flaps were nourished by 3 perforators. In total, 65 perforators were identified, in which 28 were direct cutaneous branches, 13 were fascia-cutaneous branches, and 24 were fascia branches. One take-back occurred within 6 hours due to cervical haematoma. During re-exploration, pedicle compression was found. And the flap was salvaged successfully after haemotoma removement and proper bleeding point ligation. Four flaps underwent marginal necrosis which healed smoothly after debridement and dressing changes. Post-operative 6 to 24 months’ follow-up showed satisfactory appearance of the recipient sites with favorable speech and swallowing function. All donor sites were closed primarily, leaving no donor-site complications including incision disruption, scar hyperplasia or muscle strength degeneration of the lower limb. Conclusion Microdissected thin anterior lateral thigh perforator flap is an optimal choice for personalized reconstruction of soft tissue defects of the tongue, buccal, oral floor, and gingiva, for it can decrease donor-site morbidity and achieve better appearance and function reconstruction effect of the recipient site. Key words: Oral and maxillofacial defects; Anteriolateral thigh flap, perforator flap; Microdissected thin flap; Microsurgical technigue

If approved, new California regulations would spell out drug take-back details

If approved, new California regulations would spell out drug take-back details

AKT answer relating to taking back control (resilience)

AKT answer relating to taking back control (resilience)

AKT question relating to taking back control (resilience)

AKT question relating to taking back control (resilience)

Taking back what you owe

Taking back what you owe

A Hybrid Law Model for the Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment: A Case of the New Draft Law in Thailand

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been high on the environmental policy agenda of many countries for its rapid increase and concerns over its toxicity and the critical metals it hold. There are 59 countries that have passed laws for the management of WEEE, not including tahe state level legislation in the USA and Canada. Most of these laws are based on the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR) but their details on responsibility allocation and system operation vary considerably. This study reviews the implementation models of EPR which are classified into two broad groups: producer compliance schemes and government funds. The advantages and disadvantages of each model are analyzed and a synthesis in a form of a step-wise hybrid model is proposed for Thailand considering the local conditions. A new draft law, the Act on the Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Other End-of-Life Products, differs from the previous drafts that solely based on the governmental-fund model. Under the proposed system, the producers of designated products would have an opportunity to develop their compliance plans individually or collectively. This allows them to channel their experiences of working with EPR in other countries to the implementation of Thai WEEE. The compliance plans have to outline how they are going to support the free take-back obligations stipulated in the draft law. Collection targets can be added to improve the system performance in the later years. Unlike a typical producer-led system, the government retains the power to levy product fees into the National Environmental Fund. This ensures the leverage in the case that the producer plans fail to function in a developing country context. The revenues will then be earmarked to support investments and campaigns to achieve the objectives of this law in the long run.

NLRA Values, Labor Values, American Values

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was drafted to be far more than a technocratic exercise. The NLRA's policies do play the role - or should play the role - of any legislative policy: providing guidance in interpreting and applying the law. However, the important social, justice, and economic values expressed in - and underpinning - the NLRA's policies found in sections 1, 2(3), 7, and 13 means the policies also provide a means for transforming the fundamental values of this country. My book, Taking Back the Workers' Law, presents a comprehensive program for using the NLRA's policies - and its values - as part of a litigation strategy to restore its power to promote worker collective action. But, more important, it emphasizes that enforcing the law is but one part of a broader educational and litigation strategy to create a more just and democratic society. In other words, Taking Back the Workers' Law is more than a manual for smart litigation. Its basic premise is that unions cannot survive - and certainly cannot thrive - in a country whose core values are inhospitable to the essence of what unions as worker representatives are and do. Taking Back the Workers' Law urges taking a fresh look at the NLRA, seeing it as the Workers' Law with a potential for reinvigorating the labor movement and saving the soul of this country. That potential springs from the NLRA's policies - not as a list of simple statements of purpose, but, rather, as mapping to values of industrial and social democracy, solidarity, social and economic justice, fair wages and working conditions, equality, and industrial and social peace. The NLRA itself and its policies embody values that were intended to, and still can, transform our workplaces and our society.

Taking back what's yours

Your data is being used against you and there's nothing you can do about it. But now there's help