Universal Concern Research Articles

Addressing the Data Linking Challenges.

PARENT JA (cross-border Patient Registries iNiTiative Joint Action), a joint EU and Member States project, has conducted a research among EU patient registries aimed at gathering information on the registries' interoperability readiness. Leaning on the information and data collected through the previous PARENT JA research, this study aims to provide more detailed view into the registry holders' practical challenges with data linking. Since the studies which dealt with patient data exchange have often neglected the registry holders' performance of data exchange, we wanted to put a spotlight on various EU registry holders' practices and operations, aiming to detect their needs and concerns in the process of running an interoperable registry. The focus of this study was identifying the main practices and challenges in patient registries interoperability improvement. The basis for this analysis were the data collected in the series of structured interviews. The size of the interview sample was 13 patient registries, each from a different EU country. The structured interview consisted of nine questions and was conducted in two parts: oral and written. The answers were analysed using open coding. Results are interpreted in the context of the six main themes that emerged through a comprehensive analysis. (1) Examples of data exchange: The most common reported data exchange practices were seen only as a way to achieve the most immediate needs and interests of the individual registries. (2) Awareness and use of international standards: International data and clinical standards were not widely used by the interviewed registries. (3) Use of data models and formats: In the area of data models and formats there is no universally used practice. (4) Data request protocols and procedures: Procedures and protocols varied, mostly depending on the national legal systems in which the patient registries operated. (5) Data security and integrity: Security of personal data was a universal concern for all registry holders that were interviewed; identifiable individual data was shared only in one case. (6) Opportunities and challenges of registry interoperability: most registry holders responded that their registries were well prepared for interoperability practices and that data exchange has never been their primary operative concern. Most of the difficulties regarding data linking were not necessarily associated with technical issues, which registry holders listed outright. Our analysis showed that the lack of interoperability came as a result of organizational or legal constraints that made the registries unable to process and conduct data linking quickly and effectively with other sources.

Using films and television shows with a medical theme as a medium to accelerate the spread of medical humanities.

People have more visual experiences than ever before, and the same is true for situations in medicine. More mature films and television shows with a medical theme have been available over the past 20 years. In mainland China, the TV series "Angel Heart" has generated a wave of universal concern since it truly depicts the work of health care workers and it reflects the sharp distinction between doctors and patients to a certain extent. Riding this wave, many medical documentaries like The Human World have also been launched in China and have garnered sizable audiences. Such films and television shows with a medical theme strive to depict the lives of ordinary people. When watching these medical documentaries, audiences are able to better comprehend the work of health care workers in light of their life experiences and feelings towards current society. Audiences can gain a profound understanding of the medical humanities through films and television shows with a medical theme. We look forward to more such films and television shows with a medical theme that depict "hospitals-the realest place" on camera. Films and television shows with a medical theme can serve as a storytelling medium to accelerate the spread of medical humanities and to promote harmony among doctors, patients, and the public.

A study of foreign object damage (FOD) and prevention method at the airport and aircraft maintenance area

Foreign object damage (FOD) is common risk for aviation industry since long time ago and it has contributed to many terrible incidents and fatalities. The cost of FOD cases every year is very high, which is around RM 1.2 billion. Therefore, a proper technique and strategy has to be taken by the designated organizations including airlines to further eliminate the FOD occurrences. It is not easy to control FOD due to some circumstances such as inappropriate working behaviour, poor working environment, insufficient technology and also disorganized housekeeping system. The main purpose of this research is to discuss and explain further about FOD and the techniques to prevent FOD. FOD is a universal concern in aviation industry and it is one of the reasons that contribute to aircraft failure and unwanted damages such as fatalities and causalities. Throughout this research, many information related to FOD problems and their impact on aviation industry are gathered and presented.

A feminine and poststructural extension of cosmopolitan ethics in music education

The interconnected nature of 21st-century life demands that music educators and students consider those beyond their immediate communities in their ethical deliberations. While Appiah’s cosmopolitan ethical principles of universal concern and respect for legitimate difference may serve as a starting point for global ethical considerations in music education, they are potentially problematic for three reasons: their abstract nature can lead to the dehumanization of those about whom one claims concern; they can reinforce existing hegemonic divides between “legitimate” and “deviant” music-making; and they can lead to fixed understandings of practices and people. A feminine and poststructural extension of cosmopolitan ethics may assist music educators and students in addressing these issues. First, through a synthesis of the principle of universal concern and Noddings’ feminine ethics, music educators and students can resist dehumanizing others by aiming to “care for” and “care with” them. Second, teachers and students can use Foucault’s writings to consider how power-laden, socio-historical factors produce conceptions of legitimacy. Finally, drawing inspiration from Deleuzian ethical writings, music educators and students can challenge stagnant worldviews by promoting “legitimate differing” and imagining creative, evolving ethical futures.

Organizational Justice enhances Subjective Well-being

Organizational Justice has the potential to create major impact on organizations and employees alike. These include greater commitment, trust, enhanced job performance, more citizenship behaviors and less number of conflicts. It has been reported that employees seem to have a universal concern for Justice that transcends the self and that many are subject to biases at various point of time in their work life. Sometimes these biases lead to adverse outcomes including decreased level of subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is a broad category that includes life satisfaction, positive affect, and low negative affect, such as anger, sadness and fear. Thus to study the relationship between Organizational justice and subjective well-being, a sample of 88 employees working in Private Universities of NCR region were examined. For this purpose, the Organizational Justice scales consisting of Measure of Procedural & Interactional Justice and Distributive Justice Index scale by Moorman, Blakely & Niehoff (1998) and Subjective Wellbeing Scales inclusive of the Satisfaction with Life Scale(SWLS),Scale of Positive and Negative Experience(SPANE) and Flourishing Scale (FS) by Ed Diener (2004)were used. Results indicate significant relationship between the three types of Organizational justice and subjective well-being of employees.

Child protection: a universal concern and a permanent challenge in the field of child and adolescent mental health.

For much of history, cruelty to children was viewed as a private rather than a societal concern. An early sign of change occurred in the 1870s, when the pivotal case of Mary Ellen Wilson, a severely abused child in New York City, attracted intensive coverage in influential newspapers such as the New York Times and led to the founding of the first child protection agency. Sociologist Michael King has described the media response to cases of extreme child abuse in terms of a moral agenda, saying, “In this category of agenda it is not individuals, but social systems which are being unjust to children” [1].

PTH-124 Regional ERCP Structure – Are We Able to Train Within A High Quality Service?

Introduction ERCP services have traditionally developed dependent on local facilities and expertise. Recognising concerns regarding ERCP training and service provision, there have been efforts to describe the features of a high quality ERCP service and training program. Greater procedural volume leads to improved outcomes but there is no consensus on the effect this has on current ERCP service and training structure. We have reviewed how current regional practice fits into a suggested optimal service model and how training fits within this. Methods All ERCP endoscopists and trainees within the NorthWestern deanery were invited to complete an electronic survey of their routine practice. Results All 29 ERCP endoscopists, and 35 (79.5%) trainees, from 12 hospitals responded. All units fulfilled criteria for a high quality service with access to multidisciplinary meetings and interventional radiology facilities and audit protocol. However, there was no standard approach to assessment or management of common diagnoses. Half were confident that CBD stones 7 of 9 units offering ERCP training provided training in the previous 12 months but there was no standardised approach, and no structure to allow exposure to higher case volume and complexity as training progressed. 54.2% of trainees declared an interest in ERCP training, with 37.1% currently training. All trainees had encountered difficulty obtaining training. 87.5% did not expect to be competent at CCT. Conclusion The current structure of this regional ERCP service fulfils suggested criteria for high quality service. This demonstrates that the current endoscopists are working with sufficient volume of cases to maintain expertise, and also have access to services to ensure appropriate and safe patient selection. However, there is no organisation of training. A high proportion of trainees are receiving limited training, and there is universal concern regarding availability. To optimise training within the region, we suggest that trainee numbers should be limited and a standardised training program developed. This would allow effective monitoring of training progression with the aim of producing a cohort of endoscopists who are near to or at a level of competence at the time of their CCT to start independent practice as a consultant or continue supervised practice as a post CCT fellow. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

Efficacy of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis in Infants Born to HBsAg Positive Mothers in Iran; Is It Authentic?

BackgroundHepatitis B infection is a universal concern. This infection can lead to chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. Neonates born to HBsAg-positive mothers are at high risk of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, especially for HBeAg-positive mothers or neonates who have not received hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIg) and HBV vaccines.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of post-exposure prophylaxis in these infants to prevent infection.Patients and MethodsThirty-eight infants born to HBsAg-positive mothers between September 2006 and September 2013 were followed. The investigation evaluated whether the standard prevention protocol of neonatal HBV transmission including HBIg at birth and receiving three doses of vaccine at birth and 2 and 6 months of age was performed, followed by post-vaccination tests (evaluation of HBsAg and HBsAb titer at 9 to 18 months of age) to determine subsequent infection. HBsAb titer ≥ 10 was considered as criterion for effectiveness of the prophylaxis procedure. The acquired data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 18). The results are reported in descriptive tabulations.ResultsNinety seven percent (97%) of infants received HBIg at birth in the hospital. Generally, all of them received the first, second and third doses of vaccine at birth, 2 months, and 6 months after birth, respectively. Information for 35 mothers infected with HBV and 38 infants was available. The mean age of the mothers was 30.3 years. The results indicated that 20% of mothers were HBeAg positive. HBsAg was positive in one (2.6%) infant born to an HBeAg-positive mother. Around 94% of infants’ HBsAb titers were ≥ 10, and 5.8% were reported as non-responders.ConclusionsThe vertical transmission prevention program used in the study population in Tehran, which had an appropriate sample size, is effective. Additional doses of the vaccine can be useful in raising the effectiveness of immunoprophylaxis for infants at high risk of HBV infection. Also, emphasis must be set on post-vaccination testing.

El hallazgo permanente: la cubanidad en la poética de José Lezama Lima

Este estudio se propone un acercamiento al diálogo de la literatura de José Lezama Lima con la cubanidad, la insularidad y su relación con el Sistema Poético que creó y se expresa tanto en verso como en prosa, atendiendo a algunos fragmentos de su vasta obra para ejemplificar las ideas expuestas por un escritor que articuló la literatura nacional con una preocupación universal.

Grave Matters: Mediating Corporeal Objects and Subjects through Mortuary Practices

Grave Matters: Mediating Corporeal Objects and Subjects through Mortuary Practices

Uncommon commonalities: Cosmopolitan ethics as a framework for music education policy analysis

ABSTRACTContemporary American education policy rhetoric is problematic because its authors’ assertions, particularly those about the goals of education, frequently conflict with their implied moral and/or ethical commitments. This philosophical policy analysis uses Appiah's cosmopolitan principles to examine the ethical implications of current education and music education policy discourse and practice. While education policy rhetoric promoting the fulfillment of basic human needs through employment aligns with one aspect of the cosmopolitan principle of universal concern, policy makers’ assertions about unbridled economic competition contradicts cosmopolitans’ concern for all individuals. Contemporary education and music education policies that enable teachers to have freedom in selecting content and instructional practices reinforce the cosmopolitan principle of respect for legitimate difference, but discourse and action emphasizing standardization, including standardized outcomes, conflicts with the cosmopolitanism. Four recommendations are offered: use cosmopolitan ethics as a means of framing agreement or dissatisfaction with contemporary education policies; implement parts of the National Core Music Standards in ways that promote standards without standardization; advocate for the aspects of the Opportunity-To-Learn Standards for Music Instruction; consider how music educators’ day-to-day practices interface with the cosmopolitan ethics.

Medical Director of the Year Loves the Art of Geriatrics

Medical Director of the Year Loves the Art of Geriatrics

The social meaning of disability: a reflection on categorisation, stigma and identity.

As disability becomes an ever more salient concept in international political and legal discourse, its social meaning must be better understood. Traditionally defined in medical terms and as an individual problem, it has for the last several decades increasingly become a socio-politically defined phenomenon. Disability pride has emerged as a social movement patterned after ethnic minority and sexual orientation movements. The one billion people who count as disabled nevertheless have illnesses and impairments that are largely understood as medical problems. Medicine continues to exert great influence on the social meaning of disability in general and the social valuation of various illnesses and impairments in particular. Whereas specific conditions may be socially valued, the overall category and label of disability connotes marginality and stigma. Under these conditions, disability policy, which ought to be a universal concern, risks being construed as a marginal and special-interest issue rather than a broadly relevant topic; this has potentially negative consequences for the majority of disabled people.

Current Situation and Development of Kitchen Waste Treatment in China

More than 30 million tons of kitchen wastes (KW) are produced in China every year. Approximately 80% of the collected KW has been directly utilized as feedstuff in pig farms in China, which is facing strict restrictions by China's Ministry of Agriculture due to concerns of foot and mouth disease, and raw materials for illegal extraction of hogwash oil, which is unsanitary and can cause serious illness. In addition, the universal concern on environmental protection, resource utilization and food safety has brought increasing research on KW processing technology. According to the policy perspective on promoting the recycling application and resource saving of KW, developing resource-saving and environment-friendly society as well as circular economy and protecting the ecological environment in both China (FAGAIHUANZI [2010] No. 1020) and other countries, it is required especially in China that the construction of pilot projects should be conducted overall planning and combinational optimization to enhance resource-oriented utilization and harmless treatment of three phases in KW, including oil, solid and liquid phase (FAGAIHUANZI [2010] No. 1020). Because of policy encouragement, environmental concern and economic incentives by local and central governments in China, more diverse methods after thermal pretreatment should be developed as the amount of KW production increases rapidly. Besides, basing on the increasing universal concern on safety, energy and environmental preservation, finding proper disposal methods of KW for energy production, enhancing biogas production and reducing the amount of final residue is extremely important. In this regard, this paper aims at a comprehensive study on current treatment situations of KW in China and suggests several solutions to China's KW treatment.

Communism Usurping Fascism: Political Propaganda in Jean Devanny’s <em>Roll Back the Night</em> and Dymphna Cusack’s <em>Heat Wave in Berlin</em>

This essay explores two specific literary and thematic tropes apparent in Jean Devanny's Roll Back the Night (1945) and Dymphna Cusack's Heat Wave in Berlin (1961): first; depictions of the fascist victim and perpetrator that act as means of didacticism and political pontification in an Australian context; second, each author's belief that the threat of fascism would engulf Australian and/or European politics post-Second World War. While the publication of the two texts is separated by almost two decades, I argue that their similarities highlight an Australian cultural naivety promoted by geographic and socially removed Australian understanding of the Third Reich. This cultural specificity becomes apparent in Roll Back the Night and Heat Wave in Berlin through the texts' depictions of the Nazi period and the period's ensuing after-effects, drawing one-dimensional character representations of the communist victim and fascist perpetrator that serve not as means of remembrance or understanding but as Communist propaganda aimed at an Australian audience. Similarly, the cultural and geographic distancing in the two texts is further noted-however influential these stories may or may not have been-in each author's attempts to combat what they suggest is the encroaching threat of the political Right in both Australian and European contexts. It is this lack of character development, alongside each author's political tone and their similar political concerns, that will be explored in this essay.Jean Devanny and Dymphna Cusack were both, for many years, affiliated to the Realist Writers' League, collective that contained a significant minority of Australian writers [in which] the Communist Party provided an intellectual context for the production of literature at the time (Nile 189). A significant portion of their fiction, including Roll Back the Night and Heat Wave in Berlin, attempts to adhere to socialist realism prescriptions, which, as the Australian literary scholar Susan McKernan notes, can be categorized as having four goals:First, socialist realism aimed to be popular both in the sense of representing the lives and aspirations of working people and in the sense of being accessible to and entertaining for them. Second, it linked nationalism to universal concern with the struggles of humanity. Third, it presented the actual conditions of contemporary society rather than the trials of the past as the material for literature. Most important, socialist realism offered reconciliation of the two strands of literature, the concern for the life of the individual and the concern for society, by means of the theory of the typical. (31)Whether Devanny's or Cusack's writing succeeded in fulfilling all of these goals is doubtful, for these demands were to meet (McKernan 31). The intention to abide by such rules, however, exerted significant influence on the content of each publication, including depictions of the fascist perpetrator and victim. It was through these representations that the authors propagated their belief that fascism would once again take hold in Europe and/or Australia if certain cultural and political conditions were enabled.Set during the war years or in the years shortly following the war's conclusion, Roll Back the Night and Heatwave in Berlin incorporate literary specificities that the Australian scholar H. M. Green noticed in Australian literature being published around the time:Not long after the ending of the First World War, with the gradual realization that it had not been the war to end all wars, and with the depression that soon followed, change of attitude set in, which was accentuated by the arrival of the Second World War and by the growing fears of third. In the literature that arose in these conditions, self-confidence was qualified by realization that the world had become much more difficult and dangerous, and Australia was an inescapable part of it. …

Oncology Nurses Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Cancer Pain Management.

Oncology nurses play a crucial role in cancer pain management and must be highly informed to ensure their effective practice in the cancer setting. The aim of this study was to determine the baseline level of knowledge and attitudes of oncology nurses regarding cancer pain management. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed. The sample comprised 58 cancer nurses working in Shahid Sadoughi hospital, Yazd, Iran. The ''Nurses Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain'' (NKAS) tool and a demographic form were utilized to ascertain the knowledge and attitudes of oncology nurses working in oncology settings. The average correct response rate for oncology nurses was 66.6%, ranging from 12.1% to 94.8%. The nurses mean score on the knowledge and attitudes survey regarding pain management was 28.5%. Results revealed that the mean percentage score overall was 65.7%. Only 8.6% of nurse participants obtained a passing score of 75% or greater. Widespread knowledge deficits and poor attitudes were noted in this study, particularly regard pharmacological management of pain. The present study provides important information about knowledge deficits in pain management among oncology nurses and limited training regarding pain management. Our results support the universal concern of inadequate knowledge and attitudes of nurses regarding cancer pain. It is suggested educational and quality improvement initiatives in pain management could enhance nurses knowledge in the area of pain and possibly improve practice.

Does fear of cancer recurrence differ between cancer types? A study from the population-based PROFILES registry.

Knowledge of factors associated with fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) may inform intervention development and improve patient care. The aims were (1) to compare FCR severity between cancer types and (2) to identify associations between FCR, demographics, medical characteristics, information provision and health-related quality of life. Cross-sectional data were obtained from the Patient Reported Outcomes Following Initial Treatment and Long-Term Evaluation of Survivorship registry. We included stage I and II survivors diagnosed with melanoma (n = 469), colorectal cancer (n = 861), endometrial cancer (n = 688), thyroid cancer (n = 218), Hodgkin (n = 103) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 276). Cancer survivors completed questionnaires on FCR (Impact of Cancer scale - Health Worries subscale), satisfaction with information provision (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ) INFO25, satisfaction scale) and health-related quality of life (EORTC-QLQ C30, Short Form 36-item). A total of 2615 survivors completed the Impact of Cancer scale - Health Worries subscale. No significant differences in FCR severity were found between any of the cancer types (p = 0.063). A younger age, female gender, stage II disease, a shorter time since diagnosis, scheduled follow-up appointments and comorbidity were associated with higher FCR (p < 0.01). Satisfaction with information provision was negatively correlated with FCR severity (r = -0.16, p < 0.05). Demographic and medical factors accounted for 6% of explained variance in FCR. The full model, also including health-related quality of life, explained 15% and 19%, respectively. Fear of cancer recurrence seems to be a universal concern of cancer survivors rather than a cancer type-specific problem. Gender, age and medical factors were identified as risk factors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Developing a hybrid PSO–ANN model for estimating the ultimate bearing capacity of rock-socketed piles

Rock-socketed piles are commonly used in foundations built in soft ground, and thus, their bearing capacity is a key issue of universal concern in research, design and construction. The accurate prediction of the ultimate bearing capacity (Qu) of rock-socketed piles is a difficult task due to the uncertainty surrounding the various factors that affect this capacity. This study was aimed at developing an artificial neural network (ANN) model, as well as a hybrid model based on both particle swarm optimisation (PSO) and ANN, with which to predict the Qu of rock-socketed piles. PSO, a powerful population-based algorithm used in solving continuous and discrete optimisation problems, was here employed as a robust global search algorithm to determine ANN weights and biases and thereby improve model performance. To achieve the study aims, 132 piles socketed in various rock types as part of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit project, Malaysia, were investigated. Based on previous related investigations, parameters with the most influence on Qu were identified and utilised in the modelling procedure of the intelligent systems. After constructing and modelling these systems, selected performance indices including the coefficient of determination (R2), root-mean-square error, variance account for and total ranking were used to identify the best models and compare the obtained results. This analysis revealed that the hybrid PSO---ANN model offers a higher degree of accuracy compared to conventional ANN for predicting the Qu of rock-socketed piles. However, the developed model would be most useful in the preliminary stages of pile design and should be used with caution.

Adolescent cyberbullying: A review of characteristics, prevention and intervention strategies

Adolescence is a transitional period with considerable growth and challenge. With the advent of the Web and other electronic technologies, cyberbullying is a rising universal concern. With limited contextual cues and relative anonymity of the online environment, adolescents tend to be more disinhibited and to engage in more high risk behaviors, resulting in a higher chance of interpersonal conflict. Using the routine activities framework, adolescent variables associated with cyberbullying including Internet usage, psychosocial problems and challenges, proactive aggression characteristics and normative beliefs about the acceptability of aggression were reviewed. Likewise, parent-adolescent relationship variables, such as poor emotional bond, lack of knowledge about the adolescent's online activities, and lack of adequate parental monitoring and parental mediation, were also reviewed to be related to cyberbullying. Strategies targeting both adolescent issues, parent-related, and parent-adolescent relationship variables were highlighted as suitable targets for prevention and intervention work. A multi-pronged and multi-systemic approach would be most effective. Language: en

An Insufferable Business: Ethics, Nonhuman Animals and Biomedical Experiments.

Simple SummaryThis paper explores the ways in which biomedical research that uses nonhuman animal subjects generates financial profits and gains for humans who are associated with the industry. Research establishments, scientists, regulators and persons that inspect laboratories for compliance, those associated with granting licences, companies that sell nonhuman animal subjects and that supply equipment for the research, and corporations that market the resulting products are among those that benefit financially. These profits are rarely discussed—they seem to be camouflaged by the focus of the moral convention that assumes that human health-related needs prevail over those of the nonhuman animals who are so used. The paper concludes by calling for an end to the denigration of nonhuman animals as experimental subjects who can be used as commodities for profit-maximisation and as tools in experiments for human health benefits.Each year millions of nonhuman animals suffer in biomedical experiments for human health benefits. Clinical ethics demand that nonhuman animals are used in the development of pharmaceuticals and vaccines. Nonhuman animals are also used for fundamental biomedical research. Biomedical research that uses nonhuman animals is big business but the financial gains are generally occluded. This paper explores how such research generates profits and gains for those associated with the industry. Research establishments, scientists, laboratories, companies that sell nonhuman animal subjects, that supply equipment for the research, and corporations that market the resulting products are among those that benefit financially. Given the complex articulation of ethical codes, enormous corporate profits that are secured and personal returns that are made, the accepted moral legitimacy of such experiments is compromised. In order to address this, within the confines of the moral orthodoxy, more could to be done to ensure transparency and to extricate the vested financial interests from the human health benefits. But such a determination would not address the fundamental issues that should be at the heart of human actions in respect of the nonhuman animals who are used in experiments. The paper concludes with such an address by calling for an end to the denigration of nonhuman animals as experimental subjects who can be used as commodities for profit-maximisation and as tools in experiments for human health benefits, and the implementation of a more inclusive ethic that is informed by universal concern about the suffering of and compassion for all oppressed beings.