Search results for: public health · influencing factors

Authors: Jang-hyun Oh, Kyoung-ho Choi, Jea-sun Lee

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The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic brought reconsiderations and doubts about urban density as compact cities became epidemic hot spots. Density, though, provides an upside in that medical services required to protect citizens against the spread of disease are concentrated within compact cities, which helps reduce the mortality rate. Sociodemographic characteristics are also a crucial factor in determining the vulnerability of the population, and the purpose of this study is to empirically discover how these three urban factors affect the severity of the epidemic impacts. The study aimed to investigate the influential relationships between urban factors and epidemic impacts and provide answers to whether superb medical service in compact cities can scale down the impacts of COVID-19. SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) was applied as a suitable research method for verifying interrelationships between factors based on theoretical grounds. The study accounted for 144 municipalities in South Korea during periods from the first emergence of COVID-19 to December 31st, 2022. The study collected data related to infection and mortality cases from each municipality, and it holds significance as primary research that enlightens the aspects of epidemic impact concerning urban settings and investigates for the first time the mediated effects of medical service. The result of the evaluation shows that compact cities are most likely to have lower sociodemographic vulnerability and better quality of medical service, while cities with low density contain a higher portion of vulnerable populations and poorer medical services. However, the quality of medical service had no significant influence in reducing neither the infection rate nor the mortality rate. Instead, density acted as the major influencing factor in the infection rate, while sociodemographic vulnerability was the major determinant of the mortality rate. Thus, the findings strongly paraphrase that compact cities, although with high infection rates, tend to have lower mortality rates due to less vulnerability in sociodemographics, Whereas death was more frequent in less dense cities due to higher portions of vulnerable populations such as the elderly and low-income classes. Findings suggest an important lesson for post-pandemic urban planning-intrinsic characteristics of urban settings, such as density and population, must be taken into account to effectively counteract future epidemics and minimize the severity of their impacts. Moreover, the study is expected to contribute as a primary reference material for follow-up studies that further investigate related subjects, including urban medical services during the pandemic.

Keywords: urban planning, sociodemographic vulnerability, medical service, COVID-19, pandemic

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Authors: Saransh Sharma, Atharv Dekhne

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Passwords stored on central services and hashed are prone to cyberattacks and hacks. Hence, given all these nuisances, there’s a need to eliminate character-based authentication protocols, which would ultimately benefit all developers as well as end-users.To replace this conventional but antiquated protocol with a secure alternative would be Passwordless Authentication. The meta root.id system creates a public and private key, of which the user is only able to access the private key. Further, after signing the key, the user sends the information over the API to the server, which checks its validity with the public key and grants access accordingly.

Keywords: passwordless, OAuth, bitcoin, ZKP, SIN, BIP

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Authors: Z. Miao, Y. Chu, Y. Zhang

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The unique cholesteric phase liquid crystals obtained by mixing nematic liquid crystals with chiral dopants have gained valuable applications in the display field for their selective reflection and circular dichroism properties. The periodic arrangement of the helical structure of cholesteric liquid crystals makes it possible to produce Bragg reflection of circularly polarized light irradiated perpendicularly to the liquid crystals and, therefore, to acquire semi- or fully reflective surfaces or films. If the polymer-liquid crystal composites are combined with polymeric monomers, commercialized reflective broadband films can be fabricated. In this study, the polymer-liquid crystal composites reflecting visible light region (wavelength centered at 550 nm) were studied to analyze the effects of AC electric field at different voltages and frequencies on the optical texture of the composites, as well as the effects of polymerization temperature and ultraviolet (UV) intensity on the polymerization reaction and reflection bandwidth. The optimal sample was finally obtained at 100Hz, 120V, 30℃, 1.00 mW/cm², which provides a research suggestion to solve the influencing factors of visible light reflection bandwidths.

Keywords: cholesteric liquid crystal, reflection bandwidths, negative dielectric anisotropy, planar texture

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Authors: Adedayo B. Adegbaju, Carel B. Schoeman, Ilse M. Schoeman

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The unique urban contexts that emanated from the apartheid history of South Africa informed the transport landscape of the City of Johannesburg. Apartheid‘s divisive spatial planning and land use management policies promoted sprawling and separated workers from job opportunities. This was further exacerbated by poor funding of public transport and road designs that encouraged the use of private cars. However, the democratization of the country in 1994 and the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup provided a new impetus to the city’s public transport-oriented urban planning inputs. At the same time, the state’s new approach to policy formulations that entails the provision of public transport as one of the tools to end years of marginalization and inequalities soon began to largely reflect in planning decisions of other spheres of government. The Rea Vaya BRT and the Gautrain were respectively implemented by the municipal and provincial governments to demonstrate strong political will and commitment to the new policy direction. While the Gautrain was implemented to facilitate elite movement within Gauteng and to crowd investments and economic growths around station nodes, the BRT was provided for previously marginalized public transport users to provide a sustainable alternative to the dominant minibus taxi. The aim of this research is to evaluate the spatial impacts of the Gautrain and Rea Vaya BRT on the City of Johannesburg and to inform future outcomes by determining the existing potentials. By using the case study approach with a focus on the BRT and fast rail in a metropolitan context, the triangulation research method, which combines various data collection methods, was used to determine the research outcomes. The use of interviews, questionnaires, field observation, and databases such as REX, Quantec, StatsSA, GCRO observatory, national and provincial household travel surveys, and the quality of life surveys provided the basis for data collection. The research concludes that the Gautrain has demonstrated that viable alternatives to the private car can be provided, with its satisfactory feedbacks from users; while some of its station nodes (Sandton, Rosebank) have shown promises of transit-oriented development, one of the project‘s key objectives. The other stations have been unable to stimulate growth due to reasons like non-implementation of their urban design frameworks and lack of public sector investment required to attract private investors. The Rea Vaya BRT continues to be expanded in spite of both its inability to induce modal change and its low ridership figures. The research identifies factors like the low peak to base ratio, pricing, and the city‘s disjointed urban fabric as some of the reasons for its below-average performance. By drawing from the highlights and limitations, the study recommends that public transport provision should be institutionally integrated across and within spheres of government. Similarly, harmonization of the funding structure, better understanding of users’ needs, and travel patterns, underlined with continuity of policy direction and objectives, will equally promote optimal outcomes.

Keywords: bus rapid transit, Gautrain, Rea Vaya, sustainable transport, spatial and transport planning, transit oriented development

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Authors: Irakli Manvelidze, Genadi Iashvili, Giga Phartenadze, Giorgi Katamadze

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Establishment of electronic governance in the region is facing serious problems. Organizational, technical, social and methodological problems have been identified after the research. These problems currently create serious barriers and prevent the development of effective e-governance. Lack of human resources, difference in program targets of the centre and the region, lack of citizens’ awareness about the project of electronic governance are other issues that should be mentioned. In spite of positive changes the overall situation concerning development of modern information-communication technologies in Adjara is not satisfactory. The information systems in the region can be described as transforming in a democratic way which needs serious reforms. Current situation shows that unsystematic, uncoordinated actions were made which overall represents more chaotic rather than coordinated systematic process. Therefore, a strategic document ‘Adjarian Electronic Government’ should be created which will ensure systematic development of electronic governance in the region. The implementation of the strategy of ‘Adjarian Electronic Government’ should be based on not only conceptual and instrumental but also legal basics. A legal normative basis should be created which will include formation of electronic government’s instrumental basis as well as creation of united regional system of electronic document management. Meanwhile types of documents which would be used in inter institutional relations should be defined under a legal norm. Creation of regional united system of e-filing will regulate regional public institutions, relations between local self-government and public organizations as well as it will ensure coordinated work of all regional public institutions.

Keywords: e-government, information society, public administration, reforming state governance, public institutions

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Authors: Noé D. Lazos-Gallardo, Sonia E. Ruiz, Federico Valenzuela-Beltran

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A simplified mathematical expression to estimate ductility reduction factors of the displacement spectra corresponding to the soft soil zone of Mexico City is proposed. The aim is to allow a better characterization of the displacement spectra and provide a simple expression to be used in displacement based design (DBD). Emphasis is on the Mexico City Building Code. The study is based on the analysis of single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems with elasto-plastic hysteretic behavior. Several seismic ground motions corresponding to subduction events with magnitudes equal to or greater than 6 and recorded in different stations of Mexico City are used. The proposed expression involves the ratio of elastic and inelastic pseudo-aceleration spectra, and depends on factors such the ductility demand and the vibration period of the structural system. The resulting ductility reduction factors obtained in this study are compared with others existing in the literature, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

Keywords: displacement based design, displacements spectrum, ductility reduction factors, soft soil

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Authors: Jyotsna Rosario, K. R. Shanmugam

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Since elementary education is a merit good, considerable public resources are allocated to universalise it. However, elementary education outcomes vary across the Indian States. Evidences indicate that while some states are lagging in elementary education outcome primarily due to lack of resources and poor schooling infrastructure, others are lagging despite resource abundance and well-developed schooling infrastructure. Addressing the issue of efficiency, the study employs Stochastic Frontier Analysis for panel data of 27 Indian states from 2012-13 to 2017-18 to estimate the technical efficiency of State governments in generating enrolment. The mean efficiency of states was estimated to be 58%. Punjab, Meghalaya, and West Bengal were found to be the most efficient states. Whereas Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha are one of the most inefficient states. This study emphasizes the efficient utilisation of public resources and helps in the identification of best practices.

Keywords: technical efficiency, public expenditure, elementary education outcome, stochastic frontier analysis

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Authors: Gopi Kandaswamy, P. Balamuralidhar

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Fully autonomous small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used in many commercial applications. Although a lot of research has been done to develop safe, reliable and durable UAVs, accidents due to electronic and structural failures are not uncommon and pose a huge safety risk to the UAV operators and the public. Hence there is a strong need for an automated health monitoring system for UAVs with a view to minimizing mission failures thereby increasing safety. This paper describes our approach to monitoring the electronic and structural components in a small UAV without the need for additional sensors to do the monitoring. Our system monitors data from four sources; sensors, navigation algorithms, control inputs from the operator and flight controller outputs. It then does statistical analysis on the data and applies a rule based engine to detect failures. This information can then be fed back into the UAV and a decision to continue or abort the mission can be taken automatically by the UAV and independent of the operator. Our system has been verified using data obtained from real flights over the past year from UAVs of various sizes that have been designed and deployed by us for various applications.

Keywords: fault detection, health monitoring, unmanned aerial vehicles, vibration analysis

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Authors: Diksha Sapkota, Kathleen Baird, Amornrat Saito, Debra Anderson

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Background: Violence during pregnancy is global public health problem incurring huge amount of social, economic and human costs. It is of particular concern as it affects health of mother, neonates and also disrupt family functioning. Mental illness is one of its commonest consequences affecting both mother and baby and likely to be chronic if left unattended. Past decade has seen advances in knowledge about different forms of violence, its health impacts and intervention/s helping to confront the violence. However, limited range and lack of consistency in measurable outcomes undermine overall effect of interventions, and available evidence are largely slanted towards high-income countries. Despite recognition of integrating screening and counselling for abused pregnant women in health settings, there is a dearth of evidence on its effectiveness from developing countries limiting its applicability and feasibility. This study intends to summarise the high-quality evidence on intimate partner violence interventions in reducing violence and improving mental health and implement the promising intervention in our context. Methods: Quantitative systematic review will be done using PRISMA statement and based on its finding; randomised controlled intervention will be carried out. The study will be conducted among women attending ANC clinic of Dhulikhel Hospital, Nepal. Being the pilot study, samples just adequate to draw the inferences i.e. not less than 30 in each arm will be taken. Phenomological approach will be used to explore the strengths and weaknesses of tested intervention and recommendations for better planning in future. Conclusion: This study intends to provide concrete evidence on what works best in our context and will assist policymakers, programme planners, donors in informed decision making.

Keywords: intimate partner violence/prevention and control, mental health, Nepal, pregnant

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Authors: Clara T. Fatoye, April Betts, Abayomi Odeyemi, Francis A. Fatoye, Isaac O. Odeyemi

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Background: The post-launch stage is the last stage in the development of a pharmaceutical product. It is important to involve patients in the development of pharmaceutical products at the post-launch stage, as patients are the end-users of pharmaceutical products. It is expected that involving them might ensure an effective working relationship among the various stakeholders. However, involving patients in the development of pharmaceutical products comes with its problems. Hence, this study examined how to resolve problems experienced by involving patients in the developments of pharmaceutical products’ at post-launch consisting of Positioning of pharmaceutical products (POPP), detailing of pharmaceutical products (DOPP) and reimbursement and Formulary Submission (R&FS). Methods: A questionnaire was used for the present study. It was administered at the ISPOR Glasgow 2017 to 104 participants, all of which were professionals from Market access (MA) and health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) backgrounds. They were asked how the issues experienced by patients can be resolved. Participants responded under six domains as follows: communication, cost, effectiveness, external factors, Quality of life (QoL) and safety. Thematic analysis was carried out to identify strategies to resolve issues experienced by patients at the post-launch stage. Results: Three (3) factors cut across at POPP, DOPP, and R&FS that is (external factors, communication and QoL). The first resolution method was an external factor that is, the relationship with stakeholders and policymakers. Communication was also identified as a resolution method that can help to resolve problems experienced by patients at the post-launch stage. The third method was QoL as perceived by the patients based on professionals’ opinions. Other strategies that could be used to resolve problems experienced were the effectiveness of pharmaceutical products at the DOPP level and cost at R&FS. Conclusion: The study showed that focusing on external factors, communication, and patients’ QoL are methods for resolving issues experienced by involving patients at the post-launch stage of pharmaceutical product development. Hence, effective working relationships between patients, policymakers and stakeholders may help to resolve problems experienced at the post-launch stage. Healthcare policymakers are to be aware of these findings as they may help them to put appropriate strategies in place to enhance the involvement of patients in pharmaceutical product development at the post-launch stage, thereby improving the health outcomes of the patients.

Keywords: patients, pharmaceutical products, post-launch stage, quality of life, QoL

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Authors: Wong Kean Hin, Kumarason A. L. V. Rasiah

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A building provides shelter and protection for an individual to live, work, sleep, procreate or engage in leisurely activities comfortably. Currently, a very popular term related to building was often stated by many parties, which is sustainability. A sustainable building is environmental friendly, healthy to the occupants, as well as efficient in electricity and water. This particular research is important to any parties that are involved in the construction industry. This research will provide the awareness and acceptability of Malaysian public towards sustainable residential building. It will also provide the developers about which sustainable features that the people usually want so that the developers can build a sustainable housing that suits the needs of people. Then, propose solutions to solve the difficulties of implementing sustainability in Malaysian housing industry. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used throughout the process of data collection. The quantitative research method was distribution of questionnaires to 100 Malaysian public and 50 individuals that worked in developer companies. Then, the qualitative method was an interview session with experienced personnel in Malaysian construction industry. From the data collected, there is increasingly Malaysian public and developers are aware about the existence of sustainability. Moreover, the public is willing to invest on sustainable residential building with minimum additional cost. However, there is a mismatch in between sustainable elements provided by developers and the public needs. Some recommendations to improve the progression of sustainability had been proposed in this study, which include laws enforcement, cooperation between the both government sector with private sector, and private sector with private sector, and learn from modern countries. These information will be helpful and useful for the future of sustainability development in Malaysia.

Keywords: acceptability, awareness, Malaysian housing industry, sustainable elements, green building index

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Authors: Jun Su Ha

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Various advanced technologies will be adopted in Advanced Control Rooms (ACRs) of advanced Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), which is thought to increase operators’ performance. However, potential human factors issues coupled with digital technologies might be troublesome. Human factors issues in ACRs are identified and strategies (or countermeasures) for evaluating and analyzing each of issues are addressed in this study.

Keywords: advanced control room, human factor issues, human performance, human error, nuclear power plant

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Authors: Lakmali Anthony, Madeline Gillies

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Background Breast cancer (BC) is usually managed with surgical resection. Many outcomes traditionally used to define successful operative management, such as resection margin, do not adequately reflect patients’ experience. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) such as Health-Related Quality of life (HRQoL) provide a means by which the impact of surgery for cancer can be reported in a patient-centered way. This exploratory cross-sectional study aims to; (1) describe postoperative HRQoL in patients who underwent primary resection in a regional Australian hospital; (2) describe the prevalence of anxiety, depression and clinically significant fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) in this population; and (3) identify demographic, psychosocial, disease and treatment factors associated with poorer self-reported HRQoL. Methods Patients who had resection of BC in a regional Australian hospital between 2015 and 2022 were eligible. Participants were asked to complete a survey designed to assess HRQoL, as well as validated instruments that assess several other psychosocial PROs hypothesized to be associated with HRQoL; emotional distress, fear of cancer recurrence, social support, dispositional optimism, body image and spirituality. Results Forty-six patients completed the survey. Clinically significant levels of FCR and emotional distress were present in this group. Many domains of HRQoL were significantly worse than an Australian reference population for BC. Demographic and disease factors associated with poor HRQoL included smoking and ongoing adjuvant systemic therapy. The primary operation was not associated with HRQoL for breast cancer. All psychosocial factors measured were associated with HRQoL. Conclusion HRQoL is an important outcome in surgery for both research and clinical practice. This study provides an overview of the quality of life in a regional Australian population of postoperative breast cancer patients and the factors that affect it. Understanding HRQoL and awareness of patients particularly vulnerable to poor outcomes should be used to aid the informed consent and shared decision-making process between surgeon and patient.

Keywords: breast cancer, surgery, quality of life, regional population

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Authors: T. Marinaci, C. Venuleo

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Different conceptualizations of disease affect patient care. This study aims to address this gap. It explores how health professionals conceptualize gambling problem, addiction and the goals of recovery process. In-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with Italian psychologists, psychiatrists, general practitioners, and support staff (N= 114), working within health centres for the treatment of addiction (public health services or therapeutic communities) or medical offices. A Lexical Correspondence Analysis (LCA) was applied to the verbatim transcripts. LCA allowed to identify two main factorial dimensions, which organize similarity and dissimilarity in the discourses of the interviewed. The first dimension labelled 'Models of relationship with the problem', concerns two different models of relationship with the health problem: one related to the request for help and the process of taking charge and the other related to the identification of the psychopathology underlying the disorder. The second dimension, labelled 'Organisers of the intervention' reflects the dialectic between two ways to address the problem. On the one hand, they are the gambling dynamics and its immediate life-consequences to organize the intervention (whatever the request of the user is); on the other hand, they are the procedures and the tools which characterize the health service to organize the way the professionals deal with the user’ s problem (whatever it is and despite the specify of the user’s request). The results highlight how, despite the differences, the respondents share a central assumption: understanding gambling problem implies the reference to the gambler’s identity, more than, for instance, to the relational, social, cultural or political context where the gambler lives. A passive stance is attributed to the user, who does not play any role in the definition of the goal of the intervention. The results will be discussed to highlight the relationship between professional models and users’ ways to understand and deal with the problems related to gambling.

Keywords: cultural models, health professionals, intervention models, problem gambling

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Authors: Spencer Rutherford, Shadi Saleh

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War and conflict negatively impact all facets of a health system; services cease to function, resources become depleted, and any semblance of governance is lost. Following cessation of conflict, the rebuilding process includes a wide array of international and local actors. During this period, stakeholders must contend with various trade-offs, including balancing sustainable outcomes with immediate health needs, introducing health reform measures while also increasing local capacity, and reconciling external assistance with local legitimacy. Compounding these factors are additional challenges, including coordination amongst stakeholders, the re-occurrence of conflict, and ulterior motives from donors and governments, to name a few. Therefore, the present paper evaluated health system development in three post-conflict countries over a 12-year timeline. Specifically, health policies, health inputs (such infrastructure and human resources), and measures of governance, from the post-conflict periods of Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Mozambique, were assessed against health outputs and other measures. All post-conflict countries experienced similar challenges when rebuilding the health sector, including; division and competition between donors, NGOs, and local institutions; urban and rural health inequalities; and the re-occurrence of conflict. However, countries also employed unique and effective mechanisms for reconstructing their health systems, including; government engagement of the NGO and private sector; integration of competing factions into the same workforce; and collaborative planning for health policy. Based on these findings, best-practice development strategies were determined and compiled into a 12-year framework. Briefly, during the initial stage of the post-conflict period, primary stakeholders should work quickly to draft a national health strategy in collaboration with the government, and focus on managing and coordinating NGOs through performance-based partnership agreements. With this scaffolding in place, the development community can then prioritize the reconstruction of primary health care centers, increasing and retaining health workers, and horizontal integration of immunization services. The final stages should then concentrate on transferring ownership of the health system national institutions, implementing sustainable financing mechanisms, and phasing-out NGO services. Overall, these findings contribute post-conflict health system development by evaluating the process holistically and along a timeline and can be of further use by healthcare managers, policy-makers, and other health professionals.

Keywords: Afghanistan, Cambodia, health system development, health system reconstruction, Mozambique, post-conflict, state-building

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Authors: Lamia Bouzgarrou, Amira Omrane, Naima Bouatay, Chaima Harrathi, Samia Machroughl, Ahmed Mhalla

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Background and Aims: Professionals of health care sector are exposed to psychosocial constraints like stress, harassment, violence, which can lead to many mental health problems such as, depression, addictive behavior, and burn-out. Moreover, it’s well established that caregivers affected to intensive care units are more likely to experience such constraints and mental health problems. For these caregivers, the mental health state may affect care quality and patient’s safety. This study aims either to identify occupational psychosocial constraints and their mental health consequences among paramedical and medical caregivers affected to intensive units in Tunisian public hospital. Methods: An exhaustive three months cross-sectional study conducted among medical and paramedical staffs of intensive care units in three Tunisian university hospitals. After informed consent collection, we evaluated work-related stress, workplace harassment, depression, anxious troubles, addictive behavior, and self-esteems through an anonymous self-completed inquiry form. Five validated questionnaires and scales were included in this form: Karasek's Job Content Questionnaire, Negative Acts Questionnaire, Rosenberg, Beck depression inventory and Hamilton Anxiety scale. Results: We included 129 intensive unit caregivers; with a mean age of 36.1 ± 1.1 years and a sex ratio of 0.58. Among these caregivers, 30% were specialist or under-specialization doctors. The average seniority in the intensive care was 6.1 ± 1.2 (extremes=1 to 40 years). Atypical working schedules were noted among 36.7% of the subjects with an imposed choice in 52.4% of cases. During the last 12 months preceding the survey, 51.7% of care workers were absent from work because of a health problem with stops exceeding 15 days in 11.7%. Job strain was objective among 15% of caregivers and 38.33% of them were victims of moral harassment. A low or very low self-esteem was noted among 40% of respondents. Moreover, active smoking was reported by 20% subjects, alcohol consumption by 13.3% and psychotropic substance use by 1.7% of them. According to Beck inventory and Hamilton Anxiety scale, we concluded that 61.7% of intensive care providers were depressed, with 'severe' depression in 13.3% of cases and 49.9% of them present anxious disorders. Multivariate analysis objective that, job strain was correlated with young age (p=0.005) and shorter work seniority (p=0.001). Workplace and moral harassment was more prevalent among females (p=0.009), under-specialization doctor (p=0.021), those affected to atypical schedules (p=0.008). Concerning depression, it was more prevalent among staff in job strain situation (p = 0.004), among smokers caregivers (p = 0.048), and those with no leisure activity (p < 0.001). Anxious disorders were positively correlated to chronic diseases history (p = 0.001) and work-bullying exposure (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Our findings reflected a high frequency of caregivers who are under stress at work and those who are victims of moral harassment. These health professionals were at increased risk for developing psychiatric illness such depressive and anxious disorders and addictive behavior. Our results suggest the necessity of preventive strategies of occupational psychosocial constraints in order to preserve professional’s mental health and maximize patient safety and quality of care.

Keywords: health care sector, intensive care units, mental health, psychosocial constraints

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Authors: Henry Okechukwu Onyeiwu

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In today’s Nigerian digital age, the landscape of public diplomacy has been significantly altered by the rise of social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In recent years, social media platforms have emerged as powerful tools for public diplomacy, transforming how countries communicate with both domestic and global audiences. International broadcasting as a tool of public diplomacy has undergone a significant transformation. Traditional methods of state-run media and controlled broadcasting have evolved to incorporate the dynamic, interactive, and decentralized nature of digital platforms. Understanding how Nigerian governments engages in international broadcasting of public diplomacy, the influence of social media on broadcasting public diplomacy, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of controlling media outlets for diplomatic purposes and also covers the changing nature of global communication in this digital era. As countries navigate the complexities of international relations, the effectiveness of controlled media in shaping public perception and engagement raises significant questions worth exploring. The vast amount of content available can make it challenging to capture and retain audience attention. The ease of spreading false information on social media requires international broadcasters to maintain credibility and counteract misleading narratives. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive research that integrates digital communication tools, cultural sensitivity, cybersecurity measures and ongoing evaluation to enhance Nigeria’s international broadcasting of public diplomacy. This study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods. A content analysis of Nigeria’s international broadcasting content was conducted to assess its themes, narratives, and engagement strategies. Additionally, surveys and interviews with communications professionals, diplomats, and social media users were carried out to gather insights on perceptions and effectiveness of public diplomacy initiatives. It has highlighted some of the present trends in technology and the international environmental in which public diplomacy must work, and show how the past can illuminate the road for those navigating this new world. The rise of the social network creates more opportunities than it closes for public diplomacy. This evolution highlights the increasing importance of engagement, mutual understanding, and cooperation in international relations. By Adopting a more inclusive and participatory approach, public diplomacy can more effectively address global challenges and build stronger, more resilient relationships between nations. As Nigeria navigates the complexities of its international relations, this abstract will provide a vital examination of how it can better utilize the dual platforms of international broadcasting and social media in its public diplomacy efforts. The outcome will bear significance not only for Nigeria but also for other nations grappling with similar challenges in the digital age. As social media continues to play a crucial role in public diplomacy, understanding the dynamics of controlled media outlets becomes ever more critical. This abstract shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of such control, ultimately contributing valuable insights to practitioners in the field of diplomacy as they adapt to the rapidly changing communication landscape.

Keywords: international broadcasting, public diplomacy, social media, international relation, polities

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Authors: Phusit Phukamchanoad

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The research studies the behaviors based on sufficiency economy philosophy at individual and community levels as well as the satisfaction of the urban community leaders by collecting data with purposive sampling technique. For in-depth interviews with 26 urban community leaders, the result shows that the urban community leaders have good knowledge and understanding about sufficiency economy philosophy. Especially in terms of money spending, they must consider the need for living and be economical. The activities in the community or society should not take advantage of the others as well as colleagues. At present, most of the urban community leaders live in a sufficient way. They often spend time with public service, but many families are dealing with debt. Many communities have some political conflict and high family allowances because of living in the urban communities with rapid social and economic changes. However, there are many communities that leaders have applied their wisdom in development for their people by gathering and grouping the professionals to form activities such as making chili sauce, textile organization, making artificial flowers worshipping the sanctity. The most prominent group is the foot massage business in Wat Pracha Rabue Tham. This professional group is supported continuously by the government. One of the factors in terms of satisfaction used for evaluating community leaders is the customary administration in brotherly, interdependent way rather than using the absolute power or controlling power, but using the roles of leader to perform the activities with their people intently, determinedly and having a public mind for people.

Keywords: performance and activities, sufficiency economy, urban communities leader, Dusit district

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Authors: Anish Desai, Reshmi Pillai, Nilesh Mahajan, Hitesh Chopra, Vishal Mahajan, Ajay Grover, Ashish Kohli

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Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is hospital acquired infection of growing concern. This study presents the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of triclosan-coated suture, in reducing the burden of SSI in India. Methodology: A systematic literature search was conducted for economic burden (1998-2018) of SSI and efficacy of triclosan-coated sutures (TCS) vs. non-coated sutures (NCS) (2000-2018). PubMed Medline and EMBASE indexed articles were searched using Mesh terms or Emtree. Decision tree analysis was used to calculate, the cost difference between TCS and NCS at private and public hospitals, respectively for 7 surgical procedures. Results: The SSI range from low to high for Caesarean section (C-section), Laparoscopic hysterectomy (L-hysterectomy), Open Hernia (O-Hernia), Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (L-Cholecystectomy), Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), Total knee replacement (TKR), and Mastectomy were (3.77 to 24.2%), (2.28 to 11.7%), (1.75 to 60%), (1.71 to 25.58%), (1.6 to 18.86%), (1.74 to 12.5%), and (5.56 to 25%), respectively. The incremental cost (%) of TCS ranged 0.1%-0.01% in private and from 0.9%-0.09% at public hospitals across all surgical procedures. Cost savings at median efficacy & SSI risk was 6.52%, 5.07 %, 11.39%, 9.63%, 3.62%, 2.71%, 9.41% for C-section, L-hysterectomy, O-Hernia, L-Cholecystectomy, CABG, TKR, and Mastectomy in private and 8.79%, 4.99%, 12.67%, 10.58%, 3.32%, 2.35%, 11.83% in public hospital, respectively. Efficacy of TCS and SSI incidence in a particular surgical procedure were important determinants of cost savings using one-way sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: TCS suture led to cost savings across all 7 surgeries in both private and public hospitals in India.

Keywords: cost Savings, non-coated sutures, surgical site infection, triclosan-coated sutures

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Authors: Agustin Baidez, Yolanda Ramirez

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There is currently a growing interest in the improvement of university governance and the disclosure of information on governance processes as an essential part of the transparency and accountability of universities. This paper aims to examine the extent and quality of voluntary corporate governance disclosure by public Spanish universities on their websites in relation to information need of stakeholders. The results of this study show that Spanish university stakeholders attach great importance to the disclosure of specific information on aspects of corporate governance. However, the quality of disclosed information on university governance in public Spanish universities websites is in the middle level. In order to satisfy the information needs of university stakeholders, Spanish universities can be recommended to focus on reporting higher quality information on university autonomy in financing, autonomy in management, autonomy regarding student selection and assessment, degree of consanguinity of executive directors, report on assigned public funding based on results, and management reports.

Keywords: university, governance, transparency, stakeholders

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Authors: Chien-Hung Chen, Yan-Chun Hsing, Yung-Chun Chang

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The Internet has grown into a powerful medium for information dispersion and social interaction that leads to a rapid growth of social media which allows users to easily post their emotions and perspectives regarding certain topics online. Our research aims at using natural language processing and text mining techniques to explore the public emotions expressed on Twitter by analyzing the sentiment behind tweets. In this paper, we propose a composite kernel method that integrates tree kernel with the linear kernel to simultaneously exploit both the tree representation and the distributed emotion keyword representation to analyze the syntactic and content information in tweets. The experiment results demonstrate that our method can effectively detect public emotion of tweets while outperforming the other compared methods.

Keywords: emotion recognition, natural language processing, composite kernel, sentiment analysis, text mining

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Authors: Hooman Dabirmanesh, Mahmoud Ghazavi, Kazem Barkhordari

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A finite element modeling for determination of the bearing capacity of caissons subjected to inclined loads is presented in this paper. The model investigates the uplift capacity of the caisson with varying cross sectional area. To this aim, the behavior of the soil is assumed to be elasto-plastic, and its failure is controlled by Modified Cam-Clay failure criterion. The simulation takes into account the couple analysis. The approach is verified using available data from other research work especially centrifuge data. Parametric studies are subsequently performed to investigate the effect of contributing parameters such as aspect ratio of the caisson, the loading rate, the loading direction angle, and points where the external load is applied. In addition, the influence of the caisson geometry is taken into account. The results show the bearing capacity of the caisson increases with increasing the taper angle. Hence, the pullout capacity will increase using the same material. In addition, the bearing capacity of caissons strongly depends on the suction that is generated at tip and in sealed surface on top of caisson. Other results concerning the influencing factors will be presented.

Keywords: aspect ratio, finite element method, inclined load, modified Cam clay, taper angle, undrained condition

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Authors: Ruan Yi-Chen, Li Wang-Ming, Fang Yuan

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With the rapid growth of urbanization in China in recent years, public services are in short supply because of expanding population and limitation of financial support, which makes delicate configuration of public service facilities to become a trend in urban planning. Besides, the facility configuration standard implemented in China is equal to the whole the urban area without considering internal differences in it. Therefore, this article focuses on population Spatial disparities analysis in order to optimize facility configuration in communities of main city district. The used data, including population of 93 communities during 2010 to 2015, comes from GongShu district, Hangzhou city, PRC. Through the analysis of population data, especially the age structure of those communities, the communities finally divided into 3 types. Obviously, urban public service facilities allocation situation directly affect the quality of residents common lives, which turns out that deferent kinds of communities with deferent groups of citizens will have divergences in facility demanding. So in the end of the article, strategies of facility configuration will be proposed based on the population analysis in order to optimize the quantity and location of facilities with delicacy.

Keywords: delicacy, facility configuration, population spatial disparities, urban area

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Authors: Hilal Al Shamsi, Abdullah Almutairi

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Introduction: As primary healthcare centres play an important role in implementing Saudi Arabia’s health strategy, this paper offers a review of publications on the quality of the country’s primary health care. With the aim of deciding on solutions for improvement, it provides an overview of healthcare quality in this context and indicates barriers to quality. Method: Using two databases, ProQuest and Scopus, data extracted from published articles were systematically analysed for determining the care quality in Saudi primary health centres and obstacles to achieving higher quality. Results: Twenty-six articles met the criteria for inclusion in this review. The components of healthcare quality were examined in terms of the access to and effectiveness of interpersonal and clinical care. Good access and effective care were identified in such areas as maternal health care and the control of epidemic diseases, whereas poor access and effectiveness of care were shown for chronic disease management programmes, referral patterns (in terms of referral letters and feedback reports), health education and interpersonal care (in terms of language barriers). Several factors were identified as barriers to high-quality care. These included problems with evidence-based practice implementation, professional development, the use of referrals to secondary care and organisational culture. Successful improvements have been implemented by other systems, such as mobile medical units, electronic referrals, online translation tools and mobile devices and their applications; these can be implemented in Saudi Arabia for improving the quality of the primary healthcare system in this country. Conclusion: The quality of primary health care in Saudi Arabia varies among the different services. To improve quality, management programmes and organisational culture must be promoted in primary health care. Professional development strategies are also needed for improving the skills and knowledge of healthcare professionals. Potential improvements can be implemented to improve the quality of the primary health system.

Keywords: quality, primary health care, Saudi Arabia, health centres, general medical

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Authors: Chandan Kumar

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Background and Context: Population growth and rapid urbanization resulted nearly 2 Lacs migrants along with families moving to Delhi each year in search of jobs. Most of these poor migrant families end up living in slums and constitute an estimated population of 1.87 lacs every year. Further, more than half (52 per cent) of Delhi’s population resides in places such as unauthorized and resettled colonies. Slum population is fully dependent on public toilet to defecate. In Public toilets, manholes either connected with Sewer line or septic tank. Septic tank connected public toilet faces major challenges to dispose of waste water. They have to dispose of waste water in outside open drain and waste water struck out side of public toilet complex and near to the slum area. As a result, outbreak diseases such as Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya in slum area due to stagnated waste water. Intervention and Innovation took place by Save the Children in 21 Public Toilet Complexes of South Delhi and North Delhi. These public toilet complexes were facing same waste water disposal problem. They were disposing of minimum 1800 liters waste water every day in open drain. Which caused stagnated water-borne diseases among the nearest community. Construction of Soak Well: Construction of soak well in urban context was an innovative approach to minimizing the problem of waste water management and increased water table of existing borewell in toilet complex. This technique made solution in Ground water recharging system, and additional water was utilized in vegetable gardening within the complex premises. Soak well had constructed with multiple filter media with inlet and safeguarding bed on surrounding surface. After construction, soak well started exhausting 2000 liters of waste water to raise ground water level through different filter media. Finally, we brought a change in the communities by constructing soak well and with zero maintenance system. These Public Toilet Complexes were empowered by safe disposing waste water mechanism and reduced stagnated water-borne diseases.

Keywords: diseases, ground water recharging system, soak well, toilet complex, waste water

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Authors: Rakan Alajmi, Rahaf Alnazzawi, Yara Aljefri, Abdullah Alafif, Ali Alraddadi, Awadh Alamri

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Background: The distribution of physicians in different specialties across Saudi Arabia is determined by the career choices of medical students. Dermatology residency program is one of the highly competitive programs here in Saudi Arabia. Assessing and understanding the factors perceived to be attractive in choosing dermatology will aid the directors of the specialty programs to plan for a more balanced workforce distribution to better suit the needs of the specialties. Aim: The aim of our study is to determine and assess the factors perceived to be significantly attractive when choosing dermatology as a future specialty. Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study conducted in King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A validated questionnaire was sent electronically to clinical year medical students. In addition to the questionnaire, gender, grade point average, preferred specialty, and other socio-demographic data were assessed. Results: A total of 121 clinical years medical students completed the questionnaire, 8 (6.6%) preferred dermatology as a specialty. 76 (62.8%) of the participants score a grade point average of more than 4.5 and 83 students (68.6%) chose their specialty during clinical years. The appeal of being a dermatologist (P= 0.047), the portrayal of different specialities in the media (P= 0.005), and the likelihood that dermatologists can influence patients’ lives (P=0.010) were shown to be significantly attractive factors. Conclusion: There are many factors that are affecting students’ choices when choosing a medical specialty. The appeal of being a dermatologist, the portrayal of different specialities in the media, and the likelihood that dermatologists can influence patients’ lives were shown to be significantly attractive factors when choosing dermatology as a future specialty. Recognizing medical students’ specialty perception will lead them to a proper specialty tailored to their needs.

Keywords: dermatology, career choice, medical specialties, student's perception

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Authors: Dušica Kovačević

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This study explores the influence of destructive groups on the mental health and social integration of high school students in Loznica, Serbia. Despite increasing concerns, there is a significant lack of research on the impact of these groups on adolescents in this region. This qualitative study aims to fill this gap by examining the prevalence of destructive groups, their psychological effects on students, and their broader social implications. Data were collected through surveys and in-depth interviews with high school students, educators, and mental health professionals. The study focuses on key mental health indicators, such as anxiety, depression, and identity formation, alongside social factors, including peer relationships and community engagement. Additionally, it defines coping mechanisms and supporting strategies employed by students affected by these groups. The findings reveal substantial psychological and social challenges faced by students exposed to destructive groups, including increased levels of anxiety and depression, disrupted identity development, and impaired social integration. Insights into the personal experiences of these students provide a detailed understanding of the groups’ impact, underscoring the need for targeted interventions. This research offers evidence-based recommendations for educators, mental health practitioners, and policymakers. It emphasizes the importance of developing effective educational programs and support services to enhance the well-being of high school advocates for proactive measures to protect adolescent mental health and promote healthy social values within educational and community settings.

Keywords: adolescents, mental health, destructive groups, social integration, qualitative study, high school students, Serbia

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Authors: Dr.Vasundhra Misra, Prof. Praveen Vashist

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Purpose: Vitamin A deficiency prevention programmes are at varying stages of development and implementation in all countries. Vitamin A deficiency has been recognized as a public health issue in developing countries like India. Despite achieving a lot of success a load of blindness due to Vitamin A deficiencies is still high. In this regard, a study was conducted to assess the awareness and health-seeking practices about Vitamin A deficiency diseases among the urban slum population of Delhi, India. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the 5 slum clusters from the urban population of South Delhi. A specially designed pre-tested questionnaire schedule was administered. The study sample was comprised of 1552 inhabitants. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 34 ± 12.1 years. A total of 1003 (64.6%) participants out of 1552, had heard of night blindness. Awareness of night blindness was more in the elderly age group and also found significant (p < 0.001). Only 31 (3.1%) knew that night blindness is caused due to deficiency of vitamin A. The awareness of vitamin A prophylaxis programme was significantly higher among elder age (p < 0.05) and females (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings highlighted that even though many of the respondents have heard of night blindness but the awareness about causes and treatment was found low in the community. There is a need for efforts directed to enhance community-level counseling and educational programmes.

Keywords: awareness, health-seeking practices, night blindness, vitamin-A deficiency diseases

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Authors: Carmen Maria Hernandez-Nicolas, Juan Francisco Martín-Ugedo, Antonio Mínguez-Vera

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This paper analyses the influence of gender of the mayors of Spanish local governments on different budget items using a sample of 8,243 town councils between 2002 and 2010 period and 64,361 observations. The system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique was employed to examine this panel data. This powerful methodology allows controlling for the endogenity of the variables and the heterogeneity of the sample. Unlike previous works focused on the study of gender influence on firm decisions, the present work analyzes the influence of the gender of the major in the council’s decisions. Specifically, we examine the differences in financial liabilities, security, protection and social promotion expenses and income items relating to public management. In addition, the study focuses on the Spanish context, which is characterized by the presence of decentralization of public responsibility to a greater extent than in neighboring countries, feeding the debate on the operational efficiency of local government increased with an open debate on the importance of gender in public management. The results show that female mayors tend to have lower expenses in general without significant differences in incomes obtained for men and women majors. We also find that female majors incur fewer financial liabilities, one of the most important problems in the Spanish public sector. However, despite of cutting in the public sector, these councils have higher expenditure on security, protection and social promotion. According to these evidences, the presence of women in politics may serve to improve the councils’ economic situation and it is not only necessary for social justice but for economics efficiency. Besides, in councils with more inhabitants, women mayors are more common, but women who served for a very long time are less common.

Keywords: councils, gender, local budgets, public management, women mayors

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Authors: Ahmad Jawad Fardin

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Over 60% of patients with breast cancer in Afghanistan present late with advanced stage III and IV, a major cause for the poor survival rate. The objectives of this study were to identify the contributing factors for the diagnosis and treatment delay and its outcome. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 318 patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer in the oncology department of Jamhoriat hospital, which is the first and only national cancer center in Afghanistan; data were collected from medical records and interviews conducted with women diagnosed with breast cancer, linear regression and logistic regression were used for analysis. Patient delay was defined as the time from first recognition of symptoms until first medical consultation and doctor form first consultation with a health care provider until histological confirmation of breast cancer. The mean age of patients was 49.2+_ 11.5years. The average time for the final diagnosis of breast cancer was 8.5 months; most patients had ductal carcinoma 260.7 (82%). Factors associated with delay were low education level 76% poor socioeconomic and cultural conditions 81% lack of cancer center 73% lack of screening 19%. The stage distribution was as follows stage IV 4 22% stage III 44.4% stage II 29.3% stage I 4.3%. Complex associated factors were identified to delayed the diagnosis of breast cancer and increased adverse outcomes consequently. Raising awareness and education in women, the establishment of cancer centers and providing accessible diagnosis service and screening, training of general practitioners; required to promote early detection, diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: delayed diagnosis and poor outcome, breast cancer in Afghanistan, poor outcome of delayed breast cancer treatment, breast cancer delayed diagnosis and treatment in Afghanistan

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