Public health nursing, ethics and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, Luba L; Oden, Tami L

2013-05-01

Public health nursing has a code of ethics that guides practice. This includes the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health, and the Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing. Human rights and Rights-based care in public health nursing practice are relatively new. They reflect human rights principles as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied to public health practice. As our health care system is restructured and there are new advances in technology and genetics, a focus on providing care that is ethical and respects human rights is needed. Public health nurses can be in the forefront of providing care that reflects an ethical base and a rights-based approach to practice with populations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A review of low-level air pollution and adverse effects on human health: implications for epidemiological studies and public policy

Science.gov (United States)

Olmo, Neide Regina Simões; do Nascimento Saldiva, Paulo Hilário; Braga, Alfésio Luís Ferreira; Lin, Chin An; de Paula Santos, Ubiratan; Pereira, Luiz Alberto Amador

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to review original scientific articles describing the relationship between atmospheric pollution and damage to human health. We also aimed to determine which of these studies mentioned public policy issues. Original articles relating to atmospheric pollution and human health published between 1995 and 2009 were retrieved from the PubMed database and analyzed. This study included only articles dealing with atmospheric pollutants resulting primarily from vehicle emissions. Three researchers were involved in the final selection of the studies, and the chosen articles were approved by at least two of the three researchers. Of the 84 non-Brazilian studies analyzed, 80 showed an association between atmospheric pollution and adverse effects on human health. Moreover, 66 showed evidence of adverse effects on human health, even at levels below the permitted emission standards. Three studies mentioned public policies aimed at changing emission standards. Similarly, the 29 selected Brazilian studies reported adverse associations with human health, and 27 showed evidence of adverse effects even at levels below the legally permitted emission standards. Of these studies, 16 mentioned public policies aimed at changing emission standards. Based on the Brazilian and non-Brazilian scientific studies that have been conducted, it can be concluded that, even under conditions that are compliant with Brazilian air quality standards, the concentration of atmospheric pollutants in Brazil can negatively affect human health. However, as little discussion of this topic has been generated, this finding demonstrates the need to incorporate epidemiological evidence into decisions regarding legal regulations and to discuss the public policy implications in epidemiological studies. PMID:21655765

Human Ecology: Acid Rain and Public Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bybee, Rodger W.

1983-01-01

A connection between science and society can be seen in the human and ecological dimensions of one contemporary problem: acid rain. Introduces a human ecological theme and relationships between acid rain and public policy, considering scientific understanding and public awareness, scientific research and public policy, and national politics and…

Human Contamination in Public Genome Assemblies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kryukov, Kirill; Imanishi, Tadashi

2016-01-01

Contamination in genome assembly can lead to wrong or confusing results when using such genome as reference in sequence comparison. Although bacterial contamination is well known, the problem of human-originated contamination received little attention. In this study we surveyed 45,735 available genome assemblies for evidence of human contamination. We used lineage specificity to distinguish between contamination and conservation. We found that 154 genome assemblies contain fragments that with high confidence originate as contamination from human DNA. Majority of contaminating human sequences were present in the reference human genome assembly for over a decade. We recommend that existing contaminated genomes should be revised to remove contaminated sequence, and that new assemblies should be thoroughly checked for presence of human DNA before submitting them to public databases.

Introduction: Digital Humanities, Public Humanities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Christie

2014-07-01

Full Text Available NANO: New American Notes Online: An Interdisciplinary Academic Journal for Big Ideas in a Small World. This special issue shows how both public and digital humanities research can be rendered more persuasive through engagement with cultures beyond the academy. More specifically, the aim of this special issue is to demonstrate how investments in technologies and computation are not necessarily antithetical to investments in critical theory and social justice.

Public health ethics and more-than-human solidarity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rock, Melanie J; Degeling, Chris

2015-03-01

This article contributes to the literature on One Health and public health ethics by expanding the principle of solidarity. We conceptualise solidarity to encompass not only practices intended to assist other people, but also practices intended to assist non-human others, including animals, plants, or places. To illustrate how manifestations of humanist and more-than-human solidarity may selectively complement one another, or collide, recent responses to Hendra virus in Australia and Rabies virus in Canada serve as case examples. Given that caring relationships are foundational to health promotion, people's efforts to care for non-human others are highly relevant to public health, even when these efforts conflict with edicts issued in the name of public health. In its most optimistic explication, One Health aims to attain optimal health for humans, non-human animals and their shared environments. As a field, public health ethics needs to move beyond an exclusive preoccupation with humans, so as to account for moral complexity arising from people's diverse connections with places, plants, and non-human animals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

'Only connect': the case for public health humanities.

Science.gov (United States)

Saffran, Lise

2014-12-01

Humanities in health has until now been primarily understood to mean humanities in medicine and has generally failed to include public health. I will argue in this paper that the common justifications for the former--including increased empathy among practitioners--are at least as applicable, if not more, to the latter. Growing emphasis on the social determinants of health and cultural competency in public health require public health students and professionals to develop a nuanced understanding of the influence of social context on health behaviour and to empathise with people in difficult circumstances. Literary fiction has been demonstrated to have an impact on skills related to empathy and social intelligence. Further, translating epidemiological evidence into public policy is a core task of public health and there is a growing body of research to indicate that statistical evidence is more persuasive when combined with narrative evidence. In this article I explore similarities and differences between proposed humanities in public health and programmes in humanities in medicine and highlight research gaps and possible implications of a more expansive view of humanities in health. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Acquisition And Utilisation Of Human Resources In Public ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study examined the acquisition and utilisation of human resources in public secondary schools for students with special needs in Oyo State. The study employed a descriptive research design. The entire 196 teachers and 16 supportive staff formed the sample. The research instrument for the study was a questionnaire ...

Exploring Responsibility. Public and Private in Human Rights Protection

OpenAIRE

Bexell, Magdalena

2005-01-01

The theory and practice of international relations are replete with dilemmas related to the distribution of responsibility for human rights protection. Institutionalized notions of public and private empower and shape knowledge of what the spheres of responsibility signify for different kinds of actors. This study examines how the public-private distinction is manifested in controversy concerning the character of corporate social responsibility. The study develops a conceptual framework cente...

Human potential development as a prerequisite of public policy efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Polishchuk Iryna Viktorivna

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The article analyses the role of the public officers’ human potential for the efficiency of making public policy. It introduces features and criteria of human potential in the context of its development of civil service. The article designates some key directions for the development of human potential of public officers.

Comparative Study of Seven Commercial Kits for Human DNA Extraction from Urine Samples Suitable for DNA Biomarker-Based Public Health Studies

Science.gov (United States)

El Bali, Latifa; Diman, Aurélie; Bernard, Alfred; Roosens, Nancy H. C.; De Keersmaecker, Sigrid C. J.

2014-01-01

Human genomic DNA extracted from urine could be an interesting tool for large-scale public health studies involving characterization of genetic variations or DNA biomarkers as a result of the simple and noninvasive collection method. These studies, involving many samples, require a rapid, easy, and standardized extraction protocol. Moreover, for practicability, there is a necessity to collect urine at a moment different from the first void and to store it appropriately until analysis. The present study compared seven commercial kits to select the most appropriate urinary human DNA extraction procedure for epidemiological studies. DNA yield has been determined using different quantification methods: two classical, i.e., NanoDrop and PicoGreen, and two species-specific real-time quantitative (q)PCR assays, as DNA extracted from urine contains, besides human, microbial DNA also, which largely contributes to the total DNA yield. In addition, the kits giving a good yield were also tested for the presence of PCR inhibitors. Further comparisons were performed regarding the sampling time and the storage conditions. Finally, as a proof-of-concept, an important gene related to smoking has been genotyped using the developed tools. We could select one well-performing kit for the human DNA extraction from urine suitable for molecular diagnostic real-time qPCR-based assays targeting genetic variations, applicable to large-scale studies. In addition, successful genotyping was possible using DNA extracted from urine stored at −20°C for several months, and an acceptable yield could also be obtained from urine collected at different moments during the day, which is particularly important for public health studies. PMID:25365790

Comparative study of seven commercial kits for human DNA extraction from urine samples suitable for DNA biomarker-based public health studies.

Science.gov (United States)

El Bali, Latifa; Diman, Aurélie; Bernard, Alfred; Roosens, Nancy H C; De Keersmaecker, Sigrid C J

2014-12-01

Human genomic DNA extracted from urine could be an interesting tool for large-scale public health studies involving characterization of genetic variations or DNA biomarkers as a result of the simple and noninvasive collection method. These studies, involving many samples, require a rapid, easy, and standardized extraction protocol. Moreover, for practicability, there is a necessity to collect urine at a moment different from the first void and to store it appropriately until analysis. The present study compared seven commercial kits to select the most appropriate urinary human DNA extraction procedure for epidemiological studies. DNA yield has been determined using different quantification methods: two classical, i.e., NanoDrop and PicoGreen, and two species-specific real-time quantitative (q)PCR assays, as DNA extracted from urine contains, besides human, microbial DNA also, which largely contributes to the total DNA yield. In addition, the kits giving a good yield were also tested for the presence of PCR inhibitors. Further comparisons were performed regarding the sampling time and the storage conditions. Finally, as a proof-of-concept, an important gene related to smoking has been genotyped using the developed tools. We could select one well-performing kit for the human DNA extraction from urine suitable for molecular diagnostic real-time qPCR-based assays targeting genetic variations, applicable to large-scale studies. In addition, successful genotyping was possible using DNA extracted from urine stored at -20°C for several months, and an acceptable yield could also be obtained from urine collected at different moments during the day, which is particularly important for public health studies.

Z-2 Space Suit: A Case Study in Human Spaceflight Public Outreach

Science.gov (United States)

McFarland, Shane M.

2016-01-01

NASA Johnson Space Center's Z-series of planetary space suit prototypes is an iterative development platform with a Mars-forward design philosophy, targeting a Mars surface mission in the mid-2030s. The first space suit assembly, called the Z-1, was delivered in 2012. While meeting the project's stated requirements and objectives, the general public's reception primarily focused on the color scheme, which vaguely invoked similarity to a certain animated cartoon character. The public at large has and continues to be exposed to varying space suit design aesthetics from popular culture and low TRL technology maturation efforts such as mechanical counterpressure. The lesson learned was that while the design aesthetic is not important from an engineering perspective, the perception of the public is important for NASA and human spaceflight in general. For the Z-2 space suit, an integrated public outreach strategy was employed to engage, excite and educate the public on the current technology of space suits and NASA's plans moving forward. The keystone of this strategy was a public vote on three different suit cover layer aesthetics, the winner of which would be used as inspiration in fabrication. Other components included social media, university collaboration, and select media appearances, the cumulative result of which, while intangible in its benefit, was ultimately a positive effect in terms of the image of NASA as well as the dissemination of information vital to dispelling public misconceptions.

The human genome as public: Justifications and implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayefsky, Michelle J

2017-03-01

Since the human genome was decoded, great emphasis has been placed on the unique, personal nature of the genome, along with the benefits that personalized medicine can bring to individuals and the importance of safeguarding genetic privacy. As a result, an equally important aspect of the human genome - its common nature - has been underappreciated and underrepresented in the ethics literature and policy dialogue surrounding genetics and genomics. This article will argue that, just as the personal nature of the genome has been used to reinforce individual rights and justify important privacy protections, so too the common nature of the genome can be employed to support protections of the genome at a population level and policies designed to promote the public's wellbeing. In order for public health officials to have the authority to develop genetics policies for the sake of the public good, the genome must have not only a common, but also a public, dimension. This article contends that DNA carries a public dimension through the use of two conceptual frameworks: the common heritage (CH) framework and the common resource (CR) framework. Both frameworks establish a public interest in the human genome, but the CH framework can be used to justify policies aimed at preserving and protecting the genome, while the CR framework can be employed to justify policies for utilizing the genome for the public benefit. A variety of possible policy implications are discussed, with special attention paid to the use of large-scale genomics databases for public health research. © Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Measuring and Understanding Public Opinion on Human Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Gwon, Misook

The theory of evolution has long generated controversy in American society, but Americans' attitudes about human evolution are often neglected in studies of "culture wars" and the nature of mass belief systems more generally (Berkman and Plutzer 2010; Freeland and Houston 2009). Gallup and other survey organizations have polled about evolution, but offered limited response categories that mask complexity in public opinion (Bishop 2006; Moore 2008). The main problems concerning the leading survey questions about evolution are: first, questions measure only a single dimension, thus they ignore the potential for multidimensionality in people's attitudes. Second, depending on question wording and response options, the results of public opinion surveys vary by polling groups. This is an example of measurement error which misleads the interpretation and impression of American public opinion on the origin of humankind. A number of studies have analyzed Americans' beliefs about evolution and hypothesized about the influential effects of several factors (Deckman 2002; Mazur 2005; Mooney 2005; Miller et al. 2006; Newport 2006; Forrest 2007;Nisbet and Goidel 2007;Scott 2009). However, there remains a lack of complete understanding of what Americans know and believe about human evolution. Given the salience of this issue and the significant influence of public opinion on policy-making in America (Page and Shapiro 1992; Stimson 2004; Newport 2004), the measurement error and explanation of polling results on controversial issues related to this topic are in need of clarification. In this study, I address these deficiencies with analyses of data from a 2008 national survey by Harris Interactive (n= 4,626) that included numerous measures of factual knowledge and beliefs about evolution. The items offer more nuanced response options than the standard three-category question asked for decades by the Gallup poll. The Harris survey also had multiple measures of religiosity and the

Human Resource Management in Public Higher Education in the Tempus Partner Countries. A Tempus Study. Issue 10

Science.gov (United States)

Dubosc, Flora; Kelo, Maria

2011-01-01

The aim of this study is to give an overview of the ways in which human resources are managed in public higher education institutions in the Tempus Partner Countries. It is based on a survey addressed to individuals involved in Tempus projects and on information gathered at the level of the national authorities. In all the countries covered by the…

Public health human resources: a comparative analysis of policy documents in two Canadian provinces

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Amidst concerns regarding the capacity of the public health system to respond rapidly and appropriately to threats such as pandemics and terrorism, along with changing population health needs, governments have focused on strengthening public health systems. A key factor in a robust public health system is its workforce. As part of a nationally funded study of public health renewal in Canada, a policy analysis was conducted to compare public health human resources-relevant documents in two Canadian provinces, British Columbia (BC) and Ontario (ON), as they each implement public health renewal activities. Methods A content analysis of policy and planning documents from government and public health-related organizations was conducted by a research team comprised of academics and government decision-makers. Documents published between 2003 and 2011 were accessed (BC = 27; ON = 20); documents were either publicly available or internal to government and excerpted with permission. Documentary texts were deductively coded using a coding template developed by the researchers based on key health human resources concepts derived from two national policy documents. Results Documents in both provinces highlighted the importance of public health human resources planning and policies; this was particularly evident in early post-SARS documents. Key thematic areas of public health human resources identified were: education, training, and competencies; capacity; supply; intersectoral collaboration; leadership; public health planning context; and priority populations. Policy documents in both provinces discussed the importance of an educated, competent public health workforce with the appropriate skills and competencies for the effective and efficient delivery of public health services. Conclusion This policy analysis identified progressive work on public health human resources policy and planning with early documents providing an inventory of issues to be

Public health human resources: a comparative analysis of policy documents in two Canadian provinces.

Science.gov (United States)

Regan, Sandra; MacDonald, Marjorie; Allan, Diane E; Martin, Cheryl; Peroff-Johnston, Nancy

2014-02-24

Amidst concerns regarding the capacity of the public health system to respond rapidly and appropriately to threats such as pandemics and terrorism, along with changing population health needs, governments have focused on strengthening public health systems. A key factor in a robust public health system is its workforce. As part of a nationally funded study of public health renewal in Canada, a policy analysis was conducted to compare public health human resources-relevant documents in two Canadian provinces, British Columbia (BC) and Ontario (ON), as they each implement public health renewal activities. A content analysis of policy and planning documents from government and public health-related organizations was conducted by a research team comprised of academics and government decision-makers. Documents published between 2003 and 2011 were accessed (BC = 27; ON = 20); documents were either publicly available or internal to government and excerpted with permission. Documentary texts were deductively coded using a coding template developed by the researchers based on key health human resources concepts derived from two national policy documents. Documents in both provinces highlighted the importance of public health human resources planning and policies; this was particularly evident in early post-SARS documents. Key thematic areas of public health human resources identified were: education, training, and competencies; capacity; supply; intersectoral collaboration; leadership; public health planning context; and priority populations. Policy documents in both provinces discussed the importance of an educated, competent public health workforce with the appropriate skills and competencies for the effective and efficient delivery of public health services. This policy analysis identified progressive work on public health human resources policy and planning with early documents providing an inventory of issues to be addressed and later documents providing

Human Dignity, Misthanasia, Public Health and Bioethics in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Silvia Penteado Setti da Rocha

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to reflect on human dignity and misthanasia in the public health system in Brazil. For this, concepts, document reviews and public data about the condition of the Brazilian population’s access to public health were all used. The indicators show the health inequalities in the country, with the north and northeast at a disadvantage both in terms of access to health and the number of available professionals. Thus, the most underserved population tends to continue to be excluded from society and impaired with respect to their human dignity.

Strategic Human Resource Management and the Australian Public Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen MANNING

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The connection between human resources and performance in firms in the private sector is well documented. What is less clear is whether the move towards managerialism that has taken place within the Australian public sector during the last twenty years has brought with it some of the features of the relationships between Human Resource Management (HRM and performance experienced within the private sector. The research begins with a review of the literature. In particular the conceptual thinking surrounding the connection between HRM and performance within private sector organizations is explored. Issues of concern are the direction of the relationship between HRM and performance and definitional questions as to the nature and level of HRM to be investigated and the measurement of performance. These conceptual issues are also debated within the context of a public sector and particularly the Australian environment. An outcome of this task is the specification of a set of appropriate parameters for a study of these linkages within Australian public sector organizations.

Human rights, public health and medicinal cannabis use.

Science.gov (United States)

Bone, Melissa; Seddon, Toby

2016-01-01

This paper explores the interplay between the human rights and drug control frameworks and critiques case law on medicinal cannabis use to demonstrate that a bona fide human rights perspective allows for a broader conception of 'health'. This broad conception, encompassing both medicalised and social constructionist definitions, can inform public health policies relating to medicinal cannabis use. The paper also demonstrates how a human rights lens can alleviate a core tension between the State and the individual within the drug policy field. The leading medicinal cannabis case in the UK highlights the judiciary's failure to engage with an individual's human right to health as they adopt an arbitrary, externalist view, focussing on the legality of cannabis to the exclusion of other concerns. Drawing on some international comparisons, the paper considers how a human rights perspective can lead to an approach to medicinal cannabis use which facilitates a holistic understanding of public health.

Human and veterinary medicine: the priority for public health synergies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriano Mantovani

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The concepts of ‘one medicine’ and 'one ‘health’ are supported and visualised as a tree (medicine, placed on the fertile soil (basic sciences, which divides into the two major branches of human and veterinary medicine, connected by the large branch of public health; minor branches (specialisations depart from the three larger ones. The synergy between human and veterinary medicine is not only a must for public health, but also implies ethical considerations. The basic reasons requiring synergy are found in the common sharing of the environment, in the use of animal products by humans, in the common culture and in the many problems to be faced together. The long list of adversities requiring synergy is topped by zoonoses (intended both in the classic and in the extended sense and food safety that extends to many other items connected with nutrition, environment, human/animal coexistence and the management of public health; the entire quality of human life is affected. Human and veterinary medicine have a strong cultural background (many subject matters in common, but unfortunately the undergraduate and postgraduate education programme (with few important exceptions do not offer training in cooperation. The synergy between human and veterinary medicines is an indicator of 'good public health practice' and any obstacles to this collaboration should be identified and eliminated. The logo for a public health founded on synergy is drawn as an umbrella formed by the medical and veterinary activities, protecting the population (consumers and producers, the animals and their products and the environment from the possible adversities linked to health.

Human Health Screening and Public Health Significance of ...

Science.gov (United States)

The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010 – 2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or other U.S. regulatory agencies. This analysis shows that there is little public health concern for most of the contaminants detected in treated water from the 25 DWTPs participating in this study. For vanadium, the calculated MOE was less than the screening MOE in two DWTPs. Additional study, for example a national survey may be needed to determine the number of people ingesting vanadium above a level of concern. In addition, the concentrations of lithium found in treated water from several DWTPs are within the range previous research has suggested to have a human health effect. Additional investigation of this issue may also be appropriate. Finally, new toxicological data suggests that exposure to manganese at levels in public water supplies may present a public health concern which may warrant a more robust assessment of this information. This paper provides a screening-level human health risk assessment using the margin of exposure of exposure approach, of contaminants of emerging concern detected in drinking water. As far as we are a

Public Participation in Times of Privatisation: A Human Rights Analysis

OpenAIRE

Temperman, Jeroen

2011-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ Privatisation may not only affect the enjoyment of the right to public participation itself, but might also impact other substantive rights. This article charts some of the ramifications of privatisation in relation to individual human rights as enshrined in international human rights conventions, with a particular focus on the impact privatisation has on the right to public participation. The right to public participation can be seen as both an example of a funda...

The Digital Distribution of Public Health News Surrounding the Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: A Longitudinal Infodemiology Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, L Meghan; Tang, Tang; Ji, Kai; Ulrich-Schad, Jessica

2015-01-01

New media changes the dissemination of public health information and misinformation. During a guest appearance on the Today Show, US Representative Michele Bachmann claimed that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines could cause "mental retardation". The purpose of this study is to explore how new media influences the type of public health information users access, as well as the impact to these platforms after a major controversy. Specifically, this study aims to examine the similarities and differences in the dissemination of news articles related to the HPV vaccination between Google News and Twitter, as well as how the content of news changed after Michele Bachmann's controversial comment. This study used a purposive sampling to draw the first 100 news articles that appeared on Google News and the first 100 articles that appeared on Twitter from August 1-October 31, 2011. Article tone, source, topics, concerns, references, publication date, and interactive features were coded. The intercoder reliability had a total agreement of .90. Results indicate that 44.0% of the articles (88/200) about the HPV vaccination had a positive tone, 32.5% (65/200) maintained a neutral tone, while 23.5% (47/200) presented a negative tone. Protection against diseases 82.0% (164/200), vaccine eligibility for females 75.5% (151/200), and side effects 59.0% (118/200) were the top three topics covered by these articles. Google News and Twitter articles significantly differed in article tone, source, topics, concerns covered, types of sources referenced in the article, and uses of interactive features. Most notably, topic focus changed from public health information towards political conversation after Bachmann's comment. Before the comment, the HPV vaccine news talked more often about vaccine dosing (Ppolitics (P=.01) and talked more about HPV vaccine eligibility for males (P=.01). This longitudinal infodemiology study suggests that new media influences public health communication

Human resource management practices in public and private ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The results, among others, showed that private schools generally better managed their human resources than the public ones. Hence, it was recommended that there should be standard guidelines for operators of schools while human resource managers in the school system should be groomed in managerial psychology.

Review Human Oesophagostomiasis: A Serious Public Health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Review Human Oesophagostomiasis: A Serious Public Health Problem in Tropical ... Historical events were described from its first record in Ethiopia in 1905. ... information on patterns of distribution and relation of transmission to seasons and ...

Public acceptance of management methods under different human-wildlife conflict scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Liordos, Vasilios; Kontsiotis, Vasileios J; Georgari, Marina; Baltzi, Kerasia; Baltzi, Ioanna

2017-02-01

Wildlife management seeks to minimise public controversy for successful application of wildlife control methods. Human dimensions research in wildlife seeks a better understanding of public preferences for effective human-wildlife conflict resolution. In face to face interviews, 630 adults in Greece were asked to rate on a 5-point Likert-like scale their acceptance of 3 management methods, i.e., do nothing, non-lethal control, and lethal control, in the context of 5 human-wildlife conflict scenarios: 1) corvids damage crops; 2) starlings damage crops; 3) starlings foul urban structures; 4) coypus damage crops; and 5) coypus transfer disease. Univariate GLMs determined occupation, hunting membership and their interaction as the stronger predictors of public acceptance, generating 4 stakeholder groups: the general public, farmers, hunters, and farmers-hunters. Differences in acceptance and consensus among stakeholder groups were assessed using the Potential for Conflict Index 2 (PCI 2 ). All 4 stakeholder groups agreed that doing nothing was unacceptable and non-lethal control acceptable in all 5 scenarios, with generally high consensus within and between groups. The lethal control method was more controversial and became increasingly more acceptable as the severity of scenarios was increased and between non-native and native species. Lethal control was unacceptable for the general public in all scenarios. Farmers accepted lethal methods in the corvids and starlings scenarios, were neutral in the coypus damage crops scenario, whereas they accepted lethal control when coypus transfer disease. Hunters' opinion was neutral in the corvids, starlings and coypus damage crops and starlings foul urban structures scenarios, but they accepted lethal methods in the coypus transfer disease scenario. Farmers-hunters considered lethal control acceptable in all 5 scenarios. Implications from this study could be used for designing a socio-ecological approach which incorporates

Human rights, public health and medicinal cannabis use

OpenAIRE

Bone, Melissa; Seddon, Toby

2015-01-01

This paper explores the interplay between the human rights and drug control frameworks, and critiques case law on medicinal cannabis use to demonstrate that a bona fide human rights perspective allows for a broader conception of ‘health’. This broad conception, encompassing both medicalised and social constructionist definitions, can inform public health policies relating to medicinal cannabis use. The paper also demonstrates how a human rights lens can alleviate a core tension between the St...

Pilot social feasibility study for the establishment of a public human umbilical cord blood stem cell bank in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Meissner-Roloff, Madelein; Young, Wendy; Rangaka, Isabella; Lombaard, Hennie; Dhai, Ames; Tsotsi, Norma; Pepper, Michael S

2012-12-01

There is a large unmet need in South Africa for bone marrow transplantation. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is an important source of stem cells for the treatment of haematological and non-haematological diseases. Access to the two existing private umbilical cord blood stem cell banks (UCB SCBs) in South Africa is limited to individuals that can afford it, which further aggravates the ever increasing divide between families from different socio-economic classes. The problem is compounded by a severe global shortage of genetically compatible samples, representative of the South African demographics. Establishing a public human UCB SCB in South Africa would provide more South Africans with access to previously unavailable treatment in the form of affordable, genetically compatible stem cells for bone marrow transplantation. A public UCB SCB has many facets to consider, one of which is public preparedness and support for the bank. This was assessed in a social feasibility pilot study which is reported here. In addition to the findings of this social feasibility study, other important considerations for establishing a public human UCB SCB in SA include; (a) testing the samples for HIV and other infectious diseases (required for compliance with international regulatory standards); (b) flow cytometric analysis for enumeration of CD34+ UCB stem cells; (c) mapping of HLA genotypes/alleles; and (d) a study of the economic feasibility of this endeavour.The social feasibility study was conducted to gauge public preparedness and support for a public SCB through patient interviews and questionnaires. The process was dynamic due to its novel nature for interviewers and interviewees alike. Many obstacles were met and dealt with which lead to the compilation of results discussed here in the form of a pilot social feasibility study.In the South African context, we are faced with unique and rich challenges relating to cultural and religious differences that are further augmented by

Translating the human right to water and sanitation into public policy reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Benjamin Mason; Kayser, Georgia Lyn; Kestenbaum, Jocelyn Getgen; Amjad, Urooj Quezon; Dalcanale, Fernanda; Bartram, Jamie

2014-12-01

The development of a human right to water and sanitation under international law has created an imperative to implement human rights in water and sanitation policy. Through forty-three interviews with informants in international institutions, national governments, and non-governmental organizations, this research examines interpretations of this new human right in global governance, national policy, and local practice. Exploring obstacles to the implementation of rights-based water and sanitation policy, the authors analyze the limitations of translating international human rights into local water and sanitation practice, concluding that system operators, utilities, and management boards remain largely unaffected by the changing public policy landscape for human rights realization. To understand the relevance of human rights standards to water and sanitation practitioners, this article frames a research agenda to ensure that human rights aspirations lead to public policy reforms and public health outcomes.

76 FR 58517 - Public Health Service Guideline for Reducing Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-21

...-2011-0011] Public Health Service Guideline for Reducing Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus... public comment on the draft Public Health Service Guideline for Reducing Transmission of Human..., Attn: Public Health Service Guideline for Reducing Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV...

Sudbury soils study : human health and ecological risk assessment : a case study in science, process and perception

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wren, C.

2009-01-01

This presentation discussed the public relations and public opinion strategies used as part of a soils study conducted to assess the risk of mining activities in the Sudbury region to human health and the environment. The human health risk assessment (HHRA) study was conducted and administered by a multi-stakeholder technical committee attended by the public. The study was comprised of extensive soil collection and analysis; a review of historical soils data; and extensive human health and ecological risk assessments. Extensive sampling was also conducted on air, dust, and locally-produced foods. A public advisory committee was formed to disseminate scientific information to the community. Scientific data obtained in the study were reviewed by experts in various fields. Results of the study were also peer-reviewed by an independent expert review panel comprised of leading specialists in human health, toxicology, speciation, and risk assessment. The study showed that the identified risks were over-estimated in the interest of protecting human health. It was concluded that the HHRA's findings were generally accepted by the public. tabs., figs

Human rights and public health : towards a balanced relationship

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Toebes, Brigit

This contribution attempts to scope the multiple and complex relationships between measures to protect health and the protection of human rights. The article begins with a discussion of the meaning and current understandings of the notion of ‘public health’, after which it explores how ‘public

Where Public Health Meets Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Kiragu, Karusa; Sawicki, Olga; Smith, Sally; Brion, Sophie; Sharma, Aditi; Mworeko, Lilian; Iovita, Alexandrina

2017-01-01

Abstract In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a process for validation of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphilis by countries. For the first time in such a process for the validation of disease elimination, WHO introduced norms and approaches that are grounded in human rights, gender equality, and community engagement. This human rights-based validation process can serve as a key opportunity to enhance accountability for human rights protection by evaluating EMTCT programs against human rights norms and standards, including in relation to gender equality and by ensuring the provision of discrimination-free quality services. The rights-based validation process also involves the assessment of participation of affected communities in EMTCT program development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. It brings awareness to the types of human rights abuses and inequalities faced by women living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV and syphilis, and commits governments to eliminate those barriers. This process demonstrates the importance and feasibility of integrating human rights, gender, and community into key public health interventions in a manner that improves health outcomes, legitimizes the participation of affected communities, and advances the human rights of women living with HIV. PMID:29302179

A Study on Volunteers of the Storytelling of Training in Public Libraries: A Case Study on Volunteer Storyteller of Taipei Public Library

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Ping Peng

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the administrators of public library administrators have been actively promoting children’s reading services. In particular, storytelling activities have a significantly positive effect on enhancing children’s interest and ability in reading. Because of human resource shortages at public libraries, providing these services depends on volunteers. The public libraries should enhance the competencies of volunteers who engage in storytelling, and provide appropriate training for maintaining as well as improving the effectiveness of storytelling services. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the storytelling training of storytelling volunteers. The study used in-depth interviews to obtain information on the experiences, ideas, and suggestions of public library storytelling volunteers at Taipei Public Library. Current education and training of storytelling volunteer encompasses demand analysis, implementation methods, course content, assessment of effectiveness, and suggestions for adjusting education and training in public library. Finally, the present study results are provided for education and training of storytelling volunteers for public libraries.

Towards an understanding of British public attitudes concerning human cloning.

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, Richard; Barnett, Julie; Cooper, Helen; Coyle, Adrian; Moran-Ellis, Jo; Senior, Victoria; Walton, Chris

2007-07-01

The ability of scientists to apply cloning technology to humans has provoked public discussion and media coverage. The present paper reports on a series of studies examining public attitudes to human cloning in the UK, bringing together a range of quantitative and qualitative methods to address this question. These included a nationally representative survey, an experimental vignette study, focus groups and analyses of media coverage. Overall the research presents a complex picture of attitude to and constructions of human cloning. In all of the analyses, therapeutic cloning was viewed more favourably than reproductive cloning. However, while participants in the focus groups were generally negative about both forms of cloning, and this was also reflected in the media analyses, quantitative results showed more positive responses. In the quantitative research, therapeutic cloning was generally accepted when the benefits of such procedures were clear, and although reproductive cloning was less accepted there was still substantial support. Participants in the focus groups only differentiated between therapeutic and reproductive cloning after the issue of therapeutic cloning was explicitly raised; initially they saw cloning as being reproductive cloning and saw no real benefits. Attitudes were shown to be associated with underlying values associated with scientific progress rather than with age, gender or education, and although there were a few differences in the quantitative data based on religious affiliation, these tended to be small effects. Likewise in the focus groups there was little direct appeal to religion, but the main themes were 'interfering with nature' and the 'status of the embryo', with the latter being used more effectively to try to close down further discussion. In general there was a close correspondence between the media analysis and focus group responses, possibly demonstrating the importance of media as a resource, or that the media reflect

Human Resource Investment – a Step in the Development of Public Administration

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Luminita Iordache

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Human capital development supposes important investments in the field of public administration and the assurance of the necessary conditions to provide some quality–services. This paper has as a starting point the statement of the German sociologist Max Weber according to which “a modern society can function efficiently by training and perfecting the experts within a bureaucracy.” Modern societies put into evidence new values of public administration such social responsibility and adaptability. By specializing human resources, we contribute to using them efficiently. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the degree of involvement of the public institutions in developing human capital and to focus on the role of the education of public administration in order to internally increase stability so that we resist the frequent changes which suppose the continuous adjustment to external conditions. Our aim is also to analyse the already-implemented programmes as well as the ongoing ones concerning the training and perfecting of the public servants.

A framework for the integration of ecosystem and human health in public policy: two case studies with infectious agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koren, H.S.; Crawford-Brown, Douglas

2004-01-01

Despite that a significant body of published literature exists in the complex area of interconnection among the environment, ecosystems, and human activity, relatively little attention has been paid to the integration and analysis of ecological and human health data in the form of a conceptual model. Human and ecological health protection generally have been treated as separate domains of policy, with significant differences in both the analytic methods used to characterize risks and the policies developed for risk reduction. Understanding the relationships among population growth, development, natural resource use, the environment, human health, and ecosystems is an important area of both scientific inquiry and environmental policy. The present paper focuses on the development of a conceptual model for understanding disease causation, particularly infectious disease, and the implications of such a model for public policy. The conceptual model incorporates ecological and human health risk assessment information applied to case studies of two infectious diseases. This article takes an initial step toward formalizing the conceptual model so that research and assessment procedures can be developed

Public awareness of human papillomavirus.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuschieri, K S; Horne, A W; Szarewski, A; Cubie, H A

2006-01-01

The main objective of this study was to review the evidence relating to the level of awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the general population and the implications for the potential introduction of HPV vaccination and HPV testing as part of screening. PubMed search performed on terms: 'HPV education', 'HPV awareness' 'Genital Warts Awareness' Results: Public awareness of HPV is generally very low, particularly with respect to its relation to abnormal smears and cervical cancer although knowledge levels vary to some extent according to sociodemographic characteristics. There is also much confusion around which types cause warts and the types that can cause cancer. The sexually transmissible nature of the infection is of major concern and confusion to women. Due to the lack of current awareness of HPV, significant education initiatives will be necessary should HPV vaccination and/or HPV testing be introduced. Organized edification of health-care workers and the media, who constitute the two most preferred sources of information, will be crucial.

ACADEMIC GENEALOGIES WITH RESPECT TO NARRATIVE IN HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THEIR IMPLICATION FOR PUBLIC POLICIES

Science.gov (United States)

Fujii, Satoshi; Hasegawa, Taiki; Nakano, Takeshi; Hatori, Tsuyoshi

In human and society science, narrative is regarded as an important issue to understand dynamic actions of human being and society. Therefore, narrative is also expected to be important for public policies that try to improve dynamic actions of human being and society. In th is study, we review academic genealogies with respect to narratives including western philosophy, hermeneutics, historical science, historical philosophy, literary criticism, clinical psychology and sociology, narrative psychology and folklore. Then we discuss how narrative can be pragmatically applied for public policies.

PERFORMANCE PREMISES FOR HUMAN RESOURCES FROM PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS IN ROMANIA

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Amalia-Luisa PUPĂZĂ

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Improving the performance of health sector human resources is a goal pursued by all developed or developing countries. However, the lack of human resources planning and lack of clear and transparent human resources policies may lead to a crisis in this area. Human resource planning should be a priority in terms of health policies. In Romania, the lack of a planning concept and the lack of a policy on human resources has led to the actual context, with a human resources crisis of public health organizations. The role that human resources play in the health care system is indisputable. Essential to achieve quality performance in health care is human resources management. To overcome the human resources crisis that public health organizations in Romania is facing , specialists in the field have made several key recommendations: development of a coherent policy formation, development and allocation of human resources in health, increasing the number of medical staff and opportunities of professional career development in the medical field. Health system reform involves changing some aspects of employment, working conditions, degree of decentralization of management, skills, salary system and staff motivation.

The "Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering" (POSHA-S): Summary Framework and Empirical Comparisons

Science.gov (United States)

St. Louis, Kenneth O.

2011-01-01

Purpose: The "Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering" ("POSHA-S") was developed to make available worldwide a standard measure of public attitudes toward stuttering that is practical, reliable, valid, and translatable. Mean data from past field studies as comparisons for interpretation of "POSHA-S" results are reported. Method: Means…

Publication patterns in the social sciences and humanities: evidence from eight European countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kulczycki, Emanuel; Engels, Tim; Polonen, Janne

2018-01-01

This study investigates patterns in the language and type of social sciences and humanities (SSH) publications in non-English speaking European countries to demonstrate that such patterns are related not only to discipline but also to each country’s cultural and historic heritage. We investigate...... publication patterns that occur across SSH publications of the whole of the SSH and of economics and business, law, and philosophy and theology publications in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Flanders (Belgium), Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. We use data from 74,022 peer-reviewed publications...... from 2014registered in at least one of the eight countries’ national databases and for 272,376 peer- reviewed publications from the period of 2011–2014 registered in at least one of the seven countries’ national databases (for all countries except Slovakia). Our findings show that publication patterns...

Public Discourse on Human Trafficking in International Issue Arenas

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Niina Meriläinen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to better understand how the complex problem of human trafficking is addressed in international debates. How the discussion about human trafficking develops and how it is debated ultimately influences how the decision-making process unfolds. In order to understand the formation of public policy and laws, therefore, it is important to study the debate that occurs prior to decision making. This analysis focuses on the narratives used by major, well-established human rights and political actors that argue for necessary actions to be undertaken—such as the formation of new policies and laws in the European Union—as an attempt to protect citizens of the EU and other regions in the world from becoming victims of trafficking networks. Our research examines how the topic of human trafficking is framed and how this framework is intertwined in the debate with other social problems. We focus on how human trafficking is discussed by two well-established human rights Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs, Amnesty International (Amnesty and Human Rights Watch (HRW, in addition to the European Parliament (EP. The research questions for this study include: (1 In what context is human trafficking discussed by the three actors? (2 How do these actors frame the definition of human trafficking in their presentations? To answer these questions, we have conducted a systematic content analysis of documents that include official statements and research reports of the NGOs, as well as resolutions and recommendations of the EP. Altogether, 240 documents were analyzed in detail. These findings indicate that the two human rights organizations, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, along with the European Parliament, all address human trafficking as an important social problem, albeit to varying degrees. Each actor has a different method of correlating human trafficking with many other social problems, thereby emphasizing different causes and

Reframing climate change as a public health issue: an exploratory study of public reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Maibach, Edward W; Nisbet, Matthew; Baldwin, Paula; Akerlof, Karen; Diao, Guoqing

2010-06-01

Climate change is taking a toll on human health, and some leaders in the public health community have urged their colleagues to give voice to its health implications. Previous research has shown that Americans are only dimly aware of the health implications of climate change, yet the literature on issue framing suggests that providing a novel frame--such as human health--may be potentially useful in enhancing public engagement. We conducted an exploratory study in the United States of people's reactions to a public health-framed short essay on climate change. U.S. adult respondents (n = 70), stratified by six previously identified audience segments, read the essay and were asked to highlight in green or pink any portions of the essay they found "especially clear and helpful" or alternatively "especially confusing or unhelpful." Two dependent measures were created: a composite sentence-specific score based on reactions to all 18 sentences in the essay; and respondents' general reactions to the essay that were coded for valence (positive, neutral, or negative). We tested the hypothesis that five of the six audience segments would respond positively to the essay on both dependent measures. There was clear evidence that two of the five segments responded positively to the public health essay, and mixed evidence that two other responded positively. There was limited evidence that the fifth segment responded positively. Post-hoc analysis showed that five of the six segments responded more positively to information about the health benefits associated with mitigation-related policy actions than to information about the health risks of climate change. Presentations about climate change that encourage people to consider its human health relevance appear likely to provide many Americans with a useful and engaging new frame of reference. Information about the potential health benefits of specific mitigation-related policy actions appears to be particularly compelling. We

Humanities Programming in Public Libraries: The Connecticut Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Rader, Barbara A.

1990-01-01

Describes how public libraries can plan, fund, and implement scholar-led, library-based, humanities book discussion programs using the example of the Southern Connecticut Library Council. Key steps in planning, funding, targeting the audience, selecting topics and books, obtaining community support, recruiting scholars, marketing, administration,…

Differences between Public and Private Universities' Fields of Study in Argentina

Science.gov (United States)

Rabossi, Marcelo Alberto

2011-01-01

The literature on private higher education has identified striking differences between the public and private sectors in terms of fields of study. For example, unlike their public counterparts, private universities have traditionally specialised in the social sciences and humanities. This paper explores the university market in Argentina to see if…

Human rights of drug users according to public health professionals in Brazil.

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Ventura, Carla A A; Mendes, Isabel A C; Trevizan, Maria A; Rodrigues, Driéli P

2013-03-01

Health is a basic human right, and drug use represents a severe influence on people's health. This qualitative study aimed to understand how health professionals in a public health-care team working with drug users in a city of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, perceive the human rights of these users and how these rights are being respected in health care. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 health professionals at the service under analysis. A thematic analysis of the interviews reveals the professionals' difficulty to define the concept of human right and contextualize these rights in their work environment. A deeper understanding of the right to health, however, represents an important premise for a more humanized care practice in health services to drug users.

Human bones obtained from routine joint replacement surgery as a tool for studies of plutonium, americium and {sup 90}Sr body-burden in general public

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mietelski, Jerzy W., E-mail: jerzy.mietelski@ifj.edu.pl [Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Cracow (Poland); Golec, Edward B. [Traumatology and Orthopaedic Clinic, 5th Military Clinical Hospital and Polyclinic, Independent Public Healthcare Facility, Wroclawska 1-3, 30-901 Cracow (Poland); Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Department, Chair of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Motor of the Bronislaw Czech' s Academy of Physical Education, Cracow (Poland); Department of Physical Therapy Basics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Administration College, Bielsko-Biala (Poland); Tomankiewicz, Ewa [Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Cracow (Poland); Golec, Joanna [Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Department, Chair of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Motor of the Bronislaw Czech' s Academy of Physical Education, Cracow (Poland); Physical Therapy Department, Institute of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Heath Science, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Cracow (Poland); Nowak, Sebastian [Traumatology and Orthopaedic Clinic, 5th Military Clinical Hospital and Polyclinic, Independent Public Healthcare Facility, Wroclawska 1-3, 30-901 Cracow (Poland); Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Department, Chair of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Motor of the Bronislaw Czech' s Academy of Physical Education, Cracow (Poland); Szczygiel, Elzbieta [Physical Therapy Department, Institute of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Heath Science, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Cracow (Poland); Brudecki, Kamil [Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Cracow (Poland)

2011-06-15

The paper presents a new sampling method for studying in-body radioactive contamination by bone-seeking radionuclides such as {sup 90}Sr, {sup 239+240}Pu, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 241}Am and selected gamma-emitters, in human bones. The presented results were obtained for samples retrieved from routine surgeries, namely knee or hip joints replacements with implants, performed on individuals from Southern Poland. This allowed to collect representative sets of general public samples. The applied analytical radiochemical procedure for bone matrix is described in details. Due to low concentrations of {sup 238}Pu the ratio of Pu isotopes which might be used for Pu source identification is obtained only as upper limits other then global fallout (for example Chernobyl) origin of Pu. Calculated concentrations of radioisotopes are comparable to the existing data from post-mortem studies on human bones retrieved from autopsy or exhumations. Human bones removed during knee or hip joint surgery provide a simple and ethical way for obtaining samples for plutonium, americium and {sup 90}Sr in-body contamination studies in general public. - Highlights: > Surgery for joint replacement as novel sampling method for studying in-body radioactive contamination. > Proposed way of sampling is not causing ethic doubts. > It is a convenient way of collecting human bone samples from global population. > The applied analytical radiochemical procedure for bone matrix is described in details. > The opposite patient age correlations trends were found for 90Sr (negative) and Pu, Am (positive).

Reframing climate change as a public health issue: an exploratory study of public reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baldwin Paula

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Climate change is taking a toll on human health, and some leaders in the public health community have urged their colleagues to give voice to its health implications. Previous research has shown that Americans are only dimly aware of the health implications of climate change, yet the literature on issue framing suggests that providing a novel frame - such as human health - may be potentially useful in enhancing public engagement. We conducted an exploratory study in the United States of people's reactions to a public health-framed short essay on climate change. Methods U.S. adult respondents (n = 70, stratified by six previously identified audience segments, read the essay and were asked to highlight in green or pink any portions of the essay they found "especially clear and helpful" or alternatively "especially confusing or unhelpful." Two dependent measures were created: a composite sentence-specific score based on reactions to all 18 sentences in the essay; and respondents' general reactions to the essay that were coded for valence (positive, neutral, or negative. We tested the hypothesis that five of the six audience segments would respond positively to the essay on both dependent measures. Results There was clear evidence that two of the five segments responded positively to the public health essay, and mixed evidence that two other responded positively. There was limited evidence that the fifth segment responded positively. Post-hoc analysis showed that five of the six segments responded more positively to information about the health benefits associated with mitigation-related policy actions than to information about the health risks of climate change. Conclusions Presentations about climate change that encourage people to consider its human health relevance appear likely to provide many Americans with a useful and engaging new frame of reference. Information about the potential health benefits of specific mitigation

Human resource management and public organizational performance: educational outcomes in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

O'Toole, Laurence J.; Torenvlied, René; Akkerman, Agnes; Meier, Kenneth J.; Burke, Ronald J.; Noblet, Andrew J.; Cooper, Carly L.

2013-01-01

In recent years researchers have focused systematically on whether public management matters for the performance of public organizations. Management of organizations’ human resources (HR) is one such managerial function, and a growing literature argues for its importance in delivering results. In

The European Court of Human Rights, Secular Education and Public Schooling

Science.gov (United States)

Arthur, James; Holdsworth, Michael

2012-01-01

Since 9/11 the European Court of Human Rights (the European Court) has raised anew the question of the relationship between religion and public education. In its reasoning, the European Court has had to consider competing normative accounts of the secular, either to accept or deny claims to religious liberty within Europe's public education…

Human Health Screening and Public Health Significance of Contaminants of Emerging Concern Detected in Public Water Supplies

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Background information for human health margin of exposure paper. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Benson , B., O. Conerly , W. Sander, A....

Integrating Public Health and Deliberative Public Bioethics: Lessons from the Human Genome Project Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Meagher, Karen M; Lee, Lisa M

2016-01-01

Public health policy works best when grounded in firm public health standards of evidence and widely shared social values. In this article, we argue for incorporating a specific method of ethical deliberation--deliberative public bioethics--into public health. We describe how deliberative public bioethics is a method of engagement that can be helpful in public health. Although medical, research, and public health ethics can be considered some of what bioethics addresses, deliberative public bioethics offers both a how and where. Using the Human Genome Project Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications program as an example of effective incorporation of deliberative processes to integrate ethics into public health policy, we examine how deliberative public bioethics can integrate both public health and bioethics perspectives into three areas of public health practice: research, education, and health policy. We then offer recommendations for future collaborations that integrate deliberative methods into public health policy and practice.

Improving the Status of Human and Material Resources in Public ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Improving the Status of Human and Material Resources in Public Primary School in Oyo States ... the Millennium Development Goals project in the State. ... libraries, well-equipped first aid centres, adequate electronically projected instructional ...

Place-focused physical activity research, human agency, and social justice in public health: taking agency seriously in studies of the built environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Blacksher, Erika; Lovasi, Gina S

2012-03-01

Built environment characteristics have been linked to health outcomes and health disparities. However, the effects of an environment on behavior may depend on human perception, interpretation, motivation, and other forms of human agency. We draw on epidemiological and ethical concepts to articulate a critique of research on the built environment and physical activity. We identify problematic assumptions and enumerate both scientific and ethical reasons to incorporate subjective perspectives and public engagement strategies into built environment research and interventions. We maintain that taking agency seriously is essential to the pursuit of health equity and the broader demands of social justice in public health, an important consideration as studies of the built environment and physical activity increasingly focus on socially disadvantaged communities. Attention to how people understand their environment and navigate competing demands can improve the scientific value of ongoing efforts to promote active living and health, while also better fulfilling our ethical obligations to the individuals and communities whose health we strive to protect. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International financial institutions and human rights: implications for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Stubbs, Thomas; Kentikelenis, Alexander

2017-01-01

Serving as lender of last resort to countries experiencing unsustainable levels of public debt, international financial institutions have attracted intense controversy over the past decades, exemplified most recently by the popular discontent expressed in Eurozone countries following several rounds of austerity measures. In exchange for access to financial assistance, borrowing countries must settle on a list of often painful policy reforms that are aimed at balancing the budget. This practice has afforded international financial institutions substantial policy influence on governments throughout the world and in a wide array of policy areas of direct bearing on human rights. This article reviews the consequences of policy reforms mandated by international financial institutions on the enjoyment of human rights, focusing on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. It finds that these reforms undermine the enjoyment of health rights, labour rights, and civil and political rights, all of which have deleterious implications for public health. The evidence suggests that for human rights commitments to be met, a fundamental reorientation of international financial institutions' activities will be necessary.

Review: Public perspectives on the utilization of human placentas in scientific research and medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshizawa, R S

2013-01-01

Placental tissues are frequently utilized by scientists studying pregnancy and reproduction and in diverse fields including immunology, stem cell research, genetics, cancer research, and tissue engineering, as well as by clinicians in many therapies. Though the utilization of the human placenta in science and medicine has benefitted many people, little is known about public perspectives of this phenomenon. This review addresses placental donation, collection, and utilization in science and medicine, focusing on public perspectives. Cultural values and traditions, ethical paradigms and concerns, public understandings of science and medicine, and political considerations may impact perceptions of the utilization of the placenta in science and medicine, but systematic study is lacking. It is argued that knowledge of public views gained from empirical investigation may underpin the development of collection protocols and research projects that are more responsive to public will, spur more extensive utilization in science and medicine of this unique organ, and/or aid in the realization of the mobilization of knowledge about the placenta for clinical and educational ends. New avenues for research on public perspectives of the placenta are proposed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public sector reform and demand for human resources for health (HRH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lethbridge Jane

2004-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract This article considers some of the effects of health sector reform on human resources for health (HRH in developing countries and countries in transition by examining the effect of fiscal reform and the introduction of decentralisation and market mechanisms to the health sector. Fiscal reform results in pressure to measure the staff outputs of the health sector. Financial decentralisation often leads to hospitals becoming "corporatised" institutions, operating with business principles but remaining in the public sector. The introduction of market mechanisms often involves the formation of an internal market within the health sector and market testing of different functions with the private sector. This has immediate implications for the employment of health workers in the public sector, because the public sector may reduce its workforce if services are purchased from other sectors or may introduce more short-term and temporary employment contracts. Decentralisation of budgets and administrative functions can affect the health sector, often in negative ways, by reducing resources available and confusing lines of accountability for health workers. Governance and regulation of health care, when delivered by both public and private providers, require new systems of regulation. The increase in private sector provision has led health workers to move to the private sector. For those remaining in the public sector, there are often worsening working conditions, a lack of employment security and dismantling of collective bargaining agreements. Human resource development is gradually being recognised as crucial to future reforms and the formulation of health policy. New information systems at local and regional level will be needed to collect data on human resources. New employment arrangements, strengthening organisational culture, training and continuing education will also be needed.

Understanding human resource management practices in Botswana's public health sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Seitio-Kgokgwe, Onalenna Stannie; Gauld, Robin; Hill, Philip C; Barnett, Pauline

2016-11-21

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the management of the public sector health workforce in Botswana. Using institutional frameworks it aims to document and analyse human resource management (HRM) practices, and make recommendations to improve employee and health system outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from a large study that used a mixed methods approach to assess performance of Botswana's Ministry of Health (MOH). It uses data collected through document analysis and in-depth interviews of 54 key informants comprising policy makers, senior staff of the MOH and its stakeholder organizations. Findings Public health sector HRM in Botswana has experienced inadequate planning, poor deployment and underutilization of staff. Lack of comprehensive retention strategies and poor working conditions contributed to the failure to attract and retain skilled personnel. Relationships with both formal and informal environments affected HRM performance. Research limitations/implications While document review was a major source of data for this paper, the weaknesses in the human resource information system limited availability of data. Practical implications This paper presents an argument for the need for consideration of formal and informal environments in developing effective HRM strategies. Originality/value This research provides a rare system-wide approach to health HRM in a Sub-Saharan African country. It contributes to the literature and evidence needed to guide HRM policy decisions and practices.

Public Participation in Times of Privatisation: A Human Rights Analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.D. Temperman (Jeroen)

2011-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ Privatisation may not only affect the enjoyment of the right to public participation itself, but might also impact other substantive rights. This article charts some of the ramifications of privatisation in relation to individual human rights as enshrined in

Rising Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility: The Role of Public Investments in Human Capital.

Science.gov (United States)

Aizer, Anna

2014-06-01

One consequence of the rise in inequality witnessed over the past 40 years is its potentially negative impact on intergenerational mobility if parents at the bottom of the income distribution invest significantly less in their children's human capital. I consider whether public investments in children can potentially offset the inequality of private investments. Specifically, examining changes in public spending in 25 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries over the period 2000-2009, I find that increases in spending on health are most strongly associated with reductions in the importance of family background and declines in inequality in the production of child human capital as measured by the Program for International Student Assessment test scores among 15-year-olds. Public spending on family support, housing, and education are also moderately related. In contrast, increased spending on the elderly is associated with increases in the importance of parental background and inequality of child test scores. These results suggest that public investments in child human capital have the potential to offset the potentially negative impact of increasing income inequality on intergenerational mobility and inequality of the next generation. Further research firmly establishing a causal relationship is needed.

Rising Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility: The Role of Public Investments in Human Capital

Science.gov (United States)

Aizer, Anna

2014-01-01

One consequence of the rise in inequality witnessed over the past 40 years is its potentially negative impact on intergenerational mobility if parents at the bottom of the income distribution invest significantly less in their children's human capital. I consider whether public investments in children can potentially offset the inequality of private investments. Specifically, examining changes in public spending in 25 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries over the period 2000–2009, I find that increases in spending on health are most strongly associated with reductions in the importance of family background and declines in inequality in the production of child human capital as measured by the Program for International Student Assessment test scores among 15-year-olds. Public spending on family support, housing, and education are also moderately related. In contrast, increased spending on the elderly is associated with increases in the importance of parental background and inequality of child test scores. These results suggest that public investments in child human capital have the potential to offset the potentially negative impact of increasing income inequality on intergenerational mobility and inequality of the next generation. Further research firmly establishing a causal relationship is needed. PMID:25419203

77 FR 52025 - Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board; Exposure and Human Health...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-28

... Science Advisory Board; Exposure and Human Health Committee AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Office announces a public teleconference of the SAB Exposure and Human Health Committee to discuss its... hereby given that the SAB Exposure and Human Health Committee (EHHC) will hold a public teleconference to...

Challenging 'girls only' publicly funded human papillomavirus vaccination programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Victoria G; Gustafson, Diana L

2017-01-01

This analysis examines the 'girls only' policy for publicly funded human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes. Current funding policy in most Canadian provinces covers 'girls only' with the goal of reducing mortality and morbidity rates of HPV-related cervical cancer. Recent studies indicate increasing rates of other HPV-related cancers among cisgender men and women. The HPV vaccine is proving effective against some of these cancers. Statistics on HPV vaccine uptake among individuals with different gender expressions are scarce. Critics argue that a 'girls only' HPV vaccine policy is inequitable. We add to this critique by reflecting on the gender binary embedded in such policies and produced through epidemiological studies that attend differentially to females, reinforcing exclusionary practices that leave out those who form their gender identities across the spectrum. We then draw on deontological (duties-based) and utilitarian (utility-based) frameworks to show that these gendered policies are also unethical. These challenges to the assumptions underlying 'girls only' immunization programmes have implications for nurses and the healthcare system. If we are to advance equitable and ethical health outcomes, we entreat nurses as a collective to mobilize the public to lobby federal, provincial and territorial governments to fund more inclusive HPV vaccination policies. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Robert; Conerly, Octavia D.; Sander, William; Batt, Angela L.; Boone, J. Scott; Furlong, Edward T.; Glassmeyer, Susan T.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Mash, Heath

2017-01-01

The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or other U.S. regulatory agencies. This analysis shows that there is little public health concern for most of the contaminants detected in treated water from the 25 DWTPs participating in this study. For vanadium, the calculated Margin of Exposure (MOE) was less than the screening MOE in two DWTPs. For silicon, the calculated MOE was less than the screening MOE in one DWTP. Additional study, for example a national survey may be needed to determine the number of people ingesting vanadium and silicon above a level of concern. In addition, the concentrations of lithium found in treated water from several DWTPs are within the range previous research has suggested to have a human health effect. Additional investigation of this issue is necessary. Finally, new toxicological data suggest that exposure to manganese at levels in public water supplies may present a public health concern which will require a robust assessment of this information.

Governing Difficult Knowledge: The Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Its Publics

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Karen

2015-01-01

This article examines how the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) comes to invoke, realize, and mediate museum publics. The author writes that she is interested in how the museum's architecture, rhetoric, and governance framings imagine, and engage with the public. As Canada's newest national museum and the first to be built outside of the…

Leadership In The Public Library : Case Study In Tenteram City Public Library

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Irsyad Al Fatih

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In the formal and informal organization, it is always found someone who is considered more prominent than others, who then appointed or designated as a leader. The Leader of an organization is expected to have leadership qualities, which showed his skills in leading organizations. A leader in the library requires synergy between skills in library management and leadership in general in order to create a good working atmosphere and to encourage the library staff in providing the best services to the patron community. Tenteram City Public library since year of 2018 has never experienced a change of its leader. Research using qualitative approach aimed to identify the leadership of Tenteram City public library leader in developing human resources and library services. Data of this study is gathered through observation and interviews. It is found that the head of the library serves as a role model in imbedding working discipline, he never involved the staff in decision making, the fear of making mistake is the working atmosphere created in the library. The Research found that the head of Tenteram City public library adopts autocratic leadership.

Leadership In The Public Library : Case Study In Tenteram City Public Library

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Irsyad Alfatih

2017-06-01

In the formal and informal organization, it is always found someone who is considered more prominent than others, who then appointed or designated as a leader. The Leader of an organization is expected to have leadership qualities, which showed his skills in leading organizations. A leader in the library requires synergy between skills in library management and leadership in general in order to create a good working atmosphere and to encourage the library staff in providing the best services to the patron community. Tenteram City Public library since year of 2018 has never experienced a change of its leader. Research using qualitative approach aimed to identify the leadership of Tenteram City public library leader in developing human resources and library services. Data of this study is gathered through observation and interviews. It is found that the head of the library serves as a role model in imbedding working discipline, he never involved the staff in decision making, the fear of making mistake is the working atmosphere created in the library. The Research found that the head of Tenteram City public library adopts autocratic leadership.

Publication misconduct and plagiarism retractions: a systematic, retrospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stretton, Serina; Bramich, Narelle J; Keys, Janelle R; Monk, Julie A; Ely, Julie A; Haley, Cassandra; Woolley, Mark J; Woolley, Karen L

2012-10-01

To investigate whether plagiarism is more prevalent in publications retracted from the medical literature when first authors are affiliated with lower-income countries versus higher-income countries. Secondary objectives included investigating other factors associated with plagiarism (e.g., national language of the first author's country affiliation, publication type, journal ranking). Systematic, controlled, retrospective, bibliometric study. Retracted publications dataset in MEDLINE (search filters: English, human, January 1966-February 2008). Retracted misconduct publications were classified according to the first author's country affiliation, country income level, and country national language, publication type, and ranking of the publishing journal. Standardised definitions and data collection tools were used; data were analysed (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence limits [CL], chi-squared tests) by an independent academic statistician. Of the 213 retracted misconduct publications, 41.8% (89/213) were retracted for plagiarism, 52.1% (111/213) for falsification/fabrication, 2.3% (5/213) for author disputes, 2.3% (5/213) for ethical issues, and 1.4% (3/213) for unknown reasons. The OR (95% CL) of plagiarism retractions (other misconduct retractions as reference) were higher (P 1 retraction) with publications retracted for plagiarism (11.5%, 9/78) than other types of misconduct (28.9%, 24/83). This is the first study to demonstrate that publications retracted for plagiarism are significantly associated with first authors affiliated with lower-income countries. These findings have implications for developing appropriate evidence-based strategies and allocation of resources to help mitigate plagiarism misconduct.

Framework for Human Capital Development in Nigeria: A Public-Private Partnership Approach.

OpenAIRE

Akande, Emmanuel

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the framework for human capital development in Nigeria through a public-private partnership (PPP) approach. No doubt, population of a country determines the subsisted human capital resources and this in turn determines the economic status of such country. Therefore, human capital development becomes a mantra for economic development. Unfortunately, government spending on education and health is so negligible as to make any meaningful impact on Nigerian economy. It is...

Visual Graphics for Human Rights, Social Justice, Democracy and the Public Good

Science.gov (United States)

Nanackchand, Vedant; Berman, Kim

2012-01-01

The value of human rights in a democratic South Africa is constantly threatened and often waived for nefarious reasons. We contend that the use of visual graphics among incoming university visual art students provides a mode of engagement that helps to inculcate awareness of human rights, social responsibility, and the public good in South African…

A Study on Volunteers of the Storytelling of Training in Public Libraries: A Case Study on Volunteer Storyteller of Taipei Public Library

OpenAIRE

Yu-Ping Peng; Po-Han Chuang

2017-01-01

In recent years, the administrators of public library administrators have been actively promoting children’s reading services. In particular, storytelling activities have a significantly positive effect on enhancing children’s interest and ability in reading. Because of human resource shortages at public libraries, providing these services depends on volunteers. The public libraries should enhance the competencies of volunteers who engage in storytelling, and provide appropriate training for ...

Human exposure to rabid free-ranging cats: a continuing public health concern in Pennsylvania.

Science.gov (United States)

Campagnolo, E R; Lind, L R; Long, J M; Moll, M E; Rankin, J T; Martin, K F; Deasy, M P; Dato, V M; Ostroff, S M

2014-08-01

Rabid free-ranging cats have been a public health concern in Pennsylvania since raccoon variant rabies first was recognized in the state in the early 1980s. Over the last decade, between 1.5 and 2.5% of cats submitted to Pennsylvania's state laboratories for rabies testing have been positive. In this report, we describe the extent of rabies in free-ranging cats in Pennsylvania. We also present two examples of human exposure to rabid free-ranging cats that occurred in Pennsylvania during 2010-2011 and the public health actions taken to address rabies exposure in the humans and animals. We then describe the concerns surrounding the unvaccinated and free-ranging cat population in Pennsylvania and possible options in managing this public and animal health problem. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

77 FR 61608 - Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-10

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant... leaders in medicine, science, ethics, religion, law, and engineering. The Commission advises [[Page 61609...

77 FR 76042 - Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-26

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant..., religion, law, and engineering. The Commission advises the President on bioethical issues arising from...

Job satisfaction among public health professionals working in public sector: a cross sectional study from Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Ramesh; Ahmed, Jamil; Shaikh, Babar Tasneem; Hafeez, Rehan; Hafeez, Assad

2013-01-09

Job satisfaction largely determines the productivity and efficiency of human resource for health. It literally depicts the extent to which professionals like or dislike their jobs. Job satisfaction is said to be linked with the employee's work environment, job responsibilities and powers and time pressure; the determinants which affect employee's organizational commitment and consequently the quality of services. The objective of the study was to determine the level of and factors influencing job satisfaction among public health professionals in the public sector. This was a cross sectional study conducted in Islamabad, Pakistan. Sample size was universal including 73 public health professionals, with postgraduate qualifications and working in government departments of Islamabad. A validated structured questionnaire was used to collect data from April to October 2011. Overall satisfaction rate was 41% only, while 45% were somewhat satisfied and 14% of professionals highly dissatisfied with their jobs. For those who were not satisfied, working environment, job description and time pressure were the major causes. Other factors influencing the level of satisfaction were low salaries, lack of training opportunities, improper supervision and inadequate financial rewards. Our study documented a relatively low level of overall satisfaction among workers in public sector health care organizations. Considering the factors responsible for this state of affairs, urgent and concrete strategies must be developed to address the concerns of public health professionals as they represent a highly sensitive domain of health system of Pakistan. Improving the overall work environment, review of job descriptions and better remuneration might bring about a positive change.

Using indicators to determine the contribution of human rights to public health efforts

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Laura

2009-01-01

Abstract There is general agreement on the need to integrate human rights into health policies and programmes, although there is still reluctance to go beyond rhetorical acknowledgement of their assumed significance. To determine the actual value of human rights for the effectiveness of public health efforts requires clarity about what their incorporation looks like in practice and how to assess their contribution. Despite the pervasive use of indicators in the public health field, indicators that specifically capture human rights concerns are not well developed and those that exist are inconsistently used. Even though “health and human rights indicators” are increasingly being constructed, it is often the case that health indicators are used to draw conclusions about some interaction between human rights and health; or that law and policy or other indicators, traditionally the domain of the human rights community, are used to make conclusions about health outcomes. To capture the added value that human rights bring to health, the differences in the contributions offered by these indicators need to be understood. To determine the value of different measures for advancing programme effectiveness, improving health outcomes and promoting human rights, requires questioning the intended purpose behind the construction of an indicator, who uses it, the kind of indicator it is, the extent to which it provides information about vulnerable populations, as well as how the data are collected and used. PMID:19784452

Mapping Diversity of Publication Patterns in the Social Sciences and Humanities: An Approach Making Use of Fuzzy Cluster Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frederik T. Verleysen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To present a method for systematically mapping diversity of publication patterns at the author level in the social sciences and humanities in terms of publication type, publication language and co-authorship. Design/methodology/approach: In a follow-up to the hard partitioning clustering by Verleysen and Weeren in 2016, we now propose the complementary use of fuzzy cluster analysis, making use of a membership coefficient to study gradual differences between publication styles among authors within a scholarly discipline. The analysis of the probability density function of the membership coefficient allows to assess the distribution of publication styles within and between disciplines. Findings: As an illustration we analyze 1,828 productive authors affiliated in Flanders, Belgium. Whereas a hard partitioning previously identified two broad publication styles, an international one vs. a domestic one, fuzzy analysis now shows gradual differences among authors. Internal diversity also varies across disciplines and can be explained by researchers' specialization and dissemination strategies. Research limitations: The dataset used is limited to one country for the years 2000-2011; a cognitive classification of authors may yield a different result from the affiliation-based classification used here. Practical implications: Our method is applicable to other bibliometric and research evaluation contexts, especially for the social sciences and humanities in non-Anglophone countries. Originality/value: The method proposed is a novel application of cluster analysis to the field of bibliometrics. Applied to publication patterns at the author level in the social sciences and humanities, for the first time it systematically documents intra-disciplinary diversity.

Human Dignity and the Commercial Appropriation of Personality: Towards a Cosmopolitan Consensus in Publicity Rights?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olaf Weber

2004-03-01

Full Text Available This article is concerned with the commercial appropriation of human personality and its regulation in different legal systems. Where accepted, so called “publicity rights” allow for the exclusive commercial exercise of a persona’s publicity values. A tradable worth can be found in many personal characteristics such as voice, signature or pseudonym. Predominantly, however, it accrues to one’s name and likeness. It is argued that such potential rights are inherent in every human being.

Public Education and Growth in Developing Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schuppert, Christiane; Wirz, Nadja

Human capital plays a key role in fostering technology adoption, the major source of economic growth in developing countries. Consequently, enhancing the level of human capital should be a matter of public concern. The present paper studies public education incentives in an environment in which...... governments can invest in human capital to facilitate the adoption of new technologies invented abroad or, instead, focus on consumptive public spending. Although human capital is pivotal for growth, the model reveals that incentives to invest in public education vanish if a country is poorly endowed...

Economic sanctions as human rights violations: reconciling political and public health imperatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Marks, S P

1999-10-01

The impact of economic sanctions on civilians has frequently been studied by public health specialists and specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). This commentary explores some of the difficulties of the claim that sanctions constitute violations of human rights. The deprivation suffered by civilian populations under sanctions regimes often are violations of economic, social, and cultural human rights; however, the attribution of responsibility for those violations to the "senders" of sanctions (the UN Security Council or the US government, for example) is difficult to sustain, particularly in light of the efforts made by these entities to provide for humanitarian exemptions and humanitarian aid. A more productive approach to avoiding civilian harm is to prefer, as a matter of policy, arms embargoes, severing of communications, and international criminal prosecutions over trade embargoes. Promising recommendations have been formulated regarding "smart sanctions," which target regimes rather than people, and "positive sanctions" in the form of incentives. Health and human rights professionals have specific and important tasks in implementing such a restructured approach to sanctions.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 2018 FEDERAL PHYSICAL ACITIVTY GUIDELINES

Science.gov (United States)

Title: Public Comment on Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Author: Wayne E. Cascio, Director, Environmental Public Health Division, US EPA Abstract: In the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines, the effects of air pollution and advers...

A review of human milk banking and public health policy in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lording, Roslyn J

2006-11-01

Breastmilk is the perfect food for human infants. It is markedly different from, and uniquely superior to, artificial baby milk. Human milk banks are services which collect, screen, process and distribute donated breastmilk. Recipients are generally ill and premature infants whose mothers are unable to breastfeed them. This review of human milk banking in Australian public health policy draws from local and international research. This history of human milk banking and contemporary Australian policies, pertaining to breastfeeding and milk banking, are examined. Human milk banking is noted to be largely invisible from national breastfeeding policies. The barriers to establishing human milk banks in the Australian context are explored. Strategies which have helped generate support for human milk banking are discussed. International research has demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of banked donor milk. It is time for human milk banking to become an integral component of Australian breastfeeding policies, viewed as one of several initiatives to protect and support breastfeeding.

The Humanities as a Public Good and the Need for Developing Accountability Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrik Stampe Lund

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The present political and economic context of the humanities is more demanding than ever in regards to its justification, social impact and evaluation of research activities. These processes call for an updated understanding of the situation and a prudent counter-strategy that, in a best-case scenario, could result in appreciation opportunities that have thus far been neglected. This article contributes to a differentiation of these grand challenges at three levels: (1 Improved understanding of the policy agenda: The humanities, like other research disciplines, still have to map the full picture of all opportunities in funding policies. The EU’s framework programs could be one example of a funding system that contains inclusive mechanisms that have not yet been fully discovered. (2 Research management in the humanities: To benefit the most from those identified inclusive mechanisms, the humanistic disciplines have to develop better and more sophisticated research management tools for their projects and improve their strategic planning and capacity. (3 The humanities as public good: The humanities represent one of the greatest cultural resources of humankind. The task is to make this as explicit and clear as possible to the general public through the explanatory power of the main categories, including recognition, judgment, experience, wisdom and common sense, which mirror some of the most important historical and cultural experiences of human history.

Exploring the Composite Trace of Research Outputs of Humanities and Social Sciences Scholars: A Case Study of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences at National Taiwan University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuang-Hua Chen

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, we used the citation data from four databases (THCI, ACI, WOS and Scopus and one social media, Mendeley, to examine the composite traces of humanities and social sciences scholars’ research outputs. Using the researchers of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences in National Taiwan University as subjects, this study compared how the scholars’ publications were cited in Taiwan’s and international academic journals as well as used in the social Web. It found that most of the subjects’ publications were in Chinese, and the impact of the publications was domestic rather than international. Taiwan’s citation databases, unsurprisingly, saw more citations to their research outputs. However, when only the English publications were observed, it was found that the citation performances in international databases and Mendeley were highly correlated. This suggests that Mendeley is a valid altmetric citation source for observing the international impact of Taiwan’s scholars. [Article content in Chinese

Public health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berg, van den A.E.

2007-01-01

Agnes van den Berg wrote an essay about human health and nature, establishing that subject as an important policy argument in developing (urban) nature in the Netherlands. She studied the public balance of fear and fascination for nature, summarising benefits on human health. In this chapter, she

A review of public health problems of human trafficking in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigeria and other developing countries of Africa, south of Saharan are currently facing one of the most dehumanizing social and public health problems, human trafficking (HT). This can be termed modern slavery in which victims of HT are adopted, forced or coerced into labour and sexual exploitation, especially young girls ...

Job satisfaction among public health professionals working in public sector: a cross sectional study from Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumar Ramesh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Job satisfaction largely determines the productivity and efficiency of human resource for health. It literally depicts the extent to which professionals like or dislike their jobs. Job satisfaction is said to be linked with the employee’s work environment, job responsibilities and powers and time pressure; the determinants which affect employee’s organizational commitment and consequently the quality of services. The objective of the study was to determine the level of and factors influencing job satisfaction among public health professionals in the public sector. Methods This was a cross sectional study conducted in Islamabad, Pakistan. Sample size was universal including 73 public health professionals, with postgraduate qualifications and working in government departments of Islamabad. A validated structured questionnaire was used to collect data from April to October 2011. Results Overall satisfaction rate was 41% only, while 45% were somewhat satisfied and 14% of professionals highly dissatisfied with their jobs. For those who were not satisfied, working environment, job description and time pressure were the major causes. Other factors influencing the level of satisfaction were low salaries, lack of training opportunities, improper supervision and inadequate financial rewards. Conclusion Our study documented a relatively low level of overall satisfaction among workers in public sector health care organizations. Considering the factors responsible for this state of affairs, urgent and concrete strategies must be developed to address the concerns of public health professionals as they represent a highly sensitive domain of health system of Pakistan. Improving the overall work environment, review of job descriptions and better remuneration might bring about a positive change.

Public Key Infrastructure Study

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Berkovits, Shimshon

1994-01-01

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has tasked The MITRE Corporation to study the alternatives for automated management of public keys and of the associated public key certificates for the Federal Government...

Human rights in patient care and public health-a common ground.

Science.gov (United States)

Peled-Raz, Maya

2017-01-01

Medical law and public health law have both served extensively as instruments of health protection and promotion-yet both are limited in their effect and scope and do not sufficiently cover nor supply a remedy to systematic, rather than anecdotal, mistreatments in the health care system. A possible solution to this deficiency may be found in the human rights in patient care legal approach. The concept of human rights in patient care is a reframing of international human rights law, as well as constitutional thought and tools, into a coherent approach aimed at the protection and furthering of both personal and communal health. It applies human rights discourse and human rights law onto the patient care setting while moving away from the narrow consumeristic view of health care delivery. By applying human rights in patient care approach, both national and international courts may and should serve as policy influencing instruments, protecting the rights of the most vulnerable and prejudiced against groups, which are want of a remedy through traditional patients' rights legal schemes.

Public/stakeholder involvement at two Department of Energy sites: Case studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, R.H.

1995-01-01

Efforts to communicate the results of environmental studies and involve the public in environmental decisions have increased nationwide. Outreach efforts at two US Department of Energy sites (i.e., the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State and the Pantex Plant in the Texas Panhandle) have used a broad spectrum of communications media, including technical articles (open literature and symposium publications, annual and topical reports); information brochures and fact sheets; video productions; interactive exhibits, presentations at scientific, technical, civic, and other public meetings; and proactive interactions with the news media and with local, state, federal, and other agencies. In addition, representatives of local communities now operate offsite environmental monitoring stations and Native Americans are involved in studying cultural resources, fisheries, and other issues at Hanford and a program to obtain environmental samples from neighbor's property is underway at the Pantex Plant. All major environmental programs, such as the multi-year effort to reconstruct past radiological doses to offsite human populations at Hanford, are now conducted with open public participation

Public/stakeholder involvement at two Department of Energy sites: Case studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gray, R.H. [Battelle Pantex, Amarillo, TX (United States)

1995-12-31

Efforts to communicate the results of environmental studies and involve the public in environmental decisions have increased nationwide. Outreach efforts at two US Department of Energy sites (i.e., the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State and the Pantex Plant in the Texas Panhandle) have used a broad spectrum of communications media, including technical articles (open literature and symposium publications, annual and topical reports); information brochures and fact sheets; video productions; interactive exhibits, presentations at scientific, technical, civic, and other public meetings; and proactive interactions with the news media and with local, state, federal, and other agencies. In addition, representatives of local communities now operate offsite environmental monitoring stations and Native Americans are involved in studying cultural resources, fisheries, and other issues at Hanford and a program to obtain environmental samples from neighbor`s property is underway at the Pantex Plant. All major environmental programs, such as the multi-year effort to reconstruct past radiological doses to offsite human populations at Hanford, are now conducted with open public participation.

The evolution of human mobility based on the public goods game

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Shiqing

2017-07-01

We explore the evolution of human mobility behavior based on public goods game. By using mean field method, the population distribution in different regions is theoretical calculated. Numerical simulation results show that the correlation between the region's degree and its final population is not significant under a larger human migration rate. Human mobility could effectively promote cooperative behavior and the population balance of different regions. Therefore, encouraging individuals to migrate may increase the total benefits of the whole society. Moreover, increasing the cooperation cost could reduce the number of cooperators, and that would happen to the correlation between the region's degree and its final population. The results indicate the total population could not dramatically rise with the region's degree under an unfair society.

[Global public health: international health is tested to its limits by the human influenza A epidemic].

Science.gov (United States)

Franco-Giraldo, Alvaro; Alvarez-Dardet, Carlos

2009-06-01

This article comes from the intense international pressure that follows a near-catastrophy, such as the human influenza A H1N1 epidemic, and the limited resources for confronting such events. The analysis covers prevailing 20th century trends in the international public health arena and the change-induced challenges brought on by globalization, the transition set in motion by what has been deemed the "new" international public health and an ever-increasing focus on global health, in the context of an international scenario of shifting risks and opportunities and a growing number of multinational players. Global public health is defined as a public right, based on a new appreciation of the public, a new paradigm centered on human rights, and altruistic philosophy, politics, and ethics that undergird the changes in international public health on at least three fronts: redefining its theoretical foundation, improving world health, and renewing the international public health system, all of which is the byproduct of a new form of governance. A new world health system, directed by new global public institutions, would aim to make public health a global public right and face a variety of staggering challenges, such as working on public policy management on a global scale, renewing and democratizing the current global governing structure, and conquering the limits and weaknesses witnessed by international health.

[Productivity and academic assessment in the Brazilian public health field: challenges for Human and Social Sciences research].

Science.gov (United States)

Bosi, Maria Lúcia Magalhães

2012-12-01

This article analyzes some challenges for knowledge output in the human and social sciences in the public health field, under the current academic assessment model in Brazil. The article focuses on the qualitative research approach in human and social sciences, analyzing its status in comparison to the other traditions vying for hegemony in the public health field, conjugating the dialogue with the literature, especially the propositions pertaining to the social fields present in the work of Pierre Bourdieu, with elements concerning the field's dynamics, including some empirical data. Challenges identified in the article include hurdles to interdisciplinary dialogue and equity in the production of knowledge, based on recognition of the founding place of human and social sciences in the public health field. The article discusses strategies to reshape the current correlation of forces among centers of knowledge in public health, especially those capable of impacting the committees and agendas that define the accumulation of symbolic and economic capital in the field.

Obstacles, Realities and Opportunities in Human Resources Management in Public Administration Institutions From Bihor County (Romania and Hajdú-Bihar County (Hungary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria-Madela ABRUDAN

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyze the par-ticularities of human resources management in the public institutions from Bihor County (Ro-mania and Hajdu-Bihar County (Hungary. The comparative dimension of our study is framed in Hofstede’s categories of cultural differences in organizational culture. The data presented is derived from a broader study conducted on the implementation of New Public Management at local public administration institutions in Ro-mania and Hungary. The project entitled ‘Es-tablishment of R&D programmes in the f eld of new public management between economic faculties of higher education in Hajdu-Bihar and Bihor Counties’ (HURO/0901/277/2.2.2 was developed in partnership between Faculties of Economics from the Universities of Oradea and Debrecen. Our results on public human resour-ces provide relevant insight in the processes re-garding personnel in the public institutions in this region and propose solutions for improvement of the observed weaknesses. The employees of the 60 public institutions included in this research consider themselves participants in the decision-al process, yet the evaluation process needs to be reshaped in order to provide a better balance between performances and the rewards system.

Creating informed public opinion: citizen deliberation about nanotechnologies for human enhancements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cobb, Michael D.

2011-01-01

Many people believe that ordinary citizens should influence scientific and technological developments, but the American public is routinely uninformed about these issues. As a solution, some scholars advocate creating informed public opinions by encouraging citizens to deliberate about the issues. Although this idea is currently widely applauded in the science and technology literature, deliberative outcomes are infrequently measured and the practice of deliberation is routinely criticized in other disciplines. This research contributes to our understanding of the effectiveness of citizen deliberation as a method for increasing public engagement with science. I report data measuring results of deliberation in a national citizens’ technology forum (NCTF) about nanotechnologies for human enhancement. The NCTF was a month-long process involving six groups of 9–15 ordinary citizens who deliberated in different locations across the United States with the goal of reaching consensus about policy recommendations within their groups. I find that structured deliberation generated informed opinions, sometimes meaningful shifts in preferences, and increased trust and internal efficacy among the participants. Nevertheless, the NCTF has important shortcomings, and it is not obvious that consensus conferences should be preferred over other mechanisms for creating informed opinions. Future research is needed to corroborate the findings of this study and to systematically compare outcomes of structured citizen deliberation to other less resource intensive forms of engagement.

Incidence of public expenditure on the human development index in Bogota, 1995-2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mónica Consuelo Rodríguez Torres

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to test the hypothesis that social public expenditure per capita invested in Bogota has had a significant influence on the improvement of the city’s human development. For this purpose, the Human Development Index (HDI for the capital between 1995-2010 is estimated, using the new methodology proposed by the UNDP in 2010. Thus, a retrospective estimation of the life expectancy, salaries, and educational achievement rates is carried out, the last as a combination between the average years of education and expected years of instruction. A qualitative analysis is then presented, between the HDI components and the social public expenditure invested through politics, programs, projects carried out in the city, according to the District Development Plan “Bogotá positiva, para vivir mejor (Positive Bogota, to Live Better”. Finally, a quantitative analysis of this relation is made and it is concluded that social public spending per capita is significant to explain the HDI, since there is a long-term and stable relation between the two variables.

Educational reform and the public: Two case studies of Poland and Saskatchewan (Canada)

Science.gov (United States)

Kaproń, Danuta; Stephan, Werner

1991-09-01

The involvement of the public in educational reform processes in modern democratic societies primarily serves the purpose of politically legitimizing the reform agenda. This study examines the rationales implicitly or explicitly submitted to the public to explain why educational reforms in the two countries should be endorsed. Although differences in the political culture caution against a hasty comparison of the two case studies, a number of politico-economic similarities allow for a valid juxtaposition. In Poland the context of socio-political and economic renewal prompted the reformers to emphasize the human-capital model which heightened public awareness and participation in the debate surrounding the reform. Public involvement in Saskatchewan was negatively affected for mainly two reasons. First, the government evidently manipulated public input by various means and thereby appears to have predetermined the outcome. Second, the rationale for the reform, based on a free-market model, tightened the linkage between the needs of the labour market and the mandate of the schools. As a result, public interest and participation was greatly diminished.

Human-Centered Design as an Approach for Place-Based Innovation in Public Health: A Case Study from Oakland, California.

Science.gov (United States)

Vechakul, Jessica; Shrimali, Bina Patel; Sandhu, Jaspal S

2015-12-01

This case study provides a high-level overview of the human-centered design (HCD) or "design thinking" process and its relevance to public health. The Best Babies Zone (BBZ) initiative is a multi-year project aimed at reducing inequities in infant mortality rates. In 2012, BBZ launched pilot programs in three US cities: Cincinnati, Ohio; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Oakland, California. The Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD), the lead for the Oakland BBZ site, identified HCD as a promising approach for addressing the social and economic conditions that are important drivers of health inequities. HCD is a process for creating innovative products, services, and strategies that prioritizes the needs of the intended population. ACPHD partnered with the Gobee Group (a social innovation design consultancy) to develop the Design Sprint. The Design Sprint was a 12-week pilot in which 14 professionals from nine organizations used the HCD process to develop concepts for stimulating a vibrant local economy in the Oakland Best Babies Zone. Thirty- to sixty-minute semi-structured interviews were conducted with all 14 individuals involved in the Design Sprint. With the exception of one interview, the interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and inductively coded to identify themes. Our experience suggests that HCD can: enhance community engagement; expedite the timeframe for challenge identification, program design, and implementation; and create innovative programs that address complex challenges.

A Synergistic Approach to Human Rights and Public Health Ethics: Effective or a Source of Conflict?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steinmetz-Wood, Madeleine

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Concerns over the growing disparities in health and wealth between members of society incited Stephanie Nixon and Lisa Forman, in their 2008 article Exploring synergies between human rights and public health ethics: A whole greater than the sum of its parts, to propose that the principles of human rights and public health ethics should be used in combination to develop norms for health action. This commentary reflects on the benefits as well as the difficulties that could arise from taking such an approach.

Comparison of physical, public and human assets as determinants of socioeconomic inequalities in contraceptive use in Colombia - moving beyond the household wealth index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marmot Michael G

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Colombia is a lower-middle income country that faces the challenge of addressing health inequalities. This effort includes the task of developing measures of socioeconomic position (SEP to describe and analyse disparities in health and health related outcomes. This study explores the use of a multidimensional approach to SEP, in which socioeconomic inequalities in contraceptive use are investigated along multiple dimensions of SEP. We tested the hypothesis that provision of Public capital compensated for low levels of Human capital. Methods This study used the 2005 Colombian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS dataset. The outcome measures were 'current non-use' and 'never use' of contraception. Inequalities in contraceptive behaviour along four measures of SEP were compared: the Household wealth index (HWI, Physical capital (housing, consumer durables, Public capital (publicly provided services and Human capital (level of education. Principal component analysis was applied to construct the HWI, Physical capital and Public capital measures. Logistic regression models were used to estimate relative indices of inequality (RII for each measure of SEP with both outcomes. Results Socio-economic inequalities among rural women tended to be larger than those among urban women, for all measures of SEP and for both outcomes. In models mutually adjusted for Physical, Public and Human capital and age, Physical capital identified stronger gradients in contraceptive behaviour in urban and rural areas (Current use of contraception by Physical capital in urban areas RII 2.37 95% CI (1.99-2.83 and rural areas RII 3.70 (2.57-5.33. The impact of women's level of education on contraceptive behaviour was relatively weak in households with high Public capital compared to households with low Public capital (Current use of contraception in rural areas, interaction p = Conclusions A multidimensional approach provides a framework for disentangling

Human Resource Reforms in Public Administration: The Importance of the Reward System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

De Freitas Bradley Christopher

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Human resource management encompasses administrating and managing human resources or otherwise known as employees. The HR or Human Resources department of any company, whether it be public or private, deals with the day to aspects pertaining to employees, from the recruitment process to probably the most important aspect for any employee; remuneration and benefits. The importance of finding a perfect equilibrium between monetary and non-monetary incentives is crucial in obtaining an efficient work environment, as well as increasing productivity and employee motivation. Having an administrative background or knowledge is essential for any HR manager, in order to detect and implement the most beneficial reward system for both implicated parties.

International Research Study of Public Procurement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Telgen, Jan; Harland, C.; Callender, G.; Harland, C.; Nassimbeni, G.; Schneller, E.

2012-01-01

In this chapter we examine the specific issue of public procurement, its importance to local, regional, national, and international economies as evidenced in a unique international comparative research study – the International Research Study of Public Procurement (IRSPP). First the public

The missing link between human ecology and public health: the case of cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Modonesi, Carlo; Oddone, Enrico; Panizza, Celestino; Imbriani, Marcello

2017-11-01

The primary role played by the 'ecological context' in clarifying the causes and dynamics of human health and disease is the topic of this article. It emphasizes that the challenging incidence of cancer and other diseases can be charged primarily to the effects of the worldwide dominant economic model. Human culture may act as a powerful force affecting the environment, biology and health of humans and other species. Human culture can be viewed as a special and extreme case of 'niche construction', where human-specific traits, technologies and beliefs act together. The feedback between human activities and the environment can promote different trends in public health. This should provide the opportunity to rethink the consequences that our economic model produces both on the environment and on physical, mental and social health of our species. Copyright© by Aracne Editrice, Roma, Italy.

Theory versus practice in the human factors and ergonomics discipline: Trends in journal publications from 1960 to 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Amy Z Q; Williamson, Ann

2018-01-01

The research-practice gap has been highlighted as a barrier to effective practice in human factors and ergonomics (HFE). There is also evidence of a theory-research gap that may be limiting the scientific evidence base of HFE. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in journal publications, especially relating to the research-practice gap and the involvement of theory over time. A content analysis was conducted on 425 journal articles published in Human Factors, Ergonomics, and Applied Ergonomics from 1960 to 2010. Results showed evidence of growth in applied research with increasing collaborative research between research and industry, larger research teams, and more empirical research-especially on applied problems. While there has been a corresponding increase in the involvement of theory in HFE publications, around half of the publications failed to acknowledge theory. This calls into question whether the HFE discipline may be missing the benefits of theory to guide research and subsequent practice, and to enhance the development of new ideas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A study on environment public spending

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wellington Bueno

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This text deals with the importance of studying environment public spending. Initially, we discuss the concept of environment public spending and how it became a public accounting function. Later, an analysis of several studies on the theme was carried out to promote a discussion on the environment public funds allocated by governments. Next, a discussion on the relevance of the theme and the need for further studies is presented, since investments on environment management still need to be better allocated and duly dimensioned. Currently, transparence in public spending has promoted the realization of more studies, leading to a more careful observation of environmental issues by the society, showing that these issues still need more attention from the goverment.

The influence of environment and human rights in the business – the concept of public health – case study on noise pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Dudová

2013-01-01

Full Text Available With the competitive global environment raises the question of responsibility in business and maintaining certain legal standards and responsibilities of corporations. Especially discussed is the question of human rights and business impacts on the environment. These factors are surprisingly closely related. They meet in an area, which is referred as “public health”. This concept is widely reflected both in the UN and in the legislation of many countries, but Czech legal arrangement is still not conceptually solved. However, in the debate about increasing corporate responsibility for their actions, we must take into account the protection of the health risk factors, respectively negative environmental effects. This right to public health is enforceable in a certain number of cases. It is therefore necessary to strictly distinguish some of the issues relating to liability for personal injury in the context of human rights. Problem is always to prove a causal nexus between the injury to health and adverse environmental impacts arising in connection with the business or operating a business.

EVALUATION OF FINANCIAL AUTONOMY PROCESS OF BINH THUAN PROVINCE IN TRAINING PUBLIC HUMAN RESOURCES IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

OpenAIRE

NGUYEN THANH, NHAN

2012-01-01

This paper will discuss the financial autonomy in training public human resources in foreign countries in Binh Thuan province. The process of financial autonomy helps Binh Thuan province be proactive in dealing with its performances in many aspects, especially in training public human resources. Although central government has built many training policies, the training focuses on the fields that meet the general requirements of the whole country. This leads to the situation that the trained m...

Locally-sourced: How climate science can collaborate with arts & humanities museums to achieve widespread public trust and communication

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, C. G.

2017-12-01

Local history, art and culture museums have a large role to play in climate science communication. Unfortunately, in our current society, scientific evidence and logic is not universally accepted as truth. These messages can be dispersed through trusted institutional allies like humanities and arts museums. There are many reasons for scientific institutions to work with humanities and arts museums of all sizes, especially local museums that have personal, trusted relationships with their communities. First, museums (by definition) are public educators; the work that they do is to disperse challenging information in an understandable way to a wide array of audiences. Museums are located in every state, with over 35,000 museums in the nation; 26% of those are located in rural areas. These museums serve every demographic and age range, inspiring even those with difficulty accepting climate change information to act. Second, in a recent public opinion survey commissioned by the American Alliance of Museums, museums - especially history museums - are considered the most trustworthy source of information in America, rated higher than newspapers, nonprofit researchers, the U.S. government, or academic researchers. Scientific institutions must collaborate with local museums to improve science communication going forward. Not only will important climate and sustainability research be dispersed via trusted sources, but the public will engage with this information in large numbers. In 2012 alone, over 850 million people visited museums - more than the attendance for all major league sports and theme parks combined. A recent impact study shows that history and art museums, especially, are not seen as "having a political agenda," with over 78% of the public seeing these museums as trusted institutions. There are many ways in which the scientific community can collaborate with "the arts." This presentation will speak to the larger benefit of working with sister arts & humanities

Mapping and sequencing the human genome: Science, ethics, and public policy. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McInerney, J.D.

1993-03-31

Development of Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy followed the standard process of curriculum development at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), the process is described. The production of this module was a collaborative effort between BSCS and the American Medical Association (AMA). Appendix A contains a copy of the module. Copies of reports sent to the Department of Energy (DOE) during the development process are contained in Appendix B; all reports should be on file at DOE. Appendix B also contains copies of status reports submitted to the BSCS Board of Directors.

Human rights and political crisis in Brazil: Public health impacts and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Malta, Monica

2018-01-25

In 31 August 2016, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was impeached and replaced by her vice president Michel Temer. Herein, we examine how the conservative agenda of Mr Temer and his supporters is influencing key decisions in the human rights and public health arena in Brazil. The government's austerity agenda includes severe cuts in critical areas such as health, education and science, jeopardising well-known strategies such as the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) and nationwide cash transfer program, 'Bolsa Familia' - both benefited millions and were the largest of their kind in the world. Mr Temer's decisions show not only severe cuts in critical areas but also a political agenda that clearly demonstrates a broad shift away from the progressivism and social agenda presented and supported by its predecessors. Most vulnerable groups such as the LGBTQ community, women, people who use drugs and disenfranchised communities have been severely affected. Mr Temer's administration is putting Brazil far from its once nationwide goal to foster free and universal health care access and social equity for all its citizens. The near future for Brazil is unknown, but both national and international communities anticipate severe problems within the national human rights arena, if nothing changes. CCT: Conditional Cash Transfer; LGBTQ: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (and/or Questioning); SUS: Brazilian Public Health System.

[Forum: legitimacy, expansion, and sustainability of Social and Human Sciences in Public Health. Introduction].

Science.gov (United States)

Deslandes, Suely Ferreira

2012-12-01

The Forum debates current trends and challenges for teaching and research in this subfield and the prevailing criteria for evaluation of its academic output. The authors wager on the hypothesis that we are currently experiencing a clash between the consolidation of Social and Human Sciences in Public Health (with a well-defined identity, undeniable vigor in their research and proposals, and an important number of practitioners) and a bottleneck in training processes and iniquity and inadequacy in the institutional mechanisms for recognition of merit. The Forum presents four articles. The first, by Minayo, discusses the basic forms of knowledge for this training and those needed to analyze contemporary challenges in a globalized world, besides debating the interfaces and mediations between the biological and the social in a teaching proposal. The second, by Trad, provides a current portrait of the subfield's output. The third, by Deslandes & Iriart, presents theoretical and methodological trends in recently published studies, identifying their gaps and characteristics. Bosi, author of the fourth article, fuels the debate on the criteria for evaluation of academic output in the field and analyzes their consequences. The Postscript, by Nunes, reclaims and updates the debate on the construction of identities in the social and Human Sciences in Public Health.

Ethical issues in human genome epidemiology: a case study based on the Japanese American Family Study in Seattle, Washington.

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Melissa A

2002-04-01

Recent completion of the draft sequence of the human genome has been greeted with both excitement and skepticism, and the potential of this accomplishment for advancing public health has been tempered by ethical concerns about the protection of human subjects. This commentary explores ethical issues arising in human genome epidemiology by using a case study approach based on the ongoing Japanese American Family Study at the University of Washington in Seattle (1994-2003). Ethical issues encountered in designing the study, collecting the data, and reporting the study results are considered. When developing studies, investigators must consider whether to restrict the study to specific racial or ethnic groups and whether community involvement is appropriate. Once the study design is in place, further ethical issues emerge, including obtaining informed consent for DNA banking and protecting the privacy and confidentiality of family members. Finally, investigators must carefully consider whether to report genotype results to study participants and whether pedigrees illustrating the results of the study will be published. Overall, the promise of genomics for improving public health must be pursued based on the fundamental ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

Human experimental anxiety: actual public speaking induces more intense physiological responses than simulated public speaking.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuardi, Antonio Waldo; Crippa, José Alexandre de Souza; Hallak, Jaime Eduardo Cecílio; Gorayeb, Ricardo

2013-01-01

a) To perform a systematic and meta-analytic review to verify whether the Simulated Public Speaking Task (SPST) leads to a greater increase in self-rated anxiety than in physiological correlates of anxiety; and b) to compare the results obtained with the SPST with an actual public speaking task involving healthy volunteers. a) The PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge databases were searched for studies involving the SPST prior to 2012. Eleven publications were eligible and provided data from 143 healthy volunteers for meta-analysis; b) 48 university students without somatic or psychiatric disorders were divided into three experimental groups of 16 subjects to undergo one of the following: SPST, real-world public speaking task (real-world), and control situation (control). The meta-analysis showed that the SPST induced a significant increase in the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS) anxiety factor, but no significant increases in systolic blood pressure or heart rate. The empirical study showed that the real-world public speaking task increased heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure significantly more than the control and SPST conditions. These results suggest that real public speaking might be better than SPST in inducing experimental anxiety.

Comparative Study on Male Vs Feminine Leadership in Public Administration in Maramures County, Romania

OpenAIRE

Gavrilescu Liviu

2011-01-01

Leadership in the Romanian public administration is an exciting research area and also of current interest, while the success of public organizations depends now more on the human factor than on the funds becoming less accessible. Another item of interest is given by the low representation of women in managerial positions in administration. This paper presents a study on two mayors, a woman and a man of Maramures County, Romania, in order to identify and compare the leadership styles practice...

Crowdsourcing the General Public for Large Scale Molecular Pathology Studies in Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco J. Candido dos Reis

2015-07-01

Interpretation: Crowdsourcing of the general public to classify cancer pathology data for research is viable, engages the public and provides accurate ER data. Crowdsourced classification of research data may offer a valid solution to problems of throughput requiring human input.

PHYSICAL CAPITAL, HUMAN AND SOCIAL AND RESPONSIBILITY PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT WITH POVERTY

OpenAIRE

Wong Torres, Zelma; Salcedo Guzmán, Luisa Elena

2014-01-01

This article is the result of research carried out in 2010, entitled, physical capital, human and social, and social responsibility of the Certified Public Accountant with Poverty. This article seeks to demonstrate the interest in settlement mechanisms to achieve equity and achieve a development strategy. In this perspective, the article insisted that social policy should be able to influence the structural determinants through which reproduce poverty and inequality, maldistribution of educat...

The Recruitment Process as a Part of Effective Human Resource Management in Public Administration in Croatia

OpenAIRE

Tišma, Sanja; Ozimec, Kristina

2007-01-01

Facing global trends, recognizing and retaining talented and perspective employees became an important issue in every public administration reform. Human resources management in public administration has a mission to help an institution to meet strategic goals by attracting, maintaining and managing employees more effectively. On its way to EU Croatia also has to cope with improvements and development of its public administration system with accent on HRM importance. Taking into account other...

Democratizing Human Genome Project Information: A Model Program for Education, Information and Debate in Public Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollack, Miriam

The "Mapping the Human Genome" project demonstrated that librarians can help whomever they serve in accessing information resources in the areas of biological and health information, whether it is the scientists who are developing the information or a member of the public who is using the information. Public libraries can guide library…

77 FR 11556 - Pediatric Studies of Meropenem Conducted in Accordance With Section 409I of the Public Health...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-27

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0918] Pediatric Studies of Meropenem Conducted in Accordance With Section 409I of the Public Health Service Act... of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) and submitted to the Director of the National Institutes...

Using Drones to Study Human Beings: Ethical and Regulatory Issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnik, David B; Elliott, Kevin C

2018-02-27

Researchers have used drones to track wildlife populations, monitor forest fires, map glaciers, and measure air pollution but have only begun to consider how to use these unmanned aerial vehicles to study human beings. The potential use of drones to study public gatherings or other human activities raises novel issues of privacy, confidentiality, and consent, which this article explores in depth. It argues that drone research could fall into several different categories: non-human subjects research (HSR), exempt HSR, or non-exempt HSR. In the case of non-exempt HSR, it will be difficult for institutional review boards to approve studies unless they are designed so that informed consent can be waived. Whether drone research is non-HSR, exempt HSR, or non-exempt HSR, it is important for investigators to consult communities which could be affected by the research.

More than a Mural: The Intersection of Public Art, Immigrant Youth, and Human Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marissa A. Gutiérrez-Vicario

2016-02-01

• In efforts for communities to construct more democratic public spaces, one often finds that these spaces manifest themselves as murals or similar forms of public art. What are more creative ways of building a more democratic form of community art? What are more creative ways for young immigrant youth to develop a sense of belonging through the arts?   Overall, this proposal seeks to explore the intersection between public art, human rights education/global competency, and immigrant youth empowerment. The proposal will discuss the involvement of immigrant youth, predominately from Latin America, in various art projects, as they explore their own sense of identity and belonging in New York City.

Public Sphere

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trenz, Hans-Jörg

2015-01-01

In modern societies, the public sphere represents the intermediary realm that supports the communication of opinions, the discovery of problems that need to be dealt with collectively, the channeling of these problems through the filter of the media and political institutions, and the realization...... of the collective will of the people in the act of democratic self-government. The concept of the public sphere is used across the fields of media and communication research, cultural studies and the humanities, the history of ideas, legal and constitutional studies as well as democracy studies. Historically......, public spheres have undergone structural transformations that were closely connected to the emergence of different mass media. More recently, they are subject to trends of transnationalization and digitalization in politics and society....

The public's belief in climate change and its human cause are increasing over time.

Science.gov (United States)

Milfont, Taciano L; Wilson, Marc S; Sibley, Chris G

2017-01-01

Polls examining public opinion on the subject of climate change are now commonplace, and one-off public opinion polls provide a snapshot of citizen's opinions that can inform policy and communication strategies. However, cross-sectional polls do not track opinions over time, thus making it impossible to ascertain whether key climate change beliefs held by the same group of individuals are changing or not. Here we examine the extent to which individual's level of agreement with two key beliefs ("climate change is real" and "climate change is caused by humans") remain stable or increase/decrease over a six-year period in New Zealand using latent growth curve modelling (n = 10,436). Data were drawn from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, a probabilistic national panel study, and indicated that levels of agreement to both beliefs have steadily increased over the 2009-2015 period. Given that climate change beliefs and concerns are key predictors of climate change action, our findings suggest that a combination of targeted endeavors, as well as serendipitous events, may successfully convey the emergency of the issue.

Occurrence of human pathogenic Clostridium botulinum among healthy dairy animals: an emerging public health hazard.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel-Moein, Khaled A; Hamza, Dalia A

2016-01-01

The current study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of human pathogenic Clostridium botulinum in the feces of dairy animals. Fecal samples were collected from 203 apparently healthy dairy animals (50 cattle, 50 buffaloes, 52 sheep, 51 goats). Samples were cultured to recover C. botulinum while human pathogenic C. botulinum strains were identified after screening of all C. botulinum isolates for the presence of genes that encode toxins type A, B, E, F. The overall prevalence of C. botulinum was 18.7% whereas human pathogenic C. botulinum strains (only type A) were isolated from six animals at the rates of 2, 2, 5.8, and 2% for cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats, respectively. High fecal carriage rates of C. botulinum among apparently healthy dairy animals especially type A alarm both veterinary and public health communities for a potential role which may be played by dairy animals in the epidemiology of such pathogen.

Putting impact into context: the Janus face of the public value of arts and humanities research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benneworth, Paul Stephen

2014-01-01

This article provides an overview to the Forum on the Public Value of Arts and Humanities Research which follows it. The author argues that the current gloom in the arts and humanities as a result of the increasing pressure for societal utility does not recognise the complete picture. A growing

Human Security and Energy Security: A Sustainable Energy System as a Public Good

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, S.I.S.E.; Jollands, N.

2013-01-01

This chapter is dedicated to the concept of human security and its link to energy and energy governance, particularly global energy governance. Through this focus emerges the need to look at the links between the concept of public goods and energy. Our starting argument is that conventional notions

Effects of performance-based research funding on publication patterns in the social sciences and humanities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guns, R.; Engels, T.C.E.

2016-07-01

Publishing in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) and research evaluation practices are co-evolving. In this paper we present an analysis on how in Flanders the PRFS has shaped and influenced publication practices in the SSH. Our analysis is based on the VABB-SHW, a comprehensive database of research output in the SSH in Flanders. We find that a strong emphasis on WoS publications since 2003 has caused a growth in WoS publications, that is greater than what can be observed in other countries and other fields of science in Flanders. Other mechanisms appear to exist for book publications, which are not indexed in the WoS databases used for the PRFS. (Author)

Building credibility in public studies: Lessons learned from the Hanford environmental Dose Reconstruction project may apply to all public studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Till, J.E.

1995-01-01

This article describes the process by which the author came to recognize the importance of openness to the public in environmental studies, during the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project. Using the Dose reconstruction public involvement, the article goes on to describe a general guide to the construction of a new, positive framework for conducting future public studies. The steps include the following: putting the public in the study; building credibility into a public study (1 -search for proof in historical records; 2-define the domain and the exposed population; 3-characterize the material released; 4-identify key materials, pathways and receptors; 5-encouraging public participation; 6 -explaining the meaning of the results) and reconciling scientific and public issues

Building credibility in public studies: Lessons learned from the Hanford environmental Dose Reconstruction project may apply to all public studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Till, J.E. [Radiological Assessment Corp., Neeses, SC (United States)

1995-09-01

This article describes the process by which the author came to recognize the importance of openness to the public in environmental studies, during the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project. Using the Dose reconstruction public involvement, the article goes on to describe a general guide to the construction of a new, positive framework for conducting future public studies. The steps include the following: putting the public in the study; building credibility into a public study (1 -search for proof in historical records; 2-define the domain and the exposed population; 3-characterize the material released; 4-identify key materials, pathways and receptors; 5-encouraging public participation; 6 -explaining the meaning of the results) and reconciling scientific and public issues.

Pigs in Public Health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Mette N.

2017-01-01

of public health, made me re-evaluate both what ‘public’ and what ‘health’ means in public health. In this commentary I provide a short personal account of that intellectual journey. I argue that entanglements between species make it urgent that public health scholars investigate the moral, socio......Animals are rare topics in public health science texts and speech despite the fact that animal bodies and lives are woven into the health of human populations, and vice versa. Years of ethnographic and documentary research – following pigs and their humans in and out of biomedical research – made......-economic, material, and bacterial passages between humans and animals that constitute the various publics of public health and profoundly shape the health of human and animal populations in a globalized world....

Leveraging human capital to reduce maternal mortality in India: enhanced public health system or public-private partnership?

Science.gov (United States)

Krupp, Karl; Madhivanan, Purnima

2009-02-27

Developing countries are currently struggling to achieve the Millennium Development Goal Five of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Many health systems are facing acute shortages of health workers needed to provide improved prenatal care, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric services - interventions crucial to reducing maternal death. The World Health Organization estimates a current deficit of almost 2.4 million doctors, nurses and midwives. Complicating matters further, health workforces are typically concentrated in large cities, while maternal mortality is generally higher in rural areas. Additionally, health care systems are faced with shortages of specialists such as anaesthesiologists, surgeons and obstetricians; a maldistribution of health care infrastructure; and imbalances between the public and private health care sectors. Increasingly, policy-makers have been turning to human resource strategies to cope with staff shortages. These include enhancement of existing work roles; substitution of one type of worker for another; delegation of functions up or down the traditional role ladder; innovation in designing new jobs;transfer or relocation of particular roles or services from one health care sector to another. Innovations have been funded through state investment, public-private partnerships and collaborations with nongovernmental organizations and quasi-governmental organizations such as the World Bank. This paper focuses on how two large health systems in India--Gujarat and Tamil Nadu--have successfully applied human resources strategies in uniquely different contexts to the challenges of achieving Millennium Development Goal Five.

Leveraging human capital to reduce maternal mortality in India: enhanced public health system or public-private partnership?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madhivanan Purnima

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Developing countries are currently struggling to achieve the Millennium Development Goal Five of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Many health systems are facing acute shortages of health workers needed to provide improved prenatal care, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric services – interventions crucial to reducing maternal death. The World Health Organization estimates a current deficit of almost 2.4 million doctors, nurses and midwives. Complicating matters further, health workforces are typically concentrated in large cities, while maternal mortality is generally higher in rural areas. Additionally, health care systems are faced with shortages of specialists such as anaesthesiologists, surgeons and obstetricians; a maldistribution of health care infrastructure; and imbalances between the public and private health care sectors. Increasingly, policy-makers have been turning to human resource strategies to cope with staff shortages. These include enhancement of existing work roles; substitution of one type of worker for another; delegation of functions up or down the traditional role ladder; innovation in designing new jobs;transfer or relocation of particular roles or services from one health care sector to another. Innovations have been funded through state investment, public-private partnerships and collaborations with nongovernmental organizations and quasi-governmental organizations such as the World Bank. This paper focuses on how two large health systems in India – Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – have successfully applied human resources strategies in uniquely different contexts to the challenges of achieving Millennium Development Goal Five.

A public data set of human balance evaluations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damiana A. Santos

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The goal of this study was to create a public data set with results of qualitative and quantitative evaluations related to human balance. Subject’s balance was evaluated by posturography using a force platform and by the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Tests. In the posturography test, we evaluated subjects standing still for 60 s in four different conditions where vision and the standing surface were manipulated: on a rigid surface with eyes open; on a rigid surface with eyes closed; on an unstable surface with eyes open; on an unstable surface with eyes closed. Each condition was performed three times and the order of the conditions was randomized. In addition, the following tests were employed in order to better characterize each subject: Short Falls Efficacy Scale International; International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Version; and Trail Making Test. The subjects were also interviewed to collect information about their socio-cultural, demographic, and health characteristics. The data set comprises signals from the force platform (raw data for the force, moments of forces, and centers of pressure of 163 subjects plus one file with information about the subjects and balance conditions and the results of the other evaluations. All the data is available at PhysioNet and at Figshare.

Investigating Public Facility Characteristics from a Spatial Interaction Perspective: A Case Study of Beijing Hospitals Using Taxi Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoqing Kong

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Services provided by public facilities are essential to people’s lives and are closely associated with human mobility. Traditionally, public facility access characteristics, such as accessibility, equity issues and service areas, are investigated mainly based on static data (census data, travel surveys and particular records, such as medical records. Currently, the advent of big data offers an unprecedented opportunity to obtain large-scale human mobility data, which can be used to study the characteristics of public facilities from the spatial interaction perspective. Intuitively, spatial interaction characteristics and service areas of different types and sizes of public facilities are different, but how different remains an open question, so we, in turn, examine this question. Based on spatial interaction, we classify public facilities and explore the differences in facilities. In the research, based on spatial interaction extracted from taxi data, we introduce an unsupervised classification method to classify 78 hospitals in 6 districts of Beijing, and the results better reflect the type of hospital. The findings are of great significance for optimizing the spatial configuration of medical facilities or other types of public facilities, allocating public resources reasonably and relieving traffic pressure.

Simian virus 40, poliovirus vaccines, and human cancer: research progress versus media and public interests

Science.gov (United States)

Butel, J. S.

2000-01-01

From 1955 through early 1963, millions of people were inadvertently exposed to simian virus 40 (SV40) as a contaminant of poliovirus vaccines; the virus had been present in the monkey kidney cultures used to prepare the vaccines and had escaped detection. SV40 was discovered in 1960 and subsequently eliminated from poliovirus vaccines. This article reviews current knowledge about SV40 and considers public responses to reports in the media. SV40 is a potent tumour virus with broad tissue tropism that induces tumours in rodents and transforms cultured cells from many species. It is also an important laboratory model for basic studies of molecular processes in eukaryotic cells and mechanisms of neoplastic transformation. SV40 neutralizing antibodies have been detected in individuals not exposed to contaminated poliovirus vaccines. There have been many reports of detection of SV40 DNA in human tumours, especially mesotheliomas, brain tumours and osteosarcomas; and DNA sequence analyses have ruled out the possibility that the viral DNA in tumours was due to laboratory contamination or that the virus had been misidentified. However, additional studies are necessary to prove that SV40 is the cause of certain human cancers. A recently published review article evaluated the status of the field and received much media attention. The public response emphasized that there is great interest in the possibility of health risks today from vaccinations received in the past.

Capturing public interest toward new tools for controlling human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection exploiting data from Google Trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahroum, Naim; Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Brigo, Francesco; Waknin, Roy; Sharif, Kassem; Mahagna, Hussein; Amital, Howard; Watad, Abdulla

2018-04-01

Human immunodeficiency virus vaccination and pre-exposure prophylaxis represent two different emerging preventive tools. Google Trends was used to assess the public interest toward these tools in terms of digital activities. Worldwide web searches concerning the human immunodeficiency virus vaccine represented 0.34 percent, 0.03 percent, and 46.97 percent of human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome treatment-related Google Trends queries, respectively. Concerning temporal trends, digital activities were shown to increase from 0 percent as of 1 January 2004 percent to 46 percent as of 8 October 2017 with two spikes observed in May and July 2012, coinciding with the US Food and Drug Administration approval. Bursts in search number and volume were recorded as human immunodeficiency virus vaccine trials emerged. This search topic has decreased in the past decade in parallel to the increase in Truvada-related topics. Concentrated searches were noticed among African countries with high human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome prevalence. Stakeholders should take advantage of public interest especially in preventive medicine in high disease burden countries.

Nanotechnology in global medicine and human biosecurity: private interests, policy dilemmas, and the calibration of public health law.

Science.gov (United States)

Faunce, Thomas A

2007-01-01

This paper considers how best to approach dilemmas posed to global health and biosecurity policy by increasing advances in practical applications of nanotechnology. The type of nano-technology policy dilemmas discussed include: (1) expenditure of public funds, (2) public-funded research priorities, (3) public confidence in government and science and, finally, (4) public safety. The article examines the value in this context of a legal obligation that the development of relevant public health law be calibrated against less corporate-influenced norms issuing from bioethics and international human rights.

A CRISPR New World: Attitudes in the Public toward Innovations in Human Genetic Modification.

Science.gov (United States)

Weisberg, Steven M; Badgio, Daniel; Chatterjee, Anjan

2017-01-01

The potential to genetically modify human germlines has reached a critical tipping point with recent applications of CRISPR-Cas9. Even as researchers, clinicians, and ethicists weigh the scientific and ethical repercussions of these advances, we know virtually nothing about public attitudes on the topic. Understanding such attitudes will be critical to determining the degree of broad support there might be for any public policy or regulation developed for genetic modification research. To fill this gap, we gave an online survey to a large (2,493 subjects) and diverse sample of Americans. Respondents supported genetic modification research, although demographic variables influenced these attitudes-conservatives, women, African-Americans, and older respondents, while supportive, were more cautious than liberals, men, other ethnicities, and younger respondents. Support was also was slightly muted when the risks (unanticipated mutations and possibility of eugenics) were made explicit. The information about genetic modification was also presented as contrasting vignettes, using one of five frames: genetic editing, engineering, hacking, modification, or surgery. Despite the fact that the media and academic use of frames describing the technology varies, these frames did not influence people's attitudes. These data contribute a current snapshot of public attitudes to inform policy with regard to human genetic modification.

A CRISPR New World: Attitudes in the Public toward Innovations in Human Genetic Modification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven M. Weisberg

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The potential to genetically modify human germlines has reached a critical tipping point with recent applications of CRISPR-Cas9. Even as researchers, clinicians, and ethicists weigh the scientific and ethical repercussions of these advances, we know virtually nothing about public attitudes on the topic. Understanding such attitudes will be critical to determining the degree of broad support there might be for any public policy or regulation developed for genetic modification research. To fill this gap, we gave an online survey to a large (2,493 subjects and diverse sample of Americans. Respondents supported genetic modification research, although demographic variables influenced these attitudes—conservatives, women, African-Americans, and older respondents, while supportive, were more cautious than liberals, men, other ethnicities, and younger respondents. Support was also was slightly muted when the risks (unanticipated mutations and possibility of eugenics were made explicit. The information about genetic modification was also presented as contrasting vignettes, using one of five frames: genetic editing, engineering, hacking, modification, or surgery. Despite the fact that the media and academic use of frames describing the technology varies, these frames did not influence people’s attitudes. These data contribute a current snapshot of public attitudes to inform policy with regard to human genetic modification.

Does protecting humans protect the environment? A crude examination for UK nuclear power plants and the marine environment using information in the public domain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brownless, G P

2008-01-01

Current activity around radiological protection of the environment implies concerns over the effectiveness of the current approach to this-namely if humans are adequately protected, then so are non-human species. This study uses models and data currently available in the public domain to carry out a 'quick and dirty' examination of whether protecting humans does indeed imply that other species are well protected. Using marine discharges and human habits data for operational coastal UK nuclear power stations, this study compares doses to humans and a set of reference non-human species. The study concludes that the availability of data and models, and consequent ease of studying potential effects on non-humans (as well as humans), vindicates recent efforts in this area, and that these imply a high level of protection, in general, for non-human biota from UK nuclear power station marine discharges. In general terms, the study finds that protection of non-human biota relies on taking ingestion and external exposure doses to humans into account; where only one of these pathways is considered, the level of protection of non-human biota through protection of humans would depend on the radionuclide(s) in question.

The pull of public health studies

OpenAIRE

Braine, Theresa

2007-01-01

Public health has burgeoned over the past 100 years, from the study of tropical diseases in the 19th century to national public health systems after World War One and, more recently, to include international public health. Education has kept up with these trends, and today there are hundreds of schools around the world, many flourishing in developing countries.

Human virus and microbial indicator occurrence in public-supply groundwater systems: meta-analysis of 12 international studies

Science.gov (United States)

Groundwater quality is often evaluated using microbial indicators. This study examines data from 12 international groundwater studies (conducted 1992–2013). Sites were chosen from 718 public drinking-water systems with a range of hydrogeological conditions. Focus was on testing the value of indicato...

Competency-based training model for human resource management and development in public sector

Science.gov (United States)

Prabawati, I.; Meirinawati; AOktariyanda, T.

2018-01-01

Human Resources (HR) is a very important factor in an organization so that human resources are required to have the ability, skill or competence in order to be able to carry out the vision and mission of the organization. Competence includes a number of attributes attached to the individual which is a combination of knowledge, skills, and behaviors that can be used as a mean to improve performance. Concerned to the demands of human resources that should have the knowledge, skills or abilities, it is necessary to the development of human resources in public organizations. One form of human resource development is Competency-Based Training (CBT). CBT focuses on three issues, namely skills, competencies, and competency standard. There are 5 (five) strategies in the implementation of CBT, namely: organizational scanning, strategic planning, competency profiling, competency gap analysis, and competency development. Finally, through CBT the employees within the organization can reduce or eliminate the differences between existing performance with a potential performance that can improve the knowledge, expertise, and skills that are very supportive in achieving the vision and mission of the organization.

Human Rights and Public Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bowring, Bill

2012-01-01

This article attempts a contrast to the contribution by Hugh Starkey. Rather than his account of the inexorable rise of human rights discourse, and of the implementation of human rights standards, human rights are here presented as always and necessarily scandalous and highly contested. First, I explain why the UK has lagged so far behind its…

A Human Work Interaction Design (HWID) Case Study in E-Government and Public Information Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clemmensen, Torkil

2011-01-01

This paper first outlines a revised version of the general HWID framework, with a focus on what connects empirical work analysis and interaction design, and then presents a case study of the Danish government one-for-all authentication system NemID. The case is briefly analyzed, using ethnomethod...... in studying how human work analysis and interaction design in concrete cases are related and connected.......This paper first outlines a revised version of the general HWID framework, with a focus on what connects empirical work analysis and interaction design, and then presents a case study of the Danish government one-for-all authentication system NemID. The case is briefly analyzed, using...... ethnomethodology, work domain/task analysis, and the HWID approach, and comparing the results. Compared to the traditional approaches, the HWID focus on case-specific connections between human work and interaction design, gives different and supplementary answers. The conclusion is that there are benefits...

THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC SYSTEM OF HUMAN RESOURCES. PERFORMANCE IN ORGANIZATIONS AND GOOD PRACTICES FOR ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan-Călin BEȘLIU

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Considering the fact that recruitment and selection activities are vital in ensuring the human resources flow in every private or public organization sector, the present paper seeks to elaborate a proposal aimed to modernize the recruiting and selection process within the Romanian public service based on best practices models implemented in other European states. From the perspective of providing adequate training skills and abilities needed by the qualified personnel, initial training is very poor. Practical training is not on the same level of quality with theoretical one and the current system of examinations in education units, based predominantly on theoretical assessment, do not motivate learners well enough in order to gain practical skills. Continuous training programs organized by the units do not always take into account the needs of the personnel or are not adapted to the job description, the category and level of specialization of the beneficiaries' functions and the degree of novelty and utility of most of the presented theoretical information is usually low. The costs of selecting one person for the public service are usually very high, including not only the cost of the initial recruiting, but also the long term cost, represented by the continuous training of the employee. Consequently, recruiting human resources is a basic part of both public and private systems.

The right of public access to legal information : A proposal for its universal recognition as a human right

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mitee, Leesi Ebenezer

2017-01-01

Abstract: This Article examines the desirability of the universal recognition of the right of public access to legal information as a human right and therefore as part of a legal framework for improving national and global access to legal information. It discusses the right of public access to legal

Study of health human resource migration in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panneer Sigamani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background Human Resource for Health (HRH migration is an emerging concern in the development paradigm due to the critical importance to sustainability of health system in India. Being the largest human resource supplier to the world, it is important to analyze the consequences of the migration of HRH in the delivery of healthcare services to the country’s population. The study evidences limited to examine the size, distribution of the existing human resources or trends or patterns in migration. The consequences of migration have its implications to the healthcare delivery mechanism which needed to be critically analyzed. Review Methodology The methodology adopted in the paper is descriptive design. The critical review used to evaluate the existing evidence and to develop conceptual framework. The process involved the setting of the inclusion and exclusion criteria to select the articles. It included wide range of articles from the world development reports to specific studies oriented on the HRH scenario of the country. The search strategy comprised both form of studies qualitative and quantitative. The study utilizes the official data set published as report form. Main Findings The data on the migration in context of India, not systematically updated in the existing evidences. The availability of data on migration limits to few reports i.e.(World Health Organization WHO’s Joint Learning Initiatives and studies which combines census data of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD and results in the number of foreign born health professionals. 1. A major proportion of the research studies reviewed describes the disparity in distribution of HRH between rural-urban and public-private. Few researches focused towards the policy environment of the source and destination country for the migration. 2. There is pool of literature explaining the factors of migration but it margins when to analyze the significant implications to

Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health

OpenAIRE

Scholz, Miklas

2009-01-01

This special issue ‘Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health’ is part of the internationally leading 'International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health’. I was invited to be the guest editor, and to oversee the refereeing process and subsequent selection of timely, relevant and high quality papers highlighting particularly novel aspects concerned with sustainability issues in environmental studies. [...

Health and human rights education in U.S. schools of medicine and public health: current status and future challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Cotter, L Emily; Chevrier, Jonathan; El-Nachef, Wael Noor; Radhakrishna, Rohan; Rahangdale, Lisa; Weiser, Sheri D; Iacopino, Vincent

2009-01-01

Despite increasing recognition of the importance of human rights in the protection and promotion of health, formal human rights education has been lacking in schools of medicine and public health. Our objectives were: 1) to determine the nature and extent of health and human rights (HHR) education among schools of medicine (SOMs) and public health (SPHs); 2) to identify perceived barriers to implementing HHR curricula; 3) to learn about deans' interests and attitudes toward HHR education, and; 4) to identify factors associated with offering HHR education. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among deans of all accredited allopathic SOMs and SPHs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Seventy-one percent of U.S. SOMs and SPHs responded. Thirty-seven percent of respondents indicated that their schools offered some form of HHR education. Main barriers to offering HHR education included competition for time, lack of qualified instructors and lack of funding. Among schools not offering HHR education, 35% of deans were interested in offering HHR education. Seventy-six percent of all deans believed that it was very important or important to offer HHR education. Multiple regression analysis revealed that deans' attitudes were the most important factor associated with offering any HHR education. Findings indicate that though a majority of deans of SOMs and SPHs believe that knowledge about human rights is important in health practice and support the inclusion of HHR studies in their schools, HHR education is lacking at most of their institutions. These results and the growing recognition of the critical interdependence between health and human rights indicate a need for SOMs and SPHs to work towards formal inclusion of HHR studies in their curricula, and that HHR competency requirements be considered to overcome barriers to its inclusion.

How social learning adds up to a culture: from birdsong to human public opinion.

Science.gov (United States)

Tchernichovski, Ofer; Feher, Olga; Fimiarz, Daniel; Conley, Dalton

2017-01-01

Distributed social learning may occur at many temporal and spatial scales, but it rarely adds up to a stable culture. Cultures vary in stability and diversity (polymorphism), ranging from chaotic or drifting cultures, through cumulative polymorphic cultures, to stable monolithic cultures with high conformity levels. What features can sustain polymorphism, preventing cultures from collapsing into either chaotic or highly conforming states? We investigate this question by integrating studies across two quite separate disciplines: the emergence of song cultures in birds, and the spread of public opinion and social conventions in humans. In songbirds, the learning process has been studied in great detail, while in human studies the structure of social networks has been experimentally manipulated on large scales. In both cases, the manner in which communication signals are compressed and filtered - either during learning or while traveling through the social network - can affect culture polymorphism and stability. We suggest a simple mechanism of a shifting balance between converging and diverging social forces to explain these effects. Understanding social forces that shape cultural evolution might be useful for designing agile communication systems, which are stable and polymorphic enough to promote gradual changes in institutional behavior. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Integrating ethics in public health education: the process of developing case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Tulchinsky, Theodore; Jennings, Bruce; Viehbeck, Sarah

2015-01-01

The study of ethics in public health became a societal imperative following the horrors of pre World War II eugenics, the Holocaust, and the Tuskegee Experiment (and more recent similar travesties). International responses led to: the Nuremberg Doctors' Trials, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CCPCG, 1948), which includes sanctions against incitement to genocide. The Declaration of Geneva (1948) set forth the physician's dedication to the humanitarian goals of medicine, a declaration especially important in view of the medical crimes which had just been committed in Nazi Germany. This led to a modern revision of the Hippocratic Oath in the form of the Declaration of Helsinki (1964) for medical research ethical standards, which has been renewed periodically and adopted worldwide to ensure ethical research practices. Public health ethics differs from traditional biomedical ethics in many respects, specifically in its emphasis on societal considerations of prevention, equity, and population-level issues. Health care systems are increasingly faced with the need to integrate clinical medicine with public health and health policy. As health systems and public health evolve, the ethical issues in health care also bridge the gap between the separation of bioethics and public health ethics in the past. These complexities calls for the inclusion of ethics in public health education curricula and competencies across the many professions in public health, in the policy arena, as well as educational engagement with the public and the lay communities and other stakeholders.

Seroepidemiological Study of Human Hydatidosis in Rafsanjan, Kerman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Shahrokhabadi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Echinococcosis is one of the major zoonotic parasitic diseases that occurs throughout the world and causes considerable economic losses and public health problems in many countries. Given that sheep act as intermediate and dogs as definitive hosts of Echinococcus granulosus, hydatidosis poses both a human health risk and an economic loss to the country. Hydatid cysts can grow in any site of the human's body, but the most common locations are the liver (65% and the lungs (25% [1]. Human contamination take accidentally place through

Human reliability analysis methods for probabilistic safety assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pyy, P.

2000-11-01

Human reliability analysis (HRA) of a probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) includes identifying human actions from safety point of view, modelling the most important of them in PSA models, and assessing their probabilities. As manifested by many incidents and studies, human actions may have both positive and negative effect on safety and economy. Human reliability analysis is one of the areas of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) that has direct applications outside the nuclear industry. The thesis focuses upon developments in human reliability analysis methods and data. The aim is to support PSA by extending the applicability of HRA. The thesis consists of six publications and a summary. The summary includes general considerations and a discussion about human actions in the nuclear power plant (NPP) environment. A condensed discussion about the results of the attached publications is then given, including new development in methods and data. At the end of the summary part, the contribution of the publications to good practice in HRA is presented. In the publications, studies based on the collection of data on maintenance-related failures, simulator runs and expert judgement are presented in order to extend the human reliability analysis database. Furthermore, methodological frameworks are presented to perform a comprehensive HRA, including shutdown conditions, to study reliability of decision making, and to study the effects of wrong human actions. In the last publication, an interdisciplinary approach to analysing human decision making is presented. The publications also include practical applications of the presented methodological frameworks. (orig.)

Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miklas Scholz

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This special issue ‘Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health’ is part of the internationally leading 'International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health’. I was invited to be the guest editor, and to oversee the refereeing process and subsequent selection of timely, relevant and high quality papers highlighting particularly novel aspects concerned with sustainability issues in environmental studies. [...

Human reliability analysis in probabilistic safety assessment for nuclear power plants. A Safety Practice. A publication within the NUSS programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

Probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) is playing an increasingly important role in the safe operation of nuclear power plants throughout the world. In order to establish a consistent framework for conducting PSA studies, for promoting technology transfer of the state of the art, and for encouraging uniformity in the way PSA is carried out, the IAEA is preparing a set of publications which gives guidance on various aspects of PSA. This document presents a practical approach for incorporating human reliability analysis (HRA) into PSA. It describes the steps needed and the documentation that should be provided both to support the PSA itself and to ensure effective communication of important information arising from the studies. It also describes a framework for analysing those human actions which could affect safety and for relating such human influences to specific parts of a PSA. This Safety Practice also addresses the limitations of PSA in taking account of human factors in relation to safety and risk. Refs, figs and tabs

A Prototype Public Speaking Skills Assessment: An Evaluation of Human-Scoring Quality. Research Report. ETS RR-15-36

Science.gov (United States)

Joe, Jilliam; Kitchen, Christopher; Chen, Lei; Feng, Gary

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the evaluation of human-scoring quality for an assessment of public speaking skills. Videotaped performances given by 17 speakers on 4 tasks were scored by expert and nonexpert raters who had extensive experience scoring performance-based and constructed-response assessments. The Public Speaking Competence…

Publication trends of study protocols in rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jesus, Tiago S; Colquhoun, Heather L

2017-09-04

Growing evidence points for the need to publish study protocols in the health field. To observe whether the growing interest in publishing study protocols in the broader health field has been translated into increased publications of rehabilitation study protocols. Observational study using publication data and its indexation in PubMed. Not applicable. Not applicable. PubMed was searched with appropriate combinations of Medical Subject Headings up to December 2014. The effective presence of study protocols was manually screened. Regression models analyzed the yearly growth of publications. Two-sample Z-tests analyzed whether the proportion of Systematic Reviews (SRs) and Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) among study protocols differed from that of the same designs for the broader rehabilitation research. Up to December 2014, 746 publications of rehabilitation study protocols were identified, with an exponential growth since 2005 (r2=0.981; p<0.001). RCT protocols were the most common among rehabilitation study protocols (83%), while RCTs were significantly more prevalent among study protocols than among the broader rehabilitation research (83% vs. 35.8%; p<0.001). For SRs, the picture was reversed: significantly less common among study protocols (2.8% vs. 9.3%; p<0.001). Funding was more often reported by rehabilitation study protocols than the broader rehabilitation research (90% vs. 53.1%; p<0.001). Rehabilitation journals published a significantly lower share of rehabilitation study protocols than they did for the broader rehabilitation research (1.8% vs.16.7%; p<0.001). Identifying the reasons for these discrepancies and reverting unwarranted disparities (e.g. low rate of publication for rehabilitation SR protocols) are likely new avenues for rehabilitation research and its publication. SRs, particularly those aggregating RCT results, are considered the best standard of evidence to guide rehabilitation clinical practice; however, that standard can be improved

Latina Social Studies Teachers Negotiating Public Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Rivas, Elizabeth D.

2017-01-01

This mixed methods study explores the institutionalized master narrative of public institutions and how the mandated policies enacted by public institutions impact Latina social studies teachers when delivering instruction to their students. A socio-transformative constructivist framework guides this study to affirm that knowledge is socially…

Two studies: working in public

OpenAIRE

Sleeper, Clinton James

2014-01-01

Two Studies: Working in Public is comprised of release of an artist book and the presentation of several large-scale projections created from original recombinant video. Developed around research into generosity, maintenance, urbanism, and novel practices, this ambitious investigation of Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Manifesto for Maintenance Art includes a generative video system; which sorts through source footage of the artist repairing public benches and playgrounds. The artwork also includes a...

Mobilisation for public engagement: Benchmarking the practices of research institutes.

Science.gov (United States)

Entradas, Marta; Bauer, Martin M

2017-10-01

Studies on scientists' practices of public engagement have pointed to variations between disciplines. If variations at the individual level are reflected at the institutional level, then research institutes in Social Sciences (and Humanities) should perform higher in public engagement and be more involved in dialogue with the public. Using a nearly complete sample of research institutes in Portugal 2014 ( n = 234, 61% response rate), we investigate how public engagement varies in intensity, type of activities and target audiences across scientific areas. Three benchmark findings emerge. First, the Social Sciences and the Humanities profile differently in public engagement highlighting the importance of distinguishing between these two scientific areas often conflated in public engagement studies. Second, the Social Sciences overall perform more public engagement activities, but the Natural Sciences mobilise more effort for public engagement. Third, while the Social Sciences play a greater role in civic public engagement, the Natural Sciences are more likely to perform educational activities. Finally, this study shows that the overall size of research institutes, available public engagement funding and public engagement staffing make a difference in institutes' public engagement.

Public opinions about human enhancement can enhance the expert-only debate. A review study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, Anne M.; Schuijff, Mirjam

2016-01-01

Human enhancement, the non-medical use of biomedical technologies to improve the human body or performance beyond their ‘natural’ limitations, is a growing trend. At the same time, the use of these technologies has societal consequences. In societal debates about human enhancement, however, it is

The human right to water and sanitation: a new perspective for public policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Colin; Neves-Silva, Priscila; Heller, Léo

2016-03-01

The recognition of the human right to water and sanitation (HRtWS) by the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council in 2010 constituted a significant political measure whose direct consequences are still being assessed. Previous to this date, the HRtWS and its link to a healthy life and adequate standard of living had been recognised in diverse legal and judicial spheres worldwide, in some cases under the pressure of the initiatives of strong social movements. However, while the HRtWS is recognised by the UN State Members, it constitutes a concept in construction that has not been approached and interpreted in consensual ways by all concerned stakeholders. The present article presents a formal definition of this right with a base in human rights regulation. It attempts to dialogue with the different existing perspectives regarding the impact of its international recognition as a human right. It then elucidates the progressive development of the HRtWS in law and jurisprudence. Finally, it considers the urgency and challenge of monitoring the HRtWS and discusses important implications for public policies.

Wildlife Pathology Studies and How They Can Inform Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

McNamara, Tracey S

2016-01-01

Emerging zoonoses have had a serious impact on human and animal health in recent decades. More often than not, these disease outbreaks have taken public health by surprise because we have failed to shift the epidemiological curve to the far left and detect zoonoses in animal populations prior to spillover to people. Not only can animals serve as valuable sentinels for emerging zoonoses but also much can be gained by the study of the animals themselves. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Public skepticism of psychology: why many people perceive the study of human behavior as unscientific.

Science.gov (United States)

Lilienfeld, Scott O

2012-01-01

Data indicate that large percentages of the general public regard psychology's scientific status with considerable skepticism. I examine 6 criticisms commonly directed at the scientific basis of psychology (e.g., psychology is merely common sense, psychology does not use scientific methods, psychology is not useful to society) and offer 6 rebuttals. I then address 8 potential sources of public skepticism toward psychology and argue that although some of these sources reflect cognitive errors (e.g., hindsight bias) or misunderstandings of psychological science (e.g., failure to distinguish basic from applied research), others (e.g., psychology's failure to police itself, psychology's problematic public face) reflect the failure of professional psychology to get its own house in order. I offer several individual and institutional recommendations for enhancing psychology's image and contend that public skepticism toward psychology may, paradoxically, be one of our field's strongest allies.

Prosocial preferences do not explain human cooperation in public-goods games.

Science.gov (United States)

Burton-Chellew, Maxwell N; West, Stuart A

2013-01-02

It has become an accepted paradigm that humans have "prosocial preferences" that lead to higher levels of cooperation than those that would maximize their personal financial gain. However, the existence of prosocial preferences has been inferred post hoc from the results of economic games, rather than with direct experimental tests. Here, we test how behavior in a public-goods game is influenced by knowledge of the consequences of actions for other players. We found that (i) individuals cooperate at similar levels, even when they are not informed that their behavior benefits others; (ii) an increased awareness of how cooperation benefits others leads to a reduction, rather than an increase, in the level of cooperation; and (iii) cooperation can be either lower or higher than expected, depending on experimental design. Overall, these results contradict the suggested role of the prosocial preferences hypothesis and show how the complexity of human behavior can lead to misleading conclusions from controlled laboratory experiments.

76 FR 3134 - Human Studies Review Board; Notice of Public Meeting; Correction

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-19

... written comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0970: Internet: http://www.regulations.gov....gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact... included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If...

Role of animal toxicity studies in the evaluation of human health risks from internally deposited transuranics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, R.C.

1977-02-01

The extrapolation of animal data to man has always been a problem for those concerned with human biology. Especially if one is interested in the effects of toxicants, opportunities for direct observation in man are usually limited, and approval of planned experiments employing human subjects is difficult to obtain. In no case are these limitations more restrictive than for transuranic elements, for which no life-threatening effects have yet been demonstrated in man. This lack of human experience is coupled with a massive public concern over possible future effects of transuranics, which contrasts sharply with the general public apathy toward a multitude of present environmental pollutants of clearly established toxicity. This concern for the transuranics, especially 239 Pu, and for other radionuclides has prompted the expenditure of many millions of dollars (and francs and marks and pounds and roubles) on studies to investigate their toxicity in animals. Results of these studies are extensive, and still accumulating, but in many quarters there is now a reluctance to accept these results as relevant to the prediction of human effects

Chemical Risk Assessment: Traditional vs Public Health ...

Science.gov (United States)

Preventing adverse health impacts from exposures to environmental chemicals is fundamental to protecting individual and public health. When done efficiently and properly, chemical risk assessment enables risk management actions that minimize the incidence and impacts of environmentally-induced diseases related to chemical exposure. However, traditional chemical risk assessment is faced with multiple challenges with respect to predicting and preventing disease in human populations, and epidemiological studies increasingly report observations of adverse health effects at exposure levels predicted from animal studies to be safe for humans. This discordance reinforces concerns about the adequacy of contemporary risk assessment practices (Birnbaum, Burke, & Jones, 2016) for protecting public health. It is becoming clear that to protect public health more effectively, future risk assessments will need to use the full range of available data, draw on innovative methods to integrate diverse data streams, and consider health endpoints that also reflect the range of subtle effects and morbidities observed in human populations. Given these factors, there is a need to reframe chemical risk assessment to be more clearly aligned with the public health goal of minimizing environmental exposures associated with disease. Preventing adverse health impacts from exposures to environmental chemicals is fundamental to protecting individual and public health. Chemical risk assessments

Public knowledge and attitudes towards Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Charlotte Devereaux; Gera, Aradhana; Shah, Meeraj; Sharma, Amit; Powell, Judy E; Wilson, Sue

2008-01-01

Background Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine has undergone successful trials and has recently been approved for use for the primary prevention of cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to determine knowledge and attitudes towards HPV vaccination. Methods Semi-structured interview and questionnaire delivered in a street survey. Standardised HPV-related statements used to measure HPV knowledge and attitudes to vaccination. The setting was three different areas of Birmingham, to target a mix of social class and ethnicity. The sample population was composed of 16–54 year olds. Results A total of 420 participants were recruited. Poor knowledge of HPV and its links with cervical cancer were observed. 81% had a knowledge score of zero. Knowledge about HPV was associated with different ethnic group and socio-economic group. The majority (88%) of participants were in favour of vaccination, with 83.6% indicating that they would allow a child under their care to be vaccinated. Conclusion Initial responses to the proposed HPV vaccination within the UK public are favourable. However, knowledge levels are poor and media and health professional promotion are required to raise awareness. PMID:18947430

ECONOMICS OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IOANA - JULIETA JOSAN

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to analyze human resources in terms of quantitative and qualitative side with special focus on the human capital accumulation influence. The paper examines the human resources trough human capital accumulation in terms of modern theory of human resources, educational capital, health, unemployment and migration. The findings presented in this work are based on theoretical economy publications and data collected from research materials. Sources of information include: documents from organizations - the EUROSTAT, INSSE - studies from publications, books, periodicals, and the Internet. The paper describes and analyzes human resources characteristics, human resource capacities, social and economic benefits of human capital accumulation based on economy, and the government plans and policies on health, education and labor market.

A mixed-methods observational study of human milk sharing communities on Facebook.

Science.gov (United States)

Perrin, Maryanne Tigchelaar; Goodell, L Suzanne; Allen, Jonathan C; Fogleman, April

2014-04-01

The Food and Drug Administration discourages the casual sharing of human milk because of the risk of pathogen transmission. No information is currently available on the prevalence of this practice. The purpose of this mixed-methods observational study is to describe the size and activity of online milk sharing communities. Data for 3 months were extracted from nine public Facebook pages that facilitate the exchange of human milk. The numbers of participants, interactions, and comments were analyzed. We observed 954 individuals participating in milk sharing. The number of interactions per individual ranged from none to 16 (mean, 1.74 ± 1.65). Top reasons that participants requested milk included "lactation problems" (69.4%) and "child health problems" (48.5%). Nearly half of donors were offering 100 ounces or more, which is the minimum to be eligible to donate to nonprofit milk banks. Milk sharing networks in the United States are active, with thousands of individuals participating in the direct exchange of raw human milk. Public health issues include increasing the supply of pasteurized donor milk for fragile infants, increasing breastfeeding support, and helping milk sharing families appropriately manage risks.

Epigenetics: relevance and implications for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozek, Laura S; Dolinoy, Dana C; Sartor, Maureen A; Omenn, Gilbert S

2014-01-01

Improved understanding of the multilayer regulation of the human genome has led to a greater appreciation of environmental, nutritional, and epigenetic risk factors for human disease. Chromatin remodeling, histone tail modifications, and DNA methylation are dynamic epigenetic changes responsive to external stimuli. Careful interpretation can provide insights for actionable public health through collaboration between population and basic scientists and through integration of multiple data sources. We review key findings in environmental epigenetics both in human population studies and in animal models, and discuss the implications of these results for risk assessment and public health protection. To ultimately succeed in identifying epigenetic mechanisms leading to complex phenotypes and disease, researchers must integrate the various animal models, human clinical approaches, and human population approaches while paying attention to life-stage sensitivity, to generate effective prescriptions for human health evaluation and disease prevention.

Dawn Mission Education and Public Outreach: Science as Human Endeavor

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, W. H.; Wise, J.; Schmidt, B. E.; Ristvey, J.

2012-12-01

general public into the thrill of NASA science. Helping teachers develop a picture of the history and evolution of our understanding of the solar system, and honing in on the place of asteroids in helping us answer old questions and discover new ones, students and the general public sees the power and excitement underlying planetary science as human endeavor. Research indicates that science inquiry is powerful in the classroom and mission scientists are real-life models of science inquiry in action. Cross-curricular elements include examining research-based strategies for enhancing English language learners' ability to engage in higher order questions and a professional astronomy artist's insight into how visual analysis requires not just our eyes engaged, but our brains: comparing, synthesizing, questioning, evaluating, and wondering. Dawn Education and Public Outreach will share out perspectives and lessons learned, backed by extensive evaluation examining the efficacy of the mission's efforts.

Peer review of human studies run amok: a break in the fiduciary relation between scientists and the public.

Science.gov (United States)

Feldstein Ewing, Sarah W; Saitz, Richard

2015-02-01

Peer review aims to ensure the quality and credibility of research reporting. Conducted by volunteer scientists who receive no guidance or direction, peer review widely varies from fast and facilitative, to unclear and obstructive. Poor quality is an issue because most science research is publicly funded, whereby scientists must make an effort to quickly disseminate their findings back to the public. An unfortunately not uncommon barrier in this process is ineffective peer review. Most scientists agree that when done well, editors and reviewers drive and maintain the high standards of science. At the same time, ineffective peer review can cause great delay with no introduced improvement in final product. These delays and requests interfere with the path of communication between scientist and public, at a great cost to editors, reviewers, authors and those who stand to benefit from application of the results of the studies. We offer a series of concrete recommendations to improve this process.

Human rights vs. Public safety -- When can you test your workers for drugs?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kossowan, B. L.

2002-06-01

Legislative and regulatory aspects of drug testing of employees vs. public safety are discussed. While in Canada federal and provincial laws concerning human rights take precedence over public safety issues, laws and regulations vary from province to province, therefore there is good reason for concern about uncertainty. To compound the uncertainty, certain relevant laws of the United States are different (generally more stringent than corresponding Canadian laws), consequently there is the possibility that certain American companies might feel justified in refusing to do business with Canadian firms that do not follow their rigid standards. The conclusion is that while the situation may be clear enough in a legal situation, it does not always work equally well in practice. Unfortunately, at the present time there is not a whole lot of guidance available for companies to manage the workplace in a practical sense.

Public Lecture: Human Space Exploration

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

Should you wish to attend to this lecture only (and not the full colloquium), please register here: https://indico.cern.ch/event/386996/registration/ Participants to the full colloquium are automatically registered to the public lectures.

Public-private partnerships to build human capacity in low income countries: findings from the Pfizer program.

Science.gov (United States)

Vian, Taryn; Richards, Sarah C; McCoy, Kelly; Connelly, Patrick; Feeley, Frank

2007-03-02

The ability of health organizations in developing countries to expand access to quality services depends in large part on organizational and human capacity. Capacity building includes professional development of staff, as well as efforts to create working environments conducive to high levels of performance. The current study evaluated an approach to public-private partnership where corporate volunteers give technical assistance to improve organizational and staff performance. From 2003 to 2005, the Pfizer Global Health Fellows program sent 72 employees to work with organizations in 19 countries. This evaluation was designed to assess program impact. The researchers administered a survey to 60 Fellows and 48 Pfizer Supervisors. In addition, the team conducted over 100 interviews with partner organization staff and other key informants during site visits in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and India, the five countries where 60% of Fellows were placed. Over three-quarters of Fellowships appear to have imparted skills or enhanced operations of NGOs in HIV/AIDS and other health programs. Overall, 79% of Fellows reported meeting all or most technical assistance goals. Partner organization staff reported that the Fellows provided training to clinical and research personnel; strengthened laboratory, pharmacy, financial control, and human resource management systems; and helped expand Partner organization networks. Local staff also reported the Program changed their work habits and attitudes. The evaluation identified problems in defining goals of Fellowships and matching Organizations with Fellows. Capacity building success also appears related to size and sophistication of partner organization. Public expectations have grown regarding the role corporations should play in improving health systems in developing countries. Corporate philanthropy programs based on "donations" of personnel can help build the organizational and human capacity of frontline agencies

Designing an Automated Assessment of Public Speaking Skills Using Multimodal Cues

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lei; Feng, Gary; Leong, Chee Wee; Joe, Jilliam; Kitchen, Christopher; Lee, Chong Min

2016-01-01

Traditional assessments of public speaking skills rely on human scoring. We report an initial study on the development of an automated scoring model for public speaking performances using multimodal technologies. Task design, rubric development, and human rating were conducted according to standards in educational assessment. An initial corpus of…

Hospital volunteerism as human resource solution: Motivation for both volunteers and the public health sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guinevere M. Lourens

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: A volunteer programme with 50 registered volunteers was established in 2007 at a secondary-level public, semi-rural regional hospital in the Cape Winelands, South Africa. This was a rapid response to the extensive renovations and system changes brought about by the hospital revitalisation initiated in 2006 and the resultant expanded services, which required additional human resources. This study describes the hospital volunteer programme and provides hospital administrators with practical planning guidance for hospital volunteer programme implementation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to (1 describe the outcomes of the hospital volunteer programme implementation intervention and (2 to make sound recommendations for volunteer programme implementation. Methodology and approach: A qualitative case-study methodology was employed using purposive sampling as a technique. Participants were recruited from a public hospital in the Western Cape. A case-study design was applied to explore the hospital volunteer programme implementation. In-depth interviews and a focus group discussion with thematic content analysis of transcripts as well as document reviews were conducted to conclude the study during 2015. The key participants were individually interviewed and included two members of the hospital management, two volunteers and one volunteer coordinator. A focus group discussion consisting of three volunteers was also conducted. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that a volunteer programme can meet needs and be a motivational force for both the individual volunteer and the organisation. However, it requires co-ordination and some secure funding to remain sustainable. Such a programme holds huge benefits in terms of human resource supplementation, organisational development, as well as the possibility of gainful employment for the previously unemployed. Practical implications: In practice, a health service contemplating a

Occupational and public health considerations for work-hour limitations policy regarding public health workers during response to natural and human-caused disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Berkowitz, Murray R

2012-01-01

This article examines the occupational health considerations that might impact the health and wellbeing of public health workers during responses to natural (eg, floods and hurricanes) and human-caused (eg, terrorism, war, and shootings) disasters. There are a number of articles in the medical literature that argue the impact of how working long hours by house staff physicians, nurses, and first-responders may pose health and safety concerns regarding the patients being treated. The question examined here is how working long hours may pose health and/or safety concerns for the public health workers themselves, as well as to those in the communities they serve. The health problems related to sleep deprivation are reviewed. Current policies and legislations regarding work-hour limitations are examined. Policy implications are discussed.

78 FR 71615 - Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-29

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the... the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services... bioethics, science, medicine, technology, engineering, law, philosophy, theology, or other areas of the...

78 FR 20647 - Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-05

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the... the Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Notice of Meeting..., ethics, religion, law, and engineering. The Bioethics Commission advises the President on bioethical...

78 FR 46335 - Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-31

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Meeting of the Presidential Commission for the... the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The... Bioethics Commission is an advisory panel of the nation's leaders in medicine, science, ethics, religion...

Analisis Pengaruh Human Capital Terhadap Kinerja Perusahaan (Studi Empiris pada Kantor Akuntan Publik di Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Dwi Puji Astri Ongkorahardjo

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Human capital is of the intellectual capital components owned by a company. This study evaluates if individual capability and organizational climate affect business performance partially and simultaneously. We use public accounting firms as our subjects.. Our study shows that individual capability and organizational climate respectively influence performance in public accounting firms. Additionally, these two factors simultaneously affect performance. Overall individual capability shows stronger relationship to performance compared to organizational climate. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia: Human capital sebagai salah satu komponen utama dari intellectual capital (intangible asset yang dimiliki oleh perusahaan. Penelitian ini menggunakan obyek kantor akuntan publik Penelitian ini berusaha menguji apakah individual capability dan the organizational climate yang merupakan komponen dari human capital memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap kinerja perusahaan kantor akuntan publik baik secara individual (parsial maupun secara simultan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pertama, individual capability berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja kantor akuntan publik. Kedua, the organizational climate berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja kantor akuntan publik. Ketiga, individual capability dan the organizational climate berpengaruh signifikan secara bersama-sama terhadap kinerja kantor akuntan publik. Pengujian juga membuktikan bahwa individual capability adalah variabel yang mempunyai pengaruh paling besar terhadap kinerja kantor akuntan publik. Kata kunci: Human capital, individual capability, the organizational climate.

'Ecological embeddedness' and Its Public Health Implications: Findings From an Exploratory Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Marina; Townsend, Mardie

2015-06-01

Western culture over the last two centuries has become significantly ecologically 'dis-embedded', with nature increasingly reduced to resources for human use. The consequence is global environmental degradation, including accelerating climate change. Much recent research supports associations between nature contact and human health and well-being, and between feelings of nature-connectedness and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. The oft-cited Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (WHO, Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986) emphasises human-environment inextricability; however public health discourse and response has not fully engaged with this recognition. This qualitative study explored the attitudes, motivations, and experiences-including formative influences-of six individuals whose behaviour was congruent with recognition of human-nature interconnectedness; such individuals may be understood as ecologically embedded. Key aspects of participants' experience, identified through grounded theory thematic analysis, were (i) connecting with nature (especially in childhood); (ii) seeing the threat and taking it personally; (iii) the nature of reality; (iv) dedicated beyond the ego-oriented self; and (v) sustaining the eco-centric self. The findings highlight the necessity for cross-sectoral advocacy at all levels of government policy development focused on recognition of human-environment connectedness, especially bridging health, planning and education policies affecting children. Only thus will both population health and ecological health on which population health depends be possible.

Public health preparedness in Alberta: a systems-level study.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Douglas; Shiell, Alan; Noseworthy, Tom; Russell, Margaret; Predy, Gerald

2006-12-28

Recent international and national events have brought critical attention to the Canadian public health system and how prepared the system is to respond to various types of contemporary public health threats. This article describes the study design and methods being used to conduct a systems-level analysis of public health preparedness in the province of Alberta, Canada. The project is being funded under the Health Research Fund, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. We use an embedded, multiple-case study design, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to measure empirically the degree of inter-organizational coordination existing among public health agencies in Alberta, Canada. We situate our measures of inter-organizational network ties within a systems-level framework to assess the relative influence of inter-organizational ties, individual organizational attributes, and institutional environmental features on public health preparedness. The relative contribution of each component is examined for two potential public health threats: pandemic influenza and West Nile virus. The organizational dimensions of public health preparedness depend on a complex mix of individual organizational characteristics, inter-agency relationships, and institutional environmental factors. Our study is designed to discriminate among these different system components and assess the independent influence of each on the other, as well as the overall level of public health preparedness in Alberta. While all agree that competent organizations and functioning networks are important components of public health preparedness, this study is one of the first to use formal network analysis to study the role of inter-agency networks in the development of prepared public health systems.

STUDY REGARDING THE MANAGEMENT OF LOCAL POLICEMAN CAREER WITHIN THE REŞIŢA LOCAL POLICE DIVISION PUBLIC SERVICE

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GHERGHINA LILIANA

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The paper entitled Study regarding the Management of Local Policemen Career within the Reşiţa Local Police Division Public Service aims at highlighting the need for this public service in the Reşiţa municipality community, the importance of the public office in this context, of the public service, of the public servant with special statute and, last but not least, of the managerial act in the administration of this type of human resources, and implicitly this type of career. Starting from the theoretic identifications and their translation into the practice of the field chosen for research we could conclude that in the development of the local policemen career, a special role is played by the human resources management, especially the management of the career of this value-bearing resource. Our investigation was based on the opinion poll-type inquiry, the main instrument being the questionnaire conceived, administered and then valorised and interpreted. The conclusions generated by this research highlighted step by step, along the activities of the analysed human resources management and implicitly their career management, the actual positive or negative aspects and the fact that the management of human resources and implicitly of their career which, we scrutinised – that of police officer or policeman in short – assures with priority: the observance of the legislation specific to the investigated field, support for the development of the local policemen’s career, their prompt availability in due time, the knowledge and fulfilment of the tasks according to the job and position requirements, all this assures the understanding of the employees’ expectations, of the change of employees’ roles within the organisation depending on their experience and solves the conflicts among the employees. Nevertheless, we identified, in a less significant percentage , some cases of discontent and dissatisfaction, cases that could generate ideas for

Public perceptions of climate change as a human health risk: surveys of the United States, Canada and Malta.

Science.gov (United States)

Akerlof, Karen; Debono, Roberto; Berry, Peter; Leiserowitz, Anthony; Roser-Renouf, Connie; Clarke, Kaila-Lea; Rogaeva, Anastasia; Nisbet, Matthew C; Weathers, Melinda R; Maibach, Edward W

2010-06-01

We used data from nationally representative surveys conducted in the United States, Canada and Malta between 2008 and 2009 to answer three questions: Does the public believe that climate change poses human health risks, and if so, are they seen as current or future risks? Whose health does the public think will be harmed? In what specific ways does the public believe climate change will harm human health? When asked directly about the potential impacts of climate change on health and well-being, a majority of people in all three nations said that it poses significant risks; moreover, about one third of Americans, one half of Canadians, and two-thirds of Maltese said that people are already being harmed. About a third or more of people in the United States and Canada saw themselves (United States, 32%; Canada, 67%), their family (United States, 35%; Canada, 46%), and people in their community (United States, 39%; Canada, 76%) as being vulnerable to at least moderate harm from climate change. About one third of Maltese (31%) said they were most concerned about the risk to themselves and their families. Many Canadians said that the elderly (45%) and children (33%) are at heightened risk of harm, while Americans were more likely to see people in developing countries as being at risk than people in their own nation. When prompted, large numbers of Canadians and Maltese said that climate change can cause respiratory problems (78-91%), heat-related problems (75-84%), cancer (61-90%), and infectious diseases (49-62%). Canadians also named sunburn (79%) and injuries from extreme weather events (73%), and Maltese cited allergies (84%). However, climate change appears to lack salience as a health issue in all three countries: relatively few people answered open-ended questions in a manner that indicated clear top-of-mind associations between climate change and human health risks. We recommend mounting public health communication initiatives that increase the salience of the

Public Perceptions of Climate Change as a Human Health Risk: Surveys of the United States, Canada and Malta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Akerlof

2010-06-01

Full Text Available We used data from nationally representative surveys conducted in the United States, Canada and Malta between 2008 and 2009 to answer three questions: Does the public believe that climate change poses human health risks, and if so, are they seen as current or future risks? Whose health does the public think will be harmed? In what specific ways does the public believe climate change will harm human health? When asked directly about the potential impacts of climate change on health and well-being, a majority of people in all three nations said that it poses significant risks; moreover, about one third of Americans, one half of Canadians, and two-thirds of Maltese said that people are already being harmed. About a third or more of people in the United States and Canada saw themselves (United States, 32%; Canada, 67%, their family (United States, 35%; Canada, 46%, and people in their community (United States, 39%; Canada, 76% as being vulnerable to at least moderate harm from climate change. About one third of Maltese (31% said they were most concerned about the risk to themselves and their families. Many Canadians said that the elderly (45% and children (33% are at heightened risk of harm, while Americans were more likely to see people in developing countries as being at risk than people in their own nation. When prompted, large numbers of Canadians and Maltese said that climate change can cause respiratory problems (78–91%, heat-related problems (75–84%, cancer (61–90%, and infectious diseases (49–62%. Canadians also named sunburn (79% and injuries from extreme weather events (73%, and Maltese cited allergies (84%. However, climate change appears to lack salience as a health issue in all three countries: relatively few people answered open-ended questions in a manner that indicated clear top-of-mind associations between climate change and human health risks. We recommend mounting public health communication initiatives that increase the

A STUDY OF THE REQUIRED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING PROGRAM IN PUBLIC COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS HELD BY CESPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fátima de Souza Freire

2012-11-01

Full Text Available With a view to standardizing the contents offered to future Accounting professionals, the Federal Accounting Council (CFC elaborated the National Proposal for Undergraduate Accountancy Program Contents. Thus, the curriculum that Higher Education Institutions (HEI adopt serves as an ally for students’ professional conquests. Stability and favorable job conditions attract many people to the dispute for a public function, with a growing Braz ilian public competitive examination market. According to the National Association for Protection and Support to Public Competitive Examinations (Anpac, between 2003 and 2009, the number of public servants in the executive power with a higher education degree in Brazil increased by 26%. The aim of this study was to confront the CFC’s suggested knowledge with the contents required during tests applied in public competitive examinations for Accountancy professionals. The intent is to identify what Public Accounting knowledge is demanded from candidates for the public career. Through a documentary research, 561 calls from public competitive examinations exclusively for Accountancy professionals were selected for the study sample. They were classified according to the proposed program contents, the test questions by the Center for Selection and Event Promotion (Cespe, between 2000 and 2009. In conclusion, the most frequent required Public Accounting areas are contents related to Public Equity and Budget. The results demonstrate that the CFC’s suggested content is in line with the knowledge required from candidates for public functions.

42 CFR 66.113 - Publications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Publications. 66.113 Section 66.113 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FELLOWSHIPS, INTERNSHIPS, TRAINING NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS Direct Awards § 66.113 Publications. Publication, distribution, and...

Ageing and the public service: human resource challenges

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Pilichowski, Elsa; Turkisch, Edouard; Arnould, Emmanuelle

2007-01-01

.... In addition to addressing an urgent policy concern of OECD member countries, this project fits the larger OECD priority of developing policy responses to ageing societies. This project has accompanied a separate study on public sector pension schemes in OECD member countries. The two projects have fed into each other. The project was led by Elsa Pili...

Public health preparedness in Alberta: a systems-level study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noseworthy Tom

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent international and national events have brought critical attention to the Canadian public health system and how prepared the system is to respond to various types of contemporary public health threats. This article describes the study design and methods being used to conduct a systems-level analysis of public health preparedness in the province of Alberta, Canada. The project is being funded under the Health Research Fund, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. Methods/Design We use an embedded, multiple-case study design, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to measure empirically the degree of inter-organizational coordination existing among public health agencies in Alberta, Canada. We situate our measures of inter-organizational network ties within a systems-level framework to assess the relative influence of inter-organizational ties, individual organizational attributes, and institutional environmental features on public health preparedness. The relative contribution of each component is examined for two potential public health threats: pandemic influenza and West Nile virus. Discussion The organizational dimensions of public health preparedness depend on a complex mix of individual organizational characteristics, inter-agency relationships, and institutional environmental factors. Our study is designed to discriminate among these different system components and assess the independent influence of each on the other, as well as the overall level of public health preparedness in Alberta. While all agree that competent organizations and functioning networks are important components of public health preparedness, this study is one of the first to use formal network analysis to study the role of inter-agency networks in the development of prepared public health systems.

Integrated Public Education, Fertility and Human Capital

Science.gov (United States)

Azarnert, Leonid V.

2014-01-01

This paper analyzes the consequences of integration in public education. I show that the flight from the integrated multicultural public schools to private education increases private educational expenditures and, as a result, decreases fertility among more affluent parents whose children flee. In contrast, among less prosperous parents…

The pros and cons of human therapeutic cloning in the public debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Nippert, Irmgard

2002-09-11

Few issues linked to genetic research have raised as much controversial debate as the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to create embryos specifically for stem cell research. Whereas European countries unanimously agree that reproductive cloning should be prohibited there is no agreement to be found on whether or not research into therapeutic cloning should be permitted. Since the UK took the lead and voted in favour of regulations allowing therapeutic cloning the public debate has intensified on the Continent. This debate reflects the wide spectrum of diverse religious and secular moralities that are prevalent in modern multicultural European democratic societies. Arguments range from putting forward strictly utilitarian views that weight the moral issues involved against the potential benefits that embryonic stem cell research may harbour to considering the embryo as a human being, endowed with human dignity and human rights from the moment of its creation, concluding that its use for research is unethical and should be strictly prohibited. Given the current state of dissension among the various European states, it is difficult to predict whether 'non-harmonisation' will prevail or whether in the long run 'harmonisation' of legislation that will allow stem cell research will evolve in the EU.

Are results from pharmaceutical-company-sponsored studies available to the public?

Science.gov (United States)

Dal-Ré, Rafael; Pedromingo, Alejandro; García-Losa, Manuel; Lahuerta, Juan; Ortega, Rafael

2010-11-01

Only 53% and 63% of studies and clinical trials results presented at congresses are published. Company-sponsored trial results are being posted on publicly accessible Web sites. We analyzed the public availability (publication or posting on a Web site) rate, time to publication, and factors predicting public availability of results of studies sponsored by a pharmaceutical company. This was a retrospective cohort study analyzing all studies conducted by GlaxoSmithKline in Spain between 2001 and 2006. Initiation and completion were defined as first participant/first visit and last participant/last visit (or their equivalents). Papers published up to 31 March 2009 were considered. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors predicting public availability of results. The cohort comprised 143 studies (94 clinical trials; of these, 87 were included in international products clinical development plans). Public availability rate was 80% (114/143) for all studies and 78% (73/94) for clinical trials; publication rates were 68% and 61%, respectively. The median time to publication for all studies and trials was 27.3 and 28.4 months, respectively. Study associated to a cancelled project was the only significant factor associated with lower publication rate for all studies [odds ratio (OR) 0.069; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.02-024; p public availability rate (OR 0.052; 95% CI 0.007-0.382; p = 0.004) for trial results. Therapy area, sample size, positive trial results, duration of experimental phase, and being a clinical trial did not predict publication or public availability. Eighty percent of studies included in this analysis are publicly available. Web site posting increases public availability rate of clinical trial results from 61% to 78%. Cancellation of projects is the single factor negatively influencing publication and public availability rates.

Incorporating public priorities in the Ocean Health Index: Canada as a case study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rémi M Daigle

Full Text Available The Ocean Health Index (OHI is a framework to assess ocean health by considering many benefits (called 'goals' provided by the ocean provides to humans, such as food provision, tourism opportunities, and coastal protection. The OHI framework can be used to assess marine areas at global or regional scales, but how various OHI goals should be weighted to reflect priorities at those scales remains unclear. In this study, we adapted the framework in two ways for application to Canada as a case study. First, we customized the OHI goals to create a national Canadian Ocean Health Index (COHI. In particular, we altered the list of iconic species assessed, added methane clathrates and subsea permafrost as carbon storage habitats, and developed a new goal, 'Aboriginal Needs', to measure access of Aboriginal people to traditional marine hunting and fishing grounds. Second, we evaluated various goal weighting schemes based on preferences elicited from the general public in online surveys. We quantified these public preferences in three ways: using Likert scores, simple ranks from a best-worst choice experiment, and model coefficients from the analysis of elicited choice experiment. The latter provided the clearest statistical discrimination among goals, and we recommend their use because they can more accurately reflect both public opinion and the trade-offs faced by policy-makers. This initial iteration of the COHI can be used as a baseline against which future COHI scores can be compared, and could potentially be used as a management tool to prioritise actions on a national scale and predict public support for these actions given that the goal weights are based on public priorities.

From smallpox eradication to contemporary global health initiatives: enhancing human capacity towards a global public health goal.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarantola, Daniel; Foster, Stanley O

2011-12-30

The eradication of smallpox owes its success first and foremost to the thousands of lay health workers and community members who, throughout the campaign and across continents, took on the roles of advocates, educators, vaccinators, care providers and contributors to epidemic surveillance and containment. Bangladesh provides a good example where smallpox eradication and the capacity enhancement needed to achieve this goal resulted in a two-way mutually beneficial process. Smallpox-dedicated staff provided community members with information guidance, support and tools. In turn, communities not only created the enabling environment for smallpox program staff to perform their work but acquired the capacity to perform essential eradication tasks. Contemporary global health programmes can learn much from these core lessons including: the pivotal importance of supporting community aspirations, capacity and resilience; the critical need to enhance commitment, capacity and accountability across the workforce; and the high value of attentive human resources management and support. We owe to subsequent global disease control, elimination and eradication ventures recognition of the need for social and behavioural science to inform public health strategies; the essential roles that civil society organizations and public-private partnerships can play in public health discourse and action; the overall necessity of investing in broad-based health system strengthening; and the utility of applying human rights principles, norms and standards to public health policy and practice. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Managing IT Projects in Public Companies: A Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bouras, A.

2014-07-01

Full Text Available As part of its public sector modernization effort, a North African government has put a lot of effort and allocated significant budgets since 1997 to modernize one of its main public sector companies. Consequently, this company, that mainly offers postal services, initiated many IT-based projects to computerize all paper-based ongoing services offered through its branches and to present new products to customers. This company was aiming to improve service quality and to diversify the range of its services. However, some of these IT-based projects inevitably faced problems. Some projects were either not completed successfully, cancelled, over-budget or taking more time than scheduled. As a result, many employees and customers of this company were dissatisfied and complained about bad planning, slowness and significant disruptions in these projects, an event that affected adversely the quality of service. This study aims at determining the causes of these project disruptions, failures or delays. To achieve this aim, 30 experienced project developers and engineers working in that company’s IT department volunteered to respond to a detailed questionnaire specifically developed for this purpose. The questionnaire included questions about project vision clarity, time/cost management, project quality assurance, risk management and human resources management. Results show that the main reasons for disruptions, failure or delays in IT projects are lack of business plan and poor documentation during and after finishing projects, lack of clear quality assurance criteria, standards and reviews, and poor project risk management practices. Ramifications of such results in terms of improving IT project management practices in the public service sector are finally presented.

Activities on safety culture study. Study status in public and private sectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makino, Maomi; Takano, Kenichi

2004-01-01

Around after entering in the 21st century, organizational accidents had occurred in Japan at various industries including nuclear industry, which were caused directly by unsafe action, human error and illegal conduct of personnel but there were problems in safety culture of organization such as slow retreat of safety system stimulated by management, schedule control and procedure management becoming a dead letter, lack of safety education, and workplace climate of schedule priority. This article referred to organizational factors common to many severe accidents and introduced safety culture study in public and private sectors to overcome those factors. Safety Culture Evaluation Support Tool (SCEST) was developed for self-evaluation of safety culture of organization as well as Organizational Reliability model (OR model) for analysis of initiation and propagation process of risk event. Safety diagnosis system and feedback type risk assessment system for promoting safe organizational climate and culture were also developed. (T. Tanaka)

Food system policy, public health, and human rights in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Shannon, Kerry L; Kim, Brent F; McKenzie, Shawn E; Lawrence, Robert S

2015-03-18

The US food system functions within a complex nexus of social, political, economic, cultural, and ecological factors. Among them are many dynamic pressures such as population growth, urbanization, socioeconomic inequities, climate disruption, and the increasing demand for resource-intensive foods that place immense strains on public health and the environment. This review focuses on the role that policy plays in defining the food system, particularly with regard to agriculture. It further examines the challenges of making the food supply safe, nutritious, and sustainable, while respecting the rights of all people to have access to adequate food and to attain the highest standard of health. We conclude that the present US food system is largely unhealthy, inequitable, environmentally damaging, and insufficiently resilient to endure the impacts of climate change, resource depletion, and population increases, and is therefore unsustainable. Thus, it is imperative that the US embraces policy reforms to transform the food system into one that supports public health and reflects the principles of human rights and agroecology for the benefit of current and future generations.

Effects of Student Characteristics, Principal Qualifications, and Organizational Constraints for Assessing Student Achievement: A School Public Relations and Human Resources Concern

Science.gov (United States)

Young, I. Phillip; Vang, Maiyoua; Young, Karen Holsey

2008-01-01

Standards-based student achievement scores are used to assess the effectiveness of public education and to have important implications regarding school public relations and human resource practices. Often overlooked is that these scores may be moderated by the characteristics of students, the qualifications of principals, and the restraints…

Source attribution of human salmonellosis using a meta-analysis of case-control studies of sporadic infections

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coutinho Calado Domingues, Ana Rita; Pires, Sara Monteiro; Hisham Beshara Halasa, Tariq

2012-01-01

Salmonella is an important cause of human illness. Disease is frequently associated with foodborne transmission, but other routes of exposure are recognized. Identifying sources of disease is essential for prioritizing public health interventions. Numerous case-control studies of sporadic salmone...

PARTICULARITIES OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE MOTIVATION IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IOAN CONSTANTIN DIMA

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The notion of public administration bears several acceptations, an activity one, of functional meaning and an organisational one. In both ways, public administration is indissolubly connected to the state. In default of the state, there is no public administration, as this is a state activity, performed by government bodies. This affirmation is confirmed by the stipulations of the Romanian Constitution, called public Authorities, chapter V, titled Public Administration. The first section intended for the specialised central public administration (ministry, other central bodies, and a second section is dedicated to the local public administration (county councils, local councils, mayors. There is no doubt that both sections refer to government bodies performing a state activity, so that the central specialised bodies of the public administration as well as the local bodies of the public administration are government bodies, and the activity they perform is a state one.

Bioethics in Public Health Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matilde Peguero

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The bioethics study method concerns the duties and values that must be fulfilled for respect for life. The aim of this article is to provide a reflection on bioethics in public health actions. It is a review article that includes authors with different positions. Bioethics, despite its apparent individual focus, is vital to fulfil essential functions in public health, and to guarantee the right to health and respect for human dignity.

The Role and Purposes of Public Schools and Religious Fundamentalism: An International Human Rights Law Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Hodgson, Douglas Charles

2012-01-01

The question of what are today the legitimate and proper role and purposes of public schools can only be answered by a close examination and analysis of the human right to education which has been developed by such international organizations as the United Nations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and by…

Risk communication: climate change as a human-health threat, a survey of public perceptions in Malta.

Science.gov (United States)

DeBono, Roberto; Vincenti, Karen; Calleja, Neville

2012-02-01

Scientific evidence shows that climate change is very likely the product of human behaviour and lifestyle. The effects of climate change on human health are diverse in nature and range from direct effects due to extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods and storms, to indirect effects such as those caused by water and food shortages. A telephone survey was conducted between January and February 2009, on a stratified representative random sample of the Maltese population over the age of 18 years (N = 310,819). Five hundred and forty-three individuals successfully participated in the survey giving a response rate of 92.7%. The respondent sample was very similar to the target population by gender (P = 0.977), age (P = 0.767) and district (P = 0.812). The results of the study demonstrate a very strong relationship between the perception of climate change as a threat to health and well-being, support for climate change mitigation policy and a willingness to implement measures to address climate change. The findings of this study show that the perception that climate change may claim lives, cause disease, reduce the standard of living and worsen water shortages, may be the strongest driver behind support for climate change mitigation policy and a willingness to act. It is recommended that, in order to gain more public support, climate change campaigns and risk communication strategies should frame climate change as a threat to human health and general well-being.

Bible Study in Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Riede, Paul

2012-01-01

A growing number of teachers across the U.S. are comfortable using the Bible as a teaching tool. Public school courses involving study of the Bible have spread to at least 43 states, and at least seven state legislatures have approved laws encouraging some form of Bible study. High schools now offer elective courses on the Bible that adhere to a…

Political Communication: Contributions to the Study of Public Relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Stacks, Don W.

Political communication has influenced greatly the study of modern public relations. The development of modern public relations can be traced back to the Ancients of Greece. The definition of "political communication" when applied to public relations is typically corporate in nature. That is, public relations defines the role of…

Assessing the scientific research productivity of a leading toxicology journal: A case study of Human & Experimental Toxicology from 2003 to 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Zyoud, Sa'ed H; Al-Jabi, Samah W; Sweileh, Waleed M; Awang, Rahmat

2014-01-01

Bibliometric studies are increasingly being used for research assessments. Bibliometric indicators involve the application of statistical methods to scientific publications to obtain the bibliographics for each journal. The main objective of this study was to conduct a bibliometric evaluation of Human & Experimental Toxicology retrieved from the Scopus database. This study obtained data from Scopus published from 1 January 2003 till 31 December 2012. The keywords entered in Scopus to accomplish the objective of this study were 'Human', 'Experimental' and 'Toxicology' as 'Source Title'. Research productivity was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies by analysing (a) total and trends in Human & Experimental Toxicology contributions in research between 2003 and 2012; (b) Human & Experimental Toxicology authorship patterns and productivity; (c) collaboration patterns; and (d) the citations received by the publications. There were 1229 research articles published in Human & Experimental Toxicology. Of the articles included, 947 (77.1%) were original articles and 104 (8.5%) were review articles. The Hirsch-index of the retrieved documents was 35. The largest number of publications in Human & Experimental Toxicology was from the United States (19.6%), followed by India (12.8%) and Turkey (10.9%). The total number of citations was 9119, with a median (interquartile range) of 3 (1-9) in 6797 documents. The highest median (interquartile range) number of citations was 8 (2.7-12.7) for France, followed by 7.5 (2-22.5) for Iran and 6 (3-13.5) for the United Kingdom. The country most often citing articles that were published in Human & Experimental Toxicology was the United States, which made citations in 1508 documents, followed by India with citations in 792 documents. The documents in Human & Experimental Toxicology focus principally on original data, with very few review articles. Review articles tend to have higher citation rates

Emerging arboviruses in Quebec, Canada: assessing public health risk by serology in humans, horses and pet dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocheleau, J P; Michel, P; Lindsay, L R; Drebot, M; Dibernardo, A; Ogden, N H; Fortin, A; Arsenault, J

2017-10-01

Periodic outbreaks of West Nile virus (WNV), Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and to a lesser extent, California serogroup viruses (CSGV), have been reported in parts of Canada in the last decade. This study was designed to provide a broad assessment of arboviral activity in Quebec, Canada, by conducting serological surveys for these arboviruses in 196 horses, 1442 dogs and 485 humans. Sera were screened by a competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and positive samples confirmed by plaque reduction neutralisation tests. The percentage of seropositive samples was 83·7%, 16·5%, 7·1% in horses, 18·8%, 0·6%, 0% in humans, 11·7%, 3·1%, 0% in adult dogs and 2·9%, 0·3%, 0% in juvenile dogs for CSGV, WNV and EEEV, respectively. Serological results in horses and dogs appeared to provide a meaningful assessment of risk to public health posed by multiple arboviruses.

[Intersectoral experience to bridge the gap between human resources in public health and the technical-operational level for Peruvian Voluntary Military Service members].

Science.gov (United States)

Romaní-Romaní, Franco; Curisinche-Rojas, Maricela; Arteaga, Norka Rojas; Lopez, Pedro Riega; Cabezas, César

2016-01-01

There is a gap between human resources and technical-operational education that limits the Peruvian health system's ability to implement public health interventions. The Peruvian Ministry of Health, through the National Health Institute and the Ministry of Defense, implemented a Public Health Training Program addressed to young full-time military servicemen, on the basis of the competency profile of a public health technician. The program consists of seven thematic units given in 390 hours, 200 of which correspond to classroom and field practices. Between July 2014 and December 2015, the program has been carried out in 10 venues of the three armed forces, training and certifying 405 young servicemen. The intervention provides the military service with an additional educational benefit, making it more appealing as a chance for development and opens up a line of work in the public health sector for young people in more remote areas. This experience seeks to increase public health-trained human resources to a technical-operational level. In collaboration with regional governments, graduates are expected to be welcomed and included in the public health system.

A visual analytics design for studying rhythm patterns from human daily movement data

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Wei Zeng

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Human’s daily movements exhibit high regularity in a space–time context that typically forms circadian rhythms. Understanding the rhythms for human daily movements is of high interest to a variety of parties from urban planners, transportation analysts, to business strategists. In this paper, we present an interactive visual analytics design for understanding and utilizing data collected from tracking human’s movements. The resulting system identifies and visually presents frequent human movement rhythms to support interactive exploration and analysis of the data over space and time. Case studies using real-world human movement data, including massive urban public transportation data in Singapore and the MIT reality mining dataset, and interviews with transportation researches were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and usefulness of our system.

Personalism for public health ethics

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Carlo Petrini

2010-06-01

Full Text Available In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

Personalism for public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrini, Carlo; Gainotti, Sabina; Requena, Pablo

2010-01-01

In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

Public Sphere as Digital Assemblage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salovaara-Moring, Inka

the 1990s onwards digitalization brought concepts of network and complexity into the theoretical discourse. This relational turn changed the social ontology of the public sphere into a dynamic and complex system, erasing the division between the fields of reality (the world), representation (discourse......Normative theories of public sphere have struggled with the topic of materiality. The historical narrative of the ‘public sphere’ situated the phenomenon in specific spaces, where practices (public deliberation) and language (discourse) constructed political agencies, and further publics. From......), and subjectivity (agency). This changed the public sphere into an assemblage consisting of both human and non-human actors interactingin a highly dynamic, networked environment. This paper proposes a framework for considering this new materiality in the field of the public sphere: the assemblage and complexity...

Genetics, health care, and public policy: an introduction to public health genetics

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stewart, Alison

2007-01-01

... initiative About this book Further reading and resources Principles of public health The emergence of public health genetics The human genome project and 'genomic medicine' Community genetics Current developments in public health genetics Genomics and global health 2 Genetic science and technology Basic molecular genetics Genes and the geno...

Human Needs as an Approach to Designed Landscapes

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Dalia Aly

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The traditional approach of landscape architecture has always focused on the aesthetic and visual aspects of landscapes while giving less attention to other aspects. This view has limited the benefits that can be derived from designed landscapes, despite the wide-ranging potential they carry for humans; socially, environmentally and economically. As a result, many researchers and practitioners are currently challenging this view to develop a more holistic and multidimensional approach. The present research therefore aims at proposing a new perspective for public designed landscapes based on fundamental human needs. The study methodology was comprised of critical content analysis for three main domains: sustainable development, human needs in specific relation to public landscapes, and significant approaches to fundamental human needs. Reconciliation among these domains was achieved based on a modified version of Max-Neef’s matrix of fundamental human needs. Human needs in public landscapes were merged into the matrix to reach a comprehensive yet specific perspective. The study concluded with a conceptual framework that can provide a wider perspective to human needs in designed landscapes. It proposes a new tool for the analysis of the benefits of public landscapes and their value for humans, which can be further used in various applications.

The impact of human-biometeorological factors on perceived thermal comfort in urban public places

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Isabell Maras

2016-09-01

Full Text Available For the understanding of the impact of meteorological stressors on human perceptions of thermal comfort, it is essential to examine in detail the joint variability of atmospheric conditions and human perception. We designed an interdisciplinary experimental setup to generate data of both human-biometeorological and individual human perception at two different urban public places in the city of Aachen, Germany. Meteorological measurements at the human-biometeorological standard height of 1.1 m a.g.l. were taken during typical winter weather situations as well as extreme summer weather situations to analyze potentially seasonal effects. Pedestrians and tourists at the study site were selected as participants for face-to-face questionnaire-based interviews. We took measurements and held interviews between 10:00 h and 17:00 h (CEST/CET to record the daytime agreement/deviations at different inner urban measurement locations. Based on an overall physical approach of thermal load, UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index values are calculated. A maximum of +34.1 °C for summertime and a minimum of +2.6 °C for wintertime could be found. The meteorological parameters of air temperature (Ta$T_{a}$, mean radiant temperature (Tmrt$T_{\\text{mrt}}$ and vapor pressure (VP are compared with data perceived by the persons interviewed. In winter, Ta$T_{a }$ shows a significant relation to the overall weather perception (r=0.28$r = 0.28$; p<0.05$p<0.05$ while the overall comfort of the participants is significantly related to perceived solar heat (r=0.27$r = 0.27$; p<0.5$p<0.5$ as well as to perceived Ta$T_{a}$ (r=0.4$r = 0.4$; p<0.002$p<0.002$. Quite different resulting patterns occurred for the summer campaign. None of the physical variables significantly affected the weather perception. Only the perceived Ta$T_{a}$ revealed a significant relation to the overall weather perception (r=0.27$r=0.27$; p<0.002$p<0.002$.

A new approach towards biomarker selection in estimation of human exposure to chiral chemicals: a case study of mephedrone.

Science.gov (United States)

Castrignanò, Erika; Mardal, Marie; Rydevik, Axel; Miserez, Bram; Ramsey, John; Shine, Trevor; Pantoș, G Dan; Meyer, Markus R; Kasprzyk-Hordern, Barbara

2017-11-02

Wastewater-based epidemiology is an innovative approach to estimate public health status using biomarker analysis in wastewater. A new compound detected in wastewater can be a potential biomarker of an emerging trend in public health. However, it is currently difficult to select new biomarkers mainly due to limited human metabolism data. This manuscript presents a new framework, which enables the identification and selection of new biomarkers of human exposure to drugs with scarce or unknown human metabolism data. Mephedrone was targeted to elucidate the assessment of biomarkers for emerging drugs of abuse using a four-step analytical procedure. This framework consists of: (i) identification of possible metabolic biomarkers present in wastewater using an in-vivo study; (ii) verification of chiral signature of the target compound; (iii) confirmation of human metabolic residues in in-vivo/vitro studies and (iv) verification of stability of biomarkers in wastewater. Mephedrone was selected as a suitable biomarker due to its high stability profile in wastewater. Its enantiomeric profiling was studied for the first time in biological and environmental matrices, showing stereoselective metabolism of mephedrone in humans. Further biomarker candidates were also proposed for future investigation: 4'-carboxy-mephedrone, 4'-carboxy-normephedrone, 1-dihydro-mephedrone, 1-dihydro-normephedrone and 4'-hydroxy-normephedrone.

Designing human centered GeoVisualization application--the SanaViz--for telehealth users: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Joshi, Ashish; de Araujo Novaes, Magdala; Machiavelli, Josiane; Iyengar, Sriram; Vogler, Robert; Johnson, Craig; Zhang, Jiajie; Hsu, Chiehwen E

2012-01-01

Public health data is typically organized by geospatial unit. GeoVisualization (GeoVis) allows users to see information visually on a map. Examine telehealth users' perceptions towards existing public health GeoVis applications and obtains users' feedback about features important for the design and development of Human Centered GeoVis application "the SanaViz". We employed a cross sectional study design using mixed methods approach for this pilot study. Twenty users involved with the NUTES telehealth center at Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, Brazil were enrolled. Open and closed ended questionnaires were used to gather data. We performed audio recording for the interviews. Information gathered included socio-demographics, prior spatial skills and perception towards use of GeoVis to evaluate telehealth services. Card sorting and sketching methods were employed. Univariate analysis was performed for the continuous and categorical variables. Qualitative analysis was performed for open ended questions. Existing Public Health GeoVis applications were difficult to use. Results found interaction features zooming, linking and brushing and representation features Google maps, tables and bar chart as most preferred GeoVis features. Early involvement of users is essential to identify features necessary to be part of the human centered GeoVis application "the SanaViz".

European Studies and Public Engagement: A Conceptual Toolbox

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Müllerleile

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Journal of Contemporary European Research User Username Password Remember me Subscribe... Sign up for issue alerts Follow JCER on Twitter Font Size Make font size smaller Make font size default Make font size larger Journal Content Search Search Scope Browse By Issue By Author By Title Information For Readers For Authors For Librarians Journal Help Keywords CFSP Communication ESDP EU EU enlargement EU trade policy Energy, EU, External Policy Europe European Commission European Parliament European Union European integration Europeanisation First Enlargement Germany Liberty Lisbon Treaty Poland Russia Security teaching European studies The UACES Blog The Commission after the 2014 EP... Power shift? The EU’s pivot to Asia 100 Books on Europe to be Remembered For a Global European Studies? EU Member State Building in the... Open Journal Systems Home About Login Register Search Current Archives Announcements UACES Home > Vol 10, No 4 (2014 > Müllerleile European Studies and Public Engagement: A Conceptual Toolbox Andreas Müllerleile Abstract This article examines public engagement strategies for academics working in the field of European Studies. Should academics engage with the public? What are the most effective outreach strategies? And what are the implications for universities and departments? The article argues that engaging with the public should be considered an integral part for academics working on topics that relate to the European Union or European politics. The article has a theoretical and a practical dimension. The first part of the paper deals with the nature of public engagement, explaining why it is an important issue and how it differs from the mainstream understanding of public engagement. The practical part of the paper presents the idea of building an online presence through which academics can engage with the public debate both during periods of low issue salience and high issue salience. The final section includes a toolbox

Trends in population-based studies of human genetics in infectious diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowell, Jessica L; Dowling, Nicole F; Yu, Wei; Yesupriya, Ajay; Zhang, Lyna; Gwinn, Marta

2012-01-01

Pathogen genetics is already a mainstay of public health investigation and control efforts; now advances in technology make it possible to investigate the role of human genetic variation in the epidemiology of infectious diseases. To describe trends in this field, we analyzed articles that were published from 2001 through 2010 and indexed by the HuGE Navigator, a curated online database of PubMed abstracts in human genome epidemiology. We extracted the principal findings from all meta-analyses and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with an infectious disease-related outcome. Finally, we compared the representation of diseases in HuGE Navigator with their contributions to morbidity worldwide. We identified 3,730 articles on infectious diseases, including 27 meta-analyses and 23 GWAS. The number published each year increased from 148 in 2001 to 543 in 2010 but remained a small fraction (about 7%) of all studies in human genome epidemiology. Most articles were by authors from developed countries, but the percentage by authors from resource-limited countries increased from 9% to 25% during the period studied. The most commonly studied diseases were HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B infection, hepatitis C infection, sepsis, and malaria. As genomic research methods become more affordable and accessible, population-based research on infectious diseases will be able to examine the role of variation in human as well as pathogen genomes. This approach offers new opportunities for understanding infectious disease susceptibility, severity, treatment, control, and prevention.

Public-private partnerships to build human capacity in low income countries: findings from the Pfizer program

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Connelly Patrick

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The ability of health organizations in developing countries to expand access to quality services depends in large part on organizational and human capacity. Capacity building includes professional development of staff, as well as efforts to create working environments conducive to high levels of performance. The current study evaluated an approach to public-private partnership where corporate volunteers give technical assistance to improve organizational and staff performance. From 2003 to 2005, the Pfizer Global Health Fellows program sent 72 employees to work with organizations in 19 countries. This evaluation was designed to assess program impact. Methods The researchers administered a survey to 60 Fellows and 48 Pfizer Supervisors. In addition, the team conducted over 100 interviews with partner organization staff and other key informants during site visits in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and India, the five countries where 60% of Fellows were placed. Results Over three-quarters of Fellowships appear to have imparted skills or enhanced operations of NGOs in HIV/AIDS and other health programs. Overall, 79% of Fellows reported meeting all or most technical assistance goals. Partner organization staff reported that the Fellows provided training to clinical and research personnel; strengthened laboratory, pharmacy, financial control, and human resource management systems; and helped expand Partner organization networks. Local staff also reported the Program changed their work habits and attitudes. The evaluation identified problems in defining goals of Fellowships and matching Organizations with Fellows. Capacity building success also appears related to size and sophistication of partner organization. Conclusion Public expectations have grown regarding the role corporations should play in improving health systems in developing countries. Corporate philanthropy programs based on "donations" of personnel can help build

Humanizing HIV/AIDS and its (re)stigmatizing effects: HIV public 'positive' speaking in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Finn, Mark; Sarangi, Srikant

2009-01-01

Social stigma has been inextricably linked with HIV and AIDS since the epidemic erupted in the early 1980s. The stigma that has built up around HIV and AIDS is generally regarded as having a negative impact on the quality of life of HIV-positive people and on general prevention efforts. Current attempts to combat HIV-related stigma focus on increasing the acceptance of HIV among the stigmatizing public and stigmatized individuals alike. In this, the global HIV-positive community is being increasingly called upon to ;humanize' the virus, not least through public displays of HIV 'positive' health and public ;positive' speaking. This article critically explores the constitutive effects and inherent power relations of HIV Positive Speakers' Bureaus (PSBs) as a platform for such a display. Adopting a post-structuralist discourse analytic approach, we explore accounts of positive-speaking and HIV health from HIV-related non-government organizations in India and in PSB training manuals. In particular, we highlight ways in which positive-speaking in India can be seen to have significant (re)stigmatizing effects by way of ambivalent and hyper-real configurations of HIV 'positive' identity and life.

Role of environmental rights in the urban design of public places

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A.R. Sadeghi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In the current period, followed by the industrial revolution, the damaging effects of the one-dimensional attitude towards the environment caused by human have had countless hazards. To cope with these risks, the respect and protection of environmental values has attracted today's urban human attention once again and the issues about the human right to a decent, safe and healthy environment which is called briefly" environmental rights ", have widely been discussed. In fact, this research is formed on the basis of the principle that the right to a healthy environment, must be respected in the design of public spaces and the legal aspects of this principle must be considered in dealing with these spaces, so one of the necessary contexts to the conversion of today’s public spaces to valuable urban places would be provided. Therefore, in this study the human right to a healthy, safe and decent environment and the related concepts has been reviewed and the role of the environment in the process of transforming urban spaces to urban places has been discussed. This study also emphasizes on the role of the noise pollution of the urban public spaces as one of the threatening factors of the right to the environment, in the inefficiency and disorder in the process of the conversion of these spaces to public places and while reviewing the laws to reduce such pollution in urban public spaces, it stresses the necessity of considering these rules in designing the urban public spaces. This study uses descriptive and analytic research methodology and investigation techniques of literature review by using library studies.

KOMPETENSI KOMUNIKASI CALON SDM PUBLIC RELATIONS

OpenAIRE

A. Rahman

2015-01-01

Public Relations as human resources hould have the competence that has a sale value in the labor market. One such communication competence is knowledge of communication, communication skills, motivation communication and managing interaction. Study of communication competence among students obtained the result that public Relations Group one are not sufficiently competent in listening, conveying the idea of writing, controlling the communication situation, a way of communicating with new peop...

Where Public Health Meets Human Rights: Integrating Human Rights into the Validation of the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kismödi, Eszter; Kiragu, Karusa; Sawicki, Olga; Smith, Sally; Brion, Sophie; Sharma, Aditi; Mworeko, Lilian; Iovita, Alexandrina

2017-12-01

In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a process for validation of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphilis by countries. For the first time in such a process for the validation of disease elimination, WHO introduced norms and approaches that are grounded in human rights, gender equality, and community engagement. This human rights-based validation process can serve as a key opportunity to enhance accountability for human rights protection by evaluating EMTCT programs against human rights norms and standards, including in relation to gender equality and by ensuring the provision of discrimination-free quality services. The rights-based validation process also involves the assessment of participation of affected communities in EMTCT program development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. It brings awareness to the types of human rights abuses and inequalities faced by women living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV and syphilis, and commits governments to eliminate those barriers. This process demonstrates the importance and feasibility of integrating human rights, gender, and community into key public health interventions in a manner that improves health outcomes, legitimizes the participation of affected communities, and advances the human rights of women living with HIV.

Engaging wider publics with studying and protecting the ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Nauen, Cornelia E.

2015-04-01

The ocean is dying. The vast scientific literature diagnoses massive reductions in the biomass of fish and invertebrates from overfishing, increasing destruction of coral ecosystems in the tropics from climate change, extensive dead zones from eutrophication and collapse of marine bird populations from ingesting plastic. Even though Darwin suspected already The scale is becoming apparent only from meta-analyses at regional or even global scales as individual studies tend to focus on one fishery or one type of organisms or geographic location. In combination with deep rooted perceptions of the vastness of the ocean the changes are difficult to comprehend for specialists and the general public alike. Even though more than half of humanity is estimated to live in coastal zones as defined by some, urbanisation is removing about half from regular, more direct exposure. Yet, there is much still to be explored, not only in the deep, little studied, parts. The ocean exercises great fascination on many people heightened since the period of discovery and the mystery of far-flung places, but the days, when Darwin's research results were regularly discussed in public spaces are gone. Rachel Carson's prize-winning and best selling book "The Sea Around Us", some serialised chapters in magazines and condensations in "Reader's Digest" transported the poetic rendering of science again to a wider public. But compared to the diversity of scientific inquiry about the ocean and importance for life-support system earth there is much room for engaging ocean science in the broad sense with larger and diverse publics. Developing new narratives rooted in the best available sciences is among the most promising modes of connecting different areas of scientific inquiry and non-specialists alike. We know at latest since Poincaré's famous dictum that "the facts don't speak". However, contextualised information can capture the imagination of the many and thus also reveal unexpected connections

Public health protection through bank filtration - Kearney Nebraska case study

Science.gov (United States)

Esseks, E.; Bellamy, W.; Heinemann, T.; Stocker, K.

2003-04-01

The investigation of Kearney's bank filtration system provides further evidence of this technology's capability to assist in providing public health protection, as it relates to drinking water. The results of hydrogeologic and treatment studies demonstrate the capabilities of the Platte River aquifer materials, in this locale, to remove pathogens and their surrogates. Continual monitoring and evaluations will establish the system’s longevity and continued treatment efficacy. The City of Kearney is located in south central Nebraska. The City owns and operates a public water system that serves approximately 24,889 people. The water system includes 12 wells located on Killgore Island in the Platte River. In 1994, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services System (Department) determined that 3 wells in the wellfield serving the City of Kearney were ground water under the direct influence of surface water. This determination was based on results of microscopic particulate analysis (MPA). The City of Kearney undertook the natural bank filtration study to determine whether natural bank filtration was occurring at the site and if the filtration was sufficient to meet pathogen treatment requirements designed to protect public health. A preliminary study was undertaken from June through October 1995. This coincided with the City’s peak pumping time, which may be the time when the influence of the River is greatest on the wellfield wells. Hydrogeologic studies assisted in selecting wells that were at highest risk based on shortest travel times and greatest differential head. Data collected included particle counts, MPAs, turbidity, coliform, centrifugate pellet evaluation (CPE) volumes, pH, conductivity, and temperature. Following analysis of data collected during the preliminary 18-week study the Department granted conditional approval of 2-log credit for removal of Giardia lamblia and 1-log credit for removal of viruses through bank filtration, pending the

Genes, Environment, and Human Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloom, Mark V.; Cutter, Mary Ann; Davidson, Ronald; Dougherty, Michael J.; Drexler, Edward; Gelernter, Joel; McCullough, Laurence B.; McInerney, Joseph D.; Murray, Jeffrey C.; Vogler, George P.; Zola, John

This curriculum module explores genes, environment, and human behavior. This book provides materials to teach about the nature and methods of studying human behavior, raise some of the ethical and public policy dilemmas emerging from the Human Genome Project, and provide professional development for teachers. An extensive Teacher Background…

Organizational change for services integration in public human service organizations: experiences in seven counties.

Science.gov (United States)

Packard, Thomas; Patti, Rino; Daly, Donna; Tucker-Tatlow, Jennifer

2012-01-01

This is a study of organizational change strategies employed in seven county human service agencies to improve the coordination of services through the structural integration of previously free standing organizations or the development of voluntary interagency collaborative service delivery systems. The central question involves the identification of organizational change tactics which contributed to the success of the organizational change initiatives. The literature on organizational change is reviewed, with particular attention to a framework developed by Fernandez and Rainey based on their extensive review and synthesis of the research on successful change strategies in the public and business sectors. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from over 250 individuals and from agency documents. Findings are compared with the success factors identified by Fernandez and Rainey, and refinements to their propositions are suggested. More precise methods for measuring successful and unsuccessful change initiatives are suggested. Implications for practice and research are presented.

Human-centred Governance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bason, Christian

2017-01-01

Design approaches are now being applied all over the world as a powerful approach to innovating public policies and services. Christian Bason, author of Leading public design: Discovering human-centred governance, argues that by bringing design methods into play, public managers can lead change...... with citizens at the centre, and discover a new model for steering public organisations: human-centred governance....

The impact of Body Worlds on adult visitors' knowledge on human anatomy: A preliminary study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fonseca, Guilherme R B C; Finn, Gabrielle M

2016-05-01

Body Worlds is an anatomical exhibition that shows human remains to the public. It has been considered controversial since it raises ethical tensions and issues. However, organizers and supporters of Body Worlds have claimed the exhibition is intended to promote visitors' understanding over the human body. Despite these claims, no studies were found that support or refute the hypothesis that a visit to Body Worlds increases the public's objective knowledge on human anatomy. Consequently, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of Body Worlds on anatomical knowledge. We constructed and delivered a questionnaire to both a previsit random sample and a postvisit random sample of visitors of Body Worlds' event Facets of Life, in Berlin. The questionnaire was available in both English and German languages and contained (a) basic sociodemographic questions and (b) a valid and reliable anatomy quiz. The quiz consisted of 16 multiple-choice questions that assessed the ability to identify the location of major anatomical structures on the human body. Average scores achieved on the quiz by the postvisit sample (X¯= 9.08, s = 2.48, n = 164) were significantly higher (unpaired t = 3.3957, P = 0.0008) than those achieved by the previsit sample (X¯= 8.11, s = 2.69, n = 167). Our results suggest that a visit to Body Worlds' event Facets of Life may have a beneficial effect in anatomical knowledge. However, further studies with better empirical designs and fewer limitations are needed to confirm our results. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Data Resources for Biodemographic Studies on Familial Clustering of Human Longevity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

1999-09-01

Full Text Available The main cause that hampered many previous biodemographic studies of human longevity is the lack of appropriate data. At the same time, many existing data resources (millions of genealogical records are under-utilized, because their very existence is not widely known, let alone the quality and scientific value of these data sets are not yet validated. The purpose of this work is to review the data resources that could be used in familial studies of human longevity. This is an extended and supplemented version of the previous study made by the authors upon the request of the National Institute on Aging (1998 NIH Professional Service Contract. The review describes: (1 data resources developed for biodemographic studies, (2 data collected in the projects on historical demography, (3 data resources for long lived individuals and their families, (4 publicly available computerized genealogical data resources, (5 published genealogical and family history data. The review also contains the description of databases developed by the participants of the Research Workshops "Genes, Genealogies, and Longevity" organized by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.

Public Participation: Lessons from the Case Study Record

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beierle, Thomas C.; Cayford, Jerry [Resources for the Future, Washington, DC (United States)

2001-07-01

Public participation has received increasing attention in environmental policy making world wide. Yet research has been inadequate to answer fundamental questions about how successful past programs have been, what factors lead to success, and where efforts to improve public involvement should focus. To address these questions, we examine the case study record of public participation efforts in the United States over the last 30 years. We evaluate the success of numerous examples of public participation in environmental decision making and identify the factors that lead to success. The paper deals with a number of themes, including: The extent to which participation can incorporate public values into decision making, improve the substantive quality of decisions, reduce conflict, increase trust in institutions, and educate and inform the public; What can be expected from different approaches to public participation, such as public meetings, advisory committees, and mediation; The relative importance of the participatory process vs. the context in which participation takes place; Procedural features of particular importance; and The relationship between participation and implementation. The paper provides general results that can be used to guide the improvement of public participation programs, support assessment of innovative methods, and advance the theoretical understanding of public participation.

Public Participation: Lessons from the Case Study Record

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beierle, Thomas C.; Cayford, Jerry

2001-01-01

Public participation has received increasing attention in environmental policy making world wide. Yet research has been inadequate to answer fundamental questions about how successful past programs have been, what factors lead to success, and where efforts to improve public involvement should focus. To address these questions, we examine the case study record of public participation efforts in the United States over the last 30 years. We evaluate the success of numerous examples of public participation in environmental decision making and identify the factors that lead to success. The paper deals with a number of themes, including: The extent to which participation can incorporate public values into decision making, improve the substantive quality of decisions, reduce conflict, increase trust in institutions, and educate and inform the public; What can be expected from different approaches to public participation, such as public meetings, advisory committees, and mediation; The relative importance of the participatory process vs. the context in which participation takes place; Procedural features of particular importance; and The relationship between participation and implementation. The paper provides general results that can be used to guide the improvement of public participation programs, support assessment of innovative methods, and advance the theoretical understanding of public participation

An Experimental Study of Embodied Interaction and Human Perception of Social Presence for Interactive Robots in Public Settings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jochum, Elizabeth Ann; Heath, Damith; Vlachos, Evgenios

2018-01-01

The human perception of cognitive robots as social depends on many factors, including those that do not necessarily pertain to a robot’s cognitive functioning. Experience Design offers a useful framework for evaluating when participants interact with robots as products or tools and when they regard...... them as social actors. This study describes a between-participants experiment conducted at a science museum, where visitors were invited to play a game of noughts and crosses with a Baxter robot. The goal is to foster meaningful interactions that promote engagement between the human and robot...... in a museum context. Using an Experience Design framework, we tested the robot in three different conditions to better understand which factors contribute to the perception of robots as social. The experiment also outlines best practices for conducting human-robot interaction research in museum exhibitions...

Fate of clinical research studies after ethical approval--follow-up of study protocols until publication.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anette Blümle

Full Text Available Many clinical studies are ultimately not fully published in peer-reviewed journals. Underreporting of clinical research is wasteful and can result in biased estimates of treatment effect or harm, leading to recommendations that are inappropriate or even dangerous.We assembled a cohort of clinical studies approved 2000-2002 by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Freiburg, Germany. Published full articles were searched in electronic databases and investigators contacted. Data on study characteristics were extracted from protocols and corresponding publications. We characterized the cohort, quantified its publication outcome and compared protocols and publications for selected aspects.Of 917 approved studies, 807 were started and 110 were not, either locally or as a whole. Of the started studies, 576 (71% were completed according to protocol, 128 (16% discontinued and 42 (5% are still ongoing; for 61 (8% there was no information about their course. We identified 782 full publications corresponding to 419 of the 807 initiated studies; the publication proportion was 52% (95% CI: 0.48-0.55. Study design was not significantly associated with subsequent publication. Multicentre status, international collaboration, large sample size and commercial or non-commercial funding were positively associated with subsequent publication. Commercial funding was mentioned in 203 (48% protocols and in 205 (49% of the publications. In most published studies (339; 81% this information corresponded between protocol and publication. Most studies were published in English (367; 88%; some in German (25; 6% or both languages (27; 6%. The local investigators were listed as (co-authors in the publications corresponding to 259 (62% studies.Half of the clinical research conducted at a large German university medical centre remains unpublished; future research is built on an incomplete database. Research resources are likely wasted as neither health care

Genetic damage in human cells exposed to non-ionizing radiofrequency fields: a meta-analysis of the data from 88 publications (1990-2011).

Science.gov (United States)

Vijayalaxmi; Prihoda, Thomas J

2012-12-12

Based on the 'limited' evidence suggesting an association between exposure to radiofrequency fields (RF) emitted from mobile phones and two types of brain cancer, glioma and acoustic neuroma, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified RF as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' in group 2B. In view of this classification and the positive correlation between increased genetic damage and carcinogenesis, a meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether a significant increase in genetic damage in human cells exposed to RF provides a potential mechanism for its carcinogenic potential. The extent of genetic damage in human cells, assessed from various end-points, viz., single-/double-strand breaks in the DNA, incidence of chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei and sister chromatid exchanges, reported in a total of 88 peer-reviewed scientific publications during 1990-2011 was considered in the meta-analysis. Among the several variables in the experimental protocols used, the influence of five specific variables related to RF exposure characteristics was investigated: (i) frequency, (ii) specific absorption rate, (iii) exposure as continuous wave, pulsed wave and occupationally exposed/mobile phone users, (iv) duration of exposure, and (v) different cell types. The data indicated the following. (1) The magnitude of difference between RF-exposed and sham-/un-exposed controls was small with some exceptions. (2) In certain RF exposure conditions there was a statistically significant increase in genotoxicity assessed from some end-points: the effect was observed in studies with small sample size and was largely influenced by publication bias. Studies conducted within the generally recommended RF exposure guidelines showed a smaller effect. (3) The multiple regression analyses and heterogeneity goodness of fit data indicated that factors other than the above five variables as well as the quality of publications have contributed to the overall results. (4) More

Public involvement in the dose reconstruction study: the colorado story

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morin, Norma C.; Lockhart, Ann J.

2000-01-01

Public involvement was a critical component for building awareness, trust, and credibility for the dose reconstruction study for the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Facility in Colorado. The research team developed a process to inform, involve, and encourage public participation over the nine-year study period. Key affected and interested groups with a legitimate stake in the study were identified and invited to identify concerns and offer suggestions for the study. In many cases, the public actually provided direction for the research. Many issues were studied more in-depth as result of public concern. Proactive community outreach was undertaken; quarterly public meetings and workshops were held to inform the public about the study's progress and to hear their comments. Quarterly newsletters were mailed to stake holders. A speaker's bureau was established and more than 50 presentations were made to 1,500 community members in various civic, business, neighborhood, and technical groups. Fact sheets, citizen summaries of technical reports, technical topic papers, and a video were developed to provide a complete overview of the studies and the findings at the conclusion of the project. The video was provided to local cable television stations, and publications were taken to local libraries. A web site was developed to allow the public to readily access information and to order technical reports. Public comments on draft technical reports were solicited; questions and concerns were addressed and investigated. The staff answered citizen calls, and the research team responded in writing to more than 200 issues raised by very concerned citizens. In addition, a citizen's group was formed in 1992 to conduct an independent study of plutonium levels found in soil samples collected around Rocky Flats. Made up of homeowners, public interest groups, local health departments, interested citizens, and Health Advisory Panel members, the committee arranged for sampling and analysis of

The Human Behavioral Ecology of Contemporary World Issues : Applications to Public Policy and International Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Bram; Rende Taylor, Lisa

2007-09-01

Human behavioral ecology (HBE) began as an attempt to explain human economic, reproductive, and social behavior using neodarwinian theory in concert with theory from ecology and economics, and ethnographic methods. HBE has addressed subsistence decision-making, cooperation, life history trade-offs, parental investment, mate choice, and marriage strategies among hunter-gatherers, herders, peasants, and wage earners in rural and urban settings throughout the world. Despite our rich insights into human behavior, HBE has very rarely been used as a tool to help the people with whom we work. This article introduces a special issue of Human Nature which explores the application of HBE to significant world issues through the design and critique of public policy and international development projects. The articles by Tucker, Shenk, Leonetti et al., and Neil were presented at the 104th annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in Washington, D.C., in December 2005, in the first organized session of the nascent Evolutionary Anthropology Section (EAS). We conclude this introduction by summarizing some theoretical challenges to applying HBE, and ways in which evolutionary anthropologists can contribute to solving tough world issues.

The effect of terrorism on public confidence : an exploratory study.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berry, M. S.; Baldwin, T. E.; Samsa, M. E.; Ramaprasad, A.; Decision and Information Sciences

2008-10-31

A primary goal of terrorism is to instill a sense of fear and vulnerability in a population and to erode confidence in government and law enforcement agencies to protect citizens against future attacks. In recognition of its importance, the Department of Homeland Security includes public confidence as one of the metrics it uses to assess the consequences of terrorist attacks. Hence, several factors--including a detailed understanding of the variations in public confidence among individuals, by type of terrorist event, and as a function of time--are critical to developing this metric. In this exploratory study, a questionnaire was designed, tested, and administered to small groups of individuals to measure public confidence in the ability of federal, state, and local governments and their public safety agencies to prevent acts of terrorism. Data were collected from the groups before and after they watched mock television news broadcasts portraying a smallpox attack, a series of suicide bomber attacks, a refinery bombing, and cyber intrusions on financial institutions that resulted in identity theft and financial losses. Our findings include the following: (a) the subjects can be classified into at least three distinct groups on the basis of their baseline outlook--optimistic, pessimistic, and unaffected; (b) the subjects make discriminations in their interpretations of an event on the basis of the nature of a terrorist attack, the time horizon, and its impact; (c) the recovery of confidence after a terrorist event has an incubation period and typically does not return to its initial level in the long-term; (d) the patterns of recovery of confidence differ between the optimists and the pessimists; and (e) individuals are able to associate a monetary value with a loss or gain in confidence, and the value associated with a loss is greater than the value associated with a gain. These findings illustrate the importance the public places in their confidence in government

Job Satisfaction: A Study of the Relationship between Right-to-Work Policy and Public School Teachers' Perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Buckman, David G.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between state unionization policy and teacher job satisfaction in the K-12 public school environment in the states of Florida and New York (i.e., a right-to-work state and a non-right-to-work state). Data were collected via electronic survey to analyze personal demographics, human capital,…

Mass Gatherings and Public Health: Case Studies from the Hajj to Mecca.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Juma; Thu, Min; Arshad, Neelam; Van der Putten, Marc

Many new and challenging risks can be introduced during mass gatherings. The Hajj, as one of the largest mass gatherings, provides an excellent annual opportunity to reflect on the public health risk posed by international and multicultural crowds and the value of mitigation strategies. To identify the gap between preparation and training taken before being exposed to the mass gathering and postexposure experiences, and the breach between the expectations and reality of the holy place. This was a qualitative study with in-depth interviews using semistructured questionnaires among Hajjis from 4 different countries (Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, and New Zealand). Purposive sampling was done. The present study was also supported by literature review. Findings pointed to weaknesses in implementation and enforcement of law, for both the custodian country and countries of origin of Hajjis. Disparities among developed and developing countries were also noticeable. From a global health and human security perspective, strengthening of core capacities in managing mass gatherings as well as researching risks posed by such gatherings are paramount to safeguard the public's health. Attention of health professionals worldwide and adoption of strategic planning at custodian country and sending countries are obligatory. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity: potential public health concerns.

Science.gov (United States)

Marczylo, Emma L; Jacobs, Miriam N; Gant, Timothy W

2016-09-01

Throughout our lives, epigenetic processes shape our development and enable us to adapt to a constantly changing environment. Identifying and understanding environmentally induced epigenetic change(s) that may lead to adverse outcomes is vital for protecting public health. This review, therefore, examines the present understanding of epigenetic mechanisms involved in the mammalian life cycle, evaluates the current evidence for environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity in human cohorts and rodent models and highlights the research considerations and implications of this emerging knowledge for public health and regulatory toxicology. Many hundreds of studies have investigated such toxicity, yet relatively few have demonstrated a mechanistic association among specific environmental exposures, epigenetic changes and adverse health outcomes in human epidemiological cohorts and/or rodent models. While this small body of evidence is largely composed of exploratory in vivo high-dose range studies, it does set a precedent for the existence of environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity. Consequently, there is worldwide recognition of this phenomenon, and discussion on how to both guide further scientific research towards a greater mechanistic understanding of environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity in humans, and translate relevant research outcomes into appropriate regulatory policies for effective public health protection.

An Exploratory Study of the Role of Human Resource Management in Models of Employee Turnover

Science.gov (United States)

Ozolina-Ozola, Iveta

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present the study results of the human resource management role in the voluntary employee turnover models. The mixed methods design was applied. On the basis of the results of the search and evaluation of publications, the 16 models of employee turnover were selected. Applying the method of content analysis, the…

Mobile Network Data for Public-Health: Opportunities and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuria eOliver

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The ubiquity of mobile phones worldwide is generating an unprecedented amount of human behavioral data both at an individual and aggregated levels. The study of this data as a rich source of information about human behavior emerged almost a decade ago. Since then it has grown into a fertile area of research named computational social sciences with a wide variety of applications in different fields such as social networks, urban and transport planning, economic development, emergency relief and, recently, public health. In this paper we briefly describe the state of the art on using mobile phone data for public health, and present the opportunities and challenges that this kind of data presents for public health.

Mobile Network Data for Public Health: Opportunities and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Nuria; Matic, Aleksandar; Frias-Martinez, Enrique

2015-01-01

The ubiquity of mobile phones worldwide is generating an unprecedented amount of human behavioral data both at an individual and aggregated levels. The study of this data as a rich source of information about human behavior emerged almost a decade ago. Since then, it has grown into a fertile area of research named computational social sciences with a wide variety of applications in different fields such as social networks, urban and transport planning, economic development, emergency relief, and, recently, public health. In this paper, we briefly describe the state of the art on using mobile phone data for public health, and present the opportunities and challenges that this kind of data presents for public health. PMID:26301211

A STUDY OF SYMBOLIC RELATIONS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANDREI BALAN

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an anthropological, exploratory study of the microsocial world of public transport. Our research focuses on the symbolic relations that are being established (verbally or nonverbally between urban transport travellers that do not know each other and the consequences these relations create. Modern urban configuration forces large numbers of individuals to share public space every day. When this space becomes restrictive, symbolic relations and interpersonal behaviors such as territoriality and personal space management become clearer. Due to overcrowding, public transport is the scene of one of the most restrictive public spaces in a city. The challenge was to observe and interpret daily, casual behaviors through a sociological and psychological scheme, following the methodological tradition established by Erving Goffman and the other symbolic interactionists. Finally, our study generates a number of hypotheses and explanatory models for common practices and behaviors in trams and metros regarded from a symbolic perspective.

Public Information Programmes on Risks Due to Radon. Annex V

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

Public concern about radon is generally lower than public concern about other comparable risks, or about much lower risks such as those associated with artificial radiation. The public tends to be most concerned about hazards that are: (a) Human made rather than natural; (b) Imposed by a human agency rather than arising by chance; (c) Able to cause harm to groups rather than individuals; (d) Obvious, immediate and ‘dread’ rather than covert, delayed and familiar. None of the four above mentioned factors that would increase concern apply to radon, and a study has found that householders often deny that a health risk exists. For this reason, public information programmes are necessary for the risks due to radon to be taken seriously

Juridifying Corporate Social Responsibility Through Public Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buhmann, Karin

2015-01-01

steps in a process of juridifying CSR through public law. It demonstrates that the formalisation of business responsibilities for human rights, which emerged with the two UN instruments, is having an impact on public regulation of CSR in a more general sense. Another current in public regulation of CSR......With a point of departure in the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the UN (‘Ruggie’) Framework on Business and Human Rights this article shows that recent developments with the UN and the OECD and some legislative EU and national State activities constitute...... that coherence in public law regulation of business impact on society warrants attention in order to ensure legal certainty and effective regulation based on alignment between the different currents of public regulation of CSR....

[Common competencies and contents in public health in graduate programs].

Science.gov (United States)

Davó, M A Carmen; Vives-Cases, Carmen; Benavides, Fernando García; Alvarez-Dardet, Carlos; Segura-Benedicto, Andreu; Icart, Teresa; Astasio, Paloma; Gil, Angel; Ortiz, M Del Rocío; García, Angel; Ronda, Elena; Bosch, Félix

2011-01-01

To identify fundamental public health competencies and contents in nursing, pharmacy, teaching, medicine, human nutrition and dietetics, optics and optometry, labor relations and human resources, and social work in graduate programs and to formulate proposals for their improvement. The workshop on Public health contents in graduate programs in the XXI Menorca Public Health School was organized as follows: eight groups were set up, coordinated by 37 Spanish university teachers participating in the workshop and selected through key informants and snowball techniques. Two studies on public health professional competencies and the participants' own graduate programs were used to discuss public health professional competencies and contents and establish recommendations to improve public health programs. Each group worked on a particular degree course and the results were shared in plenary. Professional competencies for the three essential public health functions were indentified in all the degrees, except teaching, optics and optometry, and social work. Some of the competencies included in degrees in nursing, teaching, human nutrition and dietetics, and social work were rewritten to highlight the role of each type of professional in public health functions. The groups agreed on the introductory topics (basic concepts and health determinants) and intervention strategies. Common competencies and contents were identified in graduate programs. Updating public health contents in graduate programs would help to define and promote the profile of public health professionals. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Public perception of smog: A case study in Ningbo City, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shuncheng; Shi, Longyu

2017-02-01

Smog has become a public environmental crisis in most areas of China, and in response, research efforts have mainly focused on the chemical properties of smog and its impact on human health. However, in-depth research on the public's perception of smog has not yet been conducted. A survey of residents living around eight state-controlled atmospheric environmental monitoring sites in Ningbo City was conducted using stratified sampling. The data was statistically analyzed to investigate people's views and behavioral tendencies in smog weather, the influence of different media reports on public outlook, and public opinions on the local atmosphere and pollution management in different areas. The results showed that people's perception of smog differs greatly from actual conditions, indicating that the public opinion tends to deviate when faced with a public crisis. Mainstream media (TV, newspaper, etc.), accounting for 67% of all media sources, are the main source for dissemination of smog information. The main sources of pollution, in order of decreasing contribution, according to residents of Ningbo City are as follows: motor vehicle exhaust, industrial coal combustion, large-scale construction, biomass burning, and kitchen fumes. Since 2011, most areas of China have been affected by frequent smog. Most research on smog has been concentrated on its causes, alert systems, and prevention measures, whereas in-depth research on the public perception of smog has not yet been conducted. When a risky environmental event such as smog occurs, consequences may be more serious than the event itself will cause if people take irrational measures because of lacking relevant knowledge. Therefore, investigating people's attitude and response to smog is both theoretically and practically significant.

Publications | Page 438 | IDRC - International Development ...

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Results 4371 - 4380 of 6341 ... Through books, articles, research publications, and studies, we aim to widen the ... coverage rates is human resources and its management. ... Each month, at the Lifeline Rape Crisis. ... This document presents the findings from the South African component of a five-country case study on the role ...

Publication trends of research on diabetes mellitus and T cells (1997-2016: A 20-year bibliometric study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye Gao

Full Text Available Diabetes Mellitus (DM is a huge burden for human health. Recent studies show the close relationship between DM and T cells. We investigated the trend in DM and T cells research.Using the Web of Science database, we searched the publications on DM and T cells in 1997-2016, and studied the source data using bibliometric methodology. Excel 2016, GraphPad Prism 5, and VOSviewer software were used to analyze the publication trend in DM and T cells research.We found a total of 1077 publications with 38109 citations up to January 23, 2017. The highest contribution came from the United States, with 48.38% of the publications, 61.44% of the citations and the highest H-index (74. China had the 5th place for total publications, but ranked 11th both for citation frequency (604 and H-index (13. The inflection point of the global DM and T cells publications was in 2000. Journal of Immunology published the most related articles (164. Santamaria P. was the leading scholar in this field with the most publications (35. The keywords "regulatory T cell" and "autoimmune diabetes" were mentioned more than 300 times. Furthermore, type 2 (T2DM, T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain (TIM and obesity are becoming popular research topics in this field.The quantity of publications on DM and T cells grew rapidly around year 2000, but has relatively decreased recently. The United States had the leading position in global research. There was a discrepancy between productivity and quality of publications from China. Latest progress is most likely first published by the Journal of Immunology. Santamaria P., Roep B.O. and Peakman M. were the pioneer scholars in this field. Most researchers have focused on "regulatory T cell" and "autoimmune diabetes" research. In future, T2DM, TIM and obesity may be the popular areas.

Public and Public Utility Enterprises Restructuring: Statistical and Quantitative Aid for Ensuring Human Resource Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mladen Čudanov

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This article presents a quantitative approach to restructuring public and public utility enterprises, particularly during downsizing requests. The large number of employees in the public sector can be one of the causes for economic instability at country level. That is particularly visible in the context of the euro zone crisis and economic/political instability in countries like Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Our approach is based on the statistical analysis of productivity oscillation and setting of performance standards in public and public utility enterprises based on the aforementioned productivity. Data background is given through job descriptions, organizational charts, salary reports and monthly performance reports, in most cases part of organizational information systems. It is recommended for quantitative data to be analyzed on a monthly basis, during a period of 30 or more months. Our method increases procedural fairness and accuracy, because quantitative, statistical, impartial and objective approach is applied for estimating parameters which could be related to downsizing. However, the application of this method is not limited to downsizing, as during its application in more than 20 public and public utility enterprises it was sometimes applied to increase output or reduce costs not necessarily connected to labour. Although it finally refers to downsizing, this method can provide fairer and more impartial approach than the subjective estimate of employee surplus, and its arbitral distribution within the enterprise.

Comparative Study Of Private And Public Schools Student ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Student perceptions of school engagement (i.e., sense of connection to school, teachers and peers), motivation to learn, self-esteem, and student safety are part of a range of public accountability indicators. This study examined differences between two groups of Senior Secondary three (SS III) students from public school ...

One Health and EcoHealth in Ontario: a qualitative study exploring how holistic and integrative approaches are shaping public health practice in Ontario.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Zee; Middleton, Dean; Morrison, Karen

2012-05-16

There is a growing recognition that many public health issues are complex and can be best understood by examining the relationship between human health and the health of the ecosystems in which people live. Two approaches, One Health and Ecosystem Approaches to Health (EcoHealth), can help us to better understand these intricate and complex connections, and appear to hold great promise for tackling many modern public health dilemmas. Although both One Health and EcoHealth have garnered recognition from numerous health bodies in Canada and abroad, there is still a need to better understand how these approaches are shaping the practice of public health in Ontario.The purpose of this study was to characterize how public health actors in Ontario are influenced by the holistic principles which underlie One Health and EcoHealth, and to identify important lessons from their experiences. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants from the public health sphere in Ontario. Participants encompassed diverse perspectives including infectious disease, food systems, urban agriculture, and environmental health. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis to identify major themes and patterns. Four major themes emerged from the interviews: the importance of connecting human health with the environment; the role of governance in promoting these ideas; the value of partnerships and collaborations in public health practice; and the challenge of operationalizing holistic approaches to public health. Overall study participants were found to be heavily influenced by concepts couched in EcoHealth and One Health literature, despite a lack of familiarity with these fields. Although One Health and EcoHealth are lesser known approaches in the public health sphere, their holistic and systems-based principles were found to influence the thoughts, values and experiences of public health actors interviewed in this study. This

Assessing the scientific research productivity of a leading toxicology journal: A case study of Human & Experimental Toxicology from 2003 to 2012

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Jabi, Samah W; Sweileh, Waleed M; Awang, Rahmat

2014-01-01

Background: Bibliometric studies are increasingly being used for research assessments. Bibliometric indicators involve the application of statistical methods to scientific publications to obtain the bibliographics for each journal. The main objective of this study was to conduct a bibliometric evaluation of Human & Experimental Toxicology retrieved from the Scopus database. Methods: This study obtained data from Scopus published from 1 January 2003 till 31 December 2012. The keywords entered in Scopus to accomplish the objective of this study were ‘Human’, ‘Experimental’ and ‘Toxicology’ as ‘Source Title’. Research productivity was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies by analysing (a) total and trends in Human & Experimental Toxicology contributions in research between 2003 and 2012; (b) Human & Experimental Toxicology authorship patterns and productivity; (c) collaboration patterns; and (d) the citations received by the publications. Results: There were 1229 research articles published in Human & Experimental Toxicology. Of the articles included, 947 (77.1%) were original articles and 104 (8.5%) were review articles. The Hirsch-index of the retrieved documents was 35. The largest number of publications in Human & Experimental Toxicology was from the United States (19.6%), followed by India (12.8%) and Turkey (10.9%). The total number of citations was 9119, with a median (interquartile range) of 3 (1–9) in 6797 documents. The highest median (interquartile range) number of citations was 8 (2.7–12.7) for France, followed by 7.5 (2–22.5) for Iran and 6 (3–13.5) for the United Kingdom. The country most often citing articles that were published in Human & Experimental Toxicology was the United States, which made citations in 1508 documents, followed by India with citations in 792 documents. Conclusion: The documents in Human & Experimental Toxicology focus principally on original data, with very few

Sector and Occupational Differences in Public Service Motivation: A Qualitative Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjeldsen, Anne Mette

2012-01-01

The relationship between employment sector and public service motivation remains unclear since previous studies fail to control for the occupation of the investigated employees. Based on 32 semi-structured interviews with Danish nurses and nursing assistants working in the public or private health...... sector, this study shows that occupation and employment sector have very different relationships with the separate dimensions of public service motivation. This suggests that future studies of sector differences in public service motivation should pay attention to employees' occupation as an important...... control variable, and the benefits of using a qualitative approach to measure public service motivation....

Interpersonal influence among public health leaders in the United States department of health and human services.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Jenine K; Carothers, Bobbi J; Wald, Lana M; Shelton, Sarah C; Leischow, Scott J

2012-02-17

In public health, interpersonal influence has been identified as an important factor in the spread of health information, and in understanding and changing health behaviors. However, little is known about influence in public health leadership. Influence is important in leadership settings, where public health professionals contribute to national policy and practice agendas. Drawing on social theory and recent advances in statistical network modeling, we examined influence in a network of tobacco control leaders at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Fifty-four tobacco control leaders across all 11 agencies in the DHHS were identified; 49 (91%) responded to a web-based survey. Participants were asked about communication with other tobacco control leaders, who influenced their work, and general job characteristics. Exponential random graph modeling was used to develop a network model of influence accounting for characteristics of individuals, their relationships, and global network structures. Higher job ranks, more experience in tobacco control, and more time devoted to tobacco control each week increased the likelihood of influence nomination, as did more frequent communication between network members. Being in the same agency and working the same number of hours per week were positively associated with mutual influence nominations. Controlling for these characteristics, the network also exhibited patterns associated with influential clusters of network members. Findings from this unique study provide a perspective on influence within a government agency that both helps to understand decision-making and also can serve to inform organizational efforts that allow for more effective structuring of leadership.

Interpersonal influence among public health leaders in the United States Department of Health and Human Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenine K. Harris

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Background. In public health, interpersonal influence has been identified as an important factor in the spread of health information, and in understanding and changing health behaviors. However, little is known about influence in public health leadership. Influence is important in leadership settings, where public health professionals contribute to national policy and practice agendas. Drawing on social theory and recent advances in statistical network modeling, we examined influence in a network of tobacco control leaders at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS. Design and Methods. Fifty-four tobacco control leaders across all 11 agencies in the DHHS were identified; 49 (91% responded to a web-based survey. Participants were asked about communication with other tobacco control leaders, who influenced their work, and general job characteristics. Exponential random graph modeling was used to develop a network model of influence accounting for characteristics of individuals, their relationships, and global network structures. Results. Higher job ranks, more experience in tobacco control, and more time devoted to tobacco control each week increased the likelihood of influence nomination, as did more frequent communication between network members. Being in the same agency and working the same number of hours per week were positively associated with mutual influence nominations. Controlling for these characteristics, the network also exhibited patterns associated with influential clusters of network members. Conclusions. Findings from this unique study provide a perspective on influence within a government agency that both helps to understand decision-making and also can serve to inform organizational efforts that allow for more effective structuring of leadership.

Canadian Pharmacy Practice Residents’ Projects: Publication Rates and Study Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Michelle; Duffett, Mark

2013-01-01

Background: Research projects are a key component of pharmacy residents’ education. Projects represent both a large investment of effort for each resident (up to 10 weeks over the residency year) and a large body of research (given that there are currently over 150 residency positions in Canada annually). Publication of results is a vital part of the dissemination of information gleaned from these projects. Objectives: To determine the publication rate for research projects performed under the auspices of accredited English-language hospital pharmacy residency programs in Canada and to describe the study characteristics of residency projects performed in Ontario from 1999/2000 to 2008/2009. Methods: Lists of residents and project titles for the period of interest were obtained from residency coordinators. PubMed, CINAHL, the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, and Google were searched for evidence of publication of each project identified, as an abstract or presentation at a meeting, a letter to the editor, or a full-text manuscript. The library holdings of the University of Toronto were reviewed to determine study characteristics of the Ontario residency projects. Results: For the objective of this study relating to publication rate, 518 projects were included. The overall publication rate was 32.2% (60 [35.9%] as abstracts and 107 [64.1%] as full-text manuscripts). Publication in pharmacy-specific journals (66 [61.7%] of 107 full-text manuscripts) was more frequent than publication in non-pharmacy-specific journals. The publication rate of projects as full-text manuscripts remained stable over time. Of the 202 Ontario residency projects archived in the University of Toronto’s library, most were cohort studies (83 [41.1%]), and the most common topic was efficacy and/or safety of a medication (46 [22.8%]). Conclusions: Most hospital pharmacy residents’ projects were unpublished, and the publication rate of projects as full-text manuscripts has not

Canadian pharmacy practice residents' projects: publication rates and study characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Michelle; Duffett, Mark

2013-03-01

Research projects are a key component of pharmacy residents' education. Projects represent both a large investment of effort for each resident (up to 10 weeks over the residency year) and a large body of research (given that there are currently over 150 residency positions in Canada annually). Publication of results is a vital part of the dissemination of information gleaned from these projects. To determine the publication rate for research projects performed under the auspices of accredited English-language hospital pharmacy residency programs in Canada and to describe the study characteristics of residency projects performed in Ontario from 1999/2000 to 2008/2009. Lists of residents and project titles for the period of interest were obtained from residency coordinators. PubMed, CINAHL, the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, and Google were searched for evidence of publication of each project identified, as an abstract or presentation at a meeting, a letter to the editor, or a full-text manuscript. The library holdings of the University of Toronto were reviewed to determine study characteristics of the Ontario residency projects. For the objective of this study relating to publication rate, 518 projects were included. The overall publication rate was 32.2% (60 [35.9%] as abstracts and 107 [64.1%] as full-text manuscripts). Publication in pharmacy-specific journals (66 [61.7%] of 107 full-text manuscripts) was more frequent than publication in non-pharmacy-specific journals. The publication rate of projects as full-text manuscripts remained stable over time. Of the 202 Ontario residency projects archived in the University of Toronto's library, most were cohort studies (83 [41.1%]), and the most common topic was efficacy and/or safety of a medication (46 [22.8%]). Most hospital pharmacy residents' projects were unpublished, and the publication rate of projects as full-text manuscripts has not increased over time. Most projects were observational studies

A study on improving the regulatory effectiveness and public participation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, B. S.; Choi, Y. G.; Cho, B. H.; Lee, H. W.

2006-02-01

The scope of this study is : review the theories about public participation in nuclear safety regulation, we develop an understanding of the concept and compare the effectiveness of different approaches to public participation. Reviews the cases of public participation in foreign countries and searches for important implications. To examine the current measures of public participation in nuclear safety regulatory process and to evaluate the present demand of the public including residents nearby nuclear facilities. Based upon the discussions on the above topics, examines prerequisites for success of public participation and presents alternatives of public participation in the concrete

Teaching the Public Relations Case Studies/Campaigns Class.

Science.gov (United States)

Cottone, Laura Perkins

The public relations case studies/campaigns class entails teaching students how to die and then come back to life. As students must learn to take a critical look at complex public and social issues, teachers should create an environment in which the students feel comfortable with the process of psychological reconstruction. Students must be taught…

Communication in a Human biomonitoring study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Exley, Karen; Cano, Noemi; Aerts, Dominique

2015-01-01

A communication strategy was developed by The Consortium to Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale (COPHES), as part of its objectives to develop a framework and protocols to enable the collection of comparable human biomonitoring data throughout Europe. The framework and protocols were...... tested in the pilot study DEMOCOPHES (Demonstration of a study to Coordinate and Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale). The aims of the communication strategy were to raise awareness of human biomonitoring, encourage participation in the study and to communicate the study results...... and stakeholders, followed by dissemination at European level. Several lessons were learnt that may assist other future human biomonitoring studies. Recruitment took longer than anticipated and so social scientists, to help with community engagement, should be part of the research team from the start...

Modelling temporal networks of human face-to-face contacts with public activity and individual reachability

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yi-Qing; Cui, Jing; Zhang, Shu-Min; Zhang, Qi; Li, Xiang

2016-02-01

Modelling temporal networks of human face-to-face contacts is vital both for understanding the spread of airborne pathogens and word-of-mouth spreading of information. Although many efforts have been devoted to model these temporal networks, there are still two important social features, public activity and individual reachability, have been ignored in these models. Here we present a simple model that captures these two features and other typical properties of empirical face-to-face contact networks. The model describes agents which are characterized by an attractiveness to slow down the motion of nearby people, have event-triggered active probability and perform an activity-dependent biased random walk in a square box with periodic boundary. The model quantitatively reproduces two empirical temporal networks of human face-to-face contacts which are testified by their network properties and the epidemic spread dynamics on them.

Publications | Page 257 | IDRC - International Development ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

A public talk with Globe and Mail journalist Doug Saunders. A third of humanity is on the move—usually from farms ... This study looks at backward linkages to the manufacturing sector in the oil and gas value chain in Angola as a potential driver of industrial development. The study employs a sub-sectoral approach rather ...

Research and Development on a Public Attitude Instrument for Stuttering

Science.gov (United States)

St. Louis, Kenneth O.

2012-01-01

This paper summarizes research associated with the development of the "Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes-Stuttering" ("POSHA-S"), a survey instrument designed to provide a worldwide standard measure of public attitudes toward stuttering. Pilot studies with early experimental prototypes of the "POSHA-S" are summarized that relate to…

English Writing for International Publication in the Age of Globalization: Practices and Perceptions of Mainland Chinese Academics in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng Ge

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Much scholarly attention has been given to the English writing and publishing practices of the academics in non-Anglophone countries, but studies on such practices in the humanities and social sciences (HSS have in general been limited. The case of Mainland Chinese HSS academics is potentially interesting. On the one hand, international publications in these disciplines have been on the increase, which are also encouraged by the national research policy of “going-out”. On the other hand, unlike those in science and technology (S&T, such practices in the HSS are still much less institutionalized at the local level. In the study reported in this article, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine academics in economics, sociology and archaeology from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS, and all nine participants had prior experience in international publishing. With a focus on participants’ experiences and perceptions, findings from this study demonstrated the relatively passive role participants played in their international publications, the importance of various resources in bringing forth these publications, and the relations between participants’ alignments with the local or international community and their voluntary investment in participating in their practices. Implications of the study were also discussed.

Graduate public health training in healthcare of refugee asylum seekers and clinical human rights: evaluation of an innovative curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Asgary, Ramin

2016-04-01

An innovative curriculum was developed to equip public health students with appropriate attitude and skills to address healthcare of asylum seekers. Implemented in 2005 the curriculum included: (1) didactic sessions covering epidemiology and health sequelae of torture, asylum laws, and approaches to identify survivors' healthcare needs; (2) panel discussions with survivors and advocates; and (3) participating in medico-legal process of asylum seeking. Complementary mixed methods evaluations included pre- and post-curriculum questionnaires, formal curriculum evaluations, final papers and oral presentations. 125 students participated. Students showed improved knowledge regrading sequelae of abuse and survivors' healthcare needs (P health and human rights careers. As an advocacy and cultural competency training in public health practice addressing healthcare of refugees domestically, this curriculum was well received and effective, and will also help students better serve other similar populations. Population case-based domestic opportunities to teach global health and health and human rights should be effectively utilized to develop a well-equipped global health corps.

Vision for a Global Registry of Anticipated Public Health Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Bernard C.K.; Frank, John; Mindell, Jennifer S.; Orlova, Anna; Lin, Vivian; Vaillancourt, Alain D.M.G.; Puska, Pekka; Pang, Tikki; Skinner, Harvey A.; Marsh, Marsha; Mokdad, Ali H.; Yu, Shun-Zhang; Lindner, M. Cristina; Sherman, Gregory; Barreto, Sandhi M.; Green, Lawrence W.; Svenson, Lawrence W.; Sainsbury, Peter; Yan, Yongping; Zhang, Zuo-Feng; Zevallos, Juan C.; Ho, Suzanne C.; de Salazar, Ligia M.

2007-01-01

In public health, the generation, management, and transfer of knowledge all need major improvement. Problems in generating knowledge include an imbalance in research funding, publication bias, unnecessary studies, adherence to fashion, and undue interest in novel and immediate issues. Impaired generation of knowledge, combined with a dated and inadequate process for managing knowledge and an inefficient system for transferring knowledge, mean a distorted body of evidence available for decisionmaking in public health. This article hopes to stimulate discussion by proposing a Global Registry of Anticipated Public Health Studies. This prospective, comprehensive system for tracking research in public health could help enhance collaboration and improve efficiency. Practical problems must be discussed before such a vision can be further developed. PMID:17413073

A longitudinal study of Salmonella from snakes used in a public outreach program.

Science.gov (United States)

Goupil, Brad A; Trent, Ava M; Bender, Jeff; Olsen, Karen E; Morningstar, Brenda R; Wünschmann, Arno

2012-12-01

Snakes are considered to be a source of Salmonella infection for humans, but little is known about the actual serotype prevalence in healthy snakes over time. Twelve snakes involved in a public outreach program, representing seven different species, were tested weekly for shedding of Salmonella sp. over a period of 10 consecutive weeks. The snakes were housed in close proximity but in separate exhibits. Fresh fecal samples (when available) or cloacal swabs were cultured for Salmonella sp., and subsequent Salmonella isolates were serotyped. As representatives of the feed source, the feces of two mice and the intestines of one rat were cultured weekly. Fecal samples from 11 of the 12 snakes were positive for Salmonella at least once. Seven (58%) of 12 snakes were culture positive five times or more. The weekly prevalence of Salmonella shedding varied between 25% and 66%. Two or more different serotypes were isolated from nine snakes over time; however, a predominant serotype was generally isolated from each of these snakes. Altogether 15 different serotypes were identified. Serotypes of public health concern included Newport, Oranienburg, and Muenchen. Two samples from feeder rodents were positive for Salmonella. The results are consistent with previous studies showing high intestinal colonization rates with Salmonella sp. in snakes. Frequent and intermittent shedding of multiple serotypes was evident. Feeder rodents might serve as a source for intestinal colonization. Appropriate handling protocols should be implemented for all reptiles associated with public outreach programs to minimize risk of Salmonella transmission to the public.

Interactive map communication: pilot study of the visual perceptions and preferences of public health practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, A; Samarasundera, E; Cheng, T

2011-08-01

To conduct a pilot study into the comprehension and visualisation preferences of geographic information by public health practitioners (PHPs), particularly in the context of interactive, Internet-based atlases. Structured human-computer interaction interviews. Seven academia-based PHPs were interviewed as information service users based on a structured questionnaire to assess their understanding of geographic representations of morbidity data, and identify their visualisation preferences in a geographic information systems environment. Awareness of area-based deprivation indices and the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007 health and disability domain was near-universal. However, novice users of disease maps had difficulties in interpreting data classifications, in understanding supplementary information in the form of box plots and histograms, and in making use of links between interactive tabular and cartographic information. Choices for colour plans when viewing maps showed little agreement between users, although pre-viewing comments showed preferences for red-blue diverging schema. PHPs new to geographic information would benefit from enhanced interpretive support documentation to meet their needs when using Internet-based, interactive public health atlases, which are rarely provided at such sites. Technical, software-related support alone is insufficient. Increased interaction between PHPs and mapmakers would be beneficial to maximise the potential of the current growth in interactive, electronic atlases, and improve geographic information support for public health decision-making and informing the wider public. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

State funding for local public health: observations from six case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, Margaret A; Fitzpatrick, Tiffany

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study is to describe state funding of local public health within the context of state public health system types. These types are based on administrative relationships, legal structures, and relative proportion of state funding in local public health budgets. We selected six states representing various types and geographic regions. A case study for each state summarized available information and was validated by state public health officials. An analysis of the case studies reveals that the variability of state public health systems--even within a given type--is matched by variability in approaches to funding local public health. Nevertheless, some meaningful associations appear. For example, higher proportions of state funding occur along with higher levels of state oversight and the existence of local service mandates in state law. These associations suggest topics for future research on public health financing in relation to local accountability, local input to state priority-setting, mandated local services, and the absence of state funds for public health services in some local jurisdictions.

Legal protection of public health through control over genetically modified food.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutorova, Nataliya; Batyhina, Olena; Trotska, Maryna

2018-01-01

Introduction: Science is constantly being developed which leads to both positive and negative changes in public health and the environment. One of the results of scientific progress is introduction of food based on genetically modified organisms whose effects on human health, to date, remain scantily studied and are ambiguous. The aim: to determine how human health can be influenced by food production based on genetically modified organisms. Materials and methods: international acts, data of international organizations and conclusions of scientists have been examined and used in the study. The article also summarizes information from scientific journals and monographs from a medical and legal point of view with scientific methods. This article is based on dialectical, comparative, analytic, synthetic and comprehensive research methods. Conclusions: Genetically modified organisms are specific human-made organisms being a result of using modern biotechnology techniques. They have both positive and negative effects on human health and the environment. The main disadvantage is not sufficient study of them in various spheres of public life.

The private partners of public health: public-private alliances for public good.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnell, Sharon; Bryant, Carol; Harris, Jeff; Campbell, Marci Kramish; Lobb, Ano; Hannon, Peggy A; Cross, Jeffrey L; Gray, Barbara

2009-04-01

We sought to convey lessons learned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) about the value and challenges of private-sector alliances resulting in innovative health promotion strategies. Several PRCs based in a variety of workplace and community settings contributed. We conducted interviews with principal investigators, a literature review, and a review of case studies of private-sector alliances in a microbusiness model, a macrobusiness model, and as multiparty partnerships supporting public health research, implementation, and human resource services. Private-sector alliances provide many advantages, particularly access to specialized skills generally beyond the expertise of public health entities. These skills include manufacturing, distribution, marketing, business planning, and development. Alliances also allow ready access to employee populations. Public health entities can offer private-sector partners funding opportunities through special grants, data gathering and analysis skills, and enhanced project credibility and trust. Challenges to successful partnerships include time and resource availability and negotiating the cultural divide between public health and the private sector. Critical to success are knowledge of organizational culture, values, mission, currency, and methods of operation; an understanding of and ability to articulate the benefits of the alliance for each partner; and the ability and time to respond to unexpected changes and opportunities. Private-public health alliances are challenging, and developing them takes time and resources, but aspects of these alliances can capitalize on partners' strengths, counteract weaknesses, and build collaborations that produce better outcomes than otherwise possible. Private partners may be necessary for program initiation or success. CDC guidelines and support materials may help nurture these alliances.

Public regulators and CSR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buhmann, Karin

2016-01-01

The social licence to operate (SLO) concept is little developed in the academic literature so far. Deployment of the term was made by the United National (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the UN ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework, which apply SLO as an argument...... for responsible business conduct, connecting to social expectations and bridging to public regulation. This UN guidance has had a significant bearing on how public regulators seek to influence business conduct beyond Human Rights to broader Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) concerns. Drawing on examples...

Understanding the impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in Barbados: a prospective, qualitative study of stakeholder perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Medical tourism is a global health practice where patients travel internationally with the intention of receiving medical services. A range of low, middle, and high income countries are encouraging investment in the medical tourism sector, including countries in the Caribbean targeting patients in North America and Europe. While medical tourism has the potential to provide economic and employment opportunities in destination countries, there are concerns that it could encourage the movement of health workers from the public to private health sector. Methods We present findings from 19 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across the public health care, private health care, government, allied business, and civil society sectors. These interviews were conducted in-person in Barbados and via phone. The interview transcripts were coded and a thematic analysis developed. Results Three themes were identified: 1) Stakeholder perceptions of the patterns and plans for health human resource usage by current and planned medical tourism facilities in Barbados. We found that while health human resource usage in the medical tourism sector has been limited, it is likely to grow in the future; 2) Anticipated positive impacts of medical tourism on health human resources and access to care in the public system. These benefits included improved quality control, training opportunities, and health worker retention; and 3) Anticipated negative impacts of medical tourism on health human resources and access to care in the public system. These impacts included longer wait times for care and a shift in planning priorities driven by the medical tourism sector. Conclusions Stakeholders interviewed who were connected to medical tourism expansion or the tourism sector took a generally positive view of the likely impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in Barbados. However, stakeholders associated with the public health system and health equity expressed concern

Understanding the impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in Barbados: a prospective, qualitative study of stakeholder perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Jeremy; Crooks, Valorie A; Turner, Leigh; Johnston, Rory

2013-01-05

Medical tourism is a global health practice where patients travel internationally with the intention of receiving medical services. A range of low, middle, and high income countries are encouraging investment in the medical tourism sector, including countries in the Caribbean targeting patients in North America and Europe. While medical tourism has the potential to provide economic and employment opportunities in destination countries, there are concerns that it could encourage the movement of health workers from the public to private health sector. We present findings from 19 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across the public health care, private health care, government, allied business, and civil society sectors. These interviews were conducted in-person in Barbados and via phone. The interview transcripts were coded and a thematic analysis developed. Three themes were identified: 1) Stakeholder perceptions of the patterns and plans for health human resource usage by current and planned medical tourism facilities in Barbados. We found that while health human resource usage in the medical tourism sector has been limited, it is likely to grow in the future; 2) Anticipated positive impacts of medical tourism on health human resources and access to care in the public system. These benefits included improved quality control, training opportunities, and health worker retention; and 3) Anticipated negative impacts of medical tourism on health human resources and access to care in the public system. These impacts included longer wait times for care and a shift in planning priorities driven by the medical tourism sector. Stakeholders interviewed who were connected to medical tourism expansion or the tourism sector took a generally positive view of the likely impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in Barbados. However, stakeholders associated with the public health system and health equity expressed concern that medical tourism may spread

Re-humanising Public Urban Space

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Almahmood, Mohammed Abdulrahman M

, this thesis suggests that re-humanising public urban space should not only be considered as a matter of design, but also as an on-going process which includes an inclusive spatial planning agenda and the management of space supplemented by background knowledge regarding the culture of use of space.......This PhD thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the spatial, social, and cultural dimensions of the formation of human-centred public urban space. ‘Re-humanising’ the city is a traveling concept which implies that public urban spaces are liveable, walkable, safe, enjoyable......, and inclusive thereby allowing vibrant social interaction. While the inclusiveness of space is considered as a core value in human-centred public urban space, social and spatial exclusion is a key challenge to the success of public urban space, especially in the Global South. The mainstream research in urban...

A Study about Youth and Uses of Public Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fardin Alikhah

2016-04-01

Full Text Available There has been a huge concern about the manner of confrontations of different social groups with urban public spaces within urban scholars. Among these social groups, young people have been particularly important. Because they have a tangible presence in the city's public spaces and social life of the city are affected by their presence. This paper examines the uses of public spaces by young people and will pay special attention to the role of social control on use of public spaces. Paper focuses on the study of young people who attend in public places with their friends from opposite sex. We have inspired by theories of urban public spaces such as Oldenburg's third place as well as comprehensive research of Rob White on crime, policing and urban public spaces in Australia in this paper. The main question of the paper is that this particular group of young people choose which public spaces and why? In a qualitative approach, two techniques of observation and in - depth interviews have been chosen for collecting data. Original data collected in interviews with 20 girls and boys who attend in public places with their friends from opposite sex. Results show that parks and coffee shops are preferred urban public places of youth. Formal control would push these youth to out of the way and cozy public spaces.

We Engage, Therefore They Trust? A Study of Social Media Engagement and Public Trust in Science

Science.gov (United States)

Hwong, Y. L.; Oliver, C.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.

2017-12-01

Our society relies heavily on the trust that the public places in science to work. Given science's importance, the growing distrust in science is a cause for concern. Thanks to their participatory nature, social media have been touted as the promising tool for public engagement to restore public trust in science. These digital platforms have transformed the landscape of science communication yet little is known about their impact on public trust in science. This study probed several aspects of public trust in science as expressed on Twitter, focusing on two related science issues: space science and climate change. Our datasets comprised of 10,000 randomly sampled tweets over a month's period in 2016. We used human annotation and machine learning as our approach. Results indicated that the perceived contentiousness of a science issue has a significant impact on public trust. The level of distrust is higher in the climate change tweets than in the space science tweets, despite climate scientists being almost four times as active as space scientists in engaging with sceptics. However, people who engaged with scientists in the climate change network displayed a higher level of trust in science compared with those who did not. This effect was not observed in the space science network - in this network, there is no significant difference in trust levels between people who engaged with scientists and those who did not. Additionally, our machine learning study revealed that trust in science (as conveyed by tweets) can be predicted. The supervised learning algorithm that we developed was able to predict the trust labels of tweets in our sample with an accuracy of 84%. A further feature analysis indicated that similarity, presence of URL and authenticity are the properties of trust-inspiring tweets. Based on these findings, we argue that social media science communication is not as straightforward as `we engage, therefore they trust'. Public attitude towards science is often

Human mobility in space from three modes of public transportation

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Shixiong; Guan, Wei; Zhang, Wenyi; Chen, Xu; Yang, Liu

2017-10-01

The human mobility patterns have drew much attention from researchers for decades, considering about its importance for urban planning and traffic management. In this study, the taxi GPS trajectories, smart card transaction data of subway and bus from Beijing are utilized to model human mobility in space. The original datasets are cleaned and processed to attain the displacement of each trip according to the origin and destination locations. Then, the Akaike information criterion is adopted to screen out the best fitting distribution for each mode from candidate ones. The results indicate that displacements of taxi trips follow the exponential distribution. Besides, the exponential distribution also fits displacements of bus trips well. However, their exponents are significantly different. Displacements of subway trips show great specialties and can be well fitted by the gamma distribution. It is obvious that human mobility of each mode is different. To explore the overall human mobility, the three datasets are mixed up to form a fusion dataset according to the annual ridership proportions. Finally, the fusion displacements follow the power-law distribution with an exponential cutoff. It is innovative to combine different transportation modes to model human mobility in the city.

ANALYZING THE INTEGRITY OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT AT “CEMERLANG” PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT FIRM IN SURABAYA (PHENOMENOLOGY STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratna Anggraini Aripratiwi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims to explore the deep meaning of the integrity attitudes that is experienced, felt, and performed by a public accountant in one of the famous KAP in Surabaya, KAP "Cemerlang". Revealing the attitude of the integrity of public accountant is important since there are large number of public accountants who are still dragged into fraud and violations, resulting in unethical decisions. Every public accountant has a different perspective in determining and practicing an attitude of integrity, whether to defend or even release it for a particular purpose that ultimately raises a variety of meanings of pure integrity and pragmatic integrity.

What Do the Public Know about Anatomy? Anatomy Education to the Public and the Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Adam M.; Diggle, Peter; Wessels, Quenton

2018-01-01

Public knowledge of the anatomical "self" is lacking and evidence points towards a growing need for anatomy education to the wider public. The public were offered the opportunity to learn human anatomy and complete an anatomical knowledge survey afterwards. Sixty-three participants volunteered to attempt to place 20 anatomical structures…

Tracing how arts and humanities research translates, circulates and consolidates in society.. How have scholars been reacting to diverse impact and public value agendas?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benneworth, Paul Stephen

2014-01-01

Arts and humanities research appears to have a problem when it comes to making an argument that it matters to society. Despite widespread efforts within and beyond the field to document how arts and humanities research creates social value, these arguments have had little traction within public

Including non-public data and studies in systematic reviews and systematic maps.

Science.gov (United States)

Haddaway, Neal R; Collins, Alexandra M; Coughlin, Deborah; Kohl, Christian

2017-02-01

Systematic reviews and maps should be based on the best available evidence, and reviewers should make all reasonable efforts to source and include potentially relevant studies. However, reviewers may not be able to consider all existing evidence, since some data and studies may not be publicly available. Including non-public studies in reviews provides a valuable opportunity to increase systematic review/map comprehensiveness, potentially mitigating negative impacts of publication bias. Studies may be non-public for many reasons: some may still be in the process of being published (publication can take a long time); some may not be published due to author/publisher restrictions; publication bias may make it difficult to publish non-significant or negative results. Here, we consider what forms these non-public studies may take and the implications of including them in systematic reviews and maps. Reviewers should carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of including non-public studies, weighing risks of bias against benefits of increased comprehensiveness. As with all systematic reviews and maps, reviewers must be transparent about methods used to obtain data and avoid risks of bias in their synthesis. We make tentative suggestions for reviewers in situations where non-public data may be present in an evidence base. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perception of Urban Environmental Risks and the Effects of Urban Green Infrastructures (UGIs) on Human Well-being in Four Public Green Spaces of Guangzhou, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Junya; Wang, Yafei; Fan, Chen; Xia, Beicheng; de Groot, Rudolf

2018-05-28

Cities face many challenging environmental problems that affect human well-being. Environmental risks can be reduced by Urban Green Infrastructures (UGIs). The effects of UGIs on the urban environment have been widely studied, but less attention has been given to the public perception of these effects. This paper presents the results of a study in Guangzhou, China, on UGI users' perceptions of these effects and their relationship with sociodemographic variables. A questionnaire survey was conducted in four public green spaces. Descriptive statistics, a binary logistic regression model and cross-tabulation analysis were applied on the data from 396 valid questionnaires. The results show that UGI users were more concerned about poor air quality and high temperature than about flooding events. Their awareness of environmental risks was partly in accordance with official records. Regarding the perception of the impacts of environmental risks on human well-being, elderly and female respondents with higher education levels were the most sensitive to these impacts. The respondents' perceptions of these impacts differed among the different green spaces. The effects of UGIs were well perceived and directly observed by the UGI users, but were not significantly influenced by most sociodemographic variables. Moreover, tourists had a lower perception of the impacts of environmental risks and the effects of UGI than residents did. This study provides strong support for UGIs as an effective tool to mitigate environmental risks. Local governments should consider the role of UGIs in environmental risk mitigation and human well-being with regard to urban planning and policy making.

Public awareness of human papillomavirus as a causative factor for oropharyngeal cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Michael U; Carr, Michele M; Goldenberg, David

2015-06-01

To assess the public's awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV) as a causative factor for oropharyngeal cancer. Twenty-three-item survey. Local shopping malls and Maxwell Air Force Base in 2012. Respondents were randomly chosen to participate in 23-item survey at various local shopping malls and at Maxwell Air Force Base in 2012. The χ(2) test was used in statistical analysis. The majority of respondents (n = 319) were civilians; 158 were military officer trainees (MOTs). All MOTs had a bachelor's degree or higher, while 37% of civilian respondents had a bachelor's degree or higher. Most MOTs (82%) were aware of oropharyngeal cancer, and 53% of civilians had not heard of oropharyngeal cancer (P aware of the association between HPV and cervical cancer. Conversely, 75% of civilian population and 49% of MOTs were not aware of the association between HPV and oropharyngeal cancer (P aware that HPV is a causative agent of cervical cancer. However, the majority were not aware of the association between oropharyngeal cancer and HPV. Furthermore, many respondents were not aware that HPV equally affects males and females and that the vaccine is available for both sexes. This underscores the need to educate the public on the availability of HPV vaccine and the association between HPV and oropharyngeal cancer. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

public spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Grigoryeva

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The topic of this issue is PUBLIC SPACES. It is familiar and clear to every citizen. The streets and courtyards as childhood experiences remain with us forever. And these are the places where we come with our parents at weekends, where we meet friends, where we have dates and where we already come for a walk with our children.The history of public spaces is long and captivating. It was the main city squares where the most important events took place in history. The Agoras of Ancient Greece and the Roman Forums, the squares of Vatican, Paris and London, Moscow and Saint Petersburg… Greve, Trafalgar, Senate, Palace, Red, Bolotnaya – behind every name there is life of capitals, countries and nations.Public spaces, their shapes, image and development greatly influence the perception of the city as a whole. Both visitors and inhabitants can see in public spaces not only the visage but the heart, the soul and the mind of the city.Unfortunately, sometimes we have to prove the value of public spaces and defend them from those who consider them nothing but a blank space, nobody’s land destined for barbarous development.What should happen to make citizens perceive public spaces as their own and to make authorities consider development and maintenance of squares and parks their priority task against the  background of increasing competition between cities and the fight for human capital? Lately they more often say about “a high-quality human capital”. And now, when they say “the city should be liveable” they add “for all groups of citizens, including the creative class”.

Virtual Reality Therapy: case study of fear of public speaking.

Science.gov (United States)

North, Max M; Schoeneman, Curt M; Mathis, James R

2002-01-01

The major goal of this research case study was to investigate the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) in the treatment of the fear of public speaking. A twenty-eight-year-old Caucasian male was selected from questionnaires distributed to a class of undergraduate students enrolled at Kennesaw State University. Two assessment measures were used in this study. The first measure used was the Attitude Towards Public Speaking (ATPS) Questionnaire. The second measure used was the eleven-point Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale. These measurements assessed the anxiety, avoidance, attitudes and disturbance associated with the subject's fear of public speaking before and after each VRT treatment session. This case study of public speaking fear indicates that VRT may be used as an effective treatment method for reducing self-reported anxiety.

A Large-Scale Study of Surrogate Physicality and Gesturing on Human–Surrogate Interactions in a Public Space

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Kangsoo Kim

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Technological human surrogates, including robotic and virtual humans, have been popularly used in various scenarios, including training, education, and entertainment. Prior research has investigated the effects of the surrogate’s physicality and gesturing in human perceptions and social influence of the surrogate. However, those studies have been carried out in research laboratories, where the participants were aware that it was an experiment, and the participant demographics are typically relatively narrow—e.g., college students. In this paper, we describe and share results from a large-scale exploratory user study involving 7,685 people in a public space, where they were unaware of the experimental nature of the setting, to investigate the effects of surrogate physicality and gesturing on their behavior during human–surrogate interactions. We evaluate human behaviors using several variables, such as proactivity and reactivity, and proximity. We have identified several interesting phenomena that could lead to hypotheses developed as part of future hypothesis-based studies. Based on the measurements of the variables, we believe people are more likely to be engaged in a human–surrogate interaction when the surrogate is physically present, but movements and gesturing with its body parts have not shown the expected benefits for the interaction engagement. Regarding the demographics of the people in the study, we found higher overall engagement for females than males, and higher reactivity for younger than older people. We discuss implications for practitioners aiming to design a technological surrogate that will directly interact with real humans.

Developing and improving human capital and productivity in public companies

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Nozipho Sithole

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This article assesses the impact of the Assisted Education Programme (AEP in developing, improving human capital and productivity specifically for eThekwini Municipality employee human resource. This programme offers funding to employees to further their studies in higher learning institutions, which are in partnership with and recognized by eThekwini Municipality. The core function of this programme is to improve and develop employee capabilities in order to enhance municipal productivity. However, different factors have prohibited the programme from reaching required funding polity objectives. Participants filled in questionnaires and from them data were collected. The study used quantitative research as a method of research. The target population for this study consisted of 100 participants. The study sample size were 64 participants which were randomly selected out of the Durban Solid Waste Unit, specifically general assistants. The study analyzed data using SPSS (version 23.0. A significant percentage of respondents indicated to a lack of transparency and poor consistency in the process of awarding the funding and to insufficient information, which detailed the criteria for eligibility of applicants. Henceforth, the study concluded that municipal employee underutilized the AEP because of being ill informed about it. This resulted in the employee perception that the programme had little or no benefit to them and that it had no value in improving their human capital development. This finding is shown by a Chi-square goodness of fit test to be statistically significant (std=1.49150; mean=2.7500; p=.000

42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

LEADERSHIP STYLES: A STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN AND THAI PUBLIC SECTORS

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Nattavud Pimpa

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Leadership is deeply attached to culture. This study compares leadership styles in Thai and Australian public sectors. The data were collected from staff in public sector settings in Australia and Thailand. The results confirm four leadership styles that suit the public sector culture in both countries: communication-oriented, strategic thinking and planning, relationship building, and conflict management. In the Thai public sector system, leadership that focuses on goal orientation is ranked most highly: Australian public sector organisations focus on leadership that fosters equity among organisational members, creates a supportive environment in the workplace, and facilitates participation. It is evident from this study that significant distinctions between the organisational cultures of Thailand and Australia are matched by marked dissimilarities of preferred leadership styles. Thus, an understanding of local organisational culture is important for effective leadership at all levels.

The Hybrid Public Research University: A Comparative Case Study of Two Self-Sustaining Degree Programs in Public Health

OpenAIRE

Hagigi, Farhad A

2014-01-01

Abstract of the DissertationThe Hybrid Public Research University: A Comparative Case Study of Two Self‐Sustaining Degree Programs in Public HealthByFarhad Abas HagigiDoctor of Philosophy in EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles, 2014Professor Walter R. Allen, Co-ChairProfessor Jos� Luis Santos, Co-ChairDecreased public funding, diminishing political and societal support, and increased competition from private institutions have led public research universities (PRUs) to under...

Priorities in public relations research: An international Delphi study

OpenAIRE

Watson, Tom

2008-01-01

A Delphi study on the priorities for public relations research, conducted in 2007 amongst\\ud academics, practitioners and senior executives of professional and industry bodies in five\\ud continents, has ranked the ten most important topics for research and proposed the associated\\ud research questions. This is the first completed Delphi study into public relations research since\\ud Synnott and McKie (1997) which was itself a development of earlier studies of this type by\\ud McElreath (1980, 1...

The public spending crisis: a case study of Nigeria public sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PhD(AccountingMBA.Mukoro Dick Oluku

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to discuss the differences in the concept and measurement of efficiency between the private and public sectors, stressing that the lessons from the private sector can only be transferred to the public sector if there is a proper awareness of these issues and constrains imposed by considerations of equity. In evaluating policy initiatives, the governments method for all the talk of “rolling back the public sector” and opposition companies of “cuts,” the public expenditure/EDP ration went up steadily during Obasanjo’s first term. However deep the divisions over what ought to be in the public sector, it is of paramount importance to all concerned that the resources are managed effectively. The paper argued that an attempt to instill into the public sector the cost consciousness of the best parts of the private sector is wholly admirable. In conclusion, the severity of the impending budgetary crises will make the search for greater efficiency in the public sector of paramount importance. The paper recommends that the common theme of all these cases in that an appropriate set of relative prices can encourage resources to be minimized. very great care has to be taken when introducing piecemeal charging in order to ensure that this does not have side-effects at odds with programme objectives

Achieving human and machine accessibility of cited data in scholarly publications

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Joan Starr

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Reproducibility and reusability of research results is an important concern in scientific communication and science policy. A foundational element of reproducibility and reusability is the open and persistently available presentation of research data. However, many common approaches for primary data publication in use today do not achieve sufficient long-term robustness, openness, accessibility or uniformity. Nor do they permit comprehensive exploitation by modern Web technologies. This has led to several authoritative studies recommending uniform direct citation of data archived in persistent repositories. Data are to be considered as first-class scholarly objects, and treated similarly in many ways to cited and archived scientific and scholarly literature. Here we briefly review the most current and widely agreed set of principle-based recommendations for scholarly data citation, the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles (JDDCP. We then present a framework for operationalizing the JDDCP; and a set of initial recommendations on identifier schemes, identifier resolution behavior, required metadata elements, and best practices for realizing programmatic machine actionability of cited data. The main target audience for the common implementation guidelines in this article consists of publishers, scholarly organizations, and persistent data repositories, including technical staff members in these organizations. But ordinary researchers can also benefit from these recommendations. The guidance provided here is intended to help achieve widespread, uniform human and machine accessibility of deposited data, in support of significantly improved verification, validation, reproducibility and re-use of scholarly/scientific data.

Achieving human and machine accessibility of cited data in scholarly publications.

Science.gov (United States)

Starr, Joan; Castro, Eleni; Crosas, Mercè; Dumontier, Michel; Downs, Robert R; Duerr, Ruth; Haak, Laurel L; Haendel, Melissa; Herman, Ivan; Hodson, Simon; Hourclé, Joe; Kratz, John Ernest; Lin, Jennifer; Nielsen, Lars Holm; Nurnberger, Amy; Proell, Stefan; Rauber, Andreas; Sacchi, Simone; Smith, Arthur; Taylor, Mike; Clark, Tim

Reproducibility and reusability of research results is an important concern in scientific communication and science policy. A foundational element of reproducibility and reusability is the open and persistently available presentation of research data. However, many common approaches for primary data publication in use today do not achieve sufficient long-term robustness, openness, accessibility or uniformity. Nor do they permit comprehensive exploitation by modern Web technologies. This has led to several authoritative studies recommending uniform direct citation of data archived in persistent repositories. Data are to be considered as first-class scholarly objects, and treated similarly in many ways to cited and archived scientific and scholarly literature. Here we briefly review the most current and widely agreed set of principle-based recommendations for scholarly data citation, the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles (JDDCP). We then present a framework for operationalizing the JDDCP; and a set of initial recommendations on identifier schemes, identifier resolution behavior, required metadata elements, and best practices for realizing programmatic machine actionability of cited data. The main target audience for the common implementation guidelines in this article consists of publishers, scholarly organizations, and persistent data repositories, including technical staff members in these organizations. But ordinary researchers can also benefit from these recommendations. The guidance provided here is intended to help achieve widespread, uniform human and machine accessibility of deposited data, in support of significantly improved verification, validation, reproducibility and re-use of scholarly/scientific data.

Propagating Humanized BLT Mice for the Study of Human Immunology and Immunotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Drake J; Lin, Levina J; Moon, Heesung; Pham, Alexander T; Wang, Xi; Liu, Siyuan; Ji, Sunjong; Rezek, Valerie; Shimizu, Saki; Ruiz, Marlene; Lam, Jennifer; Janzen, Deanna M; Memarzadeh, Sanaz; Kohn, Donald B; Zack, Jerome A; Kitchen, Scott G; An, Dong Sung; Yang, Lili

2016-12-15

The humanized bone marrow-liver-thymus (BLT) mouse model harbors a nearly complete human immune system, therefore providing a powerful tool to study human immunology and immunotherapy. However, its application is greatly limited by the restricted supply of human CD34 + hematopoietic stem cells and fetal thymus tissues that are needed to generate these mice. The restriction is especially significant for the study of human immune systems with special genetic traits, such as certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes or monogene deficiencies. To circumvent this critical limitation, we have developed a method to quickly propagate established BLT mice. Through secondary transfer of bone marrow cells and human thymus implants from BLT mice into NSG (NOD/SCID/IL-2Rγ -/- ) recipient mice, we were able to expand one primary BLT mouse into a colony of 4-5 proBLT (propagated BLT) mice in 6-8 weeks. These proBLT mice reconstituted human immune cells, including T cells, at levels comparable to those of their primary BLT donor mouse. They also faithfully inherited the human immune cell genetic traits from their donor BLT mouse, such as the HLA-A2 haplotype that is of special interest for studying HLA-A2-restricted human T cell immunotherapies. Moreover, an EGFP reporter gene engineered into the human immune system was stably passed from BLT to proBLT mice, making proBLT mice suitable for studying human immune cell gene therapy. This method provides an opportunity to overcome a critical hurdle to utilizing the BLT humanized mouse model and enables its more widespread use as a valuable preclinical research tool.

Secondary Traumatic Stress in Public School Teachers: Contributing and Mitigating Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Caringi, James C.; Stanick, Cameo; Trautman, Ashley; Crosby, Lindsay; Devlin, Mary; Adams, Stephanie

2015-01-01

Although research has examined secondary traumatic stress (STS) among mental health workers, child welfare workers, and other human service professionals, such examination among public school teachers has only recently begun. This study represents the first investigation to examine the factors that influence STS levels in public School teachers.…

Human exploration mission studies

Science.gov (United States)

Cataldo, Robert L.

1989-01-01

The Office of Exploration has established a process whereby all NASA field centers and other NASA Headquarters offices participate in the formulation and analysis of a wide range of mission strategies. These strategies were manifested into specific scenarios or candidate case studies. The case studies provided a systematic approach into analyzing each mission element. First, each case study must address several major themes and rationale including: national pride and international prestige, advancement of scientific knowledge, a catalyst for technology, economic benefits, space enterprise, international cooperation, and education and excellence. Second, the set of candidate case studies are formulated to encompass the technology requirement limits in the life sciences, launch capabilities, space transfer, automation, and robotics in space operations, power, and propulsion. The first set of reference case studies identify three major strategies: human expeditions, science outposts, and evolutionary expansion. During the past year, four case studies were examined to explore these strategies. The expeditionary missions include the Human Expedition to Phobos and Human Expedition to Mars case studies. The Lunar Observatory and Lunar Outpost to Early Mars Evolution case studies examined the later two strategies. This set of case studies established the framework to perform detailed mission analysis and system engineering to define a host of concepts and requirements for various space systems and advanced technologies. The details of each mission are described and, specifically, the results affecting the advanced technologies required to accomplish each mission scenario are presented.

The joint European TEMPUS project 'Human Security (environment, quality of food, public health, and society) on territories contaminated by radioactive agents'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncharova, N.; Butchenkow, I.; Maestri, E.

2016-01-01

Full text: The Joint European TEMPUS Project 'Human Security (environment, quality of food, public health, and society) on Territories Contaminated by Radioactive Agents', started in 2012. The EU project participants are the following: University of Cordoba (Spain) - Project Coordinator, University of Parma (Italy), University of Florence (Italy), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden) and Riga Technical University (Latvia). The project involves three partner countries - Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, represented by the following institutions: Belarusian State University, International Sakharov Environmental University, Grodno State Medical University, Grodno State Agrarian University, Voronezh State University, Tyumen State Medical Academy, Ural Federal University (Yekaterinburg), Chelyabinsk State University, Nuclear Cities Information-Education Centre, Vinnitsa National Medical University, Zhytomyr State Technological University, Kyiv International University, Sevastopol National University of Nuclear Energy and Industry, Polissya branch of G.M. Vysotsky Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Forest Melioration. The main objectives of the project are: to develop interdisciplinary Master and Doctoral (PhD) programs in the field of Human Security of people living in areas affected by accidents at nuclear power plants / plant for processing nuclear fuel within the following specialties: Ecology and Environment Sciences - 'Human Security and Environment'; Food quality control - 'Human Security and Quality of Food'; Medicine - 'Human Security and Public Health'; Political and Social Sciences - 'Human Security and Society'. These programs will be implemented at 12 universities, 4 from each partner country. During the project implementation it is expected to achieve the following main results: modified interdisciplinary Master and Doctoral (PhD) programs taking into account the studied European experience and practice; joint system of upgrade of

Promoting Respect as a Human Value in a Public School

Science.gov (United States)

Corzo, Josefina Quintero; Castañeda, Yeisson Soto

2017-01-01

This is a case study report arising from a series of daily observations of the students' behavior made in a primary public school located near to the capital city, Manizales-Colombia, where it was possible to notice the difficulties students had in order to coexist due to the lack of respect with their classmates, in group activities or actually…

PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN HUMANS AND WILDLIFE: EMERGING ISSUES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aldo Pacheco Ferreira

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Persistent organic pollutants persevere in the environment for a long time, are toxic to humans and/or wildlife, and have a resilient propensity to bioaccumulate in the food chain. Due to its chemical stability, their lipid solubility, and its ubiquitous prevalence in environmental, these pollutants are disposed to long-range transport. The success of modern societies is in part based on extensive achievements of chemistry with a systematic development of products in medicine, agriculture, and in almost all manufacturing industry sectors and materials for daily use. Although, these chemicals unequivocally contribute to the quality of life for billions of human beings, however, the negative impacts to environment and health are an important issue for ostensible monitoring. Social and environmental benefits should not be ignored, in spite of economic forces.The recognition that prevention is the best method to mitigate the risk of diseases to public health related to the environment, mainly driven by technological development, becomes essential the individuation and quantification of toxicological endpoints for systematic monitoring of these emerging pollutants.

Evaluation of Human Resource Needs for a New Nuclear Power Plant: Armenian Case Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-05-01

Rising expectations of an increased role for nuclear power in providing energy for future national and global sustainable development have become a reality in many Member States of the IAEA. Over the last several years, dozens of Member States have announced plans to embark on or expand nuclear power programmes. Reflecting on these developments, the IAEA has adjusted its priorities to focus more on the nuclear power programmes of newcomers. Specifically, the IAEA has produced publications providing guidance on the development of a national infrastructure for nuclear power (IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NG-G-3.1) and on managing human resources in the field of nuclear energy (IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NG-G-2.1). Additionally, assistance to eligible Member States through new technical cooperation (TC) projects has been increased, including direct support through on-site assist visits. In 2007-2008, the IAEA carried out a TC project titled 'Feasibility study of nuclear energy development in Armenia: Evaluation of human resource needs in conjunction with new NPP build' (ARM-005). The project analysed the human resource demands required to support work at all stages of the life cycle of a new power unit planned for Armenia. This included drafting proposals for the means, conditions and requirements for development of human resource capabilities needed to carry out the work. This report is intended to complement the previous IAEA publications by providing an in-depth technical consideration into this critical area of human resource development. The report summarizes major findings of the TC project and details the tasks linked to management of the human resources that will be required by a country planning to build a new NPP. Additional guidance on the development of a national nuclear infrastructure can be found in the IAEA publication 'Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power', IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NG-G-3.1. The

Investigation on public knowledge, attitude and practices related to ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

study are to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices towards pet husbandry, ... pet-owning households, with concerted efforts by veterinary, human and public health profes- ... Those benefits include companionship, physical activity, pro-.

mprovements in the Process of Requisite Elicitation for Public Management Software: A Case Study Using Work Instructions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GOES, A. S.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Requirements elicitation is not an easy task. Different expectations between users and analysts, redundancy of information and lack of standardization can make this task difficult and conflicting. When it comes to software for the public sector this task becomes somewhat more complicated because of the constant changes in federal laws and regulations. This paper presents a case study of applying work instructions to remedy these kind of problems, as well as others found in the company where the study was carried out. We achieved very promising results, namely better utilization of human resources and reduction of job demand.

Integrating Public Health and Deliberative Public Bioethics: Lessons from the Human Genome Project Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Program

OpenAIRE

Meagher, Karen M.; Lee, Lisa M.

2016-01-01

Public health policy works best when grounded in firm public health standards of evidence and widely shared social values. In this article, we argue for incorporating a specific method of ethical deliberation—deliberative public bioethics—into public health. We describe how deliberative public bioethics is a method of engagement that can be helpful in public health. Although medical, research, and public health ethics can be considered some of what bioethics addresses, deliberative public bio...

Personnel vs. Strategic Human Resource Management in Public Education

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Henry

2015-01-01

Education human resources (HR) professionals have often been neglected in education research. This study seeks to better understand their role in the American school industry, by first examining how districts conceptualize the position of HR professionals and then exploring how the professionals themselves understand their role in school business.…

Big Data Analysis of Human Genome Variations

KAUST Repository

Gojobori, Takashi

2016-01-01

Since the human genome draft sequence was in public for the first time in 2000, genomic analyses have been intensively extended to the population level. The following three international projects are good examples for large-scale studies of human

Public acceptance of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wildgruber, O.H.

1990-01-01

The lecture addresses the question why we need public acceptance work and provides some clues to it. It explains various human behaviour patterns which determine the basics for public acceptance. To some extent, the opposition to nuclear energy and the role the media play are described. Public acceptance efforts of industry are critically reviewed. Some hints on difficulties with polling are provided. The lecture concludes with recommendations for further public acceptance work. (author)

Public education and enforcement research study (PEERS).

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-01

In 2001, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) established the Public Education and Enforcement Research Study (PEERS) to test the effectiveness of various education and enforcement (E&E) techniques to i...

Epidemiological studies on radiation carcinogenesis in human populations following acute exposure: nuclear explosions and medical radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fabrikant, J.I.

1981-01-01

The present review provides an understanding of our current knowledge of the carcinogenic effect of low-dose radiation in man, and surveys the epidemiological studies of human populations exposed to nuclear explosions and medical radiation. Discussion centers on the contributions of quantitative epidemiology to present knowledge, the reliability of the dose-incidence data, and those relevant epidemiological studies that provide the most useful information for risk estimation of cancer induction in man. Reference is made to dose-incidence relationships from laboratory animal experiments where they may obtain, for problems and difficulties in extrapolation from data obtained at high doses to low doses, and from animal data to the human situation. The paper describes the methods of application of such epidemiological data for estimation of excess risk of radiation-induced cancer in exposed human populations and discusses the strengths and limitations of epidemiology in guiding radiation protection philosophy and public health policy

45 CFR 1304.52 - Human resources management.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Human resources management. 1304.52 Section 1304.52 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT... DELEGATE AGENCIES Program Design and Management § 1304.52 Human resources management. (a) Organizational...

CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program in Action: Case Studies From State and Local Health Departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Eatman, Shana; Strosnider, Heather M

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) is a multidisciplinary collaboration that involves the ongoing collection, integration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data from environmental hazard monitoring, human exposure surveillance, and health effects surveillance. With a renewed focus on data-driven decision-making, the CDC's Tracking Program emphasizes dissemination of actionable data to public health practitioners, policy makers, and communities. The CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network), a Web-based system with components at the national, state, and local levels, houses environmental public health data used to inform public health actions (PHAs) to improve community health. This article serves as a detailed landscape on the Tracking Program and Tracking Network and the Tracking Program's leading performance measure, "public health actions." Tracking PHAs are qualitative statements addressing a local problem or situation, the role of the state or local Tracking Program, how the problem or situation was addressed, and the action taken. More than 400 PHAs have been reported by funded state and local health departments since the Tracking Program began collecting PHAs in 2005. Three case studies are provided to illustrate the use of the Tracking Program resources and data on the Tracking Network, and the diversity of actions taken. Through a collaborative network of experts, data, and tools, the Tracking Program and its Tracking Network are actively informing state and local PHAs. In a time of competing priorities and limited funding, PHAs can serve as a powerful tool to advance environmental public health practice.

New Hyde Park Public Library; A Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nassau Library System, Garden City, NY.

In the fall of 1974, the Nassau County Library System conducted a study of the New Hyde Park Public Library at the request of that library's directing board. Relevant documents and statistics were reviewed, building usage was studied, and the library staff and community organizations were questioned. The library was analyzed in terms of the…

A socioecological analysis of the determinants of national public health nutrition work force capacity: Australia as a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Roger

2006-01-01

This article uses a socioecological analytical approach to assess the capacity of the public health nutrition work force in Australia as a prelude to work force development strategy planning. It demonstrates how the socioecological model can be used to assess and inform the development of the infrastructure required for effective public health nutrition effort. An interpretive case study method was used involving triangular analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources including semistructured interviews with advanced-level practitioners, literature review, a cross-sectional national work force survey, and position description audit and consensus development using a Delphi study. The findings of this analysis indicate that the Australian public health nutrition work force's capacity to effectively address priority nutrition issues is limited by determinants that can be categorized as relating to human resource infrastructure, organizational and policy environments, intelligence access and use, practice improvement and learning systems, and work force preparation. This socioecological analysis supports an intelligence-based focus for work force development effort in Australia and a conceptual framework for work force capacity assessment with potential applications in other countries.

Representing climate change on public service television: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Debrett, Mary

2017-05-01

Publicly funded broadcasters with a track record in science programming would appear ideally placed to represent climate change to the lay public. Free from the constraints of vested interests and the economic imperative, public service providers are better equipped to represent the scientific, social and economic aspects of climate change than commercial media, where ownership conglomeration, corporate lobbyists and online competition have driven increasingly tabloid coverage with an emphasis on controversy. This prime-time snapshot of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's main television channel explores how the structural/rhetorical conventions of three established public service genres - a science programme, a documentary and a live public affairs talk show - impact on the representation of anthropogenic climate change. The study findings note implications for public trust, and discuss possibilities for innovation in the interests of better public understanding of climate change.

Tracing How Arts and Humanities Research Translates, Circulates and Consolidates in Society.. How Have Scholars Been Reacting to Diverse Impact and Public Value Agendas?

Science.gov (United States)

Benneworth, Paul

2015-01-01

Arts and humanities research appears to have a problem when it comes to making an argument that it matters to society. Despite widespread efforts within and beyond the field to document how arts and humanities research creates social value, these arguments have had little traction within public policy debates. The paper argues that other…

Functions of public relations

OpenAIRE

Baranov G. V.

2016-01-01

the article reveals the importance of communication with the public in the implementation of human rights and the ideals of mankind; characterized by the specificity of public relations in the information culture of belief; PR functions are explained on the criterion of optimization of activity of social interactions on the basis of cultural ideals.

Perceptions of user studies as a foundation for public programming ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of user studies and the evaluation of services in the development of effective public programming initiatives by the public archives of east and southern Africa. Users of the archives are the backbone of effective archival services. Sadly, it appears that the records are more ...

A cost-effective method of achieving meaningful citizen participation in public roadway pipeline studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buszynski, M.E.

1996-12-31

Many proponents of gas pipeline studies using the public roadway for their facilities have trouble encouraging public participation. Problems resulting from a lack of public involvement are documented. A public participation process designed to gather meaningful public input is presented through a case study of a public roadway pipeline study in southern Ontario. Techniques are outlined to effectively stimulate public interest and document the public involvement process. Recommendations are made as to the transferability of this process to other jurisdictions.

Reporting ethics committee approval in public administration research.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Sara R; Gray, Phillip W

2014-03-01

While public administration research is thriving because of increased attention to social scientific rigor, lingering problems of methods and ethics remain. This article investigates the reporting of ethics approval within public administration publications. Beginning with an overview of ethics requirements regarding research with human participants, I turn to an examination of human participants protections for public administration research. Next, I present the findings of my analysis of articles published in the top five public administration journals over the period from 2000 to 2012, noting the incidences of ethics approval reporting as well as funding reporting. In explicating the importance of ethics reporting for public administration research, as it relates to replication, reputation, and vulnerable populations, I conclude with recommendations for increasing ethics approval reporting in public administration research.

45 CFR 1370.5 - Public information campaign grants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Public information campaign grants. 1370.5 Section 1370.5 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT... VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND SERVICES PROGRAMS § 1370.5 Public information campaign grants. Each grantee awarded...

Peculiarities of activities of public administration subjects in the public finance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Світлана Миколаївна Клімова

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A comprehensive reform of public administration and public finances conducted in Ukraine to implement the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU requires a thorough research. Problems related to the functioning of public administration, investigated by V. Averyanov, M. Benio, T.Belozerskaya, S. Vitvitsky, D. Vlasenko, S. Gaiduchenko, N. Hnidyuk, O. Jafarova, A. Zelentsov, T. Karabin, T. Kolomoets. The subject of the study is public administration in the field of public finance. T. Karabin investigated the basic theory of public administration and singled out the following: 1 classical theory; 2 the theory of new public management; 3 the theory of public service. The wording of the "broad" and "narrow" understanding of public administration should be made taking into account that today the public administration in Ukraine in the narrow sense consists of: 1 the bodies of state executive power (the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, central executive authorities, their territorial offices, local state administrations, etc.; 2 specialized public authorities (for example, the Accounting Chamber, the National Bank of Ukraine; 3 subjects of local self-government (village, settlement, city council, village, settlement, city mayor, executive bodies of village, settlement, city council, head of state, rayon and regional councils, representing common interests of territorial communities of villages, settlements, cities; organs of self-organization of the population . In the broad sense, non-state actors (both collective and individual should be included in the circle of subjects of the public administration of Ukraine, which delegates power and administrative powers, which are in continuous interaction with public authorities, performing the functions assigned to them. The complexity of public administration in our country is due to the variability of all elements of the system, the links between them and the environment in which the

Vocational Study and Public Service Motivation: Disentangling the Socializing Effects of Higher Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjeldsen, Anne Mette

2012-01-01

Most studies of Public Service Motivation investigate differences in motivation between public and private sector employees, but how these differences emerge and evolve in a pre-entry setting is still puzzling. Based on cross-sectional survey data with 3,521 Danish students enrolled in different...... vocational studies and at different stages (years) of their educational programs, this article investigates the socializing effects of higher education into different levels of public service motivation. The analysis demonstrates that students’ levels of public service motivation at different stages...... of their educational programs depends on the field of study: The level of public service motivation among students in vocational studies aimed at jobs with core public service delivery stays the same during education, whereas the level of public service motivation among students in other fields increases substantively...

Public and private regulation of reproductive technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Byk, C

1995-01-01

Human reproduction is interrelated with privacy. However, in most countries where new reproductive technologies are used public regulations have been passed to provide a legal framework for such technologies. This interference in private life can be justified by the need to control medical intervention in the human reproductive process. But in order to find a balance between public regulations and other social regulations, this article analyses the impact private regulation may have on issues raised by reproductive technologies. It also addresses the issue of the influence of private bodies on the drafting of public regulations.

One Health Perspectives on Emerging Public Health Threats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhyun Ryu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases, including avian influenza, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease have significantly affected humankind in recent years. In the premodern era, no distinction was made between animal and human medicine. However, as medical science developed, the gap between human and animal science grew deeper. Cooperation among human, animal, and environmental sciences to combat emerging public health threats has become an important issue under the One Health Initiative. Herein, we presented the history of One Health, reviewed current public health threats, and suggested opportunities for the field of public health through better understanding of the One Health paradigm.

The Economic Crisis and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Sidel

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The current global economic crisis seriously threatens the health of the public. Challenges include increases in malnutrition; homelessness and inadequate housing; unemployment; substance abuse, depression, and other mental health problems; mortality; child health problems; violence; environmental and occupational health problems; and social injustice and violation of human rights; as well as decreased availability, accessibility, and affordability of quality medical and dental care. Health professionals can respond by promoting surveillance and documentation of human needs, reassessing public health priorities, educating the public and policymakers about health problems worsened by the economic crisis, advocating for sound policies and programs to address these problems, and directly providing necessary programs and services.

Ambulance Reasonable Charge Public Use Files

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Ambulance Reasonable Charge public use files for calendar years (CY) 2003 through 2005 are located in the Downloads section below. These public use files are...

An ecological public health approach to understanding the relationships between sustainable urban environments, public health and social equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bentley, Michael

2014-09-01

The environmental determinants of public health and social equity present many challenges to a sustainable urbanism-climate change, water shortages and oil dependency to name a few. There are many pathways from urban environments to human health. Numerous links have been described but some underlying mechanisms behind these relationships are less understood. Combining theory and methods is a way of understanding and explaining how the underlying structures of urban environments relate to public health and social equity. This paper proposes a model for an ecological public health, which can be used to explore these relationships. Four principles of an ecological public health-conviviality, equity, sustainability and global responsibility-are used to derive theoretical concepts that can inform ecological public health thinking, which, among other things, provides a way of exploring the underlying mechanisms that link urban environments to public health and social equity. Theories of more-than-human agency inform ways of living together (conviviality) in urban areas. Political ecology links the equity concerns about environmental and social justice. Resilience thinking offers a better way of coming to grips with sustainability. Integrating ecological ethics into public health considers the global consequences of local urban living and thus attends to global responsibility. This way of looking at the relationships between urban environments, public health and social equity answers the call to craft an ecological public health for the twenty-first century by re-imagining public health in a way that acknowledges humans as part of the ecosystem, not separate from it, though not central to it. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The road traffic crashes as a neglected public health concern; an observational study from Iranian population.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakhtiyari, Mahmood; Delpisheh, Ali; Monfared, Ayad Bahadori; Kazemi-Galougahi, Mohammad Hassan; Mehmandar, Mohammad Reza; Riahi, Mohammad; Salehi, Masoud; Mansournia, Mohammad Ali

2015-01-01

Traffic crashes are multifactorial events caused by human factors, technical issues, and environmental conditions. The present study aimed to determine the role of human factors in traffic crashes in Iran using the proportional odds regression model. The database of all traffic crashes in Iran in 2010 (n = 592, 168) registered through the "COM.114" police forms was investigated. Human risk factors leading to traffic crashes were determined and the odds ratio (OR) of each risk factor was estimated using an ordinal regression model and adjusted for potential confounding factors such as age, gender, and lighting status within and outside of cities. The drivers' mean age ± standard deviation was 34.1 ± 14.0 years. The most prevalent risk factors leading to death within cities were disregarding traffic rules and regulations (45%), driver rushing (31%), and alcohol consumption (12.3%). Using the proportional odds regression model, alcohol consumption was the most significant human risk factor in traffic crashes within cities (OR = 6.5, 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.88-8.65) and outside of cities (OR = 1.73, 95% CI, 1.22-3.29). Public health strategies and preventive policies should be focused on more common human risk factors such as disregarding traffic rules and regulations, drivers' rushing, and alcohol consumption due to their greater population attributable fraction and more intuitive impacts on society.

Attributes of ethical employees in Malaysian public sector ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aims to explore the attributes of ethical employees in public sector and to pattern match the attributes with human behavior, social and ethics theories. A qualitative research is used by focusing on first-order attributes (through interviews) and second-order concepts (using theories to explain the facts). This study ...

Recruitment for Competencies in Public and Private Sectors

OpenAIRE

Codruța OSOIAN; Monica ZAHARIE

2014-01-01

The capacity to attract highly skilled human resources is dependent on the employee recruitment process implemented by organizations, which plays an important role for their competitiveness on the market. As the concern for the success of the recruitment process in public sectors is becoming more salient, the present study compares the use of recruitment practices in public and private sectors through a survey applied to 97 organizations. It also explores the outcomes in terms of quantity and...

DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE EU CONTEXT. ASPECTS OF EVALUATION AND DIMENSIONS.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Negrea

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The potential of any organization depends, firstly, on its human potential. Human resource, especially through managerial activity, augments the material and financial potential of any organization. On the other hand, the public administration in Romania and elsewhere has been and is subject to numerous criticisms concerning the functioning and quality of its provided services. The conducted research is characterized by a sequential approach. It begins by establishing the research goals, after that continues with establishing the research methodology, conducting effective research, presentation of the results representing the final stage of the paper. The overall objective of the conducted research is substantiating the importance of evaluation of human resources in public administration. Fulfilling this objective is done by pursuing and achieving the following general objectives: approaches to human resource management in public administration; highlighting the main aspects specific to the new public management (NPM; the new public management reform areas; corruption in public administration; conceptual approach in terms of performance and evaluation of human resources; performance measurement in public administration in Romania; basically a study showing the importance of evaluating human resources. The approach process of the human resources management in the public sector requires a particle analysis framework to be able to highlight the influence that the political side it has on its evolution. Rosembloom (1982 considers that a long time has been pursued an assimilation of values from the private into the public domain in the management process in general and of human resources in particular. In this section we try to present what are the main approaches to human resource management in public administration, focusing on their sizing and performance evaluation in relation to the volume and quality level of activities. We will also highlight

Strategi Komunikasi Public Relations

OpenAIRE

Artis, Artis

2011-01-01

Living man in interrelates society. Relationship among human being done by gets communication so man one by another one mutually understand and influence regard for the benefit, it that always been practiced by Public Relations( liaison) in a governance and also firm institute to reach to the effect which ices. The institute of Public Relations declares for,”Public Relations is overall effort which be passed off by design and berkesenambungan in order to creates and pet keenness and mutual un...

[Human papillomavirus testing in cervical cancer screening at a public health service of Santiago, Chile].

Science.gov (United States)

Terrazas, Solana; Ibáñez, Carolina; Lagos, Marcela; Poggi, Helena; Brañes, Jorge; Barriga, María Isabel; Cartagena, Jaime; Núñez, Felipe; González, Francisca; Cook, Paz; Van De Wyngard, Vanessa; Ferreccio, Catterina

2015-01-01

Molecular techniques for human papillomavirus (HPV) detection have a good performance as screening tests and could be included in cervical cancer early detection programs. We conducted a population-based trial comparing HPV detection and Papanicolaou as primary screening tests, in a public health service in Santiago, Chile. To describe the experience of implementing this new molecular test and present the main results of the study. Women aged 25 to 64 enrolled in three public health centers were invited to participate. In all women, samples were collected for Papanicolaou and HPV DNA testing, and naked-eye visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid was performed. Women with any positive screening test were referred to the local area hospital for diagnostic confirmation with colposcopy and biopsy of suspicious lesions. Screening results were obtained for 8265 women, of whom 931 (11.3%) were positive to any test. The prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) was 1.1%; nine women had invasive cervical cancer. Sensitivities for the detection of CIN2+ were 22.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 16.4-29.2) for Papanicolaou and 92.7% (95% CI 84.4-96.8) for HPV testing; specificities were 98.9% (95% CI 98.7-99.0) and 92.0% (95% CI 91.4-92.6) respectively. This experience showed that the implementation of a molecular test for cervical cancer screening is not a major challenge in Chile: it was well accepted by both the health team and the participants, and it may improve the effectiveness of the screening program.

A pilot study on the feasibility of European harmonized Human Biomonitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Casteleyn, L; Dumez, B; Becker, K

2015-01-01

of data across countries. A pilot study to test common guidelines for setting up surveys was considered a key step in this process. Through a bottom-up approach that included all stakeholders, a joint study protocol was elaborated. From September 2011 till February 2012, 17 European countries collected...... metabolites and Bisphenol A in urine were added to take into account increasing public and political awareness for emerging types of contaminants and to test less advanced markers/markers covered by less analytical experience. Extensive efforts towards chemo-analytical comparability were included. The pilot...... steps in European harmonization in Human Biomonitoring surveys include the establishment of a joint process for prioritization of substances to cover and biomarkers to develop, linking biomonitoring surveys with health examination surveys and with research, and coping with the diverse implementations...

40 CFR 152.94 - Citation of a public literature study or study generated at government expense.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Citation of a public literature study... literature study or study generated at government expense. (a) An applicant may demonstrate compliance for a... the public literature. (2) A valid study generated by, or at the expense of, any government (Federal...

The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute: Building Competencies for Public Health Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Jangho; Bernell, Stephanie; Tynan, Michael; Alvarado, Carla Sarai; Eversole, Tom; Mosbaek, Craig; Beathard, Candice

2015-01-01

The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute (PHPI) was designed to enhance public health policy competencies among state and local health department staff. The Oregon Health Authority funded the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University to develop the PHPI curriculum in 2012 and offer it to participants from 4 state public health programs and 5 local health departments in 2013. The curriculum interspersed short instructional sessions on policy development, implementation, and evaluation with longer hands-on team exercises in which participants applied these skills to policy topics their teams had selected. Panel discussions provided insights from legislators and senior Oregon health experts. Participants reported statistically significant increases in public health policy competencies and high satisfaction with PHPI overall. PMID:26066925

A cross-sectional study to explore postgraduate students? understanding of and beliefs about sexual and reproductive health in a public university, Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Soleymani, Shahla; Abdul Rahman, Hejar; Lekhraj, Rampal; Mohd Zulkefli, Nor Afiah; Matinnia, Nasrin

2015-01-01

Background The main sexual and reproductive health issues among young people are premarital sexual intercourse, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted diseases including Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge related to sexual and reproductive health among Malaysian postgraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out among postgraduate students by systematic random sampli...

Human Trafficking in the United States. Part II. Survey of U.S. Government Web Resources for Publications and Data

Science.gov (United States)

Panigabutra-Roberts, Anchalee

2012-01-01

This second part of a two-part series is a survey of U.S. government web resources on human trafficking in the United States, particularly of the online publications and data included on agencies' websites. Overall, the goal is to provide an introduction, an overview, and a guide on this topic for library staff to use in their research and…

Place attachment of the public space in Krueng Cunda

Science.gov (United States)

Novianti, Yenny; Ginting, Nurlisa; Marpaung, B. O. Y.

2018-03-01

Attachment to place will have an impact on the design a city, especially the public space. Part of important from place attachment can the great benefit in from a city. One of the result is influence to quality of life from urban society. That is not only, but forming of identity a city, dependence and sense of place. That is all measureable when the people have activity to place. Place attachment is connection human to place involve a psychological process. As for the issue in reservoir area and the river of Krueng Cunda. The main purpose in this study is find interaction individuals or urban society to public space. This study have use mixed method are combination with quantitave and qualitative. The quantitative method make use of questionnaires and qualitative with observations. The results of this study indicate that psychological process is more dominant than attachment to the place or human. At finally is this research show attachment to the psychological process feel better than to community because can fulfill a sense, comfortable, safety, lifestyle and goal needs of life to the public space.

The Influence of Marketing Public Relation and Service Quality on Corporate Image Through Public Opinion: Studies at Mandiri Bank

OpenAIRE

Suciyati, Vera

2013-01-01

This research aims to analyze the influence of marketing public relation and service quality at Bank Mandiri on corporate image through public. Convenience sampling method has been selected in order to obtain the data in this study. The analysis method that used was the path analysis. The research result had shown that: marketing public relation and service quality have significant influence simultaneously and partially on public opinion on the first structure equation. The second structure e...

Predators and the public trust.

Science.gov (United States)

Treves, Adrian; Chapron, Guillaume; López-Bao, Jose V; Shoemaker, Chase; Goeckner, Apollonia R; Bruskotter, Jeremy T

2017-02-01

behavioural ecologies of humans and predators. The scientific community has not reached consensus on sustainable levels of human-caused mortality for many predator populations. This challenge includes both genuine conceptual uncertainty and exploitation of scientific debate for political gain. Second, human intolerance for predators exposes value conflicts about preferences for some wildlife over others and balancing majority rule with the protection of minorities in a democracy. We examine how differences between traditional assumptions and scientific studies of interactions between people and predators impede evidence-based policy. Even if the prior challenges can be overcome, well-reasoned policy on wild animals faces a greater challenge than other environmental assets because animals and humans change behaviour in response to each other in the short term. These coupled, dynamic responses exacerbate clashes between uses that deplete wildlife and uses that enhance or preserve wildlife. Viewed in this way, environmental assets demand sophisticated, careful accounting by disinterested trustees who can both understand the multidisciplinary scientific measurements of relative costs and benefits among competing uses, and justly balance the needs of all beneficiaries including future generations. Without public trust principles, future trustees will seldom prevail against narrow, powerful, and undemocratic interests. Without conservation informed by public trust thinking predator populations will face repeated cycles of eradication and recovery. Our conclusions have implications for the many subfields of the biological sciences that address environmental trust assets from the atmosphere to aquifers. © 2015 The Authors. Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Public Relations in the Public Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valentini, Chiara

2013-01-01

the findings. The study also suffers from the limits of a quantitative research approach, which provides less elaborate accounts of public communication officers’ perceptions of the strategic role of communication in the public sector. Originality/value of paper: This study contributes to the existing......Purpose of the paper: The aim of this study is to examine the level of strategic management of public administrations and information and communication programs by public communication officers in Italy. Methodology: The study is quantitative in nature. It was constructed according to the findings...... of the Excellence Project in Public Relations and thus applies a research instrument similar to that used in other international scholarly investigations in public relations. The population comprises civil servants working in information and communication activities for Italian public administrations. Findings...

Annals of Humanities and Development Studies

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Annals of Humanities and Development Studies publishes papers in all aspects of humanities and rural, social and cultural development, including peace and international cooperation activities related to societal transformation in developing countries. Papers arising from original research and case studies or forming ...

Meta-Analysis of Human Factors Engineering Studies Comparing Individual Differences, Practice Effects and Equipment Design Variations.

Science.gov (United States)

1985-02-21

Approvoid foT public 90Ieleol, 2* . tJni7nited " - . - o . - ’--. * . -... . 1 UNCLASSIFIED S, E CURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE-" REPORT DOCUMENTATION...ACCESSION NO. 11. TITLE (Include Security Classification) . Veta -Analysis of Human Factors Engineering Studies Comparing Individual Differences, Practice...Background C Opportunity D Significance E History III. PHASE I FINAL REPORT A Literature Review B Formal Analysis C Results D Implications for Phase II IV

Leaders' strategies for dealing with own and their subordinates' stress in public human service organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Skagert, Katrin; Dellve, Lotta; Eklöf, Mats; Pousette, Anders; Ahlborg, Gunnar

2008-11-01

Despite the acknowledged key role of leaders for psychosocial work environment, few studies focus on how leaders can decrease work-related stress. To gain deeper knowledge of leaders' perceptions and strategies for dealing with their own and their subordinates' stress in public human service organisations (HSO), qualitative interviews were made with leaders from hospitals and regional social insurance offices (n=21), and analysed in line with grounded theory method. The leaders handled subordinates' stress and perceived leadership demands by acting as shock absorber (core category) and used strategies characterised as leading in continuous change whilst maintaining trustworthiness. To cope with their own stress from perceived leadership demands, they tried to sustain their own integrity (core category) by either identifying with or distancing themselves from the leader role. The strategies for dealing with leaders' own and subordinates' exposures to stressors was pervaded by perceived leadership demands and are probably influencing each other. Supportive structures and improved communication about everyday dilemmas seem to be needed in order, not just to prevent stress reactions, but to improve the basic conditions for practicing leadership in HSO.

Public management of urban hospitality: a case study of Agua Branca Park, São Paulo city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana Carla Sagi

2008-10-01

Full Text Available This article is a qualitative study about the public management of Água Branca Park in São Paulo city and its impacts on the hospitality of this area. The research began in 2005 in master's degree in Hospitality at Anhembi Morumbi University and was pursuing independent until 2008. It is examined the three major dimensions of management: administrative and institutional, socio-political and economic-financial. It was possible to see how aspects related to human resources training, political projects of greater magnitude, physical resources, planning systematic and relationships with the various social actors ultimately result in the hospitality that the park offers to its visitors. Água Branca Park is having a good performance in that sense, since the various components of public management appear to be moving towards the park to be an area full of leisure, which includes the 3 D's of Dumazedier (1980: rest, fun and development, minimizing the pressures that affect Sao Paulo metropolis.

Women's sexual behavior. Population-based study among 65,000 women from four Nordic countries before introduction of human papillomavirus vaccination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kirsten Egebjerg; Munk, Christian; Sparen, Par

2011-01-01

Sexual behavior is of public health interest because of the association with reproductive health and sexually transmitted infections such as human papillomavirus, which is the causal factor of cervical cancer. The aim of the study was to describe patterns in women's sexual behavior in four Nordic...

"This Is a Public Record": Teaching Human Rights through the Performing Arts

Science.gov (United States)

Spero, Andrea McEvoy

2012-01-01

Urban youth in the United States often experience daily human rights violations such as racism and violence. Therefore, Human Rights Education (HRE) can strengthen their understanding of these issues and unleash their power to act toward positive change. This qualitative study attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the use of performance arts…

Scoping study of integrated resource planning needs in the public utility sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garrick, C J; Garrick, J M; Rue, D R [NEOS Corp., Lakewood, CO (United States)

1993-06-01

Integrated resource planning (IRP) is an approach to utility resource planning that integrates the evaluation of supply- and demand-site options for providing energy services at the least cost. Many utilities practice IRP; however, most studies about IRP focus on investor-owned utilities (IOUs). This scoping study investigates the IRP activities and needs of public utilities (not-for-profit utilities, including federal, state, municipal, and cooperative utilities). This study (1) profiles IRP-related characteristics of the public utility sector, (2) articulates the needs of public utilities in understanding and implementing IRP, and (3) identifies strategies to advance IRP principles in public utility planning.

Newspaper coverage of human-pig chimera research: A qualitative study on select media coverage of scientific breakthrough.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagan-Brown, Abena; Favaretto, Maddalena; Borry, Pascal

2017-07-01

A recently published article in the journal Cell by scientists from the Salk Institute highlighted the successful integration of stem cells from humans in pig embryos. This marks the first step toward the goal of growing human organs in animals for transplantation. There has, to date, been no research performed on the presentation of this breakthrough in the media. We thus assessed early newspaper coverage of the chimera study, looking into the descriptions as well as the benefits and concerns raised by the study mentioned by newspaper sources. We looked at newspaper coverage of the human-pig chimera study in the two weeks after the publication of the article describing the breakthrough in Cell. This time period spanned from January 26 to February 9, 2017. We used the LexisNexis Academic database and identified articles using the search string "hybrid OR chimera AND pig OR human OR embryo." The relevant articles were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Two researchers openly coded the articles independently using themes that emerged from the raw texts. Our search yielded 31 unique articles, after extensive screening for relevance and duplicates. Through our analysis, we were able to identify several themes in a majority of the texts. Almost every article gave descriptive information about the chimera experiment with details about the study findings. All of the articles mentioned the benefits of the study, citing both immediate- and long-term goals, which included creating transplantable human organs, disease and drug development, and personalized medicine, among others. Some of the articles highlighted some ethical, social, and health concerns that the study and its future implications pose. Many of the articles also offered reassurances over the concerns brought up by the experiment. Our results appeared to align with similar research performed on the media representation of sensitive scientific news coverage. We also explored the inconsistency between

Prominent Human Health Impacts from Several Marine Microbes: History, Ecology, and Public Health Implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. K. Bienfang

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper overviews several examples of important public health impacts by marine microbes and directs readers to the extensive literature germane to these maladies. These examples include three types of dinoflagellates (Gambierdiscus spp., Karenia brevis, and Alexandrium fundyense, BMAA-producing cyanobacteria, and infectious microbes. The dinoflagellates are responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and paralytic shellfish poisoning, respectively, that have plagued coastal populations over time. Research interest on the potential for marine cyanobacteria to contribute BMAA into human food supplies has been derived by BMAA's discovery in cycad seeds and subsequent implication as the putative cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex among the Chamorro people of Guam. Recent UPLC/MS analyses indicate that recent reports that BMAA is prolifically distributed among marine cyanobacteria at high concentrations may be due to analyte misidentification in the analytical protocols being applied for BMAA. Common infectious microbes (including enterovirus, norovirus, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia cause gastrointestinal and skin-related illness. These microbes can be introduced from external human and animal sources, or they can be indigenous to the marine environment.

Radon in public buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulz, H.; Flesch, K.; Hermann, E.; Loebner, W.; Leissring, B.

2009-01-01

From the Free State of Saxony, a study was commissioned to survey how reliable measurements to characterize the radon situation in public buildings at a reasonable financial and human effort can be carried out to reduce radiation exposure in public buildings. The study approach was for 6 objects. To characterize the radon situation the time evolution measurement of radon concentrations of more than 1 to 2 weeks turned out to be sufficient. A novel data analysis enables the identification of a ''typical daily alteration of the radon concentration'' depending on the ventilation conditions and the daily use of the offices or class rooms. The identification of typical diurnal radon variations for the working time and weekends or holidays is of fundamental importance for assessing the exposure situation in public buildings. It was shown that the radon concentration during working time are in general much lower than in the times when the buildings (offices) are unused. It turned out that the long-term radon measurements with nuclear track detectors within distinct time regimes (day / night, working hours / leisure time) by utilizing switch modules are very efficient to estimate the actual exposure. (orig.)

A genetic comparison of human and wildlife isolates of Echinococcus granulosus in Queensland: public health implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Hope, M; Bowles, J; Prociv, P; McManus, D P

1992-01-06

To test the hypothesis that the hydatid parasite infecting macropods and dingoes in Queensland is a sylvatic strain of Echinococcus granulosus, distinct from the domestic strain which produces cysts in sheep and humans. Molecular biological techniques were used to compare DNA isolated from hydatid cysts from humans, local macropods and sheep from New South Wales and the United Kingdom, as well as from adult tapeworms in dingoes. The human cysts were surgically resected from two patients seen with hydatidosis in Brisbane teaching hospitals over a one-year period. Neither patient had had previous contact with sheep farms. Macropods and dingoes were shot randomly in the localities where the patients presumably acquired their infections. Sheep liver cysts were obtained from abattoirs. Studies comprised extraction of DNA from cysts, digestion by a series of restriction endonucleases, slab gel electrophoresis. Southern blotting and then hybridisation with defined DNA probes. Polymerase chain reaction, in combination with direct DNA sequencing, was used to compare DNA from cysts and adult worms from dingoes. The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns of DNA from all cysts and a defined mitochondrial DNA sequence from all sources were indistinguishable. This finding is significant as both techniques can clearly distinguish between genetically distinct, well characterised strains of E. granulosus. Hydatid cysts are prevalent in some macropod populations and adult worms are common in dingoes. Since there are relatively few sheep-rearing areas in Queensland, contact with wild animals may be the main source of human hydatid infection in this State. The strain of E. granulosus in both patients was genetically indistinguishable from that found in macropods, dingoes and sheep from New South Wales and the United Kingdom. This strongly suggests that the domestic strain of E. granulosus, or a form very close genetically, freely infects Australian wildlife, and

Public Spending On Human Capital In Major Industrialized Countries = Endüstrileşmenin En Yüksek Olduğu Ülkelerde Beşeri Sermayeye Yönelik Kamu Harcamalari

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Meriç Subaşı ERTEKİN

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Human capital is important for firms and nations in the knowledge based economy that needs skills. Thus, investment in education is a public policy to support human capital formation and offset the magnitude of capital looses. Policies and reforms designed to foster early learning which are determined as a high quality of education, early intervention and job training programs and promote skill formation. The public sector plays an important role in the funding of all education in major industrialized countries. Public spending on primary, secondary, post-secondary and tertiary educational institutions is higher than private spending.

Bridging communication between public and government: a case study on kim surabaya

Science.gov (United States)

Aji, G. G.; Tsuroyya; Dewi, P. A. R.

2018-01-01

In democratic era, the public communication paradigm has shifted from a one-way socialization to more interactive one. As a consequence of freedom of speech, the public can Actively communicate with the government and vice versa. The problem is government is almost impossible to reach all public groups. Therefore, they has created the concept of social institutions as a communication hub between the government and its public, named the Kelompok Informasi Masyarakat (KIM). This research examines the activity of KIM in Surabaya on bridging public between government and the public. Using a case study approach, this research utilized various techniques of data collection such as: interviews, observation, and documentation. The results Showed that KIM plays a role in the two-way flow of information; to diseminate program and submit complaints and suggestions from the public about the policy. This study confirm the urgency of utilization on various channels in communicating with the public.

Research study on public relations and public participation in the nuclear energy field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunji, Ikuko; Tabata, Rimiko; Otoshi, Sachio; Kuwagaki, Reiko; Ishibashi, Yoichiro

2006-01-01

The purpose of this research is to clarify the effect of public relations activities in the nuclear energy field and public participation toward the improvement of the risk literacy of nuclear energy. According to the survey results of the actual public relations activities taken by nuclear energy industry, the opportunity for interactive communications between the public and the industry is insufficient. Consequently, we propose building up more opportunities for participation and collaboration of citizens and industries in order to improve interactive communications reflecting public opinions and points of view. (author)

IMPROVING PUBLIC SERVICES THROUGH A ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

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IOANA STĂNCESCU

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Organizational management, systemic approach, is known more as a system Management, that set of factors such as organizational, methodological information, decisions and relationships between them, as outlined, that will achieve objectives. Fundamental objective of management in public organizations involved in the holders of public office positions and leadership and execution in this area an additional responsibility to manage all types of resources available to the public sector, namely human resources, information, material and financial.Summary of process management is focusing on human coordination of joint work. An important role in this process is modernizing organizational management and quality delivery of public services or the institution's activities, public services more efficient by implementing innovative tools, leading to a government driven process to a results-oriented public service.

Human trafficking, labor brokering, and mining in southern Africa: responding to a decentralized and hidden public health disaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Sarah

2013-01-01

Many southern African economies are dependent on the extractive industries. These industries rely on low-cost labor, often supplied by migrants, typically acquired through labor brokers. Very little attention has so far been paid to trafficking of men into extractive industries or its connection with trafficked women in the region's mining hubs. Recent reports suggest that labor-brokering practices foster human trafficking, both by exposing migrant men to lack of pay and exploitative conditions and by creating male migratory patterns that generate demand for sex workers and associated trafficking of women and girls. While trafficking in persons violates human rights, and thus remains a priority issue globally, there is little or no evidence of an effective political response to mine-related trafficking in southern Africa. This article concludes with recommendations for legal and policy interventions, as well as an enhanced public health response, which if implemented would help reduce human trafficking toward mining sites.

Studying and Comparing Knowledge Management Dimensions between Public and Private Organization

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Shahriyar Azizi

2010-03-01

Full Text Available By reviewing the literature of KM, it can be understood that there are different views about(to knowledge management and its applications in public and private sectors which is due to the structural difference between these two economic sectors. In order to be able to exploit the benefits of knowledge management in public sector adequately, it is necessary to identify the best practices of KM. To understand the differences between knowledge management in public and private sector and benchmark capabilities of private sector in public sector, is one of the ways to achieve this goal. In this study, we used survey study and questionnaire tool in order to identify these differences in banks. Results suggest that just in two dimensions of information technology and knowledge management, among five identified dimensions, there is a meaningful difference between public and private banks.

THE INFLUENCE OF MARKETING PUBLIC RELATION AND SERVICE QUALITY ON CORPORATE IMAGE THROUGH PUBLIC OPINION: STUDIES AT MANDIRI BANK

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Vera Suciyati

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This research aims to analyze the influence of marketing public relation and service quality at Bank Mandiri on corporate image through public. Convenience sampling method has been selected in order to obtain the data in this study. The analysis method that used was the path analysis. The research result had shown that: marketing public relation and service quality have significant influence simultaneously and partially on public opinion on the first structure equation. The second structure equation shows that: marketing public relation, service quality had significant influence simultaneously on corporate image. The service quality have not partially the quality of service have not influence significant partially on corporate, but variable marketing and public relation have  partially influential public opinion influence significant partially on corporate image.DOI: 10.15408/etk.v12i2.1916

Publication ethics and the ghost management of medical publication.

Science.gov (United States)

Sismondo, Sergio; Doucet, Mathieu

2010-07-01

It is by now no secret that some scientific articles are ghost authored - that is, written by someone other than the person whose name appears at the top of the article. Ghost authorship, however, is only one sort of ghosting. In this article, we present evidence that pharmaceutical companies engage in the ghost management of the scientific literature, by controlling or shaping several crucial steps in the research, writing, and publication of scientific articles. Ghost management allows the pharmaceutical industry to shape the literature in ways that serve its interests. This article aims to reinforce and expand publication ethics as an important area of concern for bioethics. Since ghost-managed research is primarily undertaken in the interests of marketing, large quantities of medical research violate not just publication norms but also research ethics. Much of this research involves human subjects, and yet is performed not primarily to increase knowledge for broad human benefit, but to disseminate results in the service of profits. Those who sponsor, manage, conduct, and publish such research therefore behave unethically, since they put patients at risk without justification. This leads us to a strong conclusion: if medical journals want to ensure that the research they publish is ethically sound, they should not publish articles that are commercially sponsored.

Some human activities to decrease public radiation dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Ziqiang; Guo Minqiang

1994-01-01

The necessity of studying the variations in radiation levels from the balance viewpoint is discussed. Some human activities may increase, while others may decrease, radiation dose to population. In 1988, China's investigation showed that travel by air caused a raise of population collective dose by 3.6 x 10 1 man·Sv, while travel by ship, train and vehicle lead to a drop of 5.36 x 10 2 man·Sv, and that dwellings of coal cinder brick decreased collective dose by 3.5 x 10 3 man·Sv, while buildings of reinforced concrete structure increased collective dose by 3.7 x 10 3 man·Sv. It is inadequate to only study those activities which may increase radiation levels

Impact of Public Safety Policies on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission Dynamics in Tijuana, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Sanjay R; Chaillon, Antoine; Gaines, Tommi L; Gonzalez-Zuniga, Patricia E; Stockman, Jamila K; Almanza-Reyes, Horatio; Chavez, Jose Roman; Vera, Alicia; Wagner, Karla D; Patterson, Thomas L; Scott, Brianna; Smith, Davey M; Strathdee, Steffanie A

2018-02-10

North Tijuana, Mexico is home to many individuals at high risk for transmitting and acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Recently, policy shifts by local government impacted how these individuals were handled by authorities. Here we examined how this affected regional HIV transmission dynamics. HIV pol sequences and associated demographic information were collected from 8 research studies enrolling persons in Tijuana and were used to infer viral transmission patterns. To evaluate the impact of recent policy changes on HIV transmission dynamics, qualitative interviews were performed on a subset of recently infected individuals. Between 2004 and 2016, 288 unique HIV pol sequences were obtained from individuals in Tijuana, including 46.4% from men who have sex with men, 42.1% from individuals reporting transactional sex, and 27.8% from persons who inject drugs (some individuals had >1 risk factor). Forty-two percent of sequences linked to at least 1 other sequence, forming 37 transmission clusters. Thirty-two individuals seroconverted during the observation period, including 8 between April and July 2016. Three of these individuals were putatively linked together. Qualitative interviews suggested changes in policing led individuals to shift locations of residence and injection drug use, leading to increased risk taking (eg, sharing needles). Near real-time molecular epidemiologic analyses identified a cluster of linked transmissions temporally associated with policy shifts. Interviews suggested these shifts may have led to increased risk taking among individuals at high risk for HIV acquisition. With all public policy shifts, downstream impacts need to be carefully considered, as even well-intentioned policies can have major public health consequences. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Virtual Reality with Virtual Humans simulation for an emergency training in a public sector - An extension of the specialization project TDT4501

OpenAIRE

Nguyen, Anh Chi

2015-01-01

This thesis has three evaluations with Emergency Management students, a civilian group, and NAV personnel to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The overall results show that it is potential to use virtual reality with virtual humans for emergency training in a public sector.

77 FR 16043 - Public Hearing

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-19

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Public Hearing SUMMARY: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will hold a public meeting on Thursday, April 19, 2012, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Roxbury Community College, Main Stage, 1234 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA 02120. The [[Page...

The next public health revolution: public health information fusion and social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Ali S; Fleischauer, Aaron; Casani, Julie; Groseclose, Samuel L

2010-07-01

Social, political, and economic disruptions caused by natural and human-caused public health emergencies have catalyzed public health efforts to expand the scope of biosurveillance and increase the timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of disease detection, alerting, response, and prediction. Unfortunately, efforts to acquire, render, and visualize the diversity of health intelligence information are hindered by its wide distribution across disparate fields, multiple levels of government, and the complex interagency environment. Achieving this new level of situation awareness within public health will require a fundamental cultural shift in methods of acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating information. The notion of information "fusion" may provide opportunities to expand data access, analysis, and information exchange to better inform public health action.

Management skills as competitive advantage. The case of public sector in Córdoba (Spain

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Francisco Javier Pereda Pérez

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To analyze the assessment of management skills in the public sector of Cordoba (Spain, trying to find out the possible relationship or influence between the administration of belonging to a set of management skills.Design/methodology/approach: Initial Theoretical study on the public sector, public management and managerial skills, conducting fieldwork affecting four administrations and application of statistical techniques contrast, which, finally, the analysis of their results and the conclusions drawn from them.Findings and Originality/value: The findings of an investigation into the management skills in the context of the public sector in the Province of Córdoba (Spain are presented. At present the personal, interpersonal and managerial skills to manage, are becoming increasingly important in companies and organizations. The strong commitment to the development of management skills becomes a true competitive advantage capable of leading business improvement processes in organizations, especially those in which the human resource is crucial, as is the case of the public sector.Research limitations/implications: To progress in research on management skills in the public sector, it would be desirable to develop more sector research to comparative studies the results of which lead to the establishment of specific labor policies aimed at improving the selection of public employees, developing training policies that emphasize the enhancement of skills and a true career based on merit and efficient performance.Social implications: The selection, training and development of public employees, and greater give greater importance to human resource processes in which the skills and competencies should fill the role they need.Originality / value: The better knowledge of the public sector, the importance of having competent public managers , and basically point out the critical importance of developing leadership skills at all levels

Qualitative research and dental public health

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Roslind Preethi George

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The use of Qualitative Research (QR methods are now getting common in various aspects of health and healthcare research and they can be used to interpret, explore, or obtain a deeper understanding of certain aspects of human beliefs, attitudes, or behavior through personal experiences and perspectives. The potential scope of QR in the field of dental public health is immense, but unfortunately, it has remained underutilized. However, there are a number of studies which have used this type of research to probe into some unanswered questions in the field of public health dentistry ranging from workforce issues to attitudes of patients. In recent health research, evidence gathered through QR methods provide understanding to the social, cultural, and economic factors affecting the health status and healthcare of an individual and the population as a whole. This study will provide an overview of what QR is and discuss its contributions to dental public health research.

[Parmentier hygiene and public health].

Science.gov (United States)

Lafont, O

2014-05-01

The legend about Parmentier is quite reductive when it limits his activity to the promotion of potato. This military pharmacist intended mainly to make science serve human being, whatever could be his various activities. Actor of the foundation of food chemistry, reorganizer of military pharmacy, he has always been highly concerned with hygiene and public health. He then studied the quality of water, particularly in the case of river Seine, or the purity of air, especially in hospitals. The affair of Dunkerque exhumations or that of cesspools, or the utilisation of human excrements in agriculture were parts of the occurrences for which he had the opportunity to find a scientific approach allowing to solve the difficult questions that were asked to him, for the best benefit of public health. The exhaustive study he published in "Bulletin de pharmacie" for the conservation of meat shows that he did not ignore anything about freezing of food in order to preserve it. It is necessary not to forget the important role he played, as soon as he were informed of Jenner's discovery, for the diffusion of vaccination in France. It is simply astounding to observe how modern were the questions he solved and how intense was his spirit of dedication to the public good, when exerting his functions in "Comité de Salubrité de la Seine" or "Conseil de Santé des Armées", as well as outside these prestigious institutions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Protocol for a systematic review on the extent of non-publication of research studies and associated study characteristics.