Suchergebnisse

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of cigarette smoking among South Korean adolescents has decreased markedly over the past decade, which may indicate a norm shift between generations of adolescents. The present study aims to identify the effect of banning smoking in public places and increasing cigarette prices on current adolescent smoking, and to determine whether these policies additionally resulted in cohort effects. METHODS: Repeated cross-sectional survey data, nationally representative of South Korean adolescents, were used. A total of 853 441 adolescents ranging in age from 12 to 18 years (mean age, 15 years) were identified. Models applied were segmented regression model to detect changes in smoking trends and age-period-cohort model to determine the cohort effects on the trends. FINDINGS: Between 2006 and 2017, smoking decreased from 16% to 9% in boys and from 9% to 3% in girls. After a complete ban on smoking in public places, there were significantly negative trends in the prevalence of smoking for both boys (β=−1.1; 95% CI: −1.9 to −0.2) and girls (β=−0.4; 95% CI: −0.6 to −0.1). Immediate decrease among girls was found after cigarette prices increased (β=−0.8; 95% CI: −1.5 to −0.2). For the cohort effect, the risk of smoking decreased with every consecutive year for boys born after 1998 and girls born after 1997. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate the presence of cohort effects in the reduction of adolescent smoking. The cohort effect was induced by smoke-free legislation. Research on cohort effects, and methods to denormalise tobacco, will contribute to preventing adolescents from ever trying a cigarette.

The Interstate Highway System (IHS) used to be a symbol of American growth and its economic machine, but the IHS has not been expanded much since its inception. Recently there are both executive and legislative desires to restore and upgrade the IHS to its role as a premier system that can meet the growing and changing demands of the twenty-first century. Demographic forecasting is a precursor to rational transportation planning and decision activities. This paper provides population projections into 2060 at the county level for the entire US using cohort-component methods. We found that the US is projected to experience population growth across all age groups over the next 50 years. The projected growth, however, varies across the entire US. Population growth areas are in the west/south/east border states and the Atlanta-NC-Nashville triangle. Population decline areas include many counties from the northeast corner to the Appalachian region, counties bordering the five Great Lakes, counties along the Mississippi River, the Deep South states, and Alaska. We also identified the counties that may need additional or less transport capacity based on projected population change and proximities to IHS. We further identified the counties with high population density but without the IHS network that are projected to experience rapid population growth. IHS demands will be affected by the aging population, the young population, baby boomers, millennials, immigrants, telecommuting, and autonomous vehicles. This study provides the necessary demographic forecasting for decision and policy makers in better deciding whether and where to expand or invest in the IHS when the resources become available.

This paper advocates for a new generation of social protection (SP) research that takes seriously the analysis of political and policy-making processes in the Global South. Based on qualitative research funded by the ESRC and Carnegie Corporation, it combines theoretical insights from social policy and critical policy analysis to highlight the importance of policy framing in shaping development and social welfare outcomes. Empirically, the broader research upon which the paper is based covers the broad range of social policy changes that have happened in the Middle East and North Africa region over the last decade. The critical policy approach adopted in this paper is important because of the endurance of SP as a global orientation in international development interventions at a time when its operationalisation in policy terms appears to be narrower than its professed goals. The paper categorises SP according to three orders of discourse: social risk management, social justice/social contracts, ("ex ante") institutionalisation of social protection (specifically social assistance), in order to address areas of "discourse closure" (Veit-Wilson, 2000) in the conceptualisation of SP. On the basis of this categorisation, the paper proposes a framework for analysing SP that highlights the importance of three elements to aid SP policy operationalisation: (1) state-civil society relations in the provision of services; (2) the ethical and not only legal parameters of SP; (3) the enhancement of social cohesion as a final SP outcome. These three elements support a process-oriented analysis of SP encompassing policy actors, principles and goals that can better ascertain the long-term impact of SP on social policy agendas in the Global South.

Economic and political fundamentals for the development of mining and metallurgical production in Siberia in the 18th century are discussed in this paper. The principal type of ownership of large enterprises at that time was serf manufactory, the development of which took place in the conditions of absolutism based on forced labor. Based on a comprehensive set of archive documents, the authors have studied the problem of the transfer under the authority of the Imperial Cabinet of the private Kolyvano-Voskresensk enterprises owned by Demidov, which were established in the 1720s in the south area of Western Siberia. The status change of industrial enterprises is discussed in the context of accidental events (the death of Akinfiy Demidov and the controversy of his heirs) and the consistent processes of development of silver smelting production in the country. The quick development of the metallurgical industry in Russia in the 18th century was caused by a number of domestic and external factors. The Crown extensively attracted private sector capital for the search and development of ore deposits, especially in remote Uralian and Siberian areas. In the 1720s-1740s, the Kolyvano-Voskresensk industrial-territorial complex privately owned by Akinfiy Demidov was established in the south area of Western Siberia. In the middle of the 1740s, the events happened, as a result of which the possessory belonging of the enterprises was changed and these enterprises were transferred under the control and management of the governmental institution – that is, the Imperial Cabinet. Thus, the Kolyvano-Voskresensk plants became the basis of the Cabinet production unit which existed in the 18h-19th centuries. ; peer-reviewed

This thesis compares how the South African Government, specifically the Department of Basic Education and the NGO Equal Education to see how these organizations work to promote gender equality. The study will contribute to a systematic comparison of approaches between the Department of Basic Education and Equal Education. This thesis will contribute to the literature by emphasizing the importance of quality education, and not only providing access. The comparison is done by evaluating different projects, explicitly and implicit within the organizations through Elaine Unterhalter's two approaches: the resourcist approach and the structuralist approach. The evaluation of these projects and interventions has helped determine to which extent gender equality is promoted in each organization, but also which approach is utilized by whom and if they are complementary or not. Currently the trends of the South African government point towards the use of mainly resourcist approaches, while Equal Education uses mainly structuralist approaches. However, the government plans to eventually create a change in the current social structure to address its usage of a mostly resourcist approach. These initiatives and projects has been defined resourcist or structuralist mainly due to their method of measure, which is a major driving force in these projects. At this time the approaches chosen by each organization affect gender equality at different depths and a hybrid between the two is a recommendation although there have been implementation issues in relation to some projects. The conclusion references the capabilities approach to determine what type of hybrid might be the most suitable for the promotion of gender equality.

Comparative sociologists have long considered occupations to be a key source of inequality. However, data constraints make comparative research on two of the more important contemporary drivers of occupational stratification - globalization and technological change - relatively scarce. This article introduces a new dataset on occupational "routine task intensity" (RTI) and "offshorability" (OFFS) for use with the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database. To produce these data, we recoded 23 country-specific occupational schemes (74 LIS countryyears) to the two-digit ISCO-88 scheme. When combined with the handful of LIS countries already reporting their occupations in ISCO-88, we produce individual level RTI and OFFS scores for 38 LIS countries and 160 LIS country-years. To assess the validity of these recodes, we compare average labor-income ratios predicted by recoded ISCO-88 occupational categories to those predicted by reported ISCO-88 occupational categories within countries that transitioned from country-specific to ISCO-88 codes over time. To assess the utility of these RTI and OFFS scores and advance the literature on income polarization, we analyze their association with work hours and labor incomes in the global North and South. Both covariates correlate with work hours in ways that are consistent with previous research and additional theoretical considerations. Moreover, we show that both RTI and OFFS contribute to income polarization directly in the North, but not in the South. This article generates a public good data infrastructure that will be of use to a wide variety of social scientists, and brings new evidence to bear on the question of income polarization in rich democracies.

BACKGROUND: E-Delphi is an online method widely used in health and social research to strengthen decision-making processes and reach consensus on developing guidelines for health services. OBJECTIVES: The e-Delphi technique was designed to formulate and appraise a set of criterion-referenced guidelines for women's health concerns of mineworkers at a selected coal mine in Mpumalanga, South Africa. METHOD: The University Learning Management System's discussion forum was customised to suit the characteristics of e-Delphi as the second phase of a primary study on the formulation of guidelines for women's health concerns. Six purposively sampled experts with extensive experience in Occupational Health and in Women's Health participated. Online engagements on the formulation and appraisal of the guidelines for women's health concerns took 7 weeks, divided into four phases as preparatory, exploratory, consensus and refinement. From the experts' inputs, guidelines were drafted. Experts were invited to evaluate the guidelines by using a 7-point Likert scale with AGREE II criteria. Consensus was reached in two e-rounds. RESULTS: Eight guidelines were formulated, appraised and adopted as: change management, control of hazardous environments, suitable psychosocial working environment, provision of health care service, uphold human dignity and adherence to human rights, effective measures for safety participation compliance, accessible, available and relevant on-site health care services and hope and resilience. Each guideline has rationale, operational strategies and anticipated outcomes. CONCLUSION: E-Delphi platform used various tools to deliberate on the process of guidelines formulation and appraisal. The platfor. ; The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa ; http://www.curationis.org.za ; Nursing Science

Comparative sociologists have long considered occupations to be a key source of inequality. However, data constraints make comparative research on two of the more important contemporary drivers of occupational stratification – globalization and technological change – relatively scarce. This article introduces a new dataset on occupational 'routine task intensity' (RTI) and 'offshorability' (OFFS) for use with the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). To produce these data, we recoded 23 country-specific occupational schemes (74 LIS country-years) to the two-digit ISCO-88 scheme. When combined with the handful of LIS countries already reporting their occupations in ISCO-88, we produce individual level RTI and OFFS scores for 38 LIS countries and 160 LIS country-years. To assess the validity of these recodes, we compare average labor-income ratios predicted by recoded ISCO-88 occupational categories to those predicted by reported ISCO-88 occupational categories within countries that transitioned from country-specific to ISCO-88 codes over time. To assess the utility of these RTI and OFFS scores and advance the literature on income polarization, we analyze their association with work hours and labor incomes in the global North and South. Both covariates correlate with work hours in ways that are consistent with previous research and additional theoretical considerations. Moreover, we show that both RTI and OFFS contribute to income polarization directly in the North, but not in the South. This article generates a public good data infrastructure that will be of use to a wide variety of social scientists, and brings new evidence to bear on the question of income polarization in rich democracies.

BACKGROUND: Forensic odontology plays a pivotal role in the identification of victims in mass disasters utilizing "preserved dental records" or "ante-mortem records" available with the general dental practitioners. Identification of a deceased individual by comparing antemortem and postmortem records is more reliable and easier as compared to other methods. However, in India, the practice of maintaining dental case record requires additional emphasis. AIM: The aim of the present study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of dental practitioners in South India regarding awareness and importance of maintaining patient's dental records. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A descriptive questionnaire study was conducted among the alumni of the dental institution over a period of 3 months. The alumni who passed out from 2000 to 2015 were included in the study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A structured questionnaire containing 24 questions regarding the knowledge, attitude, and practice of maintaining clinical case records was prepared and validated. Data were collected from 543 dental practitioners from various parts of South India who were the alumni of the dental institution. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The data were summarized and analyzed using the statistical software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The descriptive analysis was done in percentages, and the results were tabulated. RESULTS: Overall, 58.39% of dentists were found to be maintaining records promptly, and 84.6% dentists have knowledge about forensic odontology, but only 8.4% of dentists have helped the government agencies during mass disasters. CONCLUSION: This study reveals that the need of the hour is to change the attitude and to cultivate interest among practicing dentists regarding dental record maintenance which can tremendously help in the deceased individual identification process.

The purpose of this paper is to make sense of the situation of Knowledge Management in the BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The question is important because we believe that in the current world economy the emergence of any country will be done first and foremost by using knowledge and by managing knowledge. Using an analogy from the Human Resources national studies we believe there are low, medium and high equilibria regarding the knowledge economy. We analyze the five BRICS according to the following methodology: 1 Context background; 2 Broad KM systems; 3 Institutional actors; 4 Political contexts; 5. KM systems at the national level; 6. Organizational KM; 7. Impact; and 8. Summary. We concluded that KM is a good investment for the BRICS, but it is still a very rare one. South Africa stands a cut above the other countries being benefited by the smaller dimension and the relations with the Western UK, and the USA led investments; also the fact that the regime change happened when the Knowledge economy was beginning, helped. China, Russia, India, and Brazil are four giants that will emerge stronger and faster the more and the better they will use KM. So as implications, we expect a bright future of KM in the 21st century, as bright as the BRICS future! The BRICS emergence will only be consolidated by KM. and KM will dominate the world with the BRICS emergence. The study is only the first step in what could be a major field of research, and that its limitation and suggestion for research.

Quality assurance has been a global quest for institutions of higher learning. In the Philippines, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), has designed a new strategy, an approach geared toward developing competent and high-level human resources and generating knowledge and technologies needed for advancing the country's national development and competitiveness. This study presents experiences of three academic institutions of higher learning in Southern Philippines in its implementation of the new quality assurance strategy; present the quality assurance framework of the Commission on Higher Education; discuss the innovative instructional strategies (Outcomes -Based Education) mandated by the quality assurance framework; describe the experiences of three Southern Philippines universities; and, present personal analysis of the realizability of the quality assurance framework. The quality assurance framework includes the categorization of the institutions of higher learning as University, Professional Institution and College, all with their corresponding nature and tasks in the educational process. It is in the fulfillment of their tasks that they could be sustainable as higher education institutions. Further, quality assurance mandates the shift to innovative teaching strategies known as the Outcomes Based Education in which outcomes are the indicators of quality. The outcomes are classified as Institutional Graduate Outcomes, Program Outcomes, Course Outcomes and Learning Outcomes. Based on the experiences of the three institutions whose implementation are being studied, there are difficulties experienced because the change necessitates the matching shift in instruction, in the policies and behavior of faculty. However, despite the difficulties, generally, the schools are slowly making the quality assurance framework work in their schools.Keywords: Innovative Teaching Strategies, Quality Assurance, typology, Outcomes-BasedEducation

The article is dedicated to the study of composition and deployment of military people on the territory of the Simbirsk district. The analysis of aggregate sources indicates that the military value of the garrisons of the county preserved up to the beginning of the XVIII century. However, there have been significant changes in their placement. During the second half of the XVII century county territory has expanded significantly, especially in the southern direction. A set of garrisons, designed to protect newly developed territories, has developed along Penza and Syzran. It became the basis of a new military system of the Southern Middle Volga Region. Service class people formations of the old categories (Cossacks, streltsy, local nobles, etc.) preserved mainly on Karsunsk, Simbirsk, the western part of Zakamsk defense lines built in the middle of the XVII century. However, the number of garrisons on them has decreased significantly, and the military significance declined. ; Статья посвящена изучению состава и размещения служилых людей на территории Симбирского уезда. Анализ совокупности источников свидетельствует, что военное значение гарнизонов уезда сохранилось вплоть до начала XVIII в. Однако произошли существенные изменения в их размещении. За вторую половину XVII в. территория уезда намного расширилась, прежде всего в южном направлении. Здесь, по широте Пензы и Сызрани, сложилась совокупность гарнизонов, призванных защищать вновь осваиваемые территории. Именно она стала базисом новой военной системы Южного Средневолжья. Формирования из старых категорий служилых людей (казаков, стрельцов, местного дворянства и т. д.) остались в основном по засечным линиям, построенным в середине XVII в.: Карсунской, Симбирской, западной части Закамской. Однако численность гарнизонов на них существенно уменьшилась, а военная значимость снизилась.

This paper deals with some of the more characteristic moments whichmark the state of Macedonia as a southern Serbian province in the early phasesof parliamentary life in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 1919 to1929. A brief overview of the period from 1903 to 1918 is provided, an invaluableperiod without which there can neither be analysis of the Macedonian 'lengthy'20th century, nor of the history of parliamentarism in Macedonia as a southernSerbian province. The denial of the Macedonian national particularity, theeconomic theft and the political violence all resulted in discontent among thewhole of the Macedonian population, save some exceptions who were workingfor the Greater Serbian regime. The lack of economic development, as well asthe lack of enlightenment evident in the Macedonian people due to the lengthyperiod of foreign rule over Macedonia, furthermore, the lack of democratictraditions and political organization, the feelings of national inferiority, and soon, completely stunted the potential for development and the normal functioningof parliamentary life. At the same time, there was no respite from the diplomaticgames of the Balkan states, which, following the division of Macedonia, hadaspirations to change the borders in their favor. As a result of the activities carriedout by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (autonomous),which, aided by Bulgaria, infiltrated armed groups into Macedonia, as well asthe retaliation carried out by the Serbian gendarmerie, military and paramilitaryformations, the Macedonian people were subjected to awful terrors. In the paltryparliamentary life that existed in Macedonia, the pro-regime Serbian partiesdominated, as a result of which the Macedonians were in no position to fulfilltheir political, national and social needs.Keywords: SOUTHERN SERBIA, MACEDONIA, POLITICAL PARTIES,PARLIAMENTARISM, ASSIMILATION.

Introduction: Ireland had one of the highest pharmaceutical spends per capita in the EU in 2012. The General Medical Services (GMS) scheme is the largest community drug scheme in Ireland with approximately 40% of the population eligible for free drugs and appliances in 2012. The total cost of GMS prescriptions increased by 414% between 1998 and 2012. This paper projects Irish GMS cost from 2016 to 2026 and examines the implications of the estimated impact on GMS expenditure. Method: Central Statistics Office (CSO) population projections (2013) and HSE-PCRS GMS population prescription data (2012) were used to develop four variables; population, GMS coverage, average cost per claimant and claims rate. A Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) model simulated the effect of these four variables on GMS costs, by health board region, age cohort and sex. Results: Irish population is projected to grow by approximately 10% between 2012 and 2026. The over 70s population is estimated to grow by 64% with the proportion of males growing by 72%. GMS expenditure is estimated to increase by 64%, from €1.1 billion in 2016 to €1.8 billion by 2026. Age is a key driver of GMS expenditure, specifically those aged under 11 and over 70. The MCS results project that males, the Mid-Western and South- Eastern regions are driving GMS costs in the under 11s. Females, Midlands and Southern regions are driving GMS costs in the over 70s. Conclusion: Population growth coupled with an aging population will impact future GMS costs. Targeted GMS policy changes such as co-payment charges, reference pricing, and generic substitution can help to contain future GMS expenditure.

As the dynamo of South Africa's economy, Johannesburg commands a central position in the nation's imagination, and scholars throughout the world monitor the city as an exemplar of urbanity in the global South. This richly illustrated study offers detailed empirical analyses of changes in the city's physical space, as well as a host of chapters on the character of specific neighbourhoods and the social identities being forged within them. Informing all of these is a consideration of underlying economic, social and political processes shaping the wider Gauteng region. A mix of respected academics, practising urban planners and experienced policymakers offer compelling overviews of the rapid and complex spatial developments that have taken place in Johannesburg since the end of apartheid, along with tantalising glimpses into life on the streets and behind the high walls of this diverse city. The book has three sections. Section A provides an overview of macro spatial trends and the policies that have infl uenced them. Section B explores the shaping of the city at district and suburban level, revealing the peculiarity of processes in different areas. This analysis elucidates thelarger trends, while identifying shifts that are not easily detected at the macro level. Section C is an assembly of chapters and short vignettes that focus on the interweaving of place and identity at a micro level. With empirical data supported by new data sets including the 2011 Census, the city's Development Planning and Urban Management Department's information system, and Gauteng City-Region Observatory's substantial archive, the book is an essential reference for planning practitioners, urban geographers, sociologists, and social anthropologists, among others.