BeIR/webis-touche2020 huggingface dataset:
The interests of the majority

It certainly doesn’t prove the point, it does however highlight one. As a result of religious teaching the majority of people have, at different points in history, been certain that; The Earth was flat, The Earth, or even a particular point on the earth, was the centre of the universe, The Earth is less than six thousand years old, Certain races were not human[i] Women were created inferior to men If ever evidence were needed that the majority are frequently and alarmingly wrong, then religion provides it in abundance. [i] For example the Christian concept of Polygenism – the notion that the white races were descended from Adam and others not – has had several outings during history. Among other things it has been used to justify slavery, apartheid and imperialism.
Flexibility of mobile clinics

The use of mobile clinics and ICT in health not only tackles issues around location accessibility to health, by travelling into remote areas, but also the flexibility provided through the clinics mobility means a larger population can be seen and treated. Virtual doctors are flexible; one doctor can be providing his or her expertise through numerous local doctors and nurses at any time. They can help staff with much less training make the correct decisions. By using mobile clinics the location is flexible - and can be altered depending on variations in social need and seasons -, and the time individuals can access the clinic is flexible. Mobile clinics are more responsive to demand.
Speeding up referral

Each mobile clinic will be equipped with vital tools and equipment, and staffed with a medical assistant, a midwife/nurse, and project officer. Furthermore, the presence of a medical staff team means a number of services can be provided for women, men, and children. The team are able to carry out tests on the ground, and if required refer the patient to a hospital. Referrals are made by the staff, with all required information passed on to the hospital and an appropriate appointment made. The VDP makes each actor within the referral and treatment process aware of their position and role. The VDP appropriately delegates jobs; thus improving the system of hospital referrals and minimising unnecessary costs from inappropriate referrals.
Taking healthcare beyond basic needs

Not only does VDP improve access to primary health care but the networks developed between different health advisers mean changing health demands can be met. Across Africa there is now a shift in the type of diseases prevalent. Increasing rates of non-communicable disease are being recorded - for which advisers can provide ongoing support. Additionally, there remains a need to improve understanding and treatment of mental health issues within rural areas in particular. Concern with mental health requires greater recognition across Africa. Finally, data can be collected on health issues affecting rural areas for targeted intervention.
Tackling access: working in rural areas

Zambia needs to improve its health care system in general, not work on implementing a virtual programme. Physical contact is still necessary for diagnosis and treatment. Alternative schemes are being used to meet health needs and improve the structure of Zambia’s health system. For example, the Clinton Foundation and DFID[1] have invested in the provision of community health workers. These programmes invest in training community health workers across Zambia’s rural regions. The health workers trained are therefore physically located within the regions. This is much more important than having virtual doctors on call. [1] See further readings: Clinton Foundation, 2013.
The network approach: promoting learning

Although the use of virtual networks and doctors may provide solutions to share knowledge it creates other difficulties. The use of VDP as an educational tool clearly has downsides. First it is not designed for training; if it were why not use a tool specifically for training? As the VDP is not any educational benefits have to be considered secondary. Unlike with a specifically educational tool there is no way for the experts to test that the knowledge they are passing on is being learnt or that their advice is being followed. Additionally, if the use of virtual doctors is educating medical officers on the ground does it ensure the newly trained professional will stay in Zambia? The bigger picture of what the officers do, and whether the government implement competitive labour policies, requires consideration.
Flexibility of mobile clinics

Mobility remains a key issue across Africa. The WDR (2009) identifies three key sources for effective integration: institutions, infrastructure, and interventions. Infrastructure includes systems that facilitate the geographical movement of goods, services, people, and ideas - such as roads. The reality of a mobile clinic therefore relies heavily on having the infrastructure to support flexibility, mobility, and frequent movement.   Mobile clinics still won’t be able to reach all patients that need their help; public investment is required into infrastructure such as roads and railways first. The project can only work if mobile clinics are able to be mobile. Further, even if they are mobile it doesn’t necessarily ensure people become ill when the medical officer happens to be visiting.
Speeding up referral

A study carried out by Masiye (2007) indicates only around 40% of Zambia’s hospitals can be defined as efficient. There remains a significant problem of resource wastage in Zambia’s hospitals and the hospitals are technically inefficient in producing, and delivering, services. Health goals cannot be achieved in Zambia if hospitals continue to function inefficiently. This raises concern as to how the hospitals cope once referrals are sent? Is the wider health system adequate? Outsourcing of medical professions into rural areas, and making improvements in the speed and quality of referrals does not resolve the issue of hospital quality. Although VDP’s can act to significantly reduce the number of inappropriate referrals investment, training, and improved management, is still required within Zambia’s hospital system. Additionally, improved access to drugs is needed. Drug shortages have been reported due to corruption scandals - funding provided to supply drugs in the health sector have previously gone missing[1]. Generic drugs are in short-supply, and high demand. Without doctors being able to access vital drugs, whether they are located in hospitals or remote areas, treatment cannot be provided. [1] See further readings: IRIN, 2011.
Taking healthcare beyond basic needs

Can the VDP go beyond basic needs and rights when the scale, and scope, of basic need is so large? Figures show a negative image not only of physical health, also the environment in which people live in. The maternal mortality ratio is calculated at around 590 per 100,000 and infant mortality (under 1) stands at 53 per 1,000 live births. However, only 61% of the population have access to improved drinking water; and 48% are able to access improved sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2013). Can we rely on NGO’s providing the VDP to fulfil basic needs when the challenges are so large?
Tackling access: working in rural areas

Zambia’s human resource crisis in healthcare is most prominent in rural areas. Poverty remains widespread and despite Zambia’s high economic fortune as a result of copper during the 1960s it has become a heavily-indebted poor country. The World Bank (2013) classifies 76% of Zambia’s poor as residing in rural areas. With disparities in access to health prevalent, Zambia needs to train new doctors and nurses to ensure the population can access health care. The VDP is therefore tackling the issue of access within rural, and remote, areas. Access to health is a human right, and the VDP is ensuring such rights are become a reality in rural areas and rural populations. Mortality and morbidity can be reduced as rural health workers are able to diagnose and treat a wider range of conditions.
The network approach: promoting learning

The use of ICT and creating a network of professional experts enables learning and knowledge transfer between health workers and academics. In addition to the brain-drain, whereby skilled health professionals continue to emigrate from Zambia, Zambia also shows a slow rate of training of new health workers. Therefore the VDP provides a vital learning tool. VDP provides practical skills by healthcare workers to learn from first-hand experience while having access to a field of experts, or advisers, able to answer any questions. The quality of healthcare will be improved as workers in remote locations are given access to information and correct answers for diagnosis. A global pool of skills can be drawn upon, and utilised, when required.
Secession will lead to renewed conflict.

The combination of an increased nationalism and the plight of minorities trapped within states overwhelmingly composed of the ‘other’ people is likely to lead to low level tension, rioting and even potentially warfare particularly over areas which have large Serbs or Bosniak populations forming enclaves within the other state as has happened in many previous secession disputes such as the Croatian secession from Yugoslavia[1]This would plunge the area and the whole region back towards the catastrophic fighting of the 1990’s and needlessly cost many lives as happened in the partition of India[2]. It would also likely lead to waves of refugees and decreased investment and tourism in the new states blighting their futures. [1] Reuters, ‘Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts’, The New York Times, 19 August 1990, http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html?ref=croatia [2] Brass, Paul R., ‘The partition of India and retributive genocide in the Punjab 1946-47: means, methods, and purposes’, Journal of Genocide Research, Vol.5, No.1, 2003, pp.71-101, p.75, http://faculty.washington.edu/brass/Partition.pdf
Serbs have a right to Self-Determination.

Where does self-determination end? Do cities or towns have a right to self-determination, what about individuals within the state? Allowing further secessions will just lead to increasingly smaller and less viable states without producing benefits. Nations are invented human constructs with no inherent value. The right to self-determination is limited, the Supreme Court of Canada determined that there were only three circumstances in which external self determination to three circumstances (a) those under colonial domination or foreign occupation;  (b) peoples subject to "alien subjugation, domination or exploitation outside a colonial context;" and, possibly, (c) a people "blocked from the meaningful  exercise of its right to self-determination internally."[1] None of these apply to RS. In the case of RS there were Bosniaks and Croats who were already in the region and were expelled in the 1990s who in many cases formed a majority in many municipalities in what is now Republika Srpska. Should these smaller groupings have the same right? And if so would individual villages within these municipalities then be able to exercise their own self determination? [1] Van der Vyver, Johan D., ‘Self-determination of the p[eoples of Quebec under International Law’, J. Transnational Law & Policy, Vol.10 No.1, p.12, http://law.fsu.edu/journals/transnational/vol101/vyver.pdf
Republika Srpska cannot survive economically as an independent state.

The RS and FBH have very little industry and few exports, RS for example only exports 720million euros worth compared to imports of 1.25billion euros,[1] the economy is largely based on tourism and foreign aid both of which would likely be adversely affected by the turmoil of secession. A new RS would therefore likely quickly become economically dependent on Serbia and would be unable to make the investments needed to ensure a successful new state. The drop off in tourism revenue will also reduce the prosperity of the citizens and increase poverty in the area. [1] Remikovic, Drazen, ‘Devicit of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska half billion euros’, Balkans.com, 30 August 2011, http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=117689
Serbs have a right to Self-Determination.

The right to self-determination is a basic human right which underpins the legitimacy of the nation-state. Where a large group people do not feel represented or accepted by a state and thus do not consent to its rule, the states control over that people becomes illegitimate. The right to national self-determination is enshrined with the UN charter[1] and formed the basis for the independence of Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro. [1] United Nations, ‘UN Charter, Chapter I: Purposes and Principles, Art. 1, Part 2’. 26 June 1945, http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml
The present state structure does not work.

The existing state structure does not work, because it requires agreement between the representatives of RS and the FBH, Given the fundamentally divergent aims and opinions of the two sides compromise is almost impossible leading to perpetual gridlock on basic issues such as policing and education. This gridlock can be shown by the fifteen months it took for Bosnia and Herzegovina to form a government, and even then a compromise was only reached due to financial pressure from the IMF and EU.[1] [1] Szpala, Marta, ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina: the financial situation forces politicians to reach a compromise regarding the government’, Centre for Eastern Studies, 4 January 2012, http://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/ceweekly/2012-01-04/bosnia-and-herzegovina-financial-situation-forces-politicians-to-reac
Increased sense of identity with the state increases social solidarity.

Where groups of people do not identify with the state they are less likely to be willing to invest in more generous state services since they do feel that peoples with whom they have no affinity will benefit from them. Conversely, where people feel like the state is mostly composed of people like them, they are more willing to invest in education, healthcare and a welfare state. These things will ultimately significantly improve the lives of the people in each new state and lead to stronger states than the one that exists now. For example the Scandinavian states, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland with their largely homogenous societies are also associated with very high levels of social happiness and generous welfare provision.
Secession will hurt minorities in the new state

This increased nationalism will hurt minority ethnic groups within the new states, both already existing minorities such as Jews, Roma, and foreign immigrants who will no longer be part of a largely diverse state with strong legal protections for minority rights, where there are mechanisms for preventing either side dominating,[1] but will instead be part of new ethnically defined states to which they will be perceived as not belonging. Additionally it will hurt the ‘new’ minorities, the Bosniaks and Croats in RS and the Serbs in the FBH, who will be physically and mentally cut off from the state which at least in some respects formerly represented them. Instead they would be made a minority within a group of people judged fundamentally different from them and incapable of living with people like them. [1] Szpala, Marta, ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina – an ongoing erosion of the state’, Centre for Eastern Studies, 30 March 2011, http://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/ceweekly/2011-03-30/bosnia-and-herzegovina-ongoing-erosion-state
Secession will strengthen Nationalism in neighbouring states.

The upsurge in Nationalism would not be limited to just the two parts of Bosnia & Herzegovina, given the ethnic kinship between the Croats and Serbs of Bosnia and those of Croatia and Serbia, but would also in all likelihood lead to renewed nationalism in Serbia, Croatia and other FYRs as happened during the earlier rise of the nationalists before and during the Yugoslav wars[1]. This would jeopardise the progress made within and between these states and damage international cooperation. It would also likely set back the drive towards increased integration, the close cross national feeling  and shared culture termed ‘the Yugosphere’ and ultimately being joined together again within the EU. [1] Pesic, Vesna, ‘Serbian Nationalism and the Origins of the Yugoslav Crisis’, Peaceworks No.8, April 1996, United States Institute of Peace, http://kms1.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/30963/ipublicationdocument_singledocument/DD98B650-6B39-4FA8-8F02-5296502F4EBA/en/1996_april_pwks8.pdf .26
There is legitimate precedent.

The example of Kosovo is not similar because of the terrible treatment including ethnic cleansing, mass murder and torture that Kosovars suffered within the former Yugoslavia and Serbia. Even if other examples are more similar, they are regrettable themselves, we should be seeking to bring nations together through means such as the EU and UN not split them apart. The main reason for Kosovo's recognition stemmed from the fact that it was never really simply part of Serbia. Until the illegal constitutional changes made by Milosevic in 1989, Kosovo was a part of the Yugoslav federation in its own right, with its own seat on the Yugoslav presidency. One can't possibly claim the same constitutional status for RS, which is quite simply the areas of Bosnia which the Bosnian Serb forces were able to ethnically cleanse and keep after the war ended in 1995. Unlike Kosovo, the RS has no historical, legal or constitutional precident and is to a large degree the product of ethnic cleansing.
Secession will lead to renewed conflict.

The region is no longer the powder keg of tension it once was. The independence of Kosovo did not lead to widespread fighting, but only to localised rioting for a period of days or weeks and the Montenegrin secession was entirely peaceful. The awareness of the possibility of escalation of tension will only to serve to make the new states and the international community even more focused on preventing violence and they are thus likely to react accordingly with peacekeepers, international monitors and aid.
Republika Srpska cannot survive economically as an independent state.

Both Montenegro and Kosovo had similar economic situations and have subsequently prospered after independence. Even if there were economic problems they were also both still allowed to become independent. Independence can also lead to an economic boom with new investment and diaspora emigrants returning to the country as happened with the Baltic states after independence.[1] [1] Fifka, Matthias S., ‘The Baltics: Continuing boom or bursting bubble? A rocky short-run should not obscure a promising long run’, Business Economics, October 2008, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1094/is_4_43/ai_n31302641/
There is legitimate precedent.

Kosovo became formally independent from Serbia in 2008[1] and Montenegro became independent from Serbia in 2006[2]  as a result of referenda within those territories. If these states and the many, many others which previously achieved independence have a right to self-determination why doesn’t RS? To deny some groups of people access to self-determination is hypocritical and unjust. [1] BBC News, ‘Kosovo MPs proclaim independence’, 17 February 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7249034.stm [2] BBC News, ‘Montenegro declares independence’, 4 June 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5043462.stm
The people within the state have no desire to live together.

The constituents peoples (Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks) live almost entirely in separate segregated areas with very little communal intermixing. They already essentially live in separate states but without the ability to actually direct their own affairs or receive international recognition. [1] It should be remembered that the Bosnian Serbs have already voted ponce for secession as in a referendum in November 1991 in areas which were Serb ethnic 96.4% voted for an independent State within the then Yugoslav federation.[2] [1] Wikipedia, ‘Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina’, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina [2] Application of Genocide convention, ‘Dissenting opinion of Judge Kreca’, International Court of Justice, 11 July 1996, p.738, http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/91/7365.pdf?PHPSESSID=1f1615e6112c0279dde6f359b53b0659
Secession strengthen Nationalism in the new states

Nations and Peoples are invented human constructs that have no intrinsic value.[1] Self-determination merely reinforces the idea that different groups of people are fundamentally different and not part of a shared humanity. Nationalism leads to a belief that some groups of people are superior to others, which in turn leads to discrimination against groups of people who are not seen as part of the nation.[2] [1] Anderson, Benedict, Imagined Communities, p.48, https://www2.bc.edu/marian-simion/th406/readings/0420anderson.pdf [2] Ajnadžić, Mirza, and Kamber, Ajdin, ‘Bosnia’s “Others” Fight for Their Rights’, Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 746, 19 June 1012, http://iwpr.net/report-news/bosnias-others-fight-their-rights
Showcase for a nation and continent

A key reason why countries host the Olympic games is in order to boost their image abroad – China held the 2008 Games in Beijing as part of an exercise in national promotion[1]. This would also be an opportunity to change the perceptions of Africa amongst some elements in the outside world, from an inaccurate picture of a “third world” continent with no features other than poverty and violence to a more accurate depiction of a continent which, while having challenges, is having economic growth and advancing human development. South Africa is the best nation to showcase the development of Africa; it is Africa’s biggest economy and one of its most developed. [1] Rabkin, April, ‘Olympic Games all about China, Chinese’, SFGate, 1 August 2008, http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Olympic-Games-all-about-China-Chinese-3274954.php
Economic benefits

While hosting a major sporting event is relatively expensive (although Cape Town and Johannesburg already have a number of appropriate venues for some of the events already), hosting major sporting events creates major economic benefits. London got a £10bn economic boost from hosting the 2012 Olympics[1]. This may be higher – many of these benefits are difficult to calculate; how much of a tourism boost is a result of a successful games? Barcelona however just like London had a large boost of tourism following the 1992 Barcelona Games[2]. It raises awareness of the city, and the country, and what it offers as a tourist destination. [1] Flanders, Stephanie, ‘London 2012 Olympics ‘have boosted UK economy by £9.9bn’’, BBC News, 19 July 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23370270 [2] Davenport, Coral, ‘A post-Olympic hurdle for Greece: the whopping bill’, CSMonitor, 1 September 2004, http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/r14/2004/0901/p07s01-woeu.html