bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Church’s Extrincist Response to the Pandemic: Re-reading the Church’s Acquiescence to Regulations in Agamben’s Wake
Authors: Beltramini Enrico
Published: April 2023

In this article, I return to Giorgio Agamben’s intervention on the pandemic to reflect on one of his claims, namely the mundanity of the Roman Catholic Church. Agamben comes to this conclusion after reporting about the passive response of the Church to the state-of-emergency legislation and the “barbaric” conditions of social relationships that followed. These conditions, and not the conspiracy theories on the invention of an epidemic to extend forms of social control, are the primary focus of Agamben’s concern. I confine Agamben’s critique of the Church with a stipulation concerning the extrincist character of the Church’s reaction to the recent epidemic crisis. I argue that, due to the extrincist character of that reaction, the temporal power of the state has proven itself necessary to the defeat of the pandemic, but the spiritual power of the Church has manifested itself as superfluous.
Soviet-Czechoslovak Negotiations on Signing of the Trade Agreement in 1933–1935
Authors:   Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moshechkov Petr
Published: April 2023

This article deals with the final stage of Soviet-Czechoslovak negotiations to conclude a trade agreement that took place between 1933 and 1935. It should be noted that in both Soviet and modern Russian literature, issues related to contacts between the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia in the economic field are mentioned only fragmentarily. At the same time, the history of the consultations which were led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czechoslovak Republic and diplomatic and commercial representatives in Prague has been reflected in the works of Czech historians Z. Sládek, Z. Konečný, and F. Mainuš. As a result of this research, the diaries of Soviet ambassadors A. Ya. Arosev and S. S. Alexandrovskij and their reports to Moscow, which are held in the funds of the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation (“M. M. Litvinov’s secretariat” and “N. N. Krestinsky’s secretariat”), became the object of the research. The reports of the Trade mission of Soviet Union in Prague, as well as the preliminary projects of the agreement developed by Soviet and Czechoslovak diplomats (which are held in the fund “Ministry of Foreign Commerce of USSR” of the Russian State Archive of Economics), were also used. The study shows that the aspiration of both parties to settle mutual relations in this sphere was prompted by both economic and political motives. The signing of the agreement, which took place on 25 March 1935, allowed major contentious issues in trade between the two countries to be regulated. This event, along with the conclusion of an agreement on mutual assistance, marked the beginning of the new phase in the history of Soviet-Czechoslovak relations in the interwar period.
The Proto-Slavic Word for Lungs: *pluťa or *pľuťa?
Authors:   Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saenko Mikhail
Published: April 2023

Although the Proto-Slavic word for lungs can be reliably reconstructed as *pluťa (n. pl.) or *pľuťa (n. pl.), it remains unclear how these two forms are related to each other. Scholars have expressed contradictory views as to which of the two forms should be considered primary. In a number of Slavic languages, the descendants of *pľuťa are more widespread, as they can be found in Old Church Slavonic, Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Lusatian, and Old Russian, whereas the continuants of *pluťa prevail (without being exclusive) in two unconnected areas: Polish-Sorbian-Polabian and Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian. It seems most likely that the form *pľuťa is older and *pluťa is an innovation. The following attempts have been made to explain the relation between the two forms: a) assimilation *pluťa > *pľuťa; b) dissimilation *pljutja > *plutja or *pľuťa > *pluťa; c) *pľuťa > *pluťa under the influence of the infinitive *pluti ‘to fl oat’; d) *pľuťa > *pluťa as a result of the ‘secondary hardening of ľ; e) doubleting *pľuťa / *pluťa because of the twofold development of Proto-Slavic *eu̯ > *u/*ju; f) doubleting *pľuťa / *pluťa as a reflection of two ablaut grades within one athematic paradigm; g) doubleting as a result of vowel assimilation *pleu̯ti̯ā > *plau̯ti̯ā. In our view, the distant dissimilation of the palatals ľ–ť > l–ť or the influence of the underlying verb *pluti ‘float’ should be considered the most probable scenarios of how the variant *pluťa appeared. In terms of word formation, it is likely that feminine *pleu̯tis > *pľutь was the initial form. Having shifted from *-i-declination to *-jā, it came to be perceived as the plural of the neutral noun.
The Role of the Works of Prof. Athanasii Matveevich Selishchev for the Development of Bulgarian Linguistics
Authors:   Institute for Bulgarian Language “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin”, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Antonova-Vasileva Luchia
Published: April 2023

This article aims to trace the impact of the studies and ideas from the works of Prof. A. M. Selishchev in the publications and research directions of Bulgarian linguists. Attention is paid to his monographs and to articles devoted to the language and history of the population in the geographical area of Macedonia. The merits of the descriptions of the phonetic and morphological system of the territorial dialects, accompanied by the tracing of the parallels of the phenomena in Bulgarian dialects, are indicated. The article highlights the professor’s studies of vocabulary and toponymy. Prof. Selishchev paid special attention to the mutual influence of different languages (for example, Albanian and Bulgarian), studying not only the history of the given region and its dialectological specifics, but also the bilingualism of the population. The article also traces Selishchev’s interest in the historical facts that illustrated the issue of ethnic affiliation of the population of different zones in the Bulgarian language area. The historical facts described by Selishchev about the nationality of the population are described. The role of the subject’s research is considered in relation to the general state of Bulgarian linguistic science during the Renaissance, when the Bulgarian sources for the spread of knowledge and enlightenment were limited and were usually published outside the borders of the Ottoman Empire (of which Bulgaria was a part). The works of Selishchev should not be considered an isolated phenomenon, but part of a general trend, which is demonstrated by the works of V. Grigorovich, Al. Duvernoy, and so on. Examples are cited from the works of prominent Bulgarian scientists such as L. Miletich, B. Tsonev, St. Mladenov, and J. Zaimov, which testify to the deep impact left by the work of Prof. Selishchev.
Macedonian Representations about the Walking Dead from the 19th Century up Today
Authors:   Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chivarzina Alexandra
Published: April 2023

Ideas about the dead who return after death are known to all Slavic peoples. In the Macedonian folk tradition, these beliefs are still widespread today. The most well-known are the ones about the vampires. This article aims to acquaint the reader with the language and plots of the household stories and tales (bylichkas) of dead men walking, once recorded by Marko Cepenkov, an outstanding collector of Macedonian folklore in the 19th century. For comparison, material is given from a collection of epic stories about vampires edited by L. Spirovska and T. Vražinovski, which was published at the end of the 20th century. Research by modern Balkan researchers who paid attention to this issue within the Macedonian language and culture is also examined in the article. Twenty first century field materials collected by the author are also included in this study. One can trace the dynamics of the development of the representations of the walking dead in the Macedonian cultural and linguistic territory. Over the past two centuries, the main motifs reflected in bylichkas have not changed. Among the most common are the noise and mess made at night, gluttony and dancing, sexual contact with a woman, vampire hunters, and so on. Globalisation and informatization did not cause the disappearance of such ideas from the life of modern villages. Not only is the belief in the walking dead preserved, but also the practice of exorcism. New technologies and medicines have been naturally introduced into the existing mythological environment and further reinforce the archaic representations of both the causes and ways of dealing with vampires.
“As a Researcher I Wanted to Get Away from the Contemporary Politics” A.V. Lipatov’s Memoirs in the Form of Interview
Authors:   Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Lipatov Alexandr
Published: April 2023

At the request of the editors of the journal “The Slavic World in the Third Millennium”, Alexander Vladimirovich Lipatov (born 1937), Doctor of Philology, leading researcher at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Arts, and member of the Presidium of the World Association of Polonists, describes his life and path in science. In 1957, Lipatov entered the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University, but after studying for a year, he was recommended to continue his studies at the Faculty of Polish Studies at Warsaw University, from which he graduated in 1962 with a doctoral degree. After completing his postgraduate studies at Moscow State University, in 1965 he came to the Institute of Slavic Studies, with which the rest of his creative life was connected. Lipatov is a Polonist with a wide range of interests: his scientific interests include the key problems of the literature, culture, and history of Poland; Russian-Polish literary, cultural, and social relations; and the mutual perception of Russians and Poles. His works on Polish literature of the Baroque and Enlightenment eras, in which the literary process is placed in the context of a wide range of problems in the history of the gentry democracy of the Commonwealth, gained particular fame. Not limited to Polonist studies, Lipatov also dealt with problems of literary theory, the sociology of literature, and inter-Slavic relations. The research and editorial activities of Professor A. V. Lipatov for several decades were combined with teaching at the Russian State Humanitarian University and Polish universities (Torun, Krakow, etc.). Lipatov discusses his childhood during the war and the first post-war years, his youth, his studies at Warsaw University, his work at the Institute of Slavic Studies, and his numerous trips to Poland over many years.
Direction of Linguistic Slavistics in Bashkir State University
Authors:   Bashkir State University, Kiseleva Larisa
Published: April 2023

This article is devoted to the main directions of the Slavic activities of the linguists of the Bashkir State University, namely scientific, educational, and cultural and elucidative. Within the framework of the scientific direction, comparative typological (in comparison with the Turkic languages) and sociolinguistic aspects are considered, and the results of the linguogeographic study of the Slavic languages (primarily Russian) are described. The specificity of the educational direction is based on the educational process, which involves the use of both traditional and new forms of studying and teaching foreign Slavic languages (Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, and Serbo-Croatian) within the walls of the Bashkir State University. The role of the mentioned and related disciplines (introduction to Slavic philology, comparative grammar of Slavic languages) in deepening the Slavic training of students of Russian studies is demonstrated. Attention is paid to relations with educational institutions in Slavic countries as an important factor in improving the quality of teaching foreign Slavic languages. The main parameters of the third direction — cultural and elucidative — are considered from the point of view of cooperation with the Slavic national cultural centres of the Republic of Bashkortostan, primarily the Polish Culture Centre and Education “Renaissance” and the Bulgarian Cultural Centre. The promising possibilities of this cooperation in terms of in-depth acquaintance of students with the history and culture of the country of the studied Slavic language are demonstrated. It is shown that cultural and elucidative work in the field of Slavic studies is integrated into scientific and educational activities and, combined, constitutes one of the facets of a single process aimed at maximizing student knowledge of foreign Slavic languages and fostering a tolerant attitude towards them.
O.I. Aganson. In search of balance. Great Britain and the “Balkan Labyrinth”, 1903–1914. Saint Petersburg: Aleteiia, 2022. 362 p. ISBN 978-5-00165-492-6
Authors:   The Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kostrikova Elena
Published: April 2023

This is a review of the book by O. I. Aganson “In search of Balance. Great Britain and the “Balkan Labyrinth”, 1903–1914”. The strength of this monograph is the author’s excellent knowledge of the works of his predecessors, especially modern British and American historians. The academic significance of the reviewed work results from its solid source base, including not only documentary publications, domestic and foreign, but also archival materials (from AVPRI, GARF, RGVIA), as well as memoirs and the press. Aganson offers a new approach to the causes of the outbreak of the First World War, considering the foreign policy of Great Britain through the prism of its attitude to the problems of the Balkan Peninsula. The research focuses on the mechanism of global conflicts, the interaction and mutual influence of regional and global levels of world politics, and the gradual increase in the share of small countries. This reviewer does not fully share the conclusions that Aganson comes to, but at the same time believes that her book is a serious scientific study and makes a significant contribution to the study of the origins of the First World War. The presence of different approaches to solving the problems raised by Aganson is beneficial to the cause, as it provides an incentive to further search for the truth.
Young Scholars Conference “Slavic World: Community and Diversity”. Moscow, 24–25 May 2022. Section “History”
Authors:   Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Evstafyev Nikita
Published: April 2023

On May 24th and 25th, 2022, a regular conference of young scientists dedicated to the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture was held. This time the conference was held in a mixed format: at the Institute of Slavic Studies and on the ZOOM platform. As in previous years, in the history section young scientists from various cities took part: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, and Prague (Czech Republic). The conference discussed a wide range of issues related to the history of Slavic countries and peoples: from the Late Middle Ages and early Modern Times to the beginning of the twenty-first century. The conference participants in their speeches touched upon the problems of imagology, national identity, the national revival of the Slavic peoples, the formation of their political, economic, and ecclesiastical institutions, and the development of national cultures. The variety of topics corresponded to the variety of sources: different authors used medieval literature, diplomatic and archival documents, newspaper articles, and even network media data in their research. The vast majority of reports aroused not only the interest of the listeners, but also a desire to discuss the speeches. The scholars of the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, some of whom acted as moderators of individual subsections, also took part in the discussion. Thus, this year, as before, the young scholars’ conference “Slavic world: Community and diversity” was a valuable platform for the exchange of experience and the establishment of closer ties between various scientific institutions. The final results of the conference will be summarised with the publication of a separate collection of abstracts.
A Multi-criteria decision making approach for 3D printer nozzle material selection
Authors:   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim, India, Chatterjee Saikat , Chakraborty Shankar ,   Department of Production Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
Published: April 2023

Rapid advancements in 3D printing technology have compelled the manufacturers to search for better nozzle material in the extruder of 3D printers. Materials ranging from brass to tungsten carbide and ruby are primarily used as the nozzle material. In 3D printing technology, due to major constraints imposed by the filament material and other decisive factors, no single nozzle material satisfies all the desired characteristics for a real time application. Thus, it has become crucial to select the most appropriate nozzle material with the desired properties for enhanced 3D printing performance. In this paper, the performance of eight candidate nozzle materials is evaluated based on nine selection criteria. Entropy method is utilized to determine the criteria weights, whereas, evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS) method is employed to identify the best suited 3D printer nozzle material. Tungsten carbide emerges out as the best choice, followed by titanium alloy (TiAl6V4). This paper also proposes a sensitivity analysis to establish the robustness of the adopted methodology.
Afraid of Haryana’s Jat politics?
Authors: Ranjan Pramod
Published: April 2023

On May 21, 2012, more than 52 Dalit-backward families were forced to leave their village after a dispute with dominant caste people in Bhagana (Bhagana) village of Haryana. The dispute started with the removal of possession of Shamlat land. The dominant community had socially boycotted them. Two years after this incident, on March 23, 2014, 4 girls of Dhanuk community of Bhagana village were abducted and gang-raped by boys of Dabang community. In protest against these incidents, people of Dalit-backward community of Bhagana village continuously demonstrated for months at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, in which JNU students and various social organizations actively participated. In the article uploaded here, Pramod Ranjan, who was involved in the Bhagana movement, has questioned the role of the media on Dalit issues. This article was published in Forward Press, a bilingual magazine published from Delhi.
Parent Coaching in a Multimodal Communication Intervention for Children with Autism
Authors: Ganz J. B. , Wattanawongwan Sanikan , Haas April , Morin Kristi L.
Published: April 2023

Social-communication deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder often lead to undesirable outcomes in other domains, such as interpersonal relationships, employment, and participation in community activities. Parents may be ideal implementers of interventions to address these deficits when provided with instruction that is efficacious and feasible. This study evaluated a web-based group training and multimodal communication protocol of individualized parent coaching to improve parent implementation of communication intervention components. Results indicated a moderate functional relation between the parent-coaching intervention and parent implementation of the instructional behaviors. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Social exploration: How and why people seek new connections
Authors: Tsang Shelly , Barrentine Kyle Jamiah , Chadha Sareena , Oishi Shigehiro , Wood Adrienne
Published: April 2023

When you have the option to connect with someone, do you choose to meet up with a new friend or reconnect with an old friend? People often face this tradeoff between choosing a known option and trying an unknown one, known as the explore-exploit tradeoff. How and when an individual chooses to do either depends on individual and situational factors. Though this has been documented in other literature, such as how animals search for food, it has yet to be extensively applied to how humans search for social connections. In this paper, we draw connections between existing foraging contexts and foraging for social connections, posit why known principles would apply in this domain, and describe how characteristics of the individual and situation would lead to one behavior or another. This review can help social psychologists better understand the contexts of social exploration and generate new hypotheses.
Defendant Character Influences Mock Juror Judgments of Blame, Guilt, and Punishment
Authors: Cheung Vanessa , Lagnado David
Published: April 2023

The present study explored how evaluations of a defendant’s character can influence mock jurors’ judgments using a beliefupdating paradigm. Participants (N=143) were shown a trialtranscript in which we manipulated the defendant’s character by introducing an irrelevant moral behavior observed before the crime as well as prior conviction. We found that bad defendants were consistently judged to be more deserving of punishment than good defendants. While character information influenced judgments of guilt, blame, and intentionality immediately after it was presented, the effect diminished as participantsreceived more information about the case, and ultimately did not shift their verdicts. In general, participants also mitigated moral judgments for good defendants rather than exacerbate judgments for bad defendants. Thematic analysis of judgment rationales also revealed that participants reasoned about actions, norms, and mental states when evaluating blame and punishment. We discuss the implications of this study in moraland legal decision-making.
The inner screen model of consciousness: applying the free energy principle directly to the study of conscious experience
Authors: Ramstead Maxwell James , Albarracin Mahault , Kiefer Alex , Klein Brennan , Fields Chris , Friston Karl , Safron Adam
Published: April 2023

This paper presents a model of consciousness that follows directly from the free- energy principle (FEP). We first rehearse the classical and quantum formulations of the FEP. In particular, we consider the “inner screen hypothesis” that follows from the quantum information theoretic version of the FEP. We then review applications of the FEP to the known sparse (nested and hierarchical) neuro-anatomy of the brain. We focus on the holographic structure of the brain, and how this structure supports (overt and covert) action.
Characterizing the role of awareness in ensemble perception
Authors: Mei Ning , Soto David , Elosegi Patxi
Published: April 2023

Ensemble representations are efficient codes that the brain generates effortlessly even under noisy conditions. However, the role of visual awareness for computing ensemble rep- resentations remains unclear. We present two psychophysical experiments (N=15x2) using a bias-free paradigm to investigate the contribution of conscious and unconscious processing to ensemble perception. Here we show that ensemble perception can unfold without awareness of the relevant features that define the ensemble. Computational modeling of the type-1 and type-2 drift-rates further suggest that awareness lags well behind the categorization pro- cesses that support ensemble perception. Additional evidence indicates that the dissociation between type-1 from type-2 sensitivity, was not driven by type-2 inefficiency or a system- atic disadvantage in type-2 decision making. The present study demonstrates the utility of robust measures for studying the role of visual consciousness and metacognition in stimuli and tasks of increasing complexity, crucially, without underestimating the contribution of unconscious processing in an otherwise visible stimulus.
Filled Pauses Produced by Autistic Adults Differ in Prosodic Realisation, but not Rate or Lexical Type
Authors: Wehrle Simon , Grice Martine , Vogeley Kai
Published: April 2023

[FULL VERSION REMOVED PENDING OFFICIAL PUBLICATION] Purpose: We examined the use of filled pauses in conversations between homogeneous pairs of autistic and non-autistic adults.Methods: A corpus of semi-spontaneous speech was used to analyse the rate, lexical type (nasal “uhm” or non-nasal “uh”), and prosodic realisation (rising, level or falling) of filled pauses. We used Bayesian modelling for statistical analysis.Results: We found an identical rate of filled pauses and an equivalent preference of “uhm” over “uh” across groups, but also a robust group-level difference regarding the intonational realisation of filled pauses: non-autistic controls produced a considerably higher proportion of filled pause tokens realised with the canonical level pitch contour than autistic speakers.Conclusion: Despite the fact that filled pauses are a frequent and impactful part of speech, previous work on their conversational use in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is limited. Our account is the first to analyse the intonational realisation of filled pauses in ASD and the first to investigate conversations between autistic adults in this context. Our results on rate and lexical type can help to contextualise previous research, while the novel findings on intonational realisation set the stage for future investigations.
The longitudinal network structure of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: insights from a national Australian study
Authors: Santiago Pedro Henrique Ribeiro , Soares Gustavo Hermes , McCormick Kym Michelle , Gregory Tess , Sawyer Alyssa , Smithers Lisa Gaye , Jamieson Lisa
Published: April 2023

The understanding of children’s social and emotional development (SED) is critical to promote well-being throughout the life course. The current study will employ Cross-Lagged Network Models (CLNMs) to investigate children’s SED among Australian children aged 6 to 10 years. Data was used from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Children’s SED was measured with the caregiver-informant Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). In the complete case sample (n=4,070), children were aged 6 to 10 years, Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and 48.6% were female. The findings indicated that key intervention targets were reducing fights at age 6 and improving peer relationships at age 8. This study provided new insights into children’s SED during middle childhood and behavioural intervention targets.
Family Formation and Abortion Attitudes: An Analysis with the GSS Panels
Authors: Horner Emilio Lopez , Keskintürk Turgut
Published: April 2023

We ask whether having a child or marrying for the first time affects one’s attitudinal position on the legality of abortion debate. Using two-way fixed-effects regression models in the 2006-2014 General Social Survey panel data, we show that there is no such effect for women, and only slight effects for men.
An Anatomical Variation of Median Artery of Forearm and Palm: Cadaveric Study into its Origin and Course
Authors: Khan G. A. , Shrestha A.
Published: April 2023

Background The median artery (transitory artery) represents the forearm’s embryonic arterial axis. At 8th week of gestation retreats into a little canal that supplies the median nerve. Later, ulnar and radial arteries take its place. Adults may still have it in either a palmar or an antebrachial pattern. The persistent median arteries are a long, angular arterial that extends to the hand’s palmar surface. The median artery only partially recedes in the antebrachial type.

Objective To identify the median artery distribution in the adult Nepalese population. Method Twenty-five adult human cadavers’ left and right upper limbs undergone to descriptive research. The persistent median artery was exposed according to the Cunningham’s Manual of Practical Anatomy.

Result The forearm and hand arteries in each of the fifty upper limbs from the twenty-five formalin-embalmed human cadavers were studied. Among fifty upper limbs, persistent median arteries were found in six (twelve percent) of them. One percent of a cadaver’s right and left limbs had bilateral persisting median arteries (ante brachial). Persistent median artery of the ante brachial type that arises from the anterior interosseous artery in a right upper limb. Persistent median artery emerging from the posterior interosseous arteries were visible in one right upper limb.

Conclusion The study showed persistent median artery of ante brachial type. The posterior interosseus artery is the source of the majority of antebrachial type. A median artery piercing the median nerve was discovered.
Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: Clinical Profile, Autologous Serum Skin Test Positivity and Associated Impairment in Quality of Life in Nepalese Patients
Authors: Paudel S. , Parajuli N. , Sharma R. , Parajuli S.
Published: April 2023

Background Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria is considered to be an autoimmune phenomenon in half of the total cases. Autologous serum skin test is a simple screening test for the presence of auto-antibodies in chronic urticaria. Significant impairment in quality of life have been observed in autologous serum skin test positive cases. There are limited literatures on chronic spontaneous urticaria, autologous serum skin test and associated Dermatology Life Quality Index in Nepal till date.

Objective To find the proportion of autologous serum skin test positive cases in chronic urticaria and impairment in quality of life in such patients.

Method This was a retrospective review of outpatient records of patients diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria, from January 2018 to December 2019, from a tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. Details of the patients, autologous serum skin test and dermatology life quality index scores were analyzed and presented.

Result Among the total 114 cases positive autologous serum skin test was seen in 48.2% of cases. The mean total Dermatology Life Quality Index score was 8.06±6.64. A significantly higher quality of life impairment was observed in in patients with positive autologous serum skin test as compared to the negative ones. The odds of finding a positive autologous serum skin test in patients with angioedema was 2.1, however the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion Chronic spontaneous urticaria was more common in females as compared to males. A positive autologous serum skin test was present in half of the patients which was in turn associated with a greater impairment of quality of life.
Retinal Haemorrhage in Newborns in Tertiary Care Hospital
Authors: Makaju Shrestha R. , Shrestha S. , Sharma S. , Joshi A. , Shrestha P. , Shrestha J. K.
Published: April 2023

Background Retinal haemorrhage in new-born is a clinically common neonatal fundus condition. Although, it usually does not affect the development of visual function, entities like macular haemorrhages may lead to amblyopia causing deterioration of visual function. Such scenario leads to downgrade in quality of life of the affected child.

Objective To explore the underlying clinical factors associated with retinal haemorrhage in term new-borns.

Method A cross sectional study was conducted involving 136 term neonates admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit of Dhulikhel Hospital. Fundus examination was performed within 2 weeks of delivery. Retinal haemorrhage was graded according to their location in three retinal zones.

Result Out of 136 cases examined, 44 (32.35%) of the cases had one of the eyes with retinal haemorrhage. Where grade 1 retinal haemorrhage was accounted in majority of the cases. Birth weight, gestational age, mode of delivery, poor Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration (APGAR) Score in 1 and 5 minutes, birth asphyxia, neonatal sepsis and heavy work in antenatal period had statistically significant correlation with occurrence of retinal haemorrhage.

Conclusion Our results suggest that spontaneous vaginal delivery, larger birth weight, higher gestational age, birth asphyxia, low Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration score, are risk factors for occurrence of neonatal retinal haemorrhage. It is recommended that in neonates with above high-risk factors should undergo targeted fundus screening for early identification and needful interventions.
Coronary Artery Disease in Nepal: Current Perspective, Challenges, Need for National Practice Guidelines, and Potential Solution
Authors: Prajapati D. , Bhandari N. , Gautam P. , Dhital R. , Shrestha A.
Published: April 2023

South Asians are estimated to have a 40% increased risk for coronary artery disease as compared to populations from other regions. Nepal, as a South Asian country, should also analyze the burden of coronary artery disease and its risk factors to minimize cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We reviewed the barriers to cardiovascular care and its services in low- and middle-income countries, including Nepal. The identified barriers included coronary artery disease risk factors, access, cost, adherence to cardiovascular care, awareness, knowledge gaps, and socioeconomic and health system challenges. The possible strategies to reduce coronary artery disease included national, regional, and local perspectives. It also highlighted the involvement of community workers and local leaders, education, patient-centered intervention, easy access to drugs and treatments, rehabilitation and public health measures, innovation within the health care system, and multi-sectoral involvement. This review provides insights into the current situation of coronary artery disease and its possible solutions.
Incidence and Pattern of Patient-Perceived Oral Medicine Emergencies during Lockdown: Experience of Tertiary Health Care Centre of Eastern Nepal
Authors: Regmee P. , Adhikari S. , Sulu S. , Rimal J. , Maharjan I. K.
Published: April 2023

Background There has been a significant drop in the number of patients seeking oral medicine care during the lockdown period.

Objective To find the incidence and pattern of patient perceived oral medicine emergencies in the tertiary healthcare centre of eastern Nepal, during the lockdown period.

Method The clinical profile of patients seeking oral medicine care between 30th April 2021 to 25th June 2021 (period of strict lockdown in Sunsari district) was recorded. Data were recorded in an excel sheet and transferred to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 11.5. Frequency and proportion were calculated.

Result During the lockdown, 300 patients had visited the hospital with different oral diseases seeking the care of an oral physician. The average number of patients seeking oral medicine care per day was approximately six. Of the total patients, 110 patients had pain as their chief complaint, 48 had wound and 34 had a burning sensation in the mouth. Among them 82% perceived their complaint as an emergency. The provisional diagnosis was temporomandibular disorders in 40 patients, trigeminal neuralgia in 38 patients and 34 had carcinoma.

Conclusion Patients seeking oral medicine care during the lockdown period had decreased by about one-third. Pertaining to oral medicine, pain in any orofacial area was the most common patient perceived emergency condition followed by wound and burning sensation. Maximum number of patients visiting the department perceived their complain as an emergency.
Program Evaluation in British Columbia in a Time of Transition: 1995-2000
Authors: McDavid James C.
Published: April 2023

Abstract: Program evaluation has undergone a major transformation in the British Columbia government during the past five years. Although conventional program evaluations continue to be conducted in some ministries, the dominant trend is towards performance measurement. The recently passed Budget Transparency and Accountability Act mandates strategic and business planning, performance measurement, and public reporting. This article identifies nine issues that need to be addressed if public performance reporting is to mature into sustained performance management in the B.C. government. Given resource scarcity and the organizational and political culture, it will be very challenging to implement performance-based public accountability in B.C.
Evaluation in Newfoundland: Then Was Then and Now Is Now
Authors: Ross Abraham
Published: April 2023

Abstract: Interviews with people involved in program evaluation in Newfoundland reveal that there is no provincial policy on program evaluation. However, the future for program evaluation in the province is positive. The auditor general is recommending a policy on accountability, and the new Strategic Social Plan includes a requirement for measuring change that occurs as a result of the plan.
Preparing Nonprofits for New Accountability Demands
Authors: Chaytor Kaireen , MacDonald Grant , Melvin David
Published: April 2023

Abstract: Although the role of nonprofits in Canadian society has always been important, the sector now plays a greater role as more and more government services have been transferred to the sector as part of the move toward governance over government. Complementing this changing role is the need, within both government and the sector itself, to enhance accountability and transparency based on evidence. Although program evaluation offers a viable tool to achieve these ends, a great deal of apprehension must be overcome, as must the lack of a sound infrastructure of technical leadership capacity within the nonprofit sector. This article examines these challenges within the context of nonprofits in the social/health or human services areas. It suggests building evaluation capacity through a particular approach to evaluation courses. It examines the role of the nonprofits, an approach to teaching, and the role of funders and educational institutions in developing this capacity. The capacity to conduct evaluation has been ignored by funders, who may mandate an evaluation with the unrealistic intent of it providing accountability.
Defining the Benefits, Outputs, and Knowledge Elements of Program Evaluation
Authors: Zorzi Rochelle , Perrin Burt , McGuire Martha , Long Bud , Lee Linda
Published: April 2023

Abstract: The Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) has undertaken a project to explore the benefits that can be attributed to program evaluation, the outputs necessary to achieve those benefits, and the knowledge and skills needed to produce the outputs. Benefits, outputs, and knowledge elements were articulated and confirmed through a number of consultations with CES members and the international evaluation community. The consultation process was also successful in encouraging dialogue about the nature of evaluation and in raising considerations about the definition and promotion of program evaluation. The findings of the project can be used by the CES, and indeed by other evaluation organizations, to support their advocacy and professional development initiatives, and by individual evaluators to guide their own professional development and evaluation practice.
Randomized and Quasi-Experimental Evaluations of Program Impact in Child Welfare in Canada: A Review
Authors: Flynn Robert J. , Bouchard Danielle
Published: April 2023

Abstract: Respondents to a recent survey identified the evaluation of service effectiveness as the most pressing priority for child welfare research in Canada. After a comprehensive search, we located and reviewed 10 peer-reviewed impact evaluations, published during 1995-2005, of interventions in Canadian child welfare. Four evaluations were based on randomized controlled trials, and six on non-randomized, quasi-experimental designs. After a critical review of each study, we formulated the implications of the review, for the design and evaluation of child welfare interventions in Canada, in terms of three main needs: for more high-quality impact evaluations; for the evaluation of the effectiveness of a wider range of interventions; and for the implementation and evaluation, in the Canadian context, of interventions of mainly U.S. origin that incorporate the principles of the increasingly influential perspective of evidence-based practice.
The Strong Focus on Output Information: A Threat to Evaluation in the Swedish State Sector?
Authors: Hąąg Karin , Rosengren Fredrik
Published: April 2023

Abstract: This article discusses the issue of combining different kinds of results information for decision-making in the public sector. Its purpose is to take part in the debate on public management and management by results, by arguing that the trend in public management is a focus on information about outputs and a decreasing interest in information about outcomes. Since the mid-1980s there has been an obvious drop in the interest in results information in the public sector in Sweden and in many other countries (those within the OECD for instance). The favoured concept for the state sector in Sweden is management by results. Ministries and agencies have developed skills to measure not only costs, but also quality and performance. It is easy to believe that this development also should stimulate the development of evaluations of outcomes and in-depth analyses, as these evaluations are important to the concept of management by results. However, we argue that simpler and more focused follow-up information has increased and so also has interest in such information. In short, interest in information about outputs has increased at the expense of interest in information about outcomes. This threatens to diminish the future role of evaluation.
Paying Doctors: Impact of a Change in Remuneration Method at a Canadian Academic Health Centre
Authors: Shortt S. E. D.
Published: April 2023

Abstract: Almost a century ago, North American medical reformers argued that clinician scholars could be relied on to do their best academic work only if they were freed from reliance on entrepreneurial activity. Since that time, Canadian medical schools have become increasingly reliant on medical fees to subsidize their academic mission. At present, clinical earnings no longer appear able to support medical education. This article describes the early results from an innovation in physician payment at an Ontario academic health centre. Under the new system all faculty abandoned fee-for-service billing and were funded from a global budget. This remuneration change had little impact on clinical service, education, or research. However, the system has introduced unprecedented stability and accountability to the funding of medical education.
Reporting on Outcomes: Setting Performance Expectations and Telling Performance Stories
Authors: Mayne John
Published: April 2023

Abstract: Results, and more particularly outcomes, are at the centre of public management reform in many jurisdictions, including Canada. Managing for outcomes, including setting realistic outcome expectations for programs, and credibly reporting on what was achieved are proving to be challenges, perhaps not unexpectedly, given the challenges faced in evaluating the outcomes of public programs. This article discusses how the use of results chains can assist in setting outcome expectations and in credibly reporting on the outcomes achieved. It introduces the concepts of an evolving results-expectations chart and of telling a performance story built around the program’s results chain and expectations chart.
The Lay of the Land: Evaluation Practice in Canada Today
Authors: Gauthier Benoît , Barrington Gail , Bozzo Sandra L. , Chaytor Kaireen , Cullen Jim , Lahey Robert , Malatest Robert , Mason Greg , Mayne John , Myers Anita , Porteous Nancy L. , Roy Simon
Published: April 2023

Abstract: A group of 12 evaluation practitioners and observers takes stock of the state of program evaluation in Canada. Each of the contributors provides a personal viewpoint, based on their own experience in the field. The selection of contributors constitutes a purposive sample aimed at providing depth of view and a variety of perspectives. Each presentation highlights one strength of program evaluation practiced in Canada, one weakness, one threat, and one opportunity. It is concluded that evaluators possess skills that other professions do not offer; they are social and economic researchers versed in using empirical data collection and analysis methods to provide a strong factual foundation for program and policy assessment. However, program evaluation has not acquired an identity of its own and, in fact, has tended to neglect key evaluation issues and to lose emphasis on rigour. Today’s program evaluation environment is dominated by program monitoring, the lack of program evaluation self-identity, and insufficient connection with management needs. But evaluation is not without opportunities — results-based and outcome-based management, advocacy and partnership efforts, individual training and development, and bridging between program management and policy development represent some. But first, evaluators must self-define to communicate to others what their specific contribution is likely to be. The article concludes with implications for the practice of evaluation in Canada and the blueprint of a work-plan for evaluators individually and collectively, in their organizations and in their professional association.
L’innovation sociale, une condition pour accroître la qualité de l’action en partenariat dans le champ de la santé publique
Authors: Bilodeau Angèle , Chamberland Claire , White Deena
Published: April 2023

Abstract: The effectiveness of participatory planning and partnership practices in the public health field is a neglected issue. While the literature shows evidence of the meagre results of technocratic models, few studies describe the conditions for the success of participatory approaches. This article presents the results of a comparative study of four participative regional planning experiments in Montreal, focusing on the relationship between participative planning and partnership processes and the quality of the results obtained. It analyzes the social relations and forms of collaboration between the actors in order to understand the processes leading to different evaluation outcomes of different measures of quality. This type of evaluation can contribute to improving partnerships, because the results relate the specific dynamics of the participatory processes to their degree of success.
Using Multi-Site Core Evaluation to Provide “Scientific” Evidence
Authors: Lawrenz Frances , Huffman Douglas
Published: April 2023

Abstract: Funders of educational and other social service programs are requiring more experimental and performance-oriented designs in evaluations of program effectiveness. Concomitantly, funders are exhibiting less interest in evaluations that serve other purposes, such as implementation fidelity. However, in order to fully understand the effectiveness of most complex social and educational programs, an evaluation must provide diverse information. This article uses the Core Evaluation of the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation Program as a case example of how evaluations might meet the requirements of objective scientific evaluation while at the same time valuing and incorporating other evaluation purposes. The successes and limitations of the case example in achieving this blending are discussed.
Stakeholder Involvement in a Government-Funded Outcome Evaluation: Lessons from the Front Line
Authors: Sehl Mary
Published: April 2023

Abstract: This article describes the process behind a government-initiated outcome evaluation that involved stakeholders from funded projects in planning and decision making. It reviews the strengths, challenges, and limitations of the evaluation. Follow-up consultations with project staff involved in data collection for the evaluation identified strengths of the process as the opportunity for staff to get to know individual program participants through interviews and the good will established between staff, funders, and evaluators. Weaknesses included concerns about some of the questions asked of participants, the complexity of the evaluation design, and a failure to identify the implications of staff turnover and workload when deciding to employ front-line staff to collect evaluation data.