bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving Surveillance and Prevention of Surgical Site Infection in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Cannon Melissa , Hersey Diane , Harrison Sheilah , Joy Brian , Naguib Aymen , Galantowicz Mark , Simsic Janet
Published: March 2016

Background

Postoperative cardiovascular surgical site infections are preventable events that may lead to increased morbidity, mortality, and health care costs.

Objective

To improve surgical wound surveillance and reduce the incidence of surgical site infections.

Methods

An institutional review of surgical site infections led to implementation of 8 surveillance and process measures: appropriate preparation the night before surgery and the day of surgery, use of appropriate preparation solution in the operating room, appropriate timing of preoperative antibiotic administration, placement of a photograph of the surgical site in the patient’s chart at discharge, sending a photograph of the surgical site to the patient’s primary care physician, 30-day follow-up of the surgical site by an advanced nurse practitioner, and placing a photograph of the surgical site obtained on postoperative day 30 in the patient’s chart.

Results

Mean overall compliance with the 8 measures from March 2013 through February 2014 was 88%. Infections occurred in 10 of 417 total operative cases (2%) in 2012, in 8 of 437 total operative cases (2%) in 2013, and in 7 of 452 total operative cases (1.5%) in 2014.

Conclusions

Institution of the surveillance process has resulted in improved identification of suspected surgical site infections via direct rather than indirect measures, accurate identification of all surgical site infections based on definitions of the National Healthcare Safety Network, collaboration with all persons involved, and enhanced communication with patients’ family members and referring physicians.
Working with children with special needs in Finnish kindergartens: Professionals and/or specialists?
Authors: Nislin Mari , Paananen Maiju , Repo Laura , Sajaniemi Nina , Sims Margaret
Published: March 2016

The aim is to investigate the links between job satisfaction of Finnish early childhood professionals (ECPs) and the appreciation they receive for their work, and how these are associated with their competence to work with children with diverse needs and backgrounds. Data was collected via nationwide online survey for practitioners (n = 885) working in Finnish kindergartens. The main findings show that ECPs experience their work as satisfactory and receive appreciation from colleagues, friends and the children’s parents. It was also evident form the data that ECPs felt themselves to be incompetent to work with children with disabilities or children who had experienced trauma. This may reflect that more in-service training regarding these special education issues is needed. We argue that satisfaction, appreciation and competence, are key factors in the development of a strong professional identity, enhanced well-being at work and in other domains of life and particularly for high quality and inclusive early childhood education.
Dexamethasone 1 mg/mL Suspension Prepared from Crushed Tablets: Stability in Glass and Plastic Bottles and Plastic Syringes
Authors: Ensom Mary H H , Décarie Diane
Published: March 2016

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Back to the Future
Authors: Roy Myrella
Published: March 2016

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Tribute to the Reviewers of the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy
Authors: Hospital Pharmacists Canadian Society of
Published: March 2016

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An Assessment Tool for the Placement of Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Intravenous Access
Authors: Rice Julie , Crichlow Amanda , Baker Marrissa , Regan Linda , Dodson Adam , Hsieh Yu-Hsiang , Omron Rodney
Published: March 2016

Ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous line (USGPIV) placement is becoming an important tool in current clinical practice. Many residency programs utilize unstructured clinical observation to evaluate residents in this and other procedural skills. Simulation-based assessment permits educators to make objective, standardized observations, and may be ideal for assessment of important procedural competencies.Background

 We created a simulation-based assessment tool for the skill of USGPIV placement.Objective

 A checklist tool was developed by a review of relevant literature and an expert review in accordance with established guidelines. Emergency medicine residents were recruited and surveyed on previous experience with USGPIV placement. Blinded, independent reviewers then utilized the checklist to assess residents as they made up to 3 attempts at USGPIV placement on a simulated pediatric arm.Methods

 Of the 26 residents enrolled in our study, 26 participated (100%). A best attempt checklist score greater than or equal to 9 out of 10 correlated with expert performance (P < .001). Agreement between independent raters on first-attempt USGPIV placement score was determined by weighted kappa statistics to be 0.93 (95% CI 086–1.00).Results

 The checklist assessment tool has acceptable interrater reliability and ability to distinguish performance at differing levels of competence. We propose this tool as a valuable component in the assessment of USGPIV access, and we hope this article serves as a roadmap for other educators to create similar assessment tools.Conclusions
Resident Exposure to Peripheral Nerve Surgical Procedures During Residency Training
Authors: Gil Joseph A , Daniels Alan H , Akelman Edward
Published: March 2016

Variability in case exposures has been identified for orthopaedic surgery residents. It is not known if this variability exists for peripheral nerve procedures.Background

 The objective of this study was to assess ACGME case log data for graduating orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, general surgery, and neurological surgery residents for peripheral nerve surgical procedures and to evaluate intraspecialty and interspecialty variability in case volume.Objective

 Surgical case logs from 2009 to 2014 for the 4 specialties were compared for peripheral nerve surgery experience. Peripheral nerve case volume between specialties was performed utilizing a paired t test, 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and linear regression was calculated to assess the trends.Methods

 The average number of peripheral nerve procedures performed per graduating resident was 54.2 for orthopaedic surgery residents, 62.8 for independent plastic surgery residents, 84.6 for integrated plastic surgery residents, 22.4 for neurological surgery residents, and 0.4 for surgery residents. Intraspecialty comparison of the 10th and 90th percentile peripheral nerve case volume in 2012 revealed remarkable variability in training. There was a 3.9-fold difference within orthopaedic surgery, a 5.0-fold difference within independent plastic surgery residents, an 8.8-fold difference for residents from integrated plastic surgery programs, and a 7.0-fold difference within the neurological surgery group.Results

 There is interspecialty and intraspecialty variability in peripheral nerve surgery volume for orthopaedic, plastic, neurological, and general surgery residents. Caseload is not the sole determinant of training quality as mentorship, didactics, case breadth, and complexity play an important role in training.Conclusions
The effect of feeding system on slaughter-carcass characteristics, meat quality, and fatty acid composition of lambs
Authors: Karaca Serhat , Yılmaz Ayhan , Kor Aşkın , Bingöl Mehmet , Cavidoğlu İsa , Ser Gazel
Published: March 2016

Abstract. In this study, we aimed to determine the slaughter-carcass characteristics, meat quality, and fatty acid composition in lambs raised under intensive and extensive conditions. The animal material consisted of 30 Norduz male lambs, with an average age of 171 days. The lambs were divided into two groups: concentrate-fed lambs (CO) and pasture-fed lambs (PS). The results showed that the CO lambs had heavier carcasses (p< 0.001), a higher dressing percentage (p< 0.001), and higher intramuscular fat (p< 0.01) than the PS lambs. It was determined that the longissimus thoracis muscle of the CO lambs had a lower ultimate pH and higher L* and water-holding capacity than the PS lambs. In this study, intramuscular fat (longissimus thoracis, semimembranosus, triceps brachii), subcutaneous and tail fat samples were used to evaluate the effect of feeding system on fatty acid composition. The polyunsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid ratio (PUFA ∕ SFA) of intramuscular fat was found to be significantly higher in the CO group than in the PS lambs, while similar subcutaneous and tail fat results were found in both groups. Moreover, the PS lambs had a lower n6 ∕ n3 ratio and higher percentage of omega-3 than the CO lambs in all tissues studied (p< 0.05). Overall, the CO lambs have heavier and fattier carcasses with better meat quality traits than the PS lambs. However, the effects of feeding system have varying results based on the fatty acid composition of different types of fat deposits.
Evaluation and application of multi-decadal visibility data for trend analysis of atmospheric haze
Authors: Li Chi , Martin Randall V. , Boys Brian L. , van Donkelaar Aaron , Ruzzante Sacha
Published: March 2016

Abstract. There are few multi-decadal observations of atmospheric aerosols worldwide. This study applies global hourly visibility (Vis) observations at more than 3000 stations to investigate historical trends in atmospheric haze over 1945–1996 for the US, and over 1973–2013 for Europe and eastern Asia. A comprehensive data screening and processing framework is developed and applied to minimize uncertainties and construct monthly statistics of inverse visibility (1/Vis). This data processing includes removal of relatively clean cases with high uncertainty, and change point detection to identify and separate methodological discontinuities such as the introduction of instrumentation. Although the relation between 1/Vis and atmospheric extinction coefficient (bext) varies across different stations, spatially coherent trends of the screened 1/Vis data exhibit consistency with the temporal evolution of collocated aerosol measurements, including the bext trend of −2.4 % yr−1 (95 % CI: −3.7, −1.1 % yr−1) vs. 1/Vis trend of −1.6 % yr−1 (95 % CI: −2.4, −0.8 % yr−1) over the US for 1989–1996, and the fine aerosol mass (PM2.5) trend of −5.8 % yr−1 (95 % CI: −7.8, −4.2 % yr−1) vs. 1/Vis trend of −3.4 % yr−1 (95 % CI: −4.4, −2.4 % yr−1) over Europe for 2006–2013. Regional 1/Vis and Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions are significantly correlated over the eastern US for 1970–1995 (r = 0.73), over Europe for 1973–2008 (r ∼ 0.9) and over China for 1973–2008 (r ∼ 0.9). Consistent "reversal points" from increasing to decreasing in SO2 emission data are also captured by the regional 1/Vis time series (e.g., late 1970s for the eastern US, early 1980s for western Europe, late 1980s for eastern Europe, and mid 2000s for China). The consistency of 1/Vis trends with other in situ measurements and emission data demonstrates promise in applying these quality assured 1/Vis data for historical air quality studies.
Interpreting the ultraviolet aerosol index observed with the OMI satellite instrument to understand absorption by organic aerosols: implications for atmospheric oxidation and direct radiative effects
Authors: Hammer Melanie S. , Martin Randall V. , van Donkelaar Aaron , Buchard Virginie , Torres Omar , Ridley David A. , Spurr Robert J. D.
Published: March 2016

Abstract. Satellite observations of the ultraviolet aerosol index (UVAI) are sensitive to absorption of solar radiation by aerosols; this absorption affects photolysis frequencies and radiative forcing. We develop a global simulation of the UVAI using the 3-D chemical transport model GEOS-Chem coupled with the Vector Linearized Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer model (VLIDORT). The simulation is applied to interpret UVAI observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) for the year 2007. Simulated and observed values are highly consistent in regions where mineral dust dominates the UVAI, but a large negative bias (−0.32 to −0.97) exists between simulated and observed values in biomass burning regions. We determine effective optical properties for absorbing organic aerosol, known as brown carbon (BrC), and implement them into GEOS-Chem to better represent observed UVAI values over biomass burning regions. The inclusion of absorbing BrC decreases the mean bias between simulated and OMI UVAI values from −0.57 to −0.09 over West Africa in January, from −0.32 to +0.0002 over South Asia in April, from −0.97 to −0.22 over southern Africa in July, and from −0.50 to +0.33 over South America in September. The spectral dependence of absorption after including BrC in the model is broadly consistent with reported observations for biomass burning aerosol, with absorbing Ångström exponent (AAE) values ranging from 2.9 in the ultraviolet (UV) to 1.3 across the UV–Near IR spectrum. We assess the effect of the additional UV absorption by BrC on atmospheric photochemistry by examining tropospheric hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations in GEOS-Chem. The inclusion of BrC decreases OH by up to 30 % over South America in September, up to 20 % over southern Africa in July, and up to 15 % over other biomass burning regions. Global annual mean OH concentrations in GEOS-Chem decrease due to the presence of absorbing BrC, increasing the methyl chloroform lifetime from 5.62 to 5.68 years, thus reducing the bias against observed values. We calculate the direct radiative effect (DRE) of BrC using GEOS-Chem coupled with the radiative transfer model RRTMG (GC-RT). Treating organic aerosol as containing more strongly absorbing BrC changes the global annual mean all-sky top of atmosphere (TOA) DRE by +0.03 W m−2 and all-sky surface DRE by −0.08 W m−2. Regional changes of up to +0.3 W m−2 at TOA and down to −1.5 W m−2 at the surface are found over major biomass burning regions.
Size-resolved aerosol composition at an urban and a rural site in the Po Valley in summertime: implications for secondary aerosol formation
Authors: Sandrini S. , van Pinxteren D. , Giulianelli L. , Herrmann H. , Poulain L. , Facchini M. C. , Gilardoni S. , Rinaldi M. , Paglione M. , Turpin B. J. , Pollini F. , Zanca N. , Decesari S.
Published: March 2016

Abstract. The aerosol size-segregated chemical composition was analyzed at an urban (Bologna) and a rural site (San Pietro Capofiume) in the Po Valley, Italy, during June and July 2012, to investigate sources and mechanisms of secondary aerosol formation during the summer. A significant enhancement of secondary organic and inorganic aerosol mass was observed under anticyclonic conditions with recirculation of planetary boundary layer air, but with substantial differences between the urban and the rural site. The data analysis, including a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the size-resolved dataset of chemical concentrations, indicated that the photochemical oxidation of inorganic and organic gaseous precursors was an important mechanism of secondary aerosol formation at both sites. In addition at the rural site a second formation process, explaining the largest fraction (22 %) of the total variance, was active at night-time, especially under stagnant conditions. Nocturnal chemistry in the rural Po Valley was associated with the formation of ammonium nitrate in large accumulation mode (0.42–1.2 µm) aerosols favored by local thermodynamic conditions (higher relative humidity and lower temperature compared to the urban site). Nocturnal concentrations of fine nitrate were, in fact, on average five times higher at the rural site than in Bologna. The water uptake by this highly hygroscopic compound under high RH conditions provided the medium for increased nocturnal aerosol uptake of water soluble organic gases and possibly also for aqueous chemistry, as revealed by the shifting of peak concentrations of secondary compounds (WSOC and sulfate) toward the large accumulation mode (0.42–1.2 µm). Contrarily, the diurnal production of WSOC (proxy for secondary organic aerosol) by photochemistry was similar at the two sites but mostly affected the small accumulation mode of particles (0.14–0.42 µm) in Bologna, while a shift to larger accumulation mode was observed at the rural site. A significant increment in carbonaceous aerosol concentration (for both WSOC and WINC) at the urban site was recorded mainly in the size range 0.05–0.14 µm indicating a direct influence of traffic emissions on the mass concentrations of quasi-ultrafine particles.
Current estimates of biogenic emissions from Eucalypts uncertain for Southeast Australia
Authors: Emmerson K. M. , Galbally I. E. , Guenther A. B. , Paton-Walsh C. , Guerette E.-A. , Cope M. E. , Keywood M. D. , Lawson S. J. , Molloy S. B. , Dunne E. , Thatcher M. , Karl T. , Maleknia S. D.
Published: March 2016

Abstract. The biogenic emissions of isoprene and monoterpenes are one of the main drivers of atmospheric photochemistry, including oxidant and secondary organic aerosol production. In this paper, the emission rates of isoprene and monoterpenes from Australian vegetation are investigated for the first time using the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature version 2.1 (MEGANv2.1), the CSIRO chemical transport model, and atmospheric observations of isoprene, monoterpenes and isoprene oxidation products (methacrolein and methyl-vinyl-ketone). Observations from four field campaigns during three different seasons are used, covering urban, coastal suburban and inland forest areas. The observed concentrations of isoprene and monoterpenes were of a broadly similar magnitude, which may indicate that southeast Australia holds an unusual position where neither chemical species dominates. The model results overestimate the observed atmospheric concentrations of isoprene (up to a factor of 6) and underestimate the monoterpene concentrations (up to a factor of 4). This may occur because the emission rates currently used in MEGANv2.1 for Australia are drawn mainly from young Eucalypt trees (< 7 years), which may emit more isoprene than adult trees. There is no single increase/decrease factor for the emissions which suits all seasons and conditions studied. There is a need for further field measurements of in-situ isoprene and monoterpene emission fluxes in Australia.
Thermo-erosion gullies boost the transition from wet to mesic tundra vegetation
Authors: Perreault Naïm , Lévesque Esther , Fortier Daniel , Lamarque Laurent J.
Published: March 2016

Abstract. Continuous permafrost zones with well-developed polygonal ice-wedge networks are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Thermo-mechanical erosion can initiate the development of gullies that lead to substantial drainage of adjacent wet habitats. How vegetation responds to this particular disturbance is currently unknown but has the potential to significantly disrupt function and structure of Arctic ecosystems. Focusing on three major gullies of Bylot Island, Nunavut, we estimated the impacts of thermo-erosion processes on plant community changes. We explored over 2 years the influence of environmental factors on plant species richness, abundance and biomass in 62 low-centered wet polygons, 87 low-centered disturbed polygons and 48 mesic environment sites. Gullying decreased soil moisture by 40 % and thaw-front depth by 10 cm in the center of breached polygons within less than 5 years after the inception of ice wedge degradation, entailing a gradual yet marked vegetation shift from wet to mesic plant communities within 5 to 10 years. This transition was accompanied by a five times decrease in graminoid above-ground biomass. Soil moisture and thaw-front depth changed almost immediately following gullying initiation as they were of similar magnitude between older (> 5 years) and recently (< 5 years) disturbed polygons. In contrast, there was a lag-time in vegetation response to the altered physical environment with plant species richness and biomass differing between the two types of disturbed polygons. To date (10 years after disturbance), the stable state of the mesic environment cover has not been fully reached yet. Our results illustrate that wetlands are highly vulnerable to thermo-erosion processes, which drive landscape transformation on a relative short period of time for High Arctic perennial plant communities (5 to 10 years). Such succession towards mesic plant communities can have substantial consequences on the food availability for herbivores and carbon emissions of Arctic ecosystems.
Quantifying the effect of sea level rise and flood defence – a point process perspective on coastal flood damage
Authors: Boettle M. , Rybski D. , Kropp J. P.
Published: February 2016

Abstract. In contrast to recent advances in projecting sea levels, estimations about the economic impact of sea level rise are vague. Nonetheless, they are of great importance for policy making with regard to adaptation and greenhouse-gas mitigation. Since the damage is mainly caused by extreme events, we propose a stochastic framework to estimate the monetary losses from coastal floods in a confined region. For this purpose, we follow a Peak-over-Threshold approach employing a Poisson point process and the Generalised Pareto Distribution. By considering the effect of sea level rise as well as potential adaptation scenarios on the involved parameters, we are able to study the development of the annual damage. An application to the city of Copenhagen shows that a doubling of losses can be expected from a mean sea level increase of only 11 cm. In general, we find that for varying parameters the expected losses can be well approximated by one of three analytical expressions depending on the extreme value parameters. These findings reveal the complex interplay of the involved parameters and allow conclusions of fundamental relevance. For instance, we show that the damage typically increases faster than the sea level rise itself. This in turn can be of great importance for the assessment of sea level rise impacts on the global scale. Our results are accompanied by an assessment of uncertainty, which reflects the stochastic nature of extreme events. While the absolute value of uncertainty about the flood damage increases with rising mean sea levels, we find that it decreases in relation to the expected damage.
GIS analysis of effects of future Baltic Sea level rise on the island of Gotland, Sweden
Authors: Ebert Karin , Ekstedt Karin , Jarsjö Jerker
Published: March 2016

Abstract. Future sea level rise as a consequence of global warming will affect the world's coastal regions. Even though the pace of sea level rise is not clear, the consequences will be severe and global. Commonly the effects of future sea level rise are investigated for relatively vulnerable development countries; however, a whole range of varying regions need to be considered in order to improve the understanding of global consequences. In this paper we investigate consequences of future sea level rise along the coast of the Baltic Sea island of Gotland, Sweden, with the aim to fill knowledge gaps regarding comparatively well-suited areas in non-development countries. We study both the quantity of loss of infrastructure, cultural and natural values for the case of a two metre sea level rise of the Baltic Sea, and the effects of climate change on seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers, causing the indirect effect of salt water intrusion in wells. We conduct a multi-criteria risk analysis by using Lidar data on land elevation and GIS-vulnerability mapping, which gives formerly unimaginable precision in the application of distance and elevation parameters. We find that in case of a 2 m sea level rise, 3 % of the land area of Gotland, corresponding to 99 km2, will be inundated. The features most strongly affected are items of touristic or nature values, including camping places, shore meadows, sea stack areas, and endangered plants and species habitats. In total, 231 out of 7354 wells will be directly inundated, and the number of wells in the high-risk zone for saltwater intrusion in wells will increase considerably. Some values will be irreversibly lost due to e.g. inundation of sea stacks and the passing of tipping points for sea water intrusion into coastal aquifers; others might simply be moved further inland, but this requires considerable economic means and prioritization. With nature tourism being one of the main income sources of Gotland, monitoring and planning is required to meet the changes. Seeing Gotland in a global perspective, this island shows that holistic multi-feature studies of future consequences of sea level rise are required, to identify overall consequences for individual regions.
Brief Communication: Upper-air relaxation in RACMO2 significantly improves modelled interannual surface mass balance variability in Antarctica
Authors: van de Berg Willem Jan , Medley Brooke
Published: March 2016

Abstract. The Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO2) has been a powerful tool for improving surface mass balance (SMB) estimates from GCMs or reanalyses. However, new yearly SMB observations for West Antarctica show that the modelled interannual variability in SMB is poorly simulated by RACMO2, in contrast to ERA-Interim, which resolves this variability well. In an attempt to remedy RACMO2 performance, we included additional upper-air relaxation (UAR) in RACMO2. With UAR, the correlation to observations is similar for RACMO2 and ERA-Interim. The spatial SMB patterns and ice-sheet-integrated SMB modelled using UAR remain very similar to the estimates of RACMO2 without UAR. We only observe an upstream smoothing of precipitation in regions with very steep topography like the Antarctic Peninsula. We conclude that UAR is a useful improvement for regional climate model simulations, although results in regions with steep topography should be treated with care.
The cycle of student and staff wellbeing: Emotional labour and extension requests in Higher Education. A Practice Report
Authors: Abery Elizabeth , Shipman Gunson Jessica
Published: March 2016

This paper suggests that the sociological theory of emotional labour is a useful way to interpret how teaching practices in Higher Education often involve the simultaneous management of both staff and student wellbeing. This paper applies Berry and Cassidy’s Higher Education Emotional Labour model (2013) to the management of extension requests. We put forward a case study of processing a significant number of extension requests in a short space of time in a large, first year Health Sciences topic. We consider the responsibilities and risks for staff and students in this scenario, and ponder the implications for future practice and pedagogy. We argue that student and staff wellbeing must always be considered as interrelated, and that academic administrative procedures need to be developed with this mind.
A Survey on the Level of Organization Agility and Proposition of a Comprehensive Model (the Case of Nir Pars Company)
Authors: Moshki Mitra Kooche , Teimouri Hadi
Published: February 2016

Rapid developments in present age on the one hand, and the conditions prevailing national firms and presence in the international arena on the other hand requires considering necessary strategies to compete in the global arena. In order to survive in this competitive era, organizations must think about reducing response times and improving flexibility in performing tasks. Doing so requires the creation of entirely new form of organization. On this basis, moving an enterprise towards agility as a new approach in the path to change is vital.The purpose of this article is to explore the level of organization agility and propose a comprehensive model for Nir Pars Company. This is an applied, descriptive-correlation research, conducted by survey methodology. A collection of 400 experts and managers of different organizational levels of Nir Company were chosen as the statistical population of the study and a batch of 240 persons were chosen by simple random sampling. Library method was used for data gathering to form the theoretical foundations of the research, and we used our own questionnaire to confirm or refute the research hypotheses; which has the required reliability and validity (Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.964). To explore the relationships between the elements of the Model, factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques were used. According to achieved results, the organization agility exceeds 0.80(for all parameters of the model).
The Quest for Workers’ Social Security in the era of Globalized Labour Arrangements: A Synthesis of Labour Studies
Authors: Mukono Danstan
Published: February 2016

 

International social change has generated   scholarly debates on the process and impacts of globalization on the labour arrangement with specific attention to the livelihood of workers. In this review of interdisciplinary research, we put together and review from the labour and social security research papers analysing the trend and dimensions of labour flexibility in the contemporary society and discuss them in a more reflective way to make it available with a purpose of establishing research interests in the sociology of work and social security. We also delineate various forms of social insecurities that are dominant in different organization by drawing evidence from a multiple of studies conducted both from developed and developing countries. Finally, we points out the likely policy implications and recommend that the concern is to address inequalities and determining what socio-economic security forms that are supportive. 
The Impact of Translators’ Epistemological Beliefs and Gender on Their Translation Quality
Authors: Araghizade Elmira , Jadidi Esmaeil
Published: March 2016

This study aimed to determine the relationship between translators’ epistemological beliefs and gender on their Persian-to- English translation quality. To do so, a group of 53 MA translation students both male and female were selected, through convenient sampling to participate in this study. For data collection two instruments were employed: 1- Epistemic Beliefs Inventory (EBI) 2- Translation Test including a piece of poem. Regression analysis was also conducted to explore the interaction of epistemological beliefs and gender of translators on their translation quality. The findings indicated that there is no significant relationship between the components of epistemological beliefs and translation quality, except in one case that QL (quick learning) has a negative relationship with translation scores. Translators’ gender significantly affects the translation quality. An implication of the results is that males translate significantly better than females regarding the quality of translation. The interaction of translators’ epistemological beliefs and gender significantly affect the translation quality.
The Effect of Implementing Knowledge Management System in Supplier Selection Content to Improve Learning Performance of Online Travel Agencies Staff
Authors: Ariya Pakinee , Chakpitak Nopasit , Sureepong Pradorn
Published: February 2016

Supplier selection knowledge of OTAs businesses is one of the most valuable and significant knowledge since OTAs now operate businesses that gain their benefits from having many kinds of tourism products and services for customers to browse from in their own online booking systems. The better the suppliers, the more successful will OTAs be. The knowledge in supplier selection is, therefore, relayed through manuals, mentoring and coaching. After that there has been a creation of knowledge management systems to be used as a media to pass on the knowledge via online means. The knowledge contents presented are retention and transfer knowledge. To evaluate the efficiency of using Knowledge Management System (KMS), the research has provided a study in increased learning performances of related staff in supplier selection who have learned through the KMS system. The result found that the group that learned through KMS gained higher learning performances than the one who learned from documents. This reflects that the KMS system will suitable to be used as a tool in knowledge management and can be relayed to organizations in this present time.
The Undesirable Behaviors of Students in Academic Classrooms, and the Discipline Strategies Used by Faculty Members to Control Such Behaviors from the Perspective of the College of Education Students in King Saud University
Authors: Al Qahtani Norah Saad Sultan
Published: February 2016

This study aimed to identify the undesirable students’ behaviors in academic classrooms, and the disciplinary, preventive and therapeutic strategies that will be used by faculty members to control those behaviors from the perspective of the College of Education’s students in King Saud University. The results of the study has shown that the undesirable behavior in academic classrooms that strongly apply to the sample are: cheating and plagiarism regarding homework and research, replying with a rude manners, using cell phones, side talking, and arriving late to lectures. And in regards to the discipline strategies that are used by faculty members, which strongly apply to the sample, and are related to co-educational assets, are: submitting a detailed plan at the beginning of the semester, establishing clear and concise discipline rules in the classroom and strictly follow them, explaining the consequences of not following the classroom discipline rules, treating students with respect and without mockery or embarrassment, and maintaining eye contact. In addition, the therapeutic disciplinary strategies are: giving a first notice to the student to remind him or her of the discipline rules, asking the student calmly but strictly to stop the undesirable behavior. The study has come up with a number of recommendations and suggestions.
Teaching Presence Influencing Online Students’ Course Satisfaction at an Institution of Higher Education
Authors: M. N. Mohd Khalid , Quick Don
Published: February 2016

This paper discusses the association between online students’ interaction through the Learning Management System (LMS) discussion forum and their reported course satisfaction. The participants in the study reported here were selected from several faculties in one university in Malaysia who were enrolled in at least one hybrid or fully online course. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, its instrument and satisfaction scale were employed in this study via a Qualtrics online survey. Teaching presence in the CoI was used to find out how strong it correlated with students’ course satisfaction. The results showed that both variables were significantly positively associated with each other; indicating that students who enjoyed a relatively high teaching presence in online discussions were very likely to report higher course satisfaction.
Psychometric Properties of a Digital Citizenship Questionnaire
Authors: Nordin Mohamad Sahari , Ahmad Tunku Badariah Tunku , Zubairi Ainol Madziah , Ismail Nik Ahmad Hisham , Rahman Abdul Hamid Abdul , Trayek Fuad A. A. , Ibrahim Mohd Burhan
Published: February 2016

The purpose of this study was twofold, i.e. to examine the extent to which students’ self-reported use of digital technology constituted meaningful and interpretable dimensions of the digital citizenship construct, and to test the adequacy of the construct in terms of its reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and measurement equivalence for male and female students. The sample consisted of 391 undergraduates from 15 institutions of higher education in Malaysia. The data were collected using a self-reported 17-item questionnaire measuring university students’ digital citizenship behaviours. The results of the study supported and extended the results of previous work on students’ behaviors when using digital technology. The study found evidence that students’ digital citizenship is a valid and reliable multidimensional construct, and the measurement is gender-invariant. The findings are useful in making evidence-informed decisions in choosing and developing instructional interventions to produce ethical and responsible technology users, and in informing future research in the area.
Student Science Teachers’ Ideas about the Degradation of Ecosystems
Authors: Cardak Osman , Dikmenli Musa
Published: February 2016

The aim of this research is to investigate student science teachers’ opinions about the causes of degradation of ecosystems and the effects of such degradations on the environment. This research focuses on the following questions: What kind of descriptions do student science teachers ascribe to the reasons of degradation in ecosystems? What are the effects of ecosystem degradations on the environment? What are the misconceptions in relation to degradations in ecosystems? A total of 130 participating students, who were studying to become science teachers at Faculty of Education of Necmettin Erbakan University in Turkey, participated in this study. To reveal the participating students’ opinions about the reasons for degradations in ecosystems and their effects on the environment, they were asked to answer two open questions: (1) What are the reasons for degradations in ecosystems? (2) What are the effects of degradations in ecosystems on the environment? The participants were asked to answer these two questions. Data obtained from the questions were analyzed and the frequencies of the answers were classified in different categories. Moreover, these included some misconceptions such as ‘the greenhouse effect can lead to skin cancer’ and ‘ozone layer depletion leads to global warming’. The findings are compared with related literature and suggestions are presented.
Fiscal Decentralisation and Economic Development in Nigeria: The Role of Democratic Institution
Authors: Adefeso Hammed A. , Abioro Tunde A.
Published: February 2016

It is a time series analysis that investigates on the role of democratic institution in the relationship between fiscal decentralisation and economic development in Nigeria. The trend analysis clearly showed that sub-national expenditure is higher than sub-national revenue in Nigeria. The federally allocated expenditures to sub-national is far more than its corresponding allocated revenue in Nigeria and this becomes manifest from the year 1999 when the nation returned to civil rule up till 2014 under the administration of a dominant political party known as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Using multiple regression analysis, the empirical results revealed 1% increase in expenditure decentralisation and revenue decentralisation would retard economic performance by 11% and 21% respectively when democratic institution index is included as explanatory variable. The impact of democratic institution in the relationship between fiscal decentralisation and economic performance in Nigeria is however, weak, positive and statistically insignificant in Nigeria as 100% increase in expenditure decentralisation and revenue decentralisation only yield 4% and 5% economic performance respectively in Nigeria. This has resulted to a wide spread level of corruption in Nigeria among bureaucrats and politicians. The study therefore advocates for a strong government institution that will be transparent, accountable and also respect the rule of law for sustainability, effectiveness and timely service delivery.
Reviewer Acknowledgements for Journal of Politics and Law, Vol. 9, No. 1
Authors: Sheng Vivian
Published: February 2016

Reviewer acknowledgements for Journal of Politics and Law, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2016.
Legal Capacities of the Dayton Constitution in the Process of Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to European Union
Authors: Begic Zlatan
Published: February 2016

The central part of this paper is concerned with the possibilities of the Dayton Constitution in the process of accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to European Union. At the first place, this paper contains an analysis of the legal power of the general principles of international law in the constitutional system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in particular, the pacta sunt servanda principle which has significant importance, in legal sense, for implementation obligations deriving from the international agreements related to European integration. In this regard, it should be emphasized that Article III/3b of the BH Constitution implicitly refers to the obligatory implementation of the aforementioned principles. In terms of commitments deriving from the European integration process, this paper also includes an analysis of the other constitutional possibilities for harmonization entity legislation and establishment integrated state frame and functional unified single market on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Superficies Right in the Light of the Romanian Land Law
Authors: Popoviciu Gabriela A.
Published: February 2016

The present study attempts to bring in front that issue of persons who even they are not owning the land, they received a right of use on it and, therefore, have raised different buildings (houses for living, for example), or make some investments (like vineyards, orchards, and so on) on that land. In this context, we will try to look into our national regulations in this matter, because the way in which Romanian Land Law (no. 18/1991 republished) was enforced, raised and continues to raise problems in front of trial proceeding courts, which are comparing with new and complex judicial situations. One of this is about the case that persons who were reconstituted property right and they came into contact with realities already existing, as result to a former judicial document perfectly legal at that time.
Immunity of International Organizations from the Perspective of International Law
Authors: Mihandoost Fatemeh
Published: February 2016

The purpose of this study is to identify the international immunity and its type. We also sought to evaluate the immunity of international organizations from the perspective of international law in this study. International organizations have immunity in the implementation of their programs and tasks. In fact, one of the principles of public international law is immunity that prevents the presence of a foreign state in state courts. In some cases, there is a possibility of cancellation of immunity and in other cases withdrawal of immunity is derived from a political mission. These cases include accepting to solve the commercial dispute through arbitration because contrary to the authority of the state judge, judgment to address the dispute is not one of the government figures; therefore, government summoned to court of arbitration is not considered as a violation of state sovereignty. In practice, immunity has changed over the time. In other words, immunity has been modified over time. Research method used in this article is a review of the literature and interviews with experts who examine and compare the rules and regulations and the existing notes at home and abroad, about the immunity of international organizations. In the current situation, international general discipline is contrary to this subject that the government or organization holding immunity, while being aware of that, definitely accepts the condition of turning to a referee, which attracts the other party’s confidence, and then refers to immunity in some stage of inspection or while implementing the sentence. The legal concept of immunity, in general, is the sense that its owner is immune from prosecution, law enforcement, and government officials and they will not be able to chase the holder of such immunity.
Building Goodwill through Soft Power: An Analysis of China’s Reputation in Sri Lanka
Authors: Rajapakshe R. D. P. Sampath
Published: February 2016

Many researchers find out that impacted the types of Chinese foreign policy starting in the mid-1990s. However, Chinese foreign policymakers presented "New Grand Strategy" for the 21st century in the mid-1990s. This strategy exceptionally intended to advance and keep up China's image in the abroad. On the other hand, Policy observers contend introducing of the South Asian region that deliberately essential to emerging China. In addition, Chinese vicinity in Sri Lanka that verbalized by policy observers numerous ways. These contentions express that China's soft power in Sri Lanka that ought to be an extraordinary choice in Chinese policy arrangement. This article investigates current appearance of China's goodwill agenda inspecting two strains of Chinese policy in Sri Lanka that breaking point to observe foreign aid and the Confucius institute that lead the Peoples' Republic of China in 2000s. The paper additionally assesses the achievement of this alleged soft power crusade in Sri Lanka utilizing a worldwide overview to figure out whether the new introduction associates with changed Sri Lankan conclusions about China. This article assesses the adequacy of these endeavors by breaking down public opinion survey accumulated by the Gallup surveying in 2011. Information utilized for this article has been gathered from a substantial number of books, periodicals, magazines, journals. My findings demonstrate that the goodwill agenda has been fruitful at enhancing China's reputation in Sri Lanka.
Islam's Attitude towards Democracy Comparative Study in International Human Rights Law
Authors: Al-Fatlawi Suhail Hussein
Published: February 2016

Democracy was established in the Greek cities in the fifth century B.C. It is a liberal western system. In this regard, various Islamic countries applied democracy as a political and legal system where the people elect their representatives in the legislative authority in order to put the legal regulations that organize the human behavior.
The research included a brief idea about liberal democracy, its history and objectives, the political and legal system in the Islamic state, the dispute among Muslim scholars on the application of democracy in the Islamic states; some Muslim scholars refuse to apply democracy since the legal system in Islam relies on the Holly Qor'an and the Prophet's speeches, which are a biding regulation for Muslims, while other authors believe that Islam accepts democracy and others think that Islam should have its special democracy that differs from the liberal democracy. This paper discussed the political and legal systems that were applied the Islamic state during the history of Islam. Finally the paper presented the most conclusions and recommendations reached by the researcher.
State-Building, Power-Sharing Discourse, and Political Autonomy of Minorities within Ethno-Nationalist Gloom in Sri Lanka
Authors: Yusoff Mohammad Agus , Sarjoon Athambawa , Abdul Wahab Abd Rashid
Published: February 2016

Positioning minority concerns within a power-sharing mechanism is a key issue that has been influential in Sri Lanka’s modern state-building process experimented from the later part of the colonial period. Throughout the post-independent era, most state-building projects were critically debated with regard to sharing political autonomy between the majority Sinhalese and the minorities. This study attempts to locate the claims and concerns of minorities seeking political autonomy in Sri Lanka’s state-building and power-sharing discourse. The study found that the state-building process in Sri Lanka has always been a struggle between establishing a majoritarian-ethno-nationalist hegemonic state system and preserving the right of minority ethnic groups to political power-sharing. The study further found that (a) insufficient emphasis given towards understanding power-sharing and federalism as a means to accommodate diverse interests and rights, including the political autonomy rights of minorities, (b) the opportunistic politics of opposition parties, and (c) the ethno-nationalist agenda of the majority Sinhalese were the major factors that have induced to undermine the minorities’ claims for political autonomy. The ultimate result of this is the continuous struggles by minorities to situate their political autonomy demands within Sri Lanka’s state-building and power-sharing discourse.