448 - Euthanasia and Dementia

Background:The practice of assisted dying is increasingly being discussed in a growing number of countries and is progressively regarded as a last-resort option for those suffering from severe and irreversible diseases. Recently, euthanasia in patients with psychiatric disorders and dementia has taken a prominent place in the public debate, since little is known about the prevalence and practice of euthanasia in these particular cases. Remaining a controversial subject, this study aims to describe the evolution and characteristics in reported euthanasia cases, focusing in dementia patients and the perspective from different countries regarding the nature of suffering, the voluntariness of the request and the role of the physician in the process.Methods:A non-systematic review was performed, searching Pubmed/MEDLINE and Google Scholar for articles using the keywords dementia, euthanasia and assisted dying. Resultant articles were cross-referenced for other relevant articles not identified in the initial search.Results:Physicians consider less likely to perform euthanasia in patients with dementia, compared to patients with a severe and life-limiting somatic illness such as cancer. Both physicians and members of the general public acknowledge difficulties in the assessment of the voluntariness of the request and the extent of suffering of patients with advanced dementia, considering that communication is compromised. While euthanasia on the grounds of unbearable suffering caused by dementia remains a comparatively limited practice, its prevalence has risen and is related to loss of dignity or the knowledge that the lasting memory of their loved ones will be of the decomposed version of oneself.Conclusions:It is likely that the number of euthanasia requests from patients suffering from dementia and/or accumulation of health problems related to old age will continue to grow. The question of how policy makers and care providers should respond to these requests is, therefore, highly relevant, as welll as the development of practice guidelines, if medical staff is to respond adequately to these delicate requests.

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Digital Divide Challenge

Global Information Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-939-7.ch104 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 1431-1439

Author(s):

Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou ◽

Anastasia Pouloudi

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Technology Diffusion ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Normative Perspective

Following an initial euphoria about the power of the information superhighway to provide better access to information and wealth for all, what we have experienced in reality instead is that information and communication technologies have created further inequalities at individual, business, national and international level. To ease the effects of this “digital divide,” policy makers have taken up the role of change agencies, influencing the public in using innovative information technologies. This chapter focuses on the role of these change agencies for technology diffusion and the elimination of the digital divide. It is argued that examining the interest of change agencies and the other stakeholders involved in the diffusion process from a normative perspective can help in the preparation of effective information technology diffusion policies.

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A Place for Immigrants in the Ghetto: The Rise and Fall of the NaunynRitze Youth Centre

Space and Culture ◽

10.1177/1206331218757662 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 369-386 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Serhat Güney ◽

Bülent Kabaş ◽

Fatih Çömlekçi

Keyword(s):

Immigrant Youth ◽

Social Engineering ◽

Youth Work ◽

Artistic Development ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

The Social ◽

Youth Centre

In this work, we attempt to examine the role of strategies like arts sponsorship and culturalism in the solution of immigrant youth issues around a specific immigrant place. This is a case study that focuses on the NaunynRitze Youth Centre in Berlin-Kreuzberg, which was presented as a successful example by policy makers and the public in the 1990s when the footsteps of the crisis of multiculturalism had begun to be heard in Germany. Our research shows that the social engineering strategies shaped around a multikulti production base are not permanent or sustainable as long as these institutions are also given the responsibility of eliminating the cycle of crime and violence in addition to promote individual artistic development and subcultural entities. As long as political figures and the public opinion continue to generally see the immigrant youth as a danger to the secure and untarnished development of society, it does not appear possible for the multiculturalism and the immigrant youth work system to develop.

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The Role of Media and Communication in Improving the Use of Drugs and Other Technologies

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care ◽

10.1017/s0266462300010539 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 71-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Chitr Sitthi-amorn ◽

Jintana Ngamvithayapongse

Keyword(s):

Health Care Providers ◽

Effective Communication ◽

Regulatory Agencies ◽

Care Providers ◽

Advertising Agencies ◽

Target Groups ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Rational Choices ◽

Media And Communication

AbstractPolicy makers, health care providers, and the general public need valid information about the benefits and harmful effects of drugs and technologies to be able to make rational choices in their acquisition, distribution, and use. Effective communication is important for quality choices of drugs and other technologies. In effective communication, the choice of messages and media must correspond to the culture and beliefs of the target groups to make them comprehend and adopt the conclusions. Messages must be presented on a regular basis. Most regulatory agencies do not have enough resources to mount effective communication programs. Private advertising agencies and other stakeholders have definite roles. Valid knowledge must be the basis of dialogues to reduce emotional disputes among various benefit groups in society.

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Mitigating building collapse in Nigeria

ARTEKS Jurnal Teknik Arsitektur ◽

10.30822/arteks.v5i3.596 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 449-458

Author(s):

Williams Barnabas Qurix ◽

Rahila Gugule Doshu

Keyword(s):

Secondary Data ◽

Primary Data ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Building Collapse ◽

The Public ◽

For Profit ◽

Previous Decade ◽

Building Information ◽

Engineering Designs

The past ten years (2010- 2020), an overwhelming number of buildings (forty-eight) have collapsed in Nigerian urban cities, with about 77% rise from the previous decade. To address this menace, the study aimed at exploring major causes of building collapse in Nigeria as perceived by building industry professionals, policy makers and the public; with a view of establishing effective ways for mitigation. The primary data were obtained from Questionnaires and field observations while secondary data were obtained from textbooks, Journal articles and newspapers. The results revealed that factors such as change of use for building without following professional protocols is a major cause of building collapse. Poor supervision or lack of supervision by qualified professionals; substandard materials, structural failure; government controlling agency not monitoring projects and standards are compromised, a significant amount (27.7%) of collapse cases recorded during constructions. Other factors include faulty architectural and engineering designs; clients not ready to pay for quality jobs and contractors cut corners for profit. The study recommends use of Building Information Modelling to predict behaviour of buildings under various loading and environmental conditions. Also, only certified professionals should carry out design and supervision of projects. Further research should evaluate the role of technology on existing buildings to check the level of safety for occupants’ in such buildings.

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Historical and Contemporary Laws Related to Forest and Environment with the Perspective of the Role of the Indian Media in Environmental Conservation: A review

10.47363/jmm/2020(2)107 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Kapil Kumar Joshi ◽

Keyword(s):

Vital Role ◽

Environmental Conservation ◽

Colonial Rule ◽

Political Issue ◽

Environmental Laws ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

The Media ◽

Regulatory Measures

This paper attempts to highlight all the forest, wildlife and environmental laws prevailing in India with their brief introduction and the genesis. It portrays a consolidated picture of all such regulatory measures being implemented since the colonial rule in India. Under today’s circumstances, media also plays a vital role in shaping the public opinion over any social, economic and political issue. Media is supposed to be the fourth and a strong pillar of the society and is entrusted with the responsibility of bringing real facts and figures before the public in general and the policy makers and implementers in particular. This paper also aims in educating the media with the prevailing rules, regulations, acts, guidelines and policies related to natural resource management in India and analyzing a symbiotic relationship with the implementers for a wider cause of conservation and sustainable development.

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Media framing of human trafficking

Megatrend revija ◽

10.5937/megrev2101043d ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 43-62

Author(s):

Anđelija Đukić

Keyword(s):

Human Trafficking ◽

Public Attitudes ◽

Sexual Exploitation ◽

Media Framing ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Media Frames ◽

The Public ◽

The Usa ◽

The Media

In recent decades, there has been notably increased engagement of the international community in combating human trafficking, which has also been contributed by the media. The role of the media is reflected in building certain public attitudes and influencing political decision-making. Based on the selected literature, the paper considers the media framing of human trafficking from the 1990s to the present. The media decides on how to approach trafficking, content and causes, information sources, generating and presenting alternative solutions process, as well as motivational procedures for initiating actions of the public and politicians, thus creating diagnostic, prognostic and motivational frames. Based on the research, it is concluded that media frames of human trafficking are not holistic but segmental, and instead of a comprehensive approach, stereotypes are presented in which trafficking is identified with sexual exploitation or considered as the consequence of migration or organized crime actions. This harms the victims, makes the identification of all perpetrators difficult, and narrows the focus of the suppression efforts. It is noted that in the relations between the media, the public and the authorities, in the process of creating a policy and implementing solutions for combating, there are significant influences of policy-makers on media framing, and thus on public attitudes, which provides support and legitimacy of current or future political decisions. In order to illustrate the diversity of media representation of human trafficking, as a COM-plex phenomenon and the possibility of different analyses of media framing, the main findings of several studies in the USA, EU, and Serbia are presented.

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Documenting the process of developing the Victorian voluntary assisted dying legislation

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah18172 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (6) ◽

pp. 621 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Margaret M. O'Connor ◽

Roger W. Hunt ◽

Julian Gardner ◽

Mary Draper ◽

Ian Maddocks ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Change Process ◽

Vital Role ◽

Advisory Panel ◽

Assisted Dying ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Australian State ◽

The Social ◽

The World ◽

Legislative Changes

Many countries across the world have legislated for their constituents to have control over their death. Commonalities and differences can be found in the regulations surrounding the shape and practices of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) and euthanasia, including an individual’s eligibility and access, role of health professions and the reporting. In Australia there have been perennial debates across the country to attempt legislative change in assisting a terminally ill person to control the ending of their life. In 2017, Victoria became the first state to successfully legislate for VAD. In describing the Victorian process that led to the passage of legislation for VAD, this paper examines the social change process. The particular focus of the paper is on the vital role played by a multidisciplinary ministerial advisory panel to develop recommendations for the successful legislation, and is written from their perspective. What is known about the topic? VAD has not been legal in an Australian state until legislation passed in Victoria in 2017. What does this paper add? This paper describes how the legislation was developed, as well as the significant consultative and democratic processes required to get the bill to parliament. What are the implications for practitioners? In documenting this process, policy makers and others will have an understanding of the complexities in developing legislation. This information will be useful for other Australian jurisdictions considering similar legislative changes.

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Digital Divide Challenge

Social and Economic Transformation in the Digital Era ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-158-2.ch004 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 47-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou ◽

Athanasia Pouloudi

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Technology Diffusion ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Normative Perspective

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International Days at the United Nations: Expanding the Scope of Diplomatic Histories

Diplomatica ◽

10.1163/25891774-00102007 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 268-290

Author(s):

Monika Baár

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Marketplace Of Ideas ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

The Third ◽

Comprehensive Account ◽

The United Nations

The article argues that more thorough scholarly engagement with the United Nations’ international days has the potential for expanding the scope of diplomatic histories. It first provides a taxonomy of UN years by illuminating their repertoire, dynamics and peculiarities. Next, it discusses instances of how UN days are communicated to the public, emphasizing the role of media and celebrity diplomacy. Subsequently, the article demonstrates the crucial contribution of ngos, policy makers, and professionals who, as “outside-insiders” form the “Third UN.” Lastly, the article advances the argument that in order to obtain a more comprehensive account of UN days, another group of actors should be identified. These are comprised of organizations and individuals who are complete outsiders, but nevertheless contribute to the UN’s “marketplace of ideas” – a group that may be designated the “Fourth UN.”

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THE IMPACT OF INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE ON PAYMENT DYNAMICS: EVIDENCE FROM THE ITALIAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

Journal of Business Economics and Management ◽

10.3846/jbem.2020.13195 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 1285-1306

Author(s):

Greta Falavigna ◽

Roberto Ippoliti

Keyword(s):

Manufacturing Industry ◽

Waiting Times ◽

Firm Dynamics ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Institutional Performance ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

National Economic ◽

The Impact

This work aims to shed new light on the relation between institutional performance and firm dynamics. Considering the Italian manufacturing industry and a panel of 3 years, the authors investigate the relation between the time needed by courts to enforce debtors’ obligations and the time needed by enterprises to repay their debts. In particular, we test the hypothesis that efficiency in settling mortgage foreclosure and bankruptcy cases can affect the creditors’ decision making on judicial disputes. According to our thesis, inordinately long waiting times to enforce credit rights may increase the contractual strength of debtors, further delaying payments. As shown by our results, there is a statistically significant positive relation between the enforcement of debtors’ obligations and the adopted payment index, confirming the key role of the judiciary in the dynamics of firms. Indeed, if the time needed to settle bankruptcy cases decreases by 25%, we can expect the payment index to decrease by 1%; while, focusing on foreclosure cases, we can expect the payment index to decrease by 2%. The policy implications of these results are rather compelling. Policy makers could reform foreclosure and bankruptcy procedures to support national economic growth, without additional burden on the public budget.

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