scholarly journals Societal Need for Interdisciplinary Ageing Research: An International Alliance of Research Universities “Ageing, Longevity and Health” Stream (IARU-ALH) Position Statement

2021 ◽  
pp. 42-47
Author(s):  
Nicolas Cherbuin ◽  
Katsuya Iijima ◽  
Sebastiana Kalula ◽  
Rahul Malhotra ◽  
Lene Juel Rasmussen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Universities ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Position Statement ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
International Alliance ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Solid Foundation ◽  
Global Concern

Ageing is a global concern with major social, health, and economic implications. While individual countries seek to develop responses to immediate, pressing needs, international attention and collaboration is required to most effectively address the multifaceted challenges and opportunities an ageing global population presents in the longer term. The Ageing, Longevity and Health stream of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU-ALH) was built on a solid foundation of first-class interdisciplinary research and on innovative outreach and communication centres. This interdisciplinary network conducts projects that span biology, medicine, social sciences, epidemiology, public health, policy, and demography, and actively engages with the public and other societal stakeholders. Here we posit that such international interdisciplinary networks are needed and uniquely placed to address major challenges related to health and ageing and ultimately will produce new understanding and knowledge to promote the awareness of healthy ageing and encourage societal change via novel, science-informed interventions. Global interdisciplinary research presents great potential and opportunities to accelerate our understanding of human ageing and to produce new, more effective solutions to a pressing, complex problem. However, more focused, strategic efforts and investments are required in order to deliver on these potentials and reap maximum benefits for individuals and societies. IARU-ALH members are determined to contribute, in collaboration with others, to delivering on this vision.

scholarly journals Public and private sectors collective response to combat COVID-19 in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching Siang Tan ◽  
Saim Lokman ◽  
Yao Rao ◽  
Szu Hua Kok ◽  
Long Chiau Ming
Keyword(s):  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Private Hospitals ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Healthcare ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

AbstractOver the last year, the dangerous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread rapidly around the world. Malaysia has not been excluded from this COVID-19 pandemic. The resurgence of COVID-19 cases has overwhelmed the public healthcare system and overloaded the healthcare resources. Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia has adopted an Emergency Ordinance (EO) to instruct private hospitals to receive both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients to reduce the strain on public facilities. The treatment of COVID-19 patients at private hospitals could help to boost the bed and critical care occupancy. However, with the absence of insurance coverage because COVID-19 is categorised as pandemic-related diseases, there are some challenges and opportunities posed by the treatment fees management. Another major issue in the collaboration between public and private hospitals is the willingness of private medical consultants to participate in the management of COVID-19 patients, because medical consultants in private hospitals in Malaysia are not hospital employees, but what are termed “private contractors” who provide patient care services to the hospitals. Other collaborative measures with private healthcare providers, e.g. tele-conferencing by private medical clinics to monitor COVID-19 patients and the rollout of national vaccination programme. The public and private healthcare partnership must be enhanced, and continue to find effective ways to collaborate further to combat the pandemic. The MOH, private healthcare sectors and insurance providers need to have a synergistic COVID-19 treatment plans to ensure public as well as insurance policy holders have equal opportunities for COVID-19 screening tests, vaccinations and treatment.

Autonomous vehicles: a review of the ethical, social and economic implications of the AI revolution

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shweta Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Autonomous Cars ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThere are ethical, legal, social and economic arguments surrounding the subject of autonomous vehicles. This paper aims to discuss some of the arguments to communicate one of the current issues in the rising field of artificial intelligence.Design/methodology/approachMaking use of widely available literature that the author has read and summarised showcasing her viewpoints, the author shows that technology is progressing every day. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are at the forefront of technological advancement today. The manufacture and innovation of new machines have revolutionised our lives and resulted in a world where we are becoming increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence.FindingsTechnology might appear to be getting out of hand, but it can be effectively used to transform lives and convenience.Research limitations/implicationsFrom robotics to autonomous vehicles, countless technologies have and will continue to make the lives of individuals much easier. But, with these advancements also comes something called “future shock”.Practical implicationsFuture shock is the state of being unable to keep up with rapid social or technological change. As a result, the topic of artificial intelligence, and thus autonomous cars, is highly debated.Social implicationsThe study will be of interest to researchers, academics and the public in general. It will encourage further thinking.Originality/valueThis is an original piece of writing informed by reading several current pieces. The study has not been submitted elsewhere.

scholarly journals Setting the Terms for Zoonotic Diseases: Effective Communication for Research, Conservation, and Public Policy

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1356
Author(s):  
Julie Teresa Shapiro ◽  
Luis Víquez-R ◽  
Stefania Leopardi ◽  
Amanda Vicente-Santos ◽  
Ian H. Mendenhall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Zoonotic Diseases ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
The Public ◽  
Key Concepts

Many of the world’s most pressing issues, such as the emergence of zoonotic diseases, can only be addressed through interdisciplinary research. However, the findings of interdisciplinary research are susceptible to miscommunication among both professional and non-professional audiences due to differences in training, language, experience, and understanding. Such miscommunication contributes to the misunderstanding of key concepts or processes and hinders the development of effective research agendas and public policy. These misunderstandings can also provoke unnecessary fear in the public and have devastating effects for wildlife conservation. For example, inaccurate communication and subsequent misunderstanding of the potential associations between certain bats and zoonoses has led to persecution of diverse bats worldwide and even government calls to cull them. Here, we identify four types of miscommunication driven by the use of terminology regarding bats and the emergence of zoonotic diseases that we have categorized based on their root causes: (1) incorrect or overly broad use of terms; (2) terms that have unstable usage within a discipline, or different usages among disciplines; (3) terms that are used correctly but spark incorrect inferences about biological processes or significance in the audience; (4) incorrect inference drawn from the evidence presented. We illustrate each type of miscommunication with commonly misused or misinterpreted terms, providing a definition, caveats and common misconceptions, and suggest alternatives as appropriate. While we focus on terms specific to bats and disease ecology, we present a more general framework for addressing miscommunication that can be applied to other topics and disciplines to facilitate more effective research, problem-solving, and public policy.

scholarly journals From risk charts to guidelines: tools for evaluation and management of cardiovascular risk

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Castello ◽  
Furio Colivicchi ◽  
Mariagrazia Sclavo ◽  
Massimo Uguccioni ◽  
Alberto Genovesi Ebert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Prevention ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Risk Charts

Despite the wide improvement of diagnostic techniques and the introduction of effective pharmacological and instrumental therapeutic strategies aimed to the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, their incidence and lethality are still elevated, with economic implications increasingly less sustainable by the public medical systems. The modern practice of cardiovascular prevention requires, thus, that diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, both at population level and on the single patient, should be more and more precise, effective, and appropriate. From this point of view, a correct global cardiovascular risk stratification assumes a preponderant relevance, in order to allow an adequate therapeutical response. For this purpose several work instruments, as risk charts and guidelines, namely dedicated to arterial hypertension and dyslipidemias, were developed and offered to clinicians interested in cardiovascular prevention. The aim of this review is to illustrate, in synthesis, those instruments, aiming to facilitate their implementation, thus reducing the actual gap between theoretical indications and the real world.

scholarly journals Astronomy Education: an international perspective

1998 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 2-6
Author(s):  
John R. Percy
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Research Universities ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
And Training

Education is important to astronomers because it affects the recruitment and training of future astronomers, and because it affects the awareness, understanding and appreciation of astronomy by taxpayers and politicians who support us. We have an obligation to share the excitement and the significance of our work with students and the public. Education is often neglected by the scientific and professional community - not by us, of course - and by many research universities. Our task is not only to be better astronomy educators ourselves, but to convince and train our students and colleagues to do likewise.

scholarly journals SASOCP position statement on the pharmacist’s role in antibiotic stewardship 2018

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Schellack ◽  
E. Bronkhorst ◽  
R. Coetzee ◽  
B. Godman ◽  
A. G. S. Gous ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Private Hospital ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Position Statement ◽  
African Society ◽  
South African Society ◽  
The Public ◽  
Monitoring Strategies ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Prescribed Medicines

Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed medicines in global healthcare practice today. Their effectiveness is crucial and often life-saving in humanity’s battle against pathogens and infectious diseases. Antibiotic/antimicrobial stewardship strategies and programmes have become vital to the preservation of effective antibiotics and the optimisation of their use. The South African Society of Clinical Pharmacy (SASOCP) has written this guideline to outline the importance, role and purpose of pharmacists in such stewardship programmes, both in the public, as well as the private hospital sectors in South Africa. It also provides an overview of various approaches to antibiotic preservation, behavioural change, stewardship measures, and monitoring strategies.

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