Initial drafting of telemedicine’s code of ethics through a stakeholders’ participatory process

Telemedicine can improve access to healthcare services; however, it has raised ethical concerns demanding special considerations. This study aimed at developing the codes of ethics for telemedicine, and hence several approved national and international ethical guidelines related to telemedicine practice were reviewed, and 48 semi-structured interviews were conducted with medical ethics and medical informatics experts as well as with physicians and patients who had telemedicine experiences. Content analysis was then performed on the interviews’ transcripts and a draft on code of ethics was prepared, which was further reviewed by the experts in the focus group meetings to reach a consensus on the final document. The final document consisted of a preface, five considerations, and 25 ethical statements. Considering the growing trend of adopting telemedicine worldwide, this document provides an ethical framework for those who use telemedicine in their medical practice.

The INTERREG Italy-Croatia Joint_SECAP Project: A Collaborative Approach for Adaptation Planning

With regard to the scientific debate which highlights the potential of joint climate planning, there are few concrete experiences in Europe where this approach has been applied. This contribution focuses on critical methodological and application aspects of the processes underlying the development of Joint Plans for Sustainable Energy and Climate in the supra-municipal area as emerged from the direct participation of the authors in the Joint_SECAP project funded by the Interreg Italia-Croatia programme. This paper presents a comparative analysis of nine case studies in Italy and Croatia with a focus on fundamental aspects of the planning process: the governance model, shared knowledge framework, risk and vulnerability assessment, and participatory process. The analysis and comparison of the Joint_SECAP experiences confirm that joint climate planning, developed in the framework of the European Covenant of Mayors (CoM) initiative, is effective for creating synergy between local authorities and for defining and implementing strategies and actions for adaptation to the territorial scale. Finally, the research indicates some recommendations to overcome the barriers that impede the spread and effectiveness of this approach to climate planning. In particular, it highlights the need to enhance collaboration between local authorities, regions, and CoM coordinators.

SUCCESSION PLANNING AS A CRITICAL MANAGEMENT IMPERATIVE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

This paper conducted a systematic review of succession planning (SP) articles published over the last decade. The Systematic Quantitative Assessment Technique was used to identify 174 SP articles. The review covered five key issues: 1) Time distribution, 2) Geographic distribution, 3) Article type, 4) Data collection methods, and 5) Themes explored. The findings revealed that interest in SP fluctuated over the last decade, and that South America and Oceania were the least represented by SP scholarship. The spread between conceptual and empirical SP articles were skewed towards the former, and survey was the most popular data collection method. Five themes were identified, with the most striking finding being that that if the ‘going concern’ principle of organizations is to be achieved, management must make deliberate efforts to formalize the SP process with the clear understanding that it is a continuous, transparent and participatory process, and thus a crucial management imperative.

Rigenerazione urbana e paesaggio. Il caso di San Severo

The Municipality of San Severo has implemented the Regional Territorial Landscape Plan of Apulia at local level through a participatory process that, with the contribution of literature (poetry in particular), has involved experts, designers, teenagers, as well as associations operating in cultural, social, environmental and productive fields. Through the adaptation of the General Urban Plan to the PPTR, the implementation at local level of the Territorial Projects constituting the Strategic Scenario of the Regional Plan and the improvement of the governance tools aimed at involving the city and the territory, the contents and the methodology of the Mosaic Charter emerged as a strategy of protection and valorisation of the “Mosaic of San Severo”, that aims at identifying the territory.

MCDM Applied to the Evaluation of Transitional and Post-Mining Conditions—An Innovative Perspective Developed through the EIT ReviRIS Project

In mine design and planning, the identification of an appropriate Post-Mining Land Use (PMLU) is necessary and crucial to achieve environmental quality, socio-economic renewal, and social acceptance of mining projects. In this context, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods support decision-makers and stakeholders, identifying the relevant factors and criteria, so that, different available alternatives can be evaluated, compared, and contrasted with each other. With the vision to enable its wide application, 15 mine profiles are identified which, combined with selected MCDM methods and relevant factors, results in a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework for PMLU. In this preliminary framework, the MCDM methods selected are SIMUS, TOPSIS, and SMARTER. They serve different problems and, therefore, are used in different profiles: SIMUS is applied to complex profiles, TOPSIS to the lesser ones, and SMARTER is used due to its capacity of assigning weights to criteria based on Ranking Order Centroid calculations. This preliminary MCDA structure gives the possibility to include the complexity (technical and decisional) and a participatory process, for all stakeholders involved concerning PMLU.

Rungs on a Ladder to Empowerment: Transforming End-user Computing Training in Port Vila, Vanuatu

<p>End-user training in ICT is a question that currently lurks on the outskirts of development activity. The focus of ICT in development is on implementation of the 'machinery' but lacks specific attention in the building of human capacity to drive and maintain this 'machinery'. The question of training end-users in computing in Port Vila, Vanuatu, was a driving force of this research. In pursuing the question, however, the participatory process, using focus groups to research local industry needs for training, led to the discovery of links between the participation used in researching this question to its use as pedagogy for end-user training. Using participatory action, we are more likely to encourage initiative in pursuing questions and achieving a more localised approach to endeavours such as training, research and development. This participatory approach is also seen as a method more widely applicable in education as well as development. The process lead to empowerment of the individuals involved in the research through raising critical consciousness and providing a form of agency. It raises the question of how to sustain this empowerment in order to lead to transformation. Actual transformation is seen as a quality that takes more than one attempt at empowerment and a temporary taste of agency. The thesis draws on the analogy of a group of people building a ladder together. They have rough building materials to work with but an abundance of their own ideas and their own ability. The ladder construction is participation, its frame exists but the rungs have yet to be attached. It is the process of interaction, exploration and communication in building the ladder together that becomes important. Transformation is in the process of building of the ladder as well as the finished product. It takes a continual construction effort, building on rungs put in place previously.</p>

Rungs on a Ladder to Empowerment: Transforming End-user Computing Training in Port Vila, Vanuatu

<p>End-user training in ICT is a question that currently lurks on the outskirts of development activity. The focus of ICT in development is on implementation of the 'machinery' but lacks specific attention in the building of human capacity to drive and maintain this 'machinery'. The question of training end-users in computing in Port Vila, Vanuatu, was a driving force of this research. In pursuing the question, however, the participatory process, using focus groups to research local industry needs for training, led to the discovery of links between the participation used in researching this question to its use as pedagogy for end-user training. Using participatory action, we are more likely to encourage initiative in pursuing questions and achieving a more localised approach to endeavours such as training, research and development. This participatory approach is also seen as a method more widely applicable in education as well as development. The process lead to empowerment of the individuals involved in the research through raising critical consciousness and providing a form of agency. It raises the question of how to sustain this empowerment in order to lead to transformation. Actual transformation is seen as a quality that takes more than one attempt at empowerment and a temporary taste of agency. The thesis draws on the analogy of a group of people building a ladder together. They have rough building materials to work with but an abundance of their own ideas and their own ability. The ladder construction is participation, its frame exists but the rungs have yet to be attached. It is the process of interaction, exploration and communication in building the ladder together that becomes important. Transformation is in the process of building of the ladder as well as the finished product. It takes a continual construction effort, building on rungs put in place previously.</p>

The Inclusion of Women and Young People in Brazilian Solidary Cooperatives: a Proposal for an Inde

This article presents the elaboration and the results of the “Inclusive Development Index for Solidary Cooperatives” (IDICS in Portuguese). The Index measures the inclusion of young people and women in 30 cooperatives of family farming in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Its elaboration took place through a participatory process with the cooperatives’ members and managers. IDICS consists of 2 sub-indexes of 18 variables each: The Women's Inclusion Index (IIM) and the Youth Inclusion Index (IIJ). The collection of data was done through structured questionnaires, applied remotely to the cooperatives. The results suggest a strong heterogeneity among the cooperatives, and the results are related to the size, time of operation of the cooperative and the region of location. Most cooperatives lack progress with regard to their inclusion processes. Therefore, the Index can be a useful tool for planning and identifying good practices.