Dignity and the Provision of Care and Support in ‘Old Age Homes’ in Tamil Nadu, India: A Qualitative Study

Background: In 2016, Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to develop a set of Minimum Standards for old age homes. The Minimum Standards stipulate that that residents’ dignity and privacy should be respected. However, the concept of dignity is undefined in the Minimum Standards. To date, there has been very little research within aged care facilities exploring the dignity of residents. This study draws on the concepts of (i) status dignity and (ii) central human functional capabilities, to explore whether long term care facilities uphold the dignity of residents. Objectives: The study was designed to obtain insights into human rights issues and experiences of residents, and the article addresses the research question, “to what extent do old age homes in Tamil Nadu support the central human functional capabilities of life, bodily health, bodily integrity and play, and secure dignity for older residents?”Method: A cross-sectional qualitative exploratory study design was utilised. Between January and May 2018 face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured topic guide with 30 older residents and 11 staff from ten care homes located three southern districts in Tamil Nadu, India. Framework analysis of data was structured around four central human functional capabilities. Results. There was considerable variation in the extent to which the four central human functional capabilities life, bodily integrity, bodily health and play were met,. There was evidence that Articles 3, 13, 25 and 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were contravened in both registered and unregistered facilities. Juxtaposing violations of human rights with good practice demonstrated that old age homes have the potential to protect the dignity of residents.Conclusion: The Government of India needs to strengthen care home policies to protect older residents. A new legislative framework is required to ensure that all old age homes are accountable to the State. Minimum Standards should include expectations for quality of care and dignity in care that meet the basic needs of residents and provide health care, personal support, and opportunities for leisure, and socializing. Standards should include staff-to-resident ratios and staff training requirements.

Analysis Of The Clean Water Service Capacity of The Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM) In Cirebon Regency, Indonesia

The provision of clean water for the community is not optimal, so that the distribution of water is not evenly distributed. The distribution network of PDAM Tirta Jati serves Taman Tukmudal Indah Housing, Sumber District, which is supplied from Cigusti springs with a gravity drainage system, currently reaching 1,037 units of house connections. Geographic Information Systems visualize spatial data related to positions on the earth’s surface. Analysis of Clean Water Service Capacity in the discussion of clean water quality that has been tested in the Bandung Institute of Technology laboratory. The samples tested for analysis showed that the clean air quality met the quality standards. The standard of clean water needs is 60 liters/person/day. Continuity shows that the clean air pressure is not in accordance with the minimum standards that have been determined because most of the air pressure is still low. The lowest air pressure = 1.00 meters, and the highest = 50 meters, the lowest average air pressure is at 22:00 and the highest is at 09:00. The minimum air pressure that must be met is 1.0 atm. This pattern is expected to maintain the quality, quantity, and continuity of clean water services.

Long-Lasting Legacy of Rent Controls: Perspectives on the Private Rental Market in Malta within the Context of a Dual Market

Up to a few years ago, the private rental market in Malta was a classic example of the dysfunction created by two diametrically opposed regimes – a rigidly-controlled one and a completely liberal one – co-existing side by side. Two recent reforms have sought to address this situation. The objective of this paper is to describe the state-of-play in the private rental market in Malta by providing a historical background to these recent developments. In addition to the distortions in the housing market that rent controls introduce, controls also contributed to the deterioration of the statistical infrastructure to collect data on this sector. From this perspective, the introduction of the 2020 rent reform for the post-1995 sector, in addition to providing a set of minimum standards to professionalize the market, also facilitated data collection efforts through the introduction of a rent register. This information provided an alternative source of information to complement the other data sources, which tend to be outdated, inadequate, or focus solely on specific segments of the market, thus allowing for a more detailed and complete view of the private rental market in Malta.

Gambaran Sarana dan Prasarana Bimbingan dan Konseling pada Sekolah Menengah Negeri di Indonesia

The implementation of effective guidance and counselling services requires adequate facilities and infrastructure in accordance with national standards in Permendikbud No 111 of 2014 regarding guidance and counselling in secondary education in Indonesia. This study aims to describe the condition of the facilities and infrastructure for guidance and counselling in state secondary school; junior and senior state high school in Indonesia. The method used is the survey model. The research data were collected from 65 State Senior High Schools, 25 State Vocational High Schools and 58 State Junior High Schools spread over 71 districts/cities in 18 provinces in Indonesia. The instrument used a semi-open questionnaire adopted from Permendikbud No. 111 of 2014 regarding guidance and counselling in primary and secondary education. The results of the study showed as many as 4.68% of state senior high schools and 8.77% of state junior high schools did not have a counselling room. A total of 20.31% of state senior high schools, 58.82% of state vocational high schools, and 52.63% of state junior high schools did not have special room for individual counselling. A total of 10.93% of state high schools, 52.94% of state vocational high schools and 21.05% of state junior high schools did not have living room. A total of 39.06% of state senior high schools, 64.70% of state vocational high schools, and 64.91% of state junior high schools did not have group guidance and counselling rooms. A total of 31.25% of state senior high schools, 35.29% of state vocational high schools, and 59.64% of state junior high schools did not have data room. As many as 31.25% of state senior high schools, 82.35% of state vocational high schools, and 73.68% did not have library display room (bibliocounseling). This study revealed that the facilities and infrastructure for guidance and counseling in state secondary schools in Indonesia do not in accordance with the minimum standards issued in Permendikbud No. 111 of 2014. The implementation of effective and efficient guidance and counselling services requires facilities and infrastructure that corresponds with the minimum standards. Based on this study results, it is anticipated the stakeholders of guidance and counselling services, especially in education sections in Indonesia, would pay attention and provide the minimum standard of guidance and counselling facilities and infrastructure.

Standards of Practice for Occupational Therapy

This document defines minimum standards for the practice of occupational therapy. According to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (4th ed.; OTPF–4), occupational therapy is defined as the therapeutic use of everyday life occupations with persons, groups, or populations (i.e., the client) for the purpose of enhancing or enabling participation. . . . Occupational therapy services are provided for habilitation, rehabilitation, and promotion of health and wellness for clients with disability- and non–disability-related needs. These services include acquisition and preservation of occupational identity for clients who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2020c, p. 1)

The New European Union Whistleblowing Directive: In Comparison to Indonesia’s Practice

With the European Union Whistleblowing Directive (2019), the topic of whistleblowing is becoming increasingly important for EU MS’s public and private entities. Whistle-blowers might play a vital role in exposing corruption, fraud and mismanagement of the EU’s supranational norms. The Directive introduced minimum standards for the protection of whistle-blowers and obliges many public and private entities to introduce their own internal whistleblowing channels. The EU also can take some lessons from Indonesia about the practice and obstacle in implementing whistleblowing system. The aim of this article is to introduce the new EU Whistleblowing Directive’s main features and some presumable obstacles for implementation. The hypothesis is that the new Directive might enhance the fairwork-place environment, roll back fraud and corruption, reduce work-related wrongdoing and manage equal treatment and no-discrimination policy including bullying and sexual harassment. However, some theoretical and pragmatic discrepancies will be introduced as well.

An evaluation of the evidence submitted to Australian alcohol advertising policy consultations

Background Industry self-regulation is the dominant approach to managing alcohol advertising in Australia and many other countries. There is a need to explore the barriers to government adoption of more effective regulatory approaches. This study examined relevance and quality features of evidence cited by industry and non-industry actors in their submissions to Australian alcohol advertising policy consultations. Methods Submissions to two public consultations with a primary focus on alcohol advertising policy were analysed. Submissions (n = 71) were classified into their actor type (industry or non-industry) and according to their expressed support for, or opposition to, increased regulation of alcohol advertising. Details of cited evidence were extracted and coded against a framework adapted from previous research (primary codes: subject matter relevance, type of publication, time since publication, and independence from industry). Evidence was also classified as featuring indicators of higher quality if it was either published in a peer-reviewed journal or academic source, published within 10 years of the consultation, and/or had no apparent industry connection. Results Almost two-thirds of submissions were from industry actors (n = 45 submissions from alcohol, advertising, or sporting industries). With few exceptions, industry actor submissions opposed increased regulation of alcohol advertising and non-industry actor submissions supported increased regulation. Industry actors cited substantially less evidence than non-industry actors, both per submission and in total. Only 27% of evidence cited by industry actors was highly relevant and featured at least two indicators of higher quality compared to 58% of evidence cited by non-industry actors. Conclusions Evaluation of the value of the evidentiary contribution of industry actors to consultations on alcohol advertising policy appears to be limited. Modifications to consultation processes, such as exclusion of industry actors, quality requirements for submitted evidence, minimum standards for referencing evidence, and requirements to declare potential conflicts, may improve the public health outcomes of policy consultations.

The vaccination threshold for SARS-CoV-2 depends on the indoor setting and room ventilation

Background Effective vaccines are now available for SARS-CoV-2 in the 2nd year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there remains significant uncertainty surrounding the necessary vaccination rate to safely lift occupancy controls in public buildings and return to pre-pandemic norms. The aim of this paper is to estimate setting-specific vaccination thresholds for SARS-CoV-2 to prevent sustained community transmission using classical principles of airborne contagion modeling. We calculated the airborne infection risk in three settings, a classroom, prison cell block, and restaurant, at typical ventilation rates, and then the expected number of infections resulting from this risk at varying percentages of occupant immunity. Results We estimate the setting-specific immunity threshold for control of wild-type SARS-CoV-2 to range from a low of 40% for a mechanically ventilation classroom to a high of 85% for a naturally ventilated restaurant. Conclusions If vaccination rates are limited to a theoretical minimum of approximately two-thirds of the population, enhanced ventilation above minimum standards for acceptable air quality is needed to reduce the frequency and severity of SARS-CoV-2 superspreading events in high-risk indoor environments.