“Silly and Superficial”: Headline Tone in Press TV and Voice of America Coverage of the U.S. Withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

On May 8, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the United States would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. President Trump had campaigned on removing the U.S. from the nuclear agreement, but the announcement still caught Iran and other parties to the JCPOA by surprise. This research analyzed three days of JCPOA-related news headlines from two international broadcasters: Press TV, headquartered in Tehran, and Voice of America, located in Washington, D.C. The majority of headlines published by both news organizations exhibited negative tone. Considering that reading a headline often substitutes for reading an entire news report, examining the headlines these international broadcasters used to present this event to their global audiences is a worthwhile pursuit. Keywords: Iran, United States, nuclear, headline, tone

Building Professional Capacity among Paraeducators through Onboarding

Many studies have investigated the inadequacy of training and support for special education paraeducators, but few have examined prehire activities or recommended a comprehensive plan to train and hire paraeducators. This quantitative action research study of 267 special education paraeducators and special education teachers was conducted in a large urban school district to address the concern over paraeducators’ lack of knowledge and training and the need to consider these factors when hiring staff in public school districts. Based on themes from the literature and the expertise of an insider, the purpose of the study was to increase the understanding of the relationship between and the perception of the importance of organizational factors, employee knowledge, and training. Results showed that paraeducators are not adequately trained, prefer specific training topics, and recognize that factors and knowledge affect job performance. The researchers then created a formal institutionalized onboarding program for new hire paraeducators based on a change management model. Immediate implementation recommendations, along with an onboarding plan and checklist, are included for school districts and their human resource departments.

Marijuana smoking and asthma: a protocol for a meta-analysis

IntroductionRecent studies have raised the concern on the risk of asthma in marijuana smokers; however, the results remain controversial and warrant further investigation. With a growing number of marijuana smokers, examining the association between marijuana smoking and asthma and quantifying such association through meta-analysis have important implications for public health and clinical decision-making. In view of this, the present protocol aims to detail a comprehensive plan of meta-analysis on the association aforementioned. The findings are expected to strengthen the current knowledge base pertaining to the potential adverse effects of marijuana smoking on pulmonary health and to facilitate the development of prevention strategies for asthma.Methods and analysisThe MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE databases will be searched systematically from inception to 1 September 2021 to retrieve the relevant observational studies focusing on the association between marijuana smoking and asthma. Both unadjusted and adjusted effect sizes, such as OR, relative risk, HR and the corresponding 95% CIs will be extracted for pooled analyses. Heterogeneity and publication bias across the included studies will be examined. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Scale will be used to assess the quality and risk of bias. Statistical software Review Manager V.5.3 and Stata V.11.0 will be used for statistical analyses.Ethics and disseminationSince no private and confidential patient data will be included in the reporting, approval from an ethics committee is not required. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal or disseminated in the relevant conferences. The study raises no ethical issue.OSF registration number10.17605/OSF.IO/UPTXC.

The second strategic plan of medical ethics: a national report

Medical ethics faces several challenges in different aspects of education, research, and treatment in medicine and healthcare practice. Design and implementation of a national strategic plan can pave the way for the development of a roadmap in various countries to strengthen ethics and address these challenges. To create a comprehensive plan compatible with the Iranian healthcare system, a multidisciplinary team of main stakeholders compiled a national strategic plan of medical ethics following several focus group discussion sessions and two workshops (2014-2017). Ultimately, the plan was confirmed by the Supreme Council for the Medical Ethics of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The current paper is a national report of the process and the medical ethics strategic plan in Iran. We have also tracked signs of progress and achievements in the country. In conclusion, this valuable effort has led to significant success in the implementation of medical ethics in clinical medicine, medical research, and education by using all the resources in our country. The participation of all the stakeholders, especially healthcare professionals in this way is required.

SPATIAL PLANNING OF TERRITORIES AS A NEW TYPE OF URBAN PLANNING ACTIVITY. PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Administrative and territorial reform in Ukraine is coming to an end. In the socio-economic life of the country, this reform contributed to the establishment of local self-government, in urban planning activities began spatial planning, the main task of which is the development of comprehensive plans for spatial development of the territories of united territorial communities. According to the current legislation, the main subject of local self-government in Ukraine is a united territorial community. Adoption of the Law 711-IX "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Land Use Planning" provides for the development of special urban planning documentation, which extends its effect to the community, which in turn allows the united territorial community to determine the planning and development of its own territory. Law 711-IX also introduces a new type of urban planning documentation - a comprehensive plan for the spatial development of the territory of the united territorial community. In order to successfully implement this project, it is necessary to assess all the challenges and risks in the field of administrative services, medicine, education, road and engineering infrastructure, environmental protection and cultural heritage when drawing up a community spatial development plan in modern conditions. The main problem in drawing up comprehensive plans is the spatial organization of agricultural areas and the interests of the peasant farmer, a representative of the middle class, whose opinion should be taken into account through surveys and analysis of his social and industrial activities, including taking into account his domestic and economic interests. When drawing up comprehensive spatial development plans, the project team should involve community specialists (architect, land surveyor), as well as community proxies (priests, teachers) who know regional issues, history and traditional crafts of the territories and will defend their development. As many community residents as possible should participate in the discussion and approval of project proposals for a comprehensive plan, in order to prevent resistance and understand the need to implement it.

The concept of information architecture in the context of enterprise architecture

PurposeInformation architecture (IA) is often understood as a comprehensive master plan for organizational data assets and is widely considered as an essential component of broader enterprise architecture (EA). However, the status and practical operationalization of IA still remain largely unclear. In order to clarify these questions, this paper investigates what instruments related to IA are actually employed in organizations.Design/methodology/approachThis study builds on the analysis of architecture practices in 27 diverse organizations. Based on the semi-structured interviews with architects and the examination of utilized architectural documents, we explore IA-related instruments with their usage scenarios that have been adopted in the studied organizations.FindingsThe authors identify 12 distinct instruments used in the industry and analyze in detail their features, properties and relationships. This paper analysis shows that these instruments are rather diverse and largely inconsistent across different organizations. The study findings also suggest that IA cannot be considered as a comprehensive plan for information, but rather as a variable set of loosely related instruments and practices that help organizations manage information.Originality/valueThe study offers a unique perspective on the concept of IA, as it is practiced in the industry today, as well as a critical scrutiny of the respective prescriptions abundant in the existing literature. Although this study does not attempt to theorize on the findings, it makes a significant empirical contribution by offering a solid evidence-based view of IA and its key instruments currently missing in the available literature.

A Call to World Governments: Save Youth Generations from Obsoleted Education Systems!

My research is a result of accumulated provocation of obsolete and paralyzing education that has been frozen since the middle ages. We have to admit that before the pandemic, education was already in crisis. Governments have been ignoring to adopt any comprehensive plan to reform the educational systems till it has been unprecedently disrupted by COVID-19. I try through this paper to make a global call for governments to immediately start cooperating together for setting international qualifications framework that best suit future competencies. This call should be prioritized on the world agenda. It would be more plausible for governments, UNESCO and other education stakeholders to seize the opportunity of the 2020 disruption of life cycle for the maximum benefit of humanity. For this to happen we need exceptional leaders with extraordinary vision to transform education instead of ensuring children can keep learning and that every single child returns to school after the pandemic. Another challenge to be expected is the reduction in education budgets being under pressure as governments shift spending towards the health and economic response to the pandemic. The impact of schools closing on a generation of children will be immense on the long term. We must act now to save the education and life chances of generations of youth. At this time of unprecedented crisis, the world must come together to protect education and put it at the very heart of the global recovery effort. Recovery, not as before but as convenient and sustainable with the perspective requirements. It is time to expose youth to real life experiences; we need our children to learn about finance from characters like Jef Bezos or Bill Gates or Mukesh Ambani; to learn about psychology from John Anderson, Eliot Aronson and Ahmed Ukasha; to know approaches of math and physics as Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak. We shouldn’t settle for less when it comes to building minds and souls of our children. With all due respect to teachers and university professors, they are not the only best option for qualifying and training our youth for tomorrow’s challenges. However, those entrepreneurs are not teachers or willing to be, education specialists and strategists are required to set the vision and the procedures required to pave the way for highly practical competencies framework. Analgesics are no longer feasible.

China will not rush Iran back to the nuclear deal

Significance Hopes of swift progress are low, as Iran has outlined a maximalist position including demands for impossible US guarantees that no future president will again renege on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In the absence of US-Iran direct talks, mediation by the other signatories, including China, is key. Impacts Only if Iran pulled out of the JCPOA talks altogether might China step up its mediation effort to avoid the risk of military escalation. The long-term sustainability for Tehran of the system whereby it sells highly discounted oil to China is doubtful. Increased Chinese imports of Iranian oil via third countries such as Malaysia could undermine the credibility of US sanctions enforcement.

Exploring Open and Distance Learning Reform at the National University of Lesotho: A Managerial Perspective

This study investigated how open and distance learning (ODL) reform was managed within the Institute of Extramural Studies (IEMS), at the National University of Lesotho (NUL). The reform was introduced during the 2017/18 academic year with first-year programmes in three departments: (a) Adult Education; (b) Business and Management Development; and (c) Research, Evaluation, and Media. The study employed interviews and analysis of institutional documents as data collection techniques. Interviews were held with eight programme coordinators, four department heads, and the director of IEMS. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants to the study given their strategic position in the management and implementation of the reform. Qualitative content analysis was used to interpret the data. The findings suggested that the ODL programmes were introduced without a policy and comprehensive plan. The implementation faced several challenges such as finance, as well as infrastructural and human resources. Evidence from the literature has suggested that compared to face-to-face strategy, ODL as an educational strategy requires special resources, support, and funding. Thus, curricular materials should be adapted for the ODL context, taking into account students’ characteristics. The study found that these pertinent requirements were not considered, and implementation continued as if the reform still constituted face-to-face or campus-based instruction.