The Role of Nursing Homes Architectural Design in Mitigating the Risk of COVID-19 Pandemics: The Case of Slovenia

Currently, many older people live in institutions for various social and health reasons. In Slovenia, this proportion is almost 5% of the population aged 65 and over. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the elderly proved to be the most vulnerable social group, as they are exposed to a number of comorbidities that increase the risk of mortality. At that time, nursing homes represented one of the most critical types of housing, as seen from a disproportionate number of infections and deaths among nursing home residents worldwide, including Slovenia. During the emergency, a number of safety protocols had to be followed to prevent the spread of infection. Unfortunately, it turned out that while the safety measures protected the nursing home residents, they also had a negative effect on their mental health, mainly due to isolation and social distancing. It follows that especially in times of epidemics of infectious respiratory diseases, the quality of life in nursing homes requires special attention. In this context, it is also necessary to consider whether and how an appropriate architectural design can help mitigating the spread of infections, while at the same time enable older people to live in dignity and with a minimum of social exclusion. To this end, the present study examined 97 nursing homes in Slovenia, analysing the number of infections in nursing homes and their correlation with the degree of infection in the corresponding region in Slovenia. Additionally, 2 nursing homes were studied in more detail with the use of newly developed “Safe and Connected” evaluation tool, analysing the architectural features of each building. The advantages identified so far include living in smaller units, single rooms with balconies, the possibility of using green open spaces and the use of an adequate ventilation. Conclusions of this study are useful for further consideration of design of new nursing homes and the refurbishment of existing ones.

Overidentification of English Language Learners for Special Education

Alarming statistics presented by the United States Department of Education reveal a disproportionate number of students of minority language (English language learners) qualify for special education. As far back as 2007, the DOE recognized there was a concerted effort needed to reduce racial and ethnic disproportionality in racial and ethnic identification, placement, and disciplinary actions for minority students' representation in special education. This chapter will examine and address solutions to prevent the over identification of English language learners in special education specifically in the area of identification. As a further objective, the ramifications of this over representation will be examined, and the authors hypothesize about why the over representation occurs. Confusion over the Unz Initiative (1998, Proposition 227) may have inadvertently led to the over identification. A case study, leading to case law, concludes the chapter.

In Business with God: The Role of Religion in the Private Sector of Apia, Samoa

<p>Religion, in particular Christianity, has a large impact on Business in Samoa. Through surveys and interviews, this research was able to ascertain areas in which Christianity and business intersect to determine its daily function and the broader implications of doing business in a highly Christian nation. Christianity has taken on its own form of ‘Samoan Christianity’ through the merging of religion and fa’aSamoa which allows business owners facilitate the practice of religion, primarily for their staff members, while not being deeply religious themselves. This ‘Samoan Christianity’ is influenced by the disproportionate number of Catholics represented in the private sector who face fewer practical and financial demands than other denominations along with the assistance of historical privileges gained the status of the Catholic Marist Brothers. Businesses in Apia are heavily impacted by staff loans, theft and cultural demands, but owners maintain a positive outlook on the spiritual benefits that religion brings to their lives. Business owners are heavily critical of organised religion in Samoa, particularly the church and priests, believing fewer financial demands on staff members would ease the negative impacts of religion on business. However, interested in preserving the culture and religion of their unique homeland, business owners have opted to observe religiously motivated practises such as closing on Sundays as they believe this to be more important than financial gain.</p>

In Business with God: The Role of Religion in the Private Sector of Apia, Samoa

<p>Religion, in particular Christianity, has a large impact on Business in Samoa. Through surveys and interviews, this research was able to ascertain areas in which Christianity and business intersect to determine its daily function and the broader implications of doing business in a highly Christian nation. Christianity has taken on its own form of ‘Samoan Christianity’ through the merging of religion and fa’aSamoa which allows business owners facilitate the practice of religion, primarily for their staff members, while not being deeply religious themselves. This ‘Samoan Christianity’ is influenced by the disproportionate number of Catholics represented in the private sector who face fewer practical and financial demands than other denominations along with the assistance of historical privileges gained the status of the Catholic Marist Brothers. Businesses in Apia are heavily impacted by staff loans, theft and cultural demands, but owners maintain a positive outlook on the spiritual benefits that religion brings to their lives. Business owners are heavily critical of organised religion in Samoa, particularly the church and priests, believing fewer financial demands on staff members would ease the negative impacts of religion on business. However, interested in preserving the culture and religion of their unique homeland, business owners have opted to observe religiously motivated practises such as closing on Sundays as they believe this to be more important than financial gain.</p>

A Multistate Comparison Study of COVID-19 Cases Among Accredited and Nonaccredited Nursing Homes

Widely acknowledged is the disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases among nursing home residents. This observational study examined the relationship between accreditation status and COVID-19 case rates in states where the numbers and proportions of Joint Commission accredited facilities made such comparisons possible (Illinois (IL), Florida (FL), and Massachusetts (MA)). COVID-19 data were accessed from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Compare Public Use File, which included retrospective COVID-19 data submitted by nursing homes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network. The outcome variable was the total number of nursing home-identified COVID-19 cases from June 2020 to January 2021. Joint Commission accreditation status was the independent variable. Mediating factors included state, and county-level case rates. Increases in the county rate had a significant association with higher nursing home COVID-19 case rates ( p < .001). After adjusting for county case rates, no differences were observed in the mean group case rates for accredited and nonaccredited nursing homes. However, comparing predicted case rates to actual case rates revealed that accredited nursing homes were more closely aligned with their predicted rates. Performance of the nonaccredited nursing homes was more variable and had proportionally more outliers compared to accredited nursing homes. Community prevalence of COVID-19 is the strongest predictor of nursing home cases. While accreditation status did not have an impact on overall mean group performance, nonaccredited nursing homes had greater variation in performance and a higher proportion of negative outliers. Accreditation was associated with more consistent performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite being located in counties with a higher prevalence of COVID-19.

Software Design for Adaptive Laser Headlights

The road traffic collisions and injuries, is still a major concern in automotive field. A disproportionate number of fatal accidents happen at nighttime. The major part of the collision is contributed by the human factors. Yet the technology in automobile is continuously assisting drivers while driving. Driving in the dark is not always easy as roads aren’t always illuminated, in such cases a powerful headlight is needed to illuminate most of the road. But such headlights cause glare to the oncoming traffic and again the chances of collision increase, with risking lives of passengers. Therefore, a need of smart headlamps which can illuminate the road far ahead without glaring the oncoming traffic is generated. This research aims to build a Laser based adaptive headlight system which can fulfil the need. The headlight design is proposed using Tinkercad software in which Arduino circuit has been used and software design is presented. The system works well with responding to the steering angle and controls the intensity of light preventing oncoming traffic from getting glared. Keywords: Adaptive headlight system, laser headlights, Arduino, Arduino software design, design of headlight system, cornering lights, effects of laser headlights, Tinkercad

A survey of biomedical journals to detect editorial bias and nepotistic behavior

Alongside the growing concerns regarding predatory journal growth, other questionable editorial practices have gained visibility recently. Among them, we explored the usefulness of the Percentage of Papers by the Most Prolific author (PPMP) and the Gini index (level of inequality in the distribution of authorship among authors) as tools to identify journals that may show favoritism in accepting articles by specific authors. We examined whether the PPMP, complemented by the Gini index, could be useful for identifying cases of potential editorial bias, using all articles in a sample of 5,468 biomedical journals indexed in the National Library of Medicine. For articles published between 2015 and 2019, the median PPMP was 2.9%, and 5% of journal exhibited a PPMP of 10.6% or more. Among the journals with the highest PPMP or Gini index values, where a few authors were responsible for a disproportionate number of publications, a random sample was manually examined, revealing that the most prolific author was part of the editorial board in 60 cases (61%). The papers by the most prolific authors were more likely to be accepted for publication within 3 weeks of their submission. Results of analysis on a subset of articles, excluding nonresearch articles, were consistent with those of the principal analysis. In most journals, publications are distributed across a large number of authors. Our results reveal a subset of journals where a few authors, often members of the editorial board, were responsible for a disproportionate number of publications. To enhance trust in their practices, journals need to be transparent about their editorial and peer review practices.

Invisibility of Female Street Names in India

The aim of this article is to offer an analysis of the invisibility of women street names in select Indian cities. This study is comprised of four Indian cities, each one representing the northern (Delhi), southern(Chennai), eastern (Kolkata) and western (Mumbai) parts of India based on the highest population (Census of India, 2011). These cities have a background of different historical circumstances, diverse political influences, skewed sex ratios and varied population characteristics that make them a good representative sample for analyzing street names. The role of law and law-making surrounding the naming of streets is examined through this lens of political, social and historic divisions of these cities in India. This paper then proceeds to examine the guidelines issued by these cites that provide specifications for change of name of the street. The process for naming and renaming in these cities is as easy as moving a proposal with the state government stating the suggested name of the street accompanied by a brief write up about the accomplishments of the individual whose name is proposed- and the disproportionate number of street names of femalesvsends out the message of the non-recognition of their achievements. The naming of streets as a political choice with traces of the legal history of the city is explored from the ancient background upto the twentieth century spur of ‘reclaiming’ India by renaming streets. When read together with the denial of public spaces to women leads to the conclusion that the exclusion and bias of leaving out female names is symbolic of the visual aspects of the roles that women play in society. The present article is probably one of the first such attempts in scholarly literature that looks at female street names in India

Social influence bias in ratings: A field experiment in the hospitality sector

We investigate the empirical phenomenon of rating bubbles, that is, the presence of a disproportionate number of extremely positive ratings in user-generated content websites. We test whether customers are influenced by prior ratings when evaluating their stay at a hotel through a field experiment that exogenously manipulates information disclosure. Results show the presence of (asymmetric) social influence bias (SIB): access to information on prior ratings that are above the average positively influences the consumers’ rating of the hotel. In contrast, information on ratings that are below the average does not affect reviewers. Furthermore, customers who have never been to the hotel before the intervention are more susceptible to prior ratings than customers who have repeatedly been to the hotel before. Finally, customers who are not used to writing online reviews are more prone to SIB than customers who frequently write online reviews. Our findings suggest that online rating systems should be adjusted to mitigate this bias, especially as these platforms become more relevant and widespread in the hospitality sector.

Acquired brain injury and serious criminal offenders: An argument to expand the court's therapeutic jurisdiction

<p>Brain injury is a debilitating mental impairment. It can cause aggression, impulsivity, and other socially challenging behaviours, including criminal offending. This is largely a consequence of damage to the frontal lobes, the part of the brain that facilitates selfregulation and emotional control. Remedying this requires specialist rehabilitation, preferably in dedicated facilities. However, rather than being in such facilities, a disproportionate number of brain injured New Zealanders are in prison, often for violent or sexual offences. By contrast, other mentally impaired offenders, such as the intellectually disabled and mentally ill, are not kept in prison but instead transferred to the health jurisdiction to receive treatment or care. This raises a question as to why brain injured offenders do not receive the same therapeutic response by our criminal justice system. This paper explores that question by examining the current legislative framework for diverting mentally impaired offenders into healthcare through therapeutic dispositions on sentencing. It demonstrates the inadequacy of this framework for violent or sexual offenders with brain injury by showing how the gateway definitions of “intellectual disability” and “mental disorder” exclude that condition. It then explores the appropriateness of imprisoning serious offenders with brain injury by examining whether their detention breaches the state’s statutory obligations, and argues that the status quo violates both the Corrections Act 2004 and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Finally, in recognition of the current exclusion of brain injured offenders from therapeutic dispositions, and the potential illegality of their detention in prison, this paper argues for an expansion of the court’s therapeutic jurisdiction and examines mechanisms to achieve this.</p>