A recent Comment by M. Sharma published in the journal Molecules [1] raises issues with our previously published paper [2]. After reviewing its content, and although we respectfully stand by our experimental description whereby we were able to prepare stock and working solutions of the substance being tested, the arguments presented do raise concerns about the true identity of the compound actually used and hence the results and conclusions of our paper.
This article argues that outbreak preparedness and response should implement a 'family presence' policy for infected patients in isolation that includes the option of physical visits and care within the isolation facility under some conditions. While such a 'physical family presence' (PFP) policy could increase infections during an outbreak and may raise moral dilemmas, we argue that it is ethically justified based on the least infringement principle and the need to minimize the harms and burdens of isolation as a restrictive measure. Categorical prohibition of PFP during the course of an outbreak or epidemic is likely to result in unnecessary harms to patients and families, and violate values such as the moral commitments of families to care for each other. Supporting the option of PFP under particular circumstances, on the other hand, will least infringe these moral considerations. An additional reason for a family presence policy is that it may facilitate voluntary cooperation with isolation and other restrictive measures. We provide an analysis of these considerations for supporting modes of family presence during an outbreak emergency, before defending the riskier option of PFP in the isolation facility from plausible objections and concerns.
The theory-practice gap is arguably the most important issue in nursing today, given that it challenges the concept of research-based practice, which is the basis of nursing as a profession. Majority of the student nurses shared their views that some of the practical procedures that they learned during their theory sessions were different from what was practised in the wards which caused some worries among the students that it may affect their performance during their Obstructive Structured Clinical Examination.
In the literatures, discussions on the accuracy of different models for landslide analysis have been discussed widely.
However, to date, arguments on the type of input data (landslides in the form of point or polygon) and how they affect
the accuracy of these models can hardly be found. This study assesses how different types of data (point or polygon)
applied to the same model influence the accuracy of the model in determining areas susceptible to landsliding. A total
of 137 landslides was digitised as polygon (areal) units and then transformed into points; forming two separate datasets
both representing the same landslides within the study area. These datasets were later separated into training and
validation datasets. The polygon unit dataset uses the area density technique reported as percentage, while the point
data uses the landslide density technique, as means of assigning weighting to landslide factor maps to generate the
landslide susceptibility map that is based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model. Both data groups show striking
differences in terms of mapping accuracy for both training and validation datasets. The final landslide susceptibility
map using area density (polygon) as input only has 48% (training) and 35% (validation) accuracy. The accuracy for
the susceptibility map using the landslide density as input data achieved 89% and 82% for both training and validation
datasets, respectively. This result showed that the selection of the type of data for landslide analysis can be critical in
producing an acceptable level of accuracy for the landslide susceptibility map. The authors hope that the finding of this
research will assist landslide investigators to determine the appropriateness of the type of landslide data because it will
influence the accuracy of the final landslide potential map.
As the debate on accepting financial incentives persists, more and more findings linked to its success as well as to its foreseeable backlash continue to unravel. Specifically out to enhance perceptions on financial incentives, this paper reviews important aspects of the financial incentives and provides a diverse range of empirical findings at a glance. Through a review of several empirical findings and literature, this paper argues that several basic practices of the financial incentives are indeed instrumental to enhancing organ donation. However, more experimentation is necessary to unearth the best mode that is best responsive to a society and subsequently, rejects the overly generalization that labels it as unethical.
Conflict analysis has been used as an important tool in economic, business, governmental and political dispute, games, management negotiations, military operations and etc. There are many mathematical formal models have been proposed to handle conflict situations and one of the most popular is rough set theory. With the ability to handle vagueness from the conflict data set, rough set theory has been successfully used. However, computational time is still an issue when determining the certainty, coverage, and strength of conflict situations. In this paper, we present an alternative approach to handle conflict situations, based on some ideas using soft set theory. The novelty of the proposed approach is that, unlike in rough set theory that uses decision rules, it is based on the concept of co-occurrence of parameters in soft set theory. We illustrate the proposed approach by means of a tutorial example of voting analysis in conflict situations. Furthermore, we elaborate the proposed approach on real world dataset of political conflict in Indonesian Parliament. We show that, the proposed approach achieves lower computational time as compared to rough set theory of up to 3.9%.
The involvement of women preachers in the field of preaching is also a major contributor to the process of delivering the preaching to the community. Thus, the importance of Islamic women's role in delivering the content of their preaching focused on aspects related to women and society based on the main sources of the Quran and the sunnah. Therefore, the objective of this study is to study the role of Muslim women in delivering the message of preaching to the community according to the Quranic perspective. This study uses qualitative method which is a documentary study which is accompanied by the arguments of the Quran, Hadith and the views of several commentators on the topic of the study. The study found that women play a very important role in communicating the message of faith such as issues of faith, sharia, morals and current issues of women and society based on the Quranic message. This is because the Muslim preacher's delivery is more personalized and influenced by a more feminine and family-oriented approach.
Negotiation is a crucial tool for resolving a dispute. The outcome of every negotiation relies heavily on
the negotiation strategies of the parties involved, the exchange of information and their characters
during the negotiation process. Considering distributive approach, the negotiators are more interested
in the maximization of personal achievements as they are not concern in collective or joint success with
their partners. One of the key requirements for the integrative strategy is cooperation between the
negotiators while distributive strategy is purely for a competitive approach. These two types of
strategies distributive and integrative are in relation to the behavior and attitudes negotiators normally
display in a negotiation table: cooperative and competitive. The reason why negotiators commonly
used cooperative and competitive strategies are mentioned in this paper, distributive and integrative
strategies are also summarized. Follow by possible solution of overcoming the negotiation challenges
is discussed.
In Islamic transaction, the disputations between two or more parties could affect the roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, when the court received a case from disputed parties, there will be a perception among each of parties of win-lose situation, whereby one party embellished with satisfaction, while the other party will beat in suffering, so the impact is the relationship between two parties are become farther. Therefore, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Islamic Finance is suggested in by many Muslim economist and legal experts as a substitute to any further legal activities. This is because it will satisfy many of litigants and it provides a complementary substitute to litigation. The study about ADR in Islamic finance has been done by previous literature. By the way, the implementation of ADR in Islamic financial institutions still needs to be elaborated. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss about updated issues and challenges of implementations of ADR in Islamic finance. This paper found that the ADR in Islamic finance need a model to make the ADR more flexible and eligible with different kinds of conflicts.
The medical education should be tailored to deal with the diseases the physician is most likely to see.' With expectations that all the graduates from Malaysian Medical Schools should be able to serve anywhere in the country, the need for a national curriculum is self-evident. It may be argued that the public must have confidence in the competence of the practitioners they depend upon irrespective of the school from which they had graduated. In smaller countries in which health needs are uniform the graduates of any school should have been trained to meet those needs. In larger countries and those with geographic diversities and distances (e.g. Malaysia), the curriculum should cover the commonly encountered diverse ailments. If not dealt with care, we may end up with huge load of ever expanding, unmanageable curriculum.
The control of cost and time in construction projects is one of the most important issues in construction since the emergence of the construction industry. A successful project should meet not only quality output standards, but also time and budget objectives. The management and control of cost and time in construction is fundamental in every project. An effective cost and time management and control technique for construction projects is important in managing risk of cost overrun and delay in completion of projects. Construction projects are becoming more complex as they now involve many stakeholders from different disciplines. The emergence of Building Information Model (BIM), an alternative technology is believed to solve issues related to project cost and time control as it efficiently increases collaboration between stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to review and summarise the causes of delay and cost overrun in construction industries, which are the main causes of disputes and abandonment of projects in the industry. It was found that delays and cost overrun eat deep into the industry and leave the construction industry with a bad image for decades even with rapid advancement in technology. The review of the applications of BIM showed that most of the applications are geared towards minimising construction cost and time spent on projects. This means that the use of BIM in the management of construction projects has great impact on project cost and time.
The use of placebo-controlled trials in situations where established therapies are available is considered ethically problematic since the patients randomised to the placebo group are deprived of the beneficial treatment. The pharmaceutical industry and drug regulators seem to argue that placebo-controlled trials with extensive precautions and control measures in place should still be allowed since they provide necessary scientific evidence for the efficacy and safety of new drugs. On the other hand, the scientific value and usefulness for clinical decision-making may be much higher if the new drug is compared directly to existing therapies. As such, it may still be unethical to impose the burden and risk of placebo-controlled trials on patients even if extensive precautions are taken. A few exceptions do exist. The use of placebo-controlled trials in situations where an established, effective and safe therapy exists remains largely controversial.
Reviewing selected policy responses in Asia and South America, this paper draws pragmatic lessons for developing countries to better address the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that not acting quickly and adequately incurs much higher costs. So-called 'best practices', while useful, may be inappropriate, especially if not complemented by effective and suitable socio-economic measures. Public understanding, support and cooperation, not harsh and selective enforcement of draconian measures, are critical for successful implementation of containment strategies. This requires inclusive and transparent policy-making, and well-coordinated and accountable government actions that build and maintain trust between citizens and government. In short, addressing the pandemic crisis needs 'all of government' and 'whole of society' approaches under credible leadership.
No vaccination is available to provide doctors with the immunity from errors and mistakes. Humans make mistakes everyday and eventually doctors will make mistakes or errors during their practice. Therefore, knowing how to handle the mistakes is crucial in improving patient safety and management. Disclosure of errors can be argued to play a significant role in respecting the patients’ rights and interest. We need to know that in a doctor-patient relationship, trust and vulnerability exist. If errors occur and doctors try to keep patients away from the truth, patients may no longer maintain their trust and this could lead to a negative turn in the relationship. Moreover, if errors are disclosed, doctors then may face a legal and ethical dilemma on whether to apologize for the errors made. This issue of apology has created debates among health professionals and lawyers in searching for the best answer. Apology can be a powerful tool to reconcile relationships but at the same time can also be a tool of deception.
Dividend policy is one of the most important element to measure changes in stock
prices. The relationship between dividend policy and stock price volatility shows
different results based on different studies. This paper focuses on the relationship
between dividend policy and stock price volatility through seminal literature on both
theoretical and empirical evidences from 1989 to 2016. The various consequences of
this relationship depend upon each country specific characteristics, different data
sample and different methodology techniques which utilized by researchers in
developed and developing countries. Most of the studies found negative relationship
between dividend policy and stock price volatility, while developed countries have
more impact on this relationship as compared to developing countries. Based on the
prior literature, this paper argues that the relationship between dividend policy and
stock price volatility is inconsistent and the organization needs to decide the dividend
policy according to their capability and organizational culture.
From the rise of restorative justice to evidence-based approaches to reducing recidivism, the intellectual landscape of criminal justice has seen considerable change in recent decades. The result is that an increasing number of countries have tackled the task of shifting preexisting political institutions to confirm with these new understandings. This is, of course, no easy feat. A great number of challenges confront willing policymakers, a reality that often puts philosophy at loggerheads with practicality. Moreover, the political process of change is subject to the influence of cultural and institutional norms. In this paper, we look at one particular case study - that of Malaysia's juvenile justice system - to understand the challenges faced in changing criminal justice policy. We identify three primary categories of challenges and elucidate their shape and impact through the Malaysian example. We also briefly analyze potential opportunities to mitigate and overcome these challenges. Furthermore, we also conclude with several implications for future research that we deem are important to be taken place. In sum, we argue that criminal justice reform must be undertaken with an eye toward important societal and institutional norms, each requiring thoughtful analysis of complex local cases.
Fabian Society is a type of political think tank which was founded by a group of students and
intellectuals at London School of Economics (LSE), United Kingdom in the late of 19 centuries. The
Fabian political thought is a new manifestation of socialist ideology in United Kingdom emerged through the role of Labour Party Partiat that time. After the World War II, the influence of this political
thought began to widespread throughout Malaya via British-educated Malayan students. This
development brought about a new form of political idealism based on social-democrat orientation
which emphasized on class struggles and civil issues in Malaya. Thus, the aim of this article is to
scrutinize objectively and descriptively the influence of the Fabian political thought in the Malaysian
political development from 1952 to 1970. Using the approach of history reconstructionist, the analysis
discussion was developed based on the use of primary sources as the argument base. The research
findings indicate that the influence of the Fabian political thought developed in Malaya by the role of
the socialist intellectual-progressive group throughout the research. The development did not only
involve labour movements and left-wing political parties such as Malayan Democratic Union (MDU)
and the Malayan Labour Party, but it also influenced students movements at universities through
University of Malaya Socialist Club in Singapore around 1950s and students societies in Universiti
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur around 1960s. In fact, at the same time the progressive Fabian group slipped in
right-conservative group through their direct involvement in UMNO and the Perikatan regime at the
time. This indirectly proves that there is a different side of the socialist role through the role of the
Fabian group in the development of democracy and politics in Malaysia.
Given the increased popularity and use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, it is crucial for mental health professionals to be informed about this treatment approach. Accordingly, this paper critically reviews the pro and con arguments for the use of CAM treatment modalities in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Given that there are potential dangers in adopting the CAM approach without appropriate supervision, it begs the question of what roles and responsibilities mental health professionals have in the matter. Thus, this article proceeds to address the roles and the recommended strategies for mental health professionals when working with patients or clients who use CAM for their treatment of psychopathological issues. Finally, it goes further to discuss the practice of integrating both conventional treatment and CAM to treat mental disorders and issues associated with such disorders. Importantly, this article highlights the need for knowledgeable, confident, and trained mental health professionals to provide patient counselling about the complementary and alternative approach.
The negotiations on the SDG goals and targets, leading to the sustainable development Declaration in September 2015, are now in the final stages. Ensuring that people with mental disorders are not left behind in the global development program from 2015 to 2030 will require specific and explicit commitments and targets against which progress in mental health can be measured and reported. The arguments for inclusion of explicit mental health targets in the SDGs are compelling. The final negotiations on the SDG goals and targets will now determine whether people with mental illness and psychosocial disabilities will continue to be neglected or will benefit equitably from inclusion in the post-2015 development program.