Ethics, power, internationalisation and the postcolonial: A Foucauldian discourse analysis of policy documents in two Scottish universities

This paper provides a critical discussion of internationalisation in Higher Education (HE), and exemplifies a process of uncovering the investments in power and ideology through the partial analysis of four strategic internationalisation documents at two Scottish Higher Education institutions, as part of an ongoing international study into the ethics of internationalisation (EIHE). A Foucauldian discursive analytical approach is employed in analysing the policy documents. It reveals the relationships between power and knowledge in the constitution of regimes of truth within internationalisation, while serving to interrogate the dynamics of the affective and ethical in the comprising of such relationships and imaginaries. A critical postcolonial theorisation works in tandem with a Foucauldian approach in uncovering the relations of power discursively at work and the discursive effects of power in institutional terms. Four key themes are identified within the documents and critically discussed. The discussions serve to demonstrate that a lack of critical engagement with internationalisation discourses in Higher Education has the effect of reifying a dominant view and suppressing the emergence of alternative discourses. A critical postcolonial lens facilitates interpretability of power dynamics through and beyond internationalisation in Higher Education to consider the ethical effects of such power in its investments in global inequality, injustice and oppression within the global modernist imaginary

The relationship between body dimensions and fat deposits in herik lambs

The aim of this research was to determine the relationships between some body measurements and fat deposits in the Herik lamb, reared in the central Black Sea Region of Turkey. In this study, data on 20 single-born male Herik lambs, namely 10 with short, round, fat tail, and 10 with long, semi-fat tails, were used. They were finished for an average of 105 days under intensive management after weaning and slaughtered at an average body weight of 40 kg. Several body measurements were taken before slaughter. Carcasses were cut into sections which were separated into meat, bone and fat. Weights of tail, carcass and non-carcass fat were recorded and used in the calculation of the total body fat weight. The highest correlation coefficient was between tail fat weight and the upper tail circumference (r= 0.937, P<0.01), and the lowest was between the fat tail weight and tail length (r=0.059). The upper and lower tail circumferences explained 88% of total variation in the tail weight, and 71% of total variation in total body fat, respectively. In conclusion, lower and upper tail circumference can be used to predict fat tail weight, as well as total body fat, in Herik lambs. More detailed studies are needed for the determination of the relationship between body measurements and fat deposits and to improve the carcass characteristics of Herik lambs

Health Care Services and the Elderly: Utilization and Satisfaction in the Aftermath of the Turkish Health Transformation Program

With the implementation of the health transformation program, Turkey has gone through substantial changes in its health system in the last decade. This study relies on two nationally representative data sets to investigate health service utilization and satisfaction of the elderly. In particular, it examines the share of elderly who have an unmet need for medical care and who could not afford a medical examination or treatment over the years 2006 to 2015, using data from the Turkish Survey of Income and Living Conditions. It also examines the utilization of health services and satisfaction from these services by the elderly in years 2004 to 2015 using data from the Turkish Life Satisfaction Survey. This study finds that utilization has increased and, coinciding with the introduction of the family medicine system, the percentage of patients choosing primary care facilities has increased. The share of the elderly with unmet need and those who could not afford health care have declined. Notwithstanding, overall satisfaction increased only until 2011-2012. Understanding the utilization and satisfaction of the elderly is important, because along with many other countries, the population is aging in Turkey. In the near future, health care needs of the elderly will have a higher priority on the agenda of policy makers

Deafening silence? Marxism, international historical sociology and the spectre of Eurocentrism

Approaching the centenary of its establishment as a formal discipline, International Relations today challenges the ahistorical and aspatial frameworks advanced by the theories of earlier luminaries. Yet, despite a burgeoning body of literature built on the transdisciplinary efforts bridging International Relations and its long-separated nomothetic relatives, the new and emerging conceptual frameworks have not been able to effectively overcome the challenge posed by the ‘non-West’. The recent wave of international historical sociology has highlighted possible trajectories to problematise the myopic and unipolar conceptions of the international system; however, the question of Eurocentrism still lingers in the developing research programmes. This article interjects into the ongoing historical materialist debate in international historical sociology by: (1) conceptually and empirically challenging the rigid boundaries of the extant approaches; and (2) critically assessing the postulations of recent theorising on ‘the international’, capitalist states-system/geopolitics and uneven and combined development. While the significance of the present contributions in international historical sociology should not be understated, it is argued that the ‘Eurocentric cage’ still occupies a dominant ontological position which essentially silences ‘connected histories’ and conceals the role of inter-societal relations in the making of the modern states-system and capitalist geopolitics

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Experimental investigation of the heat transfer characteristics of a pulsating impinging jet on a flat surface

In this research, cooling of the target surface consisting of a flat plate with constant heat flux using a pulsating impinging jet is investigated experimentally. In the investigations, the jet Reynolds number (Rej), Prandtl number (Pr) and geometric parameters were kept constant and the effects of these parameters on the heat transfer were analyzed while changing the distance between the jet and the target surface (H/D), amplitude (Ao) and jet frequency (Wo). Experiments were performed for three different blowing distances, four different amplitudes and six different frequencies. The pulsating jet is used as an active heat transfer enhancement method, temperature measurements were made in detail on the experimental setup and Nusselt numbers were calculated with the based on measured temperatures. The results are expressed as a function of dimensionless numbers, and the results are compared with the heat transfer results of continuous jet impingement. Experimental results showed that the pulsating jet has a significant effect on heat transfer enhancement. It was observed that the pulsating jet significantly increased the heat transfer compared to the continuous jets

Stability Analysis and Optimized Slope Angle for the Iron Ore Open-Pit Mine

With an increase in the overall slope height of open pit mines, stability analysis and amount of stripping waste rock becomes progressively difficult. It is necessary to optimize the overall slope angle by increasing it as much as possible with ensuring the mining safety. After comprehensive geotechnical investigation and rock mechanical laboratory tests, the combined use of limit equilibrium and numerical modeling analysis methods increases reliability and accuracy of the stability analysis. With the optimum slope design in Bizmisen iron ore mine, there will be a significant decrease in production cost and in the amount of stripping