Self-Reflections in a Personal Space: Investigating the Process of Self-Portrait Painting by Academic Research

The purpose of this practice-based paper is to investigate the artistic reflections and self-aesthetics into the process of artwork making. Every stage of this process represents a particular significance from the initial stage to the finishing stage. Furthermore, this exploration aims to develop the employment of practical research in the field of Visual Arts on personal, communal and institutional levels. In this exploration, the methodology is the vehicle that transforms the research into reality. Making the artwork itself is the methodology, and this process is the primary reference of the present research. Therefore, the author presents the synthesis of the artwork making rather than the analysis of its aftermath, the focus in this context is the construction of the artwork. This is the result of this research, the artwork itself. Regarding the employability aspects of this approach, it involves the practitioners and researchers in the fields of the visual arts toward further realizations of the actual creative process. This employability takes place into the signs of progress on different levels through academic and artistic practices in schools, universities as well as higher learning and teaching institutions. The present practical paper is significant because it investigates reflections of the cultural identity as well as the narratives of personal memory into academic research. In the multicultural present temporality, research-oriented artists highlight the diversity of their societies and represent significantly personal aesthetics as themes in their artworks. This approach would elevate the mutual understanding among people from different aesthetical backgrounds; people's trends enhance multicultural perceptions, harmony, and coexistence. In addition, artists in this regard illustrate such an approach in their visual art when they compose practice and research with the symbolic content, which reflects social motives. Artists practice such art to critique the violent content in communication media and educate people that media may fake reality to create more audience and viewers. This study focused on the significance of subjective representations in contemporary arts, and the impact of such representations on the mutual understanding among people of multicultural societies. Keywords: Contemporary Art Practice, Studio-Based Methodology, Practice-Based Research, Hybrid Painting Techniques, Multimedia, Mixed media, Photography. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-12-18 Publication date: April 30th 202

People’s Reflections in the City: Exploring the Painting Practices of Figurative Expressionism by Academic Research

This paper is a practical outcome of a multidisciplinary research project conducted by the authors on the contemporary and modern practices of the Improvisation in Arts. All the authors are research-oriented practitioners in the fields of visual arts, performance arts, multimedia, Information and communication technologies as well as vocational training. Furthermore, the drawings, paintings, and sketches are all made by the correspondent author Assistant Professor Dr. Mohammed Baker Mohammed Al-Abbas as part of his research-oriented artistic practice through the hybrid painting techniques. Abstract The present studio-based paper aims to explore the creative reflections of the aesthetics of otherness within the practical phases of the painting production. This paper represents an experimental endeavor to create a two-dimensional artwork, which is a hybrid painting technique on canvas with mixed media and acrylic paints. Within such a specific practice-based context, each phase of this practical approach outlines a critical significance from the first phase of creating that painting to the completing phase. The practical methodology is the tool that converts the researcher's/artist's vision into creative academic production. The process of creating the painting on the canvas is the methodology; such manner turns to be a primary reference for the present exploration. There is a significant paradigm in this approach, which focuses on the artwork as a morphological creature being created by the researcher/artist rather than a consequent result that only exists as a finished/complete/polished outcome. The outcome of this research is the record of the artwork production itself. This record presents visual references of the artwork progress as well as a textual reflective narrative to describe this process with written words. This research-oriented artistic attempt introduces the artists and researchers in the domains of the Fine Arts to integrate the process of art-making into the methodologies of academic research. It is an academic text, reflective text as well as sequential images recording the artwork making. This studio-based experimentation is significant because it examines the aesthetics of the otherness into the expressive figurative abstraction in painting. Furthermore, the impact of such a studio-based approach manifests on advancing applications of the artistic oriented research in the field of Fine Arts globally on curatorial and academic levels. Keywords: Contemporary Art Practice, Studio-Based Methodology, Practice-Based Research, Hybrid Painting Techniques, Multimedia, Mixed media, Photography DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-10-08 Publication date: April 30th 202

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

The Degree to which the Standards of the Humanistic Curriculum are Included in the Geography Book for the Basic Tenth Grade درجة تضمين معايير المنهج الإنساني في كتاب الجغرافيا للصف العاشر الأساسي

Abstract: The study aimed to analyze the Geography book for the tenth grade, in light of the standards of the human approach. To achieve the goal, the researcher prepared a list of standards for the curriculum after examining theoretical literature and previous studied, and then verifying its validity and reliability. It consisted of (45) items. In light of the tool, the researchers analyzed the content of the tenth grade geography book in the second semester of the academic year 2017/2018. The researcher used the analytical descriptive methodology to suit the purpose of the study. The results of the study indicated that the most available standards of the human approach in the geography book for the tenth grade were represented in the cognitive field in the first rank, the moral field in the second rank and then the social field. In the last rank came the emotional field. This indicates the lack of geography book in the development of emotional aspects and interest in the cognitive aspects. Among the most prominent recommendations: The need to take into account the complementarity between the cognitive and emotional aspects in the geographic approach to advance human relations, which are sufficient to advance the educational learning process. ملخص: هدفت الدراسة إلى تحليل كتاب الجغرافيا للصف العاشر في ضوء معايير المنهج الإنساني، ولتحقيق الهدف قام الباحثون بإعداد قائمة معايير للمنهج بعد الإطلاع على الأدب النظري والدراسات ذات الصلة؛ ثم التأكد من صدقها وثباتها، وتكونت من (45) فقرة وفي ضوء الأداة قام الباحثون بتحليل محتوى كتاب الجغرافيا للصف العاشر، في الفصل الدراسي الثّانيّ 2017/2018م. استخدم الباحثون المنهج التحليلي الوصفي لملاءمته لهدف الدراسة، وأشارت نتائج الدراسة إلى أنّ أكثر معايير المنهج الإنساني توافرًا في كتاب الجغرافيا للصف العاشر تمثلت بالمجال المعرفي في الرتبة الأولى، ثم المجال الأخلاقي في الرتبة الثانية،ثم الاجتماعي أما الرتبة الأخيرة فكانت للمجال الوجداني ممّا يدل على افتقار كتاب الجغرافيا في تنمية الجوانب العاطفية والاهتمام بالجوانب المعرفية وفي ضوء النتائج كانت أبرز التوصيات: ضرورة مراعاة التكامل بين الجوانب المعرفية والوجدانية في مناهج الجغرافيا؛ للارتقاء بالعلاقات الإنسانية وهي كفيلة بالنهوض في العملية التعلمية

Global variation in postoperative mortality and complications after cancer surgery: a multicentre, prospective cohort study in 82 countries

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licenseBackground: 80% of individuals with cancer will require a surgical procedure, yet little comparative data exist on early outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared postoperative outcomes in breast, colorectal, and gastric cancer surgery in hospitals worldwide, focusing on the effect of disease stage and complications on postoperative mortality. Methods: This was a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for primary breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer requiring a skin incision done under general or neuraxial anaesthesia. The primary outcome was death or major complication within 30 days of surgery. Multilevel logistic regression determined relationships within three-level nested models of patients within hospitals and countries. Hospital-level infrastructure effects were explored with three-way mediation analyses. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03471494. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2019, we enrolled 15 958 patients from 428 hospitals in 82 countries (high income 9106 patients, 31 countries; upper-middle income 2721 patients, 23 countries; or lower-middle income 4131 patients, 28 countries). Patients in LMICs presented with more advanced disease compared with patients in high-income countries. 30-day mortality was higher for gastric cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (adjusted odds ratio 3·72, 95% CI 1·70–8·16) and for colorectal cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (4·59, 2·39–8·80) and upper-middle-income countries (2·06, 1·11–3·83). No difference in 30-day mortality was seen in breast cancer. The proportion of patients who died after a major complication was greatest in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (6·15, 3·26–11·59) and upper-middle-income countries (3·89, 2·08–7·29). Postoperative death after complications was partly explained by patient factors (60%) and partly by hospital or country (40%). The absence of consistently available postoperative care facilities was associated with seven to 10 more deaths per 100 major complications in LMICs. Cancer stage alone explained little of the early variation in mortality or postoperative complications. Interpretation: Higher levels of mortality after cancer surgery in LMICs was not fully explained by later presentation of disease. The capacity to rescue patients from surgical complications is a tangible opportunity for meaningful intervention. Early death after cancer surgery might be reduced by policies focusing on strengthening perioperative care systems to detect and intervene in common complications. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licenseBackground: Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide. Methods: A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study—a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3·85 [95% CI 2·58–5·75]; p<0·0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63·0% vs 82·7%; OR 0·35 [0·23–0·53]; p<0·0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer. Interpretation: Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research