In Death's Waiting Room: Living and Dying with Dementia in a Multicultural Society

In Death's Waiting Room is a penetrating story about people suffering from dementia in a multi-cultural society, relevant to us all. Anne-Mei The carried out two years of ethnographic research in a nursing home in the Netherlands revealing what usually remains hidden from the public: the decision to stop treatment, the cultural and social gap between the Dutch occupants and the black Caribbean nursing staff, the communication problems with relatives, the tensions and aggression. But she also shares with us the touching and funny moments and experiences with the elderly occupants. This book also unravels "the Blauwborgje case" - which was the focus of much media attention in the Netherlands in the late 1990s - in which a nursing home refused to re-hydrate a man with extreme dementia because they considered his condition to be terminal, whilst his family disagreed and pressed charges for attempted murder. Anne-Mei The gives an account of the events that took place and also explores the wider relevance of the case

In Death's Waiting Room

In Death's Waiting Room is a penetrating story about people suffering from dementia in a multi-cultural society, relevant to us all. Anne-Mei The carried out two years of ethnographic research in a nursing home in the Netherlands revealing what usually remains hidden from the public: the decision to stop treatment, the cultural and social gap between the Dutch occupants and the black Caribbean nursing staff, the communication problems with relatives, the tensions and aggression. But she also shares with us the touching and funny moments and experiences with the elderly occupants. This book also unravels "the Blauwborgje case" - which was the focus of much media attention in the Netherlands in the late 1990s - in which a nursing home refused to re-hydrate a man with extreme dementia because they considered his condition to be terminal, whilst his family disagreed and pressed charges for attempted murder. Anne-Mei The gives an account of the events that took place and also explores the wider relevance of the case.Nederland telt op dit moment 250.000 dementerenden en hun aantal neemt toe. Ooit treft wellicht onze ouders, onze geliefden of onszelf dit lot. Anne-Mei The werkte als onderzoeker twee jaar in een verpleeghuis. Zij onthult wat meestal verborgen blijft: de beslissing om te stoppen met behandelen. De armoede en voodoo-rituelen van de gekleurde verzorgenden. Problemen die kunnen optreden met de familie. Spanningen, agressie en seks op de afdeling. Maar ze maakt ons ook deelgenoot van ontroerende en hilarische taferelen. Daarnaast ontrafelt The 'de zaak 't Blauwbörgje' die in de jaren negentig in het nieuws kwam. De familie van een diep demente man beschuldigde het verpleeghuis van poging tot moord.Wat ging er mis? En kan zoiets weer gebeuren? Het boek leest als een roman en zet eenieder aan het denken over de invulling van zijn of haar eigen levenseinde in het geval van dementie

In Death's Waiting Room

In Death's Waiting Room is a penetrating story about people suffering from dementia in a multi-cultural society, relevant to us all. Anne-Mei The carried out two years of ethnographic research in a nursing home in the Netherlands revealing what usually remains hidden from the public: the decision to stop treatment, the cultural and social gap between the Dutch occupants and the black Caribbean nursing staff, the communication problems with relatives, the tensions and aggression. But she also shares with us the touching and funny moments and experiences with the elderly occupants. This book also unravels "the Blauwborgje case" - which was the focus of much media attention in the Netherlands in the late 1990s - in which a nursing home refused to re-hydrate a man with extreme dementia because they considered his condition to be terminal, whilst his family disagreed and pressed charges for attempted murder. Anne-Mei The gives an account of the events that took place and also explores the wider relevance of the case

Application of theory of planned behaviour in purchasing intention and consumption of Halal food

Purpose Food businesses provide halal food to cater to the dietary requirements of Muslims, especially in communities with a growing number of the ethnic minority and at public institutions such as higher education establishments. A large and growing body of literature has investigated the purchasing and consumption behaviour of halal food there are also studies that revealed consumers do not support halal food products on the grounds of animal welfare where animals were slaughtered without stunning. Thus the aim of this study was to examine the predictors of purchasing intention of halal food products and perceptions of animal welfare among Muslims and non-Muslim consumers of a public higher education institution. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire collected information on sociodemographic profiles and importance of halal food. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency of distribution of all sociodemographic characteristics. Multiple regression analyses were used to describe the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) relationship and purchasing intention. Findings The regression model for all the respondents explained about 73% of the variance of the intent to purchase halal foods where R2 = 0.724, (Adjusted R2 = 0.72). This was significantly different from zero F(3, 185) = 162.130, p < 0.001. Both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers’ attitudes were significant predictors of their purchasing intention of halal foods (β = 0.87, p < 0.001). The implications of subjective norms and perceived behavioural control and the lack of influence from these predictors are discussed. Originality/value This study revealed that both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers agreed on the importance of animal welfare, but there exist differences in perceptions of animal welfare in halal meat production. This research is of value to those working in regulatory and food service settings in understanding the differences and needs of consumers and it contributes to a better understanding of the customers within a university setting

A greater share of the stomach? Role of provenance and ethical standards on consumers’ food choices and purchasing intentions

Purpose Provenance and ethical standards reflect foods that traceable and are supportive of the environment, sustainability and justice in the food supply chain. The aim of this study was to understand higher education consumers’ food choices and to examine the predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire was completed by 296 students and staff members of University of Central Lancashire. The questionnaire collected information on sociodemographic profiles; food choices, provenance and ethical standards; ethical purchasing and sourcing requirements and purchasing intention of food products with provenance and ethical standards. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency of distribution of all sociodemographic characteristics. Multiple regression was used to examine if attitude, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) significantly predict the consumers’ purchasing intention (step 1). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the behavioural items using principal components estimation and varimax rotation. Multiple regression on the expanded TPB (step 2) using the obtained factor scores were conducted to determine if the factors were significant predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards. Findings Multiple regression on the expanded TPB model revealed that only attitude and perceived behavioural control were significant predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards. The regression model explained about 50% of the variance of the intent to purchase food with provenance and ethical standards where R2 = 0.50, (Adjusted R2 = 0.47). This was significantly different from zero F (5, 89) = 17.77, p < 0.001. The incorporation of ‘Preference for ethically sourced food and ‘Perceived knowledge and status of provenance standards’ did not increase the prediction of purchasing behaviour. Originality/value Two broad themes were identified from the factor analysis where the first factor prioritises ‘Preference for ethically sourced food’ and the second factor conceptualises ‘Perceived knowledge and status of provenance standards’. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was expanded to incorporate both factors but did not increase the prediction of purchasing intention. The authors recommend that other potential predictors e.g. moral concerns or perceived value of food with provenance and/or ethical standards to be tested using an extended TPB framework. The study is of value to higher and further education catering services to encourage more sustainable and local food consumption

Making L2 learners' reasoning skills visible : the potential of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Environments

AbstractThis paper explores the use of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Environments (CSCLE) as multimodal spaces for promoting critical thinking for English as Second Language Learning (L2) education from multiple perspectives (Technology, Thinking Skills and Interaction). The exploration focuses on the use of a multitouch tabletop, and an accompanying application called Digital Mysteries, as affordances in CSCLE’s for making reasoning skill-based thinking visible for L2 learning in Higher Education.Despite the worldwide promotion of teaching thinking in L2 education, it is not always easy for teachers to identify the types of thinking skills being targeted in L2 pedagogical tasks. To the authors’ knowledge, little empirical interactional evidence is available to demonstrate critical thinking in L2 learner talk during group work. This paper examines interactions among three groups of Chinese English Language learners at a higher education institution in a CSCLE. Video data were collected of students’ thinking-in-action whilst engaging in multimodal interactions in the environment. Results show that new technologies can provide innovative and empirically driven ways in which L2 learners’ thinking is externalised and how critical reasoning can be tracked, promoted, evaluated and self-regulated. The findings suggest that collaborations in a CSCLE can support the completion of tasks embedding high levels of cognitive complexity by L2 learners with effective use of limited cognitive resources. This leads to a number of recommendations about integrating the teaching of critical thinking skills into the L2 classroom using CSCLE technologies

Positioning Food Safety in Halal Assurance

Muslims follow the religion of Islam and the food they eat should be Halal, meaning lawful or permissible. Muslims are allowed to eat halal and wholesome food that has been provided for them. However, some of the main prohibitions are swine flesh, blood, carrion, animals not slaughtered according to Islamic laws and alcoholic drinks. At present Halal assurance is in a complicated state, with various Halal standards differing from each other without gaining mutual acceptance. The world is starting to understand the need for an influential globally accepted standard that would open doors to global markets and gain consumer confidence. This paper discusses issues mainly related to food safety in Halal assurance. The aim was to discover and describe the approach to food safety requirements in Halal food provision and how this is incorporated in the Halal assurance systems. The position of food safety regulation within Halal requirements or Halal standards’ requirements for food safety is still unclear. This review also considers whether current Halal standards include criteria in common with internationally accepted food hygiene standards and emphasizes the potential of using the HACCP system for Halal assurance

In-vitro cytotoxicity activity of potato (Solanum tuberosum. L) peel extracts against human gingival fibroblasts

Potato peel is often regarded as waste although it contains phenolic compounds, glycoalkaloids, and flavonoid. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of potato peel extracts on the viability of Human Gingival Fibroblasts (HGF). Potato peel extracts were prepared by a maceration technique. The 96-well tissue culture micro titre plates were seeded with HGF at a density of 2×104 cells/100 μL and incubated for 24 hours. Next, 100 μL of potato peel extracts at a concentration of 62.5 μg/mL, 125 μg/mL, 250 μg/mL, 500 μg/mL, and 1000 μg/mL and a medium (control) were dispensed into the well of the cell culture. Each concentration was evaluated for its viability with 3 replicate samples. The results of the MTT test were analyzed statistically using one-way ANOVA and LSD test. The mean and standard deviation of the viable HGF after incubated with the potato peel extract at the concentration of 62.5 μg/mL, 125 μg/mL, 250 μg/mL, 500 μg/mL, and 1000 μg/mL were 98.67% ± 3.56, 88.34% ± 0.79, 55.42% ± 3.96, 28.33% ± 0.60, and 26.26% ± 0.53, respectively. The percentage of non-viable HGF increased with an increase in the concentration of the potato peel extract. The ANOVA test result showed a significant influence of various concentrations of the potato peel extract on the viability of HGF (p<0.05). The result of the LSD-test showed a significant difference among all the treatment groups (p<0.05). A higher concentration of potato peel extracts increased the viability of HGF cell line and the concentrations of 62.5 μg/mL and 125 μg/mL were considered non-cytotoxic

Collaborative enquiry through the tabletop for second/foreign language learners

Abstract. Interactional communicative competence and higher-order thinking have been well documented as two of the biggest challenges for second/foreign language learners (EFL learners). This paper evaluates the use of digital tabletops as tools for problem-solving tasks in groups. The evaluation is based on a preliminary study of an application of the use of Digital Mysteries task with EFL learners in a Higher Education institution. It focuses more specifically on the extent to which collaborative learning platforms provided by interactive tabletops can promote and support the application of both thinking and linguistic skills for EFL learners. Based on an interdisciplinary perspective which draws from instructed second language learning and human-computer interaction fields, the evaluation considers momentto- moment multimodal interaction of three groups of Chinese English language learners with and around the completion of the Digital Mysteries task. It seeks to identify what specific affordances in the design might benefit EFL learners in terms of thinking skills, interactional competence and linguistic performance, and by the same token, what might not. This paper concludes with a number of suggestions about how technologies designed for collaborative enquiry might be repurposed for higher-order thinking and language learning