Nurses practices regarding the prevention of nosocomial infections in the neurosurgical intensive care unit

Objectives: This study was conducted for determining nurses’ interventions to preventive nosocomial infections seen in a neurosurgery intensive care unit (ICU).Materials and methods: The study population was comprised of with 10 nurses who worked in the neurosurgery ICU of a university hospital in Ankara. The data were collected using a questionnaire and an interventions form. In the analysis of data number of the account was used.Results: Mean knowledge level of the study population was 10.4 on 28 points in the questionnaire. While it is noted that the nurses take measures to prevent some of the nosocomial infections, which are included intervention form, there were no measures against surgical wound infections, meningitis, shunt infections that are seen infrequently in the neurosurgical units.Conclusion: Nurses’ knowledge on nosocomial infections and their interventions to prevent nosocomial infections were found to be inadequate and outdated

Revisiting the Conditions of Authenticity for Built Heritage in Areas of Conflict

This article examines the application of conditions of authenticity within the context ofbuilt heritage management in areas of political conflict, where heritage management can be seen as apolitical act rather than a means of protection. It focuses on values attributed to built heritage that canbe targeted or reinvented by the dominant power in areas of conflict with minorities being powerlessto intervene. The argument is built around the Agios Synesios Church in North Cyprus, whichcontinued to be used by the Greek Cypriot minority following the island division in 1974. Althoughtheir way of life has been compromised, they have embraced forced change through using the churchto maintain their ritual and religious practices; by doing so, they negotiate their values towards theirheritage. In this case, the study shows that the conditions of authenticity are difficult to meet, giventhe means through which heritage management can be manipulated. Accordingly, the article aims tocontribute to general discussions on the vagueness and enigmatic conditions of authenticity in areasof conflict. Different buildings in areas of conflict around the world suffer because of the politicalnature of heritage management, which makes the criteria of authenticity unviable

An architectural assessment method for new exterior additions to historic buildings

The design approaches of new exterior additions to historic buildings have been among the ongoing debates in the field of architectural conservation. The aim of this study is to develop an assessment method, which can be used to determine the compatibility in architectural expression of the new addition in relation to the characteristics of a historic building. This method is based on the architectural analysis, which includes environmental relations, building-lot relations, mass relations and the facade composition of the historic building both before and after the new addition in relation to the value of a historical building. In this study, a selected group of historic buildings in Izmir, Turkey with new exterior additions was analysed with regard to their exterior architectural characteristics in order to evaluate the compatibility of the new addition, by employing the use of contemporary conservation principles. The importance of this study is to guide architects to form the basis of a decision for developing an integrated approach in designing new additions in the course of the actual design process. On the other hand, the proposed method can be evaluated as a contribution to the emerging field of heritage impact assessments as well as scientific assistance to local governments to criticize specific projects of cultural heritage assets submitted for appraisal. Analysis results showed that the value of the historic building should first clearly be identified and a new addition should bear the identity of its own period. However, instead of altering the scale or form of the historic building, a new addition should complement and contribute to the sense of proportion, disposition and historical pattern. © 2012

Revisiting the Conditions of Authenticity for Built Heritage in Areas of Conflict

This article examines the application of conditions of authenticity within the context of built heritage management in areas of political conflict, where heritage management can be seen as a political act rather than a means of protection. It focuses on values attributed to built heritage that can be targeted or reinvented by the dominant power in areas of conflict with minorities being powerless to intervene. The argument is built around the Agios Synesios Church in North Cyprus, which continued to be used by the Greek Cypriot minority following the island division in 1974. Although their way of life has been compromised, they have embraced forced change through using the church to maintain their ritual and religious practices; by doing so, they negotiate their values towards their heritage. In this case, the study shows that the conditions of authenticity are difficult to meet, given the means through which heritage management can be manipulated. Accordingly, the article aims to contribute to general discussions on the vagueness and enigmatic conditions of authenticity in areas of conflict. Different buildings in areas of conflict around the world suffer because of the political nature of heritage management, which makes the criteria of authenticity unviable