Myths versus Truths regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-2019) Outbreak

Background: The Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) is a novel infectious disease caused by the COVID-19 Virus. This virus belongs to the family of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and classified as SARS-CoV-2, a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that is causing an ongoing global pandemic. The outbreak of this novel Coronavirus (nCoV-19) is causing great fear in public due to its rapid spread over 200 countries worldwide and created a global Public Health Emergency.  The virus is an intracellular obligatory parasite that can even infect bacteria called Bacteriophage. Unlike Bacteria, Virus is not a living microorganism and can’t multiply in the outer environment. If we draw a line in between the living and non-living, it lies in the border3. However, the peculiar characteristic of the virus is that it can be living after entering the body of the living organism, causing harmful effects. Since it behaves like dust or dirt outside of our body, it is better to wash them out and prevent it to enter our bodies. In this way, the best way of prevention of this novel COVID-19 viral disease is to wash it out from our hand, rather than killing it by using a disinfectant, hand sanitizer, alcohol-based rub, etc. Key Message: Don’t Get the Virus, Don’t Give the Virus. Since COVID-19 Virus can enter the body from the reservoir mainly through respiratory droplets during coughing, keeping social distance and proper hand-washing are the best way to preventive measure. To prevent the rapid spreading of COVID-19, please strictly follow the following five precautionary and preventive measures yourself and ask others too. HANDS – wash them often with soap and water ELBOW – cough into it FACE – don’t touch it SPACE – keep social distance (> 3feets) FEEL SICK? - Stay home (with proper nursing care

Sexual harassment in public transport and its coping strategies among bachelor students: A cross sectional study

Introduction: Sexual harassment in public transport is a common, yet little discussed form of gender-based aggression, predominantly to women. Such abuses have a significant on the mental health of the victims. It also leads them to abandon work and education due to the fear of being harassed on their route. Knowledge regarding the prevalence and coping strategies against such harassment is necessary to formulate effective plans for its mitigation. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study done among 105 bachelor students of Maiya Devi Kanya College of Bharatpur, Chitwan. Self-administered structured questionnaires were used. A Chi-square test was used to determine the significance of the association between variables. Results: Out of 105, 23 students mentioned that they had been sexually harassed in public transport. The non-verbal form was the commonest followed by verbal and physical. Almost half of the respondents mentioned that they would prefer to remain silent (47.6 %) and not react to the situation (54.3%). Self-discipline and effective law were deemed as major ways to prevent such abuses. Conclusion: When girls remain unsafe in public transport, it affects their self-esteem and ultimately hampers their personal productivity and national growth. Stricter laws, unprejudiced societies, and moral values are necessary to prevent as well as help women cope with such harassment

Carbon Footprint and Environmental Documentation of Product - A Case Analysis on Road Construction

Environmental accounting and documentation of each industry and organization is required for the sustainable development. In addition, environmental awareness is creating pressure to the industry to declare and label environmental features of their product to the consumers. Industrial products interact with environment during entire life cycle of a product and consequences are undesirable environmental impacts. The solution for minimum environmental impacts is the development of methods and tools to measure and compare environmental impacts of products (goods and services are summarized under the term product according the ISO 14040). ISO 14020 series, ISO 14025 - environmental declaration, ISO 14024 - environmental label, and ISO 14021 - self declared environmental claim are facilitating to the industry to communicate environmental impacts of their product. At present, global warming and it’s consequences in climate change are major concerns of environmental impacts for the global society. One specific means to communicate global warming environmental impact is ‘carbon footprint’ of the product, which can be declared to the consumers following the methodology of upcoming ISO 14067- carbon footprint of products. Life cycle assessment is the back bone for industries to quantify environmental impacts, and to document and declare environmental impacts of production activities. This thesis reviews existing environmental documentation system of product, accesses ISO standard for carbon footprint of product and relates it to the environmental product labeling and declaration (EPDs), develops system theory to model a road case system for carbon footprint, calculates carbon footprint of the road construction case and recommends carbon footprint as part of environmental product declaration (EPD). The thesis starts with reviewing existing environmental documentation and carbon footprint accounting systems with a main focus on ISO requirements. The thesis further discusses system theory of industrial ecology to account carbon footprint of the products. System engineering and LCA methodology are taken as tools to account carbon footprint of the products. Road construction case E6 – Kroppen – Tonstad, Trondheim, is taken as case for the carbon footprint account, which is a part of transportation service. Finally, discussions are made on the connection between environmental declaration and carbon footprint, issues of ISO 14067 – carbon footprint of product, system boundary and data aggregations for LCA methodology for road case

Continuous Professional Development in Healthcare : Lifelong learning for nurses in the workplace

As national boarders continue to disappear and technology advances, the needs of society continues to change, lending credence to the idea that healthcare workers require continued development in order to ensure the delivery of safe, quality services. Nurses, as adult learners, are an integral part of the healthcare system. They address a wide variety of patient needs and therefore, are obliged to update their competencies in accordance with current evidence-based practices. One way to develop nurse competence is through continued professional development (CPD) activities. This thesis is a part of a research project being conducted at one higher education institution located in Helsinki, Finland. The aim of this study is to investigate the benefits, motives, participation and existing barriers of CPD activities. This is a qualitative study using a deductive approach for the review of literature. The theoretical framework used was, Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory. Results show that there exist personal and organizational benefits when employees participate in routine CPD activities. They are, increased job satisfaction, job retention, professional growth and the provision of high quality patient care. According to the literature, the motivating factors for CPD include an increase in the following: clinical competency, job security, health promotion and the enhancement of well-being at the workplace. Thus, to facilitate continuous education (CE) activities for health care personnel, the perceived barriers or gaps, such as, the lack of; time, funding, employer`s support, and work overload are to be addressed. Through this investigation, it seems clear that the pursuit of lifelong learning requires participation and commitment on different levels. Additional research could focus on identifying the specific factors represented in smaller clusters within healthcare organizations throughout Finland