Evaluation of an implementation strategy for a World Health Organization (WHO) public health report: The implementation of the International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury (IPSCI) in Romania

Aim: This paper aims to evaluate a strategy for the implementation of public health policy recommendations from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) report “International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury” in Romania. More specifically, it seeks to: a) evaluate implementation actions with a focus on a number of people reached and status of completion at 12 months follow-up; b) describe implementation activities undertaken in the course of one year, and; c) evaluate perceived barriers and facilitators of implementation at 12 months follow-up. Methods: A cross-sectional design was adopted with two surveys administered in 2014/15 among key implementers in Romania. The questionnaires contained open-ended, multiple choice and 5-point Likert scale questions. Results on the implementation status, implementation activities performed and self-reported barriers and facilitators were analysed and reported using descriptive statistics. Results: Implementation completion rate was 75%, with 4390 persons directly or indirectly benefiting from the implementation-related activities listed in the final implementation plan reporting. A broad range of implementation experiences was reported. Most common activity types were delivery of services, technical trainings, implementation coordination and development meetings. Most useful tools and processes were the Romanian language version summary of the report, educational meetings, and local consensuses processes. Reported outcomes included the direct output produced, evidence of services provided, and individual or organizational level impact. Most barriers were named for the policymakers and academia as stakeholder groups and most facilitating influences for the private sector, with dependence of policymakers on constituency interest scoring highest barrier and the general availability of European Commission and European Structural Funds highest facilitator. Conclusion: The surveys proved to be both feasible and useful tools to expand our understanding of implementation and to supplement the more standard used implementation strategies at country level

Developing an implementation strategy for a World Health Organization public health report: The implementation of the International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury (IPSCI) in Romania

Aim: The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes a large number of health reports every year, containing recommendations to overcome societal and system barrier challenges toward targeting unmet health needs. One such report, the International Perspectives on Spi-nal Cord Injury (IPSCI), specifically describes the situation of persons with spinal cord in-jury. Against this backdrop, the question arises about how these recommendations can be incorporated into an implementation strategy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe a phased process of developing an implementation strategy for a WHO public health report with IPSCI serving as a case example.Methods: The process to develop the implementation strategy consisted of specific phases each employing particular mechanisms. The preparatory phase was composed of a group dis-cussion to select development mechanisms. The implementation strategy development phase comprised focus-group interviews, as well as of a stakeholder dialogue. Thematic content analysis was applied to qualitative data.Results: The group discussion led to selection of specific development mechanisms. The focus group mechanism allowed key stakeholders to openly discuss implementation goals and processesand impacted the selection of the core implementation group members and the focus of the stakeholder dialogue (SD) discussion.The SD was instrumental in developing a specific implementation strategy based on the report‟s recommendations. The strategy con-sisted of a detailed implementation plan, provisions to coordinate an implementation group and expert guidance.Conclusion: The findings from the current study can inform the ongoing development of systematic, evidence-informed, participatory and stakeholder-driven processes for the devel-opment of implementation strategies for recommendations from WHO public health reports

Способ обработки крупногабаритных деталей

В данной статье приведены результаты исследования проблем обработки крупногабаритных деталей в условиях машиностроительных заводов Республики Казахстан. Исследования показали, что при обработке крупногабаритных деталей из труднообрабатываемых материалов возникают осевые и поперечные колебания, которые отрицательно сказываются на точности обработки и на стойкости режущего инструмента. Кроме этого существует проблема обработки крупногабаритных деталей с функционально связанными поверхностями. Для решения данных проблем предлагаются комбинированные способы обработки.This article presents the results of a study of the state of the problem of processing largesized parts in the conditions of machine-building plants of the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK). Studies have shown that when machining large parts from hard-to-digest materials, axial and lateral vibrations arise, which adversely affect machining accuracy and the resistance of the cutting tool. In addition, there is the problem of processing large parts with functionally connected surfaces. To solve these problems, combined treatment methods are proposed

Evaluation of an implementation strategy for a World Health Organization (WHO) public health report: The implementation of the International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury (IPSCI) in Romania

Aim: This paper aims to evaluate a strategy for the implementation of public health policy recommendations from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) report “International Perspectives on Spinal Cord Injury” in Romania. More specifically, it seeks to: a) evaluate implementation actions with a focus on a number of people reached and status of completion at 12 months follow-up; b) describe implementation activities undertaken in the course of one year, and; c) evaluate perceived barriers and facilitators of implementation at 12 months follow-up.Methods: A cross-sectional design was adopted with two surveys administered in 2014/15 among key implementers in Romania. The questionnaires contained open-ended, multiple choice and 5-point Likert scale questions. Results on the implementation status, implementation activities performed and self-reported barriers and facilitators were analysed and reported using descriptive statistics.Results: Implementation completion rate was 75%, with 4390 persons directly or indirectly benefiting from the implementation-related activities listed in the final implementation plan reporting. A broad range of implementation experiences was reported. Most common activity types were delivery of services, technical trainings, implementation coordination and development meetings. Most useful tools and processes were the Romanian language version summary of the report, educational meetings, and local consensuses processes. Reported outcomes included the direct output produced, evidence of services provided, and individual or organizational level impact. Most barriers were named for the policymakers and academia as stakeholder groups and most facilitating influences for the private sector, with dependence of policymakers on constituency interest scoring highest barrier and the general availability of European Commission and European Structural Funds highest facilitator.Conclusion: The surveys proved to be both feasible and useful tools to expand our understanding of implementation and to supplement the more standard used implementation strategies at country level. 

Theorising Disability: Beyond Common Sense

This article seeks to introduce the topic of disability to political theory via a discussion of some of the literature produced by disability theorists. The author argues that these more radical approaches conceptualise disability in ways that conflict with ‘common-sense’ notions of disability that tend to underpin political theoretical considerations of the topic. Furthermore, the author suggests that these more radical conceptualisations have profound implications for current debates on social justice, equality and citizenship that highlight the extent to which these notions are also currently underpinned by ‘common-sense’ notions of ‘normality’

Transgenic models of skin diseases

Background: Transgenic animals have greatly enhanced our understanding of the contribution of various structural and regulatory components to epidermal biology. The expression of mutant versions of these components in the epidermis of transgenic mice has generated animal models of specific human skin diseases

Practical reasoning in political discourse: The UK government's response to the economic crisis in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report

This article focuses on practical reasoning in political discourse and argues for a better integration of argumentation theory with critical discourse analysis (CDA). Political discourse and its specific genres (for example, deliberation) primarily involve forms of practical reasoning, typically oriented towards finding solutions to problems and deciding on future courses of action. Practical reasoning is a form of inference from cognitive and motivational premises: from what we believe (about the situation or about means—end relations) and what we want or desire (our goals and values), leading to a normative judgement (and often a decision) concerning action. We offer an analysis of the main argument in the UK government’s 2008 Pre-Budget Report (HM Treasury, 2008) and suggest how a critical evaluation of the argument from the perspective of a normative theory of argumentation (particularly the informal logic developed by Douglas Walton) can provide the basis for an evaluation in terms of characteristic CDA concerns. We are advancing this analysis as a contribution to CDA, aimed at increasing the rigour and systematicity of its analyses of political discourse, and as a contribution to the normative concerns of critical social science

Investigating photo-catalytic activity of metal-ceramic composites in eosin degradation using complex iron compounds

Iron-containing metal-ceramic composites based on silicon nitrides, titanium, and sialon were investigated in terms of their phase composition, as well as identification and evaluation of acid-base surface centers. It is shown that the base Lewis centers and the acid centers of Brensted are prevalent on the surface of the materials. The photocatalytic activity of composites was examined in the process of eosin degradation in presence of Н[2]О[2] and EDTA. The composites based on nitrides of silicon and titanium demonstrate the highest activity under ferric complex system conditions