The case of uneven development in Palestine: An investigation of scalar fix as an act of dispossession

Israel\u27s assault on Gaza in December 2008 brought one of the world\u27s most long-standing and hotly debated issues to the fore: the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Despite numerous diplomatic efforts to negotiate peace, the hostilities between the two parties continue. One of the fundamental obstacles to peace has been the highly uneven development between Israel and Palestine, caused primarily by Israel\u27s continuous dispossession of Palestinian rights to land, water and sovereignty. In order to further our understanding of this phenomenon, this thesis sets out to examine processes of dispossession are carried out. The study therefore draws on the geographical concept of scalar fix and investigates how scalar fix consolidates power and functions as an act of dispossession of the Palestinian people. The analysis is based on a conceptual framework which utilizes Harvey\u27s four key conditionalities of uneven geographical development as well as his matrix of multiple spaces. Linking the concept of scalar fix to the notion of dispossession, four types of scalar fix are identified and applied to the situation of Palestine. Dialectics is used as a methodology, both to develop the conceptual framework and to examine the case of dispossession in Palestine. The study finds that not only the formation of laws and treaties, but also the efforts of various networks, along with the control of knowledge and identity formation, constitute scalar fixes which facilitate Israel\u27s consolidation of power and the act of dispossessing the people of Palestine

Systematic review of 15 years of scientific literature on public procurement

As public procurement research is fragmented in many sub-topics, a clear synthesis is lacking, which in turn inhibits the establishment of a clear body of knowledge. To start filling this gap, this systematic review provides an overview of the most influential literature in the field of public procurement. The findings are aimed at providing other researchers with relevant information to synthesize existing findings. We found that public procurement research is maturing, with increasing attention from diverse scientific disciplines. USA and UK are most productive publishers, while European countries have become increasingly active. Although a wide spectrum of research designs have been utilized, the reviewed articles focused on few. For example, although articles addressed twenty different topics, eleven were only studied once or twice, while 61.4% of papers researched the topic of procurement strategies. Considerable variations were observed across countries, indicating different research foci, as well as varying levels of maturity per research characteristic. Research seems to have underused existing scientific knowledge in that literature and meta-studies were only utilized in 13.2% and 5% of papers respectively. Practical applicability of research findings is inhibited by a detected imprecision of research, such as not specifying the procuring government level in 56.1% of reviewed papers. The overall conclusion with respect to the maturity level of public procurement research is that while various different paths have been laid, most researchers continued to walk the main roads. To develop the field further, we recommend to research the field from more diverse angles

Untersuchungen zur antimikrobiellen Wirkung von Mundspüllösungen

Im Rahmen einer in vitro- Studie wurde das antimikrobielle Potential 10 handelsüblicher Mundspülungen und Mundwässer mittels zweier Versuchsreihen, einem Agardiffusionstest und einem Bouillon- Reihenverdünnungstest, untersucht. Dazu wurden Keime der Residentflora, drei Vertreter der oralen Streptokokken, Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus salivarius und Streptococcus mutans, Mikroorganismen der Transientflora, zwei Darmbakterien, darunter Eschericha coli und Enterococcus faecalis, ein Hefepilz, Candida albicans und abschließend Staphylococcus aureus und Pseudomonas aeruginosa verwendet. Zu den zu untersuchenden Substanzen gehören 7 Mundspülungen, DontoDent, Meridol, Elmex, Listerine, Perlodent, Today Dent und Odol- med3, als auch 3 Mundwässer, Odol- Mundwasser, Dentagard und Elkadent. Bei beiden Versuchsreihen wurden unterschiedliche Konzentrationen betrachtet. Die Ergebnisse des Agardiffusionstest zeigten, anhand der ermittelten Hemmhöfe, eindeutig, dass die Mundwässer nur eine schwache bis keine Wirkung entfalten konnten. Listerine zeichnete sich durch eher kleine Hemmhofbildungen aus. Überzeugend waren Meridol, Elmex und Today Dent. Im Bouillon- Reihenverdünnungstest konnte ein generelles Fehlen antimikrobieller Effekte nicht beobachtet werden. Listerine zeigte insgesamt eine gute Wirkung. Fünf der verwendeten Präparate, Meridol, Elmex, Odol- Med3, DontoDent und Perlodent, konnten nahezu alle Mikroorganismen abtöten. Geringe Restkeimzahlen wurden durch eine Erhöhung der Konzentration eliminiert. Die oralen Streptokokken, die Darmbakterien und der Hefepilz wurden von den Mundspülungen effektiv bekämpft. Unterschiede ergaben sich nur bei zwei Keimen, nämlich bei Staphylococcus aureus und Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Eine völlige Inaktivierung beider Keime erbrachten nur Meridol, Elmex und Odol- med3. Betrachtet man die Inhaltsstoffe der einzelnen Produkte, vor allem die Fluoride, so kann deren antimikrobielles Potential erklärt werden

Transalpine Freight Transport

Le transport de marchandises dans l’espace alpin présente un double visage : d’un côté, il est très bénéfique pour l’homme et l’économie ; d’un autre, il a de nombreuses répercutions négatives sur la qualité de vie et sur la santé. Si les effets des transports ont déjà donné lieu à des recherches, à des programmes, à des politiques et à des mesures, le transport reste un défi majeur pour les pays alpins et nécessite une action harmonisée à l’échelle internationale.C’est dans ce contexte que le projet MONITRAF a été mis au point. L’objectif est de définir des mesures communes visant à réduire les effets négatifs du transport routier et d’améliorer la qualité de vie dans les vallées de transit affectées. Cet article aborde des questions centrales du transport de marchandises transalpin : développement et conditions de base, besoin de coopération et d’action, et réponses présentes et à venir pour des transports plus durables dans les Alpes.Freight transport in the Alpine space is an ambivalent issue: on the one hand it brings great benefits for individuals and economies on the other hand it brings many negative side effects on quality of life and health. Even if the effects of transport have been investigated and programmes, policies and measures developed, transport still represents an essential challenge for the Alpine countries and requires internationally harmonized action. Against this background the project MONITRAF has been elaborated, which aims at developing common measures to reduce the negative effects of road transport and improve the quality of life in the affected transit valleys. This paper addresses central questions of transalpine freight transport: its development and framework conditions, the resulting need for cooperation and action and the responses already given and need to be given for a more sustainable transport within the Alps

Transport de marchandises transalpin

Le transport de marchandises dans l’espace alpin présente un double visage : d’un côté, il est très bénéfique pour l’homme et l’économie ; d’un autre, il a de nombreuses répercutions négatives sur la qualité de vie et sur la santé. Si les effets des transports ont déjà donné lieu à des recherches, à des programmes, à des politiques et à des mesures, le transport reste un défi majeur pour les pays alpins et nécessite une action harmonisée à l’échelle internationale.C’est dans ce contexte que le projet MONITRAF a été mis au point. L’objectif est de définir des mesures communes visant à réduire les effets négatifs du transport routier et d’améliorer la qualité de vie dans les vallées de transit affectées. Cet article aborde des questions centrales du transport de marchandises transalpin : développement et conditions de base, besoin de coopération et d’action, et réponses présentes et à venir pour des transports plus durables dans les Alpes.Freight transport in the Alpine space is an ambivalent issue: on the one hand it brings great benefits for individuals and economies on the other hand it brings many negative side effects on quality of life and health. Even if the effects of transport have been investigated and programmes, policies and measures developed, transport still represents an essential challenge for the Alpine countries and requires internationally harmonized action. Against this background the project MONITRAF has been elaborated, which aims at developing common measures to reduce the negative effects of road transport and improve the quality of life in the affected transit valleys. This paper addresses central questions of transalpine freight transport: its development and framework conditions, the resulting need for cooperation and action and the responses already given and need to be given for a more sustainable transport within the Alps

Optimization, Evidence-Based Improvement, Datafication: Systematic Review on the Relation Between Data and School Development in the International Discourse

Zahlen, Daten und Algorithmen optimieren Lehren und Lernen zunehmend. In der Schule werden sie u. a. genutzt, um Gestaltungs- und Steuerungsanforderungen an Schulentwicklungsprozessen zu unterstützen. Dabei kommt ein kritischer Blick auf das Verhältnis von Optimierung, Evidenzbasierung und Datafizierung vielfach zu kurz. Ziel des Beitrages ist es daher, dieses Verhältnis auf Basis eines systematischen Reviews aus Sicht kritischer Medienpädagogik in den Blick zu nehmen und für den Diskurs aufzuarbeiten. Verfolgt wird die Fragestellung: Wie gestaltet sich das Verhältnis von Daten und Schulentwicklung im internationalen Diskurs? Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Schwerpunktsetzungen auf evidenzbasierter Schulentwicklung liegen. Leerstellen werden in Auseinandersetzungen mit technisch erzeugten, unsystematisch erhobenen Daten gesehen. Während meist die ‹bestmögliche› Nutzung digitaler Daten fokussiert wird, werden tiefgreifende Transformationsprozesse von Schule und Schulentwicklung wenig thematisiert.Numbers, data and algorithms are increasingly optimizing teaching and learning. In schools, they are used for example to support design and control requirements in the light of school improvement. In doing so, a critical view on the relation between optimization, evidence-based improvement and datafication comes up short. Therefore, this paper aims to examine this relation based on a systematic review and to make it fruitful for the discourse within critical media education. We focus on the following question: How could the relation between data and school development in an international discourse be described? The results show that the focus is on evidence-based school improvement respectively school development. But we can see gaps regarding the ongoing discussion of technically generated, unsystematically collected data. While publications somehow describe the ‘best possible’ use of digital data, deep transformation processes of schools and school development are still rarely addressed

Conflict sources and management in ICU setting before and during COVID-19: a scoping review of the literature

Introduction. Conflicts are an inherent part of work within any organisation. They can arise between members of an interdisciplinary team (or between teams representing different departments), between patients and team members/family members, and patients' families and team members. Various conflict situations among employees may occur, therefore it is very important to identify their causes and take preventive or targeted corrective measures. The aim of this study was to review the available literature concerning conflicts arising in ICUs¿their types, methods of expression as well as their management and mitigation. In addition, we reviewed the available literature on the impact of the pandemic on the ICU environment caring for COVID-19 patients. Methods. The databases were searched. Single key words or their combinations using AND or OR operators were entered. Eventually, 15 articles were included in our review, which included two identical papers. Results. Conflicts occurred occasionally or rarely; researchers describing ethical conflicts demonstrated a moderate level of exposure to conflicts. The pandemic created many challenges and ethical dilemmas that are a source of ethical conflict. Conclusions. As conflict by nature remains inevitable, adequate procedures in conflict management should be developed and the leadership of managing personnel should be reinforced, because team members frequently expect guidance from their supervisors. The importance of training in interpersonal communication and crisis situation management in healthcare should therefore be emphasised

Cost analysis of laparoscopic lavage compared with sigmoid resection for perforated diverticulitis in the Ladies trial

Background: Laparoscopic peritoneal lavage is an alternative to sigmoid resection in selected patients presenting with purulent peritonitis from perforated diverticulitis. Although recent trials have lacked superiority for lavage in terms of morbidity, mortality was not compromised, and beneficial secondary outcomes were shown. These included shorter duration of surgery, less stoma formation and less surgical reintervention (including stoma reversal) for laparoscopic lavage versus sigmoid resection respectively. The cost analysis of laparoscopic lavage for perforated diverticulitis in the Ladies RCT was assessed in the present study. Methods: This study involved an economic evaluation of the randomized LOLA (LaparOscopic LAvage) arm of the Ladies trial (comparing laparoscopic lavage with sigmoid resection in patients with purulent peritonitis due to perforated diverticulitis). The actual resource use per individual patient was documented prospectively and analysed (according to intention-to-treat) for up to 1 year after randomization. Results: Eighty-eight patients were randomized to either laparoscopic lavage (46) or sigmoid resection (42). The total medical costs for lavage were lower (mean difference € − 3512, 95 per cent bias-corrected and accelerated c.i. −16 020 to 8149). Surgical reintervention increased costs in the lavage group, whereas stoma reversal increased costs in the sigmoid resection group. Differences in favour of laparoscopy were robust when costs were varied by ±20 per cent in a sensitivity analysis (mean cost differ