Combating SARS and H1N1: insights and lessons from Singapore's public health control measures

"Combating the outbreak of infectious diseases is a major public health imperative for the small island-state of Singapore. In this paper we discuss and assess the public health measures taken by the Singaporean government to combat the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and H1N1 in 2009. Most notably, the state introduced a clear line of command and control to monitor the effectiveness and efficacy of public health control measures as well as to oversee their implementation. Meanwhile, it has also employed moral suasion to ensure compliance with draconian health control measures by the population. At the same time, the Singapore government also established a close partnership with the population to ensure the acquiescence of the general public to these measures. Finally, this paper draws on the insights and lessons learned from the two outbreaks to develop a conceptual model for pandemic management." (author's abstract)"Die Bekämpfung des Ausbruchs ansteckender Krankheiten ist ein zentrales Gesundheitsgebot für den Inselstaat Singapur. Im vorliegenden Artikel erörtern und bewerten wir die Maßnahmen, welche die Regierung Singapurs im Bereich der öffentlichen Gesundheitsversorgung traf, um den Ausbruch von SARS im Jahr 2003 und von H1N1 im Jahr 2009 zu bekämpfen. Besonders bemerkenswert ist in diesem Zusammenhang die Einführung einer klaren Weisungs- und Kontrollstrategie, um die Wirksamkeit und Wirkungen der Maßnahmen zu überprüfen sowie ihre Implementierung beaufsichtigen zu können. Zudem wurden moralische Appelle angewendet, um die Einhaltung von drakonischen Maßnahmen zur Gesundheitskontrolle durch die Bevölkerung zu gewährleisten. Gleichzeitig etablierte die singapurische Regierung eine enge Partnerschaft mit der Bevölkerung, die das Einverständnis der Öffentlichkeit zu diesen Maßnahmen sicherstellte. Zum Schluss wird im vorliegenden Aufsatz ein konzeptionelles Modell, das auf Einsichten und Lehren aus den beiden Ausbrüchen beruft, ausgearbeitet." (Autorenreferat

Teaching public policy in East Asia: aspirations, potentials and challenges

10.1080/13876988.2012.724965Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis145376-39

The Determinants of Knowledge Sharing Intention in Professional Virtual Communities: An Integrative Model

The growing use of information technology and the Internet has led to the emergence of professional virtual communities (PVCs). Why are PVC members willing to spend time and energy to provide valuable knowledge to others? This study extended Icek Ajzen’s(1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) to analyze what determines PVC members’ willingness to share knowledge. Empirical data were collected from three IT-related PVCs in Taiwan, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to verify the fit of the proposed model. Based on 423 usable samples were obtained, the results showed that knowledge sharing intentions would be significantly affected by, in order of importance, attitude toward knowledge sharing, perceived behavioral control of knowledge sharing, and subjective norm of knowledge sharing. The factors affecting attitude toward knowledge sharing were, in order of importance, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, enjoyment in helping others, knowledge self-efficacy, compatibility, and trust. The major factor that affected the subject norm of knowledge sharing was peer influence. Factors that affected perceived behavioral control of knowledge sharing were, in order of importance, knowledge self-efficacy, resource availability, and perceived ease of use

Nonlinear photoacoustic microscopy via a loss modulation technique: from detection to imaging

In order to achieve high-resolution deep-tissue imaging, multi-photon fluorescence microscopy and photoacoustic tomography had been proposed in the past two decades. However, combining the advantages of these two imaging systems to achieve optical-spatial resolution with an ultrasonic-penetration depth is still a field with challenges. In this paper, we investigate the detection of the two-photon photoacoustic ultrasound, and first demonstrate background-free two-photon photoacoustic imaging in a phantom sample. To generate the background-free two-photon photoacoustic signals, we used a high-repetition rate femtosecond laser to induce narrowband excitation. Combining a loss modulation technique, we successfully created a beating on the light intensity, which not only provides pure sinusoidal modulation, but also ensures the spectrum sensitivity and frequency selectivity. By using the lock-in detection, the power dependency experiment validates our methodology to frequency-select the source of the nonlinearity. This ensures our capability of measuring the background-free two-photon photoacoustic waves by detecting the 2nd order beating signal directly. Furthermore, by mixing the nanoparticles and fluorescence dyes as contrast agents, the two-photon photoacoustic signal was found to be enhanced and detected. In the end, we demonstrate subsurface two-photon photoacoustic bio-imaging based on the optical scanning mechanism inside phantom samples