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Facilitating Organizational Decision-Making Process through LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method
No full textPrevious research has offered several processes/frameworks for facilitating/improving the Organizational Decision-Making Process (ODMP). However, limited research has practically identified a method to facilitate all decision-makers' participation, realise their views/ideas, improve their communications, and maximise the chance of making the organization's most effective and implementable decisions. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) as a creative methodology has been utilized in organisations to facilitate discussions/meetings/workshops. However, no studies have been conducted on applying LSP to improve ODMP. This study explains the use of LSP to facilitate and enhance this process by developing a conceptual framework and offers a novel ODMP. It adopts action research, including interviews, a case study, and a focus group and facilitates a workshop to observe and validate the effectiveness of the proposed process. The research findings suggest that the proposed approach fosters a more visual, creative, interactive and collaborative experience, increasing all-around participation during the ODMP
‘What are nurses’ and healthcare workers’ cultural understandings of dementia?’ An integrative literature review
No full textAim: to explore the range of cultural understandings of dementia held by people providing nursing care globally.Background: There is a worldwide shortage of nurses and healthcare workers, resulting in extensive global mobility among the workforce. Cultural competence is expected of nurses who serve diverse populations and although self-awareness is recognised as crucial in developing this ability, the focus has tended to be on the identity of the patient and adjusting care according to their specific needs. However, taken-for-granted assumptions drive unconscious judgements and therefore behaviour so nurses’ dementia-related understandings are worthy of exploration.Design: An integrative literature review, comprising five stages: problem identification; literature search; data evaluation; data analysis; and presentation of the findings.Methods: Six databases were searched for original research published between 1997 and 2023. Studies which focus on qualified/registered and unqualified/unregistered healthcare workers’ cultural understandings of dementia were included. Studies were evaluated using a tool designed for the critical assessment of qualitative research. Data was extracted using a bespoke spreadsheet. Conventional content analysis was undertaken to develop a synthesised summary of the findings of the studies.Findings: 11 papers met the inclusion criteria. Content analysis led to identification of two main themes: ‘Stigma as a common factor in cultural perceptions of dementia’, and ‘Stigma derived from cultural perceptions has consequences for people living with dementia’.Conclusion: An international perspective facilitated insight into alternative perceptions of the nature of dementia and care responses. A version of the ‘Relationship Centred Care’ model, expanded to include the wider community, could support theoretical and practical recommendations for culturally congruent approaches to care. Further research is required to examine the usefulness of incorporating this approach internationally.Reporting Method: The authors followed the ENTREQ reporting guidelines (Tong et al., 2012)
The Teaching of Situational Awareness in Theatre Practice: A Matter of Horse Sense?
No full textSituational awareness is considered to be an essential skill to prevent errors in the perioperative environment (Yule et al., 2008). Currently Endsley’s (1995) aviation model is used to inform perioperative practice and teach situational awareness to theatre-practice students in higher education. However, it is argued within this study that the aviation model does not take into account the nuances of the operating theatre environment and as a result is incongruous in supporting the understanding or teaching of situational awareness in the operating theatre environment.
The study’s original contribution to new knowledge is evidenced, by addressing the incongruity in a novel way, by exploring the horse-human-relationship at an axis with Lefebvre’s (1992) rhythmanalysis. The research aim was to compare the experiences of horse-trainers and theatre-practitioners’ situational awareness to explore if this revealed any educational implications to teaching situational awareness across a range of theatre practice programmes in higher education.
The study employed a qualitative exploratory methodology which used a purposive sampling design to recruit 7 experienced horse-trainers and 6 university theatre-practice lecturers to share their perceptions and development of situational awareness in their respective fields of practice.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a research-participant method to allow both researcher and participant to explore their own experiences to interpret the individual narratives. Braun and Clarke’s (2022) reflexive thematic analysis model was used to subjectively and reflexively interpret the data and formulate the findings.
Four themes emerged from the reflexive thematic analysis: presence, professional curiosity, critical thinking and collective consciousness, as processes which support both horse-trainers and theatre-practitioners in developing situational awareness. Horse-trainers were found to use these processes unconsciously through their interactions with the horse, thereby becoming situationally aware. While theatre-practitioners only developed situational awareness if they moved beyond the Lefebvrian concept of ‘dressage’ and actively engaged in the themes stated above.
The study further contributes to original knowledge by reframing perioperative situational awareness to support theatre-practice students in higher education to move beyond Lefebvrian ‘dressage’. The study thereby recommends the embedding of presence, professional curiosity, critical thinking and collective consciousness, which supports the horse-trainers’ unconscious development of situational awareness, into an applied implicit curriculum which will enable theatre-practitioners in higher education to become situational analysts. To achieve this, informative educational sessions will be provided to staff on the new reframed definition of perioperative situational awareness with the aim to support the creation of an implied implicit curriculum. The aim of the implied implicit curriculum is to pay attention to modular intended learning outcomes, through the development of appropriate content, activities, assessments and reflective practices, enabling theatre-practitioners to become professionally situationally aware, in a similar way to horse-trainers
The Bacterial Species Behind the Wound and Their Antibacterial Resistant Pattern: A Three‐Year Retrospective Study at St. Dominic Hospital, Akwatia, Ghana
No full textBackground
Wound infections are often underestimated issues that can lead to chronic illnesses, and since the introduction of antibiotics, wound complications have become less common. However, due to the increased and irrational use of these antibiotics, the resistance in the bacterial isolates has become very common. This has led to reduced treatment options, delay in wound healing, and high treatment costs. This study aimed to investigate bacterial wound infections and their antibiotic resistance at St. Dominic Hospital, Ghana.
Methods
A total of 517 records of wound swab culture and susceptibility testing, and patient demographics from 2020 to 2022 were collected from the microbiology unit of St. Dominic Hospital in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The data were entered into Microsoft Excel 2019, cleaned, and exported into IBM SPSS v26 for the statistical analysis. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses.
Results
The overall prevalence of bacteriological agents causing wound infection in individuals who visited the St. Dominic Hospital from 2020 to 2022 was 70.21% (363/517), with S. aureus 79/363 (21.76%) being the most abundant isolate. Out of the 79 S . aureus isolated, 40 (50.63%) and 39 (49.37%) were resistant to ampicillin and cephalexin, respectively. More than 50% of the predominant Gram‐negative isolate, K. pneumoniae , were resistant to clindamycin 45/72 (62.50%) but susceptible to levofloxacin 70/72 (97.22%), cefotetan 69/72 (95.83%), and chloramphenicol 67/72 (93.06%).
Conclusion
Antibacterial susceptibility patterns revealed significant resistance trends, particularly among Gram‐negative isolates, emphasizing the urgent need for prudent antibiotic use and ongoing surveillance to combat resistance
Enlightening the “Dark” in Dark Tourism: Re-conceptualising Dark Tourism in the Era of Late Capitalism
No full textOver the past 50 years, dark tourism has seen exponential growth in terms of both physical and digital contexts. Dark tourism is primarily a concentration around documented accounts of physical violence, and theorisations centred on dark tourism studies have generally fallen within either behavioural or interpretivist perspectives. Such perspectives are indicative of the continually evolving nature of dark tourism and its receptiveness to new definitions, conceptual frameworks, and theorisations. Taking this into consideration, this chapter seeks to develop and broaden the notion of “dark tourism” within the era of late capitalism by presenting fresh theoretical perspectives stemming from critical criminological frameworks. Specifically, in drawing upon critical notions of violence and the emerging deviant leisure framework, this chapter will aim to instigate fresh academic enquiry into the nature of dark tourism, expand its theoretical underpinnings, and subsequently provide a means in which to examine how banal forms of tourism play an integral part in the proliferation of some of the most serious harms that populate the contemporary neoliberal landscape
Unlocking Coevolution and Inclusive Innovations: Dynamics of Marginalised Agents in Immature Innovation Systems
No full textThis article explores the coevolutionary dynamics of immature innovation systems (IMIS), focusing on the role of marginalized agents often excluded from Conventional Innovation Systems (CIS). Marginalized agents, such as informal entrepreneurs or low-resource communities, are key actors in addressing local challenges but are typically overlooked in mainstream innovation processes, making it crucial to understand how they can be integrated into broader systems. Using an Agent-Based Model (ABM) based on Villalba (2023) and Ruiz et al. (2016), we examine how interactions between agents with different innovation and inclusion capabilities drive system evolution. The model integrates learning and unlearning processes, allowing agents to adapt and build capabilities over time. Through simulations that vary social thresholds, agent configurations, NOPI (Needs, Opportunities, Problems and Ideas) complexity, and the presence or absence of learning, we find that while higher social thresholds and complex NOPIs foster agent specialization, they can limit the inclusion of marginalized agents. Conversely, the absence of learning results in system stagnation despite increased short-term inclusion. By adopting a system-wide perspective, this paper contributes to the literature on innovation systems by analyzing how the relationships between marginalized and conventional actors influence inclusion dynamics. Our ABM captures the complex interplay of inclusion, coevolution, and capability complementarity within IMIS, offering deeper insights into how marginalized agents drive inclusive innovation and emphasizing the importance of fostering both innovation and inclusion capabilities for sustainable, equitable outcomes
Hydrogen Energy Storage System: Review on Recent Progress
No full textA hydrogen energy storage system (HESS) is one of the many rising modern green innovations, using excess energy to generate hydrogen and storing it for various purposes. With that, there have been many discussions about commercializing HESS and improving it further. However, the design and sizing process can be overwhelming to comprehend with various sources to examine, and understanding optimal design methodologies is crucial to optimize a HESS design. With that, this review aims to collect and analyse a wide range of HESS studies to summarise recent studies. Two different collections of studies are studied, one was sourced by the main author for preliminary readings, and another was obtained via VOSViewer. The findings from the Web of Science platform were also examined for a more comprehensive understanding. Major findings include the People’s Republic of China has been active in HESS research, as most works and active organizations originate from this country. HESS has been mainly researched to support power generation and balance load demands, with financial analysis being the common scope of analysis. MATLAB is a common tool used for HESS design, modelling, and optimization as it can handle complex calculations. Artificial neural network (ANN) has the potential to be used to model the HESS, but additional review is required as a form of future work. From a commercialization perspective, pressurized hydrogen tanks are ideal for hydrogen storage in a HESS, but other methods can be considered after additional research and development. From this review, it can be implied that modelling works will be the way forward for HESS research, but extensive collaborations and additional review are needed. Overall, this review summarized various takeaways that future research works on HESS can use
The City as a System of Places: Smart Placemaking for Future Living: People, Properties, Planning
No full textPlacemaking plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality of life in cities, necessitating a holistic approach and the incorporation of smart strategies. This study addresses the gap in existing research by exploring the integration of systems thinking and systems integration in smart placemaking within cities to make the placemaking more resilient, connected, and smart. The city is viewed as a system of interconnected and integrated smart places, where attractions, communication hubs, public spaces, and infrastructures seamlessly connect. The outcomes of smart placemaking include economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, health and well-being, safety and security, cultural preservation, innovation, and resilience. The research develops a framework that highlights the interconnectedness and interdependencies between systems thinking, systems integration, and smart placemaking. The framework provides guidance for city planners, urban designers, and policymakers in implementing effective strategies for creating vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable public spaces within the broader context of a smart and interconnected city
Enhancing ransomware defense: deep learning-based detection and family-wise classification of evolving threats
No full textRansomware is a type of malware that locks access to or encrypts its victim’s files for a ransom to be paid to get back locked or encrypted data. With the invention of obfuscation techniques, it became difficult to detect its new variants. Identifying the exact malware category and family can help to prepare for possible attacks. Traditional machine learning-based approaches failed to detect and classify advanced obfuscated ransomware variants using existing pattern-matching and signature-based detection techniques. Deep learning-based approaches have proven helpful in both detection and classification by analyzing obfuscated ransomware deeply. Researchers have contributed mainly to detection and minimaly to family attribution. This research aims to address all these multi-class classification problems by leveraging the power of deep learning. We have proposed a novel group normalization-based bidirectional long short-term memory (GN-BiLSTM) method to detect and classify ransomware variants with high accuracy. To validate the technique, five other deep learning models are also trained on the CIC-MalMem-2022, an obfuscated malware dataset. The proposed approach outperformed with an accuracy of 99.99% in detection, 85.48% in category-wise classification, and 74.65% in the identification of ransomware families. To verify its effectiveness, models are also trained on 10,876 self-collected latest samples of 26 malware families and the proposed model has achieved 99.20% accuracy in detecting malware, 97.44% in classifying its category, and 96.23% in identifying its family. Our proposed approach has proven the best for detecting new variants of ransomware with high accuracy and can be implemented in real-world applications of ransomware detection
Enhancing clinical microbiology for genomic surveillance of antimicrobial resistance implementation in Africa
No full textSurveillance is essential in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), to monitor the extent of resistance, inform prevention, control measures, and evaluate intervention progress. Traditional surveillance methods based on phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility data offer important but limited insights into resistance mechanisms, transmission networks, and spread patterns of resistant bacterial strains. Fortunately, genomic technologies are increasingly accessible and can overcome these limitations. Genomics has the potential to advance traditional bacteriology in routine diagnosis and surveillance, it often relies on the initial isolation of bacterial strains from clinical specimens using conventional culture methods. Culture-based phenotypic characteristics are essential for making inferences about newly recognized genomic patterns. The Africa CDC Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI) aims to enhance disease surveillance and public health partnerships through integrated, cross-continent laboratory networks equipped with the tools, human resource capacity and data infrastructure to fully leverage critical genomic sequencing technologies. For genomic surveillance of AMR, it is essential to optimize routine clinical microbiology laboratory services that are weak in many African countries. In this review, we outline shortcomings in clinical microbiology laboratories across Africa that compromise pathogen genomic epidemiology. We emphasize the necessity of investing in bacteriology and enhancing leadership capacity to fully capitalize on the advantages offered by genomic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance