Mental health indicators in APEC

Influencing subjective well-being for business and sustainable development using big data and predictive regression analysis

Business leaders and policymakers within service economies are placing greater emphasis on well-being, given the role of workers in such settings. Whilst people's well-being can lead to economic growth, it can also have the opposite effect if overlooked. Therefore, enhancing subjective well-being (SWB) is pertinent for all organisations for the sustainable development of an economy. While health conditions were previously deemed the most reliable predictors, the availability of data on people's personal lifestyles now offers a new dimension into well-being for organisations. Using open data available from the national Annual Population Survey in the UK, which measures SWB, this research uncovered that among several independent variables to predict varying levels of people's perceived well-being, long-term health conditions, one's marital status, and age played a key role in SWB. The proposed model provides the key indicators of measuring SWB for organisations using big data.

Academic Medicine and Science Diplomacy: Medical Education in Iraq

Physicians are infrequently selected to serve in the yearlong role of Jefferson Science Fellow (JSF) as senior science advisor for the U.S. Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development. The authors discuss the role of a JSF in promoting "science diplomacy" from the perspective of one alumnus, who sites examples of ongoing, long-term collaborative projects including one focusing on medical education reform in Iraq that would not have been possible without the JSF program. More than 3 decades of political and social unrest, terrorism, the internal displacement of millions of Iraqi citizens, the arrival of Syrian refugees, international sanctions, and the effect of fluctuating oil prices that fund education in Iraq have all led to a standstill in modernizing educational systems and the need for reform. In 2016, new opportunities for international collaboration and travel allowed faculty from the Al Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq, to visit the United States, explore U.S. medical school teaching methods, interact with U.S. faculty and students, and then implement their vision of a revised medical curriculum. These faculty members shared their observations with the Iraqi Council of Deans, which represents all 30 Iraqi medical schools. Structural changes in curriculum content and teaching methods have been implemented with the goal of restoring quantifiable excellence in education and health care in Iraq. The authors close with lessons learned to encourage other physicians to participate in the JSF program, which offers a unique opportunity to influence foreign policy through science diplomacy.