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Point-of-care testing (POCT) at the Emergency Department (ED) attains better objectives in patient care while aiming to achieve early diagnosis for faster medical decision-making. This study assesses and compares the benefits of POCT in the ED in Germany and Malta, while considering differences in their health systems.

This chapter utilizes multiple case study approach using Six Sigma. The German case study assesses the use of POCT in acute coronary syndrome patients, compared to the central lab setting. The Maltese case study is a pilot study of the use of medical ultrasonography as a POCT to detect abdominal free fluid in post-blunt trauma.

This study provides clear examples of the effectiveness of POCT in life-threatening conditions, as compared to the use of traditional central lab or the medical imaging department. Therapeutic quality in the ED and patient outcomes directly depend upon turnaround time, particularly for life-threatening conditions. Faster turnaround time not only saves lives but reduces morbidity, which in the long-term is a critical cost driver for hospitals.

The application of Six Sigma and the international comparison of POCT as best practice for life-threatening conditions in the ED.

This paper aims to establish the existence and enforceability of State responsibility for human trafficking, making special reference to children and Malta. Given that trafficking has been described by the European Court of Human Rights as a form of modern slavery, the paper's hypothesis is that the State has a responsibility to ensure that all possible steps are taken to combat the practice and to protect possible victims.

The paper is divided into three parts: the first part makes a concise review of the international criteria applied in response to human trafficking, the second part examines the pertaining situation relating to human trafficking in Malta and the final part makes an analysis of the recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia.

The paper demonstrates that the affirmation of State responsibility to combat human trafficking is enforceable, with reference to the Rantsev judgement which clearly attributes a positive obligation on States under Article 4. It also highlights the difficulty in tracing judgments related to human trafficking as evidenced by the review of the Maltese position, although this appears to be an issue common to a number of States which indiscriminately put together all cases for trafficking (drug trafficking and human trafficking).

The paper only uses first‐hand sources and Maltese judgements are supplemented with original research into cases as reported in the press. The third part of the work analyses the recent judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia (2010), speculating as to its impact on all member states of the Council of Europe, including Malta.

The purpose of this chapter is to share the structure and strategies that institutions can use to transform the experience of students learning at a distance. Details on how one of the largest educational systems in the United States, the State University of New York (SUNY), reshaped the student online learning experience via the “Open SUNY” model will be described. Specific strategies for infusing existing models of support with new ways of thinking will be explained.

In particular, this chapter will explore the infrastructure of the Open SUNY model of collaboration, the use of the Open SUNY Institutional Readiness approach for preparing colleges to deliver quality online programming, and the unique Open SUNY+ Signature Element program for assessing the quality of online programming and support structures.

This chapter will also highlight the efforts of one campus, SUNY Canton, to leverage Open SUNY and take its signature element on student engagement to the next level. A case study on Canton will show how the campus incorporated online students in all aspects of campus life to reduce student isolation. Specific online student engagement strategies will be provided.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of structural economic vulnerability of developing countries on their public indebtedness.

The authors perform the analysis by the use of fixed effects technique where the standard errors are corrected by the Driscoll-Kraay (1998) method. The panel covers 96 developing countries over the period 1980-2008.

The results suggest evidence of a “U-shaped” relationship between the structural vulnerability and the total public debt in developing countries. More particularly in low-income countries (LICs), the structural vulnerability appears to be a strong determinant of the build-up of the total public debt.

It would be interesting to extend the research to small Island developing states. Indeed, the authors do not include this group of countries because of lack of data, especially on the variable “quality of governance” for almost all countries of this group. Accordingly, the research should be extended to such countries as well as these data are available.

The implications of the study is that international institutions, including those of the Bretton Woods should take into account the structural vulnerability of developing countries when designing development policies, especially the ones related to debt sustainability in developing countries and particularly LICs.

The fact of the international institutions to take into account the structural vulnerability in the design of international development policy, especially those related to debt issues will have major implications on the macroeconomic policy design by these developing countries as well as on poverty reduction.

The added value of this paper is to use recent data on structural vulnerability to analyse the effect of the latter on public indebtdeness of developing countries.