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Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of speech-language pathology--related specialists (SPs) and speech-language pathology (SLP) students toward stuttering. Furthermore, we identified the factors that influence changes in the attitudes of SLP students and SPs in various countries. Method: Using a search formula, the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were used to conduct primary and secondary screening for analysis. All previous studies included in the systematic review focused on SPs or SLP students and were published in English. Studies were collected and screened independently by the first and second authors and then discussed between them. Twenty-two studies with varying research designs and sample sizes were included in the systematic review. Finally, information on authors, publishing year, participant, country or region, assessment materials, and the results were extracted and organized before analysis. Results: Twenty-two articles from eight countries and one region (Middle East) were extracted. The results showed that SLP students and SPs in different countries have different attitudes toward stuttering depending on their education, experience, geographic location, cultural status, and societal development, but stereotypes of people who stutter (PWS) persist (e.g., nervous), and the attitudes toward the clinics appear to be more negative in Western countries. Conclusions: Negative attitudes toward PWS remain among both SLP students and SPs. Thus, the factors that may influence the attitudes of SLP students and SPs should be taken into account in academic and clinical education in fluency disorders, and the education content must be structured to improve the quality of education and the attitude toward PWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patient safety in primary care is an emerging field of research with a growing evidence base in western countries but little has been explored in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC) including the Sultanate of Oman. This study aimed to review the literature on the safety culture and patient safety measures used globally to inform the development of safety culture among health care workers in primary care with a particular focus on the Middle East. Methods: A systematic review of the literature. Searches were undertaken using Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus from the year 2000 to 2014. Terms defining safety culture were combined with terms identifying patient safety and primary care. Results: The database searches identified 3072 papers that were screened for inclusion in the review. After the screening and verification, data were extracted from 28 papers that described safety culture in primary care. The global distribution of the articles is as follows: the Netherlands (7), the United States (5), Germany (4), the United Kingdom (1), Australia, Canada and Brazil (two for each country), and with one each from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The characteristics of the included studies were grouped under the following themes: safety culture in primary care, incident reporting, safety climate and adverse events. The most common theme from 2011 onwards was the assessment of safety culture in primary care (13 studies, 46%). The most commonly used safety culture assessment tool is the Hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC) which has been used in developing countries in the Middle East. Conclusions: This systematic review reveals that the most important first step is the assessment of safety culture in primary care which will provide a basic understanding to safety-related perceptions of health care providers. The HSOPSC has been commonly used in Kuwait, Turkey, and Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey redefined its geographical security environment over the last decade by deepening its engagement with neighboring regions, especially with the Middle East. The Arab spring, however, challenged not only the authoritarian regimes in the region but also Turkish foreign policy strategy. This strategy was based on cooperation with the existing regimes and did not prioritize the democracy promotion dimension of the issue. The upheavals in the Arab world, therefore, created a dilemma between ethics and self-interest in Turkish foreign policy. Amid the flux of geopolitical shifts in one of the world's most unstable regions, Turkish foreign policy-making elites are attempting to reformulate their strategies to overcome this inherent dilemma. The central argument of the present paper is that Turkey could make a bigger and more constructive impact in the region by trying to take a more detached stand and through controlled activism. Thus, Turkey could take action through the formation of coalitions and in close alignments with the United States and Europe rather than basing its policies on a self-attributed unilateral pro-activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the Foreign Relations documents of the U.S. and the papers of government officials in the Truman administration that reveals the possibilities for peace in the Middle East in 1949 and the opportunities present for the U.S. to have played a major role in the peace process. The first Arab-Israeli war came to an end with the signing of an armistice agreement between Egypt and Israel on the island of Rhodes, on February 24, 1949, under the direction of United Nations Mediator Ralph Bunche. Within the next five months, successful armistice agreements were concluded between Israel and Trans Jordan, Lebanon and Syria; and permanent peace negotiations were expected to follow before the year's end. In order to appreciate the possibilities for peace in the Middle East in 1949, we must go back to December 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly, in anticipation of the end of hostilities between the Arabs and Jews, established a Palestine Conciliation Commission consisting of representatives from France, Turkey and the U.S. Its major task, which was to be pursued concurrently with the armistice negotiations, was to negotiate peace treaties between Israel and the Arab states. Along with its pursuit of permanent peace, the Commission was also to formulate a plan for the internationalization of Jerusalem and to arrange for the repatriation and resettlement of approximately 725,000 Palestinian Arab refugees.

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism is the property of Aves Yayincilik Ltd. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article situates Turkey's approach to the Middle East in a broader historical context, demonstrating that there is more continuity in Ankara's approach to the region than observers tend to believe. It also argues that specific domestic political, economic, and global patterns of politics are likely to produce a divergence between the USA and Turkey on critical Middle Eastern issues, notably the Israeli–Palestinian problem and Iran's drive for regional influence. In an unintended way, however, the Arab awakening may drive a greater confluence of interests between Washington and Ankara. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This essay argues that Turkey's foreign policy has been Middle Easternized. This has mainly been informed by the growing negative impact of political developments in the Middle East - particularly Iraq - on Turkey's feeling of security at home and abroad. Rather than culminating in a breakup with the West, this Middle Easternization process has resulted in the adoption of a more pragmatic/rational than an emotional/romantic approach towards the European Union and the United States. That objections to Turkey's accession to the EU have recently increased despite the start of the accession talks appears to have led Turkish policymakers to adopt a more pragmatic approach towards EU membership. Though the accession talks with the EU have formally started, the end result of Turkey's Europeanization process continues to remain more ambiguous than ever. Though the negative legacy of the March 2003 crisis in US-Turkey relations has been partially repaired, it seems that Turkey and the United States will likely experience growing disagreements over Iraq, the Kurds, Syria, democratization in the Middle East, and Iran in the years to come. The nature of Turkey's future relations with the West will increasingly be determined by what transpires to Turkey's south and east rather than west. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses the initial reaction of Turkey to the launching of the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative, a Western-originated Middle East reform project fostered by U.S. Turkey faced obstacles to promoting a reform union in the region such as the Iraq situation, the Palestine-Israeli conflict and the negative American image in the area. Factors considered in Turkey's potential to contribute to the democratization project in the Middle East are domestic constraints, secularism, and its relations with U.S. and the European Union.